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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Discovery of the Source of the Nile, by
John Hanning Speke
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Title: The Discovery of the Source of the Nile
Author: John Hanning Speke
Posting Date: January 26, 2009 [EBook #3284]
Release Date: June, 2002
[Last updated: December 9, 2011]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOURCE OF THE NILE ***
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THE DISCOVERY OF THE SOURCE OF THE NILE
By John Hanning Speke
John Hanning Speke, born 1827. Served in the Punjab but left in 1854
to explore Somaliland. Discovered Lake Tanganyika with Burton, and Lake
Victoria independently. Was, with Grant, the first European to cross
equatorial africa. Died 1864.
Editor's Note
John Hanning Speke was a man of thirty-six, when his Nile Journal
appeared. He had entered the army in 1844, and completed ten years of
service in India, serving through the Punjab Campaign. Already he had
conceived the idea of exploring Africa, before his ten years were up,
and on their conclusion he was appointed a member of the expedition
preparing to start under Sir Richard (then Lieutenant Burton) for the
Somali country. He was wounded by the Somalis, and returned to England
on sick leave; the Crimean War then breaking out, be served through it,
and later, December 1856, joined another expedition under Burton. Then
it was that the possibility of the source of the Nile being traced to
one of the inland lakes seems to have struck him.
Burton's illness prevented him accompanying Speke on the latter's visit
to the lake now known as Victoria Nyanza. During this expedition Speke
reached the most southerly point of the lake, and gave it its present
name. Speke arrived back in England in the spring of 1859, Burton being
left behind on account of his illness. The relations between the two had
become strained, and this was accentuated by Speke's hast to publish
the account of his explorations. He was given the command of another
expedition which left England in April 1860, in company with Captain
James Augustus Grant, to ascertain still further if the Victoria Nyanza
were indeed the source of the Nile. He met Sir Samuel Baker, to whom
he gave valuable assistance, and who with his clue discovered the third
lake, Albert Nyanza.
Speke telegraphed early in 1863, that the Nile source was traced.
Returning to England that year he met with an ovation, and addressed a
special meeting of the Geographical Society, and the same year, 1863,
published his "Journal of the Discovery of the Nile." Opposed in
his statements by Burton and M'Queen ("The Nile Basin, 1864"), it was
arranged that he and Burton should meet for a debate, when on the very
day fixed, Speke accidentally shot himself while out partridge-shooting.
Sir R. Murchison, addressing the Royal Geographical Society that year,
speaks of Speke's discovery of the source of the Nile as solving the
"problem of all ages."
Only two books were published by Speke--the "Journal" of 1863, which
follows, and its sequel--"What Led to the Discovery of the Source of the
Nile," which appeared in the year of his death, 1864.
Introduction.
In the following pages I have endeavoured to describe all that appeared
to me most important and interesting among the events and the scenes
that came under my notice during my sojourn in the interior of Africa.
If my account should not entirely harmonise with preconceived notions as
to primitive races, I cannot help it. I profess accurately to describe
native Africa--Africa in those places where it has not received the
slightest impulse, whether for good or evil, from European civilisation.
If the picture be a dark one, we should, when contemplating these sons
of Noah, try and carry our mind back to that time when our poor elder
brother Ham was cursed by his father, and condemned to be the slave
of both Shem and Japheth; for as they were then, so they appear to be
now--a strikingly existing proof of the Holy Scriptures. But one thing
must be remembered: Whilst the people of Europe and Asia were blessed
by communion with God through the medium of His prophets, and obtained
divine laws to regulate their ways and keep them in mind of Him who
made them, the Africans were excluded from this dispensation, and
consequently have no idea of an overruling Providence or a future
state; they therefore trust to luck and to charms, and think only of
self-preservation in this world. Whatever, then, may be said against
them for being too avaricious or too destitute of fellow-feeling, should
rather reflect on ourselves, who have been so much better favoured,
yet have neglected to teach them, than on those who, whilst they are
sinning, know not what they are doing. To say a negro is incapable
of instruction, is a mere absurdity; for those few boys who have been
educated in our schools have proved themselves even quicker than our own
at learning; whilst, amongst themselves, the deepness of their cunning
and their power of repartee are quite surprising, and are especially
shown in their proficiency for telling lies most appropriately in
preference to truth, and with an off-handed manner that makes them most
amusing.
With these remarks, I now give, as an appropriate introduction to my
narrative--(1.) An account of the general geographical features of the
countries we are about to travel in, leaving the details to be treated
under each as we successively pass through them; (2.) A general view of
the atmospheric agents which wear down and so continually help to reduce
the continent, yet at the same time assist to clothe it with vegetation;
(3.) A general view of the Flora; and, lastly, that which consumes it,
(4.) Its Fauna; ending with a few special remarks on the Wanguana, or
men freed from slavery.
Geography
The continent of Africa is something like a dish turned upside down,
having a high and flat central plateau, with a higher rim of hills
surrounding it; from below which, exterially, it suddenly slopes down
to the flat strip of land bordering on the sea. A dish, however, is
generally uniform in shape--Africa is not. For instance, we find in
its centre a high group of hills surrounding the head of the Tanganyika
Lake, composed chiefly of argillaceous sandstones which I suppose to
be the Lunae Montes of Ptolemy, or the Soma Giri of the ancient Hindus.
Further, instead of a rim at the northern end, the country shelves down
from the equator to the Mediterranean Sea; and on the general surface of
the interior plateau there are basins full of water (lakes), from which,
when rains overflow them, rivers are formed, that, cutting through the
flanking rim of hills, find their way to the sea.
Atmospheric Agents
On the east coast, near Zanzibar, we find the rains following the track
of the sun, and lasting not more than forty days on any part that
the sun crosses; whilst the winds blow from south-west or north-east,
towards the regions heated by its vertical position. But in the centre
of the continent, within 5° of the equator, we find the rains much more
lasting. For instance, at 5° south latitude, for the whole six months
that the sun is in the south, rain continues to fall, and I have heard
that the same takes place at 5° north; whilst on the equator, or rather
a trifle to northward of it, it rains more or less the whole year round,
but most at the equinoxes, as shown in the table on the following page.
The winds, though somewhat less steady, are still very determinable.
With an easterly tending, they deflect north and south, following the
sun. In the drier season they blow so cold that the sun's heat is not
distressing; and in consequence of this, and the average altitude of the
plateau, which is 3000 feet, the general temperature of the atmosphere
is very pleasant, as I found from experience; for I walked every inch
of the journey dressed in thick woollen clothes, and slept every night
between blankets.
The Number of Days on which Rain fell (more or less) during the March of
the East African Expedition from Zanzibar to Gondokoro.
1860 Days on 1861 Days on 1862 Days on
which which which
rain fell rain fell rain fell
*** *** January 19 January 14
*** *** February 21 February [1] 12
*** *** March 17 March 21
*** *** April 17 April 27
*** *** May 3 May 26
*** *** June 0 June 20
*** *** July 1 July 22
*** *** August 1 August 20
*** *** September 9 September 18
October 2 October 11 October 27
November 0 November 17 November 20
December 20 December 16 December 6
Flora
From what has been said regarding the condition of the atmosphere, it
may readily be imagined that Africa, in those parts, after all, is not
so bad as people supposed it was; for, when so much moisture falls under
a vertical sun, all vegetable life must grow up almost spontaneously. It
does so on the equator in the most profuse manner; but down at 5° south,
where there are six months' drought, the case is somewhat different; and
the people would be subject to famines if they did not take advantage of
their rainy season to lay in sufficient stores for the fine: and here we
touch on the misfortune of the country; for the negro is too lazy to do
so effectively, owing chiefly, as we shall see presently, to want of a
strong protecting government. One substantial fact has been established,
owing to our having crossed over ten degrees of latitude in the centre
of the continent, or from 5° south to 5° north latitude, which is this:
There exists a regular gradation of fertility, surprisingly rich on the
equator, but decreasing systematically from it; and the reason why this
great fertile zone is confined to the equatorial regions, is the same as
that which has constituted it the great focus of water or lake supply,
whence issue the principal rivers of Africa. On the equator lie the
rainbearing influences of the Mountains of the Moon. The equatorial line
is, in fact, the centre of atmospheric motion.
Fauna
In treating of this branch of natural history, we will first take
man--the true curly-head, flab-nosed, pouch-mouthed negro--not the
Wahuma. [2] They are well distributed all over these latitudes, but are
not found anywhere in dense communities. Their system of government is
mostly of the patriarchal character. Some are pastorals, but most are
agriculturalists; and this difference, I believe, originates solely from
want of a stable government, to enable them to reap what they produce;
for where the negro can save his cattle, which is his wealth, by eating
grain, he will do it. In the same way as all animals, whether wild or
tame, require a guide to lead their flocks, so do the negroes find it
necessary to have chiefs over their villages and little communities,
who are their referees on all domestic or political questions. They have
both their district and their village chiefs, but, in the countries we
are about to travel over, no kings such as we shall find that the Wahuma
have. The district chief is absolute, though guided in great measure by
his "grey-beards," who constantly attend his residence, and talk over
their affairs of state. These commonly concern petty internal matters;
for they are too selfish and too narrow-minded to care for anything but
their own private concerns. The grey-beards circulate the orders of the
chief amongst the village chiefs, who are fined when they do not comply
with them; and hence all orders are pretty well obeyed.
One thing only tends to disorganise the country, and that is war,
caused, in the first instance, by polygamy, producing a family of
half-brothers, who, all aspiring to succeed their father, fight
continually with one another, and make their chief aim slaves and
cattle; whilst, in the second instance, slavery keeps them ever fighting
and reducing their numbers. The government revenues are levied, on
a very small scale, exclusively for the benefit of the chief and his
grey-beards. For instance, as a sort of land-tax, the chief has a right
to drink free from the village brews of pombe (a kind of beer made by
fermentation), which are made in turn by all the villagers successively.
In case of an elephant being killed, he also takes a share of the meat,
and claims one of its tusks as his right; further, all leopard, lion, or
zebra skins are his by right. On merchandise brought into the country by
traders, he has a general right to make any exactions he thinks he has
the power of enforcing, without any regard to justice or a regulated
tariff. This right is called Hongo, in the plural Mahongo. Another
source of revenue is in the effects of all people condemned for sorcery,
who are either burnt, or speared and cast into the jungles, and their
property seized by the grey-beards for their chief.
As to punishments, all irreclaimable thieves or murderers are killed
and disposed of in the same manner as these sorcerers; whilst on minor
thieves a penalty equivalent to the extent of the depredation is levied.
Illicit intercourse being treated as petty larceny, a value is fixed
according to the value of the woman--for it must be remembered all
women are property. Indeed, marriages are considered a very profitable
speculation, the girl's hand being in the father's gift, who marries
her to any one who will pay her price. This arrangement, however, is not
considered a simple matter of buying and selling, but delights in the
high-sounding title of "dowry." Slaves, cows, goats, fowls, brass wire,
or beads, are the usual things given for this species of dowry. The
marriage-knot, however, is never irretrievably tied; for if the wife
finds a defect in her husband, she can return to her father by refunding
the dowry; whilst the husband, if he objects to his wife, can claim
half-price on sending her home again, which is considered fair, because
as a second-hand article her future value would be diminished by half.
By this system, it must be observed, polygamy is a source of wealth,
since a man's means are measured by the number of his progeny; but it
has other advantages besides the dowry, for the women work more than the
men do, both in and out of doors; and, in addition to the females, the
sons work for the household until they marry, and in after life take
care of their parents in the same way as in the first instance the
parents took care of them.
Twins are usually hailed with delight, because they swell the power of
the family, though in some instances they are put to death. Albinos are
valued, though their colour is not admired. If death occurs in a natural
manner, the body is usually either buried in the village or outside. A
large portion of the negro races affect nudity, despising clothing as
effeminate; but these are chiefly the more boisterous roving pastorals,
who are too lazy either to grow cotton or strip the trees of their bark.
Their young women go naked; but the mothers suspend a little tail both
before and behind. As the hair of the negro will not grow long, a barber
might be dispensed with, were it not that they delight in odd fashions,
and are therefore continually either shaving it off altogether, or else
fashioning it after the most whimsical designs. No people in the world
are so proud and headstrong as the negroes, whether they be pastoral or
agriculturalists. With them, as with the rest of the world, "familiarity
breeds contempt"; hospitality lives only one day; for though proud of a
rich or white visitor--and they implore him to stop, that they may keep
feeding their eyes on his curiosities--they seldom give more than a cow
or a goat, though professing to supply a whole camp with provisions.
Taking the negroes as a whole, one does not find very marked or much
difference in them. Each tribe has its characteristics, it is true. For
instance, one cuts his teeth or tattoos his face in a different manner
from the others; but by the constant intermarriage with slaves, much
of this effect is lost, and it is further lost sight of owing to the
prevalence of migrations caused by wars and the division of governments.
As with the tribal marks so with their weapons; those most commonly in
use are the spear, assage, shield, bow and arrow. It is true some affect
one, some the other; but in no way do we see that the courage of tribes
can be determined by the use of any particular weapon: for the bravest
use the arrow, which is the more dreaded; while the weakest confine
themselves to the spear. Lines of traffic are the worst tracks (there
are no roads in the districts here referred to) for a traveller to go
upon, not only because the hospitality of the people has been damped
by frequent communication with travellers, but, by intercourse with the
semi-civilised merchant, their natural honour and honesty are corrupted,
their cupidity is increased, and the show of firearms ceases to frighten
them.
Of paramount consideration is the power held by the magician (Mganga),
who rules the minds of the kings as did the old popes of Europe. They,
indeed, are a curse to the traveller; for if it suits their inclinations
to keep him out of the country, they have merely to prognosticate all
sorts of calamities--as droughts, famines, or wars--in the event of his
setting eyes on the soil, and the chiefs, people, and all, would believe
them; for, as may be imagined, with men unenlightened, supernatural and
imaginary predictions work with more force than substantial reasons.
Their implement of divination, simple as it may appear, is a cow's
or antelope's horn (Uganga), which they stuff with magic powder, also
called Uganga. Stuck into the ground in front of the village, it is
supposed to have sufficient power to ward off the attacks of an enemy.
By simply holding it in the hand, the magician pretends he can discover
anything that has been stolen or lost; and instances have been told of
its dragging four men after it with irresistible impetus up to a thief,
when it be-laboured the culprit and drove him out of his senses. So
imbued are the natives' minds with belief in the power of charms, that
they pay the magician for sticks, stones, or mud, which he has doctored
for them. They believe certain flowers held in the hand will conduct
them to anything lost; as also that the voice of certain wild animals,
birds, or beasts, will insure them good-luck, or warn them of danger.
With the utmost complacency our sable brother builds a dwarf hut in his
fields, and places some grain on it to propitiate the evil spirit, and
suffer him to reap the fruits of his labour, and this too they call
Uganga or church.
These are a few of the more innocent alternatives the poor negroes
resort to in place of a "Saviour." They have also many other and more
horrible devices. For instance, in times of tribulation, the magician,
if he ascertains a war is projected by inspecting the blood and bones
of a fowl which he has flayed for that purpose, flays a young child,
and having laid it lengthwise on a path, directs all the warriors, on
proceeding to battle, to step over his sacrifice and insure themselves
victory. Another of these extra barbarous devices takes place when a
chief wishes to make war on his neighbour by his calling in a magician
to discover a propitious time for commencing. The doctor places a large
earthen vessel, half full of water, over a fire, and over its mouth
a grating of sticks, whereon he lays a small child and a fowl side by
side, and covers them over with a second large earthen vessel, just like
the first, only inverted, to keep the steam in, when he sets fire below,
cooks for a certain period of time, and then looks to see if his victims
are still living or dead--when, should they be dead, the war must be
deferred, but, otherwise commenced at once.
These extremes, however, are not often resorted to, for the natives are
usually content with simpler means, such as flaying a goat, instead of
a child, to be walked over; while, to prevent any evil approaching their
dwellings a squashed frog, or any other such absurdity, when place on
the track, is considered a specific.
How the negro has lived so many ages without advancing, seems
marvellous, when all the countries surrounding Africa are so forward in
comparison; and judging from the progressive state of the world, one
is led to suppose that the African must soon either step out from his
darkness, or be superseded by a being superior to himself. Could a
government be formed for them like ours in India, they would be saved;
but without it, I fear there is very little chance; for at present the
African neither can help himself nor will he be helped about by others,
because his country is in such a constant state of turmoil he has too
much anxiety on hand looking out for his food to think of anything
else. As his fathers ever did, so does he. He works his wife, sells his
children, enslaves all he can lay hands upon, and, unless when fighting
for the property of others, contents himself with drinking, singing, and
dancing like a baboon to drive dull care away. A few only make cotton
cloth, or work in wood, iron, copper, or salt; their rule being to do
as little as possible, and to store up nothing beyond the necessities of
the next season, lest their chiefs or neighbours should covet and take
it from them.
Slavery, I may add, is one great cause of laziness, for the masters
become too proud to work, lest they should be thought slaves themselves.
In consequence of this, the women look after the household work--such as
brewing, cooking, grinding corn, making pottery and baskets, and taking
care of the house and the children, besides helping the slaves whilst
cultivating, or even tending the cattle sometimes.
Now, descending to the inferior order of creation, I shall commence with
the domestic animals first, to show what the traveller may expect to
find for his usual support. Cows, after leaving the low lands near the
coast, are found to be plentiful everywhere, and to produce milk in
small quantities, from which butter is made. Goats are common all over
Africa; but sheep are not so plentiful, nor do they show such good
breeding--being generally lanky, with long fat tails. Fowls, much
like those in India, are abundant everywhere. A few Muscovy ducks are
imported, also pigeons and cats. Dogs, like the Indian pariah, are very
plentiful, only much smaller; and a few donkeys are found in certain
localities. Now, considering this good supply of meat, whilst all
tropical plants will grow just as well in central equatorial Africa
as they do in India, it surprises the traveller there should be any
famines; yet such is too often the case, and the negro, with these
bounties within his reach, is sometimes found eating dogs, cats, rats,
porcupines, snakes, lizards, tortoises, locusts, and white ants, or
is forced to seek the seeds of wild grasses, or to pluck wild herbs,
fruits, and roots; whilst at the proper seasons they hunt the wild
elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, pigs, and antelopes; or, going out
with their arrows, have battues against the guinea-fowls and small
birds.
The frequency with which collections of villages are found all over the
countries we are alluding to, leaves but very little scope for the runs
of wild animals, which are found only in dense jungles, open forests,
or praires generally speaking, where hills can protect them, and near
rivers whose marshes produce a thick growth of vegetation to conceal
them from their most dreaded enemy--man. The prowling, restless
elephant, for instance, though rarely seen, leaves indications of his
nocturnal excursions in every wilderness, by wantonly knocking down the
forest-trees. The morose rhinoceros, though less numerous, are found in
every thick jungle. So is the savage buffalo, especially delighting in
dark places, where he can wallow in the mud and slake his thirst without
much trouble; and here also we find the wild pig.
The gruff hippopotamus is as widespread as any, being found wherever
there is water to float him; whilst the shy giraffe and zebra affect all
open forests and plains where the grass is not too long; and antelopes,
of great variety in species and habits, are found wherever man will
let them alone and they can find water. The lion is, however, rarely
heard--much more seldom seen. Hyenas are numerous, and thievishly
inclined. Leopards, less common, are the terror of the villagers. Foxes
are not numerous, but frighten the black traveller by their ill-omened
bark. Hares, about half the size of English ones--there are no
rabbits--are widely spread, but not numerous; porcupines the same. Wild
cats, and animals of the ferret kind, destroy game. Monkeys of various
kinds and squirrels harbour in the trees, but are rarely seen. Tortoises
and snakes, in great variety, crawl over the ground, mostly after the
rains. Rats and lizards--there are but few mice--are very abundant, and
feed both in the fields and on the stores of the men.
The wily ostrich, bustard, and florikan affect all open places. The
guinea-fowl is the most numerous of all game-birds. Partridges come
next, but do not afford good sport; and quails are rare. Ducks and snipe
appear to love Africa less than any other country; and geese and storks
are only found where water most abounds. Vultures are uncommon; hawks
and crows much abound, as in all other countries; but little birds, of
every colour and note, are discoverable in great quantities near water
and by the villages. Huge snails and small ones, as well as fresh-water
shells, are very abundant, though the conchologist would find but little
variety to repay his labours; and insects, though innumerable, are best
sought for after the rains have set in. [3]
The Wanguana or Freed Men
The Wa-n-guana, as their name implies, are men freed from slavery; and
as it is to these singular negroes acting as hired servants that I have
been chiefly indebted for opening this large section of Africa, a few
general remarks on their character cannot be out of place here.
Of course, having been born in Africa, and associated in childhood with
the untainted negroes, they retain all the superstitious notions of the
true aborigines, though somewhat modified, and even corrupted, by that
acquaintance with the outer world which sharpens their wits.
Most of these men were doubtless caught in wars, as may be seen every
day in Africa, made slaves of, and sold to the Arabs for a few yards
of common cloth, brass wire, or beads. They would then be taken to the
Zanzibar market, resold like horses to the highest bidder, and then kept
in bondage by their new masters, more like children of his family
than anything else. In this new position they were circumcised to make
Mussulmans of them, that their hands might be "clean" to slaughter their
master's cattle, and extend his creed; for the Arabs believe the day
must come when the tenets of Mohammed will be accepted by all men.
The slave in this new position finds himself much better off than he
ever was in his life before, with this exception, that as a slave he
feels himself much degraded in the social scale of society, and his
family ties are all cut off from him--probably his relations have all
been killed in the war in which he was captured. Still, after the first
qualms have worn off, we find him much attached to his master, who feeds
him and finds him in clothes in return for the menial services which
he performs. In a few years after capture, or when confidence has been
gained by the attachment shown by the slave, if the master is a trader
in ivory, he will intrust him with the charge of his stores, and send
him all over the interior of the continent to purchase for him both
slaves and ivory; but should the master die, according to the Mohammedan
creed the slaves ought to be freed. In Arabia this would be the case;
but at Zanzibar it more generally happens that the slave is willed to
his successor.
The whole system of slaveholding by the Arabs in Africa, or rather on
the coast or at Zanzibar, is exceedingly strange; for the slaves, both
in individual physical strength and in numbers, are so superior to the
Arab foreigners, that if they chose to rebel, they might send the Arabs
flying out of the land. It happens, however, that they are spell-bound,
not knowing their strength any more than domestic animals, and they even
seem to consider that they would be dishonest if they ran away after
being purchased, and so brought pecuniary loss on their owners.
There are many positions into which the slave may get by the course of
events, and I shall give here, as a specimen, the ordinary case of one
who has been freed by the death of his master, that master having been a
trader in ivory and slaves in the interior. In such a case, the slave so
freed in all probability would commence life afresh by taking service
as a porter with other merchants, and in the end would raise sufficient
capital to commence trading himself--first in slaves, because they are
the most easily got, and then in ivory. All his accumulations would then
go to the Zanzibar market, or else to slavers looking out off the coast.
Slavery begets slavery. To catch slaves is the first thought of every
chief in the interior; hence fights and slavery impoverish the land, and
that is the reason both why Africa does not improve, and why we find men
of all tribes and tongues on the coast. The ethnologist need only go
to Zanzibar to become acquainted with all the different tribes to the
centre of the continent on that side, or to Congo to find the other half
south of the equator there.
Some few freed slaves take service in vessels, of which they are
especially fond; but most return to Africa to trade in slaves and ivory.
All slaves learn the coast language, called at Zanzibar Kisuahili; and
therefore the traveller, if judicious in his selections, could find
there interpreters to carry him throughout the eastern half of South
Africa. To the north of the equator the system of language entirely
changes.
Laziness is inherent in these men, for which reason, although extremely
powerful, they will not work unless compelled to do so. Having no God,
in the Christian sense of the term, to fear or worship, they have no
love for truth, honour, or honesty. Controlled by no government, nor yet
by home ties, they have no reason to think of or look to the future. Any
venture attracts them when hard-up for food; and the more roving it is,
the better they like it. The life of the sailor is most particularly
attractive to the freed slave; for he thinks, in his conceit, that he is
on an equality with all men when once on the muster-rolls, and then he
calls all his fellow-Africans "savages." Still the African's peculiarity
sticks to him: he has gained no permanent good. The association of white
men and the glitter of money merely dazzle him. He apes like a monkey
the jolly Jack Tar, and spends his wages accordingly. If chance brings
him back again to Zanzibar, he calls his old Arab master his father, and
goes into slavery with as much zest as ever.
I have spoken of these freed men as if they had no religion. This
is practically true, though theoretically not so; for the Arabs, on
circumcising them, teach them to repeat the words Allah and Mohammed,
and perhaps a few others; but not one in ten knows what a soul means,
nor do they expect to meet with either reward or punishment in the next
world, though they are taught to regard animals as clean and unclean,
and some go through the form of a pilgrimage to Mecca. Indeed the whole
of their spiritual education goes into oaths and ejaculations--Allah and
Mohammed being as common in their mouths as damn and blast are with
our soldiers and sailors. The long and short of this story is, that the
freed men generally turn out a loose, roving, reckless set of beings,
quick-witted as the Yankee, from the simple fact that they imagine all
political matters affect them, and therefore they must have a word in
every debate. Nevertheless they are seldom wise; and lying being more
familiar to their constitution than truth-saying, they are for ever
concocting dodges with the view, which they glory in of successfully
cheating people. Sometimes they will show great kindness, even bravery
amounting to heroism, and proportionate affection; at another time,
without any cause, they will desert and be treacherous to their sworn
friends in the most dastardly manner. Whatever the freak of the moment
is, that they adopt in the most thoughtless manner, even though they may
have calculated on advantages beforehand in the opposite direction. In
fact, no one can rely upon them even for a moment. Dog wit, or any
silly remarks, will set them giggling. Any toy will amuse them. Highly
conceited of their personal appearance, they are for ever cutting their
hair in different fashions, to surprise a friend; or if a rag be thrown
away, they will all in turn fight for it to bind on their heads, then
on their loins or spears, peacocking about with it before their admiring
comrades. Even strange feathers or skins are treated by them in the same
way.
Should one happen to have anything specially to communicate to his
master in camp, he will enter giggling, sidle up to the pole of a
hut, commence scratching his back with it, then stretch and yawn, and
gradually, in bursts of loud laughter, slip down to the ground on his
stern, when he drums with his hands on the top of a box until summoned
to know what he has at heart, when he delivers himself in a peculiar
manner, laughs and yawns again, and, saying it is time to go, walks off
in the same way as he came. At other times when he is called, he will
come sucking away at the spout of a tea-pot, or, scratching his naked
arm-pits with a table-knife, or, perhaps, polishing the plates for
dinner with his dirty loin-cloth. If sent to market to purchase a
fowl, he comes back with a cock tied by the legs to the end of a stick,
swinging and squalling in the most piteous manner. Then, arrived at the
cook-shop, he throws the bird down on the ground, holds its head between
his toes, plucks the feathers to bare its throat, and then, raising a
prayer, cuts its head off.
But enough of the freed man in camp; on the march he is no better.
If you give him a gun and some ammunition to protect him in case of
emergencies, he will promise to save it, but forthwith expends it by
firing it off in the air, and demands more, else he will fear to venture
amongst the "savages." Suppose you give him a box of bottles to carry,
or a desk, or anything else that requires great care, and you caution
him of its contents, the first thing he does is to commence swinging it
round and round, or putting it topsy-turvy on the top of his head,
when he will run off at a jog-trot, singing and laughing in the most
provoking manner, and thinking no more about it than if it were an old
stone; even if rain were falling, he would put it in the best place to
get wet through. Economy, care, or forethought never enters his head;
the first thing to hand is the right thing for him; and rather then take
the trouble even to look for his own rope to tie up his bundle, he would
cut off his master's tent-ropes or steal his comrade's. His greatest
delight is in the fair sex, and when he can't get them, next comes beer,
song, and a dance.
Now, this is a mild specimen of the "rowdy" negro, who has contributed
more to open Africa to enterprise and civilisation than any one else.
Possessed of a wonderful amount of loquacity, great risibility, but
no stability--a creature of impulse--a grown child, in short--at first
sight it seems wonderful how he can be trained to work; for there is now
law, no home to bind him--he could run away at any moment; and
presuming on this, he sins, expecting to be forgiven. Great forbearance,
occasionally tinctured with a little fatherly severity, is I believe,
the best dose for him; for he says to his master, in the most childish
manner, after sinning, "You ought to forgive and to forget; for are you
not a big man who should be above harbouring spite, though for a moment
you may be angry? Flog me if you like, but don't keep count against me,
else I shall run away; and what will you do then?"
The language of this people is just as strange as they are themselves.
It is based on euphony, from which cause it is very complex, the more
especially so as it requires one to be possessed of a negro's turn of
mind to appreciate the system, and unravel the secret of its euphonic
concord. A Kisuahili grammar, written by Dr. Krapf, will exemplify what
I mean. There is one peculiarity, however, to which I would direct the
attention of the reader most particularly, which is, that Wa prefixed to
the essential word of a country, means men or people; M prefixed, means
man or individual; U, in the same way, means place or locality; and
Ki prefixed indicates the language. Example:--Wagogo, is the people of
Gogo; Mgogo, is a Gogo man; Ugogo, is the country of Gogo; and Kigogo,
the language of Gogo.
The only direction here necessary as regards pronunciation of native
words refers to the u, which represents a sound corresponding to that of
the oo in woo.
Journal of the Discovery of The Source of the Nile
Chapter 1. London to Zanzibar, 1859
The design--The Preparations--Departure--The Cape--The Zulu
Kafirs--Turtle-Turning--Capture of a Slaver--Arrive at Zanzibar--Local
Politics and News Since Last Visit--Organisation of the Expedition.
My third expedition in Africa, which was avowedly for the purpose of
establishing the truth of my assertion that the Victoria N'yanza, which
I discovered on the 30th July 1858, would eventually prove to be the
source of the Nile, may be said to have commenced on the 9th May 1859,
the first day after my return to England from my second expedition,
when, at the invitation of Sir. R. I. Murchison, I called at his
house to show him my map for the information of the Royal Geographical
Society. Sir Roderick, I need only say, at once accepted my views; and,
knowing my ardent desire to prove to the world, by actual inspection of
the exit, that the Victoria N'yanza was the source of the Nile, seized
the enlightened view, that such a discovery should not be lost to the
glory of England and the Society of which he was President; and said
to me, "Speke, we must send you there again." I was then officially
directed, much against my own inclination, to lecture at the Royal
Geographical Society on the geography of Africa, which I had, as the
sole surveyor of the second expedition, laid down on our maps. [4] A
council of the Geographical Society was now convened to ascertain what
projects I had in view for making good my discovery by connecting the
lake with the Nile, as also what assistance I should want for that
purpose.
Some thought my best plan would be to go up the Nile, which seemed to
them the natural course to pursue, especially as the Nile was said,
though nobody believed it, to have been navigated by expeditions sent
out by Mehemet Ali, Viceroy of Egypt, up to 3° 22' north latitude. To
this I objected, as so many had tried it and failed, from reasons which
had not transpired; and, at the same time, I said that if they would
give me ?5000 down at once, I would return to Zanzibar at the end of the
year, March to Kaze again, and make the necessary investigations of the
Victoria lake. Although, in addition to the journey to the source of the
river, I also proposed spending three years in the country, looking
up tributaries, inspecting watersheds, navigating the lake, and making
collections on all branches of natural history, yet £5000 was thought by
the Geographical Society too large a sum to expect from the Government;
so I accepted the half, saying that, whatever the expedition might
cost, I would make good the rest, as, under any circumstances, I would
complete what I had begun, or die in the attempt.
My motive for deferring the journey a year was the hope that I might, in
the meanwhile, send on fifty men, carrying beads and brass wire, under
charge of Arab ivory-traders, to Karague, and fifty men more, in the
same way, to Kaze; whilst I, arriving in the best season for travelling
(May, June, or July), would be able to push on expeditiously to my
depots so formed, and thus escape the great disadvantages of travelling
with a large caravan in a country where no laws prevail to protect one
against desertions and theft. Moreover, I knew that the negroes who
would have to go with me, as long as they believed I had property in
advance, would work up to it willingly, as they would be the gainers
by doing so; whilst, with nothing before them, they would be always
endeavouring to thwart my advance, to save them from a trouble which
their natural laziness would prompt them to escape from.
This beautiful project, I am sorry to say, was doomed from the first;
for I did not get the £2500 grant of money or appointment to the command
until fully nine months had elapsed, when I wrote to Colonel Rigby, our
Consul at Zanzibar, to send on the first instalment of property towards
the interior.
As time then advanced, the Indian branch of the Government very
graciously gave me fifty artillery carbines, with belts and
sword-bayonets attached, and 20,000 rounds of ball ammunition. They lent
me as many surveying instruments as I wanted; and, through Sir George
Clerk, put at my disposal some rich presents, in gold watches, for the
chief Arabs who had so generously assisted us in the last expedition.
Captain Grant, hearing that I was bound on this journey, being an old
friend and brother sportsman in India, asked me to take him with me,
and his appointment was settled by Colonel Sykes, then chairman of a
committee of the Royal Geographical Society, who said it would only be
"a matter of charity" to allow me a companion.
Much at the same time, Mr Petherick, an ivory merchant, who had spent
many years on the Nile, arrived in England, and gratuitously offered, as
it would not interfere with his trade, to place boats at Gondokoro,
and send a party of men up the White River to collect ivory in the
meanwhile, and eventually to assist me in coming down. Mr Petherick, I
may add, showed great zeal for geographical exploits, so, as I could not
get money enough to do all that I wished to accomplish myself, I drew
out a project for him to ascend the stream now known as the Usua river
(reported to be the larger branch of the Nile), and, if possible,
ascertain what connection it had with my lake. This being agreed to, I
did my best, through the medium of Earl de Grey (then President of the
Royal Geographical Society), to advance him money to carry out this
desirable object.
The last difficulty I had now before me was to obtain a passage to
Zanzibar. The Indian Government had promised me a vessel of war to
convey me from Aden to Zanzibar, provided it did not interfere with the
public interests. This doubtful proviso induced me to apply to Captain
Playfair, Assistant-Political at Aden, to know what Government vessel
would be available; and should there be none, to get for me a passage by
some American trader. The China war, he assured me, had taken up all the
Government vessels, and there appeared no hope left for me that season,
as the last American trader was just then leaving for Zanzibar. In this
dilemma it appeared that I must inevitably lose the travelling season,
and come in for the droughts and famines. The tide, however, turned in
my favour a little; for I obtained, by permission of the Admiralty, a
passage in the British screw steam-frigate Forte, under orders to convey
Admiral Sir H. Keppel to his command at the Cape; and Sir Charles Wood
most obligingly made a request that I should be forwarded thence
to Zanzibar in one of our slaver-hunting cruisers by the earliest
opportunity.
On the 27th April, Captain Grant and I embarked on board the new
steam-frigate Forte, commanded by Captain E. W. Turnour, at Portsmouth;
and after a long voyage, touching at Madeira and Rio de Janeiro, we
arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on the 4th July. Here Sir George Grey,
the Governor of the colony, who took a warm and enlightened interest in
the cause of the expedition, invited both Grant and myself to reside at
his house. Sir George had been an old explorer himself--was once wounded
by savages in Australia, much in the same manner as I had been in the
Somali country--and, with a spirit of sympathy, he called me his son,
and said he hoped I would succeed. Then, thinking how best he could
serve me, he induced the Cape Parliament to advance to the expedition
a sum of £300, for the purpose of buying baggage-mules; and induced
Lieut.-General Wynyard, the Commander-in-Chief, to detach ten volunteers
from the Cape Mounted Rifle Corps to accompany me. When this addition
was made to my force, of twelve mules and ten Hottentots, the Admiral of
the station placed the screw steam-corvette Brisk at my disposal, and we
all sailed for Zanzibar on the 16th July, under the command of Captain
A. F. de Horsey--the Admiral himself accompanying us, on one of his
annual inspections to visit the east coast of Africa and the Mauritius.
In five days more we touched at East London, and, thence proceeding
north, made a short stay at Delagoa Bay, where I first became acquainted
with the Zulu Kafirs, a naked set of negroes, whose national costume
principally consists in having their hair trussed up like a hoop on the
top of the head, and an appendage like a thimble, to which they attach
a mysterious importance. They wear additional ornaments, charms, &c., of
birds' claws, hoofs and horns of wild animals tied on with strings, and
sometimes an article like a kilt, made of loose strips of skin, or the
entire skins of vermin strung close together. These things I have merely
noticed in passing, because I shall hereafter have occasion to allude
to a migratory people, the Watuta, who dressing much in the same manner,
extend from Lake N'yassa to Uzinza, and may originally have been a part
of this same Kafir race, who are themselves supposed to have migrated
from the regions at present occupied by the Gallas. Next day (the
28th) we went on to Europa, a small island of coralline, covered with
salsolacious shrubs, and tenanted only by sea-birds, owls, finches,
rats, and turtles. Of the last we succeeded in turning three, the
average weight of each being 360 lb., and we took large numbers of their
eggs.
We then went to Mozambique, and visited the Portuguese Governor, John
Travers de Almeida, who showed considerable interest in the prospects
of the expedition, and regretted that, as it cost so much money to visit
the interior from that place, his officers were unable to go there.
One experimental trip only had been accomplished by Mr Soares, who was
forced to pay the Makua chiefs 120 dollars footing, to reach a small
hill in view of the sea, about twenty-five miles off.
Leaving Mozambique on the 9th August, bound for Johanna, we came the
next day, at 11.30 A.M., in sight of a slaver, ship-rigged, bearing on
us full sail, but so distant from us that her mast-tops were only just
visible. As quick as ourselves, she saw who we were and tried to escape
by retreating. This manoeuvre left no doubt what she was, and the Brisk,
all full of excitement, gave chase at full speed, and in four hours more
drew abreast of her. A great commotion ensued on board the slaver. The
sea-pirates threw overboard their colours, bags, and numerous boxes,
but would not heave-to, although repeatedly challenged, until a gun was
fired across her bows. Our boats were then lowered, and in a few minutes
more the "prize" was taken, by her crew being exchanged for some of our
men, and we learnt all about her from accurate reports furnished by Mr
Frere, the Cape Slave Commissioner. Cleared from Havannah as "the Sunny
South," professing to be destined for Hong-Kong, she changed her name to
the Manuela, and came slave-hunting in these regions. The slaver's crew
consisted of a captain, doctor, and several sailors, mostly Spaniards.
The vessel was well stored with provisions and medicines; but there
was scarcely enough room in her, though she was said to be only half
freighted, for the 544 creatures they were transporting. The next
morning, as we entered Pamoni harbour by an intricate approach to
the rich little island hill Johanna, the slaver, as she followed us,
stranded, and for a while caused considerable alarm to everybody but her
late captain. He thought his luck very bad, after escaping so often, to
be taken thus; for his vessel's power of sailing were so good, that, had
she had the wind in her favour, the Brisk, even with the assistance of
steam, could not have come up with her. On going on board her, I found
the slaves to be mostly Wahiyow. A few of them were old women, but
all the rest children. They had been captured during wars in their own
country, and sold to Arabs, who brought them to the coast, and kept them
half-starved until the slaver arrived, when they were shipped in dhows
and brought off to the slaver, where, for nearly a week, whilst the
bargains were in progress, they were kept entirely without food. It was
no wonder then, every man of the Brisk who first looked upon them did so
with a feeling of loathing and abhorrence of such a trade. All over the
vessel, but more especially below, old women, stark naked, were dying
in the most disgusting "ferret-box" atmosphere; while all those who had
sufficient strength were pulling up the hatches, and tearing at the salt
fish they found below, like dogs in a kennel.
On the 15th the Manuela was sent to the Mauritius, and we, after passing
the Comoro Islands, arrived at our destination, Zanzibar--called Lunguja
by the aborigines, the Wakhadim--and Unguja by the present Wasuahili.
On the 17th, after the anchor was cast, without a moment's delay I went
off to the British Consulate to see my old friend Colonel Rigby. He was
delighted to see us; and, in anticipation of our arrival, had prepared
rooms for our reception, that both Captain Grant and myself might enjoy
his hospitality until arrangements could be made for our final start
into the interior. The town, which I had left in so different a
condition sixteen months before, was in a state of great tranquillity,
brought about by the energy of the Bombay Government on the Muscat
side, and Colonel Rigby's exertions on this side, in preventing an
insurrection Sultan Majid's brothers had created with a view of usurping
his government.
The news of the place was as follows:--In addition to the formerly
constituted consulates--English, French, and American--a fourth one,
representing Hamburg, had been created. Dr Roscher, who during my
absence had made a successful journey to the N'yinyezi N'yassa, or
Star Lake, was afterwards murdered by some natives in Uhiyow; and
Lieutentant-Colonel Baron van der Decken, another enterprising German,
was organising an expedition with a view to search for the relics of
his countryman, and, if possible, complete the project poor Roscher had
commenced.
Slavery had received a severe blow by the sharp measures Colonel Rigby
had taken in giving tickets of emancipation to all those slaves whom our
Indian subjects the Banyans had been secretly keeping, and by fining
the masters and giving the money to the men to set them up in life. The
interior of the continent had been greatly disturbed, owing to constant
war between the natives and Arab ivory merchants. Mguru Mfupi (or
Short-legs), the chief of Khoko in Ugogo, for instance, had been shot,
and Manua Sera (the Tippler), who succeeded the old Sultan Fundi Kira,
of Unyanyembe, on his death, shortly after the late expedition left
Kaze, was out in the field fighting the Arabs. Recent letters from
the Arabs in the interior, however, gave hopes of peace being shortly
restored. Finally, in compliance with my request--and this was the most
important item of news to myself--Colonel Rigby had sent on, thirteen
days previously, fifty-six loads of cloth and beads, in charge of two of
Ramji's men, consigned to Musa at Kaze.
To call on the Sultan, of course, was our first duty. He received us
in his usually affable manner; made many trite remarks concerning our
plans; was surprised, if my only object in view was to see the great
river running out of the lake, that I did not go by the more direct
route across the Masai country and Usoga; and then, finding I wished to
see Karague, as well as to settle many other great points of interest,
he offered to assist me with all the means in his power.
The Hottentots, the mules, and the baggage having been landed, our
preparatory work began in earnest. It consisted in proving the sextants;
rating the watches; examining the compasses and boiling thermometers;
making tents and packsaddles; ordering supplies of beads, cloth, and
brass wire; and collecting servants and porters.
Sheikh Said bin Salem, our late Cafila Bashi, or caravan captain, was
appointed to that post again, as he wished to prove his character for
honour and honesty; and it now transpired that he had been ordered not
to go with me when I discovered the Victoria N'yanza. Bombay and his
brother Mabruki were bound to me of old, and the first to greet me on
my arrival here; while my old friends the Beluchs begged me to take
them again. The Hottentots, however, had usurped their place. I was
afterwards sorry for this, though, if I ever travel again, I shall
trust to none but natives, as the climate of Africa is too trying to
foreigners. Colonel Rigby, who had at heart as much as anybody the
success of the expedition, materially assisted me in accomplishing my
object--that men accustomed to discipline and a knowledge of English
honour and honesty should be enlisted, to give confidence to the rest
of the men; and he allowed me to select from his boat's crew any men I
could find who had served as men-of-war, and had seen active service in
India.
For this purpose my factotum, Bombay, prevailed on Baraka, Frij, and
Rahan--all of them old sailors, who, like himself, knew Hindustani--to
go with me. With this nucleus to start with, I gave orders that they
should look out for as many Wanguana (freed men--i.e., men emancipated
from slavery) as they could enlist, to carry loads, or do any other work
required of them, and to follow men in Africa wherever I wished, until
our arrival in Egypt, when I would send them back to Zanzibar. Each was
to receive one year's pay in advance, and the remainder when their work
was completed.
While this enlistment was going on here, Ladha Damji, the customs'
master, was appointed to collect a hundred pagazis (Wanyamuezi porters)
to carry each a load of cloth, beads, or brass wire to Kaze, as they do
for the ivory merchants. Meanwhile, at the invitation of the Admiral,
and to show him some sport in hippopotamus-shooting, I went with him in
a dhow over to Kusiki, near which there is a tidal lagoon, which at high
tide is filled with water, but at low water exposes sand islets covered
with mangrove shrub. In these islets we sought for the animals, knowing
they were keen to lie wallowing in the mire, and we bagged two. On my
return to Zanzibar, the Brisk sailed for the Mauritius, but fortune sent
Grant and myself on a different cruise. Sultan Majid, having heard that
a slaver was lying at Pangani, and being anxious to show his good faith
with the English, begged me to take command of one his vessels of war
and run it down. Accordingly, embarking at noon, as soon as the vessel
could be got ready, we lay-to that night at Tombat, with a view of
surprising the slaver next morning; but next day, on our arrival at
Pangani, we heard that she had merely put in to provision there three
days before, and had let immediately afterwards. As I had come so far, I
thought we might go ashore and look at the town, which was found greatly
improved since I last saw it, by the addition of several coralline
houses and a dockyard. The natives were building a dhow with Lindi and
Madagascar timber. On going ashore, I might add, we were stranded on the
sands, and, coming off again, nearly swamped by the increasing surf on
the bar of the river; but this was a trifle; all we thought of was to
return to Zanzibar, and hurry on our preparations there. This, however,
was not so easy: the sea current was running north, and the wind was too
light to propel our vessel against it; so, after trying in vain to make
way in her, Grant and I, leaving her to follow, took to a boat, after
giving the captain, who said we would get drowned, a letter, to say we
left the vessel against his advice.
We had a brave crew of young negroes to pull us; but, pull as they
would, the current was so strong that we feared, if we persisted, we
should be drawn into the broad Indian Ocean; so, changing our line, we
bore into the little coralline island, Maziwa, where, after riding over
some ugly coral surfs, we put in for the night. There we found, to our
relief, some fisherman, who gave us fish for our dinner, and directions
how to proceed.
Next morning, before daylight, we trusted to the boat and our good luck.
After passing, without landmarks to guide us, by an intricate channel,
through foaming surfs, we arrived at Zanzibar in the night, and found
that the vessel had got in before us.
Colonel Rigby now gave me a most interesting paper, with a map attached
to it, about the Nile and the Mountains of the Moon. It was written
by Lieutenant Wilford, from the "Purans" of the Ancient Hindus. As it
exemplifies, to a certain extent, the supposition I formerly arrived at
concerning the Mountains of the Moon being associated with the country
of the Moon, I would fain draw the attention of the reader of my travels
to the volume of the "Asiatic Researches" in which it was published. [5]
It is remarkable that the Hindus have christened the source of the Nile
Amara, which is the name of a country at the north-east corner of the
Victoria N'yanza. This, I think, shows clearly, that the ancient Hindus
must have had some kind of communication with both the northern and
southern ends of the Victoria N'yanza.
Having gone to work again, I found that Sheikh Said had brought ten men,
four of whom were purchased for one hundred dollars, which I had to pay;
Bombay, Baraka, Frij, and Rahan had brought twenty-six more, all freed
men; while the Sultan Majid, at the suggestion of Colonel Rigby, gave me
thirty-four men more, who were all raw labourers taken from his gardens.
It was my intention to have taken one hundred of this description of
men throughout the whole journey; but as so many could not be found in
Zanzibar, I still hoped to fill up the complement in Unyamuezi, the
land of the Moon, from the large establishments of the Arab merchants
residing there. The payment of these men's wages for the first year, as
well as the terms of the agreement made with them, by the kind consent
of Colonel Rigby were now entered in the Consular Office books, as a
security to both parties, and a precaution against disputes on the way.
Any one who saw the grateful avidity with which they took the money,
and the warmth with which they pledged themselves to serve me faithfully
through all dangers and difficulties, would, had he had no dealings with
such men before, have thought that I had a first-rate set of followers.
I lastly gave Sheikh Said a double-barrelled rifle by Blissett, and
distributed fifty carbines among the seniors of the expedition, with the
condition that they would forfeit them to others more worthy if they did
not behave well, but would retain possession of them for ever if they
carried them through the journey to my satisfaction.
On the 21st, as everything was ready on the island, I sent Sheikh Said
and all the men, along with the Hottentots, mules, and baggage, off in
dhows to Bagamoyo, on the opposite mainland. Colonel Rigby, with Captain
Grant and myself, then called on the Sultan, to bid him adieu, when
he graciously offered me, as a guard of honour to escort me through
Uzaramo, one jemadar and twenty-five Beluch soldiers. These I accepted,
more as a government security in that country against the tricks of the
natives, than for any accession they made to our strength. His highness
then places his 22-gun corvette, "Secundra Shah," at our disposal, and
we went all three over to Bagamoyo, arriving on the 25th. Immediately on
landing, Ladha and Sheikh Said showed us into a hut prepared for us, and
all things looked pretty well. Ladha's hundred loads of beads, cloths,
and brass wire were all tied up for the march, and seventy-five pagazis
(porters from the Moon country) had received their hire to carry these
loads to Kaze in the land of the Moon. Competition, I found, had raised
these men's wages, for I had to pay, to go even as far as Kaze, nine and
a quarter dollars a-head!--as Masudi and some other merchants were bound
on the same line as myself, and all were equally in a hurry to be off
and avoid as much as possible the famine we knew we should have to fight
through at this late season. Little troubles, of course, must always be
expected, else these blacks would not be true negroes. Sheikh Said now
reported it quite impossible to buy anything at a moderate rate; for, as
I was a "big man," I ought to "pay a big price;" and my men had all been
obliged to fight in the bazaar before they could get even tobacco at the
same rate as other men, because they were the servants of the big man,
who could afford to give higher wages than any one else. The Hottentots,
too, began to fall sick, which my Wanguana laughingly attributed to want
of grog to keep their spirits up, as these little creatures, the "Tots,"
had frequently at Zanzibar, after heavy potations, boasted to the more
sober free men, that they "were strong, because they could stand plenty
drink." The first step now taken was to pitch camp under large shady
mango-trees, and to instruct every man in his particular duty. At the
same time, the Wanguana, who had carbines, were obliged to be drilled
in their use and formed into companies, with captains of ten, headed by
General Baraka, who was made commander-in-chief.
On the 30th September, as things were looking more orderly, I sent
forward half of the property, and all the men I had then collected, to
Ugeni, a shamba, or garden, two miles off; and on the 2nd October, after
settling with Ladha for my "African money," as my pagazis were completed
to a hundred and one, we wished Rigby adieu, and all assembled together
at Ugeni, which resembles the richest parts of Bengal.
Chapter II. Uzaramo
The Nature of the Country--The Order of March--The Beginning of
our Taxation--Sultan Lion's Claw, and Sultan Monkey's Tail--The
Kingani--Jealousies and Difficulties in the Camp--The Murderer of M.
Maizan.
We were now in U-za-Ramo, which may mean the country of Ramo, though I
have never found any natives who could enlighten me on the derivation of
this obviously triple word. The extent of the country, roughly speaking,
stretches from the coast to the junction or bifurcation of the Kingani
and its upper branch the Mgeta river, westwards; and from the Kingani,
north, to the Lufigi river, south; though in the southern portions
several subtribes have encroached upon the lands. There are no hills in
Uzaramo; but the land in the central line, formed like a ridge between
the two rivers, furrow fashion, consists of slightly elevated flats and
terraces, which, in the rainy season, throw off their surplus waters
to the north and south by nullahs into these rivers. The country is
uniformly well covered with trees and large grasses, which, in the rainy
season, are too thick, tall, and green to be pleasant; though in the
dry season, after the grasses have been burnt, it is agreeable enough,
though not pretty, owing to the flatness of the land. The villages
are not large or numerous, but widely spread, consisting generally
of conical grass huts, while others are gable-ended, after the
coast-fashion--a small collection of ten or twenty comprising one
village. Over these villages certain headmen, titled Phanze, hold
jurisdiction, who take black-mail from travellers with high presumption
when they can. Generally speaking, they live upon the coast, and call
themselves Diwans, headsmen, and subjects of the Sultan Majid; but
they no sooner hear of the march of a caravan than they transpose their
position, become sultans in their own right, and levy taxes accordingly.
The Wazaramo are strictly agriculturists; they have no cows, and but few
goats. They are of low stature and thick set and their nature tends to
the boisterous. Expert slavehunters, they mostly clothe themselves by
the sale of their victims on the coast, though they do business by the
sale of goats and grain as well. Nowhere in the interior are natives so
well clad as these creatures. In dressing up their hair, and otherwise
smearing their bodies with ochreish clay, they are great dandies. They
always keep their bows and arrows, which form their national arm, in
excellent order, the latter well poisoned, and carried in quivers nicely
carved. To intimidate a caravan and extort a hongo or tax, I have seen
them drawn out in line as if prepared for battle; but a few soft words
were found sufficient to make them all withdraw and settle the matter at
issue by arbitration in some appointed place. A few men without property
can cross their lands fearlessly, though a single individual with
property would stand no chance, for they are insatiable thieves. But
little is seen of these people on the journey, as the chiefs take their
taxes by deputy, partly out of pride, and partly because they think they
can extort more by keeping in the mysterious distance. At the same
time, the caravan prefers camping in the jungles beyond the villages
to mingling with the inhabitants, where rows might be engendered.
We sometimes noticed Albinos, with greyish-blue eyes and light
straw-coloured hair. Not unfrequently we would pass on the track side
small heaps of white ashes, with a calcined bone or two among them.
These, we were told, were the relics of burnt witches. The caravan
track we had now to travel on leads along the right bank of the Kingani
valley, overlooking Uzegura, which, corresponding with Uzaramo, only on
the other side of the Kigani, extends northwards to the Pangani river,
and is intersected in the centre by the Wami river, of which more
hereafter.
Starting on a march with a large mixed caravan, consisting of 1 corporal
and 9 privates, Hottentots--1 jemadar and 25 privates, Beluchs--1 Arab
Cafila Bashi and 75 freed slaves--1 Kirangozi, or leader, and 100 negro
porters--12 mules untrained, 3 donkeys, and 22 goats--one could hardly
expect to find everybody in his place at the proper time for breaking
ground; but, at the same time, it could hardly be expected that ten men,
who had actually received their bounty-money, and had sworn fidelity,
should give one the slip the very first day. Such, however, was the
case. Ten out of the thirty-six given by the Sultan ran away, because
they feared that the white men, whom they believed to be cannibals, were
only taking them into the interior to eat them; and one pagazi, more
honest than the freed men, deposited his pay upon the ground, and ran
away too. Go we must, however; for one desertion is sure to lead to
more; and go we did. Our procession was in this fashion: The Kirangozi,
with a load on his shoulder, led the way, flag in hand, followed by the
pagazis carrying spears of bows and arrows in their hands, and bearing
their share of the baggage in the shape either of bolster-shaped loads
of cloth and beads covered with matting, each tied into the fork of a
three-pronged stick, or else coils of brass or copper wire tied in even
weights to each end of sticks which they laid on the shoulder; then
helter-skelter came the Wanguana, carrying carbines in their hands, and
boxes, bundles, tents, cooking-pots--all the miscellaneous property--on
their heads; next the Hottentots, dragging the refractory mules laden
with ammunition-boxes, but very lightly, to save the animals for the
future; and, finally, Sheikh Said and the Beluch escort; while the
goats, sick women, and stragglers, brought up the rear. From first to
last, some of the sick Hottentots rode the hospital donkeys, allowing
the negroes to tug their animals; for the smallest ailment threw them
broadcast on their backs. In a little while we cleared from the rich
gardens, mango clumps, and cocoa-but trees, which characterise the
fertile coast-line. After traversing fields of grass well clothed with
green trees, we arrived at the little settlement of Bomani, where camp
was formed, and everybody fairly appointed to his place. The process of
camp-forming would be thus: Sheikh Said, with Bombay under him, issues
cloths to the men for rations at the rate of one-fourth load a-day
(about 15 lb.) amongst 165; the Hottentots cook our dinners and their
own, or else lie rolling on the ground overcome with fatigue;
the Beluchs are supposed to guard the camp, but prefer gossip and
brightening their arms. Some men are told off to look after the mules,
donkeys, and goats, whilst out grazing; the rest have to pack the kit,
pitch our tents, cut boughs for huts, and for fencing in the camp--a
thing rarely done, by-the-by. After cooking, when the night has set
it, the everlasting dance begins, attended with clapping of hands and
jingling small bells strapped to the legs--the whole being accompanied
by a constant repetition of senseless words, which stand in place of
the song to the negroes; for song they have none, being mentally
incapacitated for musical composition, though as timists they are not to
be surpassed.
What remains to be told is the daily occupation of Captain Grant,
myself, and our private servants. Beginning at the foot: Rahan, a very
peppery little negro, who had served in a British man-of-war at the
taking of Rangoon, was my valet; and Baraka, who had been trained much
in the same manner, but had seen engagements at Multan, was Captain
Grant's. They both knew Hindustani; but while Rahan's services at
sea had been short, Baraka had served nearly all his life with
Englishmen--was the smartest and most intelligent negro I ever saw--was
invaluable to Colonel Rigby as a detector of slave-traders, and enjoyed
his confidence completely--so much so, that he said, on parting with
him, that he did not know where he should be able to find another man
to fill his post. These two men had now charge of our tents and personal
kit, while Baraka was considered the general of the Wanguana forces, and
Rahan a captain of ten.
My first occupation was to map the country. This is done by timing the
rate of march with a watch, taking compass-bearings along the road, or
on any conspicuous marks--as, for instance, hills off it--and by noting
the watershed--in short, all topographical objects. On arrival in
camp every day came the ascertaining, by boiling a thermometer, of the
altitude of the station above the sea-level; of the latitude of the
station by the meridian altitude of the star taken with a sextant; and
of the compass variation by azimuth. Occasionally there was the fixing
of certain crucial stations, at intervals of sixty miles or so, by
lunar observations, or distances of the moon either from the sun or
from certain given stars, for determining the longitude, by which the
original-timed course can be drawn out with certainty on the map by
proportion. Should a date be lost, you can always discover it by taking
a lunar distance and comparing it with the Nautical Almanac, by noting
the time when a star passes the meridian if your watch is right, or by
observing the phases of the moon, or her rising or setting, as compared
with the Nautical Almanac. The rest of my work, besides sketching and
keeping a diary, which was the most troublesome of all, consisted in
making geological and zoological collections. With Captain Grant rested
the botanical collections and thermometrical registers. He also
boiled one of the thermometers, kept the rain-gauge, and undertook the
photography; but after a time I sent the instruments back, considering
this work too severe for the climate, and he tried instead sketching
with watercolours--the results of which form the chief part of the
illustrations in this book. The rest of our day went in breakfasting
after the march was over--a pipe, to prepare us for rummaging the fields
and villages to discover their contents for scientific purposes--dinner
close to sunset, and tea and pipe before turning in at night.
A short stage brought us to Ikamburu, included in the district of Nzasa,
where there is another small village presided over by Phanze Khombe la
Simba, meaning Claw of Lion. He, immediately after our arrival, sent us
a present of a basket of rice, value one dollar, of course expecting
a return--for absolute generosity is a thing unknown to the negro. Not
being aware of the value of the offering, I simply requested the Sheikh
to give him four yards of American sheeting, and thought no more about
the matter, until presently I found the cloth returned. The "Sultan"
could not think of receiving such a paltry present from me, when on the
former journey he got so much; if he showed this cloth at home, nobody
would believe him, but would say he took much more and concealed it from
his family, wishing to keep all his goods to himself. I answered that my
footing in the country had been paid for on the last journey, and unless
he would accept me as any other common traveller, he had better walk
away; but the little Sheikh, a timid, though very gentlemanly creature,
knowing the man, and dreading the consequences of too high a tone,
pleaded for him, and proposed as a fitting hongo, one dubuani, one
sahari, and eight yards merikani, as the American sheeting is called
here. This was pressed by the jemadar, and acceded to by myself, as the
very utmost I could afford. Lion's Claw, however, would not accept it;
it was too far below the mark of what he got last time. He therefore
returned the cloths to the Sheikh, as he could get no hearing from
myself, and retreated in high dudgeon, threatening the caravan with
a view of his terrible presence on the morrow. Meanwhile the little
Sheikh, who always carried a sword fully two-thirds the length of
himself, commenced casting bullets for his double-barrelled rifle,
ordered the Wanguana to load their guns, and came wheedling up to me for
one more cloth, as it was no use hazarding the expedition's safety for
four yards of cloth. This is a fair specimen of tax-gathering, within
twelve miles of the coast, by a native who claims the protection of
Zanzibar. We shall soon see what they are further on. The result of
experience is, that, ardent as the traveller is to see the interior
of Africa, no sooner has he dealings with the natives, than his whole
thoughts tend to discovering some road where he won't be molested, or a
short cut, but long march, to get over the ground.
Quite undisturbed, we packed and marched as usual, and soon passed Nzasa
close to the river, which is only indicated by a line of trees running
through a rich alluvial valley. We camped at the little settlement of
Kizoto, inhospitably presided over by Phanze Mukia ya Nyani or Monkey's
Tail, who no sooner heard of our arrival than he sent a demand for his
"rights." One dubani was issued, with orders than no one need approach
me again, unless he wanted to smell my powder. Two taxes in five miles
was a thing unheard of; and I heard no more about the matter, until
Bombay in the evening told me how Sheikh Said, fearing awkward
consequences, had settled to give two dubuani, one being taken from
his own store. Lion's Claw also turned up again, getting his cloths of
yesterday--one more being added from the Sheikh's stores--and he was
then advised to go off quietly, as I was a fire-eater whom nobody dared
approach after my orders had been issued. This was our third march in
Uzaramo; we had scarcely seen a man of the country, and had no excessive
desire to do so.
Deflecting from the serpentine course of the Kingani a little, we
crossed a small bitter rivulet, and entered on the elevated cultivation
of Kiranga Ranga, under Phanze Mkungu-pare, a very mild man, who,
wishing to give no offence, begged for a trifling present. He came in
person, and his manner having pleased us, I have him one sahari, four
yards merikani, and eight yards kiniki, which pleased our friend so much
that he begged us to consider his estate our own, even to the extent of
administering his justice, should any Mzaramo be detected stealing from
us. Our target-practice, whilst instructing the men, astonished him not
a little, and produced an exclamation that, with so many guns, we need
fear nothing, go where we would. From this place a good view is obtained
of Uzegura. Beyond the flat alluvial valley of the Kingani, seven to
eight miles broad, the land rises suddenly to a table-land of no great
height, on which trees grow in profusion. In fact it appeared, as far as
the eye could reach, the very counterpart of that where we stood, with
the exception of a small hill, very distant, called Phongue.
A very welcome packet of quinine and other medicines reached us here
from Rigby, who, hearing our complaints that the Hottentots could
only be kept alive by daily potions of brandy and quinine, feared our
supplies were not enough, and sent us more.
We could not get the Sultan's men to chum with the Wanguana proper; they
were shy, like wild animals--built their huts by themselves--and ate and
talked by themselves, for they felt themselves inferiors; and I had
to nominate one of their number to be their chief, answerable for the
actions of the whole. Being in the position of "boots" to the camp,
the tending of goats fell to their lot. Three goats were missing this
evening, which the goatherds could not account for, nor any of their
men. Suspecting that they were hidden for a private feast, I told their
chief to inquire farther, and report. The upshot was, that the man was
thrashed for intermeddling, and came back only with his scars. This was
a nice sort of insubordination, which of course could not be endured.
The goatherd was pinioned and brought to trial, for the double
offence of losing the goats and rough-handling his chief. The tricking
scoundrel--on quietly saying he could not be answerable for other men's
actions if they stole goats, and he could not recognise a man as his
chief whom the Sheikh, merely by a whim of his own, thought proper to
appoint--was condemned to be tied up for the night with the prospect of
a flogging in the morning. Seeing his fate, the cunning vagabond said,
"Now I do see it was by your orders the chief was appointed, and not
by a whim of Sheikh Said's; I will obey him for the future;" and these
words were hardly pronounced than the three missing goats rushed like
magic into camp, nobody of course knowing where they came from.
Skirting along the margin of the rising ground overlooking the river,
through thick woods, cleared in places for cultivation, we arrived at
Thumba Lhere. The chief here took a hongo of three yards merikani and
two yards kiniki without much fuss, for he had no power. The pagazis
struck, and said they would not move from this unless I gave them one
fundo or ten necklaces of beads each daily, in lieu of rations, as they
were promised by Ladha on the coast that I would do so as soon as they
had made four marches. This was an obvious invention, concocted to try
my generosity, for I had given the kirangozi a goat, which is customary,
to "make the journey prosperous"--had suspended a dollar to his neck in
recognition of his office, and given him four yards merikani, that he
might have a grand feast with his brothers; while neither the Sheikh,
myself, nor any one else in the camp, had heard of such a compact. With
high words the matter dropped, African fashion.
The pagazis would not start at the appointed time, hoping to enforce
their demands of last night; so we took the lead and started, followed
by the Wanguana. Seeing this, the pagazis cried out with one accord:
"The master is gone, leaving the responsibility of his property in our
hands; let us follow, let us follow, for verily he is our father;" and
all came hurrying after us. Here the river, again making a bend, is lost
to sight, and we marched through large woods and cultivated fields to
Muhugue, observing, as we passed long, the ochreish colour of the earth,
and numerous pits which the copal-diggers had made searching for their
much-valued gum. A large coast-bound caravan, carrying ivory tusks with
double-toned bells suspended to them, ting-tonging as they moved along,
was met on the way; and as some of the pagazis composing it were men who
had formerly taken me to the Victoria N'yanza, warm recognitions passed
between us. The water found here turned our brandy and tea as black as
ink. The chief, being a man of small pretensions, took only one sahari
and four yards merikani.
Instead of going on to the next village we halted in this jungly
place for the day, that I might comply with the desire of the Royal
Geographical Society to inspect Muhonyera, and report if there were
really any indications of a "raised sea-beach" there, such as their maps
indicate. An inspection brought me to the conclusion that no mind but
one prone to discovering sea-beaches in the most unlikely places
could have supposed for a moment that one existed here. The form and
appearance of the land are the same as we have seen everywhere since
leaving Bomani--a low plateau subtended by a bank cut down by the
Kingani river, and nothing more. There are no pebbles; the soil is rich
reddish loam, well covered with trees, bush, and grass, in which some
pigs and antelopes are found. From the top of this enbankment we gain
the first sight of the East Coast Range, due west of us, represented
by the high elephant's-back hill, Mkambaku, in Usagara, which, joining
Uraguru, stretches northwards across the Pangani river to Usumbara and
the Kilimandjaro, and southwards, with a westerly deflection, across the
Lufiji to Southern N'yassa. What course the range takes beyond those two
extremes, the rest of the world knows as well as I. Another conspicuous
landmark here is Kidunda (the little hill), which is the southernmost
point of a low chain of hills, also tending northwards, and representing
an advance-guard to the higher East Coast Range in its rear. At night,
as we had no local "sultans" to torment us, eight more men of sultan
Majid's donation ran away, and, adding injury to injury, took with them
all our goats, fifteen in number. This was a sad loss. We could keep
ourselves on guinea-fowls or green pigeons, doves, etc.; but the
Hottentots wanted nourishment much more than ourselves, and as their
dinner always consisted of what we left, "short-commons" was the fate in
store for them. The Wanguana, instead of regarding these poor creatures
as soldiers, treated them like children; and once, as a diminutive
Tot--the common name they go by--was exerting himself to lift his pack
and place it on his mule, a fine Herculean Mguana stepped up behind,
grasped Tot, pack and all, in his muscular arms, lifted the whole over
his head, paraded the Tot about, struggling for release, and put him
down amidst the laughter of the camp, then saddled his mule and patted
him on the back.
After sending a party of Beluch to track down the deserters and goats,
in which they were not successful, we passed through the village of
Sagesera, and camped one mile beyond, close to the river. Phanze Kirongo
(which means Mr Pit) here paid us his respects, with a presentation of
rice. In return he received four yards merikani and one dubuani, which
Bombay settled, as the little Sheikh, ever done by the sultans, pleaded
indisposition, to avoid the double fire he was always subjected to
on these occasions, by the sultans grasping on the one side, and my
resisting on the other; for I relied on my strength, and thought it
very inadvisable to be generous with my cloth to the prejudice of future
travellers, by decreasing the value of merchandise, and increasing
proportionately the expectations of these negro chiefs. From the top
of the bank bordering on the valley, a good view was obtainable of the
Uraguru hills, and the top of a very distant cone to its northward;
but I could see no signs of any river joining the kingani on its left,
though on the former expedition I heard that the Mukondokua river,
which was met with in Usagara, joined the Kingani close to Sagesera, and
actually formed its largest head branch. Neither could Mr Pit inform
me what became of the Mukondokua, as the Wazaramo are not given to
travelling. He had heard of it from the traders, but only knew himself
of one river beside the Kingani. It was called Wami in Uegura, and
mouths at Utondue, between the ports of Whindi and Saadani. To try and
check the desertions of Sultan Majid's men, I advised--ordering was
of no use--that their camp should be broken up, and they should be
amalgamated with the Wanguana; but it was found that the two would not
mix. In fact, the whole native camp consisted of so many clubs of two,
four, six, or ten men, who originally belonged to one village or one
master, or were united by some other family tie which they preferred
keeping intact; so they cooked together, ate together, slept together,
and sometimes mutinied together. The amalgamation having failed, I wrote
some emanicipation tickets, called the Sultan's men all up together,
selected the best, gave them these tickets, announced that their pay
and all rewards would be placed for the future on the same conditions as
those of the Wanguana, and as soon as I saw any signs of improvement in
the rest, they would all be treated in the same manner; but should they
desert, they would find my arm long enough to arrest them on the coast
and put them into prison.
During this march we crossed three deep nullahs which drain the Uzaramo
plateau, and arrived at the Makutaniro, or junction of this line with
those of Mboamaji and Konduchi, which traverse central Uzaramo, and
which, on my former return journey, I went down. The gum-copal diggings
here cease. The Dum palm is left behind; the large rich green-leaved
trees of the low plateau give place to the mimosa; and now, having
ascended the greater decline of the Kingani river, instead of being
confined by a bank, we found ourselves on flat open-park land, where
antelopes roam at large, buffalo and zebra are sometimes met with, and
guinea-fowl are numerous. The water for the camp is found in the river,
but supplies of grain come from the village of Kipora farther on.
A march through the park took us to a camp by a pond, from which, by
crossing the Kingani, rice and provisions for the men were obtained on
the opposite bank. One can seldom afford to follow wild animals on the
line of march, otherwise we might have bagged some antelopes to-day,
which, scared by the interminable singing, shouting, bell-jingling,
horn-blowing, and other such merry noises of the moving caravan, could
be seen disappearing in the distance.
Leaving the park, we now entered the riches part of Uzaramo, affording
crops as fine as any part of India. Here it was, in the district of
Dege la Mhora, that the first expedition to this country, guided by a
Frenchman, M. Maizan, came to a fatal termination, that gentleman having
been barbarously murdered by the sub-chief Hembe. The cause of the
affair was distinctly explained to me by Hembe himself, who, with
his cousin Darunga, came to call upon me, presuming, as he was not
maltreated by the last expedition, that the matter would now be
forgotten. The two men were very great friends of the little Sheikh,
and as a present was expected, which I should have to pay, we all talked
cheerfully and confidentially, bringing in the fate of Maizan for no
other reason than to satisfy curiosity. Hembe, who lives in the centre
of an almost impenetrable thicket, confessed that he was the murderer,
but said the fault did not rest with him, as he merely carried out the
instructions of his father, Mzungera, who, a Diwan on the coast, sent
him a letter directing his actions. Thus it is proved that the plot
against Maizan was concocted on the coast by the Arab merchants--most
likely from the same motive which has induced one rival merchant to
kill another as the best means of checking rivalry or competition.
When Arabs--and they are the only class of people who would do such
a deed--found a European going into the very middle of their secret
trading-places, where such large profits were to be obtained, they would
never suppose that the scientific Maizan went for any other purpose than
to pry into their ivory stores, bring others into the field after him,
and destroy their monopoly. The Sultan of Zanzibar, in those days, was
our old ally Said Said, commonly called the Emam of Muscat; and our
Consul, Colonel Hamerton, had been M. Maizan's host as long as he lived
upon the coast. Both the Emam and Consul were desirous of seeing the
country surveyed, and did everything in their power to assist Maizan,
the former even appointing the Indian Musa to conduct him safely as
far as Unyamuezi; but their power was not found sufficient to damp the
raging fire of jealousy in the ivory-trader's heart. Musa commenced the
journey with Maizan, and they travelled together a march or two,
when one of Maizan's domestic establishment fell sick and stopped his
progress. Musa remained with him eight or ten days, to his own loss in
trade and expense in keeping up a large establishment, and then they
parted by mutual consent, Maizan thinking himself quite strong enough
to take care of himself. This separation was, I believe, poor Maizan's
death-blow. His power, on the Emam's side, went with Musa's going, and
left the Arabs free to carry out their wicked wills.
The presents I had to give here were one sahari and eight yards merikani
to Hembe, and the same to Darunga, for which they gave a return in
grain. Still following close to the river--which, unfortunately, is so
enshrouded with thick bush that we could seldom see it--a few of the
last villages in Uzaramo were passed. Here antelopes reappear amongst
the tall mimosa, but we let them alone in prosecution of the survey, and
finally encamped opposite the little hill of Kidunda, which lying on the
left bank of the Kingani, stretches north, a little east, into Uzegura.
The hill crops out through pisolitic limestone, in which marine fossils
were observable. It would be interesting to ascertain whether this lime
formation extends down the east coast of Africa from the Somali country,
where also, on my first expedition, I found marine shells in the
limestone, especially as a vast continuous band of limestone is known
to extend from the Tagus, through Egypt and the Somali country, to the
Burrumputra. To obtain food it was necessary here to ferry the river and
purchase from the Wazaramo, who, from fear of the passing caravans,
had left their own bank and formed a settlement immediately under this
pretty little hill--rendered all the more enchanting to our eyes, as it
was the first we had met since leaving the sea-coast. The Diwan, or head
man, was a very civil creature; he presented us freely with two fine
goats--a thing at that time we were very much in want of--and took, in
return, without any comments, one dubani and eight yards merikani.
The next day, as we had no further need of our Beluch escort, a halt
was made to enable me to draw up a "Progress Report," and pack all
the specimens of natural history collected on the way, for the Royal
Geographical Society. Captain Grant, taking advantage of the spare time,
killed for the larder two buck antelopes, and the Tots brought in, in
high excited triumph, a famous pig.
This march, which declines from the Kingani a little, leads through
rolling, jungly ground, full of game, to the tributary stream Mgeta. It
is fordable in the dry season, but has to be bridged by throwing a tree
across it in the wet one. Rising in the Usagara hills to the west of the
hog-backed Mkambaku, this branch intersects the province of Ukhutu in
the centre, and circles round until it unites with the Kingani about
four miles north of the ford. Where the Kingani itself rises, I never
could find out; though I have heard that its sources lies in a gurgling
spring on the eastern face of the Mkambaku, by which account the Mgeta
is made the longer branch of the two.
Chapter III. Usagara
Nature of the Country--Resumption of the March--A Hunt--Bombay
and Baraka--The Slave-Hunters--The Ivory-Merchants--Collection of
Natural-History Specimens--A Frightened Village--Tracking a Mule.
Under U-Sagara, or, as it might be interpreted, U-sa-Gara--country of
Gara--is included all the country lying between the bifurcation of
the Kingani and Mgeta rivers east, and Ugogo, the first country on the
interior plateau west,--a distance of a hundred miles. On the north it
is bounded by the Mukondokua, or upper course of the Wami river and on
the south by the Ruaha, or northern great branch of the Lufiji river. It
forms a link of the great East Coast Range; but though it is generally
comprehended under the single name Usagara, many sub-tribes occupy and
apply their own names to portions of it; as, for instance, the people
on whose ground we now stood at the foot of the hills, are Wa-Khutu,
and their possessions consequently are U-Khutu, which is by far the best
producing land hitherto alluded to since leaving the sea-coast line. Our
ascent by the river, though quite imperceptible to the eye, has been 500
feet. From this level the range before us rises in some places to 5000
to 6000 feet, not as one grand mountain, but in two detached lines,
lying at an angle of 45 degrees from N.E. to S.W., and separated one
from the other by elevated valleys, tables, and crab-claw spurs of hill
which incline towards the flanking rivers. The whole having been thrown
up by volcanic action, is based on a strong foundation of granite and
other igneous rocks, which are exposed in many places in the shape of
massive blocks; otherwise the hill-range is covered in the upper part
with sandstone, and in the bottoms with alluvial clay. This is the
superficial configuration of the land as it strikes the eye; but,
knowing the elevation of the interior plateau to be only 2500 feet above
the sea immediately on the western flank of these hills, whilst the
breath of the chain is 100 miles, the mean slope of incline of the basal
surface must be on a gradual rise of twenty feet per mile. The hill tops
and sides, where not cultivated, are well covered with bush and small
trees, amongst which the bamboo is conspicuous; whilst the bottoms,
having a soil deeper and richer, produce fine large fig-trees of
exceeding beauty, the huge calabash, and a variety of other trees. Here,
in certain places where water is obtainable throughout the year, and
wars, or slave-hunts more properly speaking, do not disturb the industry
of the people, cultivation thrives surprisingly; but such a boon is
rarely granted them. It is in consequence of these constantly-recurring
troubles that the majority of the Wasagara villages are built on
hill-spurs, where the people can the better resist attack, or, failing,
disperse and hide effectually. The normal habitation is the small
conical hut of grass. These compose villages, varying in number
according to the influence of their head men. There are, however, a few
mud villages on the table-lands, each built in a large irregular square
of chambers with a hollow yard in the centre, known as tembe.
As to the people of these uplands, poor, meagre-looking wretches, they
contrast unfavourably with the lowlanders on both sides of them. Dingy
in colour, spiritless, shy, and timid, they invite attack in a country
where every human being has a market value, and are little seen by the
passing caravan. In habits they are semi-pastoral agriculturalists, and
would be useful members of society were they left alone to cultivate
their own possessions, rich and beautiful by nature, but poor and
desolate by force of circumstance. Some of the men can afford a cloth,
but the greater part wear an article which I can only describe as a
grass kilt. In one or two places throughout the passage of these hills
a caravan may be taxed, but if so, only to a small amount; the villagers
more frequently fly to the hill-tops as soon as the noise of the
advancing caravan is heard, and no persuasions will bring them down
again, so much ground have they, from previous experience, to fear
treachery. It is such sad sights, and the obvious want of peace and
prosperity, that weary the traveller, and make him every think of
pushing on to his journey's end from the instant he enters Africa until
he quits the country.
Knowing by old experience that the beautiful green park in the fork of
these rivers abounded in game of great variety and in vast herds, where
no men are ever seen except some savage hunters sitting in the trees
with poisoned arrows, or watching their snares and pitfalls, I had all
along determined on a hunt myself, to feed and cheer the men, and also
to collect some specimens for the home museums. In the first object we
succeeded well, as "the bags" we made counted two brindled gnu, four
water-boc, one pallah-boc, and one pig,--enough to feed abundantly the
whole camp round. The feast was all the better relished as the men knew
well that no Arab master would have given them what he could sell; for
if a slave shot game, the animals would be the master's, to be sold bit
by bit among the porters, and compensated from the proceeds of their
pay. In the variety and number of our game we were disappointed, partly
because so many wounded got away, and partly because we could not find
what we knew the park to contain, in addition to what we killed--namely,
elephants, rhinoceros, giraffes, buffaloes, zebra, and many varieties of
antelopes, besides lions and hyenas. In fact, "the park," as well as all
the adjacent land at the foot of the hills, is worth thinking of, with a
view to a sporting tour as well as scientific investigation.
A circumstance arose here, which, insignificant though it appeared,
is worth noting, to show how careful one must be in understanding and
dealing with negro servants. Quite unaccountably to myself, the general
of my Wanguana, Baraka, after showing much discontent with his position
as head of Captain Grant's establishment, became so insolent, that it
was necessary to displace him, and leave him nothing to do but look
after the men. This promoted Frij, who enjoyed his rise as much as
Baraka, if his profession was to be believed, enjoyed his removal from
that office. Though he spoke in this manner, still I knew that there was
something rankling in his mind which depressed his spirits as long as he
remained with us, though what it was I could not comprehend, nor did I
fully understand it till months afterwards. It was ambition, which was
fast making a fiend of him; and had I known it, he would, and with great
advantage too, have been dismissed upon the spot. The facts were these:
He was exceedingly clever, and he knew it. His command over men was
surprising. At Zanzibar he was the Consul's right-hand man: he ranked
above Bombay in the consular boat's crew, and became a terror even to
the Banyans who kept slaves. He seemed, in fact, in his own opinion, to
have imbibed all the power of the British Consul who had instructed him.
Such a man was an element of discord in our peaceful caravan. He was far
too big-minded for the sphere which he occupied; and my surprise now
is that he ever took service, knowing what he should, at the time of
enlistment, have expected, that no man would be degraded to make room
for him. But this was evidently what he had expected, though he dared
not say it. He was jealous of Bombay, because he thought his position
over the money department was superior to his own over the men; and he
had seen Bombay, on one occasion, pay a tax in Uzaramo--a transaction
which would give him consequence with the native chiefs. Of Sheikh Said
he was equally jealous, for a like reason; and his jealousy increased
the more that I found it necessary to censure the timidity of this
otherwise worthy little man. Baraka thought, in his conceit, that he
could have done all things better, and gained signal fame, had he been
created chief. Perhaps he thought he had gained the first step towards
this exalted rank, and hence his appearing very happy for this time.
I could not see through so deep a scheme and only hoped that he would
shortly forget, in the changes of the marching life, those beautiful
wives he had left behind him, which Bombay in his generosity tried to
persuade me was the cause of his mental distraction.
Our halt at the ford here was cut short by the increasing sickness of
the Hottentots, and the painful fact that Captain Grant was seized with
fever. [6] We had to change camp to the little village of Kiruru, where,
as rice was grown--an article not to be procured again on this side of
Unyamuezi--we stopped a day to lay in supplies of this most valuable of
all travelling food. Here I obtained the most consistent accounts of the
river system which, within five days' journey, trends through Uzegura;
and I concluded, from what I heard, that there is no doubt of the
Mukondokua and Wami rivers being one and the same stream. My informants
were the natives of the settlement, and they all concurred in saying
that the Kingani above the junction is called the Rufu, meaning the
parent stream. Beyond it, following under the line of the hills, at one
day's journey distant, there is a smaller river called Msonge. At
an equal distance beyond it, another of the same size is known as
Lungerengeri; and a fourth river is the Wami, which mouths in the sea at
Utondue, between the ports of Whindi and Saadami. In former years, the
ivory-merchants, ever seeking for an easy road for their trade, and
knowing they would have no hills to climb if they could only gain a
clear passage by this river from the interior plateau to the sea, made
friends with the native chiefs of Uzegura, and succeeded in establishing
it as a thoroughfare. Avarice, however, that fatal enemy to the negro
chiefs, made them overreach themselves by exorbitant demands of taxes.
Then followed contests for the right of appropriating the taxes, and the
whole ended in the closing of the road, which both parties were equally
anxious to keep open for their mutual gain. This foolish disruption
having at first only lasted for a while, the road was again opened and
again closed, for the merchants wanted an easy passage, and the native
chiefs desired cloths. But it was shut again; and now we heard of its
being for a third time opened, with what success the future only can
determine--for experience WILL not teach the negro, who thinks only for
the moment. Had they only sense to see, and patience to wait, the
whole trade of the interior would inevitably pass through their country
instead of Uzaramo; and instead of being poor in cloths, they would
be rich and well dressed like their neighbours. But the curse of Noah
sticks to these his grandchildren by Ham, and no remedy that has yet
been found will relieve them. They require a government like ours in
India; and without it, the slave trade will wipe them off the face of
the earth.
Now leaving the open parks of pretty acacias, we followed up the Mgazi
branch of the Mgeta, traversed large tree-jungles, where the tall
palm is conspicuous, and drew up under the lumpy Mkambaku, to find
a residence for the day. Here an Arab merchant, Khamis, bound for
Zanzibar, obliged us by agreeing for a few dollars to convey our recent
spoils in natural history to the coast.
My plans for the present were to reach Zungomero as soon as possible,
as a few days' halt would be required there to fix the longitude of the
eastern flank of the East Coast Range by astronomical observation;
but on ordering the morning's march, the porters--too well fed and
lazy--thought our marching-rate much too severe, and resolutely refused
to move. They ought to have made ten miles a-day, but preferred doing
five. Argument was useless, and I was reluctant to apply the stick,
as the Arabs would have done when they saw their porters trifling
with their pockets. Determining, however, not to be frustrated in this
puerile manner, I ordered the bugler to sound the march, and started
with the mules and coast-men, trusting to Sheikh and Baraka to bring on
the Wanyamuezi as soon as they could move them. The same day we crossed
the Mgazi where we found several Wakhutu spearing fish in the muddy
hovers of its banks.
We slept under a tree, and this morning found a comfortable residence
under the eaves of a capacious hut. The Wanyamuezi porters next came
in at their own time, and proved to us how little worth are orders in
a land where every man, in his own opinion, is a lord, and no laws
prevail. Zungomero, bisected by the Mgeta, lies on flat ground, in a
very pretty amphitheatre of hills, S. lat. 7° 26' 53", and E. long.
37° 36' 45". It is extremely fertile, and very populous, affording
everything that man can wish, even to the cocoa and papwa fruits;
but the slave-trade has almost depopulated it, and turned its once
flourishing gardens into jungles. As I have already said, the people who
possess these lands are cowardly by nature, and that is the reason why
they are so much oppressed. The Wasuahili, taking advantage of their
timidity, flock here in numbers to live upon the fruits of their
labours. The merchants on the coast, too, though prohibited by their
Sultan from interfering with the natural course of trade, send their
hungry slaves, as touters, to entice all approaching caravans to
trade with their particular ports, authorising the touters to pay such
premiums as may be necessary for the purpose. Where they came from we
could not ascertain; but during our residence, a large party of the
Wasuahili marched past, bound for the coast, with one hundred head of
cattle, fifty slaves in chains, and as many goats. Halts always end
disastrously in Africa, giving men time for mischief;--and here was an
example of it. During the target-practice, which was always instituted
on such occasions to give confidence to our men, the little pepper-box
Rahan, my head valet, challenged a comrade to a duel with carbines.
Being stopped by those around him, he vented his wrath in terrible
oaths, and swung about his arms, until his gun accidentally went off,
and blew his middle finger off.
Baraka next, with a kind of natural influence of affinity when a row is
commenced, made himself so offensive to Bombay, as to send him running
to me so agitated with excitement that I thought him drunk. He seized my
hands, cried, and implored me to turn him off. What could this mean?
I could not divine; neither could he explain, further than that he had
come to a determination that I must send either him or Baraka to the
right-about; and his first idea was that he, and not Baraka, should be
the victim. Baraka's jealousy about his position had not struck me yet.
I called them both together and asked what quarrel they had, but could
not extract the truth. Baraka protested that he had never given, either
by word or deed, the slightest cause of rupture; he only desired the
prosperity of the march, and that peace should reign throughout the
camp; but Bombay was suspicious of him, and malignantly abused him, for
what reason Baraka could not tell. When I spoke of this to Bombay, like
a bird fascinated by the eye of a viper, he shrank before the slippery
tongue of his opponent, and could only say, "No, Sahib--oh no, that is
not it; you had better turn me off, for his tongue is so long, and mine
so short, you never will believe me." I tried to make them friends,
hoping it was merely a passing ill-wind which would soon blow over; but
before long the two disputants were tonguing it again, and I distinctly
heard Bombay ordering Baraka out of camp as he could not keep from
intermeddling, saying, which was true, he had invited him to join the
expedition, that his knowledge of Hindustani might be useful to us; he
was not wanted for any other purpose, and unless he was satisfied with
doing that alone, we would get on much better without him. To this
provocation Baraka mildly made the retort, "Pray don't put yourself in
a passion, nobody is hurting you, it is all in your own heart, which is
full of suspicions and jealousy without the slightest cause."
This complicated matters more than ever. I knew Bombay to be a generous,
honest man, entitled by his former services to be in the position he was
now holding as fundi, or supervisor in the camp. Baraka, who never
would have joined the expedition excepting through his invitation, was
indebted to him for the rank he now enjoyed--a command over seventy men,
a duty in which he might have distinguished himself as a most useful
accessory to the camp. Again I called the two together, and begged them
to act in harmony like brothers, noticing that there was no cause for
entertaining jealousy on either side, as every order rested with myself
to reward for merit or to punish. The relative position in the camp was
like that of the senior officers in India, Bombay representing the
Mulki lord, or Governor-General, and Baraka the Jungi lord, or
Commander-in-Chief. To the influence of this distinguished comparison
they both gave way, acknowledging myself their judge, and both
protesting that they wished to serve in peace and quietness for the
benefit of the march.
Zungomero is a terminus or junction of two roads leading to the
interior--one, the northern, crossing over the Goma Pass, and trenching
on the Mukondokua river, and the other crossing over the Mabruki Pass,
and edging on the Ruaha river. They both unite again at Ugogi, the
western terminus on the present great Unyamuezi line. On the former
expedition I went by the northern line and returned by the southern,
finding both equally easy, and, indeed, neither is worthy of special and
permanent preference. In fact, every season makes a difference in the
supply of water and provisions; and with every year, owing to incessant
wars, or rather slave-hunts, the habitations of the wretched inhabitants
become constantly changed--generally speaking, for the worse. Our first
and last object, therefore, as might be supposed, from knowing these
circumstances, was to ascertain, before mounting the hill-range, which
route would afford us the best facilities for a speedy march now. No
one, however, could or would advise us. The whole country on ahead,
especially Ugogo, was oppressed by drought and famine. To avoid this
latter country, then, we selected the southern route, as by doing so it
was hoped we might follow the course of the Ruaha river from Maroro
to Usenga and Usanga, and thence strike across to Unyanyembe, sweeping
clear of Ugogo.
With this determination, after despatching a third set of specimens,
consisting of large game animals, birds, snakes, insects, land
and freshwater shells, and a few rock specimens, of which one was
fossiliferous, we turned southwards, penetrating the forests which lie
between the greater range and the little outlying one. At the foot of
this is the Maji ya Wheta, a hot, deep-seated spring of fresh water,
which bubbles up through many apertures in a large dome-shaped heap
of soft lime--an accumulation obviously thrown up by the force of the
spring, as the rocks on either side of it are of igneous character.
We arrived at the deserted village of Kirengue. This was not an easy
go-ahead march, for the halt had disaffected both men and mules. Three
of the former bolted, leaving their loads upon the ground; and on the
line of march, one of the mules, a full-conditioned animal, gave up the
ghost after an eighteen hours' sickness. What his disease was I never
could ascertain; but as all the remaining animals died afterwards much
in the same manner, I may state for once and for all, that these attacks
commenced with general swelling, at first on the face, then down the
neck, along the belly and down the legs. It proved so obstinate that
fire had no effect upon it; and although we cut off the tails of some to
relieve them by bleeding, still they died.
In former days Kirengue was inhabited, and we reasonably hoped to find
some supplies for the jungly march before us. But we had calculated
without our host, for the slave-hunters had driven every vestige of
humanity away; and now, as we were delayed by our three loads behind,
there was nothing left but to send back and purchase more grain. Such
was one of the many days frittered away in do-nothingness.
This day, all together again, we rose the first spurs of the well-wooded
Usagara hills, amongst which the familiar bamboo was plentiful, and at
night we bivouacked in the jungle.
Rising betimes in the morning, and starting with a good will, we soon
reached the first settlements of Mbuiga, from which could be seen a
curious blue mountain, standing up like a giant overlooking all the
rest of the hills. The scenery here formed a strong and very pleasing
contrast to any we had seen since leaving the coast. Emigrant Waziraha,
who had been driven from their homes across the Kingani river by the
slave-hunters, had taken possession of the place, and disposed their
little conical-hut villages on the heights of the hill-spurs in such a
picturesque manner, that one could not help hoping they would here at
least be allowed to rest in peace and quietness. The valleys, watered
by little brooks, are far richer, and even prettier, than the high
lands above, being lined with fine trees and evergreen shrubs; while the
general state of prosperity was such, that the people could afford, even
at this late season of the year, to turn their corn into malt to brew
beer for sale; and goats and fowls were plentiful in the market.
Passing by the old village of Mbuiga, which I occupied on my former
expedition, we entered some huts on the western flank of the Mbuiga
district; and here, finding a coast-man, a great friend of the little
sheikh's, willing to take back to Zanzibar anything we might give him, a
halt was made, and I drew up my reports. I then consigned to his
charge three of the most sickly of the Hottentots in a deplorable
condition--one of the mules, that they might ride by turns--and all
the specimens that had been collected. With regret I also sent back the
camera; because I saw, had I allowed my companion to keep working it,
the heat he was subjected to in the little tent whilst preparing
and fixing his plates would very soon have killed him. The number of
guinea-fowl seen here was most surprising.
A little lighter and much more comfortable for the good riddance of
those grumbling "Tots," we worked up to and soon breasted the stiff
ascent of the Mabruki Pass, which we surmounted without much difficult.
This concluded the first range of these Usagara hills; and once over, we
dropped down to the elevated valley of Makata, where we halted two days
to shoot. As a travelling Arab informed me that the whole of the Maroro
district had been laid waste by the marauding Wahehe, I changed our
plans again, and directed our attention to a middle and entirely new
line, which in the end would lead us to Ugogi. The first and only
giraffe killed upon the journey was here shot by Grant, with a little
40-gauge Lancaster rifle, at 200 yards' distance. Some smaller animals
were killed; but I wasted all my time in fruitlessly stalking some
wounded striped eland--magnificent animals, as large as Delhi oxen--and
some other animals, of which I wounded three, about the size of
hartebeest, and much their shape, only cream-coloured, with a
conspicuous black spot in the centre of each flank. The eland may
probably be the animal first mentioned by Livingstone, but the other
animal is not known.
Though reluctant to leave a place where such rare animals were to be
found, the fear of remaining longer on the road induced us to leave
Kikobogo, and at a good stride we crossed the flat valley of Makata, and
ascended the higher lands beyond, where we no sooner arrived than we
met the last down trader from Unyamuezi, well known to all my men as
the great Mamba or Crocodile. Mamba, dressed in a dirty Arab gown, with
coronet of lion's nails decorating a thread-bare cutch cap, greeted us
with all the dignity of a savage potentate surrounded by his staff
of half-naked officials. As usual, he had been the last to leave the
Unyamuezi, and so purchased all his stock of ivory at a cheap rate,
there being no competitors left to raise the value of that commodity;
but his journey had been a very trying one. With a party, at his own
estimate, of two thousand souls--we did not see anything like that
number--he had come from Ugogo to this, by his own confession, living on
the products of the jungle, and by boiling down the skin aprons of his
porters occasionally for a soup. Famines were raging throughout the
land, and the Arabs preceding him had so harried the country, that every
village was deserted. On hearing our intention to march upon the direct
line, he frankly said he thought we should never get through for my men
could not travel as he had done, and therefore he advised our deflecting
northwards from New Mbumi to join the track leading from Rumuma to
Ugogi. This was a sad disappointment; but, rather than risk a failure, I
resolved to follow his advice.
After reaching the elevated ground, we marched over rolling tops,
covered with small trees and a rich variety of pretty bulbs, and reached
the habitations of Muhanda, where we no sooner appeared than the poor
villagers, accustomed only to rough handling, immediately dispersed in
the jungles. By dint of persuasion, however, we induced them to sell us
provisions, though at a monstrous rate, such as no merchant could have
afforded; and having spent the night quietly, we proceeded on to the
upper courses of the M'yombo river, which trends its way northwards
to the Mukondokua river. The scenery was most interesting, with every
variety of hill, roll, plateau, and ravine, wild and prettily wooded;
but we saw nothing of the people. Like frightened rats, as soon as they
caught the sound of our advancing march, they buried themselves in
the jungles, carrying off their grain with them. Foraging parties, of
necessity, were sent out as soon as the camp was pitched, with cloth for
purchases, and strict orders not to use force; the upshot of which was,
that my people got nothing but a few arrows fired at them by the
lurking villagers, and I was abused for my squeamishness. Moreover,
the villagers, emboldened by my lenity, vauntingly declared they would
attack the camp by night, as they could only recognise in us such men
as plunder their houses and steal their children. This caused a certain
amount of alarm among my men, which induced them to run up a stiff
bush-fence round the camp, and kept them talking all night.
This morning we marched on as usual, with one of the Hottentots lashed
on a donkey; for the wretched creature, after lying in the sun asleep,
became so sickly that he could not move or do anything for himself, and
nobody would do anything for him. The march was a long one, but under
ordinary circumstances would have been very interesting, for we passed
an immense lagoon, where hippopotami were snorting as if they invited an
attack. In the larger tree-jungles the traces of elephants, buffaloes,
rhinoceros, and antelopes were very numerous; while a rich variety of
small birds, as often happened, made me wish I had come on a shooting
rather than on a long exploring expedition. Towards sunset we arrived
at New Mbimi, a very pretty and fertile place, lying at the foot of
a cluster of steep hills, and pitched camp for three days to lay in
supplies for ten, as this was reported to be the only place where we
could buy corn until we reached Ugogo, a span of 140 miles. Mr Mbumi,
the chief of the place, a very affable negro, at once took us by the
hand, and said he would do anything we desired, for he had often been to
Zanzibar. He knew that the English were the ruling power in that land,
and that they were opposed to slavery, the terrible effects of which had
led to his abandoning Old Mbumi, on the banks of the Mukondokua river,
and rising here.
The sick Hottentot died here, and we buried him with Christian honours.
As his comrades said, he died because he had determined to die,--an
instance of that obstinate fatalism in their mulish temperament which no
kind words or threats can cure. This terrible catastrophe made me wish
to send all the remaining Hottentots back to Zanzibar; but as they all
preferred serving with me to returning to duty at the Cape, I selected
two of the MOST sickly, put them under Tabib, one of Rigby's old
servants, and told him to remain with them at Mbumi until such time
as he might find some party proceeding to the coasts; and, in the
meanwhile, for board and lodgings I have Mbumi beads and cloth. The
prices of provisions here being a good specimen of what one has to
pay at this season of the year, I give a short list of them:--sixteen
rations corn, two yards cloth; three fowls, two yards cloth; one goat,
twenty yards cloth; one cow, forty yards cloth,--the cloth being common
American sheeting. Before we left Mbumi, a party of forty men and women
of the Waquiva tribe, pressed by famine, were driven there to purchase
food. The same tribe had, however killed many of Mbumi's subjects not
long since, and therefore, in African revenge, the chief seized them
all, saying he would send them off for sale to Zanzibar market unless
they could give a legitimate reason for the cruelty they had committed.
These Waquiva, I was given to understand, occupied the steep hills
surrounding this place. They were a squalid-looking set, like the
generality of the inhabitants of this mountainous region.
This march led us over a high hill to the Mdunhwi river, another
tributary to the Mukondokua. It is all clad in the upper regions with
the slender pole-trees which characterise these hills, intermingled with
bamboo; but the bottoms are characterised by a fine growth of fig-trees
of great variety along with high grasses; whilst near the villages were
found good gardens of plantains, and numerous Palmyra trees. The rainy
season being not far off, the villagers were busy in burning rubble and
breaking their ground. Within their reach everywhere is the sarsaparilla
vine, but growing as a weed, for they know nothing of its value.
Rising up from the deep valley of Mdunhwi we had to cross another
high ridge before descending to the also deep valley of Chongue, as
picturesque a country as the middle heights of the Himalayas, dotted on
the ridges and spur-slopes by numerous small conical-hut villages;
but all so poor that we could not, had we wanted it, have purchased
provisions for a day's consumption.
Leaving this valley, we rose to the table of Manyovi, overhung with much
higher hills, looking, according to the accounts of our Hottentots, as
they eyed the fine herds of cattle grazing on the slopes, so like the
range in Kafraria, that they formed their expectations accordingly,
and appeared, for the first time since leaving the coast, happy at the
prospect before them, little dreaming that such rich places were seldom
to be met with. The Wanyamuezi porters even thought they had found a
paradise, and forthwith threw down their loads as the villagers came to
offer them grain for sale; so that, had I not had the Wanguana a little
under control, we should not have completed our distance that day, and
so reached Manyonge, which reminded me, by its ugliness, of the sterile
Somali land. Proceeding through the semi-desert rolling table-land--in
one place occupied by men who build their villages in large open squares
of flat-topped mud huts, which, when I have occasion to refer to them
in future, I shall call by their native name tembe--we could see on the
right hand the massive mountains overhanging the Mukondokua river, to
the front the western chain of these hills, and to the left the high
crab-claw shaped ridge, which, extending from the western chain, circles
round conspicuously above the swelling knolls which lie between the two
main rocky ridges. Contorted green thorn-trees, "elephant-foot" stumps,
and aloes, seem to thrive best here, by their very nature indicating
what the country is, a poor stony land. Our camp was pitched by the
river Rumuma, where, sheltered from the winds, and enriched by alluvial
soil, there ought to have been no scarcity; but still the villagers had
nothing to sell.
On we went again to Marenga Mkhaili, the "Salt Water," to breakfast, and
camped in the crooked green thorns by night, carrying water on for our
supper. This kind of travelling--forced marches--hard as it may appear,
was what we liked best, for we felt that we were shortening the journey,
and in doing so, shortening the risks of failure by disease, by war, by
famine, and by mutiny. We had here no grasping chiefs to detain us
for presents, nor had our men time to become irritable and truculent,
concoct devices for stopping the way, or fight amongst themselves.
On again, and at last we arrived at the foot of the western chain;
but not all together. Some porters, overcome by heat and thirst, lay
scattered along the road, while the corporal of the Hottentots allowed
his mule to stray from him, never dreaming the animal would travel far
from his comrades, and, in following after him, was led such a long way
into the bush, that my men became alarmed for his safety, knowing as
they did that the "savages" were out living like monkeys on the calabash
fruit, and looking out for any windfalls, such as stragglers worth
plundering, that might come in their way. At first the Wanguana
attempted to track down the corporal; but finding he would not answer
their repeated shots, and fearful for their own safety, they came into
camp and reported the case. Losing no time, I ordered twenty men, armed
with carbines, to carry water for the distressed porters, and bring the
corporal back as soon as possible. They all marched off, as they always
do on such exploits, in high good-humour with themselves for the valour
which they intended to show; and in the evening came in, firing their
guns in the most reckless manner, beaming with delight; for they had
the corporal in tow, two men and two women captives, and a spear as a
trophy. Then in high impatience, all in a breath, they began a recital
of the great day's work. The corporal had followed on the spoor of the
mule, occasionally finding some of his things that had been torn from
the beast's back by the thorns, and, picking up these one by one, had
become so burdened with the weight of them, that he could follow no
farther. In this fix the twenty men came up with him, but not until they
had had a scrimmage with the "savages," had secured four, and taken the
spear which had been thrown at them. Of the mule's position no one
could give an opinion, save that they imagined, in consequence of the
thickness of the bush, he would soon become irretrievably entangled in
the thicket, where the savages would find him, and bring him in as a
ransom for the prisoners.
What with the diminution of our supplies, the famished state of the
country, and the difficulties which frowned upon us in advance, together
with unwillingness to give up so good a mule, with all its gear and
ammunition, I must say I felt doubtful as to what had better be done,
until the corporal, who felt confident he would find the beast, begged
so hard that I sent him in command of another expedition of sixteen men,
ordering him to take one of the prisoners with him to proclaim to his
brethren that we would give up the rest if they returned us the mule.
The corporal then led off his band to the spot where he last saw traces
of the animal, and tracked on till sundown; while Grant and myself went
out pot-hunting and brought home a bag consisting of one striped
eland, one saltiana antelope, four guinea-fowl, four ringdoves, and one
partridge--a welcome supply, considering we were quite out of flesh.
Next day, as there were no signs of the trackers, I went again to the
place of the elands, wounded a fine male, but gave up the chase, as I
heard the unmistakable gun-firing return of the party, and straightway
proceeded to camp. Sure enough, there they were; they had tracked the
animal back to Marenga Mkhali, through jungle--for he had not taken to
the footpath. Then finding he had gone on, they returned quite tired
and famished. To make the most of a bad job, I now sent Grant on to the
Robeho (or windy) Pass, on the top of the western chain, with the mules
and heavy baggage, and directions to proceed thence across the brow of
the hill the following morning, while I remained behind with the tired
men, promising to join him by breakfast-time. I next released the
prisoners, much to their disgust, for they had not known such good
feeding before, and dreaded being turned adrift again in the jungles to
live on calabash seeds; and then, after shooting six guinea-fowl, turned
in for the night.
Betimes in the morning we were off, mounting the Robeho, a good stiff
ascent, covered with trees and large blocks of granite, excepting only
where cleared for villages; and on we went rapidly, until at noon the
advance party was reached, located in a village overlooking the great
interior plateau--a picture, as it were, of the common type of African
scenery. Here, taking a hasty meal, we resumed the march all together,
descended the great western chain, and, as night set in, camped in a
ravine at the foot of it, not far from the great junction-station Ugogi,
where terminate the hills of Usagara.
Chapter IV. Ugogo, and the Wilderness of Mgunda Mkhali
The Lie of the Country--Rhinoceros-Stalking--Scuffle of Villagers over a
Carcass--Chief "Short-Legs" and His Successors--Buffalo-Shooting--
Getting Lost--A Troublesome Sultan--Desertions from the Camp--Getting
Plundered--Wilderness March--Diplomatic Relations with the Local
Powers--Manua Sera's Story--Christmas--The Relief from Kaze
This day's work led us from the hilly Usagara range into the more level
lands of the interior. Making a double march of it, we first stopped to
breakfast at the quiet little settlement of Inenge, where cattle were
abundant, but grain so scarce that the villagers were living on calabash
seeds. Proceeding thence across fields delightfully checkered with
fine calabash and fig trees, we marched, carrying water through thorny
jungles, until dark, when we bivouacked for the night, only to rest
and push on again next morning, arriving at Marenga Mkhali (the saline
water) to breakfast. Here a good view of the Usagara hills is obtained.
Carrying water with us, we next marched half-way to the first settlement
of Ugogo, and bivouacked again, to eat the last of our store of Mbumi
grain.
At length the greater famine lands had been spanned; but we were not
in lands of plenty--for the Wagogo we found, like their neighbours
Wasagara, eating the seed of the calabash, to save their small stores of
grain.
The East Coast Range having been passed, no more hills had to be
crossed, for the land we next entered on is a plateau of rolling ground,
sloping southward to the Ruaha river, which forms a great drain running
from west to east, carrying off all the rainwaters that fall in its
neighbourhood through the East Coast Range to the sea. To the northward
can be seen some low hills, which are occupied by Wahumba, a subtribe
of the warlike Masai; and on the west is the large forest-wilderness of
Mgunda Mkhali. Ugogo, lying under the lee side of the Usagara hills,
is comparatively sterile. Small outcrops of granite here and there poke
through the surface, which, like the rest of the rolling land, being
covered with bush, principally acacias, have a pleasing appearance after
the rains have set in, but are too brown and desert-looking during
the rest of the year. Large prairies of grass also are exposed in many
places, and the villagers have laid much ground bare for agricultural
purposes.
Altogether, Ugogo has a very wild aspect, well in keeping with the
natives who occupy it, who, more like the Wazaramo than the Wasagara,
carry arms, intended for use rather than show. The men, indeed, are
never seen without their usual arms--the spear, the shield, and the
assage. They live in flat-topped, square, tembe villages, wherever
springs of water are found, keep cattle in plenty, and farm enough
generally to supply not only their own wants, but those of the thousands
who annually pass in caravans. They are extremely fond of ornaments,
the most common of which is an ugly tube of the gourd thrust through the
lower lobe of the ear. Their colour is a soft ruddy brown, with a slight
infusion of black, not unlike that of a rich plum. Impulsive by
nature, and exceedingly avaricious, they pester travellers beyond all
conception, by thronging the road, jeering, quizzing, and pointing at
them; and in camp, by intrusively forcing their way into the midst of
the kit, and even into the stranger's tent. Caravans, in consequence,
never enter their villages, but camp outside, generally under the big
"gouty-limbed" trees--encircling their entire camp sometimes with a
ring-fence of thorns to prevent any sudden attack.
To resume the thread of the journey: we found, on arrival in Ugogo, very
little more food than in Usagara for the Wagogo were mixing their small
stores of grain with the monkey-bread seeds of the gouty-limbed tree.
Water was so scarce in the wells at this season that we had to buy it
at the normal price of country beer; and, as may be imagined where such
distress in food was existing, cows, goats, sheep, and fowls were also
selling at high rates.
Our mules here gave us the slip again, and walked all the way back to
Marenga Mkhali, where they were found and brought back by some Wagogo,
who took four yards of merikani in advance, with a promise of four more
on return, for the job--their chief being security for their fidelity.
This business detained us two days, during which time I shot a new
variety of florikan, peculiar in having a light blue band stretching
from the nose over the eye to the occiput. Each day, while we resided
here, cries were raised by the villagers that the Wahumba were coming,
and then all the cattle out in the plains, both far and near, were
driven into the village for protection.
At last, on the 26th, as the mules were brought it, I paid a hongo or
tax of four barsati and four yards of chintz to the chief, and departed,
but not until one of my porters, a Mhehe, obtained a fat dog for his
dinner; he had set his heart on it, and would not move until he had
killed it, and tied it on to his load for the evening's repast. Passing
through the next villages--a collection called Kifukuro--we had to pay
another small tax of two barsati and four yards of chintz to the chief.
There we breakfasted, and pushed on, carrying water to a bivouac in the
jungles, as the famine precluded our taking the march more easily.
Pushing on again, we cleared out of the woods, and arrived at the
eastern border of the largest clearance of Ugogo, Kanyenye. Here we
were forced to halt a day, as the mules were done up, and eight of the
Wanyamuezi porters absconded, carrying with them the best part of their
loads. There was also another inducement for stopping here; for, after
stacking the loads, as we usually did on arriving in camp, against a
large gouty-limbed tree, a hungry Mgogo, on eyeing our guns, offered
his services to show us some bicornis rhinoceros, which, he said paid
nightly visits to certain bitter pools that lay in the nullah bottoms
not far off. This exciting intelligence made me inquire if it was not
possible to find them at once; but, being assured that they lived very
far off, and that the best chance was the night, I gave way, and settled
on starting at ten, to arrive at the ground before the full moon should
rise.
I set forth with the guide and two of the sheikh's boys, each carrying
a single rifle, and ensconced myself in the nullah, to hide until our
expected visitors should arrive, and there remained until midnight. When
the hitherto noisy villagers turned into bed, the silvery moon shed her
light on the desolate scene, and the Mgogo guide, taking fright, bolted.
He had not, however, gone long, when, looming above us, coming over the
horizon line, was the very animal we wanted.
In a fidgety manner the beast then descended, as if he expected some
danger in store--and he was not wrong; for, attaching a bit of white
paper to the fly-sight of my Blissett, I approached him, crawling under
cover of the banks until within eighty yards of him, when, finding that
the moon shone full on his flank, I raised myself upright and planted a
bullet behind his left shoulder. Thus died my first rhinoceros.
To make the most of the night, as I wanted meat for my men to cook, as
well as a stock to carry with them, or barter with the villagers for
grain, I now retired to my old position, and waited again.
After two hours had elapsed, two more rhinoceros approached me in the
same stealthy, fidgety way as the first one. They came even closer than
the first, but, the moon having passed beyond their meridian, I could
not obtain so clear a mark. Still they were big marks, and I determined
on doing my best before they had time to wind us; so stepping out,
with the sheikh's boys behind me carrying the second rifle to meet all
emergencies, I planted a ball in the larger one, and brought him round
with a roar and whooh-whooh, exactly to the best position I could wish
for receiving a second shot; but, alas! on turning sharply round for the
spare rifle, I had the mortification to see that both the black boys had
made off, and were scrambling like monkeys up a tree. At the same time
the rhinoceros, fortunately for me, on second consideration turned to
the right-about, and shuffled away, leaving, as is usually the case when
conical bullets are used, no traces of blood.
Thus ended the night's work. We now went home by dawn to apprise all the
porters that we had flesh in store for them, when the two boys who had
so shamelessly deserted me, instead of hiding their heads, described all
the night's scenes with such capital mimicry as to set the whole camp
in a roar. We had all now to hurry back to the carcass before the Wagogo
could find it; but though this precaution was quickly taken, still,
before the tough skin of the beast could be cut through, the Wagogo
began assembling like vultures, and fighting with my men. A more savage,
filthy, disgusting, but at the same time grotesque, scene than that
which followed cannot be conceived. All fell to work armed with swords,
spears, knives, and hatchets--cutting and slashing, thumping and
bawling, fighting and tearing, tumbling and wrestling up to their knees
in filth and blood in the middle of the carcass. When a tempting morsel
fell to the possession of any one, a stronger neighbour would seize and
bear off the prize in triumph. All right was now a matter or pure might,
and lucky it was that it did not end in a fight between our men and
the villagers. These might be afterwards seen, one by one, covered with
blood, scampering home each with his spoil--a piece of tripe, or liver,
or lights, or whatever else it might have been his fortune to get off
with.
We were still in great want of men; but rather than stop a day, as all
delays only lead to more difficulties, I pushed on to Magomba's palace
with the assistance of some Wagogo carrying our baggage, each taking one
cloth as his hire. The chief wazir at once come out to meet me on the
way, and in an apparently affable manner, as an old friend, begged that
I would live in the palace--a bait which I did not take, as I knew
my friend by experience a little too well. He then, in the politest
possible manner, told me that a great dearth of food was oppressing the
land--so much so, that pretty cloths only would purchase grain. I now
wished to settle my hongo, but the great chief could not hear of such
indecent haste.
The next day, too, the chief was too drunk to listen to any one, and I
must have patience. I took out this time in the jungles very profitably,
killing a fine buck and doe antelope, of a species unknown. These
animals are much about the same size and shape as the common Indian
antelope, and, like them, roam about in large herds. The only marked
difference between the two is in the shape of their horns, as may be
seen by the woodcut; and in their colour, in which, in both sexes, the
Ugogo antelopes resemble the picticandata gazelle of Tibet, except that
the former have dark markings on the face.
At last, after thousands of difficulties much like those I encountered
in Uzaramo, the hongo was settled by a payment of one kisutu, one
dubani, four yards bendera, four yards kiniki, and three yards merikani.
The wazir then thought he would do some business on his own account, and
commenced work by presenting me with a pot of ghee and flour, saying at
the same time "empty words did not show true love," and hoping that I
would prove mine by making some slight return. To get rid of the animal
I gave him the full value of his present in cloth, which he no sooner
pocketed than he had the audacity to accuse Grant of sacrilege for
having shot a lizard on a holy stone, and demanded four cloths to pay
atonement for this offence against the "church." As yet, he said, the
chief was not aware of the damage done, and it was well he was not; for
he would himself, if I only paid him the four cloths, settle matters
quietly, otherwise there would be no knowing what demands might be made
on my cloth. It was necessary to get up hot temper, else there was no
knowing how far he would go; so I returned him his presents, and told
the sheikh, instead of giving four, to fling six cloths in his face, and
tell him that the holy-stone story was merely a humbug, and I would take
care no more white men ever came to see him again.
Some Wanyamuezi porters, who had been left sick here by former caravans,
now wished to take service with me as far as Kaze; but the Wagogo,
hearing of their desire, frightened them off it. A report also at this
time was brought to us, that a caravan had just arrived at our last
ground, having come up from Whindi, direct by the line of the Wami
river, in its upper course called Mukondokua, without crossing a single
hill all the way; I therefore sent three men to see if they had any
porters to spare, as it was said they had; but the three men, although
they left their bows and arrows behind, never came back.
Another mule died to-day. This was perplexing indeed, but to stop longer
was useless; so we pushed forward as best we could to a pond at the
western end of the district where we found a party of Makua sportsmen
who had just killed an elephant. They had lived in Ugogo one year and
a half, and had killed in all seventeen elephants; half the tusks of
which, as well as some portion of the flesh, they gave to Magomba for
the privilege of residing there. There were many antelopes there, some
of which both Grant and I shot for the good of the pot, and he also
killed a crocute hyena. From the pond we went on to the middle of a
large jungle, and bivouacked for the night in a shower of rain, the
second of the season.
During a fierce downpour of rain, the porters all quivering and quaking
with cold, we at length emerged from the jungle, and entered the
prettiest spot in Ugogo--the populous district of Usekhe--where little
hills and huge columns of granite crop out. Here we halted.
Next day came the hongo business, which was settled by paying one
dubani, one kitambi, one msutu, four yards merikani, and two yards
kiniki; but whilst we were doing it eight porters ran away, and four
fresh ones were engaged (Wanyamuezi) who had run away from Kanyenye.
With one more march from this we reached the last district in Ugogo,
Khoko. Here the whole of the inhabitants turned out to oppose us,
imagining we had come there to revenge the Arab, Mohinna, because the
Wagogo attacked him a year ago, plundered his camp, and drove him back
to Kaze, for having shot their old chief "Short-legs." They, however, no
sooner found out who we were than they allowed us to pass on, and encamp
in the outskirts of the Mgunda Mkhali wilderness. To this position in
the bush I strongly objected, on the plea that guns could be best
used against arrows in the open; but none would go out in the field,
maintaining that the Wagogo would fear to attack us so far from their
villages, as we now were, lest we might cut them off in their retreat.
Hori Hori was now chief in Short-leg's stead, and affected to be much
pleased that we were English, and not Arabs. He told us we might, he
thought, be able to recruit all the men that we were in want of, as many
Wanyanuezi who had been left there sick wished to go to their homes;
and I would only, in addition to their wages, have to pay their "hotel
bills" to the Wagogo. This, of course, I was ready to do, though I knew
the Wanyamuezi had paid for themselves, as is usual, by their work in
the fields of their hosts. Still, as I should be depriving these of
hands, I could scarcely expect to get off for less than the value of a
slave for each, and told Sheikh said to look out for some men at once,
whilst at the same time he laid in provisions of grain to last us eight
days in the wilderness, and settle the hongo.
For this triple business, I allowed three days, during which time,
always eager to shoot something, either for science or the pot, I killed
a bicornis rhinoceros, at a distance of five paces only, with my small
40-gauge Lancaster, as the beast stood quietly feeding in the bush; and
I also shot a bitch fox of the genus Octocyon lalandii, whose ill-omened
cry often alarms the natives by forewarning them of danger. This was
rather tame sport; but next day I had better fun.
Starting in the early morning, accompanied by two of Sheikh Said's boys,
Suliman and Faraj, each carrying a rifle, while I carried a shot-gun, we
followed a footpath to the westward in the wilderness of Mgunda Mkhali.
There, after walking a short while in the bush, as I heard the grunt
of a buffalo close on my left, I took "Blissett" in hand, and walked
to where I soon espied a large herd quietly feeding. They were quite
unconscious of my approach, so I took a shot at a cow, and wounded her;
then, after reloading, put a ball in a bull and staggered him also. This
caused great confusion among them; but as none of the animals knew where
the shots came from, they simply shifted about in a fidgety manner,
allowing me to kill the first cow, and even fire a fourth shot, which
sickened the great bull, and induced him to walk off, leaving the herd
to their fate, who, considerably puzzled, began moving off also.
I now called up the boys, and determined on following the herd down
before either skinning the dead cow or following the bull, who I knew
could not go far. Their footprints being well defined in the moist
sandy soil, we soon found the herd again; but as they now knew they were
pursued, they kept moving on in short runs at a time, when, occasionally
gaining glimpses of their large dark bodies as they forced through the
bush, I repeated my shots and struck a good number, some more and some
less severely. This was very provoking; for all of them being stern
shots were not likely to kill, and the jungle was so thick I could not
get a front view of them. Presently, however, one with her hind leg
broken pulled up on a white-ant hill, and, tossing her horns, came down
with a charge the instant I showed myself close to her. One crack of the
rifle rolled her over, and gave me free scope to improve the bag, which
was very soon done; for on following the spoors, the traces of blood led
us up to another one as lame as the last. He then got a second bullet
in the flank, and, after hobbling a little, evaded our sight and
threw himself into a bush, where we not sooner arrived than he plunged
headlong at us from his ambush, just, and only just, giving me time to
present my small 40-gauge Lancaster.
It was a most ridiculous scene. Suliman by my side, with the instinct of
a monkey, made a violent spring and swung himself by a bough immediately
over the beast, whilst Faraj bolted away and left me single-gunned to
polish him off. There was only one course to pursue, for in one instant
more he would have been into me; so, quick as thought, I fired the gun,
and, as luck would have it, my bullet, after passing through the edge of
one of his horns, stuck in the spine of his neck, and rolled him over at
my feet as dead as a rabbit. Now, having cut the beast's throat to make
him "hilal," according to Mussulman usage, and thinking we had done
enough if I could only return to the first wounded bull and settle him
too, we commenced retracing our steps, and by accident came on Grant.
He was passing by from another quarter, and became amused by the glowing
description of my boys, who never omitted to narrate their own cowardice
as an excellent tale. He begged us to go on in our course, whilst he
would go back and send us some porters to carry home the game.
Now, tracking back again to the first point of attack, we followed the
blood of the first bull, till at length I found him standing like a
stuck pig in some bushes, looking as if he would like to be put out of
his miseries. Taking compassion, I levelled my Blisset; but, as bad luck
would have it, a bough intercepted the flight of the bullet, and it went
"pinging" into the air, whilst the big bull went off at a gallop. To
follow on was no difficulty, the spoor was so good; and in ten minutes
more, as I opened on a small clearance, Blisset in hand, the great
beast, from the thicket on the opposite side, charged down like a mad
bull, full of ferocity--as ugly an antagonist as ever I saw, for the
front of his head was all shielded with horn. A small mound fortunately
stood between us, and as he rounded it, I jumped to one side and let fly
at his flank, but without the effect of stopping him; for, as quick as
thought, the huge monster was at my feet, battling with the impalpable
smoke of my gun, which fortunately hung so thick on the ground at the
height of his head that he could not see me, though I was so close that
I might, had I been possessed of a hatchet, have chopped off his head.
This was a predicament which looked very ugly, for my boys had both
bolted, taking with them my guns; but suddenly the beast, evidently
regarding the smoke as a phantom which could not be mastered, turned
round in a bustle, to my intense relief, and galloped off at full speed,
as if scared by some terrible apparition.
O what would I not then have given for a gun, the chance was such a
good one! Still, angry though I was, I could not help laughing as the
dastardly boys came into the clearance full of their mimicry, and joked
over the scene they had witnessed in security, whilst my life was in
jeopardy because they were too frightened to give me my gun. But now
came the worst part of the day; for, though rain was falling, I had not
the heart to relinquish my game. Tracking on through the bush, I thought
every minute I should come up with the brute; but his wounds ceased to
bleed, and in the confusion of the numerous tracks which scored all the
forest we lost our own.
Much disappointed at this, I now proposed to make for the track we came
by in the morning, and follow it down into camp; but this luxury was not
destined to be our lot that night, for the rain had obliterated all our
footprints of the morning, and we passed the track, mistaking it for the
run of wild beasts. It struck me we had done so; but say what I would,
the boys thought they knew better; and the consequence was that, after
wandering for hours no one knew where--for there was no sun to guide
us--I pulled up, and swore I would wait for the stars, else it might be
our fate to be lost in the wilderness, which I did not much relish. We
were all at this time "hungry as hunters," and beginning to feel very
miserable from being wet through. What little ammunition I had left I
fired off as signals, or made tinder of to get up a fire, but the
wood would not burn. In this hapless condition the black boys began
murmuring, wishing to go on, pretending, though both held opposite
views, that each knew the way; for they thought nothing could be worse
than their present state of discomfort.
Night with its gloom was then drawing on, heightened by thunder and
lightning, which set in all around us. At times we thought we heard
musketry in camp, knowing that Grant would be sure to fire signals
for us; and doubtless we did so, but its sound and the thunder so much
resembled one another that we distrusted our ears. At any rate, the
boys mistook the west for the east; and as I thought they had done so, I
stood firm to one spot, and finally lay down with them to sleep upon
the cold wet ground, where we slept pretty well, being only disturbed
occasionally by some animals sniffing at our feet. As the clouds broke
towards morning, my obstinate boys still swore that west was east, and
would hardly follow me when tracking down Venus; next up rose the moon
and then followed the sun, when, as good luck would have it, we struck
on the track, and walked straight into camp.
Here every one was in a great state of excitement: Grant had been making
the men fire volleys. The little sheikh was warmly congratulatory as
he spoke of the numbers who had strayed away and had been lost in that
wilderness; whilst Bombay admitted he thought we should turn up again
if I did not listen to the advice of the boys, which was his only fear.
Nothing as yet, I now found, had been done to further our march. The
hongo, the sheikh said, had to precede everything; yet that had not been
settled, because the chief deferred it the day of our arrival, on the
plea that it was the anniversary of Short-legs's death; and he also said
that till then all the Wagogo had been in mourning by ceasing to wear
all their brass bracelets and other ornaments, and they now wished to
solemnise the occasion by feasting and renewing their finery. This
being granted, the next day another pretext for delay was found, by the
Wahumba having made a raid on their cattle, which necessitated the chief
and all his men turning out to drive them away; and to-day nothing could
be attended to, as a party of fugitive Wanyamuezi had arrived and
put them all in a fright. These Wanyamuezi, it then transpired, were
soldiers of Manua Sera, the "Tippler," who was at war with the Arabs. He
had been defeated at Mguru, a district in Unyamuezi, by the Arabs, and
had sent these men to cut off the caravan route, as the best way of
retaliation that lay in his power.
At last the tax having been settled by the payment of one dubani, two
barsati, one sahari, six yards merikani, and three yards kiniki (not,
however, until I had our tents struck, and threatened to march away if
the chief would not take it), I proposed going on with the journey,
for our provisions were stored, but when the loads were being lifted,
I found ten more men were missing; and as nothing now could be done but
throw ten loads away, which seemed to great a sacrifice to be made in a
hurry, I simply changed ground to show we were ready to march, and sent
my men about, either to try to induce the fugitive Wanyamuezi to take
service with me or else to buy donkeys, as the chief said he had some to
sell.
We had already been here too long. A report was now spread that a lion
had killed one of the chief's cows; and the Wagogo, suspecting that our
being here was the cause of this ill luck, threatened to attack us. This
no sooner got noised over the camp than all my Wanyamuezi porters, who
had friends in Ugogo, left to live with them, and would not come back
again even when the "storm had blown over," because they did not like
the incessant rains that half deluged the camp. The chief, too, said he
would not sell us his donkeys, lest we should give them back to Mohinna,
from whom they were taken during his fight here. Intrigues of all sorts
I could see were brewing, possibly at the instigation of the fugitive
Wanyamuezi, who suspected we were bound to side with the Arabs--possibly
from some other cause, I could not tell what; so, to clear out of this
pandemonium as soon as possible I issued cloths to buy double rations,
intending to cross the wilderness by successive relays in double the
ordinary number of days. I determined at the same time to send forward
two freed men to Kaze to ask Musa and the Arabs to send me out some
provisions and men to meet us half-way.
Matters grew worse and worse. The sultan, now finding me unable to move,
sent a message to say if I would not give him some better cloths to make
his hongo more respectable, he would attack my camp; and advised all
the Wanyamuezi who regarded their lives not to go near me if I resisted.
This was by no means pleasant; for the porters showed their uneasiness
by extracting their own cloths from my bundles, under the pretext that
they wished to make some purchases of their own. I ought, perhaps,
to have stopped this; but I thought the best plan was to show total
indifference; so, at the same time that they were allowed to take their
cloths, I refused to comply with the chief's request, and begged them
to have no fear so long as they saw I could hold my own ground with my
guns.
The Wanyamuezi, however, were panic-stricken, and half of them bolted,
with the kirangozi at their head, carrying off all the double-ration
cloths as well as their own. At this time, the sultan, having changed
tactics, as he saw us all ready to stand on the defensive, sent back
his hongo; but, instead of using threats, said he would oblige us with
donkeys or anything else if we would only give him a few more pretty
cloths. With this cringing, perfidious appeal I refused to comply, until
the sheikh, still more cringing, implored me to give way else not a
single man would remain with me. I then told him to settle with the
chief himself, and give me the account, which amounted to three barsati,
two sahari, and three yards merikani; but the donkeys were never alluded
to.
With half my men gone, I still ordered the march, though strongly
opposed to the advice of one of old Mamba's men, who was then passing by
on his way to the coast, in command of his master's rear detachment. He
thought it impossible for us to pull through the wilderness, with its
jungle grasses and roots, depending for food only on Grant's gun and
my own; still we made half-way to the Mdaburu nullah, taking some
of Mamba's out to camp with us, as he promised to take letters and
specimens down to the coast for us, provided I paid him some cloths as
ready money down, and promised some more to be paid at Zanzibar. These
letters eventually reached home, but not the specimens.
The rains were so heavy that the whole country was now flooded, but we
pushed on to the nullah by relays, and pitched on its left bank. In the
confusion of the march, however, we lost many more porters, who at the
same time relieved us of their loads, by slipping off stealthily into
the bush.
The fifteenth was a forced halt, as the stream was so deep and so
violent we could not cross it. To make the best of this very unfortunate
interruption, I now sent on two men to Kaze, with letters to Musa and
Sheikh Snay, both old friends on the former expedition, begging them
to send me sixty men, each carrying thirty rations of grain, and some
country tobacco. The tobacco was to gratify my men, who said of all
things they most wanted to cheer them was something to smoke. At the
same time I sent back some other men to Khoko, with cloth to buy grain
for present consumption, as some of my porters were already reduced to
living on wild herbs and white ants. I then sent all the remaining men,
under the directions of Bombay and Baraka, to fell a tall tree with
hatchets, on the banks of the nullah, with a view to bridging it; but
the tree dropped to the wrong side, and thwarted the plan. The rain
ceased on the 17th, just as we put the rain-gauge out, which was at
once interpreted to be our Uganga, or religious charm, and therefore the
cause of its ceasing. It was the first fine day for a fortnight, so we
were only too glad to put all our things out to dry, and rejoiced to
think of the stream's subsiding. My men who went back to Khoko for grain
having returned with next to nothing--though, of course, they had spent
all the cloths--I sent back another batch with pretty cloths, as it was
confidently stated that grain was so scarce there, nothing but the best
fabrics would but it. This also proved a dead failure; but although
animals were very scarce, Grant relieved our anxiety by shooting a zebra
and an antelope.
After five halts, we forded the stream, middle deep, and pushed forwards
again, doing short stages of four or five miles a-day, in the greatest
possible confusion; for, whilst Grant and I were compelled to go out
shooting all day for the pot, the sheikh and Bombay went on with the
first half of the property and then, keeping guard over it sent the men
back again to Baraka, who kept rear-guard, to have the rest brought
on. Order there was none: the men hated this "double work;" all the
Wanyamuezi but three deserted, with the connivance of the coast-men,
carrying off their loads with them, under a mutual understanding, as
I found out afterwards, that the coast-men were to go shares in the
plunder as soon as we reached Unyamuezi. The next great obstacle in this
tug-and-pull wilderness-march presented itself on the 24th, when, after
the first half of the property had crossed the Mabunguru nullah, it rose
in flood and cut off the rear half. It soon, however, subsided; and
the next day we reached "the Springs," where we killed a pig and two
rhinoceros. Not content, however, with this fare--notwithstanding the
whole camp had been living liberally on zebra's and antelope's flesh
every day previously--some of my coast-men bolted on to the little
settlement of Jiwa la Mkoa, contrary to orders, to purchase some grain;
and in doing so, increased our transport difficulties.
Pulling on in the same way again--when not actually engaged in shooting,
scolding and storming at the men, to keep them up to the mark, and
prevent them from shirking their work, which they were for every trying
to do--we arrived on the 28th at the "Boss," a huge granite block, from
the top of which the green foliage of the forest-trees looked like an
interminable cloud, soft and waving, fit for fairies to dwell upon. Here
the patience of my men fairly gave way, for the village of Jiwa la Mkoa
was only one long march distance from us; and they, in consequence,
smelt food on in advance much sweeter than the wild game and wild
grasses they had been living on; and many more of them could not resist
deserting us, though they might, had we all pulled together, have gone
more comfortably in, as soon as the rear property arrived next day with
Baraka.
All the men who deserted on the 25th, save Johur and Mutwana, now came
into camp, and told us they had heard from travellers that those men who
had been sent on for reliefs to Kaze were bringing us a large detachment
of slaves to help us on. My men had brought no food either for us or
their friends, as the cloths they took with them, "which were their
own," were scarcely sufficient to purchase a meal--famines being as bad
where they had been as in Ugogo. To try and get all the men together
again, I now sent off a party loaded with cloths to see what they could
get for us; but they returned on the 30th grinning and joking, with
nothing but a small fragment of goat-flesh, telling lies by the dozens.
Johur then came into camp, unconscious that Baraka by my orders had,
during his absence, been inspecting his kit, where he found concealed
seventy-three yards of cloth, which could only have been my property, as
Johur had brought no akaba or reserve fund from the coast.
The theft having been proved to the satisfaction of every one, I ordered
Baraka to strip him of everything and give him three dozen lashes; but
after twenty-one had been given, the rest were remitted on his promising
to turn Queen's evidence, when it transpired that Mutwana had done as
much as himself. Johur, it turned out, was a murderer, having obtained
his freedom by killing his master. He was otherwise a notoriously bad
character; so, wishing to make an example, as I knew all my men were
robbing me daily, though I could not detect them, I had him turned out
of camp. Baraka was a splendid detective, and could do everything well
when he wished it, so I sent him off now with cloths to see what he
could to at Jiwa la Mkoa, and next day he returned triumphantly driving
in cows and goats. Three Wanyamuezi, also, who heard we were given to
shooting wild animals continually, came with him to offer their services
as porters.
As nearly all the men had now returned, Grant and I spent New Year's Day
with the first detachment at Jiwa la Mkoa, or Round Rock--a single tembe
village occupied by a few Wakimbu settlers, who, by their presence and
domestic habits, made us feel as though we were well out of the wood. So
indeed we found it; for although this wilderness was formerly an
entire forest of trees and wild animals, numerous Wakimbu, who formerly
occupied the banks of the Ruaha to the southward, had been driven
to migrate here, wherever they could find springs of water, by the
boisterous naked pastorals the Warori.
At night three slaves belonging to Sheikh Salem bin Saif stole into our
camp, and said they had been sent by their master to seek for porters at
Kaze, as all the Wanyamuezi porters of four large caravans had deserted
in Ugogo, and they could not move. I was rather pleased by this news,
and thought it served the merchants right, knowing, as I well did, that
the Wanyamuezi, being naturally honest, had they not been defrauded by
foreigners on the down march to the coast, would have been honest
still. Some provisions were now obtained by sending men out to distant
villages; but we still supplied the camp with our guns, killing
rhinoceros, wild boar, antelope, and zebras. The last of our property
did not come up till the 5th, when another thief being caught, got fifty
lashes, under the superintendence of Baraka, to show that punishment was
only inflicted to prevent further crime.
The next day my men came from Kaze with letters from Sheikh Snay and
Musa. They had been detained there some days after arrival, as those
merchants' slaves had gone to Utambara to settle some quarrel there; but
as soon as they returned, Musa ordered them to go and assist us, giving
them beads to find rations for themselves on the way, as the whole
country about Kaze had been half-starved by famines, though he did send
a little rice and tobacco for me. The whole party left Kaze together;
but on arrival at Tura the slaves said they had not enough beads and
would return for some more, when they would follow my men. This bit
of news was the worst that could have befallen us; my men were
broken-hearted enough before, and this drove the last spark of spirit
out of them. To make the best of a bad job, I now sent Bombay with two
other men off to Musa to see what he could do, and ordered my other
men to hire Wakimbu from village to village. On the 7th, a nervous
excitement was produced in the camp by some of my men running in and
calling all to arm, as the fugitive chief Manua Sera was coming, with
thirty armed followers carrying muskets. Such was the case: and by the
time my men were all under arms, with their sword-bayonets fixed, drawn
up by my tent the veritable "Tippler" arrived; but, not liking the look
of such a formidable array as my men presented, he passed on a short
way, and then sent back a deputation to make known his desire of
calling on me, which was no sooner complied with than he came in person,
attended by a body-guard. On my requesting him to draw near and sit, his
wooden stool was placed for him. He began the conversation by telling
me he had heard of my distress from want of porters, and then offered
to assist me with some, provided I would take him to Kaze, and mediate
between him and the Arabs; for, through their unjustifiable interference
in his government affairs, a war had ensued, which terminated with the
Arabs driving him from his possessions a vagabond. Manua Sera, I
must say, was as fine a young man as ever I looked upon. He was very
handsome, and looked as I now saw him the very picture of a captain of
the banditti of the romances. I begged him to tell me his tale, and, in
compliance, he gave me the following narrative:--
"Shortly after you left Kaze for England, my old father, the late chief
Fundi Kira, died, and by his desire I became lawful chief; for, though
the son of a slave girl, and not of Fundi Kira's wife, such is the
law of inheritance--a constitutional policy established to prevent any
chance of intrigues between the sons born in legitimate wedlock. Well,
after assuming the title of chief, I gave presents of ivory to all
the Arabs with a liberal hand, but most so to Musa, which caused great
jealousy amongst the other merchants. Then after this I established a
property tax on all merchandise that entered my country. Fundi Kira had
never done so, but I did not think that any reason why I should not,
especially as the Arabs were the only people who lived in my country
exempt from taxation. This measure, however, exasperated the Arabs, and
induced them to send me hostile messages, to the effect that, if I ever
meddled with them, they would dethrone me, and place Mkisiwa, another
illegitimate son, on the throne in my stead. This," Manua Sera
continued, "I could not stand; the merchants were living on sufferance
only in my country. I told them so, and defied them to interfere with my
orders, for I was not a 'woman,' to be treated with contempt; and this
got up a quarrel. Mkisiwa, seizing at the opportunity of the prize held
out to him by the Arabs as his supporters, then commenced a system of
bribery. Words led to blows; we had a long and tough fight; I killed
many of their number, and they killed mine. Eventually they drove
me from my palace, and placed Mkisiwa there as chief in my stead. My
faithful followers however, never deserted me; so I went to Rubuga, and
put up with old Maula there. The Arabs followed--drove me to Nguru, and
tried to kill Maula for having fostered me. He, however, escaped them;
but they destroyed his country, and then followed me down to Nguru.
There we fought for many months, until all provisions were exhausted,
when I defied them to catch me, and forced my way through their ranks.
It is needless to say I have been a wanderer since; and though I wish to
make friends, they will not allow it, but do all they can to hunt me to
death. Now, as you were a friend of my father, I do hope you will patch
up this war for me, which you must think is unjust."
I told Manua Sera I felt very much for him, and I would do my best if
he would follow me to Kaze; but I knew that nothing could ever be done
unless he returned to the free-trade principles of his father. He then
said he had never taken a single tax from the Arabs, and would gladly
relinquish his intention to do so. The whole affair was commenced in too
great a hurry; but whatever happened he would gladly forgive all if I
would use my influence to reinstate him, for by no other means could he
ever get his crown back again. I then assured him that I would do what I
could to restore the ruined trade of his country, observing that, as all
the ivory that went out of his country, came to ours, and all imports
were productions of our country also, this war injured us as well as
himself. Manua Sera seemed highly delighted, and said he had a little
business to transact in Ugogo at present, but he would overtake me in a
few days. He then sent me one of my runaway porters, whom he had caught
in the woods making off with a load of my beads. We then separated; and
Baraka, by my orders, gave the thief fifty lashes for his double offence
of theft and desertion.
On the 9th, having bought two donkeys and engaged several men, we left
Jiwa la Mkoa, with half our traps, and marched to Garaeswi, where, to
my surprise, there were as many as twenty tembes--a recently-formed
settlement of Wokimbu. Here we halted a day for the rear convoy, and
then went on again by detachments to Zimbo, where, to our intense
delight, Bombay returned to us on the 13th, triumphantly firing guns,
with seventy slaves accompanying him, and with letters from Snay and
Musa, in which they said they hoped, if I met with Manua Sera, that
I would either put a bullet through his head, or else bring him in a
prisoner, that they might do for him, for the scoundrel had destroyed
all their trade by cutting off caravans. Their fights with him commenced
by his levying taxes in opposition to their treaties with his father,
Fundi Kira, and then preventing his subjects selling them grain.
Once more the whole caravan moved on; but as I had to pay each of the
seventy slaves sixteen yards of cloth, by order of their masters, in the
simple matter of expenditure it would have been better had I thrown ten
loads away at Ugogo, where my difficulties first commenced. On arrival
at Mgongo Thembo--the Elephant's Back--called so in consequence of a
large granitic rock, which resembles the back of that animal, protruding
through the ground--we found a clearance in the forest, of two miles
in extent, under cultivation. Here the first man to meet me was the
fugitive chief of Rubuga, Maula. This poor old man--one of the honestest
chiefs in the country--had been to the former expedition a host and good
friend. He now gave me a cow as a present, and said he would give me
ten more if I would assist him in making friends with the Arabs, who
had driven him out of his country, and had destroyed all his belongings,
even putting a slave to reign in his stead, though he had committed no
fault of intentional injury towards them. It was true Manua Sera, their
enemy, had taken refuge in his palace, but that was not his fault; for,
anticipating the difficulties that would arise, he did his best to keep
Manua Sera out of it, but Manua Sera being too strong for him, forced
his way in. I need not say I tried to console this unfortunate victim of
circumstances as best I could, inviting him to go with me to Kaze, and
promising to protect him with my life if he feared the Arabs; but the
old man, being too feeble to travel himself, said he would send his son
with me.
Next day we pushed on a double march through the forest, and reached
a nullah. As it crosses the track in a southerly direction, this might
either be the head of the Kululu mongo or river, which, passing through
the district of Kiwele, drains westward into the Malagarazi river, and
thence into the Tanganyika, or else the most westerly tributary to the
Ruaha river, draining eastward into the sea. The plateau, however,
is apparently so flat here, that nothing b a minute survey, or rather
following the watercourse, could determine the matter. Then emerging
from the wilderness, we came into the open cultivated district of Tura,
or "put down"--called so by the natives because it was, only a few years
ago, the first cleared space in the wilderness, and served as a good
halting-station, after the normal ten day's march in the jungles, where
we had now been struggling more than a month.
The whole place, once so fertile, was now almost depopulated and in a
sad state of ruin, showing plainly the savage ravages of war; for the
Arabs and their slaves, when they take the field, think more of plunder
and slavery than the object they started on--each man of the force
looking out for himself. The incentives, too, are so great;--a young
woman might be caught (the greatest treasure of earth), or a boy or
a girl, a cow or a goat--all of the fortunes, of themselves too
irresistible to be overlooked when the future is doubtful. Here Sheikh
Said broke down in health of a complaint which he formerly had suffered
from, and from which I at once saw he would never recover sufficiently
well to be ever effective again. It was a sad misfortune, as the men
had great confidence in him, being the representative of their Zanzibar
government: still it could not be helped; for, as a sick man is, after
all, the greatest possible impediment to a march, it was better to be
rid of him than have the trouble of dragging him; so I made up my mind,
as soon as we reached Kaze, I would drop him there with the Arabs. He
could not be moved on the 16th, so I marched across the plain and put
up in some villages on its western side. Whilst waiting for the sheikh's
arrival, some villagers at night stole several loads of beads, and ran
off with them; but my men, finding the theft out in time, hunted them
down, and recovered all but one load--for the thieves had thrown their
loads down as soon as they found they were hotly pursued.
Early this morning I called all the head men of the village together,
and demanded the beads to be restored to me; for, as I was living with
them, they were responsible, according to the laws of the country. They
acknowledged the truth and force of my demand, and said they would each
give me a cow as an earnest, until their chief, who was absent, arrived.
This, of course, was objected to, as the chief, in his absence, must
have deputed some one to govern for him, and I expected him to settle
at once, that I might proceed with the march. Then selecting five of
my head men to conduct the case, with five of their elders, it was
considered my losses were equivalent to thirty head of cattle. As I
remitted the penalty to fifteen head, these were made over to me, and
we went on with the march--all feeling delighted with the issue but the
Hottentots, who, not liking the loss of the second fifteen cows, said
that in Kafirland, where the laws of the country are the same as here,
the whole would have been taken, and, as it was, they thought I was
depriving them of their rights to beef.
By a double march, the sheikh riding in a hammock slung on a pole, we
now made Kuale, or "Partridge" nullah, which, crossing the road to the
northward, drains these lands to the Malagarazi river, and thence into
the Tanganyika lake. Thence, having spent the night in the jungle, we
next morning pushed into the cultivated district of Rubuga, and put up
in some half-deserted tembes, where the ravages of war were even more
disgusting to witness than at Tura. The chief, as I have said, was a
slave, placed there by the Arabs on the condition that he would allow
all traders and travellers to help themselves without payment as long as
they chose to reside there. In consequence of this wicked arrangement,
I found it impossible to keep my men from picking and stealing. They
looked upon plunder as their fortune and right, and my interference as
unjustifiable.
By making another morning and evening march, we then reached the western
extremity of this cultivated opening; where, after sleeping the night,
we threaded through another forest to the little clearance of Kigue,
and in one more march through forest arrived in the large and fertile
district of Unyanyembe, the centre of Unyamuezi--the Land of the
Moon--within five miles of Kaze which is the name of a well in the
village of Tbora, now constituted the great central slave and ivory
merchants' depot. My losses up to this date (23d) were as follows:--One
Hottentot dead and five returned; one freeman sent back with the
Hottentots, and one flogged and turned off; twenty-five of Sultan
Majid's gardeners deserted; ninety-eight of the original Wanyamuezi
porters deserted; twelve mules and three donkeys dead. Besides which,
more than half of my property had been stolen; whilst the travelling
expenses had been unprecedented, in consequence of the severity of the
famine throughout the whole length of the march.
Chapter V. Unyamuezi
The Country and People of U-n-ya-muezi--Kaze, the Capital--Old Musa--The
Naked Wakidi--The N'yanza, and the Question of the River Running in or
out--The Contest between Mohinna and "Short-legs"--Famine--The Arabs and
Local Wars--The Sultana of Unyambewa--Ungurue "The Pig"--Pillage.
U-n-ya-muezi--Country of Moon--must have been one of the largest
kingdoms in Africa. It is little inferior in size to England, and of
much the same shape, though now, instead of being united, it is cut
up into petty states. In its northern extremities it is known by
the appellation U-sukuma--country north; and in the southern,
U-takama--country south. There are no historical traditions known to the
people; neither was anything ever written concerning their country,
as far as we know, until the Hindus, who traded with the east coast of
Africa, opened commercial dealings with its people in salves and ivory,
possibly some time prior to the birth of our Saviour, when, associated
with their name, Men of the Moon, sprang into existence the Mountains of
the Moon. These Men of the Moon are hereditarily the greatest traders in
Africa, and are the only people who, for love of barter and change, will
leave their own country as porters and go to the coast, and they do so
with as much zest as our country-folk go to a fair. As far back as we
can trace they have done this, and they still do it as heretofore.
The whole of their country ranges from 3000 to 4000 feet above the
sea-level--a high plateau, studded with little outcropping hills of
granite, between which, in the valleys, there are numerous fertilising
springs of fresh water, and rich iron ore is found in sandstone.
Generally industrious--much more so than most other negroes--they
cultivate extensively, make cloths of cotton in their own looms, smelt
iron and work it up very expertly, build tembes to live in over a large
portion of their country, but otherwise live in grass huts, and keep
flocks and herds of considerable extent.
The Wanyamuezi, however, are not a very well-favoured people in physical
appearance, and are much darker than either the Wazaramo or the Wagogo,
though many of their men are handsome and their women pretty; neither
are they well dressed or well armed, being wanting in pluck and
gallantry. Their women, generally, are better dressed than the men.
Cloths fastened round under the arms are their national costume, along
with a necklace of beads, large brass or copper wire armlets, and
a profusion of thin circles, called sambo, made of the giraffe's
tail-hairs bound round by the thinnest iron or copper wire; whilst the
men at home wear loin-cloths, but in the field, or whilst travelling,
simply hang a goat-skin over their shoulders, exposing at least
three-fourths of their body in a rather indecorous manner. In all other
respects they ornament themselves like the women, only, instead of a
long coil of wire wound up the arm, they content themselves with having
massive rings of copper or brass on the wrist; and they carry for arms a
spear and bow and arrows. All extract more or less their lower incisors,
and cut a [upside-down V shape] between their two upper incisors. The
whole tribe are desperate smokers, and greatly given to drink.
On the 24th, we all, as many as were left of us, marched into the
merchant's depot, S. lat. 5° 0' 52", and E. long. 33° 1' 34", [7]
escorted by Musa, who advanced to meet us, and guided us into his tembe,
where he begged we would reside with him until we could find men to
carry our property on to Karague. He added that he would accompany
us; for he was on the point of going there when my first instalment of
property arrived, but deferred his intention out of respect to myself.
He had been detained at Kaze ever since I last left it in consequence
of the Arabs having provoked a war with Manua Sera, to which he was
adverse. For a long time also he had been a chained prisoner; as the
Arabs, jealous of the favour Manua Sera had shown to him in preference
to themselves, basely accused him of supplying Manua Sera with
gunpowder, and bound him hand and foot "like a slave." It was delightful
to see old Musa's face again, and the supremely hospitable, kind, and
courteous manner in which he looked after us, constantly bringing in all
kind of small delicacies, and seeing that nothing was wanting to make us
happy. All the property I had sent on in advance he had stored away; or
rather, I should say, as much as had reached him, for the road expenses
had eaten a great hole in it.
Once settled down into position, Sheikh Snay and the whole conclave of
Arab merchants came to call on me. They said they had an army of four
hundred slaves armed with muskets ready to take the field at once to
hunt down Manua Sera, who was cutting their caravan road to pieces,
and had just seized, by their latest reports, a whole convoy of their
ammunition. I begged them strongly to listen to reason, and accept my
advice as an old soldier, not to carry on their guerilla warfare in such
a headlong hurry, else they would be led a dance by Manua Sera, as we
had been by Tantia Topee in India. I advised them to allow me to mediate
between them, after telling them what a favourable interview I had had
with Manua Sera and Maula, whose son was at that moment concealed in
Musa's tembe. My advice, however, was not wanted. Snay knew better than
any one how to deal with savages, and determined on setting out as soon
as his army had "eaten their beef-feast of war."
On my questioning him about the Nile, Snay still thought the N'yanza
was the source of the Jub river [8] as he did in our former journey, but
gave way when I told him that vessels frequented the Nile, as this also
coincided with his knowledge of navigators in vessels appearing on some
waters to the northward of Unyoro. In a great hurry he then bade
me good-bye; when, as he thought it would be final, I gave him, in
consideration of his former good services to the last expedition, one of
the gold watches given me by the Indian Government. I saw him no more,
though he and all the other Arabs sent me presents of cows, goats, and
rice, with a notice that they should have gone on their war-oath before,
only, hearing of my arrival, out of due respect to my greatness they
waited to welcome me in. Further, after doing for Manua Sera, they were
determined to go on to Ugogo to assist Salem bin Saif and the other
merchants on, during which, at the same time, they would fight all the
Wagogo who persisted in taking taxes and in harassing caravans. At the
advice of Musa, I sent Maula's son off at night to tell the old chief
how sorry I was to find the Arabs so hot-headed I could not even effect
an arrangement with them. It was a great pity; for Manua Sera was so
much liked by the Wanyamuezi, they would, had they been able, have done
anything to restore him.
Next day the non-belligerent Arabs left in charge of the station, headed
by my old friends Abdulla and Mohinna, came to pay their respects again,
recognising in me, as they said, a "personification of their sultan,"
and therefore considering what they were doing only due to my rank. They
regretted with myself that Snay was so hot-headed; for they themselves
thought a treaty of peace would have been the best thing for them, for
they were more than half-ruined already, and saw no hope for the
future. Then, turning to geography, I told Abdulla all I had written
and lectured in England concerning his stories about navigators on the
N'yanza, which I explained must be the Nile, and wished to know if I
should alter it in any way: but he said, "Do not; you may depend it will
all turn out right;" to which Musa added, all the people in the north
told him that when the N'yanza rose, the stream rushed with such
violence it tore up islands and floated them away.
I was puzzled at this announcement, not then knowing that both the lake
and the Nile, as well as all ponds, were called N'yanza: but we shall
see afterwards that he was right; and it was in consequence of this
confusion in the treatment of distinctly different geographical features
under one common name by these people, that in my former journey I
could not determine where the lake had ended and the Nile began. Abdulla
again--he had done so on the former journey--spoke to me of a wonderful
mountain to the northward of Karague, so high and steep no one could
ascend it. It was, he said, seldom visible, being up in the clouds,
where white matter, snow or hail, often fell. Musa said this hill was in
Ruanda, a much larger country than Urundi; and further, both men
said, as they had said before, that the lands of Usoga and Unyoro were
islands, being surrounded by water; and a salt lake, which was called
N'yanza, though not the great Victoria N'yanza lay on the other said of
the Unyoro, from which direction Rumanika, king of Karague, sometimes
got beads forwarded to him by Kamrasi, king of Unyoro, of a different
sort from any brought from Zanzibar. Moreover, these beads were said to
have been plundered from white men by the Wakidi,--a stark-naked people
who live up in trees--have small stools fixed on behind, always ready
for sitting--wear their hair hanging down as far as the rump, all
covered with cowrie-shells--suspend beads from wire attached to their
ears and their lower lips--and wear strong iron collars and bracelets.
This people, I was told, are so fierce in war that no other tribe can
stand against them, though they only fight with short spears. When this
discourse was ended, ever perplexed about the Tanganyika being a still
lake, I enquired of Mohinna and other old friends what they thought
about the Marungu river: did it run into or out of the lake? and they
all still adhered to its running into the lake--which, after all, in my
mind, is the most conclusive argument that it does run out of the lake,
making it one of a chain of lakes leading to the N'yanza, and through
it by the Zambezi into the sea; for all the Arabs on the former journey
said the Rusizi river ran out of the Tanganyika, as also the Kitangule
ran out of the N'yanza, and the Nile ran into it, even though Snay said
he thought the Jub river drained the N'yanza. All these statements
were, when literally translated into English, the reverse of what
the speakers, using a peculiar Arab idiom, meant to say; for all the
statements made as to the flow of rivers by the negroes--who apparently
give the same meaning to "out" and "in" as we do--contradicted the Arabs
in their descriptions of the direction of the flow of these rivers.
Mohinna now gave us a very graphic description of his fight with
Short-legs, the late chief of Khoko. About a year ago, as he was making
his way down to the coast with his ivory merchandise, on arrival at
Khoko, and before his camp was fortified with a ring-fence of thorns,
some of his men went to drink at a well, where they no sooner arrived
than the natives began to bean them with sticks, claiming the well as
their property. This commenced a row, which brought out a large body
of men, who demanded a bullock at the point of their spears. Mohinna
hearing this, also came to the well, and said he would not listen to
their demand, but would drink as he wished, for the water was the gift
of God. Words then changed to blows. All Mohinna's pagazis bolted, and
his merchandise fell into the hands of the Wagogo. Had his camp been
fortified, he think he would have been too much for his enemies; but,
as it was, he retaliated by shooting Short-legs in the head, and at once
bolted back to Kaze with a few slaves as followers, and his three wives.
The change that had taken place in Unyanyembe since I last left it was
quite surprising. Instead of the Arabs appearing merchants, as they
did formerly, they looked more like great farmers, with huge stalls of
cattle attached to their houses; whilst the native villages were all
in ruins--so much so that, to obtain corn for my men, I had to send out
into the district several days' journey off, and even then had to pay
the most severe famine prices for what I got. The Wanyamuezi, I was
assured, were dying of starvation in all directions; for, in addition
to the war, the last rainy season had been so light, all their crops had
failed.
27th and 28th.--I now gave all my men presents for the severe trials
they had experienced in the wilderness, forgetting, as I told them, the
merciless manner in which they had plundered me; but as I have a trifle
more in proportion, to the three sole remaining pagazis, because they
had not finished their work, my men were all discontented, and wished
to throw back their presents, saying I did not love them, although they
were "perminents," as much as the "temperaries." They, however, gave
in, after some hours of futile arguments, on my making them understand,
through Baraka, that what they saw me give to the pagazis would, if they
reflected, only tend to prove to them that I was not a bad master who
forgot his obligations when he could get no more out of his servants.
I then went into a long inquiry with Musa about our journey northward
to Karague; and as he said there were no men to be found in or near
Unyanyembe, for they were either all killed or engaged in the war, it
was settled he should send some of his head men on to Rungua, where he
had formerly resided, trading for some years, and was a great favourite
with the chief of the place, by name Kiringuana. He also settled that
I might take out of his establishment of slaves as many men as I could
induce to go with me, for he thought them more trouble than profit,
hired porters being more safe; moreover, he said the plan would be of
great advantage to him, as I offered to pay, both man and master, each
the same monthly stipend as I gave my present men. This was paying
double, and all the heavier a burden, as the number I should require to
complete my establishment to one hundred armed men would be sixty. He,
however, very generously advised me not to take them, as they would give
so much trouble; but finally gave way when I told him I felt I could
not advance beyond Karague unless I was quite independent of the natives
there--a view in which he concurred.
29th and 30th.--Jafu, another Indian merchant here, and co-partner of
Musa, came in from a ten days' search after grain, and described the
whole country to be in the most dreadful state of famine. Wanyamuezi
were lying about dead from starvation in all directions, and he did not
think we should ever get through Usui, as Suwarora, the chief, was so
extortionate he would "tear us to pieces"; but advised our waiting until
the war was settled, when all the Arabs would combine and go with us.
Musa even showed fear, but arranged, at my suggestion, that he should
send some men to Rumanika, informing him of our intention to visit him,
and begging, at the same time, he would use his influence in preventing
our being detained in Usui.
I may here explain that the country Uzinza was once a large kingdom,
governed by a king named Ruma, of Wahuma blood. At his death, which took
place in Dagara's time (the present Rumanika's father), the kingdom
was contested by his two sons, Rohinda and Suwarora, but, at the
intercession of Dagara, was divided--Rohinda taking the eastern, called
Ukhanga, and Suwarora the western half of the country, called Usui. This
measure made Usui feudatory to Karague, so that much of the produce of
the extortions committed in Usui went to Karague, and therefore they
were recognised, though the odium always rested on Suwarora, "the savage
extortioner," rather than on the mild-disposed king of Karague, who kept
up the most amicable relations with every one who visited him.
Musa, I must say, was most loud in his praises of Rumanika; and on the
other hand, as Musa, eight years ago, had saved Rumanika's throne
for him against an insurrection got up by his younger brother
Rogero, Rumanika, always regarding Musa as his saviour, never lost an
opportunity to show his gratitude, and would have done anything that
Musa might have asked him. Of this matter, however, more in Karague.
31st.--To-day, Jafu, who had lost many ivories at Khoko when Mohinna
was attacked there, prepared 100 slaves, with Said bin Osman, Mohinna's
brother, with a view to follow down Snay, and, combining forces, attack
Hori Hori, hoping to recover their losses; for it appeared to them the
time had now come when their only hope left in carrying their trade to
a successful issue, lay in force of arms. They would therefore not rest
satisfied until they had reduced Khoko and Usekhe both, by actual force,
to acknowledge their superiority, "feeding on them" until the Ramazan,
when they would return with all the merchants detained in Ugogo, and,
again combining their forces, they would fall on Usui, to reduce that
country also.
When these men had gone, a lunatic set the whole place in commotion. He
was a slave of Musa's, who had wounded some men previously in his wild
excesses, and had been tied up; but now, breaking loose again, he swore
he would not be satisfied until he killed some "big man." His strength
was so great no one could confine him, though they hunted him into a
hut, where, having seized a gun and some arrows, he defied any one to
put hands on him. Here, however, he was at last reduced to submission
and a better state of his senses by starvation: for I must add, the
African is much give to such mental fits of aberration at certain
periods: these are generally harmless, but sometimes not; but they come
and they go again without any visible cause.
1st.--Musa's men now started for Rungua, and promised to bring all the
porters we wanted by the first day of the next moon. We found that this
would be early enough, for all the members of the expedition, excepting
myself, were suffering from the effects of the wilderness life--some
with fever, some with scurvy, and some with ophthalmia--which made
it desirable they should all have rest. Little now was done besides
counting out my property, and making Sheikh Said, who became worse and
worse, deliver his charge of Cafila Bashi over to Bombay for good. When
it was found so much had been stolen, especially of the best articles,
I was obliged to purchase many things from Musa, paying 400 per cent,
which he said was their value here, over the market price of Zanzibar.
I also got him to have all my coils of brass and copper wire made into
bracelet, as is customary, to please the northern people.
7th.--To-day information was brought here that whilst Manua Sera was on
his way from Ugogo to keep his appointment with me, Sheikh Snay's army
came on him at Tura, where he was ensconced in a tembe. Hearing this,
Snay, instead of attacking the village at once, commenced negotiations
with the chief of the place by demanding him to set free his
guest, otherwise they, the Arabs, would storm the tembe. The chief,
unfortunately, did not comply at once, but begged grace for one night,
saying that if Manua Sera was found there in the morning they might do
as they liked. Of course Manua bolted; and the Arabs, seeing the Tura
people all under arms ready to defend themselves the next morning, set
at them in earnest, and shot, murdered, or plundered the whole of the
district. Then, whilst Arabs were sending in their captures of women,
children, and cattle, Manua Sera made off to a district called Dara,
where he formed an alliance with its chief, Kifunja, and boasted he
would attack Kaze as soon as the travelling season commenced, when the
place would be weakened by the dispersion of the Arabs on their ivory
excursions.
The startling news set the place in a blaze, and brought all the Arabs
again to seek my advice for they condemned what Snay had done in not
listening to me before, and wished to know if I could not now treat for
them with Manua Sera, which they thought could be easily managed, as
Manua Sera himself was not only the first to propose mediation, but was
actually on his way here for the purpose when Snay opposed him. I said
nothing could give me greater pleasure than mediating for them, to put
a stop to these horrors, but it struck me the case had now gone too far.
Snay, in opposition to my advice, was bent on fighting; he could not be
recalled and unless all the Arabs were of one mind, I ran the risk
of committing myself to a position I could not maintain. To this they
replied that the majority were still at Kaze, all wishing for peace at
any price, and that whatever terms I might wish to dictate they would
agree to. Then I said, "What would you do with Mkisiwa? you have made
him chief, and cannot throw him over." "Oh, that," they said, "can be
easily managed; for formerly, when we confronted Manua Sera at Nguru, we
offered to give him as much territory as his father governed, though not
exactly in the same place; but he treated our message with disdain, not
knowing then what a fix he was in. Now, however, as he has seen more,
and wishes for peace himself, there can be no difficulty." I then
ordered two of my men to go with two of Musa's to acquaint Manua Sera
with what we were about, and to know his views on the subject; but these
men returned to say Manua Sera could not be found, for he was driven
from "pillar to post" by the different native chiefs, as, wherever he
went, his army ate up their stores, and brought nothing but calamities
with them. Thus died this second attempted treaty. Musa then told me it
was well it turned out so; for Manua Sera would never believe the Arabs,
as they had broken faith so often before, even after exchanging blood by
cutting incision in one another's legs--the most sacred bond or oath the
natives know of.
As nothing more of importance was done, I set out with Grant to have a
week's shooting in the district, under the guidance of an old friend,
Fundi Sangoro, Musa's "head gamekeeper," who assured me that the sable
antelope and blanc boc, specimens of which I had not yet seen, inhabited
some low swampy place called N'yama, or "Meat," not far distant, on the
left bank of the Wale nullah. My companion unfortunately got fever here,
and was prevented from going out, and I did little better; for although
I waded up to my middle every day, and wounded several blanc boc, I only
bagged one, and should not have got even him, had it not happened that
some lions in the night pulled him down close to our camp, and roared so
violently that they told us the story. The first thing in the morning I
wished to have at them; but they took the hint of daybreak to make off,
and left me only the half of the animal. I saw only one sable antelope.
We all went back to Kaze, arriving there on the 24th.
25th to 13th.--Days rolled on, and nothing was done in
particular--beyond increasing my stock of knowledge of distant places
and people, enlarging my zoological collection, and taking long series
of astronomical observations--until the 13th, when the whole of Kaze was
depressed by a sad scene of mourning and tears. Some slaves came in that
night--having made their way through the woods from Ugogo, avoiding the
track to save themselves from detection--and gave information that Snay,
Jafu, and five other Arabs, had been killed, as well as a great number
of slaves. The expedition, they said, had been defeated, and the
positions were so complicated nobody knew what to do. At first the Arabs
achieved two brilliant successes, having succeeded in killing Hori Hori
of Khoko, when they recovered their ivory, made slaves of all they
could find, and took a vast number of cattle; then attacking Usekhe they
reduced that place to submission by forcing a ransom out of its people.
At this period, however, they heard that a whole caravan, carrying 5000
dollars' worth of property, had been cut up by the people of Mzanza,
a small district ten miles north of Usekhe; so, instead of going on to
Kanyenye to relieve the caravans which were waiting there for them, they
foolishly divided their forces into three parts. Of these they sent
one to take their loot back to Kaze, another to form a reserve force
at Mdaburu, on the east flank of the wilderness, and a third, headed
by Snay and Jafu, to attack Mzanza. At the first onset Snay and Jafu
carried everything before them, and became so excited over the amount of
their loot that they lost all feelings of care or precaution.
In this high exuberance of spirits, a sudden surprise turned their
momentary triumph into a total defeat; for some Wahumba, having heard
the cries of the Wagogo, joined in their cause, and both together fell
on the Arab force with such impetuosity that the former victors were
now scattered in all directions. Those who could run fast enough were
saved--the rest were speared to death by the natives. Nobody knew how
Jafu fell; but Snay, after running a short distance, called one of his
slaves, and begged him to take his gun, saying, "I am too old to keep up
with you; keep this gun for my sake, for I will lie down here and
take my chance." He never was seen again. But this was not all their
misfortunes; for the slaves who brought in this information had met the
first detachment, sent with the Khoko loot, at Kigua, where, they said,
the detachment had been surprised by Manua Sera, who, having fortified a
village with four hundred men, expecting this sort of thing, rushed out
upon them, and cut them all up.
The Arabs, after the first burst of their grief was over, came to me
again in a body, and begged me to assist them, for they were utterly
undone. Manua Sera prevented their direct communication with their
detachment at Mdaburu, and that again was cut off from their caravans at
Kanyenye by the Mzanza people, and in fact all the Wagogo; so they hoped
at least I would not forsake them, which they heard I was going to do,
as Manua Sera had also threatened to attack Kaze. I then told them,
finally that their proposals were now beyond my power, for I had a duty
to perform as well as themselves, and in a day or two I should be off.
14th to 17th.--On the 14th thirty-nine porters were brought in from
Rungua by Musa's men, who said they had collected one hundred and
twenty, and brought them to within ten miles of this, when some
travellers frightened all but thirty-nine away, by telling them, "Are
you such fools as to venture into Kaze now? all the Arabs have been
killed, or were being cut up and pursued by Manua Sera." This sad
disappointment threw me on my "beam-ends." For some reason or other none
of Musa's slaves would take service, and the Arabs prevented theirs from
leaving the place, as it was already too short of hands. To do the best
under these circumstances, I determined on going to Rungua with what kit
could be carried, leaving Bombay behind with Musa until such time as I
should arrive there, and, finding more men, could send them back for
the rest. I then gave Musa the last of the gold watches the Indian
Government had given me; [9] and, bidding Sheikh Said take all our
letters and specimens back to the coast as soon as the road was found
practicable, set out on the march northwards with Grant and Baraka, and
all the rest of my men who were well enough to carry loads, as well as
some of Musa's head men, who knew where to get porters.
After passing Masange and Zimbili, we put up a night in the village of
Iviri, on the northern border of Unyanyembe, and found several officers
there, sent by Mkisiwa, to enforce a levy of soldiers to take the field
with the Arabs at Kaze against Manua Sera; to effect which, they walked
about ringing bells, and bawling out that if a certain percentage of all
the inhabitants did not muster, the village chief would be seized, and
their plantations confiscated. My men all mutinied here for increase of
ration allowances. To find themselves food with, I had given them all
one necklace of beads each per diem since leaving Kaze, in lieu of
cloth, which hitherto had been served out for that purpose. It was
a very liberal allowance, because the Arabs never gave more than one
necklace to every three men, and that, too, of inferior quality to what
I served. I brought them to at last by starvation, and then we went
on. Dipping down into a valley between two clusters of granitic hills,
beautifully clothed with trees and grass, studded here and there with
rich plantations, we entered the district of Usagari, and on the second
day forded the Gombe nullah again--in its upper course, called Kuale.
Rising again up to the main level of the plantation, we walked into the
boma of the chief of Unyambewa, Singinya, whose wife was my old friend
the late sultana Ungugu's lady's-maid. Immediately on our entering
her palace, she came forward to meet me with the most affable air of a
princess, begged I would always come to her as I did then, and sought to
make every one happy and comfortable. Her old mistress, she said, died
well stricken in years; and, as she had succeeded her, the people of her
country invited Singinya to marry her, because feuds had arisen about
the rights of succession; and it was better a prince, whom they thought
best suited by birth and good qualities, should head their warriors, and
keep all in order. At that moment Singinya was out in the field fighting
his enemies; and she was sure, when he heard I was here, that he would
be very sorry he had missed seeing me.
We next went on to the district of Ukumbi, and put up in a village
there, on approaching which all the villagers turned out to resist us,
supposing we were an old enemy of theirs. They flew about brandishing
their spears, and pulling their bows in the most grotesque attitudes,
alarming some of my porters so much that they threw down their loads and
bolted. All the country is richly cultivated, though Indian corn at that
time was the only grain ripe. The square, flat-topped tembes had now
been left behind, and instead the villagers lived in small collections
of grass huts, surrounded by palisades of tall poles.
Proceeding on we put up at the small settlement of Usenda, the
proprietor of which was a semi-negro Arab merchant called Sangoro. He
had a large collection of women here, but had himself gone north with a
view to trade in Karague. Report, however, assured us that he was then
detained in Usui by Suwarora, its chief, on the plea of requiring his
force of musketeers to prevent the Watuta from pillaging his country,
for these Watuta lived entirely on plunder of other people's cattle.
With one move, by alternately crossing strips of forest and cultivation,
studded here and there with small hills of granite, we forded the Qaunde
nullah--a tributary to the Gombe--and entered the rich flat district of
Mininga, where the gingerbread-palm grows abundantly. The greatest man
we found here was a broken-down ivory merchant called Sirboko, who gave
us a good hut to live in. Next morning, I believe at the suggestion of
my Wanguana, with Baraka at their head, he induced me to stop there; for
he said Rungua had been very recently destroyed by the Watuta, and this
place could afford porters better than it. To all appearance this was
the case, for this district was better cultivated than any place I had
seen. I also felt a certain inclination to stop, as I was dragging on
sick men, sorely against my feelings; and I also thought I had better
not go farther away from my rear property; but, afraid of doing wrong
in not acting up to Musa's directions, I called up his head men who were
with me, and asked them what they thought of the matter, as they had
lately come from Rungua. On their confirming Sirboki's story, and
advising my stopping, I acceded to their recommendation, and immediately
gave Musa's men orders to look out for porters.
Hearing this, all my Wanguana danced with delight; and I, fearing there
was some treachery, called Musa's men again, saying I had changed my
mind, and wished to go on in the afternoon; but when the time came,
not one of our porters could be seen. There was now no help for it; so,
taking it coolly, I gave Musa's men presents, begged them to look sharp
in getting the men up, and trusted all would end well in the long-run.
Sirboko's attentions were most warm and affecting. He gave us cows,
rice, and milk, with the best place he had to live in, and looked after
us as constantly and tenderly as if he had been our father. It seemed
quite unjust to harbour any suspicion against him.
He gave the following account of himself:--He used to trade in ivory, on
account of some Arabs at Zanzibar. On crossing Usui, he once had a fight
with one of the chiefs of the country and killed him; but he got through
all right, because the natives, after two or three of their number had
been killed, dispersed, and feared to come near his musket again. He
visited Uganda when the late king Sunna was living, and even traded
Usoga; but as he was coming down from these northern countries he lost
all his property by a fire breaking out in a village he stopped in,
which drove him down here a ruined man. As it happened, however, he put
up with the chief of this district, Ugali--Mr Paste--at a time when the
Watuta attacked the place and drove all the inhabitants away. The chief,
too, was on the point of bolting, when Sirboko prevented him by saying,
"If you will only have courage to stand by me, the Watuta shall not come
near--at any rate, if they do, let us both die together." The Watuta
at that time surrounded the district, crowning all the little hills
overlooking it; but fearing the Arabs' guns might be many, they soon
walked away, and left them in peace. In return for this magnanimity,
and feeling a great security in firearms, Ugali then built the large
enclosure, with huts for Sirboko, we were now living in. Sirboko, afraid
to return to the coast lest he should be apprehended for debt, has
resided here ever since, doing odd jobs for other traders, increasing
his family, and planting extensively. His agricultural operations are
confined chiefly to rice, because the natives do not like it enough to
be tempted to steal it.
25th to 2d.--I now set to work, collecting, stuffing, and drawing, until
the 2d, when Musa's men came in with three hundred men, whom I sent on
to Kaze at once with my specimens and letters, directing Musa and Bombay
to come on and join us immediately. Whilst waiting for these men's
return, one of Sirboko's slaves, chained up by him, in the most piteous
manner cried out to me: "Hai Bana wangi, Bana wangi (Oh, my lord, my
lord), take pity on me! When I was a free man I saw you at Uvira, on the
Tanganyika lake, when you were there; but since then the Watuta, in a
fight at Ujiji, speared me all over and left me for dead, when I was
seized by the people, sold to the Arabs, and have been in chains ever
since. Oh, I saw, Bana wangi, if you would only liberate me I would
never run away, but would serve you faithfully all my life." This
touching appeal was too strong for my heart to withstand, so I called up
Sirboko, and told him, if he would liberate this one man to please me he
should be no loser; and the release was effected. He was then christened
Farham (Joy), and was enrolled in my service with the rest of my freed
men. I then inquired if it was true the Wabembe were cannibals, and
also circumcised. In one of their slaves the latter statement was easily
confirmed. I was assure that he was not a cannibal; for the whole tribe
of Wabembe, when they cannot get human flesh otherwise, give a goat to
their neighbours for a sick or dying child, regarding such flesh as the
best of all. No other cannibals, however, were known of; but the Masai,
and their cognates, the Wahumba, Wataturu, Wakasange, Wanyaramba, and
even the Wagogo and Wakimbu, circumcise.
On the 15th I was surprised to find Bombay come in with all my rear
property and a great quantity of Musa's, but with out the old man. By
a letter from Sheikh Said I then found that, since my leaving Kaze, the
Arabs had, along with Mkisiwa, invested the position of Manua Sera
at Kigue, and forced him to take flight again. Afterwards the Arabs,
returning to Kaze, found Musa preparing to leave. Angry at this attempt
to desert them, they persuaded him to give up his journey north for the
present; so that at the time Bombay left, Musa was engaged as public
auctioneer in selling the effects of Snay, Jafu, and others, but
privately said he would follow me on to Karague as soon as his rice was
cut. Adding a little advice of his own, Sheikh Said pressed me to go on
with the journey as fast as possible, because all the Arabs had accused
me of conspiring with Manua Sera, and would turn against me unless I
soon got away.
2d to 30th.--Disgusted with Musa's vacillatory conduct, on the 22d I
sent him a letter containing a bit of my mind. I had given him, as a
present, sufficient cloth to pay for his porters, as well as a watch and
a good sum of money, and advised his coming on at once, for the porters
who had just brought in my rear property would not take pay to go on to
Karague; and so I was detained again, waiting whilst his head man went
to Rungua to look for more. Five days after this, a party of Sangoro's
arrived from Karague, saying they had been detained three months in Usui
by Suwarora, who had robbed them of an enormous quantity of property,
and oppressed them so that all their porters ran away. Now, slight as
this little affair might appear, it was of vital importance to me, as I
found all my men shaking their heads and predicting what might happen to
us when we got there; so, as a forlorn hope, I sent Baraka with another
letter to Musa, offering to pay as much money for fifty men carrying
muskets as would buy fifty slaves, and, in addition to that, I offered
to pay them what my men were receiving as servants. Next day (23d) the
chief Ugali came to pay his respects to us. He was a fine-looking young
man, about thirty years old, the husband of thirty wives, but he had
only three children. Much surprised at the various articles composing
our kit, he remarked that our "sleeping-clothes"--blankets--were much
better than his royal robes; but of all things that amused him most were
our picture-books, especially some birds drawn by Wolf.
Everything still seemed going against me; for on the following day
(24th) Musa's men came in from Rungua to say the Watuta were "out." They
had just seized fifty head of cattle from Rungua, and the people were in
such a state of alarm they dared not leave their homes and families. I
knew not what to do, for there was no hope left but in what Baraka might
bring; and as that even would be insufficient, I sent Musa's men into
Kaze, to increase the original number by thirty men more.
Patience, thank God, I had a good stock of, so I waited quietly until
the 30th, when I was fairly upset by the arrival of a letter from Kaze,
stating that Baraka had arrived, and had been very insolent both to
Musa and to Sheikh Said. The bearer of the letter was at once to go and
search for porters at Rungua, but not a word was said about the armed
men I had ordered. At the same time reports from the other side came in,
to the effect that the Arabs at Kaze and Msene had bribed the Watuta
to join them, and overrun the whole country from Ugogo to Usui; and, in
consequence of this, all the natives on the line I should have to take
were in such dread of that terrible wandering race of savages, who had
laid waste in turn all the lands from N'yassa to Usui on their west
flank, that not a soul dared leave his home. I could now only suppose
that this foolish and hasty determination of the Arabs, who, quite
unprepared to carry out their wicked alliance to fight, still had set
every one against their own interests as well as mine, had not reached
Musa, so I made up my mind at once to return to Kaze, and settle all
matters I had in my heart with himself and the Arabs in person.
This settled, I next, in this terrible embarrassment, determined on
sending back the last of the Hottentots, as all four of them, though
still wishing to go on with me, distinctly said they had not the power
to continue the march, for they had never ceased suffering from fever
and jaundice, which had made them all yellow as guineas, save one, who
was too black to change colour. It felt to me as if I were selling my
children, having once undertaken to lead them through the journey;
but if I did not send them back then, I never could afterwards, and
therefore I allowed the more substantial feelings of humanity to
overcome these compunctions.
Next morning, then, after giving the Tots over in charge of some men to
escort them on to Kaze quietly, I set our myself with a dozen men, and
the following evening I put up with Musa, who told me Baraka had just
left without one man--all his slaves having become afraid to go, since
the news of the Arab alliance had reached Kaze. Suwarora had ordered
his subjects to run up a line of bomas to protect his frontier, and had
proclaimed his intention to kill every coast-man who dared attempt to
enter Usui. My heart was ready to sink as I turned into bed, and I was
driven to think of abandoning everybody who was not strong enough to go
on with me carrying a load.
3d to 13th.--Baraka, hearing I had arrived, then came back to me, and
confirmed Musa's words. The Arabs, too, came flocking in to beg, nay
implore, me to help them out of their difficulties. Many of them were
absolutely ruined, they said; others had their houses full of stores
unemployed. At Ugogo those who wished to join them were unable to do so,
for their porters, what few were left, were all dying of starvation; and
at that moment Manua Sera was hovering about, shooting, both night and
day, all the poor villagers in the district, or driving them away. Would
to God, they said, I would mediate for them with Manua Sera--they were
sure I would be successful--and then they would give me as many armed
men as I liked. Their folly in all their actions, I said, proved to me
that anything I might attempt to do would be futile, for their alliance
with the Watuta, when they were not prepared to act, at once damned them
in my eyes as fools. This they in their terror acknowledged, but said it
was not past remedy, if I would join them, to counteract what had been
done in that matter. Suffice it now to say, after a long conversation,
arguing all the pros and cons over, I settled I would write out all the
articles of a treaty of peace, by which they should be liable to have
all their property forfeited on the coast if they afterwards broke
faith; and I begged them to call the next day and sign it.
They were no sooner gone, however, than Musa assured me they had killed
old Maula of Rubuga in the most treacherous manner, as follows:--Khamis,
who is an Arab of most gentlemanly aspect, on returning from Ugogo
attended by slaves, having heard that Maula was desirous of adjusting
a peace, invited him with his son to do so. When old Maula came as
desired, bringing his son with him, and a suitable offering of ivory and
cattle, the Arab induced them both to kneel down and exchange blood with
him, when, by a previously concerted arrangement, Khamis had them shot
down by his slaves. This disgusting story made me quite sorry, when next
day the Arabs arrived, expecting that I should attempt to help them;
but as the matter had gone so far, I asked them, in the first place, how
they could hope Manua Sera would have any faith in them when they were
so treacherous, or trust to my help, since they had killed Maula, who
was my protege? They all replied in a breath, "Oh, let the past be
forgotten, and assist us now! for in you alone we can look for a
preserver."
At length an armistice was agreed to; but as no one dared go to
negotiated it but my men, I allowed them to take pay from the Arabs,
which was settled on the 4th by ten men taking four yards of cloth each,
with a promise of a feast on sweetmeats when they returned. Ex Mrs Musa,
who had been put aside by her husband because she was too fat for her
lord's taste, then gave me three men of her private establishment, and
abused Musa for being wanting in "brains." She had repeatedly advised
him to leave this place and go with me, lest the Arabs, who were all in
debt to him, should put him to death; but he still hung on to recover
his remaining debts, a portion having been realised by the sale of
Snay's and Jafu's effects; for everything in the shape of commodities
had been sold at the enormous price of 500 per cent--the male slaves
even fetching 100 dollars per head, though the females went for less.
The Hottentots now arrived, with many more of my men, who, seeing their
old "flames," Snay's women, sold off by auction, begged me to advance
them money to purchase them with, for they could not bear to see these
women, who were their own when they formerly stayed here, go off like
cattle no one knew where. Compliance, of course, was impossible, as it
would have crowded the caravan with women. Indeed, to prevent my men
every thinking of matrimony on the march, as well as to incite them on
through the journey, I promised, as soon as we reached Egypt, to give
them all wives and gardens at Zanzibar, provided they did not contract
marriages on the road.
On the 6th, the deputation, headed by Baraka, returned triumphantly into
Kaze, leading in two of Manua Sera's ministers--one of them a man with
one eye, whom I called Cyclops--and tow others, ministers of a chief
called Kitambi, or Little Blue Cloth. After going a day's journey, they
said they came to where Manua Sera was residing with Kitambi, and met
with a most cheerful and kind reception from both potentates, who, on
hearing of my proposition, warmly acceded to it, issued orders at once
that hostilities should cease, and, with one voice, said they were
convinced that, unless through my instrumentality, Manua Sera would
never regain his possessions. Kitambi was quite beside himself, and
wished my men to stop one night to enjoy his hospitality. Manua Sera,
after reflecting seriously about the treacherous murder of old Maula,
hesitated, but gave way when it had been explained away by my men, and
said, "No; they shall go at once, for my kingdom depends on the issue,
and Bana Mzungu (the White Lord) may get anxious if they do not return
promptly." One thing, however, he insisted on, and that was, the only
place he would meet the Arabs in was Unyanyembe, as it would be beneath
his dignity to settle matters anywhere else. And further, he specified
that he wished all the transactions to take place in Musa's house.
Next day, 7th, I assembled all the Arabs at Musa's "court," with all my
men and the two chiefs, four men attending, when Baraka, "on his legs,"
told them all I proposed for the treaty of peace. The Arabs gave their
assent to it; and Cyclops, for Manua Sera, after giving a full narrative
of the whole history of the war, in such a rapid and eloquent manner as
would have done justice to our Prime Minister, said his chief was only
embittered against Snay, and now Snay was killed, he wished to make
friends with them. To which the Arabs made a suitable answer, adding,
that all they found fault with was an insolent remark which, in his
wrath, Manua Sera had given utterance to, that their quarrel with him
was owing chiefly to a scurvy jest which he had passed on them, and on
the characteristic personal ceremony of initiation to their Mussulman
faith. Now, however, as Manua Sera wished to make friends, they would
abide by anything that I might propose. Here the knotty question arose
again, what territory they, the Arabs, would give to Manua Sera? I
thought he would not be content unless he got the old place again; but
as Cyclops said no, that was not in his opinion absolutely necessary,
as the lands of Unyanyembe had once before been divided, the matter was
settled on the condition that another conference should be held with
Manua Sera himself on the subject.
I now (8th and 9th) sent these men all off again, inviting Manua Sera to
come over and settle matters at once, if he would, otherwise I should go
on with my journey, for I could not afford to wait longer here. Then,
as soon as they left, I made Musa order some of his men off to Rungua,
requesting the chief of the place to send porters to Mininga to remove
all our baggage over to his palace; at the same time I begged him not
to fear the Watuta's threat to attack him, as Musa would come as soon as
the treaty was concluded, in company with me, to build a boma alongside
his palace, as he did in former years, to be nearer his trade with
Karague. I should have mentioned, by the way, that Musa had now made
up his mind not to go further than the borders of Usui with me, lest
I should be "torn to pieces," and he would be "held responsible on the
coast." Musa's men, however, whom he selected for this business, were
then engaged making Mussulmans of all the Arab slave boys, and said
they would not go until they had finished, although I offered to pay the
"doctor's bill," or allowance they expected to get. The ceremony, at the
same time that it helps to extend their religion, as christening does
ours, also stamps the converts with a mark effective enough to prevent
desertion; because, after it has been performed, their own tribe
would not receive them again. At last, when they did go, Musa, who
was suffering from a sharp illness, to prove to me that he was bent on
leaving Kaze the same time as myself, began eating what he called
his training pills--small dried buds of roses with alternate bits of
sugar-candy. Ten of these buds, he said, eaten dry, were sufficient for
ordinary cases, and he gave a very formidable description of the effect
likely to follow the use of the same number boiled in rice-water or
milk.
Fearful stories of losses and distress came constantly in from Ugogo by
small bodies of men, who stole their way through the jungles. To-day a
tremendous commotion took place in Musa's tembe amongst all the women,
as one had been delivered of still-born twins. They went about in
procession, painted and adorned in the most grotesque fashion, bewailing
and screeching, singing and dancing, throwing their arms and legs about
as if they were drunk, until the evening set in, when they gathered a
huge bundle of bulrushes, and, covering it with a cloth, carried it up
to the door of the bereaved on their shoulders, as though it had been
a coffin. Then setting it down on the ground, they planted some of the
rushes on either side of the entrance, and all kneeling together, set to
bewailing, shrieking, and howling incessantly for hours together.
After this (10th to 12th), to my great relief, quite unexpectedly, a
man arrived from Usui conveying a present of some ivories from a great
mganga or magician, named Dr K'yengo, who had sent them to Musa as
a recollection from an old friend, begging at the same time for some
pretty cloths, as he said he was then engaged as mtongi or caravan
director, collecting together all the native caravans desirous of making
a grand march to Uganda. This seemed to me a heaven-born opportunity of
making friends with one who could help me so materially, and I begged
Musa to seal it by sending him something on my account, as I had nothing
by me; but Musa objected, thinking it better simply to say I was coming,
and if he, K'yengo, would assist me in Usui, I would then give him some
cloths as he wanted; otherwise, Musa said, the man who had to convey
it would in all probability make away with it, and then do his best to
prevent my seeing K'yengo. As soon as this was settled, against my wish
and opinion, a special messenger arrived from Suwarora, to inquire
of Musa what truth there was in the story of the Arabs having allied
themselves to the Watuta. He had full faith in Musa, and hoped, if the
Arabs had no hostile intentions towards him, he, Musa, would send him
two of theirs; further, Suwarora wished Musa would send him a cat. A
black cat was then given to the messenger for Suwarora, and Musa sent
an account of all that I had done towards effecting a peace, saying that
the Arabs had accepted my views, and if he would have patience until I
arrived in Usui, the four men required would be sent with me.
In the evening my men returned again with Cyclops, who said, for his
master, that Manua Sera desired nothing more than peace, and to make
friends with the Arabs; but as nothing was settled about deposing
Mkisiwa, he could not come over here. Could the Arabs, was Manua Sera's
rejoinder, suppose for a moment that he would voluntarily divide
his dominion with one whom he regarded as his slave! Death would be
preferable; and although he would trust his life in the Mzungu's hands
if he called him again, he must know it was his intention to hunt
Mkisiwa down like a wild animal, and would never rest satisfied until
he was dead. The treaty thus broke down; for the same night Cyclops
decamped like a thief, after brandishing an arrow which Manua Sera had
given him to throw down as a gauntlet of defiance to fight Mkisiwa to
death. After this the Arabs were too much ashamed of themselves to come
near me, though invited by letter, and Musa became so ill he would not
take my advice and ride in a hammock, the best possible cure for
his complaint; so, after being humbugged so many times by his
procrastinations, I gave Sheikh Said more letters and specimens, with
orders to take the Tots down to the coast as soon as practicable, and
started once more for the north, expecting very shortly to hear of
Musa's death, though he promised to follow me the very next day or die
in the attempt, and he also said he would bring on the four men required
by Suwarora; for I was fully satisfied in my mind that he would have
marched with me then had he had the resolution to do so at all.
Before I had left the district I heard that Manua Sera had collected a
mixed force of Warori, Wagogo, and Wasakuma, and had gone off to Kigue
again, whilst the Arabs and Mkisiwa were feeding their men on beef
before setting out to fight him. Manua Sera, it was said, had vast
resources. His father, Fundi Kira, was a very rich man, and had buried
vast stores of property, which no one knew of but Manua Sera, his heir.
The Wanyamuezi all inwardly loved him for his great generosity, and
all alike thought him protected by a halo of charm-power so effective
against the arms of the Arabs that he could play with them just as he
liked.
On crossing Unyambewa (14th), when I a third time put up with my old
friend the sultana, her chief sent word to say he hoped I would visit
him at his fighting boma to eat a cow which he had in store for me, as
he could not go home and enjoy the society of his wife whilst the war
was going on; since, by so doing, it was considered he "would lose
strength."
On arriving at Mininga, I was rejoiced to see Grant greatly recovered.
Three villagers had been attacked by two lions during my absence. Two of
the people escaped, but the third was seized as he was plunging into his
hut, and was dragged off and devoured by the animals. A theft also had
taken place, by which both Grant and Sirboko lost property; and the
thieves had been traced over the borders of the next district. No fear,
however, was entertained about the things being recovered, for Sirboko
had warned Ugali the chief, and he had promised to send his Waganga, or
magicians, out to track them down, unless the neighbouring chief chose
to give them up. After waiting two days, as no men came from Rungua, I
begged Grant to push ahead on to Ukani, just opposite Rungua, with all
my coast-men, whilst I remained behind for the arrival of Musa's men
and porters to carry on the rest of the kit--for I had now twenty-two in
addition to men permanently enlisted, who took service on the same rate
of pay as my original coast-men; though, as usual, when the order for
marching was issued, a great number were found to be either sick or
malingering.
Two days afterwards, Musa's men came in with porters, who would not hire
themselves for more than two marches, having been forbidden to do so by
their chief on account of the supposed Watuta invasion; and for these
two marches they required a quarter of the whole customary hire to
Karague. Musa's traps, too, I found, were not to be moved, so I saw at
once Musa had not kept faith with me, and there would be a fresh set
of difficulties; but as every step onwards was of the greatest
importance--for my men were consuming my stores at a fearful pace--I
paid down the beads they demanded, and next day joined Grant at Mbisu,
a village of Ukuni held by a small chief called Mchimeka, who had just
concluded a war of two years' standing with the great chief Ukulima (the
Digger), of Nunda (the Hump). During the whole of the two years' warfare
the loss was only three men on each side. Meanwhile Musa's men bolted
like thieves one night, on a report coming that the chief of Unyambewa,
after concluding the war, whilst amusing himself with his wife, had been
wounded on the foot by an arrow that fell from her hand. The injury had
at once taken a mortal turn, and the chief sent for his magicians, who
said it was not the fault of the wife--somebody else must have charmed
the arrow to cause such a deadly result. They then seized hold of the
magic horn, primed for the purpose, and allowed it to drag them to where
the culprits dwelt. Four poor men, who were convicted in this way, were
at once put to death, and the chief from that moment began to recover.
After a great many perplexities, I succeeded in getting a kirangozi, or
leader, by name Ungurue (the Pig). He had several times taken caravans
to Karague, and knew all the languages well, but unfortunately he
afterwards proved to be what his name implied. That, however, I could
not foresee, so, trusting to him and good-luck, I commenced making fresh
enlistments of porters; but they came and went in the most tantalising
manner, notwithstanding I offered three times the hire that any merchant
could afford to give. Every day seemed to be worse and worse. Some of
Musa's men came to get palm-toddy for him, as he was too weak to stand,
and was so cold nothing would warm him. There was, however, no message
brought for myself; and as the deputation did not come to me, I could
only infer that I was quite forgotten, of that Musa, after all, had only
been humbugging me. I scarcely knew what to do. Everybody advised me
to stop where I was until the harvest was over, as no porters could be
found on ahead, for Ukuni was the last of the fertile lands on this side
of Usui.
Stopping, however, seemed endless; not so my supplies, I therefore tried
advancing in detachments again, sending the free men off under Grant to
Ukulima's, whilst I waited behind keeping ourselves divided in the hopes
of inducing all hands to see the advisability of exerting themselves for
the general good--as my men, whilst we were all together, showed they
did not care how long they were kept doing no more fatiguing work than
chaffing each other, and feeding at my expense.
In the meanwhile the villagers were very merry, brewing and drinking
their pombe (beer) by turns, one house after the other providing the
treat. On these occasions the chief--who always drank freely, and more
than any other--heading the public gatherings of men and women, saw
the large earthen pots placed all in a row, and the company taking
long draughts from bowls made of plaited straw, laughing as they drank,
until, half-screwed, they would begin bawling and shouting. To increase
the merriment, one or two jackanapes, with zebras' manes tied over their
heads, would advance with long tubes like monster bassoons, blowing with
all their might, contorting their faces and bodies, and going through
the most obscene and ridiculous motions to captivate their simple
admirers. This, however, was only the feast; the ball then began, for
the pots were no sooner emptied than five drums at once, of different
sizes and tones, suspended in a line from a long horizontal bar, were
beaten with fury, and all the men, women, and children, singing and
clapping their hands in time, danced for hours together.
A report reached me, by some of Sirboko's men, whom he had sent to
convey to us a small present of rice, that an Arab, who was crossing
Msalala to our northward, had been treacherously robbed of all his
arms and guns by a small district chief, whose only excuse was that the
Wanyamuezi had always traded very well by themselves until the Arabs
came into the country; but now, as they were robbed of their property,
on account of the disturbances caused by these Arabs, they intended for
the future to take all they could get, and challenged the Arabs to do
the same.
My patience was beginning to suffer again, for I could not help thinking
that the chiefs of the place were preventing their village men going
with me in order that my presence here might ward of the Watuta; so I
called up the kirangozi, who had thirteen "Watoto," as they are called,
or children of his own, wishing to go, and asked him if he knew why no
other men could be got. As he could not tell me, saying some excused
themselves on the plea they were cutting their corn, and others that
they feared the Watuta, I resolved at once to move over to Nunda; and if
that place also failed to furnish men, I would go on to Usui or Karague
with what men I had, and send back for the rest of my property; for
though I could bear the idea of separating from Grant, still the
interests of old England were at stake, and demanded it.
This resolve being strengthened by the kirangozi's assurance that the
row in Msalala had shaken the few men who had half dreaded to go with
me, I marched over to Hunda, and put up with Grant in Ukulima's boma,
when Grant informed me that the chief had required four yards of
cloth from him for having walked round a dead lioness, as he had thus
destroyed a charm that protected his people against any more of these
animals coming, although, fortunately, the charm could be restored again
by paying four yards of cloth. Ukulima, however, was a very kind and
good man, though he did stick the hands and heads of his victims on the
poles of his boma as a warning to others. He kept five wives, of whom
the rest paid such respect to the elder one, it was quite pleasing to
see them. A man of considerable age, he did everything the state or
his great establishment required himself. All the men of his district
clapped their hands together as a courteous salutation to him, and
the women curtsied as well as they do at our court--a proof that they
respected him as a great potentate--a homage rarely bestowed on the
chiefs of other small states. Ukulima was also hospitable; for on one
occasion, when another chief came to visit him, he received his guest
and retainers with considerable ceremony, making all the men of the
village get up a dance; which they did, beating the drums and firing off
guns, like a lot of black devils let loose.
We were not the only travellers in misfortune here, for Masudi, with
several other Arabs, all formed in one large caravan, had arrived at
Mchimeka's, and could not advance for want of men. They told me it was
the first time they had come on this line, and they deeply regretted it,
for they had lost 5000 dollar's worth of beads by their porters running
away with their loads, and now they did not know how to proceed. Indeed,
they left the coast and arrived at Kaze immediately in rear of us, and
had, like ourselves, found it as much as they could do even to reach
this, and now they were at a standstill for want of porters.
As all hopes of being able to get any more men were given up, I called
on Bombay and Baraka to make arrangements for my going ahead with the
best of my property as I had devised. They both shook their heads, and
advised me to remain until the times improved, when the Arabs, being
freed from the pressure of war, would come along and form with us a
"sufari ku" or grand march, as Ukulima and every one else had said we
should be torn to pieces in Usui if we tried to cross that district with
so few men. I then told them again and again of the messages I had sent
on to Rumanika in Karague, and to Suwarora in Usui, and begged them
to listen to me, instancing as an example of what could be done by
perseverance the success of Columbus, who, opposed by his sailors'
misgivings, still when on and triumphed, creating for himself immortal
renown.
They gave way at last; so, after selecting all the best of my property,
I formed camp at Phunze, left Bombay with Grant behind, as I thought
Bombay the best and most honest man I had got, from his having had so
much experience, and then went ahead by myself, with the Pig as my
guide and interpreter, and Baraka as my factotum. The Waguana then all
mutinied for a cloth apiece, saying they would not lift a load unless
I gave it. Of course a severe contest followed; I said, as I had given
them so much before, they could not want it, and ought to be ashamed of
themselves. They urged, however, they were doing double work, and would
not consent to carry loads as they had done at Mgunda Mkhali again.
Arguments were useless, for, simply because they were tired of going
on, they WOULD not see that as they were receiving pay every day, they
therefore ought to work every day. However, as they yielded at last, by
some few leaning to my side, I gave what they asked for, and went to the
next village, still inefficient in men, as all the Pig's Watoto could
not be collected together. This second move brought us into a small
village, of which Ghiya, a young man, was chief.
He was very civil to me, and offered to sell me a most charming young
woman, quite the belle of the country; but as he could not bring me to
terms, he looked over my picture-books with the greatest delight,
and afterwards went into a discourse on geography with considerable
perspicacity; seeming fully to comprehend that if I got down the Nile it
would afterwards result in making the shores of the N'yanza like that
of the coast at Zanzibar, where the products of his country could be
exchanged, without much difficulty, for cloths, beads, and brass wire.
I gave him a present; then a letter was brought to me from Sheikh Said,
announcing Musa's death, and the fact that Manua Sera was still holding
out at Kigue; in answer to which I desired the sheikh to send me as many
of Musa's slaves as would take service with me, for they ought now, by
the laws of the Koran, to be all free.
On packing up to leave Ghiya's, all the men of the village shut the bars
of the entrance, wishing to extract some cloths from me, as I had not
given enough, they said, to their chief. They soon, however, saw that
we, being inside their own fort, had the best of it, and they gave way.
We then pushed on to Ungurue's, another chief of the same district. Here
the men and women of the place came crowding to see me, the fair sex
all playfully offering themselves for wives, and wishing to know which
I admired most. They were so importunate, after a time, that I was not
sorry to hear an attack was made on their cattle because a man of the
village would not pay his dowry-money to his father-in-law, and this set
everybody flying out to the scene of action.
After this, as Bombay brought up the last of my skulking men, I bade
him good-bye again, and made an afternoon-march on to Takina, in
the district of Msalala, which we no sooner approached than all the
inhabitants turned out and fired their arrows at us. They did no harm,
however, excepting to create a slight alarm, which some neighbouring
villagers took advantage of to run of with two of my cows. To be
returned to them, but called in vain, as the scoundrels said, "Findings
are keepings, by the laws of our country; and as we found your cows,
so we will keep them." For my part I was glad they were gone, as the
Wanguana never yet kept anything I put under their charge; so, instead
of allowing them to make a fuss the next morning, I marched straight on
for M'ynoga's, the chief of the district, who was famed for his infamy
and great extortions, having pushed his exactions so far as to close the
road.
On nearing his palace, we heard war-drums beat in every surrounding
village, and the kirangozi would go no farther until permission was
obtained from M'yonga. This did not take long, as the chief said he was
most desirous to see a white man, never having been to the coast, though
his father-in-law had, and had told him that the Wazungu were even
greater people than the sultan reigning there. On our drawing near the
palace, a small, newly-constructed boma was shown for my residence; but
as I did not wish to stop there, knowing how anxious Grant would be to
have his relief, I would not enter it, but instead sent Baraka to pay
the hongo as quickly as possible, that we might move on again; at the
same time ordering him to describe the position both Grant and myself
were in, and explain that what I paid now was to frank both of us, as
the whole of the property was my own. Should he make any remarks about
the two cows that were stolen, I said he must know that I could not wait
for them, as my brother would die of suspense if we did not finish the
journey and send back for him quickly. Off went Baraka with a party of
men, stopping hours, of course, and firing volleys of ammunition
away. He did not return again until the evening, when the palace-drums
announced that the hongo had been settled for one barsati, one lugoi,
and six yards merikani. Baraka approached me triumphantly, saying
how well he had managed the business. M'yonga did not wish to see me,
because he did not know the coast language. He was immensely pleased
with the present I had given him, and said he was much and very unjustly
abused by the Arabs, who never came this way, saying he was a bad man.
He should be very glad to see Grant, and would take nothing from him;
and, though he did not see me in person, he would feel much affronted if
I did not stop the night there. In the meanwhile he would have the cows
brought in, for he could not allow any one to leave his country abused
in any way.
My men had greatly amused him by firing their guns off and showing him
the use of their sword-bayonets. I knew, as a matter of course, that if
I stopped any longer I should be teased for more cloths, and gave orders
to my men to march the same instant, saying, if they did not--for I saw
them hesitate--I would give the cows to the villagers, since I knew that
was the thing that weighed on their minds. This raised a mutiny. No one
would go forward with the two cows behind; besides which, the day was
far spent, and there was nothing but jungle, they said, beyond. The
kirangozi would not show the way, nor would any man lift a load. A great
confusion ensued. I knew they were telling lies, and would not enter the
village, but shot the cows when they arrived, for the villagers to eat,
to show them I cared for nothing but making headway, and remained out in
the open all night. Next morning, sure enough, before we could get under
way, M'yonga sent his prime minister to say that the king's sisters and
other members of his family had been crying and tormenting him all night
for having let me off so cheaply--they had got nothing to cover their
nakedness, and I must pay something more. This provoked fresh squabbles.
The drums had beaten and the tax was settled; I could not pay more. The
kirangozi, however, said he would not move a peg unless I gave something
more, else he would be seized on his way back. His "children' all said
the same; and as I thought Grant would only be worsted if I did not keep
friends with the scoundrel, I gave four yards more merikani, and then
went on my way.
For the first few miles there were villagers, but after that a long
tract of jungle, inhabited chiefly by antelopes and rhinoceros. It was
wilder in appearance than most parts of Unyamuezi. In this jungle a
tributary nullah to the Gombe, called Nurhungure, is the boundary-line
between the great Country of the Moon and the kingdom of Uzinza.
Chapter VI. Uzinza
The Politics of Uzinza--The Wahuma--"The Pig's" Trick--First Taste
of Usui Taxation--Pillaged by Mfumbi--Pillaged by Makaka--Pillaged by
Lumeresi--Grant Stripped by M'Yonga--Stripped Again by Ruhe--Terrors and
Defections in the Camp--Driven back to Kaze with new Tribulations and
Impediments.
Uzinza, which we now entered, is ruled by two Wahuma chieftains of
foreign blood, descended from the Abyssinian stock, of whom we saw
specimens scattered all over Unyamuezi, and who extended even down south
as far as Fipa. Travellers see very little, however, of these Wahuma,
because, being pastorals, they roam about with their flocks and build
huts as far away as they can from cultivation. Most of the small
district chiefs, too, are the descendants of those who ruled in the same
places before the country was invaded, and with them travellers put
up and have their dealings. The dress of the Wahuma is very simple,
composed chiefly of cow-hide tanned black--a few magic ornaments and
charms, brass or copper bracelets, and immense number of sambo for
stockings, which looked very awkward on their long legs. They smear
themselves with rancid butter instead of macassar, and are, in
consequence, very offensive to all but the negro, who seems, rather than
otherwise, to enjoy a good sharp nose tickler. For arms they carry both
bow and spear; more generally the latter. The Wazinza in the southern
parts are so much like the Wanyamuezi, as not to require any especial
notice; but in the north, where the country is more hilly, they are much
more energetic and actively built. All alike live in grass-hut villages,
fenced round by bomas in the south, but open in the north. Their
country rises in high rolls, increasing in altitude as it approaches the
Mountains of the Moon, and is generally well cultivated, being subjected
to more of the periodical rains than the regions we have left, though
springs are not so abundant, I believe, as they are in the Land of the
Moon, where they ooze out by the flanks of the little granitic hills.
After tracking through several miles of low bush-jungle, we came to the
sites of some old bomas that had been destroyed by the Watuta not long
since. Farther on, as we wished to enter a newly-constructed boma, the
chief of which was Mafumbu Wantu (a Mr Balls), we felt the effects
of those ruthless marauders; for the villagers, thinking us Watuta in
disguise, would not let us in; for those savages, they said, had
once tricked them by entering their village, pretending to be traders
carrying ivory and merchandise, whilst they were actually spies. This
was fortunate for me, however, as Mr Balls, like M'yonga, was noted for
his extortions on travellers. We then went on and put up in the first
village of Bogue, where I wished to get porters and return for Grant, as
the place seemed to be populous. Finding, however, that I could not get
a sufficient number for that purpose, I directed those who wished for
employment to go off at once and take service with Grant.
I found many people assembled here from all parts of the district, for
the purpose of fighting M'yonga; but the chief Ruhe, having heard of my
arrival, called me to his palace, which, he said, was on my way, that
he might see me, for he never in all his life had a white man for his
guest, and was so glad to hear of my arrival that he would give orders
for the dispersing of his forces. I wished to push past him, as I might
be subjected to such calls every day; but Ungurue, in the most piggish
manner--for he was related to Ruhe--insisted that neither himself nor
any of his children would advance one step farther with me unless I
complied with their wish, which was a simple conformity with the laws
of their country, and therefore absolute. At length giving in, I entered
Ruhe's boma, the poles of which were decked with the skulls of his
enemies stuck upon them. Instead, however, of seeing him myself, as he
feared my evil eye, I conducted the arrangements for the hongo through
Baraka, in the same way as I did at M'yonga's, directing that it should
be limited to the small sum of one barsati and four yards kiniki.
The drum was beaten, as the public intimation of the payment of the
hongo, and consequently of our release, and we went on to Mihambo,
on the west border of the eastern division of Uzinza, which is called
Ukhanga. It overlooks the small district of Sorombo, belonging to the
great western division, known as Usui, and is presided over by a Sorombo
chief, named Makaka, whose extortions had been so notorious that no
Arabs now ever went near him. I did not wish to do so either, though his
palace lay in the direct route. It was therefore agreed we should skirt
round by the east of this district, and I even promised the Pig I would
give him ten necklaces a-day in addition to his wages, if he would avoid
all the chiefs, and march steadily ten miles every day. By doing so, we
should have avoided the wandering Watuta, whose depredations had laid
waste nearly all of this country; but the designing blackguard, in
opposition to my wishes, to accomplish some object of his own, chose to
mislead us all, and quietly took us straight into Sorombo to Kague, the
boma of a sub-chief, called Mfumbi, where we no sooner arrived than the
inhospitable brute forbade any one of his subjects to sell us food until
the hongo was paid, for he was not sure that we were not allied with the
Watuta to rob his country. After receiving what he called his dues--one
barsati, two yards merikani, and two yards kiniki--the drums beat, and
all was settled with him; but I was told the head chief Makaka, who
lived ten miles to the west, and so much out of my road, had sent
expressly to invite me to see him. He said it was his right I should go
to him as the principal chief of the district. Moreover he longed for a
sight of a white man; for though he had travelled all across Uganda and
Usoga into Masawa, or the Masai country, as well as to the coast, where
he had seen both Arabs and Indians, he had never yet seen an Englishman.
If I would oblige him, he said he would give me guides to Suwarora, who
was his mkama or king. Of course I knew well what all this meant; and at
the same time that I said I could not comply, I promised to send him a
present of friendship by the hands of Baraka.
This caused a halt. Makaka would not hear of such an arrangement. A
present, he said, was due to him of course, but of more importance than
the present was his wish to see me. Baraka and all the men begged I
would give in, as they were sure he must be a good man to send such a
kind message. I strove in vain, for no one would lift a load unless I
complied; so, perforce, I went there, in company, however, with Mfumbi,
who now pretended to be great friends; but what was the result? On
entering the palace we were shown into a cowyard without a tree in it,
or any shade; and no one was allowed to sell us food until a present of
friendship was paid, after which the hongo would be discussed.
The price of friendship was not settled that day, however, and my men
had to go supperless to bed. Baraka offered him one common cloth, and
then another--all of which he rejected with such impetuosity that Baraka
said his head was all on a whirl. Makaka insisted he would have a deole,
or nothing at all. I protested I had no deoles I could give him; for all
the expensive cloths which I had brought from the coast had been stolen
in Mgunda Mkhali. I had three, however, concealed at the time--which I
had bought from Musa, at forty dollars each--intended for the kings of
Karague and Uganda.
Incessant badgering went on for hours and hours, until at last Baraka,
clean done with the incessant worry of this hot-headed young chief, told
him, most unfortunately, he would see again if he could find a deole, as
he had one of his own. Baraka then brought one to my tent, and told me
of his having bought it for eight dollars at the coast; and as I now saw
I was let in for it, I told him to give it. It was given, but Makaka
no sooner saw it than he said he must have another one; for it was all
nonsense saying a white man had no rich cloths. Whenever he met Arabs,
they all said they were poor men, who obtained all their merchandise
from the white men on credit, which they refunded afterwards, by levying
a heavy percentage on the sale of their ivory.
I would not give way that night; but next day, after fearful battling,
the present of friendship was paid by Baraka's giving first a dubuani,
then one sahari, then one barsati, then one kisutu, and then eight
yards of merikani--all of which were contested in the most sickening
manner--when Baraka, fairly done up, was relieved by Makaka's saying,
"That will do for friendship; if you had given the deole quietly, all
this trouble would have been saved; for I am not a bad man, as you will
see." My men then had their first dinner here, after which the hongo had
to be paid. This for the time was, however, more easily settled; because
Makaki at once said he would never be satisfied until he had received,
if I had really not got a deole, exactly double in equivalents of all I
had given him. This was a fearful drain on my store; but the Pig, seeing
my concern, merely laughed at it, and said, "Oh, these savage chiefs are
all alike here; you will have one of these taxes to pay every stage to
Uyofu, and then the heavy work will begin; for all these men, although
they assume the dignity of chief to themselves, are mere officers, who
have to pay tribute to Suwarora, and he would be angry if they were
shortcoming."
The drums as yet had not beaten, for Makaka said he would not be
satisfied until we had exchanged presents, to prove that we were the
best of friends. To do this last act properly, I was to get ready
whatever I wished to give him, whilst he would come and visit me with
a bullock; but I was to give him a royal salute, or the drums would not
beat. I never felt so degraded as when I complied, and gave orders to my
men to fire a volley as he approached my tent; but I ate the dirt with a
good grace, and met the young chief as if nothing had happened. My men,
however, could not fire the salute fast enough for him; for he was
one of those excitable impulsive creatures who expect others to do
everything in as great a hurry as their minds wander. The moment the
first volley was fired, he said, "Now, fire again, fire again; be quick,
be quick! What's the use of those things?" (meaning the guns). "We could
spear you all whilst you are loading: be quick, be quick, I tell you."
But Baraka, to give himself law, said: "No; I must ask Bana" (master)
"first, as we do everything by order; this is not fighting at all."
The men being ready, file-firing was ordered, and then the young chief
came into my tent. I motioned him to take my chair, which, after he sat
down upon it, I was very sorry for, as he stained the seat all black
with the running colour of one of the new barsati cloths he had got from
me, which, to improve its appearance, he had saturated with stinking
butter, and had tied round his loins. A fine-looking man of about
thirty, he wore the butt-end of a large sea-shell cut in a circle, and
tied on his forehead, for a coronet, and sundry small saltiana antelope
horns, stuffed with magic powder, to keep off the evil eye. His
attendants all fawned on him, and snapped their fingers whenever he
sneezed. After passing the first compliment, I gave him a barsati, as my
token of friendship, and asked him what he saw when he went to the Masai
country. He assured me "that there were two lakes, and not one"; for, on
going from Usoga to the Masai country, he crossed over a broad strait,
which connected the big N'yanza with another one at its north-east
corner. Fearfully impetuous, as soon as this answer was given, he said,
"Now I have replied to your questions, do you show me all the things you
have got, for I want to see everything, and be very good friends. I
did not see you the first day, because you being a stranger, it was
necessary I should first look into the magic horn to see if all was
right and safe; and now I can assure you that, whilst I saw I was safe,
I also saw that your road would be prosperous. I am indeed delighted
to see you, for neither my father, nor any of my forefathers, ever were
honoured with the company of a white man in all their lives."
My guns, clothes, and everything were then inspected, and begged for in
the most importunate manner. He asked for the picture-books, examined
the birds with intense delight--even trying to insert under their
feathers his long royal fingernails, which are grown like a Chinaman's
by these chiefs, to show they have a privilege to live on meat. Then
turning to the animals, he roared over each one in turn as he examined
them, and called out their names. My bull's-eye lantern he coveted
so much, I had to pretend exceeding anger to stop his further
importunities. He then began again begging for lucifers, which charmed
him so intensely I thought I should never get rid of him. He would have
one box of them. I swore I could not part with them. He continued to
beg, and I to resist. I offered a knife instead, but this he would
not have, because the lucifers would be so valuable for his magical
observances. On went the storm, till at last I drove him off with a pair
of my slippers, which he had stuck his dirty feet into without my leave.
I then refused to take his bullock, because he had annoyed me. On his
part he was resolved not to beat the drum; but he graciously said he
would think about it if I paid another lot of cloth equal to the second
deole I ought to have given him.
I began seriously to consider whether I should have this chief shot, as
a reward for his oppressive treachery, and a warning to others; but the
Pig said it was just what the Arabs were subjected to in Ubena, and they
found it best to pay down at once, and do all they were ordered. If I
acted rightly, I would take the bullock, and then give the cloth; whilst
Baraka said, "We will shoot him if you give the order, only remember
Grant is behind, and if you commence a row you will have to fight the
whole way, for every chief in the country will oppose you."
I then told the Pig and Baraka to settle at once. They no sooner did so
than the drums beat, and Makaka, in the best humour possible, came over
to say I had permission to go when I liked, but he hoped I would give
him a gun and a box of lucifers. This was too provoking. The perpetual
worry had given Baraka a fever, and had made me feel quite sick; so I
said, if he ever mentioned a gun or lucifers again, I would fight the
matter out with him, for I had not come there to be bullied. He then
gave way, and begged I would allow my men to fire a volley outside his
boma, as the Watuta were living behind a small line of granitic hills
flanking the west of his district, and he wished to show them what a
powerful force he had got with him. This was permitted; but his wisdom
in showing off was turned into ridicule; for the same evening the Watuta
made and attack on his villages and killed three of his subjects, but
were deterred from committing further damage by coming in contact
with my men, who, as soon as they saw the Watuta fighting, fired their
muskets off in the air and drove them away, they themselves at the same
time bolting into my camp, and as usual vaunting their prowess.
I then ordered a march for the next morning, and went out in the fields
to take my regular observations for latitude. Whilst engaged in this
operation, Baraka, accompanied by Wadimoyo (Heart's-stream), another
of my freeman, approached me in great consternation, whispering to
themselves. They said they had some fearful news to communicate, which,
when I heard it, they knew would deter our progress: it was of such
great moment and magnitude, they thought they could not deliver it then.
I said, "What nonsense! out with it at once. Are we such chickens that
we cannot speak about matters like men? out with it at once."
Then Baraka said, "I have just heard from Makaka, that a man who arrived
from Usui only a few minutes ago has said Suwarora is so angry with the
Arabs that he has detained one caravan of theirs in his country, and,
separating the whole of their men, has placed each of them in different
bomas, with orders to his village officers that, in case the Watuta came
into his country, without further ceremony they were to be all put to
death." I said, "Oh, Baraka, how can you be such a fool? Do you not see
through this humbug? Makaka only wishes to keep us here to frighten away
the Watuta; for Godsake be a man, and don't be alarmed at such phantoms
as these. You always are nagging at me that Bombay is the 'big' and you
are the 'small' man. Bombay would never be frightened in this silly way.
Now, do you reflect that I have selected you for this journey, as it
would, if you succeed with me in carrying out our object, stamp you for
ever as a man of great fame. Pray, don't give way, but do your best
to encourage the men, and let us march in the morning." On this, as
on other occasions of the same kind, I tried to impart confidence, by
explaining, in allusion to Petherick's expedition, that I had arranged
to meet white men coming up from the north. Baraka at last said, "All
right--I am not afraid; I will do as you desire." But as the two were
walking off, I heard Wadimoyo say to Baraka, "Is he not afraid now?
won't he go back?"--which, if anything, alarmed me more than the first
intelligence; for I began to think that they, and not Makaka, had got up
the story.
All night Makaka's men patrolled the village, drumming and shouting to
keep off the Watuta, and the next morning, instead of a march, after
striking my tent I found that the whole of my porters, the Pig's
children, were not to be found. They had gone off and hidden themselves,
saying that they were not such fools as to go any farther, as the Watuta
were out, and would cut us up on the road. This was sickening indeed.
I knew the porters had not gone far, so I told the Pig to bring them to
me, that we might talk the matter over; but say what I would, they all
swore they would not advance a step farther. Most of them were formerly
men of Utambara. The Watuta had invaded their country and totally
destroyed it, killing all their wives and children, and despoiling
everything they held dear to them. They did not wish to rob me, and
would give up their hire, but not one step more would they advance.
Makaka then came forward and said, "Just stop here with me until this
ill wind blows over"; but Baraka, more in a fright at Makaka than at any
one else, said, No--he would do anything rather than that; for Makaka's
bullying had made him quite ill. I then said to my men, "If nothing else
will suit you, the best plan I can think of is to return to Mihambo in
Bogue, and there form a depot, where, having stored my property, I shall
give the Pig a whole load, or 63 lb., of Mzizima beads if he will take
Baraka in disguise on to Suwarora, and ask him to send me eighty men,
whilst I go back to Unyanyembe to see what men I can get from the late
Musa's establishment, and then we might bring on Grant, and move in a
body together." At first Baraka said, "Do you wish to have us killed? Do
you think if we went to Suwarora's you would ever see us back again?
You would wait and wait for us, but we should never return." To which I
replied, "Oh, Baraka, do not think so! Bombay, if he were here, would go
in a minute. Suwarora by this time knows I am coming, and you may depend
on it he will be just as anxious to have us in Usui as Makaka is to
keep us here, and he cannot hurt us, as Rumanika is over him, and also
expects us." Baraka then, in the most doleful manner, said he would go
if the Pig would. The Pig, however, did not like it either, but said the
matter was so important he would look into the magic horn all night, and
give his answer next morning as soon as we arrived at Mihambo.
On arrival at Mihambo next day, all the porters brought their pay to me,
and said they would not go, for nothing would induce them to advance a
step farther. I said nothing; but, with "my heart in my shoes," I gave
what I thought their due for coming so far, and motioned them to be off;
then calling on the Pig for his decision, I tried to argue again, though
I saw it was no use, for there was not one of my own men who wished to
go on. They were unanimous in saying Usui was a "fire," and I had no
right to sacrifice them. The Pig then finally refused, saying three
loads even would not tempt him, for all were opposed to it. Of what
value, he observed, would the beads be to him if his life was lost? This
was crushing; the whole camp was unanimous in opposing me. I then made
Baraka place all my kit in the middle of the boma, which was a very
strong one, keeping out only such beads as I wished him to use for
the men's rations daily, and ordered him to select a few men who would
return with me to Kaze; when I said, if I could not get all the men I
wanted, I would try and induce some one, who would not fear, to go on
to Usui; failing which, I would even walk back to Zanzibar for men, as
nothing in the world would ever induce me to give up the journey.
This appeal did not move him; but, without a reply, he sullenly
commenced collecting some men to accompany me back to Kaze. At first no
one would go; they then mutinied for more beads, announcing all sorts of
grievances, which they said they were always talking over to themselves,
though I did not hear them. The greatest, however, that they could get
up was, that I always paid the Wanyamuezi "temporaries" more than they
got, though "permanents." "They were the flesh, and I was the knife"; I
cut and did with them just as I liked, and they could not stand it any
longer. However, they had to stand it; and next day, when I had brought
them to reason, I gave over the charge of my tent and property to
Baraka, and commenced the return with a bad hitching cough, caused by
those cold easterly winds that blow over the plateau during the six dry
months of the years, and which are, I suppose, the Harmattan peculiar to
Africa.
Next day I joined Grant once more, and found he had collected a few
Sorombo men, hoping to follow after me. I then told him all my mishaps
in Sorombo, as well as of the "blue-devil" frights that had seized all
my men. I felt greatly alarmed about the prospects of the expedition,
scarcely knowing what I should do. I resolved at last, if everything
else failed, to make up a raft at the southern end of the N'yanza, and
try to go up to the Nile in that way. My cough daily grew worse. I
could not lie or sleep on either side. Still my mind was so excited and
anxious that, after remaining one day here to enjoy Grant's society,
I pushed ahead again, taking Bombay with me, and had breakfast at
Mchimeka's.
There I found the Pig, who now said he wished he had taken my offer
of beads, for he had spoken with his chief, and saw that I was right.
Baraka and the Wanguana were humbugs, and had they not opposed his
going, he would have gone then; even now, he said, he wished I would
take him again with Bombay. Though half inclined to accept his offer,
which would have saved a long trudge to Kaze, yet as he had tricked
me so often, I felt there would be no security unless I could get some
coast interpreters, who would not side with the chiefs against me as he
had done. From this I went on to Sirboko's, and spent the next day with
him talking over my plans. The rafting up the lake he thought a good
scheme; but he did not think I should ever get through Usui until all
the Kaze merchants went north in a body, for it was no use trying to
force my men against their inclinations; and if I did not take care how
I handled them, he thought they would all desert.
My cough still grew worse, and became so bad that, whilst mounting a
hill on entering Ungugu's the second day after, I blew and grunted like
a broken-winded horse, and it became so distressing I had to halt a day.
In two more marches, however, I reached Kaze, and put up with Musa's
eldest son, Abdalla, on the 2nd July, who now was transformed from a
drunken slovenly boy into the appearance of a grand swell, squatting all
day as his old father used to do. The house, however, did not feel the
same--no men respected him as they had done his father. Sheikh Said
was his clerk and constant companion, and the Tots were well fed on his
goats--at my expense, however. On hearing my fix, Abdalla said I should
have men; and, what's more, he would go with me as his father had
promised to do; but he had a large caravan detained in Ugogo, and for
that he must wait.
At that moment Manua Sera was in a boma at Kigue, in alliance with the
chief of that place; but there was no hope for him now, as all the Arabs
had allied themselves with the surrounding chiefs, including Kitambi;
and had invested his position by forming a line, in concentric circles,
four deep, cutting off his supplies of water within it, so that they
daily expected to hear of his surrendering. The last news that had
reached them brought intelligence of one man killed and two Arabs
wounded; whilst, on the other side, Manua Sera had lost many men, and
was put to such straits that he had called out if it was the Arabs'
determination to kill him he would bolt again; to which the Arabs
replied it was all the same; if he ran up to the top of the highest
mountain or down into hell, they would follow after and put him to
death.
3d.--After much bother and many disappointments, as I was assured I
could get no men to help me until after the war was over, and the Arabs
had been to Ugogo, and had brought up their property, which was still
lying there, I accepted two men as guides--one named Bui, a very small
creature, with very high pretensions, who was given me by Abdalla--the
other, a steady old traveller, named Nasib (or Fortune), who was given
me by Fundi Sangoro. These two slaves, both of whom knew all the chiefs
and languages up to and including Uganda, promised me faithfully they
would go with Bombay on to Usui, and bring back porters in sufficient
number for Grant and myself to go on together. They laughed at the
stories I told them of the terror that had seized Baraka and all the
Wanguana, and told me, as old Musa had often done before, that those
men, especially Baraka, had from their first leaving Kaze made up their
minds they would not enter Usui, or go anywhere very far north.
I placed those men on the same pay as Bombay, and then tried to buy
some beads from the Arabs, as I saw it was absolutely necessary I should
increase my fast-ebbing store if I ever hoped to reach Gondokoro. The
attempt failed, as the Arabs would not sell at a rate under 2000 per
cent.; and I wrote a letter to Colonel Rigby, ordering up fifty armed
men laden with beads and pretty cloths--which would, I knew, cost me
£1000 at the least--and left once more for the north on the 5th.
Marching slowly, as my men kept falling sick, I did not reach Grant
again until the 11th. His health had greatly improved, and he had been
dancing with Ukulima, as may be seen by the accompanying woodcut. So,
as I was obliged to wait for a short time to get a native guide for Bui,
Nasib and Bombay, who would show them a jungle-path to Usui, we enjoyed
our leisure hours in shooting guinea-fowls for the pot. A report then
came to us that Suwarora had heard with displeasure that I had
been endeavouring to see him, but was deterred because evil reports
concerning him had been spread. This unexpected good news delighted me
exceedingly; confirmed my belief that Baraka, after all, was a
coward, and induced me to recommend Bombay to make his cowardice more
indisputable by going on and doing what he had feared to do. To which
Bombay replied, "Of course I will. It is all folly pulling up for every
ill wind that blows, because, until one actually SEES there is something
in it, you never can tell amongst these savages--'shaves' are so common
in Africa. Besides, a man has but one life, and God is the director of
everything." "Bravo!" said I, "we will get on as long as you keep to
that way of thinking."
At length a guide was obtained, and with him came some of those men of
the Pig's who returned before; for they had a great desire to go with
me, but had been deterred, they said, by Baraka and the rest of my men.
Seeing all this, I changed my plans again, intending, on arrival at
Baraka's camp, to prevail on the whole of the party to go with me
direct, which I thought they could not now refuse, since Suwarora had
sent us an invitation. Moreover, I did not like the idea of remaining
still whilst the three men went forwards, as it would be losing time.
These separations from Grant were most annoying, but they could not
be helped; so, when all was settled here, I bade him adieu--both of us
saying we would do our best--and set out on my journey, thinking what a
terrible thing it was I could not prevail on my men to view things as
I did. Neither my experience with native chiefs, nor my money and guns,
were of any use to me, simply because my men were such incomprehensible
fools, though many of them who had travelled before ought to have known
better.
More reports came to us about Suwarora, all of the most inviting nature;
but nothing else worth mentioning occurred until we reached the border
of Msalala, where an officer of M'yonga's, who said he was a bigger man
than his chief, demanded a tax, which I refused, and the dispute ended
in his snatching Nasib's gun out of his hands. I thought little of this
affair myself, beyond regretting the delay which it might occasion, as
M'yonga, I knew, would not permit such usage, if I chose to go round by
his palace and make a complaint. Both Bui and Nasib, however, were so
greatly alarmed, that before I could say a word they got the gun back
again by paying four yards merikani. We had continued bickering again,
for Bui had taken such fright at this kind of rough handling, and the
"push-ahead" manner in which I persisted "riding over the lords of the
soil," that I could hardly drag the party along.
However, on the 18th, after breakfasting at Ruhe's, we walked into
Mihambo, and took all the camp by surprise. I found the Union Jack
hoisted upon a flag-staff, high above all the trees, in the boma. Baraka
said he had done this to show the Watuta that the place was occupied
by men with guns--a necessary precaution, as all the villages in the
neighbourhood had, since my departure, been visited and plundered by
them. Lumeresi, the chief of the district, who lived ten miles to the
eastward, had been constantly pressing him to leave this post and come
to his palace, as he felt greatly affronted at our having shunned him
and put up with Ruhe. He did not want property, he said, but he could
not bear that the strangers had lived with his mtoto, or child,
which Ruhe was, and yet would not live with him. He thought Baraka's
determined obstinacy on this could only be caused by the influence of
the head man of the village, and threatened that if Baraka did not
come to visit him at once, he would have the head man beheaded. Then,
shifting round a bit, he thought of ordering his subjects to starve the
visitors into submission, and said he must have a hongo equal to Ruhe's.
To all this Baraka replied, that he was merely a servant, and as he had
orders to stop where he was, he could not leave it until I came; but to
show there was no ill-feeling towards him, he sent the chief a cloth.
These first explanations over, I entered my tent, in which Baraka had
been living, and there I found a lot of my brass wires on the ground,
lying scattered about. I did not like the look of this, so ordered
Bombay to resume his position of factotum, and count over the kit.
Whilst this was going on, a villager came to me with a wire, and asked
me to change it for a cloth. I saw at once what the game was; so I asked
my friend where he got it, on which he at once pointed to Baraka. I
then heard the men who were standing round us say one to another in
under-tones, giggling with the fun of it, "Oh, what a shame of him! Did
you hear what Bana said, and that fool's reply to it? What a shame of
him to tell in that way." Without appearing to know, or rather to hear,
the by-play that was going on, I now said to Baraka, "How is it this
man has got one of my wires, for I told you not to touch or unpack
them during my absence?" To which he coolly replied, in face of such
evidence, "It is not one of your wires; I never gave away one of yours;
there are lots more wires besides yours in the country. The man tells
a falsehood; he had the wire before, but now, seeing your cloth open,
wants to exchange it." "If that is the case," I said, taking things
easy, "how is it you have opened my loads and scattered the wires about
in the tent?" "Oh, that was to take care of them; for I thought, if
they were left outside all night with the rest of the property, some one
would steal them, and I should get the blame of it."
Further parley was useless; for, though both my wires and cloths were
short, still it was better not to kick up a row, when I had so much
to do to keep all my men in good temper for the journey. Baraka then,
wishing to beguile me, as he thought he could do, into believing him a
wonderful man for both pluck and honesty, said he had had many battles
to fight with the men since I had been gone to Kaze, for there were
two strong parties in the camp; those who, during the late rebellion at
Zanzibar, had belonged to the Arabs that sided with Sultan Majid, and
were royalists, and those who, having belonged to the rebellious Arabs,
were on the opposite side. The battle commenced, he stated, by the one
side abusing the other for their deeds during that rebellion, the rebels
in this sort of contest proving themselves the stronger. But he, heading
the royalist party, soon reduced them to order, though only for a short
while, as from that point they turned round to open mutiny for more
rations; and some of the rebels tried to kill him, which, he said, they
would have done had he not settled the matter by buying some cows for
them. It was on this account he had been obliged to open my loads. And
now he had told me the case, he hoped I would forgive him if he had done
wrong. Now, the real facts of the case were these--though I did not find
them out at the time:--Baraka had bought some slaves with my effects,
and he had had a fight with some of my men because they tampered with
his temporary wife--a princess he had picked up in Phunze. To obtain
her hand he had given ten necklaces of MY beads to her mother, and had
agreed to the condition that he should keep the girl during the journey;
and after it was over, and he took her home, he would, if his wife
pleased him, give her mother ten necklaces more.
Next day Baraka told me his heart shrank to the dimensions of a very
small berry when he saw whom I had brought with me yesterday--meaning
Bombay, and the same porters whom he had prevented going on with me
before. I said, "Pooh, nonsense; have done with such excuses, and let us
get away out of this as fast as we can. Now, like a good man, just use
your influence with the chief of the village, and try and get from him
five or six men to complete the number we want, and then we will work
round the east of Sorombo up to Usui, for Suwarora has invited us to
him." This, however, was not so easy; for Lumeresi, having heard of my
arrival, sent his Wanyapara, or grey-beards, to beg I would visit him.
He had never seen a white man in all his life, neither had his father,
nor any of his forefathers, although he had often been down to the
coast; I must come and see him, as I had seen his mtoto Ruhe. He did not
want property; it was only the pleasure of my company that he wanted,
to enable him to tell all his friends what a great man had lived in his
house.
This was terrible: I saw at once that all my difficulties in Sorombo
would have to be gone through again if I went there, and groaned when I
thought what a trick the Pig had played me when I first of all came
to this place; for if I had gone on then, as I wished, I should have
slipped past Lumeresi without his knowing it.
I had to get up a storm at the grey-beards, and said I could not stand
going out of my road to see any one now, for I had already lost so much
time by Makaka's trickery in Sorombo. Bui then, quaking with fright
at my obstinacy, said, "You must--indeed you must--give in and do with
these savage chiefs as the Arabs when they travel, for I will not be
a party to riding rough-shod over them." Still I stuck out, and the
grey-beards departed to tell their chief of it. Next morning he sent
them back to say he would not be cheated out of his rights as the chief
of the district. Still I would not give in, and the whole day kept
"jawing" without effect, for I could get no man to go with me until
the chief gave his sanction. I then tried to send Bombay off with Bui,
Nasib, and their guide, by night; but though Bombay was willing, the
other two hung back on the old plea. In this state of perplexity, Bui
begged I would allow him to go over to Lumeresi and see what he could do
with a present. Bui really now was my only stand-by, so I sent him off,
and next had the mortification to find that he had been humbugged by
honeyed words, as Baraka had been with Makaka, into believing that
Lumeresi was a good man, who really had no other desire at heart than
the love of seeing me. His boma, he said, did not lie much out of my
line, and he did not wish a stitch of my cloth. So far from detaining
me, he would give me as many men as I wanted; and, as an earnest of
his good intentions, he sent his copper hatchet, the badge of office as
chief of the district, as a guarantee for me.
To wait there any longer after this, I knew, would be a mere waste of
time, so I ordered my men to pack up that moment, and we all marched
over at once to Lumeresi's, when we put up in his boma. Lumeresi was
not in then, but, on his arrival at night, he beat all his drums to
celebrate the event, and fired a musket, in reply to which I fired
three shots. The same night, whilst sitting out to make astronomical
observations, I became deadly cold--so much so, that the instant I had
taken the star, to fix my position, I turned into bed, but could not get
up again; for the cough that had stuck to me for a month then became so
violent, heightened by fever succeeding the cold fit, that before the
next morning I was so reduced that I could not stand. For the last
month, too, I had not been able to sleep on either side, as interior
pressure, caused by doing so, provoked the cough; but now I had, in
addition, to be propped in position to get any repose whatever. The
symptoms, altogether, were rather alarming, for the heart felt inflamed
and ready to burst, pricking and twingeing with every breath, which was
exceedingly aggravated by constant coughing, when streams of phlegm and
bile were ejected. The left arm felt half-paralysed, the left nostril
was choked with mucus, and on the centre of the left shoulder blade I
felt a pain as if some one was branding me with a hot iron. All this
was constant; and, in addition, I repeatedly felt severe pains--rather
paroxysms of fearful twinges--in the spleen, liver, and lungs; whilst
during my sleep I had all sorts of absurd dreams: for instance--I
planned a march across Africa with Sir Roderick Murchison; and I fancied
some curious creatures, half-men and half-monkeys, came into my camp to
inform me that Petherick was waiting in boats at the south-west corner
of the N'yanza, etc., etc.
Though my mind was so weak and excited when I woke up from these
trances, I thought of nothing but the march, and how I could get out of
Lumeresi's hands. He, with the most benign countenance, came in to see
me, the very first thing in the morning, as he said, to inquire after my
health; when, to please him as much as I could, I had a guard of honour
drawn up at the tent door to fire a salute as he entered; then giving
him my iron camp-chair to sit upon, which tickled him much--for he
was very corpulent, and he thought its legs would break down with his
weight--we had a long talk, though it was as much as I could do to
remember anything, my brain was so excited and weak. Kind as he looked
and spoke, he forgot all his promises about coveting my property, and
scarcely got over the first salutation before he began begging for many
things that he saw, and more especially for a deole, in order that he
might wear it on all great occasions, to show his contemporaries what
a magnanimous man his white visitor was. I soon lost my temper whilst
striving to settle the hongo. Lumeresi would have a deole, and I would
not admit that I had one.
23d to 31st.--Next morning I was too weak to speak moderately, and
roared more like a madman than a rational being, as, breaking his faith,
he persisted in bullying me. The day after, I took pills and blistered
my chest all over, still Lumeresi would not let me alone, nor come to
any kind of terms until the 25th, when he said he would take a certain
number of pretty common cloths for his children if I would throw in a
red blanket for himself. I jumped at this concession with the greatest
eagerness, paid down my cloths on the spot; and, thinking I was free at
last, ordered a hammock to be slung on a pole, that I might leave the
next day. Next morning, however, on seeing me actually preparing to
start, Lumeresi found he could not let me go until I increased the tax
by three more cloths, as some of his family complained that they had got
nothing. After some badgering, I paid what he asked for, and ordered the
men to carry me out of the palace before anything else was done, for
I would not sleep another night where I was. Lumeresi then stood in my
way, and said he would never allow a man of his country to give me any
assistance until I was well, for he could not bear the idea of hearing
it said that, after taking so many cloths from me, he had allowed me to
die in the jungles--and dissuaded my men from obeying my orders.
In vain I appealed to his mercy, declaring that the only chance left me
of saving my life would be from the change of air in the hammock as I
marched along. He would not listen, professing humanity, whilst he meant
plunder; and I now found that he was determined not to beat the drum
until I had paid him some more, which he was to think over and settle
next day. When the next day came, he would not come near me, as he said
I must possess a deole, otherwise I would not venture on to Karague; for
nobody ever yet "saw" Rumanika without one. This suspension of business
was worse than the rows; I felt very miserable, and became worse. At
last, on my offering him anything that he might consider an equivalent
for the deole if he would but beat the drums of satisfaction, he said I
might consider myself his prisoner instead of his guest if I persisted
in my obstinacy in not giving him Rumanika's deole; and then again
peremptorily ordered all of his subjects not to assist me in moving a
load. After this, veering round for a moment on the generous tack, he
offered me a cow, which I declined.
1st to 4th.--Still I rejected the offered cow, until the 2nd, when,
finding him as dogged as ever, at the advice of my men I accepted it,
hoping thus to please him; but it was no use, for he now said he must
have two deoles, or he would never allow me to leave his palace. Every
day matters got worse and worse. Mfumbi, the small chief of Sorombo,
came over, in an Oily-Gammon kind of manner, to say Makaka had sent him
over to present his compliments to me, and express his sorrow on hearing
that I had fallen sick here. He further informed me that the road was
closed between this and Usui, for he had just been fighting there, and
had killed the chief Gomba, burnt down all his villages, and dispersed
all the men in the jungle, where they now resided, plundering every
man who passed that way. This gratuitous, wicked, humbugging terrifier
helped to cause another defeat. It was all nonsense, I knew, but both
Bui and Nasib, taking fright, begged for their discharges. In fearful
alarm and anxiety, I begged them to have patience and see the hongo
settled first, for there was no necessity, at any rate, for immediate
hurry; I wished them to go on ahead with Bombay, as in four days they
could reach Suwarora's. But they said they could not hear of it--they
would not go a step beyond this. All the chiefs on ahead would do the
same as Lumeresi; the whole country was roused. I had not even half
enough cloths to satisfy the Wasui; and my faithful followers would
never consent to be witness to my being "torn to pieces."
5th and 6th.--The whole day and half of the next went in discussions.
At last, able for the first time to sit up a little, I succeeded in
prevailing on Bui to promise he would go to Usui as soon as the hongo
was settled, provided, as he said, I took on myself all responsibilities
of the result. This cheered me so greatly, I had my chair placed under
a tree and smoked my first pipe. On seeing this, all my men struck up a
dance, to the sound of the drums, which they carried on throughout the
whole night, never ceasing until the evening of the next day. These
protracted caperings were to be considered as their congratulation for
my improvement in health; for, until I got into my chair, they always
thought I was going to die. They then told me, with great mirth and good
mimicry, of many absurd scenes which, owing to the inflamed state of
my brain, had taken place during my interviews with Lumeresi. Bombay at
this time very foolishly told Lumeresi, if he "really wanted a deole,"
he must send to Grant for one. This set the chief raving. He knew there
was one in my box, he said, and unless I gave it, the one with Grant
must be brought; for under no circumstances would he allow of my
proceeding northwards until that was given him. Bui and Nasib then gave
me the slip, and slept that night in a neighbouring boma without my
knowledge.
7th to 9th.--As things had now gone so far, I gave Lumeresi the deole I
had stored away for Rumanika, telling him, at the same time as he took
it, that he was robbing Rumanika, and not myself; but I hoped, now I
had given it, he would beat the drums. The scoundrel only laughed as
he wrapped my beautiful silk over his great broad shoulders, and said,
"Yes, this will complete our present of friendship; now then for the
hongo--I must have exactly double of all you have given." This Sorombo
trick I attributed to the instigation of Makaka, for these savages never
fail to take their revenge when they can. I had doubled back from his
country, and now he was cutting me off in front. I expected as much
when the oily blackguard Mfumbi came over from his chief to ask after my
health; so, judging from my experience with Makaka, I told Lumeresi at
once to tell me what he considered his due, for this fearful haggling
was killing me by inches. I had no more deoles, but would make that up
in brass wire. He then fixed the hongo at fifteen masango or brass wire
bracelets, sixteen cloths of sorts, and a hundred necklaces of samisami
or red coral beads, which was to pay for Grant as well as myself. I paid
it down on the spot; the drums beat the "satisfaction," and I ordered
the march with the greatest relief of mind possible.
But Bui and Nasib were not to be found; they had bolted. The shock
nearly killed me. I had walked all the way to Kaze and back again for
these men, to show mine a good example--had given them pay and treble
rations, the same as Bombay and Baraka--and yet they chose to desert.
I knew not what to do, for it appeared to me that, do what I would,
we would never succeed; and in my weakness of body and mind I actually
cried like a child over the whole affair. I would rather have died
than have failed in my journey, and yet failure seemed at this juncture
inevitable.
8th.--As I had no interpreters, and could not go forward myself, I made
up my mind at once to send back all my men with Bombay, to Grant; after
joining whom, Bombay would go back to Kaze again for other interpreters,
and on his return would pick up Grant, and bring him on here. This
sudden decision set all my men up in a flame; they swore it was no use
my trying to go on to Karague; they would not go with me; they did not
come here to be killed. If I chose to lose my life, it was no business
of theirs, but they would not be witness to it. They all wanted their
discharge at once; they would not run away, but must have a letter of
satisfaction, and then they would go back to their homes at Zanzibar.
But when they found they lost all their arguments and could not move
me, they said they would go back for Grant, but when they had done that
duty, then they would take their leave.
10th to 15th.--This business being at last settled, I wrote to Grant on
the subject, and sent all the men off who were not sick. Thinking then
how I could best cure the disease that was keeping me down, as I found
the blister of no use, I tried to stick a packing needle, used as a
seton, into my side; but finding it was not sharp enough, in such weak
hands a mine, to go through my skin, I got Baraka to try; and he failing
too, I then made him fire me, for the coughing was so incessant I could
get no sleep at night. I had now nothing whatever to think of but making
dodges for lying easy, and for relieving my pains, or else for cooking
strong broths to give me strength, for my legs were reduced to the
appearance of pipe-sticks, until the 15th, when Baraka, in the same
doleful manner as in Sorombo, came to me and said he had something to
communicate, which was so terrible, if I heard it I should give up the
march. Lumeresi was his authority, but he would not tell it until Grant
arrive. I said to him, "Let us wait till Grant arrives; we shall then
have some one with us who won't shrink from whispers"--meaning Bombay;
and so I let the matter drop for the time being. But when Grant came,
we had it out of him, and found this terrible mystery all hung on
Lumeresi's prognostications that we never should get through Usui with
so little cloth.
16th to 19th.--At night, I had such a terrible air-catching fit, and
made such a noise whilst trying to fill my lungs, that it alarmed all
the camp, so much so that my men rushed into my tent to see if I was
dying. Lumeresi, in the morning, then went on a visiting excursion into
the district, but no sooner left than the chief of Isamiro, whose place
lies close to the N'yanza, came here to visit him (17th); but after
waiting a day to make friends with me, he departed (18th), as I heard
afterwards, to tell his great Mhuma chief, Rohinda, the ruler of
Ukhanga, to which district this state of Bogue belongs, what sort of
presents I had given to Lumeresi. He was, in fact, a spy whom Rohinda
had sent to ascertain what exactions had been made from me, as he, being
the great chief, was entitled to the most of them himself. On Lumeresi's
return, all the men of the village, as well as mine, set up a dance,
beating the drums all day and all night.
20th to 21st.--Next night they had to beat their drums for a very
different purpose, as the Watuta, after lifting all of Makaka's cattle
in Sorombo, came hovering about, and declared they would never cease
fighting until they had lifted all those that Lumeresi harboured round
his boma; for it so happened that Lumeresi allowed a large party of
Watosi, alias Wahuma, to keep their cattle in large stalls all round his
boma, and these the Watuta had now set their hearts upon. After a little
reflection, however, they thought better of it, as they were afraid to
come in at once on account of my guns.
Most gladdening news this day came in to cheer me. A large mixed caravan
of Arabs and coast-men, arriving from Karague, announced that both
Rumanika and Suwarora were anxiously looking out for us, wondering why
we did not come. So great, indeed, was Suwarora's desire to see us, that
he had sent four men to invite us, and they would have been here now,
only that one of them fell sick on the way, and the rest had to stop for
him. I cannot say what pleasure this gave me; my fortune, I thought, was
made; and so I told Baraka, and pretended he did not believe the news to
be true. Without loss of time I wrote off to Grant, and got these men to
carry the letter.
Next day (22d) the Wasui from Suwarora arrived. They were a very gentle,
nice-dispositioned-looking set of men--small, but well knit together.
They advanced to my tent with much seeming grace; then knelt at my feet,
and began clapping their hands together, saying, at the same time, "My
great chief, my great chief, I hope you are well; for Suwarora, having
heard of your detention here, has sent us over to assure you that all
those reports that have been circulated regarding his ill-treatment of
caravans are without foundation; he is sorry for what has happened to
deter your march, and hopes you will at once come to visit him." I then
told them all that had happened--how Grant and myself were situated--and
begged them to assist me by going off to Grant's camp to inspire all the
men there with confidence, and bring my rear property to me--saying,
as they agreed to do so, "Here are some cloths and some beads for your
expenses, and when you return I will give you more." Baraka at once,
seeing this, told me they were not trustworthy, for at Mihambo an old
man had come there and tried to inveigle him in the same manner, but he
kicked him out of the camp, because he knew he was a touter, who wished
merely to allure him with sweet words to fleece him afterwards. I then
wrote to Grant another letter to be delivered by these men.
Lumeresi no sooner heard of the presents I had given them, than he flew
into a passion, called them imposters, abused them for not speaking to
him before they came to me, and said he would not allow them to go. High
words then ensued. I said the business was mine, and not his; he had no
right to interfere, and they should go. Still Lumeresi was obstinate,
and determined they should not, for I was his guest; he would not allow
any one to defraud me. It was a great insult to himself, if true, that
Suwarora should attempt to snatch me out of his house; and he could not
bear to see me take these strangers by the hand, when, as we have seen,
it took him so long to entice me to his den, and he could not prevail
over me until he actually sent his copper hatchet.
When this breeze blew over, by Lumeresi's walking away, I told the Wasui
not to mind him, but to do just as I bid them. They said they had their
orders to bring me, and if Lumeresi would not allow them to go for
Grant, they would stop where they were, for they knew that if Suwarora
found them delaying long, he would send more men to look after them.
There was no peace yet, however; for Lumeresi, finding them quietly
settled down eating with my men, ordered them out of his district,
threatening force if they did not comply at once. I tried my best for
them, but the Wasui, fearing to stop any longer, said they would take
leave to see Suwarora, and in eight days more they would come back
again, bringing something with them, the sight of which would make
Lumeresi quake. Further words were now useless, so I gave them more
cloth to keep them up to the mark, and sent them off. Baraka, who seemed
to think this generosity a bit of insanity, grumbled that if I had
cloths to throw away it would have been better had I disposed of them to
my own men.
Next day (26th), as I was still unwell, I sent four men to Grant with
inquiries how he was getting on, and a request for medicines. The
messengers took four days to bring back the information that Bombay had
not returned from Kaze, but that Grant, having got assistance, hoped to
break ground about the 5th of next month. They brought me at the same
time information that the Watuta had invested Ruhe's, after clearing
off all the cattle in the surrounding villages, and had proclaimed their
intention of serving out Lumeresi next. In consequence of this,
Lumeresi daily assembled his grey-beards and had councils of war in his
drum-house; but though his subjects sent to him constantly for troops,
he would not assist them.
Another caravan then arrived (31st) from Karague, in which I found an
old friend, of half Arab breed, called Saim, who whilst I was residing
with Sheikh Snay at Kaze on my former expedition, taught me the way to
make plantain-wine. He, like the rest of the porters in the caravan,
wore a shirt of fig-tree bark called mbugu. As I shall have frequently
to use this word in the course of the Journal, I may here give an
explanation of its meaning. The porter here mentioned told me that the
people about the equator all wore this kind of covering, and made it up
of numerous pieces of bark sewn together, which they stripped from the
trees after cutting once round the trunk above and below, and then once
more down the tree from the upper to the lower circular cutting. This
operation did not kill the trees, because, if they covered the wound,
whilst it was fresh, well over with plaintain-leaves, shoots grew down
from above, and a new bark came all over it. The way they softened
the bark, to make it like cloth, was by immersion in water, and a
good strong application of a mill-headed mallet, which ribbed it like
corduroy. [10] Saim told me he had lived ten years in Uganda, had
crossed the Nile, and had traded eastward as far as the Masai country.
He thought the N'yanza was the sources of the Ruvuma river; as the river
which drained the N'yanza, after passing between Uganda and Usoga, went
through Unyoro, and then all round the Tanganyika lake into the Indian
Ocean, south of Zanzibar. Kiganda, he also said, he knew as well as his
own tongue; and as I wanted an interpreter, he would gladly take service
with me. This was just what I wanted--a heaven-born stroke of luck. I
seized at his offer with avidity, gave him a new suit of clothes, which
made him look quite a gentleman, and arranged to send him next day with
a letter to Grant.
1st and 2d.--A great hubbub and confusion now seized all the place,
for the Watuta were out, and had killed a woman of the place who had
formerly been seized by them in war, but had since escaped and resided
here. To avenge this, Lumeresi headed his host, and was accompanied
by my men; but they succeeded in nothing save in frightening off their
enemies, and regaining possession of the body of the dead woman. Then
another hubbub arose, for it was discovered that three Wahuma women were
missing (2d); and, as they did not turn up again, Lumeresi suspected the
men of the caravan, which left with Saim, must have taken them off as
slaves. He sent for the chief of the caravan, and had him brought back
to account for this business. Of course the man swore he knew nothing
about the matter, whilst Lumeresi swore he should stop there a prisoner
until the women were freed, as it was not the first time his women had
been stolen in this manner. About the same time a man of this place, who
had been to Sorombo to purchase cows, came in with a herd, and was at
once seized by Lumeresi; for, during his absence, one of Lumeresi's
daughters had been discovered to be with child, and she, on being asked
who was the cause of it, pointed out that man. To compensate for damage
done to himself, as his daughter by this means had become reduced to
half her market-value, Lumeresi seized all the cattle this man had
brought with him.
3d to 10th.--When two days had elapsed, one of the three missing
Wahuma women was discovered in a village close by. As she said she had
absconded because her husband had ill-treated her, she was flogged,
to teach her better conduct. It was reported they had been seen in
M'yonga's establishment; and I was at the same time informed that the
husbands who were out in search of them would return, as M'yonga was
likely to demand a price for them if they were claimed, in virtue of
their being his rightful property under the acknowledged law of buni, or
findings-keepings.
For the next four days nothing but wars and rumours of wars could be
heard. The Watuta were out in all directions plundering cattle and
burning villages, and the Wahuma of this place had taken such fright,
they made a stealthy march with all their herds to a neighbouring chief,
to whom it happened that one of Lumeresi's grey-beards was on a visit.
They thus caught a Tartar; for the grey-beard no sooner saw them than he
went and flogged them all back again, rebuking them on the way for their
ingratitude to their chief, who had taken them in when they sought his
shelter, and was now deserted by them on the first alarm of war.
10th.--Wishing now to gain further intelligence of Grant, I ordered
some of my men to carry a letter to him; but they all feared the Watuta
meeting them on the way, and would not. Just then a report came in that
one of Lumeresi's sons, who had gone near the capital of Ukhanga to
purchase cows, was seized by Rohinda in consequence of the Isamiro chief
telling him that Lumeresi had taken untold wealth from me, and he was to
be detained there a prisoner until Lumeresi either disgorged, or sent
me on to be fleeced again. Lumeresi, of course, was greatly perplexed
at this, and sought my advice, but could get nothing out of me, for
I laughed in my sleeve, and told him such was the consequence of his
having been too greedy.
11th to 15th.--Masudi with his caravan arrived from Mchimeka--Ungurue
"the Pig," who had led me astray, was, by the way, his kirangozi or
caravan-leader. Masudi told us he had suffered most severely from losses
by his men running away, one after the other, as soon as they received
their pay. He thought Grant would soon join me, as, the harvest being
all in, the men about Rungua would naturally be anxious for service.
He had had fearful work with M'yonga, having paid him a gun, some
gunpowder, and a great quantity of cloth; and he had to give the same to
Ruhe, with the addition of twenty brass wires, one load of mzizima, and
one load of red coral beads. This was startling, and induced me to send
all the men I could prudently spare off to Grant at once, cautioning
him to avoid Ruhe's, as Lumeresi had promised me he would not allow one
other thing to be taken from me. Lumeresi by this time was improving,
from lessons on the policy of moderation which I had been teaching him;
for when he tried to squeeze as much more out of Masudi as Ruhe had
taken, he gave way, and let him off cheaply at my intercession. He had
seen enough to be persuaded that this unlimited taxation or plunder
system would turn out a losing game, such as Unyamyembe and Ugogo were
at that time suffering from. Moreover, he was rather put to shame by
my saying, "Pray, who now is biggest--Ruhe or yourself? for any one
entering this country would suspect that he was, as he levies the first
tax, and gives people to understand that, by their paying it, the whole
district will be free to them; such at any rate he told me, and so it
appears he told Masudi. If you are the sultan, and will take my advice,
I would strongly recommend your teaching Ruhe a lesson, by taking from
him what the Arabs paid, and giving it back to Masudi.
At midnight (16th) I was startled in my sleep by the hurried tramp of
several men, who rushed in to say they were Grant's porters--Bogue men
who had deserted him. Grant, they said, in incoherent, short, rapid, and
excited sentences, was left by them standing under a tree, with nothing
but his gun in his hand. All the Wanguana had been either killed or
driven away by M'yonga's men, who all turned out and fell upon the
caravan, shooting, spearing, and plundering, until nothing was left. The
porters then, seeing Grant all alone, unable to help him, bolted off
to inform me and Lumeresi, as the best thing they could do. Though
disbelieving the story in all its minutiae, I felt that something
serious must have happened; so, without a moment's delay, I sent off
the last of my men strong enough to walk to succour Grant, carrying with
them a bag of beads. Baraka then stepped outside my tent, and said in a
loud voice, purposely for my edification, "There, now, what is the use
of thinking any more about going to Karague? I said all along it was
impossible"; upon hearing which I had him up before all the remaining
men, and gave him a lecture, saying, happen what would, I must die or go
on with the journey, for shame would not allow me to give way as Baraka
was doing. Baraka replied, he was not afraid--he only meant to imply
that men could not act against impossibilities. "Impossibilities!" I
said; "what is impossible? Could I not go on as a servant with the first
caravan, or buy up a whole caravan if I liked? What is impossible?
For Godsake don't try any more to frighten my men, for you have nearly
killed me already in doing so."
Next day (17th) I received a letter from Grant, narrating the whole of
his catastrophes:--
"In the Jungles, near M'yonga's, 16th Sept. 1861.
"My dear Speke,--The caravan was attacked, plundered, and the men driven
to the winds, while marching this morning into M'yonga's country.
"Awaking at cock-crow, I roused the camp, all anxious to rejoin you; and
while the loads were being packed, my attention was drawn to an angry
discussion between the head men and seven or eight armed fellows sent by
Sultan M'yonga, to insist upon my putting up for the day in his village.
They were summarily told that as YOU had already made him a present,
he need not expect a visit from ME. Adhering, I doubt not, to their
master's instructions, they officiously constituted themselves our
guides till we chose to strike off their path, when, quickly heading
our party, they stopped the way, planted their spears, and DARED our
advance!
"This menace made us firmer in our determination, and we swept past the
spears. After we had marched unmolested for some seven miles, a loud
yelping from the woods excited our attention, and a sudden rush was made
upon us by, say two hundred men, who came down seemingly in great glee.
In an instant, at the caravan's centre, they fastened upon the poor
porters. The struggle was short; and with the threat of an arrow or
spear at their breasts, men were robbed of their cloths and ornaments,
loads were yielded and run away with before resistance could be
organised; only three men of a hundred stood by me, the others, whose
only thought was their lives, fled into the woods, where I went shouting
for them. One man, little Rahan--rip as he is--stood with cocked gun,
defending his load, against five savages with uplifted spears. No
one else could be seen. Two or three were reported killed; some were
wounded. Beads, boxes, cloths, etc., lay strewed about the woods. In
fact, I felt wrecked. My attempt to go and demand redress from the
sultan was resisted, and, in utter despair, I seated myself among a mass
of rascals jeering round me, and insolent after the success of the day.
Several were dressed in the very cloths, etc., they had stolen from my
men.
"In the afternoon, about fifteen men and loads were brought me, with
a message from the sultan, that the attack had been a mistake of his
subjects--that one man had had a hand cut off for it, and that all the
property would be restored!
"Yours sincerely, J. W. Grant."
Now, judging from the message sent to Grant by M'yonga, it appeared to
me that his men had mistaken their chief's orders, and had gone one step
beyond his intentions. It was obvious that the chief merely intended
to prevent Grant from passing through or evading his district without
paying a hongo, else he would not have sent his men to invite him to his
palace, doubtless with instructions, if necessary, to use force. This
appears the more evident from the fact of his subsequent contrition, and
finding it necessary to send excuses when the property was in his hands;
for these chiefs, grasping as they are, know they must conform to some
kind of system, to save themselves from a general war, or the avoidance
of their territories by all travellers in future. To assist Grant, I
begged Lumeresi to send him some aid in men at once; but he refused, on
the plea that M'yonga was at war with him, and would kill them if
they went. This was all the more provoking, as Grant, in a letter next
evening, told me he could not get all his men together again, and wished
to know what should be done. He had recovered all the property except
six loads of beads, eighty yards of American sheeting, and many minor
articles, besides what had been rifled more or less from every load.
In the same letter he asked me to deliver up a Mhuma woman to a man who
came with the bearers of his missive, as she had made love to Saim at
Ukulima's, and had bolted with my men to escape from her husband.
On inquiring into this matter, she told me her face had been her
misfortune, for the man who now claimed her stole her from her parents
at Ujiji, and forcibly made her his wife, but ever since had ill-treated
her, often thrashing her, and never giving her proper food or clothing.
It was on this account she fell in love with Saim; for he, taking
compassion on her doleful stories, had promised to keep her as long as
he travelled with me, and in the end to send her back to her parents
at Ujiji. She was a beautiful woman, with gazelle eyes, oval face, high
thin nose, and fine lips, and would have made a good match for Saim, who
had a good deal of Arab blood in him, and was therefore, in my opinion,
much of the same mixed Shem-Hamitic breed. But as I did not want more
women in my camp, I gave her some beads, and sent her off with the
messenger who claimed her, much against my own feelings. I had proposed
to Grant that, as Lumeresi's territories extended to within eight miles
of M'yonga's, he should try to move over the Msalala border by relays,
when I would send some Bogue men to meet him; for though Lumeresi would
not risk sending his men into the clutches of M'yonga, he was most
anxious to have another white visitor.
20th and 21st.--I again urged Lumeresi to help on Grant, saying it was
incumbent on him to call M'yonga to account for maltreating Grant's
porters, who were his own subjects, else the road would be shut up--he
would lose all the hongos he laid on caravans--and he would not be able
to send his own ivory down to the coast. This appeal had its effect: he
called on his men to volunteer, and twelve porters came forward, who no
sooner left, than in came another letter from Grant, informing me that
he had collected almost enough men to march with, and that M'yonga
had returned on of the six missing loads, and promised to right him in
everything.
Next day, however, I had from Grant two very opposite accounts--one,
in the morning, full of exultation, in which he said he hoped to reach
Ruhe's this very day, as his complement of porters was then completed;
while by the other, which came in the evening, I was shocked to hear
that M'yonga, after returning all the loads, much reduced by rifling,
had demanded as a hongo two guns, two boxed ammunition, forty brass
wires, and 160 yards of American sheeting, in default of which he,
Grant, must lend M'yonga ten Wanguana to build a boma on the west of
his district, to enable him to fight some Wasona who were invading his
territory, otherwise he would not allow Grant to move from his palace.
Grant knew not what to do. He dared not part with the guns, because
he knew it was against my principle, and therefore deferred the answer
until he heard from me, although all his already collected porters were
getting fidgety, and two had bolted. In this fearful fix I sent Baraka
off with strict orders to bring Grant away at any price, except the
threatened sacrifice of men, guns, and ammunition, which I would not
listen to, as one more day's delay might end in further exactions; at
the same time, I cautioned him to save my property as far as he could,
for it was to him that M'yonga had formerly said that what I paid him
should do for all.
Some of M'yonga's men who had plundered Grant now "caught a Tartar."
After rifling his loads of a kilyndo, or bark box of beads, they, it
appeared, received orders from M'yonga to sell a lot of female slaves,
amongst whom were the two Wahuma women who had absconded from this. The
men in charge, not knowing their history, brought them for sale
into this district, where they were instantly recognised by some of
Lumeresi's men, and brought in to him. The case was not examined at
once, Lumeresi happening to be absent; so, to make good their time, the
men in charge brought their beads to me to be exchanged for something
else, not knowing that both camps were mine, and that they held my beads
and not Grant's. Of course I took them from them, but did not give them
a flogging, as I knew if I did so they would at once retaliate upon
Grant. The poor Wahuma women, as soon as Lumeresi arrived, were put to
death by their husbands, because, by becoming slaves, they had broken
the laws of their race.
22d to 24th.--At last I began to recover. All this exciting news, with
the prospect of soon seeing Grant, did me a world of good,--so much
so, that I began shooting small birds for specimens--watching the
blacksmiths as they made tools, spears, ad bracelets--and doctoring some
of the Wahuma women who came to be treated for ophthalmia, in return for
which they gave me milk. The milk, however, I could not boil excepting
in secrecy, else they would have stopped their donations on the plea
that this process would be an incantation or bewitchment, from which
their cattle would fall sick and dry up. I now succeeded in getting
Lumeresi to send his Wanyapara to go and threaten M'yonga, that if he
did not release Grant at once, we would combine to force him to do so.
They, however, left too late, for the hongo had been settled, as I was
informed by a letter from Grant next day, brought to my by Bombay, who
had just returned from Kaze after six weeks' absence. He brought with
him old Nasib and another man, and told me both Bui and Nasib had hidden
themselves in a Boma close to Lumeresi's the day when my hongo was
settled; but they bolted the instant the drums beat, and my men fired
guns to celebrate the event, supposing that the noise was occasioned by
our fighting with Lumeresi. These cowards then made straight for Kaze,
when Fundi Sangoro gave Nasib a flogging for deserting me, and made him
so ashamed of his conduct that he said he would never do it again. Bui
also was flogged, but, admitting himself to be a coward, was set to the
"right-about." With him Bombay also brought three new deoles, for which
I had to pay 160 dollars, and news that the war with Manua Sera was
not then over. He had effected his escape in the usual manner, and was
leading the Arabs another long march after him.
Expecting to meet Grant this morning (25th), I strolled as far as my
strength and wind would allow me towards Ruhe's; but I was sold, for
Ruhe had detained him for a hongo. Lumeresi also having heard of it,
tried to interpose, according to a plan arranged between us in case of
such a thing happening, by sending his officers to Ruhe, with an order
not to check my "brother's" march, as I had settled accounts for all.
Later in the day, however, I heard from Grant that Ruhe would not let
him go until he had paid sixteen pretty cloths, six wires, one gun, one
box of ammunition, and one load of mzizima beads, coolly saying that
I had only given him a trifle, under the condition that, when the big
caravan arrived, Grant would make good the rest. I immediately read
this letter to Lumeresi, and asked him how I should answer it, as Grant
refused to pay anything until I gave the order.
To which Lumeresi replied, Ruhe, "my child," could not dare to interfere
with Grant after his officers arrived, and advised me to wait until
the evening. At all events, if there were any further impediments,
he himself would go over there with a force and release Grant. In the
evening another messenger arrived from Grant, giving a list of his
losses and expenses at M'yonga's. They amounted to an equivalent of
eight loads, and were as follows:--100 yards cloth, and 4600 necklaces
of beads (these had been set aside as the wages paid to the porters, but
being in my custody, I had to make them good); 300 necklaces of beads
stolen from the loads; one brass wire stolen; one sword-bayonet stolen;
Grant's looking-glass stolen; one saw stolen; one box ammunition stolen.
Then paid in hongo, 160 yards cloth; 150 necklaces; one scarlet blanket,
double; one case ammunition; ten brass wires. Lastly, there was one
donkey beaten to death by the savages. This was the worst of all; for
this poor brute carried me on the former journey to the southern end of
the N'yanza, and in consequence was a great pet.
As nothing further transpired, and I was all in the dark (26th), I wrote
to Grant telling him of my interviews with Lumeresi, and requesting
him to pay nothing; but it was too late, for Grant, to my inexpressible
delight, was the next person I saw; he walked into camp, and then he was
a good laugh over all our misfortunes. Poor Grant, he had indeed had
a most troublesome time of it. The scoundrel Ruhe, who only laughed at
Lumeresi's orders, had stopped his getting supplies of food for himself
and his men; told him it was lucky that he came direct to the palace,
for full preparations had been made for stopping him had he attempted to
avoid it; would not listen to any reference being made to avoid myself;
badgered and bullied over every article that he extracted; and, finally,
when he found compliance with his extortionate requests was not readily
granted, he beat the wardrums to frighten the porters, and ordered the
caravan out of his palace, to where he said they would find his men
ready to fight it out with them. It happened that Grant had just given
Ruhe a gun when my note arrived, on which they made an agreement, that
it was to be restored, provided that, after the full knowledge of all
these transactions had reached us, it was both Lumeresi's and my desire
that it should be so.
I called Lumeresi (27th), and begged he would show whether he was the
chief or not, by requiring Ruhe to disgorge the property he had taken
from me. His Wanyapara had been despised, and I had been most unjustly
treated. Upon this the old chief hung down his head, and said it touched
his heart more than words could tell to hear my complaint, for until I
came that way no one had come, and I had paid him handsomely. He fully
appreciated the good service I had done to him and his country by
opening a road which all caravans for the future would follow if
property dealt with. Having two heads in a country was a most dangerous
thing, but it could not be helped for the present, as his hands were
too completely occupied already. There were Rohinda, the Watuta, and
M'yonga, whom he must settle with before he could attend to Ruhe; but
when he was free, then Ruhe should know who was the chief. To bring the
matter to a climax, Mrs. Lumeresi then said she ought to have something,
because Ruhe was her son, whilst Lumeresi was only her second husband
and consort, for Ruhe was born to her by her former husband. She
therefore was queen.
Difficulties now commenced again (28th). All the Wanguana struck, and
said they would go no further. I argued--they argued; they wanted more
pay--I would not give more. Bombay, who appeared the only one of my men
anxious to go on with Grant and myself, advised me to give in, else they
would all run away, he said. I still stuck out, saying that if they did
go, they should be seized on the coast and cast into jail for desertion.
I had sent for fifty more men on the same terms as themselves, and
nothing in the world would make me alter what had been established at
the British Consulate. There all their engagements were written down in
the office-book, and the Consul was our judge.
29th to 4th.--This shut them up, but at night two of them deserted; the
Wanyamuezi porters also deserted, and I had to find more. Whilst this
was going on, I wrote letters and packed up my specimens, and sent them
back by my late valet, Rahan, who also got orders to direct Sheikh Said
to seize the two men who deserted, and take them down chained to
the coast when he went there. On the 4th, Lumeresi was again greatly
perplexed by his sovereign Rohinda calling on him for some cloths; he
must have thirty at least, else he would not give up Lumeresi's son.
Further, he commanded in a bullying tone that all the Wahuma who were
with Lumeresi should be sent to him at once, adding, at the same time,
if his royal mandate was not complied with as soon as he expected, he
would at once send a force to seize Lumeresi, and place another man in
his stead to rule over the district.
Lumeresi, on hearing this, first consulted me, saying his chief was
displeased with him, accusing him of being too proud, in having at once
two such distinguished guests, and meant by these acts only to humble
him. I replied, if that was the case, the sooner he allowed us to go,
the better it would be for him; and, reminding him of his original
promise to give me assistance on to Usui, said he could do so now with a
very good grace.
Quite approving himself of this suggestion, Lumeresi then gave me one
of his officers to be my guide--his name was Sangizo. This man no sooner
received his orders than, proud of his office as the guide of such a
distinguished caravan, he set to work to find us porters. Meanwhile my
Wasui friends, who left on the 25th of August, returned, bearing what
might be called Suwarora's mace--a long rod of brass bound up in stick
charms, and called Kaquenzingiriri, "the commander of all things."
This they said was their chief's invitation to see us, and sent this
Kaquenzingiriri, to command us respect wherever we went.
5th.--Without seeing us again, Lumeresi, evidently ashamed of the
power held over him by this rod of Suwarora's, walked off in the night,
leaving word that he was on his way to Ruhe's, to get back my gun and
all the other things that had been taken from Grant. The same night a
large herd of cattle was stolen from the boma without any one knowing
it; so next morning, when the loss was discovered, all the Wahuma set
off on the spoor to track them down; but with what effect I never knew.
As I had now men enough to remove half our property, I made a start of
it, leaving Grant to bring up the rest. I believe I was a most miserable
spectre in appearance, puffing and blowing at each step I took, with
shoulder drooping, and left arm hanging like a dead leg, which I was
unable ever to swing. Grant, remarking this, told me then, although fro
a friendly delicacy he had abstained from saying so earlier, that my
condition, when he first saw me on rejoining, gave him a sickening
shock. Next day (7th) he came up with the rest of the property, carried
by men who had taken service for that one march only.
Before us now lay a wilderness of five marches' duration, as the few
villages that once lined it had all been depopulated by the Sorombo
people and the Watuta. We therefore had to lay in rations for those
days, and as no men could be found who would take service to Karague,
we filled up our complement with men at exorbitant wages to carry our
things on to Usui. At this place, to our intense joy, three of Sheikh
Said's boys came to us with a letter from Rigby; but, on opening it, our
spirits at once fell far below zero, for it only informed us that he
had sent us all kinds of nice things, and letters from home, which were
packed up in boxes, and despatched from the coast on the 30th October
1860.
The boys then told me that a merchant, nickname Msopora, had left the
boxes in Ugogo, in charge of some of those Arabs who were detained
there, whilst he went rapidly round by the south, following up the Ruaha
river to Usanga and Usenga, whence he struck across to Kaze. Sheikh
Said, they said, sent his particular respects to me; he had heard of
Grant's disasters with great alarm. If he could be of service, he
would readily come to me; but he had dreamed three times that he saw me
marching into Cairo, which, as three times were lucky, he was sure would
prove good, and he begged I would still keep my nose well to the front,
and push boldly on. Manua Sera was still in the field, and all was
uncertain. Bombay then told me--he had forgotten to do so before--that
when he was last at Kaze, Sheikh said told him he was sure we would
succeed if both he and myself pulled together, although it was well
known no one else of my party wished to go northwards.
With at last a sufficiency of porters, we all set out together, walking
over a new style of country. Instead of the constantly-recurring
outcrops of granite, as in Unyamuezi, with valleys between, there were
only two lines of little hills visible, one right and one left of us, a
good way off; whilst the ground over which we were travelling, instead
of being confined like a valley, rose in long high swells of sandstone
formation, covered with small forest-trees, among which flowers like
primroses, only very much larger, and mostly of a pink colour, were
frequently met with. Indeed, we ought all to have been happy together,
for all my men were paid and rationed trebly--far better than they would
have been if they had been travelling with any one else; but I had not
paid all, as they thought, proportionably, and therefore there were
constant heartburnings, with strikes and rows every day. It was
useless to tell them that they were all paid according to their own
agreements--that all short-service men had a right to expect more in
proportion to their work than long-service ones; they called it all love
and partiality, and in their envy would think themselves ill-used.
At night the kirangozi would harangue the camp, cautioning all hands
to keep together on the line of march, as the Watuta were constantly
hovering about, and the men should not squabble and fight with their
master, else no more white men would come this way again. On the 11th we
were out of Bogue, in the district of Ugomba, and next march brought
us into Ugombe (12th), where we crossed the Ukongo nullah, draining
westwards to the Malagarai river. Here some of the porters, attempting
to bolt, were intercepted by my coast-men and had a fight of it, for
they fired arrows, and in return the coast-men cut their bows. The whole
camp, of course, was in a blaze at this; their tribe was insulted, and
they would not stand it, until Bombay put down their pride with a few
strings of beads, as the best means of restoring peace in the camp.
At this place we were visited by the chief of the district, Pongo
(Bush-boc), who had left his palace to see us and invite us his way, for
he feared we might give him the slip by going west into Uyofu. He sent
us a cow, and said he should like some return; for Masudi, who had
gone ahead, only gave him a trifle, professing to be our vanguard, and
telling him that as soon as we came with the large caravan we would
satisfy him to his heart's content. We wished for an interview, but he
would not see us, as he was engaged looking into his magic horn, with an
endeavour to see what sort of men we were, as none of our sort had ever
come that way before.
The old sort of thing occurred again. I sent him one kitambi and eight
yards kiniki, explaining how fearfully I was reduced from theft and
desertions, and begging he would have mercy; but instead of doing so he
sent the things back in a huff, after a whole day's delay, and said he
required, besides, one sahari, one kitambi, and eight yards kiniki. In a
moment I sent them over, and begged he would beat the drums; but no,
he thought he was entitled to ten brass wires, in addition, and would
accept them at his palace the next day, as he could not think of
allowing us to leave his country until we had done him that honour, else
all the surrounding chiefs would call him inhospitable.
Too knowing now to be caught with such chaff, I told him, through
Bombay, if he would consider the ten brass wires final, I would give
them, and then go to his palace, not otherwise. He acceded to this, but
no sooner got them, than he broke his faith, and said he must either
have more pretty cloths, or five more brass wires, and then, without
doubt, he would beat the drums. A long badgering bargain ensued,
at which I made all my men be present as witnesses, and we finally
concluded the hongo with four more brass wires.
The drums then no sooner beat the satisfaction, than the Wasui
mace-bearers, in the most feeling and good-mannered possible manner,
dropped down on their knees before me, and congratulated me on the
cessation of this tormenting business. Feeling much freer, we now went
over and put up in Pong's palace, for we had to halt there a day to
collect more porters, as half my men had just bolted. This was by no
means an easy job, for all my American sheeting was out, and so was the
kiniki. Pongo then for the first time showed himself, sneaking about
with an escort, hiding his head in a cloth lest our "evil eyes" might
bewitch him. Still he did us a good turn; for on the 16th he persuaded
his men to take service with us at the enormous hire of ten necklaces of
beads per man for every day's march--nearly ten times what an Arab pays.
Fowls were as plentiful here as elsewhere, though the people only kept
them to sell to travellers, or else for cutting them open for diving
purposes, by inspection of their blood and bones.
From the frying pan we went into the fire in crossing from Ugombe into
the district of Wanga, where we beat up the chief, N'yaruwamba, and at
once went into the hongo business. He offered a cow to commence with,
which I would not accept until the tax was paid, and then I made my
offering of two wires, one kitambi, and one kisutu. Badgering then
commenced: I must add two wires, and six makete or necklaces of mzizima
beads, the latter being due to the chief for negotiating the tax. When
this addition was paid, we should be freed by beat of drum.
I complied at once, by way of offering a special mark of respect
and friendship, and on the reliance that he would keep his word. The
scoundrel, however, no sooner got the articles, than he said a man had
just come there to inform him that I gave Pongo ten wires and ten cloths;
he, therefore, could not be satisfied until I added one more wire, when,
without fail, he would beat the drums. It was given, after many angry
words; but it was the old story over again--he would have one more wire
and a cloth, or else he would not allow us to proceed on the morrow. My
men, this time really provoked, said they would fight it out;--a king
breaking his word in that way! But in the end the demand had to be paid;
and at last, at 9 P.M., the drums beat the satisfaction.
From this we went on to the north end of Wanga, in front of which was
a wilderness, separating the possessions of Rohinda from those of
Suwarora. We put up in a boma, but were not long ensconced there when
the villagers got up a pretext for a quarrel, thinking they could
plunder us of all our goods, and began pitching into my men. We,
however, proved more than a match for them. Our show of guns frightened
them all out of the place; my men then gave chase, firing off in the
air, which sent them flying over the fields, and left us to do there as
we liked until night, when a few of the villagers came back and took up
their abode with us quietly. Next, after dark, the little village was on
the alert again. The Watuta were out marching, and it was rumoured
that they were bound for M'yaruwamba's. The porters who were engaged at
Pongo's now gave us the slip: we were consequently detained here next
day (19th), when, after engaging a fresh set, we crossed the wilderness,
and in Usui put up with Suwarora's border officer of this post,
N'yamanira.
Here we were again brought to a standstill.
Chapter VII. Usui
Taxation recommenced--A Great Doctor--Suwarora pillaging--The
Arabs--Conference with an Ambassador from Uganda--Disputes in
Camp--Rivalry of Bombay and Baraka--Departure from the Inhospitable
Districts.
We were now in Usui, and so the mace-bearers, being on their own ground
forgot their manners, and peremptorily demanded their pay before they
would allow us to move one step farther. At first I tried to stave
the matter off, promising great rewards if they took us quickly on to
Suwarora; but they would take no alternative--their rights were four
wires each. I could not afford such a sum, and tried to beat them down,
but without effect; for they said, they had it in their power to detain
us here a whole month, and they could get us bullied at every stage
by the officers of the stations. No threats of reporting them to their
chief had any effect, so, knowing that treachery in these countries was
a powerful enemy, I ordered them to be paid. N'yamanira, the Mkungu,
then gave us a goat and two pots of pombe, begging, at the same time,
for four wires, which I paid, hoping thus to get on in the morning.
I then made friends with him, and found he was a great doctor as well as
an officer. In front of his hut he had his church or uganga--a tree,
in which was fixed a blaue boc's horn charged with magic powder, and
a zebra's hoof, suspended by a string over a pot of water sunk in the
earth below it. His badges of office he had tied on his head; the
butt of a shell, representing the officer's badge, being fixed on the
forehead, whilst a small sheep's horn, fixed jauntily over the temple,
denoted that he was a magician. Wishing to try my powers in magical
arts, as I laughed at his church, he begged me to produce an everlasting
spring of water by simply scratching the ground. He, however, drew short
up, to the intense delight of my men, on my promising that I would do so
if he made one first.
At night, 22d, a steel scabbard and some cloths were extracted from our
camp, so I begged my friend the great doctor would show us the use
of his horn. This was promised, but never performed. I then wished to
leave, as the Wasui guides, on receiving their pay, promised we should;
but they deferred, on the plea that one of them must see their chief
first, and get him to frank us through, else, they said, we should be
torn to pieces. I said I thought the Kaquenzingiriri could do this; but
they said, "No; Suwarora must be told first of your arrival, to prepare
him properly for your coming; so stop here for three days with two of
us, whilst the third one goes to the palace and returns again; for you
know the chiefs of these countries do not feel safe until they have a
look at the uganga."
One of them then went away, but no sooner had left than a man named
Makinga arrived to invite us on, as he said, at his adopted brother
K'yengo's request. Makinga then told us that Suwarora, on first hearing
that we were coming, became greatly afraid, and said he would not let
us set eyes on his country, as he was sure we were king-dethroners;
but, referring for opinion to Dr K'yengo, his fears were overcome by the
doctor assuring him that he had seen hosts of our sort at Zanzibar;
and he knew, moreover, that some years ago we had been to Ujiji and
to Ukerewe without having done any harm in those places; and, further,
since Musa had sent word that I had done my best to subdue the war at
Unyanyembe, and had promised to do my best here, he, Suwarora, had
been anxiously watching our movements, and longed for our arrival. This
looked famous, and it was agreed we should move the next morning. Just
then a new light broke in on my defeat at Sorombo, for with Makinga I
recognised one of my former porters, who I had supposed was a "child" of
the Pig's. This man now said before all my men, Baraka included, that he
wished to accept the load of mzizima I had offered the Pig if he would
go forward with Baraka and tell Suwarora I wanted some porters to help
me to reach him. He was not a "child" of the Pig's, but a "child" of
K'yengo's; and as Baraka would not allow him to accept the load of
mzizima, he went on to K'yengo by himself, and told all that had
happened. It was now quite clear what motives induced Suwarora to send
out the three Wasui; but how I blessed Baraka for this in my heart,
though I said nothing about it to him, for fear of his playing some more
treacherous tricks. Grant then told me Baraka had been frightened at
Mininga, by a blackguard Mganga to whom he would not give a present,
into the belief that our journey would encounter some terrible
mishap; for, when the M'yonga catastrophe happened, he thought that a
fulfillment of the Mganga's prophecy.
I wished to move in the morning (23d), and had all hands ready, but was
told by Makinga he must be settled with first. His dues for the present
were four brass wires, and as many more when we reached the palace.
I could not stand this: we were literally, as Musa said we should be,
being "torn to pieces"; so I appealed to the mace-bearers, protested
that Makinga could have no claims on me, as he was not a man of Usui,
but a native of Utambara, and brought on a row. On the other hand, as
he could not refute this, Makinga swore the mace was all a pretence, and
set a-fighting with the Wasui and all the men in turn.
To put a stop to this, I ordered a halt, and called on the district
officer to assist us, on which he said he would escort us on to
Suwarora's if we would stop till next morning. This was agreed to; but
in the night we were robbed of three goats, which he said he could not
allow to be passed over, lest Suwarora might hear of it, and he would
get into a scrape. He pressed us strongly to stop another day whilst
he sought for them, but I told him I would not, as his magic powder was
weak, else he would have found the scabbard we lost long before this.
At last we got under way, and, after winding through a long forest,
we emerged on the first of the populous parts of Usui, a most
convulsed-looking country, of well-rounded hills composed of sandstone.
In all the parts not under cultivation they were covered with brushwood.
Here the little grass-hut villages were not fenced by a boma, but were
hidden in large fields of plantains. Cattle were numerous, kept by the
Wahuma, who could not sell their milk to us because we ate fowls and a
bean called maharague.
Happily no one tried to pillage us here, so on we went to Vikora's,
another officer, living at N'yakasenye, under a sandstone hill, faced
with a dyke of white quartz, over which leaped a small stream of
water--a seventy-feet drop--which, it is said, Suwarora sometimes paid
homage to when the land was oppressed by drought. Vikora's father it was
whom Sirboko of Mininga shot. Usually he was very severe with merchants
in consequence of that act; but he did not molest us, as the messenger
who went on to Suwarora returned here just as we arrived, to say we must
come on at once, as Suwarora was anxious to see us, and had ordered his
Wakungu not to molest us. Thieves that night entered our ringfence of
thorns, and stole a cloth from off one of my men while he was sleeping.
We set down Suwarora, after this very polite message, "a regular trump,"
and walked up the hill of N'yakasenye with considerable mirth, singing
his praises; but we no sooner planted ourselves on the summit than we
sang a very different tune. We were ordered to stop by a huge body of
men, and to pay toll.
Suwarora, on second thoughts, had changed his mind, or else he had been
overruled by two of his officers--Kariwami, who lived here, and Virembo,
who lived two stages back, but were then with their chief. There was no
help for it, so I ordered the camp to be formed, and sent Nasib and the
mace-bearers at once off to the palace to express to his highness how
insulted I felt as his guest, being stopped in this manner, even when
I had his Kaquenzingiriri with me as his authority that I was invited
there as a guest. I was not a merchant who carried merchandise, but a
prince like himself, come on a friendly mission to see him and Rumanika.
I was waiting at night for the return of the messengers, and sitting
out with my sextant observing the stars, to fix my position, when some
daring thieves, in the dark bushes close by, accosted two of the women
of the camp, pretending a desire to know what I was doing. They were
no sooner told by the unsuspecting women, than they whipped off their
cloths and ran away with them, allowing their victims to pass me in
a state of absolute nudity. I could stand this thieving no longer.
My goats and other things had been taken away without causing me much
distress of mind, but now, after this shocking event, I ordered my men
to shoot at any thieves that came near them.
This night one was shot, without any mistake about it; for the next
morning we tracked him by his blood, and afterwards heard he had died of
his wound. The Wasui elders, contrary to my expectation, then came and
congratulated us on our success. They thought us most wonderful men,
and possessed of supernatural powers; for the thief in question was a
magician, who until now was thought to be invulnerable. Indeed, they
said Arabs with enormous caravans had often been plundered by these
people; but though they had so many more guns than ourselves, they never
succeeded in killing one.
Nasib then returned to inform us that the king had heard our complaint,
and was sorry for it, but said he could not interfere with the rights
of his officers. He did not wish himself to take anything from us, and
hoped we would come on to him as soon as we had satisfied his officers
with the trifle they wanted. Virembo then sent us some pombe by his
officers, and begged us to have patience, for he was then fleecing
Masudi at the encamping-ground near the palace. This place was alive
with thieves. During the day they lured my men into their huts by
inviting them to dinner; but when they got them they stripped them
stark-naked and let them go again; whilst at night they stone our camp.
After this, one more was shot dead and two others wounded.
I knew that Suwarora's message was all humbug, and that his officers
merely kept about one per cent. of what they took from travellers,
paying the balance into the royal coffers. Thinking I was now well in
for a good fleecing myself, I sent Bombay off to Masudi's camp, to tell
Insangez, who was travelling with him on a mission of his master's, old
Musa's son, that I would reward him handsomely if he would, on arrival
at Karague, get Rumanika to send us his mace here in the same way as
Suwarora had done to help us out of Bogue, as he knew Musa at one time
said he would go with us to Karague in person. When Bombay was gone,
Virembo then deputed Kariwami to take the hongo for both at once, mildly
requiring 40 wires, 80 cloths, and 400 necklaces of every kind of bead
we possessed. This was, indeed, too much of a joke. I complained of all
the losses I had suffered, and begged for mercy; but all he said,
after waiting the whole day, was, "Do not stick at trifles; for, after
settling with us, you will have to give as much more to Vikora, who
lives down below."
Next morning, as I said I could not by any means pay such an exorbitant
tax as was demanded, Kariwami begged me to make an offer which I did by
sending him four wires. These, of course, were rejected with scorn; so,
in addition, I sent an old box. That, too, was thrown back on me, as
nothing short of 20 wires, 40 cloths, and 200 necklaces of all sorts of
beads, would satisfy him; and this I ought to be contented to pay, as
he had been so moderate because I was the king's guest, and had been
so reduced by robbery. I now sent six wires more, and said this was
the last I could give--they were worth so many goats to me--and now by
giving them away, I should have to live on grain like a poor man, though
I was a prince in my own country, just like Suwarora. Surely Suwarora
could not permit this if he knew it; and if they would not suffice, I
should have to stop here until called again by Suwarora. The ruffian, on
hearing this, allowed the wires to lie in his hut, and said he was
going away, but hoped, when he returned, I should have, as I had got
no cloths, 20 wires, and 1000 necklaces of extra length, strung and all
ready for him.
Just then Bombay returned flushed with the excitement of a great
success. He had been in Masudi's camp, and had delivered my message to
Insangez. Asudi, he said, had been there a fortnight unable to settle
his hongo, for the great Mkama had not deigned to see him, though the
Arab had been daily to his palace requesting an interview. "Well," I
said, "that is all very interesting, but what next?--will the big king
see us?" "O no; by the very best good fortune in the world, on going
into the palace I saw Suwarora, and spoke to him at once; but he was so
tremendously drunk, he could not understand me." "What luck was there
in that?" I asked. On which Bombay said, "Oh, everybody in the place
congratulated me on my success in having obtained an interview with that
great monarch the very first day, when Arabs had seldom that privilege
under one full month of squatting; even Masudi had not yet seen him." To
which Nasib also added, "Ah, yes--indeed it is so--a monstrous success;
there is great ceremony as well as business at these courts; you will
better see what I mean when you get to Uganda. These Wahuma kings are
not like those you ever saw in Unyamuezi or anywhere else; they have
officers and soldiers like Said Majid, the Sultan at Zanzibar." "Well,"
said I to Bombay, "what was Suwarora like?" "Oh, he is a very fine
man--just as tall, and in the face very like Grant; in fact, if Grant
were black you would not know the difference." "And were his officers
drunk too?" "O yes, they were all drunk together; men were bringing in
pombe all day." "And did you get drunk?" "O yes," said Bombay, grinning,
and showing his whole row of sharp-pointed teeth, "they WOULD make me
drink; and then they showed me the place they assigned for your camp
when you come over there. It was not in the palace, but outside, without
a tree near it; anything but a nice-looking residence." I then sent
Bombay to work at the hongo business; but, after haggling till night
with Kariwami, he was told he must bring fourteen brass wires, two
cloths, and five mukhnai of kanyera, or white porcelain beads--which,
reduced, amounted to three hundred necklaces; else he said I might stop
there for a month.
At last I settled this confounded hongo, by paying seven additional
wires in lieu of the cloth; and, delighted at the termination of this
tedious affair, I ordered a march. Like magic, however, Vikora turned
up, and said we must wait until he was settled with. His rank was the
same as the others, and one bead less than I had given them he would not
take. I fought all the day out, but the next morning, as he deputed his
officers to take nine wires, these were given, and then we went on with
the journey.
Tripping along over the hill, we descended to a deep miry watercourse,
full of bulrushes, then over another hill, from the heights of which we
saw Suwarora's palace, lying down in the Uthungu valley, behind which
again rose another hill of sandstone, faced on the top with a dyke of
white quartz. The scene was very striking, for the palace enclosures, of
great extent, were well laid out to give effect. Three circles of milk
bush, one within the other, formed the boma, or ring-fence. The chief's
hut (I do not think him worthy of the name of king, since the kingdom is
divided in two) was three times as large as any of the others, and stood
by itself at the farther end; whilst the smaller huts, containing his
officers and domestics, were arranged in little groups within a circle,
at certain distances apart from one another, sufficient to allow of
their stalling their cattle at night.
On descending into the Uthungu valley, Grant, who was preceding the men,
found Makinga opposed to the progress of the caravan until his dues were
paid. He was a stranger like ourselves, and was consequently treated
with scorn, until he tried to maintain what he called his right, by
pulling the loads off my men's shoulders, whereupon Grant cowed him
into submission, and all went on again--not to the palace, as we had
supposed, but, by the direction of the mace-bearers, to the huts of
Suwarora's commander-in-chief, two miles from the palace; and here we
found Masudi's camp also. We had no sooner formed camp for ourselves and
arranged all our loads, than the eternal Vikora, whom I thought we had
settled with before we started, made a claim for some more wire, cloth,
and beads, as he had not received as much as Kariwani and Virembo. Of
course I would not listen to this, as I had paid what his men asked for,
and that was enough for me. Just then Masudi, with the other Arabs who
were travelling with him, came over to pay us a visit, and inquire
what we thought of the Usui taxes. He had just concluded his hongo to
Suwarora by paying 80 wires, 120 yards of cloth, and 130 lb. of beads,
whilst he had also paid to every officer from 20 to 40 wires, as well
as cloths and beads. On hearing of my transactions, he gave it as his
opinion that I had got off surprisingly well.
Next morning, (1st) Masudi and his party started for Karague. They had
been more than a year between this and Kaze, trying all the time to get
along. Provisions here were abundant--hawked about by the people, who
wore a very neat skin kilt strapped round the waist, but otherwise were
decorated like the Wanyamuezi. It was difficult to say who were of true
breed here, for the intercourse of the natives with the Wahuma and
the Wanyamuezi produced a great variety of facial features amongst the
people. Nowhere did I ever see so many men and women with hazel eyes as
at this place.
In the evening, an Uganda man, by name N'yamgundu, came to pay his
respects to us. He was dressed in a large skin wrapper, made up of a
number of very small antelope skins: it was as soft as kid, and just
as well sewn as our gloves. To our surprise the manners of the man
were quite in keeping with his becoming dress. I was enchanted with his
appearance, and so were my men, though no one could speak to him but
Nasib, who told us he knew him before. He was the brother of the dowager
queen of Uganda, and, along with a proper body of officers, he had been
sent by Mtesa, the present king of Uganda, to demand the daughter of
Suwarora, as reports had reached his king that she was surprisingly
beautiful. They had been here more than a year, during which time this
beautiful virgin had died; and now Suwarora, fearful of the great king's
wrath, consequent on his procrastinations, was endeavouring to make
amends for it, by sending, instead of his daughter, a suitable tribute
in wires. I thought it not wonderful that we should be fleeced.
Next day (2d) Sirhid paid us a visit, and said he was the first man in
the state. He certainly was a nice-looking young man, with a good deal
of the Wahuma blood in him. Flashily dressed in coloured cloths and a
turban, he sat down in one of our chairs as if he had been accustomed to
such a seat all his life, and spoke with great suavity. I explained our
difficulties as those of great men in misfortune; and, after listening
to our tale, he said he would tell Suwarora of the way we had been
plundered, and impress upon him to deal lightly with us. I said I had
brought with me a few articles of European manufacture for Suwarora,
which I hoped would be accepted if I presented them, for they were
such things as only great men like his chief ever possessed. One was a
five-barrelled pistol, another a large block-in box, and so fourth; but
after looking at them, and seeing the pistol fired, he said; "No; you
must not shew these things at first, or the Mkama might get frightened,
thinking them magic. I might lose my head for presuming to offer them,
and then there is no knowing what might happen afterwards." "Then can I
not see him at once and pay my respects, for I have come a great way to
obtain that pleasure?" "No," said Sirhid, "I will see him first; for he
is not a man like myself, but requires to be well assured before he sees
anybody." "Then why did he invite me here!" "He heard that Makaka, and
afterwards Lumeresi, had stopped your progress; and as he wished to see
what you were like, he ordered me to send some men to you, which, as you
know, I did twice. He wishes to see you, but does not like doing things
in a hurry. Superstition, you know, preys on these men's minds who have
not seen the world like you and myself." Sirhid then said he would ask
Suwarora to grant us an interview as soon as possible; then, whilst
leaving, he begged for the iron chair he had sat upon; but hearing we
did not know how to sit on the ground, and therefore could not spare it,
he withdrew without any more words about it.
Virembo then said (3d) he must have some more wire and beads, as his
proxy Kariwami had been satisfied with too little. I drove him off in
a huff, but he soon came back again with half the hongo I had paid
to Kariwami, and said he must have some cloths or he would not have
anything. As fortune decreed it, just then Sirhid dropped in, and
stopped him importunity for the time by saying that if we had possessed
cloths his men must have known it, for they had been travelling with
us. No sooner, however, did Virembo turn tail than the Sirhid gave us
a broad hint that he usually received a trifle from the Arabs before he
made an attempt at arranging the hongo with Suwarora. Any trifle would
do but he preferred cloth.
This was rather perplexing. Sirhid knew very well that I had a small
reserve of pretty cloths, though all the common ones had been expended;
so, to keep in good terms with him who was to be our intercessor, I said
I would give him the last I had got if he would not tell Suwarora or any
one else what I had done. Of course he was quite ready to undertake the
condition, so I gave him two pretty cloths, and he in return gave me two
goats. But when this little business had been transacted, to my surprise
he said: "I have orders from Suwarora to be absent five days to doctor
a sick relation of his, for there is no man in the country so skilled
in medicines as myself; but whilst I am gone I will leave Karambule, my
brother, to officiate in my stead about taking your hongo; but the
work will not commence until to-morrow, for I must see Suwarora on the
subject myself first."
Irungu, a very fine-looking man of Uganda, now called on me and begged
for beads. He said his king had heard of our approach, and was most
anxious to see us. Hearing this I begged him to wait here until my hongo
was paid, that we might travel on to Uganda together. He said, No, he
could not wait, for he had been detained here a whole year already; but,
if I liked, he would leave some of his children behind with me, as
their presence would intimidate Suwarora, and incite him to let us off
quickly.
I then begged him to convey a Colt's six-chamber revolving rifle to his
king, Mtesa, as an earnest that I was a prince most desirous of seeing
him. No one, I said, but myself could tell what dangers and difficulties
I had encountered to come thus far for the purpose, and all was owing to
his great fame, as the king of kings, having reached me even as far off
as Zanzibar. The ambassador would not take the rifle, lest his master,
who had never seen such a wonderful weapon before, should think he had
brought him a malign charm, and he would be in danger of losing his
head. I then tried to prevail on him to take a knife and some other
pretty things, but he feared them all; so, as a last chance--for I
wished to send some token, by way of card or letter, for announcing
my approach and securing the road--I gave him a red six-penny
pocket-handkerchief, which he accepted; and he then told me he was
surprised I had come all this way round to Uganda, when the road by the
Masai country was so much shorter. He told me how, shortly after the
late king of Uganda, Sunna, died, and before Mtesa had been selected
by the officers of the country to be their king, an Arab caravan came
across the Masai as far as Usoga, and begged for permission to enter
Uganda; but as the country was disturbed by the elections, the officers
of the state advised the Arabs to wait, or come again when the king
was elected. I told him I had heard of this before, but also heard that
those Arabs had met with great disasters, owing to the turbulence of the
Masai. To which he replied: "That is true; there were great difficulties
in those times, but now the Masai country was in better order; and as
Mtesa was most anxious to open that line, he would give me as many men
as I liked if I wished to go home that way."
This was pleasant information, but not quite new, for the Arabs had told
me Mtesa was so anxious to open that route, he had frequently offered to
aid them in it himself. Still it was most gratifying to myself as I had
written to the Geographical Society, on leaving Bogue, that if I found
Petherick in Uganda, or on the northern end of the N'yanza, so that the
Nile question was settled, I would endeavour to reach Zanzibar via the
Masai country. In former days, I knew, the kings of Uganda were in the
habit of sending men to Karague when they heard that Arabs wished to
visit them--even as many as two hundred at a time--to carry their kit;
so I now begged Irungu to tell Mtesa that I should want at least sixty
men; and then, on his promising that he would be my commissioner, I gave
him the beads he had begged for himself.
4th to 6th.--Karambule now told us to string our beads on the fibre of
the Mwale tree, which was sold here by the Wasui, as he intended to live
in the palace for a couple of days, arranging with Suwarora what tax we
should have to pay, after which he would come and take it from us; but
we must mind and be ready, for whatever Suwarora said, it must be done
instantly. There was no such thing as haggling with him; you must pay
and be off at once, failing which you might be detained a whole month
before there would be an opportunity to speak on the subject again.
Beads were then served out to all my men to be strung, a certain
quantity to every kambi or mess, and our work was progressing; but next
day we heard that Karambule was sick or feigning to be so, and therefore
had never gone to the palace at all. On the 6th, provoked at last by the
shameful manner in which we were treated, I send word to him to say,
if he did not go at once I would go myself, and force my way in with my
guns, for I could not submit to being treated like a slave, stuck out
here in the jungle with nothing to do but shoot for specimens, or make
collections of rocks, etc. This brought on another row; for he said both
Virembo and Vikora had returned their hongos, and until their tongues
were quieted he could not speak to Suwarora.
To expedite matters (7th), as our daily consumption in camp was a tax
of itself, I gave these tormenting creatures one wire, one pretty cloth,
and five hundred necklaces of white beads, which were no sooner accepted
than Karambule, in the same way as Sirhid had done, said it would be
greatly to my advantage if I gave him something worth having before he
saw the Mkama. Only too glad to being work I gave him a red blanket,
called joho, and five strings of mzizima beads, which were equal to
fifty of the common white.
8th and 9th.--All this time nothing but confusion reigned in camp,
khambi fighting against khambi. Both men and women got drunk, whilst
from outside we were tormented by the Wasui, both men and women
pertinaciously pressing into our hut, watching us eat, and begging in
the most shameless manner. They did not know the word bakhshish, or
present; but, as bad as the Egyptians, they held our their hands, patted
their bellies, and said Kaniwani (my friend) until we were sick of the
sound of that word. Still it was impossible to dislike these simple
creatures altogether, they were such perfect children. If we threw water
at them to drive them away, they came back again, thinking it fun.
Ten days now had elapsed since we came here, still nothing was done
(10th), as Karambule said, because Suwarora had been so fully occupied
collecting an army to punish an officer who had refused to pay his
taxes, had ignored his authority, and had set himself up as king of
the district he was appointed to superintend. After this, at midnight,
Karambule, in an excited manner, said he had seen Suwarora, and it then
was appointed that, not he, but Virembo should take the royal hongo, as
well as the Wahinda, or princes' shares, the next morning--after which
we might go as fast as we liked, for Suwarora was so full occupied with
his army he could not see us this time. Before, however, the hongo could
be paid, I must give the Sirhid and himself twenty brass wires, three
joho, three barsati, twenty strings of mzizima, and one thousand strings
of white beads. They were given.
A fearful row now broke out between Bombay and Baraka (11th). Many of
my men had by this time been married, notwithstanding my prohibition.
Baraka, for instance, had with him the daughter of Ungurue, chief of
Phunze; Wadimoyo, a woman called Manamaka; Sangizo, his wife and sister;
but Bombay had not got one, and mourned for a girl he had set his eyes
on, unfortunately for himself letting Baraka into his confidence. This
set Baraka on the qui vive to catch Bombay tripping; for Baraka knew
he could not get her without paying a good price for her, and therefore
watched his opportunity to lay a complaint against him of purloining my
property, by which scheme he would, he thought, get Bombay's place as
storekeeper himself. In a sly manner Bombay employed some of my other
men to take five wires, a red blanket, and 500 strings of beads, to his
would-be father-in-law, which, by a previously-concocted arrangement,
was to be her dowry price. These men did as they were bid; but the
father-in-law returned things, saying he must have one more wire. That
being also supplied, the scoundrel wanted more, and made so much fuss
about it, that Baraka became conversant with all that was going on, and
told me of it.
This set the whole camp in a flame, for Bombay and Baraka were both
very drunk, as well as most of the other men, so that it was with great
difficulty I could get hold of the rights of their stories. Bombay
acknowledged he had tried to get the girl, for they had been
sentimentalising together for several days, and both alike wished to be
married. Baraka, he said, was allowed to keep a wife, and his position,
demanded that he should have one also; but the wires were his own
property, and not mine, for he was given them by the chiefs as a
perquisite when I paid their hongo through him. He thought it most
unjust and unfair of Baraka to call him to account in that way, but he
was not surprised at it, as Baraka, from the beginning of the journey to
the present moment, had always been backbiting him, to try and usurp his
position. Baraka, at this, somewhat taken aback, said there were no
such things as perquisites on a journey like this; for whatever could
be saved from the chiefs was for the common good of all, and all alike
ought to share in it--repeating words I had often expressed. Then Bombay
retorted trembling and foaming in his liquor: "I know I shall get the
worst of it, for whilst Baraka's tongue is a yard long, mine is only
an inch; but I would not have spent any wires of master's to purchase
slaves with (alluding to what Baraka had done at Mihambo); nor would I,
for any purpose of making myself richer; but when it comes to a wife,
that's a different thing."
In my heart I liked Bombay all the more for this confession, but thought
it necessary to extol Baraka for his quickness in finding him out, which
drove Bombay nearly wild. He wished me to degrade him, if I thought
him dishonest; threw himself on the ground, and kissed my feet. I might
thrash him, turn him into a porter, or do anything else that I liked
with him, as long as I did not bring a charge of dishonesty against him.
He could not explain himself with Baraka's long tongue opposed to him,
but there were many deficiencies in my wires before he took overcharge
at Bogue, which he must leave for settlement till the journey was over,
and then, the whole question having been sifted at Zanzibar, we would
see who was the most honest. I then counted all the wires over, at
Bombay's request, and found them complete in numbers, without those he
had set aside from the dowry money. Still there was a doubt, for
the wires might have been cut by him without detection, as from the
commencement they were of different lengths. However, I tried to make
them friends, claimed all the wires myself, and cautioned every man
in the camp again, that they were all losers when anything was
misappropriated; for I brought this property to pay our way with and
whatever balance was over at the end of the journey I would divide
amongst the whole of them.
12th and 13th.--When more sober, Bombay again came to crave a thousand
pardons for what he had done, threw himself down at my feet, then at
Grant's, kissed our toes, swore I was his Ma Pap (father and mother); he
had no father or mother to teach him better; he owed all his prosperity
to me; men must err sometimes; oh, if I would only forgive him,--and so
forth. Then being assured that I knew he never would have done as he
had if a woman's attractions had not led him astray, he went to his work
again like a man, and consoled himself by taking Sangizo's sister to
wife on credit instead of the old love, promising to pay the needful out
of his pay, and to return her to her brother when the journey was over.
In the evening Virembo and Karambule came to receive the hongo for their
chief, demanding 60 wires, 160 yards merikani, 300 strings of mzizima,
and 5000 strings of white beads; but they allowed themselves to be
beaten down to 50 wires, 20 pretty cloths, 100 strings mzizima, and 4000
kutuamnazi, or cocoa-nut-leaf coloured beads, my white being all done.
It was too late, however, to count all the things out, so they came the
next day and took them. They then said we might go as soon as we had
settled with the Wahinda or Wanawami (the king's children), for Suwarora
could not see us this time, as he was so engaged with his army; but he
hoped to see us and pay us more respect when we returned from Uganda,
little thinking that I had sworn in my mind never to see him, or return
that way again. I said to those men, I thought he was ashamed to see us,
as he had robbed us so after inviting us into the country, else he was
too superstitious, for he ought at least to have given us a place in his
palace. They both rebutted the insinuation; and, to change the subject,
commenced levying the remaining dues to the princes, which ended by my
giving thirty-four wires and six pretty cloths in a lump.
Early in the morning we were on foot again, only too thankful to have
got off so cheaply. Then men were appointed as guides and protectors, to
look after us as far as the border. What an honour! We had come into
the country drawn there by a combination of pride and avarice and now
we were leaving it in hot haste under the guidance of an escort of
officers, who were in reality appointed to watch us as dangerous wizards
and objects of terror. It was all the same to us, as we now only thought
of the prospect of relief before us, and laughed at what we had gone
through.
Rising out of the Uthungu valley, we walked over rolling ground, drained
in the dips by miry rush rivulets. The population was thinly scattered
in small groups of grass huts, where the scrub jungle had been cleared
away. On the road we passed cairns, to which every passer-by contributed
a stone. Of the origin of the cairns I could not gain any information,
though it struck me as curious I should find them in the first country
we had entered governed by the Wahuma, as I formerly saw the same thing
in the Somali country, which doubtless, in earlier days, was governed by
a branch of the Abyssinians. Arrived at our camping, we were immediately
pounced upon by a deputation of officers, who said they had been sent by
Semamba, the officer of this district. He lived ten miles from the road;
but hearing of our approach, he had sent these men to take his dues. At
first I objected to pay, lest he should afterwards treat me as Virembo
had done; but I gave way in the end, and paid nine wires, two chintz
and two bindera cloths, as the guides said they would stand my security
against any further molestation.
Rattling on again as merry as larks, over the same red sandstone
formation, we entered a fine forest, and trended on through it as a
stiff pace until we arrived at the head of a deep valley called Lohuati,
which was so beautiful we instinctively pulled up to admire it. Deep
down its well-wooded side below us was a stream, of most inviting aspect
for a trout-fisher, flowing towards the N'yanza. Just beyond it the
valley was clothed with fine trees and luxuriant vegetation of all
descriptions, amongst which was conspicuous the pretty pandana palm,
and rich gardens of plantains; whilst thistles of extraordinary size
and wild indigo were the more common weeds. The land beyond that again
rolled back in high undulations, over which, in the far distance, we
could see a line of cones, red and bare on their tops, guttered down
with white streaks, looking for all the world like recent volcanoes;
and in the far background, rising higher than all, were the rich grassy
hills of Karague and Kishakka.
On resuming our march, a bird, called khongota, flew across our path;
seeing which, old Nasib, beaming with joy, in his superstitious belief
cried out with delight, "Ah, look at that good omen!--now our journey
will be sure to be prosperous." After fording the stream, we sat down to
rest, and were visited by all the inhabitants, who were more naked than
any people we had yet seen. All the maidens, even at the age of puberty,
did not hesitate to stand boldly in front of us--for evil thoughts
were not in their minds. From this we rose over a stony hill to the
settlement of Vihembe, which, being the last on the Usui frontier,
induced me to give our guides three wires each, and four yards of
bindera, which Nasib said was their proper fee. Here Bombay's would-be,
but disappointed, father-in-law sent after us to say that he required
a hongo; Suwarora had never given his sanction to our quitting
his country; his hongo even was not settled. He wished, moreover,
particularly to see us; and if we did not return in a friendly manner,
an army would arrest our march immediately.
Chapter VIII. Karague
Relief from Protectors and Pillagers--The Scenery and Geology--Meeting
with the Friendly King Rumanika--His Hospitalities and Attention--His
Services to the Expedition--Philosophical and Theological Inquiries--The
Royal Family of Karague--The M-Fumbiro Mountain--Navigation of "The
Little Windermere"--The New-Moon Levee--Rhinoceros and
Hippopotamus Hunting--Measurement of a Fattened Queen--Political
Polygamy--Christmas--Rumours of Petherick's Expedition--Arrangements to
meet it--March to Uganda.
This was a day of relief and happiness. A load was removed from us
in seeing the Wasui "protectors" depart, with the truly cheering
information that we now had nothing but wild animals to contend with
before reaching Karague. This land is "neutral," by which is meant that
it is untenanted by human beings; and we might now hope to bid adieu
for a time to the scourging system of taxation to which we had been
subjected.
Gradually descending from the spur which separates the Lohugati valley
from the bed of the Lueru lo Urigi, or Lake of Urigi, the track led
us first through a meadow of much pleasing beauty, and then through a
passage between the "saddle-back" domes we had seen from the heights
above Lohugati, where a new geological formation especially attracted my
notice. From the green slopes of the hills, set up at a slant, as if
the central line of pressure on the dome top had weighed on the inside
plates, protruded soft slabs of argillaceous sandstone, whose laminae
presented a beef-sandwich appearance, puce or purple alternating with
creamy-white. Quartz and other igneous rocks were also scattered about,
lying like superficial accumulations in the dips at the foot of the
hills, and red sandstone conglomerates clearly indicated the presence
of iron. The soil itself looked rich and red, not unlike our own fine
country of Devon.
On arriving in camp we pitched under some trees, and at once were
greeted by an officer sent by Rumanika to help us out of Usui. This was
Kachuchu, an old friend of Nasib's, who no sooner saw him than, beaming
with delight, he said to us, "Now, was I not right when I told you the
birds flying about on Lohugati hill were a good omen? Look here what
this man says: Rumanika has ordered him to bring you on to his palace at
once, and wherever you stop a day, the village officers are instructed
to supply you with food at the king's expenses, for there are no taxes
gathered from strangers in the kingdom of Karague. Presents may
be exchanged, but the name of tax is ignored." Grant here shot a
rhinoceros, which came well into play to mix with the day's flour we had
carried on from Vihembe.
Deluded yesterday by the sight of the broad waters of the Lueru lo
Urigi, espied in the distance from the top of a hill, into the belief
that we were in view of the N'yanza itself, we walked triumphantly
along, thinking how well the Arabs at Kaze had described this to be
a creek of the great lake; but on arrival in camp we heard from the
village officer that we had been misinformed, and that it was a detached
lake, but connected with the Victoria N'yanza by a passage in the hills
and the Kitangule river. Formerly, he said, the Urigi valley was covered
with water, extending up to Uhha, when all the low lands we had crossed
from Usui had to be ferried, and the saddle-back hills were a mere chain
of islands in the water. But the country had dried up, and the lake of
Urigi became a small swamp. He further informed us, that even in the
late king Dagara's time it was a large sheet of water; but the instant
he ceased to exist, the lake shrank to what we now saw.
Our day's march had been novel and very amusing. The hilly country
surrounding us, together with the valley, brought back to recollection
many happy days I had once spent with the Tartars in the Thibetian
valley of the Indus--only this was more picturesque; for though both
countries are wild, and very thinly inhabited, this was greened over
with grass, and dotted here and there on the higher slopes with thick
bush of acacias, the haunts of rhinoceros, both white and black; whilst
in the flat of the valley, herds of hartebeests and fine cattle roamed
about like the kiyang and tame yak of Thibet. Then, to enhance all these
pleasure, so different from our former experiences, we were treated like
guests by the chief of the place, who, obeying the orders of his king,
Rumanika, brought me presents, as soon as we arrived, of sheep, fowls,
and sweet potatoes, and was very thankful for a few yards of red
blanketing as a return, without begging for more.
The farther we went in this country the better we liked it, as the
people were all kept in good order; and the village chiefs were so
civil, that we could do as we liked. After following down the left
side of the valley and entering the village, the customary presents and
returns were made. Wishing then to obtain a better view of the country,
I strolled over the nearest hills, and found the less exposed slopes
well covered with trees. Small antelopes occasionally sprang up from
the grass. I shot a florikan for the pot; and as I had never before seen
white rhinoceros, killed one now; though, as no one would eat him, I
felt sorry rather than otherwise for what I had done. When I returned
in the evening, small boys brought me sparrows for sale; and then I
remembered the stories I had heard from Musa Mzuri--that in the whole of
Karague the small birds were so numerous, the people, to save themselves
from starvation were obliged to grow a bitter corn which the birds
disliked; and so I found it. At night, whilst observing for latitude,
I was struck by surprise to see a long noisy procession pass by where I
sat, led by some men who carried on their shoulders a woman covered up
in a blackened skin. On inquiry, however, I heard she was being taken to
the hut of her espoused, where, "bundling fashion," she would be put in
bed; but it was only with virgins they took so much trouble.
A strange but characteristic story now reached my ears. Masudi, the
merchant who took up Insangez, had been trying his best to deter
Rumanika from allowing us to enter his country, by saying we were
addicted to sorcery; and had it not been for Insangez's remonstrances,
who said we were sent up by Musa, our fate would have been doubtful.
Rumanika, it appeared, as I always had heard, considered old Musa his
saviour, for having eight years before quelled a rebellion, when his
younger brother, Rogero, aspired to the throne; whilst Musa's honour and
honesty were quite unimpeachable. But more of this hereafter.
Khonze, the next place, lying in the bending concave of this swamp lake,
and facing Hangiro, was commanded by a fine elderly man called Muzegi,
who was chief officer during Dagara's time. He told me with the greatest
possible gravity, that he remembered well the time when a boat could
have gone from this to Vigura; as also when fish and crocodiles came
up from the Kitangule; but the old king no sooner died than the waters
dried up; which showed as plainly as words could tell, that the king had
designed it, to make men remember him with sorrow in all future ages.
Our presents after this having been exchanged, the good old man, at my
desire, explained the position of all the surrounding countries, in his
own peculiar manner, by laying a long stick on the ground pointing
due north and south, to which he attached shorter ones pointing to the
centre of each distant country. He thus assisted me in the protractions
of the map, to the countries which lie east and west of the route.
Shortly after starting this morning, we were summoned by the last
officer on the Urigi to take breakfast with him, as he could not allow
us to pass by without paying his respects to the king's guests. He was a
man of most affable manners, and loth we should part company without one
night's entertainment at least; but as it was a matter of necessity, he
gave us provisions to eat on the way, adding, at the same time, he was
sorry he could not give more, as a famine was then oppressing the land.
We parted with reiterated compliments on both sides; and shortly after,
diving into the old bed of the Urigi, were constantly amused with the
variety of game which met our view. On several occasions the rhinoceros
were so numerous and impudent as to contest the right of the road with
us, and the greatest sport was occasioned by our bold Wanguana going
at them in parties of threes and fours, when, taking good care of
themselves at considerable distances, they fired their carbines all
together, and whilst the rhinoceros ran one way, they ran the other.
Whilst we were pitching our tents after sunset by some pools on the
plain, Dr K'yengo arrived with the hongo of brass and copper wires sent
by Suwarora for the great king Mtesa, in lieu of his daughter who died;
so next morning we all marched together on to Uthenga.
Rising out of the bed of the Urigi, we passed over a low spur of
beef-sandwich clay sandstones, and descended into the close, rich valley
of Uthenga, bound in by steep hills hanging over us more than a thousand
feet high, as prettily clothed as the mountains of Scotland; whilst
in the valley there were not only magnificent trees of extraordinary
height, but also a surprising amount of the richest cultivation, amongst
which the banana may be said to prevail. Notwithstanding this apparent
richness in the land, the Wanyambo, living in their small squalid huts,
seem poor. The tobacco they smoke is imported from the coffee-growing
country of Uhaiya. After arrival in the village, who should we see
but the Uganda officer, Irungu! The scoundrel, instead of going on to
Uganda, as he had promised to do, conveying my present to Mtesa, had
stopped here plundering the Wanyambo, and getting drunk on their pombe,
called, in their language, marwa--a delicious kind of wine made from the
banana. He, or course, begged for more beads; but, not able to trick me
again, set his drummers and fifers at work, in hopes that he would get
over our feelings in that way.
Henceforth, as we marched, Irungu's drummers and fifers kept us alive on
the way. This we heard was a privilege that Uganda Wakungu enjoyed both
at home and abroad, although in all other countries the sound of the
drum is considered a notice of war, unless where it happens to accompany
a dance or festival. Leaving the valley of Uthenga, we rose over
the spur of N'yamwara, where we found we had attained the delightful
altitude of 5000 odd feet. Oh, how we enjoyed it! every one feeling
so happy at the prospect of meeting so soon the good king Rumanika.
Tripping down the greensward, we now worked our way to the Rozoka
valley, and pitched our tents in the village.
Kachuchu here told us he had orders to precede us, and prepare Rumanika
for our coming, as his king wished to know what place we would prefer to
live at--the Arab depot at kufro, on the direct line to Uganda, in his
palace with himself, or outside his enclosures. Such politeness rather
took us aback; so, giving our friend a coil of copper wire to keep him
in good spirits, I said all our pleasure rested in seeing the king;
whatever honours he liked to confer on us we should take with good
grace, but one thing he must understand, we came not to trade, but to
see him and great kings and therefore the Arabs had no relations with
us. This little point settled, off started Kachuchu in his usual merry
manner, whilst I took a look at the hills, to see their geological
formation, and found them much as before, based on streaky clay
sandstones, with the slight addition of pure blue shales, and above
sections of quartzose sandstone lying in flags, as well as other
metamorphic and igneous rocks scattered about.
Moving on the next morning over hill and dale, we came to the junction
of two roads, where Irungu, with his drummers, fifers and amazon
followers, took one way to Kufro, followed by the men carrying
Suwarora's hongo, and we led off on the other, directed to the palace.
The hill-tops in many places were breasted with dykes of pure white
quartz, just as we had seen in Usui, only that here their direction
tended more to the north. It was most curious to contemplate, seeing
that the chief substance of the hills was a pure blue, or otherwise
streaky clay sandstone, which must have been formed when the land was
low, but has now been elevated, making these hills the axis of the
centre of the continent, and therefore probably the oldest of all.
When within a few miles of the palace we were ordered to stop and wait
for Kachuchu's return; but no sooner put up in a plaintain grove, where
pombe was brewing, and our men were all taking a suck at it, than the
worthy arrived to call us on the same instant, as the king was most
anxious to see us. The love of good beer of course made our men all
too tired to march again; so I sent off Bombay with Nasib to make our
excuses, and in the evening found them returning with a huge pot of
pombe and some royal tobacco, which Rumanika sent with a notice that he
intended it exclusively for our own use, for though there was abundance
for my men, there was nothing so good as what came from the palace;
the royal tobacco was as sweet and strong as honey-dew, and the beer so
strong it required a strong man to drink it.
After breakfast next morning, we crossed the hill-spur called
Waeranhanje, the grassy tops of which were 5500 feet above the sea.
Descending a little, we came suddenly in view of what appeared to us
a rich clump of trees, in S. lat. 1° 42' 42", and E. long. 31° 1' 49";
and, 500 feet below it, we saw a beautiful sheet of water lying snugly
within the folds of the hills. We were not altogether unprepared for it,
as Musa of old had described it, and Bombay, on his return yesterday,
told us he had seen a great pond. The clump, indeed, was the palace
enclosure. As to the lake, for want of a native name, I christened it
the Little Winderemere, because Grant thought it so like our own English
lake of that name. It was one of many others which, like that of Urigi,
drains the moisture of the overhanging hills, and gets drained into the
Victoria N'yanza through the Kitangule river.
To do royal honours to the king of this charming land, I ordered my men
to put down their loads and fire a volley. This was no sooner done than,
as we went to the palace gate, we received an invitation to come in at
once, for the king wished to see us before attending to anything else.
Now, leaving our traps outside, both Grant and myself, attended by
Bombay and a few of the seniors of my Wanguana, entered the vestibule,
and, walking through extensive enclosures studded with huts of kingly
dimensions, were escorted to a pent-roofed baraza, which the Arabs had
built as a sort of government office where the king might conduct his
state affairs.
Here, as we entered, we saw sitting cross-legged on the ground Rumanika
the king, and his brother Nnanaji, both of them men of noble appearance
and size. The king was plainly dressed in an Arab's black choga,
and wore, for ornament, dress-stockings of rich-coloured beads, and
neatly-worked wristlets of copper. Nnanaji, being a doctor of very high
pretensions, in addition to a check cloth wrapped round him, was covered
with charms. At their sides lay huge pipes of black clay. In their rear,
squatting quiet as mice, were all the king's sons, some six or seven
lads, who wore leather middle-coverings, and little dream-charms tied
under their chins. The first greetings of the king, delivered in good
Kisuahili, were warm and affecting, and in an instant we both felt and
saw we were in the company of men who were as unlike as they could be to
the common order of the natives of the surrounding districts. They had
fine oval faces, large eyes, and high noses, denoting the best blood
of Abyssinia. Having shaken hands in true English style, which is the
peculiar custom of the men of this country, the ever-smiling Rumanika
begged us to be seated on the ground opposite to him, and at once wished
to know what we thought of Karague, for it had struck him his mountains
were the finest in the world; and the lake, too, did we not admire it?
Then laughing, he inquired--for he knew all the story--what we thought
of Suwarora, and the reception we had met with in Usui. When this was
explained to him, I showed him that it was for the interest of his
own kingdom to keep a check on Suwarora, whose exorbitant taxations
prevented the Arabs from coming to see him and bringing things from all
parts of the world. He made inquiries for the purpose of knowing how we
found our way all over the world; for on the former expedition a letter
had come to him for Musa, who no sooner read it than he said I had
called him and he must leave, as I was bound for Ujiji.
This of course led to a long story, describing the world, the
proportions of land and water, and the power of ships, which conveyed
even elephants and rhinoceros--in fact, all the animals in the world--to
fill our menageries at home,--etc., etc.; as well as the strange
announcement that we lived to the northward, and had only come this way
because his friend Musa had assured me without doubt that he would give
us the road on through Uganda. Time flew like magic, the king's mind was
so quick and enquiring; but as the day was wasting away, he generously
gave us our option to choose a place for our residence in or out of his
palace, and allowed us time to select one. We found the view overlooking
the lake to be so charming, that we preferred camping outside, and
set our men at once to work cutting sticks and long grass to erect
themselves sheds.
One of the young princes--for the king ordered them all to be constantly
in attendance on us--happening to see me sit on an iron chair, rushed
back to his father and told him about it. This set all the royals in the
palace in a state of high wonder, and ended by my getting a summons to
show off the white man sitting on his throne; for of course I could only
be, as all of them called me, a king of great dignity, to indulge in
such state. Rather reluctantly I did as I was bid, and allowed myself
once more to be dragged into court. Rumanika, as gentle as ever, then
burst into a fresh fit of merriment, and after making sundry enlightened
remarks of enquire, which of course were responded to with the greatest
satisfaction, finished off by saying, with a very expressive shake
of the head, "Oh, these Wazungu, these Wazungu! they know and do
everything."
I then put in a word for myself. Since we had entered Karague we never
could get one drop of milk either for love or for money, and I wished
to know what motive the Wahuma had for withholding it. We had heard they
held superstitious dreads; that any one who ate the flesh of pigs, fish,
or fowls, or the bean called Maharague, if he tasted the products of
their cows, would destroy their cattle--and I hoped he did not labour
under any such absurd delusions. To which he replied, It was only the
poor who thought so; and as he now saw we were in want, he would set
apart one of his cows expressly for our use. On bidding adieu, the usual
formalities of handshaking were gone through; and on entering camp, I
found the good thoughtful king had sent us some more of his excellent
beer.
The Wanguana were now all in the highest of good-honour; for time after
time goats and fowls were brought into camp by the officers of the
king, who had received orders from all parts of the country to bring in
supplies for his guests; and this kind of treatment went on for a month,
though it did not diminish my daily expenditures of beads, as grain and
plantains were not enough thought of. The cold winds, however, made
the coast-men all shiver, and suspect, in their ignorance, we must be
drawing close to England, the only cold place they had heard of.
16th.--Hearing it would be considered indecent haste to present my
tributary offering at once, I paid my morning's visit, only taking my
revolving-pistol, as I knew Rumanika had expressed a strong wish to
see it. The impression it made was surprising--he had never seen such a
thing in his life; so, in return for his great generosity, as well as to
show I placed no value on property, not being a merchant, I begged
him to accept it. We then adjourned to his private hut, which rather
surprised me by the neatness with which it was kept. The roof was
supported by numerous clean poles, to which he had fastened a large
assortment of spears--brass-headed with iron handles, and iron-headed
with wooden ones--of excellent workmanship. A large standing-screen, of
fine straw-plait work, in elegant devices, partitioned off one part of
the room; and on the opposite side, as mere ornaments, were placed a
number of brass grapnels and small models of cows, made in iron for his
amusement by the Arabs at Kufro. A little later in the day, as soon as
we had done breakfast, both Rumanika and Nnanaji came over to pay us a
visit; for they thought, as we could find our way all over the world, so
we should not find much difficulty in prescribing some magic charms to
kill his brother, Rogero, who lived on a hill overlooking the Kitangule.
Seating them both on our chairs, which amused them intensely, I asked
Rumanika, although I had heard before the whole facts of the case, what
motives now induced him to wish the committal of such a terrible act,
and brought out the whole story afresh.
Before their old father Dagara died, he had unwittingly said to the
mother of Rogero, although he was the youngest born, what a fine king
he would make; and the mother, in consequence, tutored her son to expect
the command of the country, although the law of the land in the royal
family is the primogeniture system, extending, however, only to those
sons who are born after the accession of the king to the throne.
As soon, therefore, as Dagara died, leaving the three sons alluded to,
all by different mothers, a contest took place with the brothers, which,
as Nnanaji held by Rumanika, ended in the two elder driving Rogero away.
It happened, however, that half the men of the country, either from fear
or love, attached themselves to Rogero. Feeling his power, he raised
an army and attempted to fight for the crown, which it is generally
admitted would have succeeded, had not Musa, with unparalleled
magnanimity, employed all the ivory merchandise at his command to
engage the services of all the Arabs' slaves residing at Kufro, to bring
muskets against him. Rogero was thus frightened away; but he went away
swearing that he would carry out his intentions at some future date,
when the Arabs had withdrawn from the country.
Magic charms, of course, we had none; but the king would not believe it,
and, to wheedle some out of us, said they would not kill their brother
even if they caught him--for fratricide was considered an unnatural
crime in their country--but they would merely gouge out his eyes and set
him at large again; for without the power of sight he could do them no
harm.
I then recommended, as the best advice I could give him for the time
being, to take some strong measures against Suwarora and the system of
taxation carried on in Usui. These would have the effect of bringing men
with superior knowledge into the country--for it was only through the
power of knowledge that good government could be obtained. Suwarora
at present stopped eight-tenths of the ivory-merchants who might be
inclined to trade here from coming into the country, by the foolish
system of excessive taxation he had established. Next I told him, if he
would give me one or two of his children, I would have them instructed
in England; for I admired his race, and believed them to have sprung
from our old friends the Abyssinians, whose king, Sahela Selassie,
had received rich presents from our Queen. They were Christians like
ourselves, and had the Wahuma not lost their knowledge of God they would
be so also. A long theological and historical discussion ensued, which
so pleased the king, that he said he would be delighted if I would take
two of his sons to England, that they might bring him a knowledge of
everything. Then turning again to the old point, his utter amazement
that we should spend so much property in travelling, he wished to know
what we did it for; when men had such means they would surely sit down
and enjoy it. "Oh no," was the reply; "we have had our fill of the
luxuries of life; eating, drinking, or sleeping have no charms for us
now; we are above trade, therefore require no profits, and seek for
enjoyment the run of the world. To observe and admire the beauties of
creation are worth much more than beads to us. But what led us this way
we have told you before; it was to see your majesty in particular, and
the great kings of Africa--and at the same time to open another road to
the north, whereby the best manufactures or Europe would find their
way to Karague, and you would get so many more guests." In the highest
good-humour the king said, "As you have come to see me and see sights, I
will order some boats and show you over the lake, with musicians to play
before you, or anything else that you like." Then, after looking over
our pictures with intensest delight, and admiring our beds, boxes, and
outfit in general, he left for the day.
In the afternoon, as I had heard from Musa that the wives of the king
and princes were fattened to such an extent that they could not stand
upright, I paid my respects to Wazezeru, the king's eldest brother--who,
having been born before his father ascended the throne, did not come in
the line of succession--with the hope of being able to see for myself
the truth of the story. There was no mistake about it. On entering the
hut I found the old man and his chief wife sitting side by side on a
bench of earth strewed over with grass, and partitioned like stalls for
sleeping apartments, whilst in front of them were placed numerous
wooden pots of milk, and hanging from the poles that supported the
beehive-shaped hut, a large collection of bows six feet in length,
whilst below them were tied an even larger collection of spears,
intermixed with a goodly assortment of heavy-headed assages. I was
struck with no small surprise at the way he received me, as well as with
the extraordinary dimensions, yet pleasing beauty, of the immoderately
fat fair one his wife. She could not rise; and so large were her arms
that, between the joints, the flesh hung down like large, loose-stuffed
puddings. Then in came their children, all models of the Abyssinian type
of beauty, and as polite in their manners as thorough-bred gentlemen.
They had heard of my picture-books from the king, and all wished to see
them; which they no sooner did, to their infinite delight, especially
when they recognised any of the animals, then the subject was turned
by my inquiring what they did with so many milk-pots. This was easily
explained by Wazezeru himself, who, pointing to his wife, said, "This
is all the product of those pots: from early youth upwards we keep those
pots to their mouths, as it is the fashion at court to have very fat
wives."
27th.--Ever anxious to push on with the journey, as I felt every day's
delay only tended to diminish my means--that is, my beads and copper
wire--I instructed Bombay to take the under-mentioned articles to
Rumanika as a small sample of the products of my country; [11] to say
I felt quite ashamed of their being so few and so poor, but I hoped he
would forgive my shortcomings, as he knew I had been so often robbed on
the way to him; and I trusted, in recollection of Musa, he would give
me leave to go on to Uganda, for every day's delay was consuming my
supplies. Nnanaji, however, it was said, should get something; so,
in addition to the king's present, I apportioned one out for him, and
Bombay took both up to the palace. [12] Everybody, I was pleased to
hear, was surprised with both the quantity and quality of what I had
been able to find for them; for, after the plundering in Ugogo, the
immense consumption caused by such long delays on the road, the fearful
prices I had had to pay for my porters' wages, the enormous taxes I had
been forced to give both in Msalala and Uzinza, besides the
constant thievings in camp, all of which was made public by the
constantly-recurring tales of my men, nobody thought I had got anything
left.
Rumanika, above all, was as delighted as if he had come in for a
fortune, and sent to say the Raglan coat was a marvel, and the scarlet
broadcloth the finest thing he had ever seen. Nobody but Musa had ever
given him such beautiful beads before, and none ever gave with such free
liberality. Whatever I wanted I should have in return for it, as it was
evident to him I had really done him a great honour in visiting him.
Neither his father nor any of his forefathers had had such a great
favour shown them. He was alarmed, he confessed, when he heard we were
coming to visit him, thinking we might prove some fearful monsters that
were not quite human, but now he was delighted beyond all measure with
what he saw of us. A messenger should be sent at once to the king
of Uganda to inform him of our intention to visit him, with his own
favourable report of us. This was necessary according to the etiquette
of the country. Without such a recommendation our progress would be
stopped by the people, whilst with one word from him all would go
straight; for was he not the gatekeeper, enjoying the full confidence of
Uganda? A month, however, must elapse, as the distance to the palace
of Uganda was great; but, in the meantime, he would give me leave to go
about in his country to do and see what I liked, Nnanaji and his sons
escorting me everywhere. Moreover, when the time came for my going on to
Uganda, if I had not enough presents to give the king, he would fill up
the complement from his own stores, and either go with me himself, or
send Nnanaji to conduct me as far as the boundary of Uganda, in order
that Rogero might not molest us on the way. In the evening, Masudi,
with Sangoro and several other merchants, came up from Kufro to pay us a
visit of respect.
28th and 29th.--A gentle hint having come to us that the king's brother,
Wazezeru, expected a trifle in virtue of his rank, I sent him a blanket
and seventy-five blue egg-beads. These were accepted with the usual good
grace of these people. The king then, ever attentive to our position as
guests, sent his royal musicians to give us a tune. The men composing
the band were a mixture of Waganda and Wanyambo, who played on reed
instruments made telescope fashion, marking time by hand-drums. At first
they marched up and down, playing tunes exactly like the regimental
bands of the Turks, and then commenced dancing a species of "hornpipe,"
blowing furiously all the while. When dismissed with some beads, Nnanaji
dropped in and invited me to accompany him out shooting on the slopes
of the hills overlooking the lake. He had in attendance all the king's
sons, as well as a large number of beaters, with three or four dogs.
Tripping down the greensward of the hills together, these tall, athletic
princes every now and then stopped to see who could shoot furthest,
and I must say I never witnessed better feats in my life. With powerful
six-feet-long bows they pulled their arrows' heads up to the wood, and
made wonderful shots in the distance. They then placed me in position,
and arranging the field, drove the covers like men well accustomed to
sport--indeed, it struck me they indulged too much in that pleasure, for
we saw nothing but two or three montana and some diminutive antelopes,
about the size of mouse deer, and so exceedingly shy that not one was
bagged.
Returning home to the tents as the evening sky was illumined with the
red glare of the sun, my attention was attracted by observing in the
distance some bold sky-scraping cones situated in the country Ruanda,
which at once brought back to recollection the ill-defined story I had
heard from the Arabs of a wonderful hill always covered with clouds,
on which snow or hail was constantly falling. This was a valuable
discovery, for I found these hills to be the great turn-point of the
Central African watershed. Without loss of time I set to work, and,
gathering all the travellers I could in the country, protracted, from
their descriptions, all the distance topographical features set down in
the map, as far north as 3° of north latitude, as far east as 36°,
and as far west as 26° of east longitude; only afterwards slightly
corrected, as I was better able to connect and clear up some trifling
but doubtful points.
Indeed, I was not only surprised at the amount of information about
distant places I was enabled to get here from these men, but also at the
correctness of their vast and varied knowledge, as I afterwards tested
it by observation and the statements of others. I rely so far on the
geographical information I thus received, that I would advise no one to
doubt the accuracy of these protractions until he has been on the spot
to test them by actual inspection. About the size only of the minor
lakes do I feel doubtful, more especially the Little Luta Nzige, which
on the former journey I heard was a salt lake, because salt was found
on its shores and in one of its islands. Now, without going into any
lengthy details, and giving Rumanika due credit for everything--for had
he not ordered his men to give me every information that lay in their
power, they would not have done so--I will merely say for the present
that, whilst they conceived the Victoria N'yanza would take a whole
month for a canoe to cross it, they thought the Little Luta Nzige might
be crossed in a week. The Mfumbiro cones in Ruanda, which I believe
reach 10,000 feet, are said to be the highest of the "Mountains of the
Moon." At their base are both salt and copper mines, as well as hot
springs. There are also hot springs in Mpororo, and one in Karague near
where Rogero lived.
30th.--The important business of announcing our approach to Uganda was
completed by Rumanika appointing Kachuchu to go to king Mtesa as quickly
as possible, to say we were coming to visit him. He was told that we
were very great men, who only travelled to see great kings and great
countries; and, as such, Rumanika trusted we should be received with
courteous respect, and allowed to roam all over the country wherever
we liked, he holding himself responsible for our actions for the
time being. In the end, however, we were to be restored to him, as he
considered himself our father, and therefore must see that no accident
befell us.
To put the royal message in proper shape, I was now requested to send
some trifle by way of a letter or visiting card; but, on taking out a
Colt's revolving rifle for the purpose, Rumanika advised me not to send
it, as Mtesa might take fright, and, considering it a charm of evil
quality, reject us as bad magicians, and close his gates on us. Three
bits of cotton cloth were then selected as the best thing for the
purpose; and, relying implicitly on the advice of Rumanika, who declared
his only object was to further our views, I arranged accordingly, and
off went Kachuchu.
To keep my friend in good-humour, and show him how well the English can
appreciate a kindness, I presented him with a hammer, a sailor's knife,
a Rodger's three-bladed penknife, a gilt letter-slip with paper and
envelopes, some gilt pens, an ivory holder, and a variety of other small
articles. Of each of these he asked the use, and then in high glee put
it into the big block-tin box, in which he kept his other curiosities,
and which I think he felt more proud of than any other possession. After
this, on adjourning to his baraza, Ungurue the Pig, who had floored my
march in Sorombo, and Makinga, our persecutor in Usui, came in to report
that the Watuta had been fighting in Usui, and taken six bomas, upon
which Rumanika asked me what I thought of it, and if I knew where the
Watuta came from. I said I was not surprised to hear Usui had attracted
the Watuta's cupidity, for every one knew of the plundering propensities
of the inhabitants, and as they became rich by their robberies, they
must in turn expect to be robbed. Where the Watuta came from, nobody
could tell; they were dressed something like the Zulu Kaffirs of the
South, but appeared to be now gradually migrating from the regions of
N'yazza. To this Dr K'yengo, who was now living with Rumanika as his
head magician, added that, whilst he was living in Utambara, the Watuta
invested his boma six months; and finally, when all their cows and
stores were exhausted, they killed all the inhabitants but himself, and
he only escaped by the power of the charms which he carried about him.
These were so powerful, that although he lay on the ground, and the
Watuta struck at him with their spears, not one could penetrate his
body.
In the evening after this, as the king wished to see all my scientific
instruments, we walked down to the camp; and as he did not beg for
anything, I gave him some gold and mother-of-pearl shirt studs to swell
up his trinket-box. The same evening I made up my mind, if possible, to
purchase a stock of beads from the Arabs, and sent Baraka off to Kufro,
to see what kind of a bargain he could make with them; for, whilst I
trembled to think what those "blood-suckers" would have the impudence to
demand when they found me at their mercy, I felt that the beads must be
bought, or the expedition would certainly come to grief.
1st and 2d.--Two days after this the merchants came in a body to see
me, and said their worst beads would stand me 80 dollars per frasala,
as they would realise that value in ivory on arrival at the coast.
Of course no business was done, for the thing was preposterous by all
calculation, being close on 2500 per cent. above Zanzibar valuation.
I was "game" to give 50 dollars, but as they would not take this, I
thought of dealing with Rumanika instead. I then gave Nnanaji, who had
been constantly throwing out hints that I ought to give him a gun as he
was a great sportsman, a lappet of beadwork to keep his tongue quiet,
and he in return sent me a bullock and sundry pots of pombe, which, in
addition to the daily allowance sent by Rumanika, made all my people
drunk, and so affected Baraka that one of the women--also drunk--having
given him some sharp abuse, he beat her in so violent a manner that
the whole drunken camp set upon him, and turned the place into a
pandemonium. A row amongst the negroes means a general rising of arms,
legs, and voices; all are in a state of the greatest excitement; and
each individual thinks he is doing the best to mend matters, but is
actually doing his best to create confusion.
By dint of perseverance, I now succeeded in having Baraka separated from
the crowd and dragged before me for justice. I found that the woman,
who fully understood the jealous hatred which existed in Baraka's heart
against Bombay, flirted with both of them; and, pretending to show a
preference for Bombay, set Baraka against her, when from high words
they came to blows, and set the place in a blaze. It was useless to
remonstrate--Baraka insisted he would beat the woman if she abused him,
no matter whether I thought it cowardly or not; he did not come with me
expecting to be bullied in this way--the whole fault lay with Bombay--I
did not do him justice--when he proved Bombay a thief at Usui, I did
not turn him off, but now, instead, I showed the preference to Bombay by
always taking him when I went to Rumanika. It was useless to argue with
such a passionate man, so I told him to go away and cool himself before
morning.
When he was gone, Bombay said there was not one man in the camp,
besides his own set, who wished to go on to Egypt--for they had constant
arguments amongst themselves about it; and whilst Bombay always said he
would follow me wherever I led, Baraka and those who held by him abused
him and his set for having tricked them away from Zanzibar, under the
false hopes that the road was quite safe. Bombay said his arguments
were, that Bana knew better than anybody else what he was about, and
he would follow him, trusting to luck, as God was the disposer of all
things, and men could die but once. Whilst Baraka's arguments all rested
the other way;--that no one could tell what was ahead of him--Bana had
sold himself to luck and the devil--but though he did not care for his
own safety, he ought not to sacrifice the lives of others--Bombay and
his lot were fools for their pains in trusting to him.
3d.--At daybreak Rumanika sent us word he was off to Moga-Namarinzi, a
spur of a hill beyond "the Little Windermere," overlooking the Ingezi
Kagera, or river which separates Kishakka from Karague, to show me how
the Kiangule river was fed by small lakes and marshes, in accordance
with my expressed wish to have a better comprehension of the drainage
system of the Mountains of the Moon. He hoped we would follow him,
not by the land route he intended to take, but in canoes which he had
ordered at the ferry below. Starting off shortly afterwards, I made for
the lake, and found the canoes all ready, but so small that, besides two
paddlers, only two men could sit down in each. After pushing through the
tall reeds with which the end of the lake is covered, we emerged in
the clear open, and skirted the further side of the water until a
small strait was gained, which led us into another lake, drained at
the northern end with a vast swampy plain, covered entirely with tall
rushes, excepting only in a few places where bald patches expose the
surface of the water, or where the main streams of the Ingezi and
Luchoro valleys cut a clear drain for themselves.
The whole scenery was most beautiful. Green and fresh, the slopes of the
hills were covered with grass, with small clumps of soft cloudy-looking
acacias growing at a few feet only above the water, and above them,
facing over the hills, fine detached trees, and here and there the
gigantic medicinal aloe. Arrived near the end of the Moga-Namirinzi
hill in the second lake, the paddlers splashed into shore, where a large
concourse of people, headed by Nnanaji, were drawn up to receive me. I
landed with all the dignity of a prince, when the royal band struck up
a march, and we all moved on to Rumanika's frontier palace, talking away
in a very complimentary manner, not unlike the very polite and flowery
fashion of educated Orientals.
Rumanika we found sitting dressed in a wrapper made of an nzoe
antelope's skin, smiling blandly as we approached him. In the warmest
manner possible he pressed me to sit by his side, asked how I had
enjoyed myself, what I thought of his country, and if I did not feel
hungry; when a pic-nic dinner was spread, and we all set to at cooked
plantains and pombe, ending with a pipe of his best tobacco. Bit by
bit Rumanika became more interested in geography, and seemed highly
ambitious of gaining a world-wide reputation through the medium of my
pen. At his invitation we now crossed over the spur to the Ingezi
Kagera side, when, to surprise me, the canoes I had come up the lake in
appeared before us. They had gone out of the lake at its northern end,
paddled into, and then up the Kagera to where we stood, showing, by
actual navigation, the connection of these highland lakes with the
rivers which drain the various spurs of the Mountains of the Moon. The
Kagera was deep and dark, of itself a very fine stream, and, considering
it was only one--and that, too, a minor one--of the various affluents
which drain the mountain valleys into the Victoria N'yanza through
the medium of the Kitangule river, I saw at once there must be water
sufficient to make the Kitangule a very powerful tributary to the lake.
On leaving this interesting place, with the widespread information of
all the surrounding countries I had gained, my mind was so impressed
with the topographical features of all this part of Africa, that in my
heart I resolved I would make Rumanika as happy as he had made me, and
asked K'yengo his doctor, of all things I possessed what the king would
like best. To my surprise I then learnt that Rumanika had set his heart
on the revolving rifle I had brought for Mtesa--the one, in fact, which
he had prevented my sending on to Uganda in the hands of Kachuchu, and
he would have begged me for it before had his high-minded dignity, and
the principle he had established of never begging for anything, not
interfered. I then said he should certainly have it; for as strongly
as I had withheld from giving anything to those begging scoundrels who
wished to rob me of all I possessed in the lower countries, so strongly
now did I feel inclined to be generous with this exceptional man
Rumanika. We then had another pic-nic together, and whilst I went home
to join Grant, Rumanika spent the night doing homage and sacrificing a
bullock at the tomb of his father Dagara.
Instead of paddling all down the lake again, I walked over the hill,
and, on crossing at its northern end, whished to shoot ducks; but the
superstitious boatmen put a stop to my intended amusement by imploring
me not to do so, lest the spirit of the lake should be roused to dry up
the waters.
4th.--Rumanika returned in the morning, walking up the hill, followed
by a long train of his officers, and a party of men carrying on their
shoulders his state carriage, which consisted of a large open basket
laid on the top of two very long poles. After entering his palace, I
immediately called on him to thank him for the great treat he had given
me, and presented him, as an earnest of what I thought, with the Colt's
revolving rifle and a fair allowance of ammunition. His delight knew no
bounds on becoming the proprietor of such an extraordinary weapon, and
induced him to dwell on his advantages over his brother Rogero, whose
antipathy to him was ever preying on his mind. He urged me again
to devise some plan for overcoming him; and, becoming more and more
confidential, favoured me with the following narrative, by way of
evidence how the spirits were inclined to show all the world that he
was the rightful successor to the throne:--When Dagara died, and he,
Nnanaji, and Rogero, were the only three sons left in line of succession
to the crown, a small mystic drum of diminutive size was placed before
them by the officers of state. It was only feather weight in reality,
but, being loaded with charms, became so heavy to those who were not
entitled to the crown, that no one could lift it but the one person whom
the spirits were inclined towards as the rightful successor. Now, of all
the three brothers, he, Rumanika, alone could raise it from the ground;
and whilst his brothers laboured hard, in vain attempting to move it, he
with his little finger held it up without any exertion.
This little disclosure in the history of Karague led us on to further
particulars of Dagara's death and burial, when it transpired that the
old king's body, after the fashion of his predecessors, was sewn up in
a cow-skin, and placed in a boat floating on the lake, where it remained
for three days, until decomposition set in and maggots were engendered,
of which three were taken into the palace and given in charge to
the heir-elect; but instead of remaining as they were, one worm was
transformed into a lion, another into a leopard, and the third into a
stick. After this the body of the king was taken up and deposited on
the hill Moga-Namirinzi, where, instead of putting him underground, the
people erected a hut over him, and, thrusting in five maidens and fifty
cows, enclosed the doorway in such a manner that the whole of them
subsequently died from starvation.
This, as may naturally be supposed, led into further genealogical
disclosures of a similar nature, and I was told by Rumanika that his
grandfather was a most wonderful man; indeed, Karague was blessed with
more supernatural agencies than any other country. Rohinda the Sixth,
who was his grandfather, numbered so many years that people thought
he would never die; and he even became so concerned himself about it,
reflecting that his son Dagara would never enjoy the benefit of his
position as successor to the crown of Karague, that he took some magic
powders and charmed away his life. His remains were then taken to
Moga-Namirinzi, in the same manner as were those of Dagara; but, as an
improvement on the maggot story, a young lion emerged from the heart of
the corpse and kept guard over the hill, from whom other lions came into
existence, until the whole place has become infested by them, and has
since made Karague a power and dread to all other nations; for these
lions became subject to the will of Dagara, who, when attacked by
the countries to the northward, instead of assembling an army of men,
assembled his lion force, and so swept all before him.
Another test was then advanced at the instigation of K'yengo, who
thought Rumanika not quite impressive enough of his right to the throne;
and this was, that each heir in succession, even after the drum dodge,
was required to sit on the ground in a certain place of the country,
where, if he had courage to plant himself, the land would gradually rise
up, telescope fashion, until it reached the skies, when, if the aspirant
was considered by the spirits the proper person to inherit Karague,
he would gradually be lowered again without any harm happening; but,
otherwise, the elastic hill would suddenly collapse, and he would be
dashed to pieces. Now, Rumanika, by his own confession, had gone
through this ordeal with marked success; so I asked him if he found the
atmosphere cold when so far up aloft, and as he said he did so, laughing
at the quaintness of the question, I told him I saw he had learnt a good
practical lesson on the structure of the universe, which I wished he
would explain to me. In a state of perplexity, K'yengo and the rest, on
seeing me laughing, thought something was wrong; so, turning about, they
thought again, and said, "No, it must have been hot, because the higher
one ascended the nearer he got to the sun."
This led on to one argument after another, on geology, geography, and
all the natural sciences, and ended by Rumanika showing me an iron much
the shape and size of a carrot. This he said was found by one of his
villagers whilst tilling the ground, buried some way down below the
surface; but dig as he would, he could not remove it, and therefore
called some men to his help. Still the whole of them united could not
lift the iron, which induced them, considering there must be some magic
in it, to inform the king. "Now," says Rumanika, "I no sooner went there
and saw the iron, and brought it here as you see it. What can such
a sign mean?" "Of course that you are the rightful king," said his
flatterers. "Then," said Rumanika, in exuberant spirits, "during
Dagara's time, as the king was sitting with many other men outside his
hut, a fearful storm of thunder and lightning arose, and a thunderbolt
struck the ground in the midst of them, which dispersed all the men but
Dagara, who calmly took up the thunderbolt and places it in the palace.
I, however, no sooner came into possession, and Rogero began to contend
with me, than the thunderbolt vanished. How would you account for
this?" The flatterers said, "It is as clear as possible; God gave the
thunderbolt to Dagaro as a sign he was pleased with him and his rule;
but when he found two brothers contending, he withdrew it to show their
conduct was wicked."
5th.--Rumanika in the morning sent me a young male nzoe (water-boc) [13]
which his canoe-men had caught in the high rushes at the head of the
lake, by the king's order, to please me; for I had heard this peculiar
animal described in such strange ways at Kaze, both by Musa and the
Arabs, I was desirous of having a look at one. It proved to be closely
allied to a water-boc found by Livingstone on the Ngami Lake; but,
instead of being striped, was very faintly spotted, and so long were its
toes, it could hardly walk on the dry ground; whilst its coat, also
well adapted to the moist element it lived in, was long, and of such
excellent quality that the natives prize it for wearing almost more than
any other of the antelope tribe. The only food it would eat were the
tops of the tall papyrus rushes; but though it ate and drank freely, and
lay down very quietly, it always charged with ferocity any person who
went near it.
In the afternoon Rumanika invited both Grant and myself to witness his
New Moon Levee, a ceremony which takes place every month with a view of
ascertaining how many of his subjects are loyal. On entering his palace
enclosure, the first thing we saw was a blaue boc's horn stuffed full
of magic powder, with very imposing effect, by K'yengo, and stuck in
the ground, with its mouth pointing in the direction of Rogero. In the
second court, we found thirty-five drums ranged on the ground, with
as many drummers standing behind them, and a knot of young princes and
officers of high dignity waiting to escort us into the third enclosure,
where, in his principal hut, we found Rumanika squatting on the ground,
half-concealed by the portal, but showing his smiling face to welcome us
in. His head was got up with a tiara of beads, from the centre of
which, directly over the forehead, stood a plume of red feathers, and
encircling the lower face with a fine large white beard set in a stock
or band of beads. We were beckoned to squat alongside Nnanaji, the
master of ceremonies, and a large group of high officials outside the
porch. Then the thirty-five drums all struck up together in very good
harmony; and when their deafening noise was over, a smaller band of
hand-drums and reed instruments was ordered in to amuse us.
This second performance over, from want of breath only, district
officers, one by one, came advancing on tip-toe, then pausing,
contorting and quivering their bodies, advancing again with a springing
gait and outspread arms, which they moved as if they wished to force
them out of their joints, in all of which actions they held drum-sticks
or twigs in their hands, swore with a maniacal voice an oath of their
loyalty and devotion to their king, backed by the expression of a hope
that he would cut off their heads if they ever turned from his enemies,
and then, kneeling before him, they held out their sticks that he might
touch them. With a constant reiteration of these scenes--the saluting
at one time, the music at another--interrupted only once by a number
of girls dancing something like a good rough Highland fling whilst the
little band played, the day's ceremonies ended.
6th and 7th.--During the next two days, as my men had all worn out their
clothes, I gave them each thirty necklaces of beads to purchase a suit
of the bark cloth called mbugu, already described. Finding the flour
of the country too bitter to eat by itself, we sweetened it with
ripe plantains, and made a good cake of it. The king now, finding me
disinclined to fight his brother Rogero, either with guns or magic
horns, asked me to give him a "doctor" or charm to create longevity and
to promote the increase of his family, as his was not large enough to
maintain the dignity of so great a man as himself. I gave him a blister,
and, changing the subject, told him the history of the creation of man.
After listening to it attentively, he asked what thing in creation I
considered the greatest of all things in the world; for whilst a man at
most could only live one hundred years, a tree lived many; but the earth
ought to be biggest, for it never died.
I then told him again I wished one of his sons would accompany me to
England, that he might learn the history of Moses, wherein he would find
that men had souls which live for ever, but that the earth would come
to an end in the fullness of time. This conversation, diversified by
numerous shrewd remarks on the part of Rumanika, led to his asking how I
could account for the decline of countries, instancing the dismemberment
of the Wahuma in Kittara, and remarking that formerly Karague included
Urundi, Ruanda, and Kishakka, which collectively were known as the
kingdom of Meru, governed by one man. Christian principles, I said,
made us what we are, and feeling a sympathy for him made me desirous of
taking one of his children to learn in the same school with us, who, on
returning to him, could impart what he knew, and, extending the same by
course of instruction, would doubtless end by elevating his country to
a higher position than it ever knew before,--etc., etc. The policy
and government of the vast possessions of Great Britain were then duly
discussed, and Rumanika acknowledged that the pen was superior to that
of the sword, and the electric telegraph and steam engine the most
wonderful powers he had ever heard of.
Before breaking up, Rumanika wished to give me any number of ivories
I might like to mention, even three or four hundred, as a lasting
remembrance that I had done him the honour of visiting Karague in his
lifetime, for though Dagara had given to coloured merchants, he would be
the first who had given to a white man. Of course this royal offer was
declined with politeness; he must understand that it was not the custom
of big men in my country to accept presents of value when we made visits
of pleasure. I had enjoyed my residence in Karague, his intellectual
conversations and his kind hospitality, all of which I should record
in my books to hand down to posterity; but if he would give me a cow's
horn, I would keep it as a trophy of the happy days I had spent in his
country. He gave me one, measuring 3 feet 5 inches in length, and 18 3/4
inches in circumference at the base. He then offered me a large sheet,
made up of a patchwork of very small N'yera antelope skins, most
exquisitely cured and sewn. This I rejected, as he told me it had been
given to himself, explaining that we prided ourselves on never parting
with the gifts of a friend; and this speech tickled his fancy so much,
that he said he never would part with anything I gave him.
8th and 9th.--The 8th went off much in the usual way, by my calling on
the king, when I gave him a pack of playing-cards, which he put into his
curiosity-box. He explained to me, at my request, what sort of things he
would like any future visitors to bring him--a piece of gold and silver
embroidery; but, before anything else, I found he would like to have
toys--such as Yankee clocks with the face in a man's stomach, to wind up
behind, his eyes rolling with every beat of the pendulum; or a china-cow
milk-pot, a jack-in-the-box, models of men, carriages, and horses--all
animals in fact, and railways in particular.
On the 9th I went out shooting, as Rumanika, with his usual politeness,
on hearing my desire to kill some rhinoceros, ordered his sons to
conduct the filed for me. Off we started by sunrise to the bottom of the
hills overlooking the head of the Little Windermere lake. On arrival
at the scene of action--a thicket or acacia shrubs--all the men in the
neighbourhood were assembled to beat. Taking post myself, by direction,
in the most likely place to catch a sight of the animals, the day's work
began by the beaters driving the covers in my direction. In a very short
time, a fine male was discovered making towards me, but not exactly
knowing where he should bolt to. While he was in this perplexity, I
stole along between the bushes, and caught sight of him standing as if
anchored by the side of a tree and gave him a broadsider with Blissett,
which, too much for his constitution to stand, sent him off trotting,
till exhausted by bleeding he lay down to die, and allowed me to give
him a settler.
In a minute or two afterwards, the good young princes, attracted by
the sound of the gun, came to see what was done. Their surprise knew
no bounds; they could scarcely believe what they saw; and then, on
recovering, with the spirit of true gentlemen, they seized both my
hands, congratulating me on the magnitude of my success, and pointed
out, as an example of it, a bystander who showed fearful scars, both on
his abdomen and at the blade of his shoulder, who they declared had been
run through by one of these animals. It was, therefore, wonderful to
them, they observed, with what calmness I went up to such formidable
beasts.
Just at this time a distant cry was heard that another rhinoceros was
concealed in a thicket, and off we set to pursue her. Arriving at the
place mentioned, I settled at once I would enter with only two spare men
carrying guns, for the acacia thorns were so thick that the only tracks
into the thicket were runs made by these animals. Leading myself,
bending down to steal in, I tracked up a run till half-way through
cover, when suddenly before me, like a pig from a hole, a large female,
with her young one behind her, came straight down whoof-whoofing upon
me. In this awkward fix I forced myself to one side, though pricked all
over with thorns in doing so, and gave her one on the head which knocked
her out of my path, and induced her for safety to make for the open,
where I followed her down and gave her another. She then took to the
hills and crossed over a spur, when, following after her, in another
dense thicket, near the head of a glen, I came upon three, who no sooner
sighted me, than all in line they charged down my way. Fortunately at
the time my gun-bearers were with me; so, jumping to one side, I struck
them all three in turn. One of them dropped dead a little way on; but
the others only pulled up when they arrived at the bottom. To please
myself now I had done quite enough; but as the princes would have it, I
went on with the chase. As one of the two, I could see, had one of his
fore-legs broken, I went at the sounder one, and gave him another shot,
which simply induced him to walk over the lower end of the hill. Then
turning to the last one, which could not escape, I asked the Wanyambo to
polish him off with their spears and arrows, that I might see their
mode of sport. As we moved up to the animal, he kept charging with such
impetuous fury, they could not go into him; so I gave him a second ball,
which brought him to anchor. In this helpless state the men set at him
in earnest, and a more barbarous finale I never did witness. Every man
sent his spear, assage, or arrow, into his sides, until, completely
exhausted, he sank like a porcupine covered with quills. The day's sport
was now ended, so I went home to breakfast, leaving instructions that
the heads should be cut off and sent to the king as a trophy of what the
white man could do.
10th and 11th.--The next day, when I called on Rumanika, the spoils were
brought into court, and in utter astonishment he said, "Well, this must
have been done with something more potent than powder, for neither the
Arabs nor Nnanaji, although they talk of their shooting powers, could
have accomplished such a great feat as this. It is no wonder the English
are the greatest men in the world."
Neither the Wanyambo nor the Wahuma would eat the rhinoceros, so I was
not sorry to find all the Wanyamuezi porters of the Arabs at Kufro,
on hearing of the sport, come over and carry away all the flesh. They
passed by our camp half borne down with their burdens of sliced flesh,
suspended from poles which they carried on their shoulders; but
the following day I was disgusted by hearing that their masters had
forbidden their eating "the carrion," as the throats of the animals
had not been cut; and, moreover, had thrashed them soundly because they
complained they were half starved, which was perfectly true, by the poor
food that they got as their pay.
12th.--On visiting Rumanika again, and going through my geographical
lessons, he told me, in confirmation of Musa's old stories, that in
Ruanda there existed pigmies who lived in trees, but occasionally came
down at night, and, listening at the hut doors of the men, would wait
until they heard the name of one of its inmates, when they would call
him out, and, firing an arrow into his heart, disappear again in the
same way as they came. But, more formidable even than these little men,
there were monsters who could not converse with me, and never
showed themselves unless they saw women pass by; then, in voluptuous
excitement, they squeezed them to death. Many other similar stories were
then told, when I, wishing to go, was asked if I could kill hippopotami.
Having answered that I could, the king graciously said he would order
some canoes for me the next morning; and as I declined because Grant
could not accompany me, as a terrible disease had broken out in his leg,
he ordered a pig-shooting party. Agreeably with this, the next day I
went out with his sons, numerously attended; but although we beat the
covers all day, the rain was so frequent that the pigs would not bolt.
14th.--After a long and amusing conversation with Rumanika in the
morning, I called on one of his sisters-in-law, married to an elder
brother who was born before Dagara ascended the throne. She was another
of those wonders of obesity, unable to stand excepting on all fours. I
was desirous to obtain a good view of her, and actually to measure
her, and induced her to give me facilities for doing so, by offering in
return to show her a bit of my naked legs and arms. The bait took as I
wished it, and after getting her to sidle and wriggle into the middle
of the hut, I did as I promised, and then took her dimensions as noted
below. [14] All of these are exact except the height, and I believe I
could have obtained this more accurately if I could have her laid on the
floor. Not knowing what difficulties I should have to contend with in
such a piece of engineering, I tried to get her height by raising
her up. This, after infinite exertions on the part of us both, was
accomplished, when she sank down again, fainting, for her blood had
rushed to her head. Meanwhile, the daughter, a lass of sixteen, sat
stark-naked before us, sucking at a milk-pot, on which the father kept
her at work by holding a rod in his hand, for as fattening is the first
duty of fashionable female life, it must be duly enforced by the rod if
necessary. I got up a bit of flirtation with missy, and induced her to
rise and shake hands with me. Her features were lovely, but her body was
as round as a ball.
In the evening we had another row with my head men--Baraka having
accused Bombay of trying to kill him with magic. Bombay, who was so
incessantly bullied by Baraka's officious attempts to form party cliques
opposed to the interests of the journey, and get him turned out of the
camp, indiscreetly went to one of K'yengo's men, and asked him if he
knew of any medicine that would affect the hearts of the Wanguana so as
to incline them towards him; and on the sub-doctor saying Yes, Bombay
gave him some beads, and bought the medicine required, which, put into
a pot of pombe, was placed by Baraka's side. Baraka in the meanwhile got
wind of the matter through K'yengo, who, misunderstanding the true facts
of the case, said it was a charm to deprive Baraka of his life. A court
of inquiry having been convened, with all the parties concerned in
attendance, K'yengo's mistake was discovered, and Bombay was lectured
for his folly, as he had a thousand times before abjured his belief in
such magical follies; moreover, to punish him for the future, I took
Baraka, whenever I could, with me to visit the king, which, little as
it may appear to others, was of the greatest consequence to the hostile
parties.
15th and 16th.--When I next called on Rumanika I gave him a Vautier's
binocular and prismatic compass; on which he politely remarked he was
afraid he was robbing me of everything. More compliments went round, and
then he asked if it was true we could open a man's skull, look at his
brains, and close it up again; also if it was true we sailed all round
the world into regions where there was no difference between night and
day, and how, when he ploughed the seas in such enormous vessels as
would carry at once 20,000 men, we could explain to the sailors what
they ought to do; for, although he had heard of these things, no one was
able to explain them to him.
After all the explanations were given, he promised me a boat-hunt after
the nzoe in the morning; but when the time came, as difficulties were
raised, I asked him to allow us to anticipate the arrival of Kachuchu,
and march on to Kitangule. He answered, with his usual courtesy, That he
would be very glad to oblige us in any way that we liked; but he feared
that, as the Waganda were such superstitious people, some difficulties
would arise, and he must decline to comply with our request. "You
must not," he added, "expect ever to find again a reasonable man like
myself." I then gave him a book on "Kafir laws," which he said he
would keep for my sake, with all the rest of the presents, which he
was determined never to give away, though it was usual for him to send
novelties of this sort to Mtesa, king of Uganda, and Kamrasi, king of
Unyoro, as a friendly recognition of their superior positions in the
world of great monarchies.
17th.--Rumanika next introduced me to an old woman who came from the
island of Gasi, situated in the little Luta Nzige. Both her upper and
lower incisors had been extracted, and her upper lip perforated by
a number of small holes, extending in an arch from one corner to the
other. This interesting but ugly old lady narrated the circumstances by
which she had been enslaved, and then sent by Kamrasi as a curiosity to
Rumanika, who had ever since kept her as a servant in his palace. A man
from Ruanda then told us of the Wilyanwantu (men-eaters), who disdained
all food but human flesh; and Rumanika confirmed the statement. Though
I felt very sceptical about it, I could not help thinking it a curious
coincidence that the position they were said to occupy agreed with
Petherick's Nyam Nyams (men-eaters).
Of far more interest were the results of a conversation which I had with
another of Kamrasi's servants, a man of Amara, as it threw some light
upon certain statements made by Mr Leon of the people of Amara being
Christians. He said they bore single holes in the centres both of their
upper and lower lips, as well as in the lobes of both of their ears, in
which they wear small brass rings. They live near the N'yanza--where it
is connected by a strait with a salt lake, and drained by a river to the
northward--in comfortable houses, built like the tembes of Unyamuezi.
When killing a cow, they kneel down in an attitude of prayer, with both
hands together, held palm upwards, and utter Zu, a word the meaning of
which he did not know. I questioned him to try if the word had any trace
of a Christian meaning--for instance, a corruption of Jesu--but without
success. Circumcision is not known amongst them, neither have they any
knowledge of God or a soul. A tribe called Wakuavi, who are white, and
described as not unlike myself, often came over the water and made raids
on their cattle, using the double-edged sime as their chief weapon of
war. These attacks were as often resented, and sometimes led the Wamara
in pursuit a long way into their enemy's country, where, at a place
called Kisiguisi, they found men robed in red cloths. Beads were
imported, he thought, both from the east and from Ukidi. Associated with
the countries Masau or Masai, and Usamburu, which he knew, there was a
large mountain, the exact position of which he could not describe.
I took down many words of his language, and found they corresponded with
the North African dialects, as spoken by the people of Kidi, Gani,
and Madi. The southerners, speaking of these, would call them Wakidi,
Wagani, and Wamadi, but among themselves the syllable was is not
prefixed, as in the southern dialects, to signify people. Rumanika, who
appeared immensely delighted as he assisted me in putting the questions
I wanted, and saw me note them down in my book, was more confirmed than
ever in the truth of my stories that I came from the north, and thought
as the beads came to Amara, so should I be able to open the road and
bring him more visitors. This he knew was his only chance of ever seeing
me more, for I swore I would never go back through Usui, so greatly did
I feel the indignities imposed on me by Suwarora.
18th.--To keep the king in good-humour, I now took a table-knife, spoon,
and fork to the palace, which, after their several uses were explained,
were consigned to his curiosity-box. Still Rumanika could not understand
how it was I spent so much and travelled so far, or how it happened such
a great country as ours could be ruled by a woman. He asked the Queen's
name, how many children she had, and the mode of succession; then, when
fully satisfied, led the way to show me what his father Dagara had done
when wishing to know of what the centre of the earth was composed. At
the back of the palace a deep ditch was cut, several yards long, the end
of which was carried by a subterranean passage into the palace, where it
was ended off with a cavern led into by a very small aperture. It then
appeared that Dagara, having failed, in his own opinion, to arrive any
nearer to the object in view, gave the excavating up as a bad job,
and turned the cave into a mysterious abode, where it was confidently
asserted he spent many days without eating or drinking, and turned
sometimes into a young man, and then an old one, alternately, as the
humour seized him.
19th to 22d.--On the 19th I went fishing, but without success, for they
said the fish would not take in the lake; and on the following day, as
Grant's recovery seemed hopeless, for a long time at least, I went with
all the young princes to see what I could do with the hippopotami in
the lake, said to inhabit the small island of Conty. The part was an
exceedingly merry one. We went off to the island in several canoes, and
at once found an immense number of crocodiles basking in the sun, but
not a single hippopotamus was in sight. The princes then, thinking me
"green" at this kind of sport, said the place was enchanted, but I need
not fear, for they would bring them out to my feet by simply calling out
certain names, and this was no sooner done than four old and one young
one came immediately in font of us. It seemed quite a sin to touch them,
they looked all so innocent; but as the king wanted to try me again,
I gave one a ball on the head which sent him under, never again to be
seen, for on the 22nd, by which time I supposed he ought to have risen
inflated with gases, the king sent out his men to look out for him; but
they returned to say, that whilst all the rest were in the old place,
that one, in particular, could not be found.
On this K'yengo, who happened to be present whilst our interview lasted,
explained that the demons of the deep were annoyed with me for intruding
on their preserves, without having the courtesy to commemorate the event
by the sacrifice of a goat or a cow. Rumanika then, at my suggestions,
gave Nnanaji the revolving pistol I first gave him, but not without
a sharp rebuke for his having had the audacity to beg a gun of me in
consideration of his being a sportsman. We then went into a discourse on
astrology, when the intelligent Rumanika asked me if the same sun we
saw one day appeared again, or whether fresh suns came every day, and
whether or not the moon made different faces, to laugh at us mortals on
earth.
23d and 24th.--This day was spent by the king introducing me to his five
fat wives, to show with what esteem he was held by all the different
kings of the countries surrounding. From Mpororo--which, by the by, is
a republic--he was wedded to Kaogez, the daughter of Kahaya, who is
the greatest chief in the country; from Unyoro he received Kauyangi,
Kamrasi's daughter; from Nkole, Kambiri, the late Kasiyonga's daughter;
from Utumbi, Kirangu, the late Kiteimbua's daughter; and lastly, the
daughter of Chiuarungi, his head cook.
After presenting Rumanika with an india-rubber band--which, as usual,
amused him immensely--for the honour he had done me in showing me his
wives, a party of Waziwa, who had brought some ivory from Kidi, came
to pay their respects to him. On being questioned by me, they said that
they once saw some men like my Wanguana there; they had come from the
north to trade, but, though they carried firearms, they were all killed
by the people of Kidi. This was famous; it corroborated what I knew, but
could not convince others of,--that traders could find their way up to
Kidi by the Nile. It in a manner explained also how it was that Kamrasi,
some years before, had obtained some pink beads, of a variety the
Zanzibar merchants had never thought of bringing into the country.
Bombay was now quite convinced, and we all became transported with joy,
until Rumanika, reflecting on the sad state of Grant's leg, turned that
joy into grief by saying that the rules of Uganda are so strict, that no
one who is sick could enter the country. "To show," he said, "how absurd
they are, your donkey would not be permitted because he has no trousers;
and you even will have to put on a gown, as your unmentionables will be
considered indecorous." I now asked Rumanika if he would assist me in
replenishing my fast-ebbing store of beads, by selling tusks to the
Arabs at Kufro, when for every 35lb. weight I would give him 50 dollars
by orders on Zanzibar, and would insure him from being cheated, by
sending a letter of advice to our Consul residing there. At first
he demurred, on the high-toned principle that he could not have any
commercial dealings with myself; but, at the instigation of Bombay and
Baraka, who viewed it in its true character, as tending merely to
assist my journey in the best manner he could, without any sacrifice to
dignity, he eventually yielded, and, to prove his earnestness, sent me a
large tusk, with a notice that his ivory was not kept in the palace,
but with his officers, and as soon as they could collect it, so soon I
should get it.
Rumanika, on hearing that it was our custom to celebrate the birth of
our Saviour with a good feast of beef, sent us an ox. I immediately paid
him a visit to offer the compliments of the season, and at the same time
regretted, much to his amusement, that he, as one of the old stock
of Abyssinians, who are the oldest Christians on record, should have
forgotten this rite; but I hoped the time would come when, by making
it known that his tribe had lapsed into a state of heathenism, white
teachers would be induced to set it all to rights again. At this time
some Wahaiya traders (who had been invited at my request by Rumanika)
arrived. Like the Waziwa, they had traded with Kidi, and they not only
confirmed what the Waziwa had said, but added that, when trading in
those distant parts, they heard of Wanguana coming in vessels to trade
to the north of Unyoro; but the natives there were so savage, they only
fought with these foreign traders. A man of Ruanda now informed us that
the cowrie-shells, so plentiful in that country, come there from the
other or western side, but he could not tell whence they were originally
obtained. Rumanika then told me Suwarora had been so frightened by
the Watuta, and their boastful threats to demolish Usui bit by bit,
reserving him only as a tit-bit for the end, that he wanted a plot of
ground in Karague to preserve his property in.
26th, 27th, and 28th.--Some other travellers from the north again
informed us that they had heard of Wanguana who attempted to trade in
Gani and Chopi, but were killed by the natives. I now assured Rumanika
that in two or three years he would have a greater trade with Egypt than
he ever could have with Zanzibar; for when I opened the road, all those
men he heard of would swarm up here to visit him. He, however, only
laughed at my folly in proposing to go to a place of which all I heard
was merely that every stranger who went there was killed. He began to
show a disinclination to allow my going there, and though from the most
friendly intention, this view was alarming, for one word from him could
have ruined my projects. As it was, I feared my followers might take
fright and refuse to advance with me. I thought it good policy to talk
of there being many roads leading through Africa, so that Rumanika might
see he had not got, as he thought, the sole key to the interior. I told
him again of certain views I once held of coming to see him from the
north up the Nile, and from the east through the Masai. He observed
that, "To open either of those routes, you would require at least two
hundred guns." He would, however, do something when we returned from
Uganda; for as Mtesa followed his advice in everything, so did Kamrasi,
for both held the highest opinion of him.
The conversation then turning on London, and the way men and carriages
moved up the streets like strings of ants on their migrations, Rumanika
said the villages in Ruanda were of enormous extent, and the people
great sportsmen, for they turned out in multitudes, with small dogs
on whose necks were tied bells, and blowing horns themselves, to hunt
leopards. They were, however, highly superstitious, and would not allow
any strangers to enter their country; for some years ago, when Arabs
went there, a great drought and famine set in, which they attributed to
evil influences brought by them, and, turning them out of their country,
said they would never admit any of their like amongst them again. I
said, in return, I thought his Wanyambo just as superstitious, for I
observed, whilst walking one day, that they had placed a gourd on the
path, and on inquiry found they had done so to gain the sympathy of all
passers-by to their crop close at hand, which was blighted, imagining
that the voice of the sympathiser heard by the spirits would induce them
to relent, and restore a healthy tone to the crop.
During this time an interesting case was brought before us for judgment.
Two men having married one woman, laid claim to her child, which, as it
was a male one, belonged to the father. Baraka was appointed the umpire,
and immediately comparing the infant's face with those of its claimants,
gave a decision which all approved of but the loser. It was pronounced
amidst peals of laughter from my men; for whenever any little excitement
is going forward, the Wanguana all rush to the scene of action to give
their opinions, and joke over it afterwards.
29th and 30th.--On telling Rumanika this story next morning, he said,
"Many funny things happen in Karague"; and related some domestic
incidents, concluding with the moral that "Marriage in Karague was a
mere matter of money." Cows, sheep, and slaves have to be given to the
father for the value of his daughter; but if she finds she has made
a mistake, she can return the dowry-money, and gain her release. The
Wahuma, although they keep slaves and marry with pure negroes, do not
allow their daughters to taint their blood by marrying out of their
clan. In warfare it is the rule that the Wahinda, or princes, head their
own soldiers, and set them the example of courage, when, after firing
a few arrows, they throw their bows away, and close at once with their
spears and assages. Life is never taken in Karague, either for murder
or cowardice, as they value so much their Wahuma breed; but, for all
offences, fines of cows are exacted according to the extent of the
crime.
31st.--Ever proud of his history since I had traced his descent from
Abyssinia and King David, whose hair was as straight as my own, Rumanika
dwelt on my theological disclosures with the greatest delight, and
wished to know what difference existed between the Arabs and ourselves;
to which Baraka replied, as the best means of making him understand,
that whilst the Arabs had only one Book, we had two; to which I added,
Yes, that is true in a sense; but the real merits lie in the fact that
we have got the better BOOK, as may be inferred from the obvious fact
that we are more prosperous, and their superiors in all things, as I
would prove to him if he would allow me to take one of his sons home to
learn that BOOK; for then he would find his tribe, after a while, better
off than the Arabs are. Much delighted, he said he would be very glad to
give me two boys for that purpose.
Then, changing the subject, I pressed Rumanika, as he said he had no
idea of a God or future state, to tell me what advantage he expected
from sacrificing a cow yearly at his father's grave. He laughingly
replied he did not know, but he hoped he might be favoured with better
crops if he did so. He also place pombe and grain, he said, for the same
reason, before a large stone on the hillside, although it could not
eat, or make any use of it; but the coast-men were of the same belief
as himself, and so were all the natives. No one in Africa, as far as he
knew, doubted the power of magic and spells; and if a fox barked when
he was leading an army to battle, he would retire at once, knowing that
this prognosticated evil. There were many other animals, and lucky and
unlucky birds, which all believed in.
I then told him it was fortunate he had no disbelievers like us to
contend with in battle, for we, instead of trusting to luck and such
omens, put our faith only in skill and pluck, which Baraka elucidated
from his military experience in the wars in British India. Lastly, I
explained to him how England formerly was as unenlightened as Africa,
and believing in the same sort of superstitions, and the inhabitants
were all as naked as his skin-wearing Wanyambo; but now, since they had
grown wiser, and saw through such impostures, they were the greatest men
in the world. He said, for the future he would disregard what the Arabs
said, and trust to my doctrines, for without doubt he had never seen
such a wise man as myself; and the Arabs themselves confirmed this when
they told him that all their beads and cloths came from the land of the
Wazungu, or white men.
1st, 2d, and 3d.--The new year was ushered in by the most exciting
intelligence, which drove us half wild with delight, for we fully
believed Mr Petherick was indeed on his road up the Nile, endeavouring
to meet us. It was this:--An officer of Rumanika's, who had been sent
four years before on a mission to Kamrasi, had just then returned with
a party of Kamrasi's who brought ivory for sale to the Arabs at Kufro,
along with a vaunting commission to inform Rumanika that Kamrasi had
foreign visitors as well as himself. They had not actually come into
Unyoro, but were in his dependency, the country of Gani, coming up the
Nile in vessels. They had been attacked by the Gani people, and driven
back with considerable loss both of men and property, although they were
in sailing vessels, and fired guns which even broke down the trees on
the banks. Some of their property had been brought to him, and he in
return had ordered his subjects not to molest them, but allow them to
come on to him. Rumanika enjoyed this news as much as myself, especially
when I told him of Petherick's promise to meet us, just as these men
said he was trying to do; and more especially so, when I told him that
if he would assist me in trying to communicate with Petherick, the
latter would either come here himself, or send one of his men, conveying
a suitable present, whilst I was away in Uganda; and then in the end we
would all go off to Kamrasi's together.
4th.--Entering warmly into the spirit of this important intelligence,
Rumanika inquired into its truth; and, finding no reason to doubt it,
said he would send some men back with Kamrasi's men, if I could have
patience until they were ready to go. There would be no danger, as
Kamrasi was his brother-in-law, and would do all that he told him.
I now proposed to send Baraka, who, ashamed to cry off, said he would
go with Rumanika's officers if I allowed him a companion of his
own choosing, who would take care of him if he got sick on the way,
otherwise he should be afraid they would leave him to die, like a dog,
in the jungles. We consoled him by assenting to the companion he wished,
and making Rumanika responsible that no harm should come to him from any
of the risks which his imagination conjured up. Rumanika then gave him
and Uledi, his selected companion, some sheets of mbugu, in order that
they might disguise themselves as his officers whilst crossing the
territories of the king of Uganda. On inquiring as to the reason of
this, it transpired that, to reach Unyoro, the party would have to cross
a portion of Uddu, which the late king Sunna, on annexing that country
to Uganda, had divided, not in halves, but by alternate bands running
transversely from Nkole to the Victoria N'yanza.
5th and 6th.--To keep Rumanika up to the mark, I introduced to him
Saidi, one of my men, who was formerly a slave, captured in Walamo, on
the borders of Abyssinia, to show him, by his similarity to the Wahuma,
how it was I had come to the conclusion that he was of the same race.
Saidi told him his tribe kept cattle with the same stupendous horns as
those of the Wahuma; and also that, in the same manner, they all mixed
blood and milk for their dinners, which, to his mind, confirmed my
statement. At night, as there was a partial eclipse of the moon, all the
Wanguana marched up and down from Rumanika's to Nnanaji's huts, singing
and beating our tin cooking-pots to frighten off the spirit of the sun
from consuming entirely the chief object of reverence, the moon.
7th.--Our spirits were now further raised by the arrival of a
semi-Hindu-Suahili, named Juma, who had just returned from a visit to
the king of Uganda, bringing back with him a large present of ivory and
slaves; for he said he had heard from the king of our intention to visit
him, and that he had despatched officers to call us immediately. This
intelligence delighted Rumanika as much as it did us, and he no sooner
heard it than he said, with ecstasies, "I will open Africa, since the
white men desire it; for did not Dagara command us to show deference to
strangers?" Then, turning to me, he added, "My only regret is, you will
not take something as a return for the great expenses you have been put
to in coming to visit me." The expense was admitted, for I had now been
obliged to purchase from the Arabs upwards of £400 worth of beads, to
keep such a store in reserve for my return from Uganda as would enable
me to push on to Gondokoro. I thought this necessary, as every report
that arrived from Unyamuezi only told us of further disasters with the
merchants in that country. Sheikh Said was there even then, with my poor
Hottentots, unable to convey my post to the coast.
8th to 10th.--At last we heard the familiar sound of the Uganda drum.
Maula, a royal officer, with a large escort of smartly-dressed men,
women, and boys, leading their dogs and playing their reeds, announced
to our straining ears the welcome intelligence that their king had sent
them to call us. N'yamgundu, who had seen us in Usui, had marched on to
inform the king of our advance and desire to see him; and he, intensely
delighted at the prospect of having white men for his guests, desired
no time should be lost in our coming on. Maula told us that his officers
had orders to supply us with everything we wanted whilst passing through
his country, and that there would be nothing to pay.
One thing only now embarrassed me--Grant was worse, without hope of
recovery for at least one or two months. This large body of Waganda
could not be kept waiting. To get on as fast as possible was the only
chance of ever bringing the journey to a successful issue; so, unable to
help myself, with great remorse at another separation, on the following
day I consigned my companion, with several Wanguana, to the care of my
friend Rumanika. I then separated ten loads of beads and thirty copper
wires for my expenses in Uganda; wrote a letter to Petherick, which I
gave to Baraka; and gave him and his companion beads to last as money
for six months, and also a present both for Kamrasi and the Gani chief.
To Nsangez I gave charge of my collections in natural history, and the
reports of my progress, addressed to the Geographical Society, which he
was to convey to Sheikh Said at Kaze, for conveyance as far as Zanzibar.
This business concluded in camp, I started my men and went to the palace
to bid adieu to Rumanika, who appointed Rozaro, one of his officers,
to accompany me wherever I went in Uganda, and to bring me back safely
again. At Rumanika's request I then gave Mtesa's pages some ammunition
to hurry on with to the great king of Uganda, as his majesty had ordered
them to bring him, as quickly as possible, some strengthening powder,
and also some powder for his gun. Then, finally, to Maula, also under
Rumanika's instructions, I gave two copper wires and five bundles of
beads; and, when all was completed, set out on the march, perfectly sure
in my mind that before very long I should settle the great Nile problem
for ever; and, with this consciousness, only hoping that Grant would be
able to join me before I should have to return again, for it was never
supposed for a moment that it was possible I ever could go north from
Uganda. Rumanika was the most resolute in this belief, as the kings
of Uganda, ever since that country was detached from Unyoro, had been
making constant raids, seizing cattle and slaves from the surrounding
communities.
Chapter IX. History of the Wahuma
The Abyssinians and Gallas--Theory of Conquest of Inferior by Superior
Races--The Wahuma and the Kingdom of Kittara--Legendary History of the
Kingdom of Uganda--Its Constitution, and the Ceremonials of the Court.
The reader has now had my experience of several of the minor states, and
has presently to be introduced to Uganda, the most powerful state in the
ancient but now divided great kingdom of Kittara. I shall have to record
a residence of considerable duration at the court there; and, before
entering on it, I propose to state my theory of the ethnology of
that part of Africa inhabited by the people collectively styled
Wahuma--otherwise Gallas or Abyssinians. My theory is founded on the
traditions of the several nations, as checked by my own observations of
what I saw when passing through them. It appears impossible to believe,
judging from the physical appearance of the Wahuma, that they can be of
any other race than the semi-Shem-Hamitic of Ethiopia. The traditions
of the imperial government of Abyssinia go as far back as the scriptural
age of King David, from whom the late reigning king of Abyssinia, Sahela
Selassie, traced his descent.
Most people appear to regard the Abyssinians as a different race
from the Gallas, but, I believe, without foundation. Both alike are
Christians of the greatest antiquity. It is true that, whilst
the aboriginal Abyssinians in Abyssinia proper are more commonly
agriculturists, the Gallas are chiefly a pastoral people; but I conceive
that the two may have had the same relations with each other which I
found the Wahuma kings and Wahuma herdsmen holding with the agricultural
Wazinza in Uzinza, the Wanyambo in Karague, the Waganda in Uganda, and
the Wanyoro in Unyoro.
In these countries the government is in the hands of foreigners, who
had invaded and taken possession of them, leaving the agricultural
aborigines to till the ground, whilst the junior members of the usurping
clans herded cattle--just as in Abyssinia, or wherever the Abyssinians
or Gallas have shown themselves. There a pastoral clan from the Asiatic
side took the government of Abyssinia from its people and have ruled
over them ever since, changing, by intermarriage with the Africans,
the texture of their hair and colour to a certain extent, but still
maintaining a high stamp of Asiatic feature, of which a market
characteristic is a bridged instead of bridgeless nose.
It may be presumed that there once existed a foreign but compact
government in Abyssinia, which, becoming great and powerful, sent out
armies on all sides of it, especially to the south, south-east, and
west, slave-hunting and devastating wherever they went, and in process
of time becoming too great for one ruler to control. Junior members of
the royal family then, pushing their fortunes, dismembered themselves
from the parent stock, created separate governments, and, for reasons
which cannot be traced, changed their names. In this manner we may
suppose that the Gallas separated from the Abyssinians, and located
themselves to the south of their native land.
Other Abyssinians, or possibly Gallas--it matters not which they were or
what we call them--likewise detaching themselves, fought in the Somali
country, subjugated that land, were defeated to a certain extent by the
Arabs from the opposite continent, and tried their hands south as far as
the Jub river, where they also left many of their numbers behind. Again
they attacked Omwita (the present Mombas), were repulsed, were lost
sight of in the interior of the continent, and, crossing the Nile close
to its source, discovered the rich pasture-lands of Unyoro, and founded
the great kingdom of Kittara, where they lost their religion, forgot
their language, extracted their lower incisors like the natives, changed
their national name to Wahuma, and no longer remembered the names
of Hubshi or Galla--though even the present reigning kings retain a
singular traditional account of their having once been half white and
half black, with hair on the white side straight, and on the black
side frizzly. It was a curious indication of the prevailing idea still
entertained by them of their foreign extraction, that it was surmised
in Unyoro that the approach of us white men into their country from both
sides at once, augured an intention on our part to take back the country
from them. Believing, as they do, that Africa formerly belonged to
Europeans, from whom it was taken by negroes with whom they had allied
themselves, the Wahuma make themselves a small residue of the original
European stock driven from the land--an idea which seems natural enough
when we consider that the Wahuma are, in numbers, quite insignificant
compared with the natives.
Again, the princes of Unyoro are called Wawitu, and point to the north
when asked where their country Uwitu is situated, doubtfully saying,
when questioned about its distance, "How can we tell circumstances which
took place in our forefathers' times? we only think it is somewhere
near your country." Although, however, this very interesting people, the
Wahuma, delight in supposing themselves to be of European origin, they
are forced to confess, on closer examination, that although they came in
the first instance from the doubtful north, they came latterly from
the east, as part of a powerful Wahuma tribe, beyond Kidi, who excel in
arms, and are so fierce no Kidi people, terrible in war as these too are
described to be, can stand against them. This points, if our maps are
true, to the Gallas--for all pastorals in these people's minds are
Wahuma; and if we could only reconcile ourselves to the belief that the
Wawitu derived their name from Omwita, the last place they attacked
on the east coast of Africa, then all would be clear: for it must be
noticed the Wakama, or kings, when asked to what race they owe their
origin, invariably reply, in the first place, from princes--giving, for
instance, the titles Wawitu in Unyoro, and Wahinda in Karague--which
is most likely caused by their never having been asked such a close
question before, whilst the idiom of the language generally induces them
to call themselves after the name applied to their country.
So much for ethnological conjecture. Let us now deal with the Wahuma
since they crossed the Nile and founded the kingdom of Kittara, a large
tract of land bounded by the Victoria N'yanza and Kitangule Kagera or
River on the south, the Nile on the east, the Little Luta-Nzige Lake
[15] on the north, and the kingdoms of Utubi and Nkole on the west.
The general name Kittara is gradually becoming extinct, and is seldom
applied to any but the western portions; whilst the north-eastern, in
which the capital is situated, is called Unyoro, and the other, Uddu
apart from Uganda, as we shall presently see.
Nobody has been able to inform us how many generations old the Wahuma
government of Unyoro is. The last three kings are Chiawambi, N'yawongo,
and the present king Kamrasi. In very early times dissensions amongst
the royal family, probably contending for the crown, such as we presume
must have occurred in Abyssinia, separated the parent stock, and drove
the weaker to find refuge in Nkole, where a second and independent
government of Wahuma was established. Since then, twenty generations
ago, it is said the Wahuma government of Karague was established in the
same manner. The conspirator Rohinda fled from Kittara to Karague with a
large party of Wahuma; sought the protection of Nono, who, a Myambo,
was king over the Wanyambo of that country; ingratiated himself and
his followers with the Wanyambo; and, finally, designing a crown for
himself, gave a feast, treacherously killed King Nono in his cups, and
set himself on the throne, the first mkama or king who ruled in Karague.
Rohinda was succeeded by Ntare, then Rohinda II., then Ntare II., which
order only changed with the eleventh reign, when Rusatira ascended the
throne, and was succeeded by Mehinga, then Kalimera, then Ntare VII.,
then Rohinda VI., then Dagara, and now Rumanika. During this time the
Wahuma were well south of the equator, and still destined to spread.
Brothers again contended for the crown of their father, and the weaker
took refuge in Uzinza, where the fourth Wahuma government was created,
and so remained under one king until the last generation, when King Ruma
died, and his two sons, Rohinda, the eldest, and Suwarora, contended
for the crown, but divided the country between them, Rohinda taking the
eastern half, and Suwarora the western, at the instigation of the late
King Dagara of Karague.
This is the most southerly kingdom of the Wahuma, though not the
farthest spread of its people, for we find the Watusi, who are emigrants
from Karague of the same stock, overlooking the Tanganyika Lake from
the hills of Uhha, and tending their cattle all over Unyamuezi under the
protection of the native negro chiefs; and we also hear that the Wapoka
of Fipa, south of the Rukwa Lake are the same. How or when their name
became changed from Wahuma to Watusi no one is able to explain; but,
again deducing the past from the present, we cannot help suspecting
that, in the same way as this change has taken place, the name Galla
may have been changed from Hubshi, and Wahuma from Gallas. But though
in these southern regions the name of the clan has been changed, the
princes still retain the title of Wahinda as in Karague, instead of
Wawitu as in Unyoro, and are considered of such noble breed that many
of the pure negro chiefs delight in saying, I am a Mhinda, or prince, to
the confusion of travellers, which confusion is increased by the Wahuma
habits of conforming to the regulations of the different countries they
adopt. For instance, the Wahuma of Uganda and Karague, though so close
to Unyoro, do not extract their lower incisors; and though the Wanyoro
only use the spear in war, the Wahuma in Karague are the most expert
archers in Africa. We are thus left only the one very distinguishing
mark, the physical appearance of this remarkable race, partaking even
more of the phlegmatic nature of the Shemitic father than the nervous
boisterous temperament of the Hamitic mother, as a certain clue to their
Shem-Hamitic origin.
It remains to speak of the separation of Uddu from Unyoro, the
present kingdom of Uganda--which, to say the least of it, is extremely
interesting, inasmuch as the government there is as different from the
other surrounding countries as those of Europe are compared to Asia.
In the earliest times the Wahuma of Unyoro regarded all their lands
bordering on the Victoria Lake as their garden, owing to its exceeding
fertility, and imposed the epithet of Wiru, or slaves, upon its people,
because they had to supply the imperial government with food and
clothing. Coffee was conveyed to the capital by the Wiru, also mbugu
(bark-cloaks), from an inexhaustible fig-tree; in short, the lands of
the Wiru were famous for their rich productions.
Now Wiru in the northern dialect changes to Waddu in the southern; hence
Uddu, the land of the slaves, which remained in one connected line from
the Nile to the Kitangule Kagera until eight generations back, when,
according to tradition, a sportsman from Unyoro, by name Uganda, came
with a pack of dogs, a woman, a spear, and a shield, hunting on the left
bank of Katonga valley, not far from the lake. He was but a poor man,
though so successful in hunting that vast numbers of the Wiru flocked
to him for flesh, and became so fond of him as to invite him to be their
king, saying, "Of what avail to us is our present king, living so far
away that when we sent him a cow as a tributary offering, that cow on
the journey gave a calf, and the calf became a cow and gave another
calf, and so on, and yet the present has not reached its destination?"
At first Uganda hesitated, on the plea that they had a king already,
but on being farther pressed consented; when the people hearing his name
said, "Well, let it be so; and for the future let this country between
the Nile and Katonga be called Uganda, and let your name be Kimera, the
first king of Uganda."
The same night Kimera stood upon a stone with a spear in his hand, and
a woman and dog sitting by his side; and to this day people assert that
his footprints and the mark left by his spear-end, as well as the seats
of the woman and dog, are visible. The report of these circumstances
soon reached the great king of Unyoro, who, in his magnificence, merely
said, "The poor creature must be starving; allow him to feed there if
he likes." The kings who have succeeded Kimera are: 1. Mahanda; 2.
Katereza; 3. Chabago; 4. Simakokiro; 5. Kamanya; 6. Sunna; 7. Mtesa, not
yet crowned.
These kings have all carried on the same system of government as that
commenced by Kimera, and proved themselves a perfect terror to Unyoro,
as we shall see in the sequel. Kimera, suddenly risen to eminence, grew
proud and headstrong--formed a strong clan around him, whom he appointed
to be his Wakunga, or officers--rewarded well, punished severely, and
soon became magnificent. Nothing short of the grandest palace, a throne
to sit upon, the largest harem, the smartest officers, the best dressed
people, even a menagerie for pleasure--in fact, only the best of
everything--would content him. Fleets of boats, not canoes, were built
for war, and armies formed, that the glory of the king might never
decrease. In short, the system of government, according to barbarous
ideas was perfect. Highways were cut from one extremity of the country
to the other, and all rivers bridged. No house could be built without
its necessary appendages for cleanliness; no person, however poor, could
expose his person; and to disobey these laws was death.
After the death of Kimera, the prosperity of Uganda never decreased,
but rather improved. The clan of officers formed by him were as proud of
their emancipation from slavery, as the king they had created was of his
dominion over them. They buried Kimera with state honours, giving charge
of the body to the late king's most favourite consort, whose duty it was
to dry the corpse by placing it on a board resting on the mouth of an
earthen open pot heated by fire from below. When this drying process was
completed, at the expiration of three months, the lower jaw was cut out
and neatly worked over with beads; the umbilical cord, which had been
preserved from birth, was also worked with beads. These were kept apart,
but the body was consigned to a tomb, and guarded ever after by this
officer and a certain number of the king's next most favourite women,
all of whom planted gardens for their maintenance, and were restricted
from seeing the succeeding king.
By his large establishment of wives, Kimera left a number of princes or
Warangira, and as many princesses. From the Warangira the Wakunga
now chose as their king the one whom they thought best suited for the
government of the country--not of too high rank by the mother's side,
lest their selection in his pride should kill them all, but one of low
birth. The rest were placed with wives in a suite of huts, under charge
of a keeper, to prevent any chance of intrigues and dissensions. They
were to enjoy life until the prince-elect should arrive at the age of
discretion and be crowned, when all but two of the princes would be
burnt to death, the two being reserved in case of accident as long
as the king wanted brother companions, when one would be banished to
Unyoro, and the other pensioned with suitable possessions in Uganda. The
mother of the king by this measure became queen-dowager, or N'yamasore.
She halved with her son all the wives of the deceased king not stationed
at his grave, taking second choice; kept up a palace only little
inferior to her son's with large estates, guided the prince-elect in the
government of the country, and remained until the end of his minority
the virtual ruler of the land; at any rate, no radical political changes
could take place without her sanction. The princesses became the wives
of the king; no one else could marry them.
Both mother and son had their Ktikiros or commander-in-chief, also
titled Kamraviona, as well as other officers of high rank. Amongst
them in due order of gradation are the Ilmas, a woman who had the
good fortune to have cut the umbilical cord at the king's birth; the
Sawaganzi, queen's sister and king's barber; Kaggao, Polino, Sakibobo,
Kitunzi, and others, governors of provinces; Jumab, admiral of the
fleet; Kasugu, guardian of the king's sister; Mkuenda, factor; Kunsa
and Usungu, first and second class executioners; Mgemma, commissioner in
charge of tombs; Seruti, brewer; Mfumbiro, cook; numerous pages to run
messages and look after the women, and minor Wakungu in hundreds. One
Mkungu is always over the palace, in command of the Wanagalali, or
guards which are changed monthly; another is ever in attendance as
seizer of refractory persons. There are also in the palace almost
constantly the Wanangalavi, or drummers; Nsase, pea-gourd rattlers;
Milele, flute-players; Mukonderi, clarionet-players; also players
on wooden harmonicons and lap-harps, to which the players sing
accompaniments; and, lastly, men who whistle on their fingers--for music
is half the amusement of these courts. Everybody in Uganda is expected
to keep spears, shields and dogs, the Uganda arms and cognisance; whilst
the Wakungu are entitled to drums. There is also a Neptune Mgussa, or
spirit, who lives in the depths of the N'yanza, communicates through the
medium of his temporal Mkungu, and guides to a certain extent the naval
destiny of the king.
It is the duty of all officers, generally speaking, to attend at court
as constantly as possible; should they fail, they forfeit their lands,
wives, and all belongings. These will be seized and given to others more
worthy of them; as it is presumed that either insolence or disaffection
can be the only motive which would induce any person to absent himself
for any length of time from the pleasure of seeing his sovereign.
Tidiness in dress is imperatively necessary, and for any neglect of
this rule the head may be the forfeit. The punishment for such offences,
however, may be commuted by fines of cattle, goats, fowls, or brass
wire. All acts of the king are counted benefits, for which he must be
thanked; and so every deed done to his subjects is a gift received by
them, though it should assume the shape of flogging or fine; for are
not these, which make better men of them, as necessary as anything? The
thanks are rendered by gravelling on the ground, floundering about
and whining after the manner of happy dogs, after which they rise
up suddenly, take up sticks--spears are not allowed to be carried in
court--make as if charging the king, jabbering as fast as tongues can
rattle, and so they swear fidelity for all their lives.
This is the greater salutation; the lesser one is performed kneeling
in an attitude of prayer, continually throwing open the hands, and
repeating sundry words. Among them the word "n'yanzig" is the most
frequent and conspicuous; and hence these gesticulations receive the
general designation n'yanzig--a term which will be frequently met with,
and which I have found it necessary to use like an English verb. In
consequence of these salutations, there is more ceremony in court
than business, though the king, ever having an eye to his treasury,
continually finds some trifling fault, condemns the head of the culprit,
takes his liquidation-present, if he has anything to pay, and thus keeps
up his revenue.
No one dare stand before the king whilst he is either standing still or
sitting, but must approach him with downcast eyes and bended knees, and
kneel or sit when arrived. To touch the king's throne or clothes, even
by accident, or to look upon his women is certain death. When sitting
in court holding a levee, the king invariably has in attendance several
women, Wabandwa, evil-eye averters or sorcerers. They talk in feigned
voices raised to a shrillness almost amounting to a scream. They wear
dried lizards on their heads, small goat-skin aprons trimmed with little
bells, diminutive shields and spears set off with cock-hackles--their
functions in attendance being to administer cups of marwa (plantain
wine). To complete the picture of the court, one must imagine a crowd of
pages to run royal messages; they dare not walk for such deficiency in
zeal to their master might cost their life. A further feature of the
court consists in the national symbols already referred to--a dog, two
spears, and shield.
With the company squatting in large half-circle or three sides of a
square many deep before him, in the hollow of which are drummers and
other musicians, the king, sitting on his throne in high dignity, issues
his orders for the day much to the following effect:--"Cattle, women,
and children are short in Uganda; an army must be formed of one to two
thousand strong, to plunder Unyoro. The Wasoga have been insulting his
subjects, and must be reduced to subjection: for this emergency another
army must be formed, of equal strength, to act by land in conjunction
with the fleet. The Wahaiya have paid no tribute to his greatness lately
and must be taxed." For all these matters the commander-in-chief tells
off the divisional officers, who are approved by the king, and the
matter is ended in court. The divisional officers then find subordinate
officers, who find men, and the army proceeds with its march. Should
any fail with their mission, reinforcements are sent, and the runaways,
called women, are drilled with a red-hot iron until they are men no
longer, and die for their cowardice., All heroism, however, ensures
promotion. The king receives his army of officers with great ceremony,
listens to their exploits, and gives as rewards, women, cattle, and
command over men--the greatest elements of wealth in Uganda--with a
liberal hand.
As to the minor business transacted in court, culprits are brought in
bound by officers, and reported. At once the sentence is given, perhaps
awarding the most torturous, lingering death--probably without trial or
investigation, and, for all the king knows, at the instigation of some
one influenced by wicked spite. If the accused endeavour to plead his
defence, his voice is at once drowned, and the miserable victim dragged
off in the roughest manner possible by those officers who love their
king, and delight in promptly carrying out his orders. Young virgins,
the daughters of Wakungu, stark naked, and smeared with grease, but
holding, for decency's sake, a small square of mbugu at the upper
corners in both hands before them, are presented by their fathers in
propitiation for some offence, and to fill the harem. Seizing-officers
receive orders to hunt down Wakungu who have committed some
indiscretions, and to confiscate their lands, wives, children, and
property. An officer observed to salute informally is ordered for
execution, when everybody near him rises in an instant, the drums beat,
drowning his cries, and the victim of carelessness is dragged off, bound
by cords, by a dozen men at once. Another man, perhaps, exposes an
inch of naked leg whilst squatting, or has his mbugu tied contrary to
regulations, and is condemned to the same fate.
Fines of cows, goats, and fowls are brought in and presented; they are
smoothed down by the offender's hands, and then applied to his face,
to show there is no evil spirit lurking in the gift; then thanks are
proferred for the leniency of the king in letting the presenter off so
cheaply, and the pardoned man retires, full of smiles, to the ranks of
the squatters. Thousands of cattle, and strings of women and children,
sometimes the result of a victorious plundering hunt, or else the
accumulated seizures from refractory Wakungu, are brought in; for there
is no more common or acceptable offering to appease the king's wrath
towards any refractory or blundering officer than a present of a few
young beauties, who may perhaps be afterwards given as the reward of
good service to other officers.
Stick-charms, being pieces of wood of all shapes, supposed to have
supernatural virtues, and coloured earths, endowed with similar
qualities, are produced by the royal magicians. The master of the hunt
exposes his spoils--such as antelopes, cats, porcupines, curious rats,
etc., all caught in nets, and placed in baskets--zebra, lion, and
buffalo skins being added. The fishermen bring their spoils; also the
gardeners. The cutlers show knives and forks made of iron inlaid with
brass and copper; the furriers, most beautifully-sewn patchwork of
antelopes' skins; the habit-maker, sheets of mbugu barkcloth; the
blacksmith, spears; the maker of shields, his productions;--and so
forth; but nothing is ever given without rubbing it down, then rubbing
the face, and going through a long form of salutation for the gracious
favour the king has shown in accepting it.
When tired of business, the king rises, spear in hand, and, leading his
dog, walked off without word or comment leaving his company, like dogs,
to take care of themselves.
Strict as the discipline of the exterior court is, that of the interior
is not less severe. The pages all wear turbans of cord made from aloe
fibres. Should a wife commit any trifling indiscretion, either by word
or deed, she is condemned to execution on the spot, bound by the pages
and dragged out. Notwithstanding the stringent laws for the preservation
of decorum by all male attendants, stark-naked full-grown women are the
valets.
On the first appearance of the new moon every month, the king shuts
himself up, contemplating and arranging his magic horns--the horns of
wild animals stuffed with charm-powder--for two or three days. These
may be counted his Sundays or church festivals, which he dedicates to
devotion. On other days he takes his women, some hundreds, to bathe
or sport in ponds; or, when tired of that, takes long walks, his women
running after him, when all the musicians fall in, take precedence
of the party, followed by the Wakungu and pages, with the king in the
centre of the procession, separating the male company from the fair sex.
On these excursions no common man dare look upon the royal procession.
Should anybody by chance happen to be seen, he is at once hunted down by
the pages, robbed of everything he possessed, and may count himself
very lucky if nothing worse happens. Pilgrimages are not uncommon, and
sometimes the king spends a fortnight yachting; but whatever he does, or
wherever he goes, the same ceremonies prevail--his musicians, Wakungu,
pages, and the wives take part in all.
But the greatest of all ceremonies takes place at the time of the
coronation. The prince-elect then first seeks favour from the kings of
all the surrounding countries, demanding in his might and power one of
each of their daughters in marriage, or else recognition in some other
way, when the Ilmas makes a pilgrimage to the deceased king's tomb, to
observe, by the growth an other signs of certain trees, and plants, what
destiny awaits the king. According to the prognostics, they report that
he will either have to live a life of peace, or after coronation take
the field at the head of an army to fight either east, west, or both
ways, when usually the first march is on Kittara, and the second on
Usoga. The Mgussa's voice is also heard, but in what manner I do not
know, as all communication on state matters is forbidden in Uganda.
These preliminaries being arranged, the actual coronation takes place,
when the king ceases to hold any farther communion with his mother. The
brothers are burnt to death, and the king, we shall suppose, takes the
field at the head of his army.
It is as the result of these expeditions that one-half Usogo and the
remaining half of Uddu have been annexed to Uganda.
Chapter X. Karague and Uganda
Escape from Protectors--Cross the Kitangule, the First Affluent of the
Nile--Enter Uddu--Uganda--A Rich Country--Driving away the Devil--A
Conflict in the Camp--A Pretending Prince--Three Pages with a Diplomatic
Message from the King of Uganda--Crime in Uganda.
Crossing back over the Weranhanje spur, I put up with the Arabs at
Kufro. Here, for the first time in this part of the world, I found good
English peas growing. Next day (11th), crossing over a succession of
forks, supporters to the main spur, we encamped at Luandalo. Here we
were overtaken by Rozaro, who had remained behind, as I now found, to
collect a large number of Wanyambo, whom he called his children, to
share with him the gratuitous living these creatures always look out for
on a march of this nature.
After working round the end of the great spur whilst following down the
crest of a fork, we found Karague separated by a deep valley from the
hilly country of Uhaiya, famous for its ivory and coffee productions.
On entering the rich plantain gardens of Kisaho, I was informed we
must halt there a day for Maula to join us, as he had been detained
by Rumanika, who, wishing to give him a present, had summoned Rozaro's
sister to his palace for that purpose. She was married to another, and
had two children by him, but that did not signify, as it was found
in time her husband had committed a fault, on account of which it was
thought necessary to confiscate all his property.
At this place all the people were in a constant state of inebriety,
drinking pombe all day and all night. I shot a montana antelope, and
sent its head and skin back to Grant, accompanied with my daily report
to Rumanika.
Maula having joined me, we marched down to near the end of the fork
overlooking the plain of Kitangule--the Waganada drums beating, and
whistles playing all the way we went along.
We next descended from the Mountains of the Moon, and spanned a long
alluvial plain to the settlement of the so-long-heard-of Kitangule,
where Rumanika keeps his thousands and thousands of cows. In former days
the dense green forests peculiar to the tropics, which grow in swampy
places about this plain, were said to have been stocked by vast herds of
elephants; but, since the ivory trade had increased, these animals had
all been driven off to the hills of Kisiwa and Uhaiya, or into Uddu
beyond the river, and all the way down to the N'yanza.
To-day we reached the Kitangule Kagera, or river, which, as I
ascertained in the year 1858, falls into the Victoria N'yanza on the
west side. Most unfortunately, as we led off to cross it, rain began
to pour, so that everybody and everything was thrown into confusion.
I could not get a sketch of it, though Grant was more fortunate
afterwards; neither could I measure or fathom it; and it was only after
a long contest with the superstitious boatmen that they allowed me to
cross in their canoe with my shoes on, as they thought the vessel would
either upset, or else the river would dry up, in consequence of their
Neptune taking offence at me. Once over, I looked down on the noble
stream with considerable pride. About eight yards broad, it was sunk
down a considerable depth below the surface of the land, like a huge
canal, and is so deep, it could not be poled by the canoemen; while it
runs at a velocity of from three to four knots an hour.
I say I viewed it with pride, because I had formed my judgment of its
being fed from high-seated springs in the Mountains of the Moon solely
on scientific geographical reasonings; and, from the bulk of the stream,
I also believed those mountains must obtain an altitude of 8000 feet
[16] or more, just as we find they do in Ruanda. I thought then to
myself, as I did at Rumanika's, when I first viewed the Mfumbiro cones,
and gathered all my distant geographical information there, that these
highly saturated Mountains of the Moon give birth to the Congo as well
as to the Nile, and also to the Shire branch of the Zambeze.
I came, at the same time, to the conclusion that all our previous
information concerning the hydrography of these regions, as well as the
Mountains of the Moon, originated with the ancient Hindus, who told
it to the priests of the Nile; and that all those busy Egyptian
geographers, who disseminated their knowledge with a view to be famous
for their long-sightedness, in solving the deep-seated mystery with
enshrouded the source of their holy river, were so many hypothetical
humbugs. Reasoning thus, the Hindu traders alone, in those days, I
believed, had a firm basis to stand upon, from their intercourse with
the Abyssinians--through whom they must have heard of the country of
Amara, which they applied to the N'yanza--and with the Wanyamuezi or
men of the Moon, from whom they heard of the Tanganyika and Karague
mountains. I was all the more impressed with this belief, by knowing
that the two church missionaries, Rebmann and Erhardt, without the
smallest knowledge of the Hindus' map, constructed a map of their own,
deduced from the Zanzibar traders, something on the same scale, by
blending the Victoria N'yanza, Tanganyida, and N'yazza into one; whilst
to their triuned lake they gave the name Moon, because the men of the
Moon happened to live in front of the central lake. And later still, Mr
Leon, another missionary, heard of the N'yanza and the country Amara,
near which he heard the Nile made its escape.
Going on with the march we next came to Ndongo, a perfect garden of
plantains. The whole country was rich--most surprisingly so. The same
streaky argillaceous sandstones prevailed as in Karague. There was
nothing, in fact, that would not have grown here, if it liked moisture
and a temperate heat. It was a perfect paradise for negroes: as fast as
they sowed they were sure of a crop without much trouble; though, I must
say, they kept their huts and their gardens in excellent order.
As Maula would stop here, I had to halt also. The whole country along
the banks of the river, and near some impenetrable forests, was alive
with antelopes, principally hartebeests, but I would not fire at
them until it was time to return, as the villagers led me to expect
buffaloes. The consequence was, as no buffaloes were to be found, I got
no sport, though I wounded a hartebeest, and followed him almost into
camp, when I gave up the chase to some negroes, and amused myself by
writing to Rumanika, to say if Grant did not reach me by a certain date,
I would try to navigate the N'yanza, and return to him in boats up the
Kitangule river.
We crossed over a low spur of hill extending from the mountainous
kingdom of Nkole, on our left, towards the N'yanza. Here I was shown by
Nasib a village called Ngandu, which was the farthest trading depot of
the Zanzibar ivory-merchants. It was established by Musa Mzuri, by
the permission of Rumanika; for, as I shall have presently to mention,
Sunna, after annexing this part of Uddu to Uganda, gave Rumanika certain
bands of territory in it as a means of security against the possibility
of its being wrested out of his hands again by the future kings of
Unyoro. Following on Musa's wake, many Arabs also came here to trade;
but they were so oppressive to the Waganda that they were recalled by
Rumanika, and obliged to locate themselves at Kufro. To the right, at
the end of the spur, stretching as far as the eye could reach towards
the N'yanza, was a rich, well-wooded, swampy plain, containing large
open patches of water, which not many years since, I was assured, were
navigable for miles, but now, like the Urigi lake, were gradually drying
up. Indeed, it appeared to me as if the N'yanza must have once washed
the foot of these hills, but had since shrunk away from its original
margin.
On arrival at Ngambezi, I was immensely struck with the neatness and
good arrangement of the place, as well as its excessive beauty and
richness. No part of Bengal or Zanzibar could excel it in either
respect; and my men, with one voice, exclaimed, "Ah, what people
these Waganda are!" and passed other remarks, which may be abridged as
follows:--"They build their huts and keep their gardens just as well as
we do at Unguja, with screens and enclosures for privacy, a clearance in
front of their establishments, and a baraza or reception-hut facing the
buildings. Then, too, what a beautiful prospect it has!--rich marshy
plains studded with mounds, on each of which grow the umbrella cactus,
or some other evergreen tree; and beyond, again, another hill-spur such
as the one we have crossed over." One of king Mtesa's uncles, who had
not been burnt to death by the order of the late king Sunna on
his ascension to the throne, was the proprietor of this place, but
unfortunately he was from home. However, his substitute gave me his
baraza to live in, and brought many presents of goats, fowls, sweet
potatoes, yams, plantains, sugarcane, and Indian corn, and apologised in
the end for deficiency in hospitality. I, of course, gave him beads in
return.
Continuing over the same kind of ground in the next succeeding spurs
of the streaky red-clay sandstone hills, we put up at the residence of
Isamgevi, a Mkungu or district officer of Rumanika's. His residence was
as well kept as Mtesa's uncle's; but instead of a baraza fronting his
house, he had a small enclosure, with three small huts in it, kept apart
for devotional purposes, or to propitiate the evil spirits--in short,
according to the notions of the place, a church. This officer gave me a
cow and some plantains, and I in return gave him a wire and some beads.
Many mendicant women, called by some Wichwezi, by others Mabandwa, all
wearing the most fantastic dresses of mbugu, covered with beads, shells,
and sticks, danced before us, singing a comic song, the chorus of which
was a long shrill rolling Coo-roo-coo-roo, coo-roo-coo-roo, delivered as
they came to a standstill. Their true functions were just as obscure as
the religion of the negroes generally; some called them devil-drivers,
other evil-eye averters; but, whatever it was for, they imposed a tax
on the people, whose minds being governed by a necessity for making some
self-sacrifice to propitiate something, they could not tell what, for
their welfare in the world, they always gave them a trifle in the same
way as the East Indians do their fakirs.
After crossing another low swampy flat, we reached a much larger group,
or rather ramification, of hill-spurs pointing to the N'yanza, called
Kisuere, and commanded by M'yombo, Rumanika's frontier officer.
Immediately behind this, to the northward, commenced the kingdom of
Unyoro; and here it was, they said, Baraka would branch off my line on
his way to Kamrasi. Maula's home was one march distant from this, so the
scoundrel now left me to enjoy himself there, giving as his pretext for
doing so, that Mtesa required him, as soon as I arrived here, to send
on a messenger that order might be taken for my proper protection on the
line of march; for the Waganda were a turbulent set of people, who could
only be kept in order by the executioner; and doubtless many, as was
customary on such occasions, would be beheaded, as soon as Mtesa heard
of my coming, to put the rest in a fright. I knew this was all humbug,
of course, and I told him so; but it was of no use, and I was compelled
to halt.
On the 23d another officer, named Maribu, came to me and said, Mtesa,
having heard that Grant was left sick behind at Karague, had given him
orders to go there and fetch him, whether sick or well, for Mtesa was
most anxious to see white men. Hearing this I at once wrote to Grant,
begging him to come on if he could do so, and to bring with him all the
best of my property, or as much as he could of it, as I now saw there
was more cunning humbug than honesty in what Rumanika had told me about
the impossibility of our going north from Uganda, as well as in his
saying sick men could not go into Uganda, and donkeys without trousers
would not be admitted there, because they were considered indecent.
If he was not well enough to move, I advised him to wait there until
I reached Mtesa's, when I would either go up the lake and Kitangule to
fetch him away, or would make the king send boats for him, which I more
expressly wished, as it would tend to give us a much better knowledge of
the lake.
Maula now came again, after receiving repeated and angry messages, and
I forced him to make a move. He led me straight up to his home, a very
nice place, in which he gave me a very large, clean, and comfortable
hut--had no end of plantains brought for me and my men--and said, "Now
you have really entered the kingdom of Uganda, for the future you must
buy no more food. At every place that you stop for the day, the
officer in charge will bring you plantains, otherwise your men can help
themselves in the gardens, for such are the laws of the land when a
king's guest travels in it. Any one found selling anything to either
yourself or your men would be punished." Accordingly, I stopped the
daily issue of beads; but no sooner had I done so, than all my men
declared they could not eat plantains. It was all very well, they said,
for the Waganda to do so, because they were used to it, but it did not
satisfy their hunger.
Maula, all smirks and smiles, on seeing me order the things out for
the march, begged I would have patience, and wait till the messenger
returned from the king; it would not take more than ten days at the
most. Much annoyed at this nonsense, I ordered my tent to be pitched. I
refused all Maula's plantains, and gave my men beads to buy grain with;
and, finding it necessary to get up some indignation, said I would not
stand being chained like a dog; if he would not go on ahead, I should
go without him. Maula then said he would go to a friend's and come back
again. I said, if he did not, I should go off; and so the conversation
ended.
26th.--Drumming, singing, screaming, yelling, and dancing had been going
on these last two days and two nights to drive the Phepo or devil out of
a village. The whole of the ceremonies were most ludicrous. An old man
and woman, smeared with white mud, and holding pots of pombe in their
laps, sat in front of a hut, whilst other people kept constantly
bringing them baskets full of plantain-squash, and more pots of pombe.
In the courtyard fronting them, were hundreds of men and women dressed
in smart mbugus--the males wearing for turbans, strings of abrus-seeds
wound round their heads, with polished boars' tusks stuck in in a jaunty
manner. These were the people who, drunk as fifers, were keeping up
such a continual row to frighten the devil away. In the midst of this
assembly I now found Kachuchu, Rumanika's representative, who went on
ahead from Karague palace to tell Mtesa that I wished to see him. With
him, he said, were two other Wakungu of Mtesa's, who had orders to bring
on my party and Dr K'yengo's. Mtesa, he said, was so mad to see us, that
the instant he arrived at the palace and told him we wished to visit
him, the king caused "fifty big men and four hundred small ones" to be
executed, because, he said, his subjects were so bumptious they would
not allow any visitors to come near him, else he would have had white
men before.
27th.--N'yamgundu, my old friend at Usui, then came to me, and said
he was the first man to tell Mtesa of our arrival in Usui, and wish to
visit him. The handkerchief I had given Irungu at Usui to present as a
letter to Mtesa he had snatched away from him, and given, himself, to
his king, who no sooner received it than he bound it round his head,
and said, in ecstasies of delight, "Oh, the Mzungu, the Mzungu! he does
indeed want to see me." Then giving him four cows as a return letter
to take to me, he said, "Hurry off as quickly as possible and bring him
here." "The cows," said N'yamgundu, "have gone on to Kisuere by another
route, but I will bring them here; and then, as Maula is taking you, I
will go and fetch Grant." I then told him not to be in such a hurry.
I had turned off Maula for treating me like a dog, and I would not be
escorted by him again. He replied that his orders would not be fully
accomplished as long as any part of my establishment was behind; so he
would, if I wished it, leave part of his "children" to guide me on to
Mtesa's, whilst he went to fetch Grant. An officer, I assured him, had
just gone on to fetch Grant, so he need not trouble his head on that
score; at any rate, he might reverse his plan, and send his children
for Grant, whilst he went on with me, by which means he would fully
accomplish his mission. Long arguments ensued, and I at length turned
the tables by asking who was the greatest--myself or my children; when
he said, "As I see you are the greatest, I will do as you wish; and
after fetching the cows from Kisuere, we will march to-morrow at
sunrise."
The sun rose, but N'yamgundu did not appear. I was greatly annoyed lest
Maula should come and try to drive him away. I waited, restraining my
impatience until noon, when, as I could stand it no longer, I ordered
Bombay to strike my tent, and commence the march. A scene followed,
which brought out my commander-in-chief's temper in a rather surprising
shape. "How can we go in?" said Bombay. "Strike the tent," said I.
"Who will guide us?" said Bombay. "Strike the tent," I said again. "But
Rumanika's men have all gone away, and there is no one to show us the
way." "Never mind; obey my orders, and strike the tent." Then, as Bombay
would not do it, I commenced myself, assisted by some of my other men,
and pulled it down over his head, all the women who were assembled under
it, and all the property. On this, Bombay flew into a passion, abusing
the men who were helping me, as there were fires and powder-boxes under
the tent. I of course had to fly into a passion and abuse Bombay. He,
in a still greater rage, said he would pitch into the men, for the whole
place would be blown up. "That is no reason why you should abuse my
men," I said, "who are better than you by obeying my orders. If I choose
to blow up my property, that is my look-out; and if you don't do your
duty, I will blow you up also." Foaming and roaring with rage, Bombay
said he would not stand being thus insulted. I then gave him a dig
on the head with my fist. He squared up, and pouted like an enraged
chameleon, looking savagely at me. I gave him another dig, which sent
him staggering. He squared again: I gave him another; till at last, as
the claret was flowing, he sulked off, and said he would not serve me
any more. I then gave Nasib orders to take Bombay's post, and commence
the march; but the good old man made Bombay give in, and off we went,
amidst crowds of Waganda, who had collected to witness with comedy, and
were all digging at one another's heads, showing off in pantomime the
strange ways of the white man. N'yamgundu then jointed us, and begged us
to halt only one more day, as some of his women were still at Kisuere;
but Bombay, showing his nozzle rather flatter than usual, said, "No;
I got this on account of your lies. I won't tell Bana any more of
your excuses for stopping; you may tell him yourself if you like."
N'yamgundu, however, did not think this advisable, and so we went on
as we were doing. It was the first and last time I had ever occasion to
lose my dignity by striking a blow with my own hands; but I could
not help it on this occasion without losing command and respect; for
although I often had occasion to award 100 and even 150 lashes to my men
for stealing, I could not, for the sake of due subordination, allow
any inferior officer to strike Bombay, and therefore had to do the work
myself.
Skirting the hills on the left, with a large low plain to the right we
soon came on one of those numerous rush-drains that appear to me to
be the last waters left of the old bed of the N'yanza. This one in
particular was rather large, being 150 yards wide. It was sunk where I
crossed it, like a canal, 14 feet below the plain; and what with mire
and water combined, so deep, I was obliged to take off my trousers
whilst fording it. Once across, we sought for and put up in a village
beneath a small hill, from the top of which I saw the Victoria N'yanza
for the first time on this march. N'yamgundu delighted me much: treating
me as king, he always fell down on his knees to address me, and made all
his "children" look after my comfort in camp.
We marched on again over the same kind of ground, alternately crossing
rush-drains of minor importance, though provokingly frequent, and rich
gardens, from which, as we passed, all the inhabitants bolted at the
sound of our drums, knowing well that they would be seized and punished
if found gazing at the king's visitors. Even on our arrival at Ukara not
one soul was visible. The huts of the villagers were shown to myself and
my men without any ceremony. The Wanyambo escort stole what they liked
out of them, and I got into no end of troubles trying to stop the
practice; for they said the Waganda served them the same way when they
went to Karague, and they had a right to retaliate now. To obviate this
distressing sort of plundering, I still served out beads to my men, and
so kept them in hand a little; but they were fearfully unruly, and
did not like my interference with what by the laws of the country they
considered their right.
Here I had to stop a day for some of N'yamgundu's women, who, in my
hurry at leaving Maula's, were left behind. A letter from Grant was now
brought to me by a very nice-looking young man, who had the skin of
a leopard-cat (F. Serval) tied round his neck--a badge which royal
personages only were entitled to wear. N'yamgundu seeing this, as he
knew the young man was not entitled to wear it, immediately ordered his
"children" to wrench it from him. Two ruffianly fellows then seized him
by his hands, and twisted his arms round and round until I thought they
would come out of their sockets. Without uttering a sound the young man
resisted, until N'yamgundu told them to be quiet, for he would hold a
court on the subject, and see if the young man could defend himself.
The ruffians then sat on the ground, but still holding on to him; whilst
N'yamgundu took up a long stick, and breaking it into sundry bits of
equal length, placed one by one in front of him, each of which
was supposed to represent one number in line of succession to his
forefathers. By this it was proved he did not branch in any way from the
royal stock. N'yamgundu then turning to the company, said, What would
he do now to expiate his folly? If the matter was taken before Mtesa he
would lose his head; was it not better he should pay one hundred cows
All agreeing to this, the young man said he would do so, and quietly
allowed the skin to be untied and taken off by the ruffians.
Next day, after crossing more of those abominable rush-drains, whilst
in sight of the Victoria N'yanza, we ascended the most beautiful hills,
covered with verdure of all descriptions. At Meruka, where I put up,
there resided some grandees, the chief of whom was the king's aunt. She
sent me a goat, a hen, a basket of eggs, and some plantains, in return
for which I sent her a wire and some beads. I felt inclined to stop here
a month, everything was so very pleasant. The temperature was perfect.
The roads, as indeed they were everywhere, were as broad as our
coach-roads, cut through the long grasses, straight over the hills and
down through the woods in the dells--a strange contrast to the wretched
tracks in all the adjacent countries. The huts were kept so clean and
so neat, not a fault could be found with them--the gardens the same.
Wherever I strolled I saw nothing but richness, and what ought to
be wealth. The whole land was a picture of quiescent beauty, with a
boundless sea in the background. Looking over the hills, it struck the
fancy at once that at one period the whole land must have been at
a uniform level with their present tops, but that by the constant
denudation it was subjected to by frequent rains, it had been cut
down and sloped into those beautiful hills and dales which now so much
pleased the eye; for there were none of those quartz dykes I had seen
protruding through the same kink of aqueous formations in Usui and
Karague; nor were there any other sorts of volcanic disturbance to
distort the calm quiet aspect of the scene.
From this, the country being all hill and dale, with miry rush-drains
in the bottoms, I walked, carrying my shoes and stockings in my
hands, nearly all the way. Rozaro's "children" became more and more
troublesome, stealing everything they could lay their hands upon out
of the village huts we passed on the way. On arrival at Sangua, I found
many of them had been seized by some men who, bolder than the rest,
had overtaken them whilst gutting their huts, and made them prisoners,
demanding of me two slaves and one load of beads for their restitution.
I sent my men back to see what had happened, and ordered them to bring
all the men on to me, that I might see fair play. They, however, took
the law into their own hands, drove off the Waganda villagers by firing
their muskets, and relieved the thieves. A complaint was then laid
against Nyamgundu by the chief officer of the village, and I was
requested to halt. That I would not do, leaving the matter in the hands
of the governor-general, Mr Pokino, whom I heard we should find at the
next station, Masaka.
On arrival there at the government establishment--a large collection of
grass huts, separated one from the other within large enclosures, which
overspread the whole top of a low hill--I was requested to withdraw and
put up in some huts a short distance off, and wait until his excellency,
who was from home, could come and see me; which the next day he did,
coming in state with a large number of officers, who brought with them
a cow, sundry pots of pombe, enormous sticks of sugar-cane, and a large
bundle of country coffee. This grows in great profusion all over this
land in large bushy trees, the berries sticking on the branches like
clusters of hollyberries.
I was then introduced, and told that his excellency was the appointed
governor of all the land lying between the Katonga and the Kitangule
rivers. After the first formalities were over, the complaint about the
officers at Sangua was preferred for decision, on which Pokino at once
gave it against the villagers, as they had no right, by the laws of the
land, to lay hands on a king's guest. Just then Maula arrived, and
began to abuse N'yamgundu. Of course I would not stand this; and, after
telling all the facts of the case, I begged Pokino to send Maula away
out of my camp. Pokino said he could not do this, as it was by the
king's order he was appointed; but he put Maula in the background,
laughing at the way he had "let the bird fly out of his hands," and
settled that N'yamgundu should be my guide. I then gave him a wire, and
he gave me three large sheets of mbugu, which he said I should require,
as there were so many water-courses to cross on the road I was going.
A second day's halt was necessitated by many of my men catching fever,
probably owing to the constant crossing of those abominable rush-drains.
There was no want of food here, for I never saw such a profusion of
plantains anywhere. They were literally lying in heaps on the ground,
though the people were brewing pombe all day, and cooking them for
dinner every evening.
After crossing many more hills and miry bottoms, constantly coming in
view of the lake, we reached Ugonzi, and after another march of the
same description, came to Kituntu, the last officer's residence in Uddu.
Formerly it was the property of a Beluch named Eseau, who came to this
country with merchandise, trading on account of Said Said, late Sultan
of Zanzibar; but having lost it all on his way here, paying mahongo, or
taxes, and so forth he feared returning, and instead made great friends
with the late king Sunna, who took an especial fancy to him because
he had a very large beard, and raised him to the rank of Mkungu. A few
years ago, however, Eseau died, and left all his family and property to
a slave named Uledi, who now, in consequence, is the border officer.
I became now quite puzzled whilst thinking which was the finest spot I
had seen in Uddu, so many were exceedingly beautiful; but I think I gave
the preference to this, both for its own immediate neighbourhood and the
long range of view it afforded of Uganda proper, the lake, and the large
island, or group of islands, called Sese where the king of Uganda keeps
one of his fleets of boats.
Some little boys came here who had all their hair shaved off excepting
two round tufts on either side of the head. They were the king's pages;
and, producing three sticks, said they had brought them to me from their
king, who wanted three charms or medicines. Then placing one stick
on the ground before me, they said, "This one is a head which, being
affected by dreams of a deceased relative, requires relief"; the second
symbolised the king's desire for the accomplishment of a phenomenon to
which the old phalic worship was devoted; "and this third one," they
said, "is a sign that the king wants a charm to keep all his subjects in
awe of him." I then promised I would do what I could when I reached the
palace, but feared to do anything in the distance. I wished to go
on with the march, but was dissuaded by N'yamgundu, who said he had
received orders to find me some cows here, as his king was most anxious
I should be well fed. Next day, however, we descended into the Katonga
valley, where, instead of finding a magnificent broad sheet of water, as
I had been led to expect by the Arabs' account of it, I found I had to
wade through a succession of rush-drains divided one from the other by
islands. It took me two hours, with my clothes tucked up under my arms,
to get through them all; and many of them were so matted with weeds,
that my feet sank down as though I trod in a bog.
The Waganda all said that at certain times in the year no one could
ford these drains, as they all flooded; but, strangely enough, they
were always lowest when most rain fell in Uganda. No one, however, could
account for this singular fact. No one knew of a lake to supply the
waters, nor where they came from. That they flowed into the lake
there was no doubt--as I could see by the trickling waters in some few
places--and they lay exactly on the equator. Rising out of the valley,
I found all the country just as hilly as before, but many of the
rush-drains going to northward; and in the dells were such magnificent
trees, they quite took me by surprise. Clean-trunked, they towered up
just as so many great pillars, and then spread out their high branches
like a canopy over us. I thought of the blue gums of Australia,
and believed these would beat them. At the village of Mbule we were
gracefully received by the local officer, who brought a small present,
and assured me that the king was in a nervous state of excitement,
always asking after me. Whilst speaking he trembled, and he was so
restless he could never sit still.
Up and down we went on again through this wonderful country,
surprisingly rich in grass, cultivation, and trees. Watercourses were as
frequent as ever, though not quite so troublesome to the traveller, as
they were more frequently bridged with poles or palm-tree trunks.
This, the next place we arrived at, was N'yamgundu's own residence,
where I stopped a day to try and shoot buffaloes. Maula here had the
coolness to tell me he must inspect all the things I had brought for
presentation to the king, as he said it was the custom; after which he
would hurry on and inform his majesty. Of course I refused, saying it
was uncourteous to both the king and myself. Still he persisted, until,
finding it hopeless, he spitefully told N'yamgundu to keep me here at
least two days. N'yamgundu, however, very prudently told him he should
obey his orders, which were to take me on as fast as he could. I then
gave N'yamgundu wires and beads for himself and all his family round,
which made Maula slink further away from me than ever.
The buffaloes were very numerous in the tall grasses that lined the
sides and bottoms of the hills; but although I saw some, I could not get
a shot, for the grasses being double the height of myself, afforded them
means of dashing out of view as soon as seen, and the rustling noise
made whilst I followed them kept them on the alert. At night a hyena
came into my hut, and carried off one of my goats that was tied to a log
between two of my sleeping men.
During the next march, after passing some of the most beautifully-wooded
dells, in which lay small rush-lakes on the right of the road, draining,
as I fancied, into the Victoria Lake, I met with a party of the king's
gamekeepers, staking their nets all along the side of a hill, hoping
to catch antelopes by driving the covers with dogs and men. Farther
on, also, I came on a party driving one hundred cows, as a present from
Mtesa to Rumanika, which the officers in charge said was their king's
return for the favour Rumanika had done him in sending me on to him. It
was in this way that great kings sent "letters" to one another.
Next day, after going a short distance, we came on the Mwarango river,
a broad rush-drain of three hundred yards' span, two-thirds of which
was bridged over. Until now I did not feel sure where the various
rush-drains I had been crossing since leaving the Katonga valley all
went to, but here my mind was made up, for I found a large volume of
water going to the northwards. I took off my clothes at the end of the
bridge and jumped into the stream, which I found was twelve yards or so
broad, and deeper than my height. I was delighted beyond measure at this
very surprising fact, that I was indeed on the northern slopes of the
continent, and had, to all appearance, found one of the branches of the
Nile's exit from the N'yanza. I drew Bombay's attention to the current;
and, collecting all the men of the country, inquired of them where the
river sprang from. Some of them said, in the hills to the southward; but
most of them said, from the lake. I argued the point with them; for I
felt quite sure so large a body of flowing water could not be collected
together in any place but the lake. They then all agreed to this view,
and further assured me it went to Kamrasi's palace in Unyoro, where it
joined the N'yanza, meaning the Nile.
Pushing on again we arrived at N'yama Goma, where I found Irungu--the
great ambassador I had first met in Usui, with all his "children"--my
enemy Makinga, and Suwarora's deputation with wire,--altogether, a
collection of one hundred souls. They had been here a month waiting for
leave to approach the king's palace. Not a villager was to be seen for
miles round; not a plantain remained on the trees, nor was there even a
sweet potato to be found in the ground. The whole of the provisions
of this beautiful place had been devoured by the king's guests, simply
because he had been too proud to see them in a hurry. This was alarming,
for I feared I should be served the same trick, especially as all the
people said this kind of treatment was a mere matter of custom which
those great kings demanded as a respect due to their dignity; and Bombay
added, with laughter, they make all manner of fuss to entice one to come
when in the distance, but when they have got you in their power they
become haughty about it, and think only of how they can best impose
on your mind the great consequence which they affect before their own
people.
Here I was also brought to a standstill, for N'yamgundu said I must
wait for leave to approach the palace. He wished to have a look at the
presents I had brought for Mtesa. I declined to gratify it, taking my
stand on my dignity; there was no occasion for any distrust on such a
trifling matter as that, for I was not a merchant who sought for gain,
but had come, at great expense, to see the king of this region. I
begged, however, he would go as fast as possible to announce my arrival,
explain my motive for coming here, and ask for an early interview, as I
had left my brother Grant behind at Karague, and found my position, for
want of a friend to talk to, almost intolerable. It was not the custom
of my country for great men to consort with servants, and until I saw
him, and made friends, I should not be happy. I had a great deal to tell
him about, as he was the father of the Nile, which river drained
the N'yanza down to my country to the northward. With this message
N'yamgundu hurried off as fast as possible.
Next day (15th) I gave each of my men a fez cap, and a piece of red
blanket to make up military jackets. I then instructed them how to form
a guard of honour when I went to the palace, and taught Bombay the way
Nazirs was presented at courts in India. Altogether we made a good show.
When this was concluded I went with Nasib up a hill, from which we could
see the lake on one side, and on the other a large range of huts said
to belong to the king's uncle, the second of the late king Sunna's
brothers, who was not burnt to death when he ascended the throne.
I then (16th) very much wished to go and see the escape of the Mwerango
river, as I still felt a little sceptical as to its origin, whether
or not it came off those smaller lakes I had seen on the road the day
before I crossed the river; but no one would listen to my project. They
all said I must have the king's sanction first, else people, from not
knowing my object, would accuse me of practising witchcraft, and would
tell their king so. They still all maintained that the river did come
out of the lake, and said, if I liked to ask the king's leave to visit
the spot, then they would go and show it me. I gave way, thinking it
prudent to do so, but resolved in my mind I would get Grant to see it
in boats on his voyage from Karague. There were not guinea-fowls to be
found here, nor a fowl, in any of the huts, so I requested Rozaro to
hurry off to Mtesa, and ask him to send me something to eat. He simply
laughed at my request, and said I did not know what I was doing. It
would be as much as his life was worth to go one yard in advance of this
until the king's leave was obtained. I said, rather than be starved to
death in this ignominious manner, I would return to Karague; to which he
replied, laughing, "Whose leave have you got to do that? Do you suppose
you can do as you like in this country?"
Next day (17th), in the evening, N'yamgundu returned full of smirks
and smiles, dropped on his knees at my feet, and, in company with his
"children," set to n'yanzigging, according to the form of that state
ceremonial already described. [17] In his excitement he was hardly able
to say all he had to communicate. Bit by bit, however, I learned that he
first went to the palace, and, finding the king had gone off yachting
to the Murchison Creek, he followed him there. The king for a long
while would not believe his tale that I had come, but, being assured, he
danced with delight, and swore he would not taste food until he had
seen me. "Oh," he said, over and over again and again, according to my
informer, "can this be true? Can the white man have come all this way to
see me? What a strong man he must be too, to come so quickly! Here are
seven cows, four of them milch ones, as you say he likes milk, which you
will give him; and there are three for yourself for having brought him
so quickly. Now, hurry off as fast as you can, and tell him I am more
delighted at the prospect of seeing him than he can be to see me. There
is no place here fit for his reception. I was on a pilgrimage which
would have kept me here seven days longer but as I am so impatient to
see him, I will go off to my palace at once, and will send word for him
to advance as soon as I arrive there."
About noon the succeeding day, some pages ran in to say we were to come
along without a moment's delay, as their king had ordered it. He would
not taste food until he saw me, so that everybody might know what great
respect he felt for me. In the meanwhile, however, he wished for some
gunpowder. I packed the pages off as fast as I could with some, and
tried myself to follow, but my men were all either sick or out foraging,
and therefore we could not get under way until the evening. After going
a certain distance, we came on a rush-drain, of much greater breadth
even than the Mwerango, called the Moga (or river) Myanza, which was so
deep I had to take off my trousers and tuck my clothes under my arms.
It flowed into the Mwerango, but with scarcely any current at all.
This rush-drain, all the natives assured me, rose in the hills to
the southward--not in the lake, as the Mwerango did--and it was never
bridged over like that river, because it was always fordable. This
account seemed to me reasonable; for though so much broader in its bed
than the Mwerango, it had no central, deep-flowing current.
Chapter XI. Palace, Uganda
Preparations for the Reception at the Court of Mtesa, King of
Uganda--The Ceremonial--African Diplomacy and Dignity--Feats with the
Rifle--Cruelty, and Wastefulness of Life--The Pages--The Queen-Dowager
of Uganda--Her Court Reception--I negotiate for a Palace--Conversations
with the King and Queen--The Queen's grand Entertainment--Royal
Dissipation.
To-day the king sent his pages to announce his intention of holding
a levee in my honour. I prepared for my first presentation at court,
attired in my best, though in it I cut a poor figure in comparison with
the display of the dressy Waganda. They wore neat bark cloaks resembling
the best yellow corduroy cloth, crimp and well set, as if stiffened with
starch, and over that, as upper-cloaks, a patchwork of small antelope
skins, which I observed were sewn together as well as any English
glovers could have pieced them; whilst their head-dresses, generally,
were abrus turbans, set off with highly-polished boar-tusks,
stick-charms, seeds, beads, or shells; and on their necks, arms, and
ankles they wore other charms of wood, or small horns stuffed with magic
powder, and fastened on by strings generally covered with snake-skin.
N'yamgundu and Maula demanded, as their official privilege, a first
peep; and this being refused, they tried to persuade me that the
articles comprising the present required to be covered with chintz, for
it was considered indecorous to offer anything to his majesty in a naked
state. This little interruption over, the articles enumerated below [18]
were conveyed to the palace in solemn procession thus:--With N'yamgundu,
Maula, the pages, and myself on the flanks, the Union-Jack carried by
the kirangozi guide led the way, followed by twelve men as a guard of
honour, dressed in red flannel cloaks, and carrying their arms sloped,
with fixed bayonets; whilst in their rear were the rest of my men, each
carrying some article as a present.
On the march towards the palace, the admiring courtiers, wonder-struck
at such an unusual display, exclaimed, in raptures of astonishment, some
with both hands at their mouths, and others clasping their heads with
their hands, "Irungi! irungi!" which may be translated "Beautiful!
beautiful!" I thought myself everything was going on as well as could
be wished; but before entering the royal enclosures, I found, to my
disagreeable surprise, that the men with Suwarora's hongo or offering,
which consisted of more than a hundred coils of wire, were ordered to
lead the procession, and take precedence of me. There was something
specially aggravating in this precedence; for it will be remembered that
these very brass wires which they saw, I had myself intended for Mtesa,
that they were taken from me by Suwarora as far back as Usui, and it
would never do, without remonstrance, to have them boastfully paraded
before my eyes in this fashion. My protests, however, had no effect upon
the escorting Wakungu. Resolving to make them catch it, I walked along
as if ruminating in anger up the broad high road into a cleared square,
which divides Mtesa's domain on the south from his Kamraviona's, or
commander-in-chief, on the north, and then turned into the court. The
palace or entrance quite surprised me by its extraordinary dimensions,
and the neatness with which it was kept. The whole brow and sides of the
hill on which we stood were covered with gigantic grass huts, thatched
as neatly as so many heads dressed by a London barber, and fenced all
round with the tall yellow reeds of the common Uganda tiger-grass;
whilst within the enclosure, the lines of huts were joined together, or
partitioned off into courts, with walls of the same grass. It is here
most of Mtesa's three or four hundred women are kept, the rest being
quartered chiefly with his mother, known by the title of N'yamasore, or
queen-dowager. They stood in little groups at the doors, looking at us,
and evidently passing their own remarks, and enjoying their own jokes,
on the triumphal procession. At each gate as we passed, officers on duty
opened and shut it for us, jingling the big bells which are hung upon
them, as they sometimes are at shop-doors, to prevent silent, stealthy
entrance.
The first court passed, I was even more surprised to find the unusual
ceremonies that awaited me. There courtiers of high dignity stepped
forward to greet me, dressed in the most scrupulously neat fashions.
Men, women, bulls, dogs, and goats, were led about by strings; cocks and
hens were carried in men's arms; and little pages, with rope-turbans,
rushed about, conveying messages, as if their lives depended on their
swiftness, every one holding his skin-cloak tightly round him lest his
naked legs might by accident be shown.
This, then, was the ante-reception court; and I might have taken
possession of the hut, in which musicians were playing and singing
on large nine-stringed harps, like the Nubian tambira, accompanied by
harmonicons. By the chief officers in waiting, however, who thought fit
to treat us like Arab merchants, I was requested to sit on the ground
outside in the sun with my servants. Now, I had made up my mind never to
sit upon the ground as the natives and Arabs are obliged to do, nor
to make my obeisance in any other manner than is customary in England,
though the Arabs had told me that from fear they had always complied
with the manners of the court. I felt that if I did not stand up for my
social position at once, I should be treated with contempt during the
remainder of my visit, and thus lose the vantage-ground I had assumed
of appearing rather as a prince than a trader, for the purpose of
better gaining the confidence of the king. To avert over-hastiness,
however--for my servants began to be alarmed as I demurred against doing
as I was bid--I allowed five minutes to the court to give me a proper
reception, saying, if it were not conceded I would then walk away.
Nothing, however, was done. My own men, knowing me, feared for me, as
they did not know what a "savage" king would do in case I carried out my
threat; whilst the Waganda, lost in amazement at what seemed little less
than blasphemy, stood still as posts. The affair ended by my walking
straight away home, giving Bombay orders to leave the present on the
ground, and to follow me.
Although the king is said to be unapproachable, excepting when he
chooses to attend court--a ceremony which rarely happens--intelligence
of my hot wrath and hasty departure reached him in an instant. He first,
it seems, thought of leaving his toilet-room to follow me, but, finding
I was walking fast, and had gone far, changed his mind, and sent Wakungu
running after me. Poor creatures! they caught me up, fell upon their
knees, and implored I would return at once, for the king had not tasted
food, and would not until he saw me. I felt grieved at their touching
appeals; but, as I did not understand all they said, I simply replied
by patting my heart and shaking my head, walking if anything all the
faster.
On my arrival at my hut, Bombay and others came in, wet through with
perspiration, saying the king had heard of all my grievances. Suwarora's
hongo was turned out of court, and, if I desired it, I might bring
my own chair with me, for he was very anxious to show me great
respect--although such a seat was exclusively the attribute of the king,
no one else in Uganda daring to sit on an artificial seat.
My point was gained, so I cooled myself with coffee and a pipe, and
returned rejoicing in my victory, especially over Suwarora. After
returning to the second tier of huts from which I had retired, everybody
appeared to be in a hurried, confused state of excitement, not knowing
what to make out of so unprecedented an exhibition of temper. In the
most polite manner, the officers in waiting begged me to be seated on
my iron stool, which I had brought with me, whilst others hurried in to
announce my arrival. But for a few minutes only I was kept in suspense,
when a band of music, the musicians wearing on their backs long-haired
goat-skins, passed me, dancing as they went along, like bears in a fair,
and playing on reed instruments worked over with pretty beads in various
patters, from which depended leopard-cat skins--the time being regulated
by the beating of long hand-drums.
The mighty king was now reported to be sitting on his throne in the
statehut of the third tier. I advanced, hat in hand, with my guard
of honour following, formed in "open ranks," who in their turn were
followed by the bearers carrying the present. I did not walk straight up
to him as if to shake hands, but went outside the ranks of a three-sided
square of squatting Wakungu, all inhabited in skins, mostly cow-skins;
some few of whom had, in addition, leopard-cat skins girt round the
waist, the sign of royal blood. Here I was desired to halt and sit in
the glaring sun; so I donned my hat, mounted my umbrella, a phenomenon
which set them all a-wondering and laughing, ordered the guard to close
ranks, and sat gazing at the novel spectacle! A more theatrical sight
I never saw. The king, a good-looking, well-figured, tall young man of
twenty-five, was sitting on a red blanket spread upon a square platform
of royal grass, encased in tiger-grass reeds, scrupulously well dressed
in a new mbugu. The hair of his head was cut short, excepting on the
top, where it was combed up into a high ridge, running from stem to
stern like a cockscomb. On his neck was a very neat ornament--a large
ring, of beautifully-worked small beads, forming elegant patterns by
their various colours. On one arm was another bead ornament, prettily
devised; and on the other a wooden charm, tied by a string covered with
snakeskin. On every finger and every toe, he had alternate brass and
copper rings; and above the ankles, halfway up to the calf, a stocking
of very pretty beads. Everything was light, neat, and elegant in its
way; not a fault could be found with the taste of his "getting up."
For a handkerchief he held a well-folded piece of bark, and a piece of
gold-embroidered silk, which he constantly employed to hide his large
mouth when laughing, or to wipe it after a drink of plantain-wine, of
which he took constant and copious draughts from neat little gourd-cups,
administered by his ladies-in-waiting, who were at once his sisters
and wives. A white dog, spear, shield, and woman--the Uganda
cognisance--were by his side, as also a knot of staff officers, with
whom he kept up a brisk conversation on one side; and on the other was a
band of Wichezi, or lady-sorcerers, such as I have already described.
I was now asked to draw nearer within the hollow square of squatters,
where leopard-skins were strewed upon the ground, and a large copper
kettledrum, surmounted with brass bells on arching wires, along with
two other smaller drums covered with cowrie-shells, and beads of colour
worked into patterns, were placed. I now longed to open conversation,
but knew not the language, and no one near me dared speak, or even lift
his head from fear of being accused of eyeing the women; so the king
and myself sat staring at one another for full an hour--I mute, but he
pointing and remarking with those around him on the novelty of my guard
and general appearance, and even requiring to see my hat lifted, the
umbrella shut and opened, and the guards face about and show off their
red cloaks--for such wonders had never been seen in Uganda.
Then, finding the day waning, he sent Maula on an embassy to ask me if I
had seen him; and on receiving my reply, "Yes, for full one hour," I
was glad to find him rise, spear in hand, lead his dog, and walk
unceremoniously away through the enclosure into the fourth tier of huts;
for this being a pure levee day, no business was transacted. The king's
gait in retiring was intended to be very majestic, but did not succeed
in conveying to me that impression. It was the traditional walk of his
race, founded on the step of the lion; but the outward sweep of the
legs, intended to represent the stride of the noble beast, appeared to
me only to realise a very ludicrous kind of waddle, which made me ask
Bombay if anything serious was the matter with the royal person.
I had now to wait for some time, almost as an act of humanity; for I was
told the state secret, that the king had retired to break his fast and
eat for the first time since hearing of my arrival; but the repast was
no sooner over than he prepared for the second act, to show off his
splendour, and I was invited in, with all my men, to the exclusion of
all his own officers save my two guides. Entering as before, I found him
standing on a red blanket, leaning against the right portal of the hut,
talking and laughing, handkerchief in hand, to a hundred or more of his
admiring wives, who, all squatting on the ground outside, in two groups,
were dressed in mew mbugus. My men dared not advance upright, nor look
upon the women, but, stooping, with lowered heads and averted eyes, came
cringing after me. Unconscious myself, I gave loud and impatient orders
to my guard, rebuking them for moving like frightened geese, and, with
hat in hand, stood gazing on the fair sex till directed to sit and cap.
Mtesa then inquired what messages were brought from Rumanika; to which
Maula, delighted with the favour of speaking to royalty, replied by
saying, Rumanika had gained intelligence of Englishmen coming up the
Nile to Gani and Kidi. The king acknowledged the truthfulness of their
story, saying he had heard the same himself; and both Wakungu, as is
the custom in Uganda, thanked their lord in a very enthusiastic manner,
kneeling on the ground--for no one can stand in the presence of his
majesty--in an attitude of prayer, and throwing out their hands as they
repeated the words N'yanzig, N'yanzig, ai N'yanzig Mkahma wangi, etc.,
etc., for a considerable time; when, thinking they had done enough of
this, and heated with the exertion, they threw themselves flat upon
their stomachs, and, floundering about like fish on land, repeated the
same words over again and again, and rose doing the same, with their
faces covered with earth; for majesty in Uganda is never satisfied
till subjects have grovelled before it like the most abject worms. This
conversation over, after gazing at me, and chatting with his women for
a considerable time, the second scene ended. The third scene was more
easily arranged, for the day was fast declining. He simply moved his
train of women to another hut, where, after seating himself upon his
throne, with his women around him, he invited me to approach the nearest
limits of propriety, and to sit as before. Again he asked me if I had
seen him--evidently desirous of indulging in his regal pride; so I made
the most of the opportunity thus afforded me of opening a conversation
by telling him of those grand reports I had formerly heard about him,
which induced me to come all his way to see him, and the trouble it had
cost me to reach the object of my desire; at the same time taking a gold
ring from off my finger, and presenting it to him, I said, "This is a
small token of friendship; if you will inspect it, it is made after
the fashion of a dog-collar, and, being the king of metals, gold, is in
every respect appropriate to your illustrious race."
He said, in return, "If friendship is your desire, what would you say
if I showed you a road by which you might reach your home in one month?"
Now everything had to be told to Bombay, then to Nasib, my Kiganda
interpreter, and then to either Maula or N'yamgundu, before it was
delivered to the king, for it was considered indecorous to transmit
any message to his majesty excepting through the medium of one of his
officers. Hence I could not get an answer put in; for as all Waganda are
rapid and impetuous in their conversation, the king, probably forgetting
he had put a question, hastily changed the conversation and said, "What
guns have you got? Let me see the one you shoot with." I wished still
to answer the first question first, as I knew he referred to the direct
line to Zanzibar across the Masai, and was anxious, without delay, to
open the subject of Petherick and Grant; but no one dared to deliver
my statement. Much disappointed, I then said, "I had brought the best
shooting-gun in the world--Whitworth's rifle--which I begged he would
accept, with a few other trifles; and, with his permission, I would
lay them upon a carpet at his feet, as is the custom of my country when
visiting sultans." He assented, sent all his women away, and had an
mbugu spread for the purpose, on which Bombay, obeying my order, first
spread a red blanket, and then opened each article one after the other,
when Nasib, according to the usage already mentioned, smoothed them down
with his dirty hands, or rubbed them against his sooty face, and handed
them to the king to show there was no poison or witchcraft in them.
Mtesa appeared quite confused with the various wonders as he handled
them, made silly remarks, and pondered over them like a perfect child,
until it was quite dark. Torches were then lit, and guns, pistols,
powder, boxes, tools, beads--the whole collection, in short--were tossed
together topsy-turvy, bundled into mbugus, and carried away by
the pages. Mtesa now said, "It is late, and time to break up; what
provisions would you wish to have?" I said, "A little of everything,
but no one thing constantly." "And would you like to see me to-morrow?"
"Yes, every day." "Then you can't to-morrow, for I have business; but
the next day come if you like. You can now go away, and here are six
pots of plantain-wine for you; my men will search for food to-morrow."
21st.--In the morning, whilst it rained, some pages drove in twenty cows
and ten goats, with a polite metaphorical message from their king, to
the effect that I had pleased him much, and he hoped I would accept
these few "chickens" until he could send more,--when both Maula and
N'yamgundu, charmed with their success in having brought a welcome guest
to Uganda, never ceased showering eulogiums on me for my fortune in
having gained the countenance of their king. The rain falling was
considered at court a good omen, and everybody declared the king mad
with delight. Wishing to have a talk with him about Petherick and Grant,
I at once started off the Wakungu to thank him for the present, and
to beg pardon for my apparent rudeness of yesterday, at the same time
requesting I might have an early interview with his majesty, as I had
much of importance to communicate; but the solemn court formalities
which these African kings affect as much as Oriental emperors, precluded
my message from reaching the king. I heard, however, that he had spent
the day receiving Suwarora's hongo of wire, and that the officer who
brought them was made to sit in an empty court, whilst the king sat
behind a screen, never deigning to show his majestic person. I was told,
too, that he opened conversation by demanding to know how it happened
that Suwarora became possessed of the wires, for they were made by
the white men to be given to himself, and Suwarora must therefore have
robbed me of them; and it was by such practices he, Mtesa, never could
see any visitors. The officer's reply was, Suwarora would not show the
white men any respect, because they were wizards would did not sleep in
houses at night, but flew up to the tops of hills, and practised sorcery
of every abominable kind. The king to this retorted, in a truly African
fashion, "That's a lie; I can see no harm in this white man; and if
he had been a bad man, Rumanika would not have sent him on to me." At
night, when in bed, the king sent his pages to say, if I desired his
friendship I would lend him one musket to make up six with what I had
given him, for he intended visiting his relations the following morning.
I sent three, feeling that nothing would be lost by being "open-handed."
22d.--To-day the king went the round of his relations, showing the
beautiful things given him by the white man--a clear proof that he was
much favoured by the "spirits," for neither his father nor any of his
forefathers had been so recognised and distinguished by any "sign" as
a rightful inheritor to the Uganda throne: an anti-Christian
interpretation of omens, as rife in these dark regions now as it was
in the time of King Nebuchadnezzar. At midnight the three muskets were
returned, and I was so pleased with the young king's promptitude and
honesty, I begged he would accept them.
23d.--At noon Mtesa sent his pages to invite me to his palace. I went,
with my guard of honour and my stool, but found I had to sit waiting
in an ante-hut three hours with his commander-in-chief and other
high officers before he was ready to see me. During this time Wasoga
minstrels, playing on tambira, and accompanied by boys playing on a
harmonicon, kept us amused; and a small page, with a large bundle of
grass, came to me and said, "The king hopes you won't be offended if
required to sit on it before him; for no person in Uganda, however high
in office, is ever allowed to sit upon anything raised above the ground,
nor can anybody but himself sit upon such grass as this; it is all that
his throne is made of. The first day he only allowed you to sit on your
stool to appease your wrath."
On consenting to do in "Rome as the Romans do," when my position was so
handsomely acknowledged, I was called in, and found the court sitting
much as it was on the first day's interview, only that the number of
squatting Wakungu was much diminished; and the king, instead of wearing
his ten brass and copper rings, had my gold one on his third finger.
This day, however, was cut out for business, as, in addition to
the assemblage of officers, there were women, cows, goats, fowls,
confiscations, baskets of fish, baskets of small antelopes, porcupines,
and curious rats caught by his gamekeepers, bundles of mbugu, etc.,
etc., made by his linen-drapers, coloured earths and sticks by his
magician, all ready for presentation; but, as rain fell, the court
broke up, and I had nothing for it but to walk about under my umbrella,
indulging in angry reflections against the haughty king for not inviting
me into his hut.
When the rain had ceased, and we were again called in, he was found
sitting in state as before, but this time with the head of a black bull
placed before him, one horn of which, knocked off, was placed alongside,
whilst four living cows walked about the court.
I was now requested to shoot the four cows as quickly as possible; but
having no bullets for my gun, I borrowed the revolving pistol I had
given him, and shot all four in a second of time; but as the last one,
only wounded, turned sharply upon me, I gave him the fifth and settled
him. Great applause followed this wonderful feat, and the cows were
given to my men. The king now loaded one of the carbines I had given him
with his own hands, and giving it full-cock to a page, told him to go
out and shoot a man in the outer court; which was no sooner accomplished
than the little urchin returned to announce his success, with a look of
glee such as one would see in the face of a boy who had robbed a bird's
nest, caught a trout, or done any other boyish trick. The king said to
him, "And did you do it well?" "Oh, yes, capitally." He spoke the truth,
no doubt, for he dared not have trifled with the king; but the affair
created hardly any interest. I never heard, and there appeared no
curiosity to know, what individual human being the urchin had deprived
of life.
The Wakungu were not dismissed, and I asked to draw near, when the king
showed me a book I had given to Rumanika, and begged for the inspiring
medicine which he had before applied for through the mystic stick. The
day was now gone, so torches were lit, and we were ordered to go, though
as yet I had not been able to speak one word I wished to impart about
Petherick and Grant; for my interpreters were so afraid of the king they
dared not open their mouths until they were spoken to. The king was
now rising to go, when, in great fear and anxiety that the day would be
lost, I said, in Kisuahili, "I wish you would send a letter by post
to Grant, and also send a boat up the Kitangule, as far as Rumanika's
palace, for him, for he is totally unable to walk." I thus attracted his
notice, though he did not understand one word I uttered. The result was,
that he waited for the interpretation, and replied that a post would
be no use, for no one would be responsible for the safe delivery of the
message; he would send N'yamgundu to fetch him, but he thought Rumanika
would not consent to his sending boats up the Kitangule as far as the
Little Windermere; and then, turning round with true Mganda impetuosity,
he walked away without taking a word from me in exchange.
24th.--Early this morning the pages came to say Mtesa desired I would
send him three of my Wanguaga to shoot cows before him. This was just
what I wanted. It had struck me that personal conferences with me so
roused the excitable king, that there was no bringing plain matters of
business home to him; so, detaching seven men with Bombay, I told him,
before shooting, to be sure and elicit the matter I wanted--which was,
to excite the king's cupidity by telling him I had a boat full of stores
with two white men at Gani, whom I wished to call to me if he would
furnish some guides to accompany my men; and further, as Grant could not
walk, I wished boats sent for him, at least as far as the ferry on the
Kitangule, to which place Rumanika, at any rate, would slip him down in
canoes. At once, on arriving, Mtesa admitted the men, and ordered them
to shoot at some cows; but Bombay, obeying my orders to first have
his talk out, said, No--before he could shoot he must obey master and
deliver his message; which no sooner was told than the king, in a hurry,
excited by the prospects of sport, impatiently said, "Very good; I will
send men either by water or overland through Kidi, [19] just as your
master likes; only some of his men had better go with mine: but now
shoot cows, shoot cows; for I want to see how the Waguana shoot." They
shot seven, and all were given to them when they were dismissed. In the
evening the pages came to ask me if I would like to shoot kites in
the palace with their king; but I declined shooting anything less than
elephants, rhinoceros, or buffaloes; and even for these I would not go
out unless the king went with me;--a dodge I conceived would tend
more than any other to bring us together, and so break through those
ceremonial restraints of the court, which at present were stopping all
pans of progression.
25th.--The king invited me to shoot with him--really buffaloes--close to
the palace; but as the pages had been sent off in a hurry, without being
fully instructed, I declined, on the plea that I had always been gulled
and kept waiting or treated with incivility, for hours before I obtained
an interview; and as I did not wish to have any more ruptures in the
palace, I proposed Bombay should go to make proper arrangements for my
reception on the morrow--as anyhow, at present I felt indisposed. The
pages dreaded their master's wrath, departed for a while, and then sent
another lad to tell me he was sorry to hear I felt unwell, but he hoped
I would come if only for a minute, bringing my medicines with me, for
he himself felt pain. That this second message was a forged one I had no
doubt, for the boys had not been long enough gone; still, I packed up my
medicines and went, leaving the onus, should any accident happen, upon
the mischievous story-bearers.
As I anticipated, on arrival at the palace I found the king was not
ready to receive me, and the pages desired me to sit with the officers
in waiting until he might appear. I found it necessary to fly at once
into a rage, called the pages a set of deceiving young blackguards,
turned upon my heel, and walked straight back through the courts,
intending to leave the palace. Everybody was alarmed; information of my
retreat at once reached the king, and he sent his Wakungu to prevent my
egress. These officers passed me, as I was walking hurriedly along under
my umbrella, in the last court, and shut the entrance-gate in front of
me. This was too much, so I stamped, and, pointing my finger, swore in
every language I knew, that if they did not open the gate again, as they
had shut it at once, and that, too, before my face, I would never leave
the spot I stood upon alive. Terror-stricken, the Wakungu fell on their
knees before me, doing as they were bid; and, to please them, I returned
at once, and went up to the king, who, now sitting on his throne, asked
the officers how they had managed to entice me back; to which they all
replied in a breath, n'yanzigging heartily, "Oh, we were so afraid--he
was so terrible! but he turned at once as soon as we opened the gate."
"How? what gate? tell us all about it." And when the whole story was
fully narrated, the matter was thought a good joke. After pausing a
little, I asked the king what ailed him, for I was sorry to hear he had
been sick; but instead of replying, he shook his head, as much as to
say, I had put a very uncouth question to his majesty--and ordered some
men to shoot cows.
Instead of admiring this childish pastime, which in Uganda is considered
royal sport, I rather looked disdainful, until, apparently disappointed
at my indifference, he asked what the box I had brought contained. On
being told it was the medicine he desired, he asked me to draw near, and
sent his courtiers away. When only the interpreters and one confidential
officer were left, besides myself, he wished to know if I could apply
the medicine without its touching the afflicted part. To give him
confidence in my surgical skill, I moved my finger, and asked him if he
knew what gave it action; and on his replying in the negative, I have
him an anatomical lecture, which so pleased him, he at once consented to
be operated on, and I applied a blister accordingly. The whole operation
was rather ridiculous; for the blister, after being applied, had to be
rubbed in turn on the hands and faces of both Bombay and Nasib, to show
there was no evil spirit in the "doctor." Now, thought I to myself,
is the right time for business; for I had the king all to myself, then
considered a most fortunate occurrence in Uganda, where every man courts
the favour of a word with his king, and adores him as a deity, and he in
turn makes himself as distance as he can, to give greater effect to his
exalted position. The matter, however, was merely deferred: for I no
sooner told him my plans for communicating quickly with Petherick and
Grant, than, after saying he desired their coming even more than myself,
he promised to arrange everything on the morrow.
26th.--In the morning, as agreed, I called on the king, and found the
blister had drawn nicely; so I let off the water, which Bombay called
the malady, and so delighted the king amazingly. A basket of fruit, like
Indian loquots, was then ordered in, and we ate them together, holding a
discussion about Grant and Petherick, which ended by the king promising
to send an officer by water to Kitangule, and another with two of my
men, via Usoga and Kidi, to Gani; but as it was necessary my men should
go in disguise, I asked the king to send me four mbugu and two spears;
when, with the liberality of a great king, he sent me twenty sheets of
the former, four spears, and a load of sun-dried fish strung on a stick
in shape of a shield.
27th.--At last something was done. One Uganda officer and one Kidi
guide were sent to my hut by the king, as agreed upon yesterday, when
I detached Mabruki and Bilal from my men, gave them letters and maps
addressed to Petherick; and giving the officers a load of Mtende to
pay their hotel bills on the way, I gave them, at the same time, strict
orders to keep by the Nile; then, having dismissed them, I called on the
king to make arrangements for Grant, and to complain that my residence
in Uganda was anything but cheerful, as my hut was a mile from the
palace, in an unhealthy place, where he kept his Arab visitors. It did
not become my dignity to live in houses appropriated to persons in the
rank of servants, which I considered the ivory merchants to be; and as
I had come only to see him and the high officers of Uganda, not seeking
for ivory or slaves, I begged he would change my place of residence to
the west end, when I also trusted his officers would not be ashamed
to visit me, as appeared to be the case at present. Silence being the
provoking resort of the king, when he did not know exactly what to say,
he made no answer to my appeal, but instead, he began a discourse on
geography, and then desired me to call upon his mother, N'yamasore, at
her palace Masorisori, vulgarly called Soli Soli, for she also required
medicine; and, moreover, I was cautioned that for the future the
Uganda court etiquette required I should attend on the king two days in
succession, and every third day on his mother the queen-dowager, as such
were their respective rights.
Till now, owing to the strict laws of the country, I had not been able
to call upon anybody but the king himself. I had not been able to send
presents or bribes to any one, nor had any one, except the cockaded
pages, by the king's order, visited me; neither was anybody permitted
to sell me provisions, so that my men had to feed themselves by taking
anything they chose from certain gardens pointed out by the king's
officers, or by seizing pombe or plantains which they might find Waganda
carrying towards the palace. This non-interventive order was part of the
royal policy, in order that the king might have the full fleecing of his
visitors.
To call upon the queen-mother respectfully, as it was the opening visit,
I too, besides the medicine-chest, a present of eight brass and copper
wire, thirty blue-egg beads, one bundle of diminutive beads, and sixteen
cubits of chintz, a small guard, and my throne of royal grass. The
palace to be visited lay half a mile beyond the king's, but the highroad
to it was forbidden me, as it is considered uncourteous to pass the
king's gate without going in. So after winding through back-gardens, the
slums of Bandowaroga, I struck upon the highroad close to her majesty's,
where everything looked like the royal palace on a miniature scale. A
large cleared space divided the queen's residence from her Kamraviona's.
The outer enclosures and courts were fenced with tiger-grass; and the
huts, though neither so numerous nor so large, were constructed after
the same fashion as the king's. Guards also kept the doors, on which
large bells were hung to give alarm, and officers in waiting watched
the throne-rooms. All the huts were full of women, save those kept as
waiting-rooms; where drums and harmonicons were played for amusement. On
first entering, I was required to sit in a waiting-hut till my arrival
was announced; but that did not take long, as the queen was prepared to
receive me; and being of a more affable disposition than her son, she
held rather a levee of amusement than a stiff court of show. I entered
the throne-hut as the gate of that court was thrown open, with my hat
off, but umbrella held over my head, and walked straight towards her
till ordered to sit upon my bundle of grass.
Her majesty--fat, fair, and forty-five--was sitting, plainly garbed in
mbugu, upon a carpet spread upon the ground within a curtain of mbugu,
her elbow resting on a pillow of the same bark material; the only
ornaments on her person being an abrus necklace, and a piece of mbugu
tied round her head, whilst a folding looking-glass, much the worse for
wear, stood open by her side. An iron rod like a spit, with a cup on
the top, charged with magic powder, and other magic wands, were placed
before the entrance; and within the room, four Mabandwa sorceresses or
devil-drivers, fantastically dressed, as before described, and a mass of
other women, formed the company. For a short while we sat at a distance,
exchanging inquiring glances at one another, when the women were
dismissed, and a band of music, with a court full of Wakungu, was
ordered in to change the scene. I also got orders to draw near and sit
fronting her within the hut. Pombe, the best in Uganda, was then drunk
by the queen, and handed to me and to all the high officers about her,
when she smoked her pipe, and bade me smoke mine. The musicians, dressed
in long-haired Usoga goat-skins, were now ordered to strike up, which
they did, with their bodies swaying or dancing like bears in a fair.
Different drums were then beat, and I was asked if I could distinguish
their different tones.
The queen, full of mirth, now suddenly rose, leaving me sitting, whilst
she went to another hut, changed her mbugu for a deole, and came back
again for us to admire her, which was no sooner done to her heart's
content, than a second time, by her order, the court was cleared, and,
when only three or four confidential Wakungu were left, she took up a
small faggot of well-trimmed sticks, and, selecting three, told me she
had three complains. "This stick," she says, "represents my stomach,
which gives me much uneasiness; this second stick my liver, which causes
shooting pains all over my body; and this third one my heart, for I get
constant dreams at night about Sunna, my late husband, and they are not
pleasant." The dreams and sleeplessness I told her was a common widow's
complaint, and could only be cured by her majesty making up her mind
to marry a second time; but before I could advise for the bodily
complaints, it would be necessary for me to see her tongue, feel her
pulse, and perhaps, also, her sides. Hearing this, the Wakungu said,
"Oh, that can never be allowed without the sanction of the king"; but
the queen, rising in her seat, expressed her scorn at the idea to taking
advice from a mere stripling, and submitted herself for examination.
I then took out two pills, the powder of which was tasted by the Wakungu
to prove that there was no devilry in "the doctor," and gave orders for
them to be eaten at night, restricting her pombe and food until I saw
her again. My game was now advancing, for I found through her I should
get the key to an influence that might bear on the king, and was much
pleased to hear her express herself delighted with me for everything I
had done except stopping her grog, which, naturally enough in this great
pombe-drinking country, she said would be a very trying abstinence.
The doctoring over, her majesty expressed herself ready to inspect
the honorarium I had brought for her, and the articles were no sooner
presented by Bombay and Nasib, with the usual formalities of stroking to
insure their purity, than she, boiling with pleasure, showed them all to
her officers, who declared, with a voice of most exquisite triumph,
that she was indeed the most favoured of queens. Then, in excellent good
taste, after saying that nobody had ever given her such treasures, she
gave me, in return, a beautifully-worked pombe sucking-pipe, which was
acknowledged by every one to be the greatest honour she could pay me.
Not satisfied with this, she made me select, though against my desire,
a number of sambo, called here gundu, rings of giraffe hair wound round
with thin iron or copper wire, and worn as anklets; and crowned with
all sundry pots of pombe, a cow, and a bundle of dried fish, of the
description given in the woodcut, called by my men Samaki Kambari. This
business over, she begged me to show her my picture-books, and was so
amused with them that she ordered her sorceresses and all the other
women in again to inspect them with her. Then began a warm and
complimentary conversation, which ended by an inspection of my rings and
all the contents of my pockets, as well as of my watch, which she called
Lubari--a term equivalent to a place of worship, the object of worship
itself, or the iron horn or magic pan. Still she said I had not yet
satisfied her; I must return again two days hence, for she like me
much--excessively--she could not say how much; but now the day was gone,
I might go. With this queer kind of adieu she rose and walked away,
leaving me with my servants to carry the royal present home.
28th.--My whole thoughts were now occupied in devising some scheme to
obtain a hut in the palace, not only the better to maintain my dignity,
and so gain superior influence in the court, but also that I might have
a better insight into the manners and customs of these strange people. I
was not sorry to find the king attempting to draw me to court, daily
to sit in attendance on him as his officers were obliged to do all day
long, in order that he might always have a full court or escort whenever
by chance he might emerge from his palace, for it gave me an opening for
asserting my proper position.
Instead, therefore, of going at the call of his pages this morning I
sent Bombay with some men to say that although I was desirous of
seeing him daily, I could not so expose myself to the sun. In all other
countries I received, as my right, a palace to live in when I called
on the king of my country, and unless he gave one now I should feel
slighted; moreover, I should like a hut in the same enclosure as
himself, when I could sit and converse with him constantly, and teach
him the use of the things I had given him. By Bombay's account, the king
was much struck with the force of my humble request, and replied that he
should like to have Bana, meaning myself, ever by his side, but his
huts were all full of women, and therefore it could not be managed; if,
however, Bana would but have patience for a while, a hut should be built
for him in the environs, which would be a mark of distinction he
had never paid to any visitor before. Then changing the subject by
inspecting my men, he fell so much in love with their little red "fez"
caps, that he sent off his pages to beg me for a specimen, and, on
finding them sent by the boys, he remarked, with warm approbation, how
generous I was in supplying his wishes, and then, turning to Bombay,
wished to know what sort of return-presents would please me best.
Bombay, already primed, instantly said, "Oh, Bana, being a great man in
his own country, and not thirsting for gain in ivory or slaves, would
only accept such things as a spear, shield, or drum, which he could take
to his own country as a specimen of the manufactures of Uganda, and a
pleasing recollection of his visit to the king."
"Ah," says Mtesa, "if that is all he wants, then indeed will I satisfy
him, for I will give him the two spears with which I took all this
country, and, when engaged in so doing, pierced three men with one stab.
"But, for the present, is it true what I have heard, that Bana would
like to go out with me shooting?" "Oh yes, he is a most wonderful
sportsman--shoots elephants and buffaloes, and birds on the wing. He
would like to go out on a shooting excursion and teach you the way."
Then turning the subject, in the highest good-humour the king made
centurions of N'yamgundu and Maula, my two Wakungu, for their good
service, he said, in bringing him such a valuable guest. This delighted
them so much that as soon as they could they came back to my camp, threw
themselves at my feet, and n'yanzigging incessantly, narrated their
fortunes, and begged, as a great man, I would lend them some cows to
present to the king as an acknowledgement for the favour he had shown
them. The cows, I then told them, had come from the king, and could not
go back again, for it was not the habit of white men to part with their
presents; but as I felt their promotion redounded on myself, and was
certainly the highest compliment their king could have paid me, I would
give them each a wire to make their salaam good.
This was enough; both officers got drunk, and, beating their drums,
serenaded the camp until the evening set in, when, to my utter
surprise, an elderly Mganda woman was brought into camp with the
commander-in-chief's metaphorical compliments, hoping I would accept her
"to carry my water"; with this trifling addition, that in case I did not
think her pretty enough, he hoped I would not hesitate to select which I
liked from ten others, of "all colours," Wahuma included, who, for that
purpose, were then waiting in his palace.
Unprepared for this social addition in my camp, I must now confess I
felt in a fix, knowing full well that nothing so offends as rejecting
an offer at once, so I kept her for the time being, intending in the
morning to send her back with a string of blue beads on her neck; but
during the night she relieved me of my anxieties by running away, which
Bombay said was no wonder, for she had obviously been seized as part of
some confiscated estate, and without doubt knew where to find some of
her friends.
To-day, for the first time since I have been here, I received a quantity
of plantains. This was in consequence of my complaining that the king's
orders to my men to feed themselves at others' expense was virtually
making them a pack of thieves.
1st.--I received a letter from Grant, dated 10th February, reporting
Baraka's departure for Unyoro on the 30th January, escorted by Kamrasi's
men on their return, and a large party of Rumanika's bearing presents
as a letter from their king; whilst Grant himself hoped to leave Karague
before the end of the month. I then sent Bombay to see the queen, to
ask after her health, beg for a hut in the palace enclosures, and say
I should have gone myself, only I feared her gate might be shut, and I
cannot go backwards and forwards so far in the sun without a horse or an
elephant to ride upon. She begged I would come next morning. A wonderful
report came that the king put two tops of powder into his Whitworth
rifle to shoot a cow, and the bullet not only passed through the cow,
but through the court fence, then through the centre of a woman, and,
after passing the outer fence, flew whizzing along no one knew where.
2d.--Calling on the queen early, she admitted me at once, scolding me
severely for not having come or sent my men to see her after she had
taken the pills. She said they did her no good, and prevailed on me to
give her another prescription. Then sending her servant for a bag full
of drinking-gourds, she made me select six of the best, and begged
for my watch. That, of course, I could not part with; but I took the
opportunity of telling her I did not like my residence; it was not only
far away from everybody, but it was unworthy of my dignity. I came
to Uganda to see the king and queen, because the Arabs said they were
always treated with great respect; but now I could perceive those Arabs
did not know what true respect means. Being poor men, they thought much
of a cow or goat given gratis, and were content to live in any hovels.
Such, I must inform her, was not my case. I could neither sit in the sun
nor live in a poor man's hut. When I rose to leave for breakfast, she
requested me to stop, but I declined, and walked away. I saw, however,
there was something wrong; for Maula, always ordered to be in attendance
when anybody visits, was retained by her order to answer why I would not
stay with her longer. If I wanted food or pombe, there was plenty of it
in her palace, and her cooks were the cleverest in the world; she hoped
I would return to see her in the morning.
3d.--Our cross purposes seemed to increase; for, while I could not get a
satisfactory interview, the king sent for N'yamgundu to ascertain why I
had given him good guns and many pretty things which he did not know
the use of, and yet I would not visit him to explain their several uses.
N'yamgundu told him I lived too far off, and wanted a palace. After this
I walked off to see N'yamasore, taking my blankets, a pillow, and some
cooking-pots to make a day of it, and try to win the affections of the
queen with sixteen cubits bindera, three pints peke, and three pints
mtende beads, which, as Waganda are all fond of figurative language, I
called a trifle for her servants.
I was shown in at once, and found her majesty sitting on an Indian
carpet, dressed in a red linen wrapper with a gold border, and a box,
in shape of a lady's work-box, prettily coloured in divers patters with
minute beads, by her side. Her councillors were in attendance; and
in the yard a band of music, with many minor Wakungu squatting in a
semicircle, completed her levee. Maula on my behalf opened conversation,
in allusion to her yesterday's question, by saying I had applied to
Mtesa for a palace, that I might be near enough both their majesties
to pay them constant visits. She replied, in a good hearty manner, that
indeed was a very proper request, which showed my good sense, and ought
to have been complied with at once; but Mtesa was only a Kijana or
stripling, and as she influenced all the government of the country,
she would have it carried into effect. Compliments were now passed,
my presents given and approved of; and the queen, thinking I must be
hungry, for she wanted to eat herself, requested me to refresh myself in
another hut. I complied, spread my bedding, and ordered in my breakfast;
but as the hut was full of men, I suspended a Scotch plain, and quite
eclipsed her mbugu curtain.
Reports of this magnificence at once flew to the queen, who sent to know
how many more blankets I had in my possession, and whether, if she asked
for one, she would get it. She also desired to see my spoons, fork, and
pipe--an English meerschaum, mounted with silver; so, after breakfast,
I returned to see her, showed her the spoons and forks, and smoked my
pipe, but told her I had no blankets left but what formed my bed. She
appeared very happy and very well, did not say another word about the
blankets, but ordered a pipe for herself, and sat chatting, laughing,
and smoking in concert with me.
I told her I had visited all the four quarters of the globe, and had
seen all colours of people, but wondered where she got her pipe from,
for it was much after the Rumish (Turkish) fashion, with a long stick.
Greatly tickled at the flattery, she said, "We hear men like yourself
come to Amara from the other side, and drive cattle away." "The Gallas,
or Abyssinians, who are tall and fair, like Rumanika," I said, "might do
so, for they live not far off on the other side of Amara, but we
never fight for such paltry objects. If cows fall into our hands
when fighting, we allow our soldiers to eat them, while we take the
government of the country into our hands." She then said, "We hear you
don't like the Unyamuezi route, we will open the Ukori one for you."
"Thank your majesty," said I, in a figurative kind of speech to please
Waganda ears; and turning the advantage of the project on her side, "You
have indeed hit the right nail on the head. I do not like the Unyamuezi
route, as you may imagine when I tell you I have lost so much property
there by mere robbery of the people and their kings. The Waganda do not
see me in a true light; but if they have patience for a year or two,
until the Ukori road is open, and trade between our respective countries
shall commence, they will then see the fruits of my advent; so much so,
that every Mganda will say the first Uganda year dates from the arrival
of the first Mzundu (white) visitor. As one coffee-seed sown brings
forth fruit in plenty, so my coming here may be considered." All
appreciated this speech, saying, "The white man, he even speaks
beautifully! beautifully! beautifully! beautifully!" and, putting their
hands to their mouths, they looked askance at me, nodding their admiring
approval.
The queen and her ministers then plunged into pombe and became
uproarious, laughing with all their might and main. Small bugu cups
were not enough to keep up the excitement of the time, so a large wooden
trough was placed before the queen and filled with liquor. If any was
spilt, the Wakungu instantly fought over it, dabbing their noses on
the ground, or grabbing it with their hands, that not one atom of the
queen's favour might be lost; for everything must be adored that comes
from royalty, whether by design or accident. The queen put her head
to the trough and drank like a pig from it, and was followed by her
ministers. The band, by order, then struck up a tune called the Milele,
playing on a dozen reeds, ornamented with beads and cow-tips, and five
drums, of various tones and sizes, keeping time. The musicians dancing
with zest, were led by four bandmasters, also dancing, but with their
backs turned to the company to show off their long, shaggy, goat-skin
jackets, sometimes upright, at other times bending and on their heels,
like the hornpipe-dancers or western countries.
It was a merry scene, but soon became tiresome; when Bombay, by way of
flattery, and wishing to see what the queen's wardrobe embraced, told
her, Any woman, however ugly, would assume a goodly appearance if
prettily dressed; upon which her gracious majesty immediately rose,
retired to her toilet-hut, and soon returned attired in a common
check cloth, and abrus tiara, a bead necklace, and with a folding
looking-glass, when she sat, as before, and was handed a blown-glass
cup of pombe, with a cork floating on the liquor, and a napkin mbugu
covering the top, by a naked virgin. For her kind condescension in
assuming plain raiment, everybody, of course, n'yanzigged. Next she
ordered her slave girls to bring a large number of sambo (anklets), and
begged me to select the best, for she liked me much. In vain I tried to
refuse them: she had given more than enough for a keepsake before, and I
was not hungry for property; still I had to choose some, or I would give
offence. She then gave me a basket of tobacco, and a nest of hen eggs
for her "son's" breakfast. When this was over, the Mukonderi, another
dancing-tune, with instruments something like clarionets, was ordered;
but it had scarcely been struck up, before a drenching rain, with strong
wind, set in and spoilt the music, though not the playing--for none
dared stop without an order; and the queen, instead of taking pity,
laughed most boisterously over the exercise of her savage power as the
unfortunate musicians were nearly beaten down by the violence of the
weather.
When the rain ceased, her majesty retired a second time to her
toilet-hut, and changed her dress for a puce-coloured wrapper, when I,
ashamed of having robbed her of so many sambo, asked her if she would
allow me to present her with a little English "wool" to hang up instead
of her mbugu curtain on cold days like this. Of course she could not
decline, and a large double scarlet blanket was placed before her. "Oh,
wonder of wonders!" exclaimed all the spectators, holding their mouths
in both hands at a time--such a "pattern" had never been seen here
before. It stretched across the hut, was higher than the men could
reach--indeed it was a perfect marvel; and the man must be a good one
who brought such a treasure as this to Uddu. "And why not say Uganda?"
I asked. "Because all this country is called Uddu. Uganda is personified
by Mtesa; and no one can say he has seen Uganda until he has been
presented to the king."
As I had them all in a good humour now, I complained I did not see
enough of the Waganda--and as every one dressed so remarkably well, I
could not discern the big men from the small; could she not issue some
order by which they might call on me, as they did not dare do so without
instruction, and then I, in turn, would call on them? Hearing this,
she introduced me to her prime minister, chancellor of exchequer,
women-keepers, hangmen, and cooks, as the first nobles in the land, that
I might recognise them again if I met them on the road. All n'yanzigged
for this great condescension, and said they were delighted with their
guest; then producing a strip of common joho to compare it with my
blanket, they asked if I could recognise it. Of course, said I, it is
made in my country, of the same material, only of coarser quality, and
everything of the same sort is made in Uzungu. Then, indeed, said the
whole company, in one voice, we do like you, and your cloth too--but you
most. I modestly bowed my head, and said their friendship was my chief
desire.
This speech also created great hilarity; the queen and councillors all
became uproarious. The queen began to sing, and the councillors to join
in chorus; then all sang and all drank, and drank and sang, till, in
their heated excitement, they turned the palace into a pandemonium;
still there was not noise enough, so the band and drums were called
again, and tomfool--for Uganda, like the old European monarchies, always
keeps a jester--was made to sing in the gruff, hoarse, unnatural voice
which he ever affects to maintain his character, and furnished with
pombe when his throat was dry.
Now all of a sudden, as if a devil had taken possession of the company,
the prime minister with all the courtiers jumped upon their legs, seized
their sticks, for nobody can carry a spear when visiting, swore the
queen had lost her heart to me, and running into the yard, returned,
charging and jabbering at the queen; retreated and returned again, as
if they were going to put an end to her for the guilt of loving me, but
really to show their devotion and true love to her. The queen professed
to take this ceremony with calm indifference, but her face showed that
she enjoyed it. I was not getting very tired of sitting on my low stool,
and begged for leave to depart, but N'yamasore would not hear of it; she
loved me a great deal too much to let me go away at this time of day,
and forthwith ordered in more pombe. The same roystering scene was
repeated; cups were too small, so the trough was employed; and the queen
graced it by drinking, pig-fashion, first, and then handing it round to
the company.
Now, hoping to produce gravity and then to slip away, I asked if my
medicines had given her any relief, that I might give her more to
strengthen her. She said she could not answer that question just yet;
for though the medicine had moved her copiously, as yet she had seen no
snake depart from her. I told her I would give her some strengthening
medicine in the morning: for the present, however, I would take my
leave, as the day was far gone, and the distance home very great; but
though I dragged my body away, my heart would still remain here, for I
loved her much.
This announcement took all by surprise; they looked at me and then at
her, and looked again and laughed, whilst I rose, waved my hat, and
said, "Kua heri, Bibi" (good-bye, madam). On reaching home I found
Maribu, a Mkungu, with a gang of men sent by Mtesa to fetch Grant from
Kitangule by water. He would not take any of my men with him to fetch
the kit from Karague, as Mtesa, he said, had given him orders to find
all the means of transport; so I gave him a letter to Grant, and told
him to look sharp, else Grant would have passed the Kitangule before he
arrived there. "Never mind," says Maribu, "I shall walk to the mouth
of the Katonga, boat it to Sese island, where Mtesa keeps all his large
vessels, and I shall be at Kitangule in a very short time."
4th.--I sent Bombay off to administer quinine to the queen; but the
king's pages, who watched him making for her gateway, hurried up to him,
and turned him back by force. He pleaded earnestly that I would flog
him if he disobeyed my orders, but they would take all the
responsibility--the king had ordered it; and then they, forging a lie,
bade him run back as fast as he could, saying I wanted to see the king,
but could not till his return. In this way poor Bombay returned to me
half-drowned in perspiration. Just then another page hurried in with
orders to bring me to the palace at once, for I had not been there these
four days; and while I was preparing to express the proper amount of
indignation at this unceremonious message, the last impudent page began
rolling like a pig upon my mbugued or carpeted floor, till I stormed and
swore I would turn him out unless he chose to behave more respectfully
before my majesty, for I was no peddling merchant, as he had been
accustomed to see, and would not stand it; moreover, I would not leave
my hut at the summons of the king or anybody else, until I chose to do
so.
This expression of becoming wrath brought every one to a sense of his
duty; and I then told them all I was excessively angry with Mtesa for
turning back my messenger; nobody had ever dared do such a thing before,
and I would never forgive the king until my medicines had been given to
the queen. As for my going to the palace, it was out of the question,
as I had been repeatedly before told the king, unless it pleased him to
give me a fitting residence near himself. In order now that full weight
should be given to my expressions, I sent Bombay with the quinine to
the king, in company with the boys, to give an account of all that had
happened; and further, to say I felt exceedingly distressed I could not
go to see him constantly--that I was ashamed of my domicile--the sun was
hot to walk in; and when I went to the palace, his officers in waiting
always kept me waiting like a servant--a matter hurtful to my honour and
dignity. It now rested with himself to remove these obstacles. Everybody
concerned in this matter left for the palace but Maula, who said he must
stop in camp to look after Bana. Bombay no sooner arrived in the palace,
and saw the king upon his throne, than Mtesa asked him why he came? "By
the instructions of Bana," was his reply--"for Bana cannot walk in the
sun; no white man of the sultan's breed can do so."
Hearing this, the king rose in a huff, without deigning to reply, and
busied himself in another court. Bombay, still sitting, waited for hours
till quite tired, when he sent a boy in to say he had not delivered half
my message; he had brought medicine for the queen, and as yet he had no
reply for Bana. Either with haughty indifference, or else with injured
pride at his not being able to command me at his pleasure, the king sent
word, if medicine is brought for the queen, then let it be taken to her;
and so Bombay walked off to the queen's palace. Arrived there, he sent
in to say he had brought medicine, and waited without a reply till
nightfall, when, tired of his charge, he gave the quinine into
N'yamgundu's hands for delivery, and returned home. Soon after,
however, N'yamgundu also returned to say the queen would not take the
dose to-day, but hoped I would administer it personally in the morning.
Whilst all this vexations business had been going on in court--evidently
dictated by extreme jealousy because I showed, as they all thought, a
preference for the queen--Maula, more than tipsy, brought a Mkungu of
some standing at court before me, contrary to all law--for as yet no
Mganda, save the king's pages, had ever dared enter even the precincts
of my camp. With a scowling, determined, hang-dog-looking countenance,
he walked impudently into my hut, and taking down the pombe-suckers the
queen had given me, showed them with many queer gesticulations, intended
to insinuate there was something between the queen and me. Among his
jokes were, that I must never drink pombe excepting with these sticks;
if I wanted any when I leave Uganda, to show my friends, she would give
me twenty more sticks of that sort if I liked them; and, turning from
verbal to practical jocularity, the dirty fellow took my common sucker
out of the pot, inserted one of the queen's, and sucked at it himself,
when I snatched and threw it away.
Maula's friend, who, I imagined, was a spy, then asked me whom I liked
most--the mother or the son; but, without waiting to hear me, Maula
hastily said, "The mother, the mother of course! he does not care for
Mtesa, and won't go to see him." The friend coaxingly responded, "Oh
no; he likes Mtesa, and will go and see him too; won't you?" I declined,
however, to answer from fear of mistake, as both interpreters were away.
Still the two went on talking to themselves, Maula swearing that I
loved the mother most, whilst the friend said, No, he loves the son, and
asking me with anxious looks, till they found I was not to be caught by
chaff, and then, both tired, walked away--the friend advising me, next
time I went to court, to put on an Arab's gown, as trousers are indecent
in the estimation of every Mganda.
5th.--Alarmed at having got involved in something that looked like court
intrigues, I called up N'yamgundu; told him all that happened yesterday,
both at the two courts and with Maula at home; and begged him to apply
to the king for a meeting of five elders, that a proper understanding
might be arrived at; but instead of doing as I desired, he got into a
terrible fright, calling Maula, and told me if I pressed the matter in
this way men would lose their lives. Meanwhile the cunning blackguard
Maula begged for pardon; said I quite misunderstood his meaning; all he
had said was that I was very fortunate, being in such favour at court,
for the king and queen both equally loved me.
N'yamgundu now got orders to go to Karague overland for Dr K'yengo; but,
dreading to tell me of it, as I had been so kind to him, he forged a
falsehood, said he had leave to visit his home for six days, and begged
for a wire to sacrifice to his church. I gave him what he wanted,
and away he went. I then heard his servants had received orders to
go overland for Grant and K'yengo; so I wrote another note to Grant,
telling him to come sharp, and bring all the property by boat that he
could carry, leaving what he could not behind in charge of Rumanika.
At noon, the plaguy little imps of pages hurried in to order the
attendance of all my men fully armed before the king, as he wished to
seize some refractory officer. I declined this abuse of my arms, and
said I should first go and speak to the king on the subject myself,
ordering the men on no account to go on such an errand; and saying this,
I proceeded towards the palace, leaving instructions for those men who
were not ready to follow. As the court messengers, however, objected to
our going in detachments, I told Bombay to wait for the rest, and hurry
on to overtake me. Whilst lingering on the way, every minute expecting
to see my men, the Wazinza, who had also received orders to seize the
same officer, passed me, going to the place of attack, and, at the
same time, I heard my men firing in a direction exactly opposite to the
palace. I now saw I had been duped, and returned to my hut to see the
issue. The boys had deceived us all. Bombay, tricked on the plea of
their taking him by a short cut to the palace, suddenly found himself
with all the men opposite the fenced gardens that had to be taken--the
establishment of the recusant officer,--and the boys, knowing how eager
all blacks are to loot, said, "Now, then, at the houses; seize all you
can, sparing nothing--men, women, or children, mbugus or cowries,
all alike--for it is the order of the king;" and in an instant my men
surrounded the place, fired their guns, and rushed upon the inmates. One
was speared forcing his way through the fence, but the rest were taken
and brought triumphantly into my camp. It formed a strange sight in the
establishment of an English gentleman, to see my men flushed with the
excitement of their spoils, staggering under loads of mbugu, or leading
children, mothers, goats, and dogs off in triumph to their respective
huts. Bombay alone, of all my men, obeyed my orders, touching nothing;
and when remonstrated with for having lead the men, he said he could not
help it--the boys had deceived him in the same way as they had tricked
me.
It was now necessary that I should take some critical step in African
diplomacy; so, after ordering all the seizures to be given up to Maula
on behalf of the king, and threatening to discharge any of my men who
dared retain one item of the property, I shut the door of my hut to do
penance for two days, giving orders that nobody but my cook Ilmas, not
even Bombay, should come near me; for the king had caused my men to
sin--had disgraced their red cloth--and had inflicted on me a greater
insult than I could bear. I was ashamed to show my face. Just as the
door was closed, other pages from the king brought the Whitworth rifle
to be cleaned, and demanded an admittance; but no one dared approach me,
and they went on their way again.
6th.--I still continued to do penance. Bombay, by my orders, issued
from within, prepared for a visit to the king, to tell him all that had
happened yesterday, and also to ascertain if the orders for sending my
men on a plundering mission had really emanated from himself, when the
bothering pages came again, bringing a gun and knife to be mended. My
door was found shut, so they went to Bombay, asked him to do it, and
told him the king desired to know if I would go shooting with him in the
morning. The reply was, "No; Bana is praying to-day that Mtesa's sins
might be forgiven him for having committed such an injury to him,
sending his soldiers on a mission that did not become them, and without
his sanction too. He is very angry about it, and wished to know if it
was done by the king's orders." The boys said, "Nothing can be done
without the king's orders." After further discussion, Bombay intimated
that I wished the king to send me a party of five elderly officers to
counsel with, and set all disagreeables to rights, or I would not go to
the palace again; but the boys said there were no elderly gentlemen at
court, only boys such as themselves. Bombay now wished to go with them
before the king, to explain matters to him, and to give him all the red
cloths of my men, which I took from them, because they defiled their
uniform when plundering women and children; but the boys said the king
was unapproachable just them, being engaged shooting cows before his
women. He then wished the boys to carry the cloth; but they declined,
saying it was contrary to orders for anybody to handle cloth, and they
could not do it.
Chapter XII. Palace, Uganda--Continued
Continued Diplomatic Difficulties--Negro Chaffing--The King in a
New Costume--Adjutant and Heron Shooting at Court--My
Residence Changed--Scenes at Court--The Kamraviona, or
Commander-in-Chief--Quarrels--Confidential Communications with the
King--Court Executions and Executioners--Another Day with the Queen.
7th.--The farce continued, and how to manage these haughty capricious
blacks puzzled my brains considerably; but I felt that if I did not
stand up now, no one would ever be treated better hereafter. I sent
Nasib to the queen, to explain why I had not been to see her. I desired
to do so, because I admired her wisdom; but before I went I must first
see the king, to provide against any insult being offered to me, such
as befell Bombay when I sent him with medicine. Having despatched him,
I repaired again to the palace. In the antechamber I found a number of
Wakungu, as usual, lounging about on the ground, smoking, chatting,
and drinking pombe, whilst Wasoga amused them singing and playing on
lap-harps, and little boys kept time on the harmonicon.
These Wakungu are naturally patient attendants, being well trained to
the duty; but their very lives depend upon their presenting themselves
at court a certain number of months every year, no matter from what
distant part of the country they have to come. If they failed, their
estates would be confiscated, and their lives taken unless they could
escape. I found a messenger who consented to tell the king of my desire
to see him. He returned to say that the king was sleeping--a palpable
falsehood. In a huff, I walked home to breakfast, leaving my attendants,
Maula and Uledi, behind to make explanations. They saw the king, who
simply asked, "Where is Bana?" And on being told that I came, but went
off again, he said, as I was informed, "That is a lie, for had he come
here to see me he would not have returned"; then rising, he walked away
and left the men to follow me.
I continued ruminating on these absurd entanglements, and the best way
of dealing with them, when lo! to perplex me still more, in ran a bevy
of the royal pages to ask for mtende beads--a whole sack of them; for
the king wished to go with his women on a pilgrimage to the N'yanza.
Thinking myself very lucky to buy the king's ear so cheaply, I sent
Maula as before, adding that I considered my luck very bad, as nobody
here knew my position in society, else they would not treat me as they
did. My proper sphere was the palace, and unless I got a hut there, I
wished to leave the country. My first desire had always been to see the
king; and if he went to the N'yanza, I trusted he would allow me to go
there also. The boys replied, "How can you go with his women? No one
ever is permitted to see them." "Well," said I, "if I cannot go to
the N'yanza with him" (thinking only of the great lake, whereas they
probably meant a pond in the palace enclosures, where Mtesa constantly
frolics with his women), "I wish to go to Usoga and Amara, as far as
the Masai; for I have no companions here but crows and vultures." They
promised to take the message, but its delivery was quite another thing;
for no one can speak at this court till he is spoken to, and a word put
in out of season is a life lost.
On Maula's return, I was told the king would not believe so generous
a man as Bana could have sent him so few beads; he believed most of my
store must have been stolen on the road, and would ask me about that
to-morrow. He intimated that for the future I must fire a gun at the
waiting-hut whenever I entered the palace, so that he might hear of my
arrival, for he had been up that morning, and would have been glad to
see me, only the boys, from fear of entering his cabinet, had forged a
lie, and deprived him of any interview with me, which he had long wished
to get. This ready cordiality was as perplexing as all the rest. Could
it be possible, I thought, I had been fighting with a phantom all this
while, and yet the king had not been able to perceive it? At all events,
now, as the key to his door had been given, I would make good use of it
and watch the result. Meanwhile Nasib returned from the queen-dowager's
palace without having seen her majesty, though he had waited there
patiently the whole day long, for she was engaged in festivities,
incessantly drumming and playing, in consequence of the birth of twins
(Mabassa), which had just taken place in her palace; but he was advised
to return on the morrow.
8th.--After breakfast I walked to the palace, thinking I had gained all
I wanted; entered, and fired guns, expecting an instant admittance;
but, as usual, I was required to sit and wait; the king was expected
immediately. All the Wagungu talked in whispers, and nothing was heard
but the never-ceasing harps and harmonicons. In a little while I felt
tired of the monotony, and wished to hang up a curtain, that I might lie
down in privacy and sleep till the king was ready; but the officers
in waiting forbade this, as contrary to law, and left me the only
alternative of walking up and down the court to kill time, spreading
my umbrella against the powerful rays of the sun. A very little of that
made me fidgety and impetuous, which the Waganda noticed, and, from fear
of the consequences, they began to close the gate to prevent my walking
away. I flew out on them, told Bombay to notice the disrespect, and
shamed them into opening it again. The king immediately, on hearing
of this, sent me pombe to keep me quiet; but as I would not touch it,
saying I was sick at heart, another page rushed out to say the king was
ready to receive me; and, opening a side gate leading into a small open
court without a hut in it, there, to be sure, was his majesty, sitting
on an Arab's donkey run, propped against one page, and encompassed by
four others.
On confronting him, he motioned me to sit, which I did upon my bundle
of grass, and, finding it warm, asked leave to open my umbrella. He was
much struck at the facility with which I could make shade, but wondered
still more at my requiring it. I explained to him that my skin was white
because I lived in a colder country than his, and therefore was much
more sensitive to the heat of the sun than his black skin; adding, at
the same time, if it gave no offence, I would prefer sitting in the
shade of the court fence. He had no objection, and opened conversation
by asking who it was that gave me such offence in taking my guard from
me to seize his Wakungu. The boy who had provoked me was then dragged
in, tied by his neck and hands, when the king asked him by whose orders
he had acted in such a manner, knowing that I objected to it, and
wished to speak to him on the subject first. The poor boy, in a dreadful
fright, said he had acted under the instructions of the Kamraviona:
there was no harm done, for Bana's men were not hurt. "Well, then,"
said the king, "if they were not injured, and you only did as you were
ordered, no fault rests with you; but begone out of my sight, for I
cannot bear to see you, and the Kamraviona shall be taught a lesson not
to meddle with my guests again until I give him authority to do so."
I now hoped, as I had got the king all by himself, and apparently in
a good humour with me, that I might give him a wholesome lesson on the
manners and customs of the English nation, to show how much I felt the
slights I had received since my residence in Uganda; but he never lost
his dignity and fussiness as an Uganda king. My words must pass through
his Mkungu, as well as my interpreter's, before they reached him; and,
as he had no patience, everything was lost till he suddenly asked Maula,
pretending not to know, where my hut was; why everybody said I lived so
far away; and when told, he said, "Oh! that is very far, he must come
nearer." Still I could not say a word, his fussiness and self-importance
overcoming his inquisitiveness.
Rain now fell, and the king retired by one gate, whilst I was shown
out of another, until the shower was over. As soon as the sky was
clear again, we returned to the little court, and this time became more
confidential, as he asked many questions about England--such as, Whether
the Queen knew anything about medicines? Whether she kept a number
of women as he did? and what her palace was like?--which gave me an
opportunity of saying I would like to see his ships, for I heard they
were very numerous--and also his menagerie, said to be full of wonderful
animals. He said the vessels were far off, but he would send for them;
and although he once kept a large number of animals, he killed them all
in practising with his guns. The Whitworth rifle was then brought in for
me to take to pieces and teach him the use of; and then the chronometer.
He then inquired if I would like to go shooting? I said, "Yes, if he
would accompany me--not otherwise." "Hippopotami?" "Yes; there is great
fun in that, for they knock the boats over when they charge from below."
"Can you swim?" "Yes." "So can I. And would you like to shoot buffalo?"
"Yes, if you will go." "At night, then, I will send my keepers to look
out for them. Here is a leopard-car, with white behind its ears, and
a Ndezi porcupine of the short-quilled kind, which my people eat with
great relish; and if you are fond of animals, I will give you any number
of specimens, for my keepers net and bring in live animals of every kind
daily; for the present, you can take this basket of porcupines home for
your dinner." My men n'yanzigged--the king walked away, giving orders
for another officer to follow up the first who went to Ukori, and bring
Petherick quickly--and I went home.
This was to be a day of varied success. When I arrived at my hut I found
a messenger sent by the queen, with a present of a goat, called "fowls
for Bana, my son," and a load of plantains, called potatoes, waiting
for me; so I gave the bearer fundo of mtende beads, and told again the
reasons why I had not been able to call upon the queen, but I hoped
to do so shortly, as the king had promised me a house near at hand. I
doubt, however, whether one word of my message ever reached her. That
she wanted me at her palace was evident by the present, though she was
either too proud or too cautious to say so.
At night I overheard a chat between Sangizo, a Myamuezi, and Ntalo, a
freed man of Zanzibar, very characteristic of their way of chaffing.
Sangizo opened the battle by saying, "Ntalo, who are you?" N. "A Mguana"
(freed man). S. "A Mguana, indeed! then where is your mother?" N. "She
died at Anguja." S. "Your mother died at Anguja! then where is your
father?" N. "He died at Anguja likewise." S. "Well, that is strange; and
where are your brothers and sister?" N. "They all died at Anguja." S.
(then changing the word Anguja for Anguza, says to Ntalo) "I think you
said your mother and father both died at Anguza, did you not?" N. "Yes,
at Anguza." S. "Then you had two mothers and two fathers--one set
died at Anguja, and the other set at Anguza; you are a humbug; I don't
believe you; you are no Mguana, but a slave who has been snatched from
his family, and does not know where any of his family are. Ah! ah!
ah!" And all the men of the camp laugh together at the wretched Ntalo's
defeat; but Ntalo won't be done, so retorts by saying, "Sangizo, you
may laugh at me because I am an orphan, but what are you? you are a
savage--a Mshezi; you come from the Mashenzi, and you wear skins, not
cloths, as men do; so hold your impudent tongue";--and the camp pealed
with merry boisterous laughter again.
9th.--Early in the morning, and whilst I was in bed, the king sent his
pages to request me to visit his royal mother, with some specific for
the itch, with which her majesty was then afflicted. I said I could not
go so far in the sun; I would wait till I received the promised palace
near her. In the meanwhile I prepared to call on him. I observed, in
fact, that I was an object of jealousy between the two courts, and
that, if I acted skilfully and decidedly, I might become master of the
situation, and secure my darling object of a passage northwards. The
boys returned, bringing a pistol to be cleaned, and a message to say
it was no use my thinking of calling on the king--that I must go to the
queen immediately, for she was very ill. So far the queen won the day,
but I did not obtain my new residence, which I considered the first step
to accomplishing the greater object; I therefore put the iron farther in
the fire by saying I was no man's slave, and I should not go until I got
a house in the palace--Bombay could teach the boys the way to clean the
pistol. The perk monkeys, however, turned up their noses at such menial
service, and Uledi was instructed in their stead.
10th.--To surprise the queen, and try another dodge, I called on her
with all my dining things and bedding, to make a day of it, and sleep
the night. She admitted me at once, when I gave her quinine, on the
proviso that I should stop there all day and night to repeat the dose,
and tell her the reason why I did not come before. She affected great
anger at Mtesa having interfered with my servants when coming to see
her--sympathised with me on the distance I had to travel--ordered a hut
to be cleared for me ere night--told me to eat my breakfast in the next
court--and, rising abruptly, walked away. At noon we heard the king
approaching with his drums and rattle-traps, but I still waited on till
5 p.m., when, on summons, I repaired to the throne-hut. Here I heard, in
an adjoining court, the boisterous, explosive laughs of both mother and
son--royal shouts loud enough to be heard a mile off, and inform the
community that their sovereigns were pleased to indulge in hilarity.
Immediately afterwards, the gate between us being thrown open, the
king, like a very child, stood before us, dressed for the first time, in
public, in what Europeans would call clothes. For a cap he wore a Muscat
alfia, on his neck a silk Arab turban, fastened with a ring. Then for
a coat he had an Indian kizbow, and for trousers a yellow woollen doti;
whilst in his hand, in imitation of myself, he kept running his ramrod
backwards and forwards through his fingers. As I advanced and doffed my
hat, the king, smiling, entered the court, followed by a budding damsel
dressed in red bindera, who carried the chair I had presented to him,
and two new spears.
He now took his seat for the first time upon the chair, for I had told
him, at my last interview, that all kings were expected to bring out
some new fashion, or else the world would never make progress; and I was
directed to sit before him on my grass throne. Talking, though I longed
to enter into conversation, was out of the question; for no one dared
speak for me, and I could not talk myself; so we sat and grinned, till
in a few minutes the queen, full of smirks and smiles, joined us, and
sat on a mbugu. I offered the medicine-chest as a seat, but she dared
not take it; in fact, by the constitution of Uganda, no one, however
high in rank, not even his mother, can sit before the king. After sundry
jokes, whilst we were all bursting with laughter at the theatrical
phenomenon, the Wakungu who were present, some twenty in number,
threw themselves in line upon their bellies, and wriggling like fish,
n'yanzigged, n'goned, and demaned, and uttered other wonderful words
of rejoining--as, for instance, "Hai Minange! Hai Mkama wangi!" (O my
chief! O my king!)--whilst they continued floundering, kicking about
their legs, rubbing their faces, and patting their hands upon the
ground, as if the king had performed some act of extraordinary
munificence by showing himself to them in that strange and new
position--a thing quite enough to date a new Uganda era from.
The king, without deigning to look upon his grovelling subjects, said,
"Now, mother, take your medicine"; for he had been called solemnly to
witness the medical treatment she was undergoing at my hands. When
she had swallowed her quinine with a wry face, two very black virgins
appeared on the stage holding up the double red blanket I had given the
queen; for nothing, however trifling, can be kept secret from the king.
The whole court was in raptures. The king signified his approval by
holding his mouth, putting his head on one side, and looking askance
at it. The queen looked at me, then at the blanket and her son in turn;
whilst my men hung down their heads, fearful lest they should be accused
of looking at the ladies of the court; and the Wakungu n'yanzigged
again, as if they could not contain the gratification they felt at the
favour shown them. Nobody had ever brought such wonderful things to
Uganda before, and all loved Bana.
Till now I had expected to vent my wrath on both together for all past
grievances, but this childish, merry, homely scene--the mother holding
up her pride, her son, before the state officers--melted my heart at
once. I laughed as well as they did, and said it pleased me excessively
to see them both so happy together. It was well the king had broken
through the old-fashioned laws of Uganda, by sitting on an iron chair,
and adopting European dresses; for now he was opening a road to cement
his own dominions with my country. I should know what things to send
that would please him. The king listened, but without replying; and
said, at the conclusion, "It is late, now let us move"; and walked away,
preserving famously the lion's gait. The mother also vanished, and I was
led away to a hut outside, prepared for my night's residence. It was a
small, newly-built hut, just large enough for my bed, with a corner for
one servant; so I turned all my men away, save one--ate my dinner, and
hoped to have a quiet cool night of it, when suddenly Maula flounced in
with all his boys, lighting a fire, and they spread their mbugus for the
night. In vain I pleaded I could not stand the suffocation of so many
men, especially of Waganda, who eat raw plantains; and unless they
turned out, I should do so, to benefit by the pure air. Maula said he
had the queen's orders to sleep with Bana, and sleep there he would; so
rather than kick him out, which I felt inclined to do, I smoked my pipe
and drank pombe all night, turning the people out and myself in, in the
morning, to prepare for a small house-fight with the queen.
11th.--Early in the morning, as I expected, she demanded my immediate
attendance; and so the little diplomatic affair I had anticipated came
on. I began the affair by intimating that I am in bed, and have not
breakfasted. So at 10 a.m. another messenger arrives, to say her majesty
is much surprised at my not coming. What can such conduct mean, when she
arranged everything so nicely for me after my own desire, that she might
drink her medicine properly? Still I am not up; but nobody will let me
rest for fear of the queen; so, to while away the time, I order Bombay
to call upon her, give the quinine, and tell her all that has happened;
at which she flies into a towering rage, says she will never touch
medicine administered by any other hands but mine, and will not believe
in one word Bombay says, either about Maula or the hut; for Maula, whose
duty necessarily obliged him to take my servants before her majesty,
had primed her with a lot of falsehoods on the subject; and she had
a fondness for Maula, because he was a clever humbug and exceeding
rogue--and sent Bombay back to fetch me, for nobody had ever dared
disobey her mandates before.
It had now turned noon, and being ready for the visit, I went to see the
queen. Determined to have her turn, she kept me waiting for a long time
before she would show herself; and at last, when she came, she flounced
up to her curtain, lay down in a huff, and vented her wrath, holding her
head very high, and wishing to know how I could expect officers, with
large establishments, to be turned out of their homes merely to give me
room for one night; I ought to have been content with my fare; it was no
fault of Maula's. I tried to explain through Nasib, but she called Nasib
a liar, and listened to Maula who told the lies; then asked for her
medicine; drank it, saying it was a small dose; and walked off in ill
humour as she had come. I now made up my mind to sit till 3 p.m., hoping
to see the queen again, whilst talking with some Kidi officers, who,
contrary to the general law of the country, indulged me with some
discourses on geography, from which I gathered, though their stories
were rather confused, that beyond the Asua river, in the Galla country,
there was another lake which was navigated by the inhabitants in very
large vessels; and somewhere in the same neighbourhood there was an
exceedingly high mountain covered with yellow dust, which the natives
collected, etc., etc.
Time was drawing on, and as the queen would not appear of her own
accord, I sent to request a friendly conversation with her before I
left, endeavouring, as well as I could, to persuade her that the want of
cordiality between us was owing to the mistakes of interpreters, who had
not conveyed to her my profound sentiments of devotion. This brought her
gracious corpulence out all smirks and smiles, preceded by a basket
of potatoes for "Bana, my son." I began conversation with a speech of
courtesy, explaining how I had left my brother Grant and my great friend
Rumanika at Karague--hastening, in compliance with the invitation of the
king, to visit him and herself, with the full hope of making friends in
Uganda; but now I had come, I was greatly disappointed; for I neither
saw half enough of their majesties, nor did any of their officers ever
call upon me to converse and pass away the dreary hours. All seemed
highly pleased, and complimented my speech; while the queen, turning to
her officers, said, "If that is the case, I will send these men to you";
whereupon the officers, highly delighted at the prospect of coming to
see me, and its consequence a present, n'yanzigged until I thought their
hands would drop off. Then her majesty to my thorough annoyance, and
before I had finished half I had to say, rose from her seat, and,
showing her broad stern to the company, walked straight away. The
officers then drew near me, and begged I would sleep there another
night; but as they had nothing better to offer than the hut of last
night, I declined and went my way, begging them to call and make friends
with me.
12th.--Immediately after breakfast the king sent his pages in a great
hurry to say he was waiting on the hill for me, and begged I would bring
all my guns immediately. I prepared, thinking, naturally enough, that
some buffaloes had been marked down; for the boys, as usual, were
perfectly ignorant of his designs. To my surprise, however, when I
mounted the hill half-way to the palace, I found the king standing,
dressed in a rich filagreed waistcoat, trimmed with gold embroidery,
tweedling the loading-rod in his fingers, and an alfia cap on his head,
whilst his pages held his chair and guns, and a number of officers, with
dogs and goats for offerings, squatted before him.
When I arrived, hat in hand, he smiled, examined my firearms, and
proceeded for sport, leading the way to a high tree, on which some
adjutant birds were nesting, and numerous vultures resting. This was the
sport; Bana must shoot a nundo (adjutant) for the king's gratification.
I begged him to take a shot himself, as I really could not demean myself
by firing at birds sitting on a tree; but it was all of no use--no one
could shoot as I could, and they must be shot. I proposed frightening
them out with stones, but no stone could reach so high; so, to cut the
matter short, I killed an adjutant on the nest, and, as the vultures
flew away, brought one down on the wing, which fell in a garden
enclosure.
The Waganda were for a minute all spell-bound with astonishment, when
the king jumped frantically in the air, clapping his hands above his
head, and singing out, "Woh, woh, woh! what wonders! Oh, Bana, Bana!
what miracles he performs!"--and all the Wakungu followed in chorus.
"Now load, Bana--load, and let us see you do it," cried the excited
king; but before I was half loaded, he said, "Come along, come along,
and let us see the bird." Then directing the officers which way to
go--for, by the etiquette of the court of Uganda, every one must precede
the king--he sent them through a court where his women, afraid of the
gun, had been concealed. Here the rush onward was stopped by newly made
fences, but the king roared to the officers to knock them down. This
was no sooner said than done, by the attendants in a body shoving on and
trampling them under, as an elephant would crush small trees to keep his
course. So pushing, floundering through plaintain and shrub, pell-mell
one upon the other, that the king's pace might not be checked, or any
one come in for a royal kick or blow, they came upon the prostrate bird.
"Woh, woh, woh!" cried the king again, "there he is, sure enough; come
here, women--come and look what wonders!" And all the women, in the
highest excitement, "woh-wohed" as loud as any of the men. But that was
not enough. "Come along, Bana," said the king, "we must have some more
sport;" and, saying this he directed the way towards the queen's palace,
the attendants leading, followed by the pages, then the king, next
myself--for I never would walk before him--and finally the women, some
forty or fifty, who constantly attended him.
To make the most of the king's good-humour, while I wanted to screen
myself from the blazing sun, I asked him if he would like to enjoy the
pleasures of an umbrella; and before he had time to answer, held mine
over him as we walked side by side. The Wakungu were astonished, and the
women prattled in great delight; whilst the king, hardly able to control
himself, sidled and spoke to his flatterers as if he were doubly created
monarch of all he surveyed. He then, growing more familiar, said, "Now,
Bana, do tell me--did you not shoot that bird with something more than
common ammunition? I am sure you did, now; there was magic in it." And
all I said to the contrary would not convince him. "But we will see
again." "At buffaloes?" I said. "No, the buffaloes are too far off now;
we will wait to go after then until I have given you a hut close by."
Presently, as some herons were flying overhead, he said, "Now, shoot,
shoot!" and I brought a couple down right and left. He stared, and
everybody stared, believing me to be a magician, when the king said
he would like to have pictures of the birds drawn and hung up in the
palace; "but let us go and shoot some more, for it is truly wonderful."
Similar results followed, for the herons were continually whirling
round, as they had their nests upon a neighbouring tree; and then the
king ordered his pages to carry all the birds, save the vulture--which,
for some reason, they did not touch--and show them to the queen.
He then gave the order to move on, and we all repaired to the palace.
Arrived at the usual throne-room, he took his seat, dismissed the party
of wives who had been following him, as well as the Wakungu, received
pombe from his female evil-eye averters, and ordered me, with my men,
to sit in the sun facing him, till I complained of the heat, and was
allowed to sit by his side. Kites, crows, and sparrows were flying about
in all directions, and as they came within shot, nothing would satisfy
the excited boy-king but I must shoot them, and his pages take them to
the queen, till my ammunition was totally expended. He then wanted me
to send for more shot; and as I told him he must wait for more until
my brothers come, he contented himself with taking two or three sample
grains and ordering his iron-smiths to make some like them.
Cows were now driven in for me to kill two with one bullet; but as the
off one jumped away when the gun fired, the bullet passed through the
near one, then through all the courts and fences, and away no one knew
where. The king was delighted, and said he must keep the rifle to look
at for the night. I now asked permission to speak with him on some
important matters, when he sent his women away and listened. I said I
felt anxious about the road on which Mabruki was travelling, to which I
added that I had ordered him to tell Petherick to come here or else to
send property to the value of one thousand dollars; and I felt anxious
because some of the queen's officers felt doubtful about Waganda being
able to penetrate Kidi. He said I need not concern myself on that score;
he was much more anxious for the white men to come here than even I was,
and he would not send my men into any danger; but it was highly improper
for any of his people to speak about such subjects. Then, assembling
the women again, he asked me to load Whitworth for him, when he shot the
remaining cow, holding the rifle in both hands close to his thigh. The
feat, of course, brought forth great and uproarious congratulations from
his women. The day thus ended, and I was dismissed.
13th.--Mabriki and Bilal come into camp: they returned last night; but
the Waganda escort, afraid of my obtaining information of them before
the king received it, kept them concealed. They had been defeated
in Usoga, two marches each of Kira, at the residence of Nagozigombi,
Mtesa's border officer, who gave them two bullocks, but advised their
returning at once to inform the king that the independent Wasoga had
been fighting with his dependent Wasoga subjects for some time, and the
battle would not be over for two months or more, unless he sent an army
to their assistance.
I now sent Bombay to the king to request an interview, as I had much of
importance to tell him; but the could not be seen, as he was deep in
the interior of the palace enjoying the society of his wives. The
Kamraviona, however, was found there waiting, as usual, on the mere
chance of his majesty taking it into his head to come out. He asked
Bombay if it was true the woman he gave me ran away; and when Bombay
told him, he said, "Oh, he should have chained her for two or three
days, until she became accustomed to her residence; for women often take
fright and run away in that way, believing strangers to be cannibals."
But Bombay replied, "She was not good enough for Bana; he let her go off
like a dog; he wants a young and beautiful Mhuma, or none at all." "Ah,
well, then, if he is so particular, he must wait a bit, for we have
none on hand. What I gave him is the sort of creature we give all our
guests." A Msoga was sent by the king to take the dead adjutant of
yesterday out of the nest--for all Wasoga are expert climbers, which is
not the case with the Waganda; but the man was attacked half-way up the
tree by a swarm of bees, and driven down again.
14th.--After all the vexatious haggling for a house, I gained my
object to-day by a judicious piece of bribery which I had intended to
accomplish whenever I could. I now succeeded in sending--for I could
not, under the jealous eyes in Uganda, get it done earlier--a present of
fifteen pints mixed beads, twenty blue eggs, and five copper bracelets,
to the commander-in-chief, as a mark of friendship. At the same time I
hinted that I should like him to use his influence in obtaining for me
a near and respectable residence, where I hoped he, as well as all the
Waganda nobility, would call upon me; for my life in Uganda was utterly
miserable, being shut up like a hermit by myself every day. The result
was, that a number of huts in a large plantain garden were at once
assigned to me, on the face of a hill, immediately overlooking and close
to the main road. It was considered the "West End." It had never before
been occupied by any visitors excepting Wahinda ambassadors; and being
near, and in full view of the palace, was pleasant and advantageous, as
I could both hear the constant music, and see the throngs of people ever
wending their way to and from the royal abodes. I lost no time in moving
all my property, turning out the original occupants--in selecting the
best hut for myself, giving the rest to my three officers--and ordering
my men to build barracks for themselves, in street form, from my hut to
the main road. There was one thing only left to be done; the sanitary
orders of Uganda required every man to build himself a house of
parliament, such being the neat and cleanly nature of the Waganda--a
pattern to all other negro tribes.
15th.--As nobody could obtain an interview with the king yesterday, I
went to the palace to-day, and fired three shots--a signal which was at
once answered from within by a double discharge of a gun I had just lent
him on his returning my rifle. In a little while, as soon as he had
time to dress, the king, walking like a lion, sallied forth, leading his
white dog, and beckoned me to follow him to the state hut, the court of
which was filled with squatting men as usual, well dressed, and keeping
perfect order. He planted himself on his throne, and begged me to sit by
his side. Then took place the usual scene of a court levee, as described
in Chapter X., with the specialty, in this instance, that the son of the
chief executioner--one of the highest officers of state--was led off
for execution, for some omission or informality in his n'yanzigs, or
salutes.
At this levee sundry Wakungu of rank complained that the Wanyambo
plundered their houses at night, and rough-handled their women, without
any respect for their greatness, and, when caught, said they were Bana's
men. Bombay, who was present, heard the complaint, and declared these
were Suwarora's men, who made use of the proximity of my camp to cover
their own transgressions. Then Suwarora's deputation, who were also
present, cringed forward, n'yanzigging like Waganda, and denied the
accusation, when the king gave all warning that he would find out the
truth by placing guards on the look-out at night.
Till this time the king had not heard one word about the defeat of the
party sent for Petherick. His kingdom might have been lost, and he would
have been no wiser; when the officer who led Mabruki came forward and
told him all that had happened, stating, in addition to what I heard
before, that they took eighty men with them, and went into battle three
times successfully. Dismissing business, however, the king turned to me,
and said he never saw anything so wonderful as my shooting in his life;
he was sure it was done by magic, as my gun never missed, and he wished
I would instruct him in the art. When I denied there was any art in
shooting, further than holding the gun straight, he shook his head,
and getting me to load his revolving pistol for him, he fired all
five barrels into two cows before the multitude. He then thought of
adjutant-shooting with ball, left the court sitting, desired me to
follow him, and leading the way, went into the interior of the palace,
where only a few select officers were permitted to follow us. The birds
were wild, and as nothing was done, I instructed him in the way to fire
from his shoulder, placing the gun in position. He was shy at first, and
all the people laughed at my handling royalty like a schoolboy; but he
soon took to it very good-naturedly, when I gave him my silk necktie and
gold crest-ring, explaining their value, which he could not comprehend,
and telling him we gentlemen prided ourselves on never wearing brass or
copper.
He now begged hard for shot; but I told him again his only chance of
getting any lay in opening the road onwards; it was on this account, I
said, I had come to see him to-day. He answered, "I am going to send an
army to Usoga to force the way from where your men were turned back."
But this, I said, would not do for me, as I saw his people travelled
like geese, not knowing the direction of Gani, or where they were going
to when sent. I proposed that if he would call all his travelling men
of experience together, I would explain matters to them by a map I had
brought; for I should never be content till I saw Petherick.
The map was then produced. He seemed to comprehend it immediately, and
assembled the desired Wakungu; but, to my mortification, he kept all the
conversation to himself, Waganda fashion; spoke a lot of nonsense;
and then asked his men what they thought had better be done. The sages
replied, "Oh, make friends, and do the matter gently." But the king
proudly raised his head, laughed them to scorn, and said, "Make friends
with men who have crossed their spears with us already! Nonsense! they
would only laugh at us; the Uganda spear alone shall do it." Hearing
this bravado, the Kamraviona, the pages, and the elders, all rose to a
man, with their sticks, and came charging at their king, swearing they
would carry out his wished with their lives. The meeting now broke up
in the usual unsatisfactory, unfinished manner, by the king rising and
walking away, whilst I returned with the Kamraviona, who begged for ten
more blue eggs in addition to my present to make a full necklace, and
told my men to call upon him in the morning, when he would give me
anything I wished to eat. Bombay was then ordered to describe what sort
of food I lived on usually; when, Mganda fashion, he broke a stick into
ten bits, each representing a differing article, and said, "Bana eat
mixed food always"; and explained that stick No. 1 represented beef; No.
2, mutton; No. 3, fowl; No. 4, eggs; No. 5, fish; No. 6, potatoes; No.
7, plantains; No. 8, pombe; No. 9, butter; No. 10, flour.
16th.--To-day the king was amusing himself among his women again, and
not to be seen. I sent Bombay with ten blue eggs as a present for the
Kamraviona, intimating my desire to call upon him. He sent me a goat
and ten fowls' eggs, saying he was not visible to strangers on business
to-day. I inferred that he required the king's permission to receive me.
This double failure was a more serious affair then a mere slight; for
my cows were eaten up, and my men clamouring incessantly for food;
and though they might by orders help themselves "ku n'yangania"--by
seizing--from the Waganda, it hurt my feelings so much to witness this,
that I tried from the first to dispense with it, telling the king I had
always flogged my men for stealing, and now he turned them into a pack
of thieves. I urged that he should either allow me to purchase rations,
or else feed them from the palace as Rumanika did; but he always turned
a deaf ear, or said that what Sunna his father had introduced it ill
became him to subvert; and unless my men helped themselves they would
die of starvation.
On the present emergency I resolved to call upon the queen. On reaching
the palace, I sent an officer in to announce my arrival, and sat waiting
for the reply fully half an hour, smoking my pipe, and listening to
her in the adjoining court, where music was playing, and her voice
occasionally rent the air with merry boisterous laughing.
The messenger returned to say no one could approach her sanctuary or
disturb her pleasure at this hour; I must wait and bide my time, as the
Uganda officers do. Whew! Here was another diplomatic crisis, which had
to be dealt with in the usual way. "I bide my time!" I said, rising in
a towering passion, and thrashing the air with my ramrod walking-stick,
before all the visiting Wakungu, "when the queen has assured me her
door would always be open to me! I shall leave this court at once, and
I solemnly swear I shall never set foot in it again, unless some apology
be made for treating me like a dog." Then, returning home, I tied up all
the presents her majesty had given me in a bundle, and calling Maula and
my men together, told them to take them where they came from; for it
ill became me to keep tokens of friendship when no friendship existed
between us. I came to make friends with the queen, not to trade or take
things from her--and so forth. The blackguard Maula, laughing, said,
"Bana does not know what he is doing; it is a heinous offence in Uganda
sending presents back; nobody for their lives dare do so to the queen;
her wrath would know no bounds. She will say, 'I took a few trifles from
Bana as specimens of his country, but they shall all go back, and the
things the king has received shall go back also, for we are all of one
family'; and then won't Bana be very sorry? Moreover, Wakungu will be
killed by dozens, and lamentations will reign throughout the court to
propitiate the devils who brought such disasters on them." Bombay, also
in a fright, said, "Pray don't do so; you don't know these savages as
we do; there is no knowing what will happen; it may defeat our journey
altogether. Further, we have had no food these four days, because row
succeeds row. If we steal, you flog us; and if we ask the Waganda
for food, they beat us. We don't know what to do." I was imperative,
however, and said, "Maula must take back these things in the morning, or
stand the consequences." In fact, I found that, like the organ-grinders
in London, to get myself moved on I must make myself troublesome.
17th.--The queen's presents were taken back by Maula and Nasib, whilst I
went to see the Kamraviona. Even this gentleman kept me waiting for some
time to show his own importance, and then admitted me into one of his
interior courts, where I found him sitting on the ground with several
elders; whilst Wasoga minstrels played on their lap-harps, and sang
songs in praise of their king, and the noble stranger who wore fine
clothes and eclipsed all previous visitors. At first, on my approach,
the haughty young chief, very handsome, and twenty years of age, did not
raise his head; then he begged me to be seated, and even enquired
after my health, in a listless, condescending kind of manner, as if the
exertion of talking was too much for his constitution or his rank; but
he soon gave up this nonsense as I began to talk, inquired, amongst
other things, why I did not see the Waganda at my house, when I said
I should so much like to make acquaintance with them, and begged to be
introduced to the company who were present.
I was now enabled to enlarge the list of topics on which it is
prohibited to the Waganda to speak or act under pain of death. No one
even dare ever talk about the royal pedigree of the countries that have
been conquered, or even of any neighbouring countries; no one dare visit
the king's guests, or be visited by them, without leave, else the king,
fearing sharers in his plunder, would say, What are you plucking our
goose for? Neither can any one cast his eye for a moment on the women of
the palace, whether out walking or at home, lest he should be accused of
amorous intentions. Beads and brass wire, exchanged for ivory or slaves,
are the only articles of foreign manufacture any Mganda can hold in his
possession. Should anything else be seen in his house--for instance,
cloth--his property would be confiscated and his life taken.
I was now introduced to the company present, of whom one Mgema, an
elderly gentleman of great dignity, had the honour to carry Sunna the
late king; Mpungu, who cooked for Sunna, also ranks high in court; then
Usungu and Kunza, executioners, rank very high, enjoying the greatest
confidence with the king; and, finally, Jumba and Natigo, who traced
their pedigree to the age of the first Uganda king. As I took down a
note of their several names, each seemed delighted at finding his name
written down by me; and Kunza, the executioner, begged as a great favour
that I would plead to the king to spare his son's life, who, as I have
mentioned, was ordered out to execution on the last levee day. At first
I thought it necessary, for the sake of maintaining my dignity, to raise
objections, and said it would ill become one of my rank to make any
request that might possibly be rejected; but as the Kamraviona assured
me there would be no chance of failure, and everybody else agreed with
him, I said it would give me intense satisfaction to serve him; and the
old man squeezed my hand as if overpowered with joy.
This meeting, as might be imagined, was a very dull one, because the
company, being tongue-tied as regards everything of external interest,
occupied themselves solely on matters of home business, or indulged
their busy tongues, Waganda fashion, in gross flattery of their
"illustrious visitor." In imitation of the king, the Kamraviona now went
from one hut to another, requesting us to follow that we might see all
his greatness, and then took me alone into a separate court, to show
me his women, some five-and-twenty of the ugliest in Uganda. This,
he added, was a mark of respect he had never conferred on any person
before; but, fearing lest I should misunderstand his meaning and covet
any of them, he said, "Mind they are only to be looked at."
As we retired to the other visitors, the Kamraviona, in return for some
courteous remarks of mine, said all the Waganda were immensely pleased
with my having come to visit them; and as he heard my country is
governed by a woman, what would I say if he made the Waganda dethrone
her, and create me king instead? Without specially replying, I showed
him a map, marking off the comparative sizes of British and
Waganda possessions, and shut him up. The great Kamraviona, or
commander-in-chief, with all his wives, has no children, and was eager
to know if my skill could avail to remove this cloud in his fortunes.
He generously gave me a goat and eggs, telling my men they might help
themselves to plantains from any gardens they liked beyond certain
limits, provided they did not enter houses or take anything else. He
then said he was tired and walked away without another word.
On returning home I found Nasib and Maula waiting for me, with all the
articles that had been returned to the queen very neatly tied together.
They had seen her majesty, who, on receiving my message, pretended
excessive anger with her doorkeeper for not announcing my
arrival yesterday--flogged him severely--inspected all the things
returned--folded them up again very neatly with her own hands--said
she felt much hurt at the mistake which had arisen, and hoped I would
forgive and forget it, as her doors would always be open to me.
I now had a laugh at my friends Maula and Bombay for their misgivings of
yesterday, telling them I knew more of human nature than they did; but
they shook their heads, and said it was all very well Bana having done
it, but if Arabs or any other person had tried the same trick, it would
have been another affair. "Just so," said I; "but then, don't you see, I
know my value here, which makes all the difference you speak of."
18th.--Whilst walking towards the palace to pay the king a friendly
visit, I met two of my men speared on the head, and streaming with
blood; they had been trying to help themselves to plantains carried
on the heads of Waganda; but the latter proving too strong, my people
seized a boy and woman from their party as witnesses, according to
Uganda law, and ran away with them, tied hand and neck together. With
this addition to my attendance I first called in at the Kamraviona's
for justice; but as he was too proud to appear at once, I went on to the
king's fired three shots as usual, and obtained admittance at once, when
I found him standing in a yard dressed in cloth, with his iron chair
behind him, and my double-gun loaded with half charges of powder and a
few grains of iron shot, looking eagerly about for kites to fly over.
His quick eye, however, readily detected my wounded men and prisoners,
as also some Wazinza prisoners led in by Waganda police, who had been
taken in the act of entering Waganda houses and assailing their women.
Thus my men were cleared of a false stigma; and the king, whilst
praising them, ordered all the Wazinza to leave his dominions on the
morrow.
The other case was easily settled by my wounded men receiving orders to
keep their prisoners till claimed, when, should any people come forward,
they would be punished, otherwise their loss in human stock would be
enough. The Wanguana had done quite right to seize on the highway, else
they would have starved; such was the old law, and such is the present
one. It was no use our applying for a change of system. At this stage of
the business, the birds he was watching having appeared, the king, in a
great state of excitement, said, "Shoot that kite," and then "Shoot that
other"; but the charges were too light; and the birds flew away, kicking
with their claws as if merely stung a little.
Whilst this was going on, the Kamraviona, taking advantage of my having
opened the door with the gun, walked in to make his salutations. A
blacksmith produced two very handsome spears, and a fisherman a basket
of fish, from which two fish were taken out and given to me. The king
then sat on his iron chair, and I on a wooden box which I had contrived
to stuff with the royal grass he gave me, and so made a complete
miniature imitation of his throne. The folly in now allowing me to sit
upon my portable iron stool, as an ingenious device for carrying out
my determination to sit before him like an Englishman. I wished to be
communicative, and, giving him a purse of money, told him the use and
value of the several coins; but he paid little regard to them, and soon
put them down. The small-talk of Uganda had much more attractions to
his mind than the wonders of the outer world, and he kept it up with his
Kamraviona until rain fell and dispersed the company.
19th.--As the queen, to avoid future difficulties, desired my officers
to acquaint her beforehand whenever I wished to call upon her, I sent
Nasib early to say I would call in the afternoon; but he had to wait
till the evening before he could deliver the message, though she had
been drumming and playing all the day. She then complained against
my men for robbing her gardeners on the highway, wished to know why I
didn't call upon her oftener, appointed the following morning for an
interview, and begged I would bring her some liver medicines, as she
suffered from constant twinges in her right side, sealing her "letter"
with a present of a nest of eggs and one fowl.
Whilst Nasib was away, I went to the Kamraviona to treat him as I had
the king. He appeared a little more affable to-day, yet still delighted
in nothing but what was frivolous. My beard, for instance, engrossed the
major part of the conversation; all the Waganda would come out in future
with hairy faces; but when I told them that, to produce such a growth,
they must wash their faces with milk, and allow a cat to lick it off,
they turned up their noses in utter contempt.
20th.--I became dead tired of living all alone, with nothing else
to occupy my time save making these notes every day in my office
letter-book, as my store of stationery was left at Karague. I had no
chance of seeing any visitors, save the tiresome pages, who asked me
to give or to do something for the king every day; and my prospect was
cheerless, as I had been flatly refused a visit to Usoga until Grant
should come. For want of better amusement, I made a page of Lugoi, a
sharp little lad, son of the late Beluch, but adopted by Uledi, and
treated him as a son, which he declared he wished to be, for he liked
me better than Uledi as a father. He said he disliked Uganda, where
people's lives are taken like those of fowls; and wished to live at
the coast, the only place he ever heard of, where all the Wanguana come
from--great swells in Lugoi's estimation. Now, with Lugoi dressed in a
new white pillow-case, with holes trimmed with black tape for his head
and arms to go through, a dagger tied with red bindera round his waist,
and a square of red blanket rolled on his shoulder as a napkin, for my
gun to rest on, or in place of a goat-skin run when he wished to sit
down, I walked off to inquire how the Kamraviona was, and took my
pictures with me.
Lugoi's dress, however, absorbed all their thoughts, and he was made to
take it off and put it on again as often as any fresh visitor came to
call. Hardly a word was said about anything else; even the pictures,
which generally are in such demand, attracted but little notice. I asked
the Kamraviona to allow me to draw his pet dog; when the king's sister
Miengo came in and sat down, laughing and joking with me immoderately.
At first there was a demur about my drawing the dog--whether from fear
of bewitching the animal or not, I cannot say; but instead of producing
the pet--a beautifully-formed cream-coloured dog--a common black one was
brought in, which I tied in front of Miengo, and then drew both woman
and dog together. After this unlawful act was discovered, of drawing
the king's sister without his consent, the whole company roared with
laughter, and pretended nervous excitement lest I should book them
likewise. One of my men, Sangoro, did not return to camp last night from
foraging; and as my men suspect the Waganda must have murdered him, I
told the Kamraviona, requesting him to find out; but he coolly said,
"Look for him yourselves two days more, for Wanguana often make friends
with our people, and so slip away from their masters; but as they are
also often murdered, provided you cannot find him in that time, we will
have the Mganga out."
21st.--Last night I was turned out of my bed by a terrible hue and cry
from the quarter allotted to Rozaro and his Wanyambo companions; for the
Waganda had threatened to demolish my men, one by one, for seizing their
pombe and plaintains, though done according to the orders of the king;
and now, finding the Wanyambo nearest to the road, they set on them by
moonlight, with spear and club, maltreating them severely, till, with
reinforcements, the Wanyambo gained the ascendancy, seized two spears
and one shield as a trophy, and drove their enemies off. In the morning,
I sent the Wakungu off with the trophies to the king, again complaining
that he had turned my men into a pack of highwaymen, and, as I foresaw,
had thus created enmity between the Waganda and them, much to my
annoyance. I therefore begged he would institute some means to prevent
any further occurrence of such scenes, otherwise I would use firearms in
self-defence.
Whilst these men were on this mission, I went on a like errand to the
queen, taking my page Lugoi with the liver medicine. The first object of
remark was Lugoi, as indeed it was everywhere; for, as I walked along,
crowds ran after the little phenomenon. Then came the liver questions;
and, finally what I wanted--her complaint against my men for robbing
on the road, as it gave me the opportunity of telling her the king was
doing what I had been trying to undo with my stick ever since I left
the coast; and I begged she would use influence to correct these
disagreeables. She told me for the future to send my men to her palace
for food, and rob no more; in the meanwhile, here were some plantains
for them. She then rose and walked away, leaving me extremely
disappointed that I could not make some more tangible arrangement with
her--such as, if my men came and found the gate shut, what were they to
do then? there were forty-five of them; how much would she allow; etc.
etc. But this was a true specimen of the method of transacting business
among the royal family of Uganda. They gave orders without knowing how
they are to be carried out, and treat all practical arrangements as
trifling details not worth attending to.
After this unsatisfactory interview, I repaired to the king's, knowing
the power of my gun to obtain an interview, whilst doubting the ability
of the Wakungu to gain an audience for me. Such was the case. These men
had been sitting all day without seeing the king, and three shots opened
his gate immediately to me. He was sitting on the iron chair in the
shade of the court, attended by some eighty women, tweedling the loading
rod in his fingers; but as my rod appeared a better one than his, they
were exchanged. I then gave him a tortoise-shell comb to comb his hair
straight with, as he invariably remarked on the beautiful manner in
which I dressed my hair, making my uncap to show it to his women, and
afterwards asked my men to bring on the affair of last night. They
feared, they said, to speak on such subjects whilst the women were
present. I begged for a private audience; still they would not speak
until encouraged and urged beyond all patience. I said, in Kisuahili,
"Kbakka" (king), "my men are afraid to tell you what I want to say";
when Maula, taking advantage of my having engaged his attention, though
the king did not understand one word I said, said of himself, by way of
currying favour, "I saw a wonderful gun in Rumankika's hands, with
six barrells; not a short one like your fiver" (meaning the revolving
pistol) "but a long one, as long as my arm." "Indeed," says the king,
"we must have that." A page was then sent for by Maula, who, giving
him a bit of stick representing the gun required, told him to fetch it
immediately.
The king then said to me, "What is powder made of?" I began with sulphur
(kibriti), intending to explain everything; but the word kibriti was
enough for him, and a second stick was sent for kibriti, the bearer
being told to hurry for his life and fetch it. The king now ordered
some high officers who were in waiting to approach. They come, almost
crouching to their knees, with eyes averted from the women, and
n'yanzigged for the favour of being called, till they streamed with
perspiration. Four young women, virgins, the daughters of these high
officers, nicely dressed, were shown in as brides, and ordered to sit
with the other women. A gamekeeper brought in baskets small antelopes,
called mpeo--with straight horns resembling those of the saltiana, but
with coats like the hog-deer of India--intended for the royal kitchen.
Elderly gentlemen led in goats as commutation for offences, and went
through the ceremonies due for the favour of being relieved of so much
property. Ten cows were then driven in, plundered from Unyoro, and
outside, the voices of the brave army who captured them were heard
n'yanzigging vehemently. Lastly, some beautifully made shields were
presented, and, because extolled, n'yanzigged over; when the king rose
abruptly and walked straight away, leaving my fools of men no better off
for food, no reparation for their broken heads, than if I had never gone
there.
22d.--I called on the queen to inquire after her health, and to know how
my men were to be fed; but, without giving me time to speak, she flew
at me again about my men plundering. The old story was repeated; I had
forty-five hungry men, who must have food, and unless either she or the
king would make some proper provision for them, I could not help it.
Again she promised to feed them, but she objected to them bearing
swords, "for of what use are swords? If the Waganda don't like the
Wanguana, can swords prevail in our country?" And, saying this, she
walked away. I thought to myself that she must have directed the attack
upon my camp last night and is angry at the Wanguana swords driving
her men away. At 3 p.m. I visited the king, to have a private chat, and
state my grievances; but the three shots fired brought him out to levee,
when animals and sundry other things were presented; and appointments
of Wakungu were made for the late gallant services of some of the men in
plundering Unyoro.
The old executioner, Kunza, being present, I asked the king to pardon
his son. Surprised, at first Mtesa said, "Can it be possible Bana has
asked for this?" And when assured, in great glee he ordered the lad's
release, amidst shouts of laughter from everybody but the agitated
father, who n'yanzigged, cried, and fell at my feet, making a host of
powerful signs as a token of his gratitude; for his heart was too full
of emotion to give utterance to his feelings. The king them, in high
good-humour, said, "You have called on me many times without broaching
the subject of Usoga, and perhaps you may fancy we are not exerting
ourselves in the matter; but my army is only now returning from war"
(meaning plundering in Unyoro), "and I am collecting another one, which
will open Usoga effectually." Before I could say anything, the king
started up in his usual manner, inviting a select few to follow him to
another court, when my medicine-chest was inspected, and I was asked
to operate for fistula on one of the royal executioners. I had no
opportunity of incurring this responsibility; for while professing to
prepare for the operation, the king went off it a fling.
When I got home I found Sangoro, whom we thought lost or murdered,
quietly ensconced in camp. He had been foraging by himself a long way
from camp, in a neighbourhood where many of the king's women are kept;
and it being forbidden ground, he was taken up by the keepers, placed in
the stocks, and fed, until to-day, when he extricated his legs by means
of his sword, and ran away. My ever-grumbling men mobbed me again,
clamouring for food, saying, as they eyed my goats, I lived at ease
and overlooked their wants. In vain I told them they had fared more
abundantly than I had since we entered Uganda; whilst I spared my goats
to have a little flesh of their cows as rapidly as possible, selling the
skins for pombe, which I seldom tasted; they robbed me as long as I had
cloth or beads, and now they had all become as fat as hogs by lifting
food off the Waganda lands. As I could not quiet them, I directed that,
early next morning, Maula should go to the king and Nasib to the queen,
while I proposed going to Kamraviona's to work them all three about this
affair of food.
23d.--According to the plan of last night, I called early on the
Kamraviona. He promised me assistance, but with an air which seemed
to say, What are the sufferings of other men to me? So I went home to
breakfast, doubting if anything ever would be done. As Kaggo, however,
the second officer of importance, had expressed a wish to see me, I sent
Bombay to him for food, and waited the upshot. Presently the king sent
to say he wished to see me with my compass; for the blackguard Maula had
told him I possessed a wonderful instrument, by looking at which I could
find my way all over the world. I went as requested, and found the king
sitting outside the palace on my chair dressed in cloths, with my
silk neckerchief and crest-ring, playing his flute in concert with his
brothers, some thirty-odd young men and boys, one half of them manacled,
the other half free, with an officer watching over them to see that they
committed no intrigues.
We then both sat side by side in the shade of the courtwalls, conversed
and had music by turns; for the king had invited his brothers here to
please me, the first step towards winning the coveted compass. My hair
must now be shown and admired, then my shoes taken off and inspected,
and my trousers tucked up to show that I am white all over. Just at this
time Bombay, who had been in great request, came before us laden with
plantains. This was most opportune; for the king asked what he had been
about, and then the true state of the case as regards my difficulties in
obtaining food were, I fancy, for the first time, made known to him. In
a great fit of indignation he said, "I once killed a hundred Wakungu
in a single day, and now, if they won't feed my guests, I will kill a
hundred more; for I know the physic for bumptiousness." Then, sending
his brothers away, he asked me to follow him into the back part of the
palace, as he loved me so much he must show me everything. We walked
along under the umbrella, first looking down one street of huts, then
up another, and, finally, passing the sleeping-chamber, stopped at one
adjoining it. "That hut," said the king, "is the one I sleep in; no one
of my wives dare venture within it unless I call her." He let me feel
immediately that for the distinction conferred on me in showing me this
sacred hut a return was expected. Could I after that refuse him such a
mere trifle as a compass? I told him he might as well put my eyes out
and ask me to walk home, as take away that little instrument, which
could be of no use to him, as he could not read or understand it.
But this only excited his cupidity; he watched it twirling round and
pointing to the north, and looked and begged again, until, tired of
his importunities, I told him I must wait until the Usoga road was open
before I could part with it, and then the compass would be nothing to
what I would give him. Hearing this, "That is all on my shoulders; as
sure as I live it shall be done; for that country has no king, and I
have long been desirous of taking it." I declined, however, to give him
the instrument on the security of his promise, and he went to breakfast.
I walked off to Usungu to see what I could do for him in his misery.
I found that he had a complication of evils entirely beyond my healing
power, and among them inveterate forms of the diseases which are
generally associated with civilisation and its social evils. I could
do nothing to cure him, but promised to do whatever was in my power to
alleviate his sufferings.
24th.--Before breakfast I called on poor Usungu, prescribing hot coffee
to be drunk with milk every morning, which astonished him not a little,
as the negroes only use coffee for chewing. He gave my men pombe and
plantains. On my return I met a page sent to invite me to the palace.
I found the king sitting with a number of women. He was dressed in
European clothes, part of them being a pair of trousers he begged for
yesterday, that he might appear like Bana. This was his first appearance
in trousers, and his whole attire, contrasting strangely with his native
habiliments, was in his opinion very becoming, though to me a little
ridiculous; for the legs of the trousers, as well as the sleeves of the
waistcoat, were much too short, so that his black feet and hands stuck
out at the extremities as an organ-player's monkey's do, whilst the
cockscomb on his head prevented a fez cap, which was part of his special
costume for the occasion, from sitting properly. This display over, the
women were sent away, and I saw shown into a court, where a large number
of plantains were placed in a line upon the ground for my men to take
away, and we were promised the same treat every day. From this we
proceeded to another court, where we sat in the shade together, when the
women returned again, but were all dumb, because my interpreters dared
not for their lives say anything, even on my account, to the king's
women. Getting tired, I took out my sketch-book and drew Lubuga, the
pet, which amused the king immensely as he recognised her cockscomb.
Then twenty naked virgins, the daughters of Wakungu, all smeared
and shining with grease, each holding a small square of mbugu for a
fig-leaf, marched in a line before us, as a fresh addition to the
harem, whilst the happy fathers floundered n'yanzigging on the ground,
delighted to find their darlings appreciated by the king. Seeing this
done in such a quiet mild way before all my men, who dared not lift
their heads to see it, made me burst into a roar of laughter, and the
king, catching the infection from me, laughed as well: but the laughing
did not end there--for the pages, for once giving way to nature, kept
bursting--my men chuckled in sudden gusts--while even the women, holding
their mouths for fear of detection, responded--and we all laughed
together. Then a sedate old dame rose from the squatting mass, ordered
the virgins to right-about, and marched them off, showing their still
more naked reverses. I now obtained permission for the Wakungu to call
upon me, and fancied I only required my interpreters to speak out like
men when I had anything to say, to make my residence in Uganda both
amusing and instructive; but though the king, carried off by the
prevailing good-humour of the scene we had both witnessed, supported me,
I found that he had counter-ordered what he had said as soon as I had
gone, and, in fact, no Mkungu ever dared come near me.
25th.--To-day I visited Usungu again, and found him better. He gave
pombe and plantains for my people, but would not talk to me, though I
told him he had permission to call on me.
I have now been for some time within the court precincts, and have
consequently had an opportunity of witnessing court customs. Among
these, nearly every day since I have changed my residence, incredible
as it may appear to be, I have seen one, two, or three of the wretched
palace women led away to execution, tied by the hand, and dragged along
by one of the body-guard, crying out, as she went to premature death,
"Hai Minange!" (O my lord!) "Kbakka!" (My king!) "Hai N'yawo!" (My
mother!) at the top of her voice, in the utmost despair and lamentation;
and yet there was not a soul who dared lift hand to save any of them,
though many might be heard privately commenting on their beauty.
26th.--To-day, to amuse the king, I drew a picture of himself holding
a levee, and proceeded to visit him. On the way I found the highroad
thronged with cattle captured in Unyoro; and on arrival at the
ante-chamber, amongst the officers in waiting, Masimbi (Mr Cowries or
Shells), the queen's uncle, and Congow, a young general, who once led
an army into Unyoro, past Kamrasi's palace. They said they had obtained
leave for me to visit them, and were eagerly looking out for the happy
event. At once, on firing, I was admitted to the king's favourite place,
which, now that the king had a movable chair to sit upon, was the shade
of the court screen. We had a chat; the picture was shown to the women;
the king would like to have some more, and gave me leave to draw in the
palace any time I liked. At the same time he asked for my paint-box,
merely to look at it. Though I repeatedly dunned him for it, I could
never get it back from him until I was preparing to leave Uganda.
27th.--After breakfast I started on a visit to Congow; but finding he
had gone to the king as usual, called at Masimbi's and he being absent
also, I took advantage of my proximity to the queen's palace to call on
her majesty. For hours I was kept waiting; firstly, because she was
at breakfast; secondly, because she was "putting on medicine"; and,
thirdly, because the sun was too powerful for her complexion; when I
became tired of her nonsense, and said, "If she does not wish to see me,
she had better say so at once, else I shall walk away; for the last time
I came I saw her but for a minute, when she rudely turned her back upon
me, and left me sitting by myself." I was told not to be in a hurry--she
would see me in the evening. This promise might probably be fulfilled
six blessed hours from the time when it was made; but I thought to
myself, every place in Uganda is alike when there is no company at home,
and so I resolved to sit the time out, like Patience on a monument,
hoping something funny might turn up after all.
At last her majesty stumps out, squats behind my red blanket, which is
converted into a permanent screen, and says hastily, or rather testily,
"Can't Bana perceive the angry state of the weather?--clouds flying
about, and the wind blowing half a gale? Whenever that is the case, I
cannot venture out." Taking her lie without an answer, I said, I had now
been fifty days or so doing nothing in Uganda--not one single visitor
of my own rank ever came near me, and I could not associated with people
far below her condition and mine--in fact, all I had to amuse me at
home now was watching a hen lay her eggs upon my spare bed. Her majesty
became genial, as she had been before, and promised to provide me with
suitable society. I then told her I had desired my officers several
times to ask the king how marriages were conducted in this country, as
they appeared so different from ours, but they always said they dared
not put such a question to him, and now I hoped she would explain it to
me. To tell her I could not get anything from the king, I knew would
be the surest way of eliciting what I wanted from her, because of the
jealousy between the two courts; and in this instance it was fully
proved, for she brightened up at once, and, when I got her to understand
something of what I meant by a marriage ceremony, in high good humour
entered on a long explanation, to the following effect:--
There are no such things as marriages in Uganda; there are no ceremonies
attached to it. If any Mkungu possessed of a pretty daughter committed
an offence, he might give her to the king as a peace-offering; if any
neighbouring king had a pretty daughter, and the king of Uganda wanted
her, she might be demanded as a fitting tribute. The Wakungu in Uganda
are supplied with women by the king, according to their merits, from
seizures in battle abroad, or seizures from refractory officers at
home. The women are not regarded as property according to the Wanyamuezi
practice, though many exchange their daughters; and some women, for
misdemeanours, are sold into slavery; whilst others are flogged, or are
degraded to do all the menial services of the house.
The Wakungu then changed the subject by asking, if I married a black
woman, would there be any offspring, and what would be their colour?
The company now became jovial, when the queen improved it by making a
significant gesture, and with roars of laughter asking me if I would
like to be her son-in-law, for she had some beautiful daughters, either
of the Wahuma, or Waganda breed. Rather staggered at first by this awful
proposal, I consulted Bombay what I should do with one if I got her.
He, looking more to number one than my convenience, said, "By all means
accept the offer, for if YOU don't like her, WE should, and it would
be a good means of getting her out of this land of death, for all black
people love Zanzibar." The rest need not be told; as a matter of course
I had to appear very much gratified, and as the bowl went round, all
became uproarious. I must wait a day or two, however, that a proper
selection might be made; and when the marriage came off, I was to chain
the fair one two or three days, until she became used to me, else, from
mere fright, she might run away.
To keep up the spirits of the queen, though her frequent potions of
pombe had wellnigh done enough, I admired her neck-ring, composed of
copper wire, with a running inlaid twist of iron, and asked her why she
wore such a wreath of vine-leaves, as I had often seen on some of the
Wakungu. On this she produced a number of rings similar to the one she
wore, and taking off her own, placed it round my neck. Then, pointing
to her wreath, she said, "This is the badge of a kidnapper's
office--whoever wears it, catches little children." I inferred that its
possession, as an insignia of royalty, conferred on the bearer the power
of seizure, as the great seal in this country confers power on public
officers.
The queen's dinner was now announced; and, desiring me to remain where
I was for a short time, she went to it. She sent me several dishes
(plantain-leaves), with well-cooked beef and mutton, and a variety of
vegetables, from her table, as well as a number of round moist napkins,
made in the shape of wafers, from the freshly-drawn plantain fibres, to
wash the hands and face with. There was no doubt now about her culinary
accomplishments. I told her so when she returned, and that I enjoyed her
parties all the more because they ended with a dinner. "More pombe, more
pombe," cried the queen, full of mirth and glee, helping everybody round
in turn, and shouting and laughing at their Kiganda witticisms--making,
though I knew not a word said, an amusing scene to behold--till the sun
sank; and her majesty remarking it, turned to her court and said, "If I
get up, will Bana also rise, and not accuse me of deserting him?" With
this speech a general rising took place, and, watching the queen's
retiring, I stood with my hat in hand, whilst all the Wakungu fell upon
their knees, and then all separated.
28th.--I went to the palace, and found, as usual, a large levee waiting
the king's pleasure to appear; amongst whom were the Kamraviona,
Masimbi, and the king's sister Miengo. I fired my gun, and admitted
at once, but none of the others could follow me save Miengo. The king,
sitting on the chair with his women by his side, ordered twelve cloths,
the presents of former Arab visitors, to be brought before him; and
all of these I was desired to turn into European garments, like my
own coats, trousers, and waistcoats. It was no use saying I had no
tailors--the thing must be done somehow; for he admired my costume
exceedingly, and wished to imitate it now he had cloth enough for ever
to dispense with the mbugu.
As I had often begged the king to induce his men, who are all
wonderfully clever artisans, to imitate the chair and other things I
gave him, I now told him if he would order some of his sempsters, who
are far cleverer with the needle than my men, to my camp, I would cut up
some old clothes, and so teach them how to work. This was agreed to, and
five cows were offered as a reward; but as his men never came, mine had
to do the job.
Maula then engaged the king's attention for fully an hour, relating what
wonderful things Bana kept in his house, if his majesty would only deign
to see them; and for this humbug got rewarded by a present of three
women. Just at this juncture an adjutant flew overhead, and, by way of
fun, I presented my gun, when the excited king, like a boy from school,
jumped up, forgetting his company, and cried, "Come, Bana, and shoot
the nundo; I know where he has gone--follow me." And away we went, first
through one court, then through another, till we found the nundo perched
on a tree, looking like a sedate old gentleman with a bald head, and
very sharp, long nose. Politeness lost the bird; for whilst I wished the
king to shoot, he wished me to do so, from fear of missing it himself.
He did not care about vultures--he could practise at them at any time;
but he wanted a nundo above all things. The bird, however, took the
hint, and flew away.
Chapter XIII. Palace, Uganda--Continued
A Visit to a Distinguished Statesman--A Visit from the King--Royal
Sport--The Queen's Present of Wives--The Court Beauties and their
Reverses--Judicial Procedure in Uganda--Buffalo-Hunting--A Musical
Party--My Medical Practice--A Royal Excursion on the N'yanza--The
Canoes of Uganda--A Regatta--Rifle Practice--Domestic
Difficulties--Interference of a Magician--The King's Brothers.
29th.--According to appointment I went early this morning to visit
Congow. He kept me some time waiting in his outer hut, and then called
me in to where I found him sitting with his women--a large group, by
no means pretty. His huts are numerous, the gardens and courts all
very neat and well kept. He was much delighted with my coming, produced
pombe, and asked me what I thought of his women, stripping them to
the waist. He assured me that he had thus paid me such a compliment as
nobody else had ever obtained, since the Waganda are very jealous of one
another--so much so, that any one would be killed if found starring upon
a woman even in the highways. I asked him what use he had for so many
women? To which he replied, "None whatever; the king gives them to us
to keep up our rank, sometimes as many as one hundred together, and we
either turn them into wives, or make servants of them, as we please."
Just then I heard that Mkuenda, the queen's woman-keeper, was outside
waiting for me, but dared not come in, because Congow's women were all
out; so I asked leave to go home to breakfast, much to the surprise of
Congow, who thought I was his guest for the whole day. It is considered
very indecorous in Uganda to call upon two persons in one day, though
even the king or the queen should be one of them. Then, as there was
no help for it--Congow could not detain me when hungry--he showed me a
little boy, the only child he had, and said, with much fatherly pride,
"Both the king and queen have called on me to see this fine little
fellow"; and we parted to meet again some other day. Outside his gate
I found Mkuenda, who said the queen had sent him to invite "her son" to
bring her some stomach medicine in the morning, and come to have a
chat with her. With Mkuenda I walked home; but he was so awed by the
splendour of my hut, with its few blankets and bit of chintz, that
he would not even sit upon a cow-skin, but asked if any Waganda dared
venture in there. He was either too dazzled or too timid to answer any
questions, and in a few minutes walked away again.
After this, I had scarcely swallowed by breakfast before I received a
summons from the king to meet him out shooting, with all the Wanguana
armed, and my guns; and going towards the palace, found him with a
large staff, pages and officers as well as women, in a plantain garden,
looking eagerly out for birds, whilst his band was playing. In addition
to his English dress, he wore a turban, and pretended that the glare of
the sun was distressing his eyes--for, in fact, he wanted me to give
him a wideawake like my own. Then, as if a sudden freak had seized him,
though I knew it was on account of Maula's having excited his curiosity,
he said, "Where does Bana live? lead away." Bounding and scrambling, the
Wakungu, the women and all, went pell-mell through everything towards my
hut. If the Kamraviona or any of the boys could not move fast enough,
on account of the crops on the fields, they were piked in the back
till half knocked over; but, instead of minding, they trotted on,
n'yanzigging as if honoured by a kingly poke, though treated like so
many dogs.
Arrived at the hut, the king took off his turban as I took off my
hat, and seated himself on my stool; whilst the Kamraviona, with much
difficulty, was induced to sit upon a cowskin, and the women at first
were ordered to squat outside. Everything that struck the eye was much
admired and begged for, though nothing so much as my wideawake and
mosquito-curtains; then, as the women were allowed to have a peep in and
see Bana in his den, I gave them two sacks of beads, to make the
visit profitable, the only alternative left me from being forced into
inhospitality, for no one would drink from my cup. Moreover, a present
was demanded by the laws of the country.
The king, excitedly impatient, now led the way again, shooting
hurry-scurry through my men's lines, which were much commented on as
being different from Waganda hutting, on to the tall tree with the
adjutant's nest. One young bird was still living in it. There was no
shot, so bullets must be fired; and the cunning king, wishing to show
off, desired me to fire simultaneously with himself. We fired, but my
bullet struck the bough the nest was resting on; we fired again, and the
bullet passed through the nest without touching the bird. I then asked
the king to allow me to try his Whitworth, to which a little bit of
stick, as a charm to secure a correct aim, had been tied below the
trigger-guard. This time I broke the bird's leg, and knocked him half
out of the nest; so, running up to the king, I pointed to the charm,
saying, That has done it--hoping to laugh him out of the folly; but he
took my joke in earnest, and he turned to his men, commenting on the
potency of the charm. Whilst thus engaged, I took another rifle and
brought the bird down altogether. "Woh, woh, woh!" shouted the king;
"Bana, Mzungu, Mzungu!" he repeated, leaping and clapping his hands, as
he ran full speed to the prostrate bird, whilst the drums beat, and the
Wakungu followed him: "Now, is not this a wonder? but we must go
and shoot another." "Where?" I said; "we may walk a long way without
finding, if we have nothing but our eyes to see with. Just send for your
telescope, and then I will show you how to look for birds." Surprised
at this announcement, the king sent his pages flying for the instrument,
and when it came I instructed him how to use it; when he could see with
it, and understand its powers, his astonishment knew no bounds; and,
turning to his Wakungu, he said, laughing, "Now I do see the use of this
thing I have been shutting up in the palace. On that distant tree I can
see three vultures. To its right there is a hut, with a woman sitting
inside the portal, and many goats are feeding all about the palace, just
as large and distinct as if I was close by them."
The day was now far spent, and all proceeded towards the palace. On
the way a mistletoe was pointed out as a rain-producing tree, probably
because, on a former occasion, I had advised the king to grow groves of
coffee-trees about his palace to improve its appearance, and supply the
court with wholesome food--at the same time informing him that trees
increase the falls of rain in a country, though very high ones would be
dangerous, because they attract lightning. Next the guns must be fired
off; and, as it would be a pity to waste lead, the king, amidst thunders
of applause, shot five cows, presenting his gun from the shoulder.
So ended the day's work in the field, but not at home; for I had hardly
arrived there before the pages hurried in to beg for powder and shot,
then caps, then cloth, and, everything else failing, a load of beads.
Such are the persecutions of this negro land--the host every day must
beg something in the most shameless manner from his guest, on the mere
chance of gaining something gratis, though I generally gave the king
some trifle when he least expected it, and made an excuse that he must
wait for the arrival of fresh stores from Gani when he asked.
30th.--To fulfil my engagement with the queen, I walked off to her
palace with stomach medicine, thinking we were now such warm friends,
all pride and distant ceremonies would be dispensed with; but, on the
contrary, I was kept waiting for hours till I sent in word to say,
if she did not want medicine, I wished to go home, for I was tired of
Uganda and everything belonging to it. This message brought her to her
gate, where she stood laughing till the Wahuma girls she had promised
me, one of twelve and the other a little older, were brought in and made
to squat in front of us. The elder, who was in the prime of youth and
beauty, very large of limb, dark in colour, cried considerably; whilst
the younger one, though very fair, had a snubby nose and everted lips,
and laughed as if she thought the change in her destiny very good fun. I
had now to make my selection, and took the smaller one, promising her to
Bombay as soon as we arrived on the coast, where, he said, she would
be considered a Hubshi or Abyssinian. But when the queen saw what I had
done, she gave me the other as well, saying the little one was too young
to go alone, and, if separated, she would take fright and run away. Then
with a gracious bow I walked of with my two fine specimens of natural
history, though I would rather have had princes, that I might have taken
them home to be instructed in England; but the queen, as soon as we had
cleared the palace, sent word to say she must have another parting look
at her son with his wives. Still laughing, she said, "That will do; you
look beautiful; now go away home"; and off we trotted, the elder sobbing
bitterly, the younger laughing.
As soon as we reached home, my first inquiry was concerning their
histories, of which they appeared to know but very little. The elder,
whom I named Meri (plantains), was obtained by Sunna, the late king, as
a wife, from Nkole; and though she was a mere Kahala, or girl, when the
old king died, he was so attached to her he gave her twenty cows, in
order that she might fatten up on milk after her native fashion; but on
Sunna's death, when the establishment of women was divided, Meri fell
to N'yamasore's (the queen's) lot. The lesser one, who still retains the
name of Kahala, said she was seized in Unyoro by the Waganda, who took
her to N'yamasore, but what became of her father and mother she could
not say.
It was now dinner-time, and as the usual sweet potatoes and goat's flesh
were put upon my box-table, I asked them to dine with me, and we became
great friends, for they were assured they would finally get good houses
and gardens at Zanzibar; but nothing would induce either of them to
touch food that had been cooked with butter. A dish of plantains and
goat-flesh was then prepared; but though Kahala wished to eat it,
Meri rejected the goat's flesh, and would not allow Kahala to taste it
either; and thus began a series of domestic difficulties. On inquiring
how I could best deal with my difficult charge, I was told the Wahuma
pride was so great, and their tempers so strong, they were more
difficult to break in than a phunda, or donkey, though when once tamed,
they became the best of wives.
31st.--I wished to call upon the queen and thank her for her charming
present, but my hungry men drove me to the king's palace in search of
food. The gun firing brought Mtesa out, prepared for a shooting trip,
with his Wakungu leading, the pages carrying his rifle and ammunition,
and a train of women behind. The first thing seen outside the palace
gate was a herd of cows, from which four were selected and shot at fifty
paces by the king, firing from his shoulder, amidst thunders of applause
and hand-shakings of the elders. I never saw them dare touch the king's
hand before. Then Mtesa, turning kindly to me, said, "Pray take a
shot"; but I waived the offer off, saying he could kill better himself.
Ambitious of a cut above cows, the king tried his hand at some herons
perched on a tree, and, after five or six attempts, hit one in the eye.
Hardly able to believe in his own skill, he stood petrified at first,
and then ran madly to the fallen bird, crying, "Woh, woh, woh! can this
be?--is it true? Woh, woh!" He jumped in the air, and all his men and
women shouted in concert with him. Then he rushes at me, takes both my
hands--shakes, shakes--woh, woh!--then runs to his women, then to his
men; shakes them all, woh-wohing, but yet not shaking or wohing half
enough for his satisfaction, for he is mad with joy at his own exploit.
The bird is then sent immediately to his mother, whilst he retires to
his palace, woh-wohing, and taking "ten to the dozen" all the way and
boasting of his prowess. "Now, Bana, tell me--do you not think, if two
such shots as you and I were opposed to an elephant, would he have any
chance before us? I know I can shoot--I am certain of it now. You have
often asked me to go hippopotamus-shooting with you, but I staved it
off until I learnt the way to shoot. Now, however, I can shoot--and that
remarkably well too, I flatter myself. I will have at them, and both of
us will go on the lake together." The palace was now reached; musicians
were ordered to play before the king, and Wakungu appointments were
made to celebrate the feats of the day. Then the royal cutler brought in
dinner-knives made of iron, inlaid with squares of copper and brass, and
goats and vegetables were presented as usual, when by torchlight we
were dismissed, my men taking with them as many plantains as they could
carry.
1st.--I stayed at home all this day, because the king and queen had set
it apart for looking at and arranging their horns--mapembe, or fetishes,
as the learned call such things--to see that there are no imperfections
in the Uganga. This was something like an inquiry into the
ecclesiastical condition of the country, while, at the same time, it
was a religious ceremony, and, as such, was appropriate to the first
day after the new moon appears. This being the third moon by account, in
pursuance of ancient customs, all the people about court, including the
king, shaved their heads--the king, however, retaining his cockscomb,
the pages their double cockades, and the other officers their single
cockades on the back of the head, or either side, according to the
official rank of each. My men were occupied making trousers for the king
all day; whilst the pages, and those sent to learn the art of tailoring,
instead of doing their duty, kept continually begging for something to
present the king.
2d.--The queen now taking a sporting fit into her head, sent for me
early in the morning, with all my men, armed, to shoot a crested crane
in her palace; but though we were there as required, we were kept
waiting till late in the afternoon, when, instead of talking about
shooting, as her Wakungu had forbidden her doing it, she asked after
her two daughters--whether they had run away, or if they liked their new
abode? I replied I was sorry circumstances did not permit my coming to
thank her sooner, for I felt grateful beyond measure to her for having
charmed my house with such beautiful society. I did not follow her
advice to chain either of them with iron, for I found cords of love,
the only instrument white men know the use of, quite strong enough.
Fascinated with this speech, she said she would give me another of a
middle age between the two, expecting, as I thought, that she would thus
induce me to visit her more frequently than I did her son; but, though I
thanked her, it frightened me from visiting her for ages after.
She then said, with glowing pride, casting a sneer on the king's
hospitality, "In the days of yore, Sunna, whenever visitors came to see
him, immediately presented them with women, and, secondly, with food;
for he was very particular in looking after his guests' welfare, which
is not exactly what you find the case now, I presume." The rest of the
business of the day consisted in applications for medicine and medical
treatment, which it was difficult satisfactorily to meet.
3d.--To-day Katumba, the king's head page, was sent to me with deoles
to be made into trousers and waistcoats, and a large sixty-dollar silk I
had given him to cover the chair with. The king likes rich colours, and
I was solemnly informed that he will never wear anything but clothes
like Bana.
4th.--By invitation I went to the palace at noon, with guns, and found
the king holding a levee, the first since the new moon, with all heads
shaved in the manner I have mentioned. Soon rising, he showed the way
through the palace to a pond, which is described as his bathing N'yanza,
his women attending, and pages leading the way with his guns. From
this we passed on to a jungle lying between the palace hill and
another situated at the northern end of the lake, where wild buffaloes
frequently lie concealed in the huge papyrus rushes of a miry drain; but
as none could be seen at that moment, we returned again to the palace.
He showed me large mounds of earth, in the shape of cocked hats, which
are private observatories, from which the surrounding country can be
seen. By the side of these observatories are huts, smaller than the
ordinary ones used for residing in, where the king, after the exertion
of "looking out," takes his repose. Here he ordered fruit to be
brought--the Matunguru, a crimson pod filled with acid seeds, which
has only been observed growing by the rivers or waters of Uganda--and
Kasori, a sort of liquorice-root. He then commenced eating with us, and
begging again, unsuccessfully, for my compass. I tried again to make him
see the absurdity of tying a charm on Whitworth's rifle, but without
the least effect. In fact he mistook all my answers for admiration, and
asked me, in the simplest manner possible, if I would like to possess
a charm; and even when I said "No, I should be afraid of provoking
Lubari's" (God's) "anger if I did so," he only wondered at my obstinacy,
so thoroughly was he wedded to his belief. He then called for his
wideawake, and walked with us into another quarter of his palace,
when he entered a dressing-hut, followed by a number of full-grown,
stark-naked women, his valets; at the same time ordering a large body
of women to sit on one side the entrance, whilst I, with Bombay, were
directed to sit on the other, waiting till he was ready to hold another
levee. From this, we repaired to the great throne-hut, where all his
Wakungu at once formed court, and business was commenced. Amongst other
things, an officer, by name Mbogo, or the Buffalo, who had been sent on
a wild-goose chase to look after Mr Petherick, described a journey he
had made, following down the morning sun. After he had passed the limits
of plantain-eating men, he came upon men who lived upon meat alone, who
never wore mbugus, but either cloth or skins, and instead of the spear
they used the double-edged sime. He called the people Wasewe, and their
chief Kisawa; but the company pronounced them to be Masawa (Masai).
After this, about eighty men were marched into the court, with their
faces blackened, and strips of plantain-bark tied on their heads, each
holding up a stick in his hand in place of a spear, under the regulation
that no person is permitted to carry weapons of any sort in the palace.
They were led by an officer, who, standing like a captain before his
company, ordered them to jump and praise the king, acting the part of
fugleman himself. Then said the king, turning to me, "Did I not tell you
I had sent many men to fight? These are some of my army returned; the
rest are coming, and will eventually, when all are collected, go in
a body to fight in Usoga." Goats and other peace-offerings were then
presented; and, finally a large body of officers came in with an old
man, with his two ears shorn off for having been too handsome in
his youth, and a young woman who, after four days' search, had been
discovered in his house. They were brought for judgment before the king.
Nothing was listened to but the plaintiff's statement, who said he had
lost the woman four days, and, after considerable search, had found
her concealed by the old man, who was indeed old enough to be her
grandfather. From all appearances one would have said the wretched girl
had run away from the plaintiff's house in consequence of ill treatment,
and had harboured herself on this decrepid old man without asking
his leave; but their voices in defence were never heard, for the king
instantly sentenced both to death, to prevent the occurrence of such
impropriety again; and, to make the example more severe, decreed that
their lives should not be taken at once, but, being fed to preserve life
as long as possible, they were to be dismembered bit by bit, as rations
for the vultures, every day, until life was extinct. The dismayed
criminals, struggling to be heard, in utter despair, were dragged away
boisterously in the most barbarous manner, to the drowning music of the
milele and drums.
The king, in total unconcern about the tragedy he had thus enacted,
immediately on their departure said, "Now, then, for shooting, Bana;
let us look at your gun." It happened to be loaded, but fortunately only
with powder, to fire my announcement at the palace; for he instantly
placed caps on the nipples, and let off one barrel by accident, the
contents of which stuck in the thatch. This created a momentary alarm,
for it was supposed the thatch had taken fire; but it was no sooner
suppressed than the childish king, still sitting on his throne, to
astonish his officers still more, levelled the gun from his shoulder,
fired the contents of the second barrel into the faces of his squatting
Wakungu, and then laughed at his own trick. In the meanwhile cows were
driven in, which the king ordered his Wakungu to shoot with carbines;
and as they missed them, he showed them the way to shoot with the
Whitworth, never missing. The company now broke up, but I still clung
to the king, begging him to allow me to purchase food with beads, as I
wanted it, for my establishment was always more or less in a starving
state; but he only said, "Let us know what you want and you shall always
have it"; which, in Uganda, I knew from experience only meant, Don't
bother me any more, but give me your spare money, and help yourself from
my spacious gardens--Uganda is before you.
5th--To-day the king went on a visit with his mother, and therefore
neither of them could be seen by visitors. I took a stroll towards the
N'yanza, passing through the plantain-groves occupied by the king's
women, where my man Sangoro had been twice taken up by the Mgemma
and put in the stocks. The plantain gardens were beautifully kept by
numerous women, who all ran away from fright at seeing me, save one who,
taken by surprise, threw herself flat on the ground, rolled herself up
in her mbugu, and, kicking with her naked heels, roared murder and help,
until I poked her up, and reproached her for her folly. This little
incident made my fairies bolder, and, sidling up to me one by one, they
sat in a knot with me upon the ground; then clasping their heads with
their hands, they woh-wohed in admiration of the white man; they never
in all their lives saw anything so wonderful; his wife and children must
be like him; what would not Sunna have given for such a treat?--but it
was destined to Mtesa's lot. What is the interpretation of this sign, if
it does not point to the favour in which Mtesa is upheld by the spirits?
I wished to go, but no: "Stop a little more," they said, all in a
breath, or rather out of breath in their excitement; "remove the hat
and show the hair; take off the shoes and tuck up the trousers; what on
earth is kept in the pockets? Oh, wonder of wonders!--and the iron!"
As I put the watch close to the ear of one of them, "Tick, tick,
ticks--woh, woh, woh"--everybody must hear it; and then the works had
to be seen. "Oh, fearful!" said one, "hide your faces: it is the Lubari.
Shut it up, Bana, shut it up; we have seen enough; but you will come
again and bring us beads." So ended the day's work.
6th.--To-day I sent Bombay to the palace for food. Though rain fell
in torrents, he found the king holding a levee, giving appointments,
plantations, and women, according to merit, to his officers. As one
officer, to whom only one woman was given, asked for more, the king
called him an ingrate, and ordered him to be cut to pieces on the spot;
and the sentence was, as Bombay told me, carried into effect--not with
knives, for they are prohibited, but with strips of sharp-edged grass,
after the executioners had first dislocated his neck by a blow delivered
behind the head, with a sharp, heavy-headed club.
No food, however, was given to my men, though the king, anticipating
Bombay's coming, sent me one load of tobacco, one of butter, and one of
coffee. My residence in Uganda became much more merry now, for all the
women of the camp came daily to call on my two little girls; during
which time they smoked my tobacco, chewed my coffee, drank my pombe,
and used to amuse me with queer stories of their native land. Rozaro's
sister also came, and proposed to marry me, for Maula, she said, was a
brutal man; he killed one of his women because he did not like her, and
now he had clipped one of this poor creature's ears off for trying to
run away from him; and when abused for his brutality, he only replied,
"It was no fault of his, as the king set the example in the country."
In the evening I took a walk with Kahala, dressed in a red scarf, and
in company with Lugoi, to show my children off in the gardens to my fair
friends of yesterday. Everybody was surprised. The Mgemma begged us
to sit with him and drink pombe, which he generously supplied to our
heart's content; wondered at the beauty of Kahala, wished I would give
him a wife like her, and lamented that the king would not allow his
to wear such pretty clothes. We passed on a little farther, and were
invited to sit with another man, Lukanikka, to drink pombe and chew
coffee--which we did as before, meeting with the same remarks; for all
Waganda, instructed by the court, know the art of flattery better than
any people in the world, even including the French.
7th.--In the morning, whilst it rained hard, the king sent to say that
he had started buffalo-shooting, and expected me to join him. After
walking a mile beyond the palace, we found him in a plantain garden,
dressed in imitation of myself, wideawake and all, the perfect picture
of a snob. He sent me a pot of pombe, which I sent home to the women,
and walked off for the shooting-ground, two miles further on, the band
playing in the front, followed by some hundred Wakungu--then the pages,
then the king, next myself, and finally the women--the best in front,
the worst bringing up the rear, with the king's spears and shield, as
also pots of pombe, a luxury the king never moves without. It was easy
to see there would be no sport, still more useless of offer any remarks,
therefore all did as they were bid. The broad road, like all in Uganda,
went straight over hill and dale, the heights covered with high grass
or plantain groves, and the valleys with dense masses of magnificent
forest-trees surrounding swamps covered with tall rushes half bridged.
Proceeding on, as we came to the first water, I commenced flirtations
with Mtesa's women, much to the surprise of the king and every one. The
bridge was broken, as a matter of course; and the logs which composed
it, lying concealed beneath the water, were toed successively by the
leading men, that those who followed should not be tripped up by them.
This favour the king did for me, and I in return for the women behind;
they had never been favoured in their lives with such gallantry, and
therefore could not refrain from laughing, which attracted the king's
notice and set everybody in a giggle; for till now no mortal man had
ever dared communicate with his women.
Shortly after this we left the highway, and, turning westwards, passed
through a dense jungle towards the eastern shores of the Murchison
Creek, cut by runnels and rivulets, where on one occasion I offered, by
dumb signs to carry the fair ones pick-a-back over, and after crossing a
second myself by a floating log, offered my hand. The leading wife first
fears to take it, then grows bold and accepts it; when the prime beauty,
Lubuga, following in her wake, and anxious to feel, I fancy, what the
white man is like, with an imploring face holds out both her hands in
such a captivating manner, that though I feared to draw attention by
waiting any longer, I could not resist compliance. The king noticed it;
but instead of upbraiding me, passed it off as a joke, and running up to
the Kamraviona, gave him a poke in the ribs, and whispered what he had
seen, as if it had been a secret. "Woh, woh!" says the Kamraviona, "what
wonders will happen next?"
We were now on the buffalo ground; but nothing could be seen save some
old footprints of buffaloes, and a pitfall made for catching them. By
this time the king was tired; and as he saw me searching for a log to
sit upon, he made one of his pages kneel upon all fours and sat upon his
back, acting the monkey in aping myself; for otherwise he would have sat
on a mbugu, in his customary manner, spread on the ground. We returned,
pushing along, up one way, then another, without a word, in thorough
confusion, for the king delights in boyish tricks, which he has learned
to play successfully. Leaving the road and plunging into thickets of
tall grass, the band and Wakungu must run for their lives, to maintain
the order of march, by heading him at some distant point of exit from
the jungle; whilst the Kamraviona, leading the pages and my men, must
push head first, like a herd of buffaloes, through the sharp-cutting
grass, at a sufficient rate to prevent the royal walk from being
impeded; and the poor women, ready to sink with exhaustion, can only be
kept in their places by fear of losing their lives.
We had been out the whole day; still he did not tire of these tricks,
and played them incessantly till near sundown, when we entered the
palace. Then the women and Wakungu separating from us, we--that is, the
king, the Kamraviona, pages, and myself--sat down to a warm feast of
sweet potatoes and plantains, ending with pombe and fruit, whilst
moist circular napkins, made in the shape of magnificent wafers out of
plantain fibre, acted at once both the part of water and towel. This
over, as the guns had to be emptied, and it was thought sinful to waste
the bullets, four cows were ordered in and shot by the king. Thus ended
the day, my men receiving one of the cows.
8th.--As Mtesa was tired with his yesterday's work, and would not see
anybody, I took Lugoi and Kahala, with a bundle of beads, to give a
return to the Mgemma for his late treat of pombe. His household men and
women were immensely delighted with us, but more so, they said, for the
honour of the visit. They gave us more pombe, and introduced us to one
of N'yamasore's numerous sisters, who was equally charmed with myself
and my children. The Mgemma did not know how he could treat us properly,
he said, for he was only a poor man; but he would order some fowls, that
I might carry them away. When I refused this offer, because we came to
see him, and not to rob him, he thought it the most beautiful language,
and said he would bring them to the house himself. I added, I hoped he
would do so in company with his wife, which he promised, though he never
dared fulfil the promise; and, on our leaving, set all his servants to
escort us beyond the premises. In the evening, as the king's musicians
passed the camp, I ordered them in to play the milele, and give my men
and children a treat of dancing. The performers received a bundle of
beads and went away happy.
9th.--I called on Congow, but found him absent, waiting on the king, as
usual; and the king sent for my big rifle to shoot birds with.
10th.--In consequence of my having explained to the king the effect of
the process of distilling, and the way of doing it, he sent a number of
earthen pots and bugus of pombe that I might produce some spirits for
him; but as the pots sent were not made after the proper fashion, I
called at the palace and waited all day in the hope of seeing him. No
one, however, dared enter his cabinet, where he had been practising
"Uganga" all day, and so the pombe turned sour and useless. Such are the
ways of Uganda all over.
11th.--The king was out shooting; and as nothing else could be done, I
invited Uledi's pretty wife Guriku to eat a mutton breakfast, and
teach my child Meri not to be so proud. In this we were successful; but
whether her head had been turned, as Bombay thought, or what else, we
know not; but she would neither walk, nor talk, nor do anything but lie
at full length all day long, smoking and lounging in thorough indolence.
12th.--I distilled some fresh pombe for the king; and taking it to him
in the afternoon, fired guns to announce arrival. He was not visible,
while fearful shrieks were heard from within, and presently a beautiful
woman, one of the king's sisters, with cockscomb erect, was dragged out
to execution, bewailing and calling on her king, the Kamraviona, and
Mzungu, by turns, to save her life. Would to God I could have done it!
but I did not know her crime, if crime she had committed, and therefore
had to hold my tongue, whilst the Kamraviona, and other Wakungu present,
looked on with utter unconcern, not daring to make the slightest remark.
It happened that Irungu was present in the ante-chamber at this time;
and as Maula came with my party, they had a fight in respect to their
merits for having brought welcome guests to their king. Mtesa, it was
argued, had given N'yamgundu more women and men than he did to Maula,
because he was the first to bring intelligence of our coming, as well as
that of K'yengo, and Suworora's hongo to his king; whilst, finally, he
superseded Maula by taking me out of his charge, and had done a further
good service by sending men on to Karague to fetch both Grant and
K'yengo.
Maula, although he had received the second reward, had literally done
nothing, whilst Irungu had been years absent at Usui, and finally had
brought a valuable hongo, yet he got less than Maula. This, Irungu
said, was an injustice he would not stand; N'yamgundu fairly earned his
reward, but Maula must have been tricking to get more than himself. He
would get a suitable offering of wire, and lay his complaint in court
the first opportunity. "Pooh, pooh! nonsense!" says Maula, laughing; "I
will give him more wires than you, and then let us see who will win the
king's ear." Upon this the two great children began collecting wire and
quarrelling until the sun went down, and I went home. I did not return
to a quiet dinner, as I had hoped, but to meet the summons of the king.
Thinking it policy to obey, I found him waiting my coming in the palace.
He made apologies for not answering my gun, and tasted some spirits
resembling toddy, which I had succeeded in distilling. He imbibed it
with great surprise; it was wonderful tipple; he must have some more;
and, for the purpose of brewing better, would send the barrel of an old
Brown Bess musket, as well as more pombe and wood in the morning.
13th.--As nothing was done all day, I took the usual promenade in the
Seraglio Park, and was accosted by a very pretty little woman, Kariana,
wife of Dumba, who, very neatly dressed, was returning from a visit. At
first she came trotting after me, then timidly paused, then advanced,
and, as I approached, stood spellbound at my remarkable appearance. At
last recovering herself, she woh-wohed with all the coquetry of a Mganda
woman, and a flirtation followed; she must see my hair, my watch, the
contents of my pockets--everything; but that was not enough. I waved
adieu, but still she followed. I offered my arm, showing her how to
take it in European fashion, and we walked along to the surprise of
everybody, as if we had been in Hyde Park rather than in Central Africa,
flirting and coquetting all the way. I was surprised that no one came to
prevent her forwardness; but not till I almost reached home did any one
appear; and then, with great scolding, she was ordered to return--not,
however, without her begging I would call in and see her on some future
occasion, when she would like to give me some pombe.
14th.--As conflicting reports came about Grant, the king very
courteously, at my request, forwarded letters to him. I passed the day
in distilling pombe, and the evening in calling on Mrs Dumba, with Meri,
Kahala, Lugoi, and a troop of Wanyamuezi women. She was very agreeable;
but as her husband was attending the palace, could not give pombe, and
instead gave my female escort sundry baskets of plaintains and potatoes,
signifying a dinner, and walked half-way home, flirting with me as
before.
15th--I called on the king with all the spirits I had made, as well as
the saccharine residue. We found him holding a levee, and receiving
his offerings of a batch of girls, cows, goats, and other things of an
ordinary nature. One of the goats presented gave me an opportunity of
hearing one of the strangest stories I had yet heard in this strange
country: it was a fine for attempted regicide, which happened yesterday,
when a boy, finding the king alone, which is very unusual, walked up to
him and threatened to kill him, because, he said, he took the lives of
men unjustly. The king explained by description and pantomime how
the affair passed. When the youth attacked him he had in his hand the
revolving pistol I had given him, and showed us, holding the pistol to
his cheek, how he had presented the muzzle to the boy, which, though
it was unloaded, so frightened him that he ran away. All the courtiers
n'yanzigged vigorously for the condescension of the king in telling the
story. There must have been some special reason why, in a court where
trifling breaches of etiquette were punished with a cruel death, so
grave a crime should have been so leniently dealt with; but I could
not get at the bottom of the affair. The culprit, a good-looking young
fellow of sixteen or seventeen, who brought in the goat, made his
n'yanzigs, stroked the goat and his own face with his hands, n'yanzigged
again with prostrations, and retired.
After this scene, officers announced the startling fact that two white
men had been seen at Kamrasi's, one with a beard like myself, the other
smooth-faced. I jumped at this news, and said, "Of course, they are
there; do let me send a letter to them." I believed it to be Petherick
and a companion whom I knew he was to bring with him. The king, however,
damped my ardour by saying the information was not perfect, and we must
wait until certain Wakungu, whom he sent to search in Unyoro, returned.
16th.--The regions about the palace were all in a state of commotion
to-day, men and women running for their lives in all directions,
followed by Wakungu and their retainers. The cause of all this commotion
was a royal order to seize sundry refractory Wakungu, with their
property, wives, concubines--if such a distinction can be made in this
country--and families all together. At the palace Mtesa had a musical
party, playing the flute occasionally himself. After this he called me
aside, and said, "Now, Bana, I wish you would instruct me, as you have
often proposed doing, for I wish to learn everything, though I have
little opportunity for doing so." Not knowing what was uppermost in his
mind, I begged him to put whatever questions he liked, and he should be
answered seriatim--hoping to find him inquisitive on foreign matters;
but nothing was more foreign to his mind: none of his countrymen ever
seemed to think beyond the sphere of Uganda.
The whole conversation turned on medicines, or the cause and effects of
diseases. Cholera, for instance, very much affected the land at certain
seasons, creating much mortality, and vanishing again as mysteriously as
it came. What brought this scourge? and what would cure it? Supposing
a man had a headache, what should he take for it? or a leg ache, or a
stomach-ache, or itch; in fact, going the rounds of every disease
he knew, until, exhausting the ordinary complaints, he went into
particulars in which he was personally much interested; but I was
unfortunately unable to prescribe medicines which produce the physical
phenomenon next to his heart.
17th.--I called upon the king by appointment, and found a large court,
where the Wakungu caught yesterday, and sentenced to execution, received
their reprieve on paying fines of cattle and young damsels--their
daughters. A variety of charms, amongst which were some bits of stick
strung on leather and covered with serpent-skin, were presented and
approved of. Kaggao, a large district officer, considered the second
in rank here, received permission for me to call upon him with my
medicines. I pressed the king again to send men with mine to Kamrasi's
to call Petherick. At first he objected that they would be killed, but
finally he yielded, and appointed Budja, his Unyoro ambassador, for the
service. Then, breaking up the court, he retired with a select party
of Wakungu, headed by the Kamraviona, and opened a conversation on the
subject which is ever uppermost with the king and his courtiers.
18th.--To-day I visited Kaggao with my medicine-chest. He had a local
disease, which he said came to him by magic, though a different cause
was sufficiently obvious, and wanted medicine such as I gave Mkuenda,
who reported that I gave him a most wonderful draught. Unfortunately I
had nothing suitable to give my new patient, but cautioned him to have a
care lest contagion should run throughout his immense establishment,
and explained the whole of the circumstances to him. Still he was not
satisfied; he would give me slaves, cows, or ivory, if I would only
cure him. He was a very great man, as I could see, with numerous houses,
numerous wives, and plenty of everything, so that it was ill-becoming of
him to be without his usual habits. Rejecting his munificent offers, I
gave him a cooling dose of calomel and jalap, which he drank like pombe,
and pronounced beautiful--holding up his hands, and repeating the words
"Beautiful, beautiful! they are all beautiful together! There is Bana
beautiful! his box is beautiful! and his medicine beautiful!"--and,
saying this, led us in to see his women, who at my request were grouped
in war apparel--viz., a dirk fastened to the waist by many strings of
coloured beads. There were from fifty to sixty women present, all very
lady-like, but none of them pretty. Kaggao then informed me the king had
told all his Wakungu he would keep me as his guest four months longer to
see if Petherick came; and should he not by that time, he would give me
an estate, stocked with men, women, and cattle, in perpetuity, so that,
if I ever wished to leave Uganda, I should always have something to come
back to; so I might now know what my fate was to be. Before leaving,
Kaggao presented us with two cows and ten baskets of potatoes.
19th.--I sent a return present of two wires and twelve fundo of beads of
sorts to Kaggao, and heard that the king had gone to show himself off
to his mother dressed Bana fashion. In the evening Katunzi, N'yamasore's
brother, just returned from the Unyoro plunder, called on me whilst I
was at dinner. Not knowing who he was, and surprised at such audacity in
Uganda, for he was the first officer who ever ventured to come near
me in this manner, I offered him a knife and fork, and a share in
the repast, which rather abashed him; for, taking it as a rebuff, he
apologised immediately for the liberty he had taken, contrary to the
etiquette of Uganda society, in coming to a house when the master was
at dinner; and he would have left again had I not pressed him to remain.
Katunzi then told me the whole army had returned from Unyoro, with
immense numbers of cows, women, and children, but not men, for those
who did not run away were killed fighting. He offered me a present of a
woman, and pressed me to call on him.
20th.--Still I found that the king would not send his Wakungu for the
Unyoro expedition, so I called on him about it. Fortunately he asked me
to speak a sentence in English, that he might hear how it sounds; and
this gave me an opportunity of saying, if he had kept his promise by
sending Budja to me, I should have despatched letters to Petherick. This
was no sooner interpreted than he said, if I would send my men to him
with letters in the morning he would forward them on, accompanied with
an army. On my asking if the army was intended to fight, he replied, in
short, "First to feel the way." On hearing this, I strongly advised him,
if he wished the road to be kept permanently open, to try conciliation
with Kamrasi, and send him some trifling present.
Now were brought in some thirty-odd women for punishment and execution,
which the king, who of late had been trying to learn Kisuahili, in order
that we might be able to converse together, asked me, in that language,
if I would like to have some of these women; and if so, how many? On my
replying "One," he begged me to have my choice, and a very pretty one
was selected. God only knows what became of the rest; but the one I
selected, on reaching home, I gave to Ilmas, my valet, for a wife.
He and all the other household servants were much delighted with this
charming acquisition; but the poor girl, from the time she had been
selected, had flattered herself she was to be Bana's wife, and became
immensely indignant at the supposed transfer, though from the first I
had intended her for Ilmas, not only to favour him for his past good
services, but as an example to my other men, as I had promised to give
them all, provided they behaved well upon the journey, a "free-man's
garden," with one wife each and a purse of money, to begin a new life
upon, as soon as they reached Zanzibar. The temper of Meri and Kahala
was shown in a very forcible manner: they wanted this maid as an
addition to my family, called her into the hut and chatted till
midnight, instructing her not to wed with Ilmas; and then, instead of
turning into bed as usual, they all three slept upon the ground. My
patience could stand this phase of henpecking no longer, so I called
in Manamaka, the head Myamuezi woman, whom I had selected for their
governess, and directed her to assist Ilmas, and put them to bed
"bundling."
21st.--In the morning, before I had time to write letters, the king
invited me to join him at some new tank he was making between his
palace and the residence of his brothers. I found him sitting with his
brothers, all playing in concert on flutes. I asked him, in Kisuahili,
if he knew where Grant was? On replying in the negative, I proposed
sending a letter, which he approved of; and Budja was again ordered to
go with an army for Petherick.
22d.--Mabruki and Bilal, with Budja, started to meet Petherick, and
three more men, with another letter to Grant. I called on the king,
who appointed the 24th instant for an excursion of three days'
hippopotamus-shooting on the N'yanza.
23d.--To-day occurred a brilliant instance of the capricious
restlessness and self-willedness of this despotic king. At noon, pages
hurried in to say that he had started for the N'yanza, and wished me to
follow him without delay. N'yanza, as I have mentioned, merely means a
piece of water, whether a pond, river, or lake; and as no one knew which
N'yanza he meant, or what project was on foot, I started off in a hurry,
leaving everything behind, and walked rapidly through gardens, over
hills, and across rushy swamps, down the west flank of the Murchison
Creek, till 3 p.m., when I found the king dressed in red, with his
Wakungu in front and women behind, travelling along in the confused
manner of a pack of hounds, occasionally firing his rifle that I might
know his whereabouts. He had just, it seems, mingled a little business
with pleasure; for noticing, as he passed, a woman tied by the hands to
be punished for some offence, the nature of which I did not learn, he
took the executioner's duty on himself, fired at her, and killed her
outright.
On this occasion, to test all his followers, and prove their readiness
to serve him, he had started on a sudden freak for the three days'
excursion on the lake one day before the appointed time, expecting
everybody to fall into place by magic, without the smallest regard to
each one's property, feelings, or comfort. The home must be forsaken
without a last adieu, the dinner untasted, and no provision made for the
coming night, in order that his impetuous majesty should not suffer one
moment's disappointment. The result was natural; many who would have
come were nowhere to be found; my guns, bed, bedding, and note-books,
as well as cooking utensils, were all left behind, and, though sent for,
did not arrive till the following day.
On arriving at the mooring station, not one boat was to be found, nor
did any arrive until after dark, when, on the beating of drums and
firing of guns, some fifty large ones appeared. They were all painted
with red clay, and averaged from ten to thirty paddles, with long prows
standing out like the neck of a syphon or swan, decorated on the head
with the horns of the Nsunnu (lencotis) antelope, between which was
stuck upright a tuft of feathers exactly like a grenadier's plume. These
arrived to convey us across the mouth of a deep rushy swamp to the
royal yachting establishment, the Cowes of Uganda, distant five hours'
travelling from the palace. We reached the Cowes by torchlight at 9
p.m., when the king had a picnic dinner with me, turned in with his
women in great comfort, and sent me off to a dreary hut, where I had to
sleep upon a grass-strew floor. I was surprised we had to walk so far,
when, by appearance, we might have boated it from the head of the creek
all the way down; but, on inquiry, was informed of the swampy nature of
the ground at the head of the creek precluded any approach to the
clear water there, and hence the long overland journey, which, though
fatiguing to the unfortunate women, who had to trot the whole way behind
Mtesa's four-mile-an-hour strides, was very amusing. The whole of the
scenery--hill, dale, and lake--was extremely beautiful. The Wanguana in
my escort compared the view to their own beautiful Poani (coast); but in
my opinion it far surpassed anything I ever saw, either from the sea or
upon the coast of Zanzibar.
The king rose betimes in the morning and called me, unwashed and very
uncomfortable, to picnic with him, during the collection of the boats.
The breakfast, eaten in the open court, consisted of sundry baskets of
roast-beef and plantain-squash, folded in plantain-leaves. He sometimes
ate with a copper knife and picker, not forked--but more usually like
a dog, with both hands. The bits too tough for his mastication he would
take from his mouth and give as a treat to the pages, who n'yanzigged,
and swallowed them with much seeming relish. Whatever remained over
was then divided by the boys, and the baskets taken to the cooks. Pombe
served as tea, coffee, and beer for the king; but his guests might think
themselves very lucky if they ever got a drop of it.
Now for the lake. Everybody in a hurry falls into his place the best way
he can--Wakungu leading, and women behind. They rattle along, through
plantains and shrubs, under large trees, seven, eight, and nine feet in
diameter, till the beautiful waters are reached--a picture of the Rio
scenery, barring that of the higher mountains in the background of that
lovely place, which are here represented by the most beautiful little
hills. A band of fifteen drums of all sizes, called the Mazaguzo,
playing with the regularity of a lot of factory engines at work,
announced the king's arrival, and brought all the boats to the
shore--but not as in England, where Jack, with all the consequence of a
lord at home, invites the ladies to be seated, and enjoys the sight of
so many pretty faces. Here every poor fellow, with his apprehensions
written in his face, leaps over the gunwale into the water--ducking
his head for fear of being accused of gazing on the fair sex, which
is death--and bides patiently his time. They were dressed in plantain
leaves, looking like grotesque Neptunes. The king, in his red coat and
wideawake, conducted the arrangements, ordering all to their proper
places--the women, in certain boats, the Wakungu and Wanguana in others,
whilst I sat in the same boat with him at his feet, three women holding
mbugus of pombe behind. The king's Kisuahali now came into play, and he
was prompt in carrying out the directions he got from myself to approach
the hippopotami. But the waters were too large and the animals too shy,
so we toiled all the day without any effect, going only once ashore
to picnic; not for the women to eat--for they, poor things, got
nothing--but the king, myself, the pages, and the principal Wakungu.
As a wind-up to the day's amusement, the king led the band of drums,
changed the men according to their powers, put them into concert pitch,
and readily detected every slight irregularity, showing himself a
thorough musician.
This day requires no remark, everything done being the counterpart
of yesterday, excepting that the king, growing bolder with me
in consequence of our talking together, became more playful and
familiar--amusing himself, for instance, sometimes by catching hold of
my beard as the rolling of the boat unsteadied him.
We started early in the usual manner; but after working up and down the
creek, inspecting the inlets for hippopotami, and tiring from want of
sport, the king changed his tactics, and, paddling and steering himself
with a pair of new white paddles, finally directing the boats to
an island occupied by the Mgussa, or Neptune of the N'yanza, not in
person--for Mgussa is a spirit--but by his familiar or deputy, the great
medium who communicates the secrets of the deep to the king of Uganda.
In another sense, he might be said to be the presiding priest of the
source of the mighty Nile, and as such was, of course, an interesting
person for me to meet. The first operation on shore was picnicking, when
many large bugus of pombe were brought for the king; next, the whole
party took a walk, winking through the trees, and picking fruit,
enjoying themselves amazingly, till, by some unlucky chance, one of the
royal wives, a most charming creature, and truly one of the best of the
lot, plucked a fruit and offered it to the king, thinking, doubtless, to
please him greatly; but he, like a madman, flew into a towering passion,
said it was the first time a woman ever had the impudence to offer him
anything, and ordered the pages to seize, bind, and lead her off to
execution.
These words were no sooner uttered by the king than the whole bevy of
pages slipped their cord turbans from their heads, and rushed, like a
pack of cupid beagles upon the fairy queen, who, indignant at the little
urchins daring to touch her majesty, remonstrated with the king, and
tried to beat them off like flies, but was soon captured, overcome,
and dragged away, crying, in the names of the Kamraviona and Mzungu
(myself), for help and protection; whilst Lubuga, the pet sister,
and all the other women, clasped the king by his legs, and, kneeling,
implored forgiveness for their sister. The more they craved for mercy,
the more brutal he became, till at last he took a heavy stick and began
to belabour the poor victim on the head.
Hitherto I had been extremely careful not to interfere with any of the
king's acts of arbitrary cruelty, knowing that such interference, at
an early stage, would produce more harm than good. This last act of
barbarism, however, was too much for my English blood to stand; and as
I heard my name, Mzungu, imploringly pronounced, I rushed at the king,
and, staying his uplifted arm, demanded from him the woman's life.
Of course I ran imminent risk of losing my own in thus thwarting the
capricious tyrant; but his caprice proved the friend of both. The
novelty of interference even made him smile, and the woman was instantly
released.
Proceeding on through the trees of this beautiful island, we next turned
into the hut of the Mgussa's familiar, which at the farther end was
decorated with many mystic symbols amongst others a paddle, the badge
of his high office--and for some time we sat chatting, when pombe was
brought, and the spiritual medium arrived. He was dressed Wichwezi
fashion, with a little white goat-skin apron, adorned with numerous
charms, and used a paddle for a mace or walking stick. He was not an old
man, though he affected to be so--walking very slowly and deliberately,
coughing asthmatically, glimmering with his eyes, and mumbling like a
witch. With much affected difficulty he sat at the end of the hut beside
the symbols alluded to, and continued his coughing full half an hour,
when his wife came in in the same manner, without saying a word, and
assumed the same affected style. The king jokingly looked at me and
laughed, and then at these strange creatures, by turn, as much as to
say, What do you think of them? but no voice was heard save that of the
old wife, who croaked like a frog for water, and, when some was brought,
croaked again because it was not the purest of the lake's produce--had
the first cup changed, wetted her lips with the second, and hobbled away
in the same manner as she came.
At this juncture the Mgussa's familiar motioned the Kamraviona and
several officers to draw around him, when, in a very low tone, he gave
them all the orders of the deep, and walked away. His revelations seemed
unpropitious, for we immediately repaired to our boats and returned to
our quarters. Here we no sooner arrived than a host of Wakungu, lately
returned from the Unyoro war, came to pay their respects to the king:
they had returned six days or more, but etiquette had forbidden their
approaching majesty sooner. Their successes had been great, their
losses, nil, for not one man had lost his life fighting. To these
men the king narrated all the adventures of the day; dwelling more
particularly on my defending his wife's life, whom he had destined for
execution. This was highly approved of by all; and they unanimously said
Bana knew what he was about, because he dispenses justice like a king in
his own country.
Early in the morning a great hue and cry was made because the Wanguana
had been seen bathing in the N'yanza naked, without the slightest regard
to decency. We went boating as usual all day long, sometimes after
hippopotami, at others racing up and down the lake, the king and Wakungu
paddling and steering by turns, the only break to this fatigue being
when we went ashore to picnic, or the king took a turn at the drums.
During the evening some of the principal Wakungu were collected
to listen to an intellectual discourse on the peculiarities of the
different women in the royal establishment, and the king in good-honour
described the benefits he had derived from this pleasant tour on the
water.
Whilst I was preparing my Massey's log to show the use of it to the
king, he went off boating without me; and as the few remaining boats
would not take me off because they had received no orders to do so, I
fired guns, but, getting no reply, went into the country hoping to find
game; but, disappointed in that also, I spent the first half of the day
with a hospitable old lady, who treated us to the last drop of pombe
in her house--for the king's servants had robbed her of nearly
everything--smoked her pipe with me, and chatted incessantly on the
honour paid her by the white king's visit, as well as of the horrors
of Uganda punishment, when my servants told her I saved the life of
one queen. Returning homewards, the afternoon was spent at a hospitable
officer's, who would not allow us to depart until my men were all
fuddled with pombe, and the evening setting in warned us to wend our
way. On arrival at camp, the king, quite shocked with himself for having
deserted me, asked me if I did not hear his guns fire. He had sent
twenty officers to scour the country, looking for me everywhere. He had
been on the lake the whole day himself, and was now amusing his officers
with a little archery practice, even using the bow himself, and making
them shoot by turns. A lucky shot brought forth immense applause, all
jumping and n'yanzigging with delight, whether it was done by their own
bows or the king's.
A shield was the mark, stuck up at only thirty paces; still they were
such bad shots that they hardly ever hit it. Now tired of this slow
sport, and to show his superior prowess, the king ordered sixteen
shields to be placed before him, one in front of the other, and with
one shot from Whitworth pierced the whole of them, the bullet passing
through the bosses of nearly every one. "Ah!" says the king, strutting
about with gigantic strides, and brandishing the rifle over his head
before all his men, "what is the use of spears and bows? I shall never
fight with anything but guns in the future." These Wakungu, having only
just then returned from plundering Unyoro, had never before seen their
king in a chair, or anybody sitting, as I was, by his side; and it
being foreign to their notions, as well as, perhaps, unpleasant to
their feelings, to find a stranger sitting higher than themselves, they
complained against this outrage to custom, and induced the king to order
my dethronement. The result was, as my iron stool was objectionable, I
stood for a moment to see that I thoroughly understood their meaning;
and then showing them my back, walked straightway home to make a grass
throne, and dodge them that way.
There was nothing for dinner last night, nothing again this morning,
yet no one would go in to report this fact, as rain was falling, and the
king was shut up with his women. Presently the thought struck me that
the rifle, which was always infallible in gaining me admittance at the
palace, might be of the same service now. I therefore shot a dove close
to the royal abode, and, as I expected, roused the king at once,
who sent his pages to know what the firing was about. When told the
truth--that I had been trying to shoot a dish of doves for breakfast,
as I could get neither meat nor drink from his kitchen--the head boy,
rather guessing than understanding what was told him, distorted my
message, and said to the king, as I could not obtain a regular supply
of food from his house, I did not wish to accept anything further at his
hands, but intended foraging for the future in the jungles. The king, as
might be imagined, did not believe the boy's story, and sent other pages
to ascertain the truth of the case, bidding them listen well, and beware
of what they were about. This second lot of boys conveyed the story
rightly, when the king sent me a cow. As I afterwards heard, he cut
off the ears of the unfortunate little mischief-maker for not making a
proper use of those organs; and then, as the lad was the son of one
of his own officers he was sent home to have the sores healed. After
breakfast the king called me to go boating, when I used my grass throne,
to the annoyance of the attendants. This induced the king to say before
them, laughing, "Bana, you see, is not to be done; he is accustomed to
sit before kings, and sit he will." Then by way of a change, he ordered
all the drums to embark and play upon the waters; whilst he and his
attendants paddled and steered by turns, first up the creek, and then
down nearly to the broad waters of the lake.
There was a passage this way, it was said, leading up to Usoga, but very
circuitous, on account of reefs or shoals, and on the way the Kitiri
island was passed; but no other Kitiri was known to the Waganda, though
boats went sometimes coasting down the western side of the lake to
Ukerewe. The largest island on the lake is the Sese, [20] off the mouth
of the Katonga river, where another of the high priests of the Neptune
of the N'yanza resides. The king's largest vessels are kept there, and
it is famous for its supply of mbugu barks. We next went on shore to
picnic, when a young hippopotamus, speared by harpoon, one pig, and
a pongo or bush-boc, were presented to the king. I now advised
boat-racing, which was duly ordered, and afforded much amusement as the
whole fifty boats formed in line, and paddle furiously to the beat of
drum to the goal which I indicated.
The day was done. In great glee the king, ever much attached to the
blackguard Maula, in consequence of his amusing stories, appointed him
to the office of seizer, or chief kidnapper of Wakungu; observing that,
after the return of so many officers from war, much business in that
line would naturally have to be done, and there was none so trustworthy
now at court to carry out the king's orders. All now went to the camp;
but what was my astonishment on reaching the hut to find every
servant gone, along with the pots, pans, meat, everything; and all in
consequence of the king's having taken the drums on board, which, being
unusual, was regarded as one of his delusive tricks, and a sign of
immediate departure. He had told no one he was going to the N'yanza,
and now it was thought he would return in the same way. I fired for my
supper, but fired in vain. Boys came out, by the king's order to inquire
what I wanted, but left again without doing anything further.
At my request the king sent off boats to inquire after the one that
left, or was supposed to have left, for Grant on the 3d of March, and he
then ordered the return home, much to my delight; for, beautiful as the
N'yanza was, the want of consideration for other people's comfort, the
tiring, incessant boating, all day long and every day, in the sun, as
well as the king's hurry-scurry about everything he undertook to do,
without the smallest forethought, preparation, or warning, made me
dream of my children, and look forward with pleasure to rejoining them.
Strange as it may appear to Englishmen, I had a sort of paternal love
for those little blackamoors as if they had been my offspring; and I
enjoyed the simple stories that their sable visitors told me every day
they came over to smoke their pipes, which they did with the utmost
familiarity, helping themselves from my stores just as they liked.
Without any breakfast, we returned by the same route by which we had
come, at four miles an hour, till half the way was cleared, when the
king said, laughing, "Bana, are you hungry?"--a ridiculous question
after twenty-four hours of starvation, which he knew full well--and led
the way into a plantain-grove, where the first hut that was found was
turned inside out for the king's accommodation, and picnic was prepared.
As, however, he ordered my portion to be given outside with the pages',
and allowed neither pombe or water, I gave him the slip, and walked
hurriedly home, where I found Kahala smirking, and apparently glad to
see us, but Meri shamming ill in bed, whilst Manamaka, the governess,
was full of smiles and conversation. She declared Meri had neither
tasted food or slept since my departure, but had been retching all the
time. Dreadfully concerned at the doleful story I immediately thought
of giving relief with medicines, but neither pulse, tongue, nor anything
else indicated the slightest disorder; and to add to these troubles,
Ilmas's woman had tried during my absence to hang herself, because she
would not serve as servant but wished to be my wife; and Bombay's wife,
after taking a doze of quinine, was delivered of a still-born child.
1st.--I visited the king, at his request, with the medicine-chest. He
had caught a cold. He showed me several of his women grievously affected
with boils, and expected me to cure them at once. I then went home,
and found twenty men who had passed Grant, coming on a stretcher from
Karague, without any of the rear property. Meri, still persistent,
rejected strengthening medicines, but said, in a confidential manner, if
I would give her a goat to sacrifice to the Uganga she would recover in
no time. There was something in her manner when she said this that I did
not like--it looked suspicious; and I contented myself by saying, "No,
I am a wiser doctor than any in these lands; if anybody could cure you,
that person is myself: and further, if I gave you a goat to sacrifice,
God would be angry with both of us for our superstitious credulity; you
must therefore say no more about it."
2d.--The whole country around the palace was in a state of commotion
to-day, from Maula and his children hunting down those officers who had
returned from the war, yet had not paid their respects to the king at
the N'yanza, because they thought they would not be justified in calling
on him so quickly after their arrival. Maula's house, in consequence of
this, was full of beef and pombe; whilst, in his courtyard, men, women,
and children, with feet in stocks, very like the old parish stocks in
England, waited his pleasure, to see what demands he would make upon
them as the price of their release. After anxiously watching, I found
out that Meri was angry with me for not allowing Ilmas's woman to
live in my house; and, to conquer my resolution against it--although I
ordered it with a view to please Ilmas, for he was desperately in love
with her--she made herself sick by putting her finger down her throat. I
scolded her for her obstinacy. She said she was ill--it was not feigned;
and if I would give her a goat to sacrifice she would be well at once;
for she had looked into the magic horn already, and discovered that if
I have her a goat for that purpose it would prove that I loved her,
and her health would be restored to her at once. Hallo! Here was a
transformation from the paternal position into that of a henpecked
husband! Somebody, I smelt at once, had been tampering with my household
whilst I was away. I commenced investigations, and after a while found
out that Rozaro's sister had brought a magician belonging to her family
into the hut during my absence, who had put Meri up to this trick of
extorting a goat from me, in order that he might benefit by it himself,
for the magician eats the sacrifice, and keeps the skin.
I immediately ordered him to be seized and bound to the flag-staff,
whilst Maula, Uledi, Rozaro, and Bombay were summoned to witness the
process of investigation. Rozaro flew into a passion, and tried
to release the magician as soon as he saw him, affecting intense
indignation that I should take the law into my own hands when one of
Rumanika's subjects was accused; but only lost his dignity still more on
being told he had acknowledged his inability to control his men so
often when they had misbehaved, that I scorned to ask his assistance any
longer. He took huff at this, and, as he could not help himself, walked
away, leaving us to do as we liked. The charge was fully proved. The
impudent magician, without leave, and contrary to all the usages of the
country, had entered and set my house against itself during my absence,
and had schemed to rob me of a goat. I therefore sentenced him to fifty
lashes--twenty-five for the injury he had inflicted on my by working up
a rebellion in my house, and the remaining twenty-five for attempting
larceny--saying, as he had wanted my goat and its skin, so now in
return I wanted his skin. These words were no sooner pronounced than the
wretched Meri cried out against it, saying all the fault was hers: "Let
the stick skin my back, but spare my doctor; it would kill me to see him
touched."
This appeal let me see that there was something in the whole matter too
deep and intricate to be remedied by my skill. I therefore dismissed her
on the spot, and gave her, as a sister and free woman, to Uledi and his
pretty Mhmula wife, giving Bombay orders to carry the sentences into
execution. After walking about till after dark, on returning to the
empty house, I had some misgivings as to the apparent cruelty of
abandoning one so helpless to the uncertainties of this wicked world.
Ilmas's woman also ran away, doubtless at the instigation of Rozaro's
sister, for she had been denied any further access to the house as being
at the bottom of all this mischief.
3d.--I was haunted all night by my fancied cruelty, and in the morning
sent its victim, after Uganda fashion, some symbolical presents,
including a goat, in token of esteem; a black blanket, as a sign of
mourning; a bundle of gundu anklets; and a packet of tobacco, in proof
of my forgiveness.
Chapter XIV. Palace, Uganda--Continued
Reception of a Victorious Army at Court--Royal Sport--A Review of the
Troops--Negotiations for the Opening of the Road along the Nile--Grant's
Return--Pillagings--Court Marriages--The King's Brothers--Divinations
and Sacrifices--The Road granted at last--The Preparations for
continuing the Expedition--The Departure.
I now received a letter from Grant to say he was coming by boat from
Kitangule, and at once went to the palace to give the welcome news to
the king. The road to the palace I found thronged with people; and
in the square outside the entrance there squatted a multitude of
attendants, headed by the king, sitting on a cloth, dressed in his
national costume, with two spears and a shield by his side. On his right
hand the pages sat waiting for orders, while on his left there was a
small squatting cluster of women, headed by Wichwezis, or attendant
sorceresses, offering pombe. In front of the king, in form of a hollow
square, many ranks deep, sat the victorious officers, lately returned
from the war, variously dressed; the nobles distinguished by their
leopard-cat skins and dirks, the commoners by coloured mbugu and cow
or antelope skin cloaks; but all their faces and arms were painted red,
black, or smoke-colour. Within the square of men, immediately fronting
the king, the war-arms of Uganda were arranged in three ranks; the great
war-drum, covered with a leopard-skin, and standing on a large carpeting
of them, was placed in advance; behind this, propped or hung on a
rack of iron, were a variety of the implements of war in common use,
offensive and defensive, as spears--of which two were of copper, the
rest iron--and shields of wood and leather; whilst in the last row or
lot were arranged systematically, with great taste and powerful effect,
the supernatural arms, the god of Uganda, consisting of charms of
various descriptions and in great numbers. Outside the square again, in
a line with the king, were the household arms, a very handsome copper
kettledrum, of French manufacture, surmounted on the outer edge with
pretty little brass bells depending from swan-neck-shaped copper wire,
two new spears, a painted leather shield, and magic wands of various
devices, deposited on a carpet of leopard-skins--the whole scene giving
the effect of true barbarous royalty in its uttermost magnificence.
Approaching, as usual, to take my seat beside the king, some slight
sensation was perceptible, and I was directed to sit beyond the women.
The whole ceremonies of this grand assemblage were now obvious. Each
regimental commandant in turn narrated the whole services of his party,
distinguishing those subs who executed his orders well and successfully
from those who either deserted before the enemy or feared to follow up
their success. The king listened attentively, making, let us suppose,
very shrewd remarks concerning them; when to the worthy he awarded
pombe, helped with gourd-cups from large earthen jars, which has
n'yanzigged for vehemently; and to the unworthy execution. When the
fatal sentence was pronounced, a terrible bustle ensued, the convict
wrestling and defying, whilst the other men seized, pulled and tore the
struggling wretch from the crowd, bound him hands and head together, and
led or rather tumbled him away.
After a while, and when all business was over, the king begged me to
follow him into the palace. He asked again for stimulants--a matter ever
uppermost in his mind--and would not be convinced that such things can
do him no possible good, but would in the end be deleterious. Grant's
letter was then read to him before his women, and I asked for the
dismissal of all the Wanyambo, for they had not only destroyed my peace
and home, but were always getting me into disrepute by plundering the
Waganda in the highways. No answer was given to this; and on walking
home, I found one of the king's women at my hut, imploring protection
against the Wanyambo, who had robbed and bruised her so often, she could
not stand such abuse any longer.
4th.--I sent Maula, early in the morning, with the plundered woman,
and desired him to request that the Wanyambo might be dismissed. He
returned, saying he delivered my message, but no reply was given. I
then searched for the king, and found him at his brothers' suite of huts
playing the flute before them. On taking my seat, he proudly pointed
to two vultures which he had shot with bullet, saying to his brothers,
"There, do you see these birds? Bana shoots with shot, but I kill with
bullets." To try him, I then asked for leave to go to Usoga, as Grant
was so far off; but he said, "No, wait until he comes, and you shall
both go together then; you fancy he is far off, but I know better. One
of my men saw him coming along carried on a stretcher." I said, "No;
that must be a mistake, for he told me by letter he would come by
water."
Heavy rain now set in, and we got under cover; but the brothers never
moved, some even sitting in the streaming gutter, and n'yanzigging
whenever noticed. The eldest brother offered me his cup of pombe,
thinking I would not drink it; but when he saw its contents vanishing
fast, he cried "lekerow!" (hold fast!) and as I pretended not to
understand him, continuing to drink, he rudely snatched the cup from
my lips. Alternate concerts with the brothers, and conversation about
hunting, in consequence of a bump caused by a fall with steeple-chasing,
which as discovered on my forehead, ended this day's entertainment.
5th.--As all the Wanguana went foraging, I was compelled to stop at
home. The king, however, sent an officer for Grant, because I would not
believe in his statement yesterday that he was coming by land; and I
also sent a lot of men with a litter to help him on, and bring me an
answer.
6th.--I went to the palace at the king's command. He kept us waiting an
hour, and then passing out by a side gate, beckoned us to follow. He
was dressed in European clothes, with his guns and tin box of clothes
leading the way. His first question was, "Well, Bana, where are your
guns? for I have called you to go shooting." "The pages never said
anything about shooting, and therefore the guns were left behind."
Totally unconcerned, the king walked on to his brothers, headed by a
band and attendants, who were much lauded for being ready at a moment's
notice. A grand flute concert was then played, one of the younger
brothers keeping time with a long hand-drum; then the band played; and
dancing and duets and singing followed. After the usual presentations,
fines, and n'yanziggings, I asked for leave to go and meet Grant by
water, but was hastily told that two boats had been sent for him when
we returned from the N'yanza, and that two runners, just returned from
Karague, said he was on the way not far off. The child-king then changed
his dress for another suit of clothes for his brothers to admire, and
I retired, much annoyed, as he would neither give pombe for myself, nor
plantains for my men: and I was further annoyed on my arrival at home,
to find the Wanguana mobbing my hut and clamouring for food, and calling
for an order to plunder if I did not give them beads, which, as the
stock had run short, I could only do by their returning to Karague
for the beads stored there; and, even if they were obtained, it was
questionable if the king would revoke his order prohibiting the sale of
provisions to us.
7th.--To-day I called at the queen's, but had to wait five hours in
company with some attendants, to whom she sent pombe occasionally;
but after waiting for her nearly all day, they were dismissed, because
excess of business prevented her seeing them, though I was desired to
remain. I asked these attendants to sell me food for beads, but they
declared they could not without obtaining permission. In the evening
the queen stumped out of her chambers and walked to the other end of
her palace, where the head or queen of the Wichwezi women lived, to whom
everybody paid the profoundest respect. On the way I joined her, she
saying, in a state of high anger, "You won't call on me, now I have
given you such a charming damsel: you have quite forgotten us in your
love of home." Of course Meri's misdemeanour had to be explained, when
she said, "As that is the case, I will give you another; but you must
take Meri out of the country, else she will bring trouble on us; for,
you know, I never gave girls who lived in the palace to any one in my
life before, because they would tell domestic affairs not proper for
common people to know." I then said my reason for not seeing her before
was, that the four times I had sent messengers to make an appointment
for the following day, they had been repulsed from her doors. This she
would not believe, but called me a story-teller in very coarse language,
until the men who had been sent were pointed out to her, and they
corroborated me.
The Wichwezi queen met her majesty with her head held very high, and
instead of permitting me to sit on my box of grass, threw out a bundle
of grass for that purpose. All conversation was kept between the two
queens; but her Wichwezi majesty had a platter of clay-stone brought,
which she ate with great relish, making a noise of satisfaction like
a happy guinea-pig. She threw me a bit, which to the surprise of
everybody, I caught and threw it into my mouth, thinking it was some
confection; but the harsh taste soon made me spit it out again, to
the amusement of the company. On returning home I found the king had
requested me to call on him as soon as possible with the medicine-chest.
8th.--Without a morsel to eat for dinner last night, or anything this
morning, we proceeded early to the palace, in great expectation that the
medicines in request would bring us something; but after waiting all day
till 4 p.m., as the king did not appear, leaving Bombay behind, I walked
away to shoot a guinea-fowl within earshot of the palace. The scheme was
successful, for the report of the gun which killed the bird reached the
king's ear, and induced him to say that if Bana was present he would
be glad to see him. This gave Bombay an opportunity of telling all the
facts of the case; which were no sooner heard than the king gave his
starving guests a number of plantains, and vanished at once, taking my
page Lugoi with him, to instruct him in Kisuahili (Zanzibar language).
9th.--As the fruit of last night's scheme, the king sent us four goats
and two cows. In great good-humour I now called on him, and found him
walking about the palace environs with a carbine, looking eagerly for
sport, whilst his pages dragged about five half-dead vultures tied in
a bundle by their legs to a string. "These birds," said he, tossing his
head proudly, "were all shot flying, with iron slugs, as the boys will
tell you. I like the carbine very well, but you must give me a double
smooth gun." This I promised to give when Grant arrived, for his
good-nature in sending so many officers to fetch him.
We next tried for guinea-fowl, as I tell him they are the game the
English delight in; but the day was far spent, and none could be found.
A boy then in attendance was pointed out, as having seen Grant in Uddu
ten days ago. If the statement were true, he must have crossed the
Katonga. But though told with great apparent circumspection, I did
not credit it, because my men sent on the 15th ultimo for a letter to
ascertain his whereabouts had not returned, and they certainly would
have done so had he been so near. To make sure, the king then proposed
sending the boy again with some of my men; but this I objected to as
useless, considering the boy had spoken falsely. Hearing this, the king
looked at the boy and then at the women in turn, to ascertain what they
thought of my opinion, whereupon the boy cried. Late in the evening
the sly little girl Kahala changed her cloth wrapper for a mbugu, and
slipped quietly away. I did not suspect her intention, because of late
she had appeared much more than ordinary happy, behaving to me in every
respect like a dutiful child to a parent. A search was made, and guns
fired, in the hopes of frightening her back again, but without effect.
10th.--I had promised that this morning I would teach the king the art
of guinea-fowl shooting, and when I reached the palace at 6 a.m., I
found him already on the ground. He listened to the tale of the missing
girl, and sent orders for her apprehension at once; then proceeding
with the gun, fired eight shots successively at guinea-birds sitting on
trees, but missed them all. After this, as the birds were scared
away, and both iron shot and bullets were expended, he took us to his
dressing-hut, went inside himself, attended by full-grown naked women,
and ordered a breakfast of pork, beef, fish, and plantains to be served
me outside on the left of the entrance; whilst a large batch of his
women sat on the right side, silently coquetting, and amusing themselves
by mimicking the white man eating. Poor little Lugoi joined in the
repast, and said he longed to return to my hut, for he was half starved
here, and no one took any notice of him; but he was destined to be a
royal page, for the king would not part with him. A cold fit then seized
me, and as I asked for leave to go, the king gave orders for one of
his wives to be flogged. The reason for this act of brutality I did not
discover; but the moment the order was issued, the victim begged the
pages to do it quickly, that the king's wrath might be appeased; and in
an instant I saw a dozen boys tear their cord-turbans from their heads
pull her roughly into the middle of the court, and belabour her
with sticks, whilst she lay floundering about, screeching to me for
protection. All I did was to turn my head away and walk rapidly out of
sight, thinking it better not to interfere again with the discipline of
the palace; indeed, I thought it not improbable that the king did these
things sometimes merely that his guests might see his savage power. On
reaching home I found Kahala standing like a culprit before my door.
She would not admit, what I suspected, that Meri had induced her to run
away; but said she was very happy in my house until yester-evening, when
Rozaro's sister told her she was very stupid living with the Mzungu all
alone, and told her to run away; which she did, taking the direction of
N'yamasore's, until some officers finding her, and noticing beads on her
neck, and her hair cut, according to the common court fashion, in slopes
from a point in the forehead to the breadth of her ears, suspected her
to be one of the king's women, and kept her in confinement all night,
till Mtesa's men came this morning and brought her back again. As a
punishment, I ordered her to live with Bombay; but my house was so dull
again from want of some one to eat dinner with me, that I remitted the
punishment, to her great delight.
11th.--To-day I received letters from Grant, dated 22d., 25th, 28th
April and 2d May. They were brought by my three men, with Karague pease,
flour, and ammunition. He was at Maula's house, which proved the king's
boy to be correct; for the convoy, afraid of encountering the voyage
on the lake, had deceived my companion and brought him on by land, like
true negroes.
12th.--I sent the three men who had returned from Grant to lay a
complaint against the convoy, who had tricked him out of a pleasant
voyage, and myself out of the long-wished-for survey of the lake. They
carried at the same time a present of a canister of shot from me to the
king. Delighted with this unexpected prize, he immediately shot fifteen
birds flying, and ordered the men to acquaint me with his prowess.
13th.--To-day the king sent me four cows and a load of butter as a
return-present for the shot, and allowed one of his officers, at my
solicitation, to go with ten of my men to help Grant on. He also sent a
message that he had just shot thirteen birds flying.
14th.--Mabuki and Bilal returned with Budja and his ten children from
Unyoro, attended by a deputation of four men sent by Kamrasi, who were
headed by Kidgwiga. Mtesa, it now transpired, had followed my advice
of making friendship with Kamrasi by sending two brass wires as a hongo
instead of an army, and Kamrasi in return, sent him two elephant-tusks.
Kidgwiga said Petherick's party was not in Unyoro--they had never
reached there, but were lying at anchor off Gani. Two white men only
had been seen--one, they said, a hairy man, the other smooth-faced; they
were as anxiously inquiring after us as we were after them: they sat on
chairs, dressed like myself, and had guns and everything precisely like
those in my hut. On one occasion they sent up a necklace of beads to
Kamrasi, and he, in return, gave them a number of women and tusks. If I
wished to go that way, Kamrasi would forward me on to their position
in boats; for the land route, leading through Kidi, was a jungle of ten
days, tenanted by a savage set of people, who hunt everybody, and seize
everything they see.
This tract is sometimes, however, traversed by the Wanyoro and Gani
people, who are traders in cows and tippet monkey-skins, stealthily
travelling at night; but they seldom attempt it from fear of being
murdered. Baraka and Uledi, sent from Karague on the 30th January, had
been at Kamrasi's palace upwards of a month, applying for the road to
Gani, and as they could not get that, wished to come with Mabruki to me;
but this Kamrasi also refused, on the plea that, as they had come from
Karague, so they must return there. Kamrasi had heard of my shooting
with Mtesa, as also of the attempt made by Mabruki and Uledi to reach
Gani via Usoga. He had received my present of beads from Baraka, and, in
addition, took Uledi's sword, saying, "If you do not wish to part with
it, you must remain a prisoner in my country all your life, for you have
not paid your footing." Mabruki then told me he was kept waiting at a
village, one hour's walk from Kamrasi's palace, five days before they
were allowed to approach his majesty; but when they were seen, and the
presents exchanged, they were ordered to pack off the following morning,
as Kamrasi said the Waganda were a set of plundering blackguards.
This information, to say the least of it, was very embarrassing--a
mixture of good and bad. Petherick, I now felt certain, was on the
look-out for us; but his men had reached Kamrasi's, and returned again
before Baraka's arrival. Baraka was not allowed to go on to him and
acquaint him of our proximity, and the Waganda were so much disliked in
Unyoro, that there seemed no hopes of our ever being able to communicate
by letter. To add to my embarrassments, Grant had not been able to
survey the lake from Kitangule, nor had Usoga and the eastern side of
the lake been seen.
15th.--I was still laid up with the cold fit of the 10th, which turned
into a low kind of fever. I sent Bombay to the king to tell him the
news, and ask him what he thought of doing next. He replied that he
would push for Gani direct; and sent back a pot of pombe for the sick
man.
16th.--The king to-day inquired after my health, and, strange to say,
did not accompany his message with a begging request.
17th.--My respite, however, was not long. At the earliest possible
hour in the morning the king sent begging for things one hundred times
refused, supposing, apparently, that I had some little reserve store
which I wished to conceal from him.
18th and 19th.--I sent Bombay to the palace to beg for pombe, as it was
the only thing I had an appetite for, but the king would see no person
but myself. He had broken his rifle washing-rod, and this must be
mended, the pages who brought it saying that no one dared take it back
to him until it was repaired. A guinea-fowl was sent after dark for me
to see, as a proof that the king was a sportsman complete.
20th.--The king going out shooting borrowed my powder-horn. The Wanguana
mobbed the hut and bullied me for food, merely because they did not like
the trouble of helping themselves from the king's garden, though they
knew I had purchased their privilege to do so at the price of a gold
chronometer and the best guns England could produce.
21st.--I now, for the first time, saw the way in which the king
collected his army together. The highroads were all thronged with
Waganda warriors, painted in divers colours, with plantain-leaf bands
round their heads, scanty goat-skin fastened to their loins, and spears
and shield in their hands, singing the tambure or march, ending with
a repetition of the word Mkavia, or Monarch. They surpassed in number,
according to Bombay, the troops and ragamuffins enlisted by Sultain
Majid when Sayyid Sweni threatened to attack Zanzibar; in fact, he never
saw such a large army collected anywhere.
Bombay, on going to the palace, hoping to obtain plantains for the men,
found the king holding a levee, for the purpose of despatching this
said army somewhere, but where no one would pronounce. The king,
then, observing my men who had gone to Unyoro together with Kamrasi's,
questioned them on their mission; and when told that no white men were
there, he waxed wrathful, and said it was a falsehood, for his men had
seen them, and could not be mistaken. Kamrasi, he said, must have hidden
them somewhere, fearful of the number of guns which now surrounded him;
and, for the same reason, he told lies, yes, lies--but no man living
shall dare tell himself lies; and now, as he could not obtain his object
by fair means, he would use arms and force it out. Then, turning to
Bombay, he said, "What does your master think of this business?" upon
which Bombay replied, according to his instructions, "Bana wishes
nothing done until Grant arrives, when all will go together." On this
the king turned his back and walked away.
22d.--Kitunzi called on me early, because he heard I was sick. I asked
him why the Waganda objected to my sitting on a chair; but, to avoid the
inconvenience of answering a troublesome question, without replying, he
walked off, saying he heard a noise in the neighbourhood of the palace
which must be caused by the king ordering some persons to be seized, and
his presence was so necessary he could not wait another moment. My men
went for plantains to the palace and for pombe on my behalf; but the
king, instead of giving them anything, took two fez caps off their
heads, keeping them to himself, and ordered them to tell Bana all his
beer was done.
23d.--Kidgwiga called on me to say Kamrasi so very much wanted the white
men at Gani to visit him, he had sent a hongo of thirty tusks to the
chief of that country in hopes that it would insure their coming to see
him. He also felt sure if I went there his king would treat me with the
greatest respect. This afforded an opportunity for putting in a word of
reconciliation. I said that it was at my request that Mtesa sent Kamrasi
a present; and so now, if Kamrasi made friends with the Waganda, there
would be no difficulty about the matter.
24th.--The army still thronged the highways, some going, others coming,
like a swarm of ants, the whole day long. Kidgwiga paid another visit,
and I went to the palace without my gun, wishing the king to fancy all
my powder was done, as he had nearly consumed all my store; but the
consequence was that, after waiting the whole day, I never saw him at
all. In the evening pages informed me that Grant had arrived at N'yama
Goma, one march distant.
25th.--I prepared twenty men, with a quarter of mutton for Grant to help
him on the way, but they could not go without a native officer, lest
they should be seized, and no officer would lead the way. The king came
shooting close to my hut and ordered me out. I found him marching Rozaro
about in custody with four other Wanyambo, who, detected plundering by
Kitunzi, had set upon and beaten him severely. The king, pointing them
out to me, said, he did not like the system of plundering, and wished to
know if it was the practice in Karague. Of course I took the opportunity
to renew my protest against the plundering system; but the king,
changing the subject, told me the Wazungu were at Gani inquiring after
us, and wishing to come here. To this I proposed fetching them myself
in boats, but he objected, saying he would send men first, for they were
not farther off to the northward than the place he sent boats to, to
bring Grant. He said he did not like Unyoro, because Kamrasi hides
himself like a Neptune in the Nile, whenever his men go on a visit
there, and instead of treating his guests with respect, he keeps them
beyond the river. For this reason he had himself determined on adopting
the passage by Kidi.
I was anxious, of course, to go on with the subject thus unexpectedly
opened, but, as ill-luck would have it, an adjutant was espied sitting
on a tree, when a terrible fuss and excitement ensued. The women were
ordered one way and the attendants another, whilst I had to load the
gun on the best way I could with the last charge and a half left in
the king's pouch. Ten grains were all he would have allowed himself,
reserving the residue, without reflecting that a large bird required
much shot; and he was shocked to find me lavishly use the whole, and
still say it was not enough.
The bird was then at a great height, so that the first shot merely
tickled him, and drove him to another tree. "Woh! woh!" cried the king,
"I am sure he is hit; look there, look there;" and away he rushed
after the bird; down with one fence, then with another, in the utmost
confusion, everybody trying to keep his proper place, till at last the
tree to which the bird had flown was reached, and then, with the last
charge of shot, the king killed his first nundo. The bird, however, did
not fall, but lay like a spread eagle in the upper branches. Wasoga were
called to climb the tree and pull it down; whilst the king, in ecstasies
of joy and excitement, rushed up and down the potato-field like a mad
bull, jumping and plunging, waving and brandishing the gun above his
head; whilst the drums beat, the attendants all woh-wohed, and the
women, joining with their lord, rushed about lullalooing and dancing
like insane creatures. Then began congratulations and hand-shakings,
and, finally, the inspection of the bird, which, by this time, the
Wasoga had thrown down. Oh! oh! what a wonder! Its wings outspread
reached further than the height of a man; we must go and show it to the
brothers. Even that was not enough--we must show it to the mother; and
away we all rattled as fast as our legs could carry us.
Arrived at the queen's palace, out of respect to his mother, the king
changed his European clothes for a white kid-skin wrapper, and then
walked in to see her, leaving us waiting outside. By this time Colonel
Congow, in his full-dress uniform, had arrived in the square outside,
with his regiment drawn up in review order. The king, hearing the
announcement, at once came out with spears and shield, preceded by the
bird, and took post, standing armed, by the entrance, encircled by his
staff, all squatting, when the adjutant was placed in the middle of the
company. Before us was a large open square, with the huts of the queen's
Kamraviona or commander-in-chief beyond. The battalion, consisting of
what might be termed three companies, each containing 200 men, being
drawn up on the left extremity of the parade-ground, received orders to
march past in single file from the right of companies, at a long trot,
and re-form again at the other end of the square.
Nothing conceivable could be more wild or fantastic than the sight which
ensued--the men all nearly naked, with goat or cat skins depending from
their girdles, and smeared with war colours according to the taste of
each individual; one-half of the body red or black, the other blue, not
in regular order--as, for instance, one stocking would be red, the other
black, whilst the breeches above would be the opposite colours, and so
with the sleeves and waistcoat. Every man carried the same arms--two
spears and one shield--held as if approaching an enemy, and they thus
moved in three lines of single rank and file, at fifteen to twenty paces
asunder, with the same high action and elongated step, the ground leg
only being bent, to give their strides the greater force. After the
men had all started, the captains of companies followed, even more
fantastically dressed; and last of all came the great Colonel Congow,
a perfect Robinson Crusoe, with his long white-haired goat-skins,
a fiddle-shaped leather shield, tufted with white hair at all six
extremities, bands of long hair tied below the knees, and a magnificent
helmet, covered with rich beads of every colour, in excellent taste,
surmounted with a plume of crimson feathers, from the centre of which
rose a bent stem, tufted with goat-hair. Next they charged in companies
to and fro; and, finally, the senior officers came charging at their
king, making violent professions of faith and honesty, for which they
were applauded. The parade then broke up, and all went home.
26th.--One of king Mtesa's officers now consenting to go to N'yama Goma
with some of my men, I sent Grant a quarter of goat. The reply brought
to me was, that he was very thankful for it; that he cooked it and ate
it on the spot; and begged I would see the king, to get him released
from that starving place. Rozaro was given over to the custody of
Kitunzi for punishment. At the same time, the queen, having heard of the
outrages committed against her brother and women, commanded that neither
my men nor any of Rozaro's should get any more food at the palace; for
as we all came to Uganda in one body, so all alike were, by her logic,
answerable for the offence. I called at the palace for explanation but
could not obtain admittance because I would not fire the gun.
27th.--The king sent to say he wanted medicine to propitiate lightning.
I called and described the effects of a lightning-rod, and tried to
enter into the Unyoro business, wishing to go there at once myself. He
objected, because he had not seen Grant, but appointed an officer to
go through Unyoro on to Gani, and begged I would also send men with
letters. Our talk was agreeably interrupted by guns in the distance
announcing Grant's arrival, and I took my leave to welcome my friend.
How we enjoyed ourselves after so much anxiety and want of one another's
company, I need not describe. For my part, I was only too rejoiced
to see Grant could limp about a bit, and was able to laugh over the
picturesque and amusing account he gave me of his own rough travels.
28th.--The king in the morning sent Budja, his ambassador, with
Kamrasi's Kidgwiga, over to me for my men and letters, to go to
Kamrasi's again and ask for the road to Gani. I wished to speak to
the king first, but they said they had no orders to stop for that, and
walked straight away. I sent the king a present of a double-barrelled
gun and ammunition, and received in answer a request that both Grant and
myself would attend a levee, which he was to hold in state, accompanied
by his bodyguard, as when I was first presented to him. In the afternoon
we proceeded to court accordingly, but found it scantily attended; and
after the first sitting, which was speedily over, retired to another
court, and saw the women. Of this dumb show the king soon got tired; he
therefore called for his iron chair, and entered into conversation, at
first about the ever-engrossing subject of stimulants, till we changed
it by asking him how he liked the gun? He pronounced it a famous weapon,
which he would use intensely. We then began to talk in a general way
about Suwarora and Rumanika, as well as the road through Unyamuezi,
which we hoped would soon cease to exist, and be superseded by one
through Unyoro.
It will be kept in view that the hanging about at this court, and all
the perplexing and irritating negotiations here described, had always
one end in view--that of reaching the Nile where it pours out of the
N'yanza, as I was long certain that it did. Without the consent and
even the aid of this capricious barbarian I was now talking to, such a
project was hopeless. I naturally seized every opportunity for putting
in a word in the direction of my great object, and here seemed to be an
opportunity. We now ventured on a plump application for boats that we
might feel our way to Gani by water, supposing the lake and river to
be navigable all the way; and begged Kitunzi might be appointed to
accompany us, in order that whatever was done might be done all with
good effect in opening up a new line of commerce, by which articles of
European manufacture might find a permanent route to Uganda. It was "no
go," however. The appeal, though listened to, and commented on, showing
that it was well understood, got no direct reply. It was not my policy
to make our object appear too important to ourselves, so I had to appear
tolerably indifferent, and took the opportunity to ask for my paint-box,
which he had borrowed for a day and had kept in his possession for
months. I got no answer to that request either, but was immediately
dunned for the compass, which had been promised on Grant's arrival. Now,
with a promise that the compass would be sent him in the morning, he
said he would see what pombe his women could spare us; and, bidding good
evening, walked away.
29th.--I sent Bombay with the compass, much to the delight of the
king, who no sooner saw it than he jumped and woh-wohed with intense
excitement at the treasure he had gained, said it was the greatest
present Bana had ever given him, for it was the thing by which he found
out all the roads and countries--it was, in fact, half his knowledge;
and the parting with it showed plainly that Bana entertained an
everlasting friendship for him. The king then called Maula, and said,
"Maula, indeed you have spoken the truth; there is nothing like this
instrument," etc., etc., repeating what he had already told Bombay. In
the evening, the king, accompanied by all his brothers, with iron chair
and box, came to visit us, and inspected all Grant's recently brought
pictures of the natives, with great acclamation. We did not give him
anything this time, but, instead, dunned him for the paint-box, and
afterwards took a walk to my observatory hill, where I acted as guide.
On the summit of this hill the king instructed his brothers on the
extent of his dominions; and as I asked where Lubari or God resides, he
pointed to the skies.
30th.--The king at last sent the paint-box, with some birds of his own
shooting, which he wished painted. He also wanted himself drawn, and all
Grant's pictures copied. Then, to wind up these mild requests, a demand
was made for more powder, and that all our guns be sent to the palace
for inspection.
31st.--I drew a large white and black hornbill and a green pigeon sent
by himself; but he was not satisfied; he sent more birds, and wanted
to see my shoes. The pages who came with the second message, however,
proving impertinent, got a book flung at their heads, and a warning to
be off, as I intended to see the king myself, and ask for food to keep
my ever-complaining Wanguana quiet. Proceeding to the palace, as I found
Mtesa had gone out shooting, I called on the Kamraviona, complained that
my camp was starving, and as I had nothing left to give the king said I
wished to leave the country. Ashamed of its being supposed that his king
would not give me any food because I had no more presents to give him,
the Kamraviona, from his own stores, gave me a goat and pombe, and said
he would speak to the king on the subject.
1st.--I drew for the king a picture of a guinea-fowl which he shot in
the early morning, and proceeded on a visit with Grant to the queen's,
accompanied only by seven men, as the rest preferred foraging for
themselves, to the chance of picking up a few plantains at her
majesty's. After an hour's waiting, the queen received us with smiles,
and gave pombe and plantains to her new visitor, stating pointedly she
had none for me. There was deep Uganda policy in this: it was for the
purpose of treating Grant as a separate, independent person, and so
obtaining a fresh hongo or tax. Laughing at the trick, I thanked her
for the beer, taking it personally on my household, and told her when
my property arrived from Karague, she should have a few more things as
I promised her; but the men sent had neither brought my brother in
a vessel, as they were ordered, not did they bring my property from
Karague.
Still the queen was not content: she certainly expected something from
Grant, if it was ever so little, for she was entitled to it, and would
not listen to our being one house. Turning the subject, to put in a word
for my great object, I asked her to use her influence in opening the
road to Gani, as, after all, that was the best way to get new things
into Uganda. Cunning as a fox, the queen agreed to this project,
provided Grant remained behind, for she had not seen enough of him yet,
and she would speak to her son about the matter in the morning.
This was really the first gleam of hope, and I set to putting our future
operations into a shape that might lead to practical results without
alarming our capricious host. I thought that whilst I could be employed
in inspecting the river, and in feeling the route by water to Gani,
Grant could return to Karague by water, bringing up our rear traps, and,
in navigating the lake, obtain the information he had been frustrated in
getting by the machinations of his attendant Maribu. It was agreed to,
and all seemed well; for there was much left to be done in Uganda and
Usoga, if we could only make sure of communicating once with Petherick.
Before going home we had some more polite conversation, during which the
queen played with a toy in the shape of a cocoa du mer, studded all
over with cowries: this was a sort of doll, or symbol of a baby and her
dandling it was held to indicate that she would ever remain a widow. In
the evening the king returned all our rifles and guns, with a request
for one of them; as also for the iron chair he sat upon when calling on
us, an iron bedstead, and the Union Jack, for he did not honour us with
a visit for nothing; and the head page was sent to witness the transfer
of the goods, and see there was no humbug about it. It was absolutely
necessary to get into a rage, and tell the head page we did not come to
Uganda to be swindled in that manner, and he might tell the king I would
not part with one of them.
2d.--K'yengo, who came with Grant, now tried to obtain an interview with
the king, but could not get admission. I had some further trouble about
the disposal of the child Meri, who said she never before had lived in
a poor man's house since she was born. I thought to content her by
offering to marry her to one of Rumanika's sons, a prince of her own
breed, but she would not listen to the proposal.
3d.--For days past, streams of men have been carrying faggots of
firewood, clean-cut timber, into the palaces of the king, queen, and
the Kamraviona; and to-day, on calling on the king, I found him engaged
having these faggots removed by Colonel Mkavia's regiment from one court
into another, this being his way of ascertaining their quantity, instead
of counting them. About 1600 men were engaged on this service, when
the king, standing on a carpet in front of the middle hut of the first
court, with two spears in his hand and his dog by his side, surrounded
by his brothers and a large staff of officers, gave orders for the
regiment to run to and fro in column, that he might see them well; then
turning to his staff, ordered them to run up and down the regiment, and
see what they thought of it. This ridiculous order set them all flying,
and soon they returned, charging at the king with their sticks, dancing
and jabbering that their numbers were many, he was the greatest king on
earth, and their lives and services were his for ever. The regiment
now received orders to put down their faggots, and, taking up their own
sticks in imitation of spears, followed the antics of their officers
in charging and vociferating. Next, Mkavia presented five hairy Usoga
goats, n'yanzigging and performing the other appropriate ceremonies. On
asking the king if he had any knowledge of the extent of his army, he
merely said, "How can I, when these you see are a portion of them just
ordered here to carry wood?"
The regiment was now dismissed; but the officers were invited to follow
the king into another court, when he complimented them on assembling so
many men; they, instead of leaving well alone, foolishly replied they
were sorry they were not more numerous, as some of the men lived so far
away they shirked the summons; Maula, then, ever forward in mischief,
put a cap on it by saying, if he could only impress upon the Waganda to
listen to his orders, there would never be a deficiency. Upon which
the king said, "If they fail to obey you, they disobey me; for I have
appointed you as my orderly, and thereby you personify the orders of the
king." Up jumped Maula in a moment as soon as these words were uttered,
charging with his stick, then floundering and n'yanzigging as if he had
been signally rewarded. I expected some piece of cruel mischief to come
of all this, but the king, in his usual capricious way, suddenly rising,
walked off to a third court, followed only by a select few.
Here, turning to me, he said, "Bana, I love you, because you have come
so far to see me, and have taught me so many things since you have been
here." Rising, with my hand to my heart, and gracefully bowing at
this strange announcement--for at that moment I was full of hunger and
wrath--I intimated I was much flattered at hearing it, but as my house
was in a state of starvation, I trusted he would consider it. "What!"
said he, "do you want goats?" "Yes, very much." The pages then received
orders to furnish me with ten that moment, as the king's farmyard was
empty, and he would reimburse them as soon as more confiscations took
place. But this, I said, was not enough; the Wanguana wanted plantains,
for they had received none these fifteen days. "What!" said the king,
turning to his pages again, "have you given these men no plantains, as I
ordered? Go and fetch them this moment, and pombe too, for Bana."
The subject then turned on the plan I had formed of going to Gani by
water, and of sending Grant to Karague by the lake; but the king's mind
was fully occupied with the compass I had given him. He required me to
explain its use, and then broke up the meeting.
4th.--Viarungi, an officer sent by Rumanika to escort Grant to Uganda,
as well as to apply to king Mtesa for a force to fight his brother
Rogero, called on me with Rozaro, and said he had received instructions
from his king to apply to me for forty cows and two slave-boys, because
the Arabs who pass through his country to Uganda always make him a
present of that sort after receiving them from Mtesa. After telling him
we English never give the presents they have received away to any one,
and never make slaves, but free them, I laid a complaint against Rozaro
for having brought much trouble and disgrace upon my camp, as well as
much trouble on myself, and begged that he might be removed from my
camp. Rozaro then attempted to excuse himself, but without success, and
said he had already detached his residence from my camp, and taken up a
separate residence with Viarungi, his superior officer.
I called on the king in the afternoon, and found the pages had already
issued plantains for my men and pombe for myself. The king addressed me
with great cordiality, and asked if I wished to go to Gani. I answered
him with all promptitude,--Yes, at once, with some of his officers
competent to judge of the value of all I point out to them for
future purposes in keeping the road permanently open. His provoking
capriciousness, however, again broke in, and he put me off till his
messengers should return from Unyoro. I told him his men had gone in
vain, for Budja left without my letter or my men; and further, that the
river route is the only one that will ever be of advantage to Uganda,
and the sooner it was opened up the better. I entreated him to listen
to my advice, and send some of my men to Kamrasi direct, to acquaint him
with my intention to go down the river in boats to him; but I could get
no answer to this. Bombay then asked for cows for the Wanguana, getting
laughed at for his audacity, and the king broke up the court and walked
away.
5th.--I started on a visit to the queen, but half-way met Congow, who
informed me he had just escorted her majesty from his house, where she
was visiting, to her palace. By way of a joke and feeler, I took it in
my head to try, by taking a harmless rise out of Congow, whether the
Nile is understood by the natives to be navigable near its exit from the
N'yanza. I told him he had been appointed by the king to escort us down
the river to Gani. He took the affair very seriously, delivering himself
to the following purport: "Well, then, my days are numbered; for if
I refuse compliance I shall lose my head; and if I attempt to pass
Kamrasi's, which is on the river, I shall lose my life; for I am a
marked man there, having once led an army past his palace and back
again. It would be no use calling it a peaceful mission, as you propose;
for the Wanyoro distrust the Waganda to such an extent, they would fly
to arms at once."
Proceeding to the queen's palace, we met Murondo, who had once travelled
to the Masai frontier. He said it would take a month to go in boats from
Kira, the most easterly district in Uganda, to Masai, where there is
another N'yanza, joined by a strait to the big N'yanza, which king
Mtesa's boats frequent for salt; but the same distance could be
accomplished in four days overland, and three days afterwards by boat.
The queen, after keeping us all day waiting, sent three bunches of
plantains and a pot of pombe, with a message that she was too tired to
receive visitors, and hoped we would call another day.
6th.--I met Pokino, the governor-general of Uddu, in the morning's
walk, who came here at the same time as Grant to visit the king, and was
invited into his house to drink pombe. His badge of office is an iron
hatchet, inlaid with copper and handled with ivory. He wished to give
us a cow, but put it off for another day, and was surprised we dared
venture into his premises without permission from the king. After this,
we called at the palace, just as the king was returning from a walk with
his brothers. He saw us, and sent for Bana. We entered, and presented
him with some pictures, which he greatly admired, looked at close and
far, showed to the brothers, and inspected again. Pokino at this
time came in with a number of well-made shields, and presented them
grovelling and n'yanzigging; but though the governor of an important
province, who had not been seen by the king for years, he was taken
no more notice of than any common Mkungu. A plan of the lake and Nile,
which I brought with me to explain our projects for reaching Karague and
Gani, engaged the king's attention for a while; but still he would not
agree to let anything be done until the messenger returned from Unyoro.
Finding him inflexible, I proposed sending a letter, arranging that his
men should be under the guidance of my men after they pass Unyoro on the
way to Gani; and this was acceded to, provided I should write a letter
to Petherick by the morrow. I then tried to teach the king the use of
the compass. To make a stand for it, I turned a drum on its head, when
all the courtiers flew at me as if to prevent an outrage, and the king
laughed. I found that, as the instrument was supposed to be a magic
charm of very wonderful powers, my meddling with it and treating it as
an ordinary movable was considered a kind of sacrilege.
7th.--I wrote a letter to Petherick, but the promised Wakungu never came
for it. As K'yengo was ordered to attend court with Rumanika's hongo,
consisting of a few wires, small beads, and a cloth I gave him, as well
as a trifle from Nnanji, I sent Bombay, in place of going myself, to
remind the king of his promises for the Wakungu to Gani, as well as for
boats to Karague, but a grunt was the only reply which my messenger said
he obtained.
8th.--Calling at the palace, I found the king issuing for a walk,
and joined him, when he suddenly turned round in the rudest manner,
re-entered his palace, and left me to go home without speaking a word.
The capricious creature then reissued, and, finding me gone, inquired
after me, presuming I ought to have waited for him.
9th.--During the night, when sleeping profoundly, some person stealthily
entered my hut and ran off with a box of bullets towards the palace, but
on the way dropped his burden. Maula, on the way home, happening to see
it, and knowing it to be mine, brought it back again. I stayed at home,
not feeling well.
10th.--K'yengo paid his hongo in wire to the king, and received a return
of six cows. Still at home, an invalid, I received a visit from Meri,
who seemed to have quite recovered herself. Speaking of her present
quarters, she said she loved Uledi's wife very much, thinking birds of
a feather ought to live together. She helped herself to a quarter of
mutton, and said she would come again.
11th.--To-day Viarungi, finding Rozaro's men had stolen thirty cows,
twelve slaves, and a load of mbugu from the Waganda, laid hands on them
himself for Rumanika, instead of giving them to King Mtesa. Such are the
daily incidents among our neighbours.
12th.--At night a box of ammunition and a bag of shot, which were placed
out as a reserve present for the king, to be given on our departure,
were stolen, obviously by the king's boys, and most likely by the king's
orders; for he is the only person who could have made any use of
them, and his boys alone know the way into the hut; besides which, the
previous box of bullets was found on the direct road to the palace,
while it was well known that no one dared to touch an article of
European manufacture without the consent of the king.
13th.--I sent a message to the king about the theft, requiring him, if
an honest man, to set his detectives to work, and ferret it out; his
boys, at the same time, to show our suspicions, were peremptorily
forbidden ever to enter the hut again. Twice the king sent down a hasty
message to say he was collecting all his men to make a search, and, if
they do not succeed, the Mganga would be sent; but nothing was done. The
Kamraviona was sharply rebuked by the king for allowing K'yengo to visit
him before permission was given, and thus defrauding the royal exchequer
of many pretty things, which were brought for majesty alone. At night
the rascally boys returned again to plunder, but Kahala, more wakeful
than myself, heard them trying to untie the door-handle, and frightened
them away in endeavouring to awaken me.
14th and 15th.--Grant, doing duty for me, tried a day's penance at the
palace, but though he sat all day in the ante-chamber, and musicians
were ordered into the presence, nobody called for him. K'yengo was sent
with all his men on a Wakungu-seizing expedition,--a good job for
him, as it was his perquisite to receive the major part of the plunder
himself.
16th.--I sent Kahala out of the house, giving her finally over to Bombay
as a wife, because she preferred playing with dirty little children
to behaving like a young lady, and had caught the itch. This was much
against her wish, and the child vowed she would not leave me until force
compelled her; but I had really no other way of dealing with the remnant
of the awkward burden which the queen's generosity had thrown on me.
K'yengo went to the palace with fifty prisoners; but as the king had
taken his women to the small pond, where he has recently placed a tub
canoe for purposes of amusement, they did no business.
17th.--I took a first convalescent walk. The king, who was out shooting
all day, begged for powder in the evening. Uledi returned from his
expedition against a recusant officer at Kituntu, bringing with him a
spoil of ten women. It appeared that the officer himself had bolted from
his landed possessions, and as they belonged to "the church," or were
in some way or other sacred from civil execution, they could not be
touched, so that Uledi lost an estate which the king had promised him.
We heard that Ilmas, wife of Majanja, who, as I already mentioned, had
achieved an illustrious position by services at the birth of the
king, had been sent to visit the late king Sunna's tomb, whence, after
observing certain trees which were planted, and divining by mystic arts
what the future state of Uganda required, she would return at a specific
time, to order the king at the time of his coronation either to take the
field with an army, to make a pilgrimage, or to live a life of ease
at home; whichever of these courses the influence of the ordeal at the
grave might prompt her to order, must be complied with by the king.
18th.--I called at the palace with Grant, taking with us some pictures
of soldiers, horses, elephants, etc. We found the guard fighting over
their beef and plantain dinner. Bombay remarked that this daily feeding
on beef would be the lot of the Wanguana if they had no religious
scruples about the throat-cutting of animals for food. This, I told him,
was all their own fault, for they have really no religion or opinions of
their own; and had they been brought up in England instead of Africa, it
would have been all the other way with them as a matter of course; but
Bombay replied, "We could no more throw off the Mussulman faith than you
could yours." A man with a maniacal voice sang and whistled by turns.
Katumba, the officer of the guards, saw our pictures, and being a
favourite, acquainted the king, which gained us an admittance.
We found his majesty sitting on the ground, within a hut, behind a
portal, encompassed by his women, and took our seats outside. At first
all was silence, till one told the king we had some wonderful pictures
to show him; in an instant he grew lively, crying out, "Oh, let us see
them!" and they were shown, Bombay explaining. Three of the king's wives
then came in, and offered him their two virgin sisters, n'yanzigging
incessantly, and beseeching their acceptance, as by that means they
themselves would become doubly related to him. Nothing, however, seemed
to be done to promote the union, until one old lady, sitting by the
king's side, who was evidently learned in the etiquette and traditions
of the court, said, "Wait and see if he embraces, otherwise you may know
he is not pleased." At this announcement the girls received a hint to
pass on, and the king commenced bestowing on them a series of huggings,
first sitting on the lap of one, whom he clasped to his bosom, crossing
his neck with hers to the right, then to the left, and, having finished
with her, took post in the second one's lap, then on that of the third,
performing on each of them the same evolutions. He then retired to
his original position, and the marriage ceremony was supposed to be
concluded, and the settlements adjusted, when all went on as before.
The pictures were again looked at, and again admired, when we asked
for a private interview on business, and drew the king outside. I then
begged he would allow me, whilst his men were absent at Unyoro, to go to
the Masai country, and see the Salt Lake at the north-east corner of the
N'yanza, and to lend me some of his boats for Grant to fetch powder and
beads from Karague. This important arrangement being conceded by the
king more promptly than we expected, a cow, plantains, and pombe were
requested; but the cow only was given, though our men were said to be
feeding on grass. Taking the king, as it appeared, in a good humour, to
show him the abuses arising from the system of allowing his guests to
help themselves by force upon the highways, I reported the late seizures
made of thirty cows and twelve slaves by the Wanyambo; but, though
surprised to hear the news, he merely remarked that there were indeed a
great number of visitors in Uganda. During this one day we heard the
sad voice of no less than four women, dragged from the palace to the
slaughter-house.
19th.--To follow up our success in the marching question and keep the
king to his promise, I called at his palace, but found he had gone out
shooting. To push my object further, I then marched off to the queen's
to bid her good-bye, as if we were certain to leave the next day; but as
no one would dare to approach her cabinet to apprise her of our arrival,
we returned home tired and annoyed.
20th.--The king sent for us at noon; but when we reached the palace we
found he had started on a shooting tour; so, to make the best of our
time, we called again upon the queen for the same purpose as yesterday,
as also to get my books of birds and animals, which, taken merely
to look at for a day or so, had been kept for months. After hours of
waiting, her majesty appeared standing in an open gateway; beckoned us
to advance, and offered pombe; then, as two or three drops of rain fell,
she said she could not stand the violence of the weather, and forthwith
retired without one word being obtained. An officer, however, venturing
in for the books, at length I got them.
21st.--To-day I went to the palace, but found no one; the king was out
shooting again.
22d.--We resolved to-day to try on a new political influence at the
court. Grant had taken to the court of Karague a jumping-jack, to amuse
the young princes; but it had a higher destiny, for it so fascinated the
king Rumanika himself that he would not part with it--unless, indeed,
Grant would make him a big one out of a tree which was handed to him
for the purpose. We resolved to try the influence of such a toy on king
Mtesa, and brought with us, in addition, a mask and some pictures. But
although the king took a visiting card, the gate was never opened to us.
Finding this, and the day closing, we deposited the mask and pictures on
a throne, and walked away. We found that we had thus committed a serious
breach of state etiquette; for the guard, as soon as they saw what we
had done, seized the Wanguana for our offences in defiling the royal
seat, and would have bound them, had they not offered to return the
articles to us.
23d.--Early in the morning, hearing the royal procession marching off on
a shooting excursion, we sent Bombay running after it with the mask and
pictures, to aquaint the king with our desire to see him, and explain
that we had been four days successively foiled in attempts to find him
in his palace, our object being an eager wish to come to some speedy
understanding about the appointed journeys to the Salt Lake and Karague.
The toys produced the desired effect; for the king stopped and played
with them, making Bombay and the pages don the masks by turns. He
appointed the morrow for an interview, at the same time excusing himself
for not having seen us yesterday on the plea of illness. In the evening
Kahala absconded with another little girl of the camp in an opposite
direction from the one she took last time; but as both of them wandered
about not knowing where to go to, and as they omitted to take off all
their finery, they were soon recognised as in some way connected with my
party, taken up, and brought into camp, where they were well laughed at
for their folly, and laughed in turn at the absurdity of their futile
venture.
24th.--Hoping to keep the king to his promise, I went to the palace
early, but found he had already gone to see his brothers, so followed
him down, and found him engaged playing on a harmonicon with them.
Surprised at my intrusion, he first asked how I managed to find him out;
then went on playing for a while; but suddenly stopping to talk with me,
he gave me an opportunity of telling him I wished to send Grant off to
Karague, and start myself for Usoga and the Salt Lake in the morning.
"What! going away?" said the king, as if he had never heard a word
about it before; and then, after talking the whole subject over again,
especially dwelling on the quantity of powder I had in store at Karague,
he promised to send the necessary officers for escorting us on our
respective journeys in the morning.
The brothers' wives then wished to see me, and came before us, when I
had to take off my hat and shoes as usual, my ready compliance inducing
the princes to pass various compliments of my person and disposition.
The brothers then showed me a stool made of wood after the fashion of
our sketching-stool, and a gun-cover of leather, made by themselves,
of as good workmanship as is to be found in India. The king then rose,
followed by his brothers, and we all walked off to the pond. The effect
of stimulants was mooted, as well as other physiological phenomena, when
a second move took us to the palace by torchlight, and the king showed
a number of new huts just finished and beautifully made. Finally, he
settled down to a musical concert, in which he took the lead himself.
At eight o'clock, being tired and hungry, I reminded the king of his
promises, and he appointed the morning to call on him for the Wakungu,
and took leave.
25th.--Makinga, hearing of the intended march through Usoga, was pleased
to say he would like to join my camp and spend his time in buying slaves
and ivory there. I went to the palace for the promised escort, but
was no sooner announced by the pages than the king walked off into the
interior of his harem, and left me no alternative but to try my luck
with the Kamraviona, who, equally proud with his master, would not
answer my call,--and so another day was lost.
26th.--This morning we had the assuring intelligence from Kaddu that he
had received orders to hold himself in readiness for a voyage to Karague
in twenty boats with Grant, but the date of departure was not fixed.
The passage was expected to be rough, as the water off the mouth of the
Kitangule Kagera (river) always runs high, so that no boats can go there
except at night, when the winds of day subside, and are replaced by the
calms of night. I called at the palace, but saw nothing of the king,
though the court was full of officials; and there were no less than 150
women, besides girls, goats, and various other things, seizures from
refractory state officers, who, it was said, had been too proud to
present themselves at court for a period exceeding propriety.
All these creatures, I was assured, would afterwards be given away as
return-presents for the hongos or presents received from the king's
visitors. No wonder the tribes of Africa are mixed breeds. Amongst the
officers in waiting was my friend Budja, the ambassador that had been
sent to Unyoro with Kidgwiga, Kamrasi's deputy. He had returned three
days before, but had not yet seen the king. As might have been expected,
he said he had been anything but welcomed in Unyoro. Kamrasi, after
keeping him half-starved and in suspense eight days, sent a message--for
he would not see him--that he did not desire any communication with
blackguard Waganda thieves, and therefore advised him, if he valued his
life, to return by the road by which he came as speedily as possible.
Turning to Congow, I playfully told him that, as the road through Unyoro
was closed, he would have to go with me through Usoga and Kidi; but
the gallant colonel merely shuddered, and said that would be a terrible
undertaking.
27th.--The king would not show, for some reason or other, and we
still feared to fire guns lest he should think our store of powder
inexhaustible, and so keep us here until he had extorted the last of
it. I found that the Waganda have the same absurd notion here as the
Wanyambo have in Karague, of Kamrasi's supernatural power in being able
to divide the waters of the Nile in the same manner as Moses did the Red
Sea.
28th.--The king sent a messenger-boy to inform us that he had just heard
from Unyoro that the white men were still at Gani inquiring after us;
but nothing was said of Budja's defeat. I sent Bombay immediately off
to tell him we had changed our plans, and now simply required a large
escort to accompany us through Usoga and Kidi to Gani, as further delay
in communicating with Petherick might frustrate all chance of opening
the Nile trade with Uganda. He answered that he would assemble all his
officers in the morning to consult with them on the subject, when he
hoped we would attend, as he wished to further our views. A herd of
cows, about eighty in number, were driven in from Unyoro, showing that
the silly king was actually robbing Kamrasi at the same time that he was
trying to treat with him. K'yengo informed us that the king, considering
the surprising events which had lately occurred at his court, being
very anxious to pry into the future, had resolved to take a very strong
measure for accomplishing that end. This was the sacrifice of a child by
cooking, as described in the introduction--a ceremony which it fell to
K'yengo to carry out.
29th.--To have two strings to my bow, and press our departure as hotly
as possible, I sent first Frij off with Nasib to the queen, conveying,
as a parting present, a block-tin brush-box, a watch without a key, two
sixpenny pocket-handkerchiefs, and a white towel, with an intimation
that we were going, as the king had expressed his desire of sending us
to Gani. Her majesty accepted the present, finding fault with the watch
for not ticking like the king's, and would not believe her son Mtesa
had been so hasty in giving us leave to depart, as she had not been
consulted on the subject yet. Setting off to attend the king at his
appointed time, I found the Kamraviona already there, with a large court
attendance, patiently awaiting his majesty's advent. As we were all
waiting on, I took a rise out of the Kamraviona by telling him I wanted
a thousand men to march with me through Kidi to Gani. Surprised at the
extent of my requisition, he wished to know if my purpose was fighting.
I made him a present of the great principle that power commands respect,
and it was to prevent any chance of fighting that we required so
formidable an escort. His reply was that he would tell the king; and he
immediately rose and walked away home.
K'yengo and the representatives of Usui and Karague now arrived by order
of the king to bid farewell, and received the slaves and cattle lately
captured. As I was very hungry, I set off home to breakfast. Just as I
had gone, the provoking king inquired after me, and so brought me back
again, though I never saw him the whole day. K'yengo, however, was very
communicative. He said he was present when Sunna, with all the forces he
could muster, tried to take the very countries I now proposed to travel
through; but, though in person exciting his army to victory, he could
make nothing of it. He advised my returning to Karague, when Rumanika
would give me an escort through Nkole to Unyoro; but finding that
did not suit my views, as I swore I would never retrace one step, he
proposed my going by boat to Unyoro, following down the Nile.
This, of course, was exactly what I wanted; but how could king Mtesa,
after the rebuff he had received from Kamrasi be induced to consent
to it? My intention, I said, was to try the king on the Usoga and Kidi
route first, then on the Masai route to Zanzibar, affecting perfect
indifference about Kamrasi; and all those failing--which, of course,
they would--I would ask for Unyoro as a last and only resource. Still I
could not see the king to open my heart to him, and therefore felt quite
nonplussed. "Oh," says K'yengo, "the reason why you do not see him is
merely because he is Ashamed to show his face, having made so many fair
promises to you which he knows he can never carry out: bide your time,
and all will be well." At 4 p.m., as no hope of seeing the king was
left, all retired.
30th.--Unexpectedly, and for reasons only known to himself, the king
sent us a cow and load of butter, which had been asked for many days
ago. The new moon seen last night kept the king engaged at home, paying
his devotions with his magic horns or fetishes in the manner already
described. The spirit of this religion--if such it can be called--is not
so much adoration of a Being supreme and beneficent, as a tax to certain
malignant furies--a propitiation, in fact, to prevent them bringing evil
on the land, and to insure a fruitful harvest. It was rather ominous
that hail fell with violence, and lightning burnt down one of the palace
huts, while the king was in the midst of his propitiatory devotions.
1st.--As Bombay was ordered to the palace to instruct the king in the
art of casting bullets, I primed him well to plead for the road, and he
reported to me the results, thus: First, he asked one thousand men to go
through Kidi. This the king said was impracticable, as the Waganda had
tried it so often before without success. Then, as that could not be
managed, what would the king devise himself? Bana only proposed the
Usoga and Kidi route, because he thought it would be to the advantage
of Uganda. "Oh," says the king, cunningly, "if Bana merely wishes to see
Usoga, he can do so, and I will send a suitable escort, but no more."
To this Bombay replied, "Bana never could return; he would sooner
do anything than return--even penetrate the Masai to Zanzibar, or go
through Unyoro"; to which the king, ashamed of his impotence, hung down
his head and walked away.
In the meanwhile, and whilst this was going on at the king's palace, I
went with Grant, by appointment, to see the queen. As usual, she kept
us waiting some time, then appeared sitting by an open gate, and invited
us, together with many Wakungu and Wasumbua to approach. Very lavish
with stale sour pombe, she gave us all some, saving the Wasumbua, whom
she addressed very angrily, asking what they wanted, as they have been
months in the country. These poor creatures, in a desponding mood,
defended themselves by saying, which was quite true, that they had left
their homes in Sorombo to visit her, and to trade. They had, since their
arrival in the country, been daily in attendance at her palace, but
never had the good fortune to see her excepting on such lucky occasions
as brought the Wazungu (white men) here, when she opened her gates to
them, but otherwise kept them shut. The queen retorted, "And what have
you brought me, pray? where is it? Until I touch it you will neither
see me nor obtain permission to trade. Uganda is no place for idle
vagabonds." We then asked for a private interview, when, a few drops of
rain falling, the queen walked away, and we had orders to wait a little.
During this time two boys were birched by the queen's orders, and an
officer was sent out to inquire why the watch he had given her did not
go. This was easily explained. It had no key; and, never losing sight
of the main object, we took advantage of the opportunity to add, that
if she did not approve of it, we could easily exchange it for another on
arrival at Gani, provided she would send an officer with us.
The queen, squatting within her hut, now ordered both Grant and myself
to sit outside and receive a present of five eggs and one cock each,
saying coaxingly, "These are for my children." Then taking out the
presents, she learned the way of wearing her watch with a tape guard
round her neck, reposing the instrument in her bare bosom, and of
opening and shutting it, which so pleased her, that she declared it
quite satisfactory. The key was quite a minor consideration, for she
could show it to her attendants just as well without one. The towel and
handkerchiefs were also very beautiful, but what use could they be put
to? "Oh, your majesty, to wipe the mouth after drinking pombe." "Of
course," is the reply--"excellent; I won't use a mbugu napkin any more,
but have one of these placed on my cup when it is brought to drink, and
wipe my mouth with it afterwards. But what does Bana want?" "The road to
Gani," says Bombay for me. "The king won't see him when he goes to
The palace, so now he comes here, trusting your superior influence and
good-nature will be more practicable." "Oh!" says her majesty, "Bana
does not know the facts of the case. My son has tried all the roads
without success, and now he is ashamed to meet Bana face to face." "Then
what is to be done, your majesty?" "Bana must go back to Karague and
wait for a year, until my son is crowned, when he will make friends with
the surrounding chiefs, and the roads will be opened." "But Bana says he
will not retrace one step; he would sooner lose his life." "Oh, that's
nonsense! he must not be headstrong; but before anything more can be
said, I will send a message to my son, and Bana can then go with Kaddu,
K'yengo, and Viarungi, and tell all they have to say to Mtesa to-morrow,
and the following day return to me, when everything will be concluded."
We all now left but Kaddu and some of the queen's officers, who waited
for the message to her son about us. To judge from Kaddu, it must have
been very different from what she led us to expect, as, on joining us,
he said there was not the smallest chance of our getting the road we
required, for the queen was so decided about it no further argument
would be listened to.
2d.--Three goats were stolen, and suspicion falling on the king's cooks,
who are expert foragers, we sent to the Kamraviona, and asked him to
order out the Mganga; but his only reply was, that he often loses goats
in the same way. He sent us one of his own for present purposes, and
gave thirty baskets of potatoes to my men. As the king held a court, and
broke it up before 8 a.m., and no one would go there for fear of his not
appearing again, I waited, till the evening for Bombay, Kaddu, K'yengo,
and Viarungi, when, finding them drunk, I went by myself, fired a gun,
and was admitted to where the king was hunting guinea-fowl. On seeing
me, he took me affectionately by the hand, and, as we walked along
together, he asked me what I wanted, showed me the house which was burnt
down, and promised to settle the road question in the morning.
3d.--With Kaddu, K'yengo, and Viarungi all in attendance, we went to
the palace, where there was a large assemblage prepared for a levee,
and fired a gun, which brought the king out in state. The Sakibobo, or
provincial governor, arrived with a body of soldiers armed with sticks,
made a speech, and danced at the head of his men, all pointing sticks
upwards, and singing fidelity to their king.
The king then turned to me, and said, "I have come out to listen to your
request of last night. What is it you do want?" I said, "To open the
country to the north, that an uninterrupted line of commerce might exist
between England and this country by means of the Nile. I might go round
by Nkole" (K'yengo looked daggers at me); "but that is out of the way,
and not suitable to the purpose." The queen's deputation was now ordered
to draw near, and questioned in a whisper. As K'yengo was supposed to
know all about me, and spoke fluently both in Kiganda and Kisuahili,
he had to speak first; but K'yengo, to everybody's surprise, said, "One
white man wishes to go to Kamrasi's, whilst the other wishes to return
through Unyamuezi." This announcement made the king reflect; for he had
been privately primed by his mother's attendants, that we both wished to
go to Gani, and therefore shrewdly inquired if Rumanika knew we wished
to visit Kamrasi, and whether he was aware we should attempt the passage
north from Uganda. "Oh yes! of course Bana wrote to Bana Mdogo" (the
little master) "as soon as he arrived in Uganda and told him and
Rumanika all about it." "Wrote! what does that mean?" and I was called
upon to explain. Mtesa, then seeing a flaw in K'yengo's statements,
called him a story-teller; ordered him and his party away, and bade me
draw near.
The moment of triumph had come at last, and suddenly the road was
granted! The king presently let us see the motive by which he had been
influenced. He said he did not like having to send to Rumanika for
everything: he wanted his visitors to come to him direct; moreover,
Rumanika had sent him a message to the effect that we were not to be
shown anything out of Uganda, and when we had done with it, were to be
returned to him. Rumanika, indeed! who cared about Rumanika? Was not
Mtesa the king of the country, to do as he liked? and we all laughed.
Then the king, swelling with pride, asked me whom I liked best--Rumanika
or himself,--an awkward question, which I disposed of by saying I liked
Rumanika very much because he spoke well, and was very communicative;
but I also liked Mtesa, because his habits were much like my own--fond
of shooting and roaming about; whilst he had learned so many things from
my teaching, I must ever feel a yearning towards him.
With much satisfaction I felt that my business was now done; for Budja
was appointed to escort us to Unyoro, and Jumba to prepare us boats,
that we might go all the way to Kamrasi's by water. Viarungi made a
petition, on Rumanika's behalf, for an army of Waganda to go to Karague,
and fight the refractory brother, Rogero; but this was refused, on the
plea that the whole army was out fighting at the present moment. The
court then broke up and we went home.
To keep the king up to the mark, and seal our passage, in the evening I
took a Lancaster rifle, with ammunition, and the iron chair he formerly
asked for, as a parting present, to the palace, but did not find him, as
he had gone out shooting with his brothers.
4th.--Grant and I now called together on the king to present the rifle,
chair, and ammunition, as we could not thank him in words sufficiently
for the favour he had done us in granting the road through Unyoro. I
said the parting gift was not half as much as I should like to have been
able to give; but we hoped, on reaching Gani, to send Petherick up to
him with everything that he could desire. We regretted we had no more
powder or shot, as what was intended, and actually placed out expressly
to be presented on this occasion, was stolen. The king looked hard at
his head page, who was once sent to get these very things now given, and
then turning the subject adroitly, asked me how many cows and women I
would like, holding his hand up with spread fingers, and desiring me
to count by hundreds; but the reply was, Five cows and goats would be
enough, for we wished to travel lightly in boats, starting from the
Murchison Creek. Women were declined on such grounds as would seem
rational to him. But if the king would clothe my naked men with one
mbugu (bark cloth) each, and give a small tusk each to nine Wanyamuezi
porters, who desired to return to their home, the obligation would be
great.
Everything was granted without the slightest hesitation; and then the
king, turning to me, said, "Well, Bana, so you really wish to go?" "Yes,
for I have not seen my home for four years and upwards"--reckoning five
months to the year, Uganda fashion. "And you can give no stimulants?"
"No." "Then you will send me some from Gani--brandy if you like; it
makes people sleep sound, and gives them strength." Next we went to the
queen to bid her farewell, but did not see her.
On returning home I found half my men in a state of mutiny. They had
been on their own account to beg for the women and cows which had been
refused, saying, If Bana does not want them we do, for we have been
starved here ever since we came, and when we go for food get broken
heads; we will not serve with Bana any longer; but as he goes north, we
will return to Karague and Unyanyembe. Bombay, however, told them they
never had fed so well in all their lives as they had in Uganda, counting
from fifty to sixty cows killed, and pombe and plantains every day,
whenever they took the trouble to forage; and for their broken heads
they invariably received a compensation in women; so that Bana had
reason to regret every day spent in asking for food for them at the
palace--a favour which none but his men received, but which they had
not, as they might have done, turned to good effect by changing the
system of plundering for food in Uganda.
5th.--By the king's order we attended at the palace early. The gun
obtained us all a speedy admittance, when the king opened conversation
by saying, "Well, Bana, so you really are going?" "Yes; I have enjoyed
your hospitality for a long time, and now wish to return to my home."
"What provision do you want?" I said, Five cows and five goats, as we
shan't be long in Uganda; and it is not the custom of our country, when
we go visiting, to carry anything away with us. The king then said,
"Well, I wish to give you much, but you won't have it"; when Budja spoke
out, saying, "Bana does not know the country he had to travel through;
there is nothing but jungle and famine on the way, and he must have
cows"; on which the king ordered us sixty cows, fourteen goats, ten
loads of butter, a load of coffee and tobacco, one hundred sheets of
mbugu, as clothes for my men, at a suggestion of Bombay's, as all my
cloth had been expended even before I left Karague.
This magnificent order created a pause, which K'yengo took advantage of
by producing a little bundle of peculiarly-shaped sticks and a lump of
earth--all of which have their own particular magical powers, as K'yengo
described to the king's satisfaction. After this, Viarungi pleaded the
cause of my mutinous followers, till I shook my finger angrily at
him before the king, rebuked him for intermeddling in other people's
affairs, and told my own story, which gained the sympathy of the king,
and induced him to say, "Supposing they desert Bana, what road do they
expect to get?" Maula was now appointed to go with Rozaro to Karague for
the powder and other things promised yesterday, whilst Viarungi and all
his party, though exceedingly anxious to get away, had orders to remain
here prisoners as a surety for the things arriving. Further, Kaddu and
two other Wakungu received orders to go to Usui with two tusks of
ivory to purchase gunpowder, caps, and flints, failing which they would
proceed to Unyanyembe, and even to Zanzibar, for the king must not be
disappointed, and failure would cost them their lives.
Not another word was said, and away the two parties went, with no more
arrangement than a set of geese--Maula without a letter, and Kaddu
without any provision for the way, as if all the world belonged to
Mtesa, and he could help himself from any man's garden that he liked,
no matter where he was. In the evening my men made a humble petition for
their discharge, even if I did not pay them, producing a hundred reasons
for wishing to leave me, but none which would stand a moment's argument:
the fact was, they were afraid of the road to Unyoro, thinking I had not
sufficient ammunition.
6th.--I visited the king, and asked leave for boats to go at once;
but the fleet admiral put a veto on this by making out that dangerous
shallows exist between the Murchison Creek and the Kira district
station, so that the boats of one place never visit the other; and
further, if we went to Kira, we should find impracticable cataracts
to the Urondogani boat-station; our better plan would therefore be, to
deposit our property at the Urondogani station, and walk by land up
the river, if a sight of the falls at the mouth of the lake was of such
material consequence to us.
Of course this man carried everything his own way, for there was nobody
able to contradict him, and we could not afford time to visit Usoga
first, lest by the delay we might lose an opportunity of communicating
with Petherick. Grant now took a portrait of Mtesa by royal permission,
the king sitting as quietly as his impatient nature would permit. Then
at home the Wanyamuezi porters received their tusks of ivory, weighing
from 16 to 50 lb. each, and took a note besides on Rumanika each for
twenty fundo of beads, barring one Bogue man, who, having lent a cloth
to the expedition some months previously, thought it would not be paid
him, and therefore seized a sword as security; the consequence was, his
tusk was seized until the sword was returned, and he was dismissed minus
his beads, for having so misconducted himself. The impudent fellow
then said, "It will be well for Bana if he succeeds in getting the road
through Unyoro; for, should he fail, I will stand in his path at Bogue."
Kitunzi offered an ivory for beads, and when told we were not merchants,
and advised to try K'yengo, he said he dared not even approach K'yengo's
camp lest people should tell the king of it, and accuse him of seeking
for magical powers against his sovereign. Old Nasib begged for his
discharge. It was granted, and he took a $50 letter on the coast, and a
letter of emancipation for himself and family, besides an order, written
in Kisuahili, for ten fundo of beads on Rumanika, which made him very
happy.
In the evening we called again at the palace with pictures of the things
the king required from Rumanika, and a letter informing Rumanika what
we wished done with them, in order that there might be no mistake,
requesting the king to forward them after Mula. Just then Kaddu's men
returned to say they wanted provisions for the way, as the Wazinza,
hearing of their mission, asked them if they knew what they were about,
going to a strange country without any means of paying their way. But
the king instead of listening to reason, impetuously said, "If you do
not pack off at once, and bring me the things I want, every man of you
shall lose his head; and as for the Wazinza, for interfering with my
orders, they shall be kept here prisoners until you return."
On the way home, one of the king's favourite women overtook us, walking,
with her hands clasped at the back of her head, to execution, crying,
"N'uawo!" in the most pitiful manner. A man was preceding her, but did
not touch her; for she loved to obey the orders of her king voluntarily,
and in consequence of previous attachment, was permitted, as a mark of
distinction, to walk free. Wondrous world! it was not ten minutes since
we parted from the king, yet he had found time to transact this bloody
piece of business.
7th.--Early in the morning the king bade us come to him to say farewell.
Wishing to leave behind a favourable impression, I instantly complied.
On the breast of my coat I suspended the necklace the queen had given
me, as well as his knife, and my medals. I talked with him in as
friendly and flattering a manner as I could, dwelling on his shooting,
the pleasant cruising on the lake, and our sundry picnics, as well as
the grand prospect there was now of opening the country to trade, by
which his guns, the best in the world, would be fed with powder--and
other small matters of a like nature,--to which he replied with great
feeling and good taste. We then all rose with an English bow, placing
the hand on the heart whilst saying adieu; and there was a complete
uniformity in the ceremonial, for whatever I did, Mtesa, in an instant,
mimicked with the instinct of a monkey.
We had, however, scarcely quitted the palace gate before the king
issued himself, with his attendants and his brothers leading, and women
bringing up the rear; here K'yengo and all the Wazinza joined in the
procession with ourselves, they kneeling and clapping their hands after
the fashion of their own country. Budja just then made me feel very
anxious, by pointing out the position of Urondogani, as I thought, too
far north. I called the king's attention to it, and in a moment he said
he would speak to Budja in such a manner that would leave no doubts in
my mind, for he liked me much, and desired to please me in all things.
As the procession now drew to our camp, and Mtesa expressed a wish to
have a final look at my men, I ordered them to turn out with their
arms and n'yanzig for the many favours they had received. Mtesa, much
pleased, complimented them on their goodly appearance, remarking that
with such a force I would have no difficulty in reaching Gani, and
exhorted them to follow me through fire and water; then exchanging
adieus again he walked ahead in gigantic strides up the hill, the pretty
favourite of his harem, Lubuga--beckoning and waving with her little
hands, and crying, "Bana! Bana!"--trotting after him conspicuous amongst
the rest, though all showed a little feeling at the severance. We saw
them no more.
Chapter XV. March Down the Northern Slopes of Africa
Kari--Tragic Incident there--Renewals of Troubles--Quarrels with the
Natives--Reach the Nile--Description of the Scene there--Sport--Church
Estate--Ascend the River to the Junction with the Lake--Ripon
Falls--General Account of the Source of the Nile--Descend again to
Urondogani--The Truculent Sakibobo.
7th to 11th.--With Budja appointed as the general director, a lieutenant
of the Sakibobo's to furnish us with sixty cows in his division at the
first halting-place, and Kasoro (Mr Cat), a lieutenant of Jumba's, to
provide the boats at Urondogani, we started at 1 p.m., on the journey
northwards. The Wanguana still grumbled, swearing they would carry no
loads, as they got no rations, and threatening to shoot us if we pressed
them, forgetting that their food had been paid for to the king in
rifles, chronometers, and other articles, costing about 2000 dollars,
and, what was more to the point, that all the ammunition was in our
hands. A judicious threat of the stick, however, put things right, and
on we marched five successive days to Kari--as the place was afterwards
named, in consequence of the tragedy mentioned below--the whole distance
accomplished being thirty miles from the capital, through a fine hilly
country, with jungles and rich cultivation alternating. The second
march, after crossing the Katawana river with its many branches flowing
north-east into the huge rush-drain of Luajerri, carried us beyond the
influence of the higher hills, and away from the huge grasses which
characterise the southern boundary of Uganda bordering on the lake.
Each day's march to Kari was directed much in the same manner. After
a certain number of hours' travelling, Budja appointed some village of
residence for the night, avoiding those which belonged to the queen,
lest any rows should take place in them, which would create disagreeable
consequences with the king, and preferring those the heads of which had
been lately seized by the orders of the king. Nevertheless, wherever
we went, all the villagers forsook their homes, and left their houses,
property, and gardens an easy prey to the thieving propensities of the
escort. To put a stop to this vile practice was now beyond my power;
the king allowed it, and his men were the first in every house, taking
goats, fowls, skins, mbugus, cowries, beads, drums, spears, tobacco,
pombe,--in short, everything they could lay their hands on--in the most
ruthless manner. It was a perfect marauding campaign for them all, and
all alike were soon laden with as much as they could carry.
A halt of some days had become necessary at Kari to collect the
cows given by the king; and, as it is one of the most extensive
pasture-grounds, I strolled with my rifle (11th) to see what new animals
could be found; but no sooner did I wound a zebra than messengers came
running after me to say Kari, one of my men, had been murdered by the
villagers three miles off; and such was the fact. He, with others of my
men, had been induced to go plundering, with a few boys of the Waganda
escort, to a certain village of potters, as pots were required by Budja
for making plantain-wine, the first thing ever thought of when a camp
is formed. On nearing the place, however, the women of the village, who
were the only people visible, instead of running away, as our braves
expected, commenced hullalooing, and brought out their husbands. Flight
was now the only thought of our men, and all would have escaped had Kari
not been slow and his musket empty. The potters overtook him, and, as he
pointed his gun, which they considered a magic-horn, they speared him
to death, and then fled at once. Our survivors were not long in bringing
the news into camp, when a party went out, and in the evening brought in
the man's corpse and everything belonging to him, for nothing had been
taken.
12th.--To enable me at my leisure to trace up the Nile to its exit from
the lake, and then go on with the journey as quickly as possible, I
wished the cattle to be collected and taken by Budja and some of my men
with the heavy baggage overland to Kamrasi's. Another reason for doing
so was, that I thought it advisable Kamrasi should be forewarned that we
were coming by the water route, lest we should be suspected and stopped
as spies by his officers on the river, or regarded as enemies, which
would provoke a fight. Budja, however, objected to move until a report
of Kari's murder had been forwarded to the king, lest the people,
getting bumptious, should try the same trick again; and Kasoro said he
would not go up the river, as he had received no orders to do so.
In this fix I ordered a march back to the palace, mentioning the king's
last words, and should have gone, had not Budja ordered Kasoro to go
with me. A page then arrived from the king to ask after Bana's health,
carrying the Whitworth rifle as his master's card, and begging for a
heavy double-barrelled gun to be sent him from Gani. I called this lad
to witness the agreement I had made with Budja, and told him, if Kasoro
satisfied me, I would return by him, in addition to the heavy gun, a
Massey's patent log. I had taken it for the navigation of the lake,
and it was now of no further use to me, but, being an instrument of
complicated structure, it would be a valuable addition to the king's
museum of magic charms. I added I should like the king to send me the
robes of honour and spears he had once promised me, in order that I
might, on reaching England, be able to show my countrymen a specimen
of the manufactures of his country. The men who were with Kari were now
sent to the palace, under accusation of having led him into ambush, and
a complaint was made against the villagers, which we waited the reply
to. As Budja forbade it, no men would follow me out shooting, saying the
villagers were out surrounding our camp, and threatening destruction
on any one who dared show his face; for this was not the highroad to
Uganda, and therefore no one had a right to turn them out of their
houses and pillage their gardens.
13th.--Budja lost two cows given to his party last night, and seeing
ours securely tied by their legs to trees, asked by what spells we had
secured them; and would not believe our assurance that the ropes
that bound them were all the medicines we knew of. One of the Queen's
sisters, hearing of Kari's murder, came on a visit to condole with us,
bringing a pot of pombe, for which she received some beads. On being
asked how many sisters the queen had, for we could not help suspecting
some imposition, she replied she was the only one, till assured ten
other ladies had presented themselves as the queen's sisters before,
when she changed her tone, and said, "That is true, I am not the only
one; but if I had told you the truth I might have lost my head." This
was a significant expression of the danger to telling court secrets.
I suspected that there must be a considerable quantity of game in this
district, as stake-nets and other traps were found in all the huts,
as well as numbers of small antelope hoofs spitted on pipe-sticks--an
ornament which is counted the special badge of the sportsman in this
part of Africa. Despite, therefore, of the warnings of Budja, I strolled
again with my rifle, and saw pallah, small plovers, and green antelopes
with straight horns, called mpeo, the skin of which makes a favourite
apron for the Mabandwa.
14th.--I met to-day a Mhuma cowherd in my strolls with the rifle,
and asked him if he knew where the game lay. The unmannerly creature,
standing among a thousand of the sleekest cattle, gruffishly replied,
"What can I know of any other animals than cows?" and went on with
his work, as if nothing in the world could interest him but his
cattle-tending. I shot a doe, leucotis, called here nsunnu, the first
one seen upon the journey.
15th.--In the morning, when our men went for water to the springs, some
Waganda in ambush threw a spear at them, and this time caught a Tartar,
for the "horns," as they called their guns, were loaded, and two of
them received shot-wounds. In the evening, whilst we were returning from
shooting, a party of Waganda, also lying in the bush, called out to know
what we were about; saying, "Is it not enough that you have turned us
out of our homes and plantations, leaving us to live like animals in the
wilderness?" and when told we were only searching for sport, would not
believe that our motive was any other than hostility to themselves.
At night one of Budja's men returned from the palace, to say the
king was highly pleased with the measures adopted by his Wakungu, in
prosecution of Kari's affair. He hoped now as we had cows to eat,
there would be no necessity for wandering for food, but all would keep
together "in one garden." At present no notice would be taken of the
murderers, as all the culprits would have fled far away in their fright
to escape chastisement. But when a little time had elapsed, and all
would appear to have been forgotten, officers would be sent and the
miscreants apprehended, for it was impossible to suppose anybody could
be ignorant of the white men being the guests of the king, considering
they had lived at the palace for so long. The king took this opportunity
again to remind me that he wanted a heavy solid double gun, such as
would last him all his life; and intimated that in a few days the arms
and robes of honour were to be sent.
16th.--Most of the cows for ourselves and the guides--for the king gave
them also a present, ten each--were driven into camp. We also got 50 lb.
of butter, the remainder to be picked up on the way. I strolled with
the gun, and shot two zebras, to be sent to the king, as, by the
constitution of Uganda, he alone can keep their royal skins.
17th.--We had to halt again, as the guides had lost most of their cows,
so I strolled with my rifle and shot a ndjezza doe, the first I had
ever seen. It is a brown animal, a little smaller than leucotis, and
frequents much the same kind of ground.
18th.--We had still to wait another day for Budja's cows, when, as it
appeared all-important to communicate quickly with Petherick, and as
Grant's leg was considered too weak for travelling fast, we took counsel
together, and altered our plans. I arranged that Grant should go to
Kamrasi's direct with the property, cattle, and women, taking my letters
and a map for immediate despatch to Petherick at Gani, whilst I should
go up the river to its source or exit from the lake, and come down again
navigating as far as practicable.
At night the Waganda startled us by setting fire to the huts our men
were sleeping in, but providentially did more damage to themselves than
to us, for one sword only was buried in the fire, whilst their own huts,
intended to be vacated in the morning, were burnt to the ground. To
fortify ourselves against another invasion, we cut down all their
plaintains to make a boma or fence.
We started all together on our respective journeys; but, after the third
mile, Grant turned west, to join the highroad to Kamrasi's, whilst I
went east for Urondogani, crossing the Luajerri, a huge rush-drain three
miles broad, fordable nearly to the right bank, where we had to ferry in
boats, and the cows to be swum over with men holding on to their tails.
It was larger than the Katonga, and more tedious to cross, for it took
no less than four hours mosquitoes in myriads biting our bare backs and
legs all the while. The Luajerri is said to rise in the lake and fall
into the Nile, due south of our crossing-point. On the right bank wild
buffalo are described to be as numerous as cows, but we did not see any,
though the country is covered with a most inviting jungle for sport,
which intermediate lays of fine grazing grass. Such is the nature of the
country all the way to Urondogani, except in some favoured spots, kept
as tidily as in any part of Uganda, where plantains grow in the
utmost luxuriance. From want of guides, and misguided by the exclusive
ill-natured Wahuma who were here in great numbers tending their king's
cattle, we lost our way continually, so that we did not reach the
boat-station until the morning of the 21st.
Here at last I stood on the brink of the Nile; most beautiful was the
scene, nothing could surpass it! It was the very perfection of the kind
of effect aimed at in a highly kept park; with a magnificent stream from
600 to 700 yards wide, dotted with islets and rocks, the former occupied
by fishermen's huts, the latter by sterns and crocodiles basking in the
sun,--flowing between the fine high grassy banks, with rich trees and
plantains in the background, where herds of the nsunnu and hartebeest
could be seen grazing, while the hippopotami were snorting in the water,
and florikan and guinea-fowl rising at our feet. Unfortunately, the
chief district officer, Mlondo, was from home, but we took possession of
his huts--clean, extensive, and tidily kept--facing the river, and
felt as if a residence here would do one good. Delays and subterfuges,
however, soon came to damp our spirits. The acting officer was sent
for, and asked for the boats; they were all scattered, and could not be
collected for a day or two; but, even if they were at hand, no boat ever
went up or down the river. The chief was away and would be sent for, as
the king often changed his orders, and, after all, might not mean
what had been said. The district belonged to the Sakibobo, and no
representative of his had come here. These excuses, of course, would not
satisfy us. The boats must be collected, seven, if there are not ten,
for we must try them, and come to some understanding about them, before
we march up stream, when, if the officer values his life, he will let
us have them, and acknowledge Karoso as the king's representative,
otherwise a complaint will be sent to the palace, for we won't stand
trifling.
We were now confronting Usoga, a country which may be said to be the
very counterpart of Uganda in its richness and beauty. Here the people
use such huge iron-headed spears with short handles, that, on seeing
one to-day, my people remarked that they were better fitted for
digging potatoes than piercing men. Elephants, as we had seen by their
devastations during the last two marches, were very numerous in this
neighbourhood. Till lately, a party from Unyoro, ivory-hunting, had
driven them away. Lions were also described as very numerous and
destructive to human life. Antelopes were common in the jungle, and the
hippopotami, though frequenters of the plantain-garden and constantly
heard, were seldom seen on land in consequence of their unsteady habits.
The king's page again came, begging I would not forget the gun and
stimulants, and bringing with him the things I asked for--two spears,
one shield, one dirk, two leopard-cat skins, and two sheets of small
antelope skins. I told my men they ought to shave their heads and bathe
in the holy river, the cradle of Moses--the waters of which, sweetened
with sugar, men carry all the way from Egypt to Mecca, and sell to the
pilgrims. But Bombay, who is a philosopher of the Epicurean school,
said, "We don't look on those things in the same fanciful manner that
you do; we are contented with all the common-places of life, and look
for nothing beyond the present. If things don't go well, it is God's
will; and if they do go well, that is His will also."
22d.--The acting chief brought a present of one cow, one goat, and
pombe, with a mob of his courtiers to pay his respects. He promised that
the seven boats, which are all the station he could muster, would be
ready next day, and in the meanwhile a number of men would conduct me
to the shooting-ground. He asked to be shown the books of birds and
animals, and no sooner saw some specimens of Wolf's handiwork, than,
in utter surprise, he exclaimed, "I know how these are done; a bird
was caught and stamped upon the paper," using action to his words,
and showing what he meant, while all his followers n'yanzigged for the
favour of the exhibition.
In the evening I strolled in the antelope parks, enjoying the scenery
and sport excessively. A noble buck nsunnu, standing by himself, was the
first thing seen on this side, though a herd of hertebeests were grazing
on the Usoga banks. One bullet rolled my fine friend over, but the
rabble looking on no sooner saw the hit than they rushed upon him and
drove him off, for he was only wounded. A chase ensued, and he was
tracked by his blood when a pongo (bush box) was started and divided
the party. It also brought me to another single buck nsunnu, which
was floored at once, and left to be carried home by some of my men in
company with Waganda, whilst I went on, shot a third nsunnu buck, and
tracked him by his blood till dark, for the bullet had pierced his lungs
and passed out on the other side. Failing to find him on the way home,
I shot, besides florikan and guinea-chicks, a wonderful goatsucker,
remarkable for the exceeding length of some of its feathers floating out
far beyond the rest in both wings. [21] Returning home, I found the men
who had charge of the dead buck all in a state of excitement; they no
sooner removed his carcass, than two lions came out of the jungle and
lapped his blood. All the Waganda ran away at once; but my braves feared
my answer more than the lions, and came off safely with the buck on
their shoulders.
23d.--Three boats arrived, like those used on the Murchison Creek, and
when I demanded the rest, as well as a decisive answer about going to
Kamrasi's, the acting Mkungu said he was afraid accidents might happen,
and he would not take me. Nothing would frighten this pig-headed
creature into compliance, though I told him I had arranged with the king
to make the Nile the channel of communication with England. I therefore
applied to him for guides to conduct me up the river, and ordered Bombay
and Kasoro to obtain fresh orders from the king, as all future Wazungu,
coming to Uganda to visit or trade, would prefer the passage by the
river. I shot another buck in the evening, as the Waganda love their
skins, and also a load of guinea-fowl--three, four, and five at a
shot--as Kasoro and his boys prefer them to anything.
24th.--The acting officer absconded, but another man came in his place,
and offered to take us on the way up the river to-morrow, humbugging
Kasoro into the belief that his road to the palace would branch off
from the first state, though in reality it was here. The Mkungu's women
brought pombe, and spent the day gazing at us, till, in the evening,
when I took up my rifle, one ran after Bana to see him shoot, and
followed like a man; but the only sport she got was on an ant-hill,
where she fixed herself some time, popping into her mouth and devouring
the white ants as fast as they emanated from their cells--for,
disdaining does, I missed the only pongo buck I got a shot at in my
anxiety to show the fair one what she came for.
Reports came to-day of new cruelties at the palace. Kasoro improved
on their off-hand manslaughter by saying that two Kamravionas and two
Sakibobos, as well as all the old Wakungu of Sunna's time, had been
executed by the orders of king Mtesa. He told us, moreover, that if
Mtesa ever has a dream that his father directs him to kill anybody as
being dangerous to his person, the order is religiously kept. I wished
to send a message to Mtesa by an officer who is starting at once to
pay his respects at court; but although he received it, and promised to
deliver it, Kasoro laughed at me for expecting that one word of it would
ever reach the king; for, however, appropriate or important the matter
might be, it was more than anybody dare do to tell the king, as it would
be an infringement of the rule that no one is to speak to him unless in
answer to a question. My second buck of the first day was brought in by
the natives, but they would not allow it to approach the hut until it
had been skinned; and I found their reason to be a superstition
that otherwise no others would ever be killed by the inmates of that
establishment.
I marched up the left bank of the Nile at a considerable distance
from the water, to the Isamba rapids, passing through rich jungle and
plantain-gardens. Nango, an old friend, and district officer of the
place, first refreshed us with a dish of plantain-squash and dried
fish, with pombe. He told us he is often threatened by elephants, but
he sedulously keeps them off with charms; for if they ever tasted a
plantain they would never leave the garden until they had cleared it
out. He then took us to see the nearest falls of the Nile--extremely
beautiful, but very confined. The water ran deep between its banks,
which were covered with fine grass, soft cloudy acacias, and festoons
of lilac convolvuli; whilst here and there, where the land had slipped
above the rapids, bared places of red earth could be seen, like that
of Devonshire; there, too, the waters, impeded by a natural dam, looked
like a huge mill-pond, sullen and dark, in which two crocodiles, laving
about, were looking out for prey. From the high banks we looked down
upon a line of sloping wooded islets lying across the stream, which
divide its waters, and, by interrupting them, cause at once both dam and
rapids. The whole was more fairy-like, wild, and romantic than--I must
confess that my thoughts took that shape--anything I ever saw outside
of a theatre. It was exactly the sort of place, in fact, where, bridged
across from one side-slip to the other, on a moonlight night, brigands
would assemble to enact some dreadful tragedy. Even the Wanguana seemed
spellbound at the novel beauty of the sight, and no one thought of
moving till hunger warned us night was setting in, and we had better
look out for lodgings.
Start again, and after drinking pombe with Nango, when we heard that
three Wakungu had been seized at Kari, in consequence of the murder,
the march was commenced, but soon after stopped by the mischievous
machinations of our guide, who pretended it was too late in the day
to cross the jungles on ahead, either by the road to the source or the
palace, and therefore would not move till the morning; then, leaving
us, on the pretext of business, he vanished, and was never seen again.
A small black fly, with thick shoulders and bullet-head, infests the
place, and torments the naked arms and legs of the people with its sharp
stings to an extent that must render life miserable to them.
After a long struggling march, plodding through huge grasses and jungle,
we reached a district which I cannot otherwise describe than by calling
it a "Church Estate." It is dedicated in some mysterious manner to
Lubari (Almighty), and although the king appeared to have authority
over some of the inhabitants of it, yet others had apparently a sacred
character, exempting them from the civil power, and he had no right to
dispose of the land itself. In this territory there are small villages
only at every fifth mile, for there is no road, and the lands run high
again, whilst, from want of a guide, we often lost the track. It now
transpired that Budja, when he told at the palace that there was no road
down the banks of the Nile, did so in consequence of his fear that if he
sent my whole party here they would rob these church lands, and so bring
him into a scrape with the wizards or ecclesiastical authorities. Had my
party not been under control, we could not have put up here; but on my
being answerable that no thefts should take place, the people kindly
consented to provide us with board and lodgings, and we found them very
obliging. One elderly man, half-witted--they said the king had driven
his senses from him by seizing his house and family--came at once on
hearing of our arrival, laughing and singing in a loose jaunty maniacal
manner, carrying odd sticks, shells, and a bundle of mbugu rags, which
he deposited before me, dancing and singing again, then retreating and
bringing some more, with a few plantains from a garden, when I was to
eat, as kings lived upon flesh, and "poor Tom" wanted some, for he lived
with lions and elephants in a hovel beyond the gardens, and his belly
was empty. He was precisely a black specimen of the English parish
idiot.
At last, with a good push for it, crossing hills and threading huge
grasses, as well as extensive village plantations lately devastated by
elephants--they had eaten all that was eatable, and what would not serve
for food they had destroyed with their trunks, not one plantain or one
hut being left entire--we arrived at the extreme end of the journey, the
farthest point ever visited by the expedition on the same parallel of
latitude as king Mtesa's palace, and just forty miles east of it.
We were well rewarded; for the "stones," as the Waganda call the falls,
was by far the most interesting sight I had seen in Africa. Everybody
ran to see them at once, though the march had been long and fatiguing,
and even my sketch-block was called into play. Though beautiful, the
scene was not exactly what I expected; for the broad surface of the lake
was shut out from view by a spur of hill, and the falls, about 12 feet
deep, and 400 to 500 feet broad, were broken by rocks. Still it was a
sight that attracted one to it for hours--the roar of the waters, the
thousands of passenger-fish, leaping at the falls with all their might;
the Wasoga and Waganda fisherman coming out in boats and taking post
on all the rocks with rod and hook, hippopotami and crocodiles lying
sleepily on the water, the ferry at work above the falls, and cattle
driven down to drink at the margin of the lake,--made, in all, with the
pretty nature of the country--small hills, grassy-topped, with trees in
the folds, and gardens on the lower slopes--as interesting a picture as
one could wish to see.
The expedition had now performed its functions. I saw that old father
Nile without any doubt rises in the Victoria N'yanza, and, as I had
foretold, that lake is the great source of the holy river which cradled
the first expounder of our religious belief. I mourned, however, when I
thought how much I had lost by the delays in the journey having deprived
me of the pleasure of going to look at the north-east corner of the
N'yanza to see what connection there was, by the strait so often spoken
of, with it and the other lake where the Waganda went to get their
salt, and from which another river flowed to the north, making "Usoga an
island." But I felt I ought to be content with what I had been spared
to accomplish; for I had seen full half of the lake, and had information
given me of the other half, by means of which I knew all about the lake,
as far, at least, as the chief objects of geographical importance were
concerned.
Let us now sum up the whole and see what it is worth. Comparative
information assured me that there was as much water on the eastern side
of the lake as there is on the western--if anything, rather more. The
most remote waters, or top head of the Nile, is the southern end of the
lake, situated close on the third degree of south latitude, which gives
to the Nile the surprising length, in direct measurement, rolling over
thirty-four degrees of latitude, of above 2300 miles, or more than
one-eleventh of the circumference of our globe. Now from this southern
point, round by the west, to where the great Nile stream issues, there
is only one feeder of any importance, and that is the Kitangule river;
whilst from the southernmost point, round by the east, to the strait,
there are no rivers at all of any importance; for the travelled Arabs
one and all aver, that from the west of the snow-clad Kilimandjaro to
the lake where it is cut by the second degree, and also the first degree
of south latitude, there are salt lakes and salt plains, and the country
is hilly, not unlike Unyamuezi; but they said there were no great
rivers, and the country was so scantily watered, having only occasional
runnels and rivulets, that they always had to make long marches in order
to find water when they went on their trading journeys: and further,
those Arabs who crossed the strait when they reached Usoga, as mentioned
before, during the late interregnum, crossed no river either.
There remains to be disposed of the "salt lake," which I believe is not
a salt, but a fresh-water lake; and my reasons are, as before stated,
that the natives call all lakes salt, if they find salt beds or salt
islands in such places. Dr Krapf, when he obtained a sight of the Kenia
mountain, heard from the natives there that there was a salt lake to
its northward, and he also heard that a river ran from Kenia towards the
Nile. If his information was true on this latter point, then, without
doubt, there must exist some connection between his river and the salt
lake I have heard of, and this in all probability would also establish
a connection between my salt lake and his salt lake which he heard was
called Baringo. [22] In no view that can be taken of it, however, does
this unsettled matter touch the established fact that the head of the
Nile is in 3° south latitude, where in the year 1858, I discovered the
head of the Victoria N'yanza to be.
I now christened the "stones" Ripon Falls, after the nobleman who
presided over the Royal Geographical Society when my expedition was got
up; and the arm of water from which the Nile issued, Napoleon Channel,
in token of respect to the French Geographical Society, for the honour
they had done me, just before leaving England, in presenting me with
their gold medal for the discovery of the Victoria N'yanza. One thing
seemed at first perplexing--the volume of water in the Kitangule looked
as large as that of the Nile; but then the one was a slow river and the
other swift, and on this account I could form no adequate judgment of
their relative values.
Not satisfied with my first sketch of the falls, I could not resist
sketching them again; and then, as the cloudy state of the weather
prevented my observing for latitude, and the officer of the place said a
magnificent view of the lake could be obtained from the hill alluded to
as intercepting the view from the falls, we proposed going there; but
Kasoro, who had been indulged with nsunnu antelope skins, and with
guinea-fowl for dinner, resisted this, on the plea that I never should
be satisfied. There were orders given only to see the "stones," and if
he took me to one hill I should wish to see another and another, and
so on. It made me laugh, for that had been my nature all my life; but,
vexed at heart, and wishing to trick the young tyrant, I asked for boats
to shoot hippopotami, in the hope of reaching the hills to picnic; but
boating had never been ordered, and he would not listen to it. "Then
bring fish," I said, that I might draw them: no, that was not ordered.
"Then go you to the palace, and leave me to go to Urondogani to-morrow,
after I have taken a latitude;" but the wilful creature would not
go until he saw me under way. And as nobody would do anything for me
without Kasoro's orders, I amused the people by firing at the ferry-boat
upon the Usoga side, which they defied me to hit, the distance being 500
yards; but nevertheless a bullet went through her, and was afterwards
brought by the Wasoga nicely folded up in a piece of mbugu. Bombay then
shot a sleeping crocodile with his carbine, whilst I spent the day out
watching the falls.
This day also I spent watching the fish flying at the falls, and felt as
if I only wanted a wife and family, garden and yacht, rifle and rod, to
make me happy here for life, so charming was the place. What a place, I
thought to myself, this would be for missionaries! They never could
fear starvation, the land is so rich; and, if farming were introduced by
them, they might have hundreds of pupils. I need say no more.
In addition to the rod-and-line fishing, a number of men, armed with
long heavy poles with two iron spikes, tied prong-fashion to one end,
rushed to a place over a break in the falls, which tired fish seemed to
use as a baiting-room, dashed in their forks, holding on by the shaft,
and sent men down to disengaged the pined fish and relieve their spears.
The shot they made in this manner is a blind one--only on the chance of
fish being there--and therefore always doubtful in its result.
Church Estate again. As the clouds and Kasoro's wilfulness were still
against me, and the weather did not give hopes of a change, I sacrificed
the taking of the latitude to gain time. I sent Bombay with Kasoro to
the palace, asking for the Sakibobo himself to be sent with an order for
five boats, five cows, and five goats, and also for a general order to
go where I like, and do what I like, and have fish supplied me; "for,
though I know the king likes me, his officers do not;" and then on
separating I retraced my steps to the Church Estate.
1st.--To-day, after marching an hour, as there was now no need for
hurrying, and a fine pongo buck, the Ngubbi of Uganda, offered a
tempting shot, I proposed to shoot it for the men, and breakfast in a
neighbouring village. This being agreed to, the animal was despatched,
and we no sooner entered the village than we heard that nsamma, a
magnificent description of antelope, abound in the long grasses close
by, and that a rogue elephant frequents the plantains every night. This
tempting news created a halt. In the evening I killed a nsamma doe, an
animal very much like the Kobus Ellipsiprymnus, but without the lunated
mark over the rump; and at night, about 1 a.m., turned out to shoot an
elephant, which we distinctly heard feasting on plantains; but rain was
falling, and the night so dark, he was left till the morning.
2d.--I followed up the elephant some way, till a pongo offering an
irresistible shot I sent a bullet through him, but he was lost after
hours' tracking in the interminable large grasses. An enormous snake,
with fearful mouth and fangs, was speared by the men. In the evening
I wounded a buck nsamma, which, after tracking till dark, was left to
stiffen ere the following morning; and just after this on the way home,
we heard the rogue elephant crunching the branches not far off from the
track; but as no one would dare follow me against the monster at this
late hour, he was reluctantly left to do more injury to the gardens.
3d.--After a warm search in the morning we found the nsamma buck lying
in some water; the men tried to spear him, but he stood at bay, and took
another bullet. This was all we wanted, affording one good specimen; so,
after breakfast, we marched to Kirindi, where the villagers, hearing
of the sport we had had, and excited with the hopes of getting flesh,
begged us to halt a day.
4th.--Not crediting the stories told by the people about the sport
here, we packed to leave, but were no sooner ready than several men ran
hastily in to say some fine bucks were waiting to be shot close by.
This was too powerful a temptation to be withstood, so, shouldering the
rifle, and followed by half the village, if not more, women included,
we went to the place, but, instead of finding a buck--for the men had
stretched a point to keep me at their village--we found a herd of does,
and shot one at the people's urgent request.
We reached this in one stretch, and put up in our old quarters, where
the women of Mlondo provided pombe, plantains, and potatoes, as before,
with occasional fish, and we lived very happily till the 10th, shooting
buck, guinea-fowl, and florikan, when, Bombay and Kasoro arriving, my
work began again. These two worthies reached the palace, after crossing
twelve considerable streams, of which one was the Luajerri, rising in
the lake. The evening of the next day after leaving me at Kira, they
obtained an interview with the king immediately; for the thought flashed
across his mind that Bombay had come to report our death, the Waganda
having been too much for the party. He was speedily undeceived by the
announcement that nothing was the matter, excepting the inability to
procure boats, because the officers at Urondogani denied all authority
but the Sakibobo's, and no one would show Bana anything, however
trifling, without an express order for it.
Irate at this announcement, the king ordered the Sakibobo, who happened
to be present, to be seized and bound at once, and said warmly, "Pray,
who is the king, that the Sakibobo's orders should be preferred to
mine?" and then turning to the Sakibobo himself, asked what he would pay
to be released? The Sakibobo, alive to his danger, replied at once,
and without the slightest hesitation, Eighty cows, eighty goats, eighty
slaves, eighty mbugu, eighty butter, eighty coffee, eighty tobacco,
eighty jowari, and eighty of all the produce of Uganda. He was then
released. Bombay said Bana wished the Sakibobo to come to Urondogani,
and gave him a start with five boats, five cows, and five goats; to
which the king replied, "Bana shall have all he wants, nothing shall be
denied him, not even fish; but it is not necessary to send the Sakibobo,
as boys carry all my orders to kings as well as subjects. Kasoro will
return again with you, fully instructed in everything, and, moreover,
both he and Budja will follow Bana to Gani." Four days, however, my men
were kept at the palace ere the king gave them the cattle and leave to
join me, accompanied with one more officer, who had orders to find the
boats at once, see us off, and report the circumstance at court. Just
as at the last interview, the king had four women, lately seized and
condemned to execution, squatting in his court. He wished to send them
to Bana, and when Bombay demurred, saying he had no authority to take
women in that way, the king gave him one, and asked him if he would like
to see some sport, as he would have the remaining women cut to pieces
before him. Bombay, by his own account, behaved with great propriety,
saying Bana never wished to see sport of that cruel kind, and it would
ill become him to see sights which his master had not. Viarungi sent
me some tobacco, with kind regards, and said he and the Wazina had
just obtained leave to return to their homes, K'yengo alone, of all
the guests, remaining behind as a hostage until Mtesa's powder-seeking
Wakungu returned. Finally, the little boy Lugoi had been sent to his
home. Such was the tenor of Bombay's report.
11th.--The officer sent to procure boats, impudently saying there were
none, was put in the stocks by Kasoro, whilst other men went to Kirindi
for sailors, and down the stream for boats. On hearing the king's order
that I was to be supplied with fish, the fishermen ran away, and pombe
was no longer brewed for fear of Kasoro.
12th.--To-day we slaughtered and cooked two cows for the journey--the
remaining three and one goat having been lost in the Luajerri--and gave
the women of the place beads in return for their hospitality. They are
nearly all Wanyoro, having been captured in that country by king Mtesa
and given to Mlondo. They said their teeth were extracted, four to six
lower incisors, when they were young, because no Myoro would allow a
person to drink from his cup unless he conformed to that custom. The
same law exists in Usoga.
Chapter XVI. Bahr El Abiad
First Voyage on the Nile--The Starting--Description of the River and
the Country--Meet a Hostile Vessel--A Naval Engagement--Difficulties
and Dangers--Judicial Procedure--Messages from the King of
Uganda--His Efforts to get us back--Desertion--The Wanyoro
Troops--Kamrasi--Elephant-Stalking--Diabolical Possessions.
In five boats of five planks each, tied together and caulked with mbugu
rags, I started with twelve Wanguana, Kasoro and his page-followers, and
a small crew, to reach Kamrasi's palace in Unyoro--goats, dogs, and kit,
besides grain and dried meat, filling up the complement--but how many
days it would take nobody knew. Paddles propelled these vessels, but the
lazy crew were slow in the use of them, indulging sometimes in racing
spurts, then composedly resting on their paddles whilst the gentle
current drifted us along. The river, very unlike what it was from
the Ripon Falls downward, bore at once the character of river and
lake--clear in the centre, but fringed in most places with tall rush,
above which the green banks sloped back like park lands. It was all very
pretty and very interesting, and would have continued so, had not Kasoro
disgraced the Union Jack, turning it to piratical purposes in less than
one hour.
A party of Wanyoro, in twelve or fifteen canoes, made of single tree
trunks, had come up the river to trade with the Wasoga, and having
stored their vessels with mbugu, dried fish, plantains cooked and raw,
pombe, and other things, were taking their last meal on shore before
they returned to their homes. Kasoro seeing this, and bent on a boyish
spree, quite forgetting we were bound for the very ports they were bound
for, ordered our sailors to drive in amongst them, landed himself, and
sent the Wanyoro flying before I knew what game was up, and then set to
pillaging and feasting on the property of those very men whom it was our
interest to propitiate, as we expected them shortly to be our hosts.
The ground we were on belonged to king Mtesa, being a dependency of
Uganda, and it struck me as singular that Wanyoro should be found here;
but I no sooner discovered the truth than I made our boatmen disgorge
everything they had taken, called back the Wanyoro to take care of their
things, and extracted a promise from Kasoro that he would not practise
such wicked tricks again, otherwise we could not travel together.
Getting to boat again, after a very little paddling we pulled in to
shore, on the Uganda side, to stop for the night, and thus allowed the
injured Wanyoro to go down the river before us. I was much annoyed by
this interruption, but no argument would prevail on Kasoro to go on.
This was the last village on the Uganda frontier, and before we could
go any farther on boats it would be necessary to ask leave of Kamrasi's
frontier officer, N'yamyonjo, to enter Unyoro. The Wanguana demanded
ammunition in the most imperious manner, whilst I, in the same tone,
refused to issue any lest a row should take place and they then would
desert, alluding to their dastardly desertion in Msalala, when Grant was
attacked. If a fight should take place, I said they must flock to me
at once, and ammunition, which was always ready, would be served out to
them. They laughed at this, and asked, Who would stop with me when the
fight began? This was making a jest of what I was most afraid of--that
they would all run away.
I held a levee to decide on the best manner of proceeding. The Waganda
wanted us to stop for the day and feel the way gently, arguing that
etiquette demands it. Then, trying to terrify me, they said, N'yamyonjo
had a hundred boats, and would drive us back to a certainty if we tried
to force past them, if he were not first spoken with, as the Waganda had
often tried the passage and been repulsed. On the other hand, I argued
that Grant must have arrived long ago at Kamrasi's, and removed all
these difficulties for us; but, I said, if they would send men, let
Bombay start at once by land, and we will follow in boats, after giving
him time to say we are coming. This point gained after a hot debate,
Bombay started at 10 a.m., and we not till 5 p.m., it being but one
hour's journey by water. The frontier line was soon crossed; and then
both sides of the river, Usoga as well as Unyoro, belong to Kamrasi.
I flattered myself all my walking this journey was over, and there
was nothing left but to float quietly down the Nile, for Kidgwiga
had promised boats, on Kamrasi's account, from Unyoro to Gani, where
Petherick's vessels were said to be stationed; but this hope shared the
fate of so many others in Africa. In a little while an enormous canoe,
full of well-dressed and well-armed men, was seen approaching us. We
worked on, and found they turned, as if afraid. Our men paddled faster,
they did the same, the pages keeping time playfully by beat of drum,
until at last it became an exciting chase, won by the Wanyoro by their
superior numbers. The sun was now setting as we approached N'yamyongo's.
On a rock by the river stood a number of armed men, jumping, jabbering,
and thrusting with their spears, just as the Waganda do. I thought,
indeed, they were Waganda doing this to welcome us; but a glance
at Kasoro's glassy eyes told me such was not the case, but, on the
contrary, their language and gestures were threats, defying us to land.
The bank of the river, as we advanced, then rose higher, and was crowned
with huts and plantations, before which stood groups and lines of men,
all fully armed. Further, at this juncture, the canoe we had chased
turned broadside on us, and joined in the threatening demonstrations
of the people on shore. I could not believe them to be serious--thought
they had mistaken us--and stood up in the boat to show myself, hat
in hand. I said I was an Englishman going to Kamrasi's, and did all I
could, but without creating the slightest impression. They had heard a
drum beat, they said, and that was a signal of war, so war it should be;
and Kamrasi's drums rattled up both sides the river, preparing everybody
to arm. This was serious. Further, a second canoe full of armed men
issued out from the rushes behind us, as if with a view to cut off
our retreat, and the one in front advanced upon us, hemming us in. To
retreat together seemed our only chance, but it was getting dark, and my
boats were badly manned. I gave the order to close together and retire,
offering ammunition as an incentive, and all came to me but one boat,
which seemed so paralysed with fright, it kept spinning round and round
like a crippled duck.
The Wanyoro, as they saw us retreating, were now heard to say, "They are
women, they are running, let us at them;" whilst I kept roaring to my
men, "Keep together--come for powder;" and myself loaded with small
shot, which even made Kasoro laugh and inquire if it was intended for
the Wanyoro. "Yes, to shoot them like guinea-fowl;" and he laughed
again. But confound my men! they would not keep together, and retreat
with me. One of those served with ammunition went as hard as he could
go up stream to be out of harm's way, and another preferred hugging the
dark shade of the rushes to keeping the clear open, which I desired
for the benefit of our guns. It was not getting painfully dark, and the
Wanyoro were stealing on us, as we could hear, though nothing could be
seen. Presently the shade-seeking boat was attacked, spears were thrown,
fortunately into the river instead of into our men, and grappling-hooks
were used to link the boats together. My men cried, "Help, Bana! they
are killing us;" whilst I roared to my crew, "Go in, go in, and the
victory will be ours;" but not a soul would--they were spell-bound to
the place; we might have been cut up in detail, it was all the same to
those cowardly Waganda, whose only action consisted in crying, "N'yawo!
n'yawo!"--mother, mother, help us!
Three shots from the hooked boat now finished the action. The Wanyoro
had caught a Tartar. Two of their men fell--one killed, one wounded.
They were heard saying their opponents were not Waganda, it were better
to leave them alone; and retreated, leaving us, totally uninjured, a
clear passage up the river. But where was Bombay all this while! He did
not return till after us, and then, in considerable excitement, he told
his tale. He reached N'yamyongo's village before noon, asked for the
officer, but was desired to wait in a hut until the chief should arrive,
as he had gone out on business; the villagers inquired, however, why we
had robbed the Wanyoro yesterday, for they had laid a complaint against
us. Bombay replied it was no fault of Bana's, he did everything he could
to prevent it, and returned all that the boatmen took.
These men then departed, and did not return until evening, when they
asked Bombay, impudently, why he was sitting there, as he had received
no invitation to spend the night; and unless he walked off soon they
would set fire to his hut. Bombay, without the smallest intention of
moving, said he had orders to see N'yamyonjo, and until he did so he
would not budge. "Well," said the people, "you have got your warning,
now look out for yourselves;" and Bombay, with his Waganda escort, was
left again. Drums then began to beat, and men to hurry to and fro with
spears and shields, until at last our guns were heard, and, guessing
the cause, Bombay with his Waganda escort rushed out of the hut into
the jungle, and, without daring to venture on the beaten track, through
thorns and thicket worked his way back to me, lame, and scratched all
over with thorns.
Crowds of Waganda, all armed as if for war, came to congratulate us
in the morning, jumping, jabbering, and shaking their spears at us,
denoting a victory gained--for we had shot Wanyoro and no harm had
befallen us. "But the road," I cried, "has that been gained? I am not
going to show my back. We must go again, for there is some mistake;
Grant is with Kamrasi, and N'yamyongo cannot stop us. If you won't go
in boats, let us go by land to N'yamyongo's, and the boats will follow
after." Not a soul, however, would stir. N'yamyongo was described as an
independent chief, who listened to Kamrasi only when he liked. He did
not like strange eyes to see his secret lodges on the N'yanza; and if
he did not wish us to go down the river, Kamrasi's orders would go for
nothing. His men had now been shot; to go within his reach would be
certain death. Argument was useless, boating slow, to send messages
worse; so I gave in, turned my back on the Nile, and the following day
(16th) came on the Luajerri.
Here, to my intense surprise, I heard that Grant's camp was not far off,
on its return from Kamrasi's. I could not, rather would not, believe it,
suspicious as it now appeared after my reverse. The men, however,
were positive, and advised my going to king Mtesa's--a ridiculous
proposition, at once rejected; for I had yet to receive Kamrasi's answer
to our Queen, about opening a trade with England. I must ascertain
why he despised Englishmen without speaking with them, and I could not
believe Kamrasi would prove less avaricious than either Rumanika or
Mtesa, especially as Rumanika had made himself responsible for our
actions. We slept that night near Kari, the Waganda eating two goats
which had been drowned in the Luajerri; and the messenger-page, having
been a third time to the palace and back again, called to ask after our
welfare, on behalf of his king, and remind us about the gun and brandy
promised.
17th and 18th.--The two following days were spent wandering about
without guides, trying to keep the track Grant had taken after leaving
us, crossing at first a line of small hills, then traversing grass and
jungle, like the dak of India. Plantain-gardens were frequently met, and
the people seemed very hospitably inclined, though they complained sadly
of the pages rudely rushing into every hut, seizing everything they
could lay their hands on, and even eating the food which they had just
prepared for their own dinners, saying, in a mournful manner, "If it
were not out of respect for you we should fight those little rascals,
for it is not the king's guest nor his men who do us injury, but the
king's own servants, without leave or licence." I observed that special
bomas or fences were erected to protect these villages against the
incursions of lions. Buffaloes were about, but the villagers cautioned
us not to shoot them, holding them as sacred animals; and, to judge from
the appearance of the country, wild animals should abound, were it not
for the fact that every Mganda seems by instinct to be a sportsman.
At last, after numerous and various reports about Grant, we heard his
drums last night, but we arrived this morning just in time to be too
late. He was on his march back to the capital of Uganda, as the people
had told us, and passed through N'yakinyama just before I reached it.
What had really happened I knew not, and was puzzled to think. To insist
on a treaty, demanding an answer, to the Queen, seemed the only chance
left; so I wrote to Grant to let me know all about it, and waited the
result. He very obligingly came himself, said he left Unyoro after
stopping there an age asking for the road without effect, and left by
the orders of Kamrasi, thinking obedience the better policy to obtain
our ends. Two great objections had been raised against us; one was that
we were reported to be cannibals, and the other that our advancing by
two roads at once was suspicious, the more especially so as the Waganda
were his enemies; had we come from Rumanika direct, there would have
been no objection to us.
When all was duly considered, it appeared evident to me that the great
king of Unyoro, "the father of all the kings," was merely a nervous,
fidgety creature, half afraid of us because we were attempting his
country by the unusual mode of taking two routes at once, but wholly so
of the Waganda, who had never ceased plundering his country for years.
As it appeared that he would have accepted us had we come by the
friendly route of Kisuere, a further parley was absolutely necessary,
and the more especially so, as now we were all together and in Uganda,
which, in consequence, must relieve him from the fear of our harbouring
evil designs against him. No one present, however, could be prevailed on
to go to him in the capacity of ambassador, as the frontier officer had
warned the Wageni or guests that, if they ever attempted to cross the
border again, he was bound in duty, agreeably to the orders of his king,
to expel them by force; therefore, should the Wageni attempt it after
this warning, their first appearance would be considered a casus belli;
and so the matter rested for the day.
To make the best of a bad bargain, and as N'yakinyama was "eaten up," we
repaired to Grant's camp to consult with Budja; but Budja was found
firm and inflexible against sending men up to Unyoro. His pride had been
injured by the rebuffs we had sustained. He would wait here three or
four days as I proposed, to see what fortune sent us, if I would not
be convinced that Kamrasi wished to reject us, and he would communicate
with his king in the meantime, but nothing more. Here was altogether a
staggerer: I would stop for three or four days, but if Kamrasi would not
have us by that time, what was to be done? Would it be prudent to try
Kisuere now Baraka had been refused the Gani route? or would it not be
better still for me to sell Kamrasi altogether, by offering Mtesa five
hundred loads of ammunition, cloth and beads, if he would give us a
thousand Waganda as a force to pass through the Masai to Zanzibar, this
property to be sent back by the escort from the coast? Kamrasi would no
doubt catch it if we took this course, but it was expensive.
Thus were we ruminating, when lo, to our delight, as if they had been
listening to us, up came Kidgwiga, my old friend, who, at Mtesa'a place,
had said Kamrasi would be very glad to see me, and Vittagura, Kamrasi's
commander-in-chief, to say their king was very anxious to see us, and
the Waganda might come or not as they liked. Until now, the deputation
said, Kamrasi had doubted Budja's word about our friendly intentions,
but since he saw us withdrawing from his country, those doubts were
removed. The N'yamswenge, they said--meaning, I thought, Petherick--was
still at Gani; no English or others on the Nile ever expressed a wish to
enter Unyoro, otherwise they might have done so; and Baraka had left for
Karague, carrying off an ivory as a present from Kamrasi.
21st.--I ordered the march to Unyoro; Budja, however, kept brooding over
the message sent to the Waganda, to the effect that they might come
or not as they liked, and considering us with himself to have all been
treated "like dogs," begged me to give him my opinion as to what course
he had better pursue; for he must, in the first instance, report the
whole circumstances to the king, and could not march at once. This was
a blight on our prospects, and appeared very vexatious, in the event of
Budja waiting for an answer, which, considering Mtesa had ordered
his Wakungu to accompany us all the way to Gani, might stop our march
altogether.
I therefore argued that Kamrasi's treatment of us was easily accounted
for: he heard of us coming by two routes from an enemy's country,
and was naturally suspicious of us; that had now been changed by
our withdrawing, and he invited us to him. Without doubt, his
commander-in-chief was never very far away, and followed on our heels.
Such precaution was only natural and reasonable on Kamrasi's part,
and what had been done need not alarm any one. "If you do your duty
properly, you will take us at once into Unyoro, make your charge over to
these men, and return or not as you like; for in doing so you will have
fulfilled both Mtesa's, and Kamrasi's orders at once." "Very good," says
Budja, "let it be so; for there is great wisdom in your words: but I
must first send to my king, for the Waganda villagers have struck two of
your men with weapons" (this had happened just before my arrival
here), "and this is a most heinous offence in Uganda, which cannot be
overlooked. Had it been done with a common stick, it could have been
overlooked; but the use of weapons is an offence, and both parties must
go before the king." This, of course, was objected to on the plea that
it was my own affair. I was king of the Wanguana, and might choose to
dispense with the attendance. The matter was compromised, however, on
the condition that Budja should march across the border to-morrow, and
wait for the return of these men and for further orders on the Unyoro
side.
The bait took. Budja lost sight of the necessity there was for his going
to Gani to bring back a gun, ammunition, and some medicine--that is to
say, brandy--for his king; and sent his men off with mine to tell Mtesa
all our adventures--our double repulse, the intention to wait on the
Unyoro side for further orders, and the account of some Waganda having
wounded my men. I added my excuses for Kamrasi, and laid a complaint
against Mtesa's officers for having defrauded us out of ten cows, five
goats, six butter, and sixty mbugu. It was not that we required these
things, but I knew that the king had ordered them to be given to us, and
I thought it right we should show that his officers, if they professed
to obey his orders, had peculated. After these men had started, some
friends of the villager who had been apprehended on the charge of
assailing my men, came and offered Budja five cows to overlook the
charge; and Budja, though he could not overlook it when I pleaded for
the man, asked me to recall my men. Discovering that the culprit was a
queen's man, and that the affair would cause bad blood at court should
the king order the man's life to be taken, I tried to do so, but things
had gone too far.
Again the expedition marched on in the right direction. We reached the
last village on the Uganda frontier, and there spent the night. Here
Grant shot a nsunnu buck. The Wanguana mutinied for ammunition, and
would not lift a load until they got it, saying, "Unyoro is a dangerous
country," though they had been there before without any more than they
now had in pouch. The fact was, my men, in consequence of the late
issues on the river, happened to have more than Grant's men, and every
man must have alike. The ringleader, unfortunately for himself, had
lately fired at a dead lion, to astonish the Unyoro, and his chum had
fired a salute, which was contrary to orders; for ammunition was at a
low ebb, and I had done everything in my power to nurse it. Therefore,
as a warning to the others, the guns of these two were confiscated,
and a caution given that any gun in future let off, either by design or
accident, would be taken.
To-day I felt very thankful to get across the much-vexed boundary-line,
and enter Unyoro, guided by Kamrasi's deputation of officers, and so
shake off the apprehensions which had teased us for so many days.
This first march was a picture of all the country to its capital: an
interminable forest of small trees, bush, and tall grass, with scanty
villages, low huts, and dirty-looking people clad in skins; the
plantain, sweet potato, sesamum, and ulezi (millet) forming the chief
edibles, besides goats and fowls; whilst the cows, which are reported
to be numerous, being kept, as everywhere else where pasture-lands are
good, by the wandering, unsociable Wahuma are seldom seen. No hills,
except a few scattered cones, disturb the level surface of the land, and
no pretty views ever cheer the eye. Uganda is now entirely left behind;
we shall not see its like again; for the further one leaves the equator,
and the rain-attracting influences of the Mountains of the Moon,
vegetation decreases proportionately with the distance.
Fortunately the frontier-village could not feed so large a party as
ours, and therefore we were compelled to move farther on, to our great
delight, through the same style of forest acacia, cactus, and tall
grass, to Kidgwiga's gardens, where we no sooner arrived than Mtesa's
messenger-page, with a party of fifty Waganda, dropped in, in the most
unexpected manner, to inquire after "his royal master's friend, Bana."
The king had heard of the fight upon the river, and thought the Wanguana
must be very good shots. He still trusted we would not forget the gun
and ammunition, but, above all, the load of stimulants, for he desired
that above all things on earth. This was the fourth message to remind
us of these important matters which we had received since leaving his
gracious presence, and each time brought by the same page. While the
purpose of the boy's coming with so many men was not distinctly known,
the whole village and camp were in a state of great agitation, Budja
fearing lest the king had some fault to find with his work, and the
Wanyoro deeming it a menace of war, whilst I was afraid they might take
fright and stop our progress.
But all went well in the end; Massey's log, which I have mentioned as a
present I intended for Mtesa, was packed up, and the page departed with
it. Some of Rumanika's men, who came into Unyoro with Baraka, with four
of K'yengo's, were sent to call us by Kamrasi. Through Rumanika's men
it transpired that he had stood security for our actions, else, with
the many evil reports of our being cannibals and such-like, which had
preceded our coming here, we never should have gained admittance to the
country. The Wanyoro, who are as squalid-looking as the Wanyamuezi,
and almost as badly dressed, now came about us to hawk ivory ornaments,
brass and copper twisted wristlets, tobacco, and salt, which they
exchanged for cowries, with which they purchase cows from the Waganda.
As in Uganda, all the villagers forsook their huts as soon as they heard
the Wageni (guests) were coming; and no one paid the least attention
to the traveller, save the few head-men attached to the escort, or some
professional traders.
25th to 28th.--I had no sooner ordered the march than Vittagura
counter-ordered it, and held a levee to ascertain, as he said, if the
Waganda were to go back; for though Kamrasi wished to see us, he did not
want the Waganda. It was Kamrasi's orders that Budja should tell this
to his "child the Mkavia," meaning Mtesa; for when the Waganda came the
first time to see him, three of his family died; and when they came the
second time, three more died; and as this rate of mortality was quite
unusual in his family circle, he could only attribute it to foul magic.
The presence of people who brought such results was of course by no
means desirable. This neat message elicited with a declaration of the
necessity of Budja's going to Gani with us, and a response from the
commander-in-chief, probably to terrify the Waganda, that although Gani
was only nine days' journey distant from Kamrasi's palace, the Gani
people were such barbarians, they would call a straight-haired man a
magician, and any person who tied his mbugu in a knot upon his shoulder,
or had a full set of teeth as the Waganda have, would be surely killed
by them. Finally, we must wait two days, to see if Kamrasi would see us
or not. Such was Unyoro diplomacy.
An announcement of a different kind immediately followed. The king had
heard that I gave a cow to Vittagura and Kidgwiga when they first came
to me in Uganda, and wished the Wanyamuezi to ascertain if this was
true. Of course, I said they were my guests in Uganda, and if they had
been wise they would have eaten their cow on the spot; what was that to
Kamrasi? It was a pity he did not treat us as well who have come into
his country at his own invitation, instead of keeping us starving in
this gloomy wilderness, without a drop of pombe to cheer the day;--why
could not he let us go on? He wanted first to hear if the big Mzungu,
meaning myself, had really come yet. All fudge!
Three days were spent in simply waiting for return messages on both
sides, and more might have been lost in the same way, only we
amused Vittagura and gave him confidence by showing our pictures,
looking-glass, scissors, knives, etc., when he promised a march in the
morning, leaving a man behind to bring on the Wanguana sent to Mtesa's,
it being the only alternative which would please Budja; for he said
there was no security for life in Unyoro, where every Mkungu calls
himself the biggest man, and no true hospitality is to be found.
The next two days took us through Chagamoyo to Kiratosi, by the aid
of the compass; for the route Kamrasi's men took differed from the one
which Budja knew, and he declared the Wanyoro were leading us into
a trap, and would not be convinced we were going on all right till I
pulled out the compass and confirmed the Wanyoro. We were anything but
welcomed at Kiratosi, the people asking by what bad luck we had come
there to eat up their crops; but in a little while they flocked to our
doors and admired our traps, remarking that they believed each iron box
contained a couple of white dwarfs, which we carry on our shoulders,
sitting straddle-legs, back to back, and they fly off to eat people
whenever they get the order. One of these visitors happened to be the
sister of one of my men, named Baruti, who no sooner recognised her
brother, than, without saying a word, she clasped her head with her
hands, and ran off, crying, to tell her husband what she had seen. A
spy of Kamrasi dropped the report that the Wanguana were returning from
Mtesa's, and hurried on to tell the king.
31st.--Some Waganda hurrying in, confirmed the report of last night,
and said the Wanguana, footsore, had been left at the Uganda frontier,
expecting us to return, as Mtesa, at the same time that he approved
highly of my having sent men back to inform him of Kamrasi's conduct,
begged we would instantly return, even if found within one march of
Kamrasi's, for he had much of importance to tell his friend Bana. The
message continued to this effect: I need be under no apprehensions about
the road to the coast, for he would give me as many men as I liked; and,
fearing I might be short of powder, he had sent some with the Wanguana.
Both Wanguana were by the king given women for their services, and an
old tin cartridge-box represented Mtesa's card, it being an article of
European manufacture, which, if found in the possession of any Mganda,
would be certain death to him. Finally, all the houses and plantains
where my men were wounded had been confiscated.
When this message was fully delivered, Budja said we must return without
a day's delay. I, on the contrary, called up Kidgwiga. I did not like my
men having been kept prisoners in Uganda, and pronounced in public that
I would not return. It would be an insult to Kamrasi my doing so, for I
was now in his "house" at his own invitation. I wished Bombay would go
with him (Kidgwiga) at once to his king, to say I had hoped, when I sent
Budja with Mabruki, in the first instance, conveying a friendly present
from Mtesa, which was done at my instigation, and I found Kamrasi
acknowledged it by a return-present, that there would be no more
fighting between them. I said I had left England to visit these
countries for the purpose of opening up a trade, and I had no orders
to fight my way except with the force of friendship. That Rumanika had
accepted my views Kamrasi must be fully aware by Baraka's having visited
him; and that Mtesa did the same must also be evident, else he would
never have ordered his men to accompany me to Gani; and I now fondly
trusted that these Waganda would be allowed to go with me, when, by the
influence of trade, all animosity would cease, and friendly relations be
restored between the two countries.
This speech was hardly pronounced when Kajunju, a fine athletic man,
dropped suddenly in, nodded a friendly recognition to Budja, and wished
to know what the Waganda meant by taking us back, for the king had heard
of their intention last night; and when told by Budja his story, and
by Kidgwiga mine, he vanished like a shadow. Budja, now turning to
me, said, "If you won't go back, I shall; for the orders of Mtesa must
always be obeyed, else lives will be lost; and I shall tell him that
you, since leaving his country, and getting your road, have quite
forgotten him." "If you give such a message as that," I said, "you will
tell a falsehood. Mtesa has no right to order me out of another man's
house, to be an enemy with one whose friendship I desire. I am not only
in honour bound to speak with Kamrasi, but I am also bound to carry out
the orders of my country just as much as you are yours; moreover, I have
invited Petherick to come to Kamrasi's by a letter from Karague, and it
would be ill-becoming in me to desert him in the hands of an enemy, as
he would then certainly find Kamrasi to be if I went back now." Budja
then tried the coaxing dodge, saying, "There is much reason in your
words, but I am sorry you do not listen to the king, for he loves you
as a brother. Did you not go about like two brothers--walking, talking,
shooting, and even eating together? It was the remark of all the
Waganda, and the king will be so vexed when he finds you have thrown him
over. I did not tell you before, but the king says, 'How can I answer
Rumanika if Kamrasi injures Bana? Had I known Kamrasi was such a savage,
I would not have let Bana go there; and I should now have sent a
forge to take him away, only that some accident might arise from it by
Kamrasi's taking fright; the road even to Gani shall be got by force if
necessary.'" Then, finding me still persistent, Budja turned again and
threatened us with the king's power, saying, "If you choose to disobey,
we will see whether you ever get the road to Gani or not; for Kamrasi is
at war on all sides with his brothers, and Mtesa will ally himself with
them at any moment that he wishes, and where will you be then?"
Saying this, Budja walked off, muttering that our being here would much
embarrass Mtesa's actions; whilst my Wanguana, who had been attentively
listening, like timid hares, made up their minds to leave me, and tried,
through Bombay, to obtain a final interview with me, saying they knew
Mtesa's power, and disobedience to him would only end in taking away all
chance of escape. In reply, I said I would not listen to them, as I
had seen enough of them to know it was no use speaking to a pack of
unreasonable cowards, having tried it so often before; but I sent a
message requesting them, if they did desert me at last, to leave my
guns; and, further, added an intimation that, as soon as they reached
the coast, they would be put into prison for three years. The scoundrels
insolently said "tuende setu" (let's be off), rushed to the Waganda
drums, and beat the march.
1st.--Early in the morning, as Budja drummed the home march, I
called him up, gave him a glass rain-gauge as a letter for Mtesa, and
instructed him to say I would send a man to Mtesa as soon as I had seen
Kamrasi about opening the road; that I trusted he would take all the
guns from the deserters and keep them for me, but the men themselves I
wished transported to an island on the N'yanza, for I could never allow
such scoundrels again to enter my camp. It was the effect of desertions
like these that prevented any white men visiting these countries. This
said, the Waganda all left us, taking with them twenty-eight Wanguana,
armed with twenty-two carbines. Amongst them was the wretched governess,
Manamaka, who had always thought me a wonderful magician, because I
possessed, in her belief, an extraordinary power in inclining all the
black kings' hearts to me, and induced them to give the roads no one
before of my colour had ever attempted to use.
With a following reduced to twenty men, armed with fourteen carbines, I
now wished to start for Kamrasi's, but had not even sufficient force
to lift the loads. A little while elapsed, and a party of fifty Wanyoro
rushed wildly into camp, with their spears uplifted, and looked for the
Waganda, but found them gone. The athletic Kajunju, it transpired, had
returned to Kamrasi's, told him our story, and received orders to snatch
us away from the Waganda by force, for the great Mkamma, or king, was
most anxious to see his white visitors; such men had never entered
Unyoro before, and neither his father nor his father's fathers had ever
been treated with such a visitation; therefore he had sent on these
fifty men to fall by surprise on the Waganda, and secure us. But again,
in a little while, about 10 a.m., Kajunju, in the same wild manner, at
the head of 150 warriors, with the soldier's badge--a piece of mbugu
or plantain-leaf tied round their heads, and a leather sheath on their
spear-heads, tufted with cow's-tail--rushed in exultingly, having found,
to their delight, that there was no one left to fight with, and that
they had gained an easy victory. They were certainly a wild set of
ragamuffins--as different as possible from the smart, well-dressed,
quick-of-speech Waganda as could be, and anything but prepossessing to
our eyes. However, they had done their work, and I offered them a cow,
wishing to have it shot before them; but the chief men, probably wishing
the whole animal to themselves, took it alive, saying the men were all
the king's servants, and therefore could not touch a morsel.
Kamrasi expected us to advance next day, when some men would go on ahead
to announce our arrival, and bring a letter which was brought with beads
by Gani before Baraka's arrival here. It was shown to Baraka in the hope
that we would come by the Karague route, but not to Mabruki, because he
came from Uganda. Kidgwiga informed us that Kamrasi never retaliated on
Mtesa when he lifted Unyoro cows, though the Waganda keep their cattle
on the border--which simply meant that he had not the power of doing so.
The twenty remaining Wanguana, conversing over the sudden scheme of the
deserters, proposed, on one side, sending for them, as, had they seen
the Wanyoro arrive, they would have changed their minds; but the other
side said, "What! those brutes who said we should all die here if we
stayed, and yet dared not face the danger with us, should we now give
them a helping hand? Never! We told them we would share our fate with
Bana, and share it we will, for God rules everything: every man must die
when his time comes."
We marched for the first time without music, as the drum is never
allowed to be beaten in Unyoro except when the necessities of war demand
it, or for a dance. Wanyamuezi and Wanyoro, in addition to our own
twenty men, carried the luggage, though no one carried more than the
smallest article he could find. It was a pattern Unyoro march, of only
two hours' duration. On arrival at the end we heard that elephants had
been seen close by. Grant and I then prepared our guns, and found a herd
of about a hundred feeding on a plain of long grass, dotted here and
there by small mounds crowned with shrub. The animals appeared to be all
females, much smaller than the Indian breed; yet though ten were fired
at, none were killed, and only one made an attempt to charge. I was with
the little twin Manua at the time, when, stealing along under cover of
the high grass, I got close to the batch and fired at the larges, which
sent her round roaring. The whole of them then, greatly alarmed, packed
together and began sniffing the air with their uplifted trunks, till,
ascertaining by the smell of the powder that their enemy was in front of
them, they rolled up their trunks and came close to the spot where I was
lying under a mound. My scent then striking across them, they pulled up
short, lifted their heads high, and looked down sideways on us. This
was a bad job. I could not get a proper front shot at the boss of any of
them, and if I had waited an instant we should both have been picked
up or trodden to death; so I let fly at their temples, and instead of
killing, sent the whole of them rushing away at a much faster pace than
they came. After this I gave up, because I never could separate the
ones I had wounded from the rest, and thought it cruel to go on damaging
more. Thinking over it afterwards, I came to the conclusion I ought to
have put in more powder; for I had, owing to their inferior size to
the Indian ones, rather despised them, and fired at them with the same
charge and in the same manner as I always did at rhinoceros. Though
puzzled at the strange sound of the rifle, the elephants seldom ran far,
packed in herd, and began to graze again. Frij, who was always ready at
spinning a yarn, told us with much gravity that two of my men, Uledi and
Wadi Hamadi, deserters, were possessed of devils (Phepo) at Zanzibar.
Uledi, not wishing to be plagued by his Satanic majesty's angels on the
march, sacrificed a cow and fed the poor, according to the great Phepo's
orders, and had been exempted from it; but Wadi Hamadi, who preferred
taking his chance, had been visited several times: once at Usui, when
he was told the journey would be prosperous, only the devil wanted one
man's life, and one man would fall sick; which proved true, for Hassani
was murdered, and Grant fell sick in Karague. The second time Wadi
Hamadi saw the devil in Karague, and was told one man's life would be
required in Uganda, and such also was the case by Kari's murder; and
a third time, in Unyoro, he was possessed, when it was said that the
journey would be prosperous but protracted.
3d.--Though we stormed every day at being so shamefully neglected and
kept in the jungles, we could not get on, nor find out the truth of
our position. I asked if Kamrasi was afraid of us, and looking into his
magic horn; and was answered, "No; he is very anxious to see you, or he
would not have sent six of his highest officers to look after you, and
prevent the unruly peasantry from molesting you." "Then by whose orders
are we kept here?" "By Kamrasi's." "Why does Kamrasi keep us here?" "He
thinks you are not so near, and men have gone to tell him." "How did we
come here from the last ground?" "By Kamrasi's orders; for nothing can
be done excepting by his orders." "Then he must know we are here?" "He
may not have seen the men we sent to him; for unless he shows in public
no one can see him." The whole affair gave us such an opinion of Kamrasi
as induced us to think it would have served him right had we joined
Mtesa and given him a thrashing. This, I said, was put in our power by
an alliance with his refractory brothers; but Kidgwiga only laughed
and said, "Nonsense! Kamrasi is the chief of all the countries round
here--Usoga, Kidi, Chopi, Gani, Ulega, everywhere; he has only to hold
up his hand and thousands would come to his assistance." Kwibeya, the
officer of the place, presented us with five fowls on the part of the
king, and some baskets of potatoes.
4th.--We halted again, it was said, in order that Kwibeya might give
us all the king had desired him to present. I sent Bombay off with
a message to Kamrasi explaining everything, and begging for an early
interview, as I had much of importance to communicate, and wished, of
all things, to see the letter he had from Gani, as it must have come
from our dear friends at home. Seven goats, flour, and plantains, were
now brought to us; and as Kidgwiga begged for the flour without success,
he flew into a fit of high indignation because these things were given
and received without his having first been consulted. He was the big man
and appointed go-between, and no one could dispute it. This was rather
startling news to us, for Vittagura said he was commander-in-chief;
Kajunju thought himself biggest, so did Kwibeya, and even Dr K'yengo's
men justified Budja's speech.
5th and 6th.--Still another halt, with all sorts of excuses. Frij, it
appeared, dreamt last night that the king of Uganda came to fight us for
not complying with his orders, and that all my men ran away except Uledi
and himself. This, according to the interpretation of the coast, would
turn out the reverse, otherwise his head must be wrong, and, according
to local science, should be set right again by actual cautery of the
temples; and as Grant dreamt a letter came from Gani which I opened
and ran away with, he thought it would turn out no letter at all, and
therefore Kamrasi had been humbugging us. We heard that Bombay had shot
a cow before Kamrasi and would not be allowed to return until he had
eaten it.
At last we made a move, but only of two hours' duration, through the
usual forest, in which elephants walked about as if it were their park.
We hoped at starting to reach the palace, but found we must stop here
until the king should send for us. We were informed that doubtless he
was looking into his Uganga, or magic horn, to discover what he had to
expect from us; and he seemed as yet to have found no ground for being
afraid of us. Moreover, it is his custom to keep visitors waiting on him
in this way, for is he not the king of kings, the king of Kittara, which
includes all the countries surrounding Unyoro?
Chapter XVII. Unyoro
Invitation to the Palace at last--Journey to it--Bombay's Visit to King
Kamrasi--Our Reputation as Cannibals--Reception at Court--Acting the
Physician again--Royal Mendicancy.
We halted again, but in the evening one of Dr K'yengo's men came to
invite us to the palace. He explained that Kamrasi was in a great rage
because we only received seven goats instead of thirty, the number he
had ordered Kwibeya to give us, besides pombe and plantains without
limitation. I complained that Bombay had been shown more respect than
myself, obtaining an immediate admittance to the king's presence.
To this he gave two ready answers--that every distinction shown my
subordinate was a distinction to myself, and that we must not expect
court etiquette from savages.
9th.--We set off for the palace. This last march differed but little
from the others. Putting Dr K'yengo's men in front, and going on despite
all entreaties to stop, we passed the last bit of jungle, sighted the
Kidi hills, and, in a sea of swampy grass, at last we stood in front of
and overlooked the great king's palace, situated N. lat. 1° 37' 43", and
E. long. 32° 19' 49", on a low tongue of land between the Kafu and Nile
rivers. It was a dumpy, large hut, surrounded by a host of smaller ones,
and the worst royal residence we had seen since leaving Uzinza. Here
Kajunju, coming from behind, overtook us, and breathless with running,
in the most excited manner, abused Dr K'yengo's men for leading us on,
and ordered us to stop until he saw the king, and ascertained the place
his majesty wished us to reside in. Recollecting Mtesa's words that
Kamrasi placed his guest on the N'yanza, I declined going to any place
but the palace, which I maintained was my right, and waited for the
issue, when Kajunju returned with pombe, and showed us to a small, dirty
set of huts beyond the Kafu river--the trunk of the Mwerango and N'yanza
branches which we crossed in Uganda--and trusted this would do for the
present, as better quarters in the palace would be looked for on
the morrow. This was a bad beginning, and caused a few of the usual
anathemas in which our countrymen give vent to their irritation.
Two loads of flowers, neatly packed in long strips of rushpith, were
sent for us "to consume at once," as more would be given on the morrow.
To keep us amused, Kidgwiga informed us that Kamrasi and Mtesa--in fact,
all the Wahuma--came originally from a stock of the same tribe dwelling
beyond Kidi. All bury their dead in the same way, under ground; but the
kings are toasted first for months till they are like sun-dried meat,
when the lower jaw is cut out and preserved, covered with beads. The
royal tombs are put under the charge of special officers, who occupy
huts erected over them. The umbilical cords are preserved from birth,
and, at death, those of men are placed within the door-frame, whilst
those of women are buried without--this last act corresponding,
according to Bombay, with the custom of the Wahiyow. On the death of
any of the great officers of state, the finger-bones and hair are also
preserved; or if they have died shaven, as sometimes occurs, a bit of
their mbugu dress will be preserved in place of the hair. Their families
guard their tombs.
The story we heard at Karague, about dogs with horns in Unyoro, was
confirmed by Kidgwiga, who positively assured us that he once saw one
in the possession of an official person, but it died. The horn then was
stuffed with magic powder, and, whenever an army was ordered for war, it
was placed on the war-track for the soldiers to step over, in the same
way as a child is sacrificed to insure victory in Unyomuezi. Of the
Karague story, according to which all the Kidi people sleep in trees,
Kidgwiga gave me a modified version. He said the bachelors alone do son,
whilst the married folk dwell in houses. As most of these stories have
some foundation in fact, we presumed that the people of Kidi sometimes
mount a tree to sleep at night when travelling through their forests,
where lions are plentiful--but not otherwise.
10th.--I sent Kidgwiga with my compliments to the king, and a request
that his majesty would change my residence, which was so filthy that
I found it necessary to pitch a tent, and also that he would favour me
with an interview after breakfast. The return was a present of twenty
cows, ten cocks, two bales of flour, and two pots of pombe, to be
equally divided between Grant and myself, as Kamrasi recognised in us
two distinct camps, because we approached his country by two different
routes--a smart method for expecting two presents from us, which did not
succeed, as I thanked for all, Grant being "my son" on this occasion.
The king also sent his excuses, and begged pardon for what happened to
us on entering his country, saying it could not have taken place had we
come from Rumanika direct. His fear of the Waganda gave rise to it, and
he trusted we would forget and forgive. To-morrow our residence should
be changed, and an interview follow, for he desired being friends with
us just as much as we did with him.
At last Bombay came back. He reported that he had not been allowed to
leave the palace earlier, though he pleaded hard that I expected his
return; and the only excuse he could extract from the king was, that we
were coming in charge of many Wakungu, and he had found it necessary to
retard our approach in consequence of the famine at Chaguzi. His palace
proper was not here, but three marches westward: he had come here and
pitched a camp to watch his brothers, who were at war with him. Bombay,
doing his best to escape, or to hurry my march, replied that he was very
anxious on our account, because the Waganda wished to snatch us away.
It was no doubt this hint that brought the messenger to our relief
yesterday; and otherwise we might have been kept in the jungle longer.
When told by Bombay of our treatment on the Nile, the king first said he
did not think we wished to see him, else we would have come direct from
Rumanika; but when asked if Baraka's coming with Rumanika's officers was
not sufficient to satisfy him on this point, he hung down his head, and
evaded the question, saying he had been the making of Mtesa of Uganda;
but he had turned out a bad fellow, and now robbed him right and left.
[23] The Gani letter, supposed to be from Petherick, was now asked for,
and a suggestion made about opening a trade with Gani, but all with the
provoking result we had been so well accustomed to. No letter like that
referred to had ever been received, so that Frij's interpretation about
Grant's letter-dream was right; and if we wished to go to Gani, the king
would send men travelling by night, for his brothers at war with him lay
upon the road. As to the Uganda question, and my desiring him to make
friends with Mtesa, in hopes that the influence of trade would prevent
any plundering in future, he merely tossed his head. He often said he
did not know what to think about his guests, now he had got them; to
which Bombay, in rather successful imitation of what he had heard me say
on like occasions, replied, "If you do not like them after you have seen
them, cut their heads off, for they are all in your hands."
11th.--With great apparent politeness Kamrasi sent in the morning to
inquire how we had slept. He had "heard our cry"--an expression of regal
condescension--and begged we would not be alarmed, for next morning he
would see us, and after the meeting change our residence, when, should
we not approve of wading to his palace, he would bridge all the
swamps leading up to it; but for the present he wanted two rounds of
ball-cartridge--one to fire before his women, and the other before his
officers and a large number of Kidi men who were there on a visit. To
please this childish king, Bombay was sent with two other of my men, and
no sooner arrived than a cow was placed before them to be shot. Bombay,
however, thinking easy compliance would only lead to continued demands
on our short store of powder, said he had no order to shoot cows, and
declined. A strong debated ensued, which Bombay, by his own account,
turned to advantage, by saying, "What use is there in shooting cows? we
have lots of meat; what we want is flour to eat with it." To which the
great king retorted, "If you have not got flour, that is not my fault,
for I ordered your master to come slowly, and to bring provisions along
with him."
Then getting impatient, as all his visitors wanted sport, he ordered the
cow out again, and insisted on my men shooting at it, saying at the same
time to his Kidi visitors, boastfully, "Now I will show you what devils
these Wanguana are: with firearms they can kill a cow with one bullet;
and as they are going to Gani, I advise you not to meddle with them."
The Kidi visitors said, "Nonsense; we don't believe in their power, but
we will see." Irate at his defeat, Bombay gave orders to the men to fire
over the cow, and told Kamrasi why he had done so--Bana would be angry
with him. "Well," said the king of kings, "if that is true, go back to
your master, tell him you have disappointed me before these men, and
obtain permission to shoot the cow in the morning; after which, should
you succeed, your master can come after breakfast to see me--but for the
present, take him this pot of pombe."
12th.--To back Bombay in what he had said, I gave him two more
cartridges to shoot the cow with, and orders as well to keep Kamrasi to
his word about the oft-promised interview and change of residence. He
gave me the following account on his return:--Upwards of a thousand
spectators were present when he killed the cow, putting both bullets
into her, and all in a voice, as soon as they saw the effect of the
shot, shouted in amazement; the Kidi visitors, all terror-stricken,
crying out, as they clasped their breasts, "Oh, great king, do allow us
to return to our country, for you have indeed got a new specimen of man
with you, and we are greatly afraid!"--a lot of humbug and affectation
to flatter the king, which pleased him greatly. It was not sufficient,
however, to make him forget his regal pride; for though Bombay pleaded
hard for our going to see him, and for a change of residence, the
immovable king, to maintain the imperial state he had assumed as "king
of kings," only said, "What difference does it make whether your master
sees me to-day or to-morrow? If he wants to communicate about the road
to Gani, his property at Karague, or the guns at Uganda, he can do so
as well through the medium of my officers as with me direct, and I will
send men whenever he wishes to do so. Perhaps you don't know, but I
expect men from Gani every day, who took a present of slaves, ivory
and monkey-skins to the foreigners residing there, who, in the first
instance sent me a necklace of beads [showing them] by some men who wore
clothes. They said white men were coming from Karague, and requested the
beads might be shown them should they do so. They left this two moons
before Baraka arrived here, and I told them the white men would not come
here, as I heard they had gone to Uganda."
Bombay then, finding the king very communicative, went at him for his
inhospitality towards us, his turning us back from his country twice,
and now, after inviting us, treating us as Suwarora did. On this
he gave, by Bombay's account, the following curious reason for his
conduct:--"You don't understand the matter. At the time the white men
were living in Uganda, many of the people who had seen them there came
and described them as such monsters, they ate up mountains and drank the
N'yanza dry; and although they fed on both beef and mutton, they were
not satisfied until they got a dish of the 'tender parts' of human
beings three times a-day. Now, I was extremely anxious to see men of
such wonderful natures. I could have stood their mountain-eating and
N'yanzi-drinking capacities, but on no consideration would I submit to
sacrifice my subjects to their appetites, and for this reason I first
sent to turn them back; but afterwards, on hearing from Dr K'yengo's men
that, although the white men had travelled all through their country,
and brought all the pretty and wonderful things of the world there,
they had never heard such monstrous imputations cast upon them, I sent a
second time to call them on: these are the facts of the case. Now, with
regard to your accusation of my treating them badly, it is all their own
fault. I ordered them to advance slowly and pick up food by the way, as
there is a famine here; but they, instead, hurried on against my
wishes. That they want to see and give me presents you have told me
repeatedly--so do I them; for I want them to teach me the way to shoot,
and when that is accomplished, I will take them to an island near
Kidi, where there are some men [his refractory brothers] whom I wish
to frighten away with guns; but still there is no hurry,--they can come
when I choose to call them, and not before." Bombay to this said, "I
cannot deliver such a message to Bana; I have told so many falsehoods
about your saying you will have an interview to-morrow, I shall only
catch a flogging"; and forthwith departed.
13th.--More disgusted with Kamrasi than ever, I called Kidgwiga up, and
told him I was led to expect from Rumanika that I should find his king a
good and reasonable man, which I believed, considering it was said by an
unprejudiced person. Mtesa, on the contrary, told me Kamrasi treated
all his guests with disrespect, sending them to the farther side of the
N'yanzi. I now found his enemy more truthful than his friend, and wished
him to be told so. "For the future, I should never," I said, "mention
his name again, but wait until his fear of me had vanished; for he quite
forgot his true dignity as a host and king in his surprise and fear,
merely because we were in a hurry and desired to see him." He was
reported to-day, by the way, to be drunk.
As nothing could be done yesterday, in consequence of the king being
in his cups, the Wakungu conveyed my message to-day, but with the usual
effect, till a diplomatic idea struck me, and I sent another messenger
to say, if our residence was not changed at once, both Grant and myself
had made up our minds to cut off our hair and blacken our faces, so that
the king of all kings should have no more cause to fear us. Ignoring his
claims to imperial rank, I maintained that his reason for ill-treating
us must be fear,--it could be nothing else. This message acted like
magic; for he fully believed we would do as we said, and disappoint him
altogether of the strange sight of us as pure white men. The reply was,
Kamrasi would not have us disfigured in this way for all the world;
men were appointed to convey our traps to the west end at once; and
Kidgwiga, Vittagura, and Kajunju rushed over to give us the news in all
hast lest we should execute our threat, and they were glad to find us
with our faces unchanged. I now gave one cow to the head of Dr K'yengo's
party, and one to the head of Rumanika's men, because I saw it was
through their instrumentality we gained admittance in the country;
and we changed residence to the west end of Chaguzi, and found there
comfortable huts close to the Kafu, which ran immediately between us and
the palace.
Still our position in Unyoro was not a pleasant one. In a long field of
grass, as high as the neck, and half under water, so that no walks could
be taken, we had nothing to see but Kamrasi's miserable huts and a few
distant conical hills, of which one Udongo, we conceive, represents the
Padongo of Brun-Bollet, placed by him in 1° south latitude, and 35° east
longitude. We were scarcely inside our new dwelling when Kamrasi sent
a cheer of two pots pombe, five fowls, and two bunches of plantains,
hoping we were now satisfied with his favour; but he damped the whole in
a moment again, by asking for a many-bladed knife which his officers
had seen in Grant's possession. I took what he sent, from fear of giving
offence, but replied that I was surprised the great king should wish to
see my property before seeing myself, and although I attached no more
value to my property than he did to his, I could not demean myself by
sending him trifles in that way. However, should he, after hearing my
sentiments, still persist in asking for the knife to be sent by the
hands of a black man, I would pack it up with all the things I had
brought for him, and send them by a black man, judging that he liked
black men more than white.
Dr K'yengo's men then informed us they had been twice sent with an army
of Wanyoro to attack the king's brothers, on a river-island north of
this about three days' journey, but each time it ended in nothing.
You fancy yourself, they said, in a magnificent army, but the enemy no
sooner turn out than the cowardly Wanyoro fly, and sacrifice their ally
as soon as not into the hands of the opponents. They said Kamrasi would
not expect us to attack them with our guns. Rionga was the head of
the rebels; there were formerly five, but now only two of the brothers
remained.
15th.--Kamrasi, after inquiring after our health, and how we had slept,
through a large deputation of head men, alluded to the knife question of
yesterday, thinking it very strange that after giving me such nice food
I should deny him the gratification of simply looking at a knife; he did
not intend to keep it if it was not brought for him, but merely to look
at and return it. To my reply of yesterday I added, I had been led,
before entering Unyoro, to regard Kamrasi as the king of all kings--the
greatest king that ever was, and one worthy to be my father; but now,
as he expected me to amuse him with toys, he had lowered himself in my
estimation to the position of being my child. To this the sages said,
"Bana speaks beautifully, feelingly, and moderately. Of course he is
displeased at seeing his property preferred before himself; all
the right is on his side: we will now return and see what can be
done--though none but white men in their greatest dare send such
messages to our king."
Dr K'yengo's men were now attacked by Kidgwiga for having taken a cow
from me yesterday, and told they should not eat it, because both they
and myself were the king's guests, and it ill became one to eat that
which was given as a dinner for the other. Fortunately, foreseeing this
kind of policy, as Kamrasi had been watching our actions, I invariably
gave in presents those cows which came with us from Uganda, and
therefore defied any one to meddle with them. This elicited the true
facts of the case. Dr K'yengo's men had been sent out to our camp to
observe if anybody received presents from us, as Kamrasi feared his
subjects would have the fleecing of us before his turn came; and these
men had reported the two cows given by me as mentioned above. Kamrasi
no sooner heard of this than he took the cows and kept them himself. In
their justification, Dr K'yengo's men said that had they not been in the
country before us, Kamrasi would not have had such guests at all; for
when he asked them if the Waganda reports about our cannibalism and
other monstrosities were true, their head man denied it all, offered
to stand security for our actions, and told the king if he found us
cannibals he might make a Mohammedan of him, and sealed the statement
with his oath by throwing down his shield and bow and walking over
them. To this Kamrasi was said to have replied, "I will accept your
statements, but you must remain with me until they come."
Kajunju came with orders to say Kamrasi would seize anybody found
staring at us. I requested a definite answer would be given as regards
Kamrasi's seeing us. Dr K'yengo's men then said they were kept a week
waiting before they could obtain an interview, whilst Kajunju excused
his king by saying, "At present the court is full of Kidi, Chopi, Gani,
and other visitors, who he does not wish should see you, as some may
be enemies in disguise. They are all now taking presents of cows from
Kamrasi, and going to their homes, and, as soon as they are disposed of,
your turn will come."
16th.--We kept quiet all day, to see what effect that would have upon
the king. Kidgwiga told us that, when he was a lad, Kamrasi sent him
with a large party of Wanyoro to visit a king who lived close to a high
mountain, two months' journey distant, to the east or south-east of
this, and beg for a magic horn, as that king's doctor was peculiarly
famed for his skill as a magician. The party carried with them 600
majembe (iron spades), two of which expended daily paid for their board
and lodgings on the way. The horn applied for was sent by a special
messenger to Kamrasi, who, in return, sent one of his horns; from which
date, the two kings, whenever one of them wishes to communicate with the
other, sends, on the messenger's neck, the horn that had been given him,
which both serves for credentials and security, as no one dare touch a
Mbakka with one of these horns upon his neck.
A common source of conversation among our men now was the desertion of
their comrades, all fancying how bitterly they would repent it when they
heard how we had succeeded, eating beef every day; and Uledi now, in a
joking manner, abused Mektub for having urged him to desert. He would
not leave Bana, and if he had not stopped, Mektub would have gone,
for they both served one master at Zanzibar, and therefore were like
brothers; whilst Mektub, laughing over the matter as if it were a good
joke, said, "I packed up my things to go, it is true; but I reflected if
I got back to the coast Said Majid would only make a slave of me again."
M'yinzuggi, the head of Rumanika's party, gave me to-day a tippet
monkey-skin in return for the cow I had given him on the 14th. These
men, taking their natures from their king Rumanika, are by far the
most gentle, polite, and attentive of any black men we have travelled
amongst.
17th.--Tired and out of patience with our prison--a river of crocodiles
on one side, and swamps in every other direction, while we could not go
out shooting without a specific order from the king--I sent Kidgwiga and
Kajunju to inform Kamrasi that we could bear this life no longer. As he
did not wish to see white men, our residing here could be of no earthly
use. I hoped he would accept our present from Bombay, and give us leave
to depart for Gani. The Wakungu, who thought, as well as ourselves, that
we were in nothing better than a prison, hurried off with the message,
and soon returned with a message from their king that he was busily
engaged decorating his palace to give us a triumphant reception; for he
was anxious to pay us more respect than anybody who had ever visited him
before. We should have seen him yesterday, only that it rained; and,
as a precaution against our meeting being broken up, a shed was being
built. He could not hear of our leaving the country without seeing him.
18th.--At last we were summoned to attend the king's levee; but the
suspicious creature wished his officers to inspect the things we had
brought for him before we went there. Here was another hitch. I could
not submit to such disrespectful suspicions, but if he wished Bombay
to convey my present to him, I saw no harm in the proposition. The king
waived the point, and we all started, carrying as a present the things
enumerated in the note. [24] The Union Jack led the way. At the ferry
three shots were fired, when, stepping into two large canoes, we all
went across the Kafu together, and found, to our surprise, a small hut
built for the reception, low down on the opposite bank, where no strange
eyes could see us.
Within this, sitting on a low wooden stool placed upon a double matting
of skins--cows' below and leopards' above--on an elevated platform of
grass, was the great king Kamrasi, looking, enshrouded in his mbugu
dress, for all the world like a pope in state--calm and actionless.
One bracelet of fine-twisted brass wire adorned his left wrist, and his
hair, half an inch long, was worked up into small peppercorn-like knobs
by rubbing the hand circularly over the crown of the head. His eyes were
long, face narrow, and nose prominent, after the true fashion of his
breed; and though a finely-made man, considerably above six feet high,
he was not so large as Rumanika. A cow-skin, stretched out and fastened
to the roof, acted as a canopy to prevent dust falling, and a curtain of
mbugu concealed the lower parts of the hut, in front of which, on both
sides of the king, sat about a dozen head men.
This was all. We entered and took seats on our own iron stools, whilst
Bombay placed all the presents upon the ground before the throne. As no
greetings were exchanged, and all at first remained as silent as death,
I commenced, after asking about his health, by saying I had journeyed
six long years (by the African computation of five months in the year)
for the pleasure of this meeting, coming by Karague instead of by the
Nile, because the "Wanya Beri" (Bari people at Gondokoro) had defeated
the projects of all former attempts made by white men to reach Unyoro.
The purpose of my coming was to ascertain whether his majesty would like
to trade with our country, exchanging ivory for articles of European
manufacture; as, should he do so, merchants would come here in the same
way as they went from Zanzibar to Karague. Rumanika and Mtesa were both
anxious for trade, and I felt sorry he would not listen to my advice and
make friend with Mtesa; for unless the influence of trade was brought in
to check the Waganda from pillaging the country, nothing would do so.
Kamrasi, in a very quiet, mild manner, instead of answering the
questions, told us of the absurd stories which he had heard from the
Waganda, said he did not believe them, else his rivers, deprived of
their fountains, would have run dry; and he thought, if we did eat hills
and the tender parts of mankind, we should have had enough to satisfy
our appetites before we reached Unyoro. Now, however, he was glad to
see that, although our hair was straight and our faces white, we still
possessed hands and feel like other men.
The present was then opened, and everything in turn placed upon the red
blanket. The goggles created some mirth; so did the scissors, as Bombay,
to show their use, clipped his beard, and the lucifers were considered a
wonder; but the king scarcely moved or uttered any remarks till all
was over, when, at the instigation of the courtiers, my chronometer
was asked for and shown. This wonderful instrument, said the officers
(mistaking it for my compass), was the magic horn by which the white men
found their way everywhere. Kamrasi said he must have it, for, besides
it, the gun was the only thing new to him. The chronometer, however,
I said, was the only one left, and could not possibly be parted with;
though, if Kamrasi liked to send men to Gani, a new one could be
obtained for him.
Then, changing the subject, much to my relief, Kamrasi asked Bombay,
"Who governs England?" "A woman." "Has she any children?" "Yes," said
Bombay, with ready impudence; "these are two of them" (pointing to Grant
and myself). That settled, Kamrasi wished to know if we had any specked
cows, or cows of any peculiar colour, and would we like to change four
large cows for four small ones, as he coveted some of ours. This was a
staggerer. We had totally failed, then, in conveying to this stupid king
the impression that we were not mere traders, ready to bargain with him.
We would present him with cows if we had such as he wanted, but we could
not bargain. The meeting then broke up in the same chilling manner as it
began, and we returned as we came, but no sooner reached home than four
pots of pombe were sent us, with a hope that we had arrived all safely.
The present gave great satisfaction. The Wanguana accused Frij of having
"unclean hands," because the beef had not lasted so long as it should
do--it being a notable fact in Mussulman creed, that unless the man's
hands are pure who cuts the throat of an animal, its flesh will not last
fresh half the ordinary time.
19th.--As the presents given yesterday occupied the king's mind too much
for other business, I now sent to offer him one-third of the guns left
in Uganda, provided he would send some messengers with one of my men to
ask Mtesa for them, and also the same proportion of the sixty loads of
property left in charge of Rumanika at Karague, if he would send the
requisite number of porters for its removal. But of all things, I said,
I most wished to send a letter to Petherick at Gani, to apprise him of
our whereabouts, for he must have been four years waiting our arrival
there, and by the same opportunity I would get a watch for the king. He
sent us to-day two pots of pombe, one sack of salt, and what might be
called a screw of butter, with an assurance that the half of everything
that came to his house--and everything was brought from great distances
in boats--he would give me; but for the present the only thing he was
in need of was some medicine or stimulants. Further, I need be under no
apprehension if I did not find men at once to go on the three respective
journeys; it should be all done in good time, for he loved me much, and
desired to show us so much respect that his name should be celebrated
for it in songs of praise until he was bowed down by years, and even
after death it should be remembered.
I ascertained then that the salt, which was very white and pure, came
from an island on the Little Luta Nzige, about sixty miles west from the
Chaguzi palace, where the lake is said to be forty or fifty miles wide.
It is the same piece of water we heard of in Karague as the Little
Luta Nzige, beyond Utumbi; and the same story of Unyoro being an island
circumscribed by it and the Victoria N'yanza connected by the Nile, is
related here, showing that both the Karague and Unyoro people, as indeed
all negroes and Arabs, have the common defect in their language, of
using the same word for a peninsula and an island. The Waijasi--of whom
we saw a specimen in the shape of an old woman, with her upper lip edged
with a row of small holes, at Karague--occupy a large island on
this lake named Gasi, and sometimes come to visit Kamrasi. Ugungu,
a dependency of Kamrasi's, occupies this side, the lake, and on the
opposite side is Ulegga; beyond which, in about 2° N. lat. And 28° E.
long., is the country of Namachi; and further west still about 2°, the
Wilyanwantu, or cannibals, who, according to the report both here and at
Karague, "bury cows but eat men." These distant people pay their homage
to Kamrasi, though they have six degrees of longitude to travel over.
They are, I believe, a portion of the N'yam N'yams--another name for
cannibal--whose country Petherick said he entered in 1857-58. Among the
other wild legends about this people, it was said that the Wilyanwantu,
in making brotherhood, exchanged their blood by drinking at one
another's veins; and, in lieu of butter with their porridge, they smear
it with the fat of fried human flesh.
20th.--I had intended for to-day an expedition to the lake; but Kamrasi,
harbouring a wicked design that we should help in an attack on his
brothers, said there was plenty of time to think of that; we would only
find that all the waters united go to Gani, and he wished us to be
his guests for three or four months at least. Fifty Gani men had just
arrived to inform him that Rionga had lately sent ten slaves and ten
ivory tusks to Petherick's post, to purchase a gun; but the answer was,
that a thousand times as much would not purchase a weapon that might
be used against us; for our arrival with Kamrasi had been heard of, and
nothing would be done to jeopardise our road.
To talk over this matter, the king invited us to meet him. We went as
before, minus the flag and firing, and met a similar reception. The Gani
news was talked over, and we proposed sending Bombay with a letter at
once. I could get no answer; so, to pass the time, we wished to know
from the king's own lips if he had prevented Baraka from going to Gani,
as he had carried orders from Rumanika as well as from myself to visit
Kamrasi, to give him fifty egg-beads, seventy necklaces of mtende, and
seventy necklaces of kutuamnazi beads, and then to pass on to Gani
and give its chief fifty egg-beads and forty necklaces of kutuamnazi.
Kamrasi replied, "I did not allow him to go, because I heard you had
gone to Uganda"; and Dr K'yengo's men happening to be present, added,
"Baraka used up all the beads save forty which he gave to Kamrasi,
living upon goats all the way; and when he left, took back a tusk of
ivory."
This little controversy was amusing, but did not suit Kamrasi, who had
his eye on a certain valuable possession of mine. He made his approach
towards it by degrees, beginning with a truly royal speech thus: "I am
the king of all these countries, even including Uganda and Kidi--though
the Kidi people are such savages they obey no man's orders--and you are
great men also, sitting on chairs before kings; it therefore ill becomes
us to talk of such trifles as beads, especially as I know if you ever
return this way I shall get more from you." "Begging your majesty's
pardon," I said, "the mention of beads only fell in the way of our talk
like stones in a walk; our motive being to get at the truth of what
Baraka did and said here, as his conduct in returning after receiving
strict orders from Rumanika and ourselves to open the road, is a perfect
enigma to us. We could not have entered Unyoro at all excepting through
Uganda, and we could not have put foot in Uganda without visiting its
king." Without deigning to answer, Kamrasi, in the metaphorical language
of a black man, said, "It would be unbecoming of me to keep secrets from
you, and therefore I will tell you at once; I am sadly afflicted with a
disorder which you alone can cure." "What is it, your majesty? I can see
nothing in your face; it may perhaps require a private inspection." "My
heart," he said, "is troubled, because you will not give me your magic
horn--the thing, I mean, in your pocket, which you pulled out one day
when Budja and Vittagura were discussing the way; and you no sooner
looked at it than you said, 'That is the way to the palace.'"
So! the sly fellow has been angling for the chronometer all this time,
and I can get nothing out of him until he has got it--the road to the
lake, the road to Gani, everything seemed risked on his getting my
watch--a chronometer worth £50, which would be spoilt in his hands
in one day. To undeceive him, and tell him it was the compass which I
looked at and not the watch, I knew would only end with my losing
that instrument as well; so I told him it was not my guide, but a
time-keeper, made for the purpose of knowing what time to eat my dinner
by. It was the only chronometer I had with me; and I begged he would
have patience until Bombay returned from Gani with another, when he
should have the option to taking this or the new one. "No; I must have
the one in your pocket; pull it out and show it." This was done, and I
placed it on the ground, saying, "The instrument is yours, but I must
keep it until another one comes." "No; I must have it now, and will send
it you three times every day to look at."
The watch went, gold chain and all, without any blessings following it;
and the horrid king asked if I could make up another magic horn, for he
hoped he had deprived us of the power of travelling, and plumed himself
on the notion that the glory of opening the road would devolve upon
himself. When I told him that to purchase another would cost five
hundred cows, the whole party were more confirmed than ever as to its
magical powers; for who in his sense would give five hundred cows for
the mere gratification of seeing at what time his dinner should be
eaten? Thus ended the second meeting. Kamrasi now said the Gani men
would feast on beef to-morrow, and the next day be ready to start with
my men for Petherick's camp. He then accompanies us to the boats, spear
in hand, and saw us cross the water. Long tail-hairs of the giraffe
surrounded his neck, on which little balls and other ornaments of minute
beads, after the Uganda fashion, were worked. In the evening four
pots of pombe and a pack of flour were brought, together with the
chronometer, which was sent to be wound up--damaged of course--the
seconds-hand had been dislodged.
21st.--I heard from Kidgwiga that some of those Gani men now ordered to
go with Bombay had actually been visiting here when the latter shot his
first cow at the palace, but had gone to their homes to give information
of us, and had returned again. Eager to get on with my journey, and see
European faces again, I besought the king to let us depart, as our work
was all finished here, since he had assured us he would like to trade
with England. The N'yanswenge--meaning Petherick's party--who have
hitherto been afraid to come here, would do so now, when they had seen
us pass safely down, and could receive my guns and property left to come
from Uganda and Karague, which we ourselves could not wait for. Kamrasi,
thinking me angry for his having taken the watch so rudely out of my
pocket, took fright at the message, sent some of his attendants quickly
back to me, requesting me to keep the instrument until another arrived,
and begged I would never say I wished to leave his house again.
22d.--Kamrasi sent to say Bombay was not to start to-day, but to-morrow,
so we put the screw on again, and said we must go at once; if he would
give us guides to Gani, we would return him his twenty cows and seven
goats with pleasure. I let him understand we suspected he was keeping us
here to fight his brothers, and told him he must at once know we would
never lift hand against them. It was contrary to the laws of our land.
"I have got no orders to enter into black men's quarrels, and my mother"
(the Queen), "whom I see every night in my sleep calling me home, would
be very angry if she heard of it. Rumanika once asked me to fight his
brothers Rogero and M'yongo, but my only reply to all had been the
same--I have no orders to fight with, only to make friends of, the great
kings of Africa."
The game seemed now to be won. At once Kamrasi ordered Bombay to prepare
for the journey. Five Wanyoro, five Chopi men, and five Gani men, were
to escort him. There was no objection to his carrying arms. The moment
he returned, which ought to be in little more than a fortnight, we would
all go together. An earnest request was at the same time made that
I would not bully him in the mean time with any more applications to
depart. So Bombay and Mabruki, carrying there muskets, and a map and
letter for Petherick, departed.
23d and 24th.--Kamrasi, presuming he had gained favour in our eyes,
sent, begging to know how we had slept, and said he would like us to
inform him what part of his journey Bombay had this morning reached--a
fact which he had no doubt must be divinable through the medium of our
books. The reply was, that Bombay's luck was so good we had no doubt
regarding his success; but now he had gone, and our days here were
numbered, we should like to see the palace, his fat wives and children,
as well as the Wanyoro's dances, and all the gaiety of the place. We did
not think our reception-hut by the river sufficiently dignified, and
our residence here was altogether like that of prisoners--seeing no one,
knowing no one. In answer to this, Kamrasi sent one pot of pombe and
five fowls, begging we would not be alarmed; we should see everything
in good time, if we would but have patience, for he considered us
very great men, as he was a great man himself, and we had come at his
invitation. He must request, in the mean time, that we would send no
more messages by his officers, as such messages are never conveyed
properly. At present there was a great deal of business in the palace.
We asked for some butter, but could get none, as all the milk in the
palace was consumed by the wives and children, drinking all day long, to
make themselves immovably fat.
25th.--In the morning, the commander-in-chief wished us to cast a
horoscope, and see where Bombay was, and if he were getting on well.
That being negatived, he told us to put our hut in order, as Kamrasi was
coming to see us. Accordingly we made everything as smart as possible,
hanging the room round with maps, horns, and skins of animals, and
places a large box covered with a red blanket, as a throne for the king
to set upon. As he advanced, my men, forming a guard of honour fired
three shots immediately on his setting foot upon our side the river;
whilst Frij, with his boatswain's whistle, piped the 'Rogue's March,' to
prepare us for his majesty's approach. We saluted him, hat in hand,
and, leading the way, showed him in. He was pleased to be complimentary,
remarking, what Waseja (fine men) we were, and took his seat. We sat
on smaller boxes, to appear humble, whilst his escort of black "swells"
filled the doorway, squatting on the ground, so as to stop the light and
interfere with our decorations.
After the first salutations, the king remarked the head of a nsamma
buck, and handled it; then noticed my mosquito-curtains hanging over
the bed, and begged for them. He was told they could not be given until
Bombay returned, as the mosquitoes would eat us up. "But there were
two," said the escort, "for we have seen one in the other hut." That
was true; but were there not two white men? However, if the king wanted
gauze, here was a smart gauze veil--and the veil vanished at once. The
iron camp-bed was next inspected, and admired; then the sextant,
which was coveted and begged for, but without success, much to the
astonishment of the king, as his attendants had led him to expect he
would get anything he asked for. Then the thermometers were wanted and
refused; also table-knives, spoons, forks, and even cooking-pots, for
we had no others, and could not part with them. The books of birds and
animals had next to be seen, and being admired were coveted, the king
offering one of the books I first gave him in exchange for one of these.
In fact, he wanted to fleece us of everything; so, to shut him up, I
said I would not part with one bird for one hundred tusks of ivory; they
were all the collections I had made in Africa, and if I parted with
them my journey would go for nothing; but if he wanted a few drawings
of birds I would do some for him--at present I wished to speak to him.
"Well, what is it? we are all attention." "I wish to know positively if
you would like English traders to come here regularly, as the Arabs do
to trade at Karague? and if so, would you give me a pembe (magic horn)
as a warrant, that everybody may know Kamrasi, king of Unyoro, desires
it?"
Kamrasi replied, "I like your proposition very much; you shall have the
horn you ask for, either large or small, just as you please; and after
you have gone, should we hear any English are at Gani wishing to come
here, as my brothers are in the way we will advance with spears whilst
they approach with guns, and between us both, my brothers must fly--for
I myself will head the expedition. But now you have had your say I will
have mine if you will listen." "All right, your majesty; what is it?" "I
am constantly stricken with fever and pains, for which I know no remedy
but cautery; my children die young; my family is not large enough to
uphold my dignity and station in life; in fact, I am infirm and want
stimulants, and I wish you to prescribe for me, which considering you
have found your way to this, where nobody came before, must be easy
to you." Two pills and a draught for the morning were given as a
preliminary measure, argument being of no avail; and to our delight the
king said it was time to go.
We jumped off our seats to show him the way, hoping our persecutions
were over; but still he sat, and sat, until at length, finding we did
not take the hint to give him a parting present, he said, "I never
visited any big man's house without taking home some trifle to show my
wife and children." "Indeed, great king! then you did not come to visit
us, but to beg, eh? You shall have nothing, positively nothing; for
we will not have it said the king did not come to see us, but to beg."
Kamrasi's face changed colour; he angrily said, "Irokh togend" (let us
rise and go), and forthwith walked straight out of the hut. Frij piped,
but no guns fired; and as he asked the reason why he was told it would
be offensive to say we were glad he was going. The king was evidently
not pleased for no pombe came to-day.
Chapter XVIII. Unyoro--Continued
The Ceremonies of the New Moon--Kamrasi's Rule and Discipline--An
Embassy from Uganda, and its Results--The Rebellious Brothers--An
African Sorcerer and his Incantations--The Kamraviona of Unyoro--Burial
Customs--Ethiopian Legends--Complicated Diplomacy for our
Detention--Proposal to send Princes to England--We get away.
26th.--We found that the palace was shut up in consequence of the new
moon, seen for the first time last evening; and incessant drumming was
the order of the day. Still, private interviews might be granted, and
I sent to inquire after the state of the king's health. The reply was,
that the medicine had not taken, and the king was very angry because
nothing was given him when he took the trouble to call on us. He never
called at a big man's house and left it mwiko (empty-handed) before; if
there was nothing else to dispose of, could Bana not have given him a
bag of beads?
To save us from this kind of incessant annoyance, I now thought it would
be our best policy to mount the high horse and bully him. Accordingly,
we tied up a bag of the commonest mixed beads, added the king's
chronometer, and sent them to Kamrasi with a violent message that we
were thoroughly disgusted with all that had happened; the beads were for
the poor beggar who came to our house yesterday, not to see us, but to
beg; and as we did not desire the acquaintance of beggars, we had made
up our minds never to call again, nor receive any more bread or wine
from the king.
This appeared to be a hit. Kamrasi, evidently taken aback, said, if he
thought he should have offended us by begging, he would not have begged.
He was not a poor man, for he had many cows, but he was a beggar,
of course, when beads were in the question; and, having unwittingly
offended, as he desired our friendship, he trusted his offence would
be forgiven. On opening the chronometer, he again wrenched back the
seconds-hand, and sent it for repair, together with two pots of pombe
as a peace-offering. Frij, who accompanied the deputation, overheard the
counsellors tell their king that the Waganda were on their way back to
Unyoro to snatch us away; on hearing which the king asked his men if
they would ever permit it; and, handling his spear as if for battle,
said at the same time he would lose his own head before they should
touch his guests. Then, turning to Frij, he said, "What would you do
if they came?--go back with them?" To which Frij said, "No, never, when
Gani is so near; they might cut our heads off, but that is all they
could do." The watch being by this time repaired, it gave me the
opportunity of sending Kidgwiga back to the palace to say we trusted
Kamrasi would allow Budja to come here, if only with one woman to carry
his pombe, else Mtesa would take offence, form an alliance with Rionga,
and surround the place with warriors, for it was not becoming in great
kings to treat civil messengers like dogs.
The reply to this was, that Kamrasi was very much pleased with my
fatherly wisdom and advice, and would act up to it, allowing Budja only
to approach with one woman; we need, however, be under no apprehensions,
for Kamrasi's power was infinite; the Gani road should be opened even at
the spear's point; he had been beating the big drum in honour of us the
whole day; he would not allow any beggars to come and see us, for he
wanted us all to himself, and for this reason had ordered a fence to
be built all round our house; but he had got no present from Grant yet,
though all he wanted was his mosquito-curtains, whilst he wished my
picture-books to show his women, and he returned. We sent a picture of
Mtesa as a gift, the two books to look at and an acknowledgement that
the mosquito-curtains were his, only he must have patience until Bombay
arrived; but his proposition about the fence we rejected with scorn.
The king had been raising an army to fight Rionga--the true reason, we
suspect, for the beating of the drums.
27th and 28th.--There was drumming and music all day and night, and the
army was being increased to a thousand men, but we poor prisoners could
see nothing of it. Frij was therefore sent to inspect the armament and
brings us all the news. Some of N'yamyonjo's men, seeing mine armed with
carbines, became very inquisitive about them, and asked if they were
the instruments which shot at their men on the Nile--one in the arm,
who died; the other on the top of the shoulder, who was recovering.
The drums were kept in private rooms, to which a select few only were
admitted. Kamrasi conducts all business himself, awarding punishments
and seeing them carried out. The most severe instrument of chastisement
is a knob-stick, sharpened at the back, like that used in Uganda, for
breaking a man's neck before he is thrown into the N'yanza; but this
severity is seldom resorted to, Kamrasi being of a mild disposition
compared with Mtesa, whom he invariably alludes to when ordering men
to be flogged, telling them that were they in Uganda, their heads would
suffer instead of their backs. In the day's work at the palace, army
collecting, ten officers were bound because they failed to bring a
sufficient number of fighting men, but were afterwards released on their
promising to bring more.
Nothing could be more filthy than the state of the palace and all
the lanes leading up to it: it was well, perhaps, that we were never
expected to go there, for without stilts and respirators it would have
been impracticable, such is the dirty nature of the people. The king's
cows, even, are kept in the palace enclosure, the calves actually
entering the hut, where, like a farmer, Kamrasi walks amongst them up to
his ankles in filth, and, inspecting them, issues his orders concerning
them. What has to be selected for his guests he singles out himself.
Dr K'yengo's men, who had been sent three times into action against the
refractory brothers, asked leave to return to Karague; but the king,
who did not fear for their lives when his work was to be done, would not
give them leave, lest accident should befall them on the way. We found
no prejudice against eating butter amongst these Wahuma, for they not
only sold us some, but mixed it with porridge and ate it themselves.
29th.--The king has appointed a special officer to keep our table
supplied with sweet potatoes, and sent us a pot of pombe, with his
excuses for not seeing us, as business was so pressing, and would
continue to be so until the army marched. Budja and Kasoro were again
reported to be near with a force of fifty Waganda, prepared to snatch us
away; and the king, fearing the consequences, had sent to inform Budja,
that if he dared attempt to approach, he would slip us off in boats to
Gani, and then fight it out with the Waganda; for his guests, since
they had been handed over to him, had been treated with every possible
respect.
To keep Kamrasi to his promise, as we particularly wished to hear the
Uganda news, Frij was sent to inform him on my behalf that Mtesa only
wished to make friends with all the great kings surrounding his country
before his coronation took place, when his brothers would be burnt, and
he would cease to take advice from his mother. To treat his messengers
disrespectfully could do no good, and might provoke a war, when we
should see my deserters joined with the Waganda really coming in force
against us; whereas, if we saw Budja, we could satisfy him, and Mtesa
too, and obviate any such calamity. The reply was, that Kamrasi would
arrange for our having a meeting with Budja alone if we wished it; he
did not fear my deserters siding with king Mtesa, but he detested the
Waganda, and could not bear to see them in his country.
30th.--At breakfast-time we heard that my old friend Kasoro had come to
our camp without permission, to the surprise of everybody, attended by
all his boys, leaving Budja and his children, on account of sickness, at
the camp assigned to the Waganda, five miles off. Kasoro wished to speak
to us, and we invited him into the hut; but the interview could not be
permitted until Kamrasi's wishes on the subject had been ascertained.
In a little while the Kamraviona, having seen Kamrasi, said we might
converse with one another whilst his officers were present listening,
and sent a cow as a present for the Waganda. Kasoro with his children
now came before us in their usual merry manner and, after saluting, told
us how the deserters, on reaching Uganda, begged for leave to proceed
to Karague; but Mtesa, who would only allow two of them to approach him,
abused them, saying, "Did I not command you to take Bana to Gani at all
risks? If there was no road by land, you were to go by water; or, if
that failed, to go under-ground, or in the air above, and if he died,
you were to die with him: what, then, do you mean by deserting him
and flying here? You shall not move a yard from this until I receive a
messenger from him to hear what he has got to say on the matter." Mtesa
would not take their arms, even at the desire of Budja, on my behalf;
for as no messenger on my behalf came to him, he would not believe what
Budja said, and feared to touch any of our property. The chief item of
court news was, that Mtesa had shot a buffalo which was attacking him
behind the palace, and made his Wakungu carry the animal bodily, whilst
life was in it, into his court. The ammunition I wrote for to Rumanika
had been brought by Maula.
As Kasoro still remained silent with regard to Mtesa's message, I told
him we shot two of N'yamyonjo's men on our retreat up the Nile, and that
Kamrasi turned us back because some miscreant Waganda had forged lies
and told him we were terrible monsters, who ate hills and human flesh,
and drank up all the water of the lake. He laughed, but still was
silent; so I said, "What message have you brought from Mtesa?" To which,
in a timid, modest kind of manner, he said, "Bana knows--what more need
I say? Has he forgotten Mtesa, who loves him so?" I said, "No, indeed, I
have not forgotten Mtesa; and, moreover, as I expected you back again,
I have sent Bombay to bring the stimulants and all the things I promised
Mtesa from Gani; in two or three days he will return." "No," said
Kasoro, "that is not it; we must go to Gani with you; for Mtesa says he
loves you so much he will never allow you to part from his hand until
his servants have seen you safely at your homes."
I replied, "If Mtesa wishes you to see my vessels and all the wonders
they contain, as far as I am concerned you may do so, and I shall be
only too happy to show you a little English hospitality; but the road
is in Kamrasi's hands, and his wishes must now be heard." The
commander-in-chief, now content with all he had heard, went to Kamrasi
to receive his orders, whilst I gave Kasoro a feast of porridge and
salt, with pombe to wash it down, and a cow to take home with him; for
the poor creatures said they were all starving as the Wanyoro would
not allow them to take a single plantain from the field until Kamrasi's
permission had been given.
Kamrasi's reply now arrived; it was to the following effect:--"Tell
my children, the Waganda, they were never turned out of Unyoro by my
orders: if they wish to go to Gani, they can do so; but, first of all,
they must return to Mtesa, and ask him to deliver up all of Bana's men."
I answered, "No; if any one of those scoundrels who has deserted me ever
dares show his face to me again, I will shoot him like a dog. Moreover,
I want Mtesa to take their guns from them, and, without taking life,
to transport them all to an island on the N'yanza, where they can spend
their days in growing plantains; for it is such men who prevent our
travelling in the country and visiting kings." Kasoro on this said,
"Mtesa will do so in a minute if you send a servant to him, but he won't
if we only say you wish it."
The commander-in-chief then added, as to Kasoro's wish to accompany me,
"If Mtesa will send another time one of his people whose life he wishes
sacrificed on the journey, or tells, Here is a man whom I wish you to
send to Gani at all hazards, and without responsibility for his life on
our part, we will be very glad to send him; but as we are at war with
the Gani people continually, there will be no security for a Mganda's
life there." To this I added, "Now, Kasoro, you see how it is; Kamrasi
does not wish you to do to Gani, so if you take my advice you will
return to Mtesa. Give this tin cartridge-box, which first came from him,
back to him again, to show him you have seen me, and say, This is Bana's
letter; he wishes you to transport the deserters and seize their guns.
The guns, of course, I shall want again at some other time, when I will
send one of my English children to visit him; for now Kamrasi has opened
his country to us, and given us leave to come and purchase ivory,
I never shall be very far away." I gave them three pills for Budja,
blistered two of the pages, and started the whole merrily off, Kasoro
asking me to send Mtesa some pretty things from England such as he never
saw.
1st.--Kamrasi sent his commander-in-chief to inquire after my health,
and to say Budja had left in fear and trembling lest Mtesa should
cut all their heads off for failing in the mission; but he had sent
Kidgwiga's brother with a pot of pombe to escort the Waganda beyond
his frontier, and cheer them on the way; for the tin cartridge-box, he
thought, would save their lives by satisfying Mtesa they had seen
me. The commander-in-chief then told me Kamrasi did not wish them to
accompany me through Kidi for the Kidi people don't like the Waganda,
and, discovering their nationality by the fullness of their teeth, would
bring trouble on us whilst trying to kill them. I said I thanked Kamrasi
for his having treated the Waganda with such marked respect, in allowing
them to see me, and sending them back with an escort; but I thought it
would have been better if he had spoken the truth plainly out, for then
I could have told them I feared to have them in company with me. In
return for my civilities, the king then send one of his chopi officers
to see me, who went four stages with Bombay, and he also sent some rich
beads which he wished me to look at. They were nicely kept in a neat
though very large casing of rush pith, and were those sent as a letter
from Gani, to inform him that we were expected to come via Karague.
After this, to keep us in good-humour, Kamrasi sent to inform us that
some Gani men, twenty-five in number, had just arrived, and had given
him a lion-skin, several tippet monkey-skins, and some giraffe hair, as
well as a stick of copper or brass wire. Bombay was met by them on the
confines of Gani.
2d.--The king sent me a pot of pombe to-day, inquiring after my health,
and saying he would like to take the medicine I gave him if I would send
Frij over to administer it, but he would be ashamed to swallow pills
before me. Hitherto he had not been able to take the medicine from press
of business in collecting an army to fight his brothers; but as his
troops would all leave for war to-day, he expected to have leisure.
In plying the Kamraviona to try if we could get rid of the annoying
restraints which made our residence here a sort of imprisonment, I
discovered that the whole affair was not one of blunder or accident,
but that we actually were prisoners thus by design. It appeared
that Kamrasi's brothers, when they heard we were coming into Unyoro,
murmured, and said to the king, "Why are you bringing such guests
amongst us, who will practise all kinds of diabolical sorcery, and bring
evil on us?" To which Kamrasi replied, "I have invited them to come, and
they shall come; and if they bring evil with them, let that all fall on
my shoulders, for you shall not see them." He then built a palaver-house
on the banks of the Kafu to receive us in privately; and when we were to
go to Gani, it was his intention to slip us off privately down the Kafu.
The brothers were so thoroughly frightened, that when Kamrasi opened his
chronometer before them to show them the works in motion, they turned
their heads away. The large block-tin box I gave Kamrasi, as part of his
hongo, was, I heard, called Mzungu, or the white man, by him.
In the evening the beads recently brought from Gani were sent for my
inspection, with an intimation that Kamrasi highly approved of them, and
would like me to give him a few like them. Some of Kamrasi's spies, whom
he had sent to the refractory allies of Rionga his brother, returned
bringing a spear and some grass from the thatch of the hut of a Chopi
chief. The removal of the grass was a piece of state policy. It was
stolen by Kamrasi's orders, in order that he might spread a charm on
the Chopi people, and gain such an influence over them that their spears
could not prevail against the Wanyoro; but it was thought we might
possess some still superior magic powder, as we had come from such a
long distance, and Kamrasi would prefer to have ours. These Chopi people
were leagued with the brothers, and thus kept the highroad to Gani,
though the other half of Chopi remained loyal; and though Kamrasi
continually sent armies against the refractory half which aided his
brothers, they never retaliated by attacking this place.
We found, by the way, that certain drumming and harmonious
accompaniments which we had been accustomed to hear all day and night
were to continue for four moons, in celebration of twins born to Kamrasi
since we came here.
3d.--Kamrasi's political department was active again to-day. Some Gani
officials arrived to inform him that there were two white men in the
vessel spoken of as at Gani; a second vessel was coming in there, and
several others were on their way. A carnelian was shown me which the
Gani people gave to Kamrasi many years ago. Kamrasi expressed a wish
that I would exchange magic powders with him. He had a very large
variety, and would load a horn for me with all those I desired most. He
wanted also medicines for longevity and perpetual strength. Those I
had given him had, he said, deprived him of strength, and he felt much
reduced by their effects. He would like me to go with him and attack the
island his three brothers, Rionga, Wahitu, and Pohuka, are in possession
of. When I said I never fought with black men, he wished to know if I
would not shoot them if they attacked me. My replay was, alluding to
our fight in the river, "How did N'yamyonjo's men fare?" I found that
Kamrasi had thirty brothers and as many sisters.
4th.--I gave Kamrasi a bottle of quinine, which we call "strong back,"
and asked him in return for a horn containing all the powders necessary
to give me the gift of tongues, so that I should be able to converse
with any black men whom I might meet with. We heard that Kamrasi has
called all his Gani guests to play before him, and a double shot from
his Blissett rifle announced to our ears that he in turn was amusing
them. This was the first time the gun had been discharged since he
received it, and, fearing to fire it himself, he called one of my men to
do it for him.
5th.--At 9 a.m., the time for measuring the fall of rain for the last
twenty-four hours, we found the rain-gauge and the bottle had been
removed, so we sent Kidgwiga to inform the king we wished his magicians
to come at once and institute a search for it. Kidgwiga immediately
returned with the necessary adept, an old man, nearly blind, dressed in
strips of old leather fastened to the waist, and carrying in one hand a
cow's horn primed with magic powder, carefully covered on the mouth with
leather, from which dangled an iron bell. The old creature jingled the
bell, entered our hut, squatted on his hams, looked first at one, then
at the other--inquired what the missing things were like, grunted, moved
his skinny arm round his head, as if desirous of catching air from all
four sides of the hut, then dashed the accumulated air on the head of
his horn, smelt it to see if all was going right, jingled the bell again
close to his ear, and grunted his satisfaction; the missing articles
must be found.
To carry out the incantation more effectually, however, all my men were
sent for to sit in the open before the hut, when the old doctor rose,
shaking the horn and tinkling the bell close to his ear. He then,
confronting one of the men, dashed the horn forward as if intending to
strike him on the face, then smelt the head, then dashed at another,
and so on, till he became satisfied that my men were not the thieves.
He then walked into Grant's hut, inspected that, and finally went to the
place where the bottle had been kept. There he walked about the grass
with his arm up, and jingling the bell to his ear, first on one side,
then on the other, till the track of a hyena gave him the clue, and in
two or three more steps he found it. A hyena had carried it into the
grass and dropped it. Bravo, for the infallible horn! and well done the
king for his honesty in sending it! So I gave the king the bottle and
gauge, which delighted him amazingly; and the old doctor who begged for
pombe, got a goat for his trouble. My men now, recollecting the powder
robbery at Uganda, said king Mtesa would not send his horn when I asked
for it, because he was the culprit himself.
6th.--Kidgwiga told us to-day that king Kamrasi's sisters are not
allowed to wed; they live and die virgins in his palace. Their only
occupation in life consisted of drinking milk, of which each one
consumes the produce daily of from ten to twenty cows, and hence they
become so inordinately fat that they cannot walk. Should they wish to
see a relative, or go outside the hut for any purpose, it requires eight
men to lift any of them on a litter. The brothers, too, are not allowed
to go out of his reach. This confinement of the palace family is
considered a state necessity, as a preventive to civil wars, in the same
way as the destruction of the Uganda princes, after a certain season, is
thought necessary for the preservation of peace there.
7th.--In the morning the Kamraviona called, on the king's behalf, to
inquire after my health, and also to make some important communications.
First he was to request a supply of bullets, that the king might fire
a salute when Bombay returned from Gani; next, to ask for stimulative
medicine, now that he had consumed all I gave him, and gone through the
preliminary course; further, to request I would spread a charm over all
his subjects, so that their hearts might be inclined towards him, and
they would come without calling and bow down at his feet; finally, he
wished me to exchange my blood with him, that we might be brothers till
death. I sent the bullets, advised him to wait a day or two for the
medicine, and said there was only one charm by which he could gain the
influence he required over his subjects--this was, knowledge and
the power of the pen. Should he desire some of my children (meaning
missionaries) to come here and instruct his, the thing would be done;
but not in one year, nor even ten, for it takes many years to educate
children.
As to exchanging by blood with a black man's, it was a thing quite
beyond my comprehension; though Rumanika, I must confess, had asked me
to do the same thing. The way the English make lasting friendships is
done either by the expressions of their hearts, or by the exchange
of some trifles, as keepsakes; and now, as I had given Kamrasi some
specimens of English manufacture, he might give me a horn, or anything
else he chose, which I could show to my friends, so as to keep him in
recollection all my life.
The Kamraviona, before leaving, said, for our information, that a
robbery had occurred in the palace last night; for this morning, when
Kamrasi went to inspect his Mzungu (the block-tin box), which he
had forgotten to lock, he found all his beads had been stolen. After
sniffing round among the various wives, he smelt the biggest one to be
the culprit, and turned the beads out of her possession. Deputies came
in the evening with a pot of pombe and small screw of butter, to tell me
some Gani people had just arrived, bringing information that the vessel
at Gani had left to go down the river; but when intelligence reached the
vessel of the approach of my men they turned and came back again. Bombay
was well feasted on the road by Kamrasi's people, receiving eight cows
from one and two cows from another.
8th and 9th.--We had a summons to attend at the Kafu palace with the
medicine-chest, a few select persons only to be present. It rained
so much on the 8th as to stop the visit, but we went next day. After
arriving there, and going through the usual salutations, Kamrasi asked
us from what stock of people we came, explaining his meaning by saying,
"As we, Rumanika, Mtesa, and the rest of us (enumerating the kings),
are Wawitu (or princes), Uwitu (or the country of princes) being to the
east." This interesting announcement made me quite forget to answer his
question, and induced me to say, "Omwita, indeed, as the ancient names
for Mombas, if you came from that place: I know all about your race for
two thousand years or more. Omwita, you mean, was the last country you
resided in before you came here, but originally you came from Abyssinia,
the sultan of which, our great friend, is Sahela Selassie."
He pronounced this name laughing, and said, "Formerly our stock was
half-white and half-black, with one side of our heads covered with
straight hair, and the other side frizzly: you certainly do know
everything." The subject then turned upon medicine, and after inspecting
the chest, and inquiring into all its contents, it ended by his begging
for the half of everything. The mosquito-curtains were again asked for,
and refused until I should leave this. As Kamrasi was anxious I should
take two of his children to England to be instructed, I agreed to do so,
but said I thought it would be better if he invited missionaries to
come here and educate all his family. His cattle were much troubled with
sickness, dying in great numbers--could I cure them? As he again began
to persecute us with begging, wanting knives and forks, etc., I advised
his using ivory as money, and purchasing what he wanted from Gani.
This brought out the interesting fact, the truth of which we had never
reached before, that when Petherick's servant brought him one necklace
of beads, and asked after us, he gave in return fourteen ivories,
thirteen women, and seven mbugu cloths. One of his men accompanied the
visitors back to the boats, and saw Petherick, who took the ivory and
rejected the women.
10th.--At 2 p.m. we were called by Kamrasi to visit him at the Kafu
palace again, and requested to bring a lot of medicines tied up in
various coloured cloths, so that he might know what to select for
different ailments. We repaired there as before, putting the medicines
into the sextand-stand box, and found him lying at full length on the
platform of his throne, with a glass-bead necklace of various colours,
and a charm tied on his left arm. Nobody was allowed to be present at
our interview. The medicines, four varieties, were weighed out into ten
doses each, and their uses and effects explained. He begged for four
bottles to put them in, till he was laughed out of it by our saying
he required forty bottles; for if the powders were mixed, how could he
separate them again? And to keep his mind from the begging tack, which
he was getting alarmingly near, I said, "Now I have given you these
things because you would insist on having them. I must also tell you
they are dangerous in your hands, in consequence of your being ignorant
of their properties. If you take my advice you won't meddle with them
until the two children you wish educated have learnt the use of them in
England; and if I have to take boys from this, I hope they will be of
your family." He said, "You speak like a father to us, and we very much
approve. Here is a pot of pombe; I did not give you one yesterday."
11th.--To-day, the king having graciously granted permission, we went
out shooting, but saw only a few buffalo tracks.
12th.--The Kamraviona was sent to inquire after our health, and to
ascertain from me all I knew respecting the origin of Kamrasi's tribe,
the distribution of countries, and the seat of the government. I sent
the king a diagram, painted in various colours, with full explanations
of everything, and asked permission to send two more of my men in search
of Bombay, who had now been absent twenty days. The reply was, that if
Bombay did not return within four days, Kamrasi would send other men
after him on the fifth day; and, in the meantime, he sent one pot of
pombe as a token of his kind regard.
13th.--The Kamraviona was sent to inquire after our health, to ask for
medicine for himself, and to inquire more into the origin of his
race. I, on the other hand, wishing to make myself as disagreeable as
possible, in order that Kamrasi might get tired of us, sent Frij to ask
for fresh butter, eggs, tobacco, coffee, and fowls, every day, saying, I
will pay their price when I reach Gani, for we were suffering from want
of proper food. Kamrasi was surprised at this clamour for food, and
inquired what we ate at home that we were so different from everybody
else.
We heard to-day a strange story, involving the tragic fate of Budja. On
coming here, he had been bewitched by Kamrasi's frontier officer, who
put the charm into a pot of pombe. From the moment Budja drank it he was
seized with sickness, and remained so until he reached the first station
in Uganda, when he died. The facts of the bewitchment had been found out
by means of the perpetrator's wives, who, from the moment the pombe
was drunk, took to precipitate flight, well knowing what effects would
follow, and dreading the chastisement Mtesa would bring upon their
household. We heard, too, that the deserters had returned to the place
they deserted from, with thirty Waganda, and a present of some cows for
me.
14th.---Kamrasi sent me four parcels of coffee, very neatly enclosed in
rush pith.
15th.--Getting more impatient, and desirous to move on at any sacrifice,
I proposed giving up all claims to my muskets, as well as the present of
cows from Mtesa, if Kamrasi would give us boats to Gani at once; but the
reply was simply, Why be in such a hurry?
16th.--The Kamraviona was sent to us with a load of coffee, which
Kamrasi had purchased with cowries, and to inquire how we had slept.
Very badly, was the reply, because we knew Bombay would have been back
long ago if Kamrasi was not concealing him somewhere, and we did not
know what he was doing with deserters and Waganda. Kamrasi then wanted
us to paint his mbugu cloths in different patterns and colours; but
we sent him instead six packages of red-ink powder, and got abused for
sauciness. He then wanted black ink, else how could he put on the red
with taste; but we had none to give him. Next, he asked leave for my
men to shoot cows, before his Kidi visitors, which they did to his
satisfaction, instructing him at the same time to fire powder with his
own rifle; when, triumphant with his success, he protested he would
never use anything but guns again, and threw away his spear as useless.
Bombay, we learned, had reached Gani, and ought to return in eight days.
17th and 18th.--A large party of Chopi people arrived, by Kamrasi's
orders, to tell the reason which induced them to apply for guns to the
white men at Gani, as it appeared evident they must have wished to fight
their king. The Kidi visitors got broken heads for helping themselves
from the Wanyoro's fields, and when they cried out against such
treatment, were told they should rob the king, if they wished to rob at
all.
19th.--Nothing was done because Kamrasi was dismissing his Kidi guests,
200, with presents of cows and women.
20th.--Having asked Kamrasi to return my pictures, he sent the book of
birds, but not of animals; and said he could not see us until a new hut
was built, because the old one was flooded by the Kafu, which had been
rising several days. We must not, he said, talk about Bombay any more,
because everybody said he was detained by the N'yanswenge (Petherick's
party), and would return here with the new moon. I would not accept the
lie, saying, How can my "children" at Gani detain my messengers, when
they have received strict orders from me by letter to send an answer
quickly? It was all Kamrasi's doing, for he had either hidden Bombay,
or ordered his officers to take him slowly, as he did us, stopping four
days at each stage.
Frij again told me he was present when Said Said, the Sultan of
Zanzibar, sent an army to assist the Wagunya at Amu, on the coast,
against the incursions of the Masai. These Amu people have the same
Wahuma features as Kamrasi, whom they also resemble both in general
physical appearance, and in many of them having circular marks, as if
made by cautery, on the forehead and temples. These marks I took not to
be tatooing or decorative, but as a cure for disease--cautery being a
favourite remedy with both races.
The battle lasted only two days, though the Masai brought a thousand
spears against the Arabs' cannon. But this was not the only battle Said
Said had to fight on those grounds; for some years previously he had to
subdue the Waziwa, who live on very marshy land, into respect for his
sovereignty, when the battle lasted years, in consequence of the bad
nature of the ground, and the trick the Waziwa had of staking the ground
with spikes. The Wasuahili, or coast-people, by his description, are the
bastards or mixed breeds who live on the east coast of Africa, extending
from the Somali country to Zanzibar. Their language is Kisuahili; but
there is no land Usuahili, though people talk of going to the Suahili in
the same vague sense as they do of going to the Mashenzi, or amongst the
savages. The common story amongst the Wasuahili at Zanzibar, in regard
to the government of that island, was, that the Wakhadim, or aborigines
of Zanzibar, did not like the oppressions of the Portuguese, and
therefore allied themselves to the Arabs of Muscat--even compromising
their natural birthright of freedom in government, provided the Arabs,
by their superior power, would secure to them perpetual equity, peace
and justice. The senior chief, Sheikh Muhadim, was the mediator on
their side, and without his sanction no radial changes compromising the
welfare of the land could take place; the system of arbitration being,
that the governing Arab on the one side, and the deputy of the Wakhadim
on the other, should hold conference with a screen placed between them,
to obviate all attempts at favour, corruption, or bribery.
The former report of the approach of my men, with as many Waganda and
cows for me, turned out partly false, inasmuch as only one of my men was
with 102 Waganda, whilst the whole of the deserters were left behind in
Uganda with cows; and Kamrasi hearing this, ordered all to go back again
until the whole of my men should arrive.
21st.--I was told how a Myoro woman, who bore twins that died, now keeps
two small pots in her house, as effigies of the children, into which
she milks herself every evening, and will continue to do so five months,
fulfilling the time appointed by nature for suckling children, lest the
spirits of the dead should persecute her. The twins were not buried, as
ordinary people are buried, under ground, but placed in an earthenware
pot, such as the Wanyoro use for holding pombe. They were taken to the
jungle and placed by a tree, with the pot turned mouth downwards.
Manua, one of my men, who is a twin, said, in Nguru, one of the sister
provinces to Unyanyembe, twins are ordered to be killed and thrown into
water the moment they are born, lest droughts and famines or floods
should oppress the land. Should any one attempt to conceal twins,
the whole family would be murdered by the chief; but, though a great
traveller, this is the only instance of such brutality Manua had ever
witnessed in any country.
In the province of Unyanyembe, if a twin or twins die, they are thrown
into water for the same reason as in Nguru; but as their numbers
increase the size of the family, their birth is hailed with delight.
Still there is a source of fear there in connection with twins, as I
have seen myself; for when one dies, the mother ties a little gourd to
her neck as a proxy, and puts into it a trifle of everything which she
gives the living child, lest the jealousy of the dead spirit should
torment her. Further, on the death of the child, she smears herself
with butter and ashes, and runs frantically about, tearing her hair and
bewailing piteously; whilst the men of the place use towards her the
foulest language, apparently as if in abuse of her person, but in
reality to frighten away the demons who have robbed her nest.
22d.--I sent Frij to Kamrasi to find out what he was doing with the
Waganda and my deserters, as I wished to speak with their two head
representatives. I also wanted some men to seek for and to fetch Bombay,
as I said I believed him to be tied by the leg behind one of the visible
hills in Kidi. The reply was, 102 Waganda, with one of my men only, had
been stationed at the village my men deserted from since the date (13th)
we heard of them last. They had no cows for me, but each of the Waganda
bore a log of firewood, which Mtesa had ordered them to carry until they
either returned with me or brought back a box of gunpowder, in default
of which they were to be all burnt in a heap with the logs they carried.
Kamrasi, still acting on his passive policy, would not admit them here,
but wished them to return with a message, to the effect that Mtesa had
no right to hold me as his guest now I had once gone into another's
hands. We were all three kings to do with our subjects as we liked, and
for this reason the deserters ought to be sent on here; but if I wished
to speak to the Waganda, he would call their officer. There was no fear,
he said, about Bombay; he was on his way; but the men who were escorting
him were spinning out the time, stopping at every place, and feasting
every day. To-morrow, he added, some more Gani people would arrive here,
when we should know more about it. I still advised Kamrasi to give the
road to Mtesa provided he gave up plundering the Wanyoro of women and
cattle; but if my counsel was listened to, I could get no acknowledgment
that it was so.
23d and 24th.--I sent to inquire what news there was of Bombay's coming,
and what measures Kamrasi had taken to call the Waganda's chief officer
and my deserters here; as also to beg he would send us specimens of all
the various tribes that visit him, in order that me might draw them.
He sent four loads of dried fish, with a request for my book of birds
again, as it contains a portrait of king Mtesa, and proposed seeing us
at the newly-constructed Kafu palace to-morrow, when all requests would
be attended to. In the meanwhile, we were told that Bombay had been
seen on his way returning from Gani; and the Waganda had all run away
frightened, because they were told the Kidi and Chopi visitors, who
had been calling on Kamrasi lately, were merely the nucleus of an army
forming to drive them away, and to subdue Uganda. Mtesa was undergoing
the coronation formalities, and for this reason had sent the deserters
to Kari's hill, giving them cows and a garden to live on, as no visitors
can remain near the court while the solemnities of the coronation were
going on. The thirty-odd brothers will be burnt to death, saving two or
three, of which one will be sent into this country--as was the case with
one of the late king Sunna's brothers, who is still in Unyoro--and the
others will remain in the court with Mtesa as playfellows until the king
dies, when, like Sunna's two brothers still living in Uganda, one at
N'yama Goma and one at Ngambezi, they will be pensioned off. After the
coronation is concluded, it is expected Mtesa will go into Kittari, on
the west of Uganda, to fight first, and then, turning east, will fight
with the Wasoga; but we think if he fights anywhere, it will be with
Kamrasi.
25th and 26th.--I sent Frij to the palace to inquire after Bombay, and
got the usual reply: "Why is Bana in such a hurry? He is always for
doing things quickly. Tell my 'brother' to keep his mind at rest; Bombay
is now on the boundary of Gani coming here, and will in due course
arrive." Both Rumanika's men and those belonging to Dr K'yengo asked
Kamrasi's leave to return to their homes, but were refused, because the
road was unsafe. "Had they not," it was said, "heard of Budja's telling
Mtesa that K'yengo's children prevented the white men from returning to
Uganda? and since then Mtesa had killed his frontier officer for being
chicken-hearted, afraid to carry out his orders, and had appointed
another in his stead, giving him strict orders to make prisoners of
all foreigners who might pass that way; and, further, when some twenty
Wanyoro were going to Karague, they were hunted down by Mtesa's orders,
and three of their number killed; for he was determined to cut off all
intercourse between this country and Karague. They must therefore wait
till the road is safe."
Hearing this, Dr K'yengo's men, who happened to be as well off here
as anywhere, accepted the advice; but Rumanika's men said, "We are
starving; we have been here too long already doing nothing, and must go,
let what will happen to us." Kamrasi said, "What will be the use of your
going empty-handed? I cannot send cows and slaves to Rumanika when the
road is so unsafe; you must wait a bit." But they still urged as
before, and so forced the king reluctantly to acquiesce, but only on
the condition that two of their head men should remain behind until some
more of Rumanika's men came to fetch them away--in fact, as we had been
accredited to him by Rumanika, he wanted to keep some of that king's
people as a security until we were out of his hands.
27th.--I sent Frij to the palace to ask once more for leave to visit the
Luta Nzige river-lake to the westward, and to request Kamrasi would send
men to fetch my property from Karague. He sent four loads of small fish
and one pot of pombe, to say he would see me on the morrow, when every
arrangement would be made. Late at night orders came announcing that I
might write my despatches, as sixty men were ready to start for Karague.
28th.--I sent one of my men with despatches to Kamrasi, who detained
him half the day, and then ordered him to call to-morrow. This being the
fifteenth or twentieth time Kamrasi had disappointed me, after
promising an interview, that we might have a proper understanding
about everything, and when no begging on his party was to interrupt our
conversation, I sent him a threatening message, to see what effect that
would have. The purport of it was, that I was afraid to send men to
Karague, now I had seen his disposition to make prisoners of all who
visit him. Here had I been kept six weeks waiting for Bombay's return
from Gani, where I only permitted him to go because I was told the
journey to and fro would only occupy from eight to ten days at most.
Then Rumanika's men, who came here with Baraka, though daily crying to
get away, were still imprisoned here, without any hope before them. If
I sent Msalima, he would be kept ten years on the road. If I went to the
lake Luta Nzige, God only knows when he would let me come back; and now,
for once and for all, I wished to sacrifice my property, and leave the
countries of black kings; for what Kamrasi had done, Mtesa had done
likewise, detaining the two men I detached on a friendly mission, which
made me fear to send any more and inquire after my guns, lest he should
seize them likewise. I would stay no longer among such people.
Kamrasi, in answer, begged I would not be afraid; there was no occasion
for alarm; Bombay would be here shortly. I had promised to wait
patiently for his return, and as soon as he did return, I would be sent
off without one day's delay, for I was not his slave, that he should use
violence upon me. Rumanika's men, too, would be allowed to go, only that
the road was unsafe, and he feared Rumanika would abuse him if any harm
befell them.
29th.--To-day I met Kamrasi at his new reception-palace on this side the
Kafu--taking a Bible to explain all I fancied I knew about the origin
and present condition of the Wahuma branch of the Ethiopians, beginning
with Adam, to show how it was the king had heard by tradition that at
one time the people of his race were half white and half black. Then,
proceeding with the Flood, I pointed out that the Europeans remained
white, retaining Japhet's blood; whilst the Arabs are tawny, after Shem;
and the African's black, after Ham. And, finally, to show the greatness
of the tribe, I read the 14th chapter of 2d Chronicles, in which it is
written how Zerah, the Ethiopian, with a host of a thousand thousand,
met the Jew Asa with a large army, in the valley of Zephathah, near
Mareshah; adding to it that again, at a much later date, we find the
Ethiopians battling with the Arabs in the Somali country, and with the
Arabs and Portuguese at Omwita (Mombas)--in all of which places they
have taken possession of certain tracts of land, and left their sons to
people it.
To explain the way in which the type or physical features of people
undergo great changes by interbreeding, Mtesa was instanced as having
lost nearly every feature of his Mhuma blood, but the kings of Uganda
having been produced, probably for several generations running, of
Waganda mothers. This amused Kamrasi greatly, and induced me to inquire
how his purity of blood was maintained--"Was the king of Unyoro chosen,
as in Uganda, haphazard by the chief men--or did the eldest son sit by
succession on the throne?" The reply was, "The brothers fought for it,
and the best man gained the crown."
Kamrasi then began counting the leaves of the Bible, an amusement that
every negro that gets hold of a book indulges in; and, concluding in
his mind that each page or leaf represented one year of time since the
beginning of creation, continued his labour till one quarter of the way
through the book, and then only shut it up on being told, if he desired
to ascertain the number more closely, he had better count the words.
I begged for my picture-books, which were only lent him at his request
for a few days; and then began a badgering verbal conflict: he would not
return them until I drew others like them; he would not allow me to go
to the Little Luta Nzige, west of this, until Bombay returned, when he
would send me with an army of spears to lead the way, and my men with
their guns behind to protect the rear. This was for the purpose of
making us his tools in his conflict with his brothers. I complained that
he had, without consulting me, ordered away the men who had been sent,
either to fetch me back to Uganda, or else get powder from me, although
they had orders to carry out their king's desire, under the threat of
being burnt with the fire logs they carried; and all this Kamrasi had
professed to do merely out of respect for my dignity, as I was no slave,
that Mtesa should order me about. I argued, founding on each particular
in succession, that his conduct throughout was most unjustifiable, and
anything but friendly. He then produced an officer, who was to escort
my man Msalima to Karague, giving him orders to collect the sixty men
required on the way; five of Rumanika's men could go with him, but five
must stop, until other Karague men came to say the road was safe, when
he would send by them the present he had prepared for Rumanika.
Then, turning to us, he said, "Why have you not brought the
medicine-chest and the saw? We wish to see everything you have
got, though we do not wish to rob you." When these things came for
inspection, he coveted the saw, and discovered there were more varieties
of medicine in the chest than had been given him. This he was told was
not the case, because the papers given him contained mixed medicines--a
little being taken from every bottle. "But there are no pills; why won't
you give us pills? We have men, women, and children who require pills as
well as you do." We were much annoyed by this dogged begging; and as he
said, "Well, if you won't give my anything, I will go," we at once rose,
hat in hand; when, regretting the hastiness of his speech, he begged
us to be seated again, and renewed his demands. We told him the road
to Gani was the only condition on which we would part with any more
medicine; we had asked leave to go a hundred times, and that was all we
now desired. At last he rose and walked off in a huff; but, repenting
before he reached home, he sent us a pot of pombe, when, in return, I
finished the farce by sending him a box of pills.
30th.--I gave Msalima a letter in the Kisuahili or coast language
to convey to Rumanika, ordering all my property to be sent here, his
account of the things as they left him to be given to Msalima to convey
to the coast, while I sent him one pound of gunpowder as a sort of
agency fee. Msalima also took a map of all the countries we had passed,
with lunar observations, and a letter to Rigby, by which he, Baraka, and
Uledi would be able to draw their pay on arrival.
31st.--I sent Frij with a letter to the king, containing an
acknowledgment that, on the arrival of the rear property from Karague,
he would be entitled to half of everything, reserving the other half for
any person I might in future send to take them from him. He accepted the
letter, and put it into his mzungu--the tin box I had given him. He said
he would take every care of the kit from the time it arrived, and would
not touch his share of it till my deputy arrived. An inhabitant of Chopi
reported that he heard Bombay's gun fire the evening before he left
home, and was rewarded with the present of a cow.
1st.--I purchased a small kitten, Felis serval, from an Unyoro man, who
requested me to give it back to him to eat if it was likely to die, for
it is considered very good food in Unyoro.
Bombay at last arrived with Mabruki in high glee, dressed in cotton
jumpers and drawers, presents given them by Petherick's outpost.
Petherick himself was not there. The journey to and fro was performed in
fourteen days' actual travelling, the rest of the time being frittered
away by the guides. The jemadar of the guard said he commanded two
hundred Turks, and had orders to wait for me, without any limit as to
time, until I should arrive, when Petherick's name would be pointed out
to me cut on a tree; but as no one in camp could read my letter, they
were doubtful whether we were the party they were looking out for.
They were all armed with elephant-guns, and had killed sixteen
elephants. Petherick had gone down the river eight days' journey, but
was expected to return shortly. Kamrasi would not see Bombay immediately
on his return, but sent him some pombe, and desired an interview the
following day.
2d.--I sent Bombay with a farewell present to Kamrasi, consisting of one
tent, one mosquito-curtain, one roll of bindera or red cotton cloth, one
digester pot, one saw, six copper wires, one box of beads, containing
six varieties of the best sort, and a request to leave his country. Much
pleased with the things, Kamrasi ordered the tent to be pitched before
all his court, pointed out to them what clever people the white people
are, making iron pots instead of earthen ones. Covetous and never
satisfied, however, instead of returning thanks, he said he was sure I
must have more beads than those I sent him; and, instead of granting the
leave asked for, said he would think about it, and send the Kamraviona
in the evening with his answer. This, when it came, was anything but
satisfactory; for we were required to stop here until the king should
have prepared the people on the road for our coming, so that they might
not be surprised, or try to molest us on the way. Kamrasi, however,
returned the books of birds and animals, requesting a picture of the
king of Uganda to be drawn for him, and gave us one pot of pombe.
3d.--I sent the picture required, and an angry message to Kamrasi for
breaking his word, as he promised us we should go without a day's delay;
and go we must, for I could neither eat nor sleep from thinking of
my home. His only reply to this was, Bana is always in a preposterous
hurry. He answered, that for our gratification he had directed a dwarf
called Kimenya to be sent to us, and the Kamraviona should follow after.
Kimenya, a little old man, less than a yard high, called on us with a
walking-stick higher than himself, made his salaam, and sat down very
composedly. He then rose and danced, singing without invitation, and
following it up with queer antics. Lastly, he performed the tambura, or
charging-march, in imitation of Wakugnu, repeating the same words
they use, and ending by a demand for simbi, or cowrie-shells, modestly
saying, "I am a beggar, and want simbi; if you have not 500 to spare,
you must at any rate give me 400."
He then narrated his fortune in life. Born in Chopi, he was sent for by
Kamrasi, who first gave him two women, who died; then another, who ran
away; and, finally, a distorted dwarf like himself, whom he rejected,
because he thought the propagation of his pigmy breed would not be
advantageous to society. Bombay then marched him back to the palace,
with 500 simbi strung in necklaces round his neck. When these two had
gone, the Kamraviona arrived with two spears, one load of flour, and a
pot of pombe, which he requested me to accept, adding that the spears
were given as it was observed I had accepted some from the king of
Uganda; a shield was still in reserve for me, and spears would be sent
for Grant. Then with regard to my going, Kamrasi must beg us to have
patience until he had sent messengers into Kidi, requesting the natives
there not to molest me on the way, for they had threatened they would
do so, and if they persisted, he would send us with a force by another
route via Ugungu--another attempt to draw us off to fight against his
brothers.
I stormed at this announcement as a breach of faith; said I had given
the king my only tent, my only digester, my only saw, my only wire,
my only mosquito-curtains, and my last of everything, because he had
assured me I should have to pay no more chiefs, and he would give me the
road at once. If he did not intend now to fulfil his promise, I begged
he would take back his spears, for I would only accept them as a
farewell present. The Kamraviona finding me rather warm, with the usual
pertinacious duplicity of a negro, then said, "Well, let that subject
drop, and consider the present Kamrasi promised you when you gave him
the Uganga" (meaning the watch); "Kamrasi's horn is not ready yet." This
second prevarication completely set my dander up. If I did not believe
in his dangers of the way before, it quite settled my opinion of the
worth of his words now. I therefore tendered him what might be called
the ultimatum to this effect. There was no sincerity in such haggling;
I would not submit to being told lies by kings or anybody else. He must
take back the spears, or give us the road to-morrow; and unless the
Kamraviona would tell him this and bring me an answer at once, the
spears should not remain in my house during the night. Evidently in
alarm, the Kamraviona, with Kidgwiga and Frij in company to bear him
witness, returned to the palace, telling Kamrasi that he saw we were
in thorough earnest. He extracted a promise that Kamrasi would have
a farewell meeting with us either to-morrow or the next day, when we
should have a large escort to Petherick's boats, and the men would be
able to bring back anything that he wanted; but he could not let us go
without a parting interview, such as we had at Uganda with Mtesa.
The deputation, delighted with their success and the manner in which
it was effected, hurried back to me at once, and said they were so
frightened themselves that they would have skulked away to their homes
and not come near me if they could not have arranged matters to my
satisfaction. Kamrasi would not believe I had threatened to turn out his
spears until Frij testified to their statements; and he then said, "Let
Bana keep the spears and drink the pombe, for I would not wish him to be
a prisoner against his will." Bombay, after taking back the dwarf, met
one of N'yamasore's officers, just arrived from Uganda on some
important business, and upbraided Mtesa for not having carried out my
instructions. The officer in turn tried to defend Mtesa's conduct by
saying he had given the deserters seventy cows and four women, as well
as orders to join us quickly; but they had been delayed on the road,
because wherever they went they plundered, and no one liked their
company. Had we returned to Uganda, Mtesa would have given us the road
through Masai, which, in my opinion, is nearer for us than this one.
This officer had been wishing to see us as much as we had been to see
him; but Kamrasi would not allow him to get access to us, for fear, it
was said, lest the Waganda should know where we were hidden, and enable
Mtesa to send an army to come and snatch us away. As the officer said
he would deliver any message I might wish to send to Uganda, I folded a
visiting-card as a letter to the queen-dowager, intimating that I wished
the two men whom I sent back to Mtesa to be forwarded on to Karague;
but desired that the remainder, who deserted their master in difficulty,
should be placed on an island of the N'yanza to live in exile until some
other Englishman should come to release them; that their arms should
be taken from them and kept in the palace. I said further, that should
Mtesa act up to my desires, I would then know he was my friend,
and other white men would not fear to enter Uganda; but if he acted
otherwise, they would fear lest he should imprison them, or seize their
property of their men. If these deserters escaped punishment, no white
men would ever dare trust their lives with such men again. The officer
said he should be afraid to deliver such a message to Mtesa direct; but
he certainly would tell the queen every word of it, which would be even
more efficacious.
4th.--I bullied Kamrasi by telling him we must go with this moon, for
the benefit of its light whilst crossing the Kidi wilderness; as if
we did not reach the vessels in time for seasonable departure down the
Nile, we should have to wait another year for their return from Khartum.
"What!" said Kamrasi, "does Bana forget my promised appointment that
I would either see him to-day or to-morrow? I cannot do so to-day, and
therefore to-morrow we will certainly meet and bid good-bye." The Gani
men, who came with Bombay, said they would escort us to their country,
although, as a rule, they never cross the Kidi wilderness above once in
two years, from fear of the hunting natives, who make game of everybody
and everything they see; in other words, they seize strangers, plunder
them, and sell them as slaves. To cross that tract, the dry season
is the best, when all the grass is burnt down, or from the middle of
December to the end of March. I gave them a cow, and they at once killed
it, and, sitting down, commenced eating her flesh raw, out of choice.
5th.--The Kamraviona came to inform us that the king was ready for the
great interview, where we could both speak what we had at heart, for
as yet he had only heard what our servants had to say; and there was
a supplement to the message, of the usual kind, that he would like a
present of a pencil. The pencil was sent in the first place, because we
did not like talking about trifles when we visited great kings.
The interview followed. It was opened on our side by our saying we had
enjoyed his hospitality a great number of days, and wished to go to our
homes; should he have any message to send to the great Queen of England,
we should be happy to convey it. A long yarn then emanated from the
throne. He defended his over-cautiousness when admitting us into Unyoro.
It was caused at first by wicked men who did not wish us to visit him;
he subsequently saw through their representations, and now was very
pleased with us as he found us. Of course he could not tie us down to
stopping here against our wish, but, for safety's sake, he would like
us to stop a little longer, until he could send messengers ahead,
requesting the wild men in Kidi not to molest us. That state trick
failing to frighten and stop us, he tried another, by saying, when we
departed, he hoped we would leave two men with guns behind, to occupy
our present camp, and so delude the people into the belief that merely a
party of their followers, and not the white men themselves, had left his
house, for the purpose of spreading terror in the minds of the people we
might meet, who, not knowing the number of men behind, would naturally
conclude there was a large reserve force ready to release us in case of
necessity.
This foxy speech was too transparent to require one moment's reflection.
In a country where men were property, the fate of one or two left behind
was obvious; and had we doubted that his object was to get possession of
them, his next words would have sufficiently revealed it. He said,
"As you gave men to Mtesa, why would you refuse them to me?" but was
checkmated on being told, "Should any of those men who deserted us in
this country ever reach their homes, they will all be hung for breaking
their allegiance or oath." "Well," says the king, "I have acceded to
everything you have to say; and the day after to-morrow, when I shall
have had time to collect men to go with you, and selected the two
princes you have promised to educate, we will meet again and say
good-bye; but you must give me a gun and some more medicine, as well as
the powder and ball you promised after reaching the vessels." This was
all acquiesced in, and we wished to take his portrait, but he would not
have it done on any consideration. The Kamraviona and Kidgwiga followed
us home, and told Bombay the king did not wish us to leave till next
moon, and then he would like us to fight his brothers on the way. This
message, sent in such an underhand manner after the meeting, Bombay
failed to deliver, telling them he should be afraid to do so.
6th.--The Kamraviona was sent to us with four loads of fish and a
request for ammunition, notwithstanding everything asked for yesterday
had been refused until we reached the vessels. "Confound Kamrasi!" was
the reply; "does he think we came here to trick kings that he doubts
our words? We came to open the road; and, as sure as we wish it, we will
send him everything that has been promised. Why should he doubt our
word more than anybody else? We are not accustomed to be treated in this
manner, and must beg he won't insult us any more. Then about fighting
his brothers, we have already given answer that we never fight with
black men; and should the king persist in it, we will never take another
thing from his hands. The boys shall not go to England, neither will
any other white men come this way." The Kamraviona made the following
answer:--"But there are two more things the king wishes to know about:
he has asked the question before, but forgotten the answers. Is there
any medicine for women or children which will prevent the offspring from
dying shortly after birth?--for it is a common infirmity in this country
with some women, that all their children die before they are able to
walk, whilst others never lose a child. The other matter of inquiry was,
What medicine will attach all subjects to their king?--for Kamrasi
wants some of that most particularly." I answered, "Knowledge of good
government, attended with wisdom and justice, is all the medicine we
know of; and this his boys can best learn in England, and instruct him
in when they return."
7th.--We went to meet Kamrasi at his Kafu palace to bid good-bye. After
all the huckstering and begging with which he had tormented us, the
state he chose to assume on this occasion was very ludicrous. He sat
with an air of the most solemn dignity, upon his throne of skins,
regarding us like mere slaves, and asking what things we intended to
send to him. On being told we did not like being repeatedly reminded of
our promises, he came down a little from his dignity, saying, "And what
answer have you about the business on the island?"--meaning the request
to fight his brothers. That, of course, could not be listened to, as
it was against the principle of our country. Grant's rings were then
espied, and begged for, but without success. We told him it was highly
improper to beg for everything he saw, and if he persisted in it, no one
would ever dare to come near him again.
Then, to change the subject, we begged K'yengo's men might be allowed
to go as far as Gani with us; but no reply was given, until the question
was put again, with a request that the reason might be told us for his
not wishing it, as we saw great benefit would be derived to Unyoro,
as the Wanyamuezi instead of trading merely with Karague and Zanzibar,
would bring their ivory through this country and barter it, thus
converting Unyoro into a great commercial country; when Kamrasi said,
"We don't want any more ivory in Unyoro; for the tusks are already
as numerous as grass." Kidgwiga was then appointed to receive all the
things we were to send back from Gani; our departure was fixed for the
9th; and the king walked away as coldly as he came, whilst we felt as
jolly as birds released from a cage.
Floating islands of grass were seen going down the Kafu, reminding us of
the stories told at Kaze by Musa Mzuri, of the violent manner in which,
at certain season, the N'yanza was said to rise and rush with such
velocity that islands were uprooted and carried away. In the evening a
pot of pombe was brought, when the man in charge, half-drunk, amused us
with frantic charges, as if he were fighting with his spear; and after
settling the supposed enemy, he delighted in tramping him under foot,
spearing him repeatedly through and through, then wiping the blade of
the spear in the grass, and finally polishing it on this tufty head,
when, with a grunt of satisfaction, he shouldered arms and walked away a
hero.
8th.--As the king seemed entirely to disregard our comfort on the
journey, we made a request for cows, butter, and coffee, in answer
to which we only got ten cows, the other things not being procurable
without delay. Twenty-four men were appointed us to escort us and bring
back our presents from Gani, which were to be--six carbines, with a
magazine of ammunition, a large brass or iron water-pot, a hair-brush,
lucifers, a dinner-knife, and any other things procurable that had never
been seen in Unyoro.
Two orphan boys, seized by the king as slaves, were brought for
education in England; but as they were both of the common negro breed,
with nothing attractive about them, and such as no one could love but
their mothers, we rejected them, fearing lest no English boys would care
to play with them, and told Kamrasi that his offspring only could play
with our children, and unless I got some princes of that interesting
breed, no one would ever undertake to teach children brought from this
country. The king was very much disappointed at this announcement; said
they were his adopted children, and the only ones he could part with,
for his own boys were mere balls of fat, and too small to leave home.
Chapter XIX. The March to Madi
Sail down the Kafu--The Navigable Nile--Fishing and Sporting
Population--The Scenery on the River--An Inhospitable Governor--Karuma
Falls--Native Superstitions--Thieveries--Hospitable Reception at Koki by
Chongi.
After giving Kamrasi a sketching-stool, we dropped down the Kafu two
miles in a canoe, in order that the common people might not see us; for
the exclusive king would not allow any eyes but his own to be indulged
with the extraordinary sight of white men in Unyoro! The palace side
of the river, however, as we paddled away, was thronged with anxious
spectators amongst whom the most conspicuous was the king's favourite
nurse. Dr K'yengo's men were very anxious to accompany us, even telling
the king, if he would allow the road to be opened to their countrymen,
all would hongo, or pay customs-duty to him; but the close,
narrow-minded king could not be persuaded. Bombay here told us Kamrasi
at the last moment wished to give me some women and ivory; and when told
we never accepted anything of that sort, wished to give them to my head
servants; but this being contrary to standing orders also, he said he
would smuggle them down to the boats for Bombay in such a manner that I
should not find out.
We were not expected to march again, but being anxious myself to see
more of the river, before starting, I obtained leave to go by boat as
far as the river was navigable, sending our cattle by land. To this
concession was accompanied a request for a few more gun-caps, and
liberty was given us to seize any pombe which might be found coming
on the river in boats, for the supplies to the palace all come in this
manner. We then took boat again, an immense canoe, and, after going a
short distance, emerged from the Kafu, and found ourselves on what at
first appeared a long lake, averaging from two hundred at first to one
thousand yards broad before the day's work was out; but this was the
Nile again, navigable in this way from Urondogani.
Both sides were fringed with the huge papyrus rush. The left one was low
and swampy, whilst the right one--in which the Kidi people and Wanyoro
occasionally hunt--rose from the water in a gently sloping bank, covered
with trees and beautiful convolvuli, which hung in festoons. Floating
islands, composed of rush, grass, and ferns, were continually in motion,
working their way slowly down the stream, and proving to us that the
Nile was in full flood. On one occasion we saw hippopotami, which our
men said came to the surface because we had domestic fowls on board,
supposing them to have an antipathy to that bird. Boats there were,
which the sailors gave chase to; but, as they had no liquor, they
were allowed to go their way, and the sailors, instead, set to lifting
baskets and taking fish from the snares which fisherman, who live in
small huts amongst the rushes, had laid for themselves.
After arrival, as we found the boatmen wished to make off, instead of
carrying out their king's orders to take us to the waterfall, we seized
all the paddles, and kept their tongues quiet by giving them a cow to
eat. The overland route, by which Kidgwiga and the cattle went, was not
so interesting, by all accounts, as the river one; for they walked the
whole way through marshy ground, and crossed one drain in boats, where
some savages struggled to plunder our men of their goats.
With a great deal of difficulty, and after hours of delay, we managed
to get under way with two boats besides the original one; and, after
an hour and a half's paddling in the laziest manner possible, the men
seized two pots of pombe and pulled in to Koki, guided by a king's
messenger, who said this was one of the places appointed by order to
pick up recruits for the force which was to take us to Gani. We found,
however, nothing but loss and disappointment--one calf stolen, and five
goats nearly so. Fortunately, the thief who attempted to run off with
the goats was taken by my men in the act, tied with his hands painfully
tight behind his back, and left, with his face painted white, till
midnight, when his comrades stole into Bombay's hut and released him.
After all these annoyances, the chief officer of the place offered us a
present of a goat, but was sent to the right-about in scorn. How could
he be countenanced as a friend when the men under him steal from us?
The big boat gave us the slip, floating away and leaving its paddles
behind. To supply its place, we took six small boats, turning my
men into sailors, and going as we liked. The river still continued
beautiful; but after paddling three hours we found it bend considerably,
and narrow to two hundred yards, the average depth being from two
to three fathoms. At the fourth hour, imagining our cattle to be
far behind, we pulled in, and walked up a well-cultivated hill to
Yaragonjo's, the governor of these parts. The guide, however, on first
sighting his thorn-fenced cluster of huts, regarding it apparently with
the awe and deference due to a palace, shrank from advancing, and
merely pointed, till he was forced on, and in the next minute we found
ourselves confronted with the heads of the establishment. The father of
the house, surprised at our unexpected manner of entrance--imagining,
probably, we were the king's sorcerers, in consequence of our hats, sent
to fight "the brothers"--without saying a word, quietly beckoned us
to follow him out of the gate by the same way as we came. Preferring,
however, to have a little talk where we were, we remained.
The eldest son, a fine young man considerably above six feet high, with
large gashes on his body received in war during late skirmishes with the
refractory brothers, now came in, did the honours, and, on hearing
of the importance of his visitors, directed us to some huts a little
distance off, where we could rest for the night, for there was no
accommodation for such a large party in the palace. The red hill we were
now on, with plantain-gardens, fine huts neatly kept, and dense grasses
covering the country, reminded us of our residence in Uganda. The
people seemed of a decidedly sporting order, for they kept
hippopotamus-harpoons, attached to strong ropes with trimmers of pith
wood, in their huts; and, outside, trophies of their toil in the shape
of a pile of heads, consisting of those of buffalo and hippopotami.
The women, anything but pretty, wore their mbugu cut into two flounces,
fastened with a drawing-string round the waist; and, in place of
stockings, they bound strings of small iron beads, kept bright and
shining, carefully up the leg from the ankle to the bottom of the calf.
Kidgwiga with our cattle arrived in the morning. A bundle of cartridges,
stolen from one of the men's pouches, which we knew could only have been
done by some comrade, was discovered by stopping the rations of flesh.
The guilty person, to save detection, threw it on the road, and allowed
some of the natives to pick it up. Strange as it may appear, the only
motive for this petty theft was the hope of being able to sell the
cartridges for a trifle at Gani. Yaragonjo brought us a present of a
goat and plantains. He was sorry he sent us back yesterday from his
house; and invited us to change ground to another village close by,
where he would make arrangements for our receiving other boats, as the
ones we had in possession must go back. Presuming this to be a very fair
proposition, and thinking we would only have to walk across an elbow of
land where the river bends considerably, we gave him a return-present of
beads, and did as we were bid; but, after moving, it was obvious we had
been sold. We had lost our former boats, and no others were near us;
therefore, feeling angry with Yaragonjo, I walked back to his palace,
taking the presented goat with me, as I knew that would touch the savage
in the most tender part; then flaring up with the officer for treating
the king's orders with contempt, as well as his guests, by sending
us into the jungles like a pack of thieves, whose riddance from his
presence was obviously his only intent, I gave him his goat again, and
said I would have nothing more to say to him, for I should look to the
king for redress.
This frightened him to such an extent that he immediately produced
another and finer goat, which he begged me to accept, promising to
convey all my traps to the next governor's, where there would be no
doubt about our getting boats. He did not intend to deceive us, but
committed an error in not informing us he had no boats of his own; and,
to show his earnestness, accompanied us to the camp. Here I found the
missing calf taken at Koki, and a large deputation of natives awaiting
our arrival. They told me that the Koki governor had taken such fright
in consequence of my anger when I refused his proffered goat, that he
had traced the calf back to Kitwara, and now wished to take Kidgwiga a
prisoner to Kamrasi's for having seized five cows of his, and a woman
from another governor. As yet I had not heard of this piece of rough
justice; and, on inquiry, found out that he had been compelled to do
as he had done, because those officers, on finding we had gone ahead in
boats would not produce the complement of men required of them by the
king's orders for escorting us to Gani; but now they sent the men, the
woman and cows could not be returned, as they had been sent overland by
the ordinary route to the ferry on the Nile.
Of course we would not listen to this reference for justice with
Kamrasi, as the woman and cows were still all alive; commended Kidgwiga
for carrying out his orders so well, and told the officers they had
merited their punishment--as how could the affairs of government be
carried on, when subordinate officers refused immediate compliance? The
submkungu of Northern Gueni, Kasoro, now proffered a goat and plantains,
and everything was settled for the day.
With a full complement of porters, travelling six miles through
cultivation and jungle, we reached the headquarters of governor Kaeru,
where all the porters threw down their loads and bolted, though we were
still two miles from the post. We inquired for the boats at once, but
were told they were some distance off, and we must wait here for the
night. Four pots of pombe were sent us, and Kaeru thought we would be
satisfied and conform. We suspected, however, that there was some trick
at the bottom of all; so, refusing the liquor, we said, with proper
emphasis, "Unless we are forwarded to the boats at once, and get them
on the following morning, we cannot think of receiving presents from any
one." This served our purpose, for a fresh set of porters was found
like magic, and traps, pombe, and all together, were forwarded to
the journey's end--a snug batch of huts imbedded in large plantain
cultivation surrounded by jungle, and obviously near the river,
as numerous huge harpoons, intended for striking hippopotami, were
suspended from the roof. Kaeru here presented us with a goat, and
promised the boats in the morning.
After fighting for the boats, we still had to wait the day for
Kidgwiga and his men, who said it was all very well our pushing ahead,
indifferent as to whether men were enlisted or not, but he had to
prepare for the future also, as he could never recross the Kidi
wilderness by himself; he must have a sufficient number of men to form
his escort, and these were now grinding corn for the journey. Numerous
visitors called on us here, and consequently our picture-books were in
great request. We gave Kaeru some beads.
After walking two miles to the boats, we entered the district of Chopi,
subject to Unyoro, and went down the river, keeping the Kikunguru cone
in view. On arrival at camp, Viarwanjo, the officer of the district, a
very smart fellow, arrived with a large escort of spearmen, presented
pombe, ordered fowls to be seized for us, and promised one boat in
the morning, for he had no more disposable, and even that one he felt
anxious about lest the men on ahead should seize it.
I gave Viarwanjo some beads, and dropped down the river in his only
wretched little canoe--he, with Grant and the traps, going overland. I
caught a fever, and so spent the night.
Here I halted to please Magamba, the governor, who is a relation of
the king. He called in great state, presented a cow and pombe, was much
pleased with the picture-books, and wished to feast his eyes on all
the wonders in the hut. He was very communicative, also, as far as his
limited knowledge permitted. He said the people are only a sub-tribe of
the Madi; and the reason why the right bank of the river is preferred
to the left for travelling is, that Rionga, who lives down the river, is
always on the look-out for Kamrasi's allies, with a view to kill them.
Magamba also, on being questioned, told us about Ururi, a province
of Unyoro, under the jurisdiction of Kimerziri, a noted governor,
who covers his children with bead ornaments, and throws them into the
N'yanza, to prove their identity as his own true offspring; for should
they sink, it stands to reason some other person must be their father;
but should they float, then he recovers them. One of Kamrasi's cousins,
Kaoroti, with his chief officer, called on us, presenting five fowls as
an honorarium. He had little to say, but begged for medicine, and when
given some in a liquid state, said his sub would like some also; then
Kidgwiga's wife, who was left behind, must have some; and as pills were
given for her, the two men must have dry medicine too, to take home with
them. Severe drain as this was on the medicine-chest, Magamba and his
wife must have both wet and dry; and even others put in a claim, but
were told they were too healthy to require physicking. Many Kidi men,
dressed as in the woodcut, crossed the river to visit Kamrasi; they
could not, however, pass us without satisfying their curiosity with
a look. Usually these men despise clothes, and never deign to put
any covering on except out of respect, when visiting Kamrasi. Their
"sou'-wester"-shaped wigs are made of other men's hair, as the
negro hair will not grow long enough. A message came from Ukero, the
governor-general of Chopi, to request we would not go down the river in
boats to-morrow, lest the Chopi ferrymen at the falls should take fright
at our strange appearance, paddle precipitately across the river, hide
their boats, and be seen no more.
We started, leaving all the traps and men to follow, and made this place
in a stride, as a whisper warned me that Kamrasi's officers, who are as
thick as thieves about here, had made up their minds to keep us each one
day at his abode, and show us "hospitality." Such was the case, for
they all tried their powers of persuasion, which failing, they took the
alternative of making my men all drunk, and sending to camp sundry pots
of pombe. The ground on the line of march was highly cultivated, and
intersected by a deep ravine of running water, whose sundry branches
made the surface very irregular. The sand-paper tree, whose leaves
resemble a cat's tongue in roughness, and which is used in Uganda for
polishing their clubs and spear-handles, was conspicuous; but at the
end of the journey only was there anything of much interest to be
seen. There suddenly, in a deep ravine one hundred yards below us, the
formerly placid river, up which vessels of moderate size might steam two
or three abreast, was now changed into a turbulent torrent. Beyond lay
the land of Kidi, a forest of mimosa trees, rising gently away from the
water in soft clouds of green. This, the governor of the place, Kija,
described as a sporting-field, where elephants, hippopotami, and buffalo
are hunted by the occupants of both sides of the river. The elephant is
killed with a new kind of spear, with a double-edged blade a yard long,
and a handle which, weighted in any way most easy, is pear-shaped.
With these instruments in their hands, some men climb into trees
and wait for the herd to pass, whilst others drive them under. The
hippopotami, however, are not hunted, but snared with lunda, the common
tripping-trap with spike-drop, which is placed in the runs of this
animal, described by every South African traveller, and generally known
as far as the Hametic language is spread. The Karuma Falls, if such they
may be called, are a mere sluice or rush of water between high syenitic
stones, falling in a long slope down a ten-feet drop. There are others
of minor importance, and one within ear-sound, down the river, said to
be very grand.
The name given to the Karuma Falls arose from the absurd belief that
Karuma, the agent or familiar of a certain great spirit, placed the
stones that break the waters in the river, and, for so doing, was
applauded by his master, who, to reward his services by an appropriate
distinction, allowed the stones to be called Karuma. Near this is a tree
which contains a spirit whose attributes for gratifying the powers and
pleasures of either men or women who summon its influence in the
form appropriate to each, appear to be almost identical with that of
Mahadeo's Ligna in India.
20th.--We halted for the men to collect and lay in a store of food for
the passage of the Kidi wilderness. Presents of fish, caught in baskets,
were sent us by Kija. They were not bad eating, though all ground
animals of the lowest order. At the Grand Falls below this, Kidgwiga
informs us, the king had the heads of one hundred men, prisoners taken
in war against Rionga, cut off and thrown into the river.
21st and 22d.--The governor, who would not let us go until we saw him,
called on the 22d with a large retinue, attended by a harpist, and
bringing a present of one cow, two loads flour, and three pots of pombe.
He expected a chair to sit upon, and got a box, as at home he has a
throne only a little inferior to Kamrasi's. He was very generous to
Bombay on his former journey to Gani; and then said he thought the
white men were all flocking this way to retake their lost country; for
tradition recorded that the Wahuma were once half-black and half-white,
with half the hair straight and the other half curly; and how was this
to be accounted for, unless the country formerly belonged to white men
with straight hair, but was subsequently taken by black men? We relieved
his apprehensions by telling him his ancestors were formerly all white,
with straight hair, and lived in a country beyond the salt sea, till
they crossed that sea, took possession of Abyssinia, and are now
generally known by the name of Hubshies and Gallas; but neither of these
names was known to him.
On the east, beyond Kidi, he only knew of one clan of Wahuma, a people
who subsist entirely on meat and milk. The sportsmen of this country,
like the Wanyamuezi, plant a convolvulus of extraordinary size by the
side of their huts, and pile the jaw-bones and horns of their spoils
before, as a means of bringing good-luck. This same flower, held in
the hand when a man is searching for anything that he has lost, will
certainly bring him to the missing treasure. In the evening, Kidgwiga,
at the head of his brave army, made one of their theatrical charges on
"Bana" with spear and shield, swearing they would never desert him on
the march, but would die to a man if it were necessary; and if they
deserted him, then might they be deprived of their heads, or of other
personal possessions not much less valuable.
Just as we were ready for crossing the river, a line of Kidi men was
descried filing through the jungle on the opposite side, making their
way for a new-moon visit to Rionga, who occasionally leads them into
battle against Ukero. The last time they fought, two men only were
killed on Kamrasi's side, whilst nine fell on Rionga's. There was
little done besides crossing, for the last cow was brought across as
sunset--the ferrying-toll for the whole being one cow, besides a present
of beads to the head officer. Kidgwiga's party sacrificed two kids, one
on either side the river, flaying them with one long cut each down their
breasts and bellies. These animals were then, spread-eagle fashion,
laid on their backs upon grass and twigs, to be steeped over by the
travellers, that their journey might be prosperous; and the spot
selected for the ordeal was chosen in deference to the Mzimu, or
spirit--a sort of wizard or ecclesiastical patriarch, whose functions
were devoted to the falls.
After a soaking night, we were kept waiting till noon for the forty
porters ordered by Kamrasi, to carry our property to the vessels
wherever they might be. Only twenty-five men arrived, notwithstanding
the wife and one slave belonging to a local officer, who would not
supply the men required of him, were seized and confiscated by Ukero, of
Wire. We now mustered twenty Wanguana, twenty-five country porters, and
thirty-one of Kidgwiga's "children"--making a total, with ourselves, of
seventy-eight souls. By a late arrival a message came from Kamrasi.
Its import was, that we must defer the march, as it was reported the
refractory brother Rionga harboured designs of molesting us on the way,
and therefore the king conceived it prudent to clear the road by first
fighting him. Without heeding this cunning advice, we made a short march
across swamps, and through thick jungle and long grasses, which proved
anything but pleasant--wet and labouring hard all the way.
It was a rainy day, and we had still to toil on fighting with the
grasses. We marched up the wet margin of swamp all day, crossing the
water at a fork near the end. The same jungle prevails on all sides,
excluding all view; and the only signs of man's existence in these wilds
lay in the meagre path, which is often lost, and an occasional hut or
two, the temporary residence of the sporting Kidi people.
After toiling five miles through the same terrible grasses, and crossing
swamp after swamp, we were at last rewarded by a striking view. The
jungles had thinned; we found ourselves unexpectedly standing on the
edge of a plateau, on the west of which, for distance interminable, lay
apparently a low flat country of grass, yellowed by the sun, with a
few trees or shrubs only thinly scattered over the surface; while,
from fifteen to twenty miles in the rear, bearing south by west, stood
conspicuously the hill of Kisuga, said to be situated in Chopi, not far
from the refractory brothers. But this view was only for the moment;
again we dived into the grasses and forced our way along. Presently
elephants were seen, also buffalo; and the guide, to make the journey
propitious, plucked a twig, denuded it of its leaves and branches, waved
it like a wand up the line of march, muttered some unintelligible words
to himself, broke it in twain, and threw the separated bits on either
side of the path.
Immediately after starting, the guide ran up on an ant-hill and pointed
out to us all the glories of the country round. In our rear we could
see back upon Wire and the hill of Kisuga; to the west were the same
low plains of grass; east and by south, the jungles of Kidi; and to the
northward, over downs of grass, the tops of some hills, which marked the
neighbouring village of Koki, which we were making for. Its appearance
in the distance warned us that we were closing on the habitations of
men, and we were told that Bombay had drunk pombe there. Then plunging
through grass again over our heads, and crossing constant swamps, we
arrived at a stream which drains all these lands to westward, and rested
a while that the men might bathe, and also that they might set fire
to the grass as a telegraph to the settlement of Koko, to apprise the
people of our advance, and be ready with their pombe ere our arrival.
Shortly after, towards the close of the day's work, as a solitary
buffalo was seen grazing by a brook, I put a bullet through him, and
allowed the savages the pleasure of despatching him in their own wild
fashion with spears.
It was a sight quite worthy of a little delay. No sooner was it observed
that the huge beast could not retire, than, with springing bounds, the
men, all spear in hand, as if advancing on an enemy, went top speed at
him, over rise and fall alike, till, as they neared the maddened bull,
he instinctively advanced to meet his assailants with the best charge
his exhausted body could muster up. Wind, however, failed him soon; he
knew his disadvantage, and tried to hide by plunging in the water,--the
worst policy he could have pursued, for the men from the bank above him
soon covered him with bristling spears, and gained their victory. Now,
what was to be done with this huge carcass? No one could be induced to
leave it. A cow was ordered as a bribe on reaching camp; but no, the
buffalo was bigger than a cow, and must be quartered on the spot; so,
to gain our object, we went ahead and left the rear men to follow, thus
saving a cow in rations, for we required to slaughter one every day.
By dint of hard perseverance we accomplished ten miles over the same
downs of tall grass with occasional swamps. We saw a herd of hartebeest,
and reached at night a place within easy run of Koki in Gani.
The weather had now become fine. At length we reached the habitations
of men--a collection of conical huts on the ridge of a small chain of
granitic hills lying north-west. As we approached the southern extremity
of this chain, knots of naked men, perched like monkeys on the granite
blocks were anxiously awaiting our arrival. The guides, following the
usages of the country, instead of allowing us to mount the hill and
look out for accommodation at once, desired us to halt, and sent on a
messenger to inform Chongi, the governor-general, that we were visitors
from Kamrasi, who desired he would take care of us and forward us to our
brothers. This Mercury brought forth a hearty welcome; for Chongi had
been appointed governor by Kamrasi of this district, which appears to
have been the extreme northern limit of the originally vast kingdom
of Kittara. All the elite of the place, covered with war-paints, and
dressed, so far as their nakedness was covered at all, like clowns in
a fair, charging down the hill full tilt with their spears, and, after
performing their customary evolutions, mingled with our men, and invited
us up the hill, where we no sooner arrived than Chongi, a very old man,
attended by his familiar, advanced to receive us--one holding a white
hen, the other a small gourd of pombe and a little twig.
Chongi gave us all a friendly harangue by way of greeting; and taking
the fowl by one leg, swayed it to and fro close to the ground in front
of his assembled visitors. After this ceremony had been also repeated
by the familiar, Chongi then took the gourd and twig, and sprinkled
the contents all over us; retired to the Uganga, or magic house--a
very diminutive hut--sprinkled pombe over it; and, finally, spreading a
cow-skin under a tree, bade us sit, and gave us a jorum of pombe, making
many apologies that he could not show us more hospitality, as famine had
reduced his stores. What politeness in the midst of such barbarism!!!
Nowhere had we seen such naked creatures, whose sole dress consisted of
bead, iron, or brass ornaments, with some feathers or cowrie-beads on
the head. Even the women contented themselves with a few fibres hung
like tails before and behind. Some of our men who had seen the Watuta in
Utambara, declared these savages to resemble them in every particular,
save one small specialty in their costume, alluded to in the description
of the Zulu Kafir's dress. The hair of the men was dressed in the same
fantastic fashion, and the women placed half-gourds over the baby as it
rode on its mother's back. They also, like the Kidi people, whom they
much fear, carry diminutive stools to sit upon wherever they go.
Their habitat extends from this to the Asua river, whilst the Madi
occupy all the country west of this meridian to the Nile, which is far
beyond sight. The villages are composed of little conical huts of
grass, on a framework of bamboo raised above low mud walls. There are no
sultans here of any consequence, each village appointing its own chief.
The granitic hills, like those of Unyamuezi, are extremely pretty,
and clad with trees, contrasting strangely with the grassy downs of
indefinite extend around, which give the place, when compared with the
people, the appearance of a paradise within the infernal regions. From
the site of Koki we saw the hills behind which, according to Bombay,
Petherick was situated with his vessels; and we also saw a nearer hill,
behind which his advanced post of elephant-hunters were waiting our
arrival.
I tried to ascertain if there were any prefixes, as in the South African
dialects, by which one might determine the difference between the people
and the country; but I was assured that both here and in the adjacent
countries these people saw Chopi, Kidi, Gani, Madi, Bari, alike for
person and place, though Jo in their language is the equivalent for
Wa in South Africa, and Dano takes the place of Mtu. All the words and
system of language were wholly changed--as for example, Poko poko wingi
bongo, means "we do not understand"; Mazi, "fire"; Pi, "water"; Pe,
"there is none"; Bugra, "cow." In sound, the language of these people
resembles that of the Tibet Tartars. Chongi considers himself the
greatest man in the country, and of noble descent, his great-grandfather
having been a Mhuma, born at Ururi, in Unyoro, and appointed by the then
reigning king to rule over this country, and keep the Kidi people in
check.
30th.--We halted at the earnest solicitation of Chongi, as well as of
the Chopi porters, who said they required a day to lay in grain, as the
Wichwezi, or mendicant sorcerers--for so they thought fit to designate
Petherick's elephant-hunters--had eaten up the country all about them,
and those who went before with Bombay to visit their camp could get no
food.
1st.--We halted again at the request of all parties, and much to the
delight of old Chongi, who supplied us with abundant pombe, promised
a cow, that we should not be put to any extra expense by stopping, and
said that without fail he would furnish us with guides who knew a short
cut across country, by which we might reach the Wichwesi camp in one
march, instead of going by the circuitous route which Bombay formerly
took. The cow, however, never came, as the old man did not intend to
give his own, and his officers refused to obey his orders in giving one
of theirs.
We left Koki with difficulty, in consequence of the Chopi porters
refusing to carry any loads, leaving the burden of lifting them on
the country people, as they said, "We have endured all the trouble and
hardships of bringing these visitors through the wilderness; and now,
as they have visited you, it is your place to help them on." The
consequence was, we had to engage fresh porters at every village, each
in turn saying he had done all the work which with justice fell to his
lot, till at last we arrived at the borders of a jungle, where the men
last engaged, feeling tired of their work, pleaded ignorance of the
direct road, and turned off to the longer one, where villages and men
were in abundance, thus upsetting all our plans, and doubling the actual
distance.
To pass the night half-way was now imperative, as we had been the whole
day travelling without making good much ground. From the Gani people we
had, without any visible change, mingled with the Madi people, who dress
in the same naked fashion as their neighbours, and use bows and arrows.
Their villages were all surrounded with bomas (fences), and the country
in its general aspect resembled that of Northern Unyamuezi. At one
place, the good-natured simple people, as soon as we reached their
village, spread a skin, deposited a stool upon it, and placed in front
two pots of pombe. At the village where we put up, however, the women
and children of the head man at first all ran away, and the head man
himself was very shy of us, thinking we were some unearthly creatures.
He became more reconciled to us, however, when he perceived we fed like
rational beings; and, calling his family in by midnight, presented
us with pombe, and made many apologies for having allowed us to dine
without a drop of his beer, for he was very glad to see us.
Chapter XX. Madi
Junction of the Two Hemispheres--The First Contact with Persons
Acquainted with European Habits--Interruptions and Plots--The Mysterious
Mahamed--Native Revelries--The Plundering and Tyranny of the Turks--The
Rascalities of the Ivory Trade--Feeling for the Nile--Taken to see a
Mark left by a European--Buffalo, Eland, and Rhinoceros Stalking--Meet
Baker--Petherick's Arrival at Gondokoro.
After receiving more pombe from the chief, and, strange to say, hot
water to wash with--for he did not know how else to show hospitality
better--we started again in the same straggling manner as yesterday. In
two hours we reached the palace of Piejoko, a chief of some pretensions,
and were summoned to stop and drink pombe. In my haste to meet
Petherick's expedition, I would listen to nothing, but pushed rapidly
on, despite all entreaties to stop, both from the chief and from my
porters, who, I saw clearly, wished to do me out of another day.
Half of my men, however, did stop there, but with the other half Grant
and I went on; and, as the sun was setting, we came in sight of what we
thought was Petherick's outpost, N. lat. 3° 10' 33", and E. long. 21°
50' 45". My men, as happy as we were ourselves, now begged I would allow
them to fire their guns, and prepare the Turks for our reception. Crack,
bang, went their carbines, and in another instant crack, bang, was heard
from the northerners' camp, when, like a swarms of bees, every height
and other conspicuous place was covered with men. Our hearts leapt
with an excitement of joy only known to those who have escaped from
long-continued banishment among barbarians, once more to meet with
civilised people, and join old friends. Every minute increased this
excitement. We saw three large red flags heading a military procession,
which marched out of the camp with drums and fifes playing. I halted
and allowed them to draw near. When they did so, a very black man, named
Mahamed, in full Egyptian regimentals, with a curved sword, ordered his
regiment to halt, and threw himself into my arms, endeavouring to
hug and kiss me. Rather staggered at this unexpected manifestation of
affection, which was like a conjunction of the two hemispheres, I gave
him a squeeze in return for his hug, but raised my head above the reach
of his lips, and asked who was his master? "Petrik," was the reply. "And
where is Petherick now?" "Oh, he is coming." "How is it you have not
got English colours, then?" "The colours are Debono's." "Who is Debono?"
"The same as Petrik; but come along into my camp, and let us talk it out
there;" saying which, Mahamed ordered his regiment (a ragamuffin mixture
of Nubians, Egyptians, and slaves of all sorts, about two hundred in
number) to rightabout, and we were guided by him, whilst his men kept up
an incessant drumming and fifing, presenting arms and firing, until we
reached his huts, situated in a village kept exactly in the same order
as that of the natives. Mahamed then gave us two beds to sit upon, and
ordered his wives to advance on their knees and give us coffee, whilst
other men brought pombe, and prepared us a dinner of bread and honey and
mutton.
A large shed was cleared for Grant and myself, and all my men were
ordered to disperse, and chum in ones and twos with Mahamed's men; for
Mahamed said, now we had come there, his work was finished. "If that is
the case," I said, "tell us your orders; there must be some letters." He
said, "No, I have no letters or written orders; though I have directions
to take you to Gondokoro as soon as you come. I am Debono's Vakil,
and am glad you are come, for we are all tired of waiting for you. Our
business has been to collect ivory whilst waiting for you." I said, "How
is it Petherick has not come here to meet me? is he married?" "Yes, he
is married; and both he and his wife ride fore-and-aft on one animal at
Khartum." "Well, then, where is the tree you told Bombay you would
point out to us with Petherick's name on it?" "Oh, that is on the way to
Gondokoro. It was not Petherick who wrote, but some one else, who told
me to look out for your coming this way. We don't know his name, but he
said if we pointed it out to you, you would know at once."
4th.--After spending the night as Mahamed's guest, I strolled round the
place to see what it was like, and found the Turks were all married to
the women of the country, whom they had dressed in clothes and beads.
Their children were many, with a prospect of more. Temporary marriages,
however, were more common than others--as, in addition to their slaves,
they hired the daughters of the villagers, who remained with them whilst
they were trading here, but went back to their parents when they marched
to Gondokoro. They had also many hundreds of cattle, which it was
said they had plundered from the natives, and now used for food, or to
exchange for ivory, or other purposes. The scenery and situation were
perfect for health and beauty. The settlement lay at the foot of
small, well-wooded granitic hills, even prettier than the outcrops of
Unyamuezi, and was intersected by clear streams.
At noon, all the rear troops arrived with Bombay and Piejoko in person.
This good creature had treated Bombay very handsomely on his former
journey. He said he felt greatly disappointed at my pushing past him
yesterday, as he wished to give me a cow, but still hoped I would go
over and make friends with him. I gave him some beads and off he walked.
Old Chongi's "children," who had escorted us all the way from Kamrasi's,
then took some beads and cast-off clothes for themselves and their
father, and left us in good-humour.
This reduced the expedition establishment to my men and Kidgwiga's. With
these, now, as there was no letter from Petherick, I ordered a march for
the next morning, but at once met with opposition. Mahamed told me that
there were no vessels at Gondokoro; we must wait two months, by which
time he expected they would arrive there, and some one would come to
meet him with beads. I said in answer, that Petherick had promised to
have boats there all the year round, so I would not wait. "Then," said
Mahamed, "we cannot go with you, for there is a famine at this season
at Gondokoro." I said, "Never mind; do you give me an interpreter, and
I will go as I am." "No," said Mahamed, "that will not do, as the Bari
people are so savage, you could not get through them with so small a
force; besides which, just now there is a stream which cannot be crossed
for a month or more."
Unable to stand Mahamed's shifting devices with equanimity any longer,
I accused him of trying to trick me in the same way as all the common
savage chiefs had done wherever I went, because they wished me to stop
for their own satisfaction, quite disregarding my wishes and interest;
so I said I would not stop there any longer I would raft over the river,
and find my way through the Bari, as I had through the rest of the
African savages. We talked and talked, but could make nothing of it. I
maintained that if he was commissioned to help me, he at least could
not refuse to give me a guide and interpreter; when, if I failed in the
direct route, I would try another, but go I must, as I could not hold
out any longer, being short of beads and cows. I had just enough, but
none to spare. He told me not to think of such a thing, as he would give
me all that was needful, both for myself and my men; but if I would have
patience, he would collect all his officers, and the next morning would
see what their opinions were on the subject.
5th.--I found that every one of Mahamed's men was against our going
to Gondokoro. They told me, in fact, with one voice, that it was quite
impossible; but they said, if I liked they would furnish me guides
to escort me on ten marches to a depot at the further end of the Madi
country, and if I chose to wait there until they could collect all
their ivory tusks together and join us, we would be a united party too
formidable to be resisted by the Bari people. This offer of immediate
guides I of course accepted at once, as to keep on the move was my only
desire at that time; for my men were all drunk, and Kidgwiga's were
deserting. Once more on the way, I did not despair of reaching
Gondokoro by myself. In the best good-humour now, I showed Mahamed our
picture-books: and as he said he always drilled his two hundred men
every Friday, I said I would, if he liked, command them myself. This
being agreed to, all the men turned out in their best, and, to
my surprise, they not only knew the Turkish words of command, but
manoeuvred with some show of good training; though, as might have been
expected with men of this ragamuffin stamp, all the privates gave orders
as well as their captains.
When the review was over, I complimented Mahamed on the efficiency of
his corps, and, retiring to my hut, as I thought I had him now in a
good-humour, again discussed our plans for going ahead the next day.
Scarcely able to look me in the face, the humbugging scoundrel said he
could not think of allowing me to go on without him, for if any accident
happened he would be blamed for it. At the same time, he could not move
for a few days, as he expected a party of men to arrive about the next
new moon with ivory. My hurry he thought was uncalled for; for, as I
had spent so many days with Kamrasi, why could I not be content to do so
with him?
I was provoked beyond measure with this, as it upset all my plans.
Kidgwiga's men were deserting, and I feared I should not be able to keep
my promise to Kamrasi of sending him another white visitor, who
would perhaps do what I had left undone, when I did not follow up the
connection of the Little Luta Nzige with the Nile. We battled away
again, and then Mahamed said there was not one man in his camp who would
go with me until their crops were cut and taken in; for whilst residing
here they grew grain for their support. We battled again, and Mahamed
at last, out of patience himself, said, "Just look here, what a fix I
am in," showing me a hut full of ivory. "Who," he said, "is to carry all
this until the natives have got in their crops?" This, I said, so far
as I was concerned, was all nonsense. I merely had asked him for a guide
and interpreter, for go I must. In a huff he then absconded; and my
men--those of them who were not too drunk--came and said to me, "For
Godsake let us stop here. Mahamed says the road is too dangerous for us
to go alone; he has promised to carry all our loads for us if we stop;
and all Kamrasi's men are running away, because they are afraid to go
on."
6th.--Next morning I called Kidgwiga, and begged him to procure two men
as guides and interpreters. He said he could not find any. I then went
at Mahamed again, who first said he would give me the two men I wanted,
then went off, and sent word to say he would not be visible for three
days. This was too much for my patience, so I ordered all my things to
be tied up in marching order, and gave out that I should leave and find
out the way myself the following morning. Like an evil spirit stirred
up, my preparations for going no sooner were heard of than Mahamed
appeared again, and after a long and sharp contest in words, he promised
us guides if I would consent to write him a note, testifying that my
going was against his expressed desire.
This was done; but the next morning (7th), after our things were put
out for the march, all Kidgwiga's men bolted, and no guides would take
service with us. It was now obvious that, even supposing I succeeded in
taking Kidgwiga to Gondokoro, he would not have a sufficient escort to
come back with, unless, indeed, it happened that Englishmen might be
there who might wish to carry out my investigations by penetrating to
the Little Luta Nzige, and to pay a visit to Kamrasi. I therefore called
Kidgwiga, and after explaining these circumstances, advised him to go
back to Kamrasi. He was loth to leave, he said, until his commission was
fully performed; but as I thought it advisable, he would consent. I then
gave him a double gun and ammunition, as well as some very rich beads
which I obtained from Mahamed's stores, to take back to Kamrasi, with
orders to say that, as soon as I reached Gondokoro or Khartum, I would
send another white man to him--not by the way I had come through Kidi,
but by the left bank of the Nile: to which Kidgwiga replied, "That will
do famously, for Kamrasi will change his residence soon, and come on the
Nile this side of Rionga's palace, in order that he may cut in between
his brother and the Turks' guns."
After this, I gave a lot of rich beads to Kidgwiga for himself, and a
lot also for the senior officers at the Chopi and Kamrasi's palaces, and
sent the whole set off as happy as birds. When these men were gone, I
tried to get up an elephant-shooting excursion due west of this, with a
view to see where the Nile was, for I would not believe it was very far
off, although no one as yet, since I left Chopi, either would or could
tell me where the stream had gone to.
8th. Mahamed professed to be delighted I had made up my mind to such
a scheme. He called the heads of the villages to give me all the
information I sought for, and went with me to the top of a high rock,
from which we could see the hills I first viewed at Chopi, sweeping
round from south by east to north, which demarked the line of the Asua
river. The Nile at that moment was, I believed, not very far off; yet,
do or say what I would, everybody said it was fifteen marches off, and
could not be visited under a month. [25] It would be necessary for me
to take thirty-six of Mahamed's men, besides all my own, to go there,
which, he said, I was welcome to, but I should have to pay them for
their services. This was a damper at once.
I knew in my mind all these reports were false, but, rather than be out
of the way when the time came for marching, I agreed to wait patiently,
write the history of the Wahuma, and make collections, till Mahamed was
ready, trusting that I might find some one at Gondokoro who would finish
what I had left undone; or else, after arriving there, I might go up the
Nile in boats and see for myself. The same evening I was attracted by
the sound of drums to a neighbouring village, where, by the moonlight,
I found the natives were dancing. A more indecent or savage spectacle
I never witnessed. The whole place was alive with naked humanity in a
state of constant motion. Drawing near, I found that a number of drums
were beaten by men in the centre. Next to them was a deep ring of women,
half of whom carried their babies; and outside these again was a still
deeper circle of men, some blowing horns, but most holding their spears
erect. To the sound of the music both these rings of the opposite sexes
kept jumping and sidling round and round the drummers, making the most
grotesque and obscene motions to one another.
9th to 14th.--Nothing of material consequence happened until the 14th,
when eighty of Rionga's men brought in two slaves and thirty tusks of
ivory, as a present to Mahamed. Of course, I knew this was a bribe to
induce Mahamed to fight with Rionga against Kamrasi; but, counting
that no affair of mine, I tried to induce these men to give me some
geographical information of the countries they had just left. Not one of
them would come near me, for they knew I was friends with Kamrasi; and
Mahamed's men, when they saw mine attempting to converse with them,
abused them for "prying into other men's concerns." "These men,"
they said, "are our friends, and not yours; if we choose to give them
presents of cloth and beads, and they give us a return in ivory, what
is that to you?" Mysterious Mahamed next came to me, and begged for a
blanket, as he said he was going off for a few days to a depot where he
had some ivory; and he also wanted to borrow a musket, as one of his had
been burnt.
My suspicions and even apprehensions, were now greatly excited. I began
to think he had prevailed on me to stop here, that I might hold the
place whilst he went to fight Kamrasi with Rionga's men; so I begged
him to listen to my advice, and not attempt to cross the Nile, "else,"
I said, "all his guns would be taken from him, and his passage back cut
off." At once he saw the drift of my thought, and said he was not going
towards the Nile, but on the contrary, he was going with Rionga's men in
the opposite direction, to a place called Paira. "If that is the case,"
I said, "why do you want a gun?" "Because there are some other matters
to settle. I shall not be long away, and my men will take care of
you whilst I am gone." I gave him the blanket after this, but was too
suspicious of his object to lend him a gun.
15th to 20th.--I saw Mahamed march his regiment out of the place, drums
and fifes playing, colours flying, a hundred guns firing, officers
riding,--some of them on donkeys and others--yes, actually on cows!
whilst a host of the natives, Rionga's men included, carrying spears and
bows and arrows, looked little like a peaceful caravan of merchants, but
very much resembled a band of marauders. After this I heard they were
not going to Rionga himself, but were going to show Rionga's men the way
that they made friends with old Chongi of Koki. In reality, Chongi had
invited Mahamed to fight against an enemy of his, in whose territories
immense stores of ivory were said to be buried, and the people had an
endless number of cattle--for they lived by plunder, and had lifted most
of old Chongi's; and this was the service on which the expedition had
set off.
21st to 31st.--I had constantly wondered, ever since I first came here,
and saw the brutal manner in which the Turks treated the natives, that
these Madi people could submit to their "Egyptian taskmasters," and
therefore was not surprised now to find them pull down their huts and
march off with the materials to a distant site. Every day this sort of
migration continued, just as you see in the picture; and nothing more
important occurred until Christmas-day, when an armadillo was caught,
and I heard from Mahamed's head wife that the Turks had plundered and
burnt down three villages, and in all probability they would return
shortly laden with ivory. This was a true anticipation; for, on the
31st, Mahamed came in with his triumphant army laden with ivory, and
driving in five slave-girls and thirty head of cattle.
1st to 3d.--I now wished to go on with the journey, as I could get no
true information out of the suspicious blackguards who called themselves
Turks; but Mahamed postponed it until the 5th, by which time he said
he would be able to collect all the men he wanted to carry his ivory.
Rionga's men then departed, and Mahamed showed some signs of getting
ready by ordering one dozen cows to be killed, the flesh of which was
to be divided amongst those villagers who would carry his ivory, and
the skins to be cut into thongs for binding the smaller tusks of ivory
together in suitable loads.
4th and 5th.--Another specimen of Turkish barbarity came under my
notice, in the head man of a village bringing a large tusk of ivory to
Mahamed, to ransom his daughter with; for she had been seized as a slave
on his last expedition, in common with others who could not run away
fast enough to save themselves from the Turks. Fortunately for both,
it was thought necessary for the Turks to keep on good terms with the
father as an influential man; and therefore, on receiving the tusk,
Mahamed gave back the girl, and added a cow to seal their friendship.
6th to 10th.--I saw this land-pirate Mahamed take a blackmail like a
negro chief. Some men who had fled from their village when Mahamed's
plundering party passed by them the other day, surprised that he did not
stop to sack their homes, now brought ten large tusks of ivory to him
to express the gratitude they said they felt for his not having molested
them. Mahamed, on finding how easy it was to get taxes in this fashion,
instead of thanking them, assumed the air of the great potentate, whose
clemency was abused, and told the poor creatures that, though they
had done well in seeking his friendship, they had not sufficiently
considered his dignity, else they would have brought double that number
of tusks, for it was impossible he could be satisfied at so low a price.
"What," said these poor creatures, "can we do then? for this is all we
have got." "Oh," says Mahamed, "if it is all you have got now in store,
I will take these few for the present; but when I return from Gondokoro,
I expect you will bring me just as many more. Good-bye, and look out for
yourselves."
Tired beyond all measure with Mahamed's procrastination, as I could not
get him to start, I now started myself, much to his disgust, and went
ahead again, leaving word that I would wait for him at the next place,
provided he did not delay more than one day. The march led us over long
rolling downs of grass, where we saw a good many antelopes feeding;
and after going ten miles, we came, among other villages, to one named
Panyoro, in which we found it convenient to put up. At first all the
villagers, thinking us Turks, bolted away with their cattle and what
stores they could carry; but, after finding out who we were, they
returned again, and gave us a good reception, helping us to rig up a
shed with grass, and bringing a cow and some milk for our dinner.
12th.--To-day I went out shooting, but though I saw and fired at a
rhinoceros, as well as many varieties of antelopes, I did not succeed in
killing one head. All my men were surprised as well as myself; and the
villagers who were escorting me in the hope of getting flesh, were so
annoyed at their disappointment, they offered to cut my fore-finger with
a spear and spit on it for good-luck. Joining in their talk, I told them
the powder must be crooked; but, on inspecting my rifle closer, I found
that the sights had been knocked on one side a little, and this created
a general laugh at all in turn. Going home from the shooting, I found
all the villagers bolting again with their cattle and stores, and, on
looking towards Faloro, saw a party of Turks coming.
As well as I could I reassured the villagers, and brought them back
again, when they said to me, "Oh, what have you done? We were so happy
yesterday when we found out who you were, but now we see you have
brought those men, all our hearts have sunk again; for they beat us,
they make us carry their loads, and they rob us in such a manner, we
know not what to do." I told them I would protect them if they would
keep quiet; and, when the Turks came, I told them what I had said to the
head man. They were the vanguard of Mahamed's party, and said they had
orders to march on as far as Apuddo with me, where we must all stop
for Mahamed, who, as well as he could, was collecting men. There was
a certain tree near Apuddo which was marked by an Englishman two years
ago, and this, Mahamed thought, would keep us amused.
The next march brought us to Paira, a collection of villages within
sight of the Nile. It was truly ridiculous; here had we been at Faloro
so long, and yet could not make out what had become of the Nile. In
appearance it was a noble stream, flowing on a flat bed from west to
east, and immediately beyond it were the Jbl (hills) Kuku, rising up to
a height of 2000 feet above the river. Still we could not make out all,
until the following day, when we made a march parallel to the Nile, and
arrived at Jaifi.
This was a collection of huts close to a deep nullah which drains The
central portions of Eastern Madi. At this place the Turks killed a
crocodile and ate him on the spot, much to the amusement of my men, who
immediately shook their heads, laughingly, and said, "Ewa, Allah! are
these men, then, Mussulmans? Savages in our country don't much like a
crocodile."
After crossing two nullahs, we reached Apuddo, and at once, I went to
see the tree said to have been cut by an Englishman some time before.
There, sure enough, was a mark, something like the letters M. I., on its
bark, but not distinct enough to be ascertained, because the bark had
healed up. In describing the individual who had done this, the Turks
said he was exactly like myself, for he had a long beard, and a voice
even much resembling mine. He came thus far with Mahamed from Gondokoro
two years ago, and then returned, because he was alarmed at the accounts
the people gave of the countries to the southward, and he did not like
the prospect of having to remain a whole rainy season with Mahamed at
Faloro. He knew we were endeavouring to come this way, and directed
Mahamed to point out his name if we did so.
We took up our quarters in the village as usual, but the Turks remained
outside, and carried off all the tops of the villagers' huts to make a
camp for themselves. I rebuked them for doing so, but was mildly told
they had no huts of their own. They carried no pots either for cooking
their dinners, and therefore took from the villagers all that they
wanted. It was a fixed custom now, they told us, and there was no use in
our trying to struggle against it. If the natives were wise, they would
make enough to sell; but as they would not, they must put up with their
lot; for the "government" cannot be baulked of its ivory. Truly there
seemed to be nothing but misery here; food was so scarce the villagers
sought for wild berries and fruits; whilst the Turks helped themselves
out of their half-filled bins--a small reserve store to last up to the
far-distant harvest. Then, to make matters worse, all the village chiefs
were at war with one another.
At night a party of warriors walked round our village, but feared to
attack it because we were inside. Next morning the villagers turned out
and killed two of the enemy; but the rest, whilst retreating, sang out
that they would not attempt to fight until "the guns" were gone--after
that, the villagers had better look out for themselves. I now proposed
going on if the Apina, or chief of the village, would give me a guide;
but he feared to do so lest I should come to grief, and Mahamed would
then be down upon him. Struggling was useless, for I had no beads to
pay my way with, and my cows were now all finished; so I took the matter
quietly, and went out foraging with the rifle.
18th and 19th.--Antelopes were numerous, but so wild I could not get
near them. On bending round homewards, however, three buffaloes, feeding
in the distance, on the top of a roll of high ground beyond where we
stood, were observed by the natives, who had flocked out in the hopes of
getting flesh. To stalk them, I went up wind to near where I expected to
find them; then bidding the natives lie down, I stole along through the
grass until at last I saw three pairs of horns glistening quite close
in front of me. Anxious lest they should take sudden fright, I gently
raised myself, wishing to fire, but I was quite puzzled; there was no
mistake about what they were; still, look from as high as I would, I
could not see their bodies. The thought never struck me they were lying
down in such open ground in the day-time; so, as I could not go closer
without driving them off, I took a shot with my single rifle at where I
judged the chest of the nearest one ought to be, and then discovered my
error. In an instant all three sprang on their legs and scampered off. I
began loading, but before I had half accomplished my object, those three
had mingled with the three previously seen grazing, and all six together
came charging straight at me. I really thought I should now catch a
toss, if I were not trampled to death; but suddenly, as they saw me
standing, whether from fear or what else I cannot say, they changed
their ferocious-looking design, swerved round, and galloped off as fast
as their legs could carry them. This was bad luck; but Grant made up for
it the next day by killing a very fine buck nsamma.
20th.--I went again after the herd of six buffaloes, as I thought one
was wounded, and after walking up a long sloping hill for three miles
towards the east, I found myself at once in view of the Nile on one
hand, and the long-heard-of Asua river on the other, backed by hills
even higher than the Jbl Kuku. The bed of the Asua seemed very large,
but, being far off, was not very distinct, nor did I care to go and see
it them; for at that moment, straight in front of me, five buffaloes,
five giraffes, two eland and sundry other antelopes, were too strong a
temptation.
The place looked like a park, and I began stalking in it, first at the
eland, as I wanted to see if they corresponded with those I shot in
Usagara; but the gawky giraffes, always in the way, gave the alarm, and
drove all but two of the buffaloes away. At these two I now went with
my only rifle, leaving the servants and savages behind. They were out
in the open grass feeding composedly, so that I stole up to within forty
yards of them, and then, in a small naked patch of ground, I waited my
opportunity, and put a ball behind the shoulder of the larger one. At
the sound of the gun, in an instant both bulls charged, but they pulled
up in the same naked ground as myself, sniffing and tossing their horns,
while looking out for their antagonist, who, as quick as themselves, had
thrown himself flat on the ground.
There we were, like three fools, for twenty minutes or so; one of the
buffaloes bleeding at the mouth and with a broken hind-leg, for the
bullet had traversed his body, and the other turning round and round
looking out for me, while I was anxiously watching him, and by degrees
loading my gun. When ready, I tried a shot at the sound one, but the cap
snapped and nearly betrayed me, for they both stared at the spot where I
lay--the sound one sniffing the air and tossing his horns, but the other
bleeding considerably. Some minutes more passed in this manner, when
they allowed me to breathe freer by walking away. I followed, of course,
but could not get a good chance; so, as the night set in, I let them
alone for the time being, to get out the following morning.
21st and 22d.--At the place where I left off, I now sprang a large
herd of fifty or more buffaloes, and followed them for a mile, when the
wounded one, quite exhausted from the fatigue, pulled up for a charge,
and allowed me to knock him over. This was glorious fun for the
villagers, who cut him up on the spot and brought him home. Of course,
one half the flesh was given to them, in return for which they brought
us some small delicacies to show their gratitude; for, as they truly
remarked, until we came to their village they never knew what it was to
get a present, or any other gift by a good thrashing.
23d.--To-day I tried the ground again, and, whilst walking up the hill,
two black rhinoceros came trotting towards us in a very excited manner.
I did not wish to fire at them, as what few bullets remained in my store
I wished to reserve in better sport, and therefore for the time being,
let them alone. Presently, however, they separated; one passed in front
of us, stopped to drink in a pool, and then lay down in it. Not heeding
him, I walked up the hill, whilst the other rhinoceros, still trotting,
suddenly turned round and came to drink within fifty yards of us,
obstructing my path; this was too much of a joke; so, to save time, I
gave him a bullet, and knocked him over. To my surprise, the natives who
were with me would not touch his flesh, though pressed by me to "n'yam
n'yam," or to eat. I found that they considered him an unclean beast;
so, regretting I had wasted my bullet, I went farther on and startled
some buffaloes.
Though I got very near them, however, a small antelope springing up in
front of me scared them away, and I could not get a front shot at any
of them. Thus the whole day was thrown away, for I had to return
empty-handed.
24th to 30th.--Grant and I after this kept our pot boiling by shooting
three more antelopes; but nothing of consequence transpired until the
30th, when Bukhet, Mahamed's factotum, arrived with the greater part
of the Turk's property. He then confirmed a report we had heard before,
that, some days previously, Mahamed had ordered Bukhet to go ahead and
join us, which he attempted to do; but, on arrival at Panyoro, his
party had a row with the villagers, and lost their property. Bukhet then
returned to Mahamed and reported his defeat and losses; upon hearing
which, Mahamed at once said to him, "What do you mean by returning to
me empty-handed? Go back at once and recover your things else how can I
make my report at Gondokoro?" With these peremptory orders Bukhet went
back to Panyoro, and commenced to attack it. The contest did not last
long; for, after three of Bukhet's men had been wounded, he set fire to
the villages, killed fifteen of the natives, and, besides recovering his
own lost property, took one hundred cows.
31st.--To-day Mahamed came in, and commenced to arrange for the march
onwards. This, however, was no easy matter, for the Turks alone required
six hundred porters--half that number to carry their ivory, and the
other half to carry their beds and bedding; whilst from fifty to sixty
men was the most a village had to spare, and all the village chiefs were
at enmity with one another. The plan adopted by Mahamed was, to summon
the heads of all the villages to come to him, failing which, he would
seize all their belongings. Then, having once got them together, he
ordered them all to furnish him with so many porters a-head, saying he
demanded it of them, for the "great government's property" could not be
left on the ground. Their separate interests must now be sacrificed, and
their feuds suspended: and if he heard, on his return again, that one
village had taken advantage of the other's weakness caused by their
employment in his service, he would then not spare his bullets,--so they
might look out for themselves.
Some of the Turks, having found ninty-nine eggs in a crocodile's nest,
had a grand feast. They gave us two of the eggs, which we ate, but did
not like, for they had a highly musky flavour.
1st.--On the 1st of February we went ahead again, with Bukhet and the
first half of Mahamed's establishment, as a sufficient number of men
could not be collected at once to move all together. In a little while
we struck on the Nile, where it was running like a fine Highland stream
between the gneiss and mica-schist hills of Kuku, and followed it down
to near where the Asua river joined it. For a while we sat here watching
the water, which was greatly discoloured, and floating down rushes. The
river was not as full as it was when we crossed it at the Karuma Falls,
yet, according to Dr Khoblecher's [26] account, it ought to have been
flooding just at this time: if so, we had beaten the stream. Here we
left it again as it arched round by the west, and forded the Asua river,
a stiff rocky stream, deep enough to reach the breast when waded, but
not very broad. It did not appear to me as if connected with Victoria
N'yanza, as the waters were falling, and not much discoloured; whereas
judging from the Nile's condition, it ought to have been rising. No
vessel ever could have gone up it, and it bore no comparison with the
Nile itself. The exaggerated account of its volume, however, given by
the expeditionists who were sent up the Nile by Mehemet Ali, did not
surprise us, since they had mistaken its position; for we were now 3°
42' north, and therefore had passed their "farthest point" by twenty
miles.
In two hours more we reached a settlement called Madi, and found it
deserted. Every man and woman had run off into the jungles from fright,
and would not come back again. We wished ourselves at the end of the
journey; thought anything better than this kind of existence--living
entirely at the expense of others; even the fleecings in Usui felt less
dispiriting; but it could not be helped, for it must always exist as
long as these Turks are allowed to ride rough-shod over the people. The
Turks, however, had their losses also; for on the way four Bari men
and one Bari slave-girl slipped off with a hundred of their plundered
cattle, and neither they nor the cattle could be found again. Mijalwa
was here convicted of having stolen the cloth of a Turk whilst living in
his hut when he was away at the Paira plundering and got fifty lashes to
teach him better behaviour for the future.
A party of fifty men came from Labure, a station on ahead of this, to
take service as porters, knowing that at this season the Turks always
come with a large herd of plundered cattle, which they call government
property, and give in payment to the men who carry their tusks of ivory
across the Bari country.
We now marched over a rolling ground, covered in some places with
bush-jungle, in others with villages, where there were fine trees,
resembling oaks in their outward appearance; and stopping one night at
the settlement of Barwudi, arrived at Labure, where we had to halt a day
for Mahamed to collect some ivory from a depot he had formed near by.
We heard there was another ivory party collecting tusks at Obbo, a
settlement in the country of Panuquara, twenty miles east of this.
Next we crossed a nullah draining into the Nile, and, travelling over
more rolling ground, flanked on the right by a range of small hills, put
up at the Madi frontier station, Mugi, where we had to halt two days to
collect a full complement of porters to traverse the Bari country, the
people of which are denounced as barbarians by the Turks, because they
will not submit to be bullied into carrying their tusks for them. Here
we felt an earthquake. The people would not take beads, preferring, they
said, to make necklaces and belts out of ostrich-eggs, which they cut
into the size of small shirt-buttons, and then drill a hole through
their centre to string them together. A passenger told us that three
white men had just arrived in vessels at Gondokoro; and the Bari people,
hearing of our advance, instead of trying to kill us with spears,
had determined to poison all the water in their country. Mahamed now
disposed of half of his herd of cows, giving them to the chiefs of the
villages in return for porters. These, he said, were all that belonged
to the government; for the half of all captures of cows, as well as all
slaves, all goats, and sheep, were allowed to the men as part of their
pay.
When all was settled we marched, one thousand strong, to Wurungi; and
next day, by a double march, arrived at Marson, in the Bari country. I
wished still to put up in the native villages, but Mahamed so terrified
all my men, by saying these Bari would kill us in the night if we
did not all sleep together in one large camp, that we were obliged to
submit. The country, still flanked on the right by hills, was undulating
and very prettily wooded. Villages were numerous, but as we passed them
the inhabitants all fled from us, save a few men, who, bolder than the
rest, would stand and look on at us as we marched along. Both night and
morning the Turks beat their drums; and whenever they stopped to eat
they sacked the villages.
Pushing on by degrees, stopping at noon to eat, we came again in
sight of the Nile, and put up at a station called Doro, within a short
distance of the well-known hill Rijeb, where Nile voyagers delight in
cutting their names. The country continued the same, but the grass was
conspicuously becoming shorter and finer every day--so much so, that my
men all declared it was a sign of our near approach to England. After
we had settled down for the night, and the Turks had finished plundering
the nearest villages, we heard two guns fired, and immediately
afterwards the whole place was alive with Bari people. Their drums were
beaten as a sign that they would attack us, and the war-drums of the
villages around responded by beating also. The Turks grew somewhat
alarmed at this, and as darkness began to set in, sent out patrols in
addition to their nightly watches. The savages next tried to steal in
on us, but were soon frightened off by the patrols cocking their guns.
Then, seeing themselves defeated in that tactic, they collected in
hundreds in front of us, set fire to the grass, and marched up and
down, brandishing ignited grass in their hands, howling like demons, and
swearing they would annihilate us in the morning.
We slept the night out, nevertheless, and next morning walked in to
Gondokoro, N. Lat. 4° 54' 5", and E. long. 31° 46' 9", where Mahamed,
after firing a salute, took us in to see a Circassian merchant, named
Kurshid Agha. Our first inquiry was, of course, for Petherick. A
mysterious silence ensued; we were informed that Mr Debono was THE man
we had to thank for the assistance we had received in coming from Madi;
and then in hot haste, after warm exchanges of greeting with Mahamed's
friend, who was Debono's agent here, we took leave, to hunt up
Petherick. Walking down the bank of the river--where a line of vessels
was moored, and on the right hand a few sheds, one-half broken down,
with a brick-built house representing the late Austrian Church Mission
establishment--we saw hurrying on towards us the form of an Englishman,
who, for one moment, we believed was the Simon Pure; but the next moment
my old friend Baker, famed for his sports in Ceylon, seized me by the
hand. A little boy of his establishment had reported our arrival, and
he in an instant came out to welcome us. What joy this was I can hardly
tell. We could not talk fast enough, so overwhelmed were we both to meet
again. Of course we were his guests in a moment, and learned everything
that could be told. I now first heard of the death of H.R.H. the
Prince-Consort, which made me reflect on the inspiring words he made
use of, in compliment to myself, when I was introduced to him by Sir
Roderick Murchison, a short while before leaving England. Then there was
the terrible war in America, and other events of less startling nature,
which came on us all by surprise, as years had now passed since we had
received news from the civilised world.
Baker then said he had come up with three vessels--one dyabir and two
nuggers--fully equipped with armed men, camels, horses, donkeys, beads,
brass wire, and everything necessary for a long journey, expressly to
look after us, hoping, as he jokingly said, to find us on the equator in
some terrible fix, that he might have the pleasure of helping us out of
it. He had heard of Mahamed's party, and was actually waiting for him to
come in, that he might have had the use of his return-men to start with
comfortably. Three Dutch ladies [27], also, with a view to assist us in
the same way as Baker (God bless them), had come here in a steamer, but
were driven back to Khartum by sickness. Nobody had even dreamt for a
moment it was possible we could come through. An Italian, named
Miani, had gone farther up the Nile than any one else; and he, it now
transpired, was the man who had cut his name on the tree by Apuddo.
But what had become of Petherick? He was actually trading at N'yambara,
seventy miles due west of this, though he had, since I left him in
England, raised a subscription of £1000, from those of my friends to
whom this Journal is most respectfully dedicated as the smallest return
a grateful heart can give for their attempt to succour me, when knowing
the fate of the expedition was in great jeopardy.
Instead of coming up the Nile at once, as Petherick might have done--so
I was assured--he waited, whilst a vessel was building, until the season
had too far advanced to enable him to sail up the river. In short, he
lost the north winds at 7° north, and went overland to his trading depot
at N'yambara. Previously, however, he had sent some boats up to this,
under a Vakil, who had his orders to cross to his trading depot at
N'yambara, and to work from his trading station due south, ostensibly
with a view to look after me, though contrary to my advice before
leaving him in England, in opposition to his own proposed views of
assisting me when he applied for help to succour me, and against the
strongly-expressed opinions of every European in the same trade as
himself; for all alike said they knew he would have gone to Faloro, and
pushed south from that place, had his trade on the west of the Nile not
attracted him there.
Baker now offered me his boats to go down to Khartum, and asked me if
there was anything left undone which it might be of importance for him
to go on and complete, by survey or otherwise; for, although he should
like to go down the river with us, he did not wish to return home
without having done something to recompense him for the trouble and
expense he had incurred in getting up his large expedition. Of course
I told him how disappointed I had been in not getting a sight of the
Little Luta Nzige. I described how we had seen the Nile bending west
where we crossed in Chopi, and then, after walking down the chord of an
arc described by the river, had found it again in Madi coming from the
west, whence to the south, and as far at least as Koshi, it was said to
be navigable, probably continuing to be so right into the Little Luta
Nzige. Should this be the case, then, by building boats in Madi above
the cataracts, a vast region might be thrown open to the improving
influences of navigation. Further, I told Baker of my contract with
Kamrasi, and of the property I had left behind, with a view to stimulate
any enterprising man who might be found at this place to go there, make
good my promise, and, if found needful, claim my share of the things,
for the better prosecution of his own travels there. This Baker at once
undertook, though he said he did not want my property; and I drew out
suggestions for him how to proceed. He then made friends with Mahamed,
who promised to help him on to Faloro, and I gave Mahamed and his men
three carbines as an honorarium.
I should now have gone down the Nile at once if the moon had been in
"distance" for fixing the longitude; but as it was not, I had to remain
until the 26th, living with Baker. Kurshid Agha became very great
friends with us, and, at once making a present of a turkey, a case of
wine, and cigars, said he was only sorry for his own sake that we had
found a fellow-countryman, else he would have had the envied honour of
claiming us as his guests, and had the pleasure of transporting us in
his vessels down to Khartum.
The Rev. Mr Moorlan, and two other priests of the Austrian Mission, were
here on a visit from their station at Kich, to see the old place again
before they left for Khartum; for the Austrian Government, discouraged
by the failure of so many years, had ordered the recall of the whole
of the establishment for these regions. It was no wonder these men were
recalled; for, out of twenty missionaries who, during the last thirteen
years, had ascended the White river for the purpose of propagating
the Gospel, thirteen had died of fever, two of dysentary, and two had
retired broken in health, yet not one convert had been made by them.
The fact is, there was no government to control the population or to
protect property; boys came to them, looked at their pictures, and even
showed a disposition to be instructed, but there it ended; they had no
heart to study when no visible returns were to be gained. One day the
people would examine the books, at another throw them aside, say their
stomachs were empty, and run away to look for food. The Bari people at
Gondokoro were described as being more tractable than those of
Kich, being of a braver and more noble nature; but they were all
half-starved--not because the country was too poor to produce, but
because they were too lazy to cultivate. What little corn they grew they
consumed before it was fully ripe, and then either sought for fish in
the river or fed on tortoises in the interior, as they feared they might
never reap what they sowed.
The missionaries never had occasion to complain of these blacks, and to
this day they would doubtless have been kindly inclined to Europeans,
had the White Nile traders not brought the devil amongst them. Mr
Moorlan remembers the time when they brought food for sale; but now,
instead, they turn their backs upon all foreigners, and even abuse the
missionaries for having been the precursors of such dire calamities. The
shell of the brick church at Gondokoro, and the cross on the top of a
native-built hut in Kich, are all that will remain to bear testimony of
these Christian exertions to improve the condition of these heathens.
Want of employment, I heard was the chief operative cause in killing the
poor missionaries; for, with no other resource left them to kill time,
they spent their days eating, drinking, smoking, and sleeping, till they
broke down their constitutions by living too fast.
Mr Moorlan became very friendly, and said he was sorry he could not do
more for us. His headquarters were at Kich, some way down the river,
where, as we passed, he hoped at least he might be able to show us as
much attention and hospitality as lay in his power. Mosquitoes were said
to be extremely troublesome on the river, and my men begged for some
clothes, as Petherick, they said, had a store for me under the charge of
his Vakil. The storekeeper was then called, and confirming the story of
my men, I begged him to give me what was my own. It then turned out that
it was all Petherick's, but he had orders to give me on account anything
that I wanted. This being settled, I took ninety-five yards of the
commonest stuff as a makeshift for mosquito-curtains for my men, besides
four sailor's shirts for my head men.
On the 18th, Kurshid Agha was summoned by the constant fire of musketry,
a mile or two down the river, and went off in his vessels to the relief.
A party of his had come across from the N'yambara country with ivory,
and on the banks of the Nile, a few miles north of this, were engaged
fighting with the natives. He arrived just in time to settle the
difficulty, and next day came back again, having shot some of the enemy
and captured their cows. Petherick, we heard, was in a difficulty of
the same kind, upon which I proposed to go down with Baker and Grant
to succour him; but he arrived in time, in company with his wife and Dr
James Murie, to save us the trouble, and told me he had brought a number
of men with him, carrying ivory, for the purpose now of looking after me
on the east bank of the Nile, by following its course up to the south,
though he had given up all hope of seeing me, as a report had reached
him of the desertion of my porters at Ugogo. He then offered me his
dyabir, as well as anything else that I wanted that lay within his power
to give. Suffice it to say, I had, through Baker's generosity, at that
very moment enough and to spare; but at his urgent request I took a
few more yards of cloth for my men, and some cooking fat; and, though I
offered to pay for it, he declined to accept any return at my hands.
Though I naturally felt much annoyed at Petherick--for I had hurried
away from Uganda, and separated from Grant at Kari, solely to keep faith
with him--I did not wish to break friendship, but dined and conversed
with him, when it transpired that his Vakil, or agent, who went south
from the N'yambara station, came amongst the N'yam N'yam, and heard from
them that a large river, four days' journey more to the southward, was
flowing from east to west, beyond which lived a tribe of "women," who,
when they wanted to marry, mingled with them in the stream and returned;
and then, again, beyond this tribe of women there lived another tribe of
women and dogs. Now, this may all seem a very strange story to those who
do not know the negro's and Arab's modes of expression; but to me it at
once came very natural, and, according to my view, could be interpreted
thus:--The river, running from east to west, according to the native
mode of expressing direction, could be nothing but the Little Luta Nzige
running the opposite way, according to fact and our mode of expression.
The first tribe of women were doubtless the Wanyoro--called women by
the naked tribes on this side because they wear bark coverings--an
effeminate appendage, in the naked man's estimation; and the second
tribe must have been in allusion to the dog-keeping Waganda, who also
would be considered women, as they wear bark clothes. In my turn, I told
Petherick he had missed a good thing by not going up the river to
look for me; for, had he done so, he would not only have had the best
ivory-grounds to work upon, but, by building a vessel in Madi above
the cataracts, he would have had, in my belief, some hundred miles of
navigable water to transport his merchandise. In short, his succouring
petition was most admirably framed, had he stuck to it, for the welfare
of both of us. [28]
We now received our first letters from home, and in one from Sir
Roderick Murchison I found the Royal Geographical Society had awarded
me their "founder's medal" for the discovery of the Victoria N'yanza in
1858.
Conclusion
My journey down to Alexandria was not without adventure, and carried me
through scenes which, in other circumstances, it might have been worth
while to describe. Thinking, however, that I have already sufficiently
trespassed on the patience of the reader, I am unwilling to overload my
volume with any matter that does not directly relate to the solution
of the great problem which I went to solve. Having now, then, after
a period of twenty-eight months, come upon the tracks of European
travellers, and met them face to face, I close my Journal, to conclude
with a few explanations, for the purpose of comparing the various
branches of the Nile with its affluences, so as to show their respective
values.
The first affluent, the Bahr el Ghazal, took us by surprise; for instead
of finding a huge lake, as described in our maps, at an elbow of the
Nile, we found only a small piece of water resembling a duck-pond buried
in a sea of rushes. The old Nile swept through it with majestic grace,
and carried us next to the Geraffe branch of the Sobat river, the
second affluent, which we found flowing into the Nile with a graceful
semicircular sweep and good stiff current, apparently deep, but not more
than fifty yards broad.
Next in order came the main stream of the Sobat, flowing into the Nile
in the same graceful way as the Geraffe, which in breadth it surpassed,
but in velocity of current was inferior. The Nile by these additions was
greatly increased; still it did not assume that noble appearance which
astonished us so much, immediately after the rainy season, when we were
navigating it in canoes in Unyoro.
I here took my last lunar observations, and made its mouth N. lat. 9°
20' 48", E. long. 31° 24' 0". The Sobat has a third mouth farther down
the Nile, which unfortunately was passed without my knowing it; but as
it is so well known to be unimportant, the loss was not great.
Next to be treated of is the famous Blue Nile, which we found a
miserable river, even when compared with the Geraffe branch of the
Sobat. It is very broad at the mouth, it is true, but so shallow that
our vessel with difficulty was able to come up it. It has all
the appearance of a mountain stream, subject to great periodical
fluctuations. I was never more disappointed that with this river; if the
White river was cut off from it, its waters would all be absorbed before
they could reach Lower Egypt.
The Atbara river, which is the last affluent, was more like the Blue
river than any of the other affluences, being decidedly a mountain
stream, which floods in the rains, but runs nearly dry in the dry
season.
I had now seen quite enough to satisfy myself that the White river which
issues from the N'yanza at the Ripon Falls, is the true or parent Nile;
for in every instance of its branching, it carried the palm with it in
the distinctest manner, viewed, as all the streams were by me, in
the dry season, which is the best time for estimating their relative
perennial values.
Since returning to England, Dr Murie, who was with me at Gondokoro, has
also come home; and he, judging from my account of the way in which
we got ahead of the flooding of the Nile between the Karuma Falls and
Gondokoro, is of opinion that the Little Luta Nzige must be a great
backwater to the Nile, which the waters of the Nile must have been
occupied in filling during my residence in Madi; and then about the
same time that I set out from Madi, the Little Luta Nzige having been
surcharged with water, the surplus began its march northwards just about
the time when we started in the same direction. For myself, I believe
in this opinion, as he no sooner asked me how I could account for the
phenomenon I have already mentioned of the river appearing to decrease
in bulk as we descended it, than I instinctively advanced his own
theory. Moreover, the same hypothesis will answer for the sluggish
flooding of the Nile down to Egypt.
I hope the reader who has followed my narrative thus far will be
interested in knowing how "my faithful children," for whose services
I had no further occasion, and whom I had taken so far from their own
country, were disposed of. At Cairo, where we put up in Shepherd's
Hotel, I had the whole of them photographed, and indulged them at the
public concerts, tableaux vivants, etc. By invitation, we called on the
Viceroy at his Rhoda Island palace, and were much gratified with the
reception; for, after hearing all our stories with marked intelligence,
he most graciously offered to assist me in any other undertaking which
would assist to open up and develop the interior of Africa.
I next appointed Bombay captain of the "faithfuls," and gave him three
photographs of all the eighteen men and three more of the four women,
to give one of each to our Consuls at Suez, Aden, and Zanzibar, by which
they might be recognised. I also gave them increased wages, equal to
three years' pay each, by orders on Zanzibar, which was one in addition
to their time of service; an order for a grand "freeman's garden," to
be purchased for them at Zanzibar; and an order that each one should
receive ten dollars dowry-money as soon as he could find a wife.
With these letters in their hands, I made arrangements with our Consul,
Mr Drummond Hay, to frank them through Suez, Aden, and the Seychelles to
Zanzibar.
Since then, I have heard that Captain Bombay and his party missed
the Seychelles, and went on to the Mauritius, where Captain Anson,
Inspector-General of Police, kindly took charge of them and made great
lions of them. A subscription was raised to give them a purse of money;
they were treated with tickets to the "circus," and sent back to the
Seychelles, whence they were transported by steamer to Zanzibar, and
taken in charge by our lately-appointed Consul, Colonel Playfair, who
appears to have taken much interest in them. Further, they volunteered
to go with me again, should I attempt to cross Africa from east to west,
through the fertile zone.
Footnotes:
[Footnote 1: The equator was crossed on the 8th February 1862.]
[Footnote 2: The Wahuma are treated of in Chapter IX.]
[Footnote 3: The list of my fauna collection will be found in an early
Number of the "Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London."]
[Footnote 4: Captain Burton, on receiving his gold medal at the hands of
Sir Roderick I. Murchison, said, "You have alluded, sir, to the success
of the last expedition. Justice compels me to state the circumstances
under which it attained that success. To Captain Speke are due those
geographical results to which you have alluded in such flattering terms.
Whilst I undertook the history and ethnography, the languages, and the
peculiarity of the people, to Captain Speke fell the arduous task of
delineating an exact topography, and of laying down our positions by
astronomical observations--a labour to which, at times, even the
undaunted Livingstone found himself unequal."]
[Footnote 5: Vol. iii. of A. D. 1801.]
[Footnote 6: It was such an attack as I had on my former journey; but
while mine ceased to trouble me after the first year, his kept recurring
every fortnight until the journey ended.]
[Footnote 7: It may be as well to remark here, that the figures both in
latitude and longitude, representing the position of Kaze, computed by
Mr Dunkin, accord with what appeared in Blackwood's Magazine, computed
by myself, and in the R. G. S. Journal Map, computed by Captain George.
This applies also to the position of Ujiji; at any rate, the practical
differences are so trifling that it would require a microscope to detect
them on the map.]
[Footnote 8: The Jub is the largest river known to the Zanzibar Arabs.
It debouches on the east coast north of Zanzibar, close under the
equator.]
[Footnote 9: The two first gold watches were given away at Zanzibar.]
[Footnote 10: If one asked the name of a tree, and it happened to be the
kind from which this cloth was made, the answer would be "mbugu." If,
again, the question was as to the bark, the same answer; and the same if
one saw the shirt, and asked what it was. Hence I could not determine
whether the word had been originally the name of the tree, of its bark,
or of the article made from the bark, though I am inclined to think it
is the bark, as there are many varieties of these trees, which, being
besides being called mbugu, had their own particular names.]
[Footnote 11: Rumanika's present.--One block-tin box, one Raglan coat,
five yards scarlet broadcloth, two coils copper wire, a hundred large
blue egg-beads, five bundles best variegated beads, three bundles minute
beads--pink, blue, and white.]
[Footnote 12: Nnanaji's present.--One deole or gold-embroidered silk,
two coils copper wire, fifty large blue egg-beads, five bundles best
variegated beads, three bundles minute beads--pink, blue and white.]
[Footnote 13: Since named by Dr P. L. Sclater "Tragelaphus Spekii."
These nzoe have been drawn by Mr Wolf, from specimens brought home by
myself.]
[Footnote 14: Round arm, 1 ft. 11 in.; chest, 4 ft. 4 in.; thigh, 2 ft.
7 in.; calf, 1 ft. 8 in.; height, 5 ft. 8 in.]
[Footnote 15: I.e. Dead Locust Lake,--Luta, dead--Nzige, locust.]
[Footnote 16: In 'Blackwood's Magazine' for August 1859.]
[Footnote 17: See p. 211.]
[Footnote 18: 1 block-tin box, 4 rich silk cloths, 1 rifle
(Whitworth's), 1 gold chronometer, 1 revolver pistol, 3 rifled carbines,
3 sword-bayonets, 1 box ammunition, 1 box bullets, 1 box gun-caps, 1
telescope, 1 iron chair, 10 bundles best beads, 1 set of table-knives,
spoons, and forks.]
[Footnote 19: The straight road down the Nile through Unyoro no one
dares allude to at this time, as the two kings were always fighting.]
[Footnote 20: Some say a group of forty islands compose Sese.]
[Footnote 21: Named by Dr P. L. Sclater, Cosmetornis Spekii. The seventh
pen feathers are double the length of the ordinaries, the eighth double
that of the seventh, and the ninth 20 inches long. Bombay says the same
bird is found in Uhiyow.]
[Footnote 22: It is questionable whether or not this word is a
corruption of Bahr (sea of) Ingo.]
[Footnote 23: This obviously was an allusion to the way in which the
first king of Uganda was countenanced by the great king of Kittara,
according to the tradition given in Chapter IX.]
[Footnote 24: 1 double rifle, 1 block-tin box, 1 red blanket, 1 brown
do., 10 copper wire, 4 socks full of different-coloured minute beads, 2
socks full of blue and white pigeon eggs, 1 Rodgers's pen-knife, 2
books, 1 elastic circle, 1 red handkerchief, 1 bag gun-caps, 1 pair
scissors, 1 pomatum-pot, 1 quart bottle, 1 powder flask, 7 lb. powder, 1
dressing-case, 1 blacking-box, 1 brass lock and key, 4 brass handles, 8
brass sockets, 7 chintz, 7 binders, 1 red bag, 1 pair glass spectacles,
1 lucifer-box.]
[Footnote 25: It will appear shortly that is was actually not more than
two marches to the northward of Faloro.]
[Footnote 26: Dr Khoblecher, the founder of the Austrian Church Mission
Establishment of Gondokoro, ascertained that the Nile reached its lowest
level there in the middle of January.]
[Footnote 27: The Baroness Miss A. van Capellan, and Mrs and Miss
Tinne.]
[Footnote 28: See Petherick's succouring petition, addressed to the
Right Hon. Lord Ashburton, President of the Royal Geographical Society,
in the Proceedings of that Society, date 10th June 1860.]
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