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.10Saim 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.
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.