Produced by Laura Shaffer and J.C. Byers
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 deg. of the equator, we find the rains much more
lasting. For instance, at 5 deg. 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 deg. 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 deg. 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 deg. south to 5 deg. 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 deg. 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 oe5000 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 L5000 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 L2500 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 L300, 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.