The Nature of the Country--The Order of March--The Beginning of
our Taxation--Sultan Lion's Claw, and Sultan Monkey's Tail--The
Kingani--Jealousies and Difficulties in the Camp--The Murderer of M.
Maizan.
We were now in U-za-Ramo, which may mean the country of Ramo, though I
have never found any natives who could enlighten me on the derivation of
this obviously triple word. The extent of the country, roughly speaking,
stretches from the coast to the junction or bifurcation of the Kingani
and its upper branch the Mgeta river, westwards; and from the Kingani,
north, to the Lufigi river, south; though in the southern portions
several subtribes have encroached upon the lands. There are no hills in
Uzaramo; but the land in the central line, formed like a ridge between
the two rivers, furrow fashion, consists of slightly elevated flats and
terraces, which, in the rainy season, throw off their surplus waters
to the north and south by nullahs into these rivers. The country is
uniformly well covered with trees and large grasses, which, in the rainy
season, are too thick, tall, and green to be pleasant; though in the
dry season, after the grasses have been burnt, it is agreeable enough,
though not pretty, owing to the flatness of the land. The villages
are not large or numerous, but widely spread, consisting generally
of conical grass huts, while others are gable-ended, after the
coast-fashion--a small collection of ten or twenty comprising one
village. Over these villages certain headmen, titled Phanze, hold
jurisdiction, who take black-mail from travellers with high presumption
when they can. Generally speaking, they live upon the coast, and call
themselves Diwans, headsmen, and subjects of the Sultan Majid; but
they no sooner hear of the march of a caravan than they transpose their
position, become sultans in their own right, and levy taxes accordingly.
The Wazaramo are strictly agriculturists; they have no cows, and but few
goats. They are of low stature and thick set and their nature tends to
the boisterous. Expert slavehunters, they mostly clothe themselves by
the sale of their victims on the coast, though they do business by the
sale of goats and grain as well. Nowhere in the interior are natives so
well clad as these creatures. In dressing up their hair, and otherwise
smearing their bodies with ochreish clay, they are great dandies. They
always keep their bows and arrows, which form their national arm, in
excellent order, the latter well poisoned, and carried in quivers nicely
carved. To intimidate a caravan and extort a hongo or tax, I have seen
them drawn out in line as if prepared for battle; but a few soft words
were found sufficient to make them all withdraw and settle the matter at
issue by arbitration in some appointed place. A few men without property
can cross their lands fearlessly, though a single individual with
property would stand no chance, for they are insatiable thieves. But
little is seen of these people on the journey, as the chiefs take their
taxes by deputy, partly out of pride, and partly because they think they
can extort more by keeping in the mysterious distance. At the same
time, the caravan prefers camping in the jungles beyond the villages
to mingling with the inhabitants, where rows might be engendered.
We sometimes noticed Albinos, with greyish-blue eyes and light
straw-coloured hair. Not unfrequently we would pass on the track side
small heaps of white ashes, with a calcined bone or two among them.
These, we were told, were the relics of burnt witches. The caravan
track we had now to travel on leads along the right bank of the Kingani
valley, overlooking Uzegura, which, corresponding with Uzaramo, only on
the other side of the Kigani, extends northwards to the Pangani river,
and is intersected in the centre by the Wami river, of which more
hereafter.
Starting on a march with a large mixed caravan, consisting of 1 corporal
and 9 privates, Hottentots--1 jemadar and 25 privates, Beluchs--1 Arab
Cafila Bashi and 75 freed slaves--1 Kirangozi, or leader, and 100 negro
porters--12 mules untrained, 3 donkeys, and 22 goats--one could hardly
expect to find everybody in his place at the proper time for breaking
ground; but, at the same time, it could hardly be expected that ten men,
who had actually received their bounty-money, and had sworn fidelity,
should give one the slip the very first day. Such, however, was the
case. Ten out of the thirty-six given by the Sultan ran away, because
they feared that the white men, whom they believed to be cannibals, were
only taking them into the interior to eat them; and one pagazi, more
honest than the freed men, deposited his pay upon the ground, and ran
away too. Go we must, however; for one desertion is sure to lead to
more; and go we did. Our procession was in this fashion: The Kirangozi,
with a load on his shoulder, led the way, flag in hand, followed by the
pagazis carrying spears of bows and arrows in their hands, and bearing
their share of the baggage in the shape either of bolster-shaped loads
of cloth and beads covered with matting, each tied into the fork of a
three-pronged stick, or else coils of brass or copper wire tied in even
weights to each end of sticks which they laid on the shoulder; then
helter-skelter came the Wanguana, carrying carbines in their hands, and
boxes, bundles, tents, cooking-pots--all the miscellaneous property--on
their heads; next the Hottentots, dragging the refractory mules laden
with ammunition-boxes, but very lightly, to save the animals for the
future; and, finally, Sheikh Said and the Beluch escort; while the
goats, sick women, and stragglers, brought up the rear. From first to
last, some of the sick Hottentots rode the hospital donkeys, allowing
the negroes to tug their animals; for the smallest ailment threw them
broadcast on their backs. In a little while we cleared from the rich
gardens, mango clumps, and cocoa-but trees, which characterise the
fertile coast-line. After traversing fields of grass well clothed with
green trees, we arrived at the little settlement of Bomani, where camp
was formed, and everybody fairly appointed to his place. The process of
camp-forming would be thus: Sheikh Said, with Bombay under him, issues
cloths to the men for rations at the rate of one-fourth load a-day
(about 15 lb.) amongst 165; the Hottentots cook our dinners and their
own, or else lie rolling on the ground overcome with fatigue;
the Beluchs are supposed to guard the camp, but prefer gossip and
brightening their arms. Some men are told off to look after the mules,
donkeys, and goats, whilst out grazing; the rest have to pack the kit,
pitch our tents, cut boughs for huts, and for fencing in the camp--a
thing rarely done, by-the-by. After cooking, when the night has set
it, the everlasting dance begins, attended with clapping of hands and
jingling small bells strapped to the legs--the whole being accompanied
by a constant repetition of senseless words, which stand in place of
the song to the negroes; for song they have none, being mentally
incapacitated for musical composition, though as timists they are not to
be surpassed.
What remains to be told is the daily occupation of Captain Grant,
myself, and our private servants. Beginning at the foot: Rahan, a very
peppery little negro, who had served in a British man-of-war at the
taking of Rangoon, was my valet; and Baraka, who had been trained much
in the same manner, but had seen engagements at Multan, was Captain
Grant's. They both knew Hindustani; but while Rahan's services at
sea had been short, Baraka had served nearly all his life with
Englishmen--was the smartest and most intelligent negro I ever saw--was
invaluable to Colonel Rigby as a detector of slave-traders, and enjoyed
his confidence completely--so much so, that he said, on parting with
him, that he did not know where he should be able to find another man
to fill his post. These two men had now charge of our tents and personal
kit, while Baraka was considered the general of the Wanguana forces, and
Rahan a captain of ten.
My first occupation was to map the country. This is done by timing the
rate of march with a watch, taking compass-bearings along the road, or
on any conspicuous marks--as, for instance, hills off it--and by noting
the watershed--in short, all topographical objects. On arrival in
camp every day came the ascertaining, by boiling a thermometer, of the
altitude of the station above the sea-level; of the latitude of the
station by the meridian altitude of the star taken with a sextant; and
of the compass variation by azimuth. Occasionally there was the fixing
of certain crucial stations, at intervals of sixty miles or so, by
lunar observations, or distances of the moon either from the sun or
from certain given stars, for determining the longitude, by which the
original-timed course can be drawn out with certainty on the map by
proportion. Should a date be lost, you can always discover it by taking
a lunar distance and comparing it with the Nautical Almanac, by noting
the time when a star passes the meridian if your watch is right, or by
observing the phases of the moon, or her rising or setting, as compared
with the Nautical Almanac. The rest of my work, besides sketching and
keeping a diary, which was the most troublesome of all, consisted in
making geological and zoological collections. With Captain Grant rested
the botanical collections and thermometrical registers. He also
boiled one of the thermometers, kept the rain-gauge, and undertook the
photography; but after a time I sent the instruments back, considering
this work too severe for the climate, and he tried instead sketching
with watercolours--the results of which form the chief part of the
illustrations in this book. The rest of our day went in breakfasting
after the march was over--a pipe, to prepare us for rummaging the fields
and villages to discover their contents for scientific purposes--dinner
close to sunset, and tea and pipe before turning in at night.
A short stage brought us to Ikamburu, included in the district of Nzasa,
where there is another small village presided over by Phanze Khombe la
Simba, meaning Claw of Lion. He, immediately after our arrival, sent us
a present of a basket of rice, value one dollar, of course expecting
a return--for absolute generosity is a thing unknown to the negro. Not
being aware of the value of the offering, I simply requested the Sheikh
to give him four yards of American sheeting, and thought no more about
the matter, until presently I found the cloth returned. The "Sultan"
could not think of receiving such a paltry present from me, when on the
former journey he got so much; if he showed this cloth at home, nobody
would believe him, but would say he took much more and concealed it from
his family, wishing to keep all his goods to himself. I answered that my
footing in the country had been paid for on the last journey, and unless
he would accept me as any other common traveller, he had better walk
away; but the little Sheikh, a timid, though very gentlemanly creature,
knowing the man, and dreading the consequences of too high a tone,
pleaded for him, and proposed as a fitting hongo, one dubuani, one
sahari, and eight yards merikani, as the American sheeting is called
here. This was pressed by the jemadar, and acceded to by myself, as the
very utmost I could afford. Lion's Claw, however, would not accept it;
it was too far below the mark of what he got last time. He therefore
returned the cloths to the Sheikh, as he could get no hearing from
myself, and retreated in high dudgeon, threatening the caravan with
a view of his terrible presence on the morrow. Meanwhile the little
Sheikh, who always carried a sword fully two-thirds the length of
himself, commenced casting bullets for his double-barrelled rifle,
ordered the Wanguana to load their guns, and came wheedling up to me for
one more cloth, as it was no use hazarding the expedition's safety for
four yards of cloth. This is a fair specimen of tax-gathering, within
twelve miles of the coast, by a native who claims the protection of
Zanzibar. We shall soon see what they are further on. The result of
experience is, that, ardent as the traveller is to see the interior
of Africa, no sooner has he dealings with the natives, than his whole
thoughts tend to discovering some road where he won't be molested, or a
short cut, but long march, to get over the ground.
Quite undisturbed, we packed and marched as usual, and soon passed Nzasa
close to the river, which is only indicated by a line of trees running
through a rich alluvial valley. We camped at the little settlement of
Kizoto, inhospitably presided over by Phanze Mukia ya Nyani or Monkey's
Tail, who no sooner heard of our arrival than he sent a demand for his
"rights." One dubani was issued, with orders than no one need approach
me again, unless he wanted to smell my powder. Two taxes in five miles
was a thing unheard of; and I heard no more about the matter, until
Bombay in the evening told me how Sheikh Said, fearing awkward
consequences, had settled to give two dubuani, one being taken from
his own store. Lion's Claw also turned up again, getting his cloths of
yesterday--one more being added from the Sheikh's stores--and he was
then advised to go off quietly, as I was a fire-eater whom nobody dared
approach after my orders had been issued. This was our third march in
Uzaramo; we had scarcely seen a man of the country, and had no excessive
desire to do so.
Deflecting from the serpentine course of the Kingani a little, we
crossed a small bitter rivulet, and entered on the elevated cultivation
of Kiranga Ranga, under Phanze Mkungu-pare, a very mild man, who,
wishing to give no offence, begged for a trifling present. He came in
person, and his manner having pleased us, I have him one sahari, four
yards merikani, and eight yards kiniki, which pleased our friend so much
that he begged us to consider his estate our own, even to the extent of
administering his justice, should any Mzaramo be detected stealing from
us. Our target-practice, whilst instructing the men, astonished him not
a little, and produced an exclamation that, with so many guns, we need
fear nothing, go where we would. From this place a good view is obtained
of Uzegura. Beyond the flat alluvial valley of the Kingani, seven to
eight miles broad, the land rises suddenly to a table-land of no great
height, on which trees grow in profusion. In fact it appeared, as far as
the eye could reach, the very counterpart of that where we stood, with
the exception of a small hill, very distant, called Phongue.
A very welcome packet of quinine and other medicines reached us here
from Rigby, who, hearing our complaints that the Hottentots could
only be kept alive by daily potions of brandy and quinine, feared our
supplies were not enough, and sent us more.
We could not get the Sultan's men to chum with the Wanguana proper; they
were shy, like wild animals--built their huts by themselves--and ate and
talked by themselves, for they felt themselves inferiors; and I had
to nominate one of their number to be their chief, answerable for the
actions of the whole. Being in the position of "boots" to the camp,
the tending of goats fell to their lot. Three goats were missing this
evening, which the goatherds could not account for, nor any of their
men. Suspecting that they were hidden for a private feast, I told their
chief to inquire farther, and report. The upshot was, that the man was
thrashed for intermeddling, and came back only with his scars. This was
a nice sort of insubordination, which of course could not be endured.
The goatherd was pinioned and brought to trial, for the double
offence of losing the goats and rough-handling his chief. The tricking
scoundrel--on quietly saying he could not be answerable for other men's
actions if they stole goats, and he could not recognise a man as his
chief whom the Sheikh, merely by a whim of his own, thought proper to
appoint--was condemned to be tied up for the night with the prospect of
a flogging in the morning. Seeing his fate, the cunning vagabond said,
"Now I do see it was by your orders the chief was appointed, and not
by a whim of Sheikh Said's; I will obey him for the future;" and these
words were hardly pronounced than the three missing goats rushed like
magic into camp, nobody of course knowing where they came from.
Skirting along the margin of the rising ground overlooking the river,
through thick woods, cleared in places for cultivation, we arrived at
Thumba Lhere. The chief here took a hongo of three yards merikani and
two yards kiniki without much fuss, for he had no power. The pagazis
struck, and said they would not move from this unless I gave them one
fundo or ten necklaces of beads each daily, in lieu of rations, as they
were promised by Ladha on the coast that I would do so as soon as they
had made four marches. This was an obvious invention, concocted to try
my generosity, for I had given the kirangozi a goat, which is customary,
to "make the journey prosperous"--had suspended a dollar to his neck in
recognition of his office, and given him four yards merikani, that he
might have a grand feast with his brothers; while neither the Sheikh,
myself, nor any one else in the camp, had heard of such a compact. With
high words the matter dropped, African fashion.
The pagazis would not start at the appointed time, hoping to enforce
their demands of last night; so we took the lead and started, followed
by the Wanguana. Seeing this, the pagazis cried out with one accord:
"The master is gone, leaving the responsibility of his property in our
hands; let us follow, let us follow, for verily he is our father;" and
all came hurrying after us. Here the river, again making a bend, is lost
to sight, and we marched through large woods and cultivated fields to
Muhugue, observing, as we passed long, the ochreish colour of the earth,
and numerous pits which the copal-diggers had made searching for their
much-valued gum. A large coast-bound caravan, carrying ivory tusks with
double-toned bells suspended to them, ting-tonging as they moved along,
was met on the way; and as some of the pagazis composing it were men who
had formerly taken me to the Victoria N'yanza, warm recognitions passed
between us. The water found here turned our brandy and tea as black as
ink. The chief, being a man of small pretensions, took only one sahari
and four yards merikani.
Instead of going on to the next village we halted in this jungly
place for the day, that I might comply with the desire of the Royal
Geographical Society to inspect Muhonyera, and report if there were
really any indications of a "raised sea-beach" there, such as their maps
indicate. An inspection brought me to the conclusion that no mind but
one prone to discovering sea-beaches in the most unlikely places
could have supposed for a moment that one existed here. The form and
appearance of the land are the same as we have seen everywhere since
leaving Bomani--a low plateau subtended by a bank cut down by the
Kingani river, and nothing more. There are no pebbles; the soil is rich
reddish loam, well covered with trees, bush, and grass, in which some
pigs and antelopes are found. From the top of this enbankment we gain
the first sight of the East Coast Range, due west of us, represented
by the high elephant's-back hill, Mkambaku, in Usagara, which, joining
Uraguru, stretches northwards across the Pangani river to Usumbara and
the Kilimandjaro, and southwards, with a westerly deflection, across the
Lufiji to Southern N'yassa. What course the range takes beyond those two
extremes, the rest of the world knows as well as I. Another conspicuous
landmark here is Kidunda (the little hill), which is the southernmost
point of a low chain of hills, also tending northwards, and representing
an advance-guard to the higher East Coast Range in its rear. At night,
as we had no local "sultans" to torment us, eight more men of sultan
Majid's donation ran away, and, adding injury to injury, took with them
all our goats, fifteen in number. This was a sad loss. We could keep
ourselves on guinea-fowls or green pigeons, doves, etc.; but the
Hottentots wanted nourishment much more than ourselves, and as their
dinner always consisted of what we left, "short-commons" was the fate in
store for them. The Wanguana, instead of regarding these poor creatures
as soldiers, treated them like children; and once, as a diminutive
Tot--the common name they go by--was exerting himself to lift his pack
and place it on his mule, a fine Herculean Mguana stepped up behind,
grasped Tot, pack and all, in his muscular arms, lifted the whole over
his head, paraded the Tot about, struggling for release, and put him
down amidst the laughter of the camp, then saddled his mule and patted
him on the back.
After sending a party of Beluch to track down the deserters and goats,
in which they were not successful, we passed through the village of
Sagesera, and camped one mile beyond, close to the river. Phanze Kirongo
(which means Mr Pit) here paid us his respects, with a presentation of
rice. In return he received four yards merikani and one dubuani, which
Bombay settled, as the little Sheikh, ever done by the sultans, pleaded
indisposition, to avoid the double fire he was always subjected to
on these occasions, by the sultans grasping on the one side, and my
resisting on the other; for I relied on my strength, and thought it
very inadvisable to be generous with my cloth to the prejudice of future
travellers, by decreasing the value of merchandise, and increasing
proportionately the expectations of these negro chiefs. From the top
of the bank bordering on the valley, a good view was obtainable of the
Uraguru hills, and the top of a very distant cone to its northward;
but I could see no signs of any river joining the kingani on its left,
though on the former expedition I heard that the Mukondokua river,
which was met with in Usagara, joined the Kingani close to Sagesera, and
actually formed its largest head branch. Neither could Mr Pit inform
me what became of the Mukondokua, as the Wazaramo are not given to
travelling. He had heard of it from the traders, but only knew himself
of one river beside the Kingani. It was called Wami in Uegura, and
mouths at Utondue, between the ports of Whindi and Saadani. To try and
check the desertions of Sultan Majid's men, I advised--ordering was
of no use--that their camp should be broken up, and they should be
amalgamated with the Wanguana; but it was found that the two would not
mix. In fact, the whole native camp consisted of so many clubs of two,
four, six, or ten men, who originally belonged to one village or one
master, or were united by some other family tie which they preferred
keeping intact; so they cooked together, ate together, slept together,
and sometimes mutinied together. The amalgamation having failed, I wrote
some emanicipation tickets, called the Sultan's men all up together,
selected the best, gave them these tickets, announced that their pay
and all rewards would be placed for the future on the same conditions as
those of the Wanguana, and as soon as I saw any signs of improvement in
the rest, they would all be treated in the same manner; but should they
desert, they would find my arm long enough to arrest them on the coast
and put them into prison.
During this march we crossed three deep nullahs which drain the Uzaramo
plateau, and arrived at the Makutaniro, or junction of this line with
those of Mboamaji and Konduchi, which traverse central Uzaramo, and
which, on my former return journey, I went down. The gum-copal diggings
here cease. The Dum palm is left behind; the large rich green-leaved
trees of the low plateau give place to the mimosa; and now, having
ascended the greater decline of the Kingani river, instead of being
confined by a bank, we found ourselves on flat open-park land, where
antelopes roam at large, buffalo and zebra are sometimes met with, and
guinea-fowl are numerous. The water for the camp is found in the river,
but supplies of grain come from the village of Kipora farther on.
A march through the park took us to a camp by a pond, from which, by
crossing the Kingani, rice and provisions for the men were obtained on
the opposite bank. One can seldom afford to follow wild animals on the
line of march, otherwise we might have bagged some antelopes to-day,
which, scared by the interminable singing, shouting, bell-jingling,
horn-blowing, and other such merry noises of the moving caravan, could
be seen disappearing in the distance.
Leaving the park, we now entered the riches part of Uzaramo, affording
crops as fine as any part of India. Here it was, in the district of
Dege la Mhora, that the first expedition to this country, guided by a
Frenchman, M. Maizan, came to a fatal termination, that gentleman having
been barbarously murdered by the sub-chief Hembe. The cause of the
affair was distinctly explained to me by Hembe himself, who, with
his cousin Darunga, came to call upon me, presuming, as he was not
maltreated by the last expedition, that the matter would now be
forgotten. The two men were very great friends of the little Sheikh,
and as a present was expected, which I should have to pay, we all talked
cheerfully and confidentially, bringing in the fate of Maizan for no
other reason than to satisfy curiosity. Hembe, who lives in the centre
of an almost impenetrable thicket, confessed that he was the murderer,
but said the fault did not rest with him, as he merely carried out the
instructions of his father, Mzungera, who, a Diwan on the coast, sent
him a letter directing his actions. Thus it is proved that the plot
against Maizan was concocted on the coast by the Arab merchants--most
likely from the same motive which has induced one rival merchant to
kill another as the best means of checking rivalry or competition.
When Arabs--and they are the only class of people who would do such
a deed--found a European going into the very middle of their secret
trading-places, where such large profits were to be obtained, they would
never suppose that the scientific Maizan went for any other purpose than
to pry into their ivory stores, bring others into the field after him,
and destroy their monopoly. The Sultan of Zanzibar, in those days, was
our old ally Said Said, commonly called the Emam of Muscat; and our
Consul, Colonel Hamerton, had been M. Maizan's host as long as he lived
upon the coast. Both the Emam and Consul were desirous of seeing the
country surveyed, and did everything in their power to assist Maizan,
the former even appointing the Indian Musa to conduct him safely as
far as Unyamuezi; but their power was not found sufficient to damp the
raging fire of jealousy in the ivory-trader's heart. Musa commenced the
journey with Maizan, and they travelled together a march or two,
when one of Maizan's domestic establishment fell sick and stopped his
progress. Musa remained with him eight or ten days, to his own loss in
trade and expense in keeping up a large establishment, and then they
parted by mutual consent, Maizan thinking himself quite strong enough
to take care of himself. This separation was, I believe, poor Maizan's
death-blow. His power, on the Emam's side, went with Musa's going, and
left the Arabs free to carry out their wicked wills.
The presents I had to give here were one sahari and eight yards merikani
to Hembe, and the same to Darunga, for which they gave a return in
grain. Still following close to the river--which, unfortunately, is so
enshrouded with thick bush that we could seldom see it--a few of the
last villages in Uzaramo were passed. Here antelopes reappear amongst
the tall mimosa, but we let them alone in prosecution of the survey, and
finally encamped opposite the little hill of Kidunda, which lying on the
left bank of the Kingani, stretches north, a little east, into Uzegura.
The hill crops out through pisolitic limestone, in which marine fossils
were observable. It would be interesting to ascertain whether this lime
formation extends down the east coast of Africa from the Somali country,
where also, on my first expedition, I found marine shells in the
limestone, especially as a vast continuous band of limestone is known
to extend from the Tagus, through Egypt and the Somali country, to the
Burrumputra. To obtain food it was necessary here to ferry the river and
purchase from the Wazaramo, who, from fear of the passing caravans,
had left their own bank and formed a settlement immediately under this
pretty little hill--rendered all the more enchanting to our eyes, as it
was the first we had met since leaving the sea-coast. The Diwan, or head
man, was a very civil creature; he presented us freely with two fine
goats--a thing at that time we were very much in want of--and took, in
return, without any comments, one dubani and eight yards merikani.
The next day, as we had no further need of our Beluch escort, a halt
was made to enable me to draw up a "Progress Report," and pack all
the specimens of natural history collected on the way, for the Royal
Geographical Society. Captain Grant, taking advantage of the spare time,
killed for the larder two buck antelopes, and the Tots brought in, in
high excited triumph, a famous pig.
This march, which declines from the Kingani a little, leads through
rolling, jungly ground, full of game, to the tributary stream Mgeta. It
is fordable in the dry season, but has to be bridged by throwing a tree
across it in the wet one. Rising in the Usagara hills to the west of the
hog-backed Mkambaku, this branch intersects the province of Ukhutu in
the centre, and circles round until it unites with the Kingani about
four miles north of the ford. Where the Kingani itself rises, I never
could find out; though I have heard that its sources lies in a gurgling
spring on the eastern face of the Mkambaku, by which account the Mgeta
is made the longer branch of the two.