First Voyage on the Nile--The Starting--Description of the River and
the Country--Meet a Hostile Vessel--A Naval Engagement--Difficulties
and Dangers--Judicial Procedure--Messages from the King of
Uganda--His Efforts to get us back--Desertion--The Wanyoro
Troops--Kamrasi--Elephant-Stalking--Diabolical Possessions.
In five boats of five planks each, tied together and caulked with mbugu
rags, I started with twelve Wanguana, Kasoro and his page-followers, and
a small crew, to reach Kamrasi's palace in Unyoro--goats, dogs, and kit,
besides grain and dried meat, filling up the complement--but how many
days it would take nobody knew. Paddles propelled these vessels, but the
lazy crew were slow in the use of them, indulging sometimes in racing
spurts, then composedly resting on their paddles whilst the gentle
current drifted us along. The river, very unlike what it was from
the Ripon Falls downward, bore at once the character of river and
lake--clear in the centre, but fringed in most places with tall rush,
above which the green banks sloped back like park lands. It was all very
pretty and very interesting, and would have continued so, had not Kasoro
disgraced the Union Jack, turning it to piratical purposes in less than
one hour.
A party of Wanyoro, in twelve or fifteen canoes, made of single tree
trunks, had come up the river to trade with the Wasoga, and having
stored their vessels with mbugu, dried fish, plantains cooked and raw,
pombe, and other things, were taking their last meal on shore before
they returned to their homes. Kasoro seeing this, and bent on a boyish
spree, quite forgetting we were bound for the very ports they were bound
for, ordered our sailors to drive in amongst them, landed himself, and
sent the Wanyoro flying before I knew what game was up, and then set to
pillaging and feasting on the property of those very men whom it was our
interest to propitiate, as we expected them shortly to be our hosts.
The ground we were on belonged to king Mtesa, being a dependency of
Uganda, and it struck me as singular that Wanyoro should be found here;
but I no sooner discovered the truth than I made our boatmen disgorge
everything they had taken, called back the Wanyoro to take care of their
things, and extracted a promise from Kasoro that he would not practise
such wicked tricks again, otherwise we could not travel together.
Getting to boat again, after a very little paddling we pulled in to
shore, on the Uganda side, to stop for the night, and thus allowed the
injured Wanyoro to go down the river before us. I was much annoyed by
this interruption, but no argument would prevail on Kasoro to go on.
This was the last village on the Uganda frontier, and before we could
go any farther on boats it would be necessary to ask leave of Kamrasi's
frontier officer, N'yamyonjo, to enter Unyoro. The Wanguana demanded
ammunition in the most imperious manner, whilst I, in the same tone,
refused to issue any lest a row should take place and they then would
desert, alluding to their dastardly desertion in Msalala, when Grant was
attacked. If a fight should take place, I said they must flock to me
at once, and ammunition, which was always ready, would be served out to
them. They laughed at this, and asked, Who would stop with me when the
fight began? This was making a jest of what I was most afraid of--that
they would all run away.
I held a levee to decide on the best manner of proceeding. The Waganda
wanted us to stop for the day and feel the way gently, arguing that
etiquette demands it. Then, trying to terrify me, they said, N'yamyonjo
had a hundred boats, and would drive us back to a certainty if we tried
to force past them, if he were not first spoken with, as the Waganda had
often tried the passage and been repulsed. On the other hand, I argued
that Grant must have arrived long ago at Kamrasi's, and removed all
these difficulties for us; but, I said, if they would send men, let
Bombay start at once by land, and we will follow in boats, after giving
him time to say we are coming. This point gained after a hot debate,
Bombay started at 10 a.m., and we not till 5 p.m., it being but one
hour's journey by water. The frontier line was soon crossed; and then
both sides of the river, Usoga as well as Unyoro, belong to Kamrasi.
I flattered myself all my walking this journey was over, and there
was nothing left but to float quietly down the Nile, for Kidgwiga
had promised boats, on Kamrasi's account, from Unyoro to Gani, where
Petherick's vessels were said to be stationed; but this hope shared the
fate of so many others in Africa. In a little while an enormous canoe,
full of well-dressed and well-armed men, was seen approaching us. We
worked on, and found they turned, as if afraid. Our men paddled faster,
they did the same, the pages keeping time playfully by beat of drum,
until at last it became an exciting chase, won by the Wanyoro by their
superior numbers. The sun was now setting as we approached N'yamyongo's.
On a rock by the river stood a number of armed men, jumping, jabbering,
and thrusting with their spears, just as the Waganda do. I thought,
indeed, they were Waganda doing this to welcome us; but a glance
at Kasoro's glassy eyes told me such was not the case, but, on the
contrary, their language and gestures were threats, defying us to land.
The bank of the river, as we advanced, then rose higher, and was crowned
with huts and plantations, before which stood groups and lines of men,
all fully armed. Further, at this juncture, the canoe we had chased
turned broadside on us, and joined in the threatening demonstrations
of the people on shore. I could not believe them to be serious--thought
they had mistaken us--and stood up in the boat to show myself, hat
in hand. I said I was an Englishman going to Kamrasi's, and did all I
could, but without creating the slightest impression. They had heard a
drum beat, they said, and that was a signal of war, so war it should be;
and Kamrasi's drums rattled up both sides the river, preparing everybody
to arm. This was serious. Further, a second canoe full of armed men
issued out from the rushes behind us, as if with a view to cut off
our retreat, and the one in front advanced upon us, hemming us in. To
retreat together seemed our only chance, but it was getting dark, and my
boats were badly manned. I gave the order to close together and retire,
offering ammunition as an incentive, and all came to me but one boat,
which seemed so paralysed with fright, it kept spinning round and round
like a crippled duck.
The Wanyoro, as they saw us retreating, were now heard to say, "They are
women, they are running, let us at them;" whilst I kept roaring to my
men, "Keep together--come for powder;" and myself loaded with small
shot, which even made Kasoro laugh and inquire if it was intended for
the Wanyoro. "Yes, to shoot them like guinea-fowl;" and he laughed
again. But confound my men! they would not keep together, and retreat
with me. One of those served with ammunition went as hard as he could
go up stream to be out of harm's way, and another preferred hugging the
dark shade of the rushes to keeping the clear open, which I desired
for the benefit of our guns. It was not getting painfully dark, and the
Wanyoro were stealing on us, as we could hear, though nothing could be
seen. Presently the shade-seeking boat was attacked, spears were thrown,
fortunately into the river instead of into our men, and grappling-hooks
were used to link the boats together. My men cried, "Help, Bana! they
are killing us;" whilst I roared to my crew, "Go in, go in, and the
victory will be ours;" but not a soul would--they were spell-bound to
the place; we might have been cut up in detail, it was all the same to
those cowardly Waganda, whose only action consisted in crying, "N'yawo!
n'yawo!"--mother, mother, help us!
Three shots from the hooked boat now finished the action. The Wanyoro
had caught a Tartar. Two of their men fell--one killed, one wounded.
They were heard saying their opponents were not Waganda, it were better
to leave them alone; and retreated, leaving us, totally uninjured, a
clear passage up the river. But where was Bombay all this while! He did
not return till after us, and then, in considerable excitement, he told
his tale. He reached N'yamyongo's village before noon, asked for the
officer, but was desired to wait in a hut until the chief should arrive,
as he had gone out on business; the villagers inquired, however, why we
had robbed the Wanyoro yesterday, for they had laid a complaint against
us. Bombay replied it was no fault of Bana's, he did everything he could
to prevent it, and returned all that the boatmen took.
These men then departed, and did not return until evening, when they
asked Bombay, impudently, why he was sitting there, as he had received
no invitation to spend the night; and unless he walked off soon they
would set fire to his hut. Bombay, without the smallest intention of
moving, said he had orders to see N'yamyonjo, and until he did so he
would not budge. "Well," said the people, "you have got your warning,
now look out for yourselves;" and Bombay, with his Waganda escort, was
left again. Drums then began to beat, and men to hurry to and fro with
spears and shields, until at last our guns were heard, and, guessing
the cause, Bombay with his Waganda escort rushed out of the hut into
the jungle, and, without daring to venture on the beaten track, through
thorns and thicket worked his way back to me, lame, and scratched all
over with thorns.
Crowds of Waganda, all armed as if for war, came to congratulate us
in the morning, jumping, jabbering, and shaking their spears at us,
denoting a victory gained--for we had shot Wanyoro and no harm had
befallen us. "But the road," I cried, "has that been gained? I am not
going to show my back. We must go again, for there is some mistake;
Grant is with Kamrasi, and N'yamyongo cannot stop us. If you won't go
in boats, let us go by land to N'yamyongo's, and the boats will follow
after." Not a soul, however, would stir. N'yamyongo was described as an
independent chief, who listened to Kamrasi only when he liked. He did
not like strange eyes to see his secret lodges on the N'yanza; and if
he did not wish us to go down the river, Kamrasi's orders would go for
nothing. His men had now been shot; to go within his reach would be
certain death. Argument was useless, boating slow, to send messages
worse; so I gave in, turned my back on the Nile, and the following day
(16th) came on the Luajerri.
Here, to my intense surprise, I heard that Grant's camp was not far off,
on its return from Kamrasi's. I could not, rather would not, believe it,
suspicious as it now appeared after my reverse. The men, however,
were positive, and advised my going to king Mtesa's--a ridiculous
proposition, at once rejected; for I had yet to receive Kamrasi's answer
to our Queen, about opening a trade with England. I must ascertain
why he despised Englishmen without speaking with them, and I could not
believe Kamrasi would prove less avaricious than either Rumanika or
Mtesa, especially as Rumanika had made himself responsible for our
actions. We slept that night near Kari, the Waganda eating two goats
which had been drowned in the Luajerri; and the messenger-page, having
been a third time to the palace and back again, called to ask after our
welfare, on behalf of his king, and remind us about the gun and brandy
promised.
17th and 18th.--The two following days were spent wandering about
without guides, trying to keep the track Grant had taken after leaving
us, crossing at first a line of small hills, then traversing grass and
jungle, like the dak of India. Plantain-gardens were frequently met, and
the people seemed very hospitably inclined, though they complained sadly
of the pages rudely rushing into every hut, seizing everything they
could lay their hands on, and even eating the food which they had just
prepared for their own dinners, saying, in a mournful manner, "If it
were not out of respect for you we should fight those little rascals,
for it is not the king's guest nor his men who do us injury, but the
king's own servants, without leave or licence." I observed that special
bomas or fences were erected to protect these villages against the
incursions of lions. Buffaloes were about, but the villagers cautioned
us not to shoot them, holding them as sacred animals; and, to judge from
the appearance of the country, wild animals should abound, were it not
for the fact that every Mganda seems by instinct to be a sportsman.
At last, after numerous and various reports about Grant, we heard his
drums last night, but we arrived this morning just in time to be too
late. He was on his march back to the capital of Uganda, as the people
had told us, and passed through N'yakinyama just before I reached it.
What had really happened I knew not, and was puzzled to think. To insist
on a treaty, demanding an answer, to the Queen, seemed the only chance
left; so I wrote to Grant to let me know all about it, and waited the
result. He very obligingly came himself, said he left Unyoro after
stopping there an age asking for the road without effect, and left by
the orders of Kamrasi, thinking obedience the better policy to obtain
our ends. Two great objections had been raised against us; one was that
we were reported to be cannibals, and the other that our advancing by
two roads at once was suspicious, the more especially so as the Waganda
were his enemies; had we come from Rumanika direct, there would have
been no objection to us.
When all was duly considered, it appeared evident to me that the great
king of Unyoro, "the father of all the kings," was merely a nervous,
fidgety creature, half afraid of us because we were attempting his
country by the unusual mode of taking two routes at once, but wholly so
of the Waganda, who had never ceased plundering his country for years.
As it appeared that he would have accepted us had we come by the
friendly route of Kisuere, a further parley was absolutely necessary,
and the more especially so, as now we were all together and in Uganda,
which, in consequence, must relieve him from the fear of our harbouring
evil designs against him. No one present, however, could be prevailed on
to go to him in the capacity of ambassador, as the frontier officer had
warned the Wageni or guests that, if they ever attempted to cross the
border again, he was bound in duty, agreeably to the orders of his king,
to expel them by force; therefore, should the Wageni attempt it after
this warning, their first appearance would be considered a casus belli;
and so the matter rested for the day.
To make the best of a bad bargain, and as N'yakinyama was "eaten up," we
repaired to Grant's camp to consult with Budja; but Budja was found
firm and inflexible against sending men up to Unyoro. His pride had been
injured by the rebuffs we had sustained. He would wait here three or
four days as I proposed, to see what fortune sent us, if I would not
be convinced that Kamrasi wished to reject us, and he would communicate
with his king in the meantime, but nothing more. Here was altogether a
staggerer: I would stop for three or four days, but if Kamrasi would not
have us by that time, what was to be done? Would it be prudent to try
Kisuere now Baraka had been refused the Gani route? or would it not be
better still for me to sell Kamrasi altogether, by offering Mtesa five
hundred loads of ammunition, cloth and beads, if he would give us a
thousand Waganda as a force to pass through the Masai to Zanzibar, this
property to be sent back by the escort from the coast? Kamrasi would no
doubt catch it if we took this course, but it was expensive.
Thus were we ruminating, when lo, to our delight, as if they had been
listening to us, up came Kidgwiga, my old friend, who, at Mtesa'a place,
had said Kamrasi would be very glad to see me, and Vittagura, Kamrasi's
commander-in-chief, to say their king was very anxious to see us, and
the Waganda might come or not as they liked. Until now, the deputation
said, Kamrasi had doubted Budja's word about our friendly intentions,
but since he saw us withdrawing from his country, those doubts were
removed. The N'yamswenge, they said--meaning, I thought, Petherick--was
still at Gani; no English or others on the Nile ever expressed a wish to
enter Unyoro, otherwise they might have done so; and Baraka had left for
Karague, carrying off an ivory as a present from Kamrasi.
21st.--I ordered the march to Unyoro; Budja, however, kept brooding over
the message sent to the Waganda, to the effect that they might come
or not as they liked, and considering us with himself to have all been
treated "like dogs," begged me to give him my opinion as to what course
he had better pursue; for he must, in the first instance, report the
whole circumstances to the king, and could not march at once. This was
a blight on our prospects, and appeared very vexatious, in the event of
Budja waiting for an answer, which, considering Mtesa had ordered
his Wakungu to accompany us all the way to Gani, might stop our march
altogether.
I therefore argued that Kamrasi's treatment of us was easily accounted
for: he heard of us coming by two routes from an enemy's country,
and was naturally suspicious of us; that had now been changed by
our withdrawing, and he invited us to him. Without doubt, his
commander-in-chief was never very far away, and followed on our heels.
Such precaution was only natural and reasonable on Kamrasi's part,
and what had been done need not alarm any one. "If you do your duty
properly, you will take us at once into Unyoro, make your charge over to
these men, and return or not as you like; for in doing so you will have
fulfilled both Mtesa's, and Kamrasi's orders at once." "Very good," says
Budja, "let it be so; for there is great wisdom in your words: but I
must first send to my king, for the Waganda villagers have struck two of
your men with weapons" (this had happened just before my arrival
here), "and this is a most heinous offence in Uganda, which cannot be
overlooked. Had it been done with a common stick, it could have been
overlooked; but the use of weapons is an offence, and both parties must
go before the king." This, of course, was objected to on the plea that
it was my own affair. I was king of the Wanguana, and might choose to
dispense with the attendance. The matter was compromised, however, on
the condition that Budja should march across the border to-morrow, and
wait for the return of these men and for further orders on the Unyoro
side.
The bait took. Budja lost sight of the necessity there was for his going
to Gani to bring back a gun, ammunition, and some medicine--that is to
say, brandy--for his king; and sent his men off with mine to tell Mtesa
all our adventures--our double repulse, the intention to wait on the
Unyoro side for further orders, and the account of some Waganda having
wounded my men. I added my excuses for Kamrasi, and laid a complaint
against Mtesa's officers for having defrauded us out of ten cows, five
goats, six butter, and sixty mbugu. It was not that we required these
things, but I knew that the king had ordered them to be given to us, and
I thought it right we should show that his officers, if they professed
to obey his orders, had peculated. After these men had started, some
friends of the villager who had been apprehended on the charge of
assailing my men, came and offered Budja five cows to overlook the
charge; and Budja, though he could not overlook it when I pleaded for
the man, asked me to recall my men. Discovering that the culprit was a
queen's man, and that the affair would cause bad blood at court should
the king order the man's life to be taken, I tried to do so, but things
had gone too far.
Again the expedition marched on in the right direction. We reached the
last village on the Uganda frontier, and there spent the night. Here
Grant shot a nsunnu buck. The Wanguana mutinied for ammunition, and
would not lift a load until they got it, saying, "Unyoro is a dangerous
country," though they had been there before without any more than they
now had in pouch. The fact was, my men, in consequence of the late
issues on the river, happened to have more than Grant's men, and every
man must have alike. The ringleader, unfortunately for himself, had
lately fired at a dead lion, to astonish the Unyoro, and his chum had
fired a salute, which was contrary to orders; for ammunition was at a
low ebb, and I had done everything in my power to nurse it. Therefore,
as a warning to the others, the guns of these two were confiscated,
and a caution given that any gun in future let off, either by design or
accident, would be taken.
To-day I felt very thankful to get across the much-vexed boundary-line,
and enter Unyoro, guided by Kamrasi's deputation of officers, and so
shake off the apprehensions which had teased us for so many days.
This first march was a picture of all the country to its capital: an
interminable forest of small trees, bush, and tall grass, with scanty
villages, low huts, and dirty-looking people clad in skins; the
plantain, sweet potato, sesamum, and ulezi (millet) forming the chief
edibles, besides goats and fowls; whilst the cows, which are reported
to be numerous, being kept, as everywhere else where pasture-lands are
good, by the wandering, unsociable Wahuma are seldom seen. No hills,
except a few scattered cones, disturb the level surface of the land, and
no pretty views ever cheer the eye. Uganda is now entirely left behind;
we shall not see its like again; for the further one leaves the equator,
and the rain-attracting influences of the Mountains of the Moon,
vegetation decreases proportionately with the distance.
Fortunately the frontier-village could not feed so large a party as
ours, and therefore we were compelled to move farther on, to our great
delight, through the same style of forest acacia, cactus, and tall
grass, to Kidgwiga's gardens, where we no sooner arrived than Mtesa's
messenger-page, with a party of fifty Waganda, dropped in, in the most
unexpected manner, to inquire after "his royal master's friend, Bana."
The king had heard of the fight upon the river, and thought the Wanguana
must be very good shots. He still trusted we would not forget the gun
and ammunition, but, above all, the load of stimulants, for he desired
that above all things on earth. This was the fourth message to remind
us of these important matters which we had received since leaving his
gracious presence, and each time brought by the same page. While the
purpose of the boy's coming with so many men was not distinctly known,
the whole village and camp were in a state of great agitation, Budja
fearing lest the king had some fault to find with his work, and the
Wanyoro deeming it a menace of war, whilst I was afraid they might take
fright and stop our progress.
But all went well in the end; Massey's log, which I have mentioned as a
present I intended for Mtesa, was packed up, and the page departed with
it. Some of Rumanika's men, who came into Unyoro with Baraka, with four
of K'yengo's, were sent to call us by Kamrasi. Through Rumanika's men
it transpired that he had stood security for our actions, else, with
the many evil reports of our being cannibals and such-like, which had
preceded our coming here, we never should have gained admittance to the
country. The Wanyoro, who are as squalid-looking as the Wanyamuezi,
and almost as badly dressed, now came about us to hawk ivory ornaments,
brass and copper twisted wristlets, tobacco, and salt, which they
exchanged for cowries, with which they purchase cows from the Waganda.
As in Uganda, all the villagers forsook their huts as soon as they heard
the Wageni (guests) were coming; and no one paid the least attention
to the traveller, save the few head-men attached to the escort, or some
professional traders.
25th to 28th.--I had no sooner ordered the march than Vittagura
counter-ordered it, and held a levee to ascertain, as he said, if the
Waganda were to go back; for though Kamrasi wished to see us, he did not
want the Waganda. It was Kamrasi's orders that Budja should tell this
to his "child the Mkavia," meaning Mtesa; for when the Waganda came the
first time to see him, three of his family died; and when they came the
second time, three more died; and as this rate of mortality was quite
unusual in his family circle, he could only attribute it to foul magic.
The presence of people who brought such results was of course by no
means desirable. This neat message elicited with a declaration of the
necessity of Budja's going to Gani with us, and a response from the
commander-in-chief, probably to terrify the Waganda, that although Gani
was only nine days' journey distant from Kamrasi's palace, the Gani
people were such barbarians, they would call a straight-haired man a
magician, and any person who tied his mbugu in a knot upon his shoulder,
or had a full set of teeth as the Waganda have, would be surely killed
by them. Finally, we must wait two days, to see if Kamrasi would see us
or not. Such was Unyoro diplomacy.
An announcement of a different kind immediately followed. The king had
heard that I gave a cow to Vittagura and Kidgwiga when they first came
to me in Uganda, and wished the Wanyamuezi to ascertain if this was
true. Of course, I said they were my guests in Uganda, and if they had
been wise they would have eaten their cow on the spot; what was that to
Kamrasi? It was a pity he did not treat us as well who have come into
his country at his own invitation, instead of keeping us starving in
this gloomy wilderness, without a drop of pombe to cheer the day;--why
could not he let us go on? He wanted first to hear if the big Mzungu,
meaning myself, had really come yet. All fudge!
Three days were spent in simply waiting for return messages on both
sides, and more might have been lost in the same way, only we
amused Vittagura and gave him confidence by showing our pictures,
looking-glass, scissors, knives, etc., when he promised a march in the
morning, leaving a man behind to bring on the Wanguana sent to Mtesa's,
it being the only alternative which would please Budja; for he said
there was no security for life in Unyoro, where every Mkungu calls
himself the biggest man, and no true hospitality is to be found.
The next two days took us through Chagamoyo to Kiratosi, by the aid
of the compass; for the route Kamrasi's men took differed from the one
which Budja knew, and he declared the Wanyoro were leading us into
a trap, and would not be convinced we were going on all right till I
pulled out the compass and confirmed the Wanyoro. We were anything but
welcomed at Kiratosi, the people asking by what bad luck we had come
there to eat up their crops; but in a little while they flocked to our
doors and admired our traps, remarking that they believed each iron box
contained a couple of white dwarfs, which we carry on our shoulders,
sitting straddle-legs, back to back, and they fly off to eat people
whenever they get the order. One of these visitors happened to be the
sister of one of my men, named Baruti, who no sooner recognised her
brother, than, without saying a word, she clasped her head with her
hands, and ran off, crying, to tell her husband what she had seen. A
spy of Kamrasi dropped the report that the Wanguana were returning from
Mtesa's, and hurried on to tell the king.
31st.--Some Waganda hurrying in, confirmed the report of last night,
and said the Wanguana, footsore, had been left at the Uganda frontier,
expecting us to return, as Mtesa, at the same time that he approved
highly of my having sent men back to inform him of Kamrasi's conduct,
begged we would instantly return, even if found within one march of
Kamrasi's, for he had much of importance to tell his friend Bana. The
message continued to this effect: I need be under no apprehensions about
the road to the coast, for he would give me as many men as I liked; and,
fearing I might be short of powder, he had sent some with the Wanguana.
Both Wanguana were by the king given women for their services, and an
old tin cartridge-box represented Mtesa's card, it being an article of
European manufacture, which, if found in the possession of any Mganda,
would be certain death to him. Finally, all the houses and plantains
where my men were wounded had been confiscated.
When this message was fully delivered, Budja said we must return without
a day's delay. I, on the contrary, called up Kidgwiga. I did not like my
men having been kept prisoners in Uganda, and pronounced in public that
I would not return. It would be an insult to Kamrasi my doing so, for I
was now in his "house" at his own invitation. I wished Bombay would go
with him (Kidgwiga) at once to his king, to say I had hoped, when I sent
Budja with Mabruki, in the first instance, conveying a friendly present
from Mtesa, which was done at my instigation, and I found Kamrasi
acknowledged it by a return-present, that there would be no more
fighting between them. I said I had left England to visit these
countries for the purpose of opening up a trade, and I had no orders
to fight my way except with the force of friendship. That Rumanika had
accepted my views Kamrasi must be fully aware by Baraka's having visited
him; and that Mtesa did the same must also be evident, else he would
never have ordered his men to accompany me to Gani; and I now fondly
trusted that these Waganda would be allowed to go with me, when, by the
influence of trade, all animosity would cease, and friendly relations be
restored between the two countries.
This speech was hardly pronounced when Kajunju, a fine athletic man,
dropped suddenly in, nodded a friendly recognition to Budja, and wished
to know what the Waganda meant by taking us back, for the king had heard
of their intention last night; and when told by Budja his story, and
by Kidgwiga mine, he vanished like a shadow. Budja, now turning to
me, said, "If you won't go back, I shall; for the orders of Mtesa must
always be obeyed, else lives will be lost; and I shall tell him that
you, since leaving his country, and getting your road, have quite
forgotten him." "If you give such a message as that," I said, "you will
tell a falsehood. Mtesa has no right to order me out of another man's
house, to be an enemy with one whose friendship I desire. I am not only
in honour bound to speak with Kamrasi, but I am also bound to carry out
the orders of my country just as much as you are yours; moreover, I have
invited Petherick to come to Kamrasi's by a letter from Karague, and it
would be ill-becoming in me to desert him in the hands of an enemy, as
he would then certainly find Kamrasi to be if I went back now." Budja
then tried the coaxing dodge, saying, "There is much reason in your
words, but I am sorry you do not listen to the king, for he loves you
as a brother. Did you not go about like two brothers--walking, talking,
shooting, and even eating together? It was the remark of all the
Waganda, and the king will be so vexed when he finds you have thrown him
over. I did not tell you before, but the king says, 'How can I answer
Rumanika if Kamrasi injures Bana? Had I known Kamrasi was such a savage,
I would not have let Bana go there; and I should now have sent a
forge to take him away, only that some accident might arise from it by
Kamrasi's taking fright; the road even to Gani shall be got by force if
necessary.'" Then, finding me still persistent, Budja turned again and
threatened us with the king's power, saying, "If you choose to disobey,
we will see whether you ever get the road to Gani or not; for Kamrasi is
at war on all sides with his brothers, and Mtesa will ally himself with
them at any moment that he wishes, and where will you be then?"
Saying this, Budja walked off, muttering that our being here would much
embarrass Mtesa's actions; whilst my Wanguana, who had been attentively
listening, like timid hares, made up their minds to leave me, and tried,
through Bombay, to obtain a final interview with me, saying they knew
Mtesa's power, and disobedience to him would only end in taking away all
chance of escape. In reply, I said I would not listen to them, as I
had seen enough of them to know it was no use speaking to a pack of
unreasonable cowards, having tried it so often before; but I sent a
message requesting them, if they did desert me at last, to leave my
guns; and, further, added an intimation that, as soon as they reached
the coast, they would be put into prison for three years. The scoundrels
insolently said "tuende setu" (let's be off), rushed to the Waganda
drums, and beat the march.
1st.--Early in the morning, as Budja drummed the home march, I
called him up, gave him a glass rain-gauge as a letter for Mtesa, and
instructed him to say I would send a man to Mtesa as soon as I had seen
Kamrasi about opening the road; that I trusted he would take all the
guns from the deserters and keep them for me, but the men themselves I
wished transported to an island on the N'yanza, for I could never allow
such scoundrels again to enter my camp. It was the effect of desertions
like these that prevented any white men visiting these countries. This
said, the Waganda all left us, taking with them twenty-eight Wanguana,
armed with twenty-two carbines. Amongst them was the wretched governess,
Manamaka, who had always thought me a wonderful magician, because I
possessed, in her belief, an extraordinary power in inclining all the
black kings' hearts to me, and induced them to give the roads no one
before of my colour had ever attempted to use.
With a following reduced to twenty men, armed with fourteen carbines, I
now wished to start for Kamrasi's, but had not even sufficient force
to lift the loads. A little while elapsed, and a party of fifty Wanyoro
rushed wildly into camp, with their spears uplifted, and looked for the
Waganda, but found them gone. The athletic Kajunju, it transpired, had
returned to Kamrasi's, told him our story, and received orders to snatch
us away from the Waganda by force, for the great Mkamma, or king, was
most anxious to see his white visitors; such men had never entered
Unyoro before, and neither his father nor his father's fathers had ever
been treated with such a visitation; therefore he had sent on these
fifty men to fall by surprise on the Waganda, and secure us. But again,
in a little while, about 10 a.m., Kajunju, in the same wild manner, at
the head of 150 warriors, with the soldier's badge--a piece of mbugu
or plantain-leaf tied round their heads, and a leather sheath on their
spear-heads, tufted with cow's-tail--rushed in exultingly, having found,
to their delight, that there was no one left to fight with, and that
they had gained an easy victory. They were certainly a wild set of
ragamuffins--as different as possible from the smart, well-dressed,
quick-of-speech Waganda as could be, and anything but prepossessing to
our eyes. However, they had done their work, and I offered them a cow,
wishing to have it shot before them; but the chief men, probably wishing
the whole animal to themselves, took it alive, saying the men were all
the king's servants, and therefore could not touch a morsel.
Kamrasi expected us to advance next day, when some men would go on ahead
to announce our arrival, and bring a letter which was brought with beads
by Gani before Baraka's arrival here. It was shown to Baraka in the hope
that we would come by the Karague route, but not to Mabruki, because he
came from Uganda. Kidgwiga informed us that Kamrasi never retaliated on
Mtesa when he lifted Unyoro cows, though the Waganda keep their cattle
on the border--which simply meant that he had not the power of doing so.
The twenty remaining Wanguana, conversing over the sudden scheme of the
deserters, proposed, on one side, sending for them, as, had they seen
the Wanyoro arrive, they would have changed their minds; but the other
side said, "What! those brutes who said we should all die here if we
stayed, and yet dared not face the danger with us, should we now give
them a helping hand? Never! We told them we would share our fate with
Bana, and share it we will, for God rules everything: every man must die
when his time comes."
We marched for the first time without music, as the drum is never
allowed to be beaten in Unyoro except when the necessities of war demand
it, or for a dance. Wanyamuezi and Wanyoro, in addition to our own
twenty men, carried the luggage, though no one carried more than the
smallest article he could find. It was a pattern Unyoro march, of only
two hours' duration. On arrival at the end we heard that elephants had
been seen close by. Grant and I then prepared our guns, and found a herd
of about a hundred feeding on a plain of long grass, dotted here and
there by small mounds crowned with shrub. The animals appeared to be all
females, much smaller than the Indian breed; yet though ten were fired
at, none were killed, and only one made an attempt to charge. I was with
the little twin Manua at the time, when, stealing along under cover of
the high grass, I got close to the batch and fired at the larges, which
sent her round roaring. The whole of them then, greatly alarmed, packed
together and began sniffing the air with their uplifted trunks, till,
ascertaining by the smell of the powder that their enemy was in front of
them, they rolled up their trunks and came close to the spot where I was
lying under a mound. My scent then striking across them, they pulled up
short, lifted their heads high, and looked down sideways on us. This
was a bad job. I could not get a proper front shot at the boss of any of
them, and if I had waited an instant we should both have been picked
up or trodden to death; so I let fly at their temples, and instead of
killing, sent the whole of them rushing away at a much faster pace than
they came. After this I gave up, because I never could separate the
ones I had wounded from the rest, and thought it cruel to go on damaging
more. Thinking over it afterwards, I came to the conclusion I ought to
have put in more powder; for I had, owing to their inferior size to
the Indian ones, rather despised them, and fired at them with the same
charge and in the same manner as I always did at rhinoceros. Though
puzzled at the strange sound of the rifle, the elephants seldom ran far,
packed in herd, and began to graze again. Frij, who was always ready at
spinning a yarn, told us with much gravity that two of my men, Uledi and
Wadi Hamadi, deserters, were possessed of devils (Phepo) at Zanzibar.
Uledi, not wishing to be plagued by his Satanic majesty's angels on the
march, sacrificed a cow and fed the poor, according to the great Phepo's
orders, and had been exempted from it; but Wadi Hamadi, who preferred
taking his chance, had been visited several times: once at Usui, when
he was told the journey would be prosperous, only the devil wanted one
man's life, and one man would fall sick; which proved true, for Hassani
was murdered, and Grant fell sick in Karague. The second time Wadi
Hamadi saw the devil in Karague, and was told one man's life would be
required in Uganda, and such also was the case by Kari's murder; and
a third time, in Unyoro, he was possessed, when it was said that the
journey would be prosperous but protracted.
3d.--Though we stormed every day at being so shamefully neglected and
kept in the jungles, we could not get on, nor find out the truth of
our position. I asked if Kamrasi was afraid of us, and looking into his
magic horn; and was answered, "No; he is very anxious to see you, or he
would not have sent six of his highest officers to look after you, and
prevent the unruly peasantry from molesting you." "Then by whose orders
are we kept here?" "By Kamrasi's." "Why does Kamrasi keep us here?" "He
thinks you are not so near, and men have gone to tell him." "How did we
come here from the last ground?" "By Kamrasi's orders; for nothing can
be done excepting by his orders." "Then he must know we are here?" "He
may not have seen the men we sent to him; for unless he shows in public
no one can see him." The whole affair gave us such an opinion of Kamrasi
as induced us to think it would have served him right had we joined
Mtesa and given him a thrashing. This, I said, was put in our power by
an alliance with his refractory brothers; but Kidgwiga only laughed
and said, "Nonsense! Kamrasi is the chief of all the countries round
here--Usoga, Kidi, Chopi, Gani, Ulega, everywhere; he has only to hold
up his hand and thousands would come to his assistance." Kwibeya, the
officer of the place, presented us with five fowls on the part of the
king, and some baskets of potatoes.
4th.--We halted again, it was said, in order that Kwibeya might give
us all the king had desired him to present. I sent Bombay off with
a message to Kamrasi explaining everything, and begging for an early
interview, as I had much of importance to communicate, and wished, of
all things, to see the letter he had from Gani, as it must have come
from our dear friends at home. Seven goats, flour, and plantains, were
now brought to us; and as Kidgwiga begged for the flour without success,
he flew into a fit of high indignation because these things were given
and received without his having first been consulted. He was the big man
and appointed go-between, and no one could dispute it. This was rather
startling news to us, for Vittagura said he was commander-in-chief;
Kajunju thought himself biggest, so did Kwibeya, and even Dr K'yengo's
men justified Budja's speech.
5th and 6th.--Still another halt, with all sorts of excuses. Frij, it
appeared, dreamt last night that the king of Uganda came to fight us for
not complying with his orders, and that all my men ran away except Uledi
and himself. This, according to the interpretation of the coast, would
turn out the reverse, otherwise his head must be wrong, and, according
to local science, should be set right again by actual cautery of the
temples; and as Grant dreamt a letter came from Gani which I opened
and ran away with, he thought it would turn out no letter at all, and
therefore Kamrasi had been humbugging us. We heard that Bombay had shot
a cow before Kamrasi and would not be allowed to return until he had
eaten it.
At last we made a move, but only of two hours' duration, through the
usual forest, in which elephants walked about as if it were their park.
We hoped at starting to reach the palace, but found we must stop here
until the king should send for us. We were informed that doubtless he
was looking into his Uganga, or magic horn, to discover what he had to
expect from us; and he seemed as yet to have found no ground for being
afraid of us. Moreover, it is his custom to keep visitors waiting on him
in this way, for is he not the king of kings, the king of Kittara, which
includes all the countries surrounding Unyoro?