"I have a poor memory for legends," said Bujomba, one night, while we
were in camp at Benga: "but I remember what a young Mtongole (colonel)
named Saruti related to Mtesa after his return from an expedition to the
frontier of Unyoro. What a head that man had, and such eyes! Mtesa was
ever fond of a good story, and loved to question those whom he sent to
distant countries, until you might say that there was nothing left in a
man worth hearing after he had done with him. But Saruti did not need
any questioning. He talked on and on without stopping, until Mtesa
could not sit up longer for sheer weariness. These are among the things
he said that he had witnessed on his journey. You must not ask me if I
believe all that he said. All I can say is that they might have
happened, or been seen by many men, but I never could quite understand
how it was that Saruti alone was so lucky as to see all the things he
talked about. Anyhow, he was very amusing, and Mtesa laughed heartily
many times as he listened to him."
Kabaka, I think my charms which my father suspended round my neck must
be very powerful. I am always in luck. I hear good stones on my
journey, I see strange things which no one else seems to have come
across. Now on this last journey, by the time I reached Singo, I came
to a little village, and as I was drinking banana wine with the chief,
he told me that there were two lions near his village who had a band of
hyenas to serve as soldiers under them. They used to send them out in
pairs, sometimes to one district, and sometimes to another, to purvey
food for them. If the peasants showed fight, they went back and
reported to their masters, and the lions brought all their soldiers with
them, who bothered them so that they were glad to leave a fat bullock
tied to a tree as tribute. Then the lions would take the bullock and
give orders that the peasant who paid his tribute should be left in
peace. The chief declared this to be a fact, having had repeated proof
of it.
At the next place, which is Mbagwe, the man Buvaiya, who is in charge,
told me that when he went a short time before to pay his respects to the
Muzimu (the oracle) of the district, he met about thirty _kokorwa_ on
the road, hunting close together for snakes, and that as soon as they
saw him, they charged at him, and would have killed him had he not run
up a tree. He tells me that though they are not much bigger than
rabbits, they are very savage, and make travelling alone very dangerous.
I think they must be some kind of small dogs. Perhaps the old men of
the court may be better able to tell you what they are.
At the next village of Ngondo a smart boy named Rutuana was brought to
me, who was said to have been lately playing with a young friend of the
same age at long stick and little stick (tip-cat?). His friend hit the
little stick, and sent it a great way, and Rutuana had to fetch it from
the long grass. While searching for it, one of those big serpents which
swallow goats and calves caught him, and coiled itself around him.
Though he screamed out for help, Rutuana laid his stick across his
chest, and clutching hold of each end with a hand, held fast to it until
help came. His friend ran up a tree, and only helped him by screaming.
As the serpent could not break the boy's hold of the stick, he was
unable to crush his ribs, because his outstretched arms protected them;
but when he was nearly exhausted the villagers came out with spears and
shields. These fellows, however, were so stupid that they did not know
how to kill the serpent until Rutuana shouted to them: "Quick! draw your
bows and shoot him through the neck." A man stepped forward then, and
when close to him pierced his throat with the arrow, and as the serpent
uncoiled himself to attack the men, Rutuana fell down. The serpent was
soon speared, and the boy was carried home. I think that boy will
become a great warrior.
At the next village the peasants were much disturbed by a multitude of
snakes which had collected there for some reason. They had seen several
long black snakes which had taken lodging in the anthills. These had
already killed five cows, and lately had taken to attacking the
travellers along the road that leads by the anthills, when an Arab,
named Massoudi, hearing of their trouble, undertook to kill them. He
had some slaves with him, and he clothed their legs with buffalo hide,
and placed cooking-pots on their heads, and told them to go among the
anthills. When the snakes came out of their holes he shot them one by
one. Among the reptiles he killed were three kinds of serpents which
possessed horns. The peasants skinned them, and made bags of them to
preserve their charms. One kind of horned snake, very thick and short,
is said to lay eggs as large as those of fowls. The _mubarasassa_,
which is of a greyish colour, is also said to be able to kill elephants.
I then went to Kyengi, beyond Singo, and the peasants, on coming to
gossip with me, rather upset me with terrible stories of the mischief
done by a big black leopard. It seems that he had first killed a woman,
and had carried the body into the bush; and another time had killed two
men while they were setting their nets for some small ground game. Then
a native hunter, under promise of reward from the chief, set out with
two spears to kill him. He did not succeed, but he said that he saw a
strange sight. As he was following the track of the leopard, he
suddenly came to a little jungle, with an open space in the middle. A
large wild sow, followed by her litter of little pigs, was rooting
about, and grunting as pigs do, when he saw the monstrous black leopard
crawl towards one of the pigs. Then there was a shrill squeal from a
piggie, and the mother, looking up, discovered its danger, at which it
furiously charged the leopard, clashing her tusks and foaming at the
mouth. The leopard turned sharp round, and sprang up a tree. The sow
tried to jump up after it, but being unable to reach her enemy in that
way, she set about working hard at the roots. While she was busy about
it the peasant ran back to obtain a net and assistants, and to get his
hunting-dog. When he returned, the sow was still digging away at the
bottom of the tree, and had made a great hole all round it. The pigs,
frightened at seeing so many men, trotted away into the bush, and the
hunter and his friends prepared to catch the leopard. They pegged the
net all about the tree, then let loose the dog, and urged him towards
the net. As he touched the net, the hunters made a great noise, and
shouted, at which the leopard bounded from the tree, and with one
scratch of his paw ripped the dog open, sprang over the net, tapped one
of the men on the shoulder, and was running away, when he received a
wound in the shoulder, and stopped to bite the spear. The hunters
continued to worry him, until at last, covered with blood, he lay down
and died.
One day's journey beyond Kyengi, I came to the thorn-fenced village of
some Watusi shepherds, who, it seems, had suffered much from a pair of
lion cubs, which were very fierce. The headman's little boy was looking
after some calves when the cubs came and quietly stalked him through the
grass, and caught him. The headman took it so much to heart, that as
soon as he heard the news he went straight back to his village and
hanged himself to a rafter. The Watusi love their families very much,
but it seems to be a custom with these herdsmen that if a man takes his
own life, the body cannot be buried, and though he was a headman, they
carried it to the jungle, and after leaving it for the vultures, they
returned and set fire to his hut, and burnt it to the ground. When they
had done that, the Watusi collected together and had a long hunt after
the young lions, but as yet they have not been able to find them.
When the sun was half-way up the sky, I came from Kyengi to some
peasants, who lived near a forest which is affected by the man-monkeys
called nzike (gorilla?). I was told by them that the nzike know how to
smoke and make fire just as we do. It is a custom among the natives,
when they see smoke issuing through the trees, for them to say, "Behold,
the nzike is cooking his food." I asked them if it were true that the
nzike carried off women to live with them, but they all told me that it
was untrue, though the old men sometimes tell such stories to frighten
the women, and keep them at home out of danger. Knowing that I was on
the king's business, they did not dare tell me their fables.
By asking them all sorts of questions, I was shown to a very old man
with a white beard, with whom I obtained much amusement. It appears he
is a great man at riddles, and he asked me a great many.
One was, "What is it that always goes straight ahead, and never looks
back?"
I tried hard to answer him, but when finally he announced that it was a
river, I felt very foolish.