We find Mtesa at war—“Jack’s Mount”—Meeting with Mtesa—The Waganda army
in camp and on the march—The imperial harem—In sight of the enemy—The
Waganda fleet—Preliminary skirmishing—The causeway—The massacre of
Mtesa’s peace party—“What do you know of angels?”—Mtesa’s education
proceeds in the intervals of war—Translating the Bible—Jesus or
Mohammed?—Mtesa’s decision—The royal proselyte.
_August 13._—At Dumo rumour and gossip were busy about a war and a
mighty preparation which Mtesa, the Emperor of Uganda, was making for an
expedition against the Wavuma. He had not been as yet actually engaged,
it was said, though it was expected he would be shortly. In the hope,
then, of finding him at his capital, I resolved to be speedy in reaching
him, so that, without much delay, I might be able to return and
prosecute my journey to Lake Albert.
The first day, favoured by a gale from the north-west, the _Lady Alice_
left the fastest of the Waganda canoes far behind, but, obliged to halt
for her company, put in for the night among the mosquito-haunted papyrus
of Bwiru. The next day, after sailing across Sessé Channel, and passing
the mouth of the Katonga, we rested at Jumba’s Cove in Unjaku. From this
cove runs a wide road constructed by Mtesa about two years before, when
he undertook to invade Ankori and punish Mtambuko, the king of that
shepherd state. Though untouched during two years, it is still
sufficiently clear of grass to define its width and illustrate the
energy of Mtesa when aroused.
_August 18._—On the 18th of August we sailed to Ntewi, where we learned
two reliable facts. The king had already marched towards Usoga, and had
an engagement with his enemies, the Wavuma. When I heard this news, I
felt more than half inclined to turn back, for I knew by experience that
African wars are tedious things, and I was not in the humour to be
delayed long; but on reflection, and after much importunity from the
Waganda, I adhered to the first intention, by which I thought that
probably, though delayed, I might reach the Albert Nyanza by a short
route, which would in a manner balance the delay occasioned by visiting
Mtesa.
We also heard that the Wavuma were abroad on the lake in hundreds of
canoes searching for prey, and, not wishing the _Lady Alice_, which had
already done me such good service, to fall into their hands, we conveyed
the boat into the centre of the village, where we stored her and her
appurtenances—oars, sails, rudder, &c. I also heard that the oars, which
Magassa had received from Bumbireh, were in the chief of Ntewi’s house,
and had the satisfaction of seeing them once more under the charge of
the boat-keeper. We halted at Ntewi one day, by which I was enabled not
only to house the boat properly and to receive the oars, but to meet the
two soldiers left as guard of honour with Magassa and to receive salaams
from Mtesa, and more guards to ensure my welcome and comfort _en route_
to him.
_August 20._—Under the auspices of a considerable addition to our
convoy, we left Ntewi, and, paddling vigorously during the afternoon of
the 20th, arrived at Nankuma, in the bay of Buka. Here we left the
canoes, and the next day prosecuted our journey overland to avoid the
Wavuma, and camped at Ziba, at the base of “Jack’s Mount.”
This name is derived from a fatal accident to my faithful companion
Jack, a bull-terrier of remarkable intelligence and affection which
accompanied me from England. A wild cow given by the Mtongoleh for the
subsistence of the king’s stranger, being rather obstreperous in her
behaviour, was assaulted by Jack, but the cow in her turn tossed the
unfortunate dog and gored him to death. He died “regretted by all who
knew his many good qualities.” His companion, “Bull,” the last of five
English dogs, when he beheld his poor mate stretched out still and dead,
also expressed, as clearly as canine nature would allow, his great
sorrow at his lamentable fate. Grave and deliberate from years and long
travel, he walked round the body two or three times, examining it
carefully, and then advanced to me with his honest eyes wide open as if
to ask, “What has caused this?” Receiving no answer, he went aside and
sat down with his back to me, solemn and sad, as though he were
ruminating despondingly on the evils which beset dog and man alike in
this harsh and wicked world.
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[_To face page 234._
[Illustration: VIEW OF RIPON FALLS FROM THE UGANDA SIDE.]
(_From a photograph by the Author._)
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_August 22._—The next day, marching in an east by north direction from
Jack’s Mount, we crossed the Zedziwa, a stream rising at the base of a
hill situated but two miles from the north-western extremity of
“Grant[19] Bay,” which I believe to be the “Luajerri,” a stream Speke
sketched on his map as issuing from the Victoria and forming a second
outlet into the Nile.
Having explored by water all the coast washed by the Victoria Nyanza and
having since travelled on foot the entire distance between Nakaranga
Cape and Buku Bay, I can state positively that there is but one outlet
from the lake, viz. the Ripon Falls. There are three rivers, one on the
Usoga side of Napoleon Channel, called the Nagombwa, and two on the
Uganda side—the Zedziwa, rising in Makindo near Grant Bay, and the
Mwerango, rising west of Mtesa’s capital—any of which, seen by
travellers journeying at a little distance from the lake, might be
supposed by them to be outlets of Lake Victoria. The Nagombwa empties
into the Victoria Nile not far from Urondogani; the Zedziwa empties into
the Victoria Nile near Urondogani, and the Mwerango flows into the
Mianja, the Mianja flows into the Kafu, and the Kafu into the Victoria
Nile, somewhere in the neighbourhood of Rionga’s Island.
At Makindo I received the Emperor’s salaams for the fifth time since
arriving in Uganda, and his walking-stick,[20] as a token that it really
was Mtesa who sent the repeated messages of welcome. By sea and by land
his messengers of welcome had met me, and each stage was supplied with
an “augmented greeting” with many manifestations of his regard. I was
well convinced, from the repeated expeditions sent by land and water to
hunt up news of me when Magassa reported me as dead, that the friendship
conceived for me by Mtesa was something more than in name.
_August 23._—Arriving next day at Ugungu, opposite Jinja, or the Ripon
Falls, two more messengers came up breathless from the imperial camp—
which I could see covering many miles of ground—with yet an additional
welcome, and pointed out on the opposite side Mtesa and his chiefs, most
picturesque in their white dresses and red caps, with a large concourse
of attendants, waiting to see my party cross the channel. Five large
canoes were in readiness at the ferry, and also soldiers of the royal
guard to escort us through the vast crowds on the other side of the
channel.
Far different was the scene on this day around the Falls to that which
Speke had gazed upon in 1863, and to that which I had seen five months
before when I entered this channel after a skirmish with the Wavuma. For
now the channel swarmed with large canoes, and the shores of Ugungu and
Jinja were covered with thousands of men, women, and children; while
then all was silent and lonely, and the monotonous noise of falling
waters was the only sound that was heard.
Crossing the channel amid the noise and bustle of many thousands, we
soon found ourselves in the midst of the vast army that Mtesa had
collected from all parts of his empire. Natives of Karagwé, lean,
lank-bodied, and straight-nosed, with their deficiencies of calf made
up for by a preposterous fulness of ankle, caused by hundreds of
coils of fine iron wire, gathered round us with as much curiosity as
the ferocious Wakedi, who intruded their bodies, naked as when they
were born, among the clean-robed Waganda, reckless of the laughter
and jeering which their nudity provoked. The vain Wasoga also seemed
to forget, while they gazed on us, that they were as much objects of
curiosity to the rustic yet unabashed natives of Sessé, who stood
by them, as we were to them; for, indeed, look where I might, the
undisguised vanity of the Wasoga made them extremely conspicuous.
Though amidst such a large army of sable warriors, a solah topee,
European complexion, and boots wonderfully created of some kind of
leather, might well be deemed curiosities; yet lambskins of all
colours, stuffed with grass, and standing erect on men’s heads, and
long white-haired goat-skin for robes and loin coverings, were not a
whit less curious to the canoe-building natives of Sessé, who until now
had never, it seemed, witnessed such things. But, taking advantage of
the quiet complacency with which we permitted these warriors to gaze on
us, they began to press on us more closely than was convenient, until
they were scattered by the mighty sticks of the guards, who felled
them to right and left without remorse, and Wasoga, Wanyambu, Wakedi,
Wazongora, and Waganda were compelled to be more careful of their bones
than curious to see us.
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[_To face page 236._
[Illustration:
THE OUTFALL OF THE VICTORIA NYANZA: RIPON FALLS, WHICH GIVE BIRTH TO
THE VICTORIA NILE.
CAMP OF REAR GUARD ON HILL.
(_From a photograph taken by the Author, from the Usoga side._)
]
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A short time afterwards, near the imperial quarters, I met the great
chiefs of Uganda with whom I had struck up an acquaintance on my first
visit, among whom I recognized tall and handsome Chambarango, the king’s
steward Kauta, Sambuzi, and lastly the Katekiro—the Premier—brilliant in
his scarlet robe, white dress, and fez, attended by a retinue almost
regal. They all expressed their satisfaction at seeing me alive and
safe, and were all anxious to hear how we had escaped from Bumbireh.
_August 24._—The next day at the usual levee hour of Mtesa—8 A.M.—the
drums announced the levee as begun, and half an hour later the pages
came to conduct me to the presence of Mtesa. The imperial quarters
covered an area of about 200 yards square, and though but temporarily
put up, few Europeans could have constructed such commodious houses and
neat courts with such means, as the Waganda had prepared for their
sovereign.
The gates of the outer court were thronged with representatives of many
countries, anxious to get a glimpse of the great monarch in his state;
but the guards were merciless, and with gunstock and baton rudely thrust
or beat back the intrusive nameless, and were as flint-hearted in their
office as London policemen are on a similar occasion. For me the pages
sufficed. Their presence cleared a broad road to the gate, which was
drawn widely open to allow our procession to go by. One court was
passed, and when the gate of the levee court was drawn back, a most
picturesque scene was disclosed. In the centre rose a conical hut, at
the broad doorway of which sat a silent figure; on either side were
standard-bearers and the hereditary guards, while, forming a broad
crescent in the front rank, were the chiefs and important captains of
the Empire seated on mats. In the background the bodyguards of Mtesa
stood at “shoulder arms” in double ranks; in one corner were arranged
the drummers and musicians, while scattered here and there in the open
space before the monarch stood groups of claimants and courtiers.
As I advanced, Mtesa rose, and came to the edge of the leopard-rug, on
which his feet rested while seated, and there was even greater warmth in
this greeting than on the former occasion at Usavara. After a short
pause, Sabadu, the chief who had conducted me from Bumbireh, was called
forward to relate the incidents of our meeting, our fight with Bumbireh,
and other events of the journey, which he did with a most wonderful
minuteness of detail. He then in my name presented the captives of
Bumbireh to the king, with an intercession that he would not slay them,
but keep them in durance until their ransom was paid by Antari. Mtesa
was then informed of the purpose of my coming, which was to obtain the
guides he had promised me on my first visit, to show me the road to Muta
Nzigé; and I begged he would furnish them without much delay, as I had
already lost considerable time from his canoes having failed me.
Mtesa replied that he was now engaged in a war with the rebellious
people of Uvuma, who insolently refused to pay their tribute, harassed
the coast of Chagwé, and abducted his people, “selling them afterwards
for a few bunches of bananas,” and that it was not customary in Uganda
to permit strangers to proceed on their journeys while the _Kabaka_ was
engaged in war, but that the war would soon be over, when, if I would
wait, he would send a chief with an army to conduct me to the Nyanza
(Muta Nzigé) by the shortest road.
“Besides,” said he, “a small force cannot reach that lake. Kabba Rega of
Unyoro is at present at war with the whites of Kaniessa (Gondokoro), and
the people of Ankori do not admit strangers into their territory for
trade or otherwise, and all the roads to the lake run through their
countries.”
After this intelligence I saw that I had either to renounce the project
of exploring the Albert, and proceed at once to the Tanganika—which,
after coming so far out of the way, would perhaps have been regarded in
Europe as madness—or to wait patiently until the war was over, and then
make up by forced marches for lost time. But being again assured that
the war would not last long, I resolved to stay and witness it as a
novelty, and to take advantage of the time to acquire information about
the country and its people.
_August 27._—On the 27th of August, Mtesa struck his camp, and began the
march to Nakaranga, a point of land lying within 700 yards of the island
of Ingira, which had been chosen by the Wavuma as their depôt and
stronghold. He had collected an army numbering 150,000 warriors, as it
was expected that he would have to fight the rebellious Wasoga as well
as the Wavuma. Besides this great army must be reckoned nearly 50,000
women, and about as many children and slaves of both sexes, so that at a
rough guess, after looking at all the camps and various tributary
nations which at Mtesa’s command had contributed their quotas, I
estimated the number of souls in Mtesa’s camp to be about 250,000!
This large total may seem startling, but not more so to those acquainted
with the customs and population of Uganda and the nature and extent of
Mtesa’s authority, than the five millions and a quarter said to have
started with Xerxes in his invasion of Greece. I myself, though I saw
the vast area which the several camps occupied, did not believe it
possible, until one day I asked Mtesa, for the sake of satisfying my
curiosity, to permit me to make a muster-roll of his chiefs. Always
affable and willing to please white men, for whom he entertains profound
respect, he called together all his principal chiefs and officers (who
in Uganda are distinguished by the titles of Wakungu and Watongoleh),
and commanded them to bring the respective numbers of their sub-chiefs.
The following is the muster-roll of the generals and colonels made at
the time:—
Names of Generals. Number of
Sub-chiefs or
Colonels.
1. Pokino, the Katekiro, Chief of Uddu, and Premier of
Uganda 6
2. Chambarango, Chief of Usiro 6
3. Kaeema 6
4. Kitunzi, Chief of the Katonga valley 2
5. Sekebobo, Chief of Chagwé 24
6. Mkwenda 19
7. Kasuju, guardian of the imperial family 5
8. Kagu 5
9. Kangau 18
10. Kimbugwé 24
11. Katambalé 2
12. Nana Masurie, Mtesa’s mother 10
13. Sabaganzi, Mtesa’s uncle 4
—— 131
Emperor’s personal bodyguard 23
——
Total 154
These sub-chiefs command followers numbering from 50 to 3000, and
Mtesa’s bodyguard, though claiming twenty-three Watongoleh, must not be
estimated at a less number than 3000 in the aggregate. Now, roughly
calculating the native Waganda force at 125,000, we have to add the
quotas furnished by Karagwé, Uzongora, Ukedi, Usoga, Sessé, and the
islands of the lake, Irwaji, Lulamba, Kiwa, Uziri, Kibibi, &c., also all
the Arabs and Wangwana guests who came with their guns to assist Mtesa,
and 25,000 seems to me to be a reasonable estimate of the force drawn
from these sources.
The advance-guard had departed too early for me to see them, but,
curious to see the main body of this great army pass, I stationed myself
at an early hour at the extreme limit of the camp.
First with his legion came Mkwenda, who guards the frontier between the
Katonga valley and Willimiesi against the Wanyoro. He is a stout, burly
young man, brave as a lion, having much experience of wars, and cunning
and adroit in their conduct, accomplished with the spear, and
possessing, besides, other excellent fighting qualities. I noticed that
the Waganda chiefs, though Muslimized, clung to their war-paints and
national charms, for each warrior, as he passed by on the trot, was most
villainously bedaubed with ochre and pipe-clay. The force under the
command of Mkwenda might be roughly numbered at 30,000 warriors and
camp-followers, and though the path yesterday was a mere goat-track, the
rush of this legion on the half-trot soon crushed out a broad avenue.
The old general Kangau, who defends the country between Willimiesi and
the Victoria Nile, came next with his following, their banners flying,
drums beating and pipes playing, he and his warriors stripped for
action, their bodies and faces daubed with white, black, and ochreous
war-paint.
Next came a rush of about 2000 chosen warriors, all tall men, expert
with spear and shield, lithe of body and nimble of foot, shouting as
they trotted past their war-cry of “Kavya, kavya” (the two last
syllables of Mtesa’s title when young—_Mukavya_, “king”), and rattling
their spears. Behind them at a quick march came the musket-armed
bodyguard of the Emperor, about two hundred in front, a hundred on
either side of the road, enclosing Mtesa and his _Katekiro_, and two
hundred bringing up the rear, with their drums beating, pipes playing,
and standards flying, and forming quite an imposing and warlike
procession.
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[_To face page 240._
[Illustration:
THE VICTORIA NILE, NORTH OF RIPON FALLS, RUSHING TOWARDS UNYORO, FROM
THE USOGA SIDE OF THE FALLS.
(_From a photograph by the Author._)
]
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Mtesa marched on foot, bare-headed, and clad in a dress of blue check
cloth, with a black belt of English make round his waist, and—like the
Roman emperors, who, when returning in triumph, painted their faces a
deep vermilion—his face dyed a bright red. The _Katekiro_ preceded him,
and wore a dark grey cashmere coat, which M. de Bellefonds had given
him. I think this arrangement was made to deceive any assassin who might
be lurking in the bushes. If this was the case, the precaution seemed
wholly unnecessary, as the march was so quick that nothing but a gun
would have been effective, and the Wavuma and Wasoga have no such
weapons.
After Mtesa’s bodyguard had passed by, chief after chief, legion after
legion, followed, each distinguished to the native ear by its different
and peculiar drum-beat. They came on at an extraordinary pace, more like
warriors hurrying up into action than on the march, and it is their
custom, I am told, to move always at a trot when on an enterprise of a
warlike nature.[21]
About two hours after the main body began its march, Kasuju, the
guardian of the young princes and Mtesa’s women, preceded by a thousand
spears and followed by a similar number, trotted by. The women numbered
about 5000, but not more than 500 can be styled the Emperor’s
concubines; the others were for the duties of the household.
If beautiful women of sable complexion are to be found in Africa, it
must, I thought, be in the household of such a powerful despot as Mtesa,
who has the pick of the flower of so many lands. Accordingly I looked
sharply amongst the concubines, that I might become acquainted with the
style of pure African beauty. Nor was I quite disappointed, though I had
imagined that his wives would have all been of superior personal charms.
But Mtesa apparently differs widely from Europeans in his tastes. There
were not more than twenty out of all the five hundred worthy of a glance
of admiration from a white man with any eye for style and beauty, and
certainly not more than three deserving of many glances. These three,
the most comely among the twenty beauties of Mtesa’s court, were of the
Wahuma race, no doubt from Ankori. They had the complexion of quadroons,
were straight-nosed and thin-lipped, with large lustrous eyes. In the
other graces of a beautiful form they excelled, and Hafiz might have
said with poetic rapture that they were “straight as palm-trees and
beautiful as moons.” The only drawback was their hair—the short crisp
hair of the negro race—but in all other points they might be exhibited
as the perfection of beauty which Central Africa can produce. Mtesa,
however, does not believe them to be superior, or even equal, to his
well-fleshed, unctuous-bodied, flat-nosed wives: indeed, when I pointed
them out to him one day at a private audience, he even regarded them
with a sneer. Speke, if I remember rightly, declares that fatness in
womankind is synonymous with beauty in Uganda. This may once have been
the case, but it is certainly not so now, for in few women regarded with
favour by Mtesa or his chiefs have I seen any gross corpulence of body.
Naturally, where there is abundance of good digestible food, and the
climate is agreeable, humanity of the respectable class will generally
be found to be well clothed in flesh, be it in Uganda or in England, but
it is somewhat unreasonable to state that the respectable class
therefore considers superfluous rotundity to be an element of beauty.
After the royal harem followed Mtesa’s uncle, ancient and well-featured
Sabaganzi, whom, as regards the multitude of women that followed him, I
looked upon for a long time as a very Solomon among the Waganda, until
one day I learned that large possessions of womankind mean wealth in
Uganda, for all of them have a market value, and are saleable for wares
of any kind, be they cloth, cows, beads, or guns. Still I cannot quite
acquit the old gentleman of the imputation of gallantry, for one night,
at Nakaranga, he slew with his own hand a lover who had come to serenade
one of his numerous Dulcineas. Besides the character I have credited him
with, I must dub him as a jealous, vindictive, choleric old pagan,
despite his fine features and smooth tongue.
Wearied with gazing on the vast multitude, which rolled by steadily
in wave after wave, a living tide of warriors, and having gained
sufficient insight into their numbers and method of travel, I left
my post of observation and struck into the line of march behind
Sabaganzi’s rear-guard, where, to say the least, I was much annoyed by
the rush of hurrying warriors, all of whom thought it necessary to push
on to the front in spite of all obstacles. The guards given to me by
Mtesa to conduct me on the road did their utmost to check the furious,
persistent impetuosity of the on-coming warriors, and used their stout
staffs with angry violence. The blows, however, were quite harmless, as
they were warded off by ample shields of wood and cane.
Perceiving it useless to contend against such a weight of numbers and
such well-established custom, I submitted to the annoyance patiently, as
the march to Nakaranga would not occupy more than two or three days.
At Mpani, where we camped that night, we learned that the Wavuma, soon
after our departure from Jinja, or the “Stones,” had paid a visit to it,
and set the abandoned imperial quarters and the camp on fire, besides
spearing some five or six unfortunates before the chief appointed to
guard the camp was aware of their presence. At sunset we saw the canoes
of the Wavuma, some two or three hundred in number, returning in triumph
to their island.
_Sept. 1._—Four days afterwards, or on the 1st of September, the army of
Mtesa occupied Nakaranga, where it commenced to construct its camp, each
chief surrounded by the men of his own command in the position assigned
to him by the Katekiro.
The legion commanded by the officers of the queen-mother occupied the
ground east of Cape Nakaranga; the chief Ankori and his fantastically
dressed Wasoga camped north of Nana Masurie’s people; to the gallant
Mkwenda with his formidable legion was assigned the entire north of the
camp; and to the redoubtable Sekebobo, when he should arrive from
Namagongo Point, was appointed the lake side, from Mkwenda to the end of
Nakaranga Cape. The imperial quarters occupied an area of 400 yards
square in the centre of the vast camp, and was jealously guarded by the
bodyguard, the legions of the Katekiro, Chambarango, and Kimbugwé, by
Kasuju with the guard of the imperial family, and the bluff, outspoken
Kitunzi, chief of the Katonga valley.
The following rough sketch may assist the reader to understand better
the locality which at this period was of such importance to Uganda. By
sunset the army was comfortably housed in some 30,000 dome-like huts,
above which here and there rose a few of a conical shape and taller than
the rest, showing the temporary residences of the various chiefs.
Amid all the hurry and bustle the white stranger “Stamlee” (as all the
Waganda now called me) was not forgotten. Commodious quarters were
erected and allotted to him and his boat’s crew, by express orders from
Mtesa, near the great broadway which the Katekiro constructed, leading
from the imperial quarters to the point of Cape Nakaranga.
[Illustration]
Anxious to see what chances Mtesa possessed of victory over his
rebellious subjects, I proceeded along the road over the mountain to a
position which commanded a clear view of Ingira Island, whither the
rebels had betaken themselves, their families, and a few herds of
cattle. Considered as being in possession of some twenty thousand
savages, whose only weapons of war were the spear and the sling, Ingira
Island presented no very formidable obstacle to a power such as the
Emperor of Uganda had amassed on this cape, only 700 yards from it. In
length it was barely a mile, and only half a mile in width from the base
of the mountain which confronted the cape to the water’s edge on the
Uvuma side. The mountain rose on all sides with rather a steep slope,
but was easy of ascent to the nimble-footed and deep-chested natives.
The Wavuma, however, were not without allies to assist them in averting
the punishment that Mtesa threatened them with, and the common danger,
as well as a common hate of the dread monarch, had drawn together, for
one strong effort to win their freedom, the inhabitants of Ugeyeya and
Utamba Islands, as well as Kitenteh—famous in the annals of Uganda for
its long but unfortunate struggle with the Emperor Suna, the father of
Mtesa.
The people of the entire coast of Usoga from Nakaranga to Uganda had
voluntarily enlisted in the cause of Uvuma, and had despatched over 150
large canoes fully manned to the war. The confederates, in arranging
their plan of action, had chosen Ingira Island as the rendezvous of the
united fleets of canoes. Mtesa’s plan was to capture this island, and to
cross over from Ingira to the next, and then to Uvuma, when, of course,
only immediate and complete submission would save them; and I rejoiced
that I was present, for I was in hopes that at such a period my
influence might be sufficient to avert the horrors that generally attend
victory in Africa. Though I had no reason to love the Wavuma, and for
the time was a warm ally of Mtesa, I was resolved that no massacre of
the submissive should take place while I was present.
The redoubtable Sekebobo, commanding twenty-four Watongoleh, or
colonels, and a force of about 50,000, occupied Namagongo, and the fleet
of Mtesa was under his charge, waiting orders to cross the bay with
them.
The Uganda war fleet numbered 325 large and small canoes, out of which
only 230 might be said to be really effective for war. One-half of these
were manned by Wasessé, natives of the large island of Sessé; the other
half by the courageous natives of the Irwaji and Lulamba Islands, by
picked men collected from the coast between Usavara and Buka Bay under
the command of Chikwata, the Vice-Admiral, by crews of Unjaku under
Vice-Admiral Jumba, and by the naval brigade of Gabunga, the Admiral of
the Fleet.
Gabunga, though entitled to be called Grand Admiral of the Fleet,
because under his charge were placed all the canoes of Uganda, numbering
perhaps 500 altogether, must not be supposed to exercise supreme command
in action. His duty was simply to convey the orders of the fighting
general to his captains and lieutenants, for the sailors, as in England
in former times—except in desperate extremity—seldom fight.
The fighting men of each canoe owe obedience only to their
General-in-chief; the sailors or paddlers obey Gabunga, the Grand
Admiral of the Fleet, who, again, is controlled by the General-in-chief.
Many readers, unless detained to consider the naval force of Mtesa,
might be contented with the mere figures giving the numerical strength
of his war-vessels. But let us for the sake of curiosity calculate the
number of men required to man these 230 effective war-canoes.
The largest canoe seen by me in this fleet measured 72 feet in length, 7
feet 3 inches in breadth, and was four feet deep within, from keel to
gunwale. The thwarts were 32 in number, to seat 64 paddlers besides the
pilot. There were probably over 100 canoes between 50 and 70 feet in
length, and about 50 between 30 and 50 feet long; the remaining 80
fighting-boats were of all sizes, from 18 to 30 feet long. The rest, of
the fleet consisted of small boats fit only to carry from three to six
men.
The largest class—100 in number—would require on an average fifty men
each to man them, which would be equal in the aggregate to 5000. The
second class would require on an average forty men each, or 2000 to man
the fifty canoes. The third class would average twenty men each, and
being eighty in number, would require 1600 men to man them, the sum
total standing therefore at 8600.
A very respectable figure for a naval force, most men would think. But
in a battle on the lake, or for such an occasion as the present, when
the resources of the empire were mustered for an important war, they
would be further required to carry a strong force to assault Ingira
Island. The canoes for the assault would therefore be crammed with
fighting men, the largest class carrying from 60 to 100 men exclusive of
their crews; so that the actual fact is that Mtesa can float a force of
from 16,000 to 20,000 on Lake Victoria for purposes of war.
Of the spirit with which the Wavuma intended to fight the Waganda, we
had proof enough on the second day of our arrival. They dashed up close
to the shore, and back again into the lake, three or four times, before
the Waganda remembered that they had means at hand in the shape of
muskets to purge them of this bravado. As the shots were fired at the
canoes, most of the Wavuma bent their heads low and paddled their canoes
with one hand, but a few of the boldest stood up exhibiting for our
benefit their dexterity in the use of the spear, and to show how well
they could maintain their footing on the thwarts of their narrow canoes.
Their bravado was not without its effect on many of the Waganda, for I
heard several remark that the Wavuma would be hard to conquer.
On the third morning Sekebobo, having been instructed during the night,
began to cross the bay of Nakaranga with the imperial fleet. Mtesa had
sent a messenger to inform me that the chief was about to start, and I
hastened up to the beach to witness the sight. I found that almost all
the Waganda were animated with the same curiosity, for the beach was
lined for three or four miles with dense masses of people, almost all
clad in the national brown, bark-cloth robes.
The Wavuma meanwhile kept their eyes on Sekebobo, and from the summit of
their mountain island discerned, almost as well as if they had been told
by Mtesa, what was about to be done; and to frustrate this, if possible,
or at least to gather booty, they hastily manned 100 canoes or
thereabouts, and darted out like so many crocodiles towards Namagongo.
Before Sekebobo could arrange the fleet in order, the Wavuma were in the
middle of the bay to dispute his passage, and calmly awaiting his coming
into deep water.
A hundred canoes against 325 was rather an unequal contest, and so the
Wavuma thought, for as the fleet of Mtesa approached in a compact,
tolerably well-arranged mass, the Wavuma opened their line to right and
left, and permitted their foe to pass them. The Waganda, encouraged
by this sign, began to cheer, but scarcely had the first sounds of
self-gratulation escaped them when the Wavuma paddles were seen to
strike the water into foam, and, lo! into the midst of the mass
from either flank the gallant islanders dashed, sending dismay and
consternation into the whole Uganda army.
What work those desperate Wavuma might have done, I know not, but Mtesa
at the sight leaped up high, and shouted his war-cry, “Kavya, kavya!”
and the army, men, women, and children, screamed “Kavya, kavya!” and the
approaching fleet, hearing the cry, echoed it fiercely, and turned
itself on the enemy with spirit. But the Wavuma, having made fourteen
good prizes, did not wish, so unequally matched, to meet the Waganda in
a pitched fight, and accordingly hastened away—contented for the time—
into deeper water, whither, strangely enough, the Waganda fleet did not
dare to follow them.
This short but spirited scene caused me to reflect deeply, and to ask
myself why, if the Wavuma were so courageous, I was permitted to escape
from their hands; and why one boat and a double-barreled elephant-rifle
were sufficient to release us, in our voyage of discovery, from thirteen
well-manned Wavuma canoes. Some answers to this question were derived
subsequently from observation of events.
A pause of two or three days without incident followed the arrival of
Sekebobo’s legion and Mtesa’s fleet. Then Mtesa sent for me, and was
pleased to impart some of his ideas on the probable issue of the war to
me, in something like the following words:—
“Stamlee, I want your advice. All white men are very clever, and appear
to know everything. I want to know from you what you think I may expect
from this war. Shall I have victory or not? It is my opinion we must be
clever, and make headwork take that island.”
Smiling at his naïve, candid manner, I replied that it would require a
prophet to be able to foretell the issue of the war, and that I was far
from being a prophet; that headwork, were it the best in the world,
could not take Ingira Island unassisted by valour.
He then said, “I know that the Waganda will not fight well on the water;
they are not accustomed to it. They are always victorious on land, but
when they go in canoes, they are afraid of being upset; and most of the
warriors come from the interior, and do not know now how to swim. The
Wavuma and Wasoga are very expert in the water, and swim like fish. If
we could devise some means to take the Waganda over to the island
without risking them in the canoes, I should be sure of victory.”
I replied, “You have men, women, and children here in this camp as
numerous as grass. Command every soul able to walk to take up a stone
and cast into the water, and you will make a great difference in its
depth; but if each person carries fifty stones a day, I will warrant you
that in a few days you will walk on dry land to Ingira.”
Mtesa at this slapped his thighs in approval, and forthwith commanded
the Katekiro to muster two legions and set them to work, and very soon
the face of the rocky mountain was covered with about 40,000 warriors,
or about a sixth of the multitude at the cape, toiling at the unusual
work of making a rocky causeway to connect Nakaranga with Ingira Island.
After they had been at work three hours, I proceeded to view the
progress they were making, and saw that they were expending their
energies in making a causeway about 100 feet wide. I told the Katekiro
that it would take a year to finish such a work, but if he would limit
the width to 10 feet, and form the people into rows, he would have the
satisfaction of setting foot on Ingira Island without danger. But though
the Premier and first lord of Uganda lost none of his politeness, and
never forgot that Mtesa, his master, was pleased to call me his friend,
I was not slow in perceiving that he would not accept friendly advice
from a stranger and a foreigner. It was not by words, or even a hint or
unfriendly gesture, that the fact was betrayed, but simply by
inattention to my advice. The most courtly European could not have
excelled the Uganda Premier. He offered in the same friendly manner a
gourdful of the honey-sweet wine of the plantain, talked sociably upon
various matters, invited verbal sketches of European life, and smiled in
an aristocratically insolent manner. Nevertheless, under this urbane
mask, I detected a proud spirit, unbending as steel. With such an
unruffled, composed, smiling patrician of Uganda, what could I do but
groan inwardly that good, brave, excellent Mtesa should be served by
such men? At the same time, I could not help smiling at the diplomatic
insouciance of this man, who indeed represented in only a too perfect
degree the character of the Waganda chiefs.
For two days the work was carried on in the way I had described, namely,
with rocks, and then Mtesa thought that filling the passage with trees
would be a speedier method, and the Katekiro was so instructed. For
three days the Waganda were at work felling trees, and a whole forest
was levelled and carried to Nakaranga Point, where they were lashed to
one another with bark-rope, and sunk.
On the morning of the fifth day Mtesa came down to the point to view the
causeway, and was glad to see that we were nearer by 130 yards to Ingira
Island. While viewing the island, he asked me what I thought of sending
a peace party over to ascertain the feeling of the Wavuma. I replied
that it would be a good and wise thing in Europe, but not in Central
Africa, as I feared the Wavuma would massacre the entire party. Mtesa,
however, advised by the chiefs or one of the Wagwana, persisted in the
idea, and a favourite page, named Webba, was about to be sent in a large
canoe with fifty men to open negotiations for peace with the Wavuma,
when I entreated that he would listen to me, and send a small, rotten
canoe instead. He listened to me so far as to send a canoe manned with
only fifteen men. As they were paddling on, unthinking and undreading
danger, I cried out to Mtesa, who was about twenty yards from me, “Say
farewell to Webba, for you will see little Webba no more.”
The Katekiro and two or three of his chiefs smiled as if this was most
absurd. I felt precisely at this moment as I felt the first time I saw a
bull-fight: a cold shiver of horror crept over me. I was helpless and
unable to avert the tragedy which instinct warned me would be enacted.
The entire Uganda army was concentrated on the slope of Nakaranga
mountain, and the eyes of the vast multitude were fastened upon this
scene; and no doubt they thought as I did, that it was a moment of
thrilling interest. The men of the Uganda canoe fleet were in their
camps, and the canoes were all beached near them.
The peace party held on its way until near Ingira, when one of them
opened a conversation with the Wavuma, the result of which was an
invitation to take their canoe in-shore. As they paddled the canoe
gently in among the rushes that lined the island, I observed that all
the Wavuma gathered together near the place where the Waganda were
expected to land, and that several Wavuma canoes pushed out in order
that the Waganda might have no chance of escape.
We waited only a few seconds for what was about to happen. The canoe of
the peace party had scarcely touched their island before we heard the
shrieks of the unfortunates pealing across the water, and then the
triumphant shouts of the Wavuma; and soon we saw men rushing to the
point of their island nearest the causeway, and with jeers and scoffing
they showed the bloody heads of the unfortunates to Mtesa, and tossed
them into the lake. Mtesa rose gloomy and disconcerted, and returned to
his quarters much depressed in spirits, but he gave instructions to his
Katekiro to continue the work on the causeway.
The Katekiro, placidly obedient, instructed two chiefs, the two chiefs
instructed their Watongoleh, the Watongoleh instructed their men, and
the result of these several instructions was, that about 100 men out of
150,000 were seen lounging idly on the causeway and that was all, for
the novelty of the idea had now worn off.
Nothing more was heard of the bridge, for Mtesa had conceived a new
idea, which was, to be instructed in the sciences of Europe. I was
to be a scientific encyclopædia to him. Not wishing to deny him, I
tried, during the afternoon of the massacre, to expound the secrets of
nature and the works of Providence, the wonders of the heavens, the
air, and the earth. We gossiped about the nature of rocks and metals,
and their many appliances, which the cunning of the Europeans had
invented to manufacture the innumerable variety of things for which
they are renowned. The dread despot sat with wide-dilated eyes and
an all-devouring attention, and, in deference to his own excitable
feelings, his chiefs affected to be as interested as himself, though I
have no doubt several ancients, such as Kangau and Sabaganzi, thought
the whole affair decidedly tedious, and the white man a “bore.” The
more polite and courtly Katekiro, Chambarango, and Kauta vied with
each other in expressing open-mouthed and large-eyed interest in this
encyclopædic talk. I drifted from mechanics to divinity, for my purpose
in this respect was not changed. During my extemporised lectures, I
happened to mention angels. On hearing the word, Mtesa screamed with
joy, and to my great astonishment the patricians of Uganda chorused,
“Ah-ah-ah!” as if they had heard an exceedingly good thing. Having
appeared so learned all the afternoon, I dared not condescend to
inquire what all this wild joy meant, but prudently waited until the
exciting cries and slapping of thighs were ended.
The boisterous period over, Mtesa said, “Stamlee, I have always told my
chiefs that the white men know everything, and are skilful in all
things. A great many Arabs, some Turks, and four white men have visited
me, and I have examined and heard them all talk, and for wisdom and
goodness the white men excel all the others. Why do the Arabs and Turks
come to Uganda? Is it not for ivory and slaves? Why do the white men
come? They come to see this lake, our rivers and mountains. The Arabs
bring cloth, beads, and wire, to buy ivory and slaves; they also bring
powder and guns; but who made all these things the Arabs bring here for
trade? The Arabs themselves say the white men made them, and I have seen
nothing yet of all they have brought that the white men did not make.
Therefore, I say, give me the white men, because if you want knowledge,
you must talk with them to get it. Now, Stamlee, tell me and my chiefs
what you know of the angels.”
Verily the question was a difficult one, and my answer would not have
satisfied Europeans. Remembering, however, St. Paul’s confession that he
was all things to all men, I attempted to give as vivid a description of
what angels are generally believed to be like, and as Michael Angelo and
Gustave Doré have laboured to illustrate them, and with the aid of
Ezekiel’s and Milton’s descriptions I believe I succeeded in satisfying
and astonishing the king and his court; and in order to show him that I
had authority for what I said, I sent to my camp for the Bible, and
translated to him what Ezekiel and St. John said of angels.
This little incident, trivial as it may appear, had very interesting
results. Encyclopædic talk was forgotten in the grander and more sublime
themes which Scripture and divinity contributed. The Emperor cast
covetous eyes on the Bible and my Church of England Prayer Book, and
perceiving his wish, I introduced to him a boy named Dallington, a pupil
of the Universities Mission at Zanzibar, who could translate the Bible
into Kiswahili for him, and otherwise communicate to him what I wished
to say.
Henceforth, during the intervals of leisure that the war gave us, we
were to be seen—the king, court, Dallington, and I—engaged in the
translation of an abstract of the Holy Scriptures. There were readers
enough of these translations, but Mtesa himself was an assiduous and
earnest student.
Having abundance of writing-paper with me, I made a large book for him,
into which the translations were fairly copied by a writer called Idi.
When completed, Mtesa possessed an abridged Protestant Bible in
Kiswahili, embracing all the principal events from the Creation to the
Crucifixion of Christ. St. Luke’s Gospel was translated entire, as
giving a more complete history of the Saviour’s life.
When the abridged Bible was completed, Mtesa called all his chiefs
together, as well as the officers of his guard, and when all were
assembled, he began to state that when he succeeded his father he was a
Mshensi (a heathen), and delighted in shedding blood because he knew no
better, and was only following the customs of his fathers; but that when
an Arab trader, who was also a Mwalim (priest), taught him the creed of
Islam, he had renounced the example of his fathers, and executions
became less frequent, and no man could say, since that day, that he had
seen Mtesa drunk with pombé. But there were a great many things he could
not understand, such as, why circumcision was necessary to gain
Paradise, and how it was possible that men having died could enjoy
earth’s pleasures in heaven, and how men could walk along a bridge of
the breadth of a hair, for such were some of the things the sons of
Islam taught. He could not comprehend all these things, as his sense
condemned them, and there was no one in Uganda able to enlighten him
better. But as it was in his heart to be good, he hoped God would
overlook his follies and forgive him, and send men who knew what was
right to Uganda. “Meanwhile,” said he with a smile, “I refused to be
circumcised, though the Arabs say it is the first thing that should be
done to become a true son of Islam. Now, God be thanked, a white man,
‘Stamlee,’ has come to Uganda with a book older than the Koran of
Mohammed, and Stamlee says that Mohammed was a liar, and much of his
book taken from this; and this boy and Idi have read to me all that
Stamlee has read to them from this book, and I find that it is a great
deal better than the book of Mohammed, besides, it is the first and
oldest book. The prophet Moses wrote some of it a long, long time before
Mohammed was even heard of, and the book was finished long before
Mohammed was born. As Kintu, our first king, was a long time before me,
so Moses was before Mohammed. Now I want you, my chiefs and soldiers, to
tell me what we shall do. Shall we believe in Isa (Jesus) and Musa
(Moses) or in Mohammed?”
Chambarango replied, “Let us take that which is the best.”
The Katekiro said, “We know not which is the best. The Arabs say their
book is the best, and the white men say their book is the best—how then
can we know which speaks the truth?”
Kauta, the imperial steward, said, “When Mtesa became a son of Islam, he
taught me, and I became one; if my master says he taught me wrong,
having got more knowledge, he can now teach me right. I am waiting to
hear his words.”
Mtesa smiled and said, “Kauta speaks well. If I taught him how to become
a Muslim, I did it because I believed it to be good. Chambarango says,
‘Let us take that which is best.’ True, I want that which is the best,
and I want the true book; but Katekiro asks, ‘How are we to know which
is true?’ and I will answer him. Listen to me: The Arabs and the white
men behave exactly as they are taught by their books, do they not? The
Arabs come here for ivory and slaves, and we have seen that they do not
always speak the truth, and that they buy men of their own colour, and
treat them badly, putting them in chains and beating them. The white
men, when offered slaves, refuse them, saying, ‘Shall we make our
brothers slaves? No; we are all sons of God.’ I have not heard a white
man tell a lie yet. Speke came here, behaved well, and went his way home
with his brother Grant. They bought no slaves, and the time they were in
Uganda they were very good. Stamlee came here, and he would take no
slaves. Abdul Aziz Bey (M. Linant Bellefonds) has been here, and is
gone, and he took no slaves. What Arab would have refused slaves like
these white men? Though we deal in slaves, it is no reason why it should
not be bad; and when I think that the Arabs and the white men do as they
are taught, I say that the white men are greatly superior to the Arabs,
and I think therefore that their book must be a better book than
Mohammed’s, and of all that Stamlee has read from his book I see nothing
too hard for me to believe. The book begins from the very beginning of
this world, tells us how it was made, and in how many days; gives us the
words of God Himself, and of Moses, and the prophet Solomon, and Jesus,
the son of Mary. I have listened to it all well pleased, and now I ask
you, shall we accept this book or Mohammed’s book as our guide?”
To which question, no doubt seeing the evident bent of Mtesa’s own mind,
they all replied, “We will take the white man’s book”; and at hearing
their answer a manifest glow of pleasure lighted up the Emperor’s face.
In this manner Mtesa renounced Islamism, and professed himself a convert
to the Christian Faith, and he now announced his determination to adhere
to his new religion, to build a church, and to do all in his power to
promote the propagation of Christian sentiments among his people, and to
conform to the best of his ability to the holy precepts contained in the
Bible.
I, on the other hand, proud of my convert, with whom I had diligently
laboured during three months, promised that, since Dallington wished it,
I would release him from my service, that he might assist to confirm him
in his new faith, that he might read the Bible for him, and perform the
service of a Bible reader until the good people of Europe should send a
priest to baptize him and teach him the duties of the Christian
religion.
“Stamlee,” said Mtesa to me, as we parted, nearly two months after the
massacre of the peace party, “say to the white people, when you write to
them, that I am like a man sitting in darkness, or born blind, and that
all I ask is that I may be taught how to see, and I shall continue a
Christian while I live.”
-----
# 19:
So called after Colonel James Augustus Grant, the amiable and
chivalrous companion of Speke.
# 20:
This custom of sending walking-sticks also obtains in Dahomey.
# 21:
The war-cries of the Waganda begin by shouting the full title of their
respective chiefs, and end with the last syllables, thus:—
“Mukavya, kavya, kavya!”
“Chamburango, ango, ango!”
“Mkwenda, kwenda, kwenda!”
“Sekibobo, bobo, bobo!”
“Kitunzi, tunzi, tunzi!”
This perhaps explains why Speke spelt _thanks_ “N’yanzig,” for Waganda
return thanks by first saying, “Twiyanzi-yanzi-yanzi,” and this, when
repeated rapidly, sounds like “N’yanzig.”