We Were Now
Surrounded By A Mass Of Natives, No Longer The Naked Savages To Whom We
Had Been Accustomed, But Well-Dressed Men, Wearing Robes Of Bark Cloth,
Arranged In Various Fashions, Generally Like The Arab "Tope" Or The
Roman Toga.
Several of the headmen now explained to us the atrocious
treachery of Debono's men, who had been welcomed as friends of Speke and
Grant, but who had repaid the hospitality by plundering and massacring
their hosts.
I assured them that no one would be more wroth than Speke
when I should make him aware of the manner in which his name had been
used, and that I should make a point of reporting the circumstance to
the British Government. At the same time I advised them not to trust any
but white people should others arrive in my name or in the names of
Speke and Grant. I upheld their character as that of Englishmen, and I
begged them to state if ever they had deceived them. They replied that
"there could not be better men." I answered, "You MUST trust me, as I
trust entirely in you, and have placed myself in your hands; but if you
have ever had cause to mistrust a white man, kill me at once! - either
kill me or trust in me; but let there be no suspicions."
They seemed much pleased with the conversation, and a man stepped
forward and showed me a small string of blue beads that Speke bad given
him for ferrying him across the river.
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