As Soon As The Rains Would Allow Next Day,
We Went Off To The N.E. It Would Have Been Better To Have Traveled
By Compass Alone, For The Guides Took Advantage Of Any Fears
Expressed By My People, And Threatened To Return If Presents
Were Not Made At Once.
But my men had never left their own country before
except for rapine and murder.
When they formerly came to a village
they were in the habit of killing numbers of the inhabitants,
and then taking a few young men to serve as guides to the next place.
As this was their first attempt at an opposite line of conduct,
and as they were without their shields, they felt defenseless
among the greedy Chiboque, and some allowance must be made for them
on that account.
SATURDAY, 11TH. Reached a small village on the banks of a narrow stream.
I was too ill to go out of my little covering except to quell a mutiny
which began to show itself among some of the Batoka and Ambonda of our party.
They grumbled, as they often do against their chiefs, when they think them
partial in their gifts, because they supposed that I had shown a preference
in the distribution of the beads; but the beads I had given
to my principal men were only sufficient to purchase a scanty meal,
and I had hastened on to this village in order to slaughter a tired ox,
and give them all a feast as well as a rest on Sunday,
as preparation for the journey before us. I explained this to them,
and thought their grumbling was allayed. I soon sank into a state of stupor,
which the fever sometimes produced, and was oblivious to all their noise
in slaughtering. On Sunday the mutineers were making a terrible din
in preparing a skin they had procured. I requested them twice,
by the man who attended me, to be more quiet, as the noise pained me;
but as they paid no attention to this civil request, I put out my head,
and, repeating it myself, was answered by an impudent laugh.
Knowing that discipline would be at an end if this mutiny were not quelled,
and that our lives depended on vigorously upholding authority,
I seized a double-barreled pistol, and darted forth from the domicile,
looking, I suppose, so savage as to put them to a precipitate flight.
As some remained within hearing, I told them that I must maintain discipline,
though at the expense of some of their limbs; so long as we traveled together
they must remember that I was master, and not they. There being but
little room to doubt my determination, they immediately became very obedient,
and never afterward gave me any trouble, or imagined that they had any right
to my property.
13TH. We went forward some miles, but were brought to a stand
by the severity of my fever on the banks of a branch of the Loajima,
another tributary of the Kasai. I was in a state of partial coma
until late at night, when it became necessary for me to go out;
and I was surprised to find that my men had built a little stockade,
and some of them took their spears and acted as a guard. I found that
we were surrounded by enemies, and a party of Chiboque lay near the gateway,
after having preferred the demand of "a man, an ox, a gun, or a tusk."
My men had prepared for defense in case of a night attack,
and when the Chiboque wished to be shown where I lay sick, they very properly
refused to point me out. In the morning I went out to the Chiboque,
and found that they answered me civilly regarding my intentions
in opening the country, teaching them, etc., etc. They admitted
that their chiefs would be pleased with the prospect of friendship,
and now only wished to exchange tokens of good-will with me,
and offered three pigs, which they hoped I would accept. The people here
are in the habit of making a present, and then demanding whatever they choose
in return. We had been forewarned of this by our guides, so I tried
to decline, by asking if they would eat one of the pigs in company with us.
To this proposition they said that they durst not accede. I then
accepted the present in the hope that the blame of deficient friendly feeling
might not rest with me, and presented a razor, two bunches of beads,
and twelve copper rings, contributed by my men from their arms.
They went off to report to their chief; and as I was quite unable to move
from excessive giddiness, we continued in the same spot on Tuesday evening,
when they returned with a message couched in very plain terms,
that a man, tusk, gun, or even an ox, alone would be acceptable;
that he had every thing else in his possession but oxen, and that,
whatever I should please to demand from him, he would gladly give it.
As this was all said civilly, and there was no help for it if we refused
but bloodshed, I gave a tired riding-ox. My late chief mutineer,
an Ambonda man, was now over-loyal, for he armed himself
and stood at the gateway. He would rather die than see his father imposed on;
but I ordered Mosantu to take him out of the way, which he did promptly,
and allowed the Chiboque to march off well pleased with their booty.
I told my men that I esteemed one of their lives of more value than
all the oxen we had, and that the only cause which could induce me to fight
would be to save the lives and liberties of the majority.
In the propriety of this they all agreed, and said that, if the Chiboque
molested us who behaved so peaceably, the guilt would be on their heads.
This is a favorite mode of expression throughout the whole country.
All are anxious to give explanation of any acts they have performed,
and conclude the narration with, "I have no guilt or blame" ("molatu").
"They have the guilt." I never could be positive whether
the idea in their minds is guilt in the sight of the Deity,
or of mankind only.
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