My Work Often
Took Me To This Place, And On One Of My Visits,
Finding Myself With Some Spare Time On My Hands,
I Set Out To Pay A Long Promised Visit To The
District Officer.
A fairly good road ran from
N'dii Station to his house at the foot of the
mountains, about four
Miles away, and on my
arrival I was not only most hospitably entertained
but was also introduced to M'gogo, the Head
Chief of the Wa Taita, who had just come in for
a shauri (consultation) about some affair of State.
The old fellow appeared delighted to meet me,
and promptly invited me to his kraal, some way
up the hills. I jumped at the prospect of seeing
the Wa Taita at home, so presently off we
started on our heavy climb, my Indian servant,
Bhawal, coming with us. After a couple of hours'
steady scramble up a steep and slippery goatpath,
we arrived at M'gogo's capital, where I was
at once introduced to his wives, who were busily
engaged in making pombe (a native fermented
drink) in the hollowed-out stump of a tree. I
presented one of them with an orange for her
child, but she did not understand what it was
for on tasting it she made a wry face and would
not eat it. Still she did not throw it away, but
carefully put it into a bag with her other treasures
- doubtless for future investigation. As soon as
the women saw Bhawal, however, he became
the centre of attraction, and I was eclipsed.
He happened to have on a new puggaree, with
lots of gold work on it, and this took their fancy
immensely; they examined every line most
carefully and went into ecstasies over it - just as
their European sisters would have done over the
latest Parisian creation.
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