"Now Load, Bana - Load, And Let Us See You Do
It," Cried The Excited King; But Before I Was Half
Loaded, he
said, "Come along, come along, and let us see the bird." Then
directing the officers which way to
Go - for, by the etiquette of
the court of Uganda, every one must precede the king - he sent
them through a court where his women, afraid of the gun, had been
concealed. Here the rush onward was stopped by newly made fences,
but the king roared to the officers to knock them down. This was
no sooner said than done, by the attendants in a body shoving on
and trampling them under, as an elephant would crush small trees
to keep his course. So pushing, floundering through plaintain and
shrub, pell-mell one upon the other, that the king's pace might
not be checked, or any one come in for a royal kick or blow, they
came upon the prostrate bird. "Woh, woh, woh!" cried the king
again, "there he is, sure enough; come here, women - come and look
what wonders!" And all the women, in the highest excitement,
"woh-wohed" as loud as any of the men. But that was not enough.
"Come along, Bana," said the king, "we must have some more
sport;" and, saying this he directed the way towards the queen's
palace, the attendants leading, followed by the pages, then the
king, next myself - for I never would walk before him - and finally
the women, some forty or fifty, who constantly attended him.
To make the most of the king's good-humour, while I wanted to
screen myself from the blazing sun, I asked him if he would like
to enjoy the pleasures of an umbrella; and before he had time to
answer, held mine over him as we walked side by side. The
Wakungu were astonished, and the women prattled in great delight;
whilst the king, hardly able to control himself, sidled and spoke
to his flatterers as if he were doubly created monarch of all he
surveyed. He then, growing more familiar, said, "Now, Bana, do
tell me - did you not shoot that bird with something more than
common ammunition? I am sure you did, now; there was magic in
it." And all I said to the contrary would not convince him. "But
we will see again." "At buffaloes?" I said. "No, the buffaloes
are too far off now; we will wait to go after then until I have
given you a hut close by." Presently, as some herons were flying
overhead, he said, "Now, shoot, shoot!" and I brought a couple
down right and left. He stared, and everybody stared, believing
me to be a magician, when the king said he would like to have
pictures of the birds drawn and hung up in the palace; "but let
us go and shoot some more, for it is truly wonderful." Similar
results followed, for the herons were continually whirling round,
as they had their nests upon a neighbouring tree; and then the
king ordered his pages to carry all the birds, save the vulture -
which, for some reason, they did not touch - and show them to the
queen.
He then gave the order to move on, and we all repaired to the
palace. Arrived at the usual throne-room, he took his seat,
dismissed the party of wives who had been following him, as well
as the Wakungu, received pombe from his female evil-eye averters,
and ordered me, with my men, to sit in the sun facing him, till I
complained of the heat, and was allowed to sit by his side.
Kites, crows, and sparrows were flying about in all directions,
and as they came within shot, nothing would satisfy the excited
boy-king but I must shoot them, and his pages take them to the
queen, till my ammunition was totally expended. He then wanted
me to send for more shot; and as I told him he must wait for more
until my brothers come, he contented himself with taking two or
three sample grains and ordering his iron-smiths to make some
like them.
Cows were now driven in for me to kill two with one bullet; but
as the off one jumped away when the gun fired, the bullet passed
through the near one, then through all the courts and fences, and
away no one knew where. The king was delighted, and said he must
keep the rifle to look at for the night. I now asked permission
to speak with him on some important matters, when he sent his
women away and listened. I said I felt anxious about the road on
which Mabruki was travelling, to which I added that I had ordered
him to tell Petherick to come here or else to send property to
the value of one thousand dollars; and I felt anxious because
some of the queen's officers felt doubtful about Waganda being
able to penetrate Kidi. He said I need not concern myself on
that score; he was much more anxious for the white men to come
here than even I was, and he would not send my men into any
danger; but it was highly improper for any of his people to speak
about such subjects. Then, assembling the women again, he asked
me to load Whitworth for him, when he shot the remaining cow,
holding the rifle in both hands close to his thigh. The feat, of
course, brought forth great and uproarious congratulations from
his women. The day thus ended, and I was dismissed.
13th. - Mabriki and Bilal come into camp: they returned last
night; but the Waganda escort, afraid of my obtaining information
of them before the king received it, kept them concealed. They
had been defeated in Usoga, two marches each of Kira, at the
residence of Nagozigombi, Mtesa's border officer, who gave them
two bullocks, but advised their returning at once to inform the
king that the independent Wasoga had been fighting with his
dependent Wasoga subjects for some time, and the battle would not
be over for two months or more, unless he sent an army to their
assistance.
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