This, I Think, Shows Clearly, That The
Ancient Hindus Must Have Had Some Kind Of Communication With Both
The Northern And Southern Ends Of The Victoria N'yanza.
Having gone to work again, I found that Sheikh Said had brought
ten men, four of whom were purchased
For one hundred dollars,
which I had to pay; Bombay, Baraka, Frij, and Rahan had brought
twenty-six more, all freed men; while the Sultan Majid, at the
suggestion of Colonel Rigby, gave me thirty-four men more, who
were all raw labourers taken from his gardens. It was my
intention to have taken one hundred of this description of men
throughout the whole journey; but as so many could not be found
in Zanzibar, I still hoped to fill up the complement in
Unyamuezi, the land of the Moon, from the large establishments of
the Arab merchants residing there. The payment of these men's
wages for the first year, as well as the terms of the agreement
made with them, by the kind consent of Colonel Rigby were now
entered in the Consular Office books, as a security to both
parties, and a precaution against disputes on the way. Any one
who saw the grateful avidity with which they took the money, and
the warmth with which they pledged themselves to serve me
faithfully through all dangers and difficulties, would, had he
had no dealings with such men before, have thought that I had a
first-rate set of followers. I lastly gave Sheikh Said a double-
barrelled rifle by Blissett, and distributed fifty carbines among
the seniors of the expedition, with the condition that they would
forfeit them to others more worthy if they did not behave well,
but would retain possession of them for ever if they carried them
through the journey to my satisfaction.
On the 21st, as everything was ready on the island, I sent Sheikh
Said and all the men, along with the Hottentots, mules, and
baggage, off in dhows to Bagamoyo, on the opposite mainland.
Colonel Rigby, with Captain Grant and myself, then called on the
Sultan, to bid him adieu, when he graciously offered me, as a
guard of honour to escort me through Uzaramo, one jemadar and
twenty-five Beluch soldiers. These I accepted, more as a
government security in that country against the tricks of the
natives, than for any accession they made to our strength. His
highness then places his 22-gun corvette, "Secundra Shah," at our
disposal, and we went all three over to Bagamoyo, arriving on the
25th. Immediately on landing, Ladha and Sheikh Said showed us
into a hut prepared for us, and all things looked pretty well.
Ladha's hundred loads of beads, cloths, and brass wire were all
tied up for the march, and seventy-five pagazis (porters from the
Moon country) had received their hire to carry these loads to
Kaze in the land of the Moon. Competition, I found, had raised
these men's wages, for I had to pay, to go even as far as Kaze,
nine and a quarter dollars a-head! - as Masudi and some other
merchants were bound on the same line as myself, and all were
equally in a hurry to be off and avoid as much as possible the
famine we knew we should have to fight through at this late
season. Little troubles, of course, must always be expected, else
these blacks would not be true negroes. Sheikh Said now reported
it quite impossible to buy anything at a moderate rate; for, as I
was a "big man," I ought to "pay a big price;" and my men had all
been obliged to fight in the bazaar before they could get even
tobacco at the same rate as other men, because they were the
servants of the big man, who could afford to give higher wages
than any one else. The Hottentots, too, began to fall sick, which
my Wanguana laughingly attributed to want of grog to keep their
spirits up, as these little creatures, the "Tots," had frequently
at Zanzibar, after heavy potations, boasted to the more sober
free men, that they "were strong, because they could stand plenty
drink." The first step now taken was to pitch camp under large
shady mango-trees, and to instruct every man in his particular
duty. At the same time, the Wanguana, who had carbines, were
obliged to be drilled in their use and formed into companies,
with captains of ten, headed by General Baraka, who was made
commander-in-chief.
On the 30th September, as things were looking more orderly, I
sent forward half of the property, and all the men I had then
collected, to Ugeni, a shamba, or garden, two miles off; and on
the 2nd October, after settling with Ladha for my "African
money," as my pagazis were completed to a hundred and one, we
wished Rigby adieu, and all assembled together at Ugeni, which
resembles the richest parts of Bengal.
Chapter II
Uzaramo
The Nature of the Country - The Order of March - The Beginning of
our Taxation - Sultan Lion's Claw, and Sultan Monkey's Tail - The
Kingani - Jealousies and Difficulties in the Camp - The Murderer
of M. Maizan.
We were now in U-za-Ramo, which may mean the country of Ramo,
though I have never found any natives who could enlighten me on
the derivation of this obviously triple word. The extent of the
country, roughly speaking, stretches from the coast to the
junction or bifurcation of the Kingani and its upper branch the
Mgeta river, westwards; and from the Kingani, north, to the
Lufigi river, south; though in the southern portions several
subtribes have encroached upon the lands. There are no hills in
Uzaramo; but the land in the central line, formed like a ridge
between the two rivers, furrow fashion, consists of slightly
elevated flats and terraces, which, in the rainy season, throw
off their surplus waters to the north and south by nullahs into
these rivers.
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