Long Tail-
Hairs Of The Giraffe Surrounded His Neck, On Which Little Balls
And Other Ornaments Of Minute Beads, After The Uganda Fashion,
Were Worked.
In the evening four pots of pombe and a pack of
flour were brought, together with the chronometer, which was sent
to be wound up - damaged of course - the seconds-hand had been
dislodged.
21st. - I heard from Kidgwiga that some of those Gani men now
ordered to go with Bombay had actually been visiting here when
the latter shot his first cow at the palace, but had gone to
their homes to give information of us, and had returned again.
Eager to get on with my journey, and see European faces again, I
besought the king to let us depart, as our work was all finished
here, since he had assured us he would like to trade with
England. The N'yanswenge - meaning Petherick's party - who have
hitherto been afraid to come here, would do so now, when they had
seen us pass safely down, and could receive my guns and property
left to come from Uganda and Karague, which we ourselves could
not wait for. Kamrasi, thinking me angry for his having taken
the watch so rudely out of my pocket, took fright at the message,
sent some of his attendants quickly back to me, requesting me to
keep the instrument until another arrived, and begged I would
never say I wished to leave his house again.
22d. - Kamrasi sent to say Bombay was not to start to-day, but to-
morrow, so we put the screw on again, and said we must go at
once; if he would give us guides to Gani, we would return him his
twenty cows and seven goats with pleasure. I let him understand
we suspected he was keeping us here to fight his brothers, and
told him he must at once know we would never lift hand against
them. It was contrary to the laws of our land. "I have got no
orders to enter into black men's quarrels, and my mother" (the
Queen), "whom I see every night in my sleep calling me home,
would be very angry if she heard of it. Rumanika once asked me
to fight his brothers Rogero and M'yongo, but my only reply to
all had been the same - I have no orders to fight with, only to
make friends of, the great kings of Africa."
The game seemed now to be won. At once Kamrasi ordered Bombay to
prepare for the journey. Five Wanyoro, five Chopi men, and five
Gani men, were to escort him. There was no objection to his
carrying arms. The moment he returned, which ought to be in
little more than a fortnight, we would all go together. An
earnest request was at the same time made that I would not bully
him in the mean time with any more applications to depart. So
Bombay and Mabruki, carrying there muskets, and a map and letter
for Petherick, departed.
23d and 24th. - Kamrasi, presuming he had gained favour in our
eyes, sent, begging to know how we had slept, and said he would
like us to inform him what part of his journey Bombay had this
morning reached - a fact which he had no doubt must be divinable
through the medium of our books. The reply was, that Bombay's
luck was so good we had no doubt regarding his success; but now
he had gone, and our days here were numbered, we should like to
see the palace, his fat wives and children, as well as the
Wanyoro's dances, and all the gaiety of the place. We did not
think our reception-hut by the river sufficiently dignified, and
our residence here was altogether like that of prisoners - seeing
no one, knowing no one. In answer to this, Kamrasi sent one pot
of pombe and five fowls, begging we would not be alarmed; we
should see everything in good time, if we would but have
patience, for he considered us very great men, as he was a great
man himself, and we had come at his invitation. He must request,
in the mean time, that we would send no more messages by his
officers, as such messages are never conveyed properly. At
present there was a great deal of business in the palace.
We asked for some butter, but could get none, as all the milk in
the palace was consumed by the wives and children, drinking all
day long, to make themselves immovably fat.
25th. - In the morning, the commander-in-chief wished us to cast a
horoscope, and see where Bombay was, and if he were getting on
well. That being negatived, he told us to put our hut in order,
as Kamrasi was coming to see us. Accordingly we made everything
as smart as possible, hanging the room round with maps, horns,
and skins of animals, and places a large box covered with a red
blanket, as a throne for the king to set upon. As he advanced,
my men, forming a guard of honour fired three shots immediately
on his setting foot upon our side the river; whilst Frij, with
his boatswain's whistle, piped the 'Rogue's March,' to prepare us
for his majesty's approach. We saluted him, hat in hand, and,
leading the way, showed him in. He was pleased to be
complimentary, remarking, what Waseja (fine men) we were, and
took his seat. We sat on smaller boxes, to appear humble, whilst
his escort of black "swells" filled the doorway, squatting on the
ground, so as to stop the light and interfere with our
decorations.
After the first salutations, the king remarked the head of a
nsamma buck, and handled it; then noticed my mosquito-curtains
hanging over the bed, and begged for them. He was told they
could not be given until Bombay returned, as the mosquitoes would
eat us up. "But there were two," said the escort, "for we have
seen one in the other hut." That was true; but were there not
two white men?
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