They Were Led By An Officer, Who,
Standing Like A Captain Before His Company, Ordered Them To Jump
And Praise The King, Acting The Part Of Fugleman Himself.
Then
said the king, turning to me, "Did I not tell you I had sent many
men to fight?
These are some of my army returned; the rest are
coming, and will eventually, when all are collected, go in a body
to fight in Usoga." Goats and other peace-offerings were then
presented; and, finally a large body of officers came in with an
old man, with his two ears shorn off for having been too handsome
in his youth, and a young woman who, after four days' search, had
been discovered in his house. They were brought for judgment
before the king.
Nothing was listened to but the plaintiff's statement, who said
he had lost the woman four days, and, after considerable search,
had found her concealed by the old man, who was indeed old enough
to be her grandfather. From all appearances one would have said
the wretched girl had run away from the plaintiff's house in
consequence of ill treatment, and had harboured herself on this
decrepid old man without asking his leave; but their voices in
defence were never heard, for the king instantly sentenced both
to death, to prevent the occurrence of such impropriety again;
and, to make the example more severe, decreed that their lives
should not be taken at once, but, being fed to preserve life as
long as possible, they were to be dismembered bit by bit, as
rations for the vultures, every day, until life was extinct. The
dismayed criminals, struggling to be heard, in utter despair,
were dragged away boisterously in the most barbarous manner, to
the drowning music of the milele and drums.
The king, in total unconcern about the tragedy he had thus
enacted, immediately on their departure said, "Now, then, for
shooting, Bana; let us look at your gun." It happened to be
loaded, but fortunately only with powder, to fire my announcement
at the palace; for he instantly placed caps on the nipples, and
let off one barrel by accident, the contents of which stuck in
the thatch. This created a momentary alarm, for it was supposed
the thatch had taken fire; but it was no sooner suppressed than
the childish king, still sitting on his throne, to astonish his
officers still more, levelled the gun from his shoulder, fired
the contents of the second barrel into the faces of his squatting
Wakungu, and then laughed at his own trick. In the meanwhile
cows were driven in, which the king ordered his Wakungu to shoot
with carbines; and as they missed them, he showed them the way to
shoot with the Whitworth, never missing. The company now broke
up, but I still clung to the king, begging him to allow me to
purchase food with beads, as I wanted it, for my establishment
was always more or less in a starving state; but he only said,
"Let us know what you want and you shall always have it"; which,
in Uganda, I knew from experience only meant, Don't bother me any
more, but give me your spare money, and help yourself from my
spacious gardens - Uganda is before you.
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