Nothing Would
Frighten This Pig-Headed Creature Into Compliance, Though I Told
Him I Had Arranged With The King To Make The Nile The Channel Of
Communication With England.
I therefore applied to him for
guides to conduct me up the river, and ordered Bombay and Kasoro
to obtain fresh orders from the king, as all future Wazungu,
coming to Uganda to visit or trade, would prefer the passage by
the river.
I shot another buck in the evening, as the Waganda
love their skins, and also a load of guinea-fowl - three, four,
and five at a shot - as Kasoro and his boys prefer them to
anything.
24th. - The acting officer absconded, but another man came in his
place, and offered to take us on the way up the river to-morrow,
humbugging Kasoro into the belief that his road to the palace
would branch off from the first state, though in reality it was
here. The Mkungu's women brought pombe, and spent the day gazing
at us, till, in the evening, when I took up my rifle, one ran
after Bana to see him shoot, and followed like a man; but the
only sport she got was on an ant-hill, where she fixed herself
some time, popping into her mouth and devouring the white ants as
fast as they emanated from their cells - for, disdaining does, I
missed the only pongo buck I got a shot at in my anxiety to show
the fair one what she came for.
Reports came to-day of new cruelties at the palace. Kasoro
improved on their off-hand manslaughter by saying that two
Kamravionas and two Sakibobos, as well as all the old Wakungu of
Sunna's time, had been executed by the orders of king Mtesa. He
told us, moreover, that if Mtesa ever has a dream that his father
directs him to kill anybody as being dangerous to his person, the
order is religiously kept. I wished to send a message to Mtesa
by an officer who is starting at once to pay his respects at
court; but although he received it, and promised to deliver it,
Kasoro laughed at me for expecting that one word of it would ever
reach the king; for, however, appropriate or important the matter
might be, it was more than anybody dare do to tell the king, as
it would be an infringement of the rule that no one is to speak
to him unless in answer to a question. My second buck of the
first day was brought in by the natives, but they would not allow
it to approach the hut until it had been skinned; and I found
their reason to be a superstition that otherwise no others would
ever be killed by the inmates of that establishment.
I marched up the left bank of the Nile at a considerable distance
from the water, to the Isamba rapids, passing through rich jungle
and plantain-gardens. Nango, an old friend, and district officer
of the place, first refreshed us with a dish of plantain-squash
and dried fish, with pombe.
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