Saidi Told Him His Tribe Kept
Cattle With The Same Stupendous Horns As Those Of The Wahuma; And
Also That, In The Same Manner, They All Mixed Blood And Milk For
Their Dinners, Which, To His Mind, Confirmed My Statement.
At
night, as there was a partial eclipse of the moon, all the
Wanguana marched up and down from Rumanika's to Nnanaji's huts,
singing and beating our tin cooking-pots to frighten off the
spirit of the sun from consuming entirely the chief object of
reverence, the moon.
7th. - Our spirits were now further raised by the arrival of a
semi-Hindu-Suahili, named Juma, who had just returned from a
visit to the king of Uganda, bringing back with him a large
present of ivory and slaves; for he said he had heard from the
king of our intention to visit him, and that he had despatched
officers to call us immediately. This intelligence delighted
Rumanika as much as it did us, and he no sooner heard it than he
said, with ecstasies, "I will open Africa, since the white men
desire it; for did not Dagara command us to show deference to
strangers?" Then, turning to me, he added, "My only regret is,
you will not take something as a return for the great expenses
you have been put to in coming to visit me." The expense was
admitted, for I had now been obliged to purchase from the Arabs
upwards of œ400 worth of beads, to keep such a store in reserve
for my return from Uganda as would enable me to push on to
Gondokoro.
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