To Treat His Messengers Disrespectfully Could
Do No Good, And Might Provoke A War, When We Should See My
Deserters Joined With The Waganda Really Coming In Force Against
Us; Whereas, If We Saw Budja, We Could Satisfy Him, And Mtesa
Too, And Obviate Any Such Calamity.
The reply was, that Kamrasi
would arrange for our having a meeting with Budja alone if we
wished it; he did not fear my deserters siding with king Mtesa,
but he detested the Waganda, and could not bear to see them in
his country.
30th. - At breakfast-time we heard that my old friend Kasoro had
come to our camp without permission, to the surprise of
everybody, attended by all his boys, leaving Budja and his
children, on account of sickness, at the camp assigned to the
Waganda, five miles off. Kasoro wished to speak to us, and we
invited him into the hut; but the interview could not be
permitted until Kamrasi's wishes on the subject had been
ascertained. In a little while the Kamraviona, having seen
Kamrasi, said we might converse with one another whilst his
officers were present listening, and sent a cow as a present for
the Waganda. Kasoro with his children now came before us in
their usual merry manner and, after saluting, told us how the
deserters, on reaching Uganda, begged for leave to proceed to
Karague; but Mtesa, who would only allow two of them to approach
him, abused them, saying, "Did I not command you to take Bana to
Gani at all risks? If there was no road by land, you were to go
by water; or, if that failed, to go under-ground, or in the air
above, and if he died, you were to die with him: what, then, do
you mean by deserting him and flying here? You shall not move a
yard from this until I receive a messenger from him to hear what
he has got to say on the matter." Mtesa would not take their
arms, even at the desire of Budja, on my behalf; for as no
messenger on my behalf came to him, he would not believe what
Budja said, and feared to touch any of our property. The chief
item of court news was, that Mtesa had shot a buffalo which was
attacking him behind the palace, and made his Wakungu carry the
animal bodily, whilst life was in it, into his court. The
ammunition I wrote for to Rumanika had been brought by Maula.
As Kasoro still remained silent with regard to Mtesa's message, I
told him we shot two of N'yamyonjo's men on our retreat up the
Nile, and that Kamrasi turned us back because some miscreant
Waganda had forged lies and told him we were terrible monsters,
who ate hills and human flesh, and drank up all the water of the
lake. He laughed, but still was silent; so I said, "What message
have you brought from Mtesa?" To which, in a timid, modest kind
of manner, he said, "Bana knows - what more need I say?
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