"Hai Bana Wangi, Bana Wangi (Oh, My Lord, My
Lord), Take Pity On Me!
When I was a free man I saw you at
Uvira, on the Tanganyika lake, when you were there;
But since
then the Watuta, in a fight at Ujiji, speared me all over and
left me for dead, when I was seized by the people, sold to the
Arabs, and have been in chains ever since. Oh, I saw, Bana
wangi, if you would only liberate me I would never run away, but
would serve you faithfully all my life." This touching appeal
was too strong for my heart to withstand, so I called up Sirboko,
and told him, if he would liberate this one man to please me he
should be no loser; and the release was effected. He was then
christened Farham (Joy), and was enrolled in my service with the
rest of my freed men. I then inquired if it was true the Wabembe
were cannibals, and also circumcised. In one of their slaves the
latter statement was easily confirmed. I was assure that he was
not a cannibal; for the whole tribe of Wabembe, when they cannot
get human flesh otherwise, give a goat to their neighbours for a
sick or dying child, regarding such flesh as the best of all. No
other cannibals, however, were known of; but the Masai, and their
cognates, the Wahumba, Wataturu, Wakasange, Wanyaramba, and even
the Wagogo and Wakimbu, circumcise.
On the 15th I was surprised to find Bombay come in with all my
rear property and a great quantity of Musa's, but with out the
old man. By a letter from Sheikh Said I then found that, since my
leaving Kaze, the Arabs had, along with Mkisiwa, invested the
position of Manua Sera at Kigue, and forced him to take flight
again. Afterwards the Arabs, returning to Kaze, found Musa
preparing to leave. Angry at this attempt to desert them, they
persuaded him to give up his journey north for the present; so
that at the time Bombay left, Musa was engaged as public
auctioneer in selling the effects of Snay, Jafu, and others, but
privately said he would follow me on to Karague as soon as his
rice was cut. Adding a little advice of his own, Sheikh Said
pressed me to go on with the journey as fast as possible, because
all the Arabs had accused me of conspiring with Manua Sera, and
would turn against me unless I soon got away.
2d to 30th. - Disgusted with Musa's vacillatory conduct, on the
22d I sent him a letter containing a bit of my mind. I had given
him, as a present, sufficient cloth to pay for his porters, as
well as a watch and a good sum of money, and advised his coming
on at once, for the porters who had just brought in my rear
property would not take pay to go on to Karague; and so I was
detained again, waiting whilst his head man went to Rungua to
look for more. Five days after this, a party of Sangoro's
arrived from Karague, saying they had been detained three months
in Usui by Suwarora, who had robbed them of an enormous quantity
of property, and oppressed them so that all their porters ran
away. Now, slight as this little affair might appear, it was of
vital importance to me, as I found all my men shaking their heads
and predicting what might happen to us when we got there; so, as
a forlorn hope, I sent Baraka with another letter to Musa,
offering to pay as much money for fifty men carrying muskets as
would buy fifty slaves, and, in addition to that, I offered to
pay them what my men were receiving as servants. Next day (23d)
the chief Ugali came to pay his respects to us. He was a fine-
looking young man, about thirty years old, the husband of thirty
wives, but he had only three children. Much surprised at the
various articles composing our kit, he remarked that our
"sleeping-clothes" - blankets - were much better than his royal
robes; but of all things that amused him most were our picture-
books, especially some birds drawn by Wolf.
Everything still seemed going against me; for on the following
day (24th) Musa's men came in from Rungua to say the Watuta were
"out." They had just seized fifty head of cattle from Rungua, and
the people were in such a state of alarm they dared not leave
their homes and families. I knew not what to do, for there was
no hope left but in what Baraka might bring; and as that even
would be insufficient, I sent Musa's men into Kaze, to increase
the original number by thirty men more.
Patience, thank God, I had a good stock of, so I waited quietly
until the 30th, when I was fairly upset by the arrival of a
letter from Kaze, stating that Baraka had arrived, and had been
very insolent both to Musa and to Sheikh Said. The bearer of the
letter was at once to go and search for porters at Rungua, but
not a word was said about the armed men I had ordered. At the
same time reports from the other side came in, to the effect that
the Arabs at Kaze and Msene had bribed the Watuta to join them,
and overrun the whole country from Ugogo to Usui; and, in
consequence of this, all the natives on the line I should have to
take were in such dread of that terrible wandering race of
savages, who had laid waste in turn all the lands from N'yassa to
Usui on their west flank, that not a soul dared leave his home.
I could now only suppose that this foolish and hasty
determination of the Arabs, who, quite unprepared to carry out
their wicked alliance to fight, still had set every one against
their own interests as well as mine, had not reached Musa, so I
made up my mind at once to return to Kaze, and settle all matters
I had in my heart with himself and the Arabs in person.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 39 of 207
Words from 38716 to 39751
of 210958
