Next Day I Joined Grant Once More, And Found He Had Collected A
Few Sorombo Men, Hoping To Follow After Me.
I then told him all
my mishaps in Sorombo, as well as of the "blue-devil" frights
that had seized all my men.
I felt greatly alarmed about the
prospects of the expedition, scarcely knowing what I should do.
I resolved at last, if everything else failed, to make up a raft
at the southern end of the N'yanza, and try to go up to the Nile
in that way. My cough daily grew worse. I could not lie or sleep
on either side. Still my mind was so excited and anxious that,
after remaining one day here to enjoy Grant's society, I pushed
ahead again, taking Bombay with me, and had breakfast at
Mchimeka's.
There I found the Pig, who now said he wished he had taken my
offer of beads, for he had spoken with his chief, and saw that I
was right. Baraka and the Wanguana were humbugs, and had they
not opposed his going, he would have gone then; even now, he
said, he wished I would take him again with Bombay. Though half
inclined to accept his offer, which would have saved a long
trudge to Kaze, yet as he had tricked me so often, I felt there
would be no security unless I could get some coast interpreters,
who would not side with the chiefs against me as he had done.
From this I went on to Sirboko's, and spent the next day with him
talking over my plans. The rafting up the lake he thought a good
scheme; but he did not think I should ever get through Usui until
all the Kaze merchants went north in a body, for it was no use
trying to force my men against their inclinations; and if I did
not take care how I handled them, he thought they would all
desert.
My cough still grew worse, and became so bad that, whilst
mounting a hill on entering Ungugu's the second day after, I blew
and grunted like a broken-winded horse, and it became so
distressing I had to halt a day. In two more marches, however, I
reached Kaze, and put up with Musa's eldest son, Abdalla, on the
2nd July, who now was transformed from a drunken slovenly boy
into the appearance of a grand swell, squatting all day as his
old father used to do. The house, however, did not feel the same-
-no men respected him as they had done his father. Sheikh Said
was his clerk and constant companion, and the Tots were well fed
on his goats - at my expense, however. On hearing my fix, Abdalla
said I should have men; and, what's more, he would go with me as
his father had promised to do; but he had a large caravan
detained in Ugogo, and for that he must wait.
At that moment Manua Sera was in a boma at Kigue, in alliance
with the chief of that place; but there was no hope for him now,
as all the Arabs had allied themselves with the surrounding
chiefs, including Kitambi; and had invested his position by
forming a line, in concentric circles, four deep, cutting off his
supplies of water within it, so that they daily expected to hear
of his surrendering. The last news that had reached them brought
intelligence of one man killed and two Arabs wounded; whilst, on
the other side, Manua Sera had lost many men, and was put to such
straits that he had called out if it was the Arabs' determination
to kill him he would bolt again; to which the Arabs replied it
was all the same; if he ran up to the top of the highest mountain
or down into hell, they would follow after and put him to death.
3d. - After much bother and many disappointments, as I was assured
I could get no men to help me until after the war was over, and
the Arabs had been to Ugogo, and had brought up their property,
which was still lying there, I accepted two men as guides - one
named Bui, a very small creature, with very high pretensions, who
was given me by Abdalla - the other, a steady old traveller, named
Nasib (or Fortune), who was given me by Fundi Sangoro. These two
slaves, both of whom knew all the chiefs and languages up to and
including Uganda, promised me faithfully they would go with
Bombay on to Usui, and bring back porters in sufficient number
for Grant and myself to go on together. They laughed at the
stories I told them of the terror that had seized Baraka and all
the Wanguana, and told me, as old Musa had often done before,
that those men, especially Baraka, had from their first leaving
Kaze made up their minds they would not enter Usui, or go
anywhere very far north.
I placed those men on the same pay as Bombay, and then tried to
buy some beads from the Arabs, as I saw it was absolutely
necessary I should increase my fast-ebbing store if I ever hoped
to reach Gondokoro. The attempt failed, as the Arabs would not
sell at a rate under 2000 per cent.; and I wrote a letter to
Colonel Rigby, ordering up fifty armed men laden with beads and
pretty cloths - which would, I knew, cost me œ1000 at the least -
and left once more for the north on the 5th.
Marching slowly, as my men kept falling sick, I did not reach
Grant again until the 11th. His health had greatly improved, and
he had been dancing with Ukulima, as may be seen by the
accompanying woodcut. So, as I was obliged to wait for a short
time to get a native guide for Bui, Nasib and Bombay, who would
show them a jungle-path to Usui, we enjoyed our leisure hours in
shooting guinea-fowls for the pot.
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