He Then Sent Me One Of My
Runaway Porters, Whom He Had Caught In The Woods Making Off With
A Load Of My Beads.
We then separated; and Baraka, by my orders,
gave the thief fifty lashes for his double offence of theft and
desertion.
On the 9th, having bought two donkeys and engaged several men, we
left Jiwa la Mkoa, with half our traps, and marched to Garaeswi,
where, to my surprise, there were as many as twenty tembes - a
recently-formed settlement of Wokimbu. Here we halted a day for
the rear convoy, and then went on again by detachments to Zimbo,
where, to our intense delight, Bombay returned to us on the 13th,
triumphantly firing guns, with seventy slaves accompanying him,
and with letters from Snay and Musa, in which they said they
hoped, if I met with Manua Sera, that I would either put a bullet
through his head, or else bring him in a prisoner, that they
might do for him, for the scoundrel had destroyed all their trade
by cutting off caravans. Their fights with him commenced by his
levying taxes in opposition to their treaties with his father,
Fundi Kira, and then preventing his subjects selling them grain.
Once more the whole caravan moved on; but as I had to pay each of
the seventy slaves sixteen yards of cloth, by order of their
masters, in the simple matter of expenditure it would have been
better had I thrown ten loads away at Ugogo, where my
difficulties first commenced. On arrival at Mgongo Thembo - the
Elephant's Back - called so in consequence of a large granitic
rock, which resembles the back of that animal, protruding through
the ground - we found a clearance in the forest, of two miles in
extent, under cultivation. Here the first man to meet me was the
fugitive chief of Rubuga, Maula. This poor old man - one of the
honestest chiefs in the country - had been to the former
expedition a host and good friend. He now gave me a cow as a
present, and said he would give me ten more if I would assist him
in making friends with the Arabs, who had driven him out of his
country, and had destroyed all his belongings, even putting a
slave to reign in his stead, though he had committed no fault of
intentional injury towards them. It was true Manua Sera, their
enemy, had taken refuge in his palace, but that was not his
fault; for, anticipating the difficulties that would arise, he
did his best to keep Manua Sera out of it, but Manua Sera being
too strong for him, forced his way in. I need not say I tried to
console this unfortunate victim of circumstances as best I could,
inviting him to go with me to Kaze, and promising to protect him
with my life if he feared the Arabs; but the old man, being too
feeble to travel himself, said he would send his son with me.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 60 of 403
Words from 30950 to 31451
of 210958
