Like An Evil Spirit Stirred Up, My
Preparations For Going No Sooner Were Heard Of Than Mahamed
Appeared Again, And After A Long And Sharp Contest In Words, He
Promised Us Guides If I Would Consent To Write Him A Note,
Testifying That My Going Was Against His Expressed Desire.
This was done; but the next morning (7th), after our things were
put out for the march, all Kidgwiga's men bolted, and no guides
would take service with us.
It was now obvious that, even
supposing I succeeded in taking Kidgwiga to Gondokoro, he would
not have a sufficient escort to come back with, unless, indeed,
it happened that Englishmen might be there who might wish to
carry out my investigations by penetrating to the Little Luta
Nzige, and to pay a visit to Kamrasi. I therefore called
Kidgwiga, and after explaining these circumstances, advised him
to go back to Kamrasi. He was loth to leave, he said, until his
commission was fully performed; but as I thought it advisable, he
would consent. I then gave him a double gun and ammunition, as
well as some very rich beads which I obtained from Mahamed's
stores, to take back to Kamrasi, with orders to say that, as soon
as I reached Gondokoro or Khartum, I would send another white man
to him - not by the way I had come through Kidi, but by the left
bank of the Nile: to which Kidgwiga replied, "That will do
famously, for Kamrasi will change his residence soon, and come on
the Nile this side of Rionga's palace, in order that he may cut
in between his brother and the Turks' guns."
After this, I gave a lot of rich beads to Kidgwiga for himself,
and a lot also for the senior officers at the Chopi and Kamrasi's
palaces, and sent the whole set off as happy as birds.
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