This is the last time; and what
are one hundred cloths to you?"
"Well, then, Bombay and Asmani, go to Mionvu, and offer him twenty.
If he will not take twenty, give him thirty. If he refuses thirty,
give him forty; then go up to eighty, slowly. Make plenty of talk;
not one doti more. I swear to you I will shoot Mionvu if he demands
more than eighty. Go, and remember to be wise."
I will cut the matter short. At 9 P.M. sixty-four doti were
handed over to Mionvu, for the King of Uhha; six doti for
himself, and five doti for his sub; altogether seventy-five doti -
a bale and a quarter! No sooner had we paid than they began to
fight amongst themselves over the booty, and I was in hopes that
the factions would proceed to battle, that I might have good excuse
for leaving them, and plunging south to the jungle that I believed
existed there, by which means, under its friendly cover, we might
strike west. But no, it was only a verbose war, which portended
nothing more than a noisy clamor.
November 6th. - At dawn we were on the road, very silent and sad.
Our stock of cloth was much diminished; we had nine bales left,
sufficient to have taken us to the Atlantic Ocean - aided by the
beads, which were yet untouched - if we practised economy. If I
met many more like Mionvu I had not enough to take me to Ujiji,
and, though we were said to be so near, Livingstone seemed to me
to be just as far as ever.
We crossed the Pombwe, and then struck across a slowly-undulating
plain rising gradually to mountains on our right, and on our left
sinking towards the valley of the Malagarazi, which river was
about twenty miles away. Villages rose to our view everywhere.
Food was cheap, milk was plentiful, and the butter good.
After a four hours' march, we crossed the Kanengi River, and
entered the boma of Kahirigi, inhabited by several Watusi and Wahha.
Here, we were told, lived the King of Uhha's brother. This
announcement was anything but welcome, and I began to suspect I had
fallen into another hornets' nest. We had not rested two hours
before two Wangwana entered my tent, who were slaves of Thani bin
Abdullah, our dandified friend of Unyanyembe. These men came, on
the part of the king's brother, to claim the HONGA ! The king's
brother, demanded thirty doti! Half a bale! Merciful Providence!
What shall I do?
We had been told by Mionvu that the honga of Uhha was settled - and
now here is another demand from the King's brother! It is the
second time the lie has been told, and we have twice been deceived.
We shall be deceived no more.
These two men informed us there were five more chiefs, living but
two hours from each other, who would exact tribute, or black-mail,
like those we had seen. Knowing this much, I felt a certain calm.
It was far better to know the worst at once. Five more chiefs with
their demands would assuredly ruin us. In view of which, what is
to be done? How am I to reach Livingstone, without being beggared?
Dismissing the men, I called Bombay, and told him to assist Asmani
in settling the honga - " as cheaply as possible." I then lit my
pipe, put on the cap of consideration, and began to think. Within
half an hour, I had made a plan, which was to be attempted to be
put in execution that very night.
I summoned the two slaves of Thani bin Abdullah, after the honga
had been settled to everybody's satisfaction - though the profoundest
casuistries and diplomatic arguments failed to reduce it lower than
twenty-six doti - and began asking them about the possibility of
evading the tribute-taking Wahha ahead.
This rather astonished them at first, and they declared it to be
impossible; but, finally, after being pressed, they replied, that
one of their number should guide us at midnight, or a little after,
into the jungle which grew on the frontiers of Uhha and Uvinza. By
keeping a direct west course through this jungle until we came to
Ukaranga we might be enabled - we were told - to travel through Uhha
without further trouble. If I were willing to pay the guide
twelve doti, and if I were able to impose silence on my people
while passing through the sleeping village, the guide was positive
I could reach Ujiji without paying another doti. It is needless to
add, that I accepted the proffered assistance at such a price with
joy.
But there was much to be done. Provisions were to be purchased,
sufficient to last four days, for the tramp through the jungle,
and men were at once sent with cloth to purchase grain at any price.
Fortune favoured us, for before 8 P.M. we had enough for six days.
November 7th. - I did not go to sleep at all last night, but a
little after midnight, as the moon was beginning to show itself,
by gangs of four, the men stole quietly out of the village; and
by 3 A.M. the entire Expedition was outside the boma, and not the
slightest alarm had been made. After a signal to the new guide,
the Expedition began to move in a southern direction along the
right bank of the Kanengi River. After an hour's march in this
direction, we struck west, across the grassy plain, and maintained
it, despite the obstacles we encountered, which were sore enough to
naked men. The bright moon lighted our path: dark clouds now and
then cast immense long shadows over the deserted and silent plains,
and the moonbeans were almost obscured, and at such times our
position seemed awful -
Till the moon.
Rising in clouded majesty, at length,
Apparent queen, unveiled her peerless light,
And o'er the dark her silver mantle threw.
