And These Three Articles Were The Same For Which
I Had Been So Pertinaciously Bored Before My Departure From M'rooli.
It
was of no use to be wroth; I therefore quietly replied that "I should
not give them, as
Kamrasi had failed in his promise to forward me to
Shooa; but that I required no presents from him, as he always expected a
thousandfold in return." M'Gambi said that all would be right if I would
only agree to pay the king a visit. I objected to this, as I told him
the king, his brother, did not want to see me, but only to observe what
I had, in order to beg for all that he saw. He appeared much hurt, and
assured me that he would be himself responsible that nothing of the kind
should happen, and that he merely begged as a favour that I would visit
the king on the following morning, and that people should be ready to
carry me if I were unable to walk. Accordingly I arranged to be carried
to Kamrasi's camp at about 8 A.M.
At the hour appointed M'Gambi appeared, with a great crowd of natives.
My clothes were in rags, - and as personal appearance has a certain
effect, even in Central Africa, I determined to present myself to the
king in as favourable a light as possible. I happened to possess a
full-dress Highland suit that I had worn when I lived in Perthshire many
years ago; this I had treasured as serviceable upon an occasion like the
present; accordingly I was quickly attired in kilt, sporran, and
Glengarry bonnet, and to the utter amazement of the crowd, the
ragged-looking object that had arrived in Kisoona now issued from the
obscure hut, with plaid and kilt of Athole tartan. A general shout of
exclamation arose from the assembled crowd; and taking my seat upon an
angarep, I was immediately shouldered by a number of men, and attended
by ten of my people as escort, I was carried towards the camp of the
great Kamrasi.
In about half an hour we arrived. The camp, composed of grass huts,
extended over a large extent of ground, and the approach was perfectly
black with the throng that crowded to meet me. Women, children, dogs,
and men all thronged at the entrance of the street that led to Kamrasi's
residence. Pushing our way through this inquisitive multitude, we
continued through the camp until at length we reached the dwelling of
the king. Halting for the moment, a message was immediately received
that we should proceed; we accordingly entered through a narrow passage
between high reed fences, and I found myself in the presence of the
actual king of Unyoro, Kamrasi. He was sitting in a kind of porch in
front of a hut, and upon seeing me he hardly condescended to look at me
for more than a moment; he then turned to his attendants and made some
remark that appeared to amuse them, as they all grinned as little men
are wont to do when a great man makes a bad joke.
I had ordered one of my men to carry my stool; I was determined not to
sit upon the earth, as the king would glory in my humiliation. M'Gambi,
his brother, who had formerly played the part of king, now sat upon the
ground a few feet from Kamrasi, who was seated upon the same stool of
copper that M'Gambi had used when I first saw him at M'rooli. Several of
his chiefs also sat upon the straw with which the porch was littered. I
made a "salaam," and took my seat upon my stool. Not a word passed
between us for about five minutes, during which time the king eyed me
most attentively, and made various remarks to the chiefs who were
present; at length he asked me why I had not been to see him before? I
replied, "Because I had been starved in his country, and I was too weak
to walk." He said - I should soon be strong, as he would now give me a
good supply of food, but that he could not send provisions to Shooa
Moru, as Fowooka held that country. Without replying to this wretched
excuse for his neglect, I merely told him that I was happy to have seen
him before my departure, as I was not aware until recently that I had
been duped by M'Gambi. He answered me very coolly, saying that although
I had not seen him he had nevertheless seen me, as he was among the
crowd of native escort on the day that we left M'rooli. Thus he had
watched our start at the very place where his brother M'Gambi had
impersonated the king.
Kamrasi was a remarkably fine man, tall and well proportioned, with a
handsome face of a dark brown colour, but a peculiarly sinister
expression; he was beautifully clean, and instead of wearing the bark
cloth common among the people, he was dressed in a fine mantle of black
and white goatskins, as soft as chamois leather. His people sat on the
ground at some distance from his throne; when they approached to address
him on any subject they crawled upon their hands and knees to his feet,
and touched the ground with their foreheads.
True to his natural instincts, the king commenced begging, and being
much struck with the Highland costume, he demanded it as a proof of
friendship, saying, that if I refused I could not be his friend. The
watch, compass, and double Fletcher rifle were asked for in their turn,
all of which I refused to give him. He appeared much annoyed, therefore
I presented him with a pound canister of powder, a box of caps, and a
few bullets. He replied, "What's the use of the ammunition if you won't
give me your rifle?" I explained that I had already given him a gun, and
that he had a rifle of Speke's. Disgusted with his importunity I rose to
depart, telling him that "I should not return to visit him, as I did not
believe he was the real Kamrasi.
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