This Request, To My Astonishment, He At Once Granted,
[A Few Days Afterwards He Shot Kalloe With His Own Hands.
] And
added, that he should only keep him in the "shoe" for a few days, until
his people should bring
Him a hundred cows as a fine, in which case he
should release him. I had no faith in his promise, as I had before heard
that it was his practice to put the shoe upon any rich man in order to
extract a fine, upon the payment of which the unfortunate prisoner was
on some occasions killed instead of liberated. However, I had done all
in my power; and had Kalloe been a man of determination, he could have
saved himself by trusting implicitly to me. As I returned to the camp, I
could not help reflecting on the ingratitude I had experienced among all
the natives; on many occasions I had exerted myself to benefit others in
whom I had no personal interest, but in no single instance had I ever
received even a look of gratitude.
Two days after this occurrence I ordered the boy Saat to go as usual in
search of supplies to the neighbouring villages; but as he was starting,
Ibrahim advised him to wait a little, as something was wrong, and it
would be dangerous to go alone. A few minutes later, I heard three shots
fired in rapid succession at about three-quarters of a mile distant. The
Turks and my men immediately thronged outside the village, which
position being on a hill, we had a panoramic view of the surrounding
country.
We shortly perceived a number of men, including a few of the Turks'
party, approaching from an opposite hill, carrying something heavy in
their arms. With the telescope I distinguished a mat on which some
object of weight was laboriously supported, the bearers grasping the
corners in their hands. "One of our people is killed!" murmured one
Turk. "Perhaps it's only a native," said another. "Who would trouble
himself to carry a black fellow home!" exclaimed a third. The mystery
was soon cleared by the arrival of the party with the dead body of one
of Kamrasi's headmen; one ball had struck him through the chest, another
through the right arm, and the third had passed through the body from
side to side. He had been shot by some Bari slaves who acted as soldiers
belonging to the Turks' party. It appeared that the deceased had
formerly sent seventy elephants' tusks to the people of Mahommed
Wat-el-Mek against the orders of Kamrasi, who had prohibited the export
of ivory from his kingdom, as he had agreed to deal exclusively with
Ibrahim. The culprit was therefore condemned to death, but having some
powerful adherents in his village, Kamrasi had thought it advisable to
employ the Turks to shoot him; this task they gladly accepted, as they
were minus seventy tusks through his conduct. Without my knowledge, a
small party had started in open daylight to his village close to our
camp, and on attempting to enter the fence, several lances were thrown
at the Turks; the deceased rushed from the hut attempting to escape, and
was immediately shot dead by three of the Bari soldiers. The hands were
then (as usual in all these countries) amputated at the wrists, in order
to detach the copper bracelets; the body being dragged about two hundred
paces from the village, was suspended by the neck to a branch of the
tamarind tree. All the slave women (about seventy) and children were
then driven down to the spot by the Turks to view the body as it swung
from the branch; when thoroughly horrified by the sight, they were
threatened to be served precisely in a similar manner should they ever
attempt to escape.
Superlatively brutal as this appeared, I could not help reflecting that
our public executions in England convey a similar moral; the only
difference being in the conduct of the women; the savages having to be
DRIVEN to the sight as witnesses, while European females throng
curiously to such disgusting exhibitions. A few minutes after the
departure of the crowd, the tree was covered with vultures, all watching
the prospective feast. [The woman Bacheeta ran away, and we never saw
her again. Some time after, we heard that she had escaped to Fowooka's
people, fearing to be left by us, as we had promised, in Chopi.]
In the evening Kamrasi sent a number of women and children as presents
to Ibrahim: altogether he had given him seventy-two slaves in addition
to those captured in the various wars. There never was a more supreme
despot than the king Kamrasi - not only the property, but the families
of his subjects were at his disposal; he boasted that "all belonged to
him." Thus, when disposed to be liberal, he took from others and
bestowed upon his favourites; should any sufferer complain, there were
no lawyer's costs, but the "shoe," or death. His power depended upon a
perfect system of espionage, by which he obtained a knowledge of all
that passed throughout his kingdom; that being divided into numerous
small districts, each governed by a chief, who was responsible for the
acts committed within his jurisdiction, the government was wonderfully
simplified. Should a complaint be made against a governor, he was
summoned before the king; if guilty, death, or the "shoe!" To be
suspected of rebellion, was to die. A bodyguard of about 500 men, who
were allowed to pillage the country at discretion, secured the power of
the king, as with this organized force always at hand he could pounce
upon the suspected and extinguish them at once: thus the tyrant held his
sway over a population so timid that they yielded tamely to his
oppression. Having now allied himself to the Turks, he had conceived the
most ambitious views of conquering Uganda, and of restoring the ancient
kingdom of Kitwara; but the total absence of physical courage will
utterly frustrate such plans for extension, and Kamrasi the Cruel will
never be known as Kamrasi the Conqueror.
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