I Made Each Of Them A Present Of A Bead Necklace, And Explained To Them
My Wish That There Should
Be no delay in my presentation to Kamrasi, as
Speke had complained that he bad been kept waiting fifteen days
Before
the king had condescended to see him; that, if this occurred, no
Englishman would ever visit him, as such a reception would be considered
an insult. The headman replied that he felt sure I was not an impostor;
but that very shortly after the departure of Speke and Grant in the
previous year, a number of people had arrived in their name, introducing
themselves as their greatest friends: they had been ferried across the
river, and well received by Kamrasi's orders, and had been presented
with ivory, slaves, and leopard skins, as tokens of friendship; but they
had departed, and suddenly returned with Rionga's people, and had
attacked the village in which they had been so well received; and upon
the country being assembled to resist them, about three hundred of
Kamrasi's men had been killed in the fight. The king had therefore given
orders that, upon pain of death, no stranger should cross the river. He
continued: that when they saw our people marching along the bank of the
river, they imagined them to be the same party that had attacked them
formerly, and they were prepared to resist them, and had sent on a
messenger to Kamrasi, who was three days' march from Karuma, at his
capital M'rooli; until they received a reply, it would be impossible to
allow us to enter the country. He promised to despatch another messenger
immediately to inform the king who we were, but that we must certainly
wait until his return. I explained that we had nothing to eat, and that
it would be very inconvenient to remain in such a spot; that I
considered the suspicion displayed was exceedingly unfair, as they must
see that my wife and I were white people like Speke and Grant, whereas
those who had deceived them were of a totally different race, all being
either black or brown.
I told him that it did not much matter; that I had very beautiful
presents intended for Kamrasi; but that another great king would be only
too glad to accept them, without throwing obstacles in my way. I should
accordingly return with my presents.
At the same time I ordered a handsome Persian carpet, about fifteen feet
square, to be displayed as one of the presents intended for the king.
The gorgeous colours, as the carpet was unfolded, produced a general
exclamation before the effect of astonishment wore off, I had a basket
unpacked, and displayed upon a cloth a heap of superb necklaces, that we
had prepared while at Obbo, of the choicest beads, many as large as
marbles, and glittering with every colour of the rainbow. The garden of
jewels of Aladdin's wonderful lamp could not have produced more enticing
fruit. Beads were extremely rare in Kamrasi's land; the few that existed
had arrived from Zanzibar, and all that I exhibited were entirely new
varieties.
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