He Laughed At The Name And Repeated It Several Times
With His Chiefs, - He Then Said, It Was Not LUTA,
But M-WOOTAN
N'zige - but that it was SIX MONTHS' journey from M'rooli, and that in my
weak condition I
Could not possibly reach it; that I should die upon the
road, and that the king of my country would perhaps imagine that I had
been murdered, and might invade his territory. I replied, that I was
weak with the toil of years in the hot countries of Africa, but that I
was in search of the great lake, and should not return until I had
succeeded; that I had no king, but a powerful Queen who watched over all
her subjects, and that no Englishman could be murdered with impunity;
therefore he should send me to the lake without delay, and there would
be the lesser chance of my dying in his country.
I explained that the river Nile flowed for a distance of two years'
journey through wonderful countries, and reached the sea, from which
many valuable articles would be sent to him in exchange for ivory, could
I only discover the great lake. As a proof of this, I had brought him a
few curiosities that I trusted he would accept, and I regretted that the
impossibility of procuring porters had necessitated the abandonment of
others that had been intended for him.
I ordered the men to unpack the Persian carpet, which was spread upon
the ground before him. I then gave him an Abbia (large white Cashmere
mantle), a red silk netted sash, a pair of scarlet Turkish shoes,
several pairs of socks, a double-barrelled gun and ammunition, and a
great heap of first-class beads made up into gorgeous necklaces and
girdles. He took very little notice of the presents, but requested that
the gun might be fired off. This was done, to the utter confusion of the
crowd, who rushed away in such haste, that they tumbled over each other
like so many rabbits; this delighted the king, who, although himself
startled, now roared with laughter. He told me that I must be hungry and
thirsty, therefore he hoped I would accept something to eat and drink:
accordingly he presented me with seventeen cows, twenty pots of sour
plantain cider and many loads of unripe plantains. I inquired whether
Speke had left a medicine chest with him. He replied that it was a very
feverish country, and that he and his people had used all the medicine.
Thus my last hope of quinine was cut off. I had always trusted to obtain
a supply from the king, as Speke had told me that he had left a bottle
with him. It was quite impossible to obtain any information from him,
and I was carried back to my hut, where I found Mrs. Baker lying down
with fever, and neither could render assistance to the other.
On the following morning the king again appeared.
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