Early The Next Morning,
Kamrasi's Entire Army Arrived Laden With Provisions, Each Man Carrying
About 40 Lbs.
Of flour in a package upon his head.
The Turks' party of
ten men joined them, and I heard that an attack was meditated upon
Fowooka.
A few days after the expedition had started, the Turks and about 1,000
natives returned. Kamrasi was overjoyed; they had gained a complete
victory, having entirely routed Fowooka, and not only captured the
islands and massacred the greater number of the inhabitants, but they
had captured all the wives of the rebel chiefs, together with a number
of inferior slaves, and a herd of goats that had fortunately escaped the
search of Mahommed's retreating party. Fowooka and Owine had escaped by
crossing to the northern shore, but their power was irretrievably
ruined, their villages plundered and burned, and their women and
children captured.
A number of old women had been taken in the general razzia; these could
not walk sufficiently fast to keep up with their victors during the
return march, they had accordingly all been killed on the road as being
cumbersome: in every case they were killed by being beaten on the back
of the neck with a club. Such were the brutalities indulged in.
On the following morning I went to visit the captives; the women were
sitting in an open shed, apparently much dejected. I examined the hands
of about fourteen, all of which were well shaped and beautifully soft,
proving that they were women of high degree who never worked
laboriously: they were for the most part remarkably good looking, of
soft and pleasing expression, dark brown complexion, fine noses, woolly
hair, and good figures, precisely similar to the general style of women
in Chopi and Unyoro.
Among the captives was a woman with a most beautiful child, a boy about
twelve months old; all these were slaves, and the greater number were in
a most pitiable state, being perfectly unfit for labour, having been
accustomed to luxury as the women of chiefs of high position. Curiously
enough, the woman Bacheeta, who had accompanied us to visit these
unfortunate captives, now recognised her former mistress, who was the
wife of the murdered Sali; she had been captured with the wives and
daughters of Rionga. Bacheeta immediately fell on her knees and crept
towards her on all fours, precisely as the subjects of Kamrasi were
accustomed to approach his throne. Sali had held as high a position as
Fowooka, and had been treacherously killed by Kamrasi at M'rooli in the
presence of Bacheeta. At that time peace had been established between
Kamrasi and the three great chiefs, who were invited to a conference at
M'rooli with a treacherous design on the part of the king. Hardly had
they arrived, when Rionga was seized by Kamrasi's orders, and confined
in a circular but with high mud walls and no doorway; the prisoner was
hoisted up and lowered down through an aperture in the roof.
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