I Now Sent Bombay To The King To Request An Interview, As I Had
Much Of Importance To Tell Him; But The Could Not Be Seen, As He
Was Deep In The Interior Of The Palace Enjoying The Society Of
His Wives.
The Kamraviona, however, was found there waiting, as
usual, on the mere chance of his majesty taking it into his head
to come out.
He asked Bombay if it was true the woman he gave me
ran away; and when Bombay told him, he said, "Oh, he should have
chained her for two or three days, until she became accustomed to
her residence; for women often take fright and run away in that
way, believing strangers to be cannibals." But Bombay replied,
"She was not good enough for Bana; he let her go off like a dog;
he wants a young and beautiful Mhuma, or none at all." "Ah,
well, then, if he is so particular, he must wait a bit, for we
have none on hand. What I gave him is the sort of creature we
give all our guests." A Msoga was sent by the king to take the
dead adjutant of yesterday out of the nest - for all Wasoga are
expert climbers, which is not the case with the Waganda; but the
man was attacked half-way up the tree by a swarm of bees, and
driven down again.
14th. - After all the vexatious haggling for a house, I gained my
object to-day by a judicious piece of bribery which I had
intended to accomplish whenever I could. I now succeeded in
sending - for I could not, under the jealous eyes in Uganda, get
it done earlier - a present of fifteen pints mixed beads, twenty
blue eggs, and five copper bracelets, to the commander-in-chief,
as a mark of friendship. At the same time I hinted that I should
like him to use his influence in obtaining for me a near and
respectable residence, where I hoped he, as well as all the
Waganda nobility, would call upon me; for my life in Uganda was
utterly miserable, being shut up like a hermit by myself every
day. The result was, that a number of huts in a large plantain
garden were at once assigned to me, on the face of a hill,
immediately overlooking and close to the main road. It was
considered the "West End." It had never before been occupied by
any visitors excepting Wahinda ambassadors; and being near, and
in full view of the palace, was pleasant and advantageous, as I
could both hear the constant music, and see the throngs of people
ever wending their way to and from the royal abodes. I lost no
time in moving all my property, turning out the original
occupants - in selecting the best hut for myself, giving the rest
to my three officers - and ordering my men to build barracks for
themselves, in street form, from my hut to the main road. There
was one thing only left to be done; the sanitary orders of Uganda
required every man to build himself a house of parliament, such
being the neat and cleanly nature of the Waganda - a pattern to
all other negro tribes.
15th. - As nobody could obtain an interview with the king
yesterday, I went to the palace to-day, and fired three shots - a
signal which was at once answered from within by a double
discharge of a gun I had just lent him on his returning my rifle.
In a little while, as soon as he had time to dress, the king,
walking like a lion, sallied forth, leading his white dog, and
beckoned me to follow him to the state hut, the court of which
was filled with squatting men as usual, well dressed, and keeping
perfect order. He planted himself on his throne, and begged me
to sit by his side. Then took place the usual scene of a court
levee, as described in Chapter X., with the specialty, in this
instance, that the son of the chief executioner - one of the
highest officers of state - was led off for execution, for some
omission or informality in his n'yanzigs, or salutes.
At this levee sundry Wakungu of rank complained that the Wanyambo
plundered their houses at night, and rough-handled their women,
without any respect for their greatness, and, when caught, said
they were Bana's men. Bombay, who was present, heard the
complaint, and declared these were Suwarora's men, who made use
of the proximity of my camp to cover their own transgressions.
Then Suwarora's deputation, who were also present, cringed
forward, n'yanzigging like Waganda, and denied the accusation,
when the king gave all warning that he would find out the truth
by placing guards on the look-out at night.
Till this time the king had not heard one word about the defeat
of the party sent for Petherick. His kingdom might have been
lost, and he would have been no wiser; when the officer who led
Mabruki came forward and told him all that had happened, stating,
in addition to what I heard before, that they took eighty men
with them, and went into battle three times successfully.
Dismissing business, however, the king turned to me, and said he
never saw anything so wonderful as my shooting in his life; he
was sure it was done by magic, as my gun never missed, and he
wished I would instruct him in the art. When I denied there was
any art in shooting, further than holding the gun straight, he
shook his head, and getting me to load his revolving pistol for
him, he fired all five barrels into two cows before the
multitude. He then thought of adjutant-shooting with ball, left
the court sitting, desired me to follow him, and leading the way,
went into the interior of the palace, where only a few select
officers were permitted to follow us. The birds were wild, and
as nothing was done, I instructed him in the way to fire from his
shoulder, placing the gun in position.
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