If He Could Be Of Service, He Would Readily Come To
Me; But He Had Dreamed Three Times That He
Saw me marching into
Cairo, which, as three times were lucky, he was sure would prove
good, and he begged
I would still keep my nose well to the front,
and push boldly on. Manua Sera was still in the field, and all
was uncertain. Bombay then told me - he had forgotten to do so
before - that when he was last at Kaze, Sheikh said told him he
was sure we would succeed if both he and myself pulled together,
although it was well known no one else of my party wished to go
northwards.
With at last a sufficiency of porters, we all set out together,
walking over a new style of country. Instead of the constantly-
recurring outcrops of granite, as in Unyamuezi, with valleys
between, there were only two lines of little hills visible, one
right and one left of us, a good way off; whilst the ground over
which we were travelling, instead of being confined like a
valley, rose in long high swells of sandstone formation, covered
with small forest-trees, among which flowers like primroses, only
very much larger, and mostly of a pink colour, were frequently
met with. Indeed, we ought all to have been happy together, for
all my men were paid and rationed trebly - far better than they
would have been if they had been travelling with any one else;
but I had not paid all, as they thought, proportionably, and
therefore there were constant heartburnings, with strikes and
rows every day. It was useless to tell them that they were all
paid according to their own agreements - that all short-service
men had a right to expect more in proportion to their work than
long-service ones; they called it all love and partiality, and in
their envy would think themselves ill-used.
At night the kirangozi would harangue the camp, cautioning all
hands to keep together on the line of march, as the Watuta were
constantly hovering about, and the men should not squabble and
fight with their master, else no more white men would come this
way again. On the 11th we were out of Bogue, in the district of
Ugomba, and next march brought us into Ugombe (12th), where we
crossed the Ukongo nullah, draining westwards to the Malagarai
river. Here some of the porters, attempting to bolt, were
intercepted by my coast-men and had a fight of it, for they fired
arrows, and in return the coast-men cut their bows. The whole
camp, of course, was in a blaze at this; their tribe was
insulted, and they would not stand it, until Bombay put down
their pride with a few strings of beads, as the best means of
restoring peace in the camp.
At this place we were visited by the chief of the district, Pongo
(Bush-boc), who had left his palace to see us and invite us his
way, for he feared we might give him the slip by going west into
Uyofu.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 119 of 403
Words from 61722 to 62242
of 210958
