Next Morning, (1st) Masudi And His Party Started For Karague.
They Had Been More Than A Year Between This And Kaze, Trying All
The Time To Get Along.
Provisions here were abundant - hawked
about by the people, who wore a very neat skin kilt strapped
round the waist, but otherwise were decorated like the
Wanyamuezi.
It was difficult to say who were of true breed here,
for the intercourse of the natives with the Wahuma and the
Wanyamuezi produced a great variety of facial features amongst
the people. Nowhere did I ever see so many men and women with
hazel eyes as at this place.
In the evening, an Uganda man, by name N'yamgundu, came to pay
his respects to us. He was dressed in a large skin wrapper, made
up of a number of very small antelope skins: it was as soft as
kid, and just as well sewn as our gloves. To our surprise the
manners of the man were quite in keeping with his becoming dress.
I was enchanted with his appearance, and so were my men, though
no one could speak to him but Nasib, who told us he knew him
before. He was the brother of the dowager queen of Uganda, and,
along with a proper body of officers, he had been sent by Mtesa,
the present king of Uganda, to demand the daughter of Suwarora,
as reports had reached his king that she was surprisingly
beautiful. They had been here more than a year, during which
time this beautiful virgin had died; and now Suwarora, fearful of
the great king's wrath, consequent on his procrastinations, was
endeavouring to make amends for it, by sending, instead of his
daughter, a suitable tribute in wires. I thought it not wonderful
that we should be fleeced.
Next day (2d) Sirhid paid us a visit, and said he was the first
man in the state. He certainly was a nice-looking young man,
with a good deal of the Wahuma blood in him. Flashily dressed in
coloured cloths and a turban, he sat down in one of our chairs as
if he had been accustomed to such a seat all his life, and spoke
with great suavity. I explained our difficulties as those of
great men in misfortune; and, after listening to our tale, he
said he would tell Suwarora of the way we had been plundered, and
impress upon him to deal lightly with us. I said I had brought
with me a few articles of European manufacture for Suwarora,
which I hoped would be accepted if I presented them, for they
were such things as only great men like his chief every
possessed. One was a five-barrelled pistol, another a large
block-in box, and so fourth; but after looking at them, and
seeing the pistol fired, he said; "No; you must not shew these
things at first, or the Mkama might get frightened, thinking them
magic. I might lose my head for presuming to offer them, and
then there is no knowing what might happen afterwards." "Then can
I not see him at once and pay my respects, for I have come a
great way to obtain that pleasure?" "No," said Sirhid, "I will
see him first; for he is not a man like myself, but requires to
be well assured before he sees anybody." "Then why did he invite
me here!" "He heard that Makaka, and afterwards Lumeresi, had
stopped your progress; and as he wished to see what you were
like, he ordered me to send some men to you, which, as you know,
I did twice.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 128 of 403
Words from 66474 to 67078
of 210958
