The Policy And Government Of
The Vast Possessions Of Great Britain Were Then Duly Discussed,
And Rumanika Acknowledged That The Pen Was Superior To That Of
The Sword, And The Electric Telegraph And Steam Engine The Most
Wonderful Powers He Had Ever Heard Of.
Before breaking up, Rumanika wished to give me any number of
ivories I might like to mention, even three
Or four hundred, as a
lasting remembrance that I had done him the honour of visiting
Karague in his lifetime, for though Dagara had given to coloured
merchants, he would be the first who had given to a white man.
Of course this royal offer was declined with politeness; he must
understand that it was not the custom of big men in my country to
accept presents of value when we made visits of pleasure. I had
enjoyed my residence in Karague, his intellectual conversations
and his kind hospitality, all of which I should record in my
books to hand down to posterity; but if he would give me a cow's
horn, I would keep it as a trophy of the happy days I had spent
in his country. He gave me one, measuring 3 feet 5 inches in
length, and 18 3/4 inches in circumference at the base. He then
offered me a large sheet, made up of a patchwork of very small
N'yera antelope skins, most exquisitely cured and sewn. This I
rejected, as he told me it had been given to himself, explaining
that we prided ourselves on never parting with the gifts of a
friend; and this speech tickled his fancy so much, that he said
he never would part with anything I gave him.
8th and 9th. - The 8th went off much in the usual way, by my
calling on the king, when I gave him a pack of playing-cards,
which he put into his curiosity-box. He explained to me, at my
request, what sort of things he would like any future visitors to
bring him - a piece of gold and silver embroidery; but, before
anything else, I found he would like to have toys - such as Yankee
clocks with the face in a man's stomach, to wind up behind, his
eyes rolling with every beat of the pendulum; or a china-cow
milk-pot, a jack-in-the- box, models of men, carriages, and
horses - all animals in fact, and railways in particular.
On the 9th I went out shooting, as Rumanika, with his usual
politeness, on hearing my desire to kill some rhinoceros, ordered
his sons to conduct the filed for me. Off we started by sunrise
to the bottom of the hills overlooking the head of the Little
Windermere lake. On arrival at the scene of action - a thicket or
acacia shrubs - all the men in the neighbourhood were assembled to
beat. Taking post myself, by direction, in the most likely place
to catch a sight of the animals, the day's work began by the
beaters driving the covers in my direction.
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