We Relieved His Apprehensions By Telling Him His Ancestors Were
Formerly All White, With Straight Hair, And Lived In A
Country
beyond the salt sea, till they crossed that sea, took possession
of Abyssinia, and are now generally known by
The name of Hubshies
and Gallas; but neither of these names was known to him.
On the east, beyond Kidi, he only knew of one clan of Wahuma, a
people who subsist entirely on meat and milk. The sportsmen of
this country, like the Wanyamuezi, plant a convolvulus of
extraordinary size by the side of their huts, and pile the jaw-
bones and horns of their spoils before, as a means of bringing
good-luck. This same flower, held in the hand when a man is
searching for anything that he has lost, will certainly bring him
to the missing treasure. In the evening, Kidgwiga, at the head
of his brave army, made one of their theatrical charges on "Bana"
with spear and shield, swearing they would never desert him on
the march, but would die to a man if it were necessary; and if
they deserted him, then might they be deprived of their heads, or
of other personal possessions not much less valuable.
Just as we were ready for crossing the river, a line of Kidi men
was descried filing through the jungle on the opposite side,
making their way for a new-moon visit to Rionga, who occasionally
leads them into battle against Ukero. The last time they fought,
two men only were killed on Kamrasi's side, whilst nine fell on
Rionga's. There was little done besides crossing, for the last
cow was brought across as sunset - the ferrying-toll for the whole
being one cow, besides a present of beads to the head officer.
Kidgwiga's party sacrificed two kids, one on either side the
river, flaying them with one long cut each down their breasts and
bellies. These animals were then, spread-eagle fashion, laid on
their backs upon grass and twigs, to be steeped over by the
travellers, that their journey might be prosperous; and the spot
selected for the ordeal was chosen in deference to the Mzimu, or
spirit - a sort of wizard or ecclesiastical patriarch, whose
functions were devoted to the falls.
After a soaking night, we were kept waiting till noon for the
forty porters ordered by Kamrasi, to carry our property to the
vessels wherever they might be. Only twenty-five men arrived,
notwithstanding the wife and one slave belonging to a local
officer, who would not supply the men required of him, were
seized and confiscated by Ukero, of Wire. We now mustered twenty
Wanguana, twenty-five country porters, and thirty-one of
Kidgwiga's "children" - making a total, with ourselves, of
seventy-eight souls. By a late arrival a message came from
Kamrasi. Its import was, that we must defer the march, as it was
reported the refractory brother Rionga harboured designs of
molesting us on the way, and therefore the king conceived it
prudent to clear the road by first fighting him. Without heeding
this cunning advice, we made a short march across swamps, and
through thick jungle and long grasses, which proved anything but
pleasant - wet and labouring hard all the way.
It was a rainy day, and we had still to toil on fighting with the
grasses. We marched up the wet margin of swamp all day, crossing
the water at a fork near the end. The same jungle prevails on
all sides, excluding all view; and the only signs of man's
existence in these wilds lay in the meagre path, which is often
lost, and an occasional hut or two, the temporary residence of
the sporting Kidi people.
After toiling five miles through the same terrible grasses, and
crossing swamp after swamp, we were at last rewarded by a
striking view. The jungles had thinned; we found ourselves
unexpectedly standing on the edge of a plateau, on the west of
which, for distance interminable, lay apparently a low flat
country of grass, yellowed by the sun, with a few trees or shrubs
only thinly scattered over the surface; while, from fifteen to
twenty miles in the rear, bearing south by west, stood
conspicuously the hill of Kisuga, said to be situated in Chopi,
not far from the refractory brothers. But this view was only for
the moment; again we dived into the grasses and forced our way
along. Presently elephants were seen, also buffalo; and the
guide, to make the journey propitious, plucked a twig, denuded it
of its leaves and branches, waved it like a wand up the line of
march, muttered some unintelligible words to himself, broke it in
twain, and threw the separated bits on either side of the path.
Immediately after starting, the guide ran up on an ant-hill and
pointed out to us all the glories of the country round. In our
rear we could see back upon Wire and the hill of Kisuga; to the
west were the same low plains of grass; east and by south, the
jungles of Kidi; and to the northward, over downs of grass, the
tops of some hills, which marked the neighbouring village of
Koki, which we were making for. Its appearance in the distance
warned us that we were closing on the habitations of men, and we
were told that Bombay had drunk pombe there. Then plunging
through grass again over our heads, and crossing constant swamps,
we arrived at a stream which drains all these lands to westward,
and rested a while that the men might bathe, and also that they
might set fire to the grass as a telegraph to the settlement of
Koko, to apprise the people of our advance, and be ready with
their pombe ere our arrival. Shortly after, towards the close of
the day's work, as a solitary buffalo was seen grazing by a
brook, I put a bullet through him, and allowed the savages the
pleasure of despatching him in their own wild fashion with
spears.
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