These I Accepted, More As A
Government Security In That Country Against The Tricks Of The
Natives, Than For Any Accession They Made To Our Strength.
His
highness then places his 22-gun corvette, "Secundra Shah," at our
disposal, and we went all three over to Bagamoyo, arriving on the
25th.
Immediately on landing, Ladha and Sheikh Said showed us
into a hut prepared for us, and all things looked pretty well.
Ladha's hundred loads of beads, cloths, and brass wire were all
tied up for the march, and seventy-five pagazis (porters from the
Moon country) had received their hire to carry these loads to
Kaze in the land of the Moon. Competition, I found, had raised
these men's wages, for I had to pay, to go even as far as Kaze,
nine and a quarter dollars a-head! - as Masudi and some other
merchants were bound on the same line as myself, and all were
equally in a hurry to be off and avoid as much as possible the
famine we knew we should have to fight through at this late
season. Little troubles, of course, must always be expected, else
these blacks would not be true negroes. Sheikh Said now reported
it quite impossible to buy anything at a moderate rate; for, as I
was a "big man," I ought to "pay a big price;" and my men had all
been obliged to fight in the bazaar before they could get even
tobacco at the same rate as other men, because they were the
servants of the big man, who could afford to give higher wages
than any one else. The Hottentots, too, began to fall sick, which
my Wanguana laughingly attributed to want of grog to keep their
spirits up, as these little creatures, the "Tots," had frequently
at Zanzibar, after heavy potations, boasted to the more sober
free men, that they "were strong, because they could stand plenty
drink." The first step now taken was to pitch camp under large
shady mango-trees, and to instruct every man in his particular
duty. At the same time, the Wanguana, who had carbines, were
obliged to be drilled in their use and formed into companies,
with captains of ten, headed by General Baraka, who was made
commander-in-chief.
On the 30th September, as things were looking more orderly, I
sent forward half of the property, and all the men I had then
collected, to Ugeni, a shamba, or garden, two miles off; and on
the 2nd October, after settling with Ladha for my "African
money," as my pagazis were completed to a hundred and one, we
wished Rigby adieu, and all assembled together at Ugeni, which
resembles the richest parts of Bengal.
Chapter II
Uzaramo
The Nature of the Country - The Order of March - The Beginning of
our Taxation - Sultan Lion's Claw, and Sultan Monkey's Tail - The
Kingani - Jealousies and Difficulties in the Camp - The Murderer
of M. Maizan.
We were now in U-za-Ramo, which may mean the country of Ramo,
though I have never found any natives who could enlighten me on
the derivation of this obviously triple word.
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