A Report Then Came To Us That Suwarora Had Heard With Displeasure That I Had Been Endeavouring To See Him, But Was Deterred Because Evil Reports Concerning Him Had Been Spread.

This unexpected good news delighted me exceedingly; confirmed my belief that Baraka, after all, was a coward, and induced me to recommend Bombay to make his cowardice more indisputable by going on and doing what he had feared to do. To which Bombay replied, "Of course I will.

It is all folly pulling up for every ill wind that blows, because, until one actually SEES there is something in it, you never can tell amongst these savages - 'shaves' are so common in Africa. Besides, a man has but one life, and God is the director of everything." "Bravo!" said I, "we will get on as long as you keep to that way of thinking."

At length a guide was obtained, and with him came some of those men of the Pig's who returned before; for they had a great desire to go with me, but had been deterred, they said, by Baraka and the rest of my men. Seeing all this, I changed my plans again, intending, on arrival at Baraka's camp, to prevail on the whole of the party to go with me direct, which I thought they could not now refuse, since Suwarora had sent us an invitation. Moreover, I did not like the idea of remaining still whilst the three men went forwards, as it would be losing time.

These separations from Grant were most annoying, but they could not be helped; so, when all was settled here, I bade him adieu - both of us saying we would do our best - and set out on my journey, thinking what a terrible thing it was I could not prevail on my men to view things as I did. Neither my experience with native chiefs, nor my money and guns, were of any use to me, simply because my men were such incomprehensible fools, though many of them who had travelled before ought to have known better.

More reports came to us about Suwarora, all of the most inviting nature; but nothing else worth mentioning occurred until we reached the border of Msalala, where an officer of M'yonga's, who said he was a bigger man than his chief, demanded a tax, which I refused, and the dispute ended in his snatching Nasib's gun out of his hands. I thought little of this affair myself, beyond regretting the delay which it might occasion, as M'yonga, I knew, would not permit such usage, if I chose to go round by his palace and make a complaint. Both Bui and Nasib, however, were so greatly alarmed, that before I could say a word they got the gun back again by paying four yards merikani. We had continued bickering again, for Bui had taken such fright at this kind of rough handling, and the "push-ahead" manner in which I persisted "riding over the lords of the soil," that I could hardly drag the party along.

However, on the 18th, after breakfasting at Ruhe's, we walked into Mihambo, and took all the camp by surprise. I found the Union Jack hoisted upon a flag-staff, high above all the trees, in the boma. Baraka said he had done this to show the Watuta that the place was occupied by men with guns - a necessary precaution, as all the villages in the neighbourhood had, since my departure, been visited and plundered by them. Lumeresi, the chief of the district, who lived ten miles to the eastward, had been constantly pressing him to leave this post and come to his palace, as he felt greatly affronted at our having shunned him and put up with Ruhe. He did not want property, he said, but he could not bear that the strangers had lived with his mtoto, or child, which Ruhe was, and yet would not live with him. He thought Baraka's determined obstinacy on this could only be caused by the influence of the head man of the village, and threatened that if Baraka did not come to visit him at once, he would have the head man beheaded. Then, shifting round a bit, he thought of ordering his subjects to starve the visitors into submission, and said he must have a hongo equal to Ruhe's. To all this Baraka replied, that he was merely a servant, and as he had orders to stop where he was, he could not leave it until I came; but to show there was no ill-feeling towards him, he sent the chief a cloth.

These first explanations over, I entered my tent, in which Baraka had been living, and there I found a lot of my brass wires on the ground, lying scattered about. I did not like the look of this, so ordered Bombay to resume his position of factotum, and count over the kit. Whilst this was going on, a villager came to me with a wire, and asked me to change it for a cloth. I saw at once what the game was; so I asked my friend where he got it, on which he at once pointed to Baraka. I then heard the men who were standing round us say one to another in under-tones, giggling with the fun of it, "Oh, what a shame of him! Did you hear what Bana said, and that fool's reply to it? What a shame of him to tell in that way." Without appearing to know, or rather to hear, the by-play that was going on, I now said to Baraka, "How is it this man has got one of my wires, for I told you not to touch or unpack them during my absence?" To which he coolly replied, in face of such evidence, "It is not one of your wires; I never gave away one of yours; there are lots more wires besides yours in the country.

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