I
Immediately Read This Letter To Lumeresi, And Asked Him How I
Should Answer It, As Grant Refused To Pay Anything Until I Gave
The Order.
To which Lumeresi replied, Ruhe, "my child," could not dare to
interfere with Grant after his officers arrived, and advised me
to wait until the evening.
At all events, if there were any
further impediments, he himself would go over there with a force
and release Grant. In the evening another messenger arrived from
Grant, giving a list of his losses and expenses at M'yonga's.
They amounted to an equivalent of eight loads, and were as
follows: - 100 yards cloth, and 4600 necklaces of beads (these
had been set aside as the wages paid to the porters, but being in
my custody, I had to make them good); 300 necklaces of beads
stolen from the loads; one brass wire stolen; one sword-bayonet
stolen; Grant's looking-glass stolen; one saw stolen; one box
ammunition stolen. Then paid in hongo, 160 yards cloth; 150
necklaces; one scarlet blanket, double; one case ammunition; ten
brass wires. Lastly, there was one donkey beaten to death by the
savages. This was the worst of all; for this poor brute carried
me on the former journey to the southern end of the N'yanza, and
in consequence was a great pet.
As nothing further transpired, and I was all in the dark (26th),
I wrote to Grant telling him of my interviews with Lumeresi, and
requesting him to pay nothing; but it was too late, for Grant, to
my inexpressible delight, was the next person I saw; he walked
into camp, and then he was a good laugh over all our misfortunes.
Poor Grant, he had indeed had a most troublesome time of it. The
scoundrel Ruhe, who only laughed at Lumeresi's orders, had
stopped his getting supplies of food for himself and his men;
told him it was lucky that he came direct to the palace, for full
preparations had been made for stopping him had he attempted to
avoid it; would not listen to any reference being made to avoid
myself; badgered and bullied over every article that he
extracted; and, finally, when he found compliance with his
extortionate requests was not readily granted, he beat the
wardrums to frighten the porters, and ordered the caravan out of
his palace, to where he said they would find his men ready to
fight it out with them. It happened that Grant had just given
Ruhe a gun when my note arrived, on which they made an agreement,
that it was to be restored, provided that, after the full
knowledge of all these transactions had reached us, it was both
Lumeresi's and my desire that it should be so.
I called Lumeresi (27th), and begged he would show whether he was
the chief or not, by requiring Ruhe to disgorge the property he
had taken from me. His Wanyapara had been despised, and I had
been most unjustly treated. Upon this the old chief hung down
his head, and said it touched his heart more than words could
tell to hear my complaint, for until I came that way no one had
come, and I had paid him handsomely. He fully appreciated the
good service I had done to him and his country by opening a road
which all caravans for the future would follow if property dealt
with. Having two heads in a country was a most dangerous thing,
but it could not be helped for the present, as his hands were too
completely occupied already. There were Rohinda, the Watuta, and
M'yonga, whom he must settle with before he could attend to Ruhe;
but when he was free, then Ruhe should know who was the chief.
To bring the matter to a climax, Mrs. Lumeresi then said she
ought to have something, because Ruhe was her son, whilst
Lumeresi was only her second husband and consort, for Ruhe was
born to her by her former husband. She therefore was queen.
Difficulties now commenced again (28th). All the Wanguana
struck, and said they would go no further. I argued - they
argued; they wanted more pay - I would not give more. Bombay, who
appeared the only one of my men anxious to go on with Grant and
myself, advised me to give in, else they would all run away, he
said. I still stuck out, saying that if they did go, they should
be seized on the coast and cast into jail for desertion. I had
sent for fifty more men on the same terms as themselves, and
nothing in the world would make me alter what had been
established at the British Consulate. There all their
engagements were written down in the office-book, and the Consul
was our judge.
29th to 4th. - This shut them up, but at night two of them
deserted; the Wanyamuezi porters also deserted, and I had to find
more. Whilst this was going on, I wrote letters and packed up my
specimens, and sent them back by my late valet, Rahan, who also
got orders to direct Sheikh Said to seize the two men who
deserted, and take them down chained to the coast when he went
there. On the 4th, Lumeresi was again greatly perplexed by his
sovereign Rohinda calling on him for some cloths; he must have
thirty at least, else he would not give up Lumeresi's son.
Further, he commanded in a bullying tone that all the Wahuma who
were with Lumeresi should be sent to him at once, adding, at the
same time, if his royal mandate was not complied with as soon as
he expected, he would at once send a force to seize Lumeresi, and
place another man in his stead to rule over the district.
Lumeresi, on hearing this, first consulted me, saying his chief
was displeased with him, accusing him of being too proud, in
having at once two such distinguished guests, and meant by these
acts only to humble him.
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