Here I Was Also Brought To A Standstill, For N'yamgundu Said I
Must Wait For Leave To Approach The Palace.
He wished to have a
look at the presents I had brought for Mtesa.
I declined to
gratify it, taking my stand on my dignity; there was no occasion
for any distrust on such a trifling matter as that, for I was not
a merchant who sought for gain, but had come, at great expense,
to see the king of this region. I begged, however, he would go
as fast as possible to announce my arrival, explain my motive for
coming here, and ask for an early interview, as I had left my
brother Grant behind at Karague, and found my position, for want
of a friend to talk to, almost intolerable. It was not the
custom of my country for great men to consort with servants, and
until I saw him, and made friends, I should not be happy. I had
a great deal to tell him about, as he was the father of the Nile,
which river drained the N'yanza down to my country to the
northward. With this message N'yamgundu hurried off as fast as
possible.
Next day (15th) I gave each of my men a fez cap, and a piece of
red blanket to make up military jackets. I then instructed them
how to form a guard of honour when I went to the palace, and
taught Bombay the way Nazirs was presented at courts in India.
Altogether we made a good show. When this was concluded I went
with Nasib up a hill, from which we could see the lake on one
side, and on the other a large range of huts said to belong to
the king's uncle, the second of the late king Sunna's brothers,
who was not burnt to death when he ascended the throne.
I then (16th) very much wished to go and see the escape of the
Mwerango river, as I still felt a little sceptical as to its
origin, whether or not it came off those smaller lakes I had seen
on the road the day before I crossed the river; but no one would
listen to my project. They all said I must have the king's
sanction first, else people, from not knowing my object, would
accuse me of practising witchcraft, and would tell their king so.
They still all maintained that the river did come out of the
lake, and said, if I liked to ask the king's leave to visit the
spot, then they would go and show it me. I gave way, thinking it
prudent to do so, but resolved in my mind I would get Grant to
see it in boats on his voyage from Karague. There were not
guinea-fowls to be found here, nor a fowl, in any of the huts, so
I requested Rozaro to hurry off to Mtesa, and ask him to send me
something to eat. He simply laughed at my request, and said I
did not know what I was doing. It would be as much as his life
was worth to go one yard in advance of this until the king's
leave was obtained. I said, rather than be starved to death in
this ignominious manner, I would return to Karague; to which he
replied, laughing, "Whose leave have you got to do that? Do you
suppose you can do as you like in this country?"
Next day (17th), in the evening, N'yamgundu returned full of
smirks and smiles, dropped on his knees at my feet, and, in
company with his "children," set to n'yanzigging, according to
the form of that state ceremonial already described.[FN#17] In
his excitement he was hardly able to say all he had to
communicate. Bit by bit, however, I learned that he first went
to the palace, and, finding the king had gone off yachting to the
Murchison Creek, he followed him there. The king for a long
while would not believe his tale that I had come, but, being
assured, he danced with delight, and swore he would not taste
food until he had seen me. "Oh," he said, over and over again
and again, according to my informer, "can this be true? Can the
white man have come all this way to see me? What a strong man he
must be too, to come so quickly! Here are seven cows, four of
them milch ones, as you say he likes milk, which you will give
him; and there are three for yourself for having brought him so
quickly. Now, hurry off as fast as you can, and tell him I am
more delighted at the prospect of seeing him than he can be to
see me. There is no place here fit for his reception. I was on
a pilgrimage which would have kept me here seven days longer but
as I am so impatient to see him, I will go off to my palace at
once, and will send word for him to advance as soon as I arrive
there."
About noon the succeeding day, some pages ran in to say we were
to come along without a moment's delay, as their king had ordered
it. He would not taste food until he saw me, so that everybody
might know what great respect he felt for me. In the meanwhile,
however, he wished for some gunpowder. I packed the pages off as
fast as I could with some, and tried myself to follow, but my men
were all either sick or out foraging, and therefore we could not
get under way until the evening. After going a certain distance,
we came on a rush-drain, of much greater breadth even than the
Mwerango, called the Moga (or river) Myanza, which was so deep I
had to take off my trousers and tuck my clothes under my arms.
It flowed into the Mwerango, but with scarcely any current at
all.
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