The Albert N'Yanza Part 22

I called the vakeel of the Turks, Eddrees: he said, that he also had heard long since that M'Gambi was not Kamrasi as we had all supposed, but that he had never seen the great king, as M'Gambi had always acted as viceroy; he confirmed the accounts I had just received, that the real Kamrasi was not far from this village, the name of which was "Kisoona."

I told M'Gambi that I did not wish to see his brother the king, as I should perhaps be again deceived and be introduced to some impostor like himself; and that as I did not choose to be made a fool of, I should decline the introduction. This distressed him exceedingly; he said, that the "king was really so great a man that he, his own brother, dared not sit on a stool in his presence, and that he had only kept in retirement as a matter of precaution, as Debono's people had allied themselves with his enemy Rionga in the preceding year, and he dreaded treachery." I laughed contemptuously at M'Gambi, telling him that if a woman like my wife dared to trust herself far from her own country among such savages as Kamrasi's people, their king must be weaker than a woman if he dare not show himself in his own territory. I concluded by saying, that I should not go to see Kamrasi, but that he should come to visit me.

M'Gambi promised to send a good cow on the following morning, as we had not tasted milk for some months, and we were in great want of strengthening food. He took his leave, having received a small present of minute beads of various colours.

I could not help wondering at the curious combination of pride and abject cowardice that had been displayed by the redoubted Kamrasi ever since our first entrance to his territory. Speke when at Gondokoro had told me how he had been kept waiting for fifteen days before the king had condescended to see him. I now understood that this delay had been occasioned more by fear than pride, and that, in his cowardice, the king fell back upon his dignity as an excuse for absenting himself.

With the addition of the Turks' party we were now twenty-four armed men.

Although they had not seen the real king Kamrasi, they had been well treated since Ibrahim's departure, having received each a present of a young slave girl as a wife, while, as a distinguis.h.i.+ng mark of royal favour, the vakeel Eddrees had received two wives instead of one; they had also received regular supplies of flour and beef--the latter in the shape of a fat ox presented every seventh day, together with a liberal supply of plantain cider.

On the following morning after my arrival at Kisoona, M'Gambi appeared, beseeching me to go and visit the king. I replied that "I was hungry and weak from want of food, and that I wanted to see meat, and not the man who had starved me." In the afternoon a beautiful cow appeared with her young calf, also a fat sheep, and two pots of plantain cider, as a present from Kamrasi. That evening we revelled in milk, a luxury that we had not tasted for some months. The cow gave such a quant.i.ty that we looked forward to the establishment of a dairy and already contemplated cheese-making. I sent the king a present of a pound of powder in canister, a box of caps and a variety of trifles, explaining that I was quite out of stores and presents, as I had been kept so long in his country that I was reduced to beggary, as I had expected to have returned to my own country long before this.

In the evening, M'Gambi appeared with a message from the king, saying that I was his greatest friend, and that he would not think of taking anything from me, as he was sure that I must be hard up; that he desired nothing, but would be much obliged if I would give him the "little double rifle that I always carried, and my watch and compa.s.s!" He wanted "nothing," only my Fletcher rifle, that I would as soon have parted with as the bone of my arm: and these three articles were the same for which I had been so pertinaciously bored before my departure from M'rooli. It was of no use to be wroth; I therefore quietly replied that "I should not give them, as Kamrasi had failed in his promise to forward me to Shooa; but that I required no presents from him, as he always expected a thousandfold in return." M'Gambi said that all would be right if I would only agree to pay the king a visit. I objected to this, as I told him the king, his brother, did not want to see me, but only to observe what I had, in order to beg for all that he saw. He appeared much hurt, and a.s.sured me that he would be himself responsible that nothing of the kind should happen, and that he merely begged as a favour that I would visit the king on the following morning, and that people should be ready to carry me if I were unable to walk. Accordingly I arranged to be carried to Kamrasi's camp at about 8 A.M.

At the hour appointed M'Gambi appeared, with a great crowd of natives.

My clothes were in rags,--and as personal appearance has a certain effect, even in Central Africa, I determined to present myself to the king in as favourable a light as possible. I happened to possess a full-dress Highland suit that I had worn when I lived in Perths.h.i.+re many years ago; this I had treasured as serviceable upon an occasion like the present; accordingly I was quickly attired in kilt, sporran, and Glengarry bonnet, and to the utter amazement of the crowd, the ragged-looking object that had arrived in Kisoona now issued from the obscure hut, with plaid and kilt of Athole tartan. A general shout of exclamation arose from the a.s.sembled crowd; and taking my seat upon an angarep, I was immediately shouldered by a number of men, and attended by ten of my people as escort, I was carried towards the camp of the great Kamrasi.

In about half an hour we arrived. The camp, composed of gra.s.s huts, extended over a large extent of ground, and the approach was perfectly black with the throng that crowded to meet me. Women, children, dogs, and men all thronged at the entrance of the street that led to Kamrasi's residence. Pus.h.i.+ng our way through this inquisitive mult.i.tude, we continued through the camp until at length we reached the dwelling of the king. Halting for the moment, a message was immediately received that we should proceed; we accordingly entered through a narrow pa.s.sage between high reed fences, and I found myself in the presence of the actual king of Unyoro, Kamrasi. He was sitting in a kind of porch in front of a hut, and upon seeing me he hardly condescended to look at me for more than a moment; he then turned to his attendants and made some remark that appeared to amuse them, as they all grinned as little men are wont to do when a great man makes a bad joke.

I had ordered one of my men to carry my stool; I was determined not to sit upon the earth, as the king would glory in my humiliation. M'Gambi, his brother, who had formerly played the part of king, now sat upon the ground a few feet from Kamrasi, who was seated upon the same stool of copper that M'Gambi had used when I first saw him at M'rooli. Several of his chiefs also sat upon the straw with which the porch was littered. I made a "salaam," and took my seat upon my stool. Not a word pa.s.sed between us for about five minutes, during which time the king eyed me most attentively, and made various remarks to the chiefs who were present; at length he asked me why I had not been to see him before? I replied, "Because I had been starved in his country, and I was too weak to walk." He said--I should soon be strong, as he would now give me a good supply of food, but that he could not send provisions to Shooa Moru, as Fowooka held that country. Without replying to this wretched excuse for his neglect, I merely told him that I was happy to have seen him before my departure, as I was not aware until recently that I had been duped by M'Gambi. He answered me very coolly, saying that although I had not seen him he had nevertheless seen me, as he was among the crowd of native escort on the day that we left M'rooli. Thus he had watched our start at the very place where his brother M'Gambi had impersonated the king.

Kamrasi was a remarkably fine man, tall and well proportioned, with a handsome face of a dark brown colour, but a peculiarly sinister expression; he was beautifully clean, and instead of wearing the bark cloth common among the people, he was dressed in a fine mantle of black and white goatskins, as soft as chamois leather. His people sat on the ground at some distance from his throne; when they approached to address him on any subject they crawled upon their hands and knees to his feet, and touched the ground with their foreheads.

True to his natural instincts, the king commenced begging, and being much struck with the Highland costume, he demanded it as a proof of friends.h.i.+p, saying, that if I refused I could not be his friend. The watch, compa.s.s, and double Fletcher rifle were asked for in their turn, all of which I refused to give him. He appeared much annoyed, therefore I presented him with a pound canister of powder, a box of caps, and a few bullets. He replied, "What's the use of the ammunition if you won't give me your rifle?" I explained that I had already given him a gun, and that he had a rifle of Speke's. Disgusted with his importunity I rose to depart, telling him that "I should not return to visit him, as I did not believe he was the real Kamrasi. I had heard that Kamrasi was a great king, but that he was a mere beggar, and was doubtless an impostor, like M'Gambi." At this he seemed highly amused, and begged me not to leave so suddenly, as he could not permit me to depart empty handed. He then gave certain orders to his people, and after a little delay, two loads of flour arrived, together with a goat and two jars of sour plantain cider.

These presents he ordered to be forwarded to Kisoona. I rose to take leave, but the crowd, eager to see what was going forward, pressed closely upon the entrance of the approach; seeing which, the king gave certain orders, and immediately four or five men with long heavy bludgeons rushed at the mob and belaboured them right and left, putting the ma.s.s to flight pell-mell through the narrow lanes of the camp.

I was then carried back to my camp at Kisoona, where I was received by a great crowd of people.

CHAPTER XIV.

AT HOME IN KISOONA.

IT appeared that Kisoona was to be headquarters until I should have an opportunity of quitting the country for Shooa. Therefore I constructed a comfortable little hut surrounded by a courtyard strongly fenced, in which I arranged a Rakooba, or open shed, in which to sit during the hottest hours of the day.

My cow that I had received from Kamrasi gave plenty of milk, and every second day we were enabled to make a small cheese about the size of a six-pound cannon-shot. The abundance of milk made a rapid change in our appearance; and Kisoona, although a place of complete "ennui," was a delightful change after the privations of the last four months. Every week the king sent me an ox and a quant.i.ty of flour for myself and people, and the whole party grew fat. We used the milk native fas.h.i.+on, never drinking it until curdled;--taken in this form it will agree with the most delicate stomach, but if used fresh in large quant.i.ties it induces biliousness. The young girls of thirteen and fourteen that are the wives of the king are not appreciated unless extremely fat--they are subjected to a regular system of fattening in order to increase their charms; thus at an early age they are compelled to drink daily about a gallon of curded milk, the swallowing of which is frequently enforced by the whip; the result is extreme obesity. In hot climates milk will curdle in two or three hours if placed in a vessel that has previously contained sour milk. When curdled it should be well beaten together until it a.s.sumes the appearance of cream; in this state, if seasoned with a little salt, it is most nouris.h.i.+ng and easy of digestion. The Arabs invariably use it in this manner, and improve it by the addition of red pepper. The natives of Unyoro will not eat red pepper, as they believe that men and women become barren by its use.

Although the fever had so completely taken possession of me that I was subject to an attack almost daily, the milk fattened me extremely, and kept up my strength, which otherwise must have failed. The change from starvation to good food produced a marvellous effect. Curious as it may appear, although we were in a land of plantains, the ripe fruit was in the greatest scarcity. The natives invariably eat them unripe, the green fruit when boiled being a fair subst.i.tute for potatoes--the ripe plantains were used for brewing plantain cider, but they were never eaten. The method of cider-making was simple. The fruit was buried in a deep hole and covered with straw and earth;--at the expiration of about eight days the green plantains thus interred had become ripe;--they were then peeled and pulped within a large wooden trough resembling a canoe; this was filled with water, and the pulp being well mashed and stirred, it was left to ferment for two days, after which time it was fit to drink.

Throughout the country of Unyoro, plantains in various forms were the staple article of food, upon which the inhabitants placed more dependence than upon all other crops. The green plantains were not only used as potatoes, but when peeled they were cut in thin slices and dried in the sun until crisp; in this state they were stored in the granaries, and when required for use they were boiled into a pulp and made into a most palatable soup or stew. Flour of plantains was remarkably good; this was made by grinding the fruit when dried as described; it was then, as usual with all other articles in that country, most beautifully packed in long narrow parcels, either formed of plantain bark or of the white interior of rushes worked into mats. This bark served as brown paper, but had the advantage of being waterproof. The fibre of the plantain formed both thread and cord, thus the princ.i.p.al requirements of the natives were supplied by this most useful tree. The natives were exceedingly clever in working braid from the plantain fibre, which was of so fine a texture that it had the appearance of a hair chain; nor could the difference be detected without a close examination. Small bags netted with the same twine were most delicate, and in all that was produced in Unyoro there was a remarkably good taste displayed in the manufacture.

The beads most valued were the white opal, the red porcelain, and the minute varieties generally used for working on screens in England; these small beads [These were given to me by Speke at Gondokoro] of various colours were much esteemed, and were worked into pretty ornaments, about the shape of a walnut, to be worn suspended from the neck. I had a small quant.i.ty of the latter variety that I presented to Kamrasi, who prized them as we should value precious stones.

Not only were the natives clever generally in their ideas, but they were exceedingly cunning in their bargains. Every morning, shortly after sunrise, men might be heard crying their wares throughout the camp-- such as, "Tobacco, tobacco; two packets going for either beads or simbis!" (cowrie-sh.e.l.ls). "Milk to sell for beads or salt!" "Salt to exchange for lance-heads!" "Coffee, coffee, going cheap for red beads!"

"b.u.t.ter for five jenettos (red beads) [These were given to me by Speke at Gondokoro] a lump!"

The b.u.t.ter was invariably packed in a plantain leaf, but frequently the package was plastered with cow dung and clay, which, when dry, formed a hard coating, and protected it from the air; this gave it a bad flavour, and we returned it to the dealer as useless. A short time after, he returned with fresh b.u.t.ter in a perfectly new green leaf, and we were requested to taste it. Being about the size and shape of a cocoa-nut, and wrapped carefully in a leaf with only the point exposed, I of course tasted from that portion, and approving the flavour, the purchase was completed. We were fairly cheated, as the b.u.t.ter dealer had packed the old rejected b.u.t.ter in a fresh leaf, and had placed a small piece of sweet b.u.t.ter on the top as a tasting point. They constantly attempted this trick.

As retailers they took extraordinary pains to divide everything into minimum packets, which they sold for a few beads, always declaring that they had only one packet to dispose of, but immediately producing another when that was sold. This method of dealing was exceedingly troublesome, as it was difficult to obtain supplies in any quant.i.ty. My only resource was to send Saat to market daily to purchase all he could find, and he usually returned after some hours' absence with a basket containing coffee, tobacco, and b.u.t.ter.

We were comfortably settled at Kisoona, and the luxury of coffee after so long an abstinence was a perfect blessing. Nevertheless, in spite of good food, I was a martyr to fever, which attacked me daily at about 2 P.M. and continued until sunset. Being without quinine I tried vapour baths, and by the recommendation of one of the Turks I pounded and boiled a quant.i.ty of the leaves of the castor-oil plant in a large pot containing about four gallons: this plant was in great abundance. Every morning I arranged a bath by sitting in a blanket, thus forming a kind of tent, with the pot of boiling water beneath my stool. Half an hour pa.s.sed in this intense heat produced a most profuse perspiration, and from the commencement of the vapour system the attacks of fever moderated both in violence and frequency. In about a fortnight, the complaint had so much abated that my spirits rose in equal proportion, and, although weak, I had no mortal fear of my old enemy.

The king, Kamrasi, had supplied me with provisions, but I was troubled daily by messengers who requested me to appear before him to make arrangements for the proposed attack upon Rionga and Fowooka. My excuse for non-attendance was my weak state; but Kamrasi determined not to be evaded, and one day his headman Quonga announced that the king would pay me a visit on the following morning. Although I had but little remaining from my stock of baggage except the guns, ammunition, and astronomical instruments, I was obliged to hide everything underneath the beds, lest the avaricious eyes of Kamrasi should detect a "want." True to his appointment, he appeared with numerous attendants, and was ushered into my little hut. I had a very rude but serviceable armchair that one of my men had constructed; in this the king was invited to sit. Hardly was he seated, when he leant back, stretched out his legs, and making some remark to his attendants concerning his personal comfort, he asked for the chair as a present. I promised to have one made for him immediately.

This being arranged, he surveyed the barren little hut, vainly endeavouring to fix his eyes upon something that he could demand; but so fruitless was his search, that he laughingly turned to his people and said, "How was it that they wanted so many porters, if they had nothing to carry?" My interpreter explained, that many things had been spoiled during the storms on the lake, and had been left behind; that our provisions had long since been consumed, and that our clothes were worn out--thus we had nothing left but a few beads. "New varieties, no doubt," he replied; "give me all that you have of the small blue and the large red!" We had carefully hidden the main stock, and a few had been arranged in bags to be produced as the occasion might require; these were now unpacked by the boy Saat and laid before the king. I told him to make his choice, which he did precisely as I had antic.i.p.ated, by making presents to his surrounding friends out of my stock, and monopolizing the remainder for his share: the division of the portions among his people was a modest way of taking the whole, as he would immediately demand their return upon quitting my hut. No sooner were the beads secured than he repeated the original demand for my watch and the No. 24 double rifle; these I resolutely refused. He then requested permission to see the contents of a few of the baskets and bags that formed our worn-out luggage. There was nothing that took his fancy except needles, thread, lancets, medicines, and a small tooth-comb; the latter interested him exceedingly, as I explained that the object of the Turks in collecting ivory was to sell it to Europeans who manufactured it into many articles, among which were small tooth-combs such as he then examined. He could not understand how the teeth could be so finely cut. Upon the use of the comb being explained, he immediately attempted to practise upon his woolly head; failing in the operation, he adapted the instrument to a different purpose, and commenced scratching beneath the wool most vigorously: the effect being satisfactory, he at once demanded the comb, which was handed to each of the surrounding chiefs, all of whom had a trial of its properties, and, every head having been scratched, it was returned to the king, who handed it to Quonga, the headman that received his presents. So complete was the success of the comb that he proposed to send me one of the largest elephant's tusks, which I was to take to England and cut into as many small tooth-combs as it would produce for himself and his chiefs.

The lancets were next admired, and were declared to be admirably adapted for paring his nails--they were therefore presented to him. Then came the investigation of the medicine chest, and every bottle was applied to his nose, and a small quant.i.ty of the contents was requested. On the properties of tartar-emetic being explained, he proposed to swallow a dose immediately, as he had been suffering from headache, but as he was some distance from home I advised him to postpone the dose until his return; I accordingly made up about a dozen powders, one of which (three grains) he was to take that evening.

The concave mirror, our last looking-gla.s.s, was then discovered; the distortion of face it produced was a great amus.e.m.e.nt, and after it had been repeatedly handed round, it was added to his presents. More gunpowder was demanded, and a pound canister and a box of caps were presented to him, but I positively refused the desired bullets.

To change the conversation, I inquired whether he or any of his people knew from whence their race originated, as their language and appearance were totally different to the tribes that I had visited front the north.

He told me that he knew his grandfather, whose name was Cherrybambi, but that he knew nothing of the history of the country, except that it had formerly been a very extensive kingdom, and that Uganda and Utumbi had been comprised in the country of Kitwara with Unyoro and Chopi.

The kingdom of Kitwara extended from the frontier of Karagwe to the Victoria Nile at Magungo, and Karuma, bounded on all sides but the south by that river and the Victoria and the Albert lakes; the latter lake forming the western frontier. During the reign of Cherrybambi, the province of Utumbi revolted, and not only became independent, but drove Cherrybambi from Uganda across the Kafoor river to Unyoro. This revolt continued until Cherrybambi's death, when the father of M'tese (the present king of Uganda), who was a native of Utumbi, attacked and conquered Uganda and became king. From that time there has been continual war between Uganda and Unyoro; or, as Kamrasi calls his kingdom, Kitwara, that being the ancient name: to the present day, M'tese, the king of Uganda, is one of his greatest enemies. It was in vain that I attempted to trace his descent from the Gallas; both upon this and other occasions he and his people denied all knowledge of their ancient history.

He informed me that Chopi had also revolted after the death of Cherrybambi, and that he had reconquered it only ten or twelve years ago, but that even now the natives were not to be trusted, as many had leagued with Fowooka and Rionga, whose desire was to annex Chopi and to form a separate kingdom: these chiefs had possession of the river islands, which strongholds it was impossible to attack without guns, as the rapids were so dangerous that canoes could only approach by a certain pa.s.sage.

Kamrasi expressed his determination to kill both of the refractory chiefs, as he would have no rest during their lives; he disclaimed all relations.h.i.+p with Rionga, who had been represented to Speke as his brother, and he concluded by requesting me to a.s.sist him in an attack upon the river islands, promising that if I should kill Fowooka and Rionga he would give me a large portion of his territory.

He suggested that I should stand upon a high cliff that commanded Fowooka's island; from that point I could pick off not only the chief, but all his people, by firing steadily with the little double 24 rifle; he continued even farther, that if I were too ill to go myself, I should LEND him my little Fletcher 24 rifle, give him my men to a.s.sist his army, and he would pick off Rionga himself from the cliff above the river: this was his mild way of securing the rifle which he had coveted ever since my arrival in his country. I told him plainly that I could not mix myself up with his quarrels; that I travelled with only one object, of doing good, and that I would harm no one unless in self-defence, therefore I could not be the aggressor; but that should Fowooka and Rionga attack his position I should be most happy to lend him my aid to repel them. Far from appreciating my ideas of fair play, he immediately rose from his chair, and without taking leave he walked out of the hut, attended by his people.

The next morning I heard that he had considered himself poisoned by the tarter-emetic but that he was now well.

From that day I received no supplies for myself or my people, as the king was affronted. A week pa.s.sed away, and I was obliged to purchase meat and flour from Eddrees, the lieutenant who commanded the Turks'

party of nine men. I gave this man a double-barrelled gun, and he behaved well.

One day I was lying upon my bed with a fit of ague, when it was reported that four men had arrived from M'tese, the king of Uganda, who wished to see me. Unfortunately my vakeel delayed the men for so long that they departed, promising to return again, having obtained from my people all information concerning me: these were spies from the king of Uganda, whose object at that time was unknown to us.

The weeks pa.s.sed slowly at Kisoona, as there was a tedious monotony in the lack of incident;--every day was a repet.i.tion of the preceding. My time was pa.s.sed in keeping a regular journal; mapping; and in writing letters to friends in England, although there was no communication. This task afforded the greatest pleasure, as I could thus converse in imagination with those far away. The thought frequently occurred to me that they might no longer exist, and that the separation of years might be the parting forever; nevertheless there was a melancholy satisfaction at thus blankly corresponding with those whom I had loved in former years. Thus the time slowly ebbed away; the maps were perfected; information that I had received was confirmed by the repeated examination of natives; and a few little black children who were allowed to run about our courtyard like so many puppies afforded a study of the African savage in embryo. This monotony was shortly disturbed.

At about 9 P.M. one night we were suddenly disturbed by a tremendous din --hundreds of nogaras were beating, horns blowing, and natives screaming in all directions. I immediately jumped out of bed, and buckling on my belt I took my rifle and left the hut. The village was alive with people all dressed for war, and bearded with cows' tails, dancing and rus.h.i.+ng about with s.h.i.+elds and spears, attacking imaginary enemies. Bacheeta informed me that Fowooka's people had crossed the Nile and were within three hours' march of Kisoona, accompanied by A HUNDRED AND FIFTY of Debono's trading party, the same that had formerly attacked Kamrasi in the preceding year in company with Rionga's people. It was reported, that having crossed the Nile they were marching direct on Kisoona, with the intention of attacking the country and of killing Kamrasi. M'Gambi, the brother of Kamrasi, whose hut was only twenty yards distant, immediately came to me with the news: he was in a state of great alarm, and was determined to run off to the king immediately to recommend his flight. After some time I succeeded in convincing him that this was unnecessary, and that I might be of great service in this dilemma if Kamrasi would come personally to me early on the following morning.

The sun had just risen, when the king unceremoniously marched into my hut;--he was no longer the dignified monarch of Kitwara clothed in a beautiful mantle of fine skins, but he wore nothing but a short kilt of blue baize that Speke had given him, and a scarf thrown across his shoulders. He was dreadfully alarmed, and could hardly be persuaded to leave his weapons outside the door, according to the custom of the country--these were three lances and a double-barrelled rifle that had been given him by Speke. I was much amused at his trepidation, and observing the curious change in his costume, I complimented him upon the practical cut of his dress, that was better adapted for fighting than the long and c.u.mbrous mantle. "FIGHTING!" he exclaimed, with the horror of "Bob Acres," "I am not going to fight! I have dressed lightly to be able to run quickly. I mean to run away! Who can fight against guns?

Those people have one hundred and fifty guns; you must run with me; we can do nothing against them; you have only thirteen men; Eddrees has only ten; what can twenty-three do against A HUNDRED AND FIFTY? Pack up your things and run; we must be off into the high gra.s.s and hide at once; the enemy is expected every moment!"

I never saw a man in such a deplorable state of abject fright, and I could not help laughing aloud at the miserable coward who represented a kingdom. Calling my headman, I ordered him to hoist the English ensign on my tall flagstaff in the courtyard. In a few moments the old flag was waving in a brisk breeze and floating over my little hut. There is something that warms the heart in the sight of the Union Jack when thousands of miles away from the old country. I now explained to Kamrasi that both he and his country were under the protection of that flag, which was the emblem of England; and that so long as he trusted to me, although I had refused to join him in attacking Fowooka, he should see that I was his true ally, as I would defend him against all attacks. I told him to send a large quant.i.ty of supplies into my camp, and to procure guides immediately, as I should send some of my men without delay to the enemy's camp with a message to the vakeel of Debono's party. Slightly rea.s.sured by this arrangement, he called Quonga, and ordered him to procure two of his chiefs to accompany my men. The best of his men, Ca.s.save, appeared immediately;--this was a famous fellow, who had always been civil and anxious to do his duty both to his master and to me. I summoned Eddrees, and ordered him to send four of his men with an equal number of mine to the camp of Fowooka to make a report of the invading force, and to see whether it was true that Debono's people were arrived as invaders. In half an hour from the receipt of my order, the party started;--eight well-armed men accompanied by about twenty natives of Kamrasi's with two days' provisions. Kisoona was about ten miles from the Victoria Nile.

At about 5 P.M. on the following day my men returned, accompanied by ten men and a choush, or sergeant, of Debono's party;--they had determined to prove whether I was actually in the country, as they had received a report some months ago that both my wife and I were dead; they imagined that the men that I had sent to their camp were those of the rival party belonging to Ibrahim, who had wished to drive them out of Kamrasi's country by using my name. However, they were now undeceived, as the first object that met their view was the English flag on the high flagstaff, and they were shortly led into my courtyard, where they were introduced to me in person. They sat in a half-circle around me.

a.s.suming great authority, I asked them how they could presume to attack a country under the protection of the British flag? I informed them that Unyoro belonged to me by right of discovery, and that I had given Ibrahim the exclusive right to the produce of that country, on the condition that he should do nothing contrary to the will of the reigning king, Kamrasi; that Ibrahim had behaved well; that I had been guided to the lake and had returned, and that we were now actually fed by the king; and we were suddenly invaded by Turkish subjects in connexion with a hostile tribe, who thus insulted the English flag. I explained to them that I should not only resist any attack that might be made upon Kamrasi, but that I should report the whole affair to the Turkish authorities upon my return to Khartoum; and that, should a shot be fired or a slave be stolen in Kamrasi's country, the leader of their party, Mahommed Wat-el-Mek, would be hanged.

They replied that they were not aware that I was in the country; that they were allies of Fowooka, Rionga, and Owine, the three hostile chiefs; that they had received both ivory and slaves from them on condition that they should kill Kamrasi; and that, according to the custom of the White Nile trade, they had agreed to these conditions.

They complained that it was very hard upon them to march six days through an uninhabited wilderness between their station at Faloro and Fowooka's islands and to return empty handed. In reply I told them, that they should carry a letter from me to their vakeel Mahommed, in which I should give him twelve hours from the receipt of my order to recross the river with his entire party and their allies and quit Kamrasi's country.

They demurred to this alternative: but I shortly settled their objections, by ordering my vakeel to write the necessary letter, and desiring them to start before sunrise on the following morning. Kamrasi had been suspicious that I had sent for Mahommed's party to invade him because he had kept me starving at Shooa Moru instead of forwarding me to Shooa as he had promised. This suspicion placed me in an awkward position; I therefore called M'Gambi (his brother) in presence of the Turks, and explained the whole affair face to face, desiring Mahommed's people themselves to explain to him that they would retire from the country simply because I commanded them to do so, but that, had I not been there, they would have attacked him. This they repeated with a very bad grace, boasting, at the completion, that, were it not for me, they would shoot M'Gambi where he stood at that moment. The latter, fully aware of their good intentions, suddenly disappeared. . . . My letter to Mahommed was delivered to Suleiman Choush, the leader of his party, and I ordered a sheep to be killed for their supper. . . . At sunrise on the following morning they all departed, accompanied by six of my men, who were to bring a reply to my letter. These people had two donkeys, and just as they were starting, a crowd of natives made a rush to gather a heap of dung that lay beneath the animals; a great fight and tussle took place for the possession of this valuable medicine, in the midst of which the donkey lifted up his voice and brayed so l.u.s.tily that the crowd rushed away with more eagerness than they had exhibited on arriving, alarmed at the savage voice of the unknown animal. It appeared that the dung of the donkey rubbed upon the skin was supposed to be a cure for rheumatism, and that this rare specific was brought from a distant country in the East where such animals existed.

CHAPTER XV.

KAMRASI BEGS FOR THE BRITISH FLAG.