We had been nearly three days at Nangoro’s capital before its royal occupant honored our camp with his presence. This unaccountable delay gave us some uneasiness; yet we could not but surmise that he had been longing to see us during the whole time. I believe it, however, to be a kind of rule with most native princes of note in this part of Africa, to keep strangers waiting in order to impress them with a due sense of dignity and importance.
If obesity is to be considered as a sign of royalty, Nangoro was “every inch a king.” To our notions, however, he was the most ungainly and unwieldy figure we had ever seen. His walk resembled rather the waddling of a duck than the firm and easy gait which we are wont to associate with royalty. Moreover, he was in a state of almost absolute nudity, which showed him off to the greatest possible advantage. It appeared strange to us that he should be the only really fat person in the whole of Ondonga. This peculiarity no doubt is attributable to the custom that prevails in other parts of Africa, viz., that of selecting for rulers such persons only who have a natural tendency to corpulence, or, more commonly, fattening them for the dignity as we fatten pigs.[26]
INTERVIEW WITH KING NANGORO.
With the exception of a cow and an ox, Nangoro appeared to appreciate few or none of the presents which Mr. Galton bestowed on him. And as for my friend’s brilliant and energetic orations, they had no more effect on the ear of royalty than if addressed to a stock or a stone. It was in vain that he represented to his majesty the advantages of a more immediate communication with Europeans. Nangoro spoke little or nothing. He could not be eloquent because excessive fat had made him short-winded. Like Falstaff, his “voice was broken.” Any attempt on his part to utter a sentence of decent length would have put an end to him, so he merely “grunted” whenever he desired to express either approbation or dissatisfaction.
In common with his men, he was at first very incredulous as to the effect produced by fire-arms; but when he witnessed the depth that our steel-pointed conical balls penetrated into the trunk of a sound tree, he soon changed his opinion, and evidently became favorably impressed with their efficacy. As for the men of his tribe who had not yet seen guns, and who had flocked to the camp to have a look at us, they became so alarmed that, at the instant of each discharge, they fell flat on their faces, and remained in their prostrate position for some little time afterward. A few very indifferent fireworks which we displayed created nearly equal surprise and consternation.
In another interview with Nangoro he requested us to shoot some elephants, which were said to abound at no great distance, and which, at times, committed great havoc among the corn-fields, trampling down what they did not consume. However much we might have relished the proposal under other circumstances, we now peremptorily refused to comply. We reasoned thus: “Supposing we were successful, Nangoro would not only bag all the ivory—an article he was known to covet and to sell largely to the Portuguese—but he would keep us in Ondonga till all the elephants were shot or scared away.” Neither of these results suited our purpose. The cunning fellow soon had an opportunity of revenging himself on us for this disregard of his royal wish.
On paying our respects to his majesty one day, we were regaled with a prodigious quantity of beer, brewed from grain, and served out of a monster calabash with spoons (made from diminutive pumpkins), in nicely-worked wooden goblets. Being unwell at the time, I was not in a state properly to appreciate the tempting beverage. Nangoro, however, who probably attributed the wry face that I made to the influence of the liquor, suddenly thrust his sceptre, which, by the way, was simply a pointed stick, with great force into the pit of my stomach. I was sitting cross-legged on the ground at the time, but the blow was so violent as to cause me to spring to my feet in an instant. Nangoro was evidently much pleased with his practical joke. As for myself, I sincerely wished him at the antipodes. However, for fear of offending royalty, I choked my rising anger, and reseated myself with the best grace I could, but I tried in vain to produce a smile.
