And in his heart Stasch thanked Kali for having represented him at this ceremony, for he felt that had he attempted to swallow a piece of M’Rua he might have proved himself insincere and a traitor.
Henceforth the little travelers were in no danger of having snares laid for them or of being unexpectedly attacked by the savages; on the contrary, the greatest friendship was shown them, and they were almost worshiped as gods. This worship increased when Stasch, having noticed a great fall in Linde’s barometer, foretold that rain was coming, and on that very day it rained quite heavily, as heavily as if the “massika,” which was already over, was trying to squeeze out its last drops on the earth. The negroes were convinced that the good Msimu had given them this shower of rain, and their gratitude to Nell was boundless. Stasch teased her, saying that now she was the idol of the negroes, he could continue the journey alone, and would leave her behind in the negro village, where the negroes would erect a small chapel of elephants’ tusks for her and would bring her beans and bananas as peace offerings.
But Nell felt so sure of his attachment to her that she simply reached up on her tip-toes and whispered in his ear: “You will not leave me behind!” Then she began to hop with joy, declaring that as the negroes were so kind the journey to the ocean could be readily and quickly made. All this took place in front of the tent before the assembled multitude, and when old M’Rua saw the Msimu happy, he also began to hop as high as his crooked legs would let him, believing that in this way he was demonstrating his piety. Following his example, the chief officers began to dance, and so did the warriors, the women, and children, and in fact all the inhabitants of the village hopped about as though bereft of their senses. This exhibition given by the “idol” amused Stasch so much that he laughed himself almost sick.
On the following night he earned the everlasting gratitude of the pious king and his subjects, for when some elephants raided the banana-fields, he rode toward them on King and set off several rockets into their midst. The panic which the fiery “snakes” created was even greater than he had expected. The enormous animals, dreadfully frightened, filled the whole jungle with the sound of their trumpeting and their stamping, and in blind haste they knocked one another down. The powerful King took great pleasure in following his fleeing comrades, and struck at them unsparingly with his trunk and tusks. After such a night it would be a long time before another elephant would dare approach the banana plantations of the village ruled over by old M’Rua.
The dispersal of the elephants was followed by great rejoicing in the village, and the negroes spent the whole night dancing and drinking millet-beer and palm-wine. Kali then learned many important things from them, for it so happened that several of them had come from the borders of a large sheet of water surrounded by mountains and lying toward the east. This proved to Stasch that the lake, which he had never seen mentioned in any geography, really existed, and that if they continued in the same direction they would meet the Wa-himas. From the fact that Mea and Kali spoke almost the same language, he argued that “Wa-hima” was probably a local name, and that the tribes living on the banks of the Basso-Narok belonged to the Schilluks, whose country extended from the Nile far away toward the east. At the time of the Mahdi these places were still unexplored.
CHAPTER XVIII
The whole population escorted the good Msimu quite a distance, and took leave of her with tears in their eyes, at the same time earnestly begging her to condescend to visit M’Rua once again and occasionally to think of his people. Stasch considered a moment whether he should tell the negroes about the gorge where he had hidden the goods and provisions left him by Linde, which—on account of the lack of baggage-carriers—he could not take with him, but when he realized that the possession of such riches might awaken their covetousness, cause them to be jealous, disturb the tranquillity of their lives, and set them to fighting, he dismissed this idea; but he shot a large buffalo and left them its carcass for a parting feast. The sight of such a quantity of “Nyama” satisfied them.
The next three days the caravan went through a barren stretch of land. The days were hot, but the nights, on account of the altitude, were so cold that Stasch found it necessary to have Nell covered up with two rugs. They now often passed over narrow mountain passes, sometimes barren and hilly, sometimes covered with such thick vegetation that they had difficulty in winding their way through them. On the edges of these ravines they saw large monkeys, and here and there also lions and panthers, which had taken refuge in the rocky caves. At Kali’s request Stasch killed one of the animals, and then Kali put on its skin to impress the negroes with the fact that they had to reckon with a person of kingly blood.
On a tableland beyond the narrow passes negro hamlets again appeared. Sometimes they were in groups, sometimes one or two days’ journey apart. As a protection against lions all the huts were surrounded by high fences, so interwoven and overrun with vines that even at a short distance they appeared like the undergrowth of a forest. The smoke rising from the center of the huts was the only indication that they were inhabited. The caravan was as welcome everywhere as it had been in M’Rua’s village, first exciting fear and mistrust, and then surprise, admiration, and respect. Only on one occasion did the sight of the elephant, Saba, the horses and the white people cause an entire village to flee to the neighboring forest, and therefore the travelers had no chance of making themselves known. But not a single spear was raised against them, for if the hearts of the negroes are not filled by Mohammedanism with hatred and treachery against unbelievers, they are apt to be timid and peaceful. The travelers were welcomed so heartily that Kali had to eat a piece of the village king and the latter a piece of Kali, whereupon the most friendly relations were consummated. To the good Msimu they did homage and showed their reverence by offering fowls, eggs, and honey, brought from hollow blocks of wood, which had been fastened in the branches of a large tree by means of palm threads. The “Great Man,” the ruler of the elephant, the thunder, and the fiery serpent, aroused general terror, which soon gave place to gratitude when they were convinced that he was as generous as he was powerful. In places where the small villages were numerous the news of the arrival of these extraordinary guests would be communicated to the next settlement by drum signals, for the negroes announce everything by beating the drum. Sometimes the whole population advanced to meet them with friendly greetings.
In one village of nearly a thousand inhabitants the potentate, who was at the same time sorcerer and king, expressed his willingness to show them the great “fetish,” which was so much reverenced and dreaded that the people did not dare to approach the ebony chapel covered with rhinoceros hide, and so they placed their offerings fifty feet distant. The king told Stasch and Nell that this fetish had lately fallen from the moon, that it was white and had a tail. Stasch immediately explained that the moon had sent it down at the request of the good Msimu, and in thus speaking he did not deviate from the truth, for it turned out that the “great fetish” was simply one of the kites which he had sent up from Linde Mountain. He and Nell felt very happy when they thought the same wind might have carried the others still farther, and he decided to continue sending up more from the hill-tops. That evening he made a kite and let it fly, which convinced the negroes that the good Msimu and the white man had also come down from the moon and were gods to be served with humility.