Wagombi’s kraal was right at the top of a smaller mountain which rises at the foot of Mount Kenia, and from this vantage-ground a splendid view could be obtained of the country for many miles around. The morning after our arrival I had an opportunity of taking in the full beauty of the scene from our lofty situation. Spread out as far as the eye could reach was a panoramic view of the Kikuyu country through which I had travelled, showing the glittering streams threading their way through deep valleys, the hills on either side being clothed with trees, and dotted here and there with villages; while, where the country was more open, cattle and sheep could be seen quietly grazing, and the cultivated clearings could be seen at intervals. Viewed as a whole, the landscape presented a rugged appearance, with deep clefts between the mountains, innumerable streams, and thick forest land; while between the mountains on the right could be dimly made out the edge of the Laikipia Plain. We were on the lower slopes of Kenia, and for a considerable distance up the mountain is clothed with a thick forest, so dense that, except in a few places, it is quite impenetrable.
The most careless mind must be awed by the majesty of Mount Kenia, as the eye ranges over its huge bulk, from the wooded slopes near the foot to its summit, rising many thousands of feet in the air, crowned with a circle of perpetual snow, glistening in the rays of the sun. Surrounded by Nature in her grandest form, Wagombi might be pardoned for a conscious pride in his magnificent heritage, which, owing nothing to the art of the landscape gardener, yet far surpassed the beauties of any estate to be found in the civilized countries of the world.
I found that Wagombi had a number of rifles, and ammunition for them as well, and all the rifles were in good order. He told me he had got them from the Wakamba, Arabs, Swahili, and that class of people. Describing the Swahili as a foolish lot of people, who attempted to come through his country without taking any precautions, he made no scruple of killing them, and of taking anything they had. One thing I liked about the chief was his absolute straightforwardness about everything. He made no attempt to hide anything, but would tell you quite frankly about all his affairs, contrary to the usual practice of the nigger.
While we were camped there thousands of warriors came to see us, and they came stalking into the camp in such numbers that it was absolutely impossible to try to keep them out, as it could not have been done without using force, and that would have upset everything. Previously in travelling through the country I had always kept men on guard to prevent any one coming into the camp unless first disarmed, but here they came in by hundreds, and I could not keep them out. Knowing Wagombi’s reputation, I thought he might be trying the confidence trick on me by appearing so friendly, and took steps accordingly.
I told Wagombi that I should like to build a camp, as it was rather cold, and asked him to get some of his people to help me. He said he would be only too pleased, and the next day his men started bringing in wood and grass; and I then got a lot of them started building a house, and told the chief that it was the white man’s custom to put a fence round. As he made no objection, I marked off a big open space round the house, my real intention being to build a kind of small fort; but it was more politic to say that I wanted to build a house, as it roused no suspicion as to my real intention. I had it all planned out in my head, and first of all had a big circular fence built, just high enough to stand and shoot over. I then told the chief that I had not built this fence high enough, and should have to build another inside it, and as he raised no objection again, I built another, seven or eight feet high inside the first, so that I now had a double fence all round, the entrance to the first being at quite a different point to that of the second. This form of structure would be a great advantage in case of attack, as it would be necessary, after entering the first fence, to walk some distance round before coming to the entrance to the second, and it would give us a chance, in case of a rush, of shooting the intruders before they had a chance of getting into the inner circle of the fort. I also built a tower about thirty feet high, which made an excellent look-out, and had the advantage of enabling the defenders to cover any portion of the fort with their rifles. The plan aroused no suspicion, and they probably thought that it was the way white men’s houses were usually built.
I was rather proud of my tower, and a brief description of it may interest the reader, so I will give it. It was, of course, constructed of wood. Taking four strong poles for the corner-posts, I lashed cross-pieces between them, diagonally, on each side with bark or fibre-rope, which is very strong and lasts for years, and on the top of this framework I built a platform, and above the platform I repeated the process, so that the tower was really a double-storied building, with an arrangement of ladders to reach the upper portion. Wagombi thought that the way I had built the house was quite a good idea, and remarked in a quiet way, “What a good thing it would be to keep a rush of the savages out!” Curiously enough, by “savages” he meant his own people. I expect he tumbled to my object, as he was a fellow who had all his wits about him, but he made no further comment. My rule had always been never to neglect any precautions, whether the natives were friendly or otherwise; and so far I had pulled through all right. Experience had taught me that to do things in a dilatory or careless fashion was to put temptation in their way, so I never took the risk.
I camped at Wagombi’s for a considerable time, and he told me that they had some ivory, and on my expressing a wish to trade the ivory came in plentifully, while the price was quite different to what I had paid at Tato, being very much cheaper—almost given away, in fact, in comparison. In the meanwhile I frequently invited Wagombi to my place, and taught him to drink tea. His headman also came to see me, and we got to be on very friendly terms. After a time the chief mentioned blood brotherhood, and asked me if I was agreeable to join him in the ceremony. I said I thought it would be a very good thing, and then told him about Muga-wa-diga and Karkerrie, and suggested that it would be a grand thing if we could all make blood brotherhood together. I particularly wanted to pull this off, as it would make all the chiefs friendly with one another, and I should then have them under my control.
Later on I managed to arrange the ceremony of Pigasangi, which, as I have explained, is much more of a national affair. Of course, I first suggested this to Wagombi, but did not manage to get his consent without a lot of trouble, and after going very fully into an explanation as to why I was so anxious to bring it about. He had a very strong objection to blood brotherhood with Karkerrie and Muga-wa-diga, and took a lot of talking round; in fact, I only managed the matter eventually by the aid of presents.
CHAPTER VIII
The Wanderobo—Visit from the Wanderobo chief—Native bartering—A grand meeting of surrounding tribes for blood brotherhood under my auspices—Dancing frenzy—Native ideas of a future life—Again trek for the unknown—Attacked by natives—Chief’s admonition—Decide to visit the Wanderobo chief Olomondo—Wanderobo gluttony—The honey bird—Wanderobo methods of hunting—Massacre of a Goanese safari—My narrow escape—General uprising of hostile tribes—Rise of the Chinga tribe against me—My precarious position—Successful sally and total defeat of the enemy—My blood brother, the Kikuyu chieftain, comes to my aid with thousands of armed men—Total extinction of the Chinga people