The Discovery of the Source of the Nile

by John Hanning Speke

Two loads of flowers, neatly packed in long strips of rushpith, were sent for us "to consume at once," as more would be given on the morrow. To keep us amused, Kidgwiga informed us that Kamrasi and Mtesa—in fact, all the Wahuma—came originally from a stock of the same tribe dwelling beyond Kidi. All bury their dead in the same way, under ground; but the kings are toasted first for months till they are like sun-dried meat, when the lower jaw is cut out and preserved, covered with beads. The royal tombs are put under the charge of special officers, who occupy huts erected over them. The umbilical cords are preserved from birth, and, at death, those of men are placed within the door-frame, whilst those of women are buried without—this last act corresponding, according to Bombay, with the custom of the Wahiyow. On the death of any of the great officers of state, the finger-bones and hair are also preserved; or if they have died shaven, as sometimes occurs, a bit of their mbugu dress will be preserved in place of the hair. Their families guard their tombs.

The story we heard at Karague, about dogs with horns in Unyoro, was confirmed by Kidgwiga, who positively assured us that he once saw one in the possession of an official person, but it died. The horn then was stuffed with magic powder, and, whenever an army was ordered for war, it was placed on the war-track for the soldiers to step over, in the same way as a child is sacrificed to insure victory in Unyomuezi. Of the Karague story, according to which all the Kidi people sleep in trees, Kidgwiga gave me a modified version. He said the bachelors alone do son, whilst the married folk dwell in houses. As most of these stories have some foundation in fact, we presumed that the people of Kidi sometimes mount a tree to sleep at night when travelling through their forests, where lions are plentiful—but not otherwise.

10th.—I sent Kidgwiga with my compliments to the king, and a request that his majesty would change my residence, which was so filthy that I found it necessary to pitch a tent, and also that he would favour me with an interview after breakfast. The return was a present of twenty cows, ten cocks, two bales of flour, and two pots of pombe, to be equally divided between Grant and myself, as Kamrasi recognised in us two distinct camps, because we approached his country by two different routes—a smart method for expecting two presents from us, which did not succeed, as I thanked for all, Grant being "my son" on this occasion. The king also sent his excuses, and begged pardon for what happened to us on entering his country, saying it could not have taken place had we come from Rumanika direct. His fear of the Waganda gave rise to it, and he trusted we would forget and forgive. To-morrow our residence should be changed, and an interview follow, for he desired being friends with us just as much as we did with him.

At last Bombay came back. He reported that he had not been allowed to leave the palace earlier, though he pleaded hard that I expected his return; and the only excuse he could extract from the king was, that we were coming in charge of many Wakungu, and he had found it necessary to retard our approach in consequence of the famine at Chaguzi. His palace proper was not here, but three marches westward: he had come here and pitched a camp to watch his brothers, who were at war with him. Bombay, doing his best to escape, or to hurry my march, replied that he was very anxious on our account, because the Waganda wished to snatch us away.

It was no doubt this hint that brought the messenger to our relief yesterday; and otherwise we might have been kept in the jungle longer. When told by Bombay of our treatment on the Nile, the king first said he did not think we wished to see him, else we would have come direct from Rumanika; but when asked if Baraka's coming with Rumanika's officers was not sufficient to satisfy him on this point, he hung down his head, and evaded the question, saying he had been the making of Mtesa of Uganda; but he had turned out a bad fellow, and now robbed him right and left. [23] The Gani letter, supposed to be from Petherick, was now asked for, and a suggestion made about opening a trade with Gani, but all with the provoking result we had been so well accustomed to. No letter like that referred to had ever been received, so that Frij's interpretation about Grant's letter-dream was right; and if we wished to go to Gani, the king would send men travelling by night, for his brothers at war with him lay upon the road. As to the Uganda question, and my desiring him to make friends with Mtesa, in hopes that the influence of trade would prevent any plundering in future, he merely tossed his head. He often said he did not know what to think about his guests, now he had got them; to which Bombay, in rather successful imitation of what he had heard me say on like occasions, replied, "If you do not like them after you have seen them, cut their heads off, for they are all in your hands."

11th.—With great apparent politeness Kamrasi sent in the morning to inquire how we had slept. He had "heard our cry"—an expression of regal condescension—and begged we would not be alarmed, for next morning he would see us, and after the meeting change our residence, when, should we not approve of wading to his palace, he would bridge all the swamps leading up to it; but for the present he wanted two rounds of ball-cartridge—one to fire before his women, and the other before his officers and a large number of Kidi men who were there on a visit. To please this childish king, Bombay was sent with two other of my men, and no sooner arrived than a cow was placed before them to be shot. Bombay, however, thinking easy compliance would only lead to continued demands on our short store of powder, said he had no order to shoot cows, and declined. A strong debated ensued, which Bombay, by his own account, turned to advantage, by saying, "What use is there in shooting cows? we have lots of meat; what we want is flour to eat with it." To which the great king retorted, "If you have not got flour, that is not my fault, for I ordered your master to come slowly, and to bring provisions along with him."

Then getting impatient, as all his visitors wanted sport, he ordered the cow out again, and insisted on my men shooting at it, saying at the same time to his Kidi visitors, boastfully, "Now I will show you what devils these Wanguana are: with firearms they can kill a cow with one bullet; and as they are going to Gani, I advise you not to meddle with them." The Kidi visitors said, "Nonsense; we don't believe in their power, but we will see." Irate at his defeat, Bombay gave orders to the men to fire over the cow, and told Kamrasi why he had done so—Bana would be angry with him. "Well," said the king of kings, "if that is true, go back to your master, tell him you have disappointed me before these men, and obtain permission to shoot the cow in the morning; after which, should you succeed, your master can come after breakfast to see me—but for the present, take him this pot of pombe."

12th.—To back Bombay in what he had said, I gave him two more cartridges to shoot the cow with, and orders as well to keep Kamrasi to his word about the oft-promised interview and change of residence. He gave me the following account on his return:—Upwards of a thousand spectators were present when he killed the cow, putting both bullets into her, and all in a voice, as soon as they saw the effect of the shot, shouted in amazement; the Kidi visitors, all terror-stricken, crying out, as they clasped their breasts, "Oh, great king, do allow us to return to our country, for you have indeed got a new specimen of man with you, and we are greatly afraid!"—a lot of humbug and affectation to flatter the king, which pleased him greatly. It was not sufficient, however, to make him forget his regal pride; for though Bombay pleaded hard for our going to see him, and for a change of residence, the immovable king, to maintain the imperial state he had assumed as "king of kings," only said, "What difference does it make whether your master sees me to-day or to-morrow? If he wants to communicate about the road to Gani, his property at Karague, or the guns at Uganda, he can do so as well through the medium of my officers as with me direct, and I will send men whenever he wishes to do so. Perhaps you don't know, but I expect men from Gani every day, who took a present of slaves, ivory and monkey-skins to the foreigners residing there, who, in the first instance sent me a necklace of beads [showing them] by some men who wore clothes. They said white men were coming from Karague, and requested the beads might be shown them should they do so. They left this two moons before Baraka arrived here, and I told them the white men would not come here, as I heard they had gone to Uganda."

Bombay then, finding the king very communicative, went at him for his inhospitality towards us, his turning us back from his country twice, and now, after inviting us, treating us as Suwarora did. On this he gave, by Bombay's account, the following curious reason for his conduct:—"You don't understand the matter. At the time the white men were living in Uganda, many of the people who had seen them there came and described them as such monsters, they ate up mountains and drank the N'yanza dry; and although they fed on both beef and mutton, they were not satisfied until they got a dish of the 'tender parts' of human beings three times a-day. Now, I was extremely anxious to see men of such wonderful natures. I could have stood their mountain-eating and N'yanzi-drinking capacities, but on no consideration would I submit to sacrifice my subjects to their appetites, and for this reason I first sent to turn them back; but afterwards, on hearing from Dr K'yengo's men that, although the white men had travelled all through their country, and brought all the pretty and wonderful things of the world there, they had never heard such monstrous imputations cast upon them, I sent a second time to call them on: these are the facts of the case. Now, with regard to your accusation of my treating them badly, it is all their own fault. I ordered them to advance slowly and pick up food by the way, as there is a famine here; but they, instead, hurried on against my wishes. That they want to see and give me presents you have told me repeatedly—so do I them; for I want them to teach me the way to shoot, and when that is accomplished, I will take them to an island near Kidi, where there are some men [his refractory brothers] whom I wish to frighten away with guns; but still there is no hurry,—they can come when I choose to call them, and not before." Bombay to this said, "I cannot deliver such a message to Bana; I have told so many falsehoods about your saying you will have an interview to-morrow, I shall only catch a flogging"; and forthwith departed.

13th.—More disgusted with Kamrasi than ever, I called Kidgwiga up, and told him I was led to expect from Rumanika that I should find his king a good and reasonable man, which I believed, considering it was said by an unprejudiced person. Mtesa, on the contrary, told me Kamrasi treated all his guests with disrespect, sending them to the farther side of the N'yanzi. I now found his enemy more truthful than his friend, and wished him to be told so. "For the future, I should never," I said, "mention his name again, but wait until his fear of me had vanished; for he quite forgot his true dignity as a host and king in his surprise and fear, merely because we were in a hurry and desired to see him." He was reported to-day, by the way, to be drunk.