Nasib then returned to inform us that the king had heard our complaint, and was sorry for it, but said he could not interfere with the rights of his officers. He did not wish himself to take anything from us, and hoped we would come on to him as soon as we had satisfied his officers with the trifle they wanted. Virembo then sent us some pombe by his officers, and begged us to have patience, for he was then fleecing Masudi at the encamping-ground near the palace. This place was alive with thieves. During the day they lured my men into their huts by inviting them to dinner; but when they got them they stripped them stark-naked and let them go again; whilst at night they stone our camp. After this, one more was shot dead and two others wounded.
I knew that Suwarora's message was all humbug, and that his officers merely kept about one per cent. of what they took from travellers, paying the balance into the royal coffers. Thinking I was now well in for a good fleecing myself, I sent Bombay off to Masudi's camp, to tell Insangez, who was travelling with him on a mission of his master's, old Musa's son, that I would reward him handsomely if he would, on arrival at Karague, get Rumanika to send us his mace here in the same way as Suwarora had done to help us out of Bogue, as he knew Musa at one time said he would go with us to Karague in person. When Bombay was gone, Virembo then deputed Kariwami to take the hongo for both at once, mildly requiring 40 wires, 80 cloths, and 400 necklaces of every kind of bead we possessed. This was, indeed, too much of a joke. I complained of all the losses I had suffered, and begged for mercy; but all he said, after waiting the whole day, was, "Do not stick at trifles; for, after settling with us, you will have to give as much more to Vikora, who lives down below."
Next morning, as I said I could not by any means pay such an exorbitant tax as was demanded, Kariwami begged me to make an offer which I did by sending him four wires. These, of course, were rejected with scorn; so, in addition, I sent an old box. That, too, was thrown back on me, as nothing short of 20 wires, 40 cloths, and 200 necklaces of all sorts of beads, would satisfy him; and this I ought to be contented to pay, as he had been so moderate because I was the king's guest, and had been so reduced by robbery. I now sent six wires more, and said this was the last I could give—they were worth so many goats to me—and now by giving them away, I should have to live on grain like a poor man, though I was a prince in my own country, just like Suwarora. Surely Suwarora could not permit this if he knew it; and if they would not suffice, I should have to stop here until called again by Suwarora. The ruffian, on hearing this, allowed the wires to lie in his hut, and said he was going away, but hoped, when he returned, I should have, as I had got no cloths, 20 wires, and 1000 necklaces of extra length, strung and all ready for him.
Just then Bombay returned flushed with the excitement of a great success. He had been in Masudi's camp, and had delivered my message to Insangez. Asudi, he said, had been there a fortnight unable to settle his hongo, for the great Mkama had not deigned to see him, though the Arab had been daily to his palace requesting an interview. "Well," I said, "that is all very interesting, but what next?—will the big king see us?" "O no; by the very best good fortune in the world, on going into the palace I saw Suwarora, and spoke to him at once; but he was so tremendously drunk, he could not understand me." "What luck was there in that?" I asked. On which Bombay said, "Oh, everybody in the place congratulated me on my success in having obtained an interview with that great monarch the very first day, when Arabs had seldom that privilege under one full month of squatting; even Masudi had not yet seen him." To which Nasib also added, "Ah, yes—indeed it is so—a monstrous success; there is great ceremony as well as business at these courts; you will better see what I mean when you get to Uganda. These Wahuma kings are not like those you ever saw in Unyamuezi or anywhere else; they have officers and soldiers like Said Majid, the Sultan at Zanzibar." "Well," said I to Bombay, "what was Suwarora like?" "Oh, he is a very fine man—just as tall, and in the face very like Grant; in fact, if Grant were black you would not know the difference." "And were his officers drunk too?" "O yes, they were all drunk together; men were bringing in pombe all day." "And did you get drunk?" "O yes," said Bombay, grinning, and showing his whole row of sharp-pointed teeth, "they WOULD make me drink; and then they showed me the place they assigned for your camp when you come over there. It was not in the palace, but outside, without a tree near it; anything but a nice-looking residence." I then sent Bombay to work at the hongo business; but, after haggling till night with Kariwami, he was told he must bring fourteen brass wires, two cloths, and five mukhnai of kanyera, or white porcelain beads—which, reduced, amounted to three hundred necklaces; else he said I might stop there for a month.
At last I settled this confounded hongo, by paying seven additional wires in lieu of the cloth; and, delighted at the termination of this tedious affair, I ordered a march. Like magic, however, Vikora turned up, and said we must wait until he was settled with. His rank was the same as the others, and one bead less than I had given them he would not take. I fought all the day out, but the next morning, as he deputed his officers to take nine wires, these were given, and then we went on with the journey.
Tripping along over the hill, we descended to a deep miry watercourse, full of bulrushes, then over another hill, from the heights of which we saw Suwarora's palace, lying down in the Uthungu valley, behind which again rose another hill of sandstone, faced on the top with a dyke of white quartz. The scene was very striking, for the palace enclosures, of great extent, were well laid out to give effect. Three circles of milk bush, one within the other, formed the boma, or ring-fence. The chief's hut (I do not think him worthy of the name of king, since the kingdom is divided in two) was three times as large as any of the others, and stood by itself at the farther end; whilst the smaller huts, containing his officers and domestics, were arranged in little groups within a circle, at certain distances apart from one another, sufficient to allow of their stalling their cattle at night.
On descending into the Uthungu valley, Grant, who was preceding the men, found Makinga opposed to the progress of the caravan until his dues were paid. He was a stranger like ourselves, and was consequently treated with scorn, until he tried to maintain what he called his right, by pulling the loads off my men's shoulders, whereupon Grant cowed him into submission, and all went on again—not to the palace, as we had supposed, but, by the direction of the mace-bearers, to the huts of Suwarora's commander-in-chief, two miles from the palace; and here we found Masudi's camp also. We had no sooner formed camp for ourselves and arranged all our loads, than the eternal Vikora, whom I thought we had settled with before we started, made a claim for some more wire, cloth, and beads, as he had not received as much as Kariwani and Virembo. Of course I would not listen to this, as I had paid what his men asked for, and that was enough for me. Just then Masudi, with the other Arabs who were travelling with him, came over to pay us a visit, and inquire what we thought of the Usui taxes. He had just concluded his hongo to Suwarora by paying 80 wires, 120 yards of cloth, and 130 lb. of beads, whilst he had also paid to every officer from 20 to 40 wires, as well as cloths and beads. On hearing of my transactions, he gave it as his opinion that I had got off surprisingly well.
Next morning, (1st) Masudi and his party started for Karague. They had been more than a year between this and Kaze, trying all the time to get along. Provisions here were abundant—hawked about by the people, who wore a very neat skin kilt strapped round the waist, but otherwise were decorated like the Wanyamuezi. It was difficult to say who were of true breed here, for the intercourse of the natives with the Wahuma and the Wanyamuezi produced a great variety of facial features amongst the people. Nowhere did I ever see so many men and women with hazel eyes as at this place.
In the evening, an Uganda man, by name N'yamgundu, came to pay his respects to us. He was dressed in a large skin wrapper, made up of a number of very small antelope skins: it was as soft as kid, and just as well sewn as our gloves. To our surprise the manners of the man were quite in keeping with his becoming dress. I was enchanted with his appearance, and so were my men, though no one could speak to him but Nasib, who told us he knew him before. He was the brother of the dowager queen of Uganda, and, along with a proper body of officers, he had been sent by Mtesa, the present king of Uganda, to demand the daughter of Suwarora, as reports had reached his king that she was surprisingly beautiful. They had been here more than a year, during which time this beautiful virgin had died; and now Suwarora, fearful of the great king's wrath, consequent on his procrastinations, was endeavouring to make amends for it, by sending, instead of his daughter, a suitable tribute in wires. I thought it not wonderful that we should be fleeced.
Next day (2d) Sirhid paid us a visit, and said he was the first man in the state. He certainly was a nice-looking young man, with a good deal of the Wahuma blood in him. Flashily dressed in coloured cloths and a turban, he sat down in one of our chairs as if he had been accustomed to such a seat all his life, and spoke with great suavity. I explained our difficulties as those of great men in misfortune; and, after listening to our tale, he said he would tell Suwarora of the way we had been plundered, and impress upon him to deal lightly with us. I said I had brought with me a few articles of European manufacture for Suwarora, which I hoped would be accepted if I presented them, for they were such things as only great men like his chief ever possessed. One was a five-barrelled pistol, another a large block-in box, and so fourth; but after looking at them, and seeing the pistol fired, he said; "No; you must not shew these things at first, or the Mkama might get frightened, thinking them magic. I might lose my head for presuming to offer them, and then there is no knowing what might happen afterwards." "Then can I not see him at once and pay my respects, for I have come a great way to obtain that pleasure?" "No," said Sirhid, "I will see him first; for he is not a man like myself, but requires to be well assured before he sees anybody." "Then why did he invite me here!" "He heard that Makaka, and afterwards Lumeresi, had stopped your progress; and as he wished to see what you were like, he ordered me to send some men to you, which, as you know, I did twice. He wishes to see you, but does not like doing things in a hurry. Superstition, you know, preys on these men's minds who have not seen the world like you and myself." Sirhid then said he would ask Suwarora to grant us an interview as soon as possible; then, whilst leaving, he begged for the iron chair he had sat upon; but hearing we did not know how to sit on the ground, and therefore could not spare it, he withdrew without any more words about it.