18th.—To keep the king in good-humour, I now took a table-knife, spoon, and fork to the palace, which, after their several uses were explained, were consigned to his curiosity-box. Still Rumanika could not understand how it was I spent so much and travelled so far, or how it happened such a great country as ours could be ruled by a woman. He asked the Queen's name, how many children she had, and the mode of succession; then, when fully satisfied, led the way to show me what his father Dagara had done when wishing to know of what the centre of the earth was composed. At the back of the palace a deep ditch was cut, several yards long, the end of which was carried by a subterranean passage into the palace, where it was ended off with a cavern led into by a very small aperture. It then appeared that Dagara, having failed, in his own opinion, to arrive any nearer to the object in view, gave the excavating up as a bad job, and turned the cave into a mysterious abode, where it was confidently asserted he spent many days without eating or drinking, and turned sometimes into a young man, and then an old one, alternately, as the humour seized him.
19th to 22d.—On the 19th I went fishing, but without success, for they said the fish would not take in the lake; and on the following day, as Grant's recovery seemed hopeless, for a long time at least, I went with all the young princes to see what I could do with the hippopotami in the lake, said to inhabit the small island of Conty. The part was an exceedingly merry one. We went off to the island in several canoes, and at once found an immense number of crocodiles basking in the sun, but not a single hippopotamus was in sight. The princes then, thinking me "green" at this kind of sport, said the place was enchanted, but I need not fear, for they would bring them out to my feet by simply calling out certain names, and this was no sooner done than four old and one young one came immediately in font of us. It seemed quite a sin to touch them, they looked all so innocent; but as the king wanted to try me again, I gave one a ball on the head which sent him under, never again to be seen, for on the 22nd, by which time I supposed he ought to have risen inflated with gases, the king sent out his men to look out for him; but they returned to say, that whilst all the rest were in the old place, that one, in particular, could not be found.
On this K'yengo, who happened to be present whilst our interview lasted, explained that the demons of the deep were annoyed with me for intruding on their preserves, without having the courtesy to commemorate the event by the sacrifice of a goat or a cow. Rumanika then, at my suggestions, gave Nnanaji the revolving pistol I first gave him, but not without a sharp rebuke for his having had the audacity to beg a gun of me in consideration of his being a sportsman. We then went into a discourse on astrology, when the intelligent Rumanika asked me if the same sun we saw one day appeared again, or whether fresh suns came every day, and whether or not the moon made different faces, to laugh at us mortals on earth.
23d and 24th.—This day was spent by the king introducing me to his five fat wives, to show with what esteem he was held by all the different kings of the countries surrounding. From Mpororo—which, by the by, is a republic—he was wedded to Kaogez, the daughter of Kahaya, who is the greatest chief in the country; from Unyoro he received Kauyangi, Kamrasi's daughter; from Nkole, Kambiri, the late Kasiyonga's daughter; from Utumbi, Kirangu, the late Kiteimbua's daughter; and lastly, the daughter of Chiuarungi, his head cook.
After presenting Rumanika with an india-rubber band—which, as usual, amused him immensely—for the honour he had done me in showing me his wives, a party of Waziwa, who had brought some ivory from Kidi, came to pay their respects to him. On being questioned by me, they said that they once saw some men like my Wanguana there; they had come from the north to trade, but, though they carried firearms, they were all killed by the people of Kidi. This was famous; it corroborated what I knew, but could not convince others of,—that traders could find their way up to Kidi by the Nile. It in a manner explained also how it was that Kamrasi, some years before, had obtained some pink beads, of a variety the Zanzibar merchants had never thought of bringing into the country. Bombay was now quite convinced, and we all became transported with joy, until Rumanika, reflecting on the sad state of Grant's leg, turned that joy into grief by saying that the rules of Uganda are so strict, that no one who is sick could enter the country. "To show," he said, "how absurd they are, your donkey would not be permitted because he has no trousers; and you even will have to put on a gown, as your unmentionables will be considered indecorous." I now asked Rumanika if he would assist me in replenishing my fast-ebbing store of beads, by selling tusks to the Arabs at Kufro, when for every 35lb. weight I would give him 50 dollars by orders on Zanzibar, and would insure him from being cheated, by sending a letter of advice to our Consul residing there. At first he demurred, on the high-toned principle that he could not have any commercial dealings with myself; but, at the instigation of Bombay and Baraka, who viewed it in its true character, as tending merely to assist my journey in the best manner he could, without any sacrifice to dignity, he eventually yielded, and, to prove his earnestness, sent me a large tusk, with a notice that his ivory was not kept in the palace, but with his officers, and as soon as they could collect it, so soon I should get it.
Rumanika, on hearing that it was our custom to celebrate the birth of our Saviour with a good feast of beef, sent us an ox. I immediately paid him a visit to offer the compliments of the season, and at the same time regretted, much to his amusement, that he, as one of the old stock of Abyssinians, who are the oldest Christians on record, should have forgotten this rite; but I hoped the time would come when, by making it known that his tribe had lapsed into a state of heathenism, white teachers would be induced to set it all to rights again. At this time some Wahaiya traders (who had been invited at my request by Rumanika) arrived. Like the Waziwa, they had traded with Kidi, and they not only confirmed what the Waziwa had said, but added that, when trading in those distant parts, they heard of Wanguana coming in vessels to trade to the north of Unyoro; but the natives there were so savage, they only fought with these foreign traders. A man of Ruanda now informed us that the cowrie-shells, so plentiful in that country, come there from the other or western side, but he could not tell whence they were originally obtained. Rumanika then told me Suwarora had been so frightened by the Watuta, and their boastful threats to demolish Usui bit by bit, reserving him only as a tit-bit for the end, that he wanted a plot of ground in Karague to preserve his property in.
26th, 27th, and 28th.—Some other travellers from the north again informed us that they had heard of Wanguana who attempted to trade in Gani and Chopi, but were killed by the natives. I now assured Rumanika that in two or three years he would have a greater trade with Egypt than he ever could have with Zanzibar; for when I opened the road, all those men he heard of would swarm up here to visit him. He, however, only laughed at my folly in proposing to go to a place of which all I heard was merely that every stranger who went there was killed. He began to show a disinclination to allow my going there, and though from the most friendly intention, this view was alarming, for one word from him could have ruined my projects. As it was, I feared my followers might take fright and refuse to advance with me. I thought it good policy to talk of there being many roads leading through Africa, so that Rumanika might see he had not got, as he thought, the sole key to the interior. I told him again of certain views I once held of coming to see him from the north up the Nile, and from the east through the Masai. He observed that, "To open either of those routes, you would require at least two hundred guns." He would, however, do something when we returned from Uganda; for as Mtesa followed his advice in everything, so did Kamrasi, for both held the highest opinion of him.
The conversation then turning on London, and the way men and carriages moved up the streets like strings of ants on their migrations, Rumanika said the villages in Ruanda were of enormous extent, and the people great sportsmen, for they turned out in multitudes, with small dogs on whose necks were tied bells, and blowing horns themselves, to hunt leopards. They were, however, highly superstitious, and would not allow any strangers to enter their country; for some years ago, when Arabs went there, a great drought and famine set in, which they attributed to evil influences brought by them, and, turning them out of their country, said they would never admit any of their like amongst them again. I said, in return, I thought his Wanyambo just as superstitious, for I observed, whilst walking one day, that they had placed a gourd on the path, and on inquiry found they had done so to gain the sympathy of all passers-by to their crop close at hand, which was blighted, imagining that the voice of the sympathiser heard by the spirits would induce them to relent, and restore a healthy tone to the crop.
During this time an interesting case was brought before us for judgment. Two men having married one woman, laid claim to her child, which, as it was a male one, belonged to the father. Baraka was appointed the umpire, and immediately comparing the infant's face with those of its claimants, gave a decision which all approved of but the loser. It was pronounced amidst peals of laughter from my men; for whenever any little excitement is going forward, the Wanguana all rush to the scene of action to give their opinions, and joke over it afterwards.
29th and 30th.—On telling Rumanika this story next morning, he said, "Many funny things happen in Karague"; and related some domestic incidents, concluding with the moral that "Marriage in Karague was a mere matter of money." Cows, sheep, and slaves have to be given to the father for the value of his daughter; but if she finds she has made a mistake, she can return the dowry-money, and gain her release. The Wahuma, although they keep slaves and marry with pure negroes, do not allow their daughters to taint their blood by marrying out of their clan. In warfare it is the rule that the Wahinda, or princes, head their own soldiers, and set them the example of courage, when, after firing a few arrows, they throw their bows away, and close at once with their spears and assages. Life is never taken in Karague, either for murder or cowardice, as they value so much their Wahuma breed; but, for all offences, fines of cows are exacted according to the extent of the crime.