After this, I had scarcely swallowed by breakfast before I received a summons from the king to meet him out shooting, with all the Wanguana armed, and my guns; and going towards the palace, found him with a large staff, pages and officers as well as women, in a plantain garden, looking eagerly out for birds, whilst his band was playing. In addition to his English dress, he wore a turban, and pretended that the glare of the sun was distressing his eyes—for, in fact, he wanted me to give him a wideawake like my own. Then, as if a sudden freak had seized him, though I knew it was on account of Maula's having excited his curiosity, he said, "Where does Bana live? lead away." Bounding and scrambling, the Wakungu, the women and all, went pell-mell through everything towards my hut. If the Kamraviona or any of the boys could not move fast enough, on account of the crops on the fields, they were piked in the back till half knocked over; but, instead of minding, they trotted on, n'yanzigging as if honoured by a kingly poke, though treated like so many dogs.
Arrived at the hut, the king took off his turban as I took off my hat, and seated himself on my stool; whilst the Kamraviona, with much difficulty, was induced to sit upon a cowskin, and the women at first were ordered to squat outside. Everything that struck the eye was much admired and begged for, though nothing so much as my wideawake and mosquito-curtains; then, as the women were allowed to have a peep in and see Bana in his den, I gave them two sacks of beads, to make the visit profitable, the only alternative left me from being forced into inhospitality, for no one would drink from my cup. Moreover, a present was demanded by the laws of the country.
The king, excitedly impatient, now led the way again, shooting hurry-scurry through my men's lines, which were much commented on as being different from Waganda hutting, on to the tall tree with the adjutant's nest. One young bird was still living in it. There was no shot, so bullets must be fired; and the cunning king, wishing to show off, desired me to fire simultaneously with himself. We fired, but my bullet struck the bough the nest was resting on; we fired again, and the bullet passed through the nest without touching the bird. I then asked the king to allow me to try his Whitworth, to which a little bit of stick, as a charm to secure a correct aim, had been tied below the trigger-guard. This time I broke the bird's leg, and knocked him half out of the nest; so, running up to the king, I pointed to the charm, saying, That has done it—hoping to laugh him out of the folly; but he took my joke in earnest, and he turned to his men, commenting on the potency of the charm. Whilst thus engaged, I took another rifle and brought the bird down altogether. "Woh, woh, woh!" shouted the king; "Bana, Mzungu, Mzungu!" he repeated, leaping and clapping his hands, as he ran full speed to the prostrate bird, whilst the drums beat, and the Wakungu followed him: "Now, is not this a wonder? but we must go and shoot another." "Where?" I said; "we may walk a long way without finding, if we have nothing but our eyes to see with. Just send for your telescope, and then I will show you how to look for birds." Surprised at this announcement, the king sent his pages flying for the instrument, and when it came I instructed him how to use it; when he could see with it, and understand its powers, his astonishment knew no bounds; and, turning to his Wakungu, he said, laughing, "Now I do see the use of this thing I have been shutting up in the palace. On that distant tree I can see three vultures. To its right there is a hut, with a woman sitting inside the portal, and many goats are feeding all about the palace, just as large and distinct as if I was close by them."
The day was now far spent, and all proceeded towards the palace. On the way a mistletoe was pointed out as a rain-producing tree, probably because, on a former occasion, I had advised the king to grow groves of coffee-trees about his palace to improve its appearance, and supply the court with wholesome food—at the same time informing him that trees increase the falls of rain in a country, though very high ones would be dangerous, because they attract lightning. Next the guns must be fired off; and, as it would be a pity to waste lead, the king, amidst thunders of applause, shot five cows, presenting his gun from the shoulder.
So ended the day's work in the field, but not at home; for I had hardly arrived there before the pages hurried in to beg for powder and shot, then caps, then cloth, and, everything else failing, a load of beads. Such are the persecutions of this negro land—the host every day must beg something in the most shameless manner from his guest, on the mere chance of gaining something gratis, though I generally gave the king some trifle when he least expected it, and made an excuse that he must wait for the arrival of fresh stores from Gani when he asked.
30th.—To fulfil my engagement with the queen, I walked off to her palace with stomach medicine, thinking we were now such warm friends, all pride and distant ceremonies would be dispensed with; but, on the contrary, I was kept waiting for hours till I sent in word to say, if she did not want medicine, I wished to go home, for I was tired of Uganda and everything belonging to it. This message brought her to her gate, where she stood laughing till the Wahuma girls she had promised me, one of twelve and the other a little older, were brought in and made to squat in front of us. The elder, who was in the prime of youth and beauty, very large of limb, dark in colour, cried considerably; whilst the younger one, though very fair, had a snubby nose and everted lips, and laughed as if she thought the change in her destiny very good fun. I had now to make my selection, and took the smaller one, promising her to Bombay as soon as we arrived on the coast, where, he said, she would be considered a Hubshi or Abyssinian. But when the queen saw what I had done, she gave me the other as well, saying the little one was too young to go alone, and, if separated, she would take fright and run away. Then with a gracious bow I walked of with my two fine specimens of natural history, though I would rather have had princes, that I might have taken them home to be instructed in England; but the queen, as soon as we had cleared the palace, sent word to say she must have another parting look at her son with his wives. Still laughing, she said, "That will do; you look beautiful; now go away home"; and off we trotted, the elder sobbing bitterly, the younger laughing.
As soon as we reached home, my first inquiry was concerning their histories, of which they appeared to know but very little. The elder, whom I named Meri (plantains), was obtained by Sunna, the late king, as a wife, from Nkole; and though she was a mere Kahala, or girl, when the old king died, he was so attached to her he gave her twenty cows, in order that she might fatten up on milk after her native fashion; but on Sunna's death, when the establishment of women was divided, Meri fell to N'yamasore's (the queen's) lot. The lesser one, who still retains the name of Kahala, said she was seized in Unyoro by the Waganda, who took her to N'yamasore, but what became of her father and mother she could not say.
It was now dinner-time, and as the usual sweet potatoes and goat's flesh were put upon my box-table, I asked them to dine with me, and we became great friends, for they were assured they would finally get good houses and gardens at Zanzibar; but nothing would induce either of them to touch food that had been cooked with butter. A dish of plantains and goat-flesh was then prepared; but though Kahala wished to eat it, Meri rejected the goat's flesh, and would not allow Kahala to taste it either; and thus began a series of domestic difficulties. On inquiring how I could best deal with my difficult charge, I was told the Wahuma pride was so great, and their tempers so strong, they were more difficult to break in than a phunda, or donkey, though when once tamed, they became the best of wives.
31st.—I wished to call upon the queen and thank her for her charming present, but my hungry men drove me to the king's palace in search of food. The gun firing brought Mtesa out, prepared for a shooting trip, with his Wakungu leading, the pages carrying his rifle and ammunition, and a train of women behind. The first thing seen outside the palace gate was a herd of cows, from which four were selected and shot at fifty paces by the king, firing from his shoulder, amidst thunders of applause and hand-shakings of the elders. I never saw them dare touch the king's hand before. Then Mtesa, turning kindly to me, said, "Pray take a shot"; but I waived the offer off, saying he could kill better himself. Ambitious of a cut above cows, the king tried his hand at some herons perched on a tree, and, after five or six attempts, hit one in the eye. Hardly able to believe in his own skill, he stood petrified at first, and then ran madly to the fallen bird, crying, "Woh, woh, woh! can this be?—is it true? Woh, woh!" He jumped in the air, and all his men and women shouted in concert with him. Then he rushes at me, takes both my hands—shakes, shakes—woh, woh!—then runs to his women, then to his men; shakes them all, woh-wohing, but yet not shaking or wohing half enough for his satisfaction, for he is mad with joy at his own exploit.
The bird is then sent immediately to his mother, whilst he retires to his palace, woh-wohing, and taking "ten to the dozen" all the way and boasting of his prowess. "Now, Bana, tell me—do you not think, if two such shots as you and I were opposed to an elephant, would he have any chance before us? I know I can shoot—I am certain of it now. You have often asked me to go hippopotamus-shooting with you, but I staved it off until I learnt the way to shoot. Now, however, I can shoot—and that remarkably well too, I flatter myself. I will have at them, and both of us will go on the lake together." The palace was now reached; musicians were ordered to play before the king, and Wakungu appointments were made to celebrate the feats of the day. Then the royal cutler brought in dinner-knives made of iron, inlaid with squares of copper and brass, and goats and vegetables were presented as usual, when by torchlight we were dismissed, my men taking with them as many plantains as they could carry.