Tuesday, September 15th.—Early this morning we started for the Banza Nculu. The scenery along the road was varied and picturesque. The first view we had of the river was from an eminence about a mile from Vivi on the road to the Banza Nculu. Here we had a view of the Congo as it was flowing onwards, and round about in all directions were hills and dales adding a panoramic beauty to the scene. We had to descend from the summit of the first hill and ascend a second one much higher than the first, and from here we again obtained views of the Congo. One, the lower view, appeared like a lake, apparently shut in on all sides by hills, whose lofty summits stretched far and wide on every side, and some of them peered to the height of above a thousand feet into the heavens. Proceeding onwards, we ascended a third eminence, but by this time we had lost sight of the river, and our path became more level for a short distance.
We now commenced a gradual descent, but before
doing so we obtained an open and extensive view of the valley that lay between us and the Banza Nculu. On descending into the valley, we found the soil a dark clay mould with fewer stones on it than on that of the country through which we had hitherto passed. It was certainly a fine sight to behold, and the best addition to the scene was the caravan which formed the expedition now disappearing down a valley, now rising to the top of one of the many hillocks with which the valley abounded. The fertility of the soil may be observed here from the fact of the grass growing to the height of ten or twelve feet, and here also the native beans grow to a greater height than did those we saw in other parts of the country. In the valley we crossed three streams of running water, all feeders of the big river; and considering that it was the latter end of the dry season, these streams all had a fair supply of water.
We now arrived at the summit of the hill of the Banza Nculu, and as the three kings and three interpreters could not be seen at once, in consequence of their having first to settle some palaver about fish, we were compelled to bivouac under a large tree in the environs of Nculu until their highnesses might condescend to give us an audience. We breakfasted under the large tree, and were amused before and after breakfast by a number of urchins (say eight or ten) who had undergone the ceremony of circumcision, and who delighted in making a churring noise—a ch-u-r-r decidedly intended to frighten us into hysterics. But
our nerves were stronger than they at first imagined, and I went up to them and complimented them on their performance. The dress of these youths was a crinoline made of palm leaves, extending from their armpits down to their knees, or a little below that. Their arms, neck, and face were chalked white, and one of them had on a mask representing a white man with whiskers. The performance of this mask was admirably wild and laughable.
About two o’clock one of the three interpreters came to see us. He was dressed in a trade shirt and red nightcap, and was accompanied by a few men only, and had merely come to show us to a house.
At half-past three we heard the beating of a drum and cone, and, on looking out at the door, saw a procession making its way to the house in which we were lodged. I was already seated at the door, and, the whole cavalcade coming up, they seated themselves around the front of the house in a semicircle. Altogether there might have been about two hundred and fifty persons, including all sexes and sizes. Three ministers belonging to the three kings were the principal personages, and had come as ambassadors for their masters. One of them had already given his opinion in a refusal to permit me to pass on to Sundi, and it now remained for the whole council to arrive at the ultimate decision of Yes or No. The first conference assembled and broke up in a very short time. The beginning appeared favourable, for the ministers retired amidst
the noise of drum and cone. The latter is an iron musical instrument peculiar to the country, and when played sounds exactly like the triangle of the Ethiopian serenaders. When they had reached the palaver tree we heard a great yelling among the populace, which showed that they were satisfied. In a very short time they returned again to the house and waited till I had finished dinner, and then demanded the presents for themselves and their royal masters. As usual they were not satisfied; but we had no more to give them, and Furano, our interpreter, took one of the ministers into the house and showed him all our gear. A grunt from the minister announced to us that he saw it was impossible to get “blood out of a stone.”
They went away, and the third conference took place at four o’clock. This was the Grand Council, and there were plenty who spoke, the upshot of the whole affair being that they ultimately demanded the moderate sum of £300 in cloth, beads, and liquor, giving us permission (on our agreeing to the foregoing terms) to go on to Sundi above the cataracts, a journey occupying only three days. “Impudence is better than modesty,” but we thought this was carrying impudence to a pitch. This sum was out of the question, and had we been possessed of enough to answer the demands of those bushmen, rather than acquiesce, we should certainly have preferred throwing the amount into the “Slough of Despond.”
Wednesday, September 16th.—This morning we went