TheonlyexcitementwasproducedbythesuddenrushofKabbaRega’sguardsbonosoorawithbigsticksamongthecrowd,whomtheybelabouredandchased,generallypossessedthemselvesofthebestgarmentsofthosewhowerecaptured,withwhichtheyreturnedtotheirquarters,aslawfulprizes。
Thisdaringsystemofthievingwasconsideredasgreatfunbyallthosemembersofthecrowdwhohadescaped;andtheunfortunateswhohadbeenreducedtonuditybythelossoftheirgarmentswerejeeredandridiculedbythemobwithtrueUnyorowantofcharity。
Thesebonosoorawereanextraordinarycollectionofscoundrels。
Thereadersof”TheAlbertN’yanza”mayrememberthe”SatanicEscort,”
withwhichIwasfurnishedbyKamrasiformyjourneyfromM’roolitothelake;thesewerebonosoora。IcouldneverlearntheexactnumberthatformedKabbaRega’scelebratedregimentofblackguards,butIshouldimaginetherewereabove1,000menwhoconstantlysurroundedhim,andgainedtheirlivingbypillagingothers。
Anyslavewhoranawayfromhismastermightfindanasylumifhevolunteeredtoenlistinthebonosoora。Everymanwhohadcommittedsomecrime,orwhocouldnotpayhisdebts,couldfindarefugebydevotinghimselftothepersonalcareoftheyoungking,andenrollingwithintheranksoftheroyalguards。Thegeneralcharacteroftheseruffiansmaybeeasilyimagined。Theyloungedawaytheirtime,andsimplyrelievedthemonotonyoftheirexistencebyrobbingpassers-byofanythingthatattractedtheircupidity。
Umbogobelongedtothiscelebratedcorps,andheinformedmethathardlyanightpassedwithoutsomepersonbeingmurderedbythesepeople,whowouldalwayskillamanafterdark,unlessheyieldeduphispropertywithoutresistance。ThegreatnumberofvulturesthatcontinuallyhoveredoverMasindiwereproofsofUmbogo’sstory,asthesebirdsgenerallydenotethepresenceofcarrion。Mymenhad,onseveraloccasions,foundbodieslyinginthehighgrass,neatlypickedtothebone,whichhadonlyrecentlydied。
TherewasmuchtobedonebeforethebrutalcustomsofUnyorocouldbereformed:andIwasbynomeanssatisfiedwiththeconductexhibitedbyKabbaRega。Hehadpromisedfaithfullythathewouldsendalargeforcetoclearawaythehighgrassbywhichourstationwassurrounded;thiswasneverfulfilled,neithercouldIengagethenativestoworkforhire。
IhadobservedforsometimepastthathispeoplewererapidlyextendingthetownofMasindi,byerectingnewbuildingsuponbothourflanks,which,althoughonlyafewyardsfromourclearing,werehalfobscuredbythehighgrass;thusitappearedthatwewerebeinggraduallysurrounded。
Sincethedepartureofthepostwithmyescortandtheirregularlevy,nothingwasdonebythenatives,excepttheusualloungingbyday,anddrinkingandhowling,withdrumsandhornsasanaccompaniment,throughoutthenight。
KabbaRegahadalwaysdeclaredthatthenativeswouldworkformeandobeyeveryorderwhentheslave-huntersshouldhavebeenexpelledfromthecountry。Althoughthepeoplewhowerelatelyaportionoftheslave-hunter’scompanyhadnowbeenenlistedintheserviceofgovernment,notonemanremainedinMasindi,asIhadsentthemallawaytoFatiko,attheparticularrequestofKabbaRega。
Therealfactwas,thatsolongastheslave-trader’speoplewereinthecountry,boththekingandhispeopleknewthatwewereindependentofnativeguides,asSuleiman’smenknewallthepaths,fromtheirlongexperienceofthecountrywhenengagedinthecivilwars。Itwasconsideredthatintheabsenceofthenewlevyofirregularsweshouldbeperfectlyhelplesstomove,asweweredependentuponKabbaRegaforguides。
FromthegeneralconductofthepeoplesincethedepartureofmypartywiththeposttoFatiko,Ihadastrongsuspicionthatsomefoulplaywasintended,andthat,whenthe300nativecarriersshouldhavetakenthepeopleacrosstheVictoriaNile,theywoulddeserttheminthenight,andreturnwiththeboats。Ithereforewrotealetteraddressedtothesecondvakeel,Eddrees,orderinghimtoreturnatoncetoMasindiwiththeentirepartyifhehadanysuspicionoftreachery。
Iconcealedthisnoteinapacketofbluecloth,togetherwithafewlittlepresentsforShooliandGimoro,atFatiko;butIhadwrittenonthebrownpapercoveroftheparcel,instructionsthatEddreesorMohammed,thedragoman,shouldsearchthecontents,asaletterwashiddenwithin。IgavethispackettoUmbogo,tellinghimthatitwasapresentforShooli,andbegginghimtodespatchamessengerwithoutdelaytoovertakethepartybeforetheyshouldhavecrossedtheVictoriaNile。Thenativemessenger,towhomIgaveasmallgratuity,immediatelystarted;thusIshouldbeabletoforewarnmypeopleintheeventoftrouble。
IntheafternoonKabbaRegasentformetorepairthesmallmusicalboxthatIhadgivenhim,whichwasslightlyderanged。Irepliedthat,untilhefulfilledhisagreementtoclearthehighgrassfromtheneighbourhood,Icouldnotthinkofattendingtoanyrequest,ashehadbrokenallhispromises。
Inhalfanhourafterthisanswerhesentfortymen,underKittakara,tocommencetheclearing,ashewasindespairabouthismusicalbox。
TwonativemerchantsfromthedistantcountryofKaragwe,whohadbeensentbytheirking,Rumanika,topurchaseivoryfromUnyoro,hadarrivedatMasindi。Thesepeoplewerebroughttomeon26thMay,accompaniedbyKittakara,togetherwithUmbogo,theinterpreter。IobservedthatKittakarawasactingthepartofspy,tooverhearandtoreportthesubstanceoftheconversation。SomeexcitementhadbeencausedbythereportthattwotravellerswereresidingwithRumanika,andthatthesepeoplehadarrivedfromtheM’wootanN’zige。IwasinhopesthatoneofthesetravellersmightbeLivingstone。
TheKaragwemerchantswerewell-dressed,andverycivilized-lookingpeople。Theystareduponarrivalinthedivan,andwereshortlyseateduponamatbeforeme。
Aftersomeconversation,Iquestionedthemconcerningthetravellers,andIimmediatelywrotebothquestionsandrepliesinmyjournal,whichInowgiveverbatim。”Haveyoupersonallyseenthetravellers?”
Answer:”Yes;oneistall,withalongbeardandwhitehair。TheotherisaveryblackmananAfrican,andshort。”
Question:”Howdotheyeat?”
Answer:”Withaknifeandforkandplate。”
Question:”Havetheyacompass”Compassexhibited?
Answer:”No;buttheyhaveasmallmirrorlikethoseinyourpossession。”
Question:”Dotheypurchaseivory?”
Answer:”Yes。WearenowsentbyRumanikatobuyivoryforthem。”
Question:”Havetheyalargequantity?”
Answer:”Animmensequantity。Theyhavealargehouse,whichisquitefull。”
Question:”Howwilltheytransportit?”
Answer:”TheyarebuildingavesselofironontheM’wootanN’zige,uponthebordersofwhichtheyarenowstaying。”
Question:”DotheyknowthatIamcommandingthisexpedition?”
Answer:”Yes;theyhavefrequentlyasked`whetheryouhadarrived;’andtheywishtogotoKhartoum。””ThereisnotraceofpoorLivingstoneintheirdescription。IimaginethatsomeenterprisingPortuguesetraderisbuildingashiptotradeuponM’wootanN’zige。Godhelphimifhetriestotransporthisivorybythisroute。”IshallwritetoLivingstonebythefirstopportunity。Likeallotherofmyinformants,thesenativemerchantstoldmethattheM’wootanN’zigeextendedtoKaragwe,afteralongturntothewest。Itvariedmuchinwidth,andatKaragweitwasnarrow。”
ForsomedaysIhadconversationswiththeseintelligentpeople。Theybroughtmetwoelephants’tuskstosell,astheywishedtoshowRumanikathequalityofgoodsthatwerenowintroducedfromthenorth。Imadethemafewpresents,afterthebargain,tocreateafavourableimpression,andIoncemorecross-examinedthemupongeographicalquestions。
TheirdescriptionoftheeastshoreoftheM’wootanN’zigewasasfollows:
GeographicalInformation:”SouthofUnyoroisacountryKabboya;””Kabboyu””Tambooki;””Tambooki””M’Pororo;
M’Pororo””Ruanda;
Ruanda””Baroondi;
Baroondi””Chibbogora;
Chibbogora””Watuta;””Watuta””Manchoonda;””BeyondtheMachoondatheyknewnothing,exceptthatthelakeextendsforanenormousandunknowndistance。”Onthewestshore,oppositeKabboyuandTambooki,issituatedthecannibalcountryofBooamba。”TheroutetoKaragwefromMasindi,viatheM’wootanN’zigeAlbertN’yanza,is——takeboatfromChiberoaday’slongmarchfromMasindi
toM’Pororo——atwhichspotyouleavetheboat,andproceedoverlandinonedaytotheKaragwefrontier。”TheKittangideriverpassesthroughM’Pororo,N’Kole,andKishakka,and,afteraverywindingcourse,itcutsthroughKaragwe,andfallsintotheVictoriaN’yanza。”’Baroondi’mustbeSpeke’s’Urundi;’asIfindthatmanynamesthathehasprefixedwith’U’areherepronouncedas’B。’”BySpeke’smapUrundiisinabout3degreessouthlatitude。TheM’wootanN’zigeisthereforeknowntopassthroughRuanda,Baroondi,andtheWatuta——orbeyondthenorthendoftheTanganyikaLake。”ThislooksasthoughtheTanganyikaandtheM’wootanN’zigewereonlyonevastlakebearingdifferentnamesaccordingtothelocalitiesthroughwhichitpasses。”
Ihaveextractedthisfrommyjournal,asitwaswrittenatthemomentthattheinformationwasgiven。Ihavenotheory,asIdonotindulgeintheluxuryofgeographicaltheories;butIshallgivemyinformationinthesamewordsinwhichIreceiveditfromthenatives。Speculativegeographersmaythenformtheirownopinions。
FromthedaywhenKabbaRegahaddeniedthepossessionofthegunsandammunitionbelongingtotheirregularlevy,hehadneverappearedathisnewdivan,neitherhadIseenhim。
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