The Discovery of the Source of the Nile Part 11

Just at this time a distant cry was heard that another rhinoceros was concealed in a thicket, and off we set to pursue her. Arriving at the place mentioned, I settled at once I would enter with only two spare men carrying guns, for the acacia thorns were so thick that the only tracks into the thicket were runs made by these animals. Leading myself, bending down to steal in, I tracked up a run till half-way through cover, when suddenly before me, like a pig from a hole, a large female, with her young one behind her, came straight down whoof-whoofing upon me. In this awkward fix I forced myself to one side, though p.r.i.c.ked all over with thorns in doing so, and gave her one on the head which knocked her out of my path, and induced her for safety to make for the open, where I followed her down and gave her another. She then took to the hills and crossed over a spur, when, following after her, in another dense thicket, near the head of a glen, I came upon three, who no sooner sighted me, than all in line they charged down my way. Fortunately at the time my gun-bearers were with me; so, jumping to one side, I struck them all three in turn. One of them dropped dead a little way on; but the others only pulled up when they arrived at the bottom. To please myself now I had done quite enough; but as the princes would have it, I went on with the chase. As one of the two, I could see, had one of his fore-legs broken, I went at the sounder one, and gave him another shot, which simply induced him to walk over the lower end of the hill. Then turning to the last one, which could not escape, I asked the Wanyambo to polish him off with their spears and arrows, that I might see their mode of sport. As we moved up to the animal, he kept charging with such impetuous fury, they could not go into him; so I gave him a second ball, which brought him to anchor. In this helpless state the men set at him in earnest, and a more barbarous finale I never did witness. Every man sent his spear, a.s.sage, or arrow, into his sides, until, completely exhausted, he sank like a porcupine covered with quills. The day's sport was now ended, so I went home to breakfast, leaving instructions that the heads should be cut off and sent to the king as a trophy of what the white man could do.

10th and 11th.--The next day, when I called on Rumanika, the spoils were brought into court, and in utter astonishment he said, "Well, this must have been done with something more potent than powder, for neither the Arabs nor Nnanaji, although they talk of their shooting powers, could have accomplished such a great feat as this. It is no wonder the English are the greatest men in the world."

Neither the Wanyambo nor the Wahuma would eat the rhinoceros, so I was not sorry to find all the Wanyamuezi porters of the Arabs at Kufro, on hearing of the sport, come over and carry away all the flesh. They pa.s.sed by our camp half borne down with their burdens of sliced flesh, suspended from poles which they carried on their shoulders; but the following day I was disgusted by hearing that their masters had forbidden their eating "the carrion," as the throats of the animals had not been cut; and, moreover, had thrashed them soundly because they complained they were half starved, which was perfectly true, by the poor food that they got as their pay.

12th.--On visiting Rumanika again, and going through my geographical lessons, he told me, in confirmation of Musa's old stories, that in Ruanda there existed pigmies who lived in trees, but occasionally came down at night, and, listening at the hut doors of the men, would wait until they heard the name of one of its inmates, when they would call him out, and, firing an arrow into his heart, disappear again in the same way as they came. But, more formidable even than these little men, there were monsters who could not converse with me, and never showed themselves unless they saw women pa.s.s by; then, in voluptuous excitement, they squeezed them to death. Many other similar stories were then told, when I, wis.h.i.+ng to go, was asked if I could kill hippopotami.

Having answered that I could, the king graciously said he would order some canoes for me the next morning; and as I declined because Grant could not accompany me, as a terrible disease had broken out in his leg, he ordered a pig-shooting party. Agreeably with this, the next day I went out with his sons, numerously attended; but although we beat the covers all day, the rain was so frequent that the pigs would not bolt.

14th.--After a long and amusing conversation with Rumanika in the morning, I called on one of his sisters-in-law, married to an elder brother who was born before Dagara ascended the throne. She was another of those wonders of obesity, unable to stand excepting on all fours. I was desirous to obtain a good view of her, and actually to measure her, and induced her to give me facilities for doing so, by offering in return to show her a bit of my naked legs and arms. The bait took as I wished it, and after getting her to sidle and wriggle into the middle of the hut, I did as I promised, and then took her dimensions as noted below. [14] All of these are exact except the height, and I believe I could have obtained this more accurately if I could have her laid on the floor. Not knowing what difficulties I should have to contend with in such a piece of engineering, I tried to get her height by raising her up. This, after infinite exertions on the part of us both, was accomplished, when she sank down again, fainting, for her blood had rushed to her head. Meanwhile, the daughter, a la.s.s of sixteen, sat stark-naked before us, sucking at a milk-pot, on which the father kept her at work by holding a rod in his hand, for as fattening is the first duty of fas.h.i.+onable female life, it must be duly enforced by the rod if necessary. I got up a bit of flirtation with missy, and induced her to rise and shake hands with me. Her features were lovely, but her body was as round as a ball.

In the evening we had another row with my head men--Baraka having accused Bombay of trying to kill him with magic. Bombay, who was so incessantly bullied by Baraka's officious attempts to form party cliques opposed to the interests of the journey, and get him turned out of the camp, indiscreetly went to one of K'yengo's men, and asked him if he knew of any medicine that would affect the hearts of the w.a.n.guana so as to incline them towards him; and on the sub-doctor saying Yes, Bombay gave him some beads, and bought the medicine required, which, put into a pot of pombe, was placed by Baraka's side. Baraka in the meanwhile got wind of the matter through K'yengo, who, misunderstanding the true facts of the case, said it was a charm to deprive Baraka of his life. A court of inquiry having been convened, with all the parties concerned in attendance, K'yengo's mistake was discovered, and Bombay was lectured for his folly, as he had a thousand times before abjured his belief in such magical follies; moreover, to punish him for the future, I took Baraka, whenever I could, with me to visit the king, which, little as it may appear to others, was of the greatest consequence to the hostile parties.

15th and 16th.--When I next called on Rumanika I gave him a Vautier's binocular and prismatic compa.s.s; on which he politely remarked he was afraid he was robbing me of everything. More compliments went round, and then he asked if it was true we could open a man's skull, look at his brains, and close it up again; also if it was true we sailed all round the world into regions where there was no difference between night and day, and how, when he ploughed the seas in such enormous vessels as would carry at once 20,000 men, we could explain to the sailors what they ought to do; for, although he had heard of these things, no one was able to explain them to him.

After all the explanations were given, he promised me a boat-hunt after the nzoe in the morning; but when the time came, as difficulties were raised, I asked him to allow us to antic.i.p.ate the arrival of Kachuchu, and march on to Kitangule. He answered, with his usual courtesy, That he would be very glad to oblige us in any way that we liked; but he feared that, as the Waganda were such superst.i.tious people, some difficulties would arise, and he must decline to comply with our request. "You must not," he added, "expect ever to find again a reasonable man like myself." I then gave him a book on "Kafir laws," which he said he would keep for my sake, with all the rest of the presents, which he was determined never to give away, though it was usual for him to send novelties of this sort to Mtesa, king of Uganda, and Kamrasi, king of Unyoro, as a friendly recognition of their superior positions in the world of great monarchies.

17th.--Rumanika next introduced me to an old woman who came from the island of Gasi, situated in the little Luta Nzige. Both her upper and lower incisors had been extracted, and her upper lip perforated by a number of small holes, extending in an arch from one corner to the other. This interesting but ugly old lady narrated the circ.u.mstances by which she had been enslaved, and then sent by Kamrasi as a curiosity to Rumanika, who had ever since kept her as a servant in his palace. A man from Ruanda then told us of the Wilyanwantu (men-eaters), who disdained all food but human flesh; and Rumanika confirmed the statement. Though I felt very sceptical about it, I could not help thinking it a curious coincidence that the position they were said to occupy agreed with Petherick's Nyam Nyams (men-eaters).

Of far more interest were the results of a conversation which I had with another of Kamrasi's servants, a man of Amara, as it threw some light upon certain statements made by Mr Leon of the people of Amara being Christians. He said they bore single holes in the centres both of their upper and lower lips, as well as in the lobes of both of their ears, in which they wear small bra.s.s rings. They live near the N'yanza--where it is connected by a strait with a salt lake, and drained by a river to the northward--in comfortable houses, built like the tembes of Unyamuezi.

When killing a cow, they kneel down in an att.i.tude of prayer, with both hands together, held palm upwards, and utter Zu, a word the meaning of which he did not know. I questioned him to try if the word had any trace of a Christian meaning--for instance, a corruption of Jesu--but without success. Circ.u.mcision is not known amongst them, neither have they any knowledge of G.o.d or a soul. A tribe called Wakuavi, who are white, and described as not unlike myself, often came over the water and made raids on their cattle, using the double-edged sime as their chief weapon of war. These attacks were as often resented, and sometimes led the Wamara in pursuit a long way into their enemy's country, where, at a place called Kisiguisi, they found men robed in red cloths. Beads were imported, he thought, both from the east and from Ukidi. a.s.sociated with the countries Masau or Masai, and Usamburu, which he knew, there was a large mountain, the exact position of which he could not describe.

I took down many words of his language, and found they corresponded with the North African dialects, as spoken by the people of Kidi, Gani, and Madi. The southerners, speaking of these, would call them Wakidi, Wagani, and Wamadi, but among themselves the syllable was is not prefixed, as in the southern dialects, to signify people. Rumanika, who appeared immensely delighted as he a.s.sisted me in putting the questions I wanted, and saw me note them down in my book, was more confirmed than ever in the truth of my stories that I came from the north, and thought as the beads came to Amara, so should I be able to open the road and bring him more visitors. This he knew was his only chance of ever seeing me more, for I swore I would never go back through Usui, so greatly did I feel the indignities imposed on me by Suwarora.

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 wis.h.i.+ng 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 pa.s.sage 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 a.s.serted 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 fis.h.i.+ng, 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 w.a.n.guana 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 a.s.sist me in replenis.h.i.+ng 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 a.s.sist 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 amus.e.m.e.nt, 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 w.a.n.guana 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-sh.e.l.ls, 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 t.i.t-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 w.a.n.guana who attempted to trade in Gani and Chopi, but were killed by the natives. I now a.s.sured 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 mult.i.tudes, with small dogs on whose necks were tied bells, and blowing horns themselves, to hunt leopards. They were, however, highly superst.i.tious, 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 superst.i.tious, 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 pa.s.sers-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 p.r.o.nounced amidst peals of laughter from my men; for whenever any little excitement is going forward, the w.a.n.guana 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 a.s.sages. 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.

31st.--Ever proud of his history since I had traced his descent from Abyssinia and King David, whose hair was as straight as my own, Rumanika dwelt on my theological disclosures with the greatest delight, and wished to know what difference existed between the Arabs and ourselves; to which Baraka replied, as the best means of making him understand, that whilst the Arabs had only one Book, we had two; to which I added, Yes, that is true in a sense; but the real merits lie in the fact that we have got the better BOOK, as may be inferred from the obvious fact that we are more prosperous, and their superiors in all things, as I would prove to him if he would allow me to take one of his sons home to learn that BOOK; for then he would find his tribe, after a while, better off than the Arabs are. Much delighted, he said he would be very glad to give me two boys for that purpose.

Then, changing the subject, I pressed Rumanika, as he said he had no idea of a G.o.d or future state, to tell me what advantage he expected from sacrificing a cow yearly at his father's grave. He laughingly replied he did not know, but he hoped he might be favoured with better crops if he did so. He also place pombe and grain, he said, for the same reason, before a large stone on the hillside, although it could not eat, or make any use of it; but the coast-men were of the same belief as himself, and so were all the natives. No one in Africa, as far as he knew, doubted the power of magic and spells; and if a fox barked when he was leading an army to battle, he would retire at once, knowing that this prognosticated evil. There were many other animals, and lucky and unlucky birds, which all believed in.

I then told him it was fortunate he had no disbelievers like us to contend with in battle, for we, instead of trusting to luck and such omens, put our faith only in skill and pluck, which Baraka elucidated from his military experience in the wars in British India. Lastly, I explained to him how England formerly was as unenlightened as Africa, and believing in the same sort of superst.i.tions, and the inhabitants were all as naked as his skin-wearing Wanyambo; but now, since they had grown wiser, and saw through such impostures, they were the greatest men in the world. He said, for the future he would disregard what the Arabs said, and trust to my doctrines, for without doubt he had never seen such a wise man as myself; and the Arabs themselves confirmed this when they told him that all their beads and cloths came from the land of the Wazungu, or white men.

1st, 2d, and 3d.--The new year was ushered in by the most exciting intelligence, which drove us half wild with delight, for we fully believed Mr Petherick was indeed on his road up the Nile, endeavouring to meet us. It was this:--An officer of Rumanika's, who had been sent four years before on a mission to Kamrasi, had just then returned with a party of Kamrasi's who brought ivory for sale to the Arabs at Kufro, along with a vaunting commission to inform Rumanika that Kamrasi had foreign visitors as well as himself. They had not actually come into Unyoro, but were in his dependency, the country of Gani, coming up the Nile in vessels. They had been attacked by the Gani people, and driven back with considerable loss both of men and property, although they were in sailing vessels, and fired guns which even broke down the trees on the banks. Some of their property had been brought to him, and he in return had ordered his subjects not to molest them, but allow them to come on to him. Rumanika enjoyed this news as much as myself, especially when I told him of Petherick's promise to meet us, just as these men said he was trying to do; and more especially so, when I told him that if he would a.s.sist me in trying to communicate with Petherick, the latter would either come here himself, or send one of his men, conveying a suitable present, whilst I was away in Uganda; and then in the end we would all go off to Kamrasi's together.

4th.--Entering warmly into the spirit of this important intelligence, Rumanika inquired into its truth; and, finding no reason to doubt it, said he would send some men back with Kamrasi's men, if I could have patience until they were ready to go. There would be no danger, as Kamrasi was his brother-in-law, and would do all that he told him.

I now proposed to send Baraka, who, ashamed to cry off, said he would go with Rumanika's officers if I allowed him a companion of his own choosing, who would take care of him if he got sick on the way, otherwise he should be afraid they would leave him to die, like a dog, in the jungles. We consoled him by a.s.senting to the companion he wished, and making Rumanika responsible that no harm should come to him from any of the risks which his imagination conjured up. Rumanika then gave him and Uledi, his selected companion, some sheets of mbugu, in order that they might disguise themselves as his officers whilst crossing the territories of the king of Uganda. On inquiring as to the reason of this, it transpired that, to reach Unyoro, the party would have to cross a portion of Uddu, which the late king Sunna, on annexing that country to Uganda, had divided, not in halves, but by alternate bands running transversely from Nkole to the Victoria N'yanza.

5th and 6th.--To keep Rumanika up to the mark, I introduced to him Saidi, one of my men, who was formerly a slave, captured in Walamo, on the borders of Abyssinia, to show him, by his similarity to the Wahuma, how it was I had come to the conclusion that he was of the same race.

Saidi told him his tribe kept cattle with the same stupendous horns as those of the Wahuma; and also that, in the same manner, they all mixed blood and milk for their dinners, which, to his mind, confirmed my statement. At night, as there was a partial eclipse of the moon, all the w.a.n.guana marched up and down from Rumanika's to Nnanaji's huts, singing and beating our tin cooking-pots to frighten off the spirit of the sun from consuming entirely the chief object of reverence, the moon.

7th.--Our spirits were now further raised by the arrival of a semi-Hindu-Suahili, named Juma, who had just returned from a visit to the king of Uganda, bringing back with him a large present of ivory and slaves; for he said he had heard from the king of our intention to visit him, and that he had despatched officers to call us immediately. This intelligence delighted Rumanika as much as it did us, and he no sooner heard it than he said, with ecstasies, "I will open Africa, since the white men desire it; for did not Dagara command us to show deference to strangers?" Then, turning to me, he added, "My only regret is, you will not take something as a return for the great expenses you have been put to in coming to visit me." The expense was admitted, for I had now been obliged to purchase from the Arabs upwards of 400 worth of beads, to keep such a store in reserve for my return from Uganda as would enable me to push on to Gondokoro. I thought this necessary, as every report that arrived from Unyamuezi only told us of further disasters with the merchants in that country. Sheikh Said was there even then, with my poor Hottentots, unable to convey my post to the coast.

8th to 10th.--At last we heard the familiar sound of the Uganda drum.

Maula, a royal officer, with a large escort of smartly-dressed men, women, and boys, leading their dogs and playing their reeds, announced to our straining ears the welcome intelligence that their king had sent them to call us. N'yamgundu, who had seen us in Usui, had marched on to inform the king of our advance and desire to see him; and he, intensely delighted at the prospect of having white men for his guests, desired no time should be lost in our coming on. Maula told us that his officers had orders to supply us with everything we wanted whilst pa.s.sing through his country, and that there would be nothing to pay.

One thing only now embarra.s.sed me--Grant was worse, without hope of recovery for at least one or two months. This large body of Waganda could not be kept waiting. To get on as fast as possible was the only chance of ever bringing the journey to a successful issue; so, unable to help myself, with great remorse at another separation, on the following day I consigned my companion, with several w.a.n.guana, to the care of my friend Rumanika. I then separated ten loads of beads and thirty copper wires for my expenses in Uganda; wrote a letter to Petherick, which I gave to Baraka; and gave him and his companion beads to last as money for six months, and also a present both for Kamrasi and the Gani chief.

To Nsangez I gave charge of my collections in natural history, and the reports of my progress, addressed to the Geographical Society, which he was to convey to Sheikh Said at Kaze, for conveyance as far as Zanzibar.

This business concluded in camp, I started my men and went to the palace to bid adieu to Rumanika, who appointed Rozaro, one of his officers, to accompany me wherever I went in Uganda, and to bring me back safely again. At Rumanika's request I then gave Mtesa's pages some ammunition to hurry on with to the great king of Uganda, as his majesty had ordered them to bring him, as quickly as possible, some strengthening powder, and also some powder for his gun. Then, finally, to Maula, also under Rumanika's instructions, I gave two copper wires and five bundles of beads; and, when all was completed, set out on the march, perfectly sure in my mind that before very long I should settle the great Nile problem for ever; and, with this consciousness, only hoping that Grant would be able to join me before I should have to return again, for it was never supposed for a moment that it was possible I ever could go north from Uganda. Rumanika was the most resolute in this belief, as the kings of Uganda, ever since that country was detached from Unyoro, had been making constant raids, seizing cattle and slaves from the surrounding communities.

Chapter IX. History of the Wahuma

The Abyssinians and Gallas--Theory of Conquest of Inferior by Superior Races--The Wahuma and the Kingdom of Kittara--Legendary History of the Kingdom of Uganda--Its Const.i.tution, and the Ceremonials of the Court.

The reader has now had my experience of several of the minor states, and has presently to be introduced to Uganda, the most powerful state in the ancient but now divided great kingdom of Kittara. I shall have to record a residence of considerable duration at the court there; and, before entering on it, I propose to state my theory of the ethnology of that part of Africa inhabited by the people collectively styled Wahuma--otherwise Gallas or Abyssinians. My theory is founded on the traditions of the several nations, as checked by my own observations of what I saw when pa.s.sing through them. It appears impossible to believe, judging from the physical appearance of the Wahuma, that they can be of any other race than the semi-Shem-Hamitic of Ethiopia. The traditions of the imperial government of Abyssinia go as far back as the scriptural age of King David, from whom the late reigning king of Abyssinia, Sahela Sela.s.sie, traced his descent.

Most people appear to regard the Abyssinians as a different race from the Gallas, but, I believe, without foundation. Both alike are Christians of the greatest antiquity. It is true that, whilst the aboriginal Abyssinians in Abyssinia proper are more commonly agriculturists, the Gallas are chiefly a pastoral people; but I conceive that the two may have had the same relations with each other which I found the Wahuma kings and Wahuma herdsmen holding with the agricultural Wazinza in Uzinza, the Wanyambo in Karague, the Waganda in Uganda, and the Wanyoro in Unyoro.

In these countries the government is in the hands of foreigners, who had invaded and taken possession of them, leaving the agricultural aborigines to till the ground, whilst the junior members of the usurping clans herded cattle--just as in Abyssinia, or wherever the Abyssinians or Gallas have shown themselves. There a pastoral clan from the Asiatic side took the government of Abyssinia from its people and have ruled over them ever since, changing, by intermarriage with the Africans, the texture of their hair and colour to a certain extent, but still maintaining a high stamp of Asiatic feature, of which a market characteristic is a bridged instead of bridgeless nose.

It may be presumed that there once existed a foreign but compact government in Abyssinia, which, becoming great and powerful, sent out armies on all sides of it, especially to the south, south-east, and west, slave-hunting and devastating wherever they went, and in process of time becoming too great for one ruler to control. Junior members of the royal family then, pus.h.i.+ng their fortunes, dismembered themselves from the parent stock, created separate governments, and, for reasons which cannot be traced, changed their names. In this manner we may suppose that the Gallas separated from the Abyssinians, and located themselves to the south of their native land.

Other Abyssinians, or possibly Gallas--it matters not which they were or what we call them--likewise detaching themselves, fought in the Somali country, subjugated that land, were defeated to a certain extent by the Arabs from the opposite continent, and tried their hands south as far as the Jub river, where they also left many of their numbers behind. Again they attacked Omwita (the present Mombas), were repulsed, were lost sight of in the interior of the continent, and, crossing the Nile close to its source, discovered the rich pasture-lands of Unyoro, and founded the great kingdom of Kittara, where they lost their religion, forgot their language, extracted their lower incisors like the natives, changed their national name to Wahuma, and no longer remembered the names of Hubs.h.i.+ or Galla--though even the present reigning kings retain a singular traditional account of their having once been half white and half black, with hair on the white side straight, and on the black side frizzly. It was a curious indication of the prevailing idea still entertained by them of their foreign extraction, that it was surmised in Unyoro that the approach of us white men into their country from both sides at once, augured an intention on our part to take back the country from them. Believing, as they do, that Africa formerly belonged to Europeans, from whom it was taken by negroes with whom they had allied themselves, the Wahuma make themselves a small residue of the original European stock driven from the land--an idea which seems natural enough when we consider that the Wahuma are, in numbers, quite insignificant compared with the natives.

Again, the princes of Unyoro are called Wawitu, and point to the north when asked where their country Uwitu is situated, doubtfully saying, when questioned about its distance, "How can we tell circ.u.mstances which took place in our forefathers' times? we only think it is somewhere near your country." Although, however, this very interesting people, the Wahuma, delight in supposing themselves to be of European origin, they are forced to confess, on closer examination, that although they came in the first instance from the doubtful north, they came latterly from the east, as part of a powerful Wahuma tribe, beyond Kidi, who excel in arms, and are so fierce no Kidi people, terrible in war as these too are described to be, can stand against them. This points, if our maps are true, to the Gallas--for all pastorals in these people's minds are Wahuma; and if we could only reconcile ourselves to the belief that the Wawitu derived their name from Omwita, the last place they attacked on the east coast of Africa, then all would be clear: for it must be noticed the Wakama, or kings, when asked to what race they owe their origin, invariably reply, in the first place, from princes--giving, for instance, the t.i.tles Wawitu in Unyoro, and Wahinda in Karague--which is most likely caused by their never having been asked such a close question before, whilst the idiom of the language generally induces them to call themselves after the name applied to their country.

So much for ethnological conjecture. Let us now deal with the Wahuma since they crossed the Nile and founded the kingdom of Kittara, a large tract of land bounded by the Victoria N'yanza and Kitangule Kagera or River on the south, the Nile on the east, the Little Luta-Nzige Lake [15] on the north, and the kingdoms of Utubi and Nkole on the west.

The general name Kittara is gradually becoming extinct, and is seldom applied to any but the western portions; whilst the north-eastern, in which the capital is situated, is called Unyoro, and the other, Uddu apart from Uganda, as we shall presently see.

n.o.body has been able to inform us how many generations old the Wahuma government of Unyoro is. The last three kings are Chiawambi, N'yawongo, and the present king Kamrasi. In very early times dissensions amongst the royal family, probably contending for the crown, such as we presume must have occurred in Abyssinia, separated the parent stock, and drove the weaker to find refuge in Nkole, where a second and independent government of Wahuma was established. Since then, twenty generations ago, it is said the Wahuma government of Karague was established in the same manner. The conspirator Rohinda fled from Kittara to Karague with a large party of Wahuma; sought the protection of Nono, who, a Myambo, was king over the Wanyambo of that country; ingratiated himself and his followers with the Wanyambo; and, finally, designing a crown for himself, gave a feast, treacherously killed King Nono in his cups, and set himself on the throne, the first mkama or king who ruled in Karague.

Rohinda was succeeded by Ntare, then Rohinda II., then Ntare II., which order only changed with the eleventh reign, when Rusatira ascended the throne, and was succeeded by Mehinga, then Kalimera, then Ntare VII., then Rohinda VI., then Dagara, and now Rumanika. During this time the Wahuma were well south of the equator, and still destined to spread.

Brothers again contended for the crown of their father, and the weaker took refuge in Uzinza, where the fourth Wahuma government was created, and so remained under one king until the last generation, when King Ruma died, and his two sons, Rohinda, the eldest, and Suwarora, contended for the crown, but divided the country between them, Rohinda taking the eastern half, and Suwarora the western, at the instigation of the late King Dagara of Karague.

This is the most southerly kingdom of the Wahuma, though not the farthest spread of its people, for we find the Watusi, who are emigrants from Karague of the same stock, overlooking the Tanganyika Lake from the hills of Uhha, and tending their cattle all over Unyamuezi under the protection of the native negro chiefs; and we also hear that the Wapoka of Fipa, south of the Rukwa Lake are the same. How or when their name became changed from Wahuma to Watusi no one is able to explain; but, again deducing the past from the present, we cannot help suspecting that, in the same way as this change has taken place, the name Galla may have been changed from Hubs.h.i.+, and Wahuma from Gallas. But though in these southern regions the name of the clan has been changed, the princes still retain the t.i.tle of Wahinda as in Karague, instead of Wawitu as in Unyoro, and are considered of such n.o.ble breed that many of the pure negro chiefs delight in saying, I am a Mhinda, or prince, to the confusion of travellers, which confusion is increased by the Wahuma habits of conforming to the regulations of the different countries they adopt. For instance, the Wahuma of Uganda and Karague, though so close to Unyoro, do not extract their lower incisors; and though the Wanyoro only use the spear in war, the Wahuma in Karague are the most expert archers in Africa. We are thus left only the one very distinguis.h.i.+ng mark, the physical appearance of this remarkable race, partaking even more of the phlegmatic nature of the Shemitic father than the nervous boisterous temperament of the Hamitic mother, as a certain clue to their Shem-Hamitic origin.