personal appearance of king mtesa.—his reception of mr. stanley.—a naval review.—stanley's marksmanship.—the king's palace.—rubaga, the king's capital.—reception at the palace.—meeting colonel linant de bellefonds.—converting mtesa to christianity.—appeal for missionaries to be sent to mtesa.—departure for usukumu.—fight with the natives at bumbireh island.—sufferings of stanley and his companions on lake victoria.—a narrow escape.—return to kagehyi.—death of fred barker.—embarking the expedition.—king lukongeh and his people.
it was fred's turn to read on the second day of the voyage, and early in the morning he began his preparations. with the aid of mr. stanley he marked the portions of the chapters that he would read and those that could be omitted in view of the brief time at their disposal. at the opening of the afternoon session of his geographical society fred announced that he would begin the day's work by reading the description of king mtesa's personal appearance as mr. stanley has recorded it.
the king's dinner-dish.
"in person mtesa is tall, probably six feet one inch, and slender. he has very intelligent and agreeable features, reminding me of some of the faces of the great stone images at thebes, and of the statues in the museum at cairo. he has the same fulness of lips, but their grossness is relieved by the general expression of amiability blended with dignity that pervades his face, and the large, lustrous, lambent eyes that lend it a strange beauty, and are typical of the race from which i believe him to have sprung. his color is of a dark red-brown, of a wonderfully smooth surface. when not engaged in council he throws off unreservedly the bearing that characterizes him when on the throne, and gives rein to his humor, indulging in hearty peals of laughter. he seems to be interested in the discussion of the[pg 77] manners and customs of european courts, and to be enamoured of hearing of the wonders of civilization. he is ambitious to imitate, as much as lies in his power, the ways of the white man. when any piece of information is given him, he takes upon himself the task of translating it to his wives and chiefs, though many of the latter understand the swahili language as well as he does himself."
"mr. stanley writes that the king treated him with great courtesy," said fred, after a short pause, "and they evidently liked each other's acquaintance. one day the king invited him to witness a naval review on the waters of murchison bay, on which usavara is situated; at a signal from mtesa forty magnificent canoes, each rowed by thirty men, swept around a point of land and drew up in front of the shore where the king and his guest and attendants were stationed. the captain of each canoe was dressed in a white cotton shirt and a cloth head-cover, neatly folded turban fashion, while the admiral wore over his shirt a crimson jacket, profusely decorated with gold braid, and on his head the red fez of zanzibar. each captain, as he passed the king, seized shield and spear, and went through the performance of defence and attack by water.
"when the review was over the king asked stanley, whom he called stamlee, to show him how the white men could shoot. it was a heavy responsibility to be thus the representative of the shooting abilities of the whole white race, but there was no way of escaping it. a young crocodile was asleep on the rocks, and stanley nearly severed its head from its body at the distance of one hundred yards with a three-ounce ball, an act which was accepted as conclusive proof that all white men are dead-shots.
"and now," said fred, "i will read the account of mr. stanley's visit to rubaga, the capital city of uganda. it is about ten miles from usavara, the place where mr. stanley met the king, as has just been described. his majesty was on a hunting excursion at usavara at the time of the explorer's arrival; he was accompanied by his court, after the manner of the kings of other countries under similar circumstances.
"on the 10th of april the court broke up its hunting-lodges at usavara, on murchison bay, and moved to the capital, whither i was strongly urged to follow. mtesa, escorted by about two hundred musketeers and the great wakungu and their armed retainers, travelled quickly; but owing to my being obliged to house my boat from the hot sun, i did not reach the capital until 1 p.m.
"the road had been prepared for his imperial majesty's hunting excursion, and was eight feet wide, through jungle and garden, forest and field. beautiful landscapes were thus enjoyed of rolling land and placid lake, of gigantic tamarinds and gum-trees, of extensive banana groves and plantations of the ficus, from the bark[pg 78] of which the national dress, or mbugu, is made. the peculiar domelike huts, each with an attempt at a portico, were buried deep in dense bowers of plantains which filled the air with the odor of their mellow rich fruit.
fish found in lake victoria.
sama-moa, in the nyassa tongue; round, open-mouthed, scaled, and pig-headed-looking creature, twenty inches long.
"the road wound upward to the summits of green hills which commanded exquisite prospects, and down again into the sheltered bosoms of woody nooks and vales and tree-embowered ravines. streams of clear water murmured through these depressions, as they flowed towards murchison bay. the verdure was of a brilliant green, freshened by the unfailing rains of the equator; the sky was of the bluest, and the heat, though great, was tempered by the hill breezes, and frequently by the dense foliage overhead.
"within three hours' march from usavara, we saw the capital crowning the summit of a smooth, rounded hill—a large cluster of tall, conical grass huts, in the centre of which rose a spacious, lofty, barnlike structure. the large building, we were told, was the palace! the hill, rubaga; the cluster of huts, the imperial capital!
"from each side of the tall cane fence enclosing the grass huts on rubaga hill radiated very broad avenues, imperial enough in width. arriving at the base of the hill, and crossing by a 'corduroy' road over a broad slimy ooze, we came up to one of these avenues, the ground of which was a reddish clay strongly mixed with the detritus of hematite. it gave a clear breadth of one hundred feet of prepared ground, and led by a gradual ascent to the circular road which made the circuit of the hill outside the palace enclosure. once on the domelike height, we saw that we had arrived by the back avenue, for the best view of this capital of magnificent distances was that which was obtained by looking from the burzah of the palace, and carrying the eye over the broad front highway, on each side of which, as far as could be defined from the shadows of the burzah, the wakungu had their respective courts and houses, embowered in gardens of banana and fig. like the enclosure round the palace courts and quarters, each avenue was fenced with tall mateté (water cane) neatly set very close together in uniform rows. the by-streets leading from one avenue to another were narrow and crooked.
[pg 79]
rubaga, the capital of the king of uganda.
[pg 80]
"while i stood admiring the view, a page came up, and, kneeling, announced that he had been despatched by the emperor to show me my house. following him, i was ushered within a corner lot of the fenced square, between two avenues, into what i might appropriately term a 'garden villa' of uganda. my house, standing in the centre of a plantain garden about one hundred feet square, was twenty feet long, and of a marquee shape, with a miniature portico or eave projecting like a bonnet over the doorway, and was divided into two apartments. close by, about thirty feet off, were three domelike huts for the boat's crew and the kitchen, and in a corner of the garden was a railed space for our bullocks and goats. were it not that i was ever anxious about my distant camp in usukuma, i possessed almost everything requisite to render a month's stay very agreeable, and for the time i was as proud of my tiny villa as a london merchant is of his country-house.
"in the afternoon i was invited to the palace. a number of people in brown robes, or white dresses, some with white goat-skins over their brown robes, others with cords folded like a turban round their heads, which i heard were distinguishing marks of the executioners, were also ascending to the burzah. court after court was passed until we finally stood upon the level top in front of the great house of cane and straw which the waganda fondly term kibuga, or the palace. the space at least was of aulic extent, and the prospect gained at every point was also worthy of the imperial eyes of the african monarch.
"on all sides rolled in grand waves a voluptuous land of sunshine and plenty and early summer verdure, cooled by soft breezes from the great equatorial fresh-water sea. isolated hill-cones, similar to that of rubaga, or square tabular masses, rose up from the beautiful landscape to attract, like mysteries, the curious stranger's observation, and villages and banana groves of still fresher green, far removed on the crest of distant swelling ridges, announced that mtesa owned a land worth loving. dark, sinuous lines traced the winding courses of deep ravines filled with trees, and grassy extents of gently undulating ground marked the pastures; broader depressions suggested the cultivated gardens and the grain fields, while on the far verge of the horizon we saw the beauty and the charm of the land melting into the blues of distance.
"the drums sounded. mtesa had seated himself on the throne, and we hastened to take our seats.
fleet of the king of uganda, ready for war.
"since the 5th of april, i had enjoyed ten interviews with mtesa, and during all i had taken occasion to introduce topics which would lead up to the subject of christianity. nothing occurred in my presence but i contrived to turn it towards effecting that which had become an object to me, viz., his conversion. there was no attempt made to confuse him with the details of any particular doctrine. i simply drew for him the image of the son of god humbling himself for the good of all mankind, white and black, and told him how, while he was in man's disguise, he was seized and crucified by wicked people who scorned his divinity, and yet out of his great love for them, while yet suffering on the cross, he asked his great father to forgive them. i showed the difference in character between him whom white men love and adore, and mohammed, whom the arabs revere; how jesus endeavored to teach mankind that we should love all men, excepting none, while mohammed taught his followers that the slaying of the pagan and the[pg 81]
[pg 82] unbeliever was an act that merited paradise. i left it to mtesa and his chiefs to decide which was the worthier character. i also sketched in brief the history of religious belief from adam to mohammed. i had also begun to translate to him the ten commandments, and idi, the emperor's writer, transcribed in kiganda the words of the law as given to him in choice swahili by robert feruzi, one of my boat's crew, and a pupil of the universities mission at zanzibar.
audience-hall of the palace at rubaga.
"the enthusiasm with which i launched into this work of teaching was soon communicated to mtesa and some of his principal chiefs, who became so absorbingly interested in the story as i gave it to them that little of other business was done. the political burzah and seat of justice had now become an alcove, where only the moral and religious laws were discussed.
"before we broke up our meeting mtesa informed me that i should meet a white man at his palace the next day.
"'a white man, or a turk?'
"'a white man like yourself,' repeated mtesa.
"'no; impossible."
"'yes, you will see. he comes from masr (cairo), from gordoom (gordon) pasha.'
"'ah, very well, i shall be glad to see him, and if he is really a white man, i may probably stay with you four or five days longer,' said i to mtesa, as i shook hands with him, and bade him good-night.
"the 'white man,' reported to be coming the next day, arrived at noon with great éclat and flourishes of trumpets, the sounds of which could be heard all over the capital. mtesa hurried off a page to invite me to his burzah. i hastened up by a private entrance. mtesa and all his chiefs, guards, pages, executioners, claimants, guests, drummers, and fifers were already there, en grande tenue.
[pg 83]
"mtesa was in a fever, as i could see by the paling of the color under his eyes and his glowing eyeballs. the chiefs shared their master's excitement.
"'what shall we do,' he asked, 'to welcome him?'
"'oh, form your troops in line from the entrance to the burzah down to the gate of the outer court, and present arms, and as he comes within the gate let your drums and fifes sound a loud welcome.'
wooden kettle-drum.
"'beautiful!' said mtesa. 'hurry tori, chambarango, sekebobo; form them in two lines just as stamlee says. oh, that is beautiful! and shall we fire guns, stamlee?'
"'no, not until you shake hands with him; and, as he is a soldier, let the guards fire, then they will not injure any one.'
"mtesa's flutter of excitement on this occasion made me think that there must have been a somewhat similar scene before my landing at usavara, and that tori must have been consulted frequently upon the form of ceremony to be adopted.
"what followed upon the arrival of the white man at the outer gate had best be told as an interlude by the stranger himself.
african hatchet, spade, and adze.
"'at two o'clock, the weather having cleared up, mtesa sent a messenger to inform me that he was ready to receive me. notice is given in the camp; every one puts on his finest clothes; at last we are ready; my brave soudanians look quite smart in their red jackets and white trousers. i place myself at their head; trumpets flourish and drums sound as we follow an avenue from eighty-five to a[pg 84] hundred yards wide, running direct north and south, and terminating at mtesa's palace....
"'on entering this court, i am greeted with a frightful uproar; a thousand instruments, each one more outlandish than the other, produce the most discordant and deafening sounds. mtesa's body-guard carrying guns present arms on my appearance; the king is standing at the entrance of the reception-hall, i approach and bow to him à la turque. he holds out his hand, which i press; i immediately perceive a sunburnt european to the left of the king, a traveller, whom i imagine to be cameron. we exchange glances without speaking.
"'mtesa enters the reception-room, and we follow him. it is a narrow hall about sixty feet long by fifteen feet wide, the ceiling of which, sloping down at the entrance, is supported by a double row of wooden pillars which divide the room into two aisles. the principal and central room is unoccupied, and leads to the king's throne; the two aisles are filled with the great dignitaries and chief officers. at each pillar stands one of the king's guard, wearing a long red mantle, a white turban ornamented with monkey-skin, white trousers and black blouse with a red band. all are armed with guns.
"'mtesa takes his place on his throne, which is a wooden seat in the shape of an office arm-chair; his feet rest upon a cushion; the whole placed on a leopard's skin spread over a smyrna carpet. before the king is a highly-polished elephant's tusk, and at his feet are two boxes containing fetiches; on either side the throne is a lance (one copper, the other steel), each held by a guard; these are the insignia of uganda; the dog which speke mentions has been done away with. crouching at the foot of the king are the vizier and two scribes.
"'mtesa is dignified in his manner, and does not lack a certain natural air of distinction; his dress is elegant—a white couftan finished with a red band, stockings, slippers, vest of black cloth embroidered with gold, and a tarbouche with a silver plate on the top. he wears a sword with ivory-inlaid hilt (a zanzibar weapon), and a staff.
"'i exhibited my presents, which mtesa scarcely pretended to see, his dignity forbidding him to show any curiosity.
"'i address the traveller, who sits in front of me, on the left of the king: "have i the honor of speaking to mr. cameron?"
"'stanley. "no, sir; mr. stanley."
"'myself. "m. linant de bellefonds, member of the gordon-pasha expedition."
"'we bow low to each other, as though we had met in a drawing-room, and our conversation is at an end for the moment.
"'this meeting with mr. stanley greatly surprises me. stanley was far from my thoughts; i was totally ignorant of the object of his expedition.
"'i take leave of the king, who meanwhile has been amusing himself by making my unlucky soldiers parade and flourish their trumpets. i shake hands with mr. stanley, and ask him to honor me with his presence at dinner.'
"colonel linant de bellefonds having thus described our meeting, there remains but little for me to add.
"as soon as i saw him approaching the burzah, i recognized him to be a frenchman. not being introduced to him—and as i was then but a mere guest[pg 85] of mtesa, with whom it was m. linant's first desire to converse—i simply bowed to him, until he had concluded addressing the emperor, when our introduction took place as he has described.
head of a "madoqua"—species of antelope.
"i was delighted at seeing him, and much more delighted when i discovered that m. linant was a very agreeable man. i observed that there was a vast difference between his treatment of his men and the manner in which i treated mine, and that his intercourse with the waganda was conducted after exactly opposite principles to those which governed my conduct. he adopted a half-military style which the waganda ill brooked, and many things uncomplimentary to him were uttered by them. he stationed guards at the entrance to his courtyard to keep the waganda at a distance, except those bearing messages from mtesa, while my courtyard was nearly full of watongolehs, soldiers, pages, children, with many a dark-brown woman listening with open ears to my conversation with the waganda. in fact, my courtyard from morning to night swarmed with all classes, for i loved to draw the natives to talk, so that perfect confidence might be established between us, and i might gain an insight into their real natures. by this freer converse with them i became, it seemed, a universal favorite, and obtained information sufficient to fill two octavo volumes.
"m. linant passed many pleasant hours with me. though he had started from cairo previous to my departure from zanzibar, and consequently could communicate no news from europe, i still felt that for a brief period i enjoyed civilized life. the religious conversations which i had begun with mtesa were maintained in the presence of m. linant de bellefonds; when questioned by mtesa about the facts which i had uttered, and which had been faithfully transcribed, m.[pg 86] linant, to mtesa's astonishment, employed nearly the same words, and delivered the same responses. the remarkable fact that two white men, who had never met before, one having arrived from the southeast, the other having emerged from the north, should nevertheless both know the same things, and respond in the same words, charmed the popular mind without the burzah as a wonder, and was treasured in mtesa's memory as being miraculous.
"the period of my stay with mtesa drew to a close, and i requested leave to depart, begging the fulfilment of a promise he had made to me that he would furnish me with transport sufficient to convey the expedition by water from kagehyi in usukuma to uganda. nothing loath, since one white man would continue his residence with him till my return, and being eager to see the gifts i told him were safe at usukuma, he gave his permission, and commanded magassa to collect thirty canoes, and to accompany me to my camp. on the 15th of april, then, escorted by magassa and his watongolehs, and also by m. linant and ten of his nubian soldiers, we left rubaga and arrived at usavara.
"in the evening i concluded my letters dated 14th of april, 1875, which were sent to the daily telegraph and the new york herald, the english and american journals i represented here, appealing for a christian mission to be sent to mtesa.
"the appeal, written hurriedly, and included in the letter left at usavara, was as follows:
"'i have, indeed, undermined islamism so much here that mtesa has determined henceforth, until he is better informed, to observe the christian sabbath as well as the moslem sabbath, and the great captains have unanimously consented to this. he has further caused the ten commandments of moses to be written on a board for his daily perusal—for mtesa can read arabic—as well as the lord's prayer and the golden commandment of our saviour, "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." this is great progress for the few days that i have remained with him, and, though i am no missionary, i shall begin to think that i might become one if such success is feasible. but, oh! that some pious, practical missionary would come here! what a field and harvest ripe for the sickle of civilization! mtesa would give him anything he desired—houses, lands, cattle, ivory, etc.; he might call a province his own in one day. it is not the mere preacher, however, that is wanted here. the bishops of great britain collected, with all the classic youth of oxford and cambridge, would effect nothing by mere talk with the intelligent people of uganda. it is the practical christian tutor, who can teach people how to become christians, cure their diseases, construct dwellings, understand and exemplify agriculture, and turn his hand to anything, like a sailor—this is the man who is wanted. such a one, if he can be found, would become the saviour of africa. he must be tied to no church or sect, but profess god and his son and the moral law, and live a blameless christian, inspired by liberal principles, charity to all men, and devout faith in heaven. he must belong to no nation in particular, but to the entire white race. such a man, or men, mtesa, emperor of uganda, usoga, unyoro, and karagwé—an empire three hundred and sixty geographical miles in length, by fifty in breadth—invites to repair to him. he has begged me to tell the white men that, if they will only come to him, he will give them all they want. now, where is there in all the pagan world a more promising field for a mission than uganda? colonel linant de bellefonds is my[pg 87]
[pg 88] witness that i speak the truth, and i know he will corroborate all i say. the colonel, though a frenchman, is a calvinist, and has become as ardent a well-wisher for the waganda as i am. then why further spend needlessly vast sums upon black pagans of africa who have no example of their own people becoming christians before them? i speak to the universities mission at zanzibar and to the free methodists at mombasa, to the leading philanthropists and the pious people of england. "here, gentlemen, is your opportunity—embrace it! the people on the shores of the nyanza call upon you. obey your own generous instincts, and listen to them; and i assure you that in one year you will have more converts to christianity than all other missionaries united can number. the population of mtesa's kingdom is very dense; i estimate the number of his subjects at two millions. you need not fear to spend money upon such a mission, as mtesa is sole ruler, and will repay its cost tenfold with ivory, coffee, otter-skins of a very fine quality, or even in cattle, for the wealth of this country in all these products is immense. the road here is by the nile, or via zanzibar, ugogo, and unyanyembé. the former route, so long as colonel gordon governs the countries of the upper nile, seems the most feasible."'
shugrangu house, an african mission station, with grave of mrs. livingstone.
"when the letters were written and sealed i committed them to the charge of colonel linant. my friend promised he would await my return from usukuma; meanwhile he lent me a powerful field-glass, as mine, being considerably injured, had been given to mtesa.
"the parting between m. linant and myself i shall allow him to describe:
"'at 5 a.m. drums are beaten; the boats going with stanley are collecting together.
"'mr. stanley and myself are soon ready. the lady alice is unmoored; luggage, sheep, goats, and poultry are already stowed away in their places. there is nothing to be done except to hoist the american flag and head the boat southward. i accompany stanley to his boat; we shake hands and commend each other to the care of god. stanley takes the helm; the lady alice immediately swerves like a spirited horse, and bounds forward lashing the water of the nyanza into foam. the starry flag is hoisted, and floats proudly in the breeze; i immediately raise a loud hurrah with such hearty good-will as perhaps never before greeted the traveller's ears.
"'the lady alice is already far away. we wave our handkerchiefs as a last farewell; my heart is full; i have just lost a brother. i had grown used to seeing stanley, the open-hearted, sympathetic man and friend and admirable traveller. with him i forgot my fatigue; this meeting had been like a return to my own country. his engaging, instructive conversation made the hours pass like minutes. i hope i may see him again, and have the happiness of spending several days with him.'"
one of the youthful auditors asked at this point what became of colonel linant de bellefonds. fred replied as follows to the inquiry:
"he remained about six weeks at mtesa's court, looking for the return of mr. stanley. the latter was delayed in various ways, and finally colonel linant started on his return to gondokoro, to report to his superior officer, gordon pasha. he had a severe battle with the natives of[pg 89] unyoro; it lasted several hours, but he managed to escape and reach gordon pasha's headquarters. in the following august he was sent on an expedition among the bari tribe, and, at a place called labore, he and all the men accompanying him were killed. he was an efficient officer, and was greatly liked by those with whom he served.
warriors of the upper nile region.
"mr. stanley was greatly delayed on his return to usukuma," fred continued, "by the inefficiency of magassa and his habits of procrastination. he did not assemble the required number of canoes which mtesa had promised, and when stanley sent him for more he returned[pg 90] without them. his whole course of action was one of duplicity, and caused a great deal of trouble and delay to the expedition. stanley was not sufficiently powerful to force him to obey, and he was too far away from mtesa's capital to inform the king of the bad conduct of his lieutenant.
"on the way down the coast mr. stanley explored the alexandra nile for a short distance. he reported it about five hundred yards wide at its mouth, and narrowed to a width of one hundred yards about two miles above. its current was so strong that the lady alice breasted it with difficulty, and, after an ascent of three miles, the attempt to go farther was abandoned. in one place a depth of eighty-five feet was obtained with the sounding-line, and it was evident that the volume of water discharged by the river is very large. the people residing in the valley of the alexandra nile call it 'the mother of the river at jinga,' or the ripon falls.
"at bumbireh island the expedition stopped to purchase food, of which they had run short, but the natives proved to be unfriendly. bumbireh is about eleven miles long by two in width, and has a population estimated at four thousand, scattered in some fifty villages. here is mr. stanley's account of his experiences at this island.
"at 9 a.m. we discovered a cove near the southeast end of the long island, and pulled slowly into it. immediately the natives rushed down the slopes, shouting war-cries and uttering fierce ejaculations. when about fifty yards from the shore i bade the men cease rowing, but safeni and baraka became eloquent, and said, 'it is almost always the case, master, with savages. they cry out and threaten and look big, but you will see that all that noise will cease as soon as they hear us speak. besides, if we leave here without food, where shall we obtain it?'
"the last argument was unanswerable, and though i gave no orders to resume their oars, four of the men impelled the boat on slowly, while safeni and baraka prepared themselves to explain to the natives, who were now close within hearing, as they came rushing to the water's edge. i saw some lift great stones, while others prepared their bows.
"we were now about ten yards from the beach, and safeni and baraka spoke, earnestly pointing to their mouths, and by gestures explaining that their bellies were empty. they smiled with insinuating faces; uttered the words 'brothers,' 'friends,' 'good fellows,' most volubly; cunningly interpolated the words mtesa—the kabaka—uganda, and antari, king of ihangiro, to whom bumbireh belongs. safeni and baraka's pleasant volubility seemed to have produced a good effect, for the stones were dropped, the bows were unstrung, and the lifted spears lowered to assist the steady, slow-walking pace with which they now advanced.
reception at bumbireh island, victoria nyanza.
"safeni and baraka turned to me triumphantly, and asked, 'what did we say, master?' and then, with engaging frankness, invited the natives, who were now about two hundred in number, to come closer. the natives consulted a little while,[pg 91]
[pg 92] and several—now smiling pleasantly themselves—advanced leisurely into the water until they touched the boat's prow. they stood a few seconds talking sweetly, when suddenly, with a rush, they ran the boat ashore; and then all the others, seizing hawser and gunwale, dragged her about twenty yards over the rocky beach high and dry, leaving us almost stupefied with astonishment!
"then ensued a scene which beggars description. a forest of spears was levelled; thirty or forty bows were drawn taut; as many barbed arrows seemed already on the wing; thick, knotty clubs waved above our heads; two hundred screaming black demons jostled with each other, and struggled for room to vent their fury, or for an opportunity to deliver one crushing blow or thrust at us.
"in the meantime, as soon as the first symptoms of this manifestation of violence had been observed, i had sprung to my feet, each hand armed with a loaded self-cocking revolver. but the apparent hopelessness of inflicting much injury upon such a large crowd restrained me, and safeni turned to me, though almost cowed to dumbness by the loud fury around us, and pleaded with me to be patient. i complied, seeing that i should get no aid from my crew; but, while bitterly blaming myself for my imprudence in having yielded—against my instincts—to placing myself in the power of such savages, i vowed that, if i escaped this once, my own judgment should guide my actions for the future.
"i assumed a resigned air, though i still retained my revolvers. my crew also bore the first outburst of the tempest of shrieking rage which assailed them with almost sublime imperturbability. safeni crossed his arms with the meekness of a saint. baraka held his hands palms outward, asking, with serene benignity, 'what, my friends, ails you? do you fear empty hands and smiling people like us? we are friends; we came, as friends, to buy food, two or three bananas, a few mouthfuls of grain or potatoes or muhogo (cassava), and, if you permit us, we shall depart as friends.'
"our demeanor had a great effect. the riot and noise seemed to be subsiding, when some fifty new-comers rekindled the smouldering fury. again the forest of spears swayed on the launch, again the knotty clubs were whirled aloft, again the bows were drawn, and again the barbed arrows seemed flying. safeni received a push which sent him tumbling; little kirango received a blow on the head with a spear-staff; saramba gave a cry as a club descended on his back.
"i sprang up this time to remonstrate, with the two revolvers in my left hand. i addressed myself to an elder, who seemed to be restraining the people from proceeding too far. i showed him beads, cloth, wire, and invoked the names of mtesa, and antari their king.
"the sight of the heaps of beads and cloth i exposed awakened, however, the more deliberate passions of selfishness and greed in each heart. an attempt at massacre, they began to argue, would certainly entail the loss of some of themselves. 'guns might be seized, and handled with terrible effect, even by dying men, and who knows what those little iron things in the white man's hands are?' they seemed to be asking themselves. the elder, whatever he thought, responded with an affectation of indignation, raised his stick, and to the right and left of him drove back the demoniac crowd. other prominent men now assisted this elder, whom we subsequently discovered to be shekka, the king of bumbireh.
"shekka then, having thus bestirred himself, beckoned to half a dozen men,[pg 93] and walked away a few yards behind the mass. half the crowd followed the king and his council, while the other half remained to indulge their tongues on us, and to continually menace us with either club or spear.
hut and granary on the island.
"the issue had surely arrived. there had been just one brief moment of agony when i reflected how unlovely death appears in such guise as that in which it then threatened me. what would my people think as they anxiously waited for the never-returning master! what would pocock and barker say when they heard of the tragedy of bumbireh! and my friends in america and europe!
"a messenger from the king and the council arrives, and beckons safeni. i said to him, 'safeni, use your wit.' 'please god, master,' he replied.
"safeni drew nearly all the crowd after him, for curiosity is strong in the african. i saw him pose himself. a born diplomatist was safeni. his hands moved up and down, outward and inward; a cordial frankness sat naturally on his face; his gestures were graceful; the man was an orator, pleading for mercy and justice.
"safeni returned, his face radiant. 'it is all right, master, there is no fear. they say we must stop here until to-morrow.'
"'will they sell us food?'
"'oh, yes, as soon as they settle their shauri.'
"while safeni was speaking six men rushed up and seized the oars.
"safeni, though hitherto politic, lost temper at this, and endeavored to prevent them. they raised their clubs to strike him. i shouted out, 'let them go, safeni.'
"'a loud cheer greeted the seizure of the oars. i became convinced now that this one little act would lead to others; for man is the same all over the world. if a man submit once, he must be prepared to submit again.
"the 'shauri' proceeded. another messenger came, demanding five cloths and five fundo of necklaces. they were delivered. but as it was now near noon, and they were assured we could not escape, the savages withdrew to their nearest village to refresh themselves with wine and food.
"after the warriors had departed some women came to look at us. we spoke kindly to them, and in return they gave us the consoling assurance that we should be killed, but they said that if we could induce shekka to make blood-brotherhood,[pg 94] or to eat honey with one of us, we should be safe. if we failed, there was only flight or death. we thanked them, but we would wait.
a woman of the island.
"about 3 p.m. we heard a number of drums beaten. safeni was told that if the natives collected again he must endeavor to induce shekka with gifts to go through the process of blood-brotherhood.
"a long line of natives in full war costume appeared on the crest of the terrace, on which the banana grove and village of kajurri stood. their faces were smeared with black and white pigments. almost all of them bore the peculiar shields of usongora. their actions were such as the dullest-witted of us recognized as indicating hostilities.
"even safeni and baraka were astounded, and their first words were 'prepare, master. truly, this is trouble.'
"'never mind me,' i replied, 'i have been ready these three hours. are you ready, your guns and revolvers loaded, and your ears open this time?'
"'we are,' they all firmly answered.
"'don't be afraid; be quite cool. we will try, while they are collecting together, the women's suggestion. go frankly and smilingly, safeni, up to shekka, on the top of that hill, and offer him these three fundo of beads, and ask him to exchange blood with you.'
"safeni proceeded readily on his errand, for there was no danger to him bodily while we were there within one hundred and fifty yards, and their full power as yet unprepared. for ten minutes he conversed with them, while the drums kept beating, and numbers of men bepainted for war were increasing shekka's force. some[pg 95] of them entertained us by demonstrating with their spears how they fought. their gestures were wild, their voices were shrill and fierce, they were kindling themselves into a fighting fever.
"safeni returned. shekka had refused the pledge of peace. the natives now mustered over three hundred.
"presently fifty bold fellows came rushing down, uttering a shrill cry. without hesitation they came straight to the boat, and, hissing something to us, seized our kiganda drum. it was such a small affair, we did not resist; still the manner in which it was taken completely undeceived us, if any small hope of peace remained. loud applause greeted the act of gallantry.
"then two men came down towards us, and began to drive some cows away that were grazing between us and the men on the hill. safeni asked of one of them, 'why do you do that?'
village enclosing cattle.
"'because we are going to begin fighting presently, and if you are men, you may begin to prepare yourselves,' he said, scornfully.
"'thanks, my bold friend,' i muttered to myself. 'those are the truest words we have heard to-day.'
"the two men were retiring up the hill. 'here, safeni,' i said, 'take these two fine red cloths in your hand; walk slowly up after them a little way, and the minute you hear my voice run back; and you, my boys, this is for life and death, mind; range yourselves on each side of the boat, lay your hands on it carelessly, but with a firm grip, and when i give the word, push it with the force of a hundred men down the hill into the water. are you all ready, and do you think you can do it? otherwise we might as well begin fighting where we are.'
'yes, inshallah master,' they cried out with one voice.
[pg 96]
heads of spears.
"'go, safeni!'
"i waited until he had walked fifty yards away, and saw that he acted precisely as i had instructed him.
"'push, my boys; push for your lives!"
"the crew bent their heads and strained their arms; the boat began to move, and there was a hissing, grinding noise below me. i seized my double-barrelled elephant rifle and shouted, 'safeni! safeni, return!'
"the natives were quick-eyed. they saw the boat moving, and with one accord they swept down the hill uttering the most fearful cries.
"my boat was at the water's edge. 'shoot her into the lake, my men; never mind the water;' and, clear of all obstruction, she darted out upon the lake.
"safeni stood for an instant on the water's edge, with the cloths in his hand. the foremost of a crowd of natives was about twenty yards from him. he raised his spear and balanced himself.
"'spring into the water, man, head first,' i cried.
"the balanced spear was about to fly, and another man was preparing his weapon for a deadly cast, when i raised my gun and the bullet ploughed through him and through the second. the bowmen halted and drew their bows. i sent two charges of duck-shot into their midst, and the natives retreated from the beach on which the boat had lately lain.
"having checked the natives, i assisted one of my men into the boat, and ordered him to lend a hand to the others, while i reloaded my big guns, keeping my eyes on the natives. there was a point about one hundred yards in length on the east, which sheltered the cove. some of the natives made a rush for this, but my guns commanded the exposed position, and they were obliged to retire.
"the crew seized their rifles, but i told them to leave them alone, and to tear the bottom-boards out of the boat and use them as paddles; for there were two hippopotami advancing upon us open-mouthed, and it seemed as if we were to be crushed in the water after such a narrow escape from the ferocious people ashore. i permitted one of the hippos to approach within ten yards, and, aiming between his eyes, perforated his skull with a three-ounce ball, and the second received such a round that we were not molested by him.
"it was 5 p.m. we had only four bananas in the boat, and we were twelve hungry men. if we had a strong fair breeze, a day and a night would suffice to enable us to reach our camp. but if we had head-winds, the journey might occupy a month. meanwhile, where should we apply for food? fresh water we had in abundance, sufficient to satisfy the thirst of all the armies of the world for a century. but food? whither should we turn for it?"
[pg 97]
central african goat.
fred paused a few moments while his auditors waited in breathless anxiety for the continuation of the story.
"at night a storm came on," said fred, "and the alice drifted helplessly, while her occupants, weakened by nearly fifty hours without food and drenched by the rain that fell in torrents, felt that they were about to 'die in the nyanza' as they had been told to do by the cruel natives of bumbireh. in the morning the storm abated, and they reached an uninhabited island which mr. stanley appropriately named refuge island. the men gathered bananas, cherries, and other fruits, while their leader shot some ducks, so that they had an abundant supper, which, you may be sure, was eagerly devoured. they remained two days at refuge island to rest and gain strength, and also to make oars to replace those lost at bumbireh. then they continued their voyage and reached their old camp at kagehyi without further molestation or suffering.
"the party was welcomed most joyously by frank pocock and the men in camp, but the news that greeted the explorer was full of sadness. when he inquired for fred barker, young pocock pointed to a cairn of stones near the shore, and in a low voice said barker had died twelve days before, and was buried under the cairn. several of the zanzibaris[pg 98] had died, including three of the most trustworthy men of the expedition, while some of the worst spirits in the camp were on the verge of mutiny. the natives had continued friendly, and the camp was so well supplied with provisions that those who had preserved their health were in excellent condition.
cairn erected to the memory of frederick barker:
majita and ururi mountains in the distance, across speke gulf.
"mr. stanley and those who accompanied him on the boat expedition were greatly reduced by their privations and exposure, stanley weighing only one hundred and fifteen pounds, or sixty-three pounds less than when he left zanzibar. rest was imperative, and in stanley's case it was accompanied by fever which reduced him to a weight of one hundred and eight pounds in a few days. on the fifth day he had conquered the fever by liberal doses of quinine, but found himself very weak and pale."
one of the youths asked what became of magassa and his fleet of canoes.
"that was what worried mr. stanley," replied fred, "and during the delirium of his fever he was constantly asking for the canoes. they never came, and it was necessary to obtain other boats or make the journey by land. after much bargaining and diplomacy twenty-one canoes were purchased from lukongeh, king of ukerewé, a large island which separates speke gulf from the waters of the lake. they were in poor condition, but, by much patching and calking, were made available for transporting the expedition to refuge island, where the boat party retreated after its encounter with the natives of bumbireh.
"mr. stanley gives some interesting details concerning the king and people of ukerewé.
[pg 99]
"the king, lukongeh, was a handsome, open-faced, light-colored man about twenty-seven years old; he is supposed to be endowed with supernatural power, and seizes every opportunity to heighten this belief. he is believed to be enabled to create a drought at pleasure, and to cause the land to be drenched with rain. it was fortunate that, since his accession to power, rain had been regular and copious in its season. the king had not been slow to point out this immense advantage which ukerewé had gained since he succeeded his father; he was therefore beloved and feared.
at the landing-place of msossi, king lukongeh's capital.
"aware of the value of a reputation as rain-maker, he was ambitious to add to it that of 'great medicine man,' and he besought me to impart to him some of the grand secrets of europe—such as how to transform men into lions and leopards, to cause the rains to fall or cease, the winds to blow, and trees to produce fruit. demands of this character are commonly made by african chiefs. when i stated my inability to comply with these requests, the king whispered to his chiefs:
"'he will not give me what i ask, because he is afraid that he will not get the canoes; but you will see when my men return from uganda, he will give me all i ask.'
stow-house for grain.
"many stories were current about the witchcraft practised by the people of ukara island, proving that those islanders have been at pains to spread abroad a good repute for themselves, that they are cunning, and, aware that superstition is a weakness of human nature, have sought to thrive upon it. their power—according to the wakerew—over the amphibi? is wonderful. they had crocodiles which were trained to do anything they were told to do, and their king had a hippopotamus which came to him each morning to be milked!
[pg 100]
wakerewé stool.
"coils of brass wire are much coveted by the wakerewé, for the adornment of their wives, who wear it in such numerous circlets round their necks as to give them at a distance an appearance of wearing ruffs. wristlets of copper and brass and iron, and anklets of the same metal, besides armlets of ivory, are the favorite decorations of the men.
"owing to the size of the expedition and the limited capacity of the canoes, it required two journeys of the flotilla to transport the entire party, with its baggage, from kagehyi to refuge island. the work was safely accomplished, friendly terms were made with the natives in the vicinity; and now," said fred, as he closed the book, "we will leave the entire party until we assemble again in the evening."
wakerewé dwelling-house.
fish-nets.
wakerewé canoes.
[pg 101]
wakerewé warrior.
[pg 102]
strange granite rocks of uzui island, midway between usukuma and ukerewé.
(from a photograph by mr. stanley.)
