The Discovery of The Source of the Nile [191]
but after waiting all day till 4 p.m., as the king did not appear, leaving Bombay behind, I walked away to shoot a guinea-fowl within earshot of the palace. The scheme was successful, for the report of the gun which killed the bird reached the king's ear, and induced him to say that if Bana was present he would be glad to see him. This gave Bombay an opportunity of telling all the facts of the case; which were no sooner heard than the king gave his starving guests a number of plantains, and vanished at once, taking my page Lugoi with him, to instruct him in Kisuahili (Zanzibar language).
9th.--As the fruit of last night's scheme, the king sent us four goats and two cows. In great good-humour I now called on him, and found him walking about the palace environs with a carbine, looking eagerly for sport, whilst his pages dragged about five half-dead vultures tied in a bundle by their legs to a string. "These birds," said he, tossing his head proudly, "were all shot flying, with iron slugs, as the boys will tell you. I like the carbine very well, but you must give me a double smooth gun." This I promised to give when Grant arrived, for his good-nature in sending so many officers to fetch him.
We next tried for guinea-fowl, as I tell him they are the game the English delight in; but the day was far spent, and none could be found. A boy then in attendance was pointed out, as having seen Grant in Uddu ten days ago. If the statement were true, he must have crossed the Katonga. But though told with great apparent circumspection, I did not credit it, because my men sent on the 15th ultimo for a letter to ascertain his whereabouts had not returned, and they certainly would have done so had he been so near. To make sure, the king then proposed sending the boy again with some of my men; but this I objected to as useless, considering the boy had spoken falsely. Hearing this, the king looked at the boy and then at the women in turn, to ascertain what they thought of my opinion, whereupon the boy cried. Late in the evening the sly little girl Kahala changed her cloth wrapper for a mbugu, and slipped quietly away. I did not suspect her intention, because of late she had appeared much more than ordinary happy, behaving to me in every respect like a dutiful child to a parent. A search was made, and guns fired, in the hopes of frightening her back again, but without effect.
10th.--I had promised that this morning I would teach the king the art of guinea-fowl shooting, and when I reached the palace at 6 a.m., I found him already on the ground. He listened to the tale of the missing girl, and sent orders for her apprehension at once; then proceeding with the gun, fired eight shots successively at guinea-birds sitting on trees, but missed them all. After this, as the birds were scared away, and both iron shot and bullets were expended, he took us to his dressing-hut, went inside himself, attended by full-grown naked women, and ordered a breakfast of pork, beef, fish, and plantains to be served me outside on the left of the entrance; whilst a large batch of his women sat on the right side, silently coquetting, and amusing themselves by mimicking the white man eating. Poor little Lugoi joined in the repast, and said he longed to return to my hut, for he was half starved here, and no one took any notice of him; but he was destined to be a royal page, for the king would not part with him. A cold fit then seized me, and as I asked for leave to go, the king gave orders for one of his wives to be flogged. The reason for this act of brutality I did not discover; but the moment the order was issued, the victim begged the pages to do it quickly, that the king's wrath might be appeased; and in an instant I saw a dozen boys tear their cord- turbans from their heads pull her roughly into the middle of the court, and belabour her with sticks, whilst she lay floundering about, screeching to me for protection. All I did was to turn my head away and walk rapidly out of sight, thinking it better not to interfere again with the discipline
9th.--As the fruit of last night's scheme, the king sent us four goats and two cows. In great good-humour I now called on him, and found him walking about the palace environs with a carbine, looking eagerly for sport, whilst his pages dragged about five half-dead vultures tied in a bundle by their legs to a string. "These birds," said he, tossing his head proudly, "were all shot flying, with iron slugs, as the boys will tell you. I like the carbine very well, but you must give me a double smooth gun." This I promised to give when Grant arrived, for his good-nature in sending so many officers to fetch him.
We next tried for guinea-fowl, as I tell him they are the game the English delight in; but the day was far spent, and none could be found. A boy then in attendance was pointed out, as having seen Grant in Uddu ten days ago. If the statement were true, he must have crossed the Katonga. But though told with great apparent circumspection, I did not credit it, because my men sent on the 15th ultimo for a letter to ascertain his whereabouts had not returned, and they certainly would have done so had he been so near. To make sure, the king then proposed sending the boy again with some of my men; but this I objected to as useless, considering the boy had spoken falsely. Hearing this, the king looked at the boy and then at the women in turn, to ascertain what they thought of my opinion, whereupon the boy cried. Late in the evening the sly little girl Kahala changed her cloth wrapper for a mbugu, and slipped quietly away. I did not suspect her intention, because of late she had appeared much more than ordinary happy, behaving to me in every respect like a dutiful child to a parent. A search was made, and guns fired, in the hopes of frightening her back again, but without effect.
10th.--I had promised that this morning I would teach the king the art of guinea-fowl shooting, and when I reached the palace at 6 a.m., I found him already on the ground. He listened to the tale of the missing girl, and sent orders for her apprehension at once; then proceeding with the gun, fired eight shots successively at guinea-birds sitting on trees, but missed them all. After this, as the birds were scared away, and both iron shot and bullets were expended, he took us to his dressing-hut, went inside himself, attended by full-grown naked women, and ordered a breakfast of pork, beef, fish, and plantains to be served me outside on the left of the entrance; whilst a large batch of his women sat on the right side, silently coquetting, and amusing themselves by mimicking the white man eating. Poor little Lugoi joined in the repast, and said he longed to return to my hut, for he was half starved here, and no one took any notice of him; but he was destined to be a royal page, for the king would not part with him. A cold fit then seized me, and as I asked for leave to go, the king gave orders for one of his wives to be flogged. The reason for this act of brutality I did not discover; but the moment the order was issued, the victim begged the pages to do it quickly, that the king's wrath might be appeased; and in an instant I saw a dozen boys tear their cord- turbans from their heads pull her roughly into the middle of the court, and belabour her with sticks, whilst she lay floundering about, screeching to me for protection. All I did was to turn my head away and walk rapidly out of sight, thinking it better not to interfere again with the discipline