Part 22 (2/2)
I replied cordially also, ”Yambo, mutware?--How do you do, chief?”
We, myself and men, interchanged ”Yambos” with his warriors; and there was nothing in our first introduction to indicate that the meeting was of a hostile character.
The chief seated himself, his haunches resting on his heels, laying down his bow and arrows by his side; his men did likewise.
I seated myself on a bale, and each of my men sat down on their loads, forming quite a semicircle. The Wahha slightly outnumbered my party; but, while they were only armed with bows and arrows, spears, and k.n.o.b-sticks, we were armed with rifles, muskets, revolvers, pistols, and hatchets.
All were seated, and deep silence was maintained by the a.s.sembly. The great plains around us were as still in this bright noon as if they were deserted of all living creatures. Then the chief spoke:
”I am Mionvu, the great Mutware of Kimenyi, and am next to the King, who lives yonder,” pointing to a large village near some naked hills about ten miles to the north. ”I have come to talk with the white man. It has always been the custom of the Arabs and the w.a.n.gwana to make a present to the King when they pa.s.s through his country. Does not the white man mean to pay the King's dues? Why does the white man halt in the road?
Why will he not enter the village of Lukomo, where there is food and shade--where we can discuss this thing quietly? Does the white man mean to fight? I know well he is stronger than we are. His men have guns, and the Wahha have but bows and arrows, and spears; but Uhha is large, and our villages are many. Let him look about him everywhere--all is Uhha, and our country extends much further than he can see or walk in a day.
The King of Uhha is strong; yet he wishes friends.h.i.+p only with the white man. Will the white man have war or peace?”
A deep murmur of a.s.sent followed this speech of Mionvu from his people, and disapprobation, blended with a certain uneasiness; from my men. When about replying, the words of General Sherman, which I heard him utter to the chiefs of the Arapahoes and Cheyennes at North Platte, in 1867, came to my mind; and something of their spirit I embodied in my reply to Mionvu, Mutware of Kimenyi.
”Mionvu, the great Mutware, asks me if I have come for war. When did Mionvu ever hear of white men warring against black men? Mionvu must understand that the white men are different from the black. White men do not leave their country to fight the black people, neither do they come here to buy ivory or slaves. They come to make friends with black people; they come to search for rivers; and lakes, and mountains; they come to discover what countries, what peoples, what rivers, what lakes, what forests, what plains, what mountains and hills are in your country; to know the different animals that are in the land of the black people, that, when they go back, they may tell the white kings, and men, and children, what they have seen and heard in the land so far from them.
The white people are different from the Arabs and w.a.n.gwana; the white people know everything, and are very strong. When they fight, the Arabs and the w.a.n.gwana run away. We have great guns which thunder, and when they shoot the earth trembles; we have guns which carry bullets further than you can see: even with these little things” (pointing to my revolvers) ”I could kill ten men quicker than you could count. We are stronger than the Wahha. Mionvu has spoken the truth, yet we do not wish to fight. I could kill Mionvu now, yet I talk to him as to a friend. I wish to be a friend to Mionvu, and to all black people. Will Mionvu say what I can do for him?”
As these words were translated to him--imperfectly, I suppose, but still, intelligibly--the face of the Wahha showed how well they appreciated them. Once or twice I thought I detected something like fear, but my a.s.sertions that I desired peace and friends.h.i.+p with them soon obliterated all such feelings.
Mionvu replied:
”The white man tells me he is friendly. Why does he not come to our village? Why does he stop on the road? The sun is hot. Mionvu will not speak here any more. If the white man is a friend he will come to the village.”
”We must stop now. It is noon. You have broken our march. We will go and camp in your village,” I said, at the same time rising and pointing to the men to take up their loads.
We were compelled to camp; there was no help for it; the messengers had not returned from Kaw.a.n.ga. Having arrived in his village, Mionvu had cast himself at full length under the scanty shade afforded by a few trees within the boma. About 2 P.M. the messengers returned, saying it was true the chief of Kaw.a.n.ga had taken ten cloths; not, however for the King of Uhha, but for himself!
Mionvu, who evidently was keen-witted, and knew perfectly what he was about, now roused himself, and began to make miniature f.a.ggots of thin canes, ten in each f.a.ggot, and shortly he presented ten of these small bundles, which together contained one hundred, to me, saying each stick represented a cloth, and the amount of the ”honga” required by the King of Uhha was ONE HUNDRED CLOTHS!--nearly two bales!
Recovering from our astonishment, which was almost indescribable, we offered TEN.
”Ten! to the King of Uhha! Impossible. You do not stir from Lukomo until you pay us one hundred!” exclaimed Mionvu, in a significant manner.
I returned no answer, but went to my hut, which Mionvu had cleared for my use, and Bombay, Asmani, Mabruki, and Chowpereh were invited--to come to me for consultation. Upon my asking them if we could not fight our way through Uhha, they became terror-stricken, and Bombay, in imploring accents, asked me to think well what I was about to do, because it was useless to enter on a war with the Wahha. ”Uhha is all a plain country; we cannot hide anywhere. Every village will rise all about us, and how can forty-five men fight thousands of people? They would kill us all in a few minutes, and how would you ever reach Ujiji if you died? Think of it, my dear master, and do not throw your life away for a few rags of cloth.”
”Well, but, Bombay, this is robbery. Shall we submit to be robbed? Shall we give this fellow everything he asks? He might as well ask me for all the cloth, and all my guns, without letting him see that we can fight. I can kill Mionvu and his princ.i.p.al men myself, and you can slay all those howlers out there without much trouble. If Mionvu and his princ.i.p.al were dead we should not be troubled much, and we could strike south to the Mala-garazi, and go west to Ujiji.”
”No, no, dear master, don't think of it for a moment. If we went neat the Malagarazi we should come across Lokanda-Mira.”
”Well, then, we will go north.”
”Up that way Uhha extends far; and beyond Uhha are the Watuta.”
”Well, then, say what we shall do. We must do something; but we must not be robbed.”
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