Ismailia

第58章

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第58章

Ismailia Sir Samuel White Baker

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  ”IgaveLokaraablueshirt,alongredsash,andacrimsonfez,tohisgreatdelight。ThechiefsweremuchstruckwiththepresentintendedforKabbaRega;thisconsistedofthreerowsofromanpearlsaslargeasmarbles,withagiltshield,andonyx-pendanttiedupwithgreensatinribbon。”March31——IsentallthecattleacrosstheriverinchargeofQuonga;twowerecarriedoffbycrocodileswhileintheactofswimming。”Thegreatsheikspaidmeavisit,togetherwithmanyofinferiorrank。

  Lokara,Quonga,Matonse,andPittia,wereamongtheprincipalchiefsofthecountry。Astheyweresittingbeforeme,Lokaralightedahugepipeandimmediatelycommencedsmoking。Thisisagreatbreachofetiquette,assmokingisstrictlyforbiddeninthepresenceofKabbaRega。”MyoldCairodragoman,Mohammed,whowasnowthoroughlyinstalledasoneoftheexpedition,waswellupinthecustomsofthecountry,andhequietlyresentedtheinsultofthepipe。”Hegentlyapproachedwithabottleofwater,whichhepouredpolitelyintothebowl,asthoughhewasconferringafavour;atthesametime,heexplainedthatinmypresenceeveryonesmokedwaterinsteadoftobacco。Thehintwasimmediatelytaken,andthehugepipe,thussummarilyextinguished,washandedtoaslaveinattendance。”Wenowenteredupongeographicaldiscussions。AllthechiefsdeclaredthattheM’wootanN’zigeextendsbeyondKaragwe,andthatitexceedstheVictoriaN’yanzainsize。Thenativename,inUnyoro,fortheVictoriaN’yanzaissimplyN’yanza,andfortheWhiteNile,Masaba。”ThereisacountrycalledBaregaontheAlbertN’yanza,south-westofUganda,governedbyapowerfulkingwhosepeoplearearmedwithbows,andarrowsthatarefeathered。IhaveneveryetseenfeatheredarrowsamongtheWhiteNiletribes。”ThegreatmountainBartoomaisagainmentioned,asonmyformerjourney。IimagineitmustbeidenticalwiththeM’fumbiroofSpeke。”IshallsendanexpeditionfrontMagungotoIbrahimeyahbyrivertoprovethecapabilitiesoftheroute。IshallformastationatMagungototradewithMaleggaontheoppositeshore。IshallthenthoroughlyexploretheAlbertN’yanzainboats,andafterwardsproceedtoKingM’teseofUganda……”Itrainedlasteveningandduringthenight。Sevencowsdied。Ihaveerectedacomfortablestableforthehorses。”April1——ThepeoplebelongingtoSuleimanhesitatetoacceptthegovernmentpay,althoughadayortwoagotheyenlisted。Ifearthatthesepeoplecanneverbetrusted。Ishallgivethemalittletimetoconsider,afterwhich,iftheyrefusetoserve,Ishallturnthemoutofthecountry。Everycamporzareebaiscoursefullofslaves。”ThereisacuriouscustomthroughoutUnyoro:apeculiarcastearecattle-keepers。Thesepeopleonlyattendtotheherds,andtheprofessionisinheritedfrompastgenerations。TheyarecalledBohooma,andtheyarethedirectdescendantsoftheGallaswhooriginallyconqueredthecountry,and,likethereigningfamily,theyareofanextremelylightcolour。Iftheherdsarecarriedoffinbattle,theBohooma,whonevercarryarms,accompany;themtotheirnewmasters,andcontinuetheiremployment。Nothingbutdeathwillseparatethemfromtheircattle。”April2——Thenativesbuiltazareebayesterdayforthecattle;buttheyaredyingasrapidlyasuponthenorthsideoftheriver。”Itriedtodoalittlegeographywiththesheik,Pittia。Hewasthemanwho,someyearsago,firstgavemetheinformationrespectingthedistanceoftheAlbertN’yanzafromM’rooli。Hewouldsaynothingwithoutordersfromtheking,beyondtellingmethatyoumighttravelformonthsuponthelake。”Itisveryannoyinginthiscountrythatnoinformationcanbeobtained,neithercananyworkbecommenced,withoutthedirectorderoftheking。Mypatienceissorelytried。NoreplyhasasyetbeendeliveredtomymessagesenttoKabbaRega,althoughtendayshaveelapsed。”Mydesireistobenefitthecountrybyopeningtheroadforlegitimatecommerce;butthedifficultiesaregreat,asthekingwillendeavourtomonopolizethemarket,andthuspreventfreetrade。”April3——IsentforallthegreatsheikstocomplainofKabbaRega’sconduct。Thisyoungfellowwasevidentlyapingthemannersofhisfather,Kamrasi,andattemptingtoshowhisownimportancebykeepingmewaiting。Thesheiksexplained,thatbeforemyarrival,SuleimanhadagreedtofurnishsoldierstoassisttheforcesofKabbaRegainaunitedattackuponRionga;andthearmywasnowonlyashortdistancefromthisspot,expectingthepromisedaid。Myarrivalhadupsetalltheirplans,asIhadforbiddenallactionuntilIshouldhavehadapersonalinterviewwithKabbaRega。”Themilitaryoperationswereinabeyanceuntilareplyshouldbereceivedfromtheking。Thereturnmessengerswereexpectedthisevening。”Thesheiksdeclarethattherulingclassinthiscountryareallexceedinglylightincomplexion’becausetheydonowork,butsitintheshadeanddrinkabundanceofmilk。’”ThenativesofUnyoroareveryinferiorinPHYSIQUEtotheFatiko。Thisistheresultofvegetablefoodwithouteithercerealsorflesh。Noneofthegeneralpublicpossesscattle;thusthefoodofthepeoplefrominfancy,aftertheirmothers’milkhasceased,isrestrictedtoplantainsandthewaterysweetpotatoes。Thewantofmilkisverydetrimentaltothechildren。Themengenerallyexhibitawantofmuscle,andmanyaretroubledwithcutaneousdiseases。”April4——ThemessengersarereportedtohavearrivedfromKabbaRega。

  Lastevening,at8P。M。,wehadaveryheavystormofrainwiththunder。

  Fifteencowsdiedto-day,andIfearweshalllosethegreaterportionoftheherd。AllcattlethatmaybebroughtfromthecountriesofBari,Madi,andLanggo,aresaidtodieonarrivalinUnyoro。”April5——Thegreatsheiks,RahonkaandKittakara,arrived,togetherwithLokaraandQuonga,andthesmallerfry,PittiaandMallegge。ThelatterwasmyguidetotheAlbertN’yanzamanyyearsago。”The’FortyThieves’andthebandreceivedthemonarrival。Thebandwas,ofcourse,encored,allbeingdelightedwiththebigdrumandthecymbals。Thelatterwereexaminedasgreatcuriosities。”RahonkaisKamrasi’smaternaluncle,andisgreat-uncletoKabbaRega;

  andhecangivemoreinformationthananymanconcerningtheneighbouringcountries。”InreplytomyinquiriesaboutLivingstone,hesaysthattwopersonsarelivinginalargehouseinKaragwe,whichtheyhaveconstructedinadifferentformtothoseofthenatives。Thesepeoplehavenomilitaryescort,buttheypossessalargequantityofgoods。ThisdoesnotsoundlikeLivingstone,unlesshemayhavejoinedsomeArabmerchant。”TherearenativesofKaragwenowvisitingKabbaRegaatMasindi;thusI

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