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John Hanning Speke - The Discovery of the Source of the Nile
advance of this until the king's leave was obtained. I said, rather than be starved to death in this
ignominious manner, I would return to Karague; to which he replied, laughing, "Whose leave have you
got to do that? Do you suppose you can do as you like in this country?"
Next day (17th), in the evening, N'yamgundu returned full of smirks and smiles, dropped on his knees at
my feet, and, in company with his "children," set to n'yanzigging, according to the form of that state
ceremonial already described.[FN#17] In his excitement he was hardly able to say all he had to
communicate. Bit by bit, however, I learned that he first went to the palace, and, finding the king had
gone off yachting to the Murchison Creek, he followed him there. The king for a long while would not
believe his tale that I had come, but, being assured, he danced with delight, and swore he would not taste
food until he had seen me. "Oh," he said, over and over again and again, according to my informer, "can
this be true? Can the white man have come all this way to see me? What a strong man he must be too, to
come so quickly! Here are seven cows, four of them milch ones, as you say he likes milk, which you will
give him; and there are three for yourself for having brought him so quickly. Now, hurry off as fast as
you can, and tell him I am more delighted at the prospect of seeing him than he can be to see me. There
is no place here fit for his reception. I was on a pilgrimage which would have kept me here seven days
longer but as I am so impatient to see him, I will go off to my palace at once, and will send word for him
to advance as soon as I arrive there."
About noon the succeeding day, some pages ran in to say we were to come along without a moment's
delay, as their king had ordered it. He would not taste food until he saw me, so that everybody might
know what great respect he felt for me. In the meanwhile, however, he wished for some gunpowder. I
packed the pages off as fast as I could with some, and tried myself to follow, but my men were all either
sick or out foraging, and therefore we could not get under way until the evening. After going a certain
distance, we came on a rush-drain, of much greater breadth even than the Mwerango, called the Moga (or
river) Myanza, which was so deep I had to take off my trousers and tuck my clothes under my arms. It
flowed into the Mwerango, but with scarcely any current at all. This rush-drain, all the natives assured
me, rose in the hills to the southward - not in the lake, as the Mwerango did - and it was never bridged
over like that river, because it was always fordable. This account seemed to me reasonable; for though so
much broader in its bed than the Mwerango, it had no central, deep-flowing current.
Chapter XI. Palace, Uganda
Preparations for the Reception at the Court of Mtesa, King of Uganda - The Ceremonial - African
Diplomacy and Dignity - Feats with the Rifle - Cruelty, and Wastefulness of Life - The Pages - The
Queen- Dowager of Uganda - Her Court Reception - I negotiate for a Palace - Conversations with the
King and Queen - The Queen's grand Entertainment - Royal Dissipation.
To-day the king sent his pages to announce his intention of holding a levee in my honour. I prepared for
my first presentation at court, attired in my best, though in it I cut a poor figure in comparison with the
display of the dressy Waganda. They wore neat bark cloaks resembling the best yellow corduroy cloth,
crimp and well set, as if stiffened with starch, and over that, as upper-cloaks, a patchwork of small
antelope skins, which I observed were sewn together as well as any English glovers could have pieced
them; whilst their head-dresses, generally, were abrus turbans, set off with highly-polished boar-tusks,
stick-charms, seeds, beads, or shells; and on their necks, arms, and ankles they wore other charms of
wood, or small horns stuffed with magic powder, and fastened on by strings generally covered with
snake-skin. N'yamgundu and Maula demanded, as their official privilege, a first peep; and this being
refused, they tried to persuade me that the articles comprising the present required to be covered with
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