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John Hanning Speke - The Discovery of the Source of the Nile
the Arabs, who never came this way, saying he was a bad man. He should be very glad to see Grant, and
would take nothing from him; and, though he did not see me in person, he would feel much affronted if I
did not stop the night there. In the meanwhile he would have the cows brought in, for he could not allow
any one to leave his country abused in any way.
My men had greatly amused him by firing their guns off and showing him the use of their
sword-bayonets. I knew, as a matter of course, that if I stopped any longer I should be teased for more
cloths, and gave orders to my men to march the same instant, saying, if they did not - for I saw them
hesitate - I would give the cows to the villagers, since I knew that was the thing that weighed on their
minds. This raised a mutiny. No one would go forward with the two cows behind; besides which, the day
was far spent, and there was nothing but jungle, they said, beyond. The kirangozi would not show the
way, nor would any man lift a load. A great confusion ensued. I knew they were telling lies, and would
not enter the village, but shot the cows when they arrived, for the villagers to eat, to show them I cared
for nothing but making headway, and remained out in the open all night. Next morning, sure enough,
before we could get under way, M'yonga sent his prime minister to say that the king's sisters and other
members of his family had been crying and tormenting him all night for having let me off so cheaply -
they had got nothing to cover their nakedness, and I must pay something more. This provoked fresh
squabbles. The drums had beaten and the tax was settled; I could not pay more. The kirangozi, however,
said he would not move a peg unless I gave something more, else he would be seized on his way back.
His "children' all said the same; and as I thought Grant would only be worsted if I did not keep friends
with the scoundrel, I gave four yards more merikani, and then went on my way.
For the first few miles there were villagers, but after that a long tract of jungle, inhabited chiefly by
antelopes and rhinoceros. It was wilder in appearance than most parts of Unyamuezi. In this jungle a
tributary nullah to the Gombe, called Nurhungure, is the boundary-line between the great Country of the
Moon and the kingdom of Uzinza.
Chapter VI. Uzinza
The Politics of Uzinza - The Wahuma - "The Pig's" Trick - First Taste of Usui Taxation - Pillaged by
Mfumbi - Pillaged by Makaka - Pillaged by Lumeresi - Grant Stripped by M'Yonga - Stripped Again by
Ruhe - Terrors and Defections in the Camp - Driven back to Kaze with new Tribulations and
Impediments.
Uzinza, which we now entered, is ruled by two Wahuma chieftains of foreign blood, descended from the
Abyssinian stock, of whom we saw specimens scattered all over Unyamuezi, and who extended even
down south as far as Fipa. Travellers see very little, however, of these Wahuma, because, being pastorals,
they roam about with their flocks and build huts as far away as they can from cultivation. Most of the
small district chiefs, too, are the descendants of those who ruled in the same places before the country
was invaded, and with them travellers put up and have their dealings. The dress of the Wahuma is very
simple, composed chiefly of cow-hide tanned black - a few magic ornaments and charms, brass or copper
bracelets, and immense number of sambo for stockings, which looked very awkward on their long legs.
They smear themselves with rancid butter instead of macassar, and are, in consequence, very offensive to
all but the negro, who seems, rather than otherwise, to enjoy a good sharp nose tickler. For arms they
carry both bow and spear; more generally the latter. The Wazinza in the southern parts are so much like
the Wanyamuezi, as not to require any especial notice; but in the north, where the country is more hilly,
they are much more energetic and actively built. All alike live in grass-hut villages, fenced round by
bomas in the south, but open in the north. Their country rises in high rolls, increasing in altitude as it
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