A White King in East Africa: The Remarkable Adventures of John Boyes, Trader and Soldier of Fortune, Who Became King of the Savage Wa-KikuyuBoyes, John
History
A White King in East Africa: The Remarkable Adventures of John Boyes, Trader and Soldier of Fortune, Who Became King of the Savage Wa-Kikuyu
Boyes, John
Africa, East; Kikuyu (African people)
The trouble being thus settled, I got my ivory through to headquarters,
being met on the road by Karuri, bringing a force to my assistance, my
messengers having acquainted him with the state of affairs. From this
time on I had complete control of the country; everything that had been
stolen from the Goanese was given up, while their murderers had received
such punishment as they were not likely to forget in a generation.
When matters had quieted down again, and I had time to review the
situation, I took the first opportunity of sending messengers through to
the Government, with a full report of the recent occurrences; while I
also communicated with the relatives of the murdered Goanese, two
brothers who, I heard, were living at Nairobi, sending through to them
the whole of the stolen property which I had recovered. I found out
later that, through some misunderstanding or other, the heads of the
murdered men—which had been found after the fighting was over—had
likewise been sent in to Nairobi; which, while serving as proof to the
officials that the reports I had been sending in from time to time as to
the character of the natives were not without foundation, was a most
regrettable occurrence, and must, I fear, have given much pain to the
relatives.
The fighting being now over, and the Chinga people—such as remained of
them—having given assurances of their desire and intention to live at
peace with their neighbours, the country now settled down into a
condition of quietness such as had never been known before. My mission
through the country had served to produce a spirit of friendship
between the different clans and tribes which effectually put an end to
the petty quarrelling and constant fighting which had hitherto gone
on; and from this time I was looked upon as practically the king of
the country, all matters in dispute being referred to my judgment, and
I was constantly being called upon to give counsel and advice upon
every conceivable subject which affected the welfare of the people.
The three most powerful chiefs in the country—Karuri, Karkerrie, and
Wagombi—acknowledged me as their leader, and chiefs and people were
now entirely under my control. As proof of the altered condition of
the country, I could now send messengers to any one of the chiefs or
headmen without any fear of their being attacked or molested on the
way.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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