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)
This chief, however, brought me plenty of milk, and was altogether most
friendly disposed, so we camped there for several days, the natives
coming in every day to see me, and organizing a big dance for my special
benefit. They had heard of my people being killed while going into
Naivasha, and told me that the Kalyera were a bad lot and not long
before had murdered some Government soldiers who had been sent out to
buy food for the people constructing the Uganda Railway.
Being now close to the Kalyera country, I tried to get into touch with
some of the chiefs, but they would not come to see me, only sending a
lot of insulting messages in reply to my requests for interviews, and
saying that if they saw any of my people straying about they would kill
them. They did not attack me, however, but I had to abandon my mission
to them for the present.
The two friendly chiefs brought me in a lot of food, for which I traded
with them, and also several tusks of ivory, which I also acquired.
Unfortunately, my own people could not carry all that I had bought down
to headquarters, and the chief’s people refused to go down with me,
saying that they would be killed on the way back, the other tribes being
hostile to them; so that the food had to be stored until such time as I
could arrange to have it transferred to Karuri’s.
My followers having made friends with the people with whom we had been
staying, we were all very sorry to leave; but it was imperative that we
should return at once, as a rumour had reached me that my people at
headquarters were in trouble, and they had sent a message for me to come
back as quickly as possible. We had hardly got started on the return
journey when it was rumoured among the natives that I had gone on this
expedition especially to see the Kalyera people, and that I was
returning because I was afraid to meet them. Emboldened by this, the
tribe living to the north had attacked my headquarters, killed a lot of
the people, and raided the country, burning the villages, and carrying
off a lot of cattle, sheep, and goats, as well as some of the women. On
hearing this news I hurried back as fast as possible, as I thought it
quite likely that they would burn my place. I got back in time to
prevent any further fighting, and set myself to calm the fears of my
people, who were lamenting the loss of their cattle, and praying me to
get back their women. I found that the whole country was up in arms, and
set to work to find out what was the cause of all the trouble.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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