What Led to the Discovery of the Source of the NileSpeke, John Hanning
History
What Led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile
Speke, John Hanning
Horn of Africa -- Description and travel; Nile River; Tanganyika, Lake
Whilst walking back to camp, I shot two red geese and a florikan, like
those I once shot in the Somali country. This must have been a dainty
dish for my half-starved Arab companion, who had lost all his property
on first arriving here, and was now living on Mahaya's generosity. It
appears that nine months ago he was enabled, by the assistance of
Mahaya, to hire some boats and men at Sukuma, and had sent his
property, consisting of fifteen loads of cloth and 250 jembis or hoes,
by them to Ukéréwé, to exchange for ivory. But by the advice of
Mahaya, and fearing to trust himself as a stranger amongst the
islanders, he did not accompany his merchandise. Sultan Machunda, a
man of the highest character by Unyanyembé report, on seeing such a
prize enter his port, gave orders for its seizure, and will now give
no redress to the unfortunate Mansur. All Mahaya's exertions to
recover it have proved abortive: and Mansur has therefore been
desirous of taking his revenge by making an attack in person on
Ukéréwé, but the "generous" Mahaya said, "No; your life is yet safe,
do not risk it; but let my men do what they can, and in the meanwhile,
as I have been a party to your losses, I will feed you and your
people; and if I do not succeed in the end, you shall be my guest
until I can amass sufficient property to reimburse your losses."
Mansur has all this time been living, like the slaves of the country,
on jowari porridge, which is made by grinding the seed into flour and
boiling it in water until it forms a good thick paste, when master and
man sit round the earthen pot it is boiled in, pick out lumps, and
suck it off their fingers. It was a delicious sight yesterday, on
coming through Muanza, to see the great deference paid to the sick
Beluch, Shadad, mistaken for the great Arab merchant (Mundewa), my
humble self, in consequence of his riding my donkey, and to perceive
the stoical manner in which he treated their attentions; but, more
fortunate than I usually have been, he escaped the rude peeping and
peering of the crowd, for he did not, like his employer, wear "double
eyes" (spectacles).
During the last five or six marches, the word Marabu (Arab), instead
of Mzungu (European), has usually been applied to me; and no one, I am
sure, would have discovered the difference, were it not that the
tiresome pagazis, to increase their own dignity and importance,
generally gave the clue by singing the song of "the White Man." The
Arabs at Unyanyembé had advised my donning their habit for the trip,
in order to attract less attention: a vain precaution, which I believe
they suggested more to gratify their own vanity by seeing an
Englishman lower himself to their position, than for any benefit that
I might receive by doing so. At any rate, I was more comfortable and
better off in my flannel shirt, long togs, and wide-awake, than I
should have been, both mentally and physically, had I degraded myself,
and adopted their hot, long, and particularly uncomfortable gown.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account