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Notwithstanding this apparent richness in the land, the Wanyambo, living in their small squalid huts, seem poor. The tobacco they smoke is imported from the coffee-growing country of Uhaiya. After arrival in the village, who should we see but the Uganda officer, Irungu!
Maula, although he had received the second reward, had literally done nothing, whilst Irungu had been years absent at Usui, and finally had brought a valuable hongo, yet he got less than Maula. This, Irungu said, was an injustice he would not stand; N'yamgundu fairly earned his reward, but Maula must have been tricking to get more than himself.
Moving on the next morning over hill and dale, we came to the junction of two roads, where Irungu, with his drummers, fifers and amazon followers, took one way to Kufro, followed by the men carrying Suwarora's hongo, and we led off on the other, directed to the palace.
Irungu, a very fine-looking man of Uganda, now called on me and begged for beads. He said his king had heard of our approach, and was most anxious to see us. Hearing this I begged him to wait here until my hongo was paid, that we might travel on to Uganda together.
In former days, I knew, the kings of Uganda were in the habit of sending men to Karague when they heard that Arabs wished to visit them even as many as two hundred at a time to carry their kit; so I now begged Irungu to tell Mtesa that I should want at least sixty men; and then, on his promising that he would be my commissioner, I gave him the beads he had begged for himself. 4th to 6th.
It happened that Irungu was present in the ante-chamber at this time; and as Maula came with my party, they had a fight in respect to their merits for having brought welcome guests to their king.
The handkerchief I had given Irungu at Usui to present as a letter to Mtesa he had snatched away from him, and given, himself, to his king, who no sooner received it than he bound it round his head, and said, in ecstasies of delight, "Oh, the Mzungu, the Mzungu! he does indeed want to see me."
They then all agreed to this view, and further assured me it went to Kamrasi's palace in Unyoro, where it joined the N'yanza, meaning the Nile. Pushing on again we arrived at N'yama Goma, where I found Irungu the great ambassador I had first met in Usui, with all his "children" my enemy Makinga, and Suwarora's deputation with wire, altogether, a collection of one hundred souls.
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