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Happily no one tried to pillage us here, so on we went to Vikora's, another officer, living at N'yakasenye, under a sandstone hill, faced with a dyke of white quartz, over which leaped a small stream of water a seventy-feet drop which, it is said, Suwarora sometimes paid homage to when the land was oppressed by drought. Vikora's father it was whom Sirboko of Mininga shot.
A theft also had taken place, by which both Grant and Sirboko lost property; and the thieves had been traced over the borders of the next district. No fear, however, was entertained about the things being recovered, for Sirboko had warned Ugali the chief, and he had promised to send his Waganga, or magicians, out to track them down, unless the neighbouring chief chose to give them up.
The Watuta at that time surrounded the district, crowning all the little hills overlooking it; but fearing the Arabs' guns might be many, they soon walked away, and left them in peace. In return for this magnanimity, and feeling a great security in firearms, Ugali then built the large enclosure, with huts for Sirboko, we were now living in.
Sirboko, afraid to return to the coast lest he should be apprehended for debt, has resided here ever since, doing odd jobs for other traders, increasing his family, and planting extensively. His agricultural operations are confined chiefly to rice, because the natives do not like it enough to be tempted to steal it. 25th to 2d.
Finding that nothing more could be done at Caze, the travellers, assembling their caravan, commenced their march northward on the 17th of March. On the 24th they reached Mininga, where they were received by an ivory merchant named Sirboko. Here one of Sirboko's slaves, who had been chained up, addressed Speke, piteously exclaiming: "Oh, my lord, take pity on me!
As it happened, however, he put up with the chief of this district, Ugali Mr Paste at a time when the Watuta attacked the place and drove all the inhabitants away. The chief, too, was on the point of bolting, when Sirboko prevented him by saying, "If you will only have courage to stand by me, the Watuta shall not come near at any rate, if they do, let us both die together."
With one move, by alternately crossing strips of forest and cultivation, studded here and there with small hills of granite, we forded the Qaunde nullah a tributary to the Gombe and entered the rich flat district of Mininga, where the gingerbread-palm grows abundantly. The greatest man we found here was a broken-down ivory merchant called Sirboko, who gave us a good hut to live in.
This touching appeal was too strong for my heart to withstand, so I called up Sirboko, and told him, if he would liberate this one man to please me he should be no loser; and the release was effected. I then inquired if it was true the Wabembe were cannibals, and also circumcised. In one of their slaves the latter statement was easily confirmed.
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