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Updated: May 27, 2025
Although he had already given the chief a handsome hongo, or tribute, consisting of a red blanket, and a number of pretty common cloths for his children, no sooner did he begin to move than Lumeresi placed himself in his way and declared that he could not bear the idea of his white visitor going to die in the jungle.
The brothers were so thoroughly frightened, that when Kamrasi opened his chronometer before them to show them the works in motion, they turned their heads away. The large block-tin box I gave Kamrasi, as part of his hongo, was, I heard, called Mzungu, or the white man, by him.
From the frying pan we went into the fire in crossing from Ugombe into the district of Wanga, where we beat up the chief, N'yaruwamba, and at once went into the hongo business. He offered a cow to commence with, which I would not accept until the tax was paid, and then I made my offering of two wires, one kitambi, and one kisutu.
At last I settled this confounded hongo, by paying seven additional wires in lieu of the cloth; and, delighted at the termination of this tedious affair, I ordered a march. Like magic, however, Vikora turned up, and said we must wait until he was settled with. His rank was the same as the others, and one bead less than I had given them he would not take.
At last, after thousands of difficulties much like those I encountered in Uzaramo, the hongo was settled by a payment of one kisutu, one dubani, four yards bendera, four yards kiniki, and three yards merikani.
However, Kurua seemed quite happy under the circumstances, and considered the exchange of hongo a bond of alliance, and proclaimed that we were henceforth to be brothers. He then said he would accompany me back to Unyanyembe, on my return from the Lake, and would exchange any of his cows that I might take a fancy to for powder, which I said I had there.
It was obvious that the chief merely intended to prevent Grant from passing through or evading his district without paying a hongo, else he would not have sent his men to invite him to his palace, doubtless with instructions, if necessary, to use force.
Mtesa, it was argued, had given N'yamgundu more women and men than he did to Maula, because he was the first to bring intelligence of our coming, as well as that of K'yengo, and Suworora's hongo to his king; whilst, finally, he superseded Maula by taking me out of his charge, and had done a further good service by sending men on to Karague to fetch both Grant and K'yengo.
On our drawing near the palace, a small, newly-constructed boma was shown for my residence; but as I did not wish to stop there, knowing how anxious Grant would be to have his relief, I would not enter it, but instead sent Baraka to pay the hongo as quickly as possible, that we might move on again; at the same time ordering him to describe the position both Grant and myself were in, and explain that what I paid now was to frank both of us, as the whole of the property was my own.
He then fixed the hongo at fifteen masango or brass wire bracelets, sixteen cloths of sorts, and a hundred necklaces of samisami or red coral beads, which was to pay for Grant as well as myself. I paid it down on the spot; the drums beat the "satisfaction," and I ordered the march with the greatest relief of mind possible. But Bui and Nasib were not to be found; they had bolted.
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