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When the review was over, I complimented Mahamed on the efficiency of his corps, and, retiring to my hut, as I thought I had him now in a good-humour, again discussed our plans for going ahead the next day. Scarcely able to look me in the face, the humbugging scoundrel said he could not think of allowing me to go on without him, for if any accident happened he would be blamed for it.
He then confirmed a report we had heard before, that, some days previously, Mahamed had ordered Bukhet to go ahead and join us, which he attempted to do; but, on arrival at Panyoro, his party had a row with the villagers, and lost their property.
Mahamed, like the black chiefs, wished to detain the travellers, that they and their party might guard his camp, while he went off on an expedition on his own account. He succeeded by depriving them of their porters, and then marched out with his army drums and fifes playing, colours flying, guns firing, officers riding, some on donkeys, others on cows.
Mahamed, on finding how easy it was to get taxes in this fashion, instead of thanking them, assumed the air of the great potentate, whose clemency was abused, and told the poor creatures that, though they had done well in seeking his friendship, they had not sufficiently considered his dignity, else they would have brought double that number of tusks, for it was impossible he could be satisfied at so low a price.
In reality, Chongi had invited Mahamed to fight against an enemy of his, in whose territories immense stores of ivory were said to be buried, and the people had an endless number of cattle for they lived by plunder, and had lifted most of old Chongi's; and this was the service on which the expedition had set off. 21st to 31st.
Nothing of material consequence happened until the 14th, when eighty of Rionga's men brought in two slaves and thirty tusks of ivory, as a present to Mahamed. Of course, I knew this was a bribe to induce Mahamed to fight with Rionga against Kamrasi; but, counting that no affair of mine, I tried to induce these men to give me some geographical information of the countries they had just left.
A passenger told us that three white men had just arrived in vessels at Gondokoro; and the Bari people, hearing of our advance, instead of trying to kill us with spears, had determined to poison all the water in their country. Mahamed now disposed of half of his herd of cows, giving them to the chiefs of the villages in return for porters.
When speaking against our laws, and about their insufficiency to carry out all governmental points with a strong and spirited hand, they never forget to laud their own sultan's despotic powers and equity in justice. Of course no mortal man was like their Gerad Mahamed Ali.
Speke's party halted, when a black officer, Mahamed, in Egyptian regimentals, hastened from the head of his ragamuffin regiment, a mixture of Nubians, Egyptians, and slaves of all sorts, which he had ordered to halt, and, throwing himself into Speke's arms, began to hug and kiss him. Petherick was enquired for. "He is coming," was the answer. "What colours are those?" "Oh, they are Debono's."
Mahamed told me that there were no vessels at Gondokoro; we must wait two months, by which time he expected they would arrive there, and some one would come to meet him with beads. I said in answer, that Petherick had promised to have boats there all the year round, so I would not wait. "Then," said Mahamed, "we cannot go with you, for there is a famine at this season at Gondokoro."
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