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Although he had recently visited Kibuga, and had lived with Sultan Mtesa, the present reigning monarch in place of Sunna, who died since Snay was there, he had no positive or definite idea of the physical features of any of the country beyond the point which he had reached; but he produced a negro slave who had been to Usoga, and had seen the river in question.
Ramji's slaves all came back to us here, and begged we would take them into our service again. I wanted to do so, as Snay not only strongly advised me to have as strong an escort as possible, but thought that their knowledge of treating with native chiefs would be of the greatest value to me.
This lift took us over the interior plateau across Ugogo and Mgunda Mkhali to Kaze, where we arrived on the 7th November 1857. The Arabs we found collected here were extremely obliging, especially one Sheikh Snay, who furnished us with a house, looked after our wants, and supplied us with much useful information.
Caze is occupied by Arab merchants as a central trading depot, and is rapidly increasing. It was supposed that Ujiji would be found much of the same character. Here they arrived on the 7th of November, 1857. They were kindly received by the Arab merchants, especially by Sheikh Snay, and had a house appropriated to them.
Nobody knew how Jafu fell; but Snay, after running a short distance, called one of his slaves, and begged him to take his gun, saying, "I am too old to keep up with you; keep this gun for my sake, for I will lie down here and take my chance." He never was seen again.
After crossing the river, we hurried along by a more southernly and straighter road than we formerly came by, and reached Kaze towards the latter end of June. Here Sheikh Snay received us with his usual genuine hospitality, arranged a house especially for our use, and with him we again established our headquarters.
All the property I had sent on in advance he had stored away; or rather, I should say, as much as had reached him, for the road expenses had eaten a great hole in it. Once settled down into position, Sheikh Snay and the whole conclave of Arab merchants came to call on me.
I said nothing could give me greater pleasure than mediating for them, to put a stop to these horrors, but it struck me the case had now gone too far. Snay, in opposition to my advice, was bent on fighting; he could not be recalled and unless all the Arabs were of one mind, I ran the risk of committing myself to a position I could not maintain.
Of these they sent one to take their loot back to Kaze, another to form a reserve force at Mdaburu, on the east flank of the wilderness, and a third, headed by Snay and Jafu, to attack Mzanza. At the first onset Snay and Jafu carried everything before them, and became so excited over the amount of their loot that they lost all feelings of care or precaution.
The next day my men came from Kaze with letters from Sheikh Snay and Musa.
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