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Updated: June 16, 2025
Having examined them, I ordered the men to their quarters, and they all left the fort, with the exception of the night guard. The two interpreters, Umbogo and Aboo Kooka, were secured by a thin cord fastened round their necks.
I now felt convinced that the young villain, Kabba Rega, had played me false, and that he was only gaining time to collect and organize the whole force of Unyoro to attack us, and to line the path to the river with ambuscades. It is impossible to this day to say whether Umbogo was true or false. I never saw him again; and the unfortunate Ramadan and Hafiz were wantonly murdered.
The dragoman, Abou Kooka, remained with us in the place of Umbogo. This was a sullen-looking brute who had been a slave stolen from the Madi tribe. I must now take an extract verbatim from my journal, that was written on the day of the incident. Any warm expressions in this extract must be excused as a natural consequence, for which I trust due allowance will be granted:
I told him that if this were true, he could surely find some person who would run to Mashudi, and raise the malcontents, who would at once carry my message to Rionga. Umbogo promised to do his best: at the same time he expressed an opinion that Rionga would not wait long in inaction, but that he would invade Kabba Rega directly that he should hear of the war.
These people were brought to me on 26th May, accompanied by Kittakara, together with Umbogo, the interpreter. I observed that Kittakara was acting the part of spy, to overhear and to report the substance of the conversation. Some excitement had been caused by the report that two travellers were residing with Rumanika, and that these people had arrived from the M'wootan N'zige.
The natives were all prodding the smoking ground with the iron-tipped butt-ends of their lances to discover the treasures. Umbogo now went among them with his guard, and conversed upon the cause of the late attack. In the evening, Umbogo declared that he was not quite certain of the truth; he evidently suspected the sincerity of Kabba Rega.
On the 11th June, Ramadan and Hafiz, together with the musical box, started, and we watched their reception at the village with the telescope. I had released Umbogo, whom I had sent to Kabba Rega to explain all that he had seen of the outbreak, as he was one of those that had been poisoned by the plaintain cider. Umbogo promised to return as soon as possible.
From the descriptions of Kabba Rega and his chiefs, I considered that these prisoners amounted to about a thousand persons women and children. Umbogo, the interpreter, declared that Abou Saood's companies would attack the government troops, should I insist upon the liberation of the slaves.
Kabba Rega himself ignited a rocket with a port-fire, and although rather nervous at the great rush of fire, he seemed interested at the fact that a town composed of straw huts could be destroyed from a distance . . . . On the following morning, Umbogo, the dragoman, told me that the natives had been very much frightened at the rockets, as they said, "the Pacha was going to set the sky on fire."
Had I provisions, I could have held my now fortified position against a whole world of niggers; but with only a hundred men, I should be unable to forage in this country of high grass, and at the same time defend the station. All depended upon the possibility of my communication with Rionga. Umbogo declared that if I would only march to Mashudi, the natives would rise in his favour and join me.
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