How I Found Livingstone - Henry M. Stanley (best ereader for comics txt) 📗
- Author: Henry M. Stanley
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Wanyamwezi pagazis, and as it was likely to give bad repute to the
Wanyamwezi carriers, they therefore sentenced him to be flogged
with the “Great Master’s” donkey whip, which was accordingly
carried out, to poor Khamisi’s crying sorrow.
On the 12th the caravan reached Mussoudi, on the Ungerengeri river.
Happily for our patient donkeys this march was free from all the
annoying troubles of the jungle. Happily for ourselves also, for
we had no more the care of the packs and the anxiety about
arriving at camp before night. The packs once put firmly on the
backs of our good donkeys, they marched into camp—the road being
excellent—without a single displacement or cause for one impatient
word, soon after leaving Kisemo. A beautiful prospect, glorious in
its wild nature, fragrant with its numerous flowers and variety of
sweetly-smelling shrubs, among which I recognised the wild sage,
the indigo plant, &c., terminated only at the foot of Kira Peak
and sister cones, which mark the boundaries between Udoe and Ukami,
yet distant twenty miles. Those distant mountains formed a not
unfit background to this magnificent picture of open plain, forest
patches, and sloping lawns—there was enough of picturesqueness and
sublimity in the blue mountains to render it one complete whole.
Suppose a Byron saw some of these scenes, he would be inclined to
poetize in this manner:
Morn dawns, and with it stern Udoe’s hills,
Dark Urrugum’s rocks, and Kira’s peak,
Robed half in mist, bedewed with various rills,
Arrayed in many a dun and purple streak.
When drawing near the valley of Ungerengeri, granite knobs and
protuberances of dazzling quartz showed their heads above the
reddish soil. Descending the ridge where these rocks were
prominent, we found ourselves in the sable loam deposit of the
Ungerengeri, and in the midst of teeming fields of sugar-cane and
matama, Indian corn, muhogo, and gardens of curry, egg, and
cucumber plants. On the banks of the Ungerengeri flourished the
banana, and overtopping it by seventy feet and more, shot up the
stately mparamusi, the rival in beauty of the Persian chenar and
Abyssinian plane. Its trunk is straight and comely enough for the
mainmast of a first, class frigate, while its expanding crown of
leafage is distinguished from all others by its density and vivid
greenness. There were a score of varieties of the larger kind of
trees, whose far-extending branches embraced across the narrow but
swift river. The depressions of the valley and the immediate
neighbourhood of the river were choked with young forests of
tiger-grass and stiff reeds.
Mussoudi is situated on a higher elevation than the average level
of the village, and consequently looks down upon its neighbours,
which number a hundred and more. It is the western extremity of
Ukwere. On the western bank of the Ungerengeri the territory of
the Wakami commences. We had to halt one day at Mussoudi because
the poverty of the people prevented us from procuring the needful
amount of grain. The cause of this scantiness in such a fertile
and populous valley was, that the numerous caravans which had
preceded us had drawn heavily for their stores for the upmarches.
On the 14th we crossed the Ungerengeri, which here flows southerly
to the southern extremity of the valley, where it bends easterly
as far as Kisemo. After crossing the river here, fordable at all
times and only twenty yards in breadth, we had another mile of
the valley with its excessively moist soil and rank growth of
grass. It then ascended into a higher elevation, and led through
a forest of mparamusi, tamarind, tamarisk, acacia, and the blooming
mimosa. This ascent was continued for two hours, when we stood
upon the spine of the largest ridge, where we could obtain free
views of the wooded plain below and the distant ridges of Kisemo,
which we had but lately left. A descent of a few hundred feet
terminated in a deep but dry mtoni with a sandy bed, on the other
side of which we had to regain the elevation we had lost, and a
similar country opened into view until we found a newly-made boma
with well-built huts of grass rear a pool of water, which we at
once occupied as a halting-place for the night. The cart gave us
considerable trouble; not even our strongest donkey, though it
carried with ease on its back 196 lbs., could draw the cart with
a load of only 225 lbs. weight.
Early on the morning of the 15th we broke camp and started for
Mikeseh. By 8.30 A.M. we were ascending the southern face of the
Kira Peak. When we had gained the height of two hundred feet above
the level of the surrounding country, we were gratified with a
magnificent view of a land whose soil knows no Sabbath.
After travelling the spine of a ridge abutting against the southern
slope of Kira we again descended into the little valley of
Kiwrima, the first settlement we meet in Udoe, where there is
always an abundant supply of water. Two miles west of Kiwrima is
Mikiseh.
On the 16th we reached Ulagalla after a few hours’ march.
Ulagalla is the name of a district, or a portion of a district,
lying between the mountains of Uruguru, which bound it southerly,
and the mountains of Udoe, lying northerly and parallel with them,
and but ten miles apart. The principal part of the basin thus
formed is called Ulagalla.
Muhalleh is the next settlement, and here we found ourselves in
the territory of the Waseguhha. On this march we were hemmed in
by mountains—on our left by those of Uruguru, on our right by
those of Udoe and Useguhha—a most agreeable and welcome change to
us after the long miles of monotonous level we had hitherto seen.
When tired of looking into the depths of the forest that still ran
on either side of the road, we had but to look up to the mountain’s
base, to note its strange trees, its plants and vari-coloured flowers,
we had but to raise our heads to vary this pleasant occupation by
observing the lengthy and sinuous spine of the mountains, and
mentally report upon their outline, their spurs, their projections
and ravines, their bulging rocks and deep clefts, and, above all,
the dark green woods clothing them from summit to base. And when
our attention was not required for the mundane task of regarding
the donkeys’ packs, or the pace of the cautious-stepping pagazis,
it was gratifying to watch the vapours play about the mountain
summits—to see them fold into fleecy crowns and fantastic clusters,
dissolve, gather together into a pall that threatened rain, and sail
away again before the brightening sun.
At Muhalleh was the fourth caravan under Maganga with three more
sick men, who turned with eager eyes to myself, “the dispenser of
medicine,” as I approached. Salvos of small arms greeted me, and
a present of rice and ears of Indian corn for roasting were awaiting
my acceptance; but, as I told Maganga, I would have preferred to
hear that his party were eight or ten marches ahead. At this
camp, also, we met Salim bin Rashid, bound eastward, with a huge
caravan carrying three hundred ivory tusks. This good Arab,
besides welcoming the new comer with a present of rice, gave me
news of Livingstone. He had met the old traveller at Ujiji, had
lived in the next but to him for two weeks, described him as
looking old, with long grey moustaches and beard, just recovered
from severe illness, looking very wan; when fully recovered
Livingstone intended to visit a country called Manyema by way of
Marungu.
The valley of the Ungerengeri with Muhalleh exhibits wonderful
fertility. Its crops of matama were of the tallest, and its
Indian corn would rival the best crops ever seen in the Arkansas
bottoms. The numerous mountain-fed streams rendered the great
depth of loam very sloppy, in consequence of which several
accidents occurred before we reached the camp, such as wetting
cloth, mildewing tea, watering sugar, and rusting tools;
but prompt attention to these necessary things saved us from
considerable loss.
There was a slight difference noticed in the demeanour and bearing
of the Waseguhha compared with the Wadoe, Wakami, and Wakwere
heretofore seen. There was none of that civility we had been
until now pleased to note: their express desire to barter was
accompanied with insolent hints that we ought to take their produce
at their own prices. If we remonstrated they became angry;
retorting fiercely, impatient of opposition, they flew into
a passion, and were glib in threats. This strange conduct, so
opposite to that of the calm and gentle Wakwere, may be excellently
illustrated by comparing the manner of the hot-headed Greek with
that of the cool and collected German. Necessity compelled us
to purchase eatables of them, and, to the credit of the country
and its productions, be it said, their honey had the peculiar
flavour of that of famed Hymettus.
Following the latitudinal valley of the Ungerengeri, within two
hours on the following morning we passed close under the wall of
the capital of Useguhha—Simbamwenni. The first view of the
walled town at the western foot of the Uruguru mountains, with its
fine valley abundantly beautiful, watered by two rivers, and
several pellucid streams of water distilled by the dew and
cloud-enriched heights around, was one that we did not anticipate
to meet in Eastern Africa. In Mazanderan, Persia, such a scene
would have answered our expectations, but here it was totally
unexpected. The town may contain a population of 3,000, having
about 1,000 houses; being so densely crowded, perhaps 5,000 would
more closely approximate. The houses in the town are eminently
African, but of the best type of construction. The fortifications
are on an Arabic Persic model—combining Arab neatness with Persian
plan. Through a ride of 950 miles in Persia I never met a town
outside of the great cities better fortified than Simbamwenni.
In Persia the fortifications were of mud, even those of Kasvin,
Teheran, Ispahan, and Shiraz; those of Simbamwenni are of stone,
pierced with two rows of loopholes for musketry. The area of
the town is about half a square mile, its plan being quadrangular.
Well-built towers of stone guard each corner; four gates, one facing
each cardinal point, and set half way between the several towers,
permit ingress and egress for its inhabitants. The gates are
closed with solid square doors made of African teak, and carved
with the infinitesimally fine and complicated devices of the Arabs,
from which I suspect that the doors were made either at Zanzibar
or on the coast, and conveyed to Simbamwenni plank by plank;
yet as there is much communication between Bagamoyo and Simbamwenni,
it is just possible that native artisans are the authors of this
ornate workmanship, as several doors chiselled and carved in the
same manner, though not quite so elaborately, were visible in the
largest houses. The palace of the Sultan is after the style of
those on the coast, with long sloping roof, wide eaves, and
veranda in front.
The Sultana is the eldest daughter of the famous Kisabengo, a name
infamous throughout the neighbouring countries of Udoe, Ukami,
Ukwere, Kingaru, Ukwenni, and Kiranga-Wanna, for his kidnapping
propensities. Kisabengo was another Theodore on a small scale.
Sprung from humble ancestry, he acquired distinction for his
personal strength, his powers of harangue, and his amusing and
versatile address, by which he gained great ascendency over
fugitive slaves, and was chosen a leader among them. Fleeing
from justice, which awaited him at the hands of the Zanzibar Sultan,
he arrived in Ukami, which extended at that time from Ukwere to
Usagara, and here he commenced a career of conquest, the result
of which was the
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