324 ACROSS AFRICA. . [Chap. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



A Horde of Euffians. — A Thorough Blackguard. — A King among Beggars. — Wives 

 and Families visit Me. — Mutilated Men. — Kasongo's Vanity. — His Message to her 

 Majesty. — He takes me for a Ghost. — Xo Guides or Escort Obtainable. — Abandon- 

 ment of my Fondest Hope. — Honest Alvez. — He lies like Truth. — Plotting. — The 

 Levee. — Warned and armed. — The Ceremony. — Salaams of the Chiefs. — Biting 

 the Dust. — Speeches. — Deceit. — Sleeping with Deceased Wives. — Obliged to build 

 Kasongo's House. — Cruelty of Portuguese Slave-traders. — Delays. — Desertion. — 

 Jumah Merikani sends Deserters a Warning. — Funeral Rites of a Chief. — Wives 

 buried Alive with Him. — Blood shed over his Grave. — Kasongo's Harsh Rule. — 

 His Demoniacal Frenzies. — Fire in Camp. — My Servant's Good Conduct. — Delicate 

 Attention of Mrs. Kasongo. 



January, WiTii Kasongo returned tlie liorde of ruffians who had ac- 

 1875. companied him on his phmdering raids, and to Lourenco da 

 Souza Coimbra, a son of Major Coinibra, of Bihe, must be 

 awarded the pahn for having reached the highest grade in ruf- 

 fianism among them alL 



He lost no time in coming to see me, in the endeavor to 

 swindle me out of something, and commenced by advancing a 

 claim to be paid as a guide, on the plea that he had shown 

 Alvez the road by which we intended to reach the coast ; and 

 hearing that I had promised Alvez a gun when we had fairly 

 started, he declared he was equally entitled to one. 



To this request I most decidedly refused to accede; and 

 then Coimbra — who was known by the natives as Kwarumba 

 — continually worried me with his importunate demands for 

 cartridge-paper, powder, beads, and, in fact, any thing he imag- 

 ined he might extract from me. 



His attire and general appearance were worthy of his char- 

 acter. A dirty, greasy, and tattered wide-awake hat, battered 

 shapeless, and so far gone that a cJuffonnier would have passed 

 it by as worthless, crowned this distinguished person. His shirt 

 was equally dirty, and a piece of grass-cloth bound round his 

 waist trailed its end upon the ground. His hair was short and 



