326 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. 



January, get rid of that he would even have bothered the agent of a 

 isYo. mendicity society. 



On returning my call, he brought a crowd of wives and fol- 

 lowers, and sat for nearly three hours under Jumah Merikani's 

 veranda. Many of the women had babies of tender age with 

 them ; and nursery kits being very limited in Urua, some jDor- 

 tion of the scene had perhaps better remain undescribed. 



I was astonished to see Kasongo accompanied by a large 

 number of mutilated men, and was still more so on finding that 

 many had been thus mutilated simply for caprice, or as an in- 

 stance of his power. His jidus Achates had lost hands, nose, 

 ears, and lips, in consequence of fits of temper on Kasongo's 

 part ; but notwithstanding having experienced such cruel treat- 

 ment at his master's hands, he seemed to worship the ground 

 he stood upon. Several others equally badly maimed were 

 scarcely less remarkable for their devotion. 



Kasongo was inflated with pride, and asserted that he was 

 the greatest chief in the whole world. The only one, in his 

 opinion, who could in any way compare with him was Mata 

 Yafa, the chief of Ulunda, who was also a mrua, and belonged 

 to the same family as Kasongo. He graciously informed me 

 that but for the obstacle offered by the great lake Tanganyika 

 lying in the way, he would visit England to see what the coun- 

 try was like. 



I thought it possible his vanity might suffer a shock when I 

 told him that the Tanganyika was nothing in comparison M'ith 

 the seas that lay between Africa and my home. But he mere- 

 ly remarked that he would defer his visit for the present, and 

 directed me to tell my chief to pay him tribute, and to send me 

 back with rifles, cannon (of which he had heard from the Por- 

 tuguese), boats to navigate his rivers, and people to teach him 

 and his subjects the manner of using them, 



I then informed this self-important chief that those who un- 

 derstood how to make the things he required were not likely 

 people to pay him tribute, and that my chief was far greater 

 than he, and, indeed, that he could have no idea of the magni- 

 tude of her power. 



I asked him how many fighting -men he could muster, and 

 the number that could be put into the largest of his canoes. 



