The Eastern Congo 



policy he followed in the past, have many detractors. He has 

 been described as heartless and cruel and is said to have done 

 away with several of his brothers to obtain the throne. This 

 is partly true, no doubt, but in those days it was a case of 

 the best man wins and if he did crucify one or two robbers 

 it was probably no more than they deserved. I have a 

 shrewd idea that these stories are kept up by missionaries, 

 who are chagrined at their non-success in Christianising the 

 king and his Watusi subjects. I am given to understand 

 the Government itself rather opposes this course, as 

 Christianity means the abohtion of polygamy, with the in- 

 evitable result in this case that the Watusi race would lose 

 its power and break up the existing order of things which 

 runs so smoothly, and which the Government have an interest 

 in keeping alive. I personally hold the opinion that the 

 missionising of the Watusi would completely spoil them, 

 bringing many evils in its train. 



Sultan Msinga, whose clan — the Bega — ^is the most feared 

 amongst the Watusi, stands very little short of seven feet 

 in height. Although at first his appearance is unprepossessing 

 owing to his defective eyesight and protruding teeth, we 

 found him intelligent and possessing the same likeable qualities 

 common to all the Watusi. Towards the end of our nine 

 days' stay at Niansa we got to know the man and his three 

 strapping sons quite well, and our first impression of him 

 still remains the same, that he has many amiable qualities 

 and is especially amenable to good influences. My wife, 

 being one of the very few white women he had seen, interested 

 him immensely, and he never tired of closely examining 

 anything she happened to be wearing, sometimes to the 

 extent of embarrassment. 



42 



