SIRBOKO OF MINEENGA. 
71 
husband, for Sungoro had been in jail for robbery, 
committed by order of his Arab master. His master, 
however, by way of compensation, left him. his ill- 
gotten wealth. 
Two years previous to our arrival in this dis- 
trict, the wandering Watuta, whose women are said 
to use the bow and arrow, treacherously inviting up 
their enemy, had come in thousands to plunder cattle 
from the villages ; but after fighting against the sul- 
tan for five days and losing three men, they left, not 
being able to make way against the muskets of a See- 
dee named Sirboko. We lived for some days with 
this excellent man, who was most anxious to get back 
to Zanzibar, but the sultan would not hear of his 
departure ; because, in return for his having protected 
his country, he had made over to him a considerable 
tract of land, on which he was expected to reside for 
life. This was a rare instance of generosity. While 
living in his clean, comfortable, thatched bungalow, 
waiting for porters, Sheikh Said communicated to us 
by letter from Kazeh that we had better get on with 
our journey as fast as we could, for the Arabs there 
had meditated putting us to death, believing that we 
were the accomplices of the rebel chief Manua Sera ! 
However, on our friend Moossah taking a solemn Mus- 
sulman oath that neither he nor we were thus guilty, 
the affair was supposed to have blown over, but they 
would not allow Moossah to join us. Since poor 
Snay's death Mohinna was the chief of the Arabs, 
and had taken offence at us, probably because he was 
requested not to beat so brutally his women-slaves, 
who one day came weeping and wailing to us at 
Kazeh for protection. The result of our good-natured 
