us when we got there; so, as a forlorn hope, I sent Baraka with another
letter to Musa, offering to pay as much money for fifty men carrying
muskets as would buy fifty slaves, and, in addition to that, I offered
to pay them what my men were receiving as servants. Next day (23d) the
chief Ugali came to pay his respects to us. He was a fine-looking young
man, about thirty years old, the husband of thirty wives, but he had
only three children. Much surprised at the various articles composing
our kit, he remarked that our "sleeping-clothes"--blankets--were much
better than his royal robes; but of all things that amused him most were
our picture-books, especially some birds drawn by Wolf.

Everything still seemed going against me; for on the following day
(24th) Musa's men came in from Rungua to say the Watuta were "out." They
had just seized fifty head of cattle from Rungua, and the people were in
such a state of alarm they dared not leave their homes and families. I
knew not what to do, for there was no hope left but in what Baraka might
bring; and as that even would be insufficient, I sent Musa's men into
Kaze, to increase the original number by thirty men more.

Patience, thank God, I had a good stock of, so I waited quietly until
the 30th, when I was fairly upset by the arrival of a letter from Kaze,
stating that Baraka had arrived, and had been very insolent both to
Musa and to Sheikh Said. The bearer of the letter was at once to go and
search for porters at Rungua, but not a word was said about the armed
men I had ordered. At the same time reports from the other side came in,
to the effect that the Arabs at Kaze and Msene had bribed the Watuta
to join them, and overrun the whole country from Ugogo to Usui; and, in
consequence of this, all the natives on the line I should have to take
were in such dread of that terrible wandering race of savages, who had
laid waste in turn all the lands from N'yassa to Usui on their west
flank, that not a soul dared leave his home. I could now only suppose
that this foolish and hasty determination of the Arabs, who, quite
unprepared to carry out their wicked alliance to fight, still had set
every one against their own interests as well as mine, had not reached
Musa, so I made up my mind at once to return to Kaze, and settle all
matters I had in my heart with himself and the Arabs in person.

This settled, I next, in this terrible embarrassment, determined on
sending back the last of t