eight days one of his
chiefs arrived and told me that the king was with his army only four
days' march from me, and that he was preparing to attack Fowooka, but
that he wished me to join him, as with my fourteen guns, we should win a
great victory. This treacherous conduct, after his promise to forward me
without delay to Shooa, enraged me exceedingly. We had lost the boats
at Gondokoro, and we were now nailed to the country for another year,
should we live, which was not likely. Not only had the brutal king thus
deceived us, but he was deliberately starving us into conditions, his
aim being that my men should assist him against his enemy. At one time
the old enemy tempted me sorely to join Fowooka against Kamrasi; but,
discarding the idea, generated in a moment of passion, I determined to
resist his proposals to the last. It was perfectly true that the king
was within thirty miles of us, that he was aware of our misery, and made
use of our extremity to force us to become his allies.

After more than two months passed in this distress it became evident
that something must be done. I sent my headman, or vakeel, and one man,
with a native as a guide (that Saat and Bacheeta had procured from
an island), with instructions to go direct to Kamrasi, to abuse him
thoroughly in my name for having thus treated us, and tell him that
I was much insulted at his treating with me through a third party in
proposing an alliance. My vakeel was to explain that I was a much more
powerful chief than Kamrasi, and that if he required my alliance,
he must treat with me in person, and immediately send fifty men to
transport my wife, myself, and effects to his camp, where we might, in a
personal interview, come to terms.

I told my vakeel to return to me with the fifty men, and to be sure
to bring from Kamrasi some token by which I should know that he had
actually seen him. The vakeel and Yaseen started.

After some days the absconded guide, Rabonga, appeared with a number of
men, but without either my vakeel or Yaseen. He carried with him a small
gourd bottle, carefully stopped; this he broke, and extracted from the
inside two pieces of printed paper that Kamrasi had sent to me in reply.

On examining the papers, I found them to be portions of the English
Church Service translated into (I think) the "Kisuabili" language, by
Dr Krapf! There were many notes in pencil on the margin, written in
English, as translations of words in the text. It