married, notwithstanding my prohibition. Baraka, for
instance, had with him the daughter of Untrarue chief of
Philnze; Wadimoyo, a woman called Manamaka; San-
gizo, his wife and sister; but Bombay had not got one
and mourned for a girl he had set his eyes on, unfortunately
for himself letting Baraka into his confidence.
1 nis set Baraka on the qui vive to catch Bombay tripping I
or Baraka knew he could not get her without paying a
good price for her, and therefore watched his opportunity
to lay a complaint against him of purloining my property
by which scheme he would, he thought, get Bombay’s
place as storekeeper himself. In a sly manner Bombay
employed some of my other men to take five wires, a red
blanket, and 500 strings of beads, to his would-be father-
in-law, which, by a previously-concocted arrangement, was
to. be her dowry price. These men -did as they were bid;
but the father-in-law returned the things, saying he must
have one more wire. That being also supplied, the
scoundrel wanted more, and made so much fuss about it
that Baraka became conversant with all that was goino-
on, and told me of it. b
This set the whole camp in a flame, for Bombay and
Baraka were both very drunk, as well as most of the
other men, so that it was with great difficulty I could get
hold of the rights of their stories. Bombay acknowledged
he had tned to get the girl, for they had been sentimentalising
together for several days, and both alike wished to
be mamed. Baraka, he said, was allowed to keep a wife
and his position demanded that he should have one also •
but the wires were his own property, and not mine, for he
was given them by the chiefs as a perquisite when I paid
their hongo through him. He thought it most unjust and
unfair of Baraka to call him to account in that way, but
he was not surprised at it, as Baraka, from the beginning
of the journey to the present moment, had always been
backbiting him, to try and usurp his position. Baraka,
at^ this, somewhat taken aback, said there were no such
things as perquisites on a journey like this; for whatever
could be saved from the chiefs was for the common good
of all, and all alike ought to share in it—repeating words
I had often expressed. Then Bombay retorted, trembling
and foaming in his liquor: “ I know I shall get the worst
of it, for whilst Baraka’s tongue is a yard long, mine is
only an inch; but I would not have spent any wires of
master s to purchase slaves with (alluding to what Baraka
had done at Mihambo); nor would I, for any purpose of
making myself richer; but when it comes to a wife, that’s
a different thing.”
In my heart I liked Bombay all the more for this confession,
but thought it necessary to extol Baraka for his
quickness in finding him out, which drove Bombay nearly
wild. He wished me to degrade him, if I thought him
dishonest; threw himself on the ground, and kissed my
feet. I might thrash him, turn him into a porter, or do
anything else that I liked with him, as long as I did not
bring a charge of dishonesty against him. He could not
explain himself with Baraka’s long tongue opposed to
him, but there were many deficiencies in my wires before
he took overcharge at' Bogiie, which he must leave for
settlement till the journey was over, and then, the whole
question having been sifted at Zanzibar, we would see who
was the most honest. I then counted all the wires over
at Bombay’s request, and found them complete in numbers,
without those he had set aside for the dowry money.
Still there was a doubt, for the wires might have been cut
by him without detection, as from the commencement they
were of different lengths. However, I tried to make them
friends, claimed all the wires myself, and cautioned every
man m the camp again, that they were all losers when anything
was misappropriated; for I brought this property to
pay our way with, and whatever balance was over at the end
of the journey I would divide amongst the whole of them.