New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-12-05
AFRICAN EXPLORA1I IONS.
VISIT TO THE COURT OF KING moNGA

UAKFM-PDIOGAM1
ING AN EMBARRASSING OFFER OF MARRIAGE.
OF late years Austria has made very credltaoie
figure in the ranks of the nations which have con-
trbuted by the efforts of their daring explorers anu
adventurous travellers toward the solution OF geo
orophicol probiems The Arctic expedition of Lieu
tenants PAYER and Weyprccht, IN 1872, discovered
and chrstened Francis Joseph Land to the north oil
Sptzbercen and reached what the geographcr Peter
man believed 10 he the open Polar Sea. few years
ago the conrage ous and interchangeable DR.. ilolub
trayersed in numerous journeys large districts OF
Southwestern Africa hitherto unknown. more
recent Austrian traveller is Richard Buchia, who
las lately returned from the shores of the Albert
Nyanzl The country he explored had been visited
by white men before SO he has not much That ia alb
soutey new to tell but he gives very entertaining
accounts OF the manners Of tnc people. The follow
ing DESCRIPTION of Buchtas reception at the Court
of King K onga. the monarch OF Wanyoroland' Is
translated and condensed for The TRIBUNE from a
lecture recently delivered by him in Vienna.
Il CEPTIoN AT An AFRICAN COURT.
Learning of Puchtas coming King Rionga dis
patched a court official to meet him Oh The road ard
10 convey to the traveller his greetings. toS'ther
with a present of a number of goats ana
chickens, some baskets of bananas and a jar OF
pomb6 a sort of beer made of bananas. On enter
ing the village, hIOugl mel Ilnl accompanied Nv
his brother, Arkadjaus and "A numerous suite; ana
welcomed HIM cordially. That eNcnin2 Tue hih@
sent a troupe If dancers 10 Bucnia5 quarters 70
atuuse him Their 1.-the Ozark figures clad III IAN
tastlc garb. and adorned with strange ornaments,
moving u, the Pickering hrellQht 90 the una Oh
an outrageous. eaT-splIttlug music, made IN.
Austrian fancy that lie was besrt 10y troop of
demons y xt morning the traveller visited n
onga IN one of ms straw hnts and found hun lying
on scrt of dIyan, VITA his arms and 0rrasi bare
auG the lower part of hs body wrapped IN shaw !
of
his Old mother. developed III a bright req mantle
In frost of the royal par on mats plac on th1
ground, sal i row of elderly women who belonged
to Einuga's harcm. The traveller shook hands win
the KIdg. and was given low stool by - com cal
Ettle dwarf who acted "a dJ0rkccper 10 the hui
He sat down near the King aud impaired alter his
health The monarch was Ill., or imagined ne was
His chef magician bad found bad omen III INC
eizz - Of Il chicken. and was dosing Ronga with
harmless iiLId as q sort of preventive
Is wANYOKo HARFM.
Two women entered the hut, wrapped up to the
neck in white cloth made OF bark Gbres. They
kne; before the King. bent their heads down to
the ground and each placed two fingers his onf-
stretched hand and then strol1ing his forehead
with their finger tips. said " greet thee, Lord"
One was the Kings daughter kagala, aud the other
his sister, Nakltscbupl. OF whose good looks aud
kind disposition the traveller had heard IN
advance lively conversation arose ainoA2
the women on the subject of the features
and dress of the European stranger, and thon
there Was animated discussion Of the important
question whether the visitor should he SHOWN 10 the
your ger ladies of the royal household. ihls was
settled in the affirmative by the decision OF the
KINGS mother. Preceded by ten guards and q
drummer. and accompanied by the Princess Ndkat-
,chupl the traveller marched across a cOurt-N arl
TO the huts OF tie haIem. Nak&tsc buDi led him by
the hand INTO the largest 81 the nuts where he
found h;r self ~ the presence ol company ot
thirty women and girls, all young, plump ana
scanilly cad. They wore srngs OF glass
beads ahOut their neckS, aud bands OF brass
IA
the rctreated 10 the roar of the hut Ike nerd ~
fri -hteneI drtcoDes, but soou growing colder They
ca nerei around the white visitor VINO seated MINI
sell with LIS conductor on Il san ~ tie middle OF
the room. Olc OF them utcd his cap from his mead
and there was chorus OF dmlLein-nt al ms Tong
blonde har. They would not believe 10 HaS really
human hair uutl they had touched It aud th' con-
fused trave Ter hai twenty hands upon hls head 40
once. until he put an end 10 tao performance
bv putting on his cap. lie was questioned
on all sides: From whence do yoa come
" Where IS your country Z Are there COWS a Il
rivers and mountains there, and DO Won have
bananas 2 Are an your brothers as white a, You
and do they have such hair - " Are You w'.ltr all
over or only 10 YOUR face y Most of tie company
denied The possibility of ms body being of the
traordnary Tor displayed 10y his face. until by the
Princess. request he pared his arm. linen there
a1o,. a storm of astonlsucd exclamatlons, ana
Buchta had difficulty 10 lplng from fnFihor M
ye~liga'ion. A mighty, jar Of banana beer was
brought IN with hollow reeds through
winch the, traveller and Tie Irn-
cobbler fashion. Smaller jars and reeds were fur
nshod tne ladies' Of the hareIn ana for time there
was no sound but the guTglIne Of the pomoe.
ROYAL PROPOSAL or MARRIAGE.
Nakaischupi broke the silence with a question:
How many wives nave you at home !" sine asked.
She was great amazed when the traveller answered
Nouev WHAT" she SAID. " are You poor that
YOU cannot bug yourself asinlc VIE = In Unyoro
and among all the negro tribes OF the Upper Nile,
girls are bought from their fathers, and the price
Eo nile he "a
yorO price of pretty XII u zen
cows, and Of plan one, eight. me
Schulz negroes pay for their brides ten cows, t,l
goats ten biz and ten lile roh shoveis ten spears
and ten chickens Among The Bars ten COWS IS
the G. II o. wife unless she IS the daughter 81
chef in which ease The pricc Is sometimes rs high
As ff,v How cones it, continued Nakat ,chupl,
that You, II you are 80 poor. can 60 - far away
from home, for ne country 81 the white man must
explain that the white men came to the country OF
tne dark people to gam knowledge. - see
how they h'-d and what their and pro
ducsI but 6 shook her mead d0ubtngiy
and exclaimed You are q magician. and como
here to be'sitch us. You look like man. hut sou
are mo- man auo YOU are stI,l less woman. IL
were "a man you would marry number Of wives
and stay AT home" In WIN the travels Abught 10
make her understand that .Ie laws aIt cas ON, nf
the whit people forbade poyglmy she .Iuck TO
her opinion thet there Was something uHua' uIM
and M, steIl0us about nm which kent hlln single.
It Is shame Tor You that yoI have no
wife, size exclaimed. playing with The glass
called one Of the guards, gray bearded
man. with small. sharp eyes, AID whspered soino-
thing to nm. Whe eupOn be drove al tne other
women oui 81 she nut, leaving Buchta alone with
him and the Princess.
"You have o wives IN youT country began Ma
kaisciInp Say with us ami mary here. Iue
white man pl,a-c, me- and myself, tEe daughter
OF The ROYAL ~1gara, ana tht slster oI Ri1Hgd, VIII
be your wife All my cows, and Aiwambn, (.eSIg-
mating the Oid Iu,ul knows how many have; all
my goats. M fields, NV servants aud my
women-saycs shan b. your-. | Will
feed You with sweet milk and intrXic ate yon VITA
the bcst liquor. Ny brother will make you dchiei
and YOU snail stay with me. On. II N0u wan 0thcr
wives viii give them 10 You, but you snail belong
to me only" -
lie poor traveller ~ dreadful dilemInf. He
remembered 10 have beard the day before thar tie
daughter OF a royal house mad the right To CiOOs 4
husband among the men OF The country, and tnat
refusal to marry was capital offence. I'm ally
his wits came To his rescue he sad that he was tho
subject of mighty Sultan, f." no was powerful MA
gic!an, aud could reach MN wherever lie might
be. The sultan had forbidden hn 10 marry while
on his iOurnc, ana # he sIOud dlsObey would Ger