Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1883-09-06
KING MTESA.
The Death of Monarch Who Loved
TrinketS.
New York Herald. |

New York Herald
The death of King Mtesa of Unganda re-
moved an African potentate of whom the
record of travellers in the Dark Continent
gives rather picturesque glimpse than COM
plete and satisfying description. The most
striking account Of this parsonage is GER
tainly that given by M. Linant, Lieutenant
of Gordon Pacha, by whom he was sent to
that Princes capital, on the shores of Lake
Victoria. The following is a summary of
what he wrote:
Mtesas chair used to be placed on Leo
pard's skin in the hall of audience, so that
the hind claws served as kind of foOtstool,
while the tail stretched along the floor in
front of him. A number of charms and a
large tusk were piled up in heap beside
him, and his Grand Vizier and other cour-
tiers were constantly employed in smoothing
down the creases in his trousers-a unique
and perhaps the strangest mode of expressing
complete servility ever devised by a barbar-
GUS despot. Another traveller, Col. Long, of
the Khedival army, brought back such a
favorable description of Mtesa, although he
only saw him once, that Ismail wished to
send him magnificent carriage, which Gen
eral Gordon, with his usual good sense, in
tercepted en- route The late Khedive also
sent two sheikhs to convert Mtesa to Mo-
hammedanism; but they do not seem to
have had much success as he was strongly
opposed to the doctrines, or rather policy, of
Islam He described himself in letter to
Gordon Pasha as 1.-The son of Suna, King Of
Uganda" and he also said that he wanted
to be good friends with the English"
After this letter, introducing himself as it
were. he showed every desire to keep on
amicable terms with Egypt, and those trav-
elers and missionaries who reached his State
were generally well treated by him. His
latter correspondence consisted principally OF
requests for the articles of Europe which
had either caught his fancy or seemed more
suitable to his wants. looking glass, gold
and silver lace, stamp with his name on it,
and some gold and silver coin, such as SOW
ereigns napoleons and dollars, he asked for
repeatedly and generally managed to obtain.
He even sent some of his watches he had
received to Europe to be mended, and
showed in many other little ways his desire
to learn more of the great world he had
heard of in regions milder than his tOrrid
kingdom around lakes Albert and Victoria,
and to establish some friendly relations with
the Europeans who had reached his terri
tory in their search for the sources of the
Nile. One incident in connection with his
government has been preserved, and as it
throws some light on the mode of waging
war in that part of Africa, it may be quoted.
An island called Sassa was the particular
object of his ambition, but its inhabitants
preferred their liberty, and being expert
divers, whenever Mtesas war canoes ap-
preached they dived underneath them and,
cutting the withes, sank boats and crews to-
gether. AS Mtesa was corpulent and con-
ten years ago, his death is not sur
orising and the cessation of Egyptian activ !
ty in the equatorial region will leave his
people free to arrange the question of sue
,ession without foreign interference.
What Becomes Of Our bodies.