The Republican., 1892-08-05
AN AFRICAN NERO.
a Black Tyrsnt of Uganda-The Torture
He Infiicts Upon His Subjects.


He Infiicts Upon His Subjects.
The most important of the native
states of eastern Africa is Uganda on
the northern shore of Lake Victoria
Nyanza, and the civil war at present
being waged there between the ad-
herents of the French Catholic mission
aries and those of the English Prot
estant missionaries must be rather
agreea bic than otherwise to the sable
monarch of the country, King Mwanga,
since it enables him to exercise his
peculiar talents for fishing in troubled
waters. Mwanga succeeded his father,
Mtesa, in 1884. At one time Mtesa pro-
fessed Mohammedanism, at another
Christianity: he gladly received pro-
pagandists OF all creeds, invited the
Protestant missionaries to compete with
the Catholics and saw religious dis
sentions follow the introduction of
European civilization into his domin-
ions, his royal court and character be-
ing fully described in the books of
Spoke and Stanley. His son and sue
cessor was only too willing to kick all
the missionaries out of his land and to
relapse into paganism and savagery.
This King Mwanga is tall and
strong man, between twenty-five and
thirty years of age; his fat face has
regular features, but is disfgured by
an express sion of unbounded sensuality;
he has large eyes, a nose not so fiat as
that of most of his subjects, strong
chin sparsely stubbed with beard, and
he is always dressed in clothes of spot
less cleanliness. 1t is difficult to fathom
his real character; before his people he
often appears silly and lacking in
energy: but in private interview with
foreigners he displayed great cleverness
and "A good memory, although eXcesses
have undoubtedly weakened his powers.
Very soon after he became king his un-
precedented cruelties arrayed both
Mohammedans and Christians against
him. If he happened to suspect any
body he ordered him, without the
slightest hesitation, to be strangled or
dubbed to death, and hundreds of un-
fortunates are said to have been burned
alive. Three Christian lads proposing
to accompany missionary on journey,
Mwanga arrested them, had their arms
cut off and then bound them to a
scaffold where they were slowly burned
to death. When war is to be declared
by Uganda it is the custom to slaughter
black COW and boy or girl across the
border, and many human beings are
sacrificed to propitiate the spirits in the
hostile country, If any man presumes
to covet one Of the kings numerous
wives he is instantly condemned to have
his eyes taken out from their sockets.
On one occasion Mwanga had some
goats conveyed to an island on the lake
and then vainly tried to persuade the
Christians to go over in their canoes and
catch them, intending to withdraw the
canoes and let the Christians starve
after they should have devoured the
goats. When the English Bishop Han
pington and his fifty followers were ap-
Preaching his kingdom in 1885 it was by
his orders that the bishop was seized and
his followers were speared. Both the
English and the French missionaries he
expelled from his country and robbed
them of everything they possessed en-
cept their underclothing. At last an
insurrection deposed the tyrannical
Mwanga; then, with an eye to his own
interest, he professed himself a convert
TO Christianity, was baptized by the
French missionaries, and with the help
of the Christians he returned from exile
and regained his throne in 1889, after it
had been occupied by two of his
brothers in succession.
Recent travellers report that Moham-
medism has been totally driven out of
Uganda, and that Christianity is now
the prevailing religion. Years of war
fare have laid the country waste; the
banana groves and coffee plantations
are neglected and overgrown with long
grass; broken shields and mutilated hu-
man remains are scattered along the
paths and famine has killed off great
numbers. The people generally hate
Mwanga, since he cares only for him
self and his selfish pleasures, but for
thirty generations they have been ac-
customed to grown men for their kings
and so they endure him rather than
risk the anarchy that might follow the
accession of his only legitimate sue
cessor, a child Of four years of age.
Mwanga sees that he must inevitably
submit to European influence. He would
prefer the Germans for his masters, but
an agreement between England and
Germany has assigned his country to
the British East Africa company, and,
resisting the company's emissary, Capt.
F. d. Lugard, he relies upon the help of
the French Catholic missionaries and
foments civil war Nobody believes in
the sincerity of his conversion to Chris
tianity, and were it not for the political
situation, he would doubtless be as
much of an African Nero as ever, and
club, strangle and burn his victims as
of old.-N Y. Tribune
Question of Color.
Miss penSfOck-Iem'l JohnSinO de