Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-26
Copyright 1908. by Frank G. CarpenterJ
Special Correspondence of The Star.
MENGO IrCamla

Correspondence
MENGO. Uganda.
@HERE are two great monuments
here at Mengo which mark the
changes now going on in Ugan-
da. One IL the tomb of the ty
rant Mutesa. who was ruling
these millions of semi-civilized natives
when our Stanley came. 1t is guarded by
a score or more of his bald-headed wild
ows. who are fated to watch his coffin to
the day of their DEATH The other is the
mighty matched cathedral of Namirembe.
put up by the natives. that forms the
center of the modern Christian move
ment that has converted this nation. 1t
is the largest church on the African con-
tinent. and thousands of negroes are wor-
Shipping in it.
The Tomb of King Mutesa.
Blu: come with me first to take look at
the tomb 1t lies here a few miles from
the Victoria Nyanza. on a great hill OPP
posite Kampala. and is like no other tomb
upon earth. l have visited the graves OF
the Pharaohs. The greatest of them were
cased I'D in the Pyramids. and 1t is only
within recent years that they have been
brought forth to light. Others were laid
away In caves dug out of the mountains
far up the Nile valley; but for ages they
were covered by sand and rock. have
wandered among the tombs. OF the Ming
Emperors near Marking, and below the
Great Wall in central and north China.
They are guarded by giants. elephants.
camels and lions cut out of stone / have
also seen the Tai Mahal at Agra. india
floats like vast bubble in the blue sky.
II is the most beautiful monument ever
erected. and was put up by a Monam-
medan sultan out of his love for his wife
Among the other great tomos or the
world are the enormous structure in Java
known as the Boro Boedoer. near which
stands the famed stone goddess of the
beautiful hips: the wonderfully decorated
temples at Toxic. japan. in which lie the
Shoguns. and the Hotel des lnvalides In
Paris. where Napoleon Bonaparte rests
in a sarcophazus Of reddish brown gran
ite guarded by the twelve apostles whose
figures look down from the dome over
head.
This tomb Of Mutesa is like none of
these and yet in many respects it is more
alive and more wonderful. 1t consists OF
a hut shaped like a hay stack and as Dig
as the main tent Of circus 1t is as high
as four-story house and fully one num-
dred feet In circumference. 1t is a great
tent of thatch sewed to a teamwork OF
reeds and upheld by hundreds of poles
The reeds are tied up in bundles. and are
finest of basket work. In some places
they look like mosaics. They were origi-
nally white. but the smoke which arises
: from the perpetual fires within has turned
Them as black as the skins Of Mutesa's
Widows. for whom the tomb forms
home.
The floor OF the tomb is covered with
grass. cut for the purpose. and spread
the roof are so arranged that there is a
wide pathway through the center, anu right
In the middle. under the tip Of the cone.
lies the comm. 1t is guarded by spears
fixed upright on each side of 1t. There |
are shields Of copper and brass in front.
ana At the back are huge curtains of bark
cloth the same material which forms the |
clothing of the kings widows.
Photographing the Queens.
Accompanied by my guide and a single
native soldier. 1 made my way into the
tomb. A: first it seemed as dark as
night but as my eyes grew used to the
gloom I could see about me. Squatted
around the coffin and seated here and
there on the grass in different parts Of
the hut were women OF various ages |
ranging from thirty-f1ve upward. All had
blankets of bark cloth wrapped about |
their bodies covering their breasts. but |
leaving the arms. shoulders and necks |
perfectly bare. They were bare-footed |
and bare-headed. and with two exceptions |
their heads were shaved close to the |
scalp Some Of the younger women were |
fairly good looking, but all were dark !
brown or black and OF negro features. !
BY the aid of my guide 1 was able to get |
a number of them outside in the sun. |
and by paying a little money had them |
pose for a photograph. The widows |
have been so long In darkness that their |
eyes were almost blinded by the light, |
and it was only after a number of trials
that / got a good picture.
These women were all wives of King |
Mutesa. and upo nhis death. by custom. |
they took their places about his coffin TO |
guard his body for the rest Of their nat
ural lives. They have an allowance from |
the native government. and receive so !