Chapter VIII. Karague

Relief from Protectors and Pillagers--The Scenery and Geology--Meeting

with the Friendly King Rumanika--His Hospitalities and Attention--His

Services to the Expedition--Philosophical and Theological Inquiries--The

Royal Family of Karague--The M-Fumbiro Mountain--Navigation of "The

Little Windermere"--The New-Moon Levee--Rhinoceros and

Hippopotamus Hunting--Measurement of a Fattened Queen--Political

Polygamy--Christmas--Rumours of Petherick's Expedition--Arrangements to

meet it--March to Uganda.

This was a day of relief and happiness. A load was removed from us

in seeing the Wasui "protectors" depart, with the truly cheering

information that we now had nothing but wild animals to contend with

before reaching Karague. This land is "neutral," by which is meant that

it is untenanted by human beings; and we might now hope to bid adieu

for a time to the scourging system of taxation to which we had been

subjected.

Gradually descending from the spur which separates the Lohugati valley

from the bed of the Lueru lo Urigi, or Lake of Urigi, the track led

us first through a meadow of much pleasing beauty, and then through a

passage between the "saddle-back" domes we had seen from the heights

above Lohugati, where a new geological formation especially attracted my

notice. From the green slopes of the hills, set up at a slant, as if

the central line of pressure on the dome top had weighed on the inside

plates, protruded soft slabs of argillaceous sandstone, whose laminae

presented a beef-sandwich appearance, puce or purple alternating with

creamy-white. Quartz and other igneous rocks were also scattered about,

lying like superficial accumulations in the dips at the foot of the

hills, and red sandstone conglomerates clearly indicated the presence

of iron. The soil itself looked rich and red, not unlike our own fine

country of Devon.

On arriving in camp we pitched under some trees, and at once were

greeted by an officer sent by Rumanika to help us out of Usui. This was

Kachuchu, an old friend of Nasib's, who no sooner saw him than, beaming

with delight, he said to us, "Now, was I not right when I told you the

birds flying about on Lohugati hill were a good omen? Look here what

this man says: Rumanika has ordered him to bring you on to his palace at

once, and wherever you stop a day, the village officers are instructed

to supply you with food at the king's expenses, for there are no taxes

gathered from strangers in the kingdom of Karague. Presents may

be exchanged, but the name of tax is ignored." Grant here shot a

rhinoceros, which came well into play to mix with the day's flour we had

carried on from Vihembe.

Deluded yesterday by the sight of the broad waters of the Lueru lo

Urigi, espied in the distance from the top of a hill, into the belief

that we were in view of the N'yanza itself, we walked triumphantly

along, thinking how well the Arabs at Kaze had described this to be

a creek of the great lake; but on arrival in camp we heard from the

village officer that we had been misinformed, and that it was a detached

lake, but connected with the Victoria N'yanza by a passage in the hills

and the Kitangule river. Formerly, he said, the Urigi valley was covered

with water, extending up to Uhha, when all the low lands we had crossed

from Usui had to be ferried, and the saddle-back hills were a mere chain

of islands in the water. But the country had dried up, and the lake of

Urigi became a small swamp. He further informed us, that even in the

late king Dagara's time it was a large sheet of water; but the instant

he ceased to exist, the lake shrank to what we now saw.

Our day's march had been novel and very amusing. The hilly country

surrounding us, together with the valley, brought back to recollection

many happy days I had once spent with the Tartars in the Thibetian

valley of the Indus--only this was more picturesque; for though both

countries are wild, and very thinly inhabited, this was greened over

with grass, and dotted here and there on the higher slopes with thick

bush of acacias, the haunts of rhinoceros, both white and black; whilst

in the flat of the valley, herds of hartebeests and fine cattle roamed

about like the kiyang and tame yak of Thibet. Then, to enhance all these

pleasure, so different from our former experiences, we were treated like

guests by the chief of the place, who, obeying the orders of his king,

Rumanika, brought me presents, as soon as we arrived, of sheep, fowls,

and sweet potatoes, and was very thankful for a few yards of red

blanketing as a return, without begging for more.

The farther we went in this country the better we liked it, as the

people were all kept in good order; and the village chiefs were so

civil, that we could do as we liked. After following down the left

side of the valley and entering the village, the customary presents and

returns were made. Wishing then to obtain a better view of the country,

I strolled over the nearest hills, and found the less exposed slopes

well covered with trees. Small antelopes occasionally sprang up from

the grass. I shot a florikan for the pot; and as I had never before seen

white rhinoceros, killed one now; though, as no one would eat him, I

felt sorry rather than otherwise for what I had done. When I returned

in the evening, small boys brought me sparrows for sale; and then I

remembered the stories I had heard from Musa Mzuri--that in the whole of

Karague the small birds were so numerous, the people, to save themselves

from starvation were obliged to grow a bitter corn which the birds

disliked; and so I found it. At night, whilst observing for latitude,

I was struck by surprise to see a long noisy procession pass by where I

sat, led by some men who carried on their shoulders a woman covered up

in a blackened skin. On inquiry, however, I heard she was being taken to

the hut of her espoused, where, "bundling fashion," she would be put in

bed; but it was only with virgins they took so much trouble.

A strange but characteristic story now reached my ears. Masudi, the

merchant who took up Insangez, had been trying his best to deter

Rumanika from allowing us to enter his country, by saying we were

addicted to sorcery; and had it not been for Insangez's remonstrances,

who said we were sent up by Musa, our fate would have been doubtful.

Rumanika, it appeared, as I always had heard, considered old Musa his

saviour, for having eight years before quelled a rebellion, when his

younger brother, Rogero, aspired to the throne; whilst Musa's honour and

honesty were quite unimpeachable. But more of this hereafter.

Khonze, the next place, lying in the bending concave of this swamp lake,

and facing Hangiro, was commanded by a fine elderly man called Muzegi,

who was chief officer during Dagara's time. He told me with the greatest

possible gravity, that he remembered well the time when a boat could

have gone from this to Vigura; as also when fish and crocodiles came

up from the Kitangule; but the old king no sooner died than the waters

dried up; which showed as plainly as words could tell, that the king had

designed it, to make men remember him with sorrow in all future ages.

Our presents after this having been exchanged, the good old man, at my

desire, explained the position of all the surrounding countries, in his

own peculiar manner, by laying a long stick on the ground pointing

due north and south, to which he attached shorter ones pointing to the

centre of each distant country. He thus assisted me in the protractions

of the map, to the countries which lie east and west of the route.

Shortly after starting this morning, we were summoned by the last

officer on the Urigi to take breakfast with him, as he could not allow

us to pass by without paying his respects to the king's guests. He was a

man of most affable manners, and loth we should part company without one

night's entertainment at least; but as it was a matter of necessity, he

gave us provisions to eat on the way, adding, at the same time, he was

sorry he could not give more, as a famine was then oppressing the land.

We parted with reiterated compliments on both sides; and shortly after,

diving into the old bed of the Urigi, were constantly amused with the

variety of game which met our view. On several occasions the rhinoceros

were so numerous and impudent as to contest the right of the road with

us, and the greatest sport was occasioned by our bold Wanguana going

at them in parties of threes and fours, when, taking good care of

themselves at considerable distances, they fired their carbines all

together, and whilst the rhinoceros ran one way, they ran the other.

Whilst we were pitching our tents after sunset by some pools on the

plain, Dr K'yengo arrived with the hongo of brass and copper wires sent

by Suwarora for the great king Mtesa, in lieu of his daughter who died;

so next morning we all marched together on to Uthenga.

Rising out of the bed of the Urigi, we passed over a low spur of

beef-sandwich clay sandstones, and descended into the close, rich valley

of Uthenga, bound in by steep hills hanging over us more than a thousand

feet high, as prettily clothed as the mountains of Scotland; whilst

in the valley there were not only magnificent trees of extraordinary

height, but also a surprising amount of the richest cultivation, amongst

which the banana may be said to prevail. Notwithstanding this apparent

richness in the land, the Wanyambo, living in their small squalid huts,

seem poor. The tobacco they smoke is imported from the coffee-growing

country of Uhaiya. After arrival in the village, who should we see

but the Uganda officer, Irungu! The scoundrel, instead of going on to

Uganda, as he had promised to do, conveying my present to Mtesa, had

stopped here plundering the Wanyambo, and getting drunk on their pombe,

called, in their language, marwa--a delicious kind of wine made from the

banana. He, or course, begged for more beads; but, not able to trick me

again, set his drummers and fifers at work, in hopes that he would get

over our feelings in that way.

Henceforth, as we marched, Irungu's drummers and fifers kept us alive on

the way. This we heard was a privilege that Uganda Wakungu enjoyed both

at home and abroad, although in all other countries the sound of the

drum is considered a notice of war, unless where it happens to accompany

a dance or festival. Leaving the valley of Uthenga, we rose over

the spur of N'yamwara, where we found we had attained the delightful

altitude of 5000 odd feet. Oh, how we enjoyed it! every one feeling

so happy at the prospect of meeting so soon the good king Rumanika.

Tripping down the greensward, we now worked our way to the Rozoka

valley, and pitched our tents in the village.

Kachuchu here told us he had orders to precede us, and prepare Rumanika

for our coming, as his king wished to know what place we would prefer to

live at--the Arab depot at kufro, on the direct line to Uganda, in his

palace with himself, or outside his enclosures. Such politeness rather

took us aback; so, giving our friend a coil of copper wire to keep him

in good spirits, I said all our pleasure rested in seeing the king;

whatever honours he liked to confer on us we should take with good

grace, but one thing he must understand, we came not to trade, but to

see him and great kings and therefore the Arabs had no relations with

us. This little point settled, off started Kachuchu in his usual merry

manner, whilst I took a look at the hills, to see their geological

formation, and found them much as before, based on streaky clay

sandstones, with the slight addition of pure blue shales, and above

sections of quartzose sandstone lying in flags, as well as other

metamorphic and igneous rocks scattered about.

Moving on the next morning over hill and dale, we came to the junction

of two roads, where Irungu, with his drummers, fifers and amazon

followers, took one way to Kufro, followed by the men carrying

Suwarora's hongo, and we led off on the other, directed to the palace.

The hill-tops in many places were breasted with dykes of pure white

quartz, just as we had seen in Usui, only that here their direction

tended more to the north. It was most curious to contemplate, seeing

that the chief substance of the hills was a pure blue, or otherwise

streaky clay sandstone, which must have been formed when the land was

low, but has now been elevated, making these hills the axis of the

centre of the continent, and therefore probably the oldest of all.

When within a few miles of the palace we were ordered to stop and wait

for Kachuchu's return; but no sooner put up in a plaintain grove, where

pombe was brewing, and our men were all taking a suck at it, than the

worthy arrived to call us on the same instant, as the king was most

anxious to see us. The love of good beer of course made our men all

too tired to march again; so I sent off Bombay with Nasib to make our

excuses, and in the evening found them returning with a huge pot of

pombe and some royal tobacco, which Rumanika sent with a notice that he

intended it exclusively for our own use, for though there was abundance

for my men, there was nothing so good as what came from the palace;

the royal tobacco was as sweet and strong as honey-dew, and the beer so

strong it required a strong man to drink it.

After breakfast next morning, we crossed the hill-spur called

Waeranhanje, the grassy tops of which were 5500 feet above the sea.

Descending a little, we came suddenly in view of what appeared to us

a rich clump of trees, in S. lat. 1 deg. 42' 42", and E. long. 31 deg. 1' 49";

and, 500 feet below it, we saw a beautiful sheet of water lying snugly

within the folds of the hills. We were not altogether unprepared for it,

as Musa of old had described it, and Bombay, on his return yesterday,

told us he had seen a great pond. The clump, indeed, was the palace

enclosure. As to the lake, for want of a native name, I christened it

the Little Winderemere, because Grant thought it so like our own English

lake of that name. It was one of many others which, like that of Urigi,

drains the moisture of the overhanging hills, and gets drained into the

Victoria N'yanza through the Kitangule river.

To do royal honours to the king of this charming land, I ordered my men

to put down their loads and fire a volley. This was no sooner done than,

as we went to the palace gate, we received an invitation to come in at

once, for the king wished to see us before attending to anything else.

Now, leaving our traps outside, both Grant and myself, attended by

Bombay and a few of the seniors of my Wanguana, entered the vestibule,

and, walking through extensive enclosures studded with huts of kingly

dimensions, were escorted to a pent-roofed baraza, which the Arabs had

built as a sort of government office where the king might conduct his

state affairs.

Here, as we entered, we saw sitting cross-legged on the ground Rumanika

the king, and his brother Nnanaji, both of them men of noble appearance

and size. The king was plainly dressed in an Arab's black choga,

and wore, for ornament, dress-stockings of rich-coloured beads, and

neatly-worked wristlets of copper. Nnanaji, being a doctor of very high

pretensions, in addition to a check cloth wrapped round him, was covered

with charms. At their sides lay huge pipes of black clay. In their rear,

squatting quiet as mice, were all the king's sons, some six or seven

lads, who wore leather middle-coverings, and little dream-charms tied

under their chins. The first greetings of the king, delivered in good

Kisuahili, were warm and affecting, and in an instant we both felt and

saw we were in the company of men who were as unlike as they could be to

the common order of the natives of the surrounding districts. They had

fine oval faces, large eyes, and high noses, denoting the best blood

of Abyssinia. Having shaken hands in true English style, which is the

peculiar custom of the men of this country, the ever-smiling Rumanika

begged us to be seated on the ground opposite to him, and at once wished

to know what we thought of Karague, for it had struck him his mountains

were the finest in the world; and the lake, too, did we not admire it?

Then laughing, he inquired--for he knew all the story--what we thought

of Suwarora, and the reception we had met with in Usui. When this was

explained to him, I showed him that it was for the interest of his

own kingdom to keep a check on Suwarora, whose exorbitant taxations

prevented the Arabs from coming to see him and bringing things from all

parts of the world. He made inquiries for the purpose of knowing how we

found our way all over the world; for on the former expedition a letter

had come to him for Musa, who no sooner read it than he said I had

called him and he must leave, as I was bound for Ujiji.

This of course led to a long story, describing the world, the

proportions of land and water, and the power of ships, which conveyed

even elephants and rhinoceros--in fact, all the animals in the world--to

fill our menageries at home,--etc., etc.; as well as the strange

announcement that we lived to the northward, and had only come this way

because his friend Musa had assured me without doubt that he would give

us the road on through Uganda. Time flew like magic, the king's mind was

so quick and enquiring; but as the day was wasting away, he generously

gave us our option to choose a place for our residence in or out of his

palace, and allowed us time to select one. We found the view overlooking

the lake to be so charming, that we preferred camping outside, and

set our men at once to work cutting sticks and long grass to erect

themselves sheds.

One of the young princes--for the king ordered them all to be constantly

in attendance on us--happening to see me sit on an iron chair, rushed

back to his father and told him about it. This set all the royals in the

palace in a state of high wonder, and ended by my getting a summons to

show off the white man sitting on his throne; for of course I could only

be, as all of them called me, a king of great dignity, to indulge in

such state. Rather reluctantly I did as I was bid, and allowed myself

once more to be dragged into court. Rumanika, as gentle as ever, then

burst into a fresh fit of merriment, and after making sundry enlightened

remarks of enquire, which of course were responded to with the greatest

satisfaction, finished off by saying, with a very expressive shake

of the head, "Oh, these Wazungu, these Wazungu! they know and do

everything."

I then put in a word for myself. Since we had entered Karague we never

could get one drop of milk either for love or for money, and I wished

to know what motive the Wahuma had for withholding it. We had heard they

held superstitious dreads; that any one who ate the flesh of pigs, fish,

or fowls, or the bean called Maharague, if he tasted the products of

their cows, would destroy their cattle--and I hoped he did not labour

under any such absurd delusions. To which he replied, It was only the

poor who thought so; and as he now saw we were in want, he would set

apart one of his cows expressly for our use. On bidding adieu, the usual

formalities of handshaking were gone through; and on entering camp, I

found the good thoughtful king had sent us some more of his excellent

beer.

The Wanguana were now all in the highest of good-honour; for time after

time goats and fowls were brought into camp by the officers of the

king, who had received orders from all parts of the country to bring in

supplies for his guests; and this kind of treatment went on for a month,

though it did not diminish my daily expenditures of beads, as grain and

plantains were not enough thought of. The cold winds, however, made

the coast-men all shiver, and suspect, in their ignorance, we must be

drawing close to England, the only cold place they had heard of.

16th.--Hearing it would be considered indecent haste to present my

tributary offering at once, I paid my morning's visit, only taking my

revolving-pistol, as I knew Rumanika had expressed a strong wish to

see it. The impression it made was surprising--he had never seen such a

thing in his life; so, in return for his great generosity, as well as to

show I placed no value on property, not being a merchant, I begged

him to accept it. We then adjourned to his private hut, which rather

surprised me by the neatness with which it was kept. The roof was

supported by numerous clean poles, to which he had fastened a large

assortment of spears--brass-headed with iron handles, and iron-headed

with wooden ones--of excellent workmanship. A large standing-screen, of

fine straw-plait work, in elegant devices, partitioned off one part of

the room; and on the opposite side, as mere ornaments, were placed a

number of brass grapnels and small models of cows, made in iron for his

amusement by the Arabs at Kufro. A little later in the day, as soon as

we had done breakfast, both Rumanika and Nnanaji came over to pay us a

visit; for they thought, as we could find our way all over the world, so

we should not find much difficulty in prescribing some magic charms to

kill his brother, Rogero, who lived on a hill overlooking the Kitangule.

Seating them both on our chairs, which amused them intensely, I asked

Rumanika, although I had heard before the whole facts of the case, what

motives now induced him to wish the committal of such a terrible act,

and brought out the whole story afresh.

Before their old father Dagara died, he had unwittingly said to the

mother of Rogero, although he was the youngest born, what a fine king

he would make; and the mother, in consequence, tutored her son to expect

the command of the country, although the law of the land in the royal

family is the primogeniture system, extending, however, only to those

sons who are born after the accession of the king to the throne.

As soon, therefore, as Dagara died, leaving the three sons alluded to,

all by different mothers, a contest took place with the brothers, which,

as Nnanaji held by Rumanika, ended in the two elder driving Rogero away.

It happened, however, that half the men of the country, either from fear

or love, attached themselves to Rogero. Feeling his power, he raised

an army and attempted to fight for the crown, which it is generally

admitted would have succeeded, had not Musa, with unparalleled

magnanimity, employed all the ivory merchandise at his command to

engage the services of all the Arabs' slaves residing at Kufro, to bring

muskets against him. Rogero was thus frightened away; but he went away

swearing that he would carry out his intentions at some future date,

when the Arabs had withdrawn from the country.

Magic charms, of course, we had none; but the king would not believe it,

and, to wheedle some out of us, said they would not kill their brother

even if they caught him--for fratricide was considered an unnatural

crime in their country--but they would merely gouge out his eyes and set

him at large again; for without the power of sight he could do them no

harm.

I then recommended, as the best advice I could give him for the time

being, to take some strong measures against Suwarora and the system of

taxation carried on in Usui. These would have the effect of bringing men

with superior knowledge into the country--for it was only through the

power of knowledge that good government could be obtained. Suwarora

at present stopped eight-tenths of the ivory-merchants who might be

inclined to trade here from coming into the country, by the foolish

system of excessive taxation he had established. Next I told him, if he

would give me one or two of his children, I would have them instructed

in England; for I admired his race, and believed them to have sprung

from our old friends the Abyssinians, whose king, Sahela Selassie,

had received rich presents from our Queen. They were Christians like

ourselves, and had the Wahuma not lost their knowledge of God they would

be so also. A long theological and historical discussion ensued, which

so pleased the king, that he said he would be delighted if I would take

two of his sons to England, that they might bring him a knowledge of

everything. Then turning again to the old point, his utter amazement

that we should spend so much property in travelling, he wished to know

what we did it for; when men had such means they would surely sit down

and enjoy it. "Oh no," was the reply; "we have had our fill of the

luxuries of life; eating, drinking, or sleeping have no charms for us

now; we are above trade, therefore require no profits, and seek for

enjoyment the run of the world. To observe and admire the beauties of

creation are worth much more than beads to us. But what led us this way

we have told you before; it was to see your majesty in particular, and

the great kings of Africa--and at the same time to open another road to

the north, whereby the best manufactures or Europe would find their

way to Karague, and you would get so many more guests." In the highest

good-humour the king said, "As you have come to see me and see sights, I

will order some boats and show you over the lake, with musicians to play

before you, or anything else that you like." Then, after looking over

our pictures with intensest delight, and admiring our beds, boxes, and

outfit in general, he left for the day.

In the afternoon, as I had heard from Musa that the wives of the king

and princes were fattened to such an extent that they could not stand

upright, I paid my respects to Wazezeru, the king's eldest brother--who,

having been born before his father ascended the throne, did not come in

the line of succession--with the hope of being able to see for myself

the truth of the story. There was no mistake about it. On entering the

hut I found the old man and his chief wife sitting side by side on a

bench of earth strewed over with grass, and partitioned like stalls for

sleeping apartments, whilst in front of them were placed numerous

wooden pots of milk, and hanging from the poles that supported the

beehive-shaped hut, a large collection of bows six feet in length,

whilst below them were tied an even larger collection of spears,

intermixed with a goodly assortment of heavy-headed assages. I was

struck with no small surprise at the way he received me, as well as with

the extraordinary dimensions, yet pleasing beauty, of the immoderately

fat fair one his wife. She could not rise; and so large were her arms

that, between the joints, the flesh hung down like large, loose-stuffed

puddings. Then in came their children, all models of the Abyssinian type

of beauty, and as polite in their manners as thorough-bred gentlemen.

They had heard of my picture-books from the king, and all wished to see

them; which they no sooner did, to their infinite delight, especially

when they recognised any of the animals, then the subject was turned

by my inquiring what they did with so many milk-pots. This was easily

explained by Wazezeru himself, who, pointing to his wife, said, "This

is all the product of those pots: from early youth upwards we keep those

pots to their mouths, as it is the fashion at court to have very fat

wives."

27th.--Ever anxious to push on with the journey, as I felt every day's

delay only tended to diminish my means--that is, my beads and copper

wire--I instructed Bombay to take the under-mentioned articles to

Rumanika as a small sample of the products of my country; [11] to say

I felt quite ashamed of their being so few and so poor, but I hoped he

would forgive my shortcomings, as he knew I had been so often robbed on

the way to him; and I trusted, in recollection of Musa, he would give

me leave to go on to Uganda, for every day's delay was consuming my

supplies. Nnanaji, however, it was said, should get something; so,

in addition to the king's present, I apportioned one out for him, and

Bombay took both up to the palace. [12] Everybody, I was pleased to

hear, was surprised with both the quantity and quality of what I had

been able to find for them; for, after the plundering in Ugogo, the

immense consumption caused by such long delays on the road, the fearful

prices I had had to pay for my porters' wages, the enormous taxes I had

been forced to give both in Msalala and Uzinza, besides the

constant thievings in camp, all of which was made public by the

constantly-recurring tales of my men, nobody thought I had got anything

left.

Rumanika, above all, was as delighted as if he had come in for a

fortune, and sent to say the Raglan coat was a marvel, and the scarlet

broadcloth the finest thing he had ever seen. Nobody but Musa had ever

given him such beautiful beads before, and none ever gave with such free

liberality. Whatever I wanted I should have in return for it, as it was

evident to him I had really done him a great honour in visiting him.

Neither his father nor any of his forefathers had had such a great

favour shown them. He was alarmed, he confessed, when he heard we were

coming to visit him, thinking we might prove some fearful monsters that

were not quite human, but now he was delighted beyond all measure with

what he saw of us. A messenger should be sent at once to the king

of Uganda to inform him of our intention to visit him, with his own

favourable report of us. This was necessary according to the etiquette

of the country. Without such a recommendation our progress would be

stopped by the people, whilst with one word from him all would go

straight; for was he not the gatekeeper, enjoying the full confidence of

Uganda? A month, however, must elapse, as the distance to the palace

of Uganda was great; but, in the meantime, he would give me leave to go

about in his country to do and see what I liked, Nnanaji and his sons

escorting me everywhere. Moreover, when the time came for my going on to

Uganda, if I had not enough presents to give the king, he would fill up

the complement from his own stores, and either go with me himself, or

send Nnanaji to conduct me as far as the boundary of Uganda, in order

that Rogero might not molest us on the way. In the evening, Masudi,

with Sangoro and several other merchants, came up from Kufro to pay us a

visit of respect.

28th and 29th.--A gentle hint having come to us that the king's brother,

Wazezeru, expected a trifle in virtue of his rank, I sent him a blanket

and seventy-five blue egg-beads. These were accepted with the usual good

grace of these people. The king then, ever attentive to our position as

guests, sent his royal musicians to give us a tune. The men composing

the band were a mixture of Waganda and Wanyambo, who played on reed

instruments made telescope fashion, marking time by hand-drums. At first

they marched up and down, playing tunes exactly like the regimental

bands of the Turks, and then commenced dancing a species of "hornpipe,"

blowing furiously all the while. When dismissed with some beads, Nnanaji

dropped in and invited me to accompany him out shooting on the slopes

of the hills overlooking the lake. He had in attendance all the king's

sons, as well as a large number of beaters, with three or four dogs.

Tripping down the greensward of the hills together, these tall, athletic

princes every now and then stopped to see who could shoot furthest,

and I must say I never witnessed better feats in my life. With powerful

six-feet-long bows they pulled their arrows' heads up to the wood, and

made wonderful shots in the distance. They then placed me in position,

and arranging the field, drove the covers like men well accustomed to

sport--indeed, it struck me they indulged too much in that pleasure, for

we saw nothing but two or three montana and some diminutive antelopes,

about the size of mouse deer, and so exceedingly shy that not one was

bagged.

Returning home to the tents as the evening sky was illumined with the

red glare of the sun, my attention was attracted by observing in the

distance some bold sky-scraping cones situated in the country Ruanda,

which at once brought back to recollection the ill-defined story I had

heard from the Arabs of a wonderful hill always covered with clouds,

on which snow or hail was constantly falling. This was a valuable

discovery, for I found these hills to be the great turn-point of the

Central African watershed. Without loss of time I set to work, and,

gathering all the travellers I could in the country, protracted, from

their descriptions, all the distance topographical features set down in

the map, as far north as 3 deg. of north latitude, as far east as 36 deg.,

and as far west as 26 deg. of east longitude; only afterwards slightly

corrected, as I was better able to connect and clear up some trifling

but doubtful points.

Indeed, I was not only surprised at the amount of information about

distant places I was enabled to get here from these men, but also at the

correctness of their vast and varied knowledge, as I afterwards tested

it by observation and the statements of others. I rely so far on the

geographical information I thus received, that I would advise no one to

doubt the accuracy of these protractions until he has been on the spot

to test them by actual inspection. About the size only of the minor

lakes do I feel doubtful, more especially the Little Luta Nzige, which

on the former journey I heard was a salt lake, because salt was found

on its shores and in one of its islands. Now, without going into any

lengthy details, and giving Rumanika due credit for everything--for had

he not ordered his men to give me every information that lay in their

power, they would not have done so--I will merely say for the present

that, whilst they conceived the Victoria N'yanza would take a whole

month for a canoe to cross it, they thought the Little Luta Nzige might

be crossed in a week. The Mfumbiro cones in Ruanda, which I believe

reach 10,000 feet, are said to be the highest of the "Mountains of the

Moon." At their base are both salt and copper mines, as well as hot

springs. There are also hot springs in Mpororo, and one in Karague near

where Rogero lived.

30th.--The important business of announcing our approach to Uganda was

completed by Rumanika appointing Kachuchu to go to king Mtesa as quickly

as possible, to say we were coming to visit him. He was told that we

were very great men, who only travelled to see great kings and great

countries; and, as such, Rumanika trusted we should be received with

courteous respect, and allowed to roam all over the country wherever

we liked, he holding himself responsible for our actions for the

time being. In the end, however, we were to be restored to him, as he

considered himself our father, and therefore must see that no accident

befell us.

To put the royal message in proper shape, I was now requested to send

some trifle by way of a letter or visiting card; but, on taking out a

Colt's revolving rifle for the purpose, Rumanika advised me not to send

it, as Mtesa might take fright, and, considering it a charm of evil

quality, reject us as bad magicians, and close his gates on us. Three

bits of cotton cloth were then selected as the best thing for the

purpose; and, relying implicitly on the advice of Rumanika, who declared

his only object was to further our views, I arranged accordingly, and

off went Kachuchu.

To keep my friend in good-humour, and show him how well the English can

appreciate a kindness, I presented him with a hammer, a sailor's knife,

a Rodger's three-bladed penknife, a gilt letter-slip with paper and

envelopes, some gilt pens, an ivory holder, and a variety of other small

articles. Of each of these he asked the use, and then in high glee put

it into the big block-tin box, in which he kept his other curiosities,

and which I think he felt more proud of than any other possession. After

this, on adjourning to his baraza, Ungurue the Pig, who had floored my

march in Sorombo, and Makinga, our persecutor in Usui, came in to report

that the Watuta had been fighting in Usui, and taken six bomas, upon

which Rumanika asked me what I thought of it, and if I knew where the

Watuta came from. I said I was not surprised to hear Usui had attracted

the Watuta's cupidity, for every one knew of the plundering propensities

of the inhabitants, and as they became rich by their robberies, they

must in turn expect to be robbed. Where the Watuta came from, nobody

could tell; they were dressed something like the Zulu Kaffirs of the

South, but appeared to be now gradually migrating from the regions of

N'yazza. To this Dr K'yengo, who was now living with Rumanika as his

head magician, added that, whilst he was living in Utambara, the Watuta

invested his boma six months; and finally, when all their cows and

stores were exhausted, they killed all the inhabitants but himself, and

he only escaped by the power of the charms which he carried about him.

These were so powerful, that although he lay on the ground, and the

Watuta struck at him with their spears, not one could penetrate his

body.

In the evening after this, as the king wished to see all my scientific

instruments, we walked down to the camp; and as he did not beg for

anything, I gave him some gold and mother-of-pearl shirt studs to swell

up his trinket-box. The same evening I made up my mind, if possible, to

purchase a stock of beads from the Arabs, and sent Baraka off to Kufro,

to see what kind of a bargain he could make with them; for, whilst I

trembled to think what those "blood-suckers" would have the impudence to

demand when they found me at their mercy, I felt that the beads must be

bought, or the expedition would certainly come to grief.

1st and 2d.--Two days after this the merchants came in a body to see

me, and said their worst beads would stand me 80 dollars per frasala,

as they would realise that value in ivory on arrival at the coast.

Of course no business was done, for the thing was preposterous by all

calculation, being close on 2500 per cent. above Zanzibar valuation.

I was "game" to give 50 dollars, but as they would not take this, I

thought of dealing with Rumanika instead. I then gave Nnanaji, who had

been constantly throwing out hints that I ought to give him a gun as he

was a great sportsman, a lappet of beadwork to keep his tongue quiet,

and he in return sent me a bullock and sundry pots of pombe, which, in

addition to the daily allowance sent by Rumanika, made all my people

drunk, and so affected Baraka that one of the women--also drunk--having

given him some sharp abuse, he beat her in so violent a manner that

the whole drunken camp set upon him, and turned the place into a

pandemonium. A row amongst the negroes means a general rising of arms,

legs, and voices; all are in a state of the greatest excitement; and

each individual thinks he is doing the best to mend matters, but is

actually doing his best to create confusion.

By dint of perseverance, I now succeeded in having Baraka separated from

the crowd and dragged before me for justice. I found that the woman,

who fully understood the jealous hatred which existed in Baraka's heart

against Bombay, flirted with both of them; and, pretending to show a

preference for Bombay, set Baraka against her, when from high words

they came to blows, and set the place in a blaze. It was useless to

remonstrate--Baraka insisted he would beat the woman if she abused him,

no matter whether I thought it cowardly or not; he did not come with me

expecting to be bullied in this way--the whole fault lay with Bombay--I

did not do him justice--when he proved Bombay a thief at Usui, I did

not turn him off, but now, instead, I showed the preference to Bombay by

always taking him when I went to Rumanika. It was useless to argue with

such a passionate man, so I told him to go away and cool himself before

morning.

When he was gone, Bombay said there was not one man in the camp,

besides his own set, who wished to go on to Egypt--for they had constant

arguments amongst themselves about it; and whilst Bombay always said he

would follow me wherever I led, Baraka and those who held by him abused

him and his set for having tricked them away from Zanzibar, under the

false hopes that the road was quite safe. Bombay said his arguments

were, that Bana knew better than anybody else what he was about, and

he would follow him, trusting to luck, as God was the disposer of all

things, and men could die but once. Whilst Baraka's arguments all rested

the other way;--that no one could tell what was ahead of him--Bana had

sold himself to luck and the devil--but though he did not care for his

own safety, he ought not to sacrifice the lives of others--Bombay and

his lot were fools for their pains in trusting to him.

3d.--At daybreak Rumanika sent us word he was off to Moga-Namarinzi, a

spur of a hill beyond "the Little Windermere," overlooking the Ingezi

Kagera, or river which separates Kishakka from Karague, to show me how

the Kiangule river was fed by small lakes and marshes, in accordance

with my expressed wish to have a better comprehension of the drainage

system of the Mountains of the Moon. He hoped we would follow him,

not by the land route he intended to take, but in canoes which he had

ordered at the ferry below. Starting off shortly afterwards, I made for

the lake, and found the canoes all ready, but so small that, besides two

paddlers, only two men could sit down in each. After pushing through the

tall reeds with which the end of the lake is covered, we emerged in

the clear open, and skirted the further side of the water until a

small strait was gained, which led us into another lake, drained at

the northern end with a vast swampy plain, covered entirely with tall

rushes, excepting only in a few places where bald patches expose the

surface of the water, or where the main streams of the Ingezi and

Luchoro valleys cut a clear drain for themselves.

The whole scenery was most beautiful. Green and fresh, the slopes of the

hills were covered with grass, with small clumps of soft cloudy-looking

acacias growing at a few feet only above the water, and above them,

facing over the hills, fine detached trees, and here and there the

gigantic medicinal aloe. Arrived near the end of the Moga-Namirinzi

hill in the second lake, the paddlers splashed into shore, where a large

concourse of people, headed by Nnanaji, were drawn up to receive me. I

landed with all the dignity of a prince, when the royal band struck up

a march, and we all moved on to Rumanika's frontier palace, talking away

in a very complimentary manner, not unlike the very polite and flowery

fashion of educated Orientals.

Rumanika we found sitting dressed in a wrapper made of an nzoe

antelope's skin, smiling blandly as we approached him. In the warmest

manner possible he pressed me to sit by his side, asked how I had

enjoyed myself, what I thought of his country, and if I did not feel

hungry; when a pic-nic dinner was spread, and we all set to at cooked

plantains and pombe, ending with a pipe of his best tobacco. Bit by

bit Rumanika became more interested in geography, and seemed highly

ambitious of gaining a world-wide reputation through the medium of my

pen. At his invitation we now crossed over the spur to the Ingezi

Kagera side, when, to surprise me, the canoes I had come up the lake in

appeared before us. They had gone out of the lake at its northern end,

paddled into, and then up the Kagera to where we stood, showing, by

actual navigation, the connection of these highland lakes with the

rivers which drain the various spurs of the Mountains of the Moon. The

Kagera was deep and dark, of itself a very fine stream, and, considering

it was only one--and that, too, a minor one--of the various affluents

which drain the mountain valleys into the Victoria N'yanza through

the medium of the Kitangule river, I saw at once there must be water

sufficient to make the Kitangule a very powerful tributary to the lake.

On leaving this interesting place, with the widespread information of

all the surrounding countries I had gained, my mind was so impressed

with the topographical features of all this part of Africa, that in my

heart I resolved I would make Rumanika as happy as he had made me, and

asked K'yengo his doctor, of all things I possessed what the king would

like best. To my surprise I then learnt that Rumanika had set his heart

on the revolving rifle I had brought for Mtesa--the one, in fact, which

he had prevented my sending on to Uganda in the hands of Kachuchu, and

he would have begged me for it before had his high-minded dignity, and

the principle he had established of never begging for anything, not

interfered. I then said he should certainly have it; for as strongly

as I had withheld from giving anything to those begging scoundrels who

wished to rob me of all I possessed in the lower countries, so strongly

now did I feel inclined to be generous with this exceptional man

Rumanika. We then had another pic-nic together, and whilst I went home

to join Grant, Rumanika spent the night doing homage and sacrificing a

bullock at the tomb of his father Dagara.

Instead of paddling all down the lake again, I walked over the hill,

and, on crossing at its northern end, whished to shoot ducks; but the

superstitious boatmen put a stop to my intended amusement by imploring

me not to do so, lest the spirit of the lake should be roused to dry up

the waters.

4th.--Rumanika returned in the morning, walking up the hill, followed

by a long train of his officers, and a party of men carrying on their

shoulders his state carriage, which consisted of a large open basket

laid on the top of two very long poles. After entering his palace, I

immediately called on him to thank him for the great treat he had given

me, and presented him, as an earnest of what I thought, with the Colt's

revolving rifle and a fair allowance of ammunition. His delight knew no

bounds on becoming the proprietor of such an extraordinary weapon, and

induced him to dwell on his advantages over his brother Rogero, whose

antipathy to him was ever preying on his mind. He urged me again

to devise some plan for overcoming him; and, becoming more and more

confidential, favoured me with the following narrative, by way of

evidence how the spirits were inclined to show all the world that he

was the rightful successor to the throne:--When Dagara died, and he,

Nnanaji, and Rogero, were the only three sons left in line of succession

to the crown, a small mystic drum of diminutive size was placed before

them by the officers of state. It was only feather weight in reality,

but, being loaded with charms, became so heavy to those who were not

entitled to the crown, that no one could lift it but the one person whom

the spirits were inclined towards as the rightful successor. Now, of all

the three brothers, he, Rumanika, alone could raise it from the ground;

and whilst his brothers laboured hard, in vain attempting to move it, he

with his little finger held it up without any exertion.

This little disclosure in the history of Karague led us on to further

particulars of Dagara's death and burial, when it transpired that the

old king's body, after the fashion of his predecessors, was sewn up in

a cow-skin, and placed in a boat floating on the lake, where it remained

for three days, until decomposition set in and maggots were engendered,

of which three were taken into the palace and given in charge to

the heir-elect; but instead of remaining as they were, one worm was

transformed into a lion, another into a leopard, and the third into a

stick. After this the body of the king was taken up and deposited on

the hill Moga-Namirinzi, where, instead of putting him underground, the

people erected a hut over him, and, thrusting in five maidens and fifty

cows, enclosed the doorway in such a manner that the whole of them

subsequently died from starvation.

This, as may naturally be supposed, led into further genealogical

disclosures of a similar nature, and I was told by Rumanika that his

grandfather was a most wonderful man; indeed, Karague was blessed with

more supernatural agencies than any other country. Rohinda the Sixth,

who was his grandfather, numbered so many years that people thought

he would never die; and he even became so concerned himself about it,

reflecting that his son Dagara would never enjoy the benefit of his

position as successor to the crown of Karague, that he took some magic

powders and charmed away his life. His remains were then taken to

Moga-Namirinzi, in the same manner as were those of Dagara; but, as an

improvement on the maggot story, a young lion emerged from the heart of

the corpse and kept guard over the hill, from whom other lions came into

existence, until the whole place has become infested by them, and has

since made Karague a power and dread to all other nations; for these

lions became subject to the will of Dagara, who, when attacked by

the countries to the northward, instead of assembling an army of men,

assembled his lion force, and so swept all before him.

Another test was then advanced at the instigation of K'yengo, who

thought Rumanika not quite impressive enough of his right to the throne;

and this was, that each heir in succession, even after the drum dodge,

was required to sit on the ground in a certain place of the country,

where, if he had courage to plant himself, the land would gradually rise

up, telescope fashion, until it reached the skies, when, if the aspirant

was considered by the spirits the proper person to inherit Karague,

he would gradually be lowered again without any harm happening; but,

otherwise, the elastic hill would suddenly collapse, and he would be

dashed to pieces. Now, Rumanika, by his own confession, had gone

through this ordeal with marked success; so I asked him if he found the

atmosphere cold when so far up aloft, and as he said he did so, laughing

at the quaintness of the question, I told him I saw he had learnt a good

practical lesson on the structure of the universe, which I wished he

would explain to me. In a state of perplexity, K'yengo and the rest, on

seeing me laughing, thought something was wrong; so, turning about, they

thought again, and said, "No, it must have been hot, because the higher

one ascended the nearer he got to the sun."

This led on to one argument after another, on geology, geography, and

all the natural sciences, and ended by Rumanika showing me an iron much

the shape and size of a carrot. This he said was found by one of his

villagers whilst tilling the ground, buried some way down below the

surface; but dig as he would, he could not remove it, and therefore

called some men to his help. Still the whole of them united could not

lift the iron, which induced them, considering there must be some magic

in it, to inform the king. "Now," says Rumanika, "I no sooner went there

and saw the iron, and brought it here as you see it. What can such

a sign mean?" "Of course that you are the rightful king," said his

flatterers. "Then," said Rumanika, in exuberant spirits, "during

Dagara's time, as the king was sitting with many other men outside his

hut, a fearful storm of thunder and lightning arose, and a thunderbolt

struck the ground in the midst of them, which dispersed all the men but

Dagara, who calmly took up the thunderbolt and places it in the palace.

I, however, no sooner came into possession, and Rogero began to contend

with me, than the thunderbolt vanished. How would you account for

this?" The flatterers said, "It is as clear as possible; God gave the

thunderbolt to Dagaro as a sign he was pleased with him and his rule;

but when he found two brothers contending, he withdrew it to show their

conduct was wicked."

5th.--Rumanika in the morning sent me a young male nzoe (water-boc) [13]

which his canoe-men had caught in the high rushes at the head of the

lake, by the king's order, to please me; for I had heard this peculiar

animal described in such strange ways at Kaze, both by Musa and the

Arabs, I was desirous of having a look at one. It proved to be closely

allied to a water-boc found by Livingstone on the Ngami Lake; but,

instead of being striped, was very faintly spotted, and so long were its

toes, it could hardly walk on the dry ground; whilst its coat, also

well adapted to the moist element it lived in, was long, and of such

excellent quality that the natives prize it for wearing almost more than

any other of the antelope tribe. The only food it would eat were the

tops of the tall papyrus rushes; but though it ate and drank freely, and

lay down very quietly, it always charged with ferocity any person who

went near it.

In the afternoon Rumanika invited both Grant and myself to witness his

New Moon Levee, a ceremony which takes place every month with a view of

ascertaining how many of his subjects are loyal. On entering his palace

enclosure, the first thing we saw was a blaue boc's horn stuffed full

of magic powder, with very imposing effect, by K'yengo, and stuck in

the ground, with its mouth pointing in the direction of Rogero. In the

second court, we found thirty-five drums ranged on the ground, with

as many drummers standing behind them, and a knot of young princes and

officers of high dignity waiting to escort us into the third enclosure,

where, in his principal hut, we found Rumanika squatting on the ground,

half-concealed by the portal, but showing his smiling face to welcome us

in. His head was got up with a tiara of beads, from the centre of

which, directly over the forehead, stood a plume of red feathers, and

encircling the lower face with a fine large white beard set in a stock

or band of beads. We were beckoned to squat alongside Nnanaji, the

master of ceremonies, and a large group of high officials outside the

porch. Then the thirty-five drums all struck up together in very good

harmony; and when their deafening noise was over, a smaller band of

hand-drums and reed instruments was ordered in to amuse us.

This second performance over, from want of breath only, district

officers, one by one, came advancing on tip-toe, then pausing,

contorting and quivering their bodies, advancing again with a springing

gait and outspread arms, which they moved as if they wished to force

them out of their joints, in all of which actions they held drum-sticks

or twigs in their hands, swore with a maniacal voice an oath of their

loyalty and devotion to their king, backed by the expression of a hope

that he would cut off their heads if they ever turned from his enemies,

and then, kneeling before him, they held out their sticks that he might

touch them. With a constant reiteration of these scenes--the saluting

at one time, the music at another--interrupted only once by a number

of girls dancing something like a good rough Highland fling whilst the

little band played, the day's ceremonies ended.

6th and 7th.--During the next two days, as my men had all worn out their

clothes, I gave them each thirty necklaces of beads to purchase a suit

of the bark cloth called mbugu, already described. Finding the flour

of the country too bitter to eat by itself, we sweetened it with

ripe plantains, and made a good cake of it. The king now, finding me

disinclined to fight his brother Rogero, either with guns or magic

horns, asked me to give him a "doctor" or charm to create longevity and

to promote the increase of his family, as his was not large enough to

maintain the dignity of so great a man as himself. I gave him a blister,

and, changing the subject, told him the history of the creation of man.

After listening to it attentively, he asked what thing in creation I

considered the greatest of all things in the world; for whilst a man at

most could only live one hundred years, a tree lived many; but the earth

ought to be biggest, for it never died.

I then told him again I wished one of his sons would accompany me to

England, that he might learn the history of Moses, wherein he would find

that men had souls which live for ever, but that the earth would come

to an end in the fullness of time. This conversation, diversified by

numerous shrewd remarks on the part of Rumanika, led to his asking how I

could account for the decline of countries, instancing the dismemberment

of the Wahuma in Kittara, and remarking that formerly Karague included

Urundi, Ruanda, and Kishakka, which collectively were known as the

kingdom of Meru, governed by one man. Christian principles, I said,

made us what we are, and feeling a sympathy for him made me desirous of

taking one of his children to learn in the same school with us, who, on

returning to him, could impart what he knew, and, extending the same by

course of instruction, would doubtless end by elevating his country to

a higher position than it ever knew before,--etc., etc. The policy

and government of the vast possessions of Great Britain were then duly

discussed, and Rumanika acknowledged that the pen was superior to that

of the sword, and the electric telegraph and steam engine the most

wonderful powers he had ever heard of.

Before breaking up, Rumanika wished to give me any number of ivories

I might like to mention, even three or four hundred, as a lasting

remembrance that I had done him the honour of visiting Karague in his

lifetime, for though Dagara had given to coloured merchants, he would be

the first who had given to a white man. Of course this royal offer was

declined with politeness; he must understand that it was not the custom

of big men in my country to accept presents of value when we made visits

of pleasure. I had enjoyed my residence in Karague, his intellectual

conversations and his kind hospitality, all of which I should record

in my books to hand down to posterity; but if he would give me a cow's

horn, I would keep it as a trophy of the happy days I had spent in his

country. He gave me one, measuring 3 feet 5 inches in length, and 18 3/4

inches in circumference at the base. He then offered me a large sheet,

made up of a patchwork of very small N'yera antelope skins, most

exquisitely cured and sewn. This I rejected, as he told me it had been

given to himself, explaining that we prided ourselves on never parting

with the gifts of a friend; and this speech tickled his fancy so much,

that he said he never would part with anything I gave him.

8th and 9th.--The 8th went off much in the usual way, by my calling on

the king, when I gave him a pack of playing-cards, which he put into his

curiosity-box. He explained to me, at my request, what sort of things he

would like any future visitors to bring him--a piece of gold and silver

embroidery; but, before anything else, I found he would like to have

toys--such as Yankee clocks with the face in a man's stomach, to wind up

behind, his eyes rolling with every beat of the pendulum; or a china-cow

milk-pot, a jack-in-the-box, models of men, carriages, and horses--all

animals in fact, and railways in particular.

On the 9th I went out shooting, as Rumanika, with his usual politeness,

on hearing my desire to kill some rhinoceros, ordered his sons to

conduct the filed for me. Off we started by sunrise to the bottom of the

hills overlooking the head of the Little Windermere lake. On arrival

at the scene of action--a thicket or acacia shrubs--all the men in the

neighbourhood were assembled to beat. Taking post myself, by direction,

in the most likely place to catch a sight of the animals, the day's work

began by the beaters driving the covers in my direction. In a very short

time, a fine male was discovered making towards me, but not exactly

knowing where he should bolt to. While he was in this perplexity, I

stole along between the bushes, and caught sight of him standing as if

anchored by the side of a tree and gave him a broadsider with Blissett,

which, too much for his constitution to stand, sent him off trotting,

till exhausted by bleeding he lay down to die, and allowed me to give

him a settler.

In a minute or two afterwards, the good young princes, attracted by

the sound of the gun, came to see what was done. Their surprise knew

no bounds; they could scarcely believe what they saw; and then, on

recovering, with the spirit of true gentlemen, they seized both my

hands, congratulating me on the magnitude of my success, and pointed

out, as an example of it, a bystander who showed fearful scars, both on

his abdomen and at the blade of his shoulder, who they declared had been

run through by one of these animals. It was, therefore, wonderful to

them, they observed, with what calmness I went up to such formidable

beasts.

Just at this time a distant cry was heard that another rhinoceros was

concealed in a thicket, and off we set to pursue her. Arriving at the

place mentioned, I settled at once I would enter with only two spare men

carrying guns, for the acacia thorns were so thick that the only tracks

into the thicket were runs made by these animals. Leading myself,

bending down to steal in, I tracked up a run till half-way through

cover, when suddenly before me, like a pig from a hole, a large female,

with her young one behind her, came straight down whoof-whoofing upon

me. In this awkward fix I forced myself to one side, though pricked all

over with thorns in doing so, and gave her one on the head which knocked

her out of my path, and induced her for safety to make for the open,

where I followed her down and gave her another. She then took to the

hills and crossed over a spur, when, following after her, in another

dense thicket, near the head of a glen, I came upon three, who no sooner

sighted me, than all in line they charged down my way. Fortunately at

the time my gun-bearers were with me; so, jumping to one side, I struck

them all three in turn. One of them dropped dead a little way on; but

the others only pulled up when they arrived at the bottom. To please

myself now I had done quite enough; but as the princes would have it, I

went on with the chase. As one of the two, I could see, had one of his

fore-legs broken, I went at the sounder one, and gave him another shot,

which simply induced him to walk over the lower end of the hill. Then

turning to the last one, which could not escape, I asked the Wanyambo to

polish him off with their spears and arrows, that I might see their

mode of sport. As we moved up to the animal, he kept charging with such

impetuous fury, they could not go into him; so I gave him a second ball,

which brought him to anchor. In this helpless state the men set at him

in earnest, and a more barbarous finale I never did witness. Every man

sent his spear, assage, or arrow, into his sides, until, completely

exhausted, he sank like a porcupine covered with quills. The day's sport

was now ended, so I went home to breakfast, leaving instructions that

the heads should be cut off and sent to the king as a trophy of what the

white man could do.

10th and 11th.--The next day, when I called on Rumanika, the spoils were

brought into court, and in utter astonishment he said, "Well, this must

have been done with something more potent than powder, for neither the

Arabs nor Nnanaji, although they talk of their shooting powers, could

have accomplished such a great feat as this. It is no wonder the English

are the greatest men in the world."

Neither the Wanyambo nor the Wahuma would eat the rhinoceros, so I was

not sorry to find all the Wanyamuezi porters of the Arabs at Kufro,

on hearing of the sport, come over and carry away all the flesh. They

passed by our camp half borne down with their burdens of sliced flesh,

suspended from poles which they carried on their shoulders; but

the following day I was disgusted by hearing that their masters had

forbidden their eating "the carrion," as the throats of the animals

had not been cut; and, moreover, had thrashed them soundly because they

complained they were half starved, which was perfectly true, by the poor

food that they got as their pay.

12th.--On visiting Rumanika again, and going through my geographical

lessons, he told me, in confirmation of Musa's old stories, that in

Ruanda there existed pigmies who lived in trees, but occasionally came

down at night, and, listening at the hut doors of the men, would wait

until they heard the name of one of its inmates, when they would call

him out, and, firing an arrow into his heart, disappear again in the

same way as they came. But, more formidable even than these little men,

there were monsters who could not converse with me, and never

showed themselves unless they saw women pass by; then, in voluptuous

excitement, they squeezed them to death. Many other similar stories were

then told, when I, wishing to go, was asked if I could kill hippopotami.

Having answered that I could, the king graciously said he would order

some canoes for me the next morning; and as I declined because Grant

could not accompany me, as a terrible disease had broken out in his leg,

he ordered a pig-shooting party. Agreeably with this, the next day I

went out with his sons, numerously attended; but although we beat the

covers all day, the rain was so frequent that the pigs would not bolt.

14th.--After a long and amusing conversation with Rumanika in the

morning, I called on one of his sisters-in-law, married to an elder

brother who was born before Dagara ascended the throne. She was another

of those wonders of obesity, unable to stand excepting on all fours. I

was desirous to obtain a good view of her, and actually to measure

her, and induced her to give me facilities for doing so, by offering in

return to show her a bit of my naked legs and arms. The bait took as I

wished it, and after getting her to sidle and wriggle into the middle

of the hut, I did as I promised, and then took her dimensions as noted

below. [14] All of these are exact except the height, and I believe I

could have obtained this more accurately if I could have her laid on the

floor. Not knowing what difficulties I should have to contend with in

such a piece of engineering, I tried to get her height by raising

her up. This, after infinite exertions on the part of us both, was

accomplished, when she sank down again, fainting, for her blood had

rushed to her head. Meanwhile, the daughter, a lass of sixteen, sat

stark-naked before us, sucking at a milk-pot, on which the father kept

her at work by holding a rod in his hand, for as fattening is the first

duty of fashionable female life, it must be duly enforced by the rod if

necessary. I got up a bit of flirtation with missy, and induced her to

rise and shake hands with me. Her features were lovely, but her body was

as round as a ball.

In the evening we had another row with my head men--Baraka having

accused Bombay of trying to kill him with magic. Bombay, who was so

incessantly bullied by Baraka's officious attempts to form party cliques

opposed to the interests of the journey, and get him turned out of the

camp, indiscreetly went to one of K'yengo's men, and asked him if he

knew of any medicine that would affect the hearts of the Wanguana so as

to incline them towards him; and on the sub-doctor saying Yes, Bombay

gave him some beads, and bought the medicine required, which, put into

a pot of pombe, was placed by Baraka's side. Baraka in the meanwhile got

wind of the matter through K'yengo, who, misunderstanding the true facts

of the case, said it was a charm to deprive Baraka of his life. A court

of inquiry having been convened, with all the parties concerned in

attendance, K'yengo's mistake was discovered, and Bombay was lectured

for his folly, as he had a thousand times before abjured his belief in

such magical follies; moreover, to punish him for the future, I took

Baraka, whenever I could, with me to visit the king, which, little as

it may appear to others, was of the greatest consequence to the hostile

parties.

15th and 16th.--When I next called on Rumanika I gave him a Vautier's

binocular and prismatic compass; on which he politely remarked he was

afraid he was robbing me of everything. More compliments went round, and

then he asked if it was true we could open a man's skull, look at his

brains, and close it up again; also if it was true we sailed all round

the world into regions where there was no difference between night and

day, and how, when he ploughed the seas in such enormous vessels as

would carry at once 20,000 men, we could explain to the sailors what

they ought to do; for, although he had heard of these things, no one was

able to explain them to him.

After all the explanations were given, he promised me a boat-hunt after

the nzoe in the morning; but when the time came, as difficulties were

raised, I asked him to allow us to anticipate the arrival of Kachuchu,

and march on to Kitangule. He answered, with his usual courtesy, That he

would be very glad to oblige us in any way that we liked; but he feared

that, as the Waganda were such superstitious people, some difficulties

would arise, and he must decline to comply with our request. "You

must not," he added, "expect ever to find again a reasonable man like

myself." I then gave him a book on "Kafir laws," which he said he

would keep for my sake, with all the rest of the presents, which he

was determined never to give away, though it was usual for him to send

novelties of this sort to Mtesa, king of Uganda, and Kamrasi, king of

Unyoro, as a friendly recognition of their superior positions in the

world of great monarchies.

17th.--Rumanika next introduced me to an old woman who came from the

island of Gasi, situated in the little Luta Nzige. Both her upper and

lower incisors had been extracted, and her upper lip perforated by

a number of small holes, extending in an arch from one corner to the

other. This interesting but ugly old lady narrated the circumstances by

which she had been enslaved, and then sent by Kamrasi as a curiosity to

Rumanika, who had ever since kept her as a servant in his palace. A man

from Ruanda then told us of the Wilyanwantu (men-eaters), who disdained

all food but human flesh; and Rumanika confirmed the statement. Though

I felt very sceptical about it, I could not help thinking it a curious

coincidence that the position they were said to occupy agreed with

Petherick's Nyam Nyams (men-eaters).

Of far more interest were the results of a conversation which I had with

another of Kamrasi's servants, a man of Amara, as it threw some light

upon certain statements made by Mr Leon of the people of Amara being

Christians. He said they bore single holes in the centres both of their

upper and lower lips, as well as in the lobes of both of their ears, in

which they wear small brass rings. They live near the N'yanza--where it

is connected by a strait with a salt lake, and drained by a river to the

northward--in comfortable houses, built like the tembes of Unyamuezi.

When killing a cow, they kneel down in an attitude of prayer, with both

hands together, held palm upwards, and utter Zu, a word the meaning of

which he did not know. I questioned him to try if the word had any trace

of a Christian meaning--for instance, a corruption of Jesu--but without

success. Circumcision is not known amongst them, neither have they any

knowledge of God or a soul. A tribe called Wakuavi, who are white, and

described as not unlike myself, often came over the water and made raids

on their cattle, using the double-edged sime as their chief weapon of

war. These attacks were as often resented, and sometimes led the Wamara

in pursuit a long way into their enemy's country, where, at a place

called Kisiguisi, they found men robed in red cloths. Beads were

imported, he thought, both from the east and from Ukidi. Associated with

the countries Masau or Masai, and Usamburu, which he knew, there was a

large mountain, the exact position of which he could not describe.

I took down many words of his language, and found they corresponded with

the North African dialects, as spoken by the people of Kidi, Gani,

and Madi. The southerners, speaking of these, would call them Wakidi,

Wagani, and Wamadi, but among themselves the syllable was is not

prefixed, as in the southern dialects, to signify people. Rumanika, who

appeared immensely delighted as he assisted me in putting the questions

I wanted, and saw me note them down in my book, was more confirmed than

ever in the truth of my stories that I came from the north, and thought

as the beads came to Amara, so should I be able to open the road and

bring him more visitors. This he knew was his only chance of ever seeing

me more, for I swore I would never go back through Usui, so greatly did

I feel the indignities imposed on me by Suwarora.

18th.--To keep the king in good-humour, I now took a table-knife, spoon,

and fork to the palace, which, after their several uses were explained,

were consigned to his curiosity-box. Still Rumanika could not understand

how it was I spent so much and travelled so far, or how it happened such

a great country as ours could be ruled by a woman. He asked the Queen's

name, how many children she had, and the mode of succession; then, when

fully satisfied, led the way to show me what his father Dagara had done

when wishing to know of what the centre of the earth was composed. At

the back of the palace a deep ditch was cut, several yards long, the end

of which was carried by a subterranean passage into the palace, where it

was ended off with a cavern led into by a very small aperture. It then

appeared that Dagara, having failed, in his own opinion, to arrive any

nearer to the object in view, gave the excavating up as a bad job,

and turned the cave into a mysterious abode, where it was confidently

asserted he spent many days without eating or drinking, and turned

sometimes into a young man, and then an old one, alternately, as the

humour seized him.

19th to 22d.--On the 19th I went fishing, but without success, for they

said the fish would not take in the lake; and on the following day, as

Grant's recovery seemed hopeless, for a long time at least, I went with

all the young princes to see what I could do with the hippopotami in

the lake, said to inhabit the small island of Conty. The part was an

exceedingly merry one. We went off to the island in several canoes, and

at once found an immense number of crocodiles basking in the sun, but

not a single hippopotamus was in sight. The princes then, thinking me

"green" at this kind of sport, said the place was enchanted, but I need

not fear, for they would bring them out to my feet by simply calling out

certain names, and this was no sooner done than four old and one young

one came immediately in font of us. It seemed quite a sin to touch them,

they looked all so innocent; but as the king wanted to try me again,

I gave one a ball on the head which sent him under, never again to be

seen, for on the 22nd, by which time I supposed he ought to have risen

inflated with gases, the king sent out his men to look out for him; but

they returned to say, that whilst all the rest were in the old place,

that one, in particular, could not be found.

On this K'yengo, who happened to be present whilst our interview lasted,

explained that the demons of the deep were annoyed with me for intruding

on their preserves, without having the courtesy to commemorate the event

by the sacrifice of a goat or a cow. Rumanika then, at my suggestions,

gave Nnanaji the revolving pistol I first gave him, but not without

a sharp rebuke for his having had the audacity to beg a gun of me in

consideration of his being a sportsman. We then went into a discourse on

astrology, when the intelligent Rumanika asked me if the same sun we

saw one day appeared again, or whether fresh suns came every day, and

whether or not the moon made different faces, to laugh at us mortals on

earth.

23d and 24th.--This day was spent by the king introducing me to his five

fat wives, to show with what esteem he was held by all the different

kings of the countries surrounding. From Mpororo--which, by the by, is

a republic--he was wedded to Kaogez, the daughter of Kahaya, who is

the greatest chief in the country; from Unyoro he received Kauyangi,

Kamrasi's daughter; from Nkole, Kambiri, the late Kasiyonga's daughter;

from Utumbi, Kirangu, the late Kiteimbua's daughter; and lastly, the

daughter of Chiuarungi, his head cook.

After presenting Rumanika with an india-rubber band--which, as usual,

amused him immensely--for the honour he had done me in showing me his

wives, a party of Waziwa, who had brought some ivory from Kidi, came

to pay their respects to him. On being questioned by me, they said that

they once saw some men like my Wanguana there; they had come from the

north to trade, but, though they carried firearms, they were all killed

by the people of Kidi. This was famous; it corroborated what I knew, but

could not convince others of,--that traders could find their way up to

Kidi by the Nile. It in a manner explained also how it was that Kamrasi,

some years before, had obtained some pink beads, of a variety the

Zanzibar merchants had never thought of bringing into the country.

Bombay was now quite convinced, and we all became transported with joy,

until Rumanika, reflecting on the sad state of Grant's leg, turned that

joy into grief by saying that the rules of Uganda are so strict, that no

one who is sick could enter the country. "To show," he said, "how absurd

they are, your donkey would not be permitted because he has no trousers;

and you even will have to put on a gown, as your unmentionables will be

considered indecorous." I now asked Rumanika if he would assist me in

replenishing my fast-ebbing store of beads, by selling tusks to the

Arabs at Kufro, when for every 35lb. weight I would give him 50 dollars

by orders on Zanzibar, and would insure him from being cheated, by

sending a letter of advice to our Consul residing there. At first

he demurred, on the high-toned principle that he could not have any

commercial dealings with myself; but, at the instigation of Bombay and

Baraka, who viewed it in its true character, as tending merely to

assist my journey in the best manner he could, without any sacrifice to

dignity, he eventually yielded, and, to prove his earnestness, sent me a

large tusk, with a notice that his ivory was not kept in the palace,

but with his officers, and as soon as they could collect it, so soon I

should get it.

Rumanika, on hearing that it was our custom to celebrate the birth of

our Saviour with a good feast of beef, sent us an ox. I immediately paid

him a visit to offer the compliments of the season, and at the same time

regretted, much to his amusement, that he, as one of the old stock

of Abyssinians, who are the oldest Christians on record, should have

forgotten this rite; but I hoped the time would come when, by making

it known that his tribe had lapsed into a state of heathenism, white

teachers would be induced to set it all to rights again. At this time

some Wahaiya traders (who had been invited at my request by Rumanika)

arrived. Like the Waziwa, they had traded with Kidi, and they not only

confirmed what the Waziwa had said, but added that, when trading in

those distant parts, they heard of Wanguana coming in vessels to trade

to the north of Unyoro; but the natives there were so savage, they only

fought with these foreign traders. A man of Ruanda now informed us that

the cowrie-shells, so plentiful in that country, come there from the

other or western side, but he could not tell whence they were originally

obtained. Rumanika then told me Suwarora had been so frightened by

the Watuta, and their boastful threats to demolish Usui bit by bit,

reserving him only as a tit-bit for the end, that he wanted a plot of

ground in Karague to preserve his property in.

26th, 27th, and 28th.--Some other travellers from the north again

informed us that they had heard of Wanguana who attempted to trade in

Gani and Chopi, but were killed by the natives. I now assured Rumanika

that in two or three years he would have a greater trade with Egypt than

he ever could have with Zanzibar; for when I opened the road, all those

men he heard of would swarm up here to visit him. He, however, only

laughed at my folly in proposing to go to a place of which all I heard

was merely that every stranger who went there was killed. He began to

show a disinclination to allow my going there, and though from the most

friendly intention, this view was alarming, for one word from him could

have ruined my projects. As it was, I feared my followers might take

fright and refuse to advance with me. I thought it good policy to talk

of there being many roads leading through Africa, so that Rumanika might

see he had not got, as he thought, the sole key to the interior. I told

him again of certain views I once held of coming to see him from the

north up the Nile, and from the east through the Masai. He observed

that, "To open either of those routes, you would require at least two

hundred guns." He would, however, do something when we returned from

Uganda; for as Mtesa followed his advice in everything, so did Kamrasi,

for both held the highest opinion of him.

The conversation then turning on London, and the way men and carriages

moved up the streets like strings of ants on their migrations, Rumanika

said the villages in Ruanda were of enormous extent, and the people

great sportsmen, for they turned out in multitudes, with small dogs

on whose necks were tied bells, and blowing horns themselves, to hunt

leopards. They were, however, highly superstitious, and would not allow

any strangers to enter their country; for some years ago, when Arabs

went there, a great drought and famine set in, which they attributed to

evil influences brought by them, and, turning them out of their country,

said they would never admit any of their like amongst them again. I

said, in return, I thought his Wanyambo just as superstitious, for I

observed, whilst walking one day, that they had placed a gourd on the

path, and on inquiry found they had done so to gain the sympathy of all

passers-by to their crop close at hand, which was blighted, imagining

that the voice of the sympathiser heard by the spirits would induce them

to relent, and restore a healthy tone to the crop.

During this time an interesting case was brought before us for judgment.

Two men having married one woman, laid claim to her child, which, as it

was a male one, belonged to the father. Baraka was appointed the umpire,

and immediately comparing the infant's face with those of its claimants,

gave a decision which all approved of but the loser. It was pronounced

amidst peals of laughter from my men; for whenever any little excitement

is going forward, the Wanguana all rush to the scene of action to give

their opinions, and joke over it afterwards.

29th and 30th.--On telling Rumanika this story next morning, he said,

"Many funny things happen in Karague"; and related some domestic

incidents, concluding with the moral that "Marriage in Karague was a

mere matter of money." Cows, sheep, and slaves have to be given to the

father for the value of his daughter; but if she finds she has made

a mistake, she can return the dowry-money, and gain her release. The

Wahuma, although they keep slaves and marry with pure negroes, do not

allow their daughters to taint their blood by marrying out of their

clan. In warfare it is the rule that the Wahinda, or princes, head their

own soldiers, and set them the example of courage, when, after firing

a few arrows, they throw their bows away, and close at once with their

spears and assages. Life is never taken in Karague, either for murder

or cowardice, as they value so much their Wahuma breed; but, for all

offences, fines of cows are exacted according to the extent of the

crime.

31st.--Ever proud of his history since I had traced his descent from

Abyssinia and King David, whose hair was as straight as my own, Rumanika

dwelt on my theological disclosures with the greatest delight, and

wished to know what difference existed between the Arabs and ourselves;

to which Baraka replied, as the best means of making him understand,

that whilst the Arabs had only one Book, we had two; to which I added,

Yes, that is true in a sense; but the real merits lie in the fact that

we have got the better BOOK, as may be inferred from the obvious fact

that we are more prosperous, and their superiors in all things, as I

would prove to him if he would allow me to take one of his sons home to

learn that BOOK; for then he would find his tribe, after a while, better

off than the Arabs are. Much delighted, he said he would be very glad to

give me two boys for that purpose.

Then, changing the subject, I pressed Rumanika, as he said he had no

idea of a God or future state, to tell me what advantage he expected

from sacrificing a cow yearly at his father's grave. He laughingly

replied he did not know, but he hoped he might be favoured with better

crops if he did so. He also place pombe and grain, he said, for the same

reason, before a large stone on the hillside, although it could not

eat, or make any use of it; but the coast-men were of the same belief

as himself, and so were all the natives. No one in Africa, as far as he

knew, doubted the power of magic and spells; and if a fox barked when

he was leading an army to battle, he would retire at once, knowing that

this prognosticated evil. There were many other animals, and lucky and

unlucky birds, which all believed in.

I then told him it was fortunate he had no disbelievers like us to

contend with in battle, for we, instead of trusting to luck and such

omens, put our faith only in skill and pluck, which Baraka elucidated

from his military experience in the wars in British India. Lastly, I

explained to him how England formerly was as unenlightened as Africa,

and believing in the same sort of superstitions, and the inhabitants

were all as naked as his skin-wearing Wanyambo; but now, since they had

grown wiser, and saw through such impostures, they were the greatest men

in the world. He said, for the future he would disregard what the Arabs

said, and trust to my doctrines, for without doubt he had never seen

such a wise man as myself; and the Arabs themselves confirmed this when

they told him that all their beads and cloths came from the land of the

Wazungu, or white men.

1st, 2d, and 3d.--The new year was ushered in by the most exciting

intelligence, which drove us half wild with delight, for we fully

believed Mr Petherick was indeed on his road up the Nile, endeavouring

to meet us. It was this:--An officer of Rumanika's, who had been sent

four years before on a mission to Kamrasi, had just then returned with

a party of Kamrasi's who brought ivory for sale to the Arabs at Kufro,

along with a vaunting commission to inform Rumanika that Kamrasi had

foreign visitors as well as himself. They had not actually come into

Unyoro, but were in his dependency, the country of Gani, coming up the

Nile in vessels. They had been attacked by the Gani people, and driven

back with considerable loss both of men and property, although they were

in sailing vessels, and fired guns which even broke down the trees on

the banks. Some of their property had been brought to him, and he in

return had ordered his subjects not to molest them, but allow them to

come on to him. Rumanika enjoyed this news as much as myself, especially

when I told him of Petherick's promise to meet us, just as these men

said he was trying to do; and more especially so, when I told him that

if he would assist me in trying to communicate with Petherick, the

latter would either come here himself, or send one of his men, conveying

a suitable present, whilst I was away in Uganda; and then in the end we

would all go off to Kamrasi's together.

4th.--Entering warmly into the spirit of this important intelligence,

Rumanika inquired into its truth; and, finding no reason to doubt it,

said he would send some men back with Kamrasi's men, if I could have

patience until they were ready to go. There would be no danger, as

Kamrasi was his brother-in-law, and would do all that he told him.

I now proposed to send Baraka, who, ashamed to cry off, said he would

go with Rumanika's officers if I allowed him a companion of his

own choosing, who would take care of him if he got sick on the way,

otherwise he should be afraid they would leave him to die, like a dog,

in the jungles. We consoled him by assenting to the companion he wished,

and making Rumanika responsible that no harm should come to him from any

of the risks which his imagination conjured up. Rumanika then gave him

and Uledi, his selected companion, some sheets of mbugu, in order that

they might disguise themselves as his officers whilst crossing the

territories of the king of Uganda. On inquiring as to the reason of

this, it transpired that, to reach Unyoro, the party would have to cross

a portion of Uddu, which the late king Sunna, on annexing that country

to Uganda, had divided, not in halves, but by alternate bands running

transversely from Nkole to the Victoria N'yanza.

5th and 6th.--To keep Rumanika up to the mark, I introduced to him

Saidi, one of my men, who was formerly a slave, captured in Walamo, on

the borders of Abyssinia, to show him, by his similarity to the Wahuma,

how it was I had come to the conclusion that he was of the same race.

Saidi told him his tribe kept cattle with the same stupendous horns as

those of the Wahuma; and also that, in the same manner, they all mixed

blood and milk for their dinners, which, to his mind, confirmed my

statement. At night, as there was a partial eclipse of the moon, all the

Wanguana marched up and down from Rumanika's to Nnanaji's huts, singing

and beating our tin cooking-pots to frighten off the spirit of the sun

from consuming entirely the chief object of reverence, the moon.

7th.--Our spirits were now further raised by the arrival of a

semi-Hindu-Suahili, named Juma, who had just returned from a visit to

the king of Uganda, bringing back with him a large present of ivory and

slaves; for he said he had heard from the king of our intention to visit

him, and that he had despatched officers to call us immediately. This

intelligence delighted Rumanika as much as it did us, and he no sooner

heard it than he said, with ecstasies, "I will open Africa, since the

white men desire it; for did not Dagara command us to show deference to

strangers?" Then, turning to me, he added, "My only regret is, you will

not take something as a return for the great expenses you have been put

to in coming to visit me." The expense was admitted, for I had now been

obliged to purchase from the Arabs upwards of L400 worth of beads, to

keep such a store in reserve for my return from Uganda as would enable

me to push on to Gondokoro. I thought this necessary, as every report

that arrived from Unyamuezi only told us of further disasters with the

merchants in that country. Sheikh Said was there even then, with my poor

Hottentots, unable to convey my post to the coast.

8th to 10th.--At last we heard the familiar sound of the Uganda drum.

Maula, a royal officer, with a large escort of smartly-dressed men,

women, and boys, leading their dogs and playing their reeds, announced

to our straining ears the welcome intelligence that their king had sent

them to call us. N'yamgundu, who had seen us in Usui, had marched on to

inform the king of our advance and desire to see him; and he, intensely

delighted at the prospect of having white men for his guests, desired

no time should be lost in our coming on. Maula told us that his officers

had orders to supply us with everything we wanted whilst passing through

his country, and that there would be nothing to pay.

One thing only now embarrassed me--Grant was worse, without hope of

recovery for at least one or two months. This large body of Waganda

could not be kept waiting. To get on as fast as possible was the only

chance of ever bringing the journey to a successful issue; so, unable to

help myself, with great remorse at another separation, on the following

day I consigned my companion, with several Wanguana, to the care of my

friend Rumanika. I then separated ten loads of beads and thirty copper

wires for my expenses in Uganda; wrote a letter to Petherick, which I

gave to Baraka; and gave him and his companion beads to last as money

for six months, and also a present both for Kamrasi and the Gani chief.

To Nsangez I gave charge of my collections in natural history, and the

reports of my progress, addressed to the Geographical Society, which he

was to convey to Sheikh Said at Kaze, for conveyance as far as Zanzibar.

This business concluded in camp, I started my men and went to the palace

to bid adieu to Rumanika, who appointed Rozaro, one of his officers,

to accompany me wherever I went in Uganda, and to bring me back safely

again. At Rumanika's request I then gave Mtesa's pages some ammunition

to hurry on with to the great king of Uganda, as his majesty had ordered

them to bring him, as quickly as possible, some strengthening powder,

and also some powder for his gun. Then, finally, to Maula, also under

Rumanika's instructions, I gave two copper wires and five bundles of

beads; and, when all was completed, set out on the march, perfectly sure

in my mind that before very long I should settle the great Nile problem

for ever; and, with this consciousness, only hoping that Grant would be

able to join me before I should have to return again, for it was never

supposed for a moment that it was possible I ever could go north from

Uganda. Rumanika was the most resolute in this belief, as the kings

of Uganda, ever since that country was detached from Unyoro, had been

making constant raids, seizing cattle and slaves from the surrounding

communities.