with bananas. The Rusisi flows close by, cutting its way through a
dyke, which crosses the valley. The country here was much more broken,
and our camp was about 300 ft. above the lake level.
[Illustration: One or more of the neighbouring Chiefs came to pay his
Respects.]
The natives have a good supply of cattle, and live in scattered villages
of considerable size; they are well set up, with good faces, high
foreheads, and not prognathous to a conspicuous degree; they all carry
long, slight, spears with small heads, and long sword-knives with
elaborately-decorated sheaths. They also use a long-bladed axe with a
hook on the end for cutting bananas, the handle of which is also
elaborately decorated with iron, copper, and brass. On their arms they
wear many wire rings and large wooden bracelets of curious shape.
In the evening I discovered an enormous jigger in my small toe, and one
of my Watonga boys skilfully removed it; the bag of eggs was the size of
a marrowfat pea, and as there was only the bone and top part of my toe
left I was afraid that I should lose it; however, after giving me some
trouble, it yielded to the persuasive influence of that panacea for all
African ills, permanganate of potash, and healed.
During the night a hyaena grabbed one of the goats, and tore the poor
brute so badly that it had to be killed. The following morning, after
crossing some very broken country, and fording a deep stream called the
Nyamgana, we arrived at the first of the three Soudanese forts,
established by the Germans on the Rusisi to prevent raids of the
Congolese rebels.
The treaty boundary, between the Congo and German East Africa of 1885,
runs from the mouth of the Rusisi to cut the 30th degree east longitude,
at a point 1 deg. 20' south of the equator. Hence all these three posts
are well within the Congo Free State. The Germans have cleverly availed
themselves of the Congolese chaos, and having placed these advance posts
for the plausible object of defending their country, by occupying the
natural line of defence afforded by the river, are now pleading
effective occupation. In the meanwhile Dr. Kandt, under the auspices of
the German Government, is investigating the possibilities of the
country. On his report the Germans will know whether the country is
worth a struggle.
The fort is well placed on a flat-topped hill overhanging the river,
which here races along between precipitous rocks, and although it is
only in charge of a native officer, it is clean and well kept. The
troops are Wanyamwesi, officered by Soudanese.
We camped on the north bank of the Nyakagunda, a large stream flowing
from the east; here again a line of rounded hills (a long spur of the
mass of hills that hems in the north end of the valley) cuts the valley
into two branches. The main or Rusisi branch is still flat and
grass-covered, and obviously an old lake-bed; while the eastern branch,
down which flows the Nyakagunda, is broken by many small hills.
About an hour before sunset some natives rushed in to say that they had
seen elephant close to camp; they said that they were travelling, so
that there was not a moment to be lost. To put the 4-bore together was
a question of seconds, and hurriedly collecting the few necessaries, and
ordering my "machila" team to follow, as I was still very weak, I dashed
off in the direction indicated. Sharp had, unfortunately, not yet
unpacked any of his 10-bore cartridges, and as every minute was precious
at that time of day, it would have been useless to wait.
About two miles from camp we found the elephants; they had stopped, and
were standing round a clump of euphorbia. Making a detour to catch the
wind, I approached them, 4-bore in hand, and with one boy carrying the
.303 behind me. There was absolutely no cover, but, to my astonishment,
they took not the slightest notice of me. Gathering confidence from
this, I went quite close and inspected them. There were twenty-nine in
all, mostly cows, some of which, however, had enormously long, thin
tusks. Taking care to avoid any sudden movements which would be likely
to attract their attention, I passed to leeward of them, so close to
some that I could have touched them with my rifle. The three bulls were
at the far end, and I at length made up my mind which one to take. The
cartridge missed fire, and at the same moment the middle bull, which had
appeared small, lifted his head from behind a small euphorbia and showed
a pair of very massive tusks, almost black from use. Inwardly blessing
the miss-fire, I went up to within six yards of him, when the one I had
left caught a puff of my wind and cocked his ears; that was all he did;
he never made a sound of any description, yet the whole twenty-nine
(many of which had their backs turned, or were completely hidden by the
euphorbia) moved off instantly. As the black-tusked male swung round, I
gave him the first barrel on the shoulder, and again the second barrel
at nine yards; he dropped on to one knee, but never even lost his
stride; the others closed round him, and helped him away, and that was
the last I saw or heard of my first elephant. I was too weak to follow
far, and the next morning I sent out some of our boys with local
natives, but they never found him. When hunting elephant and other
game, the extraordinary ease with which they pass on the danger-signal
has often made me wonder whether they have another sense, which we, by
disuse, have practically lost. Perhaps even with us it survives in a
rudimentary form, causing the inexplicable phenomena of second sight,
mesmerism, etc., etc.
The next morning we followed the eastern branch, and passing many steep
hills, crossed a pass 5,500 ft. high, and again descended into the main
valley. Numerous small streams intersected the hills, and at each ford
clouds of gorgeous butterflies enlivened the scene, attracted apparently
by the moisture. On the way we crossed many fresh tracks of elephant,
and on the western slope of the valley a large herd had followed the
track in the early morning. At the base of the slope we had much
difficulty in fording a deep and rapid river, called the Kasilo; several
goats and a calf were washed away, and the rest were only saved by the
brilliant swimming of the Watonga contingent. Thence two hours' hard
travelling brought us to the second German Soudanese fort, situated on a
small hill overlooking the Rusisi, where it issues from its broken
course through the mountains which dam the south end of Lake Kivu,
preparatory to its seventy-five-mile run through the flat valley bed to
Lake Tanganyika.
The Soudanese officer in command was most courteous and personally
presented all the local potentates, who brought us supplies of bananas,
flour, and goats. He also promised to try and trace my lost elephant,
but said that if, as was most probable, it had crossed the river it
would be impossible to recover ivory from the obstreperous chiefs in the
Congo Free State. Here, as during the whole of our journey from
Tanganyika, the mosquitoes were appalling; colossal of stature, they
arrived in myriads at sunset, and continued their plaintive wail till
the cool hour before dawn.
On the morrow we left the Rusisi once more, and passed to the east of
many striking conical hills along the flat plain of the Kasilo (which
obviously in remote ages was the course of the outlet of Lake Kivu), for
a distance of four miles, crossing several small tributaries of the
Kasilo on our way. We turned west, and climbing the high plateau
through which the Rusisi has now forced its way, camped on a high ridge
2,000 ft. above the plain. There were numerous villages and large herds
of cattle, which at night are enclosed in pens strongly stockaded. Here
we had entered the terrible Ruanda country, and the paramount chief of
the district, Ngenzi, the most powerful satrap of the King of Ruanda,
came and paid his respects. From his pleasant manner we little guessed
what a source of trouble he was to prove in the near future. Small boys
followed us on the march with huge wooden utensils filled with fresh
milk, and our welcome was most cordial. Forests of bananas stretched
far as the eye could reach to the north, east, and west, and vast fields
of peas and beans bore witness to the fertility and prosperity of the
country.
To the south lay the mighty valley of the Rusisi, stretching away
between its enclosing walls of hills, till, in the far distance, gleamed
the waters of Tanganyika.
Bidding a last farewell to those historic waters, we plunged into the
wild turmoil of hills which surround Kivu, and after a six hours' tramp,
accompanied on the way by Ngenzi and his hundred followers (not
forgetting the inevitable cup-bearer with his gourd of pombe and the
regal sucking-straw), climbed on to a ridge from which we saw the waters
of Kivu lying at our feet.
The mighty sheet of water, dotted with a hundred isles and hemmed in by
a thousand imposing hills, was of surpassing beauty; the only one of the
vast lakes of Central Africa which had not been first gazed upon by
British eyes.
*CHAPTER X.*
*LAKE KIVU.*
An abrupt descent led us through many straggling villages and endless
banana plantations to the German Soudanese post on the extreme
south-west point of the lake.
We camped on a small rise opposite the Government stockade and
overlooking the lake; the outlet is a long, thin arm, narrowing to where
the Rusisi tumbles over the first cascades, and starts on its broken
course through the hills to the point whence it finally issues on its
long, long journey by Tanganyika to the sea. The body of water leaving
the lake is small, but, with the numerous tributaries from east and
west, soon swells to a considerable size; and forty miles from
Tanganyika it is of about the same volume as the Thames at Richmond.
The south-western extremity of Kivu is really a small lake in itself,
separated as it is from the main body of the lake by a narrow neck,
which is again almost blocked by a network of islands.
On all sides long straggling promontories jut out into the water,
cutting the coast-line into a multitude of lochs and bays.
They are the spurs of the wild groups of hills which enclose Kivu on the
east, south, and west sides, and which, ever increasing in height as
they recede from the lake-shore, eventually culminate in the mighty
peaks which crown the enclosing walls of this vast Rift Valley, in which
Tanganyika, Kivu, the Albert Edward, and the Albert Lakes are but
residuary pools.
Miles and miles of banana plantations clothe the lower hills, and vast
fields of peas give a touch of green to the purples, reds, and yellows
of the luxuriant pastures. There are no trees in all the Kivu region
nearer than the summits of the distant peaks and the slopes of the
volcanoes, with the exception of a very occasional solitary tree on the
extreme summit of some of the conspicuous hills. These latter are left
untouched, despite the value of wood, and would appear to be held in
reverential awe; they form conspicuous landmarks, which may be the
primary cause of the superstitions that attach to them. Their existence
points to the country having been at one time more or less wooded; and
the trees which served no essential purpose have fallen before the
requirements of the enormous population.
This same enormous population, and the pervading air of prosperity, are
a striking indication of the possibilities of native races left to work
out their own destiny.
The far-famed unity and power of the Ruanda people have deterred the
Arabs from making slave-raids into their country, and with the exception
of one or two Belgian looting expeditions, which fortunately met with no
success, they have been left in peace.
All the southern and eastern coast-line drops abruptly into the lake,
and there is no beach or marshland such as are found on the other lakes
of Central Africa, but the feeding-streams, at their junction with the
lake, become papyrus swamps.
There were only ten soldiers in the fort, and they rolled in the lap of
luxury, calmly relieving the neighbouring population of what they (the
soldiers) considered superfluities, such as goats, sheep, fowls, etc.
This is the invariable result of placing natives in a post of
responsibility without constant supervision.
As to their duties, they had none; and it was patent that the sole
_raison d'etre_ of these posts was to be able on the day of reckoning to
show a definite asset, a claim to effective occupation--in fine, a
fulfilment of the duties imposed upon European powers by the Berlin
Conference.
The Soudanese officer in charge was most friendly, and the neighbouring
chiefs arrived in long procession and paid their respects. They
presented us with several goats and sheep, and when we expressed the
wish to purchase more, they brought them along in a ceaseless stream.
Subsequently we discovered that the affable Soudanese officer and his
brother ruffians, hearing of our approach, had annexed several herds
from some villages two days north; these were the beasts that arrived in
such bewildering profusion. They had insisted on the owners accepting a
handful of beads, thereby establishing a claim to legitimate purchase,
and compelled the local natives to bring the beasts in to us as their
own property.
There are numerous small villages in the vicinity of the post, and the
people, who live in the most wretched huts, thrown up like hayricks,
appear to have been very thoroughly bled by their undesirable
neighbours.
An extraordinary feature of Kivu, and the rivers and small lakes of the
Kivu system, is the absence of hippopotami and crocodiles. As they
swarm in Tanganyika and the Rusisi to the south, and in the Rutchuru and
Albert Edward Lake to the north, this is very remarkable. Probably the
abrupt nature of the shore, the depth of water, and the absence of
sandbanks and shelving beaches may account for it. The only possible
landing-and-resting-places would be the papyrus swamps that I have
mentioned as existing at the mouths of the streams; and the water,
hurrying down from high altitudes, and shaded from the sun by the
papyrus, is here intensely cold, and therefore unsuited to their
requirements.
The natives brought us quantities of fish similar in appearance to
bream, and of most delicate flavour. The same fish is common in
Tanganyika and the Albert Edward. This was the only species that I saw
in Kivu, and the natives told me that there are no large fish, such as
are found in the other lakes. A conspicuous feature is the
extraordinary number of large otters, which are to be seen in scores
swimming and diving in every bay. Lake Ngami in South Africa is also
remarkable for the number of otters, the skins of which are obtainable
in quantities from the natives.
There are many butterflies on the rich pasture-land, the most common
kind being almost identical with our _Coleas edusa_.
After a day's rest we marched to Ishangi, the base of Dr. Kandt, who is
making an exhaustive study of all the "district." He was most kind, and
gave us much useful information and advice.
His work is being done with characteristic German thoroughness. In a
recent surveying expedition, in the course of which he travelled 560
miles, he found his error on rounding up the trip amounted to less than
a quarter of a mile. This astounding result was obtained by counting
every step, and taking three bearings a minute. It is this amazing
attention to detail which makes the Teuton so formidable a competitor.
Amongst many most interesting specimens, he had the finest pair of tusks
that it has ever been my fortune to see. Unfortunately we had no scales,
and it was impossible to judge of their weight. The elephant had been
shot in Mushari, the country where I afterwards narrowly escaped being
eaten. Hearing from the natives that the beast was in a small gully
close to camp, Dr. Kandt sallied forth with four soldiers; only the back
of the elephant was visible over the scrub, and they fired a volley at
four hundred yards. One lucky shot hit the knee and disabled the beast,
when the gallant doctor established a valid claim to having killed an
elephant, as he naively remarked, by finishing it off. Close to Ishangi
is Lubengera, the site of a former Congo Free State station, where a few
black troops had been posted to raid cattle from the rich cattle
districts of Lubengera and Bugoie.
The mean of my aneroid readings on the lake level was 5,000 ft., and the
height of the hills contiguous with the lake ranged between 5,500 and
6,000 ft.
At Ishangi we purchased some spears, amongst others an interesting
specimen from Bunyabungu, on the west side of the lake. It was simply a
long, coarse spike, and the natives said that the people of Bunyabungu
could not manage the final stage of beating it out into a blade. Dr.
Kandt warned us about the thieving propensities and light-fingered
ability of the Wa Ruanda, and told us how he had suffered from their
depredations. One thief had entered his closed tent under the nose of
the sentry, and abstracted a pair of trousers from under the pillow on
which the doctor was lying. Another had removed the fly of his
headman's tent. Consequently, the following night we took the
precaution of carefully closing our tents, and of placing all the loads
in the third tent, with men sleeping at each end. Notwithstanding, the
following morning a tin box weighing 60 lbs. had been taken from my
tent, and had completely vanished, while two canvas kit-bags had been
abstracted, cut open, and the desirable contents removed. Thus, at one
fell swoop, we lost our sextant, artificial horizon, boiling-point
thermometers, a bag of one hundred sovereigns, all my trousers,
stockings, and socks, and many valuable papers, books, and photographs.
On this discovery we summoned the chief, our old friend Ngenzi, who had
been hanging on our flanks for about forty miles. He arrived with a
supercilious smile and a host of attendants. Having explained the
situation, I asked him what he intended to do. "There are many bad men
in my country of whom I know nothing," he answered, and again that evil
smile flitted over his countenance. It was obvious that bluffing was to
be the order of the day; so, taking the same line, we clapped him into
the guard-tent, stopped his drinks and smokes, put a guard with fixed
bayonets over him, and delivered an ultimatum to the effect that, unless
the stolen goods were restored intact by midday, we should take further
steps. Of course he protested absolute ignorance, but the sudden and
resolute nature of our proceedings took him unawares, and for once the
guile of the native failed him. Instead of protesting to a finish,
which would have left us powerless to act, he produced by his men a few
of the articles that seemed most important to him, such as caps and
native shirts. This proved his complicity, and at twelve noon we decided
to act. Sharp opened a case of Snider cartridges, issued rounds to the
ten men who carried guns, and prepared the camp for defence; while I
took my revolver and an old French cutlass purchased in Cornhill, and
with my two Watonga carrying my rifles, climbed the hill on which the
chief village was situated. Hundreds of natives with spears turned out
and showed signs of an intention to resist me.
I harangued them, explained what had happened, and told them that my
quarrel was with Ngenzi, and with Ngenzi only; that he had allowed
thieves to come and steal the goods of strangers in his country,
strangers who had come to see their country, to pass through it on a
long journey to far lands, and who had come in peace paying for what
they (the natives) brought, receiving and giving presents. I then told
them that I was going to take all Ngenzi's cattle, drive it in to the
German post, and let the Germans, their overlords, decide between us. I
warned them that any man coming to the camp would be shot, but that they
might bring food as usual for sale. Eventually, without firing a shot,
I collected and drove in to the camp one hundred and ninety head of
cattle.
They made a few tentative rushes at me, but were repulsed by the simple
expedient of waving the cutlass in the air. Such were the terrible
Ruanda people, whose reputation has spread far and wide, and whose
country has been left alone for fear of their military organization. At
least five thousand men sat on the hill-tops and watched three men with
a revolver, cutlass, and two rifles drive off one hundred and ninety
head of cattle; and I am inclined to think that most Central African
warfare could be settled as easily. Had I had despatches to write I
might have acted differently.
The Germans, overestimating the power of the Ruanda kingdom, had
weakened the white man's prestige by subsidizing Ngenzi with extravagant
gifts of cloth; and he imagined that he could bleed any one who came
into his country.
I have always utterly refused to pay "hongo"[#] to any native, and never
give presents until I have received one. Then, if the present is a
liberal one, I give a yet more liberal present; but if the present is
niggardly, I give the exact market value of the goods received, unless,
of course, the niggardliness is due to poverty.
[#] Tax on people passing through chief's territory.
We placed a strong guard over the cattle, and removed our camp from the
undesirable vicinity of the villages to a round, flat-topped hill half a
mile to the south. At one end we pitched our three tents and arranged
the boys' tents to complete the circle. Inside we fixed a long rope
plaited from banana fibre, and kept in position by spears. Inside this
circle we drove all the cattle, and we placed pickets round the side of
the hill to guard against surprise or an attempt to stampede the herd.
The moon rose about midnight, and during the hours of darkness Sharp and
I took it in turns to go the rounds. The noise was appalling, as some
of the cows had lost their calves; and one or two attempts were made to
break through, but we succeeded in quieting them before the panic became
general. Thanks to our precautions, the night passed without incident,
and in the morning Sharp drove the whole herd over to Ishangi and gave
them into the charge of the Soudanese, whom we had summoned from the
post at the tail of Kivu.
Of course, immensely exaggerated accounts of our proceedings spread
throughout the land, and the chief near Dr. Kandt went to him and asked
him whether he had better fly from the country. He was promptly
reassured, and the doctor kindly came over to see if he could be of any
assistance, while the Soudanese officer sent his men to scour the
outlying villages to see if they could find any of our property, but
without avail.
Fortunately the natives did not attack Sharp on the road, and with the
exception of some difficulty in crossing bogs, he arrived without
mishap.
We sent in an exhaustive report to Lieut. von Gravert, and released
Ngenzi with a caution. He promptly made up for lost time in the way of
tobacco and pombe, and was most respectful. That sinister smile has for
ever faded from his dusky features, and I am sure the lesson has been of
inestimable benefit to him.
For many days to come it was curious to see the military appearance of
our Manyema: no one stirred from the camp without two spears, a
sword-knife, and, if possible, a gun with fixed bayonet.
The smaller fry were delighted at the humiliation of the mighty Mtusi,
and many came in to do obeisance and thank us for our action.
Society in Ruanda is divided into two castes, the Watusi and the Wahutu.
The Watusi, who are practically identical with the Wahuma, are the
descendants of a great wave of Galla invasion that reached even to
Tanganyika. They still retain their pastoral instincts, and refuse to
do any work other than the tending of cattle; and so great is their
affection for their beasts, that rather than sever company they will
become slaves, and do the menial work of their beloved cattle for the
benefit of their conquerors. This is all the more remarkable when one
takes into consideration their inherent pride of race and contempt for
other peoples, even for the white man. They are most jealous of their
descent, and no Mtusi woman ever marries any one but a Mtusi. A Mtusi
man will take another woman as a working wife, but his true wife is
invariably of his own stock, and her children alone can succeed to his
position.