DEPARTURE FROM REFUGE ISLAND.--ARRIVAL IN UGANDA.--MTESA AT
WAR.--STANLEY JOINS HIM AT RIPON FALLS.--A NAVAL BATTLE ON AN AFRICAN
LAKE.--THE WAGANDA REPULSED.--CAPTURE OF A WAVUMA CHIEF.--STANLEY SAVES
THE CHIEF'S LIFE.--HOW STANLEY BROUGHT THE WAR TO AN END.--HIS WONDERFUL
MACHINE FOR DESTROYING THE WAVUMA.--RETIREMENT OF THE ARMY.--STANLEY'S
RETURN TO HIS CAMP.--EXPEDITION TO MUTA NZEGE.--HOW IT FAILED.--THE
EXPEDITION MARCHES SOUTHWARD.--IN KING RUMANIKA'S COUNTRY.--ARAB TRADERS
IN AFRICA.--HAMED IBRAHIM.--KAFURRO AND LAKE WINDERMERE.--INTERVIEWS
WITH KING RUMANIKA.--EXPLORING LAKE WINDERMERE.--AN UNHAPPY
NIGHT.--IHEMA ISLAND.
When the party assembled in the evening Fred was promptly in his place
and ready for work. By way of testing the memories of his auditors he
asked them where they left Mr. Stanley's expedition at the end of the
afternoon's reading.
"We left it at Refuge Island," replied one of the youths. "The canoes
had made two journeys each way, between Kagehyi and Refuge Island, to
bring up the men and baggage."
[Illustration: USUKUMA CANOE.]
"Quite right," said Fred, "and at Refuge Island they remained for
several days, negotiating for a peaceful passage by the island of
Bumbireh. A search expedition, which was sent by King Mtesa to ascertain
what had become of his friend 'Stamlee,' joined them, and together there
was a sufficient number of canoes to carry the whole party to Uganda.
"But on arriving in Uganda," Fred continued, "Mr. Stanley found that
Mtesa had gone to war with the Wavuma, who dwell on the farther shore of
the lake, and beyond the Victoria Nile. He had marched to Usoga and
fought a battle with the Wavuma, and was then preparing a naval
expedition on a grand scale. Stanley was inclined to turn back when he
heard this news, as he feared the delay which the war would cause. After
due consideration he decided to go on, as the greater ease with which he
could travel to the Muta Nzege would offset any delay caused by Mtesa's
war.
[Illustration: ISLAND CALLED ELEPHANT ROCK.]
"He found Mtesa with his army at Ripon Falls, on the Usoga side of the
river. Warriors, women, camp-followers, and all numbered nearly two
hundred and fifty thousand, and, besides, he had a flotilla of three
hundred and twenty-five canoes, large and small. The enemy was in great
strength, though less numerous. They had a strong position on an island,
and everything promised a severely contested battle, with the chances in
favor of Mtesa. The army remained several days at Ripon Falls after
Stanley's arrival, and then marched to a point of land near Ingira, the
island where the Wavuma had their stronghold. During the delay in camp
the king and his guest were often together, and Stanley embraced the
opportunity to renew his religious instruction of Mtesa. He made an
abstract of the Scriptures, which were translated into Swahili, and thus
the king had all the principal events of the Bible, from the Creation to
the Crucifixion, in a language he could read. Finally the king declared
that he would renounce the faith of Islam, and accept Christianity, as
he believed its principles were the best.
"'Stamlee,' said Mtesa, as they parted, 'say to the white people when
you write to them, that I am like a man sitting in darkness, or born
blind, and that all I ask is that I may be taught how to see, and I
shall continue a Christian while I live.'
[Illustration: MTESA'S CAMP INGIRA.]
"The fleets of Mtesa and the Wavuma people had several encounters, but
without any decisive results. Mr. Stanley thus describes one of these
naval battles:
"The drums sounded from the water-side, and soon the beautiful
canoes of Uganda appeared in view. The entire war-fleet of two
hundred and thirty vessels rode gracefully on the calm gray waters
of the channel.
"The line of battle was formed by Chambarango, in command of the
right flank, with fifty canoes; Sambuzi, Mukavya, Chikwata, and
Saruti, all sub-chiefs, were ranged with one hundred canoes, under
the command of Kauta, the imperial steward, to form the centre; the
left flank was in charge of the gallant Mkwenda, who had eighty
canoes. Tori commanded a force of musketeers, and with his four
howitzers was stationed on the causeway, which was by this time two
hundred yards from the shore.
"In the above manner the fleet of vessels, containing some sixteen
thousand men, moved to the attack upon Ingira. The centre, defended
by the flanks, which were to menace the rear of the Wavuma should
they approach near the causeway, resolutely advanced to within
thirty yards of Ingira, and poured in a most murderous fire among
the slingers of the island, who, imagining that the Waganda meant
to carry the island by storm, boldly stood exposed, resolved to
fight. But they were unable to maintain that courageous behavior
long. Mkwenda then moved up from the left, and attacked with his
musketeers the Wavuma on the right, riddling their canoes, and
making matters specially hot for them in that quarter.
[Illustration: ONE OF THE GREAT NAVAL BATTLES BETWEEN THE WAGANDA
AND THE WAVUMA, IN THE CHANNEL BETWEEN INGIRA ISLAND AND CAPE
NAKARANGA.]
"The Wavuma, seeing matters approaching a crisis, and not wishing
to die tamely, manned their canoes, and one hundred and ninety-six
dashed impetuously, as at first, from the rushes of Ingira with
loud, shrill yells, and the Waganda lines moved backward to the
centre of the channel, where they bravely and coolly maintained
their position. As the centre of the Uganda line parted in front of
the causeway and disclosed the hotly advancing enemy, Tori aimed
the howitzers and fired at a group of about twenty canoes,
completely shattering more than half of them, and, reloading one
quickly, he discharged several bolts of iron three inches long
among them with terrible effect. Before this cool bearing of the
Waganda the Wavuma retired to their island again, and we saw
numbers of canoes discharging their dead and wounded, and the
Waganda were summoned to Nakaranga shore to receive the
congratulations of the emperor and the applause of the vast
multitude. Mtesa went down to the water's edge to express his
satisfaction at their behavior.
[Illustration: SMALL CANOE.]
"'Go at them again,' said he, 'and show them what fighting is.' And
the line of battle was again formed, and again the Wavuma darted
from the cover of the reeds and water-cane with the swiftness of
hungry sharks, beating the water into foam with their paddles, and
rending the air with their piercing yells. It was one of the most
exciting and animating scenes I ever beheld. The Waganda
distinguished themselves for coolness and method, and the Wavuma,
as on a former occasion, for intrepidity and desperate courage."
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE COUNTRY NEAR MTESA'S CAMP.]
"Mtesa did not make any progress in his war upon the Wavuma," said Fred,
"and became very ill-natured in consequence. One day he captured a
Wavuma chief, whom he proposed to burn to death. The man was bound to a
stake, and fagots were piled around him ready to be lighted, when
Stanley interfered. With great difficulty, and only upon the threat of
going away immediately, he succeeded in persuading Mtesa not to carry
out his intention. Mtesa had repeatedly asked Stanley's advice and
assistance. Stanley was anxious to end the war, and continue his
journey, and at the same time he wished to prevent bloodshed. So he
proposed to the king that in return for granting his request to spare
the life of the Wavuma chief he would build something that would strike
terror to the Wavuma and force them to submit. Let us hear his story of
what he did:
"'You must give me plenty of men to help me, and in three days I
shall be ready,' I said to Mtesa. 'Meantime shout out to the Wavuma
from the causeway that you have something which will be so terrible
that it will finish the war at once.'
"'Take everybody, do anything you like; I will give you Sekebobo
and all his men.'
"The next morning Sekebobo brought about two thousand men before my
quarters, and requested to know my will. I told him to despatch one
thousand men to cut long poles one inch thick, three hundred to cut
poles three inches thick and seven feet long, one hundred to cut
straight long trees four inches thick, and one hundred to disbark
all these and make bark rope. Himself and five hundred men I wished
to assist me at the beach. The chief communicated my instructions
and urged them to be speedy, as it was the emperor's command, and
himself accompanied me to the canoe fleet.
"I selected three of the strongest-built canoes, each seventy feet
long and six and a half feet wide, and, after preparing a space of
ground near the water's edge, had them drawn up parallel with one
another, and four feet apart from each other. With these three
canoes I began to construct a floating platform, laying the tall
trees across the canoes, and lashing them firmly to the thwarts,
and as fast as the seven-foot poles came I had them lashed in an
upright position to the thwarts of the outer canoes, and as fast as
the inch poles arrived I had them twisted in among these uprights,
so that when completed it resembled an oblong stockade, seventy
feet long by twenty-seven feet wide, which the spears of the enemy
could not penetrate.
[Illustration: THE FLOATING FORTLET MOVING TOWARDS INGIRA.]
"On the afternoon of the second day the floating fort was finished,
and Mtesa and his chiefs came down to the beach to see it launched
and navigated for a trial trip. The chiefs, when they saw it, began
to say it would sink, and communicated their fears to Mtesa, who
half believed them. But the emperor's women said to him: 'Leave
Stamlee alone; he would not make such a thing if he did not know
that it would float.'
"On receiving orders to launch it, I selected sixty paddlers, and
one hundred and fifty musketeers of the body-guard to stand by to
embark as soon as it should be afloat, and appointed Tori and one
of my own best men to superintend its navigation, and told them to
close the gate of the fort as soon as they pushed off from the
land. About one thousand men were then set to work to launch it,
and soon it was floating in the water, and when the crew and
garrison, two hundred and fourteen souls, were in it, it was
evident to all that it rode the waves of the lake easily and
safely--
"'The invention all admired, and each how he
To be the inventor missed, so easy it seemed
Once found, which yet unfound most would have thought
Impossible'--
"and a burst of applause from the army rewarded the inventor.
"Several long blue Kaniki and white and red cloths were hoisted
above this curious structure, which, when closed up all round,
appeared to move of its own accord in a very mysterious manner, and
to conceal within its silent and impenetrable walls some dread
thing, well calculated to strike terror into the mind of the
ignorant savage.
"At eight o'clock, on the morning of the 13th of October, the army
was assembled at Nakaranga with unusual display, and it was
proclaimed across the strait from the extremity of the causeway,
that a terrible thing was approaching which would blow them into
atoms if they did not make peace at once, and acknowledge the power
of Mtesa; and I believe that they declared that all the Muzimus and
the charms of Uganda were within, for I heard something said about
Muzimu and Uganda. The old Mvuma chief was also placed in prominent
view, and induced to urge them to accept the terms which Mtesa
offered, viz., pardon to all, provided they went through the form
of submission. After this announcement, which was made with all
gravity, the awful mysterious structure appeared, while the drums
beat a tremendous sound, and the multitude of horns blew a
deafening blast.
"It was a moment of anxiety to me, for manifold reasons. The fort,
perfectly defensible in itself against the most furious assaults by
men armed with spears, steadily approached the point, then steered
direct for the island of Ingira, until it was within fifty yards.
"'Speak,' said a stentorian voice, amid a deathly silence within.
'What will you do? Will you make peace and submit to Mtesa, or
shall we blow up the island? Be quick and answer.'
"There was a moment's consultation among the awe-stricken Wavuma.
Immediate decision was imperative. The structure was vast, totally
unlike anything that was ever visible on the waters of their sea.
There was no person visible, yet a voice spoke clear and loud. Was
it a spirit, the Wazimu of all Uganda, more propitious to their
enemy's prayers than those of the Wavuma? It might contain some
devilish, awful thing, something similar to the evil spirits which
in their hours of melancholy and gloom their imagination invoked.
There was an audacity and confidence in its movements that was
perfectly appalling.
"'Speak,' repeated the stern voice; 'we cannot wait longer.'
"Immediately, to our relief, a man, evidently a chief, answered,
'Enough; let Mtesa be satisfied. We will collect the tribute
to-day, and will come to Mtesa. Return, O spirit, the war is
ended!' At which the mysterious structure solemnly began its return
back to the cove where it had been constructed, and the quarter of
a million of savage human beings, spectators of the extraordinary
scene, gave a shout that seemed to split the very sky, and Ingira's
bold height repeated the shock of sound back to Nakaranga.
[Illustration: UGANDA WAR CANOE.]
"Three hours afterwards, a canoe came from Ingira Island, bearing
fifty men, some of whom were chiefs. They brought with them several
tusks of ivory, which were delivered over to the charge of the
steward. The old Mvuma chief was surrendered to his tribe, and thus
the long war terminated on the evening of the 13th of October,
1875.
"Glad shouts from both sides announced all parties equally pleased.
The same afternoon, the canoe fleet of Uganda, which had by this
time been reduced to two hundred and seventy-five in number, was
escorted as far as Jinja by twenty Wavuma canoes, and after it had
departed and rounded Namagongo Point, releasing their late foe from
all fear of treachery, the Wavuma canoes presented us with a
peaceful exhibition of their dexterity, and gave us an opportunity
of viewing them more distinctly than we had previously been able to
do through the smoke of gunpowder."
[Illustration: WANGWANA HUT IN CAMP.]
"As soon as peace was declared," said Fred, after a pause, "the king
returned to his capital, and the army was dispersed. Mr. Stanley
accompanied the king, and, after resting a few days, reminded Mtesa of
his promise to give him a powerful escort to take the expedition to the
Muta Nzege, a lake lying to the south of Albert Lake, and about two
hundred miles west of Victoria Lake. Mtesa did as he had agreed, and
sent an escort of about two thousand warriors under command of a
general named Sambuzi. Escorted by several war-canoes, Stanley went to
Dumo, where his camp had been established during the time the leader was
absent with Mtesa in the war against the Wavuma. Frank Pocock had
remained at the camp, and Stanley was greatly pleased to find everything
in order and his men in excellent condition.
[Illustration: HUT AT JINJA.]
"The men had built comfortable huts and were abundantly supplied with
food. The natives all around them were friendly in obedience to the
orders they received from the king; altogether the Zanzibaris were
having such a good time that they were in no hurry to leave.
[Illustration: HEAD OF CENTRAL AFRICAN HARTEBEEST.]
"On the seventh day after his return to Dumo, Stanley began his march
towards the Katonga River, where he was to meet the Waganda escort under
Sambuzi for the journey to Muta Nzege. He was obliged to halt several
days at a place called Kikoma to wait for Sambuzi; the country was full
of wild animals, and Stanley took advantage of the halt to shoot game to
supply meat for the expedition. In five days he killed fifty-seven
hartebeest, two zebra, and one water-buck. Lions and leopards were said
to be abundant, but he did not get a shot at them.
[Illustration: THE CAMP OF THE EXPEDITION.]
"On New Year's day, 1876, the expedition crossed the boundary between
Uganda and Unyoro. The king of the latter country was at war with the
Egyptians who had established themselves on Albert Lake, and it was very
soon evident that he would oppose the invasion of his territory by
Stanley's expedition. Mr. Stanley sent out scouts to ascertain the state
of affairs, and their interviews with the natives showed that the latter
intended to fight. A mission to the king failed to secure permission to
proceed, but during the time required for the mission Stanley had
reached a point only a few miles from the lake.
"Much of the country on the line of march was rough and picturesque, and
Mr. Stanley names it the Switzerland of Africa. Mount Edwin Arnold is
near the site of one of the camps of the expedition; it is estimated to
be nine thousand feet above the level of the sea.
[Illustration: MOUNT EDWIN ARNOLD.]
"The courage of the Waganda disappeared when there was a prospect of
fighting, and in spite of all the arguments which Mr. Stanley advanced
they determined to return to their own country. He reached the shore of
the lake, but finding the king bent upon war, and the Waganda refusing
to remain with him, he was forced to leave without making the desired
exploration. He was bitterly disappointed at the failure of this part of
his expedition, but there was no help for it."
"Did he go back to King Mtesa's capital," asked one of the listeners,
"or continue his journey another way?"
[Illustration: MARCHING TOWARDS MUTA NZEGE: MOUNT GORDON-BENNETT IN THE
DISTANCE.]
"He went to the frontier of Uganda, but not to the capital," replied
Fred. "There he parted with Sambuzi and decided to travel southward to
Lake Tanganika with no other escort than his own men. Mtesa sent to him
the offer of an escort of fifty thousand or one hundred thousand men to
Muta Nzege, but after his experiences with Waganda soldiers he declined
the offer with many thanks, and presents of cloth, beads, and other
valuable things. Then he marched southward into Karagwé, the country of
King Rumanika, where he was hospitably received. Here is his account of
his reception:
[Illustration: GRASS-ROOFED HUT, UNYORO.]
[Illustration: NATIVE HUT, KARAGWÉ.]
"On the 25th of February we entered the Arab depot of Kafurro, in
Karagwé. The place owes its importance to being a settlement of two
or three rich Arab traders, Hamed Ibrahim, Sayid bin Sayf, and
Sayid the Muscati. It is situated within a deep hollow or valley
fully twelve hundred feet below the tops of the surrounding
mountains, and at the spring source of a stream flowing east and
afterwards north to the Alexandra Nile.
"Hamed Ibrahim is rich in cattle, slaves, and ivory. Assuming his
own figures to be correct, he possesses one hundred and fifty
cattle, bullocks, and milch cows, forty goats, one hundred slaves,
and four hundred and fifty tusks of ivory, the greater part of
which last is reported to be safely housed in the safe-keeping of
his friend the chief of Urangwa in Unyamwezi.
"Hamed has a spacious and comfortable gable-roofed house. He is a
fine, gentlemanly-looking Arab, of a light complexion, generous and
hospitable to friends, liberal to his slaves, and kind to
everybody. He has lived eighteen years in Africa, twelve of which
have been spent in Karagwé. He knew Suna, the warlike Emperor of
Uganda, and father of Mtesa. He has travelled to Uganda frequently,
and several times made the journey between Unyanyembé and Kafurro.
Having lived so long in Karagwé, he is friendly with Rumanika, who,
like Mtesa, loves to attract strangers to his court.
[Illustration: VIEW NEAR KAFURRO.]
"Hamed has endeavored several times to open trade with the powerful
Empress of Ruanda, but has each time failed. Though some of his
slaves succeeded in reaching the imperial court, only one or two
managed to effect their escape from the treachery and
extraordinary guile practised there. Nearly all perished by poison.
[Illustration: CENTRAL AFRICAN ANTELOPE, KARAGWÉ.]
"'All these people,' said he, 'about here are as different from the
ordinary Washensi--pagans--as I am different from them. When you go
to see Rumanika, you will see some Wanya-Ruanda, and you may then
judge for yourself. The people of that country are not cowards.
They have taken Kishakka, Muvari, and have lately conquered
Mpororo. The Waganda measured their strength with them, and were
obliged to retreat. The Wanya-Ruanda are a great people, but they
are covetous, malignant, treacherous, and utterly untrustworthy.
They have never yet allowed an Arab to trade in their country,
which proves them to be a bad lot. There is plenty of ivory there,
and during the last eight years Khamis bin Abdullah, Tippu-Tib,
Sayid bin Habib, and I myself have attempted frequently to enter
there, but none of us has ever succeeded. Even Rumanika's people
are not allowed to penetrate far, though he permits everybody to
come into his country, and he is a man of their own blood and their
own race, and speaks with little difference their own language.'
"Hamed Ibrahim was not opening out very brilliant prospects before
me, nevertheless I resolved to search out in person some known road
to this strange country that I might make a direct course to
Nyangwé.
"On the third day after arrival, the king having been informed of
my intended visit, Hamed Ibrahim and Sayid bin Sayf accompanied me
on an official visit to Rumanika, King of Karagwé, and a tributary
of Mtesa, Emperor of Uganda.
"Kafurro, according to aneroid barometer, is 3950 feet above the
ocean. Ascending the steep slope of the mountain west of Kafurro,
we gained an altitude of 5150 feet, and half an hour afterwards
stood upon a ridge 5350 feet above the sea, whence we obtained a
most grand and imposing view. Some six hundred feet below us was a
grassy terrace overlooking the small Windermere Lake, one thousand
feet below, its placid surface rivalling in color the azure of the
cloudless heaven. Across a narrow ridge we looked upon the broad
and papyrus-covered valley of the Alexandra, while many fair blue
lakelets north and south, connected by the winding silver line of
the Alexandra Nile, suggested that here exploring work of a most
interesting character was needed to understand the complete
relations of lake, river, and valley to one another.
"Beyond the broad valley rose ridge after ridge, separated from
each other by deep parallel basins or valleys, and behind these,
receding into dim and vague outlines, towered loftier ridges. About
sixty miles off, to the northwest, rose a colossal sugar-loaf clump
of enormous altitude, which I was told was the Ufumbiro Mountains.
From their northern base extended Mpororo country and South Ruanda.
[Illustration: VIEW OF UFUMBIRO MOUNTAINS FROM MOUNT NEAR MTAGATA
HOT SPRINGS.]
"On the grassy terrace below us was situated Rumanika's village,
fenced round by a strong and circular stockade, to which we now
descended after having enjoyed a noble and inspiriting prospect.
"Our procession was not long in attracting hundreds of persons,
principally youths, all the latter being perfectly nude.
"'Who are these?' I inquired of Sheik Hamed.
"'Some of the youngest are sons of Rumanika, others are young
Wanya-Ruanda,' he replied.
"The sons of Rumanika, nourished on a milk diet, were in remarkably
good condition. Their unctuous skins shone as though the tissues of
fat beneath were dissolving in the heat, and their rounded bodies
were as taut as a drum-head. Their eyes were large, and beaming and
lustrous with life, yet softened by an extreme gentleness of
expression. The sculptor might have obtained from any of these
royal boys a dark model for another statue to rival the classic
Antinous.
"As we were followed by the youths, who welcomed us with a graceful
courtesy, the appropriate couplet came to my mind--
"Thrice happy race! that, innocent of blood,
From milk innoxious seek their simple food."
"We were soon ushered into the hut wherein Rumanika sat expectant,
with one of the kindliest, most paternal smiles it would be
possible to conceive.
[Illustration: RUMANIKA'S TREASURE-HOUSE.]
"I confess to have been as affected by the first glance at this
venerable and gentle pagan as though I gazed on the serene and
placid face of some Christian patriarch or saint of old, whose
memory the Church still holds in reverence. His face reminded me of
a deep, still well; the tones of his voice were so calm that,
unconsciously, they compelled me to imitate him, while the quick,
nervous gestures and the bold voice of Sheik Hamed, seeming
entirely out of place, jarred upon me.
"It was no wonder that the peremptory and imperious, vivid-eyed
Mtesa respected and loved this sweet-tempered pagan. Though they
had never met, Mtesa's pages had described him, and with their
powers of mimicry had brought the soft, modulated tones of Rumanika
to his ears as truly as they had borne his amicable messages to
him.
"Nature, which had endowed Mtesa with a nervous and intense
temperament, had given Rumanika the placid temper, the soft voice,
the mild benignity, and pleasing character of a gentle father.
"The king appeared to me, clad as he was in red blanket-cloth, when
seated, a man of middle size; but when he afterwards stood up he
rose to the gigantic stature of six feet six inches, or
thereabouts, for the top of my head, as we walked side by side,
only reached near his shoulders. His face was long, and his nose
somewhat Roman in shape; the profile showed a decidedly refined
type.
"Our interview was very pleasing, and he took excessive interest in
every question I addressed to him. When I spoke he imposed silence
on his friends, and leaned forward with eager attention. If I
wished to know anything about the geography of the country, he
immediately sent for some particular person who was acquainted
with that portion, and inquired searchingly of him as to his
knowledge. He chuckled when he saw me use my note-book, as though
he had some large personal interest in the number of notes I took.
He appeared to be more and more delighted as their bulk increased,
and triumphantly pointed out to the Arabs the immense superiority
of the whites to them.
[Illustration: A SPEARMAN OF KARAGWÉ.]
"He expressed himself as only too glad that I should explore his
country. It was a land, he said, that white men ought to know. It
possessed many lakes and rivers, and mountains and hot springs, and
many other things which no other country could boast of.
"'Which do you think best, Stamlee--Karagwé or Uganda?'
"'Karagwé is grand; its mountains are high, and its valleys deep.
The Kagera is a grand river, and the lakes are very pretty. There
are more cattle in Karagwé than in Uganda, except Uddu and Koki;
and game is abundant. But Uganda is beautiful and rich; its banana
plantations are forests, and no man need to fear starvation, and
Mtesa is good--and so is Father Rumanika,' I replied, smiling, to
him.
[Illustration: MOUNTAIN SCENE IN KARAGWÉ.]
"'Do you hear him, Arabs? Does he not speak well? Yes, Karagwé is
beautiful,' he sighed, contentedly. 'But bring your boat up, and
place it on the Rweru (lake), and you can go up the river as far as
Kishakka, and down to Morongo (the falls), where the water is
thrown against a big rock and leaps over it, and then goes down to
the Nianja of Uganda. Verily, my river is a great one; it is the
mother of the river at Jinja (Ripon Falls).'
[Illustration: BOAT ON LAKE WINDERMERE.]
"By the 6th of March Frank had launched the boat from the landing
at Kazinga village, on the waters of the Windermere Lake,[6] or the
Rweru of Rumanika, and the next day Rumanika accompanied me in
state to the water. Half a dozen heavy anklets of bright copper
adorned his legs, bangles of the same metal encircled his wrists,
and a robe of crimson flannel was suspended from his shoulders. His
walking-staff was seven feet in length, and his stride was a yard
long. Drummers and fifers discoursing a wild music, and fifty
spearmen, besides his sons and relatives, Wanya-Ruanda, Waganda,
Wasui, Wanyamwezi, Arabs, and Wangwana, followed us in a mixed
multitude.
[6] This lake received its name from Captain Speke, because Colonel
Grant, his companion, thought it resembled the Windermere Lake in
England.
"Four canoes, manned by Wamyambu, were at hand to race with our
boat, while we took our seats on the grassy slopes of Kazinga to
view the scene. I enjoined Frank and the gallant boat's crew to
exert themselves for the honor of us Children of the Ocean, and not
to permit the Children of the Lakes to excel us.
"A boat and canoe race on the Windermere of Karagwé, with twelve
hundred gentle-mannered natives gazing on! An African international
affair! Rumanika was in his element; every fibre of him tingled
with joy at the prospective fun. His sons, seated around him,
looked up into their father's face, their own reflecting his
delight. The curious natives shared in the general gratification.
"The boat-race was soon over; it was only for about eight hundred
yards, to Kankorogo Point. There was not much difference in the
speed, but it gave immense satisfaction. The native canoe-men,
standing up with their long paddles, strained themselves with all
their energy, stimulated by the shouts of their countrymen, while
the Wangwana on the shore urged the boat's crew to their utmost
power.
"The next day we began the circumnavigation of the Windermere. The
extreme length of the lake during the rainy season is about eight
miles, and its extreme breadth two and a half. It lies north and
south, surrounded by grass-covered mountains, which rise from
twelve hundred to fifteen hundred feet above it. There is one
island, called Kankorogo, situated midway between Mount Isossi and
the extreme southern end. The soil of the shores is highly
ferruginous in color, and, except in the vicinity of the villages,
produces only euphorbia, thorny gum, acacia, and aloetic plants.
"On the 9th we pulled abreast of Kankorogo Island, and, through a
channel from five hundred to eight hundred yards wide, directed our
course to the Kagera, up which we had to contend against a current
of two knots and a half an hour.
"The breadth of the river varied from fifty to one hundred yards.
The average depth of all the ten soundings we made on this day was
fifty-two feet along the middle; close to the papyrus walls, which
grew like a forest above us, was a depth of nine feet. Sometimes we
caught a view of hippopotamus creeks running up for hundreds of
yards on either side through the papyrus. At Kagayyo, on the left
bank, we landed for a short time to take a view of the scene
around, as, while in the river, we could see nothing except the
papyrus, the tops of the mountain ridges of Karagwé, and the sky.
"We then learned for the first time the true character of what we
had imagined to be a valley when we gazed upon it from the summit
of the mountain between Kafurro and Rumanika's capital.
[Illustration: KAGERA SKIFF.]
"The Ingezi, as the natives called it, embraces the whole space
from the base of the Mountains of Muvari to that of the Karagwé
ridges with the river called Kagera, the Funzo or the papyrus, and
the Rwerus or lakes, of which there are seventeen, inclusive of
Windermere. Its extreme width between the bases of the opposing
mountains is nine miles; the narrowest part is about a mile, while
the entire acreage covered by it from Morongo or the falls in
Iwanda, north, to Uhimba, south, is about three hundred and fifty
square miles. The Funzo or papyrus covers a depth of from nine feet
to fourteen feet of water. Each of the several lakes has a depth of
from twenty to sixty-five feet, and they are all connected, as also
is the river, underneath the papyrus.
"When about three miles north of Kizinga, at 5 P.M., we drew our
boat close to the papyrus, and prepared for our night's rest, and
the Wanyambu did the same.
[Illustration: NATIVE WOMAN OF FASHION.]
"The boat's crew crushed down some of the serest papyrus, and,
cutting off the broom-like tops, spread their mats upon the heap
thus made, flattering themselves that they were going to have a
cosey night of it. Their fires they kindled between three stalks,
which sustained their cooking-pots. It was not a very successful
method, as the stalks had to be replaced frequently; but, finally,
their bananas were done to a turn. At night, however, mosquitoes of
a most voracious species attacked them in dense multitudes, and
nothing but the constant flip-flap of the papyrus tops, mingled
with complaints that they were unable to sleep, were heard for an
hour or two. They then began to feel damp, and finally wet, for
their beds were sinking into the depths below the papyrus, and they
were compelled at last to come into the boat, where they passed a
most miserable night, for the mosquitoes swarmed and attacked them
until morning with all the pertinacity characteristic of these
hungry blood-suckers.
"The next day we ascended the Kagera about ten miles, and,
returning fourteen miles, entered Ihema Lake, a body of water about
fifty square miles, and camped on Ihema Island, about a mile from
Muvari.
[Illustration: IHEMA HUT.]
"The natives of Ihema Island stated to me that Lake Muta Nzege was
only eleven days' journey from the Muvari shores, and that the
Wanya-Ruanda frequently visited them to obtain fish in exchange for
milk and vegetables. They were a genial people, those islanders of
Ihema, but they were subject to two painful diseases, leprosy and
elephantiasis. The water of the Lake Ihema was good and sweet to
the taste, though, like all the waters of the Alexandra Nile,
distinguished for its dull, brown, iron color.
"We began from the extreme south end of the lake the next day to
coast along the Muvari or Ruanda coast, and near a small village
attempted to land, but the natives snarled like so many spiteful
dogs, and drew their bows, which compelled us--being guests of
Rumanika--to sheer off, and leave them in their ferocious
exclusiveness.
[Illustration: A NATIVE OF UHHA.]
"On the 11th we rowed into the Kagera, and descended the river as
far as Ugoi, and on the evening of the 12th returned once more to
our camp on Windermere."
[Illustration: BOAT ON LAKE IHEMA.]
Here Fred regarded his watch, and said he would adjourn the reading
until next day, when his place would be taken by Frank. The usual vote
of thanks was passed unanimously, and then the little band of
geographical students separated for the night.
[Illustration: HUT OF UGANDA. SMALL TEMBÉ OF UGOGO.]