AN EXCURSION ON THE VICTORIA N'YANZA.
The next morning our friends went to another audience with the king, who
expressed his gratification at the exhibition of the magic lantern and
the gas-light, and said nothing of the kind had ever been seen in
Ugunda. It was easy to observe that his respect for the white man was
steadily increasing. He asked if such things were common in the land
they came from. Doctor Bronson said that in America and England whole
cities were lighted by "burning air" like that which had been forced
from the mysterious bags, and men rode among the clouds in contrivances
such as had been sent up with the lantern attached to it. M'tesa was
inclined to be sceptical on this point, and said if that was the case
the white man ought to travel across Africa in air-ships, instead of
walking long distances over the rough hills and through interminable
forests.
[Illustration: M'TESA'S IDEA FOR CROSSING AFRICA.]
Just before they started from the zeriba Fred had been reading Jules
Verne's "Five Weeks in a Balloon," which describes an imaginary journey
across Africa in an air-ship, which could be made to go wherever its
occupants desired, and to rise and descend at will. The copy in Fred's
possession was full of illustrations of the supposed adventures of Dr.
Ferguson and his two companions in a trans-African voyage. The volume
happened to be in his pocket at the time of the visit to the king, and,
at the Doctor's suggestion, he produced it when M'tesa made the
suggestion last mentioned.[6]
[6] "Five Weeks in a Balloon" is an excellent compendium of African
travel down to the time it was written. While it abounds in imaginary
adventures of the most exciting character, it comprises an admirable
description of the geography, people, animals, and vegetable productions
of the central portion of the "Dark Continent."
The Doctor took the book and handed it to the king. The latter opened
it, and gazed with astonishment on the pictures which passed before his
eyes. There were the very air-ships he had suggested; there were the
mountains and lakes of Africa, its wild animals, its forests, and
everything to indicate that his country had been traversed by the
wonderful vehicles.
For some minutes he gazed on the revelation, and could scarcely believe
his eyes. When he came to the illustration of the scene where the anchor
of the balloon is caught in the mouth of an elephant, which tows the
travellers at a rapid rate, he laughed heartily.
"Only the white man would think of having an elephant to draw him in
that way," said M'tesa. "The white man can do everything."
Seeing the great interest of M'tesa in the book, Doctor Bronson
intimated that he could keep it. The volume was immediately handed to
one of the officers, and the business of the visit went on.
The king referred to his promise to send the party to the Victoria
N'yanza, and the point where it discharges its waters to send them down
to the sea. He asked how far they wanted to go.
"We would like to visit Ripon Falls," said the Doctor, "and return from
there to your majesty's capital."
"Very well," replied M'tesa. "You can go to the falls in the boats I
will give you, and then you can come back by land, as I said before. I
will send the porters to meet you at the falls," he continued, "and an
escort to make the road safe when you come back."
Doctor Bronson suggested that they could return the same way as they
went. They could come back in the boats, which would be obliged to
return in any event, and therefore they could bring the party without
any serious effort.
The suggestion seemed to strike the king favorably, though he received
it with some surprise, which Abdul explained by the fact that all the
white men who had ever been in Ugunda seemed unwilling to travel the
same route twice. It was therefore natural for the king to suppose that
the strangers would prefer returning by the land route, which would be a
new one to them, rather than make the water journey a second time. This
would have been the case with Doctor Bronson and the youths, but they
had learned that the land journey between Ripon Falls and Rubaga was a
very difficult one, without any new and interesting features, and
therefore they favored the return by water, as it would be easier and
far less expensive. Besides, it would be a considerable saving of time
to them, and they were anxious to continue their journey to the south as
soon as possible.
Accordingly it was settled that they would leave as soon as they were
ready, and the king would give them a sufficient number of boats for the
journey. All the goods and provisions they did not require could be
stored at Rubaga, to await their return, and the king would see that
everything was safe. With this understanding the audience ended and our
friends retired.
[Illustration: RETURNING FROM AN EXCURSION.]
The rest of the day was devoted to arranging their goods and selecting
such as they wished to carry. Doctor Bronson told the boys they would
take all their fire-arms and most of the ammunition. The most valuable
of the goods were also carried along, together with their tents and camp
equipage, and Frank remarked that they had a fairly good supply for
continuing their journey through Africa without returning to Rubaga.
"That is precisely what I want," replied the Doctor. "M'tesa is
friendly, and I have not the slightest doubt of his sincerity, but we
can't say what will happen. He is the king, and cannot stand guard in
person over our property, and his men are not the most honest in the
world. Besides, there is a constant liability to war among these African
potentates, and we might find it inconvenient to return here after
getting on the waters of the lake."
"I understand," said Frank. "We desire to be so situated that the
dishonesty of the men who watch our property in our absence, and a
sudden declaration of war between M'tesa and some other ruler, cannot
wreck our expedition completely."
The Doctor assented, and on this basis the work of selection went on. By
the time it was ended there was not much left to select, except the most
bulky and least valuable articles.
The next morning Doctor Bronson sent Abdul to the king with an
appropriate present, and asked that the porters might be sent to carry
the goods to Usavara. He had already despatched twenty men, in charge of
Frank, with the instruments, camp equipage, and several boxes of
ammunition. There would have been no difficulty about engaging the
entire number for the work, but it was thought the king would prefer to
show his authority by ordering his subjects to be at the service of the
white men.
By the afternoon of the next day everything they wanted was at Usavara,
and ten boats had been assigned to their use for the journey to the
falls and back. The king had given the necessary orders, but according
to the custom of Africa it was necessary for the Doctor to make a
bargain with the head-men of the boats, who were to receive payment in
cloth, brass wire, beads, and other currency of Ugunda, very much as if
they had not been in the service of the king at all.
[Illustration: THE KING'S SLAVES CARRYING FUEL AND CUTTING RICE.]
They passed the night in the huts which had been assigned to them by the
king, and bright and early the next morning the work of loading the
boats was begun. Doctor Bronson had promised the captains an extra
present if they would hurry matters as much as possible, and he
certainly had no cause of complaint. The boatmen were assisted by a gang
of the king's slaves, who were brought from a neighboring field, where
they had been carrying fuel and cultivating rice. Though M'tesa had
become a Christian he had not reached the point of looking upon slavery
as at all incompatible with his new religion. He not only kept a large
number of slaves, most of them captives taken in wars with his
neighbors, but he had no objection to dealing in human merchandise
whenever he could make a good bargain. When he was told that it was not
proper for a Christian to hold slaves, or buy and sell them, he
replied that a good deal of the slave-trade of Africa was owing to the
encouragement of Christian nations, and asked if there had never been
any slaves in England and America. He even made quotations from the
Bible in support of his theory, and threw several difficulties in the
way of a free discussion of the subject.
[Illustration: AN AFRICAN DRUM-CORPS.]
By the middle of the forenoon everything was ready, and the signal was
given for departure. There was a good deal more noise in the signal than
had been bargained for, as it was made by a band of music of twenty
pieces--rather a monotonous array, and a noisy one, as each piece was a
drum. Every drummer played with all his might. Time was kept by a
leader, who stood in front of the musicians, with a smaller and lighter
drum than any of the rest. Frank said it reminded him of the way in
which the celebrated Strauss conducts an orchestra, by making free use
of a violin instead of confining himself to a baton.
The drums lay upon the ground, and had a strong resemblance to a battery
of mortars ready for siege operations. Fred thought the performance
could be improved by charging each drum with a few pounds of powder and
firing the whole lot at once, as a grand finale.
Down the creek and into the bay went the ten large canoes, the men
keeping time by a monotonous chant, and paddling steadily along, though
not so fast as did the crew of the boat that took them on their first
excursion on the waters of Lake N'yanza. Doctor Bronson and Abdul took
the lead in the first boat, while Frank and Fred brought up the rear in
the last. This was thought to be the best arrangement for preserving
order and preventing straggling. Before starting from Usavara Doctor
Bronson had numbered the boats, and affixed a placard to each for its
identification, his own boat being "number one," while that of the
youths became naturally "number ten." The men in each boat very soon
caught the monosyllable by which their craft was known, and it was
amusing to hear them calling out the numerals that distinguished them
from others. It was their first lesson in the language of the
foreigners.
They descended the bay to the lake and turned in the direction of the
outlet of the great water. Looking away to the south and east was like
gazing on the ocean, as the opposite shores were entirely hidden from
view. A breeze rippled over the water and raised a little swell, but it
was not sufficient to interfere with the progress of the boats or the
comfort of their occupants. The rowers wore nothing but their
waist-cloths, and it concerned them very little to receive a drenching;
but it was otherwise with the strangers, who were arrayed in suits of
white linen, and would have presented an appearance the reverse of
dignified, if their garments had been washed by an impertinent wave.
We will now glance at the characteristics of the lake.
The Victoria N'yanza is situated directly under the equator, extending
from 2° 24' south latitude to 0° 21' north. As before stated, it was
discovered by Captain Speke in 1858, who travelled along its western and
northern shores a few years later, but was unable to follow the entire
line around it. In 1875 Stanley circumnavigated it, and made a careful
survey of nearly all its bays and indentations. He estimates the area to
be not far from twenty-one thousand five hundred square miles, and fixes
its elevation at four thousand one hundred and sixty-eight feet above
the level of the sea. Speke made it three thousand three hundred and
eight feet, but Stanley's observation is probably the correct one, as it
is supported by Baker, who found the Victoria Nile at M'rooli four
thousand and sixty-one feet above sea-level.
Leaving out the indentations, the lake is nearly of a circular form. Its
length from north to south is about one hundred and fifty miles, and its
breadth perhaps twenty miles less. The natives say it is very deep, but
Stanley's observations do not confirm their theory, as he found it
shallow in most places where he took soundings.
Frank observed that the water of the lake was not clear. It had a
dirty-white color, something like that of the Nile, but when taken into
a glass the color almost entirely disappeared. The boys tasted of the
water, and found it perfectly good and sweet; and so much did it meet
their approval that they drank again and again.
[Illustration: LAKE SCENERY IN CENTRAL AFRICA.]
"No one can doubt that this is the source of the Nile," said Fred, "if
he is familiar with the water of the river, and then drinks from the
lake. The taste, or rather the sweetness, is exactly the same."
"Yes," answered Frank, "and the Persian conqueror who forbade his
soldiers to ask for wine when the water of the Nile could be procured
would have included that of the Victoria N'yanza, if he had known of its
existence."
"And they wouldn't have been restricted in the least," replied Fred, "as
all the armies of the world might drink from the lake without affecting
it. Twenty thousand square miles of water ought to be a good source of
supply."
Frank was looking over the side of the boat, and suddenly spied a large
fish darting away, as if frightened by the strange apparition of the
craft above him.
Of course this incident roused the curiosity of the youths to know
something of the finny products of the lake. Ali questioned the boatmen,
and learned that there were several kinds of fishes in the lake. Some of
them grew so large that it took two men to handle one of them, and it
sometimes happened that a man who grappled a fish of this sort was
dragged under water by it.
The boatmen said there was another fish in the lake, which occasionally
grew to the size of a boy. Frank intimated that it was important to know
what size of boy was referred to. It might be anywhere from five pounds
up to two hundred-weight--a very wide margin on which to base a
calculation.
With some difficulty Ali learned that a boy of eight or ten years was
meant, and with this explanation the answer was considered satisfactory.
[Illustration: KAMBARI FISH.]
The captain of the boat opened a parcel and drew from it a dried fish,
which formed part of their provisions. He said it was known as "samaki
kambari," and lived in the mud at the bottom of the shallow bays and in
the small creeks flowing into the lake. It was caught in great numbers,
and dried over a fire and in the sun, very much as herrings are dried in
other countries.
Another lake fish that was described is the "sama-moa," which grows to a
length of twenty inches, and belongs to the shad family. It is covered
with scales, and its body is more slender than that of the American
shad. The dorsal fin extends from the centre of the back almost to the
tail, and the body is full of bones. At the place where they spent the
night one of these fish was served up for supper, and proved a toothsome
morsel.
Frank thought he could make a "planked shad" out of the new fish. The
next morning he tried his hand at amateur cooking, and his effort was
fairly successful. The fish was split and nailed to one side of a short
plank taken from an old boat on the shore. In this position it was
exposed to the fire, and properly seasoned while the cooking process
went on. When it was served up both the Doctor and Fred were unanimous
in declaring it delicious, and proposed that Frank should be installed
as cook for the remainder of the excursion. The young gentleman declined
the proffered honor, and said he could not have the heart to throw their
Arab _cuisinier_ out of employment. The fact was he had been baked
nearly as much as the fish he had prepared, and was in no mood for
repeating the experiment.
"Well," said Fred, "if you won't accept the office of cook I'll tell you
what I'll do. We'll 'turn and turn about,' as they say at home, and I'll
cook the fish at the next camp."
"All right," Frank responded. "I'll agree to take turns with you until
you are tired of the business."
With this understanding the topic of conversation was changed. During
the day more fish were obtained, and when they halted at night Fred
proceeded to try his hand at cooking.
He told Abdul to bring several flat-topped stones and heat them in the
fire. The stones were taken from the water, as they were cleaner than
those on dry land, the latter being covered with moss and other tropical
products.
"Now I'll show you how we used to cook fish in the Adirondacks," said
Fred, with a dignified air. "You will find the flavor delicious,
provided the fish are good for anything, to start with.
"When the stone is hot we brush off all the ashes and lay the fish upon
it, first wrapping it in a leaf. Another and smaller stone laid above it
will bake the fish in a way that is superb, and preserves all the
flavor."
[Illustration: FRED'S EXPERIMENT IN COOKING FISH.]
The stones were duly heated, and the fishes were spread out according
to Fred's directions. The coffee-pot was in front of the fire, and the
frying-pan was sizzling in the old-fashioned way, when suddenly there
was an explosion that sent Fred and his trout in different directions,
put Frank to a hasty flight, overturned the coffee-pot, and made a mess
of things generally.
Luckily nobody was hurt, though there was quite a scare all around. The
negroes who witnessed the performance were of the impression that the
white men were trying some new experiment in keeping with the telephone
and the magic lantern, and therefore took the explosion as a matter of
course. They were less moved by the incident than were the white
men--perhaps in consequence of having been farther from the fire at the
moment of the explosion.
"How did it happen?" said Fred, in open-mouthed wonder, as soon as he
had gathered himself together.
"I can't imagine," said Frank; "but anyway it seems as though your new
process of cooking was not a brilliant success. You won't hold office as
cook very long."
"Not if the dinner is going to blow up in this way every time," was the
reply. "But I'd like to know how it happened."
"The explanation is very simple," said the Doctor, who had been called
from his tent by the explosion. "The stones came from the lake, where
they have been lying for centuries. They contained cells filled with
water, and as the stones were heated the water was turned to steam.
Hence the blow-up."
Fred decided that he would make no farther experiments in teaching the
uneducated African the mysteries of American cookery. Frank made a
sketch of the scene, with a few exaggerations, and said he believed a
similar incident was narrated in "Porte Crayon's" account of a journey
in the mountains of North Carolina.
[Illustration: ON THE LAKE.]