THE APPROACH TO LAKE ALBERT NYANZA.
The accounts brought back by Speke of the discovery of Victoria Nyanza
and the existence of another lake, which might prove to be a feeder of
the Nile, so influenced a friend of his, Sir Samuel Baker, that he and
his wife, a mere girl in years, started out with an expedition to make
still closer explorations of the lake region.
The natives had given Speke very graphic accounts of the Nile's westward
course, after leaving Victoria Nyanza, till at length its waters fell
into a large lake. They had further informed him that this lake came
from the south, and that the Nile entered at the northern extremity, and
almost immediately made an exit from it in continuing its course to the
north.
At the time this information was received by Speke, the country through
which he would have needed to pass was in the midst of a native war, and
no strangers could penetrate it. He was convinced, however, that the
lake described must, in all probability, be a second source of the Nile.
Sir Samuel Baker and his wife had most interesting and thrilling
experiences in their search for this supposed second feeder of the Nile.
Some sections of the country through which they traveled were most
beautiful. Here were jungles and forests alternating with broad plains,
and mountains rising to the height of three or four thousand feet.
Some of the people, too, were very interesting. Baker declared the
Latookas to be the finest savages he ever met. They were nearly six feet
in height, had fine foreheads, very good features, and finely formed
bodies. Their manners were frank, good-humored, and polite. In this
respect they were a strong contrast to the surrounding tribes. They
seemed to him to be of Abyssinian or of Asiatic origin.
The description of the headdress of the men is interesting. It takes
from eight to ten years to perfect the arrangement of this coiffure, and
no doubt much pride is taken in this queer conceit of savage fashion.
"The hair is at first 'felted' with fine twine. As the fresh hair grows
through this, the twine process is repeated, until at last a compact
substance is formed, an inch and a half thick, trained into the form of
a helmet, with a frontlet and crest of copper. Of course they never
disturb this, and it lasts them their life time. They ornament it with
beads, cowries, ostrich feathers, and other decorations."
As it is the custom of these savages to go without clothing of any
description, these wonderful headdresses must indeed be the chief aim in
the lives of those who are not called upon to follow the changes of
fashion, like their more civilized brethren.
One of the towns that Baker visited in Latooka contained about three
thousand houses. It was strongly fortified by palisades, with low
entrances at short intervals. At night these entrances were closed by
thorn bushes.
There was one main street, which was broad, but the other streets were
mere lanes, so narrow that only one cow could pass at a time.
These lanes led to the kraals in different portions of the town. Here
were housed the cattle, which comprised the chief wealth of the people.
The narrowness of the approaches to the kraals was an advantage, for
they were thus easily defended from cattle thieves,--a common nuisance
in this country.
The houses were conical in shape and, following the custom almost
universal in Africa, were without windows.
Baker had noticed, as he approached the several towns of this section of
country, a vast heap of human bones, mingled with bits of pottery. These
he found to originate from the peculiar funeral rites of the people. If
a man dies a natural death he is buried in the vicinity of his own door,
and funeral dances in his honor are held for several weeks; the remains
are then dug up, the bones cleaned, placed in an earthen jar, and
carried out of town to their final resting place. In course of time
these jars become broken, and the fragments, together with the contents,
are scattered, or added to an already existing mound.
Baker, in his journey to the southwest, crossed the valley of Latooka.
After fording a river, he began the main ascent of the mountains. This
he found to be an exceedingly difficult task. At the summit he found a
plateau about four thousand feet above the level of the sea, and
situated on it was the highland town of Obbo.
The country was very beautiful. Here were bold granite peaks, some of
them five thousand feet high, towering on all sides, and looking down
upon the wooded valleys below. These valleys were narrowed by the
advancing spurs of the mountains, each with a village to crown its
summit. These villages looked down fully eight hundred feet upon the
traveler.
The air was pure and delicious. On every side was a profusion of
beautiful and fragrant flowers. Wild plums and other fruit were to be
found in abundance.
The flow of the streams in this section is toward the northwest. Their
waters take their course directly to the Nile, some thirty miles away.
The people are different from those of Latooka, not only in their speech
but in their appearance. Instead of dressing their hair in the form of a
helmet, they adopt the form of a beaver's tail for a coiffure.
The noses of these people are higher than those of the Latookas. They
pay some attention, too, to their clothing, though their covering is
very scanty.
They are courteous in their manners, and never ask for presents.
They had for their ruler at the time of Baker's visit a peculiar old
man, a sorcerer, and from him Baker gained much information about the
country.
Whenever this ruler traveled, it was upon the shoulders of one of his
slaves. Always in starting upon a journey he had a retinue of a dozen or
more bearers to take turns in carrying him.
From an interpreter Baker learned of a place called Magungo, situated
upon a lake so large that no one knew its limits.
Later, Baker gained further information of Magungo from a native woman.
She described the lake as a white sheet of water, as far as the eye
could reach, and added, "If you put a water jar on the shore, the water
would run up, break it, and carry it away." In this simple fashion she
intimated to Baker that there were waves of no little force on the lake
shores.
Encouraged by the prospect of reaching the lake, Baker, with his
expedition, continued on the march, passing a village surrounded by bold
granite cliffs, towering above it. The natives of this village perched
like ravens upon the summits of these cliffs to await the approach of
the white men. They were very friendly and very ceremonious in their
dealings with their visitors.
The journey was continued through a region of prairies and swamps, which
finally was replaced by a section of magnificent forest. Coming to an
elevated spot, Baker saw a cloud of fog. This hung over a distant
valley, and indicated to him the presence of the noble stream which he
believed must join the two lakes.
He reached the Nile about one hundred and fifty miles from Victoria
Nyanza, and about sixty miles from the lake he was seeking. He was not,
however, aware of it at the time.
The expedition under Baker headed upstream towards Karuma Falls, where
it was the intention to cross to the south side. They had a picturesque
march of about fifteen miles, through an open forest, with the river,
which was about one hundred and fifty feet wide, close at hand. It was a
beautiful sight, as it came roaring and foaming in many cascades. Here
and there the course of the river was broken by rocky islands. On these
islands villages and plantain groves were visible.
Baker found the people along this section superior to those of Latooka
and Obbo. They were modest in their manners, and well clothed. They were
good blacksmiths, and the pottery which they made was of a higher order
than that of the other tribes mentioned.
Baker, with the thought of the lake still before him, pushed on, though
often discouraged, and suffering from fatigue and fever. In the course
of the journey the expedition had to cross a river. It could be done
only in a very peculiar way. The whole stream was covered with a
matting, or carpet, of tangled, floating weeds. This was so thick and
strong as to bear the weight of a man, if he ran quickly across its
surface. The width of the stream was about thirty yards.
Here Mrs. Baker almost lost her life; for, when about halfway across,
she was overcome with a sunstroke, and began to sink rapidly through the
weeds. Her husband and some of his men seized her and dragged her across
the current, though they sank to their waists in the weeds before they
succeeded in getting her to the bank.