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See other formats Full text of "Through the Dark continent: or, The sources of
the Nile around the great lakes of equatorial Africa, and down the Livingstone
river to the Atlantic ocean;"
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JHROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT,
y
OR
THE SOURCES OF THE NILE
AROUND THE GREAT LAKES OF EQUATORIAL AFRICA
AND DOWN THE LIVINGSTONE RIVER
TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
BY
HENRY M. STANLEY
AUTHOR OF *'C00MAa6IB AND MAGDALA'' ETC.
WITH TEN MAPS AND ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY WOODCUTS
IN TWO VOLUMES
Vol. I.
is
NEW YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS
FBANKLIN SQUARE
1878
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7
Entered according to Act of Congi-ess, in the year 1878, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
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Debication.
THC HEARTY ENCOURAGEMENT AND UBERAL MEANS WHICH ENABLED ME
TO PERFORM THE MISSION ENTRUSTED TO ME,
OF EXPLORING THE DARK CONTINENT OF AFRICA AND SOLVING MANY INTERESTING
GEOGRAPHICAL PROBLEBfS,
AND TO FITTINGLY REWARD THE FAITHFUL SURVIVORS,
INDUCE ME TO MAKE PUBUC MY DEEP PERSONAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS,
BY DEDICATING THESE VOLUMES, WHICH RECORD ITS RESULTS, TO THE
PROMOTERS OF THE ENTERPRISE,
Mb. JAMES GORDON BENNETT,
PROPRIETOR OF THE "NEW YORK HERALD,"
AND
Mb. J. M. LEVY and Mb. EDWARD L. LAWSON,
PROPRIETORS OF THE "DAILY TELEGRAPH,"
AND IN CONSEQUENCE OP THE GREAT AND CONSTANT INTEREST MANIFESTED
BY HIM IN THE SUCCESS OF THE UNDERTAKING, I MUST
BE PERMITTED TO ADD THE NAME OF
Mr. EDWIN ARXOLD, C.S.I, and F.R.G.S.
WITHOUT THE PATRONAGE, PULL CONFIDENCE, AND CORDIAL SYMPATHY OF THESE
GENTLEMEN, I SHOULD HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO ACCOMPLISH
THE TASK NOW HAPPILY COMPLETED.
II. M. STANLEY.
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PREFACE.
Before these volumes pass irrevocably out of the
Author s hands, I take this, the last, opportunity of
addressing my readers. In the first place, I have to
express my most humble thanks to Divine Providence
for the gracious protection vouchsafed to myself and
my surviving followers during our late perilous labours
in Africa.
In the second place, I have to convey to many friends
my thanks for their welcome services and graceful
congratulations, notably to Messrs. Motta Viega and
J. W. Harrison, the gentlemen of Boma who, by their
timely supplies of food, electrified the Expedition into
new life ; to the sympathizing society of Loanda, who
did their best to spoil us with flattering kindness ; to
the kindly community of the Cape of Good Hope, who
so royally entertained the homeward bound strangers ;
to the directorates of the B. I. S. N. and the P. and 0.
Companies, and especially to Mr. W. Mackinnon of the
former, and Mr. H. Bayley and Captain Thomas H.
Black of the latter, for their generous assistance both
on my setting out and on my returning ; to the British
Admiralty, and, personally, to Captain Purvis, senior
officer on the West Coast Station, for placing at my
disposal H.M.S. Industry^ and to Commodore Sullivan,
for continuing the great favour from the Cape to
Zanzibar ; to the officers and sailors of H.M.S. Industry^
for the great patience and kindness which they showed
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VI PREFACE.
to the wearied Africans; and to my friends at Zan-
zibar, especially to Mr. A. Sparhawk, for their kindly
welcome and cordial help.
In the next place, to the illustrious individuals and
Societies who have intimated to me their appreciation
of the services I have been enabled to render to
Science, I have to convey the very respectful ex-
pression of my sense of the honours thus conferred
upon me — to his Majesty King Humbert of Italy, for
the portrait of himself, enriched with the splendid com-
pliment of his personal approbation of my services,*
which with the gold medal received from his royal
father. King Victor Emanuel, will for ever be
treasured with pride — to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales,
for the distinguished honour shown me by his personal
recognition of my work — to H.H. the Khedive of
Egypt, for the high distinction of the Grand Com-
mandership of the Order of the Medjidie, with the
Star and Collar — to the Royal Geographical Society ol
London for its hearty public reception of me on m}
return, and for the highly valued diploma of an
Honorary Corresponding Member subsequently re-
ceived — to the Geographical Societies and Chambers of
Commerce of Paris, Italy, and Marseilles, for the great
honour of the Medals awarded to mef — to the Geo-
graphical Societies of Antwerp, Berlin, Bordeaux,
Bremen, Hamburg, Lyons, Marseilles, Montpellier, and
• The portrait has been graciously subscribed —
" All* intrepido viaggiatoro
" Enrico Stanley
"Umbbrto Re."
t I have received the honour of appointment as OflBcier de llnstruc-
tion Pubhque, France ; Gold Medallist of the Geographical Societies of
r^ndon, Paris, Italy, and Marseilles ; Silver Medallist of the Chamber of
Commerce of Marseilles, and of the Municipality of Marseilles ; Honorary
Member of the Geographical Societies of Antwerp, Berlin, Bordeaux,
Bremen, Hamburg, Lyons, Marseilles, Montpellier, Vienna, Ac.
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FBEFACE. Vll
Vienna, and to the Society of Arts of London, for the
privilege of Honorary Membership to which I have
been admitted — ^to the very numerous distinguished
gentlemen who have lent the influence of their authority
in the worlds of Science, Letters, and Society to the
pubh'c favour so liberally extended to me — to all these
do I wish to convey my keen appreciation of the
honours and favours of which I have been the recipient.
And for yet another honour I have to express my
thanks— one which I may be pardoned for regarding
as more precious, perhaps, than even all the rest.
The Grovernment of the United States has crowned my
success with its official approval, and the unanimous
vote of thanks passed in both Houses of the Legislature
has made me proud for life of the Expedition and its
achievements.
Alas ! that to share this pride and these honours there
are left to me none of those gallant young Englishmen
who started from this country to cross the Dark Con-
tinent, and who endeared themselves to me by their
fidelity and affection : alas ! that to enjoy the exceeding
pleasure of rest among friends, after months of fighting
for dear life among cannibals and cataracts, there are
left so few of those brave Africans to whom, as the
willing hands and the loyal hearts of the Expedition,
so much of its success was due.
That the rule of my conduct in Africa has not been
understood by all, I know to my bitter cost ; but with
my conscience at ease, and the simple record of my daily
actions, which I now publish, to speak for me, \\m
misunderstanding on the part of a few presents itself
to me only as one more harsh experience of life. And
those who read my book will know that I have indeed
had "a sharp apprehension and keen intelligence" of
many such experiences.
Of the merits and demerits of this book it is not
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Vlll PREFACE.
for me to speak. The Publishers' Note prefixed to
the first volume explains how much I have had to
omit from even the simple narrative of the journey,
but it remains for me to state that this omission has
been due as much to the exigencies of space and time
as to the fact that in the running chronicle of our
eventful progress "Reflections" and scientific infer-
ences — all the aftergrowth of thought — would have
tediously interrupted the record. With reference to the
illustrations, I should mention that I carried a photo-
graphic apparatus with me across the continent, and so
long as my dry plates held out I never lost an oppor-
tunity of obtaining a good view, and when my plates
were used up I found the reflection of the scenes on
the ground glass of my camera an invaluable aid to
my unpractised pencil.
In conclusion, I have to thank Mr. Phil. Robinson,
the author of * In my Indian Garden,' for assisting me
in the revision of my work. My acknowledgments are
also due to Lieut. S. Schofield Sugden, R.N., for the
perseverance and enthusiasm with which he recalculated
all my observations, making even the irksome compila-
tion of maps a pleasant task. In their drawing and
engraving work, Mr. E. Weller and Mr. E. Stanford,
and in the intelligent reproduction of my pictures, Mr.
J. D. Cooper, have earned my thanks, and in no less a
degree Messrs. William Clowes and Sons, for the care
and despatch with which these volumes have been pre-
pared for the public.
aM.s.
May 27, 1878.
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CONTENTS.
(Foi. I.)
EXPLANATION.
Pakt L— My new mission — The DaUy Telegraph^" Yes ; Bennett "
— The Lady -4/tc« — My European staff — Disappointed ap-
plicants and thonghtfol friends — My departnie for Africa.
Part IL — The Sources of the Nile — Herodotns on the Nile —
Burton on the Nile basin — Lake Tanganika — Lake Victoria —
Speke, Grant, and Cameron — The LiTingstone River — The
work before me .. 1
CHAPTER L
ArriTal at Zanzibar Island — Life at Zanzibar — The town of Zan-
zibar, its roadstead and buildings — The One Cocoa-nut Tree and
the red clifiGs — Selection and purchase of goods for the journey
— Residence of Prince Barghash — Busy mornings — Pleasant
rides and quiet eyenings 28
CHAPTER n.
Seyyid Barghash — His prohibition of slavery, character, and reforms
— Treaty with British GoYemment by Sir Bartle Frere — Tram-
ways the need of Africa — Arabs in the interior — Arabs in
Zanzibar — Mtoma or Mgwana? — The Wangwana, their vices
and virtues — A Mgwana's highest ambition— The Wanyamwezi
"the coming race" 39
CHAPTER in.
Organization of the Expedition — The shauri — "Poli-poli" —
Msenna's successful imposture — Black sheep in the flock — The
Lady Alice remodelled — Sewing a British flag — Tarya Topan,
the millionaire — Signing the covenants — "On the word of a
white man " — Saying good-bye — Loading the dhows — Vale 1
— Towards the Dark Continent 54
CHAPTER IV.
Bagamoyo — Taming the dark brother — Bagamoyo in a feiment —
An exciting scene — The disturbance quelled — The Universities
Mission, its origin, history, decline, and present condition — The
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X CONTENTS.
PAGB
Eer. Edward Steere— Notre Dame de Bagamoyo — Westward
hoi — In marching order — Sub Jove fervido — Crossing the
Kingani — The stolen women 70
CHAPTER V.
On the march — Congorido to Buhuti — The hnnting-gronnds of
Kitangeh — Shooting zebra — "Jack's" first prize — Inter-
Tiewed by b'ons — Geology of Mpwapwa — Dndoma — "The
flood-gates of heaven " opened — Dismal reflections — The Salina
— A conspiracy discovered — Desertions — The path lost — Star-
vation and deaths — Tronble imminent — Grain hnts plundered
— Situation deplorable — Siclniess in the camp — Edward
Pocock taken ill — His death and funeral 88
CHAPTER VL
From Chiwyu to Vinyata — Kaif Halleck murdered — The magic
doctor — Giving away the heart — Deeds of blood — " The white
men are only women" — A three days' fight — Punishment of
the Wanyaturu — The ubiquitou-* Mirambo — The plain of the
Luwamborri — In a land of plenty — Through the open country
— "I have seen the lake, Sir, and it is grand 1 " — Welcomed at
Kagehyi 118
CHAPTER Vn.
A burzah held — Paying off recruits — Kagehyi becomes a great
trading centre — A Central African " toper ** — Prince Kaduma
— Hopes of assistance from him relinquished — The boat ready
for sea — No volunteers — Selecting my crew — The start for
the circunmavigation of Lake Victoria 146
CHAPTER YIIL
Afloat on the lake — We catch a guide — Saramlm's terror — The
Shimeeyu — Pyramid Point — The island of Ukerew6 — In the
haunts of crocodiles — Shizu Island — The hippopotami — Ururi
— The headlands of Qoshi — Bridge Island — Volcanoes —
U-go-weh — The inebriates of Ugsmba — Treachery at Maheta
— Primitive man — The art of pleasing — A night at Uvuma —
Mobbed by Wavuma — Barmecide fare — Message from Mtesa
— " In the Kabaka's name " — Camp on Soweh Island . , . . 156
^ CHAPTER IX.
An extraordinary monarch — I am examined — African "chaff " —
Mtesa, Emperor of Uganda — Description of Mtesa — A naval
review — Arrival at the imperial capital — Mtesa's palace —
Fascination of the country — I meet a white man — Col. Linant
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CONTENTS. XI
PAOB
de Bellefonds — The process of oonverdon — A grand mission
field — A pleasant day with Col. de Bellefonds — Starting for my
camp 187
CHAPTEB X.
Parting with Colonel Linant — Magassa's vanity and disloyalty —
The sailors' island — Jumba's Cove — Uganga — Dumo — The
Alexandra Nile — Lnpassi Point — In danger at Makongo —
Alone with Nature — Insect life — Dreams of a happier future
— A dark secret — Muraho and the fish — Alice Island — A
night neyer to be forgotten — The treachery of Bumbireh —
Saved I — Refuge Island — Wiru — "Go and die in the Nyanza ! **
<^ Back in camp — Sad news 211
CHAPTER XL
Barker's iUnea? and death — Other deaths — Traitors in the camp —
Restl — Sickness — Rwoma blocks our passage by land —
Magassa fails us by water — A serious dilemma — Lukongoh
comes' to the rescue — History of Ukerew6 — Educated amphi-
bians — Leaving Kagehyi with half the Expedition — The
foundering canoes — All saved — Ito conciliates us — Arrival
at Refuge Island with half the Expedition — I return for the
rest — A murderous outbreak in camp — Final departure from
Kagehyi — All encamped on Refuge Island — We ally ourselves
with Komeh — A dance of kings — Mahyiga Island (in the Bum-
bireh group) — Interviewed by Iroba canoes — Our friendship
scorned — ThA king of Bumbireh a hostage — The massacre of
the Kytawa chief and his crew — The punishment of the mur-
derers — Its salutary effect upon their neighbours — We arrive
inUganda 242
CHAPTER XIL
We find Mtesa at war — *' Jack's Mount " — Meeting with Mtesa —
The Waganda army in camp and on the march — The imperial
harem — In sight of the enemy — The Waganda fleet — Pre-
liminary skirmishing — The causeway — The massacre of Mtesa's
peace party — " What do you know of angels T — Mtesa's educa-
tion proceeds in the intervals of war — Translating the Bible —
Jesus or Mohammed ? — Mtesa's decision — The royal proselyte 297
CHAPTER Xm. '
The war^drum beaten — The wizards play iheir part — In full war-
paint — Bullets against spears — The Wavuma baulked — Mtesa's
fury — Victory or the stake! — Hard fighting — The captive
chief — A struggle between the pagan and the Christian — A
floating mystery — " R( turn, spirit 1 the war is ended!" —
The camp on fire : a race for life 826
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XU CONTENTS.
GHAPTEB XrV.
rAGi
The legend of the Blameless Priest — The heroes of Uganda : Ohwa ;
Eimera, the giant; Nakiyingi; Eibaga, the flying warrior;
Ma*anda; Wakingoru, the champion; Eamanya, the conqueror
of the Wakedi; Suna, the cmel; his massacre of tiie Wasoga;
Namnjnrilwa, the Achilles of Uganda; Setnba and his lions;
Easindnla, the hero^ peasant, and premier — Mtesa the mild-
eyed 341
CHAPTER XV. "
Life and manners in Uganda — The Peasant — The Chief -^ The
Emperor— The Land 381
CHAPTER XVL '
TO MI7TA NZIO6 Am) BAOK TO UGANDA.
The ladies of Mtesa's fiEunily — Sambozi ordered to take me to Muta
Nzig6— My last evening with Mtesa — En route for Muta
Nzigd — Sambuzi suffers from the " big head" — We come to an
understanding — The white people of Gkimbaragara — War
music — Through a deserted country — Sinister auguries — A
cowards' council of war — Panic in the camp — Sambuzi
announces his intention of deserting me — The flight when none
pursued — The "Spoiler" eaten up — Mtesa tries to persuade
me to return — AtKafurro 415
CHAPTER XVn.
Kafurro and its magnates — Lake Windermere — Rumanika, the
gentle king of Karagw6 — His country — The Ingezi — Among
the mosquitoes — Ihema Island — The triple cones of Ufumbiro
— Double-homed rhinoceros — The hot springs of Mtagata —
The Geographical Society of Karagwe — The philosophy of noses
— Rumanika's tbesauron — Some new fsusts about the rhinoceros
and elephant — Uhimba — Paganus, var, esuriens — Retrospect 453
CHAPTER XVin.
The twin rivers — Mankorongo baulked of his loot — Poor Bull I
True to the death — Msenna breaks out again — The terror of
Africa appears on the scene — Mars at peace — " Dig potatoes,
potatoes, potatoes " — Mirambo, the bandit chief, and I make
blood-brotherhood — Little kings with " big heads " — Practical
conversion of the chief of Ubagw^ — The Watuta, the Ishmaelites
of Africa — Their history — African nomenclature — From Msen6
across the Malagarazi to Ujiji — Sad memories 483
Ikdex 510
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LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS.
FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
m>. pAOi
1. Portrait of the Author Fronfiapieee,
2. View from the Hoof of Mr. Augustus Sparliawk'i House. (From
a phaiograph.) To fare 37
8. Burying our Dead in hostile Turn: View of the Gamp .. ^ 115
4. Reception by King Mtesa's Body-guard at Usavara .. ^ 188
5. Mteea, the Emperor of Uganda, Prime Minister, and Chiefs.
{From a plifiograpK) ^ 189
6. Reception at Bombireh Island, Victoria Nyanza ^ 229
7. The Strange Granite Bocks of Wezi Island, midway between
Usukuma and Ukorew^ {From a photograph,) .. .. ^ 248
8. Yieir of the Bay leading to Rugedzi Channel fVoro Ugoma,
near Kisorya« South Side of Ukerewd, Coast of Speke Gulf.
{From a pholograpk^ •• ^ 257
9. View of Bipon Falls from the Uganda side. (From a j>Aoto^rapA.) » 800
10. The Outfall of the Victoria Nyanza: Ripon Falls, which give
birtli to the Victoria Nile. Ounp of Bear-guard on HilL
{From a photograph,) .. ^ 801
IL The Victoria Nile, North of Bipon Falls, rusliing towards
Unyoro. £rum theUsoga side of the Falls. {From a phoUh
graph,) 805
12. One of the Great Naval Battles between the Waganda and
the Wavuma, in the Channel between Ingira £laud and
Cape Nakaranga ,, 832
18. The Napoleon Channel, Lake Victoria, from the Heights above
the Bipon Falls. Flotilla of tike Emperor of Uganda cross-
ing from Usoga to Uganda. {From a pluitograph,) .. .. „ 843
14. Bubnga, the New Capital of the Emperor Mtesa „ 393
15. Mtesa^s Amazons. {From a photograph,) .. .. .. „ 400
1%. Marching through Unyoro: Mount Gordon-Bennett in the
distance „ 427
SMALLER ILLUSTRATIONS.
17. The Xody uiZtos in sections 4
18. View of a Portion of the Sea-front of Zanzilwr, from the Water Battery
to Bliangani Point {From a photograph,) .. 28
19. Bed Clifis behind Universities Mission 86
20. The British Consulate at Zanzibar 89
21. Sejyid Baighash 40
22. Coxswain Uledi, and Manwa Sera, chief captain. {From a photograph.) 50
23. New Church on Site of Old Skive Market, Zanzibar 53
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XIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
KO. TkOM
24. Tarya Topan 63
25. Universities MiBsinn at 3Ibwenni,Zanzibiir. (^From a photograph,) .. 68
26. " TowarelB the i 'ark Continent " 69
27. Wife of Manwa SeM. ( From a photograph.) 82
28. The Expedition at Rosako. (From a photograph.) 88
29. View from the Village of Blamboya 92
30. Our Camp at Mpwapwa. (From a photograph.) .. 97
31. •'InMemoriam." Edward Pooock, died January 17, 1875 .. .. 117
32. Mnynmwezi Pagazi .. .. .. .. .. .. 141
33. View of Kagehyi from the Edge of the Luke. (From a photograph.) . . 144
31. Frank Poeock. (From a photograph.) ' 145
35. Bridge Island 106
36. Cairn erected to tlie Mcm^^ry of Frederick Barker : Majlta and Ururi
Mountains in the Distance, across Speko Gulf, (From a photograph ) 241
87. At the Landing-place of M&ossi: View of Kitari Hill to the Left;
Majita Mountain to the Right (From a photograph.) .. .. 251
38. Natives, Utensils, Arc. of Ukerewrf 255
39. Sketch Map: Cape Nakaranga 311
40. The Floating Fortlet moving towards Ingira Isliind 339
41. Fish found in Lake Victoria 343
42. Huts of East Central Africa 385
4.S. Audience Hull of the Palace - .. ..395
44. Musicallnstrumenta .. .. .. .. .. 413
45. NgogoFish 414
46. Implements and Weapon! of Central Africa 419
47. Mount Edwin Arnold 4H3
48. House and Wooden Utensils of Uzimba and Aiikori .. .. ., 437
49. Canoes and Paddles of Africa 451
50. Rumanika's TnnBun-house .. .. .. .. .. .. 457
.')1. A Native of Uhha 464
52. View of UFumbiro Mountains from Mount near Mtegnta Hot Springs 465
53. Ground Plan of King's House 474
54. Treasure-house, Arms, and Tf ensures of Rumanika 475
55. "Bull." (From a pliotograph.) 487
.56. Rerombo Huts 489
57. A *• Ruga- Ruga" one of Miraml)o*8 Patriots 491
68. One of the Watuta 601
MAPS.
1. Map of Eastern Half of Equatorial Africa.
2. Map of Equatorial Africa (from Dapper, 1676).
8. „ „ „ Krapf, Rebmaon, Livingstone, and Erhardt*B Map,
1849-53.
4. „ „ „ Livingstone, Burton and Speke, Speke, Grant, and von
der Decken, 1853-63.
6. „ ^ „ Schweinforth, Baker, Livingstone, Stanley, and Cameron,
1866-75.
6. „ „ ., Stanley, 1874-77
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Y-H I i 1 g
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THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
EXPLANATION.— Part L
Uj new mission— The DcwZy Telegraph--** Tes; Bennett'* ^The Lady
Alice — Mj European staff — Disappointed applicants and thonghtful
friends — My departure for Africa. Part IL The sources of
the Nile— Herodotus on tha Nile — Burton on the Nile basin—
Lake Tanganika — Lake Victoria — Speke, Grant, and Cameron— >
The LiTingstone Biver — The work before me.
While returning to England in April 1874 from the
Ashanlee War, the news reached me that Livingstone
was dead — that his hody was on its way to England !
Livingstone had then fallen ! He was dead I He
had died by the shores of Lake Bemba, on the threshold
of the dark region he had wished to explore ! The work
he had promised me to perform was only begun when
death overtook him !
The effect which this news had upon me, after thp
first shock had passed away, was to fire me with a
resolution to complete his work, to be, if God willed it,
the next martyr to geographical science, or, if my life
was to be spared, to clear up not only the secrets of the
Great River throughout its course, but also all that
remained still problematic and incomplete of the
discoveries of Burton and Speke, and Speke and Grant.
The solemn day of the burial of the body of my great
friend arrived. I was one of the pall-bearers in West-
minster Abbey, and when I had seen the coffin lowered
into the grave, and had heard the first handful of earth
VOL. I. — 1
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
2 TEROUQH TEE DAItK CONTINENT.
thrown over it, I walked away sorrowiDg over tlie fate
of David Livingstone.
I laboured night and day over my book, * Coomassie
and Magdala,* for I was in a fever to begin that to
which I now had vowed to devote myself. Within
three weeks the literary work was over, and I was free.
Soon after this I was passing by an old book-shop,
and observed a volume bearing the singular title of
*How to Observe.' Upon opening it, I perceived it
contained tolerably clear instructions of "How and
what to observe." It was very interesting, and it
whetted my desire to know more ; it led me to purchase
quite an extensive library of books upon Africa, its
geography, geology, botany, and ethnology. I thus
became possessed of over one hundred and thirty books
upon Africa, which I studied with the zeal of one who
had a living interest in the subject, and with the under-
standing of one who had been already four times on
that continent. I knew what had been accomplished
by African explorers, and I knew how much of
the dark interior was still unknown to the world.
Until late hours I sat up, inventing and planning,
sketching out routes, laying out lengthy lines of possible
exploration, noting many suggestions wliich the con-
tinued study of my project created. I also drew up
lists of instruments and other paraphernalia that would
be required to map, lay out, and describe the new
regions to be traversed.
I had strolled over one day to the office of the Daily
Telegraph, full of the subject. While I was discussing
journalistic enterprise in general with one of the staff,
the Editor entered. We spoke of Livingstone and the
unfinished task remaining behind him. In reply to
an eager remark which I madcj he asked : —
"Could you, and would you, complete the work?
And what is there to do ? '*
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MY NEW MISSION. 8
I answered : —
"The outlet of Lake Tanganika is undiscovered.
Wo know nothing scarcely — except what Speke has
sketched out — of Lake Victoria ; we do not even know
whether it consists of one or many lakes, and therefore
the sources of the Nile are still unknown. • Moreover,
the western half of the African continent is still a
white blank."
**Do you think you can settle all this, if we com-
mission you V
** While I live, there will be something done. If I
survive the time required to perform all the work, all
shall be done.'*
The matter was for the moment suspended, because
Mr. James Gordon Bennett, of the New York Herald^
had prior claims on my services.
A telegram was despatched to New York to him
** Would he join the Daily Telegraph in sending
Stanley out to Africa, to complete the discoveries of
Speke, Burton, and Livingstone ? " and, within twenty-
four hours, my " new mission " to Africa was determined
on as a joint expedition, by the laconic answer which
the cable flashed under the Atlantic : '* Yes ; Bennett."
A few days before I departed for Africa, the Daily
Telegraph announced in a leading article that its pro-
prietors had united with Mr. James Gordon Bennett
in organizing an expedition of African discovery,
tinder the command of Mr. Henry M. Stanley. ** The
purpose of the enterprise," it said, "is to complete
the work left imfinished by the lamented death of
Dr. Livingstone; to solve, if possible, the remaining
problems of the geography of Central Africa ; and to
investigate and report upon the haunts of the slave-
traders." .... "He will represent the two nations
whose common interest in the regeneration of Africa was
so well illustrated when the lost English explorer was
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
4 THROUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
rediscovered by the energetic American correspondent.
In that memorable journey, Mr. Stanley displayed the
best qualities of an African traveller; and with no
inconsiderable resources at his disposal to reinforce
his own complete acquaintance with the conditions of
African travel, it may be hoped that very important
results will accrue from this undertaking to the
advantage of science, humanity, and civilisation."
Two weeks were allowed me for purchasing boats —
a yawl, a gig, and a barge — for giving orders for pon-
toons, and purchasing equipment, guns, ammunition,
rope, saddles, medical stores, and provisions ; for making
investments in gifts for native chiefs; for obtaining
scientific instruments, stationery, &c. &c. The barge
was an invention of my own.
THE "LADY ALICE" IN SECTIONS.
It was to be 40 feet Jong, 6 feet beam, and 30
inches deep, of Spanish cedar f inch thick. When
finished, it was to be separated into five sections, each
of which should be 8 feet long. If the sections should
be over-weight, they were to be again divided into halves
for greater facility of carriage. The construction of this
novel boat was undertaken by Mr. James Messenger,
boat-builder, of Teddington, near London. The pon-
toons were made by Cording, but though the workman-
ship was beautiful, they were not a success, because the
superior efficiency of the boat for all purposes rendered
them unnecessary. However, they were not wasted.
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MY EXmOFEAN STAFF. 6
Necessity compelled us, while in Africa, to employ them
for far different purposes from those for which they
had originally been designed.
There lived a clerk at the Langham Hotel, of the
name of Frederick Barker, who, smitten with a desire
to go to Africa, was not to be dissuaded by reports ol
its unhealthy climate, its dangerous fevers, or the
uncompromising views of exploring life given to him.
" He would go, he was determined to go," he said.
To meet the earnest entreaties of this young man, I
requested him to wait until I should return from the
United States.
Mr. Edwin Arnold, of the Daily Telegraphy also sug-
gested that I should be accompanied by one or more
young English boatmen of good character, on the
ground that their river knowledge would be extremely
useful to me. He mentioned his wish to a most worthy
fisherman, named Henry Pocock, of Lower Upnor,
Kent, who had kept his yacht for him, and who had
fine stalwart sons, who bore the reputation of being
honest and trustworthy. Two of these young men
volunteered at once. Both Mr. Arnold and myself
warned the Pocock family repeatedly that Africa had
a cruel character, that the sudden change from the
daily comforts of English life to the rigorous one of an
explorer would try the most perfect constitution ;
would most likely be fatal to the uninitiated and
unacclimatized. But I permitted myself to be over-
borne by the eager courage apd devotion of these
adventurous lads, and Francis John Pocock and Edward
Pocock, two very likely-looking young men, were
accordingly engaged as my assistants.
I crossed over to America the guest of Mr. Ismay, of
the ** White Star *' line, to bid farewell to my friends,
and after a five days* stay returned in a steamer
belonging to the same Company.
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6 TEEOUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
Meantime, soon after the announcement of the ** New
Mission/' applications by the score poured into the
offices of the Dailt/ Telegraph and New York Herald for
employment. Before I sailed from England, over 1200
letters were received from "generals," "colonels,**
"captains," "lieutenants," "midshipmen," "engineers,"
"commissioners of hotels," mechanics, waiters, cooks,
servants, somebodies and nobodies, spiritual mediums
and magnetizers, &c. &c. They all knew Africa, were
perfectly acclimatized, were quite sure they would please
me, would do important services, save me from any
number of troubles by their ingenuity and resources,
take me up in balloons or by flying carriages, make us
all invisible by their magic arts, or by the " science of
magnetism " would cause all savages to fall asleep while
we might pass anywhere without trouble. Indeed
I feel sure that, had enough money been at my disposal
at that time, I might have led 5000 Englishmen, 5000
Americans, 2000 Frenchmen, 2000 Germans, 500
Italians, 250 Swiss, 200 Belgians, 50 Spaniards and
5 Greeks, or 15,005 Europeans, to Africa. But the
time had not arrived to depopulate Europe, and colonize
Africa on such a scale, and I was compelled to
respectfully decline accepting the valuable services of
the applicants, and to content myself with Francis John
and Edward Pocock, and Frederick Barker — whose
entreaties had been seconded by his mother, on my
return from America.
I was agreeably surprised also, before departure,
at the great number of friends I possessed in England,
who testified their friendship substantially by pre-
senting me with useful " tokens of their regard "
in the shape of canteens, watches, water-bottles,
pipes, pistols, knives, pocket companions, manifold
writers, cigars, packages of medicine. Bibles, prayer-
books, English tracts for the dissemination of
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
GOOD'BTE! 7
religions knowledge among the black pagans, poems,
tiny silk banners, gold rings, &c. <tc. A lady for
whom I have a reverent respect presented me also with
a magnificent prize mastiff named ** Castor,** an English
officer presented me with another, and at the Dogs*
Home at Battersea I purchased a retriever, a bull-
dog, and a bull-terrier, called respectively by the
Pococks " Nero,** ** Bull,** and " Jack.**
There were two little farewell dinners only which I
accepted before my departure from England. One was
at the house of the Editor of the Daily Telegraphy where
I met Captain Fred. Bumaby and a few other kind
friends. Captain Bumaby half promised to meet me at
the sources of the Nile.. The other was a dinner given
by the representative of the New York Herald, at which
were present Mr. George Augustus Sala, Mr. W. G.
Stillman, Mr. George W. Smalley, and three or four
other journalists of note. It was a kindly quiet good-
bye, and that was my last of London.
On the 15th August 1874, having shipped the
Europeans, boats, dogs, and general property of the
expedition — which, through the kindness of Mr. Henry
Bayley, of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, and
Mr. William Mackinnon, of the British India Steam
Navigation Company, were to be taken to Zanzibar at
half-fares — I left England for the east coast of Africa
to begin my explorations.
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8 THBOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
EXPLANATION.-Pabt IL
THE SOURCES OF THE NILE.
•'Yet still no views have urged my ardour more
Than Nile's remotest fonntains to explore;
Then saj what source the famous stream supplies.
And hids it at revolving periods rise;
Show me the head from whence since time begun
The long succession of his waves 'have run;
This let me know, and all my toils shall cease.
The sword be sheathed, and earth be blessed with peace."
Pharsalia (Coesar Icq,),
In the fifth century, before the Christian era began,
Herodotus, the first great African traveller, wrote
about the Nile and its sources as follows : —
" Respecting the nature of this river, the Nile, I was
unable to gain any information, either from the priests
or any one else. I was very desirous, however, of
learning from them why the Nile, beginning at the
summer solstice, fills and overflows for a hundred days ;
and when it has nearly completed this number of days,
falls short in its stream, and retires ; so that it continues
low all the winter, until the return of the summer
solstice/ Of these particulars I could get no informa-
tion from the Egyptians, though I inquired whether
this river has any peculiar quality that makes it
difier in nature from other rivers. Being anxious,
then, of knowing what was said about this matter, I
made inquiries, and also how it comes to pass that this
is the only one of all rivers that does not send
forth breezes from its surface. Nevertheless, some of
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EEE0D0TU8 ON TEE NILE. 9
the Greeks, wishing to be distinguished for their
wisdom, have attempted to account for these inun-
dations in three different ways: two of these ways
are scarcely worth mentioning, except that I wish to
show what they are. One of them says that the
Etesian winds are the cause of the swelling of the
river, by preventing the Nile from discharging itself
into the sea. But frequently the Etesian winds have
not blown, yet the Nile produces the same effects;
besides, if the Etesian winds were the cause, all other
rivers that flow opposite to the same winds must of
necessity be equally affected and in the same manner
as the Nile ; and even so much the more, as they are
less and have weaker currents; yet there are many
rivers in Syria, and many in Libya, which are not
all affected as the Nile is. The second opinion shows
still more ignorance than the former, but, if I may
so say, is more marvellous. It says that the Nile,
flowing from the ocean, produces this effect ; and that
the ocean flows all round the earth. The third
way of resolving this diflSculty is by far the most
specious, but most untrue* For by saying that the
Nile flows from melted snow, it says nothing, for this
river flows from Libya through the middle of Ethiopia
and discharges itself into Egypt ; how therefore, since
it runs from a very hot to a colder region, can it flow
from snow ? Many reasons will readily occur to men
of good understanding, to show the improbability of its
flowing from snow. The first and chief proof is derived
from the winds, which blow hot from those regions :
the second is, that the country, destitute of rain, is
always free from ice ; but after snow has fallen, it must
of necessity rain within five days ; so that if snow fell,
it would also rain in these regions. In the third place,
the inhabitants become black from the excessive heat :
kites and swallows continue there all the year ; and the
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10 TEEOUQE THE DABK CONTINENT.
cranes, to avoid the cold of Scythia, migrate to these
parts as winter quarterH : if then ever so little snow
fell in this country through which the Nile flows,
and from which it derives its source, none of these
things would happen, as necessity proves. But the
person who speaks about the ocean, since he has
referred his account to some obscure fable, produces no
conviction at all, for I do not know any river called the
Ocean, but suppose that Homer, or some other ancient
poet, having invented the name, introduced it into
poetry.**
Captain Burton the learned traveller has some
excellent paragraphs in his * Nile Basin,* and remarks
on this topic in connection with Ptolemy : —
*' That early geographer placed his lake Nilus a little
to the south of the Equator (about ten degrees), and
5^ E. long, from Alexandria — that is, in 34^ or 35^ E.
long, by our mode of reckoning. He was led into
an error in placing these portions of the interior,
bearing, as he conceived, from certain points in the
east. Thus he places Cape Aromatum (Cape Asser
or Cape Guardafui) in 6^ N. lat., which we know to
be in 11^ 48' 50", being thus, say, &" out of its true
place. He places the lake, the source of the western
branch of the river, 1^ more to the north and 8^ more
to the west than the one for the eastern branch ;
subsequent inquiries may show us that these great
features of Africa may yet turn out to be substantially
correct.
" We cannot here enter into any disquisition re-
garding the discrepancies that appear amongst the
very ancient authors regarding these parts of Africa.
We notice only those that are consistent and most
valuable, and as bearing upon the priority of discovery
and geographical knowledge. The earliest period we
hear of Ethiopia is in the capture of the capital thereof
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BURTON ON TEE NILE BASIN. 11
by Moses 1400 years before our era, and 90 or 100
years before the departure of the Israelites from
Egypt. Josephus calls it Saba, and states that it was
very strong, situated on the Eiver Astosabos, and that
the name was changed to Meroe, by Cambyses, in honour
of his sister MeroS. There were known to ancient
writers three great tributaries to the Nile in Ethiopia,
namely, the Astaboras (Tacazze), the Astosabos (Blue
River), and the Astapus (White River). Herodotus says
the source of the Nile, Astosabos, was twenty days* jour-
ney to the south of Meroe, which will bring it to Lake
Dembea or Tzana. According to Ptolemy, the position
of Meroe was in 16^ 25' N. lat., but the ancient
astronomer Hipparchus has placed it in 16° 51', which
may be taken as the most correct. Caillaud found the
vast ruins in 16° 56'. Under Psammeticus, the first
Egyptian king that reigned after the final expulsion of
the Ethiopian kings from Egypt, 240,000 emigrants
from Egypt settled in an island south of the island of
Meroe, that is beyond Khartoum, between the Blue
and the White Rivers, and at eight days' journey east
of the Nubae, or Nubatas. Subsequently the Roman
arms extended to those parts. Petronius, the Roman
general under Augustus, thirty years before our era,
took and destroyed Napata, the ancient capital of
Tirhaka, situated on the great northern bend of the
Nile at Mount Barkhall, where vast ruins are still
found. Meroe certainly, the capital of Queen Candace,
mentioned in the New Testament (Acts viii. 27), also
fell under the Roman yoke. Nero, early in his reign, /*
sent a remarkable exploring party, under two centurionsj \
with military force, to explore the source of the Nil^
and the countries to the west of the Astapus or White \
River, at that early day considered to be the true Nile.
Assisted by an Ethiopian sovereign (Candace, no
doubt), they went through the district now known as
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
12 TEBOUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
Upper Nubia, to a distance of 890 Roman miles from
Meroe. In the last part of their journey they came to
immense marshes, the end of which no one seemed to
know, amongst which the channels were so narrow
that the light boat or canoe in use was barely suflScient
to carry one man across them. Still they continued
their course south till they saw the river tumbling
down or issuing out between the rocks, when they
turned back, carrying with them a map of the regions
through which they had passed : for Nero's guidance
and information. This, it may be remarked, is exactly
the case still. The Dutch ladies told us last year that
they found the channels amongst these marshes so
thick that the lightest canoe, made of bulrushes, scarcely
fit to carry one man, could not find room to pass on
them or across them. After this, Pliny, Strabo, and
other Roman authors took notice of this portion of
Africa, but without giving us anything important
or new."
I quote from Captain Burton once more certain
passages. " Edrisi, who was born in Nubia, but who
wrote in Egypt about a.d. 1400, Fays, in that part of
Ethiopia south and south-west of Nubia is first seen the
separation of the two Niles. The one flows from south
to north into Egypt, and the other part of the Nile
flows from east to west ; and upon that branch of the
Nile lie all, or at least the most celebrated kingdoms of
the Negroes. *From the Mountains of the Moon,'
says Scheadeddin, *the Egyptian Nile takes its rise.
It cuts horizontally the equator in its course north.
Many rivers come from this mountain, and unite in
a great lake. From this lake comes the Nile, the
greatest and most beautiful of the rivers of all the
earth. Many rivers derived from this great river
water Nubia,' &c.
" From the Arabs we may fairly descend to our own
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BURTON ON THE NILE BASIN. 13
times. The early Portuguese discoverers obtained a
great deal of geographical information regarding the
interior of Africa, and especially regarding two lakes
near the Equator, from one of which, the most northern,
the Egyptian Nile was stated to flow. This inform-
ation was largely used by the French geographer
(D'Anville), and the Dutch geographers of that time.
Subsequently Bruce and others told us about the great
disparity in magnitude between the Blue and the
White Eivers ; the latter, they asserted, rose far to the
south, near to the Equator, and amongst mountains
covered with eternal snow. Twenty-five years ago,
Mohammed Ali, the clear-sighted and energetic ruler of
Egypt, sent an expedition, consisting of several barques
well provided with everything necessary, and under
able naval officers, to explore the White Nile to its
source, if possible. They did their work so far well,
but were forced to turn back on the 26th January
1840, in lat. 3^ 22' N., for want of sufficient depth of
water for their vessels. At lat. 3^ 30' they found the
river 1370 feet broad and say six feet deep. In every
day's work on the voyage they gave the width of the
river, the depth of the river, the force of its current,
its temperature, and the miles (geographical) made
good daily."
These quotations bring us down to our own times.
A few of the principal characters, through whose
agency the problem of the Sources of the Nile has
been Eolved, still live. The old African Association
became merged in 1831 into the Royal Geographical
Socisty. The change of title seems to have evoked
greater energies, and the publications of the new
society, the position of its President, his influence,
learning, and tact, soon attracted general public
attention. In the midst of this, Messrs. Krapf and
Eebmann and Erhardt, missionaries located at Mombasa,
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14 THROUGH THE DABE CONTINENT.
on the east coast of Africa, announced that Arab traders
and natives acquainted with the interior informed
them that far inland there was a very large lake, or
several lakes, which some spoke of under one collective
title. The information thus obtained was illustrated
by a sketch map by Mr. Erhardt, and was published in
the * Proceedings of the Eoyal Geographical Society *
in 1856, **the most striking feature of which was a
vast lake of a curious shape, extending through 12° of
latitude.**
LAKE TAXOANIKA.
The Royal Geographical Society was induced to
despatch an expedition to East Africa for the explora-
tion of this interesting inland region, the command of
which it entrusted to Lieutenant Richard Francis
Burton, and Lieutenant John Hanning Speke, oflScers
of the East Indian Army.
Lieutenant Burton was already distinguished as an
enterprising traveller by his book, * Pilgrimage to
Mekka and Medina/ Speke had, until this time, only a
local reputation, but bore the character of being a
very promising oflScer, and an amiable gentleman with
a fondness for natural history and botanical studies,
besides being an ardent sportsman and an indefatigable
pedestrian.
Burton and Speke's expedition landed at Zanzibar
on the 20th December 1856. On the 13th February
1858, after a journey of 950 miles, and at a distance
of 540 lineal geographical miles from the point
of departure on the Indian Ocean, they first sighted
and discovered Lake Tanganika. How much they
explored of the lake is best illustrated by their map,
which is appended to this present volume. Speke first
crossed Lake Tanganika to the western side to Kaseng^,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
LAKE VICTOBIA. 15
an island, tlien returned by the same route to Kawel^,
the district or quarter occupied at that time by Arabs,
in a large straggling village on the shores of the lake,
in the country of Ujiji.
On the second exploration of the lake. Lieutenant
Burton accompanied Lieutenant Speke to a cove in
Uvira, which is about thirteen miles from the north
end of the lake. Unable to reach the extremity of the
lake, they both returned to Ujiji. Lieutenant Speke
was most anxious to proceed on a third tour of ex-
ploration of the lake, but was overruled by his chief.
Lieutenant Burton. On the 26th of May 1858, the
expedition turned homewards, arriving in Unyanyemb^
on the 20th of June.
LAKE VICTORIA.
While Lieutenant Burton preferred to rest in
Unyanyemb^ to collect the copious information about
the Lake Regions from Arabs and natives, which we
see set forth in a masterly manner in his book. Lieu-
tenant Speke, of a more active disposition, mustered a
small force of men, and, with his superior's permission,
set out northward on July 9, 1858, on an exploring
tour, and on the 30th of the same month arrived at
the south end of a lake called by the Wanyamwezi
who were with him the N'yanza, or the Lake, and by
the Arabs, Ukerew^.
At Muanza, in Usukuma, he took a survey of the
body of the water, such as might be embraced in
a view taken from an altitude of 200 feet above
tlie lake.
In his reflections on the magnitude of the water
expanse before him, Speke wrote : — " I no longer felt
any doubt that the lake at my feet gave birth to that
interesting river, the source of which has been the
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10 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
subject of 60 much speculation, and the object of so
many explorers."
• • • • #
And again : " This is a far more extensive lake
than the Tanganika ; so broad you could not see across
it, and so long that nobody knew its length/*. To this
magnificent lake Lieutenant Speke, its discoverer, gave
the name of Victoria N yanza.
From this short view of the Victoria Lake, Speke
returned to Unyanyemb^, and announced to Lieutenant
Burton that he had discovered the source of the White
Nile. Lieutenant Burton did not acquiesce in his com-
panion's views of the importance of the discovery, and
in his * Lake Regions ' and * Nile Basins,* in lectures,
speeches, and essays in magazines, and conversations
with friends, always vigorously combated the theory.
On the 30th February 1859, Burton and Speke's
task of exploration, which had occupied twenty-five
months, terminated with the arrival of the expedition
at the little maritime village of Konduchi, on the Indian
Ocean.
On opening John Hanning Speke's book, * Journal of
the Discovery of the Source of the Nile,' we are informed
on the very first page that his second important expedi-
tion into Africa, '* which was avowedly for the purpose
of establishing the truth of the assertion that the
Victoria N'yanza (which he discovered on the 30th
of July 1858) would eventually prove to be the
source of the Nile, may be said to have commenced on
the 9th of May 1859, the first day of his return to
England from his last expedition, when, at the invita-
tion of Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, he called at his
house to show him his map, for the information of the
Royal Geographical Society/*
Mr. Speke, who was now known as Captain Speke,
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LAKE VICTORIA. 17
was entrusted with the command of the succeeding
expedition which the Royal Geographical Society
determined to send out for the purpose of verifying
,tHe theories ahove stated. He was accompanied this
lime by an old brother officer in India, Captain James
Augustus Grant.
The expedition under Speke and Grant set out from ;
Zanzibar on the 25th September 1860. On the 23rd
t'anuary 1861, it arrived at the house occupied by
Burton and Speke's Expedition, in Tabora, TJnyan-
yerab^ having traversed nearly the entire distance
along the same route that had been adopted formerly.
In the middle of May the journey to Karagw^ began.
After a stay full of interest with Rumanika, king of
Karagw^, they followed a route which did not permit
them even a view of Lake Victoria, until they caught
sight of the great lake near Meruka, on the Slst January
1862. From this point, the expedition, up to its arrival
at the court of Mtesa, emperor of Uganda, must have
caught several distant views of the lake, though not
travelling near its shores. During a little excursion
from the Emperors capital, they also discovered a
long broad inlet, which is henceforth known as Mur-
chison Bay, on its northern coast.
On the 7th July 1862, the two travellers started in
a north-easterly direction, away from the lake, and
Speke states that he arrived at Urondogani on the
21st. From this point he marched up the river along
the left bank, and reached the Eipon Falls at the outlet
of Lake Victoria on the 20th July. He thus sums up
the result and net value of the explorations of himself
and companion in the years 1860-62 : —
** The Expedition had now performed its functions.
I saw that old Father Nile without any doubt rises in
the Victoria N'yanza, and as I had foretold, that Lake
is the great source of the holy river which cradled the
VOL. I. — 2
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
18 TUROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
first expounder of our religious belief. . . . The most
remote waters, or top-head of the Nile^ is the southern
end of the lake, situated close on the 3° lat, which
gives to the Nile the surprising length in direct
measurement, rolling over 34 degrees of latitude, of
above 2300 miles, or more than one-eleventh of the
circumference of our globe. Now, from the southern
point round by the west, to where the great Nile stream
rises, there is only one feeder of any importance, and
that is the KitanguJe River ; while from the southern-
most point round by the easf , to the strait, there are no
rivers of any importance." ....
He christened the falling effluent where it drops
from the level of the lake, and escapes northerly into
the Victoria Nile — **Ripon Falls,*' in honour of the
Earl of Ripon, who was President of the Royal
Geographical Society when the expedition was or-
ganized, and the arm of the Lake from which the
Victoria Nile issued — Napoleon Channel, as a token of
respect to the Paris Geographical Society, who had
honoured him with a gold medal for the discovery of
Lake Victoria.
Following this paragraph, Captain Speke makes an
important statement, to which I beg attention : — " One
thing seemed at first perplexing, the volume of water
in the Kitangule (Alexandra Nile) looked as large as
the Nile (Victoria), but then the one was a slow
river, and the other swift, and on this account I could
form no adequate judgment of their relative values."
On the 4th June, Captains Speke and Grant em-
barked at Alexandria, Egypt, for England, where they
arrived after an absence of 1146 days.
Though one might suppose that the explorers had
sufficient grounds for supposing that Lake Victoria
covered an enormous area, quite as large, or approach-
ing to the 29,000 square miles extent Captain Speke
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
- ■ ' ■■ ' ]■ ^ r"-
LAKE TANGANIKA. 19
boldly sketched it, there were not wanting many
talented men to dispute each point in the assertions he
made. One of the boldest who took opposing views to
Speke was his quondam companion, Captain R. F.
Burton, and he was supported by very many others,
for very plausible reasons, which cannot, however, be
touched upon here.
Doctor David Livingstone, while on his last expedi-
tion, obtained much oral information in the interior of
Africa from Arab traders, which dissected Speke's
Grand Lake into five ; and it really seemed as if, from
the constant assaults made upon it by geographers and
cartographers, it would in time be erased from the chart
altogether, or become a mere " rush drain," like one of
those which Speke and Grant found so numerous in
that region. It was evident, therefore, that a thorough
exploration of I/ake Victoria was absolutely necessary
to set at rest, once and for ever, one of the great
problems that was such a source of trouble and
dissatisfaction to the geographers of Europe and
America.
LAKE TANGANIKA AGAIN.
The next European to arrive at the shores of Lake
Tanganika, after Burton and Speke, was Dr. David
Livingstone. He first saw it as he stood on the verge
of the plateau which rises steeply from the surface of
the Tanganika at its south-west corner, on the 2nd
April 1867 ; and on the 14th March 1869, and after
traversing nearly the whole of the western shore from
the extreme south end of the lake to Kaseng^, the
island which Speke visited in 1858, he crossed over to
the east side and reached Ujiji.
On the 15th July 1869, after camping at Kasenge,
when on his way to Manyema, he writes in his journal
the following opinion of Lake Tanganika : — ^^ Tan-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
20 THROUGH THE DABK COyTLSEST.
gar. vHca narrows at TJvira or Yira, and goes out of sight
among the mountains ; then it appears as a waterfall
into the Lake of Quando, seen by Banyamwezi.*
In his letters home Dr. Livingstone constantly made
mention of two lakes, called Upper Tanganika, which
Burton discovered, and Lower Tanganika, which Sir
Samuel Baker discovered, and which formed, as he said,
the second line of drainage trending to and discharging
its waters into the Nile.
He makes record in his Journals of the causes which
induced him to verify his opinions by a personal in-
vestigation of the north end of Lake Tanganika on the
Ifith November 1871, a few days after my arrival at
Ujiji, I l^irig the fourth European who had arrived on
the shores of the Lake, in this manner : —
*M6/A Noi'errJfer 1871. — As Tanganika Explora-
tions are said by Mr. Stanley to be an object of interest
t/> Sir Roderick, we go at his expense and by his men
to the north end of the lake.**
"24/A November. — To Point Kisuka in Mukamba's
omuiry. A Mgwana came to ns from King Mukamba,
and asserted most positively that all the water of
Tanganika flowed into the river Lusiz^, and then on
U) Ukerewe of Mteza; nothing could be more clear
than his statements."
** 2^)th November. — Our friend of yesterday now de-
clared as positively as before, that the water of Lusize
flowed into Tanganika, and not the way he said
yehterday ! Tanganika closes in except at one point
N. and by W. of us.*'
" 26^A November. — The end of Tanganika seen
clearly, is rounded off about 4' broad from east to
west/*
On the 29 th November, Livingstone and I, in a
canoe manned by several strong rowers, entered into
the Lusize, or Busizi, and discovered that it flowed
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
LAKE TANGANIKA. 21
into Lake Tanganika by three mouths with an im-
petuous current.
The explorations of Livingstone and myself in
November 1871 to the north end of Lake Tanganika
resolved that portion of the problem, but described only
about thirteen miles of coast unvisited by Burton and
Speke. On our way back, however, by a southern route
to Unyanyemb^, we added to the knowledge of the
Tanganika coast-line, on the eastern side from Kabogo
Point as far as Urimba, about twenty miles farther
south than Speke had seen.
In August 1872, about five months after. I had
departed from him homewards, he recommenced his
last journey. On the 8th October of the same year
he saw the Tanganika again about sixty miles south
of the point where he and I bade farewell to the lake
eight months previously. Clinging to the lake, he
travelled along the eastern shore, until he reached the
southernmost end of it.
From this it will appear evident that the only portion
of Lake Tanganika remaining unvisited was that
part of the west-end shore, between Kasenge Island
and the northernmost point of what Burton and Speke
called Ubwari Island, and what Livingstone and I
called Muzimu Island. Doubtless there were many
portions of Livingstone's route overland which rendered
the coast line somewhat obscure, and in his hurried
journey to Ujiji in 1869, by canoe from Mompara*s to
Kaseng^, a portion of the Uguha coast was left un-
explored. But it is Livingstone who was the first to
map out and give a tolerably correct configuration to
that part of Lake Tanganika extending from Urimba
round to the south end and up along the eastern shore
to Kaseng^ Island, as it was Burton and Speke who
were the first to map out that portion of the Tanganika
extending from Ujiji to a point nearly opposite Ubwari
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
22 TEBOUGH THE DARK COSTTISEIfT.
and the north-west, from Ubwari^s north end as fiur as
Uvinu
In February 1874, Lieutenant Yemey Lovett
Cameron, R^., arriTed at the same village of Ujiji
which had been seen by Burton and Speke in 1858,
and which was known as the place where I discovered
Livingstone in 1872. He had traversed a route
rendered familiar to thousands of the readers of the
*Lake Begions of Central Afirica/ the * Journal o\
the Discovery of the Nile,' and *How I found
Livingstone,' through a country carefully mapped,
surveyed and described. But the land that lay before
him westerly had only been begun by Livingstone, and
there were great and important fields of exploration
beyond the farthest point he had reached.
Lieutenant Cameron procured two canoes, turned
south, and coasted along the eastern shore of the
Tanganika, and when near the southern end of the
Lake, crossed it, turned up north along the western
shore, and discovered a narrow channel, between two
spits of pure white sand. Entering this channel,
the Lukuga creek, he traced it until farther progress
was stopped by an immovable and impenetrable barrier
of papyrus. This channel, Lieutenant Cameron wrote,
was the outlet of Lake Tanganika. Satisfied with
his discovery, he withdrew from the channel, pursued
hio course along the west coast as far as Kasenge
Island, the camping place of both Speke and Living-
stone, and returned direct to Ujiji without making
further effort.
Lake Tanganika, as will be seen, upon Lieutenant
Cameron's departure, had its entire coast-line described,
except the extreme south end, the mouth of the Lufuvu
and that portion of coast lyinj^ between Kaseng^ Island
and the northern point of Ubwari, about 14.0 miles in
extent.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE LIVINGSTONE BIVER. 23
ijvingbtonb's great river.
What we knew distinctly of this great river began
with Livingstone's last journey, when he wrote from
Ujiji in 1869, repeating what he had already written
in 1867, at the town of Oazembe, in a despatch to Lord
Clarendon.
Briefly, this last journey began, let us say, at
Zanzibar, the date of his arrival being the 28th
January 1866. On the 19th March he sailed in
H.M.S. Penguin for the mouth of the Rovuma river,
after invoking the blessing of the Most High upon his
meditated intercourse with the heathen. Eflfecting a
landing at Mikindini Bay, he directed his course in a
south-westerly direction, arriving within view of Lake
Nyassa on the 13th September 1866.
On the 16th January 1867, he reached the most
southerly streams emptying into the Chambezi, after
crossing the mountains which separate the streams
flowing east to the Loangwa. He describes the
northern slope which gives birth to the affluents of the
new river thus : — " It is needless to repeat that it is all
forest on the northern slopes of the mountains — open
glade and miles of forest ; ground at present all sloppy,
oozes full and overflowing, feet constantly wet.
Rivulets rush with clear water; though they are in
flood we can guess which are perennial and which
are torrents that dry up ; they flow northwards and
westwards to the Chambezi."
Eight days later, in S. lat. 10° 34', he reached the
main river — the Chambezi — a stream " flooded with
clear water-banks not more than 40 yards apart, showing
abundant animal life in its waters and on its banks as
it flowed westwards." Just at the point Livingstone first
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
24 TEROUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
saw the Chambezi, numerous streams are gathered from
all points — northerly, easterly, and southerly, from the
westerly slope of the uplands of Mambwe into the main
river, which presently becomes a formidable river, and
which subsequent explorations proved to enter Lake
Bemba on its eastern side.
On the 8th November 1867, the traveller makes a
very comprehensive statement. It is the evening of
his arrival at Lake Mweru or Moero. ** Lake Moero
seems of goodly size, and is flanked by ranges of moun-
tains on the east and west Its banks are of coarse sand,
and slope gradually down to the water; outside of
these banks stands a thick belt of tropical vegetation, in
which fishermen build their huts. The country calle 1
Rua lies on" the west, and is seen as a lofty range of
dark mountains ; another range of less height, but more
broken, stands along the eastern shore."
« • • « •
" The northern shore has a fine sweep, like an unbent
bow, and round the western end flows the water that
makes the river Lualaba, which, before it enters Mweru,
is the Luapula, and that again (if the most intelligent
report speak true) is the Chambezi before it enters
Lake Bemba or Bangweolo."
On page 261, vol. i., of * Livingstone's Last Journals,'
he sums up very succinctly what knowledge he has
gained of the country which was the scene of his
exploration 1866-67. ** First of all the Chambezi nms
in the countrv of Mambwe N.E. of Molemba. It then
flows S.W. and W. till it reaches 11° S. Lat. and Long.
29^ E., where it forms Lake Bemba or Bangweolo.
Emerging thence, it assumes the new name Luapula, and
comes down here to fall into Mweru. On going out of
this lake it is known by the name Lualaba as it flows
N.W. in Rua to form another lake with many islands
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE LIVINQ8T0NE BIVER. 25
called Ulenge or Ureng^. Beyond this, information is
not positive as to whether it enters Tanganika, or
another lake beyond that."
On the 18th July 1868, the discovery of Lake Bemba
or Bangweolo was made by Dr. Livingstone.
On page 59, vol. ii., ' Last Journals,' we think we have
an explanation of the causes which led him to form
those hypotheses and theories which he subsequently
made public by his letters, or elaborated in his journals,
on the subject of the Nile Sources.
" Bambarrej 25th August 1870. — One of my waking
dreams is that the legendary tales about Moses coming
up into Lower Ethiopia, with Merr his foster mother,
and founding a city which he called in her honour
* Meroe,* may have a substratum of fact.**
" I dream of discovering some monumental relics of
Meroe, and if anything confirmatory of sacred history
does remain, I pray to be guided thereunto. If the
sacred chronology would thereby be confirmed, I would
not grudge the toil and hardship, hunger and pain, I
have endured — the irritable ulcers would only be
discipline."
The old explorer, a grand spectacle and a specimen
of most noble manhood, in these latter days of his life,
travels on and on, but never reaches nearer the solution
of the problem which puzzles his soul than the Arab
depot Nyangw^, which is situate a few miles south of
4:"" S. lat. and a little east of 26'' E. long, where he
leaves the great river still flowing north.
Livingstone never returned to this point, but
retracing his steps to Ujiji, thence to the north end of
Lake Tanganika and back again to Ujiji and Unyan-
yemb^, directed his course to the southern shore of Lake
Bemba, where he died of dysentery in the beginning of
May 1873.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
26 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
In the month August 1874, Lieutenant Cameron,
whom we left at Ujiji after the delineation of that part
of Lake Tanganika south of Ujiji, after traversing
Livingstone's route to Kasongo's, Manyema, and
travelling by canoe about thirty-five miles, reaches
Nyangw^, 'his predecessor's farthest point. Though
he does not attempt to resolve this problem, or
penetrate the region north of Nyangwe, Lieutenant
Cameron ventures upon the following hypothesis : —
**This great stream must be one of the head- waters
of the Kongo, for where else could that giant amongst
rivers, second only to the Amazon in its volume,
obtain the 2,000,000 cubic feet of water which it
unceasingly pours each second into the Atlantic ? The
large affluents from the north would explain the
comparatively small rise of the Kongo at the coast;
for since its enormous basin extends to both sides of the
equator, some portion of it is always under the zone of
rains, and therefore the supply to the main stream is
nearly the same at all times, instead of varying as is the
case with tropical rivers, whose basins lie completely
on one side of the equator." In this map Lieutenant
Cameron illustrates his hypothesis, by causing Living-
stone's great river to flow soon after leaving
Nyangwe straight westward, the highest part of which
is only 3^ 30' S. lat.
At Nyangwe, Lieutenant Cameron crossed the river,
proceeded south with some Arab traders a few days'
journey, then, accompanied by guides, travelled still
south to Juma Merikani's or Kasongo's, thence, after a
stay of nearly nine months, accompanied by some Por-
tuguese traders, he proceeded to Benguella, a small
port belonging to the Portuguese government on the
Atlantic Ocean, having crossed Africa from east to west
south of S. lat. 4^.
The above is a brief sketch, which, with the aid of
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE WOBK BEFORE ME. 27
the small maps attached to this volume, explains and
illustrates the several geographical problems left by
my predecessors, I now propose to describe how these
problems were solved, and the incomplete discoveries
of Burton and Speke, Speke and Q-rant, and Doctor
Livingstone were finished, and how we sighted the
lake Muta N'zig^, by its broad arm, which I have called
Beatrice Gulf, by a comprehensive exploration, lasting,
from sea to sea, two years eight months and twenty
days ; the results of which are to be found embodied
in these two volumes, entitled : ^ Through the Dark
Continent i the Sources of tlie Nile, around the Great
Lakes of Africa^ and down tlie ^^Livingstone'* to the
Atlantic Ocean.*
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
"'-^^^^
VIEW OP A PORTION OP THE SEA-PBONT OP ZANZIBAR, FBOM THE WATER
BATTERY TO 8HANGANI POINT.
(^From a photograph ly Mr. Buchanan^ of Natal,)
CHAPTER I.
1874.
Sept. 21.
Zanzibar.
Arrival at Zanzibar Island — Life at Zanzibar — The town of Zanzibar,
its roadstead and buildings — The One Cocoa-nut tree and the red
cliffs — Selection and purchase of goods for the journey — Eesidence
of Prince Barghash — Busy mornings — Pleasant rides and quiet
evenings.
Twenty-eight months had elapsed between my de-
parture from Zanzibar after the discovery of Livingstone
and my re-arrival on that island, September 21, 1874.
The well-remembered undulating ridges, and the
gentle slopes clad with palms and mango trees bathed
in warm vapour, seemed in that tranquil drowsy state
which at all times any portion of tropical Africa
presents at first appearance, A pale blue sky covered
the hazy land and sleeping sea as we steamed through
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
ABRIVAL AT ZANZIBAR ISLAND. 29
the strait that separates Zanzibar from the continent, 1874.
Every stranger, at first view of the shores, proclaims j^^^.
his pleasure. The gorgeous verdure, the distant purple
ridges, the calm sea, the light gauzy atmosphere, the
semi-mysterious silence which pervades all natul-e,
evoke his admiration. For it is probable that he
has sailed through the stifling Arabian Sea, with the
grim, frowning mountains of Nubia on the one hand,
and on the other the drear, ochreous-coloured ridges of
the Arab Peninsula; and perhaps the aspect of the
thirstj*- volcanic rocks of Aden and the dry brown
bluffs of Quardafui is still fresh in his memorv.
But a great change has taken place. As he passes
close to the deeply verdant shores of Zanzibar Island,
he views nature robed in the greenest verdure, with a
delightful freshness of leaf, exhaling fragrance to the in-
coming wanderer. He is wearied with the natural deep-
blue of the ocean, and eager for any change. He remem-
bers the unconquerable aridity and the dry bleached
heights he last saw, and, lo ! what a change ! Re-
sponding to his half formed wish, the earth rises before
him verdant, prolific, bursting with fatness. Palms
raise their feathery heads and mangoes their great
globes of dark green foliage ; banana plantations with
impenetrable shade, groves of orange, fragrant cinna-
mon, and spreading bushy clove, diversify and enrich
the landscape. Jack-fruit trees loom up with great
massive crowns of leaf and branch, while between
the trees and in every open space succulent grasses
and plants cover the soil with a thick garment of
verdure. There is nothing grand or sublime in the
view before him, and his gaze is not attracted to any
special feature, because all is toned down to a uniform
softness by the exhalation rising from the warm heaving
bosom of the island. His imagination is therefore
caught and exercised, his mind loses its restless activity,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
80 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. and reposes under the influence of the eternal summer
^to. atmosphere.
Presently on the horizon there rise the thin upright
shadows of ships* masts, and to the left begins to
glimmer a pale white mass which, we are told, is the
capital of the island of Zanzibar. Still steaming
southward, we come within rifle-shot of the low green
shores, and now begin to be able to define the capital.
It consists of a number of square massive structures,
with little variety of height and all whitewashed,
standing on a point of low land, separated by a broad
margin of sand beach from the sea, with a bay curving,
gently from the point, inwards to the left towards us.
Within two hours from the time we first caught
sight of the town, we have dropped anchor about 700
yards from the beach. The arrival of the British India
Company*s steamer causes a sensation. It is the monthly
** mail '* from Aden and Europe ! A niunber of boats
break away from the beach and come towards the
vessel. Europeans sit at the stern, the rowers are
white-shirted Wangwana* with red caps. The former
are anxious to hear the news, to get newspapers and
letters, and to receive the small parcels sent by friendly
hands " per favour of captain.**
The stranger, of course, is intensely interested in this
life existing near the African Equator, now first revealed
to him, and all that he sees and hears of figures and
faces and sounds is being freshly impressed on his
memory. Figures and faces are picturesque enough.
Happy, pleased-looking men of black, yellow, or tawny
colour, with long white cotton shirts, move about with
quick, active motion, and cry out, regardless of order,
to their friends or mates in the Swahili or Arabic
language, and their friends or mates respond with
equally loud voice and lively gesture, until, with fresh
* Wangwana (freed negroes).
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
LIFE AT ZANZIBAR. 31
arrivals, there appears to be a Babel created, wherein 1874.
English, French, Swahili, and Arabic accents mix with ^\^
Hindi, and, perhaps, Persian,
In the midst of such a scene I stepped into a boat to
be rowed to the house of my old friend, Mr. Augustus
Sparhawk, of the Bertram Agency. At this low-built,
massive-looking house near Shangani Point, I was
welcomed with all the friendliness and hospitality of
my first visit, when, three years and a half previously,
I arrived at Zanzibar to set out for the discovery of
Livingstone.
With Mr. Sparhawk*s aid I soon succeeded in housing
comfortably my three young Englishmen, Francis John
and Edward Pocock and Frederick Barker, and my
five dogs, and in stowing safely on shore the yawl
Wave, bought for me at Yarmouth by Mr. Edwin
Arnold, the gig, and the tons of goods, provisions, and
stores I had brought.
Life at Zanzibar is a busy one to the intending
explorer. Time flies rapidly, and each moment of
daylight must be employed in the selection and purchase
of the various kinds of cloth, beads, and wire, in
demand by the diflferent tribes of the mainland through
whose countries he purposes journeying. Strong,
half naked porters come in with great bales of un-
bleached cottons, striped and coloured febrics, handker-
chiefs and red caps, bags of blue, green, red, white
and amber-coloured beads small and large, round and
oval, and coils upon coils of thick brass wire. These
have to be inspected, assorted, arranged, and
numbered separately, have to be packed in portable
bales, sacks, or packages, or boxed according to their
character and value. The house-floors are littered with
cast-off wrappings and covers, box-lids, and a medley
of rejected paper, cloth, zinc covers and broken boards,
sawdust and other debris. Porters and servants and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
82 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. masters, employes and employers, pass backwards and
^*''* w f^rw^r^s> to and fro, amid all this litter, roll bales over,
^^ ' or tumble about boxes; and a rending of cloth or
paper, clattering of hammers, demands for the marking
pots, or the number of bale and box, with quick, hurried
breathing and shouting, are heard from early morning
until night.
Towards evening, after such a glaring day of glaring
heat and busy toil, comes weariness : the arm-chair
is sought, and the pipe or cigar with a cup of tea
rounds oflF the eventful hours. Or, as sometimes
the case would l)e, we would strike work early,
and after a wholesome dinner at 4.30 p.m. would
saddle our horses and ride out into the interior of
the island, returning during the short twilight. Or
we would take the well-known path to Mnazi-Moya —
the One Cocoa-nut Tree, where it stands weird and
sentinel-like over humble tombs on the crest of an
ancient beach behind Shangani Point. Or, as tlie last
and only resource left to a contemplative and studious
mind, we would take our easy-chairs on the flat roof,
where the cowhides of the merchant are poisoned and
dried, and, with our feet elevated above our heads, watch
the night coming.
If we take our ride, in a few minutes we may note, at
the pleasantest hour, those local features which, with the
thermometer at 95° Fahr., might have been a danger-
ous pleasure, or, at any rate, disagreeable. Through a
narrow, crooked, plastered lane, our horses* feet clatter-
ing noisily as we go, we ride by the tall, whitewashed,
massive houses, which rise to two and three stories
above our heads. The residences of the European
merchants and the officials here stand side by side,
and at the tall doorway of each sits the porter — as
comfortable as his circumstances will permit. As
we pass on, we get short views of the bay, and then
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE BE8IDENCE OF PRINCE BARGHASH. 33
plunge again into the lane until we come in view of 1874.
the worm-eaten old fort, crumbling fast into disuse and f^!,^^'
demolition. Years ago, behind it, I saw a market
where some slaves were being sold. Happily there
is no such market now.
We presently catch sight, on our right, of the
entrance to the fort at which sit on guard, a few lazy
Baluchis and dingy-looking Arabs. On our left is the
saluting battery, which does frequent service for the
ignition of much powder, an antique mode of exchanging
compliments with ships of war, and of paying respect to
government officials. The customs sheds are close by,
and directly in front of us rises the lofty house and
harem of Prince Barghash. It is a respectable-looking
building of the Arab architecture which finds favour
at Muscat, three stories high and whitewashed — as all
houses here appear to be. It is connected by a covered
gangway, about 30 feet above our heads, with a large
house on the opposite side of the lane, and possesses
an ambitious doorway raised 3 feet above the street,
and reached by four or five broad and circular steps.
Within the lower hall are some soldiers of the same
pattern as those at the fort, armed with the Henry-
Martini rifle, or matchlock, sword, and targe. A
very short time takes us into a still narrower lane,
where the whitewash is not so white as at Shangani,
the European quarter. We are in the neighbourhood
of Melindi now, where the European who has not been
able to locate himself at Shangani is obliged to put up
with neighbours of East Indian race or Arabs. Past and
beyond Melindi is a medley of tall white houses and
low sheds, where wealth and squalor jostle side by
side, and then we find ourselves at the bridge over the
inlet of Malagash, which extends from the bay up to
Mnazi-Moya, or the One Cocoa-nut, behind Shangani.
The banks on either side are in view as we pass over
VOL. I. — 3
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
34 THROUQn THE DARK CONTINENT.
1871, llie bridge, and we note a dense mass of sheds and
M'^ 21* poor buildings, amid hills of garbage and heaps of refuse,
and numbers of half naked negroes, or people in white
clothes, giving the whole an appearance somewhat r^
soiiibling the more sordid village of Boulak, near Cairo.
Having crossed the bridge from Melindi, we are in
what is very appropriately termed Ngarabu, or "toother
side." The street is wide, but the quarter is more
squalid. It is .here we find the Wangwana, or Freedmen,
of Zanzibar, whose services the explorer will require
as escort on the continent. Here they live very
happily with the well-to-do Coast man, or Mswahili,
poor Banyans, Hindis, Persians, Arabs, and Baluchis,
respectable slave artisans, and tradesmen. When the
people have donned their holiday attire, Ngambu
becomes picturesque, even gay, and yields itself up to
a wild, frolicsome abandon of mirth. On working
days, though the colours are still varied, and give
relief to the clay walls and withered palm-frond roofs,
this poor man's district has a dingy hue, which black
faces and semi-naked bodies seem to deepen. However,
the quarter is only a mile and a half long, a.nd, quicken-
iug our paces, we soon have before us detached houses
and huts, clusters of cocoa-nut palms and ancient mango
tJees crowned with enormous dark green domes of foli-
age. For about three miles one can enjoy a gallop along
an ochreous-coloured road of respectable width, bordered
with hedges. Behind the hedf^es grow the sugar-cane,
banana, palm, orange, clove, cinnamon, and jack-fruit
trees, cassava, castor-oil, diversified with patches of
millet, Indian corn, sweet potatoes, and egg-plant, and
almost every vegetable of tropic growth. The fields,
gently undulating, display the variety of their vegeta-
tion, on which the lights and shadows play, deepening
or paling as the setting sun clouds or reveals the
charms of the verdure.
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Zanzibar.
TEE ROADSTEAD AND TOWN. 35
Finally arriving upon the crest of Wirezu hill, we 1874.
have a most beautiful view of the roadstead and town f^P^; 21
of Zanzibar, and, as we turn to regard it, are struck
with the landscape lying at our feet. Sloping
away gradually towards the town, the tropical trees
already mentioned seem, in the birds-eye view, to
mass themselves into a thin forest, out of which,
however, we can pick out clearly the details of tree
and hut. Whatever of beauty may be in the scene,
it is Nature's own, for man has done little; he has
but planted a root, or a seed, or a tender sapling care-
lessly. Nature has nourished the root and the seed and
the sapling, until they became sturdy giants, rising one
above another in hillocks of dark green verdure, and
has given to the whole that wonderful depth and variety
of colour which she only exhibits in the Tropics.
The walk to Mnazi-Moya will compel the traveller to
moralize, and meditate pensively. Decay speaks to
him, and from the moment he leaves the house to the
moment he returns, his mind is constantly dwelling
upon mortality. For, after lounging through two or
three lanes, he conies to a populous graveyard, over
which the wild grass has obtained supreme control,
and through the stalks of which show white the fading
and moss-touched headstones. Across the extensive
acreage allotted to the victims of the sad cholera years,
the Prince of Zanzibar has ruthlessly cut his way to
form a garden, which he has surrounded with a high
wall. Here a grinning skull and there a bleached
thigh bone or sunken grave exposing its ghastly
contents attract one's attention. From time im-
memorial this old beach has been the depository of the
dead, and unless the Prince prosecutes his good work
for the reclamation of this golgotha (and the European
oflBcials urge it on him), the custom may be continued
for a long period yet.
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36
THBOUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1874.
S«pt. 21.
Zanzibar.
Beyond this cemetery is to be seen the muddy head of
Malagash inlet, between which and the sea south of
Shangani there lies only this antique sand bar, about
two hundred yards in breadth. On the crest of the
sand bar stands the One Cocoa-nut Palm which has
given its name to this locality. Sometimes this spot
is also known as the *' fiddler's" grave. It is the
breathing-place of the hard-worked and jaded European,
and here, seated on one of the plastered tombs near the
KED CL1FF6 liKUIND UXlVIiKSlTIES MISSION.
base of the One Cocoa-nut Pnlm, with only a furtive
look now and then at the " sleep and a forgetting ''
which those humble white structures represent, he may
take his fill of ocean and watch the sun go down to
his daily rest.
Beyond Mnazi-Moya is Ml)wenni, the Universities
Mission, and close behind are some peculiar red cliffs,
which are worth seeing.
From the roof of the house, if we take the " last
resource " already mentioned, we have a view of the road-
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TEE EABBOUB AND BEACH. 87
stead and bay of Zanzibar. Generally there ride at 1874.
anchor two or three British ships of war just in from a ^^^\ ^^'
hunt after contumacious Arabs, who persist, against the '^^
orders of their prince, in transporting slaves on the
high seas. There is a vessel moored closer to French-
man's Island, its "broken back" a memento of the
Prince's fleet shattered by the hurricane of 1872.
Nearer in-shore float a number of Arab dhows, boats,
lighters, steam launches, and two steamers, one of which
is the famous Deerhound. One day I counted, as a
mere matter of curiosity, the great and small vessels in
roadstead and harbour, and found that there were 135.
From our easy-chairs on the roof we can see the
massive building occupied formerly by the Universities
Mission, and now the residence of Captain Prideaux,
Acting British Consul and Political Resident, whose
acquaintance I first made soon after his release from
Magdala in 1868. This building stands upon the
extremity of Shangani Point, and the first line of
houses which fronts the beach extends northerly in a
gentle sweep, almost up to Livingstone's old residence
on the other side of Malagash inlet.
During the day the beach throughout its length is
alive with the moving figures of hamals, bearing clove
and cinnamon bags, ivory, copal and other gums, and
hides, to be shipped in the lighters waiting along the
water's edge, with sailors from the shipping, and black
boatmen discharging the various imports on the sand.
In the evening the beach is crowded with the naked
forms of workmen and boys from the "go-downs,"
preparing to bathe and wash the dust of copal and
hides off" their bodies in the surf. Some of the Arab
merchants have ordered chairs on the piers, or bunders,
to chat sociably until the sun sets, and prayer-time
has come. Boats hurry by with their masters and
sailors returning to their respective vessels. Dhows
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38 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874, move sluggishly past, hoisting as they go the creaking
T^^tih^ yards of their lateen sails, bound for the mainland
ports. Zanzibar canoes and "matepes" are arriving
with wood and produce, and others of the same native
form and make are squaring their mat sails, outward
bound. Sunset approaches, and after sunset silence
follows soon. For as there are no wheeled carriages
with the eternal rumble of their traffic in Zanzibar,
with the early evening, comes early peace and rest.
The intending explorer, however, bound for that
dark edge of the continent which he can just see lying
low along the west as he looks from Zanzibar has
thoughts at this hour which the resident cannot share.
As little as his eyes can pierce and define the details
in that gloomy streak on the horizon, so little can he
tell whether weal or woe lies before him. The whole
is buried in mystery, over which he ponders, certain
of nothing but the uncertainty of life. Yet will he
learn to sketch out a comparison between what he
Bees at sunset and his own future. Dark, indeed, is
the gloom of the fast'-coming night over the continent,
Imt does he not see that there are still bright flushes of
colour, and rosy bars, and crimson tints, amidst what
otherwise would be universal blackness ? And may he
not therefore say — " As those colours now brighten
tlie darkening west, so my hopes brighten my dark
future"?
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THE BRlTIS.l CX)XSULATK AT ZANZIBAR.
CHAPTER ir.
Seyyid Barghash — His prohibition of slavery, character and reforms —
Treaty with British Government by Sir Bartlc Frerc — Tramways
the need of Africa — Arabs in the interior — Arabs in Zanzibar —
Mtuma or Mgwana ? — The Wangwana, their vices and virtues —
A Mgwana's highest ambition — The Wauyamwezi " the coming race.'
The foot-note at the bottom of tliis page will explain all
that need be known by the general reader in connection
with tlie geography of tlie island of Zanzibar.* Any
student who wishes to make the island a special study
will find books dealing most minutely with the
subject at all great libraries. Without venturir^g,
therefore, into more details than I have already given
How I found Livingstone/ I shall devote this
m
1874.
October.
Zanzibitr.
• "The fort of Zanzibar is in S. lat. G° 9' 36" and E. long. 39° W 33"."
— East African Pilots
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40 TUMouan THE babk continent.
1874, clmptcr to the Sultan of Zanzibar — Barghash bin
zltllur! ^^y^^~**^^ Arabs, the Wangwana, and the Wanya-
mwezr, wilh whose aid the objects of the Anglo-
Anieriean Expedition were attained.
It is impossible not to feel a kindly interest in
Prince Barghash,
-'^ and to wish him
complete success
in the reforms he
is now striving
to bring about in
his country. Here
we see an Arab
prince, educated
in the strictest
school of Islam,
and accustomed to
regard the black
natives of Africa
as the lawful prey
of conquest or
lust, and fair ob-
jects of barter,
suddenly turning
round at the re-
quest of European
philanthropists
and becoming one
of the most active
opponents of the
slave-trade — and
the Kpectacle must necessarily create for him many well-
wisliers and friends,
Thntigli rririee Bargliayh has attributed to myself
the visit of tliose ships of wnr under Admiral Gumming,
all why remember that period j and are able, therefore.
bLYVil> HAUaiUSff.
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CHABACTER OF FBINCE BARQEA8H. 41
to trace events, will not fail to perceive that the first 1874.
decided steps taken by the Biitish Government for the **! ''
suppression of the slave-trade on the east coast of
Africa were due to the influence of Livingstone's
constant appeals. Some of his letters, they will re-
member, were carried by . me to England, and the
sensation caused by them was such as to compel the
British Government to send Sir Bartle Frere in the
Enchantress^ as a special envoy to Zanzibar, to con-
clude a treaty with Prince Barghash. When the
Prince's reluctance to sign became known, the fleet
under Admiral Gumming made its appearance before
Zanzibar, and by a process of gentle coercion, or
rather quiet demonstration, the signature of the Prince
was at last obtained. One thing more, however, still
remained to be done before the treaty could be carried
into full effect, and that was to eradicate any feeling
of discontent or sullenness from his mind which might
have been created by the exhibition of force, and this,
I was happy to see, was effected by the hospitable
reception he enjoyed in England in 1875. There was
a difference in the manner and tone of the Sultan of
1874 and of 1877, that I can only attribute to the
greater knowledge he had gained of the grandeur of
the power which he had so nearly provoked. We
must look upon him now as a friendly and, I believe,
sincere ally, and as a man willing to do his utmost
for the suppression of the slave-trade.
The philanthropist having at last obtained such
signal success with the Prince, it is time the merchant
should attempt something with him. Tlie Prince must
he considered as an independent sovereign. His
territories include, besides the Zanzibar, Pemba, and
Mafia islands, nearly 1000 miles of coast, and extend
probably over an area of 20,000 square miles, with
a population of half a million. The products of
Zanzibar have enriched many Europeans who traded
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42 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874, in them. Cloves, cinnamon, tortoise-shell, pepper,
(XtoiMsr, (,ppj^| gum, ivory, orchilla weed, india-rubber, and
liides have been exported for years; but this cata-
logue does not indicate a tithe of what might be pro-
duced by the judicious investment of capital. Those
intending to engage in commercial enterprises would
<1o well to study works on Mauritius, Natal, and the
Portuguese territories, if they wish to understand what
lliese fine, fertile lands are capable of. The cocoa-nut
]>a]m flourishes at Zanzibar and on the mainland, the
i'il palm thrives luxuriantly in Peraba, and sugar-cane
will grow everywhere. Caoutchouc remains unde-
veloped in the maritime belts of woodland, and the
acacia forests, with their wealth of gums, are nearly
tintouched. Rice is sown on the Rufiji banks, and yields
abundantly; cotton would thrive in any of the rich
river bottoms ; and then there are, besides, the grains,
millet, Indian corn, and many others, the cultivation
of which, though only in a languid way, the natives
understand. The cattle, coffee, and goats of the interior
await also the energetic man of capital and the com-
mercial genius.
First, however, the capitxilist must find means of
carriage, otherwise he will never conquer African diffi-
culties. Cutting roads through jungles, and employing
wRggons, are mere temporary conveniences, requiring
ji^ieat outlay, patience, and constant reinforcement of
work and energies. Almost as fiist as the land is
ck'ared, it is covered again — so prolific is the soil — with
tall wild grasses of the thickness of cane, and one season
is sufficient to undo the work of months of the pioneer.
Cattle die, tormented out of life by the flies or poisoned
by the rank grasses; natives perish from want of proper
Tjourishment, and, while suffering from fatigue and
debility, are subject to many fatal diseases.
A tramway is the one thing that is needed for Africa.
All other benefits that can be conferred by contact with
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October.
Zanzibar
TBAMWAT8 TEE NEED OF AFRICA. 43
civilization will follow in the wake of the tramway, 1874.
which will be an iron bond, never to be again broken,
between Africa and the more favoured continents.
However energetic the small merchant may be, he
can effect nothing peimanent for the good of a country
that has neither roads nor navigable rivers, whose
climate is alike fatal to the starved hamal as it is to the
beast of burthen. The maritime belt must first be
crossed by an iron road, and another must tap the very
centre of the rice-fields of the Rufiji valley, in order
to insure cheap, nutritious food in abundance. To a
company, however, which can raise the sum required
to construct a tramway. East Africa holds out special
advantages. The Sultan himself offers a handsome
sum, five lakhs of dollars or, roughly, £100,000, and
there are rich Hindis at Zanzibar who, no doubt, would
invest large sums, and thus the company would become
the principal merchants along the line. The Sultan
has also poor subjects enough who would be only too
glad of the opportunities thus afforded to work for
reasonable pay, so that very little fear need be
entertained of lack of labour. Besides, there are
the natives of the interior who, after two or three
bold examples, would soon be induced to apply for
employment along the line.
Those whom we call the Arabs of Zanzibar are either
natives of Muscat who have immigrated thither to
seek their fortunes, or descendants of the conquerors
of the Portuguese. As the present Sultan calls himself
Barghash the sonof Sayid, the son of Sultan, the son of
Hamed, so all Arabs, from the highest to the lowest of
bis subjects, are known by their proper names — Ahmed,
or Khamis, or Abdullah, as being the sons of Mussoud,
of Mustapha, or of Mohammed. Some of them boast
of unusually long pedigrees, and one or two I am
acquainted with proclaimed themselves of purer and
more aristocratic descent than even the Sultan.
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44 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. The Arab conquerors who accompanied Seyyid
^^ Sultan, the grandfather of the present Seyyid Barghash,
took unto themselves, after the custom of polygamists,
wives of their own race according to their means, and
almost all of them purchased negro concubines, the
result of which we trace to-day in the various com-
plexions of those who call themselves Arabs. By
this process of miscegenation the Arabs of the latest
migration are already rapidly losing their rich colour
and fine complexions, while the descendants of the
Arabs of the first migration are now deteriorated so
much that on the coast they can scarcely be distinguished
from the aborigines. While many of the descendants
of the old settlers who came in with Seyyid Sultan, still
cling to their homesteads, farms, and plantations, and
acquire sufficient competence by the cultivation of
cloves, cinnamon, oranges, cocoa-nut palms, sugar-cane,
and other produce, a great number have emigrated into
the interior to form new colonies. Hamed Ibrahim has
been eighteen years in Karagwe, Muini Kheri has
been thirty years in Ujiji, Sultan bin Ali has been
twenty -five years in Unyanyemb^, Muini Dugumbi
has been eight years in Nyangwe, Juma Merikani has
been seven years in Rua, and a number of other
prominent Arabs may be cited to prove that, though
they themselves firmly believe that they will return to
the coast some day, there are too many reasons for
believing that they never will.
None of the Arabs in the interior with whom I am
acquainted ever proceeded thither with the definite in-
tention of colonisation. Some were driven thither, by
false hopes of acquiring rapid fortunes by the purchase
of slaves and ivory, and, perceiving that there were
worse places on earth than Africa, preferred to remain
there, to facing the odium of failure. Others borrowed
large sums on trust from credulous Hindis and Banyans,
and having failed in the venture now prefer to endure
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ABAB8 IN THE INTERIOR. 45
the exclusion to which they have subjected themselves, 1874.
to returning and being arrested by their enraged ^^*!^*
creditors. Others again are not merely bankrupts, but
persons who have fled the vengeance of the law for
political offences, as well as ordinary crimes. There
are many who are in better circumstances in the
interior than they would be on their own island of
Zanzibar. Some of them have hundreds of slaves,
and he would be a very poor Arab indeed who pos-
sessed only ten. These slaves, under their masters'
direction, have constructed roomy, comfortable, flat-
roofed houses, or lofty cool huts, which, in the
dangerous and hostile districts, are surrounded by
strong stockades. Thus, at Unyanyembe there are
sixty or seventy large stockades enclosing the owner's
house and store-rooms, as well as the numerous huts of
his slaves. Ujiji, again, may be described as a long
straggling village, formed by the large tembes of the
Arabs; and Nyangw^ is another settlement similar to
Ujiji. Many of the Arabs settled in the pastoral dis-
tricts possess large herds of cattle and extensive fields
where rice, wheat, Indian corn, and millet are culti-
vated, besides sugar-cane and onions, and the fruit
trees of Zanzibar — the orange, lemon, papaw, mango,
and pomegranate — now being gradually introduced.
The Arabs of Zanzibar, whether from more frequent
intercourse with Europeans or f^om other causes, are
undoubtedly the best of their race. More easily
amenable to reason than those of Egypt, or the shy,
reserved, and bigoted fanatics of Arabia, they offer
no obstacles to the European traveller, but are sociable,
frank, good-natured, and hospitable. In business they
are keen traders, and of course will exact the highest
percentage of profit out of the unsuspecting European
if they are permitted. They are staunch friends and
desperate haters. Blood is seldom satisfied without
blood, unless extraordinary sacrifices are made.
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46 THROUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. The conduct of an Arab gentleman is perfect. In-
october. ^giioj^t^ matters are never broached before strangers ;
impertinence is hushed instantly by the elders, and
rudeness is never permitted. Naturally, they have the
vices of their education, blood, and race, but these
moral blemishes . are by their traditional excellence of
breeding seldom obtruded upon the observation of the
stranger.
After the Arabs let us regard the Wangwana, just
as in Europe, after studying the condition and character
of the middle classes, we might turn to reflect upon
that of the labouring population.
Of the Wangwana there will be much written in
the following pages, the outcome of careful study and a
long experience of them. Few explorers have recorded
anything greatly to their credit. One of them lately
said that the negro knows neither love nor affection ;
another that he is simply the **link" between the
simian and the European. Another says, " The wretches
take a trouble and display an ingenuity in opposition
and disobedience, in perversity, annoyance, and viliainy,
which rightly directed would make them invaluable."
Almost all have been severe in their strictures on the
negro of Zanzibar.
The origin of the Mgwana or Freeman may be briefly
told. When . the Arabs conquered Zanzibar, they
found the black subjects of the Portuguese to be of
two classes, Watuma (slaves) and Wangwana (free-
men). .The Freemen were very probably black people
who had either purchased their freedom by the savings
of their industry or were made free upon the death of
their masters: these begat children who, being born
out of bondage, were likewise free. Arab rulers, in
classifying their subjects, perceived no great difference
in physique or general appearance between those who
were slaves and those who were free, both classes
belonging originally to the same negro tribes of the
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WATUMA OR WANG W ANA f 47
interior. Thus, when any of these were brought before i874.
the authorities convicted of offences, the question ^^^'
naturally asked was, "Are you a Mtuma, a slave,
or a Mgwana, a freeman ? *' A repetition of these
questions through a long course of years established
the custom of identifying the two classes of Zanzibar
negroes as Watuma — daves — and Wangwana — freemen.
Later, however, came a new distinction, and the word
Watuma, except in special and local cases, was dropped,
for, with the advent of the free native traders direct
from the mainland, and the increase of traffic between
Zanzibar and the continent, as well as out of courtesy
to their own slaves, the Arabs began to ask the black
stranger, " Are you Mgwana, a freeman, or Mshensi, a
pagan ?" In disputes among themselves the question
is still asked, "Are you a slave or a freeman?" but
when strangers are involved, it is always, "Are you
Mgwana, a freeman or a native of Zanzibar, or a
Mshensi, a pagan or an uncircumcised native of the
mainland ? **
It will be thus seen that the word " Wangwana '* is
now a generic, widely used, and well understood for
the -coloured natives of Zanzibar. When, therefore,
the term is employed in this book, it includes alike both
the slaves and the freemen of Zanzibar.
After nearly seven years' acquaintance with the
Wangwana, I have come to perceive that they represent
in their character much of the disposition of a large
portion of the negro tribes of the continent. I find
them capable of great love and affection, and possessed
of gratitude and other noble traits of human nature :
I know too that they can be made good, obedient
servants, that many are clever, honest, industrious,
docile, enterprising, brave and moral ; that they are,
in short, equal to any other race or colour on the face
of the globe, in all the attributes of manhood. But to
be able to perceive their worth, the traveller must
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October.
2^Dzibtr.
48 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. bring au unprejudiced judgment, a clear, fresh, and
patient observation, and must forget that lofty standard
of excellence upon which he and his race pride them-
selves, before he can fairly appreciate the capabilities
of the Zanzibar negro. The traveller should not forget
the origin of his own race, the condition of the Briton
before St. Augustine visited his country, but should
rather recall to mind the first state of the '*wild
Caledonian," and the original circumstances and sur-
roundings of Primitive Man.
Louis Figuief says : — " However much our pride may
suffer by the idea, we must confess that, at the earliest
period of his existence, man could have been but little
distinguished from the brute. His pillow was a stone,
his roof was the shadow of a wide-spreading tree, or
some dark cavern, which also served as a refuge against
wild beasts."
And again, in his chapter on the "Iron Epoch," he
notes how " Frora the day when iron was first placed
at man's disposal, civilization began to make its longest
strides, and as the working of this metal improved,
so the dominion of man — his faculties and his intellect
— real activity — likewise enlarged in the same propor-
tion." And at the end of a most admirable book, he
counsels the traveller, " Look to it, lest thy pride cause
thee to forget thy own origin."
Being, I hope, free from prejudices of caste, colour,
race, or nationality, and endeavouring to pass what
I believe to be a just judgment upon the negroes of
Zanzibar, I find that they are a people just emerged
into the Iron Epoch, and now thrust forcibly under
the notice of nations who have left them behind by
the improvements of over 4000 years. They possess
beyond doubt all the vices of a people still fixed deeply
in barbarism, but they understand to the full what and
how low such a state is ; it is, therefore, a duty imposed
upon us by the religion we profess, and by the sacred
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October.
ZanxilMur
THE WANGWANA. 49
command of the Son of God, to help them out of the i874,
deplorable state they are now in. At any rate, before
we begin to hope for the improvement of races so long
benighted, let us leave off this impotent bewailing
of their vices, and endeavour to discover some of
the virtues they possess as men, for it must be with the
aid of their virtues, and not by their vices, that the
missionary of civilization can ever hope to assist them.
While, therefore, recording my experiences through
Africa, I shall have frequent occasion to dilate upon
both the vices and the virtues of the Wangwana as
well as of the natives of the interior, but it will not
be with a view to foster, on the one hand, the self-
deception of the civilized, or the absurd prejudices
created by centuries of superior advantages, nor, on
the other hand, to lead men astray by taking a too
bright view of things. I shall write solely and
simply with a strong desire to enable all interested in
the negro to understand his mental and moral powers
rightly.
The Mgwana or native of Zanzibar, who dwells at
Ngambu, is a happy, jovial soul. He is fond of company,
therefore sociable. His vanity causes him to be am-
bitious of possessing several white shirts and bright red
caps, and since he has observed that his superiors use
, walking-sticks, he is almost certain, if he is rich enough
to own a white shirt and a red cap, to be seen sporting
a light cane. The very poorest of his class hire them-
selves, or are hired out by their masters, to carry
bales, boxes, and goods, from the custom house to the
boat, or store-room, or vice versd, and as a general beast
of burden, for camels are few, and of wheeled vehicles
there are none. Those who prefer light work and
have good characters may obtain positions as door-
keepers or house-servants, or for washing copal and
drying hides for the European merchants. Others,
VOL. I. — 4
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1874.
October.
Zanzibar.
50
THROUOn THE LARK CONTINENT.
trained as mechanics, obtain a livelihood by repairing
muskets, manufacturing knives, belts, and accoutre-
ments, or by carpentering and shipbuilding. There is
a class of Wangwana living at Ngambu, in the small
gardens of the interior of the island, and along the
coast of the mainland, who prefer the wandering life
offered to them by the Arab traders and scientific
COXSWAIN ULEDI, AND MANWA SKRA, CHIEF CAPTAIN.
{From a photograph.)
expeditions to being subject to the caprice, tyranny,
and meanness of small estate proprietors. They
complain that the Arabs are haughty, grasping,
and exacting; that they abuse them and pay them
badly ; that, if they seek justice at the hands of the
Cadis, judgment, somehow, always goes against them.
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A MGWANA'8 HIGHEST AMBITION. 51
They say, on the other hand, that, when accompanying 1874.
trading or other expeditions, they are well paid, have ^^""^
abundance to eat, and comparatively but little work.
But the highest ambition of a Mgwana is to have a
house and shamba or garden of his own. The shamba
may only be large enough to possess a dozen cocoa-nut-
trees, a dozen rows, thirty yards long, ot cassava
shrubs, half a dozen banana plants, half a dozen rows
planted with sweet-potatoes, and two or three rows of
ground-nuts; nevertheless, this would be his garden
or estate, and therefore of priceless estimation. At one
corner of this tiny but most complete estate, he would
erect his house, with an exclusive courtyard, which he
would stock with half a dozen chickens and one goat,
which last he would be sure to spoil with kindness.
Three hundred dollars would probably be the total
value of house, garden, chickens, goat, domestic uten-
sils, tools, and all, and yet, with this property, he would
be twice married, the father of four or five children,
and even the owner of a domestic slave or two. If
such be his condition, he will snap his fingers at the
cruel world, and will imagine himself as prosperous,
well-to-do, and comfortable as any Arab in Zanzibar.
But he is seldom spoiled by this great prosperity. He
is a sociable, kindly disposed man, and his frank, hearty
nature has won for him hosts of friends. Beer made
of fermented mtama or Indian corn, wine of the palm
or cocoa-nut milk, or the stronger eau de vie sold by
the Goanese in the town at twenty-five cents the
bottle, serve to difiuse and cement these friendships.
It is to the Wangwana that Livingstone, Burton,
Speke and Grant owe, in great part, the accomplish-
ment of their objects, and while in the employ of those
explorers, this race rendered great services to geo-
graphy. From a considerable distance north of the
Equator down to the Zambezi and across Africa to
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52 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874* Benguella and the mouth of the Livingstone, they
h^ve made their names familiar to tribes who, but
for the Wangwana, would have remained ignorant to
this day of all things outside their own settlements.
They possess, with many weaknesses, many fine qualities.
While very superstitious, easily inclined to despair, and
readily giving ear to vague, unreasonable fears, they
may also, by judicious management, be induced to
laugh at their own credulity and roused to a courageous
attitude, to endure like Stoics, and fight like heroes. It
will depend altogether upon the leader of a body of
such men whether their worst or best qualities shall
prevail.
There is another class coming into notice from the
interior of Africa, who, though of a sterner nature,
will, I am convinced, as they are better known, become
greater favourites than the Wangwana. I refer to the
Wanyamwezi, or the natives of Unyamwezi, and the
Wasukuma, or the people of Usukuma. Naturally,
being a grade less advanced towards civilization than
the Wangwana, they are not so amenable to discipline
as the latter. While explorers would in the present
state of acquaintance prefer the Wangwana as escort,
the Wanyamwezi are far superior as porters. Their
greater freedom from diseases, their greater strength
and endurance, the pride they t^ike in their profession
of porters, prove them born travellers of incalculable
use and benefit to Africa. If kindly treated, I do not
know more docile and good-natured creatures. But
the discipline must not be strict, until they have had
opportunities of understanding their employer*s nature
and habits, and of comprehending that discipline does
not mean abuse. Their courage they have repeatedly
proved under their Napoleonic leader Mirambo, in many
a well-fought field against the Arabs and Wangwana.
Their skill in war, tenacity of purpose, and determi-
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THE COMING BACES.
53
nation to defend the rights of their elected chief
against foreigners, have furnished themes for song
to the bards of Central Africa. Tippu-Tib has led 500
of these men through distant Bisa and the plains
of Rua : Juma Merikani has been escorted by them
into the heart of the regions beyond the Tanganika:
Khamis bin Adallah commanded a large force of them
in his search for ivory in the intra-lake countries. The
English discoverer of Lake Tanganika and, finally, I
myself have been equally indebted to them, both on
my first and last expeditions.
From their numbers, and their many excellent
qualities, I am led to think that the day will come
when they will be regarded as something better than
the " best of pagazis"; that they will be esteemed as
the good subjects of some enlightened power, who will
train them up as the nucleus of a great African nation,
as powerful for the good of the Dark Continent, as they
threaten, under the present condition of things, to be
for its evil.
1874.
October.
Zanzibar.
NEW CHURCH ON BITE OF OLD 8LAVE-MABKET, ZAXZIBAB.
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61 TEROUQS THE DARK CONTINENT.
CHAPTER in.
Organization of the Expedition— The s^iauri — "Poli-poli" — Msenna'a
successful imposture — Black sheep in the flock — The Lady Alice
remodelled — Sewing a British flag — Tarya Topan, the millionaire
— Signing the covenants — "On the "word of a white man" —
Saying good-bye — Loading the dhows — Vale ! — Towards the Dark
Continent
1874. It is a raost sobering employment, the organizing of
November, ^j^ African expedition. You are constantly ens:afi:ed,
Zanzibar. • j j i i ^ . .• x J
mind and body ; now m casting up accounts, and now
travelling to and fro hurriedly to receive messengers,
inspecting purchases, bargaining with keen-eyed, relent-
less Hindi merchants, writing memoranda, haggling
over extortionate prices, packing up a multitude of
small utilities, pondering upon your lists of articles,
wanted, purchased, and unpurchased, groping about
in the recesses of a highly exercised imagination for
what you ought to purchase, and cannot do without,
superintending, arranging, assorting, and packing.
And this under a temperature of 95° Fahr.
In the midst of all this terrific, high-pressure exercise
arrives the first batch of applicants for employment.
For it has long ago been bruited abroad that I am
ready to enlist all able-bodied human beings willing
to carry a load, be they Wangwana or Wanyamwezi,
Wagalla, Somali, Wasagara, Wayow, Wajindo,
Wagogo, or Wazaramo. Ever since I arrived at
Zanzibar, since which date I have been absent
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SELECTINO THE EXPEDITION. 65
exploring the Rufiji river,* I have had a very good i874.
reputation among Arabs and Wangwana. They have
not forgotten that it was I who found the ** old white
man" — Livingstone — in Uji;i, nor that liberality and
kindness to my men were my special characteristics.
They have also, with the true Oriental spirit of exag-
geration, proclaimed that I was but a few months
absent; and that, after this brief excursion, they
returned to their homes to enjoy the liberal pay
awarded them, feeling rather the better for the trip
than otherwise. This unsought-for reputation brought
on me the laborious task of selecting proper men out
of an extraordinary number of applicants. Almost
all the cripples, the palsied, the consumptive, and the
superannuated that Zanzibar could furnish applied to
be enrolled on the muster list, but these, subjected to
a searching examination, were refused. Hard upon
their heels came all the roughs, rowdies, and ruffians of
the island, and these, schooled by their fellows, were
not so easily detected. Slaves were also refused, as
being too much under the influence and instruction
of their masters, and yet many were engaged of whose
character I had not the least conception, until, months
afterwards, I learned from their quarrels in the camp
how 1 had been misled by the clever rogues.
All those who bore good characters on the Search
Expedition, and had been despatched to the assistance
of Livingstone in 1872, were employed without delay.
Out of these the chiefs were selected : these were,
Manwa Sera, Chowpereh, Wadi Rehani, Kacheche,
Zaidi, Chakanja, Farjalla, Wadi Safeni, Bukhet,
Mabruki Manyapara, Mabruki Unyanyembe, Muini
Pembe, Ferahan, Bwana Muri, Khamseen, Mabruki
Speke, Simba, Gardner, Haraoidah, Zaidi Mganda,
and Ulimengo.
• For account of this exploration, see brief account in Appendix.
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56 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. But before real business could be entered into, the
November, customary present had to be distributed to each.
Ulimengo, or the World j the incorrigible joker and
hunter in chief of the Search and Livingstone's expedi-
tions, received a gold ring to encircle one of his thick
black fingers, and a silver chain to suspend round his
neck, which caused his mouth to expand gratefully.
Rojab, who was soon reminded of the unlucky accident
with Livingstone's Journal in the muddy waters of the
Mukondokwa, was endowed with a munificent . gift
which won him over to my service beyond fear of
bribery. Manwa Sera, the redoubtable ambassador of
Speke and Grant to Manwa Sera — the royal fugitive
distressed by the hot pursuit of the Arabs — the leader
of my second caravan in 1871, the chief of the party
sent to Unyanyembe to the assistance of Livingstone in
1872, and now appointed Chief Captain of the Anglo-
American Expedition, was rendered temporarily speech-
less with gratitude because I had suspended a splendid
jet necklace from his neck, and ringed one of his fingers
with a heavy seal ring. The historical Mabruki Speke,
called by one of my predecessors ** Mabruki the Bull-
headed," who has each time in the employ of European
explorers conducted himself with matchless fidelity, and
is distinguished for his hawk-eyed guardianship of their
property and interests^ exhibited extravagant rapture at
the testimonial for past services bestowed on him ; while
the valiant, faithful, sturdy Chowpereh, the man of
manifold virtues, was rewarded for his former worth
with a silver dagger, gilt bracelet, and earrings. His
wife was also made happy with a suitable gift, and the
heir of the Chowpereh estate, a child of two years,
was, at his father's urgent request, rendered safe by
vaccine from any attack of the small-pox during our
absence in Africa.
All great enterprises require a preliminary de-
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TOLI! FOLir 57
liberative palaver, or, as the Wangwana call it, i874.
"Shauri" In East Africa pprticularly shauris are ^^"^]^/
much in vogue. Precipitate, energetic action is
dreaded. ** Poli, poli ! *' or " Gently ! " is the warning
word of caution given.
The chiefs arranged themselves in a semi-circle on the
day of the shauri, and I sat A Za Turque fronting them.
** What is it, my friends ? Speak your minds." They
hummed and hawed, looked at one another, as if on
their neighbour's faces they might discover the purport
of their coming, but, all hesitating to begin, finally broke
down in a loud laugh.
Manwa Sera, always grave, unless hit dexterously
with a joke, hereupon affected anger, and said, ** You
speak, son of Safeni ; verily we act like children ! Will
the master eat us?"
Wadi, son of Safeni, thus encouraged to perform
the spokesman's duty, hesitates exactly two seconds,
and then ventures with diplomatic blandness and
graciosity. "We have come, master, with words.
Listen. It is well we should know every step before we
leap. A traveller journeys not without knowing whither
he wanders. We have come to ascertain what lands you
are bound for."
Imitating the son of Safeni's gracious blandness, and
his low tone of voice, as though the information about
to be imparted to the intensely interested and eagerly
listening group were too important to speak it loud, I
described in brief outline the prospective journey, in
broken Kiswahili. As country after country was men-
tioned of which they had hitherto but vague ideas, and
river after river, lake after lake named, all of which I
hoped with their trusty aid to explore carefully, various
ejaculations expressive of wonder and joy, mixed with a
little alarm, broke from their lips, but when I concluded,
each of the group drew a long breath, and almost
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KoTeniber.
Z&nzibar,
58 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. Bimultaneously they uttered admiringly, " Ah, fellows,
this is a journey worthy to be called a journey ! "
" But, master," said they, after recovering themselves,
** this long journey will take years to travel — six, nine,
or ten years." ** Nonsense," I replied. " Six, nine, or
ten years! What can you be thinking of? It takes
the Arabs nearly three years to reach Ujiji, it is true,
but, if 3^ou remember, I was but sixteen months from
Zanzibar to Ujiji and back. Is it not so?" **Ay,
true," they answered. " Very well, and I assure you I
have not come to live in Africa. I have come simply
to see those rivers and lakes, and after I have seen
them to return home." "Ah, but you know the old
master, Livingstone," rejoined Hamoidah, who had fol-
lowed the veteran traveller nearly eight years, "said
he was only going for two years, and you know that he
never came back, but died there." ** That is true enough,
but if I were quick on the first journey, am I likely to
be slow now? Am I much older than I was then?
Am I less strong ? Do I not know what travel is now ?
Was I not like a boy then, and am I not now a man ?
You remember while going to Ujiji I permitted the guide
to show the way, but when we were returning who
was it that led the way ? Was it not I, by means of
that little compass which could not lie like the guide ?"
** Ay, true, master, true every word !" " Very well,
then, let us finish the shauri, and go. To-morrow we
will make a proper agreement before the consul ;" and
in Scriptural phrase, " they forthwith arose and did as
they were commanded."
Upon receiving information from the coast that there
was a very large number of men waiting for me, I
became still more fastidious in my choice. But with
all my care and gift of selection, I was mortified to
discover that many faces and characters had baffled the
rigorous scrutiny to which I had subjected them, and
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ZaAsibur.
A SPECIOUS IMPOSTOR. 69
that some scores of the most abandoned and depraved i874.
characters on the island had been enlisted by me on
the Expedition. One man, named Msenna, imposed
upon me by assuming such a contrite penitent look,
and weeping such copious tears, when I informed him
that he liad too bad a character to be employed, that
my good-nature was prevailed upon to accept his ser-
vices, upon the understanding that, if he indulged his
murderous propensities in Africa, I should return him
chained the entire distance to Zanzibar, to be dealt
with by his Prince.
The defence of his conduct was something like this :
** Bwana,* you see these scars on my head and neck.
They are from the sabres of the Seyyid's soldiers.
Demand of any, Arab or Freeman, why I received
them. They will tell you they were inflicted for rebellion
against- Prince Majid at Melinda. The Arabs hate me
because I joined the coast men against their authority.
Can any one charge me with worse deeds ? " — appealing
to the Wangwana. AH were silent. " I am a free-born
son of the coast, and never did any man or woman who
did not molest me the smallest injury. Allah be praised !
I am strong, healthy, and contented with my lot, and if
you take mo you will never have cause to regret it. If
you fear that I shall desert give me no advance pay, but
pay me when I come back to Zanzibar according to my
deserts."
This appeal was delivered with impassioned accents
and lively gestures, which produced a great effect
upon the mixed audience who listened to him, and
gathering from their face?, more than from my own
convictions, that poor scarred Msenna was a kind of a
political refugee, much abused and very much mis-
understood, his services were accepted, and as he
appeared to be an influential man, he was appointed a
• "Master"
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60 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. junior captain with prospects of promotion and higher
NoTemb«r. * _ ^
Zanribar P^'
Snhsequently, however, on the shores of Lake Victoria
it was discovered — for in Africa people are uncommonly
communicative — that Msenna had murdered eight
people, that he was a ruffian of the worst sort, and that
the merchants of Zanzibar had experienced great relief
when they heard that the notorious Msenna was about
to bid farewell for a season to the scene of so many of
his wild exploits. Msenna was only one of many of
his kind, but I have given in detail the manner of his
enlistment that my position may be better understood.
Soon after my return from the Rufiji delta, the
B. I. S. N. Company's steamer Euphrates had brought
the sectional exploring boat. Lady Alice^ to Zanzibar.
Exceedingly anxious for the portability of the sections,
I had them at once weighed, and great were my
vexation and astonishment when I discovered that four
of the sections weighed 280 lbs. each, and that one
weighed 310 lbs. ! She was, it is true, a marvel of
workmanship, and an exquisite model of a boat, such,
indeed, as few builders in England or America could
rival, but in her present condition her carriage through
the jungles would necessitate a pioneer force a hundred
strong to clear the impediments and obstacles on the
road.
While almost plunged into despair, I was informed
that there was a very clever English carpenter, named
Ferris, about to leave by the Euphrates for England.
Mr. Ferris was quickly made acquainted with my
difficulty, and for a " consideration " promised, after a
personal inspection of the boat, to defer his departure
one month, and to do his utmost to make the sections
portable without lessening her efficiency. When the
boat was exhibited to him, I explained that the narrow-
ness of the path would make her portage absolutely
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November.
Zanxibor.
TEE ''LADY ALICE'' BEMODELLED. 61
impossible, for since the path was often only 18 inches i874.
wide in Africa, and hemmed in on each side with dense
jungle, any package 6 feet broad could by no means
be conveyed along it. It was therefore necessary
that each of the four sections should be subdivided, by
which means I should obtain eight portable sections,
each 3 feet wide, and that an afterpiece could easily
be made by myself upon arriving at the lakes. Mr.
Ferris, perfectly comprehending his instructions, and
with the aid given by the young Pococks, furnished
me within two weeks with the newly modelled Lady
Alice. But it must be understood that her success
as a safe exploring boat is due to the conscientious
workmanship which the honest and thoroughly reliable
boat-builder of Teddington lavished upon Her.
The pride which the young Pococks and Frederick
Barker entertained in respect to their new duties, in
the new and novel career of adventure now opening
before them, did not seem to damp that honourable
love of country which every Englishman abroad
exhibits, and is determined to gratify if he can. Their
acquaintance with the shipwright, Mr. Ferris, who
had evidently assisted at the ceremony of planting the
British flag at the masthead of many a new and noble
structure, destined to plough strange seas, reminded
them, during one of the social evening hours which
they spent together, that it would be a fine thing if
they might also be permitted to hoist a miniature
emblem of their nationality over their tent in camp,
and over their canoes on the lakes and rivers of Africa.
The Pococks and Barker accordingly, a few days
before our departure, formed themselves into a deputa-
tion, and Frank, who was spokesman, surprised me
with the following request : —
**My brother, Fred Barker, and myself, Sir, have
been emboldened to ask you a favour, which no doubt
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62 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
leTi. you will think strange and wrong. But we cannot
KoTifniHjr. f^yggt^ wherever we go, that we are Englishmen,
and we should like to be permitted to take something
with us that will always remind us of who we are,
HTid be a comfort to us even in the darkest hours of
trouble, perhaps even encourage us to perfornLOur duties
better. We have come to ask you, sir, if we may be
permitted to make a small British flag to hoist above
our tent, and over our canoe on the lakes."
'' My dear fellow," I replied, *' you surprise me by
iumgining for one moment that I could possibly
J'-* fuse you. .This is not an American Government
or a British Government Expedition, and I have
neither the power nor disposition to withhold my
sanction to your request. If it will be any pleasure to
you> by all means take it, I cannot have the slightest
ol ejection to such an innocent proceeding. All that I
sh:xll require from you in Africa is such service as you
can give, and if you prove yourselves the highly recom-
m-jnded lads you are, I shall not interfere with any
iiiuocent pleasure you may feel yourselves at liberty to
take. If one British flag is not enough, you may take
a thousand so far as I am concerned."
"Thank you kindly. Sir. You may rest assured
that we have entered your service with the intention
to remember what my old father and our friends
Btiictly enjoined us to do, which was to stick to you
through thick and thin."
The young Englishmen were observed soon after-
wards busy sewing a tiny flag, about 18 inches square,
out of some bunting, and after a pattern that Mr.
Ferris procured for them. Whether the complicated
colours, red, blue, white, were arranged properly,
or the crosses according to the standard, I am ignorant.
But I observed that, while they were occupied in the
tatjk, they were very much interested, and that, when
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TEE TBUE STORY OF THE BRITISH FLAG.
63
it was finished, though it was only the size of a lady's
handkerchief, they manifested much delight.
Zanzibar possesses its *^ millionaires " also, and one
of the richest merchants in the town is Tarya Topan
—a self-made man of Hindostan, singularly honest
and just;, a devout Muslim, yet liberal in his ideas ;
a sharp business man, yet charitable. I mnde Tarya'b
1874.
November.
Zanzibar.
TABYA TOPAN.
acquaintance in 1871, and the righteous manrfer in
wljich he then dealt by me caused me now to proceed
to him again for the same purpose as formerly, viz. to
sell me cloth, cottons, and kanikis, at reasonable prices,
and accept my bills on Mr. Joseph M. Levy, of the
Daily Telegraph.
Honest Jetta, as formerly, was employed as my
vakeel to purchase the various coloured cloths, fine
and coarse, for chiefs and their wives, as weU as a
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64 THROUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1374. large assortment of beads of all sizes, forms, and
Karflfubtr, colours,* besides a large quantity of brass wire 4 inch
m thickness.
The total weight of goods, cloth, beads, wire, stores,
tiiedicine, bedding, clothes, tents, ammunition, boat,
oars, rudder and thwarts, instruments and stationery,
photographic apparatus, dry plates, and miscellaneous
articles too numerous to mention, weighed a little over
18,000 lbs., or rather more than eight tons, divided
as nearly as possible into loads weighing 60 lbs. each,
and requiring therefore the carrying capacity of 300
men. The loads were made more than usually light,
iti order that we might traviel with celerity, and not
fatigue the people.
But still further to provide against sickness and
weakness, a supernumerary force of forty men were
recruited at Bagamoyo, Konduchi, and the Rufiji delta,
\Yho were required to assemble in the neighbour-
hood of the first-mentioned place. Two hundred and
thirty men, consisting of Wangwana, Wanyamwezi,
and coast people from Mombasa, Tanga, and Saadani,
affixed their marlcs opposite their names before the
American Consul, for wages varying from 2 to 10 dollars
per month, and rations according to their capacity,
strength, and intelligence, with the understanding
that they were to serve for two years, or until such
lime, as their services should be no longer required
in Africa, and were to perform their duties cheer-
fully and promptly.
On the day of '* signing " the contract, each adult re-
ceived an advance of 20 dollars, or four months' pay, and
each youth 10 dollars, or four months' pay. Ration money
was also paid them from the time of first enlistment, at
the rate of 1 dollar per week, up to the day we left the
* For list of cloths, beads, wire, &o., and their prices, see Appendix.
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SIGNING THE COVENANTS. 65
coast. These conditions were, however, not entered i874.
into without requiring the presence of each person's ^*^^*'"'*^''
friends and relatives to witness and sanction the engage-
ments, so that on this day the parents, uncles, cousins,
and near and distant relatives, wives and children,
were in attendance, and crowded every room and
conrt at the American Consulate. The entire amount
disbursed in cash for advances of pay and rations at
Zanzibar and Bagamoyo was 6260 dollars, or nearly
£1300.
The obligations, however, were not all on one side.
Besides the due payment to them of their wages on
demand, and selling them such cloths as they would
require for dress while in Africa at reasonable prices,
which would be a little above cost price at Zanzibar,
I was compelled to bind myself to them, on the word
of an " honourable white man," to observe the follow-
ing conditions as to conduct towards them : —
1st. That I should treat them kindly, and be patient
with them.
2nd. That in cases of sickness, I should dose them with
proper medicine, and see them nourished with the best
the country afforded. That if patients were unable to
proceed, they should not be abandoned to the mercy of
heathen, but were to be conveyed to such places as should
be considered safe for their persons and their freedom,
and convenient for their return, on convalescence, to
their friends. That, with all patients thus left behind,
I should leave sufficient cloth or beads to pay the native
practitioner for his professional attendance, and for the
support of the patient.
3rd. That in cases of disagreement between man
and man, I should judge justly, honestly, and impar-
tially. That I should do my utmost to prevent the
ill-treatment of the weak by the strong, and never
permit the oppression of those unable to resist.
VOL. I. — 5
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Zanzibar.
66 TEBOUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1874. 4th. That I should ajct like a " father and mother "
f^J^y^T ^ them, and to the best of my ability resist all
violence ofiFered to them by "savage natives, and
roving and lawless banditti.**
They also promised, upon the above conditions being
fulfilled, that they would do their duty like men, would
honour and respect my instructions, giving me their
united support and endeavouring to the best of their
ability to be faithful servants, and would never desert
me in the hour of need. In short, that they would
behave like good and loyal children, and "may the
blessing of God,'* said they, " be upon us.**
How we kept this bond of mutual trust and forbear-
ance, and adhered to each other in the hours of sore
trouble and distress, faithfully performing our duties
to one another: how we encouraged and sustained,
cheered and assisted one another, and in all the services
and good offices due from man to man, and comrade to
comrade, from chief to servants and from servants to
chief, how we kept our plighted word of promise, will
be best seen in the following chapters, which record the
strange and eventful story of our journeys.
The fleet of six Arab vessels which were to bear us
away to the west across the Zanzibar Sea were at last
brought to anchor a few yards from the wharf of the
American Consulate. The day of farewell calls had
passed, and ceremoniously we had bidden adieu to the
hospitable and courteous Acting British Consul, Captain
William F. Prideaux, and his accomplished wife,* to
friendly and amiable Dr. James Robb and Mrs. Robb,
to Dr. Riddle, and the German and French Consuls.
Seyyid Barghash bin Sayid received my thanks for his
courtesy, and his never failing kindness, and my sincere
• No lady was ever more universally respected at Zanzibar than Mrs.
Prideaux, and no death eyer more sincerely regretted by the European
community than was hers.
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BATING GOOD-BYE. G7
wishes for his lasting prosperity and happiness. Many 1&74
kind Arab and Hindi friendi4 also received my parting ^""^l ^''
salaams. Grave Sheikh Hash id expressed a hope that
we should meet again on earth, Captain Bukhet, the
pilots wished me a qtiick and safe return from the dread
lands of the heathen, and the princely Indian mer-
chant, Tarya Topan^ expressed his sincere hopes that I
should be prosperous in my nndertakingj and come
hack crowned with success.
The young Englishmen, whose charming, simple
manners and manly bearing had won for them a
number of true friends at Zanzibar, were not without
many hearty well-wishers, and received cheerful fare-
wells from numerous friends.
At the end of the Ramadan, the month of abstinence
of Mohammed ans^ the Wangwana, trtie to their promise
that they would be ready, appeared with their bundles
and mats, and proceeded to take their places in the
vessels waiting for them. As their friends had
mustered in strong force to take their final parting
and bestow last useful hints and prudent advice, it
was impossible to distinguish among the miscellaneous
crowd on the beach those who were present, or to
disfcover who were absent. The greater part of my
company were in high spirits, and from this I inferred
that they had not forgotten to fortify themselves with
stimulants against the critical moment of departure-
As fast as each dhow was reported to be filled^ the
Naklmda or Captain wjis directed to anchor farther
off shore to await the signal to saiL By 5 p.m, of the
12th November^ 224 men had responded to their names,
and five of the Arab vessels, laden with \h% personnel^
cattle, and materiel of the expedition, were impatiently
waiting with anchor heaved short, the word of
command. One vessel still lay close ashore, to convey
myself, and Frederick Barker — in charge of the personal
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68
THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. servants — our baggage, and dogs. Turning round to
Xi-v. \% ^y constant and well-tried friend, Mr. Augustus Spar-
hawk, I fervently clasped his hand, and with a full
heart though halting tongue, attempted to pour out
my feelings of gratitude for his kindness and long
sustained hospitality, my keen regret at parting and
hopes of meeting again. But I was too agitated to
be eloquent, and all my forced gaiety could not carry
me through the ordeal. So we parted in almost total
silence, but I felt assured that he would judge my
J
I'
II
UNIVERSITIES MISSION AT MBWENNI, ZANZIBAR.
{From a photograph by Mr. Buchanan, of Natal, Seepage 78.)
emotions by his own feelings, and would accept the
lame effort at their expression as though he had
listened to the most voluble rehearsal of thanks.
A wave of my hand, and the anchors were hove np
and laid within ship, and then, hoisting our lateen
sails, we bore away westward to launch ourselves into
the arms of Fortune. Many wavings of kerchiefs and
hats, parting signals from white hands, and last long
looks at friendly white faces, final confused impressions
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
VALE!
69
of the grouped figures of our well-wishers, and then 1874.
the evening breeze had swept us away into mid-sea /'*\^^*
beyond reach of recognition.
The parting is over ! We have said our last words
for years, perhaps for ever, to kindly men ! The sun
sinks fast to the western horizon, and gloomy is the
twilight that now deepens and darkens. Thick shadows
fall upon the distant land and over the silent sea, and
oppress our throbbing, regretful hearts, as we glide
away through the dying h'ght towards The Dark
Continent.
*T0WABD8 THE DABK CONTINENT.'
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70 THROVQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
CHAPTER IV.
Bagamoyo — Taming the dark brother — Bagamoyo in a fennent —
An exciting scene — The disturbance quelled — The Uniyersities
Mission, its origin, history, decline and present condition — The Bey.
Edward Steere — Notre Dome de Bagamoyo — Westward ho! —
In marchiDg order — Sub Jove fervido — Grossing the Kingani —
The stolen women.
1874. Bagamoyo, Whindi, and Saadani, East African villages
Ua^'Imoyo ^^ ^^^ mainland near the sea, offer exceptionally good
starting-points for the unexplored interior, for many
reasons. First. Because the explorers and the people
are strangers to one another, and a slight knowledge
of their power of mutual cohesion, habits, and relative
influences, is desirable before launching out into the
wilds. Second. The natives of those maritime villages
are accustomed to have their normally languid and peace-
ful life /invaded and startled by the bustle of foreigners
arriving by sea and from the continent, Arab traders
bound for the interior and lengthy native caravans
from Unyamwezi. Third. An expedition not fully
recruited to its necessary strength at Zanzibar may be
easily reinforced at these ports by volunteers from
native caravans who are desirous of returning to their
homes, and who, day by day, along the route, will
straggle in towards it until the list is full and complete.
These, then, were the principal reasons for my
selection of Bagamoyo as the initid point, from whence,
after inoculating the various untamed spirits who had
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TAMING THE DARK BBOTEEB. 71
now enlisted under me, with a respect for order and 1874.
discipline, obedience and system (the true prophylactic ^''^' ^^
against failure) I should be free to rove where dis- ^*"^y*^
coveries would be fruitful. This "inoculation" will
not, however, commence until after a study of their
natures, their deficiencies and weaknessea The ex-
hibition of force, at this juncture, would be dangerous
to our prospects, and all means gentle, patient, and
persuasive have, therefore, to be tried first. What-
ever deficiencies, weaknesses, and foibles the people
may develop must be so manipulated that, while they
are learning the novel lesson of obedience, they may
only just suspect that behind all this there lies the
strong unbending force which will eventually make '
men of them, wild things though they now are. For
the first few months, then, forbearance is absolutely
necessary. The dark brother, wild as a colt, chafing,
restless, ferociously impulsive, superstitiously timid,
liable to furious demonstrations, suspicious and un-
reasonable, must be forgiven seventy times seven, until
the period of probation is passed. Long before this
period is over, such temperate conduct will have
enlisted a powerful force, attached to their leader by
bonds of good-will and respect, even, perhaps, of love
and devotion, and by the moral influence of their
support even the most incorrigible mauvais sujet will
be restrained, and finally conquered.
Many things will transpire during the first few
weeks which will make the explorer sigh and wish that
he had not ventured upon what promises to be a
hopeless task. Maddened by strong drinks and drugs,
jealous of their status in the camp, regretting also, like
ourselves, that they had been so hasty in undertaking
the journey, brooding over the joys of the island fast
receding from them, anxious for the future, susceptible
to the first and every influence that assails them v/ith
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72 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1374 temptatioDs to return to the coast, these people require
Kw. \x ^ ^ treated with the utmost kindness and considera-
^ATTiDyo. ^.^^^ ^^^ ^^ intending traveller must be wisely
circumspect in his intercourse with them. From my
former experiences of such men, it will be readily
believed that I had prepared for the scenes which I
knew were to follow at Bagamoyo, and that all my
precautions had been taken.
Upon landing at Bagamoyo on the morning of the
13th, we marched to occupy the old house where we
had stayed so long to prepare the First Expedition.
The goods were stored, the dogs chained up, the
riding asses tethered, the rifles arrayed in the store-
room, and the sectional boat laid under a roof close by,
on rollers, to prevent injury from the white ants — a
precaution which, I need hardly say, we had to observe
throughout our journey. Then some more ration money,
sufficient for ten days, had to be distributed among the
men, the young Pococks were told off to various camp
duties to initiate them to exploring life in Africa, and
then, after the first confusion of arrival had subsided, I
began to muster the new engagSs.
But within three hours Bagamoyo was in a ferment.
" The white man has brought all the robbers, ruffians,
and murderers of Zanzibar to take possession of tlie
town/' was the rumour that ran wildly through all the
streets, lanes, courts, and bazaars. Men with bloody
faces, wild, bloodshot eyes, bedraggled, rumpled and
torn dresses, reeled up to our orderly and nearly silent
quarters clamouring for rifles and ammunition. Arabs
with drawn swords, and sinewy Baluchis with match-
locks and tinder ready to be ignited, came up threatening,
and, following them, a miscellaneous rabble of excited
men, while, in the background, seethed a mob of
frantic women and mischievous children.
** What is the matter ? " I asked, scarcely knowing
Digitizi
ed by Google
AN EXCITING SCENE. 73
how to begin to calm this turbulent mass of passionate 1874.
beings. J^^-'^
" Matter!^ was echoed. "What is the matter?" ^'°'^'"
was repeated. " Matter enough. The town is in an
uproar. Your men are stealing, murdering, robbing
goods from the stores, breaking plates, killing our
chickens, assaulting everybody, drawing knives on our
women after abusing them, and threatening to burn
the town and exterminate everybody. Matter indeed !
matter enough ! What do you mean by bringing this
savage rabble from Zanzibar ? " So fumed and sputtered
an Arab of some consequence among the magnates of
Bagamoyo.
** Dear me, my friend, this is shocking ; terrible.
Pray sit down, and be patient Sit down here by
me, and let us talk this over like wise men,*' I
said in soothing tones to this enfant terrible^ for he
really looked, in feature, dress, and demeanour, what,
had I been an imaginative raw youth, I should have
set down as the " incarnate scourge of Africa/' and he
looked wicked enough with his bare, sinewy arms, his
brandished sword, and fierce black eyes, to chop off my
innocent head.
The Arab, with a short nod, accepted my proposition
and seated himself. " We are about to have a Shauri
—a consultation.** " Hush there ! Silence 1 '* " Words ! **
" Shauri I ** " Words — open your ears ! ** " Slaves ! **
** Fools!** "List, Arabs!** "You Baluch there, rein
in your tongue I " &c. &c., cried out a wild mixture
of voices in a strange mixture of tongues, commanding,
or imploring, silence.
The Arab was requested to speak, and to point out,
if he knew them, the Wangwana guilty of provoking
such astonishing disorder. In an indignant and eloquent
strain he rehearsed his special complaint. A man
named Musta^jha had come to his shop drunk, and had
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74 THROUGH THE D4fiK CONTINENT.
1874. abused tiim like a low blackguard, and then, snatching up
NoT.14-16. ^ j^jj. ^£ cotton cloth, had run away with it, but, being
pursued and caught, had drawn a knife, and was about
to stab him when a friend of his opportunely clubbed
the miscreant and thus saved his life. By the mouths
of several witnesses the complaint was proved, and
Mustapha was therefore arrested, disarmed of his knife,
and locked up in the dark strong-room, to reflect on
his crimes in solitude. Loud approval greeted the
sentence.
"Who else?"
A score of people of both sexes advanced towards
me with their complaints, and it seemed as though
silence could never be restored, but by dint of threaten-
ing to leave the burzah from sheer despair, quietness
was restored. It is unnecessary to detail the several
charges made against them, or to describe the manner
of conviction, but, after three hours, peace reigned in
Bagaraoyo once more, and over twenty of the Wan-
gwana had been secured and impounded in the several
rooms of the house, with a dozen of their comrades
standing guard over them.
To avoid a repetition of this terrible scene, I des-
patched a messenger with a polite request to the
Governor, Sheikh Mansur bin Suliman, that he would
arrest and punish all disorderly Wangwana in my
service, as justice should require, but I am sorry to say
that the Wali (governor) took such advantage of this
request that few of the Wangwana who showed their
faces in the streets next day escaped violence. Acting
on the principle that desperate diseases require des-
perate remedies, over thirty had been chained and
beaten, and many others had escaped abuse of power
only by desperate flight from the myrmidons of the
now vengeful sheikh.
Another message was therefore sent to the Governor,
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TEE DISTURBANCE SUPPRESSED. 75
imploring him to be as lenient as possible, consistent 1874.
NoT.14— ]
. Bagamojo.
with equitable justice, and explaining to him the nature ^*
and cause of these frantic moods and ebullitions of
temper on the part of the Wangwana, I attempted to
define to him what ** sprees '* were, explaining that all
men, about to undergo a long absence from their friends
and country, thought they were entitled to greater
freedom at such a period, but that some weak-headed
men, with a natural inclination to be vicious, had, in in-
dulging this privilege, encroached upon the privileges
of others, and that hence arose collision and confusion.
But the Grovernor waxed still more tyrannical : beatings,
chainings, and extortionate exactions became more
frequent and unbearable, until at last the Wangwana
appeared in a body before me, and demanded another
•* Shauri."
The result of this long consultation — after an earnest
protest from me against their wild conduct, calculated,
as I told them, to seriously compromise me, followed
by expostulation with them on their evil course, and
a warning that I felt more like abetting the Governor
in his treatment of them than seeking its amelioration
— ^was an injunction to be patient and well-behaved
during our short stay, and a promise that I would lead
them into Africa within two days, when at the first
camp pardon should be extended to all, and a new. life
would be begun in mutual peace and concord, to
continue, I hoped, until our return to the sea.
There is an institution at Bagamoyo which ought
not to be passed over without remark, but the subject
cannot be properly dealt with, until I have described
the similar institution, of equal importance, at Zanzibar :
viz. the Universities Mission. Besides, I have three
pupils of the Universities Mission who are about to
accompany me into Africa — ^Eobert Feruzi, Andrew,
and Dallington. Robert is a stout lad of eighteen
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76 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. years old, formerly a servant to one of the members of
Nov.14-16. LiQutQuant Cameron*s Expedition, but discharged at
Unyanyembe for not very clear reasons, to find his
way back. Andrew is a strong youth of nineteen
years, rather reserved, and, I should say, not of a very
bright disposition. Dallington is much younger, pro-
bably only fifteen, with a face strongly pitted with
traces of a violent attack of small-pox, but as bright
and intelligent as any boy of his age, white or black.
The Universities Mission is the result of the sensa-
tion caused in England by Livingstoue*s discoveries on
the Zambezi and of Lake Nyassa and Shirwa. It was
despatched by the Universities of Oxford and Cam-
bridge in the year 1860, and consisted of Bishop
Mackenzie, formerly Archdeacon of Natal, and the
Rev. Messrs. Proctor, Scudamore, Bnrrup, and Rowley.
These devoted gentlemen reached the Zambezi river
in February 1861.
When the Universities Mission met Livingstone,
then engaged in the practical work of developing
the discovery of the Zambezi and other neighbouring
waters, a consultation was held as to the best locality
for mission work to begin at. The Bishop and his
followers were advised by Livingstone to ascend the
Rovuma river, and march thence overland to some
selected spot on Lake Nyassa. But, upon attempting
the project, the river was discovered to be falling, and
too shallow to admit of such a steamer as the Pioneer^
and as much sickness had broken out on board, the
Mission sailed to the Comoro Islands to recruit. In
July 1861 they reached the foot of the Murchison
Cataracts on the Shire. Soon after, while proceeding
overland, they encountered a caravan of slaves, whom
they liberated, with a zeal ths^t was commendable
though impolitic. Subsequently, other slaves were
forcibly detained from the caravans until the number
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TEE UNIVERSITIES MISSION. 77
collected amounted to 148, and with these the mis- 1874.
sionaries determined to begin their holy work. Nov.i4-i6.
While establishing its quarters at Magomero, the ^^^^^
Mission was attacked by the Ajawas, but the reverend
gentlemen and their pupils drove off the enemy.
Shortly after this, a difference of opinion arising with
Livingstone as to the proper policy to be pursued, the
latter departed to pursue his explorations, and the
Bishop and his party continued to prosecute their work
with every promise of success. But in its zeal for
the suppression of the slave-trade, the Mission made
alliance with the Manganjas, and joined with them in
a war against the Ajawas, whom they afterwards dis-
covered to be really a peaceable people. Thus was the
character of the Mission almost changed, by the com-
plicated politics of the native tribes in which they had
meddled without forethought of the consequences.
Then came the rainy season with its unheal thiness ^
and fatal results. Worn out with fever and privations,
poor Bishop Mackenzie died, and in less than a month
the Rev. Mr. Burrup followed him. Messrs. Scuda-
more, Dickinson, and Rowley removed the Mission to
the banks of the Shir^, where the two former died and
the few remaining survivors, despairing of success,
soon left the country, and the Universities. Mission to
Central Africa became only a name with which the
succeeding Bishop, the Rev. Mr. Tozer, continued to
denominate his Mission at Zanzibar.
Nor is the record of this hitherto unfortunate and
struggling Mission in the city of Zanzibar, with access
to luxuries and comforts, brighter or more assuring
than it was at primitive Magomero, surrounded by
leagues of fen and morass. Many noble souls of
both sexes perished, and the good work seemed
far from hopeful. I am reminded, as I write these
words, of my personal acquaintance with the venerable
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78 TUEOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. figure of Pennell, and the young and ardent West.
Hl'^amo? ^'^® ^^**^^ ^^® ^^^^® ^^ ^^"^^^ ^"^^ ^^ ardour, hope, and
agamofo. ^^^j^^g dcvotion. Whcu I returned, he had gone the
way of his brother martyrs of the Zambezi.*
Almost single-handed remains the Rev. Edward
Steere, faithful to his post as Bishop and Chief Pastor.
Ho has visited Lake Nyassa, and established a Mission
halfway, and another I believe at Lindi; he keeps
a watchful eye upon the operations of the Mission
House established among the Shambalas ; and at the
head-quarters or home at Mbwenni, a few miles east
of Shangani Point, the old residence, he superintends,
and instructs lads and young men as printers, car-
penters, blacksmiths, and in the practical knowledge
of other useful trades. His quarters represent almost
every industrial trade useful in life as occupations
for members of the lower classes, and are in the truest
sense an industrial and religious establishment for the
moral and material welfare of a class of unfortunates
who deserve our utmost assistance and sympathy. This
extraordinary man, endowed with piety as fervid as
ever animated a martyr, looms grander and greater in
the imagination as we think of him as the one man
who appears to have possessed the faculties and gifts
necessary to lift this Mission, with its gloomy history,
into the new life upon which it has now entered.
With all my soul I wish him and it success, and while
he lives, provided he is supported, there need be no
fear that the Mission will resume that hopeless position
from which he, and he alone, appears to have rescued it.
From the same source that the Universities Missions
have drawn their pupils, namely, the youthful victims
of the slave-trade, her Majesty's Consul has supplied to
a great extent the French Catholic Missions at Zanzibar
and Bagaraoyo. The mission in the island which has
• See iUustration on page 68.
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NOTRE DAME DE BAGAMOYO, 79
now been established for years is called the St. Joseph*8, 1874.
that at Bagamoyo bears the title of " Notre Dame de JJ^^*^^^^
Bagamoyo.** The first possesses two priests and four *^™**^**'
brothers, with one lay professor of music ; the other,
which is the principal one, consists of four priests, eight
brothers, and twelve sisters, with ten lay brothers
employed in teaching agriculture. The French fathers
superintend the tuition of 260 children, and give em-
ployment to about 80 adults; 170 freed slaves were
furnished from the slave captures made by British
cruisers. They are taught to earn their own living
as soon as they arrive of age, are furnished with com-
fortable lodgings, clothing, and household utensils.
"Notre Dame de Bagamoyo** is situated about a
mile and a half north of Bagamoyo, overlooking the
sea, which washes the shores just at the base of the
tolerably high ground on which the mission buildings
stand. Thrift, order, and that peculiar style of neat-
ness common to the French are its characteristics. The
coco<vnut palm, orange, and mango flourish in this
pious settlement, while a variety of garden vegetables
and grain are cultivated in the fields ; and broad roads,
cleanly kept, traverse the estate. During the Superior*s
late visit to France he obtained a considerable sum for
the support of the Mission, and he has lately, during
my absence in Africa, established a branch mission at
Kidudwe. It is evident that, if supported constantly
by his friends in France, the Superior will extend his
work still farther into the interior, and it is, therefore,
safe to predict that the road to Ujiji will in time possess
a chain of mission stations affording the future Euro-
pean trader and traveller safe retreats with the con-
veniences of civilized life.
There are two other missions on the east coast of
Africa, that of the Church Missionary Society, and the
Methodist Free Church at Mombasa. The former has
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80 THROUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. occupied this station for over thirty years, and has a
NoT.14-16, jjj^u^ij establishment at Rabbai Mpia, the home of the
g*moyo- ])yt^|j missionaries Krapf, Rebmann, and Erhardt
But these missions have not obtained the success which
such long self-abnegation and devotion to the pious
service deserved.
It is strange how British philanthropists, clerical and
lay, persist in the delusion that the Africans can be
satisfied with spiritual improvement only. They
should endeavour to impress themselves with the
undeniable fact that man, white, yellow, red or black,
has also material wants which crave to be understood
and supplied. A barbarous man is a pure materialist.
He is full of cravings for possessing something that he
cannot describe. He is like a child which has not yet
acquired the faculty of articulation. The missionary
discovers the barbarian almost stupefied with brutish
ignorance, with the instincts of a man in him, but yet
living the life of a beast. Instead of attempting to
develop the qualities of this practical human being, he
instantly attempts his transformation by expounding to
him the dogmas of the Christian Faith, the doctrine of
transubstantiation and other difficult subjects, before
the barbarian has had time to articulate his necessities
and to explain to him that he is a frail creature requiring
to be fed with bread, and not with a stone.
My experience and study of the pagan prove to me,
however, that, if the missionary can show the poor
materialist that religion is allied with substantial benefits
and improvement of his degraded condition, the task to
which he is about to devote himself will be rendered
comparatively easy. For the African once brought
in contact with the European becomes docile enough :
he is awed by a consciousness of his own immense
inferiority, and imbued with a vague hope that he
may also rise in time to the level of this superior being
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WESTWARD EO! 81
who has so challenged his admiration. It is the story 1874.
of Caliban and Stefano over again. He comes to him ^°''* ^^•
with a desire to be taught, and, seized with an ambition ^^^®^*
to aspire to a higher life, becomes docile and tractable,
but to his surprise he perceives himself mocked by
this being who talks to him about matters that he
despairs of ever understanding, and therefore, with
abashed face and a still deeper sense of his inferiority,
he retires to his den, cavern, or hut with a dogged
determination to be contented with the brutish life he
was bom in.
On the morning of the 17th November 1874, the
first bold step for the interior was taken. The bugle
mustered the people to rank themselves before our
quarters, and each man's load was given to him accord-
ing as we judged his power of bearing burthen. To
the man of strong sturdy make, with a large development
of muscle, the cloth bale of 60 lbs. was given, which
would in a couple of months by constant expenditure be
reduced to 50 lbs., in six months perhaps to 40 lbs. and
in a year to about 30 lbs., provided that all his comrades
were faithful to their duties; to the short compactly
formed man, the bead sack of 50 lbs. weight ; to the light
youth of eighteen or twenty years old, the box of 40 lbs.,
containing stores, ammunition, and sundries. To the
steady, respectable, grave-looking men of advanced
years, the scientific instruments, thermometers, baro-
meters, watches, sextant, mercury bottles, compasses,
pedometers, photographic apparatus, dry plates, sta-
tionery, and scientific books, all packed in 40-lb. cases,
were distributed ; while the man most highly recom-
mended lor steadiness and cautious tread was entrusted
with the carriage of the three chronometers which were
stowed in balls of cotton, in a light case weighing not
more than 25 lbs. The twelve Kirangozis, or guides,
tricked out this day in flowing robes of crimson blanket
VOL. I. — 6
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82
THROUOn THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. cloth, demanded the privilege of conveying the several
Nov. 17
loads of brass wire coils, and as they form the second
advanced guard, and are active, bold youths — some of
whom are to be hereafter known as the boat's crew,
and to be distinguished by me above all others, except
the chiefs — thev are armed with Snider rifles, with
their respective accoutrements. The boat-carriers are
herculean in figure and
strength, for they are
practised bearers of
loads, having resigned
their ignoble profession
of hamal in Zanzibar to
carry sections of the first
Europe-made boat that
ever floated on Lakes
Victoria and Tanganika
and the extreme sources
of the Nile and the
Livingstone. To each
section of the boat there
are four men, to relieve
one another in couples.
They get higher pay
than even the chiefs,
except the chief captain,
Manwa Sera, and, be-
sides receiving double
rations, have the privi-
lege of taking their
wives along with them. There are six riding asses
also in the expedition, all saddled, one for each of the
Europeans — the two Pococks, Barker, and myself— and
two for the sick : for the latter there are also three of
Seydel's net hammocks, with six men to act as a kind
of ambulance party.
WIFE OF MAXWA SEBA.
(From a photograph.)
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IN MARCHING ORDER. 83
Though we have not yet received our full comple- 1874.
ment of men, necessity compels us to move from the JJ^^^'
vicinity of the Goanese liquor shops, and from under the ^^'''
severe authority of Sheikh Mansur bin Suliman, whose
views of justice would soon demoralize any expedition.
Accordingly at 9 a.m. of the 17th, five days after
leaving Zanzibar, we filed out from the town, receiving
some complimentary and not a few uncomplimentary
parting words from the inhabitants, male and female,
who are out in strong force to view the procession as
follows: — Four chiefs a few hundred yards in front;
next the twelve guides clad in red robes of Jobo, bearing
the wire coils ; then a long file 270 strong, bearing cloth,
wire, beads, and sections of the Ltody Alice ; after them
thirty-six women and ten boys, children of some of the
chiefs and boat-bearers, following their mothers and
assisting them with trifling loads of utensils, followed by
the riding asses, Europeans and gun-bearers; the long
line closed by sixteen chiefs who act as rearguard, and
whose duties are to pick up stragglers, and act as
supernumeraries until other men can be procured : in
all, 356 souls connected with the Anglo-American
Expedition. The lengthy line occupies nearly half a
mile of the path which at the present day is the
commercial and exploring highway into the Lake
regions.
Edward Pocock is kind enough to act as bugler,
because from long practice at the military camps at
Aldershot and Chatham he understands the signals, and
he has familiarized Hamadi, the chief guide, with its
notes, so that in case of a halt being required, Hamadi
may be informed immediately. The chief guide is also
armed with a prodigiously long horn of ivory, his
favourite instrument, and one that belongs to his profes-
sion, which he has permission to use only when approach-
ing a suitable camping-place, or to notify to us danger in
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84 THBOUan TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. the front Before Hamadi strides a chubby little boy
Not. 17. ^jj.|^ ^ native drum, which he is to beat only when in
^^*™**^^' the neighbourhood of villages, to warn them of the
advance of a caravan, a caution most requisite, for
many villages are situated in the midst of a dense
jungle, and the sudden arrival of a large force of
strangers before they had time to hide their little
belongings might awake jealousy and distrust.
In this manner we begin our long journey, full of
hopes. There is noise and laughter along the ranks, and
a hum of gay voices murmuring through the fields, as
wo rise and descend with the waves of the land and
wind with the sinuosities of the path. Motion had
restored us all to a sense of satisfaction. We had an
intensely briglit and fervid sun sinning above us, the path
was dry, hard, and admirably fit for travel, and during
the commencement of our first march nothing could be
conceived in better order than the lengthy thin column
about to confront the wilderness.
Presently however, the fervour of the dazzling sun
grows overpowering as we descend into the valley of the
Kingani river. The ranks become broken and dis-
ordered ; stragglers are many ; the men complain of
the terrible heat ; the dogs pant in agony. Even we
ourselves under our sol ah topees, with flushed faces
and perspiring brows, with handkerchiefs ever in use
to wipe away the drops which almost blind us, and our
heavy woollens giving us a feeling of semi-asphyxia-
tion, would fain rest, were it not that the sun-bleached
levels of the tawny, thirsty valley offer no inducements.
The veterans of travel push on towards the river
three miles distant, where they may obtain rest and
shelter, but the inexperienced are lying prostrate on
the ground, exclaiming against the heat, and crying
for water, bewailing their folly in leaving Zanzibar.
We stop to tell them to rest a while and then to come
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
CROSSING TEE KINGANI. 85
on to the river, where they will find us; we advise, 1874.
encourage, and console the irrifcifed people as best we ^^'l^'
can, and tell them that it is only the commencement
of a journey that is so hard, that all this pain and
weariness are always felt by beginners, but that by
and by it is shaken off, and that those who are stead-
fast emerge out of the struggle heroes.
Frank and his brother Edward, despatched to the
ferry at the beginning of these delays, have now got
the sectional boat Lady Alice all ready, and the ferry-
ing of men, goods, asses, and dogs across the Kingani
is prosecuted with vigour, and at 3.30 p.m. the boat is
again in pieces, slung on the bearing poles, and the
Expedition has resumed its journey to Kikoka, the first
halting-place.
But before we reach camp, we have acquired a fair
idea as to how many of our people are staunch and
capable, and how many are too feeble to endure the
fatigues of bearing loads. The magnificent prize mastiff
dog *' Castor " died of heat apoplexy, within two miles
of Kikoka, and the other mastiff, " Captain," seems
likely to follow soon, and only **Nero,*' "Bull," and
"Jack," though prostrate and breathing hard, show
any signs of life.
At Kikoka, then, we rest the next day. We discharge
two men, who have been taken seriously ill, and several
new recruits, who arrive at camp during the night
preceding and this day, are engaged.
There are several reasons which can be-giveu, besides
heat of the Tropics and inexperience, for the quick
collapse of many of the Wangwana on the first march,
and the steadiness evinced by the native carriers con-
firms them. The Wangwana lead very impure lives on
the island, and with the importation of opium by the
Banyans and Hindis, the Wangwana and many Arabs
have acquired the vicious habit of eating this drug.
Chewing betel-nut with lime is another uncleanly and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
86 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. disgusting habit, and one that can hardly benefit the
^^' ^^ moral of a man ; while certainly most deleterious to
the physical powers is the almost universal habit of
vehemently inhaling the smoke of the Cannahis sativa^
or wild hemp. In a light atmosphere, such as we
have in hot days in the Tropics, with the thermometer
rising to 140° Fahr. in the sun, these people, with
lungs and vitals injured by excessive indulgence in
these destructive habits, discover they have no physical
stamina to sustain them. The rigour of a march in a
loaded caravan soon tells upon their weakened powers,
and one by one they drop from the ranks, betraying
their impotence and infirmities. From this date I set
myself to examine their several cases, and the results
which I gathered may be found in the Appendix, from
which the thoughtful student may perhaps deduce
some useful hints.
^ During the afternoon of this day, as T was preparing
my last letters, I was rather astonished by a visit
paid to my camp by a detachment of Baluchi soldiers,
the chief of whom bore a letter from the governor of
Bagamoyo — Mansur bin Suliman — wherein he com-
plained that the Wangwana had induced about fifteen
women to abandon their masters, and requested me to
return them.
Upon mustering the people, and inquiring into their
domestic affairs, it was discovered that a number of
women had indeed joined the Expedition during the
night. Some of them bore free papers given them by
H.M. Political Resident at Zanzibar, but nine were
by their own confessions runaways. After being hos-
pitably received by the Sultan and the Arabs of Zanzi-
bar, it was no part of my duty, I considered, unauthorized
as I was by any government, to be even a passive agent
in this novel method of liberating slaves. The order
was therefore given that these women should return
with the soldiers, but as this did not agree with either
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Nov. 18.
Kikoka.
THE STOLEN WOMEN. 87
the views of the women or of their loving abductors, a 1874.
determined opposition was raised, which bore every
appearance of soon culminating in sanguinary strife.
The men seized their Snider rifles and Tower muskets,
and cartridges, ramrods and locks were handled
with looks which boded mischief. Acting upon the
principle that as chief of my own camp I had a
perfect right to exclude unbidden guests, I called
out the ** faithfuls" of my first expedition, forty-
seven in number, and ranked them on the side of the
Sultan's soldiers, to prove to the infuriated men that, if
they fired, they must injure their own friends, brothers,
and chiefs. Frank Pocock also led a party of twenty in
their rear, and then, closing in on the malcontents, we
disarmed them, and lashed their guns into bundles, which
were deUvered up to the charge of Edward Pocock. A
small party of faithfuls was then ordered to escort the
Sultan's soldiers and the women out of camp, lest some
venjreful men should have formed an ambuscade between
our camp and the river.
From the details furnished in this and the two pre-
ceding chapters, a tolerably correct idea may be gained
by the intending traveller, trader, or missionary in these
lands, of the proper method of organization, as well as
the quality and nature of the men whom he will lead,
the manner of preparation and the proportion of articles
to be purchased. In the Appendix will be found the
price list and names, which will afford a safe guide.
As there are so many subjects to be touched upon
along the seven thousand miles of explored lines, I
propose to be brief with the incidents and descriptive
sketches of our route to Ituru, because the country for
two-thirds of the way has been sufficiently described
in ' How I found Livingstone,' and in the Appendix
attached to the present volumes.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
88
ipruRouon the dabk continent.
THE EXPEDITION AT ROSAKO.
(From a photograph.)
1874.
Nov. 2.3.
Pongwe.
CHAPTER Y.
On tho march — ConporiJo to Eubuti — The hunting-grounds of
Kitfingoh — Shooting zebra — " Jack's" first prize — Interviewed
by lions — Geology of Mpwapwa — Dudoma — "The flood-gates of
heaven" opened — Dismal reflections — The Salina — A conspiracy
discovered — Desertions — The path lost — Starvation and deaths
— Trouble imminent — Grain huts plundered — Situation deplorable
— Sickness in the camp — Edward Pocock taken ill — His death and
funeral.
The line of march towards the interior, which, after due
consideration, we adopted, runs parallel to the routes
known to us by the writings of many travellers, but
extends as far as thirty miles north of the most
northerly of them.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
ON THE MARVm 89
At Rosako the route began to diverge from tliat i874.
which led to Msuwa and Simba-Mweniiij and opened out ^^^ ^^
on a stretch of beautiful park land, green as an Euglish
lawn, dipping into lovely vales, and rising into gentle
ridges. Thin, shallow threads of Water in fnrrow-liko
beds or in deep narrow ditches, which expose the sand-
stone strata on whicli the fat ochreous soil rest^, run
in mazy curves round forest clumps, or through jungle
tangles, and wind about among the higher elevations,
on their way towards the Waaii river^
On the 23 rd, we lialted at the ba'^e of one of the
three cones of Pongwe, at a village situated at an altitude
of 900 feet above the sea. The lesser Pongwe cone rises
about 800 feet higher than the village, the greater pro-
bably 1200 feet* The pedometers marked forty-six miles
from Bagaraoyo,
Congo rido, a populous village, was reached on the 24:th.
From my hut, the Pongwe' hills were in clear view.
The stockade was newly built, and was a good defensive
enclosure. The drinking-water was brack ish, but, after
long search, something more potable was discovered a
short distance to the south-east
Mfuteh, the next village, was another strong, newly
enclosed construction after the pattern of the archi-
tecture of Unyamwezi. Tlie baobab, at this height, began
to flourish, and in the depressions of the land the doum,
borassus, and fan-palm were very numerous. The soil
westward of Congorido, I observed, contains consider-
able alkali, and it is probable that this substance is
favourable to the growth of palms. The villngers are
timid and suspicious. Lions are reported to abound
towards the north.
Westward of Mfuteh, we travelled along the right
or southern bank of the Warai for about four miles. Its
banks are fringed with umbrageous wooded borders, and
beyond these extends an interesting country. The
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
90 TEBOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. colossal peak of Kidudu rears its lofty crown to a
Nor. 29. gpg^t height, and forms a conspicuous landmark,
towering above its less sublime neighbours of Nguru,
about fifteen or twenty miles north of the Wami's
course.
From Mfuteh to Bubuti, a village on the Lugumbwa
creek, which we reached on the 29th, game is numerous,
but the landscape differs little from that described
above. We crossed the Wami three times in one march,
the fords being only 2^ feet deep. Granite boulders
protruded above the surface, and the boiling-point at
one of the fords showed a considerable height above
the sea. At one of the fords there was a curious
suspension bridge over the river, constructed of llianes
with great ingenuity by the natives. The banks were at
this point 16 feet high above the river, and from bank
to bank the distance was only 30 yards : it was evident,
therefore, that the river must be a dangerous torrent
during the rainy season.
The road thence, skirting a range of mountains, leads
across numerous watercourses and some very clear
rivers — one, the Mkindo, near Mvomero, being a
beautiful stream, and the water of which I thought
very invigorating. I certainly imagined I felt in
excellent spirits the whole of the day after I had taken
a deep draught of it !
On the 3rd of December, we came to the Mkundi
river, a tributary of the Wami, which divides Nguru
country from Usagara. Simba-Mwenni, or Simba-
Miunyi — the Lion Lord — not the famous man farther
south — owns five villages in this neighbourhood. He
was generous, and gratified us with a gift of a sheep,
some flour, and plantains, accepting with pleasure some
cloth in return.
The Wa-Nguru speak the same dialect as the Wase-
guhha and Wasagara, and affect the same ornaments,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE HUNTING-GROUNDS OF KITANGEH. 91
being fond of black and white beads and brass wire. 1874.
They split the lobes of their ears, and introduce such „^^^
curious things as the necks of gourds or round disks
of wood to extend the gash. A medley of stmnge
things are worn round the neck, such as tiny goats'
horns, small brass chains, and large egg-like beads.
Blue Kaniki and the r«d-barred Barsati are the
favourite cloths in this region. The natives dye their
faces with ochre, and, probably influenced by the example
of the Wanyamwezi, dress their hair in long ringlets,
which are adorned with pendicles of copper, or white
or red beads of the large Sara-sam pattern.
Grand and impressive scenery meets the eye as we
march to Makubika, the next settlement, where we
attain an altitude of 2675 feet above the ocean. Peaks
and knolls rise in all directions, for we are now ascend-
ing to the eastern front of the Kaguru mountains.
The summits of Ukamba are seen to the north, its
slopes famous for the multitude of elephants. The
mountain characteristically called the " Back of the
Bow" has a small, clear lake near it, and remarkable
peaks or mountain crests break the sky line on every
side. Indeed, some parts of this great mountain range
abound in scenery both picturesque and sublime.
Between Mamboya and Kitangeh, I was mucli struck
by the resemblance that many of the scenes bear to
others that I had seen in the Alleghanies. Water is
abundant, flowing clear as crystal from numerous
sources. As we neared eastern Kitangeh, villages were
beheld dotted over every hill, the inhabitants of which,
so often frightened by inroads of the ever marauding
Wamasai, have been rendered very timid. Here, for
the first time, cattle were observed as we travelled
westerly from Bagamoyo.
By a gradual ascent from the fine pastoral basin of
Kitangeh, we reached the spine of a hill at 4490 feet.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
92
1874.
Dec. 4.
Kitangeh.
TBROUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
and beheld an extensive plain, stretching north-west and
west, with browsing herds of noble game. Camping on
its verge, between a humpy hill and some rocky knolls,
near a beautiful pond of crystal-clear water, I pro-
ceeded with my gun-bearer, Billali, and the notorious
Msenna, in the hope of bringing down something for
the Wangwana, and was heartily encouraged thereto
by Frank and Ted Pocock.
VIEW FROM THE VILLAGE OF MAMBOYA.
The plain was broader than I had judged it by
the eye from the crest of the hill whence we had
first sighted it. It was not until we had walked
briskly over a long stretch of tawny grass, crushed
by sheer force through a brambly jungle, and trampled
down a path through clumps of slender cane stalks,
that we came at last in view of a small herd of zebras.
These animals are so quick of scent and ear, and so
vigilant with their eyes, that, across an open space, it
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INTERVIEWED BT LIONS. 93
is most difficult to stalk them. But by dint of tre- 1874.
mendous exertion, I contrived to approach within 250 ^' **
yards, taking advantage of every thin tussock of grass,
and, almost at random, fired. One of the herd leaped
from the ground, galloped a few short maddened strides,
and then, on a sudden, staggered, kneeled, trembled,
and fell over, its legs kicking the air. Its companions
whinnied shrilly for their mate, and, presently wheeling
in circles with graceful motion, advanced nearer, still
whinnying, until I dropped another with a crushing
ball through the head — much against my wish, for I
think zebras were created for better purpose than to
be eaten. The remnant of the herd vanished, and the
bull-terrier " Jack," now unleashed, was in an instant
glorying in his first strange prizes. How the rogue
plunged his teeth in their throats ! with what ardour
he pinned them by the nose ! and soon bathing himself
in blood, he appeared to be the very Dog of Murder,
a miracle of rabid ferocity.
Billali, requested to nm to camp to procure
Wangwana to carry the meat to carap, was only
too happy, knowing what brave cheers and hearty
congratulations would greet him. Msenna was already
busy skinning one of the animals, some 300 yards
from me; Jack was lying at my feet, watchful of
the dead zebra on which I was seated, and probably
calculating, so 1 supposed, how large a share would
fall to him for his assistance in seizing the noble
quarry by the nose. I was fast becoming absorbed
in a mental picture of what might possibly lie behind
the northern mountain barrier of the plain, when
Jack sprang up and looked southward. Turning my
head, I made out the form of some tawny animal,
that was advancing with a curious long step, and I
recognized it to be a lion. I motioned to Msenna,
who happened to be looking up, and beckoned him.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Kitungeh,
84 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1874. '* What do you think it is, Msenna ?*' I asked.
^"^^^ **Simba (a lion), master," he answered.
Finding my own suspicions verified, we both lay-
down, and prepared our rifles. Two explosive bullets
were slipped into an elephant rifle, and I felt sure
with the perfect rest which the body of the zebra
gave for the rifle, that I could drop anything living'
larger than a cat at the distance of 100 yards; so
I awaited his approach with composure. The animal
advanced to within 300 yards, and then, giving a
quick bound as though surprised, stood still. Shortly
afterwards, after a deliberate survey, he turned sharp
round and trotted off" into a low shrubby jungle,
about 800 yards away. Ten minutes elapsed, and
tlien as many animals emerged from the same spot
into which the other had disappeared, and approached
us in stately column. But it being now dusk, I could
not discern them very clearly. We both were, however,
quite sure in our own minds that they were lions, or
at any rate some animals so like them in the twilight
that ^ve could not imagine them to be anything else.
When the foremost had come within 100 yards, I fired.
It sprang up and fell, and the others disappeared with
a dreadful rush. We now heard shouts behind us,
for the Wangwana had come ; so, taking one or two
witli me, I endeavoured to discover what I felt sure
to be a prostrate lion, but it could not be found. It
occupied us some time to skin and divide our game,
and as the camp was far, we did not reach it until
9 P.M., when, of course, we received a sincere welcome
from people hungry for meat.
The next day Manwa Sera went out to hunt for the
lion-skin, but returned after a long search with only a
strong doubt in his mind as to its having been a
lion, and a few reddish hairs to prove that it was
something which had been eaten by hyenas. This
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Dec. 11.
Tubugwe.
TEE SCENE OF A MUBDER. 95
day I succeeded in shooting a small antelope of the 1874.
springbok kind.
We crossed the plain on the 11th December, and
arrived at Tubugw^. It is only six miles in width,
but within this distance we counted fourteen human
skulls, the mournful relics of some unfortunate tra-
vellers, slain by an attack of Wahuraba from the
north-west. I think it is beyond doubt that this plain,
extending, as it does, from the unexplored north-west,
and projecting like a bay into a deep mountain fiord
south-east of our road, must in former times have
been an inlet or creek of the great reservoir of which
the Ugombo lake, south of here, is a residuum. The
bed of this ancient lake now forms the pastoral plains
of the Wahumba, and the broad plain-like expanses
visible in the TJgogo country.
Eounding the western extremity of a hilly range
near the scene of our adventures, we followed a valley
till it sloped into a basin, and finally narrowed to a
ravine, along the bottom of which runs a small brackish
stream. A bed of rock-salt was discovered on the
opposite side.
Two miles farther, at the base of a hilly cone, we
arrived at a wooded gnlly, where very clear and fresh
water is found, and from which the path runs west,
gradually rising along the slope of a hill until it ter-
minates in a pass 3700 feet above sea-level, whence the
basin of Tubugw^ appears in view, enclosing twenty-
five square, stockaded villages and many low hills, and
patched with cultivated fields. A gentle descent of
about 400 feet brought us to our camp, on the banks
of a small tributary of the Mukondokwa.
On the 1 2th December, twenty-five days* march from
Bagamoyo, we arrived at Mpwapwa.
The region traversed from the eastern slopes of that
broad range which we began to skirt soon after passing
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
96 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. to the left bank of the Wami river, as far as Chunyu (a
^^^ ^^' few miles west of Mpwapwa), comprises the extreme
iiwapwm. |^j.^^|.|j q£ ^^ ^j^^^ distinguished in the work, * How
I found Livingstone/ as the Usagara mountains. The
rocks are of the older class, gneiss and schists, but in
several localities granite protrudes, besides humpy dykes
of tmp. From the brackish stream east of Tubugw^,
as far as Mpwapwa, there are also several dykes of
a feldspathic rock, notably one that overlooks the basin
of Tubugw^. The various clear streams coursing
towards the Mukondokwa, as we dipped and rose
over the highest points of the mountains among
which the path led us, reveal beds of granite, shale,
and rich brown porphyritic rock, while many loose
boulders of a granitic character lie strewn on each
side, either standing up half covered with clambering
plants in precarious positions upon a denuded base, or
lying bare in the beds of the stream, exposed to the
action of the running water. Pebbles also, lodged on
small shelves of rock in the streams, borne thither by
their force during rainy seasons, attest the nature
of the formations higher up their course. Among
these, we saw varieties of quartz, porphyry, greenstone,
dark grey shale, granite, hematite, and purple jasper,
chalcedony, and other gravels.
The rock-salt discovered has a large mass exposed to
the action of the stream. In its neighbourhood is a
greyish tufa, also exposed, with a brown mossy parasite
running in threads over its face.
Wood is abundant in large clumps soon after passing
Kikoka, and this feature of the landscape obtains
as far as Congorido. The Wami has a narrow fringe
of palms on either bank ; while, thinly scattered in the
plains and less fertile parts, a low scrubby brushwood,
of the acacia species, is also seen, but nowhere dense.
Along the base and slopes of the moxmtains, and in its
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
UFWAPWA.
97
deep valleys, large trees are very numerous, massing, 1874.
at times, even into forests. The extreme summits, ^^* ^''
however, are clothed with only grass and small ^^^^^^'
herbage.
Mpwapwa has also some fine trees, but no forest ; the
largest being the tamarind, sycamore, Cottonwood, and
baobab. The collection of villages denominated by
this title lies widely scattered on either side of the
OUR CAMP AT MPWAPWA. (^tromaphotograpK)
Mpwapwa stream, at the base of the southern slope of
a range of mountains that extends in a sinuous line
from Chunyu to Ugombo. I call it a range because
it appeared to be one from Mpwapwa ; but in reality
it is simply the northern flank of a deep indentation
in the great mountain chain that extends from
Abyssinia, or even Suez, down to the Cape of Good
Hope. At the extreme eastern point of this indentation
from the western side lies Lake Ugombo, just twenty-
four miles from Mpwapwa.
VOL. I. — 7
Digitized by LjOOQ IC
98 TEBOUGE THE DABK CONTINENT.
i874» Desertions from the expedition had been frequent
^ ^^ At first, Kachech^, the chief detective, and his gang of
four men, who had received their instructions to follow
us a day 8 journey behind, enabled me to recapture
sixteen of the deserters ; but the cunning Wangwana
and Wanyamwezi soon discovered this resource of
mine against their well-known freaks, and, instead of
striking east in their departure, absconded either south
or north of the track. We then had detectives posted
long before dawn, several hundred yards away from
the camp, who were bidden to lie in wait in the bush,
until the expedition had started, and in this manner
we succeeded in repressing to some extent the disposition
to desert, and arrested very many men on the point of
escaping ; but even this was not adequate. Fifty had
abandoned us before reaching Mpwapwa, taking with
them the advances they had received, and often their
guns, on which our safety might depend.
Several feeble men and women also had to be left
behind, and it was evident that the very wariest
methods failed to bind the people to their duties. The
best of treatment and abundance of provisions daily
distributed were alike insufficient to induce such faithless
natures to be loyal. However, we persisted, and as
often as we failed in one way, we tried another. Had
all these men remained loyal to their contract and
promises, we should have been too strong for any force
to attack us, as our numbers must necessarily have
commanded respect in lands and among tribes where
only power is respected.
One day's march from Mpwapwa, the route skirting a
broad arm of the Marenga Mkali desert, which leads to
the Ugombo lake, brought us to Chunyu — an exposed
and weak settlement, overlooking the desert or wilder-
ness separating Usagara from Ugogo. Close to our
right towered the Usagara mountains, and on our
>
Digitizi
ed by Google
Ugogo.
ACB088 TEE WASTE I 99
left stretched the inhospitable arm of the wilderness. 1874.
Fifteen or twenty miles distant to the south rose the ^^^ ^^'
vast cluster of Rubeho's cones and peaks.
The water at Chmiyu is nitrous and bitter to the
taste. The natives were once prosperous, but repeated
attacks from the Wahehe to the south and the Wahumba
to the north have reduced them in numbers, and com-
pelled them to seek refuge on the hill-summits.
On the 16th December, at early dawn, we struck
camp, and at an energetic pace descended into the
wilderness, and at 7 p.m. the vanguard of the expedition
entered Ugogo, camping two or three miles from the
frontier village of. Kikombo. The next day, at a more
moderate pace, we entered the populated district, and
took shelter under a mighty baobab a few hundred yards
distant from the chiefs village.
The fields, now denuded of the dwarf acacia and gum
jungle which is the characteristic feature of the wilder-
ness of Marenga Mkali and its neighbourhood, gave us
a clear view of a broad bleak plain, with nothing to
break its monotony to the jaundiced eye save a few
solitary baobab, some square wattled enclosures within
which the inhabitants live, and an ocpasional herd of
cattle or flock of goats that obtain a poor subsistence
from the scanty herbage. A few rocky hills rise in
the distance on either hand.
Kikombo, or Chikombo, stands at an altitude by ane-
roid of 2475 feet. The hills proved, as we afterwards
ascertained on arriving at Itumbi, Sultan Mpamira*s,
to be the eastern horn of the watershed that divides the
streams flowing south to the Eufiji from those that
trend north.
We marched under a very hot sun to Mpamira's
village ; and through the double cover of the tent
the heat at Itumbi rose to 96° Fahr. Within an hour
of our arrival, the sky, as usual in this season, became
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
100 THBOUQE TEE DABK CONTINENT.
!l! 1874. overcast, the weather suddenly became cold, and the
! : ^^^ thermometer descended to 69® Fahr., while startling
\ claps of thunder echoed among the hills, accompanied
\ by vivid flashes of lightning. About three miles to
the south-west, we observed a thick fog, and knew
\ that rain was falling, but we only received a few
drops. Half an hour later, a broad and dry sandy
stream-bed, in which we had commenced to dig for
water, was transformed into a swift torrent 18
inches deep and 50 yards wide, the general direction
of which was north by east. Within two or three
j hours, there were only a few gentle threads of water
remaining ; the torrent had subsided as quickly as it
had risen.
On our road to Leehumwa, we passed over a greyish
calcareous tufa. On either side of us rise hiUs bare of
soil, presenting picturesque summits, some of which
are formed by upright masses of yellow feldspar,
coloured by the presence of iron and exposure to
weather.
The next settlement, Dudoma, is situated on a level
terrace to the north of the hills which form the water-
shed, and from its base extends, to the unknown
north, the great plain of Uhumba, a dry, arid, and
inhospitable region, but covered with brushwood, and
abandoned to elephants, lions, large game, and intract-
able natives.
The rainy season began in earnest on the 23rd of
December, while we halted at Dudoma, and next day
we struggled through a pelting storm, during an eight
miles* march to Zingeh, the plain of which we found
already half submerged by rushing yellow streams.
The following sketch is a portion of a private letter
to a friend, written on Christmas Day at Zingeh : — " I am
in a centre-pole tent, seven by eight. As it rained all
day yesterday, the tent was set over wet ground.
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Zingeh.
DISMAL REFLECTIONS. 101
which, by the passing in and out of the servants, was i874.
soon trampled into a thick pasty mud bearing the ^^^**
traces of toes, heels, shoe nails, and dogs' paws. The
tent walls are disfigured by large splashes of mud,
and the tent corners hang down limp and languid, and
there is such an air of forlomness and misery about its
very set that it increases my own misery, already
great at the sight of the doughy, muddy ground with its
puddlets and strange hieroglyphic traceries and prints.
I sit on a bed raised about a foot above the sludge,
mournfully reflecting on my condition. Outside, the
people have evidently a fellow feeling with me, for they
appear to me like beings with strong suicidal intentions
or perhaps they mean to lie still, inert until death re-
lieves them. It has been raining heavily the last two or
three days, and an impetuous downpour of sheet rain
has just ceased. On the march, rain is very disagreeable ;
it makes the clayey path slippery, and the loads heavier
by being saturated, while it half ruins the cloths. It
makes us dispirited, wet, and cold, added to which we are
hungry — for there is a famine or scarcity of food at this
season, and therefore we can only procure half-rations.
The native store of grain is consumed during the
months of May, June, July, August, September, October,
and November. By December, the planting month,
there is but little grain left, and for what we are
able to procure, we must pay about ten times the
ordinary price. The natives, owing to improvidence,
have but little left. I myself have not had a piece
of meat for ten days. My food is boiled rice, tea,
and coffee, and soon I shall be reduced to eating
native porridge, like my own people. I weighed
180 lbs. when I left Zanzibar, but under this diet I
have been reduced to 134 lbs. within thirty-eight days.
The young Englishmen are in the same impoverished
condition of body, and unless we reach some more
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JiWtDL
102 TEBOUOH TEX DARK CONTINENT.
1874. flourishing country than famine-stricken Ugogo, we
^" ^f • must soon become mere skeletons.
** Besides the terribly wet weather and the scarcity of
food from which we suffer, we are compelled to undergo
the tedious and wearisome task of haggling with
extortionate chiefs over the amount of black-mail
which they demand, and which we must pay. We are
compelled, as you may perceive, to draw heavy drafts on
the virtues of prudence, patience, and resignation,
without which the transit of Ugogo, under such
conditions as above described, would be most perilous.
Another of my dogs, * Nero/ the retriever, is dead.
Alas ! all will die."
The next camp westward from Zingeh which we
established was at Jiweni, or the Stones, at an altitude
above sea-level of 3150 feet; crossing on our march
three streams with a trend southerly to the Rufiji.
Foi-merly there had been a settlement here, but in one
of the raids of the Wahumba it had been swept away,
leaving only such traces of man^s occupation as broken
pottery, and shallow troughs in the rocks caused pro-
bably by generations of female grinders of com.
Through a scrubby jungle, all of which in past times
had been cultivated, we marched from the *' Stones ** to
Kitalalo, the chief of which place became very friendly
with me, and, to mark his delight at my leading a
caravan to his country — the first, he hoped, of many
more — he presented a fat ox to the Wangwana and
Wanyamwezi.
The outskirts of Kitalalo are choked with growths of
acacia, tamarisk, and gum, while clusters of doum palms
are numerous. Further west stretches the broad plain
of Mizanza and Mukondoku, with its deceitful mirage,
herbless and treeless expanse, and nitrous water.
One Somali youth, Mohammed, deserted just eastward
of Kitalalo, and was never afterwards heard of.
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THE 8ALINA. 103
Early on the 29th December, guided by Kitalalo's 1874.
son, wo emerged from our camp under the ever rustling ^^^ ^'
doum palms, and a short mile brought us to the broad
and almost level Salina, which stretches from Mizanza
to the south of the track to the hills of Unyangwira,
north.
The hilly rjlnge or upland wall which confronted us
on the west ever since we left the " Stones," and which
extends from Usekke northwards to Machench^, is the
natural boundary accepted by the natives as separating
Ugogo from Uyanzi— or Ukimbu, as it is now beginning
to be called. The slope of the Salina, though slight and
imperceptible to the eye, is southerly, and therefore
drained by the Rufiji. The greatest breadth of this
plain is twenty miles, and its length may be estimated
at fifty miles. The march across it was very fatiguing.
Not a drop of water was discovered en route, though
towards the latter part of the journey a grateful rain-
shower fell which revived the caravan, but converted
the plain into a quagmire.
On approaching the Mukondoku district, which con*
tains about a hundred small villages, we sighted the
always bellicose natives advancing upon our van with
uplifted spears and noisy show of war. This belli-
gerent exhibition did not disturb our equanimity, as we
were strangers and had given no cause for hostilities.
After manifesting their prowess by a few harmless
boasts and much frantic action, they soon subsided into
a more pacific demeanour, and permitted us to proceed
quietly to our camp under a towering baobab near the
king's village.
This king's name is Chalula, and he is a brother of
Masumami of Kitalalo. Unlike his nobler brother, he
is crafty and unscrupulous, and levies extortionate
tribute on travellers, for which he never deigns to send
the smallest present in return. His people are numerous.
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104 THROUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1874, strong, and bold, and, sharing the overweening pride
^/t ^^ th^ir king, are prone to insolence and hostility Upon
' the slightest cause. Being so powerful, he is cordially
detested by his royal brothers of Kiwyeh, Khonko, and
Mizanza. We experienced therefore much difficulty
in preserving the peace, as his people would insist
upon filling the camp, and prying into every tent and
hut
A conspiracy was discovered at this place, by which
fifty men, who had firmly resolved to abscond, were pre-
vented from carrying out their intention by my securing
the ringleaders and disarming their deluded followers.
Twenty men were on the sick list, from fever, sore feet,
ophthalmia, and rheumatism. Five succeeded in desert-
ing with their guns and accoutrements, and two men were
left at Mukondoku almost blind. Indeed, to record our
daily mischances and our losses up to this date in full
detail would require half of this volume; but these
slight hints will suffice to show that the journey of
an expedition into Africa is beset with troubles and
disaster.
Frank and Edward Pocock and Frederick Barker
rendered me invaluable services while endeavouring to
harmonize the large, unruly mob with its many eccen-
tric and unassimilating natures. Quarrels were frequent,
sometimes even dangerous, between various members
of the Expedition, and at such critical moments only
did my personal interference become imperatively
necessary. What with taking solar observations and
making ethnological notes, negotiating with chiefs
about the tribute moneys and attending on the sick,
my time was occupied from morning until night. In
addition to all this strain on my own physical powers,
I was myself frequently sick from fever, and wasted
from lack of proper, nourishing food ; and if the chief
of an expedition be thus distressed, it may readily be
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A FRINCE TELLS MT FORTUNE. 106
believed that the poor fellows depending on him suffer 1875.
also. •'"• ^•
Having received our guides from Chalula, king of
Mukondoku, on the 1st January 1875 we struck
north, thus leaving for the first time the path to
Unyanyembe, the common highway of East Central
Africa. We were skirting the eastern base of the
upland wall, or hilly range (which, as I have said, we
sighted westward from the *' Stones"), by a path which
connected several Wahumba villages. Though humble
to the European eye, these villages owned several
herds of humped short-horned cattle, flocks of sheep
and goats, with many strong asses and dogs. Some of
the young women were unusually pretty, with regular
features, well-formed noses, thin, finely chiselled lips,
and graceful forms.
We — the Europeans^-were as great curiosities to the
natives as though they lived hundreds of miles from
the Unyanyembe road. Each of the principal men and
women extended to us pressing invitations to stop in
their villages, and handsome young chiefs entreated us
to become their blood-brothers. Young Keelusu, the
son of the chief of Mwenna, even came to my camp at
night, and begged me to accept a ** small gift from a
friend," which he had brought. This gift was a gallon
of new milk, still warm from the udder. Such a
welcome present was reciprocated with a gilt bracelet,
with a great green crystal set in it, a briarwood pipe,
stem banded in silver, a gilt chain, and a Sohari cloth,
with which he was so overjoyed as almost to weep. His
emotions of gratitude were visible in the glibtening
and dilated eyes, and felt in the fervent grasp he gave
my hand. By some magic art with his sandals of
cowhide, he predicted success to my journey. As
the right sandal, after being tossed three times
upward, each time turned upside down, my good
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106 THROUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. health and well-being, he said, were assured, without
it^- a doubt
The next halt was made at Mtiwi, the chief of which
was Malewa. The aneroid here indicated an altitude
of 2825 feet. Our faithless Wagogo guides having
deserted us, we marched a little distance farther north,
and ascended the already described "upland wall,**
where the aneroid at our camp indicated a height of
3800 feet— or about 950 feet above the plain on which
Mtiwi, Mwenna, and Mukondoku are situated.
The last night at Mtiwi was a disturbed one. The
** floodgates of heaven " seemed literally opened for a
period. After an hour's rainfall, 6 inches of water
covered our camp, and a slow current ran southerly.
Every member of the expedition was distressed, and
even the Europeans, lodged in tents, were not exempted
from the evils of the night. My tent walls enclosed a
little pool, banked by boxes of stores and ammunition.
Hearing cries outside, I lit a candle, and my astonish-
ment was great to find that my bed was an island in a
shallow river, which, if it increased in depth and current,
would assuredly carry me oflf south towards the Rufiji.
My walking-boots were miniature barks, floating to
and fro on a turbid tide seeking a place of exit to the
dark world of waters without. My guns, lashed to the
centre pole, were stock deep in water. But the most
comical sight was presented by Jack and Bull, perched
buck to back on the top of an ammunition-box, butting
each other rearward, and snarling and growling for
that scant portion of comfort.
In the morning, 1 discovered my fatigue cap several
yards outside the tent, and one of my boots sailing
down south. The harmonium, a present for Mtesa, a
large quantity of gunpowder, tea, rice, and sugar, were
destroyed. Vengeance appeared to have overtaken us.
At 10 A.M. the sun appeared, astonished no doubt at
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Ujmnxi
'^THE FLOOD-GATES OF EEAVEN** OPENED. 107
a new lake formed during his absence. By noon the 1875.
water had considerably decreased, and permitted us to '^*"* ^'
march, and with glad hearts we surmounted the upland
of Uyanzi, and from our busy camp, on the afternoon
of the 4th January, gazed upon the spacious plain
beneath, and the vast broad region of sterility and
thorns which we had known as inhospitable Ugogo.
On the upland which we were now about to traverse,
we had arrived at an elevation which greatly altered
the character of the vegetation. On the plain of Ugogo
flourish only dwarf bush, a mongrel and degenerate
variety of the noble trees growing in Uyanzi, consist-
ing of acacia, rank-smelling gum-trees, and euphorbias.
Here we have the stately myombo or African ash.
This tree grows on the loftier ridges and high uplands,
flourishing best on loose ferruginous soil. It utterly
rejects the rich alluvium, as well as the sandy loam.
Where the tree assumes its greatest height and girth,
we may be sure also that not far off strange freaks of
rock will be found in the bosom of the forest, such as
gigantic square blocks of granite, of the magnitude of
cottages, and at a distance reminding the traveller of
miniature castles and other kinds of human dwellings.
Large sheets of hematite and gneiss denuded of soil are
also characteristics of this plateau, while still another
feature is a succession of low and grandly swelling
ridges, or land-waves.
On our road to Muhalala, we met hundreds of fugitives
fleeing from the battle-grounds near Kirurumo, the
natives of which were being harassed by Nyungu, son
of Mkasiwa of Unyanyembe, for expressing sympathy
with Mirambo, the warrior chief of Western Unyam-
wezi.
Muhalala is a small settlement of Wakimbu, the
chief of which declares he owes a nominal allegiance
to Malewa of MtiwL Procuring guides here, on the
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108 THBOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. 6th January we ascended a ridge, its face rough with
J*tt«- many a block of iron ore, and a scabby grey rock,
as ongwa. ^^ ^fhx^ torrcnts and rains had worked wonderful
changes, and within two hours arrived at Kashongwa,
a village situated on the verge of a trackless wild,
peopled by a mixture of Wasukuma, renegade Wan-
. gwana, and Wanyamwezi. We were informed by
oflScious Wangwana, who appeared glad to meet their
countrymen, that we were but two days' march from
Urimi. As they had no provisions to sell, and each
man and woman had two days' rations, we resumed our
journey, accompanied by one of them as a guide, along
a road which, they informed us, would take us the day
after to Urimi, and, after two hours, camped near a
small pool.
The next day we travelled over a plain which had a
gradual uplift towards the north-west, and was covered
with dense, low bush. Our path was ill-defined, as only
small Wagogo caravans travelled to Urimi, but the
guide assured us that he knew the road. In this dense
bush there was not one large tree. It formed a vast
carpet of scrub and brush, tall enough to permit us to
force our way among the lower branches, which were so
interwoven one with another that it sickens me almost
to write of this day's experience. Though our march
was but ten miles, it occupied us as many hours of labour,
elbowing and thrusting our way, to the injury of our
bodies and the detriment of our clothing. We camped
at 5 P.M. near another small pool, at an altitude of 4350
feet above the sea. The next day, on the afternoon of
the 8th, we should have reached Urimi, and, in order
to be certain of doing so, marched fourteen miles to
still another pool at a height of 4550 feet above sea-
level. Yet still we saw no limit to this immense bush-
field, and our laboui-s had, this day, been increased
tenfold. Our guide had lost the path early in the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Jan. 8.
UTtriTeri.
THE FATE LOST I 109
day, and was innocently leading us in an easterly 1875,
direction !
* The responsibility of leading a half starved expedition
— as ours now certainly was — through a dense bush,
without knowing whither or for how many days, was
great ; but I was compelled to undertake it rather than
see it wander eastward, where it would be hopeless to
expect provisions. The greater number of our people
had consumed their rations early in the morning. I
had led it northward for hours, when we came to a
large ti*ee to the top of which I requested the guide
to ascend, to try if he could recognize any familiar
feature in the dreary landscape. After a short exa-
mination, he declared he saw a ridge that he knew,
near which, he said, was situate the village of Uveri-
veri. This news stimulated our exertions, and, myself
leading the van, we travelled briskly until 5 p.m., when
we arrived at the third pool.
Meantime Barker and the two Pococks, assisted by
twenty chiefs, were bringing up the rear, and we never
suspected for a moment that the broad track which we
trampled over grass and through bush would be un-
perceived by those in rear of us. The Europeans and
chiefs, assisted by the reports of heavily loaded muskets;
were enabled to reach camp successfully at 7 p.m. ; but
the chiefs then reported that there had not arrived a
party of four men, and a donkey boy who was leading
an ass loaded with coffee. Of these, however, there was
no fear, as they had detailed the chief Simba to oversee
them, Simba having a reputation among his fellows
for fidelity, courage, and knowledge of travel.
The night passed, and the morning of the 9 th
dawned, and I anxiously asked about the absentees.
They had not arrived. But as each hour in the jungle
added to the distress of a still greater number of people,
we moved on to the miserable little village of TJveriveri.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
110 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. The inhabitants consisted of only two famih*eSy who
*^ * could not spare us one grain ! We might as well have
remained in the jungle, for no sustenance could be
procured here.
In this critical position, many lives hanging on my
decision, I resolved to despatch forty of the strongest men
— ten chiefs and thirty of the boldest youths — ^to Suna
in Urimi, for the villagers of Uveriveri had of course
given us the desired information as to our whereabouts.
The distance from Uveriveri to Suna was twenty-eight
miles, as we subsequently discovered. Pinched with
hunger themselves, the forty volunteers advanced with
the resolution to reach Suna that night. They were in-
structed to purchase 800 lbs. of grain, which would give
a light load of 20 lbs. to each man, and urged to return
as quickly as possible, for the lives of their women and
friends depended on their manliness.
Manwa Sera was also despatched with a party of
twenty to hunt up the missing men. Late in the
afternoon they returned with the news that three of
the missing men were dead. They had lost the road,
and, travelling along an elephant track, had struggled
on till they perished, of despair, hunger, and exhaustion.
Simba and the donkey-boy, the ass and its load of
coffee, were never seen or heard of again.
With the sad prospect of starvation impending over
us, we were at various expedients to sustain life until
the food purveyors should return. Early on the
morning of the lOtli, I travelled far and searched
every likely place for game, but though tracks were
numerous, we failed to sight a single head. The Wan-
gwana also roamed about tlie forest — for the Uveriveri
ridge was covered with fine myombo trees — in search of
edible roots and berries, and examined various trees to
discover whether they afforded anything that could
allay the grievous and bitter pangs of hunger. Some
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Jan. 10.
SAVED FROM STARVATION. HI
found a putrid elephant, on which they gorged them- 1875.
selves, and were punished with nausea and sickness.
Others found a lion's den, with two lion whelps, which
they brought to me. Meanwhile, Frank and I examined
the medical stores, and found to our great joy we had
sufficient oatmeal to give every soul two cupfuls of thin
gruel. A ** Torquay dress trunk " of sheet-iron was
at once emptied of ita contents and filled with 25
gallons of water, into which were put 10 lbs. of oatmeal
and four 1 -lb. tins of ** revalenta arabica." How the
people, middle-aged and young, gathered round that
trunk, and heaped fuel underneath that it might
boil the quicker ! How eagerly they watched it lest
some calamity should happen, and clamoured, when
it was ready, for their share, and how inexpressibly
satisfied they seemed as they tried to make the most of
what they received, and with what fervour they thanked
** God ** for his mercies !
At 9 P.M., as we were about to sleep, we heard the
faint sound of a gun, fired deliberately three times, and
we all knew then that our young men with food were
not very far from us. The next morning, about 7 a.m.,
the bold and welcome purveyors arrived in camp with
just enough millet-seed to give each soul one good
raeal. This the people soon despatched, and then
demanded that we should resume our journey that
afternoon, so that next morning we might reach Suna
in time to forage.
Skirting the southern base of the wooded ridge of
Dveriveri, we continued to ascend almost imperceptibly
for eight miles, when we arrived at another singular
series of lofty rocks, called at once by the Wangwana
the Jiweni or " Stones." We camped near a rocky hill
125 feet high, from the summit of which I obtained a
view of a green grassy plain stretching towards
the north. The altitude of this camp was 5250 feet
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Soiui.
112 TEBOUQE THB DARK CONTINENT.
1875. above sea-level. Towards night I diot a wild boar
''*■• ^^' and a duck, but several of the Wangwana, being strict
Muslims, could not be induced to eat the pork. From
the " Stones '* we came to what we had (»dled a plain
from the summit, but what was really, from its marshy
nature, more of a quagmire. It appeared to be a great
resort for elephants ; thousands of the tracks of these
great animals ran in all directions. Plunging into
another jungle, we reappeared, after marching twenty
miles, in the cultivated fields of Suna; and on the
verge of a coppice we constructed a strong camp,
whence we had a view of the ** Stones,** which we had
left in the morning, no other eminences being visible
above what appeared a very ocean of bush.
Next morning there was a strange and peculiar air
of discontent, like a foreshadowing of trouble, among
the natives who appeared before our camp. They did
not appear to understand us. They were seen hurrying
their women and children away, and deserting their
villages, while others hovered round our camp
menacingly, carrying in their hands a prodigious
quantity of arms — spears, bows and arrows, and knob-
sticks. Trouble seemed imminent. To prevent it, if
possible, I stepped out to them with empty hands,
motioned them to be seated, and, calling an interpreter,
likewise unarmed, I attempted to explain the nature ot
our expedition and a few of its objects, one of which
of course was to reach Lake Victoria. To those elders
who appeared to have most influence, I gave some
beads, as an expression of good-will and friendship. But
nothing seemed to be of avail until, after close question-
ing, I ascertained that they had a grievance. Some of
the Wangwana, in their ravenous hunger, had plundered
the grain huts, and stolen some chickens. The natives
were requested to come and point out the thieves.
They did so, and pointed their fingers at Alsassi, a
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TBOUBLE IMMINENT. 113
notorious thief and gourmand. Convicted of the crime 1875.
after a strict examination of his quarters by Kachech^, Jan. 12-15
the chief detective, Alsassi was flogged in their
presence, not severely, but sufficiently to mark my
sense of extreme displeasure. The value of the stolen
food was given to the defrauded natives, and peace and
tranquillity were restored.
The Warimi are the finest people in physique we
saw between their country and the sea. They are
robust, tall, manly in bearing, and possess very regular
features. As they go stark naked, we perceived that
the males had undergone the process of circumcision.
Their ornaments are cinctures of brass wire round the
loins, armlets and leglets of brass, brass-wire collars,
beads plentifully sprinkled over their hair, and about a
dozen long necklaces suspended from the neck. The
war costumes w hich they were wearing when I had
thought that trouble was near were curious and various.
Feathers of the kite and hawk, manes of the zebra and
giraffe, encircled their foreheads. Their arms consisted
of portentous-looking spears, bows and yard-long arrows,
and shields of rhinoceros hide. The women, I imagine,
are generally a shade lighter than the men. I failed
to see in a day's examination a single flat nose or thick
lip, though they were truly negroidal in hair and
colour. I ought to have said that many shaved their
heads, leaving only a thin wavy line over the forehead.
The rolling plain of Suna was at this season utterly
devoid of grass. An immense area was under cultiva-
tion; clusters of small villages were sprinkled over all
the prospect the eye embraced, and large flocks of
j^oats and sheep and herds of cattle proved that they
were a pastoral as well as an agricultural people.
The Warimi appear to have no chief, but submit
to direction by the elders, or heads of families, who
have acquired importance by judicious alliances, and
VOL. I. — 8
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SanA.
114 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. to whom they refer civil causes. In time of war, how-
jaD 12-15.^^^^^ ^ ^^ observed the day after we arrived, they
have for their elder, one who has a military reputation.
This fighting elder, to whom, I remarked, great
deference was paid, was certainly 6^ feet in height.
The species of beads called Kanyera were, it seemed
to me, most in favour ; brass wire was also in demand,
but all cloth was rejected except the blue Kaniki.
We halted four days at Suna, as our situation was
deplorable. A constantly increasing sick list, culmi-
nating in the serious illness of Edward Pocock, the
evident restlessness of the Warimi at our presence, who
most certainly wished us anywhere except in their
country, and yet had no excuse for driving us by force
from their neighbourhood, the insuflScient quantity of
ibod that could be purchased, and the growing impor-
tunacy of the healthy Wangwana to be led away
from such a churlish and suspicious people, plunged
me in perplexity.
We had now over thirty men ailing. Some suffered
from dysentery, others from fever, asthma, chest diseases,
and heart sickness ; lungs were weak, and rheumatism
had its victims. Edward Pocock, on the afternoon of
the day we arrived at Suna, came to me, and complained
of pain in the loins, a throbbing in the head — which I
attributed to weariness, after our terribly long march —
and a slight fever. I suggested to him that he had better
lie down and rest. Before I retired, I reminded Frank,
his brother, that he should give Edward some alterative
medicine. The next day the young man was worse. His
tongue was thickly coated with a dark fur, his face
fearfully pallid, and he complained of wandering pains
in his back and knees, of giddiness and great thirst. I
administered to him sweet spirits of nitre with orange
water, and a few grains of ipecacuanha as an emetic.
The fourth day he was delirious, and we were about to
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SICKNESS IN THE CAMP. 115
sponge him with cold water, when I observed that small 1875.
red pimples with white tops covered his chest and *^"*^^'
abdomen, arms and neck. One or two were very like
small-pox pustules, which deceived me for a time into the
belief that it was a mild case of small-pox. However, by
carefully noticing the symptoms, I perceived that it
was unmistakably a case of the dreadful typhus.
There were two or three cases of sickness equally
dangerous in camp, but far more dangerous was the
sickness of temper from which the Warimi suffered. It
became imperative that we should keep moving, if only
two or three miles a day. Accordingly, on the 17th
January, after rigging up four hammocks, and making
one especially comfortable for Edward Pocock, roofed
over with canvas, we moved from the camp through
the populated district at a very slow pace; Frank
Pocock and Fred Barker at the side of the hammock of
the sick European, and a chief and four men attending
to each suffering Wangwana. Hundreds of natives
fully armed, kept up with us on either side of our path.
Never since leaving the sea were we weaker in spirit
than on this day. Had we been attacked, I doubt
if we should have made much resistance. The
famine in TJgogo, and that terribly protracted trial of
strength through the jungle of TJveriveri, had utterly
unmanned us ; besides, we had such a loDg list of
sick, and Edward Pocock and three Wangwana were
dangerously ill, in hammocks. We were an un-
speakably miserable and disheartened band ; yet, urged
by our destiny, we struggled on, thougli languidly.
Our spirits seemed dying, or resolving themselves into
weights which oppressed our hearts. Weary, harassed,
and feeble creatures, we arrived at Chiwyu, four
hundred miles from the sea, and camped near the crest
of a hill, which was marked by aneroid as 5400 feet
above the level of the ocean.
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116 THROUQR THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Edward Pocock was reported by Frank to have
cwwTii. ^^tt^red in his delirium, "The master has just hit it,"
and to have said that he felt very comfortable. On
arriving at the camp, one of the boat sections was
elevated above him as a protection from the sun, until a
cool grass hut could be erected. A stockade was being
constructed by piling a thick fence of brushwood around
a spacious circle, along which grass huts were fast being
built, when Frank entreated me to step to his brother s
side. I sprang to him — only in time, however, to see
him take his last gasp. Frank gave a shriek of sorrow
when he realized that the spirit of his brother had fled
for ever, and, removing the boat section, bent over
the corpse and wailed in a paroxysm of agony.
We excavated a grave 4 feet deep at the foot of a
hoary acacia with wide-spreading branches, and on its
ancient trunk Frank engraved a deep cross, the emblem
of the faith we all believe in, and, when folded in its
shroud, we laid the body in its final resting-place
during the last gleams of sunset. We read the beautiful
prayers of the church service for the dead, and, out of
respect for the departed, whose frank, sociable, and
winning manners had won their friendship and regard,
nearly all the Wangwana were present to pay a last
tribute of sighs to poor Edward Pocock.
When the last solemn prayer had been read, we
retired to our tents, to brood in sorrow and silence
over our irreparable loss.
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Digitized by LjOOQ IC
i I
118 TRBOUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
Jan. 18.
Chiwjo.
CHAPTER VI.
From Chiwyn to Vinyata — Kaif Halleck murdered — The magic doctor
— Giving away the heart — Deeds of blood — ** The white men are
only women " — A three days' fight — Punishment of the Wanyaturu
— The ubiquitous Mirambo — The plain of the Luwamberri — In
a land of plenty — Through the open country — "I haye seen the
lake. Sir, and it is grand I " — Welcomed at Kagehyi
1875. We have seen no remarkable feature in the landscape
since we surmounted that steep wall of the upland
which bounds TJgogo on the west. Near its verge, it
is true, it rose in steep terraces, until finally it extended
westward and northward in a broad jungle-covered
plain, which had a gradual rise, culminating in the
myombo-clad slopes of the TJveriveri ridge. While
standing at Suna, we were in view of that vast waste
out of which, after terrible experience, we had emerged
as it were only with our lives.
At Chiwyu, we camped near the loftiest altitude of
the gradual and almost unbroken rise of upland, at a
height of 5400 feet. To the northward of Suna and
Chiwyu, the country, however, no longer retained that
grand unfurrowed uplift, but presented several isolated
hills and shoi-t ranges, while to the westward also we
saw that it was divided into oval basins, rimmed with
low hills. From these same hollows and Furrows and
basins at the base of the hills, scattered to the north and
west of Suna and Chiwyu, issue the first tiny rivulets,
which, as we continue our journey to the north-west,
gradually converge to one main stream, trending towards
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EXTREME SOUTHERN NILE SOURCES. 119
Lake Victoria. It is in this region, therefore, that 1875.
the most extreme southern Sources of the Nile were ^^ ^^'
discovered. ^^^
Since leaving Mpwapwa, we have not crossed one
perennial stream. All our drinking water has been
obtained from pools, or shallow depressions lately filled
by rain. Between Suna and Chiwyu was crossed one
small rill flowing north-easterly, which soon after-
wards joins another and still another, and gathering
volume, swerves north, then north-west. These are
the furthest springs and head-waters of a river that
will presently become known as the Leewumbu, tben
as the Monangah, and lastly as the Shiraeeyu, under
which name it enters Lake Victoria on the south-east
coast of Speke Gulf.
Descending into the basin of Matongo from Chiwyu
with its melancholy associations, we crossed several
narrow and shallow furrows, which a few late rains
had probably caused, and came to a clear stream flowing
north through a deep rocky channel. Near this
ravine was a space about a square mile in extent,
sti-angely torn up and exhibiting thousands of boulders
and blocks, large and small, with smooth, water- worn
tops ; and the sides of what is now a small hill in the
centre of the basin showed visible traces of the action
of furious torrents through centuries of time. The
hard granite was worn into cones, the tops of which bore
a calcined appearance, proving the effect of intense *
heat suddenly cooled by rain. The rocky channel of this
stream in the Matongo basin was a veritable geological
section. The surface consisted of massive granite
boulders imbedded in vegetable deposit; below this
was a stratum of sand about 3 feet deep, below the
sand a stratum of coarse shingle of quartz, feldspar,
and porphyry, about 8 feet thick, and below this
was alluvium, resting on solid rock.
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120 THBOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. During these days the thermoraeter had seldom risen
Jan. 2a ijigiier than 78°; for hours during the day it stood
*"*''^ at 66°, while at night the mean was 63°. Seven miles
from Chiwyu stand the villages of Mangura on the
borders of Ituru. Soon after leaving Mangura we
ought to have followed the left-hand road, which, after
traversing a forest, would have brought us to Mgongo
Tenibo, where we should have found Wangwana and
Wanyamwezi. We also discovered that we had already
lost the regular path to Usukuma at Kashongwa, which
would have taken us, we were told, to Utaturu and
thence to Mgongo Tembo. But the Mangura natives,
though they were otherwise tolerant of our presence
and by no means ill-disposed, would not condescend to
show us the road, and we were therefore exposed to a
series of calamities, which at one time threatened our
very existence.
After passing Mangura, we entered Ituru. Streams
now became numerous, all flowing northward ; but
though such a well-watered country, the cattle in it
were poor and gaunt in frame, the dogs half starved,
and the sheep and goats mere skeletons. Only the
human beings seemed to me to be in good condition.
Among the birds of this region which attracted our
attention, we noted spur-winged geese, small brown
short-billed ducks, delicate of flesh and delicious eating,
long-legged plover, snipe, cranes, herons, spoonbills,
parroquets and jays, and a large greyish-brown bird
with short legs resembling a goose, apd very shy and
difficult of approach.
The language of Ituru is totally distinct from that of
Ugogo or of Unyamwezi. Besides possessing large
herds of cattle, nearly every village boasts of one or
two strong Masai asses. As the Wanyaturu stood in
groups indulging their curiosity outside our camps,
I observed they had a curious habit of employing them-
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Ixaigeh.
AMONG THE WANTATURU. 121
selves in plucking the hair from their faces and arm- ists.
pits. Being extremely distant in their manner, we '^•^^^•
found it difficult to gain their confidence, though we
were assiduous in our attempts to cultivate their good-
will.
Izanjeh was our next camp after Mangura, and the
first place we halted at in Ituru, It was 5450 feet above
the sea.
On leaving Izanjeh, Kaif Halleck, the bearer of the
letter-bag to Livingstone in 1871, was afflicted with
asthma, and as we were compelled to travel slowly, I
entreated him not to lag behind the Expedition while
it traversed such a dangerous country. But I have
observed that sick men seldom heed advice. Being
obliged to go forward to the front during these evil
and trying days, I had to leave the rearguard under
Frank Pocock and Fred Barker and the Wangwana
chiefs. As my duties would be mainly to introduce and
ingratiate our expedition with the natives, I could not
possibly know what happened in the rear until we
reached camp, and reports were made to me by Frank
and Manwa Sera.
From the top of a ridge, accompanied by a guide
whose good-will had been secured by me, I descended
to. the basin of what the Wangwana at Mgongo Tembo
call Vinyata, but which the guide, I feel assured, called
Niranga. The basin is oval, about twelve miles
long by six miles wide, cut through the centre by the
Leewumbu, as it flows in a W.N.W. direction, becoming
lost, soon after leaving the basin, in a cluster of wood-
clad hills. Numbers of villages are sprinkled over it
from end to end, and from the summit of the ridge we
guessed it to contain a populous and wealthy com-
munity. On the evening of the same day, the 21st
January 1875, we arrived at Yinyata.
There was nothing in the horizon of our daily life
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Jan. 21
VinjaU.
122 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. that the most fearful and timid could have considered
ominous. Nevertheless, consistent with custom, the
camp was constructed on the summit of a slightly
swelling ground, between a forest and the fields in the
basin. The people of the small village nearest to us
deserted it upon first sight of our party, but they were
finally persuaded to return. Everything promised at
night to be peaceful, though anxiety began to be felt
about the fate of Kaif Halleck. He had not been seen
for two days. Some suggested he had deserted, but
** faithfuls" rarely desert upon mere impulse, without
motive or cause. It was necessary therefore to halt a
day at Vinyata to despatch a searching party. Manwa
Sera was told to take four staunch men, one of whom
was the scout and famous detective, Kach^che, to hunt
up the sick *^ letter-carrier of 1871."
During Manwa Sera's absence, Frank, Barker, and
myself were occupied in reducing our loads, and re-
jecting every article that we could possibly subsist
without. Our sick were many, twenty had died, and
eighty-nine had deserted, between the coast and
Vinyata !
While examining the cloth bales, we discovered that
several were wet from the excessive rains of Ugogo,
and to save them from being ruined, it was imperative,
though impolitic, that we should spread the cloths to
dry. In the midst of this work the great magic doctor
of Vinyata came to pay me a visit, bringing with him
a fine fat ox as a peace offering. Being the first we had
received since leaving Kitalalo, we regarded it as a
propitious omen, and I showed by my warmth toward
the ancient Mganga that I was ready to reciprocate his
kindness. He was introduced to my tent, and after
being sociably entertained with exceedingly sweet coffee
and some of Huntley and Palmer's best and sweetest
biscuits, he was presented with fifteen cloths, thirty
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Viojau
KAIF HALLECK MURDERED. 123
necklaces, and ten yards of brass wire, which repaid ists.
him fourfold for his ox. Trivial things, such as empty ^*^ ^
sardine boxes, soup and bouilli pots, and empty jam
tins, were successively bestowed on him as he begged
for them. The horizon appeared clearer than ever,
when he entreated me to go through the process of
blood-brotherhood, which I underwent with all the
ceremonious gravity of a pagan. As he was finally
departing, he saw preparations being made to despatch
the ox, and he expressed his desire that the he<irt of
the animal should be returned to him. While he
stayed for it, I observed with uneasiness that he and
his following cast lingering glances upon the cloths
which were drying in camp.
During the day the Wangwana received several days'
back rations, towards repairing the havoc which the
jungle of Uveriveri and famine-stricken TJgogo had
effected in their frames, and our intercourse with the
natives this day was most friendly.' But before retiring
for the night, Manwa Sera and his scouts returned with
the report that *' Kaif Halleck's " dead body had been
discovered, gashed with over thirty wounds, on the
edge of a wood between Izanjeh and Vinyata !
" We cannot help it, my friends," I said after a
little deliberation. " We can mourn for him, but we
cannot avenge him. Go and tell the people to take
warning from his fate not to venture too far from
the camp, and when on the march not to lag behind
the caravan; and you, who are the chiefs and in
charge of the rear, must not again leave a sick man
to find his way unprotected to carap."
The next day the magic doctor appeared about 8 a.m.
to receive another present, and as he brought with him
about a quart of curded milk, he was not disappointed.
He also received a few beads for his wife and for each of
his children. We parted about 9.30 a.m. alter shaking
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124 THBOUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. hands many times, apparently mutually pleased with
^*°*^^ each other. No mention was made to any native of
"*^ Vinyata of the murder of Kaif Halleck, lest it might
be suspected we charged our new friends with being
cognizant of, or accessory to, the cruel deed, which
would, without doubt, have caused new complications.
Half an hour after the departure of the magic doctor,
while many of the Wangwana were absent purchasing
grain, and others were in the forest collecting faggots,
we heard war cries. Imagining that they were the
muster-call to resist their neighbours of Izanjeh, or of
some tribe to the east, we did not pay much attention
to them. However, as these peculiar war-cries, which
may be phonetically rendered " Hehu-a hehu," appeared
to draw nearer, we mustered a small party on the
highest ground of the camp, in an attitude of doubt
and enquiry, and presently saw a large body of natives
armed with spears, bows and arrows, and shields,
appear within a hundred yards on a similar high-ground
outside the camp. The sight suggested to us that they
had mustered against us, yet I could divine no cause of
grievance or subject of complaint to call forth a war-
like demonstration.
I despatched two unarmed messengers to them to
inquire what their intentions were, and to ascertain
the object of this apparently hostile mob. The mes-
sengers halted midway between the camp and the
crowd, and sitting down, invited two of the natives to
advance to them for a " shanri.'*
We soon discovered upon the return of the messengers
that one of the Wangwana had stolen some milk, and
that the natives had been aroused to " make war'** upon
us because of the theft They were sent back to inform
the natives that war was wicked and unjust for such a
small crime, and to suggest that they should fix a price
♦ "Make war" is the literal translation of fanya vita.
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Vin/aU.
VAIN FORBEARANCE. 125
upon the milk, and permit iia to atone for the wrong 1875.
with a handsome gift. After some deliberation the ^^'^^f^"
proposition was agreed to. A liberal present of cloth
was made, and the affair had apparently terminated.
But as this mob was about to retire peacefully,
another large force appeared from the north. A con-
sultation ensued, at first quietly enough, but there were
one or two prominent figures there, who raised their
voices, the loud, sharp, and peremptory tones of which
instinctively warned me that their owners would carry
the day. There was a bellicose activity about their move-
ments, an emphasis in their gestures, and a determined
wrathful fury about the motion of head and pose of
body that were unmistakable. They appeared to be
quarrelling doggedly with those who bad received
cloth for the milk, and were evidently ready to fight
with them if they persisted in retiring without blood-
shed.
In the midst of this, Soudi, a youth of Zanzibar,
came hastily upon the scene. He had a javelin gash
near the right elbow joint, and a slight cut as though
from a flying spear was visible on his left side, while
a ghastly woiftid from a whirling knobstick had laid
open his temples. He reported his brother Suliman
as lying dead near the forest, to the west of the
camp.
We decided, nevertheless, to do nothing. We were
strong disciples of the doctrine of forbearance, for it
seemed to me then as if Livingstone had taught it to
me only the day before. " Keep silence," I said ; " even
for this last murder I shall not fight ; when they attack
the camp, it will be time enough then." To Frank I
simply said that he might distribute twenty rounds of
ammunition without noise to each man, and dispose
our party on either side of the gate, ready for a charge
should the natives determine upon attacking us.
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126 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
187S. The ]f>udly arguing mob had not yet settled con-
jwi.23, clusively what they should do, and possibly, hostilities
might have been averted, had not the murderers of
young Suliraan, advancing red-handed and triumphant,
extorted from all the unanimous opinion that it would
be better after all to 6ght ** the cowardly Wangwana
and the white men, who were evidently only
women/'
They quickly disposed themselves, delivered loud
whoops of triumph, prepared their bows, and shot their
first arrows. The Wangwana became restless, but I
restrained them. Perceiving no sign of life in our
c^mp, the Wanyaturu judged, doubtless, that we were
half d&id with fright, and advanced boldly to within
thirty yards, when the word was given to the Wan-
gwana and Wanyamwezi, who rushed outside and, by
the very momentum of the rush, drove the savages to a
di^stance of 200 yards. The Wangwana were then
ordered to halt, and deployed as skirmishers.
We *5till waited without firing. The savages, not
comprehending this extraordinary forbearance, advanced
once more. The interpreters were requested to warn
them that we should delay no longer. They replied,
** Ye are %vomen, ye are women ; go, ask Mirambo how
he Ikred in Ituru," saying which they twanged their
bows. It was only then, perceiving that they were
too aavage to understand the principles of forbearance,
that the final word to "fight" was given. A brisk
encounter was maintained for an hour, a'iid then, having
driven the savages away, the Wangwana were recalled
to camp.
Meanwhile Frank was busy with sixty men armed
with axetj in constructing a strong stockade, and on the
retui n of the Wangwana they were employed in build-
ing marksmen's " nests " at each corner of the camp.
We aWj cleared the ground to the space of 200 yards
»
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Jan. 24^
Yinyita.
THE FIGHT. 127
around the camp. By night our camp was secure, and 1875,
perfectly defensible.
On the morning of the 24th we waited patiently in
our camp. Why should we attack? We were wretched
enough as it was without seeking to add to our
wretchedness. We numbered only seventy eflfective
men, for all the others were invalids, frightened porters,
women, donkey boys, and children. The sick list was
alarming, but, try how we might, the number was not
to be reduced.. While we lived from hand to mouth
on a few grains of corn a day, after a month's experience
of famine fare, our plight must not only remain pitiable,
but become worse. We were therefore in a mood to
pray that we might not be attacked, but permitted to
leave the camp in safety.
At 9 A.M., however, the enemy appeared, reinforced
both in numbers and confidence, for the adjoining
districts on the north and east had been summoned to
the '* war.** This word means now, as is evident, daily
attacks upon our camp, with forces hourly increasing,
until we shall have also perhaps strange tribes to the
westward invited to the extermination of the strangers,
and ourselves be in the meantime penned in our hold
until hunger reduces us to surrender, to be butchered
without mercy.
Our position, as strangers in a hostile country, is
such that we cannot exist as a corporate expedition,
unless we resist with all our might and skill, in order
to terminate- hostilities and secure access to the
western country. We therefore wait until they advance
upon our camp, and drive them from its vicinity as we
did the day before. In half an hour our people are back,
and organized into four detachments of ten men each
under their separate chiefs, two more detachments of
ten men each being held in reserve, and one other, of
ten also, detailed for the defence of the camp. They
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128 TEnOUGH TEE LARK CONTINENT.
1875. are instructed to proceed in skirmishing order in
Jan. 24. (jiflpgj.gnt diicctions through the hostile country, and
to drive the inhabitants out wherever they find them
lodged, to a distance of five miles east and north,
certain rocky hills, the rendezvous of the foe, being
])ointed out as the place where they must converge.
Messengers are sent with each detachment to bring
me back information.
The left detachment, under chief Farjalla Christie,
were soon thrown into disorder, and were killed to a
man, except the messenger who brought us the news,
imploring for the reserve, as the enemy were now con-
centrated on the second detachment. Manwa Sera
was theiefore despatched with fifteen men, and arrived
at the scene only in time to save eight out of the
second detachment. The third plunged boldly on,
but lost six of its number; the fourth, under chief
Safeni, behaved prudently and well, and; as fast as
each enclosed village was taken, set it on fire. But
ten other men despatched to the scene retrieved what
the third had lost, and strengthened Safeni.
About 4 P.M. the Wangwana returned, bringing
with them oxen, goats, and grain for food. Our losses
in this day's proceedings were twenty-one soldiers and
one messenger killed, and three wounded.
On the morning of the 25th we waited until 9 a.m.,
again hoping that the Wanyaturu would see the
impolicy of renewing the fight; but we were disap-
pointed, for they appeared again, and apparently as
numerous as ever. After some severe volleys we drove
them ofl* again on the third day, but upon the return of
the Wangwana, instead of dividing them into detach-
ments, I instructed them to proceed in a compact body.
Some of the porters volunteered to take the place of
the soldiers who perished the previous day, and we
were therefore able to show still a formidable front.
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OUB TRIUMPH AND LOSSES. 129
All the Villages in our neighbourhood being first 1875.
consumed, they continued their march, and finally y*"'^^"
attacked the rocky hill, which the Wanyaturu had
adopted as a stronghold, and drove them flying
precipitately into the neighbouring country, where
they did not follow them.
We knew now that we should not be disturbed.
Some of the guns, lost the day before, we recaptured.
On reckoning up our loss on the evening of the third
day, we ascertained it to be twenty-two men killed,
three men wounded, twelve guns lost, and four cases of
ammunition expended. Including Kaif Halleck and
Suliman murdered, our losses in Ituru were therefore
twenty-four men killed and four wounded, and as we
had twenty-five on the sick list, it may be imagined that
to replace these fifty-three men great sacrifices were
necessary on the part of the survivors, and much
ingenuity had to be exercised. Twelve loads were
accordingly placed on the asses, and ten chiefs were
detailed to carry baggage until we should arrive in
Usukuma. Much miscellaneous property was burned,
and on the morning of the 26th, just before daybreak,
we resumed our interrupted journey.
The expedition on this day consisted of three Euro-
peans, 206 Wangwana and Wanyamwezi, twenty-five
women, and six boys. At 9.30 a.m. we camped at a
place which might be called a natural fortress. To our
right and left rose two little hills 100 feet high and
almost perpendicular. Behind us dropped a steep slope
400 feet down to the Leewumbu river, so that the
only way of access was the narrow gap through which
we had entered. We soon closed the gateway with
a dense wall of brushwood, and in perfect security
lay down to rest.
This camp was at an altitude of 5650 feet above the
ocean, and due west of Vinyata about ten miles. On
VOL. I. — 9
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130 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. one side of us was the deep-wooded valley through
^*°' ^' which the rapid Leewumbu rushes. Its banks on each
side slope steeply upward, and at the top become
detached hills clothed with forest; from their base
wave the uplands in grand and imposing wooded
ridges. North of the Leewumbu the hills are bolder
than those to the south.
On the 27th, at dawn, we crossed the Leewumbu,
and the whole of that day and the day following
our route was through a forest of fine myombo,
intersected by singular narrow plains, forming at
this season of the year so many quagmires. Other
features of this region were enormous bare rocks,
looming like castles through the forest, and hillocks com-
posed of great fragments of splintered granite and broad
heaving humps of grey gneiss. One of these singular
features of this part of Africa gives its name to Mgongo
Tembo, *' The Elephant's Back." Far to the south is a
similar hill, which 1 passed by during the first expedition;
and its chief, emigrating to Iramba, has bestowed upon
a like feature at the site of his new colony the name
of his former village, to remind him of old associations.
On the 29th we entered Mgongo Tembo, and became
acquainted with the chief, who is also known by the fan-
tastic name which he has given his new quarters, though
his real name is Malewa. He is a strong conservative,
dislikes innovations, declares young men nowadays
to be too fond of travel, and will not allow his sons —
he has sixteen — to visit either Unyanyemb^ or Zanzibar
lest they should learn bad habits. He is a hearty, jovial
soul, kindly disposed if let alone. He has lately
emerged triumphantly out of a war with Maganga of
Rubuga, an ally of the famous Miramlx^.
It had been an object with me at one time to steer
clear of Minimbo, but as I recognised and became
impressed with his ubiquitous powers, I failed to per*
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MGONGO TEMBO. 131
ceive how the system of exploration I had planned 1875.
could be eflfected if I wandered great distances out of ^ ^^'
his way. On the first expedition some of my people t^^^
perished in a conflict with him, and on returning with
Livingstone to Unyanyemb^, we heard of him dealing
effective blows with extraordinary rapidity on his
Arab and native foes. Since leaving TJgogo, we heard
daily of him on this expedition. He was one day
advancing upon Kirirumo, at another place he was on
our flanks somewhere in Utaturu. He fought with
Ituru, and, according to Mgongo Tembo*s chief,
lost 1100 men two months before we entered
the country. Mgongo Tembo, who kept a wary eye
upon the formidable chiefs movements, informed us that
Mirambo was in front of us, fighting the Wasukuma.
Mgongo Tembo further said, in explanation of the
unprovoked attacks of the Wanyaturu upon us,
that we ought not to have bestowed the heart of the
presented ox upon the magic doctor of Vinyata, as by
the loss of that diflnser of blood, the Wanyaturu
believed we had left our own bodies weakened and
would be an easy prey to them. "The Wanyaturu
are robbers, and sons of robbers,'* said he fiercely,
after listening to the recital of our experiences in
Ituru.
On the 1st February, after a very necessary halt
of two days at Mgongo Tembo, with an addition to our
force of eight pagazis and two guides, and encouraged
by favourable reports of the country in front, we
entered Mangura in Usukuma near a strange valley
which contained a forest of borassus palms. In the
beds of the several streams we crossed this day we
observed granite boulders, blue shale, basalt, porphyry
and quartz.
Beyond Mangura, or about six miles west of it, was
situate Igira, a sparse settlement overlooking the magni-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
132 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. ficent plain of Lnwamberri, at an altitude by boiling-
^' ^ point of 5350 feet. A camp which we established in
this plain was ascertained with the same apparatus to be
4476 feet. Ten miles farther, near a sluggish ditch-
like creek, the boiling-point showed 4250 feet, only
100 feet higher than Lake Victoria.
As far as Igira the myombo flourished, but when we
descended into the plain, and the elevation above the sea
decreased to 4000 feet, we discovered that the baobab
became the principal feature of the vegetation, giving
place soon after to thorny acacias and a variety of
scrub, succeeded in their turn by a vast expanse of tawny
grass.
The Luwamberri plain — with its breadth of nearly
forty miles, its indefinite length of level reach towards
the N.N.W., its low altitude above the Victorian Lake,
the wave-worn slopes of the higher elevations which
hem it on the east and the south — appears to me to
have been in ancient times a long arm of the great
lake which was our prospective goal at this period.
About sixteen miles from Igira there is a small sluggish
stream with an almost imperceptible current northward,
but though it was insignificant at the time of our cross-
ing, there were certain traces on the tall grass to
show that during the middle of the rainy season it is
nearly a mile broad, and very deep. Several nullahs
or ravines with stagnant water, when followed up,
prove to have their exit in the broad channel.
In the centre of the level plain rises a curious eleva-
tion, like an island crowned with a grove, whither the
game with which the plain teems resort during the wet
season. At the period of our crossing, however, they
roved in countless numbers over the plain — ^giraffe,
zebra, gnu, buflfalo, springbok, water-buck, kudu, harte-
beest, wild-boar, and several varieties of smaller
antelope; while birds abounded, ibis, field-larks, fish-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE PLAIN OF THE LUWAMBERRL 133
hawks, kingfishers, spur-winged geese, ducks, vultures, ibts.
flamingoes, spoonbills, and cranes. ^*^' ^
With such a variety before them, it may readily be berri.
conceived that the Wangwana and Wanyamwezi,
which now numbered, with the accessions to our
strength gained at Mangura and Igira, 280 men,
earnestly hoped that I should be successful in the
sport to which I now devoted myself with the aid of
my faithful factotum Billali, One day I shot a girafl^
and a small antelope ; on the next, in the neighbourhood
of the woody elevation in the plain, five zebra ; and
the third day on the western verge, I shot two gnu,
one buffalo, and a zebra, besides bagging two spur-
winged geese, four guinea-fowl, and five ducks. Meat
was now a drug in our camp. It was cooked in various
styles, either stewed, roasted, fried, or pounded for
cakes. Some of the Wanyamwezi carried, besides their
cloth bale of 60 lbs. weight, nearly 35 lbs. of dried meat.
On the western verge of the grassy plain we crossed
the Itawa river, a broad but sluggish stream choked
with grass, and camped in a locality which seemed to
be favourable only to the production of baobab and
mimosa. After a few hours' travel west of the Itawa, we
crossed the Gogo riv^r with a course N.N.E. towards
the Luwamberri plain. Here we arrived at the
easternmost of a chain of low hills with truncated
tops. These hills, pleasant to the eye, and covered with
waving grass and a sprinkling of thin dwarf bush, con-
sisted of silicious feldspathic rock, the stratification of
which was vertical, in other parts diagonal, with a dip
to the north-west. The slopes of the hills were thickly
covered with detached pieces of this rock, and at the
base with shingle. The plain beneath, close to the
vicinity of the hills, had extensive beds of the same
rock, which, in places, rose above it, exposed in great
sheets.
Digitizi
ed by Google
Feb. 9.
Ifombiti.
134 TEBOUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. On the 9th February we crossed the Nanga ravine,
and the next day, by a gradual ascent, arrived at the
Seh'gwa, flowing to the Leewumbu, and, after follow-
ing it for four miles, reached the hospitable village
of Mombiti. We had fairly entered the rich country
of Usukuma, where the traveller, if he has resources at
his disposal, need never fear starvation.
The products of the rich upland were here laid at
our feet, and it must be conceded that the plenteous
stores of grain, beans, potatoes, vetches, sesamura,
millet, vegetables, such as melons and various garden
herbs, honey, and tobacco, which we were enabled to
purchase at Mombiti, were merited by the members
of the long-enduring expedition. The number of
chickens and goats that were slaughtered by the people
was enormous. Long arrears of rewards were due them
for the many signal examples of worth they had
shown; and here I earned anew the flattering appel-
lation bestowed upon me three years previously in
Africa. **The white man with the open hand" —
" Huyu Msungu n'u fungua mikono.''
With the rewards they received, the Wangwana and
Wanyamwezi, men, women, and children, revelled in
the delights of repleted stomachs, and the voice of the
gaunt monster. Hunger, was finally hushed. In festive
rejoicings and inordinate fulness we spent three days
at Mombiti.
A fresh troop of porters was here engaged to relieve
the long-sufiering people, and with renewed spirits and
rekindled vigour, and with reserve stores of luxuries
on our shoulders, we plunged into the jungle in the
direction of the Monangah valley and Usiha, in pre-
ference to the ever-troubled route by Usanda, Nguru,
and Masari. Mirambo, it was reported, was also in the
neighbourhood of Masari, and hovering about our path
like a phantom.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
CAMP GARDNER. 135
During the second day's march from Mombiti, 1875.
Gardner, one of the faithful followers of Livingstone i^^*"
during his last journey, succumbed to a severe attack Gardner."
of typhoid fever. We conveyed the body to camp, and
having buried him, raised a cairn of stones over his
grave at the junction of two roads, one leading to
Usiha, the other to Iramba. His last words were, " I
know I am dying. Let my money (370 dollars), which is
in charge of Tarya Topan of Zanzibar, be divided. Let a
half be given to my friend Chumah, and a half be
given to these my friends — pointing to the Wangwana
— ^that they may make the mourning-feast." In honour
of this faithful, the camp is called after his name —
** Camp Gktrdner."
A gradual descent from the ridges and wavy upland
brought us to the broad, brown valley of the Leewumbu,
or the Monangah river, as the Wasukuma now called
the river. At the ford in this season the Monangah
was 30 yards wide and 3 feet deep, with a current
of about a mile an hour, but discoloured marks high
above its present level denote a considerable rise during
the rainy season. A few hills on the south bank showed
the same features of the silicified fejdspathic rock visible
near the Qogo stream. Giraffe were numerous, feed-
ing on the dwarf acacia, but the country was too open
to permit my approaching them. However, I succeeded
in dropping a stray springbok in a hunting excursion
which I made in the evening.
On leaving the Monangah, we struck northerly across
a pathless country seamed with elephant tracks, rhino-
ceros wallows, and gullies which contained pools of
grey muddy water. Four miles from the river, Kirira
Peak bore W.N.W., Usanda west by north, Wanhinni
N.N.W., and Samui west by south. A chain of hill-
cones ran from Samui to Wanhinni.
Surmounting a ridge which bounded the valley of
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
136 TUROUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. the Monangah on the north, and following its crest
'u h^ westerly, we arrived on the morning of the 17th
February at Eastern TJsiha. When in sight of their
conical cotes, we despatched one of our native guides
ahead, to warn the natives that a caravan of Wangwana
was approaching, and to bear messages of peace and
goodwill. But in his absence, one of the Kinyamwezi
asses set up a terrific braying, which nearly created
serious trouble. It appears that on one of his former
raids the terrible Mirambo possessed a Kinyamwezi ass
which also brayed, and, like the geese of the Roman
Capitol, betrayed the foe. Hence the natives insisted,
despite the energetic denial of our guide, that this ass
must also belong to Mirambo, and for a short period he
was in a perilous state. They seized and bound him,
and would probably have despatched him had not the
village scouts returned laughing heartily- at the fright
the vicious ass had caused.
Usiha is the commencement of a most beautiful
pastoral country, which tenninates only in the Victoria
Nyanza. From the summit of one of the weird grey
rock piles which characterize it, one may enjoy that
unspeakable fascination of an apparently boundless
horizon. On all sides there stretches toward it the face
of a vast circle replete with peculiar features, of detached
hills, great crag-masses of riven and sharply angled
rock, and outcropping mounds, between which heaves
and rolls in low, broad waves a green grassy plain
whereon feed thousands of cattle scattered about in
small herds.
As fondly as the Wangwana with their suffering
vitals lingered over their meals in the days of plenty
at Mombiti, so fondly did I gloat over this expanding
extent, rich in contrasts and pleasing surprises. Fresh
from the tawny plains of Monangah, with its thirsty
and sere aspect, I was as gratified as though I possessed
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
IN A LAND OF PLENTY. 137
the wand of an enchanter, and had raised around me 1875.
the verdant downs of Sussex. I seated myself apart, ^^., ^^
on the topmost grey rock. Only my gunbearer was
near me, and he always seemed intuitively to know
my moods. I revelled therefore undisturbed in the
bland and gracious prospect. The voices of the Wan-
gwana came to me now and again faint by distance, and
but for this I might, as I sat thfere, have lost myself in
the delusion that all the hideous past and beautiful
present was a dream.
After the traveller has performed his six hundred
miles from the ocean to Usiha, however phlegmatic he
may be, he will surely glow with pleasure when he
views this fair scene of promise. The delicious smell of
cattle and young grass comes up from the plain quick,
and reminds one of home-farm memories, of milk and
cheese, and secret dippings into cream-pots, and from
the staked bomas and the hedge-encircled villages there
rise to my hearing the bleating of young calves, and
the lowing of the cows as they looked interested
towards the village, and I could see flocks of kids and
goats, and sheep with jealously watchful shepherd-boys
close by — the whole prospect so peaceful and idyllic
that it made a strangely affecting impression on me.
Daybreak of the 19 th February saw the refreshed
Expedition winding up and down the rolling pasture-
land, escorted by hundreds of amiable natives who
exchanged pleasant jests with our people, and laughed
recklessly and boisterously to show us that they were
glad we had visited their country. " Come yet again/*
said they, as they turned to go back after escorting us
three miles on our way. ** Come always, and you will
be welcome."
We thoroughly enjoyed marching with such a broad
prospect on either hand. We felt free, and for the
first time enjoyed something of the lordly feeling to
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Feb. 19.
UftihA.
138 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. which it 18 said man is bom, but to which we had
cei-tainly been strangers between the ocean and the
grassy plains of Usukuma. One half the distance,
it appears to me, we had ploughed our way through
the lower regions of vegetation — the dense intermeshed
tangle of a full-grown jungle — or we had crawled about
like an army of ants, with the ordinary grasses of the
maritime lands, the Luwamberri and the Monangali
plains, towering like a forest of cane above our heads.
The myombo forests of Uveriveri, and wood-clad ridges
— drained by the crystal-clear streams and rivulets
which supply the furthest waters to Egypt's sacred
river — though tolerably open, did not inspire. us with
such a large, indescribable sense of fre^om as the
open short-grass lands in which we now found ourselves.
A fair idea of the rugged rock-heaps which relieved a
landscape that might otherwise have been monotonous
may be obtained from the photograph of Wezi's rocks.
They are extremely picturesque from their massiveness
and eccentricity, which distance increases and charms
into ruined castles or antique human dwellings.
Tillages were numerous between Usiha and Wandui.
Sweet springs bubbled from all sides, especially from
the opposing bases of the granite ridges which, like
walls, flank the broad natural avenue, at the upper end
of which stands the capital of the king of Usiha, shaded
by glorious baobab and bowery masses of milk-weed.
As we were marching from Wandui to Mondo, on
the 20th February, we were once again mistaken by
the warlike natives for Mirambo, but the mistake went
no farther than war-cries, long, low, and melodious,
caught up by hundreds of clear voices, and a demon-
strative exhibition of how they would have exterminated
us had we been really and truly Mirambo. In propor-
tion as Mirambo haunts their vicinity, so do the natives
appear to be possessed and disturbed. Wandui and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THBOUGE OPEN COUNTRY. 139
Uslha become suddenly exercised at seeing their cattle 1875.
Feb. 2h
Abaddi.
run frightened from some prowling beast, and im- ^^^-^^^
mediately the cry of " Mirambo, Mirambo !" is raiRcd,
and from every height the alarming cry is echoed,
until from Usiha to Usanda, and from Masari north
to Usman, the dread name is repeated. Then two
neighbours, finding it was a mistake, quarrel with each
other, and begin fighting, and in the midst of their
local war Mirambo veritably appears, as though from
the ground, and attacks both !
North of Mondo, as far as Abaddi, or Baddi — some-
times Abatti — the country rolled, clear and open,
like a treeless park, with scarcely a single shrub or
tree. The grass was only an inch high. The rock-
crowned hills were, however, still frequent features.
All the male adults of Abaddi stalked about stark
naked, but their women Tjrere clad with stiff skins
and half tanned cowhides. The herds of cattle and
flocks of goats and sheep absolutely whitened the
glorious park country.
The following brief list of prices will serve to illus-
trate this extraordinary land of plenty : —
Price» at Ahaddu
loz . • • 6 yards of sheetmg.
Igoftt 2 „ „
1 sheep 2 „ „
1 chicken .1 necklace.
6 chickens 2 yards of sheeting.
40 kubaba of Mtama .... 4 „ „
Prices in Ugogo,
lox 48 yards of sheeting.
Igoat 12 „ „
1 sheep 10 „ „
1 chicken From 5 to 10 necklacea
6 chickens 12 yards of sheeting.
40 kubaba of Mtama . • . . 16 „ „
The villages of this part of Usukuma are surrounded
by hedges of euphorbias, milk-weed, the juice of which
is most acrid, and when a drop is spattered over such
a tender organ as the eye, the pain is almost intolerable.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
i
140 TEBOUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. My poor bull-terrier Jack, while chasing a mongoose
^^' ^^' into one of these hedges, quite lost the use of one eye.
Our next camp was Marya, fifteen miles north by east
Mag. from Mondo, and 4800 feet above the sea. We
were still in view of the beautiful rolling plain, with its
rock-crested hills, and herds of cattle, and snug villages,
but the people, though Wasukuma, were the noi&iest
and most impudent of any we had yet met. One of the
chiefs insisted on opening the door of the tent while I
was resting after the long march. I heard the tent-boys
remonstrate with him, but did not interfere until the
chief forcibly opened the door, when the bull-dogs
" Bull " and ** Jack," who were also enjoying a well-
earned repose, sprang at him suddenly and pinned
his hands. The terror of the chief was indescribable,
as he appeared to believe that the white man in the
tent had been transformed into two ferocious dogs, so
little was he prepared for such a reception. I quickly
released him from his position, and won his gratitude
and aid in restoring the mob of natives to a more
moderate temper.
A march of seventeen miles north by west across a
waterless jungle brought us on the 24th to South
Usmau. Native travellers in this country possess
native bells of globular form with which, when setting
out on a journey, they ring most alarming though not
inharmonious sounds, to waken the women to their
daily duties.
The journey to Hulwa in North Usmau was begun
by plunging through a small forest at the base of some
rocky hills which had been distinctly visible from Marya,
thirty-one miles south. A number of monkeys lined
their summits, gazing contemptuously at the long string
of bipeds condemned to bear loads. We then descended
into a broad and populous basin, wherein villages
with their milk-weed hedges appeared to be only so
many verdant circlets. Great fragments and heaps of
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
NEARINQ THE LAKE.
141
1875
Feb. 26
Gamba-
chika.
riven granite, gneiss, and trap rock, were still seen
cresting the hills in irregular forms.
Through a similar scene we travelled to Gambachika,
in North Usmau, which is at an altitude of 4600 feet
above the sea, and fourteen miles from Hulwa. As we
approached the settlement, we caught a glimpse to the
far north of the mountains of Urirwi, and to the north-
east of the Manassa heights which, we were informed
by the natives, formed the shores of the great lake.
On the morning of the 27th Tebruary we rose up
early, and braced ourselves for the long march of
nineteen mileS, which ter-
minated at 4 P.M. at the
village ot Kagehyi.
The people were as
keenly alive to the import-
ance of this day's march,
and as fully sensitive to
what this final journey to
Kagehyi promised their ,
wearied frames, as we Eu-
ropeans. They, as well as -
ourselves, looked forward
to many weeks of rest
from our labours and to an
abundance of good food.
When the bugle sounded the signal to "Take the
road," the Wanyamwezi and Wangwana responded
to it with cheers, and loud cries of " Ay indeed, ay
indeed, please God;' and their goodwill was con-
tagious. The natives, who had mustered strongly to
witness our departure, were affected by it, and stimu-
lated our people by declaring that the lake was not
very far off — " but two or three hours' walk.*'
We dipped into the basins and troughs of the land,
surmounted ridge after ridge, crossed watercourses, and
ravines, passed by cultivated fields, and through villages
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MNTAMWEZI PAOAZI.
142 thbouge: the dark continent.
1875. smelling strongly of cattle, by good-natured groups of
l^V' natives, until, ascending a long gradual slope, we heard,
on a sudden, hurrahing in front, and then we too, with
the lagging rear, knew that those in the van were in
view of the Great Lake !
Frank Pocock impetuously strode forward until he
gained the brow of the hill. He took a long sweeping
look at something, waved his hat, and came down to-
wards us, his face beaming with joy, as he shouted
out enthusiastically with the fervour of youth and high
spirits, ** I have seen the Lake, Sir, and it is grand !"
Frederick Barker, riding painfully on an ass, and
sighing wearily from illness and the length of the
journey, lifted his head to smile his thanks to his
comrade.
Presently we also reached the brow of the hill, where
we found the expedition halted, and the first quick view
revealed to us a long broad arm of water, which a
dazzling sun transformed into silver, some 600 feet
below us, at the distance of three miles.
A more careful and detailed view of the scene showed
us that the hill on which we stood sloped gradually
to the broad bay or gulf edged by a line of green wavy
reeds and thin groves of umbrageous trees scattered
along the shore, on which stood several small villages
of conical huts. Beyond these, the lake stretched like
a silvery plain far to the eastward, and away across
to a boundary of dark blue hills and mountains, while
several grey rocky islets mocked us at first with an
illusion of Arab dhows with white sails. The Wan-
yamwezi struck up the song of triumph : —
Sing, friends, sing ; the journey is ended :
Sing aloud, friends ; sing to the great Nyanza.
Sing all, sing loud, friends, sing to the great sea;
GiTe your last look to the lands behind and then turn to the sea.
Long tune ago you left your lands.
Your wives and children, your brothers and your friends;
Tell me, have you seen a sea like this
Since you loft the great salt sea?
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
•j EAr£ SEEN TEE LAKE, SIB!'' 143
CH0BU8. Ig75
Then smg, friends, dng ; the jonrney is ended : F«b. 27.
Sing aloud, friend; sing to this great sea. KAgthyL
This sea is fresh, is good, and sweet;
Tour sea is salt, and bad, unfit to drink.
This sea is like wine to drink for thirsty men;
The salt sea— bah 1 it makes men sick.
Lift up your heads, men, and gaze around;
Try if you can see its end.
See, it stretches moons away.
This great, sweet, fresh-water sea.
We come from Usukuma land.
The land of pastures, cattle, sheep and goats,
The land of braves, warriors, and strong men.
And, lol this is the far-known Usukuma sea.
Ye friends, ye scorned at us in other days.
Ah, ha! Wangwana. What say ye now?
Ye haye seen the land, its pastures and its herds.
Ye now see the &r-known Usukuma sea.
Eaduma's land is just below;
He is rich in cattle, sheep, and goats.
The Msun^ is rich in cloth and beads;
His hand is open, and his heart is free.
To-morrow the Msungu must make us strong
With meat and beer, wine and grain.
We shall dance and play the livelong day.
And eat and drink, and sing and play.
I have in the above (as Kteral a translation as I can
render it) made no attempt at rhyme — nor, indeed, did
the young, handsome, and stalwart Corypheus who
delivered the harmonious strains with such startling
effect. The song, though extemporised, was eminently
dramatic, and when the chorus joined in, it made the
hills ring with a wild and strange harmony. Re-ani-
mated by the cheerful music, we flung the flags to the
breeze, and filed slowly down the slopes towards the
fields of Kagehyi,
About half a mile from the villages we were surprised
by seeing hundreds of warriors decked with feathered
head-dresses and armed to the teeth, advancing on the
run towards us, and exhibiting, as they came, their
dexterity with bows and arrows and spears. They had
at first been alarmed at the long procession filing down
the hill, imagining that we were the ubiquitous Mirambo
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
144
1875.
Feb. 27.
Kagehju
THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT
and his force, but, though discovering their error, they
still thought it too good an opportunity to be lost for
showing their bravery, and therefore amused us with
this byplay. Sungoro Tarib, an Arab resident at
Kagehyi, also despatched a messenger with words of
welcome, and an invitation to us to make Kagehyi
our camp, as Prince Kaduma, chief of Kagehyi, was
his faithful ally.
VIEW OF KAOEHTI FROM THE EDGE OF THE LAKE.
iFrom a photograph,)
In a short time we had entered the wretched-looking
village, and Kaduma was easily induced by Sungoro to
proffer hospitalities to the strangers. A small conical
hut about 20 feet in diameter, badly lighted, and with
a strong smell of animal matter — its roof swarmed with
bold rats, which, with a malicious persistence, kept
popping in and out of their nests in the straw roof, and
rushing over the walls — was placed at my disposal as
a store-room. Another small hut was presented to
Frank Pocock and Fred Barker as their quarters.
In summing up, during the evening of our arrival at
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
WELCOMED AT KAQEHYL
H5
this rude village on the Nyanza, the number of statute
miles travelled by us, as measured by two rated pedo-
meters and pocket watch, I ascertained it to be 720.
The time occupied — from November 17, 1874, to
February 27, 1875, inclusive — was 103 days, divided
into 70 marching and 33 halting days, by which it will
VOL. I. — 10
1875.
Feb. 27.
Kegehyi.
FBAKK POCOCK. {From a photograph hy the Author at Kagehyi.)
be perceived that our marches averaged a little over 10
miles per day. But as halts are imperative, the more
correct method of ascertaining the rate of travel would
be to include the time occupied by halts and marches,
and divide the total distance by the number of days
occupied. This reduces the rate to 7 miles per diem.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
146 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT
Feb. 28.
Kagehyi.
CHAPTER VIT.
A burzah held — Paying off recraits — Eagehyi becomes a great trading
centre — A Central African "toper" — Prince Eadiuna — Hopes of
assistance from him relinqnish^ ~ The boat ready for sea — No
volunteers— Selecting my crew — The start for the circumnavigation
of Lake Victoria.
1875. We all woke up on the morning of the 28th February
With a feehng of intense rehef. There were no more
marches, no more bugle summons to rouse us up for
another fatiguing day, no more fear of hunger — at least
for a season.
We Europeans did not rise from bed until 8 a.m.,
and we then found the Wangwana and Wanyamwezi
still extended at their full lengths on their mats and
goat-skins, and peacefully reposing after their fatigues ;
and had I not finally sallied out into the open air at this
hour, I believe that Sungoro and Kaduma, who, by
the bye, were inseparable friends, would, from motives
of delicacy, have refrained from paying a morning
call, supposing that I should need many hours of
rest.
At 9 A.M. a burzahy or levee, was held. First came
Frank and Fred — now quite recovered from fever — to
bid me good morning, and to congratulate themselves
and me upon the prospective rest before us. Next came
the Wangwana and Wanyamwezi chiefs, to express
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Kng«hyi
ON THE GREAT LAKE. 147
a hope that I had slept well, and after them the bold 1875.
youths of the Expedition ; then came Prince Kaduma ^*^ ^^'
and Sungoro, to whom we were bound this day to
render an account of the journey and to give the
latest news from Zanzibar; and, lastly, the princess
and her principal friends — for introductions have to be
undergone in this land as in others. The burzah lasted
two hours, after which my visitors retired to pursue
their respective avocations, which I discovered to be
principally confined, on the part of the natives, to
gOMiiping, making or repairing fishing-nets, hatchets,
canoes, food-troughs, village fences, and huts, and on
the part of our people to arranging plans for building
their own grass-huts, being perfectly content to endure
a long stay at Kagehyi.
Though the people had only their own small domestic
affairs to engage their attentions, and Frank and Fred
were for this day relieved from duty, I had much to do
— observations to take to ascertain th«) position of
Kagehyi, and its altitude above the sea; to prepare
paper, pens, and ink for the morrow*s report to the
journals which had despatched me to this remote and
secluded part of the globe ; to make calculations of the
time Kkely to be occupied in a halt at Kagehyi, in
preparing and equipping the Lady Alice for sea, and
in circumnavigating the great " Nianja," as the Wasu-
kuma call the lake. It was also incumbent upon me
to ascertain the political condition of the country
before leaving the port and the camp, that my mind
might be at rest about its safety during my con-
templated absence. Estimates were also to be entered
upon as to the quantity of cloth and beads likely to be
required for the provisioning of the expeditionary
force during my absence, and as to the amount of
tribute and presents to be bestowed upon the King of
Uchambi — of which Kagehyi was only a small district,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
148 TUROVQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. and to whom Prince K^duma was only a subordinate
March 1. ^^^ tributary. In brief, my own personal work was
^* but begim, and pages would not suffice to describe in
detail the full extent of the new duties now devolving
upon me.
During the afternoon the Wasukuma recruits were
summoned to receive farewell gifts, and nearly all were
discharged. Then 13 doti of cloth were measured for
the King of Uchambi, and 10 doti for Prince Kaduma ;
and beads were also given in proportion — the expecta-
tions of these two magnates and their favourite wives
being thus satisfactorily realized. These grave affairs
were not to be disposed of as mere trivialities, and
occupied me many hours of our second day's life at
Kagehyi. Meanwhile the Wangwana and Wanyamwezi
required me to show my appreciatioh of their fidelity
to me during the march, and chiefs and men received
accordingly substantial tokens thereof. Besides new
cloths to wear, and beads to purchase luxuries, I was
expected to furnish them with meat for a banquet ; and
in accordance with their just wishes, six bulloclcs
were purchased and slaughtered for their benefit. In
addition to which, as a banquet would be rather tame
without wine for cheer, twenty gallons of pombi —
beer in a state of natural fermentation — ^were distri-
buted. To satisfy all which demands and expectations,
three full bales of cloth and 120 lbs. of beads were
disbursed.
On the evening of the second day, I was rewarded
for my liberality when I saw the general contentment,
and heard on all sides expressions of esteem and renewed
loyalty.
Nor were Frank and Fred forgotten, for I gave per-
mission for them to issue for themselves, each day while
in camp, four yards of cloth, or two fundo of beads, to
be expended as they thought fit, over and above ration
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
KAGEETI BECOMES A TBABING CENTBE. 149
money. Small as this may seem, it was really equal 1875.
March 1-
Kagehyi.
to a gift of 4^. per day pocket money. Though they **"^*^^ ^"^
lived on similar food to that cooked for myself, I
observed that they chose to indulge in many things
which I could not digest, or for which I had no appe-
tite, such as ground-nuts, ripe bananas, plantains, and
parched green corn. Fred Barker was remarkably
partial to these things. This extra pocket-money
also served to purchase a larger quantity of milk, eggs,
chickens, and rice from the Wasukuma and Sungoro.
My daily fare at this time consisted principally of
chickens, sweet potatoes, milk, tea, and coffee. Pocock
and Barker varied this diet with rice, with which
Sungoro furnished them, and bread made of Indian
com and millet.
The village of Kagehyi, in the Uchambi district
and country of Usukuma, became after our arrival a
place of great local importance. It attracted an unusual
number of native traders from all sides within a radius
of twenty or thirty miles. Fishermen from Ukerewe,
whose purple hills we saw across the arm of the lake,
came in their canoes, with stores of dried fish ; those
of Igusa, Sima, and Magu, east of us in Usukuma,
brought their cassava, or manioc, and ripe bananas ;
the herdsmen of Usmau, thirty miles south of Kagehyi,
sent their oxen ; and the tribes of Muanza — famous
historically as being the point whence Speke first saw
this broad gulf of Lake Victoria — brought their hoes,
iron wire, and salt, besides great plenty of sweet
potatoes and yams.
Reports of us were carried far along the paths of
trade to the countries contiguous to tlie highways of
traffic, because we were in a land which had been,
from time immemorial, a land of gossip and primitive
commerce, and a small band of peaceful natives,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Kagehji.
150 TEBOUQE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. accustomed to travel, might explore hundreds of
*^^'^J^* square miles in Usukuma without molestation. But
though UnyanyemM, and through it Zanzibar, might
receive within a few months reliable information about
our movements, there were countries in the imme-
diate neighbourhood of Kagehyi whither traders never
venture, which were for ever cut off from the interesting
intelligence that there were three white men on the
shores of the lake, who were said to be most amiable
and sociable, Ujiji, far away on Lake Tanganika,
might be set to wondering whether they had come
from Masr (Cairo) or from Zanzibar, but Wirigedi,
close at hand here, on Speke Gulf, might still be in
profound ignorance of the arrival. Mtesa of Uganda
might prick his ears at the gratifying intelligence, and
hope they would soon visit him, while Ukara, though
only about twenty-five geographical miles from Kagehyi,
might be excluded for ever from discussing the strange
topic. The natives of Karagwe and their gentle king
might be greatly exercised in their minds with the
agreeable news, and wonder whether they, in their
turn, should ever see the white men, and yet Komeh,
300 miles nearer to us, might only hear of the wonder-
ful event years after our departure ! Thus it is that
information is only conveyed along the lines of trafiSc,
and does not filter into those countries which are
ostracized from common interests and events by the
reputed ferocity of their inhabitants and their jealous
hostility to strangers, even though they may actually
border upon the localities where those interests and
events are freely discussed.
Prince Kaduma, truth compels me to state^ is a true
Central African ** toper" — ^a naturally amiable man,
whose natural amiability might be increased to enor-
mous proportions, provided that it was stimulated
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A VICTIM TO POMBR 151
odless supplies of pombe. From perpetual indul- 1875.
e in liis favourite vice, he has already attained to ^Vt^'
blear-eyed, thick-tongued, hnsky-voiced state from
h only months of total abstinence can redeem a
In his sober moments — I cannot say hours —
h were soon after he rose in the morning, he pre-
id to manifest an interest in his cattle-yard, and to I
eeply alive to the importance of doing something
le way of business whenever opportunities offered:
ict, he would sometimes go so far as to say to his
dozen elders that he had something in view even k ,U I
— " but we must have a shauri first." Becoming ' ^
3dingly interested, the elders would invite him
3eak, and instantly assume that wise, thoughtful,
e aspect which you sometimes see in members
Parliament, Congress, Reichstag, Ac. **Ah, but,"
uraa would say, "does a man work when he is
^? Can he talk when he is thirsty?" The i ^1 |
's slily exchange winks and nods of approval,
vhich Kaduma bursts into a hoarse chuckle —
T a laugh — for Kaduma is remarkable for possess-
the conceit of humour. Others may laugh at
dry sayings, but he himself never laughs: he ;;
kles.
le great jar of froth-topped pomb^* is then brought [
y a naked youth of fourteen or fifteen years, who 1
[ceedingly careful to plant the egg-bottomed jar
[y in the ground lest it should topple over. Be-
it is conveniently placed Kaduma's favourite
king-cup, as large as a quart measure, and cut
)f a symmetrically shaped gourd. Kaduma is now
^d on a favourite low stool, and folds his greasy
ixi cloth about him, while the elders are seated on
)r side of him on wood chips, or axe handles,
^ Native beer, made from fermented grain or coarse flour.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Kagehji
152 THROUGH THE DAEK CONTINENT.
1875. or rocks. The foaming jar is ready, and the dusky
^kIm^tl G^a^y^ede attentive. Kaduma stretches out his hand
languidly — it is all affectation, for Kaduma is really»
thirsty — and Ganymede, with both hands, presents the
cup kneeling. The pombe being broached, the valves
of the " shauri " are opened. During the hour devoted
to the consumption of the pombe, Kaduma may be
said to be rational, and even interested in business.
Withal he is gay, light-hearted, and pleasant in conver-
sation; grand projects are hinted at; trading expedi-
tions even as far as Ujiji suggested ; a trip to Unyan-
yembe and Zanzibar appears to be in serious contem-
plation with him. But, alas! the pomb^ is ended.
Kaduma goes to sleep. At three o'clock he expands
again into a creature of intelligence. Two or three
pots are exhausted between 3 and 6 p.m., and finally
Kaduma reels to his cot like the inebriated sot he
really is. Alas ! for the virtues of a naturally intel-
ligent nature drowned by such intemperance ! Alas !
for the fine attributes of manhood conquered by vile
indulgences! Alas! for the brains muddled by such
impurities !
It will be apparent, then, that, though the Prince of
Kagehyi is a well-meaning and well-disposed creature,
he possessed an infirmity that rt;ndered him incapable
of rendering me that service which he had himself
suggested to me. He promised that he would accom-
pany me in my exploration of Lake Victoria ! It is to
be doubted, after acquiring such a knowledge of his
character, whether his intentions could be fulfilled.
Yet he informed me that he had visited Ukerewe,
Ururi, and Ugeyeya, and would, for a consideration,
place himself at my disposal. The consideration was
ready, but Kaduma, unfortunately for me, I saw, could
not be ready within a decade ! Hopes of his assistance
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
FBINCE EADUMA. 153
and influence were therefore relinquished; and, since 1875.
the chief was not available, it became evident that none "^/
9f his people could be obtained for the service of ex-
ploration. Without this insight into Kaduma*8 life and
manners, it would have been a matter for fair specula-
tion whether his weakness and intemperance, or his
dread of the vast lake, were the real causes of his
reluctance to accompany me.
The prince was learned in the names of several
countries or villages — but which they were, I was then
ignorant. But if every name he repeated to my in-
terested ears were the names of real countries, then, I
began to think, it might be true, as he himself believed,
that the lake was so large that its exploration would
occupy years. Nearly all the Wangwana, while the
Lady Alice was being prepared for sea, were impressed
with the vastness of the enterprise, as Prince Kaduma,
his people, Sungoro, and his slaves — who had really
only reached Ururi — sketched it to them with their
superstitious and crude notions of its size. There were,
they said, a people dwelling on its shores who were
gifted with tails ; another who trained enormous and
fierce dogs for war ; another a tribe of cannibals, who
preferred human flesh to all other kinds of meat. The
lake was so large it would take years to trace its shores,
and who then at the end of that time would remain
alive ? Therefore, as I expected, there were no volun-
teers for the exploration of the Great Lake. Its
opposite shores, from their very vagueness of outline,
and its people, from the distorting fogs of misrepre-
sentation through which we saw them, only heightened
the fears of my men as to the dangers which filled the
prospect.
Within seven days the boat was ready, and strength-
ened for a rough sea life. Provisions of flour and dried
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
154 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
]g75, fish, bales of cloth and beads of various kinds, odds
March 8. ^^(j ends of Small possible necessaries were boxed, and
^H^y^ji- she was declared, at last, to be only waiting for her
crew. " Would any one volunteer to accompany me ? **
A dead silence ensued. **Not for rewards and
extra pay ? ** Another dead silence : no one would
volunteer.
** Yet I must,** said I, " depart. Will you let me go
alone?"
" No.'*
** What then ? Show me my braves — those men
who freely enlist to follow their master roimd the sea.**
All were again dumb. Appealed to individually,
each said he knew nothing of sea life ; each man frankly
declared himself a terrible coward on water.
"Then, what am I to do?"
Manwa Sera said : —
** Master, have done with these questions. Command
your party. All your people are your children, and
they will not disobey you. While you ask them as a
friend, no one will offer his services. Command them,
and they will all go."
So I selected a chief, Wadi Safeni — ^the son of Safeni
— and told him to pick out the elect of the young men.
Wadi Safeni chose men who knew nothing of boat life.
Then I called Kacheche, the detective, and told him to
ascertain the names of those young men who were
accustomed to sea life, upon which Kach^ch^ informed
me that the young guides first selected by me at Baga-
moyo were the sailors of the Expedition. After reflect-
ing upon the capacities of the younger men, as they
had developed themselves on the road, I made a list
of ten sailors and a steersman, to whose fidelity I was
willing to entrust myself and fortunes while coasting
round the Victorian Sea.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BPEKE QULF. 155
Accordingly, after drawing up instructions for Frank 1875.
Pocock and Fred Barker on about a score of matters ^•'^ ^
concerning the wellbeing of the Expedition during my ^ ' " •
absence, and enlisting for them, by an adequate gift, the
goodwill of Sungoro and Prince Kaduma, I set sail on
the 8th March 1875, eastward along the shores of the
broad arm of the lake which we first sighted, and
which henceforward is known, in honour of its first
discoverer, as ** Speke Gulf.**
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
150 TBHOUOH TEE DAMK CONTINENT:
CHAPTER VIII.
Afloat on the lake — We catch a guide — Saramha's terror — The
Shimeeyn — Pyramid Point — The island of Ukerew6— In the
haunts of crocodiles — Shizu Island — The hippopotami — TJruii —
The headlands of Goshi — Bridge Island — Volcanoes — U-go-weh —
The inehriates of Ugamha — Treachery at Maheta — Prhuitiye man
— The art of pleasing — A night at Uvuma — Mohhed by "Wavuma
— Barmecide fare — Message from Mtesa — '* In the Eabaka's name "
— Camp on Soweh Island.
1875. Afloat on the waters of Speke Gulf! The sky is
s krouif g^o^^y ^^d *^® h'ght grey water has become a dull
ashen grey ; the rocks are bare and rugged ; and the
land, sympathizing with the gloom above, appears
silent and lonely. The people sigh dolorously, their
rowing is as that of men who think they are bound
to certain death, and now and again wistful looks
are thrown towards me as though they expected an
order to return. Their hearts are full of misgivings.
Slowly, however, we move through the dull, dead
waters ; slowly we pass by the dull grey rocks of Lutari
Point, and still slower do the boatmen row when the
rugged rocks shut off the view of Kagehyi and front
them with their bare rude masses.
Five miles brought us to Igusa, a settlement doubtless
pleasant enough under a fair sky, but bearing this
afternoon its share of the universal gloom. Without a
guide or interpreter, we bore in for a little reed-lined
creek. A fisherman, with a head of hair resembling
a thick mop, came down to the boat. He had, it seems,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Igoia.
BABAMBA, THE GUIDE. 157
visited Kagehyi two or three days before, and recog- 1875.
nized us. A better acquaintance was soon begun, and ^^^^'
ended in his becoming captivated with our promises
of rewards and offering his services as guide. The
boatmen were overjoyed; for the guide, whose name
was Saramba, proved to have been one of Sungoro*s
boatmen in some of that Arab's trading excursions to
Ururi. We passed a cheerless night, for the reeds
turned out to be the hauut of a multitude of mos-
quitoes, and the air was cold. However, with Saramba
as guide, we promised ourselves better quarters in
future.
At 6 A.M., after Saramba*s appearance, we resumed
our voyage, and continued on our way eastward,
clinging to the shores of Sima. At 1 1 a.m. the clouds,
which had long been gathering over the horizon to the
north-west, discharged both squall and gale, and the
scene soon became wild beyond description. We
steered from the shore, and were soon involved in the
dreadful chaos of watery madness and uproar. The
wind swept us over the fierce waves, the Lady Alice
bounding forward like a wild courser. It lashed the
waters into spray and foam, and hurled them over the
devoted crew and boat. With a mere rag presented to
the gale, we drove unresistingly along. Strange islets
in the neighbourhood of Mashakka became then objects
of terror to us, but we passed them in safety and saw
the grey hills of Magu far in front of us. The boat-
men cowered to windward : Saramba had collapsed in
terror, and had resignedly covered his moppy head
with his loin-cloth. Zaidi Mganda, the steersman, and
myself were the only persons visible above the gun-
wale, and our united strengths were required to guide
the boat over the raging sea. At 2 p.m. we came in
view of the Shimeeyu river, and, steering close to the
little island of Natwari, swept round to leeward, and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
158 THROUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. through a calm water made our way into harbour,
^^ ^^* opposite the entrance to the river.
** The next day was beautiful. The wild waters of
yesterday were calm as those of a pond. The bold
hills of Magu, with all their sere and treeless outlines,
stood out in fine relief. Opposite them, at about
1300 yards distant, were the brush-covered tops of the
Mazanza heights ; while between them lay glittering
the broad and noble creek which receives the tribute
flood of the Shimeeyu, the extreme southern reach of
Nile waters. The total length of the course of this
river, as laid out on the chart, is 3'JO miles, which
gives the course of the Nile a length of 4200 miles:
thus making it the second largest river in the world.
The creek extends to a considerable distance, and then
contracts to a width of about 400 yards, through which
the Monangah, after uniting with the Luwamberri
and the Duma rivers, discharges its brown waters,
under the name of the Shimeeyu, into the lake.
After an examination of these features, we continued
our journey along the coast of Mazanza, which forms
the eastern shore of the bay of Shimeeyu, passing
by the boldly rising and wooded hills of Manassa.
At 4 P.M. we attempted to land in a small cove, but
were driven away by a multitude of audacious hippo-
potami, who rushed towards us open-mouthed. Per-
ceiving that they were too numerous and bold for us,
we were compelled to drop our stone anchors in 40 feet
of water, about two miles from shore.
On the 11th March, after rowing nearly the whole
day against a head-wind, we amved at the eastern end
of Speke Gulf, which here narrows to about seven miles.
On the southern side, Manassa extends from Mazanza,
its coast-line marked by an almost unbroken ridge
about two miles inland, varied here and there by
rounded knolls and hills, from whose base there is a
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
PYRAMID POINT. 159
gradual slope covered with woods down to the water s 1875.
edge. The eastern end of the gulf is closed by the land ^^'^^Jn^i^*
of the Wirigedi or, as Saramba called them, the Wajika. Point.
At the north-eastern end begins Shahshi, consisting of
a group of sterile hills, which, as we proceed west along
the north side of the gulf, sink down into a naked plain.
The Euana river empties itself into the head of the gulf
by two narrow mouths through a low wooded shore.
On the 12th we continued to coast along Shahshi*s
low, bare plain, margined at the water's edge by eschi-
nomen», and a little farther inland lined by mimosa,
thence past Iramba, a similar country to Shahshi, until
we reached Pyramid Point, so christened from the
shape of its hills, but on running up into the bay
(which has its greatest width at Rugedzi Strait), we
found that* Pyramid Point really forms the south-
western end of a mountain-range. One of the most
conspicuous objects we saw, as we stood on the uplands
of Usmau, looking towards the N.N.E., was this
Pyramid Point, but at that time we had, of course,
only a dim idea of its neighbourhood to the lake.
Near the Point is a group of small islands, the
principal being Kitaro, on which cattle and goats are
found. Though the islanders obtain but a scanty sub-
sistence from the soil, they find reason to congratulate
themselves in that they are safe from the periodical
raids made by the Wajika, or Wirigedi, a tribe un-
pleasantly distinguished for the length of their knives
and the breadth and weight of their spears. On one
of this group, which was iminhabited, we stayed to
cook our mid-day meal. It appeared fair and pleasant
enough from without — one mass of deepest verdure,
with a cone rising about 100 feet above the lake.
Upon exploring it, we found it to be a heap of gigantic
rocks, between which the deposit of vegetable matter
had given birth to a forest of young trees, the spread-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Nifnah.
160 THROUQE THB DARK CONTINENT.
1875. ing green foliage of which was rendered still more
Mnrch 13. impervious to sunshine by a multitude of parasitical
plants and llianes, which had woven the whole into as
thick and dense a shade as I ever remember to have
seen. Below this mass of tangled branch and leaf the
thermometer descends to 70^ Fahr. ; without, exposed
to the blazing sun, it ascends to 115® Fahr.
In the evening we camped on a small island in the
middle of the bay of Dkerew^, east of the beautiful isle
of Nifuah, which is inhabited and is the home of an
industrious colony subject to the king of XJkerew^.
From the summit of Nifuah we could distinguish
the tall trees which gave shade to our camp and to
Kaduma*s village of Kagehyi, across Speke Gulf. Upon
coming down to the water's edge, we saw nothing but
the blue hills, 600 feet high, situated three miles south
of Kagehyi ; nor, turning our eyes to the north, could
we see any tiling of the low shore which the Rugedzi
Channel cuts. Standing close to the water at Nifuah,
we would have imagined that Ukerewe was an island
separated by a strait about two miles broad; but
turning our boat to the north, a couple of hours' rowing
brought us so near that we could see that the opposing
point of the mainland is joined to the island, or
appears to be joined, by a very low bush-covered neck
of land a mile in width, which thus separates the waters
of Speke Gulf from the great body of Lake Victoria.
A still closer examination, however, reveals the fact
that this narrow neck is cut by a shallow channel,
6 feet wide and in some places only 3 feet deep. The
ground, though extremely low on each side, is firm and
compact enough ; but here and there it is of a boggy
nature. Hence it will be seen that Captain Speke,
who called Ukerewe an island, was literally correct
On the 13th we enjoyed a fine six-knot breeze, and
were able to make a good day s work, though we still
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Ukwya.
IN TEE HAUNTS OF CBOCODILES. 161
clung to the shore of XJkerew^ near enough to note 1875.
clearly the features of the water-line. A glance at *'*^i^'
the country of XJkerewe showed it to he exceedingly
populous and extensively cultivated. From Matembe
to Tambuyah extends a bold ridge about 300 feet
above the lake, and beyond this point is a deep indenta-
tion, called Ukwya, near the western horn of which we
perceived a group of islets named Kiregi. These are
the haunts of an immense number of crocodiles, and
one nest discovered here contained fifty-eight eggs.
At almost every step I took, when walking round one
of the reed-lined islets, a specimen of the ugly Saurian
tribe sprang with a startling rush into the lake. There
appeared also to be as many monitors as there were
crocodiles in this infested islet, and all round me, from
the little creeks, and sometimes in very close proximity,
lowed the hippopotami. I shot one of the monitors,
and it measured 7 feet from the tip of the snout to the
tip of the tail. One of the boat's crew skinned it, but,
not having means or time to preserve it, we were
finally compelled to abandon our treasure. Being
extremely keen-eyed and agile in its movements, the
monitor is a valuable auxiliary to the more indolent
crocodile, which it wakes frequently from slumber, and
by its impetuous rush at sight of the intruder saves it
from becoming a prey to the hunter. In return for its
services the greater monster furnishes it with many a
delicious meal on its eggs. The enormous number of
smaller lizards, skinks, and geckos, which these islets
also sustain, prove that the monitors have abundant
means of supplies.
From here we sailed round the coast of Wiru, and
leaving about four miles on our left the Kuneneh
group, we steered N.N.W. Mag. for the Irangara
Islands, at the north-western extremity of Ukerewe,
the shore presenting to our view throughout only a low
VOL. I. — 11
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
162 THBOUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. hill range clothed with woods. Leaving Irangara
* shi*^ ^* behind us, we emerged in view of the vast amplitude,
as though of ocean, of the Victoria Nyanza.*
After sailing past the Kamassi and Kindevi islets,
we rounded the hilly point of Masonga, and beheld on
our right, as far as Shizu Island, a broad bay, bounded
by a crescent-shaped ridge springing some 300 feet
above the lake, and extensively wooded, while on our
left lay the large and populous island of XJkara —
peopled by an intensely superstitious colony, who
cherish the most devout faith in cbarms and witchcraft.
As we rowed past Shizu Island, we beheld the table-
topped mountain of Majita rising, massive and grand, to
the eastward. On the 16th March we encamped on
one of the bird-rocks about three miles from the base
of Majita, which rises probably between 2000 and 3000
feet above the lake. From the northern angle of
Majita we sailed, on a north-east course for the district
of Wye, across a deep bay distinguished only for the
short hill range of Usambara, between which, on either
side, extends the low and almost treeless plain of
Shahshi to the waters of Speke Gulf.
From Wye we coasted along populous Ururi. The
country appears well cultivated, and villages are
numerous. Some of the Waruri fishermen informed
us we should be eight years circumnavigating the lake !
Numerous rocky islands, almost all uninhabited at this
period, stud the neighbourhood of the mainland, and
the coast is so indented with deep bays and inlets that
it requires very careful attention to survey it. Its
features are similar to those of Usukuma, namely,
swelling and uneven lines of hills, sometimes with
* Out of respect to the memory of Captain Speke, I leaye the word
Nyanza as he spelled it, adding only the explanation that none but the
Arabs and Wangwana pronounce it N'yanza. AH the native tribes and
nations round the lake pronounce it either Nee-yonja or Nee-yanza«
Niyanja or Niyanza.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
March 17
Urari,
AMONG THE HIPPOPOTAMI 163
slopes extending for three or fonr miles, more often, 1875,
as in the case of nearly all the headlands, with points
springing abrupt and sheer from the water's edge.
Wherever the ridges rise gradually and at a distance
from the lake, special advantajres for cultivation appear
to obtain, for I have noted that all such sites were
thickly populated by the tribes of Ururi, XJkerew^,
Sima, Magu, or Uchambi. A few of the Burdett-Coutts
Islands exhibited traces of having been the resort
of fugitives, for on several of them we discovered
bananas and other garden plants, and ruined huts.
We struck across the bay to Ikungu, and thence across
another to picturesque Dobo, nearly opposite Irieni.
Having arrived at anchorage at dusk, we were led
to seek shelter under the lee of one of the outlying
rocks of Dobo. We had moored both by bow and
stem, to prevent being swept by the restless surf
against the rocks, but about midnight a storm arose
from the eastward, exposing us to all its fury. We
were swept with great force against the rocks, and
should inevitably have been lost, had not the oars,
which we had lashed outside the boat as fenders, pro-
tected it Through the pelting rain, and amid tho
thunders of the aroused waves which lashed the reef,
we laboured strenuously to save ourselves, and finally
succeeded in rowing to the other lee.
Externally, the aspect of these islands on the coast
of Ururi is very rugged, bare, and unpromising, but
within are many acres of cultivable soil covered with
green grass, and the hippopotami, which abound in the
neighbourhood of these deserted, grassy islands, here
find luxurious pasturage. Like the tribes on the main-
land, these amphibiae appear to possess also their re-
spective boundaries and their separate haunts. The
hippopotami of Lake Victoria, moreover, are an exces-
sively belligerent species, and the unwary voyager, on
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
164 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. approaching their haunts, exposes himself to danger.
Warch 18. Yf^ were frequently chased by them ; and as the boat
tioD uund. was not adapted for a combat with such pachyderms,
a collision would have been fatal to us. The settlements
at Irieni possess large herds of cattle, but the soil
does not seem to be highly cultivated. In this respect
the people appear to resemble in character the Watusi
in Unyamwezi, who live only on the milk of their
cattle, and such grain as they are enabled to obtain
by its sale.
Suspecting, after leaving Irieni and approaching
Mori Bay, that a river of considerable importance
emptied into it, we paid particular attention to every
indentation on its uneven coast ; but on arriving at a
lofty though small island at the eastern extremity, and
climbing to its summit, 150 feet above the lake, we
saw that the river was small, and that its course was
from south of east. Observation Island was rich in
plants, though only a few hundred yards in length,
The wild pine-apple, mimosas, acacia, thorn, gum,
vines, euphorbias, eschinomenae, llianes, water-cane,
and spear-grass flourished with a luxuriance quite
astonishing. As we passed Utiri, we observed thai
the natives were much interested in our boat, and
some fishermen whom we encountered fell into ecstasies
of laughter when they saw the novel method we
adopted for propelling her. They mocked us good-
naturedly, and by their gestures seemed to express
contempt for the method in question, as not being
equal to paddling. The rudder and its uses also ex-
cited unusual astonishment, and when the sail was
hoisted, they skurried away as though it were an objecl
of terror.
After leaving the hilly coast of Utiri, the lowlands
of Shirati and Mohuru rose into view, and the blacl
mountain mass of Ugeyeya appeared to the eastward a1
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A LAND OF VOLCANOES. 165
the distance of about twenty miles. To the west of it, 1875.
grim and lofty, loomed the island of Ugingo. Clusters ^«''<^** 20.
of grey, rocky islets stud the lake along the coast of "*"*
Shirati, while from the water's edge, to a distance of
five or six miles, an uninteresting plain, unenlivened
by forest or verdure, slopes slowly up to where the
land breaks into groups and masses of irregular hills.
This continues to the mouth of a river which the
natives called Gori, and which terminates the country
of Ururi. On the right bank of the river begins
mountainous Ugeyeya, the south-western extremity of
which runs out into the lake like a promontory.
Gori is an important and powerful river during the
rainy season. It is said to rise in a north-easterly
direction near Kavi. Far inland on the east, to a dis-
tance of twenty-five days' journey, the country is re-
ported to be a continuous plain, dotted with low hills
and containing water only in pools. About fifteen
days' journey from the lake, the natives also report a
iregion wherein are ** low hills which discharge smoke
and sometimes fire from their tops." This district is
called Susa. and is a portion of the Masai Land. All
concurred in stating that no stream runs north, but
that all waters for at least twenty days' journey enter
the lake. Beyond that distance lies a small lake which
discharges a stream eastward— supposed by me to be
the Pangani.
On the 21st March we were passing under the lee
— for the wind blew then from the north-east, off
the land^-of the dark headlands of Goshi, which at
first rise steeply from the lake 900 feet and, later,
receding from the lake, attain a height of from 2000
to 3000 feet. On our left towered the tall, tree-clad
island of Ugingo, extending far to the north-west.
Thin blue columns of smoke rising from the depths of
its woods announced the presence of man, probably
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
166
THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875.
March 21.
Goshi.
fishermen or fugitives from the mainland. Judging
from what I observed of the slopes of this extremity of
Ugeyeya, I should say that much of this portion is
uninhabited. Rounding the point that confronts the
island of Ugingo, we passed between two more unin-
habited islands, and then the dome-like hills of Wakuneh
burst upon our view. Our impression of the land on
this side was that it was a pastoral country, and more
thickly populated, for smoke curled more frequently
from above depressions and sheltered positions.
BBmGE ISLAND.
At evening we camped on Bridge Island, so named
from a natural bridge of basaltic rock which forms
an irregular arch of about 24 feet in length by about
12 feet in depth, and under which we were able to pass
from one side of the island to the other. The island
is covered with brush-wood and tall grass, and in the
interstices of the rocks, where the vegetable deposit
was of great depth, grew several fine mangroves.
The height is about 50 feet above the lake, and from
its summit we obtained a fine view of Ugingo Island,
brooding in its gloomy solitude, and of the steep and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
''U'QChWEW 167
high ranges of Ugeyeya, with the level plains of I875.
Wagansu and Wigassi extending eastward. To the ^^l^^^
west stretched an apparently boundless sea, its face
ruffled by a strong breeze, and farther northward still
loomed upward unknown lands, their contour broken
now by rounded domes and again by sharp cones.
The number of islands encountered next day proved
so troublesome to us that we were compelled to
creep cautiously along the shore. As we neared
Nakidimo, we observed the water change from its usual
clear grey colour to that of a rich brown, and, seeing
a creek close by, felt fully assured that we had dis-
covered some important river. As we .entered, the
creek widened, and disclosed picturesque features of
outlined hill and wooded slope. We pulled steadily
to its further extremity, but the stream which entered
liere was small, and oozed through a reedy marsh.
We endeavoured for an hour to induce a canoe with
three fishermen in it to approach, but all we could
make out from Saramba, who, I fear, did not under-
stand them, was that the name of the country was
TJgoweh, which sounded so like You go *way that I
declined accepting it, until the natives shouted out
still more clearly and emphatically, ** U-go-weh.'* It
was evident, however, that these natives spoke a lan-
guage that our guide from the south did not quite
comprehend. We continued our keen inspection of the
numerous indentations from TJgoweh (?) to Nakidimo
Creek, int,o which an important stream debouches.
The hippopotami were numerous, and as bold as those
of Speke Gulf.
Emerging once more into the lake, we anchored
about a mile from the shore in 6 fathoms, and found
that there was a current of about half a knot setting
westward. At 2 p.m. we hoisted sail, and with a fair
wind were able to hug the mainland and make good
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
168 THROUGH THB DARK CONTINENT.
1875. progress, within view of a very populous and exten-
^mIk* ^' siv^ly cultivated shore. This was the land of Maheta,
we were told, and the same which we had sighted from
the summit of Bridge Island. We flew away with a
bellying sail along the coast of Maheta, where we
saw a denser population and more clusters of large
villages than we had beheld elsewhere. We thought
we would make one more effort to learn of the nativ^es
the names of some of these villages, and for that pur-
pose steered for a cove on the western shore. We
anchored within 50 yards, and so paid out our cable
that only a few feet of deep water separated us from the
beach. Some half-dozen men wearing small land-shells
above their elbows and a circle of them round their heads
came to the brink. With these we opened a friendly
conversation, during which they disclosed the name of
the country as " Mahata " or " Maheta " in Ugeyeya ;
but more they would not communicate unless we would
land. We prepared to do so, but the numbers on the
shore increased so fast that we were compelled to pull
off again until they should moderate their excitement
and make room. They seemed to think we were about
to pull off altogether, for there suddenly appeared out of
the bush on each side of the spot where we had intended
to land such a host of spears that we hoisted sail, and
left them to try their treachery on some other boat
or canoe more imprudent than ours. The discomfited
people were seen to consult together on a small ridge
behind the bush lining the lake, and no doubt they
thought we were about to pass close to a small point at
the north end of the cove, for they shouted gleefully
at the prospect of a prize; but lowering sail, we
pulled to windward, far out of the reach of bow or
sling, an<i at dusk made for a small island to which we
moored our boat, and there camped in security.
From our little island off Maheta, we sailed at the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Maroh 24.
llanyara.
PRIMITIVE MAN. 169
dawn of day towards the low shores, and were making ^1875.
good progress, when we bumped over the spine of a
rising hippopotamus, who, frightened by this strange
and weighty object on his back, gave a furious lunge,
and shook the boat until we all thought slie would be
shaken to pieces. The hippo, after this manifestation
of disgust, rose a few feet astern, and loudly roared his
defiance; but after experiencing his great, strength, we
rowed away hard from his neighbourhood.
About 10 A.M. we found ourselves abreast of the
cones of Manyara, and discovered the long and lofty
promontory which had attracted our attention ever since
leaving Maheta to be the island of XJsuguru, another,
though larger, copy of Ugingo. Through a channel
two miles broad we entered the bay of Manyara,
bounded on the east by the picturesque hills of that
country, on the north by the plain of Ugana, and on
the west by Muiwanda and the long, narrow promontory
of Chaga. This bay forms the extreme north-east
corner of Lake Victoria, but strangers, travelling by
land, would undoubtedly mistake it for a separate lake,
as Usuguru, when looked at from this bay, seems to
overlap the points of Cliaga and Manyara.
About six miles from the north-eastern extremity
of the bay, we anchored on the afternoon of the 24th
March, about 100 yards from the village of Muiwanda.
Here we found a people speaking the language of Usoga.
A good deal of diplomacy was employed between the
natives and ourselves before a friendly intercourse was
established, but we were finally successful in inducing
the natives to exchange vegetable produce and a sheep
for some of the blue glass beads called Mutunda,
Neither men nor women wore any covering for their
nakedness save a kirtle of green banana-leaves, which
appeared to me to resemble in its exceeding primitive-
ness the fig-leaf coatume of Adam and Eve. The men
■'o
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Ufurch 25,
Chaga.
170 THBOUOH TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875^^ were distinguished, besides, by the absence of the upper
and lower front teeth, and by their shaven heads,
on which were left only irregular combs or crescents
of hair on the top and over the forehead. While
we were negotiating for food, a magnificent canoe,
painted a reddish brown, came up from the western
side of the village, but, despite the loud invita-
tions tendered to them, the strangers kept on their
way, and proceeded up the bay of Manyara.
On the 25th, refreshed by the meat and vegetables
we had purchased, we began our voyage along the
northern coast of Lake Victoria, and, two hours later,
were in conversation with the natives of Chaga or
Shaga, who informed us that Murambo, king of Usu-
guru, was also king of Chaga. I am unable to decide
whether Chaga is a promontory or an island, but I
believe that there is a narrow channel navigable for
canoes (of the same nature as the Rugedzi* Channel)
separating Chaga from the mainland. Between its
southern point and Usuguru Island, there is a strait
about three-quarters of a mile wide, through which we
passed to Fisherman's Island, where we rested for our
noonday meal. At 2 p.m. we arrived, after an hour's
rowing, near Ngevi Island, and when close to it,
we were compelled to take shelter from a furious
nor'-wester.
We had been at anchor scarcely ten minutes before
we saw a small canoe, paddled by two men, boldly
approach us from the shore of Ugamba, distant about a
mile and a half on our right or to the east of us. In
our mildest accents we hailed them, and, after a pro-
tracted interval emplo3'ed by them in curiously scan-
ning us, they permitted us to hear the sound of their
voices. But nothing would induce them to come nearer
* Bngedzi is the name of the narrow channel which separates Ukerew^
from the mainland.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE INEBRIATES OF UQAMBA. 171
I about 100 yards. In the midst of these vain 1875.
rts to win their confidence, a canoe similar in form ^"^"^^ ^*
colour to that which had won our admiration at
wanda advanced towards us. A false prow projected
'^ard, curving in the shape of a bent elbow, from the
of which to the top of the bow of the canoe was
ng a taut line, and along this was suspended some
grass, which waved like a mane as she charged
bold and confident, propelled by forty paddlers.
f of this number, who were seated forward, sprang
when they came within 60 yards, and, seizing
f tufted lances and shields, began to sway them
lacingly. As we made no demonstration of resist-
3, they advanced cautiously, and when within
^rards, swerved aside, wheeling round us in a defiant
e.
inally we broke silence, and demanded who they
e, and why they came up as though they would
ck us. As they did not understand either King-
la, Kisukuma, or Kinyamwezi, one of my boatmen
rapted Kiganda, a little of which they appeared to
erstand ; and by this means we opened a conversa-
. They edged towards us a little nearer, and ended
ranging their long canoe alongside of our boat.
• tame, mild manners were in striking contrast to
r bullying, overbearing, and insolent demeanour.
I paddlers, half of whom were intoxicated, laid
r hands with familiar freedom upon everything.
still smiled, and were as mild and placable as
agh anger and resentment could never enter our
rts. We were so courteous, indeed, that we per-
ted them to handle our persons with a degree of
tdom which to them appeared unaccountable — unless
were so timid that we feared to give offence. If
had been so many sheep, we could not have borne a
ier or a more innocent aspect. Our bold friends.
NgeTi
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
172 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. reeling and jostling one another in their eagerness to
March 25. ^ff^j^j^ selzed their spears and shields, and began to
^* chant in bacchanalian tones a song that was tipsily
discordant. Some seized their slings and flung stones
to a great distance, which we applauded. Then one of
them, under the influence of wine, and spirits elated
by the chant, waxed bolder, and looked as though he
would aim at myself, seated observant but mute in the
stem of my boat. I made a motion with my hand as
though deprecating such an action. The sooty villain
seemed to become at once animated by an hysteric
passion, and whirled his stone over my head, a loud
drunken cheer applauding his boldness.
Perceiving that they were becoming wanton through
our apparently mild demeanour, I seized my revolver
and fired rapidly into the water, in the direction the
stone had been flung, and the efiect was painfully
ludicrous. The bold, insolent bacchanals at the first
shot had sprung overboard, and were swimming for
dear life to Ngevi, leaving their canoe in our hands.
** Friends, come back, come back; why this fear?"
cried out our interpreter ; ** we simply wished to show
you that we had weapons as well as yourselves. Come,
take your canoe; see, we push it away for you to
seize it.*' We eventually won them back with smiles.
We spoke to them sweetly as before. The natives
were more respectful in their demeanour. They
laughed, cried out admiringly; imitated the pistol
shots ; " Boom, boom, boom," they shouted. They then
presented me with a bunch of bananas ! We became
enthusiastic admirers of each other.
Meantime, two more large canoes came up, also bold
and confident, for they had not yet been taught a lesson.
These new-comers insisted that we should visit their
king Kamoydah. We begged to be excused. They
became still more urgent in their request We said it
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
WE GIVE THEM THE SLIP. 173
was impossible ; they were strangers, and not very well 1875.
behaved ; if they wished to barter with us, they could ^^''''^ ^^*
load their canoes and come to Ngevi, where we would ^*^'
be happy to exchauge beads or cloth for their articles.
Three other canoes were now seen approaching. We
sat, however, extremely still, patient, and placable,
and waited for them. The united voices of the 130
natives made a terrible din, but we endured it with
saintly meekness and the fortitude of stoics — for a
period. We bore the storm of entreaties mixed with
rude menaces until instinct warned me that it was
becoming dangerous. I then delivered some instruc-
tions to the boat's crew, and, nodding to the shore,
affected to surrender with an indifferent grace. They
became suddenly silent. We lifted the stone anchor,
and took to our oars, steering to the broken water,
ruffled by the nor'-wester, beyond the shelter of the
island, convoyed by the six canoes. We accompanied
them some hundreds of yards, and then, suddenly
hoisting sail, swept by them like an arrow. We pre-
ferred the prospect of the lone watery expanse to the
company of the perverse inebriates of Ugamba.
We continued sailing for half an hour, and as it was
then near sunset, dropped anchor in 75 feet of water.
The wind, which had swept in strong gusts from the
north-west, suddenly fell, for in the north-east the
aspect of the sky had long been threatening. Clouds
surged up in thick masses from that direction, and
cast a gloom over the wood-clothed slopes and crests of
Usuguru, which became almost as black as a velvet
pall, while the lake grew as quiet as though vitrified
into glass. Soon the piled up cloud-mass grew jagged,
and a portentous zigzag line of deep sable hue ran
through its centre, from which the storm seemed to
issue. I requested the crew to come farther afk, and,
fastening a double rope to the stone anchor, prepared
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
NgeTL
174 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. every mug and baler for the rain with which we were
^K^lf^ threatened. The wind then fell, as though from above,
upon our bowed heads with an overpowering force,
striving against the resistance which it met, as if it
would bear us down to the bottom of the lake, and
then, repelled by the face of the water, it brushed it
into millions of tiny ripples. The temperature fell to
62^ Fahr., and with this sudden cold down dropped a
severe shower of hailstones of great size, which pelted
us with great force, and made our teeth chatter. After
this the rain fell in sheets, while the lightning blazed,
preceding the most dreadful thunder-claps I remember
to have ever heard.
The rain, indeed, fell in such quantities that it
required two men for each section to keep the boat
sufficiently buoyant to ride the crest of the waves.
The crew cried out that the boat was sinking — that, if
the rain continued in such volume, nothing could save
us. In reply, I only urged them to bale her out faster.
The sable mass of Usuguru — as I observed by the
bars of intense light which the lightning flashed almost
every second — was still in front, and I knew, there-
fore, that we were not being swept very fast to sea.
Our energies were wholly devoted to keeping our poor
pelted selves afloat, and this occupied the crew so much
that they half forgot the horrors of the black and dis-
mal night. ' For two hours this experience lasted, and
then, unburdening our breasts with sighs of gladness not
unmixed with gratitude, we took our anchor on board,
and stole through the darkness to the western side of
Ngevi Island, where, after kindling a fire, we dried
our clothes and our wetted bodies, and, over a hot
potful of Liebig, afiected to laugh at our late critical
position.
In the morning the world appeared re-born, for the
sky was a bluish crystal, the shores looked as if fresh
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE ART OF PLEASING. 176
painted in green, the lake shone like burnished steel, ists.
the atmosphere seemed created for health. Glowing ^""^ ^^;
witii new life, we emerged out of our wild arbour of ^"^^^^
cane and mangrove to enjoy the glories of a gracious
heaven, and the men relieved their grateful brea^ats by
chanting loudly and melodiously one of their most
animating boat-songs.
As we rowed in this bright mood across the bay of
Ugamba, we noticed a lofty mount, which I should
judge to be fully 3000 feet above the lake, towards the
north-east. From the natives of Usamu Island, we
obtained the name of Marsawa for this the most con-
spicuous feature of the neighbourhood. After ob-
taining a clear meridian altitude, on a small island
between Usamu and Namungi, we steered for the
latter. The art of pleasing was never attempted with
such eflfect as at Namungi. Though we had great
difficulty in even obtaining a hearing, we persisted in
the practice of the art with all its amusing variations,
until our perseverance was finally rewarded. A young
fisherman was despatched to listen from the shore, but
the young wretch merely stared at us. We tossed into
his canoe a bunch of beads, and he understood their
signification. He shouted out to his fellows on the
shore, who were burning with curiosity to see closer
the strange boat and strange crew, amongst whom they
saw a man who was like unto no man they had ever
seen, or heard, or dreamed of.
A score of canoes loaded with peaceful, harmless
souls came towards us, all of whom begged for beads.
When we saw that they could be inspired to talk, we
suggested to them that, in return for food, abundance
of beads might be obtained. They instantly raced for
the banana and plantain groves in great excitement.
We were so close that we could hear the heavy clusters
falling under the native machetes, and within a short
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
176 THBOUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. time SO many bunches were held out to us that we
March 26. jjjjgj^^ have sunk under the waves had we purchased
^^ all. After storing a sufiBdent quantity to provision us
for three days, of bananas, fowls and eggs, and sweet
maramba or banana wine, and eliciting the names of
the various islands, capes, and most prominent hills, we
attempted to resume our journey. But the people,
upon whom our liberality had produced too strong an
effect, would not permit us to do so until we had further
celebrated our acquaintance with copious draughts of
their delicious wine. The Wangwana would have been
delighted to have exhausted many days in such a fasci-
nating life, but the coast of the Victoria was lengthy,
the winds not always favourable, and we had a large
number of friends in XJsukuma who might become rest-
less, were we too long absent. We therefore set sail,
convoyed a long distance by about thirty canoes,
manned by light-hearted, guileless creatures in an ex-
treme state of erjjoyment and redundant hilarity.
This was altogether a remarkable scene ; our ex-
ploring boat, with its lug-sail set, dragging about thirty
canoes, whose crews were all intoxicated, and whose
good-nature was so excessive as to cause them to supply
our boat's crew with copious quantities of their wine,
imtil all were in an uncommonly joyous mood. It
would be well worth describing in detail, but I am
compelled to be brief. After sailing in company a few
miles, we finally freed ourselves from our hospitable
entertainers, and, steering across the channel to the
island opposite Neygano, coasted along its well-wooded
shores. Perceiving a deep bay farther west, we entered
it, and near the extreme eastern end of Uvuma anchored
about 150 yards off the village of Mombiti.
Had we been better acquainted with the character of
the Wavuma, we probably should have been less inclined
to visit their shores, but, ignorant of their ferocity, and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A NIQET AT UVUMA. 177
zealous to perform our duties, we persevered in attempt- 1875.
ing to open intercourse with this tribe. We were, ^*'^*'^^^'
however, prudent enough not to rush into danger by
tating it for granted that most savages were a guile-
less, amiable set, who would never dream of injuring
or molesting strangers — and this circumspection most
likely saved our lives.
After a few minutes* distant conversation, the Wa-
vnma approached us, and we were enabled to purchase
fuel for cooking, making a liberal payment We hoped
they would be induced to sell us food also, not that we
were really in need of it, but because it furnished us
with another motive for continuing our intercourse,
and enlarged our opportunities for studying their nature
and habits, and obtaining names for the localities around.
We had numerous visitors, who appeared to be fine",
manly, well-made fellows, but nothing would induce
them to bring the smallest quantity of food for sale.
We therefore resignedly forbore from troubling them,
but inspected them with as much interest as they in-
spected us. They were evidently people with abundant
self-confidence, from the cool complacency with which
they regarded us. Their canoes were beautiful speci-
mens, and descriptions and pictures of them will be
given hereafter. The shores were bold, irregular in
outline, and clothed with a luxuriance of vegetation
and many tall trees, between which were seen the
banana groves, their pale green colour strongly con-
trasting with the darker tints of the forest foliage.
The night that followed was wild. At sunset the
temperature fell to 70^ Fahr., and the wind was charged
with a cold drizzle. Being in rather an exposed posi-
tion, wo moved our anchorage near the mouth of the
Munulu river, and not a minute too soon, for the wind
increased to a gale ; and the gale, heralded by a short-
lived squall, brought hailstones with it. Preparing
VOL. I. — 12
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
178 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. to pass the night here, we covered the boat with a sail,
March 27. ^^^^p which the sailors slept, though the watch, fre-
**" ' quently relieved, was obliged to maintain a strict look-
out. Throughout the long hours of darkness, the gale
maintained its force; the boat pitched and groaned,
and the rain fell in torrents; the seas frequently tossed
capfuls of water into us, so that, under such circum-
Btances, we enjoyed no rest.
By morning the gale had subsided, and the heavy,
sluggish waves were slumbering. After waiting to
cook our morning meal, and assisting the restoration
of animal heat with draughts of Liebig's extract
liquefied, we resumed our journey along the Bouthem
coast of Uvuma about 8 a.m.
Upon leaving the bay of Mombiti, we were com-
pelled to pass by a point of land closely covered with
tall grass, whither we saw a large force of natives rush
to take up advantageous positions. As we slowly
neared the point, a few of them advanced to the rocks,
and beckoned us to approach nearer. We acceded so
far as to approach within a few feet, when the natives
called out something, and immediately attacked us with
large rocks. We sheered oflF immediately, when a
crowd emerged from their hiding-place with slings,
with which they flung stones at us, striking the boat and
wounding the steersman, who was seated next to me.
To prevent further harm, I discharged my revolver
rapidly at them, and one of the natives fell, whereupon
the others desisted from their attack, and retreated into
the grass, leaving us to pursue our way unmolested.
Again edging close to the shore, we continued our
investigations of the numerous indentations. The island
rose with steep, grassy, treeless slopes to a height of
about 300 feet above the lake. Herds of cattle were
abundant, and flocks of goats grazed on the hillsides.
The villages were many, but unenclosed, and consisted
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MOBBED BT WAVUMA. 179
of a few dome-like huts, from which we inferred that 1875.
the Wavuma were a people who could well defend them- ^"^^'^s.
selves. At this time the lake was as still as a pond ; no
clouds hung over any part of the horizon ; the sky was
of a steel-blue colour, out of which the sun shone with
true tropical fervour. But the atmosphere was not
clear ; a li^ht vapour rose out of the lake, trembling in
the heat, rendering islands but five miles distant dim
and indistinct.
Arrived in the channel between the tawny, grass-
clad island of Bugeyeya and that of Uvuma, we steered
midway, that we might take compass bearings. From
a small cove in the Uvuma shores, abreast of us, emerged
quite a fleet of canoes, thirteen in number. The more
advanced held up a handful of sweet potatoes to our
view, and we ceased rowing, but left the sail hoisted,
which, with the very slight breeze then blowing, drifted
us westward about half a knot an hour.
The Wavuma were permitted to range alongside, and
we saw that they were fully armed with spear and
shield. We offered several kinds of beads for the
potatoes they had offered to sell, but with a gesture
of contempt they refused everything, and from their
actions and manner we became soon convinced that
they had manned their canoes for other purposes than
barter ; besides, they possessed only about twenty po-
tatoes, which, singularly enough, were all in the first
canoe. Strange to say, also, the men of the first canoe
were, though disinclined to sell, moderate in their be-
haviour; but their temper changed as soon as their
comrades had arrived, and had taken up their positions
in front of our boat, blocking her progress through the
water. The Wavuma, now emboldened by their num- •
hers, waxed noisy, then insolent, and finally aggres-
sive. They seized one thing after another with a
cunning dexterity, which required all our attention
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180 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. to divine their purposes ; and while we were occupied
March 28 ^j^]^ ^^iQ truculcut rabble in our front, a movement
of which we were unaware was being made success-
fully at the stern ; but the guide, Saramba catching
sight of a thief, warned me to cast my eyes behind,
and I detected him in' the act of robbery. Becoming
assured by this time that the Wavuma had arrived
in such numbers for the sole purpose of capturing
what appeared to them an apparently easy prey, and
that their manoeuvres were evidently intended to
embarrass us and distract our attention, I motioned
them to depart with my hand, giving orders at the
same time to the boat's crew to make ready their oars.
This movement, of necessity, caused them to declare
their purposes, and they manifested them by audaciously
laying their hands on the oars, and arresting the
attempts of the boat's crew to row. Either we were
free or we were not. If yet free men, with the power
to defend our freedom, we must be permitted to con-
tinue our voyage on the sea without let or hindrance.
If not free men, we had first to be disarmed. I
seized my gun, and motioned them again to depart.
With a loud, scornful cry they caught up their spears
and shields, and prepared to launch their weapons.
To be saved, we must act quickly, and I fired over
their heads; and as they fell back from the boat, I
bade my men pulj away. Forming a line on each
side of us, about 30 yards off, they flung their spears,
which the boat's crew avoided by dropping into
the bottom of the boat. The canoes astern clapped
their hands gleefully, showing me a large bunch of
Mutunda beads which had been surreptitiously ab-
stracted from the stern of the boat. I seized my
repeating rifle and fired in earnest, to right and left.
The fellow with the beads was doubled up, and the
boldest of those nearest to us was disabled. The big rifle,
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Eiwm.
BARMECIDE FABK 181
aimed at the water-liae of two or three of the canoes, 1875.
perforated them through and through, which compelled ^'"^^^^
the crews to pay attention to their sinking crafts, and
permitted us to continue our voyage into Napoleon
Channel and to examine the Ripon Falls.* On an un-
inhabited point of Usoga, near the falls, we encamped ;
and on the 29th March crossed the channel, and coasted
along Uganda between numerous islands, the largest
of which are densely inhabited.
At Kiwa Island we rested for the day, and were
received with the greatest cordiality by the chief, who
sent messengers to the island of Kerenge, a distance
of three miles, to purchase bananas and jars of maramba
wine, for the guest, as he said, of the Kabaka Mtesa.
As it was the first time for twenty-two days that we
had lived with natives since leaving Kagehyi we cele-
brated, as we were in duty bound, our arrival among
friends.
The next day, guided and escorted by the chief,
we entered Ukafu, where we found a tall handsome
young Mtongoleh in command of the district, before
whom the chief of Kiwa Island made obeisance as
before a great lord. The young Mtongoleh, though pro-
fessing an ardent interest in us, and voluble of pro-
mises, treated us only to Barmecide fare after waiting
twenty-four hours. Perceiving that his courtesies,
though suavely proffered, failed to satisfy the cravings
of our jaded stomachs, we left him still protesting
enormous admiration for us, and still volubly assuring
us that he was preparing grand hospitalities in our
honour.
I was staggered when I understood in its full ex-
tent the perfect art with which we had been duped.
* A more detailed account of this part of the lake will be giyco in
later chapters, as I paid throe yisits to the Bipon Falls, and during
the third Tisit photographed them.
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182 THROUGH THE LARK CONTINENT.
1875. •* Could this be Central Africa," I asked myself,
AprUi. w^ijerein we find such perfect adepts in the art of
deception? But two days ago the savagery of the
land was intense and real, for every man's hand was
raised in ferocity against the stranger. In the land
next adjoining we find a people polite, agreeable, and
professing the warmest admiration for the stranger,
but as inhospitable as any hotel-keeper in London
or New York to a penniless guest ! ''
At a little village in the bay of Buka we discovered
we were premature in our judgment The Mtongoleh
at this place invited us to his village, spread out before
us a feast of new as well as clotted milk, mellow and
ripe bananas, a kid, sweet potatoes, and eggs, and
despatched a messenger instantly to the Kabaka Mtesa
to announce the coming of a stranger in the land,
declaring, at the same time, his intention not to
abandon us until he had brought us face to face with
the great monarch of Equatorial Africa, in whom, he
smilingly assured us, we should meet a friend, and under
whose protection we might sleep secure.
We halted one more day to enjoy the bounteous fare
of the chief of Buka. My admiration for the land
and the people steadily increased, for I experienced
with each hour some pleasing civility. The land was
in fit accord with the people, and few more interesting
prospects could Africa furnish than that which lovingly
embraces the bay of Buka. From the margin of the
lake, lined by waving water-cane, up to the highest
hill-top, all was verdure — of varying shadea The light
green of the elegant matete contrasted with the deeper
tints of the various species of fig; the eatin-sheeny
fronds of the graceful plantains were overlapped by
clouds of the pale foliage of the tamarind ; while between
and around all, the young grass of the pastured hill-
sides spread its emerald carpeU In free, bold, and yet
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MTESA'a ME88ENQEB. 183
graceful outline, the hills shut in the scene, swelling 1875.
upward in full dome-like contour, here sweeping round ^J*^^
to enclose within its hollow a gorgeous plantain grove,
there projecting boldly into abrupt, steep headlands, and
again receding in a succession of noble terraces into
regions as yet unexplored by the white man. One
village had a low pebbly beach, that ran in a sinuous
light-grey line between the darker grey face of the
lake and the living perennial green of a banana plan-
tation. I imagined myself fallen into an estate which
I had inherited by right divine and human, or at least
I felt something akin to that large feeling which heirs
of unencumbered broad lands may be supposed to feel,
and attributed such an unusual feeling to an attack of
perfect digestion, and a free, unclogged, and undisturbed
liver.
On the 2nd April we proceeded, in an amiable,
light-hearted mood, the favourites both of men and
nature, along the beautiful shore separating Buka Bay
from Eadzi Bay, and halted about noon at the village
of Earudo, where we experienced hospitalities similar
to those of the day previous. We purposely made our
voyages short, in order that the Kabaka might be in-
formed in time of our coming.
Just as we were about to depart next morning, we
saw six beautifiil canoes, crowded with men, coming
round a point, and for a very short period were under
the impression that they composed another piratical
fleet on its way to intercept us, but on surveying them
with my glass I saw that several who were seated amid-
ships were dressed in white, like the Wangwana, and
our Waganda guides, among whom was our hospitable
entertainer of Buka, informed us that they were the
Kahakas people. As they approached us, the commander
was seen arraying himself for the occasion. He donned
a bead-worked head-dress, above which long white
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184 TEBOUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. cock's feathers waved, and a snowy white and long
^K^l' haired goat-skin, while a crimson robe, depending from
his shoulders, completed the full dress.
In the middle of the bay of Kadzi we encountered,
and a most ceremonious greeting took place. The
commander was a fine lusty young man of twenty or
thereabouts, and after springing into our boat he knelt
down before me, and declared his errand to the fol-
lowing effect : —
" The Kahaka sends me with many salaams to you.
He is in great hopes that you will visit him, and has
encamped at Usavara, that he may be near the lake when
you come. He does not know from what land you
have come, but I have a swift messenger with a canoe
who will not stop until he gives all the news to the
Kahaka. His mother dreamed a dream a few nights ago,
and in her dream she saw a white man on this lake
in a boat coming this way, and the next morning she
told the Kabaka^ and, lo ! you have come. Give me your
. answer, that I may send the messenger. Twiyanzi-
yanzi-yanzi ! *' (Thanks, thanks, thanks.)
Whereupon, as the young commander, whose name
was Magassa, understood Kiswahili, I delivered the
news to him and to his people freely and frankly;
and after I had ended, Magassa translated what the in-
formation was into Kiganda, and immediately the mes-
senger departed. Meanwhile Magassa implored me to
rest for this one day, that he might show me the hospi-
tality of his country, and that I might enter the Kahaka s
presence in good humour with him. Persuaded also by
my boat's crew to consent, we rowed to the village of
Kadzi. Mngassa was in his glory now. His voice
became imperious to his escort of 182 men; even the
feathers of his curious head-dress waved prouder, and
his robe had a sweeping dignity worthy of a Roman
emperor's. Upon landing, Magassa*s stick was employed
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
'm TEE KABAKA'8 NAMEr
185
uently. The sub-chief of Kadzi was compelled to
d implicit obedience to his viceregal behests.
Bring out bullocks, sheep, and goats, milk, and the
lowest of your choicest bananas, and great jars of
•amba, and let the white man and his boatmen eat,
taste of the hospitalities of Uganda. Shall a white
I enter the Kalxikas presence with an empty belly ?
how sallow and pinched his cheeks are. We want to
whether we cannot show him kindness superior to
it the pagans have shown him."
'wo bullocks and four goats, a basketful of fat mel-
bananas, and four two-gallon jars of maramba,
e then brought before us, to which extraordinary
nty the boat's crew did ample justice. Nor were
escort of Magassa without supplies. The coimtry
at their mercy. They killed three bullocks for
nselves, cut down as many bananas as they wished,
made a raid on the chickens, in accordance with
yassa's serene and gracious permission to help them-
es.
A wonderful land ! ** 'I thought, ** where an entire
ntry can be subjected to such an inordinate bully
vain youth as this Magassa, at the mere mention
ihe Kabaka^s name, and very evidently with the
^xika8 sanction!" Uganda was new to us then.
were not aware how supreme the Kahaka^s
bority was; but a painful suspicion that the vast
Qtry which recognised his power was greatly abused,
. grieving that the poor people had to endure such
gh treatment for my sake, I did my best to prevent
gassa from extorting to excess.
?he next day we sallied from Kadzi Bay, with Ma-
sa's escort leadingthe way. We crossed Bazzi Bay,
n the middle of which we gained a view of old
^aganzi's Hill, a square tabular mount, from the
imit of which Magassa said we should see the whole
1875.
April 3,
KadiU
Digitized by
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1
186 TEROUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. of Murchison Bay and Rubaga, one of the Kabakas
/^w^ capitals. About 10 a.m. we rounded Muvwo Point,
Bay. and entered Murcbison Bay. The entrance is about
four miles wide, and naturally guarded by Linant
Island, a lofty, dome-shaped island, situated between
the opposing points of Muvwo and Umbiru. Upon
leaving Muvwo south of us, we have a fall view of this
fine body of water, which reaches its extreme width
between Soweh Island and Ukumba. This, the farthest
reach of its waters west is about ten miles across, while
its extreme length, from Linant Island to the arm of
Monyono Bay, where Mtesa keeps his favourite canoes,
cannot be less than fourteen miles.
We camped, according to Magassa's wish, behind
Soweh Island, on the east side of Murchison Bay,
whence, the next day, we were to start for Usavara,
the KcdnikoLS hunting village.
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SFPROACEINQ V3A7ABA.
187
CHAPTER IX.
1 extraordinary monarch — I am examined — African "chaff" — Mtesa,
Emperor of Uganda — Description of Mtesa — A nayal reyiew —
Arriyal at the imperial capital — Mtesa's palace — Fascination of the
country — I meet a white man — Col. Linant de Bellefonds — The
process of oonTersion — A grand mission field — A pleasant day with
GoL de Bellefonds — Starting for my camp.
IB little insight we obtained into the manners of ists,
yanda between Soweh Island, Murchison Bay, and ^^^^^^
Lwa Island, near Ukafu Bay, impressed us with the Bay*
Mciousness that we were about to become acquainted
th an extraordinary monarch and an extraordinary
ople, as different from the barbarous pirates of
mma, and the wild, mop-headed men of Eastern
;ukuma, as the British in India are from their Afridi
low-subjects, or the white Americans of Arkansas
>m the semi-civilized Choctaws. If politeness could
govern the actions of the men of Kiwa Island, far
noved as they were from contact with the Uganda
art, and suave duplicity could so well be practised
the Mtongoleh of Ukafu, and such ready, ungrudg-
j hospitality be shown by the chief of Buka, and the
ibaJcas orders be so promptly executed by Magassa,
3 messenger, and the chief of Kadzi, what might
> not expect at the court, and what manner of man
ght not this " Kabaka " be !
Such were our reflections as Magassa, in his superb
Qoe, led the way from behind Soweh Island, and his
^
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I
188 TEBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. little slave dmmmed an accompaniment to the droning
April 5. ^jj^yj^ q£ Jj jg canoe-men.
Compared with our lonely voyage from our camp at
Usukuma round all the bays and inlets of the much-
indented coasts of the Great Lake, these five snperb
canoes forming line in front of our boat, escorting us
to the presence of the great potentate of Equatorial
Africa, formed a scene which promised at least novelty,
and a view of some extraordinary pomp and ceremony.
When about two miles from Usavara, we saw what
we estimated to be thousands of people arranging them-
selves in order on a gently rising ground. When
about a mile from the shore, Magassa gave the order to
signal our advance upon it with fire-arms, and was
at once obeyed by his dozen musketeers. Half a mile
off I saw that the people on the shore had formed
themselves into two dense lines, at the ends of which
stood several finely dressed men, arrayed in crimson
and black and snowy white. As we neared the beach,
volleys of musketry burst out from the long lines.
Magassa's canoes steered outward to right and left,
while 200 or 300 heavily loaded guns announced to all
around that the white man — whom Mtesa's mother had
dreamed about — had landed. Numerous kettle and bass
drums sounded a noisy welcome, and flags, banners, and
bannerets waved, and the people gave a great shout.
Very much amazed at all this ceremonious and pom-
pous greeting, I strode up towards the great standard,
near which stood a short young man, dressed in a
crimson robe which covered an immaculately white
dress of bleached cotton, before whom Magassa, who
had hurried ashore, kneeled reverently, and turning to
me begged me to understand that this short young
man was the Katekiro. Not knowing very well who
the "Katekiro** was, T only bowed, which, strange to
say, was imitated by him, only that his bow was far
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I PASS MY EXAMINATIOK. 189
more profound and stately than mine. I was perplexed, 1875.
confused, embarrassed, and I believe I blushed inwardly ^^^^ **
at this regal reception, though I hope I did not
betray my embarrassment.
A dozen well-dressed people now came forward, and
grasping my hand declared in the Swahili language
that I was welcome to Uganda. The Katekiro motioned
with his head, and amid a perfect concourse of beaten
drums, which drowned all conversation, we walked
side by side, and followed by curious thousands, to a
courtyard, and a circle of grass-thatched huts suiTOund-
ing a larger house, which I was told were my quarters.
The Katekiro and several of the chiefs accompanied
me to my new hut, and a very sociable conversation
took place. There was present a native of Zanzibar,
named Tori, whom I shortly discovered to be chief
drummer, engineer, and general jack-of-all-trades for the
Kabaka. From this clever, ingenious man I obtained
the information that the Katekiro was the prime
minister or the Kabaka^s deputy, and that the titles of
the other chiefs were Chambarango, Kangau, Mkwenda,
Seke-bobo, Kitunzi, Sabaganzi, Kauta, Saruti. There
were several more present, but I must defer mention of
them to other chapters.
Waganda, as I found subsequently, are not in the
habit of remaining incurious before a stranger. Hosts
of questions were fired off at me about my health, my
journey, and its aim, Zanzibar, Europe and its people,
the seas and the heavens, sun, moon, and stars, angels
and devils, doctors, priests, and craftsmen in general ;
in fact, as the representative of nations who "know
everything,'* I was subjected to a most searching ex-
amination, and in one hour and ten minutes it was
declared unanimously that I had "passed.** Forth-
with, after the acclamation, the stately bearing
became merged into a more friendly one, and long
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Usay&ra.
190 TEBOUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. thin, nervous black hands were pushed into mine
iwll enthusiastically, from which I gathered that they ap-
plauded me as though I had won the honours of a
senior wrangler. Some proceeded direct to the Kabaka
and informed him that the white man was a genius,
knew everything, and was remarkably polite and
sociable, and the Kabaka was said to have " rubbed his>
hands as though he had just come into the possession
of a treasure."
The fruits of the favourable verdict passed upon
myself and merits were seen presently in fourteen fat
oxen, sixteen goats and sheep, a hundred bunches of
bananas, three dozen fowls, four wooden jars of milk,
four baskets of sweet potatoes, fifty ears of green
Indian corn, a basket of rice, twenty fresh eggs, and
ten pots of maramba wine. Kauta, Mtesa s steward or
butler, at the head of the drovers and bearers of these
various provisions, fell on his knees before me and
said : —
** The Kabaka sends salaams unto his friend who has
travelled so far to see him. The Kabaka cannot see
the face of his friend until he has eaten and is satisfied.
The Kabaka has sent his slave with these few things
to his friend that he may eat, and at the ninth hour,
after his friend has rested, the Kabaka will send and
call for him to appear at the burzah. I have spoken.
Twiyanzi-yanzi-yanzi !'*
I replied suitably, though my politeness was not
80 excessive as to induce me to kneel before the
courtly butler and thank him for permission to say I
thanked him.
My boat's crew were amazed at this imperial bounty,
which provided more than a bullock apiece for each
member of my following. Saramba, the mop-headed
guide from Usukuma, was requested to say what he
thought of the Kabaka^ who gave bullocks and goats
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
UsaTara,
AFRICAN '^ chaff:' 191
in proportion as the Usukuma chief gave potatoes 1875.
to his guests. Saramba's wits were all this time under t^^}^^
\ cloud. He was still dressed in the primitive goatskin
jf his country, as greasy and dingy as a whaling cook's
pan-cloth — the greasiest thing I ever saw. He was
stared at, jeered, and flouted by the courtly, cleanly
pages of the court, who by this time had taken such
keen and complete mental inventories of my features,
traits, and points of character as would have put to
shame even a Parisian newsmonger.
" What land is this undressed pagan from ? " asked
the pages, loud enough for poor Saramba to hear.
" Eegard the pagan's hair," said another.
" He had better not let the Kahaka see him/* said a
third.
" He is surely a pagan slave — ^worth about a goat,**
remarked a fourth.
" Not he. I would not buy him for a ripe banana,*'
ventured a fifth.
I looked up at Saramba, and half fancied that he paled.
Poor Saramba ! ** As soon as they are gone, off
goes that mop, and we will dress you in white cloth,**
said Safeni, the coxswain, compassionately.
But Baraka, one of the boatmen, an incorrigible
scoffer, said, " What is the use ? If we give him cloth,
will he wear it ? No ; he will roll it up and tie it with
a piece of string, and save it for his mammy, or sell it
in Usukuma for a goat**
To my surprise the boatmen endeavoured to impress
the fact on Saramba's mind that the Kahaka was a
special personal friend of theirs ; that all these cattle,
goats, and fowls were the Kanaka's usual gifts to Wan-
gwana, and they endeavoured, with a reckless disregard
for accuracy, to enumerate fabulous instances of his
generosity to a number of other Safenis, Sarbokos,
Barakas, and Zaidis, all natives, like themselves, of
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192 TUEOUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Zanxzihar. Let Englishmen never henceforth indulge
Apni5. jjj ^jj^ illusion, or lay the flattering unction to their
** ' self-love, that they are the only people who have
studied the art of ^ chaff." The 2^anzibaris are perfect
in the art, as the sordid barharian Saramha discovered
to his cost.
The ninth hour of the day approached. We had
bathed, brushed, cleaned ourselves, and were prepared
externally and mentally for the memorable hour when
we should meet the Foremost Man of Equatorial Africa.
Two of the KaJ)aka's pages, clad in a costume semi-
Kingwana and semi-Kiganda, came to summon us — the
Kingwana part being the long white shirt of Zanzibar,
folded with a belt or band about the loins, the Kiganda
part being the Soliari doti cloth depending from the
right shoulder to the feet. ** The Kabaka invites you
to the burzah,** said they. Forthwith we issue from
our courtyard, five of the boat's crew on each side
of me armed with Snider rifles. We reach a short
broad street, at the end of which is a hut. Here the
Kahaka is seated with a multitude of chiefe, Wakungu *
and Watongoleh, ranked from the throne in two opposing
kneeling or seated lines, the ends being closed in by
drummers, guards, executioners, pages, &c. &c. As
we approached the nearest group, it opened, and
the drummers beat mighty sounds, Tori's drumming
being conspicuous from its sharper beat. The Foremost
Man of Equatorial Africa rises and advances, and all
the kneeling and seated lines rise — generals, colonels,
chiefs, cooks, butlers, pages, executioners, &c. &a
The Kabaka^ a tall, clean-faced, large-eyed, nervous-
looking, thin man, clad in a tarbush, black robe, with a
white shirt belted with gold, shook my hands warmly
and impressively, and, bowing not ungracefully, invited
• Waknngu is the plural of mkungu, a rank equivalent to " general"
Watongoleh is the plural of mUmgoUh, or " colonel*
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Usarara.
MTESA, EMPEROR OF UGANDA. 193
) be seated on an iron stool. I waited for him to ists.
the example, and then I and all the others seated -^p"^^
Ives.
) first took a deliberate survey of me, which I
ned with interest, for he was as interesting to me
ivas to him. His impression of me was that I was
ger than Speke, not so tall, but better dressed.
I gathered from his criticisms as confided to his
8 and favourites.
7 impression of him was that he and I would
ue better acquainted, that I should make a convert
m, and make him useful to Africa — but what other
essions I had may be gathered from the remarks
)te that evening in my diary : —
js I had read Speke's book for the sake of its geographical infor-
L, I retained bnt a dim remembrance of his description of his life in
a. If I remember rightly, Speke described a youthfol prince, vain
artless, a wholesale murderer and tyrant, one who delighted in
men. Doubtless he described what he saw, but it is far from being
ate of things now. Mtesa has impressed me as being an
;ent and distinguished prince, who, if aided in time by virtuous
thropists, will do more for Central Africa than fifty years of Gospel
ig, unaided by such authority, can do. I think I see in him the
:hat shall lighten the darkness of this benighted region ; a prince
orthy the most hearty sympathies that Europe can give him. In
an I see the possible fruition of Livingstone's hopes, for with his
3 civilization of Equatorial Africa becomes feasible. I remember
■dour and love which animated Livingstone when he spoke of
tu ; had he seen Mtesa, his ardour and love for him had been ten-
nd his pen and tongue would have been employed in calling aU
aen to assist him."
ve days later I wrote the following entry : —
see that Mtesa is a powerful Emperor, with great influence over
ighbours. I have to-day seen the turbulent Mankorongo, king of
Emd Mirambo, that terrible phantom who disturbs men's minds in
iwezi, through their embassies kneeling and tendering their tribute
L I saw over 3000 soldiers of Mtesa nearly half civilized. I saw
a hundred chiefs who might be classed in the same scale as the
)i Zanzibar and Oman, clod in as rich robes, and armed in the
ElEishion, and have witnessed with astonishment such order and
I is obtainable in semi-civilized countries. All this is the result
VOL. I. — 13
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I
k
194 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. ^^ ^ P^^ Muslim's labour; his name is Muley bin Salim. He it ^
April 5. who first began teaching here the doctrines of Islam. False a:
Usarara. contemptible as these doctrines are, they are preferable to the ruthk
instincts of a savage despot, whom Speke and Grant left wallowl
in the blood of women, and I honour the memory of Mnley bin Sali
— Muslim and slave-trader though he be — the poor priest who h
wrought this happy change. With a strong desire to improve st
more the character of Mtesa, I shall begin building on the foundati<
stones laid by Muley bin Salim. I shall destroy his belief in Islam, a]
teach the doctrines of Jesus of Nazareth."
It may easily be gathered from these entries that
feeling of admiration for Mtesa must have begxm vei
early, and that either Mtesa is a very admirable mai
or that I am a very impressionable traveller, or th;
Mtesa is so perfect in the art of duplicity and act€
so clever a part, that I became his dupe.
The chief reason for admiration lay, probably, in tl
surprise with which I viewed the man whom Speke ha
beheld as a boy — and who was described by him throug
about two hundred pages of his book as a vaii
foolish, peevish, headstrong youth and a murderoi
despot — sedate and composed in manner, intelligent i
his questions and remarks beyond anything I expecte
to meet in Africa. That 1 should see him so we
dressed, the centre of a court equally well dressed an
intelligent, that he should have obtained supremac
over a great region into which moneyed strangers ar
soldiers from Cairo and Zanzibar flocked for the sal
of its supreme head, that his subjects should speak <
him with respect, and his guests, so far as I coul
gather, honour him, were minor causes, which, I ventui
to consider, were sufficient to win my favourable judj
ment. That he should have been so royally liberal i
his supplies to me, have proffered other courtesies i
a tone of sincerity, and have appeared to me a kindl
friendly soul, who affected all the dignity of one wl
entertains a vast respect for himself and his positic
without affronting or giving wanton offence to thoi
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DESCRIPTION OF MTE8A. 195
around him who also have wants, hopes, and self-respect, 1875.
may also be offered as reasons which contributed not a t7^^^ ^'
little towards creating a favourable impression on me.
I am aware that there are negrophobists who may
attribute this conduct of Mtesa to a natural gift for
duplicity. He is undoubtedly a man who possesses
great natural talents, but he also shows sometimes the
waywardness, petulance, and withal the frank, exuberant,
joyous moods, of youth. I will also admit that Mtesa
can be politic^ as, indeed, future pages will show, but he
has also a child's unstudied ease of manner. I soon
saw that he was highly clever, and possessed of the
abilities to govern, but his cleverness and ability lacked
the mannerisms of a European's.
Whether or no I became Mtesa's dupe will be seen
in the chapters on Uganda. Meanwhile, he appeared to
me to be a generous prince and a frank and intelligent
man, and one whose character was well worth studying
for its novel intensity and extreme originality, and also
as one whom I judged could be made to subserve
higher ends than he suspected he was fashioned for.
I met his friendly advances with the utmost cordiality,
and the burzah concluded at sunset, with the same cere-
mony that had inaugurated it, leaving Mtesa and myself
mutually pleased and gratified with our acquaintance.
A description of Mtesa's person was written in my
diary on the third evening of my visit to him, from
which I quote : —
" A^^ 7. — In person Mtesa is tall, probably 6 feet 1 inch, and slender.
He has very intelligent and agreeable features, reminding me of some of
the faces of the great stone images at Thebes, and of the statues in the
museum at Cairo. He has the same fulness of lips, but their grossness
is relieved by the general expression of amiability blended with dignity
that pervades his face, and the large, lustrous, lambent eyes that lend it
a strange beauty, and are typical of the race from which I believe him
to have sprung. His colour is of a dark red brown, of a wonderfully
smooth surface. When not engaged in council, he throws off unre-
servedly the bearing that characterizes him when on the throne, and
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196 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. ^^^ '^^ ^ ^^ humonr, indulging in hearty peals of laughter. He
April 7. seems to be interested in the discussion of the manners and customs of
Dsaran. European courts, and to be enamoured of hearing of the wonders of
civilization. He is ambitious to imitate as much as lies in his power
the ways of the white man. When any piece of information is given him,
he takes upon himself the task of translating it to his wives and chiefs,
though many of the latter understand the Swahili language as well as he
does himself."
On this day I recorded an interesting event which
occurred in the morning. Mtesa, about 7 a.m., sallied
out of his quarters, accompanied by a host of guards,
pages, standard bearers, fifers, drummers, chiefs, native
guests, claimants, &c., and about two hundred women
of his household, and as he passed by my courtyard, he
sent one of his pages to request my presence. While
he passed on, I paid some attention to my toilet, and
made as presentable an appearance as my clothes-bag
enabled me, and then, accompanied by two of my boat's
crew as gunbearers, followed the court to the lake.
Mtesa was seated on an iron stool, the centre of a large
group of admiring women, who, as soon as I appeared,
focussed about two hundred pairs of lustrous, humid
eyes on my person, at which he laughed.
" You see, * Stamlee,* " said he, ** how my women
look at you ; they expected to see you accompanied
by a woman of your own colour. I am not jealous
though. Come and sit down."
Presently Mtesa whispered an order to a page, who
sprang to obey, and responding to his summons, there
darted into view from the bend in Murchison Bay
west of TJsavara forty magnificent canoes, all painted an
ochreous brown, which I perceived to be the univer-
sally favourite colour. En passant^ I have wondered
whether they admire this colour from an idea that
it resembles the dark bronze of their own bodies.
For pure Waganda are not black by any means.
The women and chiefs of Mtesa, who may furnish the
best specimens of Waganda, are nearly all of a bronze
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A NAVAL REVIEW. 197
or a dark reddish brown, with peculiar smooth, soft i875.
skins, rendered still more tender and velvety to the ^^^ ^*
touch by their habit of shampooing with butter. Some
of the women, I observed, were of a very light red-gold
colour, while one or two verged on white. The native
cloths — ^the national dress — which depended from the
right shdulders of the larger number of those not
immediately connected with the court were of a light
brown also. It struck me, when I saw the brown skins,
brown robes, and brown canoes, that brown must be
the national colour.
These forty canoes, which now rode on the calm
grey-green waters of Murchison Bay, contained in the
aggregate about 1200 men. The captain of each canoe
was dressed in a white cotton shirt and a cloth head-
cover, neatly folded turban fashion, while the admiral
wore over his shirt a crimson jacket, profusely decorated
with gold braid, and on his head the red fez of Zanzibar.
Each captain, as he passed us, seized shield and spear,
and, with the bravado of a matador addressing the
Judge of the Plaza to behold his prowess, went through
the performance of defence and attack by water. The
admiral won the greatest applause, for he was the
Hector of the fleet, and his actions, though not remark-
ably graceful, were certainly remarkably extravagant.
The naval review over, Mtesa commanded one of the
captains of the canoes to try and discover a crocodile
or a hippopotamus. After fifteen minutes he returned
with the report that there was a young crocodile asleep
on a rock about 200 yards away. "Now, Stamlee,"
said Mtesa, *'show my womeJi how white men can
shoot." To represent all the sons of Japhet on this
occasion was' a great responsibility, but I am happy
to say that — ^whether owing to the gracious influence
of some unseen divinity who has the guardianship of
their interests or whether from mere luck — I nearly
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198 TEROUOE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. severed the head of the young crocodile from its body
April 10. ^^ ^j^Q distance of 100 yards with a three-ounce ball,
**^^*^ an act which was accepted as conclusive proof that all
white men are dead shots.
In the afternoon we amused ourselves with target
practice, at which an accident occurred that might
have produced grave results. A No. 8 double-barrelled
rifle was fractured in Mtesa's hands at the second
shot, but fortunately without injuring either him or
the page on whose shoulders it rested. General alarm
prevailed for a short time, until, seeing that it was
about to be accepted as a b«nd omen, I examined the
rifle and showed Mtesa an ancient flaw in the barrel,
which his good sense perceived had led to the fracture.
The gun was a very old one, and had evidently seen
much service.
On the 10th of April the court broke up its hunting
lodges at Usavara, on Murchison Bay, and moved to the
capital, whither I was strongly urged to follow. Mtesa,
escorted by about two hundred musketeers and the great
Wakungu and their armed retainers, travelled quickly ;
but owing to my being obliged to house my boat from
the hot sun, I did not reach the capital until 1 p.m.
The road had been prepared for his Imperial
Majesty's hunting excursion, and was 8 feet wide,
through jungle and garden, forest and field. Beautiful
landscapes were thus enjoyed of rolling land and placid
lake, of gigantic tamarinds and gum-trees, of extensive
banana groves and plantations of the ficus, from the bark
of which the national dress, or mhugu^ is made. The
peculiar dome-like huts, each with an attempt at a por-
tico, were buried deep in dense bowers of plantains which
filled the air with the odour of their mellow rich fruit.
The road wound upward to the summits of green hills
which commanded exquisite prospects, and down again
into the sheltered bosoms of woody nooks, and vales,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE IMPERIAL CAPITAL.
199
id tree-orabowered ravines. Streams of clear water imr^
urmured through these depressions, as they flowed '^'^^/*^'
wards Murchison Bay. The verdure was of a ^ ^
illiant green, freshened by the unfailing rains of the
c[uator ; the sky was of the bluest, and the heat, though
•eat, was tempered by the hill breezes, and frequently
T the dense foliage overhead.
Within three hours' march from Usavara, we saw the
,pital crowning the summit of a smooth rounded hill —
large cluster of tall conical grass huts, in the centre
' which rose a spacious, lofty, barn-like structure,
he large building, we were told, was the palace ! the
11, Rubaga ; the chister of hute, the imperial capital !
From each side of the tall cane fence enclosing the
*ass huts on Rubaga hill radiated very broad avenues,
iperial enough in width. Arriving at the base of the
11, and crossing by a *' corduroy " road over a broad
imy ooze, we came up to one of these avenues, the
round of which was a reddish clay strongly mixed
ith the detritus of hematite. It gave a clear breadth
• 100 feet of prepared ground, and led by a gradual
icent to the circular road which made the circuit of
le hill outside the palace enclosure. Once on the
3me-like height, we saw that we had arrived by the
ick avenue, for the best view of this capital of magni-
3ent distances was that which was obtained by looking
om the burzah of the palace, and carrying the
jB over the broad front highway, on each side of
hich, as far as could be defined from the shadows of
le burzah, the Wakungu had their respective courts
ad houses, embowered in gardens of banana and
^. Like the enclosure round the palace courts and
uarters, each avenue was fenced with tall maiete
w'ater cane) neatly set very close together in uniform
)W8. The by-streets leading I'rom one avenue to
mother were narrow and crooked.
Digitizi
ed by Google
Rubftga.
200 THBOUGE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. While I stood admiring the view, a page came up,
^r![k.!^ and, kneeling, announced that he had been des|mtched
by the Emperor to show me mj house. Following
him, I was ushered within a corner lot of the fenced
square, between two avenues, into what I might appro-
priately term a " garden villa " of Uganda. My house,
standing in the centre of a plantain garden about 100 feet
square, was 20 feet long, and of a marquee shape, with a
miniature portico or eave projecting like a bonnet over
the doorway, and was divided into two apartments.
Close by, about 30 feet off, were three dome-like huts
for the boat's crew and the kitclien, and in a corner of
the garden was a railed space for our bullocks and
goats. Were it not that I was ever anxious about my
distant camp in Usukuma, I possessed almost every-
thing requisite to render a month's stay very agreeable,
and for the time I was as proud of my tiny villa as a
London merchant is of his country-house.
In the afternoon I was invited to the palace. A
number of people in brown robes, or white dresses,
some with white goatskins over their brown robes,
others with cords folded like a turban round their
heads, which I heard were distinguishing marks
of the executioners, were also ascending to the
burzah. Court after court was passed until we
finally stood upon the level top in front of the great
house of cane and straw which the Waganda fondly
term Kibuga^ or the Palace. The space at least was
of aulic extent, and the prospect gained at every point
was also worthy of the imperial eyes of the African
monarch.
On all sides rolled in grand waves a voluptuous land
of sunshine, and plenty, and early summer verdure,
cooled by soft breezes from the great equatorial fresh-
water sea. Isolated hill-cones, similar to that of
Rubaga, or square tabular masses, rose up from the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MTE8A'8 PALACE. 201
beautiful landscaj^e to attract, like mysteries, the curious 1875.
stranger s observation, and villages and banana groves "tf'^^^
of still fresher green, far removed on the crest of
distant swelling ridges, announced that Mtesa owned
a land worth loving. Dark sinuous lines traced the
winding courses of deep ravines filled with trees, and
gragsy extents of gently undulating ground marked the
pastures ; broader depressions suggested the cultivated
gardens and the grain fields, while on the far verge of
the horizon we saw the beauty and the charm of the
land melting into the blues of distance.
There is a singular fascination about this country.
The land would be loved for its glorious diversified
prospects even though it were a howling wilderness ;
but it owes a great deal of the power which it exercises
over the imagination to the consciousness that in it
dwells a people peculiarly fiiscinating also. "How
comes it,'* one asks, " that this barbarous, uneducated,
and superstitious monarch builds upon this height ? "
Not for protection, surely, for he has smoothed the
uneven ground and formed broad avenues to approach
it, and a single torch would suffice to level all his
fences ? Does he, then, care for the charms of the pro-
spect ? Has he also an eye to the beauties of nature ?
Were this monarch as barbarous as other African
chiefs whom I had met between Zanzibar and Napoleon
Channel, he would have sought a basin, or the slope
of some ridge, or some portion of the shores of the
lake where his cattle might best graze, and would there
have constructed his grass dwellings. But this man
builds upon a hill that he may look abroad, and take a
large imperial view of his land. He loves ample room ;
his house is an African palace, spacious and lofty ; large
clean courtyards surround it ; he has spacious quarters
for his harem, and courtyards round those; he has
spacious quarters for his guards, and extensive court-
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202 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. yards round those ; a cane enclosure surrounds all, and
April 10. b^yQjid the enclosure again is a wide avenue running
round the palace fences. His people, great and small,
imitaie him as much as lies in their power. They are
well dressed, and immodesty is a crime in the land. Yet
I am still in Africa, and only yesterday, as it were, 1
saw naked men and naked women. It may be that
such a monarch and people fascinate me as much a&
their land. The human figures in the landscape have,
indeed, as much interest for me as the gracious land-
scape itself.
The drums sounded. Mtesa had seated himself on
the throne, and we hastened to take our seats.
Since the 6th April, I had enjoyed ten interviews
with Mtesa, and during all I had taken occasion to intro-
duce topics which would lead up to the subject ol
Christianity. Nothing occurred in my presence but I
contrived to turn it towards effecting that which had
become an object to me, viz. his conversion. There
was no attempt made to confuse him with the detaik
of any particular doctrine. I simply drew for him the
image of the Son of God humbling Himself for the good
of all mankind, white and black, and told him how, while
He was in man's disguise, He was seized and crucified by
wicked people who scorned His divinity, and yet out oi
His great love for them, while yet suffering on the cross
He asked His great Father to forgive them. I showec
the difference in character between Him whom white
men love and adore, and Mohammed, whom the Arab
revere; how Jesus endeavoured to teach mankinc
that we should love all men, excepting none, whih
Mohammed taught his followers that the slaying o
the pagan and the unbeliever was an act that meritec
Paradise. I left it to Mtesa and his chiefs to decide
which was the worthier character. I also sketched ii
brief the history of religious belief from Adam U
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
J MEET A WHITE MAN. 203
Mohammed. I had also begun to translate to him the i875.
Ten Commandments, and Idi, the Emperor's writer, '^^^^^*
transcribed in Kiganda the words of the Law as given
to him in choice Swahili by Robert Feruzi, one of my
boat's crew, and a pupil of the Universities Mission at
Zanzibar.
The enthusiasm with which I launched into this
work of teaching was soon communicated to Mtesa
and some of his principal chiefs, who became so absorb-
ingly interested in the story as I gave it to them that
httle of other business was done. The political burzali
and seat of justice had now become an alcove, where
only the moral and religious laws were discussed.
Before we broke up our meeting Mtesa informed me
that I should meet a white man at his palace the next day.
" A white man, or a Turk ? "
" A white man Kke yourself,** repeated Mtesa.
" No ; impossible ! "
"Yes, you will see. He comes from Masr (Cairo),
from Gordoom (Gordon) Pasha."
"Ah, very well, I shall be glad to see him, and if
he is really a white man, I may probably stay with
you four or five days louger," said I to Mtesa, as I
shook hands with him, and bade him good-night.
The **whitB man," reported to be coming the next
day, arrived at noon with great ^clat and flourishes of
trumpets, the sounds of which could be heard all over
the capital. Mtesa hurried off a page to invite me to his
burzah. I hastened up by a private entrance. Mtesa
and all his chiefs, guards, pages, executioners, claimants,
guests, drummers and filers were already there, en
grande tenue. ^
Mtesa was in a fever, as I could see by the paling of
the colour under his eyes and his glowing eyeballs.
The chiefs shared their master s excitement.
" What shall we do," he asked, " to welcome him ? **
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
204 TEROUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. ** Oh, form your troops in line from the entrance to
April 11. ^jj^ burzah down to the gate of the outer court, and
^ present arms, and as he comes within the gate, let
your drums and fifes sound a loud welcome."
" Beautiful ! " said Mtesa. '' Hurry Tori, Chamba-
rango, Sekebobo ; form them in two lines just as Stamlee
says. Oh, that is beautiful !' And shall we fire guns,
Stamlee ? "
** No, not until you shake hands with him ; and as
he is a soldier, let the guards fire, then they will not
injure anyone."
Mtesa's flutter of excitement on this occasion made
me think that there must have been a somewhat similar
scene before my landing at Usavara, and that Tori
must have been consulted frequently upon the form of
ceremony to be adopted.
What followed upon the arrival of the white man at
the outer gate had best be told as an interlude by the
stranger himself.
"At two o'clock, the weather haying cleared up, Mtesa sent a messenger
to inform me that he was ready to receive me. Notice is given in the
camp; every one puts on his finest clothes; at last we are ready; my
brave Soudanians look quite smart in their red jackets and white
trousers. I phice myself at their head; trumpets flourish and drums
sound as we follow an avenue from eighty-five to a hundred yards
wide, running direct north and south, and terminating at Mtesa's
palace." . . .
" On entering this court, I am greeted with a frightful uproar ; a
thousand instruments, each one more outlandish than the other, produce
the most discordant and deafening sound& Mtesa's body-guard carrying
guns present arms on my appearance; the kmg is standing at the
entrance of the reception hall, I approach and bow to him a la turgue.
He holds out his hand, which I press; I immediately perceive a sunburnt
European to the left of the king, a traveller, whom I imagine to be
Cameron. We exchange glances without speaking.
" Mtesa enters the reception room, and we follow him. It is a narrow
hall about 60 feet long by 15 feet wide, the ceiling of which, sloping
down at the entrance, is supported by a double row of wooden pillars
which divide the room into two aisles. The principal and central room
is unoccupied, and leads to the king's throne ; the two aisles are filled
with the great dignitaries and chief officers. At each pillar stands on€
of the king's guard, wearing a long red mantle, a white turban ornamented
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
COLONEL LINANT DE BELLEFONDS. 205
with monkey skin, white trousers and black blouse with a red band. All 1375
are armed with gons. April 11.
" Mtesa takes his place on his throne, which is a wooden seat in the Rubaga,
shape of an office arm-chair; his feet rest npon a cushion; the whole
placed on a leopard's skin spread oyer a Smyrna carpet Before the king
is a highly polished elephant's tusk, and at his feet are two boxes con-
taining fetishes ; on either side the throne is a lance (one copper, the
other steel), each held by a guard; these are the insignia of Uganda;
the dog which Speke mentions has been done away with. Crouching at
the foot of the king are the yizier and two scribes.
" Mtesa is dignified in his manner, and does not lack a certain natural
air of distinction ; his dress is elegant : a white eoufUm finished with a
red band, stockings, slippers. Test of black cloth embroidered with gold,
and a tarhouche with a silver plate on the top. He wears a sword with
ivory-inlaid hilt (a Zanzibar weapon), and a staff.
" I exhibited my presents, which Mtesa scarcely pretended to see, his
dignity forbidding him to show any curiosity.
" I address the traveller, who sits in front of me, on the left of the king :
* Have I the honour of speaking to Mr. Cameron ? '
"Stanlet. 'No, Sir; Mr. Stanley.*
" Mtselv. * M. Linant de Bellefonds, member of the Gordon-Pasha
Expedition.'
" We bow low to each other, as though we had met in a drawing-room,
and our conversation is at an end for the moment.
" This meeting with Mr. Stanley greatly surprises me. Stanley was far
from my thoughts ; I was totally ignorant of the object of his Expedition.
" I take leave of the king, who meanwhile has been amusing himself by
making my unlucky soldiers parade and fiourish their trumpets. I shake
hands with Mr. Stanley, and ask him to honour me with his presence at
dinner.
"I had scarcely been more than a few minutes in my hut when
Mr. Stanley arrived. After having mutually expressed the pleasure our
meeting gave us, Mr. Stanley informed me that Cameron had written
from TJjiji that he was starting for the Congo. Mr. Cameron, he told me,
must have .been much embarrassed by the question of money, having
exceeded the amount allowed by the Koyal Geographical Society. At
IJjiji, he would have lost all his companions, and would be actually
alone. Mr. Stanley was loud in his praises of Cameron, and hoped that
he would succeed in his expedition." ....
"Leaving his expedition at Usukuma, Mr. Stanley embarked with
eleven men on the Victoria Lake, in a small boat which he had brought
with him; he explored all the eastern part of the lake, jwnetratin^ into all
the bays, gulfs, and creeks, and taking the bearings of islands and capes.
I saw Mr. Stanley's work, which is very extensive. He showed me some
curious sketches of islands he had seen ; the islands of the Bridge, the
Grotto, and the Sphinx. The first is a natural bridge of granite, with all
the appearance of a bridge made by the hand of man ; the second is like
the grotto of the enchantress Calypso; the third greatly resembles the
Egyptian Sphinx." • • . .
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206 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT. ^
1875. Colonel Linant de Bellefonds havine: thus described
^ our meeting, there remains but little for me to add.
As soon as I saw him approaching the burzah, I
recognized him to be a Frenchman. Not being intro-
duced to him — and as I was then but a mere guest of
Mtesa, with whom it was M. Linant's first desire to
converse — I simply bowed to him, until he had con-
cluded addressing the Emperor, when our introduction
took place as he has described.
I was delighted at seeing him, and much more
delighted when I discovered that M. Linant was a very
agreeable man. I observed that there was a vast differ-
ence between his treatment of his men and the manner
inwhichi treated mine, and that his intercourse with the
Waganda was conducted after exactly opposite principles
to those which governed my conduct. He adopted a
half military style which the Waganda ill brooked,
and many things uncomplimentary to him were uttered
by tliem. He stationed guards at the entrance to his
courtyard to keep the Waganda at a distance, except
those bearing messages from Mtesa, while my courtyard
was nearly full of Watongolehs, soldiers, pages, children,
with many a dark-brown woman listening with open
ears to my conversation with the Waganda. In fact^
my courtyard from morning to night swarmed with all
classes, for I loved to draw the natives to talk, so that
perfect confidence miglit be established between us,
and I might gain an insight into their real natures.
By this freer converse with them I became, it seemed, a
universal favourite, and obtained information sufficient
to fill two octavo volumes.
M. Linant passed many pleasant hours with me.
Though he had started from Cairo previous to my
departure from Zanzibar, and consequently could com-
municate no news from Europe, I still felt that for a
brief period I enjoyed civilized life. His cum/i^ was
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TEE FROCESS OF CONVERSION.
207
r the French fashion. He possessed French beans 1875.
olive oil, various potted meats of Paris brands, "^r^^^^^"
s de foie gras and Bologna sausage, sardines and
seilles biscuits, white sugar, coffee, cocoa, chocolate,
tea. If we add to this list the articles that the
ves and Mtesa's bounty furnished — milk, beef, kid,
Mi and ripe bananas, eggs, sweet potatoes, tomatoes,
3ns, and cassava flour — it will be seen that his cook
abundance of material wherewith to supply and
jfy our moderate gastronomic tastes. The pleasure
mutually felt in each other's company, and the
optional good health which blessed us, sharpened
appetites and improved our digestion. The
jious conversations which I had begun with Mtesa
e maintained in the presence of M. Linant de
efonds, who, fortunately for the cause I had in
v^ was a Protestant.* For when questioned by
sa about the facts which I had uttered, and which
been faithfully transcribed, M. Linant, to Mtesa's
nishment, employed nearly the same words, and
vered the same responses. The remarkable fact
; two white men, who had never- met before, one
ing arrived from the south-east, the other having
irged from the north, should nevertheless both know
same things, and respond in the same words,
rmed the popular mind without the burzah as a
ider, and was treasured in Mtesa's memory as being
atculous.
'he period of my stay with Mtesa drew to a close,
I requested leave to depart, begging the fulfil-
it of a promise he had made to me that he would
lish me with transport sufficient to convey the Expe-
Dn by water from Kagehyi in Usukuma to Uganda.
[n the original manuscript, which is in the possession of General
. Stone, Chief of the Staff in his Highness the Khedive's service,
iinant has alluded in the most flattering manner to these hoars
ted to religious instruction.
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208 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Nothing loth, since one white man would continue hie
April 15. rgyidence with him till ray return, and being eager to
** see the gifts I told him were safe at Usukuma, he gave
his permission, and commanded Magassa to collect
thirty canoes, and to accompany me to my camp.
On the 15th April, then, escorted by Magassa and
his Watongolehs, and also by M. Linant and ten of his
Nubian soldiers, we left Rubaga.
We arrived at Usavara about 10 a.m., and I imagined,
foolishly enough, that Magassa would be ready for the
voyage. But the Magassa of the 15th April was
several grades higher in his own estimation than the
Magassa of the 1st April. Fifteen days' life in the
Emperor's favour and promotion to an admiralship
had intoxicated the youth. Magassa co\ild not be
ready for two days.
" Not if I send a messenger back to Mtesa with this
information ?'* I asked.
*' Ah, yes, perhaps to-morrow morning."
" Only a few hours longer, M. Linant ; so it does not
matter much. Meantime we will take possession of
our old quarters at Usavara, and pass the evening in
a ramble along the shores of the bay, or a sail in
the boat." To which suggestion M. Linant assented.
There was matter suflBcient to engage us in conver-
sation. The rich region we trod, landscapes steeped in
most vivid green, the splendour of the forest foliage, the
magnificent lake of Equatorial Africa, studded with a
thousand isles, the broad and now placid arm known as
Murchison Bay, the diversity of scenery, the nature of
the rocks, the variety of the plants, ourselves met upon
this far strand of the inland sea, to part perhaps for
ever — a continuous chain of topics which, with an
intelligent and sympathetic companion like M. Linant,
might have served to make our rambles and our
evenings in the hut enjoyable for weeks.
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A GRAND MISSION FIELD. 209
In the evening I concluded my letters dated 14th 1875.
April 1875, which were sent to the Daily Telegraph ^^^^^^
and the New York Herald^ the English and American
journals I represented here, appealing for a Christian
mission to be sent to Mtesa.
The appeal written hurriedly, and included in the
letter left at Usavara. was as follows : —
" I have, indeed, nndermined Islamism so much here that Mtesa has
determined henceforth, imtil he is hetter informed, to ohserre the
Christian Sahbath as weU as the Muslim Sabbath, and the great captains
have tmanimously consented to this. He has further caused the Ten
Commandments of Moses to be written cm a board for his daily perusal —
for Mtesa can read Arabic— as well as the Lord's Prayer and the golden
commandment of our Saviour, ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy-
self This is great progress for the few days that I have remained with
him, and, though I am no missionary, I shall begin to think that I might
become one if such success is feasible. But, oh I that some pious, practical
missionary would come here ! What a field and harvest ripe for the
sickle of civilization I Mtesa would give him anything he desired —
houses, lands, cattle, ivory, &c. ; he might call a province his own in one
day. It is not the mere preacher, however, that is wanted here. The
bishops of Great Britain collected, with all the classic youth of Oxford
and Cambridge, would effect nothing by mere talk with the intelligent
people of Uganda. It is the practical Christian tutor, who can teach
people how to become Christians, cure their diseases, construct dwellings,
understand and exemplify agriculture, and turn his hand to anything,
like a sailor — this is the man who is wanted. Such an one, if he can be
found, would become the saviour of Africa. He must be tied to no church
or sect, but profess God and His Son and the moral law, and live a
blameless Christian, inspired by liberal principles, charity to all men, and
devout faith in Heaven. He must belong to no nation in particular, but
to the entire white yace. Such a man or men, Mtesa, Emperor of Uganda,
Usoga, Unyoro, and Karagw^— an empire 360 geographical miles in
length, by 50 in breadth— invites to repair to him. He has begged me to
tell the white men that, if they will only come to him, he will give them
all they want Now, where is there in all the pagan world a more
promising field for a mission than Uganda ? Colonel Linant de Bellefonds
is my witness that I speak the truth, and I know he will corroborate all
I say. The Colonel, though a Frenchman, is a Calvinist, and has become
as ardent a well-wisher for the Waganda as I am. Then why farther
spend needlessly vast sums upon black pagans of Africa who have no
example of their own people becoming Christians before them ? I speak
to the Universities Mission at Zanzibar and to the Free Methodists at
Mombasa, to the leading philanthropists, and the pious people of
England. 'Here, gentlemen, is your opportunity— embrace it I The
people on the shores of the Nyanza call upon you. Obey your own
VOL. I. — 14
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210 TEROUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. generons instincts, and listen to them ; and I assnie yon that in one yei
AprU 17. you will have more converts to Christianity than all other missionarii
UMTira. united can number. The population of Mtesa's kingdom is very dena
I estimate the number of his subjects at 2,000,000. You need not fear i
spend money upon such a mission, as Mtesa is sole ruler, and will refu
its cost tenfold with ivory, coffee, otter skins of a very fine quality, <
even in cattle, for the wealth of this country in all these products
immense. The road here is by the Kile, or via Zanzibar, Ugogo, ai
Unyanyemb^. The former route, so long as Colonel Gordon governs tl
countries of the Upper Nile, seems the most feasible.' "
When tlie letters were written and sealed, I con
mitted them to the charge of Colonel Linant. M
friend promised he would await my return fror
Usukuma; meanwhile he lent me a powerful fielc
glass, as mine, being considerably injured, had bee
given to Mtesa.
Magassa was not ready on the second day of on
arrival. One of his women had absconded, or some c
Mtesa's chiefs had seized her. Only ten canoes ha
arrived by the evening of the 16th.
The parting between M. Linant and myself, I sha
allow him to describe : —
"At 5 A.M. drums are beaten; the boats going with Stanley a
collecting together.
" Mr. Stanley and myself are soon ready. The Iiody Alice is unmoore(
luggage, sheep, goats, and poultry are already stowed away in the
places. There is nothing to be done except to hoist the American flj
and head the boat southwards. I accompany Stanley to his boat; \
shake hands and commend each other to the care of €k)d. Stanley tab
the helm ; the Dxdy Alice immediately swerves like a spirited horse, ai
bounds forward lashing the water of the Nyanza into foam. The stan
flag is hoisted, and floats proudly in the breeze; I immediately raise
loud hurrah with such hearty good will as perhaps never before greet<
the traveller's ears.
" The Lady Alice is already far away. We wave our handkerchiefs as
last farewell ; my heart is full ; I have just lost a brother. I had gro^
used to seeing Stanley, the open-hearted, sympathetic man and frier
and admirable traveller. With him I forgot my fatigue; this meetii
had been like a return to my own country. His engaging instructi^
conversation made the hours pass like minutes. I hoi)e I may see hi
again, and have the happiness of spending several days with him."
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DBES8ED IN BRIEF AUTHOBITT. 211
CHAPTER X.
Parting with Colonel Linant — Magassa's Tanity and disloyalty — The
sailors' island — Jumba's Cove — Uganga — Diimo — ITie Alexandra
Nile — Lupassi Point— In danger at Makongo— Alone with Nature — •
Insect life — Dreams of a happier future — A dark secret — Murabo
and the fish — Alice Island — A night never to be forgotten — The
treachery of Bumbireh — Saved 1 — Refuge Island— Wiru — *' Go and
die in the Nyanza 1 " — Back in camp — Sad news.
" Adieu ! adieu ! mon ami Linant ! Eemember my 1375.
words, I shall return within a month ; if not, present -^p"^ ^'^
my compliments to your friends at Ismailia (Gondo- **^^^
koro), and tell them they may see me on the Albert
Nyanza," were the last words I said to M. Linant de
Bellefonds, as I seated myself in my boat on the
morning of the 17th April.*
We had scarcely gone three miles on the voyage,
before the vanity of the youth Magassa exceeded all
bounds. Deeming it prudent — before it was too late —
to lecture him, and hold out prospects of a reward
conditional upon good behaviour, I called to him to
approach me, as I had something to say to him. He
• Owing to the events which are recorded in this chapter I was unable
to return to Mtesa's capital within the time specified to M. Linant,
but it is evident that my friend waited nearly six weeks for me. He
sustained a fierce attack for fourteen hours from several thousand Wan-
yoro en route to Ismailia, but finally succeeded in making his escape,
and reaching Colonel Gordon's headquarters in safety. On the 26th
August, however, being on another mission, he was attacked by the
Bans near a place called Lahore, and he and his party of thirty-six
soldiers were massacred. This sad event occurred four days after I
returned on my second visit to the Eipon Falls.
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212 THBOUGE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. would not come, but continued on his way with a slight
Apru 17. grimace and a saucy inclination of the head. I reserved
iwtmi 0. ^^^ lecture until we should arrive in camp.
At noon I took observations for latitude at the
entrance to Murchison Bay, and during the afternooii
we rowed hard upon our voyage, reaching Chiwanukc
Island near sunset. Magassa soon followed me, and as 1
landed, I laid hold of him gently but firmly, and seating
him by my side, employed myself in holding forth
grand expectations before him, only, however, on the
condition that he obeyed Mtesa's orders, behaved well,
and acted in unison with me. Magassa promised faith-
fully, and as a sign that he was sincere, begged to be
permitted to continue his voyage to Sesse, a large
island where Mtesa's canoes were beached, to procure
the full quota of thirty promised to me. Leaving five
canoes in charge of Senium and Sentageya, two ol
his Watongolehs, he departed by night, which ]
thought was a remarkable instance of energy. The
truth was, however, that he only proceeded two miles,
and slept at a village, where he abused his authority
by seizing a woman, and binding the cliief.
The next day we proceeded with the Watongolehs,
Sentum and Sentageya, and camped at Jumba's Cove,
Jumba is the hereditary title of one of the junior
admirals in command of a section of the imperial canoe
fleet, to whom is awarded the district of Unjaku, a
headland abutting on the left or north bank of the
Katonga river. It is an exceedingly fertile district,
separating Gabunga's, or the chief admiral's, district
from Sambuzi's^ a sub-chief of Kitunzi.
The whole of the north coast from Murchison Bay
presents a panorama of beautiful views, of square table-
topped mounts, rounded hills, and cones forming low
ranges, which run in all directions, but with a general
inclination east and west, and form, as it were, a natural
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE SAILORS' ISLAND. 213
bonndary to the lake on the north. These masses of 1975.
mountain, forming irregular ranges, suggest to the -^p"^^^*
observer that no rivers of importance issue into the ^^
lake from the north side. They are terminated sud-
denly at the Katonga, and from the north-west along
their base the rivet flows sluggishly into the lake.
On the right or southern bank the land appears to be
very low, as far as the hills of Uddu, four miles oflF.
The Katonga river at its mouth is about 400 yards
wide, but its current is very slow, almost imper-
ceptible.
Uganga is a lowland district lying at the mouth of
the Katonga, on the south or right bank, whence a
large bay with well-wooded shores rounds from this
river to the southward in a crescent form, to Bwiru,
from which point we begin to trace the coast of
Uddu. Uganda proper extends only as far as the
Katonga river; from its bank Uddu begins, and
stretches as far as the Alexandra Nile or Kagera.
Sess^ Island extends from a point six miles south of
Kibonga, westward to a point seven miles south of
Jumba's village, and southward — parallel almost with
the coast of Uddu — to a distance of about twenty-three
miles. Its extreme length is about forty-two miles,
while its extreme breadth must be about twenty miles.
The principal canoe builders and the greater number
of the sailors of Mtesa*s empire dwell in Sesse, and
because of their coal-black colour, timidity, supersti-
tion, and general uncleanly life, are regarded as the
helots of Uganda.
On the 2l8t we made a tedious, eventless voyage
along the low, swampy, and jungly shores of Ujaju to
Dumo, a village situated on the mainland nearly
opposite the extreme southern end of Sess^ Island.
From a curious stony hill near Dumo, which bears
traces of ancient eflfects of water, we obtained a distant
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Dume.
214 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. view of the outskirts of a pastoral plateau risiiij
April 21. westward.
Magassa appeared in the evening from his ur
successful quest for canoes. He gave a graphi
account of the dangers he had encountered at Sess<
whose inhabitants declared they would rather b
beheaded by the Kabaka than risk themselves o]
an endless voyage on the stormy sea, but he ha
obtained a promise from Magura, the admiral in charg
of the naval yards at Sesse, that he would endeavour t
despatch fourteen canoes after us. Meanwhile, Magass
had left me at Chiwanuko with five canoes, but re
turned with only two, alleging that the other thre
leaked so much that they were not seaworthy. H
suggested also that, as Magura might cause grea
delay if left alone, 1 should proceed with Sentum an^
Sentageya, and leave him in charge of five. Havinj
witnessed his vanity and heard of his atrociou
conduct near Chiwanuko, I strongly suspected him c
desiring to effect some more mischief at Dumo, but
was powerless to interpose the strong arm, and there
fore left him to answer for his shortcomings to Mtes£
who would doubtless hear of them before long.
After leaving Dumo and Sesse north of us, we hai
a boundless horizon of water on the east, while on th
west stretched a crescent-shaped bay, bordered by
dense forest, ending south at Chawasimba Point Fror
here another broad bay extends southwards, and i
terminated by the northernmost headland of Usongon
Into this bay issues the Alexandra Nile in on
powerful deep stream, which, from its volume an
dark iron colour, may be traced several mile
out. At its mouth it is about 150 yards wide
and at two miles above narrows to about 100 yardi
We attempted to ascend higher, but the currer
was so strong that we made but slow progresi
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TEE MOTHER OF THE VICTORIA NILE.
215
id after an ascent of three miles were obliged to
)andon it. The plain on either side has a breadth
from five to ten miles, which during the rainy
ason is inundated throughout its whole extent,
he deepest soundings we obtained were 85 feet,
know no other river to equal this in magnitude
nong the affluents of the Victoria Nyanza. The
bimeeyu river thus becomes the second largest affluent
• the lake, and the two united would form a river
[ual to that which has its exit by the Ripon Falls.
The Waganda Watongolehs, Sentum and Sentageya,
ill the Alexandra Nile the " Mother of the River at
inja '* or the Ripon Falls.
The Alexandra Nile constitutes a natural boundary
itween the sovereignty of Uganda and its subject
Ingdoms of Karagwe and Usongora, which begin
luth of the river. The plain of the Alexandra
retches south a few miles to an irregular line of
rassy and treeless mountains, which are the cha-
icteristics of the fine pastoral countries of Usongora
id Karagwe. At Lupassi Point the mountains project
eeply, almost clifl-like, into the lake, with heights
irying from 200 feet to 500 feet. The steep slopes
ristle at many points with grey gneiss rocks — massy
ibris from the mountain brows. Near this point I
iscovered a stream which had a fall of 3 feet issuing
om an orifice in a rocky clifl^, though above it there
as not the faintest sign of a watercourse. In the
iiUies and clefts of the clifi-sides most beautiful ferns
)Ounded.
I managed to climb to the top of the bluffs, and to
y surprise overlooked a plateau, with a grandly
►lling surface, covered with pasture and almost tree-
8s, except near the villages, where grew dense groves
' bananas. Further west, however, the plateau heaves
jwards into mountain masses of the same naked
1875.
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I 4
Ifakongo.
216 THROUQE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. character. Looking towards the east, directly in front
^^"IL ^^ North Usongora, stretches an apparently illimitable
silvery sea ; but towards the south one or two lofty
islands are visible, situated about twenty-five miles
from the mainland, serene and royal in their lone
exclusiveness.
The first village we halted at on the coast of Usongora
was Makongo. It nestles in a sheltered nook in a bay-like
indentation of the lofty mountain wall crowded with
banana groves and huts scattered under their impene-
trable shades — with a strip of grey gravel beach gently
sloping from the water's edge about 40 feet upward to
where it meets the prodigious luxury of the grove.
There were about a dozen natives clad in dingy goat-
skins seated on the beach, sucking the potent maramba
from gourds when we came up, and without question we
hauled our boat and two canoes high and dry. To our
greetings the natives responded readily and civilly
enough. With rather glazed eyes they offered us some
of the equatorial nectar. The voyage had been long
on this day, and we were tired, and it might be that we
sighed for such cordial refreshing drink as was now
proffered to us. At any rate, we accepted their
hospitable gift, and sucked heartily, with bland
approval of the delicacy of the liquid, and cordial
thanks for their courtesy. An observation for longi-
tude was taken, the natives looking on pleased and
gratified. To all our questions as to the names of the
localities and islands in view they replied like friends.
Sunset came. We bade each other good-night. At
midnight there was a fearful drumming heard, which
kept us all awake from the sheer violence of the sound.
** Is anything wrong ? " we demanded of Sentum
and Sentageya. " Oh, no 1 " they answered. Still the
drumming sounded hoarsely through the dark night,
and the desire for sleep fled.
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Makongo.
TEE SAVAGES OF MAKONGO. 217
My men were all up before dawn, impatient for the ists.
day. Instinct, startled by that ominous drumming, J^J^^^^
warned them that something was wrong. I was still
in my boat with drawn curtains, though able to com-
municate with my people. At sight of the natives
Safeni, the coxswain, hailed me. As I was dressed, I
arranged my guns and soon stepped out, and my
astonishment was great when I perceived that there
were between 200 and 300 natives, all in war costume
and armed with spears, and bows and arrows, and
long-handled cleaver-like weapons, with ample and
long cane shields for defence, so close to us. For
this terrible-looking body of men stood only about
thirty paces off regarding us steadfastly. It was
such a singular position, so unusual and so strangely
theatrical, that, feeling embarrassed, I hastened to
break the silence, and advanced towards a man whom
I recognized as the elder who had given me some
native wine on the previous evening.
" What means this, my friend ? " I asked. " Is any-
thing wrong ? "
He replied rapidly, but briefly and sternly, in the
Kinyambu language, which as I did not understand,
I called the Mtongoleh Sentum to translate for me.
" "Wlhat do you mean by drawing your canoes on our
beach ? " I was told he asked.
" Tell him we drew them up lest the surf should
batter them to pieces during the night. The winds
are rough sometimes, and waves rise high. Our canoes
are our homes, and we are far from our friends who
are waiting for us. Were our canoes injured or broken,
how should we return to our friends ? **
He next demanded, " Know you this is our country ? "
" Yes, but are we doing wrong ? Is the beach so soft
that it can be hurt by our canoes ? Have we cut down
your bananas, or entered into your houses? Have we
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Makougo.
218 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1876. molested any of your people ? Do you not see our fires
ApriL \yy ^hich we slept exposed to the cold night ? *'
a 'v^ell, you must leave this place at once. We
do not want you here. Go ! **
*'That is easily done," I answered, "and had you
told us last night that our presence was not welcome
to you, we should have camped on yonder island."
" What did you come here for ? "
** We came to rest for the night, and to buy food,
and is that a crime ? Do you not travel in your canoes ?
Supposing people received you as you received us this
morning, what would you say ? Would you not say
they were bad? Ah, my friend, I did not expect
that you who were so good yesterday would turn out
thus ! But never mind ; we will go away quickly
and quietly, and the KaJjaha Mtesa shall hear of this,
and judge between us."
" If you wish food, I will send some bananas to yonder
island, but you must go away from this, lest the people,
who wish to fight you, should break out."
We soon shoved the boat and two canoes into the
water, and I and my boat's crew embarked and rowed
away a few yards. But Sentum was angry with the
people, and instead of quietly departing, was loudly
expostulating with them. To prevent mischief and the
massacre of his entire party, I shouted to Sentum, com-
manding him to embark at once, which after a short
time he obeyed, growling.
We steered for Miisira Island, about three miles from
Makongo, where we found four or five canoes from
Kamiru's country loaded with coffee and butter. The
Waganda, Sentum and Sentageya, with feelings em-
bittered against the natives, seized upon several
packages of coffee, which drew a loud remonstrance
from the natives. The Waganda sailors, ever ready for
a scramble, followed their chiefs' example, and assisted
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A QUIET BAMBLE. 219
in despoiling the natives, which caused one of them to ists.
appeal to me. I was busy directing the boat's crew to ^^^^}'
set my tent, when I was thus made acquainted with i»im"
the conduct of the Waganda. The property taken from
them was restored immediately, and Sentum and
Sentageya were threatened with punishment if they
molested them further, and the natives were advised to
leave for another island about five miles north of us, as
soon as the lake should become calm.
About 10 ik.M. the chief of Makongo, true to his pro-
mise, sent us ten bunches of green bananas, suflBcient for
one day's provisions for the sixty-two men, Waganda
and Wangwana, of whom our party consisted.
After these events I strolled alone into the dense and
tangled luxuriance of the jungle woods which lay
behind our camp. Knowing that the people would be
discussing their bananas, that no foe could molest
them, and that they could not quarrel with any natives
— ^there being nobody else on the island of Musira but
ourselves — I was able to leave them to pass the time
as they might deem most agreeable. Therefore, with
all the ardour of a boy, I began my solitary explora-
tion. Besides, it was so rare for me to enjoy solitude
and silence in such perfect safety as was here promised
to me. My freedom in these woods, though I was
alone, none could endanger or attempt to restrain ; my
right to climb trees, or explore hollows, or stand on
my head, or roll about on the leaves or ruins of branch
and bark, or laugh or sing, who could oppose?
Being thus absolute monarch and supreme arbiter
over myself, I should enjoy for a brief period perfect
felicity.
That impulse to jump, to bound, to spring upward
and cling to branches overhead, which is the charac-
teristic of a strong green age, I gave free rein to. Un-
fettered for a time from all conventionalisms, and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
220 TEBOUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. absolved from that sobriety and steadiness which my
M^* position as a leader of half wild men compelled me to
uuod. assume in their presence, all my natural elasticity of
body came back to me. I dived under the obstructing
bough or sprang over the prostrate trunk, squeezed into
almost impossible places, crawled and writhed like a
serpent through the tangled undergrowth, plunged
down into formidable depths of dense foliage, and
burrowed and struggled with frantic energy among
shadowing pyramids of vines and creepers, which had
become woven and plaited by their numbers into a
solid mass.
What eccentricities of creation I became acquainted
with in this truanting in the wild woods ! Ants, red,
black, yellow, grey, white, and particoloured, peopling
a miniature world with unknown emmet races. Here
were some members of the belligerent warrior caste
always threatening the harmless, and seeking whom
they might annoy, and there the ferocious food-pro-
viders, active for the attack, ranging bole, bough, twig
and leaf for prey ; the meek and industrious artisans
absorbed in defending the poor privilege of a short
existence ; the frugal neuters tugging enormous loads
towards their cunningly constructed nests ; sentries on
wateh at the doors to defend the approaches to their
fastnesses. They swarmed among the foliage in
columns of foraging and plundering marauders and
countless hordes of ruthless destroyers. In the decay-
ing vegetation I heard all around mo the xylophagous
larvae of great beetles hard at work by thousands, and
saw myriads of termites destroying with industrious
fury everything that lay in their path, whether animal
or vegetable. Armies of psyllae and moths innumerable
were startled from the bushes, and from every bough
shrilled the tiresome cicada, ever noisy. Here the
relentless ant-lions prepared their pitfalls, and there the
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Hasim
ALONE WITH NATUBE. 221
ostly mantis, green or grey, stood waiting for unwary 1875,
jects. Diamond beetles abounded, and many another ^]^"^
ecies, uncouth and horrid, scrambled away from
fore my feet. Nor are these a thousandth part of
e insect nations that I disturbed ; the secluded island
is a world of infinite activities.
Beyond the flats I came at last to where the ground
)ped upward rapidly, though still clothed with tall
3es and their parasitical plants and undergrowth;
id in spite of the intense heat, I continued my
ploration, determined to view the upper regions,
ambering up the steep side, I had a large choice of
pports ; here a tamarind and next a bombax, now a
ejecting branch of mimosa and now a thick Uiane,
mg down, inviting me to haul myself upward and
rward; the young and pliant teak sapling or slender
smine bent as I seized them to assist my labouring
et, and at last I emerged alx)ve the trees and the
nglo of meshed undergrowth, and stood upright on
e curious spiky grass, studded with wild pine-apple,
•ound orchids and aloes, which covered the summit.
After a general look around the island, I discovered
was in the form of a rudely shaped boot-last, lying
tst and west, the lowest part being the flats through
hich I had just struggled. It was about three-quarters
* a mile long and about 200 yards wide. The heel
as formed by a narrow projecting ledge rising about
) feet nearly perpendicularly from the water. From
lis ledge rose the rock 80 feet above it, and 130 feet
lerefore above the water.
I gazed long on the grand encircling prospect. A
ilcyon calm brooded on the lake, eastward, northward,
id southward, until the clear sky and stainless silver
ater met, the clear bounds of both veiled by a gauzy MffllMT"
ipour, suggesting infinity. In a bold, majestic mass rfllr
\ the south-east rose Alice Island, while a few miles
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I
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222 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT
1875. south-east of it appeared the Bumbireh group. Oppo-
^^ site me, to the west, and two miles from where I stood,
bUnd. was the long cliffy front of the plateau of Usongora, its
slowly rising summit gemmed with patches of ever-
green banana, until it became banked in the distance
by lines of hazy blue mountains.
It is a spot from which, undisturbed, the eye may
rove over one of the strangest yet fairest portions of
Africa — ^hundreds of square miles of beautiful lake
scenes — a great length of grey plateau wall, upright and
steep, but indented with exquisite inlets, half surrounded
by embowering plantains — hundreds of square miles of
pastoral upland dotted thickly with villages and groves
of banana. From my lofty eyrie I can see herds upon
herds of cattle, and many minute specks, white and
black, which can be nothing but flocks of sheep and
goats. I can also see pale blue columns of ascending
smoke from the fires, and upright thin figures moving
about. Secure on my lofty throne, I can view their
movements, and laugh at the ferocity of the savage
hearts which beat in those thin dark figm'es ; for I am a
part of Nature now, and for the present as invulnerable
as itself. As little do they know that human eyes
survey their forms from the summit of thip lake-girt
isle as that the eyes of the Supreme in heaven are
upon them. How long, I wonder, shall the people
of these lands remain thus ignorant of Him who
created the gorgeous sunlit world they look upon each
day from their lofty upland ! How long shall their
untamed ferocity be a barrier to the Gospel, and how
long shall they remain unvisited by the Teacher !
What a land they possess ! and what an inland sea !
How steamers afloat on the lake might cause Ururi to
shake hands with Usongora, and Uganda with Usukuma,
make the wild Wavuma friends with the Wazinza, and
unite the Wakerew^ with the Wagana! A great
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A DREAM OF TEE FUTUBK 223
trading port might then spring up on the Shimeeyu, 1875.
whence the coffee of Usongora, the ivory, sheep, and ^^"^'
goats of Ugeyeya, Usoga, Uvuma, and Uganda, the isuld.
cattle of Uwya, Karagwe, Usagara, Ihangiro, and
Usuknma, the myrrh, cassia, and furs and hides of
Uganda and Uddu, the rice of Ukerew^, and the grain
of Uzinza, might be exchanged for the fabrici? brought
from the coast ; all the land be redeemed from wild-
ness, the industry and energy of the natives stimulated,
the havoc of the slave-trade stopped, and all the coun-
tries round about permeated with the nobler ethics of a
higher humanity. But at present the hands of the
people are lifted — murder in their hearts — one against
the other ; ferocity is kindled at sight of the wayfarer ;
piracy is tlie acknowledged profession of the Wavuma ;
the people of Ugeyeya and Wasoga go stark naked ;
Mtesa impales, burns, and maims his victims; the
Wirigedi lie in wait along their shores for the stranger,
and the slingers of the islands practise their art against
him ; the Wakara poison anew their deadly arrows at
sight of a canoe ; and each tribe, with rage and hate
in its heart, remains aloof from the other. " Verily,
the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations
of cruelty.**
Oh for the hour when a band of philanthropic
capitiilists shall vow to rescue these beautiful lands,
and supply the means to enable the Gospel messengers
to come and quench the murderous hate with which
man beholds man in the beautiful lands around Lake
Victoria !
I descended from the lofty height, the summit of
Musira Island, by another way, which disclosed to me
the character of the rocky island, and exposed to my
view the precipitous walls of shale, rifted and indented
by ages of atmospheric influences, that surround the
island upon all sides but the western. After great diffi-
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224 TEBOUGE THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. culty I succeeded in getting upon tbe top of a portion o1
^^ an upper ledge that had fallen on the north-east cornei
and now formed a separate projection about 30 feei
high. In a cavernous recess upon the summit of it, ]
discovered six human bodies in a state of decomposition
half covered with grass and debris of rock. One ol
the skulls showed the mark of a hatchet, which made
me suspect that a tragedy had occurred here but a shorl
time before. No doubt the horrible event took place
on the island on the ground occupied by our camp, foi
there was no other spot where such a deed could have
been wrought, and probably the victims were taker
in canoes, and deposited in this hidden recess, thai
strangers might not be alarmed at the sight of the
bodies, or of such evidence of violence as the hatchet-
cleft skull. Probably, also, these strangers were
murdered for their cargo of coffee or of butter by the
natives of the mainland, or by a later arrival ol
strangers like my own Waganda, who because of theii
numerical superiority had begun their molestation and
robbery of the coffee traders, without other cause thai
that they were strong and the traders weak.
About 5 P.M., having long before returned to camp.
I saw on the horizon Magassa's fleet of cane)es, and
counted fourteen. I despatched Safeni and some of the
Waganda in a (janoe to the small islands we passed
just before reaching Makongo, begging Magassa tc
hasten and join me early next morning, as we were
short of provisions, and starvation would ensue if we
were delayed in our voyage. Safeni returned alx)u1
9 P.M. with a request from Magassa that I would gc
on as early as I wished, and a promise that he would
follow me to camp.
I waited, however, for Magassa until 10 a.m., and as
Alice Island — which Sentum and Seutageya advised
me was the best place to touch at in order to make s
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I PROTEST AGAINST FISH STEALING. 225
jhort course for Usukuma — was about thirty miles iws.
Tom Musira, I could delay no longer. It was then ^^^^ ^®'
igreed that Senium should st^y at Masira Island until i»k™i.
tfagassa arrived, and inform him of the direction which
5entageya and I had taken.
We had proceeded on our voyage but three miles
vhen Sentageya turned back with all speed towards
Musira, waving his hand to me to continue my journey*
[magining that he had merely forgotten something, I
lid as he directed.
We reached Alice Island about 9 p.m., for we had
}een delayed by a strong head wind since 4 p.m. As
t was pitch-dark, we were guided to a camping-place
)y a flickering light which we saw on the shore,
rhe light for which we steered was that of a fire
cindled by two men and a boy, who were drying fish
n a cavern the entrance of which opened on the lake.
Chough the fishermen were rather frightened at first,
hey were discreet enough to remain passive ; and to
aim their fears, I assumed an air of extreme blandness
tnd amiability. It being late, I prepared to rest in the
item-sheets of my boat, but as I was about to lie down,
[ heard the natives expostulating. I knew by this
hat the boat's crew must be committing depredations
m their fish stores ; so I sprang out — and only just
n time to save them a serious loss. Murab had
ilready made himself master of half a dozen large
ish, when I came up with naked feet behind him,
tnnouncing my arrival by a staggering blow, which
convinced the fishermen better than any amount of
)landness and affectation of amiability could have done
hat I was sincere, and convinced the Wangwana also
hat injustice would not be permitted. The fishermen
eceived a handful of beads as an atonement for the
attempted spoliation, and to secure the Wangwana
igainst further temptation, I gave them double rations.
VOL. I. — 15
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I
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226 TEEOUQH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. The next morning, when I awoke, I found that we
Ap>^ 27. ^^^Q camped under the shadow of a basaltic cliff, about
uuS. 50 feet high, at the base of which was the fishermen's
cavern, extending about 15 feet within. The island
was lofty, about 400 feet above the lake at its highest
part, nearly four miles in length, and a mile and a
half across at its greatest breadth. The inhabitants
consisted of about forty families from Ukerewe, and
owned King Lukongeh as their liege lord. -/
The summit of Alice Island is clothed with an abun-
dance of coarse grass, and the ravines and hollows are
choked with a luxuriance of vegetable life — trees,
plants, ferns, ground orchids, and wild pine-apple :
along the water's edge there waves a thin strip of water-
cane. The people became fast friends with us, but their
keen trading instincts impelled them to demand such
exorbitant prices for every article that we were unable
to purchase more than a few ears of com. I obtained
a view from the summit with^my field-glass, but I
could distinguish nothing east or south-east. South-
west we saw the Bumbireh group, and to purchase food
we were compelled to proceed thither— disagreeably
convinced that we had lost a whole day by calling at
Alice Island, whereas, had we kept a direct course to
the south, we might have reached the Bumbireh group
in a few hours.
As we started only at noon from Alice Island, being
delayed by expectations of seeing Magassa, and also
by the necessity for purchasing something even at high
prices to prevent starvation, we did not reach Barker's
Island — the easternmost of the Bumbireh group — until
night, which we passed most miserably in a little cove
surrounded by impenetrable brushwood. It was one
downpour of rain throughout the whole night, which
compelled us to sit up shivering and supperless, for to
crown our discomforts, we had absolutely nothing to eat
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AFFLOACEING BUMBIBEH. 227
No more abject objects can be imagined than the human ists.
beings that occupied the boat through the hours of dark- ^p"\28.
ness. There were my crew all sitting as closely as
possible, back to back or side by side, on the oars and
boards which they had arranged like a platform on the
thwarts, and I sitting alone under the awning in the
stern sheets, wearily trying to outline their figures, or
vaguely taking mental notes of the irregularities of
the bush, with occasional hasty glances at the gloomy
sky, or at Bumbireh, whose black mass looked grim
and lofty in the dark, and all the time the rain kept
pouring down with a steady malignant impetuosity.
I doubt if even the happiest hours which may fall
to my lot in the future will ever obliterate from my
memory that dismal night of discomfort and hunger.
But as it generally happens, the dismal night was
followed by a beautiful bright morning. Every inch
of nature that we could scan seemed revivified, re-
freshed, and gay, except the little world which the boat
contained. We were eager to renew our acquaintance
with humanity, for only by contact with others could
we live. We accordingly sailed for Bumbireh, which
lay about two miles from Barker's Island, and ran
down the coast in search of a cove and haven for our
boat, while we should be bartering our beads for edibles.
Bumbireh Island is about eleven miles in extreme
length by two miles greatest breadth. It is in appear-
ance a hilly range, with a tolerably even and softly
rolling summit line clothed with short grass. Its
slopes are generally steep, yet grassy or cultivated. It
contains probably fifty small villages, averaging about
twenty huts to a village, and if we calculate four souls
to each hut, we have a population of about 4000,
including all ages.
Herds of cattle grazed on the summit and slopes ;
a tolerably large acreage here and there showed a
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228 THBOUGE THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. brown soil upturned for planting, while extensive
April 28. banana groves marked most of the village sites.
There was a kindly and prosperous aspect about the
island.
As soon as we had sailed a little distance along the
coast, we caught sight of a few figures which broke
the even and smooth outline of the grassy summit,
and heard the well-known melodious war-cries em-
ployed by most of the Central African tribes, " Hehu-a
hehu-u-u-u ! " loud, long-drawn, and ringing.
The figures increased in number, and fresh voices
joined in the defiant and alarming note. Still, hungry
wretches as we were, environed by difficulties of all
kinds, just beginning to feel warm after the cold and
wet of the night before, with famine gnawing at our
vitals, leagues upon leagues of sea between us and our
friends at Usukuma, and nothing eatable in our boat,
we were obliged to risk something, reminding our-
selves *^ that there are no circumstances so desperate
which Providence may not relieve."
At 9 A.M. we discovered a cove near the south-east
end of the long island, and pulled slowly into it.
Immediately the natives rushed down the slopes,
shouting war-cries and uttering fierce ejaculations.
When about 50 yards from the shore, I bade the men
cease rowing, but Safeni and Baraka became eloquent,
and said, " It is almost always the case, master, with
savages. They cry out, and threaten, and look big, but
you will see that all that noise will cease as soon as
they hear us speak. Besides, if we leave here without
food, where shall we obtain it ? "
The last argument was unanswerable, and though I
gave no orders to resume their oars, four of the men
impelled the boat on slowly, while Safeni and Baraka
prepared themselves to explain to the natives, who
were now close within hearing, as they came rushing
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iLiKh tJ'''^
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WE ABE HAULED ASEOBR 229
to the water's edge. I saw some lift great stones, 1575.
while others prepared their bows. ^^^^ ^^'
We were now about 10 yards from the beach,
and Safeni and Baraka spoke, earnestly pointing to
their mouths, and by gestures explaining that their
bellies were empty. They smiled with insinuating
faces ; uttered the words " brothers,'* ** friends," " good
fellows," most volubly ; cunningly interpolated the
words Mtesa — the Kabaka — Uganda, and Antari king
of Ihangiro, to whom Bumbireh belongs. Safeni and
Baraka's pleasant volubility seemed to have produced
a good eflFect, for the stones were dropped, the bows
were unstrung, and the lifted spears lowered to assist
the steady, slow-walking pace with which they now
advanced.
Safeni and Baraka turned to me triumphantly and
asked, "What did we say, master?" and then, with
engaging frankness, invited the natives, who were now
about two hundred in number, to come closer. The
natives consulted a little while, and several — now
smiling pleasantly themselves — advanced leisurely into
the water until they touched the boat's prow. They
stood a few seconds talking sweetly, when suddenly
with a rush they ran the boat ashore, and then all the
others, seizing hawser and gunwale, dragged her about
20 yards over the rocky beach high and dry, leaving
us almost stupefied with astonishment !
Then ensued a scene which beggars description.
Pandemonium — all its devils armed — raged around us.
A forest of spears was levelled ; thirty or forty bows
were drawn taut ; as many barbed arrows seemed
already on the wing ; thick, knotty clubs waved above
our heads ; two hundred screaming black demons jostled
with each other and struggled for room to vent their
fury, or for an opportunity to deliver one crushing
blow or thrust at us.
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230 TEBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. In the meantime, as soon as the first symptoms c
Apni 28. ^j^jg manifestation of violence had been observed, I ha
* sprung to my feet, each hand armed with a loade
self-cocking revolver, to kill and be killed. But th
apparent hopelessness of inflicting much injury upoi
such a large crowd restrained me, and Safeni turne
to me, though almost cowed to dumbness by the lou
fury around us, and pleaded with me to be patient,
complied, seeing that I should get no aid from m;
crew ; but, while bitterly blaming myself for my im
prudence in having yielded — against my instincts — ^t^
placing myself in the power of such savages, I vowe(
that, if I escaped this once, my own judgment shouL
guide my actions for the future.
I assumed a resigned air, though I still retained m;
revolvers. My crew also bore the first outburst of th^
tempest of shrieking rage which assailed them witl
almost sublime imperturbability. Safeni crossed hi
arms with the meekness of a saint. Baraka held hi
hands palms outward, asking with serene benignity?
"What, my friends, ails you? Do you fear empt;
hands and smiling people like us? We are friendj
we came as friends to buy food, two or three bananas
a few mouthfuls of grain, or potatoes, or muhog
(cassava), and, if you permit us, we shall depart a
friends."
Our demeanour had a great effect. The riot an
noise seemed to be subsiding, when some fifty ne\v
comers rekindled the smouldering fury. Again th
forest of spears swayed on the launch, again the knott
clubs were whirled aloft, again the bows were drawi
and again the barbed arrows seemed flying. Safer
received a push which sent him tumbling, little Karang
received a blow on the head with a spear-staflF, Saramb
gave a cry as a club descended on his back.
I sprang up this time to remonstrate, with the tw
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A BniBF BESPITE FROM DEATm 91
revolvers in my left hand. I addressc?d myself to an isrs.
eWer, who seemed to be restraining the people fro^ii^^Jl^^
proceeding too far. I showed him beads, cloth, wire,
ind invoked the names of Mtesa, and Antari their king. '
The sight of the heaps of beads and cloth I exposed
awakened, however, the more deUberate passions of
selfishness and greed in each heart. An attempt at
massacre^ they began to argue, would certainly entail
the loss of some of themselves, " Guns might be seized
and handled with terrible eiTect even by dying men,
and who knows what those little iron things in the
white man's hands are?" they seemed to be asking
themselves, Tlie elder, whatever ho thought, responded
with an affectation of indignation, raised his stick, and
to right and left of him drove back the demoniac
crowd. Other prominent men now assisted this elder,
whom we subsequently discovered to he Shekka, the
king of Bumbireh,
Shekka then, having thus he&ttrred himself, beckoned
to half a dozen men and walked away a few yards be*
hind tlie mass. It was the *'shauri," dear to a freo
and independent A frican's heart, that was about to be '
held. Half the crowd followed the king and his
council, while the other half remained to indulge their
violent, vituperative tongues on us, and to continually
menace us with either club or spear. An audacious
party came round the stern of the boat and^ with super-
latively hideous gestures, affronted me ; one of them
even gave a tug at my hair, thinking it was a wig, I
revenged my?clf by seizing his hand, and suddenly
bending it back almost dislocated it, causing him to
howl with pain. His comrades swayed their lauces,
but I smilingly looked at them, for all idea of self-
preservation had BOW almost fled.
The issue had surely an^ived. There had been just
one brief moment of agony when I reflected how uu-
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Bambireh
232 TEBOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. lovely death appears in such guise as that in which i
April 28. ^^^ threatened me. What would my people think ai
tliey anxiously waited for the never returnmg master
What would Pocock and Barker say when they hearc
of the tragedy of Bumbireh! And my friends ii
America and Europe! "Tut, it is only a brief momen
of pain, and then what can the ferocious dogs do more
It is a consolation that, if anything, it will be short
sharp, sudden — a gasp, and then a silence — for eve:
and ever ! " And after that I was ready for the figh
and for death.
" Now, my black friends, do your worst ; anything
you choose ; I am ready."
A messenger from the king and the council arrives
and beckons Safeni. I said to him, " Safeni, use you:
wit." " Please God, master," he replied.
Safeni drew nearly all the crowd after him, fo:
curiosity is strong in the African. I saw him posi
himself. A born diplomatist was Safeni. His hand
moved up and down, outward and inward; a cordia
frankness sat naturally on his face ; his gestures weri
graceful ; the man was an orator, pleading for mercj
and justice.
Safeni returned, his face radiant. " It is all righl
master, there is no fear. They say we must stop her
until to-morrow."
**Will they sell us food?"
** Oh, yes, as soon as they settle their shauri.**
While Safeni was speaking, six men rushed up an
seized the oars.
Safeni, though hitherto politic, lost temper at this
and endeavoured to prevent them. They raised thqi
clubs to strike him. I shouted out, "Let them gc
Safeni."
A loud cheer greeted the seizure of the oars,
became convinced now that this one little act woul
y
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•• TRULT, THIB 18 TROUBLE.'' 233
lead to others ; for man is the same all over the world. 1875.
Set a beggar on horseback, and he will ride to the^^'^.^^
devil ; give a slave an inch, and he will take an ell ;
if a man submit once, he must be prepared to submit
again.
The " shauri " proceeded. Another messenger came,
demanding five cloths and five fundo of necklaces.
They were delivered. But as it was now near noon,
and they were assured we could not escape, the savages
withdrew to their nearest village to refresh themselves
with wine and food.
After the warriors had departed, some women came
to look at us. We spoke kindly to them, and in return
they gave us the consoling assurance that we should be
killed ; but they said that if we could induce Shekka to
make blood-brotherhood, or to eat honey with one of us,
we should be safe. If we failed, there was only flight
or death. We thanked them, but we would wait.
About 3 P.M. we heard a number of drums beaten.
Safeni was told that if the natives collected again he
must endeavour to induce Shekka with gifts to go
through the process of blood-brotherhood.
A long line of natives in full war costume appeared
on the crest of the terrace, on which the banana grove
and village of Kajurri stood. Their faces were smeared
with black and white pigments. Almost all of them bore
the peculiar shields of Usongora. Their actions were
such as the dullest- witted of us recognized as indicating
hostilities.
Even Safeni and Baraka were astounded, and their
first words were, "Prepare, master. Truly, this is
trouble."
** Never mind me," I replied, " I have been ready
these three hours. Are you ready, your guns and
revolvers loaded, and your ears open this time ?"
** We are," they all firmly answered.
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234 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. " Don't be afraid ; be quite cool. We will try, while
^^^ they are collecting togetlier, the women's suggestion.
Go frankly and smilingly, Safeni, up to Shekka, on the
top of that hill, and offer him these three fundo of
beads, and ask him to exchange blood with you/'
Safeni proceeded readily on his errand, for there was
no danger to him bodily while we were there within
150 yards, and their full power as yet unprepared.
For ten minutes he conversed with them, while the
drums kept beating, and numbers of men bepainted for
war were increasing Shekka's force. Some of them
entertained us by demonstrating with their spears how
they fought ; others whirled their clubs like tipsy Irish-
men at Donnybrook fair. Their gestures were wild,
their voices were shrill and fierce, they were kindling
themselves into a fighting fever.
Safeni returned. Shekka had refused the pledge of
peace. The natives now mustered over 300.
Presently fifty bold fellows came rushing down,
uttering a shrill cry. Without hesitation they came
straight to the boat, and, hissing something to us, seized
our Kiganda drum. It was such a small affair, we did
not resist ; still the manner in which it was taken com-
pletely undeceived us, if any small hope of peace re-
mained. Loud applause greeted the act of gallantry.
Then two men came down towards us, and began to
drive some cows away that were grazing between us
and the men on the hill. Safeni asked of one of them,
'* Why do you do that?"
" Because we are going to begin fighting presently,
and if you are men, you may begin to prepare your-
selves," he said scornfully.
" Thanks, my bold friend," I muttered to myself.
" Those are the truest words we have heard to-day."
The two men were retiring up the hill. "Here,
Safeni," I said, " take these two fine red cloths in your
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THE MUBBEBERS BAULKED. 235
hand ; walk slowly up after them a little way, and the i875.
minute you hear my voice run back ; and you, my ^^"A^!'
boys, this is for life and death, mind ; range yourselves
on each side of the boat, lay your hands on it carelessly,
but with a firm grip, and when I give the word, push
it with the force of a hundred men down the hill into
the water. Are you all ready, and do you think you
can do it ? Otherwise we might as well begin fighting
where we are/'
"Yes, Inshallah Master,'* they cried out with one
voice.
" Go, Safeni ! *•
I waited until he had walked fifty yards away,
and saw that he acted precisely as I had instructed
him.
** Push, my boys ; push for your lives ! '*
The crew bent their heads and strained their arms ;
the boat began to move, and there was a hissing,
grinding noise below me. I seized my double-barrelled
elephant rifle and shouted, " Safeni ! Safeni, return ! '*
The natives were quick-eyed. They saw the boat
moving, and with one accord they swept down the hill
uttering the most fearful cries.
My boat was at the water's edge. ** Shoot her into
the lake, my men ; never mind the water " ; and clear
of all obstructions she darted out upon the lake.
Safeni stood for an instant on the water's edge, with
the cloths in his hand. The foremost of a crowd of
natives was about twenty yards from him. He raised
his spear and balanced himself.
** Spring into the water, man, head first," I cried.
The balanced spear was about to fly, and another
man was preparing his weapon for a deadly cast, when
I raised my gun and the bullet ploughed through him
and through the second. The bowmen halted and
drew their bows. I sent two charges of duck-shot into
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236 TEBOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. their midst with terrible effect. The natives retreated
^P'^^ from the beach on which the boat had lately lain.
Having checked the natives, I assisted one of my
men into the boat, and ordered him to lend a hand to
the others, while I reloaded my big guns, keeping my
eyes on the natives. There was a point about 100 yards
in length on the east, which sheltered the cove. Some
of the natives made a rush for this, but my guns com-
manded the exposed position, and they were obliged
to retire.
The crew seized their rifles, but I told them to leave
them alone, and to tear the bottom-boards out of the
boat and use them as paddles ; for there were two hip-
popotami advancing upon us open-mouthed, and it
seemed as if we were to be crushed in the water after
such a narrow escape from the ferocious people ashore.
I permitted one of the hippos to approach within ten
yards, and, aiming between his eyes, perforated his
skull with a three-ounce ball, and the second received
such a wound that we were not molested by him.
Meanwhile the savages, baffled and furious at seeing
their prey escape, had rushed, after a short consulta-
tion, to man two canoes that were drawn up on the
beach at the north-west corner of the cove. Twice I
dropped men as they endeavoured to launch the boats ;
but they persisted, and finally, launching them, pursued
us vigorously. Two other canoes were seen coming
down the coast from the eastern side of the island.
Unable to escape, we stopped after we had got out
of the cove, and waited for them.
My elephant rifle was loaded with explosive balls for
this occasion. Four shots killed five men and sank
two of the canoes. The two others retired to assist
their friends out of the water. They attempted
nothing further, but some of those on shore had managed
to reach the point, and as we resumed our paddles, we
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SAVED i 237
heard a voice cry out, ** Go and die in the Nyanza ! " 1875.
and saw them shoot their arrows, which fell harmlessly ^^21
a few yards behind us. We were saved ! Lake.
It was 5 P.M. We had only four bananas in the boat,
and we were twelve hungry men. If we had a strong
fair breeze, a day and a night would suffice to enable
us to reach our camp. But if we had head-winds, the
journey might occupy a month. Meanwhile, after the
experience of Makongo, Alice Island, and Bumbireh,
where should we apply for food? Fresh water we had
in abimdance, sufficient to satisfy the thirst of all the
armies of the world for a century. But food ? Whither
should we turn for it ?
A gentle breeze came from the island. We raised
the lug sail, hoping that it would continue fair for a
south-east course. But at 7 p.m. it fell a dead calm.
We resumed our extemporized paddles — those thin
weak bottom-boards. Our progress was about three-
quarters of a mile per hour !
Throughout the night we laboured, cheering one
another. In the morning not a speck of land was
visible : all was a boundless circle of grey water.
About 9 A.M. a squall came fair and drove us about
eight miles to the south; about 10.30 it became calm
again, but still we paddled unceasingly. At night we
found ourselves about seven miles away from an island
to the southward of us, and we made noble efforts to
reach it. But a gale came up from the south-west,
against which it was useless to contend. The crew
were fatigued and weakened after paddling forty-nine
hours without food.
We resigned ourselves to the waves and the rain
that was falling in sheets, and the driving tem-
pest. Up and down we rose and sank on the great
waves, battered from side to side, swung round,
plunged in dark hollows, and bathed in spray. We
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238 TESOUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. baled the boat out, and again sat down. At midnig
^f*^' the gale moderated and the moon rose, throwing
bUod. weird light upon the face of the lake and its loi
heaving billows, which still showed high crests whiteni
with foam. Up and down we rose and plunged. T]
moon now shone clear upon the boat and her wretch(
crew, ghastlily lighting up the crouching, wearied, d(
pairing forms, from which there sometimes rose de(
Highs that wrung my heart. "Cheer up, my lac
think nothing of the curse of those of Bumbireh ; b
men's curses sometimes turn out blessings," I said,
encourage them. One of the thwarts was chopped u
and we made a fire, and with some of the coflFee whicl
had obtained from Colonel Linant at Mtesa's we f(
somewhat refreshed. And then, completely weari(
out, they all slept, but I watched, busy with my thoughi
The morning came, the morning of the 30th Apr
and though ray men had only eaten four banan
between them and tasted, besides, a cup of coffee sin
10 A.M. of the 27th, they nevertheless, sixty-eight hoi]
afterwards, when I urged them to resume their paddl
that we might reach an island twelve miles south of i
rallied to my appeal with a manliness which won b
admiration, responding with heroic will but alas ! wi
little strength.
At 2 P.M. — seventy-six hours after leaving Ah
Island — ^we approached a cove in an uninhabited islar
which I have distinguished on the chart by the nai
of " Refuge.*' We crawled out of the boat, and ea
of us thanked God for even this little mercy, and 1
down on the glowing sand to rest.
But food must be obtained before night. Bara
and Safeni were sent to explore the interior in o
direction, Murabo and Marzouk in another. Rob
and Hamoidah were set to kindle a fire, and I to
my shot gun to shoot birds. Within half an houi
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•^ SQUARE MEAL'' AGAnT. 239
lad obtained a brace of large fat ducks ; Baraka and ists.
Jafeni returned each witb two bunches of young green ^*^ '*
)anana8, and Murabo and his comrade had discovered uimd.
ome luscious berries, like cherries.
And what glad souls were we that evening around
)ur camp fire with this gracious abundance to which a
)enignant Providence had led us, storm-tossed, bruised,
tnd hungry creatures that we were but a few hours
)efore ! Bananas, ducks, berries, and coffee ! The
obacco gourd and pipe closed one of the most delicious
evenings I ever remember to have passed. No wonder
;hat before retiring, feeling ourselves indebted to the
Supreme Being who had preserved us through so many
roubles, we thanked Him for His mercies and His
x)unties.
We rested another day on Refuge Island to make
)ars; and further explorations enabled us to procure
lalf a dozen more bunches of bananas. Our appetites
kvere so keen that there was but little left next morning
jj the time we were ready to start afresh. With oar
md sail we set out for Singo Island. Perceiving it
tvas uninhabited, we steered for Ito Island, the slopes of
Kvhich were rich with plantains, but the natives slung
stones at us, and we were therefore obliged to continue
)n our way to the Kuneneh group, near the peninsula
3f Ukerew^.
On the afternoon of the 4th May, a stormy head-
Kvind rising, we were compelled to turn into the cove
rf Wiru, where, through the influence of Saramba the
juide, who was at home in this country, we were hos-
pitably received, and meat, potatoes, milk, honey,
bananas both ripe and green, eggs and poultry, were
freely sold to us. We cooked these delicacies on
board, and ate them with such relish and appetite as
jnly half starved men can appreciate.
Hoping to reach our camp next morning, we set sail
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y
240 THBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. at 9 P.M., steering across Speke Gulf. But about 3 A.»
^*^ ^' when wo were nearly in mid-gulf, the fickle wind faile
us, and then, as if resolved we should taste to tl
uttermost the extreme of suffering, it met us with
tempest from the N.N.E., as fearful in other respec
as that which we experienced at Usuguru, but with tl
fresh torment added of hailstones as large as filbert
The sky was robed in inky blackness, not a star wj
visible, vivid lightnings flashed accompanied by loi
thunder crashes, and furious waves tossed us about x
though we were imprisoned in a gourd, the elemen
thus combining to multiply the terrors of our situatioi
Again we resigned the boat to wind and wave, as a
our efforts to keep our course were unavailing.
We began \o think that the curse of the people <
Bumbireh, **Go and die in the Nyanza," might I
realized after all — though I had much faith in the staunc
craft which Messenger of Teddington so conscientious!
constructed.
A grey, cheerless, morning dawned at last, and w
discovered ourselves to be ten miles north of Rwomj
and about twenty miles north-west of Kagehyi. W
put forth our best efforts, hoisted sail, and though th
wind was but little in our favour at first, it soon veere
round, and sent us sailing merrily over the tall wavei
and along the coast of Usukuma, straight toward
camp.
Shouts of welcome greeted us from shore, for th
people had recognized us by our sail when miles awaj
and as we jjrew nearer the shouts changed to volleys o
musketry, and the waving of flags, and the land seemei
alive with leaping forms of the glad-hearted men. Fo
we had been fifty-seven days away from our people, an(
many a false rumour had reached them of our deathg
strengthened each day that our return was deferred
and our absence grew longer. But the sight of thi
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BACK IN CAMP.
241
exploring boat sailing towards Kageliyi dissipated all
alarm, concern, and fear.
As the keel grounded, fifty men bounded into the
water, dragged me from the boat, and danced me
round the camp on ^heir shoulders, amid much laughter,
and clapping of hands, grotesque wriggling of forms,
and real Saxon hurrahing.
Frank Pocock was there, his face lit up by fulness
of joy, but when I asked him where Frederick Barker
was, and why he did not come to welcome me, Frank's
face clouded with the sudden recollection of our loss as
he answered, " Because he died twelve days ago. Sir,
and he lies there," pointing gravely to a low mour.d
of earth by the lake !
I87r».
May 6.
Kagehyi.
CAIRN ERECTKD TO THE MEMORY OF FREDERICK BARKER:
MAJITA, AKD URURI MOUNTAINS IN THE DISTANCE, ACROSS 8PEKE CULT.
(From aphotoyraph by the Author.)
VOL. I. — 16
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242 THEOUQE THE DARK CONTINENT.
tl
Kagebji.
CHAPTER XI.
Barker's illness and death — Other deaths — Traitors in the camj
Rest 1 — Sickness — K woma blocks our passage by land — Mags
fails ns by water — A serious dilemma — Lnkongeh comes to
rescue — History of Ukerew6 — Educated amphibians — Leaii
Kagehyi with half the Expedition — The foundering canoes —
Faved — Ito conciliates us — Arrival at Befuge Island with half
Expedition — I return for the rest — A murderous outbreak in ca
— Final departure from Kagehyi — ^All encamped on Refuge Islanc
We ally ourselves with Komeh — A dance of kings — Mahj
Island (in the Bumbireh group) — Interviewed by Iroba canoef
Our friendship scorned — The king of Bumbireh a hostage — !]
massacre of the Kytawa chief and his crew — The punishment of
murderers — Its salutary effect upon their neighbours — We an
in Uganda.
1875. When the hysterical congratulations of the Expediti
^*'y^. had somewhat slackened, Prince Kaduma and t
friends of Saramba, the guide (who was now quite
hero) and Frank accompanied me to ray hut — the dc
Jack and Bull folio wing^to give me a brief narrati
of the events that had transpired.
Fred Barker, according to Frank, had good heal
till the middle of April ; after which he began to (
perience aguish fits. On the 22nd he had enjoyed
hippopotamus hunt on the shore between Kagehyi a
Lutari, and on the morning of the 23rd had bathed
the lake and eaten a hearty early breakfast. At 9 a.:
however, he complained of feeling ill, and lay do\^
Almost immediately a cold fit seized him, and his bio
geemed to stagnate in its veins. Frank and Barke
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DEATH IN TEE CAMP. 243
servants employed their utmost art to increase tbe 1875.
warmth of his body. They administered brandy and ^*^ ^\
hot tea, put heated stones to his feet, and piled blanket ** ^'
after blanket upon him, but the congealed blood would
not run, and at II a.m. the poor young man was
dead.
** At 3 P.M. we buried him," said Frank, " close to
the Nyanza. Poor fellow ! many and many a time
he said, during the last few days, * I wish the master
would come back. I should then feel as if there
were some chance ot life for me, but I shall die
stagnating and rotting here if he does not come.'
I think. Sir, he would have pulled through had you
been here.**
I missed young Barker very much. He had begun
to endear himself to me by his bright intelligence
and valuable services. When ill, my least wish was
immediately gratified : he understood the least motion
or sign. He was also a good writer, and he kept the
accounts of the various stores, cloths, and beads. He
was an admirable companion to Frank, and the
two young men were good company for me ; they had
also won the hearts of the Waugwana by their •
gentle, amiable conduct. An oath or a profane word,
I seldom heard from either of them ; and when angry,
their anger at the stupidity or insolence of the people
was of the passive kind ; they never resorted to vio-
lence without appealing to me.
But Frank had other bad news to tell. Mabruki
Ppeke, whom Burton called the bull-headed — the faith-
ful servant of Burton and Speke, Speke and Grant, of
myself on the first expedition, of Livingstone on his last
journey, and one of the most trusted men of my pre-
sent following from Zanzibar to Lake Victoria — was
dead* Jabiri (one of the stout boat- bearers) was dead.
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244 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. and 80 was old Akida, besides three others. All had
^^ ^' died of dysentery. Msenna, the " bully of Zanzibar,"
had broken out once more, after nearly six months of
good behaviour. I arrived at Kagehyi on the 5th
May from the exploration of the lake : on the 6th he
was to l)ave led a body of sixty men to Unyanyembe,
if the master did not return !
Kipingiri, chief of Lutari, and brother of Kaduma,
chief of Kagehyi, had formed a conspiracy with Kur-
rereh, chief of Kyenzi, and the chief of Igusa, to unite
their forces to attack and plunder the camp. But the
Wangwana chiefs, Manwa Sera and Kachech^, had dis-
covered the plot, and Frank and Fred Barker, after
sounding Kaduma, had distributed ammunition, with
every intention of employing their best abilities to
resist the attack. Prince Kaduma*s loyalty to his
absent friend, and Frank and Fred*s bold conduct, with
the sudden death of the chief of Igusa, had caused
Kipingiri to abandon the wicked conspiracy.
Frank informed me also that he had suffered one or
two sliglit attacks of fever, but that he had "easily
shaken them off." The Wangwana were wonderfully
recovered from the miserable attenuation which the
scant fare of Ugogo and Urimi had wrought in their
frames, and some were so robust and fat that I scarcely
knew them. Upon examining the stock of goods left
in the store-room, I was gratified to discover that
Frank had been extremely economical. I found him
in perfect accord with Prince Kaduma, good friends
with Sungoro, and respected by the Wangwana;
and on inspecting his work there was nothing in
his conduct that did not deserve hearty approval and
commendation.
Our return to Kagehyi was followed by Sabbath
repose and rest, fairly earned and much needed. When
. I placed myself under the spring-balance scales, I found
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BEST I 245
I weighed only 115 lbs., just 63 lbs. less than when ists.
leaving Zanzibar. Frank Pocock weighed 162 lbs.! .^^^
I owed this excessive reduction of flesh to scant fare
and days of hunger, not to sickness.
Sweet were those first days of rest ! Frank was eager
to hear all that had befallen us in our 1 000 miles' sail
round the lake, and the Wangwana formed circles
many deep, to hear the Iliad of our woes. What
hearty sympathizers those poor, black, untutored men
were ! Kaduma was all amazement, and Sungoro
never ceased to express his wonder as to how we
managed to go round the lake in the '* little boat." The
Wasukuma extemporized songs in her honour, which
they sang in the evenings ; and the naked urchins
made miniature boats out of the stem of the banana,
with twigs as masts and leaves for sails. The influence
of one example had, it seemed to me, already produced
fruit here, and the efforts of the little ones proved to
me that the natives needed but one or two more such
examples to stimulate them to similar enterprises.
Future explorers will find many ready to imitate bold
Saramba's conduct as guides, and the Wasukuma may
become in future as docile boatmen as they are capable
l)orters and steady travellers on land.
Then came sickness. The African fever having found
my frame weakened from privations attacked me
vigorously one day after another. Three fevers
reduced me 7 lbs. in weight. But I quininized
myself thoroughly from dawn of day to set of sun,
and on the fifth day stepped out, sallow, pale, weak,
and trembling, it is true, with jaundiced eyes, palpi-
tJiting heart, and ringing ears — but the fever had been
conquered.
Where was Magassa with his canoes? Day after day
we hoped and wished he would appear, but his canoes
were never sighted on the horizon, and we finally
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246 TUEOUOE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. abandoned all hope of seeing him, or of being able
Mny 7-15. ^^ ^each Uganda by water. We prepared therefore to
*^ inarch overland by "way of Mwer^ through King Rwo-
ina's country. We made no secret of it. Kaduma
was informed, and he communicated it to everyone,
and so it soon came to Rwoma^s ears.
But King Rwoma, being an ally of Mirambo, enter-
tained a strong objection to Wangwana, and he had ex-
aggerated ideas of the appearance of the white men who
were at Kagehyi. Some silly child ot nature had told
liim there was a white man at Kagehyi with " long red
hair, and great red eyes" — it was probably Frank,
though a libellous caricature of him certainly — and the
report induced Rwoma to send an embassy to Kagehyi.
He said : " Rwoma sends salaams to the white man.
He does not want the white man's cloth, beads, or wire,
and the white man must not pass through his country ;
Rwoina does not want to see him or any other white
man with long red hair down to his shoulders, white
face, and big red eyes ; Rwoma is not afraid cf him,
but if the white man comes near his country, Rwoma
and Mirambo will fight him." To this bold but frank
challenge the Wasukuma added other reasons to prove
that the overland route was impassable. The road
between Muanza and Mwere was closed by factious
tribes. Rwoma was an ally of Mirambo; Kijaju, his
neighbour, was an ally of the predatory Watuta ;
the chief of Nchoza, hard by him, was at war with the
Watuta ; Antari, king of Ihangiro and Bumbireh,
would naturally resent our approach; Mankorongo,
successor of Swarora of Usui, could only be appeased
with such tribute as would be absolutely ruinous. If
I proceeded south to Unyanyemb^, the Wangwana
could never be held together, and the Expedition
would dissolve like snow.
By water what was the outlook ? Magassa and his
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A SERIOUS DILEMMA. 247
fleet were not to be heard of. He had probably returned 1875.
from Musira Island, afraid to risk his canoes in t^^^^^j"^^
great waste of waters between Musira Island and Alice '^
' Island, for Waganda canoes made of plank and sewn
together with fibre ot cane sometimes founder in bad
weather, and the lake in the rainy season is dangerous
to such. The Wasukuma possessed no canoes, and I
but one boat capable of carrying fifteen men in
rough weather. Yet my duty urged me to proceed to
Uganda. Lake Albert must be visited, for I had given
my word of honour that I would attempt it. Yet the
land route was impassable, and to ail appearance so
also was the lake route !
While explaining my difficulties to Sungoro, he in-
formed me, after responding to various other ques-
tions, that Lukongeh, king of TJkerew^, possessed
numerous canoes, but he doubted if he would lend
them to me. ** However," said he, "he is an agree-
able man, and a good friend if he takes a fancy
to one." I thought of Lukongeh, but another attack
of fever cut short my deliberations. My system
was much injured by exposure and privations, and
in my delirium I fancied myself pleading with the
king, and throughout each day's sick vagaries,
"Lukongeh, Lukongeh," nothing but Lukongeh, flitted
through my brain.
On the 15th May I was convalescent, and arranged
that Prince Kaduma, Sungoro*s carpenter, and PVank
Pocock should proceed together to Lukongeh, bearing
ten fine cloths, ten fundo of beads, and five fathom of
brass wire, to open negotiations either for the sale or
liire of canoes.
On the 28th, Frank and his party returned with
fifty canoes and their crews, imder the command of
two chiefs and the " premier " of Ukerew^. I gripped
Frank's hand with ardour, but was dismayed when
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248 TEROUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. I was told that these canoes were to convey the
May 15. Expedition to Ukerew^! This was by no means a
*^* desirable thing, for its progress might be delayed
for months by caprice, or by any future illwiU arising
from a too intimate acc^uaintnnce between the Wa-
ngwana and the natives. I refused, and told the chief::
they could accompany me back to Ukerewe, as I would
see Lukongch myself.
Accordingly, on the 29th, after providing myseli
with presents such as might win any African^
goodwill — fine rugs, blankets, crimson cloth, ani!
striped cloths of Kutch and Muscat, besides beads ol
a rare quality, and other things too numerous tf
mention, equal to about 800 dollars' worth — I startecJ
for Msossi, Lukongeh's capital on the north side o:
Ukerew^.
We halted a few hours at Wezi, and its curious
granite rocks were photographed by me, and in the
afternoon continued our journey, arriving at Kisoryj
at 4 P.M., where we camped. The next morning
about 9 A.M., we passed through Rugedzi Channel
which connects Speke Gulf with Majita Bay. It wai
G feet wide in some j)laces, and if left undisturbec
there was every indication from the grasses anc
water-plants which grew iii it that it would soon hi
choked, but by vigorous punting with poles we sue
ceeded in getting through. Some of the Wakerewe sa^
that Majita mountain is separated from the mainlanc
by a similar channel, at which I should not be sur
l)rised. We reached Msossi, and received a hut t<
house ourselves in, an ox for meat, bananas for vege
tables, and milk for drink.
At 9 A.M. of the 31st we advanced upon the auli
council of Ukerewe, which, seated on some rising rock
on a plain, was quite picturesque, with the gay figure o
Lukongeh in the centre, round which the lesser light
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
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Digitizi
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LUKONGEH IN COUNCIL. 249
ivolved. The king, a handsome, open-faced, light- 1875,
doured young man of twenty-six or twenty-eight ^^^^^^
jars old, merely gazed his fill ; and his chiefs
^siwa, Mosota, Mgeycya, and Wakoreh, followed his
[ample, as well as the lesser chiefs, men, boys, and
omen.
From his questions I perceived that Lukongeh
ould be quite as much influenced by conversations
x)ut Europe as Mtesa of Uganda, and I soon saw
I him as eligible a convert to Cliristianity, though
le future was too fraught with anxiety for me to
;tempt it. No business could be commenced on this
iy. We were to eat and rest, and the next, if the
ing felt in good health, we might l^egin the nego-
ations.
On tlie second day Lukongeh was fortunately in excel-
nt health and spirits, and I felt so also, and with the
reatest possible suavity I [proposed that he should
ther sell or lend me tliirty canoes. All his objec-
ons were met and overruled by the exhibition of my
resents. But when he saw me thus publicly expose
le gorgeous cloths in broad daylight, he trembled,
id bade me cover them up quickly, saying that he
ould visit me in my hut «it night, and that I might
jst assured he would do his best for me. On the
.^ening of the 4th June, he stole into my hut at night,
\ company with his faithful premier and four principal
aiefs, and here I presented him with two fine rugs, one
3otch plaid, two red blankets, ornaments of copper,
lirty fine cloths, fifty fundo of beads, and two coils
r brass wire, besides various other things, such as
ishes, plates, tin pots, &c. His chiefs received five
oths each and five fundo (a fundo consists of ten
Bcklaces) of beads, and two fathoms each of brass
ire. For these munificent presents, I should obtain
ly answer shortly ; but in the meantime I must enjoy
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I \
250 THROUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. myself. " Feed, and get fat,'* said Lukongeh, as
^""* ^"^* withdrew, happy with his wealth.
The Wakerew^, following the example of their kin
treated us with consideration. We had to underpo
narrow inspection, and a keen analysis of physic
nomy, that they might compare us with the Ar
Sungoro ; but we had long become accustomed to tl
and therefore bore it with unconcern.
There are representatives of many tribes in XJkere
— such as Wataturu, Wa-hya, Watambara, Wasumbv
Waruri, Wakwya and Wazinja.
The elders, to whom are entrusted the traditions
the country, furnished me with a list of the foUowi
kings: —
1. Bnhinda L
9. Eabana IL
2. Kasessa.
10. Gurta IL
3. Kytawa.
11. Ruhinda IL
4. Kahaiia L
12. Kahana UL
6. Gurta L
13. Iwanda.
6. Nagu.
14, Machunda.
7. MehigoL
15. Lukongeh, the present
a Mehigo IL
king.
The founder of XJkerew^, Ruhinda I., is the ki
whose memory is most revered. He brought
people in canoes from TJsongora and Ihangiro, wh
was known in old times by the name of U-wya.
it was who introduced the plantain and banana pla
into Ukerew^. The aborigines, whom he conquer
were called Wa-kwya — another name for the inhal
ants of Majita Mount. A small remnant of 1
tribe still live on the south coast of Ukerew^ oppoj
Kagehyi.
The royal sepulchre is at Kitari. The hill on wh
it is situated is seen in the photograph of the boai
the landing-place of Msossi, and an eminent chief
Ukerewe has the charge of it to protect it invioh
The kings are all buried in a sitting posture.
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THE ROYAL SEPULCHRE.
251
Liikongeh*s dominions east of Riigedzi Channel
were acquired by the forcible dispossession of Wata-
turu shepherds, after a fierce battle, which lasted five
days, during which many of the Wakerewe were slain
by the poisoned arrows of the shepherds. Though
they live harmoniously together now, there is as much
difference between the Wakerewe and the Wataturu as
1875.
June 1-6
Ukerew^.
AT THK LANDINO-PLACE OF MSOSSI :
VIEW OF KITARI HILL TO THE LEFT; MAJITA MOUNTAIN TO THE RIGHT.
(^From a photograph hy the Author.)
exists between a Nubian and a Syrian Arab. The
Wataturu are light-coloured, straight, thin-nosed and
thin-lipped, while the Wakerewe are a mixture of the
Ethiopic and negro type.
The king is supposed to be endowed with super-
natural power, and Lukongeh seizes every opportunity
to heighten this belief. He is believed to be enabled to
create a drought at pleasure, and to cause the land to
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June 1-6
(Jkerew^
252 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. be drenched with rain. It is fortunate that, since li
accession to power, rain has been regular and copio
in its season. The king has not been slow to point o
this immense advantage which Ukerewe has gain(
since he succeeded his father ; he is therefore beiov(
and feared.
Aware of the value of a reputation as rai
maker, he \^as ambitious to add to it that of *• gre
medicine man,'* and he besought me earnestly
impart to him some of the grand secrets of Europe-
such as how to transform men into lions and leoparc
to cause the rains to fall or cease, the winds
blow, to give fruitfulness to women and virility
men. Deiuands of this character are commonly ma(
by African chiefs. When I stated my inability
comply with his requests, he whispered to I
chiefs : —
*' He will not give me what I ask, because he
afraid that he will not get the canoes ; but you will s
when my men return from Uganda, he will give me {
I ask."
The custom of greeting the king is a most curio
one, differing from any I have observed elsewhei
His people, after advancing close to him, clap the
hands and kneel to him. If the king is pleased, "
reveals his pleasure by blowing and spitting into th(
hands, with which they affect to anoint their faces ai
eyes. They seem to believe that the king's saliva u
colly rium for the eyes.
To each other the Wakerew^ kneel, clap hands, a;
cry, " Wache ! wache ! " " Wache sug ! " " Mohoro
" Eg sura ? " which, translated, signifies, " Mornin
morning ! " " Good morning ! " "A good day ! " "A
you well ? "
The stories current in this country about the witc
craft practised by the people of Ukara Island pro
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June 1-6;
Ukerew<».
AN EDUCATED OROCODILK 253
that those islanders have been at pains to spread abroad i875.
a good repute for themselves, that they are cunning,
and, aware that superstition is a weakness of human
nature, have sought to thrive upon it. Their power —
according to the Wakerew^ — over the amphibiae is
wonderful. One Khamis, son of Hamadi, the carpenter
of Sungoro, having been a long time constructing a
dhow, or sailing vessel, for his employer, shared most
thoroughly in these delusions.
Khamis averred, with an oath, that there was a
crocodile which lived in the house of the chief of
Ukara, which fed from his hands, and was as docile and
obedient to his master as a dog, and as intelligent as a
man. Lukongeh had once a ptetty woman in his
harem, who was coveted by the Ukara chief, but the
latter could devise no means to possess her for a long
time until he thought of his crocodile. He instantly
communicated his desire to the reptile, and bade him
lie in wait in the rushes near Msossi until the woman
should approach the lake to bathe, as was her custom
daily, and then seize and convey her without injury
across the eight-mile channel to Ukara. The next day,
at noon, the woman was in the Ukara chiefs house.
When I expressed a doubt about the veracity of the
marvellous tale, Khamis said, indignantly : — ** What,
you doubt me ? Ask Lukongeh, and he will confirm
what I have told you."
He then added: — "Machunda, Lukongeh's father,
owned a crocodile that stole an Arab's wife, and carried
her across the country to the king's house!" To
Khamis, and the Wangwana who listened to him, this
last was conclusive evidence that the crocodiles of
Ukara were most astonishing creatures.
The Wakerewe also believe that, if a hawk seizes a
fish belonging to the Wakara, it is sure to die in the
very act !
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Jaue 1-6.
254 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Kaduma of Kagehyi, according to Khamis, possesse
a hippopotamus which came to him each morning, fc
a long period, to be milked !
It requires twelve goats and three hoes to purchase
wife in TJkerew^ from her parents. Sungoro, the Aral
was obliged to pay Lukongeh 350 lbs. of assorte
beads and 300 yards of good cloth before he succecde
in obtaining one of his young sisters in marriage,
the lover is so poor that he has neither goats nor hoe
he supplies such articles as spears, or bows and arrow
but he cannot obtain a wife until he furnishes a sufl
cient dowry to please her parents. If the parents (
older relatives are grasping, and impose hard coi
ditions, the state of the lover is hard indeed, as fr
quently after marriage demands are made for cattl
sheep, goats, &c., a refusal of which renders the marriag
void until children have been born, when all connectic
with her blood relatives ceases.
Thieves, adulterers, and murderers are put to deal
by decapitation. They may escape death, howeve
by becoming the slaves of the party they ha^
wronged.
Coils of brass wire are much coveted by tl
Wakerewe, for the adornment of their wives, who wej
it in such numerous circlets round their necks as
frive them at a distance an appearance of wearing rufl
Wristlets of copper and brass and iron, and anklets
the same metal, besides armlets of ivory, are tl
iavourite decorations of the males.
Families in mourning are distinguished by bands
plantain leaf round their heads, and by a sable pi
inent of a mixture of pulverized charcoal and buttc
The matrons who have fallen into the sere of life a
peculiar for their unnatural length of breasts, whic
depending like pouches down to the navel, are boui
to their bodies by cords. The dress of men and wom<
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June 6,
Ukereir^
256 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. consists of half dressed ox-hides, goat-skins, or
cincture of banana leaves, or kirtles of a coarsely ras
grass-cloth.
On the 6th June, Lukongeh, having issued instr
tions to his chiefs how to assist me, called on me
night, accompanied by his premier, to impart his decisi
and plans.
Said he : — " My people are very timid in strar
lands. They are no travellers like the Wangwana, I j
obliged therefore to act in the dark with them, otherw
I could not help you. I am going to give you twen
three canoes and their paddles. They are not woi
much, and if they give you trouble, you must not bla
me. I am telling my people you are coming back
Ukerewe. Don't deny it, and don't talk about
or they will be sure to run away back here. Ify
are clever, they will follow you to Usukuma. Oi
there, take the canoes and paddles, because I gi
them to you ; and here are my young nephew a
cousin, who will follow you to Ugan<la, and ms
friends with the Wazinja, as far as Ihangiro, for y
When you reach Uganda, I wish you to make Mfc
and myself brothers, and we will exchange gifts. Y
must also remember to send my young men Kick fr
Uganda. Good-bye. I have said all."
I was also enjoined to send to Lukongeh by
young nephew and cousin two suits of crimson a
blue flannels, medicine for rheumatism and headac
one revolver and ammunition, one bale of cloth, bei
of various kinds to the amount of 50 lbs., two fez
one English rug, one Kiganda canoe capable of car;
ing forty men, two tusks of ivory, Usoga goat-ski
otter furs, and iron and brass wire — all of which
course 1 promised most faithfully to send.
Lukongeh and his chiefs were out early on i
morning of the 7th June to bid me farewell. I
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LUKONQEE'a STBATAQEM. 257
there were only five email canoes ready! *'How is lers.
this, Lukongeh ? '* I aeked. " Never mind, go on ;
and remember what I have said to you, my brother.
Lukongeh is true," he replied, with dignity,
" Wonderful man,*' I thought, '* to have a respect for
truth in this country. He is assuredly one of the first.
However, we shall see."
We punted our boat through the narrow Eugedzi
Channel, and rowed to Kisorya. Lukongeh's premier,
his , nephew and cousin, who were to be our guides,
were with us.
From the hills of Kisorya I obtained a capital photo-
graph of the deep bay which leads from Speke Gulf to
Rugedzi Channel, and of the mountains of Urirwi,
across the bay. From Kisorya we moved to Ugoma^
where we halted, a sore trial to our patience, until the
11th June, on which day, with twenty-Beven canoea
of Ukerew^, we rowed to Wezi Island,* eituate
nearly midway in Speke Gulf between Ukerewe and
Kagehyi.
The next day, upon landing at Kagehyi, I whispered
instructions to Frank and Manwa Sera to haul up the
canoes to a distance of eighty yards on land, and
with the aid of Lukongeh's premier and the king's
relatives induced the Wakerewu canoe-men, 21(i ia
number, to store their paddles in my hut.
The Wakerewe were then apprised .of the strategy
of their king, and told that there were four canoea
left them to return to Ukerewe, and that, as it would
occupy four days to transport their entire party back,
beads would be given for ten days' provisions. At
• This island has since had attached to it a sad interest. At Weai,
lieutenant Shergold Smith, and Mr. O'Noil, of tho Cliitrch Miasionary
Society, together with Sungoro the Arab, and many of their foUowera,
lately lost their lives while endeavouring to remove the Arab's women
—among whom was Lukongeh's young eisler— from Ukerew^, without
the king's permission or consent
VOL. I. — 17
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June 12.
Kagehyt
258 THBOUQH THE DARK CONTMENT.
1875. tliis the Wakerewe were naturally very much surprise
and the uproar became tremendous. They seized 1
premier, but he audaciously shuffled the fault upon 1
young relatives, so releasing him they bound Lukonge
relatives, and would undoubtedly have murdered th'
then and there but for the precautions I had tak
A nod to Frank and Manwa Sera, and fifty Wangws
had dashed up to the rescue and, charging on the (
cited mob with the muzzles of their guns, drove th
clear out of the village of Kagehyi.
When the Wakerewe were outside, we held
palaver with them, at which it was explained that
should wait six days at Kagehyi, during which ti
they could communicate with Lukongeh, and if the ki
repented of his promise, the canoes would be sent ba
or that, if they pleased, they could return and,
manning the canoes for us, would be sure of eami
each man his reward, but that the relatives of Lukong
being in my camp and in my service, must not
molested, as I was bound to protect them.
This firm decision being fully explained to th(
forty-five took the four canoes given and retun
to Ukerewe, to communicate with Lukongeh. !
additional canoes, despatched by their friends
next day, assisted in the transport of the natives
Ukerewe back to their country ; and on the third c
our camp was . emptied of almost all of them, 1
though we waited seven days at Kagehyi, no furti
communicaiion came from Lukongeh, and therefore
premier and his five servants departed.
Meanwhile, I had despatched messengers to all
districts around to summon the people to a gr
market, whereat all grain brought to Kagehyi wo
be purchased, at the rate of eight measures (simi
to pecks) for one doti or four yards of blue, white,
coloured cloth. By the 19th June, 12,000 lbs. of gn
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June 20.
MabibL
WE LEAVE KAGEHTL 259
sesamum, millet, and Indian com, and 500 lbs. of rice, I875.
had been purchased and stowed in cloth sacks, each
containing about 100 lbs.
As the canoes were so rotten, the crews of each were
detailed under the supervision of Lukanjab, the nephew,
and Mikondo, the cousin of Lukongeh, to repair them.
This was done by re-sewing many of the planks with
cane-fibre and caulking them with the bruised stalk
of the banana.
At early dawn we began the embarkation of 150
men, women, and children, with 100 loads of cloth,
beads, and wire, 88 sacks of grain, and 30 cases of
ammunition ; and as I could not delegate to others the
care of the flotilla wilhout feeling uncontrollable
anxiety about it, the Lady Alice^ loaded with most of
the ammunition, led the way at 9 a.m. to Mabibi.
These islets are three miles westward of Wezi, six
miles from Ukerew^, and about nine miles from
Kagehyi,
To my great satisfaction I perceived that the Wa-
ngwana would soon acquire the art of paddling, though
many were exceedingly timid on the water. Until
they gained confidence in their new duties, our plan
was to avail ourselves of the calm periods, and not
to risk so many lives and so much property in a
tempestuous sea.
A strong breeze from the north-west lasted all the
morning, but at noon it moderated, and two hours
afterwards, taking advantage of the calm, we pushed
ofiF from Mabibi, and, rounding the south-west corner
of the XJkerewe peninsula, pulled for the Kunneneh
islets, which we reached without loss or accident.
Again the north-west breeze blew strong, and, as it
had power over a greater expanse of water, the
waves did not subside until 2 P.M. It was tough
labour rowing against tlie heavy swell, and the dis-
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260 TEBOUQH TEB DARK CONTINENT.
1875. tanoe to the Miandereh Islands was long. Bj ]
jnne2o. geveting, however, we made good progress^ yet
sunset Miandereh islets were not in sight
Intense darkness set in. We could not see one
other, though we could hear the measured, rhyth
beat and splash of oar and paddle, but no voices, li
and then I flashed a waxlight over the dark waste
a beacon to the thoughtless and unwary. By i
means, and by threats of punishment to those \
strayed from the line, the canoes were kept
gether.
We had proceeded quietly for three hours in
darkness, when suddenly shrill cries were heard
" the boat.** Hurrying to the spot, I managed to
tinguish, to my astonishment, round dark objects float
on the water, which we found to be the heads of i
who were swimming towards us from a founde
canoe. We took the frightened people on board, i
picked up four bales of cloth, but a box of ammunil
and 400 lbs. of grain had sunk.
We moved forward again, but had scarcely gone 1
a milo when again piercing cries from the deep glc
startled us. ^' The boat, oh, the boat ! " was scrcai
in frenzied accents.
As we steered for the spot, I lit a wax taper and
fire to the leaves of a book I had been reading dur
the afternoon, to lighten up the scene. Heads
struggling men and bales were found here likewise
the water, and a canoe turned bottom up with a la
rent in its side ; and while distributing these amc
the other canoes, we heard to our alarm that five g
had sunk, but fortunately no lives were lost or ot
property, except four sacks of grain.
My boat was now up to her gunwale with twenty-1
men and thirty loads, and if a breeze rose, she woi
unless we lightened her of property, inevitably sink.
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FULLING TO TEE HESCUK 261
Through the darkness I shouted out to the frightened i875.
men, that if any more canoes collapsed, the crews ^"^^^^^
should at once empty out the grain and heads, but on
no account abandon their boats, as they would float and
sustain them until I could return to save them.
I had scarcely finished speaking before the alarming
cries were raised again : ** Master, the canoe is sinking !
Quick, come here. Oh, master, we cannot swim ! "
Again I hurried up to the cries, and distinguished
two men paddling vigorously, while five were baling.
I was thinking how I could possibly assist them, when
other cries, broke out: **The boat! Bring the boat
here ! Oh, hurry — the boat, the boat ! '* Then another
broke out, " And we are sinking — the water is up to
our knees. Come to us, master, or we die ! Bring the
boat, my master ! "
It was evident that a panic was raging amongst
the timid souls, that the people were rapidly becoming
utterly unnerved. In reply to their frenzied cries,
and as the only way to save us all, I shouted out
sternly : " You who would save yourselves, follow
me to the islets as fast as you can ; and you who
are crying out, cling to your canoes until we
return."
We rowed hard. The moon rose also, and cheered
us in half an hour with a sight of Miandereh, for
which we steered. Her brightness had also the effect
of rousing up the spirits of the Wangwana ; but still
the piteous cries were heard far behind : " Master ! oh,
master ! bring your boat — the boat ! "
" Hark to them, my boys — hark/' I sang out to my
crew, and they responded to my appeal by causing the
Lady Alice to fly through the water, though the waves
almost curled over her sides. " Pull, my men ; break
your oars ; shoot her through the water ; life and death
hang on your efforts. Pull like heroes." She hissed
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262 THROUQH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. through the waves, as ten men, bending with the ^
Junt 20. ^g^ j^^g^ desperate efiFort^ spurred her with their oai
Miandereh islets rose larger and clearer mio vi
" Hurrah, my boys, here is our island ! pull and c
the black water — your brothers are drowning ! "
We reached Miandereh — shot the goods out, lij
ened her of the wrecked men, and flew back ag
skimming over the dark surface.
There were two brothers who had been m
coxswains of canoes, who came prominently i
notice on this terrible night. Each had his spe
crew, friends and people of the same tril^, and tl
names were Uledi and Shumari ; the former al
twenty-five years old, the latter eighteen.
As I was returning with my boat to the scene,
canoes passed me like arrows. "Who go there?*
demanded.
" Uledi and Shumari^s canoes,'* replied somebody.
** Return instantly, after unloading, to save
people.'*
*' It is what we intend to do, Inshallah ! " answerc
voice.
" Fine fellows those, I warrant them," I thou<
" Their very action and tone reveal their brave spiri
Away we flew to the rescue, blowing the bugle
announce our approach. We passed three or 1
canoes^ racing by us to the islets. Thank Heaven,
lake was calm, and the moon shone clear and strc
casting a golden light upon the waters.
" You are brave fellows ; pull, my sons ; think
those poor men in the lake in sinking canoes.'*
spending to my prayers, the crew almost cracked tl
hearts in the mighty efforts they made; their qu
swaying figures, the deep sighs which burst from tl
breasts, the careering boat, the excited helmsn
everything sympathized with me. I seized one of
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ALL SAVED. 263
oars myself to relieve a lad, and to assist tlie force ists.
which now dashed the boat over the water* She „^"^t '^\
seemed instinct with lite.
We now heard the cries for aid, "Oh, the boat!
Master, bring the boat ! " come once more pealing over
the golden lake from the foundering canoes.
" Do you hear, men ? break the oars — lift the boat
over the water. We will save them yet. It is to-
night or never ! "
With fresh force she bounded upward. Every fibre
of our straining bodies and the full strength of our
energies were roused, and in five minutes we ran along-
side first one canoe, then a second and a third — until
again the boat was down in the water to within an
inch of her gunwale. But all the people, men, women,
and children, were saved. The light material of which
the canoes were constructed had suflSced to float the
loads that were in them.
We rested until help should arrive, and presently
Uledi's and Shumari's canoes were seen advancing side
by side, with lines of pale foam flashing from each
bow, as they were driven with the force of strong
men towards us. With loud, glad cries they stopped
their furious career alongside, and the first words they
uttered were, " Are all safe ? "
" Yes, all," we replied.
*• El hamd-ur-illah ! " ('* Thanks be to God ! '*), they
answered fervently.
With the aid of these two canoes we were able to
return to the islets with the thirty-two men, women,
and children, and the entire property safe. Gur loss
during this fearful night was five canoes, five guns,
one case of ammunition, and twelve hundred pounds
of grain.
The next morning, leaving a tliird of the party and
goods at Miandereh, we departed for Singo, which we
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264 TEBOUGH TEE DAEK CONTINENT.
1875. reached at 9 a.m. A few canoes were then hastenec
June 2L \^qj^ ^q Miandereh for the remainder.
It will be remembered that, while the boat was re
turning from Uganda and passing by Ito, an islanc
situated half a mile south-west of Singo, the native
of Ito drove us away by slinging stones at us. Such x
force as we now numbered could not be received witl
such rudeness : at the same time they were secure fron
molestation by us. I despatched therefore Lukanjal
and Mikondo, the Wakerewe guides, to the island o
Ito, to explain to the natives who we were, and t
remove all fears of reprisal. Lukanjih was extremely
successful, and brought the chief of Ito, who, as som(
atonement for our previous treatment, had furnished him
self with peace-offerings in the shape of a couple of fa
kids, and several bunches of mellow plantains. Th
large island of Komeh also, on the next day, sent it
king to rejoice with us over numerous jars of potent bee
and many slaughtered goats. The king of Komeh soL
us besides four good, almost new, canoes of suflScien
capacity to render us secure from further anxiety.
The Wangwana, after their terrible experience
while crossing the entrance to Speke Gulf, wer
awakened to the necessity of narrowly inspecting an(
carefully repairing their canoes. At Kagehyi th
repairs had been extremely superficial, but the mei
were now fully alive to the importance of good caulk
ing and a thorough relacing of the planks togethei
while Frank, Lukanjah, and I superintended their worl
Seven hours* paddling on the 24th June brought u
to Refuge Island, and on its south side we proceeded
to establish a strong camp. The 25th was employe
in constructing one large store hut for the grain, an
another for the property of the Expedition ; and the hui
of the garrison were built with due regard to the stric
watch of the camp.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BETUBN TO KAGEETL 265 ^
After selecting forty-four men as garrison, and isrs.
appointing Frank Pocock captain and Manwa Sera his ^"°* ^^
lieutenant, with the two guides, Lukanjah and Mikondo, hUiS
as interpreters in case of visitors, and leaving four
canoes for the garrison to communicate, if they wished,
with the natives of Itawagumha on the mainland, I
began my return to Usukuma on the 26th with the
boat, seventeen canoes, and 106 men.
Four days afterwards we reached Kagehyi, at 3 p.m.
But as the voyage had been extremely rough, only
fourteen canoes were mustered in the cove.
When five days had passed, and we received no
tidings of the three canoes and their crews of thirteen
men which were still absent, I despatched a canoe with
two Wangwana and eight Wasukuma to Lukongeh, the
king, requesting him to hunt up the laggards, who no
doubt had either deserted or had been captured by the
TVakorewe.
On this day also I purchased from Kipingiri, for 40
yards of cloth, a large canoe capable of carrying thirty
men, which the Wangwana, on account of her uncouth
shape, called the " Hippopotamus.'* The wood of
which she was made was sycamore, and she was so
rotten at the stern that one thrust of my foot kicked
a hole in her 9 inches in diameter. Though she was
an ancient craft, and heavy with saturation, she might,
I thought, be still made serviceable for the transport of
the riding asses.
Whilst Uledi and Salaam Allah, the carpenters, and
two or three chiefs were assisting me to repair the
venerable ^* Hippo ** in a hollow close to the water s
edge, a man came rushing down, crying, "Quick!
quick! Master, the Wangwana are murdering one
another ! They are all dead men ! "
Leaving one man to look after our tools, we ran
up the hill, and witnessed a most horrible scene. About
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Kigehji.
266 TEBOUQH THE DAEK CONTINENT.
1875. tliirty men armed with guns were threatening c
L-.'*!^ul*i another in an excited manner ; others brandished cli
or knobsticks; some held spears menacingly^ wh
several flourished knives. A frenzy seemed to ha
possessed the hitherto well-behaved people. One m
was already dead with a ghastly knife wound in 1
heart, another lay prostrate with a fractured sk
from a knobstick, and the author of this deed was ev
then striding with sweeping flourishes of a long cl
through the ranks of a turbulent crowd, deliveri
sounding blows on their heads and shoulders.
Snatching a stout stick, I rapped the ruffian so vig(
ously over his knuckles that he dropped his club a
was secured by my assistants, and then, calling the chi
to my aid, we disarmed the infuriates. This summa
proceeding soon quelled the disturbance, and th(
perceiving that pombe — beer — was at the bottom
the mischief, all who were sober were ordered to fi
into line, by which we discovered that fifty-three wc
quite intoxicated.
Upon examination it was found that the murderer
Memb^, one of the stoutest of our boat-bearers, w
Fundi Kehani, and that he who had fractured t
other man's skull was Eehani, the brother of Meml
Both were immediately secured for trial before Prir
Kaduma, the Arab Sungoro, and the Wangwa
chiefs. The jars of pombe were broken, and dilige
search made in every place for beer.
This bloodshed upon the soil of Usukuma had to
paid for out of my cloth stores to mollify Prin
Kaduma, and further payment was required for t
privilege of burial.
The jury which I convened to adjudge the case s€
tenced the murderer to death; but, as I would i
consent to this extreme measure, the sentence w
changed to two hundred lashes and the chain, until 1
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MUBDEBOUa OUTBREAK IN CAMP. 267
arrival at Zanzibar, when he might he surrendered to 1875.
his prince. The drunken madman Rehani, though he ^"^^ ^\
had been inspired to the fury which led him to frac- ^* ^^
ture a man's skull by the sight of his dead brother,
was also condemned by the jury, for endangering the
life of a perfectly innocent man, to fifty lashes. These
sentences, faithfully executed with due ceremony in
presence of all the Wangwana, affected them greatly,
and I took advantage of this scene to call the attention
of the bully Msenna, and others who had distinguished
themselves in the previous day's ebullition of madness,
to the punishment which must assuredly follow the
commission of such dreadful acts.
On the 5th July, to my great joy, the scouts sent
to Lukongeh in search of the missing canoes returned
with two of them, but of the third we received no news,
until a year later — after our arrival at Ujiji — when we
heard that they had deserted and had proceeded direct
to Unyanyemb^ with their guns. The crews of the two
canoes, now happily restored to ns, informed me that
they had been driven by the gale to seek shelter on the
mainland of Ukerewe, where they were instantly seized
and conveyed to Lukongeh, when, instead of being
slain, as the natives expected the captives would be,
they were kindly treated by the king, proving to the
islanders that the white man had only acted by his
orders.
On the 6th July, after giving farewell presents to
Prince Kaduma and his clever, genial princess, to the
Arab Sungoro, Prince Kipingiri of Lutari, and Kur-
ereh — though the two latter little deserved them —
as well as to many others, I embarked all the people,
animals, and effects of the Expedition, and by ten o'clock
we were safely clear of Kipingiri's power and vicious
intents and, for the last time, of Kagehyi.
There was not one feeling of regret in my breast at
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
268 TEEOUQE TEE DARK CONTINENJL
1875. leaving this place, where the Expedition had found a
^^ *^ camp for over four months. Not that the village wa«
uiuS in any way destitute of comforts, for these it aflforded,
nor that the natives were in any manner repugnant
to me, for they were not ; but the objects for which we
came into the land could never be attained by un-
necessary residence at any one spot. The time had
simply arrived to begin our travels again, and I was
glad of it, for the bold and bad Kipingiri was, I sus-
pected, ever exercising an evil influence over Kaduma.
On the 11th July we arrived safely and without
accident at Refuge Island, wliere I found the gar-
rison thriving admirably. Through the influence of
young Lukanjah — the cousin of the king of Ukerewe —
the natives of the mainland had been induced to
exchange their churlish disposition for one of cordial
welcome, and the process of blood-brotherhood had been
formally gone through between Manwa Sera, on my
part, and Kijaju, king of Komeh, and the king of Itawa-
gumba on the other part.
Lukanjah, aware of the respect paid by his dusky
brothers to power, had deftly exaggerated my influence
and the numbers of my force, until a friendly alliance
with one so powerful became a cherished project with
Kijaju, and caused him to seek it by a tribute of
three fat oxen, six goats, and fifty bunches of bananas,
besides a store of delectable maramba, upon which I
found that the garrison had been subsisting during my
absence from Refuge Island.
I deputed Frank to repay with cloths, beads, and
wire Kijaju*s generosity, for the constant anxiety
which I suffered during the passages between Refuge
Island and Kagehyi for the safety of my people and
effects, had induced such a serious illness that for five
days I was unable to leave my hut on the island.
On the sixth day, however, I left my bed and strolled
Digitized by CiOOQIC
TEE DANCE OF KINGS. 269
over the island on which, on that terrible day of our I875.
escape from Bumbireh, we had found a refiige and relief ^^^ ^^'
in our distress, and now an asylum for half of the isUnd!
Expedition for about a month. The younger portion
of the garrison knew every nook and cranny of our
island home, and had become quite attached to it.
On the eastern side about fifteen fruit trees had been
discovered by them, laden with delicious berries, the
flavour of which seemed something of a mixture of
custard apple and a ripe gooseberry. The stones of
this small fruit were two in number, like small date-
stones. The leaves of the tree resemble those of the
peach ; its fruit are smooth-surfaced, and hang in threes;
its wood is tough and flexible. It is no doubt a species
of the Verbenacece. The garrison had failed to consume
half the quantity found, so that, when I arrived with
a reinforcement of 150 men, there was a sufficient
quantity left to cause them all to remember the sweet
fruit of Refuge Island.
On this day, Kijaju, king of Komeh, visited me, to
our mutual satisfaction. He furnished me with two
guides to accompany me to Uganda, who were to be
returned to Komeh along with Lukanjah and Mikondo.
Their assistance was valuable only as the means of
furnishing me with the names of localities between
Refuge Island and Uzongora.
In the same manner that we had left Kagehyi, we
departed from Refuge Island, viz. by embarking the
garrison, and leaving those who had stayed at Kagehyi
to rest upon Refuge Island until we should return for
them.
The night was passed with a wild dance under the
moonlight, at which three kings were present, who par-
ticipated with all the light-hearted gaiety of children
in the joyous sport.
Old Kijaju distinguished himself on the wild " fan-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
270 TEROUaH TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. tnstic toe " most extraordinarily. Itawagumba, jealous
in\j 17. ^f j^jg uncle's performance, exerted himself with mad
uuiidL vigour, and the stalwart chief of Bwina bounded
upward as though performing on the flying trapeze.
Young Lukanjah of Ukerewe, and his royal relative
Mikondo, with all the suppleness of acrobats, made
their d^but on this night with great spirit, and the^
hundred warriors from the mainland sang to the
dance with such force of lungs as startled the colossal
rocks of Refuge Island into echoing the wild harmony.
The Wangwana, headed by Frank and the gallant
Manwa Sera, enlarged the vast circle with 150 men
and 20 women, and all voices chimed to the song which
old Kijaju sang to celebrate the day on which the
white chief made brotherhood with the king of Komeh.
Refreshments were not wanting to cheer the dancers.
Great masses of beef were roasted over glorious fires,
and many jars of beer and mararaba, brought from
Bwina and Komeh, invited the special attention of the
thirsty.
As we left Refuge Island, on the morning of the 18th
July, the guides furnished by Kijaju, king of Komeh,
propitiated the genius of the lake with beads given to
him for the occasion, and adjured it by saying : —
" Be kind to the white M'kama, Nianja, I charge
thee ! - Give him a safe and prosperous voyage across
thy wide waters.'*
From Kazaradzi Island, on which we rested for the
night, we beheld a most glorious sunset. The western
sky, halfway up to the zenith, was all aglow for about
an hour with resplendent gold, which tinted mountain,
hill, plain, and lake with the reflection of the lustrous
hue.
Next day we sailed for Wawizua Island ; and on the
20th, passing by the picturesque islands of Mysomeh
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Hab/iga.
MECONNOITBED BY TEE ENEMY. 271
and Eumondo — every canoe hoisting small lug-sails, ists.
made of the loin-cloths of the crew, in order to benefit ^^Jj^
by the strong south-easter — we steered for Nameterrd
Island, where we arrived without accident.
On the 21st July we arrived at the southernmost
of the dreaded Bumbireh group, Mahyiga Island, which
I ascertained, after careful survey, was not inhabited.
At a little cove on the western side we discovered
relics of a large camp, which, by the shape of the dome-
like huts and bonneted doorways had, we were assured,
been constructed by Waganda. Yet what force of
Waganda could have penetrated thus far to the south ?
As we were now in a dangerous neighbourhood, it
behoved us to form a proper camp, as a small party
would be compelled to remain upon this island until the
remainder of the Expedition could be brought from
Refuge Island. For this purpose, every hand was em-
ployed to clear the scrub and bush for a distance of
200 yards from the cove, and a road 12 feet wide was
cut from the south side of Mahyiga Island to the north
end.
About 5 P.M., while we were still at work, two large
canoes approached cautiously from the direction of
Iroba Island towards our cove. They took great pains
to ascertain the number of our canoes, and we could see
that they endeavoured to reckon up the number of men
on the island before they spoke a word. Finally they
hailed us, and Lukanjah, of Ukerewe, and Kijaju's man
were requested to reply to them.
Our conversation, which was of great interest to us
as we burned to know what to expect from Bumbireh,
was as follows : —
** Is this the white chief who was at Bumbireh ? **
*^Yes."
** Oh, he was not lost on the Nianja then ? **
** No, he lives, and has returned."
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Mabjigt.
272 TEBOUGH THE DALE CONTINENT.
1875. ** Oh. The white chief must not be angry with Iro
iaII^IL We did not trouble him, therefore he has no quai
"^ with us. The people of Bumbireh are bad. What 1
the white chief come for ? **
** He is going to Uganda,**
** How can he go to Uganda ? Does he not kn
that Bumbireh is in the way, and Ihangiro's eyes \
be upon him. Will he fly ? "
" No ; he will proceed by water in his canoes. 1
Bumbireh the white chief is not afraid ; his young n
are many in number. If the men of Bumbireh wish
make friends, let Shekka send the oars he stole, and 1
white chief will be glad."
" Magassa,** replied they, " who camped on tl
island you are on, received the oars from Shekka, a
he took them away to Uganda, believing you were 1
in the Nianja.**
" The white chief was not lost ; he is here. If i1
true that the oars are gone to Uganda, let Shekka ms
friends with the 'white chief, and send him two or th
men to go with him to Makongo, in Uzongora, or
Uganda, as Lukongeh of Ukerewe and Kijaju
Komeh have done, and there will be no more woi
between them."
** Shekka is very strong, and the men of Bumbii
are bold. Antari of Ihangiro, the great king,
stronger, and Shekka is his son. All this Nianja ab
here is his water, and they will not let you pass. Wl
will the white chief do ? "
" Tell Shekka and Antari, his father, that the wli
chief will remain here for many days. He will be g
to hear good words from them. When he is ready
go away, he will let them know. If the king of Ire
is the white chiefs friend, let him send food here
sell."
After promising to perform all that we required, a
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
OUB FRIENDSHIP SCORNED. 273
to bring food the next day, the two canoes paddled 1875.
away, two or three of their crews laughing osten- '^"'y^s.
tatiously. * ^*^'
On the morning of the 23rd, about 10 a.m., another
canoe, containing fifteen men, approached us from
Iroba, in a bold, defiant manner. We asked their crew
if they brought food for sale. They replied, ** No ; but
you will get food in plenty by and by." After taking
a searching look at our camp, they turned away,
giving expression to their contempt by a method which
obtains all round the Uvuma, Uganda, Uzongora, and
Ukerew6 coasts, viz. by throwing up water behind
tl:em in the air with their paddles, which is as well
understood as the British youth's gesture of placing a
thumb to his nose.
Lukanjah smiled when he saw this, and when re-
quested to give me his thoughts, he said significantly,
** Those people mean something."
On the morning of the 24th, long before dawn, in
order that the Iroba or Bumbireh people might not
espy their departure, I despatched sixteen of the
largest canoes under Manwa Sera, to return to Refuge
Island for the remainder of the Expedition, after many
injunctions to be cautious, and not to commit any folly.
Our camp was now in perfect condition, and presented
as clean and orderly an appearance as two days' labour
could render it. Watch-huts were also erected upon
the highest part of the island, and five men under a
chief were detached for the duty of observation. The
garrison left with me upon the island consisted of
forty-five men and the four guides from my friends
Lukongeh and Kijaju.
On this day also canoes came from Iroba, to the crews
of which, as they rested in the water, we exhibited
beads and cloths, copper bracelets and bright brass
wire. In return for our professions of friendliness and
VOL. I. — 18
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A
274 THBOUOE THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. our proffers of gifts, they spurned the water towa
Jo*7 25. ^g^ ^^^ replied with mockery.
^*^ On the 25th, when the Iroba natives came, I adopi
after due forethought, a sterner tone, perceiving t
amiability was liable to contempt and misconstructi
I told them that the king of Iroba must prove
friendship by sending food for sale by noon of the n
day ; and that as I was assured he was in commi
cation with the king of Bumbireh, his neighboui
should expect either the return of the oars or two
three men as sureties and pledges of peace. I kr
the mainland was hostile, and since I was compel
to proceed to Uganda, I resolved to be assured, bef
venturing the lives of the women and children
rotten and crowded canoes, that I should be permit
to proceed in peace, and not be attacked midway
tween Bumbireh and the mainland.
The natives, cowed a little by the tone of vo
promised that there should be no delay in send
provisions, bananas, milk, honey, chickens, even ox
for the white M'kama.
On the morning of the 26th, the men at the obser
tion post reported that they saw a great many can
proceeding from the mainland towards the great ish
of Bumbireh. I ascended the road to the summit, j
with my glass I counted eighteen canoes, heavily lac
with men, and watched them till they had passed roi
Iroba's westernmost point towards Bumbireh. It i
evident that mischief was brewing, but how or in w
shape I could not tell. It was probable that tl
would attack the island by night, knowing we w
not very strong in numbers at the time. It wai
very possible feat, for the islanders, as we had
perienced, were not dull-witted, and were resolute i
brave. Meantime, what should I do in such a case i
I waited until 3 p.m. for the king of Iroba. He
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Umhjiga
CAFTUBE OF TEE KING OF IROBA. 275
not oome. Instant action on my part was therefore 1875.
imperative, ^^^J^^
I manned my boat and four of the canoes with thirty-
five men, leaving only Safeni with fourteen men in
charge of the camp and island, and proceeded to Iroba
to make a reconnaissance. As we came up, I observed
a flutter of excitement on the shore. I steered straight
for the beach opposite a village, and landed. Twenty-
five of the men were dei)loyed as skirmishers- along the
shore, to give due effect to what I purposed. Lukanjah
of Ukerewe was told to request the king of Iroba and
elders to approach, or we should begin fighting.
They came to us, about fifteen in number. **Tell
him, Lukanjah,*' I said, *' that Iroba has behaved badly
by sending his young men to laugh at us. Since he
has lied so many times to me, he himself and two of
his chiefs must depart with me to my camp. He will
not be hurt, but he must stay with me until Shekka
of Bumbireh is in my hands, or peace is made as I
suggested."
There was no violence used, and the king of Iroba
and two chiefs quietly walked into the boat. When
they were seated, the king was requested to give in-
structions to his young men how to capture Shekka of
Bumbireh and two Bumbireh chiefs ; and a solemn
promise was given that on their appearance the king
of Iroba and his friends would be released. The
natives of Iroba, who were collected by this time on
the beach, entered into the project with animation.
They declared that next day Shekka should be in my
hands.
On the morning of the 27th, a canoe from Iroba
came with provisions for the king and chiefs, and to
report their failure at Bumbireh. One of the young
men, said to be the king's son, offered to remain in
his father's place, while he himself should try to
Digitized by
1
Google
I k
276 TUROUQE THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. obtain possession of Shekka's person. This touching
M^h^i^^ confidence bo affected me that, after inducing the king
of Iroba to go through the process of blood-brotherhood
with one of the Wangwana, he was released.
At 5 P.M., faithful to his promise that he would per-
form what I wished, the king of Iroba brought the
treacherous king of Bumbireh with two of his chiefs,
whose appearance, after he had landed at Mahyiga and
been recognized, was hailed with a loud shout by the
Wangwana. He was about to be maltreated, and had
I not been present at the time, there is no doubt that
he would have been murdered by the enraged boat's
crew. But they calmed down when they were told
that his life and services were necessary to us, and
that good treatment might secure his friendship and
peace with Bumbireh.
My purpose in possessing myself of the person of the
king of Bumbireh and his two chiefs may easily be
divined. It must have been perceived that weakness
and irresolution — or, in other words, over-gentleness
and want of firmness — had proved harmful on several
previous occasions. Thus, the hesitation to act im-
mediately after the commission of murder by the
Wanyaturu led them to imagine that it was fear
which withheld us ; the forbearance exhibited at Ngevi
Island only brought upon us more annoyance; our
mildness at Mombiti in Uvuma suggested the attack
upon us by stoning ; our long-suffering temper at the
straits between Uvuma and Ugeyeya induced the
Wavuma to proceed to piracy and violence ; our patient
bearing at Bumbireh led the natives to think that we
might be murdered like lambs ; our placability merited
and received the contempt of the natives of Iroba ; and a
hundred times afterwards did I see that the savage only
respects force, power, boldness, and decision ; and that
he is totally ignorant of the principles which govern
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE KING OF BUMBIBEH A EOSTAQE. 277
the conduct of Christian man to man. Forbearance 1875.
is to him cowardice ; mildness, patience, and an equable ^^^^^'
temper are, in his undeveloped and unreasoning mind,
only evidences of effeminacy. But the murderous
Wanyaturu, when we finally turned out of our camp,
learned, when it was too late, tliat our womanly gentle-
ness covered power ; the audacious Wakamba at Ngevi
Island were only brought to their senses when they
heard the startling reports of the revolver ; the inten-
tion of the daring Wavuma to murder was only checked
by quick aiid energetic action; the treacherous rock-
slingers of Mornbiti only desisted when fired upon ; the
ferocious Wa-Bumbireh only respected us after our
successful escape; the cunning ning of Iroba only
became really friendly when we quietly showed our
power, and his rapidly growing insolence was only
cowed by the exhibition of sternness.
But the exercise of power without magnanimity is
simply brutality, and has only a transient effect. If,
therefore, I could only show the king of Bumbireh and
his people that the first white man they had seen was
extremely gentle in his manner until aroused, but,
though strong and powerful when angered, was mag-
nanimous afterwards, I should, I felt, leave a lasting
good effect upon their minds. Though Shekka's capture
was necessary, in order to ensure the passage of the
Expedition between Bumbireh and Ihangiro in peace
and safety, his good treatment and after-release were
none the less necessary also — provided that nothing
serious occurred in the meantime to prevent the ex-
hibition of clemency towards him *
Perceiving himself to be in the power of those whom
• On page 32, vol. i., ' Last Journals/ Livingstone says :— " It may have
been for the best that the English are thus known as people who can hit
hard when unjustly attacked, as we on this occasion most certainly were.*
Other instances could be cited from his books to prove Dr. Livingstone*!*
yiewB on such occasions.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
278 TEEOUOH THE DAEK CONTINENT.
1875. he had outraged with a wanton ferocity, and whom he
ii"lf r* had compelled to risk the terrors of the stormy sea
* ^ ^ without the means of subsistence, or means to seek
shelter from the gales and tempests which prevail during
the rainy season, Shekka's behaviour became as abject
as it had been ferocious when our positions were re-
versed. But he was informed in mild tones that we
sought not his life, but our own safety ; that he was
captured to secure ourselves from violence by the pos-
session of his person ; that, while he was a prisoner
with us, there would be no fear that Antari of Ihangiro
and the people of Bumbireh would attack us by night,
as they must know that we possessed the means of
retaliation through him.
He was pleased to be communicative on this assu-
rance, and informed us that Antari was collecting a
vast force on Bumbireh, by day and night, for the
purpose of attacking us on the island of Mahyiga. He
imparted to us also the narrative of how Antari's
father, in conjunction with Kytawa in the days of old,
had successfully defied for a long period the full
power of the great Suna of Uganda, and he was curious
to know how a small body of men like ourselves
could hope to escape from Antari* — or "the Lion"
— of Ihangiro.
Shekka was advised that, as we knew how to de-
fend ourselves when attacked, he had better send word
to Bumbireh and to Antari that we did not seek trouble,
but were desirous of establishing peaceful relations
between the Wangwana and the natives. Three of the
ordinary natives of Bumbireh who had been brought
with Shekka and his two chiefs were therefore per-
mitted to depart with the king of Iroba and 'his
friends.
At 9 A.M. the king of Iroba appeared again, this
• Antari, or " the lion/' is a favourite name with the Wahuma tribes.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
•• TEE LION'' THBEATENS U8. 279
time with gifts of milk, honey, bananas, and a fat kid, i875.
which kindness we liberally reciprocated, not without ^^^ ^®'
much politic ostentation for the advantage of Shekka * ^
and the natives.
At noon he reappeared with three large canoes, con-
taining twenty men each, from Ibangiro, under the
command of Antari s chief elder. They were permitted
to land, though they were numerically superior to the
garrison on the island. But before I had given them
permission to that efiFect, Frank was requested to bold
thirty men imder arms to prevent treachery and
surprise.
Our greeting was friendly, though there was a cer-
tain proud reserve in their manner.
"TYhat says the king Antari?'* I asked through
Lukanjah.
" Antari asks, * Why have you come to his waters
and camped on his island ?' "
** We have come because we must pass through to
Uganda, and have rested on Mahyiga to wait for our
people. As I have not sufficient canoes to carry my
people and property in one passage, I must leave some
here, while I proceed to Uganda with the first half of
the party. I wish to be assured by Antari that in
my passage by Bumbireh we shall not be attacked,
nor the party which must be left in my absence on
this island be molested. What say you ?"
" Antari says he is a great and strong king. All the
mainland which you see from Rumondo to Kytawa's
is his, so are all these islands and waters. He has
never seen strangers before travelling by sea : they
always went by land. He says, * You must go back.' "
" We cannot go back, tell him," I replied. " This
water belongs to every stranger, as much as the wind.
The island may be his, but no one dwells on Mahyiga,
and we will not injure the rocks."
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Hahjigt.
280 TBEOUQH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. " Antari says he will make peace only if you go
Juij28. ^a^t. He sends these three bunches of bananas to
you, and this woman and child."
** We do not deal in slaves, and three bunches of
bananas are of no use to us. We want permission to
pass quietly and peacefully through to Uganda, and if
Antari will send many bananas to us, we will buy
them, as we have many mouths with us."
" Then Antari says he will make war on you, and
kill you all."
•* Ah, does he say those words ? *
" Yes, Antari says those words/'
I whispered to Frank to bring Shekka, who was
immediately brought to their presence. When they
saw him, they all rose to a man with threatening
actions. We all rose also, in a prepared attitude,
which convinced them that violence was useless. I
said to the elders : —
** Sit down, and carry my words to Antari. Open
your ears wide, and understand. Antari is Mtesa*s
slave ; I am Mtesa's friend. Antari's people rob and
try to murder Mtesa's friend, but he escapes, and has
now come back on his way to Mtesa. Again, Antari
and his people are busy preparing war against Mlesa's —
Antari's master's — friend. He sends many canoes and
hundreds of men to Bumbireh. He also sends three
canoes to tell me that he is about to fight me, and
perhaps — you know best — to rescue Shekka, who is
my means for securing my safety. Tell Antari that
the white man is not a woman, and that lying words will
not be swallowed by him. He means to go to Uganda,
whether Antari will let him or not. If Antari fights,
tell him to remember how the white man escaped from
Bumbireh. The white man wants peace, but he is not
afraid of Antari Now go, and carry every word to
Antari, and to-morrow, by noon, I must have his
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WELCOME FRIENDS. 281
answer, or I shall carry Shekka and his two chiefs to isrs.
Uganda, and deliver them up to Mtesa.'* \^i^
Without giving them time to consider further, wo ^ ^
urged them towards their canoes, not violently, but
firmly. When the principal elder had recovered his
senses, which he did not until he felt himself safe in
his canoe, it seemed to dawn on his mind that I was
purposely avoiding violence, and he said : —
**Let the white man rest in peace. You have
Antari's son, Shekka, in your hands. Antari will not
fight you. I will speak to him truly, and when the
sun is high, I shall return with words of peace."
** It is well. Tell Antari, his son shall not be hurt,
and will be delivered over to his people as soon as we
shall have passed Bumbireh safely.'*
Those were days which required caution, for the first
• false or weak step would have ensured the destruction
of the Expedition, the members of which I was bound
by every principle of honour to protect and defend to
the best of my ability. They had pledged themselves
to me only upon the condition that I should secure
their safety, and they looked to me to watch and guard
their lives with paternal care. In my opinion, con-
sidering all the circumstances, I could not have better
avoided trouble than — ^while the savages were actively
preparing and offensively boasting — by acting as I did.
About 4 P.M. a small fleet of six beautiful canoes,
painted a brown colour, were seen approaching us,
having travelled mid-channel between Bumbireh and
Ihangiro. We soon made them out to be Waganda,
and when the chief, who was received with loud and
warm greetings, had landed, he gave his name as Sabadu.
He soon informed us that he was on a double
errand, one of which was to proceed to Kagehyi in
Usukuma to convey the Arab Sungoro to Uganda,
and the other was to hunt up news of myself. He
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282 THBOUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. said also that I had been reported by the loog lost
Jni7 28. j^agassa, on his return to Uganda, to have been
^^ either murdered by the savages of Bumbireh or to
have foundered in the lake. He had returned with the
oars and drum to Mtesa, who was much shocked at the
sight of them, for he believed that, as the oars were
our **feet,*' we were murdered. But as nothing else
was found, such as traces or parts of the boat, Mtesa
was in doubt; he had therefore enjoined Sabadu to
make strict enquiries at all points about me, and had
despatched Magassa with a strong force by land to
Uzongora and Ihangiro, and a Mtongoleh, called
M'kwanga, with a fleet of eight canoes, to prosecute a
more rigid search by water along all the coasts.
Sabadu said also that, while he was at Kytawa's with
M'kwanga, on the mainland, he had heard of our
danger, and had hurried up to assist us, and that
M'kwanga would appear on the morrow with eight
canoes manned by Waganda, and five Ciinoes manned by
Kytawa's people under two chiefs, who, by their in-
fluence with Antari, might negotiate a successful peace.
Sabadu, upon delivering his news, was, as may well
be imagined, heartily welcomed, and was readily in-
duced, upon my taking the responsibility, to remain
with me, to assist in the transport of the expedition to
Uganda, for which his canoes, with those of M'kwanga
and Kytawa, would prove amply sufficient He was
also informed in his turn of the state of affairs at
Bumbireh and Ihangiro, at which he expressed great
indignation; but both he and Bugomba — a youth
of sixteen, the brother of the Katekiro, or Premier, of
Uganda— were confident that, when they should pro-
ceed to Bumbireh to treat with the natives through
the assistance of Kytawa's chiefs, they would be able
to persuade them to abandon their hostile attitude.
My experience of the people of Bumbireh, however,
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TEE CEALLENQK 283
would not permit me to entertain this feeliug of 1875.
July 29.
assurance. ^
About 11 A.M. M'kwanga's searcli expedition, con-
sisting of eiglit large canoes, accompanied by five of a
smaller size, under two chiefs of Kytawa, arrived at
Mahyiga Island,' containing about 250 Waganda and
50 Wazongora. Including the crews of Sabadu's
canoes, the garrison of Mahyiga, and the natives of
Komeh and Ukerewe, I had now a force of 470 men.
There was no fear of the issue of an attack on the
island now, but a fear of famine remained.
The king of Iroba was appealed to, and for an
adequate remuneration he promised to supply the
Waganda with bananas ; while we .possessed sufficient
grain upon which the Wangwana might subsist for a
few days lunger. The king of Iroba again confirmed the
information that Antari was collecting a large force of
canoes, and about sunset a single canoe, powerfully
manned, dashed up opposite our camp, and one man
stood up with spear and shield, and delivered a etout
defiance, after which the canoe as hastily departed for
Bumbireh, without paying any attention to Kytawa's
chiefs.
It was apparent that our departure for Uganda would
be hotly contested, but of the result there could be but
one opinion. What kind of canoes Antari possessed, I
knew by the specimens which Kytawa, who was neigh-
bour to him, sent to us at Mahyiga. Their number
would be probably a hundred, wliich, with a crew of
ten men in each, would amount to a thousand. Allowing
six bowmen in each canoe, this would make the fighting
force about 600 strong, against which I could oifer 70
guns and about 350 effective spearmen of Uganda.
However, it was my duty to persist in avoiding the
bloody conflict, as it would assuredly be by water, and
employ all my efforts towards bringing Antari and the
Maii^'ig**
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"1
284 THBOUOE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. natives of Bumbireh to a sense of the inutility
Augiut 2. jjQgjiig demonstrations. Messages of a peaceful nai
* ^ ^*' accordingly passed between us. Antari's elders visi
us once more on the 2nd August, this time with
assurance that we should not be molested, as a proof
which they said that Antari had given orders to
people of Bumbireh to sell us provisions upon
condition that we should deliver Shekka, Antari's s
and two other chiefs to Kytawa, the day we sho
arrive on the mainland.
This news was received with shouts of applause
all, and no one was more sincerely glad that
trouble was over than myself, though there was soi
thing in the manner of the delivery, in the sly exchai
of looks between Antari's elders and the prisoners, t
I did not like. It may have been that a slight suspic
still lurked in my mind, but I did not permit any s
of doubt to escape me, but treated the elders aflfa
and courteously,
Sabadu — who was of a sanguine disposition — j
young Bugomba were for testing the truth of 1
manifestation of friendship at once, but I restrai:
them for this day, as we possessed sufficient food
the time being. The Waganda also were eager
remind me that they were a people decidedly ave
to scarcity, and they obtained my promise that n
morning they should have cloths and beads wherevs
to purchase food.
Accordingly the next day Sabadu was despatc
with beads, cowries, and cloths to Kajurri, from the c
of which we had made our escape in April. They v«
absent about six hours, during which time I was v
anxious, as the event would decide our future.
" What is the news, Sabadu ?" I asked eagerly
he stepped on the shore near our camp with gloc
looks. " Anything wrong ? '*
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THE MASSACRE OF TEE WAQANDA CEEW. 285
** Ah," he sighed ; " the people of Bumbireh are bad, ists.
wicked people. We went on shore at Kajnrri, saw flrT!!^*
some twenty people there, and Kytawa*s chief talked
with them. They said we might go and cut as many
bananas as we wanted, and they would talk afterwards
about the price we should have to pay. Th6 Waganda
left their spears, and, taking only their mundu — bill-
hooks — proceeded to cut the fruit while I remained in
the canoe. Suddenly I heard a shout and a rustling
in the banana grove, and the Waganda came run-
ning back and pushing the canoes into the water,
plunged in, and got on board. Kytawa's chief had his
left arm chopped clean off, and then they cut him on
the head, which killed him. Eight of the Waganda*
have been badly hurt. They will bo carried on shore
presently, and you shall see them. Bumbireh! ah,
ah ! Bumbireh is bad !" he said emphatically.
The woimded men were brought on shore with
ghastly wounds from spears, and one or two from
arrows, at the sight of which a grand rush was made
upon the captives by two or three hundred excited
Waganda and Wazongora, but with the aid of the
Wangwana and Frank we saved them.
" Gently, gently, friends,'* we cried ; " these men are
not they who are guilty of this deed. Do not ill-use
them ; they are innocent.'*
M'kwanga, the chief of the search expedition of
Waganda, was furious. He seized his shield and three
spears, and called his men together, telling them to
arm, as he would lead them through and through
Bumbireh, and then would proceed to Antari and
slay him in his house, would cut down every banana,
burn down every hut, and scorch Ihangiro to a
cinder, &c.
* Six of these died sabeeqaentlj to our arriTal in Uganda, from the
effects of these wounds.
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UahyifiL
286 THBOUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. But M'kwanga was persuaded to be patient, and
luM^ not foolishly throw more lives away. We should, I
" "*^ told him, consult together, and if I found, after con-
sideration, that my duty was to avenge this deed, I
should do it
Said he : " If you do not assist me to punish this
treachery, you need never expect to see Mtesa's face^
or Uganda again. The Waganda came to do you
service ; they came to seek you while Mtesa believed
you were lost. The Waganda with myself and Sabadu
promised to stand by you when we heard you were
in danger. The Waganda left your camp with your
consent to go and get food for you as well as for us.
Ky tawa*s chief is dead, and here are eight wounded
men. What will you do ?"
** Only what I think is right, and after proper con-
sideration. If I do not assist you, it will not prevent
you from going to fight them to-morrow."
" But," said M'kwanga, " if I go to fight to-morrow
by myself, I shall never return to Mahyiga."
He stalked away sullenly, and the Waganda became
cold and distant towards us, as though we were to
blame for the sad event. The Wazongora bewailed
their chief aloud, and the strangely mournful tones of
their lamentations produced a powerful impression on
all who heard them.
Before many minutes had elapsed, I had manned my
boat and five canoes, and was on my way to Iroba
before the intelligence could be spread, simply with
the view to ascertain how far the king of Iroba was
involved in this affair. I found him to be perfectly
innocent of all knowledge of anything that had oc-
curred at Burabireh since morning. Upon asking him
if any natives of Ihangiro were there, he answered
that one of Antari's youngest sons was there. We
proceeded to the hut, and the young man was secured
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A COUNCIL OF WAB. 287
and conveyed into the boat, and the king of Iroba was 1875.
instructed to convey the intelligence to Bumbireh to ^^ ^
the chiefs of Antari*s people, and to tell them that, if' ^
they intended to make peace, they must be quick, and
send me word of it before noon of the next day, as I
should not be able to restrain the Waganda, or defer
my departure another day.
The arrival of messengers from the post of observa-
tion on the summit of the island, announcing that the
canoes of the Expedition were seen coming from
the south, distracted the attention of all for a period,
and soon the summit was lined with the figures of the
anxious Wangwana, some of whom had wives and
children, besides relatives and friends, in the little fleet
that was bearing towards the island with miniature
sails set.
By sunset they were answering their safe arrival
close to us with cheer after cheer, and soon had landed
amid hearty greetings.
But Manwa Sera, to cap the day's dismal and tragic
record, had to report the loss of two men, who were
drowned by the collapse of one of the rotten canoes,
which added another cause for grief. The riding asses
also were in a pitiable condition, for the poor things
being obliged to be bound in the small canoes were
terribly chafed even to the quick, and could scarcely
stand. The rest of the force were in good condition,
and no property had been lost or other accident
occurred.
That evening, while the sorrowing Wazongora made
the camp doleful with their loud mournful cries for the
dead chief, Frank and all the Wangwana chiefs were
summoned to my tent to discuss our future. I only
wished to hear their views, to discover their senti-
ments, not to disclose my own. The unanimous opinion
of the party was that we were bound to fight. All I
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288 TEBOUQE THE DABK CONTINENT.
187S, could say on the other side availed nothing to si
^"1"^^ the decision they had arrived at Then they i
^ dismissed with a promise that I should impart
resolution in the morning. I also enjoined on Fi
to double the guard over the captives, lest they m
be injured during the night.
Alone with myself, I began to discuss seriously
strict line of duty. If it were a military Expedi
that I commanded, duty would have pointed out
obvious course to follow; but though the Expedi
was governed for its own well-being after mili
principles, it was an expedition organized solely
the purposes of exploration, with a view to search
new avenues of commerce to the mutual advantaj
civilization and such strange lands as we found suit
for commercial and missionary enterprise. But w
ever its character, its members possessed* the privilej
self-defence, and might justly adopt any measures, i
due deliberation, for self-protection. The principle
right and justice every educated Christian profess€
understand, and may be credited with a desin
observe, but in addition to these, it was desirable
person in my position — knowing how frequently ;
necessary to exercise them in barbarous lands — tc
member charity and forbearance, in order to ensure
objects in view, and to create good impressions for
benefit of those who might succeed the pioneer.
Thirteen days had elapsed since our arrival
Mahyiga, and the thirteenth day was signalized
this bloody attack upon people entrapped to t
death maliciously, and evidently by a preconce
arrangement between Antari's elders and the cl
at Bumbireh. Sabadu said also that the last w
he had heard as the Waganda paddled away 1
Bumbireh were, " Look out for mischief to-morrc
which no doubt meant that the war **shauri"
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J BE80LVE ON PUNISHMENT.
289
nearly terminated, and that all were by this time ists.
worked up into proper figliting spirit. Ao^tiits.
The Expedition was now ready to move towaids ^^*"
Uganda, but the waterway had first to be opened ;
whatever plot was on hand must be frustrated, and
treachery punished ; otherwise impunity would inspire
an audacity which might be dangerous to our safety.
Apart, therefore, from a duty owing to the wounded
Waganda and the dead chief of Kytawa, as well as to
our respect for and gratitude to Mtesa and Kytawa—
apart from the justice which, according tci all laws
human and divine, savage and civilized, demands^ that
blood shall atone for blood, especially when committed
with malice prepense, and the memory of our narrow
escape from their almost fatal wiles, and the days of
agony we had suflfered — there lay the vital, absolute^
and imperative necessity of meeting the savnges lest
they should meet us. For they were by tliis time
reinforced by about 2000 auxiliaries from tlie maiu-
land ; they were flushed with triumph at their success
in the snare they had set for the unsuspecting Waganda,
and the sight of their dead victim would only inspire
them with a desire for more blood.
As I could not see any way to avoid the conflict, I
resolved to meet them on their own island, aud by one
decisive stroke break this overweening savago si>irit,
I should, however, wait the result of my last messagD,
for it might be that the capture of one of Autari's
sons might induce them to embrace peaceful proposals.
Accordingly next morning a couple of anumniition
boxes were opened, and twenty rounds distributed to
each man who bore a rifle or musket ; 230 spearmen
and fifty musketeers were detailed for a fighting party,
and eighteen canoes were prepared to convey them to
Bumbireh,
I waited until noon, having gazed througli a field-
VOL. I. — 19
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i
290 TUBOUOn THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. glass many times in the direction of Bumbireh
-AogMt 4. jjQj-ijijjg ^as observed approaching Mahyiga.
^^ The force was therefore mustered, and I addr
it to this effect : —
**My friends and Wangwana, — We must hav(
sea clear. Whatever mischief these people have i
tated must be found out by us, and must be preve
I am about to go and punish them for the treach
murder of our friends. I shall not destroy 1
therefore none of you are to land unless we find
canoes, which we must break up. We must figt
they or we give in, for it can only be decided ii
manner. While in the fight, you will do exact
I tell you, for I shall be able to judge whether
fierce spirit is broken, or whether we will hai
fight on land."
As the distance between Bumbireh and Mahyigi
about eight miles, we did not arrive until 2 p.m. I
the former island. It was evident that the sa^
had expected us, for the heights of the hilly :
were crowded with large masses, and every
was manned with watchmen.
Through my field-glass I observed messei
running fast to a thick plantain grove which cro
the southernmost hill, and commanded a view <
approach to a cove that penetrated to its base. I
clear that the main force of the natives was ]
in the shadows of the grove. Calling the c
together, I told the chiefs to follow my boat, ai
steer exactly as I did. We made a feint of ent
into this cove, but when near the point, perceiving
we were hidden by the lofty hill from the observ
of those in the grove and of the look-outs, we sw(
to the left, and, clinging to the land, pulled vigor
until we came to a cape, after rounding which we
in view of a fine and noble bay. to our right.
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TEE WORK OF PUNISHMENT. 291
By this manoeuvre the enemy was revealed in all i875.
his strength. The savages were massed behind the i^"*^'^*^
plantains as I had suspected, and from their great
numbers proved much too strong to be attacked under
cover. All the eastern and northern sides of the bay
were surrounded by lofty hills, which sloped steeply
to within a few feet of the water's edge, and were
covered with small shingly rocks, and thin short
grass. The low shelf of land that lay between the
hill base and the water was margined with tall cane-
grass.
We steered straight east towards the more exposed
hill slopes. The savages, imagining we were about
to eflfect a landing there, hurried from their coverts,
between 2000 and 3000 in number. I examined the
shores carefully, to see if I could discover the canoes
which had conveyed this great number of warriors
from the mainland. Meanwhile we pulled slowly, to
afford them time to arrange themselves.
Arrived within 100 yards of the land, we anchored
in line, the stone anchors being dropped from midships
that the broadsides might front the shore. I told
Lukanjah of Ukerewe to ask the men of Bumbireh if
they would make peace, whether we should be friends,
or whether we should fight.
**Nangu, nangu, nanguP* ("No, no, no!'*) they
answered loudly, while they flourished spears and
shields.
** Will they not do anything to save Shekka ?"
" Nangu, nangu ! Keep Shekka ; he is nobody. We
have another M'kama " (king).
** Will they do nothing to save Antari*s son?"
** Nangu, nangu. Antari has many sons. We will
do nothing but fight. If you had not come here, wo
should have come to you.**
" You will be sorry for it afterwards.**
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292 TEROUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. " Huh/* incredulously. ** Come on ; we are rea(
Aiigii«t4 Further parley was useless; so each man ha
taken aim was directed to fire into a group of
or thereabouts. The result was several killed
wounded.
The savages, perceiving the disastrous effect of
fire on a compact body, scattered, and came boun
down to the water's edge, some of the boldest
vancing until they were hip-deep in water ; otl
more cautious, sought the shelter of the cane-g
whence they discharged many sheaves of arrows
of which fell short of us.
We then moved to within 50 yards of the si
to fire at close quarters, and each man was perm
to exercise himself as he best could. The sav
gallantly held the water-line for an hour, and s
their stones with better effect than they shot \
arrows. The spirit which animated them pr(
what they might have done had they succeeded
effecting a landing at Mahyiga by night, but ]
however, the spear, with which they generally fi
was quite useless.
Perceiving that their spirit was abating, we c
the canoes together, and made a feint as thougl
were about to make a precipitate landing, which ca
them to rush forward by hundreds with their 'sj
on the launch. The canoes were then suddenly ha
and a volley was fired into the spearmen, which (
crushed their courage, causing them to retreat up
hill far away from the scene. Our work of chas
ment was complete.
The Waganda spearmen (230 strong), who
been, up to this time, only interested spectators,
clamoured loudly to be permitted to land, and com]
the work of vengeance. M'kwanga was fierce ii
demands ; the Wangwana seconded the Waganda,
y
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WE START FOR UGANDA. 293
in their hot ardour several of the canoes rushed on x875.
the shore, but as this extremity was not my object, I ^^'^^ t
resisted them, and when, despiie my refusal, they
persisted in their attempts to land, I threatened to
fire upon the first man, Mgwana or Mganda, who set
foot upon the shore, and this threat restored order,
Lukanjah was again told to warn the natives of
Bumbireh that, if they had not had enough of fighting,
we should return next day, but that we would allow
them a night to think over it.
It was dark when we arrived at our camp ; but we
did not omit, while passing Iroba, to comfort the
friendly king with the assurance that he need not fear
trouble, as he was not involved in the atrocious acts
of Bumbireh.
Having thus shown sufficient boldness in meeting
the enemy and demonstrated our ability for the
encounter, it was now clear that the passage of the
channel, with the women and children and property
of the Expedition, might be performed without danger.
Accordingly, on the 5th August, at early dawn, we
began the embarkation. The fourteen Kiganda canoes
'^ere large, with ample storage room, and all the goods,
ammunition, and asses, and all the timid, men, women,
children, and Wanyamwezi, were placed in these. Our
eighteen canoes of Ukerewe and Komeh and five lent
us by generous Kytawa proved sufficient to transport
the remainder, consisting of the more active members
of the party, who were directed, in the event of trouble,
to range on either side.
At the tap of M'kwanga's drum, without which no
party of Waganda march, and a cheery blast from
Hamadis bugle, the thirty-seven canoes and boat,
containing 685 souls, departed from our island cove
towards Bumbireh.
About 9 A.M. we were abreast of Bumbireh, and
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294 TUBOUQE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. when, on coming to the bay, we saw hundreds of people
Aogiuts. lijjjjjg tijQ topmost ridges, I deemed it expedient to
" make a demonstration once more in order to discover
the effect of the previous day's engagement. On
arriving near the shore, a shot was fired, the effect of
which was to cause about a hundred to scamper away
hastily. Others, whom we distinguished as elders, after
hailing us, came down towards us.
Lukanjah was requested to ask, ** If we were to
begin the fight again ?"
*' Nangu, nangu, M*kama." (*'• No, no, king.**)
** The trouble is over then ?"
" There are no more words between us."
**If we go away quietly, will you interfere with us
any more ?"
** Nangu, nangu."
** You will leave strangers alone in future?"
" Yes, yes."
** You will not murder people who come to buy food
again ?
" Nangu, nangu."
I then told them that, having murdered one and
wounded eight of Mtesa's people, it would be my duty
to convey Shekka and his friends to him, but I should
intercede for them, and they would probably be back
in two moons. Advantage was also taken to point
out the contrast between the conduct of Bumbireh
and that of Ukerewe, Komeh, Itawagumba, Kytawa,
and Kamiru, and to adorn the brief speech with a
moral.
Turning away, we coasted along the much indented
shores of the savage island, and several times had
opportunities of distinguishing the altered demeanour
of the natives and to observe that their fierce temper
had abated.
King Kamiru received us with princely magnifi-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
SALUTARY EFFECT OF TEE PUNISHMENT. 295
cence. The Wazongora who were with us extolled me 1875.
as -a father and begged his permission to accompany ^^^ ^
me to Uganda. Kamiru, a bluflF, hearty old man, kindly
consented, and furnished us with canoes to replace four
of the most rotten of the vessels from Ukerew^, which
required constant caulking and baling to prevent their
foundering. The generous king supplied Frank and
'myself with such a quantity of milk and honey that
several potfuls broke, and a section of the boat was
a couple of inches deep with the luscious mixture,
which the boat's crew licked up with broad grins of •
satisfaction.
A bay separates Ihangiro from King Kamiru's land.
We were encamped on the north side, which belongs to
Kamiru ; had we ventured on the south side, we should
have been in the enemy's country. Desirous of show-
ing some kindness to Shekka and his friends, I made
proposals to Kamiru to accept them on behalf of Mtesa
and to negotiate with Antari for their release, but the
king peremptorily refused, saying that he would be
unable to protect them, and as they were Mtesas
subjects, they ought to be given up to him.
On the 8th August we arrived once more on the
little island of Musira, whither we had before been
driven by the natives of Makongo, in King Kytawa*s
country. The elders of all the villages along his
coast greeted us with acclamation. Makongo outdid
the generosity of Kamiru, for it sent four oxen besides
200 bunches of bananas. Kytawa despatched quite a
little army to bear his salaams and gifts of provisions
and messages, thanking me for avenging the death of
his chief, and making an offer of twenty canoes if I
were short of vessels.
Inspired by the effect on the Wazongora which the
punishment of the natives of Bumbireh had created,
Sabadu hinted that it would be desirable to threaten
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
296 THROUOn TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Kyozza, the king of northern TIzongora, but he was
^Tw*^ ^^ speedily made to understand that white men only fought
in self-defence.
As we proceeded by Kyozza's villages, Kagya,
Weza, and Bugavu, the inhabitants lined the shores
without arms and loudly greeted us ; and when we
stopped for our midday meal at a village near Weza,
a messenger from Kyozza came and promised us ten
oxen if we would wait for that day and accept his
hospitalities. We returned a courteous reply, but
refused, upon the ground that we were in a hurry to
proceed to Uganda.
We halted at Mezinda, and on the 12th August,
passing by the mouth of the Alexandra Nile and
Chawasinjba Point, directed our course for Dumo, in
Uganda, at which place we arrived in the afternoon
without further incident of interest.
The next day was devoted to preparing a camp,
arranging for supplies with the neighbouring Waton-
goleh of Mtesa during my absence, and writing letters
to the Daily Telegraph and New York Herald^ giving
in brief an account of the events which are described
in detail in this chapter, a copy of which was left with
Frank to send to the coast by way of Karagwe and
Unyanyemb^.
A score of small matters employed my attention
until midnight, of a similar nature to those arranged
before setting out from Kagehyi on the exploration by
circumnavigation of Lake Victoria in March. Before
retiring, messengers arrived in camp from Magas^i —
the dilatory admiral of the canoe fleet despatched as
my convoy in April — entreating me to wait a couple
of days for him before setting out for the capital of
Uganda. But as every hour was now precious, I was
not able to defer my departure.
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MTESA AT WAR. 297
CHAPTER XII.
We find Mteea at war — "Jack's Mount "^Meeting with Mteea— The
Waganda army in camp and on the march — The imperial harem —
In sight of the enemy — The Waganda fleet — Preliminary skirmishing
— The causeway — The massacre of Mtesa's peace party — " What do
yon know of angels?" — Mtesa's education proceeds in the intervals
of war — Translating the Bible — Jesus or Mohammed? — Mtesa's
decision — The royal proselyte.
At Dumo rumour and gossip were busy about a war ists.
and a mighty preparation which Mtesa, the Emperor of ^"^^^^
Uganda, was making for an expedition against the
Wavnma. He had not been as yet actually engaged, it
was said, though it was expected he would be shortly.
In the hope, then, of finding him at his capital, I
resolved to be speedy in reaching him, so that, with-
out much delay, I might be able to return and prosecute
my journey to Lake Albert.
The first day, favoured by a gale from the north-west,
the Lady Alice left the fastest of the Waganda canoes
far behind, but, obliged to halt for her company, put in
for the night among the mosquito-haunted papyrus of
Bwiru. The next day, after sailing across Sesse
Channel, and passing the mouth of the Ka tonga, we
rested at Juraba's Cove in Unjaku. From this cove
runs a wide road constructed by Mtesa about two years
before, when he undertook to invade Ankori and punish
Mtambuko, the king of that shepherd state. Though
untouched during two years, it is still sufficiently clear
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
298 TEROUOH TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. of grass to define its width and illustrate the ene
Augujt 18. ^f Mtesa when aroused.
On the 18th August we sailed to Ntewi, where
learned two reliable facts. The king had aire
inarched towards Usoj^a, and had an engagen
with his enemies, the Wavuma. When I heard
news, I felt more than half inclined to turn back, f
knew by experience that African wars are ted
things, and I was not in the humour to be dela
long; but on reflection, and after much importui
from the Waganda, I adhered to the first intention
which I . thought that probably, though delaye<
might reach the Albert Nyanza by a short ro
which would in a manner balance the delay occasic
by visiting Mtesa.
We also heard that the Wavuma were abroad on
lake in hundreds of canoes searching for prey, \
not wishing the Lady Alice, which had already c
me such good service, to fall into their hands,
conveyed the boat into the centre of the village, w
we stored her and her appurtenances — oars, a
rudder, &c. I also heard that the oars, which Mag
had received from Bumbireh, were in the chie
Ntewi's house, and had the satisfaction of seeing t
once more under the charge of the boat-keeper,
halted at Ntewi one day, by which I was enabled
only to house the boat properly and to receive the (
but to meet the two soldiers left as guard of honour
Magassa and to receive salaams from Mtesa, and i
guards to ensure my welcome and comfort en route to
Under the auspices of a considerable addition to
convoy, we left Ntewi, and, paddling vigorously du
the afternoon of the 20th, arrived at Nankuma, in
bay of Buka. Here we left the canoes, and the nexl
prosecuted our journey overland to avoid the Wavi
and camped at Ziba, at the base of ** Jack's Mount.'
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
"" JACKS MOUNT.'' 299
This name is derived from a fatal accident to my i«75.
faithful companion Jack, a buU-terrier of remarkable '*^^"*'^.^^
intelligence and affection which accompanied me from Mouul-
England. A wild cow given by the Mtongoleh for
the subsistence of the king's stranger, being rather
obstreperous in her behaviour, was assaulted by Jack,
but the cow in her turn tossed the unfortunate dog and
gored him to death. He died '* regretted by all who
knew his many good qualities." His companion,
" Bull,'* the last of five English dogs, when he beheld
his poor mate stretched out still and dead, also expressed,
as clearly as canine nature would allow, his great sorrow
at his lamentable fate. Grave and deliberate from years
and long travel, he walked round the body two or three
times, examining it carefully, and then advanced to me
with his honest eyes wide open as if to ask, " What
has caused this ?" Receiving no answer, he went aside
and sat down with his back to me, solemn and sad, as
though he were ruminating despondingly on the evils
which beset dog and man alike in this harsh and
wicked world.
The next day, marching in an east by north direction
from Jack's Mount, we crossed the Zedziwa, a stream
rising at the base of a hill situated but two miles
from the north-western extremity of ** Grant* Bay,"
which I believe to be the '* Luajerri," a stream Speke
sketched on his map as issuing from the Victoria and
forming a second outlet into the Nile.
Having explored by water all the coast washed by
the Victoria Nyanza, and having since travelled on
foot the entire distance between Nakaranga Cape
and Buka Bay, I can state positively that there is but
one outlet from the lake, viz. the Ripon Falls. There
are three rivers, one on the Usoga side of Napoleon
* So called after Colonel James Augustus Grant, the amiable and
chiyalrous companion of Speke.
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cni'K^, and [' ^"i.te'i r.nr on ti e (^^»j>o^in; si<;- .\rt*^si a
Jii.> rliie^;',^ »^>o^t pici;;:^ ^-qn;> in l.roir \vIii^o '^re^s^^s a
rod coj'S', ^vit^i I hr-'^e c-n'! 'nrs*? of aMe.:dant<, wait;
l-t si '^ lay |>arn c:'>'s +1 ' (*^'an^'0^ Fiv(- l-i^ire can'
v^'mcj in rc.u]:n( '- n* tl)e fcirrv, and a'^o so]di'*r5s of I
r'.\ix\ '--narl ;o ■<'-ovi ns thr>.'iu-b. ihu va>t orovv'tlfc:
i''(^ of^'or ;r" lo ot tlio cl'.anncl.
[\ar uiiVt rent \\.{-; :: o ^c^^i^ on tni?^ dav anwintl 1
• 'P .^ cuo..:^ w**- 'J ni; ,vi;ki;ii, .-^t'-Vs alr^j o'^^-n'.:. ' II l)alr>r.ey.
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800 THROUQE TUB DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Channel, called the Nagombwa, and two on the Ugai
^"^l^- side — the Zedziwa, rising in Makindo near Grant B
' and the Mwerango, rising west of Mtesa's capital — 8
of which, seen by travellers journeying at a little (
tance from the lake, might be supposed by them
be outlets of Lake Victoria, The Nagombwa empi
into the Victoria Nile not far from Urondoga
the Zedziwa empties into the Victoria Nile near Ur
dogani, and the Mwerango flows into the Mianja,
Mianja flows into the Kafu, and the Kafu into
Victoria Nile, somewhere in the neighbourhood
Rionga*s Island.
At Makindo I received the Emperor's j3alaams for '
fifth time since arriving in Uganda, and his walkii
stick,* as a token that it really was Mtesa who sent
repeated messages of welcome. By sea and by la
his messengers of welcome had met me, and e?
stage was supplied with an *' augmented greeting " w
many manifestations of his regard. I was well o
vinced, from the repeated expeditions sent by land a
water to hunt up news of me when Magassa repor
me as dead, that the friendship conceived for me
Mtesa was something more than in name.
Arriving next day at Ugungn, opposite Jinja, or •
Ripon Falls, two more messengers came up breathl
from the imperial camp — which I could see coveri
many miles of ground — with yet an additional w
come, and pointed out on the opposite side Mtesa a
his chiefs, most picturesque in their white dresses a
red caps, with a large concourse of attendants, waiti
to see my party cross the channel. Five large can<
'^ere in readiness at the ferry, and also soldiers of i
royal guard to escort us through the vast crowds
the other side of the channel.
Far different was the scene on this day around '
* This custom of sending walkingnsticks also obtains in Dahomey.
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I.T'^-Mer nc 1 jiori.;^ ^\i.]!i thcr ^ih-a * :.
'ilic vain \v\i^' fji al-o mjcih"^ 1 :o f.>i\,'it - ' . . -.
. ./.' } (m us, ilia: t'lOy \\on3 a*^ Tn'K*!i
•':ri<»^ity to t!.o rus:i: yot iiuala^ !.■'«! nuti ^ -
• > .() s^.)(»'l ''V rhrai, as wo v. j^e 1-^ Vi-'f'v •
' • .;^ \\\( i'^ r lili;^lit, tii'^ i: i'""; -^ . \ '.
:. ''st siK'^i a lari-j amy oi t-"\\]" •
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s and >;.j. K:'C;' cr^'ct i . .
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Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MTESA'8 ABMT. 801
Falls to that which Speke had gazed upon in 1863, and 1875.
to that which I had seen five months before when I'^^s'"'^^
entered this channel after a skirmish with the Wavuma. ^^^
For now the channel swarmed with large canoes, and
the shores of Ugungu and Jinja were covered with
thousands of men, women, and children ; while then all
was silent and lonely, and the monotonous noise of
falling waters was the only sound that was heard.
Crossing the channel amid the noise and bustle of
many thousands, we soon found ourselves in tlie midst
of the vast army that Mtesa had collected from all parts
of his empire. Natives of Karagwe, lean, lank-bodied,
and straight-nosed, with their deficiencies of calf made
up for by a preposterous fulness of ankle, caused by
hundreds of coils of fine iron wire, gathered round
us with as much curiosity as the ferocious Wakedi,
who intruded their bodies, naked as when they were
born, among the clean-robed Waganda, reckless of the
laughter and jeering which their nudity provoked.
The vain Wasoga also seemed to forget, while they
gazed on us, that they were as much objects of
curiosity to the rustic yet unabashed natives of Sesse,
who stood by them, as we were to them ; for, indeed,
look where I might, the undisguised vanity of the --
Wasoga made them extremely conspicuous. Though
amidst such a large army of sable warriors, a solah
topee, European complexion, and boots wonderfully
created of some kind of leather, might well be deemed
curiosities; yet lambskins of all colours, stuffed with
grass, and standing erect on men*s heads, and long
white-haired goat-skin for robes and loin coverings, were
not a whit less curious to the canoe-building natives of ,
Sess^, who until now had never, it seemed, witnessed
such things. But, taking advantage of the quiet com-
placency with which we permitted these warriors to
gaze on us, they began to press on us more closely
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
802 THBOUOE THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. than was convenient, nntil they were scattered by 1
Aa^ 28. mighty sticks of the guards, who felled them to rij
and left without remorse, and Wasoga, Wanyaml
Wakedi, Wazongora, and Waganda were compel
to be more careful of their bones than curious
see us.
A short time afterwards, near the imperial quarten
met the great chiefs of Uganda with whom I had stn
up an acquaintance on my first visit, among whon:
recognized tall and handsome Chambarango, the kin
steward Kauta, Sambuzi, and lastly the Katekiro —
Premier — brilliant in his scarlet robe, white dress, s
fez, attended by a retinue almost regal • They
expressed their satisfaction at seeing me alive and sf
and were all anxious to hear how we had escaped fr
Bumbireh,
The next day at the usual levee hour of Mtesf
8 A.M. — the drums announced the levee as begun, 8
half an hour later the pages came to conduct me
the presence of Mtesa. The imperial quarters cove
an area of about 200 yards square, and though
temporarily put up, few Europeans could have c
structed such commodious houses and neat courts w
such means, as the Waganda had prepared for tl:
sovereign.
The gates of the outer court were thronged y^
representatives of many countries, anxious to gel
glimpse of the great monarch in his state; but
guards were merciless, and with gunstock and ba
rudely thrust or beat back the intrusive nameless, t
were as flint-hearted in their office as London pol
men are on a similar occasion. For me the pa
sufficed. Their presence cleared a broad road to
gate, which was drawn widely open to allow our {
cession to go by. One court was passed, and w]
the gate of the levee court was drawn back, a n
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MEETING WITH MTESA. 803
picturesque scene was disclosed. In the centre rose a i875.
conical hut, at the broad doorway of which sat a silent ^^^. ^**
figure; on either side were standard-bearers and the
hereditary guards, while, forming a broad crescent in
the front rank, were the chiefs and important captains
of the Empire seated on mats. In the background the
bodyguards of Mtesa stood at * shoulder arms * in double
ranks; in one corner were arranged the drummers
and musicians, while scattered here and there in the
open space before the monarch stood groups of claimants
and courtiers.
As I advanced, Mtesa rose, and came to the edge of
the leopard-rug, on which his feet rested while seated,
and there was even greater warmth in this greeting
than on the former occasion at Usavara. After a short
pause, Sabadu, the chief who had conducted me from
Bumbireh, was called forward to relate the incidents
of our meeting, our fight with Bumbireh, and other
events of the journey, which he did with a most
wonderful minuteness of detail. He then in my name
presented the captives of Bumbireh to the king, with
an intercession that he would not slay them, but keep
them in durance until their ransom was paid by
Antari. Mtesa was then informed of the purpose of
my coming, which was to obtain the guides he had
promised me on my first visit, to show me the road to
Muta Nzige; and I begged he would furnish them
without much delay, as I had already lost considerable
time from his canoes having failed me.
Mtesa replied that he was now engaged in a war
with the rebellious people of Uvuma, who insolently
refused to pay their tribute, harassed the coast of
Chagw^, and abducted his people, "selling .them
afterwards for a few bunches of bananas,'' and that
it was not customary in Uganda to permit strangers to
proceed on their journeys while the Kahaka was engaged
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
304 TEBOUOE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. in war, but that tbe war would soon be over, wbe
^^^^^ I would wait, he would send a chief with an arn
conduct me to the Nyanza (Muta Nzig^) by the sho
road.
" Besides,*' said he, " a small force cannot reach
lake. Kabba Rega of Unyoro is at present at
with the whites of Kaniessa (Gondokoro), and
people of Ankori do not admit strangers into 1
territory for trade or otherwise, and all the road
the lake run through their countries."
After this intelligence I saw that I had eithe
renounce the project of exploring the Albert,
proceed at once to the Tanganika — which, after cor
so far out of the way, would perhaps have
regarded in Europe as madness— or to wait patic
until the war was over, and then make up
forced marches for lost time. But being again ass
that the war would not last long, I resolved to
and witness it as a novelty, and to take advantaj
the time to acquire information about the country
its people.
On the 27th August, Mtesa struck his camp,
began the march to Nakaranga, a point of land 1;
within 700 yards of the island of Ingira, which had
chosen by the Wavuma as their depot and str
hold. He had collected an army numbering 150
warriors, as it was expected that he would hav
fight the rebellious Wasoga as well as the Wavi
Besides this great army must be reckoned n€
50,000 women, and about as many children and si
of both sexes, so that at a rough guess, after lool
at all the camps and various tributary nations w
at Mtesa's command had contributed their quoti
estimated the number of souls in Mtesa's camp t
about 250,0001
This large total may seem startling, but not mo]
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ti^l
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T i- .-
: '. \ ^ . .
M I, -.M t^ ■:■■ ^ : ■ i :■
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THE WAG AND A CHIEFS. 805
to those acquainted with the customs and population I875.
of Uganda and the nature and extent of Mtesa's ^"^ ^^'
authority, than the five and a quarter millions said
to have started with Xerxes in his invasion of Greece.
I myself, though I saw the vast area which the
several camps occupied, did not believe it possible,
until one day I asked Mtesa, for the sake of satisfying
my curiosity, to permit me to make a muster-roll of his
chiefs. Always aifable and willing to please white
men, for whom he entertains profound respect, he
called together all his principal chiefs and officers
(who in Uganda are distinguished by the titles of
Wakungu and Watongoleh), and commanded them to
bring the respective numbers of their sub-chiefs. The
following is the muster-roll of the generals and colonels
made at the time : —
Number of
Kamei of Oenerali. Sub-chiolk
orColonols.
1. Pokino, the Katekiro, Chief of Uddu, and Premier of Uganda 6
2. Ghambarango^ Chief of IJsiio 6
8. Eaeema .. 6
4. Eitonzi, Chief of the Eatonga yalley •• •• 2
5. Sekebobo, Chiefof Chagw6 24
6. Mkwenda 19
7. Easiun^ guardian of the imperial family 5
8. Kagu 5
9. Eangau 18
10. Eimbngw6 24
IL Katambal6 2
12. Nana Masnrie, Mtesa*8 mother 10
13. Sabagand^ Mtesa's uncle 4
"l31
Emperofs personal bodyguard 23
Total 154
These sub-chiefs command followers numbering
from 50 to 3000, and Mtesa's bodyguard, though
claiming twenty-three Watongoleh, must not be esti-
mated at a less number than 3000 in the aggregate.
Now, roughly calculating the native Waganda force at
VOL. I.— 20
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306 TEBOUQE THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. 125,000, we have to add the quotas furnished by
^"J^M^* Karagwe, Uzongora, Ukedi, Usoga, Sesse, and the
islands of the lake, Irwaji, Lulamba, Kiwa, Uziri,
Kibibi, &c., also all the Arabs and Wangwana guests
who came with their guns to assist Mtesa, and 25,000
seems to me to be a reasonable estimate of the force
drawn from these sources.
The advance-guard had departed too early for me to
see them, but, curious to see the main body of this
great army pass, I stationed myself at an early hour
at the extreme limit of the camp.
First with his legion came Mkwenda, who guards
the frontier between the Katonga valley and Willi-
miesi against the Wanyoro. He is a stout, burly
young man, brave as a lion, having much experience
of wars, and cunning and adroit in their conduct,
accomplished with the spear, and possessing, besides,
other excellent fighting qualities. I noticed that the
Waganda chiefs, though Muslimized, clung to their
war-paints and national charms, for each warrior,
as he passed by on the trot, was most villainously
bedaubed with ochre and pipe-clay. The force under the
command of Mkwenda might be roughly numbered at
30,000 warriors and camp-followers, and though the
path yesterday was a mere goat-track, the rush of this
legion on the half-trot soon crushed out a broad avenue.
The old general Kangau, who defends the country
between Willimiesi and the Victoria Nile, came next
with his following, their banners flying, drums beating
and pipes playing, he and his warriors stripped for
action, their bodies and faces daubed with white, black,
and ochreous war-paint.
Next came a rush of about 2000 chosen warriors,
all tall men, expert with spear and shield, lithe of
body and nimble of foot, shouting as they trotted
past their war-cry of " Kavya, kavya " (the two last
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MTE8A ON TEE MALCH. 307
syllables of Mtesa*s title when young — Makavya^ X875.
** king '), and rattling their spears. Behind them at a ^""J^'J^'
quick march came the musket-armed bodyguard of the ^'^
Emperor, about two hundred in front, a hundred on
either side of the road, enclosing Mtesa and his Kate^
kiro, and two hundred bringing up the rear, with their
drums beating, pipes playing, and standards flying, and
forming quite an imposing and warlike procession.
liltesa marched on foot, bare-headed, and clad in a
dress of blue check cloth, with a black belt of English
make round his waist, and — like the Roman emperors,
who, when returning in triumph, painted their faces a
deep vermilion — his face dyed a bright red. The
Katekiro preceded him, and wore a dark grey cash-
mere coat, which M. de Bellefonds had given him,
I think this arrangement was made to deceive any
assassin who might be lurking in the bushes. If this
was the case, the precaution seemed wholly unnecessary,
as the march was so quick that nothing but a gun
would have been effective, and the Wavuma and Wasoga
have no such weapons.
After Mtesa's bodyguard had passed by, chief after
chief, legion after legion, followed, each distinguished to
the native ear by its different and peculiar drum-beat.
They came on at an extraordinary pace, more like
warriors hurrying up into action than on the march,
and it is their custom, I am told, to move always at
a trot when on an enterprise of a warlike nature.*
• The -war-cries of the Waganda b^in by shouting the full title of
their leepectiTe chiefs, and end with the last syllables, thus :^
*' MnkaTya, kayya, kavya ! "
" Chamburango, ango, ango ! **
" Mkwenda, kwenda, kwenda I **
'* Sekibobo, bobo, bobo I **
" Situnzi^ tiinzi^ tnnzi I "
This perhaps explains why Speke spelt ihanks *' iryanag," for Waganda
leturn thanks by first saying, " Twiyanzi-yanzi-yanzi/' and this, when
repeated rapidly, sounds like " N'yanzig.*
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308 TUROUan THE DAItK CONTINENT.
1875. About two hours after the main body began
August 27. jQj^j.g]^^ Kasuju, the guardian of the young princes i
*°^ Mtesa's women, preceded by a thousand spears, i
followed by a similar number, trotted by. The wor
numbered about 5000, but not more than 500 can
styled the Emperor's concubines ; the others were
the duties of the household.
If beautiful women of sable complexion are to
found in Africa, it must, I thought, be in the hoi
hold of such a powerfiJ despot as Mtesa, who has
pick of the flower of so many lands. According!
looked sharply amongst the concubines, that I mi,
become acquainted with the style of pure Afri
beauty. Nor was I quite disappointed, though I ]
imagined that his wives would have all been of supei
personal charms. But Mtesa apparently differs wid
from Europeans in his tastes. There were not m
than twenty out of all the five hundred worthy c
glance of admiration from a white man with any
for style and beauty, and certainly not more than th
deserving of many glances. These three, the n
comely among the twenty beauties of Mtesa's coi
were of the Wahuma race, no doubt from Ank
They had the complexion of quadroons, were straij
nosed and thin-lipped, with large lustrous eyes,
the other graces of a beautiful form they excel
and Hafiz might have said with poetic rapture t
they were *' straight as palm-trees and beautiful
moons." The only drawback was their hair —
short crisp hair of the negro race — but in all ot
points they might be exhibited as the perfectior
beauty which Central Africa can produce. Mtesa, h
ever, does not believe them to be superior, or e
equal, to his well-fleshed, unctuous-b6died, flat-nc
wives: indeed, when I pointed them out to him
day at a private audience, he even regarded them v
y
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THE IMFEBIAL EABEM. 309
a sneer. Speke, if I remember rightly, declares that i875.
fatness in womankind is synonymous with beauty in'^^?"'^^'
Uganda. This may once have been the case, but it is
certainly not so now, for in few women regarded with
favour by Mtesa or his chiefs have I seen any gross
corpulence of body. Naturally, where there is abun-
dance of good digestible food, and the climate is
agreeable, humanity of the respectable class will
generally be found to be well-clothed in flesh, be it in
Uganda or in England, but it is somewhat unreasonable
to state that the respectable class therefore considers
superfluous rotundity to be an element of beauty.
After the royal harem followed Mtesa's uncle, ancient
and well-featured Sabaganzi, whom, as regards the
multitude of women that followed him, I looked upon
for a long time as a very Solomon among the Waganda,
until one day I learned that large possessions of
womankind mean wealth in Uganda, for all of them
have a market value, and are saleable for wares of any
kind, be they cloth, cows, beads, or guns. Still I can-
not quite acquit the old gentleman of the imputation
of gallantry, for one night, at Nakaranga, he slew with
his own hand a lover who had come to serenade
one of his numerous Dulcineas. Besides the character
I have credited him with, I must dub him as a jealous,
vindictive, choleric old pagan, despite his fine features
and smooth tongue.
Wearied with gazing on the vast multitude, which
rolled by steadily in wave after wave, a living tide of
warriors, and having gained sufficient insight into their
numbers and method of travel, I left my post of ob-
servation and struck into the line of march behind
Sabaganzi*s rear-guard, where, to say the least, I was
much annoyed by the rush of hurrying warriors, all of
whom thought it necessary to push on to the front in
spite of all obstacles. The guards given to me by Mtesa
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810 TEBOUOn TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. to conduct me on the road did tbeir utmost to cl
Angut 27. ^^ fmious, persistcnt impetuosity of the on-con
warriors, and used their stout staffs with angry viole
The blows, however, were quite harmless, as they t
warded off by ample shields of wood and cane*
Perceiving it useless to contend against sue
weight of numbers and such well-established cus1
I submitted to the annoyance patiently, as the ms
to Nakaranga would not occupy more than twc
three days.
At Mpani, where we camped that night, we leai
that the Wavuma, soon after our departure f
Jinja, or the " Stones," had paid a visit to it, and set
abandoned imperial quarters and the camp on
besides spearing some five or six unfortunates be
the chief appointed to guard the camp was awar(
their presence. At sunset we saw the canoes of
Wavuma, some two or three hundred in num
returning in triumph to their island.
Four days afterwards, or on the 1st September,
army of Mtesa occupied Nakaranga, where it c
menced to construct its camp, each chief surroundec
the men of his own command in the position assig
to him by the Katekiro.
The legion commanded by the officers of the qu
mother occupied the ground east of Cape Nakarai
the chief Ankori and his fantastically dressed Wa«
camped north of Nana Masurie's people ; to the gal
Mkwenda with his formidable legion was assigned
entire north of the camp; and to the redoubt
Sekebobo, when he should arrive from Na-Magc
Point, was appointed the lake side, from Mkwe
to the end of Nakaranga Cape. The imperial quai
occupied an area of 400 yards square in the ce
of the vast camp, and was jealously guarded by
bodyguard, the legions of the Katekiro, Chambarai
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A MONSTER CAMP.
311
and Kimbugwe, by Kasuju with the guard of the 1875.
imperial family, and the bluff, outspoken Kitunzi, chief j^^^^'^
of the Katonga valley.
The following rough sketch may assist the reader to
understand better the locality which at this period wa8
of such importance to Uganda. By sunset the army
was comfortably housed in some 30,000 dome-like huts,
above which here and there rose a few of a conical
OuobmI Wiwaeii TJ«o^»
shape and taller than the rest, showing the temporary
residences of the various chiefs.
Amid all the hurry and bustle the white stranger
" Stamlee " (as all the Waganda now called me) was
not forgotten. Commodious quarters were erected and
allotted to him and his boat's crew, by express orders
from Mtesa, near the great broad way which the Kate-
kiro constructed, leading from the imperial quarters to
the point of Cape Nakaranga.
Anxious to see what chances Mtesa possessed of
victory over his rebellious subjects, I proceeded along
the road over the mountain to a position which com-
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312
THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1175 manded a clear view of Ingira Island, whitliei
s^pumbep. j^^jj^ig ]^j^^ betaken themselves, their families, and 8
n -iniiigt. ^^^^^ ^£ cattle. Considered as being in possessic
some twenty thousand savages, whose only wea
of war were the spear and the sling, Ingira It
presented no very formidable obstacle to a power
as the Emperor of Uganda had amassed on this
only 700 yards from it. In length it was ban
mile, and only half a mile in width from the ba
the mountain which confronted the cape to the wj
edge on the Uvuma side. The mountain rose o:
sides with rather a steep slope, but was easy of a
to the nimble-footed and deep-chested natives.
Wavuma, however, were not without allies to t
them in averting the punishment that Mtesa threat
them with, and the common danger, as well
common hate of the dread monarch, had draw:
getlier, for one strong effort to win their freedom
inhabitants of Ugeyeya and Utamba Islands, as W(
Kitenteh — famous in the annals of Uganda for its
but unfortunate struggle with the Emperor Suna
fatlier of Mtesa.
The people of the entire coast of Usoga from 1«
ranga to Uganda had voluntarily enlisted in the (
of Uvuma, and had despatched over 150 large a
fully manned to the war. The confederates, in an
ing their plan of action, had chosen Ingira Islar
the rendezvous of the united fleets of canoes. M1
plan was to capture this island, and to cross over
Ingira to the next, and then to Uvuma, whe
course, only immediate and complete submission \
save them ; and I rejoiced that I was present, for ]
in hopes that at such a period my influence r
be sufficient to avert the horrors that generally a
victory in Africa. Though I had no reason to lov
Wavuma, and for the time was a warm ally of A
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TEE WAQANDA FLEET. 813
I was resolved that no massacre of the submissive ists.
should take place while I was present. September.
The redoubtable Sekebobo, commanding twenty-
four Watongoleh, or colonels, and a force of about
50,000, occupied Namagongo, and the fleet of Mtesa
was under his charge, waiting orders to cross the bay
with them.
The Uganda war fleet numbered 325 large and
small canoes, out of which only 230 might be said
to be really effective for war. One-half of these were
manned by Wasess^, natives of the large island of
Sesse ; the other half by the courageous natives of the
Irwaji and Lulamba Islands, by picked men collected
from the coast between Usavara and Buka Bay under
the command of Chikwata, the Vice-Admiral, by crews
of Unjaku under Vice-Admiral Jumba, and by the
naval brigade of Gabunga, the Admiral of the Fleet.
Gabunga, though entitled to be called Grand Admiral
of the Fleet, because under his charge were placed all the
canoes of Uganda, numbering perhaps 500 altogether,
must not be supposed to exercise supreme command in
action. His duty was simply to convey the orders of
the fighting general to his captains' and lieutenants,
for the sailors, as in England in former times — except
in desperate extremity — seldom fight.
The fighting men of each canoe owe obedience only
to their General-in-chief ; the sailors or paddlers obey
Gabunga, the Grand Admiral of the Fleet, who, again,
is controlled by the General-in-chief.
Many readers, unless detained to consider the naval
force of Mtesa, might be contented with the mere
figures giving the numerical strength of his war-
vessels. But let us for the sake of curiosity calculate
the number of men required to man these 230 effective
war-canoes.
The largest canoe seen by me in this fleet measured
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1 1
314
TUROUQE TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. 72 feet in length, 7 feet 3 inches in breadth, anc
September. 4 £^gj ^^^p ^itiiin^ from teel to gunwale. The tb
* *'"'*' were 32 in number, to seat 64 paddlers besides the
There were probably over 100 canoes between 5(
70 feet in length, and about 50 between 30 and 5(
long; the remaining 80 fighting-boats were o
sizes, from 18 to 30 feet long. The rest of the
consisted of small boats fit only to carry from
to six men.
The largest class — 100 in number — would re
on an average fifty men each to man them, ^
would be equal in the aggregate to 5000. The «
class would require on an average forty men
or 2000 to man the fifty canoes. The third
would average twenty men each, and being eigt
number, would require 1600 men to man then
sum total standing therefore at 8600.
A very respectable figure for a naval force, mosi
would think. But in a battle on the lake, or for
an occasion as the present, when the resources c
Empire were mustered for an important war, they ^
be further required to carry a strong force to ai
Ingira Island. The canoes for the assault would ^
fore be crammed with fighting men, the largest
carrying from 60 to 100 men exclusive of their c
so that the actual fact is that Mtesa can float a
of from 16,000 to 20,000 on Lake Victoria for pui
of war.
Of the spirit with which the Wavuma intend
fight the Waganda we had proof enough on the e
day of our arrival. They dashed up close to the i
and back again into the lake, three or four times, 1
the Waganda remembered that they had mes
hand in the shape of muskets to purge them o
bravado. As the shots were fired at the canoes
of the Wavuma bent their heads low and pj
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THE FIRST FIQET. 315
their canoes with one hand, but a few of the boldest 1875.
stood Tip exhibiting for our benefit their dexterity ^^^^^^^^^^^
in the use of the spear, and to show how well they
could maintain their footing on the thwarts of their
narrow canoes. Their bravado was not without its
effect on many of the Waganda, for I heard several
remark that the Wavuma would be hard to conquer.
On the third morning Sekebobo, having been in-
structed during the night, began to cross the bay of
Nakaranga with the imperial fleet. Mtesa had sent a
messenger to inform me that the chief was about
to start, and I hastened up to the beach to witness
the sight. I found that almost all the Waganda were
animated with the same curiosity, for the beach was
lined for three or four miles with dense masses of people,
almost all clad in the national brown, bark-cloth robes.
The Wavuma meanwhile kept their eyes on Seke-
bobo, and from the summit of their mountain island
discerned, almost as well as if they had been told by
Mtesa, what was about to be done; and to frustrate
this, if possible, or at least to gather booty, they
hastily manned 100 canoes or thereabouts, and darted
out like so many crocodiles towards Namagongo.
Before Sekebobo could arrange the fleet in order, the
Wavuma were in the middle of the bay to dispute
his passage, and calmly awaiting his coming into deep
water.
A hundred canoes against 325 was rather an un-
equal contest, and so the Wavuma thought, for as the
fleet of Mtesa approached in a compact, tolerably
well-arranged mass, the Wavuma opened their line
to right and left, and permitted their foe to pass
them. The Waganda, encouraged by this sign, began
to cheer, but scarcely had the first sounds of self-
gratulation escaped them when the Wavuma paddles
were seen to strike the water with foam, and, lo ! into
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
y
316 TEBOuan the dark continent.
ms. the midst of the mass from either flank the ga
Stpicmber. igjjmd^j^ dashed, sendinff dismay and consternation
"•^"^ the whole Uganda armf.
What work those desperate Wavmna might
done, I know not, but Mtesa at the sight leape
high, and shouted his war-cry, " Kavya, kavya ! "
the army, men, women, and children, screamed " Kj
kavya ! " and the approaching fleet, hearing the
echoed it fiercely, and turned itself on the ei
with spirit. But the Wavuma, having made foui
good prizes, did not wish, so unequally matche
meet the Waganda in a pitched fight, and accordi
hastened away — contented for the time — ^into d(
water, whither, strangely enough, the Waganda
did not dare to follow them.
This short but spirited scene caused me to n
deeply, and to ask myself why, if the Wavuma
so courageous, I was permitted to escape from
hands; and why one boat and a double-ban
elephant-rifle were suflGcient to release us, in
voyage of discovery, from thirteen well-ma
Wavuma canoes. Some answers to this question
derived subsequently from observation of events.
A pause of two or three days without inc;
followed the arrival of Sekebobo's legion and Mi
fleet. Then Mtesa sent for me, and was please
impart some of his ideas on the probable issue o
war to me, in something like the following words :-
" Stamlee, I want your advice. All white mei
very clever, and appear to know everything. I
to know from you what you think I may expect
this war. Shall I have victory or not? It it
opinion we must be clever, and make headwork
that island."
Smiling at his naive, candid manner, I replied
it would require a prophet to be able to foretel
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A BRIDGE OF ROCKS. 817
issue of the war, and that I was far from being a 1875.
prophet ; that headwork, were it the best in the world, ^p**™***'-
could not take Ingira Island unassisted by valour. ""*^
He then said, " I know that the Waganda will not
fight well on the water ; they are not accustomed to it.
They are always victorious on land, but when they go
in canoes, they are afraid of being upset ; and most of
the warriors come from the interior, ,and do not know
how to swim. The Wavuma and Wasoga are very
expert in the water, and swim like fish. If we could
devise some means to take the Waganda over to the
island without risking them iji the canoes, I should be
sure of victory.'*
I replied, " You have men, women, and children here
in this camp as numerous as grass. Command every soul
able to walk to take up a stone and cast into the water,
and you will make a great difference in its depth ; but
if each person carries fifty stones a day, I will warrant
you that in a few days you will walk on dry land to
Ingira."
Mtesa at this slapped his thighs in approval, and
forthwith commanded the Katekiro to muster two
legions and set them to work, and very soon the face
of the rocky mountain was covered with about 40,000
warriors, or about a sixth of the multitude at the
cape, toiling at the unusual work of making a
rocky causeway to connect Nakaranga with Ingira
Island. After they had been at work three hours,
I proceeded to view the progress they were making,
and saw that they were expending their energies in
making a causeway about 100 feet wide. I told the
Katekiro that it would take a year to finish such a
work, but if he would limit the width to 10 feet, and
form the people 'into rows, he would have the satisfac-
tion of setting foot on Ingira Island .without danger.
But though the Premier and first lord of Uganda lost
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
818 thuouqe tee dabk continent.
1875. nono of Ins politeness, and never forgot that Mtesj
^^*^^* master, was pleased to call me his friend, I wa«
^ slow in perceiving that he would not accept frie
advice from a stranger and a foreigner. It was
by words, or even a hint or unfriendly gesture,
the fact was betrayed, but simply by inattentio
my advice. The most courtly European could
have excelled the Uganda Premier. He offered ii
same friendly manner a gourdful of the honey-s
wine of the plantain, talked sociably upon va
matters, invited verbal sketches of European life,
smiled in an aristocratically insolent manner. N<
theless, under this urbane mask, I detected a p
spirit, unbending as steel. With such an unru
composed, smiling patrician of Uganda, what <
I do but groan inwardly that good, brave, exc€
Mtesa should be served by such men ? At the
time, I could not help smiling at the diplomati
souciance of this man, who indeed represented in
a too perfect degree the character of the Wag
chiefs.
For two days the work was carried on in the ¥
had described, namely, with rocks, and then 1
thought that filling the passage with trees woul
a speedier method, and the Katekiro was so instm
For three days the Waganda 'were at work fe
trees, and a whole forest was levelled and carrie
Nakaranga Point, where they were lashed to one anc
with bark-rope, and sunk.
On the morning of the fifth day Mtesa came c
to the point to view the causeway, and was glad t
that we were nearer by 130 yards to Ingira Is
While viewing the island, he asked me what I tho
of sending a peace party over to ascertain the fe<
of the Wavuma. I replied that it would be a |
and wise thing in Europe, but not in Central Afric
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE PEACE FABTT MASSACRED. 319
I feared the Wavuma would massacre the entire party. i875.
Mtesa, however, advised by the chiefs or one of the ^®^*^''
Wangwana, persisted in the idea, and a favourite page, " ^^'
named Webba, was about to be sent in a large canoe
with fifty men to open negotiations for peace with the
Wavuma, when I entreated that he would listen to me,
and send a small, rotten canoe instead. He listened to
me so far as to send a canoe manned with only fifteen
men. As they were paddling on, unthinking and un-
dreading danger, I cried out to Mtesa, who was about
twenty yards from me, **Say farewell to Webba, for
you will see little Webba no more.'*
The Katekiro and two or three of his chiefs smiled
as if this was most absurd. I felt precisely at this
moment as I felt the first time 1 saw a bull-fight : a cold
shiver of horror crept over me. I was helpless and
unable to avert the tragedy which instinct warned me
would be enacted.
The entire Uganda army was concentrated on the
slope of Nakaranga mountain, and the eyes of the vast
multitude were fastened upon this scene ; and no doubt
they thought as I did, that it was a moment of thrilling
interest. The men of the Uganda canoe fleet were in
their camps, and the canoes were all beached near them.
The peace party held on its way until near Ingira,
when one of them opened a conversation with the
Wavtuna, the result of which was an invitation to take
their canoe in-shore. As they paddled the canoe gently
in among the rushes that lined the island, I observed
that all the Wavuma gathered together near the place
where the Waganda were expected to land, and that
several Wavuma canoes pushed out in order that the
Waganda might have no chance of escape.
We waited only a few seconds for what was about to
happen. The canoe of the peace party had scarcely
touched their island before we heard the shrieks of
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820 THBOUQE TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. the unfortunates pealing across, the water, and then
^^**^^the triumphant shouts of the Wavuma; and soon
we saw men rushing to the point of their island nearest
the causeway, and with jeers and scoffing they showed
the bloody heads of the unfortunates to Mtesa, and
tossed them into the lake. Mtesa rose gloomy and
disconcerted, and returned to his quarters much depressed
in spirits, but he gave instructions to his Katekiro to
continue the work on the causeway.
The Katekiro, placidly obedient, instructed two
chiefs, the two chiefs instructed their Watongoleh, the
Watongoleh instructed their men, and the result of
these several instructions was, that about 100 men out
of 150,000 were seen lounging idly on the causeway,
and that was all, for the novelty of the idea had now
worn off.
Nothing more was heard of the bridge, for Mtesa had
conceived a new idea, which was, to be instructed in the
sciences of Europe. I was to be a scientific encyclo-
paedia to him. Not wishing to deny him, I tried, during
the afternoon of the massacre, to expound the secrets of
nature and the works of Providence, the wonders of the
heavens, the air and the earth. We gossiped about the
nature of rocks and metals, and their many appliances,
which the cunning of the Europeans had invented to
manufacture the innumerable variety of things for
which they are renowned. The dread despot sat with
wide-dilated eyes and an all-devouring attention, and,
in deference to his own excitable feelings, his chiefs
affected to be as interested as himself, though I have
no doubt several ancients, such as Kangau and
Sabaganzi, thought the whole affair decidedly tedious,
and the white man a **bore." The more polite and
courtly Katekiro, Chambarango, and Kauta vied with
each other in expressing open-mouthed and large-eyed
interest in this encyclopaedic talk. I drifted from
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•• WffAT DO TOU KNOW OF ANGELS f** 321
mechanics to divinity, for my purpose in this respect 1875.
was not changed. During my extemporized lectures, ^^**"^'*
I happened to mention angels. On hearing the word,
Mtesa screamed with joy, and to my great astonish-
ment the patricians of Uganda cliorused, " Ah-ah-ah ! **
as if they had heard an exceedingly good thing.
Having appeared so learned all the afternoon, I dared
not condescend to inquire what all this wild joy
meant, but prudently waited until the exciting cries
and slapping of thighs were ended.
The boisterous period over, Mtesa said, " Stamlee, I
have always told my chiefs that the white men know
everything, and are skilful in all things. A great many
Arabs, some Turks, and four white men have visited
me, and I have examined and heard them all talk, and
for wisdom and goodness the white men excel all the
others. Why do the Arabs and Turks come to Uganda ?
Is it not for ivory and slaves ? Why do the white men
come? They come to see this lake, our rivers and
mountains. The Arabs bring cloth, beads and wire, to
buy ivory and slaves; they also bring powder and
guns ; but who made all these things the Arabs bring
here for trade ? The Arabs themselves say the white
men made them, and I have seen nothing yet of all
they have brought that the white men did not make.
Therefore, I say, give me the white men, because if
you want knowledge you must talk with them to
get it. Now, Stamlee, tell me and my chiefs what
you know of the angels."
Verily the question was a difficult one, and my answer
would not have satisfied Europeans. Remembering,
however, St. Paul's confession that he was all things to
all men, I attempted to give as vivid a description of
what angels are generally believed to be like, and as
Michael Angelo and Gustave Dore have laboured to
illustrate them, and with the aid of Ezekiel's and
VOL. I. — 21
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1
822 THBOUOH THE DARK CONTINENT
1875. Milton's descriptions I believe I succeeded in sat
s*pt«nDer. ^^^ astonishing the king and his court ; and ii
"^to show him that I had authority for what I
sent to my camp for the Bible, and translated
what Ezekiel and St. John said of angels.
This little incident, trivial as it may appear, hs
interesting results. Encyclopaedic talk was fo]
in the grander and more sublime themes which So
and divinity contributed. The Emperor cast c<
eyes on the Bible and my Church of England
Book, and perceiving his wish, I introduced to hir
named Dallington, a pupil of the Universities J
at Zanzibar, who could translate the Bible ir
Bwahili for him, and otherwise communicate i
what I wished to say.
Henceforth, during the intervals of leisure tl
war gave us, we were to be seen — the king,
Dallington, and I — engaged in the translation
abstract of the Holy Scriptures. There were ^:
enough of these translations, but Mtesa himself
assiduous and earnest student.
Having abundance of writing paper with me,
a large book for him, into which the translation
fairly copied by a writer called Idi. When con
Mtesa possessed an abridged Protestant Bible
swahili, embracing all the principal events frc
Creation to the Crucifixion of Christ. St.
Gospel was translated entire, as giving a more cc
history of the Saviour's life.
When the abridged Bible was completed,
called all his chiefs together, as well as the oflG
his guard, and when all were assembled he be
state that when he succeeded his father he
Mshensi (a heathen), and delighted in shedding
because he knew no better, and was only followi
customs of his fathers ; but that when an Arab
1
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JESUa OB MOHAMMED f 323
who was also a Mwalim (priest), taught him the creed i875.
of Islam, he had renounced the example of his fathers, ^p*^*^^'-
and executions became less frequent, and no man could ^
say, since that day, that he had seen Mtesa drunk with
pombe'. But there were a great many things he could
not understand, such as, why circumcision was neces-
sary to gain Paradise, and how it was possible that men
having died could enjoy earth's pleasures in heaven, and
how men could walk along a bridge of the breadth of a
hair, for such were some of the things the sons of Islam
taught. He could not comprehend all these things, as
his sense condemned them, and there was no one in
Uganda able to enlighten him better. But as it was in
his heart to be good, he hoped God would overlook
his follies and forgive him, and send men who knew
what was right to Uganda. " Meanwhile,** said he with
a smile, *^ I refused to be circumcised, though the Arabs
say it is the first thing that should be done to become a
true son of Islam. Now, God be thanked, a white man,
* Stamlee,' has come to Uganda with a book older than
the Koran of Mohammed, and Stamlee says that
Mohammed was a liar, and much of his book taken from
this ; and this boy and Idi have read to me all that
Stamlee has read to them from this book, and I find
that it is a great deal better than the book of Mohammed,
besides it is the first and oldest book. The prophet
Moses wrote some of it a long, long time before
Mohammed was even heard of, and the book was
finished long before Mohammed was bom. As Kintu,
our first king, was a long time before me, so Moses
waB before Mohammed. Now I want you, my chiefs
and soldiers, to tell me what we shall do. Shall
we believe in Isa (Jesus) and Musa (Moses), or in
Mohammed ? "
Chambarango replied, " Let us take that which is the
best."
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324 THROUOH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. The Katekiro said, ^ We know not which is the best
s*pumb«r. rpj^^ ^^j^g g^y ^Yie\r book is the best, and the white
^ men say their book is the best — how then can we know
which speaks the truth ? '*
Kauta, the imperial steward, said, "When Mtesa
became a son of Islam, he taught me, and I became
one ; if my master says he taught me wrong, having
got more knowledge, he can now teach me right. I am
waiting to hear his words.**
Mtesa smiled and said, " Kauta speaks well. If I
taught him how to become a Muslim, I did it because
I believed it to be good. Chambarango says, * Let us
take that which is best.* True, I want that which is
the best, and I want the true book ; but Katekiro asks,
* How are we to know which is true ?' and I will answer
him. Listen to me : The Arabs and the white men
behave exactly as they are taught by their books, do
they not ? The Arabs come here for ivory and slaves,
and we have seen that they do not always speak the
truth, and that they buy men of their own colour, and
treat them badly, putting them in chains and beating
them. The white men, when offered slaves, refuse
them, saying, * Shall we make our brothers slaves ? No ;
we are all sons of God.' I have not heard a white man
tell a lie yet. Speke came here, behaved well, and
went his way home with his brother Grant. They
bought no slaves, and the time they were in Uganda
they were very good. Stamlee came here, and he would
take no slaves. Abdul Aziz Bey (M. Linant Bellefonds)
has been here, and is gone, and he took no slaves.
What Arab would have refused slaves like these white
men ? Though we deal in slaves, it is no reason why it
should not be bad ; and when I think that the Arabs
and the white men do as they are. taught, I say that
the white men are greatly superior to the Arabs, and
I think therefore that their book must be a better book
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TEE ROTAL PROSELYTE. 825
than Mohammed's, and of all that Stamlee has read from i875.
his book I see nothing too hard for me to believe. The f]?*^'^*
book begins from the very beginning of this world, tells
us how it was made, and in how many days ; gives us
the words of God Himself, and of Moses, and the prophet
Solomon, and Jesus, the son of Mary. I have listened to
it all well pleased, and now I ask you, shall we accept
this book or Mohammed's book as our guide ? "*
To which question, no doubt seeing the evident bent
of Mtesa's own mind, they all replied, " We will take
the white man's book ; " and at hearing their answer a
manifest glow of pleasure lighted up the Emperor's
face.
In this manner Mtesa renounced Islamism, and pro-
fessed himself a convert to the Christian Faith, and he
now announced his determination to adhere to his new
religion, to build a church, and to do all in his power
to promote the propagation of Christian sentiments
among his people, and to conform to the best of his
ability to the holy precepts contained in the Bible.
I, on the other hand, proud of my convert, with whom
I had diligently laboured during three months, pro-
mised that, since Dallington wished it, I would release
him from my service, that he might assist to confirm
him in his new faith, that he might read the Bible for
him, and perform the service of a Bible reader until the
good people of Europe should send a priest to baptize
him and teach him the duties of the Christian religion.
** Stamlee," said Mtesa to me, as we parted, nearly
two months after the massacre of the peace party, " 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."
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826 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
I
CHAPTER XTTT,
The war-drnm beaten — The wizards play their part — In full
paint — Ballets against speais — The Wamma baulked — ^
fury — Victory or the stake! — Hard fighting — The captiYe d
struggle between the I agan and the Christian — A floating mysl
''Betum, spirit 1 the war is ended T — The camp on fire : an
life.
1875. On the 14th September the Emperor of Ug
^*?^^*'^ decided to give battle to the Wavuma, who
daily becoming bolder and more boastfiil. In
morning, in accordance with Mtesa's orders,
Waganda canoes sallied out from the beach in fro
our camps to Nakaranga Point, where they form<
line of battle before the causeway, with the steri
their canoes fronting Ingira, and their bows tov
Nakaranga Point.
Mtesa was followed by about three-fourths o
army when he proceeded to the point to view
battle, and with him went the great war-drums, t(
number of fifty or thereabouts, and fifes aboi
hundred, and a great number of men shaking g(
filled with pebbles, and the court criers and
charmers against evil were not wanting to create
and noise, and celebrate victory.
A hut of ample size had been erected on the n
tain slope overlooking the strait, into which Mtesa
his favourite women retired. When the Emperoi
seated, the ** prophets of Baal/' or the priests
y
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TEE WIZARDS FLAY TEEIB FART. 827
priestesses of the Muzimu, or witchcraft, came up, i875.
more than a hundred in number, and oflFered tl^e jf!f ** ^*"
charms to Mtesa one after another in a most tedious * *^°*^*'
ceremonious way, and to all of them Mtesa con-
descended to point his imperial forefinger.
The chief priest was a most fantastically dressed
madman. It is customary before commencing a battle
to carry all the potent medicines or charms of Uganda
(thus propitiating the dreadful Muzimu or evil spirits)
to the monarch, that he may touch or point his
forefinger at them. They consist of dead lizards,
bits of wood, hide, nails of dead people, claws of
animals, and beaks of birds, a hideous miscellany,
with mysterious compounds of herbs and leaves care-
fully enclosed in vessels ornamented with varicoloured
beads.
During the battle these wizards and witches chant
their incantations, and exhibit their medicines on high
before the foe, while the gourd-and-pebble bearers sound
a hideous alarum, enough to cause the nerves of any
man except an Aft'ican to relax at once.
Mtesa and his army were in full war-paint, and the
principal men wore splendid leopard-skins over their
backs, but the Wasoga bore the palm for splendour of
dress and ornate equipments.
Ankori'the chief, and his officers were wonderfully
'gay. Snow-white ostrich plumes decorated their heads,
and lion and leopard-skins covered their backs, while
their loins were girded with snow-white, long-haired
monkey and goat skins ; even the staves of their lances
were ornamented with feathers and rings of white
monkey-skin.
There was ample time afforded to observe all these
things, and to be exceedingly amused and interested
in what promised to be an animating scene, before all
attention was drawn to and engaged by the battle.
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S9J8 rUBOUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
i876l The speclators were seated, safe from harm or danger,
i%\t^it. 01^ t^^® slope of Nakaranga mountain, from the water's
edge to tlie mountain summit, tier above tier, and rank
above rank, in thousands upon thousands.
The canoes, having formed line, slowly moved stem-
wise towards Ingira. The Wavuma were not inactive
spectators of this manoeuvre, but a« yet their warriors
had not embarked. They were busy mustering, while
those appointed to garrison the island, with the women
and children, several thousands in mmaber, sate down
on the slopes of the opposite mountain of Ingira Island.
The rushes and weeds lining the water's edge were
too tall and thick to enable us to estimate exactly the
number of the enemy's war-canoes, but the brown-
coloured prows, long and curving, of a great many
were seen thrust out from among the vivid green
banana plantations, or arranged on the rising beach of
the island beyond its reedy margin.
Having advanced with the utmost regularity of line,
near enough to the island to make their " Brown Bess "
muskets effective, the Waganda began to open fire in a
steady, deliberate manner, and succeeded after awhile
in annoying the foe and arousing him to action. At
a given signal from their chiefs, forth from the reeds
and rushes shot the prows of the Wavuma canoes ; and'
then, giving utterance to most shrill war-cries, the
rowers impelled them from all quarters, to the number
of 194, with an extraordinary velocity upon the
Waganda line, which now began to retire slowly
towards the causeway.
On the causeway at its farthest extremity were
assembled a force of a hundred musketeers and four
small boat howitzers under the command of the Katekiro
and Mtesa's factotum Tori.
The furious advance of the Wavuma soon caused the
Waganda to hurry their movements, and on approach-
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THE WAVUMA BAULKED OF VICTORY. 329
ing the causeway they parted their line, rushing on 1875.
either side of it, giving the Katekiro and Tori ample ^^^ ^^^
opportunity to wreak their will on the pursuers. But * *'*°^*
owing to the want of skill of the cannoniers, and
the nervousness of the musketeers, very little damage
was inflicted on the Wavuma, but the noise and
whirring of lead and iron suflSced to check them, and
caused them to withdraw with much of the baflHed
aspect of hungry crocodiles cheated of their prey. This
was all the battle — ^but, short as it was, it had suflSced to
prove to me that Mtesa would be unable to take Ingira
Island, garrisoned and defended as it was by such a
determined foe. After a while Mtesa withdrew from
the scene, the army returned to its quarters, and the
canoes of the Waganda, closely hugging the Nakaranga
shore, went back to their rendezvous, leaving the
Wavuma masters of the situation.
During the afternoon of this day Mtesa held a grand
levee, and when all were assembled, he addressed them
publicly to the effect that in a few day with me? Oh, he speaks too
true, too true! father, forgive me, forgive me.'*
After which, I was told he suddenly broke away from
the council.
An hour afterwards I was summoned by a page to
his presence, and Mtesa said : —
" Stamlee will not say Mtesa is bad now, for he has
forgiven the Mvuma chief, and will not hurt him.
Will Stamlee say that Mtesa is good now ? And does
he think Suna is glad now ? "
** Mtesa is very good/* and I clasped his hand warmly.
^* Be patient, all shall come out right, and Kintu and Suna
must be glad when they see that Mtesa is kind to his
guests. I have something to tell you. I have thought
over your trouble here, and I want to finish this war
for your good without any more trouble. I will build
a structure which shall terrify the Wavuma, and make
them glad of a peace, but you must give me pletity of
men to help me, and in three days I shall be ready.
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.**
VOL. I.— 22
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338 TnnOUQH TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. ** Take everybody, do anything you like ; I will give
^^"^"^ •• you Sekebobo and all his men/'
The next morning Sekebobo brought about 2000
men before my quarters, and requested to know
my wilL I told him to despatch 1000 men to cut
long poles 1 inch thick, 300 to cut poles 3 inches
thick and 7 feet long, 100 to cut straight long trees
4 inches thick, and 100 to disbark all these, and make
bark rope. Himself and 500 men I wished to assist
me at the beach. The chief communicated my in-
structions 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
70 feet long and 6i feet wide, and, after preparing
a space of ground near the water's edge, had them
drawn up parallel with one another, and 4 feet apart
from each other. With these three canoesJ 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 7-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,
70 feet long by 27 feet wide, which the spears of the
enemy could not penetrate.
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
flout.*'
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A FLOATING MYSTERY.
339
On receiving orders to. launch it, I selected sixty 1875.
paddlers and 150 musketeers of the ^ bodyguard 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 tliera to close the
gate of the fort as soon as •they pushed off from the
land. About 1000 men were then set to work to
launch it, and soon it was floating in the water, and
when the crew and garrison, 214 souls, were in it, it
THE FLOATING FORTLET HO VINO TOWARDS INGIRA.
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 foimd, 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 tbis 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.
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840
THEOUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
t875. At eigbt o'clock on the morning of the 13th C
Ocu^bcr 13. ^j^^ army was assembled at Nakaranga with u
* ***^^ display, and it was proclaimed across the strait
the extremity of the causeway that a terrible thii
approaching which would blow them into at(
they did not make peace at once and acknowled
power of Mtesa ; and I believe that they declare
all the Muzimus and the charms of Uganda
within, for I heard something said about Muzim
Uganda. The old Mvuma chief was filso pla
prominent view, and induced to urge them to
the terms which Mtesa offered, viz. pardon
provided they went through the form of subm
After this announcement, which was made wi
gravity, the awful mysterious structure appeared
the drums beat a tremendous sound, and the mu
of horns blew a deafening blast.
It was a moment of anxiety to me, for mj
reasons. The fort, perfectly defensible in itself a
the most furious assaults by men armed with i
steadily approached the point, then steered din
the island of Ingira, until it was within fifty yan
** Speak," said a stentorian voice amid a d
silence within. " What will you do? Will you
peace and submit to Mtesa, or shall we blow i
' island ? Be quick and answer.**
There was a moment's consultation among th
stricken Wavuma. Immediate decision was impe
The structure was vast, totally unlike anything tt
ever visible on the waters of their sea. There ^
person visible, yet a voice spoke clear and loud.
a spirit, the Wazimu of all Uganda, more pro]
to their enemy's prayers than those of the Wa^
It might contain some devilish, awful, thing, som<
similar to the evil spirits which in their hoi
melancholy and gloom their imagination in
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' RETUBN, SPIRIT I TEE WAB IS ENDED r 341
There was an audacity and confidence in its movements ists.
October 1
KakarangA.
that was perfectly appalling. ^""^^ ^^'
" Speak," repeated the stem 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, spirit, the war is ended 1 " 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.
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, and
two young girls, daughters of the two principal chiefs
of Uvuma. These were the tribute. The ivory was
delivered over to the charge of the steward, and the
young girls were admitted to the harem of Mtesa,
into the mystery of which no man dare penetrate
and live. The old Mvuma chief was surrendered to his
tribe, and thus the long war terminated on the evening
of the 13th 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 275
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.
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842 THEOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. We set out next morning, the 15th Octobei
October 15. ^^j^^ee o'clock. We were wakened by the tremen
*'*°'** " Jojussu,** the great king of war-drums. Inste
we began to pack up, but I was scarcely dn
before ray people rushed up to me, crying that
immense camp was fired in a hundred diS<
places. I rushed out of my hut, and was astou
to see that the* flames devoured the grass hut
fast that, unless we instantly departed, we shoul
burnt along with them. Hastily snatching my pii
I bade the Wangwana shoulder the goods and f(
me as they valued their lives.
The great road from Mtesa's quarters to Nakarj
Point, though 100 feet wide, was rendered impaa
by furious, overlapping waves of fire. There was
one way left, which was up the slope of Nakar
mountain, and through the camp of the Wasoga.
were not alone in the attempt to escape by this
for about 60,000 human beings had sought the i
patli, and were wedged into an almost solid mas
great was the danger and the anxiety to be away
the cruel sea of fire below.
It was a grand scene, but a truly terrible one ;
I thought, as I looked down on it, that the Wag
were now avenging the dead Wavuma with
own hands, for out of a quarter of a million hu
beings there must have been an immense numbi
sick unable to move. Besides these, what numbe
witless women and little ones having lost prej
of mind must have perished ; and how many must
been trampled down by the rush of such a vast nui
to escape the conflagration! The wide-leaping,
reaching tongues of flame voraciously eating the
tindery material of the huts, and blown by a st
breeze from the lake, almost took my breath away,
several times I felt as if my very vitals were b
scorched ; but with heads bent low we charged
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1 ;
' ■ . . i i ' i ^ ' . i • ' '
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THE BURNING CAMP: A BACK FOB LIFE.
343
blindlj, knowing no guide save the instinct of self- 1875.
*.-»^»^«.,,»4-:^«^ October 15.
preservation*
As soon as an opportunity permitted, I looked after
the laggards of my party, and by dint of severity
kept them together, but three or four were more
than half inclined to give in before we breathed cooler
air, and could congratulate ourselves upon our safety.
Indignant at such a murderous course, for I mentally
taxed Mtesa with this criminal folly, I marched my
party far from the route of the Waganda army, and
though repeatedly urged by Mtesa to attach myself
to his party, I declined to do so until he should explain
to me why he had commanded the camp to be fired
without giving warning to his people or to myself, his
guest. His messenger at once acquitted him of such
gross recklessness, and declared that he had arrested
several persons suspected of having fired the camp,
and that he himself had suffered the loss of goods
and women in the flames. I thereupon, glad that
he was not the author of the catastrophe, sent my
salaams, and a promise to rejoin him at Ugungu, on
the Uganda side of the Ripon Falls, which I did
on the 18 th October.
FISH FOtnn) IK LAKE VICTORIA.
Sama-Moa, in the Nyassa tongue ; rouDd, opeD-mouthed, scaled, and
pig-headed-looking creature, 20 laches long.
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841 THEOUQH TES DAItK CONTINENT.
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Uganda.
CHAPTER XIV.
The Legend of the Blameless Priest — The heroes of Uganda — Chwa —
Kimera, the giant — Nakiyingi — Eibaga, the flying warrior —
Ma'anda — Wakingnm, the champion — Eamanja, the conqueror
of the Wakedi — Suna the cruel — His massacre of the Wasoga —
Namujnrilwa, the Achilles of Uganda — Setnha and his lions —
Easindula the hero, peasant, and premier — Mtesa the mild-eyed.
1875. Having arrived safely in Uganda, through most
extraordinary and novel scenes, I may be permitted
to leave the direct narrative of our travels and our life
in Uganda in order to inform the reader on certain
points of the history of Mtesa's country, beginning with
Kintu, Priest, Patriarch, and first King of Uganda.
Whatever of the incredible or marvellous may be
discovered by the learned critic in this chapter must
not be debited against the author, but against Sabadu
and the elders who are responsible for the tale of Kintu,
the wars of Kamanya, Suna, and Mtesa, and the feats
of Namujurilwa, Setuba, and KasinduJa the heroes,
while Mtesa himself furnished me with the names of
the kings his forefathers, with many other facts con-
tained in this chapter.
For my part I regret only that want of space
compels me to compress what I have gathered of the
history of this interesting country into a few pages,
but brief as it is, I venture to believe that it will not
be without interest to a large class of readers.
Uganda, then, was first peopled by immigrants from
the north, about. the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
But the date at which I thus fix the arrival of the
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TBE LEGEND OF TEE BLAMELESS PRIEST. 345
patriarch Kintu may be wrong ; he may have arrived is?^
at a much earlier period, and the names of a large Uganda,
number of his successors may have sunk into oblivion.
Tradition, as well as it has been able, has faithfully
preserved the memory of the acts of the first of these
immigrants, though it has contemptuously omitted
the acts of his successors, and as usual has contrived
to endow its favourites, here as elsewhere, with
marvellous power and extraordinary attributes.
Kintu, the first immigrant and the founder of Uganda,
came from the north, and perhaps derived his descent
from some African Arab or ancient Ethiopic family.
He was a mild, humane, and blameless man, and
from his character was probably a priest of some old
and long forgotten order. He brought with him one
wife, one cow, one goat, one sheep, one banana-root,
and a sweet potato ; and, journeying in search of a
suitable land to dwell in, established himself finally on
the western bank of the Mwerango river, at Magonga,*
near the present frontier of TJnyoro. He found the
country uninhabited, for not a single soul then dwelt
in all the land lying between the lakes Victoria and
Albert and Muta Nzige. TJsoga was a wilderness,
XJkedi a desolate plain, and the fertile valleys of Unyoro
were unpeopled.
The priest Kintu was alone in his kingdom. But these
countries were not destined to remain desolate long, for
his wife was remarkably prolific. She brought forth
four children at a birth each year, and each male issued
into the world with an incipient beard and the powers of
lusty prime youth ; and the female children at two years
of age bore children, who at an equally early age con-
ceived and bore sons and daughters, until the land
• Some of the Waganda belieye, however, that Kintn, or Ham,
as Mtosa now believes him to be, was buried at Magonga; but I prefer to
adhere to the legend as it was related to me.
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TSMOUQM TUS DARK CONTINEIiT,
^pm^
1
liTi. began to be fully peopled, tbo forests to be cut
^* the land to be cultivated, and planted with b
and corn«
The single cow, goat, slieep, and cliiekea in<
after their kind by fioiue exti^aordinary manneT
they grew so numerous that eacli of the offspi
Kiiitu soon possessed large herds of cattle, and fii
sheep and goats, and numerous chickens. The b
root also, once planted in the soil of Uganda
lioly hands of Kintu^ sprang up almost, instant
a Btalk of vast girth, from the top of which
pendent such a cluster of fruit as is not 6<
Uganda nowadays, and the root Bpread itsel
a large area, from which hundreds of banam
upward with great stalks and all the leafy luxi
of a large plantation* The potato-plant also vie
the banana, for so great was its vitality that it ap
to crawl over the ground, so fast was its growtl
When his oflspring had grown so numeroi
they crowded Magonga, Kintu cut portions
original banana-root and potato-plant and gs
each family a portion, and having taught tliei
** to sow the glebe and plant the generous vine,
them seek each a home, and estahhsh themselves
land round about him. Those wIjo received the
estahlislied their home south of Magonga, whih
who received the sweet-potato plant migrated
north of Magonga, and dwelt in the valleys of I
Hence it i^ tliat to this day the people of C
south, and all about Magonga prefer the ban;
food, while the people of Wanyuro have such
d J lection for sweet potatoes*
Being a piiest, Kintu entertained a special a
to the eliedding of hlooJ, whether of man, i
bird, or insect, but he did not instruct his offsp
abstain from shedding the blood of beasts.
.^
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TEE LEGEND OF TEE BLAMELESS PRIEST. 347
animal was to be slain for food, it was ordained that it 1875.
should be taken far from the neighbourhood of his ^^^
house, and if a man was to be executed for murder, *^
the executioner dare not slay his victim near Kintu or
his house or his garden, neither might the man of
blood at any time approach the patriarch's person. If
the culprit on his way to execution could contrive to
make his way to Kintu*s presence and touch his feet or
his garments, or were the patriarch even to cast his
eyes on him, his life was safe.
When the good patriarch became old his children
forgot to follow his pious example, for from the banana
they had discovered the art of making wine and strong
drinks, with which they debauched themselves, and,
being daily intoxicated, committed indecencies, became
violent in language, reckless and hardened in impiety,
and, worse than all, so rebellious as to threaten to
depose and kill him. Kintu bore this conduct in his
unloving children with meekness and sorrow for a long
time, but warned them that their impiety and violence
would be punished some day ; but they heeded him not,
for the wine had maddened them.
After a time, finding his admonitions of no avail, he
said to his wife, " See, my sons whom I brought into this
world have become wicked and hard of heart, and they
threaten to drive their father away or kill him, for they
say I am become old and useless. I am like a hateful
stranger amongst my own children. They shed the
blood of their brothers daily, and there is nothing but
killing and bloodshed now, until I am sick of blood.
It is time for us to get away and depart elsewhere*
Come, let us go." And in the night Kintu and his
wife departed, taking with tliera their original cow,
goat, sheep, chicken, a banana-root, and a sweet-potato
plant.
In the morning it became known that their father
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348 TEBOUQE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Kintu was not in his house, nor to he found anywhere,
^^*^' that he had left the country with all the things which
he had brought thither when he first arrived. Then
all were filled with sorrow, and great lamentation was
made throughout the land.
After three days, during which search was instituted
far and wide for the lost patriarch, Chwa, the eldest son,
took his spear and shield in his hand and said, ** I am
the first-born, and it is my right to sit in the place of
my father. Now you, my brothers, be good and beware
of my spear ^ ; and Chwa being strong, his brothers
feared him, and paid homage to him as their king.
Chwa did not abandon the search for his father,
though he had attained the regal power. He seems to
have cherished a hope that in some distant country his
father would be discovered, whither he might be able
to proceed to him and ask his forgiveness.
A rumour sometimes reached Chwa that his father
had been seen, but none of his several messengers suc-
ceeded in seeing him, and he at last died without the
hope being gratified.
Chwa was succeeded by his son Kamiera, a name to
this day retained by the members of the imperial family.
Like hia father Chwa, Kamiera searched for the patri-
arch Kintu until his own death, without success.
Kamiera was succeeded by his gigantic son Kimera,
who distinguished himself as a hunter. He first intro-
duced dogs for the chase, and was so fond of them
that he always led one by the cord wherever he went.
It wns from this king that his successors inherited their
partiality for the canine race, and in the memory of
many yet living Suna is remembered for his extra-
ordinary attachment to dogs, for the special subsistence
of which he surrendered whole districts. Mtesa was also
seen by Speke showing great fondness for a dog, but
the present monarch has long ago abandoned this
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KIMERA, THE GIANT. 849
traditional predilection, and lie now prohibits their i875.
presence in his court. J^-
Kimera was of such size, strength, and weight that
his feet made marks in rocks, and the impress of one of
his feet is shown to this day by the antiquarians of
Uganda in a rock situated not far from the capital,
Ulagalla. It is said that this mark was made by one
of his feet slipping while he was in the act of launching
his spear at an elephant. Kimera also explored
countries remote and near, searching all the forests,
the wilderness, the plains, the fastnesses of the moun-
tains, the summits of hills and the caves, and travelled
along all the river-banks in vain quest for the lost
Kintu.
The fact seemed to be impressed on the minds of all
that Kintu was only lost, not dead, that he waa
immortal, and Kimera, even more than his predecessors,
was indefatigable in his eflForts to verify this belief. He
led in person large expeditions, and offered great
rewards to peasants, promising to make him who dis-
covered Kintu next to the king in power — the Katekiro
of Uganda. But he likewise failed in the search, and
finally died.
Almass (which name, if Arabic, rendered into
English means "Diamond") succeeded Kimera the
hunter. This king's name is a favourite one among
the Arabs, which I take to be further evidence that
the founder of the Uganda monarchy had Asiatic
blood in his veins. Of Almass, tradition says nothing
save that, like his father, he hoped to find Kintu. On
his death he was succeeded by his son Tembo.
After Tembo came Kigara, Wanpamba, Kaeema, and
Nakivingi, the last being remembered for his heroic
valour and many conquests.
Nakivingi fought and subjected the Wanyoro, who,
from their predilection for sweet potatoes, may have
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350 TDROUGH TUB DARK CONTINRNT.
itTiL deemed themselves long ago a separate people
******^' the Waganda, a theory by no means sopported b
anthoritv of venerable tradition.
After Nakivingi we have a long list of kings, \
whom tradition, fable, and history are alike fi
Morondo succeeded Nakivingi — the Charlemagi
Uganda — and after him followed Sekamanya, J^
Snna I., Kirabiigwe, Katerega, Ntewi, and <
This la.st, it is said, had a headstrong, violent,
disobedient son, named Kyemba, whom he was ol
to pacify with the island of Uvuma, whence aften
he appeared in Uganda, deposed his father Juko,
slaying him, reigned in his stead.
One of the heroes of Nakivingi was a warrior n
Kibaga, who possessed the power of flying. Whe
king warred with the Wanyoro, he sent Kibaga
the air to ascertain the whereabouts of the foe,
when discovered by this extraordinary being,
attacked on land in thefr hiding-places by Naki^
and from above by the active and faithful Ki
who showered great rocks on them and by these i
slew a vast number.
It happened that among the captives of Ui
Kibaga saw a beautiful woman, who was solicitc
the king in marriage. As Nakivingi was gi
indebted to Kibaga for his unique services, he gav
to Kibaga as wife, with a warning, however, not i
part the knowledge of his power to her, lest she s'
betray him. For a long time after marriage hu
knew nothing of his power, but suspecting some
strange in him from his repeated sudden absence
reappearances at his home, she set herself to watch
and one morning as he left his hut she was surj
to see him suddenly mount into the air with a bi
of rocks slung on his back. On seeing this she re
bered the Wanyoro complaining that more of
1
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October.
UgMkdA.
KIBAQA, THE FLYING WARRIOR. 351
people were killed by some means from above than 1875.
by the spears of Nakivingi, and Delilah-like, loving
her race and her people more than she loved her
husband, she hastened to her people's camp, and com-
municated, to the surprise of the Wanyoro, what she
had that day learned.
To avenge themselves on Kibaga, the Wanyoro set
archers in ambush on the summits of each lofty hill,
with instructions to confine themselves to watching
the air and listening for the brushing of his wings,
and to shoot their arrows in the direction of the sound,
whether anything was seen or not. By this means
on a certain day, as Nakivingi marched to the battle,
Kibaga was wounded to the death by an arrow, and
upon the road large drops of blood were seen falling,
and on coming to a tall tree the king detected a dead
body entangled in its branches. When the tree was
cut down, Nakivingi saw to his infinite sorrow that
it was the body of his faithful flying warrior Kibaga.
Succeeding Kyemba came Tiwandek^, Mdowra,
Kaguru, Kikuruw^, and Ma*anda. It was the fortune
of this last king I0 discover news of the lost Kintu,
after a most remarkable and romantic manner.
Though history and fable are silent respecting the
acts of many of Ma'anda's predecessors, we may well
believe that each king made efforts to discover the
missing Kintu, as the belief that he was still alive
obtained as firm credence in the reign of Ma*anda as in
the days of Chwa and Kimera. With Ma*anda this
belief was very strong, and spurred by the hope that
some day it would be his happy fortune to be success-
ful, he was ardent in the chase, penetrating great
forests, and traversing extensive plains and valleys,
ostensibly to hunt game, but really to hunt up news
of Kintu.
It happened one day, after returning to his capital
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352
TEROUQU TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1S75.
Ot^tobef.
•
t
from one of these oxpeditione, that a peasant livin
far off was compelled from lack of fuel for his fan
enter a forest to cut wood. Having over-exerted
aelf, and being very much fatigued, and his home
far, he resolved to sleep in the forest, near his
pile. For the sate of security and uninterrupted
he constructed a rude hut, and fenced it round wi
branches of the prostrate trees, and when it was
pleted he laid himself down and slept
And a sound sleep it was, we may imagine, in
by hard labour and fatigue, though not a dreamles
For in his sleep, it is said, he dreamed a strange d
wherein he thought he heard a voice, which said,
to a place in this forest, where the trees are very
round an open space near a stream running by, an
will there see something which will give you
wealth, and make you a great chief/* Three tim
dream was repeated. These words caused the he
the sleeping peasant to bound for joy ; so much s<
it woke him, and then he began to regret thj
good which was promised him was but a drear
a mockery. But reflecting that he knew the
described, for he had often been there, and tl
was not very far off, he thought he might as well
the voice in the dream, if only for the sake of satif
his curiosity. He had dreamed the same dream t
and each time the voice had been emphatic and pi
and he thought that there might be something of
conveyed in it.
After a few hours' hurried travel, he approache
place described, and his movements towards the
became now very cautious, lest some event :
occur quite the reverse of his hopes, as dreams
times go by contraries He heard the murmu:
gurgle of the stream, and the soughing of the. bra
of the forest overhead in such a solitary place fill
J )
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UgaiuUi
TEE LEGEND OF TEE BLAMELESS PRIEST. 353
heart witb awe. He began to feel frightened, though 1875.
he knew not at what, and was more than half incUned 2*^^^*
to turn back. Yet this eerie feeling and alarm might be
causeless ; he therefore advanced into the open space,
and suddenly he saw there a sight that almost petrified
him.
Eanged in two rows, on either side of a venerable
man, who reclined on a kind of throne, were many
warriors seated on mats. They held spears and shields
in their hands, and the complexion of these men was
so light as to resemble that of white men. The central
figure on the throne was that of an old man, whose
long beard was white with age, and his complexion
was similar to the warriors seated on the mats. All
were clothed in spotless white robes.
For a time no man spoke, though all eyes were
turned on the astonished and awed peasant, and
regarded him with a stem and awful gaze. Finally,
the silence was broken by the voice of the old man,
which sounded to the peasant like that which he had
heard in the dream, and it said, "Peasant, tell me
what country this is.**
The peasant answered, trembling, and perspiring
through excessive fear, " Eh, don't you know ? This
is Uganda."
" And who was the first king ? " demanded the old
man. " Come, tell me his name ? **
" Kintu," answered the peasant.
** True," said the old man. " Now, tell me the name
of the present king ? "
" Ma'anda," replied the peasant.
" Well then, depart instantly, and haste to Ma'anda
the king, and bid him come to Kintu, who shall be
here to meet him, for Mia'anda has long searched for
Kintu, and Kintu has somewhat to tell Ma'anda. Bid
him come hither accompanied only by his mother and
VOL.1.— 23
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854 TEROUQU THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. thyself, and mark me, not even his dog must follow
^^^^' liim. Haste and tell King Ma anda all thou hast seen
and heard, and if thou art faithful thy reward shall be
great.'*
The peasant needed to hear no more, but turned and
fled away with the speed of an antelope, and early
at dawn next day arrived at the capital, and pro-
ceeded direct to the Katekiro, to whom he said, "I
have news to tell King Ma'anda, and no man else
must hear it. Take me to the king without delay.**
The man*s manner, though he was mean in appear-
ance, was peremptory, and the Katekiro dared not
refuse his request, but rose and conducted him to the
king.
It happened, strangely enough, that at the same
moment Ma anda was relating to his mother, whom he
had sent for, the story of a strange dream he had
dreamed during the night. He had scarcely finished
its relation when the Katekiro was announced, who
said to him, " King, here is a strange man, a peasant,
I believe, who states that he has important news to tell
thee, and thee alone," which when the king heard,
and had seen the peasant, he said to his mother, '' Lo !
now, this is the very man I saw in my dream, who
told me such wonderful news."
Then turning eagerly to the peasant, he said to him,
" Speak, man, what is it thou hast to say to me ? **
** king," he replied, ** I may not speak except to
thee and thy mother, for so have I been commanded.*'
Then Ma anda impatiently commanded the Katekiro
to retire and, that they might not be distmrbed, to set a
guard at the outer gate, so that on no account either
man, woman, or child might enter the inner court.
When they were quite alone, the peasant began to
unfold to Ma'anda his story from the beginning to
the end, just as it is told here, concluding with the
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TEE LEGEND OF THE BLAMELESS FBIEST. 356
old man's words : " Bid the king come with his i875.
mother and thyself, and, mark me, not even his dog ^•*^'
must follow him." ^^ *
On hearing this news, Ma'anda said, ** Come, let us
go, only us three, for so the old man said," and taking
his spear and shield the king strode out of the inner
court through a private gate followed by his mother
and the peasant, without communicating to a soul else
whither he was going.
Despite this secrecy, however, it soon became pub-
licly known that King Ma'anda and his mother had
left the palace, accompanied by a peasant, and that
they had taken the direction of the forest, towards
which they had been seen travelling with rapid steps
by one who communicated the information to the
Katekiro.
This news plunged the principal chief of the kingdom
into a state of perplexity. He was for a moment at a
loss what to do, for had his master desired any other
company, he would undoubtedly have made it known,
but, on the other hand, this conduct was inexplicable,
and the king might have been lured by some cunning
plausible tale to proceed in this manner, whereby he
might be destroyed without detection.
As the thought of treachery to the king flashed
through his mind, he instantly resolved to follow him
and watch after his safety, and should the peasant
mean harm to him, he would be at hand, though un-
suspected, to assist his master. He therefore seized his
spear and shield, and sped away after the king in
stealthy pursuit. Soon he discovered the king, the
king's mother, and the peasant, and, slackening his
steps, sought only to keep them in view, and to elude
the quick, searching glances which he saw the king
frequently dart behind him. They travelled in this
manner all that day and half of the next day, when the
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356
TEBOUOn TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875.
October.
Uganda.
peasant informed the king that they were approa^
the appointed place.
The king, to assure himself that they had not
followed by any one, looked keenly around once ;
and having satisfied himself that they were alor
commanded the peasant to move on and point oi
meeting-place. Gliding under the shadows oi
dense grove surrounding the open space, they
emerged from them, and were in front of the (
ordinary assembly, who appeared to have pres
the same posture and attitude since the departu
the peasant on his errand to the king.
As the three advanced near the extremity o
rows of seated warriors, the old man on the t
asked the king, who was in advance, and gazing c
scene with the greatest astonishment, " Who art tl
" I am Ma anda," he replied.
"Art thou the king?"
" I am."
" And who is that woman with thee ? " the old
demanded.
" My mother," the king answered.
"It is well," said he; "but how is it you di<
observe what I commanded? Why came ye
alone?"
" We have done exactly as we were told," sai
king. " There are only my mother and this pe
with me, for no one knew of my departure."
" But I have seen another man behind thee," per
the old man. " Tell me who he is ? "
*' Rest assured," said Ma anda, " there is no mar
this peasant with me, for yesterday and to-c
looked several times behind me to make sure t
was not followed."
"Who was the first king of Uganda?" sud
asked the old man.
/
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Ugaoda
THE LEGEND OF TEE BLAMELESS PBIEST. 357
** Kintu," answered Ma'anda. I875.
"Thou sayest truly," said the old man slowly and ^^^
deliberately; **and Kintu was good. He injured no
man, beast, bird, or insect, and no living thing had
cause to complain of him. He never even struck
a man with a stick, or caused him pain in any
manner, for he loved his ohildren like a kind father
should ; but his sons grew exceedingly wicked, head-
strong, disobedient, and utterly unmanageable. They
loved to shed blood. They first slaughtered beasts,
and became so accustomed to blood that at last they
slew their brothers and sisters. They became so
madly in love with blood that they wished to shed
that of their good father Kintu. Then Kintu saw
that Uganda was no more' a land for him, that it was
unfit for him to live in, and, oh ! when he looked
on the face of the land at first, it was so fair and
pure that it delighted his eyes, but when it became
red and filthy with the blood of innocent men and
women and children, it became hateful to Kintu, and
he departed from the horrid, cruel land. From Chwa
down to Ma'anda each king has sought to find Kintu,
though in vain. Thou, Ma'anda, shalt see Kintu face
to face, and thou shalt hear him speak ; but first I have
somewhat to tell thee from him. Listen, and mark
well his words — but tell me who was that man that
followed thee hither?" he suddenly asked.
Ma'anda, well pleased that he of all his predecessors
was selected to see and converse with Kintu, had
become all attention, and every fibre and nerve quivered
to hear the prelude to the introduction ; but when
interrogated by the old man again upon a subject
already satisfactorily answered, he asked impatiently,
" Why dost thou ask again when I have already told
thee that no man followed me here, because no man
could have known whither I went ? "
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358 TUBOUan TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. " But I," said the old man calmly, ** saw a man follow
iT*^ Ihee step by step. Why didst thou let him come,
when I expressly told thee thou must come only with
thy mother and this peasant ? "
The king's mother and the peasant declared that
Ma'anda had spoken truly, and that no man foUowed
them.
"I saw him behind that tree listening. Behold!
there he stands,** said the old man, suddenly pointing
to the Katekiro, who, perceiving that he was dis-
covered, now came forward.
The three turned their eyes on hearing the words of
the old man, and at the sight of the Katekiro, Ma'anda
grew desperately enraged, and with passionate fury he
seized his spear, launched it, and pierced his faithful
servant through the heart, who, with a short sharp
shriek, fell dead at his feet.
But, lo! when King Ma'anda and his companions
turned to discover what effect this scene had upon the
old man and the sealed warriors, they found that they
had vanished, and that not even the slightest trace
of them was left; at which the three stared at one
another in the wildest astonishment. Then the king,
recovering from his surprise, fell upon the ground and
wept aloud, calling upon the name of Kintu ; and the
king's mother and the peasant added their cries to
his, and wept as if their hearts would break. But no
blood-hating Kintu answered to them, only the tall
deep woods echoed their cries, "Kintu, Kintu-u,
Kintu-u-u-u," as if in mockery of their sorrow.
All night they kept watch, breaking out now and
then into moaning and wailings for the last loss of the
great father of Uganda. But Kintu, after this scene,
never more appeared in Uganda, and to this day he
has not been seen or heard of by any man.
After Ma anda's death succeeded Msangi, Namugara,
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October.
Uganda.
WAKINOUBU, TEH CHAMPION. 359
and Chabagu. In the time of this latter king flourished isrs.
Wakinguru, a hero, whose name history, cherished
within the memories of admiring men, has preserved
for his unparalleled deeds. When Chabagu invaded
Usoga, it appears that the Wasoga were very numerous
and, having as yet never been reduced to submission
by the Waganda, very bold and fearless. The people
of Usoga mocked the victorious Waganda until Cha-
bagu was roused to declare war upon them ; and to
show them the prowess of the people whom they had
so insolently defied, Chabagu permitted Wakinguru to
cross over to Jinja alone, that he might exhibit the
warlike qualities of his nation in his own person.
Wakinguru, we are led to believe, was a man
of herculean frame, and we may well suppose him
gifted with more than common courage. He marched
to the height of Jinja with a large bundle of spears on
his back, and his shield was so ample and thick that
it required two ordinary men to lift it.
Arriving at a place where he could command a clear
view of the Wasoga camp, he shouted out a bold
challenge to any man, or to all at once, to approach him,
that he might show them what manner of men were
those who had been so frequently insulted by them.
Several of the Wasoga, responding to the challenge,
rushed up to try his mettle, but Wakinguru's spears
were so formidable, and his strength so great, that long
before any of the foe came within distance permitting
an ordinary man to launch his spear, they were all
dead men. The hero then plucked his spears from the
corpses, and prepared to meet the next party, who came
up in hot haste to avenge the deaths of their friends.
Again the redoubtable man launched his fatal spears,
and again the Wasoga had to lament the deaths of
their champions.
Enraged by this, the Wasoga at length advanced in
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3G0 TUROUQH THE DABK CONTINEIJT.
1875. a body, and formed a large circle round him ; but
^^'' Wakinguru only laughed at this manoDuvre, and con-
tinued remoi'selessly slaying, launching his whirring
lengthy shafts with the most deadly effect ; and then,
picking up the spears of his enemies, with which the
ground near him was plentifully strewn, he returned
their own weapons to them, launching them with the
swiftness and certainty of arrows. His strength sus-
tained him in this unequal contest from sunrise to
snnset, when it was discovered that Wakinguru had
slain 600 men with his own hand ! At night he crossed
Jinja (or the Falls) to Ugungu unharmed, where he
refreshed himself with the bananas and milk and water
of Uganda, and where he received the warmest con-
gratulations from King Chabagu and his army.
Next morning Wakinguru renewed the battle, and it
continued throughout the whole of the second day,
during which time the hero slew a similar number;
and on the tliird day also he fought with the same
success, until at last the Wasoga confessed that they
were unable to meet him.
Then King Chabagu crossed the water above Jinja
(Napoleon Channel), and completed the conquest of
Usoga.
After Chabngu succeeded Junju, Waseje, and
Kamanya. This last king, grandfather of the pre-
sent monarch, is remembered for his victories over the
Wakedi, a most ferocious and warlike people occupying
a country north of Usoga. The Wakedi, it is said,
wore armour, and employed in their wars an immense
number of great jdogs, as large as young lions. Besides,
the country of the Wakedi was surrounded by broad
rivers or small lakes,* and these several advantages
had made the Wakedi rather feared by the Waganda.
* I have been struck at the frequent geographical hints thrown out
l^ SabadiL
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TEE CONQUEST OF TEE WAKEDI. 861
But vexed by the repeated forays made by them into 1875.
the very heart of his country, and the impunity with ^^^
which they carried them, Kamanya determined to pro-
secute a war against them until one side or the other
should be declared beyond doubt the stronger. For
this purpose he assembled his chiefs, and, having
stated the advantages of situation which Ukedi enjoyed
against attack, commanded them to advise him as to
the means and ways of conducting the campaign.
Stimulated by large rewards, the chiefs proposed
various tactics for retaliating upon the enemy ; but it
was the plan of the grandfather of Sabadu the his-
torian that was deemed the best. This person advised
Kamanya to command 1 00 canoes to proceed by water
to Jinja, where they miglit be taken to pieces and con-
veyed overland through Usoga to the Nagombwa
river,* whence, after reconstruction, they could proceed
to attack the Wakedi in the rear, while the king himself
could proceed with his army to TJrondogani, along the
western bank of the Victoria Nile, and menace Ukedi
from that side. This wise counsel was loudly applauded
and at once adopted, the charge of the canoes being
given to Sabadu's grandfather himself.
The Wakedi, as might be imagined, attacked in such
an nnlooked-for direction, were greatly surprised and
discouraged. They fled for refuge to their fenced
villages, leaving their cattle in the hands of the
Waganda, who drove them across the Nagombwa to
Usoga. The vengeance of the Waganda not being yet
complete, they proceeded to attack the Wakedi in their
fenced villages, using red-hot arrows wrapped in bark
cloth, by which the straw huts were set on fire, and
the inhabitants driven out to meet the spears of the
Waganda.
• Another geographical hint, which has been verified by investiga-
tion. I haye no doubt the Nagombwa wiU torn out to be the Asua.
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862 THROUOH THE DAEK CONTINENT.
1876. Perceiving that the presence of Kamanya on the
^^1^' opposite bank of the Nile was only a ruse, the Wakedi
concentrated their forces to drive the Waganda who
had come by way of the Nagombwa out of the country.
When the two nations met, a desperate battle ensued,
rather to the disadvantage of the Waganda, for the
enemy wore iron armour, which their spears could not
penetrate.
After consultation, it was decided by the Waganda
that at the next battle they would not waste their time
in launching their spears, but would rush on the foe
with naked hands and capture and bind them.
Having received large reinforcements, the Waganda
resumed the battle, but instead of throwing their spears
they simply defended their bodies with their shields,
and rushing on their encumbered adversaries, seized
and bound them with cords. Perceiving that affairs
were becoming desperate for them, the Wakedi mus-
tered all their war-hounds, which, while the Waganda
were engaged with their masters, rushed upon them
from all sides, with their large mouths wide open,
barking tremendously, and bit and tore them in such
a manner that the Waganda became stricken with
panic, and fled to their canoes. The hounds, wilh
their fury unappeased, rushed after the canoes into
the water, where an immense number of them were
easily slaughtered by the Waganda, whose senses, it
appears, were by this time collected. Fearing that they
would lose all their faithful war-hounds, the Wakedi
recalled their dogs, paid tribute, and acknowledged the
superiority and supremacy of the Waganda, and to this
day the Wakedi have been true to their allegiance.
As we arrive nearer our own times, the history of
Uganda becomes, of course, more precise and trust-
worthy. Thus, when we come to Suna II., the eon of
Kamanya, and predecessor and father of Mtesa, we are
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Uganda.
BUNA, THE CRUEL. 363
told that he was about sixteen years of age when he 1875.
succeeded to his father, and about forty when he died, ^'^^^*
and that he reigned, therefore, twenty-four years. As
Mtesa ascended the throne in his nineteenth year, and
as he has already reigned fifteen years (up to 1875),
Suna must have been born in 1820, begun to reign in
1836, and died in 1860.
Suna, so his intimate friends still alive told me, was
short of stature and of very compact built, most des-
potic and cruel, but brave and warlike.
He had a peculiar habit, it is said, of sitting with his
head bent low, seldoml ooking up. His attitude seemed
to be that of one intently tracing designs on the ground,
though in reality he was keenly alive to all that was
transpiring around him. He frequently beheaded his
people by hundreds. It is reported that one day he
executed 800 people of Uganda for a single crime
committed. Other punishments which he inflicted were
dreadful, such as gouging out eyes, and slitting eui:s,
noses, and lips. It is said that he so seldom lifted his
eyes from the ground that whenever he did look up at
a person, the executioners, called " Lords of the Cord,**
understood it as a sign of condemnation.
Any messenger arriving with news was compelled
to crawl on his knees, and in this position to whisper
it into the king's ears. Whenever he passed along
a path, the announcement " Suna is coming ** suflSced
to send the people flying in a panic from the neigh-
bourhood.
To strangers from other countries he was most liberal
and hospitable, and many Arab traders have had cause
to bless the good fortune that conducted them to
Uganda in the days of Suna.
This Emperor, or Kalaka^ as the rulers of Uganda,
after their vast conquests, were styled, was also exceed-
ingly fond of dogs. For the sustenance of one of his
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3G4 THROUOH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
187&. pets he caused an entire district to be cultivated and
^^*******'* planted with the sweet potato, which was its favourite
^^^^^ diet ; and when it died, he caused each chief to con-
tribute bark-cloths for its burial.
He also kept a lion and a leopard, and another
animal which, from its description, I take to have been
either a species of wolf or lynx ; the two former became
quite tame, but the latter was so incorrigibly fierce that
he finally ordered it to be destroyed.
From such a disposition as that of Suna, it was
natural that he should engage in frequent wars, and
from his determined and resolute character we cannot
be surprised to hear that they were most bloody and
terrible. He conquered Ankori, overran Unyoro and
Usoga, and was the first to conquer the united nations
of Uzongora. The lion-hearted Wavuma owned him
as their liege lord ; even distant Ruanda heard of his
name, tried him in battle, and became convinced of his
greatness. The details of the two last wars in which
Suna was engaged I have collected, and present them
here, as told by Sabadu, from which the reader may
perceive for himself the character of this monarch and
the general nature of wars in Central Africa.
Suna heard that Usoga had rebelled and refused to
pay tribute to him, whereupon, after rendering homage
and dues to the Muzirau, or spirits,* he levied a vast
army and marched to Jinja, or the rocks overlooking
the Ripon Falls, where he rested four days. The
Wasoga, upon Suna*s advance, fled to Kitenteh Island
(situate in the channel between Uvuma and Usoga,
about seven miles from Nakaranga Cape). On this
island the Wasoga placed their women and children,
* I haye obfierred that Sabadu's narrative contains many interesting
ethnological facts. Perhaps the reader needs to be informed that I
stenographed Sabadu's story as he related it to me before my camp
fire at Nakaranga.
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TEE REVOLT OF TEE WASOQA. 305
and large herds of cattle, and it was evident from the i«75.
measures they adopted that they intended to make a ^^^^
desperate and prolonged resistance. ^^ *"
After marching through Usoga, he camped on the
mainland, about half a mile from Kitenteh Island. The
Wavuma, responding to his command to muster their
canoes for the war, supplied him with over ICO,
manned by natives of Uziri, Wema, and Kibibi;
Lulamba, Irwaji, and Sesse Islands supplied him with
200; while from the Uganda coast he obtained 200
more ; so that, in all, Suna had 500 canoes for the war.
Usoga, an extensive country of itself, did its best to
meet the monarch of Uganda with a large and powerful
fleet, and, assisted by its islands, Namungi and Neygano,
as also by Usuguru, Chaga, Muiwanda, and Ugana,
was able to match Suna's fleet, canoe for canoe.
But the spirit which animated the warriors of the
two nations differed greatly. On the one side was the
determination to win freedom ; on the other a monarch
resolved to retain in subjection, but lacking people to
meet the Wasoga on the water, and only able to
compel his warriors to fight at all on that element by
the most horrible threats and the inspiration of terror.
Having assembled his fleet, Suna ordered the assault ;
but the Wasoga met the Waganda in the channel, and
after a desperate battle drove the Waganda in- preci-
pitate retreat to the mainland. For the period of a
month repeated efforts were made to effect a landing
on the island, but the Wasoga, with great spirit and
bravery, repelled the Waganda with severe loss. The
Wasoga also, adding insult to injury, were accustomed
to approach the mainland and taunt the king with
bitter words, telling him to seek the graves of Kaguru
and Kamanya, and bury himself there for very shame.*
* In almost exactly the same maimer tho Waymna daily taunted
Mtesa.
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366 THBOUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. At length, enraged by these taunts, Suna called his
u!^^ chiefs to him, and in assembly assailed them with
bitter reproaches, asking them if he was not the
Emperor, and if Emperor, why the Wasoga were per-
mitted to taunt him, and stung to frenzy by the
memory of the insults lately received, commanded his
chiefs to man their canoes on the morrow and assault
the island, threatening them, if they failed, with roast-
ing, decapitation, and utt^r destruction.
The chiefs prostrated themselves one after another,
and swore to set their feet on Kitenteh Island the next
day. The morrow came, and each chief was in his
canoe with his most chosen warriors. The battle
ensued, but only four chiefs were true to their promise
— the Katekiro, Namujurilwa (Majwara's father *), and
two others of equal bravery and eminence. The
Katekiro on landing killed two with his spear at one
thrust, so great was the throng of Wasoga who rushed
against him. Namujurilwa's spear was plunged through
three at a time, but unable to draw his weapon out, he
was attacked by a Msoga, who with his javelin pinned
both his arms, and he was only saved by a rush of his
own men, who bore him away to his canoe. The two
other chiefs slew two men each, and were obliged to
retire, being unsupported by their people. Many
other chiefs distinguished themselves, and many died
fighting in the attempt to land on the island.
The Wasoga had formed themselves into four ranks
on this day. The first comprised the slingers, and the
second the spearmen, the third, on higher ground,
slingers again, and the fourth a reserve of spearmen,
for the final and supreme struggle.
For three successive days the chiefs of Uganda led
in person the Waganda to the assault, until finally the
* Majwaia is the little boy who alone watched the last hours of
Dr. Livingstone.
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Uganda.
TEE CAPITULATION OF KITENTEH ISLAND. 367
queen's father requested Suna not to sacrifice all his 1375.
chiefs while the peasants were standing idle spectators. ^**^^'
Suna yielded to his request, and perceiving that bravery-
was of no avail against the desperate Wasoga, he
adopted the plan of surrounding the island day and
night with his canoes, and starving the rebels into
submission. What food the unfortunate Wasoga were
able to obtain was inadequate for their wants, and cost
them much trouble and many lives, both on shore, in
distant parts of the coast, and in the channel, for Suna
had constructed large camps along the coast of Usoga,
and his canoes kept strict watch and ward over
Kitenteh Island.
For two months the Wasoga endured this state of
things, but at the end of that period, being reduced to
the verge of absolute starvation, four of their chiefs
approached the camp of Suna with offers of submission.
Suna refused to see them, but gave them thirty head
of cattle to convey to the island, with a request to the
chiefs to eat, and think well first of what they offered,
promising that, if on the fourth day they were still of
the same mind, he would be willing to talk with them.
At the end of the fourth day twenty chiefs came
over from Kitenteh Island,, stating that they were
willing to submit to Suna, to pay tribute, and to render
service. He received them graciously, and ordered
them to commence the next day, with the assistance of
his own canoes, the transportation of the Wasoga to his
camp, in order that they might all render their sub-
mission to him.
For three days, it is said, the Waganda and Wasoga
canoes were engaged in this service, and as fast as the
Wasoga arrived they were conducted to a large
stockade erected expressly for them during the night
of the surrender. On the fourth day, his late enemies
being all in his camp, surrounded by his own people, he
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368 TEBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
i875w called their chiefs and told them he would be gratified
^^'=**'**"- if they and their warriors would perform their war-
^^^^ dance before him next day. Unsuspecting evil, they
willingly promised.
Suna after their departure to the stockade instructed
the Waganda chiefs to bring all their people, early
next morning, each man supplied with a cord, and to
form them in two ranks four deep, and when he gavo
the signal, to fall upon the Wasoga and bind them.
On the morning of the fifth day the Waganda were all
drawn up as instructed, and the Wasoga, seeing nothing
in this but Suna's desire of showing his power and
pomp, and without the least idea what this war-dance
portended to them, marched within the fatal lines,
armed only with sticks, as had been agreed — upon the
cunning plea that the Waganda might take offence at
seeing them play with edged weapons before Suna.
They were the more completely thrown off their guard
by the kindness shown to them by the Emperor and
by the liberal supplies of cattle and bananas supplied
to them since their surrender.
We can imagine how the unhappy Wasoga advanced
smiling into Suna's presence on this great day, and
how, wishing to please the fearful despot, they danced
to the best of their power. But on a sudden, while
they were exerting their voices (30,000 is the number
given) into a grand swelling chorus at the triumphal
finale of the fictitious war which they had been repre-
senting, Suna gave the signal, and 100,000 Waganda
warriors fell upon them, and despite their fearful,
desperate struggles— when all too late the treachery
of Suna became apparent — bound them hand and foot
Out of this immense number of prisoners, sixty of the
principal chiefs were selected and placed before Suna,
who said to them : — " For three months you have kept
me and my people waiting for your submission; you
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BUNA'3 BEVENGE. 8§9
rebelled against my authority, and attempted to throw isrs.
off your allegiance ; you have slain more than half of ^J^
my principal chiefs, and you have vexed me with
taunts, telling me to go and seek the graves of Kaguru
and Kamanya, and to hide myself there for shame.
You have mocked me — me! who am called Suna —
Suna, the Emperor {Kabakd). I go to my grave by
and by, but by the grave of my father E^manya you
fehall die to-day, and you may tell j^our fathers that
Suna the Emperor sent you to them."
Then turning to the Waganda, he fiercely shouted,
*' Cut them to little pieces, and pile their remains on
the plain without the camp." As Suna commanded, so
was it done, and the Waganda were employed on this
monstrous work for five days, for they obeyed his com-
mand literally, and, beginning at the legs and arms,
hacked their victims to pieces without taking the
trouble to despatch them first.
Usoga, upon hearing of this terrible deed, sent all its
principal men and chiefs to implore pardon and proffer
submission and allegiance, which Suna was pleased to
accept. This event closed the war, and Suna returned
to his palace in Uganda with a train of 5000 female
captives and 8000 children.
Soon after his return to Uganda the Wasoga rebelled
a second time under the leadership of Rura, chief of
Nakaranga, upon hearing which Suna smiled grimly
and said, " Rura has taken much time to make up his
mind ; since he has waited so long let him wait a little
longer, and I will show him who his master is."
Meantime Naraujurilwa, chief of Uddu, after re-
turning to visit his home, heard that his neighbour
the king of Ankori or Usagara was preparing to
invade his country with a mighty force. Ever prompt
for mischief and war, Namujurilwa did not wait to
meet the Wasagara on his own soil, but beat his war-
VOL. I.— 24:
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370 THROUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. drum, and, mustering bis followers, marched through
^^^* Bwera and penetrated into the very heart of Ankori,
and there surprised his enemies, assembled under five
princes, in their own camp.
Namujurilwa fell upon them with a ferocity and
vigour that the numerical superiority of his enemies
could not equal. For five hours the battle lasted
without intermission or advantage to either side, when
Namujurilwa was accidentally met by one of the princes
of Ankori.
"Not dead yet, Namujurilwa?" cried the prince. ** Wait
a little for me,*' saying which he took. a bow from one
of his servants and shot an arrow which hit the border
of the tough double bull-hide shield which the chief of
TJddu generally carried.
Namujurilwa did not wait for a second arrow, but
bounded forward, crying out, " No, not dead yet, prince **
{Mlangird)^ " and shall not die until I have killed you,'*
and forthwith launched his dirk-pointed spear, which
pinned both the shield and body of the unfortunate
youth.
Another prince coming up and observing his brother
fall, shot an arrow, and pierced the leopard-skin of the
Uddu chief, who returned the compliment with one
of his long spears, which penetrated his body and
protruded far through his back. The death of these
two princes decided the battle, for the Wasagara became
panic-stricken and fled, leaving a vast spoil of cattle
and effects in the conqueror s hands.
Upon returning to Uddu from the war, the victorious
chief sent 300 women, 600 children of both sexes, and
1000 head of cattle to the Emperor Suna, as his share of
the spoil, who on viewuig the magnificent gift said to
his chiefs in assembly, " Truly, Namujurilwa is brave,
there is none like him in Uganda.'*
Setuba, a great chief, holding under Suna an extensive
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
SETUBA AND HIS LIONS. 371
tract of country • bordering upon Unyoro, whispered to i875.
his neighbour, **H*m, you hear how Suna praises S^mmu!
Namujurilwa ; let us go to Unyoro and show Suna that
he has other chiefs as brave as Namujurilwa."
Eequesting and obtaining leave of the Emperor to
visit his own country, Setuba soon left the capital, and
after arriving at his chief village, beat his war-drum
and summoned his people to war.
Taking with him 300 head of cattle, he crossed the
frontier of Unyoro, where he slew his cattle and made
his followers eat beef to make themselves strong.
Having devoured the meat, his people informed Setuba
that they were now as strong as lions and all prepared
for war.
Setuba smiled and said to them, " I have given you
300 head of my own cattle, go and bring me 3000 head
and I shall consider that you have paid me for what
you have eaten."
The warriors responded to Setuba's words with a
shout, and at once set out to collect spoil from the
Wanyoro, while Setuba and a chosen band remained in
camp. The Waganda, however, were promptly met by
the Wanyoro in considerable numbers, and after a few
hours were defeated and pursued as far as Setuba's camp.
The chief received tiie fugitives sternly and said,
" Where are those lions whom I lately fed with my
cattle? Are you about to return to Uganda with
empty hands? Yes, go on, and as you fly proclaim
that Setuba, your chief, id dead." Saying which
Setuba seized his spears and shield, and followed by his
chosen band bounded out of his camp to meet the
advancing Wanyoro.
* Each Mknnga is inyested with a barony or county npon attaining
this high rank, and with absolute authority oyer the people and their
effects, upon condition of rendering serrice to his soyereign wheneyer
required. The least dereliction of duty would entail a forfeiture of lands
and often of life.
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372 TUEOUQE. TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Fired with indignation and shame, Setuba soon met
^1^' the Wanyoro, and began flinging his spears with splen-
did effect. With his first spear he killed three, with
the second he slew two more. The fugitives, seeing the
vigour and courage of their chief, halted, and began to
ask of one another, ** Who dares go and tell Suna that
Setuba is dead ? Let us fight and die with Setuba/'
The word ** Setuba, tuba, tuba ! " became a war-cry,
echoed fiercely far and near, turning the fugitives on
their pursuers, who in a short time became the pursued.
For two days the Waganda rioted in the blood of the
now terror-stricken Wanyoro, who were iinally com-
pelled to fly to the summit of the mountains for refuge,
leaving their families and cattle in the valleys to be
swept away by the fierce Waganda.
On returning to Uganda, Setuba sent 2000 women,
4000 children, and 2000 head of cattle, besides goats
and sheep without number, to the Emperor as his share,
and Setuba heard Suna declare proudly that he knew
of no monarch who could show heroes to equal Setuba
and Namujurilwa, and that his heart was big with
pride.
There stood that day, when the Emperor publicly
mentioned with praise the names of Setuba and Namu-
jurilwa, a young man listening to him, who from that
moment resolved to eclipse both chiefs. His name was
Kasindula, a sub-chief or Mtongoleh of the great Seke-
bobo*s country of Chagwe, who had neither pride of
birth nor riches to boast of. He was a mere worthy
young fellow, who had distinguished himself in a few
engagements under Sekebobo, for which the old chief
had promoted him from a peasant {kopi) to be a sub-
chief {mtongoleh).
A few days after the great levee of Suna, Kasindula
proceeded to Sekebobo, and requested him to ask per-
mission of the Emperor that he should be allowed to
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
KA8INDULA, THE EERO. 873
rebuild liis majesty's camp at Jinja, as many of the huts 1875.
were in a most ruinous state, and many of Suna's 2*^*^^!['
women were compelled to sleep in the open ain
Sekebobo introduced Kasindula to the Emperor, and
preferred his request to him, who graciously acceded to
it, adding that it was not every day that men came to
ask leave to do hira a service : they generally asked
him for some gift or other.
Kasindula was profuse in his thanks, and then
departed with 2000 men from Sekebobo to assist
him in the work of reconstructing the imperial camp
at Jinja, and the kind old chief also gave him several
large canoes, to transport the working force across
Napoleon Channel.
The young chief lost no time after his arrival at
Jinja, but industriously set to work, and in a few days
had entirely rebuilt the houses, and surrounded them
with their respective courts, and had cleared the whole
camp from much accumulated rubbish, until the camp
would have pleased even fastidious Suna himself.
He then caused the war-drum to be sounded, and,
responding to its ominous call, all who were capable of
lifting the spear, dwelling in the neighbourhood of
Jinja, gathered round Kasindula, who said : —
" Warriors of Uganda and children of Suna, listen to
me. You know how, after Suna slew the rebellious
Wasoga before Kitenteh Island, that the chiefs of
Usoga all came and swore allegiance to him ; and how
when Suna had returned to Uganda the Wasoga chief
Rura headed another rebellion, and challenged Suna to
return to Usoga to fight him. When Suna heard the
challenge of the boastful Rura, he only smiled and
said, * Let him wait a little.* Suna is too great to fight
with Rura, for Kasindula, a Mtongoleh of Sekebobo, is
sufficient for him. To-night we march to Nakaranga,
and to-morrow morning before sunrise Rura shall sleep
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374 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
ttjs. with his brothers who died before Kitenteh. Warriors,
^^^^ prepare yourselves ! '*
Though Nakaranga was fully thirty miles from Jinja,
Kasindula had reached about midnight the principal
village of the chief, and after surrounding it with his
people, fired the huts at daybreak, thus expelling the
sleeping Wasoga from them, to fall by the spears of
the ambushed Waganda. Having made clean work
of all Rura*s district, Kasindula gathered the spoil,
and long before noon was far on his return to Jinja.
The TJsoga confederacy hearing of this raid and of
the death of Rura and his sons, hurried to Nakaranga
to avenge the slaughter, but they found only black
desolation and emptiness in Rura's district, while the
raiders had escaped in safety to Jinja, whither they
dared not follow them, and accordingly returned, each
chief to his own district.
After a few days* rest Kasindula made another raid
in a totally different direction with similar results, and
again the Wasoga hurried up, only to find the houses
all consumed, the warriors all dead, and the women
and children and cattle all deported away.
" What manner of man is this,** asked the astonished
Wasoga of one another, " who comes in the night, like
a hyena, and vanishes with the daylight, with his maw
gorged with blood ? ** Consoling themselves, however,
with a vow to be revenged on him at a fitting oppor-
tunity, they returned again to their own districts.
But hard upon their heels followed the wary and
resolute Kasindula ; and again he destroyed an entire
district, with all its males, and carried the women and
children into captivity. This news was too disheartening
to the Wasoga, for now they began to dread that they
would be utterly destroyed in detail, whereupon, per-
ceiving that their principal chiefs were all dead, they
sent an embassy to Suna, with a tribute of the most
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE PEASANT'S QIFT TO EIS EMPEROR. 375
comely women and a large quantity of maramba, 1875.
asking his forgiveness. u'^*^
E^asindula, meanwhile, finding his hands full of *^
spoil, collected all together, and drove his captives and
cattle, by forced marches, to Suna, who, warned of his
approach, prepared to receive him in state and in a full
assembly of the chiefs.
Having arranged the women and children by
thousands before him, and parked the cattle in full
view of the Emperor, Kasindula, clad in a humble
and dingy bark cloth, prostrated himself before him,
and said : —
** Great Klabaka, I went to Jinja, and built your
camp, and housed your women, as you commanded me,
and hearing how Namujurilwa and Setuba had
avenged you on the Wasagara and Wanyoro, I thought
myself strong enough to answer the challenge sent by
Rura and his friends to you.
** My dear lord, Namujurilwa and Setuba are great
chiefs, and stand in your presence daily, but I am only
a Mtongoleh under Sekebobo. I have neither farm
nor house, wife nor child, and my only wealth consists
of my spear and my shield, and my only cloth is this
rotten mbugu. Namujurilwa and Setuba brought
slaves and cattle by hundreds, but the kopi Kasindula
brings his thousands to Suna. Behold where they
stand ! Kasindula gives them all to Suna." And
putting his hands together, he cried aloud, " Twiyanzi,
yanzi, yanzi, yanzi ! " with all the fervour of one
having received a bountiful gift.
The Emperor, upon enquiring the number of the
spoil, was told that it amounted to 7000 slaves, 2000
cows and oxen, 3000 goats, and 500 sheep; upon which
be said, " Kasindula has spoken truly ; he has brought
more than either Namujurilwa or Setuba. In return, I
make him now a chief of the first rank, with land,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
376 thAough tee dabk continent.
1875. cattle, and slaves of his own." And Kasindula was
^^^^ immediately invested with white cloths, and with all
the honours, privileges, and greatness of a Mhangu of
Uganda.
After this turhulent epoch there were some months
of tranquillity, when one day there came a challenge
from Kytawa, the mighty king of Uzongora, who had
made an alliance with the kings Kyozza, Kamiru,
and Rugomero, and with Antari, king of Ihangiro,
against Suna.
The Emperor sent the messenger of Kytawa back to
him with a bullet and a hoe, saying, " Give these to
Kytawa ; tell him to choose whether he will take the
bullet and have war, or whether he will keep the hoe
and cultivate his fields in peace ; and bring his answer
to me."
Kytawa imagined himself and his allies strong
enough to meet Suna in war, and kept the bullet.
When the messenger returned with this answer, Suna
commanded his Katekiro to make up 300 man -loads of
hoes and old iron and to send them to Kytawa, and to
say to him, " Suna sends these hoes and iron to you, for
may be that you are short of spears, arrow-heads, and
hatchets. Make war weapons for your people in
abundance during three months, and prepare for war,
for in the fourth month you shall see me and my people
in your country, and I shall eat it up clean, and there
shall nothing be left alive in it."
This was the last war in which Suna was engaged.
After three days' desperate fighting the Wazongora
and their allies were defeated, and Kytawa and the
confederate kings were compelled to fly for refuge to
the island of Kishakka, where they were besieged, until
all the kings implored forgiveness, and swore to become
tributary to him.
Falling ill from small-pox, the Emperor accepted
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE NATION'S CHOICE. * 877
their oaths, and, raising the siege, departed for Uganda. 1875.
When he perceived that he was about to die, he called ^****"'
his chiefs together and commanded them to make ^^
Kajumba, his eldest son, his successor.
This Kajumba, the Prince Imperial, however, was
no favourite with the Waganda, for he appears to have
been a violent, headstrong youth of gigantic size and
strength. These qualities recommended him strongly
to Suna, who thought that with such a successor Uganda
would retain its prestige and supremacy, and appre-
hended nothing of danger to his own people in a
person of such violent passions ; and, indeed, it is to be
doubted whether, after exercising with the utmost
licence his own undisputed authority, he even thought
them worthy of consideration.
Kajumba was Suna's favourite, and the war-loving
father on his deathbed pointed out with pride to his
chiefs the heroic qualities of the prince, reminded
them how when a mere boy he had slain a buffalo with
a club and an elephant with a single spear, and
assured them with his latest breath that Kajumba
would become more renowned than either lion-like
Kimera or renowned Nakivingi.
After his fathers death Prince Kajumba seized his
weighty spear and ample shield and proclaimed him-
self his father's successor and choice, and announced
his determination to uphold his dignity to the death.
The chiefs, however, fearing Kajumba's violence, laid
hands on him, and bound him hand and foot, and
selected the mild-spoken, large-eyed boy Mtesa, and
made him Emperor of Uganda by acclamation.
Suna was then buried with all the usual pomp
attending such ceremonies in Uganda ; and the young
Emperor, having paid all honour to his father's
remains, and feeling himself firmly established in
power, began to reveal the true spirit which had
been masked by the fair speech and large eyes.
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878 TUBOUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
\9aK He soon found reasons for slaying all his brothers,
^^•*** and, having disposed of them, turned upon the chiefs,
who had elected him Emperor of Uganda, and pat
tliem to death, saying that he would have no subject
about him to remind him that he owed his sovereignty
to him.
According to his father*s custom, he butchered all
who gave him offence, and that lion in war, Namu-
jurilwa, as also the Katekiro, he caused to be be-
headed. Frequently, when in a passion, he would
take his spear in hand and rush to his harem, and
spear his women until his thirst for blood was
slaked.
It is probable that Mtesa was of this temper when
Speke saw him, and that he continued in it until he
was converted by the Arab Muley bin Salim into a
fervid Muslim. After this, however, he became more
humane, abstained from the strong native beer which
used to fire his blood, and renounced the blood-shedding
custom of his fathers.
Mtesa's reign, like that of his predecessor, has
been distinguished by victories over many nations,
such as the Wanyankori, Wanyoro, Wasui, Wazongora,
and Wasoga, and his Katekiro has carried his victorious
flag to Ruanda and to Usongora on the Muta Nzige.
He has likewise sent embassies to the Khedive's pasha
of Gondokoro, to Sultans Majid and Barghash of
Zanzibar, and, having entertained most hospitably
Captains Speke and Grant, Colonel Long of the
Egyptian army, myself, and M. Linant de Bellefonds,
is now desirous of becoming more intimate with
Europe, to introduce specie into his country, and to
employ European artisans to teach his people.
For the interesting facts of the preceding pages, the
world is indebted to the gossip Sabadu, for until his
revelations, as herein recorded, Uganda and a large
portion of Equatorial Africa were (to use the words
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A LEQENDART FABALLEL. 879
of ancient Pistol) like a closed oyster, but which now, isrs.
with his aid, we have partly opened, thus obtain- ^^^*T''
ing glimpses, however unsatisfactory, into the origin,
custom, and history of the country. An epic poem
might be written upon the legend of the search for the
lost patriarch, or a prose romance, for there is material
enough for a great work in the tale Sabadu told me.
If we begin to speculate as to who this Kintu, the
blameless priest, really was, and whether the legend
does not bear some dim and vague resemblance to the
histories of Adam or Noah, handed down from
generation to generation through remote times among
an unlettered people, we may easily become lost in
a maze of wild theories and conjectures. There is,
however, just as much ground for building such
suppositious, and to plausibly demonstrate them to be
actualities and facts, as there is for many other fables
now generally accepted as verities.
It is impossible, while reading the tale of Kintu, the
Blameless Priest, not to be reminded at one time of
Adam, at another of Noah — for both Adam and
Noah found the earth void and uninhabited, as Kintu
is said to have found Uganda and the neighbouring
lands. In the gigantic Kimera, " the mighty hunter,"
we remember Nimrod, and in the wicked children
of the patriarch can suspect a faint resemblance to
the shameless Ham. The prolific wife, and no less
prolific cow, goat, sheep, and the wonderful banana-
plant, have their counterparts in the traditions of
every people under the sun. And do we not our-
selves believe
"That all began
In Eden's shade, and one created man"?
The ingenious mind can also find the prototype of
the miraculously flying Kibaga in the angel that
destroyed the first-born of Egypt, or that other who
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380
THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875
October.
Uganda.
smote the host of Assyria ; and Nakivingi, or Chabagu
and his mighty warrior Wakinguru, might stand for
David and his champions, and the final disappearance
of Kintu may be taken to represent the end of the
age of miracles. But speculation on these points will
only lead one into wild and vain theories : and it is
enough for the purposes of this book to accept the tale
of Kintu as a simple tradition of Central Africa.
There is great reason to believe, however, that Kintu,
if not a myth, is a far more ancient personage than
Mtesa*s list of kings would lead us to suppose. At any
rate, from other sources I have collected the names of
three kings of Uganda omitted by him. These are
Semi-kokiro, Karago, and Kimguvu.
That the reader may be able to estimate the duration
of the Uganda monarchy, I append in a tabular
form the list of the kings, including the names of the
three kings not mentioned by Mtesa : —
1. Kintu.
13. Moronda
25. Kaguru.
2. Chwa.
14. Sekamanya.
26. Kikuruwd.
8. Eamiera.
15. Kimguvu.
27. Ma'anda.
4. Eimera.
16. Jemba.
28. Msangi.
5. Almass.
17. Suna I.
29. Namagara.
6. Tembo.
la Kimbugwd.
80. Chabagu.
7. Kigara.
19. Katerega.
81. Juiyu.
8. Wanpamba.
20. NtewL
82. Wasej^.
9. Eaeema.
21. Juko.
83. Kamanya.
10. Semi-kokira
22. Kyemba.
84. Suna IL
11. Karago.
23. Tiwandeke.
85. Mtesa.
12. Nakiyingi
24. Mdowra.
The above forms a very respectable list of kings
for a country in Central Africa, and proves Uganda to
be a monarchy of no mean antiquity, if the number of
names may be taken as any indication. Many names
may also have been forgotten — to be resuscitated perhaps
by some future traveller with the patience and time at
command to rescue them from oblivion.
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UFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 381
Uganda.
CHAPTER XV.
Life and manners in Uganda— The Peasant— The Chief— The Emperor—
The Land.
To behold the full perfection of African manhood and 1375.
beauty, one must visit the regions of Equatorial Africa, ^*^**'**'-
where one can view the people under the cool shade of
plantains, and amid the luxuriant plenty which those
lands produce. The European traveller, after noting
the great length and wondrous greenness of the
banana fronds, the vastness of their stalks and the
bulk and number of the fruit, the fatness of the soil
and its inexhaustible fertility, the perpetual spring-like
verdure of the vegetation, and the dazzling sunshine,
comes to notice that the inhabitants are in iSt accord
with these scenes, and as perfect of their kind as the
bursting-ripe mellow bananas hanging above their
heads.
Their very features seem to proclaim, " We live in a
land of butter and wine and fulness, milk and honey,
fat meads and valleys." The vigour of the soil, which
knows no Sabbath, appears to be infused into their
veins. Their beaming lustrous eyes — restless and quick*
glancing — seem to have caught rays of the sun. Their
bronze-coloured bodies, velvety smooth and unctuous
with butter, their swelling sinews, the tuberose muscles
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
882 TEROUQH THE DARK CONTIIHENT.
1875. of the flanks and arms, reveal the hot lusty life which
^"^^^ animates them.
Let me try to sketch one of these robust people,
a Kopi or peasant of Uganda, at home.
TOE KOPI OR PEASAXT.
Were it not for one thing, it might be said that the
peasant of Uganda realizes the ideal happiness all men
aspire after and would be glad to enjoy. To see him
in the imagination, you must discard from your mind
the inebriated, maudlin, filthy negro surrounded by
fat wives and a family of abdominous brats. He may
be indolent if you please, but not so indolent as to be
unmindful of his own interests. For his gardens are
tliriving, his plants are budding, and his fields are
covered with grain. His house has just been built
and needs no repairs, and the fenced courts round it
are all in good condition.
Eoll the curtain up and regard him and his sur-
roundings !
He steps forth from his hut, a dark-brown-coloured
man in the prime and vigour of manhood, a cleanly,
decent creature, dressed after the custom of his country
in a clay-coloured robe of bark cloth, knotted at the
shoulder and depending to his feet — apparently a
contented, nay, an extremely happy man, for a streak
of sunshine having caught his face, we have a better
view of it and are assured it reflects a felicitous con-
tentment.
He saunters — while arranging his robe with due
respect to decency — to his usual seat near the gate of
the outer court, above which a mighty banana towers,
shading it with its far-reaching fronds.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Uganda.
LIFE AND MANNEB8 IN UGANDA. 883
In the foreground, stretched before him, is his isrs.
garden, which he views with placid satisfaction. It is ^*^*^-
laid out in several plats, with curving paths between.
In it grow large sweet potatoes, yams, green peas,
kidney beans, some crawling over the ground, others
clinging to supporters, field beans, vetches, and toma-
toes. The garden is bordered by castor-oil, manioc,
coffee, and tobacco plants. On either side are small
patches of millets, sesamum, and sugar-cane. Behind
the house and courts, and enfolding them, are the more
extensive banana and plantain plantations and grain
crops, which furnish his principal food, and from one
of which he manufactures his wine and from the other
his potent pomb^ Interspersed among the bananas
are the umbrageous fig trees, from the bark of which
he manufactures his cloth. Beyond the plantations
is an extensive tract left for grazing, for the common
use of his own and his neighbours* cattle and goats.
It is apparent that this man loves privacy and
retirement, for he has surrounded his own dwelling
and the huts of his family — the cones of which are just
visible above — with courts enclosed by tall fences of
tough cane. While we leave the owner contemplating
his garden, let us step within and judge for ourselves
of his mode of life.
Within the outer court we come to a small square
hut, sacred to the genius of the family, the household
Muzimu. This genius, by the dues paid to him, seems
to be no very exacting or avaricious spirit, for the
simplest things, such as snail shells, moulded balls of
clay, certain compounds of herbs, small bits of juniper
wood, and a hartebeest horn pointed with iron and
stuck into the earth, suflBce to propitiate him.
Proceeding from the outer court, we enter the inner
one by a side entrance, and the tall, conical hut, neatly
constructed, with its broad eaves overshadowing the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Ugmda.
884 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. curving doorway, which has a torus consisting of fag^
^^*'*****'' gots of cane running up and round it, stands revealed.
It is of ample circumference, and cosy. On first
entering we find it is rather dark, hut as the eye
hecomes accustomed to the darkness, we begin to dis-
tinguish objects. That which first arrests observation
is the multitude of poles with which the interior is
crammed for the support of the roof, until it resembles
a gloomy den in the middle of a dense forest. These
poles, however, serve to guide the owner to his cane
bunk, but their number would confuse a nocturnal
marauder or intruding stranger. The rows of poles
form, in fact, avenues by which the inmates can guide
themselves to any particular spot or object
The hut, we observe also, is divided into two apart-
ments, front and rear, by a wall of straight canes,
parted in the centre, through which the peasant can
survey — himself being unseen — any person entering.
In the rear apartment are bunks arranged round the
walls for the use of himself and family. Over the
doorway of the hut within may be observed a few
charms, into whose care and power the peasant com*
mits the guardianship of his house and effects.
A scarcity of furniture is observable, and the utensils
are few in number and of poor quality. Under the
former title may be classed a couple of carved stools
and a tray for native backgammon ; under the latter,
some half-dozen earthenware pots and a few wicker
and grass basins. Some bark cloth, a few spears,
a shield, a drum, a bill-hook or two, a couple of hoes,
some knobsticks and pipe stems, and a trough for the
manufacture of banana wine, complete the inventory
of the household effects.
Behind the peasant's own dwelling are two huts of
humbler pretensions^ also surrounded by courts, where
we may behold the females of the family at work.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
. A
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a:.w t ti'V i-'i iia.!\o ! ^" -;'.'niii'j:i ; i.; :■ . ti:-. i.- : .
;• -"■•"fUl, i* •■•Ilia, .i 1' '! I: ;L c" t''**\, a • 'ii ^ ■ .■! K-ks,
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Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Is fl 'i
VOL. I.— 25
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Uganda.
886 THBOVOH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Some are busy kneading the bananas to extract tbeir
^^^' juice, which, when fermented, is called mararnba —
delicious in flavour when well made ; others are sort-
ing herbs for broth-food, medicines, or some cunning
charm ; others, again, are laying out tobacco leaves to
dry, whilst the most elderly are engaged in smoking
from long-stemmed pipes, retailing between the leisure-
drawn draughts of smoke the experiences of their lives.
Such is the kopi at home.
If the picture is not a faithful one of all his class,
it may be attributed to his own indolence, or to some
calamity lately befallen him. From it will be seen
that the average native of Uganda has an abundance
and a variety of good food, that he is comfortably
lodged, as far as his wants require, is well and often
married, and is secure from enemies so far as a power-
ful sovereign and warlike multitudes can command
security. Still, there is one thing more that is
necessary for his happiness — protection from his
sovereign.
THE MKUNGU OR CmEP.
It might be supposed that, if a peasant's lot appears
so enviable in that land, a Mkungu s or chief s of the
first rank would be happier a thousandfold. That such
is not always the case will be seen from the following
sketch of the present Premier, or Katekiro, of Uganda,
whose name originally, now almost forgotten, was
Magassa. It may be proper to state here that all
Waganda, from the Emperor to the peasant, change
their names according as they advance in popular
estimation.
About the time that Mtesa succeeded his father and
beheaded the senior chiefs of Uganda, there was
observed at the court a smart, clever, cleanly looking
lad, assiduous in his attendance on the monarch, and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
October.
Uganda
LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 387
attentive to his smallest wishes. He was the son of a 1875.
Mtongoleh or suh-chief, and his name was Magassa. To
his other desirable qualities might be added a fine set
of white teeth, bright eyes, and general good looks.
Mtesa became enamoured of him, and made him guar-
dian over the imperial lavatory, an office of great trust
in Uganda.
As Mtesa grew to man's estate, Magassa the boy
also became a young man, for he was about the same
age as his master, and, retaining and improving those
qualities which first attracted the monarch's eyes, was
promoted in time to be a Mtongoleh of the body-
guard, and a double-barrelled gun was put into his
hands, with the power of gunpowder, and a few
bullets and percussion caps, which caused the heart
of young Magassa to bound with joy. Perhaps he was
even prouder in the possession of a gun than he was of
his rank, for frequently the Mtongoleh of the body-
guard has only the empty name to boast of.
However, being Mtongoleh (or colonel), he was
liable to be despatched at a moment's notice to distant
parts of the Empire on special service, and the day
came finally when Magassa was chosen.
Imagine a young British subaltern despatched by
the Queen's command, specially chosen by the Queen
for special service. How the young heart palpitates,
and the nerves tingle with delight! He spurns the
ground, and his head aspires to the stars ! If a young
British officer feels so joyful at a constitutional sove-
reign's choice, what must the elect of a despotic
autocrat like the Emperor of Uganda feel?
No sooner has he left the imperial presence with the
proud command ringing in his ears than his head
seems to swell, and almost bursts from delirious vertigo.
His back, hitherto bent through long servile dread,
has suddenly become rigid and straight as the staff of
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
388 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. his spear, and an unusual sternness of face has some-
u^***^ how replaced the bland smiles which -hitherto decked
it. For is he not " Kabaka " while on the Emperor's
errand? Do not his soldiers respond to him when
summoned with aweful alacrity, saying, " Kabaka **
(Emperor), " behold us " ?
Woe to the party from whom offence came if young
Magassa was sent with his warriors to them ! And woe
to the warrior who committed any breach of discipline
when under Magassa's command, or even to him who
crossed his humour when on the march on special
service ! Magassa's spear was sharp and swift, and his
hands were at all times quick to gather spoil, and soon
it was observed that the poor Magassa was getting
rich in slaves, waxing great in name, and becoming
exceedingly influential at court.
Promotions rewarded his adroitness and quick exe-
cution of commands ; lands of his own and boimties of
slaves and cattle were bestowed upon him, until Magassa
became a Mkungu, or chief, of the second order.
Such a spirit as Magassa possessed, however, could
not long remain satisfied with this, while many above
him could not boast of a tithe of his deftness and
ability, and were blind to observe and forestall the
humours of the despotic monarch ; and a day came
when a Mkungu of the first order, named Pokino,
offended Mtesa.
Casting his eyes about for a fit man to succeed
him, Mtesa's eyes lighted on the sparkling, bright face
of Magassa, and his decision was at once made.
" Here, Magassa," cried the Emperor, and the accom-
plished courtier fell at his feet to the ground to hear
his command. ** Haste, Magassa, take men and eat
up Pokino*s land and name, for old Pokino has for-
gotten me."
" Twiyanzi, yanzi ! ^ he cried and moaned, " Twiyanzi,
yanzi, yanzi ! " each time more emphatic, and rubbing
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Uganda.
LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 389
his cheeks in the dust; and then, springing to his 1875.
feet, he seized his spear, and, holding it aloft, as if in ^®*^^^-
the act of launching it, he proclaimed aloud, " By the
Emperor's orders, I go to eat np Pokino. I will eat
him clean out of land and name, and Magassa shall
become Pokino. Emperor, behold me ! " and again he
fell to the ground, screaming his thankful Twiyanzis,
and loyally abasing himself in the dust.
After the levee was over, Magassa, eager to change
his name for Pokino's, beat his war-drum, unfolded his
banner, and mjistered his followers, and, like the fell
leopard, pounced upon purblind Pokino, whom he
quickly deprived of life, land, and name, and in place
of their former owner became their master. But with
even old Pokino's vast estates and large possessions the
young Pokino was apparently discontented. Shortly
afterwards the Emperor commanded him to ** eat up **
Namujurilwa, the Achilles of Uganda, and it is to
young Pokino's thirst for power and riches that
Majwara, an infant son of that great chief, became a
slave to Njara of Unyanyemb^, from whom I pur-
chased his freedom in 1871. I afterwards sent him
to Livingstone, to whom young Majwara ministered
faithful service until that great traveller's death.
With the fall of Namujurilwa, young Pokino became
Lord of all Uddu, from the Katonga valley to the
Alexandra Nile, a district embracing over 3000
square miles, with twenty sub-chiefs recognizing him
as their master, possessing two great capitals, Namuju-
rilwa^s at Masaka, and Pokino's, hundreds of women-
slaves, and thousands of youthful slaves of both sexes,
with cattle also by the thousand, and chief of a popu-
lation numbering over 100,000. What a change this
— from the keeper of the lavatory to the Lord of Uddu !
Pokino's life at his capital of Uddu, Masaka, is
almost regal. He has ** eaten up " the lands of two
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890 TESOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. great chiefs, old Pokino and the lion-h'ke Namujurilwa,
^^^^^' and now out of the eater cometh forth meat, and out
of the strong cometh forth sweetness. His sub-regal
court is crowded with applicants and claimants for
boimties, and slaves requiring to be fed, and good
offices are given with a liberal hand, and cattle are
slaughtered by hundreds until Pokino's open hand and
large heart is published throughout Uganda. By
this politic liberality he secures the affection of the
natives of Uddu, the friendship of the great chiefs at
the court, and the approbation of the Emperor.
Is Pokino satisfied ? Not yet, for there remains one
more office which Mtesa can give ; but he must wait
a while for this.
The Emperor hears there is a country called Usongora,
west of Gambaragara* somewhere, rich in vast herds of
cattle, and he commands Pokino to go and gather some
of them. Immediately the great war-drum of Masaka
sounds the call to war, and the natives from the banks
of the Alexandra Nile, the slopes of Koki plateau, and
all the lake shore from the Alexandra to the Katonga
respond to it by thousands, for it is a call to them to
gather spoil, and when did a peasant of Uganda linger
at such a summons ?
When Pokino begins his journey, he discovers he has
a vast army at his command, for other chiefs also are
represented here by columns. Kitunzi of the Katonga
valley has sent Sambuzi, and Mkwenda, Kangau, and
Kimbugw^ have aleo sent sub-chiefs with hundreds of
warriors. Before Pokino's great army the people of
Gambaragara retire up the slopes of their lofty snow
mountain, and, pursuing them as far as prudence will
permit, Pokino's eyes view from afar the rolling grassy
plateau of Usongora, and an immense lake stretching
beyond, which he is told is Muta Nzige.
* This part of Pokino's history was related to me by Pokino himself,
Eitxmzi, Sambuzi, and his page.
Digitizi
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Uganda
LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 891
Descending from the slopes of the snow mountain, 1875.
he marches with incredible speed to Usongora, sweeps in ^^***'-
with long sure arms large herds of cattle, despite the
frantically brave natives, collects thousands of straight-
nosed, thin-lipped, and comely women and children,
and drives them towards Uganda.
Several difficulties present themselves in the way.
The plain of Usongora is covered with salt and alkali,
which, intemperately eaten, causes many deaths ; and
in the valleys spout up mui-springs, and from the
summits of conical hills strange fire and smoke issue,
and now and then the very earth utters a rumbling
sound, and appears to shake.
The Wanyoro, also, by thousands, combine with the
natives of Gambaragara to dispute his return. They
lay ambuscades for him, and obstinately harass him
night and day. But Pokino's spirit is up in arms. He
defies the supernatural noises of that Land of Wonders,
Usongora, and by skill and sagacity avoids the meshes
laid to entrap him, and, when opportunity affords,
snares his ambushed enemies and annihilates them,
and finally appears in Uganda at the imperial capital
with a spoil of cattle and slaves fit to gladden even
the imperial heart.
The Emperor appoints a day to receive him and his
warriors, and, that meed may be given only to the
brave, has caused to be brewed immense potfuls of
potent pombe, which shall serve as a test to point out
the brave and the coward.
The day arrives. The Emperor is seated in unusual
state, with his harem behind him, his chiefs on either
hand in order of rank, his musketeers on guard, and his
drummers and musicians close by, while aloft wave the
crimson-and-white-barred standards adopted by the
empire. Before the Emperor are arranged the pots
of test-beer.
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392 TEBOUQE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Pokino advances, prostrates himself in the dust, and
October, i^jring tQ relate his adventures and his doings in
**" Usongora, while the heroes of the great raid are
enmassed in view and within hearing of his words.
After the conclusion of the story, the Emperor says
hriefly, " Drink, if thou darest.**
Pokino rises, advances to the test-pots, receives the
ladle, and dips it into the pombd ; then taking it up, he
holds it aloft, and, turning to the warriors who followed
him, cries aloud, " TekeK ? " ('* Am I worthy or not ? ")
" Tekeh ! " (" Thou art worthy ! ") responds the
multitude with a shout.
Again he asks "Tekeh?** and again "Tekeh!** is
shouted with renewed acclamation, and, being found
worthy, he drinks, utters his grateful Twiyanzis to the
Emperor, and retires to permit others to advance and
drink the test-beer. Those found worthy are rewarded,
those unworthy are doomed to death by popular
condemnation.
Soon after this, Myanja, the Katekiro, was found
guilty of the overweening pride of appropriating to
himself the most beautiful of the female slaves without
regarding his master's right to select his allotment
first, and the result of this was that Myanja was dis-
graced and shprtly beheaded.
The Premier's place being now vacant, Pokino was
appointed to fill it ; and thus was the once humble
Magcissa elevated to be next in power to the Emperor,
with the utmost of his ambition fulfilled.
He is now daily seated on the carpet at the right
hand of his sovereign, controls all things, commands all
men, and, when leaving the presence of his master, he
is escorted by all the chiefs to his own quarters, waylaid
by multitudes on the road with profound greeting, has
the pick of all females captured in war, the choicest of
all cattle, and his shares of all cloths, beads, wine, and
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LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 393
other gifts brought to Mtesa ; for the Katekiro, alias 1875.
Pokino, alias Magassa, is now Premier, First Lord^ and ^*^*^***'-
Secretary of State ! But what next ? ^^
One day, while on a visit to my quarters, I permitted
him to examine my store of medicines. On explaining
the various uses of laudanum, he remarked, to my
surprise, with a sigh, "Ah! that is the medicine I
wish to have. Can you not spare some for me ?"
Poor Magassa ! poor Pokino ! poor Katekiro ! He is
already watching, while yet young, in the prime and
vigour of manhood, for he knoweth not the hour when
the Lord of the Cord may beckon to him.
It is left for some future traveller to tell us of his
interview with Kasuju, the chief executioner.
THE KABAKA OR EMPEROR.
The curtain rolls up, and discloses a hill covered with
tall conical huts, whose tops peep out above the foliage
of plantains and bananas, and lofty fences of cane.
Up the hill's gradually ascending slopes run broad
smooth avenues, flanked by cane palisades, behind
which clusters of huts show grey under a blazing sun,
amid the verdure of the leafy groves around them. The
avenues are thronged by natives, clad in picturesque
costumes. White clothes gleam in the sunshine, in
strong contrast to red and brown. The people are
wending their way to the imperial quarters on the
summit of the hill. While no ingress is permitted,
they crowd around the gates in social gossip, exchang-
ing morning greetings.
Suddenly the murmur of voices ceases, and the long
rumbling roll of a kettle-drum is heard, announcing
that the monarch is seated on the burzah. The gates
are at once drawn aside, and a multitude of chiefs,
soldiers, peasants, strangers rush up tumultuously.
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894 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. through eight or ten courts, towards the audience-hall,
^^^*^" and in their noisy haste we may see the first symptoms
of that fawning servility characteristic of those who
serve despots.
The next scene we have is a section of a straw
house, with a gable-roof— about 25 feet high, 60 feet
long, and 18 feet in breadth.
At the farther end, by the light afforded by the
wide entrance, we perceive the figure of a man dad
in an embroidered scarlet jacket and white skirt
seated on a chair, guarded on either side by a
couple of spearmen and two men bearing muskets.
The chiefs and principal men now hastening through
the gates bow profoundly before him ; some, after the
Muslim's custom, kiss the palms and back of his right
hand ; others, adhering to the original customs of the
country, prostrate themselves to the ground, and,
throwing their hands towards him, exclaim, while
kneeling, " Twiyanzi, yanzi ! '* after which they
severally betake themselves to their respective seats in
order of rank. Two long rows of seated men are thus
formed along the caned walls of the hall of audience,
facing towards the centre, which is left vacant for the
advent of strangers and claimants, and the transaction
of business, justice, &c.
Being privileged, we also enter, and take a seat on
the right-hand side, near the Katekiro, whence we can
scrutinize the monarch at our leisure.
The features, smooth, polished, and without a
wrinkle, are of a young man, who might be of any
age between twenty-five and thirty-five. His head is
clean-shaven and covered with a fez, his feet are bare
aiid rest on a leopard-skin, on the edge of which rests a
polished white tusk of ivory, and near this are a pair
of crimson Turkish slippers. The long fingers of his
right hand grasp a gold-hilted Arab scimitar; the
left is extended over his left knee, reminding one of
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LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA.
395
the posture of Rameses at Thebes. The only natural
peculiarities of the face, causing it to differ from other
faces around me, are the glowing, restless large eyes,
which seem to take in everything at a glance. The
character of the face, however, is seen to change
rapidly; even in repose it lacks neither dignity nor
power, but as cross thoughts flash through his mind the
comers of the lips are drawn in, the eyes expand, the
eyeballs project, his hands twitch nervously, and the
1875.
October.
Ugandft.
AUDIENCE UALL OF THE FALACE.
native courtier begins to apprehend a volcanic outburst
of rage. If pleased, however, the eyes appear to
recede and contract, the lips relax their vigour, and
soon a hearty laugh rings through .the hall.
But hush ! here advance some ten or twelve people
along the centre, and prostrate themselves before the
Emperor, and begin through a spokesman to tell him
of something to which, strangely enough, he does not
seem to listen.
By means of an interpreter we are informed that it is
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Uganda.
896 TEBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. an embassy from the lawless bandit Mirambo, who, bear-
Octobtf. -j^g ^j^^j. j^^Qgj^ ^j^g lijjely enough to send some 50,000
sharp 8peai*s to hunt him up, has sent these men with
propitiating gifts, and a humble declaration that he
has no cause of quarrel with Uganda. The gifts are
unrolled to view and counted. So many cloths, so
much wire, some half-dozen dinner plates of European
make, an ample brass coffee tray, an Arab dagger
silver-hilted, and a scarlet coat
Mtesa has been meanwhile carelessly talking to his
chiefs while the embassy addressed him, but suddenly
he turns on the embassy his large glowing eyes, and
speaks quickly and with decision : —
" Tell Mirambo from me that I do not want his gifts,
but I must have the head of his man who slew my
chief Singiri a year ago, as he was returning from
Zanzibar to Uganda, or I will hunt him up with more
Waganda than there are trees in his country. Go ! "
Another party now comes up. A chief is dead, and
they wish to know who shall succeed him, and they
have brought his sons along with them, that the
Emperor may make his choice.
Mtesa smiles and asks his chiefs to name the suc-
cessor. One names Bugomba, another Taniziwa, another
Kaseje, another Sempa. The chiefs fail to agree, and
Mtesa asks playfully, "Which shall be chief? " where-
upon the majority name Taniziwa as elected, after which
we have to hear the " Twiyanzis " of the favoured one,
and his ardent vows of allegiance to the Emperor.
Just at this moment appears a long procession of
females, old and young, at the sight of whom the
Emperor rises to his feet, and his example is followed
by all. Curious to know who they are, we ask, and
are told that they are descendants of Kamanya and
Suna, wards and members of the imperial family.
These ladies, it appears, know when to time their visits,
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Uganda.
LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 397
and contrive to enter the levee late, as European ladies, ists.
to attract attention, are supposed to enter church late. ^^^*>«'-
As these ladies advance to the carpet, Mtesa greets
each with a kind word, and after they are seated
proceeds to them, seats himself in their laps, and em-
braces one after another. In return for these imperial
courtesies, they afterwards present him with live
fowls, which he is compelled to receive with his own
hands, and pass over to a chief to hold, that he may
not appear to despise any of them. Surely if such
a despotic monarch can condescend to be so affable and
kind to females, there must be some good in him.
But the Emperor on this morning has caught a cold,
and the watchful chiefs have been observing the little
uneasiness, and forthwith half a dozen rush forward
prone on their knees, and offer their head-cloths, into
which the imperial nose may relieve itself.
The Emperor playfully draws back in his chair, and
says, '* Oh, I don't want all these."
*^ Well, take mine,** says one.
" No, take mine, Kabaka ; mine is white, and of fine
soft cloth," and Mtesa, prevailed upon by the whiteness
and softness of the texture, takes it, and relieves his
afiBicted nose, and then hands the cloth back to its
owner, who rubs it together hard, as though he wished
to punish well the cause of the affliction.
Suddenly from some place in the hall is heard a
hawking sound, as from some one likewise afflicted with
a cold in the throat, and the eyes of the Emperor are
quickly fixed on the person; but the chiefs cry out
indignantly, " Out, out with you, quick !" and, peremp-
torily and sternly, half a dozen " lords of the cord " seize
upon the unfortunate and eject him in no gentle manner.
After this interruption the tones of the native harp
are heard, and the Emperor calls to the minstrel and
bids him play on his instrument, which the accom-
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898 TEBOUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. plished musician is nothing loth to do. But wh3e we
October. jjg|j^Q ^ j^q monotouous music, all are startled at the
loud report of a gun !
A dozen ejaculations are uttered, and as many chiefs
rush out to enquire the cause ; but they have been fore-
stalled by the adroit and eager lords of the cord, who
have thrown their nooses round the man's neck and, half
strangling him, drag him into the Presence, whose
imperial nerves have been somewhat disturbed by the
sudden discharge of gunpowder. The lords of the cord,
kneeling, say that the man let his gun fall while on
guard, and their eyes seem to ask, ** What shall we
do to him ?** " Give him fifty blows with a stick,"
cries the angry Emperor, and the unfortunate fellow
is hauled away to receive such a punishment as will
lame him for a month.
There is now heard a lowing of cattle, of fat beeves
and milch-cows, in the court before the audience-hall,
and a man advances, and after prostration and " Twi-
yanzis " says he has brought a present from Mankorongo,
king of Usui.
" H'm. See to them, Katekiro, and give one to my
steward Ka-uta to dress up, and let each chief have an
ox to-day, and give ten to my bodyguard." At this
liberality all the chiefs rush forward, abase themselves
in the dust, and cry aloud their fervid ** Twiyanzis."
The chiefs resume their seats after this exhibition of
their gratitude, and a messenger arrives from the banks
of the "Victoria Nile, and relates, to the monarch's sur-
prise, that Namionju, a petty prince near Unyoro, has
cast off his allegiance to him, and opened negotiations
with Kabba Rega, king of Unyoro.
On hearing the messenger's news, the Emperor
exclaims, his eyes expanding widely, and projecting,
** What ! are all my people dead at Nakaranga ? Have
I no chief, no people left, that Namionju treats me so ?"
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LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 899
The answer is heard in the voices of the chiefs, who isrs.
spring to their feet simultaneously and rush out ^*^*^'-
before the entrance of the audience-hall, seize their
spears or walking-sticks, and call aloud on the
Emperor to behold and number his chiefs, and with
wild impressive gestures toss their spears and arms on
high until a stranger would fancy that a revolution
had suddenly begun. The Emperor, however, calmly
answers, "It is well," upon which the chiefs leave
their spears tvithout and regain their seats.
Then casting his eyes about him, he selects a fiery-
looking young chief — Maoor-ugungu by name — who
instantly darts forward from his seat^ and prostrating
himself exclaims, " Kabaka^ I am here."
" Go, Maoor-ugungu, take five Watongoleh and
their men, and eat up Namionju and his country."
Maoor-ugungu, prompt as tinder upon receiving
such an order, utters many "Twiyanzis," then springs
to his feet, and, seizing a couple of spears and a shield,
throws himself into a heroic attitude with all the
ardour of a true son of Mars, and cries aloud : —
" Emperor, behold me ! The Emperor commands,
and Namionju shall die, and I will gather the spoil.
I will eat the land up clean. Twiyanzi-yanzi-yanzi-
yanzi ! " and eo on ad infinitum.
The Emperor rises. Tori the drummer beats the
long roll on his drum, and all the chiefs, courtiers,
pages, claimants, messengers and strangers, staii; to
their feet. The Emperor — without a word more —
retires by a side door into the inner apartments, and
the morning burzah is ended.
Those curious to know further of the Emperor's life
must pass through a multitude of sharp-eyed, jealously
watchful guards, pages, and executioners, thronging
the court of the audience-hall, into the private courts,
many of which they will find apparently of no use
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villi T- li, Li-' fc-'tot'iiij, I'ln:.;. tr ^oiat^ novelty, in tl^*^
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Tiir r.AVD.
Tlavii'': V:>r'V"l RoiiMuLat rnrMi-ifli t.liese ^Kpr^-hes of
i'lC cliarnct* r of tie |H;a>a.it, tlic chief, and th»' m-. uuroh,
it now r ,ui<dn> foi i:^ tw i. ke a view of th'^ !ai.d in order
to m.d*. r-;au'l iN ext-'iit, i .'turt-, an J -^'eKeril aspect.
TliO i*'i n ol' tjju Knii)he £^o\Lr::td hv M\-.a mav be
b(<t d .MJ'lcd r.-; a cixscent. I:^ lonulh Is ;.l;out r>'/0
P^'('.!.a| i i';al miles, and ir^ bre;' ItJi ah -iit ^'v». cr.verinL,
— with th'^- isiMids of Scssr, jjiilatnba, Buiw*', S-i'lzi,
LnhuiMia, Uaraba, Lnlconieli, Ir;inib;». Irw.tji, Kiwa,
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400 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. whatever except to ensure privacy, and to confuse a
October. ,^^«^«.^^
• stranger.
^ In one they may see Mtesa drilling his Amazons and
playing at soldiers with his pets. They are all comely
and brown, with fine virginal bosoms. But what
strikes us most is the effect of discipline. Those timid
and watchful eyes which they cast upon the monarch
to discover his least wish prove that, though they
may be devoted to him, it is evident that they have
witnessed other scenes than those of love.
In another court, perhaps, they may find Mtesa just
sitting down to eat a slight noon meal, consisting of
ripe bananas and curded milk ; or they may find him
laughing and chatting with his favourite wives and
female children, who all sit around him, seeming to
govern their faces according to the despot's humour ;
or perhaps he may happen to be found with a favourite
page examining the contents of the treasure-house,
where the gifts of various travellers, European,
Turkish, and Arabic, are stored ; or he may be engaged
with Tori, his factotum, planning some novelty, in the
shape of a waggon, carriage, ship, or boat, or what-
ever the new fancy may be which has taken possession
of his mind.
THE LAND.
Having learned somewhat through these sketches of
the character of the peasant, the chief, and the monarch,
it now remains for us to take a view of the land in order
to understand its extent, nature, and general aspect.
The form of the Empire governed by Mtesa may be
best described as a crescent. Its length is about 300
geographical miles, and its breadth about 60, covering
— with the islands of Sesse, Lulamba, Bufwe, Sadzi,
Lulamha, Damba, Lukomeh, Iramba, Irwaji, Kiwa,
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Ti.' ' • ' , 'Hid /v.al»ir\ arc st'jr-,. i ; (^-r he rii'v be eTJtr<:^eu
\\\. I'oii, 1."- iMv'tit'iiii. )'mm:/ .lT fcoiiui novelty, in tla*
:' "-e •' a \\:;".'''/ori, f-urai.;., ts'hr), or h'>nt, or \v\ ,:
i-'-y iir^v iM- \,'li;c.i ''a-; ta'^ca puvst-Sii":^
Tra\in:': lpnr?a'd P«»na'\ ]j\t liimi wh tljosf s\e -lies .^f
i.he cliaraci<*r or" tt-e }\a>a:.t, tlio eh'ef, and tl..- iii-naroiu
it now r ni:tins foi ns !''> i -a* a viciw of iLt lai.il in oitier
to VI d' iv,a.:d iK ivxt.'ht, i '''ur*a aul ^'e^iTal aNj>oct.
The I'^r a ol tiie Kii.[ai.'. f^-ova '\m d »»y Mr^^a nia^* K^
Ix^^t d .Miiltid n^ a crt:<.;t3nt. li^- !erii;th Is ; h^)ut T.'a)
p;f^"i-a; \ i-'al nn'Ie<, and i\> l*ren ;l'i ai' >at ')^'. c. vcriu;^
- -witii t^e is:and^ of >(.ssr, jjulani\';<, Buf'^vr. S idz,,
LnlauUia, Daniha. Lid;<.^iii»di, Iranil-a, Ii\\;.;i, Kiwa,
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Digitizi
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MTESA'S EMPIRE. 401
Wema, Kibibi, Uziri, Wanzi, Uruma, Utamba, Mwama, ists.
Ugeyeya, Usamu, and Namungi — an area of 30,000 ^°*^
square miles. If we reckon in also Unyoro, Ukedi,
and Ankori, which recognize Mtesa*8 power, and pay
tribute to him, though somewhat irregularly, we
must add a further area of 40,000 square miles,
making the total extent of his empire about 70,000
square miles.
Some estimate of the population ought also to be
offered. But it is to be understood that it is only a
rough estimate, made by a traveller who has had to
compile his figures by merely taking into consideration
the number of the army assembled at Nakaranga, and
enumerating districts and villages along the line of
his travels.
Countries ud Districts. PopalaUoo.
Uganda proper (from Ripon Falls) to Katonga river .. 760,000
Uddu 100,000
Bwera 30,000
Koki 70,000
Usoga 500,000
Ukedi 150,000
Unyoro 500,000
Usagara or Ankori 200,000
Karagw6 150,000
UBui 80,000
Uzongora, including Ihangiio and Bumbireh .. .. 200,000
Sess^ Island 20,000
Uvuma 15,000
All other islands 10,000
2,775,000
This number gives about thirty-eight persons to the
square mile throughout the empire of Uganda.
The productions of the land are of great variety,
and, if brought within reach of Europeans, would find
a ready market — ivory, coffee, gums, resins, myrrh,
lion, leopard, otter, and goat* skins, ox-hides, snow-
* The white goats of Usoga are like the fisunous Angora goats with
fine silky hair £rom 4 to 8 inches in length.
VOL.1. — 26 ^ .u r^noaIf>
Digitized by VjOOv Iv:,
UgaadA.
402 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. white monkey-fiUins, and bark cloth^ besides fine cattle,
^^^^^' sheep, and goats. Among the chief vegetable pro-
ductions are the papaw, banana, plantain, jrams, sweet
potatoes, peas, several kinds of beans, melons, cucum-
bers, vegetable marrow, manioc, and tomatoes. Of
grains, there are to be found in the neighbourhood
of the capital wheat, rice, maize, sesamum, millets, and
vetches.
The soil of the lake coast region from the extremity
of Usoga to the Alexandra Nile is of inexhaustible
fertility. The forests are tall and dense, and the teak
and Cottonwood, tamarind, and some of the gum-trees
grow to an extraordinary height, while many of the
lower uninhabited parts near the lake are remarkable
for the density, luxuriance, and variety of their vege-
tation.
The higher land, for the most part devoid of trees
and covered with grass, appears better adapted for
pasture, though the plantain and fig trees flourish
on the summit of the hills with the same vigour as
near the lake.
Westward of the smooth, rolling, pastoral country
which characterizes the interior of Usoga and Uganda,
we observe that the land has lost its surface of pasture
grass, and its gently undulating character', and heaves
itself upwards i^to many -headed hills of rugged, abrupt
forms, and as we penetrate farther, these hills become
mountains of a stupendous type, with summits which,
except on a fine clear day, the naked eye cannot define.
Deep, deep valleys, from whose depths we hear the
roar of resounding cataracts and falls, sunder these
lofty mountains. Upon their lengthy slopes great
masses of glistening white rock are seen half imbedded
in debris, where they have remained since they were
severed from the parent mountain which raises its
head so proudly into the sky above.
Beyond this scene again we come to where the land
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
October.
Uganda.
FROM LAKE TO LAKE. 403
appears to have concentrated itself, and fused all lesser 1075,
mountains and hills into one grand enormous mass,
the height and size of which dwarfs all hitherto seen,
and which, disdaining vulgar observation, shrouds its
head with snow and grey clouds.
Indeed, so gradual is the transition and change in the
aspect of the land from Lake Victoria to Beatrice Grulf
that one may draw this • one-hundred-miles-wide belt
into five divisions of equal breadth, and class them
according to the limits given above. Let us imagine
a railway constructed to run from one lake to the
other — what scenes unrivalled for soft beauty, luxuri-
ance, fertility, and sublimity would be traversed !
Starting from the sea-like expanse of the Victoria
Lake, the traveller would be ushered into the depths
of a tall forest, whose meeting tops create eternal night,
into leafy abysms, where the gigantic sycamore, tower-
ing mvule, and branchy gum strive with one another for
room, under whose shade wrestle with equal ardour for
mastery the less ambitious trees, bushes, plants, llianes,
creepers, and palms. Out of this he would emerge
into broad day, with its dazzling sunshine, and vievv
an open rolling country, smooth rounded hills, truncated
cones, and bits of square browed plateaus, intersected
by broad grassy meads and valleys thickly dotted with
ant-hills overgrown with brushwood^ Few trees are
visible, and these, most likely, the candelabra or
the tamarisk, with a sprinkling of acacia. As some
obstructing cone would be passed, he would obtain
glimpses of wide prosjiects of hill, valley, mead, and
plain, easy swells and hollows, grassy basins and
grassy euiinences, the whole suffused with fervid
vapour.
These scenes passed, he would find himself surrounded
by savage hills, where he would view the primitive rock
in huge, bare, round-backed masses of a greyish blue
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
404 TEROUQH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. colour, imparted to them by moss and lichens, or
0^^ largo fragments 0ung together as in some Cyclopean
caini, sundered and riven by warring elements. At
their base He, thickly strewn, the debris of quartz-
veined gneiss and granite and iron-coloured rock,
half choking the passage of some petty stream, which
ventB its petulance, as it struggles through it to gain
the clear, disencumbered valley, and the placid river,
guarded by banks of slender cane and papyrus.
And then the traveller would observe that the
valleys are gradually deepening, and the hills in-
creasing in height, until suddenly he would be ushered
into the presence of that king of mountains. Mount
Gordon-Bennett, which towers sheer up to the azure
with a white veil about his crown, surrounded by
clusters of savage heights and ridges, and before
whoso indisputable sublimity his soul seems to shrink.
Escaping from the vicinity of this mountain monarch,
he would be swept over a brown parched plateau for
a short hour, and then, all suddenly, come to a pause
at the edge of an awful precipice some 1500 feet in
de|)th. At the bottom of this, slumbering serenely, and
reflecting the plateau walls on its placid surface, lies
the blue Muta Nzige.
GENERAL REMARKS.
I have still to add some details of interest. Mtesa, in
the preceding introduction to the reader, playing the
part of Emperor at a public burzah, has still only a
vague and indistinct personality, and so, to complete
the portrait, I venture to append the following
remarks.
On first acquaintance, as I have already said, he
strikes the traveller as a most fascinating and a
peculiarly amiable man, and should the traveller ever
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Ugandt.
MTESA, TEE BiPEBIAL CONVERT. 405
think of saving this pagan continent from the purgatory i875.
of heathendom, the Emperor must occur to him as ^*^^'-
of all men in Africa the most promising to begin with.
For his intelligence and natural faculties are of a
very high order, his professions of love to white men
great, and his hospitality apparently boundless. Had
he been educated in Europe, there can be little doubt
but that he would have become a worthy member of
society; but nursed in the lap of paganism, and
graduate only in superstition and ignorance, he is
to-day no more than an extraordinary African.
Flattering as it may be to me to have had the
honour of converting the pagan Emperor of Uganda
to Christianity, I cannot hide from myself the fact
that the conversion is only nominal, and that, to
continue the good work in earnest, a patient, assiduous,
and zealous missionary is required. A few months'
talk about Christ and His blessed work on earth,
though sufficiently attractive to Mtesa, is not enough
to eradicate the evils which thirty-five years of
brutal, sensuous indulgence have stamped on the
mind: this only the unflagging zeal, the untiring
devotion to duty, and the paternal watchfulness of a
sincerely pious pastor can effect. And it is because
I am conscious of the insufficiency of my work, and
his strong evil propensities, that I have not hesitated
to describe the real character of my " convert." The
grand redeeming feature of Mtesa, though founded
only on self-interest, is his admiration for white men.
When the traveller first enters Uganda, his path
seems to be strewn with flowers, greetings with
welcome gifts follow one another rapidly, pages and
courtiers kneel before him, and the least wish is
immediately gratified, for to make a request of the
Emperor is to honour him with the power of giving.
So long as the stranger is a novelty, and his capacities
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406 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. or worth have not yet been sounded, his life in Uganda
u^T ^^"^ to be a sunsliiny holiday.
Meanwhile, however, the pages, pursuivants, messen-
gers, and courtiers have been measuring him by rules
and methods of their own. His faculties have been
calculated, his abilities keenly observed and noted,
and his general utility and value become accurately
gauged, and all the time he has been entertained
royally, and courted and favoured beyond all his
expectations.
But now approaches the time for him to make return,
to fulfil the prc^raise tacitly conveyed by his ready and
friendly acceptance of gifts and favours. He is
surprised by being asked if he can make gunpowder,
manufacture a gun, cast a cannon, build a ship, or
construct a stone or a brick house. If a priest ordained,
and his garb and meek, quiet behaviour prove it, his
work is ready cut for him : he has only to teach and
preach. But if a soldier, why should he not know how
to make guns, cannon, ships, brick houses, &c. ? If he
informs the Emperor that he is ignorant of these
things, why then he must pay in other coin. He has
guns with him, he must *^give"; he has watches,
** give " ; he has various trifles of value, such as a gold
pencil-case, or a ring, " give " ; he wears good clothes,
** give " ; he has beads, cloth, wire, ** Give, give, give " ;
and so " give " to his utter beggary and poverty. If
he does not give with the liberality of a "Speki** or a
" Stamlee," who will henceforth be quoted to his con-
fusion and shame, there will be found other ways to rid
him of his superfluities. His men will be found
unfaithful, and will desert, attracted by the rewards of
Mtesa and glowing descriptions of his lil>erality, and
one day, when he is about to congratulate himself
that he is more fortunate than others, he will find
himself suddenly bereft of half or three-fourths of his
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
UgtndA.
MISaiONART FBOSPECTS. 407
entire stock of goods. If the traveller states that he is lers.
acquainted with a few arts, he is expected to prove ^*^**^*
his words, to the loss of his time and patience, and the
waste of many precious months ; even then what little
he has been able to do with such lazy knaves as the
Waganda will prove insufficient, and he also, by craft,
will be relieved of a few guns and bales.
From these exactions only the resident missionary
would be exempt, because he will be able to make
ample amends for all deficiencies by staying to teach
and preach, and he in time would, in reality, be the
Emperor. To him Mtesa would bend with all the
docility of a submissive child, and look up with
reverence and affection. The peculiar wayward,
petulant, inconsistent nature would become moulded
anew, or be re-born to be presented henceforth to
European travellers in an amiable, nay loveablcj aspect.
Mtesa is the most interesting man in Africa, and one
well worthy of our largest sympathies ; and I repeat
that through him only can Central Africa be Chris-
tianized and civilized.
It will be observed that I have styled Mtesa
** Emperor " of Uganda, and not king, like my prede-
cessors Speke and Grant. But my readers may re-
member that it has been mentioned in the brief sketch
of the Premier given above that all the Waganda,
from the Emperor to the peasant, change their titles
and names according as they are estimated in the
popular consideration.
Before Suna's death Mtesa was a Mlangira (prince) ;
when he succeeded his father, being yet young, he
received the title of Mukavya or Mkavya (king) of
Uganda, but after he had distinguished himself in the
conquest of other kings, and won the imperial right,
this title was changed for Kabaka or Kawaka
(Emperor). For the Empire of Uganda, as already
Digitized by VjOOQIC
CJg«D(U.
408 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. described, embraces several countries besides Uganda
October, ^.m^^^^
proper.
I was not aware of these several distinctions or
grades until I had been a long time resident at the
court. The title of Mkama, again, such as that of
Mkama Rumanika of Karagw^, Mkama Mankorongo
of Usui, is synonymous with viceroy or sub-king,
though literally translated it means **lord.** Polite
courtiers prone on the ground, abasing themselves in
the dust before Mtesa, will often address him as
" Mkama ange " ('* My own lord **).
The children of Mtesa are all styled Ulangira
(princes). Below this title there seems to be no other
designation of hereditary condition save Kopi (peasant).
Wakungu and Watongoleh alike are peasants born, and
therefore still peasiints, though they may rank as chiefs
and sub-chiefs, or governors and lieutenant-governors,
or generals and colonels. Thus Mt^esa at Nakaranga,
when he was pleased to promise to reward him who
first landed at Ingira Island with the place of B^tekiro,
asked the assembled chiefs, " For what is Pokino really?
Is he not a peasant ? '*
The moral character of the people is far below that
of the Emperor. Indeed, if it were not for him, no
stranger would dare to enter Uganda. They have no
respect for human life or human rights. Among
themselves they recognize only might, and Mtesa
might even be pardoned for exercising greater severity
tl>an he does, for this fierce people requires to be
governed with the almost unexampled severity of
might and power which Suna so cruelly employed.
They are crafty, fraudful, deceiving, lying, thievish
knaves taken as a whole, and seem to be bom with an
uncontrollable love of gaining wealth by robbery,
violence, and murder, in which they resemble — except
that they have the lawless instinct to a greater degree
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
""LIKE KING LIKE PEOPLED 409
than most — ^nearly all African tribes. Owing, however, ists.
to their terror of punishment, the stranger is permitted ^*^*^^'-
to wander in almost certain safety throughout Uganda, *"
and is hospitably treated as the "Emperor's guest**
(Mgeni). One has only to hear the word " Nganya "
(spoil) given by a person in authority to be surprised
at the greed there and then exhibited.
The adage has long been accepted for true,
" Like father like son,*' and equally true would be the
saying " Like king like people.'* The conduct of the
chiefs proves that in Uganda at least it is true, for, like
the Emperor, they adopt a despotic style, and require
to be served by their inferiors with abject servility and
promptitude. Like him, also, the chiefs are fond of
pomp and display, and, as far as their rank and means
permit, they exhibit this vanity to the utmost.
Thus, the monarch has always about two score of
drummers, a score of fifers, half a score of native
guitar-players, several mountebanks, clowns, dwarfs,
and albinoes, a multitude of errand-boys, pages,
messengers, courtiers, claimants, besides a large number
of bodyguards and two standard-bearers, either follow-
ing or preceding him wherever he goes, to declare his
state and quality. The chiefs, therefore, have also
their followers, standard-bearers, and pages, and so on
down to the peasant or cowherd, who makes an infantile
slave trot after him to carry his shield and spears.
In person the Waganda are tall and slender. I have
seen hundreds of them above G feet 2 inches in height,
while I saw one who measured 6 feet 6 inches. Of
course the native Waganda must be distinguished from
strangers and slaves and their descendants imported
from conquered lands, and generally they diflFer from
these by their more pleasing looks and more agreeable
features. This last, however, may be attributed to a
general love of cleanliness, neatness, and modesty.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
410 TEROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. which pervades all, from the highest to the lowest.
October, ^ naked or immodest person is a downright abomina-
tion to a follower of Mtesa's court, and even the
poorest peasants frown and sneer at absolute nudity.
It has been mentioned above that the Waganda sur-
pass other African tribes in craft and fraud, but this
may, at the same time, be taken as an indication of
their superior intelligence. This is borne out by many
other proofs. Their cloths are of finer make ; their
habitations are better and neater ; their spears are the
most perfect^ I should say, in Africa, and they exhibit
extraordinary skill and knowledge of that deadly
weapon; their shields are such as would attract ad-
miration in any land, while the canoes surpass all canoes
in the savage world.
The Waganda frequently have recourse to drawing
on the ground to illustrate imperfect oral description,
and I have often been surprised by the cleverness and
truthfulness of these rough illustrations. When giving
reasons firstly, secondly, and thirdly, they have a
curious way of taking a stick and breaking it into small
pieces. One piece of a stick delivered with emphasis, and
gravely received by the listener in his palm, concludes
the first reason, another stick announces the conclusion
of the second reason, until they come to the " thirdly,**
when they raise both hands with the palms turned
from them, as if to say, ** There, IVe given you my
reasons, and you must perforce understand it all now!"
Nearly all the principal attendants at the court
can write tlie Arabic letters. The Emperor and many
of the chiefs both read and write that character with
facility, and frequently employ it to send messages to
one another, or to strangers at a distance. The materials
which they use for this are very thin smooth slabs of
cotton-wood. Mtesa possesses several score of these, on
which are written his " books of wisdom," as he styles
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Uganda.
TEE B.INANA. 411
the results of his interviews with European travellers. 1875.
Some day a curious traveller may think it worth while ^^^/'
to give us translations of these proceedings and inter-
views.
The power of sight of these natives is extraordinary.
Frequently a six-guinea field-glass was excelled by them.
Their sense of hearing is also very acute.
It is really wonderful into how many uses the in-
genious savage of these regions can convert a simple
plant. Regard the banana-plant, for instance. At first
view, in the eyes of the untaught civilized man, it seems
to be of no other use than to bear fruit after its kind, for
the stalk of it cannot be employed as fuel, and its fronds
soon fade and wither and rend, and unless the savage
pointed out its various uses, I fear the civilized man
would consider it as of slight value. It is, however,
of exceeding utility to the native of Uganda.
1. Its fruit, green or ripe, forms his principal food.
When green, the Waganda peels his bananas, folds them
carefully up in the form of a parcel, enclosed in green
banana-leaves, and, putting a small quantity of water
in his pot, cooks them with the steam alone. This mode
of cooking green bananas renders them floury in
appearance, and, in taste, most sweet and palatable.
When ripe, they form an admirable dessert, and, taken
in the morning before coflFee, serve with some consti-
tutions as an agreeable laxative.
Of the banana proper, there are several varieties,
each distinguished by a special name, just as the Euro-
pean gardener distinguishes his several varieties of
potatoes. Some are 3 inches in length, with deep
green coats, and seem fat with matter. Others, 6 inches
in length, and of a lighter green colour, are considered
the best; others are short, plumpy fruit, great favourites
also. There is another species, known by a dark point,
rather bitter to the taste and unfit for food, but
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e » » ;4 0»
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a
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
412 THEOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. specially reserved for the manufacture of wine, for
October, which it alone is adapted.
Ugindm. 2. The fruit of this latter Bpecies furnishes the
natives with the maramba, a honey-sweet, cider-flavoured
wine, and, when mixed with a little millet, sweet beer
also. When fermented and perfect, the latter is a
potent liquid, and a quart suffice'^ to disturb the
equilibrium of many men ; but there are old topers,
like Prince Kaduma, who would toss off a gallon and
be apparently only slightly elated after it. A small
draught of maramba taken at dawn I found beneficial
to the system,
3. The banana-fronds serve as thatch for houses,
fences for enclosures, and as bedding. They are also
used to protect milk, water, and flour vessels from dust
and impurities, are employed as table-cloths, on which
food is spread, and, like newspapers or brown paper,
are used as wrappers for gifts of eatables, such as ripe
bananas, butter, meat, eggs, fish, &c., while they serve
daily and universally as pudding-cloths in the Kiganda
households. The cool, thick shade afibrded by a
banana plantation is well known.
4. The stems are sometimes used for fences and
defensive enclosures ; they are also frequently employed
as rollers, to move heavy logs, or for the transportation
of canoes overland from point to point, when the
strategies of war demand it. The pith or heart of the
stalk is scraped and made into sponges of a dough-cake
pattern, and may te seen in almost all Kiganda lava-
tories. Frequently the indolent prefer to knead a fresh
sponge-cake and make their ablutions with this to
going to the river, lake, pond, or well, or troubling
themselves to fetch a vessel of water.
The fibres of the stalk are used as cord, and are
adapted for almost every purpose for which cord
is useful. The poorest peasants make rough but
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Digitized by LjOOQ IC
414
• THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875.
October.
Tganda.
serviceable shields also from the stalk, while the fisher-
men of the lake make large sun-hats from it. Many
other uses might be mentioned, but the above are
sufficient to prove that, besides its cool agreeable shade,
the banana-plant will supply a peasant of Uganda witli
bread, potatoes, dessert, wine, beer, medicine, house aud
fence, bed, cloth, cooking-pot, table-cloth, parcel-
wrapper, thread, cord, rope, sponge, bath, shield, sun-
hat, even a canoe — in fact almost everything but meat
and iron* With the banana-plant, he is happy, fat, and
thriving ; without it, he is a famished, discontented,
woe-begone wretch, hourly expecting death.
NGOGO FISH.
10 inches long, 3 inches deep; scaleless; horn at each shoulder; two long
thick filaments on upper lip, four on lower. Foimd in Speke Gulf,
Lake Victoria.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE LADIES OF MTESA'S FAMILY. 415
CHAPTER XVL
TO MUTA mZlGt AND BACK TO UGANDA.
The ladies of Mtesa's lunily — Sambuzi ordered to take me to Mnta
Nzig6 — My last evening with Mtesa — En route for Muta Nzig6 —
Sambuzi suffers from " the big head " — We come to an understanding
— The white people of Gambaragara — War musid — Through a
deserted country — Sinister auguries — A cowards' council of war —
Panic in the camp — Sambuzi announces his intention of deserting
me — The flight when none pursued — The "Spoiler "eaten up —
Mtesa tries to persuade me to return — At Kafurro.
On the 29th October Mtesa and his grand anny arrived 1375.
at the old capital of Ulagalla, There was but little ^'^'^''^^•
demonstration made to welcome the monarch from **^* **
the war, except what was made by the females of the
imperial household, who were mustered in strong force
under the leadership of Nana Mazuri, the Emperor's
mother, a venerable old lady of decidedly masculine
mind, and of a revengeful and fierce disposition.
The Emperor honours his mother greatly, and
bestowed hearty embraces on her and on the ancient
relicts of Suna his father, who were also brought to
meet him and to do him honour, and to receive the
son of heroic Suna as became their respect for him
and their awe of his rank and power. Lu-lu-luing and
welcomes and fond smiles were the order of the day ;
a great drinking of maramba wine and potent beer
followed ; and musketry salutes, killing of beeves and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
416 TEROUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. goatSy and interchanging of presents, closed the day
^uu^^iT* ^^*^® ^*"™ ^ *^® capital.
^ After allowing a few days to transpire for rest, I
began to recall to the Emperor's mind the original
purpose of my visit to him, and of his promise to con-
form to my request He consented to my departure,
and kindly permitted me to make my own choice out
of his chiefs for the leader of the force which was to
give its aid to our Expedition for the exploration of the
country between Muta Nzig^ and Lake Victoria. I
selected Sambuzi, a young man of thirty years of age
or thereabouts, whose gallantry and personal courage
had several times been conspicuously displayed during
the war with the Wavuma, and whose rank and station
guaranteed a force strong enough to withstand, if well
managed, a greater power than the king of Unyoro^
then at war with Gordon Pasha — could conveniently
despatch to oppose us.
Mtesa, admitting that Sambuzi was a wise choice,
stated with the usual exaggeration of an African or
an Oriental that he should have 5000 warriors, and
all the chiefs at the levee concurred with him. On my
request to him that he would repeat, clearly and within
hearing of all, his commands to Sambuzi, Mtesa called
the chief to him, who, while prostrate on the ground,
received the following command in a loud and clear
voice : —
" Sambuzi, my guest Stamlee is going to Muta Nzige'.
He has asked that you should lead the Waganda
to the lake, and I have consented. Now listen to
ray words. Nearly all the white men who have
accepted my people as escort complain that the
Waganda gave great trouble to them. Let me not
hear this of you. I shall send messengers to Kabba
Rega to inform him of your object, and command
him to abstain from molesting you. Now go, muster
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UY LAST EVENING WITH MTE8A. 417
all your men, and I shall send four sub-chiefs with ists.
1000 men each under Watongoleh to assist you. Do ^•^*™^-
whatever Stamlee advises or suggests should be done, ^
and by no means return to Uganda until you have
absolutely performed my commands. If you do return
without Stamlee*s letter authorizing you to abandon
the project, you will dare my anger. I have said.**
** Thanks, thanks, thanks, oh, thanks, my lord!*'
Sambuzi replied, rubbing his face in the dust. Then
standing up, he seized his spears, and, levelling them,
cried out : " I go at the Emperor's command to take
Stamlee to the Muta Nzig^. I shall take Stamlee
through the heart of Unyoro to the lake. We shall
build a strong boma, and stay there until Stamlee has
finished his work. Who shall withstand me ? My
drum shall be sounded for the muster to-day, and I
shall gather all the young men of the Katonga valley
under my flag! When Sambuzi's flag is seen, the
Wanyoro will fly and leave my road white and free,
for it is Kahaka who sends him, and Sambuzi comes
in the name of Kabakal Thanks, thanks, oh, many
thanks, my lord, my own dear lord ! **
The eve of my departure was spent in conversation
with the Emperor, who seemed really sorry that the
time had arrived for a positive and final leave-taking.
The chief subject of conversation was the Christian
church, which had just begun to be erected, where the
rites of the Church were to be performed by Dalling-
ton after the style and manner shown to him by the
Universities Mission at Zanzibar, until one more worthy
to tike his place should arrive.
We went together over the grounds of the Christian
faith, and Mtesa repeated to me at my request as much
as he knew of the advantages to be gained by the
adoption of the Christian religion, and of its supe-
riority to that of Islam, in which he had first been
VOL. I. — 27
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=r = a c
£8 ilea
fllili
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418 TEBOUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. taught. By his remarks he proved that he had a very
^a'^^b^ retentive memory, and was tolerably well posted in his
articles of belief. At night I left him with an earnest
adjuration to hold fast to the new faith, and to have
recourse to prayer to God to give him strength to
withstand all temptations that should tend to violate
the commandments written in the Bible.
Early next morning my convert sent me many
presents as tokens of his esteem, such as four shields,
sixteen spears, twelve knives, ten billhooks, six walk-
ing-sticks, twelve finely prepared skins and furs of wild
animals, 20 lbs. of myrrh, four white monkey-skins,
ten beeves, sixteen goats, bananas and beer and wine,
and an escort of one hundred warriors to proceed by
the lake to Dumo.
For our mutual friend Lukongeh, king of Ukerewe,
he sent at my request five long tusks of ivory, one
comely virgin of fifteen as a wife suitable for a king,
being of the beautiful race of Gambaragara, also
20 lbs. of fine iron wire, six white monkey-skins, and
one large new canoe, capable of carrying fifty men.
For my friend the king of Komeh Island and the
lake shore of Uzinja he sent the same, and distributed
beeves among the ambassadors from the king, whom I
had brought to receive these presents.
From myself I sent to my kind friend Lukongeh one
bale of assorted cloth, two coils of brass wire, 60 lbs.
of fine beads, and two suits of blue and red flannel,
besides a plush velvet rug.
Happy that I had so prospered despite the vexatious
delay which was unavoidable, and that I had been
able to do even more than I had promised to the kings
of Ukerewe and Komeh, I set out from Ntewi with
twenty large canoes full of Waganda warriors, five
canoes for my own special escort, two to escort the
embassy of Ukerewe home, two to escort the embassy
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a Mt 10 <]') '-v'O': rnoif tiuMi I ii..d ^"/oi*i*-ed •> Tcp k'.-. ■
i'{ Uk'./itrve and K<tni< u, I M-t v>i t Ti mi X vi w . ..
*\v'j!.tv larve canons fi.d cf \^'araiid i wiiri':.^, li\f*
caTioc' f<.r p^v own ^p,-c;<d e.-c<>n, n.o to i'-'(».t ;^■•'
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— <» 50 30 -» a»
rlHii
Digitized by LjOOQ IC
420 THBOUOE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. of Komeh home, and eleven to open trade by tbe lake
^N**^ route, with Unyanyembe via Kagehyi — also a suggestion
of mine.
On the same day that I set out from Ntewi, Sambuzi
led a thousand men from Ulagalla overland to our
rendezvous on the Katonga river, where he was to
be joined by the Expedition from Dumo, and the four
sub-chiefs Sekajugu, Mkoma, Kurji, and Ngezi.
Our party proceeding by the lake were hospitably
entertained at Nakavija by the grand admiral of Mtesa,
Gabunga, and by Jumba, vice-admiral at Unjaku, with
beeves, milk, wine, beer, bananas, tomatoes, and sweet
potatoes.
At Ujaju our india-rubber pontoon was condemned,
and a new and light canoe was substituted for it, and
named the Livingstone^ to take to Muta Nzige to assist
the Lady Alice in the exploration of that lake.
After four days* coasting we arrived at Dumo, and
greeted the Expedition after an absence of three months
and five days. Frank Pocock had enjoyed splendid
health, and the soldiers showed by their robust forms
that they had lived on the best in Uddu, and that the
Emperor's commands respecting them had not been
neglected. All this time they had been sustained free
of cost to me, and I could not find it in my heart
to return the Waganda escort back to the Emperor
without some token of my gratitude, and accordingly
I made up a present of four bales of cloth, and 140 lbs.
of choice beads, besides various other presents.
A few days sufficed to reform the Expedition, repack
all loads, and to prepare the boat, which had now seen
nearly nine months of rough service on Lake Victoria,
for transport overland to Muta Nzige.
The Livingstone canoe was also taken to pieces, and
made into portable loads for the journey. This canoe
was 23 feet long, 34 inches wide, and 2 feet deep, and
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EN ROUTE FOB THE MUTA NZIGA 421
was formed of four long planks and one keel-piece sewn i875,
together with cane fibre, which, with the thwarts and ^•™*^'
bow-piece, formed light portable loads for seven men.
On the seventh day after ray return to Dumo we
began the march towards the general rendezvous of the
exploring army on the Katonga river. We journeyed
through Uddu in a north-north-westerly direction, until,
striking the Kyogia river, we followed the course of
that tributary of the Katonga river as far as Kikoma,
when we crossed the stream and entered the country of
Bwera, which lies parallel to Uddu, and extends from
Koki westward of Uddu as far as the Katonga river.
At Kikoma we were compelled to come to a halt
until Sambuzi was informed of our .arrival, and guides
could be obtained from him to lead us to the rendezvous.
Meanwhile I took advantage of the halt to hunt
game and to obtain meat-provision for the expedition.
During the five days of our halt here I was so for-
tunate as to shoot fifty-seven hartebeest, two zebra,
and one water-buck. The abundance of game in this
wild debatable district, and the impunity they enjoy
from man — in consequence of the numerous lions and
leopards, and also the neighbourhood of raiders from
the hostile country of Ankori — was the principal cause of
my great success. The first day I set out I bagged five
fine animals within a few minutes, which astonished not
only the Waganda bodyguards of Mtesa, but also myself.
We heard of lions as being abundant in the neigh-
bourhood of Kikoma, but though I roved far into the
wilderness west of Kikoma, I never saw the slightest
trace of either lions or leopards.
The arrival of guides from " General'* Sambuzi broke
up our halt, and caused us to resume our march, and
the second day brought us to the Katonga river, or
rather lagoon, for I could detect no running water.
The bed of the Katonga is about half a mile wide,
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Rawewa.
422 THBOUGE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. cboked with spear-grass and papyrus, with stagnant
^I'^^'T^r' ^^*®r 3, 4, and even 7 feet deep in some places.
The crossing of the Katonga consumed an entire
day, and was effected by means of the Lady Alice^
which had to be forced through the dense reeds. At
Ruwewa, on the north bank of the Katonga, Sambuzi's
delay caused us another halt of five days, which was a
sore tax on my patience, and but little in accordance
with either my hopes or Mtesa*s instructions. However,
we were so far entered into the enterprise, and were now
so remote from any other possible means of advance,
that we had to console ourselves with the reflection
that " what cannot be mended must be borne,*' though
mentally I cruelly condemned our dilatory general.
The landscape between Dumo and the Katonga river
presents smooth, rounded, hilly ridges separated by
broad, grassy valleys dotted with ant-hills and scantily
clothed with brushwood. It is a fine pastoral country,
eminently suited for grazing, but in the absence of a
sufficient population it is a famous haunt for noble
game, so unsuspicious as to be easily accessible to a
tolerable shot. In the uninhabited portions of the
country few trees are seen, save the rugged euphorbia.
The eye here commands many views of extensive
prospects of rolling country, of grassy hills and grassy
valleys, following one another in regular series. »
As we all enjoyed unusual good health during our
journey through this country, one could not help
fancying that it was to the far-receding prospects open-
ing on every side that we owed much of our health-
fulness. It was certain that the blood flowed quicker,
that the eye kindled with brighter light, and that we
breathed more freely when we stood on one of those
high, commanding grassy ridges and somewhat fondly
compared the land to others we had seen elsewhere,
where fever and ague were not so prevalent.
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8AMBUZI SUFFERS FROM " TEE BIG EEADP 423
To describe Uddu and Bwera in detail would be a 187&.
tedious task, for there is much sameness of outline in ^**j^^'-
hill and valley, swell and hollow, ridge and basin, but gurwe.
viewed as a whole from the summit of any eminence,
there is something really noble and grand in the
survey.
I observed that the parts inhabited by the Waganda
are, as a rule, the ridges and tabular summits of the
hills, and that the hollows and basins are left for
grazing purposes to the roving Wahuma shepherds.
On the sixth day after our arrival at Ruwewa, in
the district of Kahwangau, we marched to Laugurwe,
where we met — as couriers had pre-informed us —
General Sambuzi with a thousand men. We camped
half a mile off from the general, occupying an entire
village, from the plantations of which we were at
liberty to help ourselves to our hearts' content. Sam-
buzi's force occupied the villages north of us.
In the afternoon I called to pay my respects to the
general, for common sense informed me that the best
way of attaining the objects in view was to pay the
utmost possible attention to the failings of this African
general, and to observe all ceremony and politeness
towards him.
During the war with Uvuma, while I was a constant
and honoured attendant at the morning levee of the
Emperor, Sambuzi had occupied with his force the
ground in rear of our detachment, and this chief had
then courted my friendship most assiduously. This, in
fact, was one of the reasons why I had made choice of
him, and preferred his name to Mtesa. But when I
now saw him, I found his behaviour to be an over-
acted imitation of the Emperor, without the monarch's
courtliness and kindliness of manner.
As I entered the court, which had been constructed
with a view to enhance his dignity, if space can be said
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424 TEROUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. to increase dignity, I observed that the general stood np
^"lIT.***'^ from amongst his subordinates and stiffly maintained
lurwc that position nntil I grasped him by the hand, when he
managed to ntter a faint greeting in response to mine.
I was not altogether unprepared for this result of his
promotion; still it chilled me, angered me a little, I
must confess, and induced me to ask him if anything
was wrong. " No,** he said, " nothing was wrong.**
" Then why are you so stiff with your friend ?** I
asked. " Do you not like the idea of going to Muta
Nzig^ ? If you regret your appointment, I can apply
for another man.**
** My liking or not liking the journey will not alter
the command of Kabaka^^ he replied. ** I have received
my commands to take you to Muta Nzig^, and I will
take you there. I am not a child, I am a. man, and
my name is known pretty well in Unyoro, for the
Wanyoro and Wasongora have felt the sharpness of
my spear, and it is not likely that they can turn me
back before I bring you to the lake. I stand in the
place of Kabaka now, for I represent him here, and
the army is under my command. Sambuzi, your friend
at Uvuma, is changed now to Sambuzi the general.
You understand me ? **
" Perfectly,** I answered. " I have a few words to
say in reply, and you will then understand me as well
as I understand you. I wish to go to Muta Nzige lake.
So long as you take me there and do exactly as the
Emperor has commanded you, you shall have as much
honour and respect from me as though you were the
Emperor himself, and besides that you shall have 80
rich a reward that the Katekiro of Uganda himself will
envy you. With your mode of marching and camping
I have nothing to do so long as we are in Uganda, but
when we enter Unyoro, I would advise you as a friend,
since we are about to enter the country against the
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KoTembeK
Kttonga.
8AMBUZI AND I UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER. 425
will of the people, that you keep the army together, 1875.
that one camp he made and good positions occupied, ^^ *
and that when any trouble threatens us, you do not act
without the advice of others, able and willing to give
advice. That is all.**
" It is well," he said, " we understand one another
now. We will march by slow degrees as far as the
frontier, that the other chiefs may have time to come
up, and you shall then judge for yourself whether the
Waganda know how to march,**
Considered as we would consider of things European,
Sambuzi could not be blamed for assuming dignity,
and I therefore excused what otherwise might be called
gross behaviour on his part. Sambuzi's force would
be quite twenty times stronger in numbers than mine,
and he was my only means of pushing through tJnyoro.
Prudence counselled me therefore not to let false pride
be an obstacle to the accomplishment and success of
the enterprise, and I determined to listen to its counsel.
Our journey to Kawanga, on the frontier of Uganda,
was along the north bank of the Katonga, through
an open rolling country, cut up frequently by water-
courses which feed the Katonga. These watercourses,
though called rivers, show no running stream, but only
river-like marshes or broad "rush drains," choked
with spear-grass and papyrus of the same nature as the
Katonga. North or south of the Katonga, at the dis-
tance of ten miles or so, the land rises rapidly, and here
numerous streams of clear, sweet water take their
origin, but in their descent to the Katonga valley they
become united and absorbed by great breadths of river-
like marshes, the oozy contents of which are drained
by the broad lagoon-like Katonga.* It maintains this
• At the confluence of the Wakassi with the Katonga, boiling-point
showed an altitude of 4111 feet above the sea, only 18 feet higher than
Bipon Falls 1
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
426 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. character until near the base of a low bill which
^^^^1^' separates the feeders of Muta Nzige from those of Lake
Victoria. The crest of this hill is not more than 250
feet above the bed of the Katonga, and it is not moi-e
than two miles from its eastern to its western base, yet
along the eastern base curves the bed of the Katonga
from the north-west, and along the western rushes the
Rusango from the foot of Mount Lawson southward
towards the Muta Nzige.
Except in the vicinity of the Katonga there is
scarcely one square mile of level ground to be seen.
Our eyes dwelt everywhere on grassy hollows, slopes,
and ridges, and the prospect each day was bounded by
lines of blue hills, which, as we progressed westward,
assumed mountainous altitudes.
At Kawanga, when Sambuzi's force had been all
collected, our army consisted of fighting-men as
follows : —
The Daily Telegraph and Nem York Herald expedition .. 180
Sambusd, general 1000
Mkoma, colonel 250
Ngezi, colonel 250
Sekajugu, colonel 450
Mrowla, captain 100
Korji, captain 40
2270
MtcHa's bodyguards nnder Sabadu (sergeant) .... 20
Total 2290
Following this little army there were about 500
women and children, giving a grand total of nearly
2800 souls,
With Colonel Sekajugu were four men of Gamba-
ragara, who were of a remarkably light complexion, ap-
proaching to that of dark-faced Europeans, who differed
altogether in habits and manners from the Waganda.
They possessed their own milch-cows, and their diet
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tl >o T'^ro].''^, bvsi': '*/}:r coil;! l(->\(.:., ■ . ^ :' ,.'
n^I'i ■'^iit'.;i\-( ^, of tin--.- oie nt t; - * • ' .• ,
eMsiiiie L ."lilt' ly it')Out t'. ^ ii^-iC . '
t'.(*ir owii -j.s o?:(l tl f^<0 )f < ' St l->j'.-'' . v " . v
lio l'C>1 in. TiL-:l (<r iL.' V^n' ■ ;
ir-^ i'.ulv«\s " (iiinil.'nip^a^a - '^''''y -*i ,.''^ :
i-race^ a-l tlr^, iir -ate diotri:'!-) ii. ■ ,- t, ! ...
{ "^ tlie loTtV M^aiit i'^rdon-I]*:! ']•_• \
of V. liich snrAv i-^ . -i p<.'^.i. ^Vc
v.e trnve^llc.l throng, '"■'-y^ro, of tl i
wliic^i lay :ioit!)-\V'M ' from A\'. -
Ui-yr-rj; but tl»e dii<a ' :^ »'- o ;
do^f'i'i^e it exact V. It 1 to ;
and IJuriLd cone ai oiit li. r ir>,«'"'^--
A^'C'')r liiiiT to So'cajiij'-ii, . :tai ■
a !^eric^ of tcira.^os li'oin a '
fal^r^ ] Ivi'C.;': clovn ^*'s sie^ • ! '
v.-:i::ily ^Tf*-'pi ] ia llic a- •
The k:T.c:, Xy-il^a. v-tli ]/> •
f; Miilios, li\e (l\.'iTi;r v ',.}-*•
ti;'. nunintain, \\\r1i aj>; ' ■
tl /i^ l;^'o an ext". ct cia •
as a lM'!i(r,v s; rro'jnd 1 ' .
ciiilain.^ a ^trrdl loim'""' i
rises a l(»f:y c)!unniar n
pnow f-C'iaoTitly falls, 'i
are tL'oicly jXT'idat^M!, ]••]* •
tl t* ccairri-- • ^* .(^ ^!:dl (-f
d "idrd b} t' e AVa<j-iM ■'U
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.t
- t
Kit
^35
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THE WHITE PEOPLE OF GAMBABAGABA. 427
appeared to consist entirely of milk. The features of 1875.
these people, besides their complexion, were so regular ^^•<'^**«'-
and remarkable that my curiosity was aroused to the ^'*"*^
highest pitch concerning them. I bad seen stray
representatives of these people at the court of Mtesa,
but I had not the opportunity then that I had now to
enquire definitely about them. I here set down, as T
was told, what I gathered respecting them, both from
their own lips and those of Colonel Sekajugu, who was
the best informed of the Waganda.
These light-complexioned, regular-featured people
are natives of Gambaragara — a country situated
between Usongora and Unyoro. Gambaragara em-
braces all the immediate districts neighbouring the base
of the lofty Mount Gordon-Bennett, upon the summit
of which snow is often seen. We caught a view, as
we travelled through Unyoro, of this lofty mountain,
which lay north-westerly from Western Benga, in
Unyoro; but the distance was too great for me to
describe it exactly. It appeared to be an enormous
and blunted cone about 14,000 or 15,000 feet high.
According to Sekajugu, the mountain springs up in
a series of terraces from a level plain ; numerous water-
falls plunge down its steep slope?, and two days are
usually occupied in the asgent to the highest summit.
The king, Ny-ika, with his principal chiefs and their
families, live during war-time on the highest part of
the mountain, which appears to be, from report, some-
thing like an extinct crater. They described it to me
as a hollow surrounded by high walls of rock, which
contains a small round lake, from the centre of which
rises a lofty columnar rock. It is very cold there, and
snow frequently falls. The slopes, base, and summit
are thickly populated, but though powerful in numbers,
the courage and skill of the people in war are much
derided by the Waganda, who speak of them as pre-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
428 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. fcrring to take refuge in caves, and on the summits of
Dt«mb«r. j^ijuQgt inaccessible rocks, to venturing into the open
for a fair fight.
Though probably inferior in courage to the Wa-
gan3a, they must have distinguished themselves in war
at one time, otherwise I cannot account for the brave
and warlike people of Usongora being the subjects of
Ny-ika, king of (Jambaragara.
This king possesses several villages in different parts
of the mountain, and appears to move from one to
another, as his numerous herds of cattle become stinted
in their pasture. Milk being the principal diet of these
people, it may be supposed that cattle are abundant in
Gambaragara and Usongora. The Katekiro of Uganda
in his great raid on this region is said to have collected
"50,000** head of cattle. General Sambuzi accom-
panied him during that famous time, and has often
amused my leisure hours with lively descriptions of his
adventures.
The people are a peculiarly formed race. At one
time they are said to have been all white, and to have
emigrated from Northern Unyoro, but at the present
time the black and light-complexioned are about equal
in numbers. The blacks are the result of successive
wars during ancient times and intermarriages between
the captors and captives, the result being a singularly
long-limbed and slender-bodied people. The royal
family and the chiefs' families continue to preserve their
exclusiveness, and hence it is that the original colour
of the founders of the state has been preserved. The
women are said to be singularly beautiful ; I have seen
several of them, and though I would not call them
beautiful, as we understand the term in Europe and
America, they are superior to any women I have seen
in Africa, and have nothing in common with negroes
except the hair. They are said also to be entrusted
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
WAB MU8IG. 429
with the keeping of the charms of Kabba Rega, and to i876.
be endowed by hereditary riffht with the privilege of ''f'^"*^ ^•
priests of the Muzimu of Unyoro.
To my disappointment I heard of nothing that would
lead me to suppose they were superior to their less
favoured neighbours in manners or customs or their
ways and means of life.
On New Year's Day, 1876, the exploring army,
nearly 2800 strong, filed out from under the plantain
shades of Kawanga, each detachment under the flag of
its respective leader, and each known by the particular
style of music adopted by the great chief to whom it
owed martial service. Thus Sambuzi's own force could
be distinguished at a great distance by a peculiar strain,
which, as the Waganda explained, announced, '*Mta-U8a,
Mta-usa is coming!" or, "The Spoiler, the Spoiler is
coming ! *' Lukoma's bands of music in the same way
rang out, " Mkoma, Lukoma is near ! " " Look out
for Lukoma ! " Sekajugu's name, on the other hand,
appeared after the style of ding-dong-bell, or drawn
out into " Se-ka-ju-gu, Sekajugu 1 **
On emerging from under the shelter of our plan-
tain-embowered camp, we were drawn up in a long
line along the narrow road. Sekajugu was appointed
to take the advance, Lukoma the rear, Sambuzi and
the Anglo-American Expedition the centre, while the
smaller detachments, under Colonels Ngezi, Mrowla,
and Kurji, took positions on the right and left, to keep
the main column undisturbed by ambuscades. There
was no time lost in these arrangements, and at sunrise
the great drum of Sambuzi gave the signal for the
march. At noon we occupied a deserted camp, known
as the Salt Bunder, on the Nabutari river, which
separated Unyoro from Uganda. The heights on the
opposite side were observed to be manned by many
Wanyoro.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
430 THROUan THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. With the eastern bank of the Nabutari, or Nabwari,
jMomry 2. j^y^j. terminated the soft pastoral scenes among which
°^*^' our route had lain ever since leaving Dumo, on Lake
Victoria, for from the western bank began a more
rugged country, which, as we proceeded westward,
daily assumed a more mountainous character. The
country resolved itself into mountain masses of great
altitude — bare and serrated hilly ridges, isolated
craggy hills, separated by a rolling country, whose
surface often presented great sheets of ironstone rock,
mixed with fragments of granite. Each day's march
presented two or three mountains of unusual height,
which, dwarfing all others, became of great service
to us in taking bearings and laying down a correct
route.
On the 2nd January we crossed the Nabutari, or
Nabwari, river, and entered hostile Unyoro, and, undis-
turbed, made a march of ten miles, occupying at the end
of it several villages in Southern Ruoko, Unyoro. Had
we not been informed of the change, we should have
recognized at once the fact that we had entered into a
new country, by the difference in the construction of
the huts, and in the vegetables which formed the
principal subsistence of the natives. While in Uganda
bananas formed our principal food — and very good,
wholesome, and digestible they proved — throughout
Unyoro our diet consisted of sweet potatoes and salt,
varied with such other vegetables as foraging could
obtain.
It was an amusing scene to see the haste with which
the several detachments rushed about to dig up their
rations. It appeared at first glance as if we had
brought the exploring army to recultivate Unyoro,
so thickly strewn and so busy were the diggers over
the village fields. The digging was continued until
sunset, and such quantities of potatoes came to camp
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
SINISTER AUGURIES. 431
that I fancied something like a desire to plunder the i876.
Wunyoro animated our people. ^^^^
In the meantime our advance was unchecked, and
our occupation of Southern Ruoko unmolested ; Sambuzi
and Sekajugu drew from this sinister auguries. " The
Wanyoro," said they, " must be mustering elsewhere to
oppose us ; for usually, when we make a raid on this
country, the natives hail us from the hill-tops, to learn
the motive of our coming ; but now the country is all
silent and deserted ; not one native can be seen." They
therefore determined to send out spies in all directions,
to ascertain the feeling of the natives respecting our
strange invasion of their country ; and in order to give
time to obtain correct information, a halt was ordered
for the next day.
On the 5th January the various musical bands and
war-drums announced another march. The Waganda
beirjg unencumbered with baggage, except such bed-
ding, mats, and superfluous robes as their women car-
ried, marched quickly, and tasked the heavily loaded
Expedition greatly; but my people did not fail me;
they had long ago been thoroughly drilled for such
occasions as the present, and they kept step and pace
with the lightly equipped Waganda. The men who
carried the boat-sections and canoe raced like horses,
and arrived soon after the advanced-guard at camp.
Traversing the district of South Ruoko, we plunged
into an uninhabited tract of mountain country, and,
after a march of eleven miles, camped at Kazinga, in
Eastern Benga.
The next day we crossed the Katonga, for our course
was now westerly, and occupied Western Benga, from
the summit of a tall hill in which we obtained a faint
view of an enormous blue mass afar off, which we were
told was the Great Mountain, in the country of Gara-
baragara. I named it Gordon-Bennett, in honour of
my American chief.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
432 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
i87«. Our foragers here obtained for the first time a sight
jMiiury 7. ^^^ hearing of some natives, who shouted out that we
"^ might proceed without fear, though they doubted our
ability to return, unless wo took wings like birds and
flew aloft. Some hiding-places of the natives were also
discovered by accident amongst the tall grass beyond
the fields. A little way from the village we found many
deep pits, with small circular mouths, which proved, on
examination, to lead by several passages from the mouth
of the pit to more roomy excavations, like so many
apartments. These underground dwellings are nume-
rous in Southern Unyoro.
After a march of sixteen miles through a wild
country, we camped, on the 8th January, on the east
bank of the Mpanga river. This stream takes its rise
near the base of Mount Gordon-Bennett, and, flowing a
few miles to the east of the lofty hump of Mount Edwin
Arnold, is met by the Rusango river, flowing north-
west from Mount Lawson, in the district of Kibanga, in
Ankori ; the two streams then, united, rush with im-
petuous force a little north of west, and, after several
falls, plunge into Beatrice Gulf. Mount Edwin Arnold,
of an altitude of some 9000 feet above the sea, stood
west of our camp, on the Mpanga, at the distance of
six miles.
We had now left Unyoro proper and entered Ankori,
or Usagara. An old dilapidated wooden enclosure
denoted that this extreme corner of Ankori was some-
times visited by Wasagara herdsmen for the sake of
pasture.
The average altitude of our several camps since
leaving the Victoria Lake did not exceed 4600 feet ; but
as we drew west, the nights were bitterly cold. On the
night of the 7th the thermometer fell to 53° Fahr., and
on the night of the 8th to 55° Fahr., this cold tempera-
ture being, no doubt, caused by night winds fromGt)rdon-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MOUNT EDWIN ARNOLD.
433
Bennett mountain. Fogs, rivalling the famed November
fogs in London, prevailed as a rule every morning,
rendering the earlier part of each day damp, disagree-
able, and cheerless. It was so thick that a man's form
could not be seen at the distance of fifty yards, and
horns and drums alone guided us on our march. During
the afternoons the atmosphere slightly cleared, and the
sun, struggling in the western skies from behind deep
1876.
January 8
Ankori.
^^
MODNT EDWIN ABNOLD.
banks of sullen clouds, endeavoured to announce to us
that the day was far spent.
On the 9th January 1876 the drums sounded for
the march two hours before sunrise, for we had a long
journey before us, and TJzimba, the country of chief
Ruigi, was to be entered on this day.
Until daylight we journeyed along, or not far from,
the Rusango, its many falls, rapids, and cascades telling
of the rapid rush and furious plunge of the river to-
wards Muta Nzig(\ Dawn found us in a singularly
wild and beautifully picturesque country, the Switzer-
land of Africa.
VOL. I.— 28
Digitized by LjOOQ IC
434 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. Peaks, cones, mountain humps, and dome-like hills
^uri*^^ shot up in every direction, while ice-cold streams rolled
between riven and dismantled rocks, or escaped be-
neath natural bridges of rock, with furious roar. These
gritty sandstone obstructions to the Rusango s waters
presented most distorted and eccentric forms, appear-
ing often like masses of scoriae. The traces of some
agency, which long ago had convulsed this region, were
visible in what appeared to be the wreck of mountains.
The strata were perpendicular, seams of white quartz
travelled along the lay of the strata in some places, and
in others it appeared to have been encased in round
moulds, which the impetuous waters, with their ceaseless
wear and tear, had worn through, sweeping away the
quartz, and leaving large hollows, cavities, and fissures
in the sandstone. A small tributary of the* Rusango
from the south ran over a bed of polished basalt, which
likewise contained large veins of quartz.
Soon after noon the main column arrived at the
centre of a dip in the Uzimba ridge, 5600 feet above
the sea, whence, far below us, we viewed the fields,
gardens, and villages of the populous country of King
Ruigi. But the sudde^ advance of the vanguard
amongst the surprised natives, with banners flying and
drums beating, had depopulated for the time the fair,
smiling country, and left a clear, open road for the main
body. Had the natives known of our approach, they
might have reaped a rich harvest of revenge amongst
the laggards in the rear, for the long march of nineteen
miles had irremediably dissolved the hitherto compact
Expedition into small knots of dispirited and tired
stragglers. One fellow, named Andrew, of the British
Mission at Zanzibar, had thrown his load down, and
plunged into the bushes to sleep his weariness ofi^, and
a rescue party of twenty men had to be sent back five
miles from camp to hunt up news of him, and they.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A COW ABBS' COUNCIL OF WAR. 435
fortunately, saved him, though menaced by a band of i876.
natives. Some sick Waganda fell victims in the even- ^^^^^J'
ing to the wrath of a roving party of the natives, who
had been disturbed in mind by our presence.
Our descent into the fields of Uzimba was so un-
expected that the inhabitants were utterly ignorant of
our character and country. As they ran away, they
asked the advance guard why the king of Ankori had
sent his people to their country, and warned them that
the next day they would come to fight. At night,
however, the great war-drum of General Sambuzi re-
vealed far and wide the character of the force, and
announced that the Waganda were amongst them.
A council of all the chiefs and leaders of our Expedi-
tion was held next day, at which it was resolved to
send out that night 200 men to capture a few prisoners,
through whom we could communicate our intentions to
Ruigi of Uzimba, and Kasheshe, king of Unyampaka,
which country bordered the lake west of Uzimba. As
the lake was only four miles distant, it became necessary
to know how we were regarded by the natives, and
whether we might expect peaceful possession of a camp
for a month or so.
Some ten prisoners were captured, and, after re-
ceiving gifts of cloth and beads, were released, to
convey the news to their respective chiefs that the
Waganda had brought a white man, who wished to see
the lake, and who asked permission to reside in peace
in the country a few days; that the white mah in-
tended to pay for all food consumed by the strangers ;
that he would occupy no village, and injure no property,
but would build his camp separate from the villages^
into which the natives, having food to sell, were re-
quested to bring it, and to receive payment in cloth,
beads, brass, or copper, assured that, so long as they
oflFered no cause, and kept the peace, they should receive
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Jam 11
Uximba.
436 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
i87fl. no annoyance. An answer, we said, was expected
within two days.
On the 11th January we left the villages of
Uzimba, and marched to within a mile of the edge of
the plateau,* at the base of which, about 1500 feet
below, lay the lake. True to our promise, we occupied
no village, but built our camp on the broad summit of
a low ridge, whence we commanded a clear, open view
of our neighbourhood. The Expedition occupied the
lake end of the ridge, while the Waganda occupied
the centre and eastern end. On the southern and
northern sides the hill sloped down to open grassy
hollows. No trees or other obstructions impeded our
command of the approaches. The Waganda camps
were surrounded by huts, the doors of which turned
outwards, whence night and day the inmates could
observe, without being observed.
The next day an answer was brought that the in-
habitants were not accustomed to strangers, and did not
like our coming into their country ; that Uzimba and
Unyampaka belonged to Unyoro ; that as the king of
Unyoro was fighting with white men, how could the
white man come behind him and expect peace ? that our
words were good, but our purposes, they were assured,
were none the less wicked ; and that we must, therefore,
expect war on the morrow.
This answer was brought by about 300 natives, who,
while they delivered their message, were observed to
have taken precautions not to be caught at a disadvan-
tage. Having announced their object, they withdrew
in the direction of Mount Uzimba.
This declaration of war unsettled the nerves of the
Waganda chiefs, principally the inferior chiefs and
the bodyguards of Mtesa, and a stormy meeting was the
* Our camp by boiling-point was at an altitude of 4724 feet above
the sea.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
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Digitized by VjOOQ IC
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' / •- • :s V ^--' i: T ^ ; , ^-.: v^-., 1 . .,
(v.y I" , -'^ : ' --V" ' .' I •• 'V- ; •! .; .^ +' ^^^
^'. ' ' i' !i« '1 * T !• " .■'*-!; o ' ! ,p ■ - .' Ml :, '
ill' 'I'^iv-t
•f\- -r
= M .tc :i''^i" "11 -i' V .r>t U :
: iS (t"' i;' •••! '' I.' ^* ;\r .'V^ - -T.' i ' ; • Ti-.T'. <
;■ >^ (
t.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Digitized by LjOOQ IC ^
438 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. result. Sabadu and Bugomba, the brother of the
^iT-^ Premier, used their utmost eloquence to persuade
Sambuzi to return ; while Sekajugu and Lukoma cun-
ningly held out strong reasons why they should return
immediately. At the same time they said they were
quite willing to stay by Sambuzi to the death.
The danger of a panic was imminent, when I begged
that Sambuzi would listen to a few words from me. I
explained to him that, though we were only a bullet's
flight from the Nyanza, we had not yet seen the lake, and
that Mtesa had ordered him to take me to the Nyanza ;
that, before we had even looked for a strong camp, we
were talking of returning ; that, if they were all resolved
to return, I required them to give me two days only, at
the end of which I would give them a letter to Mtesa,
which would absolve them from all blame ; that, in the
meantime, five hundred of the Waganda and fifty of my
people should be sent out to select a path to the lake
by which the boat, canoe, and loads could be let down
the plateau wall without injury, and to endeavoiu*
to discover, on their arrival at the lake, whether
canoes were procurable, to embark the expedition.
This advice pleased the chiefs; and, as no time was to
be lost, at 8 a.m. five hundred Waganda and fifty of
our Expedition were sent, under Lukoma and Manwa
Sera, my captain, to the lake, with instructions to pro-
ceed cautiously, and by no means to alarm the natives
of the lake shore. I also led a party of fifty men to
explore the plateau edge for a feasible and safe descent
to the lake. The lake lay below us like a vast mirror,
tranquil and blue, except along the shore, which was
marked with a thin line of sputtering surf. The op-
posite coast was the high ridge of Usongora, which
1 should judge to be about fifteen miles distant, though
the atmosphere was not very clear. Usongora bounds
Beatrice Gulf westward.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
PANIC IN THE CAMP. 439
At noon Lukoma and Manwa Sera returned from the i87«.
lake, and reported that it would be a difficult job to ^"j"^*
lower the boat down the precipice of 50 feet, which
marked the first descent to the lake, without long and
strong ropes ; that the natives in passing up from the
salt market, on the lake hoisted their salt-bags, well
wrapped in bull-hides, up the precipice ; that no man
could either descend or ascend with a load on his back, as
he required the use of both his hands for the climbing.
They also reported that they could only find five small
fishing canoes, which would be perfectly useless for the
transport of men or goods on the lake. Great stores of
salt had been seen, which had come from Usongora,
and abundance of Indian corn, millet, sweet potatoes,
bananas, and sugarcane had also been seen on the lake
shore.
This unwelcome news infused a fever in the minds
of the Waganda to be gone on the instant. Large
numbers of natives, posted on the summit of every hill
around us, added to the fear which took possession of
the minds of the Waganda, and rumours were spread
about by malicious men of an enormous force ad-
vancing from the south for the next day's fight. This
urged the Waganda to pack up large stores of sweet
potatoes for their return journey through the wilder-
ness of Ankori. The members of the Expedition
even caught the panic, and prepared in silence to
follow the Waganda, as common-sense informed them
that, if a force of over 2000 fighting men did not
consider itself strong enough to maintain its position,
our Expedition consisting of 180 men could by no
means do so. They were observed openly preparing
for flight, before any commnnds had been issued to
that effect, or even the alternative had been discussed.
Others wandered off to mix with gadding crowds of
Waganda, well disposed in mind to participate in their '
fears.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Uzimba.
440 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. The Wang wana captains of the Ex pedition, extremely
!t!wI! ^^pr^ssed in spirit, came to me in the afternoon, and
requested to know what I had determined upon. I in-
formed them that I hoped to be able to bribe Sambuzi
with one-fourth of the entire property of the Expedition
to stay by us two days, during which time I hoped to be
able to lower the boat and canoe down the cliffs, and
launch them on the Nyanza, by which I could free sixty
soldiers from encumbrances, to act as guard for the land
party. The boat and canoe would follow the coast line,
to act as auxiliaries to the land party, in case of attack, or
to transport them across rivers, until we should arrive in
the neighbourhood of some uninhabited island, to which
place of safety the Expedition might be conveyed, until
exploration should discover more peaceable lands or
other means of prosecuting our journey. The captains
approved this method of meeting the danger which
threatened us.
At 5 P.M. a messenger from Sambuzi called me to a
council, at wliich all of his chief men were present, to
discuss what advantages we possessed for offence and
defence, for meeting the danger, or for flight. Sabadu,
the captain of the detachment of Mtesa*8 bodyguard
with us, was called upon to speak, which he did with
all the cowardly malice of a Thersites. Every hint
that could damp a virtuous resolution to obey Mtesa's
commands was thrown out with all the effect that
his position as chief of the bodyguard and his sup-
posed influence with the Emperor lent his opinions,
and he confidently assumed the power to charm away
the anger of his dread master, and turn it upon the head
of Kabba Rega, the king of Unyoro. Bugomba, tbe
brother of the Premier of Uganda, though only a lad of
sixteen, having far more influence in this council, and
far more ability than would possibly be believed by
Europeans, seconded Sabadu in an assmned humble
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE WAQANDA DECIDE TO DESERT MK 441
voice, and what Sabadu had neglected to urge youthfdl i87«.
Bugomba, the Emperor*8 page, adroitly threw in, and ^^^l^
thus clenched the argument for absolute and immediate
flight
The council heard him with great approval, and many
were of the opinion that it would be best to fly at once,
without waiting for night or for morning. Lukoma
and Sekajugu, the colonels under Sambuzi, gravely
besought Sambuzi to think well of the numbers that
would certainly oppose us in the battle next day ; to
remember that we were far from assistance, if over-
come ; that all the advantages of war were on the side
of the enemy. The enemy would fight on his own soil,
and mindful that he was fighting for his own home.
If repulsed the first day, the enemy would come
again in greater numbers than ever, and each day, as
the bruit of war sliould spread and time gained, the
whole strength of Unyoro, a country as large as
Uganda', would be drawn to dislodge and massacre us.
However, Sambuzi was their general and chief, and if
he thought it best to stand by ** Stamlee," they would
stand by their chief to the death.
Sambuzi then asked me to speak. Wi-ath almost
choked my speech, for I felt bitterly angry that I should
be asked to speak when they were all so resolved to
act contrary to the object and purpose of the journey
that even fear of the Emperor was not sufficient to
induce them to stay, and that a chief like Sambuzi,
of snch experience and acknowledged bravery, should
stoop to listen to boys like Bugomba and such men as
Sabadu. However, I summoned up my patience, and
said : " I do norsee much use in my saying anything,
because I know you will act against all advice I can
give ; but, that you may not blame me for not giving
the advice, and pointing out the danger you run into
in returning, I will speak. You, Sambuzi, at Laugurwe,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
442 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENl.
1876. told me you were not a child, but a man. If you are a
tr^Z.' ™^^> ^^^ comes it that you allow a boy like Bugomba,
whose fears have run away with his wits, to speak in a
council of tried warriors such as I see here ? Do you
think that Bugomba can save your head when the
Emperor hears of your cowardly flight ? No ; that
boy's love, which he professes to have for you, will fly
when he sees the frown on Mtesa's face. Will the
Katekiro stand by you because you love his brother
Bugomba ? No ; the Premier will scourge Bugomba,
and be the first to slay you. If you are a man and a
chief, why is it that you listen to this slave Sabadu,
who no more dares approach the footstool of Mt^sa
than he would dare meet the Wanyoro to-morrow in
battle? Is Sabadu the cliief and general of the
Waganda, or is it Sarabuzi, the chief who fought so
well at Uvuma ? If your chiefs, Lukoma and Sekajugu,
advise you to run away, you do wrong to listen to them,
for it is not they whom Mtesa will punish, but you. I
therefore, as your friend, advise you to stay here two
days, while I fix the boat and canoe. At the end of
two days I will write a letter to Mtesa, which will
absolve you froui all blame ; and if you so far concede
to me two days, I will give one-fourth of my moneys —
nay, I will give one-half of all beads, wire, and cloth I
have to you, with which you may reward yourself and
your friends. Be not afraid of the Wanyoro ; to-night
we can build a palisade so strong that, were Kabba
Rega himself here, he could do nothing against us.
There is no great danger in staying a couple of days,
but in returning to Uganda without my letter you go
to certain death, I have spoken."
After a little pause, during which he interchanged
some remarks with his people, Sambuzi said : " Stamlee,
you are my friend, the Emperor's friend, and a son of
Uganda, and I want to do my duty towards you as
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE WAG AND A BEAR MY OPINION OF THEM. 443
well as I am able to; but you must hear the truth, isre.
We cannot do what you want us to do. We cannot *^""*^-
wait here two days, nor one day. We shall fight to-
morrow, that is certain ; and if you think I speak from
fear, you shall see me handle the spear. These people
know me from past times, and they are well aware
that my spear is sharp and fatal. We shall fight to-
morrow at sunrise, and we must cut our way through
tlie Wanyoro to Uganda. We cannot fight and con-
tinue in camp ; for, once the war is begun, it is war
which will last as long as we are alive — for these
people take no slaves as the Waganda do. Then the
only chance for our lives that I see is to pack up
to-night, and to-morrow morning at sunrise to march
and fight our way through them. Now tell me as your
friend what you will do. Will you stop here, or go
with us, and try another road ? For I must tell you,
if you do not know it and see it for yourself, that you
will never put your boat and the canoe on the Nyanza
at this place. How can you get your boat down the
cliffs while you are fighting, and thousands pressing
round you ? Even if you reach the water's edge, how
can you work on her two days, and fight ? "
To his questions I replied : — " I knew what your
decision would be from what the Waganda have done
on former occasions. When Mngassa was sent with
me to Usukuma by the lake, he ran away and left me
to fight Bumbireh alone. When the Wnganda were
sent with Abdul Assiz Bey (M. Linant de Bellefonds)
to Gondokoro, they followed him as far as Unj^oro, and
when they saw the Wanyoro coming, they deserted
him, and stole nearly all his boxes, and Abdul Assiz
Bey had to fight his way to Gondokoro alone. We
white men will soon learn that there is no man so
cowardly as a native of U,2^anda. For your advice I
thank you; to-night I will give you my answer."
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
444 THBOUOB THE DARK CONTINENT.
1870. As soon as I left the counci], Sambuzi caused the
^r'**^* great war-drum to be sounded for the morrow's march
and expected battle. It also announced to the anxious
members of tlie Expedition that the Waganda had
resolved to return. On arriving at camp, I saw looks
of dismay on each face. I called Pocock and the
captains of the Expedition, and proceeded to unfold our
position and Sambuzi's intention to return, described
to them what dangers environed us, and what hopes
were left, and then asked them to give their own
opinion of the matter freely.
After a long hesitation and silence the gallant and
ever faithful Kacheehe spoke, and said : — " Master, I do
not know what ray brothers here think of the matter,
but I see plainly that we have been brought to the
edge of a deep pit, and that the Waganda will push us
into it if we do not follow them. For my part, I have
nothing further to say, except that I will do exactly as
you command. Live or die, all is one to me. If you
say, let us go on, and leave the Waganda to return
without us, I say so also ; if you say, return, I also say,
return. That is my opinion. But I would like to ask
you, if we determine to go on by ourselves, have we
any chance at all of being able to start from this camp,
because I see we are surrounded by natives bent on
war ? If all these Waganda with our help are not able
to make our position good, how can such a small party
as we are hope to do so ? This is what is in my heart,
and what I believe is the cause of the panic in the
Expedition. And I will tell you one thing: when
Sambuzi beats the drum to-morrow to march, more
than half of this Expedition will follow him, and you
cannot prevent it."
" Well," I replied, " this is my decision. I was sent
to explore this lake. When I started from Usukuma,
I doubted if I could do it unaided by Waganda,
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OUR FLIGHT. 445
because there are no people on this lake friendly to i876.
strangers; it was for this reason I requested Mtesa *^*^^"y
to lend me so large a body of men. As no friendly
port could be found where you might rest while I
navigated the lake in my boat, I thought of taking
possession of a port for a month or two and holding it
The force I relied on now fails me, and the people are
hostile; it therefore only remains for me to return
with Sambuzi, and to try the lake by another road.
If no other road can be found, we must even be con-
tent with what we have done."
The Wjmgwana outside heard the decision with joy,
and shouted, " Please G-od, we shall find another road,
and the next time we go on work of this kind we will
do it without Waganda."
Sambuzi was made acquainted with our resolution,
and requested to send twenty men to assist our wearied
men to carry the goods back to Uganda. At dawn
we mustered our forces, and with more form and in
better order than we had entered Unyampaka, prepared
to quit our camp on the cliflFs of Muta Nzige. A
thousand spearmen with shields formed the advanced-
guard, and a thousand spearmen and thirty picked
Wangwana with shields composed the rear-guard.
The goods and Expedition occupied the centre. The
drums and fifes and musical bands announced the
signal for the march.
The natives, whom we expected would have attacked
us, contented themselves with following us at a respect-
ful distance until we were clear of Uzimba, when, per-
ceiving that our form of march was too compact for
attack, they permitted us to depart in peace.
Our return route was to the southward of that by
which we had entered the lake-land of Uzimba. It
penetrated Ankori, and our camp that day was made at
4 p.m. on the banks of the Rusango river.
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.Tan. 15.
t'nyorow
446 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. On the morning of the 15th, after crossing a low
ridge, two miles in width, we crossed the Katonga
coming from the north-west, and entered TJnyoro once
more. Our Expedition was the rear-guard this day,
and when within a few miles of Kazinga, in Benga, a
furious attack was made on our rear from an ambuscade,
which was in a short time repulsed without loss to us.
On the 27th we were encamped at Kisossi, in
Uganda, a little east of where Sambuzi had joined us
with his force. At this camp we parted ; Sambuzi, or
Mta-usa, the Spoiler, to his own land close by, I to what
fortune, or misfortune, had still reserved in store for
me and mine. The ^^ Spoiler" made his cognomen
good, for on the road from the lake he despoiled me of
180 lbs. of variously assorted beads, by failing to return
three loads of l^eads given him for carriage to Uganda,
thus adding another reason to my dissatisfaction with
him.
I halted at Kisossi three days to give the Expedition
a little of that rest they so well deserved. During this
time I despatched Kacheche and two others with a
letter to Mtesa, wherein I did not fail to report to him
of the failure of Sambuzi to perform what he had
promised me, of his theft of three bags of beads, and of
the strange conduct of Sabadu and Bugomba.
The effect of my letter on Mtesa and his court, Kache-
che informed me a few days later, when he overtook us
at Charugawa, was one of shame, surprise, and rage.
Kachechfe was called to the Burzah, and told to repeat
in a loud voice all that had happened between Sambuzi
and myself since we had met at Laugurwe, while
Mtesa and his chiefs listened intently, the recital broken
by violent exclamations and ominous ejaculations from
the Emperor.
When Kacheche had ended, Mtesa said, " Do you see
now how I am shamed by my people ? This is the third
Digitizi
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^THE 8F0ILER'' EATEN UP. 447
time I have been made to break my word to white i876.
men. But, by the grave of Suna *' (a strong oath in ^°^!J*
Uganda), " my father, I will teach Sambuzi, and all of
you, that you cannot mock Kabaka ! Stamlee went to
this lake for my good as well as for his own, but you
see how I am tliwarted by a base slave like Sambuzi,
who undertakes to be more than I myself before my
guest. When was it I dared to be so uncivil to my
guest as this fellow has been to Stamlee? You,
Saruti," he said suddenly to the chief of his body-
guard, " take warriors, and eat up Sambuzi's country
clean, and bring him chained to me."
Saruti prostrated himself, and swore he would eat
the " Spoiler's " land clean, and become the " Spoiler "
himself, and that Sambuzi should be brought to him
chained like a slave. Yet let it be noted here that
Saruti and Sambuzi were as loving at the Nakaranga
Cape camp as two sworn brothers.
" And you, Katekiro," said Mtesa, turning his glow-
ing eyes on bim, "how is it that your brother Bugomba
— a mere little boy — plays the great man on duty?
Tell me whence he obtained this * big head ' of his ? "
" My lord" ('• Mkama ange"), " Bugomba is a child,
and deserves a rod for this conduct, and I myself will
see that he suffers for it."
** Very well, send for Bugomba, and that long-
tongued Sabadu, and bring them to me at once, and
I will see that they never use their tongues against a
guest of mine ngain."
"Now, Kacheche," said Mtesa, **what is Stamlee
going to do now ? Do you suppose that, if I give him
100,000 men, under Sekebobo and Mkwenda, that he
will be induced to try the lake Muta Nzige again ? '*
" He may, Kabaka, but I do not think he will believe
the Waganda again, for this is twice they have deceived
him. Magassa ran away, and Sambuzi ran away, and
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448 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1870. be, perhaps, will say Sekebobo will do the same. The
Februiry. ^aganda are very good before yon, Kabaka, but when
^*" away from you they forget your commands, and steal
people, cattle, and goats," said plain-spoken Kachech^.
Sekel)obo aud Mkwenda sprang to their feet before
the Emperor, and said loudly, ** Nay, let us go, Kabaka,
and we will cut through the heart of Kabba Bega of
Unyoro, or through Mtambuko, king of Ankori, to the
Muta Nzige, and all the nations round about shall not
drive us back ! "
" It is well," said the Emperor. " Now you, Dalling-
ton," said he to the English mission pupil left at his
courts ** write a letter to Standee. Tell him to come to
the Katouga once again, and Sekebobo and Mkwenda
with 60,000, even 100,000, shall take him to Muta
Nzige, and stay there until he has finished his work.
Tell him that if these fail him he shall execute his own
pleasure on every chief that returns to Uganda."
At Charugawa, near the Alexandra Nile, I received
Dallington's letter, asking me to return and attempt
the lake once more.* This letter plunged me into
• The following is the epistle verbatim :—
" My dear Sir, H. M. Stanley,
"What meant by his news that we see Sabadu coming without a
letter in time ? He came first. I asked him, ' Where is the letter that you
broufcht ? ' So he answered me, * The letter is my mouth ' ; but I believed
not in his words. Then went I to the Siiltan and told him these things.
Then the Sultan called Sabadu and asked him, 'Where is the letter?'
and he answered, ' There is no letter.' So he send him to Pokino — the
Katekiro ; but I who know in my heart that they been run away from
you. So now he send others people instead of them, and he go to punish
Sambuzi. It is far l)etter for you to waite for Waganda to take you to
Mutanzige, because they see that Sambuzi been punished, and all the
others will ol)ey the word of the king. I, Dallington, the servant of wite
men, I won't toll you lie, but I will tell you the truth. The SiUtan
(Mtesa) is not bad. This letter I write it in a' hurry, and send me two or
three papers to write the last to you.
" Seyyid Mtesa,
" Son of Siiltan Suna of Uganda,
" January 30th, 1876."
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TEMPTED TO BETURN. 449
perplexity, but after long and calm deliberation I i876.
decided that it was not safe to trifle away time in this ^!!?^^**^
manner ; besides, such an undisciplined force would be gawa.
uncontrollable, and would no doubt entail misery on
the people. I was also too far from Muta Nzige now,
and to return for an uncertainty, such as the character
of the Waganda caused me to believe it to be, despite
the protestation and promises of the Emperor, was in
my opinion well deserving a fool's cap. I accordingly
wrote to this effect to Mtesa, and closed the letter
with thanks for his kindness, and a friendly farewell.
Kacheche, on returning from the capital with the
Emperor s letter, met the unfortunate Sambuzi loaded
with chains, and the blunt, plain-spoken soldier, far
from pitying him, could not refrain from taunting him
with, ** Ah, ha, Sambuzi, you are not so fine as you
were a while ago. You are going to Mtesa to play
Kabaka before him ; fare you well, Sambuzi."
Saruti, the " eater," obtained great spoil, for h5 was
now lord over 200 wives and 300 milch-cows, besides a
large, fat district in the Katonga valle}^ well populated
with lusty, industrious peasants and warriors, all of
whom were from henceforth subject to him.
The final farewell letter to Mtesa terminated our
intercourse with the powerful monarch of Uganda, and
concluded our sojourn in that land of bananas and free
entertainment. Henceforth the Expedition should be
governed by one will only, and guided by a single
man, who was resolved not to subject himself or his
time to any other man's caprice, power, or favour
any more.
As we neared the Alexandra Nile, at a place called
Ndongo, this virtuous resolution came near being put
to the test, for the unquiet immigrants settled here pro-
claimed that we should not pass through until we had
paid something to the chief to obtain his good-will.
VOL. I.— 29
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450 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1876. But, after receiving a firm refusal, they permitted us
^I'^^^^T ^ cross the Alexandra Nile without molestation.
Niit. Reports and rumours of the breadth and powerful
current of the river called the " Kagera," the " Kitan-
gule,'* and the " Ingezi/* received from representatives
of Uganda, Kiziwa, and Karagwe, some of whom were
very intelligent natives, and professed a perfect know-
ledge of its course, had created in me a constant desire
to examine the river more carefully than I had pre-
viously done at its exit into Lake Victoria. At the
crossing between bank and bank it was about 450 yards
in width ; but about 350 yards of this breadth flowed
or oozed, with little current, amongst sedge, water-cane,
and papyrus. The remaining 100 yards was a powerful
and deep body of water, with a current of three knots
and a half an hour. The water had a dull iron colour,
yet extremely pure for a large river, and such as might
proceed from some lake at no great distance off.
The Waganda and Wanyambu of Rumanika's court
style this river the " Mother of the River at Jinja "
(Victoria Nile), but the former have very wild ideas
about its source. They say it issues from Muta Nzige
in Mpororo, and, flowing south, cuts Ruanda in halves,
and, rounding Kishakka, runs north, dividing Karagwe
from Ruanda.
Rumanika, king of Karagwe, is no less singular in
his theory of the source of the Alexandra Nile, for
he says it issues from Lake Tanganika, through
Urundi. However, these and sundry other reports only
roused my interest in the noble river, and created a
greater inclination to pursue the subject to its ultimate
end. For a very few soundings of it enabled me, after
my circumnavigation of Lake Victoria, and on examina-
tion of the several streams emptying into it, to judge
this to be the principal affluent and feeder of the lake.
A journey of fourteen miles southerly across the
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462 TEBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
i87«. valley of the Alexandra from its southern bank brought
'•^^ us to the base of the lofty ranges of Karagwe.
This country comprises all the mountainous ridges
between Usongora on the east and the Alexandra
Nile to the west. It appears as if at a distant epoch
these ridges had been connected with the uplands of
Koki and Ankori north, and Ruganda west, but that,
as Lake Victoria had channelled a way for its outlet
through the clays and shale of Usoga and Uganda, and its
altitude above the sea had subsided, the furious current
of the Kagera or Alexandra had chanuelled a deeper
course through the heart of what was formerly a lofty
plateau, and that its thousands of petty tributaries then
rushed do\vn into the deep depression formed by it.
On the 24th February we were camped at Naka-
hanga, a village situated twelve miles west of south of
Kiyanga, and the next day, after a march of thirteen
miles, we entered the Arab depot of Kafurro, in
Karagw^,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE MAGNATES OF KAFUBBO. 453
Feb. 25.
Eafturro.
CHAPTER XVII.
Eafnrro and its magnates — Lake Windermere — Bmmuuka, the gentle
king of Karagw6 — His conntry — The Ingezi — Among the mosqui-
toes — Ihema Island — The triple cone of Ufumbiro — Donble-horned
rhinoceros — The hot springs of Mtagata — The Geographical Society
of Karagw6 — The philosophy of noses — Rumanika's thesauron —
Some new facts about the rhinoceros and elephant -^ Uhimba —
Paganus, var. esuriens — Retrospect
Kafurro owes its importance to being a settlement of i876.
two or three rich Arab traders, Haraed Ibrahim, Sayid
bin Sayf, and Sayid the Muscati. It is situated within
a deep hollow or valley fully 1200 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
150 cattle, bullocks, and milch cows, forty goats, 100
slaves, and 450 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 has a number of concubines, and several
children. He is a fine, gentlemanly-looking Arab, of a
light complexion, generous and hospitable to friends,
liberal to his slaves, and kind to his women. He has
lived eighteen years in Africa, twelve of which have
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Feb. 26,
Kafarro.
454 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876.^ been spent in Karagw^. 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 Unyanyemb^ and Kafiirro.
Having lived so long in Karagwe, he is friendly with
Rumanika, who, like Mtesa, loves to attract strangers to
his court.
Hamed has endeavoured 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 eflFect their escape from the treachery and extra-
ordinary guile practised there. Ne^arly all perished by
poison.
He informed me that the Empress was a tall woman
of middle age, of an almost light Arab complexion, with
very large brilliant eyes. Her son, the prince, a boy
of about eighteen, had some years ago committed
suicide by drinking a poisonous potion, because his
mother had cast some sharp cutting reproaches upon
him, which had so wounded his sensitive spirit that,
he said, " nothing but death would relieve him."
Hamed is of the belief that these members of the
imperial family are descendants of some light-coloured
people to the north, possibly Arabs ; " for how," asked
he, "could the king of Kishakka possess an Arab
scimitar, which is a venerated heir-loom of the royal
family, and the sword of the founder of that king-
dom?"
" All these people," said he, " about here are as
different from the ordinary Washensi — pagans — ^as I
am different from them. I would as soon marry a
woman of Ruanda as I would a female of Muscat.
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. Mashallah !
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Feb. 28.
Kafurra
LAKE WINDERMERE. 455
they have taken Kishakka, Muvari, and have lately con- istg
quered 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 m 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."
Hnmed 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 Nyangw^.
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 Karagwe, and a tributary of
Mtesa, Emperor of Uganda.
Kafurro, according to aneroid, 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 600 feet below us was
a grassy terrace overlooking the small Windermere
Lake, 1000 feet below, its placid surface rivalling
in colour the azure of the cloudless heaven. Across
a narrow ridge we looked upon the broad and papyrus-
covered valley of the Alexandra, whilst many fair, blue
lakelets north and south, connected by the winding
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
456 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. 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 north-west, 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.
At the northern end of the Windermerp Lake, an
irregular range, which extends north to Ugoi,
terminates in the dome-like Mount Isossi. South of
where I stood, and about a mile distant, was the bold
mount of Kazwiro, and about thirty miles beyond it
I could see the irregular and confused masses of the
Kishakka mountains.
On the grassy terrace below us was situated Ru-
maiiika*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 those who might
be considered in their boyhood being perfectly nude.
'* Who are these ? " I inquired of Sheikh 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 drumhead. Their eyes were large,
and beaming and lustrous with life, yet softened by
an extreme gentleness of expression. The sculptor
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BUMANIKA, THE GENTLE KING. 457
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,
!b rom milk innoxious, seek their simple food"
We were soon ushered into the hut wherein Ru-
manika sat expectant, with one of the kindliest, most
paternal smiles it would be possible to conceive.
1876.
March.
Earagw^.
bumanika's tbeasure-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 Sheikh Hamed, seeming entirely out of place, jnrred
upon me.
It was no wonder that the peremptory and imperi-
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458 THROUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. 0U8, vivid-eyed Mtesa respected and loved this sweet-
March, tgjnpered 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.
What greater contrasts can be imagined than the
natures of the Emperor Mtesa and the King Rumanika?
In some of his volcanic passions Mtesa seemed to be
Fury personified, and if he were represented on the
stage in one of his furious moods, I fear that the
actor would rupture a blood-vessel, destroy his eyes,
and be ever afterwards afflicted with madness. The
Waganda always had recourse to action and gesture to
supplement their verbal descriptions of his raging
fits. His eyes, they said, were "balls of fire and
large as fists," while his words were "like gun-
powder."
Natur,e, 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 6 feet 6 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 some-
what 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 im-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Karagw^
TEE WONDERS OF KARAGWA 459
mediately sent for some particular person who was i876.
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.
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 — Karagwe or
Uganda?"
*' Karagwe 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 Karagw^
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 bo is Father
Rumanika," I replied smiling to him.
*' Do you hear him, Arabs ? Does he not speak well ?
Yes, Karagwe 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 Moron go (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). You shall see all my land ; and when
you have finished the river, I will give you more to
see — Mtagata's hot springs I "
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
4C0 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. By the 6th March, Frank had launched the boat from
^*"** ^' the landing at Kazinga village on the waters of the Win-
dermere Lake,* 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, a robe of crimson flannel was suspended from
his shoulders. His walking-stafiF was 7 feet in length,
and his stride was a yard long. Drummers and fiifers
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.
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 g-allant boat's crew to exert themselves
for the honour 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
Karagwe, with 1200 gentle-mannered natives gazing
on ! An African international alTair ! 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
800 yards, to Kankorogo Point. There was not much
difference in the speed, but it gave immense satisfaction.
• The native canoemen, standing up with their long
paddles, strained themselves with all their energy,
stimulated by the shouts of their countrymen, while
* This lake recciyed this name from Captain Speke, becanse Colonel
Grant, his companion, thought it resembled the Windermere Lake in
England.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE INGEZL 461
the Wangwana on the shore urged the boat's crew to i876.
their utmost power. *^*\
T 1 1 • • • /• 1 Winder-
The next day we began the circumnavigation of the mere Lake.
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 1200 to 1500
feet above it. There is one island called Kankorogo,
situated midway between Mount Isossi and the extreme
southern end. I sounded three times, and obtained
depths of 48, 44, and 45 feet respectively at difiFerent
points. The soil of the shores is highly ferruginous in
colour, and, except in the vicinity of the villages, pro-
duces only euphorbia, thorny gum, aeacia, and aloetic
plants.
On the 9th we pulled abreast of Kankorogo Island,
and, through a channel from 500 to 800 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 50 to 100 yards.
The average depth of all the ten soundings we made
on this day was 52 feet along the middle ; close to the
papyrus walls, which grew like a forest above us, was a
depth of 9 feet. Sometimes we caught a view of hip-
popotamus 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 Karagwe, 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
Kafnrro and Rumanika's capital.
Xhe Ingezi, as the natives called it, embraces the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Th« Ingexi.
462 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. whole space from the base of the raountaiDS of Muvari
Mmrch 9. ^^ ^j^^^j. ^£ ^^ Karagwe ridges with the river cjdled
Kagera, the Funzo or the papyrus, and the Rwerus or
lakes, of which there are seventeen, inclusive of Win-
dermere. 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 Ivvanda, north, to Uhimba,
south, is about 350 square miles. The Funzo or papyrus
covers a depth of from 9 feet to 14 feet of water. Each
of the several lakes has a depth of from 20 to 65 feet,
and they are all connected, as also is the river, under-
neath thepa pyrus.
When about three miles north of Kizinga, at 5 p.m.,
we drew our boat close to the papyrus, and pre-
pared for our night's rest, and the Wanyambu did the
same.
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 them-
selves that they were going to have a cozy night of it.
Their fires they kindled between three stalks, which
sustained their cooking-pots. It was not a very suc-
cessful method, as the stalks had to be replaced fre-
quently ; 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 com-
pelled 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 perti-
nacity characteristic of these hungry blood-suckers.^
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
lEEMA ISLAND. 463
The next day, about noon, we discovered a narrow, i876.
winding creek, which led us to a river-like lake, five ^*f*^ ^^'
miles in length, out of which, through another creek, Kiand.
we punted our boats and canoes to the grazing island of
Unyamubi.
From a ridge which was about 50 feet above the
Ingezi we found that we were about four miles from
Kishakka and a similar distance due east from a point
of land projecting from Muvari.
The next day we ascended the Kagera about ten
miles, and returning fourteen miles entered Ihema
Lake, a body of water about 50 square miles, and
camped on Ihema Island, about a mile from Muvari.
The natives of Ihema Island stated to me that Lake
Muta Nzige 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 also stated that the Mworongo — or,
as others called it, Nawarongo — river flows through
the heart of Ruanda from the Ufurabiro mountains,
and enters the Kagera in a south-wept by west direc-
tion from Ihema ; that the Akanyaru was quite a large
lake, a three days' journey round in canoes, and
separated Ruanda, Uhha, and Urundi from each other ;
that there was an island in the midst, where canoes
leaving Uhha were accustomed to rest at night, arriving
in Ruanda at noon.
They were a genial people those islanders of Ihema,
but they were subject to two painful diseases, leprosy
and elephantiasis. The island was of a shaly substruc-
ture, covered with a scant depth of alluvium. 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 colour.
We began from the extreme south end of the lake the
next day to coast along the Muvari or Ruanda coast.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Kasinga.
464 THBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. and near a small village attempted to land, but the
March 11. jjatjv^g gnarled like so many spiteful dogs, and drew
their bows, which compelled us— being guests of Ru-
manika — to sheer oflF and leave them in their ferocious
exclusiveness.
Arriving at the Kagera again, we descended it, and
at 7 P.M. were in our little camp of Kasinga, at the
south end of Windermere.
On the 11th we rowed into the Kagera, and de-
scended the river as far as Ugoi, and on the evening of
A NATIVE OP UHHA.
the 12th returned once more to our camp on Winder-
mere.
The next day, having instructed Frank to convey
the boat to Kafurro, I requested Rumanika to furnish
me with guides for the Mtagata hot springs, and,
faithful to his promise, thirty Wamyambu were de-
tailed for the service.
Our route lay north along the crest ot a lofty ridge
between Kafurro and Windermere. Wherever we
looked, we beheld grassy ridges, grassy slopes, grassy
mountain summits, and grassy valleys — an eminently
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE TRIPLE CONE OF UFUMBIRO. 465
pastoral country. In a few gorges or ravines the dark i876.
tops of trees were seen. ^^^^JJ^''
When Windermere Lake and Isossi, its northern
mount, were south of us, we descended into a winding
grassy valley, and in our march of ten miles from
Isossi to Kasya I counted thirty-two separate herds
of cattle, which in the aggregate prohably amounted to
900 head. We also saw seven rhinoceroses, three of
which were white, and four a black brown. The
guides wished me to shoot one, but I was scarce of
anmiunition, and as I could not get a certain shot, I
VIEW OP UFUMBIRO MOUNTAINS FROM MOUNT NEAR MTAGATA HOT SPRINGS.
was loath to wound unnecessarily, or throw away a
cartridge.
The next day, at 8 a.m., near the end of the valley, '
we came to Merure Lake, which is about two miles
long, and thence, crossing three different mountains,
arrived at Kiwandare mountain, and from its summit,
5600 feet above the sea, obtained a tolerably distinct
view of the triple cone of Ufumbiro, in a west-north-
west direction, Mag. I should estimate the distance
from Kiwandare to Ufumbiro to be about forty-five miles,
and about sixty miles from the mountain height above
VOL. I.— 30
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
466 TEROUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. Bumanika^s capital. Several lines of mountains, with
March 15. lateral valleys between, rose between the valley of the
Alexandra Nile and Ufumbiro.
From Kiwandar^ we descended gradually along its
crest to a lower terrace. About 5 p.m. one of our party
sighted a dark brown double-horned rhinoceros, and as
we had no meat, and the nature of the ground permitted
easy approach, I crept up to within fifty yards of it
unperceived and sent in a zinc bullet close to the ear,
which bowled it over dead.
The quantity of meat obtained from the animal was
more than would supply the eighteen men, Wangwana,
of ray party; therefore, acceding to their wish, we
camped on the spot, exposed to the chilly mountain
winds, which visited us during the night. The men,
however, continued to pick up abundance of fuel from
a wooded gorge close by, and, engaged in the interesting
and absorbing task of roasting meat before many
blazing fires, did not suffer greatly.
At 9 A.M. the next day we descended to the wooded
gorge of Mtagata, having travelled thirty-five miles
almost due north from Kafurro.
This gorge is formed by an angle where the ex-
treme northern end of Kiwandare mountain meets a
transverse ridge. It is filled with tall trees which
have been nourished to a gigantic size and density of
foliage by the warm vapours from the springs and the
heated earth. A thick under-growth of plants, llianes,
and creepers of all sizes has sprung up under the
shade of the aspiring trees, and the gloom thus caused
within the gorge is very striking. I imagine a person
would find it a most eerie place at night alone. Q-reat
baboons and long-tailed monkeys roared and chattered
in the branches, causing the branches to sway and
rustle as they chased one another from tree to tree.
At the time of our visit the springs were frequented
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE EOT 8PBINQ8 OF MTAGATA. 467
by invalids from Iwanda, Ngoi, Kiziwa, Usongora, and isrs.
Usui, for, as may be believed, they have obtained a ^*"^^ ^'•
great repute throughout the districts of Karagwe and **^'*'
neighbouring countries.
The springs are six in number, and at their extreme
source they had, when I tested them, a temperature of
129|^ Fahr. The bathing-pools, which are about 12 feet
in diameter, and from 2 to 5 feet deep, showed a tem-
perature of 110° Fahr., except one on the extreme
north, which was only 107° Fahr.
I bottled eight ounces of water from one of these
springs, and on arriving in London sent it to Messrs.
Savory and Moore, the well-known chemists, 143 Bond
Street, who in a few days kindly returned me the
following analysis : —
" The fluid was clear, colourless, and odourless ; on standing at rest, a
small quantity of red granular matter was deposited.
" Examined chemically, it was found to have a faint alkaUne reaction,
and its specific gravity, corrected to 60° F., was 1004, water being con-
sidered 1000.
•'One hundred grammes evaporated left a white crystalline residue,
weighing • 87 of a gramme, and it was composed of sodium carbonate,
calcium carbonate, calcium sulphate, and sodium chloride; this order
represents their proportions, sodium carbonate being the chief con-
stituent, and the other salts existing in more minute quantities.
" The deposit was removed and examined microchemically ; it was thus
found to consist of ferruginous sand, and two minute pieces of vegetable
ceUulose.
" It was therefore a faintly alkaline water, and its alkalinity depended
on the presence of sodium carbonate possibly existing in solution as
bicarbonate, as the water held in solution carbonic acid gas, and this
gas was evolved by heating the water."
The natives praised the water of these springs so
highly that I resolved to stay three days to test in
my own person what virtues it possessed. I drank an
enormous quantity of the water with a zealous desire
to be benefited, but I experienced no good — on the
contrary, much ill, for a few days afterwards I suffered
from a violent attack of intermittent fever, occasioned,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Mtagata.
468 TEROUQE TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1876. I fancy, by the malaria inhaled from the tepid atmo-
M*t^atl! sp^^^®- I* ^s *^^® I luxuriated morning and evening
in the bath which was reserved for me by Luajumba,
son of Rumanika, but that was all the advantage that
accrued to me.
Patients suflfering from cutaneous diseases profit
rapidly from, I believe, the unusual cleanliness; and
during the few days we camped here numbers of
natives came and went, and merriment and cleansing,
bathing and lounging, music and barbarous chanting,
kept awake the echoes of the gorge.
Our stay at the springs was cheered also by the
presence of Luajumba, who, following the example of
his father Rumanika, was hospitable and bland in his
manners. An ox, two goats, ten fowls, besides bananas,
sweet potatoes and flour, and fourteen large gourdfuls
of maramba were received with thanks — and paid for.
On the 18th March we set out on our return to
Kafurro from the hot springs, and on the road I shot
a white rhinoceros, which the people soon cut up to
convey to their comrades. On the inth we arrived at
Kafurro, each of the Wangwana being loaded with
over 20 lbs. of meat.
After two days' rest I paid another visit to Rumanika,
where we had a great geographical discussion. It is
unnecessary to describe the information I had to
give Rumanika respecting the geographical distribu-
tion of tribes and races over the Dark Continent, but
conscious that the geographical world will take an
interest in what Rumanika and the native travellers
at his court imparted, I here append, verbatim, the
notes I took upon the spot.
Hamed Ibrahim spoke and said : —
''My slayes have trayelled far, and they say that the Ki-Nawarongo
Biver rises ou the west side of Ufumbiro piountains, takes a wide sweep
through Euanda, and enters Akanyaru, in which lake it meets the
Kagera from the south. United they then empty from the lake between
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE OEOGBAPEICAL SOCIETY OF KARAOWE. 469
Uhha and Eishakka, and, flowing between Earagw6 and Bnanda, go 137^
into the Nianza (Nyanza). March 21 .
" The Rwizi River, also rising at the northern base of the Ufombiro Kafurro.
cones, in Mpororo, flows through Igara, then Shema, then Ankori, into
the king of Koki's (Luampula) lake, and becoming the Chibarr^ or
Kiwar6 River, joins the Kagera below Kitangul6.
" If you proceed toward sunset from Mpororo, you will see Muta Nzig6,
the Nianza of Unyoro. There are many large islands in it Utumbi is
a country of islands, and the natives are very good, but you cannot
proceed through Mpororo, as the people are Shaitans— devils— and the
Wanya-Ruanda are wicked ; and because something happened when
Wangwana first tried to go there, they never tolerate strangers. A
strange people, and full of guile verily !
" West of Ruanda is a country called Mkinyaga, and there is a large
lake there, so I have heard — no Arabs have ever been there."
Tlien a native of Western Usui, at the request of
Rumanika, said: —
" Mkinyaga Is west of Kivu Lake or Nianja Cha Ngoma, from which
the Rusizi River flows into the lake of Uzig6 (Tanganika). To reach
Mkinyaga, you must pass through Unyambungu first, then you will seo
the great lAke of Mkinyaga. Lake Eivu has a connection with the lake
Akanyaru, though there is much grass, as in the Ingezi, below here. A
canoe could almost reach Eivu from Eishakka, but it would be hard
work.
" Akanyaru, which the "Wahha call Nianja Cha-Ngoma, is very wide.
It will take a day and a half to cross, and is about two or three days'
canoe journey in length. It lies between Ruanda, Uhha, and Urundi. The
Eagera coming from between Uhha and Urundi flows into it The
Nawarongo empties into the Ruvuvu between Ugufu and Eishakka.
The Ruvuvu between Eishakka and Earagw6 enters the Eagera; the
Eagera comes into the Ingezi, and flows by Eitangul^ into the Nianja of
Uganda. Eivu lake is west-south-west from Eibogora*s capital, in West
Usui. Eivu has no connection with Muta Nzig6, the lake of Unyoro."
Then a native of Zanzibar who had accompanied
Khamis bin Abdallah to North-Western Uhha said : —
" I have been west of Eing Ehanza's Uhha, and I saw a large lake.
Truly there is much water there. Urundi was to my left Ruanda
fronted me across, and I stood on Uhha.**
Rumanika followed, and imparted at length all his
information, of which I append only the pith : —
" Leaving Mpororo, you may reach by canoes Makinda's, in Utumbi, in
half a day. The island is called Eabuzzi Three hours will take a canoe
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
470 TEROUOH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. tbence to Earara Island, and from Earara Island another half-day will
March 2U t&ke you to Dkonju, where there is a tribe of cannibals.
Kafarro. " Mkinyaga is at the end of Euanda, and its lake is Muta Nzig6, on which
you can go to Unyoro. There is a race of dwarfs somewhere west of
Mkinyaga called the Mpunda, and another called the Batwa or Watwa, who
are only two feet high. In Uriambwa is a race of small people with tails.
" Uitwa, or Batwa — Watwa, is at the extreme south end of Uzongora.
" From Butwa, at the end of a point of land in Kuanda, you can see
Uitwa Usongora.
" From Butwa, Mkinyagu is to the left of you about three days' journey.
" Some of the Waziwa saw a strange people in one of those faiK>ff lands
who had long ears descending to their feet; one ear fonned a mat to
sleep on, the other served to cover him from the cold like a dressed hide!
They tried to coax one of them to come and see me, but the journey was
long, and he died on the way."
Dear old Riimanika, how he enjoyed presiding over
the Geographical Society of Karagwe, and how he
smiled when he delivered this last extraordinary piece
of Munchhausenism ! He was determined that he
should be considered as the best informed of all
present, and anticipated with delight the pleasure
old and jaded Europe would feel upon hearing of
these marvellous fables of Equatorial Africa. He
was also ambitious to witness my notebook filled with
his garrulity, and I fear he was a little disposed to impose
upon the credulity of sober Christians. However, with
this remark of caution to the reader, his fables may be
rendered harmless, and we can accord him thanks for
his interesting information.
Since I am publishing these geographical items, I
may as well append here, also in brief, some other
information obtained elsewhere relating to Muta
Nzige from a native of Usongora, whom we found at
Kawanga with Sekajugu, one of the Watongoleh who
accompanied us to Beatrice Gulf.
" When you leave Ruoko in Unyoro, you will have Gambaragara to
your right, and Usagara or Ankori will be on your left Uzimba, Ruigi's
country, will be four days' journey west of you.
" On reaching Uzimba, if you turn to the left you will reach Luhola,
Usongora will be on your right hand.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE PEILOSOPHY OF NOSES. 471
** On your left will also be Unyampaka, Easita, Eishakka, Chakiomi, ^g^^
Nyter6, Buhujti, Makara, Unyamururu, Munya Chambiro, and the March 2L
Bwambn, who are cannibals. Kafarro.
" If you go to your right from Ruigi's, you reach Usongora, Mata, two
days after Nabweru, then Butwa. Standing at Butwa, you will see
Euanda on the left hand.
" The country of Euigi is called Uzimba.
" Kitagwenda is the name of the neighbouring country.
" Unyanuruguru lies between Euanda and Usongora.
*' All the Wasongora emigrated from Unyoro."
The following is information from a native of
Unyampaka upon Muta Nzige : —
" My king's name is Bulema. Eash6sh6 is the great king of Uzimba.
Euigi is dead. Usongora, as you look towards sunset, will lie before you,
as you stand at Easheshe's. To go to Usongora from Eash^she's, you go
to Nkoni Island, then to Ihundi Island, and then to Usongora.
"Far to your leffc, as you face the sunset, you have Utumbi, the
Mahinda, Eiurara, and Eabuzzi Islands.
" There is abundance of salt in Usongora, and we go from Unyampaka
(my country) to get salt, and sell it to all the country round. Ankori
country does not extend to Muta Nzig^. Buhuju and Unyamuruguru
lie between Ankori and the lake.
" Nyika is king of Gambaragara and Usongora. North of Gambaragara
is Torn, or Tori, country, a part of Unyoro. Eabba Eega is the great king
of all those lands. The medicines (charms) of Unyoro are kept by Nyika on
the top of his high mountain. There are as many white people there as
there are black. On the top there is a little Nianja, and a straight rock
rises high out from the middle. There is plenty of water falling from
the sides of the mountain, sometimes straight down, with a loud noise.
Herds upon herds of cattle, hundreds of them are in Gambaragara and
Usongora. The people of Usongora are great fighters, they carry three
spears and a shield each, and they live on nothing but milk and
potatoes."
I now proceed to give some "reflections" of a
young philosopher of Uganda, one of the pages of
Sambuzi, who had accompanied his master in the
Katekiro's great raid upon Usongora three years
before.
This young lad startled me out of the idea that
philosophizing was not a common gift, or that only
members of the white race were remarkable for their
powers of observation, by the following question : —
" Stamlee, how is it, will you tell me, that all white
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
472 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT
1876. men have long noses, while all their dogs have very
March 21. ^^^^ noses* while ahnost all black men have short
noses, but their dogs have very long noses ? "
A youth of Uganda, thought I, who can propound
such a proposition as that, deserves attention. •
*^ Speak," I said, " all you know about Muta Nzig^
and the Kagera."
*' Gk)od, you see the Eagera, it ici broad and deep and swift, and its
water though dark is clear. Where can it come from? There is an
enormous quantity of water in that river. It is the mother of the river
at Jinga, because were it not for this river our Niyanza would dry up!
"Tell me where it can come from ? There is no country large enough
to feed it, because when you reach Eumanika*s it is still a large river. If
you go to Kishakka, farther south, it is still large, and at Kibogora's it
is still a large river. Urundi is not far, and beyond that is the
Tanganika.
" Tell me, where does the water of the Muta Nzige go to ? It goes into
the Kagera, of course ; the Kagera goes into our Niyanza, and the river
« at Jinja (Victoria Nile) goes to Kaniessa (Gk>ndokoro). I tell you truly
that this must be the way of it. You saw the Eusango and Mpanga, did
you not, go to Muta Nzige ? Well, there must be many rivers like that
going to Muta Nzig6 also. And what river drinks all those rivers but
the Kagera ? " he asked triumphantly,
" Usongora is a wonderful land ! Its people are brave, and when the
Katekdro, who was accompanied by Mkwenda and Sekebobo's chiefs, and
some of Kitunzi*s, met them, they were different people from Gambara^gara.
They are very tall, long-legged people, and are armed with spears and
shields. They tried every dodge with us. When we stood on the banks
of a river going north, through the Tinka-tinka, like that in the Katonga,
the Wasongora stood on the opposite side and shouted out to us that they
were ready. Sambuzi came near being killed next day, and we lost many
men, but the Katekiro, he does not fight like other chiefs, he is exceed-
ingly brave, and he wanted to please Mtesa. We fought six days,
" The Wasongora had a number of large dogs also which they set vcpon
us; as we drove their cattle towards Gambaragara, the earth shook,
springs of mud leaped up, and the water in the plain was very bitter,
and killed many Waganda; it left a white thing around its borders
like salt.
" We first saw Muta Nzig6 as we followed Nyika to the top of his big
mountain in Gambaragara. We could not quite get to the top, it was too
high." (This is Mount Gordon-Bennett) *' But we could see Usongora,
• The young philosopher had observed the broad short noses of my
British bull-dog and bull terrier "Jack," and he had hastily arrived at
the conclusion that all white men's dogs were pug-nosed.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BUMANIKA'8 TBE8AUB0K 473
and a great lake spreading all round it. When we came back with onr ig^^
spoil to Mtesa, he sent us back a short time afterwards to Ankori, and from March 21 .
the top of a high mountain near Eibanga (Mount Lawson) we saw Muta Kafarro.
Nzig6 again spreading west of us. Oh, it is a grand lake, not so wide as
our Niyanza, but very long. We get all our salt from Usongora, as
Nyika pays tribute to us with so many bags, collected from the plains,
but it is unfit to eat, unless you wash it and clean it."
This young lad accompanied me to Karagw^, and by
his intelh'gence and his restless curiosity extracted from
the Wanyambu courtiers at King Rumanika's informa-
tion which he delivered to me in the following
manner : —
''Master, I have been asking questions from many Wanyambu, and
they say that you can take a canoe from here to Ujiji, only a certain
distance you will have to drag your canoes by land. They say also that
Ndagara, Bumanika'i father, wishing to trade with the Wajiji, tried to
cut a canal or a ditch for his canoes to pass through. They say also
that Eivu is connected with Akanyaru, and that the Eusizi leaves Kivu
and goes to Tanganika through Uzig^, but the Eagera comes through
Earagw6 towards Uganda. Do you believe it ? "
To close the interesting day, Rumanika requested
Hamed Ibrahim to exhibit the treasures, trophies, and
curiosities in the king's museum or armoury, which
Hamed was most anxious to do, as he had frequently
extolled the rare things there.
The armoury was a circular hut, resembling externally
a dome thatched neatly with straw. It was about 30
feet in diameter.
The weapons and articles, of brass and copper and
iron, were in perfect order, and showed that Rumanika
did not neglect his treasures.
There were about sixteen rude brass figures of ducks
with copper wings, ten curious things of the same
metal which were meant to represent elands, and ten
headless cows of copper. Billhooks of iron, of really
admirable make, double-bladed spears, several gigantic
blades of exceedingly keen edge, 8 inches across and 18
imches in length, exquisite spears, some with blades and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
March 21
Kafurro,
474 TUROUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. staves of linked iron ; others with chain-shaped staves,
and several with a cluster of small rigid rings massed
at the bottom of the blade and the end of the staff;
others, copper-bladed, had curious intertwisted iron
rods for the staff. There were also great fly-flaps set
in iron, the handles of which were admirable specimens
of native art; massive cleaver-looking knives, with
polished blades and a kedge-anchor-shaped article
with four hooked iron prongs, projecting out of a
brass body. Some exquisite native cloths, manu-
factured of delicate grass, were indeed so fine as to
vie with cotton sheeting, and were coloured black
PENCE
GROUin) PLAN OF KtNO's HOUSE.
and red, in patterns and stripes. The royal stool
was a masterpiece of native turnery, being carved
out of a solid log of cotton-wood. Besides these
specimens of native art were drinking-cups, goblets,
trenchers, and milk dishes of wood, all beautifully
clean. The fireplace was a circular hearth in the
centre of the building, very tastefully constructed.
Eanged round the wall along the floor were other gifts
from Arab friends, massive copper trays, with a few
tureen lids of Britannia ware, evidently from
Birmingham. Nor must the revolving rifle given to
him by Captain Speke be forgotten, for it had an
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
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,.-'\
ll
( ' : ■ .1 :t .-' >i ' '.
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•^
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s
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
476 TEROUGE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. honoured place, and Rumanika loves to look at it,
^iwrch 28. f^^ -^ recalls to his memory the figures of his genial
white friends Speke and Grant.
The enormous drums, fifty-two in number, ranged
outside, enabled us, from their very appearance, to guess
at the deafening sounds which celebrate the new moon
or deliver the signals for war.
My parting with the genial old man, who must be
about sixty years old now, was very affecting. He
shook my hands many times, saying each time that he
was sorry that my visit must be so short. He strictly
charged his sons to pay me every attention until I
should arrive at Kibogora's, the king of Western Usui,
who, he was satisfied, would be glad to see me as a
friend of Rumanika,
On the 26th March the Expedition, after its
month's rest at Kafurro, the whole of which period I
had spent in exploration of Western Karagwe, resumed
its journey, and after a march of five miles camped
at Nakawanga, near the southern base of Kibonga
mountain.
The next day a march of thirteen miles brought us
to the northern extremity of Uhimba lake, a broad
river-like body of water supplied by the Alexandra
Nile.
On the 27th I had the good fortune to shoot three
rhinoceroses, from the bodies of which we obtained
ample supphes of meat for our journey through the
wilderness of Uhimba. One of these enormous brutes
possessed a horn 2 feet long, with a sharp dagger-
like point below, a stunted horn, 9 inches in length.
He appeared to have had a tussle with some wild beast,
for a hand's breadth of hide was torn from his rump.
The Wangwana and Wanyarabu informed me with
the utmost gravity that the elephant maltreats the
rhinoceros frequently, because of a jealousy that the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BHINOCEROa V. ELEPHANT. 477
former entertains of his fiery cousin. It is said that i876.
if the elephant observes the excrement of the rhinoceros ^^^^*
imscattered, he waxes furious, and proceeds instantly uke.
in search of the criminal, when woe befall him if he
is sulky, and disposed to battle for the proud privilege
of leaving his droppings as they fall ! The elephant
in that case breaks off a heavy branch of a tree, or
uproots a stout sapling like a boat's mast, and belabours
the unfortunate beast until he is glad to save himself
by hurried flight. For this reason, the natives say, the
rhinoceros always turns round and thoroughly scatters
what he has dropped.
Should a rhinoceros meet an elephant, he must
observe the rule of the road and walk away, for the
latter brooks no rivalry ; but the former is sometimes
headstrong, and the elephant then despatches him
with his tusks by forcing him against a tree and
goring him, or by upsetting him, and leisurely crushing
him.
At the distance of twenty-six miles from Kafurro we
made our third camp near some wave-worn sheets and
protruding humps of brown-veined porphyry, and close
to an arm of the Uhimba lake, which swarmed with
hippopotami.
There were traces of water or wave action on this
hard porphyry visible at about fifty feet above the
present level. Some of these humps were exposed in
the water also, and showed similar eflFects to those
observed behind our camp.
During the next two days we travelled twenty-seven
miles south through a depression, or a longitudinal
valley, parallel to Uhimba lake and the course of the
Alexandra, with only an intervening ridge excluding
the latter from our view. Tall truncated hill-cones rise
every now and then with a singular resemblance to
each other, to the same altitude as the grassy ridges
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
478 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. which flank them. Their summits are flat, but the
March 37. jpQj^.gtQUQ faithfullv indicates by its erosions the
Clement which separated them from the ridges, and
first furrowed the valley.
Uhimba, placed by Rumanika in the charge of his
sons Kakoko, Kananga, and Ruhinda, is sixty-eight
miles south of his capital, and consists of a few settle-
ments of herdsmen. It was, a few years ago, a
debatable land between Usui and Karagwe, but upon
the conquest of Kishakka by Ruanda, Rumanika
occupied it lest his jealous and ill-conditioned rival,
Mankorongo of Usui, should do so.
At this place I met messengers from Mankorongo,
despatched by him to invite me to go and see him,
and who, with all the impudence characteristic of their
behaviour to the Arabs, declared that if I attempted
to traverse any country in his neighbourhood without
paying him the compliment of a visit, it would be my
utter ruin !
They were sent back with a peaceful message, and
told to say that I was bound for Kibogora's capital, to
try and search out a road across Urundi to the west,
and that if I did not succeed I would think of Man-
korongo's words ; at the same time, Mankorongo was
to be sure that if I was waylaid in the forest by any
large armed party with a view to intimidation, that
party would be sorry for it.
I had heard of Mankorongo's extortions from Arabs
and Waganda, and how he had proved himself a worthy
successor to the rapacious Swarora, who caused so
much trouble to Speke and Grrant.
During the second day of our courteous intercourse
with Kakoko, I ascended a mount some 600 feet high
about three miles from camp, to take bearings of the
several features which Kananga was requested to show
me. Five countries were exposed to view, Karagwe,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
FAOANUS, VAR. E8URIENS. 479
Kishakka, Ruanda beyond, Ugufu, and Usui. Parallel i876.
with Usui was pointed out King Khanza's Uhha ; ^*J^'^^*
beyond Uhha we were told was Urundi ; beyond Urundi,
west, the Tanganika and Uzige, and then nobody knew
what lands lay beyond Uzige. Akanyaru stretched south
of west, between Ruanda, Uhha, and Urundi; in a
south-west direction was said to be Kivu ; in a west
by north Mkinyaga, and in the west Unyambungu.
Ugufu was separated from Kishakka by the Nawarongo
or Ruvuvu, and from Uhha and Usui by the Alexandra
Nile which came from between Uhha and Urundi. A
river of some size was also said to flow from the
direction of Unyambungu into the Akanyaru.*
The next day we entered Western Usui, and camped
at Kafurra's. In Usui there was a famine, and it
required thirty-two doti of cloth to purchase four days'
rations. Kibogora demanded and obtained thirty doti,
one coil of wire, and forty necklaces of beads as tribute ;
Kafurra, his principal chief, demanded ten doti and a
qliantity of beads ; another chief required five doti ; the
queen required a supply of cloth to wear ; the princes
put in a claim ; the guides were loud for their reward.
Thus, in four days, we were compelled to disburse two
bales out of twenty-two, all that were left of the
immense store we had departed with from Zanzibar.
Under such circumstances, what prospect of exploration
had we, were we to continue our journey through
Uhha, that land which in 1871 had consumed at the
rate of two bales of cloth per diem ? Twenty days of
such experience in Uhha would reduce us to beggary.
Its " esurient " Mutwares and rapacious Mkamas and
other extortionate people can only be quieted with
cloth and beads disbursed with a princely hand. One
* I learned from Wanindi and Wazigtf, three months later, that the
river that came from the west was the Euanda, flowing into the Husizi^
thence into the Tanganika.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
CjtJOflHL
4S0 TEROUOH THE DABK COSTISENT.
\9nfi. hundred bales of cloth would only suffice to sustain
Apnij. ^ hundred men in Uhha about six weeks. Beyond
Uhba lay the impenetrable countries of Urundi and
Buanda, the inhabitants of which were hostile to
strangers.
Kibogora and Kafurra were sufficiently explicit and
amiably a>mmunicative, for my arrival in their country
had been under the very best auspices, viz, an introduc-
tion from the gentle and beloved Rumanika.
I turned away with a sigh from the interesting land,
but with a resolution gradually being intensified, that
the third time I sought a n^ west nothing should
deter me.
On the 7th April we reluctantly resumed our journey
in a southerly direction, and travelled five miles along a
ravine, at the bottom of which murmured the infant
stream Lohugati. On coming to its source we ascended
a steep slope until we stood upon the summit of a gras^
ridge at the height of 5600 feet by aneroid.
Not until we had descended about a mile to the valley
of Uyagoma did I recognize the importance of this
ridge as the water-parting between one of the feeders
of Lake Victoria and the source of the Malagarazi, the
principal affluent of Lake Tanganika.
Though by striking across Uhha due west or to the
south-west we should again have reached the Alexandra
Nile and the affluents of the Alexandra Lake, our future
course was destined never to cross another stream or
rivulet that supplied the great river which tlows
through the land of Egypt into the Mediterranean
Sea.
From the 17th January 1875 up to 7th April 1876
we had been engaged in tracing the extreme southern
sources of the Nile, from the marshy plains and culti-
vated uplands where they are born, down to the mighty
reservoir called the Victoria Nyanza. We had circum-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
RETROSPECT. 481
navigated the entire expanse ; penetrated to every bay, 1876.
inlet, and creek ; become acquainted with almost every ^^'^^ ^*
variety of wild human nature — the mild and placable,
the ferocious and impracticably savage, the hospitable
and the inhospitable, the generous-souled as well as the
ungenerous ; we had viewed their methods of war, and
had witnessed them imbruing their hands in each
other's blood with savage triumph and glee ; we had
been five times suflferers by their lust for war and
murder, and had lost many men through their lawless-
ness and ferocity ; we had travelled hundreds of miles to
and fro on foot along the northern coast of the Victorian
Sea, and, finally, had explored with a large force the
strange countries lying between the two lakes Muta
Nzige and the Victoria, and had been permitted to gaze
upon the arm of the lake named by me " Beatrice Gulf,*'
and to drink of its sweet waters. We had then returned
from farther quest in that direction, unable to find a
peaceful resting-place on the lake shores, and had struck
south from the Katonga lagoon down to the Alexandra
Nile, the principal affluent of the Victoria Lake, which
drains nearly all the waters from the west and south-
west. We had made a patient survey of over one-half
of its course, and then, owing to want of the means to
feed the rapacity of the churlish tribes which dwell in
the vicinity of the Alexandra Nyanza, and to our
reluctance to force our way against the will of the
natives, opposing unnecessarily our rifles to their spears
and arrows, we had been compelled, on the 7th April,
to bid adieu to the lands which supply the Nile, and to
turn our faces towards the Tanganika.
I have endeavoured to give a faithful portrayal of
nature, animate and inanimate, in all its strange
peculiar phases, as they were unfolded to us. I am
conscious that I have not penetrated to the depths;
but then I have not ventured beyond the limits
VOL. I. — 31
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
482 THROUOE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. assigned me, viz. the Exploration of the Southern
^prii 7. gom^ces of the Nile, and the solution of the problem
left unsolved by Speke and Grant — Is the Victoria
Nyanza* one lake, or does it consist of five lakes, as
reported by Livingstone, Burton, and others? This
problem has been satisfactorily solved, and Speke has
now the full glory of having discovered the largest
inliand sea on the continent of Africa, also its prin-
cipal affluent, as well as the outlet. I must also give
him credit for having understood the geography of the
countries he travelled through better than any of those
who so persistently assailed his hypothesis,- and I here
record my admiration of the geographical genius that
from mere native report first sketched with such a
masterly hand the bold outlines of the Yictoria Nyanza.
* Speke's hypotbetio sketch made this lake 29,000 square miles in
extent My survey of it has reduced it to 21,500 square miles.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TBE TWIN RIVERa. 483
CHAPTER XVIII.
The tmn rivers — Mankorongo baulked of his loot — Poor Bull! True
to the death — Msenua breaks out again — The terror of Africa
appears on the scene — Mars at peace — "Dig potatoes, potatoes,
potatoes " — Mirambo, the bandit chief, and I make blood-brother-
hood — Little kings >vith " big heads ** — Practical conversion of the
chief of Ubagwe — The Watuta, the Ishmaels of Africa — Their
history — African nomenclature — From Msen^ across the Mala-
garazi to Ujiji — Sad memories.
Along the valley of TJyagoma, in Western Usui, ^^^^-^
stretches east and west a grass-covered ridge, beautiful uyagoma.
in places with rock-strewn dingles, tapestried with
ferns and -moss, and bright with vivid foliage. From
two such fair nooks, halfway down either slope, the
•northern and the southern, drip in great rich drops
the sources of two impetuous rivers — on the southern
the Malagarazi, on the other the Lohugati. Though
nurtured in the same cradle, and issuing within 2000
yards of one another, the twin streams are strangers
throughout their lives. Through the thick ferns and
foliage, the rivulets trickle each down his appointed
slope, murmuring as they gather strength to run their
destined course — the Lohugati to the Victoria Lake,
the Malagarazi to distant Tanganika.
While the latter river is in its infancy, collecting its
first tribute of waters from the rills that meander down
from the mountain folds round the basin of TJyagoma,
and is so shallow that tiny children can paddle through
it, the people of Usui call it the Meruzi. When we
begin our journey from Uyagoma, we follow its broaden-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
484 TBROUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. inp: course for a couple of hours, through the basin,
N^^'t*^ and by that time it has become a river nomine dignuniy
* and, plunging across it, we begin to breast the moun-
tains, which, rising in diagonal lines of ridges from
north-east to south-west across Usui, run in broken series
into Northern Uhha, and there lose themselves in a
confusion of complicated masses and clumps.
The Meruzi wanders round and through these moun-
tiiin masses in mazy curves, tumbles from height to
height, from terrace to terrace, receiving as it goes the
alliance of myriads of petty rivulets and threads of clear
water, until, arriving at the grand forest lands of Unya-
mwezi, it has assumed the name of Lukoke, and serves
as a boundary between Unyamwezi and Uhha.
Meanwhile we have to cross a series of mountain
ridges clothed with woods ; and at a road leading from
Kibogora's land to the territory of the turbulent and
vindictive Mankorongo, successor of Swarora, we meet
an embassy, which demands, in a most insolent tone,
that we should pass by his village. This means, of
course, that we must permit ourselves to be defrauded of •
two or three bales of cloth, half a dozen gims, a sack or
two of beads, and such other property as he may choose
to exact, for the privilege of lengthening our journey
some forty miles, and a delay of two or three weeks.
The insolent demand is therefore not to be enter-
tained, and we return a decided refusal. They are
not satisfied with the answer, and resort to threats.
Threats in tlie free, uninhabited forest constitute a castes
belli. So the chiefs are compelled to depart without
a yard of cloth on the instant, and after their depar-
ture we urge our pace until night, and from dawn next
morning to 3 p.m. we continue the journey with un-
abated speed, until we find ourselves in Nyambarri,
Usambiro, rejoiced to find that we have foiled the
dangerous king.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TRUE TO THE DEATH. 485
On the 13th April we halted to refresh the people. i876.
Usambiro, like all TJnyamwezi, produces sufficient grain, ^"^^^ ^^'
sesamum, millet, Indian corn, and vetches, besides beans
and peas, to supply all caravans and expeditions. I have
observed that lands producing grain are more easy
of access than pastoral countries, or those which only
supply milk, bananas, and potatoes to their inhabitants.
At Nyambarri we met two Arab caravans fresh
from M^nkorongo, of whom they gave fearful accounts,
from which I inferred that the extortionate chief would
be by no means pleased when he came to understand
how he had been baffled in his idea of spoliating our
Expedition.
Here the notorious Msenna for the third time rup-
tured the peace. He was reported to be inciting a large
number of Wangwana and Wanyamwezi to desert in a
body, offering himself as guide to conduct them to
Unyanyembe ; and several young fellows, awed by his
ungovernable temper and brutal disposition, had yielded
to his persuasions. Msenna was therefore reduced to the
ranks, and instead of being entrusted with the captaincy
of ten men, was sentenced to carry a box, under the
watchful eye of Kacheche, for a period of six months.
During the march from Nyambarri to Gambawagao,
the chief village of Usambiro, ancient " Bull,'' the
last of all the canine companions which left England
with me, borne down by weight of years and a land
journey of about 1500 miles, succumbed. With bulldog
tenacity he persisted in following the receding figures
of the gun-bearers, who were accustomed to precede
him in the narrow way. Though he often staggered
and moaned, he made strenuous efforts to keep up, but at
last, lying down in the path, he plaintively bemoaned the
weakness of body that had conquered his will, and soon
after died — his eyes to the last looking forward along
the track he had so bravely tried to follow.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
486 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. Poor dog ! Good and faithful service had he done
April 14. j^^ j -^^i^Q more rejoiced than he to hear the rifle-shot
* ringing through the deep woods ! Who more loudly
applauded success than he with his deep, mellow
bark ! What long forest-tracts of tawny plains and
series of mountain ranges had he not traversed ! How
he plunged through jungle and fen, morass and stream !
In the sable blackness of the night his voice warned
off marauders and prowling beasts from the sleeping
camp. His growl responded to the hideous jabber of
the greedy hyena, and the snarling leopard did not
dismay him. He amazed the wondering savages with
his bold eyes and bearing, and by his courageous front
caused them to retreat before him ; and right bravely
did he help us to repel the Wanyaturu from our camp
in Ituru. Farewell, thou glory of thy race ! Rest from
thy labours in the silent forest! Thy feet shall no
more hurry up the hill or cross mead and plain ; thy
form shall rustle no more through the grasses, or be
plunging to explore the brake ; thou shalt no longer
dash after me across the savannahs, for thou art gone
to the grave, like the rest of thy companions !
The king of Usambiro exchanged gifts with us, and
appeared to be a clever, agreeable young man. His
people, though professing to be Wanyamwezi, are a
mixture of Wahha and Wazinja. He has constructed
a strong village, and surrounded it with a fosse 4 feet
deep and 6 feet wide, with a stockade and ** marks-
men's nests " at intervals round it. The population of
the capital is about 2000.
Boma Kiengo, or Msera, lies five miles south-south-
east from the capital, and its chief, seeing that we had
arrived at such a good understanding with the king, also
exerted himself to create a favourable impression,
Musonga lies twelve miles south-south-east of Boma
Kiengo, and is the most northerly village of the country
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE TERROR OF AFRICA UPON US.
487
1876.
of Urangwa. On the 18th April, a inarch of fifteen
miles enabled us to reach the capital, Ndeverva, another ^^"^ ^^*
large stockaded village, also provided with " marksmen's
nests," and surrounded by a fosse.
We were making capital marches. The petty kings,
though they exacted a small interchange of gifts, which
"BULL."
{From a photograph hy the Author.")
compelled me to disburse cloth a little more frequently
than was absolutely necessary, were not insolent, nor so
extortionate as to prevent our intercourse being of the
most friendly character. But on the day we arrived at
Urangwa, lo! there came up in haste, while we were
sociably chatting together, a messenger to tell ns that
the phantom, the bugbear, the terror whose name
silences the children of Unyamwezi and Usukuma, and
makes women's hearts bound with fear ; that Mirambo
Digitized by LjOOQ IC
488 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. himself was coming — that he was only two camps, or
April 18. Q^Q^i twenty miles, away — that he had an immense
army of Ruga-Ruga (bandits) with him I
The consternation at this news, the dismay and ex-
citement, the discussion and rapid interchange of ideas
suggested by terror throughout the capital, may be
conceived. Barricades were prepared, sharp-shooters'
platforms, with thick bulwarks of logs, were erected.
The women hastened to prepare their charms, the
Waganga consulted their spirits, each warrior and elder
examined his guns and loaded them, ramming the
powder down the barrels of their Brummagem muskets
with desperately vengeful intentions, while the king
hastened backwards and forwards with streaming robes
of cotton behind him, animated by a hysterical energy.
I had 176 men under my command, and forty of the
Arabs' people were with me, and we had many boxes
of ammunition. The king recollected these facts, and
said, " You will stop to fight Mirambo, will you not ?''
" Not I, my friend ; I have no quarrel with Mirambo,
and we cannot join every native to fight his neighbour.
If Mirambo attacks the village while I am here, and
will not go away when I ask him, we will fight, but
we cannot stop here to wait for him.*'
The poor king was very much distressed when we left
the next morning. We despatched our scouts ahead,
as we usually did when traversing troublous countries,
and omitted no precaution to guard against surprise.
On the 19tli we arrived at one of the largest villages
or towns in Unyamwezi, called Serombo or Sorombo.
It was two miles and a half in circumference, and
probably contained over a thousand large and small
huts, and a population of about 5000.
The preseint king's name is Ndega, a boy of sixteen,
the son of Makaka, who died about two years ago.
Too young himself to govern the large settlement and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MABS AT PEACE. 489
the country round, two elders, or Manyapara, act as i876.
regents during his minority. "^^"^ ^^
We were shown to a peculiar-shaped hut, extremely
like an Abyssinian dwelling. The height of the door-
way was 7 feet, and from the floor to the top of the
conical roof it was 20 feet. The walls were of inter-
woven sticks, plastered over neatly with brown clay.
The king's house was 30 feet high from the ground to
the tip of the cone, and 40 feet in diameter within ; but
the total diameter including the circular fence or palisade
that supported the broad eaves, and enclosed a gallery
which ran round the house, was 54 feet.
SEROMBO HUTS.
Owing to this peculiar construction a desperate body
of 150 men might from the circular gallery sustain a
protracted attack from a vastly superior foe, and jDro-
bably repel it.
Ndega is a relative of Mirambo by marriage, and he
soon quieted all uneasy minds by announcing that the
famous man who was now advancing upon Serombo had
just concluded a peace with the Arabs, and that there-
fore no trouble was to be apprehended from his visit,
it being solely a friendly visit to his young relative.
Naturally we were all anxious to behold the " Mars
of Africa," who since 1871 has made his name feared
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
490 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT,
i87«. by both native and foreigner from Usui to Urori, and
Se^'^^b! ^^^°^ Uvinza to Ugogo, a country embracing 90,000
square miles, who, from the village chieftainship over
Uyoweh, has made for himself a name as well known
as that of Mtesa throughout the eastern half of Equa-
torial Africa, a household word from Nyangwe to
Zanzibar, and the theme of many a song of the bards of
Unyamwezi, tJkimbu, Ukonongo, Uzinja, and Uvinza.
On the evening of our arrival at Serombo's we heard
his Brown Besses — called by the natives Gumeh-
Gumeh — announcing to all that the man with the
dread name lay not far from our vicinity.
At dusk the huge drums of Serombo signalled silence
for the town-criers, whose voices, preceded by the sound
of iron bells, were presently heard crying out : —
" Listen, men of Serombo. Mirambo, the brother
of Ndega, coraeth in the morning. Be ye prepared,
therefore, for his young men are hungry. Send your
women to dig potatoes, dig potatoes. Mirambo cometh.
Dig potatoes, potatoes, dig potatoes, to-morrow !"
At 10 A.M. the Brown Besses, heavily charged and
fired off by hundreds, loudly heralded Mirambo's ap-
proach, and nearly all my Wangwana followed the
inhabitants of Serombo outside to see the famous chief-
tain. G-reat war-drums and the shouts of admiring
thousands proclaimed that he had entered the town, and
soon little Mabruki, the chief of the tent-boys, and
Kacheche, the detective, on whose intelligence I could
rely, brought an interesting budget to me.
Mabruki said : " We have seen Mirambo. He has
arrived. We have beheld the Ruga-Ruga, and there
are many of them, and all are armed with Gumeh-
Gumeh. About a hundred are clothed in crimson
cloth and white shirts, like our Wangwana. Mirambo
is not an old man."
Kacheche said : " Mirambo is not old, he is young : I
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE BANDIT CHIEF,
491
must be older than he is. Hf is a very nice man,
well dressed, quite like an Arab. He wears the turban,
fez, and cloth coat of an Arab, and carries a scimitar.
He also wears slippers, and his clothes under his coat
are very white. I should say he has about a thou-
sand and a half men with him, and they are all armed
with muskets or double-barrelled guns. Mirambo has
three young men carrying his guns for him. Truly,
Mirambo is a great man ! "
The shrill Lu-lu-lu's, prolonged and loud, were still
maintained by the women, who entertained a great
respect for the greatest king in Unyamwezi.
Presently Manwa Sera, the chief captain of the
Wangwana, came to my hut,
to introduce three young men
— Ruga-Ruga (bandits), as
we called them, but must do
so no more lest we give
offence — handsomely dressed
in fine red and blue cloth
coats, and snowy white shirts,
with ample turbans around
their heads. They were con-
fidential captains of Miram-
bo's bodyguard.
" Mirambo sends his sa-
laams to the white man," said
the principal of them. " He hopes the white man is
friendly to him, and that he does not share the prejudices
of the Arabs, and believe Mirambo a bad man. If it
is agreeable to the white man, will he send words of
peace to Mirambo?"
" Tell Mirambo," I replied, " that I am eager to see
him, and would be glad to shake hands with so great
a man, and as I have made strong friendship with
Mtesa, Rumanika, and all the kings along the road
1876.
April 21.
Serombo.
"RUGA-RUGA, ONE OF
MIRAMBO*S PATRIOTS.
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492 THROUGH THE DARK COJ^TINENT.
1876. from Usoga to Unyamwezi, I shall be rejoiced to make
Apru 22. gipQjjg friendship with Mirambo also. Tell him I hope
he will come and see me as soon as he can.
The next day Mirambo, having despatched a Ruga-
Ruga — no, a patriot, I should have said — to announce
his coming, appeared with about twenty of his principal
men.
I shook hands with him with fervour, which drew a
smile from him as he said, "The white man shakes
hands hke a strong friend/*
His person quite captivated me, for he was a thorough
African gentleman in appearance, very different from
ray conception of the terrible bandit who had struck
his telling blows at native chiefs and Arabs with all
the rapidity of a Frederick the Great environed by
foes.
I entered the following notes in my journal on
April 22, 1876:—
" This day will be memorable to me for the visit of the famous
Mirambo. He was the reverse of all my conceptions of the redoubtable
chieftain, and the man I had styled the ' terrible bandit.'
" He is a man about 5 feet 11 inches in height, and about thirty-five
years old, virith not an ounce of superfluous flesh about him. A handsome,
regular-featured, mild-voiced, soft-spoken man, with what one might call
a * meek ' demeanour, very generous and open-handed. The character was
80 different from that which I had attributed to him that for some time a
suspicion clung to my mind that I was being imposed upon, but Arabs came
forward who testified that this quiet-looking man was indeed Mirambo.
1 had expected to see something of the Mtesa type, a man whose exterior
would proclaim his life and rank ; but this unpresuming, mild-eyed man, of
inoffensive, meek exterior, whose action was so calm, without a gesture,
presented to the eye nothing of the Napoleonic genius which he has for
five years displayed in the heart of Unyamwezi, to the injury of Arabs
and commerce, and the doubling of the price of ivory. I said there was
nothing : but 1 must except the eyes, which had the steady, calm gaze
of a master.
" During the conversation I had with him, he said he preferred boys or
young men to accompany him to war ; he never took middle-aged or old
men, as they were sure to be troubled with wives or children, and did not
fight half so well as young fellows who listened to his words. Said he,
* They have sharper eyes, and their young limbs enable them to move
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I MAKE BLOOJD-BBOTEEBHOOD. 493
with the ease of serpents or the rapidity of zebras, and a few words will 1870.
give them the hearts of lions. In all my wars with the Arabs, it was an April 23.
army of youths that gave me victory, boys without beards. Fifteen of my Serombo.
young men died one day because I said I must have a certain red cloth
that was thrown down as a challenge. No, no, give me youths for war
in the open field, and men for the stockaded village.*
"'What was the cause of your war, Mirambo, with the Arabs?' I
asked.
" ' There was a good deal of cause. The Arabs got the big head * (proud),
' and there was no talking with them. Mkasiwa of Unyanyemb^ lost his
head too, and thought I was his vassal, whereas I was not. My father was
king of Uyoweh, and I was his son. What right had Mkasiwa or the.
Arabs to say what I ought to do ? But the war is now over— the Arabs
know what I can do, and Mkasiwa knows it. We will not fight any more,
but we will see who can do the best trade, and who is the smartest man.
Any Arab or white man who would like to pass through my country is
welcome. I will give him meat and drink, and a house, and no man
shall hurt him.'"
Mirambo retired, and in the evening I returned his
visit with ten of the principal Wangwana. I found
him in a bell-tent 20 feet high, and 26 feet in diameter,
with his chiefs around him.
Manwa Sera was requested to seal our friendship by
performing the ceremony of blood brotherhood between
Mirambo and myself. Having caused us to sit fronting
each other on a straw-carpet, he made an incision in
each of our right legs, from which he extracted blood,
and, interchanging it, he exclaimed aloud : —
" If either of you break this brotherhood now esta-
blished between you, may the lion devour him, the
serpent poison him, bitterness be in his food, his friends
desert him, his gun burst in his hands and wound him,
and everything that is bad do wrong to him until
death."
My new brother then gave me fifteen cloths to be
distributed among my chiefs, while he would accept
only three from me. But not desirous of appearing
illiberal, I presented him with a revolver and 200
rounds of ammunition, and some small curiosities from
England. Still ambitious to excel me in liberality, he
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494 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT
1876. charged five of his young men to proceed to TJrarabo —
tSd 24! which name he has now given Uyoweh, after himself
M«yangi?a — and to sclcct three milch-cows with their calves, and
fjkombeh. ^^j,^^ bullocks, to be driven to TJbagwe to meet me. He
also gave me three guides to take me along the frontier
of the predatory Watuta.
On the morning of the 23rd he accompanied me out-
side Serombo, where we parted on the very best terms
with each other. An Arab in his company, named
Sayid bin Mohammed, also presented me with a bar of
Castile soap, a bag of pepper and some safiron. A fine
riding-ass, purchased from Sayid, was named Mirambo
by me, because the Wangwana, who were also capti-
vated by Mirambo*s agreeable manners, insisted on it.
We halted on the 23rd at Mayangira, seven miles
and a half from Serombo, and on the 24th, after a
protracted march of eleven miles south-south-east over
flooded plains, arrived at Ukombeh.
At Masumbwa, ten miles from Ukombeh, we encoun-
tered a very arrogant young chief, who called himself
Mtemi, or king, and whose majesty claimed to be
honoured with a donation of fifteen cloths — a claim
which was peremptorily refused, despite all he could
urge in satisfaction of it.
Through similar flooded plains, with the water hip-
deep in most places, and after crossing an important
stream flowing west-south-west towards the Malagarazi,
we arrived at Myonga's village, the capital of Southern
Masumbwa.
This Myonga is the same valorous chief who robbed
Colonel G-rant as he was hurrying with an undisciplined
caravan after Speke. (See Speke's Journal, page 169,
for the following graphic letter : —
** In the Jungles, near M'yonga's,
•* 16th Sept. 1861.
** My dear SPKKE,--The caravan was attacked, plundered, and the men
driven to the winds, while marching this morning into M'yonga's country.
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A LITTLE KING WITH A " BIG HEAD,'' 495
"Awaking at cock-crow, I roused the camp, all anxious to rejoin you; ^gy^^
and while the loads were being packed, my attention was drawn to an April 24.
■angry discussion between the head men and seven or eight armed fellows Maaumbwa
sent by Sultan M'yonga to insist on my putting up for the day in his
Tillage. They were summarily told that as you had already made him a
present, he need not expect a visit from me. Adhering, I doubt not, to
their master's instructions, they ofSciously constituted themselves our
guides till we chose to strike off their path, when, quickly heading our
party, they stopped the way, planted their spears, and dartd our advance !
" This menace made us firmer in our determination, and we swept post
the spears. After we had marched unmolested for some seven miles, a
loud yelping from the woods excited our attention, and a sudden rush
was inade upon us by, say, two hundred men, who came down seemingly
in gieat glee. In an instant, at the caravan's centre, they fastened upon
the poor porters. The struggle was short ; and with the threat of an
arrow or spear at their breasts, men were robbed of their cloths and orna-
ments, loads were yielded and run away with before resistan(ie could be
organised ; only three men of a hundred stood by me; the others, whose
only thought was their lives, fled into the woods, where I went shouting
for them. One man, little Rahan— rip as he is — stood with cocked gun,
defending his load against five savages with uplifted spears. No one else
could be seen. Two or three were reported killed, some were wounded.
Beads, boxes, cloths, &c., lay strewed about the woods. In fact, I felt
wrecked. My attempt to go and demand redress from the sultan was
resisted, and, in utter despair, I seated myself among a mass of rascals
jeering round me, and insolent after the success of the day. Several were
dressed in the very cloths, &c, they had stolen from my men.
" In the afternoon about fifteen men and loads were brought me, with
a message from the sultan, that the attack had been a mistake of his
subjects — that one man had had a hand cut off for it, and that all the
property would be restored I
** Yours sincerely,
"J. A. Grant.")
Age had not lessened the conceit of Myonga, in-
creased his modesty, or moderated his cupidity. He
asserted the rights and privileges of his royalty with
a presumptuous voice and a stern brow. He demanded
tribute ! Twenty-five cloths ! ! A gun and five fundo
of beads ! The Arabs, my friends, were requested to
do the same !
"Impossible, Myonga!'* I replied, yet struck with
admiration at the unparalleled audacity of the man.
" People have been obliged to pay what I ask," the
old man said, with a cunning twinkle in his eyes.
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Ubagwl
496 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. *' Perhaps," I answered ; *' but whether they have or
HK.!!! ^^*» ^ cannot pay you so much, and, what is more, I will
not. As a sign that we pass through your country, I
give you one cloth, and the Arabs shall only give you
one cloth."
Myonga blustered and stormed, begged and threat-
ened, and some of his young men appeared to be
getting vicious, when rising I informed him that to
talk loudly was to act like a scolding woman, and that,
when his elder should arrive at our camp, he would
receive two cloths, one from me and one from the
Arabs, as acknowledgment of his right to the country.
The drum of Myonga's village at once beat to arms,
but the affair went no further, and the elder received
the reasonable and just tribute of two cloths, with a
gentle hint that it would be dangerous to intercept the
Expedition on the road when on the march, as the guns
were loaded.
Phunze, chief of Mkumbiro, a village ten miles south
by east from Myonga, and the chief of Ureweh, fourteen
miles and a half from Phunze's, were equally bold in
their demands, but they did not receive an inch of
cloth; but neither of these three chiefs were half so
extortionate as Ungomirwa, king of Ubagwe, a large
town of 3000 people.
We met at Ubagwe an Arab trader en rovie to
Uganda, and he gave us a dismal tale of robbery and
extortion practised on him by Ungomirwa. He had
been compelled to pay 150 cloths, live kegs or 50 lbs.
of gunpowder, five guns double-barrelled, and 35 lbs. of
beads, the whole being of the value of 625 dollars, or
£125, for the privilege of passing unmolested through
the district of Ubagwe.
When the chief came to see me, I said to him : —
*^Why is it, my friend, that your name goes about
the country as being that of a bad man ? How is it that
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Ubagw*.
FB ACTIO AL CONVERSION. 497
this poor Arab has had to pay so much for going through i876.
Ubagwe? Is Ubagw^ Unyamwezi, that Ungomirwa ^^^^
demands so much from the Arabs ? The Arab brings
cloths, powder, guns into Unyamwezi. If you rob him
of his property, I must send letters to stop people
coming here, then Ungomirwa will become poor, and
have neither powder, guns, nor cloths to wear. What
has Ungomirwa to say to his friend?"
"Ungomirwa,'* replied he, "does no more than
Ureweh, Pliunze, Myonga, Ndega, Urangwa, and
Mankorongo : he takes what he can. If the white man
thinks it is wrong, and will be my friend, I will return
it all to the Arab."
" Ungomirwa is good. Nay, do not return it all ;
retain one gun, five cloths, two fimdo of beads, and one
keg of powder ; that will be plenty, and nothing but
right. I have many Wanyamwezi with me, whom I
have made good men. I have two from Ubagwe, and
one man who was born at Phunze's. Let Ungomirwa
call the Wanyamwezi, and ask them how the white
man treats Wanyamwezi, and let him try to make
them run away, and see what they will say. They will
tell him that all white men are very good to those who
are good/'
Ungomirwa called the Wanyamwezi to him, and
asked them why they followed the white man to wander
about the world, leaving their brothers and sisters. The
question elicited the following reply : —
" The white people know everything. They are
better than the black people in heart. We have abun-
dance to eat, plenty to wear, and silver for ourselves.
All we give to the white man is our strength. We
carry his goods for him, and he bestows a father's care
on his black children. Let Ungomirwa make friends
with the white man, and do as he says, and it will be
good for the land of Unyamwezi.'*
VOL. I.— 32
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Ubagw^
498 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1876. To whatever cause it was owing, Ungomirwa returned
nt^!^'z *^® Arab nearly all his property, and presented me with
three bullocks ; and during all the time that I was his
guest at Ubagwe, he exhibited great friendship for me,
and boasted of me to several Watuta visitors who came
to see him during that time ; indeed, I can hardly re-
member a more agreeable stay at any village in Africa
than that which I made in Ubagwe.
Unyamwezi is troubled with a vast number of petty
kings, whose paltriness and poverty have so augmented
their pride that each of them employs more threats,
and makes more demands, than Mtesa, emperor of
Uganda,
The adage that " Small things make base men proud "
holds ti-ue in Africa as in other parts of the World.
Sayid bin Sayf, one of the Arabs at Kafurro, begged
me as I valued my property and peace of mind not
to march through Unyamwezi to Ujiji, but to travel
through Uhha. I attribute these words of Sayid's to a
desire on his part to hear of my being mulcted by kings
Khauza, Iwanda, and Kiti in the same proportion that
he was. He confessed that he had paid to Kiti sixty
cloths, to Iwanda sixty cloths, and to king Khanza 138,
wliich amounted in value to 516 dollars, and this
grieved the gentle merchant's soul greatly.
On my former journey in search of Livingstone, I
tested sufficiently the capacity of the chiefs of Uhha to
absorb property, and I vowed then to give them a wide
berth for all future time. Sayid's relation of his ex-
periences, confirmed by Hamed Ibrahim, and my own
reverses, indicated but too well the custom in vogue
among the Wahha. So far, between Kibogora's capital
and Ubagw^, I had only disbursed thirty cloths as gifts
to nine kings of Unyamwezi, without greater annoy-
ance than the trouble of having to reduce their demands
by negotiation.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE ISEMAELS OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 499
No traveller has yet become acquainted with a wilder i876.
race in Equatorial Africa than are the Mafitte or ^'^ ^'
Watuta. They are the only true African Bedawi ; and ^^
surely some African Ishraael must have fathered them,
for their hands are against every man, and every man's
hand appears to be raised against them.
To slay a solitary Mtuta is considered by an Arab
as meritorious, and far more necessary than killing a
snake. To guard against these sable freebooters, the
traveller, while passing near their haunts, has need of
all his skill, coolness, and prudence. The settler in
their neighbourhood has need to defend his village
with impregnable fences, and to have look-outs night
and day : his women and children require to be guarded,
and fuel can only be procured by strong parties, while
the ground has to be cultivated spear in hand, so
constant is the fear of the restless and daring tribe of
bandits.
The Watuta. by whose lands we are now about to
travel, are a lost tribe of the Mafitte, and became sepa-
rated from the latter by an advance towards the north
in search of plunder and cattle. This event occurred
some thirty years ago. On their incursion they en-
countered the Warori, who possessed countless herds of
cattle. They fought with them for two months at one
place, and three months at another ; and at last, per-
ceiving that the Warori were too strong for them —
many of them having been slain in the war and a large
number of them (now known as the Wahehe, and settled
near Ugogo) having been cut off from the main body —
the Watuta skirted Urori, and advanced north-west
through Ukonongo and Kawendi to Ujiji. It is in
the memory of the old Arab residents at Ujiji how the
Watuta suddenly appeared and drove them and the
Wajiji to take refuge upon Bangwe Island.
Not glutted with conquest by their triumph at Ujiji,
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500 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. they attacked Urundi ; but here they met different
uhJ \ ^^®® altogether from the negroes of the south. They
next invaded Uhha, but the races which occupy the
intra-lake regions had competent and worthy cham-
pions in the Wahha. Baffled at Uhha and Urundi,
they fought their devastating path across Uvinza, and
entered Unyamwezi, penetrated Usumbwa, Utambara,
Urangwa, Uyofu, and so through Uzinja to the Victoria
Nyanza, where they rested for some years after their
daring exploit. But the lands about the lake were not
suited to their tastes, and they retraced their steps as far
as Utambara. Kututwa, king of Utambara, from policy,
wooed the daughter of the chief of the Watuta, and as
a dower his land was returned to him, while the Watuta
moving south occupied the neighbouring country of
Ugomba, situate between Uhha and Unyamwezi. It is
a well-watered and a rich grazing country, therefore
well adapted to their habits and modes of life. The
Kinyamwezi kings of Serombo, Ubagwe, Ureweh,
Renzeweh, and kings Mirambo and Phunze have con-
tracted alliances with influential chiefs, and are on
tolerably good term^ with them; but stubborn old
Myonga still holds aloof from the Watuta.
It will be remembered by readers of * How I Found
Livingstone' how Mirambo appeared at Tabora with
thousands of the Watuta free-lances, slaughtered Khamis
bin Abdullah and five other Arabs, and ravaged that
populous settlement. From the above sketch of these
terrible marauders, they will now be able to understand
how it was that he was able to obtain their aid, while
the following paragraph explains how I obtained the
facts of this predatory migration.
The wife of Wadi Safeni — one of the Wangwana
captains, and coxswain of the Ladt/ Alice during her
cruise round the Victoria Nyanza — when proceeding
one day outside the stockade of Ubagwe to obtain
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
ONE OF THE WATUTA.
Ubagw^.
AFRICAN TITLES. 501
water, accidentally heard our Watuta visitors gossiping i87g.
together. The dialect and accent soundine familiar to ,^*^
her, she listened, and a few moments after she was
herself volubly discussing with them the geography
of the locality inhabited by the'Mafitte between Lake
Nyassa and Tanganika. It was mainly from this little
circumstance — confirmed by other informants, Arab,
Wangwana, and Wanyamwezi — that the above brief
sketch of the wanderings of the Watuta has been ob-
tained.
" Mono-Matapa," that great African word, which,
from its antiquity and its persistent appearance on our
maps — occupying various positions to suit the vagaries
of various cartographers and the hypotheses of various
learned travellers — has now become almost classic, bears
a distant relation to the tribe of the Watuta.
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502 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. The industrious traveller Salt, in his book on Abys-
^^^J\ sinia, dated 1814, says:—
"This country is oommonly called Monomatapa, in the accounts of
which a perplexing ohscurity has been introduced, by different authors
haying confounded the nanms of the districts with the titles of the
soyereigns, indiscriminately styling them Quit^ye, Mono-matapa, B^e-
motapa, Bene-motasha, Chikanga, Manika, Bokaranga, and Mokaranga.
The fact appears to be that the sovereign's title was Quit^ve, and the
name of the country Motapa, to which Mono has been prefixed, as in
Monomugi, and many other names on the coast, that beyond this lay a
district called Ghikanga, which contained the mines of Manica, and that
the other names were applicable solely to petty districts at that time under
the rule of the Quit^ve."
Zimbaoa, the capital of this interesting land, was said
to be fifteen days' travel west from Sofala, and forty
days' travel from Sena.
Indefatigable and patient exploration by various in-
telligent travellers has now enabled us to understand
exactly the meaning of the various names with which
early geographers confused us. The ancient land of the
Mono-Matapa occupied that part of South-East Africa
now held by the Matabeles, and the empire embraced
nearly all the various tribes and clans now known by
the popular terms of Kaffirs and Zulus.
The reputation which Chaka obtained throughout
that upland, extending from the lands of the Hottentots
to the Zambezi, roused, after his death, various ambi-
tious spirits. His great captains, leading warlike hosts
after them, spread terror and dismay among the tribes
north, south, and west. Mosele-katz6 overran the
Transvaal, and conquered the Bechuanas, but was sub-
sequently compelled by the Boers to migrate north,
where his people, now known as the Matabeles, have
established themselves under Lo Bengwella, his suc-
cessor.
Sebituane, another warlike spirit after the style of
Chaka, put himself at the head of a tribe of the Basutos,
and, after numerous conquests over small tribes, esta-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Ubagw^
THE MAFITTA 603
blished his authority and people along the Zambezi, i876.
under the name of Makololo. Sebituan^ was succeeded .^*^ *;
by Sekeletu, Livingstone's friend, and he by Impororo
— the last of the Makololo kings.
One of Chaka's generals was called Mani-Koos. It
ought to be mentioned here that Mani, Mana, Mono,
Moeni, Muini, Muinyi, are all prefixes, synonymous with
lord, prince, and sometimes son : for example, Mana-
Koos, Mani-Ema, now called Manyeraa and Mana-
Mputu, lord of- the sea ; Mono-Matapa, Mana-Ndenga,
Mana-Butti, Mana-Kirembu, Mana-Mamba, and so forth.
In Ure^ga the prefix becomes Wana, or Wane, as in
Wane-Mbeza, Wane-Kirumbu, Wane Kamankua, Wana-
Kipangu, Wana-Mukwa, and Wana Rukura ; while in
the Bateke and the Babwende lands it is changed into
Mwana, as Mwana-Ibaka, or Mwana-Kilungu, which
title was given to the Livingstone river by the Bab-
wend^, meaning " lord of the sea." To return. This
Mani-Koos, a general of Chaga's, attacked the Portu-
guese at Delagoa Bay, Sofala, and Inhambane, and
compelled them to pay tribute. The party then
crossed the Zambezi river above Tete, the capital of
the Portuguese territory, and, after ravaging the
lands along the Nyassa, finally established itself north-
west of the Nyassa, between that lake and the Tan-
ganika. To-day they ar^ known as the Manitu, Mafitte,
or Ma-viti ; and three ofi'shoots of this tribe are — the
Watuta in the neighbourhood of Zombe, south-east end
of Lake Tanganika ; the Wahehe, who cause such dire
trouble to the Wagogo ; and the Watuta, the allies
of Mirambo, and called by the Wanyamwezi the
Mwangoni.
On the 4th May, having received the milch-cows,
calves, and bullocks from my new brother Mirambo, we
marched in a south-south-west direction, skirting the
territory of the Watuta, to Ruwinga, a village occupying
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604 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. a patch of cleared land, and ruled by a small chief who
^^' is a tributary to his dreaded neighbours.
The next day, in good order, we marched across a
portion of the territory of the Watuta. No precaution
was omitted to ensure our being warned in time of the
presence of the enemy, nor did we make any delay
on the road, as a knowledge of their tactics of attack
assured us that this was our only chance of avoiding
a conflict with them. Msene, after a journey of twenty
miles, was reached about 2 p.m., and the king, Mulagwa,
received us with open arms.
The population of the three villages under Mulagwa
probably numbers about 3500. The king of the
Watuta frequently visits Mulagwa's district; but his
strongly fenced villages and large number of muskets
have been suflScient to check the intentions of the rob-
bers, though atrocious acts are often committed upon
the unwary.
Maganga, the dilatory chief of one of my caravans
during the first Expedition, was discovered here, and,
on the strength of a long acquaintance with my merits,
induced Mulagwa to exert himself for my comfort,
I saw a poor woman, a victim of a raid by the
Watuta, who, having been accidentally waylaid by
them in the fields, had had her left foot barbarously
cut off.
Ten miles south-west of Msene is Kawangira, a dis-
trict about ten miles square, governed by the chief
Nyambu, a rival of Mulagwa. Relics of the ruthless-
ness and devastating attacks of the Watuta are visible
between the two districts, and the once populous land
is rapidly resuming its original appearance of a tenant-
less waste.
The next village, Nganda, ten miles south-west from
Kawangira, was reached on the 9th May. From this
place, as far as Usenda (distant fourteen miles south-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BIVU^ LAKK 505
south-west), extended a plain, inundated with from 2 to i876.
5 feet of water from the flooded Gomb^, which rises J**^ ^^*
about forty miles south-east of Unyanyembe. Where "'^"'
the Gombe meets with the Malagarazi, there is a
spacious plain, which during each rainy season is con-
verted into a lake.
We journeyed to the important village of Usagusi on
the 1 2th, in a south-south-west direction. Like Serombo,
Myonga's, Urangwa, Ubagw^, and Msen^, it is strongly
stockaded, and the chief, conscious that the safety of his
principal village depends upon the care he bestows
upon its defences, exacts heavy fines upon those of his
people who manifest any reluctance to repair the
stockade; and this vigilant prudence has hitherto
baffled the wolf-like marauders of Ugomba.
I met another old friend of mine at the next village,
Ugara. He was a visitor to my camp at Kuzuri, in
Ukimbu, in 1871. Ugara is seventeen miles west-south-
west from Usagusi. I found it troubled with a " war/' or
two wars, one between Kazavula and Uvinza, the other
between Ibango of Usenye and Mkasiwa of Unyan-
yembe.
Twenty-five miles in a westerly direction, through a
depopulated land, brought us to Zegi, in Uvinza, where
we found a large caravan, under an Arab in the employ
of Sayid bin Habib. Amongst these natives of Zanzibar
was a man who had accompanied Cameron and Tippu-
Tib to Utatera. Like other Munchhausens of his race,
he informed me upon oath that he had seen a ship upon
a lake west of Utatera, manned by black Wazungu, or
black Europeans !
Before reaching Zegi, we saw Sivu^ lake, a body of
water fed by the Sagala river : it is about seven miles
wide by fourteen miles long. Through a broad bed,
choked by reeds and grass and tropical plants, it
empties into the Malagarazi river near Kiala.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
ZegL
506 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. Zegi village also swarmed with Rusunzu's warriors.
^zLl*^ Rusunzu has succeeded his father, Nzogera, as king of
Uvinza, and, being energetic, is disposed to combat
Mirambo's ambitious projects of annexation. I took
care not to disclose our relationship with Mirambo, lest
the warriors might have supposed we countenanced
his designs against their beloved land.
These warriors, perceiving that the word Ruga-Ruga,
or bandits, influences weak minds, call themselves by
that name, and endeavour to distinguish themselves by-
arresting all native travellers suspected of hostility or
property. One of these unfortunates just captured was
about to have his weasand cut, when I suggested that
he had better be sold, as his corpse would be useless.
** You buy him, then," said the excited fellows ; " give
us ten cloths for him."
" White men don't buy slaves ; but rather than you
should murder an innocent man, I will give you two
for him."
After considerable discussion, it was agreed that he
should be transferred to me for two cloths ; but the poor
old fellow was so injured from the brutal treatment he
had undergone that he died a few days afterwards.
Zegi, swarming with a reckless number of lawless
men, was not a comfortable place to dwell in. The
conduct of these men was another curious illustration of
how " small things make base men proud." Here were
a number of youths suffering under that strange disease
peculiar to vain youth in all lands which Mirambo
bad called "big head." The manner in which they
strutted about, their big looks and bold staring, their
enormous feathered head-dresses and martial stride,
were most offensive. Having adopted, from bravado,
the name of Ruga-Ruga, they were compelled in honour
to imitate the bandits' custom of smoking banghi (wild
hemp), and my memory fails to remind me of any
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
May 18.
Ugaga.
CBOSSING THE MALAGARAZL 507
similar experience to the wild screaming and stormy i876,
sneezing, accompanied day and night by the monoto-
nous droning of the one-string guitar (another ac-
complishment de rigiLeur with the complete bandit)
and the hiccuping, snorting, and vocal extravagances
which we had to bear in the village of Zegi.
We paid a decent tribute of fifteen cloths to Rusunzu,
out of the infamous *' sixty" he had demanded through
his Mutware or chief; and the Mutwar^ received only
four out of the twenty he had said should be paid to
himself; and after the termination of the bargaining
we marched to Ugaga on the Malagarazi on the 18th.
The Mutwar^ of Ugaga the next day made a claim of
forty doti or cloths before giving us permission to cross
the Malagarazi. I sent Frank with twenty men to a
point three miles below Ugaga to prepare our boat ;
and meanwhile we delayed negotiations until a mes-
senger came from Frank informing us that the boat was
ready, and then, after making a tentative offer of two
cloths, which was rejected with every ludicrous ex-
pression of contempt, we gave four. The Mutware
then said that Rusunzu the king had commanded that
we should return to Zegi to fight his enemies, other-
wise he withheld his permission to cross the river. At
this piece of despotism we smiled, and marched towards
the boat, where we camped. At 4 a.m. of the 20th May
I had eighty guns across the mile- wide * Malagarazi,
and by 3 p.m. the entire Expedition, and our Arab
friends whom we had met at Zegi, were in Northern
Uvinza.
The next day, avoiding the scorched plains of Uhha,
of bitter memory to me, we journeyed to Ruwhera,
eleven miles ; thence to Mansumba, due west, nine
miles and a half through a thin jungle ; whence we
* In the dry season the Malagarazi is only about 60 yards wide at
Ugaga.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
508 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. despatched some Wanyamwezi across the frontier to
M^'^ ^!* Uhha to purchase corn for the support of the Expedition
in the wilderness between Uvinsa and Ujiji.
Strange to say, the Wahha, who are the most extor-
tionate tribute-takers in Africa, will not interfere with
a caravan when once over the frontier, but will readily
sell them food. About fifty Wahha even brought grain
and fowls for sale to our camp at Mansumba. Though
truth compels me to say that we should have fared very
badly had we travelled through Uhha, I must do its
people the justice to say that they are not churlish to
strangers beyond their own limits.
It is a great pity that the Malagarazi is not navi-
gable. There is a difference of nearly 900 feet between
the altitude of Ugaga and that of Ujiji. One series of
falls are south-south-west from Ruwhera, about twenty-
five miles below Ugaga. There is another series of
falls about twenty miles from the Tanganika.
At noon of the 24th we camped on the western bank
of the Rusugi river. A small village, called Kasenga,
is situated two miles above the ford. Near the crossing
on either side are the salt-pans of Uvinza, which
furnish a respectable revenue to its king. A square mile
of ground is strewn with broken pots, embers of fires,
the refuse of the salt, lumps of burnt clay, and ruined
huts. As Rusunzu now owns all the land to within
fifteen miles of Ujiji, there is no one to war with for
the undisputed possession of the salt-pans.
Through a forest jungle separated at intervals by
narrow strips of plain, and crossing six small tributaries
of the Malagarazi by the way, we journeyed twenty-
three miles, to a camp near the frontier of the district
of Uguru, or the hill country of Western Uhha.
The northern slopes of these mountain masses of
Uguru, about fifteen miles north of the sources of the
Liuche, are drained by the southern feeders of the Alex-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
AT UJIJI—SAD MEMORIES. 509
andra Nile; the western, by the Mshala; the southern, isre
by the Liuche ; and the eastern, by the Uhha tribu- ^^'7. "^
taries of the Malagarazi. The boundaries of Uhha, ^^^^
TJrundi, and Ujiji meet at these mountains, which are
probably 6500 feet above the sea.
We greeted our friend of Niamtaga, whom we had
met in November in 1871, but, alas for him ! two weeks
later he was taken by surprise by Eusunzu, and
massacred with nearly three-fourths of his people.
At noon of the 27th May the bright waters of the
Tanganika broke upon the view, and compelled me to
linger admiringly for a while, as I did on the day I
first beheld them. By 3 p.m. we were in Ujiji. Muini
Kheri, Mohammed bin Gharib, Sultan bin Kassim, and
Khamisthe Baluch greeted me kindly. Mohammed bin
Sali was dead. Nothing was changed much, except the
ever-changing mud tembes of the Arabs. The square
or plaza where I met David Livingstone in November
1871 is now occupied by large tembes. The house
where he and I lived has long ago been burnt down,
and in its place there remain only a few embers and a
hideous void. The lake expands with the same grand
beauty before the eyes as we stand in the market-place.
The opposite mountains of Goma have the same blue-
black colour, for they are everlasting, and the Liuch6
river continues its course as brown as ever just east and
south of Ujiji. The surf is still as restless, and the sun
as bright ; the sky retains its glorious azure, and the
palms all their beauty ; but the grand old hero, whose
presence once filled Ujiji with such absorbing interest
for me was grone !
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INDEX TO VOL- L
Acacia, 102, 107, 132, 164, 403, 461.
Ajawas Uniyersities, Mission fights
with, 77.
Akanyaru Lake, 463, 468-9.
Akida, 244.
Albert Nyanza, 298, 403.
Alexandra Nile River (Kagera), 18,
213-215, 389-390, 402, 448-460,452,
459-461, 463^, 466, 468, 472, 476,
479-481, 509.
Alexandra Nyanza. 480, 481.
AUce Island, 221, 224, 225, 237-a
Almass, king of Uganda, 349.
Aloes, 221, 461.
Alsassi, 112.
Andrew of Zanzibar, 434.
Angels, Mtesa's cuiiosity concerning,
32.1-2.
Ankori district, 297, 364, 369, 432.
Antari, king of Ihangiro, 229, 246, 272,
278-80, 2b3, 285, 376.
Antelope, 132.
Ants, m, 221.
Arabs, colonists in interior, 44-5; at
Kafurro, 452-5; blackmail levied
from, 496 ; at Ujiu, 509 ; opinion in
Uganda of, 321, 324 ; Mirambo and
the Arabs, 493.
Arms of savages, 113, 124, 159, 171,
229 ; poisoned arrows, 223 ; red-hot
arrows, 361; iron armour, 362;
" howitzers " and Brown Besses, 328 ;
bull-hide shields, 370; of Waganda,
410; of Rumanika, 473-4.
Arnold, Mr. Edwin, 5; Mount EjL, 432.
Asses, our, 72, 105, 109, 136.
Astaboras, 11 ; Astosabos, 11 ; Astopas,
11 ; Astopus, 11 — *' tributaries of the
Nile."
Basoons, 466.
Bagamoyo, 64-5, 89, 91 ; arrival at, 70 ;
disturbance at, 72-76 ; Notre Dame
de B., 75, 154.
Bandits of Africa — see "Mirambo,"
«* Watuta."
Baobab-trees, 89, 99, 132, 13a
Baraka, boatman, 191, 228-9, 233,
238-9.
Barghash, Sultan of Zanzibar — see
"Seyyid Barghash.*'
Bans, murderers of CJolonel Linant de
Bellefonds, 211.
Barker, Frederick, engaged, 5 ; at Zan-
zibar, 61; with the Expedition on
march, 104, 109, 115-16, 121, 149.
155 ; sickness and death, 240-3, 244.
Barker's Island, 226.
Batwa, or Watwa, the dwarf people,
470.
Bays, gulfis, and creeks— wc " Bazzi,"
" Beatrice," " Buka," " Grant,''
« Ikungu," « Kadzi," " Lugumbwa,**
"Mikindini,'* "Monyono," "Mori,"
"Nakidimo,""Speke.'*
Bazzi Bay, 185.
Beads, variety in favour with Wa-
Nguru, 91 ; with Warimi, 114; with
Muiwanda, 169.
Beatrice Gulf, 27, 432, 438, 470, 481.
Bellefonds, Colonel Linant de, 205-11,
238, 443.
Bells, 140.
Bemba Lake, scene of Livingstone*s
death, 1, 24-5.
Bennett, Mr. J. Gordon— «ee Gordon
Bennett.
Bhang-smoking, 71, 86, 506.
Bible, translating the, 203, 209, 322-5.
''Big head,** 447, 493, 506— sec "Ma-
gassa," " Sambuzi," " Blackmail"
Billali, the gun-boy, 92.
Birds— 5ec " Ornithology."
Blackmail, 449, 478-9, 484, 494-8.
Blood-brotherhood, with Mganga,
122, 233-4 ; with Komeh, 268; with
Mirambo, 493.
Boat, Lady Alice, 4, 60, 61, 147, 153;
afloat on Lake Victoria, 156.
Boma Kiengo, or Msera, 486.
Bombax, 221.
Borassus palm, 131.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INDEX.
511
Botany— acacia, 102, 107, 132, 164,
403, 461; aloes, 221, 461; cotton-
woo<l, 402, 474; Doum-polms, 102;
E8chinonien8B,164; Euphorbias, 107,
138, 139, 140, 164, 461; fig-trees,
182, 198, 402; fruit— grains, gum-
trees, 107, 164, 198, 401-3, 461;
jasmine, 221; llianes, 160, 164, 221,
403, 466; mangroves, 166, 175;
Matete, 160; Mimosa, 133; Mvule,
orchids, 221, 226; pahns, papyrus,
pine-apple, 164, 221; potato-plant,
spear-grass, sycamore, 265, 403;
tamarind, tamarisk, teak, 221, 402.
Bridge Island, 166, 168.
Buffaloe, 132, 377.
Bugavu, village of, 296.
Bugeyeya, island of, 179.
Bugomba, 282, 396, 438, 440, 442;
punished, 446-7.
Bujaju— «etf " Ujaju."
Buka Bay, 182, 185-7.
Bukhet, " the pilot," 65, 57.
" Bull," 7, 85, 485-7.
Bumbireh Island, 222, 226, 237-8, 240,
274-5,286,289-90.
BurdettnCoutts Islands, 163.
Burrup, Rev., 76-7.
Burton, Lieut. R F., 'On the Nile,'
10-13, 14-16, 19.
Bwera, country of, 421.
Bwina, chief of, 270.
Cameron, 22, 26, 76 ; Stanley mistaken
for, 204-5.
Camp at Nakaranga, 310-11.
Camps— »«« " Itinerary," in Appendix.
Cannibals, 470.
Canoes of Ugamba, 171 ; of Waganda,
383; Mtesa's, 187-8; at Sesse,
212-13; Lukongeh's, 256; found-
ering on the lake, 260-4; "the
hippopotamus," 265 ; Uganda, 281 ;
Bumbireh, 283, 303; Waganda
war-canoes, 313-14 ; Wavuma, 328.
Capes, headlands, points, &c. — ate
« Chaga," " Chawasimba Goshi,"
"Kisuka," "Lupassi," "Muvwo,"
« Namagongo," " Pyramid," " Umbi-
ru," " Unjaku."
"Captain," the dog, 7, 86.
Cassava, or manioc, 149 sqq,
•* Castor," the dog, 7, 85.
Cattle, l05 ; of Suna, 113 ; of Fsiha,
137, 142, 149, 164 ; of Gambaragara,
471, 428.
Causeway to Ingira Island, 817-320.
Chaga promontory, 169, 170, 365.
Chagwd, 303.
Chakiomi, 471.
Chalula, chief, 103, 105.
*' Charnbarnngo" oi Uganda, 189, 204,
302,331.
Chambezi, 28-4.
Character of African races— Wangwa-
na, 46-52, 55; Wanyamwezi, 52-
3; the Expedition, 71; of Mgongo
Tembo, 130; of Kaduma, 150-2
Ugamba, 171; at Namungi, 175
Waganda, sense of "chaff," 190-2
of Mtesa, 193-6, 201, 305, 405-7
Magassa's, 208, 212; lake-tribes,
223-4; of Lukongeh, 247, 2^19
boat's-crew, 262; Bumbireh, 274,
276-8; Katekiro, 318; Waganda
406-8; Sambuzi, 424-5; Wanya
Kuanda, 455, 480-1 ; Mirambo, 492
Kumanika, 457-8, 474.
Charms, <&c.— »«? " Magic, Aa"
Charugawa village, 446.
Chawasimba Point, 214, 296.
Chikanga district, 502.
Chiwanuko Island, 212, 214.
Chiwyu, camp at, 115; death of E.
Pocock, 116, 118-19.
Chowpereh, 55-6.
Christianity in Africa, 75-80, 202-3,
209, 222, 249, 321, 322^, 335-7, 405,
417-18.
Chunyu, nitrous waters of, 96, 97-9.
Church in Uganda, 417.
Chwa, son of Kintu, 848.
Coffee, 42, 401.
Comoro Islands, 76.
Congo (Kongo). 26, 205.
Congondo, 89, 96.
Cotton-wood, 402, 474.
Cranes, 120, 133.
Crocodiles, 161; (educated), 253.
Daily Telegraphy mission from, 2,
3 ; farewell dinner from, 7, 209, 296.
Dallington, " the Scripture-reader,"
75, 322, 44a
Dance of kings, 269.
Deaths — Edward Pocock, 116; Kaif
Halleck, 123; Frederick Barker,
241 ; MabruM ** Speke," and others,
243-4.
Desertions from the Expedition, 98,
102, 1(^.
Dickinson, Bev. Mr., 77.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
612
INDEX.
DiBeases— Mc " Fever," 104, 114, 244-5,
467; dysentery, 114; leprosy, 463;
ophthalmia, 104 : typhus, 116, 135 ;
elephantiasis, 46^.
Dobo, under shelter at, 163.
Dogs, 7, 85, 471-2; used in war, 153,
300, 362, 472; of Expedition— »*^«
"Bull," "Jack," "Nero," ''Castor,"
" Captain," Ac; fondness of Waganda
kings for dogs, 348, 363.
Donkeys— »«« " Asses."
Doum-palms, 102.
Dress— Wa-Nguru, 91; Warimi, 113;
Abaddi, 139; Maheta, 168; Mui-
wanda, 169; Waganda, 183; Ma-
gassa, 184; Katekiro, 188, 302;
Mtesa's courtiers, 189, 193; J)age8,
192; Mbugu, 198; Mtesa, 192, 205,
300, 394 ; his sailors, 300; warriors,
subject tribes, 301 j Wakerewd,
255-6 ; Mirambo and his men, 490-1 ;
Kumanika,460. iSe« " Hairdressing."
Ducks, 112, 120, 132, 239.
Dudoma settlement, 100.
Duma Kiver, 158.
Dumo in Uganda, 213, 214, 296-7.
Dwarf land, 470.
Dysentery, 114.
Eastebn IJsiha, 135.
*' Eating up" lands and owner, 888-9,
447-8.
Elders of Tillages. 113-14, 294, 295.
Elephantiasis, 463.
Elephants at Uhumba, 100; eating a
putrid, 111; near Suna, 112; Mo-
nangah, 135: in Uganda, 849, 377;
legends of, 476-7.
Bschinomenad, 164.
Ethnology, 33. 84, 43-63, 80, 251, 470.
Euphorbias, 107, 138, 139, 140, 164, 461.
Expedition, embarks, and starts to-
wards the Dark Continent, 68 ; first
trouble, 72; first step for the in-
terior, 81 ; number, ^ ; arrives at
Bosako, 88; Mamboya, 92; Mpwa-
pwa, 95 ; western end of Ugogo, 107 ;
wilderness of Uveriveri, 109, 115,
123, 138; fights with Ituru, 120,
121, 128 ; arrives at Mgongo Tembo,
130-1; crosses Luwamberri Plain,
132-3 ; crosses Monangah river, 135 ;
arrives at Lake Victoria, 142; cir-
cumnavigation of Lake Victoria, 156-
241 ; embarks for Refuge Island, 259 ;
arrives at Mahyiga Island, 271;
fights wftfi Bumbireh Island, 274-
290 ; arrives at Dumo, 296, 297 ; de-
parts for Muta Nzig6 Lake, 421 ;
arrives at Muta Nzig6 Lake, 438;
arrives at Earagw6, 450, 478 ; arrives
at Ugoy or Ugoi, Ujiji, on Lake Tan-
ganika, 509.
Famini, 109-11.
Farjalla Christie, 56, 128.
Ferns, 483.
Ferris remodels the Lady Alice, 60.
Feruzi, Robert, 203, 238.
Fever, 104, 114, 244-5, 467.
Field-larks, 132.
Fights of Expedition, 122-9, 178, 236;
in camp, 266, 292, 446.
Fig-trees, 182, 198, 402.
Fire in the camp, 342.
Firearms in Uganda, "Brown Bess,'*
328.
Fish-hawks. 132-3.
Fishing, 147, 149, 156, 225.
Flamingoes, 133.
Forbearance, examples of our, 276-7.
Forests— see " Wood."
Fruit, of Refuge Island, 239, 269; of
Africa, melons, papaws, bananas,
411-14; plantains, &c, 402 «aa.
Fundi Rehani, murderer of Membd,
266.
Gabunoa, chief admiral of Uganda,
212.
Gambachika, 141.
Gambaragara, 428.
Geese, m, 133.
"Geographical Society of Karagw6,"
468-473.
Geography— we " Physical Geography."
Geology — of Usagara Range, 96; Uyanzi
107-8; Matongo basin, 119; Ma-
ngura, 131 ; Luwamberri, 133 ; Mo-
nangah, 135: Usiha, 136, 138, 141;
Bridge Island, 166; RubagaHiU,199;
Lupassi Point, 215; Musira Island
223; Wezi, 248. 403, 430, 434, 452;
Ihema, 463; Uhumba, 477.
Girafle, 132.
Gnu, 132.
Gk>at8kins, 401.
" Oo and die on the Nyanza;* 240.
Gogo, Goma, and GK>mbe rivers, 133,
504,605.
Gondoroko, Ismailia, 211, 804.
Goods of Expedition, 4, 81 ; beads and
doth, 91, 114, 169.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INDEX.
513
Gordon Bonnett, Mr. J., 8; Mount
G. B.,404,427,431.
Gordon Pasha. 211, 416.
Gori river, 165.
Goshi, headlands of, 165.
Grains, wheat, rice, maize, sesamnm,
miUet, 42-43, 402 sgq.. 485.
Grant, Capt. J. A., 1, 17-19, 194, 37a
Grant Bay, 299.
Gninea-fowls, 133.
Gum-trees and gums, 107, 164, 198,
401-3, 461.
Habits and customs— Zanzibar, 32-53,
147, 169-70; Wakerew6. 252^;
Bumbireh. 273 ; Waganda, 301, 381-
414, 410. 426-7.
Hail, 174, 177, 240.
Hair-dressinp— Wa-Ngum, 91 ; at Mui-
wanda, 170; Wanyamwezi pagazi,
141.
Hamadi, 83.
Hamed Ibrahim, 44, 453.
Hamoida, "the faithful," 55, 58, 172,
238
Hartebeest, 132, 421.
Herodotus, 8-12.
Heroes of Africa : of Uganda, 344-80
—see "Mirambo.** *^Tippu Tib,*'
53_aec *' Kasindula, * **Kibaga,"
850-1; Kimera, 349 ; Wakinguru, H59.
Hippopotamus, 158, 161, 163, 169, 236,
242, 254, 461.
History, Zanzibar peoples, 46-8;
sultan of. 39-43; Ukerew6. 250;
Uganda, 344-80 ; Watuta, 499.
Honey, 295.
Hot springs (Mtagata), 459, 464, 466-8 ;
of Usongora, 472.
Hulwa, 140-1.
Huts of Kagebyi, 144 ; of Wavuma,
179; of Usavara, 189; of Wajranda,
198-200, 302 ; Waganda army, 311 ;
Waganda peasants, 383-5, 430 ; of
Serombo, 488-9.
Hyenas, 94, 486.
Ibis, 132.
Jgira Tillage, camp at, 131-2.
Igusa district, products of, 149, 156 ;
treachery of, 244.
Ihangiro country, 277-295.
Ihema island ana lake, 463.
Ikungu Bav. 163.
Ingezi, rced-covered river, 450, 461-3,
469.
Ingira Island, 384, 311-41.
Iramba, 135.
VOL. I.— 33
Irangara islands, 161.
Irieni, 163-4.
Iroba Island, 271; insulted by crews
of, 273-4; capture of king of, 275;
release, 276 ; capture of Shekka, 276,
278 ; conciliated, 283, 287, 293.
Irwaji islands, 313 ; natives of, 365.
Ishmaels of Africa, 499.
Islam in Africa — ece "Zanzibar,"
"Arabs"; in Uganda. 209, 306, 323.
Islands-^we " Alice," " Barker's,"
"Bridge," "Bumbireh," "Burdett-
Coutts,'* "Chagw6," "Chiwanuko,"
" CJomoro,'' " Ingira,'* " Iroba,"
" Irangara," " Irwaji," subject to
Uganda, 461 ; " Lake Islands," 471 '
" Ito," " Kabuzzi," " Kamassi,';
" Kankorogo,** " Karara," " KasQng6."
" Kazaradzi," " Kereng6," "Kindevi,"
"Kiregi." "Kishakka," " Kitaro,'*
"Kitenteh," "Kiwa," "Kuneneh,"
"Lulamba," "Mabibi," "Mahyiga.''
« Miandereh," " Musira," "Muzimu,"
"Mysomeh," " Nameterr6,*' "Na-
mungi," "Natwari," "Ngevi." "Ni-
fuah,'' "Observation," "Refuge,"
"Rionga's," "Kumondo," "Sesse,"
"Shiza," "Singo," "Soweh," "Ihe-
ma* "Ukara," "Ukerew6,** "Usa-
ma," "Usuguru," "Uvuma," "Wa-
wizua."
Isossi (Mount), 461.
Itawa river, 133.
Itawagumba, 265.
Ito Island, 239, 264.
Itumbi (Sultan Mpamira's), 99.
Ituru, 87. 120, 129, 131.
Ivory, 401.
Iwanda, 467.
Izanjeh, camp at, 121, 123.
**Jaok,"85,93,47L
Jack's Mount, 298.
Jasmine, 221.
Jay, 120.
Jinja, 310, 373.
Jiweni, " the stones," 102, 110.
"Jojussu," the king of war-drums,
342.
Josephus on Nile, 11.
Juma Merikani, 44, 53.
Kahaka of Uganda— see " Mtesa "
Kabussi Island, 471.
Kach^ch^ (the detective), 55, 98, 113,
1-22, 154, 244, 444, 446, 447.
Kaduma, Prince of Kagehyi, 144-8,
150-6, 160,242, 244-5, 254, 266, 26a
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
614
INDEX.
Kadzi Bay, 183-4. 187.
Kafiirro,45t>-3. 455, 464, 476, 479.
Kapnyyo, 461.
Kagehyi, 141; arrival at, 142-3;
welcomed to, 144 ; in camp at, 145-8 ;
becomes a trade centre, 149, 150;
Prince of, 151-3; preparations for
leaving, 154-5: last sight of, 160;
return to, 240-1 ; Barker s death at,
212-3 ; treachery at, 244 ; rest ana
fever, 245 ; hostile neighlwurs, 246 ;
in searcb of canoes to, 247-9 ; return
to Kagehyi. 257 ; half the expedition
leaves, 2o9; fight among the re-
mainder. 2G5-6; final departure
from, 267.
Kagera— « *' Alexandra Nile.**
Kaguru, 91, 365.
Kaif Halleck murdered, 120-124, 129.
Knjumba, son of Suna I!., 377.
Kajurri bay and village, 284.
Eakoko, Eananga. and Buhinda, sons
of Bumanika, 477.
Kamanya, king of Uganda, 360-2, 365,
380.
Kamassi Island, 162.
Kamiera, Chwa's son, 348.
Kamiru, king, 376.
Kangau, 189.
Kaniki cloth. 114.
Kankorogo Island, 461.
Kanyera beads, 114.
lCaragw6, 150, 223, 296, 450478.
Karara Island. 470.
Kasengo, 14 ; island, 21.
Kasindula, the hero, 344. 372-3, 376,
380.
Kasinga village, 464, 508.
Kashesh6, king of Uzimba, 174.
Kashongwa, 108.
Kasita, 471.
Easongo, 26.
Katekiro of Uganda, 188-9, 366 (vic-
tories of), 378.
Katonga nver, 212-13, 297, 431.
Katutwa, king of Utarabara, f>05.
KnuU of Uganda, 189, 190, 302, 398.
Kavi river, 165.
Kawangira district, 504.
Kazaradzi Island, 270.
Kereng6 Island. 181.
Khamis bin Abdulla, 53; son of Ha-
moida, 253 ; the Baluch, 509.
Khonko, chief, 104.
Kibaga, the flying warrior, 350-L
Kibibi, natives of, 365.
Kibogora, king of Western Usui, 476,
479.
Kibonga, 213.
h'ibuga of Uganda, 200.
Kidudu Peak, 90.
Kiganda language, 171, 184, 203.
Kijaju, king of Komeh, 246, 268-9.
Eikoka, camp at, 85, 96.
Eikoma, camp at, 421.
Kikombo, or Chikombo, 99.
Kimera, the giant 348-9.
Kindevi Island. 162.
Eingani river, 84-6.
Eingfishers, 133. '
Eings of Uganda, 380 ; of Ukerew6, 250.
Eingwana language, 171; costume of,
192.
Kintu — see *' L^end of Blameless
Priest.*'
Einyamwezi language, 17L
Eipingiri, chief of Lutari, 156, 242,
^44, 265, 267.
Eirango, one of the Wangwana, 230.
Eiregi islands, 161.
Kirudo, camp at, 1^3.
Eirurumo, fighting at, 107, 131.
Eishakka, island of, 376, 459, 471, 47a
Eisorya, camp at, 257.
Eisuka, point, 20.
Eiswahili language, 184, 322.
Eitagwenda, 471.
Eitalalo, chief of, 102, 103, 122.
Eitangeh, 91; basin of, 91-2.
Eitangul^ river, 18, 450.
Kitari, royal sepulchre at, 250.
Eitaro Island, 159.
Eitenteh Island, 312. 364, 365.
Kitumi of Uganda, 189.
Eivu lake, 469.
Eiwa Island, 181, 187.
Eiwandar^ mountains, 466.
Eiwyeh, chief, 104
Eiyanga, 452.
Eizinga, bivouac at, 462.
Eiziwa.450, 467.
Eoki. 421.
Eomeh,150,264,4ia
Eonduchi, 16, 64.
Eongo (Congo), 26. 205.
Eudu (antelope), 132.
Kuneneh group, 161, 239, 244, 2?i9.
Eurereh, chief of Eyenzi, 244, 267.
Eyogia river, 421.
Eyozza, king of Northern Uzongora,
296, 376.
Eytawa, 278-9, 293,376.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INDEX.
515
LabobA, scene of L. do Bellefonds'
murder, 211.
Lady Alice^ lines of, 4; remodelled,
60; en route, 83: equipped for the
lake, 147; on the lake, 156-298;
stowed away, 299; on Windermere
\and the Karagwd streams, 46(M.
Lakes— «ec "Albert Nyanza," "Alex-
andra Nyanza," "Beatrice Gulf,"
"Bemba lake," " Ihema lake,"
"Kivu," "Lake Victoria," "Luam-
pula's," " Merur^, Mkinyaga," " Muta
Nzig6,"" Outlet of Victoria Nyanza,"
"Kweru," "Sivu6," "Tanganika,"
"Ugombo," "Uhimba lake," "Vic-
toria Nyanza," "Windermere,"
Lawson, Mount, 426.
Leehumwa, 100.
Leewumbu river, 119, 121, 128, 134
Legends, &c., 131 : of Lake Victoria,
153, 198, 251, 270; of the Blame-
less Priest, 34J-80; geographical
fables, 468-73, 505.
Leopards, 303, 364, 421, 486.
Leprosy, 463.
Linant Island, 186.
Lions, 89, 93, 100, 111, 364, 42L
Liuch6 river, 509.
Livingstone, Dr., death, 2; funeral,
1, 3 ; explorations of, 19-23, 26, 55 ;
with the Universities' Mission, 76-
77, 125, 193 ; Livingstone canoe, 420 ;
the " Livingstone" river, 23-26.
Llianes (bridge of;, 30, 160, 164, 221,
403, 466.
Lo Bengwella, 502.
Loangwa river, 23.
Lohugati river, 480, 483.
Long, Colonel, 378.
Lords of the cord, 363, 393, 897-a
Luajerri river, 299.
Lualaba, Luapula, 24.
Luampula's lake, 469.
Lugumbwa Creek, 90.
Luhola in Usongora, 470.
Luindi river, 78.
Lukanjah, 259, 264-6, 268, 276, 291,
293^
Lukoma, chief, 439.
Lukongeh, king of Ukerew6, furnishes
canoes, 247; life of, 251-7; Mtesa's
alliance with, 418.
Lulamba islands, 313 ; natives of, 365.
Lupassi Point, 215.
Lusize, 20.
Lutari cape, 156, 242, 244, 266, 267.
Luwamberri, plains of, and river, 132-
8,13a
Lynx, 364.
Mabibi isr.ANDS, 259.
Mabruki "Speke," 66-6; death, 243.
Machench6 village, 103.
Machunda, king of UkerewS, 253.
Mackenzie, Bishop, 76, 77.
Mafia islands, 4L
Mafitt6««je**Watuta.''
Maganga, chief of Rubago, 130, 158, 504.
Magassa, the messenger and admiral,
164, 187-8, 208, 211, 224, 246-6, 282,
387, 889, 443.
Magic, and magic doctors, &c., 105, 122,
131, 162, 251, 826-7, 833, 340-1,
364,383.
Magomero, mission at, 77.
Magu Hills, 149, 157-8, 163.
Maheta, or Mahata, country, 168-9.
Mahyiga Island, eventful stay at, 271-
294
Majid, Prince, 59, 378.
Majita, Mount, 162, 241, 251.
Makindu river, 300.
Makongo, ill-treatment at, 216, 218,
224,237,296.
Makubika village, camp at, 91.
Malagarazi (or Meruzi) river, 480,
483, 494, 505, 607.
Malewa, chief of Mtiwi, 106-7.
Mamboya village, 91.
Manassa, heights of, 141.
Mangroves, 166, 175.
Mangura, village of, 120, 231.
Manikoos, &c., 603.
Mankorongo, king of Usui, 193, 246,
398, 418, 484-6.
Mansumba village, camp at, 607.
Mansur bin Suliman, an Arab of Ba-
gamoyo, 74-6, 83, 86.
Manwa Sera, " Captain," 66-7, 82, 110,
128, 244, 270, 273, 287, 439.
Manyara, cones of, 169.
Maoorugimgu, sub-chief, 399.
Marches, average of, 145.
Marenga Mkali, or "Bitter Water"
wilderness, 98-9.
" Mars of Africa," 489— «ed " Mirambo.**
Marsawa, peak of, 175.
Marya, camp at, 140.
Marzouk the boat-boy, 238.
Masai land, 165.
Masaka, village in Uddu, 389
Masari, a village, 134, 139.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
516
INDEX.
Mashakka, 157.
Masonga, hilly point, 162.
Masr (Cairo), 150, 203, 206.
MaRnmami, chief of Kitalalo, 103.
Matabel6s, 502.
Mat6mb6 Point, 16L
Matete (water-cane), 164, 182, 199.
Matongo, small district, 119.
Mayangira village, 494.
Mbwenni, site of mission, 86.
Mbugu^see " Dress."
Memb^ murdered, 266.
Menir6 (Lake), 465.
Meruzi— «« " Malagarazi.'*
Messenger of Teddington, 4, 240.
Meteorology— Rain, 119, 163, 174, 178,
226; wind, 157, 163, 170, ITT, 237,
240, 297, 466; hail. 174. 177, 240;
temperature, 99, 100, 120, 160, 174,
177, 432, 467.
Mezinda district on Lake Victoria,
camp at, 296.
Mfuteh, camp at, 89, 90.
Mgongo Tembo, "Elephant's Back,'*
. 120-1, 130-L
Miandereh Island, eyentful passage to,
260—2.
Mikindini, bay, 23.
Mimosa, 133, 159, 164, 221.
Mirambo, chief of the " Ruga-Ruga,**
107, 126, 130, 134, 170, 246, 396,
488. 490-2; makes blood-brother-
hood, 493.
Missions and mission work — Uni-
versities' Mission, 75-80, 202-3;
converting Mtesa, 209, 222, 242-3 ;
Lukongeh, 249, 321-325, 335-7,
405-6, 417-18.
Mizanza (Plain oO, 102-3; chief, 104.
Mkasiwa, of Unyanyemb6, 107, 493.
Mkindo river, 90.
Mkinyaga lake and country, 469.
Mkumbiro, village of, 496.
Mkundi river, 90.
M*kungu, or chief, of Uganda, 386.
Mkwenda, 189, 331.
Mombasa, Methodist Free Church at,
64, 79, 209.
Mombiti, camp at, 134-6, 176, 178.
Mombiti-Uvuma, 276.
Monangah river and valley, 119, 134-5,
138.
Mondo, camp at, 138, 140.
Monitors, lol.
Monkeys and skins, 140, 401, 466.
Mono Matapa, 50L
Monyono bay, 186.
Mori Bay, 164.
Morungo, or the " Noisy Falls," 459.
Mosquitoes, 157, 297, 462.
Mother of the Jiiver at Jinga, 450.
Mountains of the Moon, reputed source
of Nile, 12.
Mountains, peaks, hills, cones, &c.—
see " Arnold,'* '* (rambaragara,"
" (Gordon Bennett," " Isosd," "Jack's
Mount," " Kidudu," " Magu," " Ma-
nyara," "Mgongo Tembo," "Pong-
w^," " Rubaga," " Sabaganzi s,"
"Switzerland of Africa," "Uddu
Ufumbiro," "Ukamba," "Unyang
wira," *• Urirwi," " Usambara," " Wa-
kuneh."
Mpanga river, 432.
Mpani village, 310.
Mpororo, 469.
Mpundu, a race of dwarfs, 470.
Mpwapwa, 95-6 ; camp at, 97, 119.
Msen6, camp at, 504.
Msenna, "the bully of Zanzibar,"
59, 93, 244, 2G7, 485.
Mshala river, 509.
Msossi, capital of Lukongeh, 251.
Msungu, or white man, 143.
Msuwa village, 89.
Mtagata, hot springs of, 469, 464.
Mtambuko, king of Ankori, 297.
Mtesa, emperor of Uganda, 106,150
— see " Uganda," " Character,"
" Dress," and " Women."
Mtiwi, camp at, 106-7.
Mtongoleh-«oc " Titles.**
Muanza district, 15, 149, 246.
Muhalala, camp at, 107.
Muini Kheri, an Arab, 44, 609; Du-
gumbi, an Arab, 44.
Mukondoku district, 103-5.
Mukondokwa river, 96.
Muley bin Salim converts Mtesa ^
Islam, 194, 323.
Munulu river, 177.
Murambo, king of Usuguru, 177.
Murchison Catartcts, mission at, 76;
bay, 19, 186-7, 196-7, 208, 212.
Musira Island, 218, 223, 225, 247.
Muta Nzig6, MteuBa provides escort
to, 803-4; scenery of, 404; prepa-
rations for, 420 ; camp at, 430-445^
449, 463— fie« "Beatrice Gult"
Mutunda beads, 169.
Mutwar6, or chief, 479, 507.
Muvari, 463.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INDEX.
517
MuTWO Point, 186.
Muzimu Island, 2L
Muzimus, ot spirits— wfl " MogiOi Ac."*
Mvomero, 90.
Mvul6-tree, 403.
Mwerango river, 300, 345,
Mwer^ country, 246.
Mweru, lake, 24.
Mworongo, or Nawarongo, river, 463.
Myombo-trees, 110, 118, 130, 132, 183.
Myonga, chief of Masumbwa, 494.
Mysomeh Islands, 270.
Nabutabi riyeb, 429.
Nagombwa river, 300, 361.
Kakaranga, Mtesa's camp at, 310-43.
Nakidimo Creek, 167.
Na-Magongo Point, 310, 313, 315, 341.
Nameterre Island, 271.
Kankuma village, landing at, 298.
Namujurilwa, "the Achilles of Ugan-
da," 344-366, 369, 370.
Kamnngi islands, 175, 365.
Napoleon Channel, 181, 201.
Natural history— see " Omitholopry,"
•* Zoology,*' '* Entomology," ** Geo-
logy," " Botany," &c
Natwari Island, l57.
Nrtwarongo, or Ruvuvn, river, 479.
Ndega, king of Serombo, 488.
Ndeverva village, 487.
Ndongo district, 449.
" Nero," the retriever dog, 7, 85, 102.
l^ew York Herald, mission from, 2, 3,
7; letters to, 209, 296.
Neygano, 176.
Ngevi Island, 170, 172, 174, 276.
Ngoi, district on Alexandra Nile, 467.
Ngnm district, 90, 124.
Niamtaga, village near Ujiji, 509.
Nifuah Island, 160.
NOe, 3, 8-10, 12, 13, 16-18, 20, 22, 27,
362, 481; White, 13, 16; Victoria,
18, 300, 306, 361. 398, 472; Alex-
andra, 213-15, 389, 390, 402,448-50,
463, 466. 476, 479-81, 609.
Niranga (? Vinyata), basin of, 121.
Notre Dame de Bagomoyo, 76.
Ntewi village, halt at, 298, 418.
Nyambarri village, halt at, 484-5.
Nyangw6, 26.
Nyassa, lake. 23, 76, 78.
Nyika, king of Gambaragara, 427-8.
Nynngu, chief, 107.
Observation Island, 164.
Ophthalmia, 104.
Orchids, 221, 226.
Organization of Expedition in England,
1-7; at Zanzibar, 52-69, 81
Ornithology, 120, 133 ; cranes, ducks,
112, 120, 132, 239; field-larks, 132;
fish-hawks, 132-3 ; flamingoes, 133 ;
geese, 120, 133; guinea-fowls, 133;
ibis, 132 ; jay, 120 ; kingfishers, 133 ;
fnrroquets, 120 ; plover, 120 ; snipe,
20; spoonbills, l20, 133; vulture,
133.
Outlet of Victoria Nyanza, 299— see
" Ripon Falls."
Palms— Cocoa-nut, 86— see "Doum,"
" Borassus."
Pnngani river, 165.
Papyrus, 297, 404, 422, 425, 450;
« Funzo," 461.
Parroquets, 120.
Peasants, or Kopi, of Uganda, 330,
382-6.
Pemba, 41.
Fmguin, ship, 23.
Pennell, Rev. Mr., 78.
Phunz6, chief, 496.
Physical geography— «ee "Plains,"
"Rivers," "Mountains," **Bays,"
•* Islands," " Lakes," " Capes,"
"Falls," "Channels,"
Pine-apple, wild, 164, 221, 226.
Pipes, 105.
Plains and basins — «ee "Kitangeh,'*
"Luwamberri," "Mizanza,'* "Ni-
ranga (? Vinyata)," "Monangeh,"
"Rufiji Salina," "Shahshi." «Tu-
bugw^," "Uhamba," "Uyagoma,"
" Wagansu," " WagassL"
Plover, 120.
Pocock, Edward, engaged, 5 ; at Zan-
zibar, 61 ; bugler of the ExpeditioT»,
83; vnth the Expedition, 85, 92,
104, 109; taken ill at Suna, 114
115 ; death of, 116.
Pocock. Francis John, engaged, 5 ; at
Zanzibar, 61 ; vnth the Expedition,
61, 92, 104, 109; at his brothers
denth-bed, 114-16,121; stockading
camp against Wanyaturu, 126 ; siphts
the lake, 142, 145; at Kagehyi, 149,
155, 240; at Barker's death-bed,
243 ; visits Lukongeh, 247, 257-8 ; in
charge at Refuge Island, 268, 270;
at Mahyiga, 280 ; in council, 287.
Poisoned arrows, 223.
Pokino, 388-90.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
;^
JDl
n --— ,.
-L* . J-fc. T^ "•-
- i - i. '\
:-^T r-
.:. '.z.-. .- .. -. ••ui. ±=i ;^ ^ TTT. "354, «L
,,— ^^ * » .- - -V T *- * -«-i .-I-' '-^ ^"^ *•--!_ '■-" L • *^St\L ^
* r r:.
rrv ■* TTuii ^^2i:-' ii. ii . ■
211.
•l*r--..t* •_:.-»-::.* *liiz::_' iaL*^ r»:'X «*"
• jif.i* .^nn--- ' -jfw-rjrv.* * -• cia- ^-xsr nzi. "iLi JTi 321: ■Tn nrf »
• 1". :. ' *3CT^-in.n > .tt.* *Vfc- 4-* rrr^^vr T- ■ i ili»i il l — tt^ Af»
* .'c , . . " - i '.^-iir-. " * 1 ^^'^^ i'r laf. 'l:7. 1-<-1. iSti, 33&, it*.
.'/.•>t< .. T . .t.'-^ -/ ^- ^/ - > -:* -i 7r^i,;yi.^ Lr'i 314, 3L3. 315,
/ .'/t .-"-^.'^-r *'>".'tv. ^3 It \\. IT, S^^fi-ithr^ :f Tcersw* kzrus. 950^L
P. . ^.'. :x > . -n : ^^ - JX . i': ^^ >t'-. -a. ?4i, STL
/: .V:... ^"..o"* /' /♦. S^^T-.-i Hoj^-n.'C, mlraa of ZmzTtir,
fr . '. .*. T, ^,.', -y. ,H, o-^-t. : *•-•: :ti a of sUw-teie, 41 ;
V .: ,, r T',r ij. :.! - It'm. '^4, ?}, K3. fT.r\z:::Tj it, 11-3;
i;*.-*: ,/:v— «<
* V '^-' '*:.
S ;v-.*hi ' ' jvin.4 oO, 159, lA
S .ac. cola's, irisKuiD to, 7BL
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INDEX.
519
Shaurt,&7, 75, 124, 146, 151-2; "le-
vees," 192 sqq., 231, 249, 290, 302,
329 393.
Shekka, king of Bnmbireh, 231, 234,
272-5, 278, 295.
Shepherd tribes, 91, 113, 137-9; Wata-
turu, 251, 465; Ankori, 297; Wa-
Yuma, 423 ; Gambaragara and Uson-
gora, 471 ; Uwya, 225; Uhamba,477,
485, 510.
Shimee>u river, 119, 157-8, 215, 223.
Shirati district, 164-5.
Shirwa, 76.
Shiza Island, 162.
Shumari, 262-3.
Sims, 149, 157, 163.
Simba Mwenni village, 89, 90.
Singo Island, 239, 263.
Sivu6 lake, 505.
Slavery, at Zanzibar, 40-1, 45; of a
Bumbireh, 280; Uganda, 303-7;
of women, 309 ; 321, 324, 606.
Slings, 192, 239, 264
Snipe, 120.
Snow mountain, 427.
Songs and miisic, 142, 270, 397,409, 507.
Sondi, a youth, 125.
Sources of the Nile, 8-27; Herodotus
on, 8; Burton, 10-13, 210-«« "Nile."
South Usmau, 140.
Sowoh Island, 186-7.
Sparhawk, Mr. A., at Zanzibar, 31, 68.
Spear-grass, 164.
Speke Gulf, 119, 155-8, 160, 162, 167,
240.
Speke, John Hanning, 1, 14-18, 149,
193-4, 378, 474.
■Spoonbills, 120, 133.
Sport— Bcc ** Zoology" and "Orni-
thology."
Springbok, 132.
Steere, Kev. E., bishop, 78,
St. Joseph's, 79.
St. Luke's Gospel, 322.
Stoims, 157, 163, 170, ITT, 178, 237,
239,240.
Suliman, a youth, murdered, 129.
Sultan Mparaira's, 99.
Sultan of Zanzibar— «ae " Seyyid Bar-
ghash."
Suna, emperor of Uganda, 110, 118-19,
278, 348, 363-4, 368, 415.
Sungoro Tarib, an Arab, 144, 146-7,
149, 155, 157, 244, 281.
Sunset, at Zanzibar, 38 ; on the lake,
270.
Susa district, 165.
" Switzerland of Africa," 433.
Sycamore, 265, 403.
Tamabind, 182, 198, 221, 402.
Tamarisk, 102, 461.
Tanga, 64,
Tanganika, Lake, review of
explorations of, 3, 14r-16, l9-2
53, 82, 150, 304; arrival atlake,509;
Tarya Topan, 63, 67, 135.
Teak, 221, 402.
Tekeh, 392.
Tempests— «ce " Storms."
"2%e boat, oh I the boat;' 260.
" The Stones," 103, 105.
Thermometer readings, at Itumbi, 99-
100; Ituru, 120; Kitaro, 160; on the
lake, 174; Munulu river, 177,
432; at Mtogata. 467.
Timber— «ce " Wood."
Tippu Tib, 63.
Titles and names — Watuma, Mshensi,
Wangwana, 46-8; Kabaka, 187, 393-
404; Mtongoleh, or Watongoleh,
181-2, 192,1WNB, 208, 217, 282, 296,
375 ; Katekiro, 188-9 ; Chambarango,
189; Kangau, 189; Mkwenda, 189;
Sekebobo, 189; Kitunzi, 189; Saba-
ganzi, 189; Kauta, 189, 190; Saruti,
189; Kibuga, 200; Jumba, 212;
M'Kama, 270; "The Lion/' 278;
Wakungu, 305, 371, 376; Kopi, 372,
382-6; Mlangira, 407; M'Kayya.
407; generals, &c., 305; sub- chiefs,
331 ; Mtemi, 494 ; Mono-Matapa. Ac,
601; "Mani,* "wana," £03; Mut-
war6, 479, 507; Quitev^, 503; Mako-
lolo, 603.
Tori, Mtesa's factotum, 189, 204, 331,
400.
Tozer, Kev. Mr., 77.
Trade and trade prospects, Zanzibar,
41-3 (see '* Zanzibar"); primitive
trade, 149 ; Uganda, 210, 223, 321,
363,378,401-2,407,463-4.
Travel, rate of, 145.
Treachery, at Vinyata, 122-9; at
Maheta, 168; at Ugamba, 173; at
Mombiti, 178: at Uvuma, 180; at
Bumbiroh, 229, 285; at Kagehyi,
244.
Trees— ac« " Wood."
Tubugw6 (basin of), 95, 96.
Twiyami, 399 sqq.
Typhus and typhoid fever, 115, 135.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
620
INDEX.
UBAOwi district, 496.
Ubwari Island, 21-2*2.
Uchambi district, 147-8. 1G3.
Uddu,hillsof,213, 223, 3>9.
Ufumbiro mountains, 463, 465.
Ugamba country, 170, 173, 175.
Uganda, history of, 844-80; stay in,
187-210; 297-425; chiefs of, 305;
anny and fleet of. 305-6. 313-14;
kings of, 380; districts subject to.
401, 409, 43U: life and manners
in, 881-414, 415-17, 446-9-«»
" Waganda."
Ugeyeya countnr, 152, 165-8, 223.
Ugingo Island, 165-6, 169.
Ugogo country, 98-9. 103, 107, 115,
118. 120, 122-3, 139,210,214.
Ugoi district, 464.
Ugombo (lake of). 95, 97-8,
Ugoweh,167.
Ug^ifu country, 478.
Uguha, 21.
Ugungu district, 300-60.
Uhumba, plain of. 100.
Uhha country, 463, 478, 50a
Uhimba lake. 476-7.
Ujaju district, or Bryaju, 213.
Ujiji country. 15, 19. 20, 23, 25-6, 44,
58, 150, 152, 205, 208.
Ukafu, district in Uganda, 181, 187.
Ukamba (peak), 91, 186. '
Ukara (island), 150, 162.
Ukedi country, 345.
Ukerew6 country. 15, 20, 152, 160-3,
233. 239-a« ** Wakerewtf."
Ukimbu country, or Uyanzi, 103.
Ukombeh Tillage, 494.
Ukonju country, land of cannibals, 470.
Ukwya, district of Ukerew6, 161.
Ulaf?alla, old capital of Uganda 349,
420.
Uledi, the coxswain, 192 262-3, 265.
Ulimengo, ** the joker," 56.
Umbiru Point, 186.
Ungomirwa, chief, 496.
IFniversities' Mission, history of, 75-80,
2i)3.
Unjaku headland, 212. 313.
Unyambungu country, 469, 478.
Unyampaka country, 435.
Unvampaka, 471.
Unyamwezi country, 52, 120, 161, 487.
Unyangwira hills. 103.
Unyanyemb6 district in Unyamwezi,
45, 76. 107. 130-1, 150, 152, 210,
246, 296, 420, 49a
Unyoro country, 864, 871, 39a
Uplands, 107 sqq., 118, 130.
Urambo, or Uyoweh, capital and dis-
trict of King Mirambo, 494.
Urengo, Ulengo, river, 25.
Uriambwa, the land of the tailed people,
470.
Urimba, 21.
Urimi district, 108, 244.
Urirwi Mountains. 141.
Urondogani district, 17, 36L
Urundi country. 463.
Ururi country, 152-5, 157. 162-3, 222,
241— ww^Waruri."
Usagara country, 90. 96, 98, 223,
Usagusi (Tillage), 565.
Usama Island, 175.
Usambara district, 162.
Usambiro district, 486.
Usaiida 134.
UsaTara camp, 186, 188, 199, 209, 303.
Usekk6 Tillage and district, 103.
Usiha Tillage, 134-5, 137-8.
Usmau, 139. 149. 159.
Usoga country, 169. 223, 345, 360, 364
— «ae " Wasoga."
Usongora distnct, 428, 438, 467. 471.
Usuguru Island, 169, 170, 173-4, 240,
365.
Usui country, 193, 398, 467. 478.
Usukuma. 15, 120, 131, 13a-9. 143, 149,
150, 162, 176, 190-1, 200. 205-8, 240.
Utambara, 600.
Utaturu country, 120, 131.
Utiri district, 164.
Utumbi islands, 469, 471.
UveriTeri, jungles of, 109, 115, 123,
13rf.
UTira, 22.
Uvuma Island, 176, 178-9, 187, 223,
303, 312.
Uwya, ancient country, 223.
Uyagoraa district, 480.
Uyanzi country, 103.
Uzimba district, 433, 435, 47L
Uzinza country, 223, 418.
Uziri Island. 365.
Uzongora country, 214, 215, 222-3,
2u9, 282, 296, 364.
Vboistables, 134; beans, sweet
potatoes, vegetable-marrow, peas,
tomatoes, yams, 402.
Vescetation of Zanzibar, 29, 35, 42 ;
Mpwapwa, 97; Uyanzi, 107; Usn-
kuma, 134, 138; Ururi, 163; Buka,
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INDEX.
521
182-3; Uganda, 198, 208; Musira
Island, 219-21 ; AUce Island, 226 ;
Befuge Island, 269 ; Central Africa,
881, 383. 402.
Victoria Nile, 18, 300, 306, 361, 398, 472.
Yictoria Nyanza — review of preyious
explorations of, 3, 13, 15-19,60,82;
sighted by the Expedition, 142;
camp at, 144-5 ; propciing for voyage
on, 147,152-4 ; fables regarding, 153 ;
start on, 155; circnmnavigation of,
156-186, 211-41; crossing it on
return to Uganda, 259-296.
Vinyata district, 121, 123-4, 128, 131.
Volcanic phenomena, 165, 391, 427,
459, 464, 466-8, 472.
Vultures, 133.
Wa-Buhbibeh— se0 *• Bumbireh," 277
"Wadi Behani, one of the Wangwana,
coxswain.
Wapanda, character of, 190-2, 193-6,
201, 305, 405-7, 406-8 ; dress of. 183,
188, 302, 189, 193, 192,205,300,394,
801— «ce "Uganda," 222, 271, 862,
365-9. 439, 444.
Wagansu, plain of, 167.
Wagassi, plain of, 167.
Wagogo, people of Ugogo, 108.
W'ahuma shepherds, 278.
Wahumba, people of Masai, 105.
Wahya, Watambara, Wasumbwa, Wa-
ruri, Wakwya, Wazinga, 250.
Wajiji, people of Ujiji, 473.
Wajika or Wamasai, 159.
Wakara, people of Ukara Island, 150,
162.
Wakedi, people of Ukedi, 301, 360,
362.
Wakerew^— «ce " Ukerew^," 222, 226,
250-52, 264.
Wakimbu, tribe of, 107.
Wakinguru, the hero, 359, 360.
Wakuneh, hills of, 166.
Wakungujox chiefs, of Uganda, 192, 199.
Walking-sticks, the custom of sending,
300.
Wamasai, the, 91.
Wami river, 89, 90, 96.
Wandui, a village, 138.
Wangwana, origin and character of,
46-^2; habits tending to enervate,
55.
Wanhinni, 136.
Wanyamwezi, character of, 62-3.
Wanyaturu, people of Ituru, 120, 126,
128, 486.
Wanyoro, attack on GoL Bellefonds,
211, 349.
War in Africa, its desultory character,
297-343; legendary wars of Uganda,
344-80— »«e ** Mirambo," "Watuta."
War costume — ^Warimi,113; Bumbireh,
233; Waganda, 306; Mtesa, 307,
827
War-cries: " Hehu-a-hehu," 124, 228 ;
" Kavya," &c., 306-7, 316 ; *' Setuba,"
372, 429.
Warimi, 113, 114, 115.
Waruri,162 499— «m ** Ururi**
Wasess^, 313— see " Sess^.'*
Wasoga, 801, 365-9-«ee *' Usoga.-
Wasukuma, 108, 140, 148-9.
Wataturu shepherds, 250-1.
Water-buck, 132. 421.
Water-cane — »ee " Matet^.*'
Water-shed at Kikombo, 99 ; Uyagoma,
480.
Watongoleh— «<»« " Mtongoleh."
Watuta, 246; history of, 499-504.
Wavuma, 176, 179, 222-3, 277, 298,
315-19, 326, 328, 332-3, 364.
Wawizua Island, 270.
Wazinza, people of Uzinza, 222.
Wazongora, people of Uzongora, 289,
West, Bev. l^Tr., 78.
Western Unyamwezi, 107.
Weza, village of, 296.
Wezi, rocks of, 138, 257.
Whindi, 70.
White Africans. 426, 471-2
** White man with the open hand," 134.
White Nile, 13, 16.
Wild boar, 112, 132.
Windermere lake, 460.
Winds, 9, 157, 163. 165, 167, 168, 170,
173, 176, 177, 178. 179, 225, 237, 239,
240, 259, 265, 297, 466.
Wines — Malofu Moramba, 176, 185,
190,216,270,415.
Wirigedi district, at east end of Speke
Gulf. 150, 159, 223.
Wiru, coast of, 161, 239.
Witchcraft : wizards — «ee " Magic.**
Women stolen by Expedition, 86-7;
of Abaddi, 139; of Muiwanda, 169 ;
of Mtesa's court and harem, 196-7,
206, 304, 308-9. 400, 415, 428;
wife of Kaduma, 267; burnt in
camp, 343; wife of Kibaga, 350-1;
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INDEX.
mother of Ma*anda, 855 ; capfiTeB in
war, 869. 870, 875; occnpations of,
886 ; relicts of Suna, 896 ; empress of
Baanda, 454 ; wife of Safeni, 500.
Wood, trees, timl^er, forests, 96. 97,
107, 138, 165, 182, 198, 220, 221, 242.
Wye, 162.
Tambittah, in Ukerew^, 161.
Yams, 402.
Zaidi, 55 ; Zaidi Uganda, 55, 157.
Zambezi river, mission at. 76.
Zanzibar, arrival at, 17,27,28; vegeta-
tion of, 29; harbour and beach, 30,
87; friends at, 81; life at, 81-8, 54,
59-63, 65-8, 70, 86 ; sultan of, 89-43 ;
commerce, 48; productions by the
Arabs, 48-45 ; Aralw of, 43-6 ; Wang-
wana, Watuma, 46-52; TaryaTopan,
63; residents of, 66; missions at,
75-6, 78, 194 ; Mnazimoya, 82, 85, 86 ;
Shangani Point. 82 ; Malagash inlet,
86; Mbw«nni, 86; Ngambu, 49, 50.
Zebras, 92-3, 182-3. 42L
Zedziwa river, 299, 300.
Zegi in Uvinza, 505-507.
Ziba village, camp at, 298.
Zimbao, capital of ^^ MonomatApa/
502
Zingeh, 100; Christmas Day at, 101-2.
Zoology— antelope, 132 ; baboons, 466 ;
buffalo. 132. 877: crocodiles, 161,
253; dogs, 153, 860, 368, 472, 848,
863; elephants, 100, 111-12. 135,
349.377.476-7; giraffe. 182; gnu,
132; hartebeest, 132, 421; hippo-
potamus, 158. 161, 163. 169, 236,
242, 254, 461; hyenas. 94, 486;
leopards, 303, 364. 421, 486; lions,
89, 93, 100. 111. 364,421 ; lynx, 364;
monitors, 161; monkeys. 140, 401,
466; rhinoceros, 113. 135, 465-6,
468, 476-7 ; springbok, 132 ; water-
buck, 132. 421 ; wild boar, 112, 132 ;
zebra. 92-3, 132-3, 421 -»« "Or-
nithology • and "Entomology.*
END OF VOL. I.
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/I'll- 7/r. a
HARVARD
COLLEGE
LIBRARY
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JHROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT,
y
OR
THE SOURCES OF THE NILE
AROUND THE GREAT LAKES OF EQUATORIAL AFRICA
AND DOWN THE LIVINGSTONE RIVER
TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
BY
HENRY M. STANLEY
AUTHOR OF *'C00MAa6IB AND MAGDALA'' ETC.
WITH TEN MAPS AND ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY WOODCUTS
IN TWO VOLUMES
Vol. I.
is
NEW YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS
FBANKLIN SQUARE
1878
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7
Entered according to Act of Congi-ess, in the year 1878, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
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Debication.
THC HEARTY ENCOURAGEMENT AND UBERAL MEANS WHICH ENABLED ME
TO PERFORM THE MISSION ENTRUSTED TO ME,
OF EXPLORING THE DARK CONTINENT OF AFRICA AND SOLVING MANY INTERESTING
GEOGRAPHICAL PROBLEBfS,
AND TO FITTINGLY REWARD THE FAITHFUL SURVIVORS,
INDUCE ME TO MAKE PUBUC MY DEEP PERSONAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS,
BY DEDICATING THESE VOLUMES, WHICH RECORD ITS RESULTS, TO THE
PROMOTERS OF THE ENTERPRISE,
Mb. JAMES GORDON BENNETT,
PROPRIETOR OF THE "NEW YORK HERALD,"
AND
Mb. J. M. LEVY and Mb. EDWARD L. LAWSON,
PROPRIETORS OF THE "DAILY TELEGRAPH,"
AND IN CONSEQUENCE OP THE GREAT AND CONSTANT INTEREST MANIFESTED
BY HIM IN THE SUCCESS OF THE UNDERTAKING, I MUST
BE PERMITTED TO ADD THE NAME OF
Mr. EDWIN ARXOLD, C.S.I, and F.R.G.S.
WITHOUT THE PATRONAGE, PULL CONFIDENCE, AND CORDIAL SYMPATHY OF THESE
GENTLEMEN, I SHOULD HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO ACCOMPLISH
THE TASK NOW HAPPILY COMPLETED.
II. M. STANLEY.
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PREFACE.
Before these volumes pass irrevocably out of the
Author s hands, I take this, the last, opportunity of
addressing my readers. In the first place, I have to
express my most humble thanks to Divine Providence
for the gracious protection vouchsafed to myself and
my surviving followers during our late perilous labours
in Africa.
In the second place, I have to convey to many friends
my thanks for their welcome services and graceful
congratulations, notably to Messrs. Motta Viega and
J. W. Harrison, the gentlemen of Boma who, by their
timely supplies of food, electrified the Expedition into
new life ; to the sympathizing society of Loanda, who
did their best to spoil us with flattering kindness ; to
the kindly community of the Cape of Good Hope, who
so royally entertained the homeward bound strangers ;
to the directorates of the B. I. S. N. and the P. and 0.
Companies, and especially to Mr. W. Mackinnon of the
former, and Mr. H. Bayley and Captain Thomas H.
Black of the latter, for their generous assistance both
on my setting out and on my returning ; to the British
Admiralty, and, personally, to Captain Purvis, senior
officer on the West Coast Station, for placing at my
disposal H.M.S. Industry^ and to Commodore Sullivan,
for continuing the great favour from the Cape to
Zanzibar ; to the officers and sailors of H.M.S. Industry^
for the great patience and kindness which they showed
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
VI PREFACE.
to the wearied Africans; and to my friends at Zan-
zibar, especially to Mr. A. Sparhawk, for their kindly
welcome and cordial help.
In the next place, to the illustrious individuals and
Societies who have intimated to me their appreciation
of the services I have been enabled to render to
Science, I have to convey the very respectful ex-
pression of my sense of the honours thus conferred
upon me — to his Majesty King Humbert of Italy, for
the portrait of himself, enriched with the splendid com-
pliment of his personal approbation of my services,*
which with the gold medal received from his royal
father. King Victor Emanuel, will for ever be
treasured with pride — to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales,
for the distinguished honour shown me by his personal
recognition of my work — to H.H. the Khedive of
Egypt, for the high distinction of the Grand Com-
mandership of the Order of the Medjidie, with the
Star and Collar — to the Royal Geographical Society ol
London for its hearty public reception of me on m}
return, and for the highly valued diploma of an
Honorary Corresponding Member subsequently re-
ceived — to the Geographical Societies and Chambers of
Commerce of Paris, Italy, and Marseilles, for the great
honour of the Medals awarded to mef — to the Geo-
graphical Societies of Antwerp, Berlin, Bordeaux,
Bremen, Hamburg, Lyons, Marseilles, Montpellier, and
• The portrait has been graciously subscribed —
" All* intrepido viaggiatoro
" Enrico Stanley
"Umbbrto Re."
t I have received the honour of appointment as OflBcier de llnstruc-
tion Pubhque, France ; Gold Medallist of the Geographical Societies of
r^ndon, Paris, Italy, and Marseilles ; Silver Medallist of the Chamber of
Commerce of Marseilles, and of the Municipality of Marseilles ; Honorary
Member of the Geographical Societies of Antwerp, Berlin, Bordeaux,
Bremen, Hamburg, Lyons, Marseilles, Montpellier, Vienna, Ac.
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FBEFACE. Vll
Vienna, and to the Society of Arts of London, for the
privilege of Honorary Membership to which I have
been admitted — ^to the very numerous distinguished
gentlemen who have lent the influence of their authority
in the worlds of Science, Letters, and Society to the
pubh'c favour so liberally extended to me — to all these
do I wish to convey my keen appreciation of the
honours and favours of which I have been the recipient.
And for yet another honour I have to express my
thanks— one which I may be pardoned for regarding
as more precious, perhaps, than even all the rest.
The Grovernment of the United States has crowned my
success with its official approval, and the unanimous
vote of thanks passed in both Houses of the Legislature
has made me proud for life of the Expedition and its
achievements.
Alas ! that to share this pride and these honours there
are left to me none of those gallant young Englishmen
who started from this country to cross the Dark Con-
tinent, and who endeared themselves to me by their
fidelity and affection : alas ! that to enjoy the exceeding
pleasure of rest among friends, after months of fighting
for dear life among cannibals and cataracts, there are
left so few of those brave Africans to whom, as the
willing hands and the loyal hearts of the Expedition,
so much of its success was due.
That the rule of my conduct in Africa has not been
understood by all, I know to my bitter cost ; but with
my conscience at ease, and the simple record of my daily
actions, which I now publish, to speak for me, \\m
misunderstanding on the part of a few presents itself
to me only as one more harsh experience of life. And
those who read my book will know that I have indeed
had "a sharp apprehension and keen intelligence" of
many such experiences.
Of the merits and demerits of this book it is not
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Vlll PREFACE.
for me to speak. The Publishers' Note prefixed to
the first volume explains how much I have had to
omit from even the simple narrative of the journey,
but it remains for me to state that this omission has
been due as much to the exigencies of space and time
as to the fact that in the running chronicle of our
eventful progress "Reflections" and scientific infer-
ences — all the aftergrowth of thought — would have
tediously interrupted the record. With reference to the
illustrations, I should mention that I carried a photo-
graphic apparatus with me across the continent, and so
long as my dry plates held out I never lost an oppor-
tunity of obtaining a good view, and when my plates
were used up I found the reflection of the scenes on
the ground glass of my camera an invaluable aid to
my unpractised pencil.
In conclusion, I have to thank Mr. Phil. Robinson,
the author of * In my Indian Garden,' for assisting me
in the revision of my work. My acknowledgments are
also due to Lieut. S. Schofield Sugden, R.N., for the
perseverance and enthusiasm with which he recalculated
all my observations, making even the irksome compila-
tion of maps a pleasant task. In their drawing and
engraving work, Mr. E. Weller and Mr. E. Stanford,
and in the intelligent reproduction of my pictures, Mr.
J. D. Cooper, have earned my thanks, and in no less a
degree Messrs. William Clowes and Sons, for the care
and despatch with which these volumes have been pre-
pared for the public.
aM.s.
May 27, 1878.
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CONTENTS.
(Foi. I.)
EXPLANATION.
Pakt L— My new mission — The DaUy Telegraph^" Yes ; Bennett "
— The Lady -4/tc« — My European staff — Disappointed ap-
plicants and thonghtfol friends — My departnie for Africa.
Part IL — The Sources of the Nile — Herodotns on the Nile —
Burton on the Nile basin — Lake Tanganika — Lake Victoria —
Speke, Grant, and Cameron — The LiTingstone River — The
work before me .. 1
CHAPTER L
ArriTal at Zanzibar Island — Life at Zanzibar — The town of Zan-
zibar, its roadstead and buildings — The One Cocoa-nut Tree and
the red clifiGs — Selection and purchase of goods for the journey
— Residence of Prince Barghash — Busy mornings — Pleasant
rides and quiet eyenings 28
CHAPTER n.
Seyyid Barghash — His prohibition of slavery, character, and reforms
— Treaty with British GoYemment by Sir Bartle Frere — Tram-
ways the need of Africa — Arabs in the interior — Arabs in
Zanzibar — Mtoma or Mgwana? — The Wangwana, their vices
and virtues — A Mgwana's highest ambition— The Wanyamwezi
"the coming race" 39
CHAPTER in.
Organization of the Expedition — The shauri — "Poli-poli" —
Msenna's successful imposture — Black sheep in the flock — The
Lady Alice remodelled — Sewing a British flag — Tarya Topan,
the millionaire — Signing the covenants — "On the word of a
white man " — Saying good-bye — Loading the dhows — Vale 1
— Towards the Dark Continent 54
CHAPTER IV.
Bagamoyo — Taming the dark brother — Bagamoyo in a feiment —
An exciting scene — The disturbance quelled — The Universities
Mission, its origin, history, decline, and present condition — The
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X CONTENTS.
PAGB
Eer. Edward Steere— Notre Dame de Bagamoyo — Westward
hoi — In marching order — Sub Jove fervido — Crossing the
Kingani — The stolen women 70
CHAPTER V.
On the march — Congorido to Buhuti — The hnnting-gronnds of
Kitangeh — Shooting zebra — "Jack's" first prize — Inter-
Tiewed by b'ons — Geology of Mpwapwa — Dndoma — "The
flood-gates of heaven " opened — Dismal reflections — The Salina
— A conspiracy discovered — Desertions — The path lost — Star-
vation and deaths — Tronble imminent — Grain hnts plundered
— Situation deplorable — Siclniess in the camp — Edward
Pocock taken ill — His death and funeral 88
CHAPTER VL
From Chiwyu to Vinyata — Kaif Halleck murdered — The magic
doctor — Giving away the heart — Deeds of blood — " The white
men are only women" — A three days' fight — Punishment of
the Wanyaturu — The ubiquitou-* Mirambo — The plain of the
Luwamborri — In a land of plenty — Through the open country
— "I have seen the lake, Sir, and it is grand 1 " — Welcomed at
Kagehyi 118
CHAPTER Vn.
A burzah held — Paying off recruits — Kagehyi becomes a great
trading centre — A Central African " toper ** — Prince Kaduma
— Hopes of assistance from him relinquished — The boat ready
for sea — No volunteers — Selecting my crew — The start for
the circunmavigation of Lake Victoria 146
CHAPTER YIIL
Afloat on the lake — We catch a guide — Saramlm's terror — The
Shimeeyu — Pyramid Point — The island of Ukerew6 — In the
haunts of crocodiles — Shizu Island — The hippopotami — Ururi
— The headlands of Qoshi — Bridge Island — Volcanoes —
U-go-weh — The inebriates of Ugsmba — Treachery at Maheta
— Primitive man — The art of pleasing — A night at Uvuma —
Mobbed by Wavuma — Barmecide fare — Message from Mtesa
— " In the Kabaka's name " — Camp on Soweh Island . , . . 156
^ CHAPTER IX.
An extraordinary monarch — I am examined — African "chaff " —
Mtesa, Emperor of Uganda — Description of Mtesa — A naval
review — Arrival at the imperial capital — Mtesa's palace —
Fascination of the country — I meet a white man — Col. Linant
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CONTENTS. XI
PAOB
de Bellefonds — The process of oonverdon — A grand mission
field — A pleasant day with Col. de Bellefonds — Starting for my
camp 187
CHAPTEB X.
Parting with Colonel Linant — Magassa's vanity and disloyalty —
The sailors' island — Jumba's Cove — Uganga — Dumo — The
Alexandra Nile — Lnpassi Point — In danger at Makongo —
Alone with Nature — Insect life — Dreams of a happier future
— A dark secret — Muraho and the fish — Alice Island — A
night neyer to be forgotten — The treachery of Bumbireh —
Saved I — Refuge Island — Wiru — "Go and die in the Nyanza ! **
<^ Back in camp — Sad news 211
CHAPTER XL
Barker's iUnea? and death — Other deaths — Traitors in the camp —
Restl — Sickness — Rwoma blocks our passage by land —
Magassa fails us by water — A serious dilemma — Lukongoh
comes' to the rescue — History of Ukerew6 — Educated amphi-
bians — Leaving Kagehyi with half the Expedition — The
foundering canoes — All saved — Ito conciliates us — Arrival
at Refuge Island with half the Expedition — I return for the
rest — A murderous outbreak in camp — Final departure from
Kagehyi — All encamped on Refuge Island — We ally ourselves
with Komeh — A dance of kings — Mahyiga Island (in the Bum-
bireh group) — Interviewed by Iroba canoes — Our friendship
scorned — ThA king of Bumbireh a hostage — The massacre of
the Kytawa chief and his crew — The punishment of the mur-
derers — Its salutary effect upon their neighbours — We arrive
inUganda 242
CHAPTER XIL
We find Mtesa at war — *' Jack's Mount " — Meeting with Mtesa —
The Waganda army in camp and on the march — The imperial
harem — In sight of the enemy — The Waganda fleet — Pre-
liminary skirmishing — The causeway — The massacre of Mtesa's
peace party — " What do you know of angels T — Mtesa's educa-
tion proceeds in the intervals of war — Translating the Bible —
Jesus or Mohammed ? — Mtesa's decision — The royal proselyte 297
CHAPTER Xm. '
The war^drum beaten — The wizards play iheir part — In full war-
paint — Bullets against spears — The Wavuma baulked — Mtesa's
fury — Victory or the stake! — Hard fighting — The captive
chief — A struggle between the pagan and the Christian — A
floating mystery — " R( turn, spirit 1 the war is ended!" —
The camp on fire : a race for life 826
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XU CONTENTS.
GHAPTEB XrV.
rAGi
The legend of the Blameless Priest — The heroes of Uganda : Ohwa ;
Eimera, the giant; Nakiyingi; Eibaga, the flying warrior;
Ma*anda; Wakingoru, the champion; Eamanya, the conqueror
of the Wakedi; Suna, the cmel; his massacre of tiie Wasoga;
Namnjnrilwa, the Achilles of Uganda; Setnba and his lions;
Easindnla, the hero^ peasant, and premier — Mtesa the mild-
eyed 341
CHAPTER XV. "
Life and manners in Uganda — The Peasant — The Chief -^ The
Emperor— The Land 381
CHAPTER XVL '
TO MI7TA NZIO6 Am) BAOK TO UGANDA.
The ladies of Mtesa's fiEunily — Sambozi ordered to take me to Muta
Nzig6— My last evening with Mtesa — En route for Muta
Nzigd — Sambuzi suffers from the " big head" — We come to an
understanding — The white people of Gkimbaragara — War
music — Through a deserted country — Sinister auguries — A
cowards' council of war — Panic in the camp — Sambuzi
announces his intention of deserting me — The flight when none
pursued — The "Spoiler" eaten up — Mtesa tries to persuade
me to return — AtKafurro 415
CHAPTER XVn.
Kafurro and its magnates — Lake Windermere — Rumanika, the
gentle king of Karagw6 — His country — The Ingezi — Among
the mosquitoes — Ihema Island — The triple cones of Ufumbiro
— Double-homed rhinoceros — The hot springs of Mtagata —
The Geographical Society of Karagwe — The philosophy of noses
— Rumanika's tbesauron — Some new fsusts about the rhinoceros
and elephant — Uhimba — Paganus, var, esuriens — Retrospect 453
CHAPTER XVin.
The twin rivers — Mankorongo baulked of his loot — Poor Bull I
True to the death — Msenna breaks out again — The terror of
Africa appears on the scene — Mars at peace — " Dig potatoes,
potatoes, potatoes " — Mirambo, the bandit chief, and I make
blood-brotherhood — Little kings with " big heads " — Practical
conversion of the chief of Ubagw^ — The Watuta, the Ishmaelites
of Africa — Their history — African nomenclature — From Msen6
across the Malagarazi to Ujiji — Sad memories 483
Ikdex 510
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LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS.
FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
m>. pAOi
1. Portrait of the Author Fronfiapieee,
2. View from the Hoof of Mr. Augustus Sparliawk'i House. (From
a phaiograph.) To fare 37
8. Burying our Dead in hostile Turn: View of the Gamp .. ^ 115
4. Reception by King Mtesa's Body-guard at Usavara .. ^ 188
5. Mteea, the Emperor of Uganda, Prime Minister, and Chiefs.
{From a plifiograpK) ^ 189
6. Reception at Bombireh Island, Victoria Nyanza ^ 229
7. The Strange Granite Bocks of Wezi Island, midway between
Usukuma and Ukorew^ {From a photograph,) .. .. ^ 248
8. Yieir of the Bay leading to Rugedzi Channel fVoro Ugoma,
near Kisorya« South Side of Ukerewd, Coast of Speke Gulf.
{From a pholograpk^ •• ^ 257
9. View of Bipon Falls from the Uganda side. (From a j>Aoto^rapA.) » 800
10. The Outfall of the Victoria Nyanza: Ripon Falls, which give
birtli to the Victoria Nile. Ounp of Bear-guard on HilL
{From a photograph,) .. ^ 801
IL The Victoria Nile, North of Bipon Falls, rusliing towards
Unyoro. £rum theUsoga side of the Falls. {From a phoUh
graph,) 805
12. One of the Great Naval Battles between the Waganda and
the Wavuma, in the Channel between Ingira £laud and
Cape Nakaranga ,, 832
18. The Napoleon Channel, Lake Victoria, from the Heights above
the Bipon Falls. Flotilla of tike Emperor of Uganda cross-
ing from Usoga to Uganda. {From a pluitograph,) .. .. „ 843
14. Bubnga, the New Capital of the Emperor Mtesa „ 393
15. Mtesa^s Amazons. {From a photograph,) .. .. .. „ 400
1%. Marching through Unyoro: Mount Gordon-Bennett in the
distance „ 427
SMALLER ILLUSTRATIONS.
17. The Xody uiZtos in sections 4
18. View of a Portion of the Sea-front of Zanzilwr, from the Water Battery
to Bliangani Point {From a photograph,) .. 28
19. Bed Clifis behind Universities Mission 86
20. The British Consulate at Zanzibar 89
21. Sejyid Baighash 40
22. Coxswain Uledi, and Manwa Sera, chief captain. {From a photograph.) 50
23. New Church on Site of Old Skive Market, Zanzibar 53
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XIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
KO. TkOM
24. Tarya Topan 63
25. Universities MiBsinn at 3Ibwenni,Zanzibiir. (^From a photograph,) .. 68
26. " TowarelB the i 'ark Continent " 69
27. Wife of Manwa SeM. ( From a photograph.) 82
28. The Expedition at Rosako. (From a photograph.) 88
29. View from the Village of Blamboya 92
30. Our Camp at Mpwapwa. (From a photograph.) .. 97
31. •'InMemoriam." Edward Pooock, died January 17, 1875 .. .. 117
32. Mnynmwezi Pagazi .. .. .. .. .. .. 141
33. View of Kagehyi from the Edge of the Luke. (From a photograph.) . . 144
31. Frank Poeock. (From a photograph.) ' 145
35. Bridge Island 106
36. Cairn erected to tlie Mcm^^ry of Frederick Barker : Majlta and Ururi
Mountains in the Distance, across Speko Gulf, (From a photograph ) 241
87. At the Landing-place of M&ossi: View of Kitari Hill to the Left;
Majita Mountain to the Right (From a photograph.) .. .. 251
38. Natives, Utensils, Arc. of Ukerewrf 255
39. Sketch Map: Cape Nakaranga 311
40. The Floating Fortlet moving towards Ingira Isliind 339
41. Fish found in Lake Victoria 343
42. Huts of East Central Africa 385
4.S. Audience Hull of the Palace - .. ..395
44. Musicallnstrumenta .. .. .. .. .. 413
45. NgogoFish 414
46. Implements and Weapon! of Central Africa 419
47. Mount Edwin Arnold 4H3
48. House and Wooden Utensils of Uzimba and Aiikori .. .. ., 437
49. Canoes and Paddles of Africa 451
50. Rumanika's TnnBun-house .. .. .. .. .. .. 457
.')1. A Native of Uhha 464
52. View of UFumbiro Mountains from Mount near Mtegnta Hot Springs 465
53. Ground Plan of King's House 474
54. Treasure-house, Arms, and Tf ensures of Rumanika 475
55. "Bull." (From a pliotograph.) 487
.56. Rerombo Huts 489
57. A *• Ruga- Ruga" one of Miraml)o*8 Patriots 491
68. One of the Watuta 601
MAPS.
1. Map of Eastern Half of Equatorial Africa.
2. Map of Equatorial Africa (from Dapper, 1676).
8. „ „ „ Krapf, Rebmaon, Livingstone, and Erhardt*B Map,
1849-53.
4. „ „ „ Livingstone, Burton and Speke, Speke, Grant, and von
der Decken, 1853-63.
6. „ ^ „ Schweinforth, Baker, Livingstone, Stanley, and Cameron,
1866-75.
6. „ „ ., Stanley, 1874-77
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Y-H I i 1 g
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THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
EXPLANATION.— Part L
Uj new mission— The DcwZy Telegraph--** Tes; Bennett'* ^The Lady
Alice — Mj European staff — Disappointed applicants and thonghtful
friends — My departure for Africa. Part IL The sources of
the Nile— Herodotus on tha Nile — Burton on the Nile basin—
Lake Tanganika — Lake Victoria — Speke, Grant, and Cameron— >
The LiTingstone Biver — The work before me.
While returning to England in April 1874 from the
Ashanlee War, the news reached me that Livingstone
was dead — that his hody was on its way to England !
Livingstone had then fallen ! He was dead I He
had died by the shores of Lake Bemba, on the threshold
of the dark region he had wished to explore ! The work
he had promised me to perform was only begun when
death overtook him !
The effect which this news had upon me, after thp
first shock had passed away, was to fire me with a
resolution to complete his work, to be, if God willed it,
the next martyr to geographical science, or, if my life
was to be spared, to clear up not only the secrets of the
Great River throughout its course, but also all that
remained still problematic and incomplete of the
discoveries of Burton and Speke, and Speke and Grant.
The solemn day of the burial of the body of my great
friend arrived. I was one of the pall-bearers in West-
minster Abbey, and when I had seen the coffin lowered
into the grave, and had heard the first handful of earth
VOL. I. — 1
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2 TEROUQH TEE DAItK CONTINENT.
thrown over it, I walked away sorrowiDg over tlie fate
of David Livingstone.
I laboured night and day over my book, * Coomassie
and Magdala,* for I was in a fever to begin that to
which I now had vowed to devote myself. Within
three weeks the literary work was over, and I was free.
Soon after this I was passing by an old book-shop,
and observed a volume bearing the singular title of
*How to Observe.' Upon opening it, I perceived it
contained tolerably clear instructions of "How and
what to observe." It was very interesting, and it
whetted my desire to know more ; it led me to purchase
quite an extensive library of books upon Africa, its
geography, geology, botany, and ethnology. I thus
became possessed of over one hundred and thirty books
upon Africa, which I studied with the zeal of one who
had a living interest in the subject, and with the under-
standing of one who had been already four times on
that continent. I knew what had been accomplished
by African explorers, and I knew how much of
the dark interior was still unknown to the world.
Until late hours I sat up, inventing and planning,
sketching out routes, laying out lengthy lines of possible
exploration, noting many suggestions wliich the con-
tinued study of my project created. I also drew up
lists of instruments and other paraphernalia that would
be required to map, lay out, and describe the new
regions to be traversed.
I had strolled over one day to the office of the Daily
Telegraph, full of the subject. While I was discussing
journalistic enterprise in general with one of the staff,
the Editor entered. We spoke of Livingstone and the
unfinished task remaining behind him. In reply to
an eager remark which I madcj he asked : —
"Could you, and would you, complete the work?
And what is there to do ? '*
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MY NEW MISSION. 8
I answered : —
"The outlet of Lake Tanganika is undiscovered.
Wo know nothing scarcely — except what Speke has
sketched out — of Lake Victoria ; we do not even know
whether it consists of one or many lakes, and therefore
the sources of the Nile are still unknown. • Moreover,
the western half of the African continent is still a
white blank."
**Do you think you can settle all this, if we com-
mission you V
** While I live, there will be something done. If I
survive the time required to perform all the work, all
shall be done.'*
The matter was for the moment suspended, because
Mr. James Gordon Bennett, of the New York Herald^
had prior claims on my services.
A telegram was despatched to New York to him
** Would he join the Daily Telegraph in sending
Stanley out to Africa, to complete the discoveries of
Speke, Burton, and Livingstone ? " and, within twenty-
four hours, my " new mission " to Africa was determined
on as a joint expedition, by the laconic answer which
the cable flashed under the Atlantic : '* Yes ; Bennett."
A few days before I departed for Africa, the Daily
Telegraph announced in a leading article that its pro-
prietors had united with Mr. James Gordon Bennett
in organizing an expedition of African discovery,
tinder the command of Mr. Henry M. Stanley. ** The
purpose of the enterprise," it said, "is to complete
the work left imfinished by the lamented death of
Dr. Livingstone; to solve, if possible, the remaining
problems of the geography of Central Africa ; and to
investigate and report upon the haunts of the slave-
traders." .... "He will represent the two nations
whose common interest in the regeneration of Africa was
so well illustrated when the lost English explorer was
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4 THROUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
rediscovered by the energetic American correspondent.
In that memorable journey, Mr. Stanley displayed the
best qualities of an African traveller; and with no
inconsiderable resources at his disposal to reinforce
his own complete acquaintance with the conditions of
African travel, it may be hoped that very important
results will accrue from this undertaking to the
advantage of science, humanity, and civilisation."
Two weeks were allowed me for purchasing boats —
a yawl, a gig, and a barge — for giving orders for pon-
toons, and purchasing equipment, guns, ammunition,
rope, saddles, medical stores, and provisions ; for making
investments in gifts for native chiefs; for obtaining
scientific instruments, stationery, &c. &c. The barge
was an invention of my own.
THE "LADY ALICE" IN SECTIONS.
It was to be 40 feet Jong, 6 feet beam, and 30
inches deep, of Spanish cedar f inch thick. When
finished, it was to be separated into five sections, each
of which should be 8 feet long. If the sections should
be over-weight, they were to be again divided into halves
for greater facility of carriage. The construction of this
novel boat was undertaken by Mr. James Messenger,
boat-builder, of Teddington, near London. The pon-
toons were made by Cording, but though the workman-
ship was beautiful, they were not a success, because the
superior efficiency of the boat for all purposes rendered
them unnecessary. However, they were not wasted.
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MY EXmOFEAN STAFF. 6
Necessity compelled us, while in Africa, to employ them
for far different purposes from those for which they
had originally been designed.
There lived a clerk at the Langham Hotel, of the
name of Frederick Barker, who, smitten with a desire
to go to Africa, was not to be dissuaded by reports ol
its unhealthy climate, its dangerous fevers, or the
uncompromising views of exploring life given to him.
" He would go, he was determined to go," he said.
To meet the earnest entreaties of this young man, I
requested him to wait until I should return from the
United States.
Mr. Edwin Arnold, of the Daily Telegraphy also sug-
gested that I should be accompanied by one or more
young English boatmen of good character, on the
ground that their river knowledge would be extremely
useful to me. He mentioned his wish to a most worthy
fisherman, named Henry Pocock, of Lower Upnor,
Kent, who had kept his yacht for him, and who had
fine stalwart sons, who bore the reputation of being
honest and trustworthy. Two of these young men
volunteered at once. Both Mr. Arnold and myself
warned the Pocock family repeatedly that Africa had
a cruel character, that the sudden change from the
daily comforts of English life to the rigorous one of an
explorer would try the most perfect constitution ;
would most likely be fatal to the uninitiated and
unacclimatized. But I permitted myself to be over-
borne by the eager courage apd devotion of these
adventurous lads, and Francis John Pocock and Edward
Pocock, two very likely-looking young men, were
accordingly engaged as my assistants.
I crossed over to America the guest of Mr. Ismay, of
the ** White Star *' line, to bid farewell to my friends,
and after a five days* stay returned in a steamer
belonging to the same Company.
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6 TEEOUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
Meantime, soon after the announcement of the ** New
Mission/' applications by the score poured into the
offices of the Dailt/ Telegraph and New York Herald for
employment. Before I sailed from England, over 1200
letters were received from "generals," "colonels,**
"captains," "lieutenants," "midshipmen," "engineers,"
"commissioners of hotels," mechanics, waiters, cooks,
servants, somebodies and nobodies, spiritual mediums
and magnetizers, &c. &c. They all knew Africa, were
perfectly acclimatized, were quite sure they would please
me, would do important services, save me from any
number of troubles by their ingenuity and resources,
take me up in balloons or by flying carriages, make us
all invisible by their magic arts, or by the " science of
magnetism " would cause all savages to fall asleep while
we might pass anywhere without trouble. Indeed
I feel sure that, had enough money been at my disposal
at that time, I might have led 5000 Englishmen, 5000
Americans, 2000 Frenchmen, 2000 Germans, 500
Italians, 250 Swiss, 200 Belgians, 50 Spaniards and
5 Greeks, or 15,005 Europeans, to Africa. But the
time had not arrived to depopulate Europe, and colonize
Africa on such a scale, and I was compelled to
respectfully decline accepting the valuable services of
the applicants, and to content myself with Francis John
and Edward Pocock, and Frederick Barker — whose
entreaties had been seconded by his mother, on my
return from America.
I was agreeably surprised also, before departure,
at the great number of friends I possessed in England,
who testified their friendship substantially by pre-
senting me with useful " tokens of their regard "
in the shape of canteens, watches, water-bottles,
pipes, pistols, knives, pocket companions, manifold
writers, cigars, packages of medicine. Bibles, prayer-
books, English tracts for the dissemination of
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GOOD'BTE! 7
religions knowledge among the black pagans, poems,
tiny silk banners, gold rings, &c. <tc. A lady for
whom I have a reverent respect presented me also with
a magnificent prize mastiff named ** Castor,** an English
officer presented me with another, and at the Dogs*
Home at Battersea I purchased a retriever, a bull-
dog, and a bull-terrier, called respectively by the
Pococks " Nero,** ** Bull,** and " Jack.**
There were two little farewell dinners only which I
accepted before my departure from England. One was
at the house of the Editor of the Daily Telegraphy where
I met Captain Fred. Bumaby and a few other kind
friends. Captain Bumaby half promised to meet me at
the sources of the Nile.. The other was a dinner given
by the representative of the New York Herald, at which
were present Mr. George Augustus Sala, Mr. W. G.
Stillman, Mr. George W. Smalley, and three or four
other journalists of note. It was a kindly quiet good-
bye, and that was my last of London.
On the 15th August 1874, having shipped the
Europeans, boats, dogs, and general property of the
expedition — which, through the kindness of Mr. Henry
Bayley, of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, and
Mr. William Mackinnon, of the British India Steam
Navigation Company, were to be taken to Zanzibar at
half-fares — I left England for the east coast of Africa
to begin my explorations.
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8 THBOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
EXPLANATION.-Pabt IL
THE SOURCES OF THE NILE.
•'Yet still no views have urged my ardour more
Than Nile's remotest fonntains to explore;
Then saj what source the famous stream supplies.
And hids it at revolving periods rise;
Show me the head from whence since time begun
The long succession of his waves 'have run;
This let me know, and all my toils shall cease.
The sword be sheathed, and earth be blessed with peace."
Pharsalia (Coesar Icq,),
In the fifth century, before the Christian era began,
Herodotus, the first great African traveller, wrote
about the Nile and its sources as follows : —
" Respecting the nature of this river, the Nile, I was
unable to gain any information, either from the priests
or any one else. I was very desirous, however, of
learning from them why the Nile, beginning at the
summer solstice, fills and overflows for a hundred days ;
and when it has nearly completed this number of days,
falls short in its stream, and retires ; so that it continues
low all the winter, until the return of the summer
solstice/ Of these particulars I could get no informa-
tion from the Egyptians, though I inquired whether
this river has any peculiar quality that makes it
difier in nature from other rivers. Being anxious,
then, of knowing what was said about this matter, I
made inquiries, and also how it comes to pass that this
is the only one of all rivers that does not send
forth breezes from its surface. Nevertheless, some of
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EEE0D0TU8 ON TEE NILE. 9
the Greeks, wishing to be distinguished for their
wisdom, have attempted to account for these inun-
dations in three different ways: two of these ways
are scarcely worth mentioning, except that I wish to
show what they are. One of them says that the
Etesian winds are the cause of the swelling of the
river, by preventing the Nile from discharging itself
into the sea. But frequently the Etesian winds have
not blown, yet the Nile produces the same effects;
besides, if the Etesian winds were the cause, all other
rivers that flow opposite to the same winds must of
necessity be equally affected and in the same manner
as the Nile ; and even so much the more, as they are
less and have weaker currents; yet there are many
rivers in Syria, and many in Libya, which are not
all affected as the Nile is. The second opinion shows
still more ignorance than the former, but, if I may
so say, is more marvellous. It says that the Nile,
flowing from the ocean, produces this effect ; and that
the ocean flows all round the earth. The third
way of resolving this diflSculty is by far the most
specious, but most untrue* For by saying that the
Nile flows from melted snow, it says nothing, for this
river flows from Libya through the middle of Ethiopia
and discharges itself into Egypt ; how therefore, since
it runs from a very hot to a colder region, can it flow
from snow ? Many reasons will readily occur to men
of good understanding, to show the improbability of its
flowing from snow. The first and chief proof is derived
from the winds, which blow hot from those regions :
the second is, that the country, destitute of rain, is
always free from ice ; but after snow has fallen, it must
of necessity rain within five days ; so that if snow fell,
it would also rain in these regions. In the third place,
the inhabitants become black from the excessive heat :
kites and swallows continue there all the year ; and the
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10 TEEOUQE THE DABK CONTINENT.
cranes, to avoid the cold of Scythia, migrate to these
parts as winter quarterH : if then ever so little snow
fell in this country through which the Nile flows,
and from which it derives its source, none of these
things would happen, as necessity proves. But the
person who speaks about the ocean, since he has
referred his account to some obscure fable, produces no
conviction at all, for I do not know any river called the
Ocean, but suppose that Homer, or some other ancient
poet, having invented the name, introduced it into
poetry.**
Captain Burton the learned traveller has some
excellent paragraphs in his * Nile Basin,* and remarks
on this topic in connection with Ptolemy : —
*' That early geographer placed his lake Nilus a little
to the south of the Equator (about ten degrees), and
5^ E. long, from Alexandria — that is, in 34^ or 35^ E.
long, by our mode of reckoning. He was led into
an error in placing these portions of the interior,
bearing, as he conceived, from certain points in the
east. Thus he places Cape Aromatum (Cape Asser
or Cape Guardafui) in 6^ N. lat., which we know to
be in 11^ 48' 50", being thus, say, &" out of its true
place. He places the lake, the source of the western
branch of the river, 1^ more to the north and 8^ more
to the west than the one for the eastern branch ;
subsequent inquiries may show us that these great
features of Africa may yet turn out to be substantially
correct.
" We cannot here enter into any disquisition re-
garding the discrepancies that appear amongst the
very ancient authors regarding these parts of Africa.
We notice only those that are consistent and most
valuable, and as bearing upon the priority of discovery
and geographical knowledge. The earliest period we
hear of Ethiopia is in the capture of the capital thereof
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BURTON ON TEE NILE BASIN. 11
by Moses 1400 years before our era, and 90 or 100
years before the departure of the Israelites from
Egypt. Josephus calls it Saba, and states that it was
very strong, situated on the Eiver Astosabos, and that
the name was changed to Meroe, by Cambyses, in honour
of his sister MeroS. There were known to ancient
writers three great tributaries to the Nile in Ethiopia,
namely, the Astaboras (Tacazze), the Astosabos (Blue
River), and the Astapus (White River). Herodotus says
the source of the Nile, Astosabos, was twenty days* jour-
ney to the south of Meroe, which will bring it to Lake
Dembea or Tzana. According to Ptolemy, the position
of Meroe was in 16^ 25' N. lat., but the ancient
astronomer Hipparchus has placed it in 16° 51', which
may be taken as the most correct. Caillaud found the
vast ruins in 16° 56'. Under Psammeticus, the first
Egyptian king that reigned after the final expulsion of
the Ethiopian kings from Egypt, 240,000 emigrants
from Egypt settled in an island south of the island of
Meroe, that is beyond Khartoum, between the Blue
and the White Rivers, and at eight days' journey east
of the Nubae, or Nubatas. Subsequently the Roman
arms extended to those parts. Petronius, the Roman
general under Augustus, thirty years before our era,
took and destroyed Napata, the ancient capital of
Tirhaka, situated on the great northern bend of the
Nile at Mount Barkhall, where vast ruins are still
found. Meroe certainly, the capital of Queen Candace,
mentioned in the New Testament (Acts viii. 27), also
fell under the Roman yoke. Nero, early in his reign, /*
sent a remarkable exploring party, under two centurionsj \
with military force, to explore the source of the Nil^
and the countries to the west of the Astapus or White \
River, at that early day considered to be the true Nile.
Assisted by an Ethiopian sovereign (Candace, no
doubt), they went through the district now known as
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
12 TEBOUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
Upper Nubia, to a distance of 890 Roman miles from
Meroe. In the last part of their journey they came to
immense marshes, the end of which no one seemed to
know, amongst which the channels were so narrow
that the light boat or canoe in use was barely suflScient
to carry one man across them. Still they continued
their course south till they saw the river tumbling
down or issuing out between the rocks, when they
turned back, carrying with them a map of the regions
through which they had passed : for Nero's guidance
and information. This, it may be remarked, is exactly
the case still. The Dutch ladies told us last year that
they found the channels amongst these marshes so
thick that the lightest canoe, made of bulrushes, scarcely
fit to carry one man, could not find room to pass on
them or across them. After this, Pliny, Strabo, and
other Roman authors took notice of this portion of
Africa, but without giving us anything important
or new."
I quote from Captain Burton once more certain
passages. " Edrisi, who was born in Nubia, but who
wrote in Egypt about a.d. 1400, Fays, in that part of
Ethiopia south and south-west of Nubia is first seen the
separation of the two Niles. The one flows from south
to north into Egypt, and the other part of the Nile
flows from east to west ; and upon that branch of the
Nile lie all, or at least the most celebrated kingdoms of
the Negroes. *From the Mountains of the Moon,'
says Scheadeddin, *the Egyptian Nile takes its rise.
It cuts horizontally the equator in its course north.
Many rivers come from this mountain, and unite in
a great lake. From this lake comes the Nile, the
greatest and most beautiful of the rivers of all the
earth. Many rivers derived from this great river
water Nubia,' &c.
" From the Arabs we may fairly descend to our own
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BURTON ON THE NILE BASIN. 13
times. The early Portuguese discoverers obtained a
great deal of geographical information regarding the
interior of Africa, and especially regarding two lakes
near the Equator, from one of which, the most northern,
the Egyptian Nile was stated to flow. This inform-
ation was largely used by the French geographer
(D'Anville), and the Dutch geographers of that time.
Subsequently Bruce and others told us about the great
disparity in magnitude between the Blue and the
White Eivers ; the latter, they asserted, rose far to the
south, near to the Equator, and amongst mountains
covered with eternal snow. Twenty-five years ago,
Mohammed Ali, the clear-sighted and energetic ruler of
Egypt, sent an expedition, consisting of several barques
well provided with everything necessary, and under
able naval officers, to explore the White Nile to its
source, if possible. They did their work so far well,
but were forced to turn back on the 26th January
1840, in lat. 3^ 22' N., for want of sufficient depth of
water for their vessels. At lat. 3^ 30' they found the
river 1370 feet broad and say six feet deep. In every
day's work on the voyage they gave the width of the
river, the depth of the river, the force of its current,
its temperature, and the miles (geographical) made
good daily."
These quotations bring us down to our own times.
A few of the principal characters, through whose
agency the problem of the Sources of the Nile has
been Eolved, still live. The old African Association
became merged in 1831 into the Royal Geographical
Socisty. The change of title seems to have evoked
greater energies, and the publications of the new
society, the position of its President, his influence,
learning, and tact, soon attracted general public
attention. In the midst of this, Messrs. Krapf and
Eebmann and Erhardt, missionaries located at Mombasa,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
14 THROUGH THE DABE CONTINENT.
on the east coast of Africa, announced that Arab traders
and natives acquainted with the interior informed
them that far inland there was a very large lake, or
several lakes, which some spoke of under one collective
title. The information thus obtained was illustrated
by a sketch map by Mr. Erhardt, and was published in
the * Proceedings of the Eoyal Geographical Society *
in 1856, **the most striking feature of which was a
vast lake of a curious shape, extending through 12° of
latitude.**
LAKE TAXOANIKA.
The Royal Geographical Society was induced to
despatch an expedition to East Africa for the explora-
tion of this interesting inland region, the command of
which it entrusted to Lieutenant Richard Francis
Burton, and Lieutenant John Hanning Speke, oflScers
of the East Indian Army.
Lieutenant Burton was already distinguished as an
enterprising traveller by his book, * Pilgrimage to
Mekka and Medina/ Speke had, until this time, only a
local reputation, but bore the character of being a
very promising oflScer, and an amiable gentleman with
a fondness for natural history and botanical studies,
besides being an ardent sportsman and an indefatigable
pedestrian.
Burton and Speke's expedition landed at Zanzibar
on the 20th December 1856. On the 13th February
1858, after a journey of 950 miles, and at a distance
of 540 lineal geographical miles from the point
of departure on the Indian Ocean, they first sighted
and discovered Lake Tanganika. How much they
explored of the lake is best illustrated by their map,
which is appended to this present volume. Speke first
crossed Lake Tanganika to the western side to Kaseng^,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
LAKE VICTOBIA. 15
an island, tlien returned by the same route to Kawel^,
the district or quarter occupied at that time by Arabs,
in a large straggling village on the shores of the lake,
in the country of Ujiji.
On the second exploration of the lake. Lieutenant
Burton accompanied Lieutenant Speke to a cove in
Uvira, which is about thirteen miles from the north
end of the lake. Unable to reach the extremity of the
lake, they both returned to Ujiji. Lieutenant Speke
was most anxious to proceed on a third tour of ex-
ploration of the lake, but was overruled by his chief.
Lieutenant Burton. On the 26th of May 1858, the
expedition turned homewards, arriving in Unyanyemb^
on the 20th of June.
LAKE VICTORIA.
While Lieutenant Burton preferred to rest in
Unyanyemb^ to collect the copious information about
the Lake Regions from Arabs and natives, which we
see set forth in a masterly manner in his book. Lieu-
tenant Speke, of a more active disposition, mustered a
small force of men, and, with his superior's permission,
set out northward on July 9, 1858, on an exploring
tour, and on the 30th of the same month arrived at
the south end of a lake called by the Wanyamwezi
who were with him the N'yanza, or the Lake, and by
the Arabs, Ukerew^.
At Muanza, in Usukuma, he took a survey of the
body of the water, such as might be embraced in
a view taken from an altitude of 200 feet above
tlie lake.
In his reflections on the magnitude of the water
expanse before him, Speke wrote : — " I no longer felt
any doubt that the lake at my feet gave birth to that
interesting river, the source of which has been the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
10 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
subject of 60 much speculation, and the object of so
many explorers."
• • • • #
And again : " This is a far more extensive lake
than the Tanganika ; so broad you could not see across
it, and so long that nobody knew its length/*. To this
magnificent lake Lieutenant Speke, its discoverer, gave
the name of Victoria N yanza.
From this short view of the Victoria Lake, Speke
returned to Unyanyemb^, and announced to Lieutenant
Burton that he had discovered the source of the White
Nile. Lieutenant Burton did not acquiesce in his com-
panion's views of the importance of the discovery, and
in his * Lake Regions ' and * Nile Basins,* in lectures,
speeches, and essays in magazines, and conversations
with friends, always vigorously combated the theory.
On the 30th February 1859, Burton and Speke's
task of exploration, which had occupied twenty-five
months, terminated with the arrival of the expedition
at the little maritime village of Konduchi, on the Indian
Ocean.
On opening John Hanning Speke's book, * Journal of
the Discovery of the Source of the Nile,' we are informed
on the very first page that his second important expedi-
tion into Africa, '* which was avowedly for the purpose
of establishing the truth of the assertion that the
Victoria N'yanza (which he discovered on the 30th
of July 1858) would eventually prove to be the
source of the Nile, may be said to have commenced on
the 9th of May 1859, the first day of his return to
England from his last expedition, when, at the invita-
tion of Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, he called at his
house to show him his map, for the information of the
Royal Geographical Society/*
Mr. Speke, who was now known as Captain Speke,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
LAKE VICTORIA. 17
was entrusted with the command of the succeeding
expedition which the Royal Geographical Society
determined to send out for the purpose of verifying
,tHe theories ahove stated. He was accompanied this
lime by an old brother officer in India, Captain James
Augustus Grant.
The expedition under Speke and Grant set out from ;
Zanzibar on the 25th September 1860. On the 23rd
t'anuary 1861, it arrived at the house occupied by
Burton and Speke's Expedition, in Tabora, TJnyan-
yerab^ having traversed nearly the entire distance
along the same route that had been adopted formerly.
In the middle of May the journey to Karagw^ began.
After a stay full of interest with Rumanika, king of
Karagw^, they followed a route which did not permit
them even a view of Lake Victoria, until they caught
sight of the great lake near Meruka, on the Slst January
1862. From this point, the expedition, up to its arrival
at the court of Mtesa, emperor of Uganda, must have
caught several distant views of the lake, though not
travelling near its shores. During a little excursion
from the Emperors capital, they also discovered a
long broad inlet, which is henceforth known as Mur-
chison Bay, on its northern coast.
On the 7th July 1862, the two travellers started in
a north-easterly direction, away from the lake, and
Speke states that he arrived at Urondogani on the
21st. From this point he marched up the river along
the left bank, and reached the Eipon Falls at the outlet
of Lake Victoria on the 20th July. He thus sums up
the result and net value of the explorations of himself
and companion in the years 1860-62 : —
** The Expedition had now performed its functions.
I saw that old Father Nile without any doubt rises in
the Victoria N'yanza, and as I had foretold, that Lake
is the great source of the holy river which cradled the
VOL. I. — 2
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
18 TUROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
first expounder of our religious belief. . . . The most
remote waters, or top-head of the Nile^ is the southern
end of the lake, situated close on the 3° lat, which
gives to the Nile the surprising length in direct
measurement, rolling over 34 degrees of latitude, of
above 2300 miles, or more than one-eleventh of the
circumference of our globe. Now, from the southern
point round by the west, to where the great Nile stream
rises, there is only one feeder of any importance, and
that is the KitanguJe River ; while from the southern-
most point round by the easf , to the strait, there are no
rivers of any importance." ....
He christened the falling effluent where it drops
from the level of the lake, and escapes northerly into
the Victoria Nile — **Ripon Falls,*' in honour of the
Earl of Ripon, who was President of the Royal
Geographical Society when the expedition was or-
ganized, and the arm of the Lake from which the
Victoria Nile issued — Napoleon Channel, as a token of
respect to the Paris Geographical Society, who had
honoured him with a gold medal for the discovery of
Lake Victoria.
Following this paragraph, Captain Speke makes an
important statement, to which I beg attention : — " One
thing seemed at first perplexing, the volume of water
in the Kitangule (Alexandra Nile) looked as large as
the Nile (Victoria), but then the one was a slow
river, and the other swift, and on this account I could
form no adequate judgment of their relative values."
On the 4th June, Captains Speke and Grant em-
barked at Alexandria, Egypt, for England, where they
arrived after an absence of 1146 days.
Though one might suppose that the explorers had
sufficient grounds for supposing that Lake Victoria
covered an enormous area, quite as large, or approach-
ing to the 29,000 square miles extent Captain Speke
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
- ■ ' ■■ ' ]■ ^ r"-
LAKE TANGANIKA. 19
boldly sketched it, there were not wanting many
talented men to dispute each point in the assertions he
made. One of the boldest who took opposing views to
Speke was his quondam companion, Captain R. F.
Burton, and he was supported by very many others,
for very plausible reasons, which cannot, however, be
touched upon here.
Doctor David Livingstone, while on his last expedi-
tion, obtained much oral information in the interior of
Africa from Arab traders, which dissected Speke's
Grand Lake into five ; and it really seemed as if, from
the constant assaults made upon it by geographers and
cartographers, it would in time be erased from the chart
altogether, or become a mere " rush drain," like one of
those which Speke and Grant found so numerous in
that region. It was evident, therefore, that a thorough
exploration of I/ake Victoria was absolutely necessary
to set at rest, once and for ever, one of the great
problems that was such a source of trouble and
dissatisfaction to the geographers of Europe and
America.
LAKE TANGANIKA AGAIN.
The next European to arrive at the shores of Lake
Tanganika, after Burton and Speke, was Dr. David
Livingstone. He first saw it as he stood on the verge
of the plateau which rises steeply from the surface of
the Tanganika at its south-west corner, on the 2nd
April 1867 ; and on the 14th March 1869, and after
traversing nearly the whole of the western shore from
the extreme south end of the lake to Kaseng^, the
island which Speke visited in 1858, he crossed over to
the east side and reached Ujiji.
On the 15th July 1869, after camping at Kasenge,
when on his way to Manyema, he writes in his journal
the following opinion of Lake Tanganika : — ^^ Tan-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
20 THROUGH THE DABK COyTLSEST.
gar. vHca narrows at TJvira or Yira, and goes out of sight
among the mountains ; then it appears as a waterfall
into the Lake of Quando, seen by Banyamwezi.*
In his letters home Dr. Livingstone constantly made
mention of two lakes, called Upper Tanganika, which
Burton discovered, and Lower Tanganika, which Sir
Samuel Baker discovered, and which formed, as he said,
the second line of drainage trending to and discharging
its waters into the Nile.
He makes record in his Journals of the causes which
induced him to verify his opinions by a personal in-
vestigation of the north end of Lake Tanganika on the
Ifith November 1871, a few days after my arrival at
Ujiji, I l^irig the fourth European who had arrived on
the shores of the Lake, in this manner : —
*M6/A Noi'errJfer 1871. — As Tanganika Explora-
tions are said by Mr. Stanley to be an object of interest
t/> Sir Roderick, we go at his expense and by his men
to the north end of the lake.**
"24/A November. — To Point Kisuka in Mukamba's
omuiry. A Mgwana came to ns from King Mukamba,
and asserted most positively that all the water of
Tanganika flowed into the river Lusiz^, and then on
U) Ukerewe of Mteza; nothing could be more clear
than his statements."
** 2^)th November. — Our friend of yesterday now de-
clared as positively as before, that the water of Lusize
flowed into Tanganika, and not the way he said
yehterday ! Tanganika closes in except at one point
N. and by W. of us.*'
" 26^A November. — The end of Tanganika seen
clearly, is rounded off about 4' broad from east to
west/*
On the 29 th November, Livingstone and I, in a
canoe manned by several strong rowers, entered into
the Lusize, or Busizi, and discovered that it flowed
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
LAKE TANGANIKA. 21
into Lake Tanganika by three mouths with an im-
petuous current.
The explorations of Livingstone and myself in
November 1871 to the north end of Lake Tanganika
resolved that portion of the problem, but described only
about thirteen miles of coast unvisited by Burton and
Speke. On our way back, however, by a southern route
to Unyanyemb^, we added to the knowledge of the
Tanganika coast-line, on the eastern side from Kabogo
Point as far as Urimba, about twenty miles farther
south than Speke had seen.
In August 1872, about five months after. I had
departed from him homewards, he recommenced his
last journey. On the 8th October of the same year
he saw the Tanganika again about sixty miles south
of the point where he and I bade farewell to the lake
eight months previously. Clinging to the lake, he
travelled along the eastern shore, until he reached the
southernmost end of it.
From this it will appear evident that the only portion
of Lake Tanganika remaining unvisited was that
part of the west-end shore, between Kasenge Island
and the northernmost point of what Burton and Speke
called Ubwari Island, and what Livingstone and I
called Muzimu Island. Doubtless there were many
portions of Livingstone's route overland which rendered
the coast line somewhat obscure, and in his hurried
journey to Ujiji in 1869, by canoe from Mompara*s to
Kaseng^, a portion of the Uguha coast was left un-
explored. But it is Livingstone who was the first to
map out and give a tolerably correct configuration to
that part of Lake Tanganika extending from Urimba
round to the south end and up along the eastern shore
to Kaseng^ Island, as it was Burton and Speke who
were the first to map out that portion of the Tanganika
extending from Ujiji to a point nearly opposite Ubwari
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
22 TEBOUGH THE DARK COSTTISEIfT.
and the north-west, from Ubwari^s north end as fiur as
Uvinu
In February 1874, Lieutenant Yemey Lovett
Cameron, R^., arriTed at the same village of Ujiji
which had been seen by Burton and Speke in 1858,
and which was known as the place where I discovered
Livingstone in 1872. He had traversed a route
rendered familiar to thousands of the readers of the
*Lake Begions of Central Afirica/ the * Journal o\
the Discovery of the Nile,' and *How I found
Livingstone,' through a country carefully mapped,
surveyed and described. But the land that lay before
him westerly had only been begun by Livingstone, and
there were great and important fields of exploration
beyond the farthest point he had reached.
Lieutenant Cameron procured two canoes, turned
south, and coasted along the eastern shore of the
Tanganika, and when near the southern end of the
Lake, crossed it, turned up north along the western
shore, and discovered a narrow channel, between two
spits of pure white sand. Entering this channel,
the Lukuga creek, he traced it until farther progress
was stopped by an immovable and impenetrable barrier
of papyrus. This channel, Lieutenant Cameron wrote,
was the outlet of Lake Tanganika. Satisfied with
his discovery, he withdrew from the channel, pursued
hio course along the west coast as far as Kasenge
Island, the camping place of both Speke and Living-
stone, and returned direct to Ujiji without making
further effort.
Lake Tanganika, as will be seen, upon Lieutenant
Cameron's departure, had its entire coast-line described,
except the extreme south end, the mouth of the Lufuvu
and that portion of coast lyinj^ between Kaseng^ Island
and the northern point of Ubwari, about 14.0 miles in
extent.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE LIVINGSTONE BIVER. 23
ijvingbtonb's great river.
What we knew distinctly of this great river began
with Livingstone's last journey, when he wrote from
Ujiji in 1869, repeating what he had already written
in 1867, at the town of Oazembe, in a despatch to Lord
Clarendon.
Briefly, this last journey began, let us say, at
Zanzibar, the date of his arrival being the 28th
January 1866. On the 19th March he sailed in
H.M.S. Penguin for the mouth of the Rovuma river,
after invoking the blessing of the Most High upon his
meditated intercourse with the heathen. Eflfecting a
landing at Mikindini Bay, he directed his course in a
south-westerly direction, arriving within view of Lake
Nyassa on the 13th September 1866.
On the 16th January 1867, he reached the most
southerly streams emptying into the Chambezi, after
crossing the mountains which separate the streams
flowing east to the Loangwa. He describes the
northern slope which gives birth to the affluents of the
new river thus : — " It is needless to repeat that it is all
forest on the northern slopes of the mountains — open
glade and miles of forest ; ground at present all sloppy,
oozes full and overflowing, feet constantly wet.
Rivulets rush with clear water; though they are in
flood we can guess which are perennial and which
are torrents that dry up ; they flow northwards and
westwards to the Chambezi."
Eight days later, in S. lat. 10° 34', he reached the
main river — the Chambezi — a stream " flooded with
clear water-banks not more than 40 yards apart, showing
abundant animal life in its waters and on its banks as
it flowed westwards." Just at the point Livingstone first
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
24 TEROUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
saw the Chambezi, numerous streams are gathered from
all points — northerly, easterly, and southerly, from the
westerly slope of the uplands of Mambwe into the main
river, which presently becomes a formidable river, and
which subsequent explorations proved to enter Lake
Bemba on its eastern side.
On the 8th November 1867, the traveller makes a
very comprehensive statement. It is the evening of
his arrival at Lake Mweru or Moero. ** Lake Moero
seems of goodly size, and is flanked by ranges of moun-
tains on the east and west Its banks are of coarse sand,
and slope gradually down to the water; outside of
these banks stands a thick belt of tropical vegetation, in
which fishermen build their huts. The country calle 1
Rua lies on" the west, and is seen as a lofty range of
dark mountains ; another range of less height, but more
broken, stands along the eastern shore."
« • • « •
" The northern shore has a fine sweep, like an unbent
bow, and round the western end flows the water that
makes the river Lualaba, which, before it enters Mweru,
is the Luapula, and that again (if the most intelligent
report speak true) is the Chambezi before it enters
Lake Bemba or Bangweolo."
On page 261, vol. i., of * Livingstone's Last Journals,'
he sums up very succinctly what knowledge he has
gained of the country which was the scene of his
exploration 1866-67. ** First of all the Chambezi nms
in the countrv of Mambwe N.E. of Molemba. It then
flows S.W. and W. till it reaches 11° S. Lat. and Long.
29^ E., where it forms Lake Bemba or Bangweolo.
Emerging thence, it assumes the new name Luapula, and
comes down here to fall into Mweru. On going out of
this lake it is known by the name Lualaba as it flows
N.W. in Rua to form another lake with many islands
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE LIVINQ8T0NE BIVER. 25
called Ulenge or Ureng^. Beyond this, information is
not positive as to whether it enters Tanganika, or
another lake beyond that."
On the 18th July 1868, the discovery of Lake Bemba
or Bangweolo was made by Dr. Livingstone.
On page 59, vol. ii., ' Last Journals,' we think we have
an explanation of the causes which led him to form
those hypotheses and theories which he subsequently
made public by his letters, or elaborated in his journals,
on the subject of the Nile Sources.
" Bambarrej 25th August 1870. — One of my waking
dreams is that the legendary tales about Moses coming
up into Lower Ethiopia, with Merr his foster mother,
and founding a city which he called in her honour
* Meroe,* may have a substratum of fact.**
" I dream of discovering some monumental relics of
Meroe, and if anything confirmatory of sacred history
does remain, I pray to be guided thereunto. If the
sacred chronology would thereby be confirmed, I would
not grudge the toil and hardship, hunger and pain, I
have endured — the irritable ulcers would only be
discipline."
The old explorer, a grand spectacle and a specimen
of most noble manhood, in these latter days of his life,
travels on and on, but never reaches nearer the solution
of the problem which puzzles his soul than the Arab
depot Nyangw^, which is situate a few miles south of
4:"" S. lat. and a little east of 26'' E. long, where he
leaves the great river still flowing north.
Livingstone never returned to this point, but
retracing his steps to Ujiji, thence to the north end of
Lake Tanganika and back again to Ujiji and Unyan-
yemb^, directed his course to the southern shore of Lake
Bemba, where he died of dysentery in the beginning of
May 1873.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
26 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
In the month August 1874, Lieutenant Cameron,
whom we left at Ujiji after the delineation of that part
of Lake Tanganika south of Ujiji, after traversing
Livingstone's route to Kasongo's, Manyema, and
travelling by canoe about thirty-five miles, reaches
Nyangw^, 'his predecessor's farthest point. Though
he does not attempt to resolve this problem, or
penetrate the region north of Nyangwe, Lieutenant
Cameron ventures upon the following hypothesis : —
**This great stream must be one of the head- waters
of the Kongo, for where else could that giant amongst
rivers, second only to the Amazon in its volume,
obtain the 2,000,000 cubic feet of water which it
unceasingly pours each second into the Atlantic ? The
large affluents from the north would explain the
comparatively small rise of the Kongo at the coast;
for since its enormous basin extends to both sides of the
equator, some portion of it is always under the zone of
rains, and therefore the supply to the main stream is
nearly the same at all times, instead of varying as is the
case with tropical rivers, whose basins lie completely
on one side of the equator." In this map Lieutenant
Cameron illustrates his hypothesis, by causing Living-
stone's great river to flow soon after leaving
Nyangwe straight westward, the highest part of which
is only 3^ 30' S. lat.
At Nyangwe, Lieutenant Cameron crossed the river,
proceeded south with some Arab traders a few days'
journey, then, accompanied by guides, travelled still
south to Juma Merikani's or Kasongo's, thence, after a
stay of nearly nine months, accompanied by some Por-
tuguese traders, he proceeded to Benguella, a small
port belonging to the Portuguese government on the
Atlantic Ocean, having crossed Africa from east to west
south of S. lat. 4^.
The above is a brief sketch, which, with the aid of
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TEE WOBK BEFORE ME. 27
the small maps attached to this volume, explains and
illustrates the several geographical problems left by
my predecessors, I now propose to describe how these
problems were solved, and the incomplete discoveries
of Burton and Speke, Speke and Q-rant, and Doctor
Livingstone were finished, and how we sighted the
lake Muta N'zig^, by its broad arm, which I have called
Beatrice Gulf, by a comprehensive exploration, lasting,
from sea to sea, two years eight months and twenty
days ; the results of which are to be found embodied
in these two volumes, entitled : ^ Through the Dark
Continent i the Sources of tlie Nile, around the Great
Lakes of Africa^ and down tlie ^^Livingstone'* to the
Atlantic Ocean.*
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"'-^^^^
VIEW OP A PORTION OP THE SEA-PBONT OP ZANZIBAR, FBOM THE WATER
BATTERY TO 8HANGANI POINT.
(^From a photograph ly Mr. Buchanan^ of Natal,)
CHAPTER I.
1874.
Sept. 21.
Zanzibar.
Arrival at Zanzibar Island — Life at Zanzibar — The town of Zanzibar,
its roadstead and buildings — The One Cocoa-nut tree and the red
cliffs — Selection and purchase of goods for the journey — Eesidence
of Prince Barghash — Busy mornings — Pleasant rides and quiet
evenings.
Twenty-eight months had elapsed between my de-
parture from Zanzibar after the discovery of Livingstone
and my re-arrival on that island, September 21, 1874.
The well-remembered undulating ridges, and the
gentle slopes clad with palms and mango trees bathed
in warm vapour, seemed in that tranquil drowsy state
which at all times any portion of tropical Africa
presents at first appearance, A pale blue sky covered
the hazy land and sleeping sea as we steamed through
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ABRIVAL AT ZANZIBAR ISLAND. 29
the strait that separates Zanzibar from the continent, 1874.
Every stranger, at first view of the shores, proclaims j^^^.
his pleasure. The gorgeous verdure, the distant purple
ridges, the calm sea, the light gauzy atmosphere, the
semi-mysterious silence which pervades all natul-e,
evoke his admiration. For it is probable that he
has sailed through the stifling Arabian Sea, with the
grim, frowning mountains of Nubia on the one hand,
and on the other the drear, ochreous-coloured ridges of
the Arab Peninsula; and perhaps the aspect of the
thirstj*- volcanic rocks of Aden and the dry brown
bluffs of Quardafui is still fresh in his memorv.
But a great change has taken place. As he passes
close to the deeply verdant shores of Zanzibar Island,
he views nature robed in the greenest verdure, with a
delightful freshness of leaf, exhaling fragrance to the in-
coming wanderer. He is wearied with the natural deep-
blue of the ocean, and eager for any change. He remem-
bers the unconquerable aridity and the dry bleached
heights he last saw, and, lo ! what a change ! Re-
sponding to his half formed wish, the earth rises before
him verdant, prolific, bursting with fatness. Palms
raise their feathery heads and mangoes their great
globes of dark green foliage ; banana plantations with
impenetrable shade, groves of orange, fragrant cinna-
mon, and spreading bushy clove, diversify and enrich
the landscape. Jack-fruit trees loom up with great
massive crowns of leaf and branch, while between
the trees and in every open space succulent grasses
and plants cover the soil with a thick garment of
verdure. There is nothing grand or sublime in the
view before him, and his gaze is not attracted to any
special feature, because all is toned down to a uniform
softness by the exhalation rising from the warm heaving
bosom of the island. His imagination is therefore
caught and exercised, his mind loses its restless activity,
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80 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. and reposes under the influence of the eternal summer
^to. atmosphere.
Presently on the horizon there rise the thin upright
shadows of ships* masts, and to the left begins to
glimmer a pale white mass which, we are told, is the
capital of the island of Zanzibar. Still steaming
southward, we come within rifle-shot of the low green
shores, and now begin to be able to define the capital.
It consists of a number of square massive structures,
with little variety of height and all whitewashed,
standing on a point of low land, separated by a broad
margin of sand beach from the sea, with a bay curving,
gently from the point, inwards to the left towards us.
Within two hours from the time we first caught
sight of the town, we have dropped anchor about 700
yards from the beach. The arrival of the British India
Company*s steamer causes a sensation. It is the monthly
** mail '* from Aden and Europe ! A niunber of boats
break away from the beach and come towards the
vessel. Europeans sit at the stern, the rowers are
white-shirted Wangwana* with red caps. The former
are anxious to hear the news, to get newspapers and
letters, and to receive the small parcels sent by friendly
hands " per favour of captain.**
The stranger, of course, is intensely interested in this
life existing near the African Equator, now first revealed
to him, and all that he sees and hears of figures and
faces and sounds is being freshly impressed on his
memory. Figures and faces are picturesque enough.
Happy, pleased-looking men of black, yellow, or tawny
colour, with long white cotton shirts, move about with
quick, active motion, and cry out, regardless of order,
to their friends or mates in the Swahili or Arabic
language, and their friends or mates respond with
equally loud voice and lively gesture, until, with fresh
* Wangwana (freed negroes).
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LIFE AT ZANZIBAR. 31
arrivals, there appears to be a Babel created, wherein 1874.
English, French, Swahili, and Arabic accents mix with ^\^
Hindi, and, perhaps, Persian,
In the midst of such a scene I stepped into a boat to
be rowed to the house of my old friend, Mr. Augustus
Sparhawk, of the Bertram Agency. At this low-built,
massive-looking house near Shangani Point, I was
welcomed with all the friendliness and hospitality of
my first visit, when, three years and a half previously,
I arrived at Zanzibar to set out for the discovery of
Livingstone.
With Mr. Sparhawk*s aid I soon succeeded in housing
comfortably my three young Englishmen, Francis John
and Edward Pocock and Frederick Barker, and my
five dogs, and in stowing safely on shore the yawl
Wave, bought for me at Yarmouth by Mr. Edwin
Arnold, the gig, and the tons of goods, provisions, and
stores I had brought.
Life at Zanzibar is a busy one to the intending
explorer. Time flies rapidly, and each moment of
daylight must be employed in the selection and purchase
of the various kinds of cloth, beads, and wire, in
demand by the diflferent tribes of the mainland through
whose countries he purposes journeying. Strong,
half naked porters come in with great bales of un-
bleached cottons, striped and coloured febrics, handker-
chiefs and red caps, bags of blue, green, red, white
and amber-coloured beads small and large, round and
oval, and coils upon coils of thick brass wire. These
have to be inspected, assorted, arranged, and
numbered separately, have to be packed in portable
bales, sacks, or packages, or boxed according to their
character and value. The house-floors are littered with
cast-off wrappings and covers, box-lids, and a medley
of rejected paper, cloth, zinc covers and broken boards,
sawdust and other debris. Porters and servants and
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82 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. masters, employes and employers, pass backwards and
^*''* w f^rw^r^s> to and fro, amid all this litter, roll bales over,
^^ ' or tumble about boxes; and a rending of cloth or
paper, clattering of hammers, demands for the marking
pots, or the number of bale and box, with quick, hurried
breathing and shouting, are heard from early morning
until night.
Towards evening, after such a glaring day of glaring
heat and busy toil, comes weariness : the arm-chair
is sought, and the pipe or cigar with a cup of tea
rounds oflF the eventful hours. Or, as sometimes
the case would l)e, we would strike work early,
and after a wholesome dinner at 4.30 p.m. would
saddle our horses and ride out into the interior of
the island, returning during the short twilight. Or
we would take the well-known path to Mnazi-Moya —
the One Cocoa-nut Tree, where it stands weird and
sentinel-like over humble tombs on the crest of an
ancient beach behind Shangani Point. Or, as tlie last
and only resource left to a contemplative and studious
mind, we would take our easy-chairs on the flat roof,
where the cowhides of the merchant are poisoned and
dried, and, with our feet elevated above our heads, watch
the night coming.
If we take our ride, in a few minutes we may note, at
the pleasantest hour, those local features which, with the
thermometer at 95° Fahr., might have been a danger-
ous pleasure, or, at any rate, disagreeable. Through a
narrow, crooked, plastered lane, our horses* feet clatter-
ing noisily as we go, we ride by the tall, whitewashed,
massive houses, which rise to two and three stories
above our heads. The residences of the European
merchants and the officials here stand side by side,
and at the tall doorway of each sits the porter — as
comfortable as his circumstances will permit. As
we pass on, we get short views of the bay, and then
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TEE BE8IDENCE OF PRINCE BARGHASH. 33
plunge again into the lane until we come in view of 1874.
the worm-eaten old fort, crumbling fast into disuse and f^!,^^'
demolition. Years ago, behind it, I saw a market
where some slaves were being sold. Happily there
is no such market now.
We presently catch sight, on our right, of the
entrance to the fort at which sit on guard, a few lazy
Baluchis and dingy-looking Arabs. On our left is the
saluting battery, which does frequent service for the
ignition of much powder, an antique mode of exchanging
compliments with ships of war, and of paying respect to
government officials. The customs sheds are close by,
and directly in front of us rises the lofty house and
harem of Prince Barghash. It is a respectable-looking
building of the Arab architecture which finds favour
at Muscat, three stories high and whitewashed — as all
houses here appear to be. It is connected by a covered
gangway, about 30 feet above our heads, with a large
house on the opposite side of the lane, and possesses
an ambitious doorway raised 3 feet above the street,
and reached by four or five broad and circular steps.
Within the lower hall are some soldiers of the same
pattern as those at the fort, armed with the Henry-
Martini rifle, or matchlock, sword, and targe. A
very short time takes us into a still narrower lane,
where the whitewash is not so white as at Shangani,
the European quarter. We are in the neighbourhood
of Melindi now, where the European who has not been
able to locate himself at Shangani is obliged to put up
with neighbours of East Indian race or Arabs. Past and
beyond Melindi is a medley of tall white houses and
low sheds, where wealth and squalor jostle side by
side, and then we find ourselves at the bridge over the
inlet of Malagash, which extends from the bay up to
Mnazi-Moya, or the One Cocoa-nut, behind Shangani.
The banks on either side are in view as we pass over
VOL. I. — 3
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34 THROUQn THE DARK CONTINENT.
1871, llie bridge, and we note a dense mass of sheds and
M'^ 21* poor buildings, amid hills of garbage and heaps of refuse,
and numbers of half naked negroes, or people in white
clothes, giving the whole an appearance somewhat r^
soiiibling the more sordid village of Boulak, near Cairo.
Having crossed the bridge from Melindi, we are in
what is very appropriately termed Ngarabu, or "toother
side." The street is wide, but the quarter is more
squalid. It is .here we find the Wangwana, or Freedmen,
of Zanzibar, whose services the explorer will require
as escort on the continent. Here they live very
happily with the well-to-do Coast man, or Mswahili,
poor Banyans, Hindis, Persians, Arabs, and Baluchis,
respectable slave artisans, and tradesmen. When the
people have donned their holiday attire, Ngambu
becomes picturesque, even gay, and yields itself up to
a wild, frolicsome abandon of mirth. On working
days, though the colours are still varied, and give
relief to the clay walls and withered palm-frond roofs,
this poor man's district has a dingy hue, which black
faces and semi-naked bodies seem to deepen. However,
the quarter is only a mile and a half long, a.nd, quicken-
iug our paces, we soon have before us detached houses
and huts, clusters of cocoa-nut palms and ancient mango
tJees crowned with enormous dark green domes of foli-
age. For about three miles one can enjoy a gallop along
an ochreous-coloured road of respectable width, bordered
with hedges. Behind the hedf^es grow the sugar-cane,
banana, palm, orange, clove, cinnamon, and jack-fruit
trees, cassava, castor-oil, diversified with patches of
millet, Indian corn, sweet potatoes, and egg-plant, and
almost every vegetable of tropic growth. The fields,
gently undulating, display the variety of their vegeta-
tion, on which the lights and shadows play, deepening
or paling as the setting sun clouds or reveals the
charms of the verdure.
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Zanzibar.
TEE ROADSTEAD AND TOWN. 35
Finally arriving upon the crest of Wirezu hill, we 1874.
have a most beautiful view of the roadstead and town f^P^; 21
of Zanzibar, and, as we turn to regard it, are struck
with the landscape lying at our feet. Sloping
away gradually towards the town, the tropical trees
already mentioned seem, in the birds-eye view, to
mass themselves into a thin forest, out of which,
however, we can pick out clearly the details of tree
and hut. Whatever of beauty may be in the scene,
it is Nature's own, for man has done little; he has
but planted a root, or a seed, or a tender sapling care-
lessly. Nature has nourished the root and the seed and
the sapling, until they became sturdy giants, rising one
above another in hillocks of dark green verdure, and
has given to the whole that wonderful depth and variety
of colour which she only exhibits in the Tropics.
The walk to Mnazi-Moya will compel the traveller to
moralize, and meditate pensively. Decay speaks to
him, and from the moment he leaves the house to the
moment he returns, his mind is constantly dwelling
upon mortality. For, after lounging through two or
three lanes, he conies to a populous graveyard, over
which the wild grass has obtained supreme control,
and through the stalks of which show white the fading
and moss-touched headstones. Across the extensive
acreage allotted to the victims of the sad cholera years,
the Prince of Zanzibar has ruthlessly cut his way to
form a garden, which he has surrounded with a high
wall. Here a grinning skull and there a bleached
thigh bone or sunken grave exposing its ghastly
contents attract one's attention. From time im-
memorial this old beach has been the depository of the
dead, and unless the Prince prosecutes his good work
for the reclamation of this golgotha (and the European
oflBcials urge it on him), the custom may be continued
for a long period yet.
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36
THBOUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1874.
S«pt. 21.
Zanzibar.
Beyond this cemetery is to be seen the muddy head of
Malagash inlet, between which and the sea south of
Shangani there lies only this antique sand bar, about
two hundred yards in breadth. On the crest of the
sand bar stands the One Cocoa-nut Palm which has
given its name to this locality. Sometimes this spot
is also known as the *' fiddler's" grave. It is the
breathing-place of the hard-worked and jaded European,
and here, seated on one of the plastered tombs near the
KED CL1FF6 liKUIND UXlVIiKSlTIES MISSION.
base of the One Cocoa-nut Pnlm, with only a furtive
look now and then at the " sleep and a forgetting ''
which those humble white structures represent, he may
take his fill of ocean and watch the sun go down to
his daily rest.
Beyond Mnazi-Moya is Ml)wenni, the Universities
Mission, and close behind are some peculiar red cliffs,
which are worth seeing.
From the roof of the house, if we take the " last
resource " already mentioned, we have a view of the road-
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TEE EABBOUB AND BEACH. 87
stead and bay of Zanzibar. Generally there ride at 1874.
anchor two or three British ships of war just in from a ^^^\ ^^'
hunt after contumacious Arabs, who persist, against the '^^
orders of their prince, in transporting slaves on the
high seas. There is a vessel moored closer to French-
man's Island, its "broken back" a memento of the
Prince's fleet shattered by the hurricane of 1872.
Nearer in-shore float a number of Arab dhows, boats,
lighters, steam launches, and two steamers, one of which
is the famous Deerhound. One day I counted, as a
mere matter of curiosity, the great and small vessels in
roadstead and harbour, and found that there were 135.
From our easy-chairs on the roof we can see the
massive building occupied formerly by the Universities
Mission, and now the residence of Captain Prideaux,
Acting British Consul and Political Resident, whose
acquaintance I first made soon after his release from
Magdala in 1868. This building stands upon the
extremity of Shangani Point, and the first line of
houses which fronts the beach extends northerly in a
gentle sweep, almost up to Livingstone's old residence
on the other side of Malagash inlet.
During the day the beach throughout its length is
alive with the moving figures of hamals, bearing clove
and cinnamon bags, ivory, copal and other gums, and
hides, to be shipped in the lighters waiting along the
water's edge, with sailors from the shipping, and black
boatmen discharging the various imports on the sand.
In the evening the beach is crowded with the naked
forms of workmen and boys from the "go-downs,"
preparing to bathe and wash the dust of copal and
hides off" their bodies in the surf. Some of the Arab
merchants have ordered chairs on the piers, or bunders,
to chat sociably until the sun sets, and prayer-time
has come. Boats hurry by with their masters and
sailors returning to their respective vessels. Dhows
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38 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874, move sluggishly past, hoisting as they go the creaking
T^^tih^ yards of their lateen sails, bound for the mainland
ports. Zanzibar canoes and "matepes" are arriving
with wood and produce, and others of the same native
form and make are squaring their mat sails, outward
bound. Sunset approaches, and after sunset silence
follows soon. For as there are no wheeled carriages
with the eternal rumble of their traffic in Zanzibar,
with the early evening, comes early peace and rest.
The intending explorer, however, bound for that
dark edge of the continent which he can just see lying
low along the west as he looks from Zanzibar has
thoughts at this hour which the resident cannot share.
As little as his eyes can pierce and define the details
in that gloomy streak on the horizon, so little can he
tell whether weal or woe lies before him. The whole
is buried in mystery, over which he ponders, certain
of nothing but the uncertainty of life. Yet will he
learn to sketch out a comparison between what he
Bees at sunset and his own future. Dark, indeed, is
the gloom of the fast'-coming night over the continent,
Imt does he not see that there are still bright flushes of
colour, and rosy bars, and crimson tints, amidst what
otherwise would be universal blackness ? And may he
not therefore say — " As those colours now brighten
tlie darkening west, so my hopes brighten my dark
future"?
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THE BRlTIS.l CX)XSULATK AT ZANZIBAR.
CHAPTER ir.
Seyyid Barghash — His prohibition of slavery, character and reforms —
Treaty with British Government by Sir Bartlc Frerc — Tramways
the need of Africa — Arabs in the interior — Arabs in Zanzibar —
Mtuma or Mgwana ? — The Wangwana, their vices and virtues —
A Mgwana's highest ambition — The Wauyamwezi " the coming race.'
The foot-note at the bottom of tliis page will explain all
that need be known by the general reader in connection
with tlie geography of tlie island of Zanzibar.* Any
student who wishes to make the island a special study
will find books dealing most minutely with the
subject at all great libraries. Without venturir^g,
therefore, into more details than I have already given
How I found Livingstone/ I shall devote this
m
1874.
October.
Zanzibitr.
• "The fort of Zanzibar is in S. lat. G° 9' 36" and E. long. 39° W 33"."
— East African Pilots
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40 TUMouan THE babk continent.
1874, clmptcr to the Sultan of Zanzibar — Barghash bin
zltllur! ^^y^^~**^^ Arabs, the Wangwana, and the Wanya-
mwezr, wilh whose aid the objects of the Anglo-
Anieriean Expedition were attained.
It is impossible not to feel a kindly interest in
Prince Barghash,
-'^ and to wish him
complete success
in the reforms he
is now striving
to bring about in
his country. Here
we see an Arab
prince, educated
in the strictest
school of Islam,
and accustomed to
regard the black
natives of Africa
as the lawful prey
of conquest or
lust, and fair ob-
jects of barter,
suddenly turning
round at the re-
quest of European
philanthropists
and becoming one
of the most active
opponents of the
slave-trade — and
the Kpectacle must necessarily create for him many well-
wisliers and friends,
Thntigli rririee Bargliayh has attributed to myself
the visit of tliose ships of wnr under Admiral Gumming,
all why remember that period j and are able, therefore.
bLYVil> HAUaiUSff.
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CHABACTER OF FBINCE BARQEA8H. 41
to trace events, will not fail to perceive that the first 1874.
decided steps taken by the Biitish Government for the **! ''
suppression of the slave-trade on the east coast of
Africa were due to the influence of Livingstone's
constant appeals. Some of his letters, they will re-
member, were carried by . me to England, and the
sensation caused by them was such as to compel the
British Government to send Sir Bartle Frere in the
Enchantress^ as a special envoy to Zanzibar, to con-
clude a treaty with Prince Barghash. When the
Prince's reluctance to sign became known, the fleet
under Admiral Gumming made its appearance before
Zanzibar, and by a process of gentle coercion, or
rather quiet demonstration, the signature of the Prince
was at last obtained. One thing more, however, still
remained to be done before the treaty could be carried
into full effect, and that was to eradicate any feeling
of discontent or sullenness from his mind which might
have been created by the exhibition of force, and this,
I was happy to see, was effected by the hospitable
reception he enjoyed in England in 1875. There was
a difference in the manner and tone of the Sultan of
1874 and of 1877, that I can only attribute to the
greater knowledge he had gained of the grandeur of
the power which he had so nearly provoked. We
must look upon him now as a friendly and, I believe,
sincere ally, and as a man willing to do his utmost
for the suppression of the slave-trade.
The philanthropist having at last obtained such
signal success with the Prince, it is time the merchant
should attempt something with him. Tlie Prince must
he considered as an independent sovereign. His
territories include, besides the Zanzibar, Pemba, and
Mafia islands, nearly 1000 miles of coast, and extend
probably over an area of 20,000 square miles, with
a population of half a million. The products of
Zanzibar have enriched many Europeans who traded
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42 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874, in them. Cloves, cinnamon, tortoise-shell, pepper,
(XtoiMsr, (,ppj^| gum, ivory, orchilla weed, india-rubber, and
liides have been exported for years; but this cata-
logue does not indicate a tithe of what might be pro-
duced by the judicious investment of capital. Those
intending to engage in commercial enterprises would
<1o well to study works on Mauritius, Natal, and the
Portuguese territories, if they wish to understand what
lliese fine, fertile lands are capable of. The cocoa-nut
]>a]m flourishes at Zanzibar and on the mainland, the
i'il palm thrives luxuriantly in Peraba, and sugar-cane
will grow everywhere. Caoutchouc remains unde-
veloped in the maritime belts of woodland, and the
acacia forests, with their wealth of gums, are nearly
tintouched. Rice is sown on the Rufiji banks, and yields
abundantly; cotton would thrive in any of the rich
river bottoms ; and then there are, besides, the grains,
millet, Indian corn, and many others, the cultivation
of which, though only in a languid way, the natives
understand. The cattle, coffee, and goats of the interior
await also the energetic man of capital and the com-
mercial genius.
First, however, the capitxilist must find means of
carriage, otherwise he will never conquer African diffi-
culties. Cutting roads through jungles, and employing
wRggons, are mere temporary conveniences, requiring
ji^ieat outlay, patience, and constant reinforcement of
work and energies. Almost as fiist as the land is
ck'ared, it is covered again — so prolific is the soil — with
tall wild grasses of the thickness of cane, and one season
is sufficient to undo the work of months of the pioneer.
Cattle die, tormented out of life by the flies or poisoned
by the rank grasses; natives perish from want of proper
Tjourishment, and, while suffering from fatigue and
debility, are subject to many fatal diseases.
A tramway is the one thing that is needed for Africa.
All other benefits that can be conferred by contact with
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October.
Zanzibar
TBAMWAT8 TEE NEED OF AFRICA. 43
civilization will follow in the wake of the tramway, 1874.
which will be an iron bond, never to be again broken,
between Africa and the more favoured continents.
However energetic the small merchant may be, he
can effect nothing peimanent for the good of a country
that has neither roads nor navigable rivers, whose
climate is alike fatal to the starved hamal as it is to the
beast of burthen. The maritime belt must first be
crossed by an iron road, and another must tap the very
centre of the rice-fields of the Rufiji valley, in order
to insure cheap, nutritious food in abundance. To a
company, however, which can raise the sum required
to construct a tramway. East Africa holds out special
advantages. The Sultan himself offers a handsome
sum, five lakhs of dollars or, roughly, £100,000, and
there are rich Hindis at Zanzibar who, no doubt, would
invest large sums, and thus the company would become
the principal merchants along the line. The Sultan
has also poor subjects enough who would be only too
glad of the opportunities thus afforded to work for
reasonable pay, so that very little fear need be
entertained of lack of labour. Besides, there are
the natives of the interior who, after two or three
bold examples, would soon be induced to apply for
employment along the line.
Those whom we call the Arabs of Zanzibar are either
natives of Muscat who have immigrated thither to
seek their fortunes, or descendants of the conquerors
of the Portuguese. As the present Sultan calls himself
Barghash the sonof Sayid, the son of Sultan, the son of
Hamed, so all Arabs, from the highest to the lowest of
bis subjects, are known by their proper names — Ahmed,
or Khamis, or Abdullah, as being the sons of Mussoud,
of Mustapha, or of Mohammed. Some of them boast
of unusually long pedigrees, and one or two I am
acquainted with proclaimed themselves of purer and
more aristocratic descent than even the Sultan.
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44 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. The Arab conquerors who accompanied Seyyid
^^ Sultan, the grandfather of the present Seyyid Barghash,
took unto themselves, after the custom of polygamists,
wives of their own race according to their means, and
almost all of them purchased negro concubines, the
result of which we trace to-day in the various com-
plexions of those who call themselves Arabs. By
this process of miscegenation the Arabs of the latest
migration are already rapidly losing their rich colour
and fine complexions, while the descendants of the
Arabs of the first migration are now deteriorated so
much that on the coast they can scarcely be distinguished
from the aborigines. While many of the descendants
of the old settlers who came in with Seyyid Sultan, still
cling to their homesteads, farms, and plantations, and
acquire sufficient competence by the cultivation of
cloves, cinnamon, oranges, cocoa-nut palms, sugar-cane,
and other produce, a great number have emigrated into
the interior to form new colonies. Hamed Ibrahim has
been eighteen years in Karagwe, Muini Kheri has
been thirty years in Ujiji, Sultan bin Ali has been
twenty -five years in Unyanyemb^, Muini Dugumbi
has been eight years in Nyangwe, Juma Merikani has
been seven years in Rua, and a number of other
prominent Arabs may be cited to prove that, though
they themselves firmly believe that they will return to
the coast some day, there are too many reasons for
believing that they never will.
None of the Arabs in the interior with whom I am
acquainted ever proceeded thither with the definite in-
tention of colonisation. Some were driven thither, by
false hopes of acquiring rapid fortunes by the purchase
of slaves and ivory, and, perceiving that there were
worse places on earth than Africa, preferred to remain
there, to facing the odium of failure. Others borrowed
large sums on trust from credulous Hindis and Banyans,
and having failed in the venture now prefer to endure
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ABAB8 IN THE INTERIOR. 45
the exclusion to which they have subjected themselves, 1874.
to returning and being arrested by their enraged ^^*!^*
creditors. Others again are not merely bankrupts, but
persons who have fled the vengeance of the law for
political offences, as well as ordinary crimes. There
are many who are in better circumstances in the
interior than they would be on their own island of
Zanzibar. Some of them have hundreds of slaves,
and he would be a very poor Arab indeed who pos-
sessed only ten. These slaves, under their masters'
direction, have constructed roomy, comfortable, flat-
roofed houses, or lofty cool huts, which, in the
dangerous and hostile districts, are surrounded by
strong stockades. Thus, at Unyanyembe there are
sixty or seventy large stockades enclosing the owner's
house and store-rooms, as well as the numerous huts of
his slaves. Ujiji, again, may be described as a long
straggling village, formed by the large tembes of the
Arabs; and Nyangw^ is another settlement similar to
Ujiji. Many of the Arabs settled in the pastoral dis-
tricts possess large herds of cattle and extensive fields
where rice, wheat, Indian corn, and millet are culti-
vated, besides sugar-cane and onions, and the fruit
trees of Zanzibar — the orange, lemon, papaw, mango,
and pomegranate — now being gradually introduced.
The Arabs of Zanzibar, whether from more frequent
intercourse with Europeans or f^om other causes, are
undoubtedly the best of their race. More easily
amenable to reason than those of Egypt, or the shy,
reserved, and bigoted fanatics of Arabia, they offer
no obstacles to the European traveller, but are sociable,
frank, good-natured, and hospitable. In business they
are keen traders, and of course will exact the highest
percentage of profit out of the unsuspecting European
if they are permitted. They are staunch friends and
desperate haters. Blood is seldom satisfied without
blood, unless extraordinary sacrifices are made.
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46 THROUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. The conduct of an Arab gentleman is perfect. In-
october. ^giioj^t^ matters are never broached before strangers ;
impertinence is hushed instantly by the elders, and
rudeness is never permitted. Naturally, they have the
vices of their education, blood, and race, but these
moral blemishes . are by their traditional excellence of
breeding seldom obtruded upon the observation of the
stranger.
After the Arabs let us regard the Wangwana, just
as in Europe, after studying the condition and character
of the middle classes, we might turn to reflect upon
that of the labouring population.
Of the Wangwana there will be much written in
the following pages, the outcome of careful study and a
long experience of them. Few explorers have recorded
anything greatly to their credit. One of them lately
said that the negro knows neither love nor affection ;
another that he is simply the **link" between the
simian and the European. Another says, " The wretches
take a trouble and display an ingenuity in opposition
and disobedience, in perversity, annoyance, and viliainy,
which rightly directed would make them invaluable."
Almost all have been severe in their strictures on the
negro of Zanzibar.
The origin of the Mgwana or Freeman may be briefly
told. When . the Arabs conquered Zanzibar, they
found the black subjects of the Portuguese to be of
two classes, Watuma (slaves) and Wangwana (free-
men). .The Freemen were very probably black people
who had either purchased their freedom by the savings
of their industry or were made free upon the death of
their masters: these begat children who, being born
out of bondage, were likewise free. Arab rulers, in
classifying their subjects, perceived no great difference
in physique or general appearance between those who
were slaves and those who were free, both classes
belonging originally to the same negro tribes of the
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WATUMA OR WANG W ANA f 47
interior. Thus, when any of these were brought before i874.
the authorities convicted of offences, the question ^^^'
naturally asked was, "Are you a Mtuma, a slave,
or a Mgwana, a freeman ? *' A repetition of these
questions through a long course of years established
the custom of identifying the two classes of Zanzibar
negroes as Watuma — daves — and Wangwana — freemen.
Later, however, came a new distinction, and the word
Watuma, except in special and local cases, was dropped,
for, with the advent of the free native traders direct
from the mainland, and the increase of traffic between
Zanzibar and the continent, as well as out of courtesy
to their own slaves, the Arabs began to ask the black
stranger, " Are you Mgwana, a freeman, or Mshensi, a
pagan ?" In disputes among themselves the question
is still asked, "Are you a slave or a freeman?" but
when strangers are involved, it is always, "Are you
Mgwana, a freeman or a native of Zanzibar, or a
Mshensi, a pagan or an uncircumcised native of the
mainland ? **
It will be thus seen that the word " Wangwana '* is
now a generic, widely used, and well understood for
the -coloured natives of Zanzibar. When, therefore,
the term is employed in this book, it includes alike both
the slaves and the freemen of Zanzibar.
After nearly seven years' acquaintance with the
Wangwana, I have come to perceive that they represent
in their character much of the disposition of a large
portion of the negro tribes of the continent. I find
them capable of great love and affection, and possessed
of gratitude and other noble traits of human nature :
I know too that they can be made good, obedient
servants, that many are clever, honest, industrious,
docile, enterprising, brave and moral ; that they are,
in short, equal to any other race or colour on the face
of the globe, in all the attributes of manhood. But to
be able to perceive their worth, the traveller must
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October.
2^Dzibtr.
48 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. bring au unprejudiced judgment, a clear, fresh, and
patient observation, and must forget that lofty standard
of excellence upon which he and his race pride them-
selves, before he can fairly appreciate the capabilities
of the Zanzibar negro. The traveller should not forget
the origin of his own race, the condition of the Briton
before St. Augustine visited his country, but should
rather recall to mind the first state of the '*wild
Caledonian," and the original circumstances and sur-
roundings of Primitive Man.
Louis Figuief says : — " However much our pride may
suffer by the idea, we must confess that, at the earliest
period of his existence, man could have been but little
distinguished from the brute. His pillow was a stone,
his roof was the shadow of a wide-spreading tree, or
some dark cavern, which also served as a refuge against
wild beasts."
And again, in his chapter on the "Iron Epoch," he
notes how " Frora the day when iron was first placed
at man's disposal, civilization began to make its longest
strides, and as the working of this metal improved,
so the dominion of man — his faculties and his intellect
— real activity — likewise enlarged in the same propor-
tion." And at the end of a most admirable book, he
counsels the traveller, " Look to it, lest thy pride cause
thee to forget thy own origin."
Being, I hope, free from prejudices of caste, colour,
race, or nationality, and endeavouring to pass what
I believe to be a just judgment upon the negroes of
Zanzibar, I find that they are a people just emerged
into the Iron Epoch, and now thrust forcibly under
the notice of nations who have left them behind by
the improvements of over 4000 years. They possess
beyond doubt all the vices of a people still fixed deeply
in barbarism, but they understand to the full what and
how low such a state is ; it is, therefore, a duty imposed
upon us by the religion we profess, and by the sacred
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October.
ZanxilMur
THE WANGWANA. 49
command of the Son of God, to help them out of the i874,
deplorable state they are now in. At any rate, before
we begin to hope for the improvement of races so long
benighted, let us leave off this impotent bewailing
of their vices, and endeavour to discover some of
the virtues they possess as men, for it must be with the
aid of their virtues, and not by their vices, that the
missionary of civilization can ever hope to assist them.
While, therefore, recording my experiences through
Africa, I shall have frequent occasion to dilate upon
both the vices and the virtues of the Wangwana as
well as of the natives of the interior, but it will not
be with a view to foster, on the one hand, the self-
deception of the civilized, or the absurd prejudices
created by centuries of superior advantages, nor, on
the other hand, to lead men astray by taking a too
bright view of things. I shall write solely and
simply with a strong desire to enable all interested in
the negro to understand his mental and moral powers
rightly.
The Mgwana or native of Zanzibar, who dwells at
Ngambu, is a happy, jovial soul. He is fond of company,
therefore sociable. His vanity causes him to be am-
bitious of possessing several white shirts and bright red
caps, and since he has observed that his superiors use
, walking-sticks, he is almost certain, if he is rich enough
to own a white shirt and a red cap, to be seen sporting
a light cane. The very poorest of his class hire them-
selves, or are hired out by their masters, to carry
bales, boxes, and goods, from the custom house to the
boat, or store-room, or vice versd, and as a general beast
of burden, for camels are few, and of wheeled vehicles
there are none. Those who prefer light work and
have good characters may obtain positions as door-
keepers or house-servants, or for washing copal and
drying hides for the European merchants. Others,
VOL. I. — 4
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1874.
October.
Zanzibar.
50
THROUOn THE LARK CONTINENT.
trained as mechanics, obtain a livelihood by repairing
muskets, manufacturing knives, belts, and accoutre-
ments, or by carpentering and shipbuilding. There is
a class of Wangwana living at Ngambu, in the small
gardens of the interior of the island, and along the
coast of the mainland, who prefer the wandering life
offered to them by the Arab traders and scientific
COXSWAIN ULEDI, AND MANWA SKRA, CHIEF CAPTAIN.
{From a photograph.)
expeditions to being subject to the caprice, tyranny,
and meanness of small estate proprietors. They
complain that the Arabs are haughty, grasping,
and exacting; that they abuse them and pay them
badly ; that, if they seek justice at the hands of the
Cadis, judgment, somehow, always goes against them.
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A MGWANA'8 HIGHEST AMBITION. 51
They say, on the other hand, that, when accompanying 1874.
trading or other expeditions, they are well paid, have ^^""^
abundance to eat, and comparatively but little work.
But the highest ambition of a Mgwana is to have a
house and shamba or garden of his own. The shamba
may only be large enough to possess a dozen cocoa-nut-
trees, a dozen rows, thirty yards long, ot cassava
shrubs, half a dozen banana plants, half a dozen rows
planted with sweet-potatoes, and two or three rows of
ground-nuts; nevertheless, this would be his garden
or estate, and therefore of priceless estimation. At one
corner of this tiny but most complete estate, he would
erect his house, with an exclusive courtyard, which he
would stock with half a dozen chickens and one goat,
which last he would be sure to spoil with kindness.
Three hundred dollars would probably be the total
value of house, garden, chickens, goat, domestic uten-
sils, tools, and all, and yet, with this property, he would
be twice married, the father of four or five children,
and even the owner of a domestic slave or two. If
such be his condition, he will snap his fingers at the
cruel world, and will imagine himself as prosperous,
well-to-do, and comfortable as any Arab in Zanzibar.
But he is seldom spoiled by this great prosperity. He
is a sociable, kindly disposed man, and his frank, hearty
nature has won for him hosts of friends. Beer made
of fermented mtama or Indian corn, wine of the palm
or cocoa-nut milk, or the stronger eau de vie sold by
the Goanese in the town at twenty-five cents the
bottle, serve to difiuse and cement these friendships.
It is to the Wangwana that Livingstone, Burton,
Speke and Grant owe, in great part, the accomplish-
ment of their objects, and while in the employ of those
explorers, this race rendered great services to geo-
graphy. From a considerable distance north of the
Equator down to the Zambezi and across Africa to
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October.
Zanzibar.
52 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874* Benguella and the mouth of the Livingstone, they
h^ve made their names familiar to tribes who, but
for the Wangwana, would have remained ignorant to
this day of all things outside their own settlements.
They possess, with many weaknesses, many fine qualities.
While very superstitious, easily inclined to despair, and
readily giving ear to vague, unreasonable fears, they
may also, by judicious management, be induced to
laugh at their own credulity and roused to a courageous
attitude, to endure like Stoics, and fight like heroes. It
will depend altogether upon the leader of a body of
such men whether their worst or best qualities shall
prevail.
There is another class coming into notice from the
interior of Africa, who, though of a sterner nature,
will, I am convinced, as they are better known, become
greater favourites than the Wangwana. I refer to the
Wanyamwezi, or the natives of Unyamwezi, and the
Wasukuma, or the people of Usukuma. Naturally,
being a grade less advanced towards civilization than
the Wangwana, they are not so amenable to discipline
as the latter. While explorers would in the present
state of acquaintance prefer the Wangwana as escort,
the Wanyamwezi are far superior as porters. Their
greater freedom from diseases, their greater strength
and endurance, the pride they t^ike in their profession
of porters, prove them born travellers of incalculable
use and benefit to Africa. If kindly treated, I do not
know more docile and good-natured creatures. But
the discipline must not be strict, until they have had
opportunities of understanding their employer*s nature
and habits, and of comprehending that discipline does
not mean abuse. Their courage they have repeatedly
proved under their Napoleonic leader Mirambo, in many
a well-fought field against the Arabs and Wangwana.
Their skill in war, tenacity of purpose, and determi-
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THE COMING BACES.
53
nation to defend the rights of their elected chief
against foreigners, have furnished themes for song
to the bards of Central Africa. Tippu-Tib has led 500
of these men through distant Bisa and the plains
of Rua : Juma Merikani has been escorted by them
into the heart of the regions beyond the Tanganika:
Khamis bin Adallah commanded a large force of them
in his search for ivory in the intra-lake countries. The
English discoverer of Lake Tanganika and, finally, I
myself have been equally indebted to them, both on
my first and last expeditions.
From their numbers, and their many excellent
qualities, I am led to think that the day will come
when they will be regarded as something better than
the " best of pagazis"; that they will be esteemed as
the good subjects of some enlightened power, who will
train them up as the nucleus of a great African nation,
as powerful for the good of the Dark Continent, as they
threaten, under the present condition of things, to be
for its evil.
1874.
October.
Zanzibar.
NEW CHURCH ON BITE OF OLD 8LAVE-MABKET, ZAXZIBAB.
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61 TEROUQS THE DARK CONTINENT.
CHAPTER in.
Organization of the Expedition— The s^iauri — "Poli-poli" — Msenna'a
successful imposture — Black sheep in the flock — The Lady Alice
remodelled — Sewing a British flag — Tarya Topan, the millionaire
— Signing the covenants — "On the "word of a white man" —
Saying good-bye — Loading the dhows — Vale ! — Towards the Dark
Continent
1874. It is a raost sobering employment, the organizing of
November, ^j^ African expedition. You are constantly ens:afi:ed,
Zanzibar. • j j i i ^ . .• x J
mind and body ; now m casting up accounts, and now
travelling to and fro hurriedly to receive messengers,
inspecting purchases, bargaining with keen-eyed, relent-
less Hindi merchants, writing memoranda, haggling
over extortionate prices, packing up a multitude of
small utilities, pondering upon your lists of articles,
wanted, purchased, and unpurchased, groping about
in the recesses of a highly exercised imagination for
what you ought to purchase, and cannot do without,
superintending, arranging, assorting, and packing.
And this under a temperature of 95° Fahr.
In the midst of all this terrific, high-pressure exercise
arrives the first batch of applicants for employment.
For it has long ago been bruited abroad that I am
ready to enlist all able-bodied human beings willing
to carry a load, be they Wangwana or Wanyamwezi,
Wagalla, Somali, Wasagara, Wayow, Wajindo,
Wagogo, or Wazaramo. Ever since I arrived at
Zanzibar, since which date I have been absent
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NoTember.
Zanzibar.
SELECTINO THE EXPEDITION. 65
exploring the Rufiji river,* I have had a very good i874.
reputation among Arabs and Wangwana. They have
not forgotten that it was I who found the ** old white
man" — Livingstone — in Uji;i, nor that liberality and
kindness to my men were my special characteristics.
They have also, with the true Oriental spirit of exag-
geration, proclaimed that I was but a few months
absent; and that, after this brief excursion, they
returned to their homes to enjoy the liberal pay
awarded them, feeling rather the better for the trip
than otherwise. This unsought-for reputation brought
on me the laborious task of selecting proper men out
of an extraordinary number of applicants. Almost
all the cripples, the palsied, the consumptive, and the
superannuated that Zanzibar could furnish applied to
be enrolled on the muster list, but these, subjected to
a searching examination, were refused. Hard upon
their heels came all the roughs, rowdies, and ruffians of
the island, and these, schooled by their fellows, were
not so easily detected. Slaves were also refused, as
being too much under the influence and instruction
of their masters, and yet many were engaged of whose
character I had not the least conception, until, months
afterwards, I learned from their quarrels in the camp
how 1 had been misled by the clever rogues.
All those who bore good characters on the Search
Expedition, and had been despatched to the assistance
of Livingstone in 1872, were employed without delay.
Out of these the chiefs were selected : these were,
Manwa Sera, Chowpereh, Wadi Rehani, Kacheche,
Zaidi, Chakanja, Farjalla, Wadi Safeni, Bukhet,
Mabruki Manyapara, Mabruki Unyanyembe, Muini
Pembe, Ferahan, Bwana Muri, Khamseen, Mabruki
Speke, Simba, Gardner, Haraoidah, Zaidi Mganda,
and Ulimengo.
• For account of this exploration, see brief account in Appendix.
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56 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. But before real business could be entered into, the
November, customary present had to be distributed to each.
Ulimengo, or the World j the incorrigible joker and
hunter in chief of the Search and Livingstone's expedi-
tions, received a gold ring to encircle one of his thick
black fingers, and a silver chain to suspend round his
neck, which caused his mouth to expand gratefully.
Rojab, who was soon reminded of the unlucky accident
with Livingstone's Journal in the muddy waters of the
Mukondokwa, was endowed with a munificent . gift
which won him over to my service beyond fear of
bribery. Manwa Sera, the redoubtable ambassador of
Speke and Grant to Manwa Sera — the royal fugitive
distressed by the hot pursuit of the Arabs — the leader
of my second caravan in 1871, the chief of the party
sent to Unyanyembe to the assistance of Livingstone in
1872, and now appointed Chief Captain of the Anglo-
American Expedition, was rendered temporarily speech-
less with gratitude because I had suspended a splendid
jet necklace from his neck, and ringed one of his fingers
with a heavy seal ring. The historical Mabruki Speke,
called by one of my predecessors ** Mabruki the Bull-
headed," who has each time in the employ of European
explorers conducted himself with matchless fidelity, and
is distinguished for his hawk-eyed guardianship of their
property and interests^ exhibited extravagant rapture at
the testimonial for past services bestowed on him ; while
the valiant, faithful, sturdy Chowpereh, the man of
manifold virtues, was rewarded for his former worth
with a silver dagger, gilt bracelet, and earrings. His
wife was also made happy with a suitable gift, and the
heir of the Chowpereh estate, a child of two years,
was, at his father's urgent request, rendered safe by
vaccine from any attack of the small-pox during our
absence in Africa.
All great enterprises require a preliminary de-
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TOLI! FOLir 57
liberative palaver, or, as the Wangwana call it, i874.
"Shauri" In East Africa pprticularly shauris are ^^"^]^/
much in vogue. Precipitate, energetic action is
dreaded. ** Poli, poli ! *' or " Gently ! " is the warning
word of caution given.
The chiefs arranged themselves in a semi-circle on the
day of the shauri, and I sat A Za Turque fronting them.
** What is it, my friends ? Speak your minds." They
hummed and hawed, looked at one another, as if on
their neighbour's faces they might discover the purport
of their coming, but, all hesitating to begin, finally broke
down in a loud laugh.
Manwa Sera, always grave, unless hit dexterously
with a joke, hereupon affected anger, and said, ** You
speak, son of Safeni ; verily we act like children ! Will
the master eat us?"
Wadi, son of Safeni, thus encouraged to perform
the spokesman's duty, hesitates exactly two seconds,
and then ventures with diplomatic blandness and
graciosity. "We have come, master, with words.
Listen. It is well we should know every step before we
leap. A traveller journeys not without knowing whither
he wanders. We have come to ascertain what lands you
are bound for."
Imitating the son of Safeni's gracious blandness, and
his low tone of voice, as though the information about
to be imparted to the intensely interested and eagerly
listening group were too important to speak it loud, I
described in brief outline the prospective journey, in
broken Kiswahili. As country after country was men-
tioned of which they had hitherto but vague ideas, and
river after river, lake after lake named, all of which I
hoped with their trusty aid to explore carefully, various
ejaculations expressive of wonder and joy, mixed with a
little alarm, broke from their lips, but when I concluded,
each of the group drew a long breath, and almost
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KoTeniber.
Z&nzibar,
58 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. Bimultaneously they uttered admiringly, " Ah, fellows,
this is a journey worthy to be called a journey ! "
" But, master," said they, after recovering themselves,
** this long journey will take years to travel — six, nine,
or ten years." ** Nonsense," I replied. " Six, nine, or
ten years! What can you be thinking of? It takes
the Arabs nearly three years to reach Ujiji, it is true,
but, if 3^ou remember, I was but sixteen months from
Zanzibar to Ujiji and back. Is it not so?" **Ay,
true," they answered. " Very well, and I assure you I
have not come to live in Africa. I have come simply
to see those rivers and lakes, and after I have seen
them to return home." "Ah, but you know the old
master, Livingstone," rejoined Hamoidah, who had fol-
lowed the veteran traveller nearly eight years, "said
he was only going for two years, and you know that he
never came back, but died there." ** That is true enough,
but if I were quick on the first journey, am I likely to
be slow now? Am I much older than I was then?
Am I less strong ? Do I not know what travel is now ?
Was I not like a boy then, and am I not now a man ?
You remember while going to Ujiji I permitted the guide
to show the way, but when we were returning who
was it that led the way ? Was it not I, by means of
that little compass which could not lie like the guide ?"
** Ay, true, master, true every word !" " Very well,
then, let us finish the shauri, and go. To-morrow we
will make a proper agreement before the consul ;" and
in Scriptural phrase, " they forthwith arose and did as
they were commanded."
Upon receiving information from the coast that there
was a very large number of men waiting for me, I
became still more fastidious in my choice. But with
all my care and gift of selection, I was mortified to
discover that many faces and characters had baffled the
rigorous scrutiny to which I had subjected them, and
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November.
ZaAsibur.
A SPECIOUS IMPOSTOR. 69
that some scores of the most abandoned and depraved i874.
characters on the island had been enlisted by me on
the Expedition. One man, named Msenna, imposed
upon me by assuming such a contrite penitent look,
and weeping such copious tears, when I informed him
that he liad too bad a character to be employed, that
my good-nature was prevailed upon to accept his ser-
vices, upon the understanding that, if he indulged his
murderous propensities in Africa, I should return him
chained the entire distance to Zanzibar, to be dealt
with by his Prince.
The defence of his conduct was something like this :
** Bwana,* you see these scars on my head and neck.
They are from the sabres of the Seyyid's soldiers.
Demand of any, Arab or Freeman, why I received
them. They will tell you they were inflicted for rebellion
against- Prince Majid at Melinda. The Arabs hate me
because I joined the coast men against their authority.
Can any one charge me with worse deeds ? " — appealing
to the Wangwana. AH were silent. " I am a free-born
son of the coast, and never did any man or woman who
did not molest me the smallest injury. Allah be praised !
I am strong, healthy, and contented with my lot, and if
you take mo you will never have cause to regret it. If
you fear that I shall desert give me no advance pay, but
pay me when I come back to Zanzibar according to my
deserts."
This appeal was delivered with impassioned accents
and lively gestures, which produced a great effect
upon the mixed audience who listened to him, and
gathering from their face?, more than from my own
convictions, that poor scarred Msenna was a kind of a
political refugee, much abused and very much mis-
understood, his services were accepted, and as he
appeared to be an influential man, he was appointed a
• "Master"
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60 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. junior captain with prospects of promotion and higher
NoTemb«r. * _ ^
Zanribar P^'
Snhsequently, however, on the shores of Lake Victoria
it was discovered — for in Africa people are uncommonly
communicative — that Msenna had murdered eight
people, that he was a ruffian of the worst sort, and that
the merchants of Zanzibar had experienced great relief
when they heard that the notorious Msenna was about
to bid farewell for a season to the scene of so many of
his wild exploits. Msenna was only one of many of
his kind, but I have given in detail the manner of his
enlistment that my position may be better understood.
Soon after my return from the Rufiji delta, the
B. I. S. N. Company's steamer Euphrates had brought
the sectional exploring boat. Lady Alice^ to Zanzibar.
Exceedingly anxious for the portability of the sections,
I had them at once weighed, and great were my
vexation and astonishment when I discovered that four
of the sections weighed 280 lbs. each, and that one
weighed 310 lbs. ! She was, it is true, a marvel of
workmanship, and an exquisite model of a boat, such,
indeed, as few builders in England or America could
rival, but in her present condition her carriage through
the jungles would necessitate a pioneer force a hundred
strong to clear the impediments and obstacles on the
road.
While almost plunged into despair, I was informed
that there was a very clever English carpenter, named
Ferris, about to leave by the Euphrates for England.
Mr. Ferris was quickly made acquainted with my
difficulty, and for a " consideration " promised, after a
personal inspection of the boat, to defer his departure
one month, and to do his utmost to make the sections
portable without lessening her efficiency. When the
boat was exhibited to him, I explained that the narrow-
ness of the path would make her portage absolutely
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November.
Zanxibor.
TEE ''LADY ALICE'' BEMODELLED. 61
impossible, for since the path was often only 18 inches i874.
wide in Africa, and hemmed in on each side with dense
jungle, any package 6 feet broad could by no means
be conveyed along it. It was therefore necessary
that each of the four sections should be subdivided, by
which means I should obtain eight portable sections,
each 3 feet wide, and that an afterpiece could easily
be made by myself upon arriving at the lakes. Mr.
Ferris, perfectly comprehending his instructions, and
with the aid given by the young Pococks, furnished
me within two weeks with the newly modelled Lady
Alice. But it must be understood that her success
as a safe exploring boat is due to the conscientious
workmanship which the honest and thoroughly reliable
boat-builder of Teddington lavished upon Her.
The pride which the young Pococks and Frederick
Barker entertained in respect to their new duties, in
the new and novel career of adventure now opening
before them, did not seem to damp that honourable
love of country which every Englishman abroad
exhibits, and is determined to gratify if he can. Their
acquaintance with the shipwright, Mr. Ferris, who
had evidently assisted at the ceremony of planting the
British flag at the masthead of many a new and noble
structure, destined to plough strange seas, reminded
them, during one of the social evening hours which
they spent together, that it would be a fine thing if
they might also be permitted to hoist a miniature
emblem of their nationality over their tent in camp,
and over their canoes on the lakes and rivers of Africa.
The Pococks and Barker accordingly, a few days
before our departure, formed themselves into a deputa-
tion, and Frank, who was spokesman, surprised me
with the following request : —
**My brother, Fred Barker, and myself, Sir, have
been emboldened to ask you a favour, which no doubt
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62 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
leTi. you will think strange and wrong. But we cannot
KoTifniHjr. f^yggt^ wherever we go, that we are Englishmen,
and we should like to be permitted to take something
with us that will always remind us of who we are,
HTid be a comfort to us even in the darkest hours of
trouble, perhaps even encourage us to perfornLOur duties
better. We have come to ask you, sir, if we may be
permitted to make a small British flag to hoist above
our tent, and over our canoe on the lakes."
'' My dear fellow," I replied, *' you surprise me by
iumgining for one moment that I could possibly
J'-* fuse you. .This is not an American Government
or a British Government Expedition, and I have
neither the power nor disposition to withhold my
sanction to your request. If it will be any pleasure to
you> by all means take it, I cannot have the slightest
ol ejection to such an innocent proceeding. All that I
sh:xll require from you in Africa is such service as you
can give, and if you prove yourselves the highly recom-
m-jnded lads you are, I shall not interfere with any
iiiuocent pleasure you may feel yourselves at liberty to
take. If one British flag is not enough, you may take
a thousand so far as I am concerned."
"Thank you kindly. Sir. You may rest assured
that we have entered your service with the intention
to remember what my old father and our friends
Btiictly enjoined us to do, which was to stick to you
through thick and thin."
The young Englishmen were observed soon after-
wards busy sewing a tiny flag, about 18 inches square,
out of some bunting, and after a pattern that Mr.
Ferris procured for them. Whether the complicated
colours, red, blue, white, were arranged properly,
or the crosses according to the standard, I am ignorant.
But I observed that, while they were occupied in the
tatjk, they were very much interested, and that, when
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TEE TBUE STORY OF THE BRITISH FLAG.
63
it was finished, though it was only the size of a lady's
handkerchief, they manifested much delight.
Zanzibar possesses its *^ millionaires " also, and one
of the richest merchants in the town is Tarya Topan
—a self-made man of Hindostan, singularly honest
and just;, a devout Muslim, yet liberal in his ideas ;
a sharp business man, yet charitable. I mnde Tarya'b
1874.
November.
Zanzibar.
TABYA TOPAN.
acquaintance in 1871, and the righteous manrfer in
wljich he then dealt by me caused me now to proceed
to him again for the same purpose as formerly, viz. to
sell me cloth, cottons, and kanikis, at reasonable prices,
and accept my bills on Mr. Joseph M. Levy, of the
Daily Telegraph.
Honest Jetta, as formerly, was employed as my
vakeel to purchase the various coloured cloths, fine
and coarse, for chiefs and their wives, as weU as a
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64 THROUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1374. large assortment of beads of all sizes, forms, and
Karflfubtr, colours,* besides a large quantity of brass wire 4 inch
m thickness.
The total weight of goods, cloth, beads, wire, stores,
tiiedicine, bedding, clothes, tents, ammunition, boat,
oars, rudder and thwarts, instruments and stationery,
photographic apparatus, dry plates, and miscellaneous
articles too numerous to mention, weighed a little over
18,000 lbs., or rather more than eight tons, divided
as nearly as possible into loads weighing 60 lbs. each,
and requiring therefore the carrying capacity of 300
men. The loads were made more than usually light,
iti order that we might traviel with celerity, and not
fatigue the people.
But still further to provide against sickness and
weakness, a supernumerary force of forty men were
recruited at Bagamoyo, Konduchi, and the Rufiji delta,
\Yho were required to assemble in the neighbour-
hood of the first-mentioned place. Two hundred and
thirty men, consisting of Wangwana, Wanyamwezi,
and coast people from Mombasa, Tanga, and Saadani,
affixed their marlcs opposite their names before the
American Consul, for wages varying from 2 to 10 dollars
per month, and rations according to their capacity,
strength, and intelligence, with the understanding
that they were to serve for two years, or until such
lime, as their services should be no longer required
in Africa, and were to perform their duties cheer-
fully and promptly.
On the day of '* signing " the contract, each adult re-
ceived an advance of 20 dollars, or four months' pay, and
each youth 10 dollars, or four months' pay. Ration money
was also paid them from the time of first enlistment, at
the rate of 1 dollar per week, up to the day we left the
* For list of cloths, beads, wire, &o., and their prices, see Appendix.
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SIGNING THE COVENANTS. 65
coast. These conditions were, however, not entered i874.
into without requiring the presence of each person's ^*^^*'"'*^''
friends and relatives to witness and sanction the engage-
ments, so that on this day the parents, uncles, cousins,
and near and distant relatives, wives and children,
were in attendance, and crowded every room and
conrt at the American Consulate. The entire amount
disbursed in cash for advances of pay and rations at
Zanzibar and Bagamoyo was 6260 dollars, or nearly
£1300.
The obligations, however, were not all on one side.
Besides the due payment to them of their wages on
demand, and selling them such cloths as they would
require for dress while in Africa at reasonable prices,
which would be a little above cost price at Zanzibar,
I was compelled to bind myself to them, on the word
of an " honourable white man," to observe the follow-
ing conditions as to conduct towards them : —
1st. That I should treat them kindly, and be patient
with them.
2nd. That in cases of sickness, I should dose them with
proper medicine, and see them nourished with the best
the country afforded. That if patients were unable to
proceed, they should not be abandoned to the mercy of
heathen, but were to be conveyed to such places as should
be considered safe for their persons and their freedom,
and convenient for their return, on convalescence, to
their friends. That, with all patients thus left behind,
I should leave sufficient cloth or beads to pay the native
practitioner for his professional attendance, and for the
support of the patient.
3rd. That in cases of disagreement between man
and man, I should judge justly, honestly, and impar-
tially. That I should do my utmost to prevent the
ill-treatment of the weak by the strong, and never
permit the oppression of those unable to resist.
VOL. I. — 5
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Zanzibar.
66 TEBOUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1874. 4th. That I should ajct like a " father and mother "
f^J^y^T ^ them, and to the best of my ability resist all
violence ofiFered to them by "savage natives, and
roving and lawless banditti.**
They also promised, upon the above conditions being
fulfilled, that they would do their duty like men, would
honour and respect my instructions, giving me their
united support and endeavouring to the best of their
ability to be faithful servants, and would never desert
me in the hour of need. In short, that they would
behave like good and loyal children, and "may the
blessing of God,'* said they, " be upon us.**
How we kept this bond of mutual trust and forbear-
ance, and adhered to each other in the hours of sore
trouble and distress, faithfully performing our duties
to one another: how we encouraged and sustained,
cheered and assisted one another, and in all the services
and good offices due from man to man, and comrade to
comrade, from chief to servants and from servants to
chief, how we kept our plighted word of promise, will
be best seen in the following chapters, which record the
strange and eventful story of our journeys.
The fleet of six Arab vessels which were to bear us
away to the west across the Zanzibar Sea were at last
brought to anchor a few yards from the wharf of the
American Consulate. The day of farewell calls had
passed, and ceremoniously we had bidden adieu to the
hospitable and courteous Acting British Consul, Captain
William F. Prideaux, and his accomplished wife,* to
friendly and amiable Dr. James Robb and Mrs. Robb,
to Dr. Riddle, and the German and French Consuls.
Seyyid Barghash bin Sayid received my thanks for his
courtesy, and his never failing kindness, and my sincere
• No lady was ever more universally respected at Zanzibar than Mrs.
Prideaux, and no death eyer more sincerely regretted by the European
community than was hers.
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BATING GOOD-BYE. G7
wishes for his lasting prosperity and happiness. Many 1&74
kind Arab and Hindi friendi4 also received my parting ^""^l ^''
salaams. Grave Sheikh Hash id expressed a hope that
we should meet again on earth, Captain Bukhet, the
pilots wished me a qtiick and safe return from the dread
lands of the heathen, and the princely Indian mer-
chant, Tarya Topan^ expressed his sincere hopes that I
should be prosperous in my nndertakingj and come
hack crowned with success.
The young Englishmen, whose charming, simple
manners and manly bearing had won for them a
number of true friends at Zanzibar, were not without
many hearty well-wishers, and received cheerful fare-
wells from numerous friends.
At the end of the Ramadan, the month of abstinence
of Mohammed ans^ the Wangwana, trtie to their promise
that they would be ready, appeared with their bundles
and mats, and proceeded to take their places in the
vessels waiting for them. As their friends had
mustered in strong force to take their final parting
and bestow last useful hints and prudent advice, it
was impossible to distinguish among the miscellaneous
crowd on the beach those who were present, or to
disfcover who were absent. The greater part of my
company were in high spirits, and from this I inferred
that they had not forgotten to fortify themselves with
stimulants against the critical moment of departure-
As fast as each dhow was reported to be filled^ the
Naklmda or Captain wjis directed to anchor farther
off shore to await the signal to saiL By 5 p.m, of the
12th November^ 224 men had responded to their names,
and five of the Arab vessels, laden with \h% personnel^
cattle, and materiel of the expedition, were impatiently
waiting with anchor heaved short, the word of
command. One vessel still lay close ashore, to convey
myself, and Frederick Barker — in charge of the personal
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68
THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. servants — our baggage, and dogs. Turning round to
Xi-v. \% ^y constant and well-tried friend, Mr. Augustus Spar-
hawk, I fervently clasped his hand, and with a full
heart though halting tongue, attempted to pour out
my feelings of gratitude for his kindness and long
sustained hospitality, my keen regret at parting and
hopes of meeting again. But I was too agitated to
be eloquent, and all my forced gaiety could not carry
me through the ordeal. So we parted in almost total
silence, but I felt assured that he would judge my
J
I'
II
UNIVERSITIES MISSION AT MBWENNI, ZANZIBAR.
{From a photograph by Mr. Buchanan, of Natal, Seepage 78.)
emotions by his own feelings, and would accept the
lame effort at their expression as though he had
listened to the most voluble rehearsal of thanks.
A wave of my hand, and the anchors were hove np
and laid within ship, and then, hoisting our lateen
sails, we bore away westward to launch ourselves into
the arms of Fortune. Many wavings of kerchiefs and
hats, parting signals from white hands, and last long
looks at friendly white faces, final confused impressions
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VALE!
69
of the grouped figures of our well-wishers, and then 1874.
the evening breeze had swept us away into mid-sea /'*\^^*
beyond reach of recognition.
The parting is over ! We have said our last words
for years, perhaps for ever, to kindly men ! The sun
sinks fast to the western horizon, and gloomy is the
twilight that now deepens and darkens. Thick shadows
fall upon the distant land and over the silent sea, and
oppress our throbbing, regretful hearts, as we glide
away through the dying h'ght towards The Dark
Continent.
*T0WABD8 THE DABK CONTINENT.'
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70 THROVQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
CHAPTER IV.
Bagamoyo — Taming the dark brother — Bagamoyo in a fennent —
An exciting scene — The disturbance quelled — The Uniyersities
Mission, its origin, history, decline and present condition — The Bey.
Edward Steere — Notre Dome de Bagamoyo — Westward ho! —
In marchiDg order — Sub Jove fervido — Grossing the Kingani —
The stolen women.
1874. Bagamoyo, Whindi, and Saadani, East African villages
Ua^'Imoyo ^^ ^^^ mainland near the sea, offer exceptionally good
starting-points for the unexplored interior, for many
reasons. First. Because the explorers and the people
are strangers to one another, and a slight knowledge
of their power of mutual cohesion, habits, and relative
influences, is desirable before launching out into the
wilds. Second. The natives of those maritime villages
are accustomed to have their normally languid and peace-
ful life /invaded and startled by the bustle of foreigners
arriving by sea and from the continent, Arab traders
bound for the interior and lengthy native caravans
from Unyamwezi. Third. An expedition not fully
recruited to its necessary strength at Zanzibar may be
easily reinforced at these ports by volunteers from
native caravans who are desirous of returning to their
homes, and who, day by day, along the route, will
straggle in towards it until the list is full and complete.
These, then, were the principal reasons for my
selection of Bagamoyo as the initid point, from whence,
after inoculating the various untamed spirits who had
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TAMING THE DARK BBOTEEB. 71
now enlisted under me, with a respect for order and 1874.
discipline, obedience and system (the true prophylactic ^''^' ^^
against failure) I should be free to rove where dis- ^*"^y*^
coveries would be fruitful. This "inoculation" will
not, however, commence until after a study of their
natures, their deficiencies and weaknessea The ex-
hibition of force, at this juncture, would be dangerous
to our prospects, and all means gentle, patient, and
persuasive have, therefore, to be tried first. What-
ever deficiencies, weaknesses, and foibles the people
may develop must be so manipulated that, while they
are learning the novel lesson of obedience, they may
only just suspect that behind all this there lies the
strong unbending force which will eventually make '
men of them, wild things though they now are. For
the first few months, then, forbearance is absolutely
necessary. The dark brother, wild as a colt, chafing,
restless, ferociously impulsive, superstitiously timid,
liable to furious demonstrations, suspicious and un-
reasonable, must be forgiven seventy times seven, until
the period of probation is passed. Long before this
period is over, such temperate conduct will have
enlisted a powerful force, attached to their leader by
bonds of good-will and respect, even, perhaps, of love
and devotion, and by the moral influence of their
support even the most incorrigible mauvais sujet will
be restrained, and finally conquered.
Many things will transpire during the first few
weeks which will make the explorer sigh and wish that
he had not ventured upon what promises to be a
hopeless task. Maddened by strong drinks and drugs,
jealous of their status in the camp, regretting also, like
ourselves, that they had been so hasty in undertaking
the journey, brooding over the joys of the island fast
receding from them, anxious for the future, susceptible
to the first and every influence that assails them v/ith
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72 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1374 temptatioDs to return to the coast, these people require
Kw. \x ^ ^ treated with the utmost kindness and considera-
^ATTiDyo. ^.^^^ ^^^ ^^ intending traveller must be wisely
circumspect in his intercourse with them. From my
former experiences of such men, it will be readily
believed that I had prepared for the scenes which I
knew were to follow at Bagamoyo, and that all my
precautions had been taken.
Upon landing at Bagamoyo on the morning of the
13th, we marched to occupy the old house where we
had stayed so long to prepare the First Expedition.
The goods were stored, the dogs chained up, the
riding asses tethered, the rifles arrayed in the store-
room, and the sectional boat laid under a roof close by,
on rollers, to prevent injury from the white ants — a
precaution which, I need hardly say, we had to observe
throughout our journey. Then some more ration money,
sufficient for ten days, had to be distributed among the
men, the young Pococks were told off to various camp
duties to initiate them to exploring life in Africa, and
then, after the first confusion of arrival had subsided, I
began to muster the new engagSs.
But within three hours Bagamoyo was in a ferment.
" The white man has brought all the robbers, ruffians,
and murderers of Zanzibar to take possession of tlie
town/' was the rumour that ran wildly through all the
streets, lanes, courts, and bazaars. Men with bloody
faces, wild, bloodshot eyes, bedraggled, rumpled and
torn dresses, reeled up to our orderly and nearly silent
quarters clamouring for rifles and ammunition. Arabs
with drawn swords, and sinewy Baluchis with match-
locks and tinder ready to be ignited, came up threatening,
and, following them, a miscellaneous rabble of excited
men, while, in the background, seethed a mob of
frantic women and mischievous children.
** What is the matter ? " I asked, scarcely knowing
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AN EXCITING SCENE. 73
how to begin to calm this turbulent mass of passionate 1874.
beings. J^^-'^
" Matter!^ was echoed. "What is the matter?" ^'°'^'"
was repeated. " Matter enough. The town is in an
uproar. Your men are stealing, murdering, robbing
goods from the stores, breaking plates, killing our
chickens, assaulting everybody, drawing knives on our
women after abusing them, and threatening to burn
the town and exterminate everybody. Matter indeed !
matter enough ! What do you mean by bringing this
savage rabble from Zanzibar ? " So fumed and sputtered
an Arab of some consequence among the magnates of
Bagamoyo.
** Dear me, my friend, this is shocking ; terrible.
Pray sit down, and be patient Sit down here by
me, and let us talk this over like wise men,*' I
said in soothing tones to this enfant terrible^ for he
really looked, in feature, dress, and demeanour, what,
had I been an imaginative raw youth, I should have
set down as the " incarnate scourge of Africa/' and he
looked wicked enough with his bare, sinewy arms, his
brandished sword, and fierce black eyes, to chop off my
innocent head.
The Arab, with a short nod, accepted my proposition
and seated himself. " We are about to have a Shauri
—a consultation.** " Hush there ! Silence 1 '* " Words ! **
" Shauri I ** " Words — open your ears ! ** " Slaves ! **
** Fools!** "List, Arabs!** "You Baluch there, rein
in your tongue I " &c. &c., cried out a wild mixture
of voices in a strange mixture of tongues, commanding,
or imploring, silence.
The Arab was requested to speak, and to point out,
if he knew them, the Wangwana guilty of provoking
such astonishing disorder. In an indignant and eloquent
strain he rehearsed his special complaint. A man
named Musta^jha had come to his shop drunk, and had
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74 THROUGH THE D4fiK CONTINENT.
1874. abused tiim like a low blackguard, and then, snatching up
NoT.14-16. ^ j^jj. ^£ cotton cloth, had run away with it, but, being
pursued and caught, had drawn a knife, and was about
to stab him when a friend of his opportunely clubbed
the miscreant and thus saved his life. By the mouths
of several witnesses the complaint was proved, and
Mustapha was therefore arrested, disarmed of his knife,
and locked up in the dark strong-room, to reflect on
his crimes in solitude. Loud approval greeted the
sentence.
"Who else?"
A score of people of both sexes advanced towards
me with their complaints, and it seemed as though
silence could never be restored, but by dint of threaten-
ing to leave the burzah from sheer despair, quietness
was restored. It is unnecessary to detail the several
charges made against them, or to describe the manner
of conviction, but, after three hours, peace reigned in
Bagaraoyo once more, and over twenty of the Wan-
gwana had been secured and impounded in the several
rooms of the house, with a dozen of their comrades
standing guard over them.
To avoid a repetition of this terrible scene, I des-
patched a messenger with a polite request to the
Governor, Sheikh Mansur bin Suliman, that he would
arrest and punish all disorderly Wangwana in my
service, as justice should require, but I am sorry to say
that the Wali (governor) took such advantage of this
request that few of the Wangwana who showed their
faces in the streets next day escaped violence. Acting
on the principle that desperate diseases require des-
perate remedies, over thirty had been chained and
beaten, and many others had escaped abuse of power
only by desperate flight from the myrmidons of the
now vengeful sheikh.
Another message was therefore sent to the Governor,
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TEE DISTURBANCE SUPPRESSED. 75
imploring him to be as lenient as possible, consistent 1874.
NoT.14— ]
. Bagamojo.
with equitable justice, and explaining to him the nature ^*
and cause of these frantic moods and ebullitions of
temper on the part of the Wangwana, I attempted to
define to him what ** sprees '* were, explaining that all
men, about to undergo a long absence from their friends
and country, thought they were entitled to greater
freedom at such a period, but that some weak-headed
men, with a natural inclination to be vicious, had, in in-
dulging this privilege, encroached upon the privileges
of others, and that hence arose collision and confusion.
But the Grovernor waxed still more tyrannical : beatings,
chainings, and extortionate exactions became more
frequent and unbearable, until at last the Wangwana
appeared in a body before me, and demanded another
•* Shauri."
The result of this long consultation — after an earnest
protest from me against their wild conduct, calculated,
as I told them, to seriously compromise me, followed
by expostulation with them on their evil course, and
a warning that I felt more like abetting the Governor
in his treatment of them than seeking its amelioration
— ^was an injunction to be patient and well-behaved
during our short stay, and a promise that I would lead
them into Africa within two days, when at the first
camp pardon should be extended to all, and a new. life
would be begun in mutual peace and concord, to
continue, I hoped, until our return to the sea.
There is an institution at Bagamoyo which ought
not to be passed over without remark, but the subject
cannot be properly dealt with, until I have described
the similar institution, of equal importance, at Zanzibar :
viz. the Universities Mission. Besides, I have three
pupils of the Universities Mission who are about to
accompany me into Africa — ^Eobert Feruzi, Andrew,
and Dallington. Robert is a stout lad of eighteen
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76 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. years old, formerly a servant to one of the members of
Nov.14-16. LiQutQuant Cameron*s Expedition, but discharged at
Unyanyembe for not very clear reasons, to find his
way back. Andrew is a strong youth of nineteen
years, rather reserved, and, I should say, not of a very
bright disposition. Dallington is much younger, pro-
bably only fifteen, with a face strongly pitted with
traces of a violent attack of small-pox, but as bright
and intelligent as any boy of his age, white or black.
The Universities Mission is the result of the sensa-
tion caused in England by Livingstoue*s discoveries on
the Zambezi and of Lake Nyassa and Shirwa. It was
despatched by the Universities of Oxford and Cam-
bridge in the year 1860, and consisted of Bishop
Mackenzie, formerly Archdeacon of Natal, and the
Rev. Messrs. Proctor, Scudamore, Bnrrup, and Rowley.
These devoted gentlemen reached the Zambezi river
in February 1861.
When the Universities Mission met Livingstone,
then engaged in the practical work of developing
the discovery of the Zambezi and other neighbouring
waters, a consultation was held as to the best locality
for mission work to begin at. The Bishop and his
followers were advised by Livingstone to ascend the
Rovuma river, and march thence overland to some
selected spot on Lake Nyassa. But, upon attempting
the project, the river was discovered to be falling, and
too shallow to admit of such a steamer as the Pioneer^
and as much sickness had broken out on board, the
Mission sailed to the Comoro Islands to recruit. In
July 1861 they reached the foot of the Murchison
Cataracts on the Shire. Soon after, while proceeding
overland, they encountered a caravan of slaves, whom
they liberated, with a zeal ths^t was commendable
though impolitic. Subsequently, other slaves were
forcibly detained from the caravans until the number
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TEE UNIVERSITIES MISSION. 77
collected amounted to 148, and with these the mis- 1874.
sionaries determined to begin their holy work. Nov.i4-i6.
While establishing its quarters at Magomero, the ^^^^^
Mission was attacked by the Ajawas, but the reverend
gentlemen and their pupils drove off the enemy.
Shortly after this, a difference of opinion arising with
Livingstone as to the proper policy to be pursued, the
latter departed to pursue his explorations, and the
Bishop and his party continued to prosecute their work
with every promise of success. But in its zeal for
the suppression of the slave-trade, the Mission made
alliance with the Manganjas, and joined with them in
a war against the Ajawas, whom they afterwards dis-
covered to be really a peaceable people. Thus was the
character of the Mission almost changed, by the com-
plicated politics of the native tribes in which they had
meddled without forethought of the consequences.
Then came the rainy season with its unheal thiness ^
and fatal results. Worn out with fever and privations,
poor Bishop Mackenzie died, and in less than a month
the Rev. Mr. Burrup followed him. Messrs. Scuda-
more, Dickinson, and Rowley removed the Mission to
the banks of the Shir^, where the two former died and
the few remaining survivors, despairing of success,
soon left the country, and the Universities. Mission to
Central Africa became only a name with which the
succeeding Bishop, the Rev. Mr. Tozer, continued to
denominate his Mission at Zanzibar.
Nor is the record of this hitherto unfortunate and
struggling Mission in the city of Zanzibar, with access
to luxuries and comforts, brighter or more assuring
than it was at primitive Magomero, surrounded by
leagues of fen and morass. Many noble souls of
both sexes perished, and the good work seemed
far from hopeful. I am reminded, as I write these
words, of my personal acquaintance with the venerable
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
78 TUEOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. figure of Pennell, and the young and ardent West.
Hl'^amo? ^'^® ^^**^^ ^^® ^^^^® ^^ ^^"^^^ ^"^^ ^^ ardour, hope, and
agamofo. ^^^j^^g dcvotion. Whcu I returned, he had gone the
way of his brother martyrs of the Zambezi.*
Almost single-handed remains the Rev. Edward
Steere, faithful to his post as Bishop and Chief Pastor.
Ho has visited Lake Nyassa, and established a Mission
halfway, and another I believe at Lindi; he keeps
a watchful eye upon the operations of the Mission
House established among the Shambalas ; and at the
head-quarters or home at Mbwenni, a few miles east
of Shangani Point, the old residence, he superintends,
and instructs lads and young men as printers, car-
penters, blacksmiths, and in the practical knowledge
of other useful trades. His quarters represent almost
every industrial trade useful in life as occupations
for members of the lower classes, and are in the truest
sense an industrial and religious establishment for the
moral and material welfare of a class of unfortunates
who deserve our utmost assistance and sympathy. This
extraordinary man, endowed with piety as fervid as
ever animated a martyr, looms grander and greater in
the imagination as we think of him as the one man
who appears to have possessed the faculties and gifts
necessary to lift this Mission, with its gloomy history,
into the new life upon which it has now entered.
With all my soul I wish him and it success, and while
he lives, provided he is supported, there need be no
fear that the Mission will resume that hopeless position
from which he, and he alone, appears to have rescued it.
From the same source that the Universities Missions
have drawn their pupils, namely, the youthful victims
of the slave-trade, her Majesty's Consul has supplied to
a great extent the French Catholic Missions at Zanzibar
and Bagaraoyo. The mission in the island which has
• See iUustration on page 68.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
NOTRE DAME DE BAGAMOYO, 79
now been established for years is called the St. Joseph*8, 1874.
that at Bagamoyo bears the title of " Notre Dame de JJ^^*^^^^
Bagamoyo.** The first possesses two priests and four *^™**^**'
brothers, with one lay professor of music ; the other,
which is the principal one, consists of four priests, eight
brothers, and twelve sisters, with ten lay brothers
employed in teaching agriculture. The French fathers
superintend the tuition of 260 children, and give em-
ployment to about 80 adults; 170 freed slaves were
furnished from the slave captures made by British
cruisers. They are taught to earn their own living
as soon as they arrive of age, are furnished with com-
fortable lodgings, clothing, and household utensils.
"Notre Dame de Bagamoyo** is situated about a
mile and a half north of Bagamoyo, overlooking the
sea, which washes the shores just at the base of the
tolerably high ground on which the mission buildings
stand. Thrift, order, and that peculiar style of neat-
ness common to the French are its characteristics. The
coco<vnut palm, orange, and mango flourish in this
pious settlement, while a variety of garden vegetables
and grain are cultivated in the fields ; and broad roads,
cleanly kept, traverse the estate. During the Superior*s
late visit to France he obtained a considerable sum for
the support of the Mission, and he has lately, during
my absence in Africa, established a branch mission at
Kidudwe. It is evident that, if supported constantly
by his friends in France, the Superior will extend his
work still farther into the interior, and it is, therefore,
safe to predict that the road to Ujiji will in time possess
a chain of mission stations affording the future Euro-
pean trader and traveller safe retreats with the con-
veniences of civilized life.
There are two other missions on the east coast of
Africa, that of the Church Missionary Society, and the
Methodist Free Church at Mombasa. The former has
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
80 THROUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. occupied this station for over thirty years, and has a
NoT.14-16, jjj^u^ij establishment at Rabbai Mpia, the home of the
g*moyo- ])yt^|j missionaries Krapf, Rebmann, and Erhardt
But these missions have not obtained the success which
such long self-abnegation and devotion to the pious
service deserved.
It is strange how British philanthropists, clerical and
lay, persist in the delusion that the Africans can be
satisfied with spiritual improvement only. They
should endeavour to impress themselves with the
undeniable fact that man, white, yellow, red or black,
has also material wants which crave to be understood
and supplied. A barbarous man is a pure materialist.
He is full of cravings for possessing something that he
cannot describe. He is like a child which has not yet
acquired the faculty of articulation. The missionary
discovers the barbarian almost stupefied with brutish
ignorance, with the instincts of a man in him, but yet
living the life of a beast. Instead of attempting to
develop the qualities of this practical human being, he
instantly attempts his transformation by expounding to
him the dogmas of the Christian Faith, the doctrine of
transubstantiation and other difficult subjects, before
the barbarian has had time to articulate his necessities
and to explain to him that he is a frail creature requiring
to be fed with bread, and not with a stone.
My experience and study of the pagan prove to me,
however, that, if the missionary can show the poor
materialist that religion is allied with substantial benefits
and improvement of his degraded condition, the task to
which he is about to devote himself will be rendered
comparatively easy. For the African once brought
in contact with the European becomes docile enough :
he is awed by a consciousness of his own immense
inferiority, and imbued with a vague hope that he
may also rise in time to the level of this superior being
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
WESTWARD EO! 81
who has so challenged his admiration. It is the story 1874.
of Caliban and Stefano over again. He comes to him ^°''* ^^•
with a desire to be taught, and, seized with an ambition ^^^®^*
to aspire to a higher life, becomes docile and tractable,
but to his surprise he perceives himself mocked by
this being who talks to him about matters that he
despairs of ever understanding, and therefore, with
abashed face and a still deeper sense of his inferiority,
he retires to his den, cavern, or hut with a dogged
determination to be contented with the brutish life he
was bom in.
On the morning of the 17th November 1874, the
first bold step for the interior was taken. The bugle
mustered the people to rank themselves before our
quarters, and each man's load was given to him accord-
ing as we judged his power of bearing burthen. To
the man of strong sturdy make, with a large development
of muscle, the cloth bale of 60 lbs. was given, which
would in a couple of months by constant expenditure be
reduced to 50 lbs., in six months perhaps to 40 lbs. and
in a year to about 30 lbs., provided that all his comrades
were faithful to their duties; to the short compactly
formed man, the bead sack of 50 lbs. weight ; to the light
youth of eighteen or twenty years old, the box of 40 lbs.,
containing stores, ammunition, and sundries. To the
steady, respectable, grave-looking men of advanced
years, the scientific instruments, thermometers, baro-
meters, watches, sextant, mercury bottles, compasses,
pedometers, photographic apparatus, dry plates, sta-
tionery, and scientific books, all packed in 40-lb. cases,
were distributed ; while the man most highly recom-
mended lor steadiness and cautious tread was entrusted
with the carriage of the three chronometers which were
stowed in balls of cotton, in a light case weighing not
more than 25 lbs. The twelve Kirangozis, or guides,
tricked out this day in flowing robes of crimson blanket
VOL. I. — 6
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
82
THROUOn THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. cloth, demanded the privilege of conveying the several
Nov. 17
loads of brass wire coils, and as they form the second
advanced guard, and are active, bold youths — some of
whom are to be hereafter known as the boat's crew,
and to be distinguished by me above all others, except
the chiefs — thev are armed with Snider rifles, with
their respective accoutrements. The boat-carriers are
herculean in figure and
strength, for they are
practised bearers of
loads, having resigned
their ignoble profession
of hamal in Zanzibar to
carry sections of the first
Europe-made boat that
ever floated on Lakes
Victoria and Tanganika
and the extreme sources
of the Nile and the
Livingstone. To each
section of the boat there
are four men, to relieve
one another in couples.
They get higher pay
than even the chiefs,
except the chief captain,
Manwa Sera, and, be-
sides receiving double
rations, have the privi-
lege of taking their
wives along with them. There are six riding asses
also in the expedition, all saddled, one for each of the
Europeans — the two Pococks, Barker, and myself— and
two for the sick : for the latter there are also three of
Seydel's net hammocks, with six men to act as a kind
of ambulance party.
WIFE OF MAXWA SEBA.
(From a photograph.)
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
IN MARCHING ORDER. 83
Though we have not yet received our full comple- 1874.
ment of men, necessity compels us to move from the JJ^^^'
vicinity of the Goanese liquor shops, and from under the ^^'''
severe authority of Sheikh Mansur bin Suliman, whose
views of justice would soon demoralize any expedition.
Accordingly at 9 a.m. of the 17th, five days after
leaving Zanzibar, we filed out from the town, receiving
some complimentary and not a few uncomplimentary
parting words from the inhabitants, male and female,
who are out in strong force to view the procession as
follows: — Four chiefs a few hundred yards in front;
next the twelve guides clad in red robes of Jobo, bearing
the wire coils ; then a long file 270 strong, bearing cloth,
wire, beads, and sections of the Ltody Alice ; after them
thirty-six women and ten boys, children of some of the
chiefs and boat-bearers, following their mothers and
assisting them with trifling loads of utensils, followed by
the riding asses, Europeans and gun-bearers; the long
line closed by sixteen chiefs who act as rearguard, and
whose duties are to pick up stragglers, and act as
supernumeraries until other men can be procured : in
all, 356 souls connected with the Anglo-American
Expedition. The lengthy line occupies nearly half a
mile of the path which at the present day is the
commercial and exploring highway into the Lake
regions.
Edward Pocock is kind enough to act as bugler,
because from long practice at the military camps at
Aldershot and Chatham he understands the signals, and
he has familiarized Hamadi, the chief guide, with its
notes, so that in case of a halt being required, Hamadi
may be informed immediately. The chief guide is also
armed with a prodigiously long horn of ivory, his
favourite instrument, and one that belongs to his profes-
sion, which he has permission to use only when approach-
ing a suitable camping-place, or to notify to us danger in
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
84 THBOUan TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. the front Before Hamadi strides a chubby little boy
Not. 17. ^jj.|^ ^ native drum, which he is to beat only when in
^^*™**^^' the neighbourhood of villages, to warn them of the
advance of a caravan, a caution most requisite, for
many villages are situated in the midst of a dense
jungle, and the sudden arrival of a large force of
strangers before they had time to hide their little
belongings might awake jealousy and distrust.
In this manner we begin our long journey, full of
hopes. There is noise and laughter along the ranks, and
a hum of gay voices murmuring through the fields, as
wo rise and descend with the waves of the land and
wind with the sinuosities of the path. Motion had
restored us all to a sense of satisfaction. We had an
intensely briglit and fervid sun sinning above us, the path
was dry, hard, and admirably fit for travel, and during
the commencement of our first march nothing could be
conceived in better order than the lengthy thin column
about to confront the wilderness.
Presently however, the fervour of the dazzling sun
grows overpowering as we descend into the valley of the
Kingani river. The ranks become broken and dis-
ordered ; stragglers are many ; the men complain of
the terrible heat ; the dogs pant in agony. Even we
ourselves under our sol ah topees, with flushed faces
and perspiring brows, with handkerchiefs ever in use
to wipe away the drops which almost blind us, and our
heavy woollens giving us a feeling of semi-asphyxia-
tion, would fain rest, were it not that the sun-bleached
levels of the tawny, thirsty valley offer no inducements.
The veterans of travel push on towards the river
three miles distant, where they may obtain rest and
shelter, but the inexperienced are lying prostrate on
the ground, exclaiming against the heat, and crying
for water, bewailing their folly in leaving Zanzibar.
We stop to tell them to rest a while and then to come
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
CROSSING TEE KINGANI. 85
on to the river, where they will find us; we advise, 1874.
encourage, and console the irrifcifed people as best we ^^'l^'
can, and tell them that it is only the commencement
of a journey that is so hard, that all this pain and
weariness are always felt by beginners, but that by
and by it is shaken off, and that those who are stead-
fast emerge out of the struggle heroes.
Frank and his brother Edward, despatched to the
ferry at the beginning of these delays, have now got
the sectional boat Lady Alice all ready, and the ferry-
ing of men, goods, asses, and dogs across the Kingani
is prosecuted with vigour, and at 3.30 p.m. the boat is
again in pieces, slung on the bearing poles, and the
Expedition has resumed its journey to Kikoka, the first
halting-place.
But before we reach camp, we have acquired a fair
idea as to how many of our people are staunch and
capable, and how many are too feeble to endure the
fatigues of bearing loads. The magnificent prize mastiff
dog *' Castor " died of heat apoplexy, within two miles
of Kikoka, and the other mastiff, " Captain," seems
likely to follow soon, and only **Nero,*' "Bull," and
"Jack," though prostrate and breathing hard, show
any signs of life.
At Kikoka, then, we rest the next day. We discharge
two men, who have been taken seriously ill, and several
new recruits, who arrive at camp during the night
preceding and this day, are engaged.
There are several reasons which can be-giveu, besides
heat of the Tropics and inexperience, for the quick
collapse of many of the Wangwana on the first march,
and the steadiness evinced by the native carriers con-
firms them. The Wangwana lead very impure lives on
the island, and with the importation of opium by the
Banyans and Hindis, the Wangwana and many Arabs
have acquired the vicious habit of eating this drug.
Chewing betel-nut with lime is another uncleanly and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
86 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. disgusting habit, and one that can hardly benefit the
^^' ^^ moral of a man ; while certainly most deleterious to
the physical powers is the almost universal habit of
vehemently inhaling the smoke of the Cannahis sativa^
or wild hemp. In a light atmosphere, such as we
have in hot days in the Tropics, with the thermometer
rising to 140° Fahr. in the sun, these people, with
lungs and vitals injured by excessive indulgence in
these destructive habits, discover they have no physical
stamina to sustain them. The rigour of a march in a
loaded caravan soon tells upon their weakened powers,
and one by one they drop from the ranks, betraying
their impotence and infirmities. From this date I set
myself to examine their several cases, and the results
which I gathered may be found in the Appendix, from
which the thoughtful student may perhaps deduce
some useful hints.
^ During the afternoon of this day, as T was preparing
my last letters, I was rather astonished by a visit
paid to my camp by a detachment of Baluchi soldiers,
the chief of whom bore a letter from the governor of
Bagamoyo — Mansur bin Suliman — wherein he com-
plained that the Wangwana had induced about fifteen
women to abandon their masters, and requested me to
return them.
Upon mustering the people, and inquiring into their
domestic affairs, it was discovered that a number of
women had indeed joined the Expedition during the
night. Some of them bore free papers given them by
H.M. Political Resident at Zanzibar, but nine were
by their own confessions runaways. After being hos-
pitably received by the Sultan and the Arabs of Zanzi-
bar, it was no part of my duty, I considered, unauthorized
as I was by any government, to be even a passive agent
in this novel method of liberating slaves. The order
was therefore given that these women should return
with the soldiers, but as this did not agree with either
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Nov. 18.
Kikoka.
THE STOLEN WOMEN. 87
the views of the women or of their loving abductors, a 1874.
determined opposition was raised, which bore every
appearance of soon culminating in sanguinary strife.
The men seized their Snider rifles and Tower muskets,
and cartridges, ramrods and locks were handled
with looks which boded mischief. Acting upon the
principle that as chief of my own camp I had a
perfect right to exclude unbidden guests, I called
out the ** faithfuls" of my first expedition, forty-
seven in number, and ranked them on the side of the
Sultan's soldiers, to prove to the infuriated men that, if
they fired, they must injure their own friends, brothers,
and chiefs. Frank Pocock also led a party of twenty in
their rear, and then, closing in on the malcontents, we
disarmed them, and lashed their guns into bundles, which
were deUvered up to the charge of Edward Pocock. A
small party of faithfuls was then ordered to escort the
Sultan's soldiers and the women out of camp, lest some
venjreful men should have formed an ambuscade between
our camp and the river.
From the details furnished in this and the two pre-
ceding chapters, a tolerably correct idea may be gained
by the intending traveller, trader, or missionary in these
lands, of the proper method of organization, as well as
the quality and nature of the men whom he will lead,
the manner of preparation and the proportion of articles
to be purchased. In the Appendix will be found the
price list and names, which will afford a safe guide.
As there are so many subjects to be touched upon
along the seven thousand miles of explored lines, I
propose to be brief with the incidents and descriptive
sketches of our route to Ituru, because the country for
two-thirds of the way has been sufficiently described
in ' How I found Livingstone,' and in the Appendix
attached to the present volumes.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
88
ipruRouon the dabk continent.
THE EXPEDITION AT ROSAKO.
(From a photograph.)
1874.
Nov. 2.3.
Pongwe.
CHAPTER Y.
On tho march — ConporiJo to Eubuti — The hunting-grounds of
Kitfingoh — Shooting zebra — " Jack's" first prize — Interviewed
by lions — Geology of Mpwapwa — Dudoma — "The flood-gates of
heaven" opened — Dismal reflections — The Salina — A conspiracy
discovered — Desertions — The path lost — Starvation and deaths
— Trouble imminent — Grain huts plundered — Situation deplorable
— Sickness in the camp — Edward Pocock taken ill — His death and
funeral.
The line of march towards the interior, which, after due
consideration, we adopted, runs parallel to the routes
known to us by the writings of many travellers, but
extends as far as thirty miles north of the most
northerly of them.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
ON THE MARVm 89
At Rosako the route began to diverge from tliat i874.
which led to Msuwa and Simba-Mweniiij and opened out ^^^ ^^
on a stretch of beautiful park land, green as an Euglish
lawn, dipping into lovely vales, and rising into gentle
ridges. Thin, shallow threads of Water in fnrrow-liko
beds or in deep narrow ditches, which expose the sand-
stone strata on whicli the fat ochreous soil rest^, run
in mazy curves round forest clumps, or through jungle
tangles, and wind about among the higher elevations,
on their way towards the Waaii river^
On the 23 rd, we lialted at the ba'^e of one of the
three cones of Pongwe, at a village situated at an altitude
of 900 feet above the sea. The lesser Pongwe cone rises
about 800 feet higher than the village, the greater pro-
bably 1200 feet* The pedometers marked forty-six miles
from Bagaraoyo,
Congo rido, a populous village, was reached on the 24:th.
From my hut, the Pongwe' hills were in clear view.
The stockade was newly built, and was a good defensive
enclosure. The drinking-water was brack ish, but, after
long search, something more potable was discovered a
short distance to the south-east
Mfuteh, the next village, was another strong, newly
enclosed construction after the pattern of the archi-
tecture of Unyamwezi. Tlie baobab, at this height, began
to flourish, and in the depressions of the land the doum,
borassus, and fan-palm were very numerous. The soil
westward of Congorido, I observed, contains consider-
able alkali, and it is probable that this substance is
favourable to the growth of palms. The villngers are
timid and suspicious. Lions are reported to abound
towards the north.
Westward of Mfuteh, we travelled along the right
or southern bank of the Warai for about four miles. Its
banks are fringed with umbrageous wooded borders, and
beyond these extends an interesting country. The
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
90 TEBOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. colossal peak of Kidudu rears its lofty crown to a
Nor. 29. gpg^t height, and forms a conspicuous landmark,
towering above its less sublime neighbours of Nguru,
about fifteen or twenty miles north of the Wami's
course.
From Mfuteh to Bubuti, a village on the Lugumbwa
creek, which we reached on the 29th, game is numerous,
but the landscape differs little from that described
above. We crossed the Wami three times in one march,
the fords being only 2^ feet deep. Granite boulders
protruded above the surface, and the boiling-point at
one of the fords showed a considerable height above
the sea. At one of the fords there was a curious
suspension bridge over the river, constructed of llianes
with great ingenuity by the natives. The banks were at
this point 16 feet high above the river, and from bank
to bank the distance was only 30 yards : it was evident,
therefore, that the river must be a dangerous torrent
during the rainy season.
The road thence, skirting a range of mountains, leads
across numerous watercourses and some very clear
rivers — one, the Mkindo, near Mvomero, being a
beautiful stream, and the water of which I thought
very invigorating. I certainly imagined I felt in
excellent spirits the whole of the day after I had taken
a deep draught of it !
On the 3rd of December, we came to the Mkundi
river, a tributary of the Wami, which divides Nguru
country from Usagara. Simba-Mwenni, or Simba-
Miunyi — the Lion Lord — not the famous man farther
south — owns five villages in this neighbourhood. He
was generous, and gratified us with a gift of a sheep,
some flour, and plantains, accepting with pleasure some
cloth in return.
The Wa-Nguru speak the same dialect as the Wase-
guhha and Wasagara, and affect the same ornaments,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE HUNTING-GROUNDS OF KITANGEH. 91
being fond of black and white beads and brass wire. 1874.
They split the lobes of their ears, and introduce such „^^^
curious things as the necks of gourds or round disks
of wood to extend the gash. A medley of stmnge
things are worn round the neck, such as tiny goats'
horns, small brass chains, and large egg-like beads.
Blue Kaniki and the r«d-barred Barsati are the
favourite cloths in this region. The natives dye their
faces with ochre, and, probably influenced by the example
of the Wanyamwezi, dress their hair in long ringlets,
which are adorned with pendicles of copper, or white
or red beads of the large Sara-sam pattern.
Grand and impressive scenery meets the eye as we
march to Makubika, the next settlement, where we
attain an altitude of 2675 feet above the ocean. Peaks
and knolls rise in all directions, for we are now ascend-
ing to the eastern front of the Kaguru mountains.
The summits of Ukamba are seen to the north, its
slopes famous for the multitude of elephants. The
mountain characteristically called the " Back of the
Bow" has a small, clear lake near it, and remarkable
peaks or mountain crests break the sky line on every
side. Indeed, some parts of this great mountain range
abound in scenery both picturesque and sublime.
Between Mamboya and Kitangeh, I was mucli struck
by the resemblance that many of the scenes bear to
others that I had seen in the Alleghanies. Water is
abundant, flowing clear as crystal from numerous
sources. As we neared eastern Kitangeh, villages were
beheld dotted over every hill, the inhabitants of which,
so often frightened by inroads of the ever marauding
Wamasai, have been rendered very timid. Here, for
the first time, cattle were observed as we travelled
westerly from Bagamoyo.
By a gradual ascent from the fine pastoral basin of
Kitangeh, we reached the spine of a hill at 4490 feet.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
92
1874.
Dec. 4.
Kitangeh.
TBROUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
and beheld an extensive plain, stretching north-west and
west, with browsing herds of noble game. Camping on
its verge, between a humpy hill and some rocky knolls,
near a beautiful pond of crystal-clear water, I pro-
ceeded with my gun-bearer, Billali, and the notorious
Msenna, in the hope of bringing down something for
the Wangwana, and was heartily encouraged thereto
by Frank and Ted Pocock.
VIEW FROM THE VILLAGE OF MAMBOYA.
The plain was broader than I had judged it by
the eye from the crest of the hill whence we had
first sighted it. It was not until we had walked
briskly over a long stretch of tawny grass, crushed
by sheer force through a brambly jungle, and trampled
down a path through clumps of slender cane stalks,
that we came at last in view of a small herd of zebras.
These animals are so quick of scent and ear, and so
vigilant with their eyes, that, across an open space, it
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INTERVIEWED BT LIONS. 93
is most difficult to stalk them. But by dint of tre- 1874.
mendous exertion, I contrived to approach within 250 ^' **
yards, taking advantage of every thin tussock of grass,
and, almost at random, fired. One of the herd leaped
from the ground, galloped a few short maddened strides,
and then, on a sudden, staggered, kneeled, trembled,
and fell over, its legs kicking the air. Its companions
whinnied shrilly for their mate, and, presently wheeling
in circles with graceful motion, advanced nearer, still
whinnying, until I dropped another with a crushing
ball through the head — much against my wish, for I
think zebras were created for better purpose than to
be eaten. The remnant of the herd vanished, and the
bull-terrier " Jack," now unleashed, was in an instant
glorying in his first strange prizes. How the rogue
plunged his teeth in their throats ! with what ardour
he pinned them by the nose ! and soon bathing himself
in blood, he appeared to be the very Dog of Murder,
a miracle of rabid ferocity.
Billali, requested to nm to camp to procure
Wangwana to carry the meat to carap, was only
too happy, knowing what brave cheers and hearty
congratulations would greet him. Msenna was already
busy skinning one of the animals, some 300 yards
from me; Jack was lying at my feet, watchful of
the dead zebra on which I was seated, and probably
calculating, so 1 supposed, how large a share would
fall to him for his assistance in seizing the noble
quarry by the nose. I was fast becoming absorbed
in a mental picture of what might possibly lie behind
the northern mountain barrier of the plain, when
Jack sprang up and looked southward. Turning my
head, I made out the form of some tawny animal,
that was advancing with a curious long step, and I
recognized it to be a lion. I motioned to Msenna,
who happened to be looking up, and beckoned him.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Kitungeh,
84 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1874. '* What do you think it is, Msenna ?*' I asked.
^"^^^ **Simba (a lion), master," he answered.
Finding my own suspicions verified, we both lay-
down, and prepared our rifles. Two explosive bullets
were slipped into an elephant rifle, and I felt sure
with the perfect rest which the body of the zebra
gave for the rifle, that I could drop anything living'
larger than a cat at the distance of 100 yards; so
I awaited his approach with composure. The animal
advanced to within 300 yards, and then, giving a
quick bound as though surprised, stood still. Shortly
afterwards, after a deliberate survey, he turned sharp
round and trotted off" into a low shrubby jungle,
about 800 yards away. Ten minutes elapsed, and
tlien as many animals emerged from the same spot
into which the other had disappeared, and approached
us in stately column. But it being now dusk, I could
not discern them very clearly. We both were, however,
quite sure in our own minds that they were lions, or
at any rate some animals so like them in the twilight
that ^ve could not imagine them to be anything else.
When the foremost had come within 100 yards, I fired.
It sprang up and fell, and the others disappeared with
a dreadful rush. We now heard shouts behind us,
for the Wangwana had come ; so, taking one or two
witli me, I endeavoured to discover what I felt sure
to be a prostrate lion, but it could not be found. It
occupied us some time to skin and divide our game,
and as the camp was far, we did not reach it until
9 P.M., when, of course, we received a sincere welcome
from people hungry for meat.
The next day Manwa Sera went out to hunt for the
lion-skin, but returned after a long search with only a
strong doubt in his mind as to its having been a
lion, and a few reddish hairs to prove that it was
something which had been eaten by hyenas. This
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Dec. 11.
Tubugwe.
TEE SCENE OF A MUBDER. 95
day I succeeded in shooting a small antelope of the 1874.
springbok kind.
We crossed the plain on the 11th December, and
arrived at Tubugw^. It is only six miles in width,
but within this distance we counted fourteen human
skulls, the mournful relics of some unfortunate tra-
vellers, slain by an attack of Wahuraba from the
north-west. I think it is beyond doubt that this plain,
extending, as it does, from the unexplored north-west,
and projecting like a bay into a deep mountain fiord
south-east of our road, must in former times have
been an inlet or creek of the great reservoir of which
the Ugombo lake, south of here, is a residuum. The
bed of this ancient lake now forms the pastoral plains
of the Wahumba, and the broad plain-like expanses
visible in the TJgogo country.
Eounding the western extremity of a hilly range
near the scene of our adventures, we followed a valley
till it sloped into a basin, and finally narrowed to a
ravine, along the bottom of which runs a small brackish
stream. A bed of rock-salt was discovered on the
opposite side.
Two miles farther, at the base of a hilly cone, we
arrived at a wooded gnlly, where very clear and fresh
water is found, and from which the path runs west,
gradually rising along the slope of a hill until it ter-
minates in a pass 3700 feet above sea-level, whence the
basin of Tubugw^ appears in view, enclosing twenty-
five square, stockaded villages and many low hills, and
patched with cultivated fields. A gentle descent of
about 400 feet brought us to our camp, on the banks
of a small tributary of the Mukondokwa.
On the 1 2th December, twenty-five days* march from
Bagamoyo, we arrived at Mpwapwa.
The region traversed from the eastern slopes of that
broad range which we began to skirt soon after passing
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96 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1874. to the left bank of the Wami river, as far as Chunyu (a
^^^ ^^' few miles west of Mpwapwa), comprises the extreme
iiwapwm. |^j.^^|.|j q£ ^^ ^j^^^ distinguished in the work, * How
I found Livingstone/ as the Usagara mountains. The
rocks are of the older class, gneiss and schists, but in
several localities granite protrudes, besides humpy dykes
of tmp. From the brackish stream east of Tubugw^,
as far as Mpwapwa, there are also several dykes of
a feldspathic rock, notably one that overlooks the basin
of Tubugw^. The various clear streams coursing
towards the Mukondokwa, as we dipped and rose
over the highest points of the mountains among
which the path led us, reveal beds of granite, shale,
and rich brown porphyritic rock, while many loose
boulders of a granitic character lie strewn on each
side, either standing up half covered with clambering
plants in precarious positions upon a denuded base, or
lying bare in the beds of the stream, exposed to the
action of the running water. Pebbles also, lodged on
small shelves of rock in the streams, borne thither by
their force during rainy seasons, attest the nature
of the formations higher up their course. Among
these, we saw varieties of quartz, porphyry, greenstone,
dark grey shale, granite, hematite, and purple jasper,
chalcedony, and other gravels.
The rock-salt discovered has a large mass exposed to
the action of the stream. In its neighbourhood is a
greyish tufa, also exposed, with a brown mossy parasite
running in threads over its face.
Wood is abundant in large clumps soon after passing
Kikoka, and this feature of the landscape obtains
as far as Congorido. The Wami has a narrow fringe
of palms on either bank ; while, thinly scattered in the
plains and less fertile parts, a low scrubby brushwood,
of the acacia species, is also seen, but nowhere dense.
Along the base and slopes of the moxmtains, and in its
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
UFWAPWA.
97
deep valleys, large trees are very numerous, massing, 1874.
at times, even into forests. The extreme summits, ^^* ^''
however, are clothed with only grass and small ^^^^^^'
herbage.
Mpwapwa has also some fine trees, but no forest ; the
largest being the tamarind, sycamore, Cottonwood, and
baobab. The collection of villages denominated by
this title lies widely scattered on either side of the
OUR CAMP AT MPWAPWA. (^tromaphotograpK)
Mpwapwa stream, at the base of the southern slope of
a range of mountains that extends in a sinuous line
from Chunyu to Ugombo. I call it a range because
it appeared to be one from Mpwapwa ; but in reality
it is simply the northern flank of a deep indentation
in the great mountain chain that extends from
Abyssinia, or even Suez, down to the Cape of Good
Hope. At the extreme eastern point of this indentation
from the western side lies Lake Ugombo, just twenty-
four miles from Mpwapwa.
VOL. I. — 7
Digitized by LjOOQ IC
98 TEBOUGE THE DABK CONTINENT.
i874» Desertions from the expedition had been frequent
^ ^^ At first, Kachech^, the chief detective, and his gang of
four men, who had received their instructions to follow
us a day 8 journey behind, enabled me to recapture
sixteen of the deserters ; but the cunning Wangwana
and Wanyamwezi soon discovered this resource of
mine against their well-known freaks, and, instead of
striking east in their departure, absconded either south
or north of the track. We then had detectives posted
long before dawn, several hundred yards away from
the camp, who were bidden to lie in wait in the bush,
until the expedition had started, and in this manner
we succeeded in repressing to some extent the disposition
to desert, and arrested very many men on the point of
escaping ; but even this was not adequate. Fifty had
abandoned us before reaching Mpwapwa, taking with
them the advances they had received, and often their
guns, on which our safety might depend.
Several feeble men and women also had to be left
behind, and it was evident that the very wariest
methods failed to bind the people to their duties. The
best of treatment and abundance of provisions daily
distributed were alike insufficient to induce such faithless
natures to be loyal. However, we persisted, and as
often as we failed in one way, we tried another. Had
all these men remained loyal to their contract and
promises, we should have been too strong for any force
to attack us, as our numbers must necessarily have
commanded respect in lands and among tribes where
only power is respected.
One day's march from Mpwapwa, the route skirting a
broad arm of the Marenga Mkali desert, which leads to
the Ugombo lake, brought us to Chunyu — an exposed
and weak settlement, overlooking the desert or wilder-
ness separating Usagara from Ugogo. Close to our
right towered the Usagara mountains, and on our
>
Digitizi
ed by Google
Ugogo.
ACB088 TEE WASTE I 99
left stretched the inhospitable arm of the wilderness. 1874.
Fifteen or twenty miles distant to the south rose the ^^^ ^^'
vast cluster of Rubeho's cones and peaks.
The water at Chmiyu is nitrous and bitter to the
taste. The natives were once prosperous, but repeated
attacks from the Wahehe to the south and the Wahumba
to the north have reduced them in numbers, and com-
pelled them to seek refuge on the hill-summits.
On the 16th December, at early dawn, we struck
camp, and at an energetic pace descended into the
wilderness, and at 7 p.m. the vanguard of the expedition
entered Ugogo, camping two or three miles from the
frontier village of. Kikombo. The next day, at a more
moderate pace, we entered the populated district, and
took shelter under a mighty baobab a few hundred yards
distant from the chiefs village.
The fields, now denuded of the dwarf acacia and gum
jungle which is the characteristic feature of the wilder-
ness of Marenga Mkali and its neighbourhood, gave us
a clear view of a broad bleak plain, with nothing to
break its monotony to the jaundiced eye save a few
solitary baobab, some square wattled enclosures within
which the inhabitants live, and an ocpasional herd of
cattle or flock of goats that obtain a poor subsistence
from the scanty herbage. A few rocky hills rise in
the distance on either hand.
Kikombo, or Chikombo, stands at an altitude by ane-
roid of 2475 feet. The hills proved, as we afterwards
ascertained on arriving at Itumbi, Sultan Mpamira*s,
to be the eastern horn of the watershed that divides the
streams flowing south to the Eufiji from those that
trend north.
We marched under a very hot sun to Mpamira's
village ; and through the double cover of the tent
the heat at Itumbi rose to 96° Fahr. Within an hour
of our arrival, the sky, as usual in this season, became
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
100 THBOUQE TEE DABK CONTINENT.
!l! 1874. overcast, the weather suddenly became cold, and the
! : ^^^ thermometer descended to 69® Fahr., while startling
\ claps of thunder echoed among the hills, accompanied
\ by vivid flashes of lightning. About three miles to
the south-west, we observed a thick fog, and knew
\ that rain was falling, but we only received a few
drops. Half an hour later, a broad and dry sandy
stream-bed, in which we had commenced to dig for
water, was transformed into a swift torrent 18
inches deep and 50 yards wide, the general direction
of which was north by east. Within two or three
j hours, there were only a few gentle threads of water
remaining ; the torrent had subsided as quickly as it
had risen.
On our road to Leehumwa, we passed over a greyish
calcareous tufa. On either side of us rise hiUs bare of
soil, presenting picturesque summits, some of which
are formed by upright masses of yellow feldspar,
coloured by the presence of iron and exposure to
weather.
The next settlement, Dudoma, is situated on a level
terrace to the north of the hills which form the water-
shed, and from its base extends, to the unknown
north, the great plain of Uhumba, a dry, arid, and
inhospitable region, but covered with brushwood, and
abandoned to elephants, lions, large game, and intract-
able natives.
The rainy season began in earnest on the 23rd of
December, while we halted at Dudoma, and next day
we struggled through a pelting storm, during an eight
miles* march to Zingeh, the plain of which we found
already half submerged by rushing yellow streams.
The following sketch is a portion of a private letter
to a friend, written on Christmas Day at Zingeh : — " I am
in a centre-pole tent, seven by eight. As it rained all
day yesterday, the tent was set over wet ground.
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Zingeh.
DISMAL REFLECTIONS. 101
which, by the passing in and out of the servants, was i874.
soon trampled into a thick pasty mud bearing the ^^^**
traces of toes, heels, shoe nails, and dogs' paws. The
tent walls are disfigured by large splashes of mud,
and the tent corners hang down limp and languid, and
there is such an air of forlomness and misery about its
very set that it increases my own misery, already
great at the sight of the doughy, muddy ground with its
puddlets and strange hieroglyphic traceries and prints.
I sit on a bed raised about a foot above the sludge,
mournfully reflecting on my condition. Outside, the
people have evidently a fellow feeling with me, for they
appear to me like beings with strong suicidal intentions
or perhaps they mean to lie still, inert until death re-
lieves them. It has been raining heavily the last two or
three days, and an impetuous downpour of sheet rain
has just ceased. On the march, rain is very disagreeable ;
it makes the clayey path slippery, and the loads heavier
by being saturated, while it half ruins the cloths. It
makes us dispirited, wet, and cold, added to which we are
hungry — for there is a famine or scarcity of food at this
season, and therefore we can only procure half-rations.
The native store of grain is consumed during the
months of May, June, July, August, September, October,
and November. By December, the planting month,
there is but little grain left, and for what we are
able to procure, we must pay about ten times the
ordinary price. The natives, owing to improvidence,
have but little left. I myself have not had a piece
of meat for ten days. My food is boiled rice, tea,
and coffee, and soon I shall be reduced to eating
native porridge, like my own people. I weighed
180 lbs. when I left Zanzibar, but under this diet I
have been reduced to 134 lbs. within thirty-eight days.
The young Englishmen are in the same impoverished
condition of body, and unless we reach some more
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JiWtDL
102 TEBOUOH TEX DARK CONTINENT.
1874. flourishing country than famine-stricken Ugogo, we
^" ^f • must soon become mere skeletons.
** Besides the terribly wet weather and the scarcity of
food from which we suffer, we are compelled to undergo
the tedious and wearisome task of haggling with
extortionate chiefs over the amount of black-mail
which they demand, and which we must pay. We are
compelled, as you may perceive, to draw heavy drafts on
the virtues of prudence, patience, and resignation,
without which the transit of Ugogo, under such
conditions as above described, would be most perilous.
Another of my dogs, * Nero/ the retriever, is dead.
Alas ! all will die."
The next camp westward from Zingeh which we
established was at Jiweni, or the Stones, at an altitude
above sea-level of 3150 feet; crossing on our march
three streams with a trend southerly to the Rufiji.
Foi-merly there had been a settlement here, but in one
of the raids of the Wahumba it had been swept away,
leaving only such traces of man^s occupation as broken
pottery, and shallow troughs in the rocks caused pro-
bably by generations of female grinders of com.
Through a scrubby jungle, all of which in past times
had been cultivated, we marched from the *' Stones ** to
Kitalalo, the chief of which place became very friendly
with me, and, to mark his delight at my leading a
caravan to his country — the first, he hoped, of many
more — he presented a fat ox to the Wangwana and
Wanyamwezi.
The outskirts of Kitalalo are choked with growths of
acacia, tamarisk, and gum, while clusters of doum palms
are numerous. Further west stretches the broad plain
of Mizanza and Mukondoku, with its deceitful mirage,
herbless and treeless expanse, and nitrous water.
One Somali youth, Mohammed, deserted just eastward
of Kitalalo, and was never afterwards heard of.
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THE 8ALINA. 103
Early on the 29th December, guided by Kitalalo's 1874.
son, wo emerged from our camp under the ever rustling ^^^ ^'
doum palms, and a short mile brought us to the broad
and almost level Salina, which stretches from Mizanza
to the south of the track to the hills of Unyangwira,
north.
The hilly rjlnge or upland wall which confronted us
on the west ever since we left the " Stones," and which
extends from Usekke northwards to Machench^, is the
natural boundary accepted by the natives as separating
Ugogo from Uyanzi— or Ukimbu, as it is now beginning
to be called. The slope of the Salina, though slight and
imperceptible to the eye, is southerly, and therefore
drained by the Rufiji. The greatest breadth of this
plain is twenty miles, and its length may be estimated
at fifty miles. The march across it was very fatiguing.
Not a drop of water was discovered en route, though
towards the latter part of the journey a grateful rain-
shower fell which revived the caravan, but converted
the plain into a quagmire.
On approaching the Mukondoku district, which con*
tains about a hundred small villages, we sighted the
always bellicose natives advancing upon our van with
uplifted spears and noisy show of war. This belli-
gerent exhibition did not disturb our equanimity, as we
were strangers and had given no cause for hostilities.
After manifesting their prowess by a few harmless
boasts and much frantic action, they soon subsided into
a more pacific demeanour, and permitted us to proceed
quietly to our camp under a towering baobab near the
king's village.
This king's name is Chalula, and he is a brother of
Masumami of Kitalalo. Unlike his nobler brother, he
is crafty and unscrupulous, and levies extortionate
tribute on travellers, for which he never deigns to send
the smallest present in return. His people are numerous.
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104 THROUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1874, strong, and bold, and, sharing the overweening pride
^/t ^^ th^ir king, are prone to insolence and hostility Upon
' the slightest cause. Being so powerful, he is cordially
detested by his royal brothers of Kiwyeh, Khonko, and
Mizanza. We experienced therefore much difficulty
in preserving the peace, as his people would insist
upon filling the camp, and prying into every tent and
hut
A conspiracy was discovered at this place, by which
fifty men, who had firmly resolved to abscond, were pre-
vented from carrying out their intention by my securing
the ringleaders and disarming their deluded followers.
Twenty men were on the sick list, from fever, sore feet,
ophthalmia, and rheumatism. Five succeeded in desert-
ing with their guns and accoutrements, and two men were
left at Mukondoku almost blind. Indeed, to record our
daily mischances and our losses up to this date in full
detail would require half of this volume; but these
slight hints will suffice to show that the journey of
an expedition into Africa is beset with troubles and
disaster.
Frank and Edward Pocock and Frederick Barker
rendered me invaluable services while endeavouring to
harmonize the large, unruly mob with its many eccen-
tric and unassimilating natures. Quarrels were frequent,
sometimes even dangerous, between various members
of the Expedition, and at such critical moments only
did my personal interference become imperatively
necessary. What with taking solar observations and
making ethnological notes, negotiating with chiefs
about the tribute moneys and attending on the sick,
my time was occupied from morning until night. In
addition to all this strain on my own physical powers,
I was myself frequently sick from fever, and wasted
from lack of proper, nourishing food ; and if the chief
of an expedition be thus distressed, it may readily be
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A FRINCE TELLS MT FORTUNE. 106
believed that the poor fellows depending on him suffer 1875.
also. •'"• ^•
Having received our guides from Chalula, king of
Mukondoku, on the 1st January 1875 we struck
north, thus leaving for the first time the path to
Unyanyembe, the common highway of East Central
Africa. We were skirting the eastern base of the
upland wall, or hilly range (which, as I have said, we
sighted westward from the *' Stones"), by a path which
connected several Wahumba villages. Though humble
to the European eye, these villages owned several
herds of humped short-horned cattle, flocks of sheep
and goats, with many strong asses and dogs. Some of
the young women were unusually pretty, with regular
features, well-formed noses, thin, finely chiselled lips,
and graceful forms.
We — the Europeans^-were as great curiosities to the
natives as though they lived hundreds of miles from
the Unyanyembe road. Each of the principal men and
women extended to us pressing invitations to stop in
their villages, and handsome young chiefs entreated us
to become their blood-brothers. Young Keelusu, the
son of the chief of Mwenna, even came to my camp at
night, and begged me to accept a ** small gift from a
friend," which he had brought. This gift was a gallon
of new milk, still warm from the udder. Such a
welcome present was reciprocated with a gilt bracelet,
with a great green crystal set in it, a briarwood pipe,
stem banded in silver, a gilt chain, and a Sohari cloth,
with which he was so overjoyed as almost to weep. His
emotions of gratitude were visible in the glibtening
and dilated eyes, and felt in the fervent grasp he gave
my hand. By some magic art with his sandals of
cowhide, he predicted success to my journey. As
the right sandal, after being tossed three times
upward, each time turned upside down, my good
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
106 THROUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. health and well-being, he said, were assured, without
it^- a doubt
The next halt was made at Mtiwi, the chief of which
was Malewa. The aneroid here indicated an altitude
of 2825 feet. Our faithless Wagogo guides having
deserted us, we marched a little distance farther north,
and ascended the already described "upland wall,**
where the aneroid at our camp indicated a height of
3800 feet— or about 950 feet above the plain on which
Mtiwi, Mwenna, and Mukondoku are situated.
The last night at Mtiwi was a disturbed one. The
** floodgates of heaven " seemed literally opened for a
period. After an hour's rainfall, 6 inches of water
covered our camp, and a slow current ran southerly.
Every member of the expedition was distressed, and
even the Europeans, lodged in tents, were not exempted
from the evils of the night. My tent walls enclosed a
little pool, banked by boxes of stores and ammunition.
Hearing cries outside, I lit a candle, and my astonish-
ment was great to find that my bed was an island in a
shallow river, which, if it increased in depth and current,
would assuredly carry me oflf south towards the Rufiji.
My walking-boots were miniature barks, floating to
and fro on a turbid tide seeking a place of exit to the
dark world of waters without. My guns, lashed to the
centre pole, were stock deep in water. But the most
comical sight was presented by Jack and Bull, perched
buck to back on the top of an ammunition-box, butting
each other rearward, and snarling and growling for
that scant portion of comfort.
In the morning, 1 discovered my fatigue cap several
yards outside the tent, and one of my boots sailing
down south. The harmonium, a present for Mtesa, a
large quantity of gunpowder, tea, rice, and sugar, were
destroyed. Vengeance appeared to have overtaken us.
At 10 A.M. the sun appeared, astonished no doubt at
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Ujmnxi
'^THE FLOOD-GATES OF EEAVEN** OPENED. 107
a new lake formed during his absence. By noon the 1875.
water had considerably decreased, and permitted us to '^*"* ^'
march, and with glad hearts we surmounted the upland
of Uyanzi, and from our busy camp, on the afternoon
of the 4th January, gazed upon the spacious plain
beneath, and the vast broad region of sterility and
thorns which we had known as inhospitable Ugogo.
On the upland which we were now about to traverse,
we had arrived at an elevation which greatly altered
the character of the vegetation. On the plain of Ugogo
flourish only dwarf bush, a mongrel and degenerate
variety of the noble trees growing in Uyanzi, consist-
ing of acacia, rank-smelling gum-trees, and euphorbias.
Here we have the stately myombo or African ash.
This tree grows on the loftier ridges and high uplands,
flourishing best on loose ferruginous soil. It utterly
rejects the rich alluvium, as well as the sandy loam.
Where the tree assumes its greatest height and girth,
we may be sure also that not far off strange freaks of
rock will be found in the bosom of the forest, such as
gigantic square blocks of granite, of the magnitude of
cottages, and at a distance reminding the traveller of
miniature castles and other kinds of human dwellings.
Large sheets of hematite and gneiss denuded of soil are
also characteristics of this plateau, while still another
feature is a succession of low and grandly swelling
ridges, or land-waves.
On our road to Muhalala, we met hundreds of fugitives
fleeing from the battle-grounds near Kirurumo, the
natives of which were being harassed by Nyungu, son
of Mkasiwa of Unyanyembe, for expressing sympathy
with Mirambo, the warrior chief of Western Unyam-
wezi.
Muhalala is a small settlement of Wakimbu, the
chief of which declares he owes a nominal allegiance
to Malewa of MtiwL Procuring guides here, on the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
108 THBOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. 6th January we ascended a ridge, its face rough with
J*tt«- many a block of iron ore, and a scabby grey rock,
as ongwa. ^^ ^fhx^ torrcnts and rains had worked wonderful
changes, and within two hours arrived at Kashongwa,
a village situated on the verge of a trackless wild,
peopled by a mixture of Wasukuma, renegade Wan-
. gwana, and Wanyamwezi. We were informed by
oflScious Wangwana, who appeared glad to meet their
countrymen, that we were but two days' march from
Urimi. As they had no provisions to sell, and each
man and woman had two days' rations, we resumed our
journey, accompanied by one of them as a guide, along
a road which, they informed us, would take us the day
after to Urimi, and, after two hours, camped near a
small pool.
The next day we travelled over a plain which had a
gradual uplift towards the north-west, and was covered
with dense, low bush. Our path was ill-defined, as only
small Wagogo caravans travelled to Urimi, but the
guide assured us that he knew the road. In this dense
bush there was not one large tree. It formed a vast
carpet of scrub and brush, tall enough to permit us to
force our way among the lower branches, which were so
interwoven one with another that it sickens me almost
to write of this day's experience. Though our march
was but ten miles, it occupied us as many hours of labour,
elbowing and thrusting our way, to the injury of our
bodies and the detriment of our clothing. We camped
at 5 P.M. near another small pool, at an altitude of 4350
feet above the sea. The next day, on the afternoon of
the 8th, we should have reached Urimi, and, in order
to be certain of doing so, marched fourteen miles to
still another pool at a height of 4550 feet above sea-
level. Yet still we saw no limit to this immense bush-
field, and our laboui-s had, this day, been increased
tenfold. Our guide had lost the path early in the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Jan. 8.
UTtriTeri.
THE FATE LOST I 109
day, and was innocently leading us in an easterly 1875,
direction !
* The responsibility of leading a half starved expedition
— as ours now certainly was — through a dense bush,
without knowing whither or for how many days, was
great ; but I was compelled to undertake it rather than
see it wander eastward, where it would be hopeless to
expect provisions. The greater number of our people
had consumed their rations early in the morning. I
had led it northward for hours, when we came to a
large ti*ee to the top of which I requested the guide
to ascend, to try if he could recognize any familiar
feature in the dreary landscape. After a short exa-
mination, he declared he saw a ridge that he knew,
near which, he said, was situate the village of Uveri-
veri. This news stimulated our exertions, and, myself
leading the van, we travelled briskly until 5 p.m., when
we arrived at the third pool.
Meantime Barker and the two Pococks, assisted by
twenty chiefs, were bringing up the rear, and we never
suspected for a moment that the broad track which we
trampled over grass and through bush would be un-
perceived by those in rear of us. The Europeans and
chiefs, assisted by the reports of heavily loaded muskets;
were enabled to reach camp successfully at 7 p.m. ; but
the chiefs then reported that there had not arrived a
party of four men, and a donkey boy who was leading
an ass loaded with coffee. Of these, however, there was
no fear, as they had detailed the chief Simba to oversee
them, Simba having a reputation among his fellows
for fidelity, courage, and knowledge of travel.
The night passed, and the morning of the 9 th
dawned, and I anxiously asked about the absentees.
They had not arrived. But as each hour in the jungle
added to the distress of a still greater number of people,
we moved on to the miserable little village of TJveriveri.
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110 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. The inhabitants consisted of only two famih*eSy who
*^ * could not spare us one grain ! We might as well have
remained in the jungle, for no sustenance could be
procured here.
In this critical position, many lives hanging on my
decision, I resolved to despatch forty of the strongest men
— ten chiefs and thirty of the boldest youths — ^to Suna
in Urimi, for the villagers of Uveriveri had of course
given us the desired information as to our whereabouts.
The distance from Uveriveri to Suna was twenty-eight
miles, as we subsequently discovered. Pinched with
hunger themselves, the forty volunteers advanced with
the resolution to reach Suna that night. They were in-
structed to purchase 800 lbs. of grain, which would give
a light load of 20 lbs. to each man, and urged to return
as quickly as possible, for the lives of their women and
friends depended on their manliness.
Manwa Sera was also despatched with a party of
twenty to hunt up the missing men. Late in the
afternoon they returned with the news that three of
the missing men were dead. They had lost the road,
and, travelling along an elephant track, had struggled
on till they perished, of despair, hunger, and exhaustion.
Simba and the donkey-boy, the ass and its load of
coffee, were never seen or heard of again.
With the sad prospect of starvation impending over
us, we were at various expedients to sustain life until
the food purveyors should return. Early on the
morning of the lOtli, I travelled far and searched
every likely place for game, but though tracks were
numerous, we failed to sight a single head. The Wan-
gwana also roamed about tlie forest — for the Uveriveri
ridge was covered with fine myombo trees — in search of
edible roots and berries, and examined various trees to
discover whether they afforded anything that could
allay the grievous and bitter pangs of hunger. Some
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Jan. 10.
SAVED FROM STARVATION. HI
found a putrid elephant, on which they gorged them- 1875.
selves, and were punished with nausea and sickness.
Others found a lion's den, with two lion whelps, which
they brought to me. Meanwhile, Frank and I examined
the medical stores, and found to our great joy we had
sufficient oatmeal to give every soul two cupfuls of thin
gruel. A ** Torquay dress trunk " of sheet-iron was
at once emptied of ita contents and filled with 25
gallons of water, into which were put 10 lbs. of oatmeal
and four 1 -lb. tins of ** revalenta arabica." How the
people, middle-aged and young, gathered round that
trunk, and heaped fuel underneath that it might
boil the quicker ! How eagerly they watched it lest
some calamity should happen, and clamoured, when
it was ready, for their share, and how inexpressibly
satisfied they seemed as they tried to make the most of
what they received, and with what fervour they thanked
** God ** for his mercies !
At 9 P.M., as we were about to sleep, we heard the
faint sound of a gun, fired deliberately three times, and
we all knew then that our young men with food were
not very far from us. The next morning, about 7 a.m.,
the bold and welcome purveyors arrived in camp with
just enough millet-seed to give each soul one good
raeal. This the people soon despatched, and then
demanded that we should resume our journey that
afternoon, so that next morning we might reach Suna
in time to forage.
Skirting the southern base of the wooded ridge of
Dveriveri, we continued to ascend almost imperceptibly
for eight miles, when we arrived at another singular
series of lofty rocks, called at once by the Wangwana
the Jiweni or " Stones." We camped near a rocky hill
125 feet high, from the summit of which I obtained a
view of a green grassy plain stretching towards
the north. The altitude of this camp was 5250 feet
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Soiui.
112 TEBOUQE THB DARK CONTINENT.
1875. above sea-level. Towards night I diot a wild boar
''*■• ^^' and a duck, but several of the Wangwana, being strict
Muslims, could not be induced to eat the pork. From
the " Stones '* we came to what we had (»dled a plain
from the summit, but what was really, from its marshy
nature, more of a quagmire. It appeared to be a great
resort for elephants ; thousands of the tracks of these
great animals ran in all directions. Plunging into
another jungle, we reappeared, after marching twenty
miles, in the cultivated fields of Suna; and on the
verge of a coppice we constructed a strong camp,
whence we had a view of the ** Stones,** which we had
left in the morning, no other eminences being visible
above what appeared a very ocean of bush.
Next morning there was a strange and peculiar air
of discontent, like a foreshadowing of trouble, among
the natives who appeared before our camp. They did
not appear to understand us. They were seen hurrying
their women and children away, and deserting their
villages, while others hovered round our camp
menacingly, carrying in their hands a prodigious
quantity of arms — spears, bows and arrows, and knob-
sticks. Trouble seemed imminent. To prevent it, if
possible, I stepped out to them with empty hands,
motioned them to be seated, and, calling an interpreter,
likewise unarmed, I attempted to explain the nature ot
our expedition and a few of its objects, one of which
of course was to reach Lake Victoria. To those elders
who appeared to have most influence, I gave some
beads, as an expression of good-will and friendship. But
nothing seemed to be of avail until, after close question-
ing, I ascertained that they had a grievance. Some of
the Wangwana, in their ravenous hunger, had plundered
the grain huts, and stolen some chickens. The natives
were requested to come and point out the thieves.
They did so, and pointed their fingers at Alsassi, a
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TBOUBLE IMMINENT. 113
notorious thief and gourmand. Convicted of the crime 1875.
after a strict examination of his quarters by Kachech^, Jan. 12-15
the chief detective, Alsassi was flogged in their
presence, not severely, but sufficiently to mark my
sense of extreme displeasure. The value of the stolen
food was given to the defrauded natives, and peace and
tranquillity were restored.
The Warimi are the finest people in physique we
saw between their country and the sea. They are
robust, tall, manly in bearing, and possess very regular
features. As they go stark naked, we perceived that
the males had undergone the process of circumcision.
Their ornaments are cinctures of brass wire round the
loins, armlets and leglets of brass, brass-wire collars,
beads plentifully sprinkled over their hair, and about a
dozen long necklaces suspended from the neck. The
war costumes w hich they were wearing when I had
thought that trouble was near were curious and various.
Feathers of the kite and hawk, manes of the zebra and
giraffe, encircled their foreheads. Their arms consisted
of portentous-looking spears, bows and yard-long arrows,
and shields of rhinoceros hide. The women, I imagine,
are generally a shade lighter than the men. I failed
to see in a day's examination a single flat nose or thick
lip, though they were truly negroidal in hair and
colour. I ought to have said that many shaved their
heads, leaving only a thin wavy line over the forehead.
The rolling plain of Suna was at this season utterly
devoid of grass. An immense area was under cultiva-
tion; clusters of small villages were sprinkled over all
the prospect the eye embraced, and large flocks of
j^oats and sheep and herds of cattle proved that they
were a pastoral as well as an agricultural people.
The Warimi appear to have no chief, but submit
to direction by the elders, or heads of families, who
have acquired importance by judicious alliances, and
VOL. I. — 8
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SanA.
114 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. to whom they refer civil causes. In time of war, how-
jaD 12-15.^^^^^ ^ ^^ observed the day after we arrived, they
have for their elder, one who has a military reputation.
This fighting elder, to whom, I remarked, great
deference was paid, was certainly 6^ feet in height.
The species of beads called Kanyera were, it seemed
to me, most in favour ; brass wire was also in demand,
but all cloth was rejected except the blue Kaniki.
We halted four days at Suna, as our situation was
deplorable. A constantly increasing sick list, culmi-
nating in the serious illness of Edward Pocock, the
evident restlessness of the Warimi at our presence, who
most certainly wished us anywhere except in their
country, and yet had no excuse for driving us by force
from their neighbourhood, the insuflScient quantity of
ibod that could be purchased, and the growing impor-
tunacy of the healthy Wangwana to be led away
from such a churlish and suspicious people, plunged
me in perplexity.
We had now over thirty men ailing. Some suffered
from dysentery, others from fever, asthma, chest diseases,
and heart sickness ; lungs were weak, and rheumatism
had its victims. Edward Pocock, on the afternoon of
the day we arrived at Suna, came to me, and complained
of pain in the loins, a throbbing in the head — which I
attributed to weariness, after our terribly long march —
and a slight fever. I suggested to him that he had better
lie down and rest. Before I retired, I reminded Frank,
his brother, that he should give Edward some alterative
medicine. The next day the young man was worse. His
tongue was thickly coated with a dark fur, his face
fearfully pallid, and he complained of wandering pains
in his back and knees, of giddiness and great thirst. I
administered to him sweet spirits of nitre with orange
water, and a few grains of ipecacuanha as an emetic.
The fourth day he was delirious, and we were about to
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SICKNESS IN THE CAMP. 115
sponge him with cold water, when I observed that small 1875.
red pimples with white tops covered his chest and *^"*^^'
abdomen, arms and neck. One or two were very like
small-pox pustules, which deceived me for a time into the
belief that it was a mild case of small-pox. However, by
carefully noticing the symptoms, I perceived that it
was unmistakably a case of the dreadful typhus.
There were two or three cases of sickness equally
dangerous in camp, but far more dangerous was the
sickness of temper from which the Warimi suffered. It
became imperative that we should keep moving, if only
two or three miles a day. Accordingly, on the 17th
January, after rigging up four hammocks, and making
one especially comfortable for Edward Pocock, roofed
over with canvas, we moved from the camp through
the populated district at a very slow pace; Frank
Pocock and Fred Barker at the side of the hammock of
the sick European, and a chief and four men attending
to each suffering Wangwana. Hundreds of natives
fully armed, kept up with us on either side of our path.
Never since leaving the sea were we weaker in spirit
than on this day. Had we been attacked, I doubt
if we should have made much resistance. The
famine in TJgogo, and that terribly protracted trial of
strength through the jungle of TJveriveri, had utterly
unmanned us ; besides, we had such a loDg list of
sick, and Edward Pocock and three Wangwana were
dangerously ill, in hammocks. We were an un-
speakably miserable and disheartened band ; yet, urged
by our destiny, we struggled on, thougli languidly.
Our spirits seemed dying, or resolving themselves into
weights which oppressed our hearts. Weary, harassed,
and feeble creatures, we arrived at Chiwyu, four
hundred miles from the sea, and camped near the crest
of a hill, which was marked by aneroid as 5400 feet
above the level of the ocean.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
116 THROUQR THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Edward Pocock was reported by Frank to have
cwwTii. ^^tt^red in his delirium, "The master has just hit it,"
and to have said that he felt very comfortable. On
arriving at the camp, one of the boat sections was
elevated above him as a protection from the sun, until a
cool grass hut could be erected. A stockade was being
constructed by piling a thick fence of brushwood around
a spacious circle, along which grass huts were fast being
built, when Frank entreated me to step to his brother s
side. I sprang to him — only in time, however, to see
him take his last gasp. Frank gave a shriek of sorrow
when he realized that the spirit of his brother had fled
for ever, and, removing the boat section, bent over
the corpse and wailed in a paroxysm of agony.
We excavated a grave 4 feet deep at the foot of a
hoary acacia with wide-spreading branches, and on its
ancient trunk Frank engraved a deep cross, the emblem
of the faith we all believe in, and, when folded in its
shroud, we laid the body in its final resting-place
during the last gleams of sunset. We read the beautiful
prayers of the church service for the dead, and, out of
respect for the departed, whose frank, sociable, and
winning manners had won their friendship and regard,
nearly all the Wangwana were present to pay a last
tribute of sighs to poor Edward Pocock.
When the last solemn prayer had been read, we
retired to our tents, to brood in sorrow and silence
over our irreparable loss.
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118 TRBOUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
Jan. 18.
Chiwjo.
CHAPTER VI.
From Chiwyn to Vinyata — Kaif Halleck murdered — The magic doctor
— Giving away the heart — Deeds of blood — ** The white men are
only women " — A three days' fight — Punishment of the Wanyaturu
— The ubiquitous Mirambo — The plain of the Luwamberri — In
a land of plenty — Through the open country — "I haye seen the
lake. Sir, and it is grand I " — Welcomed at Kagehyi
1875. We have seen no remarkable feature in the landscape
since we surmounted that steep wall of the upland
which bounds TJgogo on the west. Near its verge, it
is true, it rose in steep terraces, until finally it extended
westward and northward in a broad jungle-covered
plain, which had a gradual rise, culminating in the
myombo-clad slopes of the TJveriveri ridge. While
standing at Suna, we were in view of that vast waste
out of which, after terrible experience, we had emerged
as it were only with our lives.
At Chiwyu, we camped near the loftiest altitude of
the gradual and almost unbroken rise of upland, at a
height of 5400 feet. To the northward of Suna and
Chiwyu, the country, however, no longer retained that
grand unfurrowed uplift, but presented several isolated
hills and shoi-t ranges, while to the westward also we
saw that it was divided into oval basins, rimmed with
low hills. From these same hollows and Furrows and
basins at the base of the hills, scattered to the north and
west of Suna and Chiwyu, issue the first tiny rivulets,
which, as we continue our journey to the north-west,
gradually converge to one main stream, trending towards
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EXTREME SOUTHERN NILE SOURCES. 119
Lake Victoria. It is in this region, therefore, that 1875.
the most extreme southern Sources of the Nile were ^^ ^^'
discovered. ^^^
Since leaving Mpwapwa, we have not crossed one
perennial stream. All our drinking water has been
obtained from pools, or shallow depressions lately filled
by rain. Between Suna and Chiwyu was crossed one
small rill flowing north-easterly, which soon after-
wards joins another and still another, and gathering
volume, swerves north, then north-west. These are
the furthest springs and head-waters of a river that
will presently become known as the Leewumbu, tben
as the Monangah, and lastly as the Shiraeeyu, under
which name it enters Lake Victoria on the south-east
coast of Speke Gulf.
Descending into the basin of Matongo from Chiwyu
with its melancholy associations, we crossed several
narrow and shallow furrows, which a few late rains
had probably caused, and came to a clear stream flowing
north through a deep rocky channel. Near this
ravine was a space about a square mile in extent,
sti-angely torn up and exhibiting thousands of boulders
and blocks, large and small, with smooth, water- worn
tops ; and the sides of what is now a small hill in the
centre of the basin showed visible traces of the action
of furious torrents through centuries of time. The
hard granite was worn into cones, the tops of which bore
a calcined appearance, proving the effect of intense *
heat suddenly cooled by rain. The rocky channel of this
stream in the Matongo basin was a veritable geological
section. The surface consisted of massive granite
boulders imbedded in vegetable deposit; below this
was a stratum of sand about 3 feet deep, below the
sand a stratum of coarse shingle of quartz, feldspar,
and porphyry, about 8 feet thick, and below this
was alluvium, resting on solid rock.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
120 THBOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. During these days the thermoraeter had seldom risen
Jan. 2a ijigiier than 78°; for hours during the day it stood
*"*''^ at 66°, while at night the mean was 63°. Seven miles
from Chiwyu stand the villages of Mangura on the
borders of Ituru. Soon after leaving Mangura we
ought to have followed the left-hand road, which, after
traversing a forest, would have brought us to Mgongo
Tenibo, where we should have found Wangwana and
Wanyamwezi. We also discovered that we had already
lost the regular path to Usukuma at Kashongwa, which
would have taken us, we were told, to Utaturu and
thence to Mgongo Tembo. But the Mangura natives,
though they were otherwise tolerant of our presence
and by no means ill-disposed, would not condescend to
show us the road, and we were therefore exposed to a
series of calamities, which at one time threatened our
very existence.
After passing Mangura, we entered Ituru. Streams
now became numerous, all flowing northward ; but
though such a well-watered country, the cattle in it
were poor and gaunt in frame, the dogs half starved,
and the sheep and goats mere skeletons. Only the
human beings seemed to me to be in good condition.
Among the birds of this region which attracted our
attention, we noted spur-winged geese, small brown
short-billed ducks, delicate of flesh and delicious eating,
long-legged plover, snipe, cranes, herons, spoonbills,
parroquets and jays, and a large greyish-brown bird
with short legs resembling a goose, apd very shy and
difficult of approach.
The language of Ituru is totally distinct from that of
Ugogo or of Unyamwezi. Besides possessing large
herds of cattle, nearly every village boasts of one or
two strong Masai asses. As the Wanyaturu stood in
groups indulging their curiosity outside our camps,
I observed they had a curious habit of employing them-
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Ixaigeh.
AMONG THE WANTATURU. 121
selves in plucking the hair from their faces and arm- ists.
pits. Being extremely distant in their manner, we '^•^^^•
found it difficult to gain their confidence, though we
were assiduous in our attempts to cultivate their good-
will.
Izanjeh was our next camp after Mangura, and the
first place we halted at in Ituru, It was 5450 feet above
the sea.
On leaving Izanjeh, Kaif Halleck, the bearer of the
letter-bag to Livingstone in 1871, was afflicted with
asthma, and as we were compelled to travel slowly, I
entreated him not to lag behind the Expedition while
it traversed such a dangerous country. But I have
observed that sick men seldom heed advice. Being
obliged to go forward to the front during these evil
and trying days, I had to leave the rearguard under
Frank Pocock and Fred Barker and the Wangwana
chiefs. As my duties would be mainly to introduce and
ingratiate our expedition with the natives, I could not
possibly know what happened in the rear until we
reached camp, and reports were made to me by Frank
and Manwa Sera.
From the top of a ridge, accompanied by a guide
whose good-will had been secured by me, I descended
to. the basin of what the Wangwana at Mgongo Tembo
call Vinyata, but which the guide, I feel assured, called
Niranga. The basin is oval, about twelve miles
long by six miles wide, cut through the centre by the
Leewumbu, as it flows in a W.N.W. direction, becoming
lost, soon after leaving the basin, in a cluster of wood-
clad hills. Numbers of villages are sprinkled over it
from end to end, and from the summit of the ridge we
guessed it to contain a populous and wealthy com-
munity. On the evening of the same day, the 21st
January 1875, we arrived at Yinyata.
There was nothing in the horizon of our daily life
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Jan. 21
VinjaU.
122 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. that the most fearful and timid could have considered
ominous. Nevertheless, consistent with custom, the
camp was constructed on the summit of a slightly
swelling ground, between a forest and the fields in the
basin. The people of the small village nearest to us
deserted it upon first sight of our party, but they were
finally persuaded to return. Everything promised at
night to be peaceful, though anxiety began to be felt
about the fate of Kaif Halleck. He had not been seen
for two days. Some suggested he had deserted, but
** faithfuls" rarely desert upon mere impulse, without
motive or cause. It was necessary therefore to halt a
day at Vinyata to despatch a searching party. Manwa
Sera was told to take four staunch men, one of whom
was the scout and famous detective, Kach^che, to hunt
up the sick *^ letter-carrier of 1871."
During Manwa Sera's absence, Frank, Barker, and
myself were occupied in reducing our loads, and re-
jecting every article that we could possibly subsist
without. Our sick were many, twenty had died, and
eighty-nine had deserted, between the coast and
Vinyata !
While examining the cloth bales, we discovered that
several were wet from the excessive rains of Ugogo,
and to save them from being ruined, it was imperative,
though impolitic, that we should spread the cloths to
dry. In the midst of this work the great magic doctor
of Vinyata came to pay me a visit, bringing with him
a fine fat ox as a peace offering. Being the first we had
received since leaving Kitalalo, we regarded it as a
propitious omen, and I showed by my warmth toward
the ancient Mganga that I was ready to reciprocate his
kindness. He was introduced to my tent, and after
being sociably entertained with exceedingly sweet coffee
and some of Huntley and Palmer's best and sweetest
biscuits, he was presented with fifteen cloths, thirty
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Viojau
KAIF HALLECK MURDERED. 123
necklaces, and ten yards of brass wire, which repaid ists.
him fourfold for his ox. Trivial things, such as empty ^*^ ^
sardine boxes, soup and bouilli pots, and empty jam
tins, were successively bestowed on him as he begged
for them. The horizon appeared clearer than ever,
when he entreated me to go through the process of
blood-brotherhood, which I underwent with all the
ceremonious gravity of a pagan. As he was finally
departing, he saw preparations being made to despatch
the ox, and he expressed his desire that the he<irt of
the animal should be returned to him. While he
stayed for it, I observed with uneasiness that he and
his following cast lingering glances upon the cloths
which were drying in camp.
During the day the Wangwana received several days'
back rations, towards repairing the havoc which the
jungle of Uveriveri and famine-stricken TJgogo had
effected in their frames, and our intercourse with the
natives this day was most friendly.' But before retiring
for the night, Manwa Sera and his scouts returned with
the report that *' Kaif Halleck's " dead body had been
discovered, gashed with over thirty wounds, on the
edge of a wood between Izanjeh and Vinyata !
" We cannot help it, my friends," I said after a
little deliberation. " We can mourn for him, but we
cannot avenge him. Go and tell the people to take
warning from his fate not to venture too far from
the camp, and when on the march not to lag behind
the caravan; and you, who are the chiefs and in
charge of the rear, must not again leave a sick man
to find his way unprotected to carap."
The next day the magic doctor appeared about 8 a.m.
to receive another present, and as he brought with him
about a quart of curded milk, he was not disappointed.
He also received a few beads for his wife and for each of
his children. We parted about 9.30 a.m. alter shaking
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124 THBOUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. hands many times, apparently mutually pleased with
^*°*^^ each other. No mention was made to any native of
"*^ Vinyata of the murder of Kaif Halleck, lest it might
be suspected we charged our new friends with being
cognizant of, or accessory to, the cruel deed, which
would, without doubt, have caused new complications.
Half an hour after the departure of the magic doctor,
while many of the Wangwana were absent purchasing
grain, and others were in the forest collecting faggots,
we heard war cries. Imagining that they were the
muster-call to resist their neighbours of Izanjeh, or of
some tribe to the east, we did not pay much attention
to them. However, as these peculiar war-cries, which
may be phonetically rendered " Hehu-a hehu," appeared
to draw nearer, we mustered a small party on the
highest ground of the camp, in an attitude of doubt
and enquiry, and presently saw a large body of natives
armed with spears, bows and arrows, and shields,
appear within a hundred yards on a similar high-ground
outside the camp. The sight suggested to us that they
had mustered against us, yet I could divine no cause of
grievance or subject of complaint to call forth a war-
like demonstration.
I despatched two unarmed messengers to them to
inquire what their intentions were, and to ascertain
the object of this apparently hostile mob. The mes-
sengers halted midway between the camp and the
crowd, and sitting down, invited two of the natives to
advance to them for a " shanri.'*
We soon discovered upon the return of the messengers
that one of the Wangwana had stolen some milk, and
that the natives had been aroused to " make war'** upon
us because of the theft They were sent back to inform
the natives that war was wicked and unjust for such a
small crime, and to suggest that they should fix a price
♦ "Make war" is the literal translation of fanya vita.
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Vin/aU.
VAIN FORBEARANCE. 125
upon the milk, and permit iia to atone for the wrong 1875.
with a handsome gift. After some deliberation the ^^'^^f^"
proposition was agreed to. A liberal present of cloth
was made, and the affair had apparently terminated.
But as this mob was about to retire peacefully,
another large force appeared from the north. A con-
sultation ensued, at first quietly enough, but there were
one or two prominent figures there, who raised their
voices, the loud, sharp, and peremptory tones of which
instinctively warned me that their owners would carry
the day. There was a bellicose activity about their move-
ments, an emphasis in their gestures, and a determined
wrathful fury about the motion of head and pose of
body that were unmistakable. They appeared to be
quarrelling doggedly with those who bad received
cloth for the milk, and were evidently ready to fight
with them if they persisted in retiring without blood-
shed.
In the midst of this, Soudi, a youth of Zanzibar,
came hastily upon the scene. He had a javelin gash
near the right elbow joint, and a slight cut as though
from a flying spear was visible on his left side, while
a ghastly woiftid from a whirling knobstick had laid
open his temples. He reported his brother Suliman
as lying dead near the forest, to the west of the
camp.
We decided, nevertheless, to do nothing. We were
strong disciples of the doctrine of forbearance, for it
seemed to me then as if Livingstone had taught it to
me only the day before. " Keep silence," I said ; " even
for this last murder I shall not fight ; when they attack
the camp, it will be time enough then." To Frank I
simply said that he might distribute twenty rounds of
ammunition without noise to each man, and dispose
our party on either side of the gate, ready for a charge
should the natives determine upon attacking us.
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126 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
187S. The ]f>udly arguing mob had not yet settled con-
jwi.23, clusively what they should do, and possibly, hostilities
might have been averted, had not the murderers of
young Suliraan, advancing red-handed and triumphant,
extorted from all the unanimous opinion that it would
be better after all to 6ght ** the cowardly Wangwana
and the white men, who were evidently only
women/'
They quickly disposed themselves, delivered loud
whoops of triumph, prepared their bows, and shot their
first arrows. The Wangwana became restless, but I
restrained them. Perceiving no sign of life in our
c^mp, the Wanyaturu judged, doubtless, that we were
half d&id with fright, and advanced boldly to within
thirty yards, when the word was given to the Wan-
gwana and Wanyamwezi, who rushed outside and, by
the very momentum of the rush, drove the savages to a
di^stance of 200 yards. The Wangwana were then
ordered to halt, and deployed as skirmishers.
We *5till waited without firing. The savages, not
comprehending this extraordinary forbearance, advanced
once more. The interpreters were requested to warn
them that we should delay no longer. They replied,
** Ye are %vomen, ye are women ; go, ask Mirambo how
he Ikred in Ituru," saying which they twanged their
bows. It was only then, perceiving that they were
too aavage to understand the principles of forbearance,
that the final word to "fight" was given. A brisk
encounter was maintained for an hour, a'iid then, having
driven the savages away, the Wangwana were recalled
to camp.
Meanwhile Frank was busy with sixty men armed
with axetj in constructing a strong stockade, and on the
retui n of the Wangwana they were employed in build-
ing marksmen's " nests " at each corner of the camp.
We aWj cleared the ground to the space of 200 yards
»
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Jan. 24^
Yinyita.
THE FIGHT. 127
around the camp. By night our camp was secure, and 1875,
perfectly defensible.
On the morning of the 24th we waited patiently in
our camp. Why should we attack? We were wretched
enough as it was without seeking to add to our
wretchedness. We numbered only seventy eflfective
men, for all the others were invalids, frightened porters,
women, donkey boys, and children. The sick list was
alarming, but, try how we might, the number was not
to be reduced.. While we lived from hand to mouth
on a few grains of corn a day, after a month's experience
of famine fare, our plight must not only remain pitiable,
but become worse. We were therefore in a mood to
pray that we might not be attacked, but permitted to
leave the camp in safety.
At 9 A.M., however, the enemy appeared, reinforced
both in numbers and confidence, for the adjoining
districts on the north and east had been summoned to
the '* war.** This word means now, as is evident, daily
attacks upon our camp, with forces hourly increasing,
until we shall have also perhaps strange tribes to the
westward invited to the extermination of the strangers,
and ourselves be in the meantime penned in our hold
until hunger reduces us to surrender, to be butchered
without mercy.
Our position, as strangers in a hostile country, is
such that we cannot exist as a corporate expedition,
unless we resist with all our might and skill, in order
to terminate- hostilities and secure access to the
western country. We therefore wait until they advance
upon our camp, and drive them from its vicinity as we
did the day before. In half an hour our people are back,
and organized into four detachments of ten men each
under their separate chiefs, two more detachments of
ten men each being held in reserve, and one other, of
ten also, detailed for the defence of the camp. They
Digitizi
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128 TEnOUGH TEE LARK CONTINENT.
1875. are instructed to proceed in skirmishing order in
Jan. 24. (jiflpgj.gnt diicctions through the hostile country, and
to drive the inhabitants out wherever they find them
lodged, to a distance of five miles east and north,
certain rocky hills, the rendezvous of the foe, being
])ointed out as the place where they must converge.
Messengers are sent with each detachment to bring
me back information.
The left detachment, under chief Farjalla Christie,
were soon thrown into disorder, and were killed to a
man, except the messenger who brought us the news,
imploring for the reserve, as the enemy were now con-
centrated on the second detachment. Manwa Sera
was theiefore despatched with fifteen men, and arrived
at the scene only in time to save eight out of the
second detachment. The third plunged boldly on,
but lost six of its number; the fourth, under chief
Safeni, behaved prudently and well, and; as fast as
each enclosed village was taken, set it on fire. But
ten other men despatched to the scene retrieved what
the third had lost, and strengthened Safeni.
About 4 P.M. the Wangwana returned, bringing
with them oxen, goats, and grain for food. Our losses
in this day's proceedings were twenty-one soldiers and
one messenger killed, and three wounded.
On the morning of the 25th we waited until 9 a.m.,
again hoping that the Wanyaturu would see the
impolicy of renewing the fight; but we were disap-
pointed, for they appeared again, and apparently as
numerous as ever. After some severe volleys we drove
them ofl* again on the third day, but upon the return of
the Wangwana, instead of dividing them into detach-
ments, I instructed them to proceed in a compact body.
Some of the porters volunteered to take the place of
the soldiers who perished the previous day, and we
were therefore able to show still a formidable front.
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OUB TRIUMPH AND LOSSES. 129
All the Villages in our neighbourhood being first 1875.
consumed, they continued their march, and finally y*"'^^"
attacked the rocky hill, which the Wanyaturu had
adopted as a stronghold, and drove them flying
precipitately into the neighbouring country, where
they did not follow them.
We knew now that we should not be disturbed.
Some of the guns, lost the day before, we recaptured.
On reckoning up our loss on the evening of the third
day, we ascertained it to be twenty-two men killed,
three men wounded, twelve guns lost, and four cases of
ammunition expended. Including Kaif Halleck and
Suliman murdered, our losses in Ituru were therefore
twenty-four men killed and four wounded, and as we
had twenty-five on the sick list, it may be imagined that
to replace these fifty-three men great sacrifices were
necessary on the part of the survivors, and much
ingenuity had to be exercised. Twelve loads were
accordingly placed on the asses, and ten chiefs were
detailed to carry baggage until we should arrive in
Usukuma. Much miscellaneous property was burned,
and on the morning of the 26th, just before daybreak,
we resumed our interrupted journey.
The expedition on this day consisted of three Euro-
peans, 206 Wangwana and Wanyamwezi, twenty-five
women, and six boys. At 9.30 a.m. we camped at a
place which might be called a natural fortress. To our
right and left rose two little hills 100 feet high and
almost perpendicular. Behind us dropped a steep slope
400 feet down to the Leewumbu river, so that the
only way of access was the narrow gap through which
we had entered. We soon closed the gateway with
a dense wall of brushwood, and in perfect security
lay down to rest.
This camp was at an altitude of 5650 feet above the
ocean, and due west of Vinyata about ten miles. On
VOL. I. — 9
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130 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. one side of us was the deep-wooded valley through
^*°' ^' which the rapid Leewumbu rushes. Its banks on each
side slope steeply upward, and at the top become
detached hills clothed with forest; from their base
wave the uplands in grand and imposing wooded
ridges. North of the Leewumbu the hills are bolder
than those to the south.
On the 27th, at dawn, we crossed the Leewumbu,
and the whole of that day and the day following
our route was through a forest of fine myombo,
intersected by singular narrow plains, forming at
this season of the year so many quagmires. Other
features of this region were enormous bare rocks,
looming like castles through the forest, and hillocks com-
posed of great fragments of splintered granite and broad
heaving humps of grey gneiss. One of these singular
features of this part of Africa gives its name to Mgongo
Tembo, *' The Elephant's Back." Far to the south is a
similar hill, which 1 passed by during the first expedition;
and its chief, emigrating to Iramba, has bestowed upon
a like feature at the site of his new colony the name
of his former village, to remind him of old associations.
On the 29th we entered Mgongo Tembo, and became
acquainted with the chief, who is also known by the fan-
tastic name which he has given his new quarters, though
his real name is Malewa. He is a strong conservative,
dislikes innovations, declares young men nowadays
to be too fond of travel, and will not allow his sons —
he has sixteen — to visit either Unyanyemb^ or Zanzibar
lest they should learn bad habits. He is a hearty, jovial
soul, kindly disposed if let alone. He has lately
emerged triumphantly out of a war with Maganga of
Rubuga, an ally of the famous Miramlx^.
It had been an object with me at one time to steer
clear of Minimbo, but as I recognised and became
impressed with his ubiquitous powers, I failed to per*
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MGONGO TEMBO. 131
ceive how the system of exploration I had planned 1875.
could be eflfected if I wandered great distances out of ^ ^^'
his way. On the first expedition some of my people t^^^
perished in a conflict with him, and on returning with
Livingstone to Unyanyemb^, we heard of him dealing
effective blows with extraordinary rapidity on his
Arab and native foes. Since leaving TJgogo, we heard
daily of him on this expedition. He was one day
advancing upon Kirirumo, at another place he was on
our flanks somewhere in Utaturu. He fought with
Ituru, and, according to Mgongo Tembo*s chief,
lost 1100 men two months before we entered
the country. Mgongo Tembo, who kept a wary eye
upon the formidable chiefs movements, informed us that
Mirambo was in front of us, fighting the Wasukuma.
Mgongo Tembo further said, in explanation of the
unprovoked attacks of the Wanyaturu upon us,
that we ought not to have bestowed the heart of the
presented ox upon the magic doctor of Vinyata, as by
the loss of that diflnser of blood, the Wanyaturu
believed we had left our own bodies weakened and
would be an easy prey to them. "The Wanyaturu
are robbers, and sons of robbers,'* said he fiercely,
after listening to the recital of our experiences in
Ituru.
On the 1st February, after a very necessary halt
of two days at Mgongo Tembo, with an addition to our
force of eight pagazis and two guides, and encouraged
by favourable reports of the country in front, we
entered Mangura in Usukuma near a strange valley
which contained a forest of borassus palms. In the
beds of the several streams we crossed this day we
observed granite boulders, blue shale, basalt, porphyry
and quartz.
Beyond Mangura, or about six miles west of it, was
situate Igira, a sparse settlement overlooking the magni-
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132 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. ficent plain of Lnwamberri, at an altitude by boiling-
^' ^ point of 5350 feet. A camp which we established in
this plain was ascertained with the same apparatus to be
4476 feet. Ten miles farther, near a sluggish ditch-
like creek, the boiling-point showed 4250 feet, only
100 feet higher than Lake Victoria.
As far as Igira the myombo flourished, but when we
descended into the plain, and the elevation above the sea
decreased to 4000 feet, we discovered that the baobab
became the principal feature of the vegetation, giving
place soon after to thorny acacias and a variety of
scrub, succeeded in their turn by a vast expanse of tawny
grass.
The Luwamberri plain — with its breadth of nearly
forty miles, its indefinite length of level reach towards
the N.N.W., its low altitude above the Victorian Lake,
the wave-worn slopes of the higher elevations which
hem it on the east and the south — appears to me to
have been in ancient times a long arm of the great
lake which was our prospective goal at this period.
About sixteen miles from Igira there is a small sluggish
stream with an almost imperceptible current northward,
but though it was insignificant at the time of our cross-
ing, there were certain traces on the tall grass to
show that during the middle of the rainy season it is
nearly a mile broad, and very deep. Several nullahs
or ravines with stagnant water, when followed up,
prove to have their exit in the broad channel.
In the centre of the level plain rises a curious eleva-
tion, like an island crowned with a grove, whither the
game with which the plain teems resort during the wet
season. At the period of our crossing, however, they
roved in countless numbers over the plain — ^giraffe,
zebra, gnu, buflfalo, springbok, water-buck, kudu, harte-
beest, wild-boar, and several varieties of smaller
antelope; while birds abounded, ibis, field-larks, fish-
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THE PLAIN OF THE LUWAMBERRL 133
hawks, kingfishers, spur-winged geese, ducks, vultures, ibts.
flamingoes, spoonbills, and cranes. ^*^' ^
With such a variety before them, it may readily be berri.
conceived that the Wangwana and Wanyamwezi,
which now numbered, with the accessions to our
strength gained at Mangura and Igira, 280 men,
earnestly hoped that I should be successful in the
sport to which I now devoted myself with the aid of
my faithful factotum Billali, One day I shot a girafl^
and a small antelope ; on the next, in the neighbourhood
of the woody elevation in the plain, five zebra ; and
the third day on the western verge, I shot two gnu,
one buffalo, and a zebra, besides bagging two spur-
winged geese, four guinea-fowl, and five ducks. Meat
was now a drug in our camp. It was cooked in various
styles, either stewed, roasted, fried, or pounded for
cakes. Some of the Wanyamwezi carried, besides their
cloth bale of 60 lbs. weight, nearly 35 lbs. of dried meat.
On the western verge of the grassy plain we crossed
the Itawa river, a broad but sluggish stream choked
with grass, and camped in a locality which seemed to
be favourable only to the production of baobab and
mimosa. After a few hours' travel west of the Itawa, we
crossed the Gogo riv^r with a course N.N.E. towards
the Luwamberri plain. Here we arrived at the
easternmost of a chain of low hills with truncated
tops. These hills, pleasant to the eye, and covered with
waving grass and a sprinkling of thin dwarf bush, con-
sisted of silicious feldspathic rock, the stratification of
which was vertical, in other parts diagonal, with a dip
to the north-west. The slopes of the hills were thickly
covered with detached pieces of this rock, and at the
base with shingle. The plain beneath, close to the
vicinity of the hills, had extensive beds of the same
rock, which, in places, rose above it, exposed in great
sheets.
Digitizi
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Feb. 9.
Ifombiti.
134 TEBOUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. On the 9th February we crossed the Nanga ravine,
and the next day, by a gradual ascent, arrived at the
Seh'gwa, flowing to the Leewumbu, and, after follow-
ing it for four miles, reached the hospitable village
of Mombiti. We had fairly entered the rich country
of Usukuma, where the traveller, if he has resources at
his disposal, need never fear starvation.
The products of the rich upland were here laid at
our feet, and it must be conceded that the plenteous
stores of grain, beans, potatoes, vetches, sesamura,
millet, vegetables, such as melons and various garden
herbs, honey, and tobacco, which we were enabled to
purchase at Mombiti, were merited by the members
of the long-enduring expedition. The number of
chickens and goats that were slaughtered by the people
was enormous. Long arrears of rewards were due them
for the many signal examples of worth they had
shown; and here I earned anew the flattering appel-
lation bestowed upon me three years previously in
Africa. **The white man with the open hand" —
" Huyu Msungu n'u fungua mikono.''
With the rewards they received, the Wangwana and
Wanyamwezi, men, women, and children, revelled in
the delights of repleted stomachs, and the voice of the
gaunt monster. Hunger, was finally hushed. In festive
rejoicings and inordinate fulness we spent three days
at Mombiti.
A fresh troop of porters was here engaged to relieve
the long-sufiering people, and with renewed spirits and
rekindled vigour, and with reserve stores of luxuries
on our shoulders, we plunged into the jungle in the
direction of the Monangah valley and Usiha, in pre-
ference to the ever-troubled route by Usanda, Nguru,
and Masari. Mirambo, it was reported, was also in the
neighbourhood of Masari, and hovering about our path
like a phantom.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
CAMP GARDNER. 135
During the second day's march from Mombiti, 1875.
Gardner, one of the faithful followers of Livingstone i^^*"
during his last journey, succumbed to a severe attack Gardner."
of typhoid fever. We conveyed the body to camp, and
having buried him, raised a cairn of stones over his
grave at the junction of two roads, one leading to
Usiha, the other to Iramba. His last words were, " I
know I am dying. Let my money (370 dollars), which is
in charge of Tarya Topan of Zanzibar, be divided. Let a
half be given to my friend Chumah, and a half be
given to these my friends — pointing to the Wangwana
— ^that they may make the mourning-feast." In honour
of this faithful, the camp is called after his name —
** Camp Gktrdner."
A gradual descent from the ridges and wavy upland
brought us to the broad, brown valley of the Leewumbu,
or the Monangah river, as the Wasukuma now called
the river. At the ford in this season the Monangah
was 30 yards wide and 3 feet deep, with a current
of about a mile an hour, but discoloured marks high
above its present level denote a considerable rise during
the rainy season. A few hills on the south bank showed
the same features of the silicified fejdspathic rock visible
near the Qogo stream. Giraffe were numerous, feed-
ing on the dwarf acacia, but the country was too open
to permit my approaching them. However, I succeeded
in dropping a stray springbok in a hunting excursion
which I made in the evening.
On leaving the Monangah, we struck northerly across
a pathless country seamed with elephant tracks, rhino-
ceros wallows, and gullies which contained pools of
grey muddy water. Four miles from the river, Kirira
Peak bore W.N.W., Usanda west by north, Wanhinni
N.N.W., and Samui west by south. A chain of hill-
cones ran from Samui to Wanhinni.
Surmounting a ridge which bounded the valley of
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136 TUROUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. the Monangah on the north, and following its crest
'u h^ westerly, we arrived on the morning of the 17th
February at Eastern TJsiha. When in sight of their
conical cotes, we despatched one of our native guides
ahead, to warn the natives that a caravan of Wangwana
was approaching, and to bear messages of peace and
goodwill. But in his absence, one of the Kinyamwezi
asses set up a terrific braying, which nearly created
serious trouble. It appears that on one of his former
raids the terrible Mirambo possessed a Kinyamwezi ass
which also brayed, and, like the geese of the Roman
Capitol, betrayed the foe. Hence the natives insisted,
despite the energetic denial of our guide, that this ass
must also belong to Mirambo, and for a short period he
was in a perilous state. They seized and bound him,
and would probably have despatched him had not the
village scouts returned laughing heartily- at the fright
the vicious ass had caused.
Usiha is the commencement of a most beautiful
pastoral country, which tenninates only in the Victoria
Nyanza. From the summit of one of the weird grey
rock piles which characterize it, one may enjoy that
unspeakable fascination of an apparently boundless
horizon. On all sides there stretches toward it the face
of a vast circle replete with peculiar features, of detached
hills, great crag-masses of riven and sharply angled
rock, and outcropping mounds, between which heaves
and rolls in low, broad waves a green grassy plain
whereon feed thousands of cattle scattered about in
small herds.
As fondly as the Wangwana with their suffering
vitals lingered over their meals in the days of plenty
at Mombiti, so fondly did I gloat over this expanding
extent, rich in contrasts and pleasing surprises. Fresh
from the tawny plains of Monangah, with its thirsty
and sere aspect, I was as gratified as though I possessed
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IN A LAND OF PLENTY. 137
the wand of an enchanter, and had raised around me 1875.
the verdant downs of Sussex. I seated myself apart, ^^., ^^
on the topmost grey rock. Only my gunbearer was
near me, and he always seemed intuitively to know
my moods. I revelled therefore undisturbed in the
bland and gracious prospect. The voices of the Wan-
gwana came to me now and again faint by distance, and
but for this I might, as I sat thfere, have lost myself in
the delusion that all the hideous past and beautiful
present was a dream.
After the traveller has performed his six hundred
miles from the ocean to Usiha, however phlegmatic he
may be, he will surely glow with pleasure when he
views this fair scene of promise. The delicious smell of
cattle and young grass comes up from the plain quick,
and reminds one of home-farm memories, of milk and
cheese, and secret dippings into cream-pots, and from
the staked bomas and the hedge-encircled villages there
rise to my hearing the bleating of young calves, and
the lowing of the cows as they looked interested
towards the village, and I could see flocks of kids and
goats, and sheep with jealously watchful shepherd-boys
close by — the whole prospect so peaceful and idyllic
that it made a strangely affecting impression on me.
Daybreak of the 19 th February saw the refreshed
Expedition winding up and down the rolling pasture-
land, escorted by hundreds of amiable natives who
exchanged pleasant jests with our people, and laughed
recklessly and boisterously to show us that they were
glad we had visited their country. " Come yet again/*
said they, as they turned to go back after escorting us
three miles on our way. ** Come always, and you will
be welcome."
We thoroughly enjoyed marching with such a broad
prospect on either hand. We felt free, and for the
first time enjoyed something of the lordly feeling to
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Feb. 19.
UftihA.
138 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. which it 18 said man is bom, but to which we had
cei-tainly been strangers between the ocean and the
grassy plains of Usukuma. One half the distance,
it appears to me, we had ploughed our way through
the lower regions of vegetation — the dense intermeshed
tangle of a full-grown jungle — or we had crawled about
like an army of ants, with the ordinary grasses of the
maritime lands, the Luwamberri and the Monangali
plains, towering like a forest of cane above our heads.
The myombo forests of Uveriveri, and wood-clad ridges
— drained by the crystal-clear streams and rivulets
which supply the furthest waters to Egypt's sacred
river — though tolerably open, did not inspire. us with
such a large, indescribable sense of fre^om as the
open short-grass lands in which we now found ourselves.
A fair idea of the rugged rock-heaps which relieved a
landscape that might otherwise have been monotonous
may be obtained from the photograph of Wezi's rocks.
They are extremely picturesque from their massiveness
and eccentricity, which distance increases and charms
into ruined castles or antique human dwellings.
Tillages were numerous between Usiha and Wandui.
Sweet springs bubbled from all sides, especially from
the opposing bases of the granite ridges which, like
walls, flank the broad natural avenue, at the upper end
of which stands the capital of the king of Usiha, shaded
by glorious baobab and bowery masses of milk-weed.
As we were marching from Wandui to Mondo, on
the 20th February, we were once again mistaken by
the warlike natives for Mirambo, but the mistake went
no farther than war-cries, long, low, and melodious,
caught up by hundreds of clear voices, and a demon-
strative exhibition of how they would have exterminated
us had we been really and truly Mirambo. In propor-
tion as Mirambo haunts their vicinity, so do the natives
appear to be possessed and disturbed. Wandui and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THBOUGE OPEN COUNTRY. 139
Uslha become suddenly exercised at seeing their cattle 1875.
Feb. 2h
Abaddi.
run frightened from some prowling beast, and im- ^^^-^^^
mediately the cry of " Mirambo, Mirambo !" is raiRcd,
and from every height the alarming cry is echoed,
until from Usiha to Usanda, and from Masari north
to Usman, the dread name is repeated. Then two
neighbours, finding it was a mistake, quarrel with each
other, and begin fighting, and in the midst of their
local war Mirambo veritably appears, as though from
the ground, and attacks both !
North of Mondo, as far as Abaddi, or Baddi — some-
times Abatti — the country rolled, clear and open,
like a treeless park, with scarcely a single shrub or
tree. The grass was only an inch high. The rock-
crowned hills were, however, still frequent features.
All the male adults of Abaddi stalked about stark
naked, but their women Tjrere clad with stiff skins
and half tanned cowhides. The herds of cattle and
flocks of goats and sheep absolutely whitened the
glorious park country.
The following brief list of prices will serve to illus-
trate this extraordinary land of plenty : —
Price» at Ahaddu
loz . • • 6 yards of sheetmg.
Igoftt 2 „ „
1 sheep 2 „ „
1 chicken .1 necklace.
6 chickens 2 yards of sheeting.
40 kubaba of Mtama .... 4 „ „
Prices in Ugogo,
lox 48 yards of sheeting.
Igoat 12 „ „
1 sheep 10 „ „
1 chicken From 5 to 10 necklacea
6 chickens 12 yards of sheeting.
40 kubaba of Mtama . • . . 16 „ „
The villages of this part of Usukuma are surrounded
by hedges of euphorbias, milk-weed, the juice of which
is most acrid, and when a drop is spattered over such
a tender organ as the eye, the pain is almost intolerable.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
i
140 TEBOUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. My poor bull-terrier Jack, while chasing a mongoose
^^' ^^' into one of these hedges, quite lost the use of one eye.
Our next camp was Marya, fifteen miles north by east
Mag. from Mondo, and 4800 feet above the sea. We
were still in view of the beautiful rolling plain, with its
rock-crested hills, and herds of cattle, and snug villages,
but the people, though Wasukuma, were the noi&iest
and most impudent of any we had yet met. One of the
chiefs insisted on opening the door of the tent while I
was resting after the long march. I heard the tent-boys
remonstrate with him, but did not interfere until the
chief forcibly opened the door, when the bull-dogs
" Bull " and ** Jack," who were also enjoying a well-
earned repose, sprang at him suddenly and pinned
his hands. The terror of the chief was indescribable,
as he appeared to believe that the white man in the
tent had been transformed into two ferocious dogs, so
little was he prepared for such a reception. I quickly
released him from his position, and won his gratitude
and aid in restoring the mob of natives to a more
moderate temper.
A march of seventeen miles north by west across a
waterless jungle brought us on the 24th to South
Usmau. Native travellers in this country possess
native bells of globular form with which, when setting
out on a journey, they ring most alarming though not
inharmonious sounds, to waken the women to their
daily duties.
The journey to Hulwa in North Usmau was begun
by plunging through a small forest at the base of some
rocky hills which had been distinctly visible from Marya,
thirty-one miles south. A number of monkeys lined
their summits, gazing contemptuously at the long string
of bipeds condemned to bear loads. We then descended
into a broad and populous basin, wherein villages
with their milk-weed hedges appeared to be only so
many verdant circlets. Great fragments and heaps of
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
NEARINQ THE LAKE.
141
1875
Feb. 26
Gamba-
chika.
riven granite, gneiss, and trap rock, were still seen
cresting the hills in irregular forms.
Through a similar scene we travelled to Gambachika,
in North Usmau, which is at an altitude of 4600 feet
above the sea, and fourteen miles from Hulwa. As we
approached the settlement, we caught a glimpse to the
far north of the mountains of Urirwi, and to the north-
east of the Manassa heights which, we were informed
by the natives, formed the shores of the great lake.
On the morning of the 27th Tebruary we rose up
early, and braced ourselves for the long march of
nineteen mileS, which ter-
minated at 4 P.M. at the
village ot Kagehyi.
The people were as
keenly alive to the import-
ance of this day's march,
and as fully sensitive to
what this final journey to
Kagehyi promised their ,
wearied frames, as we Eu-
ropeans. They, as well as -
ourselves, looked forward
to many weeks of rest
from our labours and to an
abundance of good food.
When the bugle sounded the signal to "Take the
road," the Wanyamwezi and Wangwana responded
to it with cheers, and loud cries of " Ay indeed, ay
indeed, please God;' and their goodwill was con-
tagious. The natives, who had mustered strongly to
witness our departure, were affected by it, and stimu-
lated our people by declaring that the lake was not
very far off — " but two or three hours' walk.*'
We dipped into the basins and troughs of the land,
surmounted ridge after ridge, crossed watercourses, and
ravines, passed by cultivated fields, and through villages
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MNTAMWEZI PAOAZI.
142 thbouge: the dark continent.
1875. smelling strongly of cattle, by good-natured groups of
l^V' natives, until, ascending a long gradual slope, we heard,
on a sudden, hurrahing in front, and then we too, with
the lagging rear, knew that those in the van were in
view of the Great Lake !
Frank Pocock impetuously strode forward until he
gained the brow of the hill. He took a long sweeping
look at something, waved his hat, and came down to-
wards us, his face beaming with joy, as he shouted
out enthusiastically with the fervour of youth and high
spirits, ** I have seen the Lake, Sir, and it is grand !"
Frederick Barker, riding painfully on an ass, and
sighing wearily from illness and the length of the
journey, lifted his head to smile his thanks to his
comrade.
Presently we also reached the brow of the hill, where
we found the expedition halted, and the first quick view
revealed to us a long broad arm of water, which a
dazzling sun transformed into silver, some 600 feet
below us, at the distance of three miles.
A more careful and detailed view of the scene showed
us that the hill on which we stood sloped gradually
to the broad bay or gulf edged by a line of green wavy
reeds and thin groves of umbrageous trees scattered
along the shore, on which stood several small villages
of conical huts. Beyond these, the lake stretched like
a silvery plain far to the eastward, and away across
to a boundary of dark blue hills and mountains, while
several grey rocky islets mocked us at first with an
illusion of Arab dhows with white sails. The Wan-
yamwezi struck up the song of triumph : —
Sing, friends, sing ; the journey is ended :
Sing aloud, friends ; sing to the great Nyanza.
Sing all, sing loud, friends, sing to the great sea;
GiTe your last look to the lands behind and then turn to the sea.
Long tune ago you left your lands.
Your wives and children, your brothers and your friends;
Tell me, have you seen a sea like this
Since you loft the great salt sea?
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
•j EAr£ SEEN TEE LAKE, SIB!'' 143
CH0BU8. Ig75
Then smg, friends, dng ; the jonrney is ended : F«b. 27.
Sing aloud, friend; sing to this great sea. KAgthyL
This sea is fresh, is good, and sweet;
Tour sea is salt, and bad, unfit to drink.
This sea is like wine to drink for thirsty men;
The salt sea— bah 1 it makes men sick.
Lift up your heads, men, and gaze around;
Try if you can see its end.
See, it stretches moons away.
This great, sweet, fresh-water sea.
We come from Usukuma land.
The land of pastures, cattle, sheep and goats,
The land of braves, warriors, and strong men.
And, lol this is the far-known Usukuma sea.
Ye friends, ye scorned at us in other days.
Ah, ha! Wangwana. What say ye now?
Ye haye seen the land, its pastures and its herds.
Ye now see the &r-known Usukuma sea.
Eaduma's land is just below;
He is rich in cattle, sheep, and goats.
The Msun^ is rich in cloth and beads;
His hand is open, and his heart is free.
To-morrow the Msungu must make us strong
With meat and beer, wine and grain.
We shall dance and play the livelong day.
And eat and drink, and sing and play.
I have in the above (as Kteral a translation as I can
render it) made no attempt at rhyme — nor, indeed, did
the young, handsome, and stalwart Corypheus who
delivered the harmonious strains with such startling
effect. The song, though extemporised, was eminently
dramatic, and when the chorus joined in, it made the
hills ring with a wild and strange harmony. Re-ani-
mated by the cheerful music, we flung the flags to the
breeze, and filed slowly down the slopes towards the
fields of Kagehyi,
About half a mile from the villages we were surprised
by seeing hundreds of warriors decked with feathered
head-dresses and armed to the teeth, advancing on the
run towards us, and exhibiting, as they came, their
dexterity with bows and arrows and spears. They had
at first been alarmed at the long procession filing down
the hill, imagining that we were the ubiquitous Mirambo
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144
1875.
Feb. 27.
Kagehju
THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT
and his force, but, though discovering their error, they
still thought it too good an opportunity to be lost for
showing their bravery, and therefore amused us with
this byplay. Sungoro Tarib, an Arab resident at
Kagehyi, also despatched a messenger with words of
welcome, and an invitation to us to make Kagehyi
our camp, as Prince Kaduma, chief of Kagehyi, was
his faithful ally.
VIEW OF KAOEHTI FROM THE EDGE OF THE LAKE.
iFrom a photograph,)
In a short time we had entered the wretched-looking
village, and Kaduma was easily induced by Sungoro to
proffer hospitalities to the strangers. A small conical
hut about 20 feet in diameter, badly lighted, and with
a strong smell of animal matter — its roof swarmed with
bold rats, which, with a malicious persistence, kept
popping in and out of their nests in the straw roof, and
rushing over the walls — was placed at my disposal as
a store-room. Another small hut was presented to
Frank Pocock and Fred Barker as their quarters.
In summing up, during the evening of our arrival at
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WELCOMED AT KAQEHYL
H5
this rude village on the Nyanza, the number of statute
miles travelled by us, as measured by two rated pedo-
meters and pocket watch, I ascertained it to be 720.
The time occupied — from November 17, 1874, to
February 27, 1875, inclusive — was 103 days, divided
into 70 marching and 33 halting days, by which it will
VOL. I. — 10
1875.
Feb. 27.
Kegehyi.
FBAKK POCOCK. {From a photograph hy the Author at Kagehyi.)
be perceived that our marches averaged a little over 10
miles per day. But as halts are imperative, the more
correct method of ascertaining the rate of travel would
be to include the time occupied by halts and marches,
and divide the total distance by the number of days
occupied. This reduces the rate to 7 miles per diem.
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146 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT
Feb. 28.
Kagehyi.
CHAPTER VIT.
A burzah held — Paying off recraits — Eagehyi becomes a great trading
centre — A Central African "toper" — Prince Eadiuna — Hopes of
assistance from him relinqnish^ ~ The boat ready for sea — No
volunteers— Selecting my crew — The start for the circumnavigation
of Lake Victoria.
1875. We all woke up on the morning of the 28th February
With a feehng of intense rehef. There were no more
marches, no more bugle summons to rouse us up for
another fatiguing day, no more fear of hunger — at least
for a season.
We Europeans did not rise from bed until 8 a.m.,
and we then found the Wangwana and Wanyamwezi
still extended at their full lengths on their mats and
goat-skins, and peacefully reposing after their fatigues ;
and had I not finally sallied out into the open air at this
hour, I believe that Sungoro and Kaduma, who, by
the bye, were inseparable friends, would, from motives
of delicacy, have refrained from paying a morning
call, supposing that I should need many hours of
rest.
At 9 A.M. a burzahy or levee, was held. First came
Frank and Fred — now quite recovered from fever — to
bid me good morning, and to congratulate themselves
and me upon the prospective rest before us. Next came
the Wangwana and Wanyamwezi chiefs, to express
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Kng«hyi
ON THE GREAT LAKE. 147
a hope that I had slept well, and after them the bold 1875.
youths of the Expedition ; then came Prince Kaduma ^*^ ^^'
and Sungoro, to whom we were bound this day to
render an account of the journey and to give the
latest news from Zanzibar; and, lastly, the princess
and her principal friends — for introductions have to be
undergone in this land as in others. The burzah lasted
two hours, after which my visitors retired to pursue
their respective avocations, which I discovered to be
principally confined, on the part of the natives, to
gOMiiping, making or repairing fishing-nets, hatchets,
canoes, food-troughs, village fences, and huts, and on
the part of our people to arranging plans for building
their own grass-huts, being perfectly content to endure
a long stay at Kagehyi.
Though the people had only their own small domestic
affairs to engage their attentions, and Frank and Fred
were for this day relieved from duty, I had much to do
— observations to take to ascertain th«) position of
Kagehyi, and its altitude above the sea; to prepare
paper, pens, and ink for the morrow*s report to the
journals which had despatched me to this remote and
secluded part of the globe ; to make calculations of the
time Kkely to be occupied in a halt at Kagehyi, in
preparing and equipping the Lady Alice for sea, and
in circumnavigating the great " Nianja," as the Wasu-
kuma call the lake. It was also incumbent upon me
to ascertain the political condition of the country
before leaving the port and the camp, that my mind
might be at rest about its safety during my con-
templated absence. Estimates were also to be entered
upon as to the quantity of cloth and beads likely to be
required for the provisioning of the expeditionary
force during my absence, and as to the amount of
tribute and presents to be bestowed upon the King of
Uchambi — of which Kagehyi was only a small district,
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148 TUROVQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. and to whom Prince K^duma was only a subordinate
March 1. ^^^ tributary. In brief, my own personal work was
^* but begim, and pages would not suffice to describe in
detail the full extent of the new duties now devolving
upon me.
During the afternoon the Wasukuma recruits were
summoned to receive farewell gifts, and nearly all were
discharged. Then 13 doti of cloth were measured for
the King of Uchambi, and 10 doti for Prince Kaduma ;
and beads were also given in proportion — the expecta-
tions of these two magnates and their favourite wives
being thus satisfactorily realized. These grave affairs
were not to be disposed of as mere trivialities, and
occupied me many hours of our second day's life at
Kagehyi. Meanwhile the Wangwana and Wanyamwezi
required me to show my appreciatioh of their fidelity
to me during the march, and chiefs and men received
accordingly substantial tokens thereof. Besides new
cloths to wear, and beads to purchase luxuries, I was
expected to furnish them with meat for a banquet ; and
in accordance with their just wishes, six bulloclcs
were purchased and slaughtered for their benefit. In
addition to which, as a banquet would be rather tame
without wine for cheer, twenty gallons of pombi —
beer in a state of natural fermentation — ^were distri-
buted. To satisfy all which demands and expectations,
three full bales of cloth and 120 lbs. of beads were
disbursed.
On the evening of the second day, I was rewarded
for my liberality when I saw the general contentment,
and heard on all sides expressions of esteem and renewed
loyalty.
Nor were Frank and Fred forgotten, for I gave per-
mission for them to issue for themselves, each day while
in camp, four yards of cloth, or two fundo of beads, to
be expended as they thought fit, over and above ration
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KAGEETI BECOMES A TBABING CENTBE. 149
money. Small as this may seem, it was really equal 1875.
March 1-
Kagehyi.
to a gift of 4^. per day pocket money. Though they **"^*^^ ^"^
lived on similar food to that cooked for myself, I
observed that they chose to indulge in many things
which I could not digest, or for which I had no appe-
tite, such as ground-nuts, ripe bananas, plantains, and
parched green corn. Fred Barker was remarkably
partial to these things. This extra pocket-money
also served to purchase a larger quantity of milk, eggs,
chickens, and rice from the Wasukuma and Sungoro.
My daily fare at this time consisted principally of
chickens, sweet potatoes, milk, tea, and coffee. Pocock
and Barker varied this diet with rice, with which
Sungoro furnished them, and bread made of Indian
com and millet.
The village of Kagehyi, in the Uchambi district
and country of Usukuma, became after our arrival a
place of great local importance. It attracted an unusual
number of native traders from all sides within a radius
of twenty or thirty miles. Fishermen from Ukerewe,
whose purple hills we saw across the arm of the lake,
came in their canoes, with stores of dried fish ; those
of Igusa, Sima, and Magu, east of us in Usukuma,
brought their cassava, or manioc, and ripe bananas ;
the herdsmen of Usmau, thirty miles south of Kagehyi,
sent their oxen ; and the tribes of Muanza — famous
historically as being the point whence Speke first saw
this broad gulf of Lake Victoria — brought their hoes,
iron wire, and salt, besides great plenty of sweet
potatoes and yams.
Reports of us were carried far along the paths of
trade to the countries contiguous to tlie highways of
traffic, because we were in a land which had been,
from time immemorial, a land of gossip and primitive
commerce, and a small band of peaceful natives,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Kagehji.
150 TEBOUQE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. accustomed to travel, might explore hundreds of
*^^'^J^* square miles in Usukuma without molestation. But
though UnyanyemM, and through it Zanzibar, might
receive within a few months reliable information about
our movements, there were countries in the imme-
diate neighbourhood of Kagehyi whither traders never
venture, which were for ever cut off from the interesting
intelligence that there were three white men on the
shores of the lake, who were said to be most amiable
and sociable, Ujiji, far away on Lake Tanganika,
might be set to wondering whether they had come
from Masr (Cairo) or from Zanzibar, but Wirigedi,
close at hand here, on Speke Gulf, might still be in
profound ignorance of the arrival. Mtesa of Uganda
might prick his ears at the gratifying intelligence, and
hope they would soon visit him, while Ukara, though
only about twenty-five geographical miles from Kagehyi,
might be excluded for ever from discussing the strange
topic. The natives of Karagwe and their gentle king
might be greatly exercised in their minds with the
agreeable news, and wonder whether they, in their
turn, should ever see the white men, and yet Komeh,
300 miles nearer to us, might only hear of the wonder-
ful event years after our departure ! Thus it is that
information is only conveyed along the lines of trafiSc,
and does not filter into those countries which are
ostracized from common interests and events by the
reputed ferocity of their inhabitants and their jealous
hostility to strangers, even though they may actually
border upon the localities where those interests and
events are freely discussed.
Prince Kaduma, truth compels me to state^ is a true
Central African ** toper" — ^a naturally amiable man,
whose natural amiability might be increased to enor-
mous proportions, provided that it was stimulated
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A VICTIM TO POMBR 151
odless supplies of pombe. From perpetual indul- 1875.
e in liis favourite vice, he has already attained to ^Vt^'
blear-eyed, thick-tongued, hnsky-voiced state from
h only months of total abstinence can redeem a
In his sober moments — I cannot say hours —
h were soon after he rose in the morning, he pre-
id to manifest an interest in his cattle-yard, and to I
eeply alive to the importance of doing something
le way of business whenever opportunities offered:
ict, he would sometimes go so far as to say to his
dozen elders that he had something in view even k ,U I
— " but we must have a shauri first." Becoming ' ^
3dingly interested, the elders would invite him
3eak, and instantly assume that wise, thoughtful,
e aspect which you sometimes see in members
Parliament, Congress, Reichstag, Ac. **Ah, but,"
uraa would say, "does a man work when he is
^? Can he talk when he is thirsty?" The i ^1 |
's slily exchange winks and nods of approval,
vhich Kaduma bursts into a hoarse chuckle —
T a laugh — for Kaduma is remarkable for possess-
the conceit of humour. Others may laugh at
dry sayings, but he himself never laughs: he ;;
kles.
le great jar of froth-topped pomb^* is then brought [
y a naked youth of fourteen or fifteen years, who 1
[ceedingly careful to plant the egg-bottomed jar
[y in the ground lest it should topple over. Be-
it is conveniently placed Kaduma's favourite
king-cup, as large as a quart measure, and cut
)f a symmetrically shaped gourd. Kaduma is now
^d on a favourite low stool, and folds his greasy
ixi cloth about him, while the elders are seated on
)r side of him on wood chips, or axe handles,
^ Native beer, made from fermented grain or coarse flour.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Kagehji
152 THROUGH THE DAEK CONTINENT.
1875. or rocks. The foaming jar is ready, and the dusky
^kIm^tl G^a^y^ede attentive. Kaduma stretches out his hand
languidly — it is all affectation, for Kaduma is really»
thirsty — and Ganymede, with both hands, presents the
cup kneeling. The pombe being broached, the valves
of the " shauri " are opened. During the hour devoted
to the consumption of the pombe, Kaduma may be
said to be rational, and even interested in business.
Withal he is gay, light-hearted, and pleasant in conver-
sation; grand projects are hinted at; trading expedi-
tions even as far as Ujiji suggested ; a trip to Unyan-
yembe and Zanzibar appears to be in serious contem-
plation with him. But, alas! the pomb^ is ended.
Kaduma goes to sleep. At three o'clock he expands
again into a creature of intelligence. Two or three
pots are exhausted between 3 and 6 p.m., and finally
Kaduma reels to his cot like the inebriated sot he
really is. Alas ! for the virtues of a naturally intel-
ligent nature drowned by such intemperance ! Alas !
for the fine attributes of manhood conquered by vile
indulgences! Alas! for the brains muddled by such
impurities !
It will be apparent, then, that, though the Prince of
Kagehyi is a well-meaning and well-disposed creature,
he possessed an infirmity that rt;ndered him incapable
of rendering me that service which he had himself
suggested to me. He promised that he would accom-
pany me in my exploration of Lake Victoria ! It is to
be doubted, after acquiring such a knowledge of his
character, whether his intentions could be fulfilled.
Yet he informed me that he had visited Ukerewe,
Ururi, and Ugeyeya, and would, for a consideration,
place himself at my disposal. The consideration was
ready, but Kaduma, unfortunately for me, I saw, could
not be ready within a decade ! Hopes of his assistance
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FBINCE EADUMA. 153
and influence were therefore relinquished; and, since 1875.
the chief was not available, it became evident that none "^/
9f his people could be obtained for the service of ex-
ploration. Without this insight into Kaduma*8 life and
manners, it would have been a matter for fair specula-
tion whether his weakness and intemperance, or his
dread of the vast lake, were the real causes of his
reluctance to accompany me.
The prince was learned in the names of several
countries or villages — but which they were, I was then
ignorant. But if every name he repeated to my in-
terested ears were the names of real countries, then, I
began to think, it might be true, as he himself believed,
that the lake was so large that its exploration would
occupy years. Nearly all the Wangwana, while the
Lady Alice was being prepared for sea, were impressed
with the vastness of the enterprise, as Prince Kaduma,
his people, Sungoro, and his slaves — who had really
only reached Ururi — sketched it to them with their
superstitious and crude notions of its size. There were,
they said, a people dwelling on its shores who were
gifted with tails ; another who trained enormous and
fierce dogs for war ; another a tribe of cannibals, who
preferred human flesh to all other kinds of meat. The
lake was so large it would take years to trace its shores,
and who then at the end of that time would remain
alive ? Therefore, as I expected, there were no volun-
teers for the exploration of the Great Lake. Its
opposite shores, from their very vagueness of outline,
and its people, from the distorting fogs of misrepre-
sentation through which we saw them, only heightened
the fears of my men as to the dangers which filled the
prospect.
Within seven days the boat was ready, and strength-
ened for a rough sea life. Provisions of flour and dried
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154 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
]g75, fish, bales of cloth and beads of various kinds, odds
March 8. ^^(j ends of Small possible necessaries were boxed, and
^H^y^ji- she was declared, at last, to be only waiting for her
crew. " Would any one volunteer to accompany me ? **
A dead silence ensued. **Not for rewards and
extra pay ? ** Another dead silence : no one would
volunteer.
** Yet I must,** said I, " depart. Will you let me go
alone?"
" No.'*
** What then ? Show me my braves — those men
who freely enlist to follow their master roimd the sea.**
All were again dumb. Appealed to individually,
each said he knew nothing of sea life ; each man frankly
declared himself a terrible coward on water.
"Then, what am I to do?"
Manwa Sera said : —
** Master, have done with these questions. Command
your party. All your people are your children, and
they will not disobey you. While you ask them as a
friend, no one will offer his services. Command them,
and they will all go."
So I selected a chief, Wadi Safeni — ^the son of Safeni
— and told him to pick out the elect of the young men.
Wadi Safeni chose men who knew nothing of boat life.
Then I called Kacheche, the detective, and told him to
ascertain the names of those young men who were
accustomed to sea life, upon which Kach^ch^ informed
me that the young guides first selected by me at Baga-
moyo were the sailors of the Expedition. After reflect-
ing upon the capacities of the younger men, as they
had developed themselves on the road, I made a list
of ten sailors and a steersman, to whose fidelity I was
willing to entrust myself and fortunes while coasting
round the Victorian Sea.
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BPEKE QULF. 155
Accordingly, after drawing up instructions for Frank 1875.
Pocock and Fred Barker on about a score of matters ^•'^ ^
concerning the wellbeing of the Expedition during my ^ ' " •
absence, and enlisting for them, by an adequate gift, the
goodwill of Sungoro and Prince Kaduma, I set sail on
the 8th March 1875, eastward along the shores of the
broad arm of the lake which we first sighted, and
which henceforward is known, in honour of its first
discoverer, as ** Speke Gulf.**
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
150 TBHOUOH TEE DAMK CONTINENT:
CHAPTER VIII.
Afloat on the lake — We catch a guide — Saramha's terror — The
Shimeeyn — Pyramid Point — The island of Ukerew6— In the
haunts of crocodiles — Shizu Island — The hippopotami — TJruii —
The headlands of Goshi — Bridge Island — Volcanoes — U-go-weh —
The inehriates of Ugamha — Treachery at Maheta — Prhuitiye man
— The art of pleasing — A night at Uvuma — Mohhed by "Wavuma
— Barmecide fare — Message from Mtesa — '* In the Eabaka's name "
— Camp on Soweh Island.
1875. Afloat on the waters of Speke Gulf! The sky is
s krouif g^o^^y ^^d *^® h'ght grey water has become a dull
ashen grey ; the rocks are bare and rugged ; and the
land, sympathizing with the gloom above, appears
silent and lonely. The people sigh dolorously, their
rowing is as that of men who think they are bound
to certain death, and now and again wistful looks
are thrown towards me as though they expected an
order to return. Their hearts are full of misgivings.
Slowly, however, we move through the dull, dead
waters ; slowly we pass by the dull grey rocks of Lutari
Point, and still slower do the boatmen row when the
rugged rocks shut off the view of Kagehyi and front
them with their bare rude masses.
Five miles brought us to Igusa, a settlement doubtless
pleasant enough under a fair sky, but bearing this
afternoon its share of the universal gloom. Without a
guide or interpreter, we bore in for a little reed-lined
creek. A fisherman, with a head of hair resembling
a thick mop, came down to the boat. He had, it seems,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Igoia.
BABAMBA, THE GUIDE. 157
visited Kagehyi two or three days before, and recog- 1875.
nized us. A better acquaintance was soon begun, and ^^^^'
ended in his becoming captivated with our promises
of rewards and offering his services as guide. The
boatmen were overjoyed; for the guide, whose name
was Saramba, proved to have been one of Sungoro*s
boatmen in some of that Arab's trading excursions to
Ururi. We passed a cheerless night, for the reeds
turned out to be the hauut of a multitude of mos-
quitoes, and the air was cold. However, with Saramba
as guide, we promised ourselves better quarters in
future.
At 6 A.M., after Saramba*s appearance, we resumed
our voyage, and continued on our way eastward,
clinging to the shores of Sima. At 1 1 a.m. the clouds,
which had long been gathering over the horizon to the
north-west, discharged both squall and gale, and the
scene soon became wild beyond description. We
steered from the shore, and were soon involved in the
dreadful chaos of watery madness and uproar. The
wind swept us over the fierce waves, the Lady Alice
bounding forward like a wild courser. It lashed the
waters into spray and foam, and hurled them over the
devoted crew and boat. With a mere rag presented to
the gale, we drove unresistingly along. Strange islets
in the neighbourhood of Mashakka became then objects
of terror to us, but we passed them in safety and saw
the grey hills of Magu far in front of us. The boat-
men cowered to windward : Saramba had collapsed in
terror, and had resignedly covered his moppy head
with his loin-cloth. Zaidi Mganda, the steersman, and
myself were the only persons visible above the gun-
wale, and our united strengths were required to guide
the boat over the raging sea. At 2 p.m. we came in
view of the Shimeeyu river, and, steering close to the
little island of Natwari, swept round to leeward, and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
158 THROUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. through a calm water made our way into harbour,
^^ ^^* opposite the entrance to the river.
** The next day was beautiful. The wild waters of
yesterday were calm as those of a pond. The bold
hills of Magu, with all their sere and treeless outlines,
stood out in fine relief. Opposite them, at about
1300 yards distant, were the brush-covered tops of the
Mazanza heights ; while between them lay glittering
the broad and noble creek which receives the tribute
flood of the Shimeeyu, the extreme southern reach of
Nile waters. The total length of the course of this
river, as laid out on the chart, is 3'JO miles, which
gives the course of the Nile a length of 4200 miles:
thus making it the second largest river in the world.
The creek extends to a considerable distance, and then
contracts to a width of about 400 yards, through which
the Monangah, after uniting with the Luwamberri
and the Duma rivers, discharges its brown waters,
under the name of the Shimeeyu, into the lake.
After an examination of these features, we continued
our journey along the coast of Mazanza, which forms
the eastern shore of the bay of Shimeeyu, passing
by the boldly rising and wooded hills of Manassa.
At 4 P.M. we attempted to land in a small cove, but
were driven away by a multitude of audacious hippo-
potami, who rushed towards us open-mouthed. Per-
ceiving that they were too numerous and bold for us,
we were compelled to drop our stone anchors in 40 feet
of water, about two miles from shore.
On the 11th March, after rowing nearly the whole
day against a head-wind, we amved at the eastern end
of Speke Gulf, which here narrows to about seven miles.
On the southern side, Manassa extends from Mazanza,
its coast-line marked by an almost unbroken ridge
about two miles inland, varied here and there by
rounded knolls and hills, from whose base there is a
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
PYRAMID POINT. 159
gradual slope covered with woods down to the water s 1875.
edge. The eastern end of the gulf is closed by the land ^^'^^Jn^i^*
of the Wirigedi or, as Saramba called them, the Wajika. Point.
At the north-eastern end begins Shahshi, consisting of
a group of sterile hills, which, as we proceed west along
the north side of the gulf, sink down into a naked plain.
The Euana river empties itself into the head of the gulf
by two narrow mouths through a low wooded shore.
On the 12th we continued to coast along Shahshi*s
low, bare plain, margined at the water's edge by eschi-
nomen», and a little farther inland lined by mimosa,
thence past Iramba, a similar country to Shahshi, until
we reached Pyramid Point, so christened from the
shape of its hills, but on running up into the bay
(which has its greatest width at Rugedzi Strait), we
found that* Pyramid Point really forms the south-
western end of a mountain-range. One of the most
conspicuous objects we saw, as we stood on the uplands
of Usmau, looking towards the N.N.E., was this
Pyramid Point, but at that time we had, of course,
only a dim idea of its neighbourhood to the lake.
Near the Point is a group of small islands, the
principal being Kitaro, on which cattle and goats are
found. Though the islanders obtain but a scanty sub-
sistence from the soil, they find reason to congratulate
themselves in that they are safe from the periodical
raids made by the Wajika, or Wirigedi, a tribe un-
pleasantly distinguished for the length of their knives
and the breadth and weight of their spears. On one
of this group, which was iminhabited, we stayed to
cook our mid-day meal. It appeared fair and pleasant
enough from without — one mass of deepest verdure,
with a cone rising about 100 feet above the lake.
Upon exploring it, we found it to be a heap of gigantic
rocks, between which the deposit of vegetable matter
had given birth to a forest of young trees, the spread-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Nifnah.
160 THROUQE THB DARK CONTINENT.
1875. ing green foliage of which was rendered still more
Mnrch 13. impervious to sunshine by a multitude of parasitical
plants and llianes, which had woven the whole into as
thick and dense a shade as I ever remember to have
seen. Below this mass of tangled branch and leaf the
thermometer descends to 70^ Fahr. ; without, exposed
to the blazing sun, it ascends to 115® Fahr.
In the evening we camped on a small island in the
middle of the bay of Dkerew^, east of the beautiful isle
of Nifuah, which is inhabited and is the home of an
industrious colony subject to the king of XJkerew^.
From the summit of Nifuah we could distinguish
the tall trees which gave shade to our camp and to
Kaduma*s village of Kagehyi, across Speke Gulf. Upon
coming down to the water's edge, we saw nothing but
the blue hills, 600 feet high, situated three miles south
of Kagehyi ; nor, turning our eyes to the north, could
we see any tiling of the low shore which the Rugedzi
Channel cuts. Standing close to the water at Nifuah,
we would have imagined that Ukerewe was an island
separated by a strait about two miles broad; but
turning our boat to the north, a couple of hours' rowing
brought us so near that we could see that the opposing
point of the mainland is joined to the island, or
appears to be joined, by a very low bush-covered neck
of land a mile in width, which thus separates the waters
of Speke Gulf from the great body of Lake Victoria.
A still closer examination, however, reveals the fact
that this narrow neck is cut by a shallow channel,
6 feet wide and in some places only 3 feet deep. The
ground, though extremely low on each side, is firm and
compact enough ; but here and there it is of a boggy
nature. Hence it will be seen that Captain Speke,
who called Ukerewe an island, was literally correct
On the 13th we enjoyed a fine six-knot breeze, and
were able to make a good day s work, though we still
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Ukwya.
IN TEE HAUNTS OF CBOCODILES. 161
clung to the shore of XJkerew^ near enough to note 1875.
clearly the features of the water-line. A glance at *'*^i^'
the country of XJkerewe showed it to he exceedingly
populous and extensively cultivated. From Matembe
to Tambuyah extends a bold ridge about 300 feet
above the lake, and beyond this point is a deep indenta-
tion, called Ukwya, near the western horn of which we
perceived a group of islets named Kiregi. These are
the haunts of an immense number of crocodiles, and
one nest discovered here contained fifty-eight eggs.
At almost every step I took, when walking round one
of the reed-lined islets, a specimen of the ugly Saurian
tribe sprang with a startling rush into the lake. There
appeared also to be as many monitors as there were
crocodiles in this infested islet, and all round me, from
the little creeks, and sometimes in very close proximity,
lowed the hippopotami. I shot one of the monitors,
and it measured 7 feet from the tip of the snout to the
tip of the tail. One of the boat's crew skinned it, but,
not having means or time to preserve it, we were
finally compelled to abandon our treasure. Being
extremely keen-eyed and agile in its movements, the
monitor is a valuable auxiliary to the more indolent
crocodile, which it wakes frequently from slumber, and
by its impetuous rush at sight of the intruder saves it
from becoming a prey to the hunter. In return for its
services the greater monster furnishes it with many a
delicious meal on its eggs. The enormous number of
smaller lizards, skinks, and geckos, which these islets
also sustain, prove that the monitors have abundant
means of supplies.
From here we sailed round the coast of Wiru, and
leaving about four miles on our left the Kuneneh
group, we steered N.N.W. Mag. for the Irangara
Islands, at the north-western extremity of Ukerewe,
the shore presenting to our view throughout only a low
VOL. I. — 11
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
162 THBOUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. hill range clothed with woods. Leaving Irangara
* shi*^ ^* behind us, we emerged in view of the vast amplitude,
as though of ocean, of the Victoria Nyanza.*
After sailing past the Kamassi and Kindevi islets,
we rounded the hilly point of Masonga, and beheld on
our right, as far as Shizu Island, a broad bay, bounded
by a crescent-shaped ridge springing some 300 feet
above the lake, and extensively wooded, while on our
left lay the large and populous island of XJkara —
peopled by an intensely superstitious colony, who
cherish the most devout faith in cbarms and witchcraft.
As we rowed past Shizu Island, we beheld the table-
topped mountain of Majita rising, massive and grand, to
the eastward. On the 16th March we encamped on
one of the bird-rocks about three miles from the base
of Majita, which rises probably between 2000 and 3000
feet above the lake. From the northern angle of
Majita we sailed, on a north-east course for the district
of Wye, across a deep bay distinguished only for the
short hill range of Usambara, between which, on either
side, extends the low and almost treeless plain of
Shahshi to the waters of Speke Gulf.
From Wye we coasted along populous Ururi. The
country appears well cultivated, and villages are
numerous. Some of the Waruri fishermen informed
us we should be eight years circumnavigating the lake !
Numerous rocky islands, almost all uninhabited at this
period, stud the neighbourhood of the mainland, and
the coast is so indented with deep bays and inlets that
it requires very careful attention to survey it. Its
features are similar to those of Usukuma, namely,
swelling and uneven lines of hills, sometimes with
* Out of respect to the memory of Captain Speke, I leaye the word
Nyanza as he spelled it, adding only the explanation that none but the
Arabs and Wangwana pronounce it N'yanza. AH the native tribes and
nations round the lake pronounce it either Nee-yonja or Nee-yanza«
Niyanja or Niyanza.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
March 17
Urari,
AMONG THE HIPPOPOTAMI 163
slopes extending for three or fonr miles, more often, 1875,
as in the case of nearly all the headlands, with points
springing abrupt and sheer from the water's edge.
Wherever the ridges rise gradually and at a distance
from the lake, special advantajres for cultivation appear
to obtain, for I have noted that all such sites were
thickly populated by the tribes of Ururi, XJkerew^,
Sima, Magu, or Uchambi. A few of the Burdett-Coutts
Islands exhibited traces of having been the resort
of fugitives, for on several of them we discovered
bananas and other garden plants, and ruined huts.
We struck across the bay to Ikungu, and thence across
another to picturesque Dobo, nearly opposite Irieni.
Having arrived at anchorage at dusk, we were led
to seek shelter under the lee of one of the outlying
rocks of Dobo. We had moored both by bow and
stem, to prevent being swept by the restless surf
against the rocks, but about midnight a storm arose
from the eastward, exposing us to all its fury. We
were swept with great force against the rocks, and
should inevitably have been lost, had not the oars,
which we had lashed outside the boat as fenders, pro-
tected it Through the pelting rain, and amid tho
thunders of the aroused waves which lashed the reef,
we laboured strenuously to save ourselves, and finally
succeeded in rowing to the other lee.
Externally, the aspect of these islands on the coast
of Ururi is very rugged, bare, and unpromising, but
within are many acres of cultivable soil covered with
green grass, and the hippopotami, which abound in the
neighbourhood of these deserted, grassy islands, here
find luxurious pasturage. Like the tribes on the main-
land, these amphibiae appear to possess also their re-
spective boundaries and their separate haunts. The
hippopotami of Lake Victoria, moreover, are an exces-
sively belligerent species, and the unwary voyager, on
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
164 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. approaching their haunts, exposes himself to danger.
Warch 18. Yf^ were frequently chased by them ; and as the boat
tioD uund. was not adapted for a combat with such pachyderms,
a collision would have been fatal to us. The settlements
at Irieni possess large herds of cattle, but the soil
does not seem to be highly cultivated. In this respect
the people appear to resemble in character the Watusi
in Unyamwezi, who live only on the milk of their
cattle, and such grain as they are enabled to obtain
by its sale.
Suspecting, after leaving Irieni and approaching
Mori Bay, that a river of considerable importance
emptied into it, we paid particular attention to every
indentation on its uneven coast ; but on arriving at a
lofty though small island at the eastern extremity, and
climbing to its summit, 150 feet above the lake, we
saw that the river was small, and that its course was
from south of east. Observation Island was rich in
plants, though only a few hundred yards in length,
The wild pine-apple, mimosas, acacia, thorn, gum,
vines, euphorbias, eschinomenae, llianes, water-cane,
and spear-grass flourished with a luxuriance quite
astonishing. As we passed Utiri, we observed thai
the natives were much interested in our boat, and
some fishermen whom we encountered fell into ecstasies
of laughter when they saw the novel method we
adopted for propelling her. They mocked us good-
naturedly, and by their gestures seemed to express
contempt for the method in question, as not being
equal to paddling. The rudder and its uses also ex-
cited unusual astonishment, and when the sail was
hoisted, they skurried away as though it were an objecl
of terror.
After leaving the hilly coast of Utiri, the lowlands
of Shirati and Mohuru rose into view, and the blacl
mountain mass of Ugeyeya appeared to the eastward a1
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A LAND OF VOLCANOES. 165
the distance of about twenty miles. To the west of it, 1875.
grim and lofty, loomed the island of Ugingo. Clusters ^«''<^** 20.
of grey, rocky islets stud the lake along the coast of "*"*
Shirati, while from the water's edge, to a distance of
five or six miles, an uninteresting plain, unenlivened
by forest or verdure, slopes slowly up to where the
land breaks into groups and masses of irregular hills.
This continues to the mouth of a river which the
natives called Gori, and which terminates the country
of Ururi. On the right bank of the river begins
mountainous Ugeyeya, the south-western extremity of
which runs out into the lake like a promontory.
Gori is an important and powerful river during the
rainy season. It is said to rise in a north-easterly
direction near Kavi. Far inland on the east, to a dis-
tance of twenty-five days' journey, the country is re-
ported to be a continuous plain, dotted with low hills
and containing water only in pools. About fifteen
days' journey from the lake, the natives also report a
iregion wherein are ** low hills which discharge smoke
and sometimes fire from their tops." This district is
called Susa. and is a portion of the Masai Land. All
concurred in stating that no stream runs north, but
that all waters for at least twenty days' journey enter
the lake. Beyond that distance lies a small lake which
discharges a stream eastward— supposed by me to be
the Pangani.
On the 21st March we were passing under the lee
— for the wind blew then from the north-east, off
the land^-of the dark headlands of Goshi, which at
first rise steeply from the lake 900 feet and, later,
receding from the lake, attain a height of from 2000
to 3000 feet. On our left towered the tall, tree-clad
island of Ugingo, extending far to the north-west.
Thin blue columns of smoke rising from the depths of
its woods announced the presence of man, probably
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
166
THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875.
March 21.
Goshi.
fishermen or fugitives from the mainland. Judging
from what I observed of the slopes of this extremity of
Ugeyeya, I should say that much of this portion is
uninhabited. Rounding the point that confronts the
island of Ugingo, we passed between two more unin-
habited islands, and then the dome-like hills of Wakuneh
burst upon our view. Our impression of the land on
this side was that it was a pastoral country, and more
thickly populated, for smoke curled more frequently
from above depressions and sheltered positions.
BBmGE ISLAND.
At evening we camped on Bridge Island, so named
from a natural bridge of basaltic rock which forms
an irregular arch of about 24 feet in length by about
12 feet in depth, and under which we were able to pass
from one side of the island to the other. The island
is covered with brush-wood and tall grass, and in the
interstices of the rocks, where the vegetable deposit
was of great depth, grew several fine mangroves.
The height is about 50 feet above the lake, and from
its summit we obtained a fine view of Ugingo Island,
brooding in its gloomy solitude, and of the steep and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
''U'QChWEW 167
high ranges of Ugeyeya, with the level plains of I875.
Wagansu and Wigassi extending eastward. To the ^^l^^^
west stretched an apparently boundless sea, its face
ruffled by a strong breeze, and farther northward still
loomed upward unknown lands, their contour broken
now by rounded domes and again by sharp cones.
The number of islands encountered next day proved
so troublesome to us that we were compelled to
creep cautiously along the shore. As we neared
Nakidimo, we observed the water change from its usual
clear grey colour to that of a rich brown, and, seeing
a creek close by, felt fully assured that we had dis-
covered some important river. As we .entered, the
creek widened, and disclosed picturesque features of
outlined hill and wooded slope. We pulled steadily
to its further extremity, but the stream which entered
liere was small, and oozed through a reedy marsh.
We endeavoured for an hour to induce a canoe with
three fishermen in it to approach, but all we could
make out from Saramba, who, I fear, did not under-
stand them, was that the name of the country was
TJgoweh, which sounded so like You go *way that I
declined accepting it, until the natives shouted out
still more clearly and emphatically, ** U-go-weh.'* It
was evident, however, that these natives spoke a lan-
guage that our guide from the south did not quite
comprehend. We continued our keen inspection of the
numerous indentations from TJgoweh (?) to Nakidimo
Creek, int,o which an important stream debouches.
The hippopotami were numerous, and as bold as those
of Speke Gulf.
Emerging once more into the lake, we anchored
about a mile from the shore in 6 fathoms, and found
that there was a current of about half a knot setting
westward. At 2 p.m. we hoisted sail, and with a fair
wind were able to hug the mainland and make good
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
168 THROUGH THB DARK CONTINENT.
1875. progress, within view of a very populous and exten-
^mIk* ^' siv^ly cultivated shore. This was the land of Maheta,
we were told, and the same which we had sighted from
the summit of Bridge Island. We flew away with a
bellying sail along the coast of Maheta, where we
saw a denser population and more clusters of large
villages than we had beheld elsewhere. We thought
we would make one more effort to learn of the nativ^es
the names of some of these villages, and for that pur-
pose steered for a cove on the western shore. We
anchored within 50 yards, and so paid out our cable
that only a few feet of deep water separated us from the
beach. Some half-dozen men wearing small land-shells
above their elbows and a circle of them round their heads
came to the brink. With these we opened a friendly
conversation, during which they disclosed the name of
the country as " Mahata " or " Maheta " in Ugeyeya ;
but more they would not communicate unless we would
land. We prepared to do so, but the numbers on the
shore increased so fast that we were compelled to pull
off again until they should moderate their excitement
and make room. They seemed to think we were about
to pull off altogether, for there suddenly appeared out of
the bush on each side of the spot where we had intended
to land such a host of spears that we hoisted sail, and
left them to try their treachery on some other boat
or canoe more imprudent than ours. The discomfited
people were seen to consult together on a small ridge
behind the bush lining the lake, and no doubt they
thought we were about to pass close to a small point at
the north end of the cove, for they shouted gleefully
at the prospect of a prize; but lowering sail, we
pulled to windward, far out of the reach of bow or
sling, an<i at dusk made for a small island to which we
moored our boat, and there camped in security.
From our little island off Maheta, we sailed at the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Maroh 24.
llanyara.
PRIMITIVE MAN. 169
dawn of day towards the low shores, and were making ^1875.
good progress, when we bumped over the spine of a
rising hippopotamus, who, frightened by this strange
and weighty object on his back, gave a furious lunge,
and shook the boat until we all thought slie would be
shaken to pieces. The hippo, after this manifestation
of disgust, rose a few feet astern, and loudly roared his
defiance; but after experiencing his great, strength, we
rowed away hard from his neighbourhood.
About 10 A.M. we found ourselves abreast of the
cones of Manyara, and discovered the long and lofty
promontory which had attracted our attention ever since
leaving Maheta to be the island of XJsuguru, another,
though larger, copy of Ugingo. Through a channel
two miles broad we entered the bay of Manyara,
bounded on the east by the picturesque hills of that
country, on the north by the plain of Ugana, and on
the west by Muiwanda and the long, narrow promontory
of Chaga. This bay forms the extreme north-east
corner of Lake Victoria, but strangers, travelling by
land, would undoubtedly mistake it for a separate lake,
as Usuguru, when looked at from this bay, seems to
overlap the points of Cliaga and Manyara.
About six miles from the north-eastern extremity
of the bay, we anchored on the afternoon of the 24th
March, about 100 yards from the village of Muiwanda.
Here we found a people speaking the language of Usoga.
A good deal of diplomacy was employed between the
natives and ourselves before a friendly intercourse was
established, but we were finally successful in inducing
the natives to exchange vegetable produce and a sheep
for some of the blue glass beads called Mutunda,
Neither men nor women wore any covering for their
nakedness save a kirtle of green banana-leaves, which
appeared to me to resemble in its exceeding primitive-
ness the fig-leaf coatume of Adam and Eve. The men
■'o
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Ufurch 25,
Chaga.
170 THBOUOH TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875^^ were distinguished, besides, by the absence of the upper
and lower front teeth, and by their shaven heads,
on which were left only irregular combs or crescents
of hair on the top and over the forehead. While
we were negotiating for food, a magnificent canoe,
painted a reddish brown, came up from the western
side of the village, but, despite the loud invita-
tions tendered to them, the strangers kept on their
way, and proceeded up the bay of Manyara.
On the 25th, refreshed by the meat and vegetables
we had purchased, we began our voyage along the
northern coast of Lake Victoria, and, two hours later,
were in conversation with the natives of Chaga or
Shaga, who informed us that Murambo, king of Usu-
guru, was also king of Chaga. I am unable to decide
whether Chaga is a promontory or an island, but I
believe that there is a narrow channel navigable for
canoes (of the same nature as the Rugedzi* Channel)
separating Chaga from the mainland. Between its
southern point and Usuguru Island, there is a strait
about three-quarters of a mile wide, through which we
passed to Fisherman's Island, where we rested for our
noonday meal. At 2 p.m. we arrived, after an hour's
rowing, near Ngevi Island, and when close to it,
we were compelled to take shelter from a furious
nor'-wester.
We had been at anchor scarcely ten minutes before
we saw a small canoe, paddled by two men, boldly
approach us from the shore of Ugamba, distant about a
mile and a half on our right or to the east of us. In
our mildest accents we hailed them, and, after a pro-
tracted interval emplo3'ed by them in curiously scan-
ning us, they permitted us to hear the sound of their
voices. But nothing would induce them to come nearer
* Bngedzi is the name of the narrow channel which separates Ukerew^
from the mainland.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE INEBRIATES OF UQAMBA. 171
I about 100 yards. In the midst of these vain 1875.
rts to win their confidence, a canoe similar in form ^"^"^^ ^*
colour to that which had won our admiration at
wanda advanced towards us. A false prow projected
'^ard, curving in the shape of a bent elbow, from the
of which to the top of the bow of the canoe was
ng a taut line, and along this was suspended some
grass, which waved like a mane as she charged
bold and confident, propelled by forty paddlers.
f of this number, who were seated forward, sprang
when they came within 60 yards, and, seizing
f tufted lances and shields, began to sway them
lacingly. As we made no demonstration of resist-
3, they advanced cautiously, and when within
^rards, swerved aside, wheeling round us in a defiant
e.
inally we broke silence, and demanded who they
e, and why they came up as though they would
ck us. As they did not understand either King-
la, Kisukuma, or Kinyamwezi, one of my boatmen
rapted Kiganda, a little of which they appeared to
erstand ; and by this means we opened a conversa-
. They edged towards us a little nearer, and ended
ranging their long canoe alongside of our boat.
• tame, mild manners were in striking contrast to
r bullying, overbearing, and insolent demeanour.
I paddlers, half of whom were intoxicated, laid
r hands with familiar freedom upon everything.
still smiled, and were as mild and placable as
agh anger and resentment could never enter our
rts. We were so courteous, indeed, that we per-
ted them to handle our persons with a degree of
tdom which to them appeared unaccountable — unless
were so timid that we feared to give offence. If
had been so many sheep, we could not have borne a
ier or a more innocent aspect. Our bold friends.
NgeTi
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
172 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. reeling and jostling one another in their eagerness to
March 25. ^ff^j^j^ selzed their spears and shields, and began to
^* chant in bacchanalian tones a song that was tipsily
discordant. Some seized their slings and flung stones
to a great distance, which we applauded. Then one of
them, under the influence of wine, and spirits elated
by the chant, waxed bolder, and looked as though he
would aim at myself, seated observant but mute in the
stem of my boat. I made a motion with my hand as
though deprecating such an action. The sooty villain
seemed to become at once animated by an hysteric
passion, and whirled his stone over my head, a loud
drunken cheer applauding his boldness.
Perceiving that they were becoming wanton through
our apparently mild demeanour, I seized my revolver
and fired rapidly into the water, in the direction the
stone had been flung, and the efiect was painfully
ludicrous. The bold, insolent bacchanals at the first
shot had sprung overboard, and were swimming for
dear life to Ngevi, leaving their canoe in our hands.
** Friends, come back, come back; why this fear?"
cried out our interpreter ; ** we simply wished to show
you that we had weapons as well as yourselves. Come,
take your canoe; see, we push it away for you to
seize it.*' We eventually won them back with smiles.
We spoke to them sweetly as before. The natives
were more respectful in their demeanour. They
laughed, cried out admiringly; imitated the pistol
shots ; " Boom, boom, boom," they shouted. They then
presented me with a bunch of bananas ! We became
enthusiastic admirers of each other.
Meantime, two more large canoes came up, also bold
and confident, for they had not yet been taught a lesson.
These new-comers insisted that we should visit their
king Kamoydah. We begged to be excused. They
became still more urgent in their request We said it
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
WE GIVE THEM THE SLIP. 173
was impossible ; they were strangers, and not very well 1875.
behaved ; if they wished to barter with us, they could ^^''''^ ^^*
load their canoes and come to Ngevi, where we would ^*^'
be happy to exchauge beads or cloth for their articles.
Three other canoes were now seen approaching. We
sat, however, extremely still, patient, and placable,
and waited for them. The united voices of the 130
natives made a terrible din, but we endured it with
saintly meekness and the fortitude of stoics — for a
period. We bore the storm of entreaties mixed with
rude menaces until instinct warned me that it was
becoming dangerous. I then delivered some instruc-
tions to the boat's crew, and, nodding to the shore,
affected to surrender with an indifferent grace. They
became suddenly silent. We lifted the stone anchor,
and took to our oars, steering to the broken water,
ruffled by the nor'-wester, beyond the shelter of the
island, convoyed by the six canoes. We accompanied
them some hundreds of yards, and then, suddenly
hoisting sail, swept by them like an arrow. We pre-
ferred the prospect of the lone watery expanse to the
company of the perverse inebriates of Ugamba.
We continued sailing for half an hour, and as it was
then near sunset, dropped anchor in 75 feet of water.
The wind, which had swept in strong gusts from the
north-west, suddenly fell, for in the north-east the
aspect of the sky had long been threatening. Clouds
surged up in thick masses from that direction, and
cast a gloom over the wood-clothed slopes and crests of
Usuguru, which became almost as black as a velvet
pall, while the lake grew as quiet as though vitrified
into glass. Soon the piled up cloud-mass grew jagged,
and a portentous zigzag line of deep sable hue ran
through its centre, from which the storm seemed to
issue. I requested the crew to come farther afk, and,
fastening a double rope to the stone anchor, prepared
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
NgeTL
174 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. every mug and baler for the rain with which we were
^K^lf^ threatened. The wind then fell, as though from above,
upon our bowed heads with an overpowering force,
striving against the resistance which it met, as if it
would bear us down to the bottom of the lake, and
then, repelled by the face of the water, it brushed it
into millions of tiny ripples. The temperature fell to
62^ Fahr., and with this sudden cold down dropped a
severe shower of hailstones of great size, which pelted
us with great force, and made our teeth chatter. After
this the rain fell in sheets, while the lightning blazed,
preceding the most dreadful thunder-claps I remember
to have ever heard.
The rain, indeed, fell in such quantities that it
required two men for each section to keep the boat
sufficiently buoyant to ride the crest of the waves.
The crew cried out that the boat was sinking — that, if
the rain continued in such volume, nothing could save
us. In reply, I only urged them to bale her out faster.
The sable mass of Usuguru — as I observed by the
bars of intense light which the lightning flashed almost
every second — was still in front, and I knew, there-
fore, that we were not being swept very fast to sea.
Our energies were wholly devoted to keeping our poor
pelted selves afloat, and this occupied the crew so much
that they half forgot the horrors of the black and dis-
mal night. ' For two hours this experience lasted, and
then, unburdening our breasts with sighs of gladness not
unmixed with gratitude, we took our anchor on board,
and stole through the darkness to the western side of
Ngevi Island, where, after kindling a fire, we dried
our clothes and our wetted bodies, and, over a hot
potful of Liebig, afiected to laugh at our late critical
position.
In the morning the world appeared re-born, for the
sky was a bluish crystal, the shores looked as if fresh
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE ART OF PLEASING. 176
painted in green, the lake shone like burnished steel, ists.
the atmosphere seemed created for health. Glowing ^""^ ^^;
witii new life, we emerged out of our wild arbour of ^"^^^^
cane and mangrove to enjoy the glories of a gracious
heaven, and the men relieved their grateful brea^ats by
chanting loudly and melodiously one of their most
animating boat-songs.
As we rowed in this bright mood across the bay of
Ugamba, we noticed a lofty mount, which I should
judge to be fully 3000 feet above the lake, towards the
north-east. From the natives of Usamu Island, we
obtained the name of Marsawa for this the most con-
spicuous feature of the neighbourhood. After ob-
taining a clear meridian altitude, on a small island
between Usamu and Namungi, we steered for the
latter. The art of pleasing was never attempted with
such eflfect as at Namungi. Though we had great
difficulty in even obtaining a hearing, we persisted in
the practice of the art with all its amusing variations,
until our perseverance was finally rewarded. A young
fisherman was despatched to listen from the shore, but
the young wretch merely stared at us. We tossed into
his canoe a bunch of beads, and he understood their
signification. He shouted out to his fellows on the
shore, who were burning with curiosity to see closer
the strange boat and strange crew, amongst whom they
saw a man who was like unto no man they had ever
seen, or heard, or dreamed of.
A score of canoes loaded with peaceful, harmless
souls came towards us, all of whom begged for beads.
When we saw that they could be inspired to talk, we
suggested to them that, in return for food, abundance
of beads might be obtained. They instantly raced for
the banana and plantain groves in great excitement.
We were so close that we could hear the heavy clusters
falling under the native machetes, and within a short
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
176 THBOUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. time SO many bunches were held out to us that we
March 26. jjjjgj^^ have sunk under the waves had we purchased
^^ all. After storing a sufiBdent quantity to provision us
for three days, of bananas, fowls and eggs, and sweet
maramba or banana wine, and eliciting the names of
the various islands, capes, and most prominent hills, we
attempted to resume our journey. But the people,
upon whom our liberality had produced too strong an
effect, would not permit us to do so until we had further
celebrated our acquaintance with copious draughts of
their delicious wine. The Wangwana would have been
delighted to have exhausted many days in such a fasci-
nating life, but the coast of the Victoria was lengthy,
the winds not always favourable, and we had a large
number of friends in XJsukuma who might become rest-
less, were we too long absent. We therefore set sail,
convoyed a long distance by about thirty canoes,
manned by light-hearted, guileless creatures in an ex-
treme state of erjjoyment and redundant hilarity.
This was altogether a remarkable scene ; our ex-
ploring boat, with its lug-sail set, dragging about thirty
canoes, whose crews were all intoxicated, and whose
good-nature was so excessive as to cause them to supply
our boat's crew with copious quantities of their wine,
imtil all were in an uncommonly joyous mood. It
would be well worth describing in detail, but I am
compelled to be brief. After sailing in company a few
miles, we finally freed ourselves from our hospitable
entertainers, and, steering across the channel to the
island opposite Neygano, coasted along its well-wooded
shores. Perceiving a deep bay farther west, we entered
it, and near the extreme eastern end of Uvuma anchored
about 150 yards off the village of Mombiti.
Had we been better acquainted with the character of
the Wavuma, we probably should have been less inclined
to visit their shores, but, ignorant of their ferocity, and
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A NIQET AT UVUMA. 177
zealous to perform our duties, we persevered in attempt- 1875.
ing to open intercourse with this tribe. We were, ^*'^*'^^^'
however, prudent enough not to rush into danger by
tating it for granted that most savages were a guile-
less, amiable set, who would never dream of injuring
or molesting strangers — and this circumspection most
likely saved our lives.
After a few minutes* distant conversation, the Wa-
vnma approached us, and we were enabled to purchase
fuel for cooking, making a liberal payment We hoped
they would be induced to sell us food also, not that we
were really in need of it, but because it furnished us
with another motive for continuing our intercourse,
and enlarged our opportunities for studying their nature
and habits, and obtaining names for the localities around.
We had numerous visitors, who appeared to be fine",
manly, well-made fellows, but nothing would induce
them to bring the smallest quantity of food for sale.
We therefore resignedly forbore from troubling them,
but inspected them with as much interest as they in-
spected us. They were evidently people with abundant
self-confidence, from the cool complacency with which
they regarded us. Their canoes were beautiful speci-
mens, and descriptions and pictures of them will be
given hereafter. The shores were bold, irregular in
outline, and clothed with a luxuriance of vegetation
and many tall trees, between which were seen the
banana groves, their pale green colour strongly con-
trasting with the darker tints of the forest foliage.
The night that followed was wild. At sunset the
temperature fell to 70^ Fahr., and the wind was charged
with a cold drizzle. Being in rather an exposed posi-
tion, wo moved our anchorage near the mouth of the
Munulu river, and not a minute too soon, for the wind
increased to a gale ; and the gale, heralded by a short-
lived squall, brought hailstones with it. Preparing
VOL. I. — 12
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178 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. to pass the night here, we covered the boat with a sail,
March 27. ^^^^p which the sailors slept, though the watch, fre-
**" ' quently relieved, was obliged to maintain a strict look-
out. Throughout the long hours of darkness, the gale
maintained its force; the boat pitched and groaned,
and the rain fell in torrents; the seas frequently tossed
capfuls of water into us, so that, under such circum-
Btances, we enjoyed no rest.
By morning the gale had subsided, and the heavy,
sluggish waves were slumbering. After waiting to
cook our morning meal, and assisting the restoration
of animal heat with draughts of Liebig's extract
liquefied, we resumed our journey along the Bouthem
coast of Uvuma about 8 a.m.
Upon leaving the bay of Mombiti, we were com-
pelled to pass by a point of land closely covered with
tall grass, whither we saw a large force of natives rush
to take up advantageous positions. As we slowly
neared the point, a few of them advanced to the rocks,
and beckoned us to approach nearer. We acceded so
far as to approach within a few feet, when the natives
called out something, and immediately attacked us with
large rocks. We sheered oflF immediately, when a
crowd emerged from their hiding-place with slings,
with which they flung stones at us, striking the boat and
wounding the steersman, who was seated next to me.
To prevent further harm, I discharged my revolver
rapidly at them, and one of the natives fell, whereupon
the others desisted from their attack, and retreated into
the grass, leaving us to pursue our way unmolested.
Again edging close to the shore, we continued our
investigations of the numerous indentations. The island
rose with steep, grassy, treeless slopes to a height of
about 300 feet above the lake. Herds of cattle were
abundant, and flocks of goats grazed on the hillsides.
The villages were many, but unenclosed, and consisted
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MOBBED BT WAVUMA. 179
of a few dome-like huts, from which we inferred that 1875.
the Wavuma were a people who could well defend them- ^"^^'^s.
selves. At this time the lake was as still as a pond ; no
clouds hung over any part of the horizon ; the sky was
of a steel-blue colour, out of which the sun shone with
true tropical fervour. But the atmosphere was not
clear ; a li^ht vapour rose out of the lake, trembling in
the heat, rendering islands but five miles distant dim
and indistinct.
Arrived in the channel between the tawny, grass-
clad island of Bugeyeya and that of Uvuma, we steered
midway, that we might take compass bearings. From
a small cove in the Uvuma shores, abreast of us, emerged
quite a fleet of canoes, thirteen in number. The more
advanced held up a handful of sweet potatoes to our
view, and we ceased rowing, but left the sail hoisted,
which, with the very slight breeze then blowing, drifted
us westward about half a knot an hour.
The Wavuma were permitted to range alongside, and
we saw that they were fully armed with spear and
shield. We offered several kinds of beads for the
potatoes they had offered to sell, but with a gesture
of contempt they refused everything, and from their
actions and manner we became soon convinced that
they had manned their canoes for other purposes than
barter ; besides, they possessed only about twenty po-
tatoes, which, singularly enough, were all in the first
canoe. Strange to say, also, the men of the first canoe
were, though disinclined to sell, moderate in their be-
haviour; but their temper changed as soon as their
comrades had arrived, and had taken up their positions
in front of our boat, blocking her progress through the
water. The Wavuma, now emboldened by their num- •
hers, waxed noisy, then insolent, and finally aggres-
sive. They seized one thing after another with a
cunning dexterity, which required all our attention
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180 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. to divine their purposes ; and while we were occupied
March 28 ^j^]^ ^^iQ truculcut rabble in our front, a movement
of which we were unaware was being made success-
fully at the stern ; but the guide, Saramba catching
sight of a thief, warned me to cast my eyes behind,
and I detected him in' the act of robbery. Becoming
assured by this time that the Wavuma had arrived
in such numbers for the sole purpose of capturing
what appeared to them an apparently easy prey, and
that their manoeuvres were evidently intended to
embarrass us and distract our attention, I motioned
them to depart with my hand, giving orders at the
same time to the boat's crew to make ready their oars.
This movement, of necessity, caused them to declare
their purposes, and they manifested them by audaciously
laying their hands on the oars, and arresting the
attempts of the boat's crew to row. Either we were
free or we were not. If yet free men, with the power
to defend our freedom, we must be permitted to con-
tinue our voyage on the sea without let or hindrance.
If not free men, we had first to be disarmed. I
seized my gun, and motioned them again to depart.
With a loud, scornful cry they caught up their spears
and shields, and prepared to launch their weapons.
To be saved, we must act quickly, and I fired over
their heads; and as they fell back from the boat, I
bade my men pulj away. Forming a line on each
side of us, about 30 yards off, they flung their spears,
which the boat's crew avoided by dropping into
the bottom of the boat. The canoes astern clapped
their hands gleefully, showing me a large bunch of
Mutunda beads which had been surreptitiously ab-
stracted from the stern of the boat. I seized my
repeating rifle and fired in earnest, to right and left.
The fellow with the beads was doubled up, and the
boldest of those nearest to us was disabled. The big rifle,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Eiwm.
BARMECIDE FABK 181
aimed at the water-liae of two or three of the canoes, 1875.
perforated them through and through, which compelled ^'"^^^^
the crews to pay attention to their sinking crafts, and
permitted us to continue our voyage into Napoleon
Channel and to examine the Ripon Falls.* On an un-
inhabited point of Usoga, near the falls, we encamped ;
and on the 29th March crossed the channel, and coasted
along Uganda between numerous islands, the largest
of which are densely inhabited.
At Kiwa Island we rested for the day, and were
received with the greatest cordiality by the chief, who
sent messengers to the island of Kerenge, a distance
of three miles, to purchase bananas and jars of maramba
wine, for the guest, as he said, of the Kabaka Mtesa.
As it was the first time for twenty-two days that we
had lived with natives since leaving Kagehyi we cele-
brated, as we were in duty bound, our arrival among
friends.
The next day, guided and escorted by the chief,
we entered Ukafu, where we found a tall handsome
young Mtongoleh in command of the district, before
whom the chief of Kiwa Island made obeisance as
before a great lord. The young Mtongoleh, though pro-
fessing an ardent interest in us, and voluble of pro-
mises, treated us only to Barmecide fare after waiting
twenty-four hours. Perceiving that his courtesies,
though suavely proffered, failed to satisfy the cravings
of our jaded stomachs, we left him still protesting
enormous admiration for us, and still volubly assuring
us that he was preparing grand hospitalities in our
honour.
I was staggered when I understood in its full ex-
tent the perfect art with which we had been duped.
* A more detailed account of this part of the lake will be giyco in
later chapters, as I paid throe yisits to the Bipon Falls, and during
the third Tisit photographed them.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
182 THROUGH THE LARK CONTINENT.
1875. •* Could this be Central Africa," I asked myself,
AprUi. w^ijerein we find such perfect adepts in the art of
deception? But two days ago the savagery of the
land was intense and real, for every man's hand was
raised in ferocity against the stranger. In the land
next adjoining we find a people polite, agreeable, and
professing the warmest admiration for the stranger,
but as inhospitable as any hotel-keeper in London
or New York to a penniless guest ! ''
At a little village in the bay of Buka we discovered
we were premature in our judgment The Mtongoleh
at this place invited us to his village, spread out before
us a feast of new as well as clotted milk, mellow and
ripe bananas, a kid, sweet potatoes, and eggs, and
despatched a messenger instantly to the Kabaka Mtesa
to announce the coming of a stranger in the land,
declaring, at the same time, his intention not to
abandon us until he had brought us face to face with
the great monarch of Equatorial Africa, in whom, he
smilingly assured us, we should meet a friend, and under
whose protection we might sleep secure.
We halted one more day to enjoy the bounteous fare
of the chief of Buka. My admiration for the land
and the people steadily increased, for I experienced
with each hour some pleasing civility. The land was
in fit accord with the people, and few more interesting
prospects could Africa furnish than that which lovingly
embraces the bay of Buka. From the margin of the
lake, lined by waving water-cane, up to the highest
hill-top, all was verdure — of varying shadea The light
green of the elegant matete contrasted with the deeper
tints of the various species of fig; the eatin-sheeny
fronds of the graceful plantains were overlapped by
clouds of the pale foliage of the tamarind ; while between
and around all, the young grass of the pastured hill-
sides spread its emerald carpeU In free, bold, and yet
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MTESA'a ME88ENQEB. 183
graceful outline, the hills shut in the scene, swelling 1875.
upward in full dome-like contour, here sweeping round ^J*^^
to enclose within its hollow a gorgeous plantain grove,
there projecting boldly into abrupt, steep headlands, and
again receding in a succession of noble terraces into
regions as yet unexplored by the white man. One
village had a low pebbly beach, that ran in a sinuous
light-grey line between the darker grey face of the
lake and the living perennial green of a banana plan-
tation. I imagined myself fallen into an estate which
I had inherited by right divine and human, or at least
I felt something akin to that large feeling which heirs
of unencumbered broad lands may be supposed to feel,
and attributed such an unusual feeling to an attack of
perfect digestion, and a free, unclogged, and undisturbed
liver.
On the 2nd April we proceeded, in an amiable,
light-hearted mood, the favourites both of men and
nature, along the beautiful shore separating Buka Bay
from Eadzi Bay, and halted about noon at the village
of Earudo, where we experienced hospitalities similar
to those of the day previous. We purposely made our
voyages short, in order that the Kabaka might be in-
formed in time of our coming.
Just as we were about to depart next morning, we
saw six beautifiil canoes, crowded with men, coming
round a point, and for a very short period were under
the impression that they composed another piratical
fleet on its way to intercept us, but on surveying them
with my glass I saw that several who were seated amid-
ships were dressed in white, like the Wangwana, and
our Waganda guides, among whom was our hospitable
entertainer of Buka, informed us that they were the
Kahakas people. As they approached us, the commander
was seen arraying himself for the occasion. He donned
a bead-worked head-dress, above which long white
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
184 TEBOUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. cock's feathers waved, and a snowy white and long
^K^l' haired goat-skin, while a crimson robe, depending from
his shoulders, completed the full dress.
In the middle of the bay of Kadzi we encountered,
and a most ceremonious greeting took place. The
commander was a fine lusty young man of twenty or
thereabouts, and after springing into our boat he knelt
down before me, and declared his errand to the fol-
lowing effect : —
" The Kahaka sends me with many salaams to you.
He is in great hopes that you will visit him, and has
encamped at Usavara, that he may be near the lake when
you come. He does not know from what land you
have come, but I have a swift messenger with a canoe
who will not stop until he gives all the news to the
Kahaka. His mother dreamed a dream a few nights ago,
and in her dream she saw a white man on this lake
in a boat coming this way, and the next morning she
told the Kabaka^ and, lo ! you have come. Give me your
. answer, that I may send the messenger. Twiyanzi-
yanzi-yanzi ! *' (Thanks, thanks, thanks.)
Whereupon, as the young commander, whose name
was Magassa, understood Kiswahili, I delivered the
news to him and to his people freely and frankly;
and after I had ended, Magassa translated what the in-
formation was into Kiganda, and immediately the mes-
senger departed. Meanwhile Magassa implored me to
rest for this one day, that he might show me the hospi-
tality of his country, and that I might enter the Kahaka s
presence in good humour with him. Persuaded also by
my boat's crew to consent, we rowed to the village of
Kadzi. Mngassa was in his glory now. His voice
became imperious to his escort of 182 men; even the
feathers of his curious head-dress waved prouder, and
his robe had a sweeping dignity worthy of a Roman
emperor's. Upon landing, Magassa*s stick was employed
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
'm TEE KABAKA'8 NAMEr
185
uently. The sub-chief of Kadzi was compelled to
d implicit obedience to his viceregal behests.
Bring out bullocks, sheep, and goats, milk, and the
lowest of your choicest bananas, and great jars of
•amba, and let the white man and his boatmen eat,
taste of the hospitalities of Uganda. Shall a white
I enter the Kalxikas presence with an empty belly ?
how sallow and pinched his cheeks are. We want to
whether we cannot show him kindness superior to
it the pagans have shown him."
'wo bullocks and four goats, a basketful of fat mel-
bananas, and four two-gallon jars of maramba,
e then brought before us, to which extraordinary
nty the boat's crew did ample justice. Nor were
escort of Magassa without supplies. The coimtry
at their mercy. They killed three bullocks for
nselves, cut down as many bananas as they wished,
made a raid on the chickens, in accordance with
yassa's serene and gracious permission to help them-
es.
A wonderful land ! ** 'I thought, ** where an entire
ntry can be subjected to such an inordinate bully
vain youth as this Magassa, at the mere mention
ihe Kabaka^s name, and very evidently with the
^xika8 sanction!" Uganda was new to us then.
were not aware how supreme the Kahaka^s
bority was; but a painful suspicion that the vast
Qtry which recognised his power was greatly abused,
. grieving that the poor people had to endure such
gh treatment for my sake, I did my best to prevent
gassa from extorting to excess.
?he next day we sallied from Kadzi Bay, with Ma-
sa's escort leadingthe way. We crossed Bazzi Bay,
n the middle of which we gained a view of old
^aganzi's Hill, a square tabular mount, from the
imit of which Magassa said we should see the whole
1875.
April 3,
KadiU
Digitized by
1
186 TEROUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. of Murchison Bay and Rubaga, one of the Kabakas
/^w^ capitals. About 10 a.m. we rounded Muvwo Point,
Bay. and entered Murcbison Bay. The entrance is about
four miles wide, and naturally guarded by Linant
Island, a lofty, dome-shaped island, situated between
the opposing points of Muvwo and Umbiru. Upon
leaving Muvwo south of us, we have a fall view of this
fine body of water, which reaches its extreme width
between Soweh Island and Ukumba. This, the farthest
reach of its waters west is about ten miles across, while
its extreme length, from Linant Island to the arm of
Monyono Bay, where Mtesa keeps his favourite canoes,
cannot be less than fourteen miles.
We camped, according to Magassa's wish, behind
Soweh Island, on the east side of Murchison Bay,
whence, the next day, we were to start for Usavara,
the KcdnikoLS hunting village.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
SFPROACEINQ V3A7ABA.
187
CHAPTER IX.
1 extraordinary monarch — I am examined — African "chaff" — Mtesa,
Emperor of Uganda — Description of Mtesa — A nayal reyiew —
Arriyal at the imperial capital — Mtesa's palace — Fascination of the
country — I meet a white man — Col. Linant de Bellefonds — The
process of oonTersion — A grand mission field — A pleasant day with
GoL de Bellefonds — Starting for my camp.
IB little insight we obtained into the manners of ists,
yanda between Soweh Island, Murchison Bay, and ^^^^^^
Lwa Island, near Ukafu Bay, impressed us with the Bay*
Mciousness that we were about to become acquainted
th an extraordinary monarch and an extraordinary
ople, as different from the barbarous pirates of
mma, and the wild, mop-headed men of Eastern
;ukuma, as the British in India are from their Afridi
low-subjects, or the white Americans of Arkansas
>m the semi-civilized Choctaws. If politeness could
govern the actions of the men of Kiwa Island, far
noved as they were from contact with the Uganda
art, and suave duplicity could so well be practised
the Mtongoleh of Ukafu, and such ready, ungrudg-
j hospitality be shown by the chief of Buka, and the
ibaJcas orders be so promptly executed by Magassa,
3 messenger, and the chief of Kadzi, what might
> not expect at the court, and what manner of man
ght not this " Kabaka " be !
Such were our reflections as Magassa, in his superb
Qoe, led the way from behind Soweh Island, and his
^
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I
188 TEBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. little slave dmmmed an accompaniment to the droning
April 5. ^jj^yj^ q£ Jj jg canoe-men.
Compared with our lonely voyage from our camp at
Usukuma round all the bays and inlets of the much-
indented coasts of the Great Lake, these five snperb
canoes forming line in front of our boat, escorting us
to the presence of the great potentate of Equatorial
Africa, formed a scene which promised at least novelty,
and a view of some extraordinary pomp and ceremony.
When about two miles from Usavara, we saw what
we estimated to be thousands of people arranging them-
selves in order on a gently rising ground. When
about a mile from the shore, Magassa gave the order to
signal our advance upon it with fire-arms, and was
at once obeyed by his dozen musketeers. Half a mile
off I saw that the people on the shore had formed
themselves into two dense lines, at the ends of which
stood several finely dressed men, arrayed in crimson
and black and snowy white. As we neared the beach,
volleys of musketry burst out from the long lines.
Magassa's canoes steered outward to right and left,
while 200 or 300 heavily loaded guns announced to all
around that the white man — whom Mtesa's mother had
dreamed about — had landed. Numerous kettle and bass
drums sounded a noisy welcome, and flags, banners, and
bannerets waved, and the people gave a great shout.
Very much amazed at all this ceremonious and pom-
pous greeting, I strode up towards the great standard,
near which stood a short young man, dressed in a
crimson robe which covered an immaculately white
dress of bleached cotton, before whom Magassa, who
had hurried ashore, kneeled reverently, and turning to
me begged me to understand that this short young
man was the Katekiro. Not knowing very well who
the "Katekiro** was, T only bowed, which, strange to
say, was imitated by him, only that his bow was far
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I PASS MY EXAMINATIOK. 189
more profound and stately than mine. I was perplexed, 1875.
confused, embarrassed, and I believe I blushed inwardly ^^^^ **
at this regal reception, though I hope I did not
betray my embarrassment.
A dozen well-dressed people now came forward, and
grasping my hand declared in the Swahili language
that I was welcome to Uganda. The Katekiro motioned
with his head, and amid a perfect concourse of beaten
drums, which drowned all conversation, we walked
side by side, and followed by curious thousands, to a
courtyard, and a circle of grass-thatched huts suiTOund-
ing a larger house, which I was told were my quarters.
The Katekiro and several of the chiefs accompanied
me to my new hut, and a very sociable conversation
took place. There was present a native of Zanzibar,
named Tori, whom I shortly discovered to be chief
drummer, engineer, and general jack-of-all-trades for the
Kabaka. From this clever, ingenious man I obtained
the information that the Katekiro was the prime
minister or the Kabaka^s deputy, and that the titles of
the other chiefs were Chambarango, Kangau, Mkwenda,
Seke-bobo, Kitunzi, Sabaganzi, Kauta, Saruti. There
were several more present, but I must defer mention of
them to other chapters.
Waganda, as I found subsequently, are not in the
habit of remaining incurious before a stranger. Hosts
of questions were fired off at me about my health, my
journey, and its aim, Zanzibar, Europe and its people,
the seas and the heavens, sun, moon, and stars, angels
and devils, doctors, priests, and craftsmen in general ;
in fact, as the representative of nations who "know
everything,'* I was subjected to a most searching ex-
amination, and in one hour and ten minutes it was
declared unanimously that I had "passed.** Forth-
with, after the acclamation, the stately bearing
became merged into a more friendly one, and long
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Usay&ra.
190 TEBOUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. thin, nervous black hands were pushed into mine
iwll enthusiastically, from which I gathered that they ap-
plauded me as though I had won the honours of a
senior wrangler. Some proceeded direct to the Kabaka
and informed him that the white man was a genius,
knew everything, and was remarkably polite and
sociable, and the Kabaka was said to have " rubbed his>
hands as though he had just come into the possession
of a treasure."
The fruits of the favourable verdict passed upon
myself and merits were seen presently in fourteen fat
oxen, sixteen goats and sheep, a hundred bunches of
bananas, three dozen fowls, four wooden jars of milk,
four baskets of sweet potatoes, fifty ears of green
Indian corn, a basket of rice, twenty fresh eggs, and
ten pots of maramba wine. Kauta, Mtesa s steward or
butler, at the head of the drovers and bearers of these
various provisions, fell on his knees before me and
said : —
** The Kabaka sends salaams unto his friend who has
travelled so far to see him. The Kabaka cannot see
the face of his friend until he has eaten and is satisfied.
The Kabaka has sent his slave with these few things
to his friend that he may eat, and at the ninth hour,
after his friend has rested, the Kabaka will send and
call for him to appear at the burzah. I have spoken.
Twiyanzi-yanzi-yanzi !'*
I replied suitably, though my politeness was not
80 excessive as to induce me to kneel before the
courtly butler and thank him for permission to say I
thanked him.
My boat's crew were amazed at this imperial bounty,
which provided more than a bullock apiece for each
member of my following. Saramba, the mop-headed
guide from Usukuma, was requested to say what he
thought of the Kabaka^ who gave bullocks and goats
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UsaTara,
AFRICAN '^ chaff:' 191
in proportion as the Usukuma chief gave potatoes 1875.
to his guests. Saramba's wits were all this time under t^^}^^
\ cloud. He was still dressed in the primitive goatskin
jf his country, as greasy and dingy as a whaling cook's
pan-cloth — the greasiest thing I ever saw. He was
stared at, jeered, and flouted by the courtly, cleanly
pages of the court, who by this time had taken such
keen and complete mental inventories of my features,
traits, and points of character as would have put to
shame even a Parisian newsmonger.
" What land is this undressed pagan from ? " asked
the pages, loud enough for poor Saramba to hear.
" Eegard the pagan's hair," said another.
" He had better not let the Kahaka see him/* said a
third.
" He is surely a pagan slave — ^worth about a goat,**
remarked a fourth.
" Not he. I would not buy him for a ripe banana,*'
ventured a fifth.
I looked up at Saramba, and half fancied that he paled.
Poor Saramba ! ** As soon as they are gone, off
goes that mop, and we will dress you in white cloth,**
said Safeni, the coxswain, compassionately.
But Baraka, one of the boatmen, an incorrigible
scoffer, said, " What is the use ? If we give him cloth,
will he wear it ? No ; he will roll it up and tie it with
a piece of string, and save it for his mammy, or sell it
in Usukuma for a goat**
To my surprise the boatmen endeavoured to impress
the fact on Saramba's mind that the Kahaka was a
special personal friend of theirs ; that all these cattle,
goats, and fowls were the Kanaka's usual gifts to Wan-
gwana, and they endeavoured, with a reckless disregard
for accuracy, to enumerate fabulous instances of his
generosity to a number of other Safenis, Sarbokos,
Barakas, and Zaidis, all natives, like themselves, of
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192 TUEOUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Zanxzihar. Let Englishmen never henceforth indulge
Apni5. jjj ^jj^ illusion, or lay the flattering unction to their
** ' self-love, that they are the only people who have
studied the art of ^ chaff." The 2^anzibaris are perfect
in the art, as the sordid barharian Saramha discovered
to his cost.
The ninth hour of the day approached. We had
bathed, brushed, cleaned ourselves, and were prepared
externally and mentally for the memorable hour when
we should meet the Foremost Man of Equatorial Africa.
Two of the KaJ)aka's pages, clad in a costume semi-
Kingwana and semi-Kiganda, came to summon us — the
Kingwana part being the long white shirt of Zanzibar,
folded with a belt or band about the loins, the Kiganda
part being the Soliari doti cloth depending from the
right shoulder to the feet. ** The Kabaka invites you
to the burzah,** said they. Forthwith we issue from
our courtyard, five of the boat's crew on each side
of me armed with Snider rifles. We reach a short
broad street, at the end of which is a hut. Here the
Kahaka is seated with a multitude of chiefe, Wakungu *
and Watongoleh, ranked from the throne in two opposing
kneeling or seated lines, the ends being closed in by
drummers, guards, executioners, pages, &c. &c. As
we approached the nearest group, it opened, and
the drummers beat mighty sounds, Tori's drumming
being conspicuous from its sharper beat. The Foremost
Man of Equatorial Africa rises and advances, and all
the kneeling and seated lines rise — generals, colonels,
chiefs, cooks, butlers, pages, executioners, &c. &a
The Kabaka^ a tall, clean-faced, large-eyed, nervous-
looking, thin man, clad in a tarbush, black robe, with a
white shirt belted with gold, shook my hands warmly
and impressively, and, bowing not ungracefully, invited
• Waknngu is the plural of mkungu, a rank equivalent to " general"
Watongoleh is the plural of mUmgoUh, or " colonel*
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Usarara.
MTESA, EMPEROR OF UGANDA. 193
) be seated on an iron stool. I waited for him to ists.
the example, and then I and all the others seated -^p"^^
Ives.
) first took a deliberate survey of me, which I
ned with interest, for he was as interesting to me
ivas to him. His impression of me was that I was
ger than Speke, not so tall, but better dressed.
I gathered from his criticisms as confided to his
8 and favourites.
7 impression of him was that he and I would
ue better acquainted, that I should make a convert
m, and make him useful to Africa — but what other
essions I had may be gathered from the remarks
)te that evening in my diary : —
js I had read Speke's book for the sake of its geographical infor-
L, I retained bnt a dim remembrance of his description of his life in
a. If I remember rightly, Speke described a youthfol prince, vain
artless, a wholesale murderer and tyrant, one who delighted in
men. Doubtless he described what he saw, but it is far from being
ate of things now. Mtesa has impressed me as being an
;ent and distinguished prince, who, if aided in time by virtuous
thropists, will do more for Central Africa than fifty years of Gospel
ig, unaided by such authority, can do. I think I see in him the
:hat shall lighten the darkness of this benighted region ; a prince
orthy the most hearty sympathies that Europe can give him. In
an I see the possible fruition of Livingstone's hopes, for with his
3 civilization of Equatorial Africa becomes feasible. I remember
■dour and love which animated Livingstone when he spoke of
tu ; had he seen Mtesa, his ardour and love for him had been ten-
nd his pen and tongue would have been employed in calling aU
aen to assist him."
ve days later I wrote the following entry : —
see that Mtesa is a powerful Emperor, with great influence over
ighbours. I have to-day seen the turbulent Mankorongo, king of
Emd Mirambo, that terrible phantom who disturbs men's minds in
iwezi, through their embassies kneeling and tendering their tribute
L I saw over 3000 soldiers of Mtesa nearly half civilized. I saw
a hundred chiefs who might be classed in the same scale as the
)i Zanzibar and Oman, clod in as rich robes, and armed in the
ElEishion, and have witnessed with astonishment such order and
I is obtainable in semi-civilized countries. All this is the result
VOL. I. — 13
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I
k
194 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. ^^ ^ P^^ Muslim's labour; his name is Muley bin Salim. He it ^
April 5. who first began teaching here the doctrines of Islam. False a:
Usarara. contemptible as these doctrines are, they are preferable to the ruthk
instincts of a savage despot, whom Speke and Grant left wallowl
in the blood of women, and I honour the memory of Mnley bin Sali
— Muslim and slave-trader though he be — the poor priest who h
wrought this happy change. With a strong desire to improve st
more the character of Mtesa, I shall begin building on the foundati<
stones laid by Muley bin Salim. I shall destroy his belief in Islam, a]
teach the doctrines of Jesus of Nazareth."
It may easily be gathered from these entries that
feeling of admiration for Mtesa must have begxm vei
early, and that either Mtesa is a very admirable mai
or that I am a very impressionable traveller, or th;
Mtesa is so perfect in the art of duplicity and act€
so clever a part, that I became his dupe.
The chief reason for admiration lay, probably, in tl
surprise with which I viewed the man whom Speke ha
beheld as a boy — and who was described by him throug
about two hundred pages of his book as a vaii
foolish, peevish, headstrong youth and a murderoi
despot — sedate and composed in manner, intelligent i
his questions and remarks beyond anything I expecte
to meet in Africa. That 1 should see him so we
dressed, the centre of a court equally well dressed an
intelligent, that he should have obtained supremac
over a great region into which moneyed strangers ar
soldiers from Cairo and Zanzibar flocked for the sal
of its supreme head, that his subjects should speak <
him with respect, and his guests, so far as I coul
gather, honour him, were minor causes, which, I ventui
to consider, were sufficient to win my favourable judj
ment. That he should have been so royally liberal i
his supplies to me, have proffered other courtesies i
a tone of sincerity, and have appeared to me a kindl
friendly soul, who affected all the dignity of one wl
entertains a vast respect for himself and his positic
without affronting or giving wanton offence to thoi
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
DESCRIPTION OF MTE8A. 195
around him who also have wants, hopes, and self-respect, 1875.
may also be offered as reasons which contributed not a t7^^^ ^'
little towards creating a favourable impression on me.
I am aware that there are negrophobists who may
attribute this conduct of Mtesa to a natural gift for
duplicity. He is undoubtedly a man who possesses
great natural talents, but he also shows sometimes the
waywardness, petulance, and withal the frank, exuberant,
joyous moods, of youth. I will also admit that Mtesa
can be politic^ as, indeed, future pages will show, but he
has also a child's unstudied ease of manner. I soon
saw that he was highly clever, and possessed of the
abilities to govern, but his cleverness and ability lacked
the mannerisms of a European's.
Whether or no I became Mtesa's dupe will be seen
in the chapters on Uganda. Meanwhile, he appeared to
me to be a generous prince and a frank and intelligent
man, and one whose character was well worth studying
for its novel intensity and extreme originality, and also
as one whom I judged could be made to subserve
higher ends than he suspected he was fashioned for.
I met his friendly advances with the utmost cordiality,
and the burzah concluded at sunset, with the same cere-
mony that had inaugurated it, leaving Mtesa and myself
mutually pleased and gratified with our acquaintance.
A description of Mtesa's person was written in my
diary on the third evening of my visit to him, from
which I quote : —
" A^^ 7. — In person Mtesa is tall, probably 6 feet 1 inch, and slender.
He has very intelligent and agreeable features, reminding me of some of
the faces of the great stone images at Thebes, and of the statues in the
museum at Cairo. He has the same fulness of lips, but their grossness
is relieved by the general expression of amiability blended with dignity
that pervades his face, and the large, lustrous, lambent eyes that lend it
a strange beauty, and are typical of the race from which I believe him
to have sprung. His colour is of a dark red brown, of a wonderfully
smooth surface. When not engaged in council, he throws off unre-
servedly the bearing that characterizes him when on the throne, and
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196 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. ^^^ '^^ ^ ^^ humonr, indulging in hearty peals of laughter. He
April 7. seems to be interested in the discussion of the manners and customs of
Dsaran. European courts, and to be enamoured of hearing of the wonders of
civilization. He is ambitious to imitate as much as lies in his power
the ways of the white man. When any piece of information is given him,
he takes upon himself the task of translating it to his wives and chiefs,
though many of the latter understand the Swahili language as well as he
does himself."
On this day I recorded an interesting event which
occurred in the morning. Mtesa, about 7 a.m., sallied
out of his quarters, accompanied by a host of guards,
pages, standard bearers, fifers, drummers, chiefs, native
guests, claimants, &c., and about two hundred women
of his household, and as he passed by my courtyard, he
sent one of his pages to request my presence. While
he passed on, I paid some attention to my toilet, and
made as presentable an appearance as my clothes-bag
enabled me, and then, accompanied by two of my boat's
crew as gunbearers, followed the court to the lake.
Mtesa was seated on an iron stool, the centre of a large
group of admiring women, who, as soon as I appeared,
focussed about two hundred pairs of lustrous, humid
eyes on my person, at which he laughed.
" You see, * Stamlee,* " said he, ** how my women
look at you ; they expected to see you accompanied
by a woman of your own colour. I am not jealous
though. Come and sit down."
Presently Mtesa whispered an order to a page, who
sprang to obey, and responding to his summons, there
darted into view from the bend in Murchison Bay
west of TJsavara forty magnificent canoes, all painted an
ochreous brown, which I perceived to be the univer-
sally favourite colour. En passant^ I have wondered
whether they admire this colour from an idea that
it resembles the dark bronze of their own bodies.
For pure Waganda are not black by any means.
The women and chiefs of Mtesa, who may furnish the
best specimens of Waganda, are nearly all of a bronze
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A NAVAL REVIEW. 197
or a dark reddish brown, with peculiar smooth, soft i875.
skins, rendered still more tender and velvety to the ^^^ ^*
touch by their habit of shampooing with butter. Some
of the women, I observed, were of a very light red-gold
colour, while one or two verged on white. The native
cloths — ^the national dress — which depended from the
right shdulders of the larger number of those not
immediately connected with the court were of a light
brown also. It struck me, when I saw the brown skins,
brown robes, and brown canoes, that brown must be
the national colour.
These forty canoes, which now rode on the calm
grey-green waters of Murchison Bay, contained in the
aggregate about 1200 men. The captain of each canoe
was dressed in a white cotton shirt and a cloth head-
cover, neatly folded turban fashion, while the admiral
wore over his shirt a crimson jacket, profusely decorated
with gold braid, and on his head the red fez of Zanzibar.
Each captain, as he passed us, seized shield and spear,
and, with the bravado of a matador addressing the
Judge of the Plaza to behold his prowess, went through
the performance of defence and attack by water. The
admiral won the greatest applause, for he was the
Hector of the fleet, and his actions, though not remark-
ably graceful, were certainly remarkably extravagant.
The naval review over, Mtesa commanded one of the
captains of the canoes to try and discover a crocodile
or a hippopotamus. After fifteen minutes he returned
with the report that there was a young crocodile asleep
on a rock about 200 yards away. "Now, Stamlee,"
said Mtesa, *'show my womeJi how white men can
shoot." To represent all the sons of Japhet on this
occasion was' a great responsibility, but I am happy
to say that — ^whether owing to the gracious influence
of some unseen divinity who has the guardianship of
their interests or whether from mere luck — I nearly
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198 TEROUOE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. severed the head of the young crocodile from its body
April 10. ^^ ^j^Q distance of 100 yards with a three-ounce ball,
**^^*^ an act which was accepted as conclusive proof that all
white men are dead shots.
In the afternoon we amused ourselves with target
practice, at which an accident occurred that might
have produced grave results. A No. 8 double-barrelled
rifle was fractured in Mtesa's hands at the second
shot, but fortunately without injuring either him or
the page on whose shoulders it rested. General alarm
prevailed for a short time, until, seeing that it was
about to be accepted as a b«nd omen, I examined the
rifle and showed Mtesa an ancient flaw in the barrel,
which his good sense perceived had led to the fracture.
The gun was a very old one, and had evidently seen
much service.
On the 10th of April the court broke up its hunting
lodges at Usavara, on Murchison Bay, and moved to the
capital, whither I was strongly urged to follow. Mtesa,
escorted by about two hundred musketeers and the great
Wakungu and their armed retainers, travelled quickly ;
but owing to my being obliged to house my boat from
the hot sun, I did not reach the capital until 1 p.m.
The road had been prepared for his Imperial
Majesty's hunting excursion, and was 8 feet wide,
through jungle and garden, forest and field. Beautiful
landscapes were thus enjoyed of rolling land and placid
lake, of gigantic tamarinds and gum-trees, of extensive
banana groves and plantations of the ficus, from the bark
of which the national dress, or mhugu^ is made. The
peculiar dome-like huts, each with an attempt at a por-
tico, were buried deep in dense bowers of plantains which
filled the air with the odour of their mellow rich fruit.
The road wound upward to the summits of green hills
which commanded exquisite prospects, and down again
into the sheltered bosoms of woody nooks, and vales,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE IMPERIAL CAPITAL.
199
id tree-orabowered ravines. Streams of clear water imr^
urmured through these depressions, as they flowed '^'^^/*^'
wards Murchison Bay. The verdure was of a ^ ^
illiant green, freshened by the unfailing rains of the
c[uator ; the sky was of the bluest, and the heat, though
•eat, was tempered by the hill breezes, and frequently
T the dense foliage overhead.
Within three hours' march from Usavara, we saw the
,pital crowning the summit of a smooth rounded hill —
large cluster of tall conical grass huts, in the centre
' which rose a spacious, lofty, barn-like structure,
he large building, we were told, was the palace ! the
11, Rubaga ; the chister of hute, the imperial capital !
From each side of the tall cane fence enclosing the
*ass huts on Rubaga hill radiated very broad avenues,
iperial enough in width. Arriving at the base of the
11, and crossing by a *' corduroy " road over a broad
imy ooze, we came up to one of these avenues, the
round of which was a reddish clay strongly mixed
ith the detritus of hematite. It gave a clear breadth
• 100 feet of prepared ground, and led by a gradual
icent to the circular road which made the circuit of
le hill outside the palace enclosure. Once on the
3me-like height, we saw that we had arrived by the
ick avenue, for the best view of this capital of magni-
3ent distances was that which was obtained by looking
om the burzah of the palace, and carrying the
jB over the broad front highway, on each side of
hich, as far as could be defined from the shadows of
le burzah, the Wakungu had their respective courts
ad houses, embowered in gardens of banana and
^. Like the enclosure round the palace courts and
uarters, each avenue was fenced with tall maiete
w'ater cane) neatly set very close together in uniform
)W8. The by-streets leading I'rom one avenue to
mother were narrow and crooked.
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Rubftga.
200 THBOUGE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. While I stood admiring the view, a page came up,
^r![k.!^ and, kneeling, announced that he had been des|mtched
by the Emperor to show me mj house. Following
him, I was ushered within a corner lot of the fenced
square, between two avenues, into what I might appro-
priately term a " garden villa " of Uganda. My house,
standing in the centre of a plantain garden about 100 feet
square, was 20 feet long, and of a marquee shape, with a
miniature portico or eave projecting like a bonnet over
the doorway, and was divided into two apartments.
Close by, about 30 feet off, were three dome-like huts
for the boat's crew and the kitclien, and in a corner of
the garden was a railed space for our bullocks and
goats. Were it not that I was ever anxious about my
distant camp in Usukuma, I possessed almost every-
thing requisite to render a month's stay very agreeable,
and for the time I was as proud of my tiny villa as a
London merchant is of his country-house.
In the afternoon I was invited to the palace. A
number of people in brown robes, or white dresses,
some with white goatskins over their brown robes,
others with cords folded like a turban round their
heads, which I heard were distinguishing marks
of the executioners, were also ascending to the
burzah. Court after court was passed until we
finally stood upon the level top in front of the great
house of cane and straw which the Waganda fondly
term Kibuga^ or the Palace. The space at least was
of aulic extent, and the prospect gained at every point
was also worthy of the imperial eyes of the African
monarch.
On all sides rolled in grand waves a voluptuous land
of sunshine, and plenty, and early summer verdure,
cooled by soft breezes from the great equatorial fresh-
water sea. Isolated hill-cones, similar to that of
Rubaga, or square tabular masses, rose up from the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MTE8A'8 PALACE. 201
beautiful landscaj^e to attract, like mysteries, the curious 1875.
stranger s observation, and villages and banana groves "tf'^^^
of still fresher green, far removed on the crest of
distant swelling ridges, announced that Mtesa owned
a land worth loving. Dark sinuous lines traced the
winding courses of deep ravines filled with trees, and
gragsy extents of gently undulating ground marked the
pastures ; broader depressions suggested the cultivated
gardens and the grain fields, while on the far verge of
the horizon we saw the beauty and the charm of the
land melting into the blues of distance.
There is a singular fascination about this country.
The land would be loved for its glorious diversified
prospects even though it were a howling wilderness ;
but it owes a great deal of the power which it exercises
over the imagination to the consciousness that in it
dwells a people peculiarly fiiscinating also. "How
comes it,'* one asks, " that this barbarous, uneducated,
and superstitious monarch builds upon this height ? "
Not for protection, surely, for he has smoothed the
uneven ground and formed broad avenues to approach
it, and a single torch would suffice to level all his
fences ? Does he, then, care for the charms of the pro-
spect ? Has he also an eye to the beauties of nature ?
Were this monarch as barbarous as other African
chiefs whom I had met between Zanzibar and Napoleon
Channel, he would have sought a basin, or the slope
of some ridge, or some portion of the shores of the
lake where his cattle might best graze, and would there
have constructed his grass dwellings. But this man
builds upon a hill that he may look abroad, and take a
large imperial view of his land. He loves ample room ;
his house is an African palace, spacious and lofty ; large
clean courtyards surround it ; he has spacious quarters
for his harem, and courtyards round those; he has
spacious quarters for his guards, and extensive court-
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202 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. yards round those ; a cane enclosure surrounds all, and
April 10. b^yQjid the enclosure again is a wide avenue running
round the palace fences. His people, great and small,
imitaie him as much as lies in their power. They are
well dressed, and immodesty is a crime in the land. Yet
I am still in Africa, and only yesterday, as it were, 1
saw naked men and naked women. It may be that
such a monarch and people fascinate me as much a&
their land. The human figures in the landscape have,
indeed, as much interest for me as the gracious land-
scape itself.
The drums sounded. Mtesa had seated himself on
the throne, and we hastened to take our seats.
Since the 6th April, I had enjoyed ten interviews
with Mtesa, and during all I had taken occasion to intro-
duce topics which would lead up to the subject ol
Christianity. Nothing occurred in my presence but I
contrived to turn it towards effecting that which had
become an object to me, viz. his conversion. There
was no attempt made to confuse him with the detaik
of any particular doctrine. I simply drew for him the
image of the Son of God humbling Himself for the good
of all mankind, white and black, and told him how, while
He was in man's disguise, He was seized and crucified by
wicked people who scorned His divinity, and yet out oi
His great love for them, while yet suffering on the cross
He asked His great Father to forgive them. I showec
the difference in character between Him whom white
men love and adore, and Mohammed, whom the Arab
revere; how Jesus endeavoured to teach mankinc
that we should love all men, excepting none, whih
Mohammed taught his followers that the slaying o
the pagan and the unbeliever was an act that meritec
Paradise. I left it to Mtesa and his chiefs to decide
which was the worthier character. I also sketched ii
brief the history of religious belief from Adam U
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J MEET A WHITE MAN. 203
Mohammed. I had also begun to translate to him the i875.
Ten Commandments, and Idi, the Emperor's writer, '^^^^^*
transcribed in Kiganda the words of the Law as given
to him in choice Swahili by Robert Feruzi, one of my
boat's crew, and a pupil of the Universities Mission at
Zanzibar.
The enthusiasm with which I launched into this
work of teaching was soon communicated to Mtesa
and some of his principal chiefs, who became so absorb-
ingly interested in the story as I gave it to them that
httle of other business was done. The political burzali
and seat of justice had now become an alcove, where
only the moral and religious laws were discussed.
Before we broke up our meeting Mtesa informed me
that I should meet a white man at his palace the next day.
" A white man, or a Turk ? "
" A white man Kke yourself,** repeated Mtesa.
" No ; impossible ! "
"Yes, you will see. He comes from Masr (Cairo),
from Gordoom (Gordon) Pasha."
"Ah, very well, I shall be glad to see him, and if
he is really a white man, I may probably stay with
you four or five days louger," said I to Mtesa, as I
shook hands with him, and bade him good-night.
The **whitB man," reported to be coming the next
day, arrived at noon with great ^clat and flourishes of
trumpets, the sounds of which could be heard all over
the capital. Mtesa hurried off a page to invite me to his
burzah. I hastened up by a private entrance. Mtesa
and all his chiefs, guards, pages, executioners, claimants,
guests, drummers and filers were already there, en
grande tenue. ^
Mtesa was in a fever, as I could see by the paling of
the colour under his eyes and his glowing eyeballs.
The chiefs shared their master s excitement.
" What shall we do," he asked, " to welcome him ? **
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204 TEROUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. ** Oh, form your troops in line from the entrance to
April 11. ^jj^ burzah down to the gate of the outer court, and
^ present arms, and as he comes within the gate, let
your drums and fifes sound a loud welcome."
" Beautiful ! " said Mtesa. '' Hurry Tori, Chamba-
rango, Sekebobo ; form them in two lines just as Stamlee
says. Oh, that is beautiful !' And shall we fire guns,
Stamlee ? "
** No, not until you shake hands with him ; and as
he is a soldier, let the guards fire, then they will not
injure anyone."
Mtesa's flutter of excitement on this occasion made
me think that there must have been a somewhat similar
scene before my landing at Usavara, and that Tori
must have been consulted frequently upon the form of
ceremony to be adopted.
What followed upon the arrival of the white man at
the outer gate had best be told as an interlude by the
stranger himself.
"At two o'clock, the weather haying cleared up, Mtesa sent a messenger
to inform me that he was ready to receive me. Notice is given in the
camp; every one puts on his finest clothes; at last we are ready; my
brave Soudanians look quite smart in their red jackets and white
trousers. I phice myself at their head; trumpets flourish and drums
sound as we follow an avenue from eighty-five to a hundred yards
wide, running direct north and south, and terminating at Mtesa's
palace." . . .
" On entering this court, I am greeted with a frightful uproar ; a
thousand instruments, each one more outlandish than the other, produce
the most discordant and deafening sound& Mtesa's body-guard carrying
guns present arms on my appearance; the kmg is standing at the
entrance of the reception hall, I approach and bow to him a la turgue.
He holds out his hand, which I press; I immediately perceive a sunburnt
European to the left of the king, a traveller, whom I imagine to be
Cameron. We exchange glances without speaking.
" Mtesa enters the reception room, and we follow him. It is a narrow
hall about 60 feet long by 15 feet wide, the ceiling of which, sloping
down at the entrance, is supported by a double row of wooden pillars
which divide the room into two aisles. The principal and central room
is unoccupied, and leads to the king's throne ; the two aisles are filled
with the great dignitaries and chief officers. At each pillar stands on€
of the king's guard, wearing a long red mantle, a white turban ornamented
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COLONEL LINANT DE BELLEFONDS. 205
with monkey skin, white trousers and black blouse with a red band. All 1375
are armed with gons. April 11.
" Mtesa takes his place on his throne, which is a wooden seat in the Rubaga,
shape of an office arm-chair; his feet rest npon a cushion; the whole
placed on a leopard's skin spread oyer a Smyrna carpet Before the king
is a highly polished elephant's tusk, and at his feet are two boxes con-
taining fetishes ; on either side the throne is a lance (one copper, the
other steel), each held by a guard; these are the insignia of Uganda;
the dog which Speke mentions has been done away with. Crouching at
the foot of the king are the yizier and two scribes.
" Mtesa is dignified in his manner, and does not lack a certain natural
air of distinction ; his dress is elegant : a white eoufUm finished with a
red band, stockings, slippers. Test of black cloth embroidered with gold,
and a tarhouche with a silver plate on the top. He wears a sword with
ivory-inlaid hilt (a Zanzibar weapon), and a staff.
" I exhibited my presents, which Mtesa scarcely pretended to see, his
dignity forbidding him to show any curiosity.
" I address the traveller, who sits in front of me, on the left of the king :
* Have I the honour of speaking to Mr. Cameron ? '
"Stanlet. 'No, Sir; Mr. Stanley.*
" Mtselv. * M. Linant de Bellefonds, member of the Gordon-Pasha
Expedition.'
" We bow low to each other, as though we had met in a drawing-room,
and our conversation is at an end for the moment.
" This meeting with Mr. Stanley greatly surprises me. Stanley was far
from my thoughts ; I was totally ignorant of the object of his Expedition.
" I take leave of the king, who meanwhile has been amusing himself by
making my unlucky soldiers parade and fiourish their trumpets. I shake
hands with Mr. Stanley, and ask him to honour me with his presence at
dinner.
"I had scarcely been more than a few minutes in my hut when
Mr. Stanley arrived. After having mutually expressed the pleasure our
meeting gave us, Mr. Stanley informed me that Cameron had written
from TJjiji that he was starting for the Congo. Mr. Cameron, he told me,
must have .been much embarrassed by the question of money, having
exceeded the amount allowed by the Koyal Geographical Society. At
IJjiji, he would have lost all his companions, and would be actually
alone. Mr. Stanley was loud in his praises of Cameron, and hoped that
he would succeed in his expedition." ....
"Leaving his expedition at Usukuma, Mr. Stanley embarked with
eleven men on the Victoria Lake, in a small boat which he had brought
with him; he explored all the eastern part of the lake, jwnetratin^ into all
the bays, gulfs, and creeks, and taking the bearings of islands and capes.
I saw Mr. Stanley's work, which is very extensive. He showed me some
curious sketches of islands he had seen ; the islands of the Bridge, the
Grotto, and the Sphinx. The first is a natural bridge of granite, with all
the appearance of a bridge made by the hand of man ; the second is like
the grotto of the enchantress Calypso; the third greatly resembles the
Egyptian Sphinx." • • . .
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206 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT. ^
1875. Colonel Linant de Bellefonds havine: thus described
^ our meeting, there remains but little for me to add.
As soon as I saw him approaching the burzah, I
recognized him to be a Frenchman. Not being intro-
duced to him — and as I was then but a mere guest of
Mtesa, with whom it was M. Linant's first desire to
converse — I simply bowed to him, until he had con-
cluded addressing the Emperor, when our introduction
took place as he has described.
I was delighted at seeing him, and much more
delighted when I discovered that M. Linant was a very
agreeable man. I observed that there was a vast differ-
ence between his treatment of his men and the manner
inwhichi treated mine, and that his intercourse with the
Waganda was conducted after exactly opposite principles
to those which governed my conduct. He adopted a
half military style which the Waganda ill brooked,
and many things uncomplimentary to him were uttered
by tliem. He stationed guards at the entrance to his
courtyard to keep the Waganda at a distance, except
those bearing messages from Mtesa, while my courtyard
was nearly full of Watongolehs, soldiers, pages, children,
with many a dark-brown woman listening with open
ears to my conversation with the Waganda. In fact^
my courtyard from morning to night swarmed with all
classes, for I loved to draw the natives to talk, so that
perfect confidence miglit be established between us,
and I might gain an insight into their real natures.
By this freer converse with them I became, it seemed, a
universal favourite, and obtained information sufficient
to fill two octavo volumes.
M. Linant passed many pleasant hours with me.
Though he had started from Cairo previous to my
departure from Zanzibar, and consequently could com-
municate no news from Europe, I still felt that for a
brief period I enjoyed civilized life. His cum/i^ was
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TEE FROCESS OF CONVERSION.
207
r the French fashion. He possessed French beans 1875.
olive oil, various potted meats of Paris brands, "^r^^^^^"
s de foie gras and Bologna sausage, sardines and
seilles biscuits, white sugar, coffee, cocoa, chocolate,
tea. If we add to this list the articles that the
ves and Mtesa's bounty furnished — milk, beef, kid,
Mi and ripe bananas, eggs, sweet potatoes, tomatoes,
3ns, and cassava flour — it will be seen that his cook
abundance of material wherewith to supply and
jfy our moderate gastronomic tastes. The pleasure
mutually felt in each other's company, and the
optional good health which blessed us, sharpened
appetites and improved our digestion. The
jious conversations which I had begun with Mtesa
e maintained in the presence of M. Linant de
efonds, who, fortunately for the cause I had in
v^ was a Protestant.* For when questioned by
sa about the facts which I had uttered, and which
been faithfully transcribed, M. Linant, to Mtesa's
nishment, employed nearly the same words, and
vered the same responses. The remarkable fact
; two white men, who had never- met before, one
ing arrived from the south-east, the other having
irged from the north, should nevertheless both know
same things, and respond in the same words,
rmed the popular mind without the burzah as a
ider, and was treasured in Mtesa's memory as being
atculous.
'he period of my stay with Mtesa drew to a close,
I requested leave to depart, begging the fulfil-
it of a promise he had made to me that he would
lish me with transport sufficient to convey the Expe-
Dn by water from Kagehyi in Usukuma to Uganda.
[n the original manuscript, which is in the possession of General
. Stone, Chief of the Staff in his Highness the Khedive's service,
iinant has alluded in the most flattering manner to these hoars
ted to religious instruction.
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\
208 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Nothing loth, since one white man would continue hie
April 15. rgyidence with him till ray return, and being eager to
** see the gifts I told him were safe at Usukuma, he gave
his permission, and commanded Magassa to collect
thirty canoes, and to accompany me to my camp.
On the 15th April, then, escorted by Magassa and
his Watongolehs, and also by M. Linant and ten of his
Nubian soldiers, we left Rubaga.
We arrived at Usavara about 10 a.m., and I imagined,
foolishly enough, that Magassa would be ready for the
voyage. But the Magassa of the 15th April was
several grades higher in his own estimation than the
Magassa of the 1st April. Fifteen days' life in the
Emperor's favour and promotion to an admiralship
had intoxicated the youth. Magassa co\ild not be
ready for two days.
" Not if I send a messenger back to Mtesa with this
information ?'* I asked.
*' Ah, yes, perhaps to-morrow morning."
" Only a few hours longer, M. Linant ; so it does not
matter much. Meantime we will take possession of
our old quarters at Usavara, and pass the evening in
a ramble along the shores of the bay, or a sail in
the boat." To which suggestion M. Linant assented.
There was matter suflBcient to engage us in conver-
sation. The rich region we trod, landscapes steeped in
most vivid green, the splendour of the forest foliage, the
magnificent lake of Equatorial Africa, studded with a
thousand isles, the broad and now placid arm known as
Murchison Bay, the diversity of scenery, the nature of
the rocks, the variety of the plants, ourselves met upon
this far strand of the inland sea, to part perhaps for
ever — a continuous chain of topics which, with an
intelligent and sympathetic companion like M. Linant,
might have served to make our rambles and our
evenings in the hut enjoyable for weeks.
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A GRAND MISSION FIELD. 209
In the evening I concluded my letters dated 14th 1875.
April 1875, which were sent to the Daily Telegraph ^^^^^^
and the New York Herald^ the English and American
journals I represented here, appealing for a Christian
mission to be sent to Mtesa.
The appeal written hurriedly, and included in the
letter left at Usavara. was as follows : —
" I have, indeed, nndermined Islamism so much here that Mtesa has
determined henceforth, imtil he is hetter informed, to ohserre the
Christian Sahbath as weU as the Muslim Sabbath, and the great captains
have tmanimously consented to this. He has further caused the Ten
Commandments of Moses to be written cm a board for his daily perusal —
for Mtesa can read Arabic— as well as the Lord's Prayer and the golden
commandment of our Saviour, ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy-
self This is great progress for the few days that I have remained with
him, and, though I am no missionary, I shall begin to think that I might
become one if such success is feasible. But, oh I that some pious, practical
missionary would come here ! What a field and harvest ripe for the
sickle of civilization I Mtesa would give him anything he desired —
houses, lands, cattle, ivory, &c. ; he might call a province his own in one
day. It is not the mere preacher, however, that is wanted here. The
bishops of Great Britain collected, with all the classic youth of Oxford
and Cambridge, would effect nothing by mere talk with the intelligent
people of Uganda. It is the practical Christian tutor, who can teach
people how to become Christians, cure their diseases, construct dwellings,
understand and exemplify agriculture, and turn his hand to anything,
like a sailor — this is the man who is wanted. Such an one, if he can be
found, would become the saviour of Africa. He must be tied to no church
or sect, but profess God and His Son and the moral law, and live a
blameless Christian, inspired by liberal principles, charity to all men, and
devout faith in Heaven. He must belong to no nation in particular, but
to the entire white yace. Such a man or men, Mtesa, Emperor of Uganda,
Usoga, Unyoro, and Karagw^— an empire 360 geographical miles in
length, by 50 in breadth— invites to repair to him. He has begged me to
tell the white men that, if they will only come to him, he will give them
all they want Now, where is there in all the pagan world a more
promising field for a mission than Uganda ? Colonel Linant de Bellefonds
is my witness that I speak the truth, and I know he will corroborate all
I say. The Colonel, though a Frenchman, is a Calvinist, and has become
as ardent a well-wisher for the Waganda as I am. Then why farther
spend needlessly vast sums upon black pagans of Africa who have no
example of their own people becoming Christians before them ? I speak
to the Universities Mission at Zanzibar and to the Free Methodists at
Mombasa, to the leading philanthropists, and the pious people of
England. 'Here, gentlemen, is your opportunity— embrace it I The
people on the shores of the Nyanza call upon you. Obey your own
VOL. I. — 14
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210 TEROUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. generons instincts, and listen to them ; and I assnie yon that in one yei
AprU 17. you will have more converts to Christianity than all other missionarii
UMTira. united can number. The population of Mtesa's kingdom is very dena
I estimate the number of his subjects at 2,000,000. You need not fear i
spend money upon such a mission, as Mtesa is sole ruler, and will refu
its cost tenfold with ivory, coffee, otter skins of a very fine quality, <
even in cattle, for the wealth of this country in all these products
immense. The road here is by the Kile, or via Zanzibar, Ugogo, ai
Unyanyemb^. The former route, so long as Colonel Gordon governs tl
countries of the Upper Nile, seems the most feasible.' "
When tlie letters were written and sealed, I con
mitted them to the charge of Colonel Linant. M
friend promised he would await my return fror
Usukuma; meanwhile he lent me a powerful fielc
glass, as mine, being considerably injured, had bee
given to Mtesa.
Magassa was not ready on the second day of on
arrival. One of his women had absconded, or some c
Mtesa's chiefs had seized her. Only ten canoes ha
arrived by the evening of the 16th.
The parting between M. Linant and myself, I sha
allow him to describe : —
"At 5 A.M. drums are beaten; the boats going with Stanley a
collecting together.
" Mr. Stanley and myself are soon ready. The Iiody Alice is unmoore(
luggage, sheep, goats, and poultry are already stowed away in the
places. There is nothing to be done except to hoist the American flj
and head the boat southwards. I accompany Stanley to his boat; \
shake hands and commend each other to the care of €k)d. Stanley tab
the helm ; the Dxdy Alice immediately swerves like a spirited horse, ai
bounds forward lashing the water of the Nyanza into foam. The stan
flag is hoisted, and floats proudly in the breeze; I immediately raise
loud hurrah with such hearty good will as perhaps never before greet<
the traveller's ears.
" The Lady Alice is already far away. We wave our handkerchiefs as
last farewell ; my heart is full ; I have just lost a brother. I had gro^
used to seeing Stanley, the open-hearted, sympathetic man and frier
and admirable traveller. With him I forgot my fatigue; this meetii
had been like a return to my own country. His engaging instructi^
conversation made the hours pass like minutes. I hoi)e I may see hi
again, and have the happiness of spending several days with him."
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DBES8ED IN BRIEF AUTHOBITT. 211
CHAPTER X.
Parting with Colonel Linant — Magassa's Tanity and disloyalty — The
sailors' island — Jumba's Cove — Uganga — Diimo — ITie Alexandra
Nile — Lupassi Point— In danger at Makongo— Alone with Nature — •
Insect life — Dreams of a happier future — A dark secret — Murabo
and the fish — Alice Island — A night never to be forgotten — The
treachery of Bumbireh — Saved 1 — Refuge Island— Wiru — *' Go and
die in the Nyanza 1 " — Back in camp — Sad news.
" Adieu ! adieu ! mon ami Linant ! Eemember my 1375.
words, I shall return within a month ; if not, present -^p"^ ^'^
my compliments to your friends at Ismailia (Gondo- **^^^
koro), and tell them they may see me on the Albert
Nyanza," were the last words I said to M. Linant de
Bellefonds, as I seated myself in my boat on the
morning of the 17th April.*
We had scarcely gone three miles on the voyage,
before the vanity of the youth Magassa exceeded all
bounds. Deeming it prudent — before it was too late —
to lecture him, and hold out prospects of a reward
conditional upon good behaviour, I called to him to
approach me, as I had something to say to him. He
• Owing to the events which are recorded in this chapter I was unable
to return to Mtesa's capital within the time specified to M. Linant,
but it is evident that my friend waited nearly six weeks for me. He
sustained a fierce attack for fourteen hours from several thousand Wan-
yoro en route to Ismailia, but finally succeeded in making his escape,
and reaching Colonel Gordon's headquarters in safety. On the 26th
August, however, being on another mission, he was attacked by the
Bans near a place called Lahore, and he and his party of thirty-six
soldiers were massacred. This sad event occurred four days after I
returned on my second visit to the Eipon Falls.
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212 THBOUGE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. would not come, but continued on his way with a slight
Apru 17. grimace and a saucy inclination of the head. I reserved
iwtmi 0. ^^^ lecture until we should arrive in camp.
At noon I took observations for latitude at the
entrance to Murchison Bay, and during the afternooii
we rowed hard upon our voyage, reaching Chiwanukc
Island near sunset. Magassa soon followed me, and as 1
landed, I laid hold of him gently but firmly, and seating
him by my side, employed myself in holding forth
grand expectations before him, only, however, on the
condition that he obeyed Mtesa's orders, behaved well,
and acted in unison with me. Magassa promised faith-
fully, and as a sign that he was sincere, begged to be
permitted to continue his voyage to Sesse, a large
island where Mtesa's canoes were beached, to procure
the full quota of thirty promised to me. Leaving five
canoes in charge of Senium and Sentageya, two ol
his Watongolehs, he departed by night, which ]
thought was a remarkable instance of energy. The
truth was, however, that he only proceeded two miles,
and slept at a village, where he abused his authority
by seizing a woman, and binding the cliief.
The next day we proceeded with the Watongolehs,
Sentum and Sentageya, and camped at Jumba's Cove,
Jumba is the hereditary title of one of the junior
admirals in command of a section of the imperial canoe
fleet, to whom is awarded the district of Unjaku, a
headland abutting on the left or north bank of the
Katonga river. It is an exceedingly fertile district,
separating Gabunga's, or the chief admiral's, district
from Sambuzi's^ a sub-chief of Kitunzi.
The whole of the north coast from Murchison Bay
presents a panorama of beautiful views, of square table-
topped mounts, rounded hills, and cones forming low
ranges, which run in all directions, but with a general
inclination east and west, and form, as it were, a natural
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE SAILORS' ISLAND. 213
bonndary to the lake on the north. These masses of 1975.
mountain, forming irregular ranges, suggest to the -^p"^^^*
observer that no rivers of importance issue into the ^^
lake from the north side. They are terminated sud-
denly at the Katonga, and from the north-west along
their base the rivet flows sluggishly into the lake.
On the right or southern bank the land appears to be
very low, as far as the hills of Uddu, four miles oflF.
The Katonga river at its mouth is about 400 yards
wide, but its current is very slow, almost imper-
ceptible.
Uganga is a lowland district lying at the mouth of
the Katonga, on the south or right bank, whence a
large bay with well-wooded shores rounds from this
river to the southward in a crescent form, to Bwiru,
from which point we begin to trace the coast of
Uddu. Uganda proper extends only as far as the
Katonga river; from its bank Uddu begins, and
stretches as far as the Alexandra Nile or Kagera.
Sess^ Island extends from a point six miles south of
Kibonga, westward to a point seven miles south of
Jumba's village, and southward — parallel almost with
the coast of Uddu — to a distance of about twenty-three
miles. Its extreme length is about forty-two miles,
while its extreme breadth must be about twenty miles.
The principal canoe builders and the greater number
of the sailors of Mtesa*s empire dwell in Sesse, and
because of their coal-black colour, timidity, supersti-
tion, and general uncleanly life, are regarded as the
helots of Uganda.
On the 2l8t we made a tedious, eventless voyage
along the low, swampy, and jungly shores of Ujaju to
Dumo, a village situated on the mainland nearly
opposite the extreme southern end of Sess^ Island.
From a curious stony hill near Dumo, which bears
traces of ancient eflfects of water, we obtained a distant
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Dume.
214 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. view of the outskirts of a pastoral plateau risiiij
April 21. westward.
Magassa appeared in the evening from his ur
successful quest for canoes. He gave a graphi
account of the dangers he had encountered at Sess<
whose inhabitants declared they would rather b
beheaded by the Kabaka than risk themselves o]
an endless voyage on the stormy sea, but he ha
obtained a promise from Magura, the admiral in charg
of the naval yards at Sesse, that he would endeavour t
despatch fourteen canoes after us. Meanwhile, Magass
had left me at Chiwanuko with five canoes, but re
turned with only two, alleging that the other thre
leaked so much that they were not seaworthy. H
suggested also that, as Magura might cause grea
delay if left alone, 1 should proceed with Sentum an^
Sentageya, and leave him in charge of five. Havinj
witnessed his vanity and heard of his atrociou
conduct near Chiwanuko, I strongly suspected him c
desiring to effect some more mischief at Dumo, but
was powerless to interpose the strong arm, and there
fore left him to answer for his shortcomings to Mtes£
who would doubtless hear of them before long.
After leaving Dumo and Sesse north of us, we hai
a boundless horizon of water on the east, while on th
west stretched a crescent-shaped bay, bordered by
dense forest, ending south at Chawasimba Point Fror
here another broad bay extends southwards, and i
terminated by the northernmost headland of Usongon
Into this bay issues the Alexandra Nile in on
powerful deep stream, which, from its volume an
dark iron colour, may be traced several mile
out. At its mouth it is about 150 yards wide
and at two miles above narrows to about 100 yardi
We attempted to ascend higher, but the currer
was so strong that we made but slow progresi
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TEE MOTHER OF THE VICTORIA NILE.
215
id after an ascent of three miles were obliged to
)andon it. The plain on either side has a breadth
from five to ten miles, which during the rainy
ason is inundated throughout its whole extent,
he deepest soundings we obtained were 85 feet,
know no other river to equal this in magnitude
nong the affluents of the Victoria Nyanza. The
bimeeyu river thus becomes the second largest affluent
• the lake, and the two united would form a river
[ual to that which has its exit by the Ripon Falls.
The Waganda Watongolehs, Sentum and Sentageya,
ill the Alexandra Nile the " Mother of the River at
inja '* or the Ripon Falls.
The Alexandra Nile constitutes a natural boundary
itween the sovereignty of Uganda and its subject
Ingdoms of Karagwe and Usongora, which begin
luth of the river. The plain of the Alexandra
retches south a few miles to an irregular line of
rassy and treeless mountains, which are the cha-
icteristics of the fine pastoral countries of Usongora
id Karagwe. At Lupassi Point the mountains project
eeply, almost clifl-like, into the lake, with heights
irying from 200 feet to 500 feet. The steep slopes
ristle at many points with grey gneiss rocks — massy
ibris from the mountain brows. Near this point I
iscovered a stream which had a fall of 3 feet issuing
om an orifice in a rocky clifl^, though above it there
as not the faintest sign of a watercourse. In the
iiUies and clefts of the clifi-sides most beautiful ferns
)Ounded.
I managed to climb to the top of the bluffs, and to
y surprise overlooked a plateau, with a grandly
►lling surface, covered with pasture and almost tree-
8s, except near the villages, where grew dense groves
' bananas. Further west, however, the plateau heaves
jwards into mountain masses of the same naked
1875.
Digitizi
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I 4
Ifakongo.
216 THROUQE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. character. Looking towards the east, directly in front
^^"IL ^^ North Usongora, stretches an apparently illimitable
silvery sea ; but towards the south one or two lofty
islands are visible, situated about twenty-five miles
from the mainland, serene and royal in their lone
exclusiveness.
The first village we halted at on the coast of Usongora
was Makongo. It nestles in a sheltered nook in a bay-like
indentation of the lofty mountain wall crowded with
banana groves and huts scattered under their impene-
trable shades — with a strip of grey gravel beach gently
sloping from the water's edge about 40 feet upward to
where it meets the prodigious luxury of the grove.
There were about a dozen natives clad in dingy goat-
skins seated on the beach, sucking the potent maramba
from gourds when we came up, and without question we
hauled our boat and two canoes high and dry. To our
greetings the natives responded readily and civilly
enough. With rather glazed eyes they offered us some
of the equatorial nectar. The voyage had been long
on this day, and we were tired, and it might be that we
sighed for such cordial refreshing drink as was now
proffered to us. At any rate, we accepted their
hospitable gift, and sucked heartily, with bland
approval of the delicacy of the liquid, and cordial
thanks for their courtesy. An observation for longi-
tude was taken, the natives looking on pleased and
gratified. To all our questions as to the names of the
localities and islands in view they replied like friends.
Sunset came. We bade each other good-night. At
midnight there was a fearful drumming heard, which
kept us all awake from the sheer violence of the sound.
** Is anything wrong ? " we demanded of Sentum
and Sentageya. " Oh, no 1 " they answered. Still the
drumming sounded hoarsely through the dark night,
and the desire for sleep fled.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Makongo.
TEE SAVAGES OF MAKONGO. 217
My men were all up before dawn, impatient for the ists.
day. Instinct, startled by that ominous drumming, J^J^^^^
warned them that something was wrong. I was still
in my boat with drawn curtains, though able to com-
municate with my people. At sight of the natives
Safeni, the coxswain, hailed me. As I was dressed, I
arranged my guns and soon stepped out, and my
astonishment was great when I perceived that there
were between 200 and 300 natives, all in war costume
and armed with spears, and bows and arrows, and
long-handled cleaver-like weapons, with ample and
long cane shields for defence, so close to us. For
this terrible-looking body of men stood only about
thirty paces off regarding us steadfastly. It was
such a singular position, so unusual and so strangely
theatrical, that, feeling embarrassed, I hastened to
break the silence, and advanced towards a man whom
I recognized as the elder who had given me some
native wine on the previous evening.
" What means this, my friend ? " I asked. " Is any-
thing wrong ? "
He replied rapidly, but briefly and sternly, in the
Kinyambu language, which as I did not understand,
I called the Mtongoleh Sentum to translate for me.
" "Wlhat do you mean by drawing your canoes on our
beach ? " I was told he asked.
" Tell him we drew them up lest the surf should
batter them to pieces during the night. The winds
are rough sometimes, and waves rise high. Our canoes
are our homes, and we are far from our friends who
are waiting for us. Were our canoes injured or broken,
how should we return to our friends ? **
He next demanded, " Know you this is our country ? "
" Yes, but are we doing wrong ? Is the beach so soft
that it can be hurt by our canoes ? Have we cut down
your bananas, or entered into your houses? Have we
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Makougo.
218 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1876. molested any of your people ? Do you not see our fires
ApriL \yy ^hich we slept exposed to the cold night ? *'
a 'v^ell, you must leave this place at once. We
do not want you here. Go ! **
*'That is easily done," I answered, "and had you
told us last night that our presence was not welcome
to you, we should have camped on yonder island."
" What did you come here for ? "
** We came to rest for the night, and to buy food,
and is that a crime ? Do you not travel in your canoes ?
Supposing people received you as you received us this
morning, what would you say ? Would you not say
they were bad? Ah, my friend, I did not expect
that you who were so good yesterday would turn out
thus ! But never mind ; we will go away quickly
and quietly, and the KaJjaha Mtesa shall hear of this,
and judge between us."
" If you wish food, I will send some bananas to yonder
island, but you must go away from this, lest the people,
who wish to fight you, should break out."
We soon shoved the boat and two canoes into the
water, and I and my boat's crew embarked and rowed
away a few yards. But Sentum was angry with the
people, and instead of quietly departing, was loudly
expostulating with them. To prevent mischief and the
massacre of his entire party, I shouted to Sentum, com-
manding him to embark at once, which after a short
time he obeyed, growling.
We steered for Miisira Island, about three miles from
Makongo, where we found four or five canoes from
Kamiru's country loaded with coffee and butter. The
Waganda, Sentum and Sentageya, with feelings em-
bittered against the natives, seized upon several
packages of coffee, which drew a loud remonstrance
from the natives. The Waganda sailors, ever ready for
a scramble, followed their chiefs' example, and assisted
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A QUIET BAMBLE. 219
in despoiling the natives, which caused one of them to ists.
appeal to me. I was busy directing the boat's crew to ^^^^}'
set my tent, when I was thus made acquainted with i»im"
the conduct of the Waganda. The property taken from
them was restored immediately, and Sentum and
Sentageya were threatened with punishment if they
molested them further, and the natives were advised to
leave for another island about five miles north of us, as
soon as the lake should become calm.
About 10 ik.M. the chief of Makongo, true to his pro-
mise, sent us ten bunches of green bananas, suflBcient for
one day's provisions for the sixty-two men, Waganda
and Wangwana, of whom our party consisted.
After these events I strolled alone into the dense and
tangled luxuriance of the jungle woods which lay
behind our camp. Knowing that the people would be
discussing their bananas, that no foe could molest
them, and that they could not quarrel with any natives
— ^there being nobody else on the island of Musira but
ourselves — I was able to leave them to pass the time
as they might deem most agreeable. Therefore, with
all the ardour of a boy, I began my solitary explora-
tion. Besides, it was so rare for me to enjoy solitude
and silence in such perfect safety as was here promised
to me. My freedom in these woods, though I was
alone, none could endanger or attempt to restrain ; my
right to climb trees, or explore hollows, or stand on
my head, or roll about on the leaves or ruins of branch
and bark, or laugh or sing, who could oppose?
Being thus absolute monarch and supreme arbiter
over myself, I should enjoy for a brief period perfect
felicity.
That impulse to jump, to bound, to spring upward
and cling to branches overhead, which is the charac-
teristic of a strong green age, I gave free rein to. Un-
fettered for a time from all conventionalisms, and
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220 TEBOUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. absolved from that sobriety and steadiness which my
M^* position as a leader of half wild men compelled me to
uuod. assume in their presence, all my natural elasticity of
body came back to me. I dived under the obstructing
bough or sprang over the prostrate trunk, squeezed into
almost impossible places, crawled and writhed like a
serpent through the tangled undergrowth, plunged
down into formidable depths of dense foliage, and
burrowed and struggled with frantic energy among
shadowing pyramids of vines and creepers, which had
become woven and plaited by their numbers into a
solid mass.
What eccentricities of creation I became acquainted
with in this truanting in the wild woods ! Ants, red,
black, yellow, grey, white, and particoloured, peopling
a miniature world with unknown emmet races. Here
were some members of the belligerent warrior caste
always threatening the harmless, and seeking whom
they might annoy, and there the ferocious food-pro-
viders, active for the attack, ranging bole, bough, twig
and leaf for prey ; the meek and industrious artisans
absorbed in defending the poor privilege of a short
existence ; the frugal neuters tugging enormous loads
towards their cunningly constructed nests ; sentries on
wateh at the doors to defend the approaches to their
fastnesses. They swarmed among the foliage in
columns of foraging and plundering marauders and
countless hordes of ruthless destroyers. In the decay-
ing vegetation I heard all around mo the xylophagous
larvae of great beetles hard at work by thousands, and
saw myriads of termites destroying with industrious
fury everything that lay in their path, whether animal
or vegetable. Armies of psyllae and moths innumerable
were startled from the bushes, and from every bough
shrilled the tiresome cicada, ever noisy. Here the
relentless ant-lions prepared their pitfalls, and there the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Hasim
ALONE WITH NATUBE. 221
ostly mantis, green or grey, stood waiting for unwary 1875,
jects. Diamond beetles abounded, and many another ^]^"^
ecies, uncouth and horrid, scrambled away from
fore my feet. Nor are these a thousandth part of
e insect nations that I disturbed ; the secluded island
is a world of infinite activities.
Beyond the flats I came at last to where the ground
)ped upward rapidly, though still clothed with tall
3es and their parasitical plants and undergrowth;
id in spite of the intense heat, I continued my
ploration, determined to view the upper regions,
ambering up the steep side, I had a large choice of
pports ; here a tamarind and next a bombax, now a
ejecting branch of mimosa and now a thick Uiane,
mg down, inviting me to haul myself upward and
rward; the young and pliant teak sapling or slender
smine bent as I seized them to assist my labouring
et, and at last I emerged alx)ve the trees and the
nglo of meshed undergrowth, and stood upright on
e curious spiky grass, studded with wild pine-apple,
•ound orchids and aloes, which covered the summit.
After a general look around the island, I discovered
was in the form of a rudely shaped boot-last, lying
tst and west, the lowest part being the flats through
hich I had just struggled. It was about three-quarters
* a mile long and about 200 yards wide. The heel
as formed by a narrow projecting ledge rising about
) feet nearly perpendicularly from the water. From
lis ledge rose the rock 80 feet above it, and 130 feet
lerefore above the water.
I gazed long on the grand encircling prospect. A
ilcyon calm brooded on the lake, eastward, northward,
id southward, until the clear sky and stainless silver
ater met, the clear bounds of both veiled by a gauzy MffllMT"
ipour, suggesting infinity. In a bold, majestic mass rfllr
\ the south-east rose Alice Island, while a few miles
Digitizi
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I
k
222 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT
1875. south-east of it appeared the Bumbireh group. Oppo-
^^ site me, to the west, and two miles from where I stood,
bUnd. was the long cliffy front of the plateau of Usongora, its
slowly rising summit gemmed with patches of ever-
green banana, until it became banked in the distance
by lines of hazy blue mountains.
It is a spot from which, undisturbed, the eye may
rove over one of the strangest yet fairest portions of
Africa — ^hundreds of square miles of beautiful lake
scenes — a great length of grey plateau wall, upright and
steep, but indented with exquisite inlets, half surrounded
by embowering plantains — hundreds of square miles of
pastoral upland dotted thickly with villages and groves
of banana. From my lofty eyrie I can see herds upon
herds of cattle, and many minute specks, white and
black, which can be nothing but flocks of sheep and
goats. I can also see pale blue columns of ascending
smoke from the fires, and upright thin figures moving
about. Secure on my lofty throne, I can view their
movements, and laugh at the ferocity of the savage
hearts which beat in those thin dark figm'es ; for I am a
part of Nature now, and for the present as invulnerable
as itself. As little do they know that human eyes
survey their forms from the summit of thip lake-girt
isle as that the eyes of the Supreme in heaven are
upon them. How long, I wonder, shall the people
of these lands remain thus ignorant of Him who
created the gorgeous sunlit world they look upon each
day from their lofty upland ! How long shall their
untamed ferocity be a barrier to the Gospel, and how
long shall they remain unvisited by the Teacher !
What a land they possess ! and what an inland sea !
How steamers afloat on the lake might cause Ururi to
shake hands with Usongora, and Uganda with Usukuma,
make the wild Wavuma friends with the Wazinza, and
unite the Wakerew^ with the Wagana! A great
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A DREAM OF TEE FUTUBK 223
trading port might then spring up on the Shimeeyu, 1875.
whence the coffee of Usongora, the ivory, sheep, and ^^"^'
goats of Ugeyeya, Usoga, Uvuma, and Uganda, the isuld.
cattle of Uwya, Karagwe, Usagara, Ihangiro, and
Usuknma, the myrrh, cassia, and furs and hides of
Uganda and Uddu, the rice of Ukerew^, and the grain
of Uzinza, might be exchanged for the fabrici? brought
from the coast ; all the land be redeemed from wild-
ness, the industry and energy of the natives stimulated,
the havoc of the slave-trade stopped, and all the coun-
tries round about permeated with the nobler ethics of a
higher humanity. But at present the hands of the
people are lifted — murder in their hearts — one against
the other ; ferocity is kindled at sight of the wayfarer ;
piracy is tlie acknowledged profession of the Wavuma ;
the people of Ugeyeya and Wasoga go stark naked ;
Mtesa impales, burns, and maims his victims; the
Wirigedi lie in wait along their shores for the stranger,
and the slingers of the islands practise their art against
him ; the Wakara poison anew their deadly arrows at
sight of a canoe ; and each tribe, with rage and hate
in its heart, remains aloof from the other. " Verily,
the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations
of cruelty.**
Oh for the hour when a band of philanthropic
capitiilists shall vow to rescue these beautiful lands,
and supply the means to enable the Gospel messengers
to come and quench the murderous hate with which
man beholds man in the beautiful lands around Lake
Victoria !
I descended from the lofty height, the summit of
Musira Island, by another way, which disclosed to me
the character of the rocky island, and exposed to my
view the precipitous walls of shale, rifted and indented
by ages of atmospheric influences, that surround the
island upon all sides but the western. After great diffi-
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224 TEBOUGE THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. culty I succeeded in getting upon tbe top of a portion o1
^^ an upper ledge that had fallen on the north-east cornei
and now formed a separate projection about 30 feei
high. In a cavernous recess upon the summit of it, ]
discovered six human bodies in a state of decomposition
half covered with grass and debris of rock. One ol
the skulls showed the mark of a hatchet, which made
me suspect that a tragedy had occurred here but a shorl
time before. No doubt the horrible event took place
on the island on the ground occupied by our camp, foi
there was no other spot where such a deed could have
been wrought, and probably the victims were taker
in canoes, and deposited in this hidden recess, thai
strangers might not be alarmed at the sight of the
bodies, or of such evidence of violence as the hatchet-
cleft skull. Probably, also, these strangers were
murdered for their cargo of coffee or of butter by the
natives of the mainland, or by a later arrival ol
strangers like my own Waganda, who because of theii
numerical superiority had begun their molestation and
robbery of the coffee traders, without other cause thai
that they were strong and the traders weak.
About 5 P.M., having long before returned to camp.
I saw on the horizon Magassa's fleet of cane)es, and
counted fourteen. I despatched Safeni and some of the
Waganda in a (janoe to the small islands we passed
just before reaching Makongo, begging Magassa tc
hasten and join me early next morning, as we were
short of provisions, and starvation would ensue if we
were delayed in our voyage. Safeni returned alx)u1
9 P.M. with a request from Magassa that I would gc
on as early as I wished, and a promise that he would
follow me to camp.
I waited, however, for Magassa until 10 a.m., and as
Alice Island — which Sentum and Seutageya advised
me was the best place to touch at in order to make s
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I PROTEST AGAINST FISH STEALING. 225
jhort course for Usukuma — was about thirty miles iws.
Tom Musira, I could delay no longer. It was then ^^^^ ^®'
igreed that Senium should st^y at Masira Island until i»k™i.
tfagassa arrived, and inform him of the direction which
5entageya and I had taken.
We had proceeded on our voyage but three miles
vhen Sentageya turned back with all speed towards
Musira, waving his hand to me to continue my journey*
[magining that he had merely forgotten something, I
lid as he directed.
We reached Alice Island about 9 p.m., for we had
}een delayed by a strong head wind since 4 p.m. As
t was pitch-dark, we were guided to a camping-place
)y a flickering light which we saw on the shore,
rhe light for which we steered was that of a fire
cindled by two men and a boy, who were drying fish
n a cavern the entrance of which opened on the lake.
Chough the fishermen were rather frightened at first,
hey were discreet enough to remain passive ; and to
aim their fears, I assumed an air of extreme blandness
tnd amiability. It being late, I prepared to rest in the
item-sheets of my boat, but as I was about to lie down,
[ heard the natives expostulating. I knew by this
hat the boat's crew must be committing depredations
m their fish stores ; so I sprang out — and only just
n time to save them a serious loss. Murab had
ilready made himself master of half a dozen large
ish, when I came up with naked feet behind him,
tnnouncing my arrival by a staggering blow, which
convinced the fishermen better than any amount of
)landness and affectation of amiability could have done
hat I was sincere, and convinced the Wangwana also
hat injustice would not be permitted. The fishermen
eceived a handful of beads as an atonement for the
attempted spoliation, and to secure the Wangwana
igainst further temptation, I gave them double rations.
VOL. I. — 15
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
I
k
226 TEEOUQH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. The next morning, when I awoke, I found that we
Ap>^ 27. ^^^Q camped under the shadow of a basaltic cliff, about
uuS. 50 feet high, at the base of which was the fishermen's
cavern, extending about 15 feet within. The island
was lofty, about 400 feet above the lake at its highest
part, nearly four miles in length, and a mile and a
half across at its greatest breadth. The inhabitants
consisted of about forty families from Ukerewe, and
owned King Lukongeh as their liege lord. -/
The summit of Alice Island is clothed with an abun-
dance of coarse grass, and the ravines and hollows are
choked with a luxuriance of vegetable life — trees,
plants, ferns, ground orchids, and wild pine-apple :
along the water's edge there waves a thin strip of water-
cane. The people became fast friends with us, but their
keen trading instincts impelled them to demand such
exorbitant prices for every article that we were unable
to purchase more than a few ears of com. I obtained
a view from the summit with^my field-glass, but I
could distinguish nothing east or south-east. South-
west we saw the Bumbireh group, and to purchase food
we were compelled to proceed thither— disagreeably
convinced that we had lost a whole day by calling at
Alice Island, whereas, had we kept a direct course to
the south, we might have reached the Bumbireh group
in a few hours.
As we started only at noon from Alice Island, being
delayed by expectations of seeing Magassa, and also
by the necessity for purchasing something even at high
prices to prevent starvation, we did not reach Barker's
Island — the easternmost of the Bumbireh group — until
night, which we passed most miserably in a little cove
surrounded by impenetrable brushwood. It was one
downpour of rain throughout the whole night, which
compelled us to sit up shivering and supperless, for to
crown our discomforts, we had absolutely nothing to eat
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AFFLOACEING BUMBIBEH. 227
No more abject objects can be imagined than the human ists.
beings that occupied the boat through the hours of dark- ^p"\28.
ness. There were my crew all sitting as closely as
possible, back to back or side by side, on the oars and
boards which they had arranged like a platform on the
thwarts, and I sitting alone under the awning in the
stern sheets, wearily trying to outline their figures, or
vaguely taking mental notes of the irregularities of
the bush, with occasional hasty glances at the gloomy
sky, or at Bumbireh, whose black mass looked grim
and lofty in the dark, and all the time the rain kept
pouring down with a steady malignant impetuosity.
I doubt if even the happiest hours which may fall
to my lot in the future will ever obliterate from my
memory that dismal night of discomfort and hunger.
But as it generally happens, the dismal night was
followed by a beautiful bright morning. Every inch
of nature that we could scan seemed revivified, re-
freshed, and gay, except the little world which the boat
contained. We were eager to renew our acquaintance
with humanity, for only by contact with others could
we live. We accordingly sailed for Bumbireh, which
lay about two miles from Barker's Island, and ran
down the coast in search of a cove and haven for our
boat, while we should be bartering our beads for edibles.
Bumbireh Island is about eleven miles in extreme
length by two miles greatest breadth. It is in appear-
ance a hilly range, with a tolerably even and softly
rolling summit line clothed with short grass. Its
slopes are generally steep, yet grassy or cultivated. It
contains probably fifty small villages, averaging about
twenty huts to a village, and if we calculate four souls
to each hut, we have a population of about 4000,
including all ages.
Herds of cattle grazed on the summit and slopes ;
a tolerably large acreage here and there showed a
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228 THBOUGE THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. brown soil upturned for planting, while extensive
April 28. banana groves marked most of the village sites.
There was a kindly and prosperous aspect about the
island.
As soon as we had sailed a little distance along the
coast, we caught sight of a few figures which broke
the even and smooth outline of the grassy summit,
and heard the well-known melodious war-cries em-
ployed by most of the Central African tribes, " Hehu-a
hehu-u-u-u ! " loud, long-drawn, and ringing.
The figures increased in number, and fresh voices
joined in the defiant and alarming note. Still, hungry
wretches as we were, environed by difficulties of all
kinds, just beginning to feel warm after the cold and
wet of the night before, with famine gnawing at our
vitals, leagues upon leagues of sea between us and our
friends at Usukuma, and nothing eatable in our boat,
we were obliged to risk something, reminding our-
selves *^ that there are no circumstances so desperate
which Providence may not relieve."
At 9 A.M. we discovered a cove near the south-east
end of the long island, and pulled slowly into it.
Immediately the natives rushed down the slopes,
shouting war-cries and uttering fierce ejaculations.
When about 50 yards from the shore, I bade the men
cease rowing, but Safeni and Baraka became eloquent,
and said, " It is almost always the case, master, with
savages. They cry out, and threaten, and look big, but
you will see that all that noise will cease as soon as
they hear us speak. Besides, if we leave here without
food, where shall we obtain it ? "
The last argument was unanswerable, and though I
gave no orders to resume their oars, four of the men
impelled the boat on slowly, while Safeni and Baraka
prepared themselves to explain to the natives, who
were now close within hearing, as they came rushing
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WE ABE HAULED ASEOBR 229
to the water's edge. I saw some lift great stones, 1575.
while others prepared their bows. ^^^^ ^^'
We were now about 10 yards from the beach,
and Safeni and Baraka spoke, earnestly pointing to
their mouths, and by gestures explaining that their
bellies were empty. They smiled with insinuating
faces ; uttered the words " brothers,'* ** friends," " good
fellows," most volubly ; cunningly interpolated the
words Mtesa — the Kabaka — Uganda, and Antari king
of Ihangiro, to whom Bumbireh belongs. Safeni and
Baraka's pleasant volubility seemed to have produced
a good eflFect, for the stones were dropped, the bows
were unstrung, and the lifted spears lowered to assist
the steady, slow-walking pace with which they now
advanced.
Safeni and Baraka turned to me triumphantly and
asked, "What did we say, master?" and then, with
engaging frankness, invited the natives, who were now
about two hundred in number, to come closer. The
natives consulted a little while, and several — now
smiling pleasantly themselves — advanced leisurely into
the water until they touched the boat's prow. They
stood a few seconds talking sweetly, when suddenly
with a rush they ran the boat ashore, and then all the
others, seizing hawser and gunwale, dragged her about
20 yards over the rocky beach high and dry, leaving
us almost stupefied with astonishment !
Then ensued a scene which beggars description.
Pandemonium — all its devils armed — raged around us.
A forest of spears was levelled ; thirty or forty bows
were drawn taut ; as many barbed arrows seemed
already on the wing ; thick, knotty clubs waved above
our heads ; two hundred screaming black demons jostled
with each other and struggled for room to vent their
fury, or for an opportunity to deliver one crushing
blow or thrust at us.
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230 TEBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. In the meantime, as soon as the first symptoms c
Apni 28. ^j^jg manifestation of violence had been observed, I ha
* sprung to my feet, each hand armed with a loade
self-cocking revolver, to kill and be killed. But th
apparent hopelessness of inflicting much injury upoi
such a large crowd restrained me, and Safeni turne
to me, though almost cowed to dumbness by the lou
fury around us, and pleaded with me to be patient,
complied, seeing that I should get no aid from m;
crew ; but, while bitterly blaming myself for my im
prudence in having yielded — against my instincts — ^t^
placing myself in the power of such savages, I vowe(
that, if I escaped this once, my own judgment shouL
guide my actions for the future.
I assumed a resigned air, though I still retained m;
revolvers. My crew also bore the first outburst of th^
tempest of shrieking rage which assailed them witl
almost sublime imperturbability. Safeni crossed hi
arms with the meekness of a saint. Baraka held hi
hands palms outward, asking with serene benignity?
"What, my friends, ails you? Do you fear empt;
hands and smiling people like us? We are friendj
we came as friends to buy food, two or three bananas
a few mouthfuls of grain, or potatoes, or muhog
(cassava), and, if you permit us, we shall depart a
friends."
Our demeanour had a great effect. The riot an
noise seemed to be subsiding, when some fifty ne\v
comers rekindled the smouldering fury. Again th
forest of spears swayed on the launch, again the knott
clubs were whirled aloft, again the bows were drawi
and again the barbed arrows seemed flying. Safer
received a push which sent him tumbling, little Karang
received a blow on the head with a spear-staflF, Saramb
gave a cry as a club descended on his back.
I sprang up this time to remonstrate, with the tw
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A BniBF BESPITE FROM DEATm 91
revolvers in my left hand. I addressc?d myself to an isrs.
eWer, who seemed to be restraining the people fro^ii^^Jl^^
proceeding too far. I showed him beads, cloth, wire,
ind invoked the names of Mtesa, and Antari their king. '
The sight of the heaps of beads and cloth I exposed
awakened, however, the more deUberate passions of
selfishness and greed in each heart. An attempt at
massacre^ they began to argue, would certainly entail
the loss of some of themselves, " Guns might be seized
and handled with terrible eiTect even by dying men,
and who knows what those little iron things in the
white man's hands are?" they seemed to be asking
themselves, Tlie elder, whatever ho thought, responded
with an affectation of indignation, raised his stick, and
to right and left of him drove back the demoniac
crowd. Other prominent men now assisted this elder,
whom we subsequently discovered to he Shekka, the
king of Bumbireh,
Shekka then, having thus he&ttrred himself, beckoned
to half a dozen men and walked away a few yards be*
hind tlie mass. It was the *'shauri," dear to a freo
and independent A frican's heart, that was about to be '
held. Half the crowd followed the king and his
council, while the other half remained to indulge their
violent, vituperative tongues on us, and to continually
menace us with either club or spear. An audacious
party came round the stern of the boat and^ with super-
latively hideous gestures, affronted me ; one of them
even gave a tug at my hair, thinking it was a wig, I
revenged my?clf by seizing his hand, and suddenly
bending it back almost dislocated it, causing him to
howl with pain. His comrades swayed their lauces,
but I smilingly looked at them, for all idea of self-
preservation had BOW almost fled.
The issue had surely an^ived. There had been just
one brief moment of agony when I reflected how uu-
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Bambireh
232 TEBOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. lovely death appears in such guise as that in which i
April 28. ^^^ threatened me. What would my people think ai
tliey anxiously waited for the never returnmg master
What would Pocock and Barker say when they hearc
of the tragedy of Bumbireh! And my friends ii
America and Europe! "Tut, it is only a brief momen
of pain, and then what can the ferocious dogs do more
It is a consolation that, if anything, it will be short
sharp, sudden — a gasp, and then a silence — for eve:
and ever ! " And after that I was ready for the figh
and for death.
" Now, my black friends, do your worst ; anything
you choose ; I am ready."
A messenger from the king and the council arrives
and beckons Safeni. I said to him, " Safeni, use you:
wit." " Please God, master," he replied.
Safeni drew nearly all the crowd after him, fo:
curiosity is strong in the African. I saw him posi
himself. A born diplomatist was Safeni. His hand
moved up and down, outward and inward; a cordia
frankness sat naturally on his face ; his gestures weri
graceful ; the man was an orator, pleading for mercj
and justice.
Safeni returned, his face radiant. " It is all righl
master, there is no fear. They say we must stop her
until to-morrow."
**Will they sell us food?"
** Oh, yes, as soon as they settle their shauri.**
While Safeni was speaking, six men rushed up an
seized the oars.
Safeni, though hitherto politic, lost temper at this
and endeavoured to prevent them. They raised thqi
clubs to strike him. I shouted out, "Let them gc
Safeni."
A loud cheer greeted the seizure of the oars,
became convinced now that this one little act woul
y
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•• TRULT, THIB 18 TROUBLE.'' 233
lead to others ; for man is the same all over the world. 1875.
Set a beggar on horseback, and he will ride to the^^'^.^^
devil ; give a slave an inch, and he will take an ell ;
if a man submit once, he must be prepared to submit
again.
The " shauri " proceeded. Another messenger came,
demanding five cloths and five fundo of necklaces.
They were delivered. But as it was now near noon,
and they were assured we could not escape, the savages
withdrew to their nearest village to refresh themselves
with wine and food.
After the warriors had departed, some women came
to look at us. We spoke kindly to them, and in return
they gave us the consoling assurance that we should be
killed ; but they said that if we could induce Shekka to
make blood-brotherhood, or to eat honey with one of us,
we should be safe. If we failed, there was only flight
or death. We thanked them, but we would wait.
About 3 P.M. we heard a number of drums beaten.
Safeni was told that if the natives collected again he
must endeavour to induce Shekka with gifts to go
through the process of blood-brotherhood.
A long line of natives in full war costume appeared
on the crest of the terrace, on which the banana grove
and village of Kajurri stood. Their faces were smeared
with black and white pigments. Almost all of them bore
the peculiar shields of Usongora. Their actions were
such as the dullest- witted of us recognized as indicating
hostilities.
Even Safeni and Baraka were astounded, and their
first words were, "Prepare, master. Truly, this is
trouble."
** Never mind me," I replied, " I have been ready
these three hours. Are you ready, your guns and
revolvers loaded, and your ears open this time ?"
** We are," they all firmly answered.
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234 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. " Don't be afraid ; be quite cool. We will try, while
^^^ they are collecting togetlier, the women's suggestion.
Go frankly and smilingly, Safeni, up to Shekka, on the
top of that hill, and offer him these three fundo of
beads, and ask him to exchange blood with you/'
Safeni proceeded readily on his errand, for there was
no danger to him bodily while we were there within
150 yards, and their full power as yet unprepared.
For ten minutes he conversed with them, while the
drums kept beating, and numbers of men bepainted for
war were increasing Shekka's force. Some of them
entertained us by demonstrating with their spears how
they fought ; others whirled their clubs like tipsy Irish-
men at Donnybrook fair. Their gestures were wild,
their voices were shrill and fierce, they were kindling
themselves into a fighting fever.
Safeni returned. Shekka had refused the pledge of
peace. The natives now mustered over 300.
Presently fifty bold fellows came rushing down,
uttering a shrill cry. Without hesitation they came
straight to the boat, and, hissing something to us, seized
our Kiganda drum. It was such a small affair, we did
not resist ; still the manner in which it was taken com-
pletely undeceived us, if any small hope of peace re-
mained. Loud applause greeted the act of gallantry.
Then two men came down towards us, and began to
drive some cows away that were grazing between us
and the men on the hill. Safeni asked of one of them,
'* Why do you do that?"
" Because we are going to begin fighting presently,
and if you are men, you may begin to prepare your-
selves," he said scornfully.
" Thanks, my bold friend," I muttered to myself.
" Those are the truest words we have heard to-day."
The two men were retiring up the hill. "Here,
Safeni," I said, " take these two fine red cloths in your
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THE MUBBEBERS BAULKED. 235
hand ; walk slowly up after them a little way, and the i875.
minute you hear my voice run back ; and you, my ^^"A^!'
boys, this is for life and death, mind ; range yourselves
on each side of the boat, lay your hands on it carelessly,
but with a firm grip, and when I give the word, push
it with the force of a hundred men down the hill into
the water. Are you all ready, and do you think you
can do it ? Otherwise we might as well begin fighting
where we are/'
"Yes, Inshallah Master,'* they cried out with one
voice.
" Go, Safeni ! *•
I waited until he had walked fifty yards away,
and saw that he acted precisely as I had instructed
him.
** Push, my boys ; push for your lives ! '*
The crew bent their heads and strained their arms ;
the boat began to move, and there was a hissing,
grinding noise below me. I seized my double-barrelled
elephant rifle and shouted, " Safeni ! Safeni, return ! '*
The natives were quick-eyed. They saw the boat
moving, and with one accord they swept down the hill
uttering the most fearful cries.
My boat was at the water's edge. ** Shoot her into
the lake, my men ; never mind the water " ; and clear
of all obstructions she darted out upon the lake.
Safeni stood for an instant on the water's edge, with
the cloths in his hand. The foremost of a crowd of
natives was about twenty yards from him. He raised
his spear and balanced himself.
** Spring into the water, man, head first," I cried.
The balanced spear was about to fly, and another
man was preparing his weapon for a deadly cast, when
I raised my gun and the bullet ploughed through him
and through the second. The bowmen halted and
drew their bows. I sent two charges of duck-shot into
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236 TEBOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. their midst with terrible effect. The natives retreated
^P'^^ from the beach on which the boat had lately lain.
Having checked the natives, I assisted one of my
men into the boat, and ordered him to lend a hand to
the others, while I reloaded my big guns, keeping my
eyes on the natives. There was a point about 100 yards
in length on the east, which sheltered the cove. Some
of the natives made a rush for this, but my guns com-
manded the exposed position, and they were obliged
to retire.
The crew seized their rifles, but I told them to leave
them alone, and to tear the bottom-boards out of the
boat and use them as paddles ; for there were two hip-
popotami advancing upon us open-mouthed, and it
seemed as if we were to be crushed in the water after
such a narrow escape from the ferocious people ashore.
I permitted one of the hippos to approach within ten
yards, and, aiming between his eyes, perforated his
skull with a three-ounce ball, and the second received
such a wound that we were not molested by him.
Meanwhile the savages, baffled and furious at seeing
their prey escape, had rushed, after a short consulta-
tion, to man two canoes that were drawn up on the
beach at the north-west corner of the cove. Twice I
dropped men as they endeavoured to launch the boats ;
but they persisted, and finally, launching them, pursued
us vigorously. Two other canoes were seen coming
down the coast from the eastern side of the island.
Unable to escape, we stopped after we had got out
of the cove, and waited for them.
My elephant rifle was loaded with explosive balls for
this occasion. Four shots killed five men and sank
two of the canoes. The two others retired to assist
their friends out of the water. They attempted
nothing further, but some of those on shore had managed
to reach the point, and as we resumed our paddles, we
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SAVED i 237
heard a voice cry out, ** Go and die in the Nyanza ! " 1875.
and saw them shoot their arrows, which fell harmlessly ^^21
a few yards behind us. We were saved ! Lake.
It was 5 P.M. We had only four bananas in the boat,
and we were twelve hungry men. If we had a strong
fair breeze, a day and a night would suffice to enable
us to reach our camp. But if we had head-winds, the
journey might occupy a month. Meanwhile, after the
experience of Makongo, Alice Island, and Bumbireh,
where should we apply for food? Fresh water we had
in abimdance, sufficient to satisfy the thirst of all the
armies of the world for a century. But food ? Whither
should we turn for it ?
A gentle breeze came from the island. We raised
the lug sail, hoping that it would continue fair for a
south-east course. But at 7 p.m. it fell a dead calm.
We resumed our extemporized paddles — those thin
weak bottom-boards. Our progress was about three-
quarters of a mile per hour !
Throughout the night we laboured, cheering one
another. In the morning not a speck of land was
visible : all was a boundless circle of grey water.
About 9 A.M. a squall came fair and drove us about
eight miles to the south; about 10.30 it became calm
again, but still we paddled unceasingly. At night we
found ourselves about seven miles away from an island
to the southward of us, and we made noble efforts to
reach it. But a gale came up from the south-west,
against which it was useless to contend. The crew
were fatigued and weakened after paddling forty-nine
hours without food.
We resigned ourselves to the waves and the rain
that was falling in sheets, and the driving tem-
pest. Up and down we rose and sank on the great
waves, battered from side to side, swung round,
plunged in dark hollows, and bathed in spray. We
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238 TESOUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. baled the boat out, and again sat down. At midnig
^f*^' the gale moderated and the moon rose, throwing
bUod. weird light upon the face of the lake and its loi
heaving billows, which still showed high crests whiteni
with foam. Up and down we rose and plunged. T]
moon now shone clear upon the boat and her wretch(
crew, ghastlily lighting up the crouching, wearied, d(
pairing forms, from which there sometimes rose de(
Highs that wrung my heart. "Cheer up, my lac
think nothing of the curse of those of Bumbireh ; b
men's curses sometimes turn out blessings," I said,
encourage them. One of the thwarts was chopped u
and we made a fire, and with some of the coflFee whicl
had obtained from Colonel Linant at Mtesa's we f(
somewhat refreshed. And then, completely weari(
out, they all slept, but I watched, busy with my thoughi
The morning came, the morning of the 30th Apr
and though ray men had only eaten four banan
between them and tasted, besides, a cup of coffee sin
10 A.M. of the 27th, they nevertheless, sixty-eight hoi]
afterwards, when I urged them to resume their paddl
that we might reach an island twelve miles south of i
rallied to my appeal with a manliness which won b
admiration, responding with heroic will but alas ! wi
little strength.
At 2 P.M. — seventy-six hours after leaving Ah
Island — ^we approached a cove in an uninhabited islar
which I have distinguished on the chart by the nai
of " Refuge.*' We crawled out of the boat, and ea
of us thanked God for even this little mercy, and 1
down on the glowing sand to rest.
But food must be obtained before night. Bara
and Safeni were sent to explore the interior in o
direction, Murabo and Marzouk in another. Rob
and Hamoidah were set to kindle a fire, and I to
my shot gun to shoot birds. Within half an houi
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•^ SQUARE MEAL'' AGAnT. 239
lad obtained a brace of large fat ducks ; Baraka and ists.
Jafeni returned each witb two bunches of young green ^*^ '*
)anana8, and Murabo and his comrade had discovered uimd.
ome luscious berries, like cherries.
And what glad souls were we that evening around
)ur camp fire with this gracious abundance to which a
)enignant Providence had led us, storm-tossed, bruised,
tnd hungry creatures that we were but a few hours
)efore ! Bananas, ducks, berries, and coffee ! The
obacco gourd and pipe closed one of the most delicious
evenings I ever remember to have passed. No wonder
;hat before retiring, feeling ourselves indebted to the
Supreme Being who had preserved us through so many
roubles, we thanked Him for His mercies and His
x)unties.
We rested another day on Refuge Island to make
)ars; and further explorations enabled us to procure
lalf a dozen more bunches of bananas. Our appetites
kvere so keen that there was but little left next morning
jj the time we were ready to start afresh. With oar
md sail we set out for Singo Island. Perceiving it
tvas uninhabited, we steered for Ito Island, the slopes of
Kvhich were rich with plantains, but the natives slung
stones at us, and we were therefore obliged to continue
)n our way to the Kuneneh group, near the peninsula
3f Ukerew^.
On the afternoon of the 4th May, a stormy head-
Kvind rising, we were compelled to turn into the cove
rf Wiru, where, through the influence of Saramba the
juide, who was at home in this country, we were hos-
pitably received, and meat, potatoes, milk, honey,
bananas both ripe and green, eggs and poultry, were
freely sold to us. We cooked these delicacies on
board, and ate them with such relish and appetite as
jnly half starved men can appreciate.
Hoping to reach our camp next morning, we set sail
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y
240 THBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. at 9 P.M., steering across Speke Gulf. But about 3 A.»
^*^ ^' when wo were nearly in mid-gulf, the fickle wind faile
us, and then, as if resolved we should taste to tl
uttermost the extreme of suffering, it met us with
tempest from the N.N.E., as fearful in other respec
as that which we experienced at Usuguru, but with tl
fresh torment added of hailstones as large as filbert
The sky was robed in inky blackness, not a star wj
visible, vivid lightnings flashed accompanied by loi
thunder crashes, and furious waves tossed us about x
though we were imprisoned in a gourd, the elemen
thus combining to multiply the terrors of our situatioi
Again we resigned the boat to wind and wave, as a
our efforts to keep our course were unavailing.
We began \o think that the curse of the people <
Bumbireh, **Go and die in the Nyanza," might I
realized after all — though I had much faith in the staunc
craft which Messenger of Teddington so conscientious!
constructed.
A grey, cheerless, morning dawned at last, and w
discovered ourselves to be ten miles north of Rwomj
and about twenty miles north-west of Kagehyi. W
put forth our best efforts, hoisted sail, and though th
wind was but little in our favour at first, it soon veere
round, and sent us sailing merrily over the tall wavei
and along the coast of Usukuma, straight toward
camp.
Shouts of welcome greeted us from shore, for th
people had recognized us by our sail when miles awaj
and as we jjrew nearer the shouts changed to volleys o
musketry, and the waving of flags, and the land seemei
alive with leaping forms of the glad-hearted men. Fo
we had been fifty-seven days away from our people, an(
many a false rumour had reached them of our deathg
strengthened each day that our return was deferred
and our absence grew longer. But the sight of thi
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BACK IN CAMP.
241
exploring boat sailing towards Kageliyi dissipated all
alarm, concern, and fear.
As the keel grounded, fifty men bounded into the
water, dragged me from the boat, and danced me
round the camp on ^heir shoulders, amid much laughter,
and clapping of hands, grotesque wriggling of forms,
and real Saxon hurrahing.
Frank Pocock was there, his face lit up by fulness
of joy, but when I asked him where Frederick Barker
was, and why he did not come to welcome me, Frank's
face clouded with the sudden recollection of our loss as
he answered, " Because he died twelve days ago. Sir,
and he lies there," pointing gravely to a low mour.d
of earth by the lake !
I87r».
May 6.
Kagehyi.
CAIRN ERECTKD TO THE MEMORY OF FREDERICK BARKER:
MAJITA, AKD URURI MOUNTAINS IN THE DISTANCE, ACROSS 8PEKE CULT.
(From aphotoyraph by the Author.)
VOL. I. — 16
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242 THEOUQE THE DARK CONTINENT.
tl
Kagebji.
CHAPTER XI.
Barker's illness and death — Other deaths — Traitors in the camj
Rest 1 — Sickness — K woma blocks our passage by land — Mags
fails ns by water — A serious dilemma — Lnkongeh comes to
rescue — History of Ukerew6 — Educated amphibians — Leaii
Kagehyi with half the Expedition — The foundering canoes —
Faved — Ito conciliates us — Arrival at Befuge Island with half
Expedition — I return for the rest — A murderous outbreak in ca
— Final departure from Kagehyi — ^All encamped on Refuge Islanc
We ally ourselves with Komeh — A dance of kings — Mahj
Island (in the Bumbireh group) — Interviewed by Iroba canoef
Our friendship scorned — The king of Bumbireh a hostage — !]
massacre of the Kytawa chief and his crew — The punishment of
murderers — Its salutary effect upon their neighbours — We an
in Uganda.
1875. When the hysterical congratulations of the Expediti
^*'y^. had somewhat slackened, Prince Kaduma and t
friends of Saramba, the guide (who was now quite
hero) and Frank accompanied me to ray hut — the dc
Jack and Bull folio wing^to give me a brief narrati
of the events that had transpired.
Fred Barker, according to Frank, had good heal
till the middle of April ; after which he began to (
perience aguish fits. On the 22nd he had enjoyed
hippopotamus hunt on the shore between Kagehyi a
Lutari, and on the morning of the 23rd had bathed
the lake and eaten a hearty early breakfast. At 9 a.:
however, he complained of feeling ill, and lay do\^
Almost immediately a cold fit seized him, and his bio
geemed to stagnate in its veins. Frank and Barke
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DEATH IN TEE CAMP. 243
servants employed their utmost art to increase tbe 1875.
warmth of his body. They administered brandy and ^*^ ^\
hot tea, put heated stones to his feet, and piled blanket ** ^'
after blanket upon him, but the congealed blood would
not run, and at II a.m. the poor young man was
dead.
** At 3 P.M. we buried him," said Frank, " close to
the Nyanza. Poor fellow ! many and many a time
he said, during the last few days, * I wish the master
would come back. I should then feel as if there
were some chance ot life for me, but I shall die
stagnating and rotting here if he does not come.'
I think. Sir, he would have pulled through had you
been here.**
I missed young Barker very much. He had begun
to endear himself to me by his bright intelligence
and valuable services. When ill, my least wish was
immediately gratified : he understood the least motion
or sign. He was also a good writer, and he kept the
accounts of the various stores, cloths, and beads. He
was an admirable companion to Frank, and the
two young men were good company for me ; they had
also won the hearts of the Waugwana by their •
gentle, amiable conduct. An oath or a profane word,
I seldom heard from either of them ; and when angry,
their anger at the stupidity or insolence of the people
was of the passive kind ; they never resorted to vio-
lence without appealing to me.
But Frank had other bad news to tell. Mabruki
Ppeke, whom Burton called the bull-headed — the faith-
ful servant of Burton and Speke, Speke and Grant, of
myself on the first expedition, of Livingstone on his last
journey, and one of the most trusted men of my pre-
sent following from Zanzibar to Lake Victoria — was
dead* Jabiri (one of the stout boat- bearers) was dead.
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244 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. and 80 was old Akida, besides three others. All had
^^ ^' died of dysentery. Msenna, the " bully of Zanzibar,"
had broken out once more, after nearly six months of
good behaviour. I arrived at Kagehyi on the 5th
May from the exploration of the lake : on the 6th he
was to l)ave led a body of sixty men to Unyanyembe,
if the master did not return !
Kipingiri, chief of Lutari, and brother of Kaduma,
chief of Kagehyi, had formed a conspiracy with Kur-
rereh, chief of Kyenzi, and the chief of Igusa, to unite
their forces to attack and plunder the camp. But the
Wangwana chiefs, Manwa Sera and Kachech^, had dis-
covered the plot, and Frank and Fred Barker, after
sounding Kaduma, had distributed ammunition, with
every intention of employing their best abilities to
resist the attack. Prince Kaduma*s loyalty to his
absent friend, and Frank and Fred*s bold conduct, with
the sudden death of the chief of Igusa, had caused
Kipingiri to abandon the wicked conspiracy.
Frank informed me also that he had suffered one or
two sliglit attacks of fever, but that he had "easily
shaken them off." The Wangwana were wonderfully
recovered from the miserable attenuation which the
scant fare of Ugogo and Urimi had wrought in their
frames, and some were so robust and fat that I scarcely
knew them. Upon examining the stock of goods left
in the store-room, I was gratified to discover that
Frank had been extremely economical. I found him
in perfect accord with Prince Kaduma, good friends
with Sungoro, and respected by the Wangwana;
and on inspecting his work there was nothing in
his conduct that did not deserve hearty approval and
commendation.
Our return to Kagehyi was followed by Sabbath
repose and rest, fairly earned and much needed. When
. I placed myself under the spring-balance scales, I found
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BEST I 245
I weighed only 115 lbs., just 63 lbs. less than when ists.
leaving Zanzibar. Frank Pocock weighed 162 lbs.! .^^^
I owed this excessive reduction of flesh to scant fare
and days of hunger, not to sickness.
Sweet were those first days of rest ! Frank was eager
to hear all that had befallen us in our 1 000 miles' sail
round the lake, and the Wangwana formed circles
many deep, to hear the Iliad of our woes. What
hearty sympathizers those poor, black, untutored men
were ! Kaduma was all amazement, and Sungoro
never ceased to express his wonder as to how we
managed to go round the lake in the '* little boat." The
Wasukuma extemporized songs in her honour, which
they sang in the evenings ; and the naked urchins
made miniature boats out of the stem of the banana,
with twigs as masts and leaves for sails. The influence
of one example had, it seemed to me, already produced
fruit here, and the efforts of the little ones proved to
me that the natives needed but one or two more such
examples to stimulate them to similar enterprises.
Future explorers will find many ready to imitate bold
Saramba's conduct as guides, and the Wasukuma may
become in future as docile boatmen as they are capable
l)orters and steady travellers on land.
Then came sickness. The African fever having found
my frame weakened from privations attacked me
vigorously one day after another. Three fevers
reduced me 7 lbs. in weight. But I quininized
myself thoroughly from dawn of day to set of sun,
and on the fifth day stepped out, sallow, pale, weak,
and trembling, it is true, with jaundiced eyes, palpi-
tJiting heart, and ringing ears — but the fever had been
conquered.
Where was Magassa with his canoes? Day after day
we hoped and wished he would appear, but his canoes
were never sighted on the horizon, and we finally
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246 TUEOUOE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. abandoned all hope of seeing him, or of being able
Mny 7-15. ^^ ^each Uganda by water. We prepared therefore to
*^ inarch overland by "way of Mwer^ through King Rwo-
ina's country. We made no secret of it. Kaduma
was informed, and he communicated it to everyone,
and so it soon came to Rwoma^s ears.
But King Rwoma, being an ally of Mirambo, enter-
tained a strong objection to Wangwana, and he had ex-
aggerated ideas of the appearance of the white men who
were at Kagehyi. Some silly child ot nature had told
liim there was a white man at Kagehyi with " long red
hair, and great red eyes" — it was probably Frank,
though a libellous caricature of him certainly — and the
report induced Rwoma to send an embassy to Kagehyi.
He said : " Rwoma sends salaams to the white man.
He does not want the white man's cloth, beads, or wire,
and the white man must not pass through his country ;
Rwoina does not want to see him or any other white
man with long red hair down to his shoulders, white
face, and big red eyes ; Rwoma is not afraid cf him,
but if the white man comes near his country, Rwoma
and Mirambo will fight him." To this bold but frank
challenge the Wasukuma added other reasons to prove
that the overland route was impassable. The road
between Muanza and Mwere was closed by factious
tribes. Rwoma was an ally of Mirambo; Kijaju, his
neighbour, was an ally of the predatory Watuta ;
the chief of Nchoza, hard by him, was at war with the
Watuta ; Antari, king of Ihangiro and Bumbireh,
would naturally resent our approach; Mankorongo,
successor of Swarora of Usui, could only be appeased
with such tribute as would be absolutely ruinous. If
I proceeded south to Unyanyemb^, the Wangwana
could never be held together, and the Expedition
would dissolve like snow.
By water what was the outlook ? Magassa and his
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A SERIOUS DILEMMA. 247
fleet were not to be heard of. He had probably returned 1875.
from Musira Island, afraid to risk his canoes in t^^^^^j"^^
great waste of waters between Musira Island and Alice '^
' Island, for Waganda canoes made of plank and sewn
together with fibre ot cane sometimes founder in bad
weather, and the lake in the rainy season is dangerous
to such. The Wasukuma possessed no canoes, and I
but one boat capable of carrying fifteen men in
rough weather. Yet my duty urged me to proceed to
Uganda. Lake Albert must be visited, for I had given
my word of honour that I would attempt it. Yet the
land route was impassable, and to ail appearance so
also was the lake route !
While explaining my difficulties to Sungoro, he in-
formed me, after responding to various other ques-
tions, that Lukongeh, king of TJkerew^, possessed
numerous canoes, but he doubted if he would lend
them to me. ** However," said he, "he is an agree-
able man, and a good friend if he takes a fancy
to one." I thought of Lukongeh, but another attack
of fever cut short my deliberations. My system
was much injured by exposure and privations, and
in my delirium I fancied myself pleading with the
king, and throughout each day's sick vagaries,
"Lukongeh, Lukongeh," nothing but Lukongeh, flitted
through my brain.
On the 15th May I was convalescent, and arranged
that Prince Kaduma, Sungoro*s carpenter, and PVank
Pocock should proceed together to Lukongeh, bearing
ten fine cloths, ten fundo of beads, and five fathom of
brass wire, to open negotiations either for the sale or
liire of canoes.
On the 28th, Frank and his party returned with
fifty canoes and their crews, imder the command of
two chiefs and the " premier " of Ukerew^. I gripped
Frank's hand with ardour, but was dismayed when
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248 TEROUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. I was told that these canoes were to convey the
May 15. Expedition to Ukerew^! This was by no means a
*^* desirable thing, for its progress might be delayed
for months by caprice, or by any future illwiU arising
from a too intimate acc^uaintnnce between the Wa-
ngwana and the natives. I refused, and told the chief::
they could accompany me back to Ukerewe, as I would
see Lukongch myself.
Accordingly, on the 29th, after providing myseli
with presents such as might win any African^
goodwill — fine rugs, blankets, crimson cloth, ani!
striped cloths of Kutch and Muscat, besides beads ol
a rare quality, and other things too numerous tf
mention, equal to about 800 dollars' worth — I startecJ
for Msossi, Lukongeh's capital on the north side o:
Ukerew^.
We halted a few hours at Wezi, and its curious
granite rocks were photographed by me, and in the
afternoon continued our journey, arriving at Kisoryj
at 4 P.M., where we camped. The next morning
about 9 A.M., we passed through Rugedzi Channel
which connects Speke Gulf with Majita Bay. It wai
G feet wide in some j)laces, and if left undisturbec
there was every indication from the grasses anc
water-plants which grew iii it that it would soon hi
choked, but by vigorous punting with poles we sue
ceeded in getting through. Some of the Wakerewe sa^
that Majita mountain is separated from the mainlanc
by a similar channel, at which I should not be sur
l)rised. We reached Msossi, and received a hut t<
house ourselves in, an ox for meat, bananas for vege
tables, and milk for drink.
At 9 A.M. of the 31st we advanced upon the auli
council of Ukerewe, which, seated on some rising rock
on a plain, was quite picturesque, with the gay figure o
Lukongeh in the centre, round which the lesser light
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LUKONGEH IN COUNCIL. 249
ivolved. The king, a handsome, open-faced, light- 1875,
doured young man of twenty-six or twenty-eight ^^^^^^
jars old, merely gazed his fill ; and his chiefs
^siwa, Mosota, Mgeycya, and Wakoreh, followed his
[ample, as well as the lesser chiefs, men, boys, and
omen.
From his questions I perceived that Lukongeh
ould be quite as much influenced by conversations
x)ut Europe as Mtesa of Uganda, and I soon saw
I him as eligible a convert to Cliristianity, though
le future was too fraught with anxiety for me to
;tempt it. No business could be commenced on this
iy. We were to eat and rest, and the next, if the
ing felt in good health, we might l^egin the nego-
ations.
On tlie second day Lukongeh was fortunately in excel-
nt health and spirits, and I felt so also, and with the
reatest possible suavity I [proposed that he should
ther sell or lend me tliirty canoes. All his objec-
ons were met and overruled by the exhibition of my
resents. But when he saw me thus publicly expose
le gorgeous cloths in broad daylight, he trembled,
id bade me cover them up quickly, saying that he
ould visit me in my hut «it night, and that I might
jst assured he would do his best for me. On the
.^ening of the 4th June, he stole into my hut at night,
\ company with his faithful premier and four principal
aiefs, and here I presented him with two fine rugs, one
3otch plaid, two red blankets, ornaments of copper,
lirty fine cloths, fifty fundo of beads, and two coils
r brass wire, besides various other things, such as
ishes, plates, tin pots, &c. His chiefs received five
oths each and five fundo (a fundo consists of ten
Bcklaces) of beads, and two fathoms each of brass
ire. For these munificent presents, I should obtain
ly answer shortly ; but in the meantime I must enjoy
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I \
250 THROUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. myself. " Feed, and get fat,'* said Lukongeh, as
^""* ^"^* withdrew, happy with his wealth.
The Wakerew^, following the example of their kin
treated us with consideration. We had to underpo
narrow inspection, and a keen analysis of physic
nomy, that they might compare us with the Ar
Sungoro ; but we had long become accustomed to tl
and therefore bore it with unconcern.
There are representatives of many tribes in XJkere
— such as Wataturu, Wa-hya, Watambara, Wasumbv
Waruri, Wakwya and Wazinja.
The elders, to whom are entrusted the traditions
the country, furnished me with a list of the foUowi
kings: —
1. Bnhinda L
9. Eabana IL
2. Kasessa.
10. Gurta IL
3. Kytawa.
11. Ruhinda IL
4. Kahaiia L
12. Kahana UL
6. Gurta L
13. Iwanda.
6. Nagu.
14, Machunda.
7. MehigoL
15. Lukongeh, the present
a Mehigo IL
king.
The founder of XJkerew^, Ruhinda I., is the ki
whose memory is most revered. He brought
people in canoes from TJsongora and Ihangiro, wh
was known in old times by the name of U-wya.
it was who introduced the plantain and banana pla
into Ukerew^. The aborigines, whom he conquer
were called Wa-kwya — another name for the inhal
ants of Majita Mount. A small remnant of 1
tribe still live on the south coast of Ukerew^ oppoj
Kagehyi.
The royal sepulchre is at Kitari. The hill on wh
it is situated is seen in the photograph of the boai
the landing-place of Msossi, and an eminent chief
Ukerewe has the charge of it to protect it invioh
The kings are all buried in a sitting posture.
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THE ROYAL SEPULCHRE.
251
Liikongeh*s dominions east of Riigedzi Channel
were acquired by the forcible dispossession of Wata-
turu shepherds, after a fierce battle, which lasted five
days, during which many of the Wakerewe were slain
by the poisoned arrows of the shepherds. Though
they live harmoniously together now, there is as much
difference between the Wakerewe and the Wataturu as
1875.
June 1-6
Ukerew^.
AT THK LANDINO-PLACE OF MSOSSI :
VIEW OF KITARI HILL TO THE LEFT; MAJITA MOUNTAIN TO THE RIGHT.
(^From a photograph hy the Author.)
exists between a Nubian and a Syrian Arab. The
Wataturu are light-coloured, straight, thin-nosed and
thin-lipped, while the Wakerewe are a mixture of the
Ethiopic and negro type.
The king is supposed to be endowed with super-
natural power, and Lukongeh seizes every opportunity
to heighten this belief. He is believed to be enabled to
create a drought at pleasure, and to cause the land to
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June 1-6
(Jkerew^
252 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. be drenched with rain. It is fortunate that, since li
accession to power, rain has been regular and copio
in its season. The king has not been slow to point o
this immense advantage which Ukerewe has gain(
since he succeeded his father ; he is therefore beiov(
and feared.
Aware of the value of a reputation as rai
maker, he \^as ambitious to add to it that of *• gre
medicine man,'* and he besought me earnestly
impart to him some of the grand secrets of Europe-
such as how to transform men into lions and leoparc
to cause the rains to fall or cease, the winds
blow, to give fruitfulness to women and virility
men. Deiuands of this character are commonly ma(
by African chiefs. When I stated my inability
comply with his requests, he whispered to I
chiefs : —
*' He will not give me what I ask, because he
afraid that he will not get the canoes ; but you will s
when my men return from Uganda, he will give me {
I ask."
The custom of greeting the king is a most curio
one, differing from any I have observed elsewhei
His people, after advancing close to him, clap the
hands and kneel to him. If the king is pleased, "
reveals his pleasure by blowing and spitting into th(
hands, with which they affect to anoint their faces ai
eyes. They seem to believe that the king's saliva u
colly rium for the eyes.
To each other the Wakerew^ kneel, clap hands, a;
cry, " Wache ! wache ! " " Wache sug ! " " Mohoro
" Eg sura ? " which, translated, signifies, " Mornin
morning ! " " Good morning ! " "A good day ! " "A
you well ? "
The stories current in this country about the witc
craft practised by the people of Ukara Island pro
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June 1-6;
Ukerew<».
AN EDUCATED OROCODILK 253
that those islanders have been at pains to spread abroad i875.
a good repute for themselves, that they are cunning,
and, aware that superstition is a weakness of human
nature, have sought to thrive upon it. Their power —
according to the Wakerew^ — over the amphibiae is
wonderful. One Khamis, son of Hamadi, the carpenter
of Sungoro, having been a long time constructing a
dhow, or sailing vessel, for his employer, shared most
thoroughly in these delusions.
Khamis averred, with an oath, that there was a
crocodile which lived in the house of the chief of
Ukara, which fed from his hands, and was as docile and
obedient to his master as a dog, and as intelligent as a
man. Lukongeh had once a ptetty woman in his
harem, who was coveted by the Ukara chief, but the
latter could devise no means to possess her for a long
time until he thought of his crocodile. He instantly
communicated his desire to the reptile, and bade him
lie in wait in the rushes near Msossi until the woman
should approach the lake to bathe, as was her custom
daily, and then seize and convey her without injury
across the eight-mile channel to Ukara. The next day,
at noon, the woman was in the Ukara chiefs house.
When I expressed a doubt about the veracity of the
marvellous tale, Khamis said, indignantly : — ** What,
you doubt me ? Ask Lukongeh, and he will confirm
what I have told you."
He then added: — "Machunda, Lukongeh's father,
owned a crocodile that stole an Arab's wife, and carried
her across the country to the king's house!" To
Khamis, and the Wangwana who listened to him, this
last was conclusive evidence that the crocodiles of
Ukara were most astonishing creatures.
The Wakerewe also believe that, if a hawk seizes a
fish belonging to the Wakara, it is sure to die in the
very act !
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Jaue 1-6.
254 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Kaduma of Kagehyi, according to Khamis, possesse
a hippopotamus which came to him each morning, fc
a long period, to be milked !
It requires twelve goats and three hoes to purchase
wife in TJkerew^ from her parents. Sungoro, the Aral
was obliged to pay Lukongeh 350 lbs. of assorte
beads and 300 yards of good cloth before he succecde
in obtaining one of his young sisters in marriage,
the lover is so poor that he has neither goats nor hoe
he supplies such articles as spears, or bows and arrow
but he cannot obtain a wife until he furnishes a sufl
cient dowry to please her parents. If the parents (
older relatives are grasping, and impose hard coi
ditions, the state of the lover is hard indeed, as fr
quently after marriage demands are made for cattl
sheep, goats, &c., a refusal of which renders the marriag
void until children have been born, when all connectic
with her blood relatives ceases.
Thieves, adulterers, and murderers are put to deal
by decapitation. They may escape death, howeve
by becoming the slaves of the party they ha^
wronged.
Coils of brass wire are much coveted by tl
Wakerewe, for the adornment of their wives, who wej
it in such numerous circlets round their necks as
frive them at a distance an appearance of wearing rufl
Wristlets of copper and brass and iron, and anklets
the same metal, besides armlets of ivory, are tl
iavourite decorations of the males.
Families in mourning are distinguished by bands
plantain leaf round their heads, and by a sable pi
inent of a mixture of pulverized charcoal and buttc
The matrons who have fallen into the sere of life a
peculiar for their unnatural length of breasts, whic
depending like pouches down to the navel, are boui
to their bodies by cords. The dress of men and wom<
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June 6,
Ukereir^
256 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. consists of half dressed ox-hides, goat-skins, or
cincture of banana leaves, or kirtles of a coarsely ras
grass-cloth.
On the 6th June, Lukongeh, having issued instr
tions to his chiefs how to assist me, called on me
night, accompanied by his premier, to impart his decisi
and plans.
Said he : — " My people are very timid in strar
lands. They are no travellers like the Wangwana, I j
obliged therefore to act in the dark with them, otherw
I could not help you. I am going to give you twen
three canoes and their paddles. They are not woi
much, and if they give you trouble, you must not bla
me. I am telling my people you are coming back
Ukerewe. Don't deny it, and don't talk about
or they will be sure to run away back here. Ify
are clever, they will follow you to Usukuma. Oi
there, take the canoes and paddles, because I gi
them to you ; and here are my young nephew a
cousin, who will follow you to Ugan<la, and ms
friends with the Wazinja, as far as Ihangiro, for y
When you reach Uganda, I wish you to make Mfc
and myself brothers, and we will exchange gifts. Y
must also remember to send my young men Kick fr
Uganda. Good-bye. I have said all."
I was also enjoined to send to Lukongeh by
young nephew and cousin two suits of crimson a
blue flannels, medicine for rheumatism and headac
one revolver and ammunition, one bale of cloth, bei
of various kinds to the amount of 50 lbs., two fez
one English rug, one Kiganda canoe capable of car;
ing forty men, two tusks of ivory, Usoga goat-ski
otter furs, and iron and brass wire — all of which
course 1 promised most faithfully to send.
Lukongeh and his chiefs were out early on i
morning of the 7th June to bid me farewell. I
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LUKONQEE'a STBATAQEM. 257
there were only five email canoes ready! *'How is lers.
this, Lukongeh ? '* I aeked. " Never mind, go on ;
and remember what I have said to you, my brother.
Lukongeh is true," he replied, with dignity,
" Wonderful man,*' I thought, '* to have a respect for
truth in this country. He is assuredly one of the first.
However, we shall see."
We punted our boat through the narrow Eugedzi
Channel, and rowed to Kisorya. Lukongeh's premier,
his , nephew and cousin, who were to be our guides,
were with us.
From the hills of Kisorya I obtained a capital photo-
graph of the deep bay which leads from Speke Gulf to
Rugedzi Channel, and of the mountains of Urirwi,
across the bay. From Kisorya we moved to Ugoma^
where we halted, a sore trial to our patience, until the
11th June, on which day, with twenty-Beven canoea
of Ukerew^, we rowed to Wezi Island,* eituate
nearly midway in Speke Gulf between Ukerewe and
Kagehyi.
The next day, upon landing at Kagehyi, I whispered
instructions to Frank and Manwa Sera to haul up the
canoes to a distance of eighty yards on land, and
with the aid of Lukongeh's premier and the king's
relatives induced the Wakerewu canoe-men, 21(i ia
number, to store their paddles in my hut.
The Wakerewe were then apprised .of the strategy
of their king, and told that there were four canoea
left them to return to Ukerewe, and that, as it would
occupy four days to transport their entire party back,
beads would be given for ten days' provisions. At
• This island has since had attached to it a sad interest. At Weai,
lieutenant Shergold Smith, and Mr. O'Noil, of tho Cliitrch Miasionary
Society, together with Sungoro the Arab, and many of their foUowera,
lately lost their lives while endeavouring to remove the Arab's women
—among whom was Lukongeh's young eisler— from Ukerew^, without
the king's permission or consent
VOL. I. — 17
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
June 12.
Kagehyt
258 THBOUQH THE DARK CONTMENT.
1875. tliis the Wakerewe were naturally very much surprise
and the uproar became tremendous. They seized 1
premier, but he audaciously shuffled the fault upon 1
young relatives, so releasing him they bound Lukonge
relatives, and would undoubtedly have murdered th'
then and there but for the precautions I had tak
A nod to Frank and Manwa Sera, and fifty Wangws
had dashed up to the rescue and, charging on the (
cited mob with the muzzles of their guns, drove th
clear out of the village of Kagehyi.
When the Wakerewe were outside, we held
palaver with them, at which it was explained that
should wait six days at Kagehyi, during which ti
they could communicate with Lukongeh, and if the ki
repented of his promise, the canoes would be sent ba
or that, if they pleased, they could return and,
manning the canoes for us, would be sure of eami
each man his reward, but that the relatives of Lukong
being in my camp and in my service, must not
molested, as I was bound to protect them.
This firm decision being fully explained to th(
forty-five took the four canoes given and retun
to Ukerewe, to communicate with Lukongeh. !
additional canoes, despatched by their friends
next day, assisted in the transport of the natives
Ukerewe back to their country ; and on the third c
our camp was . emptied of almost all of them, 1
though we waited seven days at Kagehyi, no furti
communicaiion came from Lukongeh, and therefore
premier and his five servants departed.
Meanwhile, I had despatched messengers to all
districts around to summon the people to a gr
market, whereat all grain brought to Kagehyi wo
be purchased, at the rate of eight measures (simi
to pecks) for one doti or four yards of blue, white,
coloured cloth. By the 19th June, 12,000 lbs. of gn
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
June 20.
MabibL
WE LEAVE KAGEHTL 259
sesamum, millet, and Indian com, and 500 lbs. of rice, I875.
had been purchased and stowed in cloth sacks, each
containing about 100 lbs.
As the canoes were so rotten, the crews of each were
detailed under the supervision of Lukanjab, the nephew,
and Mikondo, the cousin of Lukongeh, to repair them.
This was done by re-sewing many of the planks with
cane-fibre and caulking them with the bruised stalk
of the banana.
At early dawn we began the embarkation of 150
men, women, and children, with 100 loads of cloth,
beads, and wire, 88 sacks of grain, and 30 cases of
ammunition ; and as I could not delegate to others the
care of the flotilla wilhout feeling uncontrollable
anxiety about it, the Lady Alice^ loaded with most of
the ammunition, led the way at 9 a.m. to Mabibi.
These islets are three miles westward of Wezi, six
miles from Ukerew^, and about nine miles from
Kagehyi,
To my great satisfaction I perceived that the Wa-
ngwana would soon acquire the art of paddling, though
many were exceedingly timid on the water. Until
they gained confidence in their new duties, our plan
was to avail ourselves of the calm periods, and not
to risk so many lives and so much property in a
tempestuous sea.
A strong breeze from the north-west lasted all the
morning, but at noon it moderated, and two hours
afterwards, taking advantage of the calm, we pushed
ofiF from Mabibi, and, rounding the south-west corner
of the XJkerewe peninsula, pulled for the Kunneneh
islets, which we reached without loss or accident.
Again the north-west breeze blew strong, and, as it
had power over a greater expanse of water, the
waves did not subside until 2 P.M. It was tough
labour rowing against tlie heavy swell, and the dis-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
260 TEBOUQH TEB DARK CONTINENT.
1875. tanoe to the Miandereh Islands was long. Bj ]
jnne2o. geveting, however, we made good progress^ yet
sunset Miandereh islets were not in sight
Intense darkness set in. We could not see one
other, though we could hear the measured, rhyth
beat and splash of oar and paddle, but no voices, li
and then I flashed a waxlight over the dark waste
a beacon to the thoughtless and unwary. By i
means, and by threats of punishment to those \
strayed from the line, the canoes were kept
gether.
We had proceeded quietly for three hours in
darkness, when suddenly shrill cries were heard
" the boat.** Hurrying to the spot, I managed to
tinguish, to my astonishment, round dark objects float
on the water, which we found to be the heads of i
who were swimming towards us from a founde
canoe. We took the frightened people on board, i
picked up four bales of cloth, but a box of ammunil
and 400 lbs. of grain had sunk.
We moved forward again, but had scarcely gone 1
a milo when again piercing cries from the deep glc
startled us. ^' The boat, oh, the boat ! " was scrcai
in frenzied accents.
As we steered for the spot, I lit a wax taper and
fire to the leaves of a book I had been reading dur
the afternoon, to lighten up the scene. Heads
struggling men and bales were found here likewise
the water, and a canoe turned bottom up with a la
rent in its side ; and while distributing these amc
the other canoes, we heard to our alarm that five g
had sunk, but fortunately no lives were lost or ot
property, except four sacks of grain.
My boat was now up to her gunwale with twenty-1
men and thirty loads, and if a breeze rose, she woi
unless we lightened her of property, inevitably sink.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
FULLING TO TEE HESCUK 261
Through the darkness I shouted out to the frightened i875.
men, that if any more canoes collapsed, the crews ^"^^^^^
should at once empty out the grain and heads, but on
no account abandon their boats, as they would float and
sustain them until I could return to save them.
I had scarcely finished speaking before the alarming
cries were raised again : ** Master, the canoe is sinking !
Quick, come here. Oh, master, we cannot swim ! "
Again I hurried up to the cries, and distinguished
two men paddling vigorously, while five were baling.
I was thinking how I could possibly assist them, when
other cries, broke out: **The boat! Bring the boat
here ! Oh, hurry — the boat, the boat ! '* Then another
broke out, " And we are sinking — the water is up to
our knees. Come to us, master, or we die ! Bring the
boat, my master ! "
It was evident that a panic was raging amongst
the timid souls, that the people were rapidly becoming
utterly unnerved. In reply to their frenzied cries,
and as the only way to save us all, I shouted out
sternly : " You who would save yourselves, follow
me to the islets as fast as you can ; and you who
are crying out, cling to your canoes until we
return."
We rowed hard. The moon rose also, and cheered
us in half an hour with a sight of Miandereh, for
which we steered. Her brightness had also the effect
of rousing up the spirits of the Wangwana ; but still
the piteous cries were heard far behind : " Master ! oh,
master ! bring your boat — the boat ! "
" Hark to them, my boys — hark/' I sang out to my
crew, and they responded to my appeal by causing the
Lady Alice to fly through the water, though the waves
almost curled over her sides. " Pull, my men ; break
your oars ; shoot her through the water ; life and death
hang on your efforts. Pull like heroes." She hissed
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
262 THROUQH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. through the waves, as ten men, bending with the ^
Junt 20. ^g^ j^^g^ desperate efiFort^ spurred her with their oai
Miandereh islets rose larger and clearer mio vi
" Hurrah, my boys, here is our island ! pull and c
the black water — your brothers are drowning ! "
We reached Miandereh — shot the goods out, lij
ened her of the wrecked men, and flew back ag
skimming over the dark surface.
There were two brothers who had been m
coxswains of canoes, who came prominently i
notice on this terrible night. Each had his spe
crew, friends and people of the same tril^, and tl
names were Uledi and Shumari ; the former al
twenty-five years old, the latter eighteen.
As I was returning with my boat to the scene,
canoes passed me like arrows. "Who go there?*
demanded.
" Uledi and Shumari^s canoes,'* replied somebody.
** Return instantly, after unloading, to save
people.'*
*' It is what we intend to do, Inshallah ! " answerc
voice.
" Fine fellows those, I warrant them," I thou<
" Their very action and tone reveal their brave spiri
Away we flew to the rescue, blowing the bugle
announce our approach. We passed three or 1
canoes^ racing by us to the islets. Thank Heaven,
lake was calm, and the moon shone clear and strc
casting a golden light upon the waters.
" You are brave fellows ; pull, my sons ; think
those poor men in the lake in sinking canoes.'*
spending to my prayers, the crew almost cracked tl
hearts in the mighty efforts they made; their qu
swaying figures, the deep sighs which burst from tl
breasts, the careering boat, the excited helmsn
everything sympathized with me. I seized one of
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
ALL SAVED. 263
oars myself to relieve a lad, and to assist tlie force ists.
which now dashed the boat over the water* She „^"^t '^\
seemed instinct with lite.
We now heard the cries for aid, "Oh, the boat!
Master, bring the boat ! " come once more pealing over
the golden lake from the foundering canoes.
" Do you hear, men ? break the oars — lift the boat
over the water. We will save them yet. It is to-
night or never ! "
With fresh force she bounded upward. Every fibre
of our straining bodies and the full strength of our
energies were roused, and in five minutes we ran along-
side first one canoe, then a second and a third — until
again the boat was down in the water to within an
inch of her gunwale. But all the people, men, women,
and children, were saved. The light material of which
the canoes were constructed had suflSced to float the
loads that were in them.
We rested until help should arrive, and presently
Uledi's and Shumari's canoes were seen advancing side
by side, with lines of pale foam flashing from each
bow, as they were driven with the force of strong
men towards us. With loud, glad cries they stopped
their furious career alongside, and the first words they
uttered were, " Are all safe ? "
" Yes, all," we replied.
*• El hamd-ur-illah ! " ('* Thanks be to God ! '*), they
answered fervently.
With the aid of these two canoes we were able to
return to the islets with the thirty-two men, women,
and children, and the entire property safe. Gur loss
during this fearful night was five canoes, five guns,
one case of ammunition, and twelve hundred pounds
of grain.
The next morning, leaving a tliird of the party and
goods at Miandereh, we departed for Singo, which we
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
264 TEBOUGH TEE DAEK CONTINENT.
1875. reached at 9 a.m. A few canoes were then hastenec
June 2L \^qj^ ^q Miandereh for the remainder.
It will be remembered that, while the boat was re
turning from Uganda and passing by Ito, an islanc
situated half a mile south-west of Singo, the native
of Ito drove us away by slinging stones at us. Such x
force as we now numbered could not be received witl
such rudeness : at the same time they were secure fron
molestation by us. I despatched therefore Lukanjal
and Mikondo, the Wakerewe guides, to the island o
Ito, to explain to the natives who we were, and t
remove all fears of reprisal. Lukanjih was extremely
successful, and brought the chief of Ito, who, as som(
atonement for our previous treatment, had furnished him
self with peace-offerings in the shape of a couple of fa
kids, and several bunches of mellow plantains. Th
large island of Komeh also, on the next day, sent it
king to rejoice with us over numerous jars of potent bee
and many slaughtered goats. The king of Komeh soL
us besides four good, almost new, canoes of suflScien
capacity to render us secure from further anxiety.
The Wangwana, after their terrible experience
while crossing the entrance to Speke Gulf, wer
awakened to the necessity of narrowly inspecting an(
carefully repairing their canoes. At Kagehyi th
repairs had been extremely superficial, but the mei
were now fully alive to the importance of good caulk
ing and a thorough relacing of the planks togethei
while Frank, Lukanjah, and I superintended their worl
Seven hours* paddling on the 24th June brought u
to Refuge Island, and on its south side we proceeded
to establish a strong camp. The 25th was employe
in constructing one large store hut for the grain, an
another for the property of the Expedition ; and the hui
of the garrison were built with due regard to the stric
watch of the camp.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BETUBN TO KAGEETL 265 ^
After selecting forty-four men as garrison, and isrs.
appointing Frank Pocock captain and Manwa Sera his ^"°* ^^
lieutenant, with the two guides, Lukanjah and Mikondo, hUiS
as interpreters in case of visitors, and leaving four
canoes for the garrison to communicate, if they wished,
with the natives of Itawagumha on the mainland, I
began my return to Usukuma on the 26th with the
boat, seventeen canoes, and 106 men.
Four days afterwards we reached Kagehyi, at 3 p.m.
But as the voyage had been extremely rough, only
fourteen canoes were mustered in the cove.
When five days had passed, and we received no
tidings of the three canoes and their crews of thirteen
men which were still absent, I despatched a canoe with
two Wangwana and eight Wasukuma to Lukongeh, the
king, requesting him to hunt up the laggards, who no
doubt had either deserted or had been captured by the
TVakorewe.
On this day also I purchased from Kipingiri, for 40
yards of cloth, a large canoe capable of carrying thirty
men, which the Wangwana, on account of her uncouth
shape, called the " Hippopotamus.'* The wood of
which she was made was sycamore, and she was so
rotten at the stern that one thrust of my foot kicked
a hole in her 9 inches in diameter. Though she was
an ancient craft, and heavy with saturation, she might,
I thought, be still made serviceable for the transport of
the riding asses.
Whilst Uledi and Salaam Allah, the carpenters, and
two or three chiefs were assisting me to repair the
venerable ^* Hippo ** in a hollow close to the water s
edge, a man came rushing down, crying, "Quick!
quick! Master, the Wangwana are murdering one
another ! They are all dead men ! "
Leaving one man to look after our tools, we ran
up the hill, and witnessed a most horrible scene. About
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Kigehji.
266 TEBOUQH THE DAEK CONTINENT.
1875. tliirty men armed with guns were threatening c
L-.'*!^ul*i another in an excited manner ; others brandished cli
or knobsticks; some held spears menacingly^ wh
several flourished knives. A frenzy seemed to ha
possessed the hitherto well-behaved people. One m
was already dead with a ghastly knife wound in 1
heart, another lay prostrate with a fractured sk
from a knobstick, and the author of this deed was ev
then striding with sweeping flourishes of a long cl
through the ranks of a turbulent crowd, deliveri
sounding blows on their heads and shoulders.
Snatching a stout stick, I rapped the ruffian so vig(
ously over his knuckles that he dropped his club a
was secured by my assistants, and then, calling the chi
to my aid, we disarmed the infuriates. This summa
proceeding soon quelled the disturbance, and th(
perceiving that pombe — beer — was at the bottom
the mischief, all who were sober were ordered to fi
into line, by which we discovered that fifty-three wc
quite intoxicated.
Upon examination it was found that the murderer
Memb^, one of the stoutest of our boat-bearers, w
Fundi Kehani, and that he who had fractured t
other man's skull was Eehani, the brother of Meml
Both were immediately secured for trial before Prir
Kaduma, the Arab Sungoro, and the Wangwa
chiefs. The jars of pombe were broken, and dilige
search made in every place for beer.
This bloodshed upon the soil of Usukuma had to
paid for out of my cloth stores to mollify Prin
Kaduma, and further payment was required for t
privilege of burial.
The jury which I convened to adjudge the case s€
tenced the murderer to death; but, as I would i
consent to this extreme measure, the sentence w
changed to two hundred lashes and the chain, until 1
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MUBDEBOUa OUTBREAK IN CAMP. 267
arrival at Zanzibar, when he might he surrendered to 1875.
his prince. The drunken madman Rehani, though he ^"^^ ^\
had been inspired to the fury which led him to frac- ^* ^^
ture a man's skull by the sight of his dead brother,
was also condemned by the jury, for endangering the
life of a perfectly innocent man, to fifty lashes. These
sentences, faithfully executed with due ceremony in
presence of all the Wangwana, affected them greatly,
and I took advantage of this scene to call the attention
of the bully Msenna, and others who had distinguished
themselves in the previous day's ebullition of madness,
to the punishment which must assuredly follow the
commission of such dreadful acts.
On the 5th July, to my great joy, the scouts sent
to Lukongeh in search of the missing canoes returned
with two of them, but of the third we received no news,
until a year later — after our arrival at Ujiji — when we
heard that they had deserted and had proceeded direct
to Unyanyemb^ with their guns. The crews of the two
canoes, now happily restored to ns, informed me that
they had been driven by the gale to seek shelter on the
mainland of Ukerewe, where they were instantly seized
and conveyed to Lukongeh, when, instead of being
slain, as the natives expected the captives would be,
they were kindly treated by the king, proving to the
islanders that the white man had only acted by his
orders.
On the 6th July, after giving farewell presents to
Prince Kaduma and his clever, genial princess, to the
Arab Sungoro, Prince Kipingiri of Lutari, and Kur-
ereh — though the two latter little deserved them —
as well as to many others, I embarked all the people,
animals, and effects of the Expedition, and by ten o'clock
we were safely clear of Kipingiri's power and vicious
intents and, for the last time, of Kagehyi.
There was not one feeling of regret in my breast at
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
268 TEEOUQE TEE DARK CONTINENJL
1875. leaving this place, where the Expedition had found a
^^ *^ camp for over four months. Not that the village wa«
uiuS in any way destitute of comforts, for these it aflforded,
nor that the natives were in any manner repugnant
to me, for they were not ; but the objects for which we
came into the land could never be attained by un-
necessary residence at any one spot. The time had
simply arrived to begin our travels again, and I was
glad of it, for the bold and bad Kipingiri was, I sus-
pected, ever exercising an evil influence over Kaduma.
On the 11th July we arrived safely and without
accident at Refuge Island, wliere I found the gar-
rison thriving admirably. Through the influence of
young Lukanjah — the cousin of the king of Ukerewe —
the natives of the mainland had been induced to
exchange their churlish disposition for one of cordial
welcome, and the process of blood-brotherhood had been
formally gone through between Manwa Sera, on my
part, and Kijaju, king of Komeh, and the king of Itawa-
gumba on the other part.
Lukanjah, aware of the respect paid by his dusky
brothers to power, had deftly exaggerated my influence
and the numbers of my force, until a friendly alliance
with one so powerful became a cherished project with
Kijaju, and caused him to seek it by a tribute of
three fat oxen, six goats, and fifty bunches of bananas,
besides a store of delectable maramba, upon which I
found that the garrison had been subsisting during my
absence from Refuge Island.
I deputed Frank to repay with cloths, beads, and
wire Kijaju*s generosity, for the constant anxiety
which I suffered during the passages between Refuge
Island and Kagehyi for the safety of my people and
effects, had induced such a serious illness that for five
days I was unable to leave my hut on the island.
On the sixth day, however, I left my bed and strolled
Digitized by CiOOQIC
TEE DANCE OF KINGS. 269
over the island on which, on that terrible day of our I875.
escape from Bumbireh, we had found a refiige and relief ^^^ ^^'
in our distress, and now an asylum for half of the isUnd!
Expedition for about a month. The younger portion
of the garrison knew every nook and cranny of our
island home, and had become quite attached to it.
On the eastern side about fifteen fruit trees had been
discovered by them, laden with delicious berries, the
flavour of which seemed something of a mixture of
custard apple and a ripe gooseberry. The stones of
this small fruit were two in number, like small date-
stones. The leaves of the tree resemble those of the
peach ; its fruit are smooth-surfaced, and hang in threes;
its wood is tough and flexible. It is no doubt a species
of the Verbenacece. The garrison had failed to consume
half the quantity found, so that, when I arrived with
a reinforcement of 150 men, there was a sufficient
quantity left to cause them all to remember the sweet
fruit of Refuge Island.
On this day, Kijaju, king of Komeh, visited me, to
our mutual satisfaction. He furnished me with two
guides to accompany me to Uganda, who were to be
returned to Komeh along with Lukanjah and Mikondo.
Their assistance was valuable only as the means of
furnishing me with the names of localities between
Refuge Island and Uzongora.
In the same manner that we had left Kagehyi, we
departed from Refuge Island, viz. by embarking the
garrison, and leaving those who had stayed at Kagehyi
to rest upon Refuge Island until we should return for
them.
The night was passed with a wild dance under the
moonlight, at which three kings were present, who par-
ticipated with all the light-hearted gaiety of children
in the joyous sport.
Old Kijaju distinguished himself on the wild " fan-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
270 TEROUaH TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. tnstic toe " most extraordinarily. Itawagumba, jealous
in\j 17. ^f j^jg uncle's performance, exerted himself with mad
uuiidL vigour, and the stalwart chief of Bwina bounded
upward as though performing on the flying trapeze.
Young Lukanjah of Ukerewe, and his royal relative
Mikondo, with all the suppleness of acrobats, made
their d^but on this night with great spirit, and the^
hundred warriors from the mainland sang to the
dance with such force of lungs as startled the colossal
rocks of Refuge Island into echoing the wild harmony.
The Wangwana, headed by Frank and the gallant
Manwa Sera, enlarged the vast circle with 150 men
and 20 women, and all voices chimed to the song which
old Kijaju sang to celebrate the day on which the
white chief made brotherhood with the king of Komeh.
Refreshments were not wanting to cheer the dancers.
Great masses of beef were roasted over glorious fires,
and many jars of beer and mararaba, brought from
Bwina and Komeh, invited the special attention of the
thirsty.
As we left Refuge Island, on the morning of the 18th
July, the guides furnished by Kijaju, king of Komeh,
propitiated the genius of the lake with beads given to
him for the occasion, and adjured it by saying : —
" Be kind to the white M'kama, Nianja, I charge
thee ! - Give him a safe and prosperous voyage across
thy wide waters.'*
From Kazaradzi Island, on which we rested for the
night, we beheld a most glorious sunset. The western
sky, halfway up to the zenith, was all aglow for about
an hour with resplendent gold, which tinted mountain,
hill, plain, and lake with the reflection of the lustrous
hue.
Next day we sailed for Wawizua Island ; and on the
20th, passing by the picturesque islands of Mysomeh
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Hab/iga.
MECONNOITBED BY TEE ENEMY. 271
and Eumondo — every canoe hoisting small lug-sails, ists.
made of the loin-cloths of the crew, in order to benefit ^^Jj^
by the strong south-easter — we steered for Nameterrd
Island, where we arrived without accident.
On the 21st July we arrived at the southernmost
of the dreaded Bumbireh group, Mahyiga Island, which
I ascertained, after careful survey, was not inhabited.
At a little cove on the western side we discovered
relics of a large camp, which, by the shape of the dome-
like huts and bonneted doorways had, we were assured,
been constructed by Waganda. Yet what force of
Waganda could have penetrated thus far to the south ?
As we were now in a dangerous neighbourhood, it
behoved us to form a proper camp, as a small party
would be compelled to remain upon this island until the
remainder of the Expedition could be brought from
Refuge Island. For this purpose, every hand was em-
ployed to clear the scrub and bush for a distance of
200 yards from the cove, and a road 12 feet wide was
cut from the south side of Mahyiga Island to the north
end.
About 5 P.M., while we were still at work, two large
canoes approached cautiously from the direction of
Iroba Island towards our cove. They took great pains
to ascertain the number of our canoes, and we could see
that they endeavoured to reckon up the number of men
on the island before they spoke a word. Finally they
hailed us, and Lukanjah, of Ukerewe, and Kijaju's man
were requested to reply to them.
Our conversation, which was of great interest to us
as we burned to know what to expect from Bumbireh,
was as follows : —
** Is this the white chief who was at Bumbireh ? **
*^Yes."
** Oh, he was not lost on the Nianja then ? **
** No, he lives, and has returned."
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Mabjigt.
272 TEBOUGH THE DALE CONTINENT.
1875. ** Oh. The white chief must not be angry with Iro
iaII^IL We did not trouble him, therefore he has no quai
"^ with us. The people of Bumbireh are bad. What 1
the white chief come for ? **
** He is going to Uganda,**
** How can he go to Uganda ? Does he not kn
that Bumbireh is in the way, and Ihangiro's eyes \
be upon him. Will he fly ? "
" No ; he will proceed by water in his canoes. 1
Bumbireh the white chief is not afraid ; his young n
are many in number. If the men of Bumbireh wish
make friends, let Shekka send the oars he stole, and 1
white chief will be glad."
" Magassa,** replied they, " who camped on tl
island you are on, received the oars from Shekka, a
he took them away to Uganda, believing you were 1
in the Nianja.**
" The white chief was not lost ; he is here. If i1
true that the oars are gone to Uganda, let Shekka ms
friends with the 'white chief, and send him two or th
men to go with him to Makongo, in Uzongora, or
Uganda, as Lukongeh of Ukerewe and Kijaju
Komeh have done, and there will be no more woi
between them."
** Shekka is very strong, and the men of Bumbii
are bold. Antari of Ihangiro, the great king,
stronger, and Shekka is his son. All this Nianja ab
here is his water, and they will not let you pass. Wl
will the white chief do ? "
" Tell Shekka and Antari, his father, that the wli
chief will remain here for many days. He will be g
to hear good words from them. When he is ready
go away, he will let them know. If the king of Ire
is the white chiefs friend, let him send food here
sell."
After promising to perform all that we required, a
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
OUB FRIENDSHIP SCORNED. 273
to bring food the next day, the two canoes paddled 1875.
away, two or three of their crews laughing osten- '^"'y^s.
tatiously. * ^*^'
On the morning of the 23rd, about 10 a.m., another
canoe, containing fifteen men, approached us from
Iroba, in a bold, defiant manner. We asked their crew
if they brought food for sale. They replied, ** No ; but
you will get food in plenty by and by." After taking
a searching look at our camp, they turned away,
giving expression to their contempt by a method which
obtains all round the Uvuma, Uganda, Uzongora, and
Ukerew6 coasts, viz. by throwing up water behind
tl:em in the air with their paddles, which is as well
understood as the British youth's gesture of placing a
thumb to his nose.
Lukanjah smiled when he saw this, and when re-
quested to give me his thoughts, he said significantly,
** Those people mean something."
On the morning of the 24th, long before dawn, in
order that the Iroba or Bumbireh people might not
espy their departure, I despatched sixteen of the
largest canoes under Manwa Sera, to return to Refuge
Island for the remainder of the Expedition, after many
injunctions to be cautious, and not to commit any folly.
Our camp was now in perfect condition, and presented
as clean and orderly an appearance as two days' labour
could render it. Watch-huts were also erected upon
the highest part of the island, and five men under a
chief were detached for the duty of observation. The
garrison left with me upon the island consisted of
forty-five men and the four guides from my friends
Lukongeh and Kijaju.
On this day also canoes came from Iroba, to the crews
of which, as they rested in the water, we exhibited
beads and cloths, copper bracelets and bright brass
wire. In return for our professions of friendliness and
VOL. I. — 18
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A
274 THBOUOE THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. our proffers of gifts, they spurned the water towa
Jo*7 25. ^g^ ^^^ replied with mockery.
^*^ On the 25th, when the Iroba natives came, I adopi
after due forethought, a sterner tone, perceiving t
amiability was liable to contempt and misconstructi
I told them that the king of Iroba must prove
friendship by sending food for sale by noon of the n
day ; and that as I was assured he was in commi
cation with the king of Bumbireh, his neighboui
should expect either the return of the oars or two
three men as sureties and pledges of peace. I kr
the mainland was hostile, and since I was compel
to proceed to Uganda, I resolved to be assured, bef
venturing the lives of the women and children
rotten and crowded canoes, that I should be permit
to proceed in peace, and not be attacked midway
tween Bumbireh and the mainland.
The natives, cowed a little by the tone of vo
promised that there should be no delay in send
provisions, bananas, milk, honey, chickens, even ox
for the white M'kama.
On the morning of the 26th, the men at the obser
tion post reported that they saw a great many can
proceeding from the mainland towards the great ish
of Bumbireh. I ascended the road to the summit, j
with my glass I counted eighteen canoes, heavily lac
with men, and watched them till they had passed roi
Iroba's westernmost point towards Bumbireh. It i
evident that mischief was brewing, but how or in w
shape I could not tell. It was probable that tl
would attack the island by night, knowing we w
not very strong in numbers at the time. It wai
very possible feat, for the islanders, as we had
perienced, were not dull-witted, and were resolute i
brave. Meantime, what should I do in such a case i
I waited until 3 p.m. for the king of Iroba. He
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Umhjiga
CAFTUBE OF TEE KING OF IROBA. 275
not oome. Instant action on my part was therefore 1875.
imperative, ^^^J^^
I manned my boat and four of the canoes with thirty-
five men, leaving only Safeni with fourteen men in
charge of the camp and island, and proceeded to Iroba
to make a reconnaissance. As we came up, I observed
a flutter of excitement on the shore. I steered straight
for the beach opposite a village, and landed. Twenty-
five of the men were dei)loyed as skirmishers- along the
shore, to give due effect to what I purposed. Lukanjah
of Ukerewe was told to request the king of Iroba and
elders to approach, or we should begin fighting.
They came to us, about fifteen in number. **Tell
him, Lukanjah,*' I said, *' that Iroba has behaved badly
by sending his young men to laugh at us. Since he
has lied so many times to me, he himself and two of
his chiefs must depart with me to my camp. He will
not be hurt, but he must stay with me until Shekka
of Bumbireh is in my hands, or peace is made as I
suggested."
There was no violence used, and the king of Iroba
and two chiefs quietly walked into the boat. When
they were seated, the king was requested to give in-
structions to his young men how to capture Shekka of
Bumbireh and two Bumbireh chiefs ; and a solemn
promise was given that on their appearance the king
of Iroba and his friends would be released. The
natives of Iroba, who were collected by this time on
the beach, entered into the project with animation.
They declared that next day Shekka should be in my
hands.
On the morning of the 27th, a canoe from Iroba
came with provisions for the king and chiefs, and to
report their failure at Bumbireh. One of the young
men, said to be the king's son, offered to remain in
his father's place, while he himself should try to
Digitized by
1
I k
276 TUROUQE THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. obtain possession of Shekka's person. This touching
M^h^i^^ confidence bo affected me that, after inducing the king
of Iroba to go through the process of blood-brotherhood
with one of the Wangwana, he was released.
At 5 P.M., faithful to his promise that he would per-
form what I wished, the king of Iroba brought the
treacherous king of Bumbireh with two of his chiefs,
whose appearance, after he had landed at Mahyiga and
been recognized, was hailed with a loud shout by the
Wangwana. He was about to be maltreated, and had
I not been present at the time, there is no doubt that
he would have been murdered by the enraged boat's
crew. But they calmed down when they were told
that his life and services were necessary to us, and
that good treatment might secure his friendship and
peace with Bumbireh.
My purpose in possessing myself of the person of the
king of Bumbireh and his two chiefs may easily be
divined. It must have been perceived that weakness
and irresolution — or, in other words, over-gentleness
and want of firmness — had proved harmful on several
previous occasions. Thus, the hesitation to act im-
mediately after the commission of murder by the
Wanyaturu led them to imagine that it was fear
which withheld us ; the forbearance exhibited at Ngevi
Island only brought upon us more annoyance; our
mildness at Mombiti in Uvuma suggested the attack
upon us by stoning ; our long-suffering temper at the
straits between Uvuma and Ugeyeya induced the
Wavuma to proceed to piracy and violence ; our patient
bearing at Bumbireh led the natives to think that we
might be murdered like lambs ; our placability merited
and received the contempt of the natives of Iroba ; and a
hundred times afterwards did I see that the savage only
respects force, power, boldness, and decision ; and that
he is totally ignorant of the principles which govern
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE KING OF BUMBIBEH A EOSTAQE. 277
the conduct of Christian man to man. Forbearance 1875.
is to him cowardice ; mildness, patience, and an equable ^^^^^'
temper are, in his undeveloped and unreasoning mind,
only evidences of effeminacy. But the murderous
Wanyaturu, when we finally turned out of our camp,
learned, when it was too late, tliat our womanly gentle-
ness covered power ; the audacious Wakamba at Ngevi
Island were only brought to their senses when they
heard the startling reports of the revolver ; the inten-
tion of the daring Wavuma to murder was only checked
by quick aiid energetic action; the treacherous rock-
slingers of Mornbiti only desisted when fired upon ; the
ferocious Wa-Bumbireh only respected us after our
successful escape; the cunning ning of Iroba only
became really friendly when we quietly showed our
power, and his rapidly growing insolence was only
cowed by the exhibition of sternness.
But the exercise of power without magnanimity is
simply brutality, and has only a transient effect. If,
therefore, I could only show the king of Bumbireh and
his people that the first white man they had seen was
extremely gentle in his manner until aroused, but,
though strong and powerful when angered, was mag-
nanimous afterwards, I should, I felt, leave a lasting
good effect upon their minds. Though Shekka's capture
was necessary, in order to ensure the passage of the
Expedition between Bumbireh and Ihangiro in peace
and safety, his good treatment and after-release were
none the less necessary also — provided that nothing
serious occurred in the meantime to prevent the ex-
hibition of clemency towards him *
Perceiving himself to be in the power of those whom
• On page 32, vol. i., ' Last Journals/ Livingstone says :— " It may have
been for the best that the English are thus known as people who can hit
hard when unjustly attacked, as we on this occasion most certainly were.*
Other instances could be cited from his books to prove Dr. Livingstone*!*
yiewB on such occasions.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
278 TEEOUOH THE DAEK CONTINENT.
1875. he had outraged with a wanton ferocity, and whom he
ii"lf r* had compelled to risk the terrors of the stormy sea
* ^ ^ without the means of subsistence, or means to seek
shelter from the gales and tempests which prevail during
the rainy season, Shekka's behaviour became as abject
as it had been ferocious when our positions were re-
versed. But he was informed in mild tones that we
sought not his life, but our own safety ; that he was
captured to secure ourselves from violence by the pos-
session of his person ; that, while he was a prisoner
with us, there would be no fear that Antari of Ihangiro
and the people of Bumbireh would attack us by night,
as they must know that we possessed the means of
retaliation through him.
He was pleased to be communicative on this assu-
rance, and informed us that Antari was collecting a
vast force on Bumbireh, by day and night, for the
purpose of attacking us on the island of Mahyiga. He
imparted to us also the narrative of how Antari's
father, in conjunction with Kytawa in the days of old,
had successfully defied for a long period the full
power of the great Suna of Uganda, and he was curious
to know how a small body of men like ourselves
could hope to escape from Antari* — or "the Lion"
— of Ihangiro.
Shekka was advised that, as we knew how to de-
fend ourselves when attacked, he had better send word
to Bumbireh and to Antari that we did not seek trouble,
but were desirous of establishing peaceful relations
between the Wangwana and the natives. Three of the
ordinary natives of Bumbireh who had been brought
with Shekka and his two chiefs were therefore per-
mitted to depart with the king of Iroba and 'his
friends.
At 9 A.M. the king of Iroba appeared again, this
• Antari, or " the lion/' is a favourite name with the Wahuma tribes.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
•• TEE LION'' THBEATENS U8. 279
time with gifts of milk, honey, bananas, and a fat kid, i875.
which kindness we liberally reciprocated, not without ^^^ ^®'
much politic ostentation for the advantage of Shekka * ^
and the natives.
At noon he reappeared with three large canoes, con-
taining twenty men each, from Ibangiro, under the
command of Antari s chief elder. They were permitted
to land, though they were numerically superior to the
garrison on the island. But before I had given them
permission to that efiFect, Frank was requested to bold
thirty men imder arms to prevent treachery and
surprise.
Our greeting was friendly, though there was a cer-
tain proud reserve in their manner.
"TYhat says the king Antari?'* I asked through
Lukanjah.
" Antari asks, * Why have you come to his waters
and camped on his island ?' "
** We have come because we must pass through to
Uganda, and have rested on Mahyiga to wait for our
people. As I have not sufficient canoes to carry my
people and property in one passage, I must leave some
here, while I proceed to Uganda with the first half of
the party. I wish to be assured by Antari that in
my passage by Bumbireh we shall not be attacked,
nor the party which must be left in my absence on
this island be molested. What say you ?"
" Antari says he is a great and strong king. All the
mainland which you see from Rumondo to Kytawa's
is his, so are all these islands and waters. He has
never seen strangers before travelling by sea : they
always went by land. He says, * You must go back.' "
" We cannot go back, tell him," I replied. " This
water belongs to every stranger, as much as the wind.
The island may be his, but no one dwells on Mahyiga,
and we will not injure the rocks."
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Hahjigt.
280 TBEOUQH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. " Antari says he will make peace only if you go
Juij28. ^a^t. He sends these three bunches of bananas to
you, and this woman and child."
** We do not deal in slaves, and three bunches of
bananas are of no use to us. We want permission to
pass quietly and peacefully through to Uganda, and if
Antari will send many bananas to us, we will buy
them, as we have many mouths with us."
" Then Antari says he will make war on you, and
kill you all."
•* Ah, does he say those words ? *
" Yes, Antari says those words/'
I whispered to Frank to bring Shekka, who was
immediately brought to their presence. When they
saw him, they all rose to a man with threatening
actions. We all rose also, in a prepared attitude,
which convinced them that violence was useless. I
said to the elders : —
** Sit down, and carry my words to Antari. Open
your ears wide, and understand. Antari is Mtesa*s
slave ; I am Mtesa's friend. Antari's people rob and
try to murder Mtesa's friend, but he escapes, and has
now come back on his way to Mtesa. Again, Antari
and his people are busy preparing war against Mlesa's —
Antari's master's — friend. He sends many canoes and
hundreds of men to Bumbireh. He also sends three
canoes to tell me that he is about to fight me, and
perhaps — you know best — to rescue Shekka, who is
my means for securing my safety. Tell Antari that
the white man is not a woman, and that lying words will
not be swallowed by him. He means to go to Uganda,
whether Antari will let him or not. If Antari fights,
tell him to remember how the white man escaped from
Bumbireh. The white man wants peace, but he is not
afraid of Antari Now go, and carry every word to
Antari, and to-morrow, by noon, I must have his
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
WELCOME FRIENDS. 281
answer, or I shall carry Shekka and his two chiefs to isrs.
Uganda, and deliver them up to Mtesa.'* \^i^
Without giving them time to consider further, wo ^ ^
urged them towards their canoes, not violently, but
firmly. When the principal elder had recovered his
senses, which he did not until he felt himself safe in
his canoe, it seemed to dawn on his mind that I was
purposely avoiding violence, and he said : —
**Let the white man rest in peace. You have
Antari's son, Shekka, in your hands. Antari will not
fight you. I will speak to him truly, and when the
sun is high, I shall return with words of peace."
** It is well. Tell Antari, his son shall not be hurt,
and will be delivered over to his people as soon as we
shall have passed Bumbireh safely.'*
Those were days which required caution, for the first
• false or weak step would have ensured the destruction
of the Expedition, the members of which I was bound
by every principle of honour to protect and defend to
the best of my ability. They had pledged themselves
to me only upon the condition that I should secure
their safety, and they looked to me to watch and guard
their lives with paternal care. In my opinion, con-
sidering all the circumstances, I could not have better
avoided trouble than — ^while the savages were actively
preparing and offensively boasting — by acting as I did.
About 4 P.M. a small fleet of six beautiful canoes,
painted a brown colour, were seen approaching us,
having travelled mid-channel between Bumbireh and
Ihangiro. We soon made them out to be Waganda,
and when the chief, who was received with loud and
warm greetings, had landed, he gave his name as Sabadu.
He soon informed us that he was on a double
errand, one of which was to proceed to Kagehyi in
Usukuma to convey the Arab Sungoro to Uganda,
and the other was to hunt up news of myself. He
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
282 THBOUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. said also that I had been reported by the loog lost
Jni7 28. j^agassa, on his return to Uganda, to have been
^^ either murdered by the savages of Bumbireh or to
have foundered in the lake. He had returned with the
oars and drum to Mtesa, who was much shocked at the
sight of them, for he believed that, as the oars were
our **feet,*' we were murdered. But as nothing else
was found, such as traces or parts of the boat, Mtesa
was in doubt; he had therefore enjoined Sabadu to
make strict enquiries at all points about me, and had
despatched Magassa with a strong force by land to
Uzongora and Ihangiro, and a Mtongoleh, called
M'kwanga, with a fleet of eight canoes, to prosecute a
more rigid search by water along all the coasts.
Sabadu said also that, while he was at Kytawa's with
M'kwanga, on the mainland, he had heard of our
danger, and had hurried up to assist us, and that
M'kwanga would appear on the morrow with eight
canoes manned by Waganda, and five Ciinoes manned by
Kytawa's people under two chiefs, who, by their in-
fluence with Antari, might negotiate a successful peace.
Sabadu, upon delivering his news, was, as may well
be imagined, heartily welcomed, and was readily in-
duced, upon my taking the responsibility, to remain
with me, to assist in the transport of the expedition to
Uganda, for which his canoes, with those of M'kwanga
and Kytawa, would prove amply sufficient He was
also informed in his turn of the state of affairs at
Bumbireh and Ihangiro, at which he expressed great
indignation; but both he and Bugomba — a youth
of sixteen, the brother of the Katekiro, or Premier, of
Uganda— were confident that, when they should pro-
ceed to Bumbireh to treat with the natives through
the assistance of Kytawa's chiefs, they would be able
to persuade them to abandon their hostile attitude.
My experience of the people of Bumbireh, however,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE CEALLENQK 283
would not permit me to entertain this feeliug of 1875.
July 29.
assurance. ^
About 11 A.M. M'kwanga's searcli expedition, con-
sisting of eiglit large canoes, accompanied by five of a
smaller size, under two chiefs of Kytawa, arrived at
Mahyiga Island,' containing about 250 Waganda and
50 Wazongora. Including the crews of Sabadu's
canoes, the garrison of Mahyiga, and the natives of
Komeh and Ukerewe, I had now a force of 470 men.
There was no fear of the issue of an attack on the
island now, but a fear of famine remained.
The king of Iroba was appealed to, and for an
adequate remuneration he promised to supply the
Waganda with bananas ; while we .possessed sufficient
grain upon which the Wangwana might subsist for a
few days lunger. The king of Iroba again confirmed the
information that Antari was collecting a large force of
canoes, and about sunset a single canoe, powerfully
manned, dashed up opposite our camp, and one man
stood up with spear and shield, and delivered a etout
defiance, after which the canoe as hastily departed for
Bumbireh, without paying any attention to Kytawa's
chiefs.
It was apparent that our departure for Uganda would
be hotly contested, but of the result there could be but
one opinion. What kind of canoes Antari possessed, I
knew by the specimens which Kytawa, who was neigh-
bour to him, sent to us at Mahyiga. Their number
would be probably a hundred, wliich, with a crew of
ten men in each, would amount to a thousand. Allowing
six bowmen in each canoe, this would make the fighting
force about 600 strong, against which I could oifer 70
guns and about 350 effective spearmen of Uganda.
However, it was my duty to persist in avoiding the
bloody conflict, as it would assuredly be by water, and
employ all my efforts towards bringing Antari and the
Maii^'ig**
Digitized by
"1
284 THBOUOE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. natives of Bumbireh to a sense of the inutility
Augiut 2. jjQgjiig demonstrations. Messages of a peaceful nai
* ^ ^*' accordingly passed between us. Antari's elders visi
us once more on the 2nd August, this time with
assurance that we should not be molested, as a proof
which they said that Antari had given orders to
people of Bumbireh to sell us provisions upon
condition that we should deliver Shekka, Antari's s
and two other chiefs to Kytawa, the day we sho
arrive on the mainland.
This news was received with shouts of applause
all, and no one was more sincerely glad that
trouble was over than myself, though there was soi
thing in the manner of the delivery, in the sly exchai
of looks between Antari's elders and the prisoners, t
I did not like. It may have been that a slight suspic
still lurked in my mind, but I did not permit any s
of doubt to escape me, but treated the elders aflfa
and courteously,
Sabadu — who was of a sanguine disposition — j
young Bugomba were for testing the truth of 1
manifestation of friendship at once, but I restrai:
them for this day, as we possessed sufficient food
the time being. The Waganda also were eager
remind me that they were a people decidedly ave
to scarcity, and they obtained my promise that n
morning they should have cloths and beads wherevs
to purchase food.
Accordingly the next day Sabadu was despatc
with beads, cowries, and cloths to Kajurri, from the c
of which we had made our escape in April. They v«
absent about six hours, during which time I was v
anxious, as the event would decide our future.
" What is the news, Sabadu ?" I asked eagerly
he stepped on the shore near our camp with gloc
looks. " Anything wrong ? '*
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE MASSACRE OF TEE WAQANDA CEEW. 285
** Ah," he sighed ; " the people of Bumbireh are bad, ists.
wicked people. We went on shore at Kajnrri, saw flrT!!^*
some twenty people there, and Kytawa*s chief talked
with them. They said we might go and cut as many
bananas as we wanted, and they would talk afterwards
about the price we should have to pay. Th6 Waganda
left their spears, and, taking only their mundu — bill-
hooks — proceeded to cut the fruit while I remained in
the canoe. Suddenly I heard a shout and a rustling
in the banana grove, and the Waganda came run-
ning back and pushing the canoes into the water,
plunged in, and got on board. Kytawa's chief had his
left arm chopped clean off, and then they cut him on
the head, which killed him. Eight of the Waganda*
have been badly hurt. They will bo carried on shore
presently, and you shall see them. Bumbireh! ah,
ah ! Bumbireh is bad !" he said emphatically.
The woimded men were brought on shore with
ghastly wounds from spears, and one or two from
arrows, at the sight of which a grand rush was made
upon the captives by two or three hundred excited
Waganda and Wazongora, but with the aid of the
Wangwana and Frank we saved them.
" Gently, gently, friends,'* we cried ; " these men are
not they who are guilty of this deed. Do not ill-use
them ; they are innocent.'*
M'kwanga, the chief of the search expedition of
Waganda, was furious. He seized his shield and three
spears, and called his men together, telling them to
arm, as he would lead them through and through
Bumbireh, and then would proceed to Antari and
slay him in his house, would cut down every banana,
burn down every hut, and scorch Ihangiro to a
cinder, &c.
* Six of these died sabeeqaentlj to our arriTal in Uganda, from the
effects of these wounds.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
UahyifiL
286 THBOUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. But M'kwanga was persuaded to be patient, and
luM^ not foolishly throw more lives away. We should, I
" "*^ told him, consult together, and if I found, after con-
sideration, that my duty was to avenge this deed, I
should do it
Said he : " If you do not assist me to punish this
treachery, you need never expect to see Mtesa's face^
or Uganda again. The Waganda came to do you
service ; they came to seek you while Mtesa believed
you were lost. The Waganda with myself and Sabadu
promised to stand by you when we heard you were
in danger. The Waganda left your camp with your
consent to go and get food for you as well as for us.
Ky tawa*s chief is dead, and here are eight wounded
men. What will you do ?"
** Only what I think is right, and after proper con-
sideration. If I do not assist you, it will not prevent
you from going to fight them to-morrow."
" But," said M'kwanga, " if I go to fight to-morrow
by myself, I shall never return to Mahyiga."
He stalked away sullenly, and the Waganda became
cold and distant towards us, as though we were to
blame for the sad event. The Wazongora bewailed
their chief aloud, and the strangely mournful tones of
their lamentations produced a powerful impression on
all who heard them.
Before many minutes had elapsed, I had manned my
boat and five canoes, and was on my way to Iroba
before the intelligence could be spread, simply with
the view to ascertain how far the king of Iroba was
involved in this affair. I found him to be perfectly
innocent of all knowledge of anything that had oc-
curred at Burabireh since morning. Upon asking him
if any natives of Ihangiro were there, he answered
that one of Antari's youngest sons was there. We
proceeded to the hut, and the young man was secured
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A COUNCIL OF WAB. 287
and conveyed into the boat, and the king of Iroba was 1875.
instructed to convey the intelligence to Bumbireh to ^^ ^
the chiefs of Antari*s people, and to tell them that, if' ^
they intended to make peace, they must be quick, and
send me word of it before noon of the next day, as I
should not be able to restrain the Waganda, or defer
my departure another day.
The arrival of messengers from the post of observa-
tion on the summit of the island, announcing that the
canoes of the Expedition were seen coming from
the south, distracted the attention of all for a period,
and soon the summit was lined with the figures of the
anxious Wangwana, some of whom had wives and
children, besides relatives and friends, in the little fleet
that was bearing towards the island with miniature
sails set.
By sunset they were answering their safe arrival
close to us with cheer after cheer, and soon had landed
amid hearty greetings.
But Manwa Sera, to cap the day's dismal and tragic
record, had to report the loss of two men, who were
drowned by the collapse of one of the rotten canoes,
which added another cause for grief. The riding asses
also were in a pitiable condition, for the poor things
being obliged to be bound in the small canoes were
terribly chafed even to the quick, and could scarcely
stand. The rest of the force were in good condition,
and no property had been lost or other accident
occurred.
That evening, while the sorrowing Wazongora made
the camp doleful with their loud mournful cries for the
dead chief, Frank and all the Wangwana chiefs were
summoned to my tent to discuss our future. I only
wished to hear their views, to discover their senti-
ments, not to disclose my own. The unanimous opinion
of the party was that we were bound to fight. All I
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288 TEBOUQE THE DABK CONTINENT.
187S, could say on the other side availed nothing to si
^"1"^^ the decision they had arrived at Then they i
^ dismissed with a promise that I should impart
resolution in the morning. I also enjoined on Fi
to double the guard over the captives, lest they m
be injured during the night.
Alone with myself, I began to discuss seriously
strict line of duty. If it were a military Expedi
that I commanded, duty would have pointed out
obvious course to follow; but though the Expedi
was governed for its own well-being after mili
principles, it was an expedition organized solely
the purposes of exploration, with a view to search
new avenues of commerce to the mutual advantaj
civilization and such strange lands as we found suit
for commercial and missionary enterprise. But w
ever its character, its members possessed* the privilej
self-defence, and might justly adopt any measures, i
due deliberation, for self-protection. The principle
right and justice every educated Christian profess€
understand, and may be credited with a desin
observe, but in addition to these, it was desirable
person in my position — knowing how frequently ;
necessary to exercise them in barbarous lands — tc
member charity and forbearance, in order to ensure
objects in view, and to create good impressions for
benefit of those who might succeed the pioneer.
Thirteen days had elapsed since our arrival
Mahyiga, and the thirteenth day was signalized
this bloody attack upon people entrapped to t
death maliciously, and evidently by a preconce
arrangement between Antari's elders and the cl
at Bumbireh. Sabadu said also that the last w
he had heard as the Waganda paddled away 1
Bumbireh were, " Look out for mischief to-morrc
which no doubt meant that the war **shauri"
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J BE80LVE ON PUNISHMENT.
289
nearly terminated, and that all were by this time ists.
worked up into proper figliting spirit. Ao^tiits.
The Expedition was now ready to move towaids ^^*"
Uganda, but the waterway had first to be opened ;
whatever plot was on hand must be frustrated, and
treachery punished ; otherwise impunity would inspire
an audacity which might be dangerous to our safety.
Apart, therefore, from a duty owing to the wounded
Waganda and the dead chief of Kytawa, as well as to
our respect for and gratitude to Mtesa and Kytawa—
apart from the justice which, according tci all laws
human and divine, savage and civilized, demands^ that
blood shall atone for blood, especially when committed
with malice prepense, and the memory of our narrow
escape from their almost fatal wiles, and the days of
agony we had suflfered — there lay the vital, absolute^
and imperative necessity of meeting the savnges lest
they should meet us. For they were by tliis time
reinforced by about 2000 auxiliaries from tlie maiu-
land ; they were flushed with triumph at their success
in the snare they had set for the unsuspecting Waganda,
and the sight of their dead victim would only inspire
them with a desire for more blood.
As I could not see any way to avoid the conflict, I
resolved to meet them on their own island, aud by one
decisive stroke break this overweening savago si>irit,
I should, however, wait the result of my last messagD,
for it might be that the capture of one of Autari's
sons might induce them to embrace peaceful proposals.
Accordingly next morning a couple of anumniition
boxes were opened, and twenty rounds distributed to
each man who bore a rifle or musket ; 230 spearmen
and fifty musketeers were detailed for a fighting party,
and eighteen canoes were prepared to convey them to
Bumbireh,
I waited until noon, having gazed througli a field-
VOL. I. — 19
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i
290 TUBOUOn THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. glass many times in the direction of Bumbireh
-AogMt 4. jjQj-ijijjg ^as observed approaching Mahyiga.
^^ The force was therefore mustered, and I addr
it to this effect : —
**My friends and Wangwana, — We must hav(
sea clear. Whatever mischief these people have i
tated must be found out by us, and must be preve
I am about to go and punish them for the treach
murder of our friends. I shall not destroy 1
therefore none of you are to land unless we find
canoes, which we must break up. We must figt
they or we give in, for it can only be decided ii
manner. While in the fight, you will do exact
I tell you, for I shall be able to judge whether
fierce spirit is broken, or whether we will hai
fight on land."
As the distance between Bumbireh and Mahyigi
about eight miles, we did not arrive until 2 p.m. I
the former island. It was evident that the sa^
had expected us, for the heights of the hilly :
were crowded with large masses, and every
was manned with watchmen.
Through my field-glass I observed messei
running fast to a thick plantain grove which cro
the southernmost hill, and commanded a view <
approach to a cove that penetrated to its base. I
clear that the main force of the natives was ]
in the shadows of the grove. Calling the c
together, I told the chiefs to follow my boat, ai
steer exactly as I did. We made a feint of ent
into this cove, but when near the point, perceiving
we were hidden by the lofty hill from the observ
of those in the grove and of the look-outs, we sw(
to the left, and, clinging to the land, pulled vigor
until we came to a cape, after rounding which we
in view of a fine and noble bay. to our right.
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TEE WORK OF PUNISHMENT. 291
By this manoeuvre the enemy was revealed in all i875.
his strength. The savages were massed behind the i^"*^'^*^
plantains as I had suspected, and from their great
numbers proved much too strong to be attacked under
cover. All the eastern and northern sides of the bay
were surrounded by lofty hills, which sloped steeply
to within a few feet of the water's edge, and were
covered with small shingly rocks, and thin short
grass. The low shelf of land that lay between the
hill base and the water was margined with tall cane-
grass.
We steered straight east towards the more exposed
hill slopes. The savages, imagining we were about
to eflfect a landing there, hurried from their coverts,
between 2000 and 3000 in number. I examined the
shores carefully, to see if I could discover the canoes
which had conveyed this great number of warriors
from the mainland. Meanwhile we pulled slowly, to
afford them time to arrange themselves.
Arrived within 100 yards of the land, we anchored
in line, the stone anchors being dropped from midships
that the broadsides might front the shore. I told
Lukanjah of Ukerewe to ask the men of Bumbireh if
they would make peace, whether we should be friends,
or whether we should fight.
**Nangu, nangu, nanguP* ("No, no, no!'*) they
answered loudly, while they flourished spears and
shields.
** Will they not do anything to save Shekka ?"
" Nangu, nangu ! Keep Shekka ; he is nobody. We
have another M'kama " (king).
** Will they do nothing to save Antari*s son?"
** Nangu, nangu. Antari has many sons. We will
do nothing but fight. If you had not come here, wo
should have come to you.**
" You will be sorry for it afterwards.**
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292 TEROUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. " Huh/* incredulously. ** Come on ; we are rea(
Aiigii«t4 Further parley was useless; so each man ha
taken aim was directed to fire into a group of
or thereabouts. The result was several killed
wounded.
The savages, perceiving the disastrous effect of
fire on a compact body, scattered, and came boun
down to the water's edge, some of the boldest
vancing until they were hip-deep in water ; otl
more cautious, sought the shelter of the cane-g
whence they discharged many sheaves of arrows
of which fell short of us.
We then moved to within 50 yards of the si
to fire at close quarters, and each man was perm
to exercise himself as he best could. The sav
gallantly held the water-line for an hour, and s
their stones with better effect than they shot \
arrows. The spirit which animated them pr(
what they might have done had they succeeded
effecting a landing at Mahyiga by night, but ]
however, the spear, with which they generally fi
was quite useless.
Perceiving that their spirit was abating, we c
the canoes together, and made a feint as thougl
were about to make a precipitate landing, which ca
them to rush forward by hundreds with their 'sj
on the launch. The canoes were then suddenly ha
and a volley was fired into the spearmen, which (
crushed their courage, causing them to retreat up
hill far away from the scene. Our work of chas
ment was complete.
The Waganda spearmen (230 strong), who
been, up to this time, only interested spectators,
clamoured loudly to be permitted to land, and com]
the work of vengeance. M'kwanga was fierce ii
demands ; the Wangwana seconded the Waganda,
y
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WE START FOR UGANDA. 293
in their hot ardour several of the canoes rushed on x875.
the shore, but as this extremity was not my object, I ^^'^^ t
resisted them, and when, despiie my refusal, they
persisted in their attempts to land, I threatened to
fire upon the first man, Mgwana or Mganda, who set
foot upon the shore, and this threat restored order,
Lukanjah was again told to warn the natives of
Bumbireh that, if they had not had enough of fighting,
we should return next day, but that we would allow
them a night to think over it.
It was dark when we arrived at our camp ; but we
did not omit, while passing Iroba, to comfort the
friendly king with the assurance that he need not fear
trouble, as he was not involved in the atrocious acts
of Bumbireh.
Having thus shown sufficient boldness in meeting
the enemy and demonstrated our ability for the
encounter, it was now clear that the passage of the
channel, with the women and children and property
of the Expedition, might be performed without danger.
Accordingly, on the 5th August, at early dawn, we
began the embarkation. The fourteen Kiganda canoes
'^ere large, with ample storage room, and all the goods,
ammunition, and asses, and all the timid, men, women,
children, and Wanyamwezi, were placed in these. Our
eighteen canoes of Ukerewe and Komeh and five lent
us by generous Kytawa proved sufficient to transport
the remainder, consisting of the more active members
of the party, who were directed, in the event of trouble,
to range on either side.
At the tap of M'kwanga's drum, without which no
party of Waganda march, and a cheery blast from
Hamadis bugle, the thirty-seven canoes and boat,
containing 685 souls, departed from our island cove
towards Bumbireh.
About 9 A.M. we were abreast of Bumbireh, and
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294 TUBOUQE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. when, on coming to the bay, we saw hundreds of people
Aogiuts. lijjjjjg tijQ topmost ridges, I deemed it expedient to
" make a demonstration once more in order to discover
the effect of the previous day's engagement. On
arriving near the shore, a shot was fired, the effect of
which was to cause about a hundred to scamper away
hastily. Others, whom we distinguished as elders, after
hailing us, came down towards us.
Lukanjah was requested to ask, ** If we were to
begin the fight again ?"
*' Nangu, nangu, M*kama." (*'• No, no, king.**)
** The trouble is over then ?"
" There are no more words between us."
**If we go away quietly, will you interfere with us
any more ?"
** Nangu, nangu."
** You will leave strangers alone in future?"
" Yes, yes."
** You will not murder people who come to buy food
again ?
" Nangu, nangu."
I then told them that, having murdered one and
wounded eight of Mtesa's people, it would be my duty
to convey Shekka and his friends to him, but I should
intercede for them, and they would probably be back
in two moons. Advantage was also taken to point
out the contrast between the conduct of Bumbireh
and that of Ukerewe, Komeh, Itawagumba, Kytawa,
and Kamiru, and to adorn the brief speech with a
moral.
Turning away, we coasted along the much indented
shores of the savage island, and several times had
opportunities of distinguishing the altered demeanour
of the natives and to observe that their fierce temper
had abated.
King Kamiru received us with princely magnifi-
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SALUTARY EFFECT OF TEE PUNISHMENT. 295
cence. The Wazongora who were with us extolled me 1875.
as -a father and begged his permission to accompany ^^^ ^
me to Uganda. Kamiru, a bluflF, hearty old man, kindly
consented, and furnished us with canoes to replace four
of the most rotten of the vessels from Ukerew^, which
required constant caulking and baling to prevent their
foundering. The generous king supplied Frank and
'myself with such a quantity of milk and honey that
several potfuls broke, and a section of the boat was
a couple of inches deep with the luscious mixture,
which the boat's crew licked up with broad grins of •
satisfaction.
A bay separates Ihangiro from King Kamiru's land.
We were encamped on the north side, which belongs to
Kamiru ; had we ventured on the south side, we should
have been in the enemy's country. Desirous of show-
ing some kindness to Shekka and his friends, I made
proposals to Kamiru to accept them on behalf of Mtesa
and to negotiate with Antari for their release, but the
king peremptorily refused, saying that he would be
unable to protect them, and as they were Mtesas
subjects, they ought to be given up to him.
On the 8th August we arrived once more on the
little island of Musira, whither we had before been
driven by the natives of Makongo, in King Kytawa*s
country. The elders of all the villages along his
coast greeted us with acclamation. Makongo outdid
the generosity of Kamiru, for it sent four oxen besides
200 bunches of bananas. Kytawa despatched quite a
little army to bear his salaams and gifts of provisions
and messages, thanking me for avenging the death of
his chief, and making an offer of twenty canoes if I
were short of vessels.
Inspired by the effect on the Wazongora which the
punishment of the natives of Bumbireh had created,
Sabadu hinted that it would be desirable to threaten
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296 THROUOn TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Kyozza, the king of northern TIzongora, but he was
^Tw*^ ^^ speedily made to understand that white men only fought
in self-defence.
As we proceeded by Kyozza's villages, Kagya,
Weza, and Bugavu, the inhabitants lined the shores
without arms and loudly greeted us ; and when we
stopped for our midday meal at a village near Weza,
a messenger from Kyozza came and promised us ten
oxen if we would wait for that day and accept his
hospitalities. We returned a courteous reply, but
refused, upon the ground that we were in a hurry to
proceed to Uganda.
We halted at Mezinda, and on the 12th August,
passing by the mouth of the Alexandra Nile and
Chawasinjba Point, directed our course for Dumo, in
Uganda, at which place we arrived in the afternoon
without further incident of interest.
The next day was devoted to preparing a camp,
arranging for supplies with the neighbouring Waton-
goleh of Mtesa during my absence, and writing letters
to the Daily Telegraph and New York Herald^ giving
in brief an account of the events which are described
in detail in this chapter, a copy of which was left with
Frank to send to the coast by way of Karagwe and
Unyanyemb^.
A score of small matters employed my attention
until midnight, of a similar nature to those arranged
before setting out from Kagehyi on the exploration by
circumnavigation of Lake Victoria in March. Before
retiring, messengers arrived in camp from Magas^i —
the dilatory admiral of the canoe fleet despatched as
my convoy in April — entreating me to wait a couple
of days for him before setting out for the capital of
Uganda. But as every hour was now precious, I was
not able to defer my departure.
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MTESA AT WAR. 297
CHAPTER XII.
We find Mteea at war — "Jack's Mount "^Meeting with Mteea— The
Waganda army in camp and on the march — The imperial harem —
In sight of the enemy — The Waganda fleet — Preliminary skirmishing
— The causeway — The massacre of Mtesa's peace party — " What do
yon know of angels?" — Mtesa's education proceeds in the intervals
of war — Translating the Bible — Jesus or Mohammed? — Mtesa's
decision — The royal proselyte.
At Dumo rumour and gossip were busy about a war ists.
and a mighty preparation which Mtesa, the Emperor of ^"^^^^
Uganda, was making for an expedition against the
Wavnma. He had not been as yet actually engaged, it
was said, though it was expected he would be shortly.
In the hope, then, of finding him at his capital, I
resolved to be speedy in reaching him, so that, with-
out much delay, I might be able to return and prosecute
my journey to Lake Albert.
The first day, favoured by a gale from the north-west,
the Lady Alice left the fastest of the Waganda canoes
far behind, but, obliged to halt for her company, put in
for the night among the mosquito-haunted papyrus of
Bwiru. The next day, after sailing across Sesse
Channel, and passing the mouth of the Ka tonga, we
rested at Juraba's Cove in Unjaku. From this cove
runs a wide road constructed by Mtesa about two years
before, when he undertook to invade Ankori and punish
Mtambuko, the king of that shepherd state. Though
untouched during two years, it is still sufficiently clear
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298 TEROUOH TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. of grass to define its width and illustrate the ene
Augujt 18. ^f Mtesa when aroused.
On the 18th August we sailed to Ntewi, where
learned two reliable facts. The king had aire
inarched towards Usoj^a, and had an engagen
with his enemies, the Wavuma. When I heard
news, I felt more than half inclined to turn back, f
knew by experience that African wars are ted
things, and I was not in the humour to be dela
long; but on reflection, and after much importui
from the Waganda, I adhered to the first intention
which I . thought that probably, though delaye<
might reach the Albert Nyanza by a short ro
which would in a manner balance the delay occasic
by visiting Mtesa.
We also heard that the Wavuma were abroad on
lake in hundreds of canoes searching for prey, \
not wishing the Lady Alice, which had already c
me such good service, to fall into their hands,
conveyed the boat into the centre of the village, w
we stored her and her appurtenances — oars, a
rudder, &c. I also heard that the oars, which Mag
had received from Bumbireh, were in the chie
Ntewi's house, and had the satisfaction of seeing t
once more under the charge of the boat-keeper,
halted at Ntewi one day, by which I was enabled
only to house the boat properly and to receive the (
but to meet the two soldiers left as guard of honour
Magassa and to receive salaams from Mtesa, and i
guards to ensure my welcome and comfort en route to
Under the auspices of a considerable addition to
convoy, we left Ntewi, and, paddling vigorously du
the afternoon of the 20th, arrived at Nankuma, in
bay of Buka. Here we left the canoes, and the nexl
prosecuted our journey overland to avoid the Wavi
and camped at Ziba, at the base of ** Jack's Mount.'
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"" JACKS MOUNT.'' 299
This name is derived from a fatal accident to my i«75.
faithful companion Jack, a buU-terrier of remarkable '*^^"*'^.^^
intelligence and affection which accompanied me from Mouul-
England. A wild cow given by the Mtongoleh for
the subsistence of the king's stranger, being rather
obstreperous in her behaviour, was assaulted by Jack,
but the cow in her turn tossed the unfortunate dog and
gored him to death. He died '* regretted by all who
knew his many good qualities." His companion,
" Bull,'* the last of five English dogs, when he beheld
his poor mate stretched out still and dead, also expressed,
as clearly as canine nature would allow, his great sorrow
at his lamentable fate. Grave and deliberate from years
and long travel, he walked round the body two or three
times, examining it carefully, and then advanced to me
with his honest eyes wide open as if to ask, " What
has caused this ?" Receiving no answer, he went aside
and sat down with his back to me, solemn and sad, as
though he were ruminating despondingly on the evils
which beset dog and man alike in this harsh and
wicked world.
The next day, marching in an east by north direction
from Jack's Mount, we crossed the Zedziwa, a stream
rising at the base of a hill situated but two miles
from the north-western extremity of ** Grant* Bay,"
which I believe to be the '* Luajerri," a stream Speke
sketched on his map as issuing from the Victoria and
forming a second outlet into the Nile.
Having explored by water all the coast washed by
the Victoria Nyanza, and having since travelled on
foot the entire distance between Nakaranga Cape
and Buka Bay, I can state positively that there is but
one outlet from the lake, viz. the Ripon Falls. There
are three rivers, one on the Usoga side of Napoleon
* So called after Colonel James Augustus Grant, the amiable and
chiyalrous companion of Speke.
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.' '. :-v u i*p j; iM Xi::i:..l^. 11 -.: Grant H
"•■••:■'■ >, li-.'iir \^^. -t (.f y...'^iV :..]>iiai--:t
\ ..: ^,1 Z^'m.* n- ; l:ir ftr-rn "^''^•'.'lu^'jii
••• I .'.. ]''i - '''•:.[-j T'u' \]t. i.»iKi X.le iic'rtr Jii
'.■ ; t!;^ '.L\\*^'\r._'w II ^v.s into llie ^?'■'li•.■^ '.
t •>. ^ ihU> ti.L \\:\''\ a' •] -lie Kafu i: tc» 1
^*.i'. ^^i^.■■\• ,._io in Iho ii !^! • ourho.)-!
•I . ! ii ' J 1 r Iv;.] t^io ]'• | *. r- trV Palarvins f-T 1
^'m;-o i;vi\iMr in ! .r.^i'* i, nnd li!^ n':»lKl.
•t ttOxt'Ti i:,;;^ it- r< A\y v ^ -* i!t'..-'i w'o s* ut i
.' ' ;"'! Ti'» . > .vs of V. • ' - n^'\ r>y ^-^.a ;<::»! Dv ia
I' ].. >s -'"r"!.^' i.r v.'M. iM'^ 1 .,(1 ..:•"{ iiK', r.i'l o-
^* -0 \\ : > -oi;^-' ;.<"! \v*:ii an '* n':^"::i''..Tru f^vt fl''!::" ^^'
n..,. . ^"'tn'."' Mr.* j:s (^f !:'> r'^i^ai*]. i w;->' wt'll c<
v , ^ :n tlio V '■;'("i:o«.i o^ ^^'t',/\u!'P h< . t iy 1 , ^i a
^- ' • ..it •.[> n-'u^ of m^^ ^\h :i AL-v'ir\'i r'jio:1
'■-^'1, **'.r ti ♦J \i\LrA i ij» C'-v^'a^i t-r ir.e
■ . ■ .1 N^ -..^ ^ ■ i^Ii'n'r *. >r<* il.an in I'-iin^^
^ VT- *^' r I. "A'" day at 1 .:'u a"\ o;>])0>i:- Jirija, oi l
ii'i'U t' <' iiiip'^iai f ainj)- ^\ ]i!i.h I ^(^■•■M .->(*♦- covori
11. .i.y iri" \s of £rf*'Mn<l — \\\i]\ y-^t an a^'ii.')nrJ w
cni'K^, and [' ^"i.te'i r.nr on ti e (^^»j>o^in; si<;- .\rt*^si a
Jii.> rliie^;',^ »^>o^t pici;;:^ ^-qn;> in l.roir \vIii^o '^re^s^^s a
rod coj'S', ^vit^i I hr-'^e c-n'! 'nrs*? of aMe.:dant<, wait;
l-t si '^ lay |>arn c:'>'s +1 ' (*^'an^'0^ Fiv(- l-i^ire can'
v^'mcj in rc.u]:n( '- n* tl)e fcirrv, and a'^o so]di'*r5s of I
r'.\ix\ '--narl ;o ■<'-ovi ns thr>.'iu-b. ihu va>t orovv'tlfc:
i''(^ of^'or ;r" lo ot tlio cl'.anncl.
[\ar uiiVt rent \\.{-; :: o ^c^^i^ on tni?^ dav anwintl 1
• 'P .^ cuo..:^ w**- 'J ni; ,vi;ki;ii, .-^t'-Vs alr^j o'^^-n'.:. ' II l)alr>r.ey.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Digitized by LjOOQ IC
800 THROUQE TUB DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Channel, called the Nagombwa, and two on the Ugai
^"^l^- side — the Zedziwa, rising in Makindo near Grant B
' and the Mwerango, rising west of Mtesa's capital — 8
of which, seen by travellers journeying at a little (
tance from the lake, might be supposed by them
be outlets of Lake Victoria, The Nagombwa empi
into the Victoria Nile not far from Urondoga
the Zedziwa empties into the Victoria Nile near Ur
dogani, and the Mwerango flows into the Mianja,
Mianja flows into the Kafu, and the Kafu into
Victoria Nile, somewhere in the neighbourhood
Rionga*s Island.
At Makindo I received the Emperor's j3alaams for '
fifth time since arriving in Uganda, and his walkii
stick,* as a token that it really was Mtesa who sent
repeated messages of welcome. By sea and by la
his messengers of welcome had met me, and e?
stage was supplied with an *' augmented greeting " w
many manifestations of his regard. I was well o
vinced, from the repeated expeditions sent by land a
water to hunt up news of me when Magassa repor
me as dead, that the friendship conceived for me
Mtesa was something more than in name.
Arriving next day at Ugungn, opposite Jinja, or •
Ripon Falls, two more messengers came up breathl
from the imperial camp — which I could see coveri
many miles of ground — with yet an additional w
come, and pointed out on the opposite side Mtesa a
his chiefs, most picturesque in their white dresses a
red caps, with a large concourse of attendants, waiti
to see my party cross the channel. Five large can<
'^ere in readiness at the ferry, and also soldiers of i
royal guard to escort us through the vast crowds
the other side of the channel.
Far different was the scene on this day around '
* This custom of sending walkingnsticks also obtains in Dahomey.
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MTESA'8 ABMT. 801
Falls to that which Speke had gazed upon in 1863, and 1875.
to that which I had seen five months before when I'^^s'"'^^
entered this channel after a skirmish with the Wavuma. ^^^
For now the channel swarmed with large canoes, and
the shores of Ugungu and Jinja were covered with
thousands of men, women, and children ; while then all
was silent and lonely, and the monotonous noise of
falling waters was the only sound that was heard.
Crossing the channel amid the noise and bustle of
many thousands, we soon found ourselves in tlie midst
of the vast army that Mtesa had collected from all parts
of his empire. Natives of Karagwe, lean, lank-bodied,
and straight-nosed, with their deficiencies of calf made
up for by a preposterous fulness of ankle, caused by
hundreds of coils of fine iron wire, gathered round
us with as much curiosity as the ferocious Wakedi,
who intruded their bodies, naked as when they were
born, among the clean-robed Waganda, reckless of the
laughter and jeering which their nudity provoked.
The vain Wasoga also seemed to forget, while they
gazed on us, that they were as much objects of
curiosity to the rustic yet unabashed natives of Sesse,
who stood by them, as we were to them ; for, indeed,
look where I might, the undisguised vanity of the --
Wasoga made them extremely conspicuous. Though
amidst such a large army of sable warriors, a solah
topee, European complexion, and boots wonderfully
created of some kind of leather, might well be deemed
curiosities; yet lambskins of all colours, stuffed with
grass, and standing erect on men*s heads, and long
white-haired goat-skin for robes and loin coverings, were
not a whit less curious to the canoe-building natives of ,
Sess^, who until now had never, it seemed, witnessed
such things. But, taking advantage of the quiet com-
placency with which we permitted these warriors to
gaze on us, they began to press on us more closely
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802 THBOUOE THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. than was convenient, nntil they were scattered by 1
Aa^ 28. mighty sticks of the guards, who felled them to rij
and left without remorse, and Wasoga, Wanyaml
Wakedi, Wazongora, and Waganda were compel
to be more careful of their bones than curious
see us.
A short time afterwards, near the imperial quarten
met the great chiefs of Uganda with whom I had stn
up an acquaintance on my first visit, among whon:
recognized tall and handsome Chambarango, the kin
steward Kauta, Sambuzi, and lastly the Katekiro —
Premier — brilliant in his scarlet robe, white dress, s
fez, attended by a retinue almost regal • They
expressed their satisfaction at seeing me alive and sf
and were all anxious to hear how we had escaped fr
Bumbireh,
The next day at the usual levee hour of Mtesf
8 A.M. — the drums announced the levee as begun, 8
half an hour later the pages came to conduct me
the presence of Mtesa. The imperial quarters cove
an area of about 200 yards square, and though
temporarily put up, few Europeans could have c
structed such commodious houses and neat courts w
such means, as the Waganda had prepared for tl:
sovereign.
The gates of the outer court were thronged y^
representatives of many countries, anxious to gel
glimpse of the great monarch in his state; but
guards were merciless, and with gunstock and ba
rudely thrust or beat back the intrusive nameless, t
were as flint-hearted in their office as London pol
men are on a similar occasion. For me the pa
sufficed. Their presence cleared a broad road to
gate, which was drawn widely open to allow our {
cession to go by. One court was passed, and w]
the gate of the levee court was drawn back, a n
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MEETING WITH MTESA. 803
picturesque scene was disclosed. In the centre rose a i875.
conical hut, at the broad doorway of which sat a silent ^^^. ^**
figure; on either side were standard-bearers and the
hereditary guards, while, forming a broad crescent in
the front rank, were the chiefs and important captains
of the Empire seated on mats. In the background the
bodyguards of Mtesa stood at * shoulder arms * in double
ranks; in one corner were arranged the drummers
and musicians, while scattered here and there in the
open space before the monarch stood groups of claimants
and courtiers.
As I advanced, Mtesa rose, and came to the edge of
the leopard-rug, on which his feet rested while seated,
and there was even greater warmth in this greeting
than on the former occasion at Usavara. After a short
pause, Sabadu, the chief who had conducted me from
Bumbireh, was called forward to relate the incidents
of our meeting, our fight with Bumbireh, and other
events of the journey, which he did with a most
wonderful minuteness of detail. He then in my name
presented the captives of Bumbireh to the king, with
an intercession that he would not slay them, but keep
them in durance until their ransom was paid by
Antari. Mtesa was then informed of the purpose of
my coming, which was to obtain the guides he had
promised me on my first visit, to show me the road to
Muta Nzige; and I begged he would furnish them
without much delay, as I had already lost considerable
time from his canoes having failed me.
Mtesa replied that he was now engaged in a war
with the rebellious people of Uvuma, who insolently
refused to pay their tribute, harassed the coast of
Chagw^, and abducted his people, "selling .them
afterwards for a few bunches of bananas,'' and that
it was not customary in Uganda to permit strangers to
proceed on their journeys while the Kahaka was engaged
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304 TEBOUOE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. in war, but that tbe war would soon be over, wbe
^^^^^ I would wait, he would send a chief with an arn
conduct me to the Nyanza (Muta Nzig^) by the sho
road.
" Besides,*' said he, " a small force cannot reach
lake. Kabba Rega of Unyoro is at present at
with the whites of Kaniessa (Gondokoro), and
people of Ankori do not admit strangers into 1
territory for trade or otherwise, and all the road
the lake run through their countries."
After this intelligence I saw that I had eithe
renounce the project of exploring the Albert,
proceed at once to the Tanganika — which, after cor
so far out of the way, would perhaps have
regarded in Europe as madness— or to wait patic
until the war was over, and then make up
forced marches for lost time. But being again ass
that the war would not last long, I resolved to
and witness it as a novelty, and to take advantaj
the time to acquire information about the country
its people.
On the 27th August, Mtesa struck his camp,
began the march to Nakaranga, a point of land 1;
within 700 yards of the island of Ingira, which had
chosen by the Wavuma as their depot and str
hold. He had collected an army numbering 150
warriors, as it was expected that he would hav
fight the rebellious Wasoga as well as the Wavi
Besides this great army must be reckoned n€
50,000 women, and about as many children and si
of both sexes, so that at a rough guess, after lool
at all the camps and various tributary nations w
at Mtesa's command had contributed their quoti
estimated the number of souls in Mtesa's camp t
about 250,0001
This large total may seem startling, but not mo]
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THE WAG AND A CHIEFS. 805
to those acquainted with the customs and population I875.
of Uganda and the nature and extent of Mtesa's ^"^ ^^'
authority, than the five and a quarter millions said
to have started with Xerxes in his invasion of Greece.
I myself, though I saw the vast area which the
several camps occupied, did not believe it possible,
until one day I asked Mtesa, for the sake of satisfying
my curiosity, to permit me to make a muster-roll of his
chiefs. Always aifable and willing to please white
men, for whom he entertains profound respect, he
called together all his principal chiefs and officers
(who in Uganda are distinguished by the titles of
Wakungu and Watongoleh), and commanded them to
bring the respective numbers of their sub-chiefs. The
following is the muster-roll of the generals and colonels
made at the time : —
Number of
Kamei of Oenerali. Sub-chiolk
orColonols.
1. Pokino, the Katekiro, Chief of Uddu, and Premier of Uganda 6
2. Ghambarango^ Chief of IJsiio 6
8. Eaeema .. 6
4. Eitonzi, Chief of the Eatonga yalley •• •• 2
5. Sekebobo, Chiefof Chagw6 24
6. Mkwenda 19
7. Easiun^ guardian of the imperial family 5
8. Kagu 5
9. Eangau 18
10. Eimbngw6 24
IL Katambal6 2
12. Nana Masnrie, Mtesa*8 mother 10
13. Sabagand^ Mtesa's uncle 4
"l31
Emperofs personal bodyguard 23
Total 154
These sub-chiefs command followers numbering
from 50 to 3000, and Mtesa's bodyguard, though
claiming twenty-three Watongoleh, must not be esti-
mated at a less number than 3000 in the aggregate.
Now, roughly calculating the native Waganda force at
VOL. I.— 20
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306 TEBOUQE THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. 125,000, we have to add the quotas furnished by
^"J^M^* Karagwe, Uzongora, Ukedi, Usoga, Sesse, and the
islands of the lake, Irwaji, Lulamba, Kiwa, Uziri,
Kibibi, &c., also all the Arabs and Wangwana guests
who came with their guns to assist Mtesa, and 25,000
seems to me to be a reasonable estimate of the force
drawn from these sources.
The advance-guard had departed too early for me to
see them, but, curious to see the main body of this
great army pass, I stationed myself at an early hour
at the extreme limit of the camp.
First with his legion came Mkwenda, who guards
the frontier between the Katonga valley and Willi-
miesi against the Wanyoro. He is a stout, burly
young man, brave as a lion, having much experience
of wars, and cunning and adroit in their conduct,
accomplished with the spear, and possessing, besides,
other excellent fighting qualities. I noticed that the
Waganda chiefs, though Muslimized, clung to their
war-paints and national charms, for each warrior,
as he passed by on the trot, was most villainously
bedaubed with ochre and pipe-clay. The force under the
command of Mkwenda might be roughly numbered at
30,000 warriors and camp-followers, and though the
path yesterday was a mere goat-track, the rush of this
legion on the half-trot soon crushed out a broad avenue.
The old general Kangau, who defends the country
between Willimiesi and the Victoria Nile, came next
with his following, their banners flying, drums beating
and pipes playing, he and his warriors stripped for
action, their bodies and faces daubed with white, black,
and ochreous war-paint.
Next came a rush of about 2000 chosen warriors,
all tall men, expert with spear and shield, lithe of
body and nimble of foot, shouting as they trotted
past their war-cry of " Kavya, kavya " (the two last
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MTE8A ON TEE MALCH. 307
syllables of Mtesa*s title when young — Makavya^ X875.
** king '), and rattling their spears. Behind them at a ^""J^'J^'
quick march came the musket-armed bodyguard of the ^'^
Emperor, about two hundred in front, a hundred on
either side of the road, enclosing Mtesa and his Kate^
kiro, and two hundred bringing up the rear, with their
drums beating, pipes playing, and standards flying, and
forming quite an imposing and warlike procession.
liltesa marched on foot, bare-headed, and clad in a
dress of blue check cloth, with a black belt of English
make round his waist, and — like the Roman emperors,
who, when returning in triumph, painted their faces a
deep vermilion — his face dyed a bright red. The
Katekiro preceded him, and wore a dark grey cash-
mere coat, which M. de Bellefonds had given him,
I think this arrangement was made to deceive any
assassin who might be lurking in the bushes. If this
was the case, the precaution seemed wholly unnecessary,
as the march was so quick that nothing but a gun
would have been effective, and the Wavuma and Wasoga
have no such weapons.
After Mtesa's bodyguard had passed by, chief after
chief, legion after legion, followed, each distinguished to
the native ear by its different and peculiar drum-beat.
They came on at an extraordinary pace, more like
warriors hurrying up into action than on the march,
and it is their custom, I am told, to move always at
a trot when on an enterprise of a warlike nature.*
• The -war-cries of the Waganda b^in by shouting the full title of
their leepectiTe chiefs, and end with the last syllables, thus :^
*' MnkaTya, kayya, kavya ! "
" Chamburango, ango, ango ! **
" Mkwenda, kwenda, kwenda I **
'* Sekibobo, bobo, bobo I **
" Situnzi^ tiinzi^ tnnzi I "
This perhaps explains why Speke spelt ihanks *' iryanag," for Waganda
leturn thanks by first saying, " Twiyanzi-yanzi-yanzi/' and this, when
repeated rapidly, sounds like " N'yanzig.*
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308 TUROUan THE DAItK CONTINENT.
1875. About two hours after the main body began
August 27. jQj^j.g]^^ Kasuju, the guardian of the young princes i
*°^ Mtesa's women, preceded by a thousand spears, i
followed by a similar number, trotted by. The wor
numbered about 5000, but not more than 500 can
styled the Emperor's concubines ; the others were
the duties of the household.
If beautiful women of sable complexion are to
found in Africa, it must, I thought, be in the hoi
hold of such a powerfiJ despot as Mtesa, who has
pick of the flower of so many lands. According!
looked sharply amongst the concubines, that I mi,
become acquainted with the style of pure Afri
beauty. Nor was I quite disappointed, though I ]
imagined that his wives would have all been of supei
personal charms. But Mtesa apparently differs wid
from Europeans in his tastes. There were not m
than twenty out of all the five hundred worthy c
glance of admiration from a white man with any
for style and beauty, and certainly not more than th
deserving of many glances. These three, the n
comely among the twenty beauties of Mtesa's coi
were of the Wahuma race, no doubt from Ank
They had the complexion of quadroons, were straij
nosed and thin-lipped, with large lustrous eyes,
the other graces of a beautiful form they excel
and Hafiz might have said with poetic rapture t
they were *' straight as palm-trees and beautiful
moons." The only drawback was their hair —
short crisp hair of the negro race — but in all ot
points they might be exhibited as the perfectior
beauty which Central Africa can produce. Mtesa, h
ever, does not believe them to be superior, or e
equal, to his well-fleshed, unctuous-b6died, flat-nc
wives: indeed, when I pointed them out to him
day at a private audience, he even regarded them v
y
Digitizi
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THE IMFEBIAL EABEM. 309
a sneer. Speke, if I remember rightly, declares that i875.
fatness in womankind is synonymous with beauty in'^^?"'^^'
Uganda. This may once have been the case, but it is
certainly not so now, for in few women regarded with
favour by Mtesa or his chiefs have I seen any gross
corpulence of body. Naturally, where there is abun-
dance of good digestible food, and the climate is
agreeable, humanity of the respectable class will
generally be found to be well-clothed in flesh, be it in
Uganda or in England, but it is somewhat unreasonable
to state that the respectable class therefore considers
superfluous rotundity to be an element of beauty.
After the royal harem followed Mtesa's uncle, ancient
and well-featured Sabaganzi, whom, as regards the
multitude of women that followed him, I looked upon
for a long time as a very Solomon among the Waganda,
until one day I learned that large possessions of
womankind mean wealth in Uganda, for all of them
have a market value, and are saleable for wares of any
kind, be they cloth, cows, beads, or guns. Still I can-
not quite acquit the old gentleman of the imputation
of gallantry, for one night, at Nakaranga, he slew with
his own hand a lover who had come to serenade
one of his numerous Dulcineas. Besides the character
I have credited him with, I must dub him as a jealous,
vindictive, choleric old pagan, despite his fine features
and smooth tongue.
Wearied with gazing on the vast multitude, which
rolled by steadily in wave after wave, a living tide of
warriors, and having gained sufficient insight into their
numbers and method of travel, I left my post of ob-
servation and struck into the line of march behind
Sabaganzi*s rear-guard, where, to say the least, I was
much annoyed by the rush of hurrying warriors, all of
whom thought it necessary to push on to the front in
spite of all obstacles. The guards given to me by Mtesa
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
810 TEBOUOn TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. to conduct me on the road did tbeir utmost to cl
Angut 27. ^^ fmious, persistcnt impetuosity of the on-con
warriors, and used their stout staffs with angry viole
The blows, however, were quite harmless, as they t
warded off by ample shields of wood and cane*
Perceiving it useless to contend against sue
weight of numbers and such well-established cus1
I submitted to the annoyance patiently, as the ms
to Nakaranga would not occupy more than twc
three days.
At Mpani, where we camped that night, we leai
that the Wavuma, soon after our departure f
Jinja, or the " Stones," had paid a visit to it, and set
abandoned imperial quarters and the camp on
besides spearing some five or six unfortunates be
the chief appointed to guard the camp was awar(
their presence. At sunset we saw the canoes of
Wavuma, some two or three hundred in num
returning in triumph to their island.
Four days afterwards, or on the 1st September,
army of Mtesa occupied Nakaranga, where it c
menced to construct its camp, each chief surroundec
the men of his own command in the position assig
to him by the Katekiro.
The legion commanded by the officers of the qu
mother occupied the ground east of Cape Nakarai
the chief Ankori and his fantastically dressed Wa«
camped north of Nana Masurie's people ; to the gal
Mkwenda with his formidable legion was assigned
entire north of the camp; and to the redoubt
Sekebobo, when he should arrive from Na-Magc
Point, was appointed the lake side, from Mkwe
to the end of Nakaranga Cape. The imperial quai
occupied an area of 400 yards square in the ce
of the vast camp, and was jealously guarded by
bodyguard, the legions of the Katekiro, Chambarai
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A MONSTER CAMP.
311
and Kimbugwe, by Kasuju with the guard of the 1875.
imperial family, and the bluff, outspoken Kitunzi, chief j^^^^'^
of the Katonga valley.
The following rough sketch may assist the reader to
understand better the locality which at this period wa8
of such importance to Uganda. By sunset the army
was comfortably housed in some 30,000 dome-like huts,
above which here and there rose a few of a conical
OuobmI Wiwaeii TJ«o^»
shape and taller than the rest, showing the temporary
residences of the various chiefs.
Amid all the hurry and bustle the white stranger
" Stamlee " (as all the Waganda now called me) was
not forgotten. Commodious quarters were erected and
allotted to him and his boat's crew, by express orders
from Mtesa, near the great broad way which the Kate-
kiro constructed, leading from the imperial quarters to
the point of Cape Nakaranga.
Anxious to see what chances Mtesa possessed of
victory over his rebellious subjects, I proceeded along
the road over the mountain to a position which com-
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312
THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1175 manded a clear view of Ingira Island, whitliei
s^pumbep. j^^jj^ig ]^j^^ betaken themselves, their families, and 8
n -iniiigt. ^^^^^ ^£ cattle. Considered as being in possessic
some twenty thousand savages, whose only wea
of war were the spear and the sling, Ingira It
presented no very formidable obstacle to a power
as the Emperor of Uganda had amassed on this
only 700 yards from it. In length it was ban
mile, and only half a mile in width from the ba
the mountain which confronted the cape to the wj
edge on the Uvuma side. The mountain rose o:
sides with rather a steep slope, but was easy of a
to the nimble-footed and deep-chested natives.
Wavuma, however, were not without allies to t
them in averting the punishment that Mtesa threat
them with, and the common danger, as well
common hate of the dread monarch, had draw:
getlier, for one strong effort to win their freedom
inhabitants of Ugeyeya and Utamba Islands, as W(
Kitenteh — famous in the annals of Uganda for its
but unfortunate struggle with the Emperor Suna
fatlier of Mtesa.
The people of the entire coast of Usoga from 1«
ranga to Uganda had voluntarily enlisted in the (
of Uvuma, and had despatched over 150 large a
fully manned to the war. The confederates, in an
ing their plan of action, had chosen Ingira Islar
the rendezvous of the united fleets of canoes. M1
plan was to capture this island, and to cross over
Ingira to the next, and then to Uvuma, whe
course, only immediate and complete submission \
save them ; and I rejoiced that I was present, for ]
in hopes that at such a period my influence r
be sufficient to avert the horrors that generally a
victory in Africa. Though I had no reason to lov
Wavuma, and for the time was a warm ally of A
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TEE WAQANDA FLEET. 813
I was resolved that no massacre of the submissive ists.
should take place while I was present. September.
The redoubtable Sekebobo, commanding twenty-
four Watongoleh, or colonels, and a force of about
50,000, occupied Namagongo, and the fleet of Mtesa
was under his charge, waiting orders to cross the bay
with them.
The Uganda war fleet numbered 325 large and
small canoes, out of which only 230 might be said
to be really effective for war. One-half of these were
manned by Wasess^, natives of the large island of
Sesse ; the other half by the courageous natives of the
Irwaji and Lulamba Islands, by picked men collected
from the coast between Usavara and Buka Bay under
the command of Chikwata, the Vice-Admiral, by crews
of Unjaku under Vice-Admiral Jumba, and by the
naval brigade of Gabunga, the Admiral of the Fleet.
Gabunga, though entitled to be called Grand Admiral
of the Fleet, because under his charge were placed all the
canoes of Uganda, numbering perhaps 500 altogether,
must not be supposed to exercise supreme command in
action. His duty was simply to convey the orders of
the fighting general to his captains' and lieutenants,
for the sailors, as in England in former times — except
in desperate extremity — seldom fight.
The fighting men of each canoe owe obedience only
to their General-in-chief ; the sailors or paddlers obey
Gabunga, the Grand Admiral of the Fleet, who, again,
is controlled by the General-in-chief.
Many readers, unless detained to consider the naval
force of Mtesa, might be contented with the mere
figures giving the numerical strength of his war-
vessels. But let us for the sake of curiosity calculate
the number of men required to man these 230 effective
war-canoes.
The largest canoe seen by me in this fleet measured
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1 1
314
TUROUQE TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. 72 feet in length, 7 feet 3 inches in breadth, anc
September. 4 £^gj ^^^p ^itiiin^ from teel to gunwale. The tb
* *'"'*' were 32 in number, to seat 64 paddlers besides the
There were probably over 100 canoes between 5(
70 feet in length, and about 50 between 30 and 5(
long; the remaining 80 fighting-boats were o
sizes, from 18 to 30 feet long. The rest of the
consisted of small boats fit only to carry from
to six men.
The largest class — 100 in number — would re
on an average fifty men each to man them, ^
would be equal in the aggregate to 5000. The «
class would require on an average forty men
or 2000 to man the fifty canoes. The third
would average twenty men each, and being eigt
number, would require 1600 men to man then
sum total standing therefore at 8600.
A very respectable figure for a naval force, mosi
would think. But in a battle on the lake, or for
an occasion as the present, when the resources c
Empire were mustered for an important war, they ^
be further required to carry a strong force to ai
Ingira Island. The canoes for the assault would ^
fore be crammed with fighting men, the largest
carrying from 60 to 100 men exclusive of their c
so that the actual fact is that Mtesa can float a
of from 16,000 to 20,000 on Lake Victoria for pui
of war.
Of the spirit with which the Wavuma intend
fight the Waganda we had proof enough on the e
day of our arrival. They dashed up close to the i
and back again into the lake, three or four times, 1
the Waganda remembered that they had mes
hand in the shape of muskets to purge them o
bravado. As the shots were fired at the canoes
of the Wavuma bent their heads low and pj
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE FIRST FIQET. 315
their canoes with one hand, but a few of the boldest 1875.
stood Tip exhibiting for our benefit their dexterity ^^^^^^^^^^^
in the use of the spear, and to show how well they
could maintain their footing on the thwarts of their
narrow canoes. Their bravado was not without its
effect on many of the Waganda, for I heard several
remark that the Wavuma would be hard to conquer.
On the third morning Sekebobo, having been in-
structed during the night, began to cross the bay of
Nakaranga with the imperial fleet. Mtesa had sent a
messenger to inform me that the chief was about
to start, and I hastened up to the beach to witness
the sight. I found that almost all the Waganda were
animated with the same curiosity, for the beach was
lined for three or four miles with dense masses of people,
almost all clad in the national brown, bark-cloth robes.
The Wavuma meanwhile kept their eyes on Seke-
bobo, and from the summit of their mountain island
discerned, almost as well as if they had been told by
Mtesa, what was about to be done; and to frustrate
this, if possible, or at least to gather booty, they
hastily manned 100 canoes or thereabouts, and darted
out like so many crocodiles towards Namagongo.
Before Sekebobo could arrange the fleet in order, the
Wavuma were in the middle of the bay to dispute
his passage, and calmly awaiting his coming into deep
water.
A hundred canoes against 325 was rather an un-
equal contest, and so the Wavuma thought, for as the
fleet of Mtesa approached in a compact, tolerably
well-arranged mass, the Wavuma opened their line
to right and left, and permitted their foe to pass
them. The Waganda, encouraged by this sign, began
to cheer, but scarcely had the first sounds of self-
gratulation escaped them when the Wavuma paddles
were seen to strike the water with foam, and, lo ! into
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y
316 TEBOuan the dark continent.
ms. the midst of the mass from either flank the ga
Stpicmber. igjjmd^j^ dashed, sendinff dismay and consternation
"•^"^ the whole Uganda armf.
What work those desperate Wavmna might
done, I know not, but Mtesa at the sight leape
high, and shouted his war-cry, " Kavya, kavya ! "
the army, men, women, and children, screamed " Kj
kavya ! " and the approaching fleet, hearing the
echoed it fiercely, and turned itself on the ei
with spirit. But the Wavuma, having made foui
good prizes, did not wish, so unequally matche
meet the Waganda in a pitched fight, and accordi
hastened away — contented for the time — ^into d(
water, whither, strangely enough, the Waganda
did not dare to follow them.
This short but spirited scene caused me to n
deeply, and to ask myself why, if the Wavuma
so courageous, I was permitted to escape from
hands; and why one boat and a double-ban
elephant-rifle were suflGcient to release us, in
voyage of discovery, from thirteen well-ma
Wavuma canoes. Some answers to this question
derived subsequently from observation of events.
A pause of two or three days without inc;
followed the arrival of Sekebobo's legion and Mi
fleet. Then Mtesa sent for me, and was please
impart some of his ideas on the probable issue o
war to me, in something like the following words :-
" Stamlee, I want your advice. All white mei
very clever, and appear to know everything. I
to know from you what you think I may expect
this war. Shall I have victory or not? It it
opinion we must be clever, and make headwork
that island."
Smiling at his naive, candid manner, I replied
it would require a prophet to be able to foretel
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A BRIDGE OF ROCKS. 817
issue of the war, and that I was far from being a 1875.
prophet ; that headwork, were it the best in the world, ^p**™***'-
could not take Ingira Island unassisted by valour. ""*^
He then said, " I know that the Waganda will not
fight well on the water ; they are not accustomed to it.
They are always victorious on land, but when they go
in canoes, they are afraid of being upset ; and most of
the warriors come from the interior, ,and do not know
how to swim. The Wavuma and Wasoga are very
expert in the water, and swim like fish. If we could
devise some means to take the Waganda over to the
island without risking them iji the canoes, I should be
sure of victory.'*
I replied, " You have men, women, and children here
in this camp as numerous as grass. Command every soul
able to walk to take up a stone and cast into the water,
and you will make a great difference in its depth ; but
if each person carries fifty stones a day, I will warrant
you that in a few days you will walk on dry land to
Ingira."
Mtesa at this slapped his thighs in approval, and
forthwith commanded the Katekiro to muster two
legions and set them to work, and very soon the face
of the rocky mountain was covered with about 40,000
warriors, or about a sixth of the multitude at the
cape, toiling at the unusual work of making a
rocky causeway to connect Nakaranga with Ingira
Island. After they had been at work three hours,
I proceeded to view the progress they were making,
and saw that they were expending their energies in
making a causeway about 100 feet wide. I told the
Katekiro that it would take a year to finish such a
work, but if he would limit the width to 10 feet, and
form the people 'into rows, he would have the satisfac-
tion of setting foot on Ingira Island .without danger.
But though the Premier and first lord of Uganda lost
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818 thuouqe tee dabk continent.
1875. nono of Ins politeness, and never forgot that Mtesj
^^*^^* master, was pleased to call me his friend, I wa«
^ slow in perceiving that he would not accept frie
advice from a stranger and a foreigner. It was
by words, or even a hint or unfriendly gesture,
the fact was betrayed, but simply by inattentio
my advice. The most courtly European could
have excelled the Uganda Premier. He offered ii
same friendly manner a gourdful of the honey-s
wine of the plantain, talked sociably upon va
matters, invited verbal sketches of European life,
smiled in an aristocratically insolent manner. N<
theless, under this urbane mask, I detected a p
spirit, unbending as steel. With such an unru
composed, smiling patrician of Uganda, what <
I do but groan inwardly that good, brave, exc€
Mtesa should be served by such men ? At the
time, I could not help smiling at the diplomati
souciance of this man, who indeed represented in
a too perfect degree the character of the Wag
chiefs.
For two days the work was carried on in the ¥
had described, namely, with rocks, and then 1
thought that filling the passage with trees woul
a speedier method, and the Katekiro was so instm
For three days the Waganda 'were at work fe
trees, and a whole forest was levelled and carrie
Nakaranga Point, where they were lashed to one anc
with bark-rope, and sunk.
On the morning of the fifth day Mtesa came c
to the point to view the causeway, and was glad t
that we were nearer by 130 yards to Ingira Is
While viewing the island, he asked me what I tho
of sending a peace party over to ascertain the fe<
of the Wavuma. I replied that it would be a |
and wise thing in Europe, but not in Central Afric
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TEE PEACE FABTT MASSACRED. 319
I feared the Wavuma would massacre the entire party. i875.
Mtesa, however, advised by the chiefs or one of the ^®^*^''
Wangwana, persisted in the idea, and a favourite page, " ^^'
named Webba, was about to be sent in a large canoe
with fifty men to open negotiations for peace with the
Wavuma, when I entreated that he would listen to me,
and send a small, rotten canoe instead. He listened to
me so far as to send a canoe manned with only fifteen
men. As they were paddling on, unthinking and un-
dreading danger, I cried out to Mtesa, who was about
twenty yards from me, **Say farewell to Webba, for
you will see little Webba no more.'*
The Katekiro and two or three of his chiefs smiled
as if this was most absurd. I felt precisely at this
moment as I felt the first time 1 saw a bull-fight : a cold
shiver of horror crept over me. I was helpless and
unable to avert the tragedy which instinct warned me
would be enacted.
The entire Uganda army was concentrated on the
slope of Nakaranga mountain, and the eyes of the vast
multitude were fastened upon this scene ; and no doubt
they thought as I did, that it was a moment of thrilling
interest. The men of the Uganda canoe fleet were in
their camps, and the canoes were all beached near them.
The peace party held on its way until near Ingira,
when one of them opened a conversation with the
Wavtuna, the result of which was an invitation to take
their canoe in-shore. As they paddled the canoe gently
in among the rushes that lined the island, I observed
that all the Wavuma gathered together near the place
where the Waganda were expected to land, and that
several Wavuma canoes pushed out in order that the
Waganda might have no chance of escape.
We waited only a few seconds for what was about to
happen. The canoe of the peace party had scarcely
touched their island before we heard the shrieks of
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820 THBOUQE TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. the unfortunates pealing across, the water, and then
^^**^^the triumphant shouts of the Wavuma; and soon
we saw men rushing to the point of their island nearest
the causeway, and with jeers and scoffing they showed
the bloody heads of the unfortunates to Mtesa, and
tossed them into the lake. Mtesa rose gloomy and
disconcerted, and returned to his quarters much depressed
in spirits, but he gave instructions to his Katekiro to
continue the work on the causeway.
The Katekiro, placidly obedient, instructed two
chiefs, the two chiefs instructed their Watongoleh, the
Watongoleh instructed their men, and the result of
these several instructions was, that about 100 men out
of 150,000 were seen lounging idly on the causeway,
and that was all, for the novelty of the idea had now
worn off.
Nothing more was heard of the bridge, for Mtesa had
conceived a new idea, which was, to be instructed in the
sciences of Europe. I was to be a scientific encyclo-
paedia to him. Not wishing to deny him, I tried, during
the afternoon of the massacre, to expound the secrets of
nature and the works of Providence, the wonders of the
heavens, the air and the earth. We gossiped about the
nature of rocks and metals, and their many appliances,
which the cunning of the Europeans had invented to
manufacture the innumerable variety of things for
which they are renowned. The dread despot sat with
wide-dilated eyes and an all-devouring attention, and,
in deference to his own excitable feelings, his chiefs
affected to be as interested as himself, though I have
no doubt several ancients, such as Kangau and
Sabaganzi, thought the whole affair decidedly tedious,
and the white man a **bore." The more polite and
courtly Katekiro, Chambarango, and Kauta vied with
each other in expressing open-mouthed and large-eyed
interest in this encyclopaedic talk. I drifted from
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•• WffAT DO TOU KNOW OF ANGELS f** 321
mechanics to divinity, for my purpose in this respect 1875.
was not changed. During my extemporized lectures, ^^**"^'*
I happened to mention angels. On hearing the word,
Mtesa screamed with joy, and to my great astonish-
ment the patricians of Uganda cliorused, " Ah-ah-ah ! **
as if they had heard an exceedingly good thing.
Having appeared so learned all the afternoon, I dared
not condescend to inquire what all this wild joy
meant, but prudently waited until the exciting cries
and slapping of thighs were ended.
The boisterous period over, Mtesa said, " Stamlee, I
have always told my chiefs that the white men know
everything, and are skilful in all things. A great many
Arabs, some Turks, and four white men have visited
me, and I have examined and heard them all talk, and
for wisdom and goodness the white men excel all the
others. Why do the Arabs and Turks come to Uganda ?
Is it not for ivory and slaves ? Why do the white men
come? They come to see this lake, our rivers and
mountains. The Arabs bring cloth, beads and wire, to
buy ivory and slaves; they also bring powder and
guns ; but who made all these things the Arabs bring
here for trade ? The Arabs themselves say the white
men made them, and I have seen nothing yet of all
they have brought that the white men did not make.
Therefore, I say, give me the white men, because if
you want knowledge you must talk with them to
get it. Now, Stamlee, tell me and my chiefs what
you know of the angels."
Verily the question was a difficult one, and my answer
would not have satisfied Europeans. Remembering,
however, St. Paul's confession that he was all things to
all men, I attempted to give as vivid a description of
what angels are generally believed to be like, and as
Michael Angelo and Gustave Dore have laboured to
illustrate them, and with the aid of Ezekiel's and
VOL. I. — 21
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1
822 THBOUOH THE DARK CONTINENT
1875. Milton's descriptions I believe I succeeded in sat
s*pt«nDer. ^^^ astonishing the king and his court ; and ii
"^to show him that I had authority for what I
sent to my camp for the Bible, and translated
what Ezekiel and St. John said of angels.
This little incident, trivial as it may appear, hs
interesting results. Encyclopaedic talk was fo]
in the grander and more sublime themes which So
and divinity contributed. The Emperor cast c<
eyes on the Bible and my Church of England
Book, and perceiving his wish, I introduced to hir
named Dallington, a pupil of the Universities J
at Zanzibar, who could translate the Bible ir
Bwahili for him, and otherwise communicate i
what I wished to say.
Henceforth, during the intervals of leisure tl
war gave us, we were to be seen — the king,
Dallington, and I — engaged in the translation
abstract of the Holy Scriptures. There were ^:
enough of these translations, but Mtesa himself
assiduous and earnest student.
Having abundance of writing paper with me,
a large book for him, into which the translation
fairly copied by a writer called Idi. When con
Mtesa possessed an abridged Protestant Bible
swahili, embracing all the principal events frc
Creation to the Crucifixion of Christ. St.
Gospel was translated entire, as giving a more cc
history of the Saviour's life.
When the abridged Bible was completed,
called all his chiefs together, as well as the oflG
his guard, and when all were assembled he be
state that when he succeeded his father he
Mshensi (a heathen), and delighted in shedding
because he knew no better, and was only followi
customs of his fathers ; but that when an Arab
1
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JESUa OB MOHAMMED f 323
who was also a Mwalim (priest), taught him the creed i875.
of Islam, he had renounced the example of his fathers, ^p*^*^^'-
and executions became less frequent, and no man could ^
say, since that day, that he had seen Mtesa drunk with
pombe'. But there were a great many things he could
not understand, such as, why circumcision was neces-
sary to gain Paradise, and how it was possible that men
having died could enjoy earth's pleasures in heaven, and
how men could walk along a bridge of the breadth of a
hair, for such were some of the things the sons of Islam
taught. He could not comprehend all these things, as
his sense condemned them, and there was no one in
Uganda able to enlighten him better. But as it was in
his heart to be good, he hoped God would overlook
his follies and forgive him, and send men who knew
what was right to Uganda. " Meanwhile,** said he with
a smile, *^ I refused to be circumcised, though the Arabs
say it is the first thing that should be done to become a
true son of Islam. Now, God be thanked, a white man,
* Stamlee,' has come to Uganda with a book older than
the Koran of Mohammed, and Stamlee says that
Mohammed was a liar, and much of his book taken from
this ; and this boy and Idi have read to me all that
Stamlee has read to them from this book, and I find
that it is a great deal better than the book of Mohammed,
besides it is the first and oldest book. The prophet
Moses wrote some of it a long, long time before
Mohammed was even heard of, and the book was
finished long before Mohammed was bom. As Kintu,
our first king, was a long time before me, so Moses
waB before Mohammed. Now I want you, my chiefs
and soldiers, to tell me what we shall do. Shall
we believe in Isa (Jesus) and Musa (Moses), or in
Mohammed ? "
Chambarango replied, " Let us take that which is the
best."
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324 THROUOH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. The Katekiro said, ^ We know not which is the best
s*pumb«r. rpj^^ ^^j^g g^y ^Yie\r book is the best, and the white
^ men say their book is the best — how then can we know
which speaks the truth ? '*
Kauta, the imperial steward, said, "When Mtesa
became a son of Islam, he taught me, and I became
one ; if my master says he taught me wrong, having
got more knowledge, he can now teach me right. I am
waiting to hear his words.**
Mtesa smiled and said, " Kauta speaks well. If I
taught him how to become a Muslim, I did it because
I believed it to be good. Chambarango says, * Let us
take that which is best.* True, I want that which is
the best, and I want the true book ; but Katekiro asks,
* How are we to know which is true ?' and I will answer
him. Listen to me : The Arabs and the white men
behave exactly as they are taught by their books, do
they not ? The Arabs come here for ivory and slaves,
and we have seen that they do not always speak the
truth, and that they buy men of their own colour, and
treat them badly, putting them in chains and beating
them. The white men, when offered slaves, refuse
them, saying, * Shall we make our brothers slaves ? No ;
we are all sons of God.' I have not heard a white man
tell a lie yet. Speke came here, behaved well, and
went his way home with his brother Grant. They
bought no slaves, and the time they were in Uganda
they were very good. Stamlee came here, and he would
take no slaves. Abdul Aziz Bey (M. Linant Bellefonds)
has been here, and is gone, and he took no slaves.
What Arab would have refused slaves like these white
men ? Though we deal in slaves, it is no reason why it
should not be bad ; and when I think that the Arabs
and the white men do as they are. taught, I say that
the white men are greatly superior to the Arabs, and
I think therefore that their book must be a better book
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TEE ROTAL PROSELYTE. 825
than Mohammed's, and of all that Stamlee has read from i875.
his book I see nothing too hard for me to believe. The f]?*^'^*
book begins from the very beginning of this world, tells
us how it was made, and in how many days ; gives us
the words of God Himself, and of Moses, and the prophet
Solomon, and Jesus, the son of Mary. I have listened to
it all well pleased, and now I ask you, shall we accept
this book or Mohammed's book as our guide ? "*
To which question, no doubt seeing the evident bent
of Mtesa's own mind, they all replied, " We will take
the white man's book ; " and at hearing their answer a
manifest glow of pleasure lighted up the Emperor's
face.
In this manner Mtesa renounced Islamism, and pro-
fessed himself a convert to the Christian Faith, and he
now announced his determination to adhere to his new
religion, to build a church, and to do all in his power
to promote the propagation of Christian sentiments
among his people, and to conform to the best of his
ability to the holy precepts contained in the Bible.
I, on the other hand, proud of my convert, with whom
I had diligently laboured during three months, pro-
mised that, since Dallington wished it, I would release
him from my service, that he might assist to confirm
him in his new faith, that he might read the Bible for
him, and perform the service of a Bible reader until the
good people of Europe should send a priest to baptize
him and teach him the duties of the Christian religion.
** Stamlee," said Mtesa to me, as we parted, nearly
two months after the massacre of the peace party, " 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."
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826 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
I
CHAPTER XTTT,
The war-drnm beaten — The wizards play their part — In full
paint — Ballets against speais — The Wamma baulked — ^
fury — Victory or the stake! — Hard fighting — The captiYe d
struggle between the I agan and the Christian — A floating mysl
''Betum, spirit 1 the war is ended T — The camp on fire : an
life.
1875. On the 14th September the Emperor of Ug
^*?^^*'^ decided to give battle to the Wavuma, who
daily becoming bolder and more boastfiil. In
morning, in accordance with Mtesa's orders,
Waganda canoes sallied out from the beach in fro
our camps to Nakaranga Point, where they form<
line of battle before the causeway, with the steri
their canoes fronting Ingira, and their bows tov
Nakaranga Point.
Mtesa was followed by about three-fourths o
army when he proceeded to the point to view
battle, and with him went the great war-drums, t(
number of fifty or thereabouts, and fifes aboi
hundred, and a great number of men shaking g(
filled with pebbles, and the court criers and
charmers against evil were not wanting to create
and noise, and celebrate victory.
A hut of ample size had been erected on the n
tain slope overlooking the strait, into which Mtesa
his favourite women retired. When the Emperoi
seated, the ** prophets of Baal/' or the priests
y
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TEE WIZARDS FLAY TEEIB FART. 827
priestesses of the Muzimu, or witchcraft, came up, i875.
more than a hundred in number, and oflFered tl^e jf!f ** ^*"
charms to Mtesa one after another in a most tedious * *^°*^*'
ceremonious way, and to all of them Mtesa con-
descended to point his imperial forefinger.
The chief priest was a most fantastically dressed
madman. It is customary before commencing a battle
to carry all the potent medicines or charms of Uganda
(thus propitiating the dreadful Muzimu or evil spirits)
to the monarch, that he may touch or point his
forefinger at them. They consist of dead lizards,
bits of wood, hide, nails of dead people, claws of
animals, and beaks of birds, a hideous miscellany,
with mysterious compounds of herbs and leaves care-
fully enclosed in vessels ornamented with varicoloured
beads.
During the battle these wizards and witches chant
their incantations, and exhibit their medicines on high
before the foe, while the gourd-and-pebble bearers sound
a hideous alarum, enough to cause the nerves of any
man except an Aft'ican to relax at once.
Mtesa and his army were in full war-paint, and the
principal men wore splendid leopard-skins over their
backs, but the Wasoga bore the palm for splendour of
dress and ornate equipments.
Ankori'the chief, and his officers were wonderfully
'gay. Snow-white ostrich plumes decorated their heads,
and lion and leopard-skins covered their backs, while
their loins were girded with snow-white, long-haired
monkey and goat skins ; even the staves of their lances
were ornamented with feathers and rings of white
monkey-skin.
There was ample time afforded to observe all these
things, and to be exceedingly amused and interested
in what promised to be an animating scene, before all
attention was drawn to and engaged by the battle.
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S9J8 rUBOUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
i876l The speclators were seated, safe from harm or danger,
i%\t^it. 01^ t^^® slope of Nakaranga mountain, from the water's
edge to tlie mountain summit, tier above tier, and rank
above rank, in thousands upon thousands.
The canoes, having formed line, slowly moved stem-
wise towards Ingira. The Wavuma were not inactive
spectators of this manoeuvre, but a« yet their warriors
had not embarked. They were busy mustering, while
those appointed to garrison the island, with the women
and children, several thousands in mmaber, sate down
on the slopes of the opposite mountain of Ingira Island.
The rushes and weeds lining the water's edge were
too tall and thick to enable us to estimate exactly the
number of the enemy's war-canoes, but the brown-
coloured prows, long and curving, of a great many
were seen thrust out from among the vivid green
banana plantations, or arranged on the rising beach of
the island beyond its reedy margin.
Having advanced with the utmost regularity of line,
near enough to the island to make their " Brown Bess "
muskets effective, the Waganda began to open fire in a
steady, deliberate manner, and succeeded after awhile
in annoying the foe and arousing him to action. At
a given signal from their chiefs, forth from the reeds
and rushes shot the prows of the Wavuma canoes ; and'
then, giving utterance to most shrill war-cries, the
rowers impelled them from all quarters, to the number
of 194, with an extraordinary velocity upon the
Waganda line, which now began to retire slowly
towards the causeway.
On the causeway at its farthest extremity were
assembled a force of a hundred musketeers and four
small boat howitzers under the command of the Katekiro
and Mtesa's factotum Tori.
The furious advance of the Wavuma soon caused the
Waganda to hurry their movements, and on approach-
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THE WAVUMA BAULKED OF VICTORY. 329
ing the causeway they parted their line, rushing on 1875.
either side of it, giving the Katekiro and Tori ample ^^^ ^^^
opportunity to wreak their will on the pursuers. But * *'*°^*
owing to the want of skill of the cannoniers, and
the nervousness of the musketeers, very little damage
was inflicted on the Wavuma, but the noise and
whirring of lead and iron suflSced to check them, and
caused them to withdraw with much of the baflHed
aspect of hungry crocodiles cheated of their prey. This
was all the battle — ^but, short as it was, it had suflSced to
prove to me that Mtesa would be unable to take Ingira
Island, garrisoned and defended as it was by such a
determined foe. After a while Mtesa withdrew from
the scene, the army returned to its quarters, and the
canoes of the Waganda, closely hugging the Nakaranga
shore, went back to their rendezvous, leaving the
Wavuma masters of the situation.
During the afternoon of this day Mtesa held a grand
levee, and when all were assembled, he addressed them
publicly to the effect that in a few day with me? Oh, he speaks too
true, too true! father, forgive me, forgive me.'*
After which, I was told he suddenly broke away from
the council.
An hour afterwards I was summoned by a page to
his presence, and Mtesa said : —
" Stamlee will not say Mtesa is bad now, for he has
forgiven the Mvuma chief, and will not hurt him.
Will Stamlee say that Mtesa is good now ? And does
he think Suna is glad now ? "
** Mtesa is very good/* and I clasped his hand warmly.
^* Be patient, all shall come out right, and Kintu and Suna
must be glad when they see that Mtesa is kind to his
guests. I have something to tell you. I have thought
over your trouble here, and I want to finish this war
for your good without any more trouble. I will build
a structure which shall terrify the Wavuma, and make
them glad of a peace, but you must give me pletity of
men to help me, and in three days I shall be ready.
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.**
VOL. I.— 22
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338 TnnOUQH TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. ** Take everybody, do anything you like ; I will give
^^"^"^ •• you Sekebobo and all his men/'
The next morning Sekebobo brought about 2000
men before my quarters, and requested to know
my wilL I told him to despatch 1000 men to cut
long poles 1 inch thick, 300 to cut poles 3 inches
thick and 7 feet long, 100 to cut straight long trees
4 inches thick, and 100 to disbark all these, and make
bark rope. Himself and 500 men I wished to assist
me at the beach. The chief communicated my in-
structions 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
70 feet long and 6i feet wide, and, after preparing
a space of ground near the water's edge, had them
drawn up parallel with one another, and 4 feet apart
from each other. With these three canoesJ 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 7-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,
70 feet long by 27 feet wide, which the spears of the
enemy could not penetrate.
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
flout.*'
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A FLOATING MYSTERY.
339
On receiving orders to. launch it, I selected sixty 1875.
paddlers and 150 musketeers of the ^ bodyguard 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 tliera to close the
gate of the fort as soon as •they pushed off from the
land. About 1000 men were then set to work to
launch it, and soon it was floating in the water, and
when the crew and garrison, 214 souls, were in it, it
THE FLOATING FORTLET HO VINO TOWARDS INGIRA.
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 foimd, 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 tbis 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.
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840
THEOUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
t875. At eigbt o'clock on the morning of the 13th C
Ocu^bcr 13. ^j^^ army was assembled at Nakaranga with u
* ***^^ display, and it was proclaimed across the strait
the extremity of the causeway that a terrible thii
approaching which would blow them into at(
they did not make peace at once and acknowled
power of Mtesa ; and I believe that they declare
all the Muzimus and the charms of Uganda
within, for I heard something said about Muzim
Uganda. The old Mvuma chief was filso pla
prominent view, and induced to urge them to
the terms which Mtesa offered, viz. pardon
provided they went through the form of subm
After this announcement, which was made wi
gravity, the awful mysterious structure appeared
the drums beat a tremendous sound, and the mu
of horns blew a deafening blast.
It was a moment of anxiety to me, for mj
reasons. The fort, perfectly defensible in itself a
the most furious assaults by men armed with i
steadily approached the point, then steered din
the island of Ingira, until it was within fifty yan
** Speak," said a stentorian voice amid a d
silence within. " What will you do? Will you
peace and submit to Mtesa, or shall we blow i
' island ? Be quick and answer.**
There was a moment's consultation among th
stricken Wavuma. Immediate decision was impe
The structure was vast, totally unlike anything tt
ever visible on the waters of their sea. There ^
person visible, yet a voice spoke clear and loud.
a spirit, the Wazimu of all Uganda, more pro]
to their enemy's prayers than those of the Wa^
It might contain some devilish, awful, thing, som<
similar to the evil spirits which in their hoi
melancholy and gloom their imagination in
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' RETUBN, SPIRIT I TEE WAB IS ENDED r 341
There was an audacity and confidence in its movements ists.
October 1
KakarangA.
that was perfectly appalling. ^""^^ ^^'
" Speak," repeated the stem 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, spirit, the war is ended 1 " 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.
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, and
two young girls, daughters of the two principal chiefs
of Uvuma. These were the tribute. The ivory was
delivered over to the charge of the steward, and the
young girls were admitted to the harem of Mtesa,
into the mystery of which no man dare penetrate
and live. The old Mvuma chief was surrendered to his
tribe, and thus the long war terminated on the evening
of the 13th 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 275
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.
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842 THEOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. We set out next morning, the 15th Octobei
October 15. ^^j^^ee o'clock. We were wakened by the tremen
*'*°'** " Jojussu,** the great king of war-drums. Inste
we began to pack up, but I was scarcely dn
before ray people rushed up to me, crying that
immense camp was fired in a hundred diS<
places. I rushed out of my hut, and was astou
to see that the* flames devoured the grass hut
fast that, unless we instantly departed, we shoul
burnt along with them. Hastily snatching my pii
I bade the Wangwana shoulder the goods and f(
me as they valued their lives.
The great road from Mtesa's quarters to Nakarj
Point, though 100 feet wide, was rendered impaa
by furious, overlapping waves of fire. There was
one way left, which was up the slope of Nakar
mountain, and through the camp of the Wasoga.
were not alone in the attempt to escape by this
for about 60,000 human beings had sought the i
patli, and were wedged into an almost solid mas
great was the danger and the anxiety to be away
the cruel sea of fire below.
It was a grand scene, but a truly terrible one ;
I thought, as I looked down on it, that the Wag
were now avenging the dead Wavuma with
own hands, for out of a quarter of a million hu
beings there must have been an immense numbi
sick unable to move. Besides these, what numbe
witless women and little ones having lost prej
of mind must have perished ; and how many must
been trampled down by the rush of such a vast nui
to escape the conflagration! The wide-leaping,
reaching tongues of flame voraciously eating the
tindery material of the huts, and blown by a st
breeze from the lake, almost took my breath away,
several times I felt as if my very vitals were b
scorched ; but with heads bent low we charged
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THE BURNING CAMP: A BACK FOB LIFE.
343
blindlj, knowing no guide save the instinct of self- 1875.
*.-»^»^«.,,»4-:^«^ October 15.
preservation*
As soon as an opportunity permitted, I looked after
the laggards of my party, and by dint of severity
kept them together, but three or four were more
than half inclined to give in before we breathed cooler
air, and could congratulate ourselves upon our safety.
Indignant at such a murderous course, for I mentally
taxed Mtesa with this criminal folly, I marched my
party far from the route of the Waganda army, and
though repeatedly urged by Mtesa to attach myself
to his party, I declined to do so until he should explain
to me why he had commanded the camp to be fired
without giving warning to his people or to myself, his
guest. His messenger at once acquitted him of such
gross recklessness, and declared that he had arrested
several persons suspected of having fired the camp,
and that he himself had suffered the loss of goods
and women in the flames. I thereupon, glad that
he was not the author of the catastrophe, sent my
salaams, and a promise to rejoin him at Ugungu, on
the Uganda side of the Ripon Falls, which I did
on the 18 th October.
FISH FOtnn) IK LAKE VICTORIA.
Sama-Moa, in the Nyassa tongue ; rouDd, opeD-mouthed, scaled, and
pig-headed-looking creature, 20 laches long.
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841 THEOUQH TES DAItK CONTINENT.
October.
Uganda.
CHAPTER XIV.
The Legend of the Blameless Priest — The heroes of Uganda — Chwa —
Kimera, the giant — Nakiyingi — Eibaga, the flying warrior —
Ma'anda — Wakingnm, the champion — Eamanja, the conqueror
of the Wakedi — Suna the cruel — His massacre of the Wasoga —
Namujnrilwa, the Achilles of Uganda — Setnha and his lions —
Easindula the hero, peasant, and premier — Mtesa the mild-eyed.
1875. Having arrived safely in Uganda, through most
extraordinary and novel scenes, I may be permitted
to leave the direct narrative of our travels and our life
in Uganda in order to inform the reader on certain
points of the history of Mtesa's country, beginning with
Kintu, Priest, Patriarch, and first King of Uganda.
Whatever of the incredible or marvellous may be
discovered by the learned critic in this chapter must
not be debited against the author, but against Sabadu
and the elders who are responsible for the tale of Kintu,
the wars of Kamanya, Suna, and Mtesa, and the feats
of Namujurilwa, Setuba, and KasinduJa the heroes,
while Mtesa himself furnished me with the names of
the kings his forefathers, with many other facts con-
tained in this chapter.
For my part I regret only that want of space
compels me to compress what I have gathered of the
history of this interesting country into a few pages,
but brief as it is, I venture to believe that it will not
be without interest to a large class of readers.
Uganda, then, was first peopled by immigrants from
the north, about. the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
But the date at which I thus fix the arrival of the
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TBE LEGEND OF TEE BLAMELESS PRIEST. 345
patriarch Kintu may be wrong ; he may have arrived is?^
at a much earlier period, and the names of a large Uganda,
number of his successors may have sunk into oblivion.
Tradition, as well as it has been able, has faithfully
preserved the memory of the acts of the first of these
immigrants, though it has contemptuously omitted
the acts of his successors, and as usual has contrived
to endow its favourites, here as elsewhere, with
marvellous power and extraordinary attributes.
Kintu, the first immigrant and the founder of Uganda,
came from the north, and perhaps derived his descent
from some African Arab or ancient Ethiopic family.
He was a mild, humane, and blameless man, and
from his character was probably a priest of some old
and long forgotten order. He brought with him one
wife, one cow, one goat, one sheep, one banana-root,
and a sweet potato ; and, journeying in search of a
suitable land to dwell in, established himself finally on
the western bank of the Mwerango river, at Magonga,*
near the present frontier of TJnyoro. He found the
country uninhabited, for not a single soul then dwelt
in all the land lying between the lakes Victoria and
Albert and Muta Nzige. TJsoga was a wilderness,
XJkedi a desolate plain, and the fertile valleys of Unyoro
were unpeopled.
The priest Kintu was alone in his kingdom. But these
countries were not destined to remain desolate long, for
his wife was remarkably prolific. She brought forth
four children at a birth each year, and each male issued
into the world with an incipient beard and the powers of
lusty prime youth ; and the female children at two years
of age bore children, who at an equally early age con-
ceived and bore sons and daughters, until the land
• Some of the Waganda belieye, however, that Kintn, or Ham,
as Mtosa now believes him to be, was buried at Magonga; but I prefer to
adhere to the legend as it was related to me.
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BiS
TSMOUQM TUS DARK CONTINEIiT,
^pm^
1
liTi. began to be fully peopled, tbo forests to be cut
^* the land to be cultivated, and planted with b
and corn«
The single cow, goat, slieep, and cliiekea in<
after their kind by fioiue exti^aordinary manneT
they grew so numerous that eacli of the offspi
Kiiitu soon possessed large herds of cattle, and fii
sheep and goats, and numerous chickens. The b
root also, once planted in the soil of Uganda
lioly hands of Kintu^ sprang up almost, instant
a Btalk of vast girth, from the top of which
pendent such a cluster of fruit as is not 6<
Uganda nowadays, and the root Bpread itsel
a large area, from which hundreds of banam
upward with great stalks and all the leafy luxi
of a large plantation* The potato-plant also vie
the banana, for so great was its vitality that it ap
to crawl over the ground, so fast was its growtl
When his oflspring had grown so numeroi
they crowded Magonga, Kintu cut portions
original banana-root and potato-plant and gs
each family a portion, and having taught tliei
** to sow the glebe and plant the generous vine,
them seek each a home, and estahhsh themselves
land round about him. Those wIjo received the
estahlislied their home south of Magonga, whih
who received the sweet-potato plant migrated
north of Magonga, and dwelt in the valleys of I
Hence it i^ tliat to this day the people of C
south, and all about Magonga prefer the ban;
food, while the people of Wanyuro have such
d J lection for sweet potatoes*
Being a piiest, Kintu entertained a special a
to the eliedding of hlooJ, whether of man, i
bird, or insect, but he did not instruct his offsp
abstain from shedding the blood of beasts.
.^
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TEE LEGEND OF TEE BLAMELESS PRIEST. 347
animal was to be slain for food, it was ordained that it 1875.
should be taken far from the neighbourhood of his ^^^
house, and if a man was to be executed for murder, *^
the executioner dare not slay his victim near Kintu or
his house or his garden, neither might the man of
blood at any time approach the patriarch's person. If
the culprit on his way to execution could contrive to
make his way to Kintu*s presence and touch his feet or
his garments, or were the patriarch even to cast his
eyes on him, his life was safe.
When the good patriarch became old his children
forgot to follow his pious example, for from the banana
they had discovered the art of making wine and strong
drinks, with which they debauched themselves, and,
being daily intoxicated, committed indecencies, became
violent in language, reckless and hardened in impiety,
and, worse than all, so rebellious as to threaten to
depose and kill him. Kintu bore this conduct in his
unloving children with meekness and sorrow for a long
time, but warned them that their impiety and violence
would be punished some day ; but they heeded him not,
for the wine had maddened them.
After a time, finding his admonitions of no avail, he
said to his wife, " See, my sons whom I brought into this
world have become wicked and hard of heart, and they
threaten to drive their father away or kill him, for they
say I am become old and useless. I am like a hateful
stranger amongst my own children. They shed the
blood of their brothers daily, and there is nothing but
killing and bloodshed now, until I am sick of blood.
It is time for us to get away and depart elsewhere*
Come, let us go." And in the night Kintu and his
wife departed, taking with tliera their original cow,
goat, sheep, chicken, a banana-root, and a sweet-potato
plant.
In the morning it became known that their father
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348 TEBOUQE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Kintu was not in his house, nor to he found anywhere,
^^*^' that he had left the country with all the things which
he had brought thither when he first arrived. Then
all were filled with sorrow, and great lamentation was
made throughout the land.
After three days, during which search was instituted
far and wide for the lost patriarch, Chwa, the eldest son,
took his spear and shield in his hand and said, ** I am
the first-born, and it is my right to sit in the place of
my father. Now you, my brothers, be good and beware
of my spear ^ ; and Chwa being strong, his brothers
feared him, and paid homage to him as their king.
Chwa did not abandon the search for his father,
though he had attained the regal power. He seems to
have cherished a hope that in some distant country his
father would be discovered, whither he might be able
to proceed to him and ask his forgiveness.
A rumour sometimes reached Chwa that his father
had been seen, but none of his several messengers suc-
ceeded in seeing him, and he at last died without the
hope being gratified.
Chwa was succeeded by his son Kamiera, a name to
this day retained by the members of the imperial family.
Like hia father Chwa, Kamiera searched for the patri-
arch Kintu until his own death, without success.
Kamiera was succeeded by his gigantic son Kimera,
who distinguished himself as a hunter. He first intro-
duced dogs for the chase, and was so fond of them
that he always led one by the cord wherever he went.
It wns from this king that his successors inherited their
partiality for the canine race, and in the memory of
many yet living Suna is remembered for his extra-
ordinary attachment to dogs, for the special subsistence
of which he surrendered whole districts. Mtesa was also
seen by Speke showing great fondness for a dog, but
the present monarch has long ago abandoned this
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KIMERA, THE GIANT. 849
traditional predilection, and lie now prohibits their i875.
presence in his court. J^-
Kimera was of such size, strength, and weight that
his feet made marks in rocks, and the impress of one of
his feet is shown to this day by the antiquarians of
Uganda in a rock situated not far from the capital,
Ulagalla. It is said that this mark was made by one
of his feet slipping while he was in the act of launching
his spear at an elephant. Kimera also explored
countries remote and near, searching all the forests,
the wilderness, the plains, the fastnesses of the moun-
tains, the summits of hills and the caves, and travelled
along all the river-banks in vain quest for the lost
Kintu.
The fact seemed to be impressed on the minds of all
that Kintu was only lost, not dead, that he waa
immortal, and Kimera, even more than his predecessors,
was indefatigable in his eflForts to verify this belief. He
led in person large expeditions, and offered great
rewards to peasants, promising to make him who dis-
covered Kintu next to the king in power — the Katekiro
of Uganda. But he likewise failed in the search, and
finally died.
Almass (which name, if Arabic, rendered into
English means "Diamond") succeeded Kimera the
hunter. This king's name is a favourite one among
the Arabs, which I take to be further evidence that
the founder of the Uganda monarchy had Asiatic
blood in his veins. Of Almass, tradition says nothing
save that, like his father, he hoped to find Kintu. On
his death he was succeeded by his son Tembo.
After Tembo came Kigara, Wanpamba, Kaeema, and
Nakivingi, the last being remembered for his heroic
valour and many conquests.
Nakivingi fought and subjected the Wanyoro, who,
from their predilection for sweet potatoes, may have
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Uf»*^
350 TDROUGH TUB DARK CONTINRNT.
itTiL deemed themselves long ago a separate people
******^' the Waganda, a theory by no means sopported b
anthoritv of venerable tradition.
After Nakivingi we have a long list of kings, \
whom tradition, fable, and history are alike fi
Morondo succeeded Nakivingi — the Charlemagi
Uganda — and after him followed Sekamanya, J^
Snna I., Kirabiigwe, Katerega, Ntewi, and <
This la.st, it is said, had a headstrong, violent,
disobedient son, named Kyemba, whom he was ol
to pacify with the island of Uvuma, whence aften
he appeared in Uganda, deposed his father Juko,
slaying him, reigned in his stead.
One of the heroes of Nakivingi was a warrior n
Kibaga, who possessed the power of flying. Whe
king warred with the Wanyoro, he sent Kibaga
the air to ascertain the whereabouts of the foe,
when discovered by this extraordinary being,
attacked on land in thefr hiding-places by Naki^
and from above by the active and faithful Ki
who showered great rocks on them and by these i
slew a vast number.
It happened that among the captives of Ui
Kibaga saw a beautiful woman, who was solicitc
the king in marriage. As Nakivingi was gi
indebted to Kibaga for his unique services, he gav
to Kibaga as wife, with a warning, however, not i
part the knowledge of his power to her, lest she s'
betray him. For a long time after marriage hu
knew nothing of his power, but suspecting some
strange in him from his repeated sudden absence
reappearances at his home, she set herself to watch
and one morning as he left his hut she was surj
to see him suddenly mount into the air with a bi
of rocks slung on his back. On seeing this she re
bered the Wanyoro complaining that more of
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UgMkdA.
KIBAQA, THE FLYING WARRIOR. 351
people were killed by some means from above than 1875.
by the spears of Nakivingi, and Delilah-like, loving
her race and her people more than she loved her
husband, she hastened to her people's camp, and com-
municated, to the surprise of the Wanyoro, what she
had that day learned.
To avenge themselves on Kibaga, the Wanyoro set
archers in ambush on the summits of each lofty hill,
with instructions to confine themselves to watching
the air and listening for the brushing of his wings,
and to shoot their arrows in the direction of the sound,
whether anything was seen or not. By this means
on a certain day, as Nakivingi marched to the battle,
Kibaga was wounded to the death by an arrow, and
upon the road large drops of blood were seen falling,
and on coming to a tall tree the king detected a dead
body entangled in its branches. When the tree was
cut down, Nakivingi saw to his infinite sorrow that
it was the body of his faithful flying warrior Kibaga.
Succeeding Kyemba came Tiwandek^, Mdowra,
Kaguru, Kikuruw^, and Ma*anda. It was the fortune
of this last king I0 discover news of the lost Kintu,
after a most remarkable and romantic manner.
Though history and fable are silent respecting the
acts of many of Ma'anda's predecessors, we may well
believe that each king made efforts to discover the
missing Kintu, as the belief that he was still alive
obtained as firm credence in the reign of Ma*anda as in
the days of Chwa and Kimera. With Ma*anda this
belief was very strong, and spurred by the hope that
some day it would be his happy fortune to be success-
ful, he was ardent in the chase, penetrating great
forests, and traversing extensive plains and valleys,
ostensibly to hunt game, but really to hunt up news
of Kintu.
It happened one day, after returning to his capital
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352
TEROUQU TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1S75.
Ot^tobef.
•
t
from one of these oxpeditione, that a peasant livin
far off was compelled from lack of fuel for his fan
enter a forest to cut wood. Having over-exerted
aelf, and being very much fatigued, and his home
far, he resolved to sleep in the forest, near his
pile. For the sate of security and uninterrupted
he constructed a rude hut, and fenced it round wi
branches of the prostrate trees, and when it was
pleted he laid himself down and slept
And a sound sleep it was, we may imagine, in
by hard labour and fatigue, though not a dreamles
For in his sleep, it is said, he dreamed a strange d
wherein he thought he heard a voice, which said,
to a place in this forest, where the trees are very
round an open space near a stream running by, an
will there see something which will give you
wealth, and make you a great chief/* Three tim
dream was repeated. These words caused the he
the sleeping peasant to bound for joy ; so much s<
it woke him, and then he began to regret thj
good which was promised him was but a drear
a mockery. But reflecting that he knew the
described, for he had often been there, and tl
was not very far off, he thought he might as well
the voice in the dream, if only for the sake of satif
his curiosity. He had dreamed the same dream t
and each time the voice had been emphatic and pi
and he thought that there might be something of
conveyed in it.
After a few hours' hurried travel, he approache
place described, and his movements towards the
became now very cautious, lest some event :
occur quite the reverse of his hopes, as dreams
times go by contraries He heard the murmu:
gurgle of the stream, and the soughing of the. bra
of the forest overhead in such a solitary place fill
J )
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UgaiuUi
TEE LEGEND OF TEE BLAMELESS PRIEST. 353
heart witb awe. He began to feel frightened, though 1875.
he knew not at what, and was more than half incUned 2*^^^*
to turn back. Yet this eerie feeling and alarm might be
causeless ; he therefore advanced into the open space,
and suddenly he saw there a sight that almost petrified
him.
Eanged in two rows, on either side of a venerable
man, who reclined on a kind of throne, were many
warriors seated on mats. They held spears and shields
in their hands, and the complexion of these men was
so light as to resemble that of white men. The central
figure on the throne was that of an old man, whose
long beard was white with age, and his complexion
was similar to the warriors seated on the mats. All
were clothed in spotless white robes.
For a time no man spoke, though all eyes were
turned on the astonished and awed peasant, and
regarded him with a stem and awful gaze. Finally,
the silence was broken by the voice of the old man,
which sounded to the peasant like that which he had
heard in the dream, and it said, "Peasant, tell me
what country this is.**
The peasant answered, trembling, and perspiring
through excessive fear, " Eh, don't you know ? This
is Uganda."
" And who was the first king ? " demanded the old
man. " Come, tell me his name ? **
" Kintu," answered the peasant.
** True," said the old man. " Now, tell me the name
of the present king ? "
" Ma'anda," replied the peasant.
" Well then, depart instantly, and haste to Ma'anda
the king, and bid him come to Kintu, who shall be
here to meet him, for Mia'anda has long searched for
Kintu, and Kintu has somewhat to tell Ma'anda. Bid
him come hither accompanied only by his mother and
VOL.1.— 23
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854 TEROUQU THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. thyself, and mark me, not even his dog must follow
^^^^' liim. Haste and tell King Ma anda all thou hast seen
and heard, and if thou art faithful thy reward shall be
great.'*
The peasant needed to hear no more, but turned and
fled away with the speed of an antelope, and early
at dawn next day arrived at the capital, and pro-
ceeded direct to the Katekiro, to whom he said, "I
have news to tell King Ma'anda, and no man else
must hear it. Take me to the king without delay.**
The man*s manner, though he was mean in appear-
ance, was peremptory, and the Katekiro dared not
refuse his request, but rose and conducted him to the
king.
It happened, strangely enough, that at the same
moment Ma anda was relating to his mother, whom he
had sent for, the story of a strange dream he had
dreamed during the night. He had scarcely finished
its relation when the Katekiro was announced, who
said to him, " King, here is a strange man, a peasant,
I believe, who states that he has important news to tell
thee, and thee alone," which when the king heard,
and had seen the peasant, he said to his mother, '' Lo !
now, this is the very man I saw in my dream, who
told me such wonderful news."
Then turning eagerly to the peasant, he said to him,
" Speak, man, what is it thou hast to say to me ? **
** king," he replied, ** I may not speak except to
thee and thy mother, for so have I been commanded.*'
Then Ma anda impatiently commanded the Katekiro
to retire and, that they might not be distmrbed, to set a
guard at the outer gate, so that on no account either
man, woman, or child might enter the inner court.
When they were quite alone, the peasant began to
unfold to Ma'anda his story from the beginning to
the end, just as it is told here, concluding with the
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TEE LEGEND OF THE BLAMELESS FBIEST. 356
old man's words : " Bid the king come with his i875.
mother and thyself, and, mark me, not even his dog ^•*^'
must follow him." ^^ *
On hearing this news, Ma'anda said, ** Come, let us
go, only us three, for so the old man said," and taking
his spear and shield the king strode out of the inner
court through a private gate followed by his mother
and the peasant, without communicating to a soul else
whither he was going.
Despite this secrecy, however, it soon became pub-
licly known that King Ma'anda and his mother had
left the palace, accompanied by a peasant, and that
they had taken the direction of the forest, towards
which they had been seen travelling with rapid steps
by one who communicated the information to the
Katekiro.
This news plunged the principal chief of the kingdom
into a state of perplexity. He was for a moment at a
loss what to do, for had his master desired any other
company, he would undoubtedly have made it known,
but, on the other hand, this conduct was inexplicable,
and the king might have been lured by some cunning
plausible tale to proceed in this manner, whereby he
might be destroyed without detection.
As the thought of treachery to the king flashed
through his mind, he instantly resolved to follow him
and watch after his safety, and should the peasant
mean harm to him, he would be at hand, though un-
suspected, to assist his master. He therefore seized his
spear and shield, and sped away after the king in
stealthy pursuit. Soon he discovered the king, the
king's mother, and the peasant, and, slackening his
steps, sought only to keep them in view, and to elude
the quick, searching glances which he saw the king
frequently dart behind him. They travelled in this
manner all that day and half of the next day, when the
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356
TEBOUOn TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875.
October.
Uganda.
peasant informed the king that they were approa^
the appointed place.
The king, to assure himself that they had not
followed by any one, looked keenly around once ;
and having satisfied himself that they were alor
commanded the peasant to move on and point oi
meeting-place. Gliding under the shadows oi
dense grove surrounding the open space, they
emerged from them, and were in front of the (
ordinary assembly, who appeared to have pres
the same posture and attitude since the departu
the peasant on his errand to the king.
As the three advanced near the extremity o
rows of seated warriors, the old man on the t
asked the king, who was in advance, and gazing c
scene with the greatest astonishment, " Who art tl
" I am Ma anda," he replied.
"Art thou the king?"
" I am."
" And who is that woman with thee ? " the old
demanded.
" My mother," the king answered.
"It is well," said he; "but how is it you di<
observe what I commanded? Why came ye
alone?"
" We have done exactly as we were told," sai
king. " There are only my mother and this pe
with me, for no one knew of my departure."
" But I have seen another man behind thee," per
the old man. " Tell me who he is ? "
*' Rest assured," said Ma anda, " there is no mar
this peasant with me, for yesterday and to-c
looked several times behind me to make sure t
was not followed."
"Who was the first king of Uganda?" sud
asked the old man.
/
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Ugaoda
THE LEGEND OF TEE BLAMELESS PBIEST. 357
** Kintu," answered Ma'anda. I875.
"Thou sayest truly," said the old man slowly and ^^^
deliberately; **and Kintu was good. He injured no
man, beast, bird, or insect, and no living thing had
cause to complain of him. He never even struck
a man with a stick, or caused him pain in any
manner, for he loved his ohildren like a kind father
should ; but his sons grew exceedingly wicked, head-
strong, disobedient, and utterly unmanageable. They
loved to shed blood. They first slaughtered beasts,
and became so accustomed to blood that at last they
slew their brothers and sisters. They became so
madly in love with blood that they wished to shed
that of their good father Kintu. Then Kintu saw
that Uganda was no more' a land for him, that it was
unfit for him to live in, and, oh ! when he looked
on the face of the land at first, it was so fair and
pure that it delighted his eyes, but when it became
red and filthy with the blood of innocent men and
women and children, it became hateful to Kintu, and
he departed from the horrid, cruel land. From Chwa
down to Ma'anda each king has sought to find Kintu,
though in vain. Thou, Ma'anda, shalt see Kintu face
to face, and thou shalt hear him speak ; but first I have
somewhat to tell thee from him. Listen, and mark
well his words — but tell me who was that man that
followed thee hither?" he suddenly asked.
Ma'anda, well pleased that he of all his predecessors
was selected to see and converse with Kintu, had
become all attention, and every fibre and nerve quivered
to hear the prelude to the introduction ; but when
interrogated by the old man again upon a subject
already satisfactorily answered, he asked impatiently,
" Why dost thou ask again when I have already told
thee that no man followed me here, because no man
could have known whither I went ? "
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358 TUBOUan TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. " But I," said the old man calmly, ** saw a man follow
iT*^ Ihee step by step. Why didst thou let him come,
when I expressly told thee thou must come only with
thy mother and this peasant ? "
The king's mother and the peasant declared that
Ma'anda had spoken truly, and that no man foUowed
them.
"I saw him behind that tree listening. Behold!
there he stands,** said the old man, suddenly pointing
to the Katekiro, who, perceiving that he was dis-
covered, now came forward.
The three turned their eyes on hearing the words of
the old man, and at the sight of the Katekiro, Ma'anda
grew desperately enraged, and with passionate fury he
seized his spear, launched it, and pierced his faithful
servant through the heart, who, with a short sharp
shriek, fell dead at his feet.
But, lo! when King Ma'anda and his companions
turned to discover what effect this scene had upon the
old man and the sealed warriors, they found that they
had vanished, and that not even the slightest trace
of them was left; at which the three stared at one
another in the wildest astonishment. Then the king,
recovering from his surprise, fell upon the ground and
wept aloud, calling upon the name of Kintu ; and the
king's mother and the peasant added their cries to
his, and wept as if their hearts would break. But no
blood-hating Kintu answered to them, only the tall
deep woods echoed their cries, "Kintu, Kintu-u,
Kintu-u-u-u," as if in mockery of their sorrow.
All night they kept watch, breaking out now and
then into moaning and wailings for the last loss of the
great father of Uganda. But Kintu, after this scene,
never more appeared in Uganda, and to this day he
has not been seen or heard of by any man.
After Ma anda's death succeeded Msangi, Namugara,
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October.
Uganda.
WAKINOUBU, TEH CHAMPION. 359
and Chabagu. In the time of this latter king flourished isrs.
Wakinguru, a hero, whose name history, cherished
within the memories of admiring men, has preserved
for his unparalleled deeds. When Chabagu invaded
Usoga, it appears that the Wasoga were very numerous
and, having as yet never been reduced to submission
by the Waganda, very bold and fearless. The people
of Usoga mocked the victorious Waganda until Cha-
bagu was roused to declare war upon them ; and to
show them the prowess of the people whom they had
so insolently defied, Chabagu permitted Wakinguru to
cross over to Jinja alone, that he might exhibit the
warlike qualities of his nation in his own person.
Wakinguru, we are led to believe, was a man
of herculean frame, and we may well suppose him
gifted with more than common courage. He marched
to the height of Jinja with a large bundle of spears on
his back, and his shield was so ample and thick that
it required two ordinary men to lift it.
Arriving at a place where he could command a clear
view of the Wasoga camp, he shouted out a bold
challenge to any man, or to all at once, to approach him,
that he might show them what manner of men were
those who had been so frequently insulted by them.
Several of the Wasoga, responding to the challenge,
rushed up to try his mettle, but Wakinguru's spears
were so formidable, and his strength so great, that long
before any of the foe came within distance permitting
an ordinary man to launch his spear, they were all
dead men. The hero then plucked his spears from the
corpses, and prepared to meet the next party, who came
up in hot haste to avenge the deaths of their friends.
Again the redoubtable man launched his fatal spears,
and again the Wasoga had to lament the deaths of
their champions.
Enraged by this, the Wasoga at length advanced in
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3G0 TUROUQH THE DABK CONTINEIJT.
1875. a body, and formed a large circle round him ; but
^^'' Wakinguru only laughed at this manoDuvre, and con-
tinued remoi'selessly slaying, launching his whirring
lengthy shafts with the most deadly effect ; and then,
picking up the spears of his enemies, with which the
ground near him was plentifully strewn, he returned
their own weapons to them, launching them with the
swiftness and certainty of arrows. His strength sus-
tained him in this unequal contest from sunrise to
snnset, when it was discovered that Wakinguru had
slain 600 men with his own hand ! At night he crossed
Jinja (or the Falls) to Ugungu unharmed, where he
refreshed himself with the bananas and milk and water
of Uganda, and where he received the warmest con-
gratulations from King Chabagu and his army.
Next morning Wakinguru renewed the battle, and it
continued throughout the whole of the second day,
during which time the hero slew a similar number;
and on the tliird day also he fought with the same
success, until at last the Wasoga confessed that they
were unable to meet him.
Then King Chabagu crossed the water above Jinja
(Napoleon Channel), and completed the conquest of
Usoga.
After Chabngu succeeded Junju, Waseje, and
Kamanya. This last king, grandfather of the pre-
sent monarch, is remembered for his victories over the
Wakedi, a most ferocious and warlike people occupying
a country north of Usoga. The Wakedi, it is said,
wore armour, and employed in their wars an immense
number of great jdogs, as large as young lions. Besides,
the country of the Wakedi was surrounded by broad
rivers or small lakes,* and these several advantages
had made the Wakedi rather feared by the Waganda.
* I have been struck at the frequent geographical hints thrown out
l^ SabadiL
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TEE CONQUEST OF TEE WAKEDI. 861
But vexed by the repeated forays made by them into 1875.
the very heart of his country, and the impunity with ^^^
which they carried them, Kamanya determined to pro-
secute a war against them until one side or the other
should be declared beyond doubt the stronger. For
this purpose he assembled his chiefs, and, having
stated the advantages of situation which Ukedi enjoyed
against attack, commanded them to advise him as to
the means and ways of conducting the campaign.
Stimulated by large rewards, the chiefs proposed
various tactics for retaliating upon the enemy ; but it
was the plan of the grandfather of Sabadu the his-
torian that was deemed the best. This person advised
Kamanya to command 1 00 canoes to proceed by water
to Jinja, where they miglit be taken to pieces and con-
veyed overland through Usoga to the Nagombwa
river,* whence, after reconstruction, they could proceed
to attack the Wakedi in the rear, while the king himself
could proceed with his army to TJrondogani, along the
western bank of the Victoria Nile, and menace Ukedi
from that side. This wise counsel was loudly applauded
and at once adopted, the charge of the canoes being
given to Sabadu's grandfather himself.
The Wakedi, as might be imagined, attacked in such
an nnlooked-for direction, were greatly surprised and
discouraged. They fled for refuge to their fenced
villages, leaving their cattle in the hands of the
Waganda, who drove them across the Nagombwa to
Usoga. The vengeance of the Waganda not being yet
complete, they proceeded to attack the Wakedi in their
fenced villages, using red-hot arrows wrapped in bark
cloth, by which the straw huts were set on fire, and
the inhabitants driven out to meet the spears of the
Waganda.
• Another geographical hint, which has been verified by investiga-
tion. I haye no doubt the Nagombwa wiU torn out to be the Asua.
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862 THROUOH THE DAEK CONTINENT.
1876. Perceiving that the presence of Kamanya on the
^^1^' opposite bank of the Nile was only a ruse, the Wakedi
concentrated their forces to drive the Waganda who
had come by way of the Nagombwa out of the country.
When the two nations met, a desperate battle ensued,
rather to the disadvantage of the Waganda, for the
enemy wore iron armour, which their spears could not
penetrate.
After consultation, it was decided by the Waganda
that at the next battle they would not waste their time
in launching their spears, but would rush on the foe
with naked hands and capture and bind them.
Having received large reinforcements, the Waganda
resumed the battle, but instead of throwing their spears
they simply defended their bodies with their shields,
and rushing on their encumbered adversaries, seized
and bound them with cords. Perceiving that affairs
were becoming desperate for them, the Wakedi mus-
tered all their war-hounds, which, while the Waganda
were engaged with their masters, rushed upon them
from all sides, with their large mouths wide open,
barking tremendously, and bit and tore them in such
a manner that the Waganda became stricken with
panic, and fled to their canoes. The hounds, wilh
their fury unappeased, rushed after the canoes into
the water, where an immense number of them were
easily slaughtered by the Waganda, whose senses, it
appears, were by this time collected. Fearing that they
would lose all their faithful war-hounds, the Wakedi
recalled their dogs, paid tribute, and acknowledged the
superiority and supremacy of the Waganda, and to this
day the Wakedi have been true to their allegiance.
As we arrive nearer our own times, the history of
Uganda becomes, of course, more precise and trust-
worthy. Thus, when we come to Suna II., the eon of
Kamanya, and predecessor and father of Mtesa, we are
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Uganda.
BUNA, THE CRUEL. 363
told that he was about sixteen years of age when he 1875.
succeeded to his father, and about forty when he died, ^'^^^*
and that he reigned, therefore, twenty-four years. As
Mtesa ascended the throne in his nineteenth year, and
as he has already reigned fifteen years (up to 1875),
Suna must have been born in 1820, begun to reign in
1836, and died in 1860.
Suna, so his intimate friends still alive told me, was
short of stature and of very compact built, most des-
potic and cruel, but brave and warlike.
He had a peculiar habit, it is said, of sitting with his
head bent low, seldoml ooking up. His attitude seemed
to be that of one intently tracing designs on the ground,
though in reality he was keenly alive to all that was
transpiring around him. He frequently beheaded his
people by hundreds. It is reported that one day he
executed 800 people of Uganda for a single crime
committed. Other punishments which he inflicted were
dreadful, such as gouging out eyes, and slitting eui:s,
noses, and lips. It is said that he so seldom lifted his
eyes from the ground that whenever he did look up at
a person, the executioners, called " Lords of the Cord,**
understood it as a sign of condemnation.
Any messenger arriving with news was compelled
to crawl on his knees, and in this position to whisper
it into the king's ears. Whenever he passed along
a path, the announcement " Suna is coming ** suflSced
to send the people flying in a panic from the neigh-
bourhood.
To strangers from other countries he was most liberal
and hospitable, and many Arab traders have had cause
to bless the good fortune that conducted them to
Uganda in the days of Suna.
This Emperor, or Kalaka^ as the rulers of Uganda,
after their vast conquests, were styled, was also exceed-
ingly fond of dogs. For the sustenance of one of his
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3G4 THROUOH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
187&. pets he caused an entire district to be cultivated and
^^*******'* planted with the sweet potato, which was its favourite
^^^^^ diet ; and when it died, he caused each chief to con-
tribute bark-cloths for its burial.
He also kept a lion and a leopard, and another
animal which, from its description, I take to have been
either a species of wolf or lynx ; the two former became
quite tame, but the latter was so incorrigibly fierce that
he finally ordered it to be destroyed.
From such a disposition as that of Suna, it was
natural that he should engage in frequent wars, and
from his determined and resolute character we cannot
be surprised to hear that they were most bloody and
terrible. He conquered Ankori, overran Unyoro and
Usoga, and was the first to conquer the united nations
of Uzongora. The lion-hearted Wavuma owned him
as their liege lord ; even distant Ruanda heard of his
name, tried him in battle, and became convinced of his
greatness. The details of the two last wars in which
Suna was engaged I have collected, and present them
here, as told by Sabadu, from which the reader may
perceive for himself the character of this monarch and
the general nature of wars in Central Africa.
Suna heard that Usoga had rebelled and refused to
pay tribute to him, whereupon, after rendering homage
and dues to the Muzirau, or spirits,* he levied a vast
army and marched to Jinja, or the rocks overlooking
the Ripon Falls, where he rested four days. The
Wasoga, upon Suna*s advance, fled to Kitenteh Island
(situate in the channel between Uvuma and Usoga,
about seven miles from Nakaranga Cape). On this
island the Wasoga placed their women and children,
* I haye obfierred that Sabadu's narrative contains many interesting
ethnological facts. Perhaps the reader needs to be informed that I
stenographed Sabadu's story as he related it to me before my camp
fire at Nakaranga.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE REVOLT OF TEE WASOQA. 305
and large herds of cattle, and it was evident from the i«75.
measures they adopted that they intended to make a ^^^^
desperate and prolonged resistance. ^^ *"
After marching through Usoga, he camped on the
mainland, about half a mile from Kitenteh Island. The
Wavuma, responding to his command to muster their
canoes for the war, supplied him with over ICO,
manned by natives of Uziri, Wema, and Kibibi;
Lulamba, Irwaji, and Sesse Islands supplied him with
200; while from the Uganda coast he obtained 200
more ; so that, in all, Suna had 500 canoes for the war.
Usoga, an extensive country of itself, did its best to
meet the monarch of Uganda with a large and powerful
fleet, and, assisted by its islands, Namungi and Neygano,
as also by Usuguru, Chaga, Muiwanda, and Ugana,
was able to match Suna's fleet, canoe for canoe.
But the spirit which animated the warriors of the
two nations differed greatly. On the one side was the
determination to win freedom ; on the other a monarch
resolved to retain in subjection, but lacking people to
meet the Wasoga on the water, and only able to
compel his warriors to fight at all on that element by
the most horrible threats and the inspiration of terror.
Having assembled his fleet, Suna ordered the assault ;
but the Wasoga met the Waganda in the channel, and
after a desperate battle drove the Waganda in- preci-
pitate retreat to the mainland. For the period of a
month repeated efforts were made to effect a landing
on the island, but the Wasoga, with great spirit and
bravery, repelled the Waganda with severe loss. The
Wasoga also, adding insult to injury, were accustomed
to approach the mainland and taunt the king with
bitter words, telling him to seek the graves of Kaguru
and Kamanya, and bury himself there for very shame.*
* In almost exactly the same maimer tho Waymna daily taunted
Mtesa.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
366 THBOUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. At length, enraged by these taunts, Suna called his
u!^^ chiefs to him, and in assembly assailed them with
bitter reproaches, asking them if he was not the
Emperor, and if Emperor, why the Wasoga were per-
mitted to taunt him, and stung to frenzy by the
memory of the insults lately received, commanded his
chiefs to man their canoes on the morrow and assault
the island, threatening them, if they failed, with roast-
ing, decapitation, and utt^r destruction.
The chiefs prostrated themselves one after another,
and swore to set their feet on Kitenteh Island the next
day. The morrow came, and each chief was in his
canoe with his most chosen warriors. The battle
ensued, but only four chiefs were true to their promise
— the Katekiro, Namujurilwa (Majwara's father *), and
two others of equal bravery and eminence. The
Katekiro on landing killed two with his spear at one
thrust, so great was the throng of Wasoga who rushed
against him. Namujurilwa's spear was plunged through
three at a time, but unable to draw his weapon out, he
was attacked by a Msoga, who with his javelin pinned
both his arms, and he was only saved by a rush of his
own men, who bore him away to his canoe. The two
other chiefs slew two men each, and were obliged to
retire, being unsupported by their people. Many
other chiefs distinguished themselves, and many died
fighting in the attempt to land on the island.
The Wasoga had formed themselves into four ranks
on this day. The first comprised the slingers, and the
second the spearmen, the third, on higher ground,
slingers again, and the fourth a reserve of spearmen,
for the final and supreme struggle.
For three successive days the chiefs of Uganda led
in person the Waganda to the assault, until finally the
* Majwaia is the little boy who alone watched the last hours of
Dr. Livingstone.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Uganda.
TEE CAPITULATION OF KITENTEH ISLAND. 367
queen's father requested Suna not to sacrifice all his 1375.
chiefs while the peasants were standing idle spectators. ^**^^'
Suna yielded to his request, and perceiving that bravery-
was of no avail against the desperate Wasoga, he
adopted the plan of surrounding the island day and
night with his canoes, and starving the rebels into
submission. What food the unfortunate Wasoga were
able to obtain was inadequate for their wants, and cost
them much trouble and many lives, both on shore, in
distant parts of the coast, and in the channel, for Suna
had constructed large camps along the coast of Usoga,
and his canoes kept strict watch and ward over
Kitenteh Island.
For two months the Wasoga endured this state of
things, but at the end of that period, being reduced to
the verge of absolute starvation, four of their chiefs
approached the camp of Suna with offers of submission.
Suna refused to see them, but gave them thirty head
of cattle to convey to the island, with a request to the
chiefs to eat, and think well first of what they offered,
promising that, if on the fourth day they were still of
the same mind, he would be willing to talk with them.
At the end of the fourth day twenty chiefs came
over from Kitenteh Island,, stating that they were
willing to submit to Suna, to pay tribute, and to render
service. He received them graciously, and ordered
them to commence the next day, with the assistance of
his own canoes, the transportation of the Wasoga to his
camp, in order that they might all render their sub-
mission to him.
For three days, it is said, the Waganda and Wasoga
canoes were engaged in this service, and as fast as the
Wasoga arrived they were conducted to a large
stockade erected expressly for them during the night
of the surrender. On the fourth day, his late enemies
being all in his camp, surrounded by his own people, he
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
368 TEBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
i875w called their chiefs and told them he would be gratified
^^'=**'**"- if they and their warriors would perform their war-
^^^^ dance before him next day. Unsuspecting evil, they
willingly promised.
Suna after their departure to the stockade instructed
the Waganda chiefs to bring all their people, early
next morning, each man supplied with a cord, and to
form them in two ranks four deep, and when he gavo
the signal, to fall upon the Wasoga and bind them.
On the morning of the fifth day the Waganda were all
drawn up as instructed, and the Wasoga, seeing nothing
in this but Suna's desire of showing his power and
pomp, and without the least idea what this war-dance
portended to them, marched within the fatal lines,
armed only with sticks, as had been agreed — upon the
cunning plea that the Waganda might take offence at
seeing them play with edged weapons before Suna.
They were the more completely thrown off their guard
by the kindness shown to them by the Emperor and
by the liberal supplies of cattle and bananas supplied
to them since their surrender.
We can imagine how the unhappy Wasoga advanced
smiling into Suna's presence on this great day, and
how, wishing to please the fearful despot, they danced
to the best of their power. But on a sudden, while
they were exerting their voices (30,000 is the number
given) into a grand swelling chorus at the triumphal
finale of the fictitious war which they had been repre-
senting, Suna gave the signal, and 100,000 Waganda
warriors fell upon them, and despite their fearful,
desperate struggles— when all too late the treachery
of Suna became apparent — bound them hand and foot
Out of this immense number of prisoners, sixty of the
principal chiefs were selected and placed before Suna,
who said to them : — " For three months you have kept
me and my people waiting for your submission; you
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BUNA'3 BEVENGE. 8§9
rebelled against my authority, and attempted to throw isrs.
off your allegiance ; you have slain more than half of ^J^
my principal chiefs, and you have vexed me with
taunts, telling me to go and seek the graves of Kaguru
and Kamanya, and to hide myself there for shame.
You have mocked me — me! who am called Suna —
Suna, the Emperor {Kabakd). I go to my grave by
and by, but by the grave of my father E^manya you
fehall die to-day, and you may tell j^our fathers that
Suna the Emperor sent you to them."
Then turning to the Waganda, he fiercely shouted,
*' Cut them to little pieces, and pile their remains on
the plain without the camp." As Suna commanded, so
was it done, and the Waganda were employed on this
monstrous work for five days, for they obeyed his com-
mand literally, and, beginning at the legs and arms,
hacked their victims to pieces without taking the
trouble to despatch them first.
Usoga, upon hearing of this terrible deed, sent all its
principal men and chiefs to implore pardon and proffer
submission and allegiance, which Suna was pleased to
accept. This event closed the war, and Suna returned
to his palace in Uganda with a train of 5000 female
captives and 8000 children.
Soon after his return to Uganda the Wasoga rebelled
a second time under the leadership of Rura, chief of
Nakaranga, upon hearing which Suna smiled grimly
and said, " Rura has taken much time to make up his
mind ; since he has waited so long let him wait a little
longer, and I will show him who his master is."
Meantime Naraujurilwa, chief of Uddu, after re-
turning to visit his home, heard that his neighbour
the king of Ankori or Usagara was preparing to
invade his country with a mighty force. Ever prompt
for mischief and war, Namujurilwa did not wait to
meet the Wasagara on his own soil, but beat his war-
VOL. I.— 24:
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
370 THROUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. drum, and, mustering bis followers, marched through
^^^* Bwera and penetrated into the very heart of Ankori,
and there surprised his enemies, assembled under five
princes, in their own camp.
Namujurilwa fell upon them with a ferocity and
vigour that the numerical superiority of his enemies
could not equal. For five hours the battle lasted
without intermission or advantage to either side, when
Namujurilwa was accidentally met by one of the princes
of Ankori.
"Not dead yet, Namujurilwa?" cried the prince. ** Wait
a little for me,*' saying which he took. a bow from one
of his servants and shot an arrow which hit the border
of the tough double bull-hide shield which the chief of
TJddu generally carried.
Namujurilwa did not wait for a second arrow, but
bounded forward, crying out, " No, not dead yet, prince **
{Mlangird)^ " and shall not die until I have killed you,'*
and forthwith launched his dirk-pointed spear, which
pinned both the shield and body of the unfortunate
youth.
Another prince coming up and observing his brother
fall, shot an arrow, and pierced the leopard-skin of the
Uddu chief, who returned the compliment with one
of his long spears, which penetrated his body and
protruded far through his back. The death of these
two princes decided the battle, for the Wasagara became
panic-stricken and fled, leaving a vast spoil of cattle
and effects in the conqueror s hands.
Upon returning to Uddu from the war, the victorious
chief sent 300 women, 600 children of both sexes, and
1000 head of cattle to the Emperor Suna, as his share of
the spoil, who on viewuig the magnificent gift said to
his chiefs in assembly, " Truly, Namujurilwa is brave,
there is none like him in Uganda.'*
Setuba, a great chief, holding under Suna an extensive
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
SETUBA AND HIS LIONS. 371
tract of country • bordering upon Unyoro, whispered to i875.
his neighbour, **H*m, you hear how Suna praises S^mmu!
Namujurilwa ; let us go to Unyoro and show Suna that
he has other chiefs as brave as Namujurilwa."
Eequesting and obtaining leave of the Emperor to
visit his own country, Setuba soon left the capital, and
after arriving at his chief village, beat his war-drum
and summoned his people to war.
Taking with him 300 head of cattle, he crossed the
frontier of Unyoro, where he slew his cattle and made
his followers eat beef to make themselves strong.
Having devoured the meat, his people informed Setuba
that they were now as strong as lions and all prepared
for war.
Setuba smiled and said to them, " I have given you
300 head of my own cattle, go and bring me 3000 head
and I shall consider that you have paid me for what
you have eaten."
The warriors responded to Setuba's words with a
shout, and at once set out to collect spoil from the
Wanyoro, while Setuba and a chosen band remained in
camp. The Waganda, however, were promptly met by
the Wanyoro in considerable numbers, and after a few
hours were defeated and pursued as far as Setuba's camp.
The chief received tiie fugitives sternly and said,
" Where are those lions whom I lately fed with my
cattle? Are you about to return to Uganda with
empty hands? Yes, go on, and as you fly proclaim
that Setuba, your chief, id dead." Saying which
Setuba seized his spears and shield, and followed by his
chosen band bounded out of his camp to meet the
advancing Wanyoro.
* Each Mknnga is inyested with a barony or county npon attaining
this high rank, and with absolute authority oyer the people and their
effects, upon condition of rendering serrice to his soyereign wheneyer
required. The least dereliction of duty would entail a forfeiture of lands
and often of life.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
372 TUEOUQE. TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Fired with indignation and shame, Setuba soon met
^1^' the Wanyoro, and began flinging his spears with splen-
did effect. With his first spear he killed three, with
the second he slew two more. The fugitives, seeing the
vigour and courage of their chief, halted, and began to
ask of one another, ** Who dares go and tell Suna that
Setuba is dead ? Let us fight and die with Setuba/'
The word ** Setuba, tuba, tuba ! " became a war-cry,
echoed fiercely far and near, turning the fugitives on
their pursuers, who in a short time became the pursued.
For two days the Waganda rioted in the blood of the
now terror-stricken Wanyoro, who were iinally com-
pelled to fly to the summit of the mountains for refuge,
leaving their families and cattle in the valleys to be
swept away by the fierce Waganda.
On returning to Uganda, Setuba sent 2000 women,
4000 children, and 2000 head of cattle, besides goats
and sheep without number, to the Emperor as his share,
and Setuba heard Suna declare proudly that he knew
of no monarch who could show heroes to equal Setuba
and Namujurilwa, and that his heart was big with
pride.
There stood that day, when the Emperor publicly
mentioned with praise the names of Setuba and Namu-
jurilwa, a young man listening to him, who from that
moment resolved to eclipse both chiefs. His name was
Kasindula, a sub-chief or Mtongoleh of the great Seke-
bobo*s country of Chagwe, who had neither pride of
birth nor riches to boast of. He was a mere worthy
young fellow, who had distinguished himself in a few
engagements under Sekebobo, for which the old chief
had promoted him from a peasant {kopi) to be a sub-
chief {mtongoleh).
A few days after the great levee of Suna, Kasindula
proceeded to Sekebobo, and requested him to ask per-
mission of the Emperor that he should be allowed to
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
KA8INDULA, THE EERO. 873
rebuild liis majesty's camp at Jinja, as many of the huts 1875.
were in a most ruinous state, and many of Suna's 2*^*^^!['
women were compelled to sleep in the open ain
Sekebobo introduced Kasindula to the Emperor, and
preferred his request to him, who graciously acceded to
it, adding that it was not every day that men came to
ask leave to do hira a service : they generally asked
him for some gift or other.
Kasindula was profuse in his thanks, and then
departed with 2000 men from Sekebobo to assist
him in the work of reconstructing the imperial camp
at Jinja, and the kind old chief also gave him several
large canoes, to transport the working force across
Napoleon Channel.
The young chief lost no time after his arrival at
Jinja, but industriously set to work, and in a few days
had entirely rebuilt the houses, and surrounded them
with their respective courts, and had cleared the whole
camp from much accumulated rubbish, until the camp
would have pleased even fastidious Suna himself.
He then caused the war-drum to be sounded, and,
responding to its ominous call, all who were capable of
lifting the spear, dwelling in the neighbourhood of
Jinja, gathered round Kasindula, who said : —
" Warriors of Uganda and children of Suna, listen to
me. You know how, after Suna slew the rebellious
Wasoga before Kitenteh Island, that the chiefs of
Usoga all came and swore allegiance to him ; and how
when Suna had returned to Uganda the Wasoga chief
Rura headed another rebellion, and challenged Suna to
return to Usoga to fight him. When Suna heard the
challenge of the boastful Rura, he only smiled and
said, * Let him wait a little.* Suna is too great to fight
with Rura, for Kasindula, a Mtongoleh of Sekebobo, is
sufficient for him. To-night we march to Nakaranga,
and to-morrow morning before sunrise Rura shall sleep
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
374 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
ttjs. with his brothers who died before Kitenteh. Warriors,
^^^^ prepare yourselves ! '*
Though Nakaranga was fully thirty miles from Jinja,
Kasindula had reached about midnight the principal
village of the chief, and after surrounding it with his
people, fired the huts at daybreak, thus expelling the
sleeping Wasoga from them, to fall by the spears of
the ambushed Waganda. Having made clean work
of all Rura*s district, Kasindula gathered the spoil,
and long before noon was far on his return to Jinja.
The TJsoga confederacy hearing of this raid and of
the death of Rura and his sons, hurried to Nakaranga
to avenge the slaughter, but they found only black
desolation and emptiness in Rura's district, while the
raiders had escaped in safety to Jinja, whither they
dared not follow them, and accordingly returned, each
chief to his own district.
After a few days* rest Kasindula made another raid
in a totally different direction with similar results, and
again the Wasoga hurried up, only to find the houses
all consumed, the warriors all dead, and the women
and children and cattle all deported away.
" What manner of man is this,** asked the astonished
Wasoga of one another, " who comes in the night, like
a hyena, and vanishes with the daylight, with his maw
gorged with blood ? ** Consoling themselves, however,
with a vow to be revenged on him at a fitting oppor-
tunity, they returned again to their own districts.
But hard upon their heels followed the wary and
resolute Kasindula ; and again he destroyed an entire
district, with all its males, and carried the women and
children into captivity. This news was too disheartening
to the Wasoga, for now they began to dread that they
would be utterly destroyed in detail, whereupon, per-
ceiving that their principal chiefs were all dead, they
sent an embassy to Suna, with a tribute of the most
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE PEASANT'S QIFT TO EIS EMPEROR. 375
comely women and a large quantity of maramba, 1875.
asking his forgiveness. u'^*^
E^asindula, meanwhile, finding his hands full of *^
spoil, collected all together, and drove his captives and
cattle, by forced marches, to Suna, who, warned of his
approach, prepared to receive him in state and in a full
assembly of the chiefs.
Having arranged the women and children by
thousands before him, and parked the cattle in full
view of the Emperor, Kasindula, clad in a humble
and dingy bark cloth, prostrated himself before him,
and said : —
** Great Klabaka, I went to Jinja, and built your
camp, and housed your women, as you commanded me,
and hearing how Namujurilwa and Setuba had
avenged you on the Wasagara and Wanyoro, I thought
myself strong enough to answer the challenge sent by
Rura and his friends to you.
** My dear lord, Namujurilwa and Setuba are great
chiefs, and stand in your presence daily, but I am only
a Mtongoleh under Sekebobo. I have neither farm
nor house, wife nor child, and my only wealth consists
of my spear and my shield, and my only cloth is this
rotten mbugu. Namujurilwa and Setuba brought
slaves and cattle by hundreds, but the kopi Kasindula
brings his thousands to Suna. Behold where they
stand ! Kasindula gives them all to Suna." And
putting his hands together, he cried aloud, " Twiyanzi,
yanzi, yanzi, yanzi ! " with all the fervour of one
having received a bountiful gift.
The Emperor, upon enquiring the number of the
spoil, was told that it amounted to 7000 slaves, 2000
cows and oxen, 3000 goats, and 500 sheep; upon which
be said, " Kasindula has spoken truly ; he has brought
more than either Namujurilwa or Setuba. In return, I
make him now a chief of the first rank, with land,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
376 thAough tee dabk continent.
1875. cattle, and slaves of his own." And Kasindula was
^^^^ immediately invested with white cloths, and with all
the honours, privileges, and greatness of a Mhangu of
Uganda.
After this turhulent epoch there were some months
of tranquillity, when one day there came a challenge
from Kytawa, the mighty king of Uzongora, who had
made an alliance with the kings Kyozza, Kamiru,
and Rugomero, and with Antari, king of Ihangiro,
against Suna.
The Emperor sent the messenger of Kytawa back to
him with a bullet and a hoe, saying, " Give these to
Kytawa ; tell him to choose whether he will take the
bullet and have war, or whether he will keep the hoe
and cultivate his fields in peace ; and bring his answer
to me."
Kytawa imagined himself and his allies strong
enough to meet Suna in war, and kept the bullet.
When the messenger returned with this answer, Suna
commanded his Katekiro to make up 300 man -loads of
hoes and old iron and to send them to Kytawa, and to
say to him, " Suna sends these hoes and iron to you, for
may be that you are short of spears, arrow-heads, and
hatchets. Make war weapons for your people in
abundance during three months, and prepare for war,
for in the fourth month you shall see me and my people
in your country, and I shall eat it up clean, and there
shall nothing be left alive in it."
This was the last war in which Suna was engaged.
After three days' desperate fighting the Wazongora
and their allies were defeated, and Kytawa and the
confederate kings were compelled to fly for refuge to
the island of Kishakka, where they were besieged, until
all the kings implored forgiveness, and swore to become
tributary to him.
Falling ill from small-pox, the Emperor accepted
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE NATION'S CHOICE. * 877
their oaths, and, raising the siege, departed for Uganda. 1875.
When he perceived that he was about to die, he called ^****"'
his chiefs together and commanded them to make ^^
Kajumba, his eldest son, his successor.
This Kajumba, the Prince Imperial, however, was
no favourite with the Waganda, for he appears to have
been a violent, headstrong youth of gigantic size and
strength. These qualities recommended him strongly
to Suna, who thought that with such a successor Uganda
would retain its prestige and supremacy, and appre-
hended nothing of danger to his own people in a
person of such violent passions ; and, indeed, it is to be
doubted whether, after exercising with the utmost
licence his own undisputed authority, he even thought
them worthy of consideration.
Kajumba was Suna's favourite, and the war-loving
father on his deathbed pointed out with pride to his
chiefs the heroic qualities of the prince, reminded
them how when a mere boy he had slain a buffalo with
a club and an elephant with a single spear, and
assured them with his latest breath that Kajumba
would become more renowned than either lion-like
Kimera or renowned Nakivingi.
After his fathers death Prince Kajumba seized his
weighty spear and ample shield and proclaimed him-
self his father's successor and choice, and announced
his determination to uphold his dignity to the death.
The chiefs, however, fearing Kajumba's violence, laid
hands on him, and bound him hand and foot, and
selected the mild-spoken, large-eyed boy Mtesa, and
made him Emperor of Uganda by acclamation.
Suna was then buried with all the usual pomp
attending such ceremonies in Uganda ; and the young
Emperor, having paid all honour to his father's
remains, and feeling himself firmly established in
power, began to reveal the true spirit which had
been masked by the fair speech and large eyes.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
878 TUBOUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
\9aK He soon found reasons for slaying all his brothers,
^^•*** and, having disposed of them, turned upon the chiefs,
who had elected him Emperor of Uganda, and pat
tliem to death, saying that he would have no subject
about him to remind him that he owed his sovereignty
to him.
According to his father*s custom, he butchered all
who gave him offence, and that lion in war, Namu-
jurilwa, as also the Katekiro, he caused to be be-
headed. Frequently, when in a passion, he would
take his spear in hand and rush to his harem, and
spear his women until his thirst for blood was
slaked.
It is probable that Mtesa was of this temper when
Speke saw him, and that he continued in it until he
was converted by the Arab Muley bin Salim into a
fervid Muslim. After this, however, he became more
humane, abstained from the strong native beer which
used to fire his blood, and renounced the blood-shedding
custom of his fathers.
Mtesa's reign, like that of his predecessor, has
been distinguished by victories over many nations,
such as the Wanyankori, Wanyoro, Wasui, Wazongora,
and Wasoga, and his Katekiro has carried his victorious
flag to Ruanda and to Usongora on the Muta Nzige.
He has likewise sent embassies to the Khedive's pasha
of Gondokoro, to Sultans Majid and Barghash of
Zanzibar, and, having entertained most hospitably
Captains Speke and Grant, Colonel Long of the
Egyptian army, myself, and M. Linant de Bellefonds,
is now desirous of becoming more intimate with
Europe, to introduce specie into his country, and to
employ European artisans to teach his people.
For the interesting facts of the preceding pages, the
world is indebted to the gossip Sabadu, for until his
revelations, as herein recorded, Uganda and a large
portion of Equatorial Africa were (to use the words
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A LEQENDART FABALLEL. 879
of ancient Pistol) like a closed oyster, but which now, isrs.
with his aid, we have partly opened, thus obtain- ^^^*T''
ing glimpses, however unsatisfactory, into the origin,
custom, and history of the country. An epic poem
might be written upon the legend of the search for the
lost patriarch, or a prose romance, for there is material
enough for a great work in the tale Sabadu told me.
If we begin to speculate as to who this Kintu, the
blameless priest, really was, and whether the legend
does not bear some dim and vague resemblance to the
histories of Adam or Noah, handed down from
generation to generation through remote times among
an unlettered people, we may easily become lost in
a maze of wild theories and conjectures. There is,
however, just as much ground for building such
suppositious, and to plausibly demonstrate them to be
actualities and facts, as there is for many other fables
now generally accepted as verities.
It is impossible, while reading the tale of Kintu, the
Blameless Priest, not to be reminded at one time of
Adam, at another of Noah — for both Adam and
Noah found the earth void and uninhabited, as Kintu
is said to have found Uganda and the neighbouring
lands. In the gigantic Kimera, " the mighty hunter,"
we remember Nimrod, and in the wicked children
of the patriarch can suspect a faint resemblance to
the shameless Ham. The prolific wife, and no less
prolific cow, goat, sheep, and the wonderful banana-
plant, have their counterparts in the traditions of
every people under the sun. And do we not our-
selves believe
"That all began
In Eden's shade, and one created man"?
The ingenious mind can also find the prototype of
the miraculously flying Kibaga in the angel that
destroyed the first-born of Egypt, or that other who
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
380
THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875
October.
Uganda.
smote the host of Assyria ; and Nakivingi, or Chabagu
and his mighty warrior Wakinguru, might stand for
David and his champions, and the final disappearance
of Kintu may be taken to represent the end of the
age of miracles. But speculation on these points will
only lead one into wild and vain theories : and it is
enough for the purposes of this book to accept the tale
of Kintu as a simple tradition of Central Africa.
There is great reason to believe, however, that Kintu,
if not a myth, is a far more ancient personage than
Mtesa*s list of kings would lead us to suppose. At any
rate, from other sources I have collected the names of
three kings of Uganda omitted by him. These are
Semi-kokiro, Karago, and Kimguvu.
That the reader may be able to estimate the duration
of the Uganda monarchy, I append in a tabular
form the list of the kings, including the names of the
three kings not mentioned by Mtesa : —
1. Kintu.
13. Moronda
25. Kaguru.
2. Chwa.
14. Sekamanya.
26. Kikuruwd.
8. Eamiera.
15. Kimguvu.
27. Ma'anda.
4. Eimera.
16. Jemba.
28. Msangi.
5. Almass.
17. Suna I.
29. Namagara.
6. Tembo.
la Kimbugwd.
80. Chabagu.
7. Kigara.
19. Katerega.
81. Juiyu.
8. Wanpamba.
20. NtewL
82. Wasej^.
9. Eaeema.
21. Juko.
83. Kamanya.
10. Semi-kokira
22. Kyemba.
84. Suna IL
11. Karago.
23. Tiwandeke.
85. Mtesa.
12. Nakiyingi
24. Mdowra.
The above forms a very respectable list of kings
for a country in Central Africa, and proves Uganda to
be a monarchy of no mean antiquity, if the number of
names may be taken as any indication. Many names
may also have been forgotten — to be resuscitated perhaps
by some future traveller with the patience and time at
command to rescue them from oblivion.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
UFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 381
Uganda.
CHAPTER XV.
Life and manners in Uganda— The Peasant— The Chief— The Emperor—
The Land.
To behold the full perfection of African manhood and 1375.
beauty, one must visit the regions of Equatorial Africa, ^*^**'**'-
where one can view the people under the cool shade of
plantains, and amid the luxuriant plenty which those
lands produce. The European traveller, after noting
the great length and wondrous greenness of the
banana fronds, the vastness of their stalks and the
bulk and number of the fruit, the fatness of the soil
and its inexhaustible fertility, the perpetual spring-like
verdure of the vegetation, and the dazzling sunshine,
comes to notice that the inhabitants are in iSt accord
with these scenes, and as perfect of their kind as the
bursting-ripe mellow bananas hanging above their
heads.
Their very features seem to proclaim, " We live in a
land of butter and wine and fulness, milk and honey,
fat meads and valleys." The vigour of the soil, which
knows no Sabbath, appears to be infused into their
veins. Their beaming lustrous eyes — restless and quick*
glancing — seem to have caught rays of the sun. Their
bronze-coloured bodies, velvety smooth and unctuous
with butter, their swelling sinews, the tuberose muscles
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
882 TEROUQH THE DARK CONTIIHENT.
1875. of the flanks and arms, reveal the hot lusty life which
^"^^^ animates them.
Let me try to sketch one of these robust people,
a Kopi or peasant of Uganda, at home.
TOE KOPI OR PEASAXT.
Were it not for one thing, it might be said that the
peasant of Uganda realizes the ideal happiness all men
aspire after and would be glad to enjoy. To see him
in the imagination, you must discard from your mind
the inebriated, maudlin, filthy negro surrounded by
fat wives and a family of abdominous brats. He may
be indolent if you please, but not so indolent as to be
unmindful of his own interests. For his gardens are
tliriving, his plants are budding, and his fields are
covered with grain. His house has just been built
and needs no repairs, and the fenced courts round it
are all in good condition.
Eoll the curtain up and regard him and his sur-
roundings !
He steps forth from his hut, a dark-brown-coloured
man in the prime and vigour of manhood, a cleanly,
decent creature, dressed after the custom of his country
in a clay-coloured robe of bark cloth, knotted at the
shoulder and depending to his feet — apparently a
contented, nay, an extremely happy man, for a streak
of sunshine having caught his face, we have a better
view of it and are assured it reflects a felicitous con-
tentment.
He saunters — while arranging his robe with due
respect to decency — to his usual seat near the gate of
the outer court, above which a mighty banana towers,
shading it with its far-reaching fronds.
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LIFE AND MANNEB8 IN UGANDA. 883
In the foreground, stretched before him, is his isrs.
garden, which he views with placid satisfaction. It is ^*^*^-
laid out in several plats, with curving paths between.
In it grow large sweet potatoes, yams, green peas,
kidney beans, some crawling over the ground, others
clinging to supporters, field beans, vetches, and toma-
toes. The garden is bordered by castor-oil, manioc,
coffee, and tobacco plants. On either side are small
patches of millets, sesamum, and sugar-cane. Behind
the house and courts, and enfolding them, are the more
extensive banana and plantain plantations and grain
crops, which furnish his principal food, and from one
of which he manufactures his wine and from the other
his potent pomb^ Interspersed among the bananas
are the umbrageous fig trees, from the bark of which
he manufactures his cloth. Beyond the plantations
is an extensive tract left for grazing, for the common
use of his own and his neighbours* cattle and goats.
It is apparent that this man loves privacy and
retirement, for he has surrounded his own dwelling
and the huts of his family — the cones of which are just
visible above — with courts enclosed by tall fences of
tough cane. While we leave the owner contemplating
his garden, let us step within and judge for ourselves
of his mode of life.
Within the outer court we come to a small square
hut, sacred to the genius of the family, the household
Muzimu. This genius, by the dues paid to him, seems
to be no very exacting or avaricious spirit, for the
simplest things, such as snail shells, moulded balls of
clay, certain compounds of herbs, small bits of juniper
wood, and a hartebeest horn pointed with iron and
stuck into the earth, suflBce to propitiate him.
Proceeding from the outer court, we enter the inner
one by a side entrance, and the tall, conical hut, neatly
constructed, with its broad eaves overshadowing the
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Ugmda.
884 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. curving doorway, which has a torus consisting of fag^
^^*'*****'' gots of cane running up and round it, stands revealed.
It is of ample circumference, and cosy. On first
entering we find it is rather dark, hut as the eye
hecomes accustomed to the darkness, we begin to dis-
tinguish objects. That which first arrests observation
is the multitude of poles with which the interior is
crammed for the support of the roof, until it resembles
a gloomy den in the middle of a dense forest. These
poles, however, serve to guide the owner to his cane
bunk, but their number would confuse a nocturnal
marauder or intruding stranger. The rows of poles
form, in fact, avenues by which the inmates can guide
themselves to any particular spot or object
The hut, we observe also, is divided into two apart-
ments, front and rear, by a wall of straight canes,
parted in the centre, through which the peasant can
survey — himself being unseen — any person entering.
In the rear apartment are bunks arranged round the
walls for the use of himself and family. Over the
doorway of the hut within may be observed a few
charms, into whose care and power the peasant com*
mits the guardianship of his house and effects.
A scarcity of furniture is observable, and the utensils
are few in number and of poor quality. Under the
former title may be classed a couple of carved stools
and a tray for native backgammon ; under the latter,
some half-dozen earthenware pots and a few wicker
and grass basins. Some bark cloth, a few spears,
a shield, a drum, a bill-hook or two, a couple of hoes,
some knobsticks and pipe stems, and a trough for the
manufacture of banana wine, complete the inventory
of the household effects.
Behind the peasant's own dwelling are two huts of
humbler pretensions^ also surrounded by courts, where
we may behold the females of the family at work.
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VOL. I.— 25
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Uganda.
886 THBOVOH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Some are busy kneading the bananas to extract tbeir
^^^' juice, which, when fermented, is called mararnba —
delicious in flavour when well made ; others are sort-
ing herbs for broth-food, medicines, or some cunning
charm ; others, again, are laying out tobacco leaves to
dry, whilst the most elderly are engaged in smoking
from long-stemmed pipes, retailing between the leisure-
drawn draughts of smoke the experiences of their lives.
Such is the kopi at home.
If the picture is not a faithful one of all his class,
it may be attributed to his own indolence, or to some
calamity lately befallen him. From it will be seen
that the average native of Uganda has an abundance
and a variety of good food, that he is comfortably
lodged, as far as his wants require, is well and often
married, and is secure from enemies so far as a power-
ful sovereign and warlike multitudes can command
security. Still, there is one thing more that is
necessary for his happiness — protection from his
sovereign.
THE MKUNGU OR CmEP.
It might be supposed that, if a peasant's lot appears
so enviable in that land, a Mkungu s or chief s of the
first rank would be happier a thousandfold. That such
is not always the case will be seen from the following
sketch of the present Premier, or Katekiro, of Uganda,
whose name originally, now almost forgotten, was
Magassa. It may be proper to state here that all
Waganda, from the Emperor to the peasant, change
their names according as they advance in popular
estimation.
About the time that Mtesa succeeded his father and
beheaded the senior chiefs of Uganda, there was
observed at the court a smart, clever, cleanly looking
lad, assiduous in his attendance on the monarch, and
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October.
Uganda
LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 387
attentive to his smallest wishes. He was the son of a 1875.
Mtongoleh or suh-chief, and his name was Magassa. To
his other desirable qualities might be added a fine set
of white teeth, bright eyes, and general good looks.
Mtesa became enamoured of him, and made him guar-
dian over the imperial lavatory, an office of great trust
in Uganda.
As Mtesa grew to man's estate, Magassa the boy
also became a young man, for he was about the same
age as his master, and, retaining and improving those
qualities which first attracted the monarch's eyes, was
promoted in time to be a Mtongoleh of the body-
guard, and a double-barrelled gun was put into his
hands, with the power of gunpowder, and a few
bullets and percussion caps, which caused the heart
of young Magassa to bound with joy. Perhaps he was
even prouder in the possession of a gun than he was of
his rank, for frequently the Mtongoleh of the body-
guard has only the empty name to boast of.
However, being Mtongoleh (or colonel), he was
liable to be despatched at a moment's notice to distant
parts of the Empire on special service, and the day
came finally when Magassa was chosen.
Imagine a young British subaltern despatched by
the Queen's command, specially chosen by the Queen
for special service. How the young heart palpitates,
and the nerves tingle with delight! He spurns the
ground, and his head aspires to the stars ! If a young
British officer feels so joyful at a constitutional sove-
reign's choice, what must the elect of a despotic
autocrat like the Emperor of Uganda feel?
No sooner has he left the imperial presence with the
proud command ringing in his ears than his head
seems to swell, and almost bursts from delirious vertigo.
His back, hitherto bent through long servile dread,
has suddenly become rigid and straight as the staff of
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388 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. his spear, and an unusual sternness of face has some-
u^***^ how replaced the bland smiles which -hitherto decked
it. For is he not " Kabaka " while on the Emperor's
errand? Do not his soldiers respond to him when
summoned with aweful alacrity, saying, " Kabaka **
(Emperor), " behold us " ?
Woe to the party from whom offence came if young
Magassa was sent with his warriors to them ! And woe
to the warrior who committed any breach of discipline
when under Magassa's command, or even to him who
crossed his humour when on the march on special
service ! Magassa's spear was sharp and swift, and his
hands were at all times quick to gather spoil, and soon
it was observed that the poor Magassa was getting
rich in slaves, waxing great in name, and becoming
exceedingly influential at court.
Promotions rewarded his adroitness and quick exe-
cution of commands ; lands of his own and boimties of
slaves and cattle were bestowed upon him, until Magassa
became a Mkungu, or chief, of the second order.
Such a spirit as Magassa possessed, however, could
not long remain satisfied with this, while many above
him could not boast of a tithe of his deftness and
ability, and were blind to observe and forestall the
humours of the despotic monarch ; and a day came
when a Mkungu of the first order, named Pokino,
offended Mtesa.
Casting his eyes about for a fit man to succeed
him, Mtesa's eyes lighted on the sparkling, bright face
of Magassa, and his decision was at once made.
" Here, Magassa," cried the Emperor, and the accom-
plished courtier fell at his feet to the ground to hear
his command. ** Haste, Magassa, take men and eat
up Pokino*s land and name, for old Pokino has for-
gotten me."
" Twiyanzi, yanzi ! ^ he cried and moaned, " Twiyanzi,
yanzi, yanzi ! " each time more emphatic, and rubbing
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Uganda.
LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 389
his cheeks in the dust; and then, springing to his 1875.
feet, he seized his spear, and, holding it aloft, as if in ^®*^^^-
the act of launching it, he proclaimed aloud, " By the
Emperor's orders, I go to eat np Pokino. I will eat
him clean out of land and name, and Magassa shall
become Pokino. Emperor, behold me ! " and again he
fell to the ground, screaming his thankful Twiyanzis,
and loyally abasing himself in the dust.
After the levee was over, Magassa, eager to change
his name for Pokino's, beat his war-drum, unfolded his
banner, and mjistered his followers, and, like the fell
leopard, pounced upon purblind Pokino, whom he
quickly deprived of life, land, and name, and in place
of their former owner became their master. But with
even old Pokino's vast estates and large possessions the
young Pokino was apparently discontented. Shortly
afterwards the Emperor commanded him to ** eat up **
Namujurilwa, the Achilles of Uganda, and it is to
young Pokino's thirst for power and riches that
Majwara, an infant son of that great chief, became a
slave to Njara of Unyanyemb^, from whom I pur-
chased his freedom in 1871. I afterwards sent him
to Livingstone, to whom young Majwara ministered
faithful service until that great traveller's death.
With the fall of Namujurilwa, young Pokino became
Lord of all Uddu, from the Katonga valley to the
Alexandra Nile, a district embracing over 3000
square miles, with twenty sub-chiefs recognizing him
as their master, possessing two great capitals, Namuju-
rilwa^s at Masaka, and Pokino's, hundreds of women-
slaves, and thousands of youthful slaves of both sexes,
with cattle also by the thousand, and chief of a popu-
lation numbering over 100,000. What a change this
— from the keeper of the lavatory to the Lord of Uddu !
Pokino's life at his capital of Uddu, Masaka, is
almost regal. He has ** eaten up " the lands of two
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890 TESOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. great chiefs, old Pokino and the lion-h'ke Namujurilwa,
^^^^^' and now out of the eater cometh forth meat, and out
of the strong cometh forth sweetness. His sub-regal
court is crowded with applicants and claimants for
boimties, and slaves requiring to be fed, and good
offices are given with a liberal hand, and cattle are
slaughtered by hundreds until Pokino's open hand and
large heart is published throughout Uganda. By
this politic liberality he secures the affection of the
natives of Uddu, the friendship of the great chiefs at
the court, and the approbation of the Emperor.
Is Pokino satisfied ? Not yet, for there remains one
more office which Mtesa can give ; but he must wait
a while for this.
The Emperor hears there is a country called Usongora,
west of Gambaragara* somewhere, rich in vast herds of
cattle, and he commands Pokino to go and gather some
of them. Immediately the great war-drum of Masaka
sounds the call to war, and the natives from the banks
of the Alexandra Nile, the slopes of Koki plateau, and
all the lake shore from the Alexandra to the Katonga
respond to it by thousands, for it is a call to them to
gather spoil, and when did a peasant of Uganda linger
at such a summons ?
When Pokino begins his journey, he discovers he has
a vast army at his command, for other chiefs also are
represented here by columns. Kitunzi of the Katonga
valley has sent Sambuzi, and Mkwenda, Kangau, and
Kimbugw^ have aleo sent sub-chiefs with hundreds of
warriors. Before Pokino's great army the people of
Gambaragara retire up the slopes of their lofty snow
mountain, and, pursuing them as far as prudence will
permit, Pokino's eyes view from afar the rolling grassy
plateau of Usongora, and an immense lake stretching
beyond, which he is told is Muta Nzige.
* This part of Pokino's history was related to me by Pokino himself,
Eitxmzi, Sambuzi, and his page.
Digitizi
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Uganda
LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 891
Descending from the slopes of the snow mountain, 1875.
he marches with incredible speed to Usongora, sweeps in ^^***'-
with long sure arms large herds of cattle, despite the
frantically brave natives, collects thousands of straight-
nosed, thin-lipped, and comely women and children,
and drives them towards Uganda.
Several difficulties present themselves in the way.
The plain of Usongora is covered with salt and alkali,
which, intemperately eaten, causes many deaths ; and
in the valleys spout up mui-springs, and from the
summits of conical hills strange fire and smoke issue,
and now and then the very earth utters a rumbling
sound, and appears to shake.
The Wanyoro, also, by thousands, combine with the
natives of Gambaragara to dispute his return. They
lay ambuscades for him, and obstinately harass him
night and day. But Pokino's spirit is up in arms. He
defies the supernatural noises of that Land of Wonders,
Usongora, and by skill and sagacity avoids the meshes
laid to entrap him, and, when opportunity affords,
snares his ambushed enemies and annihilates them,
and finally appears in Uganda at the imperial capital
with a spoil of cattle and slaves fit to gladden even
the imperial heart.
The Emperor appoints a day to receive him and his
warriors, and, that meed may be given only to the
brave, has caused to be brewed immense potfuls of
potent pombe, which shall serve as a test to point out
the brave and the coward.
The day arrives. The Emperor is seated in unusual
state, with his harem behind him, his chiefs on either
hand in order of rank, his musketeers on guard, and his
drummers and musicians close by, while aloft wave the
crimson-and-white-barred standards adopted by the
empire. Before the Emperor are arranged the pots
of test-beer.
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392 TEBOUQE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. Pokino advances, prostrates himself in the dust, and
October, i^jring tQ relate his adventures and his doings in
**" Usongora, while the heroes of the great raid are
enmassed in view and within hearing of his words.
After the conclusion of the story, the Emperor says
hriefly, " Drink, if thou darest.**
Pokino rises, advances to the test-pots, receives the
ladle, and dips it into the pombd ; then taking it up, he
holds it aloft, and, turning to the warriors who followed
him, cries aloud, " TekeK ? " ('* Am I worthy or not ? ")
" Tekeh ! " (" Thou art worthy ! ") responds the
multitude with a shout.
Again he asks "Tekeh?** and again "Tekeh!** is
shouted with renewed acclamation, and, being found
worthy, he drinks, utters his grateful Twiyanzis to the
Emperor, and retires to permit others to advance and
drink the test-beer. Those found worthy are rewarded,
those unworthy are doomed to death by popular
condemnation.
Soon after this, Myanja, the Katekiro, was found
guilty of the overweening pride of appropriating to
himself the most beautiful of the female slaves without
regarding his master's right to select his allotment
first, and the result of this was that Myanja was dis-
graced and shprtly beheaded.
The Premier's place being now vacant, Pokino was
appointed to fill it ; and thus was the once humble
Magcissa elevated to be next in power to the Emperor,
with the utmost of his ambition fulfilled.
He is now daily seated on the carpet at the right
hand of his sovereign, controls all things, commands all
men, and, when leaving the presence of his master, he
is escorted by all the chiefs to his own quarters, waylaid
by multitudes on the road with profound greeting, has
the pick of all females captured in war, the choicest of
all cattle, and his shares of all cloths, beads, wine, and
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LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 393
other gifts brought to Mtesa ; for the Katekiro, alias 1875.
Pokino, alias Magassa, is now Premier, First Lord^ and ^*^*^***'-
Secretary of State ! But what next ? ^^
One day, while on a visit to my quarters, I permitted
him to examine my store of medicines. On explaining
the various uses of laudanum, he remarked, to my
surprise, with a sigh, "Ah! that is the medicine I
wish to have. Can you not spare some for me ?"
Poor Magassa ! poor Pokino ! poor Katekiro ! He is
already watching, while yet young, in the prime and
vigour of manhood, for he knoweth not the hour when
the Lord of the Cord may beckon to him.
It is left for some future traveller to tell us of his
interview with Kasuju, the chief executioner.
THE KABAKA OR EMPEROR.
The curtain rolls up, and discloses a hill covered with
tall conical huts, whose tops peep out above the foliage
of plantains and bananas, and lofty fences of cane.
Up the hill's gradually ascending slopes run broad
smooth avenues, flanked by cane palisades, behind
which clusters of huts show grey under a blazing sun,
amid the verdure of the leafy groves around them. The
avenues are thronged by natives, clad in picturesque
costumes. White clothes gleam in the sunshine, in
strong contrast to red and brown. The people are
wending their way to the imperial quarters on the
summit of the hill. While no ingress is permitted,
they crowd around the gates in social gossip, exchang-
ing morning greetings.
Suddenly the murmur of voices ceases, and the long
rumbling roll of a kettle-drum is heard, announcing
that the monarch is seated on the burzah. The gates
are at once drawn aside, and a multitude of chiefs,
soldiers, peasants, strangers rush up tumultuously.
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894 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. through eight or ten courts, towards the audience-hall,
^^^*^" and in their noisy haste we may see the first symptoms
of that fawning servility characteristic of those who
serve despots.
The next scene we have is a section of a straw
house, with a gable-roof— about 25 feet high, 60 feet
long, and 18 feet in breadth.
At the farther end, by the light afforded by the
wide entrance, we perceive the figure of a man dad
in an embroidered scarlet jacket and white skirt
seated on a chair, guarded on either side by a
couple of spearmen and two men bearing muskets.
The chiefs and principal men now hastening through
the gates bow profoundly before him ; some, after the
Muslim's custom, kiss the palms and back of his right
hand ; others, adhering to the original customs of the
country, prostrate themselves to the ground, and,
throwing their hands towards him, exclaim, while
kneeling, " Twiyanzi, yanzi ! '* after which they
severally betake themselves to their respective seats in
order of rank. Two long rows of seated men are thus
formed along the caned walls of the hall of audience,
facing towards the centre, which is left vacant for the
advent of strangers and claimants, and the transaction
of business, justice, &c.
Being privileged, we also enter, and take a seat on
the right-hand side, near the Katekiro, whence we can
scrutinize the monarch at our leisure.
The features, smooth, polished, and without a
wrinkle, are of a young man, who might be of any
age between twenty-five and thirty-five. His head is
clean-shaven and covered with a fez, his feet are bare
aiid rest on a leopard-skin, on the edge of which rests a
polished white tusk of ivory, and near this are a pair
of crimson Turkish slippers. The long fingers of his
right hand grasp a gold-hilted Arab scimitar; the
left is extended over his left knee, reminding one of
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LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA.
395
the posture of Rameses at Thebes. The only natural
peculiarities of the face, causing it to differ from other
faces around me, are the glowing, restless large eyes,
which seem to take in everything at a glance. The
character of the face, however, is seen to change
rapidly; even in repose it lacks neither dignity nor
power, but as cross thoughts flash through his mind the
comers of the lips are drawn in, the eyes expand, the
eyeballs project, his hands twitch nervously, and the
1875.
October.
Ugandft.
AUDIENCE UALL OF THE FALACE.
native courtier begins to apprehend a volcanic outburst
of rage. If pleased, however, the eyes appear to
recede and contract, the lips relax their vigour, and
soon a hearty laugh rings through .the hall.
But hush ! here advance some ten or twelve people
along the centre, and prostrate themselves before the
Emperor, and begin through a spokesman to tell him
of something to which, strangely enough, he does not
seem to listen.
By means of an interpreter we are informed that it is
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896 TEBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. an embassy from the lawless bandit Mirambo, who, bear-
Octobtf. -j^g ^j^^j. j^^Qgj^ ^j^g lijjely enough to send some 50,000
sharp 8peai*s to hunt him up, has sent these men with
propitiating gifts, and a humble declaration that he
has no cause of quarrel with Uganda. The gifts are
unrolled to view and counted. So many cloths, so
much wire, some half-dozen dinner plates of European
make, an ample brass coffee tray, an Arab dagger
silver-hilted, and a scarlet coat
Mtesa has been meanwhile carelessly talking to his
chiefs while the embassy addressed him, but suddenly
he turns on the embassy his large glowing eyes, and
speaks quickly and with decision : —
" Tell Mirambo from me that I do not want his gifts,
but I must have the head of his man who slew my
chief Singiri a year ago, as he was returning from
Zanzibar to Uganda, or I will hunt him up with more
Waganda than there are trees in his country. Go ! "
Another party now comes up. A chief is dead, and
they wish to know who shall succeed him, and they
have brought his sons along with them, that the
Emperor may make his choice.
Mtesa smiles and asks his chiefs to name the suc-
cessor. One names Bugomba, another Taniziwa, another
Kaseje, another Sempa. The chiefs fail to agree, and
Mtesa asks playfully, "Which shall be chief? " where-
upon the majority name Taniziwa as elected, after which
we have to hear the " Twiyanzis " of the favoured one,
and his ardent vows of allegiance to the Emperor.
Just at this moment appears a long procession of
females, old and young, at the sight of whom the
Emperor rises to his feet, and his example is followed
by all. Curious to know who they are, we ask, and
are told that they are descendants of Kamanya and
Suna, wards and members of the imperial family.
These ladies, it appears, know when to time their visits,
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Uganda.
LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 397
and contrive to enter the levee late, as European ladies, ists.
to attract attention, are supposed to enter church late. ^^^*>«'-
As these ladies advance to the carpet, Mtesa greets
each with a kind word, and after they are seated
proceeds to them, seats himself in their laps, and em-
braces one after another. In return for these imperial
courtesies, they afterwards present him with live
fowls, which he is compelled to receive with his own
hands, and pass over to a chief to hold, that he may
not appear to despise any of them. Surely if such
a despotic monarch can condescend to be so affable and
kind to females, there must be some good in him.
But the Emperor on this morning has caught a cold,
and the watchful chiefs have been observing the little
uneasiness, and forthwith half a dozen rush forward
prone on their knees, and offer their head-cloths, into
which the imperial nose may relieve itself.
The Emperor playfully draws back in his chair, and
says, '* Oh, I don't want all these."
*^ Well, take mine,** says one.
" No, take mine, Kabaka ; mine is white, and of fine
soft cloth," and Mtesa, prevailed upon by the whiteness
and softness of the texture, takes it, and relieves his
afiBicted nose, and then hands the cloth back to its
owner, who rubs it together hard, as though he wished
to punish well the cause of the affliction.
Suddenly from some place in the hall is heard a
hawking sound, as from some one likewise afflicted with
a cold in the throat, and the eyes of the Emperor are
quickly fixed on the person; but the chiefs cry out
indignantly, " Out, out with you, quick !" and, peremp-
torily and sternly, half a dozen " lords of the cord " seize
upon the unfortunate and eject him in no gentle manner.
After this interruption the tones of the native harp
are heard, and the Emperor calls to the minstrel and
bids him play on his instrument, which the accom-
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898 TEBOUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. plished musician is nothing loth to do. But wh3e we
October. jjg|j^Q ^ j^q monotouous music, all are startled at the
loud report of a gun !
A dozen ejaculations are uttered, and as many chiefs
rush out to enquire the cause ; but they have been fore-
stalled by the adroit and eager lords of the cord, who
have thrown their nooses round the man's neck and, half
strangling him, drag him into the Presence, whose
imperial nerves have been somewhat disturbed by the
sudden discharge of gunpowder. The lords of the cord,
kneeling, say that the man let his gun fall while on
guard, and their eyes seem to ask, ** What shall we
do to him ?** " Give him fifty blows with a stick,"
cries the angry Emperor, and the unfortunate fellow
is hauled away to receive such a punishment as will
lame him for a month.
There is now heard a lowing of cattle, of fat beeves
and milch-cows, in the court before the audience-hall,
and a man advances, and after prostration and " Twi-
yanzis " says he has brought a present from Mankorongo,
king of Usui.
" H'm. See to them, Katekiro, and give one to my
steward Ka-uta to dress up, and let each chief have an
ox to-day, and give ten to my bodyguard." At this
liberality all the chiefs rush forward, abase themselves
in the dust, and cry aloud their fervid ** Twiyanzis."
The chiefs resume their seats after this exhibition of
their gratitude, and a messenger arrives from the banks
of the "Victoria Nile, and relates, to the monarch's sur-
prise, that Namionju, a petty prince near Unyoro, has
cast off his allegiance to him, and opened negotiations
with Kabba Rega, king of Unyoro.
On hearing the messenger's news, the Emperor
exclaims, his eyes expanding widely, and projecting,
** What ! are all my people dead at Nakaranga ? Have
I no chief, no people left, that Namionju treats me so ?"
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LIFE AND MANNERS IN UGANDA. 899
The answer is heard in the voices of the chiefs, who isrs.
spring to their feet simultaneously and rush out ^*^*^'-
before the entrance of the audience-hall, seize their
spears or walking-sticks, and call aloud on the
Emperor to behold and number his chiefs, and with
wild impressive gestures toss their spears and arms on
high until a stranger would fancy that a revolution
had suddenly begun. The Emperor, however, calmly
answers, "It is well," upon which the chiefs leave
their spears tvithout and regain their seats.
Then casting his eyes about him, he selects a fiery-
looking young chief — Maoor-ugungu by name — who
instantly darts forward from his seat^ and prostrating
himself exclaims, " Kabaka^ I am here."
" Go, Maoor-ugungu, take five Watongoleh and
their men, and eat up Namionju and his country."
Maoor-ugungu, prompt as tinder upon receiving
such an order, utters many "Twiyanzis," then springs
to his feet, and, seizing a couple of spears and a shield,
throws himself into a heroic attitude with all the
ardour of a true son of Mars, and cries aloud : —
" Emperor, behold me ! The Emperor commands,
and Namionju shall die, and I will gather the spoil.
I will eat the land up clean. Twiyanzi-yanzi-yanzi-
yanzi ! " and eo on ad infinitum.
The Emperor rises. Tori the drummer beats the
long roll on his drum, and all the chiefs, courtiers,
pages, claimants, messengers and strangers, staii; to
their feet. The Emperor — without a word more —
retires by a side door into the inner apartments, and
the morning burzah is ended.
Those curious to know further of the Emperor's life
must pass through a multitude of sharp-eyed, jealously
watchful guards, pages, and executioners, thronging
the court of the audience-hall, into the private courts,
many of which they will find apparently of no use
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' . ::* \ v'.juir, T.-r! -i .^, Ui y n, .y riiJ ^[..sa i^^r
'■ ■ _, u'l^'ii t^ ♦*;;l ;■■ k " 'ii li-tvt: I'l* ;..., c: '.- .^ • li.JT *'>*.
m:ui-. '.*h\ <•':..! d ;*i.!;v ; or t'-y n.-^y P.wi irm
„ ■!,_* •'*' i <1 fr^ virli .*.c. LiV-tj^'itc wv- ^ fi'i I
* ' '.'J '.I "1 Ir ;., \>Lo ail .^'t ar'-niid hii::, t, .-'Zii'r.i: r^»
.- J- -iJrt l)c iii;«y i.;n'TM-*i t** 1*^ fc -Hi i ^vi:'. a iVvVninit.-
v.!.«M.; tl, * ;^^^N' of vai-'ii^' tirivH»M r>, Iilnr'tHMn,
T: •'■' !.j :u:l A. ai'ii', a/t^. st-)! jd ; '.-r he r; \v be eTi;^--.':^-'..!
villi T- li, Li-' fc-'tot'iiij, I'ln:.;. tr ^oiat^ novelty, in tl^*^
' !' - 't u ^^:. r::;"ii, ciiiia:.', ^inp, nr bont, or wh:it.
I \ CI il.** n '•'.»; i.^ii'^y ir/^-y t^- \,lui;d \n\> t; ^'t-n ['osscs^v !^
of !.i& 111.. !.
Tiir r.AVD.
Tlavii'': V:>r'V"l RoiiMuLat rnrMi-ifli t.liese ^Kpr^-hes of
i'lC cliarnct* r of tie |H;a>a.it, tlic chief, and th»' m-. uuroh,
it now r ,ui<dn> foi i:^ tw i. ke a view of th'^ !ai.d in order
to m.d*. r-;au'l iN ext-'iit, i .'turt-, an J -^'eKeril aspect.
TliO i*'i n ol' tjju Knii)he £^o\Lr::td hv M\-.a mav be
b(<t d .MJ'lcd r.-; a cixscent. I:^ lonulh Is ;.l;out r>'/0
P^'('.!.a| i i';al miles, and ir^ bre;' ItJi ah -iit ^'v». cr.verinL,
— with th'^- isiMids of Scssr, jjiilatnba, Buiw*', S-i'lzi,
LnhuiMia, Uaraba, Lnlconieli, Ir;inib;». Irw.tji, Kiwa,
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400 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. whatever except to ensure privacy, and to confuse a
October. ,^^«^«.^^
• stranger.
^ In one they may see Mtesa drilling his Amazons and
playing at soldiers with his pets. They are all comely
and brown, with fine virginal bosoms. But what
strikes us most is the effect of discipline. Those timid
and watchful eyes which they cast upon the monarch
to discover his least wish prove that, though they
may be devoted to him, it is evident that they have
witnessed other scenes than those of love.
In another court, perhaps, they may find Mtesa just
sitting down to eat a slight noon meal, consisting of
ripe bananas and curded milk ; or they may find him
laughing and chatting with his favourite wives and
female children, who all sit around him, seeming to
govern their faces according to the despot's humour ;
or perhaps he may happen to be found with a favourite
page examining the contents of the treasure-house,
where the gifts of various travellers, European,
Turkish, and Arabic, are stored ; or he may be engaged
with Tori, his factotum, planning some novelty, in the
shape of a waggon, carriage, ship, or boat, or what-
ever the new fancy may be which has taken possession
of his mind.
THE LAND.
Having learned somewhat through these sketches of
the character of the peasant, the chief, and the monarch,
it now remains for us to take a view of the land in order
to understand its extent, nature, and general aspect.
The form of the Empire governed by Mtesa may be
best described as a crescent. Its length is about 300
geographical miles, and its breadth about 60, covering
— with the islands of Sesse, Lulamba, Bufwe, Sadzi,
Lulamha, Damba, Lukomeh, Iramba, Irwaji, Kiwa,
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V,
'.v,J I ■
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.:* '.•■.-;*. K. -* .-^ : ; . < \m t ( J <i ^{'ibliri-.. '^1 i '•'-(• tr.lii'i
i V,;. '1.. 1 (';•'•- vii" ^ •.;.;. (\.. r ir- ;. th^"^ nioi.aid,
T' .V t .• (1- V .1 t'. ill 111, it 1^ «'\ iJ' '^'i t.i.it t-'.-vV lirtV-
i'l ai' \\. r: couit, j.-jrl 'i:»s, Ui y rn. y r.iid >rL.sa i ->'
'ii'- ' .. ..ui.K- :tii>] «:r;l d lii/k ; or t^- y li^xy Hiii :; m
' »'.'ii: .1*. i < ^.»t'i"^:: v.'iiii l.ij la\'tii7'iio \vl\.^ i.-i.i
* .!i;i!- i.!«''!:\ii, \/m'> all .*t aivniid liiin, ^..''■!u^ r :-»
I- .. J: ','rt In* luay l..niPi'M to 1.* f« \\\A v.i''- ;i faviiiirJt.
] r.';-} f\i: .'liiii^ tin* cwiiTi'iit-^ of ila* tr*; K-nre-h''^i'-?.-,
'vt <M'',' *!. * '^ ^*< (>f vara»!iS *i:tx'pil r.--, Unr-iKM!.,
Ti.' ' • ' , 'Hid /v.al»ir\ arc st'jr-,. i ; (^-r he rii'v be eTJtr<:^eu
\\\. I'oii, 1."- iMv'tit'iiii. )'mm:/ .lT fcoiiui novelty, in tla*
:' "-e •' a \\:;".'''/ori, f-urai.;., ts'hr), or h'>nt, or \v\ ,:
i-'-y iir^v iM- \,'li;c.i ''a-; ta'^ca puvst-Sii":^
Tra\in:': lpnr?a'd P«»na'\ ]j\t liimi wh tljosf s\e -lies .^f
i.he cliaraci<*r or" tt-e }\a>a:.t, tlio eh'ef, and tl..- iii-naroiu
it now r ni:tins foi ns !''> i -a* a viciw of iLt lai.il in oitier
to VI d' iv,a.:d iK ivxt.'ht, i '''ur*a aul ^'e^iTal aNj>oct.
The I'^r a ol tiie Kii.[ai.'. f^-ova '\m d »»y Mr^^a nia^* K^
Ix^^t d .Miiltid n^ a crt:<.;t3nt. li^- !erii;th Is ; h^)ut T.'a)
p;f^"i-a; \ i-'al nn'Ie<, and i\> l*ren ;l'i ai' >at ')^'. c. vcriu;^
- -witii t^e is:and^ of >(.ssr, jjulani\';<, Buf'^vr. S idz,,
LnlauUia, Daniha. Lid;<.^iii»di, Iranil-a, Ii\\;.;i, Kiwa,
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Digitizi
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MTESA'S EMPIRE. 401
Wema, Kibibi, Uziri, Wanzi, Uruma, Utamba, Mwama, ists.
Ugeyeya, Usamu, and Namungi — an area of 30,000 ^°*^
square miles. If we reckon in also Unyoro, Ukedi,
and Ankori, which recognize Mtesa*8 power, and pay
tribute to him, though somewhat irregularly, we
must add a further area of 40,000 square miles,
making the total extent of his empire about 70,000
square miles.
Some estimate of the population ought also to be
offered. But it is to be understood that it is only a
rough estimate, made by a traveller who has had to
compile his figures by merely taking into consideration
the number of the army assembled at Nakaranga, and
enumerating districts and villages along the line of
his travels.
Countries ud Districts. PopalaUoo.
Uganda proper (from Ripon Falls) to Katonga river .. 760,000
Uddu 100,000
Bwera 30,000
Koki 70,000
Usoga 500,000
Ukedi 150,000
Unyoro 500,000
Usagara or Ankori 200,000
Karagw6 150,000
UBui 80,000
Uzongora, including Ihangiio and Bumbireh .. .. 200,000
Sess^ Island 20,000
Uvuma 15,000
All other islands 10,000
2,775,000
This number gives about thirty-eight persons to the
square mile throughout the empire of Uganda.
The productions of the land are of great variety,
and, if brought within reach of Europeans, would find
a ready market — ivory, coffee, gums, resins, myrrh,
lion, leopard, otter, and goat* skins, ox-hides, snow-
* The white goats of Usoga are like the fisunous Angora goats with
fine silky hair £rom 4 to 8 inches in length.
VOL.1. — 26 ^ .u r^noaIf>
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UgaadA.
402 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. white monkey-fiUins, and bark cloth^ besides fine cattle,
^^^^^' sheep, and goats. Among the chief vegetable pro-
ductions are the papaw, banana, plantain, jrams, sweet
potatoes, peas, several kinds of beans, melons, cucum-
bers, vegetable marrow, manioc, and tomatoes. Of
grains, there are to be found in the neighbourhood
of the capital wheat, rice, maize, sesamum, millets, and
vetches.
The soil of the lake coast region from the extremity
of Usoga to the Alexandra Nile is of inexhaustible
fertility. The forests are tall and dense, and the teak
and Cottonwood, tamarind, and some of the gum-trees
grow to an extraordinary height, while many of the
lower uninhabited parts near the lake are remarkable
for the density, luxuriance, and variety of their vege-
tation.
The higher land, for the most part devoid of trees
and covered with grass, appears better adapted for
pasture, though the plantain and fig trees flourish
on the summit of the hills with the same vigour as
near the lake.
Westward of the smooth, rolling, pastoral country
which characterizes the interior of Usoga and Uganda,
we observe that the land has lost its surface of pasture
grass, and its gently undulating character', and heaves
itself upwards i^to many -headed hills of rugged, abrupt
forms, and as we penetrate farther, these hills become
mountains of a stupendous type, with summits which,
except on a fine clear day, the naked eye cannot define.
Deep, deep valleys, from whose depths we hear the
roar of resounding cataracts and falls, sunder these
lofty mountains. Upon their lengthy slopes great
masses of glistening white rock are seen half imbedded
in debris, where they have remained since they were
severed from the parent mountain which raises its
head so proudly into the sky above.
Beyond this scene again we come to where the land
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October.
Uganda.
FROM LAKE TO LAKE. 403
appears to have concentrated itself, and fused all lesser 1075,
mountains and hills into one grand enormous mass,
the height and size of which dwarfs all hitherto seen,
and which, disdaining vulgar observation, shrouds its
head with snow and grey clouds.
Indeed, so gradual is the transition and change in the
aspect of the land from Lake Victoria to Beatrice Grulf
that one may draw this • one-hundred-miles-wide belt
into five divisions of equal breadth, and class them
according to the limits given above. Let us imagine
a railway constructed to run from one lake to the
other — what scenes unrivalled for soft beauty, luxuri-
ance, fertility, and sublimity would be traversed !
Starting from the sea-like expanse of the Victoria
Lake, the traveller would be ushered into the depths
of a tall forest, whose meeting tops create eternal night,
into leafy abysms, where the gigantic sycamore, tower-
ing mvule, and branchy gum strive with one another for
room, under whose shade wrestle with equal ardour for
mastery the less ambitious trees, bushes, plants, llianes,
creepers, and palms. Out of this he would emerge
into broad day, with its dazzling sunshine, and vievv
an open rolling country, smooth rounded hills, truncated
cones, and bits of square browed plateaus, intersected
by broad grassy meads and valleys thickly dotted with
ant-hills overgrown with brushwood^ Few trees are
visible, and these, most likely, the candelabra or
the tamarisk, with a sprinkling of acacia. As some
obstructing cone would be passed, he would obtain
glimpses of wide prosjiects of hill, valley, mead, and
plain, easy swells and hollows, grassy basins and
grassy euiinences, the whole suffused with fervid
vapour.
These scenes passed, he would find himself surrounded
by savage hills, where he would view the primitive rock
in huge, bare, round-backed masses of a greyish blue
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404 TEROUQH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. colour, imparted to them by moss and lichens, or
0^^ largo fragments 0ung together as in some Cyclopean
caini, sundered and riven by warring elements. At
their base He, thickly strewn, the debris of quartz-
veined gneiss and granite and iron-coloured rock,
half choking the passage of some petty stream, which
ventB its petulance, as it struggles through it to gain
the clear, disencumbered valley, and the placid river,
guarded by banks of slender cane and papyrus.
And then the traveller would observe that the
valleys are gradually deepening, and the hills in-
creasing in height, until suddenly he would be ushered
into the presence of that king of mountains. Mount
Gordon-Bennett, which towers sheer up to the azure
with a white veil about his crown, surrounded by
clusters of savage heights and ridges, and before
whoso indisputable sublimity his soul seems to shrink.
Escaping from the vicinity of this mountain monarch,
he would be swept over a brown parched plateau for
a short hour, and then, all suddenly, come to a pause
at the edge of an awful precipice some 1500 feet in
de|)th. At the bottom of this, slumbering serenely, and
reflecting the plateau walls on its placid surface, lies
the blue Muta Nzige.
GENERAL REMARKS.
I have still to add some details of interest. Mtesa, in
the preceding introduction to the reader, playing the
part of Emperor at a public burzah, has still only a
vague and indistinct personality, and so, to complete
the portrait, I venture to append the following
remarks.
On first acquaintance, as I have already said, he
strikes the traveller as a most fascinating and a
peculiarly amiable man, and should the traveller ever
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Ugandt.
MTESA, TEE BiPEBIAL CONVERT. 405
think of saving this pagan continent from the purgatory i875.
of heathendom, the Emperor must occur to him as ^*^^'-
of all men in Africa the most promising to begin with.
For his intelligence and natural faculties are of a
very high order, his professions of love to white men
great, and his hospitality apparently boundless. Had
he been educated in Europe, there can be little doubt
but that he would have become a worthy member of
society; but nursed in the lap of paganism, and
graduate only in superstition and ignorance, he is
to-day no more than an extraordinary African.
Flattering as it may be to me to have had the
honour of converting the pagan Emperor of Uganda
to Christianity, I cannot hide from myself the fact
that the conversion is only nominal, and that, to
continue the good work in earnest, a patient, assiduous,
and zealous missionary is required. A few months'
talk about Christ and His blessed work on earth,
though sufficiently attractive to Mtesa, is not enough
to eradicate the evils which thirty-five years of
brutal, sensuous indulgence have stamped on the
mind: this only the unflagging zeal, the untiring
devotion to duty, and the paternal watchfulness of a
sincerely pious pastor can effect. And it is because
I am conscious of the insufficiency of my work, and
his strong evil propensities, that I have not hesitated
to describe the real character of my " convert." The
grand redeeming feature of Mtesa, though founded
only on self-interest, is his admiration for white men.
When the traveller first enters Uganda, his path
seems to be strewn with flowers, greetings with
welcome gifts follow one another rapidly, pages and
courtiers kneel before him, and the least wish is
immediately gratified, for to make a request of the
Emperor is to honour him with the power of giving.
So long as the stranger is a novelty, and his capacities
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406 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. or worth have not yet been sounded, his life in Uganda
u^T ^^"^ to be a sunsliiny holiday.
Meanwhile, however, the pages, pursuivants, messen-
gers, and courtiers have been measuring him by rules
and methods of their own. His faculties have been
calculated, his abilities keenly observed and noted,
and his general utility and value become accurately
gauged, and all the time he has been entertained
royally, and courted and favoured beyond all his
expectations.
But now approaches the time for him to make return,
to fulfil the prc^raise tacitly conveyed by his ready and
friendly acceptance of gifts and favours. He is
surprised by being asked if he can make gunpowder,
manufacture a gun, cast a cannon, build a ship, or
construct a stone or a brick house. If a priest ordained,
and his garb and meek, quiet behaviour prove it, his
work is ready cut for him : he has only to teach and
preach. But if a soldier, why should he not know how
to make guns, cannon, ships, brick houses, &c. ? If he
informs the Emperor that he is ignorant of these
things, why then he must pay in other coin. He has
guns with him, he must *^give"; he has watches,
** give " ; he has various trifles of value, such as a gold
pencil-case, or a ring, " give " ; he wears good clothes,
** give " ; he has beads, cloth, wire, ** Give, give, give " ;
and so " give " to his utter beggary and poverty. If
he does not give with the liberality of a "Speki** or a
" Stamlee," who will henceforth be quoted to his con-
fusion and shame, there will be found other ways to rid
him of his superfluities. His men will be found
unfaithful, and will desert, attracted by the rewards of
Mtesa and glowing descriptions of his lil>erality, and
one day, when he is about to congratulate himself
that he is more fortunate than others, he will find
himself suddenly bereft of half or three-fourths of his
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UgtndA.
MISaiONART FBOSPECTS. 407
entire stock of goods. If the traveller states that he is lers.
acquainted with a few arts, he is expected to prove ^*^**^*
his words, to the loss of his time and patience, and the
waste of many precious months ; even then what little
he has been able to do with such lazy knaves as the
Waganda will prove insufficient, and he also, by craft,
will be relieved of a few guns and bales.
From these exactions only the resident missionary
would be exempt, because he will be able to make
ample amends for all deficiencies by staying to teach
and preach, and he in time would, in reality, be the
Emperor. To him Mtesa would bend with all the
docility of a submissive child, and look up with
reverence and affection. The peculiar wayward,
petulant, inconsistent nature would become moulded
anew, or be re-born to be presented henceforth to
European travellers in an amiable, nay loveablcj aspect.
Mtesa is the most interesting man in Africa, and one
well worthy of our largest sympathies ; and I repeat
that through him only can Central Africa be Chris-
tianized and civilized.
It will be observed that I have styled Mtesa
** Emperor " of Uganda, and not king, like my prede-
cessors Speke and Grant. But my readers may re-
member that it has been mentioned in the brief sketch
of the Premier given above that all the Waganda,
from the Emperor to the peasant, change their titles
and names according as they are estimated in the
popular consideration.
Before Suna's death Mtesa was a Mlangira (prince) ;
when he succeeded his father, being yet young, he
received the title of Mukavya or Mkavya (king) of
Uganda, but after he had distinguished himself in the
conquest of other kings, and won the imperial right,
this title was changed for Kabaka or Kawaka
(Emperor). For the Empire of Uganda, as already
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CJg«D(U.
408 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. described, embraces several countries besides Uganda
October, ^.m^^^^
proper.
I was not aware of these several distinctions or
grades until I had been a long time resident at the
court. The title of Mkama, again, such as that of
Mkama Rumanika of Karagw^, Mkama Mankorongo
of Usui, is synonymous with viceroy or sub-king,
though literally translated it means **lord.** Polite
courtiers prone on the ground, abasing themselves in
the dust before Mtesa, will often address him as
" Mkama ange " ('* My own lord **).
The children of Mtesa are all styled Ulangira
(princes). Below this title there seems to be no other
designation of hereditary condition save Kopi (peasant).
Wakungu and Watongoleh alike are peasants born, and
therefore still peasiints, though they may rank as chiefs
and sub-chiefs, or governors and lieutenant-governors,
or generals and colonels. Thus Mt^esa at Nakaranga,
when he was pleased to promise to reward him who
first landed at Ingira Island with the place of B^tekiro,
asked the assembled chiefs, " For what is Pokino really?
Is he not a peasant ? '*
The moral character of the people is far below that
of the Emperor. Indeed, if it were not for him, no
stranger would dare to enter Uganda. They have no
respect for human life or human rights. Among
themselves they recognize only might, and Mtesa
might even be pardoned for exercising greater severity
tl>an he does, for this fierce people requires to be
governed with the almost unexampled severity of
might and power which Suna so cruelly employed.
They are crafty, fraudful, deceiving, lying, thievish
knaves taken as a whole, and seem to be bom with an
uncontrollable love of gaining wealth by robbery,
violence, and murder, in which they resemble — except
that they have the lawless instinct to a greater degree
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""LIKE KING LIKE PEOPLED 409
than most — ^nearly all African tribes. Owing, however, ists.
to their terror of punishment, the stranger is permitted ^*^*^^'-
to wander in almost certain safety throughout Uganda, *"
and is hospitably treated as the "Emperor's guest**
(Mgeni). One has only to hear the word " Nganya "
(spoil) given by a person in authority to be surprised
at the greed there and then exhibited.
The adage has long been accepted for true,
" Like father like son,*' and equally true would be the
saying " Like king like people.'* The conduct of the
chiefs proves that in Uganda at least it is true, for, like
the Emperor, they adopt a despotic style, and require
to be served by their inferiors with abject servility and
promptitude. Like him, also, the chiefs are fond of
pomp and display, and, as far as their rank and means
permit, they exhibit this vanity to the utmost.
Thus, the monarch has always about two score of
drummers, a score of fifers, half a score of native
guitar-players, several mountebanks, clowns, dwarfs,
and albinoes, a multitude of errand-boys, pages,
messengers, courtiers, claimants, besides a large number
of bodyguards and two standard-bearers, either follow-
ing or preceding him wherever he goes, to declare his
state and quality. The chiefs, therefore, have also
their followers, standard-bearers, and pages, and so on
down to the peasant or cowherd, who makes an infantile
slave trot after him to carry his shield and spears.
In person the Waganda are tall and slender. I have
seen hundreds of them above G feet 2 inches in height,
while I saw one who measured 6 feet 6 inches. Of
course the native Waganda must be distinguished from
strangers and slaves and their descendants imported
from conquered lands, and generally they diflFer from
these by their more pleasing looks and more agreeable
features. This last, however, may be attributed to a
general love of cleanliness, neatness, and modesty.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
410 TEROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1875. which pervades all, from the highest to the lowest.
October, ^ naked or immodest person is a downright abomina-
tion to a follower of Mtesa's court, and even the
poorest peasants frown and sneer at absolute nudity.
It has been mentioned above that the Waganda sur-
pass other African tribes in craft and fraud, but this
may, at the same time, be taken as an indication of
their superior intelligence. This is borne out by many
other proofs. Their cloths are of finer make ; their
habitations are better and neater ; their spears are the
most perfect^ I should say, in Africa, and they exhibit
extraordinary skill and knowledge of that deadly
weapon; their shields are such as would attract ad-
miration in any land, while the canoes surpass all canoes
in the savage world.
The Waganda frequently have recourse to drawing
on the ground to illustrate imperfect oral description,
and I have often been surprised by the cleverness and
truthfulness of these rough illustrations. When giving
reasons firstly, secondly, and thirdly, they have a
curious way of taking a stick and breaking it into small
pieces. One piece of a stick delivered with emphasis, and
gravely received by the listener in his palm, concludes
the first reason, another stick announces the conclusion
of the second reason, until they come to the " thirdly,**
when they raise both hands with the palms turned
from them, as if to say, ** There, IVe given you my
reasons, and you must perforce understand it all now!"
Nearly all the principal attendants at the court
can write tlie Arabic letters. The Emperor and many
of the chiefs both read and write that character with
facility, and frequently employ it to send messages to
one another, or to strangers at a distance. The materials
which they use for this are very thin smooth slabs of
cotton-wood. Mtesa possesses several score of these, on
which are written his " books of wisdom," as he styles
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Uganda.
TEE B.INANA. 411
the results of his interviews with European travellers. 1875.
Some day a curious traveller may think it worth while ^^^/'
to give us translations of these proceedings and inter-
views.
The power of sight of these natives is extraordinary.
Frequently a six-guinea field-glass was excelled by them.
Their sense of hearing is also very acute.
It is really wonderful into how many uses the in-
genious savage of these regions can convert a simple
plant. Regard the banana-plant, for instance. At first
view, in the eyes of the untaught civilized man, it seems
to be of no other use than to bear fruit after its kind, for
the stalk of it cannot be employed as fuel, and its fronds
soon fade and wither and rend, and unless the savage
pointed out its various uses, I fear the civilized man
would consider it as of slight value. It is, however,
of exceeding utility to the native of Uganda.
1. Its fruit, green or ripe, forms his principal food.
When green, the Waganda peels his bananas, folds them
carefully up in the form of a parcel, enclosed in green
banana-leaves, and, putting a small quantity of water
in his pot, cooks them with the steam alone. This mode
of cooking green bananas renders them floury in
appearance, and, in taste, most sweet and palatable.
When ripe, they form an admirable dessert, and, taken
in the morning before coflFee, serve with some consti-
tutions as an agreeable laxative.
Of the banana proper, there are several varieties,
each distinguished by a special name, just as the Euro-
pean gardener distinguishes his several varieties of
potatoes. Some are 3 inches in length, with deep
green coats, and seem fat with matter. Others, 6 inches
in length, and of a lighter green colour, are considered
the best; others are short, plumpy fruit, great favourites
also. There is another species, known by a dark point,
rather bitter to the taste and unfit for food, but
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412 THEOUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. specially reserved for the manufacture of wine, for
October, which it alone is adapted.
Ugindm. 2. The fruit of this latter Bpecies furnishes the
natives with the maramba, a honey-sweet, cider-flavoured
wine, and, when mixed with a little millet, sweet beer
also. When fermented and perfect, the latter is a
potent liquid, and a quart suffice'^ to disturb the
equilibrium of many men ; but there are old topers,
like Prince Kaduma, who would toss off a gallon and
be apparently only slightly elated after it. A small
draught of maramba taken at dawn I found beneficial
to the system,
3. The banana-fronds serve as thatch for houses,
fences for enclosures, and as bedding. They are also
used to protect milk, water, and flour vessels from dust
and impurities, are employed as table-cloths, on which
food is spread, and, like newspapers or brown paper,
are used as wrappers for gifts of eatables, such as ripe
bananas, butter, meat, eggs, fish, &c., while they serve
daily and universally as pudding-cloths in the Kiganda
households. The cool, thick shade afibrded by a
banana plantation is well known.
4. The stems are sometimes used for fences and
defensive enclosures ; they are also frequently employed
as rollers, to move heavy logs, or for the transportation
of canoes overland from point to point, when the
strategies of war demand it. The pith or heart of the
stalk is scraped and made into sponges of a dough-cake
pattern, and may te seen in almost all Kiganda lava-
tories. Frequently the indolent prefer to knead a fresh
sponge-cake and make their ablutions with this to
going to the river, lake, pond, or well, or troubling
themselves to fetch a vessel of water.
The fibres of the stalk are used as cord, and are
adapted for almost every purpose for which cord
is useful. The poorest peasants make rough but
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414
• THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875.
October.
Tganda.
serviceable shields also from the stalk, while the fisher-
men of the lake make large sun-hats from it. Many
other uses might be mentioned, but the above are
sufficient to prove that, besides its cool agreeable shade,
the banana-plant will supply a peasant of Uganda witli
bread, potatoes, dessert, wine, beer, medicine, house aud
fence, bed, cloth, cooking-pot, table-cloth, parcel-
wrapper, thread, cord, rope, sponge, bath, shield, sun-
hat, even a canoe — in fact almost everything but meat
and iron* With the banana-plant, he is happy, fat, and
thriving ; without it, he is a famished, discontented,
woe-begone wretch, hourly expecting death.
NGOGO FISH.
10 inches long, 3 inches deep; scaleless; horn at each shoulder; two long
thick filaments on upper lip, four on lower. Foimd in Speke Gulf,
Lake Victoria.
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TEE LADIES OF MTESA'S FAMILY. 415
CHAPTER XVL
TO MUTA mZlGt AND BACK TO UGANDA.
The ladies of Mtesa's lunily — Sambuzi ordered to take me to Mnta
Nzig6 — My last evening with Mtesa — En route for Muta Nzig6 —
Sambuzi suffers from " the big head " — We come to an understanding
— The white people of Gambaragara — War musid — Through a
deserted country — Sinister auguries — A cowards' council of war —
Panic in the camp — Sambuzi announces his intention of deserting
me — The flight when none pursued — The "Spoiler "eaten up —
Mtesa tries to persuade me to return — At Kafurro.
On the 29th October Mtesa and his grand anny arrived 1375.
at the old capital of Ulagalla, There was but little ^'^'^''^^•
demonstration made to welcome the monarch from **^* **
the war, except what was made by the females of the
imperial household, who were mustered in strong force
under the leadership of Nana Mazuri, the Emperor's
mother, a venerable old lady of decidedly masculine
mind, and of a revengeful and fierce disposition.
The Emperor honours his mother greatly, and
bestowed hearty embraces on her and on the ancient
relicts of Suna his father, who were also brought to
meet him and to do him honour, and to receive the
son of heroic Suna as became their respect for him
and their awe of his rank and power. Lu-lu-luing and
welcomes and fond smiles were the order of the day ;
a great drinking of maramba wine and potent beer
followed ; and musketry salutes, killing of beeves and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
416 TEROUQH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. goatSy and interchanging of presents, closed the day
^uu^^iT* ^^*^® ^*"™ ^ *^® capital.
^ After allowing a few days to transpire for rest, I
began to recall to the Emperor's mind the original
purpose of my visit to him, and of his promise to con-
form to my request He consented to my departure,
and kindly permitted me to make my own choice out
of his chiefs for the leader of the force which was to
give its aid to our Expedition for the exploration of the
country between Muta Nzig^ and Lake Victoria. I
selected Sambuzi, a young man of thirty years of age
or thereabouts, whose gallantry and personal courage
had several times been conspicuously displayed during
the war with the Wavuma, and whose rank and station
guaranteed a force strong enough to withstand, if well
managed, a greater power than the king of Unyoro^
then at war with Gordon Pasha — could conveniently
despatch to oppose us.
Mtesa, admitting that Sambuzi was a wise choice,
stated with the usual exaggeration of an African or
an Oriental that he should have 5000 warriors, and
all the chiefs at the levee concurred with him. On my
request to him that he would repeat, clearly and within
hearing of all, his commands to Sambuzi, Mtesa called
the chief to him, who, while prostrate on the ground,
received the following command in a loud and clear
voice : —
" Sambuzi, my guest Stamlee is going to Muta Nzige'.
He has asked that you should lead the Waganda
to the lake, and I have consented. Now listen to
ray words. Nearly all the white men who have
accepted my people as escort complain that the
Waganda gave great trouble to them. Let me not
hear this of you. I shall send messengers to Kabba
Rega to inform him of your object, and command
him to abstain from molesting you. Now go, muster
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UY LAST EVENING WITH MTE8A. 417
all your men, and I shall send four sub-chiefs with ists.
1000 men each under Watongoleh to assist you. Do ^•^*™^-
whatever Stamlee advises or suggests should be done, ^
and by no means return to Uganda until you have
absolutely performed my commands. If you do return
without Stamlee*s letter authorizing you to abandon
the project, you will dare my anger. I have said.**
** Thanks, thanks, thanks, oh, thanks, my lord!*'
Sambuzi replied, rubbing his face in the dust. Then
standing up, he seized his spears, and, levelling them,
cried out : " I go at the Emperor's command to take
Stamlee to the Muta Nzig^. I shall take Stamlee
through the heart of Unyoro to the lake. We shall
build a strong boma, and stay there until Stamlee has
finished his work. Who shall withstand me ? My
drum shall be sounded for the muster to-day, and I
shall gather all the young men of the Katonga valley
under my flag! When Sambuzi's flag is seen, the
Wanyoro will fly and leave my road white and free,
for it is Kahaka who sends him, and Sambuzi comes
in the name of Kabakal Thanks, thanks, oh, many
thanks, my lord, my own dear lord ! **
The eve of my departure was spent in conversation
with the Emperor, who seemed really sorry that the
time had arrived for a positive and final leave-taking.
The chief subject of conversation was the Christian
church, which had just begun to be erected, where the
rites of the Church were to be performed by Dalling-
ton after the style and manner shown to him by the
Universities Mission at Zanzibar, until one more worthy
to tike his place should arrive.
We went together over the grounds of the Christian
faith, and Mtesa repeated to me at my request as much
as he knew of the advantages to be gained by the
adoption of the Christian religion, and of its supe-
riority to that of Islam, in which he had first been
VOL. I. — 27
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418 TEBOUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. taught. By his remarks he proved that he had a very
^a'^^b^ retentive memory, and was tolerably well posted in his
articles of belief. At night I left him with an earnest
adjuration to hold fast to the new faith, and to have
recourse to prayer to God to give him strength to
withstand all temptations that should tend to violate
the commandments written in the Bible.
Early next morning my convert sent me many
presents as tokens of his esteem, such as four shields,
sixteen spears, twelve knives, ten billhooks, six walk-
ing-sticks, twelve finely prepared skins and furs of wild
animals, 20 lbs. of myrrh, four white monkey-skins,
ten beeves, sixteen goats, bananas and beer and wine,
and an escort of one hundred warriors to proceed by
the lake to Dumo.
For our mutual friend Lukongeh, king of Ukerewe,
he sent at my request five long tusks of ivory, one
comely virgin of fifteen as a wife suitable for a king,
being of the beautiful race of Gambaragara, also
20 lbs. of fine iron wire, six white monkey-skins, and
one large new canoe, capable of carrying fifty men.
For my friend the king of Komeh Island and the
lake shore of Uzinja he sent the same, and distributed
beeves among the ambassadors from the king, whom I
had brought to receive these presents.
From myself I sent to my kind friend Lukongeh one
bale of assorted cloth, two coils of brass wire, 60 lbs.
of fine beads, and two suits of blue and red flannel,
besides a plush velvet rug.
Happy that I had so prospered despite the vexatious
delay which was unavoidable, and that I had been
able to do even more than I had promised to the kings
of Ukerewe and Komeh, I set out from Ntewi with
twenty large canoes full of Waganda warriors, five
canoes for my own special escort, two to escort the
embassy of Ukerewe home, two to escort the embassy
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JI:i:^!>v +h..T 1 :j: l^ 1 p: uNp-Mc! t\'-jMie il *; V'-y;./ -^ .<.
i] '"v AvI k-L '\:H M i\ • !.u '^, a:.d ih;^t 1 i;:,.l ] .-
a Mt 10 <]') '-v'O': rnoif tiuMi I ii..d ^"/oi*i*-ed •> Tcp k'.-. ■
i'{ Uk'./itrve and K<tni< u, I M-t v>i t Ti mi X vi w . ..
*\v'j!.tv larve canons fi.d cf \^'araiid i wiiri':.^, li\f*
caTioc' f<.r p^v own ^p,-c;<d e.-c<>n, n.o to i'-'(».t ;^■•'
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— <» 50 30 -» a»
rlHii
Digitized by LjOOQ IC
420 THBOUOE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. of Komeh home, and eleven to open trade by tbe lake
^N**^ route, with Unyanyembe via Kagehyi — also a suggestion
of mine.
On the same day that I set out from Ntewi, Sambuzi
led a thousand men from Ulagalla overland to our
rendezvous on the Katonga river, where he was to
be joined by the Expedition from Dumo, and the four
sub-chiefs Sekajugu, Mkoma, Kurji, and Ngezi.
Our party proceeding by the lake were hospitably
entertained at Nakavija by the grand admiral of Mtesa,
Gabunga, and by Jumba, vice-admiral at Unjaku, with
beeves, milk, wine, beer, bananas, tomatoes, and sweet
potatoes.
At Ujaju our india-rubber pontoon was condemned,
and a new and light canoe was substituted for it, and
named the Livingstone^ to take to Muta Nzige to assist
the Lady Alice in the exploration of that lake.
After four days* coasting we arrived at Dumo, and
greeted the Expedition after an absence of three months
and five days. Frank Pocock had enjoyed splendid
health, and the soldiers showed by their robust forms
that they had lived on the best in Uddu, and that the
Emperor's commands respecting them had not been
neglected. All this time they had been sustained free
of cost to me, and I could not find it in my heart
to return the Waganda escort back to the Emperor
without some token of my gratitude, and accordingly
I made up a present of four bales of cloth, and 140 lbs.
of choice beads, besides various other presents.
A few days sufficed to reform the Expedition, repack
all loads, and to prepare the boat, which had now seen
nearly nine months of rough service on Lake Victoria,
for transport overland to Muta Nzige.
The Livingstone canoe was also taken to pieces, and
made into portable loads for the journey. This canoe
was 23 feet long, 34 inches wide, and 2 feet deep, and
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EN ROUTE FOB THE MUTA NZIGA 421
was formed of four long planks and one keel-piece sewn i875,
together with cane fibre, which, with the thwarts and ^•™*^'
bow-piece, formed light portable loads for seven men.
On the seventh day after ray return to Dumo we
began the march towards the general rendezvous of the
exploring army on the Katonga river. We journeyed
through Uddu in a north-north-westerly direction, until,
striking the Kyogia river, we followed the course of
that tributary of the Katonga river as far as Kikoma,
when we crossed the stream and entered the country of
Bwera, which lies parallel to Uddu, and extends from
Koki westward of Uddu as far as the Katonga river.
At Kikoma we were compelled to come to a halt
until Sambuzi was informed of our .arrival, and guides
could be obtained from him to lead us to the rendezvous.
Meanwhile I took advantage of the halt to hunt
game and to obtain meat-provision for the expedition.
During the five days of our halt here I was so for-
tunate as to shoot fifty-seven hartebeest, two zebra,
and one water-buck. The abundance of game in this
wild debatable district, and the impunity they enjoy
from man — in consequence of the numerous lions and
leopards, and also the neighbourhood of raiders from
the hostile country of Ankori — was the principal cause of
my great success. The first day I set out I bagged five
fine animals within a few minutes, which astonished not
only the Waganda bodyguards of Mtesa, but also myself.
We heard of lions as being abundant in the neigh-
bourhood of Kikoma, but though I roved far into the
wilderness west of Kikoma, I never saw the slightest
trace of either lions or leopards.
The arrival of guides from " General'* Sambuzi broke
up our halt, and caused us to resume our march, and
the second day brought us to the Katonga river, or
rather lagoon, for I could detect no running water.
The bed of the Katonga is about half a mile wide,
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Rawewa.
422 THBOUGE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. cboked with spear-grass and papyrus, with stagnant
^I'^^'T^r' ^^*®r 3, 4, and even 7 feet deep in some places.
The crossing of the Katonga consumed an entire
day, and was effected by means of the Lady Alice^
which had to be forced through the dense reeds. At
Ruwewa, on the north bank of the Katonga, Sambuzi's
delay caused us another halt of five days, which was a
sore tax on my patience, and but little in accordance
with either my hopes or Mtesa*s instructions. However,
we were so far entered into the enterprise, and were now
so remote from any other possible means of advance,
that we had to console ourselves with the reflection
that " what cannot be mended must be borne,*' though
mentally I cruelly condemned our dilatory general.
The landscape between Dumo and the Katonga river
presents smooth, rounded, hilly ridges separated by
broad, grassy valleys dotted with ant-hills and scantily
clothed with brushwood. It is a fine pastoral country,
eminently suited for grazing, but in the absence of a
sufficient population it is a famous haunt for noble
game, so unsuspicious as to be easily accessible to a
tolerable shot. In the uninhabited portions of the
country few trees are seen, save the rugged euphorbia.
The eye here commands many views of extensive
prospects of rolling country, of grassy hills and grassy
valleys, following one another in regular series. »
As we all enjoyed unusual good health during our
journey through this country, one could not help
fancying that it was to the far-receding prospects open-
ing on every side that we owed much of our health-
fulness. It was certain that the blood flowed quicker,
that the eye kindled with brighter light, and that we
breathed more freely when we stood on one of those
high, commanding grassy ridges and somewhat fondly
compared the land to others we had seen elsewhere,
where fever and ague were not so prevalent.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
8AMBUZI SUFFERS FROM " TEE BIG EEADP 423
To describe Uddu and Bwera in detail would be a 187&.
tedious task, for there is much sameness of outline in ^**j^^'-
hill and valley, swell and hollow, ridge and basin, but gurwe.
viewed as a whole from the summit of any eminence,
there is something really noble and grand in the
survey.
I observed that the parts inhabited by the Waganda
are, as a rule, the ridges and tabular summits of the
hills, and that the hollows and basins are left for
grazing purposes to the roving Wahuma shepherds.
On the sixth day after our arrival at Ruwewa, in
the district of Kahwangau, we marched to Laugurwe,
where we met — as couriers had pre-informed us —
General Sambuzi with a thousand men. We camped
half a mile off from the general, occupying an entire
village, from the plantations of which we were at
liberty to help ourselves to our hearts' content. Sam-
buzi's force occupied the villages north of us.
In the afternoon I called to pay my respects to the
general, for common sense informed me that the best
way of attaining the objects in view was to pay the
utmost possible attention to the failings of this African
general, and to observe all ceremony and politeness
towards him.
During the war with Uvuma, while I was a constant
and honoured attendant at the morning levee of the
Emperor, Sambuzi had occupied with his force the
ground in rear of our detachment, and this chief had
then courted my friendship most assiduously. This, in
fact, was one of the reasons why I had made choice of
him, and preferred his name to Mtesa. But when I
now saw him, I found his behaviour to be an over-
acted imitation of the Emperor, without the monarch's
courtliness and kindliness of manner.
As I entered the court, which had been constructed
with a view to enhance his dignity, if space can be said
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
424 TEROUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. to increase dignity, I observed that the general stood np
^"lIT.***'^ from amongst his subordinates and stiffly maintained
lurwc that position nntil I grasped him by the hand, when he
managed to ntter a faint greeting in response to mine.
I was not altogether unprepared for this result of his
promotion; still it chilled me, angered me a little, I
must confess, and induced me to ask him if anything
was wrong. " No,** he said, " nothing was wrong.**
" Then why are you so stiff with your friend ?** I
asked. " Do you not like the idea of going to Muta
Nzig^ ? If you regret your appointment, I can apply
for another man.**
** My liking or not liking the journey will not alter
the command of Kabaka^^ he replied. ** I have received
my commands to take you to Muta Nzig^, and I will
take you there. I am not a child, I am a. man, and
my name is known pretty well in Unyoro, for the
Wanyoro and Wasongora have felt the sharpness of
my spear, and it is not likely that they can turn me
back before I bring you to the lake. I stand in the
place of Kabaka now, for I represent him here, and
the army is under my command. Sambuzi, your friend
at Uvuma, is changed now to Sambuzi the general.
You understand me ? **
" Perfectly,** I answered. " I have a few words to
say in reply, and you will then understand me as well
as I understand you. I wish to go to Muta Nzige lake.
So long as you take me there and do exactly as the
Emperor has commanded you, you shall have as much
honour and respect from me as though you were the
Emperor himself, and besides that you shall have 80
rich a reward that the Katekiro of Uganda himself will
envy you. With your mode of marching and camping
I have nothing to do so long as we are in Uganda, but
when we enter Unyoro, I would advise you as a friend,
since we are about to enter the country against the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
KoTembeK
Kttonga.
8AMBUZI AND I UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER. 425
will of the people, that you keep the army together, 1875.
that one camp he made and good positions occupied, ^^ *
and that when any trouble threatens us, you do not act
without the advice of others, able and willing to give
advice. That is all.**
" It is well," he said, " we understand one another
now. We will march by slow degrees as far as the
frontier, that the other chiefs may have time to come
up, and you shall then judge for yourself whether the
Waganda know how to march,**
Considered as we would consider of things European,
Sambuzi could not be blamed for assuming dignity,
and I therefore excused what otherwise might be called
gross behaviour on his part. Sambuzi's force would
be quite twenty times stronger in numbers than mine,
and he was my only means of pushing through tJnyoro.
Prudence counselled me therefore not to let false pride
be an obstacle to the accomplishment and success of
the enterprise, and I determined to listen to its counsel.
Our journey to Kawanga, on the frontier of Uganda,
was along the north bank of the Katonga, through
an open rolling country, cut up frequently by water-
courses which feed the Katonga. These watercourses,
though called rivers, show no running stream, but only
river-like marshes or broad "rush drains," choked
with spear-grass and papyrus of the same nature as the
Katonga. North or south of the Katonga, at the dis-
tance of ten miles or so, the land rises rapidly, and here
numerous streams of clear, sweet water take their
origin, but in their descent to the Katonga valley they
become united and absorbed by great breadths of river-
like marshes, the oozy contents of which are drained
by the broad lagoon-like Katonga.* It maintains this
• At the confluence of the Wakassi with the Katonga, boiling-point
showed an altitude of 4111 feet above the sea, only 18 feet higher than
Bipon Falls 1
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
426 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1875. character until near the base of a low bill which
^^^^1^' separates the feeders of Muta Nzige from those of Lake
Victoria. The crest of this hill is not more than 250
feet above the bed of the Katonga, and it is not moi-e
than two miles from its eastern to its western base, yet
along the eastern base curves the bed of the Katonga
from the north-west, and along the western rushes the
Rusango from the foot of Mount Lawson southward
towards the Muta Nzige.
Except in the vicinity of the Katonga there is
scarcely one square mile of level ground to be seen.
Our eyes dwelt everywhere on grassy hollows, slopes,
and ridges, and the prospect each day was bounded by
lines of blue hills, which, as we progressed westward,
assumed mountainous altitudes.
At Kawanga, when Sambuzi's force had been all
collected, our army consisted of fighting-men as
follows : —
The Daily Telegraph and Nem York Herald expedition .. 180
Sambusd, general 1000
Mkoma, colonel 250
Ngezi, colonel 250
Sekajugu, colonel 450
Mrowla, captain 100
Korji, captain 40
2270
MtcHa's bodyguards nnder Sabadu (sergeant) .... 20
Total 2290
Following this little army there were about 500
women and children, giving a grand total of nearly
2800 souls,
With Colonel Sekajugu were four men of Gamba-
ragara, who were of a remarkably light complexion, ap-
proaching to that of dark-faced Europeans, who differed
altogether in habits and manners from the Waganda.
They possessed their own milch-cows, and their diet
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
<" • J '
tl >o T'^ro].''^, bvsi': '*/}:r coil;! l(->\(.:., ■ . ^ :' ,.'
n^I'i ■'^iit'.;i\-( ^, of tin--.- oie nt t; - * • ' .• ,
eMsiiiie L ."lilt' ly it')Out t'. ^ ii^-iC . '
t'.(*ir owii -j.s o?:(l tl f^<0 )f < ' St l->j'.-'' . v " . v
lio l'C>1 in. TiL-:l (<r iL.' V^n' ■ ;
ir-^ i'.ulv«\s " (iiinil.'nip^a^a - '^''''y -*i ,.''^ :
i-race^ a-l tlr^, iir -ate diotri:'!-) ii. ■ ,- t, ! ...
{ "^ tlie loTtV M^aiit i'^rdon-I]*:! ']•_• \
of V. liich snrAv i-^ . -i p<.'^.i. ^Vc
v.e trnve^llc.l throng, '"■'-y^ro, of tl i
wliic^i lay :ioit!)-\V'M ' from A\'. -
Ui-yr-rj; but tl»e dii<a ' :^ »'- o ;
do^f'i'i^e it exact V. It 1 to ;
and IJuriLd cone ai oiit li. r ir>,«'"'^--
A^'C'')r liiiiT to So'cajiij'-ii, . :tai ■
a !^eric^ of tcira.^os li'oin a '
fal^r^ ] Ivi'C.;': clovn ^*'s sie^ • ! '
v.-:i::ily ^Tf*-'pi ] ia llic a- •
The k:T.c:, Xy-il^a. v-tli ]/> •
f; Miilios, li\e (l\.'iTi;r v ',.}-*•
ti;'. nunintain, \\\r1i aj>; ' ■
tl /i^ l;^'o an ext". ct cia •
as a lM'!i(r,v s; rro'jnd 1 ' .
ciiilain.^ a ^trrdl loim'""' i
rises a l(»f:y c)!unniar n
pnow f-C'iaoTitly falls, 'i
are tL'oicly jXT'idat^M!, ]••]* •
tl t* ccairri-- • ^* .(^ ^!:dl (-f
d "idrd b} t' e AVa<j-iM ■'U
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
.t
- t
Kit
^35
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE WHITE PEOPLE OF GAMBABAGABA. 427
appeared to consist entirely of milk. The features of 1875.
these people, besides their complexion, were so regular ^^•<'^**«'-
and remarkable that my curiosity was aroused to the ^'*"*^
highest pitch concerning them. I bad seen stray
representatives of these people at the court of Mtesa,
but I had not the opportunity then that I had now to
enquire definitely about them. I here set down, as T
was told, what I gathered respecting them, both from
their own lips and those of Colonel Sekajugu, who was
the best informed of the Waganda.
These light-complexioned, regular-featured people
are natives of Gambaragara — a country situated
between Usongora and Unyoro. Gambaragara em-
braces all the immediate districts neighbouring the base
of the lofty Mount Gordon-Bennett, upon the summit
of which snow is often seen. We caught a view, as
we travelled through Unyoro, of this lofty mountain,
which lay north-westerly from Western Benga, in
Unyoro; but the distance was too great for me to
describe it exactly. It appeared to be an enormous
and blunted cone about 14,000 or 15,000 feet high.
According to Sekajugu, the mountain springs up in
a series of terraces from a level plain ; numerous water-
falls plunge down its steep slope?, and two days are
usually occupied in the asgent to the highest summit.
The king, Ny-ika, with his principal chiefs and their
families, live during war-time on the highest part of
the mountain, which appears to be, from report, some-
thing like an extinct crater. They described it to me
as a hollow surrounded by high walls of rock, which
contains a small round lake, from the centre of which
rises a lofty columnar rock. It is very cold there, and
snow frequently falls. The slopes, base, and summit
are thickly populated, but though powerful in numbers,
the courage and skill of the people in war are much
derided by the Waganda, who speak of them as pre-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
428 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. fcrring to take refuge in caves, and on the summits of
Dt«mb«r. j^ijuQgt inaccessible rocks, to venturing into the open
for a fair fight.
Though probably inferior in courage to the Wa-
gan3a, they must have distinguished themselves in war
at one time, otherwise I cannot account for the brave
and warlike people of Usongora being the subjects of
Ny-ika, king of (Jambaragara.
This king possesses several villages in different parts
of the mountain, and appears to move from one to
another, as his numerous herds of cattle become stinted
in their pasture. Milk being the principal diet of these
people, it may be supposed that cattle are abundant in
Gambaragara and Usongora. The Katekiro of Uganda
in his great raid on this region is said to have collected
"50,000** head of cattle. General Sambuzi accom-
panied him during that famous time, and has often
amused my leisure hours with lively descriptions of his
adventures.
The people are a peculiarly formed race. At one
time they are said to have been all white, and to have
emigrated from Northern Unyoro, but at the present
time the black and light-complexioned are about equal
in numbers. The blacks are the result of successive
wars during ancient times and intermarriages between
the captors and captives, the result being a singularly
long-limbed and slender-bodied people. The royal
family and the chiefs' families continue to preserve their
exclusiveness, and hence it is that the original colour
of the founders of the state has been preserved. The
women are said to be singularly beautiful ; I have seen
several of them, and though I would not call them
beautiful, as we understand the term in Europe and
America, they are superior to any women I have seen
in Africa, and have nothing in common with negroes
except the hair. They are said also to be entrusted
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
WAB MU8IG. 429
with the keeping of the charms of Kabba Rega, and to i876.
be endowed by hereditary riffht with the privilege of ''f'^"*^ ^•
priests of the Muzimu of Unyoro.
To my disappointment I heard of nothing that would
lead me to suppose they were superior to their less
favoured neighbours in manners or customs or their
ways and means of life.
On New Year's Day, 1876, the exploring army,
nearly 2800 strong, filed out from under the plantain
shades of Kawanga, each detachment under the flag of
its respective leader, and each known by the particular
style of music adopted by the great chief to whom it
owed martial service. Thus Sambuzi's own force could
be distinguished at a great distance by a peculiar strain,
which, as the Waganda explained, announced, '*Mta-U8a,
Mta-usa is coming!" or, "The Spoiler, the Spoiler is
coming ! *' Lukoma's bands of music in the same way
rang out, " Mkoma, Lukoma is near ! " " Look out
for Lukoma ! " Sekajugu's name, on the other hand,
appeared after the style of ding-dong-bell, or drawn
out into " Se-ka-ju-gu, Sekajugu 1 **
On emerging from under the shelter of our plan-
tain-embowered camp, we were drawn up in a long
line along the narrow road. Sekajugu was appointed
to take the advance, Lukoma the rear, Sambuzi and
the Anglo-American Expedition the centre, while the
smaller detachments, under Colonels Ngezi, Mrowla,
and Kurji, took positions on the right and left, to keep
the main column undisturbed by ambuscades. There
was no time lost in these arrangements, and at sunrise
the great drum of Sambuzi gave the signal for the
march. At noon we occupied a deserted camp, known
as the Salt Bunder, on the Nabutari river, which
separated Unyoro from Uganda. The heights on the
opposite side were observed to be manned by many
Wanyoro.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
430 THROUan THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. With the eastern bank of the Nabutari, or Nabwari,
jMomry 2. j^y^j. terminated the soft pastoral scenes among which
°^*^' our route had lain ever since leaving Dumo, on Lake
Victoria, for from the western bank began a more
rugged country, which, as we proceeded westward,
daily assumed a more mountainous character. The
country resolved itself into mountain masses of great
altitude — bare and serrated hilly ridges, isolated
craggy hills, separated by a rolling country, whose
surface often presented great sheets of ironstone rock,
mixed with fragments of granite. Each day's march
presented two or three mountains of unusual height,
which, dwarfing all others, became of great service
to us in taking bearings and laying down a correct
route.
On the 2nd January we crossed the Nabutari, or
Nabwari, river, and entered hostile Unyoro, and, undis-
turbed, made a march of ten miles, occupying at the end
of it several villages in Southern Ruoko, Unyoro. Had
we not been informed of the change, we should have
recognized at once the fact that we had entered into a
new country, by the difference in the construction of
the huts, and in the vegetables which formed the
principal subsistence of the natives. While in Uganda
bananas formed our principal food — and very good,
wholesome, and digestible they proved — throughout
Unyoro our diet consisted of sweet potatoes and salt,
varied with such other vegetables as foraging could
obtain.
It was an amusing scene to see the haste with which
the several detachments rushed about to dig up their
rations. It appeared at first glance as if we had
brought the exploring army to recultivate Unyoro,
so thickly strewn and so busy were the diggers over
the village fields. The digging was continued until
sunset, and such quantities of potatoes came to camp
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
SINISTER AUGURIES. 431
that I fancied something like a desire to plunder the i876.
Wunyoro animated our people. ^^^^
In the meantime our advance was unchecked, and
our occupation of Southern Ruoko unmolested ; Sambuzi
and Sekajugu drew from this sinister auguries. " The
Wanyoro," said they, " must be mustering elsewhere to
oppose us ; for usually, when we make a raid on this
country, the natives hail us from the hill-tops, to learn
the motive of our coming ; but now the country is all
silent and deserted ; not one native can be seen." They
therefore determined to send out spies in all directions,
to ascertain the feeling of the natives respecting our
strange invasion of their country ; and in order to give
time to obtain correct information, a halt was ordered
for the next day.
On the 5th January the various musical bands and
war-drums announced another march. The Waganda
beirjg unencumbered with baggage, except such bed-
ding, mats, and superfluous robes as their women car-
ried, marched quickly, and tasked the heavily loaded
Expedition greatly; but my people did not fail me;
they had long ago been thoroughly drilled for such
occasions as the present, and they kept step and pace
with the lightly equipped Waganda. The men who
carried the boat-sections and canoe raced like horses,
and arrived soon after the advanced-guard at camp.
Traversing the district of South Ruoko, we plunged
into an uninhabited tract of mountain country, and,
after a march of eleven miles, camped at Kazinga, in
Eastern Benga.
The next day we crossed the Katonga, for our course
was now westerly, and occupied Western Benga, from
the summit of a tall hill in which we obtained a faint
view of an enormous blue mass afar off, which we were
told was the Great Mountain, in the country of Gara-
baragara. I named it Gordon-Bennett, in honour of
my American chief.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
432 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
i87«. Our foragers here obtained for the first time a sight
jMiiury 7. ^^^ hearing of some natives, who shouted out that we
"^ might proceed without fear, though they doubted our
ability to return, unless wo took wings like birds and
flew aloft. Some hiding-places of the natives were also
discovered by accident amongst the tall grass beyond
the fields. A little way from the village we found many
deep pits, with small circular mouths, which proved, on
examination, to lead by several passages from the mouth
of the pit to more roomy excavations, like so many
apartments. These underground dwellings are nume-
rous in Southern Unyoro.
After a march of sixteen miles through a wild
country, we camped, on the 8th January, on the east
bank of the Mpanga river. This stream takes its rise
near the base of Mount Gordon-Bennett, and, flowing a
few miles to the east of the lofty hump of Mount Edwin
Arnold, is met by the Rusango river, flowing north-
west from Mount Lawson, in the district of Kibanga, in
Ankori ; the two streams then, united, rush with im-
petuous force a little north of west, and, after several
falls, plunge into Beatrice Gulf. Mount Edwin Arnold,
of an altitude of some 9000 feet above the sea, stood
west of our camp, on the Mpanga, at the distance of
six miles.
We had now left Unyoro proper and entered Ankori,
or Usagara. An old dilapidated wooden enclosure
denoted that this extreme corner of Ankori was some-
times visited by Wasagara herdsmen for the sake of
pasture.
The average altitude of our several camps since
leaving the Victoria Lake did not exceed 4600 feet ; but
as we drew west, the nights were bitterly cold. On the
night of the 7th the thermometer fell to 53° Fahr., and
on the night of the 8th to 55° Fahr., this cold tempera-
ture being, no doubt, caused by night winds fromGt)rdon-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MOUNT EDWIN ARNOLD.
433
Bennett mountain. Fogs, rivalling the famed November
fogs in London, prevailed as a rule every morning,
rendering the earlier part of each day damp, disagree-
able, and cheerless. It was so thick that a man's form
could not be seen at the distance of fifty yards, and
horns and drums alone guided us on our march. During
the afternoons the atmosphere slightly cleared, and the
sun, struggling in the western skies from behind deep
1876.
January 8
Ankori.
^^
MODNT EDWIN ABNOLD.
banks of sullen clouds, endeavoured to announce to us
that the day was far spent.
On the 9th January 1876 the drums sounded for
the march two hours before sunrise, for we had a long
journey before us, and TJzimba, the country of chief
Ruigi, was to be entered on this day.
Until daylight we journeyed along, or not far from,
the Rusango, its many falls, rapids, and cascades telling
of the rapid rush and furious plunge of the river to-
wards Muta Nzig(\ Dawn found us in a singularly
wild and beautifully picturesque country, the Switzer-
land of Africa.
VOL. I.— 28
Digitized by LjOOQ IC
434 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. Peaks, cones, mountain humps, and dome-like hills
^uri*^^ shot up in every direction, while ice-cold streams rolled
between riven and dismantled rocks, or escaped be-
neath natural bridges of rock, with furious roar. These
gritty sandstone obstructions to the Rusango s waters
presented most distorted and eccentric forms, appear-
ing often like masses of scoriae. The traces of some
agency, which long ago had convulsed this region, were
visible in what appeared to be the wreck of mountains.
The strata were perpendicular, seams of white quartz
travelled along the lay of the strata in some places, and
in others it appeared to have been encased in round
moulds, which the impetuous waters, with their ceaseless
wear and tear, had worn through, sweeping away the
quartz, and leaving large hollows, cavities, and fissures
in the sandstone. A small tributary of the* Rusango
from the south ran over a bed of polished basalt, which
likewise contained large veins of quartz.
Soon after noon the main column arrived at the
centre of a dip in the Uzimba ridge, 5600 feet above
the sea, whence, far below us, we viewed the fields,
gardens, and villages of the populous country of King
Ruigi. But the sudde^ advance of the vanguard
amongst the surprised natives, with banners flying and
drums beating, had depopulated for the time the fair,
smiling country, and left a clear, open road for the main
body. Had the natives known of our approach, they
might have reaped a rich harvest of revenge amongst
the laggards in the rear, for the long march of nineteen
miles had irremediably dissolved the hitherto compact
Expedition into small knots of dispirited and tired
stragglers. One fellow, named Andrew, of the British
Mission at Zanzibar, had thrown his load down, and
plunged into the bushes to sleep his weariness ofi^, and
a rescue party of twenty men had to be sent back five
miles from camp to hunt up news of him, and they.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A COW ABBS' COUNCIL OF WAR. 435
fortunately, saved him, though menaced by a band of i876.
natives. Some sick Waganda fell victims in the even- ^^^^^J'
ing to the wrath of a roving party of the natives, who
had been disturbed in mind by our presence.
Our descent into the fields of Uzimba was so un-
expected that the inhabitants were utterly ignorant of
our character and country. As they ran away, they
asked the advance guard why the king of Ankori had
sent his people to their country, and warned them that
the next day they would come to fight. At night,
however, the great war-drum of General Sambuzi re-
vealed far and wide the character of the force, and
announced that the Waganda were amongst them.
A council of all the chiefs and leaders of our Expedi-
tion was held next day, at which it was resolved to
send out that night 200 men to capture a few prisoners,
through whom we could communicate our intentions to
Ruigi of Uzimba, and Kasheshe, king of Unyampaka,
which country bordered the lake west of Uzimba. As
the lake was only four miles distant, it became necessary
to know how we were regarded by the natives, and
whether we might expect peaceful possession of a camp
for a month or so.
Some ten prisoners were captured, and, after re-
ceiving gifts of cloth and beads, were released, to
convey the news to their respective chiefs that the
Waganda had brought a white man, who wished to see
the lake, and who asked permission to reside in peace
in the country a few days; that the white mah in-
tended to pay for all food consumed by the strangers ;
that he would occupy no village, and injure no property,
but would build his camp separate from the villages^
into which the natives, having food to sell, were re-
quested to bring it, and to receive payment in cloth,
beads, brass, or copper, assured that, so long as they
oflFered no cause, and kept the peace, they should receive
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Jam 11
Uximba.
436 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
i87fl. no annoyance. An answer, we said, was expected
within two days.
On the 11th January we left the villages of
Uzimba, and marched to within a mile of the edge of
the plateau,* at the base of which, about 1500 feet
below, lay the lake. True to our promise, we occupied
no village, but built our camp on the broad summit of
a low ridge, whence we commanded a clear, open view
of our neighbourhood. The Expedition occupied the
lake end of the ridge, while the Waganda occupied
the centre and eastern end. On the southern and
northern sides the hill sloped down to open grassy
hollows. No trees or other obstructions impeded our
command of the approaches. The Waganda camps
were surrounded by huts, the doors of which turned
outwards, whence night and day the inmates could
observe, without being observed.
The next day an answer was brought that the in-
habitants were not accustomed to strangers, and did not
like our coming into their country ; that Uzimba and
Unyampaka belonged to Unyoro ; that as the king of
Unyoro was fighting with white men, how could the
white man come behind him and expect peace ? that our
words were good, but our purposes, they were assured,
were none the less wicked ; and that we must, therefore,
expect war on the morrow.
This answer was brought by about 300 natives, who,
while they delivered their message, were observed to
have taken precautions not to be caught at a disadvan-
tage. Having announced their object, they withdrew
in the direction of Mount Uzimba.
This declaration of war unsettled the nerves of the
Waganda chiefs, principally the inferior chiefs and
the bodyguards of Mtesa, and a stormy meeting was the
* Our camp by boiling-point was at an altitude of 4724 feet above
the sea.
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. . •• • r'-,, i : ^! ,■!.;. . , ■•, , ^. , .,
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(v.y I" , -'^ : ' --V" ' .' I •• 'V- ; •! .; .^ +' ^^^
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ill' 'I'^iv-t
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;■ >^ (
t.
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Digitized by LjOOQ IC ^
438 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. result. Sabadu and Bugomba, the brother of the
^iT-^ Premier, used their utmost eloquence to persuade
Sambuzi to return ; while Sekajugu and Lukoma cun-
ningly held out strong reasons why they should return
immediately. At the same time they said they were
quite willing to stay by Sambuzi to the death.
The danger of a panic was imminent, when I begged
that Sambuzi would listen to a few words from me. I
explained to him that, though we were only a bullet's
flight from the Nyanza, we had not yet seen the lake, and
that Mtesa had ordered him to take me to the Nyanza ;
that, before we had even looked for a strong camp, we
were talking of returning ; that, if they were all resolved
to return, I required them to give me two days only, at
the end of which I would give them a letter to Mtesa,
which would absolve them from all blame ; that, in the
meantime, five hundred of the Waganda and fifty of my
people should be sent out to select a path to the lake
by which the boat, canoe, and loads could be let down
the plateau wall without injury, and to endeavoiu*
to discover, on their arrival at the lake, whether
canoes were procurable, to embark the expedition.
This advice pleased the chiefs; and, as no time was to
be lost, at 8 a.m. five hundred Waganda and fifty of
our Expedition were sent, under Lukoma and Manwa
Sera, my captain, to the lake, with instructions to pro-
ceed cautiously, and by no means to alarm the natives
of the lake shore. I also led a party of fifty men to
explore the plateau edge for a feasible and safe descent
to the lake. The lake lay below us like a vast mirror,
tranquil and blue, except along the shore, which was
marked with a thin line of sputtering surf. The op-
posite coast was the high ridge of Usongora, which
1 should judge to be about fifteen miles distant, though
the atmosphere was not very clear. Usongora bounds
Beatrice Gulf westward.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
PANIC IN THE CAMP. 439
At noon Lukoma and Manwa Sera returned from the i87«.
lake, and reported that it would be a difficult job to ^"j"^*
lower the boat down the precipice of 50 feet, which
marked the first descent to the lake, without long and
strong ropes ; that the natives in passing up from the
salt market, on the lake hoisted their salt-bags, well
wrapped in bull-hides, up the precipice ; that no man
could either descend or ascend with a load on his back, as
he required the use of both his hands for the climbing.
They also reported that they could only find five small
fishing canoes, which would be perfectly useless for the
transport of men or goods on the lake. Great stores of
salt had been seen, which had come from Usongora,
and abundance of Indian corn, millet, sweet potatoes,
bananas, and sugarcane had also been seen on the lake
shore.
This unwelcome news infused a fever in the minds
of the Waganda to be gone on the instant. Large
numbers of natives, posted on the summit of every hill
around us, added to the fear which took possession of
the minds of the Waganda, and rumours were spread
about by malicious men of an enormous force ad-
vancing from the south for the next day's fight. This
urged the Waganda to pack up large stores of sweet
potatoes for their return journey through the wilder-
ness of Ankori. The members of the Expedition
even caught the panic, and prepared in silence to
follow the Waganda, as common-sense informed them
that, if a force of over 2000 fighting men did not
consider itself strong enough to maintain its position,
our Expedition consisting of 180 men could by no
means do so. They were observed openly preparing
for flight, before any commnnds had been issued to
that effect, or even the alternative had been discussed.
Others wandered off to mix with gadding crowds of
Waganda, well disposed in mind to participate in their '
fears.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Uzimba.
440 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. The Wang wana captains of the Ex pedition, extremely
!t!wI! ^^pr^ssed in spirit, came to me in the afternoon, and
requested to know what I had determined upon. I in-
formed them that I hoped to be able to bribe Sambuzi
with one-fourth of the entire property of the Expedition
to stay by us two days, during which time I hoped to be
able to lower the boat and canoe down the cliffs, and
launch them on the Nyanza, by which I could free sixty
soldiers from encumbrances, to act as guard for the land
party. The boat and canoe would follow the coast line,
to act as auxiliaries to the land party, in case of attack, or
to transport them across rivers, until we should arrive in
the neighbourhood of some uninhabited island, to which
place of safety the Expedition might be conveyed, until
exploration should discover more peaceable lands or
other means of prosecuting our journey. The captains
approved this method of meeting the danger which
threatened us.
At 5 P.M. a messenger from Sambuzi called me to a
council, at wliich all of his chief men were present, to
discuss what advantages we possessed for offence and
defence, for meeting the danger, or for flight. Sabadu,
the captain of the detachment of Mtesa*8 bodyguard
with us, was called upon to speak, which he did with
all the cowardly malice of a Thersites. Every hint
that could damp a virtuous resolution to obey Mtesa's
commands was thrown out with all the effect that
his position as chief of the bodyguard and his sup-
posed influence with the Emperor lent his opinions,
and he confidently assumed the power to charm away
the anger of his dread master, and turn it upon the head
of Kabba Rega, the king of Unyoro. Bugomba, tbe
brother of the Premier of Uganda, though only a lad of
sixteen, having far more influence in this council, and
far more ability than would possibly be believed by
Europeans, seconded Sabadu in an assmned humble
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE WAQANDA DECIDE TO DESERT MK 441
voice, and what Sabadu had neglected to urge youthfdl i87«.
Bugomba, the Emperor*8 page, adroitly threw in, and ^^^l^
thus clenched the argument for absolute and immediate
flight
The council heard him with great approval, and many
were of the opinion that it would be best to fly at once,
without waiting for night or for morning. Lukoma
and Sekajugu, the colonels under Sambuzi, gravely
besought Sambuzi to think well of the numbers that
would certainly oppose us in the battle next day ; to
remember that we were far from assistance, if over-
come ; that all the advantages of war were on the side
of the enemy. The enemy would fight on his own soil,
and mindful that he was fighting for his own home.
If repulsed the first day, the enemy would come
again in greater numbers than ever, and each day, as
the bruit of war sliould spread and time gained, the
whole strength of Unyoro, a country as large as
Uganda', would be drawn to dislodge and massacre us.
However, Sambuzi was their general and chief, and if
he thought it best to stand by ** Stamlee," they would
stand by their chief to the death.
Sambuzi then asked me to speak. Wi-ath almost
choked my speech, for I felt bitterly angry that I should
be asked to speak when they were all so resolved to
act contrary to the object and purpose of the journey
that even fear of the Emperor was not sufficient to
induce them to stay, and that a chief like Sambuzi,
of snch experience and acknowledged bravery, should
stoop to listen to boys like Bugomba and such men as
Sabadu. However, I summoned up my patience, and
said : " I do norsee much use in my saying anything,
because I know you will act against all advice I can
give ; but, that you may not blame me for not giving
the advice, and pointing out the danger you run into
in returning, I will speak. You, Sambuzi, at Laugurwe,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
442 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENl.
1876. told me you were not a child, but a man. If you are a
tr^Z.' ™^^> ^^^ comes it that you allow a boy like Bugomba,
whose fears have run away with his wits, to speak in a
council of tried warriors such as I see here ? Do you
think that Bugomba can save your head when the
Emperor hears of your cowardly flight ? No ; that
boy's love, which he professes to have for you, will fly
when he sees the frown on Mtesa's face. Will the
Katekiro stand by you because you love his brother
Bugomba ? No ; the Premier will scourge Bugomba,
and be the first to slay you. If you are a man and a
chief, why is it that you listen to this slave Sabadu,
who no more dares approach the footstool of Mt^sa
than he would dare meet the Wanyoro to-morrow in
battle? Is Sabadu the cliief and general of the
Waganda, or is it Sarabuzi, the chief who fought so
well at Uvuma ? If your chiefs, Lukoma and Sekajugu,
advise you to run away, you do wrong to listen to them,
for it is not they whom Mtesa will punish, but you. I
therefore, as your friend, advise you to stay here two
days, while I fix the boat and canoe. At the end of
two days I will write a letter to Mtesa, which will
absolve you froui all blame ; and if you so far concede
to me two days, I will give one-fourth of my moneys —
nay, I will give one-half of all beads, wire, and cloth I
have to you, with which you may reward yourself and
your friends. Be not afraid of the Wanyoro ; to-night
we can build a palisade so strong that, were Kabba
Rega himself here, he could do nothing against us.
There is no great danger in staying a couple of days,
but in returning to Uganda without my letter you go
to certain death, I have spoken."
After a little pause, during which he interchanged
some remarks with his people, Sambuzi said : " Stamlee,
you are my friend, the Emperor's friend, and a son of
Uganda, and I want to do my duty towards you as
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE WAG AND A BEAR MY OPINION OF THEM. 443
well as I am able to; but you must hear the truth, isre.
We cannot do what you want us to do. We cannot *^""*^-
wait here two days, nor one day. We shall fight to-
morrow, that is certain ; and if you think I speak from
fear, you shall see me handle the spear. These people
know me from past times, and they are well aware
that my spear is sharp and fatal. We shall fight to-
morrow at sunrise, and we must cut our way through
tlie Wanyoro to Uganda. We cannot fight and con-
tinue in camp ; for, once the war is begun, it is war
which will last as long as we are alive — for these
people take no slaves as the Waganda do. Then the
only chance for our lives that I see is to pack up
to-night, and to-morrow morning at sunrise to march
and fight our way through them. Now tell me as your
friend what you will do. Will you stop here, or go
with us, and try another road ? For I must tell you,
if you do not know it and see it for yourself, that you
will never put your boat and the canoe on the Nyanza
at this place. How can you get your boat down the
cliffs while you are fighting, and thousands pressing
round you ? Even if you reach the water's edge, how
can you work on her two days, and fight ? "
To his questions I replied : — " I knew what your
decision would be from what the Waganda have done
on former occasions. When Mngassa was sent with
me to Usukuma by the lake, he ran away and left me
to fight Bumbireh alone. When the Wnganda were
sent with Abdul Assiz Bey (M. Linant de Bellefonds)
to Gondokoro, they followed him as far as Unj^oro, and
when they saw the Wanyoro coming, they deserted
him, and stole nearly all his boxes, and Abdul Assiz
Bey had to fight his way to Gondokoro alone. We
white men will soon learn that there is no man so
cowardly as a native of U,2^anda. For your advice I
thank you; to-night I will give you my answer."
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
444 THBOUOB THE DARK CONTINENT.
1870. As soon as I left the counci], Sambuzi caused the
^r'**^* great war-drum to be sounded for the morrow's march
and expected battle. It also announced to the anxious
members of tlie Expedition that the Waganda had
resolved to return. On arriving at camp, I saw looks
of dismay on each face. I called Pocock and the
captains of the Expedition, and proceeded to unfold our
position and Sambuzi's intention to return, described
to them what dangers environed us, and what hopes
were left, and then asked them to give their own
opinion of the matter freely.
After a long hesitation and silence the gallant and
ever faithful Kacheehe spoke, and said : — " Master, I do
not know what ray brothers here think of the matter,
but I see plainly that we have been brought to the
edge of a deep pit, and that the Waganda will push us
into it if we do not follow them. For my part, I have
nothing further to say, except that I will do exactly as
you command. Live or die, all is one to me. If you
say, let us go on, and leave the Waganda to return
without us, I say so also ; if you say, return, I also say,
return. That is my opinion. But I would like to ask
you, if we determine to go on by ourselves, have we
any chance at all of being able to start from this camp,
because I see we are surrounded by natives bent on
war ? If all these Waganda with our help are not able
to make our position good, how can such a small party
as we are hope to do so ? This is what is in my heart,
and what I believe is the cause of the panic in the
Expedition. And I will tell you one thing: when
Sambuzi beats the drum to-morrow to march, more
than half of this Expedition will follow him, and you
cannot prevent it."
" Well," I replied, " this is my decision. I was sent
to explore this lake. When I started from Usukuma,
I doubted if I could do it unaided by Waganda,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
OUR FLIGHT. 445
because there are no people on this lake friendly to i876.
strangers; it was for this reason I requested Mtesa *^*^^"y
to lend me so large a body of men. As no friendly
port could be found where you might rest while I
navigated the lake in my boat, I thought of taking
possession of a port for a month or two and holding it
The force I relied on now fails me, and the people are
hostile; it therefore only remains for me to return
with Sambuzi, and to try the lake by another road.
If no other road can be found, we must even be con-
tent with what we have done."
The Wjmgwana outside heard the decision with joy,
and shouted, " Please G-od, we shall find another road,
and the next time we go on work of this kind we will
do it without Waganda."
Sambuzi was made acquainted with our resolution,
and requested to send twenty men to assist our wearied
men to carry the goods back to Uganda. At dawn
we mustered our forces, and with more form and in
better order than we had entered Unyampaka, prepared
to quit our camp on the cliflFs of Muta Nzige. A
thousand spearmen with shields formed the advanced-
guard, and a thousand spearmen and thirty picked
Wangwana with shields composed the rear-guard.
The goods and Expedition occupied the centre. The
drums and fifes and musical bands announced the
signal for the march.
The natives, whom we expected would have attacked
us, contented themselves with following us at a respect-
ful distance until we were clear of Uzimba, when, per-
ceiving that our form of march was too compact for
attack, they permitted us to depart in peace.
Our return route was to the southward of that by
which we had entered the lake-land of Uzimba. It
penetrated Ankori, and our camp that day was made at
4 p.m. on the banks of the Rusango river.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
.Tan. 15.
t'nyorow
446 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. On the morning of the 15th, after crossing a low
ridge, two miles in width, we crossed the Katonga
coming from the north-west, and entered TJnyoro once
more. Our Expedition was the rear-guard this day,
and when within a few miles of Kazinga, in Benga, a
furious attack was made on our rear from an ambuscade,
which was in a short time repulsed without loss to us.
On the 27th we were encamped at Kisossi, in
Uganda, a little east of where Sambuzi had joined us
with his force. At this camp we parted ; Sambuzi, or
Mta-usa, the Spoiler, to his own land close by, I to what
fortune, or misfortune, had still reserved in store for
me and mine. The ^^ Spoiler" made his cognomen
good, for on the road from the lake he despoiled me of
180 lbs. of variously assorted beads, by failing to return
three loads of l^eads given him for carriage to Uganda,
thus adding another reason to my dissatisfaction with
him.
I halted at Kisossi three days to give the Expedition
a little of that rest they so well deserved. During this
time I despatched Kacheche and two others with a
letter to Mtesa, wherein I did not fail to report to him
of the failure of Sambuzi to perform what he had
promised me, of his theft of three bags of beads, and of
the strange conduct of Sabadu and Bugomba.
The effect of my letter on Mtesa and his court, Kache-
che informed me a few days later, when he overtook us
at Charugawa, was one of shame, surprise, and rage.
Kachechfe was called to the Burzah, and told to repeat
in a loud voice all that had happened between Sambuzi
and myself since we had met at Laugurwe, while
Mtesa and his chiefs listened intently, the recital broken
by violent exclamations and ominous ejaculations from
the Emperor.
When Kacheche had ended, Mtesa said, " Do you see
now how I am shamed by my people ? This is the third
Digitizi
ed by Google
^THE 8F0ILER'' EATEN UP. 447
time I have been made to break my word to white i876.
men. But, by the grave of Suna *' (a strong oath in ^°^!J*
Uganda), " my father, I will teach Sambuzi, and all of
you, that you cannot mock Kabaka ! Stamlee went to
this lake for my good as well as for his own, but you
see how I am tliwarted by a base slave like Sambuzi,
who undertakes to be more than I myself before my
guest. When was it I dared to be so uncivil to my
guest as this fellow has been to Stamlee? You,
Saruti," he said suddenly to the chief of his body-
guard, " take warriors, and eat up Sambuzi's country
clean, and bring him chained to me."
Saruti prostrated himself, and swore he would eat
the " Spoiler's " land clean, and become the " Spoiler "
himself, and that Sambuzi should be brought to him
chained like a slave. Yet let it be noted here that
Saruti and Sambuzi were as loving at the Nakaranga
Cape camp as two sworn brothers.
" And you, Katekiro," said Mtesa, turning his glow-
ing eyes on bim, "how is it that your brother Bugomba
— a mere little boy — plays the great man on duty?
Tell me whence he obtained this * big head ' of his ? "
" My lord" ('• Mkama ange"), " Bugomba is a child,
and deserves a rod for this conduct, and I myself will
see that he suffers for it."
** Very well, send for Bugomba, and that long-
tongued Sabadu, and bring them to me at once, and
I will see that they never use their tongues against a
guest of mine ngain."
"Now, Kacheche," said Mtesa, **what is Stamlee
going to do now ? Do you suppose that, if I give him
100,000 men, under Sekebobo and Mkwenda, that he
will be induced to try the lake Muta Nzige again ? '*
" He may, Kabaka, but I do not think he will believe
the Waganda again, for this is twice they have deceived
him. Magassa ran away, and Sambuzi ran away, and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
448 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1870. be, perhaps, will say Sekebobo will do the same. The
Februiry. ^aganda are very good before yon, Kabaka, but when
^*" away from you they forget your commands, and steal
people, cattle, and goats," said plain-spoken Kachech^.
Sekel)obo aud Mkwenda sprang to their feet before
the Emperor, and said loudly, ** Nay, let us go, Kabaka,
and we will cut through the heart of Kabba Bega of
Unyoro, or through Mtambuko, king of Ankori, to the
Muta Nzige, and all the nations round about shall not
drive us back ! "
" It is well," said the Emperor. " Now you, Dalling-
ton," said he to the English mission pupil left at his
courts ** write a letter to Standee. Tell him to come to
the Katouga once again, and Sekebobo and Mkwenda
with 60,000, even 100,000, shall take him to Muta
Nzige, and stay there until he has finished his work.
Tell him that if these fail him he shall execute his own
pleasure on every chief that returns to Uganda."
At Charugawa, near the Alexandra Nile, I received
Dallington's letter, asking me to return and attempt
the lake once more.* This letter plunged me into
• The following is the epistle verbatim :—
" My dear Sir, H. M. Stanley,
"What meant by his news that we see Sabadu coming without a
letter in time ? He came first. I asked him, ' Where is the letter that you
broufcht ? ' So he answered me, * The letter is my mouth ' ; but I believed
not in his words. Then went I to the Siiltan and told him these things.
Then the Sultan called Sabadu and asked him, 'Where is the letter?'
and he answered, ' There is no letter.' So he send him to Pokino — the
Katekiro ; but I who know in my heart that they been run away from
you. So now he send others people instead of them, and he go to punish
Sambuzi. It is far l)etter for you to waite for Waganda to take you to
Mutanzige, because they see that Sambuzi been punished, and all the
others will ol)ey the word of the king. I, Dallington, the servant of wite
men, I won't toll you lie, but I will tell you the truth. The SiUtan
(Mtesa) is not bad. This letter I write it in a' hurry, and send me two or
three papers to write the last to you.
" Seyyid Mtesa,
" Son of Siiltan Suna of Uganda,
" January 30th, 1876."
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEMPTED TO BETURN. 449
perplexity, but after long and calm deliberation I i876.
decided that it was not safe to trifle away time in this ^!!?^^**^
manner ; besides, such an undisciplined force would be gawa.
uncontrollable, and would no doubt entail misery on
the people. I was also too far from Muta Nzige now,
and to return for an uncertainty, such as the character
of the Waganda caused me to believe it to be, despite
the protestation and promises of the Emperor, was in
my opinion well deserving a fool's cap. I accordingly
wrote to this effect to Mtesa, and closed the letter
with thanks for his kindness, and a friendly farewell.
Kacheche, on returning from the capital with the
Emperor s letter, met the unfortunate Sambuzi loaded
with chains, and the blunt, plain-spoken soldier, far
from pitying him, could not refrain from taunting him
with, ** Ah, ha, Sambuzi, you are not so fine as you
were a while ago. You are going to Mtesa to play
Kabaka before him ; fare you well, Sambuzi."
Saruti, the " eater," obtained great spoil, for h5 was
now lord over 200 wives and 300 milch-cows, besides a
large, fat district in the Katonga valle}^ well populated
with lusty, industrious peasants and warriors, all of
whom were from henceforth subject to him.
The final farewell letter to Mtesa terminated our
intercourse with the powerful monarch of Uganda, and
concluded our sojourn in that land of bananas and free
entertainment. Henceforth the Expedition should be
governed by one will only, and guided by a single
man, who was resolved not to subject himself or his
time to any other man's caprice, power, or favour
any more.
As we neared the Alexandra Nile, at a place called
Ndongo, this virtuous resolution came near being put
to the test, for the unquiet immigrants settled here pro-
claimed that we should not pass through until we had
paid something to the chief to obtain his good-will.
VOL. I.— 29
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
450 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1876. But, after receiving a firm refusal, they permitted us
^I'^^^^T ^ cross the Alexandra Nile without molestation.
Niit. Reports and rumours of the breadth and powerful
current of the river called the " Kagera," the " Kitan-
gule,'* and the " Ingezi/* received from representatives
of Uganda, Kiziwa, and Karagwe, some of whom were
very intelligent natives, and professed a perfect know-
ledge of its course, had created in me a constant desire
to examine the river more carefully than I had pre-
viously done at its exit into Lake Victoria. At the
crossing between bank and bank it was about 450 yards
in width ; but about 350 yards of this breadth flowed
or oozed, with little current, amongst sedge, water-cane,
and papyrus. The remaining 100 yards was a powerful
and deep body of water, with a current of three knots
and a half an hour. The water had a dull iron colour,
yet extremely pure for a large river, and such as might
proceed from some lake at no great distance off.
The Waganda and Wanyambu of Rumanika's court
style this river the " Mother of the River at Jinja "
(Victoria Nile), but the former have very wild ideas
about its source. They say it issues from Muta Nzige
in Mpororo, and, flowing south, cuts Ruanda in halves,
and, rounding Kishakka, runs north, dividing Karagwe
from Ruanda.
Rumanika, king of Karagwe, is no less singular in
his theory of the source of the Alexandra Nile, for
he says it issues from Lake Tanganika, through
Urundi. However, these and sundry other reports only
roused my interest in the noble river, and created a
greater inclination to pursue the subject to its ultimate
end. For a very few soundings of it enabled me, after
my circumnavigation of Lake Victoria, and on examina-
tion of the several streams emptying into it, to judge
this to be the principal affluent and feeder of the lake.
A journey of fourteen miles southerly across the
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tioii of tiie K; ,*aal >tM;»ins (.•:u]tyir.;'* into it. lo j' ..
ills l^^ 1 r. tie ]^Tan:an.d. ''riak'Tit aia! 1- * 1.^^ oftli-* 1:-' a
A i<'urnt V of t^.tirt'-ra ^id - r^ud-rlv a<^«'S tl
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
p :< pk ei f^ s» >» r
>. K c5 c5 K^ a
: 3 1 < P g S
■ 5^ § 3-0
3
o
OB
§
5^
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
462 TEBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
i87«. valley of the Alexandra from its southern bank brought
'•^^ us to the base of the lofty ranges of Karagwe.
This country comprises all the mountainous ridges
between Usongora on the east and the Alexandra
Nile to the west. It appears as if at a distant epoch
these ridges had been connected with the uplands of
Koki and Ankori north, and Ruganda west, but that,
as Lake Victoria had channelled a way for its outlet
through the clays and shale of Usoga and Uganda, and its
altitude above the sea had subsided, the furious current
of the Kagera or Alexandra had chanuelled a deeper
course through the heart of what was formerly a lofty
plateau, and that its thousands of petty tributaries then
rushed do\vn into the deep depression formed by it.
On the 24th February we were camped at Naka-
hanga, a village situated twelve miles west of south of
Kiyanga, and the next day, after a march of thirteen
miles, we entered the Arab depot of Kafurro, in
Karagw^,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE MAGNATES OF KAFUBBO. 453
Feb. 25.
Eafturro.
CHAPTER XVII.
Eafnrro and its magnates — Lake Windermere — Bmmuuka, the gentle
king of Karagw6 — His conntry — The Ingezi — Among the mosqui-
toes — Ihema Island — The triple cone of Ufumbiro — Donble-horned
rhinoceros — The hot springs of Mtagata — The Geographical Society
of Karagw6 — The philosophy of noses — Rumanika's thesauron —
Some new facts about the rhinoceros and elephant -^ Uhimba —
Paganus, var. esuriens — Retrospect
Kafurro owes its importance to being a settlement of i876.
two or three rich Arab traders, Haraed Ibrahim, Sayid
bin Sayf, and Sayid the Muscati. It is situated within
a deep hollow or valley fully 1200 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
150 cattle, bullocks, and milch cows, forty goats, 100
slaves, and 450 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 has a number of concubines, and several
children. He is a fine, gentlemanly-looking Arab, of a
light complexion, generous and hospitable to friends,
liberal to his slaves, and kind to his women. He has
lived eighteen years in Africa, twelve of which have
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Feb. 26,
Kafarro.
454 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876.^ been spent in Karagw^. 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 Unyanyemb^ and Kafiirro.
Having lived so long in Karagwe, he is friendly with
Rumanika, who, like Mtesa, loves to attract strangers to
his court.
Hamed has endeavoured 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 eflFect their escape from the treachery and extra-
ordinary guile practised there. Ne^arly all perished by
poison.
He informed me that the Empress was a tall woman
of middle age, of an almost light Arab complexion, with
very large brilliant eyes. Her son, the prince, a boy
of about eighteen, had some years ago committed
suicide by drinking a poisonous potion, because his
mother had cast some sharp cutting reproaches upon
him, which had so wounded his sensitive spirit that,
he said, " nothing but death would relieve him."
Hamed is of the belief that these members of the
imperial family are descendants of some light-coloured
people to the north, possibly Arabs ; " for how," asked
he, "could the king of Kishakka possess an Arab
scimitar, which is a venerated heir-loom of the royal
family, and the sword of the founder of that king-
dom?"
" All these people," said he, " about here are as
different from the ordinary Washensi — pagans — ^as I
am different from them. I would as soon marry a
woman of Ruanda as I would a female of Muscat.
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. Mashallah !
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Feb. 28.
Kafurra
LAKE WINDERMERE. 455
they have taken Kishakka, Muvari, and have lately con- istg
quered 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 m 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."
Hnmed 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 Nyangw^.
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 Karagwe, and a tributary of
Mtesa, Emperor of Uganda.
Kafurro, according to aneroid, 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 600 feet below us was
a grassy terrace overlooking the small Windermere
Lake, 1000 feet below, its placid surface rivalling
in colour the azure of the cloudless heaven. Across
a narrow ridge we looked upon the broad and papyrus-
covered valley of the Alexandra, whilst many fair, blue
lakelets north and south, connected by the winding
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
456 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. 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 north-west, 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.
At the northern end of the Windermerp Lake, an
irregular range, which extends north to Ugoi,
terminates in the dome-like Mount Isossi. South of
where I stood, and about a mile distant, was the bold
mount of Kazwiro, and about thirty miles beyond it
I could see the irregular and confused masses of the
Kishakka mountains.
On the grassy terrace below us was situated Ru-
maiiika*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 those who might
be considered in their boyhood being perfectly nude.
'* Who are these ? " I inquired of Sheikh 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 drumhead. Their eyes were large,
and beaming and lustrous with life, yet softened by
an extreme gentleness of expression. The sculptor
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BUMANIKA, THE GENTLE KING. 457
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,
!b rom milk innoxious, seek their simple food"
We were soon ushered into the hut wherein Ru-
manika sat expectant, with one of the kindliest, most
paternal smiles it would be possible to conceive.
1876.
March.
Earagw^.
bumanika's tbeasure-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 Sheikh Hamed, seeming entirely out of place, jnrred
upon me.
It was no wonder that the peremptory and imperi-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
458 THROUOH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. 0U8, vivid-eyed Mtesa respected and loved this sweet-
March, tgjnpered 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.
What greater contrasts can be imagined than the
natures of the Emperor Mtesa and the King Rumanika?
In some of his volcanic passions Mtesa seemed to be
Fury personified, and if he were represented on the
stage in one of his furious moods, I fear that the
actor would rupture a blood-vessel, destroy his eyes,
and be ever afterwards afflicted with madness. The
Waganda always had recourse to action and gesture to
supplement their verbal descriptions of his raging
fits. His eyes, they said, were "balls of fire and
large as fists," while his words were "like gun-
powder."
Natur,e, 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 6 feet 6 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 some-
what 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 im-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Karagw^
TEE WONDERS OF KARAGWA 459
mediately sent for some particular person who was i876.
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.
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 — Karagwe or
Uganda?"
*' Karagwe 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 Karagw^
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 bo is Father
Rumanika," I replied smiling to him.
*' Do you hear him, Arabs ? Does he not speak well ?
Yes, Karagwe 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 Moron go (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). You shall see all my land ; and when
you have finished the river, I will give you more to
see — Mtagata's hot springs I "
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
4C0 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. By the 6th March, Frank had launched the boat from
^*"** ^' the landing at Kazinga village on the waters of the Win-
dermere Lake,* 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, a robe of crimson flannel was suspended from
his shoulders. His walking-stafiF was 7 feet in length,
and his stride was a yard long. Drummers and fiifers
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.
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 g-allant boat's crew to exert themselves
for the honour 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
Karagwe, with 1200 gentle-mannered natives gazing
on ! An African international alTair ! 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
800 yards, to Kankorogo Point. There was not much
difference in the speed, but it gave immense satisfaction.
• The native canoemen, standing up with their long
paddles, strained themselves with all their energy,
stimulated by the shouts of their countrymen, while
* This lake recciyed this name from Captain Speke, becanse Colonel
Grant, his companion, thought it resembled the Windermere Lake in
England.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE INGEZL 461
the Wangwana on the shore urged the boat's crew to i876.
their utmost power. *^*\
T 1 1 • • • /• 1 Winder-
The next day we began the circumnavigation of the mere Lake.
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 1200 to 1500
feet above it. There is one island called Kankorogo,
situated midway between Mount Isossi and the extreme
southern end. I sounded three times, and obtained
depths of 48, 44, and 45 feet respectively at difiFerent
points. The soil of the shores is highly ferruginous in
colour, and, except in the vicinity of the villages, pro-
duces only euphorbia, thorny gum, aeacia, and aloetic
plants.
On the 9th we pulled abreast of Kankorogo Island,
and, through a channel from 500 to 800 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 50 to 100 yards.
The average depth of all the ten soundings we made
on this day was 52 feet along the middle ; close to the
papyrus walls, which grew like a forest above us, was a
depth of 9 feet. Sometimes we caught a view of hip-
popotamus 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 Karagwe, 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
Kafnrro and Rumanika's capital.
Xhe Ingezi, as the natives called it, embraces the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Th« Ingexi.
462 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. whole space from the base of the raountaiDS of Muvari
Mmrch 9. ^^ ^j^^^j. ^£ ^^ Karagwe ridges with the river cjdled
Kagera, the Funzo or the papyrus, and the Rwerus or
lakes, of which there are seventeen, inclusive of Win-
dermere. 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 Ivvanda, north, to Uhimba,
south, is about 350 square miles. The Funzo or papyrus
covers a depth of from 9 feet to 14 feet of water. Each
of the several lakes has a depth of from 20 to 65 feet,
and they are all connected, as also is the river, under-
neath thepa pyrus.
When about three miles north of Kizinga, at 5 p.m.,
we drew our boat close to the papyrus, and pre-
pared for our night's rest, and the Wanyambu did the
same.
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 them-
selves that they were going to have a cozy night of it.
Their fires they kindled between three stalks, which
sustained their cooking-pots. It was not a very suc-
cessful method, as the stalks had to be replaced fre-
quently ; 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 com-
pelled 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 perti-
nacity characteristic of these hungry blood-suckers.^
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
lEEMA ISLAND. 463
The next day, about noon, we discovered a narrow, i876.
winding creek, which led us to a river-like lake, five ^*f*^ ^^'
miles in length, out of which, through another creek, Kiand.
we punted our boats and canoes to the grazing island of
Unyamubi.
From a ridge which was about 50 feet above the
Ingezi we found that we were about four miles from
Kishakka and a similar distance due east from a point
of land projecting from Muvari.
The next day we ascended the Kagera about ten
miles, and returning fourteen miles entered Ihema
Lake, a body of water about 50 square miles, and
camped on Ihema Island, about a mile from Muvari.
The natives of Ihema Island stated to me that Lake
Muta Nzige 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 also stated that the Mworongo — or,
as others called it, Nawarongo — river flows through
the heart of Ruanda from the Ufurabiro mountains,
and enters the Kagera in a south-wept by west direc-
tion from Ihema ; that the Akanyaru was quite a large
lake, a three days' journey round in canoes, and
separated Ruanda, Uhha, and Urundi from each other ;
that there was an island in the midst, where canoes
leaving Uhha were accustomed to rest at night, arriving
in Ruanda at noon.
They were a genial people those islanders of Ihema,
but they were subject to two painful diseases, leprosy
and elephantiasis. The island was of a shaly substruc-
ture, covered with a scant depth of alluvium. 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 colour.
We began from the extreme south end of the lake the
next day to coast along the Muvari or Ruanda coast.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Kasinga.
464 THBOUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. and near a small village attempted to land, but the
March 11. jjatjv^g gnarled like so many spiteful dogs, and drew
their bows, which compelled us— being guests of Ru-
manika — to sheer oflF and leave them in their ferocious
exclusiveness.
Arriving at the Kagera again, we descended it, and
at 7 P.M. were in our little camp of Kasinga, at the
south end of Windermere.
On the 11th we rowed into the Kagera, and de-
scended the river as far as Ugoi, and on the evening of
A NATIVE OP UHHA.
the 12th returned once more to our camp on Winder-
mere.
The next day, having instructed Frank to convey
the boat to Kafurro, I requested Rumanika to furnish
me with guides for the Mtagata hot springs, and,
faithful to his promise, thirty Wamyambu were de-
tailed for the service.
Our route lay north along the crest ot a lofty ridge
between Kafurro and Windermere. Wherever we
looked, we beheld grassy ridges, grassy slopes, grassy
mountain summits, and grassy valleys — an eminently
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE TRIPLE CONE OF UFUMBIRO. 465
pastoral country. In a few gorges or ravines the dark i876.
tops of trees were seen. ^^^^JJ^''
When Windermere Lake and Isossi, its northern
mount, were south of us, we descended into a winding
grassy valley, and in our march of ten miles from
Isossi to Kasya I counted thirty-two separate herds
of cattle, which in the aggregate prohably amounted to
900 head. We also saw seven rhinoceroses, three of
which were white, and four a black brown. The
guides wished me to shoot one, but I was scarce of
anmiunition, and as I could not get a certain shot, I
VIEW OP UFUMBIRO MOUNTAINS FROM MOUNT NEAR MTAGATA HOT SPRINGS.
was loath to wound unnecessarily, or throw away a
cartridge.
The next day, at 8 a.m., near the end of the valley, '
we came to Merure Lake, which is about two miles
long, and thence, crossing three different mountains,
arrived at Kiwandare mountain, and from its summit,
5600 feet above the sea, obtained a tolerably distinct
view of the triple cone of Ufumbiro, in a west-north-
west direction, Mag. I should estimate the distance
from Kiwandare to Ufumbiro to be about forty-five miles,
and about sixty miles from the mountain height above
VOL. I.— 30
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
466 TEROUQH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. Bumanika^s capital. Several lines of mountains, with
March 15. lateral valleys between, rose between the valley of the
Alexandra Nile and Ufumbiro.
From Kiwandar^ we descended gradually along its
crest to a lower terrace. About 5 p.m. one of our party
sighted a dark brown double-horned rhinoceros, and as
we had no meat, and the nature of the ground permitted
easy approach, I crept up to within fifty yards of it
unperceived and sent in a zinc bullet close to the ear,
which bowled it over dead.
The quantity of meat obtained from the animal was
more than would supply the eighteen men, Wangwana,
of ray party; therefore, acceding to their wish, we
camped on the spot, exposed to the chilly mountain
winds, which visited us during the night. The men,
however, continued to pick up abundance of fuel from
a wooded gorge close by, and, engaged in the interesting
and absorbing task of roasting meat before many
blazing fires, did not suffer greatly.
At 9 A.M. the next day we descended to the wooded
gorge of Mtagata, having travelled thirty-five miles
almost due north from Kafurro.
This gorge is formed by an angle where the ex-
treme northern end of Kiwandare mountain meets a
transverse ridge. It is filled with tall trees which
have been nourished to a gigantic size and density of
foliage by the warm vapours from the springs and the
heated earth. A thick under-growth of plants, llianes,
and creepers of all sizes has sprung up under the
shade of the aspiring trees, and the gloom thus caused
within the gorge is very striking. I imagine a person
would find it a most eerie place at night alone. Q-reat
baboons and long-tailed monkeys roared and chattered
in the branches, causing the branches to sway and
rustle as they chased one another from tree to tree.
At the time of our visit the springs were frequented
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE EOT 8PBINQ8 OF MTAGATA. 467
by invalids from Iwanda, Ngoi, Kiziwa, Usongora, and isrs.
Usui, for, as may be believed, they have obtained a ^*"^^ ^'•
great repute throughout the districts of Karagwe and **^'*'
neighbouring countries.
The springs are six in number, and at their extreme
source they had, when I tested them, a temperature of
129|^ Fahr. The bathing-pools, which are about 12 feet
in diameter, and from 2 to 5 feet deep, showed a tem-
perature of 110° Fahr., except one on the extreme
north, which was only 107° Fahr.
I bottled eight ounces of water from one of these
springs, and on arriving in London sent it to Messrs.
Savory and Moore, the well-known chemists, 143 Bond
Street, who in a few days kindly returned me the
following analysis : —
" The fluid was clear, colourless, and odourless ; on standing at rest, a
small quantity of red granular matter was deposited.
" Examined chemically, it was found to have a faint alkaUne reaction,
and its specific gravity, corrected to 60° F., was 1004, water being con-
sidered 1000.
•'One hundred grammes evaporated left a white crystalline residue,
weighing • 87 of a gramme, and it was composed of sodium carbonate,
calcium carbonate, calcium sulphate, and sodium chloride; this order
represents their proportions, sodium carbonate being the chief con-
stituent, and the other salts existing in more minute quantities.
" The deposit was removed and examined microchemically ; it was thus
found to consist of ferruginous sand, and two minute pieces of vegetable
ceUulose.
" It was therefore a faintly alkaline water, and its alkalinity depended
on the presence of sodium carbonate possibly existing in solution as
bicarbonate, as the water held in solution carbonic acid gas, and this
gas was evolved by heating the water."
The natives praised the water of these springs so
highly that I resolved to stay three days to test in
my own person what virtues it possessed. I drank an
enormous quantity of the water with a zealous desire
to be benefited, but I experienced no good — on the
contrary, much ill, for a few days afterwards I suffered
from a violent attack of intermittent fever, occasioned,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Mtagata.
468 TEROUQE TEE DABK CONTINENT.
1876. I fancy, by the malaria inhaled from the tepid atmo-
M*t^atl! sp^^^®- I* ^s *^^® I luxuriated morning and evening
in the bath which was reserved for me by Luajumba,
son of Rumanika, but that was all the advantage that
accrued to me.
Patients suflfering from cutaneous diseases profit
rapidly from, I believe, the unusual cleanliness; and
during the few days we camped here numbers of
natives came and went, and merriment and cleansing,
bathing and lounging, music and barbarous chanting,
kept awake the echoes of the gorge.
Our stay at the springs was cheered also by the
presence of Luajumba, who, following the example of
his father Rumanika, was hospitable and bland in his
manners. An ox, two goats, ten fowls, besides bananas,
sweet potatoes and flour, and fourteen large gourdfuls
of maramba were received with thanks — and paid for.
On the 18th March we set out on our return to
Kafurro from the hot springs, and on the road I shot
a white rhinoceros, which the people soon cut up to
convey to their comrades. On the inth we arrived at
Kafurro, each of the Wangwana being loaded with
over 20 lbs. of meat.
After two days' rest I paid another visit to Rumanika,
where we had a great geographical discussion. It is
unnecessary to describe the information I had to
give Rumanika respecting the geographical distribu-
tion of tribes and races over the Dark Continent, but
conscious that the geographical world will take an
interest in what Rumanika and the native travellers
at his court imparted, I here append, verbatim, the
notes I took upon the spot.
Hamed Ibrahim spoke and said : —
''My slayes have trayelled far, and they say that the Ki-Nawarongo
Biver rises ou the west side of Ufumbiro piountains, takes a wide sweep
through Euanda, and enters Akanyaru, in which lake it meets the
Kagera from the south. United they then empty from the lake between
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE OEOGBAPEICAL SOCIETY OF KARAOWE. 469
Uhha and Eishakka, and, flowing between Earagw6 and Bnanda, go 137^
into the Nianza (Nyanza). March 21 .
" The Rwizi River, also rising at the northern base of the Ufombiro Kafurro.
cones, in Mpororo, flows through Igara, then Shema, then Ankori, into
the king of Koki's (Luampula) lake, and becoming the Chibarr^ or
Kiwar6 River, joins the Kagera below Kitangul6.
" If you proceed toward sunset from Mpororo, you will see Muta Nzig6,
the Nianza of Unyoro. There are many large islands in it Utumbi is
a country of islands, and the natives are very good, but you cannot
proceed through Mpororo, as the people are Shaitans— devils— and the
Wanya-Ruanda are wicked ; and because something happened when
Wangwana first tried to go there, they never tolerate strangers. A
strange people, and full of guile verily !
" West of Ruanda is a country called Mkinyaga, and there is a large
lake there, so I have heard — no Arabs have ever been there."
Tlien a native of Western Usui, at the request of
Rumanika, said: —
" Mkinyaga Is west of Kivu Lake or Nianja Cha Ngoma, from which
the Rusizi River flows into the lake of Uzig6 (Tanganika). To reach
Mkinyaga, you must pass through Unyambungu first, then you will seo
the great lAke of Mkinyaga. Lake Eivu has a connection with the lake
Akanyaru, though there is much grass, as in the Ingezi, below here. A
canoe could almost reach Eivu from Eishakka, but it would be hard
work.
" Akanyaru, which the "Wahha call Nianja Cha-Ngoma, is very wide.
It will take a day and a half to cross, and is about two or three days'
canoe journey in length. It lies between Ruanda, Uhha, and Urundi. The
Eagera coming from between Uhha and Urundi flows into it The
Nawarongo empties into the Ruvuvu between Ugufu and Eishakka.
The Ruvuvu between Eishakka and Earagw6 enters the Eagera; the
Eagera comes into the Ingezi, and flows by Eitangul^ into the Nianja of
Uganda. Eivu lake is west-south-west from Eibogora*s capital, in West
Usui. Eivu has no connection with Muta Nzig6, the lake of Unyoro."
Then a native of Zanzibar who had accompanied
Khamis bin Abdallah to North-Western Uhha said : —
" I have been west of Eing Ehanza's Uhha, and I saw a large lake.
Truly there is much water there. Urundi was to my left Ruanda
fronted me across, and I stood on Uhha.**
Rumanika followed, and imparted at length all his
information, of which I append only the pith : —
" Leaving Mpororo, you may reach by canoes Makinda's, in Utumbi, in
half a day. The island is called Eabuzzi Three hours will take a canoe
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
470 TEROUOH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. tbence to Earara Island, and from Earara Island another half-day will
March 2U t&ke you to Dkonju, where there is a tribe of cannibals.
Kafarro. " Mkinyaga is at the end of Euanda, and its lake is Muta Nzig6, on which
you can go to Unyoro. There is a race of dwarfs somewhere west of
Mkinyaga called the Mpunda, and another called the Batwa or Watwa, who
are only two feet high. In Uriambwa is a race of small people with tails.
" Uitwa, or Batwa — Watwa, is at the extreme south end of Uzongora.
" From Butwa, at the end of a point of land in Kuanda, you can see
Uitwa Usongora.
" From Butwa, Mkinyagu is to the left of you about three days' journey.
" Some of the Waziwa saw a strange people in one of those faiK>ff lands
who had long ears descending to their feet; one ear fonned a mat to
sleep on, the other served to cover him from the cold like a dressed hide!
They tried to coax one of them to come and see me, but the journey was
long, and he died on the way."
Dear old Riimanika, how he enjoyed presiding over
the Geographical Society of Karagwe, and how he
smiled when he delivered this last extraordinary piece
of Munchhausenism ! He was determined that he
should be considered as the best informed of all
present, and anticipated with delight the pleasure
old and jaded Europe would feel upon hearing of
these marvellous fables of Equatorial Africa. He
was also ambitious to witness my notebook filled with
his garrulity, and I fear he was a little disposed to impose
upon the credulity of sober Christians. However, with
this remark of caution to the reader, his fables may be
rendered harmless, and we can accord him thanks for
his interesting information.
Since I am publishing these geographical items, I
may as well append here, also in brief, some other
information obtained elsewhere relating to Muta
Nzige from a native of Usongora, whom we found at
Kawanga with Sekajugu, one of the Watongoleh who
accompanied us to Beatrice Gulf.
" When you leave Ruoko in Unyoro, you will have Gambaragara to
your right, and Usagara or Ankori will be on your left Uzimba, Ruigi's
country, will be four days' journey west of you.
" On reaching Uzimba, if you turn to the left you will reach Luhola,
Usongora will be on your right hand.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TEE PEILOSOPHY OF NOSES. 471
** On your left will also be Unyampaka, Easita, Eishakka, Chakiomi, ^g^^
Nyter6, Buhujti, Makara, Unyamururu, Munya Chambiro, and the March 2L
Bwambn, who are cannibals. Kafarro.
" If you go to your right from Ruigi's, you reach Usongora, Mata, two
days after Nabweru, then Butwa. Standing at Butwa, you will see
Euanda on the left hand.
" The country of Euigi is called Uzimba.
" Kitagwenda is the name of the neighbouring country.
" Unyanuruguru lies between Euanda and Usongora.
*' All the Wasongora emigrated from Unyoro."
The following is information from a native of
Unyampaka upon Muta Nzige : —
" My king's name is Bulema. Eash6sh6 is the great king of Uzimba.
Euigi is dead. Usongora, as you look towards sunset, will lie before you,
as you stand at Easheshe's. To go to Usongora from Eash^she's, you go
to Nkoni Island, then to Ihundi Island, and then to Usongora.
"Far to your leffc, as you face the sunset, you have Utumbi, the
Mahinda, Eiurara, and Eabuzzi Islands.
" There is abundance of salt in Usongora, and we go from Unyampaka
(my country) to get salt, and sell it to all the country round. Ankori
country does not extend to Muta Nzig^. Buhuju and Unyamuruguru
lie between Ankori and the lake.
" Nyika is king of Gambaragara and Usongora. North of Gambaragara
is Torn, or Tori, country, a part of Unyoro. Eabba Eega is the great king
of all those lands. The medicines (charms) of Unyoro are kept by Nyika on
the top of his high mountain. There are as many white people there as
there are black. On the top there is a little Nianja, and a straight rock
rises high out from the middle. There is plenty of water falling from
the sides of the mountain, sometimes straight down, with a loud noise.
Herds upon herds of cattle, hundreds of them are in Gambaragara and
Usongora. The people of Usongora are great fighters, they carry three
spears and a shield each, and they live on nothing but milk and
potatoes."
I now proceed to give some "reflections" of a
young philosopher of Uganda, one of the pages of
Sambuzi, who had accompanied his master in the
Katekiro's great raid upon Usongora three years
before.
This young lad startled me out of the idea that
philosophizing was not a common gift, or that only
members of the white race were remarkable for their
powers of observation, by the following question : —
" Stamlee, how is it, will you tell me, that all white
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
472 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT
1876. men have long noses, while all their dogs have very
March 21. ^^^^ noses* while ahnost all black men have short
noses, but their dogs have very long noses ? "
A youth of Uganda, thought I, who can propound
such a proposition as that, deserves attention. •
*^ Speak," I said, " all you know about Muta Nzig^
and the Kagera."
*' Gk)od, you see the Eagera, it ici broad and deep and swift, and its
water though dark is clear. Where can it come from? There is an
enormous quantity of water in that river. It is the mother of the river
at Jinga, because were it not for this river our Niyanza would dry up!
"Tell me where it can come from ? There is no country large enough
to feed it, because when you reach Eumanika*s it is still a large river. If
you go to Kishakka, farther south, it is still large, and at Kibogora's it
is still a large river. Urundi is not far, and beyond that is the
Tanganika.
" Tell me, where does the water of the Muta Nzige go to ? It goes into
the Kagera, of course ; the Kagera goes into our Niyanza, and the river
« at Jinja (Victoria Nile) goes to Kaniessa (Gk>ndokoro). I tell you truly
that this must be the way of it. You saw the Eusango and Mpanga, did
you not, go to Muta Nzige ? Well, there must be many rivers like that
going to Muta Nzig6 also. And what river drinks all those rivers but
the Kagera ? " he asked triumphantly,
" Usongora is a wonderful land ! Its people are brave, and when the
Katekdro, who was accompanied by Mkwenda and Sekebobo's chiefs, and
some of Kitunzi*s, met them, they were different people from Gambara^gara.
They are very tall, long-legged people, and are armed with spears and
shields. They tried every dodge with us. When we stood on the banks
of a river going north, through the Tinka-tinka, like that in the Katonga,
the Wasongora stood on the opposite side and shouted out to us that they
were ready. Sambuzi came near being killed next day, and we lost many
men, but the Katekiro, he does not fight like other chiefs, he is exceed-
ingly brave, and he wanted to please Mtesa. We fought six days,
" The Wasongora had a number of large dogs also which they set vcpon
us; as we drove their cattle towards Gambaragara, the earth shook,
springs of mud leaped up, and the water in the plain was very bitter,
and killed many Waganda; it left a white thing around its borders
like salt.
" We first saw Muta Nzig6 as we followed Nyika to the top of his big
mountain in Gambaragara. We could not quite get to the top, it was too
high." (This is Mount Gordon-Bennett) *' But we could see Usongora,
• The young philosopher had observed the broad short noses of my
British bull-dog and bull terrier "Jack," and he had hastily arrived at
the conclusion that all white men's dogs were pug-nosed.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BUMANIKA'8 TBE8AUB0K 473
and a great lake spreading all round it. When we came back with onr ig^^
spoil to Mtesa, he sent us back a short time afterwards to Ankori, and from March 21 .
the top of a high mountain near Eibanga (Mount Lawson) we saw Muta Kafarro.
Nzig6 again spreading west of us. Oh, it is a grand lake, not so wide as
our Niyanza, but very long. We get all our salt from Usongora, as
Nyika pays tribute to us with so many bags, collected from the plains,
but it is unfit to eat, unless you wash it and clean it."
This young lad accompanied me to Karagw^, and by
his intelh'gence and his restless curiosity extracted from
the Wanyambu courtiers at King Rumanika's informa-
tion which he delivered to me in the following
manner : —
''Master, I have been asking questions from many Wanyambu, and
they say that you can take a canoe from here to Ujiji, only a certain
distance you will have to drag your canoes by land. They say also that
Ndagara, Bumanika'i father, wishing to trade with the Wajiji, tried to
cut a canal or a ditch for his canoes to pass through. They say also
that Eivu is connected with Akanyaru, and that the Eusizi leaves Kivu
and goes to Tanganika through Uzig^, but the Eagera comes through
Earagw6 towards Uganda. Do you believe it ? "
To close the interesting day, Rumanika requested
Hamed Ibrahim to exhibit the treasures, trophies, and
curiosities in the king's museum or armoury, which
Hamed was most anxious to do, as he had frequently
extolled the rare things there.
The armoury was a circular hut, resembling externally
a dome thatched neatly with straw. It was about 30
feet in diameter.
The weapons and articles, of brass and copper and
iron, were in perfect order, and showed that Rumanika
did not neglect his treasures.
There were about sixteen rude brass figures of ducks
with copper wings, ten curious things of the same
metal which were meant to represent elands, and ten
headless cows of copper. Billhooks of iron, of really
admirable make, double-bladed spears, several gigantic
blades of exceedingly keen edge, 8 inches across and 18
imches in length, exquisite spears, some with blades and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
March 21
Kafurro,
474 TUROUGH TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. staves of linked iron ; others with chain-shaped staves,
and several with a cluster of small rigid rings massed
at the bottom of the blade and the end of the staff;
others, copper-bladed, had curious intertwisted iron
rods for the staff. There were also great fly-flaps set
in iron, the handles of which were admirable specimens
of native art; massive cleaver-looking knives, with
polished blades and a kedge-anchor-shaped article
with four hooked iron prongs, projecting out of a
brass body. Some exquisite native cloths, manu-
factured of delicate grass, were indeed so fine as to
vie with cotton sheeting, and were coloured black
PENCE
GROUin) PLAN OF KtNO's HOUSE.
and red, in patterns and stripes. The royal stool
was a masterpiece of native turnery, being carved
out of a solid log of cotton-wood. Besides these
specimens of native art were drinking-cups, goblets,
trenchers, and milk dishes of wood, all beautifully
clean. The fireplace was a circular hearth in the
centre of the building, very tastefully constructed.
Eanged round the wall along the floor were other gifts
from Arab friends, massive copper trays, with a few
tureen lids of Britannia ware, evidently from
Birmingham. Nor must the revolving rifle given to
him by Captain Speke be forgotten, for it had an
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
•M- )- ' : ,.
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< .. ^
\
,.-'\
ll
( ' : ■ .1 :t .-' >i ' '.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
•^
w
K
C3
P3
O
s
g
S3
s
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
476 TEROUGE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. honoured place, and Rumanika loves to look at it,
^iwrch 28. f^^ -^ recalls to his memory the figures of his genial
white friends Speke and Grant.
The enormous drums, fifty-two in number, ranged
outside, enabled us, from their very appearance, to guess
at the deafening sounds which celebrate the new moon
or deliver the signals for war.
My parting with the genial old man, who must be
about sixty years old now, was very affecting. He
shook my hands many times, saying each time that he
was sorry that my visit must be so short. He strictly
charged his sons to pay me every attention until I
should arrive at Kibogora's, the king of Western Usui,
who, he was satisfied, would be glad to see me as a
friend of Rumanika,
On the 26th March the Expedition, after its
month's rest at Kafurro, the whole of which period I
had spent in exploration of Western Karagwe, resumed
its journey, and after a march of five miles camped
at Nakawanga, near the southern base of Kibonga
mountain.
The next day a march of thirteen miles brought us
to the northern extremity of Uhimba lake, a broad
river-like body of water supplied by the Alexandra
Nile.
On the 27th I had the good fortune to shoot three
rhinoceroses, from the bodies of which we obtained
ample supphes of meat for our journey through the
wilderness of Uhimba. One of these enormous brutes
possessed a horn 2 feet long, with a sharp dagger-
like point below, a stunted horn, 9 inches in length.
He appeared to have had a tussle with some wild beast,
for a hand's breadth of hide was torn from his rump.
The Wangwana and Wanyarabu informed me with
the utmost gravity that the elephant maltreats the
rhinoceros frequently, because of a jealousy that the
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BHINOCEROa V. ELEPHANT. 477
former entertains of his fiery cousin. It is said that i876.
if the elephant observes the excrement of the rhinoceros ^^^^*
imscattered, he waxes furious, and proceeds instantly uke.
in search of the criminal, when woe befall him if he
is sulky, and disposed to battle for the proud privilege
of leaving his droppings as they fall ! The elephant
in that case breaks off a heavy branch of a tree, or
uproots a stout sapling like a boat's mast, and belabours
the unfortunate beast until he is glad to save himself
by hurried flight. For this reason, the natives say, the
rhinoceros always turns round and thoroughly scatters
what he has dropped.
Should a rhinoceros meet an elephant, he must
observe the rule of the road and walk away, for the
latter brooks no rivalry ; but the former is sometimes
headstrong, and the elephant then despatches him
with his tusks by forcing him against a tree and
goring him, or by upsetting him, and leisurely crushing
him.
At the distance of twenty-six miles from Kafurro we
made our third camp near some wave-worn sheets and
protruding humps of brown-veined porphyry, and close
to an arm of the Uhimba lake, which swarmed with
hippopotami.
There were traces of water or wave action on this
hard porphyry visible at about fifty feet above the
present level. Some of these humps were exposed in
the water also, and showed similar eflFects to those
observed behind our camp.
During the next two days we travelled twenty-seven
miles south through a depression, or a longitudinal
valley, parallel to Uhimba lake and the course of the
Alexandra, with only an intervening ridge excluding
the latter from our view. Tall truncated hill-cones rise
every now and then with a singular resemblance to
each other, to the same altitude as the grassy ridges
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
478 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. which flank them. Their summits are flat, but the
March 37. jpQj^.gtQUQ faithfullv indicates by its erosions the
Clement which separated them from the ridges, and
first furrowed the valley.
Uhimba, placed by Rumanika in the charge of his
sons Kakoko, Kananga, and Ruhinda, is sixty-eight
miles south of his capital, and consists of a few settle-
ments of herdsmen. It was, a few years ago, a
debatable land between Usui and Karagwe, but upon
the conquest of Kishakka by Ruanda, Rumanika
occupied it lest his jealous and ill-conditioned rival,
Mankorongo of Usui, should do so.
At this place I met messengers from Mankorongo,
despatched by him to invite me to go and see him,
and who, with all the impudence characteristic of their
behaviour to the Arabs, declared that if I attempted
to traverse any country in his neighbourhood without
paying him the compliment of a visit, it would be my
utter ruin !
They were sent back with a peaceful message, and
told to say that I was bound for Kibogora's capital, to
try and search out a road across Urundi to the west,
and that if I did not succeed I would think of Man-
korongo's words ; at the same time, Mankorongo was
to be sure that if I was waylaid in the forest by any
large armed party with a view to intimidation, that
party would be sorry for it.
I had heard of Mankorongo's extortions from Arabs
and Waganda, and how he had proved himself a worthy
successor to the rapacious Swarora, who caused so
much trouble to Speke and Grrant.
During the second day of our courteous intercourse
with Kakoko, I ascended a mount some 600 feet high
about three miles from camp, to take bearings of the
several features which Kananga was requested to show
me. Five countries were exposed to view, Karagwe,
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
FAOANUS, VAR. E8URIENS. 479
Kishakka, Ruanda beyond, Ugufu, and Usui. Parallel i876.
with Usui was pointed out King Khanza's Uhha ; ^*J^'^^*
beyond Uhha we were told was Urundi ; beyond Urundi,
west, the Tanganika and Uzige, and then nobody knew
what lands lay beyond Uzige. Akanyaru stretched south
of west, between Ruanda, Uhha, and Urundi; in a
south-west direction was said to be Kivu ; in a west
by north Mkinyaga, and in the west Unyambungu.
Ugufu was separated from Kishakka by the Nawarongo
or Ruvuvu, and from Uhha and Usui by the Alexandra
Nile which came from between Uhha and Urundi. A
river of some size was also said to flow from the
direction of Unyambungu into the Akanyaru.*
The next day we entered Western Usui, and camped
at Kafurra's. In Usui there was a famine, and it
required thirty-two doti of cloth to purchase four days'
rations. Kibogora demanded and obtained thirty doti,
one coil of wire, and forty necklaces of beads as tribute ;
Kafurra, his principal chief, demanded ten doti and a
qliantity of beads ; another chief required five doti ; the
queen required a supply of cloth to wear ; the princes
put in a claim ; the guides were loud for their reward.
Thus, in four days, we were compelled to disburse two
bales out of twenty-two, all that were left of the
immense store we had departed with from Zanzibar.
Under such circumstances, what prospect of exploration
had we, were we to continue our journey through
Uhha, that land which in 1871 had consumed at the
rate of two bales of cloth per diem ? Twenty days of
such experience in Uhha would reduce us to beggary.
Its " esurient " Mutwares and rapacious Mkamas and
other extortionate people can only be quieted with
cloth and beads disbursed with a princely hand. One
* I learned from Wanindi and Wazigtf, three months later, that the
river that came from the west was the Euanda, flowing into the Husizi^
thence into the Tanganika.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
CjtJOflHL
4S0 TEROUOH THE DABK COSTISENT.
\9nfi. hundred bales of cloth would only suffice to sustain
Apnij. ^ hundred men in Uhha about six weeks. Beyond
Uhba lay the impenetrable countries of Urundi and
Buanda, the inhabitants of which were hostile to
strangers.
Kibogora and Kafurra were sufficiently explicit and
amiably a>mmunicative, for my arrival in their country
had been under the very best auspices, viz, an introduc-
tion from the gentle and beloved Rumanika.
I turned away with a sigh from the interesting land,
but with a resolution gradually being intensified, that
the third time I sought a n^ west nothing should
deter me.
On the 7th April we reluctantly resumed our journey
in a southerly direction, and travelled five miles along a
ravine, at the bottom of which murmured the infant
stream Lohugati. On coming to its source we ascended
a steep slope until we stood upon the summit of a gras^
ridge at the height of 5600 feet by aneroid.
Not until we had descended about a mile to the valley
of Uyagoma did I recognize the importance of this
ridge as the water-parting between one of the feeders
of Lake Victoria and the source of the Malagarazi, the
principal affluent of Lake Tanganika.
Though by striking across Uhha due west or to the
south-west we should again have reached the Alexandra
Nile and the affluents of the Alexandra Lake, our future
course was destined never to cross another stream or
rivulet that supplied the great river which tlows
through the land of Egypt into the Mediterranean
Sea.
From the 17th January 1875 up to 7th April 1876
we had been engaged in tracing the extreme southern
sources of the Nile, from the marshy plains and culti-
vated uplands where they are born, down to the mighty
reservoir called the Victoria Nyanza. We had circum-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
RETROSPECT. 481
navigated the entire expanse ; penetrated to every bay, 1876.
inlet, and creek ; become acquainted with almost every ^^'^^ ^*
variety of wild human nature — the mild and placable,
the ferocious and impracticably savage, the hospitable
and the inhospitable, the generous-souled as well as the
ungenerous ; we had viewed their methods of war, and
had witnessed them imbruing their hands in each
other's blood with savage triumph and glee ; we had
been five times suflferers by their lust for war and
murder, and had lost many men through their lawless-
ness and ferocity ; we had travelled hundreds of miles to
and fro on foot along the northern coast of the Victorian
Sea, and, finally, had explored with a large force the
strange countries lying between the two lakes Muta
Nzige and the Victoria, and had been permitted to gaze
upon the arm of the lake named by me " Beatrice Gulf,*'
and to drink of its sweet waters. We had then returned
from farther quest in that direction, unable to find a
peaceful resting-place on the lake shores, and had struck
south from the Katonga lagoon down to the Alexandra
Nile, the principal affluent of the Victoria Lake, which
drains nearly all the waters from the west and south-
west. We had made a patient survey of over one-half
of its course, and then, owing to want of the means to
feed the rapacity of the churlish tribes which dwell in
the vicinity of the Alexandra Nyanza, and to our
reluctance to force our way against the will of the
natives, opposing unnecessarily our rifles to their spears
and arrows, we had been compelled, on the 7th April,
to bid adieu to the lands which supply the Nile, and to
turn our faces towards the Tanganika.
I have endeavoured to give a faithful portrayal of
nature, animate and inanimate, in all its strange
peculiar phases, as they were unfolded to us. I am
conscious that I have not penetrated to the depths;
but then I have not ventured beyond the limits
VOL. I. — 31
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
482 THROUOE THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. assigned me, viz. the Exploration of the Southern
^prii 7. gom^ces of the Nile, and the solution of the problem
left unsolved by Speke and Grant — Is the Victoria
Nyanza* one lake, or does it consist of five lakes, as
reported by Livingstone, Burton, and others? This
problem has been satisfactorily solved, and Speke has
now the full glory of having discovered the largest
inliand sea on the continent of Africa, also its prin-
cipal affluent, as well as the outlet. I must also give
him credit for having understood the geography of the
countries he travelled through better than any of those
who so persistently assailed his hypothesis,- and I here
record my admiration of the geographical genius that
from mere native report first sketched with such a
masterly hand the bold outlines of the Yictoria Nyanza.
* Speke's hypotbetio sketch made this lake 29,000 square miles in
extent My survey of it has reduced it to 21,500 square miles.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TBE TWIN RIVERa. 483
CHAPTER XVIII.
The tmn rivers — Mankorongo baulked of his loot — Poor Bull! True
to the death — Msenua breaks out again — The terror of Africa
appears on the scene — Mars at peace — "Dig potatoes, potatoes,
potatoes " — Mirambo, the bandit chief, and I make blood-brother-
hood — Little kings >vith " big heads ** — Practical conversion of the
chief of Ubagwe — The Watuta, the Ishmaels of Africa — Their
history — African nomenclature — From Msen^ across the Mala-
garazi to Ujiji — Sad memories.
Along the valley of TJyagoma, in Western Usui, ^^^^-^
stretches east and west a grass-covered ridge, beautiful uyagoma.
in places with rock-strewn dingles, tapestried with
ferns and -moss, and bright with vivid foliage. From
two such fair nooks, halfway down either slope, the
•northern and the southern, drip in great rich drops
the sources of two impetuous rivers — on the southern
the Malagarazi, on the other the Lohugati. Though
nurtured in the same cradle, and issuing within 2000
yards of one another, the twin streams are strangers
throughout their lives. Through the thick ferns and
foliage, the rivulets trickle each down his appointed
slope, murmuring as they gather strength to run their
destined course — the Lohugati to the Victoria Lake,
the Malagarazi to distant Tanganika.
While the latter river is in its infancy, collecting its
first tribute of waters from the rills that meander down
from the mountain folds round the basin of TJyagoma,
and is so shallow that tiny children can paddle through
it, the people of Usui call it the Meruzi. When we
begin our journey from Uyagoma, we follow its broaden-
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484 TBROUQE TEE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. inp: course for a couple of hours, through the basin,
N^^'t*^ and by that time it has become a river nomine dignuniy
* and, plunging across it, we begin to breast the moun-
tains, which, rising in diagonal lines of ridges from
north-east to south-west across Usui, run in broken series
into Northern Uhha, and there lose themselves in a
confusion of complicated masses and clumps.
The Meruzi wanders round and through these moun-
tiiin masses in mazy curves, tumbles from height to
height, from terrace to terrace, receiving as it goes the
alliance of myriads of petty rivulets and threads of clear
water, until, arriving at the grand forest lands of Unya-
mwezi, it has assumed the name of Lukoke, and serves
as a boundary between Unyamwezi and Uhha.
Meanwhile we have to cross a series of mountain
ridges clothed with woods ; and at a road leading from
Kibogora's land to the territory of the turbulent and
vindictive Mankorongo, successor of Swarora, we meet
an embassy, which demands, in a most insolent tone,
that we should pass by his village. This means, of
course, that we must permit ourselves to be defrauded of •
two or three bales of cloth, half a dozen gims, a sack or
two of beads, and such other property as he may choose
to exact, for the privilege of lengthening our journey
some forty miles, and a delay of two or three weeks.
The insolent demand is therefore not to be enter-
tained, and we return a decided refusal. They are
not satisfied with the answer, and resort to threats.
Threats in tlie free, uninhabited forest constitute a castes
belli. So the chiefs are compelled to depart without
a yard of cloth on the instant, and after their depar-
ture we urge our pace until night, and from dawn next
morning to 3 p.m. we continue the journey with un-
abated speed, until we find ourselves in Nyambarri,
Usambiro, rejoiced to find that we have foiled the
dangerous king.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
TRUE TO THE DEATH. 485
On the 13th April we halted to refresh the people. i876.
Usambiro, like all TJnyamwezi, produces sufficient grain, ^"^^^ ^^'
sesamum, millet, Indian corn, and vetches, besides beans
and peas, to supply all caravans and expeditions. I have
observed that lands producing grain are more easy
of access than pastoral countries, or those which only
supply milk, bananas, and potatoes to their inhabitants.
At Nyambarri we met two Arab caravans fresh
from M^nkorongo, of whom they gave fearful accounts,
from which I inferred that the extortionate chief would
be by no means pleased when he came to understand
how he had been baffled in his idea of spoliating our
Expedition.
Here the notorious Msenna for the third time rup-
tured the peace. He was reported to be inciting a large
number of Wangwana and Wanyamwezi to desert in a
body, offering himself as guide to conduct them to
Unyanyembe ; and several young fellows, awed by his
ungovernable temper and brutal disposition, had yielded
to his persuasions. Msenna was therefore reduced to the
ranks, and instead of being entrusted with the captaincy
of ten men, was sentenced to carry a box, under the
watchful eye of Kacheche, for a period of six months.
During the march from Nyambarri to Gambawagao,
the chief village of Usambiro, ancient " Bull,'' the
last of all the canine companions which left England
with me, borne down by weight of years and a land
journey of about 1500 miles, succumbed. With bulldog
tenacity he persisted in following the receding figures
of the gun-bearers, who were accustomed to precede
him in the narrow way. Though he often staggered
and moaned, he made strenuous efforts to keep up, but at
last, lying down in the path, he plaintively bemoaned the
weakness of body that had conquered his will, and soon
after died — his eyes to the last looking forward along
the track he had so bravely tried to follow.
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486 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. Poor dog ! Good and faithful service had he done
April 14. j^^ j -^^i^Q more rejoiced than he to hear the rifle-shot
* ringing through the deep woods ! Who more loudly
applauded success than he with his deep, mellow
bark ! What long forest-tracts of tawny plains and
series of mountain ranges had he not traversed ! How
he plunged through jungle and fen, morass and stream !
In the sable blackness of the night his voice warned
off marauders and prowling beasts from the sleeping
camp. His growl responded to the hideous jabber of
the greedy hyena, and the snarling leopard did not
dismay him. He amazed the wondering savages with
his bold eyes and bearing, and by his courageous front
caused them to retreat before him ; and right bravely
did he help us to repel the Wanyaturu from our camp
in Ituru. Farewell, thou glory of thy race ! Rest from
thy labours in the silent forest! Thy feet shall no
more hurry up the hill or cross mead and plain ; thy
form shall rustle no more through the grasses, or be
plunging to explore the brake ; thou shalt no longer
dash after me across the savannahs, for thou art gone
to the grave, like the rest of thy companions !
The king of Usambiro exchanged gifts with us, and
appeared to be a clever, agreeable young man. His
people, though professing to be Wanyamwezi, are a
mixture of Wahha and Wazinja. He has constructed
a strong village, and surrounded it with a fosse 4 feet
deep and 6 feet wide, with a stockade and ** marks-
men's nests " at intervals round it. The population of
the capital is about 2000.
Boma Kiengo, or Msera, lies five miles south-south-
east from the capital, and its chief, seeing that we had
arrived at such a good understanding with the king, also
exerted himself to create a favourable impression,
Musonga lies twelve miles south-south-east of Boma
Kiengo, and is the most northerly village of the country
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE TERROR OF AFRICA UPON US.
487
1876.
of Urangwa. On the 18th April, a inarch of fifteen
miles enabled us to reach the capital, Ndeverva, another ^^"^ ^^*
large stockaded village, also provided with " marksmen's
nests," and surrounded by a fosse.
We were making capital marches. The petty kings,
though they exacted a small interchange of gifts, which
"BULL."
{From a photograph hy the Author.")
compelled me to disburse cloth a little more frequently
than was absolutely necessary, were not insolent, nor so
extortionate as to prevent our intercourse being of the
most friendly character. But on the day we arrived at
Urangwa, lo! there came up in haste, while we were
sociably chatting together, a messenger to tell ns that
the phantom, the bugbear, the terror whose name
silences the children of Unyamwezi and Usukuma, and
makes women's hearts bound with fear ; that Mirambo
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488 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. himself was coming — that he was only two camps, or
April 18. Q^Q^i twenty miles, away — that he had an immense
army of Ruga-Ruga (bandits) with him I
The consternation at this news, the dismay and ex-
citement, the discussion and rapid interchange of ideas
suggested by terror throughout the capital, may be
conceived. Barricades were prepared, sharp-shooters'
platforms, with thick bulwarks of logs, were erected.
The women hastened to prepare their charms, the
Waganga consulted their spirits, each warrior and elder
examined his guns and loaded them, ramming the
powder down the barrels of their Brummagem muskets
with desperately vengeful intentions, while the king
hastened backwards and forwards with streaming robes
of cotton behind him, animated by a hysterical energy.
I had 176 men under my command, and forty of the
Arabs' people were with me, and we had many boxes
of ammunition. The king recollected these facts, and
said, " You will stop to fight Mirambo, will you not ?''
" Not I, my friend ; I have no quarrel with Mirambo,
and we cannot join every native to fight his neighbour.
If Mirambo attacks the village while I am here, and
will not go away when I ask him, we will fight, but
we cannot stop here to wait for him.*'
The poor king was very much distressed when we left
the next morning. We despatched our scouts ahead,
as we usually did when traversing troublous countries,
and omitted no precaution to guard against surprise.
On the 19tli we arrived at one of the largest villages
or towns in Unyamwezi, called Serombo or Sorombo.
It was two miles and a half in circumference, and
probably contained over a thousand large and small
huts, and a population of about 5000.
The preseint king's name is Ndega, a boy of sixteen,
the son of Makaka, who died about two years ago.
Too young himself to govern the large settlement and
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
MABS AT PEACE. 489
the country round, two elders, or Manyapara, act as i876.
regents during his minority. "^^"^ ^^
We were shown to a peculiar-shaped hut, extremely
like an Abyssinian dwelling. The height of the door-
way was 7 feet, and from the floor to the top of the
conical roof it was 20 feet. The walls were of inter-
woven sticks, plastered over neatly with brown clay.
The king's house was 30 feet high from the ground to
the tip of the cone, and 40 feet in diameter within ; but
the total diameter including the circular fence or palisade
that supported the broad eaves, and enclosed a gallery
which ran round the house, was 54 feet.
SEROMBO HUTS.
Owing to this peculiar construction a desperate body
of 150 men might from the circular gallery sustain a
protracted attack from a vastly superior foe, and jDro-
bably repel it.
Ndega is a relative of Mirambo by marriage, and he
soon quieted all uneasy minds by announcing that the
famous man who was now advancing upon Serombo had
just concluded a peace with the Arabs, and that there-
fore no trouble was to be apprehended from his visit,
it being solely a friendly visit to his young relative.
Naturally we were all anxious to behold the " Mars
of Africa," who since 1871 has made his name feared
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
490 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT,
i87«. by both native and foreigner from Usui to Urori, and
Se^'^^b! ^^^°^ Uvinza to Ugogo, a country embracing 90,000
square miles, who, from the village chieftainship over
Uyoweh, has made for himself a name as well known
as that of Mtesa throughout the eastern half of Equa-
torial Africa, a household word from Nyangwe to
Zanzibar, and the theme of many a song of the bards of
Unyamwezi, tJkimbu, Ukonongo, Uzinja, and Uvinza.
On the evening of our arrival at Serombo's we heard
his Brown Besses — called by the natives Gumeh-
Gumeh — announcing to all that the man with the
dread name lay not far from our vicinity.
At dusk the huge drums of Serombo signalled silence
for the town-criers, whose voices, preceded by the sound
of iron bells, were presently heard crying out : —
" Listen, men of Serombo. Mirambo, the brother
of Ndega, coraeth in the morning. Be ye prepared,
therefore, for his young men are hungry. Send your
women to dig potatoes, dig potatoes. Mirambo cometh.
Dig potatoes, potatoes, dig potatoes, to-morrow !"
At 10 A.M. the Brown Besses, heavily charged and
fired off by hundreds, loudly heralded Mirambo's ap-
proach, and nearly all my Wangwana followed the
inhabitants of Serombo outside to see the famous chief-
tain. G-reat war-drums and the shouts of admiring
thousands proclaimed that he had entered the town, and
soon little Mabruki, the chief of the tent-boys, and
Kacheche, the detective, on whose intelligence I could
rely, brought an interesting budget to me.
Mabruki said : " We have seen Mirambo. He has
arrived. We have beheld the Ruga-Ruga, and there
are many of them, and all are armed with Gumeh-
Gumeh. About a hundred are clothed in crimson
cloth and white shirts, like our Wangwana. Mirambo
is not an old man."
Kacheche said : " Mirambo is not old, he is young : I
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE BANDIT CHIEF,
491
must be older than he is. Hf is a very nice man,
well dressed, quite like an Arab. He wears the turban,
fez, and cloth coat of an Arab, and carries a scimitar.
He also wears slippers, and his clothes under his coat
are very white. I should say he has about a thou-
sand and a half men with him, and they are all armed
with muskets or double-barrelled guns. Mirambo has
three young men carrying his guns for him. Truly,
Mirambo is a great man ! "
The shrill Lu-lu-lu's, prolonged and loud, were still
maintained by the women, who entertained a great
respect for the greatest king in Unyamwezi.
Presently Manwa Sera, the chief captain of the
Wangwana, came to my hut,
to introduce three young men
— Ruga-Ruga (bandits), as
we called them, but must do
so no more lest we give
offence — handsomely dressed
in fine red and blue cloth
coats, and snowy white shirts,
with ample turbans around
their heads. They were con-
fidential captains of Miram-
bo's bodyguard.
" Mirambo sends his sa-
laams to the white man," said
the principal of them. " He hopes the white man is
friendly to him, and that he does not share the prejudices
of the Arabs, and believe Mirambo a bad man. If it
is agreeable to the white man, will he send words of
peace to Mirambo?"
" Tell Mirambo," I replied, " that I am eager to see
him, and would be glad to shake hands with so great
a man, and as I have made strong friendship with
Mtesa, Rumanika, and all the kings along the road
1876.
April 21.
Serombo.
"RUGA-RUGA, ONE OF
MIRAMBO*S PATRIOTS.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
492 THROUGH THE DARK COJ^TINENT.
1876. from Usoga to Unyamwezi, I shall be rejoiced to make
Apru 22. gipQjjg friendship with Mirambo also. Tell him I hope
he will come and see me as soon as he can.
The next day Mirambo, having despatched a Ruga-
Ruga — no, a patriot, I should have said — to announce
his coming, appeared with about twenty of his principal
men.
I shook hands with him with fervour, which drew a
smile from him as he said, "The white man shakes
hands hke a strong friend/*
His person quite captivated me, for he was a thorough
African gentleman in appearance, very different from
ray conception of the terrible bandit who had struck
his telling blows at native chiefs and Arabs with all
the rapidity of a Frederick the Great environed by
foes.
I entered the following notes in my journal on
April 22, 1876:—
" This day will be memorable to me for the visit of the famous
Mirambo. He was the reverse of all my conceptions of the redoubtable
chieftain, and the man I had styled the ' terrible bandit.'
" He is a man about 5 feet 11 inches in height, and about thirty-five
years old, virith not an ounce of superfluous flesh about him. A handsome,
regular-featured, mild-voiced, soft-spoken man, with what one might call
a * meek ' demeanour, very generous and open-handed. The character was
80 different from that which I had attributed to him that for some time a
suspicion clung to my mind that I was being imposed upon, but Arabs came
forward who testified that this quiet-looking man was indeed Mirambo.
1 had expected to see something of the Mtesa type, a man whose exterior
would proclaim his life and rank ; but this unpresuming, mild-eyed man, of
inoffensive, meek exterior, whose action was so calm, without a gesture,
presented to the eye nothing of the Napoleonic genius which he has for
five years displayed in the heart of Unyamwezi, to the injury of Arabs
and commerce, and the doubling of the price of ivory. I said there was
nothing : but 1 must except the eyes, which had the steady, calm gaze
of a master.
" During the conversation I had with him, he said he preferred boys or
young men to accompany him to war ; he never took middle-aged or old
men, as they were sure to be troubled with wives or children, and did not
fight half so well as young fellows who listened to his words. Said he,
* They have sharper eyes, and their young limbs enable them to move
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
I MAKE BLOOJD-BBOTEEBHOOD. 493
with the ease of serpents or the rapidity of zebras, and a few words will 1870.
give them the hearts of lions. In all my wars with the Arabs, it was an April 23.
army of youths that gave me victory, boys without beards. Fifteen of my Serombo.
young men died one day because I said I must have a certain red cloth
that was thrown down as a challenge. No, no, give me youths for war
in the open field, and men for the stockaded village.*
"'What was the cause of your war, Mirambo, with the Arabs?' I
asked.
" ' There was a good deal of cause. The Arabs got the big head * (proud),
' and there was no talking with them. Mkasiwa of Unyanyemb^ lost his
head too, and thought I was his vassal, whereas I was not. My father was
king of Uyoweh, and I was his son. What right had Mkasiwa or the.
Arabs to say what I ought to do ? But the war is now over— the Arabs
know what I can do, and Mkasiwa knows it. We will not fight any more,
but we will see who can do the best trade, and who is the smartest man.
Any Arab or white man who would like to pass through my country is
welcome. I will give him meat and drink, and a house, and no man
shall hurt him.'"
Mirambo retired, and in the evening I returned his
visit with ten of the principal Wangwana. I found
him in a bell-tent 20 feet high, and 26 feet in diameter,
with his chiefs around him.
Manwa Sera was requested to seal our friendship by
performing the ceremony of blood brotherhood between
Mirambo and myself. Having caused us to sit fronting
each other on a straw-carpet, he made an incision in
each of our right legs, from which he extracted blood,
and, interchanging it, he exclaimed aloud : —
" If either of you break this brotherhood now esta-
blished between you, may the lion devour him, the
serpent poison him, bitterness be in his food, his friends
desert him, his gun burst in his hands and wound him,
and everything that is bad do wrong to him until
death."
My new brother then gave me fifteen cloths to be
distributed among my chiefs, while he would accept
only three from me. But not desirous of appearing
illiberal, I presented him with a revolver and 200
rounds of ammunition, and some small curiosities from
England. Still ambitious to excel me in liberality, he
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
494 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT
1876. charged five of his young men to proceed to TJrarabo —
tSd 24! which name he has now given Uyoweh, after himself
M«yangi?a — and to sclcct three milch-cows with their calves, and
fjkombeh. ^^j,^^ bullocks, to be driven to TJbagwe to meet me. He
also gave me three guides to take me along the frontier
of the predatory Watuta.
On the morning of the 23rd he accompanied me out-
side Serombo, where we parted on the very best terms
with each other. An Arab in his company, named
Sayid bin Mohammed, also presented me with a bar of
Castile soap, a bag of pepper and some safiron. A fine
riding-ass, purchased from Sayid, was named Mirambo
by me, because the Wangwana, who were also capti-
vated by Mirambo*s agreeable manners, insisted on it.
We halted on the 23rd at Mayangira, seven miles
and a half from Serombo, and on the 24th, after a
protracted march of eleven miles south-south-east over
flooded plains, arrived at Ukombeh.
At Masumbwa, ten miles from Ukombeh, we encoun-
tered a very arrogant young chief, who called himself
Mtemi, or king, and whose majesty claimed to be
honoured with a donation of fifteen cloths — a claim
which was peremptorily refused, despite all he could
urge in satisfaction of it.
Through similar flooded plains, with the water hip-
deep in most places, and after crossing an important
stream flowing west-south-west towards the Malagarazi,
we arrived at Myonga's village, the capital of Southern
Masumbwa.
This Myonga is the same valorous chief who robbed
Colonel G-rant as he was hurrying with an undisciplined
caravan after Speke. (See Speke's Journal, page 169,
for the following graphic letter : —
** In the Jungles, near M'yonga's,
•* 16th Sept. 1861.
** My dear SPKKE,--The caravan was attacked, plundered, and the men
driven to the winds, while marching this morning into M'yonga's country.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
A LITTLE KING WITH A " BIG HEAD,'' 495
"Awaking at cock-crow, I roused the camp, all anxious to rejoin you; ^gy^^
and while the loads were being packed, my attention was drawn to an April 24.
■angry discussion between the head men and seven or eight armed fellows Maaumbwa
sent by Sultan M'yonga to insist on my putting up for the day in his
Tillage. They were summarily told that as you had already made him a
present, he need not expect a visit from me. Adhering, I doubt not, to
their master's instructions, they ofSciously constituted themselves our
guides till we chose to strike off their path, when, quickly heading our
party, they stopped the way, planted their spears, and dartd our advance !
" This menace made us firmer in our determination, and we swept post
the spears. After we had marched unmolested for some seven miles, a
loud yelping from the woods excited our attention, and a sudden rush
was inade upon us by, say, two hundred men, who came down seemingly
in gieat glee. In an instant, at the caravan's centre, they fastened upon
the poor porters. The struggle was short ; and with the threat of an
arrow or spear at their breasts, men were robbed of their cloths and orna-
ments, loads were yielded and run away with before resistan(ie could be
organised ; only three men of a hundred stood by me; the others, whose
only thought was their lives, fled into the woods, where I went shouting
for them. One man, little Rahan— rip as he is — stood with cocked gun,
defending his load against five savages with uplifted spears. No one else
could be seen. Two or three were reported killed, some were wounded.
Beads, boxes, cloths, &c., lay strewed about the woods. In fact, I felt
wrecked. My attempt to go and demand redress from the sultan was
resisted, and, in utter despair, I seated myself among a mass of rascals
jeering round me, and insolent after the success of the day. Several were
dressed in the very cloths, &c, they had stolen from my men.
" In the afternoon about fifteen men and loads were brought me, with
a message from the sultan, that the attack had been a mistake of his
subjects — that one man had had a hand cut off for it, and that all the
property would be restored I
** Yours sincerely,
"J. A. Grant.")
Age had not lessened the conceit of Myonga, in-
creased his modesty, or moderated his cupidity. He
asserted the rights and privileges of his royalty with
a presumptuous voice and a stern brow. He demanded
tribute ! Twenty-five cloths ! ! A gun and five fundo
of beads ! The Arabs, my friends, were requested to
do the same !
"Impossible, Myonga!'* I replied, yet struck with
admiration at the unparalleled audacity of the man.
" People have been obliged to pay what I ask," the
old man said, with a cunning twinkle in his eyes.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Ubagwl
496 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. *' Perhaps," I answered ; *' but whether they have or
HK.!!! ^^*» ^ cannot pay you so much, and, what is more, I will
not. As a sign that we pass through your country, I
give you one cloth, and the Arabs shall only give you
one cloth."
Myonga blustered and stormed, begged and threat-
ened, and some of his young men appeared to be
getting vicious, when rising I informed him that to
talk loudly was to act like a scolding woman, and that,
when his elder should arrive at our camp, he would
receive two cloths, one from me and one from the
Arabs, as acknowledgment of his right to the country.
The drum of Myonga's village at once beat to arms,
but the affair went no further, and the elder received
the reasonable and just tribute of two cloths, with a
gentle hint that it would be dangerous to intercept the
Expedition on the road when on the march, as the guns
were loaded.
Phunze, chief of Mkumbiro, a village ten miles south
by east from Myonga, and the chief of Ureweh, fourteen
miles and a half from Phunze's, were equally bold in
their demands, but they did not receive an inch of
cloth; but neither of these three chiefs were half so
extortionate as Ungomirwa, king of Ubagwe, a large
town of 3000 people.
We met at Ubagwe an Arab trader en rovie to
Uganda, and he gave us a dismal tale of robbery and
extortion practised on him by Ungomirwa. He had
been compelled to pay 150 cloths, live kegs or 50 lbs.
of gunpowder, five guns double-barrelled, and 35 lbs. of
beads, the whole being of the value of 625 dollars, or
£125, for the privilege of passing unmolested through
the district of Ubagwe.
When the chief came to see me, I said to him : —
*^Why is it, my friend, that your name goes about
the country as being that of a bad man ? How is it that
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Ubagw*.
FB ACTIO AL CONVERSION. 497
this poor Arab has had to pay so much for going through i876.
Ubagwe? Is Ubagw^ Unyamwezi, that Ungomirwa ^^^^
demands so much from the Arabs ? The Arab brings
cloths, powder, guns into Unyamwezi. If you rob him
of his property, I must send letters to stop people
coming here, then Ungomirwa will become poor, and
have neither powder, guns, nor cloths to wear. What
has Ungomirwa to say to his friend?"
"Ungomirwa,'* replied he, "does no more than
Ureweh, Pliunze, Myonga, Ndega, Urangwa, and
Mankorongo : he takes what he can. If the white man
thinks it is wrong, and will be my friend, I will return
it all to the Arab."
" Ungomirwa is good. Nay, do not return it all ;
retain one gun, five cloths, two fimdo of beads, and one
keg of powder ; that will be plenty, and nothing but
right. I have many Wanyamwezi with me, whom I
have made good men. I have two from Ubagwe, and
one man who was born at Phunze's. Let Ungomirwa
call the Wanyamwezi, and ask them how the white
man treats Wanyamwezi, and let him try to make
them run away, and see what they will say. They will
tell him that all white men are very good to those who
are good/'
Ungomirwa called the Wanyamwezi to him, and
asked them why they followed the white man to wander
about the world, leaving their brothers and sisters. The
question elicited the following reply : —
" The white people know everything. They are
better than the black people in heart. We have abun-
dance to eat, plenty to wear, and silver for ourselves.
All we give to the white man is our strength. We
carry his goods for him, and he bestows a father's care
on his black children. Let Ungomirwa make friends
with the white man, and do as he says, and it will be
good for the land of Unyamwezi.'*
VOL. I.— 32
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Ubagw^
498 THROUGH THE DABK CONTINENT.
1876. To whatever cause it was owing, Ungomirwa returned
nt^!^'z *^® Arab nearly all his property, and presented me with
three bullocks ; and during all the time that I was his
guest at Ubagwe, he exhibited great friendship for me,
and boasted of me to several Watuta visitors who came
to see him during that time ; indeed, I can hardly re-
member a more agreeable stay at any village in Africa
than that which I made in Ubagwe.
Unyamwezi is troubled with a vast number of petty
kings, whose paltriness and poverty have so augmented
their pride that each of them employs more threats,
and makes more demands, than Mtesa, emperor of
Uganda,
The adage that " Small things make base men proud "
holds ti-ue in Africa as in other parts of the World.
Sayid bin Sayf, one of the Arabs at Kafurro, begged
me as I valued my property and peace of mind not
to march through Unyamwezi to Ujiji, but to travel
through Uhha. I attribute these words of Sayid's to a
desire on his part to hear of my being mulcted by kings
Khauza, Iwanda, and Kiti in the same proportion that
he was. He confessed that he had paid to Kiti sixty
cloths, to Iwanda sixty cloths, and to king Khanza 138,
wliich amounted in value to 516 dollars, and this
grieved the gentle merchant's soul greatly.
On my former journey in search of Livingstone, I
tested sufficiently the capacity of the chiefs of Uhha to
absorb property, and I vowed then to give them a wide
berth for all future time. Sayid's relation of his ex-
periences, confirmed by Hamed Ibrahim, and my own
reverses, indicated but too well the custom in vogue
among the Wahha. So far, between Kibogora's capital
and Ubagw^, I had only disbursed thirty cloths as gifts
to nine kings of Unyamwezi, without greater annoy-
ance than the trouble of having to reduce their demands
by negotiation.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
THE ISEMAELS OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 499
No traveller has yet become acquainted with a wilder i876.
race in Equatorial Africa than are the Mafitte or ^'^ ^'
Watuta. They are the only true African Bedawi ; and ^^
surely some African Ishraael must have fathered them,
for their hands are against every man, and every man's
hand appears to be raised against them.
To slay a solitary Mtuta is considered by an Arab
as meritorious, and far more necessary than killing a
snake. To guard against these sable freebooters, the
traveller, while passing near their haunts, has need of
all his skill, coolness, and prudence. The settler in
their neighbourhood has need to defend his village
with impregnable fences, and to have look-outs night
and day : his women and children require to be guarded,
and fuel can only be procured by strong parties, while
the ground has to be cultivated spear in hand, so
constant is the fear of the restless and daring tribe of
bandits.
The Watuta. by whose lands we are now about to
travel, are a lost tribe of the Mafitte, and became sepa-
rated from the latter by an advance towards the north
in search of plunder and cattle. This event occurred
some thirty years ago. On their incursion they en-
countered the Warori, who possessed countless herds of
cattle. They fought with them for two months at one
place, and three months at another ; and at last, per-
ceiving that the Warori were too strong for them —
many of them having been slain in the war and a large
number of them (now known as the Wahehe, and settled
near Ugogo) having been cut off from the main body —
the Watuta skirted Urori, and advanced north-west
through Ukonongo and Kawendi to Ujiji. It is in
the memory of the old Arab residents at Ujiji how the
Watuta suddenly appeared and drove them and the
Wajiji to take refuge upon Bangwe Island.
Not glutted with conquest by their triumph at Ujiji,
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500 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. they attacked Urundi ; but here they met different
uhJ \ ^^®® altogether from the negroes of the south. They
next invaded Uhha, but the races which occupy the
intra-lake regions had competent and worthy cham-
pions in the Wahha. Baffled at Uhha and Urundi,
they fought their devastating path across Uvinza, and
entered Unyamwezi, penetrated Usumbwa, Utambara,
Urangwa, Uyofu, and so through Uzinja to the Victoria
Nyanza, where they rested for some years after their
daring exploit. But the lands about the lake were not
suited to their tastes, and they retraced their steps as far
as Utambara. Kututwa, king of Utambara, from policy,
wooed the daughter of the chief of the Watuta, and as
a dower his land was returned to him, while the Watuta
moving south occupied the neighbouring country of
Ugomba, situate between Uhha and Unyamwezi. It is
a well-watered and a rich grazing country, therefore
well adapted to their habits and modes of life. The
Kinyamwezi kings of Serombo, Ubagwe, Ureweh,
Renzeweh, and kings Mirambo and Phunze have con-
tracted alliances with influential chiefs, and are on
tolerably good term^ with them; but stubborn old
Myonga still holds aloof from the Watuta.
It will be remembered by readers of * How I Found
Livingstone' how Mirambo appeared at Tabora with
thousands of the Watuta free-lances, slaughtered Khamis
bin Abdullah and five other Arabs, and ravaged that
populous settlement. From the above sketch of these
terrible marauders, they will now be able to understand
how it was that he was able to obtain their aid, while
the following paragraph explains how I obtained the
facts of this predatory migration.
The wife of Wadi Safeni — one of the Wangwana
captains, and coxswain of the Ladt/ Alice during her
cruise round the Victoria Nyanza — when proceeding
one day outside the stockade of Ubagwe to obtain
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
ONE OF THE WATUTA.
Ubagw^.
AFRICAN TITLES. 501
water, accidentally heard our Watuta visitors gossiping i87g.
together. The dialect and accent soundine familiar to ,^*^
her, she listened, and a few moments after she was
herself volubly discussing with them the geography
of the locality inhabited by the'Mafitte between Lake
Nyassa and Tanganika. It was mainly from this little
circumstance — confirmed by other informants, Arab,
Wangwana, and Wanyamwezi — that the above brief
sketch of the wanderings of the Watuta has been ob-
tained.
" Mono-Matapa," that great African word, which,
from its antiquity and its persistent appearance on our
maps — occupying various positions to suit the vagaries
of various cartographers and the hypotheses of various
learned travellers — has now become almost classic, bears
a distant relation to the tribe of the Watuta.
Digitized by LjOOQ IC
502 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. The industrious traveller Salt, in his book on Abys-
^^^J\ sinia, dated 1814, says:—
"This country is oommonly called Monomatapa, in the accounts of
which a perplexing ohscurity has been introduced, by different authors
haying confounded the nanms of the districts with the titles of the
soyereigns, indiscriminately styling them Quit^ye, Mono-matapa, B^e-
motapa, Bene-motasha, Chikanga, Manika, Bokaranga, and Mokaranga.
The fact appears to be that the sovereign's title was Quit^ve, and the
name of the country Motapa, to which Mono has been prefixed, as in
Monomugi, and many other names on the coast, that beyond this lay a
district called Ghikanga, which contained the mines of Manica, and that
the other names were applicable solely to petty districts at that time under
the rule of the Quit^ve."
Zimbaoa, the capital of this interesting land, was said
to be fifteen days' travel west from Sofala, and forty
days' travel from Sena.
Indefatigable and patient exploration by various in-
telligent travellers has now enabled us to understand
exactly the meaning of the various names with which
early geographers confused us. The ancient land of the
Mono-Matapa occupied that part of South-East Africa
now held by the Matabeles, and the empire embraced
nearly all the various tribes and clans now known by
the popular terms of Kaffirs and Zulus.
The reputation which Chaka obtained throughout
that upland, extending from the lands of the Hottentots
to the Zambezi, roused, after his death, various ambi-
tious spirits. His great captains, leading warlike hosts
after them, spread terror and dismay among the tribes
north, south, and west. Mosele-katz6 overran the
Transvaal, and conquered the Bechuanas, but was sub-
sequently compelled by the Boers to migrate north,
where his people, now known as the Matabeles, have
established themselves under Lo Bengwella, his suc-
cessor.
Sebituane, another warlike spirit after the style of
Chaka, put himself at the head of a tribe of the Basutos,
and, after numerous conquests over small tribes, esta-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
Ubagw^
THE MAFITTA 603
blished his authority and people along the Zambezi, i876.
under the name of Makololo. Sebituan^ was succeeded .^*^ *;
by Sekeletu, Livingstone's friend, and he by Impororo
— the last of the Makololo kings.
One of Chaka's generals was called Mani-Koos. It
ought to be mentioned here that Mani, Mana, Mono,
Moeni, Muini, Muinyi, are all prefixes, synonymous with
lord, prince, and sometimes son : for example, Mana-
Koos, Mani-Ema, now called Manyeraa and Mana-
Mputu, lord of- the sea ; Mono-Matapa, Mana-Ndenga,
Mana-Butti, Mana-Kirembu, Mana-Mamba, and so forth.
In Ure^ga the prefix becomes Wana, or Wane, as in
Wane-Mbeza, Wane-Kirumbu, Wane Kamankua, Wana-
Kipangu, Wana-Mukwa, and Wana Rukura ; while in
the Bateke and the Babwende lands it is changed into
Mwana, as Mwana-Ibaka, or Mwana-Kilungu, which
title was given to the Livingstone river by the Bab-
wend^, meaning " lord of the sea." To return. This
Mani-Koos, a general of Chaga's, attacked the Portu-
guese at Delagoa Bay, Sofala, and Inhambane, and
compelled them to pay tribute. The party then
crossed the Zambezi river above Tete, the capital of
the Portuguese territory, and, after ravaging the
lands along the Nyassa, finally established itself north-
west of the Nyassa, between that lake and the Tan-
ganika. To-day they ar^ known as the Manitu, Mafitte,
or Ma-viti ; and three ofi'shoots of this tribe are — the
Watuta in the neighbourhood of Zombe, south-east end
of Lake Tanganika ; the Wahehe, who cause such dire
trouble to the Wagogo ; and the Watuta, the allies
of Mirambo, and called by the Wanyamwezi the
Mwangoni.
On the 4th May, having received the milch-cows,
calves, and bullocks from my new brother Mirambo, we
marched in a south-south-west direction, skirting the
territory of the Watuta, to Ruwinga, a village occupying
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
604 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. a patch of cleared land, and ruled by a small chief who
^^' is a tributary to his dreaded neighbours.
The next day, in good order, we marched across a
portion of the territory of the Watuta. No precaution
was omitted to ensure our being warned in time of the
presence of the enemy, nor did we make any delay
on the road, as a knowledge of their tactics of attack
assured us that this was our only chance of avoiding
a conflict with them. Msene, after a journey of twenty
miles, was reached about 2 p.m., and the king, Mulagwa,
received us with open arms.
The population of the three villages under Mulagwa
probably numbers about 3500. The king of the
Watuta frequently visits Mulagwa's district; but his
strongly fenced villages and large number of muskets
have been suflScient to check the intentions of the rob-
bers, though atrocious acts are often committed upon
the unwary.
Maganga, the dilatory chief of one of my caravans
during the first Expedition, was discovered here, and,
on the strength of a long acquaintance with my merits,
induced Mulagwa to exert himself for my comfort,
I saw a poor woman, a victim of a raid by the
Watuta, who, having been accidentally waylaid by
them in the fields, had had her left foot barbarously
cut off.
Ten miles south-west of Msene is Kawangira, a dis-
trict about ten miles square, governed by the chief
Nyambu, a rival of Mulagwa. Relics of the ruthless-
ness and devastating attacks of the Watuta are visible
between the two districts, and the once populous land
is rapidly resuming its original appearance of a tenant-
less waste.
The next village, Nganda, ten miles south-west from
Kawangira, was reached on the 9th May. From this
place, as far as Usenda (distant fourteen miles south-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
BIVU^ LAKK 505
south-west), extended a plain, inundated with from 2 to i876.
5 feet of water from the flooded Gomb^, which rises J**^ ^^*
about forty miles south-east of Unyanyembe. Where "'^"'
the Gombe meets with the Malagarazi, there is a
spacious plain, which during each rainy season is con-
verted into a lake.
We journeyed to the important village of Usagusi on
the 1 2th, in a south-south-west direction. Like Serombo,
Myonga's, Urangwa, Ubagw^, and Msen^, it is strongly
stockaded, and the chief, conscious that the safety of his
principal village depends upon the care he bestows
upon its defences, exacts heavy fines upon those of his
people who manifest any reluctance to repair the
stockade; and this vigilant prudence has hitherto
baffled the wolf-like marauders of Ugomba.
I met another old friend of mine at the next village,
Ugara. He was a visitor to my camp at Kuzuri, in
Ukimbu, in 1871. Ugara is seventeen miles west-south-
west from Usagusi. I found it troubled with a " war/' or
two wars, one between Kazavula and Uvinza, the other
between Ibango of Usenye and Mkasiwa of Unyan-
yembe.
Twenty-five miles in a westerly direction, through a
depopulated land, brought us to Zegi, in Uvinza, where
we found a large caravan, under an Arab in the employ
of Sayid bin Habib. Amongst these natives of Zanzibar
was a man who had accompanied Cameron and Tippu-
Tib to Utatera. Like other Munchhausens of his race,
he informed me upon oath that he had seen a ship upon
a lake west of Utatera, manned by black Wazungu, or
black Europeans !
Before reaching Zegi, we saw Sivu^ lake, a body of
water fed by the Sagala river : it is about seven miles
wide by fourteen miles long. Through a broad bed,
choked by reeds and grass and tropical plants, it
empties into the Malagarazi river near Kiala.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
ZegL
506 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. Zegi village also swarmed with Rusunzu's warriors.
^zLl*^ Rusunzu has succeeded his father, Nzogera, as king of
Uvinza, and, being energetic, is disposed to combat
Mirambo's ambitious projects of annexation. I took
care not to disclose our relationship with Mirambo, lest
the warriors might have supposed we countenanced
his designs against their beloved land.
These warriors, perceiving that the word Ruga-Ruga,
or bandits, influences weak minds, call themselves by
that name, and endeavour to distinguish themselves by-
arresting all native travellers suspected of hostility or
property. One of these unfortunates just captured was
about to have his weasand cut, when I suggested that
he had better be sold, as his corpse would be useless.
** You buy him, then," said the excited fellows ; " give
us ten cloths for him."
" White men don't buy slaves ; but rather than you
should murder an innocent man, I will give you two
for him."
After considerable discussion, it was agreed that he
should be transferred to me for two cloths ; but the poor
old fellow was so injured from the brutal treatment he
had undergone that he died a few days afterwards.
Zegi, swarming with a reckless number of lawless
men, was not a comfortable place to dwell in. The
conduct of these men was another curious illustration of
how " small things make base men proud." Here were
a number of youths suffering under that strange disease
peculiar to vain youth in all lands which Mirambo
bad called "big head." The manner in which they
strutted about, their big looks and bold staring, their
enormous feathered head-dresses and martial stride,
were most offensive. Having adopted, from bravado,
the name of Ruga-Ruga, they were compelled in honour
to imitate the bandits' custom of smoking banghi (wild
hemp), and my memory fails to remind me of any
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
May 18.
Ugaga.
CBOSSING THE MALAGARAZL 507
similar experience to the wild screaming and stormy i876,
sneezing, accompanied day and night by the monoto-
nous droning of the one-string guitar (another ac-
complishment de rigiLeur with the complete bandit)
and the hiccuping, snorting, and vocal extravagances
which we had to bear in the village of Zegi.
We paid a decent tribute of fifteen cloths to Rusunzu,
out of the infamous *' sixty" he had demanded through
his Mutware or chief; and the Mutwar^ received only
four out of the twenty he had said should be paid to
himself; and after the termination of the bargaining
we marched to Ugaga on the Malagarazi on the 18th.
The Mutwar^ of Ugaga the next day made a claim of
forty doti or cloths before giving us permission to cross
the Malagarazi. I sent Frank with twenty men to a
point three miles below Ugaga to prepare our boat ;
and meanwhile we delayed negotiations until a mes-
senger came from Frank informing us that the boat was
ready, and then, after making a tentative offer of two
cloths, which was rejected with every ludicrous ex-
pression of contempt, we gave four. The Mutware
then said that Rusunzu the king had commanded that
we should return to Zegi to fight his enemies, other-
wise he withheld his permission to cross the river. At
this piece of despotism we smiled, and marched towards
the boat, where we camped. At 4 a.m. of the 20th May
I had eighty guns across the mile- wide * Malagarazi,
and by 3 p.m. the entire Expedition, and our Arab
friends whom we had met at Zegi, were in Northern
Uvinza.
The next day, avoiding the scorched plains of Uhha,
of bitter memory to me, we journeyed to Ruwhera,
eleven miles ; thence to Mansumba, due west, nine
miles and a half through a thin jungle ; whence we
* In the dry season the Malagarazi is only about 60 yards wide at
Ugaga.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
508 THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT.
1876. despatched some Wanyamwezi across the frontier to
M^'^ ^!* Uhha to purchase corn for the support of the Expedition
in the wilderness between Uvinsa and Ujiji.
Strange to say, the Wahha, who are the most extor-
tionate tribute-takers in Africa, will not interfere with
a caravan when once over the frontier, but will readily
sell them food. About fifty Wahha even brought grain
and fowls for sale to our camp at Mansumba. Though
truth compels me to say that we should have fared very
badly had we travelled through Uhha, I must do its
people the justice to say that they are not churlish to
strangers beyond their own limits.
It is a great pity that the Malagarazi is not navi-
gable. There is a difference of nearly 900 feet between
the altitude of Ugaga and that of Ujiji. One series of
falls are south-south-west from Ruwhera, about twenty-
five miles below Ugaga. There is another series of
falls about twenty miles from the Tanganika.
At noon of the 24th we camped on the western bank
of the Rusugi river. A small village, called Kasenga,
is situated two miles above the ford. Near the crossing
on either side are the salt-pans of Uvinza, which
furnish a respectable revenue to its king. A square mile
of ground is strewn with broken pots, embers of fires,
the refuse of the salt, lumps of burnt clay, and ruined
huts. As Rusunzu now owns all the land to within
fifteen miles of Ujiji, there is no one to war with for
the undisputed possession of the salt-pans.
Through a forest jungle separated at intervals by
narrow strips of plain, and crossing six small tributaries
of the Malagarazi by the way, we journeyed twenty-
three miles, to a camp near the frontier of the district
of Uguru, or the hill country of Western Uhha.
The northern slopes of these mountain masses of
Uguru, about fifteen miles north of the sources of the
Liuche, are drained by the southern feeders of the Alex-
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
AT UJIJI—SAD MEMORIES. 509
andra Nile; the western, by the Mshala; the southern, isre
by the Liuche ; and the eastern, by the Uhha tribu- ^^'7. "^
taries of the Malagarazi. The boundaries of Uhha, ^^^^
TJrundi, and Ujiji meet at these mountains, which are
probably 6500 feet above the sea.
We greeted our friend of Niamtaga, whom we had
met in November in 1871, but, alas for him ! two weeks
later he was taken by surprise by Eusunzu, and
massacred with nearly three-fourths of his people.
At noon of the 27th May the bright waters of the
Tanganika broke upon the view, and compelled me to
linger admiringly for a while, as I did on the day I
first beheld them. By 3 p.m. we were in Ujiji. Muini
Kheri, Mohammed bin Gharib, Sultan bin Kassim, and
Khamisthe Baluch greeted me kindly. Mohammed bin
Sali was dead. Nothing was changed much, except the
ever-changing mud tembes of the Arabs. The square
or plaza where I met David Livingstone in November
1871 is now occupied by large tembes. The house
where he and I lived has long ago been burnt down,
and in its place there remain only a few embers and a
hideous void. The lake expands with the same grand
beauty before the eyes as we stand in the market-place.
The opposite mountains of Goma have the same blue-
black colour, for they are everlasting, and the Liuch6
river continues its course as brown as ever just east and
south of Ujiji. The surf is still as restless, and the sun
as bright ; the sky retains its glorious azure, and the
palms all their beauty ; but the grand old hero, whose
presence once filled Ujiji with such absorbing interest
for me was grone !
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INDEX TO VOL- L
Acacia, 102, 107, 132, 164, 403, 461.
Ajawas Uniyersities, Mission fights
with, 77.
Akanyaru Lake, 463, 468-9.
Akida, 244.
Albert Nyanza, 298, 403.
Alexandra Nile River (Kagera), 18,
213-215, 389-390, 402, 448-460,452,
459-461, 463^, 466, 468, 472, 476,
479-481, 509.
Alexandra Nyanza. 480, 481.
AUce Island, 221, 224, 225, 237-a
Almass, king of Uganda, 349.
Aloes, 221, 461.
Alsassi, 112.
Andrew of Zanzibar, 434.
Angels, Mtesa's cuiiosity concerning,
32.1-2.
Ankori district, 297, 364, 369, 432.
Antari, king of Ihangiro, 229, 246, 272,
278-80, 2b3, 285, 376.
Antelope, 132.
Ants, m, 221.
Arabs, colonists in interior, 44-5; at
Kafurro, 452-5; blackmail levied
from, 496 ; at Ujiu, 509 ; opinion in
Uganda of, 321, 324 ; Mirambo and
the Arabs, 493.
Arms of savages, 113, 124, 159, 171,
229 ; poisoned arrows, 223 ; red-hot
arrows, 361; iron armour, 362;
" howitzers " and Brown Besses, 328 ;
bull-hide shields, 370; of Waganda,
410; of Rumanika, 473-4.
Arnold, Mr. Edwin, 5; Mount EjL, 432.
Asses, our, 72, 105, 109, 136.
Astaboras, 11 ; Astosabos, 11 ; Astopas,
11 ; Astopus, 11 — *' tributaries of the
Nile."
Basoons, 466.
Bagamoyo, 64-5, 89, 91 ; arrival at, 70 ;
disturbance at, 72-76 ; Notre Dame
de B., 75, 154.
Bandits of Africa — see "Mirambo,"
«* Watuta."
Baobab-trees, 89, 99, 132, 13a
Baraka, boatman, 191, 228-9, 233,
238-9.
Barghash, Sultan of Zanzibar — see
"Seyyid Barghash.*'
Bans, murderers of CJolonel Linant de
Bellefonds, 211.
Barker, Frederick, engaged, 5 ; at Zan-
zibar, 61; with the Expedition on
march, 104, 109, 115-16, 121, 149.
155 ; sickness and death, 240-3, 244.
Barker's Island, 226.
Batwa, or Watwa, the dwarf people,
470.
Bays, gulfis, and creeks— wc " Bazzi,"
" Beatrice," " Buka," " Grant,''
« Ikungu," « Kadzi," " Lugumbwa,**
"Mikindini,'* "Monyono," "Mori,"
"Nakidimo,""Speke.'*
Bazzi Bay, 185.
Beads, variety in favour with Wa-
Nguru, 91 ; with Warimi, 114; with
Muiwanda, 169.
Beatrice Gulf, 27, 432, 438, 470, 481.
Bellefonds, Colonel Linant de, 205-11,
238, 443.
Bells, 140.
Bemba Lake, scene of Livingstone*s
death, 1, 24-5.
Bennett, Mr. J. Gordon— «ee Gordon
Bennett.
Bhang-smoking, 71, 86, 506.
Bible, translating the, 203, 209, 322-5.
''Big head,** 447, 493, 506— sec "Ma-
gassa," " Sambuzi," " Blackmail"
Billali, the gun-boy, 92.
Birds— 5ec " Ornithology."
Blackmail, 449, 478-9, 484, 494-8.
Blood-brotherhood, with Mganga,
122, 233-4 ; with Komeh, 268; with
Mirambo, 493.
Boat, Lady Alice, 4, 60, 61, 147, 153;
afloat on Lake Victoria, 156.
Boma Kiengo, or Msera, 486.
Bombax, 221.
Borassus palm, 131.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INDEX.
511
Botany— acacia, 102, 107, 132, 164,
403, 461; aloes, 221, 461; cotton-
woo<l, 402, 474; Doum-polms, 102;
E8chinonien8B,164; Euphorbias, 107,
138, 139, 140, 164, 461; fig-trees,
182, 198, 402; fruit— grains, gum-
trees, 107, 164, 198, 401-3, 461;
jasmine, 221; llianes, 160, 164, 221,
403, 466; mangroves, 166, 175;
Matete, 160; Mimosa, 133; Mvule,
orchids, 221, 226; pahns, papyrus,
pine-apple, 164, 221; potato-plant,
spear-grass, sycamore, 265, 403;
tamarind, tamarisk, teak, 221, 402.
Bridge Island, 166, 168.
Buffaloe, 132, 377.
Bugavu, village of, 296.
Bugeyeya, island of, 179.
Bugomba, 282, 396, 438, 440, 442;
punished, 446-7.
Bujaju— «etf " Ujaju."
Buka Bay, 182, 185-7.
Bukhet, " the pilot," 65, 57.
" Bull," 7, 85, 485-7.
Bumbireh Island, 222, 226, 237-8, 240,
274-5,286,289-90.
BurdettnCoutts Islands, 163.
Burrup, Rev., 76-7.
Burton, Lieut. R F., 'On the Nile,'
10-13, 14-16, 19.
Bwera, country of, 421.
Bwina, chief of, 270.
Cameron, 22, 26, 76 ; Stanley mistaken
for, 204-5.
Camp at Nakaranga, 310-11.
Camps— »«« " Itinerary," in Appendix.
Cannibals, 470.
Canoes of Ugamba, 171 ; of Waganda,
383; Mtesa's, 187-8; at Sesse,
212-13; Lukongeh's, 256; found-
ering on the lake, 260-4; "the
hippopotamus," 265 ; Uganda, 281 ;
Bumbireh, 283, 303; Waganda
war-canoes, 313-14 ; Wavuma, 328.
Capes, headlands, points, &c. — ate
« Chaga," " Chawasimba Goshi,"
"Kisuka," "Lupassi," "Muvwo,"
« Namagongo," " Pyramid," " Umbi-
ru," " Unjaku."
"Captain," the dog, 7, 86.
Cassava, or manioc, 149 sqq,
•* Castor," the dog, 7, 85.
Cattle, l05 ; of Suna, 113 ; of Fsiha,
137, 142, 149, 164 ; of Gambaragara,
471, 428.
Causeway to Ingira Island, 817-320.
Chaga promontory, 169, 170, 365.
Chagwd, 303.
Chakiomi, 471.
Chalula, chief, 103, 105.
*' Charnbarnngo" oi Uganda, 189, 204,
302,331.
Chambezi, 28-4.
Character of African races— Wangwa-
na, 46-52, 55; Wanyamwezi, 52-
3; the Expedition, 71; of Mgongo
Tembo, 130; of Kaduma, 150-2
Ugamba, 171; at Namungi, 175
Waganda, sense of "chaff," 190-2
of Mtesa, 193-6, 201, 305, 405-7
Magassa's, 208, 212; lake-tribes,
223-4; of Lukongeh, 247, 2^19
boat's-crew, 262; Bumbireh, 274,
276-8; Katekiro, 318; Waganda
406-8; Sambuzi, 424-5; Wanya
Kuanda, 455, 480-1 ; Mirambo, 492
Kumanika, 457-8, 474.
Charms, <&c.— »«? " Magic, Aa"
Charugawa village, 446.
Chawasimba Point, 214, 296.
Chikanga district, 502.
Chiwanuko Island, 212, 214.
Chiwyu, camp at, 115; death of E.
Pocock, 116, 118-19.
Chowpereh, 55-6.
Christianity in Africa, 75-80, 202-3,
209, 222, 249, 321, 322^, 335-7, 405,
417-18.
Chunyu, nitrous waters of, 96, 97-9.
Church in Uganda, 417.
Chwa, son of Kintu, 848.
Coffee, 42, 401.
Comoro Islands, 76.
Congo (Kongo). 26, 205.
Congondo, 89, 96.
Cotton-wood, 402, 474.
Cranes, 120, 133.
Crocodiles, 161; (educated), 253.
Daily Telegraphy mission from, 2,
3 ; farewell dinner from, 7, 209, 296.
Dallington, " the Scripture-reader,"
75, 322, 44a
Dance of kings, 269.
Deaths — Edward Pocock, 116; Kaif
Halleck, 123; Frederick Barker,
241 ; MabruM ** Speke," and others,
243-4.
Desertions from the Expedition, 98,
102, 1(^.
Dickinson, Bev. Mr., 77.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
612
INDEX.
DiBeases— Mc " Fever," 104, 114, 244-5,
467; dysentery, 114; leprosy, 463;
ophthalmia, 104 : typhus, 116, 135 ;
elephantiasis, 46^.
Dobo, under shelter at, 163.
Dogs, 7, 85, 471-2; used in war, 153,
300, 362, 472; of Expedition— »*^«
"Bull," "Jack," "Nero," ''Castor,"
" Captain," Ac; fondness of Waganda
kings for dogs, 348, 363.
Donkeys— »«« " Asses."
Doum-palms, 102.
Dress— Wa-Nguru, 91; Warimi, 113;
Abaddi, 139; Maheta, 168; Mui-
wanda, 169; Waganda, 183; Ma-
gassa, 184; Katekiro, 188, 302;
Mtesa's courtiers, 189, 193; J)age8,
192; Mbugu, 198; Mtesa, 192, 205,
300, 394 ; his sailors, 300; warriors,
subject tribes, 301 j Wakerewd,
255-6 ; Mirambo and his men, 490-1 ;
Kumanika,460. iSe« " Hairdressing."
Ducks, 112, 120, 132, 239.
Dudoma settlement, 100.
Duma Kiver, 158.
Dumo in Uganda, 213, 214, 296-7.
Dwarf land, 470.
Dysentery, 114.
Eastebn IJsiha, 135.
*' Eating up" lands and owner, 888-9,
447-8.
Elders of Tillages. 113-14, 294, 295.
Elephantiasis, 463.
Elephants at Uhumba, 100; eating a
putrid, 111; near Suna, 112; Mo-
nangah, 135: in Uganda, 849, 377;
legends of, 476-7.
Bschinomenad, 164.
Ethnology, 33. 84, 43-63, 80, 251, 470.
Euphorbias, 107, 138, 139, 140, 164, 461.
Expedition, embarks, and starts to-
wards the Dark Continent, 68 ; first
trouble, 72; first step for the in-
terior, 81 ; number, ^ ; arrives at
Bosako, 88; Mamboya, 92; Mpwa-
pwa, 95 ; western end of Ugogo, 107 ;
wilderness of Uveriveri, 109, 115,
123, 138; fights with Ituru, 120,
121, 128 ; arrives at Mgongo Tembo,
130-1; crosses Luwamberri Plain,
132-3 ; crosses Monangah river, 135 ;
arrives at Lake Victoria, 142; cir-
cumnavigation of Lake Victoria, 156-
241 ; embarks for Refuge Island, 259 ;
arrives at Mahyiga Island, 271;
fights wftfi Bumbireh Island, 274-
290 ; arrives at Dumo, 296, 297 ; de-
parts for Muta Nzig6 Lake, 421 ;
arrives at Muta Nzig6 Lake, 438;
arrives at Earagw6, 450, 478 ; arrives
at Ugoy or Ugoi, Ujiji, on Lake Tan-
ganika, 509.
Famini, 109-11.
Farjalla Christie, 56, 128.
Ferns, 483.
Ferris remodels the Lady Alice, 60.
Feruzi, Robert, 203, 238.
Fever, 104, 114, 244-5, 467.
Field-larks, 132.
Fights of Expedition, 122-9, 178, 236;
in camp, 266, 292, 446.
Fig-trees, 182, 198, 402.
Fire in the camp, 342.
Firearms in Uganda, "Brown Bess,'*
328.
Fish-hawks. 132-3.
Fishing, 147, 149, 156, 225.
Flamingoes, 133.
Forbearance, examples of our, 276-7.
Forests— see " Wood."
Fruit, of Refuge Island, 239, 269; of
Africa, melons, papaws, bananas,
411-14; plantains, &c, 402 «aa.
Fundi Rehani, murderer of Membd,
266.
Gabunoa, chief admiral of Uganda,
212.
Gambachika, 141.
Gambaragara, 428.
Geese, m, 133.
"Geographical Society of Karagw6,"
468-473.
Geography— we " Physical Geography."
Geology — of Usagara Range, 96; Uyanzi
107-8; Matongo basin, 119; Ma-
ngura, 131 ; Luwamberri, 133 ; Mo-
nangah, 135: Usiha, 136, 138, 141;
Bridge Island, 166; RubagaHiU,199;
Lupassi Point, 215; Musira Island
223; Wezi, 248. 403, 430, 434, 452;
Ihema, 463; Uhumba, 477.
Girafle, 132.
Gnu, 132.
Gk>at8kins, 401.
" Oo and die on the Nyanza;* 240.
Gogo, Goma, and GK>mbe rivers, 133,
504,605.
Gondoroko, Ismailia, 211, 804.
Goods of Expedition, 4, 81 ; beads and
doth, 91, 114, 169.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INDEX.
513
Gordon Bonnett, Mr. J., 8; Mount
G. B.,404,427,431.
Gordon Pasha. 211, 416.
Gori river, 165.
Goshi, headlands of, 165.
Grains, wheat, rice, maize, sesamnm,
miUet, 42-43, 402 sgq.. 485.
Grant, Capt. J. A., 1, 17-19, 194, 37a
Grant Bay, 299.
Gninea-fowls, 133.
Gum-trees and gums, 107, 164, 198,
401-3, 461.
Habits and customs— Zanzibar, 32-53,
147, 169-70; Wakerew6. 252^;
Bumbireh. 273 ; Waganda, 301, 381-
414, 410. 426-7.
Hail, 174, 177, 240.
Hair-dressinp— Wa-Ngum, 91 ; at Mui-
wanda, 170; Wanyamwezi pagazi,
141.
Hamadi, 83.
Hamed Ibrahim, 44, 453.
Hamoida, "the faithful," 55, 58, 172,
238
Hartebeest, 132, 421.
Herodotus, 8-12.
Heroes of Africa : of Uganda, 344-80
—see "Mirambo.** *^Tippu Tib,*'
53_aec *' Kasindula, * **Kibaga,"
850-1; Kimera, 349 ; Wakinguru, H59.
Hippopotamus, 158, 161, 163, 169, 236,
242, 254, 461.
History, Zanzibar peoples, 46-8;
sultan of. 39-43; Ukerew6. 250;
Uganda, 344-80 ; Watuta, 499.
Honey, 295.
Hot springs (Mtagata), 459, 464, 466-8 ;
of Usongora, 472.
Hulwa, 140-1.
Huts of Kagebyi, 144 ; of Wavuma,
179; of Usavara, 189; of Wajranda,
198-200, 302 ; Waganda army, 311 ;
Waganda peasants, 383-5, 430 ; of
Serombo, 488-9.
Hyenas, 94, 486.
Ibis, 132.
Jgira Tillage, camp at, 131-2.
Igusa district, products of, 149, 156 ;
treachery of, 244.
Ihangiro country, 277-295.
Ihema island ana lake, 463.
Ikungu Bav. 163.
Ingezi, rced-covered river, 450, 461-3,
469.
Ingira Island, 384, 311-41.
Iramba, 135.
VOL. I.— 33
Irangara islands, 161.
Irieni, 163-4.
Iroba Island, 271; insulted by crews
of, 273-4; capture of king of, 275;
release, 276 ; capture of Shekka, 276,
278 ; conciliated, 283, 287, 293.
Irwaji islands, 313 ; natives of, 365.
Ishmaels of Africa, 499.
Islam in Africa — ece "Zanzibar,"
"Arabs"; in Uganda. 209, 306, 323.
Islands-^we " Alice," " Barker's,"
"Bridge," "Bumbireh," "Burdett-
Coutts,'* "Chagw6," "Chiwanuko,"
" CJomoro,'' " Ingira,'* " Iroba,"
" Irangara," " Irwaji," subject to
Uganda, 461 ; " Lake Islands," 471 '
" Ito," " Kabuzzi," " Kamassi,';
" Kankorogo,** " Karara," " KasQng6."
" Kazaradzi," " Kereng6," "Kindevi,"
"Kiregi." "Kishakka," " Kitaro,'*
"Kitenteh," "Kiwa," "Kuneneh,"
"Lulamba," "Mabibi," "Mahyiga.''
« Miandereh," " Musira," "Muzimu,"
"Mysomeh," " Nameterr6,*' "Na-
mungi," "Natwari," "Ngevi." "Ni-
fuah,'' "Observation," "Refuge,"
"Rionga's," "Kumondo," "Sesse,"
"Shiza," "Singo," "Soweh," "Ihe-
ma* "Ukara," "Ukerew6,** "Usa-
ma," "Usuguru," "Uvuma," "Wa-
wizua."
Isossi (Mount), 461.
Itawa river, 133.
Itawagumba, 265.
Ito Island, 239, 264.
Itumbi (Sultan Mpamira's), 99.
Ituru, 87. 120, 129, 131.
Ivory, 401.
Iwanda, 467.
Izanjeh, camp at, 121, 123.
**Jaok,"85,93,47L
Jack's Mount, 298.
Jasmine, 221.
Jay, 120.
Jinja, 310, 373.
Jiweni, " the stones," 102, 110.
"Jojussu," the king of war-drums,
342.
Josephus on Nile, 11.
Juma Merikani, 44, 53.
Kahaka of Uganda— see " Mtesa "
Kabussi Island, 471.
Kach^ch^ (the detective), 55, 98, 113,
1-22, 154, 244, 444, 446, 447.
Kaduma, Prince of Kagehyi, 144-8,
150-6, 160,242, 244-5, 254, 266, 26a
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
614
INDEX.
Kadzi Bay, 183-4. 187.
Kafiirro,45t>-3. 455, 464, 476, 479.
Kapnyyo, 461.
Kagehyi, 141; arrival at, 142-3;
welcomed to, 144 ; in camp at, 145-8 ;
becomes a trade centre, 149, 150;
Prince of, 151-3; preparations for
leaving, 154-5: last sight of, 160;
return to, 240-1 ; Barker s death at,
212-3 ; treachery at, 244 ; rest ana
fever, 245 ; hostile neighlwurs, 246 ;
in searcb of canoes to, 247-9 ; return
to Kagehyi. 257 ; half the expedition
leaves, 2o9; fight among the re-
mainder. 2G5-6; final departure
from, 267.
Kagera— « *' Alexandra Nile.**
Kaguru, 91, 365.
Kaif Halleck murdered, 120-124, 129.
Knjumba, son of Suna I!., 377.
Kajurri bay and village, 284.
Eakoko, Eananga. and Buhinda, sons
of Bumanika, 477.
Kamanya, king of Uganda, 360-2, 365,
380.
Kamassi Island, 162.
Kamiera, Chwa's son, 348.
Kamiru, king, 376.
Kangau, 189.
Kaniki cloth. 114.
Kankorogo Island, 461.
Kanyera beads, 114.
lCaragw6, 150, 223, 296, 450478.
Karara Island. 470.
Kasengo, 14 ; island, 21.
Kasindula, the hero, 344. 372-3, 376,
380.
Kasinga village, 464, 508.
Kashesh6, king of Uzimba, 174.
Kashongwa, 108.
Kasita, 471.
Easongo, 26.
Katekiro of Uganda, 188-9, 366 (vic-
tories of), 378.
Katonga nver, 212-13, 297, 431.
Katutwa, king of Utarabara, f>05.
KnuU of Uganda, 189, 190, 302, 398.
Kavi river, 165.
Kawangira district, 504.
Kazaradzi Island, 270.
Kereng6 Island. 181.
Khamis bin Abdulla, 53; son of Ha-
moida, 253 ; the Baluch, 509.
Khonko, chief, 104.
Kibaga, the flying warrior, 350-L
Kibibi, natives of, 365.
Kibogora, king of Western Usui, 476,
479.
Kibonga, 213.
h'ibuga of Uganda, 200.
Kidudu Peak, 90.
Kiganda language, 171, 184, 203.
Kijaju, king of Komeh, 246, 268-9.
Eikoka, camp at, 85, 96.
Eikoma, camp at, 421.
Kikombo, or Chikombo, 99.
Kimera, the giant 348-9.
Kindevi Island. 162.
Eingani river, 84-6.
Eingfishers, 133. '
Eings of Uganda, 380 ; of Ukerew6, 250.
Eingwana language, 171; costume of,
192.
Kintu — see *' L^end of Blameless
Priest.*'
Einyamwezi language, 17L
Eipingiri, chief of Lutari, 156, 242,
^44, 265, 267.
Eirango, one of the Wangwana, 230.
Eiregi islands, 161.
Kirudo, camp at, 1^3.
Eirurumo, fighting at, 107, 131.
Eishakka, island of, 376, 459, 471, 47a
Eisorya, camp at, 257.
Eisuka, point, 20.
Eiswahili language, 184, 322.
Eitagwenda, 471.
Eitalalo, chief of, 102, 103, 122.
Eitangeh, 91; basin of, 91-2.
Eitangul^ river, 18, 450.
Kitari, royal sepulchre at, 250.
Eitaro Island, 159.
Eitenteh Island, 312. 364, 365.
Kitumi of Uganda, 189.
Eivu lake, 469.
Eiwa Island, 181, 187.
Eiwandar^ mountains, 466.
Eiwyeh, chief, 104
Eiyanga, 452.
Eizinga, bivouac at, 462.
Eiziwa.450, 467.
Eoki. 421.
Eomeh,150,264,4ia
Eonduchi, 16, 64.
Eongo (Congo), 26. 205.
Eudu (antelope), 132.
Kuneneh group, 161, 239, 244, 2?i9.
Eurereh, chief of Eyenzi, 244, 267.
Eyogia river, 421.
Eyozza, king of Northern Uzongora,
296, 376.
Eytawa, 278-9, 293,376.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INDEX.
515
LabobA, scene of L. do Bellefonds'
murder, 211.
Lady Alice^ lines of, 4; remodelled,
60; en route, 83: equipped for the
lake, 147; on the lake, 156-298;
stowed away, 299; on Windermere
\and the Karagwd streams, 46(M.
Lakes— «ec "Albert Nyanza," "Alex-
andra Nyanza," "Beatrice Gulf,"
"Bemba lake," " Ihema lake,"
"Kivu," "Lake Victoria," "Luam-
pula's," " Merur^, Mkinyaga," " Muta
Nzig6,"" Outlet of Victoria Nyanza,"
"Kweru," "Sivu6," "Tanganika,"
"Ugombo," "Uhimba lake," "Vic-
toria Nyanza," "Windermere,"
Lawson, Mount, 426.
Leehumwa, 100.
Leewumbu river, 119, 121, 128, 134
Legends, &c., 131 : of Lake Victoria,
153, 198, 251, 270; of the Blame-
less Priest, 34J-80; geographical
fables, 468-73, 505.
Leopards, 303, 364, 421, 486.
Leprosy, 463.
Linant Island, 186.
Lions, 89, 93, 100, 111, 364, 42L
Liuch6 river, 509.
Livingstone, Dr., death, 2; funeral,
1, 3 ; explorations of, 19-23, 26, 55 ;
with the Universities' Mission, 76-
77, 125, 193 ; Livingstone canoe, 420 ;
the " Livingstone" river, 23-26.
Llianes (bridge of;, 30, 160, 164, 221,
403, 466.
Lo Bengwella, 502.
Loangwa river, 23.
Lohugati river, 480, 483.
Long, Colonel, 378.
Lords of the cord, 363, 393, 897-a
Luajerri river, 299.
Lualaba, Luapula, 24.
Luampula's lake, 469.
Lugumbwa Creek, 90.
Luhola in Usongora, 470.
Luindi river, 78.
Lukanjah, 259, 264-6, 268, 276, 291,
293^
Lukoma, chief, 439.
Lukongeh, king of Ukerew6, furnishes
canoes, 247; life of, 251-7; Mtesa's
alliance with, 418.
Lulamba islands, 313 ; natives of, 365.
Lupassi Point, 215.
Lusize, 20.
Lutari cape, 156, 242, 244, 266, 267.
Luwamberri, plains of, and river, 132-
8,13a
Lynx, 364.
Mabibi isr.ANDS, 259.
Mabruki "Speke," 66-6; death, 243.
Machench6 village, 103.
Machunda, king of UkerewS, 253.
Mackenzie, Bishop, 76, 77.
Mafia islands, 4L
Mafitt6««je**Watuta.''
Maganga, chief of Rubago, 130, 158, 504.
Magassa, the messenger and admiral,
164, 187-8, 208, 211, 224, 246-6, 282,
387, 889, 443.
Magic, and magic doctors, &c., 105, 122,
131, 162, 251, 826-7, 833, 340-1,
364,383.
Magomero, mission at, 77.
Magu Hills, 149, 157-8, 163.
Maheta, or Mahata, country, 168-9.
Mahyiga Island, eventful stay at, 271-
294
Majid, Prince, 59, 378.
Majita, Mount, 162, 241, 251.
Makindu river, 300.
Makongo, ill-treatment at, 216, 218,
224,237,296.
Makubika village, camp at, 91.
Malagarazi (or Meruzi) river, 480,
483, 494, 505, 607.
Malewa, chief of Mtiwi, 106-7.
Mamboya village, 91.
Manassa, heights of, 141.
Mangroves, 166, 175.
Mangura, village of, 120, 231.
Manikoos, &c., 603.
Mankorongo, king of Usui, 193, 246,
398, 418, 484-6.
Mansumba village, camp at, 607.
Mansur bin Suliman, an Arab of Ba-
gamoyo, 74-6, 83, 86.
Manwa Sera, " Captain," 66-7, 82, 110,
128, 244, 270, 273, 287, 439.
Manyara, cones of, 169.
Maoorugimgu, sub-chief, 399.
Marches, average of, 145.
Marenga Mkali, or "Bitter Water"
wilderness, 98-9.
" Mars of Africa," 489— «ed " Mirambo.**
Marsawa, peak of, 175.
Marya, camp at, 140.
Marzouk the boat-boy, 238.
Masai land, 165.
Masaka, village in Uddu, 389
Masari, a village, 134, 139.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
516
INDEX.
Mashakka, 157.
Masonga, hilly point, 162.
Masr (Cairo), 150, 203, 206.
MaRnmami, chief of Kitalalo, 103.
Matabel6s, 502.
Mat6mb6 Point, 16L
Matete (water-cane), 164, 182, 199.
Matongo, small district, 119.
Mayangira village, 494.
Mbwenni, site of mission, 86.
Mbugu^see " Dress."
Memb^ murdered, 266.
Menir6 (Lake), 465.
Meruzi— «« " Malagarazi.'*
Messenger of Teddington, 4, 240.
Meteorology— Rain, 119, 163, 174, 178,
226; wind, 157, 163, 170, ITT, 237,
240, 297, 466; hail. 174. 177, 240;
temperature, 99, 100, 120, 160, 174,
177, 432, 467.
Mezinda district on Lake Victoria,
camp at, 296.
Mfuteh, camp at, 89, 90.
Mgongo Tembo, "Elephant's Back,'*
. 120-1, 130-L
Miandereh Island, eyentful passage to,
260—2.
Mikindini, bay, 23.
Mimosa, 133, 159, 164, 221.
Mirambo, chief of the " Ruga-Ruga,**
107, 126, 130, 134, 170, 246, 396,
488. 490-2; makes blood-brother-
hood, 493.
Missions and mission work — Uni-
versities' Mission, 75-80, 202-3;
converting Mtesa, 209, 222, 242-3 ;
Lukongeh, 249, 321-325, 335-7,
405-6, 417-18.
Mizanza (Plain oO, 102-3; chief, 104.
Mkasiwa, of Unyanyemb6, 107, 493.
Mkindo river, 90.
Mkinyaga lake and country, 469.
Mkumbiro, village of, 496.
Mkundi river, 90.
M*kungu, or chief, of Uganda, 386.
Mkwenda, 189, 331.
Mombasa, Methodist Free Church at,
64, 79, 209.
Mombiti, camp at, 134-6, 176, 178.
Mombiti-Uvuma, 276.
Monangah river and valley, 119, 134-5,
138.
Mondo, camp at, 138, 140.
Monitors, lol.
Monkeys and skins, 140, 401, 466.
Mono Matapa, 50L
Monyono bay, 186.
Mori Bay, 164.
Morungo, or the " Noisy Falls," 459.
Mosquitoes, 157, 297, 462.
Mother of the Jiiver at Jinga, 450.
Mountains of the Moon, reputed source
of Nile, 12.
Mountains, peaks, hills, cones, &c.—
see " Arnold,'* '* (rambaragara,"
" (Gordon Bennett," " Isosd," "Jack's
Mount," " Kidudu," " Magu," " Ma-
nyara," "Mgongo Tembo," "Pong-
w^," " Rubaga," " Sabaganzi s,"
"Switzerland of Africa," "Uddu
Ufumbiro," "Ukamba," "Unyang
wira," *• Urirwi," " Usambara," " Wa-
kuneh."
Mpanga river, 432.
Mpani village, 310.
Mpororo, 469.
Mpundu, a race of dwarfs, 470.
Mpwapwa, 95-6 ; camp at, 97, 119.
Msen6, camp at, 504.
Msenna, "the bully of Zanzibar,"
59, 93, 244, 2G7, 485.
Mshala river, 509.
Msossi, capital of Lukongeh, 251.
Msungu, or white man, 143.
Msuwa village, 89.
Mtagata, hot springs of, 469, 464.
Mtambuko, king of Ankori, 297.
Mtesa, emperor of Uganda, 106,150
— see " Uganda," " Character,"
" Dress," and " Women."
Mtiwi, camp at, 106-7.
Mtongoleh-«oc " Titles.**
Muanza district, 15, 149, 246.
Muhalala, camp at, 107.
Muini Kheri, an Arab, 44, 609; Du-
gumbi, an Arab, 44.
Mukondoku district, 103-5.
Mukondokwa river, 96.
Muley bin Salim converts Mtesa ^
Islam, 194, 323.
Munulu river, 177.
Murambo, king of Usuguru, 177.
Murchison Catartcts, mission at, 76;
bay, 19, 186-7, 196-7, 208, 212.
Musira Island, 218, 223, 225, 247.
Muta Nzig6, MteuBa provides escort
to, 803-4; scenery of, 404; prepa-
rations for, 420 ; camp at, 430-445^
449, 463— fie« "Beatrice Gult"
Mutunda beads, 169.
Mutwar6, or chief, 479, 507.
Muvari, 463.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INDEX.
517
MuTWO Point, 186.
Muzimu Island, 2L
Muzimus, ot spirits— wfl " MogiOi Ac."*
Mvomero, 90.
Mvul6-tree, 403.
Mwerango river, 300, 345,
Mwer^ country, 246.
Mweru, lake, 24.
Mworongo, or Nawarongo, river, 463.
Myombo-trees, 110, 118, 130, 132, 183.
Myonga, chief of Masumbwa, 494.
Mysomeh Islands, 270.
Nabutabi riyeb, 429.
Nagombwa river, 300, 361.
Kakaranga, Mtesa's camp at, 310-43.
Nakidimo Creek, 167.
Na-Magongo Point, 310, 313, 315, 341.
Nameterre Island, 271.
Kankuma village, landing at, 298.
Namujurilwa, "the Achilles of Ugan-
da," 344-366, 369, 370.
Kamnngi islands, 175, 365.
Napoleon Channel, 181, 201.
Natural history— see " Omitholopry,"
•* Zoology,*' '* Entomology," ** Geo-
logy," " Botany," &c
Natwari Island, l57.
Nrtwarongo, or Ruvuvn, river, 479.
Ndega, king of Serombo, 488.
Ndeverva village, 487.
Ndongo district, 449.
" Nero," the retriever dog, 7, 85, 102.
l^ew York Herald, mission from, 2, 3,
7; letters to, 209, 296.
Neygano, 176.
Ngevi Island, 170, 172, 174, 276.
Ngoi, district on Alexandra Nile, 467.
Ngnm district, 90, 124.
Niamtaga, village near Ujiji, 509.
Nifuah Island, 160.
NOe, 3, 8-10, 12, 13, 16-18, 20, 22, 27,
362, 481; White, 13, 16; Victoria,
18, 300, 306, 361. 398, 472; Alex-
andra, 213-15, 389, 390, 402,448-50,
463, 466. 476, 479-81, 609.
Niranga (? Vinyata), basin of, 121.
Notre Dame de Bagomoyo, 76.
Ntewi village, halt at, 298, 418.
Nyambarri village, halt at, 484-5.
Nyangw6, 26.
Nyassa, lake. 23, 76, 78.
Nyika, king of Gambaragara, 427-8.
Nynngu, chief, 107.
Observation Island, 164.
Ophthalmia, 104.
Orchids, 221, 226.
Organization of Expedition in England,
1-7; at Zanzibar, 52-69, 81
Ornithology, 120, 133 ; cranes, ducks,
112, 120, 132, 239; field-larks, 132;
fish-hawks, 132-3 ; flamingoes, 133 ;
geese, 120, 133; guinea-fowls, 133;
ibis, 132 ; jay, 120 ; kingfishers, 133 ;
fnrroquets, 120 ; plover, 120 ; snipe,
20; spoonbills, l20, 133; vulture,
133.
Outlet of Victoria Nyanza, 299— see
" Ripon Falls."
Palms— Cocoa-nut, 86— see "Doum,"
" Borassus."
Pnngani river, 165.
Papyrus, 297, 404, 422, 425, 450;
« Funzo," 461.
Parroquets, 120.
Peasants, or Kopi, of Uganda, 330,
382-6.
Pemba, 41.
Fmguin, ship, 23.
Pennell, Rev. Mr., 78.
Phunz6, chief, 496.
Physical geography— «ee "Plains,"
"Rivers," "Mountains," **Bays,"
•* Islands," " Lakes," " Capes,"
"Falls," "Channels,"
Pine-apple, wild, 164, 221, 226.
Pipes, 105.
Plains and basins — «ee "Kitangeh,'*
"Luwamberri," "Mizanza,'* "Ni-
ranga (? Vinyata)," "Monangeh,"
"Rufiji Salina," "Shahshi." «Tu-
bugw^," "Uhamba," "Uyagoma,"
" Wagansu," " WagassL"
Plover, 120.
Pocock, Edward, engaged, 5 ; at Zan-
zibar, 61 ; bugler of the ExpeditioT»,
83; vnth the Expedition, 85, 92,
104, 109; taken ill at Suna, 114
115 ; death of, 116.
Pocock. Francis John, engaged, 5 ; at
Zanzibar, 61 ; vnth the Expedition,
61, 92, 104, 109; at his brothers
denth-bed, 114-16,121; stockading
camp against Wanyaturu, 126 ; siphts
the lake, 142, 145; at Kagehyi, 149,
155, 240; at Barker's death-bed,
243 ; visits Lukongeh, 247, 257-8 ; in
charge at Refuge Island, 268, 270;
at Mahyiga, 280 ; in council, 287.
Poisoned arrows, 223.
Pokino, 388-90.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
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S ;v-.*hi ' ' jvin.4 oO, 159, lA
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Digitized by VjOOQ IC
INDEX.
519
Shaurt,&7, 75, 124, 146, 151-2; "le-
vees," 192 sqq., 231, 249, 290, 302,
329 393.
Shekka, king of Bnmbireh, 231, 234,
272-5, 278, 295.
Shepherd tribes, 91, 113, 137-9; Wata-
turu, 251, 465; Ankori, 297; Wa-
Yuma, 423 ; Gambaragara and Uson-
gora, 471 ; Uwya, 225; Uhamba,477,
485, 510.
Shimee>u river, 119, 157-8, 215, 223.
Shirati district, 164-5.
Shirwa, 76.
Shiza Island, 162.
Shumari, 262-3.
Sims, 149, 157, 163.
Simba Mwenni village, 89, 90.
Singo Island, 239, 263.
Sivu6 lake, 505.
Slavery, at Zanzibar, 40-1, 45; of a
Bumbireh, 280; Uganda, 303-7;
of women, 309 ; 321, 324, 606.
Slings, 192, 239, 264
Snipe, 120.
Snow mountain, 427.
Songs and miisic, 142, 270, 397,409, 507.
Sondi, a youth, 125.
Sources of the Nile, 8-27; Herodotus
on, 8; Burton, 10-13, 210-«« "Nile."
South Usmau, 140.
Sowoh Island, 186-7.
Sparhawk, Mr. A., at Zanzibar, 31, 68.
Spear-grass, 164.
Speke Gulf, 119, 155-8, 160, 162, 167,
240.
Speke, John Hanning, 1, 14-18, 149,
193-4, 378, 474.
■Spoonbills, 120, 133.
Sport— Bcc ** Zoology" and "Orni-
thology."
Springbok, 132.
Steere, Kev. E., bishop, 78,
St. Joseph's, 79.
St. Luke's Gospel, 322.
Stoims, 157, 163, 170, ITT, 178, 237,
239,240.
Suliman, a youth, murdered, 129.
Sultan Mparaira's, 99.
Sultan of Zanzibar— «ae " Seyyid Bar-
ghash."
Suna, emperor of Uganda, 110, 118-19,
278, 348, 363-4, 368, 415.
Sungoro Tarib, an Arab, 144, 146-7,
149, 155, 157, 244, 281.
Sunset, at Zanzibar, 38 ; on the lake,
270.
Susa district, 165.
" Switzerland of Africa," 433.
Sycamore, 265, 403.
Tamabind, 182, 198, 221, 402.
Tamarisk, 102, 461.
Tanga, 64,
Tanganika, Lake, review of
explorations of, 3, 14r-16, l9-2
53, 82, 150, 304; arrival atlake,509;
Tarya Topan, 63, 67, 135.
Teak, 221, 402.
Tekeh, 392.
Tempests— «ce " Storms."
"2%e boat, oh I the boat;' 260.
" The Stones," 103, 105.
Thermometer readings, at Itumbi, 99-
100; Ituru, 120; Kitaro, 160; on the
lake, 174; Munulu river, 177,
432; at Mtogata. 467.
Timber— «ce " Wood."
Tippu Tib, 63.
Titles and names — Watuma, Mshensi,
Wangwana, 46-8; Kabaka, 187, 393-
404; Mtongoleh, or Watongoleh,
181-2, 192,1WNB, 208, 217, 282, 296,
375 ; Katekiro, 188-9 ; Chambarango,
189; Kangau, 189; Mkwenda, 189;
Sekebobo, 189; Kitunzi, 189; Saba-
ganzi, 189; Kauta, 189, 190; Saruti,
189; Kibuga, 200; Jumba, 212;
M'Kama, 270; "The Lion/' 278;
Wakungu, 305, 371, 376; Kopi, 372,
382-6; Mlangira, 407; M'Kayya.
407; generals, &c., 305; sub- chiefs,
331 ; Mtemi, 494 ; Mono-Matapa. Ac,
601; "Mani,* "wana," £03; Mut-
war6, 479, 507; Quitev^, 503; Mako-
lolo, 603.
Tori, Mtesa's factotum, 189, 204, 331,
400.
Tozer, Kev. Mr., 77.
Trade and trade prospects, Zanzibar,
41-3 (see '* Zanzibar"); primitive
trade, 149 ; Uganda, 210, 223, 321,
363,378,401-2,407,463-4.
Travel, rate of, 145.
Treachery, at Vinyata, 122-9; at
Maheta, 168; at Ugamba, 173; at
Mombiti, 178: at Uvuma, 180; at
Bumbiroh, 229, 285; at Kagehyi,
244.
Trees— ac« " Wood."
Tubugw6 (basin of), 95, 96.
Twiyami, 399 sqq.
Typhus and typhoid fever, 115, 135.
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
620
INDEX.
UBAOwi district, 496.
Ubwari Island, 21-2*2.
Uchambi district, 147-8. 1G3.
Uddu,hillsof,213, 223, 3>9.
Ufumbiro mountains, 463, 465.
Ugamba country, 170, 173, 175.
Uganda, history of, 844-80; stay in,
187-210; 297-425; chiefs of, 305;
anny and fleet of. 305-6. 313-14;
kings of, 380; districts subject to.
401, 409, 43U: life and manners
in, 881-414, 415-17, 446-9-«»
" Waganda."
Ugeyeya countnr, 152, 165-8, 223.
Ugingo Island, 165-6, 169.
Ugogo country, 98-9. 103, 107, 115,
118. 120, 122-3, 139,210,214.
Ugoi district, 464.
Ugombo (lake of). 95, 97-8,
Ugoweh,167.
Ug^ifu country, 478.
Uguha, 21.
Ugungu district, 300-60.
Uhumba, plain of. 100.
Uhha country, 463, 478, 50a
Uhimba lake. 476-7.
Ujaju district, or Bryaju, 213.
Ujiji country. 15, 19. 20, 23, 25-6, 44,
58, 150, 152, 205, 208.
Ukafu, district in Uganda, 181, 187.
Ukamba (peak), 91, 186. '
Ukara (island), 150, 162.
Ukedi country, 345.
Ukerew6 country. 15, 20, 152, 160-3,
233. 239-a« ** Wakerewtf."
Ukimbu country, or Uyanzi, 103.
Ukombeh Tillage, 494.
Ukonju country, land of cannibals, 470.
Ukwya, district of Ukerew6, 161.
Ulaf?alla, old capital of Uganda 349,
420.
Uledi, the coxswain, 192 262-3, 265.
Ulimengo, ** the joker," 56.
Umbiru Point, 186.
Ungomirwa, chief, 496.
IFniversities' Mission, history of, 75-80,
2i)3.
Unjaku headland, 212. 313.
Unyambungu country, 469, 478.
Unyampaka country, 435.
Unvampaka, 471.
Unyamwezi country, 52, 120, 161, 487.
Unyangwira hills. 103.
Unyanyemb6 district in Unyamwezi,
45, 76. 107. 130-1, 150, 152, 210,
246, 296, 420, 49a
Unyoro country, 864, 871, 39a
Uplands, 107 sqq., 118, 130.
Urambo, or Uyoweh, capital and dis-
trict of King Mirambo, 494.
Urengo, Ulengo, river, 25.
Uriambwa, the land of the tailed people,
470.
Urimba, 21.
Urimi district, 108, 244.
Urirwi Mountains. 141.
Urondogani district, 17, 36L
Urundi country. 463.
Ururi country, 152-5, 157. 162-3, 222,
241— ww^Waruri."
Usagara country, 90. 96, 98, 223,
Usagusi (Tillage), 565.
Usama Island, 175.
Usambara district, 162.
Usambiro district, 486.
Usaiida 134.
UsaTara camp, 186, 188, 199, 209, 303.
Usekk6 Tillage and district, 103.
Usiha Tillage, 134-5, 137-8.
Usmau, 139. 149. 159.
Usoga country, 169. 223, 345, 360, 364
— «ae " Wasoga."
Usongora distnct, 428, 438, 467. 471.
Usuguru Island, 169, 170, 173-4, 240,
365.
Usui country, 193, 398, 467. 478.
Usukuma. 15, 120, 131, 13a-9. 143, 149,
150, 162, 176, 190-1, 200. 205-8, 240.
Utambara, 600.
Utaturu country, 120, 131.
Utiri district, 164.
Utumbi islands, 469, 471.
UveriTeri, jungles of, 109, 115, 123,
13rf.
UTira, 22.
Uvuma Island, 176, 178-9, 187, 223,
303, 312.
Uwya, ancient country, 223.
Uyagoraa district, 480.
Uyanzi country, 103.
Uzimba district, 433, 435, 47L
Uzinza country, 223, 418.
Uziri Island. 365.
Uzongora country, 214, 215, 222-3,
2u9, 282, 296, 364.
Vboistables, 134; beans, sweet
potatoes, vegetable-marrow, peas,
tomatoes, yams, 402.
Vescetation of Zanzibar, 29, 35, 42 ;
Mpwapwa, 97; Uyanzi, 107; Usn-
kuma, 134, 138; Ururi, 163; Buka,
Digitized by VjOOQIC
INDEX.
521
182-3; Uganda, 198, 208; Musira
Island, 219-21 ; AUce Island, 226 ;
Befuge Island, 269 ; Central Africa,
881, 383. 402.
Victoria Nile, 18, 300, 306, 361, 398, 472.
Yictoria Nyanza — review of preyious
explorations of, 3, 13, 15-19,60,82;
sighted by the Expedition, 142;
camp at, 144-5 ; propciing for voyage
on, 147,152-4 ; fables regarding, 153 ;
start on, 155; circnmnavigation of,
156-186, 211-41; crossing it on
return to Uganda, 259-296.
Vinyata district, 121, 123-4, 128, 131.
Volcanic phenomena, 165, 391, 427,
459, 464, 466-8, 472.
Vultures, 133.
Wa-Buhbibeh— se0 *• Bumbireh," 277
"Wadi Behani, one of the Wangwana,
coxswain.
Wapanda, character of, 190-2, 193-6,
201, 305, 405-7, 406-8 ; dress of. 183,
188, 302, 189, 193, 192,205,300,394,
801— «ce "Uganda," 222, 271, 862,
365-9. 439, 444.
Wagansu, plain of, 167.
Wagassi, plain of, 167.
Wagogo, people of Ugogo, 108.
W'ahuma shepherds, 278.
Wahumba, people of Masai, 105.
Wahya, Watambara, Wasumbwa, Wa-
ruri, Wakwya, Wazinga, 250.
Wajiji, people of Ujiji, 473.
Wajika or Wamasai, 159.
Wakara, people of Ukara Island, 150,
162.
Wakedi, people of Ukedi, 301, 360,
362.
Wakerew^— «ce " Ukerew^," 222, 226,
250-52, 264.
Wakimbu, tribe of, 107.
Wakinguru, the hero, 359, 360.
Wakuneh, hills of, 166.
Wakungujox chiefs, of Uganda, 192, 199.
Walking-sticks, the custom of sending,
300.
Wamasai, the, 91.
Wami river, 89, 90, 96.
Wandui, a village, 138.
Wangwana, origin and character of,
46-^2; habits tending to enervate,
55.
Wanhinni, 136.
Wanyamwezi, character of, 62-3.
Wanyaturu, people of Ituru, 120, 126,
128, 486.
Wanyoro, attack on GoL Bellefonds,
211, 349.
War in Africa, its desultory character,
297-343; legendary wars of Uganda,
344-80— »«e ** Mirambo," "Watuta."
War costume — ^Warimi,113; Bumbireh,
233; Waganda, 306; Mtesa, 307,
827
War-cries: " Hehu-a-hehu," 124, 228 ;
" Kavya," &c., 306-7, 316 ; *' Setuba,"
372, 429.
Warimi, 113, 114, 115.
Waruri,162 499— «m ** Ururi**
Wasess^, 313— see " Sess^.'*
Wasoga, 801, 365-9-«ee *' Usoga.-
Wasukuma, 108, 140, 148-9.
Wataturu shepherds, 250-1.
Water-buck, 132. 421.
Water-cane — »ee " Matet^.*'
Water-shed at Kikombo, 99 ; Uyagoma,
480.
Watongoleh— «<»« " Mtongoleh."
Watuta, 246; history of, 499-504.
Wavuma, 176, 179, 222-3, 277, 298,
315-19, 326, 328, 332-3, 364.
Wawizua Island, 270.
Wazinza, people of Uzinza, 222.
Wazongora, people of Uzongora, 289,
West, Bev. l^Tr., 78.
Western Unyamwezi, 107.
Weza, village of, 296.
Wezi, rocks of, 138, 257.
Whindi, 70.
White Africans. 426, 471-2
** White man with the open hand," 134.
White Nile, 13, 16.
Wild boar, 112, 132.
Windermere lake, 460.
Winds, 9, 157, 163. 165, 167, 168, 170,
173, 176, 177, 178. 179, 225, 237, 239,
240, 259, 265, 297, 466.
Wines — Malofu Moramba, 176, 185,
190,216,270,415.
Wirigedi district, at east end of Speke
Gulf. 150, 159, 223.
Wiru, coast of, 161, 239.
Witchcraft : wizards — «ee " Magic.**
Women stolen by Expedition, 86-7;
of Abaddi, 139; of Muiwanda, 169 ;
of Mtesa's court and harem, 196-7,
206, 304, 308-9. 400, 415, 428;
wife of Kaduma, 267; burnt in
camp, 343; wife of Kibaga, 350-1;
Digitized by VjOOQ IC
622
INDEX.
mother of Ma*anda, 855 ; capfiTeB in
war, 869. 870, 875; occnpations of,
886 ; relicts of Suna, 896 ; empress of
Baanda, 454 ; wife of Safeni, 500.
Wood, trees, timl^er, forests, 96. 97,
107, 138, 165, 182, 198, 220, 221, 242.
Wye, 162.
Tambittah, in Ukerew^, 161.
Yams, 402.
Zaidi, 55 ; Zaidi Uganda, 55, 157.
Zambezi river, mission at. 76.
Zanzibar, arrival at, 17,27,28; vegeta-
tion of, 29; harbour and beach, 30,
87; friends at, 81; life at, 81-8, 54,
59-63, 65-8, 70, 86 ; sultan of, 89-43 ;
commerce, 48; productions by the
Arabs, 48-45 ; Aralw of, 43-6 ; Wang-
wana, Watuma, 46-52; TaryaTopan,
63; residents of, 66; missions at,
75-6, 78, 194 ; Mnazimoya, 82, 85, 86 ;
Shangani Point. 82 ; Malagash inlet,
86; Mbw«nni, 86; Ngambu, 49, 50.
Zebras, 92-3, 182-3. 42L
Zedziwa river, 299, 300.
Zegi in Uvinza, 505-507.
Ziba village, camp at, 298.
Zimbao, capital of ^^ MonomatApa/
502
Zingeh, 100; Christmas Day at, 101-2.
Zoology— antelope, 132 ; baboons, 466 ;
buffalo. 132. 877: crocodiles, 161,
253; dogs, 153, 860, 368, 472, 848,
863; elephants, 100, 111-12. 135,
349.377.476-7; giraffe. 182; gnu,
132; hartebeest, 132, 421; hippo-
potamus, 158. 161, 163. 169, 236,
242, 254, 461; hyenas. 94, 486;
leopards, 303, 364. 421, 486; lions,
89, 93, 100. 111. 364,421 ; lynx, 364;
monitors, 161; monkeys. 140, 401,
466; rhinoceros, 113. 135, 465-6,
468, 476-7 ; springbok, 132 ; water-
buck, 132. 421 ; wild boar, 112, 132 ;
zebra. 92-3, 132-3, 421 -»« "Or-
nithology • and "Entomology.*
END OF VOL. I.
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