^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H ICA Slr^^ dAout^OU. m fi -TFrTrriri" irrrnrr ACEOSS AFEICA. BY VERNEY LOVETT CAMERON, C.B., D.C.L., COilXIAXDER ROYAL NA^T, GOLD MEDALIST ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, ETC. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 1877. meMcateb bg permission TO HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA, BY HER HUMBLE AND OBEDIENT SERVANT, THE AUTHOR, PREFACE. IN placing this book before the public, I am conscious of its short-comings as a narrative having an unbroken interest for the general reader. As a fact, I never contemplated writ- ing a book of travel, but merely undertook the journey under the circumstances detailed in Chapter I. To have introduced and enlarged upon personal events, sport, the sayings and doings of my followers, etc., would have in- creased the size of this work to an alarming degree; for it must be remembered that the period dealt with extends over three years and five months. Nearly the whole of that time I was on the tramp ; and it has been my object to make this a guide by which my footsteps may be traced by those interested in the exploration of Africa, rather than a personal narrative of adventure and travel. With this purpose I have principally confined myself to de- tailing the particulars of my route ; the peculiarities of the country ; the manners and customs of the natives ; the meth- ods under which the detestable trafiic in slaves is conducted, and the desolation and destruction that follow in its train ; and to showing the prospects of opening up and civilizing Africa. My. time has also been much occupied in many ways ; and had I not received cordial assistance from willing hands, it is possible this attempt would never have seen the light. The accompanying map, too, has been most carefully pre- Vlll PREFACE. pared from my numerous notes, observations, and sketcli-maps, by Mr, Turner, of the Koyal Geograpbieal Society, and I feel every confidence in putting it forward as a thorouglily relia- ble guide to my journey from the East to the West Coast of Africa. V. LOVETT CaJVIEKON. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. The Livingstone Search Expedition. — Motives for Volunteering. — Abandonment of 1873. the Search. — A New Expedition decided upon. — Selected for the Command. — De- parture from England. — Arrival at Aden. — Zanzibar. — Fitting Out. — Disadvan- tages of having arrived with Sir B. Frere's Mission. — Difficulties in obtaining Men. — Ordered to push on. — Ill-advised Haste. — The Start from Zanzibar. — Bagamoyo. — The French Mission. — A Belooch Commander-in-chief. — Kaoli. — A Banquet. — A Fire. — Paying Pagazi. — An Arab Festival Page 17 CHAPTER II. Parting Visit to Zanzibar. — Completing Equipment. — French Charlie's Store. — Fare- well Dinners. — Our First Campaign. — A Fracas. — Upholding our Dignity. — The Father pleads for his Son. — Shamba Gonera. — Visit from Dr. Kirk. — Our First Touch of Fever. — A New Volunteer. — Start for Kikoka. — The March. — Alligator- shooting. — Deserters 31 CHAPTER III. Leaving Kikoka. — Form of Camp. — Mode of Hut-building. — Foraging for Provis- ions.— A " Short Cut." — Bombay as a Guide. — A Luckless Cruise. — A Needless Scare. — Levy of Mhongo. — Msuwah. — Fortified Villages. — An Artful Dodger. — An Arab Caravan. — Offerings to Spirits. — Baobab-trees. — Kisemo. — The Lugerengeri. — The Kungwa Hills. — Simbaweni. — Its Queen. — Rumored Terrors of the Makata Swamp. — Lazy Porters. — Honor among Deserters 41 CHAPTER lY- The Makata Swamp. — Mud Traps. — The Makata River. — A Native Bridge. — Trans- porting Donkeys. — Rehenneko. — Laid up. — A Strike among the Men. — Routine in Camp. — Visitors. — A Swaggering Half-caste. — News from Murphy. — His Arrival. — Death of Moffat. — Organizing the Fresh Arrivals. — The Strength of the Expedi- tion.— Women and Slaves. — Losses by Death and Desertion. — Armament. — Our Dogs and Donkeys. — Ready 56 CHAPTER V. Our Porter's Vanity. — A Rocky Gorge. — Camping on a Slope. — An Impudent Beg- gar.— Mirambo. — Monster Trees. — Wife -beating. — Its Remedy. — A Blunder and its Consequences. — Fortune-seekers. — Several Caravans join us. — An Elephant- CONTENTS. hunter. — A Distressing Sight. — A Terekesa. — A Dry Country. — Death from Ex- haustion.— Water once again. — Strange Doctrine of a " True Behever." — Tembe Huts. — The Wadirigo. — A Warlike Race. — Their Arms. — Harvesting. — Bitter Waters. — The Marenga MkaH. — Sharp-eyed Wagogo Page 65 CHAPTER VI. Entry into Ugogo. — Character of the Wagogo. — Defeat of an Arab Expedition. — Ugogo. — Water Supply. — A Wake. — Wanyamwezi, and their Ingratitude. — The Wagogo. — Extraordinary Ear-rings. — Fantastic Coiffures. — Personal Adornment. — A Struggle for Precedence. — Curiously-formed Trees and Excrescences. — As- tonishing the Natives. — Adopted Fathers. — A Thieving Tribe. — Bombay in a Fog. — A Chilly Morning. — Manufacture of Salt. — Small-pox 76 CHAPTER VII. Kanyenye. — A Veritable Methuselah. — Harsh-tongued People.— A Drunken Official. — Laziness of our Pagazi. — A Fancy for Goggles. — A Little Visitor. — Sambo shot. — A Thick Head. — Retributive Justice. — Fines for shedding Blood. — Hyenas. — A Rain Spirit. — Pigeon-shooting. — Witchcraft. — The Penalty of Failure. — Wizards roasted alive. — Usekhe. — Obsequies of a Chief. — The Wahumba. — Cost of Pro- visions.— Admiring Spectators. — Immense Tusks. — A Distressed British Subject. — Expenditure in Mhongo 86 CHAPTER VIII. The Mgunda Mkali. — A Serious Misunderstanding. — Restoration of Peace. — Rejoi- cing in the Village. — The Mabunguru Nullah. — An Unexpected Chase. — Native Farming. — An Intelligent and Industrious People. — Jiwe la Singa. — Compli- mentary Beggars. — Moon-struck Askari. — Hatred of Snakes. — Pitfalls. — A Dry March. — Burned-up Country. — A Hunter's Paradise. — A Well-fortified Village and Well-dressed Chief. — Discovery of a Den of Thieves. — A Haunted Well. — An At- tack by Ruga-ruga 99 CHAPTER IX. Unyanyembe. — Morning Calls. — Excessive Hospitality. — The Fighting Mirambo. — The Origin of the Struggle. — The Garrison of Unyanyembe. — Atrocities. — Kidnap- ing our Pagazi. — A Letter from Sir S. Baker. — Communication with Mtesa. — A Difficulty in his Conversion to Mohammedanism. — Gross Outrage upon a Pagazi. — Mutiny among the Askari. — The Unpleasantness of the Situation. — Our Troubles and Worries. — Fever and Blindness. — Desertion of Pagazi. — Consequent Expense. — Kindness of the Arabs. — An Auction. — Public Sale of Slaves. — The Death of Livingstone 112 CHAPTER X. Arrival and Reception of Livingstone's Body. — Some Particulars of his Death. — The Future of the Expedition. — Its Partial Abandonment. — Murphy resigns. — Dillon compelled to turn back. — The Personnel of my Expedition. — Parting from Dillon. — I go forward Alone.-;-Troubles of Transport. — I throw away Preserved Provis- ions.—A Native Plea for Slavery.— The Death of Dr. Dillon.— A Sad Blow.— Ka- s6kerah. — Offended Dignity of Askari. — Shirking their AVork. — Determined Dc- CONTENTS. XI serters. — A Pleasant March. — Village Clubs. — A Visit to Murphy. — The Mann^er i874. of transporting Livingstone's Body. — Capture of a Thief. — I reduce my Kit. — A Dirty and Drunken Chief. — Muscat Donkeys. — The Road blocked Page 125 CHAPTER XI. Driven back to Hisinene. — A Miserable Christmas. — Superstitions regarding Snakes. — Customs of the People. — Dancing, — Cooking Arrangements. — Storing Corn. — Their Huts. — Food. — Curing. — Provisions. — Cloth - making. — Grinding Corn. — Tribal Marks. — Hair-dressing. — Warned against Mirambo. — A Spy shot. — On the Road again. — A Hospitable Old Lady. — Missing the Way. — Sack -making. — An Elopement. — Disordered State of the Country. — The South Ngombe. — A Day's Shooting. — A Hunter's Story 138 CHAPTER XII. Ugara. — ^A Ludicrous Sight. — Mirambo's Head-quarters. — Destruction and Desola- tion.— The Havoc of the Slave-trade. — A Field for England's Labors. — Leo sur- prises the Natives. — Leg Ornaments. — Liowa. — My Pets. — A Lawless Set of Ruf- fians.— Heavy Rains. — Bee-nesting. — A Stampede. — Lost in Jungle. — A Panic. — Rocky Residences. — An Attempt at Extortion. — I give a Lecture on Hospitality. — Its Good Effect. — Nothing to Eat. — " Jasmin " Dtes. — Tameness of my Goat. — Unfriendly Villages. — A Buffalo-charge 150 CHAPTER XIII. Floating Islands. — Their Origin and Growth. — Crossing the Sindi. — TJvinza. — A Cordial Reception. — Strange Economy. — A Boy Chief. — Curious Visitors. — Cere- monious Salutation. — Tattooing. — TJgaga. — Approach of Mirambo, — On our De- fense.— Destruction of Several Villages. — Ferry Charges. — A Host of Claimants. — The Malagarazi Ferry. — Sambo's Cookery. — Salt-making, — A Considerable Trade. — Liquid Snuff. — A Droll Sight. — My Faithful Leo dies. — A Wild Beast in Camp. — Sighting Tanganyika. — Arrival at Kawele 161 CHAPTER XIV. Recovery of Livingstone's Papers. — Robbery of my Stores. — Punishment of a Thief. — Difficulty in sending the Journals to the East Coast. — The Traders of Kawele. — The Native Dress and Ornaments. — Their Markets. — Warundi Body-coloring. — Products of the District. — Their Currency. — Hiring Boats. — Curious Mode of Pay- ment.— Fitting-out. — I am thought "Unlucky," — My Guides desert Me. — "Negro Melodists." — Sailing away on the Tanganyika.— Devils' Dwellings. — Propitiating the Spirits. — Slave-hunters 173 CHAPTER XV. Profitable Slave - buying. — Street Acrobats. — War-paint. — A Bad Night. — Cowardly Boat's Crews. — Kabogo. — A Public Entertainment. — Stealing Men's Brains. — Coal. — A Honey Demon. — A Plague of Frogs. — Enlargement of the Lake. — Massi Kambi. — An Optical Illusion. — Many Devils. — One of my Men shoots Himself. — Doctors differ. — Curious Hair-oil. — The Chief of Makukira. — His Dress. — Wives. — Dolls. — Infantine Taste for Drink. — Cotton Manufacture. — Spread of the Slave- trade. — The Watuta. — Customs and Dress. — Twins 184 Xn CONTENTS. 18Y4. CHAPTER XVI. The Art of Pottery. — My Men grow Bolder. — Akalunga. — The Chief. — A Native Notion of Portugal. — Granaries. — Strange Mutilation by Women. — Ornaments. — The Luwaziwa. — Gorillas. — Hill-side Cultivation. — Spiders. — Mosquitoes, Boils, and Sore Feet. — A Strike. — Hot -water Spring. — Waguhha Hair - dressing. — Idols. — The Lukuga. — Return to Ujiji. — Letters from Home. — My Men indulge Freely. — Arab Opinion of the Lualaba. — Fear of Opposition Traders. — Bombay's Jealousy. — Cost of Cutting the Sod in the Lukuga. — I give Readings. — Arson. — Domestic Jars. — More Orgies. — Off again Page 204 CHAPTER XVII. Hopeful Prospects. — Ruanda. — Copper. — Bombay's Ingenuity. — An Accident. — Last View of Tanganyika. — Dishonest Fellow - travelers. — Meketo. — A Brutal Slave- dealer. — Dress and Ornaments. — Weapons. — Fish-dealers. — River-side Scenery. — Game. — Skulking Carriers. — Bowl -making. — India-rubber. — A Trying March. — Fetich Huts. — A Good Samaritan. — My Men want to turn back. — "Making Broth- ers."— An Artist in Oils. — Fearful Imprecations. — Musical Instruments. — Mrs. Pakwanywa. — Perforation of Upper Lips. — Dress. — Tattooing. — Charms. — ^A Hot Stream. — A Mixed Caravan.'. 223 CHAPTER XVIII. Pakhundi. — Foundries. — Dust and Ashes. — Slave-gagging. — Freedmen the Harshest Masters. — Salutations. — Disobliging People. — Hair, Dress, Tattooing. — Naked People. — Natural Stomachers. — Building Operations. — No Ventilation. — Uvinza. — Clay Idols. — Carving. — Arms. — The Arab's Kirangosi. — His Impertinence. — Climbing Oil-palms. — My Showman. — The Bambarre Mountains. — Magnificent Trees. — A Dark Ravine. — Manyuema. — Dress and Arms. — The Women. — Econo- my in Clothing. — Livingstone's Influence. — An Enhghtened Chief. — Dwarfs. — Musical Instruments. — Fearful Cannibals. — Dancing. — No Shooting allowed.. 237 CHAPTER XIX. The Luama. — Fisherwomen. — Shooting Hippopotami.-^Open-air Granaries. — Iron. — A Burning Country. — Shameful Behavior of Traders. — A Suspension-bridge. — The Natives turn upon the Traders. — Contemplated Attack on the Caravan. — Two Chiefs treacherously shot. — Villages burned. — Women and Children captured. — I plead for Peace. — Influence as an Englishman. — A Palaver. — The Captives arc liberated. — My Views are not appreciated. — Foundries. — Smithies. — Manyara Dress. — A Drum-major. — The Slaving System. — The Mighty Lualaba. — Going with the Stream. — Nyangw6 is reached 251 CHAPTER XX. Nyangwe. — The Head-man's Harem. — Syde Mezrui is a Fraud. — A Slow Set. — The Markets. — The Weaker Sex. — Their Lordly Masters. — Difficulty in obtaining Canoes. — Native Opinion of the White Man. — As Others see Us. — An Antislavery • Lecture. — A Clear-headed Man of Business. — An Old Impostor. — No Guides. — Fighting on the Road. — Ulegga. — The Lualaba and the Nile. — Lake Sankorra. — Tipo-tipo. — Crossing the Lualaba. — A Fever Den. — Bad Quarters. — Fishing-weir CONTENTS. xiii Bridges. — Russuna. — A Brush with the Natives. — Blood-money. — A Check upon 1874, 1875. Looting. — Russuna's Wives. — Not Bashful, but Inquisitive. — A State Visit. — Rus- suna's Private Village. — The Cares of a Mother-in-law Page 263 CHAPTER XXI. Tipo-tipo's Camp. — Kasongo Visits us in State. — The Ceremony. — Kasongo's Ready Assistance. — I become a Gun-smith, Bone-setter, and Soap-boiler. — Kasongo at Home. — Sankorra Traders. — Am forbidden to proceed. — Reasons for not using Force. — I take Another Route. — Warua Guides. — Export of Slaves from Man- yuema. — Their Disposal. — Cause of Increase of Slave-holding. — Ants as a Deli- cacy.— Mode of trapping Them. — A Lazy Leader. — Kifuma HospitaUty. — A De- sirable Residence. — Carved Door-posts. — A Rifle is stolen. — Fear of Conse- quences.— Thankfulness and Gratitude. — Leaving my " Guide " to his own De- vices.— Attack on the Caravan. — Fists versus Archery. — Peace 276 CHAPTER XXIL My Goat is stolen. — The Natives become Hostile. — We are fired upon. — Preparing for the Worst. — An Exchange of Shots. — Wounding an Important Personage. — A Parley. — Negotiations broken oif. — Renewal of the Fighting. — Allowed to depart in Peace. — More Treachery. — At it again. — Storming a Village. — The Inhabitants bolt. — My Brave Army. — Fort Dinah. — Barricades. — Prisoners of War. — We capt- ure an Angel of Peace. — She makes it. — Leaving Fort Dinah. — An Explanation of my Intentions. — The Cause of the Attack. — Convivial Mourning. — Green Water as Refreshment. — My Guide meets his Mother, and forsakes Me. — Another Queer Guide 288 CHAPTER XXin. Jumah Merikani. — Coal. — A Portuguese Trader. — His Followers. — Kasongo's Chief Wife. — Jose Antonio Alvez. — His History. — Warned against Muta Yafa. — Lake Mohrya. — An Inquisitive Lady. — Peculiarity respecting Names. — Alvez's Habita- tion.— Consuming your own "Smoke. — Taking Bilal down a Peg. — Well-fortified Villages. — View of Lake Mohrya. — Huts on Piles. — An Amphibious Race. — No Visitors allowed. — A Spiritualistic Medium. — Skulls of Old Enemies. — Urua. — Kasongo's Dominion. — Its Government. — The Social Scale among Warua. — Muti- lation for Small Offenses. — Kasongo professes to be a God. — His Morals. — His Family Harem. — Unfaithful Wives. — Kasongo's Bedroom Furniture. — Rule as to Fires and Cooking. — Devil-huts and Idols . . . -."t 298 CHAPTER XXIV. A Fair Deceiver. — Marriage Ceremony. — The Youthful but Unblushing Bride. — A Mountain Gap. — Grand Thunder-storm. — Lake Kassali. — Not allowed to visit It. — Return of a Chief. — Medicine-men. — Their Dress. — Ventriloquism. — They impose upon the Public. — Am Suspected of possessing Power to dry up the Lake. — Nar- row Escape of my Messengers. — Manufacture of Floating Islands. — Jumah Meri- kani's Kindness. — Strange Tales. — Lion -tamers. — Deadly Shade. — Sculpture. — Cave-dwellings. — Poisonous Water. — A Tribe of Lepers. — My Occupations. — Ka-. songo's Wives. — Their Shocking Behavior. — A Performer of Tricks. — Kasongo returns. — His Band play me Home. — Their Excruciating Performance 31 XIV CONTENTS. 1875. CHAPTER XXV. A Horde of Ruffians. — A Thorough Blackguard. — A King among Beggars. — Wives and Families visit Me. — Mutilated Men. — Kasongo's Vanity. — His Message to her Majesty. — He takes me for a Ghost. — Xo Guides or Escort Obtainable. — Abandon- ment of my Fondest Hope. — Honest Alvez. — He lies like Truth. — Plotting. — The Levee. — Warned and armed. — The Ceremony. — Salaams of the Chiefs. — Biting the Dust. — Speeches. — Deceit. — Sleeping with Deceased Wives. — Obliged to build Kasongo's House. — Cruelty of Portuguese Slave-traders. — Delays. — Desertion. — Jumah Merikani sends Deserters a Warning. — Funeral Rites of a Chief. — Wives buried Alive with Hira. — Blood shed over his Grave. — Kasongo's Harsh Rule. — His Demoniacal Frenzies. — Fire in Camp Page 324 CHAPTER XXVI. Making " Medicine " against Fire. — An Elaborate Operation. — Kasongo's Importu- nate Begging. — Disgraceful Conduct of Alvez's People. — No Alercy for the Weak. — Cringing to the Strong. — Jumah Merikani's Generosity. — The "Fiend Stream." — Strange Trees. — My Men mistake Pombe for Water. — Swamps and Bogs. — Many Slips. — " Sloughs of Despond." — Enormous Ant-hills. — A Monarch dreaded by his People. — Surpassing his Predecessors in Cruelty. — The Biter bit. — A Wel- come Present. — Playing with Fire-arms. — I frighten a Chief out of his Village. — Alvez's Tactics. — A New Arrival. — Endeavors to obtain Allies 338 CHAPTER XXVII. Another Fire. — " Medicine " a Delu.sion. — Havoc and Desolation. — Coimbra's Capt- ures.— Unmerciful Treatment of Women. — He calls Himself a Christian. — Mis- ery and Loss of Life. — Abuse of the Portuguese Flag. — Alvez shares the Flesh and Blood. — The Lovol. — Limit of Oil -palms. — Composition of the Caravan. — Fire again. — Fortification of Msoa. — Mshiri. — "A very Bad Man." — His Power. — His Followers. — Trade in Slaves increasing. — Its Result. — Fate of the Women- slaves. — Probable Export. — Gods of War. — Excessive Heat. — Our Coldest Night. — Alvez loses Slaves. — His Lamentations. — Am taken for a Devil. — Mournful Pro- cession of Slaves. — Vivisection practiced on a Woman. — Bee-keeping 349 CHAPTER XXVin. Ulunda. — Bom in Slavery. — Elephant Ragout. — Alvez dodges Me. — Compelled to follow Him. — The Walunda. — A Dirty Race. — Curious Fare. — Returning Thanks. — Remarkably Small Huts. — I drop into a Pitfall. — My Rifle gives Satisfaction. — ■Zebra. — A Cold Dip. — Ice in August. — Lovale People pushing eastward. — Coward- ly Demeanor of Bihe Men. — Kafundango. — Escape of a Slave-gang. — Their Cruel Treatment. — Maternal Affection. — Savage Manners of Lovale Men. — Extortion. — Rudeness of Dress. — Clever Tron - workers. — Arrow-heads and Hatchets. — Beef once again, but not for Me. — Numerous Fetiches 361 CHAPTER XXIX. Joao, the White Trader. — Putrid Fish.— Dishonesty of the Noble Savage. — Festive Natives. — Scanty Apparel. — Elal)orate Hair-dressing. — Cataracts. — Sha Kelemb6. — Alvez proves Fickle. — Exchanging a Wife for a Cow. — An Attempted Bur- CONTENTS. XV glary. — Baffled. — The Thief's Comphiint. — Unparalleled Audacity. — Revengeful 1875. Threats. — Smelting-furnace. — High-flavored Provisions. — Sambo chaffs a Chief. — Forest. — A Well-dressed Caravan. — Wanted a Dairy-maid. — Friendliness of Mona Peho. — A Well-ventilated Suit of Clothes. — " Sham Devils." — Blacksmiths. — Am believed to be a Lunatic. — Alvez's Reputation among Traders. — I sell my Shirts for Food. — A Village eaten up by a Serpent. — An Eclipse Page 375 CHAPTER XXX. The Kwanza. — Its Navigation. — Neat Villages. — Convivial Gathering. — A Head of Hair. — Cattle-plague. — The Kokema. — Filthy Villages. — A Lively Chase. — Recep- tion of Alvez. — Payment of his Porters. — Soap and Onions. — My Ragged Crew. — Alvez cheats Me at parting. — A Man in Tears. — An Archery-meeting. — A Torna- do.— The Town of Kagnombe. — Its Size. — Kagnombe's Officials. — A Secretary un- able to write. — Mshiri's Men. — Their Journeys from Coast to Coast. — Kagnombe's Levee. — ^My Seat of Honor. — His Full Style and Title. — His Guards. — His Hat. — Senhor Gon9alves. — The Influence of Men of his Type 389 CHAPTER XXXI. Joao's Settlement. — His Official Position. — Openly trading in Slaves. — Bad Speci- men of the White Man. — A Fetich-man. — Fortune-telling. — Charms. — Infallible Cures. — Arms for Kasongo. — Probable Result. — Belmont. — Miserable Work. — Buffalo Herd. — Opposition by Bihe People. — Civility of the Chiefs. — The Kutato. — An Extraordinary River. — Dangerous Crossing. — Subterranean Streams. — Run- gi. — Suspected of the Evil Eye. — A Fetich-man declares Me free. — Untrustworthy Postmen. — Making and mending Clothes. — A Portuguese in Pawn. — A Festival. — Drink and Debauchery. — A Superior Chief. — Rheumatism. — A Glimpse of Para- dise.— Visit to King Kongo. — Housed and fed by the Prime Minister's Wife. — The King's own Hut. — His Dress 402 CHAPTER XXXII. My Dispirited Crew. — Native Bridges. — Bad Weather. — Secure Dwellings. — Break- down of my Men. — A Man missing. — Fallen out by the Roadside. — A Fearful Night. — Searching for the Straggler. — Delay Dangerous. — The Straggler arrives. — Past Recovery. — His Death and Burial. — Locusts. — The Slave-trade on the Coast. — Mode of Embarkation. — Failing Strength of my Carriers. — I throw away Tent, Boat, Bed, etc. — A Rush for the Coast. — Our Highest Camp. — Gay Umljrellas. — A Mulatto Settlement. — Cascades. — Numerous- L'p Caravans. — Their Trade. — No Food left. — Search for a Camp. — Djad-beat. — A Tedious March. — Skeletons of Slavers' Victims. — Starvation and Exhaustion. — The Sea. — Leaving the Worn-out Men behind.— The Final Effort. — Scurvj' attacks Me.— Help 417 CHAPTER XXXIII. Peace and Plenty. — Katorabela. — My Illness increases. — Carried to Benguela. — Med- ical Advice and Good Nursing. — My Recovery. — Arrival of my Stragglers. — Death of Another Man. — Bombay's Objectionable Behavior. — An Original Character. — Benguela. — Its Tumble-down Fort. — Convict Soldiers. — Their Loyalty. — My Men indulge too freely. — Arrival at Loanda. — Reception by the Consul. — Courtesy of the Governor. — An Amusing Incident. — My Men object to their Quarters. — Prepar- XVI CONTENTS. ing to send them Home. — Purchase of a Schooner. — 'Fitting her out. — Visit to Kinsembo. — \o Charts Obtainable. — A Windfall. — Homeward bound. — Safe at Home Page 433 CHAPTER XXXIV. Formation of the Continent. — River Basins. — Deserts. — The Water-sheds. — Zambesi. — Kongo. — Physical Geography. — Useghara Mountains. — Fertile Soil. — The Lu- gerengeri Valley. — The Kungwa Hills. — Gum -copal. — Timber-trees. — ^Fauna. — Snakes. — The Mukondokwa Valley. — Lake Ugombo. — Mpwapwa. — Barren Soil. — The Marenga Mkali. — Ugogo. — A Dried-up Country. — Ziwas. — Kanyeuye. — Use- khe.— Granite.— Khoko.— The Vale of Mdaburu.— The " Fiery Field " 444 CHAPTER XXXV. The Lake System of Central Africa. — A Flaw in some Ancient Upheaval. — Correct Position of the Tanganyika. — Kawele. — Ras Kungwe. — Kabogo Island. — Ruguvu. — Coal. — Rapid Encroachment of the Lake upon its Shores. — Formation of Cliffs. — Remains of an Inland Sea. — Makakomo Islands. — Gradual Disappearance. — Constant Additions from Main-land. — Ras Musungi. — Loose Masses of Granite. — Weather-worn Cliffs. — Fantastic Forms. — Xumerous Land-slips. — Black Beaches. — The West of Tanganyika. — A New Geographical Region. — The Rugumba. — Black Speculum Ore. — The Kilimachio Hills. — Affluents of the Lualaba. — Under- ground Dwellings. — The Lualaba and Kongo. — Changes in River Channels. — Bee- culture. — A Barren Waste. — A Fertile Flat 458 CHAPTER XXXVL Africa's Future. — Slaves and Other Articles of Commerce. — Trade Routes. — E.xport of India-rubber increasing. — Internal Slave-trade. — Ivory Supply. — Products. — Sugar - canes. — Cotton. — Oil Palm. — Coffee. — Tobacco. — Sesamum. — Castor - oil. — The Mpafu-tree. — Nutmegs. — Pepper. — Timber. — Rice. — Wheat. — KaflSr Corn. — Indian Corn. — India-rubber. — Copal. — Hemp. — Ivory. — Hides. — Bees-wax. — Iron. — Coal. — Copper. — Gold. — Silver. — Cinnabar. — Mission Work. — Commercial En- terprise.— Establishment of Depots. — Scheme for advancing into the Interior. — Light Railways. — Steamers on Rivers. — Probable Results. — Shall Slavery con- tinue ? — How to stamp it out, and make .tVfrica Free 470 Appendix 1 483 Appendix II 489 Index 499 ILLUSTRATIONS. Large Map, suo\vi>g Autuok's Route. [/?i Pocket at Beginning of Book. FULL-PAGE PLATES AND FAC-SIMILES. Looking back over Makata Swamp Papep. op Recommendation issued by Khedive {foe-simile) To, Camp at Msuvvau kwiiiaraii Letter from Jacob Wainweigut reporting Deatu of Dr. Livingstone (facsimile) SoKO at Kawele Village of Kitata, Tanganyika Lake Rawlinson Mountains Camp at Meketo Crossing tub Lugungwa River Village in Man yuema POT-pOURRI Crossing tub Luama River Waiting for Canoes Nyahgwe Crossing tub Rovubu River .' Crossing the Lukazi River Fort Dinah Scene in Alvez's Boma Lake Mohrya, or Realmah Warua Wag anga JUMAH MeRIKANI'S TeMBE Kasongo's Mussumba SoESE IN Camp Camp at Lui^anda Page of Journal when Paper was running Short {facsimile)... Crossing the Lukoji Village of Sona Bazii The Hospitable Settlement of Senhoe Gonoalves, Bihe Mountains between Bailunda and Coast Hill and Village of Humbi .r^ Maison C auohoix Part of a Bill of Lading for Slaves from Loanda {facsimile). . Frontispiece, face page 20 ' 40 ' 112 ' 123 ' 176 ' 195 ' 204 ' 227 ' 230 ' 245 ' 248 ' 252 ' 260 ' 262 ' 271 " ' 2S5 ' 291 ' 301 ' 303 ' 315 ' 31T ' 322 ' 331 ' 356 ' 360 ' 305 ' 366 ' 399 ' 411 ' 418 ' 433 ' 472 SMALLER WOOD-CUTS. Steamer Point, Aden 21 Dhows 29 View iu Bagamoyo 33 Camp at Shamba Gout-ra 36 Loaded Donkey and Pagazi 40 Bombay and Two Cluiins 43 Return of the Deserter 55 Camp 5S Riding Donkeys 63 African Fire-place 64 Tembe 73 Earthen Pot, Ugo.KO 75 Arms and Ornaments 79 Ziwa, near Mpanga Sanga S3 View in Ugogo 84 Heads 85 16 ILLUSTEATIONS. Rocky Hills iu Vs^okhe 90 Camp, Usekhe 91 Rocks, Ust-khe 93 Enormous Sycamores 95 Haltiug-place uesr a Poud 101 Village in Unyauyembe .... 110 Plan of House at Kwiharah 1 13 A Good Cook. Price Two Hundred Dol- lars 123 Manner of fettering: Slaves 124 Plan of Dr. Dillon's Route 130 Drums 130 Zebra 139 Ants' Nest 14S Buffalo charging Caravan ICO Crossing Malagarazi 160 Crossing Rusugi 169 Arms 171 Ujiji Pottery 182 Camp on Spit 190 An Inhabitant of Massi Kambi 192 Brother Rocks 194 Tanganyika Fishes 201 Watuta Woman 202 " Tembo, Bwana !" 206 King Miriro and his Granarj- 207 Heads of Waguhha and other Lake Tribes. 214 Entrance to Lukuga, or Marie Alexandrov- na 215 Bay in Kivira Island 217 Bow-stands of Waguhha 221 Head of Uguhha W" omau 224 A "Hauda" 225 Whistle, Pillow, and Hatchet 227 Dress and Tattooing of Woman of Uguh- ha 22S Mrna Fish-monger 229 Drum and Idol 231 Idols 231 Women of Ubudj wa 235 Charms 236 Huts in Uhiya 241 Carved Stick 242 Heads of Men of Manyuenia 246 People of Many nema 247 Women going Fishing 249 Sambo 250 Karuugu 254 Hills on Road to Mauyara 257 Coming to Market 200 Nyangwe from the River 261 Pottery .■ 265 Market Women, Nyangwe 205 Russiina and a Wife 272 Russuua's Shield and Drum 273 Sub-chief. 274 KiugKasougo 277 PAGB W'arua Guides 2S0 Hut at Kifuma 283 African Adjutants at Kasenge 286 Village Forge 287 A Native of Mpanga Sauga 293 Salt-making 296 Birds 297 Hut iu Mohrya 304 AVarua Slave-driver and Slave 809 Wedding Dance 311 Chief of Kow^edi 313 Kasongo's Band 322 Coimbra 325 Bird 333 Jumah 335 Kasongo's House 336 Hair-dressing 337 Njivi Marsh 344 Heads 345 Lunga Mandi's Son 347 Pottery 348 Sceue on the Road 351 Village of Kawala 355 Slave-gang 357 Hut in Uliinda 360 Village in Ulunda 363 Bow, Spears, Hatchets, and Arrow-heads. 368 Head-dress 369 Head-dress and Hatchet 370 Village in Lovale 371 Fetich Hut 372 Game Traps 373 Hair-dressing 374 Arms and Ornaments 377 Crossing a Stream 380 Sham Devil at Mona Peho's 384 Sham Devil 385 Kimbandi's Head-dress. 387 Sham Devils 388 Head of Hair at Kepeka 391 Alvez's Settlement 393 Village iu Bihe 395 Knives 397 Trap for Game 401 Porters from Bihe 407 Kambala 412 Visit to King Kongo 413 Pounding Corn at Kambala 414 Temba Lui (the " Devil's Finger ") 415 People of Kisanji 428 Scene on Road 432 Custom-house at Benguela 436 Sierra Leone 442 Victor Emmanuel Mountains, Lake Tan- ganyika 456 A Group of Pagazi 468 Color Party 4S1 ACROSS AFRICA. CHAPTER I. The Livingstone Search Expedition. — Motives for Volunteering. — Abandonment of the Search. — A New Expedition decided upon. — Selected for the Command. — De- parture from England. — Arrival at Aden. — Zanzibar. — Fitting Out. — Disadvan- tages of having arrived with Sir B. Frere's Mission. — Difficulties in obtaining Men. — Ordered to push on. — Ill-advised Haste. — The Start from Zanzil^ar. — Bagamoyo. — The French Mission. — A Belooch Commander-in-chief. — Kaoli. — A Banquet. — A Fire. — Paying Pagazi. — An Arab Festival. Long ago, when serving as senior lieutenant of H.M.S. Star, 1872. on the East Coast of Africa, I had full opportunity of seeing some of the cruelties and atrocities connected with the slave- trade ; and the sufferings which I witnessed on board the dhows — such as have been so graphically described by Captain G. L. Sulivan, K.K., in "Dhow Chasing in Zanzibar Waters" — awoke in me a strong desire to take some further part in the suppres- sion of the inhuman traffic. I soon became convinced that unless it could be attacked at its source in the interior of the continent, all attempts at its suppression on the coast M'ould be but a poor palliation of the fearful evil. I am, however, far from laying claim to having been actuated solely by purely philanthropic motives, as some time previous- ly my aspirations for travel and discovery had been excited by reading papers descriptive of the expedition of Burton and Speke in Somali land. And I became still more anxious to undertake some exjjloration in Africa on hearing that Arab merchants from Zanzibar had reached the West Coast ; for I felt convinced that what had been accomplished by an Arab trader was equally possible to an English naval officer. ACEOSS AFEICA. [Chap. 1872. After the Star was put out of commission, I ^vas appointed to the Steam Reserve at Slieerness; and my efforts to obtain more active emi^loyment being ineffectual, I volunteered my services to the Royal Geographical Society to go in search of Dr. Livingstone, and render him any assistance possible, it be- ing supposed at that moment that the expedition under Mr. Stanley had failed. Soon after this, subscriptions were opened for the "Living- stone Search Expedition ;" but it was not my fortune to be se- lected by the Royal Geographical Society, the command being given' to Lieutenant L. S. Dawson, R.N., an officer eminently fitted for the post both by his scientific attainments and i^hys- ical powers. L'nfortunately, when this exjDedition was about to start from Bagamoyo, it was deterred from proceeding farther by the news brought to the coast by Mr. Stanley, of the New York Herald. This was to the effect that Livingstone had already been re- lieved, and objected to any "slave expedition'' being sent to him. In consequence of this unfortunate misapprehension of Dr. Livingstone's dispatches. Lieutenant Dawson, suj)posing that his expedition would no longer be required, resigned the command. Lieutenant Henn, R.]^., then took charge, with the full in- tention of proceeding, but was also persuaded to throw it up, though much against his wish. UlDon Oswell Livingstone, a son of the doctor, the leadership then devolved. But after a time he renounced the idea of pro- ceeding up country to join his father; and thus a most care- fully organized exj^edition, which possessed most, if not all, the requisites for a complete success, was abandoned. Mr. New, another member, withdrew with Lieutenant Daw- son, and the services of a gentleman well versed in African character, having a competent knowledge of Kisuahili, and ac- customed to African travel, were thus lost. I may here men- tion how great was my regret, soon after arriving at Loanda, to hear of the death of Mr. New. lie was a single-minded, brave, and honest man, who devoted himself to the task of bettering the condition of the natives of Africa, and in so doing sacrificed a valuable life. I.] FORMER SEARCH EXPEDITION. 19 Althougli disaj)pointed at my failing to obtain the command 1872. of this expedition, I still entertained some hope of leading an- other, and carrying ont the project which I had so much at heart, and therefore determined to further prepare myself for the undertaking by studying the Suahili language. Of the difficulties entailed by such a service I had gained some knowledge from eight months passed in the Eed Sea dur- ing the Abyssinian war, and nearly three years on the East Coast of Africa, much of which period was s]5ent in open boats. With this experience of work in a hot climate, added to my having suffered severely from fever at Zanzibar, it was not without counting the cost that, as soon as Dawson's expedition was reported to have been broken up, I volunteered to j^roceed to join Dr. Livingstone, taking with me such instruments and stores as he might require, and offering to place my services unreservedly at his disposal. This was in June, 1872, but no intention of sending out an- other expedition to assist our great traveler appeared then to be entertained. I next drew up a scheme for the exploration of the route to Victoria Nyanza via Mounts Kilima Njaro and Kenia and the volcano reported to lie to the north of them — thus passing close to the water-shed between the coast rivers and the feeders of the Victoria Nyanza — and, after surveying that lake, to work my way to the Albert l^yanza or Mwuta Nzige, and thence through Ulegga to Nyangwe and down the Kongo to the West Coast. The latter part of this route is now being attempted by Mr. Stanley, one of the most successful and energetic of African travelers, under the auspices of ihe^New York Herald and the Daily Telegraph. In this I was encouraged and assisted by Mr. Clements Mark- ham, C.B. ; and to his counsel and kindly help in many mat- ters intimately connected with my African travels I am deeply indebted. The Council of the Geographical Society were, however, of opinion that this scheme, thongh meeting with the approval of some of its most eminent members, could not be carried out with the funds at their disposal. 20 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. It was afterward decided to utilize tlie surplus remaining from the subscriptions to the first Livingstone Search Expe- dition in fitting out another. This was intended to be placed entirely under the orders of Dr. Livingstone for the purpose of supplementing his great discoveries, in the prosecution of which he had on that last journey — extending over a period of nearly seven years, and brought to a close only by the national misfortune of his death — patiently and unremittingly toiled, besides having previously devoted twenty years of his life to the cause of the regeneration and civilization of Africa. For the new command I had the hapj^iness of being selected, and the Council kindly allowed Mr. W. E. Dillon, assistant sur- geon— one of my dearest friends and an old messmate — to ac- company me, for wdiich purpose he resigned an appointment he then held. lie was admirably adapted for the work, and, had his life been spared to cross the continent with me, would have been of incalculable assistance and comfort in my various difficulties and troubles. His unvarying kindness and tact, in his inter- course with the men of the expedition, was the greatest help to me during our journey to Unyanyembc, and, indeed, I can not pay a sufficient testimony of gratitude and honor to his memory. Dr. Dillon and I left England on the 30th of ^November, 1872 — the same day on which. Lieutenant Grandy and his brother left Liverpool for the West Coast — in order to join Sir Bartle Frere at Brindisi, hoping to get a passage on board the Enchantress with his mission to Zanzibar. But her accommo- dation was too limited to allow of our being received on board. Thus we lost the advantage we had anticipated of obtaining some instruction in Arabic and Kisuahili kindly promised by the secretary of the legation, the Rev. Percy Badger. Kemain- ing at Brindisi until Sir Bartle Frere's arrival, we then took passage in the P. and O. steamer Malta to Alexandria. We ac- companied Sir Bartle Frere to Cairo, where he procured a let- ter from II. 11. the Khedive commending us to the care of the Egyptian officials in the Soudan, and ordering them to give us every assistance. This document proved of service with Aral)s in the interior, who had all heard both of the Khedive and the Sultan of Tur- f^^'-f ^,^.?'^ ^'>Jl ^ Ur/^Cj>, ^- proeeedi^ ' Oflicrrs of Eyypt, assist and help them on their journey as may he required. This is Our putjlic order to that end issued accordingly. Dated 28th Hty, 1289. JSMAEL BASH A. True Tramlalion— ./0//A' KlItK. 1.] ARRIVAL AT ADEN. 21 key, although we never came across any of those for whom it December, was particularly intended. ^^'^2- After a short stay at Cairo we went to Suez, and thence by the Australia to Aden, where we were very kindly received by the resident, Brigadier-general Schneider, Colonel Penn (" steel pen " of Abyssinian fame), and the rest of the garrison ; and from Dr. Shepheard, P.M.O., we received a most valuable sup- ply of quinine, a sine qua noii in Afi'ican travel. STEAMER POINT, ADEN. While here. Dr. Badger obtained for us from a Santon, named Alowy ibn Zain et Aldus, a letter recommending us to the care and consideration of all good Moslems in Africa, and this we found the most useful of all our papers. Lieutenant Cecil Murphy, R.A., acting commissary of ord- nance, here volunteered to accompany the expedition, provided the Government of India would consent to continue his Indian pay and allowances ; and this being granted after our depart- ure, he joined us at Zanzibar by the next mail. Our anticipations that H.M.S. Briton would have taken us to Zanzibar were doomed to disappointment, for she had al- ready sailed. "VVe had therefore to await the departure of the mail-steamer Punjab, Captain Hansard, in which we j)roceeded. Colonel Lewis Belly, political agent at Muscat, and Kazi Shah ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. January, Budin, a gentleman appointed by H.H. tlie Kao of Kutch to ^^'^'^- accompany Sir Bartle Frere to Zanzibar, and to use his infln- ence with the subjects of the Rao in support of the objects of the mission, were our fellow-passengers. When I arrived at Zanzibar, I was laid up with fever, which had attacked me a day or two previously ; and as Dr. Kirk's house was fully occupied by those who had already gone ashore from the Enchantress, Dillon and myself took up our abode in the hitherto untenanted English jail. There was plenty of room for our stores, and with native bedsteads, chairs, etc., we were soon comfortably housed. However, some old messmates of mine. Lieutenants Fellowes and Stringer, kindly took me off to the Briton, and looked after me on board until I was tolera- bly well again. AVhen sufficiently recovered to go ashore, I rejoined Dillon, who had already laid in some stores, and we at once began to look out for men and donkeys. We also secured the services of Bombay (Mbarak Mombee), the chief of Speke's faithfuls, which at the time we thought of great importance on account of his previous experience. But he rather presumed on our ignorance, and we soon learned that, however useful he might have been in days gone by, he was not the best man to consult in fitting out an expedition, not having sufficient readiness and knowledge to advise us as to the most serviceable things with wdiich to supply ourselves. He had, besides, lost much of the energy he displayed in his journeys with our predecessors in African travel, and was much inclined to trade upon his previous reputation ; but the high opinion we had formed of him at first blinded us to his many failings. The fact of our having arrived on the scene with Sir Bartle Frere caused us to be inseparably connected by the Arabs, Wa- suahili and Wamerima, with the mission upon which he was engaged, and this occasioned us numerous vexatious troubles and enormous expense, besides being ])rejudicial to the inter- ests of the expedition. In the first place, they naturally supposed that we were in the employ of the English Government, and therefore ought to pay twice or three times the ordinary price for men and stores. I.] START FROM ZANZIBAR. 23 All "svlio thus defrauded us considered themselves perfectly February, justified in cheating a government so rich and liberal as ours ^^''^■ has the reputation of being, although they would have had far greater scruples about swindling private individuals. In the second place, owing to the avowed intention of the mission to abolish the slave-trade, we were thwarted and im- posed upon in various underhand ways by the lower classes of the Wasuahili and Wamerima. In addition to this, our orders being to push on with all dis- patch and at all hazards, we were obliged to accept the riii-raff and outscourings of the bazaars of Zanzibar and Bagamoyo, in- stead of waiting for regular porters, and also had to pay them double the hire of better men. This scarcity of porters was owing to the season of the year, as the usual time for the up caravans had long passed, and no down caravans had yet arrived. We had, therefore, to march through the worst part of the rainy season with a number of men of whom not more than a tenth had ever before traveled any distance into the interior, and who, not being accustomed to carrying loads, gave trouble at almost every step by straggling and laziness. Nor did the evil end here, for the majority of the men were thieves, and pilfered unceasingly from their loads. Indeed, the effects of this ill-advised haste in starting pursued me through- out my journey across the continent. Bombay was commissioned to find us thirty good men and true, to be our soldiers, servants, and donkey - drivers. He promised all diligence and obedience, and while within ken of the English consulate exerted himself apparently to the best of his power. I afterward learned that he picked up his men any- where in the bazaar, and a motley crew they proved. Besides these thirty askari, we engaged a few men as porters, and bought twelve or thirteen donkeys at an average price of eighteen dollars a head. We then embarked with our stores, men, and beasts, in two hired dhows, and left Zanzibar early on Sunday morning, Feb- ruary 2d, 1873, and passing through the ships of the scpiadron with the union-jack and white ensign flying, made our way with a fair wind to Bagamoyo, arriving there the same afternoon. 24 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. February, Bagamojo, the principa,! point of departure for caravans 1873. bound to Unyanyembe and the countries beyond, is a town on the main -land directly opposite Zanzibar. It is hidden from the sea by sand-hills, but marked by the tall cocoa-nut palms which always indicate the habitationfe of man on this coast. It consists of one long straggling street wdth a few stone houses, the rest being mere huts of wattle and dab, having huge sloping roofs thatched with the plaited fronds of the cocoa-nut palm ; and it boasts of two or three mosques, frequented only on high -days and holidays. A varied assemblage of Indian merchants, Arabs, Wasuahili, and Wamerima, slaves and "Wan- yamwezi pagazi, compose its population. Taking wath us only a few necessaries, we went on shore to look for lodgings, and were met, on landing, by a messenger from the French mission, shortly followed by Pere Horner and one of the lay brothers, who came to offer their assistance. After a great deal of chaffering and bargaining, we hired for ourselves the upper rooms of a stone house, the owner, Abdul- lah Dina (a Koja), taking twenty-five dollars instead of the for- ty-five he had at first asked. For our men and stores we se- cured a house which belonged to Jemidar Issa, the comman- dant of the Balooch garrison of H.H. Syd Burghash. Early the next morning we superintended landing cargo, go- ing backward and forward the whole time between head-qiTar- ters, barracks, and beach. Yet, notwithstanding all our care, a bag of salt, a case of parafiine, one of preserved meats, and, of still greater importance, our large cooking-lamp, were missing when the debarkation was completed. At first we were disposed to blame a Hindi whom we had engaged at Zanzibar to look after the transport of our stores; l)ut I l)elieve carelessness, and not dishonesty, was his failing in this instance. Jemidar Issa readily gave us permission to fly the colors and post sentries at head -quarters and barracks, and returned our call in the forenoon, offering us all the courtesies and assistance in his powei". We told him of our losses, and he promised redress. But as this consisted only in the offer of putting the unfortunate Hin- di in irons, and sending him over to the sultan for further pun- I.] FKENCH MISSION AT BAGAMOYO. 25 isliment, we declined this friendly proposal, and made np our February, minds to bear our losses philosophically. ^^'^'^• At the conclnsion of our morning's work, we paid a visit to the French mission, to which we had been invited, meeting on our way two donkeys with European saddles and bridles kindly sent for our use. After luncheon we went over the well-culti- vated grounds and plantations, where bread-fruit-trees and veg- etables, including asparagus and French beans, grew in abun- dance, and then visited the buildings, nearly the whole of which were greatly damaged in the hurricane of 1872. About three hundred children were being trained here to different trades and useful callings, and a school for girls was placed under the control of the Sisters belonging to the mis- sion. In the boys' dormitories the arrangements were very simple, the beds consisting merely of a couple of planks. on iron sujjports, with a few yards of merikani to serve as mattress and bedclothes, and in each room was a small screened space for the brother in charge. A new chapel was being erected outside the former building, portions of which were removed as the other progressed ; and though this was rather slow work, owing to the scarcity of la- bor and the laziness of the natives, yet by this arrangement the religious services were never interrupted. The foundation of a new stone (pucka) building had also been laid, and, when completed, was to be used as a dwelling- house and school. The fathers seem to be laboring hard, and doing a good work both by precept and examples-find amidst their many dif- ficulties are cheerful and confident ; and I have no doubt their efforts will tend much toward the civilization of this part of Africa. Nothing could exceed the kindness and attention shown to us by these estimable men during our stay at Bagamoyo. They frequently sent us vegetables and bundles of palmiste for salad, and on one occasion a quarter of wild boar, which, in the in efficient state of our cooking appliances, was not a trifle tanta lizing, as we could devise no means of dressing it ourselves, a;nd our followers — Mohammedan in nothing but their prejudices- declined to touch it. 26 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. February, Our Koja landlord, Abdullah Dina, was so jealous of tlie fe- ^^"^^^ male portion of liis domestic circle, that he padlocked the door leading to the stairs outside the house, and put up a most in- convenient ladder instead. His object was to keep us from passing through the small portion of the yard into which our stairs led, although it was already divided from the other part by a railing filled up with reeds, and quite sufficient to prevent our infidel eyes from spying out the secrets of his harem. A few days after our arrival, Jemidar Sabr, commanding all the sultan's troops on this portion of the coast, called on us with a following like a Highland chieftain. They were all red- olent with dirt and grease, and covered with bucklers, j^istols, swords, spears, and matchlocks, as though they had ransacked the stores of some transpontine theatre. The leader of this imposing retinue was not- above begging for a dustoori of a few dollars ; nor was Jemidar Issa one whit behind him in this respect, besides always asking for a little brandy as medicine. Jemidar Issa promised to accompany us the next morning to Kaoli to return the call of Jemidar Sabr ; but as he did not put in an aj)pearance at the apj)ointed hour, we went down to his house, and found him in his usual dirty shirt. He immediately proceeded to array himself by putting on a gorgeous turban and a scarf, into which he thrust his dagger, an elaborately gilt French breech -loading revolver, for which he had no cartridges, and a single -barreled flint-lock pistol. He then hung his sword and shield over his shoulder, gave his san- dals to his henchman, and was ready to start. The retainer was dressed in an old Kaniki loin-cloth and fez cap, and carried an ancient fire-arm that could not be induced to go off when the salute was fired on our entrance to Kaoli. We took as an escort, in order to appear in due state, four of our askari, in their uniform and armed with rifles, commanded by Bilal, whom we had rated second to Bombay. And, after some persuasion, they actually marched two and two, carrying their rifles at the trail or an approach to the slope, until the paths grew so narrow^ that it was necessary to walk in single file. After passing through the main street of Bagamoyo and I.] KAOLI. 27 some straggling huts, we reached the sea -beach, and here the February, Jemidar informed us that we must take the more inland path, ^^'^^^ as the tide was high. Two of the jemidar's train now joined us, one being a good-looking young fellow with the color show- ing through his skin, although as nearly black as a man could be. His shield, sword, and dagger were very handsome. ^¥e now struck farther inland, and found the path more winding than the labyrinth of Crete ; but it led us through a fertile country. For some time our road lay along a large tract planted with yams, manioc, etc., and the jemidar pointed to the fields of rice, and told us that oranges, mangoes, and other fruits grew iu the adjacent woods. The cultivated ground was sur- rounded by a thorn hedge wnth which no "bullfinch" in En- gland could be compared, for it was from twelve to fifteen feet high, and about ten thick. Through this we went by an arched opening, and came to an uncultivated part of the country, wdiere the grass grew in large thick tufts, often so high that it flapped in our faces and hindered our progress. At last, after a two hours' w\alk, we again reached the beach close to Kaoli, when the jemidar and his friends began firing into the air to apprise the people of our arrival. The old matchlock and flint pistol did their work well, making reports like young cannon ; but one of the jemidar's personal attend- ants could not manage to make his fossil weapon produce any sound whatever. And the other, who was armed with a worn- out French fowling-piece, was little better, as there was at least a second between the explosion of the cap and that of the charge, which rather detracted from-the effect. Together they might possibly have been heard, but separately their efforts were drowned by the rippling of the sea upon the beach. On our arrival, we were most warmly welcomed by Soorghi, as well as by Jemidar Sabr and his retinue. We first visited Soorghi, the chief of the customs on the main-land — to whom we had letters of introduction from Lakh- midass, who farms all the sultan's revenue — and made inquiries about pagazi. He advised us to send to Saadani to beat up for them, promising letters and soldiers to assist in this work. After a time, during which Jemidar Sabr had been absent, we received a message from him inviting us to his residence, 28 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. February, where Tve found a repast already prepared. It consisted of 1873. three spatch-cocks, three sorts of Aral) pastry in nine different dishes, and two plates of vermicelli swamped in sugar, and, of course, the inevitable sherbet was served to us on entry. I tried the wing of a fowl, and, knives and forks being un- provided, had to use my lingers ; then tea was brought, not bad in flavor, but sweetened to cloying ; and lastly coffee, happily guiltless of sugar, but nevertheless it failed to rid our mouths of the overplus of saccharine matter, and a good draught of fresh water was most palatable. On our leaving the room, Jemidar Sabr invited our escort to enter and linisli the remainder of the feast, and while they were thus engaged we sat in state under the veranda with the jemi- dar and his notables. Our interpreter was meanwhile doing his best to assist our askari, and consequently the conversation was very limited. The eating being at last concluded, we formed order of march for Bagamoyo, and bid good-bye to our friends of Kaoli. Our host and some of his sons, however, accomjDanied us a short dis- tance on our way. We were rejoiced to find the tide ebbing, so that we M-ere able to return to Bagamoyo by the shore on the hard sand just uncovered by the water. Directly we got back, we arranged for starting Bilal for Saadani the next morning. He was ac- companied on this expedition by an intelligent native, named Saadi, to act as interpreter and recruiting-sergeant, by two of Jemidar Issa's soldiers, and three of our own men, to whom we served out arms and ammunition. In the evening, by way of diversion, there was a fire in the town, and some eight huts were burned to the ground. We went to the barracks, where our ammunition was stored, to make preparations in case of the fire spreading that way, and then visited the scene of action. The natives we found look- ing on in hopeless apathy, excepting a few Avho were arguing and vociferating at a great rate. Foi'tunately, there was no wind, and the fire soon burned itself out. The greater portion of a day was frequently occupied in pay- ing pagazi, and a most tedious and wearying work it proved, owing to the peculiarities of the men, and the difficult}' they !•] LOSS OF TIME IN PAYING PAGAZI. 29 seemed to experience in making np tlieir minds, and saying what they wanted. A man's name being called out, he answers "Ay -wallah," but makes no attemjDt at moving. When, at last, it pleases him to come to the front, and he is asked -how he wishes to receive his advance, he will probably stand, even for ten minutes, con- sidering before giving an answer. Then he says, " So many dollars, and so many doti ; so many of the doti must be meri- kani, and so many kaniki." When paid, he often wants to change a gold dollar for pice, and all the filthy copper coins have to be counted ; then, perhaps, he wishes to have one doti merikani changed for one of kaniki, or vice versa, or begs for another doti : and thus a vast amount of time is wasted. In the evening we occasionally took some men to the beach for target-practice, first making them fire a round of blank and then three rounds of ball at an empty case at one hundred yards, and, althougli there were no hits, the firing was fairly good. February, 1873. "We found it necessary to muster our forces every morning, the honor of bearing colors on these occasions being conferred upon Ferradi and Umbari, two of Speke's followers. The uniform we established for our askari consisted of a red patrol jacket, red fez, white shirt, and cummer-bund. Bombay and the leading men were distinguished by wearing non-com- missioned ofticers' stripes. 30 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. February, The Stli of February was a great festival of the Arabs, and 1873. q]i q^y ]\Xoslem askari honored us "with a special salaam, and asked, for something as a " tip," upon which we presented them with a shilling each to have an extra feed, it being explained to us by Bombay that this was the " Mohammedan Christmas." We also received visits from Jemidars Issa and Sabr, the for- mer having actually put on a clean new shirt. We were now anxious to return to Zanzibar to take up our remaining stores, due by the Punjab, and to make final prepa- rations for starting for the interior, but the difficulties in ob- taining a dhow seemed insuperable. There was, however, plenty to do in collecting and hiring pagazi and making saddles for our donkeys. The stirrups and bits were a puzzle, but we contrived to solve it with the assist- ance of a native smith, and, though his work was of the rough- est description, we hoped that it would answer our purpose. II.] CAPTAIN HANSARD'S KIND ATTENTIONS. 31 CHAPTER II. Parting Visit to Zanzibar. — Completing Equipment. — French Charlie's Store. — Fare- well Dinners. — Our First Campaign. — A Fracas. — Upholding our Dignity. — The Father pleads for his Son. — Shamba Gon^ra. — Visit from Dr. Kirk. — Our First Touch of Fever. — A New Volunteer. — Start for Kikoka. — The March. — Alligator- shooting. — Deserters. It was not until tlie lltli of February that we succeeded in February, getting a dhow to take us across to Zanzibar, for which we ^^'^^• sailed early that morning, accompanied by Pere Horner of the French mission, who was en route for France for a short and sorely needed holiday. The wind fell light when we, in company with some other dhows, were half-way across, and two of the Daphne's boats, looking out for slavers, came among us and visited our dhow, and shortly afterward boarded another, which, I believe, proved a prize. Having now drifted far to the south, it was decided to anchor ; but just before sunset a fresh breeze sprung uj), and, thus favored, we reached the town of Zanzibar. Here we found the Punjab, and Captain Hansard kindly in- sisted on our taking up our quarters on board during his stay — an arrangement which was far more comfortable than living in the English jail. All the stores that we had ordered in England were on board, as also an extra supply of ammunition, two Abyssinian tents supplied by the Indian Government, and a portable India-rub- ber boat by Mathews, of Cockspur Street — for which we were indebted to the thoughtful kindness of Major Euan C. Smith, C.S.L, Secretary to Sir Bartle Frere, who telegraphed for them while we were at Cairo — and thoroughly good and useful they proved. Murphy, having been granted leave by the Indian Gov- ernment, also came by the Punjab. At Zanzibar we took the opportunity of completing our out- fit, as far as possible, at the stores kept by Tarya Topan, French 3 32 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. February, Charlie, Eosaii, and tlie various Portuguese Joes, gatlieriiig to- isid. gether those little odds and ends so necessary in rough travel. For a caravan should be as thoroughly independent as a ship, or even more so, since after having started from the coast no opportunities occur of purchasing such small items as needles, thread, buttons, etc., etc., on which much comfort in a great measure depends. Tarya Topan was one of the most influential of the Indian traders, and was also more inclined to assist us than any other. French Charlie was an oddity who required to be known to be appreciated, and, from being cook at the English consulate, had now arrived at an important position in society at Zanzibar. All H.M. ships arriving there he supplied with fresh beef and bread, and he was proprietor of the only approach to a hotel in the island. He had a miscellaneous collection of stores of all sorts and descriptions, and, being utterly unable to read or write, had a most imperfect knowledge of what he possessed, 'and was content to ask a would-be purchaser to overhaul his stores, and if he succeeded in finding what he required, to give a fair price for it. Without learning English, he had partially forgotten French, an amusing mixture of the two being the result. It is need- less to say his affairs are rather in disorder ; but nevertheless he thrives and is prosperous, one reason for this jjrobably being his great generosity, for I believe few could find it in them to cheat him. Eosan was an American, who kept a miscellaneous store; and the Portuguese Joes are Goanese doing business as tailors, hair- cutters, grog-sellers, and, in fact, turning their hand to any thing and every thing. Dr. Kirk obtained for us letters of recommendation from the sultan, and, what was perhaps still more important, from the Indian merchant who farms the customs, to whom nearly every trader in the interior owes money, so that his injunctions could not lightly be disregarded. We were entertained at farewell dinners at the consulate and on board the flag-ship Glasgow, jmd again took our departure for Bagamoyo in a dhow well laden with our belongings. On arrival, we had the satisfaction of being effusively and noisily II.] ENGAGING PAGAZI. 33 welcomed by our men, who had, wonderful to relate, kept out of mischief during our absence. Without delay we settled down to work, and re-entered with unflagging zeal into the task of engaging pagazi, the rapid ap- proach of the rainy season, or Masika, which would render trav- eling more difficult, making every day's delay an important matter. I numbered the rifles which had been supplied to the expedition by the War Office, and served them out to the men, who were exceedingly proud of being armed with European guns ; and I may add that during the whole expedition they kept their arms, under very trying circumstances^ in a condi- tion that would be a credit to any soldier. February, 1873. VIEW IN HAGAMOYO. Finding that pagazi came forward very slowly, and that those actually engaged could never be collected together, I resolved to form a camp a short distance out in the country to prove that we intended to start immediately, and that therefore noth- ing would be gained by men holding back with the hope that higher rates of pay might be offered. By this means I also hoped to introduce some form of discipline into the heteroge- neous mass of which our party was composed. With this object, Dillon and I went out prospecting, and fixed on a lovely spot, 34 ACKOSS AFRICA. [Ch.\p. March, some four miles from the town, near a plantation called Sharaba 18*73. Gonera. Just before making this move, rather an unpleasant fracas occurred one morning when inspecting arms and seeing the donkeys watered. It originated in a dispute between a slave- girl and one of our boys who had charge of the riding-don- keys, as to which should first draw water at the well. An Arab rushed at the boy and commenced thrashing him, upon which one of the askari flew at the Arab and hit him over the head with a big stick, knocking him down and nearly stunning him ; but as I could not approve of such summary justice, I had the askari arrested. No sooner had the Arab recovered from the effects of the blow than he made off, vowing vengeance, and in less than five minutes was back, foaming at the mouth, brandishing liis sword, ^nd swearing that he would " kill a dog of a ISTazarene, and then die happy !" He was followed by a crowd of yelling and infuriated friends, w^ho were, however, wise enough to prevent him from carrying out his murderous intention. I ordered our men to return their arms and remain perfectly passive, as there seemed every prospect of a serious row. And it would have been impossible to prevent one had a rifle been fired. Dillon, Murphy, and myself were altogether unarmed, but had to walk up and dowm between our men and the crowd and appear perfectly cool, though once or tw^ice the madman — for by this time he had worked himself into a state of fury which could not be distinguished from madness — broke loose and, before his friends could seize him again, came close enough to make it unpleasant. Once he approached me so nearly that I was calculating the chances of being able to catch his wrist to prevent his cutting me down. After a time Jemidar Issa appeared with the Balooches form- ing the garrison, and scattered the crowd, and I informed him that, having made a prisoner of the man who struck the blow, I expected him to secure the Arab, with which request he prom- ised compliance, and we returned to our lodgings. Shortly afterward in came our landlord in much alarm, tell- ing us that the Arab and his friends had broken into his shop, turned every thing topsy-turvy, and threatened to kill him if he II.] UPHOLDING OUR DIGNITY. 35 refused to show the way to our rooms, but that the Balooches March, had dispersed them. I again sent for Jemidar Issa, acquainting ^^'^^- him that the British flag had been insulted by the attack on the house over which it was ilying, and unless he arrested the cul- prit at once, I should refer the matter to the admiral at Zan- zibar. At the same time I dispatched messengers to Jemidar Sabr, requesting his immediate presence to restore order. A lull now took place, and a passing thunder-storm having afforded us a large supply of water, we thought it a capital op- portunity for washing our dogs. And while engaged in this interesting operation in a light costume, consisting only of py- jamas and soapsuds, the turban of Jemidar Sabr appeared at the top of the ladder, and we had to bolt incontinently, and dress sufficiently to receive him with due respect. At first he professed his inability to do any thing ; but we upheld our rights as Englishmen, and still insisted that the man who had threatened and insulted us should be secured, or we would report the case to Zanzibar, adding that he well knew that if we adopted such a course neither his nor Jemidar Issa's place would be worth five minutes' purchase. Both the jemidars still attempted to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds; but seeing that we were determined not to withdraw from the position we had assumed, promised compliance with our demands, and in the evening reported that the man was in prison. Two days' palaver about the matter then followed. We wished the man to acknowledge his offense, or to be sent to Zanzibar to be dealt with by the sultan ; while the two jemi- dars and the principal inhabitants desired that no further ac- tion might be taken in the affair. On the third day the father of the offender, a fine, dignified, gray -bearded old Arab called on us, and made me feel almost ashamed of myself by kneeling down and kissing my hands. His son was very ill, he said, and promised that himself and some of the principal inhabitants would be responsible for his actions. This old man's humiliation was more than I could bear, and I readily agreed to the immediate release of his son, but added that in future we should all carry pistols, and told him to caution his son that if he again attempted to draw 36 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. March, 1873. his sword near any of us, we should immediately shoot him down. Thus this disagreeable business was concluded, and, I believe, did us no injury, but rather good; as it proved that although we would not allow ourselves to be insulted with impunity ^^ we were not at all vindictive. Yery shortly afterward we moved to Shamba Gonera, and pitched our tents under a clump of large mango-trees on an open grassy slope, at the bottom of which was a stream run- ning to the Kingani. The donkeys, numbering twenty -four, were picketed at night in two lines, and in the day-time were tethered in such places as afforded good grass and shade, the riding donkeys having, in addition, a feed of corn. CAMP AT BUAMBA QONEKA. Much opposition to our obtaining porters being still offered at Bagamoyo, and the people, taking advantage of our desire to start, becoming more extortionate, I wrote to Dr. Kirk, asking if he would pay us a visit, in order to show that we were still un- der the aegis of the British Government. Although very busy, he came almost innnediately in the Daphne^ and used his in- fluence, which is greater than that of any one else at Zanzibar, to assist us. II.] VISIT FROM DR. KIRK. 37 Accompanied by Captain Bateman, of the Daphne^ and some March, of the officers of that ship, Dr. Kirk visited our camp, and told ^^'^^• us that he was delighted with all he saw, at which remark from so experienced a traveler we were much gratified. The result was that affairs went more smoothly for a time, but in a few days returned into the old groove. There was no doubt that Abdullah Dina, whom we employed as a sort of agent, and Jemidar Issa, notwithstanding profuse assevera- tions that they were doing their utmost to help us, were really thwarting us in every way. They argued tliat the longer we were detained, the more money they would make out of us. The establishment of the camp at Shamba Gonera proved of no service as far as keeping the men together was concerned, for the moment they received their rations they disappeared again into the town. I thought at one time of sending Dillon and Murphy with the men we had engaged to Rehenneko or Mbumi, to the other side of the Makata swamp, there to await my arrival with such additional pagazi as I could collect ; but I found this impracticable, as Murphy, having exposed himself too much to the sun and dew, was unable to travel. I then compromised matters by sending, under the charge of Dillon, all the men we could muster and most of the donkeys to Kikoka, the outpost station of H.H. Syd Burghash, on the other side of the Kingani. Soon after his departure, both Murphy and myself had a sharp attack of fever ; but while I w^as fortunate in shaking it off in three days, it seemed inclined to keep a hold upon Mur- phy, and I therefore asked Dillon .to return and give him the benefit of medical treatment. The same day a letter arrived from Dr. Kirk, stating that Sir Bartle Frere and staff were coming to Bagamoyo in the Daphne^ and requesting me to inform the French mission of the same. I at once rode over to deliver this message, and also mentioned Murphy's illness, when Pere Germain insisted on proceeding to our camp, and taking him on a litter to the mis- sion, that he might be nursed in the infirmary. ^\iQ Daphie arrived the next day, and Sir Bartle, on landing, was welcomed by all the Hindis in the place, a set of cringing sycophants who had done all that lay in their power to hinder 38 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. March, US during the whole time we had been at Bagamoyo, but now ^^"^^^ came to make their salaams to the big man, and assure him of their loyalty and non-participation in the slave-trade. Sir Bar- tie remained the entire day at Bagamoyo, but his staff went to the Kingani to try their hands at the hippopotami, with which the river swarmed. Another volunteer came to us in the Daj}k7ie, Kobert Moffat — a grandson of Dr. Moffat, and nephew of Dr. Livingstone — who, hearing of the expedition, had sold a sugar plantation at Natal, which formed his sole inheritance, and hastened to Zan- zibar, prepared to devote all his energies and every penny he possessed to the cause of African exploration. It may perhaps be well to mention that Zanzibar is not alone the town or even the island commonly so called, but is the cor- rect term for the whole of the sultan's dominions, meaning " the coast of the blacks." Unguja is the native name for the town of Zanzibar. I took advantage of Moffat's having joined to proceed at once with Dillon to Kehenneko, leaving Moffat and Murphy to bring up the rear division of the caravan, as this course would allow the latter time to recover, and give the former a chance of completing his kit. And having — with the assistance of Moffat, who proved M'illing and hard-working — mustered all the men I possibly could, we loaded them and the donkeys, and started for Kikoka. From having unwisely worn slippers while walking in the long grass near our camp, my feet had been cut and poisoned, and were now covered with small sores which prevented my putting on boots or moving about with any degree of comfort ; so I mounted a donkey, and led the way. At the outset we marched over grassy country, and all went merry as a marriage - bell until we reached Stanley's famous bridge across a muddy creek. This my donkey, " Jenny Lind," refused to face, and, on my getting off to lead her, broke away and bolted back to Shamba Gonera, leaving me to wade across this place with bare feet, and to struggle along through black and sticky mud for the re- mainder of the journey to tlie Kingani, This caused the sore places on my feet to become so much inflamed that I could not II.] DESERTERS. 39 even wear slippers on arriving at the river. Here we and our March, stores were ferried over without delay, but it was too late to i^*^^- get the donkeys across that night. Neither our tent nor cook had arrived, so we had no alterna- tive but to sleep out on the river-bank, and make our supper off roasted Indian corn which we obtained from the garden of a Belooch who was supposed to guard the ferry. Luckily the night was fine, and we slept comfortably along-side a large fire. We were astir by break of day, and, before the ferry-man was ready to tow the donkeys across, amused ourselves by popping at the numerous hippopotami. A huge crocodile floating down stream toward the ferry varied our sport, and I succeeded in lodging a bullet and a shell in the middle of his back. He gave a convulsive plunge, throwing his whole length at least six feet into the air, and then sunk to be no more seen. The donkeys being landed on the northern bank without ac- cident, and the tent and cook having turned up, we started for Kikoka, arriving there at eleven o'clock. Moffat, who had accompanied me thus far, I now sent back to Bagamoyo with my parting orders to Murphy, and then with Dillon endeavored to collect our men for the road. This was not an easy matter, for notwithstanding our distance from Ba- gamoyo, its Circean charms proved so strong that there were always thirty or forty absentees at the morning muster. I offered the guard at the ferry a reward if they would not allow any of my men to cross without a pass from me ; but this proving ineffectual, I sent Bombay with a party of askari back to Bagamoyo, to hunt up the absentees, and bring them out loaded with food. At the end of four days — which I afterward heard he had spent loafing about Abdullah Dina's — he returned without bringing in any of the deserters. "While Bombay was away, a Comoro man, called Issa, who had acted as interpreter on board the Glasgoio, and held very good certificates, volunteered to join the expedition ; and, as I required a native leader for Murphy's portion of the caravan, I engaged him. His duties were eventually to be those of store- keeper and interpreter of the main body, being the only man who could read and write, and, on account of his having trav- 40 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. March, eled in Manyuema and other countries rarely visited by cara- vans, I trusted that his experience would stand me in good stead. During our stay at Kikoka two caravans of Wanyamwesi, bringing down their own ivory, passed us ; but I could not tempt any of their number to join us as porters for the up jour- ney, as they wanted to have their spree at Bagamoyo before re- turning to their own homes. LOADED DONKEY AND PAGAZI. III.] A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY. 41 CHAPTER III. Leaving Kikoka. — Form of Camp. — Mode of Hut-building. — Foraging for Provis- ions.— A "Short Cut." — Bombay as a Guide. — A Luckless Cruise. — A Xeedless Scare. — Levy of Mhongo. — Msuwah. — Fortified Villages. — An Artful Dodger. — An Arab Caravan. — Offerings to Spirits. — Baobab-trees. — Kisemo. — The Lugerengeri. — The Kungwa Hills. — Simbaweni. — Its Queen. — Rumored Terrors of the Makata Swamp. — Lazy Porters. — Honor among Deserters. Tired of the innumerable delays, we decided to start from March, Kikoka on tlie 28tli of Marcli with whatever men we might ^^^^• have m camp, leaving such loads as we were unable to get car- ried in charge of the Belooch guard, to be afterward sent for by Murphy. I turned the hands up at 5.30 a.m., and found that seven more pagazi had deserted during the night. This raised the total number of absentees to twenty-five, and so many more were skulking about the village and in the grass and jungle that it was ten o'clock before we made a move. It was altogether impossible to make the askari load the don- keys properly. In fact, to tell the truth, we were obliged to do the work ourselves while our men looked on in idleness. If left to themselves, they tried to tie the crupper round the don- • key's neck, and placed the pad so that it afforded no protection whatever to the animal's back. For two hours and a half we marched across a lovely country of rolling grass-land interspersed with belts of timber, and ev- ery here and there small knolls crowned with clumps of trees and shrubs. Away on our right lay the chain of small hills where Rosako and its neighboring robber villages were situated, along the route which Stanley followed on his journey for the relief of Dr. Livingstone. We camped on the top of a small knoll, the huts of the men being so arranged as to form a fence, while in the centre the 42 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. March, teiits were pitched and a large lint erected for stores and guard- 1813. room. Before sunset tlie donkeys were picketed inside the boma, and the entrance closed as a defense both against wild beasts and robbers. The men divided themselves into small kambis or messes, numbering from three to seven each, for the purposes of cook- ing and building their huts. Each kambi selects one man for duty as cook, while the re- mainder busy themselves in building, and by this subdivision of labor a camp is formed in a wonderfully short space of time wherever grass and suitable wood are plentiful. One man cuts the ridge-pole and undertakes the general su- perintendence, while others prepare forked uprights and small sticks for rafters, provide bark to bind tlie structure together, and grass for thatch and bedding. Every bit of grass is carefully rooted out from the inside to prevent tlie stubs injuring the mats. A thick layer of cut grass is also spread on the ground to form a sort of mattress, and on this the mats are laid. Some of the more luxurious build small kitandas, or bed- places, to raise them above the damp ground. Within a couple of hours after arrival all is completed ; and as soon as the men have been fed, they dispose themselves to sleep until the time for their sunset meal, after which they smoke and yarn till eight or nine o'clock, when most of them turn in for the night. Occasionally, however, the silence is broken by some fellow who, thinking he has something important to tell a chum at the other side of the camp, makes no scruple of howling out at the top of his voice, and continuing to shout until he obtains an an- swer. Probably he will then have forgotten what he wished to say, and has thus disturbed the whole camp for nothing. After two more days of marching through similar country, the guides advised a halt to procure supplies, and I accordingly set out in the afternoon witli Bombay and a party of men for a village said to be near, leaving Dillon to look after the camp. I had taken oH my traxeling kit, and, in order to appear in due form before the eyes of the natives, had dressed in white shirt and trousers and put a green veil round my topee, Dillon III.] FORAGING FOR PROVISIONS. 43 remarking that I looked like a stage peasant got up as a bride- groom. Certainly I was not suitably equipped for a rainy aft- ernoon, and so I found an hour later, when it rained in such torrents that in a few moments I was thoroughly drenched. The footpaths were ankle -deep in water, and a nullah which was perfectly dry when we passed it during our morning's march had now become a considerable stream. March, 1873. BOMBAY AND TWO 0HTTM8. As the village was reported to be nearer than the camp, 1 lield on my way, and after a seven miles' walk arrived at a small group of round huts which formed the residence of the chief of the district. He happened to be away, and his son, apparently a great dandy in his own estimation, would not sell any thing during his father's absence. After much bargaining and bothering, I managed to obtain a goat and a few eggs from another source ; but no food for the askari and pagazi was forthcoming. "We therefore went foraging about, and, crossing an affluent 44 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. March, of the Kingaiii wliicli was up to our armjjits, discovered a few 18V3. miserable huts ; but from the inhabitants my men could get nothing more than a root or two of cassava. It was now getting late, and we turned our footsteps camp- ward, allowing Bombay to lead, as he declared there was a short cut. So away we went plowing our way through long wet grass ; and, as the darkness closed around, without a single star to guide us, we lost our road comj)letely. I was confident that Bombay was wrong, but he and all the men persisted that he was right. I trusted them, not then hav- ing practical exj)erience of the inability of an African to strike out a new road, although he will remember every turn and step of those he has once traveled over. About nine o'clock we found ourselves in a swampy wood, and, hearing no answer to the guns I had ordered to be fired to apprise the people in camp of our whereabouts, I thought it best to select some dry spot where we could kindle a fire, cook the goat, and make ourselves as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. I squatted down close to the fire, with my back against a tree, and tried to eat some of the goat, but was too completely done up to get even a morsel down my throat. The men, how- ever, made short work of it. As soon as the first gleams of light heralded the approach of day, I arose from my " wretched lair" and set off to look for the camp, and shortly met some peojjle who had been disj^atched by Dillon to come in search of us. In another hour I reached my tent, though barely able to crawl into it, the night's expos- ure having brought on a violent attack of fever. I was only fit to turn into bed, and get Dillon to doctor me. To add to my annoyance, I found that, had we taken the di- rection I wished the evening before, we should have got into camp all right. I w^as a very different -looking object on my arrival from what I had been on my departure on this luckless cruise. Shirt and trousers wet, torn, and mud-stained ; the color of the veil washed out, and hat, face, and shoulders all rejoicing in a pea-green tint. Three more days were we delayed at this camp, and then the III.] A VISIT FEOM MOFFAT. 45 men sent to the south of the Kingani returned with only a suf- April, ficient quantity of cassava for immediate use. i^*^^- During our stay Moffat came out on foot with letters from Dr. Kirk and other friends at Zanzibar, together with the mail that had arrived since we left Kikoka. He also brought the news that Murphy had almost recovered, and had broken up the camp at Shaniba Gonera, and made his head - quarters in Bagamoyo. Moffat being rather knocked up by this walk, we gave him a donkey for the return journey to Bagamoyo, and started off again ourselves, marching for three days without interruption. The country consisted principally of prairies, with clumps of trees and occasional small ponds or water-holes, in which beau- tiful large blue and white water-lilies grew, and here and there magnificent white lilies showed among the grass. On this march I was suffering very much from fever, and was delirious when in camp. Yet I managed to pull myself together while on the road, and was able to ride my donkey, though the moment the excitement of the march had passed I was hardly able to stand. Upon Dillon during this time devolved the work of driving the caravan along, and, owing to his unremitting attention, all went smoothly. On the third day we heard that a village was close in front, and sent messengers to acquaint the chief of our approach. As- tounding rumors were brought back to the effect that the chief would not allow us to pass ; but as every man who made any report differed from his fellows, we decided that all were false. We remained camped, however, for one day to await a defi- nite answer, as there had lately been great difliculties between the chief and filibustering parties from Whinde, a village on the coast which owes a divided allegiance to H.H. Syd Burghash. The hoped-for answer not having been received on the 7th of April, we started early in the morning, and at noon arrived at the outskirts of the district of Msuwah. There was much cultivation all around us — pumpkins, Indian-corn, sweet-pota- toes, etc. — but the only signs of any habitations were tiny spi- rals of blue smoke curling up from the midst of clumps of the densest jungle. 46 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. April, Our people were driven nearly wild with fright on this 18V3. march, owing to a few who were rather in advance of the main body rushing back, with fear dejDicted on every feature, declaring they had seen some aTined men (as though every one in Africa did not go armed), and that Ave had better re- turn to Bagamoyo at once, as it would be madness to proceed any farther. After a time we somewhat allayed their agita- tion, and persuaded one or two of the bravest — or rather least cowardly — to talk to these much-dreaded armed men, one of whom, with spear, bow, arrows, and all, returned with them, and agreed to guide us to the chief's village. We camped early that afternoon, and I was still so ill from fever and fatigue that I turned in at once. The following day the chief paid us a visit, and gave per- mission to move close to his village, but informed us that, ow- ing to a treaty he had concluded with the people of Whinde, we should be expected to pay mhongo before leaving. Under this treaty, entered into between the chief of Msuwali and the people of Whinde, the former was to pay the latter a certain number of slaves, and in compensation he was allowed to tax all caravans passing through his district, provided that they started from any point on the coast excepting Whinde. This agreement was arrived at after war had been carried on between both parties for some years without either side being able to gain a decided advantage, and we were doomed to be the first sufferers. This incident shows how little real influence the Sultan of Zanzibar has over his subjects on the main-land, and how little he can do personally, even with the best intentions, to put down the slave-trade in his continental dominions. Dillon returned the visit of the chief, who was very civil, and arranged our mhongo at thirty doti. The village of Msuwah consisted of six or eight large, well- built huts, kept clean and in good order ; but another in the middle of a dense patch of jungle we were not allowed to see. These villages are built in the midst of jungle for the pur- pose of providing protection against attack, being only ap- proachable by very narrow, tortuous paths, capable of being completely blocked and rendered perfectly impregnaljle against III.] AN AEAB CARAVAN. 47 native warfare. Owing to these strong positions, tlie people April, are able to liarrj their neighbors with a certainty of safety from ^^'^^- reprisals, and make slaves, for whom they are always sure of finding a ready market in the towns on the sea-board. Here we heard that the country to the front was " hungry," and we should therefore be obliged to buy food for the road before starting. And our civil and smiling friend, the chief, assuring us that it would be dangerous for our men to go in search of food, offered to send his own people to procure it — provided we paid in advance. When he had received the cloth, he made numerous excuses for not fullilling his promises ; and, after five days' halt, we had to start with only two days' supplies. Some neighboring chiefs, hearing of our proximity, took ad- vantage of this delay to personally demand mhongo. To one, named Mtonga, I was foolish enough to pay thirty doti of meri- kani and kaniki and seven colored cloths, upon Bombay per- , «uading me that his village lay on our road, and there would be trouble if we did not satisfy these claims. But I afterward found that the scoundrel had been cheating us, as his village was situated to the northward of us, and, if any thing, to our rear. Another, called Kasuwa, demanded two whole bales ; but as I happily discovered that we had already passed him, he got nothing. On the fourth day of our halt we were visited by the leaders of a large Arab caravan which had left the coast some time before us, but had been detained by troubles along Stanley's route. They mustered over seven hundred men, of whom about a half were armed with muskets. The halt was not altogether wasted, as it enabled us to im- j^rove our donkeys' saddles, and gave me a chance of shaking off the fever; but during our stay we had the misfortune to lose one of our pagazi, who died suddenly without any previous illness, and some half a dozen others deserted. On the 14th of April we made another move, after a great deal of trouble with the men, who, if allowed to halt a day or two, always made more fuss about starting than if they had been kept on the road altogether. We passed through the Arab camp, in which there were sev- 48 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. April, en tents belonging to the proprietors of different divisions, eacli ^^'^^- being inclosed in a compound made of cloth screens or grass fences which served to keep the profane eyes of outsiders from penetrating the mysteries of the harem. They were in great tribulation, owing to many of their hired pagazi having bolted ; and I found I had reason to congratulate myself on only hav- ing lost half a dozen while at Msuwah, as it is a favorite place for coast people to desert, and the jungle and villages afford so many lurking and hiding places that it is almost impossible to find them again. The Arabs professed to be very anxious to join us, and I should not have objected but for rumors of scarcity of food and anticij^ations of difficulty in rationing so large a party. I determined to j)ress forward as quickly as possible toward the Makata swamp, every day's delay now increasing the chances of its being in bad condition for crossing. And we covered a good ten miles, halting only for half an hour — passing over a level table-land about four hundred or five hundred feet higheTi than Msuwah — and descried right before us a glorious cloud- capped range of mountainous hills. The country throngh which we had come was well cultivated, and dotted with numerous hamlets peeping out of woods and bosquets. Where the ground was not cultivated or covered with jungle, the grass was excellent. I was much astonished at the total absence of cattle, as we noticed no tsetse, and the country seemed admirably adapted for grazing, being well watered, and provided with trees to af- ford shade during the heat of the day. Every plot under cultivation had in it a miniature hut, under which offerings were placed to propitiate the evil spirits lest they should injure the growing crops. Several graves of chiefs bestrewed with broken earthenware were pointed out to me. They also had huts erected over them with a small tree, usually of the cactus species, serving the purpose of a centre-post. On this march we first met with baobab-trees, which may be termed the elephants or hippopotami of the vegetable kingdom, their smallest twigs being two or three inches in circumference, and their forms of the most grotesque ugliness. This is, how- III.] VALLEY OF THE LUGERENGEKI. 49 ever, toned down by their beautiful white flowers and the ten- April, der green of their foliage. ^^'^^• At Kisemo the chief brought a goat to our camp and asked for fifty doti as mliongo ; but as he was " a small thief," this re- quest was not comjDlied with. We gave him four doti as the price of the goat and four more as a present, and he professed himself perfectly satisfied, although it was so great a reduction from his attempt at extortion. Our road, at starting, led up a steep ascent and across a table- land, gradually sloping toward the west with occasional slight undulations, until we came to the steep and almost clifE-like de- scent into the valley of the Lugerengeri. Frequent outcrops of sandstone and quartz were noticeable, and crystalline peb- bles were plentiful; and the soil, which was in some places of a reddish hue, was at- other points a pure white silver sand, both being covered with a considerable layer of vegetable mold. Many beautiful flowers gladdened our eyes on the march, among which were tiger -lilies, convolvuli, primulas of a rich deep yellow, and another having somewhat the a]3pearance of a fox-glove opened back. In the valley of the Lugerengeri I saw some thorn-bushes of osier-like growth bearing large, pur- ple, bell-shaped flowers. From the coast thus far, we had fre- quently met with white primulas, a large yellow daisy, and small red-and-blue flowers, very similar to forget-me-nots. The Lugerengeri here lies at the bottom of a valley with a broad and very nearly level sole, which it floods when swollen by exceptional storms, carrying destruction far and wide. The year before we passed, one of these inundations — caused by the rains accompanying the hurricane which did so much damage at Zanzibar — swept away about twenty villages, with great loss of life, though no reliable account of the numbers who perished could be obtained. The inhabitants, like verita- ble fatalists, had re-occupied many of the old sites, only a few being sufficiently wise to guard against the recurrence of a sim- ilar disaster by building on small eminences. We camped near a village built by some of the wiser ones, and were well received by the chief, who placed a couple of neighboring huts at our disposal for our stores. 50 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. April, Before iis, on the opposite side of the Lugerengeri, were the 1873. }jj}|g ^yg i^Q^^ sighted tM'o days previous! j. Bombay, on an-ival, said, " Master, Lugerengeri live close by, jump him to-morrow ;" but when to-morrow came there arose the same old cry of " Master, country very hungry in front ;" and we were compelled to spend a day looking for provisions, being rewarded by obtaining sufficient for three or four days. About noon a division of the Arab caravan passed us, and camped on the opposite bank of the Lugerengeri, the remain- der of the Arabs being bound for the country of the Warori and Wabena. By five o'clock the next morning we were on the move, and Hamees ibn Salim, the owner of the Arab caravan, hearing us astir, sent his drummer to play us past his camp. Crossing by the ford just as the day was beginning to dawn, we found the Arabs not yet packed up, but Hamees turned out to salute us as we passed. When we forded the Lugerengeri, it was only about thirty yards wide and knee-deep, but it must be impass- able whenever a freshet comes down. The channel exceeds two hundred and fifty yards in width, with banks on each side twenty-five feet high ; and many old plantations in the vicinity were covered with sand brought down in the floods of 1872. The bed consisted of white sand, with quartz and granite peb- bles, and large bowlders of granite much water-worn were strew- ed about in considerable numbers. After traversing seven miles of thickly wooded country with- out any inhabitants, Hamees's caravan overtook us. I had been walking in front, and was obliged to sit down and rest, being still weak from fever, on seeing which, Hamees kindly offered me his donkey, and, upon my refusing, sat down to keep me company until my own arrived. After this, we had some rough marching over very steep hills, through patches of tiger grass, and across ravines forty and fifty feet deep, with almost precipitous sides, at each of which we were obliged to unload the donkeys and carry the baggage up and down by the help of the drivers. Notwithstanding the extra work of superintending this, be- sides dragging one's weary legs along, the scenery was so de- lightful that we scarcely thought of fatigue. III.] THE KUNGWA HILLS. 51 All the hills were exceedingly rocky — being composed most- April, ly of granite, but in some instances of nearly pure quartz — but ^^'^^• they were thickly clothed with trees "Wherever the inequalities of the surface allowed sufficient soil to accumulate. The great- er number of the trees being acacias in full bloom, their red, white, and yellow blossoms, and those of other flowering trees, stood out in masses of gorgeous color. Late in the afternoon we arrived at the camping - place, a rocky pass having at the bottom pools of water in granite ba- sins. Out of these two streams issued, one running west and the other east, but both ultimately falling into the Kingani. This was the direct road through the range of hills that had been in sight since leaving Kisemo, and I now ascertained they were named Kungwa, though by Burton and Speke they are grouped with others as the Duthumi Hills. The tail of the caravan, owing to the long and tiring march, was all over the country, and many of the stragglers were not up till after sunset. Next morning saw us off betimes, our path, with a water- course beside it, leading us through a regular pass. Along this route we had trouble in forcing our way through sword -grass and bamboo — the first we had seen — which was covered with a creeper very like the English sweet-pea, bearing many twin and a few double flowers. Five miles of this work brought us into a valley inclosed b}^ the Kungwa Hills, and full of conical knolls, many of which were crowned by villages. The Arabs camped in one called Kongassa, while we halted at anothe^named Kungwa, from the mountains, the highest peak of which overhung us. The sides of the knolls were planted with Indian and Kaffir corn and sweet-potatoes, while the damp bottoms served to produce rice, and in the village ebony or blackwood trees were growing. A large, unfinished house — the building of which had been commenced by an Arab with a view of settling here, but now falling into decay — afforded good shelter for our stores and many of our men. Those who were unable to get quarters in it shared the huts of the natives in order to escape the rain, which fell almost continuously, and prevented us from starting till late the following day. 52 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. April, Our next resting-place was a deserted village five miles dis- ^^''^- tant. Here we had to remain a day to obtain supplies ; for, as usual, the men were lazy, and wanted an excuse for delay ; and this place, which had been the " hungry country " three days before, was now represented as a land of Goshen, while all in front was said to be a barren waste. Dillon and I enlisted the services of two of the aborigines as guides while we went out shooting. Although we saw tracks of pig and antelope, the beasts themselves kept out of sight; and, after having been out an hour, our worthy guides started off in pursuit of a honey-bird which they heard calling, and in their excitement created such a row as to entirely upset any chances of sport. The soil in the bottoms was black and heavy, and had be- come converted by the rains iuto sticky and slippery mud ; but the knolls, being sand, remained comparatively dry during the heaviest rain. The Arabs who had halted at Ivongassa again appeared, and camped close to us, and we went up the valley in company. The hills closed in on either side, and the path was so blocked with bamboo cane-grass as to render it a matter of great diffi- culty to fight one's way along. The thick growth also shut out the view of the hills which, when we were privileged with an occasional peep, was delightful ; so, to the physical labor of driving our way through the tough grass was added the tantali- zation of knowing that we were surrounded by charming scen- ery without being able to enjoy it. Our camp on this day (April 20th) was by the small village of Kiroka, which the Arabs, having the start of us, had appro- priated, and we were obliged to form our boma outside. Ha- mees's tent was already pitched when I arrived, and, pitying my hot and thirsty condition, he kindly took me inside to have a glass of sherbet. Owing to its sweetness, this unfortunately only increased my thirst ; still, I fully appreciated the good in- tention. From Kiroka the valley continued to close in, and at the western end we left by a pass situated at some height. By the side of our path was a torrent-bed more than twenty feet deep, with nearly perpendicular sides, and into this fell a III.] THE LUGEKENGERI AND ITS VALLEY. 53 baggage donkey carrying about one bimdred and forty pounds April, of ammunition — a quantity of which consisted of percussion ^*^'^^- shell — but, luckily, without causing injury either to himself or his load, although he pitched straight on his head. A little hair rubbed off his forehead was the only visible result of his tumble. The latter part of the pass was very slippery sandstone and quartz ; and at its highest point, the hills, clothed to their sum- mits with trees, rose some three hundred feet above us. A steep descent of greasy red clay brought us into the broad val- ley of the Lugereiigeri, bounded on the south by the Kigam- bwe Mountains, from which many torrents come down to the river, and on the north by a range of detached conical hills. The valley of Lugerengeri is very fertile, with pleasing al- ternations of open wood, jungle, grass, and cultivation ; but the torrents from the Kigarnbwe hills are very serious drawbacks to the safety of the inhabitants. The Moliale must be over a mile wide in spates ; and even when we crossed, several streams knee -deep were flowing between thickets of bamboo, which seamed the bed. We rested for the night in the village of Mo- hale, and in the morning passed the famous town of Simbawe- ni, "the stronghold of the lion," once the habitation of Kisa- bengo, a notorious freebooter, and the terror of all surrounding tribes. But its glories have now faded, and we marched past with colors flying, and altogether disregarding the demands of its present ruler. She is a daughter of Kisabengo, and possesses the will, but lacks the power, of rendering herself as obnoxious as was her robber sire. Crossing the Mwere torrent, we proceeded to the Lugerenge- ri, over which we passed by a rough bridge composed of fallen trees, and camped by its banks. It occupied more than two hours getting loads and donkeys across, as the river was twenty yards wide and four to six feet deep, with steep banks rising fourteen feet above the water. Hamees unwisely pitched his camp by the side of the Mwere, and, in consequence, had to pay seventeen doti mhongo to Sim- baweni, a tax which we escaped. Our men were also anxious to remain on the Simbaweni side, and did not work willingly. 54 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. April, But we got across without accident, except to one pagazi, who 1873. preferred trying to wade the river to trusting himself to the slippery bridge, and was swept away by the current. He was rescued with no further damage than wetting his load, though such an escape was scarcely to be expected. An Arab caravan for the coast passing us here, we availed ourselves of the opportunity of dispatching a mail for Zanzibar. Buying provisions for crossing the Makata swamp occupied the next day. There was no trouble in obtaining the supplies we required, as the natives crowded into camp with beans, pumpkins, vegetable marrows, honey, eggs, and corn for sale. Concerning the difficulties of this passage, there were rumors almost sufficient to deter the stoutest from attempting it, if al- lowance had not been made for the tendency of the negro to exaggeration. Ilamees came over to see us in the afternoon, which was miserably wet, and Dillon endeavored to amuse and astonish him with some card tricks. But great was his surprise on finding that Plamees could outdo him. A branch of a tree falling upon my three-pole tent, made a rent six feet long; and if I had not taken the precaution of having an inner lining fitted at Kikoka, I should have been com- pelled to seek fresh quarters with Dillon in his Abyssinian tent. An enormous amount of bother fell to our lot in the morn- ing, for the men had gorged themselves to such an extent that they were very much disinclined to march, and would fain have remained a few days more in this veritable land of plenty. We had to drive them out of camp one by one, and no sooner were our backs turned than they would dodge in again, or hide with their loads among the bushes and long grass. By dint of perseverance, we at length got them away, and marching close under the end of the Kihondo mountain range — which rises sheer out of the plain to a height of seven or eight hundred feet — arrived at Simbo, the last camp before en- tering upon the toils and labors of the Makata swamp. I may mention that Simbo is more a generic than a particular term, and, unless a more definite name can be borrowed from some neighboring village, is frequently applied to places where water is found in holes or by digging — that being the meaning of the word. III.] A DESEETEE EECOVEEED. 55 The range of Kihondo inosculates with Kigambwe, and in the angle formed by their junction are the sources of the Lu- gerengeri River. On mustering in camp at Simbo, we found one of the pagazi, Uledi by name, had disapj)eared with his load. I instantly dis- patched live askari in search of him, and in the evening they returned in triumph, having recovered him at Simbaweni, where he had gone, thinking to find a hearty welcome, owing to our having refused to pay mhongo. The queen, Miss Kisa- bengo, however, handed him and his baggage over to the man in charge of the search-party, upon his paying seven doti as a fee. I ordered him to be flogged as an example, and the men agreed that the punishment was well deserved, for, on this part of the road, although it was not thought any disgrace to desert, yet it was considered a point of honor that a man should never run away with his load. April, 1873. EETUBN OP THE PESERTEB. 56 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. CHAPTEE lY. The Makata Swamp. — Mud Traps. — The Makata River. — A Native Bridge. — Trans- porting Donkeys. — Rehenneko. — Laid up. — A Strike among the Men. — Routine in Camp. — Visitors. — A Swaggering Hahf-caste. — News from Murphy. — His Arrival. — Death of Moffat. — Organizing the Fresh Arrivals. — The Strength of the Expedi- tion.— Women and Slaves. — Losses by Death and Desertion. — Armament. — Our Dogs and Donkeys. — Ready. April, On the 26tli of April we started from Sinibo for tlie dreaded 1873. Makata swamp, a large, level plain lying between the Usagara Mountains and those near Simbaweni, offering no particular difficulties of passage in the dry season, but becoming convert- ed by the rains into a vast expanse of mud, with two or three troublesome morasses on the western side. Two hours' marching through pleasant wooded country, with red sandy soil, gave us our first introduction to the Makata, which then appeared in its worst form. The foot-prints of elephants, giraffes, and buffaloes had form- ed numerous holes in the clayey mud, some being at least knee- deep and full of water, and many of our donkeys were trapped in them. But they managed to bring their loads into camp in safety, although one had nearly been strangled by its driver, who made a running noose round its neck and attempted to drag it out of a hole by main force. Five hours in heavy rain were occupied in getting over five miles of this road, and during that time we had often to lend a hand in loading and unloading the poor donkeys, besides pre- venting the men from straggling, since they all wished to halt in the middle of the mud. This would have been a fatal mistake, there being no bushes with which to build huts, or to provide fuel for the camp-fires ; and a night's exposure to the rain and cold, with no dry sleep- ing-place, must have crippled most of them. So I continued on the march until 3 p.m., when we arrived at the site of an old IV.] THE MAKATA SWAMP AND EIVEK. 57 camp, a comparatively dry spot, wliere we found fuel and ma- April, terials for liut-building. 1873. It rained hard all the night, but began to clear shortly after day-break ; and at eight o'clock we commenced our march over a level plain, sparsely wooded, and with a few fan-palms, and the mud not nearly so troublesome as on the previous day. One hour's distance from camp we crossed a swift little stream, fed by small drains in the soil, which falls into the Ma- kata River, and then came upon another too deep to ford. To my vexation, on ordering the india-rubber boat to be made ready to ferry the loads across, I found that a part of the caravan had taken a different road, in order to ford the stream where it was shallower, and, unfortunately, the man carrying the boat had gone with those who did not require his services. "We sent after him, but in the mean time decided to cross by swimming, Dillon and myself going backward and forward to tow over those who were unable to swim ; and after most of the men were safely landed on the opposite bank, the boat ap- peared upon the scene, and we used it to transport the bales. Finding one of my boxes among the baggage, I took the op- portunity of changing my wet clothes, but could not persuade Dillon to follow my example, and he remained in the water un- til he became thoroughly chilled. I observed wrack of grass and twigs in the branches of small trees on the banks of these streams about ten feet above water, showing how high the floods over the country must be at times. Another half-hour brought us to the Makata River, a swift, swirling stream, about forty yards wide by eight or nine feet in depth. At this point was a rough bridge, composed of trunks and branches of trees lashed together with creepers and supported by large branches, and in one or two places near the banks by a rough form of trestle. According to African ideas, this construction, which was then almost under water, answered very well for bipeds ; but the un- fortunate donkeys were obliged to be hauled across at a clear place farther up the stream, in a manner they did not at ^11 relish. Each one was brought up in turn and bundled into the river from a high bank, while a dozen men on the opposite side ran 58 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. April, 1873. away with a rope made fast round the neck of the beast, which never appeared after tlie first phmge until his feet struck ground at the opposite bank. "We camped a few hundred yards from the river, and, the afternoon being fine, occupied ourselves in drying such of our stores as had been damaged by the wet. But during the night the rain came down again in torrents ; our camping-ground be- came a swamp, and the river rose until the bridge over which we had passed was quite under water. We congratulated ourselves on our good fortune in not be- ing delayed another day before crossing, otherwise we might have been compelled to wait a week for the waters to subside, the current being far too swift to admit of our using the boat. A portion of the plain rather raised above the general level now afforded us dry and good marching, and a striking feature on the route was presented by the number of fan-palms {Bo- rassus fldhelUforonu), the swelling in the middle of their tall trunks having a very peculiar appearance to eyes unaccus- tomed to such an apparent deformity. The numerous runs of game with which the country was in- tersected were also noticeable. One was so worn that, having separated from the main body of the caravan just before reach- ing camp, I followed it instead of the proper path for about half a mile, without discovering my mistake. IV.] EEHENNEKO. 59 We halted close to a village called Mkonibenga, and Dillon April, became very ill with fever, his first attack, which was doubtless ^^'^^- brought on by remaining so long in the water on our crossing the Makata Eiver ; and my right foot and ankle were so swollen and painful that I was perfectly unable to move. Neither of us was better for a day's rest ; but we thought it advisable to endeavor to reach Eehenneko, the descriptions we had heard of it leading us to believe that it was very healthy. It was distant one long march, but we decided on proceed- ing by easy stages. I w^as suffering such pain that I could nei- ther walk nor ride, but was carried in a hammock, while Dillon managed to get along on his staid old donkey, named " Philos- opher" on account of the equanimity with which he endured the vicissitudes of travel. We rested at a small hamlet belong- ing to a chief named Kombehina ; but the next morning Dil- lon was too ill to mount his donkey. Having only one ham- mock, we decided that Dillon should remain here and nurse himself, while I pushed on to Eehenneko, which was reported as being near at hand, sending the hammock back for Dillon as soon as I arrived there. Several large villages were passed on the way, and the country was very thickly cultivated, excepting in places where it was too marshy, or flooded, such as we met with on two occasions. Each of these flooded tracts was three- quarters of a mile across, with water varying from one to three feet in depth. When I arrived at Eehenneko, I located myself comfortably under the veranda of the chief's hut, and immediately sent the hammock for Dillon. >— Eehenneko proved to be a large and populous village, and I was soon surrounded by a wondering crowd, the people being all well-dressed, after the fashion of the slaves at Zanzibar. They wore also a very peculiar necklace, consisting of a disk of coiled brass wire projecting horizontally from the neck, and sometimes as much as two feet in diameter, having an effect which forcibly reminded me of a painting of John the Baptist's head in a charger. . These curious and uncomfortable ornaments I only saw in Eehenneko, but I heard that they were worn throughout the surrounding; district. 60 ACKOSS AFRICA. [Chap. May, The village was situated at the entrance to a rocky gorge ^^'^- leading into the mountains of Usagara, and I at once saw it would not prove a suitable place for a j)ermanent camp, on ac- count of its low-lying position. I therefore selected the sum- mit of a small hill for the site, and was carried there, and had my tent pitched. Only half a dozen men hutted themselves that night, owing to their very great fear of wild beasts. Indeed, they were so timid that, when I wanted water to drink after sunset, I could not persuade any man to fetch some from a stream some four hundred yards oif. Dillon arrived the next day very ill, and I had the camp properly laid out for a long halt if necessary. The men's huts formed a large outer circle, and in the centre a plot was fenced in for our tents, the guard-room, and store- house; the space between the men's huts and our own com- pound was used for picketing the donkeys at night. During the day they were allowed to roam about and graze, under the charge of a couple of men detailed for this duty. In addition to fever, Dillon had an attack of dysentery, and was confined to his bed until the 20th of May, having arrived on the 2d ; and I continued very lame, the swelling of my foot proving to have been caused by a large abscess which formed on my instep. To add to our troubles, a strike occurred among the men di- rectly after our arrival, as they wanted extravagant amounts of cloth in lieu of rations. I was obliged to be firm, even at the risk of losing many by desertion ; for had I yielded to their re- quest, the whole stock of cloth of which we were possessed would very soon have been exhausted. I could purchase eight- een days' rations for one man for two yards ; yet each man wanted two yards for every five days, and the smallest conces- sion on my part would only have induced them to increase their demands. My usual daily routine during Dillon's illness was to hobble round the camp after morning cocoa and visit the donkeys be- fore seeing them turned out to graze, dressing with carbolized oil any that had sores. Then I mustered the men, inspected arms, and heard any complaints ; after which the camp was cleared up, rations served out, and parties sent to the surround- IV.] VISITORS. 61 ing villages to buy the following day's provisions. Breakfast May, came next, and then writing, saddle-making, and different small '^^'^^• employments occupied the time until evening, when a meal — dinner and supper combined — was served. I then took sights, and smoked a pipe by the camp-fire until it w^as time for bed. Occasionally the day was diversified by the arrival of a visit- or ; Ferhan, chief of a large village, and slave of Syd Suliman — who was minister both to Syd Said and Syd Majid, and is now one of the councilors of Syd Burghash — having thus come to pay his respects and make us a present of a goat and some fowls. And another day the son of an Oman Arab set- tled at Mbumi, Syde ibn Omar, brought a present from his fa- ther, and excuses for his not appearing in person on account of illness. These two visits were very pleasant; but a third proved rather the contrary, when a bumptious, overbearing half-caste came sw^aggering into camp to demand that we should give up to him one of our pagazi on the plea of a debt contracted two or three years before. I investigated the case, and the pagazi declaring that he owed nothing to the Arab, I refused to let him be taken away ; upon which our friend bounced out of the camp without deigning to respond to my " kwa-heri," or good-bye. "While remaining here, I succeeded in getting all the don- keys' saddles into good working order, and designed a pad of a most useful pattern, which w^ould have enabled us to w^ork with donkeys the whole journey across Africa, had it been made of more lasting materials than those at our disposal. The saddles were fitted with two girths, breast-straps, breechings, and crup- pers, and at the top there w^ere toggels and loops, so that the loads could be put on or taken off almost instantaneously when they had to be passed across any of the numerous obstructions on the road. Seven donkeys carried panniers for ammunition and gun- gear, which would have answered admirably had they been stronger, but we put more weight into them than they were intended to bear; and that, together with constant banging against the trees, so shortened their natural span of life that none of them reached farther than Ujiji. 5 62 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. May, Beginning to grow anxious respecting Murphy, I sent back ^^'^^- several small parties to try and obtain news of him, and at length, on the 20th of May, I received a letter from him dated at Mohali, on the 16th. He there stated that both he and Mof- fat had suffered from several attacks of fever, and Moffat was very ill indeed. Some days elapsing without hearing any thing further, I again endeavored to communicate with him, and then received a report from an up caravan that he was about to cross the Makata. On the 26th, a caravan hove in siglit, headed by a white man riding a donkey ; but only that one white man could be seen among the crowd of dusky figures by which he was surrounded. " Where is the other ?" was the simultaneous ejaculation of Dillon and myself, and " Who is the missing one V As the party approached nearer, we became still more anx- ious ; and at last, unable longer to bear the suspense, I limped down the hill to meet it. I then recognized Murphy, and to my question, "Where is Moffat *" the answer was, " Dead !" "How? when? where?" was quickly asked, and then the sad tale was told of his having fallen a victim to the climate at a camp about a couple of hours' march from Simbo. His remains rest beneath a tall palm-tree at the commence- ment of the Makata plain. His name is added to that glorious roll of those who have sacrificed their lives in the cause of African discovery. Mackenzie, Tinne, Mungo Park, Yan der Decken, Thornton, are a few of that noble company in which, too — though we did not know it at that time — the name of his uncle, Livingstone, holds a most distinguished place. Poor boy ! He came to Bagamoyo so full of hope and as- pirations for the future, and had told me that the day he re- ceived permission to join the expedition was the happiest of his life. Murphy's entire party did not come up until the following day, when they arrived in charge of Issa. Immediately tliey were settled in camp, I numbered and served out the loads, making a list of the contents of each, so that it might be possi- ble to find at once any thing that was required. IV.] DONKEYS AND DOGS. 63 One great difficulty was providing carriers for Murphy, who was still ill from fever, owing, in a great measure, to his having neglected the use of quinine. Being no light weight, he required three relays of four men each, thus making a serious drag on our means of carriage, and the six donkeys he had brought up were so knocked about that they were unfit for work. It taxed all the ingenuity of myself and Issa to put matters straight. The total strength of the expedition at this time consisted of Dillon, Murphy, and myself, Issa (our store-keeper), thirty-five askari (including Bombay, who was supposed to command them), one hundred and ninety -two pagazi, six servants, cooks, and gun-bearers, and three boys. We had also twenty -two donkeys and three dogs, and several of the men had with them women and slaves, so that, numerically, we were an imposing force. May, 1873. RIDING DONKEYS. Our total losses up to this time among our men had been — one askari and one pagazi by death, and thirty-eight pagazi by desertion : one donkey had died at Shamba Gonera ; and anoth- er, having been lamed by a kick from one of his companions, was left by Murphy at Bagamoj'O. As regards our arms, Dillon and I each possessed, besides re- volvers, a double-barreled No. 12 rifle, and a fowling-piece of the same bore, all by Lang ; and right good weapons they proved. 64 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. May, 1873. Murphy had a double-barreled No. 10 fowling-piece and a No. 12 of Lang's, which poor Moffat bought at Zanzibar. Our men were provided with six navy and thirty-two artil- lery Sniders; and Issa, Bombay, and Bilal carried revolvers. Many of our pagazi also had flint-lock. Tower, or French trade- muskets, and every man not otherwise armed a spear or bow and arrows. The donkeys had all been elaborately named at Bagamoyo ; but the only two that retained them were Dillon's and my rid- ing donkeys, the Philosopher and Jenny Lind. The three dogs, which were a great delight to us, were Leo, a large, rough nondescript, bought at Zanzibar, my special friend, and a great wonder among all the natives on account of his size and appearance ; Mabel or May, Dillon's dog, a bull-terrier given him by Mr. Schultze, the German consul at Zanzibar ; and Rixie, a very pretty brindled fox-terrier, brought by Murphy from Aden. On the 29th of May every thing was ready, and we hoped to make a fair start on the following morning. Murphy was only partially recovered from fever, and I was still lame ; but Dillon was perfectly well, and we were all full of hope for the future. AFBIOAK FlUE-I'LAOE. v.] MEN STRUGGLING FOR FAVORITE LOADS. 65 CHAPTER V. Our Porter's Vanity. — A Rocky Gorge. — Camping on a Slope. — An Impudent Beg- gar.— Mirambo. — Monster Trees. — Wife -beating. — Its Remedy. — A Blunder and its Consequences. — Fortune-seekers. — Several Caravans join us. — An Elephant- hunter. — A Distressing Sight. — A Terekesa. — A Dry Country. — Death from Ex- haustion.— Water once again. — Strange Doctrine of a "True Believer." — Tembe Huts. — The Wadirigo. — A Warlike Race. — Their Arms. — Harvesting. — Bitter Waters. — The Marenga Mkali. — Sharp-eyed Wagogo. On tlie morning of the 30tli of May, several hands were ab- May, sent, and five had deserted. Among the latter was the man i^YS. whom I had refused to surrender to the bumptious Arab who demanded him for debt. It was annoying beyond measure to find that, after feeding men in idleness for a month, they bolted the moment they were- required for work, and had received their rations for the road. And another trouble was, that, notwithstanding" my having taken the pains to see each man told off to his own particular load, yet they made a rush and struggled for the favorite ones. This was not so much from any desire to shirk a heavy load as to carry one which entitled the bearer to a more dignified position in the caravan, the order being — tents first and fore- most, then wire, cloth, and beads, the miscellaneous gear, such as boxes and cooking utensils, bringing up the rear. By dint of perseverance, we adjusted all our difficulties, and started at ten o'clock. Our road wound through a rocky gorge and up the steep side of the mountain, rendered more difficult by numerous torrent beds channeled in the solid granite, and which were worn quite smooth and polished, and made slippery by the draining-down of water. Before some of our donkeys would cross the worst of these, it was necessary to blindfold them. Xone of the men appeared fit for work, being out of train- ing, from a long stay in camp ; so, after a short march, we en- 66 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. May, camped on a slope almost as steep as tlie roof of a house, that 1873. being the most level spot we could iind. Consequently we were obliged to chock up our " rolling stock," to jjrevent their starting for the Makata plain, some eight hundred feet below. Several men complaining of illness and weakness, we re-ar- ranged loads. This employed us until late in the evening, when the askari whom I had sent in search of deserters re- turned w^ithout having obtained any news of them. Leaving here the next morning, without difficulty we made a long and fatiguing march over very mountainous country to a camp on the left bank of the Mukondokwa — the principal af- fluent of the Makata — meeting on our way a large Arab cara- van taking ivory to the coast. The leader, a very miserable-looking wretch, unhesitatingly asked us for a bale of cloth ; but when that modest request was politely refused, lowered his demands and begged for a single doti. From him we heard that Mirambo, a chief to the west of Un- yanyembe, who had been fighting the Arabs for some three or four years, was still unconquered ; for, although all the Arabs at Taborah, aided by numerous native allies, had taken the Held against him, they had been unable to drive him from the vicin- ity of their settlements. Traveling round about Taborah was therefore considered dangerous. The road was a succession of very steep ascents and descents, worn in many places into steps composed of quartz and granite, either in slippery sheets or loose blocks, that rendered walking very difficult indeed ; and it was almost a marvel that the pagazi and donkeys, with their loads, avoided coming to grief. Our camp was on an uncomfortable slope, even steeper than that of the previous night, and every thing seemed inclined to follow the universal law of gravity. Just below flowed the Mukondokwa, a broad and shallow but swift stream ; and the hills, covered to their summits with acacias, looked, as Burton justly observes, much like umbrellas in a crowd ; and in the dips and valleys, where water was plen- tiful, the mparamusi reared its lofty head. The mparamusi is one of the noblest specimens of arboreal v.] WIFE BEATING. 67 beauty in the world, having a towering shaft, sometimes fifteen June, feet in diameter and a hundred and forty feet high, with bark i^"^^- of a tender yellowish green, crowned by a spreading head of dark foliage. Unfortunately, these magnificent trees are often sacrificed to serve no more important purpoae than the making of a single door, the wood being soft and easily fashioned ; and since it rots rapidly unless well seasoned, the work of destruc- tion is constantly proceeding. As the last men left camp for our next marcli, a leopard, having a monkey in its clutches, fell from an overhanging tree within fifteen yards of where our tents had been pitched. For two hours we followed the left bank of the Mukondok- wa, and then crossed the river below a sharp bend in its course, whence a level path through plantations of enormous matama, with stalks over twenty feet high, brought us to camp close to the village of Muinyi Useghara. The stream at the point where we forded it was fifty yards wide and mid-thigh deep, running two knots an hour, the ford being marked by the finest mparamusi I ever saw. It had two stems springing from the same root, and running at least one hundred and seventy feet in height before spreading into a magnificent head. Near this was the former village of Ivadetamare. It had been much damaged by the late floods and hurricane, and was now inhabited by some of his slaves, under the orders of a head-man in charge of the provision-grounds. Ivadetamare, profiting by experience, had built a new village for himself on the summit of a small knoll. Soon after our arrival at Muinyi Useghara's, we witnessed a curious custom, said to be universal in Oriental Africa. A woman rushed into camp and tied a knot in Issa's turban, there- by placing herself under his protection, in order to be revenged upon her husband, who had beaten her for not cooking some fish properly. The husband came and claimed her ; but before she was restored to him he was compelled to pay a ransom of a bullock and three goats, and to promise, in the presence of his chief, that he would never again ill-treat her. A slave can also obtain a change of masters by breaking a bow or spear belonging to the man whom he selects as his new 68 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. June. owner, or by tying a knot in any portion of liis clothing ; and i^*^^- the original owner can not redeem liim except by paying his full value, and he is invariably obliged to promise not to use him harshly. From this place , we dispatched a party of forty men to Mbumi, for food to take us to Mpwapwa ; but some of them returned a day later with a woful story of disaster and death. When sifted to the bottom, the affair proved much less than they represented, though bad enough in all conscience. It appeared that the party arrived safely at Mbumi, and com- pleted the purchase of the corn we required, when a false alarm w^as raised that some of the wilder tribes living in the hills were coming to attack the villagers. There was, naturally, very much excitement, in the midst of which one of our men's rifles was discharged by accident, and shot a native through the body, killing him on the spot. The people then turned u2:>on our party, and those who did not escape by running were seized and put in chowkie, and the corn that had been collected was lost. Syde ibn Omar, the Arab whose son visited us at Kehenneko, lived near Mbumi, and wrote to acquaint us of the occurrence, and afterward came in person, and was of the greatest possible assistance in arranging the affair. Still, this unlucky business delayed us, and cost three loads of cloth. But we were fortu- nate in getting off so easily, for many caravans have lost very heavily in conflicts with natives of the Useghara Mountains, arising from far more trivial circumstances than the death of a man. By a caravan passing down from TJnyanyembe, we sent let- ters and also Moffat's Bil)le, watch, and an old rifle that had belonged to his grandfather. Dr. Moffat, to be forwarded from Zanzibar to his mother at Durban. Three up caravans also arrived, and attached themselves to us in order to benefit by the j^rotection of numbers in jjassing through Ugogo. One was composed of Wanyamwezi taking home the pro- ceeds of the ivory they had sold at the coast. But on passing Eehenneko, two or three days after we left, they were attacked and dispersed by the chief and people of that place ; and, ac- v.] ELEPHANT -HUNTER FROM MOMBASA. 69 cording to their account — which I believe was greatly exagger- June, ated — they had lost fifty or sixty loads, and eight or ten men. ^^'''^• Another was a party of about twenty, belonging to a black- smith who indulged in the hope of making a fortune at Unyan- yembe by repairing muskets during the war with Mirambo. The last and largest was a heterogeneous assemblage, joined together for mutual protection. It consisted of small parties under the charge of Arabs' slaves, and poor freemen who could only muster two or three loads, and slaves to carry them ; but, full of hope, were bound for lands of fabulous riches, where ivory was reported to be used for fencing pig-sties and making door-posts. When we marched on the lltli of June, we were altogether over five hundred strong. The track was rough and broken ; and in some places over- hanging the river there were holes so nearly hidden by scrub, that very wary walking was recpiisite, a false step being suf- ficient to send one tumbling, through scrub and thorns, into the Mukondokwa. Fording this stream again, and then following up its valley, we crossed it for the third and last time, close to a small village called Madete, where we camped. Here w^e met an elephant-hunter from Mombasa awaiting the return of men he had dispatched to the coast with ivory. He was armed with bow and arrows, the latter so strongly poisoned that one deep or two slight wounds proved sufficient to kill an elephant. The arrow-heads were neatly covered with banana- leaves to prevent accidents, and a stock of the poison was car- ried in a gourd. A short distance below the place where we last crossed the Mukondokwa, the Ugombo joins it ; and, following the valley of that river, on both sides of which the mountains are very bold and precipitous — some peaks, aj)parently formed of solid masses of syenite, being excellent landmarks — we arrived the next day at Lake Ugombo. This sheet of water varies from three miles long by one wide, to one mile long by half a mile wide, according to the season, being mainly dependent on the rains for its supply. It affords a home for a number of hippopotami, and its sur- VO ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. June, face is usually dotted with various kinds of water-fowl, while 1873. Q^ ^jjg neighboring hills guinea-fowl were abundant. Although I had been assured that all our donkeys were prop- erly tethered in camp, I heard during the night the screams of one evidently in great pain or fear, at some distance from us. It was impossible to jDroceed to its assistance, owing to the dark- ness; and, when day dawned, the poor animal was found to have been so dreadfully torn and mangled, most probably by a hyena, that we were obliged to shoot it. A distressing sight was witnessed on the day of our depart- ure, when a mixed multitude of men, women, and children, driv- ing cattle and goats, and hurrying along with a few of their household belongings, passed by our camp. They proved to be the homeless population of some villages near Mpwapwa which had been plundered by the AVadirigo, a predatory highland tribe, of whom more anon. From Ugombo to Mpwapwa, two long marches distant, the country was reported to be waterless ; and for the first time we underwent a ierekesa, or afternoon march — one of the most try- ing experiences of African travel. A terekesa is so arranged that, by starting in the afternoon from a place where water is found, and marching until some time after dark, leaving again as early as possible on the follow- ing morning for the watering-place in front, a caravan is only about twenty hours without water, instead of over thirty, as would be the case if the start were in the morning. And as the men cook their food before moving from the first camp and after arrival at the second, no water need be carried for that purpose. The tents and loads were in this instance seized upon and packed by the carriers at 11 a.m., leaving us exposed to the sun's rays, without a particle of shelter, till we started at one o'clock. From that hour until after sunset we toiled along a i)arched and dusty country, with outcroj^s of granite and quartz all bleached and weathered by the scorching sun and pouring rains of the torrid zone. The vegetation was sparse and dry, con- sisting of a few baobab-trees and kolqualls, and some thin wirv grass, much of which had been burned down by sparks from the pipes of passing caravans. v.] ARRIVAL AT MPWAPVVA. 71 Our halting - place was at Matamondo, wliere the river-bed June, was perfectly dry, and not so much as a drop of water was to i^*^^- be seen. Issa, however, had heard at Ugombo that some was to be found near this place ; and, after a long and tiresome search in the dark, a pool was discovered about two miles distant. To this the men immediately went to quench their thirst ; but the state of the road rendered it imjDossible to send the unfortunate donkeys there at night. In order to escape the heat of the sun as far as possible, we started again at 5 a.m. ; and, after dragging along through dusty scrub, up and down steep hills, and in and out of rocky nullahs, we approached the foot of the hills on the slopes of which Mpwapwa lies, about two in the afternoon. The sight of fresh green trees and fields of maize, matama and sweet-potatoes, and streams of beautiful crystal water run- ning in threads through a broad, sandy course, then gladdened our eyes. Those only who have traversed a barren, scorching road such as we had gone over, can imagine how great was the delight and refreshment to our weary eyes and aching limbs when this scene first burst ujDon our view. Directly I reached the water, I sent some of the least fa- tigued with a supply for those who had lagged behind, faint with heat and thirst ; but, notwithstanding this precaution, one pagazi and a donkey never lived to taste of the fountains of Mpwapwa. Proceeding up this water-course, bounded on both sides by very large trees, we found water becoming more plentiful, and pitched our three tents under an enormous acacia, one half of which afforded us ample shelter. We were soon favored by a visit from an Arab who was working his way down to the coast in company with a caravan under charge of a slave of a large merchant of Unyanyembe, having failed to make his fortune in the interior. lie seemed half-witted, and certainly was the coolest fellow I ever met ; for he did not hesitate to take the pipe out of my mouth, and, after a whiff or two, to pass it on to a circle of greasy, dirty natives who were squatting round us staring as only a negro can stare. 72 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. June, After a while our eccentric friend retired, and soon afterward a ^^'^^' tremendous noise occurred in the camp of the Wanyamwezi. On going to ascertain the cause of the excitement, I found the Arab, followed by some slaves from his caravan, driving the Wanyamwezi out of their camp on the plea that heathens had no right to possess any goods, and, therefore, the remnant of stores they had saved from the rapacious clutches of the chief of Rehenneko ought by right to belong to a true believer. He was now attempting to carry this doctrine to its logical conclusion ; but I sent the lunatic back to his master, and, seeing cpiiet restored, the Wanyamwezi returned to their oc- cupations, Avhich had been so suddenly and unexpectedly in- terrupted. The chief, a dirty, greasy old fellow, with a moist and liquor- ish eye, and a nose which denoted his devotion to pombe, came afterward with the leader of the Arab caravan to thank me for having prevented a serious disturbance. In order to recruit after the fatigues of the trying march from Lake Ugombo, and to prepare for crossing the Marenga Mkali, another waterless track of more than thirty miles, we remained here two days. And having now experienced the disagreeable consequences of the lack of water, I resolved to take a supply by filling four india -rubber air pillows, each holding three gallons. It re- quired some little ingenuity to fill them ; but by taking out the screw -plugs of the nozzles by which they were inflated, and using the tube of a pocket-filter as a siphon, the difficulty was overcome. At Mpwapwa the tewihe was first met with, and continued thence throughout UffOffo the sole habitation of the natives. The tembe is formed simply of two walls running parallel, subdivided by partitions and having a roof nearly flat, sloping only slightly to the front. It is usually built to form a square, inside which the cattle are penned at night. It is about the most comfortless form of habitation that the brain of man ever devised ; and as the huts are shared by the fowls and goats, they are filthy in the extreme, and swarm with insect life. The people are armed with bows and arrows, and knob-sticks for throwing or using as a club, and also have long, narrow, v.] THE WADIRIGO. V3 oval-shaped shields of bull's hide. Their ornaments are brass- wire ear-rings and necklaces ; and, having been so much in com- munication with people of the coast, they dress like the Arabs' slaves. A great contrast to the Mpwapwa people were some of the Wadirigo who came over to look at us. They stalked about among the timid villagers, openly telling them that, whenever they thought fit, they would plunder them. June, 1873. "^^->^^ The Wadirigo are a tall, manly race, despising all such re- finements of civilization as clothing — the men, and many of the women, being stark-naked, with the exception, perhaps, of a sin- gle string of beads round the neck or wrist. They carry enormous shields of hide, five feet high by three wide, stiffened by a piece of wood bowed to form a handle down the centre, and having a small withe round the edge to keep it in shape. On the right-hand side of the centre-piece are two beckets. In these are kept a heavy sjjear for close quarters, and a bundle of six or eight slender, beautifully finished assa- gais— ornamented with brass wire, and balanced by a small knob of the same metal at the butt — which they throw upward of fifty yards with force and precision. Such is their reputation for courage and skill in the use of 74 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. June, their weapons, tliat none of the tribes on whom they habitually i^*^^- make their raids ever dare to resist them. After resting three days, on we went again, marching first to a village called Kisokweh, and meeting on onr way many women of Mpwapwa bringing in the harvest in large baskets carried on their heads. Several had babies slung in a goat-skin on their backs, and wore an apron made of innumerable thongs of hide, having a charm dangling from each to preserve the infant from the evil eye and other forms of witchcraft. Kisokweh was occupied by the Wadirigo, who were well enough disposed toward us, and, as is usually the case with peo- ple of their description, it was " light come, light go ;" so that we were al)le to purchase from them a couple of bullocks, half a dozen goats, and some ghee, for a very small amount of beads and brass wire. A sliort march from this brought us to Chunyo (" bitter "), so called from its undesirable reputation of having bitter wa- ter, which poisons beasts should they drink it. As we found it fairly good on tasting, we allowed ours to drink, arguing that, if good enough for man, it could not harm a donkey, and the result proved we were right. The water in the pillows we re- served for the Marenga Mkali, for which we started on the 20th of June. The walking was good, over a level, sandy plain, with numer- ous small granite hills in different directions ; and although there was not much vegetation for the first part of the road, l)ut only a little thin grass and some thorn-scrub, this seemed to afford suflBcient sustenance for large herds of antelope and zebra. One herd Dillon and I stalked for some distance, but could not get within effective range, owing to the paucity of cover. On this occasion we marched almost without intermission from 9 A.M. to 9 p.m., when we camped in a grove of stunted acacias. The men scarcely appreciated this long stretch, and were desirous of halting with a down caravan which we passed at sunset ; but knowing that the next morning would be the most trying part of the march, we pressed forward, wishing to sh(jrten it as much as possible. The scene in camp was very v.] SHARP-EYED WAGOGO. 75 striking ; for no tents being pitched or huts built, we all biv- June, ouacked in the open. 1873. Overhead was the sky, of a deep velvety blackness, studded with innumerable silver and golden stars ; while the dusky fig- ures, moving about among the tires, formed a weird and effect- ive foreground, the smoke hanging like frosted silver among the tree-tops. Ugogo was reached the next day, after a very tiresome march of five hours across a country intersected by many nullahs, which in the rainy season are temporary streams. When we arrived within the limits of cultivation, our men, unable any longer to withstand the pangs of thirst, commenced gathering water-melons of a very inferior and bitter sort ; but some sharp-eyed Wagogo detected them, and demanded about twenty times the value of what had been picked; and upon camping at noon, our beasts were not allowed to be watered until we had obtained leave by payment. tAKTlIEN I'OT, UGOGO. 76 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. CHAPTER VI. Entry into Ugogo. — Chai-acter of the Wagogo. — Defeat of an Arab Expedition. — Ugogo. — Water Supply. — A Walie. — Wanyamwezi, and their Ingratitude. — The Wagogo. — Extraordinary Ear-rings. — Fantastic Coiffures. — Personal Adornment. — A Struggle for Precedence. — Curiously-formed Trees and Excrescences. — As- tonishing the Natives. — Adopted Fathers. — A Thieving Tribe. — Bombay in a Fog. — A Chilly Morning. — Manufacture of Salt. — Small-pox. June, We had now fairly entered Ugogo, and, having heard many __]___ wonderful stories of the extortions practiced by the Wagogo, anticipated some difficulty in passing through their country. They were reputed to be great thieves, and so overbearing that any insult they inflicted was to be borne without resist- ance. But should a AVagogo be struck, or receive some imagi- nary injury, a fine was exacted ; and, if not immediately paid, the Wagogo, being a brave and warlike race, would attack and plunder the caravan. Such was the character we received of them ; and though we found them disposed to be rude and extortionate, they were, in truth, the veriest cowards and poltroons it is possible to con- ceive. Arabs, Wanyamwezi, and others with whom they are jjrincipally brought in contact, approach Ugogo in fear and trembling, apprehensive of being fleeced of half their stores in passing through ; for they are completely dependent on the Wagogo for their supplies of food and water from day to day ; and they, like true cowards, bully and oppress those who are at their mercy, knowing they can offer no resistance. The tribute which is levied is not, however, altogether un- just, and would, indeed, be perfectly fair, if conducted on any fixed principles ; for if the Wagogo did not live in the country and keep the watering-places in repair, the paths would be im- passable in the dry season, Mdiicli is always preferred for trav- eling. Some years ago an Arab, braver, but not wiser, than his fel- VI.] DEFEAT OF AN ARAB EXPEDITION. 77 lows, as subsequent events proved, determined to light his way June, through Ugogo without paying tribute, and with this view col- ^^'^^- lected about nine hundred people, and openly declared his in- tentions. The Wagogo never even waited for his approach, but filled up the pools, burned their houses and such stores as they could not carry, and retreated into the jungle with their wives, chil- dren, cattle, and all their movables. The Arab and his men, though quite prepared to contend with human foes, were beat- en by hunger and thirst ; and while some returned to Unyan- yembe, whence they had started, many more died of starvation, and only eight or ten reached Mpwapwa in safety. It is said that six or seven hundred men perished in this attempt. Ugogo is about one hundred miles square, but is divided into numerous independent chieftainships, in each of which mliongo has to be paid, and delay experienced. The country is arid and parched during the dry season, but in the rains, which last from November to May, is well watered, and large crops of matama, which ripens in June, are easily raised. It is upon the stalks of this that the cattle are princi- pally fed in the drought ; and they appear in good condition, notwithstanding its seeming lack of nutriment. Every tribe pos- sesses a herd of cattle, which is attended to by all the grown-up males in rotation, the chiefs even taking their turn at this duty. Numerous water-courses are met with, and in their beds wa- ter may frequently be obtained by digging. There are also a few small natural ponds ; but, where both these resources fail, the inhabitants dig pits to contain sufficient rain to last them until the season again arrives. After a time the water in these holes becomes indescribably nauseous, and is very often ren- dered brackish by the large amount of salt in the soil. On the 22d of June we moved to Mvumi, the village of the chief of the first division of Ugogo, and were thoroughly ini- tiated into the vexations of paying mhongo, and the manner in which negotiations respecting the amount are conducted. At the moment of our arrival, the chief and his people were celebrating the obsequies of one of his sisters, who had de- parted this life a week j^reviously, and, consequently, every one was drunk. 6 78 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. June, This circumstance detained iis three days, during which a ^^^^" gang of Wanyamwezi, engaged by Murphy at Bagamoyo, bolt- ed en masse. He had intrusted their payment to Abdullali Dina; and that worthy gave them such villainous cloth that they considered themselves cheated when they saw the " supe- rior material " which our other people had received. Not con- tented with deserting only, they stole a load of cloth from one of the small parties accompanying us, which we felt bound to replace, being responsible for the acts of our servants. They joined the Wanyamwezi whom we had protected at Mpwapwa, and who thus commenced to show their ingratitude by aiding their countrymen to desert and rob us. As the chief had given orders that none of the inhabitants should enter the camp, on account of trouble having arisen on several occasions between them and passers-by, with loss of life on both sides, we were obliged to send about the country to procure food during our halt here. The Wagogo are easily distinguished from other tribes by the custom of piercing their ears and enlarging the lobes to a monstrous extent, wearing in them pieces of wood, ear-rings of brass wire, gourd snuff-boxes, and a variety of miscellaneous ar- ticles ; in fact, the ear to a Mgogo answers much the same pur- pose as a pocket to people indulging in wearing apparel. The lobes are often so enormous as to descend to the shoulders, and in old age frequently become broken or torn. In this case the indispensable ear-rings are either suspended by a string ac]'oss the top of the head, or a fresh hole is made in one of the hang- ing ends, wliich ultimately becomes as large as the former one. Their arms are double-edged knives, spears, bows and arrows, and knob-sticks. A few also carry hide shields similar in shape to those of Mpwapwa, but with the hair scraped off, and pat- terns painted on them in red, yellow, black, and white. Small copper and brass bracelets, worked at Zanzibar, are much worn, as M'ell as I'itlndi of iron and brass wire, which are also placed round the upper arm, and above and below the knee ; and a peculiar ornament carved in horn, shaped like a double chevron, with spikes projecting from tlie upper angles covered with wire and tipped with small knobs of brass, is worn on the upper part of the left arm. VI.] NATIVE FASHIONS. 79 But it is in tlie adornment (?) of their heads that the Wagogo principally exercise their inventive powers, and nothing is too absurd or hideous to please them. Some twist their wool into innumerable small strings, artifi- cially lengthened by w^orking in fibres of the baobab-tree, and either make them project wildly in all directions, or allow them June, 1873. AKM8 AND 0HNAMENT8. to fall more naturally, cutting them level with the eyebrows, but letting them lie in a mass on the back of the neck. On the ends of these strings there are often little brass balls and different-colored beads. Others cover their heads with copper pice brightly polished, or shave the greater part of the crown, training from the un- shorn portions a varying number of stiff tails frequently wound 80 ACKOSS AFEICA. [Chap. June, round with copper or brass wire, while their brows are bound 1873. with a strip of white cowhide. From the traders they obtain white cloth, which thej dye a dirty yellow with clay, and they smear themselves with red earth, sometimes in patches and spots, but at others uniformly over the whole body. Adding to this the circumstance that the Wagogo are usually dripping with rancid ghee or castor-oil, and never wash, some slight idea of their objectionable appearance and smell may be formed. Having concluded the payment of mhongo at Mvumi, we left on the 25th of June, arriving the same afternoon at a pret- ty little ziwa, or pond, snrrounded by fine trees, and with short, turf-like sward stretching back from the water's edge, forming a complete oasis in the midst of the sterile country through which we had journeyed. It was about four hundred yards long and two hundred wide, and was the chosen haunt of nu- merous water-fowl. Dillon and Murphy took the boat, and managed to bag a few birds somewhat like teal; but I was unable to move about, ow- ing to my boot having chafed the place on which I had an ab- scess when at Rehenneko, and rendered me again quite lame. Our march had been almost devoid of incident, excepting that the caravan was brought to a stand-still on one occasion by some of the cloth- carriers attempting to take precedence of the more aristocratic wire-carriers. And a second time, some Wagogo refused to allow us to pass their tembe without mhongo. But having already paid at Mvumi, to which district these people belonged, this was a barefaced imposition. I told the Wagogo they might take payment in lead from our rifles, although our timid men want- ed to persuade me to allow myself to be cheated ; and seeing three white men with rifles who evidently did not intend to submit to any extortion, they thought it most prudent to draw in their horns, and let the caravan pass without further oppo- sition. The country was only partially cultivated, and some places were so sterile as to produce nothing but stunted acacias and a thorn which I called the "anji^ular" tree. Everv bend was at VI.] A NATIVE'S ESTIMATION OF WHITE MEN. 81 a sharp angle, and there was not a curve in any portion of its June, branches. ^ Under the acacias were strewed numerous natural caltrops, formed by a sort of excrescence on the trees, from which pro- truded four sharp, stiff thorns, each three inches long. When dry, these fall to the ground, and offer a serious impediment to barefooted men. In one portion of our road there w^ere many narrow rifts, seemingly occasioned by a recent earthquake, but I failed to make any one understand my inquiries as to their cause. On reaching the tembe of the chief of this district, which was called Mapalatta, we were again compelled to pay mhongo ; but, owing to the head-man being drunk, this matter could not be arranged on the day of our arrival. The chief was very civil, and gave us permission to take any matama stalks we might require for building huts and feeding the donkeys, during the time we w^ere detained waiting for the head-man to become sober. Many visitors came to inspect our wonderful belongings — watches, guns, pistols, compasses, etc. ; and one old man, who was the chiefs uncle and adopted father, after staring for a long time in mute admiration, said, " Oh, these white men ! they make all these wonderful things, and know how to use them ! Surely men who know so much ought never to die ; they must be clever enough to make a medicine to keep them always young and strong, so that they need never die." I believe the old gentleman had some idea that we were a few thousand years old, and had evolved guns, watches, and all, out of our inner consciousness. He was very communicative, telling us that six circlets of skin on his left wrist were of elephant hides, and denoted the number he had killed. This induced me to inquire whether the yellow ones on his right wrist were trophies of lions he had killed ; but he replied, " Oh, no ! goat's skin — worn as a fetich." Honey was plentiful here; but as a party of Wadirigo were reported to be lurking about in the jungle, no one could be per- suaded to go out to collect any for us. On the day following, mhongo was settled satisfactorily to the chief, in particular, and relatively to us, for he was greatly 82 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. .Fune, pleased with wliat we gave liiin, and we rejoiced at having paid ^^'^^- less than we had expected. A timely present to his adopted father on the day of our arrival had probahlj something to do with the moderation of his demands. Perhaps a word may be necessary in explanation of the term "adopted father." It arises from the custom observed on the death of a chief, when the son is supposed to look upon his fa- ther's eldest surviving brother as his new or adopted father; but only in private, and not in public, matters. "When preparing for the road on the 29th of June, the re- maining goats of those purchased from our friendly thieves, the Wadirigo, were missing ; so Issa and a few askari were left to look after them, while we proceeded with the caravan to Mpan- ga Sanga. This was a clearing in the jungle three miles in di- ameter, with half a dozen tembes, and the residence of yet an- other independent chief. On the road a little cultivation was passed, with some tembes dependent upon it, and our camp was pitched near the chief^s hut, on the edge of a partially dried-up lake. In the absence of Issa, the payment of mhongo was intrusted to Bombay ; but the old man got in a fearful fog about it, and it ended in a dispute between the chief and myself. I consid- ered his demands unreasonable, and directed Bombay not to un- fasten any bales in the open camp, but in my tent, to prevent the prying eyes of the natives from seeing my good cloth ; be- cause I knew they would most assuredly report to the chief what I possessed, and he would base his demands on this infor- mation, instead of on the number of bales. Bombay, however, became confused and frightened, and opened several loads in the presence of a number of AVagogo. They instantly told their chief they had seen a coujjle of ex- pensive Indian cloths, intended by me for presents to Arabs or important chiefs ; but which, of course, were now demanded. I naturally upbraided Bombay for having acted in this man- ner, and desired him to inform the chief that he could not have the cloths. He then became still more foolish, and, while away on this errand, left a bale of common cloth exposed. This dangerous proceeding, in a place where every man's fingers are fish-hooks, resulted in two whole pieces of merikani being VI.] LOSS OF LIVE. STOCK. 83 stolen ; and, in tlie end, I was obliged to part with one of the June, Indian cloths, besides losing the merikani. ^^'^- "When Issa arrived, he brought one only of the six stolen goats, although the chief at Mapalatta had given him every as- sistance in looking for them. The others had been carried off by a party of Wadirigo — supjDOsed to be attached to those of whom we had bought them — so that our encouragement of dis- honesty brought its own reward. It was not, perhaps, a very correct thing, according to a high code of morality, to become a receiver of stolen goods ; but I thought we might as well accept tlie offer, especially as the original owners, the fugitives whom we met near Lake Ugom- bo, could not have benefited in the slightest degree by our ab- staining from purchasing from the Wadirigo. ZIWA, NEAK MPANGA 8ANGA. Leaving Mpanga Sanga on the 1st of July, we marched for some hours through jungle with open spaces and ziwas, at the last of which we 'made a midday halt. It was of considerable size, with a goodly number of water-fowl about ; so we launched the boat, -and succeeded in bagging four or five ducks. This was a favorite camping-place, and various passing cara- vans had ornamented it with trophies of horns and skulls of buffaloes and antelopes which had been shot when coming to drink. In the afternoon we marched on, with scarcely any inter- mission, through a rough country, covered with jungle and for- 84 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, ISYS. VIEW IN rOOGO. est, until, owing to the lateness of the hour and the men being tired, it was hopeless to attempt to reach the next watering- place that evening. But the next morning we started before sunrise, and for the first time in Africa felt cold, the air being very chilly. Arriving at a camping-place near a partially dried-up ziwa, we found a down caravan on the point of leaving, and, in an- swer to our inquiries, ascertained that Mirambo was still to the fore. They had heard that Livingstone was all right ; but their knowledge of his whereabouts was so vague that we placed no trust in their reports. At this camp, which was on the outskirts of Kanyenye, the largest and most ancient of all the districts in Ugogo, we were visited by a grandson of Magomba, the head chief, who brought us a liberal present of milk and honey. He said they had long heard of us, and his grandfather had ordered him to advise us to follow the direct road to liis tembe ; otherwise a son of the old chief would endeavor to persuade us to pass by his place with the view of extorting presents, which he had no authority for doing. And, truly enough, emissaries arrived from this son in the afternoon trying to induce us to pay him a visit. We politely declined. VI.] KANYENYfi. Kanyenye is a broad depression in tlie centre of Ugogo, prin- cipally remarkable for the inannfacture of salt, large quantities of which are exported to their neighbors. It is scraped from the surface of the earth where patches of salt efflorescence are found, mixed with water and boiled down, and made into cones like sugar-loaves about eighteen inches high. From this we moved to great Kanyeny^, crossing a plain studded with baobab-trees, and at a ziwa we noticed a line herd of cattle being watered. The country was almost wholly under cultivation, and numerous tembes were passed on this march. At the entrance to one we noticed many peoj^le suffering from small-pox — the first instance, since leaving the coast, we had seen of this fell disease, which at times sweeps like a devouring fire throughout large portions of Africa. July, is'zs. ACEOSS AFEICA. [Chap. CHAPTER VII. Kanyenye. — A Veritable Methuselah. — Harsh-tongued People. — A Drunken Official. — Laziness of our Pagazi. — A Fancy for Goggles. — A Little Visitor. — Sambo shot. — A Thick Head. — Retributive Justice. — Fines for shedding Blood. — Hyenas. — A Rain Spirit. — Pigeon-shooting. — Witchcraft. — The Penalty of Failure. — Wizards roasted alive. — Usekhe.— Obsequies of a Chief.— The Wahumba. — Cost of Pro- visions.— Admiring Spectators. — Immense Tusks. — A Distressed British Subject. — Expenditure in Mhongo. July, Our camp at Kanyenye was one of a gronp of some half- ^^''^- dozen built by various passing caravans, and, on arriving, there was a tremendous rush bj our pagazi to secure tlie best huts. It was a regular case of " each for himself, and the devil take the hindmost." Meanwhile we were left to shift for ourselves without assist- ance, and had much trouble in getting a place cleared for our tents, for the pagazi considered their work w^as over directly they were in camp and had deposited their loads. Afterward, when traveling with Arabs, I found that we had treated our men with too much consideration, and they, in con- sequence, tried to impose on us, and were constantly grumbling and growling. Our loads were ten pounds lighter than the average of those carried for the Arab traders. And since they do not employ askari, their pagazi, besides carrying loads, pitch tents and build screens and huts required for the women and ■ cooking ; so that they are frequently two or three hours in camp before having a chance of looking after themselves. With us the work of our porters was finished when they reached camp ; for the askari pitched our tents, and the task of placing beds and boxes inside was left to our servants and gun-bearers. Bombay, whom we trusted to keep order among the askari, was jealous of Issa, and allowed tlie men to abuse him as they liked ; and they were often so impertinent and insubordinate VII.] HARSH-TONGUED PEOPLE, 87 that Bombay himself was afraid to give an order. For in- July, stance, when directed to have a certain thing done, such as i^'^^- gathering wood for our camp-fire, and after a time being asked why it had not been brought in, he would reply, " Oh, no man want go !" On inquiring who had refused, and desiring that the offenders should be brought to me for punishment, his next answer would be, " Tell all man, all man say no go." Of course, as no individual had been singled out for the duty, they consid- ered that what was every man's business was no man's business, and it usually resulted in my having to give the order myself. Magomba, who was chief of Kanyenye when Burton passed in 1857, was still in power, being reported by his subjects to be over three hundred years of age, and to be cutting his fourth set of teeth, the third set having, according to our informant, worked out about seven years before our visit. From that time he had subsisted on pombe, being unable to eat meat, the only other food which one occupying his rank and position could deign to touch. I have no doubt that this ancient chieftain was considerably over a century, for his grandchildren were gray and grizzled. Another instance of the extraordinary longevity of the Afri- can races was noticed by Dr. Livingstone at Ma Kazembe's. He found there, in 1871 or 1872, a man named Pembereh, who had children upward of thirty years of age when Dr. Lacerda e Almeida visited that place in 1796. And this Pembereh was still living, according to the Arabs, in 1874, and must then have been at least a hundred and thirty years old. No restrictions were placed upon --the intercourse between the natives and ourselves ; and throughout the day the camp was crowded with them, staring, yelling, and gesticulating. They were a cowardly but merry set of thieves, laughing and joking among themselves at every new and strange sight. Their voices were particularly nnpleasant and jarring, their tones resembling snapping and snarling, even in ordinary con- versation; and, when excited, the noise reminded one of a hun- dred pariah dogs fighting over their food. Magomba's chancellor of the exchequer, chief of the customs, or whatever the title of the ofiicial deputed to arrange mhongo may be, was busily engaged repairing his tenibe, and we were 88 ACROSS AFKICA. [Chap. July, told to wait until he had completed his architectural labors. ^^'^' "When these were ended, he celebrated the event bj a debauch on pombe, and remained in a drunken state for three days. After he had recovered sufficiently to resume his official du- ties, he made the extravagant demand of one hundred doti ; but, luckily, his notice was attracted by a pair of worthless blue goggles, which so took his fancy that he insisted on having them. Of course we declared they were of priceless value, and our apparent anxiety to keep them so whetted his desire that he consented to settle the mhongo at twenty doti if the goggles were included, a bargain which we gladly accejDted. It was simply a caprice on his part, for had we offered to dis- pose of the goggles we should have been laughed to scorn. I should not advise any future travelers to lay in a stock of these articles w^ith a view to trading in them, as the investment would most likely prove as profitless as Moses' gross of green specta- cles. But it is generally so with uncivilized men when some- thing new catches their eye ; they must have it, eoiUe qui coiite. Yet, a few days later, just like children tired of a new toy, they are ready to throw or give it away. Some caravans from Unyanyembe arrived during our stay here. From the owner of one I heard that Livingstone had returned to that place after having started with the men sent up by Stanley, finding that he had not a sufficient number of carriers for all his stores, but had again left, about five months sipce. I could discover no foundation for this story ; and I fancy my informant had only passed through Unyanyembe on his way down from Karagwe, and had not obtained very relia- ble news. A great-grandson of Magomba paid us a visit the day after our arrival. He was the heir presumptive, and was better dressed and cleaner than the commonalty, and the nails of his left hand had been allowed to grow to an enormous length, as a sign of high rank, proving as it did that he was never recpiired to do any manual labor. It also provided him with the means of tearing the meat which formed his usual diet, though poorer people could only occasionally indulge in a snuill piece, as a "kitchen" to their ugali, or porridge. In consequence of this Nebuchadnezzar-like growth of nail. VII.] ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING. 89 he was nnable to use his left hand for any ordinary purpose, July, and it was much smaller than his right. As soon as he with- i^'^- drew, I had a little visitor, about seven years old— a small Arab boy whose mother was taking him to the coast to be educated, his father having been killed in one of the fights with Miram- bo. The boy was a perfect little gentleman, and behaved admi- rably, and was much delighted with the pictures in some old il- lustrated papers and a book on natural history Mdiich I showed him. I heard afterward that he was very grieved at the thought that such good people as the English must go to perdition for drawing pictures of men. As he was leaving my tent, I heard the report of fire-arms in the camp, and, running out, found that Sambo had been acci- dentally shot in the head by my servant, Mohammed Malim, with one of my Derringer pistols, which he had been cleaning in his hut, and had reloaded. It appeared that, on returning with them to my tent, he was caught hold of by Sambo, who was rather a " character," and always skylarking, and a struggle ensued, in which one of the pistols went off, and the bullet struck Sambo just outside the eye. His skull proved so thick that the ball did no damage, but only traveled along between the scalp and the bone, and could be felt standing out in a lump at the back of his head. It was soon cut out, and a little patching with diachylon plas- ter mended his pate most satisfactorily. I put my servant under arrest, pending the investigation of the case ; but some insolent ruffians came to me, demanding that he should be put in chains, or otherwise they would shoot him. This gross piece of impertinence annoyed me very much, so I gratified their desire for seeing some one in chains by clapping them in themselves. This affair delayed us another day, as I had to inquire thor- oughly into the whole matter ; and so much lying and false tes- timony was, I suppose and hope, never before heard in so short a time. The chief, or rather lii^ advisers, also demanded four doti as a fine for blood having been shed on his soil ; and al- though I felt much inclined to refuse, I unwillingly paid, fear- ing complications and delays. Hyenas came prowling and howling around our camp night- 90 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, Ij ; and, being anxious for a shot at one, we used the carcass of ^^'^•^' a donkey which had died of a low fever as bait. This attract- ed a large spotted brute, with a jaw strong enough to break the bone of a horse's hind leg, and he was shot by Dillon. The yells of the hyenas excited our dogs to such an extent that we were obliged to fasten them up at night to prevent their bolting out of camp and getting killed. I took a few lunars here, and found that they and my dead- reckoning agreed well, and, though a little different from Speke's longitude, his latitudes coincided exactly with mine. Having pardoned the offenders whom I had put in chains, and received promises of better conduct in future, we left here on the 9th of July, and, after two hours across level country, ar- rived at a steep and rocky ascent which gave us an hour's hard climbing. The summit was table-land, well-wooded and grassy, with numerous pools, some partially dried up ; and in all direc- tions there were fresh tracks of elephants and other large game. When evening came, having fitted paper night-sights to our rifles, we sallied out to one of the jjools, and, ensconcing our- selves behind some bushes, spent about three hours vainly hop- ing that game worthy of our lead might come to drink ; but we saw only a few skulking hyenas, at which we would not fire, for fear of frightening a possible elephant. Our next march was to Usekhe, the village of another inde- pendent chief, and, consequently, the place for another demand for mliongo. But I need not recaj^itulate the vexatious delays which occurred at the villages of each of these petty tyrants, through the drunkenness of themselves and their advisers. On this march, jungle gradually gave way to large granite bowlders scattered among the trees, and afterward there ap- peared a range of hills composed of masses of granite of most VIL] AN IMPEOBABLE STORY. 91 fantastic shapes and forms piled together in grotesque confu- sion. Passing through a gap in this range, we came upon an open and partially cultivated plain, bestrewed with piles of rock, and some enormous solitary blocks of very striking ap- pearance. A short distance from camp, there arose abruptly a grand mass of rocks, having on the top a small pool with smooth, steep sides ; and, according to report, an elephant which had endeav- ored to drink there had fallen in and been drowned. But the July, 1873. OAMP, USEKIIE. drawback to this story was the absolute impossibility of any elephant reaching the pool ; for the rocks were so slippery and difficult to climb that, to visit the scene of the reported tragedy, I was obliged to take off my boots and clamber up in my stockings. Eeturning thence to camp, we visited a place where the peo- ple were accustomed to perform incantations for obtaining rain in drought ; and a charred post and heap of ashes marked the spot where some wretched wizard had paid with his life for failure to procure the much-wished-for rains. Witchcraft is one of the curses and banes of the whole coun- try, every illness being attributed to sorcery or evil spirits ; and. of course, the wizard is resorted to in the hope of obtaining de- liverance from the malign influence supposed to be exerted. 92 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. July, By means of playing alternately on the hopes and fears of 18'73. their credulous dupes, the workers of magic for a time realize a comfortable livelihood ; but at last a day of retribution arrives. The magician is suspected or denounced by a rival of having caused the illness of some great person ; and unless he can save himself by flight, or turn the tide of jjopular opinion against his accuser, he is seized and lashed to a stout post, round which a circle of fire is kindled. The unfortunate wretch is then slowly roasted until he confesses, when the tire is heaped upon him, and his life and agony quickly terminated. Often, while suffering these tortures, the magicians seem pos- sessed by a sort of mania to uphold their reputation, and boast of crimes they pretend to have caused, saying, " I have killed such a one ;" " I have prevented rain falling ;" " I caused the Wahumba to carry off so-and-so's cattle." In many cases also they have faith, to a great extent, in their own powers, and cer- tainly are thoroughly believed in and feared by their dupes. White magic, such as divination, curing fevers, boils, etc., by means of charms and incantations, finds many professors, and is considered harmless. A large proportion of those working white magic are women, but nearly all professors of the black art are men. The son often succeeds to his father's profession ; but where a magician has been suspected of practicing against the welfare of a chief, his whole family is sometimes destroyed with him, to prevent any of them harboring ideas of revenge against the chief or his successor. While at Usekhe, we amused ourselves with shooting pig- eons, which came in flocks just before sunset to drink at a wa- tering - place near our camp ; and at these shooting - matches, which provided a little variety for our evening meal, the losers had, as a penalty, to fill a number of cartridges. We also found in the crevices of the rocks some coneys, which were very good eating, being to the taste much like rabbits. Owing to a pe- culiar formation of their feet, these coneys can cling to the face of the rocks like flies to a wall. Usekhe was at one time the richest and most prosj^erous sec- tion of Ugogo. But many of the Arab caravan, previously mentioned as attempting to pass without paying mhongo, died VII.] EAMBLES AT USfiKHfi. 93 near here, and no rain fell for two years afterward. This cir- cumstance was attributed by the superstitious Wagogo to a curse ; and numbers of the inhabitants therefore emigrated, and those who remained were forced to kill the greater part of their cattle, in consequence of the failure of their crops. The wave of population is now returning, and they are fairly j^rosperous ; but their flocks and herds have not increased to their former proportions. During my rambles about here, I again chafed my unlucky foot, and had to give up walking for a few days ; and Murphy complained of a slight attack of fever. Dillon said, however, that he had never felt better, and that he could go on with a wild life for an unlimited number of years. July, 1873. KOOKS, rSEKUE. Mhongo being settled, we moved again, passing through a strip of jungle to the large settlement of Khoko, ruled over by Miguu Mifupi (or short shanks), who bears the worst reputation of all the potentates of Ugogo. But he is growing old, and un- able to personally enforce his demands, and mhongo was easily arranged. Khoko was the most populous place we had yet seen, and was principally formed of an aggregation of tembes, with pas- But at one end there were many houses 7 sages between them 94 ACEOSS AFKICA. [Chap. July, inhabited bj AV^anierinica merchants from Bagamoyo who had J^^_ made this their head-(iuarters, and the huge thatched roofs of these dwellings lent to the settlement an air of semi-civiliza- tion. Three enormous sjcamore-trees (a species of fig) growing just outside the town formed a prominent mark for miles around. Under the spreading branches of one of this group our own party and a down caravan camped, as it afforded ample shelter for over five hundred people. One of the Wamerima brought a large musical-box into my tent, asking me to become the purchaser of it, and assuring me it would prove a most valuable investment. When, however, it had been set going, and had played a few bars of a waltz to the time of a funeral march, the music suddenly terminated in a grand crash, which proved a permanent finale, the sj)indle of the fly-wheel having broken. Here we learned some particulars of the manner in which the obsequies of a chief are performed. In the first instance, he is washed, and one is almost inclined to wonder that so un- wonted a proceeding does not restore him to life. The body is then placed in an upright position in a hollow tree, and the people come daily to mourn and pour pombe and ashes on the corpse, indulging themselves meanwhile in a sort of wake. This ceremony is continued until the body is thoroughly de- • composed, when it is placed on a platform, and exposed to the effects of sun, rain, and dew, until nothing remains but the bones. And tliese are tlien buried. In former days a number of slaves were sacrificed on such occasions, but I was assured that this practice had ceased for many years. The bodies of commoners are simply thrown into the nearest jungle, to be devoured by beasts of the field and fowls of the air. Large numbers of Wahumba who have partially forsaken the wandering habits of their tribe are settled in the neighborhood, and act as herdsmen to the "Wagogo, who occupy themselves more particularly with agriculture. Tliey are a branch of the great Masai nation, and inhabit the country just to the north of Ugogo, where they possess large herds, but do not cultivate the ground or maintain permanent habitations. Their diet consists entirely of milk mixed with blood and meat, M'hicli they de- VII.] THE WAHUMBA. 95 voiir almost raw. They move from place to place in searcli of pastm-e, sheltering themselves at night under a frame-work of small branches covered with one or two dressed hides. Their arms are short, heavy spears unfit for throwing, .and double- edged swords similar to those worn by the Eoman Legionary, and they also carry a huge shield like that of the Wadirigo. As might be expected from the nature of their arms, they are more courageous than their neighbors, and, being great rob- bers, are much feared. None but themselves and other mem- bers of the Masai family have, they assert, any right to possess cattle, and they therefore consider themselves perfectly justified in " lifting " any they meet with. July, 1873. ENOEMOrS SYCAMORES. The last station in Ugogo is Mdaburu, distant one march from Khoko, the limits of the two clearings being only a cou- ple of miles apart. The fields were divided from each other and the road by rough fences, and the ground seemed much more carefully cultivated than usual. Mdaburu is intersected by a wide and deep nullah bearing the same name. Even in the driest weather it contains large pools of good water, while in the rainy season it becomes an impetuous river, rushing down to the Lutiji, of which it is one of the principal affluents. I questioned one of the natives, who seemed more intelligent than his fellows, and ascertained that 96 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, he liad been to the junction of the Mdabiiru M'ith the Rnaha, ^^'^^- as the iij^per portion of the Lufiji is called, and that the Rnaha was also merely a chain of pools in the dry season, but a great river during the rains. • On the march, a pagazi deserted with his load, which was a very serious matter, since our stores of cloth were melting away, owing to the high price of provisions and the large tribute we had so constantly been compelled to pay. I ordered Bihil, with half a dozen askari, back to Khoko to look for the deserter, and also sent to the chief of Mdaburn, telling him of the occurrence, and requesting him to give directions for the return of the man and his load ; but all our endeavors to trace him proved futile, and the scoundrel got clear away. Times had evidently changed since Burton passed through Ugogo; for, while he was able to buy sixty -four rations for a doti, we could never get more than twenty, and rarely more than ten ! Eggs were unattainable luxuries, and milk and hon- ey were exorbitantly dear. Reckoning the doti at its Zanzibar value only, eggs, butter, and milk were more expensive than in England, and it was consequently necessary to exercise the most rigid econom}'- in our living. In the afternoon a head-man and his retinue called upon us, and squatted in my tent for a couple of hours, which was the reverse of pleasant, all of them being anointed with rancid ghee. The head-man informed me that, having been to Zanzibar, he had already seen something of white men and their ways ; but, now they had entered his own country, he wanted to see ever}- thing they possessed, and we were obliged to satisfy his curios- ity. Any thing he had previously seen he scarcely noticed, but examined minutely each novelty. lie recognized some pictures of animals which we showed him, but invariably looked at the back of the paper to see what was there, and remarked that he did not consider them finished, since they did not give the likeness of the other side of the animal. Still, he was evidently .pleased with the entertainment, and decided to detain us for three or four days for tlie benefit of the people, who had never yet seen a white man, and were anxious to have a look at us. VII.] ABDUL KADER. 97 Charming as the idea might have been to the native mind, July, we scarcely appreciated being looked npon as a sort of Womb- i^*^^- well's menagerie, traveling for the amusement of the natives. Admission, too, was not only free, but we were actually obliged to pay for permission to come into the country to be stared at. On the day of our arrival, a caravan belonging to Said ibn Salim al Lamki, the Arab governor at Unyanyembe, came in from that place, bound for the coast, with a large quantity of ivory, intended for the purchase of powder for carrying on the lighting against Mirambo, who was still unconquered. But the Arabs were determined, as soon as further supplies of ammuni- tion and re-enforcements arrived, to strike such a blow as should finish him completely. Some of the tusks were so immense that they required two men to carry them ; and an idea of their weight may be formed when it is remembered that a Mnyamwezi porter will bear one hundred and twenty pounds of ivory as a load. Although con- tent with single hire, the carriers of these enormous weights re- quire double and treble rations, and, whenever they feel so in- clined, compel the leaders of caravans to halt. Among the hangers-on of this caravan was Abdul Kader, Stanley's Hindoo tailor, who was going to the coast in the en- deavor to return to his native land. According to his account, he had been constantly ill since leaving Mr, Stanley, and was now only just sufficiently recovered to be able to march. He had subsisted during his sickness on the charity of the leading Ai'abs at Unyanyembe ; and as he was a British subject, repre- senting himself to be destitute and unable to work, I gave him four doti of cloth to assist him on his journey. The Wagogo informed us that the Wanyamwezi who with- drew from us at Mvumi, and aided and abetted deserters from our camp after having been under our protection, had been de- claring that we had robbed them, and were trying to raise the country against us ; thus proving, on a second occasion, that they had no idea of gratitude. One of their head-men, how- ever, had the impertinence afterward to come to our house at Unyanyembe and ask for a present, on the plea of old acquaint- anceship. The Wagogo did not at first entertain a very high opinion of 98 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, our fire-arms, telling us that we trusted in guns which would be 18Y3. useless after the first discharge, when men with spears could fall upon us and annihilate us. But upon initiating them into the mysteries of breech-loaders and fixed bayonets, they altered their tone, and came to the conclusion that our fighting power was very considerable, and that it would be dangerous to attack us except in large numbers. Having settled mhongo, and written some letters which we intrusted to the charge of the leader of Said ibn Salim's cara- van, we left Mdaburu, on the 18th of July, for the Mgunda Mkali, or hot field, which lay between us and Unyanyembe. In passing through Ugogo, we had altogether paid as tribute seventy - seven colored cloths, more than two hundred doti of common cloth, a coil of wire, and three pounds of beads. This at Zanzibar prices would amount to five hundred dol- lars, and in Ugogo represented nearly double that amount ; but, happily, we were now leaving the mhongo-paying district. VIII.] THE WAKIMBU.— PU.KURU. 99 CHAPTER YIII. The Mgunda Mkali. — A Serious Misunderstanding. — Restoration of Peace. — Rejoi- cing in tlie Village. — Tlie Mabunguru Nullali. — An Unexpected Cliase. — Native Farming. — An Intelligent and Industrious People. — Jiwe la Singa. — Compli- mentary Beggars. — Moon-struck Askari. — Hatred of Snakes. — Pitfalls. — A Dry March. — Burned-up Country. — A Hunter's Paradise. — A Well-fortified Village and Well-dressed Chief. — Discovery of a Den of Thieves. — A Haunted Well. — An At- tack by Ruga-ruga. The Mgunda Mkali, on which we were now entering, was Jui.v, only just beginning to be cleared when Burton and Speke were __^^ in the country. Few watering-places were then known, and provisions were obtainable in one locality alone between Mda- buru and Unyanyembe. Consequently, travelers were obliged to cross by forced marches, and no caravan succeeded in passing it without losing a considerable number of porters on the road. N'ow, however, things are much changed for the better, the Wakimbu, a tribe of Wanyamwezi driven by wars from their former homes, having attacked the jungle. Water has been found in many places, large spaces have been cleared and brought into cultivation, and, under the dominion of man, some of the most fertile and peaceful spots in Africa are now scat- tered in the midst of what was formerly virgin forest aifording shelter only to wild beasts. After passing one or two clearings and a few pools covered with yellow water-lilies, we camped near two villages situated amidst jungle at a height of 3938 feet above the sea — the coun- try still rising rapidly. The following day we arrived at Pururu, a village of Wa- kimbu, situated in a very picturesque valley, where w^e intended to halt for a few hours to purchase food, before making an aft- ernoon march to the next camping-place. But we had scarcely settled down, when a great disturbance arose among our men, who seized and loaded their guns, exclaiming that there was a row with the natives. 100 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, Taking our rifles, we went toward the village, whicli we ^^^^- found prepared to resist attack, the gates closed, and guns and spears protruding through the stockade by which it was sur- rounded. A single accidental shot would now have been sufficient to originate a fight which might have had disastrous consequences, for the natives were all well under cover ; and had any of our men been killed or wounded, it would have resulted in the re- mainder bolting. At this critical moment, we decided to drive our men back to the halting -place, and then directed Issa to inquire of the chief the cause of the hostile attitude assumed by the village, our men being in such a state of mingled fright and excitement that no reliable explanation could be obtained from them. The chief's statement was that our second kirangosi, who had come from Bagamoyo with Murphy, had taken ivory from this village on the understanding that he would exchange it for powder at Zanzibar ; but, being a Mnyamwezi, he had failed to procure any ammunition for the village, orders having been issued that no Mnyamwezi should be allowed to take powder from the coast while the war continued between the Arabs and Mirambo. To make amends, he had offered the chief some cloth; but its value was not considered equal to that of the ivory with which he had been intrusted. In order to arrive at an understanding, the chief and some of the head-men w^anted to talk the matter over quietly with him. To this he objected, and his chums commenced hustling the chief, saying, " Don't you treat our kirangosi like that," and then the row began. On our promising to investigate the case and see justice done, peace was instantly restored. We then accepted the invitation of the chief to enter the vil- lage, which was clean and tidy. The huts were flat-roofed and built in the form of long parallelograms, the whole being sur- rounded by a heavy stockade with only two entrances. Over each of these was a sort of crow's nest, where the defenders of the gate took up their position, and were furnished with a sup- ply of large stones, to be used on the attacking party coming to close quarters. After sitting and talking for some time, we were offered VIIL] THE KIRANGOSI MADE TO PAY. 101 pombe if we would remain a little longer ; but we preferred going to our tents, which had been pitched, since it was too late to contemplate going farther. Shortly after we returned to our quarters, this hospitable chief and half a dozen men ap- peared with huge pots of pombe, which they handed to us, after tasting the liquor themselves, to prove that it .was not poisoned. I discovered that the kirangosi who had caused the trouble and delay possessed sufficient cloth to satisfy the demands of the village ; and I therefore ordered him to pay, as he acknowl- edged the debt, though he had attempted to plead poverty to July, 1873. UALTING-PLAOB NEAR A POND. avoid paying the amount in full. Upon this decision, the villa- gers gave themselves up to rejoicing, and were drumming, sing- ing, dancing, and drinking until four o'clock in the morning. "VVe made a move at seven o'clock, and marched through wooded country, with numerous large outcrops of granite, both in sheets and bowlders, and small rocky hills on the sides of the larger slopes, and arrived at a pretty little pond in convenient time to halt for breakfast and a rest during the noonday heat. Butterflies — which I always found in a dry country a sure sign that water was near — were very numerous by this pond, and I noticed at least ten different varieties. 102 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, Marching again tlirougli similar country, we reached the Ma- 1873. bunguru niiUah, the westernmost affluent of the Euaha, about sunset. Even at this period of the dry season it was almost a river, stretches of its channel a mile or two in leno-th beinw full of water, and sejiarated from each other only by sand-bauks and bars of rock from fifty to a hundred yards wide. These creeks were now thirty yards across, and there were signs of the water in flood spreading two hundred yards on either side. I do not suppose it to be a permanent stream dur- ing the rainy season, but more probably it goes off in freshets, the whole country being very rocky, and therefore able to ab- sorb but little water. On the road we interchanged greetings with an Arab cara- van, and ascertained that an account of Dr. Livingstone having returned to Unyanyembe was untrue ; but doubtless the man who told us had been misinformed, and did not intentionally deceive us. Numberless tracks of large game were passed, as also bones of animals, one skull being that of a rhinoceros, fre- quently met with in these districts. Our next day's march, also a double one, was through much cultivated land, and, according to report, the country had once been much more thickly populated ; but two or three years pre- viously a party of wild Wanyamwezi had looted it, and destroyed many villages. The men seemed delighted at getting toward the end of the first portion of our journey, and during the latter part of this day the kirangosis kept up a sort of recitative, the whole cara- van joining in chorus with pleasing effect. Dillon and I start- ed ahead of the caravan in search of sport ; but people from villages a short distance in front had been about, and every thing was scared, though fresh marks of antelope and buffalo were abundant. We pitched our camp on the banks of a little ziwa imbos- omed in grass, and covered with red, white, and yellow water- lilies. Cattle being cheap, we purchased a bullock for our men ; but the brute broke away and galloped off at a furious rate when being driven into camp, and we had to give chase and shoot him down. Jiwe la Singa (the rock of sofi grass) was the point to be VIII.] JIW:fi LA SINGA. 103 aimed at on our next journey. The road was across a clearing, July, extending as far as the eye could reach, and which boasted of ^^'^^• many herds of cattle, populous, stockaded villages, and much cultivation. The fields were divided by ditches and banks, and in one place we saw some rude attempts at irrigation. To cultivate these fields must require a considerable amount of perseverance and industry, the ground being neatly hoed into large ridges ; and each year, when preparing for a new crop, these are turned completely over, so that the ridge of one year becomes the trench of the next. The villages I visited were remarkably clean, and the huts wonderfully well built, considering the means and materials at disposal. Indeed, except in the matter of " book - learning," these people can not be considered as occui^ying a low place in the scale of civilization. We were now crossing the water-shed between the basin of the Rufiji and that of the Nile and of the Kongo. Having been mmecessarily delayed, owing to our stupid ki- rangosi leading us round two sides of a triangle, we did not reach Jiwe la Singa until two in the afternoon, whereas many of our people who followed the direct route arrived in camp at noon. It is a prosperous place, and some Wamerima from Ba- gamoyo have settled there as traders. They welcomed us with expressions of the highest esteem, even asserting that they regarded us much in the same light as their own ruler, Syd Burghash. Therefore they suggested that we could not well refuse them some paper, powder, needles, thread, and such small articles, thinking no doubt they had paid handsomely for them by their compliments. One who had been to Katanga told me that the Portuguese had estabhshed there a regular trade in ivory, copper, and salt. Here we were detained two days by the necessity of laying in provisions that we hoped might last us to Unyanyembe, and the appearance of a new moon during this halt caused us some trouble. To celebrate the event according to Mohammedan custom, our askari commenced tiring their rifles, and would not desist when desired to do so. One man to whom I had individually 104 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. .July, spoken discharged his rifle in despite of my orders, upon which ^^'''^- I liad him disarmed, and promised punishment on the morrow. Anothei' then suggested that I had better punish them all, as it was their custom, and they intended to follow it ; and him I also disarmed. This custom of tiring on the occasion of a new moon was not only a waste of ammunition, but was also very dangerous, as the men never looked in what direction their rifles were point- ing, but sent the bullets whizzing about the camp. I therefore determined to put a check upon the practice. When about to proceed, on Jul}^ 20th, I found that some pa- gazi, as well as the askari who had been disarmed for disobedi- ence of orders when " moon- struck," had deserted; but one of these pagazi was exceptionally honorable, for, though personal- ly breaking his engagement, he had been thoughtful enough to hire another man to carry his load as far as Unyanyembe. Crossing two small ranges of rocky hills, and then through forest and jungle with many palmyras, we halted for breakfast ; and, resuming our march, continued on the move until sunset, when we were obliged to camji without reaching water. On the way, several antelopes and a lemur were seen, and Bombay and Issa reported having passed a herd of twelve elephants. Suddenly there was great excitement among the men, and a cry was raised that a venomous snake was in camp. They im- mediately rushed upon it with their sticks, and, when I arrived, it was so mangled and crushed that it was impossible to discov- er the species, whether venomous or not. The men declared that its bite was deadly, for the notion usual among uneducated people that every snake is poisonous prevailed here. Kipireh, the point we had hoped to reach the night before, so as to enjoy the advantage of its fresh spring-water, was ar- rived at two hours after leaving camp ; and here a dispute arose between ourselves and our men. The day being still young, and the inhabitants assuring us that water was to be found a short way in front, we thought it best to push forward, although our kirangosi declared that Ave could not arrive at any watering-place till the next day. Sus- pecting the kirangosi of laziness, and the natives appearing un- friendly, we forqed our men forward ; but, after marching an- VIII.] MY DOG LEO IN A PITFALL. 105 other mile, were obliged to allow them to halt. This I thought Jul-y, a favorable opportunity for calling all the askari before me, i^*^^- and giving them a lecture as to their duties, in the vain hope of making them behave better for the future. The halt being long, I went, with my dog Leo as a compan- ion, to look around, and noticed some well-constructed fences and pitfalls for game. One of these pitfalls had been cleverly placed in a slight gap in a fence, which I thought was mei'ely a weak spot, and made straight for it. Fortunately for me, Leo jumped on the covering just as I was about to step on it, and exposed the trap by falling through, thus saving me from a very nasty tumble. The pit was so deep that it was with diflS- culty I managed, single-handed, to pull the unfortunate dog out ; but, on succeeding, I was delighted to find him unhurt. After our rest, we toiled on through alternating tracts of jungle and prairie, and, to add to our troubles, the grass had been burned in many places, leaving miles of country black- ened and charred, while the gritty ashes filled our mouths, ears, and throats, aggravating a thousand-fold the suffering of thirst. Sunset came upon us, and yet we had found no water ; and not until nearly 8 p.m. did we discover a pool of liquid mud, with which we were obliged to be content. From this it was plain that the natives at Kipireh had wantonly deceived us, and we were compelled to admit that our kirangosi was right in ad- vising a halt near that village. Shortly after moving onward the next morning, some tolera- bly clear water lying in a cavity in a bed of granite gladdened our eyes. Directly we sighted it the men threw down their loads, and in a moment a mingled mass of men, dogs, and don- keys were all slaking their thirst at one and the same time. A fair idea of our daily life and routine may be gathered from the introduction here of a few pages of my journal : '•'•July '2iSth. — Off at 7 for Ki Sara-Sara, which we reached at 11.15. The country just the same — large rocks scattered about, soil sandy, or a black loam lying on the granite ; open woods, with occasional small mbugas, or plains ; lots of tracks, but no game to be seen. Just after leaving camp, we found a pool of water in a hole in a sheet of granite. It would have been a blessing had we known of it before, as the water we had been 106 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. July, using was so thick that the ' pags ' had been calling it pombe in ^^'^^- derision. Nearly all the grass has been burned in the woods, and all the Kambi we have passed have shared the same fate, as the fires are left burning, and any breeze scatters the sparks, and away flashes the grass. One passes tracts of miles at a time as black as a coal : I can't say my hat or my boots, as the first is white, and the second are brown. One donkey died to- day of a sort of low fever which seems to attack the coast don- keys. The Wanyamwezi thriving wonderfully. "Water sup- posed to be scarce at the camp, but we found some by digging about two feet close to the tents. I fancy water must lie all about here on the top of the granite, which is everywhere close to the surface, as the whole rain-fall is either absorbed or evap- orated, there being no drainage. "Another pagazi ran last night ; it is very considerate of them now, as it will save their pay at Unyanyembe. Some men came in from tliere to-day, and say that there are numer- ous robbers about the road in front, and we must look out, or we shall lose some loads. They talk of a road to Ujiji of twen- ty-five marches, but fourteen of these are without food ; so the bother would be to carry it, otherwise it would be grand to get there in five weeks from Unyanyembe. I think I shall try and get some more donkeys at Unyanyembe, as where there are grass and water they are all right. '■^Jiihj 2dt/i. — Got away in the morning. On account of an- other pagazi having run, were delayed till past eight. About twelve, we arrived at some puddles of water, which in the rainy season form part of a river, according to the natives ; but as the whole country shows signs of being a swamp in the rains, and there is no river-bed, I expect they only form a long, narrow pond. Game very plentiful ; and one of the pagazi got a zebra after a very long stalk. Dillon and I M-ent out ; we saw sev- eral antelopes and a herd of mimba or gnu, at which we got a long shot ; and I think both hit on our first barrels, as the shells burst, and did not send up any dust; but they (the gnu) were off 'like a flash of greased lightning through a gooseberry- bush.' There were tracks and droppings of all sorts of four- footed animals ; and if one only had time to devote a few days to shooting, this would be a perfect hunter's paradise. VIII.] THE CARAVAN ALARMED. 107 " On our return to camp, we found a caravan we had heard July, of at Ki Sara-Sara passing through. The mtongi was a hand- ^^'^^• some old Arab, with a beard perfectly white, but he was as live- ly on his pins as a kitten. He says all the Arabs have left Un- yanyembe to go after Mirambo, who has now lost his last vil- lage, and is being hunted in the bush. The only Arab now in Taborah is a cripple, so we shall find the place cpiite deserted. Course N.W. seven miles. ^^July SQth. — Got off a little after seven. I went off to one side in the busli with Issa, and tried for game ; but, having to work down wind, saw nothing but two antelopes, which were out of range, and some monkeys. I thought thi-ee and a half hours enough of this, and began to work in toward the road, and took my fowling-piece instead of the heavy rifle, and had two or three shots at birds. Soon after, I was met by some excited askari, who thought the firing must have been caused by meet- ing with Watuta (a wild tribe, and much feared), or Ruga-ruga (bands of brigands of any tribe). I got back to the road as soon as possible, and found all the caravan halted, and in a great funk. I got them on again, and we arrived at the first village in Urguru at one o'clock, where we formed our camp. Soon after the tents were pitched, a messenger came in from the chief of the district of Urguru, saying that the Arabs of Tabo- rah had sent to ask him to look out for us, and wanted to know (this being the case) why we had stopped just short of his capi- tal, which was only half an hour in front. I sent, and said we were too tired and hot to strike camp again then ; but that, as I found we wanted provisions, we would halt there (at his vil- lage) the next day to get some. The country seems very fer- tile, and water underlies the surface soil everywhere — at least digging three or four feet in the depressions always gave a supply. ''Juli/ 315^5.— Marched at 7.30 a.m., and arrived at 8. The village was large and clean, and surrounded by a stockade, or the outer walls of houses. The part where the chief lived was divided off from the rest of the village, as also was the gate- way. The gates were heavy slabs of wood hewed out of the solid trunk, and people could only go up to the principal ones one at a time, a wing of palisading projecting on either side 108 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. August, in the form of a long U, with holes to use spears and arrows ■^^'^^- through, so that it would be dangerous for an enemy to attempt to force the gate. There were some other door -ways in the outer walls of the houses, forming part of the enceinte, which closed in a sort of portcullis fashion. A number of heavy logs had holes in their upper ends, and the wall -plate was rove through them. When the door -way is open, these logs are triced up, inward, out of the way ; when closed, the outer sides of the lower ends butt against a strong fixed log, and are se- cured ])y a movable log inside. '•' The chief was the best-dressed man I had seen among: the CI natives. He wore a handsome double Indian deole and a Mus- cat soliari, masses of sambo on his legs, heavy bangle and wire, and ivory bracelets on his arms, and a necklace of elephant's hair neatly bound round with wire, from which hung an orna- ment made out of the bottom of a shell brought from the coast, and ground down till quite white and smooth, called a kiongwa. He was apparently lighter in color than most of his subjects. " The people kept a large number of pigeons, and a few fowls and sheep. Provisions about the average price, i. e., ten kibabah to a shukkah. "We had visitors in our tents all day, and at night found that they had left evidences of their pres- ence behind them." On the 1st of August we left our friends at Urguru, and made a long march through a forest with great quantities of game, and reached Simbo. During this march. Murphy saw a giraffe, but seemed so occupied with staring at it that he forgot to use his rifle until the animal was out of range. Passing through an open grassy strip, Dillon and I went aft- er some buffalo ; but they winded the caravan, and were off be- fore we could get within range. We then came to more forest, and each took one side of the road, and saw many antelopes. I shot one, but was disappointed of my prize, through being un- able to extricate it from a tangled mass of thorns into M'liich it had run to die. Partridges and jungle fowl were plentiful, and in one place I flushed a flock of guinea-fowl that quite dark- ened the sky, but, unfortunately, I was only provided with shell and ball cartridge. During this solitary ramble, when in some jungle of thick VIII.] A DEN OF THIEVES. 109 growth, I suddenly came upon a heavy stockade partially cov- August, ered over. It struck me at once that this might be a halt- i*^*^-^- ing- place of the dreaded Ruga -ruga, then hovering about in the neighborhood, and against whom we had been warned. I therefore approached most cautiously, and, seeing no signs of its being tenanted, ventured to the entrance. On looking in, I saw many pots and cooking utensils lying near the still smol- dering hre (which proved that it must have been occupied but a short time previously), as also skins, and well-picked bones of animals, which had doubtless provided the morning meal. My suspicions being thus coniirmed, I left as stealthily as I had approached ; and I need hardly say that I did not continue my attempt at making a bag, fearing that the report of tire- arras might have attracted attention, and ended in my being bagged myself. I afterward found that this was beyond doubt the den of some Ruga-ruga ; and, had they been at home at the time of my visit, nothing could have saved me from capture, as their in- tentions were decidedly hostile. Indeed, the cause of absence from their domicile was their having gone to the front to lie in wait for the caravan. I soon rejoined the caravan, and "we camped at Marwa, respecting which there are some curious superstitions. The camping-place is in the midst of a group of enormous rocks, and water can only be obtained by digging at the base of one of the largest of them. This is supposed to cover the site of a village upon which it fell, destroying every one of the inhabit- ants, and the ghosts of the dead villagers are believed to haunt the place. Should the spring be disrespectfully spoken of as " maji " merely — the ordinary word for water — instead of as " marwa," which in different dialects signifies pombe, palm wine, and oth- er kinds of drink ; or should any one w^earing boots pass the spot, or fire a gun in the immediate vicinity, the ghosts at once stop the supply. Upon drawing water, a small present of beads or cloth is customarily thrown in, to propitiate the guardian spirits of the well ; and as I declined to conform to this rule, Bombay, fearing some terrible disaster if the full ceremonies were not complied with, made the offering himself. 110 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. August, 1873. As a long march lay before us, I roused the carap at 3 a.m., but could not get away before five o'clock, owing to the pagazi hiding in the jungle, to endeavor to escape carrying their loads in the darkness. When fairly started, Dillon and I left the road in the hope of shooting something for the pot ; but a few antelope out of range, and two lions six hundred yards away, quietly strolling home after their night's ramble, were all the game we saw. Unable to get any sport, we rejoined the main body, and halted for breakfast at a small pond, in which some water still re- mained, although it had been reported as dried up. VILLAGE IN UNYANYEMBE. Some Wanyamwezi — taking ivory and honey to TJnyanyembe — who joined us the night before, now went on by themselves, and, nnich to our astonishment, we shortly met them returning in haste and disorder. They reported that they had been at- tacked by Ruga-ruga, losing two women slaves, their ivory and honey; and one of their men had been wounded. They also said the Ruga -ruga were on the lookout for our party, and therefore it behooved us to be careful. Hearing this, we closed up the caravan, distributed the guns along the line at erpial intervals, and prepared to resist any at- tack that might be made on us ; and on arriving, in tlie aft- ernoon, at a ziwa of some size, we decided to camp and build around us a strong boma, or fence, with one flank resting on the VIII.] CROSSING A DRY RIVER-BED. HI water, so tliat our supply of that necessary article should not be August, cut off. Soon after sunset a few arrows were shot into camp ; ^^'^^• and this hostile act being responded to by us with a few shots at some dim and dusky objects outside, seemingly with good effect, we were not again disturbed ; but we kept strict watch and ward all night. By daylight we were away again, and crossed a dry river-bed, the nominal boundary between Urguru and Unyanyembe, and immediately afterward came upon clearings and villages sur- rounded with heavy stockades, outside which w^ere ditches and banks planted with the milk bush. We camped at Ituru — being now at last in Unyanyembe, with the first stage of our journey across Africa nearly com- pleted — and sent messengers to the Arab governor to inform him of our arrival, etiquette requiring this formal notice before entering an Arab settlement. 112 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. CHAPTER IX. Unyanyembe. — Morning Calls. — Excessive Hospitality. — The Fighting Mirambo. — The Origin of the Struggle. — The Garrison of Unyanyembe. — Atrocities. — Kidnap- ing our Pagazi. — A Letter from Sir S.Baker. — Communication with Mtesa. — A Difficulty in his Conversion to Mohammedanism. — Gross Outrage upon a Pagazi. — Mutiny among the Askari. — The Unpleasantness of the Situation. — Our Troubles and Worries. — Fever and Blindness. — Desertion of Pagazi. — Consequent Expense. — Kindness of the Arabs. — An Auction. — Public Sale of Slaves. — The Death of Livingstone. August, In answer to our formal announcement of arrival, we re- 1873. ceived a letter the following morning from Said ibn Salim, the governor, inviting us to breakfast with him, and stating that he had placed a house at our disposal during our stay at Unyan- yembe. We at once proceeded to his residence at Kwikunih, and were welcomed most warmly, and found prepared for us a capital breakfast of curried fowl, wheat-cakes, butter, milk, cof- fee, and tea. To this meal we did such ample justice that I fancy we must have rather astonished our host. Our appetites being appeased, the governor, accomj)anied by many other Arabs, who had gathered together to welcome us, conducted us to the house in Kwiharah, and, when we had been shown over the premises, left us to make ourselves comfortably at home. The house — which had previously been lent to Liv- ingstone and Stanley — was a large and substantial building of mud bricks, with a flat roof. The interior arrangements will be understood by reference to the plan on the following page. Our first business was to pay and discharge the pagazi whom we had engaged to accompany us thus far, after which only thirteen bales of cloth remained. In the afternoon Said ibn Salim called to acquaint us that on the morrow we should pay visits to the principal Arabs, and that the most convenient arrangement would be for us to com- mence the day by breakfasting with him. IX.] EXCESSIVE HOSPITALITY. 113 He liad formerly been detailed by Syd Majid to accompany Burton and Speke on their famous journey when 'they discov- ered the Tanganyika and Victoria Nyanza, and had also been sent with Speke and Grant on their journey, but did not go far- ther than this place on account of illness. He cherished an af- fectionate memory for his former masters, and was very kind to us for their sakes ; not only lending the house, but giving us a supply of milk morning and evening, and constantly sending presents of fowls, eggs, and goats. cook's J/ ROOM I OPEN S//CD USCD AS AT/rCMCA/ fj^ COURT YARD {PLANTED WITH WHICH DONKEYS POMEGRANATES ) IN WERE TETHERED AT NICHT. OPEN SHED \ ^ N^ LONG DARK PASS/ICE USED 3/ ASKARI ^ / SERVANTS BATH ROOM DININC ROOM MURPHY & DILLONS BEDROOM SCREENED', OEFAS MV ' VERANDAH BEDROOM i N STOf STORE ROOM i GUARD ROOM PLAN OF HOUSE AT JiWlHAKAU. A harder day's work than we anticipated was in store for us ; and had we known what making calls upon all the Arabs in- volved, we should not so readily have undertaken it, although the customs of a country must be observed. We began with a sumptuous breakfast with Said ibn Salim, after which he conducted us, with much state and ceremony, to pay the promised round of visits to the local magnates. Ac- cording to usage, we were expected to eat and drink at every house we entered ; but though doing our utmost to show ap- August, 1873. 114 ACROSS AFKICA. [Chap. August, preciation of the kind intentions of our hosts, our capacities 1873. were but limited, and I am afraid we were scarcely equal to partaking of the proffered hospitality to the extent they would have wished. The Arabs at Unyanyembe live in great comfort, having large and well-built houses, w^ith gardens and fields, in which they cultivate wheat, onions, cucumbers, and fruits introduced from the coast. They maintain constant communication with Zanzibar in peaceful times, and thus obtain supplies of coffee, tea, sugar, soap, candles, curry -powder, and various luxuries. But at this time they were much harassed by Mirambo, with w^hom they had waged war for years without seeing any pros- pect of a speedy and successful termination to the hostilities. The whole truth of the cause of this war I did not ascertain while at Unyanyembe ; but I learned some particulars after- ward. It appeared tliat Mirambo was originally the chief of a small district of Unyamwezi, and for a number of years evinced a strong friendship toward the Arabs, and even yet maintained friendly relations with many of them. Several had houses sit- uated close to his village, and he had frequently given fifty cat- tle at a time as a present to any one whom he esteemed. But some unprincipled fellow took advantage of this good nature to obtain a large quantity of ivory on credit, and, when payment became due, laughed at Mirambo for having trusted him. Mirambo then applied to the Arabs at Unyanyembe to assist him in bringing the matter to a just settlement; but as they turned a deaf ear to his complaints, he determined to ar- range affairs according to his own wishes. Shortly afterward, a caravan, commanded by a partner of the man who had cheated Mirambo, arrived on the borders of his territory, and he refused to allow it to pass unless the outstand- ing debt were paid. The Arab, yielding to adverse circum- stances, consented to meet a portion, but not the whole, of the debt ; but Mirambo, being in no humor for half-measures, took the laAv into his own hands, and the caravan was worsted in the struggle. Since that time an irregular, desultory warfare has been car- ried on, greatly to the detriment of trade, and causing an im- mense amount of misery ; for Mirambo is always on the move. IX.] THE GARRISON OF UNYANYEMBE. 115 and brings destruction wherever the people decline to join him. August, On more than one occasion he has invaded the settlements of ^^'^^• the Arabs in Unyanjembe, and carried off their cattle from under their eyes, while they have simply barricaded themselves in their houses, being afraid to offer any resistance. A thousand Belooches in the pay of Syd Burghash were quartered at Unyanyembe, and during our stay the force was strengthened by the arrival of two thousand coast-people. Be- sides this little army, the Arabs have native allies; and had they any union among themselves, Mirambo might easily have been defeated, and his power altogether broken long since. There were, however, many different cliques jealous of each other, and no settled plan of campaign was ever followed out. On both sides the war was prosecuted with the most revolt- ing barbarity and cruelty. They had no idea of fair fighting, but considered that the greatest glory was won by burning vil- lages inhabited by unoffending people, and surprising and mur- dering small parties and individuals by stratagem. This bar- barous system was fostered by the Arabs, who rewarded any man bringing in a trophy of a fallen foe by presenting him with a slave and a concubine. Such a course naturally pro- voked retaliation on the part of Mirambo's men, and so the struggle became more and more imbittered. For my own part, I can not but admire the pluck and determination shown by Mirambo. Two days after our round of visiting and entertainment, I was attacked by fever, Dillon and Murphy quickly following suit. Indeed, during our stay here we passed the greater part of our time down with fever. The pagazi engaged for the journey to Unyanyembe having taken their departure after payment, those whom we had hired by the month apparently thought this a favorable opportuni- ty for going on strike, and demanding two months' pay in ad- vance. As long as possible I resisted, but ultimately agreed to advance one month's wages. They would have deserted en masse had I not yielded to some extent, and some fifty or sixty deserted after obtaining this partial compliance with -their de- mands. Although the more respectable Arabs showed us great kind- 116 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. August, ness and rendered much assistance, I am compelled to add that i^*^'^- many of the smaller traders threw every possible obstacle in our way, tempting our men to desert, and even carrying them off in some cases against their will. One case was especially galling, some of our pagazi, while drunk, being enticed a\yay by a man on the point of starting for the coast, although he well knew they belonged to us. On hearing of this proceeding, I sent to remonstrate, and in reply received a message to the effect that he should retain the pa- gazi unless I agreed to pay him three doti a man, which he averred he had advanced to them. Not feeling inclined to submit to this extortion, I represented • the matter to the governor, who investigated the case, and oi'- dered the men to be given up. Before the conclusion of the affair, another attack of fever laid me low, and Dillon, not knowing the full particulars of the case, yielded to the man's demand. When I recovered, I found, to my chagrin, that not only had the cloth gone, but the men had also disappeared, hav- ing been marched out of Unyanyembe in chains. While remaining here, a caravan belonging to Mtesa, Chief of Uganda, ari-ived, bringing a letter from Sir Samuel Baker addressed to Dr. Livingstone. I thought it advisable to open the letter, to ascertain whether it contained any news of Liv- ingstone. It was dated from Fort Fatiko, and in it Sir Samuel mentioned having had some trouble with Kabba liegga (Kam- rasi). Chief of Unyoro, by which he had lost many followers, but that, Mtesa having sent men to assist him, he had passed through the difficulty. As these people said tliey should at once return to Mtesa s, I intrusted them with a letter for Sir Samuel, and also two for ]y;tesa — one in English, wdiich was, of course, only a matter of form ; the other in Arabic, the contents of which would, I knew, be explained by a Mohammedan missionary who had resided w^itli him for some years. I also forwarded two good cloths as a present, for at that time there appeared some possi- bility of receiving directions from Dr. Livingstone to proceed to the Victoria Nyanza. We heard that the only obstacle in converting Mtesa to the Mohannnedan religion was the difficulty experienced in find- IX.] A MUTINY. 11 V ing any one sufficiently bold to perform the rite of circumcis- August, ion, for it was feared that death would be meted out to one i^'^^- who caused him pain. At the end of August, Shaykh ibn ISTassib and Abdallah ibn ISTassib, two brothers in connnand of the Sultan's troops, came in from the scene of the latest fighting with Mirambo. They were fine specimens of Arab gentlemen, and we speedily be- came great friends ; and as their settlement was only a few hundred yards from our house, visits were constantly inter- changed. They also proved of great service on one occasion when our askari mutinied, and the expedition narrowly escaped being altogether broken up. The mutiny arose through one of the askari taking the law into his own hands on discovering that a doti of cloth had been stolen from him by a pagazi. Instead of reporting the man to me for punishment, he proceeded to wreak vengeance on the thief, and, with the assistance of three comrades, triced up the culprit by the heels, and left him hanging. Issa, passing that way, fortunately saw the poor wretch, and immediately came to me, exclaiming that four of the askari were killing a man. On running to the rescue, I found the miserable creature with his heels in the air, and blood pouring from his nose, mouth, and ears, leaving no doubt that all would soon have been over with him. I then ordered Bombay to put in chains the four ruffians who had committed this outrage; but he instantly returned with the startling intelligence that the askari refused to obey orders. As I was still attending to the pagazi, who began to show symptoms of recovery, I told Bombay to give the askari notice that, if they would not obey orders, they should no longer be soldiers of Englishmen; but that they should be stripped of their red coats, made to lay down their arms, and be dismissed. He then left me ; but instead of making any attempt at en- forcing the order to put the four men in chains, he merely said, "Master no want you ; put down coats and guns, and go." Of course, the wliole number, with the exception of our servants and a few who were sick, immediately went, and the four origi- nal offenders escaped. In this difficulty I appealed to Shaykh and Abdallah ibn 118 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. August, Nassib, who promised tlieir assistance, and sent to acquaint the ^^'^•^- governor of the occurrence, and to obtain his permission to act. This resulted in the four men who commenced the trouble be- ing captured and brought in the following morning in chains, while the others made their humble submission. On the intercession of the ibn Nassibs, I reinstated the as- kari, but punished the ringleaders by keeping them a fortnight in chains. Bombay had acted most stupidly, and, indeed, dur- ing our stay at Unyanyembe was generally drunk and useless ; but he now promised reformation ; and as I hoped that he really intended to do well, I did not punish him. Several attempts were made at starting from Unyanyembe, but were unsuccessful, owing to the pagazi I engaged so con- stantly deserting. They are always paid in advance, on being engaged, according to custom, and at last it almost amounted to pajdng a man, feeding him for a few days, and then seeing his face no more. The unpleasantness of our situation may be judged by the following extracts from letters sent home by Dillon and my- self at this time. Writing on the 23d of August, Dillon, who was usually blessed with buoyant spirits, commenced his letter : "Now for a dismal tale of woe! On or about (none of us know the date correctly) August 13th, Cameron felt seedy. I never felt better, ditto Murphy. In the evening we felt seedy. I felt determined not to be sick. ' I will eat dinner ; I'll not go to bed.' Murphy was between the blankets already. I did manage some dinner; but shakes enough to bring an ordinary house down came on, and I had to turn in. For the next four or five days our diet was water or milk. Not a soul to look after us. The servants knew not what to do, We got up when we liked, and walked out. We knew that we felt giddy ; that our legs would scarcely support us. I used to pay a visit to Cameron, and he used to come in to me to make complaints. One day he said, ' Tlie fellows have regularly blocked me in ; I have no room to stir. The worst of it is, one of the legs of the grand piano is always on my head, and people are strumming away all day. It's all drawing-room furniture that they liave blocked me in with.' I was under the impression that my bed was on the top of a lot of ammunition panniers, and I told IX.] FEVER PROSTEATION. 119 Murpliy I was sorry I could not get away sooner to call on September, him ; but I had the King of Uganda stopping with me, and I ^^'^^' must be civil to him, as we should shortly be in his country. Murphy pretty well dozed his fever off, but I never went to sleep from beginning to end. We all got well on the same day, about, I suppose, the fifth (of the fever), and laughed heart- ily at each other's confidences. The Arabs sent every day to know how we were, or called themselves, bringing sweet limes, pomegranates, or custard apples " September Sth. — We have had a second dose of the beastly (excuse the word) fever. On the morning of the third day of our attack (about the seventh of Cameron's), I saw Murphy get up and steer for the open end of the room, staggering as he went, and endeavoring to get clear of a lot of ammunition which had been emptied from the panniers, but he failed to keep in the right line. Apparently seeing that he must go on to the ' rocks ahead,' he staggered slower and slower, taking very short steps, till, coming in contact with the edge of a heap of empty cartridges, he gradually subsided on the top of them, with a groan, on his hands and knees. The sight appeared to me to be so ludicrous — a big, powerful fellow not being able to get out of a room without a door or fourth wall — that I laughed as loud as my prostrate condition would admit of. This had the effect of bringing him to his senses, and he strug- gled to his feet, and balanced himself out. The whole thing must have been seen to have been appreciated, and by one in a similar state of helplessness as the victim. You can't imagine how this fever prostrates one. A slight headache is felt ; one feels that one must lie down, though one does not feel ill. The next morning one walks, or tries to walk, across the room ; one finds one must allow one's body to go wherever one's foot chooses to place itself, and a very eccentric course the poor body has to take sometimes in consequence. Drink ! drink ! drink! cold water, milk, tea — any thing. Bail it out of a bucket, or drink it out of the spout of the tea-pot." Writing, myself, on the 20th of September, with my troubles uppermost in my mind, I said : " I am very savage just at this moment, as I have been try- ing for two days to get enough men together to form a camp 120 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. September, a sliort waj out, in order to see all right for marching ; and all is'^^- the pagazi declare they are afraid, I think I am past the fever here now, as, although I have had it six times, the last attacks have been getting lighter; and the only thing bothering me now is my right eye, which is a good deal inflamed, but I think is getting better. I think it was caused by the constant glare and dust round the house. '''■September dOth. — Here I am still, trying to make a prelimi- nary start, but not one of my pagazi will come in ; at least I can't get more than a dozen together out of one hundred and thirty I have engaged, and I can't manage much with them. I am still greatly bothered with my eye, as, if I use the other much, it brings on pain. " October \Mli. — Just able to try and write again, but I have been quite blind, and very bad with fever since my last words. I have been more pulled down by the latter than by any I have had before, and was feeling very much as if I should like to be with you all for a day or two I am in great hopes of get- ting out of here soon now. Dillon is more alive, and growling at not getting away I am writing this bit by bit, as my eyes allow me, so don't expect much coherence or sense in the epistle " In a letter to Mr. Clements Markham, I wrote : ^''September Ihth. — We have all been down with fever since we have been here, but are now pulling round again. It is a great nuisance, as the fever makes me lose my lunars. I tried, directly I was able, to think to get some, but was so shaky and dazed it was utterly impossible. " Since I wrote the foregoing, I have been down with fever, but am now, thank God, clear of it. We are waiting for a few pagazi, and putting our donkeys' saddle-bags to rights prior to starting for Ujiji, which I find can be reached in twenty-two marches, or about thirty days. I am afraid Dillon nnist go back, as he is getting quite blind — in fact, the last day or two he has been quite unable to read or write. One eye was affect- ed first ; and, now the other is going, he ought decidedly, in my opinion, to go back, and I have strongly advised him so to do. ^^Septemher 20th. — It is something dreadful this waiting here. Here is the 20th of September, and I am bothered still by the IX.] FEVER AND BLINDNESS. 121 lack of pagazi. If I had been well, we should have been away October, weeks ago ; but out of forty-five days, I have had one fever of i^"^^- eight days, one of seven, one of five, one of four, and now just getting well of a violent attack of headache, which lasted for five days (and of course do not feel particularly bright), so I have only had sixteen days. Dillon is much better, and has de- cided to go on ; he is not all right yet, though ^'- Sej)tember '2Qth and ^Ith. — Still detained by lack of pagazi; but I hope to be off in about ten days or so. I have just had another attack of fever, and tliis is the first day I have been able to do any thing. Dillon seems to have fever every other day nearly, but not very violently ; but what I am most afraid of is his sight. He has quite lost the use of his left eye, and has occasional symptoms in his right. It is atony of the optic nerve. If he gets quite blind farther on, I do not see my way to sending him back ; in fact, it would be impossible for the greater portion of our route ; and he himself says getting back to a temperate climate would be the only thing to do him good ^^SeptemJjer 29th. — Yesterday, by dint of great labor, I got sixteen pagazi together at about 2 p.m., and to-day I hear they are all collected at Taborah, and afraid to go on ; and I am here, with my tent cleared out, and not a soul to move a thing. I shall go mad soon, if this state of affairs continue. I am thinking of going on by myself as light as I can, if I can get enough of the pagazi I have engaged, and making a drive some- how " I have sent over to Taborah to try and get the pagazi to come over and go on, but it is dreadful. Oh, for a chance to get out of this fever -stricken place7 and to feel one is doing something ! I should feel as happy as a king— ay, and far hap- pier too— if I only heard I could go on, even if I had to walk barefoot the whole way. If I go on by myself, I should take nine askari, and arm six of the best pagazi with spare rifles, which, with my servant, would give me sixteen well-armed men, besides myself ; and if I can only get them to stick together, I should feel perfectly confident. Coute qui coute, I must go somehow or another, as I don't feel justified in stopping here anv longer. 122 • ACEOSS AFRICA. [Cil^p. October, ^^ Octoher ISt/i. — Since I wrote the last, I have been quite 1873. blind of both eyes, and very bad indeed with fever ; so I have been helpless. " These horrible fevers and my blindness have quite prevent- ed my doing any thing since I last wrote, and my eyes now are any thing but perfect in work or feeling ; however, they are now getting better rapidly ; but, of course, the moon has passed, and I have got no lunars." Tlie above is sufhcient to show how constantly we were ill; and of this the men took advantage to absent themselves. They also worried us into allowing them extra provisions and cloth, which they well knew would have been refused but for our illness. I managed to hold out against their importuni- ties ; but while I was delirious they asked Dillon and Murjjhy to allow their rations to be doubled, and, by dint of persisting, obtained compliance. In consequence of the great losses we sustained by the deser- tion of pagazi, I was obliged to buy cloth at a price four times as high as at Zanzibar, or we should have been regularly stranded. The Arabs were perfectly right in charging this price, since no caravans from the coast had ai-rived for some time, and stores had become very scarce. In fact, I can not speak too highly of the behavior of the upper classes of Arabs toward us during our stay at Unyanyembe. When we were ill, they called or sent daily to inquire for us ; and limes, tamarinds, and other fruits, as also dishes of well- cooked curry, far beyond the attainments of our own cordon bleu, were constantly sent to us, besides such presents as a bul- lock, a goat, a dozen fowls, or a basket of eggs. In our inter- vals of convalescence we used to return their calls, and were al- ways most warmly welcomed. Hearing that a great auction was to be held at Taborah for the sale of the effects of some Arabs who had been killed while lighting with the Warori — a savage tribe whose territory lies in the route to the southern end of the Tanganyika — I went to see their manner of conducting it. In two large rooms were assembled nearly a hundred and fif- ty traders — Arabs, Wasuahili, and Wamerima — and three men acted as auctioneers. > I'll 1 ^ v-*l % ■1 Ix^V i^ ^ f 9 IX.] SAD NEWS. 123 The first part of the sale consisted of household utensils, ket- tles, coffee-pots, bedding, and a small quantity of trading stores ; and the auctioneers carried each article round the assemblao;e, gesticulating violently, and insisting that it was the best thing of its sort that had ever been brought to Unyanyembe, and asking each and every one what amount he would bid for it. After two or three rounds, the article was knocked down to the highest bidder, whose name, and the price given, were entered in the inventory, which had been previously prepared. The second part was devoted to the sale of slaves. They were led round, made to show their teeth, to cough, run, and lift weights, and in some instances to ex- hibit their dexterity in handling a musket. All these slaves were semi-domestic, and fetched high prices ; one woman, who was reputed a good cook, going for two hun- dred dollars, and many of the men reached eighty dollars, while in no instance was the price under forty. A sad and eventful day now arrived. It was on the 20th of October, as I lay on my bed prostrate, listless, and enfeebled from repeated attacks of fever ; my mind dazed and confused with whirling thoughts and fancies of home and those dear ones far away, that my servant, Mohammed Malim, came running into my tent witli a letter in his hand. I snatched it from him, asking at the same moment where it came from. His only reply was, " Some man bring him." Tearing it open, I found Jacob Wainwright's let- ter— a fac-simile of which is here given. Being half blind, it was with some difficulty that I deci- phered the writing, and then, failing to attach any definite meaning to it, I went to Dillon. His brain was in much the same state of confusion from fever as mine, and we read it again together, each having the same vague idea — " Could it be our own father who was dead ?" It was not until the bearer of the letter — ^Chuma, Living- stone's faithful follower — was brought to us that we fully com- 9 October, 1873. A GOOD OOOK. PEIOE TWO lltJiNDEED DOLLAEB. 124 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. October, 1873. preliended what we had been reading. The writer had natu- rally supposed that " the doctor's son was the leader of the Re- lief Expedition. We immediately sent supplies for the press- ing needs of the caravan, and dispatched a messenger to the coast announcing Dr. Livingstone's death. MANNER OF FETTERISQ SLAVES. X.] RESPECT TO LIVINGSTONE'S MEMORY. 125 CHAPTEE X. Arrival and Reception of Livingstone's Body. — Some Particulars of his Death. — The Future of the Expedition. — Its Partial Abandonment. — Murphy resigns. — Dillon compelled to turn back. — The Personnel of my Expedition. — Parting from Dillon. I o-o forward Alone. — Troubles of Transport. — I throw away Preserved Provis- ions.— A Native Plea for Slavery. — The Death of Dr. Dillon. — A Sad Blow. — Ka- sekerah.— Offended Dignity of Askari. — Shirking their Work. — Determined De- serters.—A Pleasant March. — Village Clubs. — A Visit to Murphy. — The Manner of transporting Livingstone's Body. — Capture of a Thief. — I reduce my Kit. — A Dirty and Drunken Chief. — Muscat Donkeys. — The Road blocked. On the arrival of the body a few days later, Said ibn Salim, October, Shaykh ibn Nassib, Abdallah ibn Nassib, and the principal Ar- ^^'^^- abs without exception, showed their respect to Livingstone's memory by attending the reception of the corpse, which we arranged with such honors as we were able. The askari were drawn up in front of the house in two lines, between which the men bearing the body passed ; and as the body entered, the col- ors which, contrary to our usual custom, had not been hoisted that morning, were shown half-mast high, Susi, on whom the command had devolved on the death of Livingstone, brought a couple of boxes belonging to him, and his guns and instruments. He also stated that a box contain- ing books had been left at Ujiji, and that shortly before his death the doctor had particularly desired that they should be fetched and conveyed to the coast. " Dr. Livingstone's death, as far as I could ascertain from the description given by his men, occurred rather to the westward of the place marked in the map published in "Livingstone's Last Journals." He had been suffering from acute dysentery for some time, but his active mind did not permit him to re- main still and rest. Had he done so for a week or two after the first attack, it was the opinion of Dr. Dillou, upon reading the last few pages of his journal, that he would most probably have recovered. 126 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Ciiap. October, It is iiot foi* me here to speak of Livingstone, his life and ^^'^'^- death. The appreciation of a whole nation, nay, more, of the whole civilized world, will testify to succeeding generations that he was one of the world's heroes. And that title was never won by greater patience, self-denial, and true courage than that shown by David Livingstone. It was now necessary to consider what course we had better pursue, since he to whom we were to have looked for guidance was taken from us. Murphy resigned his position, and announced his intention of returning to the coast, on the ground that the work of the ex- pedition was completed, and that nothing further remained for us to do. Dillon and I decided upon proceeding to Ujiji and securing that box to which Livingstone had referred with almost his last breath, and, after having safely dispatched it to the coast, to push on toward IS^yangwe to endeavor to follow up the doctor's explorations. We now redoubled our exertions to get away, and equipped Susi and his companions for the march to Bagamoyo. But, un- happily, Dillon and I were not destined to go forward together ; for, a few days prior to the date fixed for our departure, he was attacked with inflammation of the bowels, and, much against his wish, felt constrained to return to the coast, as that seemed the only course which gave hope of recovery. I also was unfortunate, and had a serious fall when riding a new donkey, received in exchange for some of those we brouglit from Zanzibar. I pitched exactly on the small of my back upon a pointed block of granite, and was so shaken and hurt that I was unable to walk even the few hundred yards to the house, and was confined to my bed for some days. Wlien Dillon decided on returning to the coast. Murphy handsomely volunteered to continue with me. But I did not accept his offer on account of the great difficulty in obtaining pagazi, and I was also convinced that the only chance of the expedition moving forward lay in reducing it to the smallest possible limits. Issa and Bombay quarreled to such an extent as to render it impossible to retain both in the caravan ; and the former hav- X.] "WESTWAED HO!" 127 ing heard that his brother — an interpreter on board one of her November, majesty's cruisers — had been killed at Kilwa, was desirous of ^8'^^- returning, for the sake of his mother, who had now no son at Zanzibar. I much regretted losing Issa, for he was very useful, and kept correct accounts of all stores expended, besides being most me- thodical, and possessing considerable influence among the men. Bombay was certainly faithful and firm in attachment ; in fact, he reminded me of the old Scottish servant who, when his master said they must part, replied " Na, na ; I'm no' gangin'. If ye dinna ken whan ye've a gude servant, I ken whan I've a gude place." Sometimes he would work well, and prove real- ly serviceable ; but he was usually afraid of the men, and drink was his bane. The personnel of my expedition now consisted of Bombay, head-man; Bilal Wadi Asmani, second in command — Asmani who had been with Stanley and Livingstone as guide, and now filled that post with me — accompanied by his inseparable friend, Mabruki ; Mohammed Malim, my servant, a good interpreter and tailor ; Hamees, gun-bearer, engaged at TJnyanyembe ; boy Jacko, freed by Said ibn Salim to accompany me ; Sambo, cook — his claims to that ofiice rating on the fact of his having been cook's mate in an English merchant ship ; Kombo, cook's mate, and a body of askari and pagazi, amounting in all to about one hundred men, desertions and engagements causing the total to vary daily. On the 9tli of November, Livingstone's caravan, accompa- nied by Dillon and Murphy, started for the coast, while my cry was " Westward ho !" I was the first to start, although I was obliged to leave a quantity of stoi-fes behind under charge of Bombay, owing to the non-appearance of pagazi. Consequent- ly, I had to halt at Mkwemkwe, only a short distance from Kwiharah. The evening before we parted was a solemn time both for Dillon and myself. We talked of our homes, and of meet- ing in England ; but whether we really cherished that hope of meeting again, I scarcely know. We must both have had grave misgivings. I know that many such disquieted my mind at that moment, for I felt my health had failed, and before me all 128 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chat. November, was uncertainty. Yet though the wrench and pain of j)arting isvs. ^gg great, neither would express in words any doubts or fears as to the future. At this time I was nearly blind from ophthalmia, and almost unable to walk from the j^ain in my back ; while fever, which was still hanging about me, had reduced me to a skeleton, my weight being only seven stone four on leaving Kwiharah. I must own that the likelihood of Dillon's reaching home appeared to me greater than of my ever again seeing England. Still, I was determined to go on, trusting in the good mercy of God to enable me to accomplish the labor I had undertaken ; and Dillon spoke cheerfully of the liojDed-for benefit, from change of climate, of regaining health and, it might be, sight. Little did. I foresee that our separation forever in this world was then so near. From Mkwemkwe the men still deserted at every opportuni- ty, going either to Taborali or Kwiharah ; so I again asked the assistance of Said ibn Salim and the ibn Nassibs, who promised, to drive the men back to me whenever it was possible. I also ordered Bombay out to Mkwemkwe, as personal supervision was needed to keep him up to the mark, replacing him at Kwi- harah by Bilal. On returning from this visit to Said ibn Salim, I was sur- prised to find Murphy in my tent. He had come to procure some medicine for poor Dillon, who, in addition to his previous illness, was now attacked by dysentery. Murphy said, how- ever, that they intended to start without delay, arrangements having been made to carry Dillon on a litter. I begged I might be sent for immediately should he become any worse, so that I might go to him. But, the next day, some of Livingstone's men came to me with the gratifying news that Dillon was better, and they intended to march the following morning. Having, by dint of perseverance, managed to get my stores from Kwiharah, I broke up camp at Mkwemkwe and went to Itumvi, a large village lying on the direct road to Ujiji ; but having only sufilcient carriers for half my stores, I experienced much the same trouble and delay here as at Mkwemkwe. On paper and by rations, there were about twenty men in X.] A PLEA FOR SLAVERY. 129 excess of loads ; yet whenever we started on the march, many November, were absent ; and when Bilal was. sent to look after absentees, ^^'^^• and was fortunate enongh to recover half a dozen, twenty more were found to be missing when he returned. By this wearying and worrying behavior of the men, I was detained at Itumvi till the 20th of November, when I reduced the number of loads by restowage, and throwing away the pre- served j)rovisions for my own use, and naturally left behind considerably less than had been the case at Mkwemkwe. I endeavored to obtain some assistance from the chief of Itumvi, and tried to enlist his sympathies by assuring him that England was the black man's friend, and wished to see all men free, and was doing her utmost to stop the slave-trade on the coast. " What, then, are the poor Arabs to do for slaves, if you stop the trade f said he ; and though admitting that slavery was a very bad thing, and saying he never sold a slave, yet he own6d that he sometimes bought one. As we were starting from Itumvi, a messenger from Murphy brought the dreadful news of poor Dillon's death on the 18th of November, caused by the terrible effects of African fever. By some unhappy chance, fire-arms had been left within reach ; and in the delirium of fever, and the misery of the complica- tion of diseases under which he was suffering, he had shot him- self in the head. And, agonizing though it is to dwell on this subject, I think it only right to point out that none but those who have experi- enced this fever can realize the extraordinary fancies that take possession of the mind. At times I have imagined, although not entirely losing my consciousness, that I had a second head, and that I could not live in this state. The weight has been so great, and the impression so marked, that I have felt tempted to take any means to rid myself of it, but without experiencing the slightest .desire to put an end to my existence. The day on which I received this news was the saddest of my life. I had lost one of the best and truest of my old mess mates and friends ; one whose companionship, during the many weary hours of travel and suffering, had helped to cheer, and lessen the difficulties and vexations by which we were so fre- quently beset. 130 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. November, 1873. And the shock so stunned me, in my 'enfeebled condition, that for some few days I appear to have existed ahnost in a dream, remembering scarcely any thing of the march to Ko- nongo, and leaving my journal a blank. Perhaps it may not readily be understood how it arose, after having parted with Dillon and Murphy for several days, and, while moving toward opposite coasts, that our parties should at this time still have been near each other. I have therefore given the accompany- ing sketch of the routes followed. ~ , ^ \,'>QBibora^,,,.,„,, U N Y a\ N Y E M B E _..--^ Marwai, €# \iKaifekerah PLAN OF DK. DILLON 8 KOUTE. The absence of pagazi continued to cause delay, and 1 had finally to abandon the idea of marching to Ujiji by the direct road, finding that not a soul would follow me if I persisted in the attempt. I accordingly decided to go round by Ugunda, and try for a route between the recognized one and that taken by Stanley. All the remaining preserved provisions excepting a tin of soup, one of fish, and two plum-puddings — which I kept for a possible Christmas — were now thrown away to further lighten the loads ; for, improvident as this almost seemed, and reluctant as I was to leave behind that which might hereafter prove of such vital importance to us, it was evident that our only hope of reaching port in safety lay in lightening the ship as much as possible. There were also some large villages close by, so that starvation did not stare us in the face. On the 27th of November I mustered a hundred pagazi for X.] A TUEKISH SOLDIER. 131 a hundred and ten loads, and niarclied to Teme, a large village November, four miles distant, leaving Bombay to bring on the remaining i^''-^- loads with men hired for the day. We passed two large villages, showing our colors and strik- ing up with a drum, which I had j^rocured in the ho2)e of in- spiriting the men by a little noise. The whole population had, however, turned out, and were busily employed in preparing the ground for the next crop, the rains having now commenced, so that this attempt at display fell a trifle flat. Bombay kept me waiting at Teme the next day, in conse- quence of which a number of men bolted back to Kwiharah, and, when Bombay did make his appearance, we were in a worse plight than before. I was astonished to find a Turk serving as a soldier under Abdallah ibn Nassib, who was stationed here for the purpose of buying provisions for the Belooches at Kwiharah. He was born at Constantinople, enlisted in the Turkish army, and was present at the opening of the Suez Canal. He de- serted in Egypt, and, apparently without exactly knowing how he managed it, arrived at Zanzibar. Being in a destitute con- dition, he then enlisted among the Belooches of Syd Burghash. He seemed very contented with his position, but still had a hankering after Constantinople, and told me that he intended returning there some day. More pagazi having offered themselves, I indulged in the faint hope that there was a possibility of a fair start in the morning ; but more than twenty absconded during the night, and it was not without much delay that I succeeded in making a move again. Three hours' march through a rolling country, having vil- lages and clearings interspersed in the jungle, brought us to Kasekerah, the scene of poor Dillon's death. From the na- tives I unsuccessfully endeavored to ascertain where my old messmate was buried, in order that I might visit his last rest- ing-place, and place some mark over the sj^ot where he lay. No one could tell me any thing about it. On meeting Murphy, I found he had buried him in the jun- gle, having a fear (though a needless one) of the natives des- ecrating his grave. I learned also that just before his death 132 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. December, the poor fellow bad destroyed those letters which I had given 1873. }jjj^ fQp conveyance to the coast ; so I immediately commenced wi-iting another account of the history and prospects of the ex- pedition. Some of MurjDhy's men arrived with the information that he had halted two days' march in front, and, having had some cloth stolen from his tent, was sending to Said ibn Salim for a further supply, to enable him to continue his journey to the coast. Kasekerah was a large and neat village of fiat -topped huts, surrounded by an outer stockade, and within an inner one was an enormous circular hut, the residence of the chief, who was a daughter of Mkasiwah, chief of all Unyanyembe. There were deep verandas in front of many huts, several of which were plastered with different colored earths, forming patterns. Again I had to wait for Bombay, and the day after his ar- rival it rained too heavily for us to proceed. But on the 2d of December we started, after the usual amount of bother, nine men having disappeared directly rations had been served out. The askari, too, were inclined to give some trouble by set- ting forward as a grievance that carrying flags and a drum was not soldiers' work, but the duty of pagazi. Bombay caused me much vexation by abetting the askari in their ridiculous pre- tensions; and not until after four hours' hard work could I start the caravan — minus the drum. Others made up their sleeping -mats, clothes, and personal baggage to represent bales of cloth, and put them among the loads ; and from their being much lighter than cloth or beads, the pagazi singled them out, and displayed much anxiety to carry them instead of their proper burdens. A short walk through wooded country brought us tp Kigandah, the last vil- lage in Unyanyembe ; and between it and Ugunda — the next division of Unyamwezi — lay a march of six hours through vir- gin forest. To guard against further desertions, I posted sentries at ev- ery entrance to the village; but this precaution proved una- vailing, and twenty -five men escaped, fragments of their scanty clothing on the top of the palisades being sufficient, at the dawn of day, to show the road they had taken. X.] VILLAGE CLUBS. 133 To wait for the fugitives would have occasioned much delay, December, and most probably the loss of many more. So, putting the i^'^^- best face I could on the matter, I hired sufficient men to carry the deserters' loads to the first village in Ugunda, where it was stated pagazi were usually to be obtained. I also dispatched a messenger to the Arabs at Kwiharah and Taborah reporting the numbers that had deserted, most of whom were known as being men belonging to the coast. Marching through wooded country with beautiful open glades, the trees bursting into fresh leaf, and the young grass clothing with a tender green the patches which had been burned in the dry season, and every thing looking fresh and spring-like, I felt better than at any time since leaving Kwiha- rah ; and, to my astonishment, I found myself able to follow the shady path without suffering fatigue. We rested at some pools of clear, fresh water ; and a bag- gage-donkey, appreciating the comfort of a bath, went into one, and, lying down, commenced to roll. Pleasant as this might have been for the beast, it tended much to the detriment of a load composed of miscellaneous odds and ends, botanical paper, etc. Resuming our march, we reached, in a few hours, a large vil- lage in the centre of much cultivation. This was the residence of Mrima Ngombe, chief of Ugunda, and, as such, was called Kwikuruh, that name being invariably given to the village at which the chief of a district in Unyamwezi dwells. The men carrying my tent and cooking-gear having lagged behind, I took refuge from the sun's rays in the village pub- lic-house, where I became the centre of a wondering crowd. There are two of these public-houses — or perhaps they may be more properly termed " clubs "i— in nearly every village in Unyamwezi, one for each sex. That appropriated to the women is not open to strangers ; but at the one frequented by the men, all travelers of distinction are welcomed by the chiefs and elders. As soon as a boy attains the age of seven or eight years, he throws off the authority of his mother, and passes most of his time at the club, usually eating and often sleep- ing there. They are generally larger and better built than the other huts, and a standing bed -place occupies a considerable portion of the interior. 134 ACEOSS AFEICA. [Chap. December, The following day I visited Mnrpliy, who was camped about i^*^'^- a mile and a half to the eastward of me, and found him very comfortable, and seeming much better than he had been since his arrival at Bagamoyo. He showed me much kindness on this occasion of meeting, giving me his water-proof coat and in- dia-rubber sheet, which proved of great value to me afterward. Acting on Issa's advice, Livingstone's men liad packed the corpse in bark, and so lashed it up as to have the appearance of a bale of cloth, in order to smuggle it past the eyes of the pry- ing Wagogo. Had they suspected what the package really con- tained, they would never have allowed the caravan with its bur- den to pass through their country. A rumor now reached me that Asmani, whom I had dis- patched in search of pagazi, was in the jungle unable to come, in having been stripped naked by some Ruga-ruga. I sent a piece of cloth to this unfortunate individual by some men, but, instead of Asmani, they brought back a deserter, who confess- ed that it was he who was guilty of stealing the cloth which Murphy had lost. He had been instigated to commit the theft by a half-caste Arab resident, who threw physic to the dogs to prevent their making a noise when the thief entered Murphy's tent. For providing this magical medicine, the Arab had re- ceived the greater part of the stolen goods, while the poor tool, in trying to skulk back to Taborah, had been robbed of every thing. On inquiring into the case, and after patient investigation and hearing much cross-swearing, I considered that the weight of the evidence was against the Arab, who had connived at the theft and received the goods. I therefore ordered him to make good Murphy's loss, under penalty of being sent in chains to Said ibn Salim for punishment. After some little resistance and arguing, he preferred paying to being delivered over to Said ibn Salim, who would probably either have shot him, or forwarded him to the coast to be dealt with by the Sultan at Zanzibar. He greatly feared being sent to Said ibn Salim ; for the news had spread — although I was not aware of it till afterward — that he and Abdallah ibn Nassib had on several occasions very nearly resorted to force to prevent the more disreputable X.] ' I EEDUCE MY KIT. 135 people at Taborali from enticing our men away from us. Tliey December, would undoubtedly have adopted strong measures, Lad they not ^873. been afraid of creating divisions while Mirambo was still un- conquered. Mrima Ngombe, the chief of Ugunda, developed a strong friendsliip for me, and constantly visited me, bringing pombe, and insisting on my hobnobbing with him ; but, notwithstand- ing his efforts, it was impossible to obtain any pagazi among his people, as they would not leave home during the sowing- season. I therefore reduced my personal kit to a minimum, making all my clothes, boots, etc., into one load ; yet even then there were not sufficient carriers, neither was there any chance of ob- taining men on hire from day to day. So I left behind twelve loads of the cheapest beads, and wrote to Said ibn Salim to for- ward them if an opportunity offered. Having wished Murphy "godspeed," I again made a start from Kwikuruh on December 8th, and, after a long march, reached Mapalatta. When first the caravan arrived, the people closed the doors of the village, for they had lately been harried by some slave-traders, and had learned to view all strangers with suspicion. But after a time they professed themselves satisfied with our peaceful intentions, and allowed us to enter. According to Asmani, who had rejoined us at Mrima Ngom- be's, no other villages would be met with for some days, and con- sequently it was necessary to lay in a stock of provisions. Al- though, according to previous experience, this statement was probably incorrect, it was not advisable to risk a jungle march without food, and I ordered a day's halt to buy and clean the necessary corn. .- The chief of the village was a disgustingly dirty old man, suffering from delirium tremens — the only instance of this dis- order which I saw in Africa, though drunkenness was by no means uncommon. The purchase of five days' food was, how- ever, satisfactorily arranged with his wives, and we again pro- ceeded on the 10th of December. Tlie country was perfectly charming, the trees delicately green and fresh, the open, grassy glades enameled with various wild flowers. Indeed, it would have required no great stretch 136 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. December, of imagination to fancy one's self in the wooded part of a well- ^^'^^' kept English park, except that gazelles bounding away in the distance, and the skulls of a lion and an elephant, kept promi- nently in mind the fact that one was still in African juno-le. After marching eight miles, a clearing was reached, and in the centre there stood a large new village, named Hisinene. Asmaui, with his eternal grin, pointed it out with apparent de- light, seeming to think that it would be a pleasant surprise. On the contrary, I was disgusted ; as it now appeared that the halt of the day before had been altogether unnecessary, and each village was certain to tempt some of my men to remain behind. When leaving the place the next morning, I was grat- ified to find that only one man had run during the night. After every one had started, I brought up the rear on Jas- min, the white Muscat donkey I had obtained at Unyanyembe, which by this time had learned to attach itself to me almost with the fidelity of a dog. These Muscat donkeys are much valued, being highly bred, and possessing good staying powers ; but they require better care and feeding than the ordinary na- tive animal. They stand about twelve to thirteen hands high, and their paces are equal to those of a horse ; and they are very pleasant to ride, owing to their easy amble. Suddenly the caravan came to a halt, and a most unwelcome sight presented itself, the men having grounded their loads, while Asmani and others were engaged in a violent altercation with some natives. X.] THE EOAD BLOCKED. 137 These proved to be an embassy from Taka, cliief of Eastern December, Ugara, proceeding to Unyanyembe to hold a palaver respecting i^*^^- a misunderstanding which had arisen owing to the head-man of a village having been shot by an Arab in a sqnabble. Taka was now sending to Said ibn Salim and Abdallah ibn Nassib to ar- range this matter, and meanwhile the road through Ugara was blocked. Every effort to persuade this embassy to turn back and ac- company me to Taka's village was unavailing, and we were compelled to return to Ilisinene. All the bright hopes of the morning were thus dashed to the ground, and a lengthened de- lay appeared inevitable. 138 ACEOSS AFEICA. [Chap. CHAPTER XI. Driven back to Hisinene. — A Miserable Christmas. — Superstitions regarding Snakes. — Customs of the People. — Dancing. — Cooking Arrangements. — Storing Corn. — Their Huts. — Food. — Curing. — Provisions. — Cloth - making. — Grinding Corn. — Tribal Marks. — Ilair-dressing. — Warned against Mirambo. — A Spy shot. — On the Road again. — A Hospitable Old Lady. — Missing the Way. — Sack -making. — An Elopement. — Disordered State of the Country. — The South Ngombe. — A Day's Shooting. — A Hunter's Story. December, HisiNENE being again reached, I consulted Bombay and As- 18'72. mani as to the best course to pursue in this unexpected diffi- culty. To attempt to avoid Ugara would have lengthened the journey by three weeks or a month, while the country through which we should have been obliged to pass was reported to afford no supplies of provisions. The embassadors had assured me that the moment an ar- rangement had been arrived at the road would be opened, and they would conduct me to Taka's village, knowing that he would welcome me warmly. I thei-efore decided to send As- mani with them to LTnyan^^embe, to urgQ upon the Arabs the desirability of settling the matter as quickly as possible. The chief of Hisinene was allied with the Arabs in the cam- paign against Mirambo, and a few days after our arrival the fighting-men were mustered and dispatched to the scene of ac- tion. Hearing nothing from or of Asmani for ten days, I grew anxious, and sent Mohammed Malim, with half a dozen men and my two riding donkeys, to travel as fast as possible, and as- certain what the news really was. Now followed much dreary waiting and anxiety, which, to- gether with the unhealthincss of the place, knocked me up, and I was attacked by fever and a sharp touch of dysentery. My back, too, was so exceedingly painful that I had no rest, night or day, for more than a week. XL] A MISEEABLE CHRISTMAS. 139 Some good sport was to be had here, and when I rallied a little I frequently took my gun into a rice swamp about iifty yards outside the village, and bagged some snipe. The men also constantly went shooting, bringing in on one occasion a zebra, and on another a couple of gazelles. The zebra is the best meat in Africa, and is eaten by all the Arabs and their people, though not one of them would touch horse or donkey to save his life. Christmas-day passed very miserablj. A heavy rain-storm commenced with the day, and flooded the whole village. The December, 1873. I§^-- m^§M, ditch and bank round ni}'- tent were washed away, and I had over six inches of water inside it. Every thing was wet, damp, and muggy. ^ Then my dinner, for which I had kept a tin of soup and one of fisli, besides one of the plum-puddings, was a failure. A vil- lage dog stole the fish. Sambo upset the soup, and the pudding was not boiled ; and I had to content myself with a scraggy fowl and a bit of matama damper. A very curious superstition on the part of the natives was noticeable here. One of my men came to me, shouting that there was a large snake in a hut. I, of course, took my gun, in- tending to shoot it ; but when I arrived, the natives would not 10 140 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. December, allow the reptile — a boa about ten feet long — to be injured, 1873. ^\JY^l contented themselves with quietly turning it out of the village with long sticks. I asked the reason of this gentle treatment, and was told that it was a "peppo" (a spirit or ghost), and, if injured, some disaster would befall the village or its inhabitants. During my long stay I had also many opportunities of ob- serving the customs of the people. Every morning, as soon as it was light, they came out of their huts, and sat round fires smoking their matutinal 'baccy. This finished, all, excepting old women and young children, the chief and two or three elders, sallied forth to work in the plantations. Those whose fields were close to the village returned at noon to eat ugali or porridge ; while others, who worked farther away, cooked and eat their midday meal at the scene of their labors. Shortly be- fore sunset they returned, and in the evening there were dan- cing, smoking, and singing, and drinking too, when corn for making pombe is plentiful. Drums are brought out and beat- en vigorously by the hands, while men go circling round and round for hours at a time, yelling and shouting. The women never mingle with the men on these occasions, but sometimes engage in a dance by themselves, when the gest- ures and actions are often even more immoral and indecent than those of the men ; though they are bad enough, in all con- science. Neither men nor women have any objection to be gazed on by the opposite sex while going through these antics ; but, as in most other tribes, they never mix or dance together. The huts in which they live are usually built of stout j)osts planted in the ground, and the interstices filled with clay. The roof is flat, with a slight slope to the front, and the rafters are covered either with sheets of bark, or with bushes and grass, over which is spread a thick coating of earth. Sweet-potatoes cut in slices, pumpkins, and gourds, are often laid on the roofs to dry for the winter provisions. In the in- terior of these huts there are generally two, and sometimes three, divisions. The first contains small bed-places covered with hides, and here also is the universal African fire-place, consisting of the three cones of clay, which, in a few instances, are hollow, and XI.] DWELLINGS OF THE PEOPLE. 141 form an oven. The only cooking utensils are earthen pots, December, nearly every thing being prepared for eating by boiling. ^^'^^^ In the next division kids and lambs are kept, and the inner- most one is used as a granary, where corn is stored in " lindo " or bark bandboxes, with the lids carefully luted on with clay. These lindo are often of enormous size, some being sufficiently large to contain a dozen sacks. Smaller lindo are frequently used as trunks for traveling. Light is admitted only through the door, which also provides the sole means for the escape of smoke, and, as a consequence, the rafters and walls are black and shiny, and the cobwebs with which they are festooned are loaded with soot. Among the rafters, walking-sticks, bows, spears, knobsticks, and arrows are stored, to become seasoned by the smoke. As may be expected, these dwellings are infested with ver- min, the worst being enormous ticks, the bite of which is so an- noying that the Arabs believe them to be venomous, and often to cause fevers. The main staple of food here — as indeed throughout Africa —is ugali, a sort of porridge. It is made by boiling water, and then mixing in flour and stirring until the mixture becomes a stiff and heavy mass. It is then turned out, and the superflu- ous moisture is allowed to drain away. Meat is so rarely obtained that it is most voraciously de- voured. AVhen game is plentiful, however, they sometimes exercise a little forethought, and smoke the flesh for keeping. This process consists of cutting it into strij^s and placing these on branches over a fire of green wood. The clothing of the Wanyamwezi is usually of cloth obtained in trade ; but the poorer people have to^content themselves with native cloth made from the inner bark of a species of fig-tree. The outer covering of this tree is stripped off in the rainy season, and the trunk swathed with banana-leaves until the in- ner bark becomes sufficiently soft and tender for manufacture. It is then removed and steeped in water, after which it is laid on a plank and tapped gently with mallets, usually made of rhinoceros horn grooved on the face. At each tap the piece of bark grows larger and larger, and, when finished, has some- thing the appearance of a felted corduroy. 142 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. December, Kaffir corii, on being first gatliered, is threshed on floors of 1873. trodden clay with long, curved sticks, sometimes having a small piece of board like the blade of an oar at the striking end, and, when separated from the rougher part of the chaff, is stowed away in the lindo. On being required for use, it is beaten in a mortar to remove any chaff that may still remain, and then ground into flour be- tween two stones. The larger of these is fixed in the earth, and a woman, kneeling down, w^orks the small one upon it. Al- together, it is a rough operation, resulting in a large proportion of the flour being composed of sand and grit. While employed in this labor, women often have babies lashed on their backs, and their pendulous and flaccid breasts may frequently be seen swinging to and fro, with each motion of the body, among the slowly accumulating heap of flour. The distinguishing tribal marks of the Wanyamwezi are a tattooed line clown the centre of the forehead and on each tem- ple, the two upper front teeth chij^ped so as to show a chevron- shaped gap, and a small triangular piece of hippopotamus ivory or of shell, ground down white and polished, hung round the neck. Their ornaments consist principally of beads and brass and iron wire. Chiefs and head-men wear enormous cylindrical bracelets of ivory extending from wrist to elbow, which are also used as sig- nals in w^arfare. The noise occasioned by striking them togeth- er is heard at a long distance, and is used by chiefs as a call for their men to rally round them. The men usually shave the crown of the head, and wear their hair twisted into innumerable small strings, lengthened artifi- cially by plaiting long fibres of bark cloth with the hair. This is often carried to such an extent as to make it hang down to the small of the back, and when on the road this mixture of bark and hair is usually tied into a sort of club-tail. Others, wdio only want to apjjear smart on occasions, have wigs of string, and keep their wool shaved or clipped close. The women follow no particular fashion in dressing their hair. Sometimes they allow it to remain in its native frizzi- ness, often using it to stick a knife, pipe, or other small arti- cle into. Others have their hair dressed in innumerable small XL] A EOYAL PROGRESS. 143 plaits, lying close to the head, and having something the appear- December, ance of the ridges of a iield ; and occasionally they make it into ^^'^- large, cushion - like masses, padded out with bark -fibres. The two latter methods of hair-dressing occupy two or three days ; but when the work of art is finished, it remains undisturbed for six months, or even longer. Mrima IS'gombe, being engaged in making a royal progress through his dominions, called on me here. He was dressed in a scarlet burnose trimmed with gold embroidery, which looked rather odd over his greasy waistcloth, his only other garment. He was much displeased with the head-man of Hisinene, and reprimanded him for not having paid me sufficient attention or supplied me with pombe. On the 28th of December, Asmani arrived with the welcome news that a settlement of the misunderstanding had been ac- complished, and that we could now pass through Ugara with- out let or hinderance. But, since the embassy had remained behind on a spree, we were advised to make a detour to avoid their village, otherwise we might be suspected of having mur- dered them. With Asmani came some of Said ibn Salim's men, bringing a few of my deserters and a hint to beware of Mirambo, as one of the Watosi — a tribe of herdsmen, of whom many are settled at Unj-anyembe — had been detected conveying to him infor- mation of the route we proposed to follow. They expressed the hope that I should be pleased on hearing that the unfortunate Mtosi had been shot for carrying the news to Mirambo. This act was doubtless intended as a piece of ci- vility, but it was one with which I could well have dispensed. Nothing further had been done towai-d perfecting a plan for the campaign against Mirambo, owing to a difference of opin- ion as to the selection of a leader. The ofiicer who had brought the re-enforcements from the coast wished to take chief command, civil and military; but this Said ibn Salim and Abdallah ibn Nassib refused to allow, as they were both senior to him in the Sultan's service. The new troops stood by their own commanding officer, while the Belooches and others, who had been serving under Said ibn Sa- lim and Abdallah ibn Nassib, refused to recognize the new- 144 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. December, comer. And while divided councils prevailed at the Arab 1873. head-cjuarters, their native allies were daily leaving them, and Mirambo was increasing in power and strength. Asmani had neither seen nor heard of my servant Moham- med Malim ; but believing I could trust him to follow me, I made ready for starting at once. The men refused to march, and Bombay, instead of assisting me, supjDorted them by assert- ing that it was necessary to wait to enable them to clean their corn. This was nothing less than a gratuitous falsehood and idle excuse. On the 30th of December, after a deal of trouble, I marched, through a pelting rain, to another Kwikuruh, a large and populous place, ruled over by the mother of Mrima Ngombe. The old lady was remarkably civil, sending me eggs and pombe, and declining to receive any thing in return, saying she had been requested by her son to look after me, as I was his friend, and that every thing she possessed was at my disposal. Upon starting the next morning, Asmani tried a short cut he had heard of, and managed to miss it, and led us north-east, south-west, east, west, south, and north, in rapid succession. A sore heel prevented my getting to the head of the caravan to put matters right ; for my riding donkeys were away with Mohammed Malim, and the old steed, Jenny Lind, which I had ridden from the coast, was left behind at Hisinene on account of illness. To add to our miseries, it was raining the greater part of the time, the mud in many places being knee - deep. Right glad was I when we sighted the clearing surrounding a village, and soon I was seated under a veranda of the chief's house. All my clothing, except that required for decency, I at once hung up to dry ; for a box containing a change of clothes was, as usual, behind. But a fire and a cup of hot coffee provided by Sambo soon pulled me together somewhat. In the evening I tried for lunars and latitudes, but bad sight prevented my ob- taining any. Here I decided to wait for Mohammed to overtake us, which he did the following evening, bringing in Jasmin with a sore back, caused by his villainous riding. From some men who accompanied him from Said ibn Salim XI.] A GOOD KIDDANCE. 145 I learned that Murphy was well away on his return journey, January, having been heard of past Jiwe la Singa. ^^'^^• During the day I had an opportunity of watching a man en- gaged in the peculiar process of making a sack for carrying corn. Taking a pole about fourteen feet long, the outer thick bark, which had been previously loosened by soaking in water for some days, was removed by tapping with a small mallet. He next put a strong seizing round the pole at about three feet from one end, and began at the other to turn the inner tough bark inside out, using for this purpose an instrument made of a bent branch cut to an edge at one end, and forming a kind of adze. The man then cut the pole short off above the lashing, and turning the bark back again, increased its size by beating it out with a hammer very like that used in making native cloth, which also rendered it soft and more pliant. He afterward put corn into this bark sack, ramming it well in, and, when it was perfectly full, tied up the open end and wound wide strips of bark around the pa6kage. It now resembled a hard bolster about six or seven feet long — the lateral expansion having shortened the bag — with a short pole projecting at one end. This serves to keep the contents from becoming wet when the baggage is stacked against a tree. Larger packages of this kind are used as granaries, being carefully thatched, and then planted by the projecting pole in an open place in the village. On the 2d of January, 1874, we broke up from Shikuriih (which, by-the-way, is the village called Kwikuruh by Stanley), after being detained by some men going out for the carcass of a buffalo they had shot. I here ascertained that a donkey which was supposed to have strayed at Unyanyembe had actually4)een' sold by Umbari and one of Livingstone's men, named Manua Sera, whom I had sent for it. Upon this discovery, I turned Umbari out of the cara- van, as, in addition to being a rogue, he was a grumbling, trou- blesome fellow, who was constantly stirring up a spirit of dis- satisfaction among the men. Asmani seemed doubtful about the road for the next day's journey, so I steered a course by compass, and, after five hours through trackless jungle full of game, camped by some pools in an open space. 146 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. January, I went out with iiiy gun, and saw numerous tracks of giraffe, ^^^^' and stalked one large antelope for a considerable distance ; but before getting within range, Leo, who had been left in camp, found me, and testified his delight so noisily that the antelope was frightened and my chance of a shot was spoiled. On returning, I found a party of Said ibn Salira's men had arrived in search of three women slaves, rejDorted to have ac- companied the men sent by me to Unyanj'embe with Moham- med Malim, and, on their being discovered, I ordered them to be immediately handed over. During the night two more jDagazi ran away, but a hunter whom w^e found in the woods fortunately volunteered his serv- ices. Guided by comj)ass, we continued our march through jungle, where Leo startled a herd of antelope, and the caravan found a sounder of pig, of which I bagged one little squeaker ; and, following this course for some hours, came among a num- ber of barked trees, which denoted our approach to a village. Shortly afterward, we struck a path leading through freshly cleared plantations, where the stumps of trees which had been felled were left about four feet high, having a most curious ap23earance. This brought us to the last village in Ugunda, and, although it was still early, I decided to halt, as three long marches lay between us and the first village we should arrive at in Ugala. Food was plentiful ; and enough corn for four days being purchased, I directed that it should be cleaned at once, instead of allowing the men to take a whole day about the business. The village was large and strongly built, and additions had ev- idently been made at various times. The oldest portion, in which the head-man lived, was almost entirely under the shade of one enormous banyan-tree. In addition to the usual stockade, this one was surrounded with a ditch, and embankment loop-holed for musketry on the inside ; and the entrances consisted of narrow passages, with two or three doors in each. The different state of the country from that which prevailed when Burton was here was particularly noticeable. In his time, a musket was an heir-loom for a chief, and the happy pos- sessors were few and far between ; but when I passed, neai-ly XI.] DISTURBED STATE OF THE COUNTRY. 147 every village could turn out at least half of its men armed with January, muskets. i^"^*- In consequence of the disturbances between Mirambo and the Arabs, trade had suffered much, and the whole country was very unsettled. The lawless inhabitants of villages took advan- tage of the disorder which existed, and formed parties, from forty to fifty strong, to loot and destroy their w^eaker neigh- bors. These they attacked indiscriminately, calling themselves friends of Mirambo or of the Arabs, according to which party they were at the time intent on plundering. As water was reported to be scarce, and there was some dan- ger of not finding any if steering by compass, we took the road pointed out by Asmani. Soon we were clear of jungle, and en- tered an apparently illimitable plain covered with long grass, and having numerous small mounds crowned with wood, as also solitary trees scattered over its surface. We halted near a pool of muddy water, and camped on one of the little w^ooded knolls. Game was wonderfully plentiful. We saw quail and secre- tary birds, startled a large herd of antelope, and crossed a buffa- lo-track— about twenty yards w^ide, and trampled into the sem- blance of a plowed field — running in a dead straight line from" north to south. Soon after starting from here for the South Ngombe nullah, we passed some shallow, swampy pools, surrounded by trees and thick jungle. I was in front, and happened, unfortunately, to be without my gun, when a huge white rhinoceros waddled past me, grunt- ing. He failed to notice me as I quietly slipped behind a tree, but the shouts of the porters, who now sighted him, warned him off, and he turned into the jungle. I follow^ed directly, my rifle having arrived, and tracked him for some way, but was brought to a standstill by a bed of swamp. The remainder of our road to the South Ngombe was swamj), followed by a piece of the most beautiful plain that it is possi- ble to imagine. Clumps of magnificent trees were grouped M'ith an effect which could not have been surpassed had they been arranged by the art of the landscape gardener ; while wooded knolls and 148 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. January, 1874. stretches of green grass, and a background of heavy timber along the banks of the nullah, completed the scene. The South ]S"gombe— not to be confounded with the North- ern Ngombe, which drains the country to the north of Taborah — is one of the southern affluents of the Malagarazi Kiver, and is joined by the Wale nullah, which rises a few miles west of Itumvi. IS'ear the point at which we crossed, it lay in long reaches of four or five miles in length, divided from each other only by sand-bars about fifty yards wide. Its waters afford a home to numerous hippopotami and crocodiles, and are covered with a profusion of immense water-lilies. In times of flood, it spreads about three miles on either side, and pours a vast ANTS NEST. quantity of water into the Malagarazi. Our camp was pitched on its western bank, in a clear space of grassy turf surrounded by gigantic trees, festooned to their topmost branches by enor- mous creepers. The men being tired, after our two long marches, I decided on a day's halt, and gave them leave to go out shooting. The surrounding country was full of game ; but I found it very wild, and so frightened by the number of my own people, as well as hunting-parties of Wagara, who were about, that I only shot a boar, which, being an unclean animal, none of my men would bring in. During my ramble I noticed the remains of a lion, buffalo, and crocodile, lying together in a heap, and was told a curious XI.] A HUNTER'S STORY. 149 story to account for this strange sight. It was said that when January, the buffalo came to drink, a lion sprung upon him, and both ^^'^^- rolling into the water together, they were seized by a crocodile. He, in his turn, was dragged about twenty yards from the bank by the struggles of the two beasts, and there the trio perished in an inextricable entanglement. I also saw an enormous crane of a bluish-gray color, looking a king among birds, being by far the lai'gest I had ever seen, with the exception of the ostrich. 150 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. CHAPTEK XII. Ugara.— 'A Ludicrous Sight. — Mirambo's Head-quarters. — Destruction and Desola- tion.— The Havoc of the Slave-trade. — A Field for England's Labors. — Leo sur- prises the Natives. — Leg Ornaments. — Liowa. — My Pets. — A Lawless Set of Ruf- fians.— Heavy Rains. — Bee-nesting. — A Stampede. — Lost in Jungle. — A Panic. — Rocky Residences. — An Attempt at Extortion. — I give a Lecture on Hospitality. — Its Good Effect. — Nothing to Eat. — " Jasmin " Dies. — Tameness of my Goat. — Unfriendly Villages. — A Buffalo-charge. January, Ugara, in wliicli we were now, is not recognized as being i^*^*- part of Unyamwezi proper, although, owing to the people hav- ing the same manners and tribal marks, and their language be- ing nearly identical, they are not to be easily distinguished from tlieir neighbors. On the 8th of January we moved from the banks of the South Ngombe toward Tewere, but were shortly met by about twenty people sent by Taka — chief of the easternmost of the three portions into which Ugara is divided — to inquire our rea- sons for having entered his territory without sending to apjjrise him of our approach. Matters being soon explained, they re- turned with us, and showed us where to halt ; but we were not allowed to camp in Tewere. This village was a perfect mass of vegetation, the trees with- in it growing so thickly and closely together that nothing could be seen of the huts ; and even the palisades, constructed of poles of the bark-cloth tree, had taken root and sprouted, and had thus become like the fortifications of Robinson Crusoe. Taka's own village was some seven miles to the northward of us, and would have lain on our route had we been allowed to follow the road taken by us on making our first journey from Hisinene. We had scarcely camped, when emissaries arrived from Taka. ^nd demanded twenty doti and two guns as mhongo. The guns I could not spare, and would not give ; so compromised XII.] MIRAMBO'S HEAD -QUARTERS. 151 the matter by paying twenty-two doti. A present was then January, asked for Taka's mother ; bnt I refused to give any thing, ex- ^^'^^- pressing my opinion that he was fully able to take care of his own mother. Tlie messengers informed me that if I visited Taka he would give me some provisions ; but as this would have entailed a delay of two or three days, I declined the invitation. Guides were placed at our disposal, and we marched across a j)erfectly level country until just at the close of the day's journey, when we breasted a small hill close to a village named Kwatosi, and camped on its summit. I was greatly amused by one of the guides, who displayed much pride at possessing an umbrella. He kept it open the whole day, continually spinning it round and round in a most ludicrous fashion ; and when we came to some jungle he added to the absurdity of his appearance by taking off his only article of clothing — his loin-cloth — and placing it on his head after having carefully folded it. The sight of a perfectly naked ne- gro walking under an umbrella was too much for my gravity, and I fairly exploded with laughter. Nothing but boundless plain covered with jungle was to be seen from the camp, the only break on the horizon being two small hills far away to the north-north-west. These were said to be Mirambo's head-cpiarters, which the Arabs had never at- tacked, the strength of the position being so great that it was felt that to make the attempt would be to court defeat. We passed the sites of many deserted villages which had been destroyed quite lately in the war, and, after camping one night in the jungle, arrived at the capital of ITtende, the cen- tral district of Ugara. The chief was^noderate in his demands for mhongo, and would have been satisfied "svith six doti, had not a son of Taka, who unfortunately arrived at that moment, said to him, " Don't be a fool ! my father got twenty-two. You ask the same." This caused much haggling and arguing, as I was greatly averse to complying with his increased claim. Still, he managed to get the twenty-two doti in the end, by prohibit- ing his people from selling food to us until he was paid. In the village there were many of Mirambo's men, who gra- ciously informed us that they would certainly have attacked 152 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. January, US, had we beeii Arabs ; but, being English, we were allowed to 1874. 25ass, because they knew we had not come for slaves. I have a strong suspicion that this was "buncombe," for Mirambo is as much a slave-dealer as any Arab in the country. But I sup- pose these men had heard something of the English from my people, and, not being strong enough to rob us, considered it advisable to appear friendly. The chief proved a curious sort of fellow, frequently with- drawing permission for us to buy food, and then restoring it. By taking advantage of the permission when granted, we pro- cured enough in two days, and w^ent on our way. The rains were now exceedingly heavy, and at times came down witli a roar that made sleep almost impossible. The fol- lowing note in my journal was evidently entered on one of these occasions : " Thunder and lightning ; lying awake listen- ing to the rain. If the blessed old Tanganyika gets all this, it must burst out somewhere." Our next halt was at the village of Liowa, chief of Western Ugara. The country before this had been dead level, but now began to get rather broken, and the road was across undulating country. The valleys were swamps, with deep and stiff black mud, that, in every thing but extent, put the stories of the dreaded Makata altogether into the shade. Passing through the ruins of so many deserted villages, once the homes of happy and contented people, was indescribably saddening. Where now were those who built them and culti- vated the surrounding fields? Where? Driven off as slaves, massacred by villains engaged in a war in which these poor wretches had no interest, or dead of starvation and disease in the jungle. Africa is bleeding out her life-blood at every pore. A rich country, requiring labor only to render it one of the greatest producers in the world, is having its population — already far too scanty for its needs — daily depleted by the slave-trade and internecine war. Should the present state of affairs be allowed to continue, the country will gradually relapse into jungles and wilds, and will become more and more impenetrable to the merchant and trav- eler. That this should be a possibility is a blot on the boasted XII.] ORNAMENTS WORN BY NATIVES. 153 civilization of the nineteenth century. And should England, January, with her mills working half-time, and with distress in the man- ^^'^^- nfacturing districts, neglect the opportunity of opening a mar- ket which would give employment to thousands of the work- ing classes, it will ever remain an inexplicable enigma. Let us hope that the Anglo-Saxon race will allow no other nation to outstrip it in the efforts to rescue thousands — nay, millions — of fellow-creatures from the misery and degradation which must otherwise infallibly fall to their lot. At Liowa's village the whole population turned out to stare at us, and their astonishment at beholding a Euroj^ean was far less than that displayed at the sight of old Leo. This was in no way diminished by the wonderful stories related of him by my men, who declared that, single-handed, he was a match for any two lions in Africa. These people were a fine, manly, warlike race, well armed with guns and spears, the blades of the latter being sometimes two feet in length, and more than four inches wide in their broad- est part. Two ornaments which I had hitherto rarely seen now be- came common. One, the sambo, consisting of a quantity of small circles of elephant's hair or hide, neatly bound round with very fine wire, was worn on the legs. Natives of high degree frequently wore such a mass of these as to give them the ap- pearance of being afflicted with elephantiasis ; and though I had no means of ascertaining the exact number on each leg, I may safely affirm that in some instances three hundred would ■be under leather than over the mark. The other ornament to which I allude was composed of fringes of long goat's hair, also worn-round the leg, commen- cing just above the swell of the calf and reaching well-nigh to the ground. To both these ornaments there were often ap- pended small bells and pieces of tin and other metal, and the happy possessor of such extra decorations was never inclined to let them pass unnoticed, but would stamp and strut about like a lunatic, in order to make them jingle and herald his approach. While we were at Liowa's, a party belonging to Mrima Ngombe arrived en route to Simba, a chief of the Warori, who, having lately been successful in looting a quantity of ivory 154 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. January, from liis neighbors, had sent out circulars stating that he had ^^'^'*- on hand a very large stock of a superior article, which must be sold at a ruinous sacrifice, to effect a clearance before removing from the jDremises. Liowa's father, who bore the same name, was chief of all Ugara, and, having had a tiff with some Arabs, set out with the intention of destroying Bagamoyo ; but his vaulting ambition o'erleaped itself, and he and most of his followers perished on the road. The feudatory chiefs of the two other divisions of Ugara, taking advantage of the youth of the present Liowa on his suc- ceeding his father, declared themselves independent, and thus robbed him of more than two-thirds of his patrimony. Liowa presented me with a small goat, which became so greatly attached to me that I had not the heart to kill her, but decided on keeping her as a pet, and she soon knew me, and learned to answer to her name, " Dinah." She and Leo were inseparable, and both used to follow close uj^on my heels on the march. ISTews now reached me that the direct road to the Malagarazi ferry was blocked by large bodies of escaped Arab slaves, who were well armed, and had turned their hand against every body. They had been armed by their masters to fight against Miram- bo, but had deserted, and joined a number of runaways, who infested the vicinity of Unyanyembe. And now they were do- ing their utmost to harm their former masters. Many of the atrocities ascribed to Mirambo should properly be placed to the account of these ruflfians, who, bound by no laws, human or divine, placed no limits upon the brutalities in which they indulged. Liowa's was left on the 17th of January, and,.soon after start- ing, we met Mrima Ngombe's men, who had gone on the day before, and had turned back to place themselves under our pro- tection, being afraid to proceed alone. Three miles down hill, and half a mile through swamp, was all we managed before being fairly stopped by the rain, which came down like a water-fall ; and the difficulty in getting the men and donkeys to face it and cross the swamp to a dry place for camping, was very great. The rain approached us like a XII.] BEE -NESTING. 155 moving wall of water, and some time before the storm reached January, us the sound resembled the roar of a cataract. I'^H. Fortunately, the tents were quickly pitched, and the stores were kept fairly dry. I fully appreciated Murphy's water- proof coat ; but the men were drenched, and most of them adopted the costume of Adam in the early days of the Garden of Eden. When the rain ceased, some of the men took a bees' -nest, which had been discovered in a tree overhanging the camp. I watched their proceedings with interest, for it seemed marvel- ous that the naked fellows up in the tree should be able to hack away at the hole where the nest was, watli infuriated bees swarming around them. Yet they only stopped occasionally to brush them away from their faces, or to pull out a sting. The fellows' skins must have been somewhat like that of the honey- guide, impervious to the sting of the bee ; but, after all their la- bor, no honey was forthcoming, dead and rotten combs only be- ing found. On resuming our march, we passed through an oj^en forest of tine trees, with little or no undergrowth, where I succeeded in rolling over a large antelope. We then came to a precipi- tous ravine, with numerous streams gushing down its rocky sides, sometimes hidden by bushes, and at others forming min- iature water-falls. We rounded the southern end of this dip, and reached the river Mtambo, flowing at the bottom of a rocky valley. It was two or three feet deep, with many cascades, the bed l)eing so full of rocks that we found an easy path of stepping-stones across it, the only difficulty being the work of getting the donkeys over. The next day's attempt at a journey ''was a failure. After a couple of hours on the move, some buffalo were seen, and down went every load immediately, some men running away, and oth- ers going in pursuit of the beasts. The runaways sooil recov- ered their lost nerve, and returned ; but as the hunters did not put in an appearance, there was no option but to camp. I Avas crippled by a painful wound in my leg, caused, I think, by the bite of a centipede, and was quite unable to do any shooting. The sporting-men found their way back during the evening, excepting a few who remained in charge of a rhinoceros and an 11 156 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. January, eland wliicli Asmaiii had shot ; and the next day they refused 1874. to move before the meat was brought in and divided, for which purpose a halt became necessary. To add to the annoyance of this delay, the road was lost on setting out, and my leg had meanwhile become so troublesome that I was unable to take the lead of the caravan and steer by compass. For three days we wandered round and round, going along a track perhaps for half an hour, only to find it end abruptly, while the scouts sent forward to discover the right road declared that impassable swamps and "muds" lay in the direction I wanted to travel. During all this time we were toiling through jungle, and passed several streams, two of which were so deep that it was necessary to use the india-rubber boat and to haul some of the donkeys over, until one, bolder than his fellows, jumped in and swam across, and was followed by the rest. Soon after we camped on the evening of the third day, I was startled by the report of iire-arms in all directions. Hobbling out of my tent, I met a man with his hair standing as straight on end as its woolly nature would allow, and with fright depict- ed on every feature, crying out, " Master ! master ! Euga-ruga ! Shika bunduki " (Master, master ! Kobbers ! Get your gun). Only about twenty of my men could I find, their first impulse having been, as usual, to look to their own safety by taking to their heels ; and where the enemy was, none could tell me. At last I ascertained that one of my followers, on meeting an old native in the jungle, had fired his gun as a signal that we were near a village. The other men being thoroughly intimidated by the stories of Mirambo, Euga-ruga, and escaped slaves, had immediately imagined that we were attacked. Hence the fright and general stampede. Upon the native being brought to me, I learned from him that the village of Man Komo, chief of part of Kawendi, could easily be reached the following day. He further volunteered to conduct some of my men there at once, in order that they might return the next morning and show us the road. This old man had been engaged in cutting bark to make clothing for himself and his wife ; and, judging from appear- ances, he had not undertaken the task before it was needed. 1 XH.] REPRESENTATIVES FROM MAN KOMO. 157 rewarded liiin with a shukkah for his civility, and he departed January, perfectly delighted. ^^'^^- The men whom I sent to the village did not return till after midday. Others, then absent on a hunting expedition, after- ward brought in a zebra ; and the consequent feasting extin- guished all hope of marching until the following day, when we passed through a marsh, and crossed the river flowing by the village of Man Komo. Man Komo is protected in front by this river, which was twenty-five feet wide and eight deep, and at the rear by a pre- cipitous rocky hill, on the side of which the principal portion of the place is built. Many of the people have appropriated holes and caves in the rocks as residences ; and so difhcult of access and easily defend- . ed is the village, that even Mirambo has been beaten off by the inhabitants, on his attempting to plunder them. Representatives from Man Komo, whose errand was to de- mand a mhongo of fifty doti, soon waited upon me, he having heard from Mrima N^gombe's men that similar payments had been made in Ugara. Knowing full well that this demand was an attempt at extortion, Man Komo having never before been given mhongo, I refused to pay any thing, and lectured his messengers on hospitality. I told them that since they were well aware that we had been wandering for a considerable time in the jungle, they should properly have brought us a present of food. Had they done so, I should have made Man Komo a handsome present; but now I assured them he would not receive from me even an inch of cloth. Two villagers offered for a small |3ayment to direct me to the capital of Uvinza, our next stage, on the road to which they said we should have no difficulty in obtaining supplies. I therefore decided on going forward, and early in the morning when the guides came, faithful to their promise, we started at once. My leg had become so much worse that I was utterly unable to move, and poor Jasmin was so weakened by the want of proper food that he could not bear my weight ; so I slung my iron chair to a pole, and was carried by askari. The lecture given to Man Komo, coupled with my speedy 158 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. January, departure from his place, seemed to have had some effect ; for, ^^'^*- soon after leaving, we were overtaken by one of his sons, who promised that, if I would return, I should receive a present of a goat, some corn, and pombe. But, being fairly under way, I refused to turn back. Following the road along a small flat lying between the stream and the foot of the hill — the northern end of which we rounded — brought us to another mountain with so sharp an as- cent that the men were unable to carry me, and I had literally to be dragged up by my arms. From the summit there was a most extensive view of meadows, woods, and valleys spreading at our feet, surrounded by mountains presenting every variety of outline and size. The most distant, I was told, overhung the Tanganyika. We had ascended this hill at the only accessible point in the direction from which we approached it, and the sides in many places went down so sheer that huge stones, rolled over the edge, crashed through the branches of projecting trees without touching earth till they landed in the valley below. A blinding rain now set in, and drenched every body and every thing, and covered the hill -sides wdtli running water, much to our discomfort ; and in the afternoon we were glad to camp near a small assemblage of huts with about a dozen in- habitants. Ko provisions were obtainable here ; and the men, instead of pushing on at once, started away on a foraging expe- dition, which detained us for three days. They then returned, without having met with any success. During these days I was so seedy from the drenching on the hills and the pain my leg gave me, that it quite prevented my feeling any hunger. And this was rather fortunate, for there was nothing to eat excepting one plum - pudding, which I kept thus far on the chance of seeing another Christmas in Africa. Poor Jasmin was thoroughly broken down from want of corn. His last effort was to drag himself to my tent door, where he lay down exhausted and utterly unable to move. Having no food whatever to give the poor beast, I thought it a merciful act to put a bullet through his brain, for I could not bear to witness his sufferings any longer. The only riding XII.] A GENERAL STAMPEDE. 159 donkey noV remaining was a half-bred one, which also showed January, symptoms of being beaten by starvation. ^^'^*- My goat had become extraordinarily tame, and would persist in sleeping on the foot of my bed. If she were tied up else- where, she disturbed the camp by continual bleating until al- lowed to come back to me. The men managed to tind roots and mushrooms for them- selves, and I believe a certain amount of corn and flour ; but I did not get any thing until the evening of the third day. On the 31st of January we gladly left this inhospitable place, and made our way down a steep descent and along a nar- row valley, througli which there ran a winding stream, with nu- merous fenced-in patches of cultivation on each side. The vil- lages were perched among the rocks, and the inhabitants refused to have any intercourse with us. The cause of this unfriendly behavior was that they mistrust- ed our honesty of purpose, having suffered much from the slave- trade by being preyed upon by neighboring tribes, who sell them to the Arabs. This they are enabled to do in consequence of there being no friendship among the villages, each little hamlet of perhaps only half a dozen families asserting its inde- pendence. Emerging from this valley, we passed through an open for- est along the slope of a hill. Suddenly I found m3'self most un- ceremoniously dropped by my carriers, who bolted right away, and immediately afterward a general stampede took place all along the line, the men, in their panic, throwing down guns, loads, and every thing, while scampering off to ensconce them- selves behind the nearest trees. " What is it ? thieves, wild beasts, or what ? Bring me my gun !" shouted I, as I lay on my side, jammed in the chair by the pole to which it was slung, and perfectly unable to move. The only answer I received was a personal explanation from the cause of all this terror — a solitary buffalo — which came charging along with head down. A black, vicious "varmint" he looked, as he passed within twenty yards of me ; but, luckily, he did not see me, or in all probability he would have sent me flying into the air, chair and all. That evening we camped in a wide ravine in the hill-side. 160 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. February, 1874. wliicli proved rather an unhappy selection, for a heavy down- pour of rain in the middle of the night converted our quarters into a stream two feet deep, by which boxes of books, cartridges, and stores in general were flooded. We arrived the following day on the banks of the Sindi, a large afliuent of the Malagarazi, having passed on the march a wide stretch of country under water varying from one to three feet in depth. Across the deeper places the dog and goat swam, in loving company, close along-side my chair. UUFKALO OUAKUiMU OAUAVAN. XIII.] ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF FLOATING ISLANDS. 161 CHAPTER XIIL Floating Islands. — Their Origin and Growth. — Crossing the Sindi. — Uvinza. — A Cordial Reception. — Strange Economy. — A Boy Chief. — Curious Visitors. — Cere- monious Salutation. — Tattooing. — Ugaga. — Approach of Mirambo. — On our De- fense.— Destruction of Several Villages. — Ferry Charges. — A Host of Claimants. — The Malagarazi Ferry. — Sambo's Cookery. — Salt-making. — A Considerable Trade. — Liquid Snuff. — A Droll Sight. — My Faithful Leo dies. — A Wild Beast in Camp. — Sighting Tanganyika. — Arrival at Kawele. The Sindi was crossed on the 2d of February, on a mass of February, floating vegetation, one of the peculiarities of intertropical Af- ^^'^*- rica. Many rivers for a great portion of their courses are studded with these islands, which, when in good condition, are frequently used both by man and beast as natural floating' bridges. At the point where we crossed, there was only a clear chan- nel about two feet wide on each side, the remaining hundred yards of the river's width being covered with this vegetable growth, which extended about three-quarters of a inile down the stream. Stepping on these islands is accompanied M-itli much the same sensation as walking on a quaking bog overgrown with rushes and grass. On boring with a pole through about three feet of closely-matted vegetation mixed with soil, the river is found, and the hippopotami pass underneath. These masses vary in thickness and stability from year to year. They owe their origin to the rushes growing in the bed of the river, imjjeding the course of floating debris, and causing it to accumulate and form soil for vegetation. Plants quickly spring up and flourish, and, interlacing their roots, a compact mass is the result. This continues to increase for about six years, when the limit is reached. Tlien the island begins to decay, and disappears altogether in about four years. Caravans sometimes pass over them when the stage of decay 162 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. February, lias already set in, and several have been lost in the attempt. 1^'^^- Consequently, it was not without many prophecies of disaster befalling us that the men ventured to trust themselves on this floating vegetation. However, we found ourselves across it without any accident having happened, and, passing through cultivated grounds and habitations, soon reached the village of Itambara, the head-quarters of the chief of Uvinza. Looking back toward the hills we had traversed, their like- ness to an archipelago could not fail to occur to me, the islands being represented by numerous hills detached from each other by narrow gorges, with bluffs, promontories, and cliffs. Many of them had such precipitous sides as to appear, from this dis- tance, quite inaccessible ; but the curling, faint, blue smoke be- tokened the presence of villages nestling under the rocky crags. Taking it all in all, the scene was one of marvelous beauty. In Uvinza food of different kinds was plentiful, and we saw many plantations of Indian corn, matama, sweet-potatoes, beans growing on a sort of bush, and tobacco. At Itambara we were cordially welcomed by the head-man, who offered us the use of some huts, and, remarking that we must be hungry, brought a goat and some fowls for myself, and flour for my men. Mhongo was paid here for permission to cross the Malagarazi. The amount was very heavy, but I was assured it would clear us with the mutwale at Ugaga — where the ferry is — and that I should only have to reward the canoe- men. Mutwale is the title given throughout Uvinza and some of the neighboring districts to the chief of a single village. A day was consumed in arranging this matter, and drying clothing and stores, which had suffered much from the rains we had experienced, and another was lost- by the obstinacy of Bombay, who would not get the men together. My lameness prevented my moving about among the men and forcing them to start, and Bombay, as an excuse for his fol- ly, continually reiterated, "Food cheap here, master; better stop another day." And stop we did, though, for the life of me, I could not understand the economy of remaining an extra day in a place doing nothing, simply to save about one-sixth of our ordinary daily expenses. The head-man brought the chief, a boy about eight years of XIII.] A YOUNG CHIEF. 163 age, to visit me. He was in a terrible fright, and cried bitterly February, at tlie lirst sight of a white man. But I soon pacified him, and i^*^^- amnsed him Mith pictures in Dallas's " [Natural History," and finally sent him away perfectly happy with some pages of the Illustrated London News which had been used in packing. TJgaga was reached on the 5th of February, by a road lead- ing through jungle, and past many villages and plantations, and then descending diagonally the face of a cliff which divided the uplands from the plain of the Malagarazi. Far and wide stretched the green plain, and in the distance in the north were the blue hills of Uliha, while close to the foot of the cliff was Ugaga, in which we halted. The mutwale, to my disgust, demanded a heavy toll for our passage over the Malagarazi. The mhongo already exacted at Itambara would, we had been assured, free us from all further demands. Yet the mutwale declared that we had paid only for permission to cross the river, and that he, as lord of the ferry, besides the chief of the canoe-men and various other ofiicials, all expected their fees. Otherwise no canoes whatever would be forthcoming for our service. The mutwale was a good-looking young fellow of five-and- twenty, and very civil, though he would do no business on the day of our arrival, and was politely firm on the mhongo ques- tion. When he called on me, I was lying on my bed without boots or stockings, waiting for my bath. I showed him my guns, books, and other curiosities, to occupy his attention ; but in the midst of his examination of these things he suddenly caught hold of my toes and looked at them most carefully, re- marking that my feet were much too white and soft for walk- ing. Then he transferred his attention to my hands, which certainly could not be called white, having been tanned to the color of a dirty dog-skin glove ; but after inspection he arrived at the conclusion that I had done very little work, and there- fore must be an important personage in my own country. The mode of salutation here is very ceremonious, and varies according to the ranks of the performers. When two "gran- dees" meet, the junior leans forward, bends his knees, and places the palms of his hands on the ground on each side of his feet, while the senior claps his hands six or seven times. They 164 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. February, tlien change round, and the junior slaps himself first under the 1874. igf t armpit and then under the right. But when a " swell "* meets an inferior, the superior only claps his hands, and does not fully return the salutation by following the motions of the one who first salutes. On two commoners meeting, they pat their stomachs, then clap hands at each other, and finally shake hands. These greetings are observed to an unlimited extent, and the sound of patting and clapping is almost unceasing. The people are most extensively tattooed w^ith small cuts, forming spirals, circles, and straight lines, and they wear their hair shaved in patches or clipped close. Their ornaments are wire bracelets, sambo, beads, and little iron bells. A very small amount of trade-cloth is worn, most of the people being dressed in bark-cloth and skins. In the afternoon some fugitives brought the news that the village to which they belonged had been destroyed by Miram- bo, who was then only eight miles distant, and that five people had been killed, and many more, with some cattle, driven oft". This so fully occupied the mutwale's attention that we did not commence the palaver about payment for crossing the Ma- lagarazi until late in the afternoon. And almost immediately afterward an alarm was raised that Mirambo was coming to at- tack the place : the bearer of this disquieting intelligence as- serted that he was sole survivor of a large village about five miles distant. Of course we cut short our conference, and prepared to con- front our redoubtable foe. On going outside the village, I saw several columns of smoke rising to the east and south-east of us, and more fugitives came running in, stating that Mirambo had jDarties in all directions looting and destroying. Every thing was arranged for meeting the anticipated attack, and, as we were enjoying the hospitality of ITgaga, I told the mutwale we were ready to assist him to the utmost. lie smiled, and said that as Mirambo had been beaten oif with the loss of many people, including his son and brother, when he attacked the village some four years before, it was probable he would not try it again. The mutwale was right, for IVfirambo left the neighborhood during the night, after having destroyed and looted seven or eight villages. XIII.] A HOST OF CLAIMANTS. 1G5 The excitement having subsided, we again turned our atten- February, tion to the knotty question of the amount to be paid for cross- ^^'^^• ing the river. And knotty it was, for no sooner had I settled one demand than others were brought forward. The people must have exercised their ingenuity to the ut- most, for I received claims from the following officials, their wives, and relations : first, the mutwale ; second, his wife ; third, head mteko or councilor ; fourth, his wife ; fifth, mwari, or head canoe -man; sixth, his wife; seventh, mut wale's re- lations ; eighth, people who make the palaver ; ninth, to buy rope ; tenth, canoe-paddlers. I objected strongly to the charge for rope, as it had been specially mentioned and paid for at Itambara ; although when or why it was required I could not ascertain. I also made a stand against many other items, especially wives and relatives. At last, being thoroughly tired of argument, I rose and said, " If we go on like this, we shall remain here till the end of the world ;" and went away, leaving them in a state best described by the last word of the marriage-service. My action brought the claimants to their senses, and the mutwale and mteko soon followed me, offering to settle the whole business for less than I had already consented to pay, and promising that canoes should be at the ferry early the next morning. At the appointed time I went down to the river, a swift, swirling, brown stream, running between four and five knots, and about thirty yards wide. But not a canoe was there. Summoning my patience, already sorely tried, I sat down a short distance from the stream, when presently a head and shoulders appeared gliding along just above the grassy river- bank, and then another, and another. These were the all-important canoes, six in all. Four were the roughest specimens of naval architecture I ever came across, being merely hollow logs about eighteen feet long by two wide ; the others were constnicted of a single strip of bark sewed up at the ends, and were rather narrower and longer than the logs. They were each manned by two men, one of whom squatted down and used a paddle, while the other stood up and punted along with a pole. 166 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. February, 1874. When the whole of the men and loads had been ferried over, an altercation arose about the donkeys, the canoe-men refus- ing to tow them across until a fetish man had made medicine. This, of course, entailed an extra fee. But it was inadvisable to refuse, especially as Bombay swore that it was owing to the neglect of this precaution that Stanley lost a donkey on cross- in o- this river. CBOijSlNCi MALAOAKAZI. So much time was occupied here that we were compelled to halt at Mpeta, the village of the other chief of the ferry, who fleeces travelers from Ujiji in the same way as his confrere does those from Unyanyembe. The mutwale here, a small boy, was unwell, and I therefore escaped a visit from him, which I did not regret, since it would have obliged me to make him a present. At Mpeta I got sights for latitude, which agreed to within fifteen seconds with those taken by Captain Speke at the same place — a difference caused possibly by our position not being exactly the same, and which may therefore be regarded as prac- tically giving the same result. Leaving Mpeta, we traversed a level country, just above the heads of many valleys and ravines running down to the Mala- garazi, which lay some little distance to the southward, and much below us, on account of the rapid descent of its bed. XIIL] SALT -MAKING. 167 Beyond the valley of the Malagarazi were high and rocky hills P'ebruary, similar to those we had passed before crossing the river. i^"^*- At Itaga we halted a day to buy food, and j^artly because I was ill with fever, and was also suffering from the effects of Sambo having mixed the dough for my breakfast cakes with castor-oil. While here, two more villages were reported to have been destroyed by Mirambo, yet by all accounts he had no more than a hundred and lifty tighting-men with him. Had the people banded together, they could easily have thrashed him ; but they were perpetually squabbling among themselves, and could there- fore be attacked and destroyed piecemeal. Our next station was Lugowa, to reach which we had to pass several villages and some muddy swamps, whence salt is pro- cured in the following manner : A quantity of mud is placed in a trough having at the bottom a square hole partially stop- ped with shreds of bark, beneath which about half a dozen sim- ilar vessels are placed, the upper one only containing mud. Hot water is then poured into this topmost trough to dissolve the salt with which the mud is impregnated, and the liquid, being filtered by passing through the bark in the holes of the lower troughs, runs out of the bottom one nearly clear. It is then boiled and evaporated, leaving as a sediment a very good white salt, the best of any I have seen in Africa. If the first boiling does not produce a sufliciently pure salt, it is again dis- solved and filtered, until the requisite purity is attained. This salt is carried far and wide. The whole district from Lake Victoria Xyanza, round the south of Tanganjnka, much of Manyuema, and south to the Euaha, is supplied by the pans of Uvinza. There are some other-^)laces in these districts where salt is produced, but that of Uvinza is so superior that it always finds a ready sale. At parting, the old chief presented me with a load of salt, which I acknowledged by a gift in re- turn. At Lugowa I witnessed for the first time a curious method of using tobacco, which prevails to a great extent at Ujiji. In- stead of taking dry powdered snuif, according to the ordinary custom, the people carry tobacco in a small gourd, and when they wish to indulge in a " sneeshin," fill it with water, and. 168 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. after allowing the leaf to soak for a few moments, tliey press out the juice and sniff it up their nostrils. The pungent liquid snuft" is retained in the nostrils for many minutes, being prevented from escaping either by holding the nose with the lingers, or ^vith a small pair of metal nippers. The after - performance will not bear description. It is inde- scribably droll to see half a dozen men sitting gravely round a fire trying to talk with nippers on their noses. Another touch of fever came ujDon me at Lugowa, but I man- aged to continue the journey the next morning, although still very lame and scarcely able to walk, wliich was a terrible hin- derance in every w^ay. After marching four miles, a man named Siingoro declared he was too ill to proceed any farther, so I determined to leave him in charge of a coast negro who had settled in a village of salt-makers. I paid the negro to attend to the wants of the in- valid, and to forward him to Ujiji by caravan when he became convalescent. Rain coming on heavily, made it advisable to camp earlier than I had intended, and, on looking round for Leo, I missed him. I immediately sent men to search for him, and they quickly returned, carrying the poor animal. To my sorrow, I found he was nearly dead, and had only strength left to lick my hand and try to wag his tail, when he lay down and died at my feet. I believe he must have been bitten by a snake, for he was running about near me, well and full of life, only a short time before I lost sight of him. Few can imagine how great was the loss of my faithful dog to me in my solitude, the sad blank which his death made in my every-day life. One of the Mnyannvezi donkeys gave birth to a foal here, and the little creature was carried for a few days, until it grew strong enough to march with the caravan. Five hours from this brought us to the Eusugi, which flows into the Malagarazi along a valley flanked by rocky hills on ei- ther side ; and it was remarkable that, though flowing through a soil impregnated with salt, the water tasted perfectly fresh. On both banks of the Rusugi there were temporary villages, now quite deserted, innumerable broken pots, stone fire-places, and small pits where people make salt in the season. XIII.] AN UNPLEASANT MARCH. 169 During the night we were disturbed by a great noise among the donkeys, and found that one had been pinned by the nose by some wild beast, but hickily without doing mnch damage, the donkey being more frightened than hurt. The next three marches were through a mixture of jungle, long grass, and occasional outcrops of granite. On the lirst, we passed ten small streams besides the Paiguvu, which was twen- ty feet wide and four feet six inches deep ; on the second, one more ; and on the third, the Masungwe. There were many tracks of buffalo and elephants, and we several times heard the latter trumpeting in the jungle. In some places the grass was 0R08BING RU8UGI. of great length, far above our heads, and the pouring rain made the^work of forcing our way through this wet and heavy grass most laborious and unpleasant. After arriving in camp on the third day, I had a general in- spection of the men's private loads, and found that ten had been guilty of stealing my beads. This I had long suspected, but Bombay always persisted that nothing of the sort was going on. I firmly believe the whole caravan had been systematically rob- bing me, and that those I detected with the stolen goods were not really more guilty, but only more unfortunate, than the rest. I took possession of the beads thus recovered, and made prisoners of the thieves. 170 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. From this I sent forward two men to Ujiji to deliver letters of introduction which had been given me by Said ibn Salim at Unyanjembe ; also to request that boats might be provided at the mouth of the Ruche River to convey us to Kawele, the chief town of Ujiji. Near the camp I noticed several nutmeg-trees, and picked up some very good nutmegs. The country about here was much broken up, and there were many small streams and rivulets, and brakes of bamboo. The next morning I moved to Niamtaga, in Ukaranga, a good -sized palisaded village, with many skulls bleaching on poles close to the entrance, and surrounded by helds neatly fenced in with bamboo. The people proved an inhospitable set, and would not allow us inside the village ; so we camped by a large brake of bamboo, which afforded admirable material for huts. Anxious as I was to push forward to Ujiji, now so near at hand, I found it impossible to get the men on, by hook or crook. Every thing I tried, even to pulling down their huts ; but it was altogether useless, and Bombay and the askari were quite as troublesome as the pagazi. However, on the 18th of February, fifteen years and five days from the time Burton dis- covered it, my eyes rested on the vast Tanganyika. At first I could barely realize it. Lying at the bottom of a steep descent was a bright-blue patch about a mile long, then some trees, and beyond them a great gray expanse, having the appearance of sky with floating clouds. " That the lake ?" said I in disdain, looking at the small blue patch below me. " Non- sense !" " It is the lake, master," persisted my men. It then dawned on me that the vast gray expanse was the Tanganyika, and that which I had supposed to be clouds were the distant mountains of Ugoma, while the blue patch was only an inlet lighted up by a })assing ray of sun. Hurrying down the descent and across the flat at the bottom — which was covered with cane-grass and bamboo, intersected by paths made by hippopotami — we reached the shore, and found two large canoes, sent for us by the Arabs at Ujiji. Both were (juickly filled with stores and men, and, after an hour's pull, Kawele Avas reached. XIII.] COMPARATIVE COMFORT. IVI Tlie scenery was grand. To the west were the gigantic mountains of Ugoma, while on the eastern shore was a dense growth of cane-grass of a bright green. Occasional open spaces disclosed yellow sandy beaches and bright-red miniature cliffs, with palm-trees and villages close to the water's edge, l^umer- ous canoes moving about, and gulls, divers, and darters, gave life to the scene ; and distant floating islands of grass had very much the appearance of boats under sail. At Ivawele I was most warmly welcomed by the traders, who turned out to meet me, and with them I sat in state until the house placed at my disposal was ready to receive me. February, 1814. This ceremonious sitting took place under the veranda of Mohammed ibn Salib, who, with his compatriots, was full of anxiety to hear any news from Ilnyanyembe and the coast, as none had been received at Ujiji for a long time previous to my coming. Especially anxious were they to learn particulars of Mirambo's proceedings, and were greatly annoyed and disgust- ed to hear of his continued activity. The prevailing feeling among them did not seem to be one of fear that they might be robbed by him on the road to Ilnyanyembe, but rather that they should be compelled by Said ibn Salim to remain there instead of going on to Zanzibar, so as to increase the numerical strength at his disposal. However, they were rejoiced to hear that the journey had been accomplished, and be2:an almost immediately 12 1'72 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. FLbruarv, to disciiss meaiis of sending to Unyanyembe. I found this long 1874. waiting and conversation rather purgatorial ; for, having had nothing to eat that day, I was very hungry, besides being thor- oughly tired, and wet from wading through a swamp just be- fore reaching the boats. My patience ^vas rewarded, however, for, after enjoying a comfortable wash and shift into dry clothes, I found prepared for me such a meal as I had not seen since partaking of Said ibn Salim's hospitality. XIV.] ROBBERY OF MY STORES. 173 CHAPTEK XIY. Recovery of Livingstone's Papers.— Robbery of my Stores.— Punishment of a Thief. —Difficulty in sending the Journals to the East Coast.— The Traders of Kawele.— The Native Dress and Ornaments.— Their Markets.— Warundi Body-coloring.— Products of the District.— Their Currency.— Hiring Boats.— Curious Mode of Pay- ment.—Fitting-out.— I am thought " Unlucky."— My Guides desert Me.— "Xegro Melodists."— Sailing away on the Tanganyika.— Devils' DweUiugs.- Propitiating the Spirits. — Slave-hunters. I FOUND it impossible to remain in the house which the Arabs February, had lent me at Kawele. It was very wretched, and the only 1874. place where I could stand my bed was under a veranda open to the market-place and exposed to the gaze of the whole popula- tion. I therefore moved into another, which I rented for two doti a month. This house, though not so large as the one I oc- cupied at Unyanyembe, was much more comfortable, and a ta- ble placed under the veranda enabled one to work at ease. My first inquiries were for Dr. Livingstone's papers, and I was greatly rejoiced to find them safe in the charge of Mohammed ibn Salib, who— although holding no authority from Syd Bur- ghash— was looked upon by the traders here as their practical head, to whom they always referred in any matter of dispute. I now took the opportunity of overhauling my loads to dis- cover what I 'had lost by theft, ^d found that no fewer than thirty-two frasilah of beads, weighing thirty-five pounds each, and equal to sixteen loads, had been stolen. Only one load re- mained intact, and that had been carried the whole way by a pagazi named Suliman, wlio was a very good, honest fellow. Owing to the frequent desertions and my many illnesses, I had been unable to keep the men to the same loads throughout the journey, and therefore could not detect the thieves unless I actually found the stolen property in their possession. But I had little or no doubt that there were barely half a dozen men in the caravan who had not robbed me at one time or another. 174 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. February, I discharged tliosG wlioui I had caught thieviug, and gave notice 18'^'t- that I would flog the next offender; and scarcely had I said the words, when I detected a man coming out of the store-room — which had been left open by Bombay, with his usual careless- ness— having several strings of my most valuable beads and three colored cloths partially hidden under his loin-cloth. In- stantly I ordered him to be seized and given the flogging I had promised, and discharged him on the spot, with a warning that if he or any other detected thief came near my house, he should receive similar treatment. The result of inquiries as to the prospects of continuing my journey on the other side of the lake, and the best method of sending Livingstone's papers safely to the coast, was not en- couraging. I was assured that no traveling would be possible to the west of Tanganyika for at least three months, and that it would be most unsafe for a small party carrying the box of pa- pers to leave Ujiji for the East Coast on account of the disturb- ances on the road to Unyanyembe. It therefore appeared bet- ter to wait until the convoy of a caravan could be obtained. I then turned my thoughts to the sul)ject of a cruise round the Tanganyika, and immediately set about making prepara- tions. Before proceeding with my narrative, I will endeavor to de- scribe Kawele and its residents, both native and foreign. Giving precedence to the traders, there was flrst Mohammed ibn Salib, a flne, portly old half-caste Arab, with a very good presence, who had not been to the east of Ujiji since the year 1S42. Trading at that time in Ma Kasembe's country, he had l)een detained prisoner for more than twenty J'ears, most of which he passed either in chains, or with a slave-fork round his neck. He had now settled permanently at Fjiji. The next in importance were Muinyi Heri, a rich Mrima trader, who mar- ried the daughter of the chief of ITjiji during my stay ; Mo- hammed ibn Gharib, a great friend of Livingstone, whom he had often assisted, and who, as a token of friendship, had pre- sented him with a gun ; and his brother Ilassani. These were the ])rincipal traders; but there were also Syde Mezrui, a half-caste, and, as it afterward turned out, a bank- rupt; Abdallah ibn ILibib, a Mrima trader, and several men XIV.] NATIVE DRESS AND ORNAMENTS. 175 who acted as agents for large merchants, besides blacksmiths, February, carpenters, and sandal-makers. 1874- The natives are rather a fine-looking race, but have the repu- tation of being a very drunken and thieving lot ; yet I scarcely think they are as bad in either respect as the lower orders of the coast natives. They are good smiths and porters, and ex- pert fishermen and canoe-men. Their dress usually consists of a single piece of bark-cloth, with two corners tied in a knot over one shoulder and passing under the opposite armpit. It is often dyed in strij)es and spots of black and yellow, and cut to imitate the shape of a leopard's skin. It leaves one side of the body perfectly naked, and in a breeze flaps about in such a manner that it barely sat- isfies the commonest recpiirements of decency. Their special ornaments are made of beautifully white and wonderfully polished hippopotamus ivory. In shape and size they represent the blade of a sickle, and are worn hung round the neck. They also wear a profusion of sambo, small bells, and wire bracelets. The men usually carry a spear. Their hair is clipped and shaved into most peculiar patterns, such as spirals, zigzags, tufts left on a bare scalp, or round patches shaven in the centre of the crown of the head, and, in short, every conceivable vagary in shaving in fancy devices. The chiefs among them may be distinguished by their wear- ing colored trade-cloths, after the same fashion as their poorer countrymen wear their bark-cloth, and by having heavy pen- annular bracelets, with a projection at the back. The head chief, or mteme, of Ujiji lives in a village in the mountains some distance from ^le lake ; bnt every small dis- trict is ruled over by a nnitwale, or head-man, whose office is often hereditary, assisted by three or four wateko, or elders. These people arrange disputes, collect all tributes, and remit the proceeds to the mteme after deducting a certain amount for their trouble. One of the sights at Kawele is the market, held daily between half -past seven and ten in the morning, and again in the after- noon, in an open space in the town close to the shore. The more important is that in the morning, which presents an in- teresting and lively scene. It is attended by the jjeople of 1T6 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. February, Uguhha, Uvira, Uriiiidi, and many tribes dwelling on the shores i8'^4. of the lake. Tlie AVagnhha are easily distinguished by the elaborate man- ner in which both sexes dress their hair, and the fanciful and extensive tattooing of the women ; while the "Warundi may be known by their being smeared with red earth and oil, giving their bodies a bright bronze color. They are called by the Arab traders a " red people," meaning light-colored. "Women of Kawele and surrounding hamlets bring baskets of flour, sweet-potatoes, yams, fruit of the oil palm — which is here seen for the first time — bananas, tobacco, tomatoes, encumbers, and a great variety of vegetable products, besides pottery, and huge gourds of pombe and 2:)alm-wine. The men sell fish — both dried and fresh — meat, goats, sugar-canes, nets, baskets, spear and bow staves, and bark-cloth. The AVarundi principally deal in corn and canoe-paddles, and from the island of Ubwari is brought a species of hemp used by the Wagogo in making their nets; while Uvira furnishes pot- tery and iron-work ; Uvinza, salt ; and various other places, large gourds of palm-oil. Each vender takes up the same position daily, and many build small arbors of palm fronds to shelter them from the burning rays of the sun. Among the crowd of buyers and sellers there circulate parties who have traveled, from a distance to this central mart to en- deavor to dispose of their slaves and ivory ; and the whole of the bargaining being carried on at the top of the voice, the noise is almost deafening. A curious currency is in vogue here, every thing being priced in beads called sofi, something in appearance like small pieces of broken pipe-stem. At the commencement of the market, "men with wallets full of these beads deal them out in exchange for others to people desirous of makijig purchases ; and, when the mart is closed, they receive them again from the market- people, and make a profit on both transactions, after the manner usual among money-changers. To obtain boats to proceed on my Tanganyika cruise was my first consideration ; but the owners of two promised me by Said ibn Salim at Unyanyembe \verc away, and tlierefore I could not procure them. I discovered a good one, hoM-ever, belong- XIV.] SAIL-MAKING. 177 ing to Syde ibn Habib — wbo bad met Livingstone botb in February, Sekeletu's country and in Manyuema — and managed to hire it 1874. from bis agent, tbongb at an extortionate rate. Tlie arrangement at tbe biring was ratlier amnsing. Syde's agent wislied to be paid in ivory, of wbicli I bad none ; but I found tbat Mobammed ibn Sabb bad ivory, and wanted clotb. Still, as I bad no clotb, tbis did not assist me greatly until I heard tbat Mobammed ibn Gharib had cloth, and wanted wire. Tbis I fortunately possessed. So I gave Mohammed ibn Gha- rib the requisite amount in wire, upon which he handed over cloth to Mohammed ibn Salib, who, in his turn, gave Syde ibn Habib's agent the wished-for ivory. Then he allowed me to have the boat. The agreement was that she should be handed over to me tit for sea, and, having been a long time hauled up, she required calking, which was a tedious business. A sail was supposed to be forthcoming ; but all that ap- peared were a few tattered rags of cloth, which they informed me would be quite sulhcient for all sailing purposes. I could get nothing better out of this agent, who, not contented with having received as hire quite enough to buy two or three ca- noes in honest trade, now wanted to cheat me in every petty detail. In addition to his impudence in calling these rags a sail, he stated that the oars were not included in the bargain, and I must give a further amount for them. But I appealed to Mo- hammed ibn Salib in tliis matter, and he decided tbat I was to have the oars without payment. Tbe question of the sail he gave against me. I therefore set to work cutting out and mak- ing a lateen-sail, which frighten ed~nearly every one in the place out of his senses, owing to what was considered its enormous size; but the boat was a great lumbering craft, and needed a large sail, so I held to my own ideas. While these matters were progressing, I learned that a small party were going to Unyanyembe in company with a caravan of AVagubba, intending to travel by night through the unset- tled districts. I determined to seize this opportunity to dis- patch three men to Said ibn Salim with letters for the coast, and to urge on him the immediate necessity of forwarding at the earliest opportunity the beads I had left at Mrima l^gom- 1V8 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. L-hruan-, i^^'g^ J (jj^| j^q^ venture to trust Dr. Livingstone's papers to ' ' such a poor chance of arriving at Unyanyembe. My lirst trij) was to Bangwe, a small island which is the northernmost land on the eastern shore visible from Kawele, though, owing to the lay of the lake, it only bears north-west by west, three-quarters west from that j)lace. Here I got a set of bearings ; and, having carefully calculated the distance from another point of observation at Kawele, I was able, by cross- bearings, to plot in the principal parts visible from both points with considerable accuracy, so as to serve as a base for my sur- vey of the lake. Just before starting on a surveying cruise, I heard by chance that the wife of one of those men who, according to Said ibn Salim, would readily lend me a boat, was at Ujiji ; and, on mak- ing my request known to her, she immediately comjDlied, giv- ing me one in good order, but without a sail. The first boat I named Betsy ; and the second, which was to be the tender, Piclde. It now became necessary to engage men from whom I might learn the names of the different places round the lake, and to point out the nightly camps and act as interpreters. Two who had gone to the north end with Livingstone and Stanley were brought to me. But in the weighty matter of engaging them, the mutwale and wateko of course had a finger, and charged more for their fees than the men received as hire. In consequence of my being attacked with fever, which last- ed two or three days, these fellows, in the belief that I was un- lucky, threw up their engagement, and refused to accompany me. Their pay and the eldei's' fees were returned, on the prin- ciple of " no work, no pay ;" and three days afterward I ob- tained the services of two very decent men, Parla and Regwe, of whom the last named was the jDrincipal, bnt by no means the better. The amount they were to receive for the journey was seventeen and a half dollars each, M'hile the fees to the elders amounted to thirty -four. It was rather a long price to pay two naked fellows for al)out a couple of mouths ; but it must be remembered that uncivilized countries are always the most expensive for the traveler, though they may not be for the settler. XIV.] NEGRO MELODISTS. 179 While at Ujiji, I met with great civility from the traders, March, who frequently sent me cooked food, and Mohammed ibn Salib ^^''■*- gave me a bullock and half a dozen sheep. I naturally made them presents in return, and was the more inclined to do so from having heard that they had befriended Livingstone. Syde Mezrui was expecting a caravan from Unyanyembe with stores exchanged for ivory, but was good enough to say that, whether it had arrived or not when I returned, he would be ready to show me the way to Nyangwe. I should mention that I was visited here by three mounte- banks or minstrels, wlio were walking about the country much after the fashion of Italian organ-grinders in England, seeking whom they might render miserable with their noise. They were furnished with enormous rattles made of gourds filled with pebbles, and with these they accented their songs and dances. The noise was something deafening when all three rattled away at once; for these instruments were far more powerful and effective than the " Bones " of Chi-isty Minstrels. They treated me to break-downs and walk-rounds which might well be the original of our music-hall style; while the songs (solos with chorus) had the " yah-yah " accompaniment precise- ly as given by the stage nigger. At last, on the 13th of March, I managed to get away with Bombay and thirty-seven men, leaving Bilal in charge of the remainder and some stores. But, having served out beads to enable the crews to buy five days' rations in advance, all hands took the opportunity of getting drunk early in the morning, and it was afternoon before I could collect them, or they could collect their senses. ^ I selected the Betsij for my flag-ship, and over a sort of poop of which she boasted fitted np a wagon-roof awning, hoiking it would serve for me to live under altogether ; but it proved any thing but weather-proof, and it was fortunate I had taken my tent on board. A light fair wind enabled us to make sail, and that evening we ran down past the settlement of Jumah Merikani — of whom I shall have to speak hereafter — in Ukaranga, and camped at Point Mfbmdo. After i^roceeding a short distance the next day, passing love- 180 ■ ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. March, ly country witli small clifts and hanging woods, reminding me 1874. very much of Mount Edgcumbe, I made for the shore for the purpose of beaching the Betsy, as water was leaking through a considerably hole in her stern, and damaging the cargo. Defects having been made good, we again got under way, and cami^ed near Ugxinya. Tiie beauty of the scenery along the shores of the lake re- quires to be seen to be believed. The vivid greens of various shades among the foliage of the trees, the bright-red sandstone eliifs and blue water, formed a combination of color seeming gaudy in description, but which was in reality harmonious in the extreme. Birds of various species — white gulls with gray backs and red legs and beaks, long-necked black darters, divers, gray and white kingfishers, and chocolate-colored lish-hawks with white heads and necks, were most numerous; while the occasional snort of a hippopotamus, the sight of the long back of a croco- dile, looking like a half-tide rock, and the jumping of fish, re- minded one that the water as well as the air was thickly pop- ulated. During the night I was knocked over by a severe attack of fever, but tried to go on the next day. However, I soon found my head and compass spinning in opposite directions, so was compelled to give in, and camped at Kabongo, a short way south of the Malagarazi, where I remained two days before I was snf- ficiently recovered to take a bearing. Some very curious sensations were experienced by me while laid up with this attack. One night I thought I was at least twenty peo})le, all of whom were in j)ain, and that each one had the same feeling as all the rest. Another night the fancies were more distinct, and I experienced a complete sense of dual- ity. I iiliagined that another person, a second self, was lying on the opposite side of the boat, and I was perfectly conscious of every shake of ague and pang of hcai^lache that he suffered. I thought, too, that the tea-pot full of cold tea which had been l^laced on that side of the boat was for his sole benefit ; and when, in my tossing-al)out, T rolled over to that side, I seized the tea-pot and drank like; a whale, and chuckled at the idea of the other thirsty moi'tal having been done out of some of his XIV.] DEVIL'S DWELLINGS. . 181 tipple. Notwithstanding, being so incoherent in my ideas while March, alone, yet whenever my servant came to me I managed to pull 1874. myself together and talk to him somewhat sensibly, although feeling decidedly dazed. When I began to recover, we moved again, and camped at Kas Kebwe. My boats' crews were not a plucky order of men, for a thun- der-storm and a little squall so frightened them in the morning that they refused to stir till it had passed off, when an hour's j)ulling brought us to Machachezi, a deep inlet. The pilots now showed the white feather, and made me camp Ijecause they would not pass Kas Kabogo — where a devil and his wife were supposed to reside — until the next day ; and the men, being equally superstitious, believed every word of this story. Here three small canoes of "Wajiji going south to exchange goats for slaves joined us ; and when I found that Regwe's fa- ther was of the party, I arrived at the conclusion that family affection, as w^ell as superstition, might have had something to do with our stopping. Ras Kabogo was passed on the following day, without either the he or she devil being visible ; but the pilots stood together in the bow of the canoe to make an offering to these evil spirits. One held out a paddle, on the blade of wliich a few common beads had been placed, and both said together, as nearly as it can be translated, " You big man, you big devil, you great king, you take all men, you kill all men, you now let us go all right ;" and, after a little bowing and gesticulation, the beads were dropped into the water, and the dreaded devil propitiated. There is a kind of double cape at this place, one being the supposed residence of the male devil, and the other that of his wife, and the spot is therefore believed to be doubly dangerous. Having rounded Ras Kabogo, we skirted a large bay lying between it and Ras Kungw^, the southernmost point visible from Kawele, then passed along the base of fine bold hills slop- ing down to the water, and put up for the night in a splendid little harbor into which two rivers fell. I now began to regain my appetite, and directed Sambo to kill and cook a fowl, when, to my astonishment, I found there was not one in the boat, although I had given him beads and 182 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. March, 1874. cloth to lay in a stock. To save himself trouble, he bought a couple of goats instead, as they could easily be procured in the market, while fowls could only be obtained by a house-to-house visitation. One would scarcely have thought that his stupidity would have led him into still further errors. But he explained that one goat was killed the day fever attacked me, and that, on the meat turning bad, he killed the other, in order to have some- thing ready for me if I got better. That having also become too " high " to eat, it was plain that of the two goats not a sin- gle mouthful would fall to my share. Happily the Wajiji were persuaded to sell me a good milch-goat ; and her milk was as nourishing and good for me at that time as meat would have been. ir.lI.JI I'OTTERV. The next two days saw us nearly round the bay. On the first night we camped at the mouth of a river close to the spot where Stanley landed when he came south from Ujiji with Livingstone, on his return to Unyanyembe. Here we met a few wretched natives, who declared themselves to be in great fear of a party of Wanyamwezi slave-hunters who had built a village on the shore, from which they used to sally forth and harass the whole surrounding country. On the second day I received a visit from the chief of these slave-traders, and he seemed quite annoyed at my not having brouirht corn and «:oats to trade for slaves. The natives then XIV.] • NUMEROUS EIVERS. 183 at my camp ran away, in abject terror, directly they saw liis March, canoes approaching, although I assured them that they should i^*^*- not be harmed while I was there. I have not mentioned the numerous rivers we passed on this cruise, for a glance at the map will suffice to show that to do so would render this account monotonous in the extreme. They bring an enormous quantity of water into the lake, and many floating islands, principally composed of vegetation like that by which we crossed the Sindi ; but a few had bushes, and even trees, upon them. Their appearance is most peculiar, as many as fifty or sixty being sometimes in sight ; and at a distance they bear a striking resemblance to vessels under sail. On the 23d of March we rounded Ras Kungwe, and entered upon that part of the lake which had hitherto been unexplored, and indeed unseen, by any white man. 184 ACROSS AFRICA. -[Chap. CHAPTER XV. Profitable Slave -buying. — Street Acrobats. — War-paint. — A Bad Night. — Cowardly Boat's Crews. — Kabogo. — A Public Entertainment. — Stealing Men's Brains. — Coal. — A Honey Demon. — A Plague of Frogs. — Enlargement of the Lake. — Massi Kambi. — An Optical Illusion. — Many Devils. — One of my Men shoots Himself. — Doctors differ. — Curious Hair-oil. — The Chief of Makukira. — His Dress. — Wives. — Dolls. — Infantine Taste for Drink. — Cotton Manufacture. — Spread of the Slave- trade. — The Watuta. — Customs and Dress. — Twins. March, Ras Kungwe is situatecl near tlie narrowest part of tlie lake, 1874. -where it is not more tlian fifteen miles across; and, after round- ing that point, we passed under enormous hills clothed witli trees, and having crystal torrents and water-falls flashing down their sides. At the bottom of these hills, especially near the mouth of the torrents, were many small beaches, some of fine sand, and others of coarse, angular shingle of granite, quartz, and iron ore. Patches of corn among the jungle denoted the haunts of wretched fugitives from the slave - hunters. These poor creat- ures were doomed to a miserable existence, owing to the few strong villages hunting down their weaker neighbors, to ex- change them with traders from Ujiji for food which they are too lazy to produce themselves. For the night we remained in the river Luuluga, near the village Kinyari, where the Wajiji, who coasted down with us, sold their corn, oil, and goats for slaves — the only product of the place — and then turned homeward. The pri(;e of a slave was from four to six doti, or two goats ; and as a goat could be bought for a shukkah at Ujiji, where slaves "^vere worth twenty doti, the profits of the Wajiji must have been enormous. I took occasion to visit the village, and found it of moderate size, composed of conical huts, surrounded by a heavy palisade and a ditch, a single slippery plank across wdiich led to the XV.] WAR-PAINT. 185 only entrance. Above the entrance, and at each corner of the March, palisade, were heavy crows' -nests, well supplied with large ^*^'^^- stones in readiness to hurl at an enemy ; while the palisade was lined with horizontal logs to a height of seven feet above the ground, rendering it nearly musket-proof. Tobacco was grown in small quantities, that being the only attempt at cultivation ; and the men sometimes went fishing if the fancy took them ; but for trade and support the place depended upon nothing but the traffic in dams. At the moment of my entering the village, a dance was being performed by two men, with a variety of pantomimic action, jumping, and somersault-turning ; but their efforts, as a whole, were very tame, and lacked spirit and energy. When they considered they had exercised themselves suffi- ciently for the amusement of the by-standers, they dragged themselves along the ground, as if uttei-ly exhausted, and, pre- tending to be dying of hunger, threw themselves at the feet of some person who was expected to give them a handful or two of corn. Having received their reward, they then continued their performance. They were accompanied by half a dozen men beat- ing drums, and another who droned through a sort of recitative. One native obligingly turned out in war-paint for me to ad- mire him. He wore a cap and a particularly hideous mask of zebra-skin, and carried two spears and a shield. The latter was five feet six inches long and ten inches wide, with a cane handle in the centre, and was made of the wood of a jjalm-tree ; and, though he declared it was strong enough to resist any thing, he declined to submit it to the test of a rifle-bullet. In the night there were such heavy squalls, with thunder and lightning, that I turned out to make certain that my boat was properly secured. All the men except Bombay were quartered on shore, and had utilized the oars for the frame-work of their huts, and I did not fancy going for a cruise on such a night without either men or oars. While thus engaged, the rain fell fast and furious, half filling the boats with water ; so I roused up the men to bail them out, and then returned to my crib in the stern of the Betsy. But what a sorry sight met my view ! My awning had been nearly blown away, and bed, charts, books, and guns were all soaking wet. 13 186 ACROSS AFRICA. [Cil\p. March, After sui'veyiug for a moment these dismal ruins, I gathered 18(4. together what I could under my water-proof, and, putting my head between my knees, sat like a hen on a brood of chickens. The liglitning and thunder were almost appalling. One flash struck the water close to the boat, and was so quickly fol- lowed by the thunder-clap that they seemed simultaneous. I was quite stunned by the crash, and at first thought I had been struck, being so dazzled by the glare that my sight did not properly return for more than half an hour. The morning was very uncomfortable, as may be supposed, and the men, being rather unnerved, refused to move, because of a little sea being on ; but late in the afternoon we got away, and, passing close under the hills — from which many torrents were falling into the lake — camped in the river Lubugwe, On the SOth we were under way early, and passed the small island Ivililo, the river Lufungu, and Has Katimba, where we camped, intending to move again in the afternoon if the weath- er cleared. But a slight swell frightened my brave Jack-tars. They said, " Lake bad, and canoes break again ;" and persuade them to go on I could not. Even the Wajiji, who had lived all their lives by the lake, were quite as bad, for they brought their hire to me, saying, " Let us go back. "We don't want to die." What would I not have given for a man-of-war's whaler and crew for six weeks ! I should then have been able to have done something thoroughly satisfactory, instead of creeping in and out of the bays and getting no cross-bearings. All the danger we ran arose from the habit of going along almost touching the rocks. They will persist in following this course, and if there is a sudden squall, on shore they go. Their extreme timidity actually brings them into danger, though they can not see it. But it is often noticeable that cowards really run more risks, and come oftener to grief, than those who face things manfully. The hills were now getting lower, and running farther back from the lake ; and on the 2Sth we ran between the island of Kabogo and the main-land. The strait is about two and a half miles long, and three hun- dred yards wide at the entrance — where there are sand-bars — and widens to a mile and a half in the middle. XV.] A SAND -SPIT. 187 We landed on the island, and obtained some fish from the in- March, habitants in exchange for palm-oil, of which they are very fond. i^'^*- It is very thickly j^opnlated, fertile and well cultivated, and the huts, standing alone in their own provision-grounds, and shaded by a sycamore or some otlier giant of the forest, gave a look of peaceful security which had been wanting since leaving Ka- wele. Opposite on the main-land there was only the village of the chief ; but on both the island and the main the fan-palm was very plentiful. Birds of many knids were numerous, and a handsome pen- ciled brown lily - trotter, with white head and neck, walked about on the floating leaves of the lilies — with which much of the surface of the water was covered — looking among the blos- soms for its meal of insects. At the end of the strait a sand-spit almost joins the island to the main, and here among a mass of reeds was the landing- place. Several narrow passages admitted tlie small canoes of the natives, numbers of which were flitting about from point to point. Our large boats, however, could only reach the shore by dint of shoving and hauling, and breaking down the reeds on either side ; and so thickly did they grow that the men were able to get out and shove the boat along while standing on the broken-down reeds. Ponda was the name of the chief, and Karyan Gwina that of the village. Ponda was one of two sons of a chief who for- merly ruled, or claimed to rule, over the whole of Kawendi ; but, on the old man's death, it was divided into many factions, and the sons contented themselves with settling on the shores of the lake. After a time they qii9,rreled, and Ponda, being the weaker, left his brother in possession, and founded this village, which was large, and strongly fortified with ditches and pali- sades. Tlie people were very jealous about allowing strangers inside. Indeed, a party of Wanyamwezi sent by Mkasiwah, chief of Unyanyembe, with a present of cattle for his daughter, who had married Ponda, were obliged to camp outside. Perhaps this was partly owing to the Wanj^amwezi having, unfortunately, had the present stolen from them on the road by the Warori. Having obtained permission to enter, I went to the village. 188 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. March, and foiiiid it well kept, and divided into several sections by in- ^^'^'^- terior palisades radiating from an open space in the centre. On each side of the gate leading to the chief's qnarters a couple of logs were placed as seats, for the convenience of persons waiting an audience, and above them were about forty skulls of men and half a dozen of wild beasts. A crowd was assembled in the village, looking at two hid- eously ugly old hags dancing to the sound of large drums beat- en by men. This performance was very disgusting, the prin- cipal feature being a sort of convulsive trembling and twitch- ing of the body and limbs, while the shriveled and wrinkled breasts of the dancers shook about like a couple of empty leath- er bottles. They howled a song, and at any ^particularly hard shake the women standing round joined in the chorus. Their dress consisted of most scanty waistcloths of bark, bunches of long hair (zebra's tails) tied to their knees and elbows, and rings of bells round their ankles. The chief sent me a little sour milk and some flour, and I made him a small return, while expressing a hoije that he Mould either visit me or that I might call upon him. But he refused any intercourse, because, as I afterward heard, he believed me to be a magician capable of stealing his little mind, and leaving him a complete idiot, if given the opportunity of looking upon him. Here I met a young Wasuahili whose acquaintance I had made at Unyanyembe. He had come to trade, ivory being very cheap. A frasilah could ordinarily be bought for twelve doti, but by hard bargaining he had obtained two frasilah for eighteen doti. Bitterly did he complain of the high price of slaves, twelve doti for a young girl, and five or six for a child being, to his mind, an exorbitant price. Being unwilling to remain here until he had disposed of all his goods, he wanted me to buy his cloth and other stores, and give him a passage to TJjiji, his men being afraid of the road to Unyanyembe — by which he had come — on account of its be- ing infested by robbers. I did not require his cloth, but told him he was welcome to a passage in my boat ; but when we got away the next day we left the Wasnahili ])eliind, for his Wanyamwezi porters were more afraid of the perils of the lake than the danger of being attacked by banditti on shore. XV.] SLOW PROGRESS.— COAL. 189 After clearing the reeds, we skirted along a beach under March, Karyan Gwina, crowded with people bathing, tilling water-pots, ■^^'^*- looking after their iishing-gear, or staring at the passing boats. We then came to low cliffs formed of granite, porphyry, sandstone, and rotten clay — with many land -slips and caves, caused by the beating of the waves — and ran into the Luguvu under more cliffs, formed by a line of large hills. My men's dread of facing a little wind and sea detained us here a whole day ; for, if forced to go on, they were just in the humor to have done their utmost to make difficulties, in order to prove that they were right in objecting to start. Hippopotami, crocodiles, and monkeys were here in abun- dance, and but for my lameness this halt would not have been so tiresome. My feet and legs were, however, covered with boils that prevented my going out shooting, or even leaving the boat. Getting away from here, we passed close under nearly vertical cliffs of sandstone and black marble streaked with white, and after a time a great patch of what, from the appearance of the cleavage, I believe to have been coal. When the East -coast men saw it, they called out '"''Makaa maril'ehu^'' — ship -coal. The thickness of the principal seam, which lay on the top of synclinal curves of rock of which the anticlinal curves had been worn away, was between fifteen and eighteen feet. Although unable to obtain a specimen of coal from this particular spot, some was afterward given me which came from Itawa, in the same latitude, and a short distance to the westward of the lake. This was undoubtedly a light bitu- minous coal. Passing several streams and toiTcnts, we came to the termi- nation of the cliffs at river Makanyazi. Here the guides said there were large quantities of honey ; but as it was under the protection of an evil spirit, none was to be collected, lest he should do us some injury, and not one of the men could be per- suaded to gather any. Just as we landed, I noticed the scaly back of a crocodile among the grass, and, seizing my rifle, put two bullets into him, killing him at once. On clearing away the grass round him, he turned out to be only a small one about four feet long. Hippopotami, blowing and snoi'ting, kept us awake all night, 190 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap March, 18V4. but our fires prevented their venturing into the camp. Judg- ing from the number of their foot-marks, we must have pitched upon a favorite landing-place, whence their tracks led straight up a steep hill which one would have thought it impossible for such unwieldy beasts to scale. Besides the disturbance caused by river-horses, there was quite a plague of frogs incessautly croaking the live-long night. The noise of some resembled that made by calkers or riveters, while others, larger or neai-er, sounded more like smiths for- ging, and a few made a croak like a ratchet-drill ; so that, with a little imagination, it was not difiicult to fancy one's self in a ship-building yard. OA.MI" ON SPIT. We passed the village of Fonda's brother the following morn- ing, and upon a heavy squall coming up behind, ran inside a small sandy spit with half a dozen huts on it. The inhabitants bolted, with their goods and chattels, when they saw us coming; for although a very heavy palisade was built across the spit as a protection on the land side, it was perfectly open to the water. After the squall, a steady, soaking rain set in, and we lay up for the night. Some of the men went to a neighboring village in search of food, and found there the people who had been friglitened at our approach, believing that we were Arabs' slaves employed to hunt for slaves. Food M'as not obtained here, nor, indeed, for some days afterward ; and the stock of corn laid in XV.] ANOTHER DEMON. 191 at Uiiii beiiiff spoiled by the continuous rams, we began to feel Apni, •' •' ° 1874. Imngry. _ At the mouth of the river Musamwira, which drains the Likwa into the Tanganyika, we next halted among a group of sandy, grass - covered islands. Some people engaged here in fishing made an attempt to run away on seeing us ; for on this occasion we were thought to be followers of Mirambo, whose dreaded name had reached this remote spot. A few years previously these islands had been part of a large, cultivated, and inhabited plain ; and during the day we pulled through stumps of trees and over sites of many old villages. According to the accounts given me by the guides, the lake is constantly encroaching upon its shores and increasing in size. And at Kawele I remarked that, since Burton was there, a strip more than six hundred yards wide appeared to have been washed away for a distance of three or four miles. Although there were many large fishing-traps lying about, we could get nothing to eat, the few fishermen telling us that all the people had gone elsewhere, owing to the constant washing- away of the shores of the lake. Indeed, the ei-rand which had now brought them to the island was merely to collect fish- ing-2-ear which had been left behind when the flitting took place. Another devil's habitation was passed on the next day's cruise. The guides made the usual offering and oration, with the addition of putting salt on their heads, besides throwing some into the water. The name of the demon was Musamwira ; and on inquiring why he did not haunt the river of that name, I w-as told he sometimes went there, but his usual dwelling- place was just behind a hill where the offering was made. We made sail the next morning, to run down to Massi Kam- bi, where we hoped to be able to get some food. But it being rather squally, my men became so nervous that I had to allow the sail to be lowered. They then persisted in going close in- shore, and in the end had to pull head to wind, instead of run- ning right across with a fair breeze. All the entrances of Massi Kambi were closed, and the crows'- nests manned, on our drawing near; so we camped on a small sand -bank, having on it a few fishermen's huts built on piles. 192 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. April, 1874. The wind and sea increased to such an extent that we were subsequently obliged to move to the main-land. Here we remained a day to procure food, but a few sweet-po- tatoes and beans were our only reward. In the afternoon I shot a large Lepido- siren, called by the natives Singa; but it was so loathsome to look at that no one would touch it, and the peoj^le de- clared it was poisonous. Leaving this place, we rounded Has Mpimbwe, a promontory formed of enor- mous masses of granite piled on each other in the wildest confusion, and look- ing as though some race of Titans had commenced building a breakwater. In the early morning, just after we started, there was a most curious optical illusion. The summits of the mount- ains on the west of the lake had the exact appearance of being covered with snow; and while I was wondering and looking at them steadily through the glasses, the white began to disappear, and then I discovered the cause of the .K M.sBT KAMm. -|ii,^gio„_ ^pj^^ ^|^^^^g^ horizoutal rays of the rising sun had been reflected by the lower sides of the clouds down on the tops of the mountains, which consequently looked quite wliite, in contrast to the lower parts, which were still in deep shadow. It is just possible that many reports of snow-capped mountains might be ascribed to this cause. Off Eas Mpimbwe there were very many rocks in all di- rections just half awash, and dangerous work it was passing through them. About noon we camped on the north side of Ras Kambemba, off which lies a small island of the same name ; and shortly after settling down I heard a cry that some game was in camp. On going out with my rifle, I found that some l)uffalo had been near, but had been completely scared by the noise. In returning my rifle to its place against the tent-pole, my AN IMI \1-.IT WT XV.] TANGANYIKA AND ITS DEVILS. 193 fowling-piece, which was also strapped to the pole, was accident- April, ally discharged. My head being close to the muzzle, the fire ^^^■*- and report naturally made me spring backward, when I tumbled right over my bed, cut my head severely, and half stunned myself. I confess I rather thought I was shot ; but on hearing my servant sing out, " Bwana amepigwa " (Master is shot), I roused myself, and found only a scalp-wound, resulting from my fall. My servant, on seeing me lying in a heap, wath my head bleeding, made certain I was killed ; but the only damage done was a hole through the top of the tent where the charge of shot made its exit. The counti-y here was composed of great masses of granite and hardened sandstone, chiefly imbedded in very soft red sandstone, which, being easily washed away, leaves the hard rocks standing out by themselves. Tanganyika seems to have more than its proper share of devils, for at Kamasanga we arrived at the dwelling of another. The Wajiji, as usual, paid their respects, saying, " Oh, devil ! give us good lake, little wind, little rain ; let canoes go well, go quick." There were many islands brought down by the rivers, more like those of the Mississippi than the ordinary masses of float- ing vegetation ; and one, about a quarter of a mile in diame- ter, had some small trees on it. Signs of recent cultivation and marks where a few huts had stood were noticeable at our camp- ing-place. I inquired where the jjeople were. " Killed, slaves or runaways," was, as usual, the answer. Ras Katanki, with small rocky points inside it, and the village of Massanga being passed, the east^and west of the lake closes in. And this, I expect, is the narrowing of Livingstone's Lake Liemba. A cowardly panic arose among all hands because I made sail to the breeze before a thunder-storm, in order to reach Camp Chakuola before rain came on. Two canoes of natives were in a horrid fright at our arrival ; and while a few stopped and prepared for action, the nmjority l)olted ofl: into the jungle; but we soon restored confidence, and bought some fish of them. The Wajiji guides now asked for wdiat they termed a cus- tomary present of cloth to dress in ; and, althoucrh thcv were 194 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. April, 1874. already well paid, I complied with their request, for they were very good and useful men. Passing Has Chakuola on the Oth of April — the rocks near which were composed of a sort of pudding-stone, looking as though it had originally been liquid clay, and had become mixed with small stones— we came to the river Chakuola and Makakomo islands, which the guides informed me had been a portion of the main-land within their remembrance. Kapoopia, the Sultan of the islands, was a chief of some importance. IJROTIIEK ROOKS. At Ras Makurungwe the rocks consisted of masses of granite seventy or eighty feet high, with perpendicular sides ; and at Kowenga Island there were huge blocks strewed about in the utmost confusion. When we landed, the women and children ran into the jungle, and the men cleared for action, each having his bow and half a dozen arrows ready, and about twenty more arrows in his quiver. Squalls and rain. during the night and a wild-looking morn- ing delayed our start ; and, on beginning to pack up, one of the askari accidentally shot himself in getting into the boat. The bullet entered under tlie right arm, and, passing either close in front of or behind the shoulder-blade, came out at the lower inner aiiijle. lie was so fat that it was difficult to (let(M'miue XV.] CURIOUS HAIR- OIL. 195 which course it had taken ; but the hmg was not injured, and April, there was no escape of air. I made a couple of pads of a cam- ^*^^'^- brie handkerchief, and bound him uj), lashing his arm so that he could not move it; and though he lost much blood, it was all venous, and soon stopped. After I had given him some morphia to induce sleep, his chums differed from my treatment, and gave him hot water to drink, in order, as they said, to remove any bad blood in his stomach. He consequently retched most violently, and the bleeding burst out again. I constantly cautioned the men against keeping their guns loaded, yet this fool used his rifle as a boat-hook, holding it by the muzzle and clawing at the gun- wale of the boat with the hammer ! No imported cloth was to be seen at the village of Kitata, tlie people wearing skins, bark-cloth, or cotton of their own manufacture. The natives suspend their clothing round the waist by rope as thick as the little finger, bound neatly with brass wire. Their wool is sometimes anointed with oil in which red earth has been mixed, giving them the appearance of hav- ing dipped their heads in blood. We next camped at Makukira, on a river of the same name, as I was suffering from a severe pain in my eyes, and was too ill to take bearings. Makukira was a large place, with a ditch and stockade banked up on the outside. The chief was profusely greased, had a patch of lamp-black on his chest and forehead, and wore a tiara of leopard-claws with the roots dyed red, and behind it a tuft of coarse, whitish hair. A pair of leopard - skin aprons, a few circles of yelloAv grass below his knees, a ring of sofi on each ankle, and a fly- flapper, with the handle covered with beads, completed his at- tire— if we except the lamp-black which was rubbed into all his tattoo -marks. His wives, one of whom was very good- looking, were busy getting pombe ready for him ; and, having poured some into a calabash and filled it up with hot water, one of them sat on a stool along-side him. Then, taking the calabash on her lap, she held it while he sucked the contents through a reed. He kindly sent me some of this beverage, but I was much too unwell to taste it. Girls without children often make dolls of a calabash onia- 196 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. April, mented with beads, and lash it to the back in the same manner ^^''^- as infants are usually carried in their country. Children are reared at the breast until two or three years of age, and I saw one alternately sucking at nature's fount and a pombe reed ; so that they may literally be said to imbibe the taste for poml)c with their mother's milk. Long knobbed walking-sticks were used by the chief and his wives, and beads and wire were common. We went on to Kirumbu on the Mivito, where cotton is man- ufactured, nearly a third of the jDopulation wearing clothes of native make. It is coarse stuff, something like superior gunny- bag, and the patterns are checks, after the style of large shep- herd's plaid with black stripes near the border, all having fringe. As I sighted land at the end of the lake, I hoped another day's pulling would be all that was necessary before turning. But we wanted food, the small villages not supj^lying enough, and even Makukira being drawn almost blank. Camping that night near a village in the river Kisungi, we were again disap- pointed at finding food scarce and expensive. Yet when Dr. Livingstone was here on his last journey, only about fifteen or sixteen months previously, I am told provisions were plentiful, and the people had many goats. Parties of Wanyamwezi and others had, however, carried off not only the goats, but many people also. The slave-trade is spreading in the interior, and will continue to do so until it is either put down with a strong hand, or dies a natural death from tlie total destruction of the population. At present events are tending toward depopulation ; for the Arabs, who had only jjcnetrated Manyuema a few years, already had a settlement close to Nyangwd, from which parties are able to ffo slave-huntiiii!; still farther afield. The head chief of this place lives four days' journey inland ; but at Mikisungi there was a chief named Mpara Gwina, whom I called u})()n. He was old, and perfectly white-haired, and his office did not seem profitable, for he was certainly the worst dressed of the people. His forehead and hair were daubed with vermilion, yellow, and white powder, the pollen of flowers. A tribal mark of raised cuts formed a blotch on each temple, and he wore a frontlet of beads. XV.] ORNAMENTS AND ARMS. 197 When I called, lie was busy spinning cotton with another April, man, while their wives and daugliters sat near picking the seeds i^'^'*- out of freshly gathered pods. The fibre was laid in heaps by the side of the chief and his friend, who — spindles in hand — were making it into yarn. Their wooden spindles were about fourteen inches long and half an inch in diameter, with a piece of curved wood as a weight, half an inch from the top, where a small wire hook was fixed. The cotton was first worked be- tween the forefinger and thumb into a sort of rough tape about half a yard long, and then hooked to the spindle, which was rolled along the right thigh, to give it a rapid spinning motion. The yarn was held in the left hand, the spindle hanging from it ; and the right forefinger and thumb were used to prevent any irregularities in the size of the thread. As soon as a length was spun, it was unhooked and wound round the spindle, and more cotton was prepared, hooked on, and spun in the same manner. The yarn turned out by these means, though coarse, is fairly strong, and wonderfully regular in size. It is after- ward wound on sticks, about four feet long, used as shuttles in weaving. The profile of the people was good, their noses being Eo- man ; but all have the spreading alee nasi. The heads of some were completely covered with sofi or pipe -stem beads, each strung on a separate tuft of hair, an arrangement which must be very uncomfortable, and is not at all prepossessing, having too much the appearance of scales. Those who can not afford beads imitate the fashion by mak- ing their wool into blobs, and greasing it until one can not de- tect the separate fibres. Grass leglets and bracelets made from the upindha (brab), very neatly twisted or plaited, were very commonly worn. Their bows were provided with a fi-inge of long hair at one or both ends, and were sewed over, besides having the spare string wound round them. Arrows were of various lengths, not feathered or poisoned, and all knives were shaped like spear-heads. The people had at one time grown a considerable amount of corn, but the Watuta killed most of the men, and a few of that tribe, who still remained in the jungle hereabouts — neither cul- tivating nor building huts — subsisted entirely by the chase and 198 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap- April, plunder. The lioes I saw were very large, exceeding the size i^'^'*- of an ordinary garden spade. I may mention that here the pre- fix " Ba " is used instead of " Wa " by the different tribes, such as Bafipa, Batuta. Arabs occasionally pass inland, but no large boats had been here for years, and the j^eople never saw a sail before the Betsy arrived. Leaving early on the morning of the 15th of April, and pass- ing the rivers Mundewli and Muomeesa, and the villages of Ka- sangalowa and Mambema, we began to lose sight of the land of rocks. On the outside of Polungo Island were enormous masses, scat- tered and piled in the most fantastic manner — vast overhanging blocks, rocking-stones, obelisks, pyramids, and every form imag- inable. The whole was overgrown with trees jutting out from every crevice or spot where soil had lodged, and from them hung creepers fifty or sixty feet long, while through this fringe there were occasional glimpses of hollows and caves. The glorious lake, with its heaving bosom, lay bathed in trop- ical sunshine, and one could scarcely imagine the scene to be a reality. It seemed as if designed for some grand transforma- tion in a pantomime, and one almost expected the rocks to open, and sprites and fairies to appear. As I paused to gaze at the wondrous sight, all being still, with- out a sign of life, suddenly the long creepers began to move as some brown object, quickly followed by another and another, was seen. This was a party of monkeys, swinging themselves along, and outdoing Leotard on the flying trapeze ; and then, stopping and hanging by one paw, they chattered and gibbered at the strange sight of a boat. A shout, and they were gone more rapidly than they came, while the rolling echo almost equaled thunder in its intensity. In places the slightest shock of earthquake would cause mass- es of thousands of tons to topple down from their lofty sites, and carry ruin and destruction before them. Large cotton-plants were apparently growing wild at the camping-place, but possibly this had formerly been a cleai'ing. The cliffs were of chalk, or very white limestone, split vertical- ly, the lines as sharp as though cut with a knife. XV.] AN ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. 199 I found it extremely difficult to keep my map correctly, as April, the guides changed the names most perplexingly, and called an i^^*- island a cape, and a cape an island ; while my ideas were not the clearest after so much fever and quinine. We now came to the debatable ground between Ufipa and Ulungu. On starting on the 16th, we rounded a low point with cliffs looking exactly as though built by man. It was only at the point that this peculiarity existed ; inside, the cliffs were quite different. The courses, too, were as regular as possible, and, where bared at top, they were in a perfectly level, unbroken surface ; so I suppose they are innumerable small strata. There was a deserted village here, and I saw several others which had been abandoned, owing to deaths having occurred in them. Industrial settlements after the pattern of the French mission at Bagamoyo, to teach trades and cultivation, would seem to be the proper line for missionary work in this country. In the afternoon the eclipse commenced, while we were camped at Lungu. The sun was hidden in clouds; and when it became clear again rain was falling, and two very perfect rain- bows were formed. These faded away for three minutes from the eclipse, and occurred again for a few minutes before sunset. The diminution of light was very perceptible, and some of my men took this opportunity of stealing seven goats belonging to people living near. There were too' many concerned in the theft to discover the real offenders ; but I sent the goats back, with a present of beads for the owner. If one only had been stolen, it would probably have been killed and eaten outside the camp. I should have known nothing of it, and no very flattering opinion of white men would have been left on the minds of the people. Land now lay right across on the west side, and we were ap- parently at the end of the lake. But there was a narrow arm running up about twenty miles, ending in a mass of grass, through which boats can not pass, and a river, called Kirumbwe, here falls into the lake. On sighting a village, all hands immediately wanted to halt for food, although a week's provisions had been laid in two days before. We were only two days out, and the boats were regu- 14 200 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. April, larlj lumbered up with bags of corn, sweet-potatoes and bana- ^S''-*. lias; so I would not yield to this laziness and idle excuse. We passed Ras Yamini, with high clili's having the appear- ance of ruined ramparts. There is no doubt they are natural formations, as enormous, irregular blocks occasionally showed out ; but the ruined cities of Central America have much the same appearance, as they are not of any great extent, and are succeeded by masses of rocks. A large village in front ought to have been reached on this day ; but the men persisted in jmlling so badly that I could no longer remain in the boat, but camped. Small worries add immensel}^ to the hardships of traveling. Real troubles and difficulties one faces, as a matter of course. But lazy men wanting to stop when there is every thing in fa- vor of a good day's work, a cook who sa^^s that there is no din- ner when one is hungry, and being constantly thwarted, annoy one, and try the temper more than enough. My pipe was, how- ever, a great consolation, and I told my servant to bring it to me whenever he heard me pitching into any one. Since leaving Ujiji, the work had been very wearying, ow- ing to the constant, never-ceasing attention required to prevent mistakes between the different points, and to make people un- derstand my questions ; and I was obliged to prove every thing, after all, by my own observation — being so frequently told that islands were points, and points islands. As an instance of the haziness of these people's ideas, I may mention that, on first seeing high land at the south end, I was informed it was a large island named Kahapiongo, and I tried to fix it by bearings. On nearing the islands of that name, I found them quite small, with about half a dozen people on them. The guides were never able to name a place until close to it, , and had very little conception of tlie lay of the land they had coasted along many times. Their local knowledge is wonder- fully good, but they seem incapable of grasjjing any thing like a general idea. They stared at my map, and thought it a most wonderful performance ; and when I said that people in England would know the shape and size of Tanganyika, and the names and sit- XV.] THE WATUTA. 201 uation of rivers and villages by means of it, I am inclined to fancy they thonght me a magician. My telling tbeni of the eclipse before it happened impressed them greatly. The supposed " long arm " I found to be a myth ; but I be- lieve a river of considerable size, "with a very grassy mouth, flows into the lake at the bottom. Tingi-tingi is the name given to grassy places at the mouths of rivers and elsewhere, if the grass is too thick for boats to pass through, but not thick enough for men to walk on ; sindi is the name given when it will bear a man's weight. From this cause the river near Ugaga is called Sindi ; but they also talk of other rivers as sindi, e. g., the Kirumbwe is said to be tingi-tingi, with a little sindi. April, 1874. TANGANYIKA FIBIIES. Shortly after starting again, we came to Kasangalowa, in the Kowa — Kongono being the name of the sultan — and here saw michikichi, or palm - oil - trees, for the flrst time since leaving Ujiji. The village was in the possession of the Watuta, the lawful inhabitants having fled to the hills. All the Watuta men carry bows and arrows, short spears, ei- ther for throwing or close quarters, a knob-stick, small axe, and an oval shield of skin four feet by two feet six inches. Even 202 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. April, 1874. the little boys carry a heavy knob-stick. They turned out in great numbers, very black and naked, to see what our busi- ness mio-ht be, and seemed verv friendlv to us, notwithstanding their character is that of universal robbers. They enlarge the lobes of the ears, like the Wagogo, carrying in them pieces of gourd and wood, sometimes ornamented with beads. The women wear a small skin apron, and disjiose anotlier skin behind in a manner more fanciful than decorous; for, while covering the upper part of their legs, it leaves another portion of their body most fully exposed. These stern- aprons are cut so as to turn down a flap — occasionally decorated with beads — to allow of a full and open rear view. It must, therefore, be the fashion to show that part. Perhaps their object is to prove they have no tails. Those who can afford it wear a broad band of party-colored beads round the head, and another round the waist. In some cases the hair is shaved away underneath the band of beads worn round the head, while allowed to grow bushy above, having exactly the appearance of a fur cap or Kilmarnock bonnet. Tlie people universally chip the two upper front incisors, and some chip the whole of them, and extract the two cen- tre ones in the lower jaw. The tribal mark seemed to be a line down the centre of the forehead and two on the temples, sometimes continued to the chin. Some of the men had enormously heavy spears, generally used in elephant-hunting. The butt was larger than the rest of the haft, and was made of black wood or ebony, to give weight. Wapimbwe and Watongwe live in Ufipa, mixed with Bafipa. Watuta and Wapimbwe live in Ulungu as a wild people, with different chiefs, Watuta. The Watuta obtain their livelihood by the chase, and settle WATUTA WOMAN. XV.] TWINS. 203 down in any village, as they had in this one, until all their vie- Apvii, tinis' food is consumed, and the huts are burned as fuel. They ^^^"^^ then make a foray on another, and repeat this little game. None of the regular inhabitants attempt resistance, but seek safety in flight, for Watuta fighting means indiscriminate slaughter. Here, for the first time in Africa, I saw a woman with twins. 204 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. CHAPTEE XVI. The Art of Pottery. — My Men grow Bolder. — Akalunga. — The Chief. — A Native Notion of Portugal. — Granaries. — Strange Mutilation by Women. — Ornaments. — The Luwaziwa. — Gorillas. — Hill-side Cultivation. — Spiders. — Mosquitoes, Boils, and Sore Feet. — A Strike. — Hot -water Spring. — Waguhha Hair- dressing. — Idols. — The Lukuga. — Return to Ujiji. — Letters from Home. — My Men indulge Freely. — Arab Opinion of the Lualaba. — Fear of Opposition Traders. — Bombay's Jealousy. — Cost of Cutting the Sod in the Lukuga. — I give Readings. — Arson. — Domestic Jars. — More Orgies. — Off again. April, It was with pleasure that I learned, on leaving Kasangalowa, 1874. QY^ ^}^Q XQth of April— for the purpose of crossing the lake and working northward along the other shore — that there was no camping-place within an easy distance. The men would there- fore be obliged to do a good day's pulling, whether they wished it or not. There was trouble in getting away, on account of tingi-tingi, the boats being jammed one hundred yards from land, and the water deep. We had to go backward and forward in small canoes — several of which were capsized, causing more amuse- ment than harm — and then to pole out for some distance. The mountains on the south-west were so precipitous as almost to be cliffs ; and many gorges formed by land-slips and water-falls were among the hills. We camped on very rough ground, evidently overflowed by streams when in flood ; but a place where, hippopotami had been rolling afforded a smooth spot for my tent. The cliffs were red sandstone on the top, and light-colored granite toward the base. The rains now appeared to be passing, although I still saw showers among the hills and heard occasional thunder, and the nights were cloudy for sights. I was much interested at Kisungi by watching a potter at her work. She first pounded with a pestle, such as they use in beating corn, enough earth and water for making one pot, until it formed a perfectly homogeneous mass. Then, putting it on iii' ill I'll' I I iiPiiSitliillliiiiiiliil XVI.] SIGHTING AN ELEPHANT. 205 a flat stone, she gave it a blow with her fist, to form a hollow in April, the middle, and Avorked it roughly into a shape with her hands, ^^'^^- keeping them constantly wet. She then smoothed out the fin- ger-marks with a corn-cob, and i:)olished the pot with pieces of gourd and wood — the gourd giving it the proper curves — finally ornamenting it with a sharp-pointed stick. I went to examine this work, wondering how it would be taken off the stone and the bottom shaped, and found that no bottom had yet been formed. But after the vessel had been drying four or five hours in a shady place, it was sufficiently stiff to be handled carefully, and a bottom was then worked in. From beginning to pound the clay till the pot — holding about three, gallons — was put aside to dry occupied thirty-five minutes, and providing it with a bottom might take ten min- utes more. The shapes are very graceful, and wonderfully truly formed, many being like the amphora in Villa Diomed at Pompeii. Soon after leaving camp, we passed the mouth of the Lu- guvu, a considerable stream with a good current, discoloring the water a great distance from its mouth ; and there were numerous small land-slips, and water oozing from the sides of the hills. This exceptional day's work had, according to the men's statement, quite exhausted them ; so I camped early at a spot evidently much resorted to by elephants, some of the trees being quite polished, from their rubbing themselves against them after bathing. And while running along under sail close to the shore, we sighted an elephant on the beach, having evi- dently come down to bathe. I loaded my rifle with hardened bullets, and ordered all the men to get below the gunwale and keep silence, leaving a man asleep on the forecastle, because I was afraid he would make some noise if aroused. But before we got within range, this fellow most provokingly awoke, and, catching sight of the elephant, yelled out, at the top of his voice, " Tembo, bwana !" (Elephant, master !), and away went the tembo into the jungle, flapping his big ears like a rabbit bolt- ing into his burrow. There was very heavy thunder during the night, and the echoes exceeded any thing I have ever heard. 206 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. April, 1874. I managed to make a move for Kipimbwe, although there were a heavier sea and surf than I had previously seen, for it blew hard right on the shore — an open beacli, with no grass. Happily the men no longer heeded that which would have given them a terrific fright at starting. On visiting Akalunga, I found it one of the largest villages . I had seen in Africa, The cliief, Miriro, was a very old man, with a large white beard, but whiskers and mustache shaved. A number of Arab slaves and Wangwana were here for trade ; also one Mrima man, who left Bagamoyo soon after us, and Un- yanyembe at the same time. lie came direct here by crossing the lake at Makakomo's, and had arrived about a month. ^X' " TEMBO, BWANA !" Many of the women dressed in the same fashion as at Kasan- galowa, but the traders import a quantity of cloth. Some of the people wore small skull-caps made of beads. Old Miriro paid me a visit, putting on a fez cap instead of the greasy handkerchief he usually wore, and a robe of red and black Joho. He was much astonished at the breech-loaders and revolvers, and wanted me to present him with a gun, and to re- main to mend a musical-box. Although a king, he did not act royally, and made no return present for a very good cloth I had sent him. However, he seemed friendly, and assured me that the year in which the first XVI.] GEANAEIES. 207 white mau had come there would always be remembered as a great year. Food for the men was plentiful, but I could obtain no eggs, fowls, milk, or ripe bananas, the latter being cooked and eaten when green. One of the Wanyamwezi began talking of the Portuguese, saying they were a people like the Wazungu, and lived on the coast, and had two kings. The chief one was a woman called "Maria" — evidently the Blessed Virgin — and they had houses with her figure in them. The other king was Moeneputo, the African name for the King of Portugal. The granaries of these parts deserve notice. They are built on posts, raising the floors about three feet from the ground, and are from four to twelve feet in diameter, while some of the larger may be twenty feet high, exclusive of the conical roof. Those for old corn are plastered, and have under the eaves a small hole for access, reached by a notched trunk used as a lad- der. Those for fresh corn are made of canes about eleven feet long and two inches apart, with hoops of the same material at April, 1874. KINO MIKIKO AND UIS GKASAET. 208 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. April, every two or three feet, thus allowing the air to pass through 1874. freely and prevent heating. Many of the women here and at Kasaugalowa had not even the usual negro apology for a nipple to their breasts, but only a hole. I was rather astonished, and was told that they scar themselves thus for ornament. I should have thought it too painful to willingly nmtilate themselves in this mannei', and had supposed that it might be a punishment, and still have my doubts on the subject. I may remark that it was usually the best-looking that were thus deformed. Pretty little ivory combs are made here for the small price of four strings of beads, and, when not in use, are worn in the hair as an ornament, and look rather well. Solid bracelets, and anklets of iron and brass, like the Indian bangle, are common, besides the ordinary beads and sambo ; and the majority band the leg below the knee with small circles of plaited grass, which take the place of wire and other ornaments with those who can not afford the latter. The ropes for suspending the loin-cloth are often covered with beads of various colors instead of wire, and many men wear broad leather belts. As a fair wind favored us the next day, we made sail, the PlcMe using a mat and loin-cloths. I went into the stream of the Luwaziwa to determine its course, and found that it Howed into the lake. It is said to have its source in the country of Manbembe, aud to wind very much, caravans from Kasenge having to cross it three times on their way to Akalunga. I at first thought that it ran out of the lake, it looked so like a clear entrance ; but when we opened it properly, thei'e was the regu- lar grass mouth and sand-banks. I believe the lake to be fed by springs in its bed, in addition to the numerous rivers and torrents ; as in several places where land-slips had occurred the M^ater was bursting out between the stones, and trickling down into the lake. The country was like a huge sponge full of water. Game was very plentiful ; but I was so lame as to be obliged to be carried to and from the boat, and consequently could not iro out shootin<2:. The boil which lamed me on the road to Ujiji had formed a large sluggish sore, and, in addition, I had prickly heat rather badly. XVI.] GORILLAS.— HILL-SIDE CULTIVATION. 209 JSTiimeroiis small streams and torrents were to be seen as we April, came along, and the liills were bold, but not very high — from 1^74. four hundred to six hundred feet. ]^o villages were in sight, as all the people lived inland behind the hills ; but some canoes were hauled up in one or two places, and their owners could not have been far off. On the 24th of April a good breeze again helped us along, though it was rather puffy in the vicinity of the hills. An hour was lost, through the men stopping to land, when they looted a fisherman's hut, and I had the greatest trouble to get the things returned. Bombay was among them, eating the stolen fish. Passed Runangwa Eas and river of the same name — much smaller than the Malagarazi — flowing into the lake ; very rocky, high hills, a thousand feet and more, covered with trees to their summits. The rocks were granite, and light-colored soft sand- stone. Here I saw some gorillas (soko), black fellows, looking larger than men. Before I could get a shot, the boat slipped round a point which covered them ; and on putting back to have another look at them, they had vanished. They are said by the natives to build a fresh house every day. For three hours we were searching for a camping-place ; but with a multiplicity of rocks, and no beach or place where it was possible to lay up the boats, we met with constant disappoint- ments. I was greatly consoled at knowing that we were get- ting over the ground more quickly than if camps were easily found, although an hour's daylight would have been valuable to me for working at my map after lying up for the night. The next day we camped at Katupi village, where ivory was ten doti a f rasilah, and good slaves five doti each. A Wangwa- na trading there told me that from Chakuola they get to Unyan- yembe in about twenty days. From this place we passed many small villages and shambas, with cultivation on the sides of hills as steep as Swiss terraces ; only, instead of being regularly terraced, there were irregular retaining -walls of loose stones at intervals, and the soil was left nearly at its natural slope. The people working there looked like flies on a wall. 210 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. April, Five large canoes from Ujiji were reported to be in front, 1874. and the people seemed less afraid than formerly to hold inter- course with us. A large and crowded canoe came off to look at ns ; and some man of importance going the other way in a canoe with twelve paddlers was also brave enough to venture a few hundred yards from the shore in order to have a stare. Much cultivation, and small villages without stockades and huts being seen in all directions, I inferred that we were entering a more peaceful country. As we slij)ped along before a good south-easterly breeze, I took in a reef by twisting the tack of the sail into a rope for a couple of feet and lashing it, and a second reef by a lashing round the yard-arm. With a good sea running, and the wind aft, the boat rolled about like a porj)oise, and prevented my getting bearings. Indeed, I became rather anxious to find a good camping- place ; for, with such a breeze and sea, the boats would have come to grief at once had they touched the rocks. We there- fore pulled in close to Kanenda, and settled down for the night near the village Mona Kalumwe. A great disturbance was caused during the night by some natives quarreling with my men about a stolen cloth, which was now claimed by the rightful owner. On being found, it was returned, but the thief had bolted into the jungle. Still that did not save him, for I had j)uuishment parade in the morning, and gave him a thrashing ; and young Bilal, who was mixed up with the affair, received the same. I was unable to make any reparation to the man from whom the cloth had been stolen for the trouble and annoyance he had suffered, as he did not wait for the small present I intended to have made him, but disa])- peared from the camp immediately he had recovered his prop- erty. The breeze now seemed inclined to fall light, although there was a considerable sea ; but we rounded Eas Mirrumbi, and passed several torrents and villages. I here noticed enormous spiders' webs on some of the trees, a few being almost covered with them. The Piclde did not come up with us that evening, and I be- came rather anxious about her safety ; and, on nothing being XVI.] MOSQUITOES. 211 seen of her the next morning (28th April), began to think of April, turning back in search of her. But in the afternoon she hove ^^'^*- in siglit, and it appeared that her crew, being frightened at the sea, had camped before Kapoppo. In a deep inlet near the mouth of Lovuma River I found the remains of a large Arab camp, and also two very large boats — one pulling twenty and the other eighteen oars, and fit- ted with masts — hauled up under a shed. They were the prop- erty of Jumah Merikani, who had gone into Msama's country to trade. Jumah Merikani first began trading past here when Burton was at Ujiji, and had now been fifteen years at it. He is said to keep a jDcrmanent gang of Wanyamwezi porters, and only to stay at Ujiji long enough to sell and dispatch his ivory, and lay in a fresh stock of trade goods. The people seemed very friendly, and one jolly-looking old fellow, who was doing duty as chief wdiile the latter was away on a tour of inspection, came and salaamed most profoundly to me and rubbed dust on his chest and arms, that being the cus- tomary way of paying homage. Heads and tails were adorned here much the same as before. Large mosquitoes were constantly biting in the day-time, and my back was covered with boils. I could neither sit nor lie down in comfort, and the soreness of my feet prevented my making much use of them. My stay was not altogether en- joyable. I should mention that I met wild grapes here for the first time on my journey. The night of the 29th of April promised to be so fine that I decided to sleejD in the boat, in a little land-locked bay, instead of under canvas, and the men lay out in the open air, without building any huts, A sudden change to rain consequently brought with it some hours of discomfort and miseiy. The Ijoats were half filled with water, and the men's spare gear was all swamped, I gave them two hours to dry their clothing and do their cooking; and seeing no signs of a move at the expiration of that time, I sung out, " Paka, paka " (pack up). The reply I received was, " Kesho " (to-morrow). On looking for Bombay to ascertain what this meant, I found him quietly sitting in the 212 ACKOSS AFEICA. [Chap. April, otlier boat under an awning doing nothing. He excused him- ^^'^'^- self by saying, " What can I do ? The men say they won't go ; they are afraid." I rejDlied, " Bring me one who says no, and I'll punish him;" but his answer was, "I can't — they all say they won't." This was too much to bear ; so, bad legs or not, I was quickly out of the boat, and, picking up the first bit of wood I saw, told the men to pack. They began while I stood by them, but, im- mediately I went to others, stopped again. It was evidently time for action ; so I struck out right and left, and soon made them clear out. Bombay was of no more service than a log of wood — indeed, not half so useful as the persuasive piece I had just fisted. After getting away, the men seemed in a very good humor and much more jolly than usual ; and I began to think they enjoyed their thrashing, although one or two got some shrewd knocks. Later in the day I ascertained the reason of the men not wishing to move. They had heard of a trading-party on the otlier side of the neck of land between Has Tembwe and the main, and wanted to exchange visits. We saw the canoe of the traders, and also a small party who had been away from Ujiji for about six months to shoot elephants. The land about here was low, and the bearings I took were not of much value. My expectations and hopes were now greatly raised by the guides promising to show me the outlet of the lake on the following day. It appears that Speke did not get rpiite far enough down ; and Livingstone, coming from Ma Kazembe's town, passed its mouth in a canoe without no- ticing it, and, on going to Manyuema, did not come sufiiciently far south. ]No Arab at Ujiji seemed to have any knowledge of this out- let, which appears to lie just between two of their routes, and out of both. I thought, however, that the Wajiji had made no mistake about iny questions, for they had noticed how particu- lar I was in ascertaining the direction in which a stream fiowed whenever there was any doubt on the matter. We now passed Kas Kalomwe, and the River Kavagwe, two hundred yards wide and two fathoms deep in the middle, hav- ing an almost imperceptible outward current. XVI.] ELABOKATE COIFFURES. 213 May-day broke upon. us. most gloriously. The surrounding May, country was also very beautiful, with small cliffs, and some i^*^^- open park-like spaces with clumps of fine trees. On rounding Has Niongo, we shortened sail, and went on shore to look at a reported hot -water spring. After half an hour's tramp through very long, thick grass — which to me was pain and grief — we arrived at the swampy edge of the lake, where a few bubbles were rising. The thermometer showed the same temperature in this water as in the shade — 96° — and I arrived at the conclusion that the hot spring had only a slight foundation in fact. But I afterward heard from others w^ho had visited it, that when in full activity the spring has been sufficiently hot to scald one. It had, perhaps, a slight flavor as of soda-water. The man who conducted us to this bubbling water asked for some beads, that he might make an offering to the spirit of the place. He evidently thought the spirit was easily satisfied, for he only threw a bead or two into the water, and retained the remainder as his own reward. No reliance whatever could be placed in the guides ; for hav- ing heard from the people that a large river called Lukuga flows into the lake near Kasenge, they at once said the same, though they had hitherto declared that it was an outflow. The chief, Luliki — wdio, by-the-way, was so excessively fat that at the first glance I thought he was of the other sex, owing to his pendent breasts — cheered me on my visiting him, by asserting that the Lukuga ran out from the lake. The Waguhha dress their heads very elaborately, dividing their hair into four parts, drawing it over pads, and making the ends into four plaits, with the assistance of false hair when necessary. These plaits are disposed in a cross, and numerous skewers or pins of polished iron are thrust into the hair, and some wear a double row of cowries. They also carry in their hair the knives used for tattooing, and wear polished iron strips, crossed to form an arch as in a royal crown. Little extinguisher -shaj^ed ornaments are at- tached to the ends of the plaits ; and flat - headed iron, ivory, and shell -headed pins are used. The plaits are plastered and smoothed with red earth and oil, and, although the effect is 15 214 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap, May, 1874. striking, the fashion is dirtj. Some twist their hair into the form of four ram's iiorns, the one in front being turned back- ward. This was the first place where I had seen any likeness to idols. And liere several men wore round their necks a little figure with a carved head — the body being a sort of cone w^ith rings and two or three feet — and a hole through the neck for the string by which it was hung. HEADS OF WAGUHHA AND OTUEB LAKE TBIBEB. On the 3d of May there was a slashing breeze freshening uj) from the eastward, and I made sail with many a hope that I might in a few hours find myself in the outflowing Lukuga. Shortly before noon I arrived at its entrance, more than a mile across, but closed by a grass-grown sand-bank, with the excep- tion of a channel three or four hundred yards wide. Across this there is a sill where the surf breaks heavily at times, al- though there is more than a fathom of water at its most shal- low part. The chief visited me, and informed me that the river was well known to his people, who often traveled for more than a month along its banks, until it fell into a larger river, the Lua- XVI.] THE LUKUGA. 215 laba, and that in its course it received the Luhimbiji and many May, small streams. No Arab, the chief said, had been down the ^^'^^- river, and traders did not visit this place, all beads and cloth required being obtained by sending to Ujiji. It rained very hard in the morning ; but, in company with the chief, I went four or iive miles down the river until navi- gation was rendered impossible, owing to the masses of floating vegetation. It might be possible, however, to cut passages for canoes. Here the depth was three fathoms ; breadth, six hun- dred yards ; current, one knot and a half, and sufficiently strong to drive us well into the edge of the vegetation. ENTEANOE TO LUKnGA, OR MAKIE ALEXANDROV^-A. This first block was said to continue for four or five miles, when an open channel of about the same length would be found, and that for a very great distance alternate choked and clear portions existed. I noticed that the embouchures of some small streams flowing into the river were unmistakably turned from the lake, and that the weed set in the same direc- tion. Wild date palms grew thickly down the river. Early the following day I continued my observations of the entrance to the river. Inside the bar or sill already mentioned, there were three, four, and five fathoms obtained, and three fathoms close along-side the grass which barred our progress. I wanted the chief to commence cutting a passage through the grass, offering to leave beads to pay the men. He did not wish to have any thing left with him, for he remarked his peo- ple would say, " You take all these things from the white man. 216 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. May, and only give us a little, and make ns work for it." His pro- 1874. posal was tliat when I returned I should pay the peoj)le who worked daily, and then they would understand. He said he wished a trade-road passed by his village, to bring traders there. After pulling an hour and a half, the breeze freshened up almost in our teeth; so I put into a convenient little inlet, which I discovered to be part of the other river. It was all swamp, marsh, or low, flat plains inside a long bank, with some small openings ; deep water in places, shoals, sand-banks, long- grass, etc. I suppose the drift matter of the lake, W'hich gravitates to- ward this outlet, forms the banks and morass, owing to the want of a passage for it. A fair instance of this was given dur- ing the seven or eight hours we were here, a large quantity of drift-wood having come in and worked away into the grass, without leaving any sign of its passage. The inlet in which we lay was only a break in the bank, and the water works through the grass into the Lukuga. I entertained strong hopes of being enabled to undertake the work I so much desired, of tracing the course of the Lukuga. But at Ujiji not a guide or interpreter could be obtained for that route, and not a man would follow me alone. And w^hen I began to estimate the cost of cutting a channel through the > grass and of buying canoes, I found the necessary expenditure *so heavy that I confess I did not feel myself justified in incur- ring it. For I firmly believed that the stream was too consid- erable to be lost in marshes, or be merely a backwater. I had also the word of the chief, who accompanied me on entering the river, that his people had traveled for months along its banks. The entrance is situated in the only break in the hills that surround the lake, the mountains of Ugoma ending abruptly ten or twelve miles north of Kasenge, while those that en- circle the southern end trend away to the Avestward from Has Mirrumbi, leaving a large undulating valley between the t\vo ranges. When passing doAvn south on the eastern shore of the lake, near Kas Kungwe, the guides pointed to this gap in the mount- ains, and asserted that there the outlet of the lake was to be found. At various points on my journey afterward I obtained XVI.] LETTEKS FEOM HOME. 217 corroborative evidence — to which I shall make further allusion — of the river joining the Lualaba from people who asserted they had traveled great distances along its banks. Leaving the inlet, we made for Ras Mulango, and camped there, touching the following day at Kasenge, on the main-land. We tlien went on to a deep inlet in the eastern side of Kivira Island, to prepare for crossing the lake, which we did the next day, and arrived at Machachezi, where we found a large party bound for Manyuema, under charge of Muinyi Hassani, a Mri- ma, and a slave of Syde ibn Habib's. Another day took us be- yond Jumah Merikani's settlement, and the next, May 9th, to May, 1874. HAY IN KIVIEA. ISLAND. On arrival, I was gladdened by the receipt of letters from home nearly a year old ; and the packet having been opened by Murphy at Mpanga Sanga on January 12th, he inclosed a mes- sage that he was getting on well. These letters had a curious escape. The caravan by which they were forwarded from Unyanyembe by Said ibn Salim was dispersed by a party of robbers, who afterward attacked another and stronger caravan, and were beaten off with the loss of some of their numbers. On the body of one of the killed this packet of letters was found, and brought on to me at Ujiji. All hands managed to get drunk on their return, and a com- plaint reached me that they entered a woman's house, and ap- propriated her pombe. Bilal the younger made himself par- 218 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. May, ticularlj offensive outside my veranda. And when I sent for 1874. Bombay in tlie morning, lie replied that he was sick ; the truth being that he had a terribly bad head from overindulgence in pombe. How they made themselves drunk on that liquor I could never understand. Among the news which reached me was that the men I had sent to Unyanyembe were in the vicinity of Uvinza, in com- pany with an Arab caravan. They had been attacked by Mi- rambo's men (or heard of them) on their way to Unyanyembe, and went round by Kawendi, instead of taking the direct route. The donkeys had reduced themselves to four during my ab- sence, my riding donkey being, unfortunately, among the de- funct ones. I had many long yarns with the Arabs who knew these parts — Mohammed ibn Salib, Mohammed ibn Gharib, Syde Mezrui, Abdallah ibn Ilabib, and Hassan ibn Gharib — and learned that in their opinion the Lualaba is the Kongo, though whence they got this idea I could not ascertain. One man said he went due north (!) fifty-five marches, and came to where the water was salt and shi^^s came from the sea, and white men lived there who traded much in palm-oil and had large houses. Fifty-five marches, say five hundred miles -f three hundred to Nyangwe = eight hundred, gives about the distance to the Yellala Cataracts. This looks something like the Kongo and West -coast merchants, although the direction is evidently wrong. Abdallah ibn Habib and Syde Mezrui said jjalm oil and cow- ries were mentioned as being among the trade articles, with ivory, brass-wire, and beads. I tried to get a map drawn among them ; but north and south, east and west, and all distances, were irretrievably lost in a couple of minutes. The Lukuga tastes the same as the Tanganyika; not salt, but peculiar, and not sweet and light, like the other rivers ; but the further I inquired, the more contradictory the answers be- came. I expect that in the dry season, or when the lake is at its lowest level, very little water leaves by the Lukuga. Some Arabs said it joined the Lualaba between Moero and Kamalon- do. Below Nyangwe the Lualaba is called Ugarowwa, and is XVI.] FEAR OF OPPOSITION TRADERS. 219 said to be in places " as wide as the Tanganyika," and full of May, islands, some having five hundred or six hundred men living on ^^'^'^■ them, together with their wives and families. They said they did not wish to give any information about it here, and that which I had received was wrong, and intended to mislead ; for, finding I had some defined ideas on the sub- ject, they were anxious I should not know too much. They promised to tell every thing when on the road, but they are afraid of opposition traders making an appearance. Already it is getting too crowded, and they know not where to make fresh openings. The Egyptians to the north, or, as they call them, Toorkis, are known to them, and they wish to avoid clashing with them. Hassan ibn Gharib said he had offered to take Livingstone from Nyangwe to the place where shijis come — as he was about to make the journey — for one thousand dollars, but he had re- fused. They also told me that a large canoe might be obtained near Nyangwe to go the whole way from there by water. It was enough to puzzle the clearest mind. As Bombay and my servant could never agree, the latter now wanted to leave me on that account. Bombay was very well in his peculiar way, but neither the "Angel " of Colonel Grant nor the " Devil " of Mr. Stanley. I generally found, after yielding to him, that I should have done far better to have adhered to my first intention. He did not like any one to have my ear but himself, and was as jealous as the green- eyed monster itself. He slandered Issa, and made accusations against Mohammed Malim, which I found to be false. How- ever, I was compelled to put up with his failings, for I should have lost a number of men if I had sent him away. In that part of the lake explored by me, I found ninety-six rivers flowing in, besides torrents and springs, and one, the Lu- kuga, going out. The more I inquired into the matter, the more laborious and costly the work of cutting away the vege- tation on the Lukuga was represented to be ; for in some parts the floating sod is said to be six feet thick, and no sooner is the surface cut away, than a further quantity floats up from under- neath the adjoining grass. I was now only waiting for the men from Unyanyembe; 220 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Ciiap. May, and eacli evening I spent some honrs reading " Suahili Tales " i^*^*- to the Arabs — having shown the book to Syde Mezrui in a thoughtless moment. A large audience always awaited me; and as they enjoyed it thoroughly, I felt it repaid them some- what for the kindness they had shown me, and I was therefore pleased to do it, though it was very tiring work. On the 15th of May, some people — by way of amusement, or more probably with the object of thieving in the confusion caused — set fire to Bilal's house during the night. Worse still, the door was fastened outside ; but, fortunately, the men who usually slept in the house were not there on this occasion. I was not able to discover the perpetrators of this outrage. The next day I held a sale of my Joho and large cloths, and the commoner kinds went very well. To provide my men M'ith some clothes, I then purchased fifteen pieces of other cloth of nine doti each, at twenty -eight dollars apiece. And to pre- vent the certainty of starving, and to pay Wajiji for bringing back canoes from the other side, I bought twenty frasilah of beads, at fifty dollars a frasilah — a large price — but it was a case of " give it, or give up the work." If I had not been robbed, these purchases might have been avoided ; but theft, and the non-arrival of stores left behind, compelled me to make them. "When on the other side, I intended, metaphorically speaking, to "burn my boats," so that there should be no retreating or looking back. Several men pretended to be too ill to start, the fact being that they were afraid ; so I gave these timid ones their discharge. All my men seemed inclined to celebrate their last days at Ujiji by a series of drunken orgies ; and Bombay, being an- noyed, on returning home one night from some festivities, at finding that Mrs. Boml)ay had only just arrived from a tea- party, tried to " reorganize her," but with much the same result as befell Artemus Ward. During the domestic struggle, they upset a box of singo- mazzi beads — made of opal-glass, and the size of pigeons' eggs — and rendered the greater portion of them worthless by cracks and stars. Some other drunken rascals ripped all the calking out of XVI.] OFF AGAIN. 221 the canoes, to occasion delay, and four days were wasted in re- calking them, although the work might have been completed in a day ; and when the canoes were ready, the Wajiji, who were to bring them back from Kasenge, were not forthcoming. Thus^it was the 22d of May before we made a move. Even then I was obliged to put in behind the first point, and send back for several missing men and rifles, and to collect the re- turn crew of Wajiji. hi BOW-STANDS OF WAGCnHA. My servant Mohammed Malim and Bombay were so perpet^ ually fighting that, for the sake of peace, I gave Mohammed charge of the box containing Livingstone's and my own jour- nals, selecting Jumali wadi Nassib for the otiice of valet and fac- totum. And most invaluable he proved. The men were so fearfully lazy and shaky, in consequence of their debauch at Ujiji, that four days were occupied in getting May, 18H. 222 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. May, to Kas Kabogo. They then complained that the suu was too 1874. ' powerful for the long pull across the lake in the day-time, and I had to wait until after sunset. , When day dawned, we were a long way to leeward of the Ka- benge Islands, and it was blowing strong from the south-east, with a heavy sea running ; but we reached Kivira in the BeUy during the forenoon. The PleMe, however, was not in sight, so I camped on the main-land the following morning to await her arrival. There the Wajiji crews deserted with the Betsy and Syde's boat, and when the Pickle arrived, on the evening of the 29th, her return crew had also bolted, and I was obliged to engage a crew of Waguhha to take her back. Absentees, and making arrangements for serving out loads, etc., detained me here until Sunday, the 31st of May. XVn.] A RECEPTION. 223 CHAPTER XVII. Hopeful Prospects. — Ruanda. — Copper. — Bombay's Ingenuity. — An Accident. — Last View of Tanganyika. — Dishonest Fellow - travelers. — Meketo. — A Brutal Slave- dealer. — Dress and Ornaments. — Weapons. — Fish-dealers. — River-side Scenery. — Game. — Skulking Carriers. — Bowl -making. — India - rulaber. — A Trying March. — Fetich Huts. — A Good Samaritan. — My Men want to turn back. — "Making Broth- ers."— An Artist in Oils. — Fearful Imprecations. — Musical Instruments. — Mrs. Pakwanywa. — Perforation of Upper Lips. — Dress. — Tattooing. — Charms. — A Hot Stream. — A Mixed Caravan. The cheering hope of getting boats at Nyangwe, and of May, floating down the unknown waters of the Kongo to the West i^'^*- Coast in two or three months, rallied my spirits to the highest pitch, as I started on my first journey west of Tanganyika. Syde Mezrui had assured me that he could procure canoes al- most immediately on my arrival at ISTyangwe, as he was friend- ly with chiefs who possessed many. This was, I considered, a great point in his favor when I engaged him as a guide, be- cause none of my men would have followed me west unless ac- companied by some person well acquainted with the road. Passing over very steep hills — the last spurs of the mountains of Ugoma, which end abruptly over the lakeland across some small torrents, we reached Puanda, the capital of Waguhha. It is a considerable town, situated on a very fertile, flat, alluvial plain extending from the mountain's of Ugoma to the river Lu- kuga, and intersected by the Lugumba and smaller streams, flow- ing into the lake. The populace turned out to stare at me, the crowd forming quite a lane as I passed through the place ; and an unfortunate sheep, getting hemmed in just before me, heralded my approach by a frantic baaing, which gave rather a ludicrous aspect to the scene. On leaving the town, I sat down to allow the caravan to over- take me, and then, continuing the march for a short distance, 224 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. May, went into camp after crossing a stream which must be of a con- ^^'^•*- siderable size in the rains. In the afternoon a messenger informed me that the chief would call on me. But, soon afterward, I heard with some re- gret that he and S.P.Q.R. were so greatly under the influence of the rosy god that any attempt at reaching my camp would be attended with very serious difhculty. The visit was there- fore abandoned. My efforts at obtaining copper in exchange for singo-mazzi were somewhat hampered by the discovery that in the free «i '^ "pi HEAD OP TJGUnHA WOMAN. fight arising between Mr. and Mrs. Bombay, on the attempted reorganization of the lady, most of them had been rendered un- marketable. But four or five pieces of copj^er and some goats were given for those that remained undamaged. This copper comes from Urua, in pieces called " lianda," vary- ing in weight from two and a half to three pounds. They are cast in the rough shape of a St. Andrew's cross, and the diag- onal measurement is from fifteen to sixteen inches, while the arms are about two inches wide and half an inch thick. Many of them have a raised rib along the centre of the arms. These were said to be in great demand in Manyuema, and singo-mazzi were useless beyond Waguhha. XVII.] BOMBAY'S INGENUITY. 225 To avoid the necessity of employing extra men to assist fur- ther in carrying our stores, as on the road from Kasenge, I dis- tributed a load of beads, as a month's rations in advance, and opened and issued a box of cartridges. What the men did with their ammunition it was difficult to understand. At Bagamoyo I served out a hundred and thirty rounds of ball-cartridge, and at Unyanyembe twenty-five per gun, besides blank ; yet now many had not even a single car- tridge. They seemed to think themselves remarkably clever in getting rid of them, and came with a grin on their faces, say- ing, " Hapana, bwana (there are none, master)." May, 1874. A '■ UANDA." By this reduction of loads, I thought it would be possible to get along without further trouble ; but Bombay exercised an almost fiendish ingenuity in making work, and upsetting my plans. Out of loads which I had broken up and distributed among the askari, and of shot, wads, and cartridges belonging to my own guns which I had put into the lighter loads, in order to equalize the weight of all, he made extra ones ; and when I ordered the start in the morning, -he reported that four loads were unprovided with carriers ! Re-arranging matters delayed our moving, and our next camp was not reached until nearly two o'clock, after a heavy march under a most powerful sun. The thermometer, in partial shade under a tree, registered 131°. It was all the more trying, from our having to walk through stinking, fetid mud at some marshy spots. At noon we forded the Lugumba, forty yards wide and mid- thigh deep, running two and a half knots, with the water glit- 226 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. June, tering in the sun from the number of particles of quartz held 1874. ]j^ suspension. Thus far we had skirted the base of the land- ward spurs of the southern end of the mountains of Ugoma ; but now they were left, and a small independent line of hills was before us, forming the water-shed between the Lugumba and Lukuga. A painful accident occurred to one of the pagazi, when cross- ing a deep but narrow nullah. He unfortunately stumbled, and, in falling forward, one of the sticks forming the cradle of his load ran into his eye, completely destroying the eyeball and lacerating the lid. I wished to apply a cold-water dressing, but he said he wanted "stronger medicine" than water; so I hand- ed him over to the care of a native doctor in a village near the camp. His treatment consisted of a plaster of mud and dirt, and his fee was forty strings of beads. As this poor fellow was totally incapacitated from carrying a load, and some other men were suffering from the effects of ex- cesses at Ujiji, I tried to procure the services of some Waguhha as carriers to Meketo, where our next halt was to be. Some volunteered, to go, but afterward hauled off ; so I served out more beads as rations, making an advance till the end of Jnly, and redistributed, loads, giving the sick men light weights, ac- cording to their powers. A sharp touch of fever, brought on by exposure to the sun on the march from Ruanda, added great- ly to the worry and trouble I experienced in managing matters. From this place we moved, on the 5th of June, for Meketo. On our two days' journey we passed over many hills, and crossed rivulets flowing into the Lugumba and Lukuga, the val- ley of which could be plainly seen running away to the west- south-west. From the highest of these hills — the day before reaching Meketo — I had a last view of the Tanganyika, a patch of bright blue, backed by sombre masses of mountains near Has Kungwe. We saw many tracks of big game ; and where a large herd of elephants had passed, the scene of destruction was amazing. A small Init dishonest party of Warua, carrying oil to the lake to exchange for the salt of Uvinza, camped near us; and in the morning all my goats, excepting Dinah and one given me at Ujiji, were missing. The Warua had also departed. XVII.] • M£k£TO. 22Y Mek^to lies in a broad, deep valley, drained by the Kaca, an June, affluent of the Lukiiga, and, viewed from the hill which forms ^^'^•*- its eastern side, is almost perfect in its rural beauty. Many fields of green matama and cassava, contrasting with the already sun-dried yellow grass ; tiny hamlets of thatched huts cluster- ing at the foot of groves of fine trees, with wreaths of pale-blue smoke curling up from the fires ; and in the foreground a line of heavy vegetation along the Kaga, which here and there re- fiected a ray of the sun as from a surface of burnished silver — combined in making a most beautiful scene. WUtSTLE, PILLOW. AND UATOUET. Here we remained three days, to obtain supplies and carriers for the journey to Kwamrora Kasea, five marches off, as a num- ber of the men pleaded illness, to avoid carrying their loads. During the stay the chief sent civil messages, with excuses for not coming to see me on account of the distance. I also re- ceived from him a fat goat, for which I, of course, sent a pres- ent in return, and paid his messengers. He did me further good service in providing carriers. A native slave-dealer brought into camp a little boy of ten or eleven with his neck in a slave-fork, and wanted to sell him. The poor child had evidently been brutally nsed, and was cry- ing so bitterly, that my first impulse was to set him free and give his master a sound thrashing. Yet, knowing that directly my back was turned any punishment would be repaid to the child with interest, I had to content myself with ordering oft' the brutal dealer. People thronged the camp, bringing ground-nuts, corn, sweet- 16 228 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. June, 1874. potatoes, and other articles of food for sale. They were chiefly women, the men being away on jom*neys ; for, like the Warua, of whom they are a branch, they are a traveling and trading race. The women wore their hair after the fashion of those at the entrance of the Lnknga, already described. Their ornaments consisted of coiled bracelets of brass wire, bangles of iron, brass, and copper round tlicir ankles, strings of large singo-ma/.zi round their necks and waists, and a band of cowries, or small beads, bound around their heads. The upper part of the forehead was often painted in stripes of vermilion and black, which had not such an unpleasing effect as might be sup- posed. Round the waist was a piece of fringed grass-cloth, about eighteen inches deep, and open in front ; but in the hia- tus they wore a narrow apron reaching to the knees, and frequently ornamented by lines of cowries or beads down the centre. The hoes used in this district are large and heavy, but their hatchets are the smallest and most useless I ever saw, the blade being only an inch and a half wide. Their arrows are, however, broad -head- ed, deeply barbed, and poisoned. All the men carry whistles, with which they sig- nal to each other on the road. Some "VVarua arrived while we were here, having dried fish and the scented oil of the mpafu-tree for sale ; and it occurred to me as curious that, although the Tanganyika abounds in fish, the people dry only the small minnow-like " dagga," and are always ready to buy that brought a distance of a hundred and fifty miles or more by the Warua. After leaving Mekcto, we did not make another halt until the 16th of J line, when we reached the village of Fakwany wa, chief of Ubudjwa, one long march beyond Kwamrora Kasea. Streams without number were passed during this march. The principal, the Rubiimba — one of the most im})ortant afflu- ents of Luama, and often confused with the Lugumba — we DKE88 AND TATTOOIM, OV WOM- AN OF UGUlllIA. CROSSING TUE LUGUNGWA KIVER. XVII.] RIVER-SIDE SCENERY. 229 crossed twice, and found it so wide and deep that it was neces- sary to throw a rope of creepers across for the men to liold on bj to prevent their being swept away. Many of the streams were particularly beautiful, especially the Lugungwa, a short way below the ford, where it had cut a channel fully fifty feet deep in the soft sandstone, and not more June, 1874. MBUA FlSll-MO.NGEE. than eight feet wide at the top. On tlie projections of its cliff- like sides most lovely ferns and mosses grew, and large trees on both banks mingled their branches, and formed a perfect arch of verdure over the river. The hills along which we had been marching now joined the Ugoma Mountains, having hitherto been separated by the valley of the Lugumba. Tracks of all kinds of large game — except giraffes, which do not exist much to the westward of Unyanyembe — were very 230 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. June, numerous ; and on a sandy island the tracks of buffalo were so 1874. thick as to give the appearance of a large herd having been pen- ned tliere. The grass on each side of the path was almost too thick and heavy to penetrate in search of sport. And it was also needful for nic to keep in rear of the caravan, in order to prevent my men from straggling. With all my care, they often eluded me, and lay hidden in the jungle till I had passed, in or- der to indulge in skulking. The men carrying my tent and bath were especially prone to this habit, although their loads were light, and I frequently waited long after camp was reached for these necessary appliances to come to the front. On this march I lirst saw the mpafu, from which the scented oil is obtained. It is a magnificent tree, often thirty feet and more in circumference, and rising to eighty or a hundred feet before spreading and forming a head, the branches of which are immense. The oil is obtained by soaking the fruit, which has some resemblance to an olive, for a few days in large pits of water ; and when the oil collects on the surface, it is skimmed off. It is usually of a reddish color, very pure and clear, with an agreeable smell. Under the bark are great masses of scented gum, used by the natives in fumigating themselves. Besides the mpafu, there were several other trees jierfectly new to me, one having a soft, dense wood, out of which the na- tives make beautifully finished bowls. A man whom I watched at this work had felled two or three trees, and cut them into logs of about the same length as the diameter of the trunk, i. e.^ from one to two feet. These he split into halves, and with a very sharp and small single-handed adze made them into bowls as truly formed as though he had been a master turner. At this stage of their manufacture they are rubbed with a rough leaf, which answers the purpose of sand -paper, until the marks of the adze are perfectly smoothed down. In many in- stances lips are hollowed out with a knife, and patterns are also occasionally carved on them. Staining the outside a dark red is the finishing touch, and, when new, this effectively contrasts with the white of the in- side ; but with use they become perfectly black from dirt and grease. I also saw a peculiarly shaped wooden drum hollowed XVII.] INDIA-RUBBER VINES. 231 out from a solid block of wood, the outside being modeled with adzes like those used in bowl-making, and the inside by chisel- shaped pieces of iron, with wooden handles three feet long. , DEUM AND IDOL. "We passed through many strips of thick and intricate tangled jungle. The creepers were principally india-rnbber vines, with stems the thickness of a man's thigh ; and in cutting them away, iu order to clear a passage, we were well bedaubed with the sap, which was very plentiful. Indeed, sufficient india-rub- ber to supply the wants of the civilized world might easily be collected here. June, 1874. All the villages possessed fetich huts, with little carved idols, under whose protection they were supposed to be ; and in fields rougher idols were placed, to watch over the crops. Offerings of pombe and corn were often made to these images, and on oc- casions of harvesting or sowing, a goat or a fowl was sometimes lavished upon them. 232 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. June, The last march before arriving at Pakwanywa's village was 1874. Qjjg Qf ^]^Q most exhausting and trying I had nj) to that time experienced. The road led us over a succession of small hills, and the sun beat down upon us from a cloudless sky. The heat of the parched ground scorched my feet through thick boots, knitted stockings, and socks. Drawing a breath was like inhal- ing the fumes of a heated furnace. On entering the village, I was thoroughly beaten by heat and thirst, and the agony was increased by the people crowding round to stare at me. Water seemed to be unattainable. But at last a kind-hearted old man pushed through the crowd, and handed me a large calabash full ; and if ever I blessed a man, it was that one. With a continuous draught, I drained the cala- bash, large as it was, and the friendly old native sent for more ; and when I offered him a small present of beads for his thought- fulness and trouble, he declined to accejDt any reward whatever. At Pakwanywa's I heard that a large caravan, under the leadership of Muinyi Hassani, was waiting for us a few days in front ; and although I had no desire to join them, it was better to yield, and avoid opposition on their part. The men engaged at Meketo declined to go any farther with us, nor would other natives volunteer to assist ; so I issued two more loads of beads as rations, instead of abandoning them for lack of carriers. Others of my followers were malingering; and Bombay and Bihil, instead of assisting me in the slightest, were ever ready to throw difficulties in my way, in the vain hope of inducing me to turn back and abandon the expedition. Syde Mezrui " made brothers" with Pakwanywa, and I went into the village to witness the interesting ceremony. Pakwa- nywa I found sitting out in the open, superintending the paint- ing of his wife's forehead, and a serious matter it seemed to be. Tlie 'artist, having the different colors prepared with oil — each in a separate leaf — plastered them on with a knife, and then carefully scraped the edges of the various tints till they were exactly true, and formed the required pattern. Tliis being finished, Pakwanywa invited me into his hut, which was about twenty feet square, and smoothly plastered on the inside to the height of four feet. The walls M-ere orna- mented with squares of red, white, and yellow, bordered with XVII.] "MAKING BROTHERS." 233 black and white stripes, some left plain, and others profusely June, dotted with white finger-marks. On two sides of the building, i^''^- a raised earthen bench three feet wide, and covered with mats, served as a divan, A pile of large logs, out of which the wooden bowls are made, was placed in one corner to season ; and in another was a sunken fire-place, for use at night or in rainy weather. The sole means of obtaining light, air, and ventilation was by the door-way ; consequently the inside of the roof, where bows and spear staves were seasoning, was black and shiny with soot. The floor was of clay, and was perfectly smooth. On entering, it was with difficulty I could distinguish any thing; but, as my eyes became accustomed to the absence of light, I noticed gourds and cooking-pots hanging up, and every thing appeared to be in its place, showing Mrs. Pakwanywa to be a " notable housewife." After a certain amount of palaver, Syde and Pakwanywa ex- changed presents, much to the adv^antage of the former — more especially as he borrowed the beads from me, and afterward forgot to repay me. Pakwanywa then played a tune on his harmonium, or whatever the instrument might be called, and the business of fraternizing was proceeded with. Pakwanywa's head-man acted as his sponsor, and one of my askari assumed the like office for Syde. The first operation consisted of making an incision on each of their right wrists just sufficient to draw blood, a little of which was scraped off and smeared on the other's cut, after which gunpoM'der was rubbed in. The concluding part of the ceremony was performed by Pakwanywa's sponsor holding a sword resting on his (Pakwanyw'a's) shoulder, while he who acted for Syde went through the motions of sharpening a knife on it. Both sponsors meanwhile made a speech, calling down imprecations on Pakwanywa and all his relations, past, pres- ent, and future, and praying that their graves might be defiled by pigs if he broke the brotherhood in word, thought, or deed. The same form having been gone through with respect to Syde, the sponsors changing duties, the brother-making was complete. This custom of " making brothers " I believe to be really of Semitic origin, and to have been introduced into Africa by the 234 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. June, heathen Arabs trading there before the time of Mohammed ; ^^'^- and this idea is strengthened by the fact tliat when the first . traders from Zanzibar crossed the Tanganyika, the ceremony was nnknown to the westward of that lake. Tliat which I have termed Pakwanywa's harmonium, for want of a better name, was composed of a board, to which were attached a number of springy iron keys, of different lengtlis and breadths, to give variety to their tone, and a gourd was placed behind to act as a sounding-board. The keys are played on by the thumbs, and a fair amount of music can be extracted from this instrument by a clever performer. They are called kinanda by the natives, but kinanda is a generic term for al- most all musical instruments. The following is the description of Mrs. Pakwanywa as I wrote it at the time of my visit : " She is a merry sort of person, and really lady-like in her manners. It was great fun showing her a looking-glass. She had never seen one before, and was half afraid of it, and ashamed to show she was afraid. She is a very dressy body, double row of cowries round her head, besides copper, iron, and ivory ornaments stuck in her hair, and just above and in front of each ear a little tassel of red and white beads. A large neck- lace of shells (viongwa) round her neck, and round her waist a string of opal-colored singo-mazzi, and a roll (or rope) made of strings of a dull, red-colored bead. Her front apron was a leopard - skin, and the rear one of colored grass -cloth, with its fringe strung with beads "and cowries sewed on it in a pattern ; bright iron rings round her ankles, and copper and ivory brace- lets on her arms. Her hair was shaved a little back from her forehead, and three lines, each about a quarter of an inch wide, painted below it. The one nearest the hair was red, the next black, and the next white, and, to crown all, she was freshly anointed with inpafu oil, and looked sleek and shiuy." The upper classes of Ubudjwa wear similar dresses, orna- ments, and tattoo-marks to those of the Waguhha and Warua, and are apparently of the same race. The lower orders, whom I believe to be the aborigines, are quite different in features and dress. Their women perforate their upper lips, and insert a piece of stone or wood, which is XVII.] A HOT SPEING. 235 gradually increased in size until the lip frequently protrudes an June, inch and a half or two inches, giving a particularly hideous ex- i^'^'*- pression, and making their articulation very indistinct. WOMEN OF UBUDJWA. Their clothing consists of from one to three leather cushions, very much like buffaloes' horns in shape, the thickest parts be- ing placed behind and the tapering points in front. A small piece of bark-cloth, about six inches wide by eight or ten deep, is' tucked into the front part to serve as an apron. Skin a23rons are worn by the men, wdio smear the undipped wool with red clay and grease. They also tattoo their faces, and rub in lamp- black after a fashion that gives them the appearance of having been badly scratched by a cat, black blood having been drawn instead of red. Both sexes of all classes carry little carved images round their necks, or tied to the upjjer part of their arms, as a charm against evil spirits. They are usually hollow, and filled with filth by the fetich man. We left Pakwanywa's, on the 19th of June, for Pakhundi ; and, directly after starting, pass6d a stream rising in a hot spring, the water wdiere we crossed being 107° Fahrenheit, wdiile the air was only 70°. At the spring the water bubbled up in a sort of fountain, and there the heat must have been much greater; but it was impossible to reach it on account of mud and weeds. Notwithstanding, the temperature of the wa- ter, trees, plants, and frogs flourished in it. To Pakhundi the road lay across fairly level country, partly jungle and partly clearing, and one sandy plain, wnth many palms. There were several small streams, all flowing toward 236 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap June, 1874. the Rubumba, excepting the last — the Katamba — which ran south, toward tlie valley of the Luknga. Near some villages were small iron-foundries, and in danger- ous proximity to the path there were many pits, from which the ore, a kind of red hematite, is obtained. The caravan awaiting us at Pakhundi consisted of Muinyi Ilassani and his people ; a party under charge of a slave of Syde ibn Habib ; and two small traders, Muinyi Brahim and Muinyi Bokhari. The two latter had each only about a dozen men, while the remainder, about two hundred and fifty in num- ber, were equally divided between Muinyi Hassani and Syde ibn Ilabib's slave. There were also a few freedmen, smiths and carpenters, traveling on their own account with one or two slaves. ixrs^ XVIIL] KWAS^Rfi. 237 CHAPTER XYIII. Pakhiindl. — Foundries. — Dust and Ashes. — Slave-gagging. — Freedmen the Harshest Masters. — Salutations. — Disobliging People. — Hair, Dress, Tattooing. — Naked People. — Natural Stomachers. — Building Operations. — No Ventilation. — Uvinza. — Clay Idols. — Carving. — Anns. — The Arab's Kirangosi. — His Impertinence. — Climbing Oil-palms. — My Showman. — The Bambarre Mountains. — Magnificeut Trees. — A Dark Ravine. — Manyuema. — Dress and Arms. — The Women. — Econo- my in Clothing. — Livingstone's Influence. — An Enlightened Chief. — Dwarfs. — Musical Instruments. — Fearful Cannibals. — Dancing. — No Shooting allowed. Ok joining tlie caravan, we were welcomed with all outward June, civility, but little else. The traders were naturally glad that a ^s'^^- well-armed party should accompany them across Manyuema, as they had barely sixty guns among them, many of those being useless Tower and other flint-guns, while the best were merely French trade percussion single-barrels. Of course we could not expect to start from Pakhundi with- out wasting a day for the men of the two caravans to enjoy their gossip ; but on the 22d of June we marched, and, pass- ing through a hilly and diversified country, watered by a few streams — some working to the Rubumba, now about twenty miles north of us, and others flowing away to the Lukuga — ar- rived at Kwasere. Here a prosperous village once stood, but it had evidently been destroyed in some recent fight, together with others lying near. Stools, pots, mortars, and other articles of household fur- niture were lying about in confusion, instead of being removed, as would have been the case had the flittuig been premeditated, and growing crops were left standing. I firmly believe the traders had something to do with this work of destruction, for they now took the precaution of build- ing a very strong fence round their camp, although they had not previously done so since leaving the Tanganyika ; but, in answer to my inquiries, they asserted that no disturbance what- ever had occurred here. 238 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. June, In Kwasere there were two or three small foundries, about ^^''^- twelve feet square, with a raised bank round tlie sides, the cen- tre of the floor sloping toward a deep trough, which was placed to receive the molten metal. The remains of a furnace lay in one corner, and clay nozzles for the wooden bellows were scat- tered about in all directions. The whole of the floors of these foundries M'ere well plastered with smooth and polished clay, burned quite red in many places. This day the thermometer at half-past one registered 100° in complete shade, and 142° in the sun. The grass through which we forced our way had grown to such an extent as to be almost inq^enetrable. In many places it was upward of twelve feet in height, and so dense that lean- ing against it scarcely made any impression, the stalks of the main stems being often thicker than my thumb. Even where the grass had been burned down, these stems remained four or Ave feet high, and scratched one's face and hands in a most horrid manner ; and, in addition to this, the ashes, blown about by the slightest breeze, filled eyes, nose, mouth, hair, and ears. After marching an hour or two through a strip of burned coun- try, one had much the appearance and feeling of having been in a coal-pit. For some days we marched, in company with the Arabs, through well-watered, fertile, and fairly populated country, with crops of matama growing in luxuriance. But along the whole route a very hollow peace seemed to reign, the traders owing their security to the fear insj^ired by their guns. Yet the in- habitants constantly came into camp with slaves and ivory for sale, as well as flour and other provisions. Slaves were usually gagged by having a piece of wood, like a snaffle, tied into their mouths. Heavy slave-forks were placed round their necks, and their hands were fastened behind their backs. They were then attached by a cord to the vender's waist. I believe that, as a general rule, they were much better treat- ed when bought by the traders than while they remained in the hands of their native owners. They were mostly captives, surprised when in the woods a short way from their own vil- lages, and had, of course, to be kej^t in chains by their masters XVIII.] PERSONAL ADORNMENT. 239 to prevent their escaping ; otherwise they were not really bad- June, ly used, being fairly fed, and not orerloaded. In the few cases i^*^*- of bad treatment which came nnder my notice, the owners were either slaves themselves, or freedmen who, on beginning to taste the delights of freedom, seemed anxious to prevent any one low- er in the scale from rising to a like state of happiness. Many of the villages through which we passed had their " public jiarks " — large open spaces preserved in their centres, and shaded by fine trees. Large trunks of the fan palm were laid upon the ground, and on these we usually found the male population seated for a stare when we M'ent by, while the wom- en and children, though kept in the background, rivaled them in curiosity. The men saluted the principal people of the caravan as they passed by, singing " Maji muko " in chorus, and clapping their hands ; and on being answered in the same manner, they vocif- erated " Eh ban." Notwithstanding this apparent desire to be civil, they were churlish and disobliging. If asked for a drink of water or a light for a pipe, they would rejjly that the river would be found near, or that the fire was their own ; although, had they been more obliging, they would have received a small j^resent of beads, or a pinch of salt, of which they are inordinately covet- ous, having none in their own country. We were now passing through Uhiya, and the people differ- ed materially from their neighbors in dress and habits. Many adopted the horrid practice of chipping all their teeth to points, giving them the appearance of wild beasts ; and their head-dress- es were both hideous and curious. Some wore a huge bowl -shaped leather chignon, having a hole in the centre out of which hung a kind of leather tongue. Others plastered their hair with mud and oil, and so frizzed and trained it as to present a certain resemblance to a judge's wig, and others divided it into crests and ridges. Tattooing was common among both sexes ; but there was no beauty or design in the patterns, as among the Waguhha ; in- deed, the appearance of the ghastly scars left by some of the gashes was most abhorrent. Among the most favorite marks were rude attempts at crescents, Maltese crosses, and a trel- 240 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. June, lis -work formed of deej) cuts disposed irregularly over the 1874. body. The clothing of the men usually consisted of a short kilt of skins or bark-cloth. The women wore leather belts, divided into two or three strips, which supported a small square of cloth be- hind and a very minute aj^ron in front. Some were even more scantily attired, having only a string round the waist with a small leather apron, about three inches wide and four or live deep, cut into strips no wider than a boot-lace. I heard that a short distance farther west the peoj^le were perfectly nude ; but that they managed by constant manijjula- tion, when the children wei'e very young, to cause the fatty cov- ering of tlie lower part of their bellies to hang down like an apron almost to the middle of the thigh ; and this was allowed to answer the purpose of dress. On mentioning this to His Excellency the Governor-general of Angola, Admiral Andrade, on my arrival at Loanda, he in- formed me that he had witnessed a similar peculiarity among tribes in the interior near Mozambique. Instead of pounding their corn in mortars, the people here made use of trunks of trees let flush into floors of hardened earth ; and, in consequence of their having small holes in them, the flour they made was even more gritty than that prepared in wooden mortars. Close to the western end of Uliiya we crossed the Luwika, a considerable stream falling into the Lukuga, according to the evidence of a traveled Waguhha, who had settled in Uliiya as chief of a village. The latter river he said he had traced to its confluence wnth the Lualaba. Just before leaving Uhiya, we camped in a deserted village, the whilom inhabitants of which had, in accordance with a very common custom, flitted, on account of the death of their chief, and were now busily engaged in building a new village not far from their former habitation. They had planted young bark- cloth trees round the site of their new home, and had erected the frame-work of their huts and granaries. These they were now plastering with red clay obtained from the large ant-hills. This clay is also used for making pottery. The huts were square, and were constructed of stakes four XVIII.] UHIYA HUTS. 241 feet in height planted in the ground, and kept secure by a couple of binders wattled in. To the head of each of these stakes, which were about eight inches apart, a long, tapering, flexible wand was tied. These were bound together at the top, and horizontal rings of small sticks were fastened to them at every three feet. In this stage the huts looked exactly like huge bird-cages. The walls were then filled in with mud, and the roof thatched with long grass, the eaves reaching nearly to the ground. A couple of stout logs were planted on each side of the door-way, and, with some extra sticks worked in and the thatch trimmed, formed a sort of porch. June, 1874. HTJT9 IN TTHITA. In the interior, the floor, walls, and lower part of the roof were plastered over smoothly with clay, while the remainder of the roof was lined with a spiral wisp of grass, something after the manner of a straw bee-hive. The only aperture by which smoke could escape or light en- ter was the door, and at night this was most jealously kept shut, and a whole family of six or eight people, together with fowls, goats, dogs, and sheep, with a fire burning in their midst, remain hermetically closed in until the morning. How they manage to exist without a better supply of oxygen is a mystery to me. The granaries are circular, of hurdle-work daubed with clay, 17 242 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. June, 1874. and stand eight feet high and four in diameter, being placed on small platforms two feet from the ground. Thej have mova- ble, conical, thatched roofs. In the deserted village there were many very line bark-clotli trees, and the late inhabitants sent people over to prevent our injuring them when making our camp. From this place we crossed a level plain, along whicli the Luwika ran, lying between two almost cliff-like ranges of hills; but on arriving at a village, our road suddenly turned to the right, and we had to clamber up the face of so steep a cliff that hands and knees were used almost more than feet. At the summit we had about ten yards of level walking, and then an equally steep descent into a rich and fertile valley full of villages. This was the cominencement of a second Uvinza, which must ^ not be confounded with the Uvinza through which vre had passed to the east of the Tanganyika. Outside some of the villages there were large clay idols in dif- ferent attitudes — sitting, standing erect, and recum- bent— all being placed under small sheds, with pots of jiombe and heads of corn lying round them. We camped on the banks of the Lulumbije, which, after breaking through the narrow ridge we had just crossed, joins the Luwika. The united streams are known indifferently as the Lulumbije or Luwika, until the junction with the Lukuga. This exactly coincides with the information given me by the chief at the en- trance of the Lukuga, of a stream falling into that river at a place one month's journey from the lake. The Uvinza people displayed more skill in carving than any I had hitherto met, and many of -their walk- ing-sticks were very creditable specimens of the carver's art. Several of both sexes wore pieces of cane or rings of beads through the centre cartilage of the nose, and their hair Avas tastefully worked into- cones and ridges, finished off by plaits. The Lulumbije was crossed the next day, and after a heavy and hilly march, during which several affluents of that river were met with, we arrived at the village of Kolomamba, situated on the top of a high range of- XVIII.] AMONG CANNIBALS. 243 hills, whence we obtained a distant view of a large grove of oil- June, palms surrounding Roliombo, the first village in Manyuema. i^*^*- At Kolonuunba the people were on the point of moving, hav- ing lately been worsted in one of those innumerable squabbles which are perpetually going on. The arms of the people of Uhiya are light spears and large bows, strung with strips of cane, throwing heavy arrows. Those of Manyuema consist only of heavy spears and large wooden shields. An harangue was now given by the kirangosi of the Arab caravan, to the effect that we were about to enter the dangerous country of Manyuema, the natives of which were more cruel and treacherous than any with whom we had yet met. Conse- (piently stragglers would most certainly be cut off, killed, and probably eaten. I consoled myself with the idea that I was so very thin that they would not consider me worth the trouble of eating, for there was hardly a meal for one man on my bones. Although Roliombo could be seen from Kolomamba, some hours' weary tramping were necessary to reach it. Open grassy glades, interspersed with thickets of jungle, were on either side of us ; and, as we drew near, crowds of people lined the road, eager to have a stare at the caravan. I arrived with the leading part, and being shown the camp- ing-place— an open space, with three small stockaded villages — ordered my tent to be pitched under a large tree standing on one side. Soon afterward I found it moved into the full blaze of the sun ; and, on inquiring the cause, was told that the Arabs' ki- rangosi had directed it, as he wanted the place under the tree for himself. I, of course, would not stand this treatment, and had my tent put back again. Upon which the kirangosi de- clared he would not camp here unless he had the j^lace he want- ed ; so, to end the dispute, I told him he could go to the devil if he liked. He then moved on a mile farther with his people, while I remained with mine ; and later the Arabs apologized for his impertinence. These kirangosis give themselves airs, and do much as they please with their own masters ; and I suppose this fellow thouo^ht I should submit to the same. 244 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. June, The people liere were rough and dirty-looking, and wore their 1874. mnd-plastered hair in irregular masses. Food was fairly plen- tiful— bananas, fowls, eggs, flour, and palm-wine being obtained. The oil-palms are climbed by means of a piece of the midril) of the palm frond flattened and softened, and a rope of creepers, the midrib being passed round the tree, and the rope behind the man's back, and tied together. The tree is then climbed in the same manner as cocoa-nut palms frequently are in the East Indies. During our two days' stay, one of the natives constituted himself my showman. To each visitor to the camp he would point out my books, boxes, etc., and, on my meals being brought, would raise a shout that instantly caused a large crowd to as- semble to witness my feeding. And I may add that the per- formance seemed to give general satisfaction. The tameness of the goat excited an intense amount of won- der here, as indeed it usually did elsewhere, the people evident- ly thinking me a great magician to inake the animal come to me when called. Leaving this, we passed through a large and well-watered val- ley, with streams rnnning into Lake Lanji, and connnenced the ascent of the mountains of Bambarre. Hour after hour we toiled up their steep sides, having often to assist our feet by clutching at the trees and creepers grow- ing on their well - wooded slopes ; and in the evening we camped at the village Koana Mina, now deserted for another erected rather more tlian a mile farther on. Resuming our ascent in the early morning, we followed for im hour the winding path, and then turned into a dense mass of forest, and immediately began to descend. The northern side of the Bambarre Mountains differs greatly from the southern; for, instead of being a simple slope, they are seamed into enormous gullies and ravines. Sometimes our path was at the very bottom of them, then again at the top, and at another time along their precipitous sides. No sunlight or breeze ever penetrates into these dark depths, for a mass of monster trees, with spreading heads, shuts out the slightest glimpse of sky. And w^hat trees they were ! Stand- ing on the edge of a ravine a hundred and fifty feet deep, these XVIII.] AN ENTIRELY NEW COUNTRY. 245 giants of the sylvan world were seen springing from its depths; June, and, looking upward, their trunks were lost among their dense 1^74. foliage at an equal height above our heads. ~ Magnificent creepers festooned the trees ; and every here and there some dead monarch of the wood was prevented from fall- ing by the clinging embraces of these parasites, which linked him to some of his surviving brothers. The ground was damp and cool, and mosses and ferns grew luxuriantly. Still, notwithstanding the coolness of the tem- perature, the lack of circulation of the air caused a deadly op- pressiveness; and it was with feelings of relief that I again saw blue sky and sunlight streaming between the tree-trunks, as they grew fewer and smaller toward the bottom of the hills. Emerging from this truly primeval forest, we entered upon a fair country, with green plains, running streams, wooded knolls, much cultivation, and many villages. The tirst we reached was half an hour\s march from the jungle. And here we seemed to be in an entirely new country ; for though Eohombo may be, conventionally, the commencement of Manyuema, there is no doubt that its proper boundary, both ethnologically and geo- graphically, is the mountain range of Bombarre. The huts were ranged in long streets, sometimes parallel, and at others radiating from a large central space ; their bright-red walls and sloping roofs differing from those hitherto met with. And in the middle of the street were palaver huts, palm-trees, and granaries. In their dress the people were different from any I had previously seen. The men wore aprons of dressed deer-skin about eight inches wide, and reaching to their knees. They carried a single heavy spear, 'and a small knife with which to eat their food. Chiefs were armed with short two-edged swords with broad- ened, crescent -shaped ends, the scabbards being ornamented with iron and copper bells; and, instead of leather aprons, they wore large kilts of gayly colored grass cloth. The heads of the males were generally plastered with clay, so worked in with the hair as to form cones and plates. Oc- casionally long flakes, both flat and round, hung down on the neck, and in these holes were punched for the insertion of iron 246 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. June, 1874. and copper rings. Between the clay patches the scalp was shaven perfectly bare. The women, who were prevented by the men from crowd- ing round us on our arrival, had better figures and were better- looking — with the exception of a hanging lower lijD — than any I had seen for some time. In many instances their hair was worked into the shape of an old-fashioned bonnet, deeply shad- ing the face, while long ringlets flowed down their backs ; but some, despising the bonnet, or more confident of their charms, drew their hair off their foreheads and tied it together at the nape of the neck, letting it fall behind in tresses. HEADS OF MEN OF MANYUiSMA. Their dress was particularlj^ simple ; it consisted only of a cord round the waist — on which beads were strung by the richer ones — and two small grass-cloth aprons. The front one was about the size of a half-sheet of ordinary note-paper, and that behind just a trifle larger. Notwithstanding their small di- mensions, these aprons were often elal)orately stitched and or- namented witli beads and cowries ; and when the M'omen went working in the fields or fishing in the streams, they took off these gay clothes for fear of spoiling them, and replaced them with a small bunch of leaves. The goats and sheep, as well as the people, differed from those XVIII.] CAMPING AT A VILLAGE. 247 on the other side of the mountains, being precisely similar to those described by Dr. Schweinfurth in the Dinka country, and this breed also extends all through Manyuema and Urua. The sheep when well fed put on fat, and the caponized goats are particularly large and good. The she -goats are wonderfully prolific, constantly producing three at a birth. I have heard of instances in which five and six have been born at one time, and have w^itnessed several cases of four at a birth. We soon came to a larger village, where we camped ; and the people came in from the surrounding country to gaze at a June, 1874. rEOPt.E OF MANYUEM.V. white man, although they had seen Livingstone, who staid for some months with a neighboring chief, Moene Kussu. He had died, and had been succeeded by his sons, Moene Bugga and Moene Gohe. The latter visited us, and offered, on the part of himself and brother, all hospitality to a countryman of Living- stone, whose peaceful and unoffending progress through this land had tended to make an Englishman respected by the natives. We were delayed here by the illness of Muinyi Bokhari, one of the small traders of the caravan, who, thinking himself too poor to afford proper food, had actually been endeavoring to subsist on grass and earth. Consequently, and veiy naturally, something had gone wrong in his interior. 248 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, Marching again on July 1st through a populous and well- 1874. cultivated country, with many streams of bright water all flow- ing to the Luama, we reached the village of Moene Bugga, and were warmly welcomed by the chief, who is held in respect by the surrounding villages. There is not that incessant petty warring in this part of Manyuema as in other districts, where every village is constantly at variance with its neighbors. Moene Bugga follows his father's policy of maintaining cor- dial relations with traders, and, indeed, wishes them to establish a regular settlement at his village. He spoke very warmly of Livingstone, who was evidently much liked while here. Many chiefs, accompanied by their musicians and arm-bear- ers, called on us, and two of them each brought a dwarf, who carried a rattle, and shouted his master's name after this style, " Ohe Moene Boote, Ohe Oh^ !" and rattled the while. Moene Boote's dwarf was covered with blotches and had a deformed knee, and was altogether a repulsive-looking object. Tlie musicians played an instrument called "marimba," formed of two rows of gourds of different sizes fitted into a frame -work. Over each pair of gourds was a clef made of hard wood, which gave a metallic sound when struck with sticks having india-rubber heads. Gf these sticks there were differ- ent sizes, the player dexterously changing one for another, as a sharper or a duller sound was required. Moene Boote came shuffling up to me with a sort of slid- ing, half-dancing step, which did not get him ahead much more than a yard a minute ; and every two or three minutes he halt- ed while his marimba player and dwarf extolled his greatness. The people here seemed very affectionate among themselves, and decidedly more prolific than any other race I had seen in Africa ; but though endowed with many good qualities, it can not be denied that they are cannibals, and most filthy cannibals. Not only do they eat the bodies of enemies killed in battle, but also of people who die of disease. They prepare the corpses by leaving them in running water until they are nearly joutrid, and then devour them without any further cooking. They also eat all sorts of carrion, and their odor is very foul and re- volting. I was entertained with a song setting forth the delights of XVIII.] DANCING IN MANYUfiMA. 249 cannibalism, in wliicli the flesli of men was said to be good, but that of women was bad, and only to be eaten in time of scarci- ty ; nevertheless, it was not to be despised when man-meat was unobtainable. Dancing in Manyuema is the prerogative of the chiefs. When they feel inclined for a Terpsichorean performance they single out a good-looking woman from the crowd, and the two go through much wriggling and curious gesticulation opposite each other. The village drums are brought out, and vigorously July, 1874. WOMEN GOING FI8UING. beaten, the drummers meanwhile shouting " Gamello ! Gamel- lo !" If the woman is unmarried, the fact of a chief asking her to dance is ecpiivalent to an offei* of marriage, and many com- plications often occur in consequence. At this place Muinyi Hassani thought himself unwell, and detained us two days. Poor old Muinyi Bokhari was very ill, and was informed that he would be left behind unless he con- sented to part with some of his dearly hoarded cowries and beads to pay men to carry him. I tried to cure the old man, but my doctoring did not prove very successful. Leaving Moene Bugga's, we passed villages and cultivated land, and then through a gap in a low range of hills full of 250 ACKOsS AFRICA. [C^AI". 1>74. enormous mees like : Herein : „: along qnietlv in : well to Take le of iL -lirr of vras 5. -^ err . - -i TO'srsrvi me ^ «jniring me reas»: marebi in ^tfinviit the caraTas -w^rs given the _ i. ^ Afr - ^ ene 2 : rbene two dars e. - slopes of the Bam- _^. I w&s walking /^. and thought it as _ somedung for mr- ^ ^s hullabaloa. and ev- . the fpoct Mid rear, i?*- red. savy _ Tise Muinri XIX.] FISH-TKAPS. '251 CHAPTEE XIX. The Luama. — Fisherwomen. — Shooting Hippopotami. — Open-air Graiiario?. — Iron. — A Burning Country. — Shameful Behavior of Traders. — A Suspension-bridge. — The Natives turn upon the Traders. — Contemplated Attaek on the Caravan. — Two Chiefs treacherously shot. — Villages burned. — Women and Children captured. — I plead for Peace. — Influence as an Englishman. — A Palaver. — The Captives are liberated. — My Views are not appreciated. — Foundries. — Smithies. — Manyara Dress. — A Drum-major. — The Slaving System. — The Mighty Lualaba. — Going with the Stream. — ^Xyangw4 is reached. The Luama is a large and important affluent of the Lnalaba, July, and rises in the mountains of Ugoma, a short distance from the 1S74. Tanganyika, and not far from the sources of the Lngumba " and Lnbumba. The hitter, after a considerable detour, nnites with the Lnama about thirty miles above the point at which we crossed. The river has a very meandering course, with many affluents and backwaters, in which large numbei's of fish are caught by the women. At this time — in the middle of the dry season — it was perfectly navigable for large steam launches. Across each small stream or backwater dams ai-e built of hur- dle-work, with conical openings at intervals, something like the entrance to a wire rat-trap. "When the waters begin to subside, the "fish endeavor to pass through these dams to the perennial streams. The women then go fishing in the following manner : Doff- ing their grass -cloth aprons, and replacing them with leaves, they take enormous baskets — some seven feet long, two feet six inches deep, and two feet wide in the middle — made of close mat-like work of spht cane. These they set under the openings in the dams, which are then unfastened, while some of the dark sportswomen go into the stream and drive the terrified fish to- ward the dam. The fish, seeing no chance of escape save by these holes, jump through into the baskets ready for their re- ception. The fisherwomen seemed to think it great fun, and 252 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, enjoyed themselves immensely, shrieking, screaming, and laugh- 1874. jng tj^g whole while. Leaving the banks of the Lnama, we forded an affluent — the Lulwii, thirty yards in width and four feet in depth — and, marching two miles farther, reached the bend of the Luama, where we had arranged to cross it. Canoes were here in readi- ness ; but as there were only three, the work of getting the car- avan over occupied some time, for the river was fully a hundred yards in width and eight to ten feet deep in the middle, and had steep banks. While we w^ere thus engaged, at 9h. 10m. local mean time, there was a slight shock of earthquake ; a low, rumbling sound and a faint though distinctly percejitible tremor of the ground passing from east-north-east to west-south-west. A large number of hippopotami were blowing in mid-stream, on our reaching the river, so I occupied myself by firing at them. One, getting a bullet and shell in his head in rapid suc- cession, sunk, and the rest cleared out, M'hich was a very desira- ble result, since they often hog up underneath a canoe in deep water, and heave it right out, capsizing all the occupants. The canoes bore marks of the tusks of these brutes, which look wpon them as intruders, and often attack them wantonly. By the time the caravan had been ferried over, the sun was very powerful, and it was too late to proceed farther ; so we camped in a small scattered village about a mile from the river. Although they afterward became common, I here saw for the first time large platforms, on which were stored huge birndles of grass ready for thatching the huts on the approach of the rainy season. The two centre -poles of the platform, which were about twenty feet higher than the others, were connected with a square-meshed net made of strips of bark. At each in- tersection of these strips bunches of niatama and Indian corn were tied, the grain by these means being stored without a pos- sibility of its heating, as it sometimes does if placed in close granaries before it is perfectly ripe. But, en revanche^ the birds carry off immense quantities from these open-air stores. Our next camp was at Ivisimbika, the road to this j)lace being along the right bank of the Luama, and across many dry beds of water - courses with sides and bottoms formed of verv thin XIX.] SHAMEFUL BEHAVIOR OF TEADERS. ' 253 strata of a sort of shale, with occasional outcrops of iron-stone July, (hematite). ^^'^^- All the country around was either already burned or burning, and at night the roar of the immense grass fires could be heard for a distance of three or four miles, and the whole sky was lighted up by the blaze. These huge fires often occasion slight partial showers of rain, the enormous updraught causing the warm air to rush to a cooler level, where the moisture is con- densed and falls in the form of rain. From Kisimbika we went forward until the 17th of July without any long halts. We camped nightly in the villages, much to the disgust of the natives, who were treated in an over- bearing manner by the traders and their men. Relying on their gunpowder-strength, the traders gave their men nothing with which to purchase food, but told them to steal what they wanted themselves, and also to bring in provisions for their masters. The natives stood aloof, or looked on sullenly while these blackguards robbed their granaries, and their mortars, and other articles of household furniture, to make fires for cook- ing the stolen food. The only ajoproach they made toward com- municating with us was to propose that the caravan should join them in attacking other villages in order to obtain slaves. I gave my men extra rations to prevent their thieving, and in two or three cases paid natives who complained of them, and I treated the offenders to a sound flogging to show that I, as an Englishman, had no intention of making my way through the country by means of looting and force. Yet I fear when my back was turned they were fully as bad as the others. Bombay always persisted that they never stole any thing whatever ; but I sometimes heard from Jumah that Bombay himself was not entirely guiltless. On July the 18th, we crossed the Lulindi, a broad stream, which must be unfordable in flood. At a height of twenty feet above the water there hung a very cleverly constructed suspen- sion-bridge. Four large cables of creepers were fastened to the trunks of trees, one pair about four feet higher than the other, and to these cables were secured other creepers from tlie tops of the loftiest trees on each side of the stream, while horizontal guys prevented the bridge from swaying about. Across the 254 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, 1874. lower pair of cables sticks were laid to form a roadway. These were lashed in their places and wattled in with creepers, while a large net-work of the same connected the upper and lower ca- bles on each side of the bridge. Altogether it was a very in- genious and eifective strnctnre, and rather astonished me, more especially as I had never seen any similar construction in Afri- ca, nor indeed did I meet with another. Karungu, at which we camped, was a large town, or, more properly, group of villages, lying on the slojje of a hill, and it was arranged that we should halt here for a day before starting straight away for Kwakasongo, an Arab settlement on the road to Nyangwe. KAKUNQU. As I was sitting the next morning rpiietly reading and writ- ing, I heard muskctry-hre and a great disturbance in the Arab camp, and saw the natives flying in every direction, pursued by the traders' men. Matters had evidently come to a crisis, and I therefore collected all my men, and ordered them, under pain of instant and severe j)unishment, neither to leave the camp nor to fire at the natives, unless driven to do so in self-defense. I then went over to Muinyi Ilassani, to inquire the cause of the row, and found him all excitement and in a great fright. The story was this : XIX.] NATIVES AND TKADERS. 255 The natives of villages at which we had camped since leav- July, ing the Luama had been following us, with the hope of having i^"^*- an opportunity of attacking us in return for the injuries they had experienced at the hands of the caravan. In order to turn the tables, and bring matters to a head, two chiefs had ordered something to be stolen from the Arabs, knowing that they would not hesitate to demand its restoration, and that a palaver would then take place. As anticipated, the Arabs sent some messages respecting the theft, whereupon the chiefs came to the camp, and, confident in the numbers of natives lurking in ambush in the neighboring woods, refused to restore the stolen property — a small bark box full of beads — unless payment were made for every thing that had been stolen and destroyed in their villages. Muinyi Hassan i refused to accede to this, and demanded that the box should be returned unconditionally. The chiefs replied that if Muinyi Hassani and his people wanted it, they had better try to get it back by force. Then, rising to go away, they were treacherously shot down by some armed Wanyamwezi. I told Muinyi Hassani I should defend myself if attacked; but, since he was so entirely in the wrong, I would not allow a single man to put his foot outside my camp to assist in any ag- gression against the natives. By this time many surrounding villages were in flames, and the pagazi were returning from the work of destruction, driv- ing herds of goats and sheep before them, and bringing in un- fortunate women and children as captives ; for the natives, not- withstanding their over\Yhelming numbers, would not face the Arabs' muskets. In the afternoon, however, they began to assemble in great- er numbers, and I tried to persuade Muinyi Hassani to make peace ; but the attempt only ended in another row. During the day, Kamwassa, son of Manyara, a chief who was friendly with the Arabs, came into our camp, and I endeavored to enlist his influence in inducing the natives to listen to overtures of peace. Still, nothing could then be done to attain so desirable a result. Many alarms were raised in the night, and some guns were flred, but no fighting took place; and in the morning, when 256 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, crowds of people bad gathered round the camp, shouting and 1874. yelling, Kamwassa urged them to listen to terms. I believe the Arabs would have continued fighting had I not been there ; but they said, " We have an Englishman in the camp ; he will give us a bad name to his consul at Zanzibar ;" and as they all entertain a great respect for our consul — look- ing upon him as superior to every one but their own sultan, with whom they deem him almost on an equality — my pres- ence had some weight in checking further outrage and hostil- ities. The palaver was opened by deputies from the natives and traders going to the opposite banks of a small stream near the camp, and then meeting in the middle, and washing each other's faces. Then the natives came over to our side of the stream, and some of the chiefs " made brothers " with people selected from among the caravan. The brotherhood business having been completed, some pen-and-ink marks were made on a piece of paper, which, together with a charge of powder, was put into a kettleful of water. All hands then drank of the decoction, the natives being told that it was a very great medicine. Peace having been concluded, my next efforts were directed toward obtaining the release of the prisoners. To this there was a very strong opposition ; but I insisted on it, and in the end it was arranged that ransom should be paid for them. Oth- erwise the natives might have thought we were afraid of them, and would have attacked ns farther on the road. On leaving here, we had a long and tiring march through many villages, and the caravan was much hampered by the goats received as ransom for the unfortunate captives constantly running oft' into the jungle. When we camped, I found some slaves captured at Karungu still in the caravan, upon M'liieh I demanded that they should be set at liberty. This led to a stormy discussion with Muinyi Ilassani, who was not so anxious about the presence of my men, now we had passed through the worst of Manyuuma ; but I threatened him with all the terrors of the sultan and the English consul, and finally said I should set the captives free by force, if necessary. I told him plainly that I did not and could not interfere with the buying and selling of slaves by him and his friends, or with their seiz- XIX.] IRON FOUNDRIES. 257 ing them by the strong arm when alone ; but I was determined July, that the English colors, which had brought freedom to so many ^^'^^- on both coasts of Africa, should not be disgraced in the centre of the continent. In the end the slaves were set at liberty, and a hollow peace was patched up between us ; but I decided to have nothing fur- ther to do with Muinyi Hassani on reaching Nyangwd. The following day we arrived at the village of Manyara, standing among many others over which he was really, though not nominally, the chief. All had two or three foundries in them, upward of thirty feet long by twenty wide, with low walls and an enormously high roof. In the centre was a pit, six feet wide, four deep, and twenty long, rather shallower at HILLS ON EOAD TO MANYARA. one end than the other. Across this, about six feet from the shallow end, was built a' clay furnace four feet wide. The smaller of the two divisions of the pit was used as a stoke-hole, while the ore and slag ran into the other, and round the sides were small divisions containing charcoal and iron ore. They sometimes use as many as a dozen pair of bellows at one time in order to make a sufficient blast. Their bellows are formed of two upright and parallel shallow wooden cylinders, with vents leading into one nozzle, which is protected by clay from the effects of the fire. These cylinders are covered with grass -cloth having a stick three feet long fastened into the centre, and are worked by holding one stick in each hand, and 258 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, moving them up and down alternately as fast as possible. By J^^^_ this means a good and continuous blast is produced. After smelting, the iron is worked by smiths into small pieces weighing about two pounds, and shaped like two cones joined together at the base, and a piece or rod the size of a large knit- ting-needle projects from both ends. In this form the metal is hawked about for sale. Small open sheds are used as smithies, and the anvils and larger hammers are made of stone ; but small hammers are of iron. Those of stone are provided with two loops of rope to serve as handles, while the iron hammers are simply grasped in the hand and are without handles. The dress of the people had now changed somewhat, the men mostly wearing kilts. Heads were still plastered with clay, but not so elaborately as among the first people I saw in Manyu^- ma. The women wore round their waists a small strip of leath- er ornamented with iron and copper beads, and through this and between their legs a piece of rough bark-cloth was passed, the ends being allowed to hang down before and behind. They shaved the tops of their heads, leaving only a sort of trellis pat- tern of very short hair, and a bunch of ringlets hung down the backs of their necks. A friend of Syde's and some native chiefs met us here, and they treated us to so many extraordinary stories that it was impossible to rely upon any thing they said. One of the chiefs was very elaborately adorned with kilt, cap, and scarf of varie- gated grass-cloth, and was followed by men carrying shields and spears, while two others brought uj) the rear with an enormous drum slung on a pole. The hindmost one performed vigorous- ly upon this instrument when approaching a village. Two days' marching from Manyara brought us to Kwaka- songo. On our way we passed a hill composed almost entirely of black speculum iron ore ; and a curious mount with precipi- tous cliffs, which formed one side of it, rose sheer out of the plain. At Kwakasongo there is an Arab settlement of some size, three white Arabs, besides many half-castes and Wamerima, be- ing there. They have good houses and live comfortably, while they send out their caravans, composed of slaves and Wanyam- XIX.] MUINYI HASSANI. 259 wezi pagazi. One man alone employed six hundred Wanyam- August, wezi, all armed with guns. These fellows get little or no pay, ^^'^*- but are allowed to loot the country all round in search of sub- sistence and slaves. Some of the slaves they keep for them- selves, giving their employers a sufficient number in return for the powder supplied to enable them to oppress the natives. The Arab who had six hundred Wanyamwezi possessed up- ward of fifteen tons of good ivory in his store-houses, and was waiting for the road between Ujiji and Unyanyembe to be re- ported clear before sending it to the coast. Some others also had a good amount, but I found my friend Q) Syde was a needy beggar, and his stories about possessing great influence here were myths. As usual, the Arabs were very civil and kind, and we could not tear ourselves away from their hospitalities under a week. Muinyi Hassani, meanwhile, remained camped in a neighbor- ing village, nursing himself through a bad attack of fever. I felt bound to doctor him, notwithstanding our row about the slaves, and went two miles out and two back every morning and evening to look after him ; but I never received so much as a word of thanks for my trouble, and I imagine my patient had neither forgotten nor forgiven my interference in the slave question. We left Kwakasongo on the 1st of August, and after two marches came in sight of the mighty Lualaba. From a bluff overhanging the river I obtained my first view of the stream — a strong and sweeping current of turbid yellow water fully a mile wide, and flowing al; the rate of three or four knots an hour, with many islands, inuch like the eyots on the Thames, lying in its course. The larger ones were well wooded, and in- habited by the Wagenya, a tribe holding all the islands and a long strip on the left bank, and, as the sole proprietors of ca- noes, having the whole carrying trade of the river in their hands. Canoes were numerous, and the flocks of water-fowl, wing- ing their way from sand-bank to sand-bank in search of food, gave life to the scene. To remind us of the dangers of the stream, there were enormous herds of hippopotami blowing and snorting, and here and there the long scaly back of a crocodile floating ahnost flush with the water. 260 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. August, 1874. Just before coming upon the river, we passed villages in which the huts had reverted to the shape of those in Waguhha and Ubudjwa. Near them were regularly jDlanted groves of oil- palms, surrounded by hedges of prickly cactus, and at the en- trance on each side huts were built for the guardians of the plantation. These groves were also protected from the attacks of elephants and other wild beasts by innumerable large pit- falls dug round about them, which rendered it necessary for the passer-by to be very wary in his walking. On the evening of my arrival I entered into an agreement with some natives to convey me, with a portion of my stores and men, to Nyangwe by boat, while the remainder went by land. TO MARKET. Muinyi Bokhari, the poor grass-eating old man, died during the night, and was at once buried by fire-light with very little ceremony. When I went to the brink of the river, early in the morning, not a canoe was to be seen. Shortly afterward they began to pass from one island to another, and to haul up and set fishing- traps. But not one came near us until about ten o'clock, when, by dint of beckoning and shouting, some men were induced to come across from an island in the middle of the stream, and, after a long palaver, bi-ought three canoes. These I hired and paid for on the spot, and started at once for Nyangwe. XIX.] DUCK SHOOTING. 261 The passage down the river was rapid and pleasant, owing August, to the swift current and the beauty of the scenery. On the is*?-*. left bank the shore rose gradually till it culminated in a range of wooded hills ten or twelve miles distant ; while the right bank rose abruptly in small cliffs crowned by hanging woods, and here and there broken by the embouchure of one of the numerous affluents of the giant stream. Islands, populous and wooded, were passed in constant succession. From flocks of duck feeding on the numerous sand-banks I managed to bag two or three couple, and found them almost precisely like an English wild duck, except in color. The body was white, speckled with brown ; wings, head, and tail, black, shot with greenish blue. NYANQWE, FKD.M TllK KIVEK. In the afternoon the canoe-men put in at a fishing village on the right bank, and declared their intention of halting. I told them they might stop if they pleased, but I and the canoes were going on to Nyangwe ; for I well knew that if we camped neither canoes nor men would be forthcoming next mornino-. Seeing that I was determined, the men consented to go on. At sunset I noticed some large huts on a bluff over the river. This was the commencement of the Arab settlement of N'yangwe, and a landing-place was just below. Jumping ashore, I went into the settlement, and my appearance rather astonished the people ; for they had heard nothing of our ap- 262 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. August, proacli, and could not imagine where a solitary white man i^"^*- came from. The news of my arrival was at once communicated to Habed ibn Salim, a line white-headed old Arab, commonly known as Tanganyika, and he came running out of his house, where he had been performing his evening devotions, to ascertain what it could mean. A few words explained matters, and we very shortly became great friends. My tent was pitched close to his house, and the veranda of a large new building was placed at my service, and stowage for my stores and house-room for my followers were 8up23lied with- out delay. A mess of smoking-hot curry was also soon put be- fore me ; and very acceptable it was, for I had taken nothing that day, excepting a cup of corn coffee before starting in the morning. At last, then, I was at Nyangwe ! And now the question be- fore me was. What success would attend the attemj^t at tracing the river to the sea ? XX.] NYANGWfl. 263 CHAPTER XX. Nyangwe. — The Head-man's Harem. — Syde Mezrui is a Fraud. — A Slow Set. — The Markets. — The Weaker Sex. — Their Lordly Masters. — Difficulty in obtaining Canoes. — Native Opinion of the White Man. — As Others see Us. — An Antislavery Lecture. — A Clear-headed Man of Business. — An Old Impostor. — No Guides. — Fighting on the Road. — Ulegga. — The Lualaba and the Nile. — Lake Sankorra. — Tipo-tipo. — Crossing the Lualaba. — A Fever Den. — Bad Quarters. — Fishing-vreir Bridges. — Russuna. — A Brush with the Natives. — Blood-money. — A Check upon Looting. — Russuna's Wives. — Not Bashful, but Inquisitive. — A State Visit. — Rus- suna's Private Village. — The Cares of a Mother-in-law. ISTyangwe has been well chosen by the Zanzibar traders as a August, permanent settlement on the Lualaba. It takes the form of i^'^*- two villages, each set on an eminence above the river, divided by a small valley watered by a little marshy stream, and afford- ing admirable rice grounds. The right bank of the river, on which Nyangwe is situated, being well raised, is free from malaria and fever, while the left bank is low, and overflowed by the annual floods, which leave festering, stagnant backwaters. It is about as pestilential a place as it is possible to imagine, notwithstanding which the Wagenya live and flourish there, apparently feeling no ill ef- fects from the miasma. Of the two settlements, th,e western one is occupied entirely by Wamerima from Bagamoyo and its neighboring district. The head-man among them is Muinyi Dugumbi, who, finding himself a far greater personage here than he could ever hope to be in his native place, gave up all idea of returning to the coast, and devoted his attention and energies to establishing a harem. He had collected round him over three hundred slave women, and the ill effects of this arrangement, and his indul- gence in bhang and pombe, were plainly noticeable in his rapid decline into idiotcy. The eastern part, where I staid, is the abode of the Wasuahili and Arabs, but Tanganyika was the only one then there ; the 19 264 ACEOSS AFEICA. [Chap. August, factories of Syde ibn Habib and others being under the charge 1874. Qf confidential slaves. Tanganyika showed me the house he had lent to Living- stone. It belonged to, and was occupied at that time by, one of his wives, whom he turned out of her home for the conven- ience of the doctor. That part of my caravan which journeyed by land arrived two days after me, and I instantly made endeavors to collect canoes for the attempt at floating down the river to the sea. Syde Mezrui, notwithstanding his boasted acquaintance with the chiefs, proved to be of very small consequence, and con- tented himself with constantly asking for beads. When re- fused by me, Bombay and Bilal, in sj)ite of my positive orders to the contrary, gave him what he wanted, until I detected the little game, and locked my beads up in Tanganyika's ivory- store. Tanganyika offered to assist me in every thing in his power, but said that Muinyi Dugumbi was regarded as head-man by the natives, and therefore nmst be consulted. That individual altogether failed to understand the object of being in a hurry ; and, as I had only arrived a few days, thought that surely a month or so hence would be time enough to think about ca- noes. I would not leave him till he promised that he would try to persuade the natives to sell me some canoes on the first market-day. Others made some show of affording aid, but they always said, " Slowly, slowly ; don't be in a hurry ; to-morrow will d<^ as well as to-day ;" and so the matter dragged along. Every fourth day large markets were held in each part of the settlement ; and as the neighboring chiefs and canoe-own- ers came to them, I had great hopes of getting what I required. At the first that occurred after my arrival, I found cowries, goats, and slaves were the only currency available in large pur- chases ; and being without these, I could do no trade. Tangan- yika induced some men to promise they would think about sell- ing their canoes if I obtained cowries, and also arranged to take Bombay across the river, and through the strip inhabited by the Wagenya to the woods Avliere canoes were made. Early in the morning of market-day canoes appeared on the XX.] THE MAKKETS. 265 river in every direction, bringing people with pottery, palm-oil, fish, fowls, flour, salt, grass-cloth, slaves, and every thing pro- duced in the country. They were crowded and laden to such an extent as to render the presence of a black Mr. Plimsoll highly advantageous to passengers and cargo ; but as the crew were oftentimes the owners, perhaps they would have objected to his watchful eye. August, 18V4. At the landing-places the canoes were hauled ashore, when the men shouldered the paddles, and sauntered slowly to the market-place, leaving the women to bring up the merchandise. This they carried in large baskets slung on their backs by a strap across the forehead, like the creels of the Scottish fish-wives. The men moved about the market-place doing nothing, un- M^KKLT-WOMEN, Ij-iANGWE. 266 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. August, less soinetliing important — siieli as the sale of a slave — occurred 1874. to attract their attention. The women, on the contrary, ad- dressed all their energies to the momentous work of bargaining and chaffering ; and as soon as they had selected the spot where they intended to locate themselves, down went the baskets, and the articles for sale were arranged on the ground. The sales- women then, sitting in the baskets, squatted on the ground, and looked like some extraordinary specimens of shell-hsh ; the bas- kets doing duty as shells, and preserving their delicate persons from contact with the damp earth. The whole of the purchasers and venders jammed themselves in a compact mass, none standing a yard from the main body, although there was plenty of room for them to have moved about in comfort. But they seemed determined to squeeze to- gether for three or four hours in a screaming, sweating, and, I may add, stinking crowd, the savor of which ascended on high. Suddenly a move w^ould be made by some person, and in another twenty minutes the two thousand that had been as- sembled were dispersed. Every day these markets take place on some neutral ground, and the feuds in which the j^eople are constantly engaged cease for the time the market is being held, as also during the pas- sage of buyers and sellers to and from their villages. Except at Nyangwe, the market-places are in uninhabited spots; and here there were only the houses of traders and the huts of their slaves and porters, who had settled there princi- pally on account of the market. The neighboring chiefs are always to be seen on these occasions, and at Nyangwe they lounged about the Arabs' verandas, talking of the price of ivo- ry, goats, and slaves. I tried every means to persuade the people to sell me canoes, but without avail. One hoary-headed old fellow said that no good to the Wagenya had ever resulted from the advent of strangers, and he should advise each and all of his countrymen to refuse to sell or hire a single canoe to the wdiite man ; for if he acted like the strangers w^ho had gone before him, he would only prove a fresh oppressor to the natives, or open a new road for robbers and slave - dealers. Others said they would bring canoes if I paid for them in slaves ; but I replied that, as an XX.] A SHKEWD BARGAINER. 267 Englishman, I could not deal in slaves. Englishmen did not August, recognize the status of slavery, and in our opinion all men 1874. should be free. I added, that, of course, I was powerless to make alterations in the customs or laws of a country where slavery was allowed; but that if ray sovereign heard of my being engaged in the slightest degree in any transaction that might savor of trading in slaves, I should get into great trou- ble on my return to my own country, as the whole idea of our Government was opposed to any form of slavery whatever. Some of the chiefs then agreed to accept an equivalent for slaves, taking their current price in cowries, but only one ever came again about his bargain. When I counted out before ' him the correct number of cowries, which I had purchased at about threepence or fourpence apiece, he quietly looked them over and then returned them, remarking that if he took home such a quantity of cowries they would only be ajDpropriated by his wives as ornaments, and he would be poorer by a canoe ; and his wives, w^earing numbers of cowries, would not provide him with better food or clothing. So anxious was I to close this bargain, that I offered double the value of his canoe in cowries, saying that surely his wives • could not possibly wear such an amount. But he had a won- derfully keen idea of trading, and replied that the cowries would be lying idle and bringing him in nothing till he man- aged to buy slaves with them, whereas, if he received slaves in payment, he could set them at work at once to paddle canoes between the markets, to catch fish, to make pottery, or to culti- vate his fields ; in fact, he did not want his capital to lie idle. Muinyi Dugumbi used to " sell " me when I went to ask his assistance on a market-day. His reply was always, " Stop in the veranda. I will go and see if there are any people who have canoes to sell ;" and he would leave me apparently on this er- rand. But I afterward found that he used to slip into one of the houses of his harem by a back way, and remain there until the market-people had gone. Tanganyika tried his utmost to find men willing to part with canoes, but builders even would not dispose of their craft. Two or three promised to do so, and received part payment in ad- vance, but they afterward returned the cowries. 268 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. August, What further to do Tanganyika did not know, Ijut he as- 1874. sured me I was welcome to tlie only one he possessed ; and he held out, as some encouragement, the j^ossibility of my obtain- ing canoes on the return of a large party then making war on the natives on the other bank. They had canoes, and it was likely that when the natives saw I had some, they would not object to my getting more. Waiting M'as weary work, but I lived in hope, and spent many tedious hours in talking with Tanganyika about his dif- ferent journeys. From him I heard that the river flowed west- south-west from Nyangwe, and fell into a great lake to which men, bringing cowries and cloth for sale, came in large vessels capable of containing two hundred peoj)le. Some distance west of ]N'yangwe was Meginna, and to that place people owning boats traded, according to statements made to me by Arabs who had been there. I tried to engage guides and men to escort me to Meginna by land, our party be- ing far too small, in the eyes of my people, to make the jour- ney by itself, as the high-handed manner in which large armed parties of traders traveled had set all the natives against them. But the settlers at Nyangwe declared themselves to be too short of powder and guns to sj^are a sufficient force to accom- pany me and return safely by themselves, so no volunteers were forthcoming. In addition to this, they were very mucli afraid to travel by the roads north of the Lualaba ; for se\eral strong and well-armed ])arties had been severely handled by the na- tives in that direction, and had returned to Nyangwe with the loss of more than lialf their numbers. One party, wlio had been a long way to north -north -east, and reached Ulegga, had especially suffered, having lost over two hundred out of their total strength of three hundred. They described the natives as being very fierce and warlike, and using })oisoned arrows, a mere scratch from which proved fatal in four or five minutes, unless an antidote, known only to the natives, was immediately applied. Ulegga was, they said, a country of large mountains wooded to the summits, and valleys filled with such dense forest that they traveled four and five days in succession without seeing the sun. From the natives they had heard that people wearing long white clothes and us- XX.] THE LUALABA AND THE NILE. 269 ing beasts of burden came to trade far to the north of the far- August, thest point they had reached. These, no doubt, were the Egyp- 1874. tian traders in the Soudan. All the streams seen by them on these journeys flowed to- ward the Lualaba, which, west of Nyangwe, received three large rivers from the northward — the Lilwa, Lindi, and Lowa. This last, which I believe to be the Uelle of Dr. Schweinfurth, was reported to be as large as the Lualaba (the Ugarowwa of the Arabs) at Xyangwe, and to be fed by two ijnportant afiluents, both called Lulu, one from the east, the other from the west. The levels I obtained at Nyangwe conclusively proved that the Lualaba could have no connection whatever with the Nile sys- tem, the river at Nyangwe being lower than the Nile at Gon- dokoro, below the point at which it has received all its affluents. The volume of water also passing Nyangwe is 123,000 cubic feet per second in the dry season, or more than five times great- er than that of the Nile at Gondokoro, which is 21,500 feet per second. This great stream must be one of the head-waters of the Kongo, for where else could that giant among rivers, second only to the Amazon in its volume, obtain the two million 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 there- fore 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. After I had remained at'Nyangwd rather more than a fort- night, one of the expeditions that had been looting slaves, goats, and every thing they could lay their hands on to the south of the river, returned, and with it the men who owned canoes. I offered any thing in reason for a few canoes, but they would not part with one even, and my hopes were rapidly falling to zero. But on the ITth of August I heard the sound of fire- arms drawing near, and was told that another party of maraud- ers were returning. This proved, however, to be the advanced guard of Tipo-tipo (Hamed ibn Hamed). He was coming to Nyangwe from his permanent camp about ten marches off, in 270 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. August, order to settle a difference between the plunderers and a friend 18'74. Qf ijjg^ a chief called Russuna, who had begged him to interfere when the Njangwe people attacked him. In conversation with the leader of this guard, I ascertained that Tipo-tipo's camp Avas close to the banks of the Lomami, an important southern affluent of the Lualaba, and that the lake into which that river flowed was within fourteen or fffteen marches of the camp ; and he said that there were people with Tipo-tipo who had been to this lake, the Sankorra, and had met traders there with large boats. Two days afterward Tipo-tipo arrived, and came to see me. He was a good-looking man, and the greatest dandy I had seen among the traders; and, notwithstanding his being perfectly black, he was a thorough Arab, for, curiously enough, the ad- mixture of negro blood had not rendered him less of an Arab in his ideas and manners. He marched to his present camp from Katanga, and, although he had been settled there for near- ly two years, had no idea of the proximity of the settlement at Nyangwe. He advised me that to reach Lake Sankorra the best method would be to return with him to his camp, and then, procuring guides and crossing the Lomami, to march straight for the lake. Natives were constantly passing backward and forward in small parties, and he did not think the journey would prove difficult. With him were two natives of the coun- try west of the Lomami, who confirmed his views, and also gave me some particulars of a lake named Iki, situated on the Lu- wembi, an affluent of the Lomami, and which is probably the Lake Lincoln of Livingstone. Tipo-tipo was accompanied by some of Russuna's head-men, and the palave'r concerning the attempted raid on that chief was quickly settled by the declaration of Tipo-tipo that he would side with Russuna if he were again attacked. As his caravan, and those of five or six traders who recognized him as their head, could have brought more gims into the field than the Nyangwo people, and as the traders at Kwakasongo were also likely to have sided with Tipo-tipo, he and his father be- ing two of the richest and most influential of the traveling Zan- zibar merchants, it was thought wise to promise to leave Rus- suna alone in future. -~:ik ■^ "s; XX.] I LEAVE NYANGWfi. 271 On the 26tli of August, having bid farewell to Muinyi Du- August, gumbi, I set about getting my men across the river in readiness i^'^^. for starting with Tipo-tipo early the following day, Tangan- yika provided canoes, and assisted me much ; but in the after- noon a bad attack of fever laid him up, and I was thrown upon my own resources. I saw nearly every man away from the l^yangwe side, and then, being very tired, left Bombay with a canoe containing a portion of my kit, to bring the remaining men across after me. On landing on the other side, I found the village where we had to camp situated on the bank of a stagnant, muddy back- water, reeking under the sun's rays. The place was inhabited only in the dry season by the fever-proof Wagenya, owing to its being flooded for four or five months of the year. In vain that night did I look for Bombay and the remainder of the stores and men ; and when he joined me at noon the next day, Asmani, his chum Mabruki, and another pagazi had deserted, taking with them guns and ammunition, I heard that, the moment I was out of sight, Bombay unloaded the canoe, and coolly returned to the settlement to indulge in a big drink. My bed, cooking gear, provisions, and medicine-chest were all in that canoe, and to the want of them may, in a great measure, be attributed the heavy attack of fever I had after sleeping on the low left bank of the river. Fever or no fever, I determined to go on ; and at one o'clock started to meet Tipo-tipo, who had crossed the river rather low- er down. Our road led through many villages, the inhabitants of which were employed either in catching fish in the backwa- ters, or making large egg-shaped pots used for storing palm-oil. JS^early every hut had a pig tied to the door-post, and its odor, combined with that of mud, rotten fish, etc, made a houquet cFAfrique not to be imagined. Soon after joining Tipo-tipo we left the river, and began to ascend a gentle slope ; and, passing a market in full swing, ar- rived, after four hours' marching, at the river Kovubu, a large stream, which we crossed on a gigantic fishing -weir bridge. The weir was composed of poles, in many instances over forty feet in length, and from the number used it was evident that a great amount of patient and well-directed labor must have been 272 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. August, 1874. required in its construction. Here we halted, and most of tlie people took the opportunity to have a bathe ; but I was obliged to lie down and rest, being completely exhausted by fever. After a time we moved on, passing many deserted villages, with their crops destroyed by the late marauders from Nyangwe, and camped about nine in the evening. KUS8UNA ANI) A WIFK. During the last part of the march, the fever so increased that I reeled like a drunken man, and was scarcely able to drag one foot after the other. To my fevered vision and ideas the large, white, pyramidal ant-hills, which were plentiful, often seemed to be my tent ; and when I found myself mistaken, the hope that each in succession might really prove to be it kept me moving, although I was thoroughly beaten. I was somewhat better the next day, and managed to get along ; but it was weary XX.] AN UNPLEASANT FRACAS. 273 work, and my feet were so blistered that I was obliged to slit open my boots, Russuna's was reached on the 29th of August, the country passed through being very fertile, with many fine trees, mpafu, gum-copal, African oak, teak, and others. In one place there was a large grove of nutmeg-trees, and for forty or fifty yards the ground was literally covered with nutmegs. During this march a very unpleasant fracas occurred, owing to some ^yangwe people, who were accompanying us to Tipo- tipo's to buy copper, being recognized as old enemies by the natives, who let fly a volley of arrows in the midst of them. August, 1874. bussOna's suield and dbum. In an instant all was confusion, and two or three natives were shot down before a parley could be begun ; but Tipo-tipo ap- pearing on the spot, they recognized him, and were re-assured. Some, however, did not recover from their fright until I had induced them to sit round me, and guaranteed their safety until matters were settled. Tipo-tipo compelled the ISTyangwe people to pay blood-money for those natives who had been killed, as he argued that it was owing to their folly in going in front of his men — who were well known to the natives as friends — that the trouble had arisen. I was delighted to see his leading men serve out 274 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. August, 1874. sound and well-deserved thrashings to some AYanyamwezi por- ters from Nyangwe, who had taken advantage of the row to commence looting a village. We camped about two miles from Russuna's village, yet he, together with his brother and half a dozen wives, came to stay with us during our two days' halt. He visited me very often, bringing a different wife each time. They were the hand- somest women I had seen in Africa, and, in addition to their kilts of grass -cloth, w^ore scarfs of the same material across their breasts. 6UB-CIIIKP. On the second day all fear of me and bashfulness had van- ished, and they came in a body to see me. I soon had them all sitting around me looking at pictures and other curiosities ; and after a time they began to wax so much more familiar that they turned up the legs and sleeves of my sleeping suit, which I al- ways wore in camp, to discover whether it was my face alone that was white. Indeed, they ultimately became so inquisitive XX. T A MOTHEE-IN-LAW. 275 that I began to fear they would undress me altogether; to September, avoid which I sent for some beads and cowries and gave them i^"^^- a scramble, and thus withdrew their attention from my per- sonal peculiarities. When Russuna came to see me, he brought a large and hand- somely carved stool upon which he sat, while he used the lap of one of his wives, who was seated on the ground, as his foot- stool. "While he remained here a sub-chief visited him in state, accompanied by people carrying shields ornamented with cow- ries and beads, and fringed with black monkey - skins, and a woman bearing on a spear the skin of a tippet-monkey as a standard. Russima, in equal state, went a short distance from the camp to meet and welcome him. This chief and Russuna then had a palaver with Tipo-tipo and the Nyangwe Arabs, and, after swearing eternal friendship, the caravan was free to pro- ceed on its way to Tipo-tipo's camp, which was reached, without any further adventure, on the 3d of September. Russiina's private village, inhabited only by himself and his wives, had been passed on the road. It consisted of about forty comfortable square huts in two rows, with a large one in the centre for himself. Each hut contained about four wives, and Russiina's mother had the pleasant task of keeping them all in order. 276 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. CHAPTEE XXI. Tipo-tipo's Camp. — Kasongo Visits us in State. — The Ceremoii}-. — Kasongo's Ready Assistance. — I become a Gun-smith, Bone-setter, and Soap-boiler. — Kasongo at Home. — Sankorra Traders. — Am forbidden to proceed. — Reasons for not using Force. — I take Another Route. — Warua Guides. — Export of Slaves from Man- yuema. — Their Disposal. — Cause of Increase of Slave-holding. — Ants as a Deli- cacy.— Mode of trapping Them. — ^A Lazy Leader. — Kifuma Hospitality. — ^A De- sirable Residence. — Carved Door-posts. — A Rifle is stolen. — Fear of Conse- quences.— Thankfulness and Gratitude. — Leaving my " Guide " to his own De- vices.— I strike out a New Course. — My Men will not follow. — I will not re- turn.— Their Scruples are overcome. — Attack on the Caravan. — Fists versus Archery. — Peace. — Kasenge. — Hundreds fliock to see me feed. — Kwarumba. September, Tipo-Tipo's camp was well arranged, and sitnated on a slight 1874. eminence ; but not being a really permanent settlement, no large houses had been built, although Tipo-tipo and the other traders had good huts. They provided me with a very com- fortable one, having two small apartments and a bath-room, be- sides sheds for my servants, and cooking arrangements. Before making preparations for crossing the Lomami, we had to receive a visit from Kasongo, the chief of the district, which took place two days after our arrival. At eight o'clock on that morning, Tipo-tipo, myself, and every leading man of his and the Nyangwe parties, arra3'ed ourselves in our best — although I confess mine was not much of a turn-out — and assembled in an open shed, which was the general meeting-place of the settle- ment during the day, and often far into the night. An individual authorized by the chief to do duty as master of the ceremonies then arrived, carrying a long carved walking- stick as a badge of office, his advent being the signal for all porters and slaves in camp and people from surrounding vil- lages to crowd round to witness the spectacle. The master of ceremonies drove the anxious sight-seers back, and formed a space near the reception-room — as the hut may be termed — and then different sub-chiefs arrived, each followed by spearmen XXI.] A STATE VISIT. 277 and shield-bearers, varying in number according to rank, a few September, of the more important being followed also by drummers. Each 1874. new-comer was brought to the entrance, where the Arabs and myself had taken our seats, and his name and rank proclaimed by the master of the ceremonies, who further informed him of the position he was to occupy in order to be ready to. welcome Kasongo. After some time spent in this manner, some drumming and shouting heralded the approach of the great man himself. KING KASONGO. First in the procession were half a dozen drummers, then thirty or forty spearmen, followed by six women carrying shields, and next Kasongo, accompanied by his brothers, eldest son, two of his daughters, and a few officials, the rear being brought up by spearmen, drummers, and marimba-players. On his" reaching the entrance to the hut, a ring was formed, and Kasongo— dressed in a jacket and kilt of red -and -yellow woolen cloth trimmed with long-haired monkey - skins, and with a greasy 20 278 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. September, handkerchief tied round his head — performed a jigging dance 1874. with his two daughters. The Terpsicliorean performance being conchided in about a quarter of an hour, lie tlien entered the hut, and we had a long conversation. I acquainted him with my wish to cross the Lomami and proceed to Lake Sankorra, and found that the country and road presented no great difliculties, and that we should be almost certain of meeting people who owned large boats on the lake ; but it would be necessary to obtain per- mission from the chief on the opposite bank of the Lomami, before passing through his territory. Kasongo kindly offered, in the iirst instance, to confer per- sonally with this chief on the matter ; but afterward, coming to the conclusion that he was too old for the journey, decided to dispatch some of his people with a party belonging to Tipo-tipo and myself to obtain the necessary permission. He made many inquiries as to my nationality and business, and I informed him that it was from my country that cloth and other articles used in trading in Africa were sent ; and my object was to visit the people who purchased these things and to see their countries, so that I might be enabled to tell my sultan what they wanted, and increase the trade for the benefit of both sides. When Kasongo had taken his departure, which was conduct- ed with much the same ceremony as that observed on arrival, I asked Tipo-tipo to lend me a few men, and detailed an equal number of my own, to accompany Kasongo's jDcople to the Lomami. Next morning the party started, and I settled down for two or three days' rest. I was, however, occupied with doing many things for the benefit of the camp. All broken locks of mus- kets were brought to me for repairs ; I was asked to doctor peoj^le for fever and dysentery ; and in one instance to perform a surgical operation upon a man who had been shooting with copper slugs, and had lodged the charge in his hand. I cut the slugs out, put splints on the broken fingers, and dressed the whole with carbolized oil, and, l)efore I left, had the satisfaction of seeing the unfortunate fellow on the high-road to recovery. I could not make him hold his hand steady while extracting the slugs, so had to adopt rather a rough-and-ready course, and XXI.] TRADERS ON LAKE SANKORRA. 279 lashed Lis wrist firmly to an upright post during the opera- September, tion. '^ 1874. ISTot content with making me gunsmith and surgeon, they begged me to try my hand at the manufacture of soap from palm-oil, having heard that the English used it for that jjurpose. Not being sanguine as to the result, I did not care to make the attempt ; but they pressed it so upon me that I consented, and after much trouble succeeded in manufacturing a sort of soft soap — which would wash clothes — of palm-oil and lye made from ashes of the stalks of Indian corn. Two days after Kasongo's visit, I returned his call, and found him sitting on an open grassy space in the middle of his village, which was composed of good-sized, comfortable huts. He was dressed only in native grass-cloth, but looked far cleaner and more respectable than wdien tricked out in his tawdry finery. Some people then with him had just returned from Lake San- korra, and said that traders had been there very recently ; and, to prove the truth of their statements, showed me new cloth and beads they had bought there, quite different in kind and quality from any coming from Zanzibar. ' Another proof, and an unwelcome one, was that the cowi'ies I had purchased at Ny- angwe had fallen from the abnormal price they obtained there to considerably below par, when compared with beads. This was owing to the large quantities brought into the country by traders to the lake, who w^ere described to me as wearing hats and trousers, and having boats with, two trees (masts) in them. All my hopes of an easy journey to this mysterious lake were dashed to the ground on re(geiving the answer from the chief whose territory I desired to cross. "No strangers wdtli guns had," he said, " ever passed through his country, and none should, without fighting their way." Although I could have obtained suflftcient men from Nyangwe and Tipo-tipo to have easily fought my way through, I recog- nized it as my duty not to risk a single life unnecessarily ; for I felt that the merit of any geographical discovery would be irretrievabl}^ marred by shedding a drop of native blood except in self-defense. My direct road to the lake being thus closed, I inquired if it were possible to get there by some circuitous route. 280 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. September, 1874. Tipo-tijjo had heard of Portuguese having been close to the chief of Urua's capital, wliich lay about a month's journey south-south-west from us, and showed me a Portuguese sol- dier's coat bought from a native, who stated that he received it from a white man who w^as with the chief of Warua. After consultation with Tij'to-tipo, and carefully weighing the 2)ros and i'ons^ I decided on proceeding to the chief of Warua in search of the white traders — who had, I thought, most probably come from the lake — and thence to work back to Sankorra by a road to the westward of the country through which I was for- bidden to pass. When I decided on taking this course, Tipo-tipo offered me the services of three Warua guides who had come from the WAETTA OUrDES. south with him. They were Mona Kasanga, head-man, and son of a chief on Lake Kowamba ; M'Nchkkulla, one of the head- men of a village called Mukalombo ; and Kongwe, of no par- ticular rank or status. Wages and rations for the three were arranged, and, according to custom, paid in advance to Mona Kasanga. From them I gathered information about Lake Iki ; another called Mohrya, re])orted to have hiits on it built on piles ; and yet another, named Kassali, on which there M'ere floating islands. At lirst I was unable to make much use of this information, owing to their imperfect knowledge of Kisuahili ; but after- ward, when I had obtained the key, it proved most valuable. Besides these, Tipo-tipo also sent one of his leading men to journey ten days with me on the road. The only drawback I experienced to the comfort of Tii)o- XXI.] A SLAVE-HOLDER. 281 tipo's camp was the number of slaves in chains who met my September, eyes at every turn ; but, except being deprived of their free- i^"^*- dom, and confined in order to prevent their running away, they had a tolerably easy life, and were well fed. Tipo-tipo and many Arab traders asserted that they would be glad to find other means of transport for their goods, instead of trusting to slaves ; but, not regarding slave-dealing as a sin in the abstract, they availed themselves of the means at their dis- posal. Yery few slaves are exported from Manyuema by the Arabs for profit, but are obtained to fill their harems, to cultivate the farms which always surround the permanent camps, and to act as porters. By the time a caravan arrives at Tanganyika from the west- ward, nearly fifty per cent, have made their escape, and the ma- jority of those remaining are disposed of at Ujiji and Unyan- yembe, frequently as hire for free porters, so that comparative- ly few reach the coast. Slavery, nevertheless, is increasing, ow- ing to the number of coast people settling in the interior, who fancy that it adds to their dignity to possess large numbers of slaves. We left the camp on the 12th of September, with the usual amount of trouble caused by meii skulking, and pretending to be unable to carry any thing ; and on halting after a very short march, I had to send for men and loads remaining behind. In the night two men deserted ; but I went on without them, not finding out until afterward that they had stolen a quantity of Snider cartridges. To this they had been incited bv Syde Mez- rui, who also left at N^yangwe, by " accident," a rifle I had lent him during the journey from Ujiji. For some days we journeyed through a fairly populated country, with large villages of well-built and clean huts dis- posed in long streets, with bark-cloth trees planted on each side. All the streets ran east and west, but the reason for this cus- tom I was unable to discover. The people seemed friendly, and the chiefs usually brought small presents of corn or dried white ants — which are eaten here with porridge as a relish on account of the scarcity of animal food — and they were perfectly satis- fied with very small presents in return. 282 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. September, The aiits are caught in rather an ingenious manner. A light ^^'^^- frame-work of cane or twigs is built over a large ant-hill, and covered with leaves cleverly fastened together by sticking the midrib of each into the one above it. A very small entrance is left open at the bottom, and under this is dug a round hole a foot in diameter and two feet deep. When the winged ants- come out of the hill ready to migrate, they all make for this entrance and hustle each other into the hole, where they lose their wings, and are unable to get out. In the morning they are collected by the natives, who smoke them over slow lires to preserve them. Tlie country was wonderfully full of oil -palms, which in some places grew in extraordinary abundance. After two or three hours' marching each day, Tipo-tipo's man declared tliat the next camping-place was too far away to be reached until late, and therefore we had better stay \vhere we were. His orders were merely to accomj)auy me for ten days, and not to any specified place ; and it was, of course, to his advantage to make a day's march as short as possible. Each of the affluents of the Lomami with which the country was intersected had liollowed out for itself a small deej) valley in the nearly level plateau we were traversing, and, shaded by fine timber, their dark depths were rich in the most beautiful mosses and ferns it is possible to imagine. Sometimes one side of a valley was steep and cliff-like, exposing the various strata ; at the top, a shallow layer of vegetable mold, then about four- teen feet of sand and from fifty to seventy feet of water-worn pebbles of granite and quartz resting on the solid granite. The pebbles were occasionally divided into two parts by a stra- tum of soft yellowish sandstone of ten or twelve feet ; but all lay level except the granite, whicli was very irregular. Two days after Tipo-tipo's man left us, we arrived at a vil- lage named Kifuma, from which the people bolted on our ap- proach; but, on the peacefulness of our intentions becoming apparent, the chief came to me, and even offered his hut — a de- lightfully clean place — for my use. It was ten feet square, and a large portion of the space was occupied by a bed-place made of split midribs of the raphia palm. The two doors — but especially the front one — were wonder- XXI.] A DESIEABLE EESIDENCE. 283 fully good specimens of carpentering, each having two leaves working on pivots fitting into holes in the lintel and threshold. Where the leaves met they overlapped, and were halved into each other. The front door was also carved on the outside, with the pattern traced in red, white, and black, and on each side were three carved pillars. September 1874. HUT AT KIFUilA. The floor was of clay, raised eighteen inches from the ground, and polished until quite slippery. The walls were seven feet in height, and built of poles about a foot apart, with stout slabs adzed out of logs between them, and kept in place by battens. The roof ran up in the form of a dome twenty feet high on the inside, and was made of slender rods fitting at the apex into a round piece of wood carved in concentric circles and painted black and white, wdiile two or three horizontal rows of rods gave strength and rigidity to tlie structure. This frame-work was covered with fine long grass, laid quite smoothly in horizon- tal lengths, and over this was a heavy thatch about two feet thick, coming down to the ground and evenly trimmed, the 284 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. September, tliatcli over the doors being so cut and arranged as to form 1874. porclies. During the night a rifle and cartridge-pouch being stolen, I spoke to the chief respecting the theft. He declared he knew nothing about it, and begged and prayed me not to destroy liis village on account of it. Of course I had no intention of doing this, and so I told him ; but he could hardly believe such forbearance on my part pos- sible. And when he saw us depart without having done any harm, his delight knew no bounds, and, to show his gratitude for what he evidently considered my unwonted lenity, he brought some goats to our next camp as a gift. I only accepted one, and gave him a present in return, on which he knelt down and fair- ly covered himself with mud in token of thankfulness. I told him Englishmen did not punish indiscriminately for theft, and that even if I had caught the thief 1 should only have compelled him to return the stolen rifle, and have given him a sound flogging. He had never before heard of such merciful treat- ment, and said the inhabitants of villages fled on the approach of the caravan because the only strangers they had any pre- vious knowledge of were those who came slave - hunting, and seized the slightest pretext to make war and destroy villages for the sake of obtaining slaves and plunder. For another few days we marched along by the Lomami, and then my guides became doubtful about the road, and endeavored to work east. One day, after the road had been declared lost and found again three times in an hour, my patience was so tried that I decided to walk on in the direction I wanted to go, whether the guides were satisfied or not. For some time not a man followed me; still I went forward by myself, and then sat down and smoked a pipe, quietly waiting to see the turn events would take. Soon four men came running after me without their loads, saying I was going the wrong way, I replied that the only right way was the road I wanted to travel, and that was in the direction I was then walking. On hearing this, and seeing my determination, they left me. and I continued on my way. Bombay then followed, and en- deavored to frighten me by declaring that every man would XXI.] FISTS VS. ARCHERY. 285 run away if I persisted in going by this road ; but I only an- September, swered, " Where will they run, you old fool ?" i^'^^- He tried by every means in his power to induce me to return, but I obstinately refused ; and after a time the whole party fol- lowed me, and in the evening we arrived safely at a village on the banks of the Lukazi, a branch of the Lomami. The guides now insisted that we were in a cul-de-sac formed by the winding of the river, and should have to retrace our steps; and on my sending them forward to discover whether the path did not lead to a bridge, they reported that it was only the way to a watering-place. This statement was so apparently false that I declined to put any faith in my " guides," and, after walking twenty minutes along the path, came upon a fishing- weir bridge. The day following we crossed this, and had not proceeded far before I perceived natives moving about among the long grass ; but all attempts at inducing them to come near failed. Very soon afterward, when I was in front, accompanied by two or three men, looking for the road, I was unpleasantly sur- prised by some arrows being shot at us through a narrow strip of jungle. One of them glanced off my shoulder, and, catching sight of the fellow who had shot at me lurking behind a tree, I dropped my rifle and started in chase. Fortune favored me, for my enemy tripped and fell, and before he could regain his feet I was down on him, and, after giving him as sound a thrash- ing as ever he had had in his life, smashed his bow and arrows. This finished, I pointed to some of his friends who were now in view, and considerably assisted him to join them by means of stern propulsion, the kick being a hearty one. A large party of natives occupying the path in front seemed inclined to attack us ; but I made signs and overtures of peace, and offered them a few strings of beads, and after some hesita- tion they came forward in a most friendly spirit, and escorted us to Kasenge, the village of their chief, before whom they per- formed a kind of war-dance on bringing me into his presence. On inquiry, I learned that we were on an island formed by a bifurcation of the Lomami, having crossed the Lukazi — one of the two branches — which rejoined the Lomami a little farther down. 286 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. The village of Kwarumba, a sub-chief of the great King of TJrua, which had been named as one of our stations, was very near here, so, had I taken Mona Kasanga's advice resj)ecting the route, I should certainly have been misled. That intelligent being, not satisiied with liaving given trou- ble on the road, now commenced to assume airs of authority, and declined to march the following day, on account of himself and wife being fatigued and requiring rest. I objected to this, upon which he asserted that, being the son of a chief, he was accustomed to act as he pleased, and that, when traveling with Arabs, they always halted if he wished it. Being mainly de- pendent upon him for connnunication with the natives, I was obliged to submit to his demands ; and when the next day came I was not soi-ry to be quiet, as I had a touch of fever. AFRIOAN ADJUTANTS AT KASENGB. On the 27th of September we again moved, and, crossing the Lukazi l)y another fishing-weir bridge, made a long march to a large and po})ulous village. The people had never before seen a white man, and gathered round me in crowds, staring and indulging freely in remarks on my appearance, manner of eating, etc. While I was having my evening meal there must have been upward of live hundred standing round in a dense ring ; and some of their observations were no doubt the reverse of complimentary ; but being unable to understand them, I was not embarrassed by this free criticism. XXL] KWARUMBA. 28: We passed througli Kwariimba's own village the next day, and, as no strangers were allowed to sleep near the chief, camped in a wooded dell jnst beyond. In the afternoon he called on me, and seemed to be a dirty, drunken old man without much sense. He could give me lit- tle or no information, but from some of his followers I heard that people who carried guns and umbrellas, and, though not white, were known as Wasungu, had been fighting near here two months previously, and had now returned to the town of the 'great chief of Urua, into wdiich country we had now fairly entered. On leaving Kwarumba's I found Mona Kasanga still unac- countably trying to work away to the eastward. So I took my own line again, and, camping in the jungle one night, arrived at a large village called Kamwawi. Here the people were dressed, tattooed, and wore their hair exactly like the Waguhha. Although we were obliged to camp a short distance from the village, women and children selling food were in and out all day long. The men, too, came and talked to us, and one volun- teered to show the road to the capital of Urua, which he said was only three or four days distant. Every thing seemed couleur de rose, and I turned in happily, sincerely hoping to make a good march on the morrow on the direct road. But all these hopes were destined to be frustrated. September, 1874. S#^ -^- YILLAGE roU(iE. 288 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. CHAPTEE XXII. My Goat is stolen. — The Xatives heeome Hostile. — We are fired upon. — Preparing for the Worst. — An Exchange of Shots. — Wounding an Important Personage. — A Parley. — Negotiations broken ofif. — Renewal of the Fighting. — Allowed to depart in Peace. — More Treachery. — At it again. — Storming a Village. — The Inhabitants bolt. — My Brave Army. — Fort Dinah. — Barricades. — Prisoners of War. — ^We capt- ure an Angel of Peace. — She makes it. — Leaving Fort Dinah. — An Explanation of my Intentions. — The Cause of the Attack. — Convivial Mourning. — Painted Faces. — My Guide's Craftiness. — Dried up. — Green Water as Refreshment. — My Guide meets his Mother, and forsakes Me. — Reception of a Head-man. — Another Queer Guide. — He also bolts. — Salt-making. — A March in a Marsh. October, As we were preparing to start, I missed my goat, which IS""*- usually slept at my feet, or was the first to pay her respects in the morning ; and, on inquiring where she was, found that she had been seen between the village and the camp late in the evening. I thereupon went to the village with two men and a guide to look for her ; and so confident did I feel of the friendliness of the natives toward us, that we were unarmed. Some men whom we saw I told of my loss, and stated my willingness to pay a reward if she were brought back ; but I could get no an- swer whatever from them. It soon became evident that we were in for a row, for all the women had disappeared, and there were far more armed men about than the size of the village would account for. Those with whom I had been trying to have some conversa- tion bolted from us suddenly, and immediately others at a short distance commenced shooting their arrows at us. At that mo- ment some of my men with rifles fortunately arrived, and Ju- mah, coming behind me, put my trusty twelve-bore rifle into my hand. None of my people were hit in this preliminary skirmish, but I sent orders for the remainder to join me at once with XXIL] A PARLEY. 289 the stores, so as to form one body ; and no sooner had they October, quitted the camp than the natives set fire to it. 1874. The greater number of my people I placed under shelter of huts, and posted others as pickets to prevent our being taken in rear or flank, and then, with the guides, went into the centre space of the village to declare our peaceable intentions, and to inquire the cause of our being attacked ; but the only reply vouchsafed was a dropping fire of arrows. I was much aston- ished that none of us were hit, for at least half a dozen arrows fell within a yard of me in a couple of minutes. Being unable to obtain any satisfactory answer, I returned to the caravan, and at that moment a body of about five hundred men, who had been posted in ambush on the road we were to have taken, joined the natives. Encouraged by this re-enforcement and our pacific attitude, the natives closed in and commenced hurling spears at us ; and as matters were now becoming rather serious, I reluctantly al- lowed a few shots to be fired. One of these fortunately took effect in the leg of a native, who happened to be a person of consideration, and was standing in what he imagined was a position of safety. This circum- stance made such an impression that a parley was proposed by the chief of the village, and I gladly acceded. After some talk, the following agreement was entered into, namely: The goat should be found and returned; I should 'make a present to the chief of a piece of scarlet cloth ; Bombay or Bilal should make brothers with him; and we were to be furnished with guides and permitted to depart in peace. I at once proceeded to carry out my part of the agreement, and, having fetched the cloth, was returning with it to the chief of Kamwawi, when another arrived with more armed men, and said to him, " Don't be such a fool as to make peace with these people for the sake of one piece of cloth. We are strong enough to eat them, and can easily get every bit of cloth and every bead belonging to them, and themselves we can kill or make slaves of. How many tens are they ? Tou can count their tens on one hand ; while our tens would take more hands to count than we could number afterward." The councils of 290 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. October, the iiewlj arrived chief miliappilj prevailed ; negotiations were 1874. broken off, and arrows again began to fly about. I now determined to make some show of retaliation, so burned down one hut, threatening at the same moment that if not allowed to leave peaceably I would set fire to the entire place, and let them know what bullets really were. This de- cided action resulted in permission being given for our depart- ure, but only by a road leading in an opi)osite direction to that we proposed going. My guides said that a village under a separate chieftainship, where we should be hospitably received, was situated on the road we were oixlered to follow ; so I decided to go there to avoid any further argument or trouble with these treacherous people, and gave orders to march. The road was through tangled grass, scrub, belts of thick jungle, and open plains ; and as we marched along we were sur- rounded by crowds of yelling savages, who kept clear out of range of our guns in the open, but closed in and shot at us whenever there was cover. The whit ! whit ! of the long arrows going through the trees created a very unpleasant sensation, but, notwithstanding the number flying about, none of us were wounded. I therefore would not allow a gun to be fired, being determined not to shed any blood unless driven to do so in self-defense. About five o'clock the natives drew off; and at sunset we arrived at a strip of jungle with a stream running through it, and on the opposite bank was the village that we hoped would prove a haven of peace and rest. With the guides I went to hail the village, and inquire wheth- er we could be received. And here again our only answer was a volley of arrows. I then called upon my men to follow me, a summons to which Jumah, Sambo, and one or two others re- sponded ; and, firing our guns, we dashed through the jungle, across the river, and entered the village at one side, M'liile the natives disappeared at the other. The rest of my brave army, excepting four or five who remained with Bombay in charge of the stores, bolted ; and for thus turning their backs on the enemy retributive justice furnished two of them with artificial tails looking remarkably like arrows. XXII.] LEAVING FORT DINAH. 291 I knew that not a moment was to be lost in preparing for October, the return of the hostile natives, so ordered the loads to be i^*^"*- brought into the village immediately. My runaways speedi- ly followed, and now, Falstaff-like, began to boast of their great deeds, and of the still greater performances they intended in future. But it was no time for talking, and I set cowards as well as heroes to work in fortifying our position. Four huts in the centre of the village forming an imperfect square I had loop-holed as block -houses, and between them built a barricade of doors and poles from the remaining huts, which were either torn down or burned to prevent their af- fording cover for our enemies. The barricade being formed, a trench was dug inside and roofed over, and, notwithstanding our being disturbed by several volleys of arrows, the morning saw ns fairly protected. It was plain that matters were serious, and that to get away from our j)resent situation we should be obliged to return the fire of the natives. During the next two days we were constantly shot at, and some half-dozen of my men were wounded while fetching wa- ter from the stream ; but the natives grew afraid of our guns, as two or three had been killed and a few wounded, and did not come near the fort, which I had named Fort Dinah, in memory of my poor goat. I next sent out reconnoitring parties, and they soon returned, after having destroyed some barricades erected by the natives across the paths, but which were not manned when my people found them. On the third day, a party going farther afield captured two men and a woman, and brought them into camp. The woman proved to be a relation of Mona Kasanga, and we gladly dis- patched her with one of the men to tell the natives that we wanted peace, not war, while we detained the other man as a hostage. She returned the following morning with a neighbor- ing chief, who was also a relation of Mona Kasanga, and peace was soon concluded. Fort Dinah was left on the 6th of October, and in villages which we passed many temporary huts built to accommodate the fighting-men who had assembled in order to share in plun- 292 ACKOSS AFEICA. [Chap. October, dering us were still remaining. These men had now returned ^®'^*- to their homes, and the villages had resumed their normal state, and women and children ran along-side the caravan, chattering and laughing. When we camped, the chief of the district brought me a large bundle of grass-cloth and some goats, as payment for hav- ing attacked us without provocation. I accepted one goat, and gave him some beads as a token of friendship, remarking that, unlike some other travelei*s, we were not looking for slaves and endeavoring to pick quarrels, but only desired to see the coun- try, and be friendly with the people. But I took the opportu- nity of informing him that we should always defend ourselves if attacked, and, as they had already learned, we wei'e quite strong enough to take care of ourselves. I afterward found that Mona Kasanga, although acting as in- terpreter during this palaver, and hearing my remarks, tried to extract something from the chief on his own account. Fort- unately I discovered his little game, or the chief would have come to the conclusion that the white man was given to talk- ing about friendship and pretending to be generous, and yet al- lowed his men to take the offering in a roundabout manner. The actual reason of our being attacked was, that a party from a Portuguese caravan had been within five miles of Kam- wawi, destroying villages, murdering men, and carrying off women and children as slaves. The natives naturally connect- ed me with the slave- hunters, more especially as I had made particular inquiries res2>ecting them and whence they came ; and no doubt they were supposed to be friends whom we wished to join in carrying on these barbarities. We now marched through the disti'icts of Munkullah and Mpanga Sanga, over a plain country with occasional valleys, through the Kilimachio range — a semicircular sweep of gran- ite hills of every shape and form — and crossed several consid- erable streams, which flowed eastward to the Lualaba— not to that branch of the river seen by Dr. Livingstone quitting Lake Moero, but the one of which the sources were passed by the Pombeiros on their journey to Tete from Kassanci in the be- ginning of this century. At the principal village of Mpanga Sanga I met a very intel- XXII.] CONVIVIAL MOURNING. 293 ligent fellow, who offered to conduct me in two or three days' journey to the principal place of Kasongo, the chief of all Warua. For some private reasons Mona Kasanga dissuaded him from fulfilling his promise, and assured me he was not speaking the truth, for in the direction pointed out by him the peo- ple were very troublesome, and taking that road would lead to more fighting. We therefore continued our journey under Mona Kasanga's guidance, and ar- rived the next day at a village, the head- man of which — M']S"chkkulla — was a friend of Mona Kasanga. Here we halt- ed, and remained while these worthies and their friends got drunk in honor of some mutual acquaintance who had de- parted this life about three months pre- viously. The head-man visited me in a very maudlin state, and insisted on shaking hands with me times without number. From him I ascertained that the camp we were occupying had been built by the plundering party we had heard of near Kamwawi, and that Kasongo's capital Avas only three or four days distant. When their convivial manner of mourning for their dead friend was completed, and Mona Kasanga was ready to march, he again refused to take the direct road, but led us in an east- south-east direction, and we camped by a village situated on the banks of the Luvijo, a large stream running to the Lualaba. Kear tlie source of this river is found a large quantity of cin- nabar, used by the natives for painting themselves. Tlieir faces they color in the most ludicrous manner. A red dot on the tip of the nose is a favorite embellishment ; and some, who also use a kind of pipe-clay as white paint, give their faces a very close resemblance to that of a circus - clown. Their ornaments are principally beads, worn in great numbers round the arms and legs, and in two ropes of several strands, disposed across the breast and back like cross-belts, and also a few copper and iron A NATrVE OF MPANGA 8ANGA. October, 1874. 294 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. October, bracelets and anklets. The fashion of dressing the hair was ^^'^^- rather different from that outside Urua, but it was still worked elaborately, and decorated with iron ornaments. Another march in the wrong direction, along the northern base of the Nyoka hills, had to be undergone the day following ; and, all the water-holes being dry, we were compelled to con- tinue our walk until late in the afternoon, suffering from the pangs of thirst. "We had become so accustomed to constant streams of running water since leaving the Tanganyika, that we had failed to take the precaution of carrying a supply with us. At last we reached Ilanyoka, a village where the only obtain- able water was of a dark-green color and as thick as pea-soup ; but, notwithstanding its objectionable appearance and still more nauseous taste, we were glad to drink it, for " The way was long, the day was hot, The pilgrims were a thirsty lot." The mystery of Mona Kasanga's behavior in dragging us east- ward was now revealed. lie had doubtless heard of his father having neglected to pay tribute to Kasongo, and that he, accord- ing to his custom on such occasions, had looted the village, and killed most of the inhabitants. Mona Kasanga's father and brothers were among those killed ; but his mother, who had es- caped, met her son at this village soon after we arrived. Mona Kasanga refused to go any farther, and M'Nchkkulla, being a head-man of Mukalombo, said he must first visit that vil- lage, which was three or four miles from Hanyoka. On our ar- riving on its outskirts, the whole of the inhabitants turned out, and some hoisted M'iSrchkkulla on their shoulders and chaired him round the place, yelling and shouting, while he looked very foolish and uncomfortable. This performance being ended, we were conducted to a camping-place destitute of all shade, near a pool of muddy water, and we gladly shifted to a more suita- ble spot the following day. Mona Kasanga hurried off with his mother and wife, being anxious to put as great a distance as possible between himself and Kasongo. The duty of guiding us to Kasongo's now devolved on M'Nchkkulla, who, in company with the chief of the village. XXII.] UNFAITHFUL GUIDES. 295 made demands for increased payment. They stated that Mona October, Kasanga, as head-man, received the lion's share of that given by 1^74. me at Tipo-tipo^s, and as M'Nchkkulla had now succeeded to the position of principal guide, he should properly receive the same amount as his predecessor. It was further maintained, that as this new engagement was entered into at the village of his chief, that personage was entitled to a fee ; besides which, M'Nchkkulla refused to proceed without half a dozen of his fellow-villagers, who also expected payment for their services. Kongwe would willingly have taken upon himself to show the road, but feared his countrymen ; for, being of lower rank than M'Nchkkulla, he would have been punished had he dared to supersede him. No sooner were arrangements made to M'Nchkkulla's satisfac- tion, than he returned to the village, and made merry on pombe. The next day he also devoted to the worship of the African Bacchus ; and he proved a very poor specimen of a guide when brought into camp on the third day, being so drunk at starting that two friends were obliged to help him along. We reached the village of Munza on the 21st of October, passing on our way over the rocky Kilwala hills, and through plains, partly forest, with other portions more park - like, with open meadows and many streams. There were also small hills of gneiss and granite, much weather-worn, the effects of sun and rain having split large blocks into fragments, which lay more as though they had been piled together instead of being originally part of one shattered mass. Charcoal-burners' fires were frequently seen, and some vil- lages had foundries, the hematite ore being obtained by digging pits sometimes twenty and thirty feet deep. At Munza we found a party belonging to Jumah Merikani, .who had a large permanent camp at Kasongo's head-quarters, and they said that a Portuguese trader from the West Coast was also there. They had heard nothing of our approach, and were much astonished at seeing us. This meeting was fortunate, since M'Nchkkulla and his friends had taken the opportunity of bolting ; but Jumah's people promised me a guide to his camp, for which I started, after re- maining a day to obtain provisions, as Kasongo's place, Kwin- 296 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. October, 1874. hata, was reported to be hungry. The guide was a Warua named Xgooni, who had been lent to Juniah by Kasongo during his stay, and who had learned to talk Kisuahili very fairly. We made two marches through fertile and open country, with many villages, lately destroyed by parties reported to belong to Kasongo and the Portuguese. The people had been carried off as slaves, the country laid waste, and banana-trees and oil-palms cut down. Situated in the middle of an extensive plain, we saw a few huts occupied by people employed in the manufacture of salt. This plain, I was informed, was Kasongo's own especial prop- erty, and worked by his own slaves and retainers. There were many others in the surrounding country, which were the prop- erty of a chief who paid heavy tribute to Kasongo for the right of manufacturing salt. There is scarcely any vegetation in these 23lains, the soil, springs, oozes, and pools being all salt. In one instance a small running stream is also salt, but it soon falls into a fresh-water river. The manner in which salt is manufactured here differs somewhat from that already described. A frame shaped like an inverted cone, made of sticks joined together by hoops at short intervals, is fastened to four or live stout stakes planted in the ground. The inside of this cone being carefully lined with large leaves, and grass being put into the apex to act as a lilter, it is filled with the soil. Boiling water is then poured into it, and the salt, being dissolved, oozes through the grass, and drips out at the apex of the cone into a gourd or earthen pot. The water is then evaporated, and the salt, which is im|)ure and 8ALT-MAK1NO. XXII.] " GOOD MORNING." 297 dirty, and usually contains much saltpetre, is formed into small October, cones averaging three pounds in weight. This salt is carried i^'^*. long distances for purposes of trade, and is greedily sought after by tribes who have none in their country. After a hot afternoon march through an extensive marsh, with water and mud waist-deep in the only practicable passage through the dense vegetation by which it was overgrown, we arrived on the banks of a small stream shaded by fine trees, and on the other side was Kilemba, Jumah Merikani's settlement. We halted until a messenger had been sent to apprise Jumah Merikani of our arrival, according to Arab etiquette ; and when he had returned, we crossed the stream. As I reached the other bank, my hand was warmly grasped and shaken by a fine portly Arab with a slight dash of the tar-brush, who gave me the ben- efit of the only two English words he knew — " Good morning." This was Jumah Merikani, who proved to be the kindest and most hospitable of the many friends I found among the Arab traders in Africa. He conducted me to his large and substantially built house, situated in the midst of a village surrounded by large planta- tions of rice and corn, and did every thing in his power to make me feel thoroughly at home and comfortable. 298 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. CHAPTER XXIII. Jiiniah Merikani. — Coal. — A Portuguese Trader. — His Followers. — Kasongo's Chief Wife. — Jose Antonio Alvez. — His History. — Warned against Mata Yafa. — Lake Mohrya. — An Inquisitive Lady. — Peculiarity respecting Names. — Alvez's Habita- tion.— Consuming your own Smoke. — Taking Bilal down a Peg. — Well-fortified Villages. — View of Lake Mohrya. — Huts on Piles. — An Amphibious Race. — Xo Visitors allowed. — A Spiritualistic Medium. — Skulls of Old Enemies. — Urua. — Kasongo's Dominion. — Its Government. — The Social Scale among Warua. — Muti- lation for Small Offenses. — Kasongo professes to be a God. — His Morals. — His Family Harem. — Unfaithful Wives. — Kasongo's Bedroom Furniture. — Rule as to Fires and Cooking. — Devil-huts and Idols. — The Great Idol Priests. — The Idol's Wife. — Dress and Tattoo Marks. October, JuMAH Merikani had been here nearly two years, trading 1874. chiefly in ivory, which was fairly plentiful and cheap. Being an intelligent man, and having traveled much since leaving Tan- ganyika, he and some of his men were able to give me a vast amount of geographical information, and the key to what Mona Kasanga and others had told me while traveling from Tipo- tipo's camp. He had been to the gold and copper mines at Katanga ; to Msama's country, where he found coal, of which he gave me a small specimen ; had taken the road between Lakes Moero and Tanganyika, crossing the Lukuga ; and had formed a permanent camp at Kirna, on Lake Lanji — the lake Ulenge or Kamorondo of Livingstone — whence he had come to this place. The Portuguese, who had been up here rather less than a year, and were principally engaged in the slave-trade, were ac- quainted with my arrival, and sent a messenger to say that the leader of tlie caravan would call upon me the following day. A number of his ])et)ple came over, and were a wild, rough- looking set of nearly nuked savages, carrying old Portuguese flint-lock guns, with inordinately long barrels ornamented M'ith an immense number of brass rings. They were very inquisi- tive, and wanted to see every thing I possessed, and expressed XXIIL] ALVEZ, ALIAS KENDELE. 299 much delight on recognizing any object similar to what they October, had seen near the West Coast, such as cups, books, or any thing 1874. European. These they pointed out to. the Warua, who had joined them in staring at me and my belongings, as being quite common in their country, and claimed superiority on that ac- count. Kasongo, accompanied by many people both from Jumah Merikani's and the Portuguese caravan, was absent, being en- gaged in traveling about his kingdom, collecting tribute and punishing such villages as did not pay. During his absence he was represented by his chief wife, who lived in a quadrangle of considerable size, containing a large hut for Kasongo, an- other for herself, and many smaller ones for members of the harem. Jumah Merikani, when he heard of an Englishman being near, thought that he must be Livingstone, whom he had once met, having heard nothing of his death or of Stanley's journey to relieve him. He also met Speke and Burton at Ujiji, and they gave him some percussion-caps (Eley & Joyce's), which were still perfectly good ; though the French caps he had re- ceived from Zanzibar within the last live years were entirely useless from the effects of climate. Kendele, as the Portuguese trader was called by the natives, though his true name was Jos^ Antonio Alvez, visited me the next day. He came in state, being carried in a hammock with an awning by two bearers, with belts covered with brass bells round their waists, and followed by men with flint-Jock muskets and a boy carrying his gun— a worthless Birmingham double- barrel — and his stool. I had almost taken it for granted, from the manner in which he came, and as I had hitherto only heard him spoken of as a msuugu, that he was a white man who might possibly give me some information. Great was my disappointment, however, when an old and ugly negro turned out of the hammock. Cer- tainly he was dressed in European fashion, and spoke Portu- guese ; but no further civilization could he boast of, notwith- standing his repeated asseverations that he was thoroughly civ- ilized, and the same as an Englishman or any other white man. One point upon which he specially insisted was that he never 300 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. October, lied, his word being as good as his bond ; and, indeed, that he 1874. ^.j^g altogether the most honest man on the face of the earth. When we had exchanged greetings, and I had informed him of my name, nationality, and the object of my journey, I in- quired into his history, and learned that Dondo, on the river Kwanza, in the province of Angola, was his native place. He left there more than twenty years ago, and had spent the great- er portion of that period in traveling and trading in the in- terior, formerly as agent for white mercliants, but latterly on his own account. He gave me to understand that his head- quarters were at Kassanci, and he intended to start on his homeward journey on the return of his men, who were away with Kasongo, as his stores were nearly expended. I asked whether he knew any thing of Lake Sankorra, but he had only heard of it, and informed me that people trading there followed a very dangerous route through Mata Yafa's country. Mata Yafa is the native pronunciation of the title of the chief generally called Muata Yanvo by writers on Central Africa. I felt much inclined to attempt a visit to Mata Yafa's capital, respecting which some strange accounts have been written, but was told that, the rains having set in, the roads would be well- nigh impassable. Even if I reached the capital, I was warned that I should never return, as the last white man known to have visited his sable majesty was forcibly detained to instruct the people in the art of European warfare, and, after four years of dreary captivity, died there, having had no opportunity of es- caping. On inquiring whether a more direct route to the lake existed, I heard that men belonging to Jumah Merikani and Alvez had been within a few days of its shores, but, finding no ivory, tliey had turned back. The road they traversed was only practicable in the dry season, as it led across vast treeless plains intersected by many rivers, and in the rainy season they M'ere converted into swamps. Alvez offered to conduct me to Loanda or Benguela, for, in liis opinion, my party was far too small to travel alone through the intervening countries in safety, and it was agreed that on arrival at the coast I could nuike him a present proportionate XXIII.] PECULIAEITY RESPECTING NAMES. 301 to the value of his services. As it was improbable, according October, to his statement, that he would move for at least a month, I de- ^^'^*- cided to explore such portion of the neighborhood as might be possible in that time, going, in the first place, to Lake Mohrya to see its lake-dwellings. Before starting on this cruise it behooved jne to call on Fume a Kenna, and to return the visit of Alvez, and on this errand I went the next day with Jumah Merikani and some of our men. We first proceeded to Kasongo's settlement, or mussumba, which was six hundred yards long by two hundred wide, and surround- ed by a neat fence of sticks five feet high, lined with grass, and having only one door. On entry, we found a large clear space, in the centre of which, about a hundred yards from the door-way, stood Kason- go's dwelling ; and a little farther along were three small com- pounds inclosing huts, in which Fume a Kenna and some other principal wives lived. On each side of the quadrangle ran a triple row of smaller huts, the residences of m iroWaL of the harem. When we were ushered into Fume a Kenna's compound, her ladies in waiting entered her hut to announce our arrival, and spread a fine lion's skin on the ground for her to sit upon. She soon appeared, dressed in a smart tartan shawl, and, seating her- self on the skin, at once began the conversation. She inquired whence I had come, where I was going, and put a variety of questions to me, and then became curious as to whether I was white all over. With much laughter, she insisted on my boots and stockings being taken off in order that she might examine my feet, and, when satisfied with this inspection, looked at my gun and pis- tols, and had them explained to her. After some time I asked her name, being unaware that I was thereby transgressing the rules of etiquette. She replied, " Mke Kasongo," which may be translated, Mrs. Kasongo, as no Warua dare tell their own names. They are also extremely shy about giving those of any person who may be present, though they have not the slightest objection with respect to people who are absent. But, unlike some tribes in South America, they do not object to be accosted by name. 302 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. October, I requested her to provide me with guides to different places l^*^*- in the neighborhood which J wished to visit, but she said I ought to remain until Kasongo returned, for, although she was vested with supreme power during his absence, yet he might be displeased if I went away before seeing him. Finally I overcame her scruples, and she promised to give me a guide to Mohrya. I afterward called on Alvez, and found his camp a wretched- ly dirty place. His own was the only hut more substantially built than those temporarily erected day by day when trav- eling. It had puddled walls and a high-thatched roof, being thus made more secure against lire than the ordinary grass hut. Inside it was dirty and close, the only light and air being ad- mitted through the door; and, with a lire burning in the centre while the thermometer ranged from ninety to one hundred de- grees in the shade, the temjjerature of this dwelling may be im- agined. Alvez was profuse in his offers of assistance, and assured me he desired to get as quickly as possible to Kassanci, which would be a march of about two months, and thence Loanda might be reached in thirty days, or less if a passage in a Kwan- za steamer were obtained. On the 30th of October, I started with a small party for Lake Mohrya. The guide given me by Fume a Kenna had one arm amputated at the elbow, and he was very careful to inform me that this operation had been performed on account of a wound from a poisoned arrow, and not as a punishment. Although I required only eight or ten men altogether, I had much trouble in getting them. Bombay certainly assisted some- what ; but Bilal was strutting about on a pair of high clog-like sandals, doing nothing, and, when spoken to, even laughed at me. So I had to take him down a peg by knocking him off his clogs and throwing them at his head. Bombay asserted that the men wanted to break up the cara- van and go no farther, and the trouble on this occasion was a tentative attempt at forcing me to abandon going to Mohrya. Had they succeeded, they would then have endeavored to pre- vent my making any other excursions while waiting for Alvez, and also to compel me to altogether give up the idea of travel- ing to the West Coast. XXIII.] VIEW OF LAKE MOHRYA. 303 We marched over hilly and well-wooded country, with sev- November, eral large villages situated in patches of dense jungle, and only i^'^'*- approachable by narrow and tortuous paths closed by gate-ways constructed of a series of logs planted like inverted Vs. These formed a tunnel so low that it was almost necessary to creep along on hands and knees to enter them, and in case of attack they could be barred by falling logs arranged at the inner end like a portcullis, and no enemy could well liojje to get inside. Yet these villages are frequently surprised by some neighbor- ing people during the absence of the men ; for although the whole of Urua and its dependencies are under the nominal rule of Kasongo, there are often internal dissensions and fights be- tween villages and districts. Lake Mohrya, situated in a small basin surrounded by low and woody hills, was sighted on the 1st of November, and in the lake were three villages built on piles, and also a few de- tached huts scattered over its surface. My guide gave trouble here, having a notion that his belong- ing to the court entitled him to take whatever he pleased from the country people. I gave him beads to purchase food, so as to prevent his thieving while with me ; but upon the appear- ance of a small party of men carrying large baskets of pro- visions, he at once commenced plundering them, and would not restore what he had stolen until I paid him for it. He declared it was the custom of the country for Kasongo and his immedi- ate retainers to take whatever they required from the villagers, and he would not forego his rights when with me. After ar- ranging this matter, I proceeded to a large village near the western end of the lake, and camped. I asked the chief to supply me with canoes for the purpose of visiting the lake villages, and he promised to try to obtain some from the inhabitants, as neither he nor any of his people who lived on shore j^ossessed canoes. He said there would probably be great difficulty, as the lake villagers were very chary of allowing strangers to visit their houses. He was right in his conjecture, for no canoes were forthcom- ing the following day, and I had to content myself with taking a good survey through my field-glasses, and making a sketch. The lake was small, the open surface of the water being an 304 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. November, oval of two miles long by one wide, the longer axis lying east- 1874. nortli-east and west-soiitli-west, and around the margin was a belt of floating vegetation. I could easily distinguish the huts, and noticed that they were built on platforms, raised about six feet above the surface of the water, supported on stout piles driven into the bed of the lake. Some were oblong, and others round, the former usually having a projecting roof over the door. Their roofs and walls appeared to be constructed in a manner precisely similar to that of the huts on shore. Under- neath the platforms canoes were moored, and nets hung to dry. HUT IN MOllRYA. Men were swimming from hut to hut, notwithstanding re- ports I had heard of enormous snakes, w^hose bite w^as fatal, in- habiting the lake. The people live entirely in these huts, with their fowls and goats, and only come ashore to cultivate pro- vision-grounds and bring goats to graze. Their canoes were simple " dug-outs," twenty or twenty-five feet in length, and their paddles were like large, circular, shallow spoons with long, straight handles. No chance of obtaining canoes offering, we started the next morning on the return march to Kilemba, and, seeing some lake villagers working in a field, I attempted to talk with them, but XXIIL] A "MEDIUM." 305 they scampered off to their canoes near at hand, and paddled November, away. We followed them across a rotten piece of tingi-tingi ^^^^- to the very edge of the lake, where their canoes had been moored, slipping through holes in the treacherous vegetation more than once, owing to our not knowing the right path. But hailing the people, and holding up cloth and beads to en- tice them to come to us, was of no avail, and I had reluctant- ly to abandon all idea of making myself more intimately ac- quainted with their manners and habits. Kilemba was again reached after two marches, the second be- ing through pouring rain, which commenced ten minutes after we started, and did not cease for a moment until after we ar- rived. The previous night we camped at what had formerly been the head-quarters of Bambarre, Kasongo's father. In the old inclosure devoted to his harem his chief wife still lived, and was not permitted to receive any visitors, except one of Kason- go's magicians, who consulted her on all important occasions. She was supposed to be a spiritualistic medium, holding com- munication with her deceased husband, and, consequently, in- spired with prophetic powers. Fowls and goats roamed un- molested near her habitation, for he would indeed have been a bold man among the Warua who dared to touch any thing sup- posed to belong to her. The few people living near were slaves of her late husband, who nightly placed provisions for her use, and then retired. On the road we passed a peculiar little hut, very well built and finished, and having sheets of grass-cloth hanging over the roof to hide its contents from prying eyes. I was determined to discover what this hut contained, as it was said to be a great " medicine ;" so lifted the cloth and looked in, when a quantity of skulls, decorated with beads and ranged in circles, met my view. Afterward I heard that these skulls were those of broth- ers and chiefs of Bambarre, who, having rebelled against him, were conquered and killed. Kasongo was still away when I returned, and no one knew his exact whereabouts ; so I asked Fume a Kenna for guides to Kassali, a large lake on the Lualaba, and also to Kowamba, the first of a chain of small lakes on the Kamorondo or true Luala- 306 ACROSS AFRICA. [CHAl^ November, ba — that seen bj Dr. Livingstone to the north of Moero being 1874. really called the Luvwa, although the Arabs and others from the East Coast commonly call both branches Lualaba. Before proceeding farther, it will be well to give a descrip- tion of the extent of Urua, and some of the cnstoms of its in- habitants. Urua proper commences just sonth of Tipo-tipo's camp, and extends to nine degrees south latitude. It is bounded on the west by the Lomami, and on the east by the tribes fringing the shores of the Tanganyika. In the centre of this country lies the territory of Ma Kazembe, who is tributary to Mata Yafa. the chief of Ulunda. Kasongo also claims dominion over some tribes on the Tan ganyika, including the Waguhha, the northernmost of his sub- jects settled on that lake. Miriro and Msama, chiefs of Itawa. are tributary to him, as also are the Kasongo at Tipo-tipo's carajj and Russuna. Ussambi, lying to the west of the Lomami, is likewise part of the dominions of Kasongo ; but many of the Wassambi pay tribute to Mata Yafa as well ; for, being close to his dominions, they are subject to the raids of his people if they refuse to comply with his demands. The vast territory claimed by Kasongo is divided into many districts, each (mis-) governed by a kilolo, or captain. Some of these are hereditary governors, and others are appointed by Kasongo for a term of four years. At the expiration of that time they may either be re-appointed or transferred to another district, if they have given satisfaction, or be relegated to ]>ri vate life; but if Kasongo is displeased with them, he orders them to be deprived of noses, ears, or hands. The ranks of the Warua are M^ell defined, and great deference is exacted by superiors from those below them in the social scale. An instance of this which came to my notice specially im- pressed itself on my memory. A pei-son of some rank himself ventured to sit down when in conversation with me, forgetful that one of his superiors was standing by. . Instantly he was called aside and lectured on the enormity of his offense, and I afterward heard that, had it not been for my presence, this would probably have cost him his ears. The punishments inflicted by Kasongo, and those high in au- XXIII.] LAX MORALS. 30*7 thority among his chiefs, are death and mutilation. A nose, November, finger, lip, half or the whole of an ear, are cut off for mere pec- i^*^*- cadilloes ; while for serious offenses, hands, toes, ears, nose, and all are taken. Kasongo, or the chief for the time being, arrogates to himself divine honors and power, and pretends to abstain from food for days without feeling its necessity ; and, indeed, declares that as a god he is altogether above requiring food, and only eats, drinks, and smokes for the pleasure it affords him. In addition to his chief wife, and the harem mantained in his private inclosure, he boasts that he exercises a right to any woman who may please his fancy when on his journeys about the country ; and if any become enceinte, he gives them a mon- key-skin for the child to wear, if a male, as this confers a right to live by taking provisions, cloth, etc. , from any one not of royal blood. Into the inclosure of his harem no male but himself is al- lowed between sunset and sunrise on pain of death or mutila- tion ; and even if one of the harem should give birth to a male child during the night, the mother and infant are bundled out immediately. His principal wife and the four or five ranking next to her are all of royal blood, being either his sisters or first cousins ; and among his harem are to be found his step-mothers, aunts, sisters, nieces, cousins, and, still more horrible, his own chil- dren. As might be exj^ected from such an example, morals are very lax throughout the country, and wives are not thought badly of for being unfaithful, the worst they may expect being severe chastisement from the injured husband. But he never uses ex- cessive violence, for fear of injuring a valuable piece of house- hold furniture. When Kasongo sleeps at home, his bedroom furniture consists of members of his harem. Some, on hands and knees, form a couch with their _backs; and others, lying flat on the ground, provide a soft carpet. It is the rule for all Warua to light their fires themselves, and cook their own food, Kasongo being the only one exempt from its observance ; but should either of the men appointed to 308 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. November, do this service for him bj any chance be absent, he then per- 1874. forms these duties for himself. No Warua allow others to witness their eating or drinking, being doubly particular with regard to members of the oppo- site sex ; and on pombe being offered, I have frequently seen them request that a cloth might be held up to hide them while drinking. Their religion is principally a mixture of fetichism and idola- try. All villages have devil-huts and idols, before which offer- ings of pombe, grain, and meat are placed, and nearly every man wears a small figure round his neck or arm. Many ma- gicians also move about with idols which they pretend to con- sult for the benefit of their clients ; and some, being clever ven- triloquists, manage to drive a flourishing business. But the great centre of their religion is an idol named Kun- gwe a Banza, which is supposed to represent the founder of Kasongo's family, and to be all-powerful for good and evil. This idol is kept in a hut situated in a cleai-ing amidst dense jungle, and always has a sister of the reigning chief as a wife, who is known by the title of Mwali a Panga. Kound the jungle live a number of priests, who guard the sa- cred grove from profane intruders, and receive offerings for the idol, and also a large portion of the tribute paid to Kasongo. But, although they hold this official jjosition, and are thus inti- mately connected with all the rites and ceremonies pertaining to the deity, they are not j)ermitted to set eyes upon the idol itself, that privilege being reserved for its wife and the reigning sovereign, who consults it on momentous occasions, and makes offerings to it upon his accession, and after gaining any great victory over his adversaries. Notwithstanding my efforts, I could not discover the exact position of this idol's habitation, but am perfectly convinced of its existence, as all the accounts I received were precisely simi- lar on all material points. As a means of testing its truthful- ness, more than once I tried the experiment of saying "Kungwe a Banza" close behind a man, Avhen he would jump as if he were shot, and look round with every outward sign of terror, as though afraid that the dreaded deity were close at his lieels ready to carry hiai off. From the nature of the natives, it Avas XXIII.] DISTINGUISHING DRESS. 309 an impossibility for them to turn pale, or for their wool to stand on end with fright ; but they made the attempt ; and there can be no doubt that they hold this great idol in such awe that they dare not breathe the name of Kungwe a Banza without fear and trembling. The people dress like the Waguhha, and tattoo themselves in the same fashion, but wear their hair differently, the majority drawing it back from the face and tying and binding it together behind, so that it projects in a most curious fashion, reminding one much of a saucepan handle. The men wear plumes, frequently made from the red tail- feathers of the gray parrot, varying in size and shape according to rank. They also have aprons made of a single skin, and it is worthy of remark that each clan or family has a distinguish- ing skin, which it is customary to wear in the presence of the chief. November, 1874. WAKUA SLAVB-DEIVEB AND SI.AVB. 310 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. CHAPTER XXIY. A Fair Deceiver. — Marriage Ceremony. — The Youthful but Unblushing Bride. — A Mountain Gap. — Grand Thunder-storm. — Lake Kassali. — Not allowed to visit It. — Return of a Chief. — Medicine-men. — Their Dress. — Ventriloquism. — They impose upon the Public. — Am Suspected of possessing Power to dry up the Lake. — Nar- row Escape of my Messengers. — Manufacture of Floating Islands. — Jumah Meri- kani's Kindness. — Strange Tales. — Lion -tamers. — Deadly Shade. — Sculpture. — Cave-dwellings. — Poisonous Water. — A Tribe of Lepers. — My Occupations.— Ka- songo's Wives. — Their Shocking Behavior. — A Performer of Tricks. — Kasongo returns. — An Afternoon Call. — His Appearance. — His Band plays me Home. — Their Excruciating Performance. — They will not "move on." — My Anxiety to do so. November, As there appeared no prospect of Kasongo's return, and no 1874. intelligence of his whereabouts could be procured, I anxiously ' asked his wife from day to day for guides to the lake of which I had heard. She continually made fair promises, but never kept her word : and at last, tired of the delay and disappointment, I induced Ju- mah Merikani to provide me with men who knew the road, and started on the 14th of November for Lake Kassali. Marching across the salt plain a little south of the route by which we had previously traversed it, we arrived the next day at Kibaiyeli, a village of fair proportions, having in it numerous oil-palms, and intersected by a stream of clear water. Unfortunately for my repose and comfort, the ceremonies at- tendant on a native wedding were at their height when I ar- rived. As the bride was a niece of the chief, and the bride- groom a head-man, it was an unusually grand affair, and the shouts and yells with vrhich it was celebrated continued both day and night, and rendered sleep impossible. A dozen men were constantly eugaged in wheeling around and about two others i)laying drums. The dancers Avere pro- vided with rude pan-pipes producing most discordant sounds, and an admiring crowd assisted with y.ells and clapping of XXIV.] A WEDDING. 311 hands. And tins was continued without cessation, for no sooner was one man tired than another took his place. On the afternoon of the second day the bridegroom made his appearance, and executed a pas seul which lasted about half an hour ; and, on its termination, the bride — a girl of nine or ten years of age, and dressed in all the finery the village could pro- duce— was brought on the shoulders of one woman and sup- ported by another, to the place where the dancers were as- sembled. November, 1874. WEDDINO-DANOE. A circle was now formed, and the women carrying the bride took up their position in the centre, and jumped her up and down most vigorously, while she allowed her body and arms to sway about uncontrolled. The bridegroom gave her fragments of tobacco -leaves and small quantities of beads, which she, keeping her eyes shut, scattered indiscriminately among the dancers, who scrambled eagerly for them, as they were supposed to bring good luck to those who obtained them. After this ceremonial was con- cluded, the bride was set down, and danced with the bride- groom, going through most obscene gestures for about ten min- utes, when he picked her up, and, tucking her under his arm, walked her off to his hut. 312 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chai-. Xovembcr, The dancing, yelling, and drumming were still continued, and, ^^'^^- indeed, had not ceased when we left on the following day. The woman who carried the bride must have worked very hard, for I noticed that the skin was actually rubbed off her back and shoulders. Leaving here, we crossed a plain with a fair amount of cul- tivation, and the river Chankoji, a considerable stream flowing south to the Lovoi, and came upon some rocky hills covered with trees and creepers. Through this range we passed by a gap about four hundred yards wide, its precipitous sides composed of enormous masses of gneiss looking like giant walls. In the numerous cracks and crevices creepers and shrubs had taken root, and clothed the massive rocks with a net-work of veixlure. On the other side was some broken country, and then a steep range which joins the Kilwala hills. We camped at Mwehu, where the few surviving inhabitants of some destroyed villages were beginning to clear the ground and build temporary huts. Soon after our arrival, a thunder-storm, accompanied by vio- lent squalls and torrents of rain, presented a grand sight. Al- though midday, there was little light except that afforded by the vivid and almost continuous streams of electric lire, blue and red, and often forked into three or four branches. Some ffashes lasted an appreciable time, being wide, and having an appearance of rippling like a running stream. The thunder crashed and roared without intermission, and the trees bent to the blast, which threatened every moment to uproot tliem, while the rain was driven before the wind in sheets of water. When this war of the elements had lasted two hours, it sud- denly ceased, the clouds cleared, and the western sun shone brightly on the dripping trees and grass, making them gHsten as though studded witli brilliants. Our next iialt was at Kisima, a partially deserted village, and here a violent paroxysm of fever attacked me without warning, but liap])ily departed almost as suddenly as it had come, thanks to liberal doses of Epsom salts and (juinine. It so reduced ray strength, however, that it was with much difficulty I dragged on for a short march the following day — the thermometer at one XXIV.] NOT ALLOWED TO VISIT LAKE KASSALI. 313 liimdred degrees in the shade — and reached a new settlement November, formed by the chief and the larger portion of the inhabitants of Kisima. Turning sharp to the southward on leaving this, and camping one day in the jungle, and another in Yasuki, we arrived on the 22d of November at Kowedi, on the banks of the Lovoi, hav- ing crossed several affluents of that river, and passed over some hills of granite with particles of mica sparkling in the sun like diamonds. 1874. OHIEP OF KOWEDI. From some rising ground close to this village I could discern Lake Kassali — often spoken of as Kikonja, from the name of its chief — lying east - south - east about twenty miles distant. Another portion of the lake was within eight miles, but was separated from Kowedi by the Lovoi and a range of hills. I very much desired to visit the lake the following day ; but these sanguine anticipations were frustrated, and I was fated not to stand upon its shores, or see the floating islands inhab- ited by its people. The chief of Kowedi was with Kasongo, who was reported to be encamped on a large hill some sixteen miles west-south- 314 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. November, west, having gone there to endeavor to capture his brother Dai- ^^'^^- yi, who had taken refuge witli Kikonja after an unsuccessful attempt on the throne. Of several of Kasongo's brothers who laid claim to the king- dom on the death of their father, Daiyi alone continued in open opposition. Some had been conquered and put to death, and two had been received into favor on tendering their submission to Kasongo. In the absence of her husband, the chiefs wife at Kowedi de- clared she had no power to permit me to pass, and therefore I could proceed no farther. I instantly sent both to Kasongo and Fume a Kenna, requesting them to give permission for me to cross the Lovoi and proceed to the lake, assuring them that I would give no assistance to Daiyi. Nothing now remained but to wait patiently for the return of my messengers, and in a few days they brought me the un- satisfactory intelligence that Kasongo had broken up his camp, and was moving to Kwinhata, his own settlement. I then dis- patched other messengers, urging Jumah Merikani to press Ka- songo to provide me with men for the journey to Kassali. Kwinhata, in Urua, signifies the residence of the chief, and is the term always applied to his principal dwelling ; but any place at which he or his head wife may chance to stay, though but for a single night, becomes de facto Kwinhata during that time. On observing much excitement among the people, many smearing themselves with mud and ashes, and rushing along the road leading in the direction of Kasongo's camp, I inquired the cause, and found that the chief of the village was coming, and shortly afterward he appeared, heralded by shouts and yells from all the villagers. I used my utmost endeavors to persuade him to grant per- mission for me to cross the Lovoi and proceed to the lake ; but he replied that Kasongo had given him strict orders not to al- low any person to go there on account of Daiyi's presence. If he disobeyed, his village would be destroyed, and all the peo])le killed. It was, therefore, evident that there was no chance of assistance in this quarter. My attention was attracted one morning by a tinkling, simi- XXIV.] MGANGA, OR MEDICINE -MAN. 315. lar to that of a number of cracked slieep-bells, and, looking out, November, I saw a niganga, or medicine-man, ambling round the village, i^'^^- followed by his train. He was dressed in a large kilt of grass- cloth, and suspended round his neck was a huge necklace com- posed of pieces of gourd, skulls of birds, and imitations of them roughly carved in wood. His head-dress was a broad band of party-colored beads surmounted by a large plume of feathers ; and his face, arms, and legs were whitened with pipe-clay. On his back he carried a large bunch of rough, conical iron bells, which jingled as he paraded the village with jigging and pran- cing steps. He was followed by a woman carrying his idol in a large gourd, another with a mat for him to sit upon, and two small boys who bore his miscellaneous properties. When he appeared, all the women turned out of their dwellings, and many collected around the village devil-hut, and appeared to go through some devotions, bending down, clapping their hands, and making curious inarticulate moanings. Other Waganga soon followed, until five, similarly dressed and attended, were assembled together. They then performed a general walk -round, and, selecting an open space in the vil- lage, seated themselves in a row, spread their mats, and brought out their idols and other instruments of imposture. The principal mganga, observing me sitting on my chair as a spectator, evidently thought that his dignity was compi-omised, and resolved that he also would have a high seat of honor ; so, sending for a mortar used for pounding corn, he placed it on the ground upside down, and seated himself thereon. But it proved very rickety, and after two or three tumbles he pre- ferred safety to dignity, and again squatted on the ground. The consultation was opened by the chief's wife, who gave them half a dozen fowls as an offering. She soon went away quite happy, the chief mganga having honored her by spitting in her face, and giving her a ball of beastliness as a charm. This she hastened to place in safety in her hut. The Waganga were now open to hear and answer questions put by the public, some of which were quickly disposed of, while others evidently raised knotty points, resulting iil much gesticulation and oratory. When the Waganga pretended they could not find an an- 9.''. 316 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. December, swer, the idols were consulted, and one of tlie feticli-men, who i8'^4- was a clever ventriloquist, made the necessary reply, the poor dupes believing it to be spoken by the idol. I noticed that large fees usually insured favorable replies, and the result of their day's divining must have been highly satisfactory to the Waganga. Two of them were so pleased that they came again the next day ; but business was slack, for the people evidently could not afford to indulge any further in the luxury of having their fortunes told. Day after day I remained here, waiting for messengers from Kasongo or Fume a Kenna ; but as none returned, I sent a few men to the lake, the chief consenting to this, though not allow- ing me to go. Directly after they started, a message arrived from Kikonja, to the effect that he was very anxious to see me ; but almost immediately other messengers arrived with the in- telligence that Kikonja could not receive me, his diviners hav- ing warned him that if I looked upon the lake its waters would dry up. On tins I pointed to the lake, telling them I had al- ready seen it, without producing any evil effect on its waters. But I was assured that if I approached close to its shores, either the lake would become dry or tlie fish would die, thereby de- priving Kikonja and his people of a large portion of their food and much of their wealth, as the fish, which are very plentiful, are dried and sold to people living at a distance from the lake. Rumors reached me that the men whom I had sent to Kikon- ja had been detained by him and Daiyi ; but my fears for their safety were shortly relieved by their arrival. They told me, however, that they had been warned by a woman that Daiyi in- tended to kill them, and they had escaped this fate by taking a canoe at night when the people were asleep, and making their way from the floating island on which Daiyi and Kikonja were • then living to the main-land, and thence by unfrequented paths back to Kowedi. They had seen Kikonja only for a few moments on their ar- rival, for during their stay he remained in his hut in a drunken condition. Daiyi, with whom they had more intercourse, was a tall, line-looking man, elaborately dressed in beads and colored cloths, and seemed to have complete control over Kikonja's people. % XXIV.] FLOATING ISLANDS. 31V The floating islands on wliicli the people live are formed of December, large pieces of tingi-tingi cut from the masses with which the 1874. shores are lined. On these, logs and brush-wood are laid and covered with earth. Huts are then built, and bananas planted, and goats and poultry are reared upon the islands. They were usually moored to stakes planted in the bed of the lake ; but when their inhabitants desire to shift their position, these are pulled up, and the islands warped along by lines laid out to other stakes. The tingi-tingi between the shore and the islands which lay along its edge is invariably intersected by small channels, so as to be perfectly impassable on foot, and only accessible by canoes. The main plantations were necessarily on shore ; and while the women were engaged in cultivating them, the greater portion of the men were stationed as pickets to give notice of the ap- proach of any enemies. During my stay at Kowedi I suffered severely from dysen- tery, but doctored myself successfully, notwithstanding one or two relapses caused by Sambo's predilection for cooking with castor-oil ; and when my men returned I was thoroughly tired of the place. There was still no prospect whatever of guides coming either from Kasongo or Fume a Kenna, so I determined to start for Jumah Merikani's on the 11th of December, At Kibaiyeli, on the return march, there were a number of Warua, who stated that they belonged to Kasongo, who was then at Munza, having again left Kwinhata ; and, when within ten minutes' walk of Jumah Merikani's house, I was met by the messengers I had sent to Fume a Kenna. They were ac- companied by a guide whom she had that morning ordered to go with them ; but this was only an apparent civility on her part, for when I wanted to avail myself of his services on the following morning, he was not forthcoming. I then heard that Kasongo had given directions that if I returned during his ab- sence I was not to be allowed to leave, and he was to be in- formed immediately of my arrival. Jumah Merikani, with the greatest consideration, was sending me rice and tobacco by these men, knowing that the former was not attainable except from his plantations, and the latter 318 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. December, grown from Ujiji seed, which has the well-deserved reputation 1874. Qf being the best in Africa. Immediately on arrival, I visited Alvez to ascertain our chances of making a move. He informed me all was ready, ivory packed and slaves collected, and that he was most anxious to start, his stores being exhausted ; therefore, directly Ivasongo returned, and our adieux were made, which might require two or three days, we should take the road. He assured me further that sixty days after starting we should reach Bihe — to which place, instead of Kassanci, I now found he was going — and a fortnight or three weeks from that j^lace would take me either to Benguela or Loanda. But I was again destined to experience grievous disappoint- ment. Kasongo did not return until the end of January, 1875 ; and even then delays innumerable occurred, chiefly owing to ithe unparalleled falsehoods and cowardliness of Alvez. During the many tedious hours w^hicli elapsed before Ka- songo arrived, I frequently questioned Jumah Merikani and •his men about their various travels ; and among his six hun- dred pagazi, besides slaves, there were very many representa- tives of different tribes, some being from the shores of Lake Sankorra. I was therefore able to gather a fair idea of the positions of the various lakes and rivers of Central Africa, and their relations to each other. From them I also heard many curious stories, which, although they may seem to be "traveler's tales," were vouched for by independent witness- es, and, I am convinced, thoroughly believed in by those who recounted them. Among these narratives the palm may perhaps be given to one related by a native of Ukaranga. He asserted that in the village next to that in which he lived the people were on most friendly terms with the lions, which used to walk in and about the village without attempting to injure any one. On great occasions they were treated to honey, goats, sheep, and ugali, and sometimes at these afternoon drums as many as two hun- dred lions assembled. Each lion w\as known to the people by name, and to these they responded when called ; and when one died, the inhabitants of the village mourned for him as for one of themselves. XXIV.] DEADLY TREES. 319 This village was reported to be situated on the shores of December, Lake Tanganyika, not very distant from Jnniah Merikani's i^'^*- house ; and he also told me that this friendshij) between the natives and lions was commonly spoken of, but he had never been present at one of the gatherings. The Mkaranga, how- ever, asserted that he had often witnessed this friendly inter- course between man and beast, and brought several of his tribes- men to testify to the truth of his statement. Certainly, if this be true, our most famous lion -tamers have yet something to learn from the natives of Africa. Another story had a curious resemblance to that of the upas- tree. At a certain place in Urguru, a division of Unyamwezi, are three large trees with dark-green foliage, the leaves being broad and smooth. A traveling party of Warori, on seeing them, thought how excellent a shelter they would afford, and camped under them ; but the next morning all were dead, and to this day their skeletons and the ivory they were carrying are said to remain there to attest their sad fate. Juniah assured me he had seen these trees, and that no birds ever roosted on their branches, neither does any grass grow un- der their deadly shade; and some men who were with him when he passed them corroborated his statement in every par- ticular. He also told me that in the vicinity of Mfuto, a town near Taborah, figures of a man seated on a stool, with his drum, dog, and goat, Avere carved in the solid rock ; and Arabs had informed him that in the TJvinza, to the east of Tanganyika, there was a large well with carved and perfect arches. This work was ascribed by the natives to a former race of Wasungu, but the Arabs supposed it to have been executed by Suliman ibn Daood and the genii. For the absolute truth of these stories I, of course, do not vouch, but simply relate them as I received them. The following account of under-ground dwellings at Mkanna by the banks of the Lufira I obtained from Jumah. He had not actually entered them himself, being afraid of the devil re- ported to haunt the caves ; but an Arab who accompanied him was more bold. He reported them to be lofty and dry, with small rivulets flowing through them, and some were actually under the bed of a river in a place where there was a cataract. 320 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. December, The inhabitants built huts, and kept their goats and other stock 1874. inside these caves. Numerous openings afforded outlet for the smoke from their fires, and there were seyeral passages communicating with the interior ; and upon being attacked, the inhabitants frequently sent out parties by different points of egress, to surprise and assail their enemies in rear, and place them between two fires. There are also under-ground dwellings at Mkwamba, a short distance farther up the Lufira ; but the principal caves are at Mkanna. During one of his cruises on the Tanganyika, Jumah passed a high rocky island named jSTgomanza, situated north of the isl- ands of Kasenge and separated from the main-land by a very narrow channel, into which falls the river Ngomanza, and to drink its waters for a week or ten days is supposed to be sufii- cient to produce leprosy. The inhabitants are certainly lep- rous, the greater number having lost a hand or foot, while nearly all are deprived of the sight of one eye, and many of both, it being quite a rarity to meet a person not suffering from blindness in some degree. None of the neighboring tribes in- termarry with these people ; and when obliged by business to travel through their dreaded country, they hurry along as fast as possible. The unfortunate lepers are actually forbidden to emigrate. It may possibly be a contagious leprosy with which they are afilicted, and that the contagion requires some little time to affect a healtliy person. Besides listening to these accounts of travel, I employed my- self in completing my maps and journals, making a pair of slip- pers, and re-binding my map port-folio. I also constructed a new double-fly tent of grass-cloth, rendered water-proof by being soaked in palm-oil, my old one being completely worn out ; and manufactured a new pair of colors for the march to the coast, those used hitherto being so tattered and stained as to be well- nigh indistinguishable. Another important piece of work was darning my stockings ; and as all my darning-needles had been stolen on account of their having such conveniently large eyes, I was obliged to use a sail-needle, which rendered the process even more tedious than usual. XXIV.] MEETING WITH KASONGO. 321 Occasionally we enlivened the evenings by shooting at the January, innumerable fly-catchers and goat-suckers which came swooj)- ^^'^^• ing round after a hot day, and the uncertainty and swiftness of their flight afforded very good practice. I also paid constant visits to Fume a Kenna, urging her to dispatch messengers to Kasongo to hasten his return ; and to Alvez, begging him to be perfectly ready to start immediately Kasongo came. Parties of Kasongo's wives frequently came to see us; and as they had usually been imbibing freely, their manners and conversation were the reverse of moral and instructive. Some- times they would dance, and their looseness of gesture and ex- traordinary throwing - about of their limbs certainly exceeded any thing I had ever seen. One of Jumah's slaves amused us sometimes by exhibiting extraordinary tricks. His particular performance was with a piece of heavy, hard wood, shaped like an hour-glass, and two sticks each a foot in length. Taking a stick in each hand, he would make the wood rotate rapidly, and run backward and for- ward in the most extraordinary manner between the sticks, on a piece of string attached to their ends ; then, by a peculiar jerk, he would send the wood flying up into the air, higher than a cricket -ball could be thrown, and, catching it on the string, would again set it rolling. Notwithstanding my occupations, the Christmas of 1874 and New-year's-day of 1875 passed drearily indeed, and right glad was I when I heard, in the middle of January, that Kasongo was, really returning in answer to my numerous messages ; and on the 21st of January he actually arrived, heralded by much drumming and shouting. In the afternoon I went with Jumali Merikani to call on him, and, on entering the inclosure appropriated to his harem, looked in vain for any one having the appearance of so great a chief as Kasongo was reported to be. But when the assembled crowd opened to allow me to pass, I saw in front of the princi- pal hut a young man, taller by nearly a head than any standing near. This was the famous Kasongo ; and behind him were some women carrying his shields, while he held a spear in one hand. 322 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. January, 1875. Every care was taken that no uninvited person or objectiona- ble intruder should find it possible to be present unobserved. The entrance to the niussumba, or inclosure, was now carefully guarded by sentries ; and a porter, clad in a huge leopard-skin apron, with an enormous crooked stick in his hand, examined every comer with the closest scrutiny before admitting him to the royal presence. We were conducted by Kasmigo into his hut, accompanied by his fetich-men and a few of his wives, when we made him a small present and took our departure, this being merely a form- al meeting ; but Kasongo ordered his band to play me home as a mark of honor. KASONGO S BAND. The band consisted of wooden drums, marimba, and globular gourds played as wind instruments, and producing a sound re- sembling that of a bugle. Kasongo's attention in directing so great a mark of respect as being marched home to the strains of his own band was, of course, most flattering, but the tapage infernal was well-nigh unbearable. I sent them a few beads, in the hope that, like the organ-grinder of the civilized world, they would take the hint and move on. But the unsophisticated natives accepted this nil I, I A^V^T? p XXIV.] DELAY DIMINISHING MY STOCK OF BEADS. 323 action as a mark of my appreciation, or else imagined that I had January, hired them for the rest of the day, for they continued until after i^vs. sunset to play in front of Jnmah's veranda, the only place I had in which to spend my days. I now believed the time of starting to be near, and sent to Alvez, suggesting that he should bid farewell to Kasongo, and make a move as soon as possible, since every day's delay was diminishing the stock of beads with which I had to make my journey to the coast. 324 ACROSS AFRICA. . [Chap. CHAPTER XXV. A Horde of Euffians. — A Thorough Blackguard. — A King among Beggars. — Wives and Families visit Me. — Mutilated Men. — Kasongo's Vanity. — His Message to her Majesty. — He takes me for a Ghost. — Xo Guides or Escort Obtainable. — Abandon- ment of my Fondest Hope. — Honest Alvez. — He lies like Truth. — Plotting. — The Levee. — Warned and armed. — The Ceremony. — Salaams of the Chiefs. — Biting the Dust. — Speeches. — Deceit. — Sleeping with Deceased Wives. — Obliged to build Kasongo's House. — Cruelty of Portuguese Slave-traders. — Delays. — Desertion. — Jumah Merikani sends Deserters a Warning. — Funeral Rites of a Chief. — Wives buried Alive with Him. — Blood shed over his Grave. — Kasongo's Harsh Rule. — His Demoniacal Frenzies. — Fire in Camp. — My Servant's Good Conduct. — Delicate Attention of Mrs. Kasongo. January, WiTii Kasongo returned tlie liorde of ruffians who had ac- 1875. companied him on his phmdering raids, and to Lourenco da Souza Coimbra, a son of Major Coinibra, of Bihe, must be awarded the pahn for having reached the highest grade in ruf- fianism among them alL He lost no time in coming to see me, in the endeavor to swindle me out of something, and commenced by advancing a claim to be paid as a guide, on the plea that he had shown Alvez the road by which we intended to reach the coast ; and hearing that I had promised Alvez a gun when we had fairly started, he declared he was equally entitled to one. To this request I most decidedly refused to accede; and then Coimbra — who was known by the natives as Kwarumba — continually worried me with his importunate demands for cartridge-paper, powder, beads, and, in fact, any thing he imag- ined he might extract from me. His attire and general appearance were worthy of his char- acter. A dirty, greasy, and tattered wide-awake hat, battered shapeless, and so far gone that a cJuffonnier would have passed it by as worthless, crowned this distinguished person. His shirt was equally dirty, and a piece of grass-cloth bound round his waist trailed its end upon the ground. His hair was short and XXV.] COIMBRA AN UNMITIGATED RUFFIAN. 325 kinky, and his almost beardless face, where not covered with tilth, was of a dirty yellow color. Even had he not been always in a half-drunken state, his blood-shot eye would have told the tale of debauchery. In short, he was, true to his appearance, an unmitigated ruffian. Alvez, his employer, was not behind in begging for small things, besides the promised rifle, which he said he particularly January, 1875. wanted to get possession of at once, in order to j)rove the ex- istence of the agreement between ns. After constant appeals made on this ground, I allowed him to have it, hoping that he might be induced to settle quickly with Kasongo, and start away without further delay when he saw I was inclined to treat him generously. Kasongo's arrival was not the signal for our speedy depart- ure, as I had hoped. After seeing me and my wonders, he be- gan Ijegging for all I possessed — my own guns, hat, boots, pis- tols, books — in fact, every thing new to him he fancied and asked for, and was so very persistent and difficult a beggar to 326 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. January, get rid of that he would even have bothered the agent of a isYo. mendicity society. On returning my call, he brought a crowd of wives and fol- lowers, and sat for nearly three hours under Jumah Merikani's veranda. Many of the women had babies of tender age with them ; and nursery kits being very limited in Urua, some jDor- tion of the scene had perhaps better remain undescribed. I was astonished to see Kasongo accompanied by a large number of mutilated men, and was still more so on finding that many had been thus mutilated simply for caprice, or as an in- stance of his power. His jidus Achates had lost hands, nose, ears, and lips, in consequence of fits of temper on Kasongo's part ; but notwithstanding having experienced such cruel treat- ment at his master's hands, he seemed to worship the ground he stood upon. Several others equally badly maimed were scarcely less remarkable for their devotion. Kasongo was inflated with pride, and asserted that he was the greatest chief in the whole world. The only one, in his opinion, who could in any way compare with him was Mata Yafa, the chief of Ulunda, who was also a mrua, and belonged to the same family as Kasongo. He graciously informed me that but for the obstacle offered by the great lake Tanganyika lying in the way, he would visit England to see what the coun- try was like. I thought it possible his vanity might suffer a shock when I told him that the Tanganyika was nothing in comparison M'ith the seas that lay between Africa and my home. But he mere- ly remarked that he would defer his visit for the present, and directed me to tell my chief to pay him tribute, and to send me back with rifles, cannon (of which he had heard from the Por- tuguese), boats to navigate his rivers, and people to teach him and his subjects the manner of using them, I then informed this self-important chief that those who un- derstood how to make the things he required were not likely people to pay him tribute, and that my chief was far greater than he, and, indeed, that he could have no idea of the magni- tude of her power. I asked him how many fighting -men he could muster, and the number that could be put into the largest of his canoes. XXV,] NO GUIDES OR ESCORT OBTAINABLE. 327 He said lie was unable to count his fighting-men, but that five February, or six was a very good number for one canoe. I replied, laugh- 1^75. ing, that I had formed a good idea of the strength of his army, ~~ and that a very small chief in my country often commanded more men armed with rifles ; while, instead of six men being as many as could go in one canoe, we had ships the size of isl- ands, and, although carrying more than a thousand men each, they could remain away from land for many months. Even after this conversation, although he admitted that what I had said might be true, yet he adhered to the opinion that he was a very great man, and I was still to convey his messages to my chief. After this talk, however, the marvelous reports spread by my people concerning the power of the English reached his ears, and I heard that he came to the conclusion I was a ghost that had come from the spirit-land to visit him. I pressed him to permit Alvez to leave, telling him I had long been away from my home, and wished to return ; and that, as I had a great distance to travel, I was anxious to start as quickly as possible. He promised that directly he had held a levee of his chiefs, at which he desired me to be present, in or- der that I might be impressed with his greatness, we should not only be free to depart, but he would also furnish guides to the boundary of his dominions. My endeavors to induce him to provide me with guides to Sankorra were unsuccessful, for he always excused himself by saying that my jDcople were too few to travel alone, and that my only chance was either to go with Alvez, or to remain with Jumah Merikani until he returned to the Tanganyika. Both from Alvez and Jumah Merikani I tried to obtain escort to the lake ; but they said they were not sufficiently strong to spare any of their followers. Thus, most reluctantly, was I compelled to surrender my long-cherished idea of tracing the Kongo to its mouth. The levee which I believed would at length bring my long period of inaction to a termination was postponed from day to day, and did not take place till the 10th of February. Before this, Alvez had demanded an agreement in writing as to the amount to be paid him for showing me the road to the coast. 2i 328 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. February, The negotiations were carried on through the medium of 1875. Q^e of jjjy men, who, having been employed on board a Por- tuguese merchant - ship, spoke tlie language well, but unfortu- nately understood nothing as to the money. Alvez unhesita- tingly took advantage of this ignorance, and fleeced me out- rageously. Wlien once the agreement was signed, he changed his tone of almost cringing civility for one of impertinence, and it required considerable self-control on my part to avoid numerous rows with him. He had promised not to wait for the levee, but to start two days after signing our agreement. Yet as soon as he considered I was in his power, he declared, notwithstanding my remonstrances, that he would not start until after the levee. At last the momentous day arrived, and a messenger from Kasongo came to Jumah and myself at seven o'clock in the morning, saying that he hoped we would attend without delay, as Alvez was already at his mussumba. Jumah warned me to be prepared for treachery, having heard that Kasongo had proposed to Alvez that he should join in attacking and looting us ; and that although Alvez had re- fused, a large number of his people, headed by Coimbra, had agreed to assist in this plot. " Once warned, twice armed ;" so we posted fifty of Jumah's men with guns in different parts of his settlement, and, taking sixty more, and my own askari, proceeded to the mussumba. There we found Kasongo and Fume a Kenna almost alone in their glory, although large numbers of chiefs and their fol- lowers were collected outside. At first the entry of our armed party was objected to, but I overcame this by the assertion that they were brought merely in honor of Kasongo, as it would be disrespectful to visit so powerful a chief on a state occasion without a suitable escort. I did not carry my rifle, contenting myself with keeping my revolver ready for action if necessary ; but Jumah Merikani, contrary to his usual habit, dispensed with the services of a gun- bearer, and took the precaution of carrying his gun himself. Soon after our arrival, the jingling of bells announced the approach of Alvez in his hammock, and we then proceeded to business. XXV.] THE LEVEE. 329 Alvez and liis men, all of whom carried guns, were formed February, in line along one side of the open sjjace near the entrance to 1875. the ranssumba, and Jumah Merikani and myself, with our fol- lowers, sat opposite. Midway between these two lines, and to- ward one end, stood Kasongo. Facing him was a man support- ing a curiously shaped axe, and immediately behind him were four women, one of whom also carried an axe similar in form to that of the man in front. Then followed two Waganga and women bearing Kasongo's shields, and behind them a party of men with all Kasongo's guns, standing in line, and flanked on either side by executioners and other officials. In rear of all were his wives and children. Opposite to Kasongo, and close to the entrance of the mussumba, were the chiefs who had been summoned to attend with their followers, all arrayed in their best. The next stage of the proceedings consisted of a monotonous droning through a list of Kasongo's titles and a description of his greatness by the women immediately behind him, assisted occasionally by the people joining in chorus. This long preamble being finished, the chiefs, commencing with the lowest in rank, came forward in turns and made their salaams. Each one was accompanied by a boy carrying a bag of powdered pipe-clay or cinnabar, and when fairly in front of Ka- songo, at about twenty yards' distance, the bag was taken from the boy by tlie chief, who rubbed its contents upon his arms and chest. Meanwhile he swayed about from one foot to the other, shouting at the top of his voice Kasongo's titles — Ka- lunga Kasongo, Kalunga, Moene Munza, Moene Banza, Moene Tanda, and many others. When sufficiently bedaubed, the chief returned the bag to his boy, and, drawing his sword, rushed at Kasongo, seemingly intent upon cutting him down ; but just before reaching him, lie suddenly fell on his knees, driving the sword into the ground, and rubbing his forehead in tlie dust. Kasongo having acknowledged this salute with a few words, the chief arose, and, passing to the rear, was rejoined by his re- tainers. After all the chiefs had saluted, Kasongo delivered a long speech about himself, his divine rights, greatness, and powers, 330 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. February, declaring that the only person who could be compared to him 1875. ^y^^ }jjg relative Mata Yafa. This was followed by an address from Coimbra, and another from a man on our side wdio spoke Kirna. In these speeches there were much recrimination and self-laudation, and once or twice matters became threatening, but it passed away without any disturbance. At the conclusion Kasongo formally confided me to the care of Alvez, telling him that, should any thing happen to me on the journey to the coast, he would be certain to receive intel- ligence of it, and consequently Alvez had better look well after my interest, or never again show his face in Urua. Notwithstanding these parting instructions, Alvez deter- mined not to start until the mourning for one of Kasongo^s wives, who had just died, was concluded. That occupied a week, at the end of which time I saw Kasongo looking very seedy and dirty, as well he might, for, according to custom, he had been sleeping nightly with his deceased wife. I expressed a hope that we might now leave, but he replied that Alvez had promised to build him a house, and that I must follow his example and do likewise ; but I excused myself on the impossibility of obtaining building materials suitable for a European house. Alvez denied point-blank having made any such promise; but in a few days I ascertained that he had volunteered to do this service ; and when I remonstrated with him on his breach of faith, he declared that the house would be erected in four or five days, and that Coimbra had already set about it with a party of men. Coimbra returned soon after, and I discovered that he knew nothing concerning the house, but had been engaged on some plundering or murdering expedition in company with a party of Kasongo's people. Now I was told the whole caravan must move to Totela, where the building operations were to be carried on, and which was two or three marches on our route to the coast. We were then obliged to wait until Kasongo was ready to select and clear the ground, and prepare the necessary trees for building. Day after day was wasted ; puerile excuses of every kind XXV.] BAD TKEATMENT OF SLAVES. 331 were made ; the fetich-men, wives of Kungwe a Banza, and the March, deceased Banibarre were consulted, and gave answers as ambig- ^^'^^• nous as those of the Delphic oracle. Kasongo could or would not decide upon starting until, at last, I promised him the rifle — which he had been begging for almost daily — as soon as a move was made, and, thus persuaded, he left for Totela on the 21st of February. It was equally difiicult to get Alvez under way ; but on the 25th we actually moved off, and, after six dawdling marches and three days' halt, arrived at Totela, where we found Kasongo with a number of Warua, but nothing done toward commencing the building operations. On this march with Alvez, I was disgusted beyond measure with what I saw of the manner in which the unfortunate slaves were treated, and have no hesitation in asserting that the worst of the Arabs are in this respect angels of light in comparison with the Portuguese and those who travel with them. Had it not come under my personal notice, I should scarcely have be- lieved that any men could be so wantonly and brutally cruel. The whole organization of Alvez's caravan was bad from be- ginning to end. The nucleus consisted of a small number of his own slaves and porters hired by him in Bihe ; but the greater portion was composed of independent parties from Bihe, and there were also a few people from Lovale and Ki- bokwd, who had joined en route in order to come to Urua to steal slaves. These outsiders, who were all provided with guns, had been encouraged to join us, to add to the ajjparent strength of the party. There was no discipline or authority over them, and they constantly hindered the caravan, as many as a hundred sometimes being present at a palaver about marching or halting. At starting, the whole caravan may have numbered seven hundred, and before leaving Urua they had collected over fif- teen hundred slaves, principally by force and robbery. Just before marching from Kilemba, I heard, quite by chance, that a party had left for Kanyoka, on the borders of Ulunda, and that we should be delayed until they returned. I strongly urged the dispatch of messengers to recall them at once ; but this was not done until after our arrival at Totela. 332 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. April, When leaving Jumah Merikani's house, where I had experi- 1875. enced the greatest hospitality during my long stay, he gave me a present of beads, two goat-skin bags of good flour, and one of rice, thus adding to the many benefits he had bestowed on me ; and while at Totela, he constantly sent rice to me ; so much, indeed, that it lasted me to Bihe. It soon became evident that if the building operations were left to Alvez and his motley crowd, years would elapse before the house would be finished ; so I set my men to work and completed it in three weeks, excepting plastering and decora- ting the walls, which was done by Kasongo's women under the direction of Fume a Kenna. In the l)eginning of April the house was finished, but nothing was known of the Kanyoka . party. I therefore sent a few of my people with some of Al- vez's men to endeavor to ascertain what had become of them. Kasongo soon grew tired of remaining in one place, and on several occasions went away on plundering expeditions, accom- panied by Coimbra, and ruffians belonging to Alvez's caravan, who hoped by this means to pick up slaves. I tried my hardest to persuade him to give me canoes, that I might go down the Lorn ami, and thus get back to the Kongo. But it was no avail, and I had to remain inactive day after day. Thus April passed without any signs of the return of the Kan- yoka party, or any events worth recording. Some of my men, dreading the road in front, deserted, and made their escape to Jumah Merikani's camp. Hearing of this, he sent them back to me with a message for the guidance of others similarly chicken-hearted, that all deserters would be im- mediately returned to me, if possible, or be kept in chains un- til he arrived at Zanzibar, where he would hand them over to the English consul for punishment. But for this threat, I be- lieve very many would have deserted. The time passed most heavily during this long delay, and I found it necessary to make employment, to prevent becoming desperate through vexation and ennui. Alany otherwise tedi- ous hours were occupied in writing, drawing, taking lunars and working them out, and in copying itineraries and meteorolog- ical observations for my journals. In the evenings I frequent- ly went out with my gun, and the guinea-fowl and wood-pig- XXV.] BURIAL OF A WARUA CHIEF. 333 which are probably iineqiialed in eons I brought in were a welcome addition to my larder ; and an occasional visit from Fume a Kenna also somewhat varied the monotony. I also busied myself in collecting a vocabulary of Kirua, and in inquiring into the manners and cus- toms of the people, and by this means became ac- quainted with the cere- monies observed at the burial of a chief of Urua their savagery. The iirst proceeding is to divert the course of a stream, and in its bed to dig an enormous pit, the bottom of which is then covered with living women. At one end a woman is placed on her hands and knees, and upon her back the dead chief, covered with his beads and other treasures, is seated, being supported on either side by one of his wives, while his second wife sits at his feet. The earth is then shoveled in on them, and all the women are buried alive with the exception of the second wife. To her, custom is more merciful than to her companions, and grants her the privilege of being killed before the huge grave is tilled in. This being completed, a number of male slaves — sometimes forty or fifty — are slaughtered and their blood poured over the grave ; after which the river is allowed to re- sume its course. Stories were rife that no fewer than a hundred women were buried alive with Bambarre, Kasongo's father ; but let us hope that this may be an exaggeration. Smaller chiefs are buried with two or three wives, and a few slaves only are killed that their blood may be shed on the grave ; while one of the common herd has to be content with solitary burial, l)eing placed in a sitting posture, with the right forefin- ger pointing heavenward, just level with the top of the mound over his grave. April, 1875. 334 ACROSS 4FKICA. [Chap. May, In the beginning of May, I sent another search party two or 1875. three days' march along the Kauyoka road, to seek some intel- ligence of the people for whom we were waiting ; but they returned unsuccessful, and reported that all the country they passed through had been desolated by Kasongo, Coimbra, and those with them. Xo village is secure against destruction under Kasongo's rule, as the following instance will j^rove : A chief having presented himself and paid the customary tribute, Kasongo professed to be perfectly satisfied, and told him that he would return with him and visit his village ; but scarcely had they approached the place when it was surrounded by a cordon. The chief was seized, and compelled by a party of armed men to set lire to the village with his own hands when darkness closed in, after which he was cruelly put to death. The wretched fugitives, rushing from the flames into the jungle in the hope of finding safety, were captured by people lying in ambush. The men were slaughtered, and the women sent to recruit the ranks of Kasongo's harem. Under the combined infiuence of immoderate drinking and smoking bhang, Kasongo acts like a demon, ordering death and mutilation indiscriminately, and behaving in the most barba- rous manner to any who may be near him. Soon after my search party returned, some people of Lovale, who had been engaged in robbing provision-grounds on the road to Kanyoka, arrived in camp with the information that those men I first sent to that place had reached it, and were staying there instead of setting out on the homeward journey. This first party had already been absent more than two months, and the second over a month, and I was daily becoming more impatient to be moving. I dared not make any excursions from the camp into the sur- rounding country, for had I left my stores for one moment I should have been robbed ; and even now there was barely enough for the journey to Bih^, and Alvez, I knew, trusted al- most entirely to theft and selling slaves as a means of provision- ing his men on the road. At last I persuaded him to send Moenooti, tlio principal of his own immediate followers, to bring in the fellows who were XXV.] MY CAMP BUENED. 335 detaining us ; and this time our messages were attended to, and on the 26th of May the first party made its appearance. Coimbra, who had been backward and forward with Kasongo, now left the caravan, to phmder and obtain a batch of slaves to take to Bihe. I protested against this ; but Alvez declared that if he had not returned in time, we should start without him, and with this reply I had to be content. May, 1875. Before we started, however, a terrible misfortune occurred, owing to one of my men having lighted a fire inside his hut, and smoked himself stupid with bhang. It was in the evening of the 28th of May that I heard an alarm of fire, and found this man's hut in a blaze, and, being right to windward of our camp, the wave of fire seemed to roll along like lightning. All the huts had been heavily thatched during the rains, and, as usual when remaining any time in camp, the men had built cooking and smoking places, which were all as dry as tinder, now the rains had ceased, and added intensity to the fiames. Jumah, my servant, who was standing by me when the cry was raised, ran to his own hut, which was already burning, be- 336 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. May, 1875. ing only a few yards from the one where the conflagration originated. He first seized his rifle and cartridges, and then, seeing the rapidly spreading flames, left every thing he pos- sessed to be destroyed, and rushed to my tent, to endeavor to save as much as possible. The books were bundled into my blankets, and although the tent had ignited before we were all out, its contents were saved. The tent itself was burned, but my precious journals, books, and instruments were rescued, thanks to the presence of mind and exertions of Jumah, Hamees Ferhan, and one or two oth- ers. While we were clearing out the tent I asked Jumah if his kit was safe. He replied, '■'-Potelea mhali; yonya mabooku^'' (let it be d — d ; save the books). In twenty minutes the whole affair was over, and then Bom- bay turned up with a piteous story of having his rifle and pis- tol burned. The old sinner only looked after his own kit, and really did nothing himself, but actually appropriated men to his service who should have been assisting at rescuing my tent and its contents. Alvez's people took advantage of the confusion to commit many robberies, for which no redress was ever offered or re- ceived, while for the destruction of a few of their huts I had a KASONGO 8 UOaSK. XXV.] DELICATE ATTENTION OF MRS. KASONGO. 337 tremendous bill to pay, and doubtless many things alleged to have been burned in them never had any existence. Fume a Kenna sent the next morning to condole with me; and as a number of my men had lost their clothes, she kindly presented me with a bale of grass-cloth for them. Kasongo, hearing of the return of the Kanyoka party, came back to renew his begging before we started ; and Alvez sold him the Snider he received from me, and also, as I afterward heard, a quantity of cartridges which were stolen during the fire. He had done nothing for me, although I had made him presents and built his house ; so I refused to give him any thing further. This fire delayed us considerably, as the consequent claims against me had to be settled ; but at last the start was made on the 10th of June. June, 1875. HAIR DEESSING. 338 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. CHAPTER XXVI. Making " Medicine " against Fire. — An Elaborate Operation. — Kasongo's Importu- nate Begging. — Disgraceful Conduct of Alvez's People. — No Mercy for the Weak. — Cringing to the Strong. — Jumah Merikani's Generosity. — The "Fiend Stream." — Strange Trees. — My Men mistake Pombe for Water. — Swamps and Bogs. — Many Slips. — " Sloughs of Despond." — Enormous Ant-hills. — A Monarch dreaded by his People. — Surpassing his Predecessors in Cruelty. — The Biter bit. — A Wel- come Present. — Playing with Fire-arms. — I frighten a Chief out of his Village. — Alvez's Tactics. — A New Arrival. — Endeavors to ol tain Allies. — Driven to Des- peration.— I determine to march Alone. — Result of Firmness. June, Before Alvez and his people would consent to marcli they 1875. declared that " medicine " must be made as a precaution against lire, since it was now the dry season, and the danger from this cause was great, as we had good reason to remember. Alvez, though nominally a Christian, appeared to be a iirm believer in divination and incantation, and had engaged a fe- tich-man at Bihe to do this service for the whole journey at the same rate of pay as a porter, with additional perquisites and fees. The ceremony was commenced just before sunset, and I carefully watched the proceedings and noted them as they oc- curred. I was much amused, in the first instance, by hearing orders given for the purchase of the cheapest and smallest goat that was to be found, that animal and a fowl being necessary for the performance. The place chosen was as near as possible to the spot where the late fire broke out. The mganga and his boy then arrived on the scene with their materials, which consisted of the goat and fowl, a large j)ot of water, a bark trough with a stick fast- ened across the middle, a basket containing clay, a ball made of shreds of bark, mud, and filth, a wooden bowl, some roots and small pieces of stick, a leafless branch, a hoe, knives, an axe, and some Warua pipe-clay. XXVI.] INSURANCE AGAINST FIRE. 339 The boy was adorned with a streak of pipe -clay down his June, nose and the middle of his chest, and across his npper lip. He i^'^^. took his seat on the trough, turning his back to the north, the man sitting opposite to him: they then rubbed each other's arms up and down while the man mumbled some mystic w^ords, after which the boy arose and laid the leafless branch upon the trough. Scraping the bark off the roots and sticks, they placed it in the w^ooden bowl and reduced it to powder, and chopped the sticks into very small fragments. A cross, with one arm pointing to the setting sun, was made on the ground by the man with his foot, and then he took up a handful of the powdered bark, and blew some toward the sun and the remainder in the opposite direction. Where the cross had been drawn, a hole was now made, into which the troup-h w^as put, and a small quantity of water poured into it, A few drops were also sprinkled on the ground, first to the north and then to the south. The mganga next took two of the scraped roots, and, spitting on them, placed one at each end of the trough, and, standing to the south of it, picked up some of the fragments of sticks "and dropped them in. In this operation he so crossed his hands that those fragments in his left should fall to the eastward of the stick fastened across the centre of the trough, and those in his right on the other side. These motions were strictly fol- lowed by the boy, who stood at the north end of the trough. • Both again sat down, the man this time at the east end, and the boy facing him. The fowl was then seized, the boy hold- ing it by the wangs and legs, while the man grasped its head with his left hand and cut its throat, having first rubbed it with pipe-clay, and being careful that the blood should fall into the trough and on the stick across it. When dead, the fowl was laid upon the spot on the south side of the trough, where water had been poured, with its head to the east. The same performance was then gone through M^ith the goat, a couple of by-standers assisting in holding it during its strug- gles, and its carcass was placed on the opposite side of the trough, with its head to the west. After washing his face with the blood and water, the man took a little of it in his mouth, and blew some first toward the 340 ACEOSS AFEICA. [Chap. June, sun, and then to the eastward. He afterward took some of the 1875. powdered bark from the bowl and rubbed his chest and hands with it and the blood and water, the boy again following his motions. More water being poured into the trough, Alvez and many of his men washed their faces in it, and rubbed their hands with the powdered bark ; and a few of my people, although reputed Mohammedans, followed their example. Some of the water was then thrown into the bowl, and the remainder, together with the balls of filthy clay and pieces of stick, into the hole in which the trough had been, which was finally covered by the trough, while the branch was planted at its east end. The mganga completed the performance by taking the bowl of water round and sprinkling the huts; and he received the remains of the goat and fowl as his perquisites. Throughout the whole ceremony an idea evidently prevailed that the sun was to be propitiated, possibly on account of its being recognized as the source of light and heat. I flattered myself that I had quite rid myself of Kasongo by my refusal to listen to his begging ; but in the middle of the night I was aroused, and found him in camp trading with Alvez, who sold him the rifle he had obtained from me for two tusks of ivory. When he saw me, he asked for cartridges ; but, tak- ing no notice of his request, I re-entered my hut and turned in. Soon I heard him outside exclaiming, '-'•Bwana Cameroni, vissonghi^ vissonghi P^ (Mr. Cameron, cartridges, cartridges !). I laughed at him, and rej^lied, " Kasongo, Kasongo, mssonghi, mssonghi ;''"' but he continued begging until he even asked for one only. We were off betimes on the morning of tlie 10th, and made for the direction of the village of Lunga Mandi, a Kilolo or governor of Kasongo's, reported to be ten marches distant, and close to the western boundary of Urua, where supplies of food for crossing Ussambi were to be procured. For the first four days we passed over hilly and wooded country with a large number of villages, chiefly fortified. Many of them we were not allowed to enter, as the people were friendly with Daiyi, and feared we had come from Kasongo to attack them. XXVI.] DISGRACEFUL CONDUCT OF ALVEZ'S PEOPLE. 341 The conduct of Alvez's people on the road was disgraceful. June, They attacked any small parties of natives whom they chanced i^*^^- to meet, and plundered their loads, though these consisted chiefly of dried fish and corn, which were being carried as tribute to Kasongo. Any cultivated spot they at once fell on like a swarm of lo- custs, and, throwing down their loads, rooted up ground-nuts and sweet-potatoes, and laid waste fields of unripe corn, out of sheer wantonness. In the villages where they camped they cut down bananas and stripped oil -palms of their fronds for building their huts, thus doing irreparable injury to the unfort- unate inhabitants. On remonstrating, I was informed that they had permission from Kasongo to take whatever they required. But had they not been armed with guns, they would never have dared to act thus, for on entering countries where the people carried fire- arms these truculent ruffians became mild as sucking doves, and yielded to any demands made upon them by the natives. The consequences of this system of living upon the country were to be seen in the entire absence of women and children, goats, pigs, and fowls from the open villages. Only a few men remained in them, in the hope of guarding their huts against being plundered ; but their presence was of little avail. While this plundering and looting was carried on in the open, none ventured to separate themselves from the caravan when passing through the jungle, for it was reported to be full of armed men, who would cut off stragglers, and, according to rumor, kill and eat them. I kept my men in hand as much as possible, and prevented them from following the bad example set by the rest of the caravan. Yet this only resulted in their being obliged to pur- chase food from Alvez's thieves ; and I should have suffered hunger times without number, had it not been for the rice and flour so generously given me by Jumah Merikaui. Even to the very moment of my leaving Totela he kept me supplied, four men arriving with bags of rice and flour and a bundle of tobacco as we were actually starting. A number of rivers were crossed during these four days, and for some distance we marched by the banks of the Kiluilui, or 25 342 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap- June, "fiend stream," a name it well merited. It rushed along the 1875. bottom of a deep chasm in the sandstone rocks only about twenty yards wide, from which light was excluded by the inter- laced branches of the trees growing on both banks, forming a canopy impenetrable to the rays of the sun. Peering down from above, all seemed dark as Erebus. For the first few feet the sides were covered with ferns, and then they went sheer down for some fifty feet to the dark and roaring torrent, marked by flashing foam where rocks checked its impetuous course toward the Lovoi. In the forests there were numerous very fine trees, among which the mpafu stood pre-eminent in its great size and beaut3^ Some trees had four or five large buttress - like projections, measuring about six feet at the base, and gradually tapering off to about twenty feet from the ground, above which the trunk ran up in a clean cylindrical form to the height of seventy or eighty feet before branching out. Owing to our lengthy halt, my men were entirely unfit for much marching. Ten soon became unable to bear their loads, and one was so ill that he was obliged to be carried. They as- cribed their illness to the impure water at Totela. I imagine, however, that very little water was drunk by them while there ; for pombe and palm-wine were plentiful, and nearly every one had friends among the natives who gave them any amount of liquor. Curiously enough, the wdiole of those I had sent to Kanyoka were among the sick. Leaving the hill country, we came to a succession of level "plains, which must be almost impassable swamj)s in the rainy season, and were still damp and oozy, and marked with large pits caused by the passage of elephants. In some places their tracks were quite fresh, and, to judge from the amount of dam- age done to trees and shrubs, and the manner in which the country was trampled about — all footpaths being obliterated — the herds must sometimes have numbered over five hundred beasts. We had to cross many streams flowing through small un- dulations between the plains, often bordered by swamps a mile wide. Of these the N jivi was especially difiicult. Wood grew on each side, and the river banks were lined with fallen trunks XXVI.] SWAMPS AND BOGS. 343 of trees, between which we waded through mud often waist- June, deep. It was useless to trust to the delusive help of the slip- i^'^^- pery footing these trunks afforded ; for on attempting to bal- ance one's self on one of them it would turn slowly round, and precipitate the unfortunate individual into stagnant water full of rotting vegetation. One or two such awkward experiences taught us that it was wiser to wade along the swampy ground, with the penalty of being wet to the waist, rather than to purchase a temporary im- munity at the risk of a ducking from head to foot. Beyond this was a fairly dry tract of grass, and then the mo- rass itself. The path was knee-deep in sticky mud, and quak- ing bog lay on either side. Some endeavored to avoid the muddy path by springing from tuft to tuft of long wiry grass, which grew abundantly. But they soon came to grief, for the tufts were merely floating on the mixture of slime and mud, and capsized directly they were stepped upon, throwing the wretched being who had been de- ceived by their apparent stability into the treacherous bog, from which he had to be extricated by more prudent companions, who patiently toiled along the path, instead of seeking ease at the risk of safety. Many men were rej)orted to have been lost in similar bogs. Through the centre of the morass was a stream of beautifully clear water, ten feet wide and six deep, with an apparently firm bed of yellow sand. But the sand was only a few inches deep, and beneath was quaking mud. At intervals in the expanse of swamp there were island-like clumps of tall, slender trees, growing as closely together as pos- sible, and rising from the green surface without any fringe of scrub or undergrowth. They formed a dense mass, owing to the luxurious growth of various creepers netting them together into an impenetrable thicket. Viewed at a short distance, these swamps had the appearance of verdant meadows, the clumps of trees greatly enhancing their beauty ; and not until arriving at them did sad experience of these veritable "sloughs of despond" dispel the pleasant deception. The scene, as one looked across them, with the caravan in Indian file winding along like some huge black snake, was most striking. }44 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. Juue, 1875. -S NJIVI MAE8H. About fifteen miles before reacliing Lunga Mandi's village, I was shown the place where the first white trader from Bihe who penetrated Urua had pitched his camp. From the account given by the natives, he conducted his caravan on the same principles as Alvez, and I believe the peoj^le did not appre- ciate his visit. As we journeyed onward, my invalids began to recruit their health, and all had recovered on arrival at Lunga Mandi's. This village was situated in a valley among flat-topjjed hills of sandstone, well wooded, and with many, bright streams ; and here, for the first time, I saw ant-hills similar to those in South Africa. I had previously met with many ten feet in height, but now suddenly came upon some of gigantic size, measuring from for- ty to fifty feet ; and, comparing means with results, these ant- hills are more wonderful than the Pyramids. It is as though a nation had set to work and built Mount Everest. Camping a short distance from Lunga Mandi's, we were soon surrounded by natives ; some coming to stare, and some to sell their wares, while others were looking out for any small pick- ings they might find. Our first visitors were men only, the women and live stock having been sent across the Lovoi on a rumor reaching them that Kasongo and Coimbra were with us. The people evidently viewed a visit from their sovereign as the greatest disaster that could befall them. XXVI.] THE BITER BIT." 345 At the mention of Kasongo's name there was immediatelj much lively pantomimic action as of cutting off ears, noses, and hands, and all declared that on his approach they would secrete June, 1875. themselves in the jungle. Lunga Mandi or a deputy takes the customary tribute to him periodically, to avoid the catastrophe of a visit, and returning in safety is looked upon as especial good-fortune. Soon after we had settled down in camp, Lunga Mandi called on us. He was very old, but, except being half blind from age, he showed no signs of decay, but walked with a step as light and springy as any of the young men by whom he was sur- rounded. In the time of Kasongo's grandfather he was chief of this district, and said that Kasongo surpassed all his prede- cessors in cruelty and barbarism. He remarked that lie was certain I was a very good man, for he had heard that I allowed my people neither to steal nor to make slaves, but made them pay for their provisions. Alvez now experienced the unpleasant situation of " the biter bit," for he discovered that a nephew whom he had left at this place in charge of three bags of beads, intended to purchase food on the return journey, had appropriated most of them. Loud and bitter were his lamentations, and deep his curses, about these ^'•Tre saccos — j9tfr gustare cominhor But I was rather rejoiced on hearing that, in consequence of this most im- 346 ACEOSS AFKICA. [Chap. June, proper conduct of Lis kinsman, we should be obliged to liurry 1875- along on our road. The day after camping here, great was my astonishment at the arrival of some of Jumah Merikani's people, bringing me a grass-cloth tent, sent off by him directly on receiving intelli- gence of mine being burned, thus adding to the debt of grati- tude I already owed him for his many and great kindnesses. The men said their orders were to follow until they found me, as it was not to be heard of that an Englishman should travel without a tent, Lunga Mandi seemed inclined to be very friendly, and pre- sented me with one good sheep, and sold me another, and in re- turn I made him presents with which he professed himself well satisfied. After a time he begged to be allowed to see the effects of fire-arms, and I fired at a target, to give him an idea of the ac- curacy of the rifle, at which he was much astonished. Unfort- unately some one told him about the wonderfully destructive properties of the shell, and he would not be satisfied until I fired one into a tree, when the result so frightened him that he hastily left the camp, and nothing could persuade him to return. I heard afterward that he hid himself in the jungle, under the firm impression that I had been commissioned by Kasongo to take his life. Alvez and his people encouraged him in this notion, being rather jealous at his previous friendliness toward me, and I never saw him again, although his sons often came into my hut. They said that, owing to their father's age, he was easily fright- ened ; but assured me that, when the caravan was gone, they would persuade him that I had not the slightest intention of harming him. On the eve of the intended start, I heard that some people who had been left behind would not arrive until the following day, when another day was to be allowed for buying food. At the expiration of this time, Alvez told me all was ready for starting, and that we should leave at day - break ; but wlien morning came, a large number declined to move without Coim- bra, who was still engaged in slave-hunting in conjunction with Kasonffo. XXVI.] MORE DELAYS. 347 111 vain did I represent to Alvez that when Coimbra left To- tela on this errand, he had been warned that the caravan would not be detained for him ; yet the only explanation or excuse he offered for breaking faith with me by these continued delays was, that he did not wait for Coimbra, but for the men with him, as their friends refused to march without them. If he per- sisted in going on, he declared they would rob him of his ivory and slaves. June, 1875. LUNGA JIANDIS BON, Hearing that a small party which had just arrived was inde- pendent of Alvez, I endeavored to induce the leader to go for- ward with me. I found that he was the slave of a Portuguese trader, named Francisco Cimada Rosa, living at Mandonga, not far from Dondo, on the river Kwanza. His name was Bastian Jose Perez, and he spoke Portuguese. He had been away from home three years, having started with some Lovale men to hunt for ivory, and had worked his way by degrees to Urua. When he reached there, not being sufficiently strong to return alone. 348 ACROSS AFRICA. [Ciiap. July, he had been obliged to wait for Alvez's caravan before attempt- 1875. ing iQ pagg through Ussambi and Ulunda. He said that the threats of Alvez, who feared I should take him for a guide, had deterred him from coming to me before, and he assured me of his willingness to go with me; but as Alvez would surely march almost immediately, he thought it better to cross Ussam- bi in his company. I pressed him to wait not a moment long- er ; but he adhered to his view of the matter, and nothing re- mained but to try further persuasion with Alvez. In the caravan there was, I knew, a large party altogether weary of waiting, but afraid to start by themselves, and these I incited to complain. Palaver after palaver resulted from this, and days passed away, but still no move was made. I then determined to march by myself, at all hazards ; on hear- ing which, Bastian and the discontented part of Alvez's men promised to follow me. This gave rise to much stormy discus- sion, for Alvez was furious at the idea of my slipping through his fingers. He temporized by declaring that if I would only remain three days longer he would positively start, whether the people behind arrived or not; again asserting that it was not Coimbra, but the natives of Bihe, for whom he detained the caravan, since their relatives at that place would seize his ivory if he returned without these men. However, I stood firm, and marched on the Tth of July, true to my decision, Alvez and Bastian accompanying me. XXVII.] HAVOC AND DESOLATION. 349 CHAPTER XXYII. Another Fire. — "Medicine" a Delusion. — Havoc and Desolation. — Coimbra's Capt- ures.— Unmerciful Treatment of Women. — He calls Himself a Christian. — Mis- ery and Loss of Life. — Abuse of the Portuguese Flag. — Alvez shares the Flesh and Blood. — The Lovol. — Limit of Oil -palms. — Composition of the Caravan. — Fire again. — Fortification of Msoa. — Mshiri. — "A very Bad Man." — His Power. — His Followers. — Trade in Slaves increasing. — Its Result. — Fate of the Women- slaves. — Probable Export. — Gods of War. — Excessive Heat. — Our Coldest Night. — Alvez loses Slaves. — His Lamentations. — Am taken for a Devil. — Mournful Pro- cession of Slaves. — A Weird Grove. — Mata Yafa. — Vivisection practiced on a Woman. — Rebellion of his Sister-wife. — Marshes. — A Sumptuous Meal. — Burning a Roadway. — Lagoons. — Bee-keeping. At the termination of our first march we camped by a chimp July, of trees near a village; but scarcely were the huts built and ^^'^5- tents pitched before the country near us was fired, and it taxed all our vigilance and energy to prevent our camp being burned. The elaborate ceremonial observed in "making medicine" against fire would, therefore, have been of little value, had we not taken effective measures to prevent the flames from reach- ing us. The march had been a pleasant one, as far as the country was concerned; but it was exasperating to witness the havoc and desolation caused by the thieving and destructive scoundrels belonging to the caravan. When I was ready to pack up the next morning, I was in- formed that no move would be made, a number of slaves hav- ing run during the night — small blame to them! — and their owners having started in pursuit. This annoyed me much, and I was delighted to hear that none were recaptured, and no fur- ther search was to be made. During the night some others attempted to bolt, but their masters, rendered more watchful by their previous losses, were awake, and detected them before they could effect their escape. For some hours the camp was ringing with the distressing yells 350 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, of these poor creatures, whose savage masters were cruelly mal- 1875. treating them. In the morning I received from Alvez an impertinent mes- sage that I was to come to him, and although this rather ruffled my temper, I thought it better to go at once and ascertain the meaning of this strange conduct. On meeting, he complacent- ly told me that he had received news of Coimbra being in the vicinity, and that therefore we should wait for him. My remonstrance and objection on the ground that we had already wasted too much time, and that so small a party could easily overtake us, j^assed unheeded. Alvez merely turned on his heel, saying he was master of the caravan, and not my serv- ant, and should travel or stop as he pleased. I felt a strong inclination to shake the filthy old rascal out of his rags, but considered it better not to soil my fingers by touching him. Coimbra arrived in the afternoon with a gang of ffty-tioo women, tied together in lots of seventeen or eighteen. Some had children in arms, others were far advanced in pregnancy, and all were laden with huge bundles of grass-cloth and other plunder. These poor, weary, and foot-sore creatures were cov- ered with weals and scars, showing how unmercifully cruel had been the treatment received at the hands of the savage who called himself their owner. Besides these unfortunate women, the party — which had been escorted from Totela by some of Kasongo's people — consisted only of two men belonging to Coimbra ; two wives, given him by Kasongo, who proved quite equal to looking after the slaves ; and three children, one of whom carried an idol presented by Kasongo to Coimbra, which worthy thought it as good a god as any other, though he professed to be a Christian. His Christianity, like that of the majority of the half-breeds of Bihe, consisted in having been baptized by some rogue call- ing himself a priest, but who, being far too bad to be endured either at Loanda or Benguela, had retired into the interior, and managed to subsist on fees given him for going through the form of baptizing any children that might be brought to him. The misery and loss of life entailed by the capture of these women are far greater than can be imagined except by those XXVII.] ABUSE OF THE PORTUGUESE FLAG. 351 wlio have witnessed some such heart-rending scenes. Indeed, the cruelties perpetrated in the heart of Africa by men calling themselves Christians, and carrying the Portuguese flag, c»n scarcely be credited by those living in a civilized land ; and the Government of Portugal can not be cognizant of the atrocities committed by men claiming to be her subjects. To obtain these fifty-two women, at least ten villages had been destroyed, each having a population of from one to two hundred, or about fif- teen hundred in all. Some may, perchance, have escaped to neighboring villages ; but the greater portion were undoubtedly burned when their villages were surprised, shot while attempt- July, 1875. 60ENB ON THE ROAD. ino" to save their wives and families, or doomed to die of star- vation in the jungle unless some wild beast put a more speedy end to their miseries. When Coimbra arrived with so rich a harvest, Alvez was equal to the occasion, and demanded a number of the slaves to meet the expenses incurred in having detained him. With this additional amount of misery imported into the caravan, we marched the next day, and crossed the Lovoi, some by a fishing-weir bridge, and others by wading where it was mid-thigh deep and a hundred and twenty feet wide. The riv- 352 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, er had evidently fallen considerably since tlie cessation of the 1875. rains, as there were signs of its having been treble its present width, and fully twelve feet in depth. The banks were fringed with the beautiful feathery date-palm growing on a grassy strip, while a background of fine timber gave a charming effect to the whole. The Lovoi here forms the boundary between Urua and Us- sambi. Beyond it I observed no oil-palms, the height above the sea now being over two thousand six hundred feet, which appears to be the general limit of their growth. In a few in- stances they may be met with at two thousand eight hundred feet, and, according to Dr. Livingstone, at Ma Kazembe's they grow at three thousand feet above the sea, that being undoubt- edly a very exceptional case. Three miles of a steep ascent from the river brought us to camp near the heavily stockaded village of Msoa. The different parties of which the caravan consisted were as follows : my own party foi'med one camp ; Alvez and his peo- ple, with their slaves, formed another ; Coimbra, his wives and slave gang, a third ; and Bastian a fourth ; besides which there were two camps of independent parties from Bihe ; another of Kibokwe people ; and yet one more of Lovale men, or, as they were usually called, Kinyama men, after a chief of that country. Fire again came upon us shortly after we arrived, one of these small camps being burned ; and the whole country, which was covered with long grass, was soon in flames. The other camps were fortunately pitched where the grass was short, and thus escaped. Some slaves wisely took advantage of the excitement, and regained their liberty. Around Msoa, the country was pretty and prosperous, the districts being populous, and the villages protected by stockades and large dry ditches encircling them. The trenches were ten or twelve feet deep and of the same width, and the excavated earth was used to form a bank on the outside of the stockade, so as to render it perfectly musket-proof. These unusual forti- fications were intended as a protection against the raids of Mshi- ri, the chief of Katanga. Of Mshiri I had before heard, and he was reputed to be " a very bad man " {intu mhaya sana) ; but I had no idea that he XXVII.] EXPORT OF SLAVES. 353 extended his depredations as far as Ussambi. He is one of the July, Wakalaganza, the principal tribe among the Wanyamwezi ; and i^'^^- many years ago he penetrated with a strong party as far as Ka- tanga in search of ivory. When there, he saw that his party, having the advantage of possessing guns, could easily conquer the native ruler. And this he forthwith proceeded to do, and established himself as an independent chief, thongli Katanga is properly in the dominions of Kasongo. As snch, Kasongo and his father, Bambarre, had frequently sent parties to demand tribute from Mshiri; but they had al- ways returned from their mission with any thing but success, and neither Kasongo nor his father thought it advisable to risk his prestige by proceeding against him in person. Mshiri has collected around him large numbers of Wanyam- wezi and malcontents from among the lower order of traders from the East Coast, and obtains supplies of powder and guns by trading both to Benguela and Unyanyembe. Caravans, com- manded by half-caste Portuguese, and slaves of Portuguese traders, have visited him for over twenty years, and furnish numerous recruits to his ranks. Ivory being scarce, his princi- pal trade is in slaves and copper. The latter is procured on the spot from the mines at Katanga ; but for slaves he has to send far and wide. In consideration of a small payment, he allows parties of his adherents to accompany slave-trading caravans on their raids, and, on returning to his head-quarters, the slaves are divided between the traders and himself, in projDortion to the number of guns furnished by his people. His trade with Bihe and the West Coast is rapidly increasing, and large tracts of country are being depopulated in consequence. Only a small proportion of the slaves taken by the caravans from Bihe and the West Coast reach Benguela, the greater part, more especially the women, being forwarded to Sekeletu's country in exchange for ivory ; and it is hot improbable that some of these eventually find their way to the diamond fields, among the gangs of laborers taken there by the Kaflirs. ^Nevertheless, I am convinced that more are taken to the coast near Benguela than can be absorbed there, and that an outlet for them must exist. I am strongly of opinion that, in spite of the unremitting vigilance of the commanders of our 354 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. July, men-of-war, and of the lives and treasure that England lias ex- 1875. pended in the suppression of this inhuman traffic, many slaves are still smuggled away, possibly to South America or the West Indies. Outside the stockaded village, large collections of horns and jaw-bones of wild beasts were placed in front of small fetich huts, as offerings to induce the African gods of war and hunt- ing to continue favorable to their votaries. From these villages the road led through woods and open sa- vannas, and across a wide swamp drained by the Luvwa, run- ning in several small channels to the southward, and ultimately falling into the Luburi, an affluent of the Lufupa. "We camped on a large open plain, destitute of trees or shade, and where the grass had lately been burned. The excessive heat of the baked ground, combined with that of the rays of the unclouded sun, was almost unbearable; and this burning day was followed by the coldest night we had yet experienced in Africa, owing to the clearness of the sky and the consequent excessive radiation, the thermometer only marking 46.5° Fah- renheit in my tent in the morning. At this camp the nephew of Alvez, and the slaves who had appropriated the beads at Lunga Mandi's, took the opportunity of running away. They had all been flogged, and kept in chains until the caravan started, when they were released and given loads to carry, with the utterance of many dire threats as to what should happen to them at Bihe ; so, finding themselves unwatched, they evidently thought it wise to decamp. Alvez, thus baffled, halted to search for the objects of his wrath ; but as Coimbra was going foraging for provisions at a village which was to be our next station, I took the opportunity of accompanying him, and looking for better quarters than the roasting spot we were then occupying. On the road we met with several streams and small swampy places — " bad steps," as Paddy would call them — but at the end of our march were rewarded by finding a delightful camping- ground close to Kawala. This was another intrenched village ; and Poporla, the chief, said that some of Mshiri's people had lately j^assed, leaving him unmolested, owing to the strength of his fortifications. XXVII.] KAWALA. 355 Excepting a little corn, no food was procurable ; but the peo- ple were so delighted with the extraordinary circumstance of a caravan being ready to pay for what was required, that they al- lowed us to buy at most moderate prices. From Poporla's wife, who had accompanied her husband to the camp, I managed to obtain half a dozen eggs, which were a great treat. But Poporla was horrified at the idea of a " great man " being reduced to eating eggs, and brought me a basket of beans and a piece of charred meat. It was, I believe, the only flesh they had in the village, and, on close examination, it proved to be the windpipe of some wild animal. With some July, 1875. VILLAGE OF KAWALA. difficulty I avoided being almost compelled to eat this in the chiefs presence, he was so anxious that I should begin and not mind his being there. But, under the pretense of extreme po- liteness, I escaped the delicious morsel. After he had left, my servant exchanged it with one of Coimbra's people for a head of Indian-corn. Alvez arrived the following day, not only having failed to find the runaways, but having lost two or three more slaves. With many lamentations over the hardness of his fate, he came to me, expressing a hope that I should remember him and his losses. This I could, with a clear conscience, promise to do ; for, to my dying day, he will ever be present to my mind as 356 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, one of the most loathsome productions of a spurious civili- 18'^5- zation. It pleased me to hear that, in his opinion, the slaves had run, owing to the opportunities offered by short marches and nu- merous halts, and therefore he should press on to the utmost. I was selfish enough to hope that in consequence of this we might go forward without any more vexatious halts. From Kawala we marched by Angolo, and the inhabitants came to us eager to sell flour and corn for beads. I now found that Alvez and his people had, in a great meas- ure, made arrangements for providing themselves with stores for the downward journey by obtaining a particular sort of bead. It is not imported from the West Coast, but they had stolen large cpiantities from the Warua, who are particularly fond of them, and buy them from the Arabs. Camping for that night in the jungle, we next marched to Lupanda, three days being occupied on the road. The route was well watered, and the villages were embanked and stock- aded; and although the inhabitants of some would have no communication whatever with the caravan, others came freely into camp with corn for sale. The matama harvest had just been gathered, and it w^as cheap and plentiful. Just outside a village I saw a dead python thirteen feet eight inches in length, but not of great girth. At none of these villages were w^e allowed to enter; but while I was waiting near one for the caravan to come up, two of my men managed to get inside with the intention of trying to buy the rarity of a fowl or goat for me. Directly they were discovered, a shout was raised, and all the peoj^le retreated into an inner palisade, and closed the entrances. The inhabitants then began threatening my men with sj^ears from this inner fortification, and they judged it advisable to withdraw. But after a time the people gained confidence, and, seeing only myself and three followers, ventured out to satisfy their curiosity by staring at us from a distance. At last I induced one of the natives to come near me ; but, after having a good look, he covered his face with his hands and rushed away with a yell. He had never before seen a white man, and I really believe he thought I was a devil. XXVII.] A MOURNFUL PROCESSION. 357 A boy about ten years of age tlien approacbed me, and I gave bim a few beads and a little tobacco ; and on observing tbat no injury befell tbe youngster, otber people surrounded me with mucb laugbing and staring, and a good-natured old woman even consented to sell me a fowl. While we were engaged in a lively conversation — by signs — Alvez's caravan ajjpeared, and tbe natives immediately bolted into tbe village and closed tbe entrances. July, 18V5. "'^^ SLAVE-GANG. The place I had chosen for my camp was near the path, and the whole of the caravan passed on in front, the mournful pro- cession lasting for more than two hours. Women and children, foot -sore and overburdened, were urged on unremittingly by their barbarous masters ; and even when they reached their camp, it was no haven of rest for the poor creatures. They were compelled to fetch water, cook, build huts, and collect fire- wood for those who owned them, and were comparatively fa- vored if they had contrived some sort of shelter for themselves before night set in. The loss of labor entailed by working gangs of slaves tied to- gether is monstrous ; for if one pot of water is wanted, twenty people are obliged to fetch it from the stream, and for one bundle of grass to thatch a hut the whole string must be em- ployed. On the road, too, if one of a gang requires to halt, the 358 ACEOSS AFKICA. [Chap. July, whole must follow motions ; and when one falls, five or six are 1875. dragged down. The whole conntry was well wooded, and the streams were almost innumerable. Groves of gigantic trees sprung up with- out undergrowth, and a weird feeling of awe stole over me as I wandered in my loneliness among their huge trunks and looked up at their towering heads, whose outspreading branches ob- scured the light of the midday sun. At Lupanda, the chief brought a tusk of ivory for sale, and the caravan was halted a day, that Alvez might bargain about the price ; and even then he did not purchase it. I had some conversation with these people, and also with a chief named Mazonda, whose village we had passed the day be- fore. They told me that Mata Yafa, who had been deposed by his sister, was stealing through the country about eight miles north of us, being on his way to solicit the assistance of his friend and kinsman, Kasongo, to reinstate him in his govern- ment. In addition to cutting off noses, lips, and ears, the morbid cu- riosity of this wretched creature led him, on one occasion, to extend his studies in vivisection even to sacrificing an unfortu- nate woman who was about to become a mother. To this, his sister — who was also his principal wife — objected, being prompted by the instinct of self-preservation; for she urged that, being herself a woman, she might some day be chosen as a subject by Mata Yafa in his search for knowledge. So, gather- ing together a strong party, she attempted to surprise and kill him in his hut at night. Rumor of tliese intentions having reached him, he escaped with a mere handful of men, and his sister proclaimed a brother the ruler in his stead. A quantity of copper — principally obtained from mines about fifty miles south of this place — was brought into camp here as an exchange for slaves. It was cast in pieces shaped like St. Andrew's cross, as before described, and was carried in loads of nine or ten slung at each end of a pole, weighing alto- gether from fifty to sixty pounds. Upon my picking up a half-load, consisting of ten pieces, and holding it out at arms -length, the people were greatly aston- XXVIL] A HERD OP ANTELOPE. 359 ished, and declared I had made a " great medicine " to be en- July, abled to do this. Some of the villagers and several of Alvez's ^^''^■ and my own people put their powers to the test, and one of my men managed to hold out six pieces, but the average was four or five. It must be remembered that none of these people had ever before attempted this, and many of them could, doubtless, have far excelled me in other trials of strength ; but I am of opinion that the average muscular power of the native is decidedly less than that of the white man. On leaving Lupanda, an entire day was occupied in crossing a marsh of deep mud and frequent streams covered with tingi- tingi, over which we struggled from island to island, and ulti- mately camped on one covered with fine timber. At this marsh both the Lomami and Luwembi have their source, and unite after the Luwembi has passed through Lake Iki. On the march I saw a herd of small antelope, and succeeded in shooting one after much patient stalking. I directed my men to skin and cut it up, while I went after the remainder of the herd, in the hope of getting another shot. When I returned, a squabble had arisen between my men and some of the Bihe people, as the latter asserted a claim to half the buck because the herd had first been noticed by one of them. I settled the dispute by saying that he who first saw the herd should receive a small portion of meat ; but as for the rest, they might go and be hanged. To Alvez I sent some as a present, and the ungrateful old rascal immediately demanded more, on the plea that the cara- van was his, and therefore all game shot ought to be brought to him for distribution. It is probable that the message I sent in reply was not entirely satisfactory, nor altogether polite ; but I proceeded at once to appropriate the haunch and the kidneys for myseK, and divided the rest among my own men. Besides the buck, I bagged some doves, and consequently had quite a sumptuous meal, consisting of roast haunch of veni- son, broiled dove, and the tender shoots of young ferns boiled for asparagus. The next march was through country once very fertile, but 360 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. Jill)', 1875. now deserted, and after seven miles we were completely stop- ped by long grass. We were consequently obliged to return to the opposite bank of a stream we had just crossed, and lire the grass in front in order to clear a road. When the flames had traveled a short distance, I followed in the expectation of shoot- ing some game, but only saw small birds and numerous hawks and kites, which swooped into the smoke and flame in pursuit of their prey, and sometimes fell victims themselves. We now appeared to be exactly on the water-shed between the rivers running to the Lualaba below Nyangwe and those falling into it above that and Kassali. We passed grass-grown lagoons, giving rise to many streams, near one of which we camped. The chief of a neighboring village visited us, and from him I ascertained the names of rivers we had crossed ; but when I inquired the name of himself and his village, he at once went away without answering, fearing that I should work magic against him. From this place we marched to the village of Fundalanga, nearly the last in Ussambi, and halted there three days to purchase provisions. On the road there were enormous bamboo brakes extending for a distance of about eight miles. At Fundalanga bees were kept in hives, and bees -wax was collected for trading purposes, as caravans returning from Ka- tanga usually passed this place, and bought large amounts of wax with the copper they had obtained at Katanga. One march farther brought us to the Lubiranzi, which we crossed, and entered Ulunda on the 2Tth of July, 1875. HUT IM ITLUNDA. - i XXVIII.] ELEPHANT SHOOTING. 361 CHAPTER XXVIIL Ulunda. — Born in Slavery. — Elephant Ragout. — Alvez dodges Me. — Compelled to follow Him. — The Walunda. — A Dirty Race. — Curious Fare. — Returning Thanks. — Remarkably Small Huts. — I drop into a Pitfall. — My Rifle gives Satisfaction. — Zebra. — A Cold Dip. — Ice in August. — Lovale People pushing eastward. — Coward- ly Demeanor of Bihe Men. — Kafundango. — Escape of a Slave-gang. — Their Cruel Treatment. — Maternal Affection. — Savage Manners of Lovale Men. — Extortion. — Rudeness of Dress. — Clever Iron -workers. — Arrow-heads and Hatchets. — Beef once again, but not for Me. — Numerous Fetiches. — The Zambesi and Kassabe. — Interlocking of their Systems. — Available for Traffic. — Mode of fishing. — Katende in State. — Recollection of Livingstone. — The Legend of Lake Dilolo. Ulunda is a long and narrow strip of country — about a liun- July, dred miles wide at the point where we entered it, lying between 18'?5- the fifth and twelfth degrees of south latitude. The principal portion of the inhabitants are Walunda, but Mata Yafa, his im- mediate retainers and some of the governors of districts, are Warua. The villages are small and few and far between, and the greater part of the country is still primeval forest. After one march we halted for the sake of some women, who gave promise of an immediate addition to the numbers of the caravan. I went out with my gun all day, but returned unsuccessful, not having seen either hoof or feather. Some of Alvez's peo- ple were more fortunate, and shot two small elephants, on which account we remained anotlier day, that the meat might be di- vided. I procured a piece of the trunk, for, knowing it was consid- ered a great delicacy, I had rather a curiosity to taste it ; but whether Sambo's cookery did not do justice to this choice mor- sel, or it required some one better versed in gastronomy than I to appreciate its peculiar flavor, certain it was that I never again ventured on another mouthful of elephant ragout. The process of cutting up the elephants' carcasses was a scene 362' ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, of disgusting confusion. All Alvez's people were upon and 1875. about them, hacking and tearing them to pieces, and liglit- ing and squabbling among themselves like a pack of pariah dogs. Encouraged by the sight of this big game, I went out the next day for about six hours, and beat up every bit of cover I came across, and just before returning a large eland bounded out of a thicket. I knocked him over with a shell, but he re- gained his feet, and I then sent a bullet into him from my sec- ond barrel. I found that the bullet had gone through heart and lungs ; but the shell, striking the thicker part of the bone of the shoulder, had burst without penetrating far. The base of the shell was flattened out like a wafer. One of my men also brought in an eland, and my party was then as well provided with meat as Alvez's people, who kept the elephants entirely to themselves. They would not give us any, though I had endeavored to buy some portion for my men ; and even the small piece of trunk which I obtained to gratify my curiosity I paid highly for. The meat having been packed, we continued our journey, and, after only two hours' marching through jungle, came upon some villages, from which the inhabitants had fled. Alvez's people instantly stopped, and declared they would camp there, as any amount of food was to be obtained for nothing. Thoroughly disgusted, I went on in the proper direction with a few of my followers, leaving orders for Bombay to come after me with the remaining men and their loads. After walk- ing an hour, I sat under a tree to wait for Bombay. He shortly appeared with half a dozen men and no loads, for Alvez having taken another road, my people had followed him. It Avas use- less to send after him, so nothing remained but to return and follow him up. Passing through & village which had been pillaged, I flushed a large flock of guinea-fowl feeding on corn scattered about by the plunderers, and bagged one flne fellow, which put me in better humor before I reached camp. • For some considerable time before overtaking Alvez, the stench arising from the loads of putrid elephant, which, having XXVIII.] THE WALUNDA. 363 been hastily prepared, had already turned bad, afforded us ample proof that we were in the track of his caravan. I spoke to him concerning the direction of his road, and asked his object for marching south-south-east, when Bihe was about west-south-west. He replied that it was a very good road, and the only one he knew. My men were too frightened about the country in front to follow me alone, and said that not one among them knew where to find provisions or water, or could speak the languages of the people we should meet. There was certainly much truth in this, and knowing that, if I left Alvez, the greater part of my men would desert me and follow him, I was driven to submit to his guidance. July, 1875. VTLLAGE IN tTI.UNDA. The few people w^ho visited our camp were the first TValunda I had seen, and a dirty, wild-looking race they appeared. The clothing of the men consisted of skin aprons, while the women contented themselves with wearing a few shreds of bark-cloth. Their wool was not worked up into any fashion, but simply matted with dirt and grease, and they were remarkable for the entire absence of ornament. There was nothing to show that they ever had dealings with 364 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. July, caravans, for not one person possessed a bead or piece of cloth. 1875. I gave a few beads to a man from whom I tried, unsuccessfully, to extract a little information, and he was greatly delighted with the present. Our next march was most tiresome and troublesome, for the paths being all " gone dead," as the people said, and the only huts we saw being deserted, we frequently missed our way. But late in the afternoon we reached the place we were mak- ing for, when I had the doubtful satisfaction of learning that the road I wished to follow the day before would have brought us here direct. "We were now close to the village of Moene Kula, a sub-chief of Ulunda, and on the main road between Mata Yafa's capital and the copper-mines and salt-pans near Kwijila. These were passed by the Pombieros, Pedro Joao Baptista and Anastacio Jose, when they journeyed from Mata Yafa's capital to Ma Kazembe ; the forty days' desert which they were informed lay between the two places evidently being the coun- try of the predecessor of Kasongo. No doubt, Mata Yafa was jealous of him, and consequently sent the travelers round, in- stead of through, his dominions. No parties had, however, been past for some time, on account of the disturbed state of affairs at head-quarters. From the people here I heard that a former Mata Yafa died about a year previously, and he of whom we heard in Ussambi had succeeded him ; but, being even more cruel than the gener- ality, he had been supplanted by one of his brothers, aided by the sister of whom we had been told. Some people from Moene Kula brought Alvez and myself a small pot of pombe, some cliarred buffalo's flesh, and a hind leg of a buffalo approaching a state of putrefaction ; and although it was impossible to eat this meat, we found it useful to ex- change for corn. On giving them beads in return, the head-man rubbed earth on his chest and arms, and then the entire party knelt down and clapped their hands together three times, commencing very loudly and then growing fainter. This was repeated three times. Early the next morning we passed near Moene Kula's vil- XXVIII.] DIMINUTIVE DWELLINGS. 365 lage, an irregularly built collection of small hamlets, some be- August, ing inclosed by rougli fences of thorny bushes, and others open. ^^'^^- The huts were neatly built, but remarkably small, the walls not being above three feet high. Beyond the village were provision-grounds, supposed to be protected by fetiches, consisting of small inclosures in which was planted a dead tree, with numerous gourds and earthen pots hanging on its branches. During this march, I had the misfortune to sprain my ankle so badly that I was obliged to rig up a hammock and be carried for some days. The winding road passed many small hamlets, consisting only of a few huts in the centre of a patch of cleared and cultivated ground. They were surrounded by fences about four feet high, constructed of tree-trunks piled one upon the other, and kept in position by stakes planted at intervals. The huts were all small; and while some were circular, with conical roofs and walls of stakes, with the interstices filled in with grass, others were oblong, with sloping roofs, and were lined with mats. A few open plains in the intervals among the forest, of which the country was chiefly composed, were even now muddy, al- though the dry season had so far advanced. In the rains they must be swamps. On the 5th of August we crossed the Lukoji — the principal eastern affluent of the Lulua — a large river receiving most of the smaller streams we had lately passed. A few miles from this place was the village of a Kazembe, the second ruler of Ulunda ; but he was absent, having gone to pay his respects to the new Mata Yafa. Two days later we reached a village of about twenty huts in the middle of a large inclosure ; and while climbing over the fence at what appeared to be a proper entrance, I heard people call out, " Take care, there's a hole l'' I looked at the ground most carefully, and, avoiding a small hole, placed my foot on what seemed a remarkably sound spot. Immediately the sur- face gave way, and I made a rapid descent into a pitfall for game, but saved myself from reaching the bottom by spreading out my arms as I fell, and thus escaped without any more seri- ous injury than a severe shaking. 366 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. August, Kisenga, situated just between the sources of the Lulua and i^*^^- Lianibai, or Zambesi, was arrived at the next day, and, being the last station in Ulunda, we remained here a few days to procure corn and make flour for a reported march of five days between this and Lovale. The moon served well for taking lunars, and in three nights I managed to get a hundred and eighty -seven distances, and thus fixed this important position accurately. Here we met a small party of Lovale people looking for ivo- ry and bees-wax. They were armed with guns, and, as was al- ways the case with those possessing them, were far more curi- ous with regard to mine than people who had never before seen any fire-arms. My heavy rifle was examined with much admiration, but they did not consider it sufiieiently long, their own weapons being lengthy Portuguese flint-locks ; but when one of them consented to shoot at a tree distant about fifty yards, I followed with shell, putting the one from the second barrel into the hole made by that from the first. They were then quite satisfied as to the power and accuracy of my fire- arms. After leaving Kisenga, three days' marching through alter- nate jungle and large plains brought us to the village of Sona Bazh, lately built by some Lovale people. On the road we saw many tracks of large game and also a herd of zebra. The pret- ty beasts were playing and feeding, wholly unconscious of our being so near, and I took a long look at them through my field- glasses. From Sona Bazh could be seen the heavy timber fringing the banks of the Zambesi, about ten or twelve miles south of us, the river at this point running west-south-west. We were now on the water-shed between that river and the Kassab6, constantly crossing streams running either toward one or toward the other river. The road first led into a dip tlirough wliich the river Luvua ;lrained to the Zambesi. In my tent the minimum thermome- ter had stood at 38° Fahrenheit ; but on descending into the dip, the ground was frozen and the pools covered with ice. To me it was quite delightful to feel the crisp ground crunch- ing under my feet ; but possibly my unshod and half-naked f ol- iiiiii! mmi ! / i!i;: XXVIII.] ESCAPE OF A SLAVE-GANG. 367 lowers did not regard the change in temperature with the same August, pleasure. ^^"^4. Until the 18th of August we continued marching through many swamps, and crossing, rivers, chiefly flowing to the Zam- besi. The few villages on the way had been recently estab- lished by Lovale people, who are rapidly pushing farther east. The inhabitants carried guns ; and the Bihe men, so brave and bold among the natives of Urua, who had no better weapons than bows and arrows and spears, were here extremely mild, and frightened to say or do any thing which might offend, and submitted to the most unreasonable demands without a murmur. The escape of a gang of slaves detained us, much to my an- noyance, within one march of Kafundango, the first district in Lovale proper. I had nothing but rice and beans to eat, and I was told that at Kafundango food was most plentiful, which was a trifle tan- talizing to a hungry man. We arrived there the following day, and found it a district with numerous small villages. The huts were well built and of various shapes, the strips of bark tying the bundles of grass which formed the walls being so disposed as to form patterns. For a piece of salt I obtained one fowl; but the people would not even look at my remaining beads, being very eager for cloth, of which I had none for trading. My only stoi'es were a few beads and seven or eight viongwa, or shell orna- ments, from the East Coast. But these I was obliged to retain for the purpose of buying fish with which to pay our way to Bihe. During this halt, another string of twenty slaves belonging to Coimbra ran away, and a day was lost in waiting while he looked for them ; but the search, I am happy to say, was fruit- less. I had noticed the bad condition of this gang several times on the road, the poor wretches being travel-worn and half starved, and having large sores caused by their loads and the blows and cuts they received. The ropes that confined them were also, in some instances, eating into their flesh. And I saw one wom- an still carrying the infant that had died in her arms of star- vation. 27 368 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. August, 1874. How keenly, in the midst of these heart-rending scenes, I felt my utter powerlessness to assist these poor suffering creatures in the smallest degree may well be imagined. That so many had escaped was a relief to me ; although there was reason to fear that numbers of them died of starvation, in their endeavors to reach home, or fell into the hands of Lovale men, who are reputed to be harsh task-masters. now, 8PEAES, HATOIIETS, AND AEROW-IIEAIIS. The people of Lovale are very savage in their manners and habits, and, being armed with guns, are much feared by passing caravans. No tribute is demanded, as in Ugogo, except by one or two chiefs ; but they invent many claims as a means of extorting goods from those passhig through their villages. Every thing in their mode of living is regulated by the ma- gicians, or fetich-men, and they cleverly lay traps for the unwa- ry traveler. Thus, should a stranger chance to rest his gun or spear against a hut in their villages, it is instantly seized, and XXVIII.] WOEKERS IN IRON. 369 not returned unless a heavy fine is paid, tlie excuse being that it is an act of magic intended to cause tlie death of the owner of the hut. If a tree which has been marked with fire should be cut down for building in camp, similar demands are made ; and so on through an unlimited category. Their dress is rude in the extreme, the men wearing leather aprons, and the women a few small thongs like the Nubian dress, or a tiny scrap of cloth. Their hair is plaited into a kind of pat- tern and plastered with mud and oil, and looks almost as though their head-dress were carved out of wood. They import iron in large quan- tities from Kibokwe, and work it cunningly into arrow-heads of va- rious fantastic forms and very pret- tily ornamented hatchets. The hatchets are also very ingeniously contrived, the upper part of the blade or tang being round, and it may be placed in the handle to serve either as an adze or axe. At the moment of starting from Kafundango, I heard from Bastian that he intended leaving the caravan and marching to- ward Kassangi. By this time we were so far south, that to have accompanied him would have added greatly to the distance, and, being short of stores, I dared not risk making my journey longer than was absolutely necessary. I therefore contented myself with giving him letters addressed to the English consul at Loanda, with par- ticulars of my movements, in the event of Bastian being able to send them there. These letters were never delivered, and Bas- tian either failed to reach his master, or the master thought it advisable to suppress an Englishman's communication from the interior. On this march we once again had the satisfaction of seeing some cows, the first specimens of the bovine race that we had met since leaving Ujiji. But my men and myself frequently suffered severely from hunger, the people only consenting to August, 1875. UEAD-DRESS. 370 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. August, 1875. sell provisions for slaves, cloth, and gunpowder, none of which I could give them. Throughout the first part of Lovale, the country consisted of a continuation of large open plains, patches of forest and jun- gle, and many neatly built villages. The huts were square, round, and oval, having high roofs, in some instances running into two and three points. Our manner of marching was free from any variety. Some- times we were delayed by runaway slaves ; at others by the chiefs desiring Alvez to halt for a day, which he most obe- diently did, although it usual- ly cost him some slaves ; and he even supplied the require- ments of one chief by a draft from his own harem. Innumerable old camps along the road bore testimony to the large traffic, principally in slaves, which now exists be- tween Bihe and the centre of the continent. Fetiches were numerous in all the villages. They w^ere usually clay figures spotted with red and white, and in- tended to represent leopards and other wild beasts, or rude wooden figures of men and women. Some of the plains we crossed are flooded to a depth of two or three feet during the rainy season, when the water extends completely across the water-shed between the Zambesi and the Kassabe. Indeed, the systems of the Kongo and Zambesi lock into each other in such a manner that, by some improvement in the ex- isting condition of the rivers, and by cutting a canal of about twenty miles through level country, they might be connected, and internal navigation be established from the West to the East Coast. It would, of course, be necessary to arrange for ^^-M HEAD-DKE8S AND HATOIIET. XXVIII.] MODE OF FISHING. 371 passing some of the more important rapids by easy portages, or, hereafter, by locks. When flooded, these plains are overspread by numerous fish, consisting principally of a sort of mud -fish and a small min- now-like fry. The natives, taking advantage of small inequalities of sur- face, dam in large expanses, which become shallow ponds when the floods subside. Holes are then made in the dams, and the water is drained off through wicker-work placed in the gaps, when the surface of the ground which formed the bottom of August, 1875. VILLAGE IN LOVALE. the pond is found to be covered with fish. They are roughly dried, and exported to the neighboring countries, or sold to pass- ing caravans. On the 28th 'of August, we arrived at the village of Katende, the principal chief of a large portion of Lovale, which now con- sists of two or three divisions, although it was formerly under one ruler. Dried fish was reported to be plentiful here, and especially on the Zambesi, about fourteen miles south of our camp, "We therefore decided on halting while men were dispatched to pro- cure a sufiicient quantity of fish to pay our way through Ki- bokwe. I sent a party on this errand with all my long-hoarded 372 ACKOSS ATKICA. [Chap. August, 1875. vioiigwa but two. And tliey were now the only remaining stores I had to depend upon after the fish shoukl be expended. Together with Alvez, I visited Katende, and found him sit- ting in state under a large tree, surrounded by his councilors. On either side was a fetich hut — one, containing two nonde- script figures of animals ; and the other, caricatures of the hu- man form divine ; w^hile from a branch of the tree a goat's horn was suspended by a rope of creepers as a charm, and dangled within a few feet of the sable potentate's nose. FETIOU HCT. He was dressed for the occasion in a colored shirt, felt hat, and a long petticoat made of colored pocket-handkerchiefs, and he smoked unremittingly the whole time, for he was an ardent votary of the soothing weed. As it happened that his stock of tobacco was nearly exhaust- ed, I gained his esteem by making him a present of a little, in return for which I received a fowl and some eggs. I questioned him about Livingstone, whom he remembered as having passed by his village ; but there was very little in- formation to be obtained respecting the great traveler, except that he rode an ox, a circumstance which seemed to have im- printed itself indelibly on Katende's memory. Since Living- stone's time, he had changed the position of his village twice. In the afternoon a number of natives came into camp, iuul XXVIII.] LEGEND OF LAKE DILOLO. 373 from one of tliem I lieard tlie following story or legend of Lake Dilolo, whicli well merits being related here as I re- ceived it : " Once upon a time, where Lake Dilolo now is, stood a large and prosperous village. The inhabitants were all rich and well- to-do, possessing large flocks of goats, many fowls and pigs, and plantations of corn and cassava far exceeding any thing that is now granted to mortals. They passed th^ir time merrily in eating and drinking, and never thought of the morrow. August, 1875. GAME TRAPS. " One day an old and decrepit man came into this happy vil- lage, and asked the inhabitants to take pity on him, as he was tired and hungry, and had a long journey to travel. " ]^o one took any notice of his requests ; but he was, instead, pursued with scoffs and jeers, and the children were encouraged to throw dirt and mud at the unfortunate beggar, and drive him out of the place. "Hungry and foot -sore, he was going on his way, when a man, more charitable than his neighbors, accosted him and asked what he wanted. He said all he wanted was a drink of water, a little food, and somewhere to rest his weary head. The man took him into his hut, gave him water to drink, killed a goat, and soon set a plentiful mess of meat and porridge be- 374 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. August, 18V5. fore him, and, when lie was satisfied, gave him his own hut to sleep in. " In the middle of the night, the poor beggar got up and aroused the charitable man, saying, ' You have done me a good turn, and now I will do the same for you; but what I tell you none of your neighbors must know.' " The charitable man promised to be as secret as the grave ; on which the old *nan told him that in a few nights he would hear a great storm of wind and rain, and that when it com- menced he must arise and fly with all his belongings. " Having uttered this warning, the beggar departed. " Two days afterward the charitable man heard rain and wind such as he had never before heard, and said, ' The words that the old man spoke are true.' He got up in haste, and with his wives, goats, slaves, fowls, and all his property, left the doomed jDlace safely. " Next morning where the village had stood was Lake Dilolo ; and to the present day people camping on its banks, or crossing in canoes on still nights, can hear the sound of pounding corn, the songs of women, the crowing of cocks, and the bleating of goats." Such is the true and veracious leg-end of Lake Dilolo. r-r:*- UAlB-BBESSlMa. XXIX.] DISHONESTY OF THE NOBLE SAVAGE. 375 CHAPTER XXIX. Joao, the White Trader. — Putrid Fish. — Dishonesty of the Noble Savage. — Festive Natives. — Scanty Apparel. — Elaborate Hair-dressing. — Cataracts. — Sha Kelembe. — Alvez proves Fickle. — Exchanging a Wife for a Cow. — An Attempted Bur- glary.— Baffled. — The Thief's Complaint. — Unparalleled Audacity. — Revengeful Threats. — Smelting-furnace. — High-flavored Provisions. — Sambo chaffs a Chief. — Forest. — A Well-dressed Caravan. — Wanted a Dairy-maid. — Friendliness of Mona Peho. — A Well-ventilated Suit of Clothes. — "Sham Devils." — Blacksmiths. — Am believed to be a Lunatic. — Alvez's Reputation among Traders. — I sell my Shirts for Food. — A Village eaten up by a Serpent. — An Eclipse. — Kanyumba's Civility. — Alvez tries to rob the Starving. — Natural Hats. — False Rumors of Fighting on the Road. DuKiNG our stay at Katende, Alvez received information tliat Joao, the white trader who had been to Urua, had lately re- turned from Jenje, and was now at JBihe, fitting out a new expedition, and we might therefore expect to meet him. Jenje, as far as I could learn, is the country of the Kaffirs, over whom Sekeletu was king when Livingstone passed in that direction. The men whom we sent to procure fish returned with only a few basketfuls, and we had to continue our march with this small supply, trusting to the chance of obtaining more as we proceeded. Happily, we were not disappointed, but were en- abled to buy as much as we required. The means of paying my way now consisted of two viongwa and about a dozen baskets of fish. That these fish should be used as an article of diet is most remarkable ; for, being only partially sun-dried, and then packed in baskets weighing about forty or fifty pounds, they soon be- come a mass of putrefaction. There can be no difference of opinion as to their unfitness for human food, yet the people seem to thrive on them. The art of cheating is very well understood by the native fish-mongers ; for in the centre of some of the baskets I found September, 1875. 376 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. September, ■ earth, stoiies, broken pottery, and gourds, so stowed as to make 1875. ^p ii^Q proper weight and bulk. Indeed, as far as my experi- ence goes, the noble savage is not one w^hit behind his civilized brethren in adulterating food and giving short measure, the only difference being in the clumsiness of his method. We were spared any further halts until the 7th of Sejitem- ber, when we arrived at the village of Sha Kelembe, chief of the last district in Lovale. Our road lay across enormous plains — which are flooded in the rains — intersected by streams having trees growing along their banks ; but on the last two days of the march we entered a country more thickly wooded, and broken into small hills. Here we had our first view of the Lumeji, a noble stream over fifty yards wide and more than ten feet deep, with a swift current running in a very tortuous course through a broad val- ley bounded on either side by wooded hills. On this portion of the route the people came into camp free- ly, and continued dancing, drumming, and singing all night long, thus effectually banishing sleep ; and in the morning they added insult to injury by expecting payment for their unwel- come serenading. Their demands, however, were not exorbi- tant, as they were well satisfied with a handful of fish. Fishing -baskets exactly similar to those in Manyuema were used here, and the women carried their loads in the same man- ner as those at Nyangwe, viz., in a basket secured on the back with a band across the forehead. The women were so scantily dressed that a stick of tape would have clothed the female population of half a dozen vil- lages. But though they neglected to dress themselves, they devoted much time to their hair, which was evidently consid- ered the most important part of their toilet. It was arranged most elaborately, and, when finished, was plastered with grease and clay, and made smooth and shiny. Some formed it into a number of small lumps, like berries ; others into twisted loops, which were differently disposed, being sometimes separate from each other, and occasionally intermin- gled in apparently inextricable confusion. In some instances, the hair was twisted into a mass of stout strings, projecting an inch or two beyond the poll, the ends being worked into a kind XXIX.] CATAKACTS. 377 of raised pattern. As a rule, the hair was brought down to the September, eyebrows and round to the nape of the neck, so as to entirely ^^''^■ conceal the ears. Many further adorned their heads with a piece of sheet tin or copper, punched and cut into fanciful patterns, and some wore a couj)le of small locks hanging down on each side of the face. There were numerous varieties, in working out these fashions according to individual taste, but all had a certain likeness to those here described. AEMS AND OENAMENTS. On approaching Sha Kelembe's, the roaring of some cataracts of the Lumeji was heard; but I had no opportunity of seeing them, as the road led us away from the banks of the river. To reach the village we passed what might well have been mistaken in England for an ornamental shrubbery, with bushes like laurels and laurestines, while jasmine and other sweet- scented plants and creepers rendered the air heavy with their odor. I thought I distinguished the smell of vanilla, but could not discover from what plant it proceeded. Alvez was evidently on good terms with Sha Kelembe, and managed to make excuses to delay us till the 12th of Septem- ber ; but, notwithstanding this friendship, Sha Kelembe mulct- ed him heavily during his stay, and compelled him to pay two slaves and a gun to Mata Yafa — the paramount chief of the western portion of Lovale, and not to be confounded with the Mata Yafa in Ulunda. One of the slaves thus sent away was a woman who, I had reason to suppose, was the favorite concu- bine of Alvez ; and another of his harem was bartered away for 378 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. September, a bullock, SO fickle ill liis attachments and utterly heartless and 1875. unfeeling was he. Among other excuses for stopping here, Alvez expressed his opinion that Joao's caravan was just in front, and by starting we should miss meeting him. While we were thus detained, a plot to rob me came to light, and, had it not been frustrated, I should have been altogether deprived of the means of buying the fish upon which we had now to depend as an exchange for food. It appeared that Coimbra and some other men, including two of Alvez's slaves, having heard that I possessed some viongwa, determined to make an attempt at stealing them. They in- duced one of my people to enter into the plot, and rewarded him for his complicity by paying him about one-third of their value in beads, on the understanding that he would commit the theft. But, fortunately, my faithful Jumah, well knowing how valuable the viongwa were, had locked them up securely in a box w^ith my books, and thus prevented their being stolen. Coimbra and his limited company now heard that I had only two left, and when they saw one of these expended in the pur- chase of a goat, it awakened them to the rottenness of their speculation, and convinced them that there was little prospect of getting any return for the beads they had expended in brib- ing my man. Feeling no shame whatever in declaring themselves thieves, and being abetted by Alvez, they brought a claim not only for the value of the beads used to encourage my man to rob me, but also, with an effrontery almost past belief, for the value of the fish they would have purchased with the viongwa had the intended robbery been completed. Of course, I objected to this preposterous claim with indignation ; but Coimbra and the others openly declared that they would seize as a slave the man who had been bribed, if their demand were not settled. I told Alvez, in unmistakable language, my opinion of those making this unheard-of claim, as also of others supporting them, and thus aiding and abetting barefaced thieving. He replied that if it were not settled, he would probably be robbed, and impressed upon me that we were not in a civilized country. Coimbra and the rest were, he said, '"'•Qcntes hravos,'^ and M'ould XXIX.] HIGH-FLAVOKED PROVISIONS. 319 either kill or steal the man if deprived of their anticipated September, plunder. ' ^^'^^• In order to save this man, who, though he had proved him- self a most shameless thief, was otherwise worth half a dozen of the ruck of the caravan, I consented to satisfy the demand ; but, having no means of paying the scoundrels myself, was obliged to ask Alvez to settle the matter on the promise of recouping him at some future time. Perhaps some who do not weigh the whole circumstances and surroundings of this affair may possibly think that I erred in yielding ; but I could not fail to see, much as it annoyed me, that this course was absolutely necessary to prevent the wreck of the expedition. The idea of having to pay men because they had failed in their attempt to plunder me was so entirely novel that I con- fess there appeared to me something about it almost ludicrous. I should imagine that these are about the only people in the world who would put forward, and seriously maintain, such a claim without expressing shame in the slightest degree. Near the camp was a small and peculiarly shaped furnace for smelting iron, and I was told that the greater portion of the iron worked in Lovale was smelted at this place. The ore is found in the form of large nodules in the river-beds, whence it is dredged up at the termination of the dry season. Sha Kelembe's was left on the 12th of September, a large proportion of fish having been expended during the halt ; and as it was impossible to keep such high -flavored stores in my tent on account of the effluvia, some of the remainder were stolen, leaving me with only one viongwa to cover expenses on the journey to Bihe. The prospect was extremely disheartening, and already I had commenced to tear up and disj^ose of such clothes as I could J30ssibly spare from my scanty kit. Marching up the valley of the Lumeji, we turned to the right by the advice of Alvez, to avoid Mona Peho, chief of one of the three districts into which Kibokwe is divided. We passed many villages, and camped at the head of a valley drained by one of the numerous affluents of the Lumeji. A number of natives came to my camp, which was an hour 380 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. September, in advance of tliat of Alvez, and I had just succeeded in open- 1875. ij^g ^ conversation, when I heard a disturbance suddenly arise, and found that Sambo, who was always skylarking and in some sort of innocent mischief, had caused it by chaffing an old chief, who averred that he had been grievously insulted. I inquired into the matter at once with due gravity, although it was difficult to avoid laughing outright at Sambo's comical account of the affair. But the old man could not see the joke, and was so deeply offended that before his pacification could be accomplished I had to part with my viongwa as a present. I owned a small private stock of flour — only sufficient for three or four days — and rice enough for two moi'e, and the men were just as well, or badly, off as myself, and it therefore seemed ex- tremely probable that we should pass some hungry hours before reaching Bihe. The marching of the next day was through forest intersect- ed by long glades with streams running through them, those --J^y^m. OEOSSING A STREAM. XXIX.] VALLEY OF THE LUMEJI. 381 passed on the latter part of the inarch falling into the Kassabe. September, The forests were very line, with a scanty undergrowth of jas- i^'^^- mine and other sweet-scented and flowering shrubs, while the ferns and mosses were exceedingly beautiful. On camping, we were soon surrounded by the people of a caravan from Bihe which had halted here. They seemed to look with disdain upon us, who were travel -worn, thin, and mostly clothed in rags of grass-cloth, while they were fat and sleek, and decked out in print shirts, jackets, and red night-caj)s or felt hats. This caravan was out buying bees-wax, so I borrowed some from Alvez to exchange with them for cloth. Joao, they said, was at Bihe preparing for another journey to Kasongo's coun- try, having been down to Jenje while Alvez had been away. I endeavored to gather some items of news of the outside world from these people ; but they knew nothing of it, rarely going to the sea-coast. The porters for the track between Bihe and Benguela are Bailunda, who never go east of Bihe, and the people of that place only engage for the interior. Three more marches, tlie latter part being in a hilly country, brought us to the valley of the Lumeji. We crossed the river where it was fourteen feet wide and six deep, on a rickety bridge, and camped at the village of Chikumbi, a sub-chief of Mona Peho's. Here we remained one day, that Alvez's car- avan might procure provisions for themselves ; but for my men and myself it entailed the endurance of a little extra star- vation. There were many cattle about, principally black and white, without humps, and of moderate size ; and although the people had long possessed them, the art of milking had been allowed to remain a mystery. Goats and fowls were plentiful ; but be- ing far too poor to buy any, I contented myself with honey and farinha, the meal made of cassava. Chikumbi gave us a most astounding account of the road be- tween Bihe and the coast. He declared it was closed, as also was that to Loanda. Six thousand people, under four traders, were reported to have banded together to attempt to break through, but had been unsuccessful. Alvez asserted that he had heard the same story from the 382 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. September, Bihe caravan we had met, and said it was j^erfectlj true. He 1875. T^as so very positive in this statement that I at once conchided it must be false ; especially as there is a considerable trade in bees-wax between Bihe and Benguela, and where there is traffic there must be roads. Mona Peho's was near here, but Alvez decided not to visit him, as he would surely detain us for two or three days. There were also some Bihe people there as prisoners, and if it were known that Alvez visited Peho without procuring their liber- ation, their friends would, he said, plunder his settlement in revenge. Yet, after this declaration, we marched straight for Mona Peho's. When we had been two hours on the road, we were stopped at a large village governed by a chief named Mona Lamba, who informed us that we must halt there, and not proceed until he had apprised his suzerain, Mona Peho, of our approach. Mona Lamba was a good-looking young fellow, dressed in a blue jean coat with corporal's stripes on the arm, and a petti- coat of red broadcloth ; and although interfering with our prog- ress, he was very civil, and invited me and a few others into his hut to have some refreshment. When we had seated ourselves, he produced a huge gourd of mead, and filled a pint mug for me. Being very thirsty, I emptied it at one draught, not know- ing its strength ; and I heard that Mona Lamba entertained a great admiration for me on account of my feeling no ill effects, as a pint is usually sufficient to make the natives intoxicated. This mead is a mixture of honey and water made to ferment by malted grain. It is quite clear, and has the taste of strong sweet beer. Mona Lamba brought a further supply of this liquor into our camp in the afternoon, but I refused his pressing invitation to drink, not wishing to forfeit the high opinion he held of my sobriety. He very much wanted my Austrian blanket, but I named five bullocks as its price, for I could not possibly spare it. Then he wished to exchange coats as a token of friendship, and thouirh I should have been the sjainer, I had no inclination to assume corporal's stripes, so made him some small present to satisfy him that I reciprocated his friendly feeling. XXIX.] EXCHANGE OF PRESENTS. 383 Before we started on the following clay, lie was again in camp September, witli more mead, which he warmed over the fire, and, the morn- ^^''^■ ing being chilly, I found this stirrnp-cnp very comforting. A short march brought ns to a valley through which a small stream ran. On one side was Mona Polio's village, hidden among the trees, and on the other we made our camp, having to exercise the greatest care, in felling trees for building, not to touch any with bee-hives on them. A very large party from Bilie was here engaged in collecting bees-wax, and I found that the account given by Alvez of their being forcibly detained was a gratuitous and uncalled-for false- hood. Alvez bought cloth from these peoj)le, and I endeavored to obtain some from him. He promised to give it me on my note of hand, and then only supplied me with about a dozen yards, instead of the forty or fifty agreed upon. In the afternoon Mona Peho called on us, being escorted by about twenty men, firing guns, and shouting and yelling as they drew near. He was dressed in an old uniform coat, a kilt of print, and a greasy cotton night -cap, and immediately behind him were some men bearing huge calabashes of mead. He in- sisted on my hobnobbing with him over this liquor ; but as my men were around us and joined in draining the flowing bowl, it was all consumed without any disastrous results. As a present he brought me a little flour, and a pig which was in an expiring condition, and died a natural death immedi- ately it reached the camj) ; and, apologizing for having such a small supply of food, gave me cloth to buy something for my men. Having to make him a return present, I was sorel}^ puzzled, but managed to satisfy him with a flannel sleej)ing-suit. With this cloth, in addition to what I had screwed out of Alvez, I was enabled to serve out sufficient to provide my men with some rations, but it left me destitute. From Alvez, Mona Peho wanted a slave with whom the lat- ter was very loath to part, as he averred he could obtain fifty or sixty dollars for him in Benguela. The dispute thus arising delayed us a day, although it ended in the slave being given. While we were here, a man came into camp dressed in a suit 28 384 ACKOSS AFRICA. [Chap. September, of net-work of native manufacture, covering every part of his 1875. body except his head, over which he wore a carved and painted mask. The net suit was striped horizontally with black and white, the gloves and feet pieces being laced to the sleeves and legs, and the join between the body and drawers being concealed by a kilt of grass. The mask was painted to resemble an old man's face with enormous spectacles, and some gray fur covered the back part. In one hand he held a long staff, and in the other a bell which he constantly tinkled. He was fol- lowed by a little boy with a bag, to receive such alms as might be bestowed upon him. I inquired what this strange individual was supposed to be, and was informed he was a "sham devil," and afterward as- certained that his functions were to frighten away the devils who haunted the woods. Those haunting the woods of Kibokwe are rejjuted to be both numerous and powerful, and each possesses its own particular district. They are supposed to be very jealous of each other, and should one meet an opposition demon in its district, its annoyance is so great that it goes away to seek some place over which it may hold undisputed sway. "Sham devils" are supposed to closely resemble real devils, and, by showing themselves in their reported haunts, make them move to some other locality. In consequence, they are well paid by the inhabitants ; and, being also the fetich-men of the tribe, they enjoy a comfortable income. On the 21st of September we left Mona Peho's ; and, before starting, I was informed that we should meet a European trader on the road, but who he was nobody knew. I was, of course, very anxious to see this strange trader or traveler, and solve the mystery. BUAM DEVIL AT MOXA TEHO 8. XXIX.] AM BELIEVED TO BE A LUNATIC. 385 We passed throiigli jungle with many villages — in one of which smiths were nsing hammers with handles, the first I had seen in Africa, except those for making bark-cloth — and then proceeded along a valley by the source of the Lumeji, which wells up in a circular basin about sixty feet in diameter, and is at its birth a stream fully six feet wide and four deep. Climbing a steep hill, we found ourselves on a large plain, and shortly afterward saw a caravan approaching, I pressed on, anxious to ascertain whether this was the party of the reported white trader; but found that it was a caravan jour- neying to Katanga under charge of a slave of Silva Porto, a merchant at Benguela, who is known to geogra- phers by his travels in company with Syde ibn Habib in 1852-'54. • The slave in charge spoke Portu- guese, but could give me no news. He was greatly astonished at seeing me, and asked where I had come from, when some of Alvez's people "^ replied that they had discovered me " walking about in Warua." He then inquired what I was do- ing. " Did I trade in ivory f "No." "In slaves?" "No." "In wax?" "No?" " In india-nibber ?" " No." " Then what the devil did I do ?" " Collect informa- tion about the country." He looked at me a moment as if fully convinced that I was a lunatic, and then went on his way in amazement. From the next camp Alvez dispatched people to his settle- ment at Bihe, to fetch cloth to pay the ferry across the Kwanza, and I took the opportunity to forward maps and letters, hoping they might reach the coast before me. We had five very stiff marches before reaching the village of Kanyumba, the chief of Kimbandi, a small country lying be- tween Kibokwe and Bihe. On our journey we met many small parties of Bih^ people buying bees-wax, and a large caravan, September, 1875. SHAM DEVIL. 386 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. September, commanded by two more slaves of Silva Porto, on its way to 18*73. Katanga to purchase slaves. The principal of the two was a stout old negro about fifty years of age, dressed in a long blue frock-coat with brass but- tons, blue trousers, and broad-brimmed straw hat. He and his companion voluntarily informed me that I could not have trav- eled with a worse caravan than that of Alvez, an opinion in which I fully concurred. On seeing the respectable appearance of the leader of this caravan, I hoped that I might obtain some tea or biscuits from him ; but not a thing could I get, and I had to sell my shirts in order to keep us from actual starvation, and also to tear up my great-coat and dispose of it in small pieces. During these five days' marching we entered the basin of the Kwanza, and crossed two of its principal affluents, the Vindika and Kwiba, both considerable streams. I noticed a most curious hole in the side of a hill close to the source of a small stream, and thinking I saw a clear space in the jungle, I left the path to go toward it. After walking a few yards, I was greatly surprised to find myself standing on the edge of a cliff thirty feet high, overlooking a sunken space about forty acres in extent, the whole, except for about twenty yards, being surrounded by these cliff-like sides. The bottom of the hollow was level and of red soil, with dry water-courses full of white sand, and numerous curious-looking hillocks of red clay wwe scattered over its surface. It seemed as though this cavity had been cut in the hill, and numerous model mountains placed there. Some natives told me that a village had once stood there, but the people were very wicked, and a great snake came one night and destroyed them all as a punishment, and left the place as I had seen it. And this they evidently believed. At Kanyumba's I took the opportunity of observing an eclipse of the sun to determine longitude. I fitted the dark eye-23iece of my sextant to one tube of my field-glasses, and put • a handkerchief in the other, and managed to time all four con- tacts. The only notice taken of the eclipse by the people was that they ran to their huts. There were no groups of awe- stricken natives expecting to see a snake eating the sun, or sup- XXIX.] NATURAL HATS. 387 posing that the end of the world was come, though the diminn- tion of light was very considerable. Kanyuniba was very civil, and sent me a calf as a free gift, for I had nothing whatever to present him with in return. This was the first meat I had tasted, with the exception of a dove I had shot, since leaving Sha Kelembe's. When the old man heard I had walked from the other side of the continent and intended to go home by sea, he earnestly tried to dissuade me, promising that if I returned his way he would do every thing he could to assist me. If I went by wa- ter, he said I should be certain to lose my way, as there would be no marks whatever to guide me. Alvez, ever ready for any dishonest action, tried to cheat me out of the calf Kanyumba had given me, asserting that he had paid for it ; but from some of his followers, who were on any thing but good terms with him, I learned that this was entirely false, and therefore refused to surrender the veal. The people ofKimbandi dress their hair very tastefully, sometimes wearing it on one side of the head, in the form of a small cocked hat trimmed with cowries, while the hair on the other side hano-s down in lono- rino-- lets. Others make their hair resemble a low -crowned hat, the brim being trimmed with beads or cowries. We left our hospitable friend Kan- yumba on the 30th of September, and camped close to the banks of the Kwan- za, where we were rejoined by men who had been to Alvez's settlement to obtain cloth to pay our passage across the river. From them I heard that Joao — Joao Baptista Ferreira, as I now found he was called — was still at Bihe with another white man, Guilherme Gongalves, who had lately arrived from Eu- rope. I was also informed that the letter sent by me had been dispatched to Joao for forwarding to the coast. My endeavors to gain any news of European affairs were unsuccessful, for no one had any ideas of any thing beyond Bihe and Benguela. They were entirely wrapped up in the affairs of their own little September, i..LMiiAM,l b UiAD-DEibb. 388 ACEOSS AFKICA. [Chap. September, world, though, to judge from the sensational and untrue stories 1875. Qf dangers on the road so frequently circulated, there was evi- dently a demand for news of some sort. The following day we crossed the Kwanza, and were then only one march from Alvez's settlement. It was, therefore, plain that the accounts given of lighting on the road were ut- terly unfounded. These stories as they traveled from mouth to mouth had been greatly magnified, and it was said that no fewer than six thou- sand men, on their way to Bihe from the coast, had been driven back after four days' hard fighting. One leader of a caravan was reported to have lost all his stores and about two hundred men in the struggle. This and similar canards had been recounted to me with every detail, the narrators evidently being blessed with the most fertile imaginations, and it was impossible to arrive at any certainty as to their truth or otherwise. I need hardly remark that they were fully believed by my people, who had become very gloomy at the prospect of a lengthened delay at Bihe. But now they were proportionately rejoiced, and all were in excellent sjjirits. BIIAM DEVILI XXX.] THE RIVER KWANZA. 389 CHAPTEE XXX. The Kwanza.— Its Navigation.— Neat Villages.— Convivial Gathering.— A Head of Hair.— Cattle-plague.— The Kokema.— Filthy Villages.— A Lively Chase.— Recep- tion of Alvez. — Payment of his Porters. — Soap and Onions. — My Ragged Crew. — Alvez cheats Me at parting.— A Man in Tears.— An Archery-meeting. — A Torna- do. The Town of Kagnombe. — Its Size. — Kagnombe's Officials. — A Secretary un- able to write. — Mshiri's Men. — Their Journeys from Coast to Coast. — Kagnombe's Levee. My Seat of Honor. — Kagnombe's Best Clothes. — His Full Style and Title. —Strong Drink.— Fetich Place.— Skulls.— Graves.— His Guards.— His Hat.— Sen- hor Gon9alves.— His House.— Breakfast.— He tells Me his History.— His Kindness and Hospitality.— The Influence of Men of his Type. Early on the 2d of October we broke up our camp, and, de- October, scending a bank twenty-five feet in lieiglit, came upon a dead ^^"i^- level a mile and a half across. On the farther side of this flowed the Kwanza, which floods the whole of this plain in the rainy season. ' Before reaching the river we passed several small pools and swampy places, where numerous water -fowl were disporting themselves, and I shot a small but very pretty snow-white her- on. The river was sixty yards wide, and more than three fath- oms deep in the middle, with a current of barely three-cpiarters of a knot. On the opposite side were two villages situated on a bank similar to that near our last camp. They were inhabited by the ferry people, who owned numerous canoes ; but they were very miserable, rickety constructions, from sixteen to eighteen feet long, with only eighteen inches beam. Instead of intrusting my box of journals and instruments to them, I put my india-rubber boat into working order, and fer- ried my people and stores across in her, much to the astonish- ment of the natives. It was fortunate I adopted this course, for several canoes capsized, and some slaves narrowly escaped drowning. Two who were tied together, and were unable to 390 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. October, swim, would Undoubtedly have been drowned, bad not some of 1875. jjjy men been with me sufficiently near at band to render as- sistance. Tbe Kwanza, so far as I could learn, is navigable for some distance above tbe point at wbicb we crossed. And since tbe vessels of tbe Kwanza Steamsbip Company trade regularly to tbe falls just above Dondo, it would appear tbat a moderate ex- penditure of capital and labor would enable small steamers to be put on its upper waters, thus to intercept the greater portion of tbe trade between Benguela and tbe interior, and assist ma- terially in opening up tbe country to European enteriDrise. Leaving tbe river, we soon entered a wooded and billy coun- try witb many villages situated in large groves, in some in- stances surrounded by stockades. The huts were large and well built, being usually square, witli walls about eigbt feet liigb, and tbatcbed pointed roofs. Tbe walls were plastered with white or light-red mud, and often decorated with rough sketch- es of men carrying hammocks, pigs, horses, etc. There were also numerous granaries built on jDlatfonns raised about three feet from the ground. They stood eight to ten feet high, were circular in form, with a diameter of six or seven feet, and were covered by a movable conical roof of grass, the only means of access being by its removal. Pigs and fowls were in great plenty ; but the people being satiated with cloth, owing to their constant intercourse with the coast, would sell us nothing, or asked higher prices than we could afford. After some hours' marching, we arrived at a village which seemed far more prosperous and civilized than the rest, and, on entering, were accosted by two very respectable-looking mulat- toes who were tbe proprietors. They invited me to stay and drink with them ; but, bearing that tbe Kokema was close in front, I pressed onward, and arrived early in the afternoon at a village named Kapeka, near the river. Here I halted under some large trees to await Alvez's arrival ; but he did not make his appearance until nearly sunset. He was then accompanied by the two mulattoes and a number of their wives, all dressed in their best, and some carrying small kegs of pombe. XXX.] A HEAD OF HAIR. 39I ^ The chief of Kapeka also came with a large pot of pombe as October, his share of the debauch, and a general drink round then com- 1875. ' menced. HEAD OF HAIK AT KAPEKA. The hair of the chief wife of the principal mulatto was frizzed to such an enormous extent that her head would scarcely have gone into a bushel-basket. She, as well as her husband, Fran- cisco Domingo Camoen, was a light mulatto. At the village there was a herd of about forty cattle belong- ing to the chief; but although they were imported from the Kaffir countries where they are commonly milked, no milk was obtained from them here, as the natives declared that they were much too fierce to allow of any attempt being made. For- merly the herds about Bihe were more numerous; but, some years since, a cattle plague, or murrain, swept them entirely away, and those in the country at this time had been brought from Jenje. Nearly two hours were occupied the following morning in ferrying the caravan across the Kokema, about forty yards wide and two fathoms deep at this point. Shortly afterward, a disturbance arose between some of my people and the natives, owing to one of my men who retired into a patch of cultivated ground having been discovered there by the owner. He demanded compensation for his land having been defiled, and had to be appeased by a present of cloth. 392 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. October, If tliey were only half as particular about their dwellings as ^^^^- their fields, it would be a good thing, for their villages are filthy in the extreme, and would be even worse but for the presence of large numbers of pigs, which act as scavengers. Our road led through very charming country with steep hills, with scars and landslips exposing the red sandstone in vivid contrast to the bright greens of the grass and foliage. Some of Alvez's porters here attempted to bolt with their loads of ivory, and this gave rise to a lively chase, terminating in their capture after a hard run. Alvez, having friends at several villages, accordingly stopped to drink with them, much to the delay of our march ; but in the afternoon we arrived near his settlement, and halted for stragglers to close up, so that we might make our entry in due form ; and powder was served out, that a salute might be fired when we marched in. We then entered the village, and were immediately sur- rounded by a horde of yelling women and children, Avho had assembled fi'om far and near to welcome the return of the porters. In front of Alvez's house half a dozen men were keeping up a rapid fire in response to the guns of our party. Among them were two of Alvez's assistants, one a civilized black man named Manoel, who, like his master, was a native of Dondo; the other a white man comn)only known as Chiko, who had es- caped from a penal settlement on the coast. Manoel at once came forward and conducted me to a very decent hut, which, he informed me, was to be my quarters during my stay. On Alvez making his entry, he was mobbed by women, who shrieked and yelled in honor of the event, and pelted him with flour ; and we learned that his long absence had almost per- suaded his people to believe him to be lost ; and could they have mustered sufficient men and stores, they would have dis- patched a party in search of him. Unlimited pombe was served out; and when comparative quiet had been restored, those who carried ivory gave up their loads, and others in charge of slaves delivered them over to the care of the women. The porters were then paid from eight to twelve yards of XXX.] A DAY OF LUXURY. 393 cloth each, and a few charges of powder. This, together with the twelve yards every man had received before starting, made in all about twenty yards of cloth as pay, and a few charges of powder as a gift, for upward of two years' service. Of course men would not engage for such ridiculous rates of pay, were it not that they profited by rapine and robbery in passing through countries where the people did not possess gnus. However, they were well satisfied with the result of their journey, and announced their intention of starting, when the approaching rains were over, with as many of their friends as they could muster, to revisit Kasongo, for the purpose of ob- tainingf more slaves from that enlio-htened ruler. October, 1815. ALVEZ'S BETTLEMENT, This to me was a day of luxuries, as Alvez, for a considera- tion, supplied me with some coffee, onions, and soap. This last commodity I had been without for nearly a year, with the ex- ception of a piece about a couple of inches square which Ju- mah Merikani had given me, and I now thoroughly enjoyed its unsparing application. Alvez's settlement differed only from Komanante, a native village adjoining it, in the larger dimensions of some of his huts ; and although he had, according to his own account, been settled in Bihe for more than thirty years, he had made no at- tempt at cultivation or rendering himself comfortable. 394 ACKOSS AFEICA. [Chap. October, Here I was delayed for a week, witli scarcely any thing to 1875. occupy my time. My first care was to enlist guides for my journey to tlie coast, and to obtain stores for buying provisions on the road, and also some extra cloth with which to clothe my people somewhat respectably for their entry into the Portu- guese settlements. Every stitch of European cloth had disappeared from the persons of my followers, and they were now dressed in rags of "Warua grass-cloth. Indeed, some were so nearly naked that they could not possibly have appeared in any place having pre- tensions to civilization. In order to procure this clothing, it was necessary to buy ivory and bees-wax from Alvez to exchange, as he assured me it was utterly imjDossible for me to get any credit. But I after- ward found that he had misled me in order to seize another op- portunity of fleecing me by charging a high price for the wax and ivory ; for on meeting Senhor Goncalves, he told me he would readily liave sold cloth to me at Benguela prices, adding only the cost of porterage. Further delay also arose through waiting for a guide. Alvez wished to send Chiko ; but he refused, fearing he might be recognized, and Manoel was told off for the duty. I had also to await the arrival of some Bailunda — who act as porters between Bilie and the coast — who were to carry thither some wax for Alvez, to be exchanged for stores which would enable him to proceed to Jenje with the view of selling his slaves. At last, on the lOtli of October, I started. I selected a small number to accompany me on a visit to Kagnombe, the chief of Bihe, and Senhor Goncalves, leaving the remainder to follow and rejoin me at the settlement of Joao Baptista Ferreira. At the moment of marching, one of those whom I had di- rected to come on afterward commenced crying because his chum was going with me. He declared I had sold him to Alvez for a slave, and altogether made such a hullabaloo over the matter that I felt obliged to allow him to join my little party. This man was a sjDecimen of some whom Bombay en- gaged at Zanzibar, and I had to drag across Africa. We then marched tlirouo-h fertile and well-wooded country XXX.] TARGET -PRACTICE IN AFRICA. 395 intersected by many streams. Tlie villages were surrounded by plantations, tobacco being grown in small inclosed plots close to every lint, and I also noticed a very seedy-looking Eu- ropean cabbage. In the woods I frequently detected a scent like vanilla, but was unable to find the plant that emitted it. Guavas grew wild in great profusion. In a clear space outside one of the villages some men were instructing the young idea how to shoot. The target was made of a root found in the jungle, and cut- into circular form, about one foot in diameter. It was rolled slowly across the open space at about forty yards from the marksmen, and on an aver- age one arrow in ten struck it. This was the only occasion on which I saw shooting practiced as an amusement in Africa. \ILL\(.f IS unit After losing our way three or four times, we arrived at a vil- lage of considerable size, belonging to Senhor Goncalves, and I was lodged in the large hut used by him on his visits. The whole population were his slaves, but the greater number were now absent on a journey to Jenje, under the command of one of his sons. He possesses some half-dozen of these villages, the population of each forming the nucleus of a caravan, the remainder being composed of hired natives of the neighborhood. "We were fortunate in gaining the village when we did, for almost directly we had obtained shelter a heavy tornado came October, 1876. 396 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. October, on, accompanied bj torrents of rain. It had been preceded bj 1875. a peculiar lurid light, which, as the sun had set some little time, must have been electrical. Three hours' march from here was the town of Kagnombe, the largest I came across during my whole journey, being more than three miles in circumference. It contained a number of separate inclosures belonging to different chiefs, who used them when visiting the place to pay their respects to Kagnombe. Much space was occupied by cattle and pig-pens and tobacco- gardens, besides which there were three large gullies — the sources of streams flowing to the Kokema — so that the popula- tion, though large, was not nearly so numerous as the size of the town had led me to expect. On arrival, I was met by Kagnombe's secretary, chamberlain, and captain of the guard, who wore red waistcoats as sign of their dignity. The secretary was more ornamental than useful, being unable to write ; but a subordinate, a black man and na- tive of Dondo, was better educated, and conducted the trade of Kagnombe with the coast. These officials conducted me Ijo a hut which had been pre- pared for my reception, and immediately, without allowing me any time for refreshments, commenced bothering me with ques- tions as to what I intended to offer their chief as a present. A Snider rifle and a little cloth Avhich I obtained for the purpose while at Komanante were all I could well give. But with these they assured me he would be any thing but satisfied, and I was obliged to part with a large leopard-skin presented to me by Jumali Merikani, and which had been most useful as a rug. Throughout the day crowds came to stare at me ; and when driven by heavy showers to take refuge in my hut, the people did not scruple to follow me uninvited, and it was needful to keep a sharp lookout for pilferers. Among the crowd were some men attached to a caravan belonging to Mshiri, on the return journey from Benguela. They all had the TJnyamwezi tribal marks, and the majority could speak Kinyamwezi. One asserted that he was a Mnyam- wezi, but on cross-examination I found he was really a native of Katanga, but had once been to Unyanyembe. XXX.] I STAND UPON MY DIGNITY. 397 I have no doubt that many of Mshiri's men liave visited hoth coasts, and that a message might be sent by means of these peo- ple from Benguela to Zanzibar. Mshiri has issued an edict compelling all his subjects to adopt the tribal marks of the Wanyamwezi, and many natives of Bilic visiting Katanga have also complied with this order to curry favor with him. About nine o'clock the next morning, a messenger informed me that Kagnombe was ready to receive me. Making myself as tidy and presentable as the scantiness of my kit would allow and taking with me half a dozen of my men, I went to one of the gullies on the side of which Kagnombe's private compound was situated. The gate was guarded by men wearing red waistcoats, and carrying spears and knives ; and, on entry, I found a double row of small stools placed for the accommodation of the audience, while at the far end was the large arm-chair of the great man himself, standing on my leopard -skin. Seeing no particular place assigned to me, and not feeling disposed to occupy a stool on a level with my men, I sent for my chair. This proceeding was at first most warmly resisted by the othcials, on the ground that no person was ever allowed to sit on a chair in the presence of Kagnombe : I therefore should not be permitted to introduce such a fashion. In reply I assured them that it did not matter, for I should simply with- draw from the levee, and not wait to see Kagnombe, upon which my chair was admitted, and I took my seat. 398 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. October, When all was ready, the door of an inner inclosure was. 18Y5. opened, and tlie chief appeared. He wore an ancient suit of black, bundled on anyhow, and a large gray plaid thrown over his shoulders, the ends being held up behind by a naked little boy. On his head was a dirty old wide-awake hat, and, not- withstanding tlie earliness of the hour, he was already about three parts drunk. No sooner was he seated than he commenced informing us of his power, saying that he was a greater man than any other king in Africa ; for, besides his African name, he had a Euro- pean one. His full style and title was King Antonio Kag- nombe, and his picture, the picture of Antonio Kagnombe, had been sent to Lisbon. Further, he informed us that we were not to judge of his mightiness by the seedy appearance of his present attire, as very grand clothes had been given him by the Portuguese au- thorities when he was at Loanda. He had passed some years at that place, and was supposed to have been educated ; but the sole effect of this education seemed to have been the blending of the vices of semi-civili- zation with those proper to the savage. Having heard that I had been a long time on the road, he was graciously pleased to express his satisfaction at the pres- ents I had made him, but desired me to remember that if ever I passed liis town again, I nnist bring gifts more suitable to his greatness. The oration being concluded, we moved into the inner com- pound, overshadowed by an enormous banyan-tree, and where some huge female bananas, producing seed, but no fruit, were growing. When the seats were re-arranged, Kagnomb6 entered one of the huts within the inclosure, and shortly re-appeared with a bottle of aguardiente and a tin pannikin. He served out a " nip " all round, and then, putting the bot- tle to his lips, took such a deep draught that I expected to see liim fall down insensible. But the only effect was an increase in his liveliness, and he commenced swaggering and dancing a])out in the most extraordinary manner, occupying intervals in his performance by further pulls at the bottle. When it was tinished, we were free to take our departure. XXX.] A CEMETEEY. 399 I rambled about the town and neighborhood, and visited the October, great fetich place. Here the skulls of all the chiefs whom 1875. Kagnombe had conquered were kept spiked on poles, surround- ed by the heads of leopards, dogs, and jackals. Not far from this was the burial-ground of his family, the graves in which all lay east and west. Broken pots and crock- ery were scattered on each, and in the centre was a fetich hut, where offerings of food and drink were placed for the manes of the departed. Outside Kagnombe's compound a large tree was pointed out to me as being the usual reception-place for the Portuguese, Here his chair is brought and put nj)on the summit of a small mound, the visitors having to sit on stones or roots at its foot. I was assured that my being allowed to enter his jDrivate in- closures was a mark of high honor, no white man having ever before been admitted. Of the two inclosures, the outer one is really his main guard, and all night long men are stationed there on sentry. These guards are also employed to lead the van when Kagnombe en- gages in war, tlie duty of carrying his hat, which plays an im- portant part in action, devolving upon the captain of the guard. When a village which it is intended to capture is approached, the hat is thrown over the palisades, and a tremendous rush is made to recover it ; for he who is fortunate in the attempt, and brings it back, is considered the hero of the day, and is reward- ed with gifts of concubines and liquor. The following morning, after having dispatched Manoel with farewell messages to Kagnombe, I started for the settlement of Senhor Goncalves, and arrived there after a pleasant walk of a few hours. Drawing near to the settlement, I was much impressed by its appearance of neatness and good order, and, on entering, found myself in a well-kept court-yard. In this there were a large store-house and two small dwellings, while a palisade in front divided them from the principal house, which was flanked on one side by a magnificent grove of orange-trees covered with fruit. A Spanish mulatto met me, and led the way into the sitting- room, where Senhor Gongalves's two sons and a white man, who 400 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. October, had formerly been boatswain of a Portuguese man-of-war, were 18'75- at breakfast. This room quite astonished me. The floor was planked, the windows had green jalousies, the ceiling was of white cloth, and the walls were plastered and painted in a neat pattern; and upon the table, which was covered with a clean white cloth, all manner of good things were spread. Senlior Gongalves, an old gentleman of charming manners, welcomed me warmly, and, telling me not to stand on ceremony, bid me fall to. This I was nothing loath to do, and thorough- ly enjoyed the best meal I had tasted for many a long day. Every thing was well cooked, and good biscuits, butter, and oth- er "canned delicacies" helped to form the solids, which were washed down by vinho Unto, followed by coffee. After breakfast, Senhor Gonial ves told me of himself and his doings here, and conducted me round his establishment. He had at one time been master of a ship, but, tiring of the sea, settled at Bihd thirty -three years ago. When he had been thirty years in Africa, he returned to Lisbon with the idea of ending his days there in peace ; but his friends of former times being dead, and he being too old to make new ones, he never felt comfortable there, and after three years' absence de- termined to return to Bihe. He had only arrived about three weeks when I paid him this visit. Before leaving for Lisbon he had a capital garden with Euro- pean vegetables, and grew vines and wheat, which flourished marvelously. But during his absence every thing was neg- lected, and the only things remainilig were his oranges — which were finer than any I had ever seen — and a hedge of roses thir- ty feet high, now in full bloom. His principal trading was with Jenje for ivory, and Kibokwe for bees-wax, and, altogether, trade was fairly profitable. Twice he was burned out and lost every thing, and was obliged to re- commence business on borrowed capital, the high interest on which had nearly swallowed all his profits for a time ; but now he was free and unembarrassed. Each of the six villages he owned supplied a caravan. One was now traveling under the charge of a son, and another under a servant ; and two more were about to start. XXX.] SPEEDING THE PARTING GUEST. 401 His sons had lately returned from Jenje, and said they had met English traders there with bullock-wagons, and had been most friendly w^ith them. We sat a long time, yarning and smoking good English bird's- eye after dinner, and then I was given a comfortable bedroom, and, for the first time since sj^ending a night on board the Pun- jab, I experienced the pleasure of sleeping between sheets. Tempting as the hospitality and many comforts of this place were, I could not allow myself to think of lingering, but de- cided to start the next morning for Joao Ferreira's, where I had arranged to meet the main body of my men. Senhor Gon§alves gave me a bottle of brandy and a few tins of meat for the road, and we parted, after an acquaintance of four-and-twenty hours, as though we had been old friends. I firmly believe that if more men such as Senhor Goncalves were to take advantage of the Portuguese dominions on the coast, and settle in the healthy uplands of Bihd, much might be done toward opening up and civilizing Africa. October, 1875. TRAP FOR GAME. 402 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. CHAPTEK XXXI. Joao's Settlement. — His Official Position. — Openly trading in Slaves. — Bad Speci- men of the White Man. — A Fetich-man. — Fortune-telling. — Charms. — Infallible Cures. — Arms for Kasongo. — Probable Result. — Belmont. — Miserable Work. — Buffalo Herd. — Opposition by Bihe People. — Civility of the Chiefs. — The Kutato. — An Extraordinary River. — Dangerous Crossing. — Subterranean Streams. — Run- gi. — Suspected of the Evil Eye. — A Fetich-man declares Me free. — Untrustworthy Postmen. — Making and mending Clothes. — A Portuguese in Pawn. — A Festival. — Drink and Debauchery. — A Superior Chief. — Rheumatism. — A. Glimpse of Para- dise.— Visit to King Kongo. — Housed and fed by the Prime Minister's Wife. — The King's own Hut. — His Dress. — Strongly Guarded. — A Drunken Conference. — Pounding Corn. — My Beard excites Curiosity. — Hungry Times. — Caterpillars a Delicacy. October, BiDDiNG adieu to Senlior Gongalves, who expressed many 1875. kindly wishes for my success, we crossed some open prairie country, aj)parently admirably adapted for growing wheat, and reached the settlement of Joao Baptista Ferreira. It was a complete contrast to the one we had just left, being only a shade better than that of Alvez ; but Joao accorded me a thoroughly hearty welcome, and I was not slow to appreciate his kindness. The men whom I had left at Komanante were here awaiting my arrival, and I immediately gave them some of the cloth I had obtained, so that they might clothe them- selves for entry into Benguela, and the remainder I served out to procure rations for the journey to the coast. Joao was the white trader of whom I had heard as having been to Kasongo's country, and he was preparing for another journey thither, for since his return from Urua he had paid a visit to Jenje, and exclianged the slaves he obtained from Ka- songo for ivory. At Jenj6 he met an Englishman whom he called George, and became most friendly with him. He had received from him a rifle and compass as tokens of amity. From Jenje he brought a riding-bullock, and from Benguela XXXI.] FORTUNE -TELLING. ' 403 a donkey, both of which knew him well, and would follow him October, like dogs, which I accepted as a proof that thete must have ^^'^^• been some good in Joao's nature. Indeed, I must acknowledge that to me and mine he showed great kindness, and I wish I were not compelled, in the interests of Africa, to make any al- lusion to the dark side of his character. But '■''Fais ee que dois, advienne que pourra.''^ I am constrained to declare that he was any thing but the right kind of man to create a good im- pression by trading in Africa. He was openly engaged in the slave -traffic, notwithstanding his holding a commission from the Portuguese Government as a district judge, and slaves in chains were to be seen in his settlement. With my experience of the manner in which slaves are ob- tained, I could not but feel pained that white men who could thus disregard the feelings of fellow-creatures should be among the first specimens of Europeans seen by the untutored people of the interior. He told me, as rather a good story, how Ka-* songo had ordered hands and ears of slaves to be cut off in hon- or of his visit, and expressed his intention of taking about a hundred flint-lock muskets to that chief to exchange for slaves, and quite scouted the idea of going there for ivory. That, he said, could be obtained much more easily at Jenj^, to which place the road was comparatively easy and healthy. A fetich-man visited Joao's while I was there, his errand be- ing to tell the fortunes of the people about to journey to Ka- songo's, and he also professed to cure diseases and expel evil spirits. He was followed by some friends, who carried iron bells, which they occasionally struck with small pieces of iron. On arrival he seated himself on the ground, surrounded by his friends, and then commenced a monotonous recitative. In this he accompanied himself by shaking a rattle made of bas- ket-work and shaped like a dumb-bell, while the circle of at- tendants joined in chorus, sometimes striking their bells, and at others varying the performance by laying them down and clap- ping their hands in a kind of rhythmic cadence. This being finished, the soothsayer was ready to be consulted, provided those coming to him were prepared to pay in advance for his predictions. The principal instrument for reading the decrees of fate con- 404 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. October, sisted of a basket trimmed with small skins, the bottom being 1875. formed of a piece of gourd. This was filled with shells, small figures of men, tiny baskets, and packets containing amulets, and a heterogeneous collection of rubbish. The method of divining was something after the manner adopted by ancient dames in more civilized parts of the globe, who imagine they can look into the future by gazing intently at the dregs in the bottom of a tea-cup. On being consulted, the basket was emptied of its contents ; and as the queries to which answers were desired were put to the magician, he selected such things to be returned to the bas- ket as he considered appropriatCo He then gave it a dexterous twist, and, after carefully inspecting the manner in which its contents had arranged themselves, delivered the all-important answer to the anxious dupe. Besides telling fortunes, he also did a lively amount of trade in charms and amulets, without which no African would con- sider himself safe on a journey. One charm I noticed was in very large demand, as it was suj^posed to prevent slaves from running away. It was composed of a large horn filled with mud and bark, and having three very small horns projecting from its lower end. I had often seen these charms in the possession of Alvez's people, who placed them in the ground close to the owner's quarters in camp, and constantly anointed them with red earth and oil, in order to propitiate the spirit believed to exist within them. Alvez had one of these horns lashed to his flag-staff ; but I believe he used the anointing oil more for his own pur- poses than those of the devil's. When the fetich-man found no more buyers of charms, he offered to cure any disease with which any person present might be afflicted. To some he gave charms as a remedy, but to the majority he administered draughts made from various roots and herbs. He also showed himself an adept at sham- pooing. Joao's principal stock for trading with Kasongo consisted of flint-lock muskets and powder; and when possessed of a suffi- cient number of fire-arms, I have no doubt he will try his hand at robbing caravans ; for when I passed through his country he XXXL] MISERY AND DISCOMFORT. 405 had every inclination to take to highway robbery, but lacked October, the necessary power. 1875. After a day's halt at Joao's, we started for the coast, aceom- panied by a gang of Bailunda carrying gear belonging to Alvez, and intended for sale at Benguela. It Avas arranged that the head-man of this party should act as my guide, Manoel being interpreter between him and me. "We passed Belmont — somewhat inappropriately named, be- ing situated in a hollow — and then over large down-like hills with very little wood, excepting around the villages, which were all shaded by groves of fine trees. Belmont is the settlement of Silva Porto — a name well known to African geographers — which had once equaled, if not surpassed, that of Senlior GouQalves ; but its owner having discontinued traveling and settled at Benguela, it was placed under the care of slaves, and had consequently greatly deterio- rated. Its orange-trees had run wild and were unpruned, and that which had formerly been a carefully kept garden was no better than a tangled waste. The rains were now beginning to set in regularly, and at our first camp we passed a most miserable night. There was scarce- ly any grass or brush-wood with which the men could hut them- selves, and they were consequently exposed to one continued downpour of cold rain. I fared equally badly, for my grass -cloth tent was so thor- oughly worn out and full of holes that the water came through it freely. There was not a dry corner where I could sleep, so I coiled myself up in a space about two feet square, with a piece of mackintosh over my head. As day broke, the rain ceased, and we managed to light a fire, and I then gave each man a small nip of the brandy which had been given me by Gongalves. After this we started, and, though wet and miserable -looking, my men were fairly light- hearted. Gradually we entered more broken and wooded country, with stony hills showing out here and there. On these, villages were built and encircled by stone -walls and palisades, while others on the bare hills were surrounded by heavy groves of trees, and reminded me much of farms on the Wiltshire doAvns. 406 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. While crossing a level table-land, I saw enormous flocks of birds, and what was supposed to be an extraordinarily large one in rapid inotion was pointed out to me. Tlie object had so curious an appearance that I used my field-glasses to obtain a better view, and then discovered that the dark cloud was caused by the dust and steam rising from a large herd of buffalo gal- loping madly to the eastward. On the road we met many up-parties of Bihe people who had been trading with the Bailunda. They were usually rather drunk and abusive, and in some instances attempted to rob my stragglers, so that it required great forbearance and some tact to avoid getting into serious collision with them. They assert- ed that we had no right to be traveling in their country, as we should be the means of opening up the road to other strangers and traders, and so deprive themselves of their monopoly. Although these people were thus unfriendly toward us, the chiefs of the villages were kind and civil, and invariably brought us pots of pombe. To have refused this proffered hospitality would have been a dangerous policy, and have lessened the good feeling which existed; but much time was sometimes wasted owing to these halts for refreshment. The nights were now constantly rainy, and we had some wretched experiences ; but, being near the end of my journey, I felt inclined to make light of every trouble. And, in addi- tion to being continually wet, we were badly provided with food ; for the people, owing to their constant intercourse with the coast, were overwhelmed with cloth, and wanted only pow- der or aguardiente in exchange for provisions. We had nei- ther of these articles of commerce, and consequently were fre- quently compelled to go hungry. On the 18th of October we passed the Kutato, a most ex- traordinary river, forming the boundary between Bailunda and Bihe. We crossed by a bridge then under water, the strength of the current being so great that some men were washed olf , and only saved themselves by catching at bushes on the bank. On reaching the other side we found ourselves upon an island, sit- uated among numerous rapids and cascades breaking out from a rocky hill - side. The difficulty of getting across seemed, at XXXL] AN EXTRAORDINARY RIVER. 407 first sight, almost insuperable ; but after a time we discovered that there were, however, places where it was possible to jump from rock to rock, and then to wade through the rapids them- selves on narrow shelves, holding on, meanwhile, by ropes of creepers stretched from side to side for that purpose. A single false step or the snapping of the creeper-rope at these points would have been fatal, for nothing could have saved one from being dashed to pieces among the rocks beneath. October, 1875. POETEE8 FBOM BTHil. The stream below this was about sixty yards wide, very deep, and running like a sluice. I afterward heard that we were considered most fortunate in grossing without mishap; for at that season of the year people had frequently been lost in making the attempt, and it was often necessary to wait a week or fortnight before the passage was practicable. Looking back from the other side, a most striking sight was presented by this mass of water bursting out of the precipitous hill-side, and broken by the rocks and little bushy islands into foamins: cascades. 408 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. Many small streams were passed, which occasionally flowed for some distance in subterranean channels. They worked in among loose stones which were covered with soil and vegeta- tion, the under-ground portion of their course being sometimes only some forty yards in length ; but in other instances they seemed to have disappeared altogether, and no doubt helped to supply the water which formed the " burst of the Kutato." The following day we arrived at the village of Lungi, the dwelling-place of the head of the Bailunda who were accom- panying me, and halted to enable them to prepare food for the road to Benguela. I was told this would occupy three days, so I decided to have a hut built, instead of remaining that time in my leaky tent. The men also managed to make them- selves comfortable, wood and grass for building a camp being plentiful. The wife of the head-man was now taken ill, and he, with an amount of marital affection which was very creditable, would not hear of leaving her until she recovered. This arrangement being particularly inconvenient, I tried to reason with him against adhering to his resolve, and, to my sur- prise, I afterward found I was suspected of the evil eye, and was accused of having bewitched the woman by looking at her husband. Although this would seem rather an indirect method of bringing about so dire a calamity, yet it was thoroughly be- lieved in, and a fetich-man was brought to give his opinion of my optics. Fortunately, he declared that there was nothing evil about my eye-sight, and informed the head-man that it be- hooved him to assist me in every thing, and that on arriving at Benguela he would And I possessed an open hand. This covert appeal to my generosity was not to be resisted, and I could not feel otherwise than grateful for his favorable opinion of me when under suspicion ; so I gave him a piece of cloth out of my scanty stock, bringing my store down to four yards. The brother of the guide who had expressed his determina- tion to remain behind to nurse his wife now volunteered to conduct us to Benguela, but had to prepare his food before starting. XXXI.] UNTRUSTWORTHY POSTMEN. 409 The chief of Lnngi, Menyi Hombo by name, had been a October, pombeiro of Senhor Gonial ves; and although he was well i^'^^- aware of my inability to make any return for kindness shown, was very hospitable, bringing us pombe daily, and presenting a goat to me, besides one to my men. Here I received the unwelcome intelligence that the letters and map I forwarded before reaching Bihd were barely ahead of me now. It appeared that when they arrived at Komanante, Manoel at once sent them to Joao, who intrusted them to two runners to take to the coast. These worthies arrived at a vil- lage close to Lungi about a fortnight before me, but, meeting some chums just returned from Benguela with a large stock of aguardiente, remained there with them. In their opinion such an opportunity was not to be neglected, and from the moment of their arrival they had spent their time in one continued state of drunkenness. I immediately sent for the lettei^s, and was fortunate in getting them ; and, after this experience, I con- cluded it would be better to become my own postman. Little worthy of record occurred during the stay at Lungi. The jDrincipal employment of the men was making clothes of a somewhat uniform pattern for entry into Benguela ; and I had to look sharply after them, for they were much inclined to shirk their work, and expend the material I had given them in drink. While writing in my hut one day, I was astonished at hear- ing that a white man had come to the camp and desired to see me. Who it might be I could not imagine, having been told that no white traders were in the country, excepting Joao and Goncalves. I found that my visitor was a young Portuguese, who, to- gether with two companions, had come here to trade, having obtained a few stores on credit at Benguela. His partners, however, quarreled so grievously that words came to blows, and one, after knifing and killing the other, ran off with all the goods, and left this young fellow destitute. He was now in pawn to the chief of the village where he was staying, and was prevented from leaving, as the merchant who advanced the stores for the first venture refused to supply him with any thing further until he was paid. This forced de- 410 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. October, tention did not trouble him greatly, for he was very comfort- less, able, and well looked after by the natives, and did not appear ~~" to have any desire to be taken out of pledge. At last the Bailunda had their food ready, but the chief of Lungi having told them that the following day was an im- portant festival, they refused to start, being anxious to share in the customary bout of pombe-driuking. I went to witness the performance, and, under a huge banyan- tree in the outer portion of the village, found singing, dancing, and drinking proceeding in great force. The men and women danced together, their suggestive motions being accompanied by ribald songs, and the scene was one of licentiousness almost be^^ond belief. The chief, who was comparatively sober, remained in an in- ner compound shaded by large trees and barren bananas, like those at Kagnombe's, One part of this compound reached to the summit of an almost precipitous ascent, from which a charming view was obtained. He informed me that, in consequence of having been in the service of Gongalves, he had no desire to join in orgies such as the one I had witnessed ; but added that he was powerless to prevent them, for if the people were deprived of their drink and dancing, they would rebel, and murder their rulers. I had much trouble on leaving here, owing to many of my people having rheumatism and swollen limbs, caused by the wet and cold. Poor little Jacko, and a man named Yacooti, were unable to walk, and it was necessary to contrive litters for car- rying them. Almost directly after starting, we came upon rocky hills, with brawling burns rushing along their rugged courses, and here and there falls from twenty to thirty feet in height, the crystal water sparkling in the sunlight as it dashed from crag to crag. Large tree-ferns grew on the banks, and among the bushes were myrtle, jasmine, and other flowering shrubs, while a variety of beautiful ferns simiUir to maiden-hair, and other delicate kinds, flourished in the damp crevices of the rocks. As we went forward tlie scenery increased in beauty, and at last I was constrained to halt, and surrender myself to the en- joyment of the view which lay before me. XXXI.] KAMBALA. 411 I will content myself with asserting that nothing could be November, more lovely than this entrancing scene, this glimpse of Para- ^^'^^• dise. To describe it would be imjwssible. Neither poet, with all the wealth of word-imagery, nor painter, with almost super- natural genius, could by pen or pencil do full justice to the country of Bailunda. In the foreground were glades in the woodland, varied with knolls crowned by groves of large, English-looking trees, shel- tering villages with yellow thatched roofs; shambas, or jjlan- tations, with the fresh green of young crops and bright red of newly hoed ground in vivid contrast, and running streams flash- ing in the sunlight ; while in the far distance were mountains of endless and j)leasing variety of form, gradually fading away until they blended with the blue of the sky. Overhead there drifted fleecy white clouds ; and the hum of bees, the bleating of goats, and crowing of cocks broke the stillness of the air. As I lay beneath a tree in indolent contemplation of the beauties of nature in this most favored spot, all thought of the work still before me vanished from my mind ; but I was rudely awakened from my pleasant reverie by the appearance of the loaded caravan, with the men grunting, yelling, and laboring under their burdens. Thus the dream of fairy-land was dis- pelled, and the realities of my work, with its toil and trouble, returned. That evening we camped in a wood, a clear space having lit- erally to be cut out of the masses of sweet-scented creepers which festooned the trees. Here I again divided the caravan into two parts, as it was necessary for me to visit Kongo, the chief of the Bailunda, at Kambala, and I had been informed that it would be impolitic to be accompanied by all my men on the occasion. I therefore selected four of my own people, including Ju- mah, Manoel, and the chief of the Bailunda porters, and three of their immediate followers, leaving the remainder of the par- ty to proceed by the direct road to the next camp, thus giving the invalids, who were steadily increasing in number, two short marches and a good rest. Kambala is situated on a rocky hill in the centre of a wooded plain surrounded by ranges of hills. The entrance to the vil- 30 412 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. November, 1875. lage was over a sinootli sheet of granite, and then, passing through two or three palisades, we were conducted into a small division containing four huts, which we were invited to make use of. The huts clustered about the rocks in a most extraordinary manner, advantage being taken of every shelf and projection capable of being built upon. Thus a next-door neighbor was generally either almost above your head or below youi* feet. Trees of fair proportions grew out of the crevices, tobacco was planted close to the huts, and the palisades were covered witli flowering creepers. KAMBALA. Some of Kongo's principal counselors welcomed us on arriv- al, but the task of entertaining us fell chiefly upon the shoul- ders of the wife of the prime minister, he being absent on im- portant duty. Our hostess brought a large supply of porridge and dried locusts for my people, and several inhabitants paid us visits, each bringing with him a pot of pombe. My anxiety was to gain an early audience with King Kongo, and also to settle upon a suitable present. I had brought a rifle for him, but his people wisely preferred an old flint-lock carried by Manoel, for which I gave him the Snider. It was arranged by the court oflicials that I should see the king the following day, but I managed to overrule this delay, and our interview was then appointed to take place in the afternoon. XXXI. ] VISIT TO KING KONGO. 41.3 The hour for our reception having arrived, we were taken to November, the very sunnuit of the hill, where the king's hut and that of is'?^- his principal wife were situated on a small level surface. This position was inaccessible on all sides save the one by which we approached, and was surrounded by a heavy palisade. On our way to it, no fewer than thirteen separate lines of stockading were passed, while the path was in some places so steep that we were obliged to use our hands to clamber up. l^^ltM! •iV VISIT TO KING KOSOO. Just before reaching the royal compound, we halted by an open hut containing a large bell, which was tolled by men sta- tioned on guard to give notice of our arrival, and there we waited until permission to proceed was obtained from Kongo. )Vatch and ward was kept at this post both day and night, to prevent any one approaching without due warning being giv- en ; and this also was the chosen scene of executions which, I heard, were rather frequent, though the barbarous practice of mutilation was unknown. After a time we received permission to enter the royal pre- cincts, and found a few stools placed round an antiquated arm- 414 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. Kongo's throne. Among this chair which served as King group my seat was j)laced. Kongo then entered, dressed in a much faded and dilapidated uniform, with a huge battered cocked hat on his head ; and be- ing very aged, and much under the influence of drink, he had to be helped along and placed upon his throne. I advanced and shook hands with him, but doubt very much whether he had a clear conception of who his visitor might be. Some officials commenced a conversation with me, remarking that every thing they said was to be understood as the king's own words ; but he had really very little voice in the matter. As usual, they asserted that Kongo was the greatest chief in the world. Taking me to a gap in the palisade, they pointed to the surrounding country as being under his rule, and showed me the position of several villages scattered about in the plain that lay at our feet, as being those that supplied the inhabitants of Kambala with food. The gun was then presented in due form, and we took our leave. On returning to my hut, I passed a party of women j)oundiug corn. They did not use pestles and mortars, as elsewhere, but pounded the grain on the polished surface of a granite rock, kneeling to their work, and using small mallets formed of a piece of hard curved wood. When we reached our quarters, the prime minister's wife POUNDING OOBN AT KAMBALA. XXXI.] "DEVIL'S FINGER." 415 was there with more porridge and locusts for my men, and a Xovember, fowl for myself. After sunset we were left to our own devices, 1875. and, notwithstanding heavy rain, passed a comfortable night, as the huts proved quite weather-tight. In the morning our hostess again waited upon us with our breakfast, and wished us all farewell. In return for her hospi- tality she asked me to send her a small brass bell from Ben- guela, a modest request w^hich I gratified by forwarding half a dozen, together with a piece of good cloth sufficient to make her happy for a long time. From her features and appearance, which were decidedly prepossessing, I believe she had some TEMBA LUI (TUE " DEVTl's FXNGEE"). amount of white blood in her veins, being, too, as light as a mulatto. Much curiosity was excited here respecting my beard, and some strange stories were circulated by people who had seen me, and considered this appendage a noteworthy peculiarity. We left Kambala by the same gate -way as we entered — which I believe to be the only means of getting in or out of the place, so jealously guarded is the rocky fortress of King Kongo — and soon afterward sighted an extraordinary peak standing up among the hills, more inaccessible than Pieter Bot's mountain at the Mauritius, It took tlie form of an enormous 416 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. November, prism of granite, and its native name Teinba Lui^ meaning 1875. " devil's finger," was in keeping with its appearance. Several villages on the road had cattle feeding near them, and the people looked in comfortable circumstances. Drink was offered to ns at all, but flour was not forthcoming except for barter, and the want of this necessary food compelled me to begin to tighten up my belt. In the afternoon we fell in with the rest of our party, and found Jacko and Yacooti able to walk again, though several other men were ill. According to Bombay, Yacooti died while on the march, and was thrown into the jungle by way of burial, upon which he came to life again, and was immediately able to walk. At this camp we were joined by many Bailunda bound for Benguela with flour to exchange for aguardiente. One of them I noticed with a number of large cocoons in a basket, and, on inquiring what they were for, he cut one open, show^ed the caterpillar still moving inside, and, putting it into his mouth, swallowed it, smacking his lips with great gusto. CaterjDillars in this particular stage w'ere, I was told, considered a great del- icacy. The whole caravan being now assembled, I trusted we might reach the coast without further delays ; for, in consequence of our halt at Lungi, the men had already expended much of their cloth, and unless we pushed onward it was probable we should have a hungry time on the road. I hoped, under these circum- stances, that the men would see the necessity for marching, if only for their own sakes ; but I was doomed to disappointment. XXXIL] THE KUKfiWI. 417 CHAPTER XXXIL My Dispirited Crew.— Native Bridges.— Bad Weather.— Secure Dwelling.s.— Breaiv- dowu of my Men. — A Man missing. — Fallen out by the Roadside. — A Fearful Night.— Searching for the Straggler.- Delay Dangerous.— The Straggler arrives.— Past Recovery.— His Death and Burial— Locusts.— The Slave-trade on the Coast. — Mode of Embarkation. — Failing Strength of my Carriers.— I throw away Tent, Boat, Bed, etc.— A Rush for the Coast.— Our Highest Camp.— Gay Umbrellas.— A Mulatto Settlement. — Cascades. — Numerous Up Caravans. — Their Trade. No Food left.— Search for a Camp.— Dead-beat.— A Tedious March.— Skeletons of Slavers' Victims. — Starvation and Exhaustion. — The Sea.— Leaving the Worn-out Men behind.— The Final Effort.- Scurvy attacks Me.— Help.— A Good Samaritan. — A Haven of Rest. Another wretchedly wet and rainy night seemed to deprive my people of the little energy they possessed, and the drag of the march was indeed painfnl. Instead of being as men who had nearly accomplished a difficult task, they looked and moved more like a funeral procession. The distance was not great, but the time occupied was dreadfully long, and on arriving at our camping -place the men were too dispirited to hut them- selves properly, though rain was threatening. Others, who had lagged behind, did not reach camp till after dark. On the road we passed the Kukewi, a large stream falling into the sea at Nova Don do, and also one of its affluents, the Kuleli, besides numerous rills and streams. Both these rivers were crossed on bridges constructed of poles planted in the bed of the stream ; and upon others, lashed at the top, ^mailer poles and branches were laid to form the footway. When first laid down, these were secured to the cross- pieces by lashings ; but they had rotted away, and consequently the bridges afforded a very precarious footing. That over the Kukewi was more than a hundred feet long and twelve feet wide, and was a most creditable specimen of construction by uneducated natives. The threatenings of the weather were not belied by the 418 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. night, and in the morning more men professed themselves un- able to bear their loads. One man ^ya& too unwell to walk, and it was with great difficultj I managed to find carriers for him. Much of this illness was undoubtedly caused by want of shel- ter, so I resolved to remain in the rear of the caravan, to pre- vent any straggling and staying-about on the road, instead of hastening into camp ; and a wearisome time I had on this march, occupying nine hours and a half, for more than four hours were wasted in driving the men along. We passed through a break in a range of wooded mountains, with villages perched on their summits or nestled among the trees on the steepest slopes, so as to be easily defended, while in the valleys there were large plantations of cassava and Indian- corn. The natives seemed very industrious, and put more energy into their work than I had seen for some time. Men and women were busy preparing their fields for new crops, and others, in couples, w^ere carrying up to the villages at a smart trot enormous baskets of cassava slung upon jioles. Among them was a man who spoke Portuguese. He came to inquire who we were, and gave the men some roots of sweet cassava. Other hills, in every variety of shape and form imaginable, were now seen directly in front of us, while on the right of our road a portion of the range we had passed ended abruptly. Its appearance reminded me of the north front of the Rock of Gi- braltar ; and on the summit was tlie village of the chief of the district, to which no stranger had ever been admitted. At the foot of this hill, named Humbi, the carriers of the sick man came to a dead stop, and declared themselves alto- gether incapable of taking him any farther, although I had de- tailed seven men for this duty, in order that they might con- stantly relieve each other. The camp was fortunately near at hand ; so I allowed the carriers and their burden to remain here, and, pressing forward myself, sent other and fresher men to assist them. Notwithstanding my care in bringing up the rear of the caravan, a man named Majuto was missing. It appeared that he proposed to another that they should leave the road and hide in the jungle, in order to rest and sleep, remarking that if XXXII.] SEARCHING FOR THE STRAGGLERS. 419 I saw them lying down on the road, I shonld compel them to November move forward. The other fellow refused, but let Majuto go, 1875. without telling any one about it imtil camp was reached. When I heard of his absence it was becoming dark, and heavy rain had set in, rendering it useless to think of sending people to seek for him; but I determined to halt the next day Ctud send out a search-party, if he did not jnit in an appearance by the morning. Of all the wretched nights I have j^assed, this was the worst. It rained so heavily that the ground was converted into semi- liquid mud, and my tent seemed to have given up all idea of keeping out tlie wet. I was also very anxious about the un- fortunate Majuto ; for, knowing him to be ill, I much feared that such a night, without food, fire, or shelter, would kill him. As soon as day dawned I persuaded some of the Bailunda and the freshest of my men to go in search of the poor fellow, while others went foraffinij; for food. My experiences of the night made me resolve that, if- possible, more comfort should be provided for all of us before turning in again, and accordingly built a hut for myself, and saw that the men sheltered themselves pro})erly. The appearance of the sun also gave us an opportunity of drying our limited be- longings, and before long we managed to give the camp a some- what habitable appearance. Several swarms of locusts passed during the day, some so thick as to obscure the sun, and my men gladly seized the op- portunity of securing a number of them for food. Both parties sent out in the morning returned during the aft- ernoon. The foragers had obtained a small quantity of food, including a fowl, for which two yards of cloth out of the four I possessed had been given ; but those who had been searching for Majuto came in without having seen or heard any thing of him, though they had been back to the place where he quitted the road, and had made inquiries of every native they met. It was then four o'clock, and heavy rain had again set in, and no further search could be made that day. But I decided that, if nothing were heard of him meanwhile, I would myself have a thorough hunt the next day with men who had been resting in camp. If that should prove unsuccessful, T intended to make 420 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. November, arrangements with tlie chief of a neighboring village to forward 1875. Majuto to the coast, should he be found. Further delay in marching threatened to end in disaster, for every day the men became more feeble, and I was afraid of los- ing many if I lingered on the road. All anxiety as to the fate of the straggler was put at rest at seven o'clock by his arrival, wet and wretched, and more dead than alive, having eaten nothing since leaving the caravan. I placed him under the charge of some of his chums, and saw him dried and shampooed, and made as comfortable as the circum- stances of our case allowed ; but the poor fellow was past recov- ery, and died a few hours later. Manoel told me that if the Bailunda, who fortunately were in another camp, heard of the death of Majuto, we should be required to pay a heavy fine to the chiefs near before burying him. AVe therefore set to work cautiously and quietly by fire- light, and, digging a grave in one of the huts, scattered the earth about by the handful. Then we buried the poor fellow according to Mohammedan rites, prayers being said by one of his co-religionists, and piled the earth over the grave so as to represent a sleeping-place cov- ered with grass ; and one of the carriers lay upon it for an hour or two to give it the appearance of having been used. It was well that we took these precautions, for visitors came to our camp before we started ; and had there been any visible signs of a grave, we should have had some trouble. Soon after leaving camp, we found a swarm of locusts which had settled the night before, and were now so torpid from the cold that they could be shaken from the trees and gathered up in any quantity. Of this circumstance my hungry people were not slow to take advantage. The manner in which the locusts covered the trees was most extraordinary, every twig and branch, and the trunk a short dis- tance above the ground, being entirely enveloped by them. In many places they were two and even three deep. As the sun became more powerful, they began to work their wings without leaving the trees, making a noise like rushing water. Then the stronger ones commenced to move, and in less than half an hour they all had flown. XXXIL] SLAVE-TRADE ON THE COAST. 421 Many natives were busily engaged in collecting them, and November actually cut down trees of fair size which were thickly covered, 1875. in order to secure this delicacy. Only two hours and a half were spent on the march this day, although we were six hours on the road ; and one man, heedless of the sad fate of Majuto, straggled away and hid himself, and remained absent until the evenino'. Up caravans were now rather frequently met, but being prin- cipally composed of and owned by natives, no news could be gathered from them. A small party of Senhor Gongalves's men also met us in the morning, and stated that slaves were no longer allowed to be taken into Benguela, and that all brought there lately had been liberated, and the importers punished. This was unexpected and unwelcome news for Manoel and the Bailunda accompany- ing me, whose faces at once lengthened considerably. Manoel had informed me, only the day previous, that slaves were still exported from the coast, especially from Massomedes. He said they were held in readiness for embarkation, although scattered about the to-\vn in small parties, instead of being kept in barracoons as formerly ; and a steamer came in for an hour or two, shipped the slaves, and was off again immediately. I inquired their destination, but he could give me no information on that point, and, indeed, was too ignorant to know much of the outside world. After this day's exhibition, I saw that the marching powers of my men had gone from bad to worse, and that some decisive steps must be taken, or the caravan would never reach the coast, now only one hundred and twenty-six geographical miles distant. Upward of twenty men complained of being unable to walk far or to carry any thing ; swelled legs, stiff necks, aching backs, and empty stomachs being the universal cry. Taking my pipe to my assistance, I sat down for half an hour's reflection, and then resolved on the action to be taken. It came to this : throw away tent, boat, bed, and every thing but instruments, journals, and books ; and then, taking a few picked men, make a forced march to the coast, sending thence assistance to the main body. And this was no sooner decided than acted upon, for no time was to be lost. 422 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. November, Maiioel appropriated my abandoned tent, bed, and boat, and 1875. lodged them with a friend in a village near by ; and early on the following morning I started — with five of my own men, Manoel and two of his, and the Bailunda, who said they could . go at any pace — to make a rush for the coast, leaving three of JVIanoel's people to act as guides to the caravan. Jumah, Sambo, Hamees Ferlian, Marijani, All ibn Mshanga- ma, were the men who volunteered to accomjDany me. My kit consisted of what I stood up in, and a spare shirt, a pair of slippers, a blanket, frying-pan, tin cup, sextant, artificial horizon, and writing materials ; making in all a load of about twenty jDounds, which was shifted from man to man on the journey. My personal stock of food and stores for the road was com- posed of half the fowl obtained at Lungi, a little flour, and my last two yards of cloth. The men were rather better off, as the cloth I had given them on leaving Bihe w^as not expended, and Marijani, who, be- ing able to speak Portuguese, had acted as interpreter, had been presented with three pieces of cloth. Two of these I bought, to leave with Bombay for the use of the caravan. We set out at a good sjDeed across rough and broken country ; but about noon the Bailunda, who had boasted about their pace, gave in, saying that they did not calculate upon going at such a rate. About three o'clock we halted at a small camp situated upon a large open up-land, made ourselves as comfortable as might be, and took advantage of the stream running at the foot of the hills to enjoy a bathe. I felt rather stiff after the sharp march ; but Jumah was an adept at shampooing, and took some of the kinks out of my muscles. This camp was the highest point throughout the whole jour- ney, being five thousand eight hundred feet above the sea, and the adjoining hills might have been eight hundred feet higher. A large up caravan of Bailunda passed us here. Many of them had umbrellas whicli might have rivaled Joseph's coat for variety of color, each gore being a different tint. Red, pink, green, yellow, blue, violet, and white were sometimes to be found in one umbrella. Empty paraffine tins were carried XXXII.] UMBRELLAS AND PARAFFINE TINS. 423 1875. by a number of porters, and I was nuicli puzzled as to their November, use. The next day we rose with the Lark, and I was so Imngry that I could not resist finishing the remains of my fowl, al- though well aware I could scarcely hope for another taste of flesh between this and the coast. Leaving camp, we made a gradual ascent, and, passing through a gap, found before us a steep and almost precipitous descent, down which we went like goats, jumping from stone to stone. Hamees Ferhan, my gun-bearer, now began to complain of fatigue, and I had to relieve him of my heavy rifle and car- tridges, giving him my fowling-piece in exchange. Another caravan with gay umbrellas and empty paraffine tins met us at the bottom of this descent, and the leaders expressed great astonishment at finding a white man with so few follow- ers, and on foot. Their wonderment was still greater M-hen told whence we had started the day before, and they declared they had never before heard of people getting over so nuich ground in a day. But harder marches were yet in store for us. No sooner had v:e reached this valley than we had to com- mence the ascent of other hills, and on arriving at their summit found ourselves overlooking other ranges in front of us, their crests piercing the clouds which hung at our feet. Away to the south was a village situated on a small conical mount, and this was the settlement of a colony of mulattoes springing from the intercourse between whites and natives. These mulattoes generally possessed some small property ; but being unable to hold any position among whites at the coast, and being too proud to mix freely with pure blacks, they had settled here. I was told they lived in peace and comfort, and, having large numbers of slaves, occasionally dispatched trading caravans. Descending again, we went through a deep gorge Avith its sides clothed with trees, the graceful form and light foliage of the wild date-palm contrasting well with the darker and heavier shades of the acacias. From amidst this mass of tangled wood a cascade burst forth, and fell in an unbroken sheet into a rocky basin seventy or eighty feet below, whence clouds of spray were scattered over 424 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. November, the trees and ferns around. And then the waters, by a series ISYS. of smaller leaps, joined a stream rushing through the centre of the gorge. We were now upon a level plain covered with open forest ; and, as we were about to enter the wood, I noticed a grave com- posed of a pile of loose blocks of granite, with a rough and massive wooden cross reared at its head. This, I was told, was the grave of a daughter of Major Coimbra (Coimbra's father), who married Syde ibn Habib, and died here in childbirth. After her death, Syde ibn Habib returned to her father's settle- ment at Boa Yista, and married her sister, evidently determined to have a better-half with some European blood in her veins. This second wife he took with him to Zanzibar. On this march we met no fewer than ten up-caravans, num- bering seventy to eighty men each. They were principally la- den with small bags of salt, and bottles and kegs of aguardiente which they had purchased at Benguela. A stream running through a muddy swamp, which we reached about noon, affording an oj)portunity for bathing, we halted to enjoy a dip and rest, and a bit of damper to appease our hunger. On resuming our march, we entered well-wooded but broken ground, with numerous torrents and rills, and out- crops and vast sheets of granite. From a high hill we descried ranges of mountains still lying in front, while at our feet there was a decent camping-place, where we decided to halt. Before us was the river Balomba, eighty feet wide and waist-deep, flowing fast toward the north- west, and ultimately falling into the sea as an independent stream some little distance north of Benguela. Caravans continued to pass us, bound up country; and nearly the whole number seen by us during the day traded only be- tween Bailunda and the coast. They carry thither the flour of Indian corn and cassava, on which the slaves at Benguela are fed, and receive in exchange salt, aguardiente, and sometimes cloth. Their loads are light, and they travel fast, being no more than about three weeks absent from their homes in Bailunda. During these journeys the men live almost entirely on drink, never eating more than a handful or two of porridge daily. Yet they seem to work well and thrive wonderfully. No XXXII.] A ROUGH LOT. 425 women travel with these caravans, for, owing to the short time November, they are on the road, it is possible to manage domestic affairs ^^'<''- without their aid. This day we had eleven hours' hard walking, and were very glad indeed to camp. The height of the camp was three thou- sand eight hundred and seventy feet above the sea, nearly two thousand feet lower than our halting - place of the previous night, and considerably more than two thousand below the highest level we had crossed on this day's march. After a good shampooing from Jumali (" Man Friday," as I called him, Jumah being the KisuahiH for Friday), I turned in to enjoy my well-earned sleep. Five o'clock the next morning saw us on the move again. Crossing the Balomba, we passed some cultivated ground and villages perched upon small rocky hills, the huts correspond- ing so exactly with the color of the red sandstone rocks that I should not have noticed them but for curls of smoke rising into the morning air. On through jungle, across torrent-beds and streams, up and down we went, until we reached a level lying between two mountains. Here there was much cultivation, the bottom being very fer- tile ; and sugar-cane, Indian corn, and tobacco grew in profusion. We endeavored to persuade some people working in the fields to supply us with food, but they refused to enter into any com- mercial transactions with us. Going empty away from these unsociable natives, we soon afterward met a large caravan carrying two apologies for flags, and bringing up the rear were some men wearing hats and coats. They had a large stock of aguardiente ; and some had evi- dently been engaged in lightening their loads that morning, be- ing very overbearing and cpiarrelsome. First they attempted to hustle us out of the road, and then behaved toward us gen- erally in a very objectionable manner. One fellow knocked up against me purposely, upon which I tripped just as purposely, though seemingly by accident, and sent him sprawling with his load, by way of a hint that he could not expect to have his own way in every thing. We continued on the march until about two o'clock, when 31 426 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. November, Manoel asserted that as we were close by the village of a chief 1875. whom he knew, we must stop to obtain flour, our stock being ~ well-nigh exhausted. The exact locality of this village being unknown, I was thinking of dispatching scouring parties in ev- ery direction to search for it, when a child was heard crying about a hundred yards away, and on approaching the sound the village was discovered. Although immediately beside ns, it was entirely hidden from the path by trees and rocks. "We succeeded in getting a small quantity of flour, and the chief brought me as a present a little Indian corn and a gourd of the sourest pom be possible. He expressed regret at not hav- ing heard of my intended visit, as he would then have given me something respectable, but now he had nothing prepared. Marching on again, and passing some huge blocks of granite, we reached more level ground, well wooded and watered. We overtook two down-caravans, and even managed to pass them after a considerable amount of racing, for they did not at all appreciate being beaten by a white man upon their own ground. Just before sunset we found ourselves amidst a swarm of locusts on the point of settling, and my people were anxious to collect them ; but camp was still some distance ahead, and I knew we were much too tired and weary to make another start that night if once we halted. The camp we had decided to oc- cupy was situated on a large open plain broken by occasional blocks of granite, named Kutwu-ya-Ombwa (the dog's head) ; but when we arrived, we found it already occupied by a cara- van. Thus we were compelled to search for another in the dark. After a while we stumbled upon a wretched little place, with which we were inclined to be satisfied, being thoroughly tired out; but it happened that one of the men engaged in picking sticks for our fire discovered a larger and better spot, to which we immediately removed. I was almost dead-beat by this day's work ; for, including all halts, we had been traveling for thirteen hours over rough and difficult country. But I knew that the first signs of fatigue be- trayed by me would be the signal for the break-down of the whole party, so I struggled to keep up appearances. I managed ■^^^^^^•J A TEDIOUS MARCH. 42: 1875. ly stars, and boiled my thermometer to ascertain our height Nove.bc. aoove tne sea. ° When day had dawned, I saw on the other side of the plain -i range of sterile-looking mountains, which we reached after two hours marching across the broken level. On the right of the entrance to a pass there was a precipitous bluff, with great masses of rock - balanced like the Cornish rocking-stones— perched upon its summit. On the left on the opposite side of a deep ravine, with a rapid stream flowing through It, were enormous dome-like mounts apparently formed of single masses of smooth granite. Their surface was washed clean by the rains, and they were devoid of vegetation, except- ing a few cacti which had taken root in slight fissures near the summit. Farther down the pass were other masses, many of which had the appearance of bastions of some Titan forts. Our path was along the northern side of this pass, over sheets of steep and slippery granite divided from each other by patch- es of thorny scrub, with rills draining down to join the stream we heard murmuring in the deptlis of the gorge hundreds of feet below us. At times we were obliged to clamber over huge masses of stone on our hands and knees ; at others to descend into the gorge to avoid some giant block jutting out beyond the path ; and then to clamber again to our old level with the assistance of the creepers which grew in the crevices. Graves and numerous skeletons testified to the numbers whose lives had been sacrificed on this trying march, while slave clogs and forks, still attached to some bleached bones or lying by their sides, gave only too convincing a proof that the demon of the slave-trade still exerted his influence in this part of Africa. Clogs and forks were also hanging on trees, some being so slightly affected by the weather that it was evident they had not been there longer than a month or two. Doubtless they had been removed from some flagging wretches in the belief that weakness of body had extinguished all idea of escape, and in the hope that the strength Avhich was insufticient to bear the weight of the clog might still prove enough to drag tlie unfort- unate human chattel to the coast. 428 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. November, 1875. We halted here to bathe in the stream, and gather fresh en- ergy for the afternoon. Fearfully hard work was now beginning seriously to tell on me, but I was wonderfully buoyed up by the knowledge that every step was taking me nearer to the coast and to rest. My head and legs, more especially the ankle I had sprained in Ulun- •da, gave me much pain. I'EOI'LE OF KISANJI. After more hours of wearying clambering, we entered upon an open plain, and, to my sorrow, I noticed that it was sur- rounded by mountains which gave promise of hard labor on the morrow. Shortly before sunset, we were near a village in the small dis- trict of Kisanji, and here made our arrangements for sleeping under some baobabs of which we had seen the first in the pass. I was so exhausted that when the men took tlie opportunity of having another bathe it was impossible for me to do the same, being only fit t-o lie under the shade of a baobab-tree. Soon after settling down, a few men and women gathered around to stare at us, and I was surprised at their small prcten- XXXII. ] "THE SEA! THE SEA!" 429 sions to any thing approaching civilized appearance, although November, they were not far from the coast. 1876. A small and greasy cloth round their waists, and a mass of strings of beads — almost looking like a bolster — around their necks, constituted their dress. One woman wore, in addition, a small square of cloth, intended to hide her breasts ; but it was a failure, I tried to persuade the women to give me some milk for the cloth I had carefully hoarded up to this time; but they set a light value on my little store, and I had to borrow more from Marijani before I could procure about a quart ; and very sour stuff it was, fresh milk being altogether unattainable. We were off by half-past four the following morning, and soon came upon a number of up caravans just starting on their march. Now the mystery of the empty paraffine tins was ex- plained, for a terribly noisy reveille was being beaten on them, and they certainly served the purpose of kettle-drums admi- rably. Scrambling along a steep and rocky ridge of hills intersected by several water-courses and ravines with almost perpendicular sides, and then up a path not unlike a broken-down flight of steep steps, we reached the summit of the range. What was that distant line upon the sky? We all gazed at it with a strange mingling of hope and fear, scarcely daring to believe it was tlie sea. But looking more intently at that streak happily left no room for doubt. It was the sea ; and Xenophon and his ten thousand could not have welcomed its view more heartily wlien tliey exclaimed QiAaTTu ! 9aXfir-o ! than did I and my handful of wayworn followers. There was little "go" left in me now. I was very nearly broken down ; for, though my head and legs liad ceased to ache so acutely, I was suffering excruciating pain in my back. At almost every step I feared I should be compelled to lie down and wait for some assistance from the coast ; but I tliought of the poor exhausted fellows behind who were trusting to me to send them aid, and, being sustained by the near approach of the end of my journey, I still managed to keep on my legs. The remainder of this day was spent in crawling over rocks 430 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. November, and dragging througli pools, waist-deep, dammed up in liollows 1875. since the last rains, and now slimy and stagnant. I confess that it was a relief when, about four o'clock, I heard some of mj men declare they could march no farther ; for, though I was fully aware of the vital importance of pushing on, and should have hesitated to suggest a halt, yet I was very weak, and glad indeed to rest. One of my people and another of Manoel's being still able and ready to march, we dispatched them with the letters I had recovered at Lungi, and a note begging any charitably disposed person to send a little food to meet us on the road. I then eat my last morsel of damper, and turned in, intending the next day to make the final effort. Somewhat refreshed by the night's rest, we continued our way through the pass until noon — the rays of the sun reverber- ating from the rocks making one feel as though in a furnace — and on emergmg from it, made our midday halt at an angle of the Supa, which drains the pass and falls into the sea at Ka- tombela. On going to this stream to bathe, I was greatly surprised at my curious appearance, being covered with purple spots ; and I. noticed that a slight bruise on my ankle had developed into a large and angry-looking place. I was still more astonished on lighting my pipe by way of brealvfast — for my pipe was now my only food — to find my mouth bleeding. Of the cause I was ignorant, for I did not then know that I was attacked with scurvy. From some passing caravans, we heard that our two messen- gers had been seen that morning, and wauld by this time have arrived at Katombela. On again, across a rough and waterless plain lying between us and the hills behind Katombela and Benguela, and then over precipitous hills formed of limestone, with many huge ammon- ites and other fossils, and having the appearance of cliffs which might once have faced a sea. They were intersected by ravines and dry water - courses, uj) and down the sides of which we clambered in the dark, slipping about and bruising ourselves. But what did it rhatter ^ The next morning would see us at Katombela. XXXII.] A GOOD SAMARITAN. 431 At the bottom of a ravine we found water, wliieli was a god- Xovembt-r, send to me, for my mouth was still bleeding, and I had ah-eady 1875. used that brought by us from oar midday halting-place. Another steej) climb brought us almost to the summit of the last ridge, where it was somewhat level ; and numerous iires dotted about denoted the camps of caravans that had started that evening from Katombela, and were halted here, ready to commence their march early in the morning, without being de- layed by the attractions of the grog-shops. One of my men, a short way in advance of me, now shouted, " Here's our camp- master !" and, hastening on, I saw Manoel's messenger. He had with him a basket containing wine, bread, tins of sardines, and a sausage; and although my mouth would not admit of my eating without pain, I managed to take some sup- per, for I had tasted nothing since the previous evening. From a note, in English, from Mr. Seruia, a trader at Katombela, who had kindly sent out these provisions, I learned that my letters had been forwarded to Benguela. My messenger, it appeared, was too tired to return, so Mr. Seruia had sent one of his own people back with Manoel's man. This was my last night outside the pale of civilization ; and, though thoroughly tired, I was much too excited to sleep. Long before the rising of the sun, we were all on the move, and, quickly finishing the remains of the supper, started on our last march. Twenty minutes brought us within sight of the sea, and I then noticed the position of Katombela and Benguela with regard to each other. I had been puzzled on hearing that the former was passed before reaching Benguela, and could not understand the course of the last march ; but now I found Ka- tombela situated on the sea-shore, instead of ten or twelve miles inland, as I had inuigined from the description given me. A man engaged in searching for runaway slaves told me that rumors respecting an Englishman coming from the interior had been rife for some time, but no one had believed them. I ran down the slope toward Katombela, swinging my rifle round my head, which I believe was almost " turned " for very joy ; and the men, carried away with the same sense of relief, joined in the running till we approached nearer the town. Then I unfurled my colors, and went forward more quietly. 432 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. November, Coming toward us I saw a couple of hammocks with awn- 1876. ings, followed by three men carrying baskets; and on meeting this party, a jolly-looking little Frenchman jumped out, seized the baskets, and instantly opened a bottle to drink " to the hon- or of the first European who had ever succeeded in crossing tropical Africa from east to west." For this hearty welcome I found I was indebted to M. Cau- choix, an old officer of the French navy, who had settled as a mei'chant at Benguela. Hearing of my approach between ten and eleven o'clock the night before, he had immediately started off to meet me. His other baskets were- also full of provisions, which he dis- tributed to my men, throwing loaves of bread at the hungry mortals ; after which we moved on, and in a few minutes ar- rived at a house which he owned in Katombela. I need not say how greatly I have been grieved at receiving the sad intelligence of the death of this kind-hearted French- man while on his passage home to Europe. He had intended to visit England, and I had been looking forward to the pleas- ure of renewing the acquaintance of one who had so readily shown me the greatest kindness and attention when I was sore- ly in need of succor. iUnnktiM-^^^^liX 80ENB ON KOAl). XXXIII.] AGAIN RESTORED TO CIVILIZATION. 433 CHAPTER XXXIII. Peace and Plenty. — Katombela. — My Illness increases. — Carried to Benguela. — Med- ical Advice and Good Nursing. — My Recovery. — Arrival of my Stragglers. — Death of Another Man. — Bombay's Objectionable Behavior. — An Original Character — Benguela. — Its Tumble-down Fort. — Convict Soldiers. — Their Loyalty. — My Men indulge too freely. — Arrival at Loanda. — Reception by the Consul. — Courtesy of the Governor. — An Amusing Incident. — My Men object to their Quarters. — Prepar- ing to send them Home. — Liberal Offers. — Purchase of a Schooner. — Fitting her out. — Visit to Kinsembo. — No Charts Obtainable. — A Windfall. — Departure of my Crew in the Frances Cameron. — Leaving my Loanda Friends. — Homeward bound. — Meeting Old Faces.— ^Safe at Home. At tlie house of M. Cauclioix my men were provided with November, quarters and an unlimited supply of food, while I was conducted 1875. to a comfortable bedroom, and some new clothing was given me. And it was well that I obtained this fresh kit, for my old Hannel shirt was so rotten that, in pulling it off rather hurried- ly, my head went through the back of it. Having batlied and dressed, feeling the most thorough enjoy- ment at being once more restored to civilization, I received vis- its from Dr. Aguia, the judge at Benguela ; M. Leroux, the Ka- tombela agent of my host ; Mr. Seruia, and others. I lost no time in requesting that arrangements might be made for sending men and food to the assistance of my people who remained behind, and Cauchoix kindly undertook to manage every thing for them. He consulted with the chefe — as the Portuguese ofiicer in charge of a small settlement is called — and the native chief ; and that evening twenty men with ham- mocks, vegetables and other food, and cloth with which to buy a bullock at Kisanji, were started off to meet my worn-out stragglers. The great soreness of my mouth had now increased ; and on looking at it, Cauchoix at once saw that I was attacked with scur- vy, but assured me that, with good diet, I should soon get well. 434 ACROSS AFEICA. [Cuap. My men were tlioronghly enjoying themselves, and there was certainly some excuse for their indulging rather freely ; but I was not prepared to find all, except Jumah, drunk within an hour after their arrival. In the afternoon I went round Katombela. It is a small place, consisting of about a dozen houses belonging to Benguela merchants, a square fort with a few honey-combed guns propped upon stones, a market-place, and some smaller buildings, such as grog-stores. The only stone house was that in which I was being enter- tained, and during a recent rising of the natives all the Euro- peans had taken refuge there. The other buildings were of adobes^ and whitewashed. Although Cauchoix applied carbolic acid to my mouth while we were visiting the chefe, I found it impossible to eat any thing when we returned to our quarters. From this time I rapidly grew worse. My tongue became sb swollen as to project beyond my teeth, and blood ran from my mouth. About two o'clock in the morning, Cauchoix, who was sleeping in the same room, seeing how ill I was, and that no time was to be lost in applying proper remedies, roused his men, and, laying me in a hammock, hurried me away to Ben- guela to obtain the advice of the medical officer there. When we arrived, I was unable to speak or swallow, and my body was covered with blotches, with a variety of shades of purple, blue, black, and green, the rest of my skin being a dead- ly white. Dr. Calasso, in charge of the hospital, came imme- diately to see me, and ordered poultices to be placed on my throat and some solution to be injected into my mouth every ten minutes, while the clotted blood, which threatened to choke me, was extracted by means of pinchers. My kind host, M. Cauchoix, and the doctor watched by me, never leaving me alone, for eight-and-fort}^ hours. At the end of that time, thanks to those who treated me with such skill and care, I was able to swallow a little milk, and the disease had been conquered. Had it attacked me a day or two earlier, when out of the reach of medical advice, nothing could have saved my life. Now that I could swallow, I began to pick up, and progressed XXXIII. ] BENGUELA. 435 SO rapidly toward convalescence that on the fourth day I was Novembci able to take an airing in a maxella, and called on the governor, 1875. Major Brito, who had constantly been to see me. He had also most kindly furnished my people with quarters in a government building, and had directed the commissariat department to supply them with rations. The next day, the 11th of November, the remainder of the men arrived, excepting Ferhan Mhehe, who died after I parted from them. A few had been robbed of their clothes by the natives while straggling behind the caravan. Bombay celebrated his return to civilization by getting ex- ceptionally drunk, and behaving in a most insolent and abusive manner to several people, including the kind-hearted M. Cau- choix, when he was engaged in seeing the men properly lodged and the sick sent to hospital. I would have punished him for his blackguardism, had not those against whom he offended begged that it might be overlooked. In the employ of Cauchoix there was rather an original character, w^ho amused me much. He was an American, and had served in an English brig, but, having taken upon himself to give the captain and mate a severe thrashing, he was landed here and sent to prison. He was curious to know whether I had " been on my own hook," or had been " working for a com- pany," and remarked that he should have liked being with me, except that " he didn't care about the darned walking." Among other callings, he had been master of an American bark, and traded in snakes, which he obtained up some African river. He was so pleased with this line of business that he inquired whether I could tell him of any big snakes, as, if so, he would be off in search of them at once. Benguela is second in importance among the Portuguese towns on the West Coast, and carries on a considerable trade with the interior in bees-wax and ivory, and some of the mer- chants possess jfishing stations along the coast. The town is laid out in wide streets, and the houses, being whitewashed, and the doors and windows painted in bright colors, had a very clean appearance. In a central position in the town is a taste- fully arranged public garden, where a band performs on Sun- day evenings. The only public buildings are a well-constructed 436 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. November, custom-liouse, a very good hospital, the house of the governor, •«75. a court-house, and a church, which is never opened except for baptisms and burials. There is also a large fort constructed in the form of a paral- lelogram, and having a sufficiently imposing appearance from the sea; but its armament consists only of honey-combed old guns of various calibres, either mounted on rotten, broken- down wooden carriages, or propped np on piles of stones so as to sliow their muzzles above the parapets. 0U8T0.M-II0UBE AT BENGUELA.. The garrison numbers about tliirty white soldiers, chiefly convicts, and two companies of blacks. Discipline is not rig- idly enforced, for I found the sentry posted outside the gov- ernor's house sitting in the middle of the road, smoking a pipe and taking off his boots. Besides the convicts serving as soldiers, there arc others em- l)loyed on public works ; and they were then engaged in con- structing a causeway across a portion of the plain lying between Bengucla and Katombcla, which is flooded in the rainv season. XXXIII.] PASSAGE TO SAN PAUL DE LOANDA. 487 The loyalty of the soldiers to their flag I did not expect to November, find very marked ; but I was scarcely prepared for the proposal ^^"^^^ made to me by a white non-commissioned officer, that, if I de- sired to take the town, he would place himself and his com- rades at my disposal, and would give up the fort to me, on con- dition that I should give them meat three times a week instead of only once, which was the allowance they received from the Portuguese. The inhabitants of Benguela were all ready to show every kindness to me, and I was frequently invited to the houses of Dr. Aguia, Mr. Ben Chimol, and Dr. Calasso. There are many good gardens, where European vegetables and fruits are grown, the light and sandy soil only requiring water to make it fertile; and that is always obtainable with- in six feet of the surface, though near the sea it is slightly brackish. A few horses are also kept there, and the place boasts of one carriage ; but the usual means of locomotion — as no white man ever walked during the day-time — is the maxella, which is slung from long poles, over which awnings are spread, and carried by two men. The bearers walk with a peculiar step, and avoid jolting, and altogether it is a very comfortable mode of moving about. My men, I regret to say, did not behave very well, owing to the cheapness of vile spirits ; and it was necessary to deprive them of their arms to prevent bloodshed in their drunken squabbles. One fellow hacked another over the head with a sword-bayonet, for which offense I had him confined in the cells in the fort, and kept on bread and water, for the remain- der of our stay. On the return of the mail steamer from Mossamedes, the southernmost Portuguese settlement, the governor ordered a passage for me and my men to San Paul de Loanda. Nearly all the town came to see us off ; and as it was night before we sailed, there were fire-works in honor of the occasion. The steamer was the Bengo, of Hull, but sailed by Portu- guese oflacers under the Portuguese flag, the only Englishman on board being the chief-engineer, Mr. Lindsay. On the morning of the 21st of November, a fortnight after 438 ACROSS AFEICA. [Chap. Novcini.cr, my arrival at Katombela, we anchored in the harbor of Loanda. 1875. I ^y.|g puzzled at first how to get on shore, as none but private boats came along-side ; but hearing English spoken by a gentle- man who had come on board, I introduced myself to him, and he immediately offered me the use of his boat ; and added that a maxella, waiting at the landing - place, was at my service to convey me to the consulate. For these friendly offices I was indebted to Mr. Ed^vard Warberg. Arriving at the consulate, my knock was answei'ed by a lit- tle mulatto servant, who ran away on seeing me, and left me standing at the door in some astonishment ; but another en- trance on my right was soon opened, and the consul himself ap- peared. lie looked rather hard at me, as though wondering who the seedy - looking individual before him might be. I then said, " I have come to report myself from Zanzibar— overland." At the mention of ''Zanzibar" he began to stare, but at the word '' overland " he stepped back a pace, and then, coming for- ward, placed both his hands on my shoulders, and said, " Cam- eron ! My God !" The tone in which these words were ut- tered made me feel that in David Hopkins, the consul, I had found a true friend. Bringing me some letters a year old which had been waiting here for me, he said, that on that very morning he had been looking at them with Carnegie, the vice-consul, remarking that I should never turn up to get them ; and a few hours later I stood at his door ! He lost no time in making me comfortable at the consulate. On calling upon the Governor -general of Angola, Admiral Andrade, I Avas most warmly received, and to him I am greatly indebted for kindness and courtesy shown toward me during my stay. We inquired whether quarters for my followers could be provided in any of the Government barracks, and by his directions Lieutenant Mello, of the Portuguese navy, his aid-de-camp, made the necessary arrangements, and relieved me of all tr()ul)le, for which I was grateful, being still very weak. This officer had served for some years on board one of her majesty's ships, and was considered one of the English commu- nity at Loanda. XXXIII.] ARRIVAL OF THE "SPITEFUL." 439 Rather an amusing incident occurred in the afternoon, on December, the arrival of her majesty's ship Cygnet. The commanding offi- ^^'5- cer, Lieutenant Hammick, being unwell, he deputed Sublieuten- ~ ant Thomas to make an official call upon the consul, and it so happened that he landed at the same moment as my men. The populace of Loanda, imaginiug that this smart -looking officer had walked across from Zanzibar, followed him with great curi- osity and many remarks, as he came up with my men, who were marching in a body with colors flying. On arriving at the fort, where quarters had been provided, the men objected to enter, saying they did not understand why they should be put in prison after having followed me across Africa — for to the Zanzibar mind fort, and prison are the same : in their language they are synonymous ; but after some per- suasion, and an assurance that the gates should remain open, they settled down. A few days afterward, the Spiteful arrived, on her way to join Commodore Sir W. I^. W. Hewett, and Captain Medly- cott took a letter to him from me, asking for any assistance he might be able to render toward sending my men to Zanzibar. However, as it was by no means certain that any of the ships at the disposal of the commodore could be spared to help me, I made every effort to find immediate means of sending them back. M.M. Papd and Pasteur, the heads of the Dutch West Afri- can trading company, and consul and vice-consul for His Majes- ty the King of the Netherlands, offered to lend me a steamer to take m.y followers to St, Helena — whence there was communi- cation to the Cape and Zanzibar — on the condition that I should pay for coals, stores, and harbor dues, they giving the use of ship and crew gratuitously. Although this was most kind and liberal, I was obliged to de- cline, for, on calculating the expense, I found that it would cost more than buying and fitting out a vessel; so I determined either to charter or purchase some small craft that would do for the work. The first offer I received was the charter of a schooner for one thousand seven hundred pounds, and I was to refit and provision her for the voyage. This I thought too much, and 32 440 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chap. .Fanuary, shoi'tl)^ afterward lier sister-ship, the 8do Jodo de Ulloa, being 1876." for sale, the consul and myself bought her for one thousand pounds, and fitted her out for the cruise. There then seemed no prospect of finding any one to navi- gate her round the Cape, and I therefore made up my mind to do it myself. Fortunately I was relieved from the necessity of this duty by Captain Carl Alexanderson, F.R.G.S.— well known to the Eoyal Geographical Society for his survey of the lower waters of the river Kwanza — volunteering to take the command. Knowing him to be a thoroughly good sailor, I intrusted him with the connnand, feeling perfectly confident that the navigation of the schooner — which, on transfer to the English flag, I had renamed the Frances Cameron, after my mother — could not be in better hands. In refitting tlie schooner, we were assisted by men kindly lent from the Portuguese guard-ship by Admiral Andrade, and I also received help from the Cygnet when she was in harbor. Some little trouble arose on a few occasions between my men and the native police, and it was amusing to see my fel- lows bringing a policeman's cap or sword to the consulate, to complain of the conduct of the man to whom either of these belonged. They rightly judged that the owner must reclaim his property, and then they would be able to identify him and state their grievance. Owing to the great consideration and kindness of the governor-general and Lieutenant Mello, nothing serious came of these squabbles. As the schooner could not be ready to leave Loanda for some time, I went up to Kinsembo with Mr. Tait, a merchant who had a house there, that I might have an insight of a trader's life when away from any settlement. AYe had a tedious and disagreeable passage in a sailing-boat generally used for cargo, the bilges not being as clean as they might have been. Kinsembo consists of half a dozen establishments belonging to difl^erent firms, and, being north of the Portuguese boundary, trade is carried on without any formalities as to custom-house, etc. I wished much to visit a famous rock called the Column of Kinsembo, on which there are reported to be inscriptions by Vasco de Gama and other early Portuguese discoverers ; but XXXIII.] DEPARTURE OF MY CREW. 441 when I had called on the chief, whose fetich would not allow February, him to behold the sea, it was time to leave for the south-going ^876. Portuguese mail at Ambriz, in order to return to Loanda. Ambriz is about twelve miles south of Kinsembo, and just north of it is a stream which the natives will not allow the Portuguese to cross, although other Europeans can pass freely. This river may be considered the real northern boundary of the province of Angola, although our Government only recognizes the power of the Portuguese up to 8° south, while this river is in about 7° 48' south. At Ambriz, the Portuguese have a custom-house and other Government buildings, and a small garrison. On returning to Loanda, I found every thing progressing satisfactorily. We were, however, at our wits' end for charts and sailing directions for the schooner; for, notwithstanding that Mello had given me all that could be found in the Gov- ernment stores, I could get none for the Mozambique. But fortune favored us most unexpectedly by the arrival of a fine schooner flying the R.Y.S. burgee and white ensign. This proved to be the Linda., owned by Mr. F. Lee, a Royal Acade- mician, who was returning to England from the Cape. He had visited Zanzibar the year before, and was supplied with the lat- est local charts and directions, which he very kindly gave to us. At last, on the 8th of February, all was ready, and Captain Alexanderson set sail with a crew of four besides my Zanzi- bar men, accompanied some little distance by the boats of the English residents and those of the Cygnet.^ which was then in harbor. The next day the Sirius arrived, having been ordered by the commodore to give me every assistance, and, if necessary, to take me and my people to the Cape, from whence they could be sent to Zanzibar by the mail steamer. As the men had al- ready sailed, I had nothing to request except that, in case of falling in with the schooner, she might be given a tow. My thanks are due to Messrs. Kewton and Carnegie, and to Mr. George Essex, as well as to the consul, for their hospital- ity and great assistance rendered in fitting out and provisioning the vessel. Soon after the schooner sailed, tlie steamship Congo, Captain 442 ACROSS AFRICA. [Chai', March, King, arrived, and in her I took a passage for Liverpool. Our 1876. voyage home was long and tedious, owning to the number of ports at which we called, numbering nearly seventy. At every place we touched I was most warmly welcomed. At Loango, Dr. Loesche Pechel, of the German expedition, per- sisted in coming off to see me, although it was a perilous un- dertaking, causing him to be capsized six times in the surf. At the Gaboon, the French authorities were most kind and courteous. Admiral Rebourt, commanding the South Atlantic squadron, was there in his flag-ship, and sent his barge to take me on board to breakfast with him, and his officers vied with each otlier in offering kindnesses of every description. SIERRA LEOi