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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/8417-8.txt b/8417-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..506d847 --- /dev/null +++ b/8417-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9763 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of What Led To The Discovery of the Source Of The Nile +by John Hanning Speke + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: What Led To The Discovery of the Source Of The Nile + +Author: John Hanning Speke + +Release Date: July, 2005 [EBook #8417] +[This file was first posted on July 8, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, WHAT LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF THE SOURCE OF THE NILE *** + + + + +This text results from the merging of two simultaneous submissions at +Project Gutenberg; the first, from images generously made available by +the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr, and processed by David Kline, Carlo Traverso, +Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team; the +second, scanned by JC Byers(www.wollamshram.ca/1001) and proofread by +Maryann Short. + + + + + + What Led To The Discovery + + of the + + Source Of The Nile + + + by + John Hanning Speke + Captain H.M. Indian Army + + Author of 'Journal of the Discovery of the + Source of the Nile' + + + + William Blackwood and Sons + Edinburgh and London + MDCCCLXIV + + + + To + The Memory of + Lieutenant-General Sir Jas. Outram, Bart. + G.C.B. + + Who First Gave Me A Start In Africa, + This History + Is Respectfully Inscribed. + + + + + + Advertisement. + + + +In offering this short connected history of my first two explorations +in Africa, I must state that I have been urged to do so by friends +desirous of knowing what led to the discovery of the source of the +Nile. The greater part of it was originally published in 'Blackwood's +Magazine;' but that lacked the connection which I have now given to +the conclusion of my independent journey to and from the Victoria +N'yanza, which is the great source or reservoir of the Nile. The +manner in which I traced the Nile down from the Victoria N'yanza to +Egypt is explained in my 'Journal of the Discovery of the Source of +the Nile.' + +J. H. Speke. + + + + + + Contents. + Journal of Adventures in Somali Land. + +Chapter I. + +Introduction to the Journal.--Projects and hobbies--Life in +India--Lord Clyde and Sir James Outram--The position and physical +geography of the Somali country--The Nogal country, and historical +sketches--Costume and Customs. + +Chapter II. + +The voyage--An Akil--The Somali shore--Sultan (Gerad) Mahamed +Ali--Hidden treasure--The Warsingali--A royal reception--Somali +appetites--Difficulties and impediments--Sultan tries my Abban or +protector. + +Chapter III. + +Yafir Pass--Rhut Tug (River)--The ruins at Kin's city--Abban +apprehends future consequences--Hyenas--The Dulbahantas--Camel +drivers' tricks--Briny water--Antelope-shoooting--Elephant-hunting +--Ostrich-hunting--Gazelles--Jealousy and suspicions of the +people--Rapid decline of property. + +Chapter IV. + +Meditations among the tombs--A fracas--The return march--The +north-east monsoon--Relief from persecution--Interesting animals--Gori +again--Shooting a woman--Arrival at Aden--Fresh +projects--Arrangements. + +Chapter V. + +Aden--Departure--Kurrum--A conclave of sages--Arrangement of the +expedition--The south-west monsoon--Medical practice--The camp +besieged--Wounded and captive--A triumphal procession--Flight Return +to Aden and to England--Fresh projects there. + + + + + + + Journal of a Cruise on the Tanganyika Lake. + + + +Chapter I. + +The Royal Geographical Society--The strange lake on the map--Set +off--Arrive at Zanzibar--A preliminary excursion--A sail along the +coast--The Pangani river--A jemadar's trick--Journey to +Fuga--Adventures--Return to Zanzibar--Scenes there--Objects of the +expedition--Recruiting for followers--The Cafila Bashi--The +start--Fevers--Discussions about the Mountains of the Moon and the +Victoria N'yanza--The Tanganyika. + +Chapter II. + +Canoes--The crews--The biography of Bombay--The +voyage--Crocodiles--The lake scenery--Kivira island--Black beetles--An +adventure with one of them--Kasengé island--African slavery. + +Chapter III + +Leave Tanganyika--Determine to visit the Ukéréwé lake, alias Victoria +N'yanza--Confusion about rivers running in and out--Idea that it is +the source of the Nile--Arrangements for the journey--Difficulties--The +march--Nature of the country--Formalities at the meeting of +caravans--A pagazi strike--A sultana--Incidents--Pillars of granite. + +Chapter IV + +First sight of the Victoria N'yanza--Its physical geography--Speculations +on its being the source of the Nile--Sport on the lake--Sultans +Machunda and Mahaya--Missionary accounts of the geography--Arab +accounts--Regrets at inability to complete the discovery--The march +resumed--History of the Watuta--Hippopotamus-hunting--Adventures--Kahama. + +Chapter V + +General character of the country traversed--The huts--The +geology--Productions--Land of promise--Advice to missionaries--Leave +Ulekampuri--Return of the expedition--Register of temperature. + + + + + + Journal of Adventures in Somali Land. + + + + Chapter I. Introduction to the Journal. + +Projects and Hobbies--life in India--lord Clyde and Sir James +Outram--the Position and Physical Geography of the Somali Country--the +Nogal Country, and Historical Sketches--Costume and Customs. + + + +It was in the year 1849, at the expiration of the Punjaub campaign, +under Lord Gough, where I had been actively engaged as a subaltern +officer in the (so-called) fighting brigade of General Sir Colin +Campbell's division of the army, adding my mite to the four successive +victorious actions--Ramnugger, Sadoolapore, Chillianwallah, and +Guzerat--that I first conceived the idea of exploring Central +Equatorial Africa. My plan was made with a view to strike the Nile at +its head, and then to sail down that river to Egypt. It was conceived, +however, not for geographical interest, so much as for a view I had in +my mind of collecting the fauna of those regions, to complete and +fully develop a museum in my father's house, a nucleus of which I had +already formed from the rich menageries of India, the Himalaya +Mountains, and Tibet. My idea in selecting the new field for my future +researches was, that I should find within it various orders and +species of animals hitherto unknown. Although Major Cornwallis Harris, +Ruppell, and others had by this time well-nigh exhausted, by their +assiduous investigations, all discoveries in animal life, both in the +northern and southern extremities of Africa, in the lowlands of +Kaffraria in the south, and the highlands of Ethiopia in the north, no +one as yet had penetrated to the centre in the low latitudes near the +equator; and by latitudinal differences I thought I should obtain new +descriptions and varieties of animals. Further, I imagined the +Mountains of the Moon were a vast range, stretching across Africa from +east to west, which in all probability would harbour wild goats and +sheep, as the Himalaya range does. There, too, I thought I should find +the Nile rising in snow, as does the Ganges in the Himalayas. + +The time I proposed to myself for carrying this scheme into operation +was my furlough--a lease of three years' leave of absence, which I +should become entitled to at the expiration of ten years' service in +India; but I would not leave the reader to infer that I intended +devoting the whole of my furlough to this one pursuit alone. Two of +the three years were to be occupied in collecting animals, and +descending by the valley of the Nile to Egypt and England, whilst the +third year was to be spent in indulgent recreations at home after my +labours should be over. + +I had now served five years in the Indian army, and five years were +left to serve ere I should become entitled to take my furlough. During +this time I had to consider two important questions: How I should be +able, out of my very limited pay as a subaltern officer, to meet the +heavy expenditure which such a vast undertaking would necessarily +involve? and how, before leaving India, I might best employ any local +leave I could obtain, in completing my already commenced collections +of the fauna of that country and its adjacent hill-ranges?[1] + +Previous experience had taught me that, in the prosecution of my chief +hobby, I would also solve the problem of the most economical mode of +living. In the backwoods and jungles no ceremony or etiquette provokes +unnecessary expenditure; whilst the fewer men and material I took with +me on my sporting excursions the better sport I always got, and the +freer and more independent I was to carry on the chase. I need now +only say I acted on this conviction, and I think, I may add, I managed +it successfully; for there are now but few animals to be found in +either India, Tibet, or the Himalaya Mountains, specimens of which +have not fallen victims to my gun. Of this the paternal hall is an +existing testimony. Every year after the war I obtained leave of +absence, and every year I marched across the Himalayas, and penetrated +into some unknown portions of Tibet, shooting, collecting, and mapping +the country wherever I went. My mess-mates wondered how it was I +succeeded in getting so much leave; but the reason was simply this, +and I tell it that others may profit by it:--The Commander-in-Chief, +Sir William Gomm, observing to what good account I always turned my +leave, instead of idling my time away, or running into debt, took +great pleasure in encouraging my hobby; and his Staff were even heard +to say it would be a pity if I did not get leave, as so much good +resulted from it. + +The 3d September 1854 completed my tenth year's servitude in India, +and on the succeeding day, the 4th, I embarked on board one of the P. +and O. Company's steamers at Calcutta, and left the Indian shore for +Aden; but previously to my departure I purchased various cheap +articles of barter, all as tempting and seductive as I could find, for +the simple-minded negroes of Africa. These consisted principally of +cheap guns, revolving pistols, swords, cheap cutlery of all sorts, +beads, cotton stuffs of a variety of kinds, and sewing material, &c. +&c. &c., to the amount of £390 sterling. Arrived at Aden, my first +step was to visit Colonel Outram, the political resident, to open my +views to him with regard to penetrating Africa, and to solicit his +assistance to my doing so, by granting introductory letters to the +native chiefs on the coast, and in any other manner that he could. But +to my utter astonishment and discomfiture, with the frank and +characteristic ardour which has marked him through life, he at once +said he would not only withhold his influence, but would prohibit my +going there at all, as the countries opposite to Aden were so +extremely dangerous for any foreigners to travel in, that he +considered it his duty as a Christian to prevent, as far as he was +able, anybody from hazarding his life there. This opposition, +fortunately, only lasted for a time. After repeated supplications on +my part, the generous kind nature of the Colonel overcame him, and he +thought of a pretext by which, should anything serious happen to me, +there would not remain any onus on his conscience. + +The Bombay Government at that time had been induced to order an +expedition to be organised for the purpose of investigating the Somali +country--a large tract of land lying due south of Aden, and separated +only from the Arabian coast by the Gulf of Aden--and had appointed +three officers, Lieutenant Burton to command, and Lieutenants Stroyan +and Herne to assist in its conduct. To this project Colonel Outram had +ever been adverse, and he had remonstrated with the Government about +it, declaring, as his opinion, the scheme to be quite unfeasible. The +Somali, he said, were the most savage of all African savages, and were +of such a wild and inhospitable nature that no stranger could possibly +live amongst them. The Government, however, relying on the ability of +one who made the pilgrimage of Mecca, were bent at least on giving the +Lieutenant a chance of showing what he could do in this even darker +land, and he was then occupied in Aden maturing his plans of +procedure.[2] + +This, then, was the opportunity the Colonel took advantage of, +advising me to ask Lieutenant Burton to incorporate me in his +expedition, at the same time saying that, if it was found to be +agreeable to Lieutenant Burton, he would back my application to the +Indian Government, obtain a cancel of my furlough, and get me put on +service-duty as a member of the expedition. + +Nothing could have suited me better, as it brought me on service +again, and so saved my furlough leave for a future exploration. +Lieutenant Burton consented, and I was at once installed in the +expedition. My travelling, mapping,[3] and collecting propensities, it +was thought would be of service to the ends of the expedition; and by +my being incorporated in it, there would be no chance of my running +counter to it, by travelling on its line of march, and possibly giving +rise to disturbances with the natives. + +Before proceeding further in the narrative of events as they occurred, +it may be as well, perhaps, to anticipate a little, and give a general +impression of the geography, ethnology, history, and other +characteristics of the country under investigation--the Somali +land--and the way in which it was intended that those investigations +should be carried out. As will appear by the following pages, my +experiences were mostly confined to the north central parts, in the +highlands of the Warsingali and Dulbahanta tribes. The rest of my +information is derived from conversations with the natives, or what I +have read in some very interesting pages in vol. xix. of the +'Transactions of the Royal Geographical Society,' written by +Lieutenant Cruttenden. + +The Somali country is an elbow of land lying between the equator and +the 11th degree of north latitude, which, from its peculiar form, +might well be designated the Eastern Horn of Africa. The land is high +in the north, and has a general declination, as may be seen by the +river system, to the south and eastward, but with less easting as we +come westward. + +It is separated from the main body of Africa by the river Jub, a large +and fertilising stream, which, rising in the mountains of southern +Abyssinia, passes between the territories of the Gallas on the west +and the Somali on the east, and debouches in the Indian Ocean at the +northern extremity of the Zanzibar coast. According to Lieutenant +Cruttenden's map, there are only two other rivers besides this of any +consequence in the land,--the Webbe (river) Shebéli, or Haines river, +which is of considerable importance, having a large flow of water, +trending down a cultivable district of rich red soil, and another less +important to the eastward of these two, called very unfortunately by +him the Wadi[4] Nogal. The proper specific name for this river has +never, to my knowledge, been given; but the Jid Ali Tug is one of its +head branches. It rises in some small hills close overhanging the +north coast, and runs south-easterly into the Indian Ocean, dividing +two large territories, called Ugahden, or Haud, on the west, and Nogal +on the east, mouthing at Ras Ul Khylé. Ugahden is said to be a flat +grassy country, of red soil, almost stoneless, and having water +everywhere near the surface. It is considered by the pastoral Somali a +famous place for keeping cattle, of which by report they possess a +great abundance, such as camels, ponies, cows, and Dumba sheep--a +fat-tailed animal, like the Persian breed. Game also abounds in this +country, of which the gazelles and antelopes, I was assured, roamed +about in vast herds like sheep. + +The Nogal country is the opposite of this, containing nothing of any +material value in it. The rock-formation is all lime, very pure and +white like marble, which consequently makes the soil white, and, being +very stony, it is almost barren. The Somali keep cattle here, but with +much apparent difficulty, being, from the scarcity of springs and want +of water, obliged to march about, following the last falls of rain, to +obtain fresh herbage for their cattle. My first and greater journey +gave me an insight into this portion of the interior of the country +south of Bunder Gori. It was very interesting, though not profitable, +from its never having been visited by any Europeans before. I observed +here two distinct leading features in its physical geography. The +first is a narrow hill-range, about 180 miles long and 20 or more +broad, which is occupied by two large tribes--the Warsingali on the +east, and a branch of the Habr Gerhajis on the west. It is situated at +an average distance of from 200 yards to three or four miles from the +sea-shore, separated from it by a sandy flat or maritime plain, and, +like the line of coast, extends from east to west. Immediately due +south of Bunder Gori, the sea-face, or northern slopes of this range, +are very steep and irregular, being trenched down by deep ravines, +which, during the rainy season, shed their water across the maritime +plain into the Gulf of Aden. + +The lower folds on this side of the range are composed of brown rocks +and earth, having little or no vegetation upon them, and are just as +uninviting in appearance as the light-brown hills which fringe the +coast of Arabia, as seen by voyagers on the Red Sea. Further up the +hill, in the central folds of the range, this great sterility changes +for a warm rich clothing of bush-jungle and a little grass. Gum-trees, +myrrh, and some varieties of the frankincense are found in great +profusion, as well as a variety of the aloe plant, from which the +Somali manufacture good strong cordage. The upper part of the range is +very steep and precipitous, and on this face is well clad with trees +and bush-jungle. The southern side of the range is exactly the +opposite, in all its characteristics, of the northern. Instead of +having a steep drop of from 6000 to 7000 feet, it falls by gentle +slopes to successive terraces, like a giant staircase, to scarcely +half that depth, where it rests at the head of the high plateau land +of Nogal, and is almost barren. Nogal, as I have said before, is also +very barren, only producing trees, such as the hardy acacia and +jujube, in sheltered places, in the valleys or watercourses which +drain that land to the south-east. I had no means of determining it, +but should judge this second great geographical feature, the plateau +of Nogal, by the directions its streams lie in, to have a gradual +decreasing declination, like all the rest of the interior, from the +north, where it averages an altitude of from 3000 to 4000 feet, down +to the level of the sea on south and by east. + +According to traditional histories furnished me by the natives who +accompanied me on the journeys I undertook, it appears that the +present Somali are of rather recent origin, not more than four and a +half centuries old. About the year 1413, an Arab chieftain, +Darud-bin-Ismail, who had been disputing with an elder brother for +certain territorial rights at Mecca, was overpowered and driven from +the Mussulman Holy Land, and marched southwards, accompanied by a +large number of faithful followers,--amongst whom was an Asyri damsel, +of gentle blood and interesting beauty, whom he subsequently +married,--to Makallah, on the southern shores of Arabia. Once arrived +there, this band of vanquished fugitives hired vessels, and, crossing +the Gulf of Aden, came to Bunder Gori. Here they were hospitably +received by the then governing people, who, for the most part, were +Christians--probably Gallas and Abyssinians--who, judging from the few +archaeological remains they subsequently left behind them, must have +lived in a far more advanced state of civilisation than the present +Somali enjoy. Those Christian people were governed by one man, Sultan +Kin, who had a deputy called Wurrah, renowned alike for his ferocity +of character and his ability to govern. + +For some years Darud and his Arab followers led a quiet, peaceable +life, gaining the confidence of his host, and inspiring Kin's subjects +with reverence for their superior talents. In process of time, by +intermarriage and proselytising, these Mussulmans increased in number, +and gained such strength, that they began to covet, and finally +determined to take the country from the race that had preceded them. +This project, by various intrigues and machinations, was easily +effected; and Kin, with all his Christians, was driven back to his +native highlands in Ethiopia.[5] Darud now was paramount in all this +land, and reigned until he died, when an only son by his Asyri wife +succeeded to him. This man's name was Kabl Ullah, who had a son called +Harti. On succeeding his father, Harti had three sons, called +respectively, in order of birth, Warsingali, Dulbahanta, and +Mijjertaine. Amongst these three he divided his kingdom, which to this +day retains the names. The Mijjertaine dispersed over the eastern +portions of the land, the Warsingali held the central, and the +Dulbahantas the western territories.[6] + +Subsequently to this period, an Arab called Ishak came across from +Southern Arabia and established himself forcibly at Méit, and founded +the three different nations who now occupy all the coast-line from Ras +Galwéni on the eastward to Zeyleh on the extreme west of the Somali +country. Ishak, it appears, had three wives, who gave in issue three +sons, and among these three men was divided the whole country which he +subdued. + +Forming themselves into tribes, the senior or Habr Gerhajis, by +constant feuds and other causes, are much distributed about the +country, but mostly occupy the hilly grounds to the southward of the +coast-line; whilst the Habr Owel, or second in order of birth, possess +all the coast of Berbera between Zeyleh and Kurrum; and the third, or +Habr Teljala, hold all the rest thence eastwards to Héis. + +The Somali have been chiefly known to us since the time of our taking +occupation of Aden, whither many of them resort with their wives and +families to carry on trade, or do the more menial services of +porterage and donkey-driving. They are at once easily recognised by +the overland traveller by their singular appearance and boisterous +manner, as well as by their cheating and lying propensities, for which +they are peculiarly notorious; indeed, success in fraud is more +agreeable to them than any other mode of gaining a livelihood, and the +narration of such acts is their greatest delight in conversation. They +excel as donkey-boys even the Egyptians. As may be concluded from +their history, they are a mixed Ham-Shemitic race, but differing +considerably from both in their general appearance, though retaining +certain characteristics of both these breeds. They are a tall, slender +people, light and agile as deer; slightly darker than, though much the +colour of Arabs, with thin lip, and noses rather Grecian when compared +with those of blacks, but with woolly heads like the true negroes. +Their natures are so boisterous and warlike, that at Aden it has been +found necessary to disarm them. When they first arrived there, it was +not an unusual sight to see the men of different tribes, on the +hillsides that form the face of the "crater," fighting battles-royal +with their spears and shields; and even to this day, they, without +their arms, sometimes have hot contests, by pelting one another with +sticks and stones. There is scarcely a man of them who does not show +some scars of wounds received in these turmoils, some apparently so +deep that it is marvellous how they ever recovered from them. + +Their costume is very simple. The men, who despise trousers, wear a +single sheet of long-cloth, eight cubits long, thrown over the +shoulder, much after the fashion of the Scotsman's plaid. Some shave +their head, leaving it bare; others wear the mane of a lion as a wig, +which is supposed by them to give the character of ferocity and +courage to the wearer, while those who affect the dandy allow their +hair to grow, and jauntily place some sticks in it resembling the +Chinaman's joss-sticks, which, when arranging their toilette, they use +as a comb, and all carry as weapons of defence a spear and shield, a +shillelagh, and a long two-edged knife. The women clothe more +extensively, though not much so. Fastening a cloth tightly round the +body immediately under their arms, they allow it to fall evenly down +to the ground, and effectually cover their legs. The married ones +encase their hair in a piece of blue cloth, gathering it up at the +back of the head in the fashion of English women of the present day; +this is a sign of wedlock. The virgins wear theirs loose, plaited in +small plaits of three, which, being parted in the centre, allows the +hair to fall evenly down all round the head like a well-arranged mop. +On approaching these fairs, they seductively give their heads a cant +backwards, with a half side-jerk, which parts the locks in front, and +discloses a pretty little smiling face, with teeth as white as pearls, +and lips as red as rubies. Pretty as they are when young, this beauty +fades at once after bearing children, and all their fair proportions +go with it. After that marked peculiarity of female negroes, they +swell about the waist, and have that large development behind, which, +in polite language, is called steatopyga. Although they are +Mussulmans, none wear the yashmac. Beads are not so much in request +here as in other parts of Africa, though some do wear necklaces of +them, with large rings of amber. This description, however, applies to +the Somali in his own land. When he comes over to Aden he takes shame +at his nakedness, dons the Arab's gown and trousers, and becomes the +merchant complete.[7] + +In consequence of the poorness of their land, almost all the Somali +are wandering pastorals, which of itself is enough to account for +their turbulent natures. The system of government they maintain is +purely patriarchal, and is succeeded to by order of birth generally in +a regular and orderly manner, attributable, it would appear, to the +reverence they feel for preserving their purity of blood. The head of +each clan is called Gerad or Sultan, who would be powerless in himself +were he not supported by the united influence of all the royal family. +When any disturbances or great disputes arise, the sultan is +consulted, who collects his elders in parliament to debate the matter +over, and, through them, ascertain the people's feelings. Petty +disputes are settled by the elders without any further reference. In +most cases war arises from blood-feuds, when a member of one clan +kills the subject of another, and will not pay the recognised +valuation of the party injured, or allow himself to be given up to the +vengeance of the family who has sustained the loss. In such cases as +these, whole tribes voluntarily march out to revenge the deed by +forcibly taking as many cattle from the aggressor as the market +valuation may amount to. + +Thus a war, once contracted, does not subside for years, as by +repeated deaths among the contending parties the balance of +blood-money never can be settled. Moreover, the inflicted punishment +seldom falls on the party immediately concerned; added to which, in +wars of tribes, everybody helps himself to his enemy's cattle in the +best way he can, and men formerly poor now suddenly become rich, which +gives a zest to the extension of the contest nothing else could +produce. Indeed, the poorer orders of Somali are only too glad to have +a good pretext for a fight, as a means of bettering their condition, +by adding a few more head of cattle to their stock. Were this not the +case, there would be no fighting whatever, as the sultan would be +powerless to raise an army against the inclination of the people. War +only ceases when both sides become exhausted, and withdraw as by +mutual consent. The great object in these encounters is to steal away +as many cattle as possible without risk of person, and such feats are +boasted of with rapture by those returning home with any prize. In the +administration of justice they consult the Mosaic law, as given in the +Koran, taking life for life, and kind for kind. + +The northern Somali have no permanent villages in the interior of the +country, as the ground is not cultivated; but they scatter about, +constantly moving with their flocks and herds to any place within +their limited districts where water is to be found, and erect +temporary huts of sticks, covered with grass mats; or, when +favourable, they throw up loose stone walls like the dykes in +Scotland. But on the sea-coast, wherever there are harbours for +shipping, they build permanent villages on a very primitive scale. +These are composed of square mat walls, supported by sticks, and all +huddled together, and partitioned off for the accommodation of the +various families, near which there are usually one or more square +box-shaped stone buildings, the property of the chief of the place, +which are designated forts, though there is nothing in their artless +construction to deserve this name. They are all composed of blocks of +coralline, cemented together with mortar extracted from the same +material. + +Like nearly all places within the tropics, beyond the equatorial rainy +zone, this country is visited by regular monsoons, or seasons in which +the winds prevail constantly in one direction; consequently vessels +can only come into the harbours of the northern coast when the sun is +in the south, or during five months of the year, from the 15th +November to the 15th April, to trade with the people; and then the +Somali bring the products of their country, such as sheep, cows, ghee, +mats made by the women from certain grasses and the Daum palm, ostrich +feathers, and hides, and settle on the coast to exchange them in +barter with the outer merchants, such as Arabs and men from Cutch, who +bring thither cloths, dates, rice, beads, and iron for that purpose. + +Of all the trading places on the coast, the most important is Berbera; +it is, in fact, the great emporium of Somali land, and we must call +the reader's particular attention to it, since it forms the chief +point of interest in these pages. It is on the same meridian as Aden, +and only divided from it by the gulf of that name. Although it is of +such great importance, it is only inhabited during the five months of +the favourable monsoon, when great caravans come up from the rich +provinces which lie to its south and south-west, the principal ones +being those from Ugahden and Harar. + +Having now given a general sketch of the country, we shall enter upon +the objects of the expedition. It was obvious, by the lay of the land, +that the richest and most interesting part of the country must be that +which lies between the Jub and Webbe Shebéli rivers, and it was the +most accessible to inspection, as large and powerful caravans, +travelling southwards through Ugahden, much frequent it. Seeing this, +Lieutenant Burton conceived the idea of waiting until the breaking up +of the Berbera fair, when the caravans disperse to their homes, to +travel by the ordinary caravan route, through the Ugahden country to +the Webbe Shebéli, and on to Gananah, and then to proceed further by +any favourable opportunity to the Zanzibar coast. + +It was now, however, early October, and fully five months must elapse +ere we could finally enter on our march. In the mean time, Lieutenant +Burton, desirous of becoming acquainted as far as possible with the +habits of the people we were destined to travel amongst, as well as +the nature of the country and the modes of travelling in this _terra +incognita_, determined on making an experimental tour to Harar, a +place which had never been entered by any European, and was said to be +inaccessible to them. Harar, as I have said before, sends caravans +annually to the Berbera fair, and therefore comes within the influence +of British power. Taking advantage of this, Lieutenant Burton ordered +Herne to go to Berbera whilst he was on this expedition, to keep up a +diversion in his favour, arming him with instructions, that in case he +was detained in Harar by the Amir of that place, Herne might detain +their caravan as a ransom for the release of his party. + +Further, to obtain more accurate knowledge concerning the march of the +Ugahden caravans, to gain an insight into the market transactions of +Berbera, and to collect cattle for our final march, it was deemed +advisable he should go there. Stroyan, as soon as he could manage it, +was also to go to Berbera to assist him. Thus everybody had a duty to +perform during this interregnum but myself. + +Dreading the monotony of a station life, I now volunteered to travel +in any direction my commandant might think proper to direct, and to +any length of time he might consider it advisable for me to be away. +This proposition had its effect, as affording an extra opportunity of +obtaining the knowledge desired, and instructions were drawn up for my +guidance. I was to proceed to Bunder Gori, on the Warsingali frontier, +to penetrate the country southwards as far as possible, passing over +the maritime hill-range, and, turning thence westwards, was to inspect +the Wadi Nogal, and march direct on Berbera, to meet Stroyan and +Herne, at a date not later than the 15th January 1855. Whilst +travelling I was to remark upon the watershed of the country, plot the +route I travelled, keep _copious_ notes on everything I saw, and +collect specimens of natural history in all its branches, as well as +observe and register all meteorological phenomena, and buy camels and +ponies for the great future expedition. + +Funds for the expenses of this undertaking were not available at that +time from the public purse, as the Indian Government had stipulated +that the whole sum they would advance for this great expedition should +not exceed £1000, and, for security's sake, had decided on paying it +by instalments of £250 at a time. I therefore, desirous to render as +much assistance as lay within my power to further the cause I had +embarked upon, volunteered to advance the necessary sum from my own +private resources, trusting to Lieutenant Burton's promises in the +future for being repaid. + +This project settled, I at once set to work, and commenced laying in +such stores as were necessary for an outfit, whilst Lieutenant Burton, +who had been long resident in Aden, engaged two men to assist me on +the journey. The first was a man named Sumunter, who ranked highly in +his country, who was to be my _Abban_ or protector. The duty of +abbanship is of the greatest importance, for it rests entirely on the +Abban's honesty whether his client can succeed in doing anything in +the country he takes him through. Arabs, when travelling under their +protection, have to ask his permission for anything they may wish to +do, and cannot even make a march, or purchase anything, without his +sanction being first obtained. The Abban introduces the person under +his protection to the chief of his clan, is answerable for all +outrages committed on the way, and is the recognised go-between in all +questions of dispute or barter, and in every other fashion. The second +man was also a Warsingali,[8] by name Ahmed, who knew a slight +smattering of Hindustani, and acted as interpreter between us. I then +engaged two other men, a Hindustani butler named Imam, and a Seedi +called Farhan. This latter man was a perfect Hercules in stature, with +huge arms and limbs, knit together with largely developed ropy-looking +muscles. He had a large head, with small eyes, flabby squat nose, and +prominent muzzle filled with sharp-pointed teeth, as if in imitation +of a crocodile. Farhan told me that when very young he was kidnapped +on the Zanzibar coast by the captain of a small Arab vessel. This +captain one day seeing him engaged with many other little children +playing on the sandy seashore, offered him a handful of fine +fruity-looking dates, which proved so tempting to his juvenile taste +that he could not resist the proffered bait, and he made a grab at +them. The captain's powerful fingers then fell like a mighty trap on +his little closed hand, and he was hurried off to the vessel, where he +was employed in the capacity of "powder-monkey." In this position he +remained serving until full grown, when, finding an opportunity, he +ran away from his master, and has ever since lived the life of a +"free-man." + +As a soldier, he had been tried in warfare, and was proved valorous +and cunning in the art, and promised to be a very efficient guard for +me. The next thing of most importance to be considered was the dress I +should wear. I first consulted the Colonel (Outram), who said he was +averse to our going in disguise, thinking that lowering ourselves in +this manner would operate against me in the estimation of the natives. +But this did not suit Lieutenant Burton's plans, who, not wishing to +be conspicuous whilst travelling to Harar, determined on going there +disguised as an Arab merchant, and thought it better we should appear +as his disciples, in accordance with which Herne had already purchased +his dress, and now I bought mine. It was anything but pleasant to the +feel. I had a huge hot turban, a long close-fitting gown, baggy loose +drawers, drawn in at the ankles, sandals on my naked feet, and a silk +girdle decorated with pistol and dirk. As an outfit for this especial +journey, I bought at Aden £120 worth of miscellaneous articles, +consisting chiefly of English and American sheeting, some coarse +fabrics of indigo-dyed Indian manufacture, several sacks of dates and +rice, and a large quantity of salt, with a few coloured stuffs of +greater value than the other cloths, to give away as presents to the +native chiefs. As defensible and other useful implements for the +scientific portion of the expedition, I took rifles, guns, muskets, +pistols, sabres, ammunition in great quantity, large commodious +camel-boxes for carrying specimens of natural history, one sextant and +artificial horizon, three boiling-point and common atmospheric +thermometers, and one primitive kind of camera obscure, which I had +made at Aden under the ingenious supervision of Herne. + + + + + + Chapter II. + +The Voyage--An Akil--The Somali Shore--Sultan (Gerad) Mahamed +Ali--Hidden Treasure--The Warsingali--A Royal Reception--Somali +Appetites--Difficulties and Impediments--Sultan Tries My Abban or +Protector. + + + +On the 18th October 1854, having got all my preparations completed, I +embarked in an Arab vessel, attired in my Oriental costume, with my +retinue and kit complete, and set sail that same evening at 6 P.M. + +The voyage, owing to light and varying breezes, was very slow and +tedious. Instead of performing the whole voyage in three days, the +ordinary time, it took us nine. According to the method of Arab +navigation, instead of going from port to port direct, we first +tracked eastward along the Arabian shore three successive days, +setting sail at sunrise, and anchoring regularly at sundown. By this +time we were supposed to be opposite Bunder Héis, on the Somali coast, +and the Nahkoda (captain) thought it time for crossing over the Gulf. +We therefore put out to sea at sunrise on the morning of the 21st, and +arrived the same evening, by mistake, assisted with a stiffish +easterly breeze, at a small place called Rakodah, which, by report, +contained a small fort, three mat huts, and many burnt ones, a little +to the westward of Bunder Héis. My Abban accounted for the destruction +of this place by saying it had been occupied surreptitiously for a +long period by a people called Rheer Dud, who sprang from a man called +Sambur-bin-Ishak; but about four years ago, the Musa Abokr--a +sub-tribe of the Habr Teljala, who were the former and rightful owners +of the place--suddenly returned, took the usurpers by surprise, and +drove them off by setting fire to the village. The next day, by hard +work, tacking up the wind, which still continued easterly, we +succeeded in reaching Bunder Héis, which, like the last place, was +occupied by the Musa Abokr. There were four small craft lying here, +waiting for cargoes, under lee of a spur of low hills which +constituted the harbour; in which, fortunately, there was very good +fishing to be obtained. We were detained here by adverse and light +winds two days, during which time I went on shore and paid my respects +to the Akil (chief) of the place, who lived in a small box-shaped +stone fort, on the west flank of the village of Héis, which was very +small, composed, as usual, of square mat huts, all built together, and +occupied only by a few women, who made mats, collected gums, and +stored the produce of the interior, as sheep, cows, and ghee, which +their men constantly brought down to them, for shipping off to +Arabia.[9] The Akil's reception was very warm and polite. He offered +me everything at his disposal, and gave as an honorary present a Dumba +sheep and a bowl of sour camel's milk, which I thought at the time the +most delicious thing I ever drank. It is sharp and rough, like +labourers' cider, and, drunk in the heat of the day, is most +refreshing. When first taken, and until the stomach becomes accustomed +to it, it operates like medicine, and I on this occasion was fairly +taken in. The fish we caught were not very good, but comical in +appearance, and of a great variety of the most beautiful prismatic +colours, changing in tint as different lights and shades struck upon +them. + +We left Héis on the 25th, with very light and unfavourable winds, and +tracked along shore to the eastward, making very little way. The +weather continuing the same, on the 26th I forced the Nahkoda, much +against his will, on at night, as during the darker hours the winds +were much stronger, and by this means we arrived at our destination, +Bunder Gori on the Warsingali frontier, at sundown on the 27th of +October. I had now seen the Somali shore, and must confess I was much +disappointed. All that was visible, besides the village mentioned, was +a sandy tract of ground, the maritime plain, which extended in breadth +from the sea-shore to some brown-looking hills in the background, from +a few hundred yards to one or two miles distant; and hills and +plains--for I could, by my close approximation to them, only see the +brown folds of the hills near the base--were alike almost destitute of +any vegetation; whilst not one animal or any other living creature +could be seen. + +28th October.--The Abban would not allow anybody to go on shore until +certain parties came off to welcome us and invite us to land, such +being the etiquette of the country when any big-wigs arrive. After the +sun rose we were duly honoured by the arrival of many half-naked +dignitaries, who tenderly inquired after the state of our health, the +prosperity or otherwise of our voyage, the purpose of our coming +there, and a variety of other such interesting matters. Then again +they were questioned by our people as to the state of the country, +whether in peace or war; how and where the Sultan Gerad Mahamed Ali +was residing; if rain had lately fallen, and where; if the cattle were +well in milk;--to which it was responded that everything was in the +most promising order; the cattle were flourishing in the hills, where +rain had lately fallen, about twenty miles distant from that place; +and the sultan, with all the royal family,[10] were there, revelling +on milk, under the shade of favouring trees, or reposedly basking in +the warm morning sun--the height of Somali bliss. The order was now +given to go ashore, and we all moved off to a fort which the Abban +said was his own property, in Goriat (little Bunder Gori), three miles +to the westward of Bunder Gori. There were two of these little forts +near, and a small collection of mat huts, like those already +described, and of the same material as all Somali forts and huts. The +kit was now brought across and placed within the fort I occupied, all +except the salt, which afterwards proved a bone of contention between +me and the Abban, and the sultan was at once sent for. No one could +move a yard inland, or purchase anything, without his sanction being +first obtained. + +Although Gerad Mahamed Ali was living only twenty miles distant from +Goriat, it was not until repeated messages had been sent to him, and +eleven days had elapsed, that he answered the summons by his presence. +In the meanwhile, having nothing better to do during this tedious +interval, as no people would bring cattle or anything for sale, I took +walks about the plain, shooting, and killed a new variety of gazelle, +called Déra[11] by the Somali, and Salt's antelopes, here called +Sagaro, which fortunately were very abundant, though rather wild; +catching fish, drawing with the camera, bathing in the sea, +luxuriating on milk, dates, and rice, or talking and gossiping with +the natives. + +On one occasion my interpreter came to me with a mysterious air, and +whispered in my ear that he knew of some hidden treasures of vast +amount, which had been buried not far off, under rocky ground, in such +a way that nobody had been able to dig them up, and he wished that I, +being an Englishman, and consequently knowing secret arts, as well as +_hikmat_ (scientific dodges), would direct how to search for these +treasures. By inquiring farther into the matter, it appeared that an +old man, a miser, who had been hoarding all his life, was suddenly +taken ill about forty years ago, and feared he would die. Seeing this, +his relatives assembled round him to ask his blessing; and the old +man, then fearing all his worldly exertions would end to no good +purpose, asked them to draw near that he might tell them where his +riches were hidden; but even then he would not disclose the secret, +until he was in the last dying gasp, when he said, "Go to a pathway +lying between two trees, and stretch out a walking-stick to the full +length of your arm, and the place where the end of your wand touches +is that in which my treasures are hidden." The wretched man then gave +up the ghost, and his family commenced the search; but though they +toiled hard for many days and weeks, turning up the stones in every +direction, they never succeeded in finding the treasure, and had now +given up the search in despair. The fact was, they omitted to ask +their parent on which side of the path it was concealed, and hence +their discomfiture. At my request the said family came to me, +corroborated the statements of the interpreter, and begged imploringly +I would direct them how to search for the money; saying at the same +time they would work again, if I thought it of any use; and, moreover, +they would give me half if the search proved successful. I lent them +some English pick-axes, and went to see the place, which certainly +showed traces of very severe exertions; but the strong nature of the +soil was too much for them, even when armed with tools, unless they +were fortunate enough to hit upon the exact spot, which they did not, +and therefore toiled in vain again. + +The Warsingali complained to me sadly of their decline in power since +the English had interfered in their fights with the Habr Teljala, +which took place near Aden about seven years ago, and had deprived +them of their vessels for creating a disturbance, which interfered +with the ordinary routine of traffic. They said that on that occasion +they had not only beaten the Habr Teljala, but had seized one of their +vessels; and that prior to this rupture they had enjoyed paramount +superiority over all the tribes of the Somali; but now that they were +forbidden to transport soldiers or make reprisals on the sea, every +tribe was on an equality with them. + +They further spoke of the decline of their tribe's morals since the +time when the English took possession of Aden and brought in +civilisation with them. This they in most part attributed to our weak +manner in prosecuting crime, by requiring too accurate evidence before +inflicting punishment; saying that many a dishonest person escaped the +vengeance of law from the simple fact of there being no eyewitnesses +to his crime, although there existed such strong presumptive evidence +as to render the accusation proved. When speaking against our laws, +and about their insufficiency to carry out all governmental points +with a strong and spirited hand, they never forget to laud their own +sultan's despotic powers and equity in justice. + +Of course no mortal man was like their Gerad Mahamed Ali. In leading +them to war he was like the English French,[12] and in settling +disputes he required no writing office, but, sitting on the woolsack, +he listened to the narration of prosecution and defence with his head +buried in his hands, and never uttering a word until the trial was +over, when he gave his final decision in one word only, ay or nay, +without comment of any sort. In confirmation of their statements, they +gave the description of a recent trial, when a boy was accused of +having attempted to steal some rice from a granary; the lad had put +his hand through a chink in the door of it, and had succeeded in +getting one finger, up to the second joint, in the grain; this, during +the trial, he frankly acknowledged having done, and the sultan +appointed that much of his finger exactly to be cut off, and no +more--punishing the deed exactly according to its deserts. This, to +Somali notions, seemed a punctiliousness in strict equity of judicial +administration which nothing could excel, and they bragged of it +accordingly. + +Becoming dreadfully impatient at so much loss of precious time whilst +waiting here, unable to prepare in any way for the journey, I sent +repeated messages to the sultan, demanding his immediate attendance; +but it was not until the 6th of November that I heard definitely of +his approach, and then it was that he was coming down the hill. + +On the 7th he came with a host of Akils to Bunder Gori, and put up in +a Nahkoda's hut. This indignity he was obliged to submit to, as he had +not cautioned the merchants who occupied his forts of his intended +approach, and now no one would turn out for him. Finding him so near +me, I longed to walk over to him and settle matters personally at +once; but dignity forbade it; and as he had come with such cautious +trepidation, I feared any over-hastiness might frighten him away +again. He seemed to observe the same punctiliousness towards me, so I +split the difference by sending an embassy by my Abban, assisted by +other powerful Akils, early the following morning, when they held +durbar, and my intentions of travelling were fully discussed in open +court. For a long time the elders on the sultan's side were highly +adverse to my seeing their country, considering no good could possibly +arise from it, and much harm might follow; I might covet their +country, and eventually take it from them, whereas they could gain +nothing. Hearing this, the Abban waxed very wroth, and indignantly +retorted he would never allow such a slur to be cast upon _his +honour_, or the office which he held. He argued he had come there as +my adviser and Abban; his parentage was of such high order, his +patriotism could not be doubted. Had he not fought battles by their +side, of which his scars bore living testimony? and now they wished to +stigmatise him as a traitor to his country! The sultan must decide it. +How could jungle-folk like them know anything of the English and their +intentions? + +The sultan listened silently during this discourse, which, though +written in a few lines, took many hours of hot debating, by their +turning and turning every little particular over and over again; and +finally decided it in his usual curt and conclusive manner, by saying, +"The Warsingali were on the most friendly and amicable relations with +the English; and as he was desirous of maintaining it, he would give +me leave to travel anywhere I liked within his dominions, and to see +and examine anything I chose. But out of fear for the consequences, as +the English would hold him answerable should any disasters befall me, +he could not sanction my crossing over his frontier in any direction, +and more especially into the Dulbahanta country, where wars were +raging, and the country so unsafe that even Warsingali dare not +venture there." This announcement was brought back in high exultation +by Sumunter, who thought his success complete, and at the same time +announced to me the sultan's intention of honouring me with a visit in +the evening, which was duly done. + +He came a little before sunset, with his bare head shaven, a dirty +coloured tobe thrown over his shoulders, and hanging loosely down to +his sandaled feet.[13] He looked for all the world like a patriarch of +the olden times, and passed me, marching in martial order in the +centre of a double line of men sloping their spears in bristling array +over their shoulders, all keeping step in slow marching order, a scene +evidently got up in imitation of our soldiers. Not a word was spoken, +and the deepest solemnity prevailed. On his arrival in front of the +fort, I drew up my men, and fired a salute to give him welcome. This +was done in right good earnest, by every man cramming his gun with +powder, to excel his neighbour in a loud report, to show the +superiority of his weapon; for such is the black man's notions of +excellence in a fowling-piece. The march concluded, the sultan with +his followers all huddled together and squatted on the ground outside +the second fort, deeply agitated, and not knowing what to do, as they +evidently dreaded what might follow. To dissipate their fears, I +approached his royalty, salaamed, and tried to beguile the time by +engaging them in conversation. + +Finding that this had rather the opposite effect, I then retired, and +soon found them all intently wrapped up in prayer, prostrating and +rising by turns, with uplifted hands, and muttering for hours together +without cessation. I then ordered a regal repast to be served them of +rice swimming in ghee, and dates _ad libitum_. This, notwithstanding +their alarm, was despatched with the most marvellous rapacity, to such +an alarming extent, that I required to know how many men were engaged +in eating it. The Abban replied that there were only a few: he would +not allow many to come over here out of a spirit of economy, knowing I +had not much property to spare, though all the rest had wished to +come, and were greatly disappointed. But these men, as is usual +amongst Somali, had prepared themselves for a feast by several days' +previous fasting, and each man would, if I allowed it, swallow at one +meal as much as a sheep's skin could contain. As a gun is known by the +loudness of its report, and ability to stand a large discharge of +powder, to be of good quality, so is a man's power gauged by his +capacity of devouring food; it is considered a feat of superiority to +surpass another in eating. + +I have seen a Somali myself, when half-starved by long fasting, and +his stomach drawn in, sit down to a large skinful of milk, and drink +away without drawing breath until it was quite empty, and it was easy +to observe his stomach swelling out in exact proportion as the skin of +liquor decreased. They are perfect dogs in this fashion. I may here +add, that although the Abban in this speech seemed to show so much +consideration for my property, by several recent tricks of his I +entertained much suspicion of his honesty; and this little address, +though uttered plausibly, was too common and transparent a trick in +the East to beguile me. All Orientals have a proverbial habit of +saving their master's property to leave greater pickings for +themselves, and such I considered was Sumunter's dodge now. + +8th November.--This morning the sultan, having now recovered, came to +return my salaam of the previous evening, when I opened to him the +purport of my expedition in minute detail: how I wished to visit the +Southern Dulbahantas, cross and inspect the Wadi Nogal, and thence +proceed west to meet my friends, Stroyan and Herne, at Berbera. He +listened very attentively and politely, but at the conclusion repeated +the words I had already heard; adding that the Dulbahantas had +intestine wars; they had been fighting many years, and were now in hot +strife, dividing the government of their country. Not many days since +a report had arrived that the southern portion of them, who occupied +the countries about one hundred miles due south of Bunder Héis, had +had a fight with the northern ones, who were living on the same +meridian, immediately to their northward, and had succeeded in +capturing 2000 horses, 400 camels, a great number of sheep and goats, +and had wounded one man severely: it was therefore impossible I could +go from the northern division to the southern, for I should be treated +as an enemy; and that was the only line on which water could be found +during this, the dry season. Had I come here during the monsoon, I +might have travelled directly in a diagonal line, from the south of +the mountain-range to the rear of this place, into their, the +southerners', country, who were the older branch, and were now +governed by the hereditary and rightful chief, Gerad Mahamed Ali, who +was on the most friendly terms with the Warsingali, and who, being an +old chief, and well respected by his adherent subjects, might have +granted me a hospitable reception. + +On the other hand, the northern Dulbahantas, who were also friendly +with the Warsingali, were under no control: the Gerad, by name Mahamed +Ali also, was recently installed in government, and was consequently +very little respected. He (the Warsingali chief) could not, therefore, +give his sanction to my going amongst them, by which my life would be +endangered, and he, for permitting it, would be held responsible by +the English. No arguments of mine would alter the decision of the +inflexible chief; I therefore changed the subject by asking him to +assist me in procuring camels, by which I might go into the interior, +and feel my way thereafter. This he readily agreed to, and begged +permission to return to Bunder Gori to give the necessary orders to +his subjects. His escort then demanded a cloth apiece from me, to be +given them for their trouble in coming over here; arguing that, had I +not required the sultan's attendance, they would not have had to +come;--a plausible, but truly Somali notion of justice; they knew +their proper master would give them nothing for coming to support his +dignity, but thought I might be softer. + +10th.--The sultan, not able to do business hurriedly with his rabble +subjects, did not appear again until this morning, and then, instead +of proceeding at once to work, hinted he should like to have the +presents I had brought from Aden for him, as the best method of +showing our feelings to one another. This was not so easily concluded. +I portioned out the things that were intended for him, and wished he +would take them at once away and clear the room, thinking, in my +inexperience of savages, I had only to give, and it would be received +with a hearty Bism-illah; but I was soon undeceived: the things were +taken with a grunt of discontentment; all looked over one by one. If a +cloth was soiled, it must be changed; and then the measurements began +by cubits = 18 inches, or from the point of the elbow to the tip of +the middle finger, just as Noah must have done when he built the ark. +But as all forearms are not of equal length, much delay was occasioned +by the sultan trying the length of his forearm against everybody's in +the room, and then by measuring every cloth by turn, and remeasuring +them again for fear of mistake; then they were divided into lots, to +be disposed of to his wives, and children and Akils and servants, and, +of course, found insufficient to meet everybody's expectations, and I +must give more. + +Tedious hours passed in this way; as a final petition, the sultan said +I must give him for himself a gun and my silk turban, as I had given +up wearing anything on my head, and did not require it: these were, +after a certain amount of haggling, surrendered, on condition that the +sultan would exert himself a little more energetically on my account. +The way he handled the musket was very amusing: he had never had one +in his hands before, and could not get it to sit against his shoulder; +and when his people placed it for him, he persisted in always cocking +the wrong eye, which tickled Farhan's fancy so much, that he burst +into loud roars of laughter. Nevertheless, the sultan took things +quietly, and would not allow himself to be discomposed, but coolly +said the gun would be of no use unless I gave him some powder to feed +it with. This last straw broke the camel's back; all things must have +an end, and I promised I would give him some after he procured enough +camels for my wants, but not before. This settled the matter, and he +walked off, with all the things I had given him, as sulkily as if he +had been injured. + +Camels were then brought for sale, and purchasing commenced. When the +sultan was present, he had to determine if the prices asked by the +sellers were reasonable or not, and took for his office as mediator a +tithe on all purchases; but in his absence, Akils were appointed to +officiate on the same conditions. This system of robbing, I was +assured, was the custom of the country, and if I wanted to buy at all +I must abide by it. Cloth was at a great discount on the coast, for +the men there had, by their dealings with Aden, become accustomed to +handle dollars, and were in consequence inspired with that superior +innate love for the precious metal over all other materials, with +which all men, and especially those newly acquainted with it, become +unaccountably possessed. No one would believe that my boxes could be +made for any other purpose than for locking up money; and I was +obliged to leave them open to inspection before they would sell +anything for cloth.[14] + +The sultan now lived at Bunder Gori, and seldom showed himself, +promising to come to me every day, without the least intention of +doing so; and only at last, after three days' absence, when I +threatened to invade his dwelling, did he appear, bringing several +camels with him: of these I purchased some good ones, and sent the +rest away: this was the 15th November. He then returned home again, +and promised faithfully he would bring on the morrow a sufficient +number of camels to carry all my kit. + +16th.--For the first time the sultan kept his promise by returning, +but the animals he brought were weak and useless, and I could plainly +see I was being trifled with, and detained here for the mere purpose +of being robbed in an indirect manner, so that no accusation could be +laid against any one. Nothing, I may say, in all my experiences, vexes +the mind so much as feeling one's self injured in a way that cannot be +prevented or avenged. Some might take such matters quietly, but I +confess I could not. Indeed, I stormed and expostulated with the +sultan until he agreed to assist me in a move. I had now eleven +camels, and wanted some five more, but thought it better not to wait; +for as long as I remained in a comfortable dwelling, I knew my men +would not exert themselves. That day, then, packing up what I most +required, I started for Bunder Gori, and unloaded, after a three +miles' march, at an old well in rear of the village, selecting as a +camping-ground the least comfortable place I could find, and not +allowing the tent to be pitched, though the sun-heat was 112 degrees, +and the sand was blowing in perfect clouds. Some days previous to my +leaving Goriat, Sumunter induced me to give him twenty rupees to hire +donkeys for conveying the heavier things over the hills, and +repeatedly assured me he had got them, but they never came; and now I +asked him to return the money, as I had brought it with me as a +reserve fund, to provide against any possible difficulty, and not to +be parted with for any ordinary purpose. This commenced a series of +rows between Sumunter and myself: he had made away with the money, and +could not produce it. The salt also was never forthcoming. + +17th.--I could not succeed in making up my complement of camels. The +sultan said he and his men must be fed before they could do work, and +sat upon the date-bags so resolutely I was fain to open them that some +business might be done. After feasting they all dispersed, under +pretence of bringing other camels, and I went into the town to inspect +the place. There were five small forts, occupied by merchants, of whom +one was a Hindi from Cutch, and a large collection of mat huts, mostly +occupied by women. Instead of finding a harbour (Bunder), as the name +of the village implied, the shore was a gradual shelving open +roadstead, in which two buggaloes were lying at anchor, waiting for +cargoes, and four small sailing-boats were preparing, with harpoon and +tackle, to go porpoise-hunting for oil. + +18th.--Having made everybody as uncomfortable as I could wish, sitting +in the sandy open plain, all the men were equally desirous with myself +for a move on the journey; but still I was five camels short, and saw +no hopes of getting them. The plan then settled was to move southwards +half-way up the hill, leaving the few things still in the fort as they +were, until I arrived at the camping-place, and could send the animals +I was taking with me back to fetch them. Having now desired the +sultan, Sumunter, and Farhan to return to Goriat, and leave the rear +property in safe custody with the fort-keeper, I commenced the march +across the maritime plain with Ahmed, Imam, a number of Somali +camel-tenders armed with spear and bow, and the sultan's youngest son, +Abdullah, to direct the way until his father and the other two should +arrive, which they promised they would do by the evening. The track +first led us across the maritime plain, here about two miles broad, +and composed of sand overlying limestone, with boulders in the dry +shallow watercourses, and with no vegetable life save a few scrub +acacias and certain salsola. This traversed, we next wound along a +deep ravine called Tug (river) Tura,[15] lying between the lower spurs +of the mountain-range, and commenced a slight ascent up its cracked, +uneven passage, until we reached a halting-place called Iskodubuk. The +distance we had made was only about five miles from Bunder Gori, but +the camels were so fatigued by travelling over boulders, that we were +obliged to unload and stop there for the day. The sultan and Abban now +overtook us to say that the rear things were in safe custody in the +fort; and, leaving instructions with the young Prince Abdullah about +the road we should follow on the morrow, returned _nolens volens_ back +to Bunder Gori, saying, as they went away, we might expect them at the +next camping-ground as soon even as we could get there with the +camels. A little after sunset, some interesting rock-pigeons--very +similar to the Indian painted bird, which I found there frequenting +ground much of the same nature--lit at some pools in the bed of the +ravine, and enabled me to shoot and stuff several of them. + +19th.--We got under way in the early morning, and commenced ascending +the same ravine, when a messenger from the sultan arrived, and desired +we would stop until he came. We had scarcely accomplished two miles, +and the morning was yet young and cool, and I strove with every effort +in my power to induce the men to go a little further forward, but +without the slightest effect; they were as obstinate as mules, and +just as unruly. This was a fair specimen of Somali travelling; any +pretext to save the trouble of moving is accounted too precious to be +lost. The ground here was a little more wooded; tall slender trees, +with thick green foliage, grew in the bed of the ravine, in which +there were some occasional pools of stagnant rain-water, and the brown +rocky hill-sides were decorated with budding bush acacias, which +afforded a good repast for the weary camels, whose journey over the +boulders must have been very fatiguing to them. + +20th.--As the sultan did not arrive, and the young prince would not +allow my men to load, I ordered the interpreter and Imam to remain +where they were, whilst I returned to Bunder Gori to see what was the +matter, and on no account were they to issue any food until I came +back again. As soon as I had gone two or three miles, I found the +young prince and all the camel-men hastening after me, and entreating +me to return; they said the sultan was on his way, and would arrive in +camp in the evening. I complied, conditionally that they bound +themselves to march in the morning whether he came or not. Once again +in camp, I had my food prepared, and sat savagely watching the effect +its odour had upon my starving men, who, fearing they would get none, +formed in a body, and came petitioning me to forgive them, as they +consented to do my bidding for ever after. They were then fed. + +21st.--After loading in the morning, with a great deal of beating and +thumping, all the camels, save two or three weakly ones, were whipped +up a winding steep ridge, one of the buttresses of the mountain, to a +camping-ground, six miles farther on, called Adhai. Here we were at +the station originally assigned for the first day's march, and, for +the first and last time during the whole journey, I pitched the tent. +The higher we ascended the hill the more abundant became the wooding, +and green grass for the first time was visible amongst the stones. +This freshness was attributed to a recent fall of rain. Altitude, by +boiling thermometer, 4577 feet. + +22d.--I sent all the freshest camels off to Goriat for the remaining +property, with orders that everybody should return on the following +day. At this height the temperature of the air was very delightful, +the range at noon being only 79°. I spent the whole day +specimen-hunting, and found the rocks were full of fossil shells. I +killed a new snake or variety of _Psammophis sibilans_, and shot an +interesting little antelope, _Oreotragus saltatrix_, the +"klip-springer" of the Cape Colonist, as well as hyraxes and various +small birds, which we duly preserved. My collections in this country +were sent by Lieutenant Burton to the Asiatic Society's Museum, +Calcutta, and have been described in their journals by Mr E. Blyth, +the Curator. + +23d and 24th.--Passed without anybody appearing, and I was becoming +much alarmed at repeated stories I heard of the Abban's dishonesty. It +then transpired that Sumunter was heavily in debt, and one of his +principal creditors was at Bunder Gori detaining him there. A pony had +been hired for my riding, and on this animal I wished to send Imam +back, to find out the truth of everything, and to return to me the +following day; but the wicked young prince, Abdullah, got wind of my +intention, and had the pony driven away, so that the unfortunate Imam +had to walk. + +25th.--Still nobody came. I now despatched the interpreter on the same +mission, and was left alone with the young prince and two or three +camel-drivers. After a little while had elapsed, a number of savage +hungry-looking men came up the hill and settled themselves in my +encampment, squatting on the date-bags and clamouring for food. The +prince and camel-drivers joined them, and became so importunate, I was +obliged to rebuke them with angry demonstration. No sooner did they +see me vexed than they began hovering tauntingly around me, jeering +and vociferating in savage delight at the impunity they enjoyed in +irritating me when all alone and helpless. However, I stood by the +date and rice bags with my gun, and prevented anybody coming near me. +The prince and camel-men now seeing me determined, and no farther +discomposed by their manoeuvres, came supplicating for their daily +rations. I gave it them at once, but could not satisfy them; they must +have some more for all their brothers (meaning the _blackguards_ who +had just arrived), or they would strike work. This stirred my blood; I +took back what I had given, and resolutely declined to be passively +cajoled out of anything, let happen what may. They saw I was +determined not to submit to them; and suddenly, as if the same thought +struck every one of them at the same instant, they dashed down the +hill, flying over the bushes and stones in their way, with yells and +shouts, and, seizing a goat from a neighbouring flock, killed and +quartered it without a moment's hesitation. At this juncture, just as +the robbed shepherd came crying to me for the price of his goat, Imam +arrived from Goriat, and tried to reason with him that it was no +business of mine, and I could not be expected to pay it. The injured +man then swore he would have justice done him at the sultan's hands, +and all yelled again for dates and rice. As they could not get it, the +young prince, ever full of boyish tricks, now seized up a mussack +(water-skin), and said I should have no more water until I complied +with their demands. The others, following his example, picked up as +many more as they could find, and left but one mussack remaining. This +one I immediately captured, and requested Imam to fill from a spring +farther down the hill; but the men, thus far outdone, rather than +allow it, said they would kill him if he dared attempt to go now. As +Imam showed alarm at their wild threats, I took the water-skin myself +and walked off to fill it, upon which the savages threw themselves out +in line, flourishing their spears and bows, and declared they would +kill me if I persisted in going. On I went, however, and had just +passed through their line, when the sultan's eldest son, Mohamed Aul, +fortunately arrived, and rebuked them, together with his brother, for +allowing me to be ill-treated. Finding Mohamed Aul very reasonable and +obliging, I begged him to send Abdullah away as a nuisance, for I +could never permit him to eat any more salt of mine. + +Imam now disclosed to me the results of his investigations at Goriat +and Bunder Gori. The Abban, as I had heard before, was detained there +by a creditor to whom he had contracted debts in Aden, and now, in +part liquidation of them, he had given away all my salt, the twenty +rupees he took for hiring donkeys, several pieces of cloth, and he had +changed my good rice for bad; and, knowing Farhan to be cognisant of +all his villanies, had tried by bribes to induce him to desert. The +sultan now arrived, and excused his long absence, saying that he had +lost the time in fruitless endeavours to induce Sumunter to come with +him. He said he had been remonstrating with Sumunter, and thought him +very culpable in not obeying me. Hoping the sultan was in earnest in +what he said, I now told him of all I had seen and heard about +Sumunter, and begged he would assist me in sending him back to Aden, +for no reliance could possibly be placed on a man who had proved +himself so dishonest and unprincipled as he was. The interpreter also +thought this would be a good plan, and advised my employing the +sultan's brother Hasan as abban or protector in his stead. However, +the sultan said he could not undo what the English had done in Aden, +but said if I wished he would send for Sumunter and rebuke him in my +presence. I replied that I thought he could not get Sumunter to leave +Bunder Gori, or he should have done so ere this. This touched his +pride, and he raised his body indignantly, and said, "If I command, he +must obey." "Then, for goodness' sake," said I, "order him with +all--all my things at once, and lose no more time." + +The following day they all arrived, and Sumunter with them, riding on +a pony. I felt much incensed as the Abban came cringing up to me, and +proclaimed him in presence of the sultan and all my men a traitor and +robber, mentioning all his villanies in detail, and begging he would +leave my camp at once, for I could not travel with him. He appeared +very humble, and denied flatly all the accusations I brought against +him. Upon this I begged the sultan, flattering him with his great +renown for administering justice, that he would do me justice as his +guest. He said he was willing to do anything for me if I would direct +the way in which I wished him to proceed; he did not understand the +English law, and I must submit to Somali methods. This was agreed to, +and we all assembled in my tent, and arranged the court as follows:--I +sat at the gable end of the tent with Imam, Ahmed, and Farhan, with +Sumunter facing us. The sultan mounted on the bales of cloth, and all +his retainers and princes, and my camel-drivers, sat in a group on the +ground at his feet. + +In opening the proceedings of the prosecution, I first said to +Sumunter-- + +_P. Speke_.--"Where is the salt which you confess came with us to +Goriat, and which you have told me daily you would give; but as yet, +though everything, you say, is in the camp, it has not arrived?" + +_D. Sumunter_.--"I did not bring it because it was so heavy, and +thought you would not want it." + +_P._--"Then why did you not land it at Goriat, and give it me there, +or why did you even buy it at all at Aden if it was of no use?" + +_D._--"Because the Nahkoda took it to Bunder Gori." + +After a few more questions and answers, and the subject was exhausted, +the sultan (judge), who had been sitting in silence with his head +buried in his hands, now gave a grunt and motioned us to continue. + +_P._--"Where are the bales of cloth which by my account and Imam's are +missing?" + +_D._--"I did not take them; somebody else must have." + +_P._--" They were in your charge, and you are answerable for them; +besides which, Farhan here knows you gave them away." + +_Judge_.--"Ahem!" and the prosecution continued. + +_P._--"Where are the twenty rupees I gave you for hiring donkeys, and +which I particularly ordered should not be expended for any other +purpose?" + +Sumunter, putting his hand fixedly in his breast, said, "I've got +them; they are all right. I will give them to you presently." + +_Speke_.--"No! give them to me now; I want them this instant." + +Sumunter, confused, and fumbling at his pocket, much to the delight of +all the court, who burst with laughter, said, "No! I've left them at +home in Bunder Gori, and will give them by-and-by." + +_Judge_.--"Ahem!" and the prosecution continued. + +_P._--"Why did you change my good rice for bad?" (opening and showing +the contents of the nearest sack). + +_D._--"I thought it would not signify: bad rice is good enough for the +camel-drivers, and I have left enough good for your consumption. An +old friend asked me for it, and I did it to oblige him." + +_Judge_.--"Ahem!" and the prosecution continued. + +_P._--"Why did you attempt to bribe Farhan to leave my service, and +say nothing to me about it?" + +_D._--"Farhan is a bad man; and I was afraid he would steal your +things." + +_Judge_.--"Ahem!" + +Thus ended the prosecution and defence. The sultan raised his head, +and in answer to my appeal as to what judgment he would give, calmly +said, he could see no harm in what had been done--Sumunter was my +Abban, and, in virtue of the ship he commanded, was at liberty to do +whatever he pleased either with or to my property. Words, in fact, +equivalent to saying I had come into a land of robbers, and therefore +must submit to being robbed; and this I plainly told him. Further, I +even threatened the sultan with a pretended determination to return to +Aden, where I said the matter would be settled at our police court +without bias or favour. I then desired the interpreter to look out for +any vessel that would give me a passage to Aden, as it was obvious to +me Sumunter had more power in the land than the sultan. This took them +all by surprise, abashed the old sultan and his family--for they were +proud of their strength--and induced them to say I need not fear +anything on that score;--was the sultan of the Warsingali, indeed, not +the greatest chief in the land, and, moreover, a great ally of the +English? This, of course, was only a feint on my part to bring them to +a proper sense of their duty towards me; for I had brought letters of +recommendation from the Government at Aden to their chief, and knew +they would rather do anything than let me go back in a huff. + +29th.--I had been now nine days waiting here, and had taken many walks +about the hill-sides, investigating the place, and making sundry +collections. The most interesting amongst these was a small lizard, a +new species, afterwards named by Mr E. Blyth, the Curator of the +Asiatic Society, _Tiloqua Burtoni_, after my commandant. The Somali +brought a leopard into camp, which they said they had destroyed in a +cave by beating it to death with sticks and stones. They have a mortal +antipathy to these animals, as they sometimes kill defenceless men, +and are very destructive to their flocks. Besides the little antelope +described, I only saw the Saltiana antelope, and the tracks of two +other species which were said to be very scarce. Rhinoceroses were +formerly very abundant here, but have been nearly all killed down with +spear and bow (they do not use firearms) by the Somali hunters, in +consequence of the great demand for their skins for making shields. +Amongst the bush and trees there were several gum-producing ones, of +which the frankincense, I think, ranked first. These gums are usually +plucked by the women and transported to Aden. The barks of various +other trees are also very useful; for instance, they strip down the +bark of the acacia in long slips, and chew it until only fibres +remain, which, when twisted in the hand, make strong cordage. The +acacia bark also makes a good tan for preserving leather; but of far +greater account than this is the bark of a squat stunted tree, like +the "elephant's foot," called by the Somali mohur, which has a smooth +skin, with knotty-looking warts upon it like a huge turnip, reddish +inside, with a yellowish-green exterior. It has a highly aromatic +flavour, and is a powerful astringent. When making mussacks, the +Somali pull a sheep or goat out of his skin; tie its legs and tail, +where incisions had been made, to make it a waterproof bag, and then +fill it with bits of this bark, chopped up and mixed with water. They +then suspend it in a tree to dry, and afterwards render it soft and +pliable by a severe course of manipulation. The taste of the bark is +considered very wholesome, and a corrective to bad and fetid water. +Besides possessing this quality, the mohur is useful as a +poultice-when mashed and mixed with water; and the Somali always have +recourse to it when badly wounded. + +During my peregrinations at this place, I often dropped bits of paper +about the jungle, little suspecting what would become of them; and, to +my surprise, one day the interpreter came to me in some alarm, to say +that several Dulbahantas had arrived at Bunder Gori, and were sharply +canvassing amongst themselves the probable objects of my visit. I +could not be travelling without a purpose, at so much expense; and +they thought these bits of paper, which they had carefully picked up, +conclusive evidence I was marking out some spots for future purposes. +They abused the Warsingali for being such fools as to let me travel in +their country, and said I should never cross over to them. This little +incident of dropping paper, though fully explained to them, was ever +afterwards brought up in accusation against me, and proved very +perplexing. + +30th.--Camp Habal Ishawalé. Altitude 5052 feet.--We were now all +together, and I thought ready to march; but the men had first to be +paid their hire in advance--a monthly stipend of five tobes each. When +that was settled, many other men, and amongst them the sultan's second +brother Hassan, coveting my clothes, wished to be engaged. Some +tedious hours were wasted on this subject. The sultan, at the +instigation of these advocates for service, would have it, if I wished +to travel according to the custom of the country, I must take more men +with me as a guard. I, on the other hand, neither wanted them nor +could afford to pay them, as I had been so extensively plundered--but +wished to exchange Sumunter for his brother, and promised high rewards +if he would take me through the journey. To put an end to the +discussion, I struck my tent, never to be pitched again, and waited +patiently until the camels came. It was not until near sundown that +the camels were ready and the march commenced. The sultan then ordered +Hassan and the naughty boy Abdullah, against my wish, to accompany me +on the journey; and we set off, leaving two or three loads behind to +be brought up on the morrow. The march was a short one, made to +relieve the one beyond; for the spring of water we were now drinking +from was the last on this side the range. It led us up a gradual but +tortuous ascent, very thickly clad with strong bushes, to a kraal or +ring-fence of prickly acacias, which was evidently made to protect the +Somali's sheep from lions, leopards, hyenas, and freebooters suddenly +pouncing on them. + +We remained here three days, sending the things I had brought in +relays across the mountain, and fetching up the rear ones. The sultan +could not lose the opportunity afforded by my detention to come again +and beg for presents, and I gave him a razor to shave his head with +and make a clean Mussulman of him. On finding he could get nothing +further from me gratis, he demanded that a cloth should be paid to the +man whom my camel-drivers had robbed of the goat at Adhai, and, before +retiring, wished me urgently to take a letter for him to Aden, +petitioning the English to allow him to form an expedition by sea, and +take retribution on the Musa Abokr at Héis, who had recently killed +one of his subjects. + + + + + + Chapter III. + +Yafir Pass--Rhut Tug--The Ruins at Kin's City--Abban Apprehends Future +Consequences--Hyenas--The Dulbahantas--Camel Drivers' Tricks--Briny +Water--Antelope-shooting--Elephant-hunting--Ostrich-hunting +--Gazelles--Jealousy and Suspicions of the People--Troubles from Forty +Thieves--Rapid Decline of Property. + + + +4th December 1854.--At dawn of day the last of the camels was loaded, +and we set out to clamber up to the top of the mountain-range and +descend on the other side to the first watering-place in the interior +of the country. It was a double march, and a very stiff one for the +camels. Directly in our front lay an easy, flattish ground, with +moderate undulations, densely wooded with such trees as I had already +seen; but beyond it, about three miles from camp, the face of the +mountain-top, towering to a great height, stood frowning over us like +a huge bluff wall, which at first sight it appeared quite impossible +any camel could surmount. At 9 A.M. we reached this steep, and +commenced the stiffest and last ascent up a winding, narrow goat-path, +having sharp turns at the extremity of every zigzag, and with huge +projecting stones, which seemed to bid defiance to the passage of the +camels' bodies. Indeed, it was very marvellous, with their long +spindle-shanks and great splay feet, and the awkward boxes on their +backs striking constantly against every little projection in the hill, +that they did not tumble headlong over the pathway; for many times, at +the corners, they fell upon their chests, with their hind-legs +dangling over the side, and were only pulled into the path again by +the combined exertions of all the men. Like Tibet ponies, when they +felt their bodies slipping helplessly over the precipices--down which, +had they fallen, they would have met instantaneous and certain +death--they invariably seized hold of anything and everything with +their teeth to save their equilibrium. The ascent was at length +completed after an infinity of trouble, and our view from the top of +the mountain repaid me fully for everything of the past. It was a +glorious place! In one glance round I had a complete survey of all the +country I was now destined to travel over, and what I had already gone +over. + +The pass was called Yafir, and, by the boiling thermometer, showed an +altitude of 6704 feet. It was almost the highest point on this range. +From a cedar tree I cooked my breakfast under, on facing to the north +I saw at once the vast waters of the Gulf, all smooth and glassy as a +mill-pond, the village of Bunder Gori, and the two buggaloes lying in +its anchorage-ground, like little dots of nut-shells, immediately +below the steep face of the mountain. So deep and perpendicular was +it, that it had almost the effect of looking down a vast precipice. +But how different was the view on turning to the south! Instead of +this enormous grandeur--a deep rugged hill, green and fresh in +verdure, with the sea like a large lake below--it was tame in the +extreme; the land dropped gently to scarcely more than half its depth, +with barely a tree visible on its surface; and at the foot of the +hill, stretched out as far as the eye could reach, was a howling, +blank-looking desert, all hot and arid, and very wretched to look +upon. It was the more disappointing, as the Somali had pictured this +to me as a land of promise, literally flowing with milk and honey, +where, they said, I should see boundless prairies of grass, large +roomy trees, beautiful valleys with deep brooks running down them, and +cattle, wild animals, and bees in abundance. Perhaps this was true to +them, who had seen nothing finer in creation; who thought ponies fine +horses, a few weeds grass, and a puny little brook a fine large +stream. At noon we reloaded, and proceeded to join the camels and men +sent forward on the previous day. The track first led us a mile or two +across the hill-top, where I remarked several heaps of stones piled +up, much after the fashion of those monuments the Tibet Tartars erect +in commemoration of their Lahma saints. These, the Somali said, were +left here by their predecessors, and, they thought, were Christian +tombs. Once over the brow of the hill, we descended the slopes on the +south, which fell gently in terraces, and travelled until dark, when +we reached a deep nullah, here called Mukur, in which we found our +vanguard safely encamped in a strong ring-fence of thorn bushes. + +The distance accomplished was seventeen miles; the altitude 3660 feet. +The two following days (5th and 6th) we halted to rest the cattle, +whilst I went shooting and collecting. There were a great number of +gazelles and antelopes, some bustard, many florikan and partridges, as +well as other very interesting birds and reptiles. These were mostly +found in ravines at the foot of the hills, or amongst acacia and +jujube trees, with patches of heather in places. We now held +_durbar_,[16] to consult on the plan of proceeding. It was obviously +impossible to march across the plateau directly upon the southern +Dulbahantas, as there was not a blade of grass to be seen nor any +water on the way beyond the first ten miles from the foot of the +hills. To go to Berbera, then, I must perforce pass through the +territories of the northern Dulbahantas; and this was fixed upon. But +hearing of some "ancient Christian ruins" (left by Sultan Kin) only a +day's march to the south-eastward, I resolved to see them first, and +on the 7th made a move five miles in that direction to a kraal, called +Karrah, where we found a deep pool of stagnant water. + +8th.--My kit was now so much diminished that we all marched together +down a broad shallow valley south-eastward, in which meandered a +nullah, called Rhut Tug, the first wadi I came upon in Nogal. The +distance accomplished was eight miles when we put up in the Kraal of +Rhut; for, as I have said before, there were no villages or permanent +habitations in the interior of the Nogal country. All the little +wooding there is, is found in depressions like this, near the base of +hill-ranges, where water is moderately near the surface, and the trees +are sheltered from the winds that blow over the higher grounds of the +general plateau. Rhut is the most favoured spot in the Warsingali +dominions, and had been loudly lauded by my followers; but all I could +find were a few trees larger than the ordinary acacias, a symptom of +grass having grown there in more favoured times when rain had fallen, +a few puddles of water in the bed of the nullah, and one flock of +sheep to keep the place alive. Gazelles were numerous, and many small +birds in gaudy plumage flitted about the trees, amongst which the most +beautiful was the _Lamprotornis superba_, a kind of Maina, called by +the Somali Lhimber-load (the cowbird), because it follows after cows +to feed. + +9th.--Halt. Kin's City, or rather the ruins of it, I was told, lay to +the northward of my camp, in the direction of the hills, at a distance +of about two miles; so I proceeded at once to see it, hoping by this +means I should be able to advance westward on the following day. After +an hour's walk I came upon those remains of which I had heard so much +at first on landing in the country, as indicative of the great +advancement in architectural art of Kin's Christian legion over the +present Somali inhabitants; but I was as much disappointed in this +matter as in all others of Somali fabrication. There were five objects +of attraction here:--1. The ruins of a (said to be) Christian church; +2. The site and remains of a village; 3. A hole in the ground, +denoting a lime-kiln; 4. A cemetery; and, 5. The ground-lines of a +fort. This certainly showed a degree of advancement beyond what the +Somali now enjoy, inasmuch as they have no buildings in the interior, +though that does not say much for the ancients. The plan of the church +is an oblong square, 48 by 27 feet, its length lying N.E. and S.W., +whilst its breadth was directed N.W. and S.E., which latter may be +considered its front and rear. In the centre of the N.W. wall there +was a niche, which evidently, if built by Christians, was intended to +point to Jerusalem; and this might have been conclusive evidence of +its having been a Christian house of worship, and consequently of +great antiquity, did it not unfortunately point likewise in the +direction of Mecca, to which place all Mohammedans turn when saying +their prayers. Again, I entertained some suspicion that the walls, +which were in some parts ten feet high, had not sufficient decay to +warrant their being four and a half or more centuries old. But one +thing was remarkable at this present time--there were no springs or +any water nearer than my camping place, which could not have been the +case when this place was occupied; but it denoted a certain amount of +antiquity, without any doubt. The walls of the church were composed of +limestone rocks, cemented together with a very pure white lime. + +The entrance fronted the niche, and was led up to by a street of round +pebbles, protected on each side by semicircular loosely-thrown-up +stone walls. There was nothing left of the village but its foundation +outlines, which at once showed simplicity of construction, as well as +economy of labour in building. It lay about 50 yards to the east of +the church. One straight wall ran down the centre, from which, as +supports, ran out a number of lateral chambers lying at right angles +to it. + +To the northward of the church was the cemetery, in which, strange to +say, if the Somali believe their own story, they even at the present +time bury their dead, and erect crosses at the head of the tombs, in +the same manner as we Christians do. The kiln was an artless hole in +the ground, in which there was a large collection of cinders, and +other debris not worth mentioning. Lastly, the fort, or rather remains +of what the Somali said had been one, was situated on an eminence +overlooking the village, and about 70 yards to the S.W. of the church. +Now, having completed my investigations of the ruins, I returned to +camp, where I was met by the Abban, looking as sulky as a bear with a +sore head, and frowning diabolically. He had been brooding over my +late censures, and reflecting on the consequences his bad conduct +would finally have upon him, if he could not obtain a pardon from me. +And should he not be able to elicit it by fair means, he thought at +any rate he would extract it by foul, then and there, without +condition or any clause whatever. This was preposterous. I frankly +told him exactly what I thought of him, saying I could not forget what +had happened; that he had abused the trust reposed in him by the +English, and I was bound in duty to report the whole matter in every +detail to the Government; but should he discontinue his evil ways, and +take me safely to my journey's end, I would promise him a full pardon +as soon as I arrived at Berbera. This would not answer his +purpose--bygones must be bygones without any condition whatever, and +he went to his bed as wrathful as he rose. + +10th.--I rose early and ordered the men to load, but not a soul would +stir. The Abban had ordered otherwise, and they all preferred to +stick, like brother villains, to him. And then began a battle-royal; +as obstinately as I insisted, so obstinately did he persist; then, to +show his superior authority, and thinking to touch me on a tender +point, forbade my shooting any more. This was too much for my now +heated blood to stand, so I immediately killed a partridge running on +the ground before his face. Seeing this, he wheeled about, prepared +his pony, and, mounting it, with his arms agitated and ready for +action, said to the people standing by that he would kill me if I +dared shoot again. I was all this while standing prepared to shoot, +without understanding a word of what was said, when the interpreter +rushed towards me pale and trembling, and implored me not to shoot, +but to arrange matters quietly. He would not tell me, however, what +had occasioned the great anxiety his excited manner showed. I of +course was ready at any time to do anything I could to help me on the +journey, and again stated the terms on which I would grant the man a +pardon. At this juncture, Hassan, the sultan's brother, who had been +absent a few days, came and interceded between us. I told him +everything that had happened, how the Abban had even superseded the +sultan's order, by forbidding me to do what I wished in his country, +and again begged him to be my Abban in Sumunter's stead. This he said +he could not do, but gave Sumunter a wigging, and desired me to go and +shoot anywhere I liked. Thus ended this valuable day. + +11th.--Last night I shot a female spotted crocuta hyena (here called +Durwa) in the act of robbing. These tiresome brutes prowl about at +night, and pick up anything they can find. Their approach is always +indicated by a whining sound, which had prepared me on this occasion. +She was caught in the act of stealing away some leather thongs. The +specimen was a fine one, but until dissected I could not, from the +hermaphrodital form of these animals, determine which sex it was that +I had killed. We now prepared for the march westward, when Hassan said +he would go back to near the Mijjertaine frontier, where rain had +lately fallen, and all the Warsingalis had migrated with their cattle, +to fetch some ponies, which he would bring to me in a few days, even +before I could arrive at the Dulbahanta frontier, and begged a gun at +parting as Judge's fee for his settlement of the Abban question, and +as an earnest that he would bring the five ponies which I wanted. We +then got under way, and travelled westward, bidding Rhut Tug adieu, +but every one was stiff and formal. Sumunter had not confessed +contrition, and I had not committed myself to saying that I would hush +the matter up, assuring him that in duty as a public officer I could +not, that I was bound to report every circumstance, though privately I +promised a pardon as before. After travelling a little way, we emerged +from the low land of the valley, and ascended a higher track to the +normal level of the plateau, which, as I have said before, was all +bleak and barren, with scarcely a tree growing on it, and very stony. +Here I saw a large troop of ostriches and numberless gazelles stalking +away out of the line of the caravan's march. My men were all highly +anxious I should shoot them, but I would not, to try what effect it +would have on the Abban, saying, sport was of secondary importance to +me, and I now only wished to finish the journey quickly. + +By his detentions I had lost so much time, I despaired of reaching +Berbera agreeably with my instructions, and, moreover, he had not +begged my pardon, from which I doubted his intention to serve me +faithfully. This caused a halt. Sumunter and all the men alike said, +"Of what good is your coming here, if you do not enjoy yourself? We +all came on this journey to reap advantages from serving you, and now +if you don't shoot, what may we expect?" I said, Prove to me that I +shall not be thwarted again, and I will shoot or do anything to create +good-will. Then appointing three men as Sumunter's advisers to hold +him in restraint in case any wrong-headedness on his part should get +the mastery of him, I begged they would proceed. This proved +successful for the time. Sumunter wrote me a letter, stating his +intention of abject servitude, and ratified it by presenting his spear +and shield, through the hands of the interpreter, for me to return to +him as an acknowledgment that I would henceforth forgive him; and we +again proceeded on the journey. + +After travelling ten miles without seeing a single habitation or human +being of any sort, we arrived at a nullah, in which there were several +pools of bitter spring-water, and some Egyptian geese swimming on +them. This place was called Barham. On the right or northern side of +the line of our march was the hill-range, about ten miles distant, at +the foot of which, in the beds of small ravines, grew some belts of +the jujube-tree and hardy acacias; but to the south the land was all +sterile, and stretched away in a succession of little flat plains, +circumscribed by bosses or hillocks of pure white limestone rock, +which appeared standing unaffected by the weathering which had worn +down the plains that were lying between them. Again these little +enclosed plains sank in gentle gradation to their centres, where +nullahs, like the one I was encamped upon, drained the land and refuse +debris to the south and eastward, possibly to join eventually the Rhut +Tug. + +12th.--At 9 A.M. we were again in motion on our westward course, +rising by a gentle incline to about half-way between Rhut Tug and a +second Wadi Nogal farther on, called Yubbé Tug. Here, at the +water-parting between these two large watercourses, was the tomb of +the great founder of these mighty nations, Darud bin Ismail, and an +excavated tumulus. There were also several bitter springs in the +neighbourhood, with stone enclosures and numerous flocks of sheep +tended by Somali. On passing the tomb I scarcely remarked it, so +insignificant did it appear, whilst the Somali paid no homage to it +whatever. But the tumulus excited more attention, and I was requested +to examine it. Six years ago, the interpreter said, a Somali who +wished to bury his wife in it, broke through its exterior, and found a +hollow compartment propped up by beams of timber, at the bottom of +which, buried in the ground, were several earthenware pots, some +leaden coins, a ring of gold such as the Indian Mussulman women wear +in their noses, and various other miscellaneous property. + +I was very much struck with the sleekness of the sheep, considering +there appeared nothing for them to live upon; but I was shown amongst +the stony ground here and there a little green pulpy-looking weed, an +ice plant called Buskàlé, succulent, and by repute highly nutritious. +It was on this they fed and throve. These Dumba sheep--the fat-tailed +breed--appear to thrive on much less food, and can abstain longer from +eating, than any others. This is probably occasioned by the +nourishment they derive from the fat of their tails, which acts as a +reservoir, regularly supplying, as it necessarily would do, any sudden +or excessive drainage from any other part of their systems. + +After crossing over this high land we began descending to the +westward, and at the completion of the twelfth mile dropped into a +nullah tributary to the Yubbé Tug, made a kraal for protection against +hyenas close to a pool of water, and spent the night. This plain was +called Libbahdilé (the haunt of lions).[17] + +13th.--The air was so cold, the men could not bestir themselves until +after sunrise, when, to my great surprise and delight, without one +angry word or attempted impediment from the Abban, we were on the move +at 8 A.M. I now fondly hoped the Abban had really turned over a new +leaf, but was soon undeceived, and also disappointed. He was married +to a Dulbahanta woman, and this wife, for he had two others, with her +family, was residing in that country. I was therefore, unawares to +myself, travelling directly on his home. Hence these three consecutive +marches. Gradually we descended into a broad valley, down the centre +of which meandered the Yubbé Tug, or the second Wadi Nogal of my +acquaintance. This formed a natural boundary-line, separating the +Warsingali from the northern Dulbahanta frontiers. Where we first came +upon the nullah it was deep and broad, with such steep perpendicular +sides that camels could not cross it. We therefore turned suddenly +northward, and followed up its left bank till we turned its head, +which begins abruptly, and marched five miles to the Yubbé Kraals. Had +this valley been blessed with a moderate quantity of rain, there is no +doubt it would have been available for agricultural purposes; and as +it was, there were more trees growing in the hollow here than in any +other place I had seen, and several flocks and herds were congregated +in it. Whilst travelling to-day the interpreter narrated the +circumstances of a fight which the Warsingali had with the Dulbahantas +about ten years ago in this valley, in which it appeared the +Dulbahantas were the aggressing party, having sent a foraging-party +over their frontier to lift some cattle. The Warsingali, seeing this, +mustered their forces and repelled the enemy; but would not follow +them up, preferring rather to tease them into submission than to +engender a bloody contest. This they effected by exposing all their +flocks and herds to the view of the Dulbahantas on the bank of the +impassable nullah, whilst they guarded its head and protected their +flank by stationing a strong party of warriors there. The Dulbahantas, +tantalised at this tempting yet aggravating sight, for they had not +strength enough to cope with the Warsingali in full force, waited +covetously gazing across the nullah for some time, and then retired in +such great disgust, they have never attempted to steal again. + +When once ensconced in the new camp, the Abban came to me with an air +of high importance, to announce that we were now on the Dulbahanta +frontier, and that, if I wished to see their land, I must allow him to +precede me, and pave the way, taking the young prince Abdullah with +him to magnify the purport of his mission, as the Dulbahantas were a +terrible and savage nation, governed, not like the Warsingalis, by an +old and revered chief, but by a young sultan whom nobody listened to. +Moreover, the Dulbahantas had sent word to say they had heard of my +marking the Warsingali country out with paper, and would not admit me +on any consideration. Besides which, it was a custom in the country +that strangers should ask permission to enter through the medium of an +abban, and as I had acted on that custom in the Warsingali country, so +also must I do it here. + +I was kept at this station eight days, sometimes hearing ominous +announcements of the terrible Dulbahantas, sent to frighten me by the +Abban, and sometimes amusing myself in other and various ways. The +Dulbahantas could not conceive my motive for wishing to travel in +their land; no peddling Arab, even, had ever ventured there, so why +should I desire to go? Fortunately I had a good deal of employment +with my gun; for, besides gazelles, antelopes, a lynx, florikans, and +partridges, I shot many very beautiful little honey-birds, as well as +other small birds. Of these former the most beautiful was the +_Nectarinia Habessinica_. It has an exceedingly gaudy plumage, that +glistens in metallic lustre as the rays of light strike upon its +various-coloured feathers. This is the more remarkable on a warm +sunshiny day, when the tiny bird, like a busy humble-bee, bowing the +slender plant with its weight, inserts his sharp curved bill into the +flower-bells to drink their honey-dew, keeping its wings the whole +time in such rapid motion as to be scarcely distinguishable. + +Without animal flesh I do not know what I should have done here. The +water was so nitrous I could not drink it. To quench my thirst, I +threw it in gulps down my throat; and rice, when boiled in it, +resembled salts and senna. After returning from sport one day, the +interpreter brought up one of the camel-drivers, to be punished for +having stolen some deer flesh when sent to clean it. He was a Midgar, +or low-caste fellow, who does not object to indulge in cannibalism +when hard pressed by hunger. I would not decide the case myself, but +handed him over, much against his wish, to the _tender_ mercies of the +interpreter and two other men whom the sultan, at parting, appointed +judges on any sudden occasion. It was everybody's interest to make him +guilty, and therefore he was condemned to find two sheep, to be killed +and eaten in the camp. Another case of theft, much more vexatious than +this, occurred when I first arrived here, and turned off some spare +camel-drivers, who took away all the packing-ropes with them, and I +have been obliged to employ the remaining men ever since in chewing +acacia bark into fibres to make new ones. + +I was now becoming so much alarmed at the Abban's delay and tricks, +that I wrote a letter to Lieutenant Playfair, Assistant Political +Resident at Aden, complaining of what he had done, saying I felt very +uncertain of being able to reach Berbera by the time appointed, and +requesting him to send a letter of remonstrance to the sultan. This I +forwarded by a man called Abdie, _viâ_ Bunder Gori. Prudence would +have suggested my returning with the letter, for I had now received +intelligence that the Abban was in his home, and after experience +gained by the tragedies on the coast, I could have expected no good +from him. But as long as life and time lasted, I was resolved to go +ahead. + +It was very remarkable to see the great length of time animals in this +country can exist, even under hard work, without drinking water. In an +ordinary way, the Somali water camels only twice a-month, donkeys four +times, sheep every fourth day, and ponies only once in two days, and +even object to doing it oftener, when the water is plentiful, lest the +animals should lose their hardihood. I do not think antelopes could +possibly get at water for several months together, as every drop of +water in the country is guarded by the Somali. We were now in "the +land of honey," and the Somali nomads constantly came to me to borrow +my English pickaxe for digging it out of the ground; for the bees of +this country, instead of settling in the boughs of trees, as they do +in England, work holes in the ground like wasps, or take advantage +more generally of chinks or fissures in the rocks to build their combs +and deposit their wax. It was a great treat to get a little of this +sweet nutriment, to counteract the salts which prevail in all the +spring waters of the interior. When out shooting specimens, I often +saw the Somali chasing down the Salt's antelopes on foot. + +I killed many of them myself right and left, when running like hares, +with common shot, much to the astonishment of the Somali, for they are +too small a mark for their bow-and-arrow shooting. The little +creatures cannot stand travelling in the mid-day sun, and usually lie +about under favouring trees which line the watercourses. Knowing this +weakness, the cunning Somali hunter watches him down from feeding to +his favourite haunts, and, after the sun shines strong enough, quietly +disturbs him; then, as he trots away to search for another shady bush, +they follow gently after to prevent his resting. In the course of an +hour or so, the terrified animal, utterly exhausted, rushes from bush +to bush, throwing itself down under each in succession, until at +length it gets captured. + +Somali, from their roving habits of life, are as keen and cunning +sportsmen as any in the world. They told me of many dodges they +adopted for killing elephants, ostriches, and gazelles, which they do +as follows:--If an elephant is ever seen upon the plains, a large body +of men assemble on foot, armed with spears, bows, and sharp +double-edged knives, with one man mounted on a white horse, to act as +teaser. This man commences by riding in front of the animal, to +irritate and absorb his entire attention by riding in repeated circles +just in front of him. When the huge beast shows signs of distress by +fruitlessly charging on his nimble adversary, the footmen rush in upon +him from behind, and hamstring him with their knives, and then with +great facility soon despatch him with their arrows and spears. + +Ostriches, again, are killed in two ways; the more simple one is by +finding out what places they usually resort to in search of food, and +then throwing down some tempting herb of strong poisonous properties, +which they eagerly eat and die from. The other method adopted in +catching them is not so easy, but is managed with great effect. The +ostrich is, as is generally known, a remarkably shy bird, and is so +blind at night it cannot feed. Again, the Somali pony, though +wonderfully hardy and enduring, is not swift; therefore, to +accommodate existing power to knowledge of these various weaknesses, +the Somali provides himself with a pony, and provisions for two or +three days, and begins his hunt by showing himself at such a +considerable distance from the birds he has formed his design upon, +that they quietly stalk off, and he, at the same rate, follows after, +but never draws near enough to scare them out of sight of him. At +night, the birds stop in consequence of the darkness, but cannot feed. +He, on the other hand, dismounts to rest and feed with his pony, and +resumes the chase the following day. After the second or third day, +when he and the pony are as fresh as ever, the ostriches, from +constant fasting, become so weak, he is able to ride in amongst them, +and knock down one by one as many as may be in the flock. The flesh is +eaten, and the feathers are taken to the sea-coast for transportation +to the Aden market. I once saw a donkey-load of feathers carried to +market that had been taken in this way. + +There are two methods, also, of killing gazelles; the more usual one +is effected by two men walking into a bushy ground to search for them, +and when discovered, walking in such large circles around them as will +not scare them; gradually they draw their circles in, until a favoured +bush, down wind, is found, which the herd is most likely, when once +moved, to pass by, and behind this one of the men stops, with his bow +and arrows, whilst the second one, without ever stopping to create +alarm, continues drawing in the circles of circumvention until he +induces the gazelles to walk up to the bush his friend is concealed +in, when one or more may be easily shot. The other plan for killing +them is extremely artful, and is done on horseback, and therefore on +the open plain. Fleet animals, like antelopes and gazelles, always +endeavour to head across their pursuers, no matter in which direction +they go. The Somali, therefore, taking advantage of this habit, when +they wish to catch them on ponies, which are not half so swift as the +gazelles in fair open chase, economise their strength by directing +their animals' heads towards the leading gazelle, and thus inducing +the herd, as they continue heading on, to describe double the +circumference of ground their ponies have to traverse. In process of +time, the gazelles, by their extra exertions, begin to flag and drop, +and the hunters rush in upon them, and cut them up in detail. + +20th.--To-day the young prince, Abdullah, returned to say the +Dulbahantas had been conferred with, and had shown the strongest +objections to my seeing their country, enumerating at the same time +all their reasonings, such as I had already heard; but added, as a +great concession on their part, as a particular favour they wished to +show to my Abban, that I might be permitted to advance a little way to +the next valley; but then only on condition that I would surrender to +them the whole of my remaining property. + +I now heard more particulars of the Dulbahantas' fights, and the +manner in which they first originated. For full thirteen years they +had been disputing amongst themselves, and many cabals had sprung out +of it. Whilst these intrigues were gaining ground, a minor chief, +named Ali Haram, with a powerful support in connections, about five +years ago determined on alienating himself from the yoke of the +government, which was headed by an old Gerad, called Mahamed Ali, the +rightful and hereditary chief. Since then the original kingdom has +been divided into two portions, called the Northern and Southern +Dulbahantas; but although the northerners declare themselves +independent, the chief of the south still fights for his lawful +rights, and at this present time had driven the northerners, with all +their cattle and stock, to Jid Ali Tug, the next valley beyond this, +which I was now desirous of visiting. Ali Haram was an old man, and +consequently incapacitated from taking an active part in these +tumultuous filibusterings; he had therefore, since his first accession +to power, deputed a son called Mahamed Ali Gerad to act as Regent in +his stead, and this was the man of whom the Warsingali spoke to me at +Bunder Gori so disparagingly. + +21st.--I was now preparing to start again westward, when an order came +from the Abban to my men, that no property should accompany me, +excepting what little I felt disposed to part with in presents to the +Dulbahantas; as an Akil, by name Husayn Hadji, the senior man present +at Jid Ali, had decided, as a final measure, on seizing everything I +brought with me immediately I set foot in Jid Ali. Though I had had +experience enough of the Abban's tricks to see that this was merely a +farce, though a very useless and inconvenient one, I permitted the +arrangement rather than make a row and retard my progress, and set out +with the young prince, Hamed, Farhan, and two camels and drivers, +leaving Imam and the other nine camels, with their drivers, behind, to +follow as soon as I should send back. + +At the western extremity of the valley we came upon a small mound of +earth, all white and glistening, covered with nitre in an efflorescent +form, which shone so conspicuously in the sun, it could be seen at +many miles' distance; from the base of it a clear spring of water +trickled, so disagreeable in taste that no one, save Somali, could +possibly drink it. Now, emerging from the low land, we again left the +trees behind us, and rose by a well-beaten foot-track to the primary +level of the country, where stone and bare ground prevailed. Each of +these elevations and depressions was a mere reflection of the other, +only varying more or less according to their size; and as my line was +directed due west, I always had the mountain-range at even distance on +the north, whilst every feature on the south remained the same. It was +monotonous in the extreme. At the fifth mile we came upon some springs +of bitter water, sunk in deep cavities in the earth, from which we +filled our water-skins, and travelled on till night; when, dark +overtaking us, we slipped into a hollow in the ground, called Ali, +cooked a little rice with the water we had brought, and slept it out +till morning. Distance, thirteen miles. + +22d.--As soon as the morning was well aired with the sun, and the +black men had recovered from the torpor which the cold seemed to +produce on them as it does on lizards and snakes, I struck out for Jid +Ali, hoping to surprise the Abban, and thereby counteract, if +possible, his various machinations. But this was not to be done. At +the thirteenth mile, as we were descending in full view of Jid Ali, at +a place called Birhamir, I was met by the Akil Husayn Hadji himself, +who, instead of showing any disposition to hinder my approach, was +very affable and kind in manner. He politely begged me to remain where +I was and rest the day, and on the morrow he would take me to the Tug +(river) below. He had never felt indisposed towards me; but one Galed +Ali, an Akil superior to himself, was averse to my proceeding further. +Unfortunately for the Somali, their lies are very transparent, and +they were too fond of uttering falsehoods ever to be trusted. I +neither believed in the existence of Galed Ali, nor in his own kind +intentions towards me, and therefore begged him to prove it by +allowing me to pass. This began a long discussion. The wars were +raging. The Dulbahantas would not let me see their country, as they +could not see why an Englishman should wish to travel where even +beggars were afraid to go; and then followed a hundred other excuses, +all of which I rejected as freely as he advanced them. + +Then at length, Somali fashion, the true meaning of his unwelcome +visit transpired. He then said--"Well, if you have no fear of +anything, and will join us in our fight, to represent your nation's +disposition in our favour, I will give you as many horses as you may +wish to have, and a free passage to Berbera, as soon as it is +concluded." This was certainly a tempting offer, as I told him; but I +said, Although, as far as I was individually concerned, there was +nothing which would please me better, still, being a servant of the +Government, I could not represent anything they had not sanctioned; +and, moreover, I was bound to be at Berbera by a certain date, which I +could not if I went southwards with them. They argued, There would be +no delay in finishing the battles, if I merely showed myself as a +representative of the English, for the enemy would retire before a +shot was fired, concluding that the opinion of the world was against +them. They all declared the war had lasted so long, and had been so +harassing, they wished ardently to put an end to it. I told them, in +my opinion, it was all their own fault; that they ought never to have +commenced the war, for the chief they now recognised was a mere +usurper--a traitor, in fact, who ought to be punished. + +The Abban's mother, Mrs Awado, of whom I knew nothing until now, and +who was living at Birhamir, in a hut close by, then hastened towards +us, joined our party, and interrupted the conversation by clapping her +hands and beating her knees, exclaiming, in wild dismay and terrifying +words, "Oh! why have you come to this land, where there are no laws, +or any respect for life? You don't know what these people are you've +come amongst! Come with me now to my place; rest the night, and +refresh yourself: tomorrow morning your Abban will come and conduct +you safely on your way." This was a climax to the day's journey; the +men smelt grub in an instant, and hurried off with the old lady to +some empty stone enclosures (sheepfolds), and at once unburdened and +"lay-to" for the night. As before, I had many conferences about the +THE WADI NOGAL, which Lieutenant Burton had desired me to investigate, +but could obtain no satisfactory information. They said there were +many wadis in Nogal, but the largest one was in the Mijjertaine +country, where its waters were deep and large, with extensive forest +around it, frequented by numerous herds of elephants. Those in advance +of my line of march, on the road to Berbera, were all mere nullahs, +like Yubbé Tug, or Jid Ali Tug, and were not used for agricultural +purposes. However, in the southern Dulbahanta country, south by west +of this, at a distance of five or six marches, there was a nullah, +with many springs in it, which united in certain places, and became a +running stream. This I now, from subsequent inquiries and inspection +of Lieut. Cruttenden's map,[18] suspect is the watercourse set down in +my instructions as the Wadi Nogal. This watercourse, I was assured, +bounded the Nogal or white stony country on the west, and divided it +from the Haud or red stoneless country, which is occupied in most part +by the southern Dulbahantas, who have "the finest grazing-grounds in +the world, and possess incalculable numbers of camels and horses +(meaning ponies), and cows, sheep, and goats; whilst the game which +roamed about there covered the ground like flocks of sheep." Of these +the largest were giraffes, rhinoceroses, and lions, elephants being +confined to the Mijjertaine country, the Koolies hills to the south of +Berbera, and the Webbé Shebéli, or Haines River.[19] + +23d.--Early in the morning, accompanied by Husayn Ali, who opposed me +no longer, we commenced our descent to the valley of Jid Ali, an +expansive flat several miles in breadth, fuller and better wooded in +the north than any place I had yet seen, but tapering away to the +south and eastwards, until it became lost to sight in the barren +plateau. After marching a mile or so, we found the Abban hastening to +meet us, in high dudgeon with my men for having advanced contrary to +his mandates, before he had time to arrive and smooth the way; for now +the great impressive spell, his influence, which I was to understand +could alone save me from the terrors of the unruly Dulbahantas, was +proved to me of secondary importance, and he, consequently, +insignificant. This occasioned a little delay; but at last, the Abban +becoming reconciled to this defeat of his projected plans, we were +permitted to resume the march, and, soon arriving in the bed of the +valley, encamped near the watercourse of Jid Ali Tug, on the meridian +of Mai. The water in the nullah extended upwards of half a mile, when +it became absorbed in the thirsty soil. It consisted of a chain of +pools, connected by little runners, the produce of some bitter +springs, and made the country green in consequence. Attracted by my +dates and rice--for I had brought no other property save my +specimen-boxes and ammunition--many of the Dulbahantas forgot their +occupations in war, and flocked around my camp all day and night, +bothering my servants incessantly whilst cooking, and begging presents +from me every moment. I remained here three days, trying to negotiate +with the head men for permission to advance, but obtained no practical +result. They insisted, for even coming thus far, that I should give +them as many cloths and material as I had given to the Warsingali, for +they would take no less. When told all my worldly goods did not admit +of such a payment, they quietly said, I had come there against their +will; they did not believe me; and if I did not open my boxes to their +inspection, they would smash them up and help themselves. This was an +everyday occurrence, which became only insignificant, as it was +repeated without being carried into execution. Most of the time the +Abban was away, stopping at his home, and no business could be done. I +therefore took short excursions about the valley shooting, and +inspecting the various habitations. + +Animals were more abundant, in consequence of the greater extent of +water; and I shot gazelles, little saltiana antelopes, hares, Egyptian +geese, rock-pigeons, ducks and teal, and snipe and partridge, besides +a choice collection of small birds. In one place I found a small stone +hut, occupied by an old man who had once been on a pilgrimage to +Mecca, and had seen the art of cultivating ground. He was now turning +his experience to account by growing jowari (a species of millet), and +effected it with some success; for he had two small enclosures, which +he irrigated by cuts from the nullah, that produced grain, which grew +from eight to nine feet high. He was loud in praise of the advantages +which he derived from his farm, saying it saved his flocks, and +assisted him in the means of food when his ewes were pregnant, or +giving lamb. I patronised this farmer, and offered to lend him some +tools for digging with, when he said he did not want that so much as +some hints about sowing, and wished I would send a man to instruct +him. Farhan, who was with me, delighted at the prospect of showing his +skill in any manner--for he styled himself professor of all things--at +once took the hint, and bargained to do a day's work, and furnish him +with some wrinkles for his future guidance, for the payment of a goat, +which was readily agreed to. + +The people here were highly superstitious, and, like all ignorant +races, very punctilious in their ceremonies of worship. As _true_ +Mussulmans, they were constant in their time of prayer, and abused my +interpreter for never saying his. When I made him cut the deer's +throats a little lower down the throat than their canons permit, to +save the specimen, they spat on the ground to show their contempt, and +abused him heartily. If I threw date-stones in the fire (the seed of +paradisiacal food), they looked upon it as a sacrilege. They were also +very suspicious. If I walked up and down the same place to stretch my +legs, they formed councils of war on my motives, considering I must +have some secret designs upon their country, or I would not do it, as +no man in his senses could be guilty of working his legs +unnecessarily. + +Considering all the northerners were said to have been driven up here +by the war, I was much surprised to see so few habitations or flocks +in the valley; all there were consisted in a few kraals scattered over +the plain, which were constantly moved as soon as each plot of ground +in turn was eaten up by the cattle. In changing ground, these nomads +pack up everything on their camels, mat and stick, hut and all, and +placing the wife, with perhaps a baby also, on a donkey, march to any +unoccupied watering-place they can find. Their food is very limited, +except in the rainy season, when milk prevails: in consequence of +this, it being now the dry season, my servants accounted for their +increasing appetite for my dates. Some of the poorer men are said to +pass their whole lives without tasting any flesh or grain, but to live +entirely on sour milk, wild honey, or gums, as they may chance to come +across them, and they are almost naked; but notwithstanding this, +disease is scarcely known, and excepting in a few cases of endemic +ophthalmia, which appears to attack the country periodically, at +intervals of two or three years, I never heard of any. The climate was +very delightful at this season, and the nights so cold I had to wrap +myself well up in flannels. But perhaps that which best illustrates +the healthiness of the country and pleasantness of its atmosphere, is +the fact that I, although I had no bedstead, but always slept on the +ground, never pitched my tent a single day in the interior, and +neither wore a hat or shoe throughout the journey, save on one or two +occasions, when, severely stabbed with thorns, I put on a sandal. I +never knew a moment's illness. + +25th.--This evening, Husayn Hadji, who I now found out was +brother-in-law to Sumunter, approached me as I came in from shooting, +and said, "We are surprised to see you return alive; did you not meet +some armed men when you were shooting?" I replied, "No, not one." +"Then," said he, "there are many men come here, who from the first +have forbid your coming into this country; they are under no control, +but, in open defiance of the Gerad, do and act just as they like: +indeed, every head man is a Gerad here, and those who are strongest +carry the day." This was the prelude to another farce; presently the +men came of whom Husayn Hadji spoke, and, surrounding my camp, +boisterously demanded to know what I was doing in their country +against their orders. A violent altercation then ensued. They must +have all my property given up at once, or they would take it by force; +and remained trying to bully me into compliance, until I said I would +sooner die than give them anything. Seeing me determined, they then +walked off, saying I had not one night left to live, for they would +return and kill me after dark. The place was now getting too hot to be +pleasant, for the fact was, we were so near the watering-place, that +my camp offered a convenient and tempting lounge for all the idle +blackguards of the country to assemble at. + +26th.--I sent orders back for the rear traps to come on as quick as +possible, and at the suggestion of my servants, who were just as tired +as myself of these incessant provocations, changed camp to a place +three miles farther up the valley, much more remote from water, but +nearer to the Abban's home, by which I hoped I should be able to get +at him easier; for the aggravating wretch, whenever I sent messages to +recall him, invariably returned plausible excuses, showing the +necessity of his having stopped away, and as repeatedly said he would +not fail in coming immediately; but at the same time, as the sequence +showed, never intending to do so. + +It would be useless, as well as painful, to narrate in detail all the +daily and hourly incidents which occurred in the next few days whilst +I was detained here by the artful and dishonest machinations of this +vile-conditioned man, from whom I could never get one true word, and +whose absence, although I was striving to induce his coming to me, +really seemed a relief. A wicked feeling was almost coming over me, +which made me shudder again when I reflected more calmly on what my +mind was now dilating. He seemed to me only as an animal in satanical +disguise; to have shot him would have given me great relief, for I +fairly despaired of ever producing any good effect upon his mind. +Again I tried the old scheme of forcing him to leave me, and even +begged an Akil of the Dulbahantas, offering him large rewards, to be +my guide to Berbera. This, as might be imagined, provoked a severe +row. The man I was endeavouring to seduce to favour me was one of the +gang of forty thieves, and as birds of a feather all Dulbahantas +flocked together to assist the victim of my displeasure; for Sumunter +was, by his intermarriage with these northerners, naturalised amongst +them. However, I had my wicked will, by relating, in presence of all +his now rapidly congregating friends (a row always brings a crowd), +the whole of his misdemeanours since he first came with me to this +country, and threatened him with the lasting displeasure of our +Government, and ruin to his trade at Aden, if he still persisted in +his tricks. This brought matters home much closer than anybody liked +to hear, and set all parties cogitating on what course had best be +followed. I now retired to cool myself by shooting, and on returning +again was met by the Abban, interpreter, and many Dulbahanta Akils, +who, now trying the conciliating dodge, came to report the good news +that a victory had been gained by the northerners, and the southerners +were in full retreat to their provinces, by which the road to Berbera +would be open to my proceeding onwards. Moreover, the rear traps had +arrived at Abi, by which accident everything seemed to harmonise. This +sounded very cheering for the moment, but I soon was damped again. + +I wanted to move at once, and lose no time in taking full benefit of +the opportunity thus offered; but this, like every other proposal that +I made, was immediately checked by a cruel device, as unforeseen as it +was objectionable. Hassan had not come with the ponies he went after +from Rhut Tug; I must therefore, before advancing, send back to the +farther frontier of the Warsingali to purchase, by bills on Aden, five +ponies at thirty dollars a-head, to be afterwards given away in +presents to chiefs on the road for allowing me to pass through their +territories, and this, at a minimum calculation, would occupy a +fortnight's time, and even then I should have to go single-handed, +without a servant, instrument, or article of any bulk with me. Of +course this, as the Abban knew, I never would consent to. On no +account would I suffer my being separated from my men and property +when the time for my return to Berbera was so close at hand; and, +moreover, without the instruments the journey would be of no avail. +Row succeeded row when I pushed matters closely; the Abban sometimes +affected repentance, but more often became defiant, and forbade +anybody's assisting me without his entire consent. Such, in fact, were +the effects of these angry ebullitions of temper on the minds of my +people, that the young Prince Abdullah, fearing to be witness to them +any more, took his leave and departed home. + +31st.--At length the rear traps arrived, but one camel, having been +taken ill on the march this morning whilst coming from Abi, was +slaughtered to "_save_" his flesh, and devoured by my hungry men. As +soon as everything had arrived, and the men were made aware of my +intention to push forward, they requested their discharge, affecting +fear to enter on a strange land, but in reality seeing I had no cloths +left to pay them, as afterwards transpired. This deficiency I visited +on the Abban, who, in trying to excuse himself for inefficiency in his +protectorship, meekly said he had been grieved to see the very rapid +decline of my property, but he could not help it, as I had so many +thieves in my employment!!! Mrs Awado now came over from Birhamir, +bringing a sheep and some ghee as a present for me; but I refused +taking anything from the relative of the Abban, and this appeared to +grieve her much. She said she had heard of all my disputes with +Sumunter, her son, and had remonstrated with him about them; he was a +proud man, and easily led away by vanity. She could see his being at +variance with me would not end to his advantage on his return to Aden, +and tried coaxing him to journey with me; but at the same time told me +he would have to be well upon his guard, as in former years he had +married clandestinely with a damsel of the Rheer Hamaturwa, a +sub-tribe of the Habr Gerhajis, who occupy the hill-range overlooking +Bunder Héis; and her loss to those people would be avenged at once, if +he ever came within their power. The Rheer Hamaturwa had heard of my +intention to journey westwards, and would be in readiness to descend +upon and intercept our march, kill Sumunter, and destroy the whole of +us; indeed, they had sent messages to that effect. + + + + + + Chapter IV. + +Meditations among the Tombs--A Fracas--The Return March--The +North-east Monsoon--Relief from Persecution--Interesting Animals--Gori +Again--Shooting a Woman--Arrival at Aden--Fresh Projects--Arrangements. + + + +3d January 1855.--During these three days I visited a ruined musjid +and a cemetery, which, though much resembling the one at Rhut in every +respect, was said to be of more recent origin, and built by +Mohammedans. On my walking amongst the tombs, and inspecting the +crosses[20] at their heads, the interpreter rebuked me for +sacrilegious motives, and desired me to come away, lest the +Dulbahantas should find it out, and be angry with me. Besides this, I +daily tried to draw Sumunter, like a badger, from his hut, which was +four miles distant from my tent, but without effect. He and his wife, +two dwarf sisters (little bits of things, who, the interpreter said, +were too small to be of any use), and some children, all lived +together in a small beehive hut, so low that they had to crawl in on +all-fours, and so small that it was marvellous how they could turn +round in it. At length to-day he arrived in a sullen angry mood, and +said, haughtily, he was displeased at my trying to force him into +compliance, as if I had the power to make him move unless he chose. It +was impossible to keep one's temper under such constant provocation; +so I abused him vehemently, and warned him off the camp, again +repeating he had abused his commission, as well as the Government +authorities who engaged him,--and entreated he would "get away," and +let me take my chance of proceeding how I could, for his presence +simply made my position one of purgatory. He laughed in scorn, wishing +to know if I thought I could do anything without him,--and said he had +only to turn his back an instant, and the Dulbahantas were ready to +devour me. I still persisted; and then he said, "If you say go once +more, I take you at your word; and see you to the consequences." + +My resolution was fixed; for I plainly saw I could not by any +possibility be worse off. He now tried frightening me by assembling +the Dulbahantas to confirm his words, making them say they only +permitted my residence there out of the love they bore to their +brother Sumunter, and that they certainly would kill me if he once +left the place. They did not fear guns. The English could not reach +them; besides, their fathers had driven Christians from these lands; +and if an army was to attack them, they would assemble so many +cavalry, and ride in such rapidity around them, that their gunners +could not take aim in consequence of the clouds of dust which this +feat would occasion. In addition to this, they thought the English +only efficacious behind walls; else, why did they not take revenge +upon the Arabs at Lahej, two years ago, for the murder of an officer? +They had often heard of the English threatening and preparing to do +it, but somehow they never carried their intention into execution. I +treated these vain bombastic words with the contempt which they +deserved,--but said, I only wanted Sumunter to take me on, or +otherwise to leave me to my fate. They then tried weakening my party +by bribing Farhan to side with them and leave; but the noble-hearted +Seedi disclosed their treachery, and gallantly said he would share +misfortunes with me, and fight, if necessary, to the last extremity. + +Imam, tame-hearted Indian, got in a dreadful fright, and implored I +would compromise the matter; for by this time all the camels had been +driven away; and the Warsingali moved off with Sumunter, saying I +brought the rupture by my obstinacy on my own head, and that as soon +as they were out of sight, the Dulbahantas would walk in and kill us +all in a heap. I then loaded all the guns, and, giving one to each of +the servants, sat on the boxes waiting to see the up-shot. I was +clearly outmanoeuvred--unable to move or get anything--but still was, +to use their own expression, "obstinate." After proceeding a certain +distance, the retiring band, with Sumunter at their head, sitting +fully equipped with spear and shield on his war-steed, came to a halt, +and invited the interpreter to meet them, presuming, they said, there +might be some mistake, and therefore they wished to open negotiations +afresh. Sumunter then gave me back my own words, saying, "If the Sahib +would only say he wished me to take him to Berbera, I will give some +small presents to the Akils of the Dulbahantas as a passport for him, +and proceed at once;" for they were only endeavouring to feel my +disposition towards them, and did not intend desertion, if I was not +irredeemably incensed against them. They then came back, and work +began afresh, by the distribution of presents, which, as is usual when +no man can bear to see the smallest trifle slip from his grasp to be +given to another, was a matter of no small difficulty in adjusting. If +the Dulbahantas did not succeed in skinning me of all my effects, they +naturally thought the next tribe would; and a whole day was consumed +in wrangling and disputing how much they should get. This ended by my +giving one musket, thirteen tobes, and my reserve silk turban; and now +I was at liberty to quit Jid Ali. + +11th.--At 10 A.M. we were loaded, and commenced the journey westward; +whilst the Abban said he would bid his friends adieu at home, and +bring five horses with him to Biyn Hablé, where he would meet us on +the following day. The track led us across a flat alluvial plain, +still in the valley, which was well covered with a thick growth of +acacias, and dry short grass, nipped short by cattle. After walking +five miles, we arrived at our destination, not far from a well, and +made a ring-fence of prickly boughs. + +Here for the last time I boiled the thermometer, to ascertain the +altitude of the plateau along my line of march, and found its average +height was 3913 feet: the minimum, at Rhut Tug, being 3077 feet--and +the maximum, at Yubbé Tug, 4498 feet. + +The following day two Dulbahantas paid us a visit, and demanded to +know by whose authority we had come upon their grounds; we were +trespassers, and must pay our footing. The ground was theirs, and they +recognised no authority over them. What I had given at the last place +was no concern of theirs, but I must give them also a quantity of +cloth equivalent to it. This being refused as a preposterous +imposition, they turned hastily away, and, tossing their heads, said, +I might soon expect to see them again in larger numbers, when they +would help themselves. Moreover, for my satisfaction, they could +assure me that a number of men, who had learned which road I was bent +on travelling, were fast gathering on ahead, to oppose my advance. In +the evening the Abban arrived, bringing only two ponies with him. + +17th.--It would be needless to recount all the varied incidents of the +next five days which were wasted here, by the thousand and one stories +which the Abban produced to fritter away my time near his home, and +swindle me out of my property. The time had now arrived when by +appointment I should have been at Berbera; and as I was not then aware +at what time the fair usually broke up, I felt much afraid of being +too late to join my companions. Sometimes Sumunter raised my hopes by +saying he would certainly proceed on a certain date; and when that day +arrived, the journey was deferred again, but not without severe rows, +so exactly like the past ones as to be unworthy of description. One +day we were ready, and I was to pass through any people that might +fall in the way by giving large credits on Aden under his security, +when the tide was turned again in another moment by the arrival of +some accomplices, who dropped in like unexpected evils, to say the +southern Dulbahantas had gained a great victory, slaughtering men and +cattle, and the road to Berbera would be thronged with people, so that +advance would be impossible for the present. This was a settler to my +westward march; and now I thought of escaping from this land of +robbers by turning northwards, and marching over the hills to Bunder +Héis, where I could either ship off, or march along the coast to +Berbera. + +Negotiations were then set on foot with the Rheer Hamaturwa, and +several of their Akils came at my bidding, but were as implacable +about obliging a stranger as any of their neighbours. The whole +distance was not three days' travel; still they said I should not see +their country, and acknowledged themselves a lawless band, who would +take everything from me if I ventured there: adding, if the Warsingali +and Dulbahantas, who were stronger than themselves, would only +withdraw from me one day, they would come down at once, and demolish +my whole camp. They then demanded cloths for the trouble I had given +them, but, not receiving any, retired in huge disgust. + +18th.--In final despair I faced about, and marched north-easterly, by +a new route, to reach Bunder Gori again, to ship for Aden, as there +only could I be certain of finding a vessel to convey me over the +Gulf. After six miles' march across the head of the valley, we arrived +at Mirhiddo Kraal, on elevated ground, and found a large party +assembled there. Some of them were the Rheer Hamaturwa, with whom I +tried again for permission to cross their hills, but this time by the +gap at the head of the valley in front of Bunder Jedid. This they were +ready to permit, and give security of passage to my people, if I gave +them all my remaining cloths; but they thought I should not find a +vessel there, which settled the question. I had no time to lose, and, +moreover, should save my cloths by continuing on the line I was +travelling. For though I should have to cross the hills where they +were occupied by the Habr Gerhajis, in the new way my track would pass +so near to the Warsingali frontier, that that tribe would not have +strength enough to demand anything from me, and passport fees are only +given in such places to the extent to which they can be enforced. + +The other people I met here were some Dulbahantas arming for the +fight. They said they were 4000 strong in cavalry, and were +slaughtering sheep wholesale for provision on the road. Each man +carried a junk of flesh, a skin of water, and a little hay, and was +then ready for a long campaign, for they were not soft like the +English (their general boast), who must have their daily food; they +were hardy enough to work without eating ten days in succession, if +the emergency required it. Here a second camel was on the point of +dying, when his flesh was saved from becoming carrion by a knife being +passed across his throat. + +21st.--The Abban slipped away on the 19th, when I was out +specimen-hunting, and would not come again till to-day, and then even +returned to give his wife a last salute, permitting me to advance to a +watercourse called Hanfallal, whilst he would join me on the following +day. This day we accomplished ten miles, and made a kraal about four +miles north of our old line of march. + +22d.--As the Abban did not keep his promise, and none of us knew the +road, I now tried to prevail on his mother Awado, who was tending her +flocks close by, to be my guide, which she readily consented to do, as +she was anxious herself to go to Bunder Gori. The water found here was +in a circular cleft of limestone, sixty feet below the surface, which +was so small, only one person at a time could descend to it; and the +supply was so limited, I was obliged to keep my men down there all +night, to be the first for drawing in the morning. Gazelles were very +abundant, and in the evening we were visited by a very singular-looking +canine animal, which unfortunately I could not get a shot at. It was a +little less in size than the Crocuta hyena, but inclined rather more, +in its general shape, to a wolf than a hyena. The body was a pure +black, like the black Tibet wolf, but the tail was tipped with white. +I am not aware that this animal has ever been described. + +23d.--At the usual starting-hour the Abban arrived, with two ponies +belonging to his brother-in-law, Husayn Ali, but which he tried to +pass off as his own, being ever very anxious to make me believe he was +a large stock proprietor, to magnify his importance. But, +unfortunately for him, the interpreter, who was as treacherous a man +as any of the breed, although he often confounded me by his innate +deceit, also peached at times upon his brother Sumunter. The Abban, on +seeing his mother equipped and ready on her donkey to go with me, +scolded her heartily for presuming to undertake the journey without +his leave, and sent her home faster than she came. We now commenced +the march, and travelled five miles diagonally across some low spurs +of hills, and encamped in the evening in a broad, deep, dry nullah, at +a place called Dalmallé. We brought water with us, and fortunate it +was so, for none could be found anywhere near the camp. + +24th.--We started early in the morning, ascending the hill-range by a +steep winding footpath up one of its ridges, which, in respect to its +barrenness and soil, resembled the descent I had from Yafir. After +completing eleven miles' march, the caravan crested the hill opposite +Ras[21] Galwéni, travelled a short way on the flat of the summit, and +encamped in the evening amongst some thick jungle on its north or +seaward side, at a kraal called Gobamiré. + +Immediately on arriving, as we commenced to unload the camels, a +number of men who were occupying that district--the Urus Sagé section +of the Habr Gerhajis tribe--seized the camels by their heads, and +demanded their customary fees, at the same time boisterously +gesticulating that they would help themselves if their request was not +complied with. Farhan enjoyed the row in the boisterous characteristic +manner of a Seedi--began dancing frantically the negro war-dance, +cocking his gun, and pointing it at everybody by turns; whilst +Sumunter and the other Warsingali began thumping them with their +clubs, and swearing a fearful vengeance would be wrought upon them by +their tribe, who were living within an hour or two's call, should they +not desist. The fact was, my men knew their power here, and, guided +only by animal passions, enjoyed showing it. The poor discomfited Urus +Sagé now slunk off like defeated dogs, or schoolboys returning from a +fight, just wishing to know if they were only to be considered in the +light of women, who could not maintain their own right, and, snarling +and snapping, threatened they would return again in stronger force +before the morning. + +We then unloaded, and lay-to for the night. Immediately on reaching +the top of this range, a most interesting and novel sight was +presented to our view. We stepped in one instant from constant +sunshine into constant clouds, and saw what accounted for the dense +verdure of the north, as well as the extreme barrenness of the south +side of the hills. For two months we had not seen the vestige of a +cloud, or felt a drop of rain, and now we were at once launched into +the middle of the "Dairti" or north-east monsoon, which had been +pouring for some time previously against the north face of the +mountain, and was arrested there by it. It reminded me at once of that +marked phenomenon with which all travellers in the Himalaya Mountains, +who spend their "hot-weather" season at Chini, on the banks of the +Sutlege river, to escape rain, must be acquainted, when the clouds of +the great Indian monsoon envelop all the mountain-range for months +together on the weather or south-west side, and hang suspended on the +top of a high hill in sight of that place, but never pass over, +looking as if the mountain was too high to be surmounted by them, when +trying to reach the dry plateaux of Tibet. The clouds were rolling in +thick successive volumes at our feet, and obscured the view below us. + +25th.--We were detained until noon in consequence of the Abban's +ponies, which had gone astray, and until then could not be found. In +the meanwhile the Urus Sagé came again, and tried to prevent us +loading, on the same plea as yesterday, but without effect; but when +we were starting, a compromise was effected on condition they would +escort us down the hill and guide the way. The road was steep and very +slippery, so that the camels could hardly get along, and this was +further increased by the thick strong green jungle-bushes, as well as +rocks and other difficulties incidental to mountain travelling with +such large and ungainly animals as laden camels. At the fourth mile we +found a large roomy cave under a rock, and put up for the night. Sheep +had been kept here, and the place was so full of fleas that the ground +was literally browned with them. I never saw such an astonishing +quantity congregated in one place; but we soon disposed of them by +burning certain boughs, which the Somali justly said was a specific +remedy against them. + +26th and 27th.--During these two days we descended by a tortuous +winding footpath under no mean difficulties, and finally arrived, +after twelve miles' marching, at a place called Hundurgal, situated in +the hollow of a watercourse which divides the Warsingali from the Habr +Gerhajis frontiers, and transmits its waters to the Gulf at Ras +Galwéni. During the journey the Somali pointed out some of their +richest gum-trees, of which the finest in order is a species of +frankincense, called by them Falafala, or Luban Maiti. The gum of this +tree is especially valued by the Somali women for fumigating purposes, +which they apply to their bodies by sitting over it, when ignited, in +the same manner as Cashmeres sit over their little charcoal-pots to +keep themselves warm when resting on their travels. They enshroud +themselves in a large wrapper, place a pot with the burning gum +between their legs, and allow the perfume to rise to every portion of +their body simultaneously. We gave our guides five cloths for escort, +and sent them away. + +I was informed by my men that under lee of Ras Galwéni there is a +better harbour than any on the whole coast-line, having deep water +close in to the shore, but, being neutral ground, the Warsingali will +not allow anybody to occupy it. They do not allow the Habr Gerhajis to +do so, as they would monopolise the trade; and they will not take it +themselves, as their sultan sagely remarks it would draw all their +force to one side of their possessions, and thus leave the other +exposed to attack from the Mijjertaines. Now the Dulbahantas are +obliged to come to Bunder Gori if they want to traffic with outer +nations, but were the Habr Gerhajis at Galwéni, this custom would be +drawn from them. + +28th.--The inexpressible delight I felt at snuffing the fresh sea-air, +and being comparatively free from the tyranny of my persecutor +Sumunter, was truly indescribable; and I felt so impatient to end this +useless journey, and join my friends for the larger and more promising +one, I could hardly restrain my spirits. I stepped out before the +caravan was ready, and began the journey alone, when presently a rapid +fire, the discharge of a six-barrel revolver, attracted my attention. +This was done by the Abban, who said that whilst travelling there his +life was in jeopardy from the Habr Gerhajis, in consequence of an old +feud he had contracted with them, on account of which they had +forbidden this road to him. He thought to frighten them by the report +of firearms, but it seemed to have the opposite effect, for many men +at once gathered around the caravan, and for the time prevented its +onward course. As usual, they wanted me not only to pay for travelling +in their country, but to liquidate their claim on the Abban, as I had +brought him there, and only out of consideration for the respect they +felt towards me, they permitted his passage in safety. + +They might as well have tried to skin a flint as obtain anything from +me, and I told them so, for Sumunter had fleeced me of all my effects. +This parley concluded, we travelled on without any further +molestation, and, crossing over the foot of some low spurs, arrived at +noon in a broad watercourse on the maritime plain to eat some +breakfast. + +Here I shot and stuffed a very interesting rat, with a bushy tail, +very much resembling the little gilléri squirrel of the Indian plains, +but plumper in face and body, like a recently born rabbit. I had seen +many of them in rocks about the hill's side, but until now had not +secured a good specimen.[22] Again at this place I saw those large +black canine animals with white-tipped tail, but could not get a shot: +there were three hunting together, like jungle dogs in India. After +refreshing ourselves we resumed the march, and travelled along the +sandy shore eastward to a halting-place called Farjeh, completing a +march of twelve miles. + +29th.--This day we completed our journey by marching into Gori, when I +again took occupation of the old fort. An answer from the Government +at Aden to my appeal against the sultan and Abban had now arrived, and +affected Sumunter severely. He was ready to sink into the earth, and +said to me, "Oh, why did you not whip me when I was in fault? I could +have borne that well, but writing to the English at Aden is more than +I can bear. What will be the consequences now if I return to Aden?" I +said I could not answer for it, as it was now beyond my control, and +if he went over there he must take his chance; but I strongly advised +his not going at all. "Indeed," I said, "I wish you would depart from +me at once. From the first, I told you I was obliged, by order, to +write accurate accounts of everything as it happened, and the English, +as you have often said yourself, are remarkable for not telling lies." +The sultan, into whose hands the letter first went, would not show +himself, but remained in the distant jungles, although I sent +repeatedly for him to converse concerning Sumunter. + +The buggalow in which I came from Aden was now anchored in Bunder +Gori. It had made a voyage somewhere in the meanwhile, but the captain +had been afraid to go to Aden in consequence of the salt question, in +which Sumunter had made him confederate, fearing lest I might have +since written to the authorities there about it. However, I now wanted +to hire it again, and made sundry overtures to the captain, who at +first showed a disposition to treat, hoping thereby I should forgive +him; but he was finally hindered from doing so by the insidious +machinations of Sumunter, who doubtless was afraid by this means of +collecting at Aden more witnesses against himself. Sumunter now saw +his position clearly, and must have felt equally with myself it was a +great pity the letter of reproof from the Brigadier of Aden[23] did +not arrive sooner, and keep him on a course of rectitude, for he was +obliged to return to Aden and take his chance, as there he had not +only a wife and family, but it was the headquarters of all his +mercantile transactions. During this time, whilst I was in the old +fort, an odd accident occurred to an Akil's wife. She was playing with +my interpreter, who, for a frolic, snatched up one of my six-barrelled +revolver pistols and gave her chase. Suddenly she darted into the room +I was sitting in, bounced on a bench and poked her tail in my man's +face. He, not knowing the pistol was loaded, pulled at the trigger, +and discharged the contents of two barrels at once into her fleshy +projection. In an instant their fun came to an end, and great +consternation ensued. She thought she must die from it, and bolted off +home to give up the ghost. Her husband now came and clamoured for +revenge--her value was so-and-so, and my man must pay it. The +interpreter, hearing this, came crying to me, and wished to know if I +thought she would die; for should she do so, he, by the laws of the +land, would have to pay her price. I said I could not tell without +seeing her wounds, but, under any circumstances, the bullets ought to +be extracted. This appeared to them still more alarming than ever. +They did not wish me to inspect the wounds, and the woman herself was +very bashful. However, the Sahib was the only surgeon present, and +votes gave me the practice. It was certainly very amusing to witness +the struggle between virtue and necessity, and the operation was so +far satisfactory that I succeeded in extracting one of the balls. The +other ball, however, was so deeply imbedded I could not find a probe +that would reach it. Fortunately it was not fired in a dangerous +direction, and the ball being small, I thought it would not occasion +her any serious inconvenience. In short, I set their minds easy on +that score, though it did not keep their tongues quiet from +importunate begging. I was now dreadfully impatient to get away, but +day by day I had to suffer disappointment. I was assured by Sumunter +he was doing everything in his power to facilitate it, and as often +told by the interpreter, when he had gone away, that he was doing +nothing of the sort, but, on the contrary, had sent to the interior to +get three ponies, which would make five with what he had, the +complement required by Lieutenant Burton, to make a present to him on +arrival, as a bribe to overlook his faults. I besought he would desist +from this hopeless speculation, as time was now more precious than any +other matter. Still he persisted, and in a fortnight's time the +animals arrived, and then, without further trouble, we chartered a +vessel for thirty-five dollars, twelve times the fare I paid for +coming over, with the whole vessel to myself; and embarked with eight +camels and five ponies on the 15th February 1855. After five days' +sailing we anchored in Aden harbour, and no sooner did the "let go the +anchor" sound, than, Somali fashion, overjoyed at my release from +three and a half months' persecution, I took a header into the sea, +and hastily swam ashore to hurry off and meet old friends. + +After the first greetings were over, and I had delivered for report +all my sketch-notes[24] of the journey, as well as maps and +collections, which latter were sent to the public museum in Calcutta, +a discussion took place as to the disposal of the Abban, who, I now +found out, was not singular in the way of treating his clients, for +Herne had been writing over complaints constantly about his man. I was +averse to punishing him, from the simple fact of having brought him +over; but my commandant thought otherwise, and that he had better be +punished, if for no other reason than to set a good moral example to +the others.[25] + +Against my inclination I was appointed to be Sumunter's prosecutor, +and with my servants as witnesses, a verdict of guilty was speedily +effected against him in the Aden Police Court. He was then sentenced +to two months' imprisonment, and to pay the sum of 200 rupees, or, +failing to do that within the given time, he would be further +subjected to imprisonment, with hard labour, for six months more, and +was to be banished with his family for ever after the present +punishment should cease. + +I now advised Lieutenant Burton, after my late defeat in travelling, +that it would be highly essential to the success of the great +expedition that we should be escorted by some Somali picked from the +Aden police force, as by this means alone should we have men on whom +we could depend. He also was aware of this fact, from having been +successfully taken himself into Harar by one of that corps; but, +unfortunately for us, there were none to spare. + +Though the Somali are rare blackguards in most respects, there are +some traits in their character which have always won me to them. They +love freedom and liberty, and enjoy a jolly row, added to which they +are always in good spirits. In my humble opinion, they would make +first-rate guerilla soldiers for Aden, if armed and trained to shoot +with good rifles, and not restrained to wearing any particular +clothes, or confined to steady-marching drills. They have a national +antipathy to the Arabs, their elder brothers, and would glory in +having scrimmages with them. + +This was the climax of my first proceedings with Africa. + +Stroyan and Herne were now both employed at Berbera or in its +vicinity. The former had been making slight excursions inland, +shooting, and had killed three elephants; whilst the latter was +purchasing baggage-cattle for the expedition transport. After enjoying +a short repose in civilised life, I again felt restless, and proposed +a move to proceed thither in order to assist Herne in completing the +desired complement of animals. This at once met the views of our +commandant, who, doubting whether Berbera could supply a sufficient +number of beasts of burden of itself, asked me to cross over the Gulf +and see what I could do at Kurrum, to keep in communication with +Herne, and as soon as I had got enough, to march with them along the +sea-shore to Berbera. + +Nothing could have suited me better. I saw before me, by this measure, +active employment until the breaking-up of the Berbera fair. + +A kind friend (Lieutenant Dansey of the Bombay army, late Assistant +Political Agent of Aden, who knew the characters of all the Somali +well) offered to procure me a man as guide and interpreter who had +formerly performed, during the time of his appointment, some political +service in the Somali country, with great credit both to his mission +and himself. In consequence of this he was nicknamed El Balyuz, or the +Ambassador. + +Balyuz was a clever Hindostani scholar, and, as I ultimately found, +possessed such honesty of purpose and straightforwardness of +character, as rendered him a perfect _rara avis_ amongst all Somali. +He was of the Mijjertaine tribe. Travelling in his company, after my +experiences with Sumunter and Ahmed, was verily a luxury. I parted +with him at the termination of the expedition with pure feelings of +affection. + +Lieutenant Burton now conceived the idea of suppressing the system of +Abbanship, thinking that, as the Somali had access to Aden without any +impost, Englishmen ought to enjoy a corresponding freedom to travel in +Somali Land. This perhaps was scarcely the right time to dictate a +policy which would be distasteful as well as injurious (in a monetary +sense) to the people among whom we were about to travel, and with whom +it was highly essential to our interest to be on the most friendly +terms.[26] + +I now applied to the Government for some Somali policemen, but +unfortunately there were then too few hands present to carry on the +duties of the office, and I could not have them. I therefore engaged, +by the orders of Lieutenant Burton, a dozen men of various races +(Egyptians, Nubians, Arabs, and Seedis), to form an escort, and armed +them with my sabres and muskets. They were all raw recruits, and +unaccustomed to warfare. Still we could get no others. With a little +practice they learned to shoot at a mark with tolerable accuracy. + +Seven of these men, together with the eight camels I brought across +from Bunder Gori, were despatched direct to Berbera, whilst the +remaining five, and some ponies I purchased in Aden, remained with me. +I then took a bag of dollars for purchasing camels; some dates and +rice for the consumption of the party; and with the Balyuz and the old +servants, Imam the butler and Farhan the gamekeeper, all was ready for +my second adventure on the 20th March 1855. + + + + + + Chapter V. + +Aden--Departure--Kurrum--A Conclave of Sages--Arangement of the +Expedition--The South-west Monsoon--Medical Practice--The Camp +Besieged--Wounded and Captive--A Triumphal Procession--Flight--Return +to Aden and to England--Projects. + + + +21st March 1855.--Having engaged a buggalow and stowed away all the +traps, I embarked in the evening, weighed anchor, and set sail. Even +before we could sail out of the harbour, the first row commenced. The +Nakhoda (captain), as is often the case in these primitive countries, +kept no regular sailors, but trusted to finding men desirous of going +to their country, who would work his vessel for him--all Somali being +by nature sailors. + +The men he had now on board were of the Habr Gerhajis and Habr Teljala +tribes, who occupy the coast-line near Kurrum, and had waited the +opportunity of obtaining a passage over there in company with me. They +were all dreadfully uproarious, and would not by any persuasion on my +part keep quiet. On inquiring from the Balyuz the cause of their +violent discussions, he informed me they were drawing lots to see who +should be my Abban, and those of the seven foreign servants I had with +me. The bare idea of eight Abbans was too ridiculous, and their +persistency made it beyond a joke. I instantly ordered the sails to be +hauled down, and had my instructions from Lieutenant Burton about +Abbans proclaimed to the whole crew: that the Balyuz was my Ras +Cafila, and the other foreigners my protectors. The Somali were +evidently determined not to be done. If I had been allowed to have but +one Abban with me, this could not have occurred. As it was, I said if +they determined on wrangling any more, I should 'bout ship and settle +the difference with them in a less ceremonious manner in the harbour. +This effectually stopped their tongues, and we again proceeded on the +journey. After two entire days' sailing across the Gulf with variable +and gentle breezes, we arrived at our destination, Kurrum, in safety, +on the third evening, the 24th March, and at once sent some Government +letters to the Akils, ordering their attendance, and to proclaim +publicly the nature of my business, in order that camels might be +brought for sale. I found all the people extremely obliging; they +tried to make my residence as comfortable as they could; showed me +great deference because I was an Englishman, and brought their camels +readily, though, of course, as might be expected, they were canny in +their mode of dealing, trying to dispose of their worst animals first, +and asking prices much above the market tariff. For poor animals they +asked from four to five and a half dollars, which, though not a third +of the price I paid in the Warsingali country, was full price for the +finest animals at Berbera. Berbera during the fair time is undoubtedly +the cheapest place to purchase camels in of all the coast-line, and +the farther you leave it the more expensive animals become, increasing +in price at the same ratio as the extent of distance. Whilst halting +here I heard of the existence of the Victoria N'yanza. The Somali +described its dimensions as equal in extent to the Gulf of Aden, and +further alluded to its being navigated by white men. None of the men +present had been there to see it, though it was currently known as a +positive fact amongst them. I did not believe the story in the light +they expressed it, supposing they confounded an inland sea with the +Western or Atlantic Ocean. Colonel Rigby, H.B.M. Consul at Zanzibar, +tells me he also heard of this lake when he was travelling in this +country some years previously. It is strange this story was never +published earlier. The white navigators alluded to are evidently the +expeditionists who were sent by Mehemet Ali, Viceroy of Egypt, up the +White Nile as far as Gondokoro, about twelve or fourteen years ago, +and the Nile and lake have been confounded as one water in the +transmission of the intelligence, though both were seen. + +The minds of the Kurrum people seemed greatly discomposed about +various rumours which they heard. One was that the English intended to +suppress the slave-trade, and they wished me to tell them if such was +not a fact--saying it would be unjust for us to do so, as slaving was +an acknowledged right given them in the Koran, and handed down by +their Russool Mahamed. + +The other bugbear which alarmed them was a report that the English +intended either to take possession of Berbera, or that they would give +it to Shermarky--a native chief and ally of ours who lives at Zeylah. +In short, these numerous fears arose from Herne's long residence at +Berbera. It looked suspicious seeing him take notes there of +everything, and they naturally put the worst interpretation on all his +actions. What could be the use of his watching the trade, if our +Government did not want to take the country?--of watching the +slave-trade, if it did not mean stopping it? And then the suppression +of Abbanships was the crowning of all. + +The village of Kurrum consisted of a single fort and a large +collection of mat huts, all grouped together, situated close to the +shore. The maritime plain consisted of sandy-brown soil, very +uninteresting, with scarcely any vegetation growing on it, and was +here only about half a mile broad. The hills in the background were +very insignificant, not half so high as any I had seen, and were dull +and brown, like those one sees when travelling down the Red Sea. The +people say that in their recesses and ravines acacias and other +gum-trees grow as they do elsewhere. Gum only exudes in the dry hot +season; and the confined air in the ravines is described as being so +hot that people can hardly stay there, and many of the gum-pickers who +do, become deaf in consequence of it. + +The water which the villagers used was so brackish as to be hardly +drinkable. I lived here five days, enjoying sour camel's milk, +gossiping with the natives, and roaming about the place. The +difference between the life I was now living, attributable principally +to the sagacity and good-heartedness of the Balyuz, was a charming +contrast to my wretched existence when with the Warsingali. I bought +twenty-five camels, at an average rate of five and a half dollars +a-head, and then stopped purchasing, as I heard by letter from Herne +he had then got nearly sufficient for our requirements--that camels +were very plentiful at Berbera, and he was buying them at a cheaper +rate than I could. + +On the 29th March, at 4 P.M., I broke ground with all my camels and +ponies, and commenced the march on Berbera. At sundown, after +travelling three miles along the sea-shore, we encamped in a +water-course called Goldéra. The water we found here, in a little well +in its bed, was deliciously sweet--so pleasant after the brackish +Kurrum wells. No one who had not been deprived for a long time of the +pure element, can conceive the greed with which a man first plunges +his head into clear sweet water. It is the natural fluid for man, and +for no other beverage does abstinence produce so keen an appetite. + +The following morning, a little after daybreak, the caravan was ready, +and we soon got under way. Travelling with tedious slowness, +aggravated by the dreary monotony of the road and the sandy plain, +constantly crossing dry, shallow watercourses, lined on both sides by +fringes of stunted acacias or other salsolacious plants, we at last +arrived at a hot spring of sweet water, called Golamiro, and rested +here for several hours during the great heat of the mid-day sun. When +the day became cooler we resumed the march, and travelled until after +dark to a grazing-ground one mile short of Ain Tarad, and there spent +the night. The farther we travelled westwards, the broader became the +maritime plain, and the richer its clothing of shrubs and grass. +Besides the ordinary acacias, which were finer and more numerous, +there were many patches of the bastard cypress and tall rank grasses +growing on sandy hillocks, in the same way as they do in India. The +Somali exultingly pointed this out as a paradise, replete with every +necessary for life's enjoyment, and begged to know if the English had +any country pastures like it, where camels and sheep can roam about +the whole year round without exhausting it. + +31st.--To-day we made a short march, passing through Ain Tarad, and +encamping on a grazing-ground one mile to its westward. The village, +as usual, was close to the shore, for the convenience of shipping. It +is not half the size of Kurrum, but boasts of a fort of recent +construction, with six rusty pieces of cannon lying on the sand in +front of it. An Akil, named Abdie, being chief of the place, is the +lordly proprietor of these instruments of defence. + +On first entering the place he advanced to receive me, and politely +said, "Had you not dropped so suddenly in upon me this morning, it was +my intention to have welcomed you with a royal salute, for the honour +you have done, as the representative of the English, in paying me this +visit." This speech, though showing what his feelings were towards me, +was obviously a matter of simple palaver; for, in the first place, the +guns could not have possibly been fired without occasioning their +total destruction; and it was doubtful if he possessed any powder. +Whilst sitting in his village, and drinking a bowl of sour curd--the +first thing always offered to a visitor--I observed a group of old men +sitting, in hot discussion on some knotty point, under the lee of the +fort, and desired the Balyuz to ascertain the purport of the arguments +under debate, as by their gesticulations I could plainly see it had +some connection with my coming here. + +After joining them and listening some time, he returned to say they +were discussing the possibility of our expedition ever reaching the +Webbé (River) Shebéli; to go as far as Ugahden, they thought, was out +of the question. Hearing this, I went up to them, and asked what +reasons they had for thinking so. They replied openly that the Somali +would stop us before we got half-way. The Balyuz then interposed, +saying, "But the British are strong, and can do anything, they like." +Hearing this, they laughingly replied, "If the Somali came down to +fight, and then ran away back into the fastnesses of their hills, what +would the English do then, who cannot live a day without drinking beer +and eating meat? whereas the Somali can do very well without anything, +seldom requiring even water, and not more than one morsel of meat, for +a whole week together." I concluded the argument by saying, "Without +any exertion on our parts, we could cripple you at once; we have the +seaboard in our hands, and at any moment could stop your trade, so +that neither grain nor clothing would ever be supplied you; besides, +if we wished, we could take quiet occupation of your hills and +watering-places, and then what would become of you?" The sages mildly +shook their heads, and said the English were indeed Shaitans (devils), +and that they had never looked at their position in that light before. +I then repaired to the camp, and found the cattle, as usual, gone out +to graze, under charge of their drivers and two soldiers. In the +evening, when the animals were brought home to be picketed, one pony +and one camel were found wanting. + +I sent men immediately to track the missing ones down, when it was +discovered by footprints that some savages had singled them out from +the herd, had driven them gently into a deep ravine, and when there +out of sight had hurried them off to the hills lying beyond the plain. +This open plunder on the coast, where British authority seemed to +prevail, was monstrous. I summoned Abdie, as chief of the place, told +him the whole story, and demanded that he should produce the missing +animals immediately, as it was impossible for him not to be cognisant +of the transaction. He said he did not then know who had stolen them, +but I might rest satisfied he would find out by the morning, and they +should be returned intact. He assured me he was lord of all he +surveyed, and his power was infinite within the limits of his clan. +The same night he brought back the pony, and said he would produce the +camel in the morning. I believed he had played this trick himself to +show the effect of his power, and so did the Balyuz; but he said he +had been obliged to pay ten dollars to the thief before he would give +it up. I now demanded he would produce the thief for trial, suspecting +that thief to be himself, but he said he could not. This reply made +the Balyuz knowingly cock his eye. The next day, as the camel did not +come by noon, I wrote a letter to Aden reporting the circumstance, and +begging some retribution would be taken from the Akil, as it was +obvious to any man who knows these savages, that Abdie could not have +been ignorant of one single feature in the whole of these +transactions. Though the loss was small, I did not think it of little +importance, as it remained a precedent, if overlooked, for the +committal of greater deeds; and the place, being a port, was open to +the exaction by blockade of any fines--which, without doubt, is the +true way to make Somali feel. + +During that day and the succeeding one we travelled along the coast to +Siyareh, a small dilapidated fort,[27] standing alone without any +other habitation, as if only intended for a traveller's lodge. Near it +was an old well, said to be of antique construction, sunk by the +former occupants of the land. As we increased our distance westwards, +the maritime plain also enlarged, and was bounded to the southwards by +small irregularly-disposed hills, all brown and dreary-looking as +before. To judge from the quantity of vegetation, it would appear that +water is nearer the surface here than elsewhere, though there was none +of any importance to be seen. These few marches, slight as they were, +served to prove the stamina of the soldiers, and showed the Seedis to +have twice the heart and bottom of the Egyptians, who succumbed at +once to the influences of the sun and fatigue of marching. + +3d April.--The caravan broke ground at 2 A.M., and, after travelling +over much the same ground as yesterday, nearly the whole day long +without passing a single habitation, arrived in the evening at +Berbera. Here I was warmly met by my companions, Herne and Stroyan, +and began again a social life of great enjoyment. Berbera was in the +plenitude of its prosperity. Its market was full of life and bustle, +and the harbour was full of native Oriental craft. Our camp was +pitched on a little rise in the land, facing the east and overlooking +the fair. Our tents, three in number, were formed in line--Stroyan's +on the right, Herne's in the centre, and mine on the left flank +nearest the sea, and each about a dozen yards apart. Herne had +procured his fair share of animals, and we mustered from forty to +fifty camels and six or seven ponies and mules, including those I +brought. These at night-time were all tethered in front of our tents, +and guarded by a sentry. During the day they were always sent out to +graze under an escort of soldiers, with Somali archers to look after +them. The boxes, pack-saddles, and grain were placed between the +central tent and mine, whilst the dates and more precious cloths I +kept underneath my tent. Including ourselves, servants, guards, and +camel-tenders, we mustered in all about forty souls; amongst these +were the two Abbans of Herne and Stroyan, who, now matters had gone so +far, could not prudently be dispensed with; but my man, the Balyuz, +was considered chief, or Ras Cafila. + +During the four days succeeding my arrival I inspected the fair and +shipping. The marketplace was supposed to contain upwards of 60,000 +people,[28] Banyans from Cutch and Aden, Arab merchants and Somali, +who had been gradually flocking in from about the 15th November; and +as they arrived they erected mat huts as booths for carrying on their +bartering trade. According to Herne's investigations, the Somali took +coarse cloths, such as American and English sheeting, black and +indigo-dyed stuffs, and cotton nets (worn by married women generally +to encase their hair), small bars of iron and steel, as well as zinc +and lead, beads of various sorts, and dates and rice. In exchange for +these, they exported slaves, cattle, gums of all sorts, ghee, ivory, +ostrich-feathers, and rhinoceros-horns. + +7th.--At sunrise this morning a very interesting scene took place in +the arrival of the great annual Harar caravan,--a large body, composed +of an aggregate of numerous small caravans, which all march together +that their combined strength may give mutual support. Down the whole +breadth of the plain, like a busy stream of ants, they came in single +file, one camel's nose tied to his leader's tail. Immediately on their +flanks were Somali, armed with spear and bow, the men who tended them +and looked after the loading. Outside them again were occasional +detachments of men riding ponies, all armed, and guarding the caravan +from sudden surprise or attack. In this caravan alone there were about +three thousand people, as many head of cattle, and 500 or more slaves, +all driven chained together for sale in the market. A little later the +same morning a second excitement enlivened our little camp in the +approach of a man-of-war, which came sailing up the coast in full +sail, looking like a giant swan in contrast to the little ducks of +native shipping. It was the Hon. East India Company's schooner Mahi, +commanded by Lieutenant King, conveying our Captain, Lieutenant +Burton, and the complement of the expedition. Arrived in the harbour, +we saluted them with our small-arms, and went on board to pay respects +and exchange congratulations. King then gave us a hospitable +entertainment, and we all repaired on shore. + +The same evening a thundering salute from the Mahi was fired, to +assure the Somali we were travelling under the auspices of the British +Government, and King departed with his vessel. + +Lieutenant Burton now took occupation of the centre tent with Herne, +and the party was complete. + +We were then severally appointed to our respective duties, Lieutenant +Burton commanding; Stroyan chief surveyor; Herne, photographer, +geologist, and assistant-surveyor; whilst I was to be a +Jack-of-all-trades, assisting everybody, looking after the interests +of the men, portioning out their rations, setting the guards, and +collecting specimens of natural history in all its branches. The +central tent was fixed as a place of rendezvous for all to flock to in +case of any sudden alarm. Here I appended my guns and sword, whilst my +revolver-pistol and dirk were placed within my belt by day, or under +my pillow by night. I made the whole guard sleep with their arms in +rear of the camp, where it was most likely any attack might be +expected. As so many men were necessarily brought on duty by watching +the cattle grazing in the day-time, I only posted two sentries by +night to watch the camp--one with the guard in the rear, the other +over the cattle in front; whilst we Englishmen and the Balyuz +occasionally patrolled the camp to see that the sentries were on the +alert. + +9th.--On this day the Gugi, or south-west Somali monsoon, in +opposition to the Dairti, or north-east monsoon, commenced in the +hills behind our camp, and warned us that we should soon have to start +southwards. The fair had already begun to break. Caravan after caravan +streamed out of the town, wending their way across the plain like +strings of ants emerging from a hole, and, like the busy habits of +those little insects, kept the whole maritime plain alive in motion. +At this time we were daily expecting a vessel from Aden, which would +bring us some letters and instruments that were on their way out from +England, and saw the great Ugahden caravan preparing to leave, but +were undecided what to do--whether to go with them without our things +from England, or wait and rely upon our strength in travelling alone. +The latter alternative was unfortunately decided upon, and we saw our +wonted protector depart upon its journey. + +15th.--Saw the shore and harbour, alike both destitute of any living +thing, save a few diseased and dying cattle, and one poor forlorn +girl, in whom the smallpox had begun to show its symptoms, and who was +now mercilessly left by her parents, with only two or three days' +provisions, to die like a dog on the inhospitable plain. Having +suffered from that disease myself, and not fearing contagion, I went +to her and administered some medicine, which she took without any +hesitation; and I hoped to cure her, for she was really, barring the +blackness, a very pretty creature, but the disease was beyond my skill +to relieve. I then took her to a room in the tomb of an Arab sheikh, +gave her some rice-water, and bade her keep out of the sun, but it was +no use. She took fright at the idea of living with the dead, and +wandered into the desert no one knows whither, and was seen no more. +So completely was Berbera cleared out now, that even the matting and +sticks which formed the booths, with two or three exceptions, were +packed on the camels and carried away. We were now alone, and nobody +came near us; our two Abbans had begged and obtained permission to go +with their families to their homes in the hills close by, in company +with the retiring caravans, leaving their sons for the time being, as +substitutes, until we marched past their abodes. + +In this isolated position we felt no alarm for our safety, as long at +least as we remained upon the sea-shore, deeming the Somali would +never be so imprudent as to attack us in such a vital place to them as +Berbera, where their whole interests of life were centred, and where, +by the simple process of blockading, we could so easily take +retribution in any way we liked. + +So confident were we in this assumption, that we did not take the +precaution of standing sentry ourselves at night, thinking it more +prudent to nurse our strength whilst here, to be better able to hold +out when it would become necessary after our leaving the sea-shore. + +Though Somali are cunning as foxes, they are not wise. + +On the 18th April, by a providential coincidence, a small Arab vessel +came into the deserted harbour to see if anything still remained of +the fair. In her there were several men and four women, Somali, +desirous of going to their homes. Finding we were the only people +left, and not daring to travel in that country alone, they petitioned +us to take them with us. It was hard to refuse these poor creatures; +but fearing our supply of dates and rice would not hold out with so +many additional mouths to eat it, we reluctantly refused the men. The +four women, however, on their engaging to do the minor offices of the +camp, to bring water, and lead the camels, were permitted to remain +with us. That evening we invited the captain and his crew to dine in +the camp; and it was fortunate that we did so, as the sequel will +show. Shortly after sundown, as we were all sitting in our usual way, +on an extempore divan in front of the tents, drinking coffee, telling +stories, and enjoying the cool sea evening breezes, a challenge was +heard by the sentinel placed on the rear right of the camp, followed +by a sudden and rapid discharge of musketry, which took us by +surprise. I had previously given strict orders that no ammunition was +to be wasted in firing to frighten, or giving false alarms; therefore, +hearing this, I instantly ran to the spot to see what was the matter, +and found three men walking quietly into camp, leading ponies by their +reins, whilst the guard, to intimidate them, were firing bullets in +the air immediately over their heads. My anger knew no bounds. All +hopes of security seemed annihilated by such direct disobedience to +all order, and persistence in such a false principle as trying to +frighten, which all black men, by a sort of natural instinct, +invariably endeavour to do. I then assembled the men, and in presence +of the intruders again proclaimed through the Balyuz my intention to +punish with severity any person who might create a false alarm or fire +a bullet vacantly in the air; directing that, in case of any +opposition to a challenge, they should fire into, and not over, their +object. + +I then sent the Balyuz and the three newly-arrived men round to the +front of the camp, where Lieutenant Burton and the other two officers +were sitting, to be interrogated as to the purpose of their visit. We +all at first naturally suspected them of being spies sent to inspect +our dispositions and resources; but after a long palaver with +Lieutenant Burton, he concluded that their coming there was +accidental, and not designed. True to their nature as Easterns, who +from constant practice can forge lies with far greater facility to +themselves than they can speak simple truths, bringing in with the +readiest aptitude the application of immediate circumstances to +harmonise appropriately in the development of their tale, these men at +once made use of the circumstance of the arrival of the vessel that +evening, saying they merely came down to ascertain if the ship was not +full of building material, as it was currently reported amongst their +clan, the Habr Owel, that their old enemy, Shermarkey, the chief of +Zeylah, was lying with other vessels in the port of Siyareh, waiting +an opportunity to land at Berbera and take occupation of the place by +building forts, as he had done on previous occasions. This story +seemed the more probable from the fact that everybody knew Shermarkey +wished to have the place, and that he would at any time have taken it, +had it lain within his power to do so. + +The more to impose on our credulity, they further asked, with an air +of indignation, "How could you suspect us of any treacherous +intentions towards you, when you know us to be men of the same tribe +as your Abbans?" The palaver over, these wolves in sheep's clothing +were allowed to sup on dates with our men, and depart at their +pleasure. + +At the usual hour we all turned in to sleep, and silence reigned +throughout the camp. A little after midnight, probably at one or two +A.M., there suddenly arose a furious noise, as though the world were +coming to end: there was a terrible rush and hurry, then came sticks +and stones, flying as thick as hail, followed by a rapid discharge of +firearms, and my tent shook as if it would come down. I bounced out of +bed, with pistol and dirk in hand, and ran across to the central tent +to know what was the matter, and if we were to have any shooting. +Lieutenant Burton, who was occupied in trying to load his revolver, +replied there was:[29] "Be sharp, and arm to defend the camp." This I +immediately did, stepping out in front of his tent; but though I saw +many dusky forms before me, it was too dark to discern whether they +were friend or foe. + +Whilst standing, in hesitation how to act, stones kept whizzing over +and around me, and I received a blow with one in the inside of my +knee, which nearly knocked my leg from under me; it came from the +left, where I had not been looking. I then ran under lee of the fly of +the tent to take a better survey, and, by stooping low, could perceive +the heads of some men peeping like monkeys over the boxes. Lieutenant +Burton now said, "Don't step back, or they will think we are +retiring." Chagrined by this rebuke at my management in fighting, and +imagining by the remark I was expected to defend the camp, I stepped +boldly to the front, and fired at close quarters into the first man +before me. He was stooping to get a sight of my figure in relief +against the sky; he fell back at the discharge, and I saw no more of +him. Proceeding on, I saw some more men also stooping; I fired into +the foremost, and he likewise fell back, but I do not know that I hit +him. I then fired into a third man at close quarters, who also +receded, possibly uninjured, though I cannot say. I was now close to +the brink of the rising-ground, entirely surrounded by men, when I +placed the muzzle of the Dean & Adams against the breast of the +largest man before me, and pulled the trigger, but pulled in vain; the +cylinder would not rotate; I imagine a cap had got jammed by the +trigger-guard. In a fit of desperation, I was raising the revolver to +hit the man in the face with it, when I suddenly found my legs +powerless to support me, and I was falling, grasping for support, and +gasping for breath, I did not then know why, though afterwards I +discovered it was caused by the shock of a heavy blow on the lungs. + +In another instant I was on the ground with a dozen Somali on the top +of me. The man I had endeavoured to shoot wrenched the pistol out of +my hand, and the way the scoundrel handled me sent a creeping shudder +all over me. I felt as if my hair stood on end; and, not knowing who +my opponents were, I feared that they belonged to a tribe called Eesa, +who are notorious, not only for their ferocity in fighting, but for +the unmanly mutilations they delight in. Indescribable was my relief +when I found that my most dreadful fears were without foundation. The +men were in reality feeling whether, after an Arab fashion, I was +carrying a dagger between my legs, to rip up a foe after his victim +was supposed to be powerless. Finding me naked, all but a few rags, +they tied my hands behind my back, and began speaking to me in Arabic. +Not knowing a word of that language, I spoke in broken Somali, and +heard them say they had not killed any of the English, and would not +kill me. + +The man I had last endeavoured to kill was evidently the captain of +the gang; he now made me rise, and, holding the other end of the rope +to which my hands were attached, led me round to the rear of the camp, +taking great precaution not to bring me in contact with many men at +once, fearing lest they might take the law into their own hands, and +despatch me against his will and authority. Arrived on the interior or +rear side of the camp, men kept flocking round me, and showed a hasty +anxiety to stab their spears into me; all, doubtless, were anxious for +the honour of drawing the white man's blood, but none, in my captor's +presence, dared do it. + +I was now becoming very weak and faint, and almost unable to breathe; +for the fact was, when I was knocked down, it was done with such +violence by a shillelah on the lung breast, my whole frame was stunned +by it, so that I could not feel; but now a swelling had set in, which, +with the tightness of the skin drawn over the chest, by my hands being +tied behind, nearly prevented respiration. I begged my captor to untie +my hands and fasten them in front. He obligingly did so. I then asked +for a little water and something to lie down upon; they were both +supplied. Feeling myself somewhat revived, I began a rambling +conversation with my captor, who sat by my side still holding the +string, when several other men came and joined in the talk. They began +a mocking tirade in their own language, of which I understood but +little and could answer less; when an Aden donkey-boy (judging from +his appearance) came with a jeering, sarcastic sneer, and asked me, in +Hindustani, what business I had in their country, and where I had +intended going, adding, were I a good Mohammedan like themselves, they +would not touch me, but being a Christian I should be killed. This +ridiculous farce excited my risible faculties, and provoked a laugh, +when I replied, Our intentions were simply travelling; we wished to +see the country of Ugahden, and pass on to Zanzibar. I was a +Christian, and invited them, if it must be so, to despatch their work +at once. On the donkey-boy's communicating this to the bystanders, +they all broke into a rude boisterous laugh, spun upon their heels, +and went off to open out the property. Nothing as yet had been taken +away. Several wounded men were now brought and placed in a line before +me; they groaned, and rolled, and stretched their limbs, as though +they were in agonies of pain, and incessantly called for water, which +was readily supplied them. In the rear I heard the sound of murmuring +voices, the breaking of boxes, and ripping of bales of cloth, as +though a band of robbers were stealthily dividing their +unlawfully-gotten spoils in silence and fear of detection. + +Just then the day began to dawn, and the light increased sufficiently +to disclose what had been done. The tents were down, the property was +lying in order on the ground, the camels and ponies were still +picketed in their places, and all the robbers were standing looking +on. At this juncture my captor and protector gave his end of my string +over to the care of another man of very mean aspect, ordering him to +look after me, and see that nobody came to injure me, whilst he +retired in the direction of the property, and, selecting two fine +stalwart men of equal proportions with himself, came again in front of +me; then linking arms, and sloping spears over their shoulders, they +commenced a slow martial march, keeping time by singing a solemn +well-regulated tune, in deep, full, stentorian voices, until they +completed the full circuit of the camp, and arrived again in front of +me. This, I imagine, was their "Conquering hero comes," the song of +victory. It was well sung, and had a very imposing effect, greatly +increased by the dead silence which reigned in every other quarter. I +felt quite sorry when this act was over, and would willingly have had +it encored. From the orderly manner and regularity with which +everything was done, I judge this to be a fair sample of the manner in +which all plundering parties are conducted. The song and march were no +sooner at an end than the whole ground became a scene of busy, active +life. Every man, save the one who was holding my string, rushed in a +regular scramble upon the property, and, like a legion of devils, +began tearing and pulling at everything in promiscuous confusion, to +see who could carry most away. Some darted at the camels and began +pulling them along, others seized the ponies and began decamping; +others, again, caught up the cloths, or dates, or rice, or anything +they could lay hands on, and endeavoured to carry them off. But this +was not so easy; there were too many men to be all satisfied, and +those who had least began wrangling with their more fortunate +competitors, who, on their part, not wishing to relinquish anything +they had obtained, forcibly contested for their rights. + +A more complete and ferocious _mêlée_ I never witnessed. The whole +ground was a scene of pull devil, pull baker, and victory to the +stronger. As one man, hurrying along, was trailing his cloth behind, +another rushed at it and pulled him back; clubs were unsparingly used, +and destruction threatened with spears; what would not easily succumb +to pulling, was separated with stabs of the spears or cuts of their +knives. The camels and ponies were not more easily disposed of; by +snatching from one hand and snatching from another, they were +constantly in different people's hands. It was a scene very like that +of an Indian poultry-yard, when some entrails are thrown amongst the +chickens, and every fowl tries to rob the other. + +Whilst all were intent with deep earnestness in this scramble, an +alarm was suddenly given that another party were coming down the hills +to fight and rob them of their spoils. The disordered band were +instantly panic-stricken; for a moment or two there was the deadest +silence; and then everybody, save some forty or fifty men who were +probably more experienced hands, burst across the plain, flying in +long jumps, and hurrying with all their might towards the hills. I +heard afterwards it was not an unusual practice in this land of +robbers for one party to get up an attack upon a caravan, and then +another one, getting wind of their design, to project a plan of +despoiling them as soon as they shall be in such a disconcerted +_mêlée_ that they would not be able to act in concert to support one +another. + +Whilst they were away, three fine-looking men came, with some of our +soldiers' sabres; and one, standing over me, threatened, with +ferocious determination in his countenance, to cut me in two. Twice he +lifted his sword above his head, and brought it down with violence to +within an inch or two of my side, and each time withdrew it, as if +suddenly repenting of his purpose. I stared him earnestly in the face, +but neither flinched nor uttered any noise. They then left me, and +went to join the other forty thieves. I conceive this demonstration +was made with a view of testing my pluck, and had I cried or implored +for mercy, I should inevitably have been killed upon the spot. The +last and worst scene in this tragedy was now to be performed. + +My jailer, who was still holding the string, stepped up close to me, +and coolly stabbed me with his spear. I then raised my body a little +in defence, when he knocked me down by jobbing his spear violently on +my shoulder, almost cutting the jugular arteries. I rose again as he +poised his spear, and caught the next prod, which was intended for my +heart, on the back of one of my shackled hands; this gouged the flesh +up to the bone. The cruel villain now stepped back a pace or two, to +get me off my guard, and dashed his spear down to the bone of my left +thigh. I seized it violently with both my hands, and would not +relinquish the gripe until he drew a shillelah from his girdle, and +gave me such a violent blow on my left arm, I thought the bone was +broken, and the spear fell helplessly from my hands. Finding his spear +too blunt for running me through by a simple job when standing still, +he now dropped the rope-end, walked back a dozen paces, and, rushing +on me with savage fury, plunged his spear through the thick part of my +right thigh into the ground, passing it between the thigh-bone and +large sinew below. + +With the action of lightning, seeing that death was inevitable if I +remained lying there a moment longer, I sprang upon my legs, and gave +the miscreant such a sharp back-hander in the face with my +double-bound fists that he lost his presence of mind, and gave me a +moment's opportunity to run away; which, by the Lord, I lost no time +in doing, taking very good care, by holding my hands on one side, not +to allow the dangling rope to trip me up. I was almost naked, and +quite bare upon the feet, but I ran over the shingly beach towards the +sea like wildfire. The man followed me a little way, but, finding I +had the foot of him, threw his spear like a javelin, but did not +strike me, for I bobbed, and allowed it to pass safely over my head; +he then gave up the chase. Still I had at least forty more men to pass +through, who were scattered all about the place, looking for what +property they could pick up, before I could get safe away. These men, +seeing the chase, all tried to cut off my retreat. + +However, I dodged them all by turns, running fast across them, and +bobbing as they threw their spears after me, until I reached the +shore, when I had the satisfaction of seeing the last man give up the +pursuit and leave me to myself. I was now fast fainting from loss of +blood, and sat gently on a mound of sand, picked the knots which bound +my hands open with my teeth, and exposed my breast to the genial +influences of the refreshing sea-breeze, which at sunrise, as this +was, is indescribably pleasant. But what a gloomy prospect was now +before me!! I was growing weaker every minute; my limbs were beginning +to stiffen and the muscles to contract, and I thought there was no +help probably nearer than Ain Tarad; what was to be done? I could not +travel the distance, and I must perish miserably by slow degrees, from +starvation and exhaustion, in the dreary desert; far better, thought +I, had the spear done its worst, and no lingering would have followed. +Whilst reflecting in this strain, my eyes, wistfully gazing on the few +remaining huts of Berbera, lit upon some female figures beckoning to +me, but I could not divine who they were, or what was their meaning. + +I rose as a last hope, and hobbled towards them, for my right leg was +nearly crooked up double, and was so weak it could not support the +weight of my body but for an instant at a time. Drawing nearer, I +discovered them to be the four women whom we the evening before +permitted to join our camp. Just then I saw some men hurrying from the +eastward along the shore, endeavouring to meet me. + +These, I soon perceived, were the old Balyuz and several of our +servants. As soon as they arrived, they told me all that had happened. +Immediately on the outbreak, the soldiers fired their guns, and all +but one or two at once departed. Stroyan, he supposed, was killed at +the outset; Lieutenants Burton and Herne had run away with him +immediately after I left the central tent to fight. The former had +been speared in the face, the latter had been much bruised with +war-clubs, and some of our men had received severe sword-cuts. After +escaping from the fight, Herne took refuge in the empty huts of +Berbera, and at daybreak sent a servant to detain the Ain Tarad +vessel, which had so providentially come in the previous evening. My +companions were then on board of her, and had sent the Balyuz with the +men to search for me, and pick up anything they could find. + +I was now carried to the vessel, and stretched upon the poop in +safety, and felt more truly thankful for this miraculous escape than +words can tell. It is only after a deliverance of this kind one fully +values or can properly appreciate the gift of life. My companions +seemed downcast and full of sorrow for the sad misfortune which had so +disastrously terminated our long-cherished hopes, and had deprived us +so prematurely of an old and valued friend, especially dear to me, as +he was a thorough sportsman. For courage, daring, and enterprise, as +well as good-fellowship, there never lived a man more worthy of esteem +than poor Stroyan. + +Lieutenant Burton had sent a boat's crew off to near the site of our +camp, a distance of three miles, to fetch away anything that might +remain there, and bring it to us. They found the place deserted, with +only such things left as the Somali could make no use of, and were too +cumbersome to carry away; such, for instance, as grain, boxes, books, +and various scientific instruments, which, after being wantonly +injured, were left scattered on the ground. It appeared, by accounts +brought back, that many of the men who ran off at the first false +alarm never ventured back again to help themselves from the spoils. +They had now destroyed about £1500 worth of property, but had enriched +themselves but very little, for, whilst fighting, they had destroyed +in the scramble nearly everything of any worth to themselves. When the +boat's crew returned with Stroyan's body, it was found to be too late +to sail that evening. + +During the time of waiting, a poor man, with no covering on his body, +crawled up to the vessel, and implored the captain, in the name of +Allah--the fakir's mode of begging--to give him a passage to Aden. His +prayer was answered, and he came on board. He was a Mussulman, born in +Cashmere, and had been wandering about the world in the capacity of a +fakir; but was now, through hunger and starvation, reduced to a mere +skeleton of skin and bones. His stomach was so completely doubled +inwards, it was surprising the vital spark remained within him. On +being asked to recite his history, he said, "I was born in the 'happy +valley' of Cashmere; but reduced circumstances led me to leave my +native land. When wandering alone in some woods one day, I had a +visitation, which induced me to turn devotee, and wander about the +world to visit all places of pilgrimage, carrying only a bottle and a +bag, and ask charity in the name of God, who supplies the world with +everything, and takes compassion on the destitute. At first I +travelled in India, visiting its shrines and temples, and then +determined on crossing the sea to see what other countries were like. +Taking passage at Bombay, I first went to Muskat in Southern Arabia, +and thence travelled overland to Aden, begging all the way, and +receiving kind hospitality wherever I spent the night. In Aden I +remained a while, and by constant begging accumulated sufficient +property to purchase food for a considerable time, when I again set +out, in the name of Allah, to see what the Somali Land was like. At +first I went across to Kurrum, and lived there as long as my little +stock held out, but I could get no assistance from the people of the +place. The stock exhausted, I was spurned from every door. At last, +despairing of obtaining anything on the coast, I ventured to see what +the interior would produce, but I found the Somali everywhere the +same; they were mere hywans (animals), with whom no human beings could +live. A man might travel in Arabia or any other place in the world, +but in the Somali Land no one could exist. Finding myself reduced to +the last stages of life, for no one would give me food, I went to a +pool of water in a ravine amongst the hills, and for the last +fortnight have been living there on water and the gums of trees. +Seeing I was about to die, as a forlorn hope I ventured in this +direction, without knowing whither I was going, or where I should come +to; but God, you see, has brought me safely out." + +20th.--This morning we weighed anchor, and in two days more arrived in +Aden. + +Thus then ended my first expedition,--a signal failure from +inexperience, and with a loss of £510 worth of my own private +property, which I never recovered. I had nothing to show but eleven +artificial holes in my body. Had we gone straight from Aden, without +any nervous preliminary fuss, and joined the Ugahden caravan at +Berbera just as it was starting, I feel convinced we should have +succeeded; for that is the only way, without great force, or giving +yourself up to the protection of a powerful chief, that any one could +travel in Somali Land. Firearms are useful in the day, but the Somali +despise them at night, and consequently always take advantage of +darkness to attack. Small-shot and smooth-bore guns, on this account, +would be of far greater advantage as a means of defence than rifles +with balls; and nothing but shot well poured in would have saved us +from this last attack. We have been often condemned for not putting on +more sentries to watch; but had the whole camp been in a state of +ordinary preparation for war, with such cowardly hearts as our men all +had, we should have been as signally defeated. We now set sail from +Berbera, all highly disgusted with our defeat; and at Lieutenant +Burton's request, we said we would go with him again if the Government +would allow it. + +On arriving in Aden, I was a miserable-looking cripple, dreadfully +emaciated from loss of blood, and with my arms and legs contracted +into indescribable positions, to say nothing of various angry-looking +wounds all over my body. Dansey now gave me a room in his house, and +bestowed such tender care on me as I shall never forget. Colonel +Coghlan also, full of feeling and sympathy for my misfortune, came +over and sat at the feet of my bed, with tears in his eyes, and tried +to condole with me. Fever, however, had excited my brain, so I laughed +it all off as a joke, and succeeded in making him laugh too. The +doctors next took compassion on me, formed into committee, and +prescribed, as the only remedy likely to set me right again, a three +years' leave to England, where, with the congenial effects of my +native home, they hoped I should recover. Lieutenant Burton now sent +in an estimate of all loss to the Government, and advised, as the best +plan of taking an effectual revenge upon the Somali, in whose +territories we were attacked (the Habr Owel), that a ship should be +sent to blockade their coast, with a demand that they should produce +for trial in Aden the living bodies of the two men who so cruelly +killed our lamented friend, and so wantonly endeavoured to despatch +me. Further, that a sum of money equivalent to all our aggregate +losses should be paid in full ere the blockade would be raised. This +was considered the wisest method by which, in future times, any +recurrence of such disasters might probably be avoided. It is needless +to observe, considering the importance of Berbera to the welfare of +the Habr Owel, their subsistence and their existence as a nation +depending on it, that anything might have been exacted from them that +we wished to extort, or they could afford to give. The Government, +unfortunately for our pockets, were of a different opinion; they would +have nothing to do with money exactions when human blood had to be +avenged. Moreover, they had been wishing to suppress the slave-trade, +and found in this occurrence a favourable opportunity to indulge their +hobby. They therefore established a blockade of all the coast-line +between Siyareh and Jibal Elmas, demanding, as the only alternative by +which it would be raised, the surrender of the principal instigators +of the outrage on us for trial in Aden, of whom the first in +consequence was Ou Ali, the murderer of Stroyan. When the season for +the fair arrived, the only vessel present in the Berbera harbour was a +British man-of-war, and the Habr Owel then believed we were in +earnest. Until then, it appeared, they would not believe it, thinking +our trade in Aden would suffer by this proceeding as much as their +own. They were, however, mistaken; trade found an outlet at other +places; and they, by its suppression on their grounds, were fast +sinking into insignificance. Seeing this, they showed by urgent +prayers a disposition to treat on any conditions we might like to +impose on them, and even sent in for trial to Aden a man who showed +the scar of a gun-shot wound on his back, and at the same time +declared their intention of forwarding all others to us as soon as +they could catch them. + +To make the matter short, I shall give intact the articles of a treaty +which was signed at Berbera on the 7th November 1856, between the +Honourable East India Company on the one hand, and the Habr Owel tribe +of Somali on the other, as it appears in an appendix (D), in a +'History of Arabia Felix or Yemen,' by Captain R. L. Playfair, +Assistant Political Resident, Aden.[30] + +During my residence in Aden, which lasted three weeks, or until the +second mail after my arrival took its departure for Suez, my wounds +healed up in such a marvellously rapid manner, I was able to walk at +large before I left there. They literally closed as wounds do in an +India-rubber ball after prickings with a penknife. It would be +difficult to account for the rapidity with which my wounds closed, +knowing, as everybody who has lived in Aden must do, that that is the +worst place in the world for effecting cures, had I not, in addition +to a strong constitution which I fortunately possess, been living for +many months previously in a very abstemious manner, principally, as +appears in the body of the journal, on dates, rice, and sour curds. + +I now left Aden on "sick certificate," and arrived in England in the +early part of June 1855. The Crimean war was then at its height, and +the military authorities were beating up for recruits in every corner +of the land. This summons for war was irresistible. I was suffering a +little from blindness, brought on probably by my late losses and +impoverishment of blood.[31] Still I lost no time in volunteering my +services to take part in this great national object, thinking it was a +duty, as a soldier, I owed my country, and delighting in the prospect +of immediate and active employment, where, at any rate, I should be in +Europe and enjoying the temperature I had come home to seek. The +Turkish Contingent was then being incorporated, and I was, being an +Indian officer, competent to serve in it. With an introduction from +friends, I wrote a letter to Major Graham, an officer appointed by the +Horse Guards to engage officers for General Vivian's contingent, +giving him an account of my past services, and asking for an +appointment with the army. He at once closed with me, declaring "I was +just the sort of man he wanted," and, granting two weeks' leave to +prepare an outfit, told me to be off. In a fortnight more I arrived in +Constantinople, and was posted to a regiment of Turks, with the +commission of Captain. The Turkish Contingent was now at Buyukdere, +but was soon ordered to embark in vessels and proceed to Kertch in the +Crimea. I went with them, and remained serving until the close of the +Crimean war. My commandant, Major Greene, being otherwise employed, I, +as second in command and Kaimakan of the 16th regiment of infantry, +took its headquarters back, and disbanded them at Constantinople. + +Whilst I was engaged in these parts, and thinking there would be no +further chance of my being able to return to Africa, I had made up my +mind, at the expiration of the war, to try my hand in collecting the +fauna of the very interesting regions of the Caucasian Mountains, and +had even gone so far as to purchase guns and equip myself for it. +Captain Smyth, of the Bengal Army, an old and notorious Himalayan +sportsman, had agreed to accompany me, and we wrote home to the Royal +Geographical Society to exert their influence in obtaining passports, +by which we could cross over the range into the Russian frontier; but +this scheme was put a stop to by Dr Shaw, the Secretary of that +Society, writing out to say there would be very little hope of our +being able to obtain the passports we required, and that he thought +the time ill-advised for working in those regions, adding, at the same +time, that an expedition to explore Africa was again being organised +under the command of Captain Burton, and advising me to join it. By +the same mail I received a communication from Captain Burton himself, +inviting me to join him once more in exploring Africa, saying there +would be no expense attached to it, as the Home and Indian Governments +had each promised to contribute £1000. This settled the matter. +Without a second thought I disposed of my Caucasian equipments, and, +taking a passage to England by the first mail, travelled night and day +until I again reached home, deeming, as I did on the first expedition, +that I might just as well nurse my furlough for a future +occasion,--the fact being that I was more of a sportsman and traveller +than a soldier, and I only liked my profession when I had the sport of +fighting. + + +[Illustration: NOTE *********************** Gondokoro, German Mission +Station: Cataracts which stopped the Expedition* discover the Sources +of the Nile by * Kirira River & Bari Kingdom heard of* the draba south +of the Equator.] + + + + + JOURNAL OF A CRUISE ON THE TANGANYIKA LAKE. + + + + Chapter I. + +The Royal Geographical Society--The Strange Lake on the Map--Set +Off--Arrive at Zanzibar--A Preliminary Excursion--A Sail along the +Coast--The Pangani River--A Jemadar's Trick--Journey up +Country--Adventures--Return to Zanzibar--Scenes there--Objects of the +Expedition--Recruiting for Followers--The Cafila Bashi--The +Start--Fevers--Discussions about the Mountains of the Moon and the +Victoria N'yanza--The Tanganyika. + + + +On my arrival in England, the first thing I did was to visit Captain +Burton, and obtain an introduction to the Royal Geographical Society, +under whose auspices I was about to travel. I next visited the +Society, and here was revealed to me, for the first time, the great +objects designed for the expedition in question. On the walls of the +Society's rooms there hung a large diagram, comprising a section of +Eastern Africa, extending from the equator to the fourteenth degree of +south latitude, and from Zanzibar sixteen degrees inland, which had +been constructed by two reverend gentlemen, Messrs Erhardt and +Rebmann, missionaries of the Church Mission Society of London, a short +time previously, when carrying on their duties at Zanzibar. In this +section-map, swallowing up about half of the whole area of the ground +included in it, there figured a lake of such portentous size and such +unseemly shape, representing a gigantic slug, or, perhaps, even closer +still, the ugly salamander, that everybody who looked at it +incredulously laughed and shook his head. It was, indeed, phenomenon +enough in these days to excite anybody's curiosity! A single sheet of +sweet water, upwards of eight hundred miles long by three hundred +broad, quite equal in size to, if not larger than, the great salt +Caspian. + +Now, to the honour of Admiral Sir George Back be it said, a Fellow of +the Royal Geographical Society, and an old explorer himself in the +Arctic regions, that he had determined in his mind that this great +mystery should be solved, and that an insight should be gained into +those interesting regions, concerning which conjectures and +speculations had been rife, and which had caused so many hot debates +for so many ages past amongst all the first geographers of the day; +debates which, hitherto, nobody had been found energetic enough to set +at rest by actual inspection of the country. + +Casting about for a man fitted to carry out his plans, the Admiral hit +upon Captain Burton, who had recently returned from Constantinople, +where he had been engaged with the Bashi-Bazuks; and it was thus, +through Sir George's influence in the Royal Geographical Society, that +Captain Burton had now been appointed to the command of this +expedition. + +A difference now arose about the Government £2000 in aid of the +expedition. The Foreign Office had paid their £1000, but the India +House thought Captain Burton's pay ought to be considered their share. +Finding this was the case I objected to go, as I did not wish, for one +reason, to put myself under any money obligations to Captain Burton; +and, for another reason, I thought I had paid enough for a public +cause in the Somali country, without having gained any advantage to +myself. Captain Burton, however, knew nothing of astronomical +surveying, of physical geography, or of collecting specimens of +natural history, so he pressed me again to go with him, and even +induced the President of the Royal Geographical Society to say there +need be no fear of money if we only succeeded. I then consented to go, +determining in my own mind, somehow or other, to have my old plans, +formed in India, of completing my museum, carried into effect, even +if, after all, the funds of the expedition did not suffice. Captain +Burton now gave me a cheque for my passage out of the public +funds;[32] but my incorporation with the expedition was not quite so +easy as had been expected; for the Government in India at this time +were using every endeavour in their power to increase their +Indo-European forces, and had written home to Leadenhall Street an +urgent desire that no officers should have their leave extended, or be +placed on duty out of India; and for this reason, the India House +authorities, although privately evincing a strong disposition to +permit my going, felt it necessary to withhold their sanction to it. I +was now between two fires. I had sacrificed my Caucasian expedition, +and could not speak with the authorities in India. So, to cut the +matter short, with a kind hint from my friend Sir Henry Rawlinson, as +I had still nearly three years' furlough at my disposal, I ventured +over with Captain Burton by the overland route to Bombay, and tried my +luck again. + +This time, fortunately, it turned up trumps; for I need only say that +the Governor of Bombay at this time was Lord Elphinstone, a man whose +large and comprehensive mind was not only able to discern the frown of +a pending mutiny looming in the distance, but whose quick foresight, +backed by a great and natural unremitting energy of body, was +subsequently able to forestall and provide, as far as human powers +extend, against its thundering outburst. He saw at a glance of how +much importance to the improvement of the commercial objects of his +presidency this exploring expedition was likely to be. The Secretary +to Government, Mr Anderson, who was equally of this view, treated the +matter as a great national object, and, at the request of Captain +Burton, drew up an official application to incorporate me in the +expedition, and sent it to the Government at Calcutta, with the +recommendation of his lordship; whilst I, in anticipation of the +sanction of the Governor-General, Lord Canning, was permitted to +accompany Captain Burton to Zanzibar in the Hon. East India Company's +sloop-of-war Elphinstone, commanded by Captain Frushard, I.N., and +commence operations at once. + +This vessel had been detached especially on this duty to meet Captain +Burton's views, that a political importance should be given to the +mission by our arriving in Government official state at the +starting-point, in order to secure the influence and respect of the +sultan reigning there. + +After a residence of one week at Bombay, during which time I completed +our outfit in scientific instruments and other minor points--for this +charge was reposed in me, owing to my previous experience in those +matters--we set sail on the 3d December 1856, taking two Goanese cook +"boys," by name Valantine and Gaetano, with us as servants, and in +eighteen days landed at our destination, Zanzibar. The kindness of +Captain Frushard, who shared his cabin with us, as well as the +constant attentions of his officers, combined with pleasant weather +and a liberal fare, provided for us by the Bombay Government in the +capacity of political envoys, made the time occupied on the voyage fly +quickly and very agreeably.[33] + +Immediately on arrival at the island of Zanzibar, we were warmly +received and welcomed by our consul, Colonel Hamerton, an Irish +gentleman, and one characterised by the true merry hospitality of his +race. He had been a great sufferer, by the effects of the climate +operating on him from too long a residence in these enervating +regions; but he was, nevertheless, vivacious in temperament and full +of amusing anecdotes, which kept the whole town alive. He gave us a +share of his house, and what was more, made that house our homes. His +generosity was boundless, and his influence so great, that he +virtually commanded all societies here. Our old and faithful ally, the +Imaum of Muscat, who, unfortunately for us, had but recently died, was +so completely ruled by him, that he listened to and obeyed him as a +child would his father. + +The present ruler of Zanzibar--that is, of the coastline, with all the +islands which lie between the equator on the southern confines of the +Somali country and the Portuguese possessions in Mozambique--is Sultan +Majid, the second son of the old Imaum; for it must be remembered that +the Imaum, at his death, divided his territories, then comprising +Muscat in Arabia, and Zanzibar in Africa, into two separate states, +giving the former, or Muscat, to his eldest son, Sayyid (Prince) +Suwéni, whilst the latter was bequeathed to his favourite, the second +son, Sayyid Majid, now styled Sultan. Sultan Majid was born of a +Circassian woman, and in consequence is very light in complexion; and, +taking much after the inclinations of his father, is likely to become +as great a favourite as was the old Imaum. Zanzibar island is the seat +of government, and consequently the metropolis. The town contains +about sixty thousand inhabitants of all nations, but principally +coloured people, of which the Suahili, or coast people, living on the +opposite main, predominate in number, though they are the least +important. Of the merchants, there are several European houses, +comprising French, Germans, and Americans; and numerous Asiatics, +mostly from Arabia and Hindostan,--the Suahili ranking lowest of the +whole. There are also three consuls, an English, French, and American, +who look after the interests of the subjects of their respective +governments. + +We found, considering it would take more than a month to organise an +expedition, that we had arrived here at the very worst season of the +year for commencing a long inland journey--the height of the dry +season in these regions, when water is so very scarce in the more +desert tracts of the interior of the continent, that travelling, from +want of that material element, is precarious; and it was just before +the commencement of the vernal monsoon, or greater rainy season, when +everything would be deluged. + +Considering this, and giving due deference to the opinions of the +travelling merchants of this place against our organising at once for +the interior journey to the great lake, Captain Burton bethought +himself of gaining a little elementary training in East African +travelling, by spending the remainder of the dry season in inspecting +various places on the coast; and, if a favourable opportunity +presented itself, he felt desirous of having a peep at the snowy +Kilimandjaro Mountain, of which the Rev. Mr Rebmann, who first +discovered it, had sent home reports, and which had excited such angry +and unseemly contests amongst our usually sedate though speculative +carpet-geographers in England as rendered a further inspection highly +necessary. + +Now, as the Royal Geographical Society had desired us to place +ourselves in communication with Mr Rebmann, who was then at his +mission-station, Kisuludini, at Rabbai, on a high hill at the back of +Mombas, and to try and solicit him to go with us into the interior, +where it was thought his experience in the native languages would be +useful to the expedition,--my companion hired a small beden, or +half-decked Arab vessel, by the month, to take us about wherever we +pleased; and on the 5th January 1857, having engaged a respectable +half-caste Arab Sheikh, named Said, to be our guide and interpreter, +we took leave of our host, set sail, and steered northwards, coasting +along the shores of this beautiful clove island, until we left it, and +shortly afterwards sighted the still more lovely island of Pemba, or +"The Emerald Isle" of the Arabs--named, doubtless, from the surprising +verdure of its trees and plants. Here we called in at Chak-chak, the +principal place, where there is a rude little fort and small garrison +of Beluch soldiers, and a Wali, or governor. Starting the following +morning, we put to sea again, and in three days--sailing against a +strong southerly current, aggravated by a stiff north-easterly breeze, +almost too much for our cranky little vessel, and which frightened the +crew and our little timid Sheikh so much that they all lost presence +of mind, and with the greatest difficulty were repressed from +"'bouting ship," and wrecking themselves, together with us, on the +shores of the coast--we harboured in the Mombas creek. + +Mombas on the north, like Kilua on the south, are the two largest +garrison towns belonging to the Sultan on the main shores. They each +have a Wali or governor, custom officers, and a Beluch guard; and have +certain attractions to the antiquarian in the shape of Portuguese +ruins. We left our traps here to be housed by a Banyan called +Lakshmidos, the collector of customs,[34] and started on the 17th +January to visit Mr Rebmann, beyond the hills overlooking this place. +It was a good day's work, and was commenced by rowing about ten miles +up the Rabbai branch of the creek we were in, until we arrived at the +foot of the hills bearing the same name, beyond which his house +stands. This inlet was fringed with such dense masses of the mangrove +shrub, on which clung countless numbers of small +tree-oysters,--adhering to their branches in clusters, and looking as +though they subsisted thereon after the manner of orchidaceous +plants,--that we could obtain no view whatever, save of the hills +towering to the height of some ten hundred or twelve hundred feet +above us. The water-journey over, we commenced the ascent of Rabbai, +and, soon crowning it by a steep slope, passed into the country of the +Wanyika, the first true negro tribe of my acquaintance, and by a +gentle decline passing through quiet little villages, we entered, +after a walk of five miles, the Kisuludini mission-house, and there +found Mr Rebmann, with his amiable English wife, living in their +peaceful retreat. They gave us a free and cordial welcome and +comfortable lodging, and supplied us with all the delicacies of a dry +Wanyika season, for there was now a drought in the land, and +consequently a famine. So hard were the times for the unfortunate +negroes, that they were forced against their wills to support the bulk +of their families by the sale of some of its junior members to keep +themselves alive. + +And now, according to Mr Rebmann, to aggravate their predicament, they +were on the eve of a more dreadful enemy still than famine,--that of +the attacks of a marauding party of the barbarous pastoral Masai, a +neighbouring tribe, who were now out engaged in pillaging some of the +Wanyika villages, not far from this, of the few heads of cattle which +they keep as a "safety-valve" against the scourge of droughts. The +oddest thing to me was to see the placid equanimity with which Mr +Rebmann and his wife coolly delayed a day or two, notwithstanding the +near proximity of this savage band of thieves, to pack up their kit +comfortably before leaving the place; but we were assured by the +reverend gentleman that the Masai cared but little for anything save +beef, and they therefore did not apprehend rough usage at their hands. +The air of this high land is cool and pleasant, and the scenery from +the station overlooking the sea was very picturesque and serenely +beautiful. The Rabbai hills are an outlying range running parallel to +the coast, or more properly, I should say, an abattis, which supports +a high but slightly depressed flattish interior, gently declining +westwards. + +After a good night's rest we returned to Mombas, housed ourselves in +the dwelling appointed for our use by Lakshmidos, and had many +civilities paid us by the Wali (governor) and coloured merchants of +the place, who brought us fruits and paid us other delicate little +attentions by way of showing their regard. The Wanyika having by this +time sent to the Mombas fort for aid to support them against the +attacks of their enemies, we felt some alarm at the position of Mr and +Mrs Rebmann, and again returned to Kisuludini, to see if we could be +of any use to them: but not so; they were as fearless as before, and +would not leave their house until everything had been well packed up +and sent away.[35] We now bade them adieu a second time, and returned +to our house at Mombas. Here we heard that several of the Beluch +troops had been despatched against the Masai, and that some skirmishes +had taken place, but they were nothing of any material consequence. + +Seeing that there was this little excitement on the direct road to +Kadiaro and the Kilimandjaro, Captain Burton thought it unadvisable to +venture on that line, the more especially so as he judged the Mombas +people were not over-well disposed to our travelling into the +interior. Further, he had heard of fresh attractions on the coast, in +the shape of ruins, both Portuguese and Persian;--those places from +which, in former ages, the Portuguese--who had been led there by the +adventurous Vasco de Gama, and were the first European occupants of +these dark lands--were driven southwards by the Arabs. Moreover, he +heard that the mountain of Kilimandjaro was just as accessible to us +from Tanga or Pangani, a little farther down the coast, where there +would probably be no war-parties standing in our way, as the case was +here. + +I, on the other hand, did not see any cause of alarm, for I thought we +could easily have walked round the Masai party; but I saw various +reasons for abandoning the projected plan of looking at the +Kilimandjaro. In the first place, it had been already discovered by Mr +Rebmann; it was, moreover, rather distant for our limited time; it +would require more money than our limited funds could admit of; and +last, though not least, as we had some time to spare, I thought it +would be much more agreeable to spend it in hippopotamus-shooting on +the coast, and on what game we might find on the hills of Usumbara, if +we perforce were to go through that kingdom on our way towards the +Kilimandjaro, an idea that had struck us; for though Usumbara had been +traversed formerly by the Church missionaries, it was still a maiden +country for the sportsman. Considering Mombas as a starting-point for +an excursion into the interior, I can conceive no direction more +interesting or advantageous for any one to embark upon. Dr Krapf has +already been as far as Kitui, in the country of Ukambani, fourteen +marches distant only from Mombas, and there he heard of a snowy +mountain called Kenia, lying probably to the northward of and on the +same hill-range as Mount Kilimandjaro, which most likely separates the +river-systems of the east from those which flow to the westward into +the Nile. In confirmation of this impression, I would mention the fact +that a merchant caravan of about two hundred men, whilst we were +stopping here, arrived from Kitui laden with elephant ivories, which +they had bartered for American sheeting, Venetian beads, and brass +wire, &c. &c., in the district of Ukambani; and they described the +country in the most glowing terms, as possessing a healthy climate, +pleasant temperature, wholesome water, and an abundance of provisions, +both flesh and grain: they had, moreover, camels and donkeys as beasts +of burden, which alone denotes a great facility for travelling in +Eastern Africa, where usually men take the place of beasts. The +Wakambani porters belonging to this caravan, as many as there were, +were boisterous, humorous savages, who, as they danced and paraded +about the town, all armed in savage fashion with bows and spears and +sharp knives, in fact anything but clothes, looked as wild as animals +just driven from a jungle. Noise and dancing seemed their principal +delight, and they indulged in it, blowing horns and firing muskets +with a boisterous glee, which showed the strangest contrast to the +tame Hindus and other merchant residents of the place. + +Captain Burton now decided on quitting Mombas; and on the 24th +January, after embarking in our little beden, we set sail southwards. +Following the coastline, we touched at the villages of Gasi, Wasin, +Tanga--where I had my first flirtations with the hippopotami, of which +more hereafter--and Tangata, to inspect ruins and make inquiries about +the interior condition of the country. + +The coast-line was one continuous undeviating scene of tropical +beauty, with green aquatic mangroves growing everywhere out into the +tidal waves, with the beetal, palmyra, and other palms overtopping +this fringe; and in the background a heterogeneous admixture, an +impervious jungle, of every tree, shrub, and grass, that characterise +the richest grounds on the central shores of this peculiar continent. +The little islands we passed amongst, and all the reefs that make +these shores so dangerous to the navigator, whether large or small, +were the produce of the industrious little coral insect. The lime with +which their cellular beds are composed being favourable to vegetable +growth, leaves it no wonder that the higher grounds and dryer lands +are thus so densely clothed. The few villages there are, bordering on +the coast, are poor and meagre-looking, but their inhabitants were +very hospitable, especially where there were any Banyans. Nothing +could exceed the mingled pride and yearning pleasure these exotic +Indians seemed to derive from having us as their guests. Being Indian +officers, they looked upon us as their guardians, and did everything +they could to show they felt it so. Our conversing in their own +language, and talking freely of their native land, must, as indeed +they said it did, have felt to them as if after a long banishment they +were suddenly thrown amongst their old and long-lost friends. To us +how strange did these things appear! that men so full of life, +good-breeding, intelligence, and affections--so meaning and +calculating in their conversation, so gentlemanly in their +behaviour--should live this life of utter banishment, amidst these +savages, devoid of all sympathetic affections, and knowing not even +what things constitute the commonest business of life. And why? To +make a little money for their latter days, when life's enjoyment has +passed away. Their wretched case would not be so bad, only that, from +being Hindus, they cannot marry or even bring their wives from India +with them. It is a position even worse than that of hermits. Tanga was +the most considerable of all the places we visited, being the grand +terminus of those caravans, which, passing immediately to the south of +the Kilimandjaro, traverse the Masai country to Burgenei, near the +south-east corner of the Victoria N'yanza (Lake).[36] Here Captain +Burton again commenced making inquiries about the route to +Kilimandjaro, and how, if that could not be managed, considering the +means at our disposal, we could march into Usumbara, see the capital +Fuga, and pay the king, Kimuéri, a cursory visit; but being more or +less dissuaded from this, evidently, as it afterwards appeared, by the +timorous inclinations rather than from any real difficulties which +presented themselves to the mind of our Sheikh, Captain Burton thought +it better to see first what could be done at Pangani. + +We arrived in the mouth of the Pangani river on the 3d February; and, +immediately on landing, were met by all the grandees of the place, who +welcomed us as big men, and escorted us to a large stone house in the +town overlooking the river. On the way to this domicile, a number of +black singers were formed in line to serenade us, and they danced and +sang in real negro peculiarity, with such earnest constancy that, +although a novel sight, we were glad to be rid of them long before +they were tired of performing. All inquisitive about other people's +concerns, the Panganyites at once eagerly busied themselves to find +out what our intentions were in coming there, and accordingly began to +speculate on what they could make out of us. First the Diwans +(head-men) wanted us to pay our footing in the town; but that only +provoking a sharp rebuff, they began a system of "making +difficulties." To go to the Kilimandjaro we must have a large and +expensive escort, or nobody would go with us. But this we were not +persistent in, for two reasons: in the first place, having frittered +away so much time at Mombas, and in inspecting ruins on the way from +it, we had no time left ere the kuzi, or little rains precursory to +the great monsoon, which would shortly set in on the high lands near +the Great Mountain, would fall and impede our progress; and, in the +second, we were short of cash. Next we contemplated a flying trip to +Fuga, for which alternative Sultan Majid had provided us with +introductions to the king, Kimuéri, living there; and this, of course, +being known to the people through the medium of Sheikh Said, they at +once beset our doors to meet our proposals and make fresh +difficulties. + +King Kimuéri's son, who happened to be here on his way to Zanzibar, +presuming we had presents for the king, mildly begged us to give them +up to him at once, he securing us a passage to his father,--a cool +request, which, of course, was just as coolly rejected. And now +everybody, evidently actuated by him, stood in our way at every turn. +We must not go the straight road, as the Wazégura living on the right +bank of the Pangani river were "out," and in open hostilities with the +Wasumbara, and would intercept our passage; and, instead, they +proposed our going _viâ_ Tangata, a much longer route, but open to us +if we only took a sufficient number of men, and paid handsomely for +the convenience. Considering that the value attachable to the +undertaking would be magnified in our minds in proportion to the +amount of obstacles which had to be surmounted, difficulty upon +difficulty was now conjured up and produced as fast as they thought +they were working upon our inclinations. Sometimes our advisers would +go, and then the opposite. They were verily as coy in their +advancements and retractions as a woman who, in love, gives and takes +with a wavering man on whom she has set her heart at a time when he is +fearful of giving way to her little seductive artifices. + +At this perplexing juncture, quite unforeseen by us, the jemadar of a +small Beluch garrison (Chogué), about seven miles up the river, came +to pay his respects, and by a clever artifice--purely an Oriental +dodge, as anybody who has lived in India will readily admit--at once +perceiving an advantage to be gained by which he might profitably fill +his own pocket at the same time that he would save ours, and give a +job to his own Beluches to the prejudice of those avaricious +Panganyites, offered us an inducement which was too good not to be at +once accepted. The plan was simply this: He was to leave at once and +return to Chogué, and make arrangements with his guard for our +reception there, whilst we, feigning abandonment of all our plans, +were to prepare for a shooting excursion up the river, with only one +servant and our sporting gear with us. This trick succeeded admirably, +without provoking the slightest suspicion on anybody's part. Leaving +our Sheikh and one "boy" behind to take care of our property, we now +set sail in a small canoe, on the 6th February, and made for Chogué. +The river was extremely tortuous and filled with hippopotami, who, as +the vessel advanced up the tidal stream, snorted and grunted as if +they felt disposed to dispute our passage; but this never happened. +Inquisitive in the extreme about the foreign intruders, they could not +resist continually popping up their heads and apparently inviting us +to take a shot, which, as may readily be imagined, I lost no +opportunity in complying with. Whether I killed any or not is +difficult to say, for as the guns were fired their heads immediately +disappeared, to rise no more, or, if not struck, to peep above again +some way distant at our stern. To shoot hippopotami properly, one must +have time to wait for the receding of the tide, when, if killed, their +bodies would be left exposed on the sandy bottom; or, if in deep +water, to wait until, being filled with gases, they would float by the +buoyancy of their bodies. + +There was little to be seen in this voyage of any interest, for the +curtains of mangroves, with palms and other trees growing in almost +impenetrable denseness, veiled in our view to the limits of the +stream's breadth. As the tide was running out at sunset, we halted for +its return at Pombui, a small village on the left bank, and resumed +the journey after midnight. In two hours we reached the mooring-place +opposite the station, Chogué, fastened the canoe, and lay down to +sleep. Early after dawn, the jemadar, with his guard, advanced to meet +us, welcomed us with sundry complimentary discharges of their +matchlocks, and escorted us to their post. The jemadar's guard was +composed of twenty-five men, most of whom were here, whilst the other +few held another fort on the top of a hill called Tongué. Volunteers +were now called for to accompany us, who would carry each his arms, a +little food, and such baggage as might be necessary--just enough to +march up rapidly to Fuga, to have a little shooting in some favourable +jungles near there, and return again as soon as possible. There was no +difficulty, as the jemadar foresaw. The Beluches receive so little pay +from their sultan that any windfall like this was naturally welcome; +and out of the little garrison five men were readily enlisted; besides +these, they supplied four slave-servants, and two men as guides. + +With one day's delay in preparing, we left Chogué in the evening, and +commenced a scrambling journey; all the men fully loaded, and +ourselves much the same. + +On the morning of the following day, after travelling by a footpath +over undulating country, we mounted the hill of Tongué, and put up in +the fort. + +Mount Tongué is itself an outlying hill, detached from the massive +clusters of Usumbara by a deep rolling valley of broken ground of +desert forest, which as we afterwards saw by their numerous tracks, +must contain, during the rainy season, vast herds of the elephant and +buffalo, as well as antelopes and lions, though but few animals of any +kind appeared to be here now. Looking south by west from this height +over the broad valley of the Pangani, I was able to take compass +bearings on some cones in the Uzégura country, belonging to the Nguru +hills. The whole country below appeared to be covered with the richest +vegetation, and in the river we could hear the murmuring sound of a +waterfall, said by the Beluches to be a barrier to the navigation of +the river any farther inland.[37] + +10th February.--Early in the morning we bid Tongué Fort adieu, and, +descending by its northern slopes, threaded our way, arching round by +north to westward, through the forests below, until late in the +evening we arrived within a short distance of a hill called Khombora; +and here, as the darkness of night was closing in, the party by +accident divided: some, taking a more northerly track--the proper +one--soon came across a nullah containing water,--the thing we were +then in search of; whilst we, following on the heels of the guide, +lost the way, and, coming upon the same watercourse lower down the +stream, bivouacked for the night alongside some green, fetid, stagnant +pools, in which a host of young frogs were keeping up a merry concert. +We fired guns, but without avail, the distance we were separated by +being too great for the reports to be heard. + +Next morning, after following up the nullah for some considerable +distance, we lit upon the rest of the party, sitting by a chain of +pools, where they had bivouacked like ourselves; and, mingling +together, commenced the march. At this time it was discovered that the +surveying compass had been left behind, and I wished to return at +once; but as Captain Burton was knocked up, and would not wait for me, +the instrument was abandoned. Then, with the party complete, we passed +to the northward of Khombora, by an indenture of the ground lying +between it and a much larger hill, called Sagama, which hill forms the +south-eastern buttress of the Usumbara masses; and opening into the +valley of Pangani again, we put up at a Wazégura village on its right +bank, called Kohodé, crossing the river by a ferry. Here my companion, +with all the party--save one exceptional Seedi soldier, Mabarak +Bombay[38] who knew a little Hindustani, and acted as my +interpreter--stopped a day, to recover from the fatigues of the late +harassing march, for they appeared thoroughly knocked up, and to revel +on a feast of milk and flesh which, with great cordiality, was +supplied them by Sultan Momba, a Wazégura chief. We were now fifteen +miles distant from the compass, and I called on volunteers to forsake +these festivities and follow me back to get it. It was a great trial, +and Bombay of all the party was the only man who could be induced to +go; but he, as will be seen in many subsequent parts of this book, was +ever ready to do anything for anybody, and cheerfully started off with +me. The first thing which we saw after crossing by the ferry was a +dead hippopotamus, lying on the greensward of the alluvial plain, +encircled by a number of savages (Washenzi), all armed with bow and +arrows, looking wistfully at their prostrate game. The animal was +scarcely cold, and lay on the ground like a large shapeless hog +bristling with arrows. It appeared from their statements that these +savage hunters had been waiting on the plain for several hours before +daybreak, expecting the animal on his retreat from his nocturnal +excursions under the lee of the Sagama hill, in quest of rank grasses +and forest-trees growing there, which compose his ordinary food, to +make for a certain deep place in the river, by which means he would +have to cross the plain exactly where they posted themselves: they +were not mistaken. The beast advanced at the usual time for going to +his watery abode, and the savages at once surrounded him on the plain; +by firing arrows from all sides at once in rapid succession, the huge +awkward beast knew not which man to set on first, and in its constant, +fruitless, angry endeavours to reach the last assailant, he soon +became exhausted, and was eventually overpowered. + +We now passed on to the nullah, followed it down to the place of +bivouac, found the compass, and returned. In the bed of the nullah +there were numerous pools, both large and small, but all were rapidly +drying up, and destroying the numerous fish they contained; for as +this desiccation increased, and the pools became smaller, the fervid +sun heated the little remaining water to such an overpowering extent, +that the fish, half suffocated, turned on their backs and became an +easy prey to the numerous green-and-brown-striped iguanas that eagerly +thronged their brinks for food. As we approached, these horrid-looking +reptiles hurried off like frightened cats to their hiding-places, some +bearing fish away in their mouths, whilst others, less composed, +dropped what they had half devoured, to evade us all the more readily. +This intense fear of man is caused by their being the negro's game, +who eat them with the same kind of pleasure and relish which a +Frenchman has for frogs. Cheerily did we trip along, for +Bombay--astonished at my oddities or peculiarities, as he thought +them, when I picked up a river shell, or dilated much on the antelopes +and birds we sometimes saw--broke into a series of yarns about his +former life, and of the wild animals with which he was familiar in his +fatherland. He seemed to me a surprisingly indefatigable walker, for +he joked and talked and walked as briskly at the end of thirty miles +as he did at starting. As the sun was setting we repassed the place +where the hippopotamus had been slain, but not a vestige of his flesh +or a bone remained to mark the place--every morsel had been carried +off for food. Ferrying across the river, we were heartily met by the +boisterous, mirthful Sultan Momba, who instantly on our landing shook +us heartily by the hand, commented on our walking powers with +enthusiastic pride, invited us to his palace (grass hut), and gave us +a royal repast. + +13th February.--We started early in the morning, and after crossing +the Pangani, took to the beaten track and followed up the valley. +Nearly at the outset we passed over the Luangéra river, close to its +junction with the Pangani, by a tree thrown across it. The stream, +though not broad, is deep and sullen, and, by native report, is +infested with crocodiles. This may easily be imagined, for the +Pangani, a much rougher, and therefore a less favourable river for +them, undoubtedly is so. Here, near the junction of these two rivers, +their united valleys cause a much greater expanse of alluvial ground; +and had we turned northwards, we might have reached Fuga in two short +marches, by crossing over a mountain spur called Vugiri; but in +consideration of our men, who had to carry unusually heavy burdens, we +determined to follow on our course up the valley by a lower and more +easy road, passing round instead of over this spur. With the Vugiri +hills overhanging us on the right, like a bluff high wall, prettily +decked with bush and tree, and the boisterous Pangani murmuring on the +left hand, which now in many places was divided by little inhabited +islands, we tracked along the valley until we reached Pasunga, when we +left the river still coming from the north-west, and then, turning +sharply round the extreme western point of the Vugiri spur, we entered +on a cultivated plain in a direct line facing Fuga. Here, on the +second day, being overtaken by a fierce storm, we put up in some sheds +outside a village. There were three small cones, called Mbara, close +to us west by north; but besides these, to the northward, there was +nothing save an uninterrupted plain of the densest jungle leading up +to the Makumbara mountains, about ten miles distant. The village +itself was enshrouded in a dense thicket, which was entered by the +narrowest of passages, cut through branches for security's sake, and +was further protected by piles and stakes against the attacks of +enemies. Everybody here feels an insecurity to life and property, +which makes people wonder how they ever can be happy. Prosperous they +are not, and never will be, until such time as enlightened men may +happen to come amongst them to teach their chiefs the art of +governing. Of all villages the most secure from attack seem those that +are situated on the river islands, where the division of the stream +affords a natural moat, which no African art can overcome. + +15th February.--After waiting for a few hours this morning for the +rain to subside, we got under way and made straight for Fuga. The +first half of the journey led us by well-beaten footpaths through flat +cultivated fields of sugar-cane and bananas, tamarind-trees, papaws, +and various jungle shrubs, filling up the non-arable surface; and then +began a steep ascent by rudely-beaten zigzags, to ease the abruptness +of the hill, on which the capital is situated. The whole face of this +hill was clothed with large timber trees, around which, here and +there, entwining their trunks, clung the delicate sarsaparilla vine; +and beneath them flourished, as by spontaneous growth, the universal +plantain, a vegetable grown in this country as we do corn, and, like +it also, regarded as the staff of life. At length, after a little hard +toiling, we emerged from this prodigious wooding, and found ourselves +on a naked, bold, prominent point overlooking the whole plain we had +left behind, and from which we could clearly see its entire +dimensions. To the northward, as already said, was the Makumbara +range, a dense compact mass of solid-looking hills, much higher than +the spur we stood upon, but joining it to the north-eastward; whilst +its other extremity shot out to the north-westward, until it seemed as +though it were suddenly cut off by the Pangani river. + +Beyond the river, again, looking across the western extremity, but +farther back than it, other large hills, bedimmed by distance, could +be seen tending in a south-westerly direction, which in all +probability are a link of the longitudinal chain, which, as our maps +will show, fringe the whole of the southern continent of Africa.[39] +The country directly beyond the river valley rose into gentle +undulations, but on this side all was flat and densely wooded, save in +one little spot to the north-west of the Mbara cones, where a sheet of +water or small lake made a bald conspicuous place--and here it was, by +native report, that elephants and other large game abounded. + +Having now completed the survey, we proceeded along the shoulder of +the hill just ascended, and passing by a ferruginous spring, soon +arrived unexpectedly to its inhabitants at Fuga, the capital of +Usumbara, and presented ourselves to the astonished Fugaites, who +naturally began to question what could possibly be the meaning of this +stolen march on them; for, contrary to the laws of the land, no +permission to enter their _citadel_ had been asked, and consequently +no one was prepared to see or receive us. Access to the village was +strictly forbidden to us strangers, until at least the king, whose +palace is situated some distance from it, had been consulted with in a +certain form of ridiculous ceremony, which, for politeness' sake, we +felt ourselves bound to assent to, but in the meanwhile we took +possession of some huts close to it, where Mr Krapf, our Church +missionary, had some years previously, when visiting this place, taken +up his abode. + +A deputation was now sent with our compliments to the king, Kimuéri, +soliciting an audience; and just before sunset they returned to say we +must remain where we were for the present, as the king was in doubt +about our intentions, regarding us with suspicion, as we had come +through the territories of his enemies, the Wazégura, which was +tantamount to a hostile declaration; and, moreover, he required +leisure for his mganga or magic-man to divine what time would be +propitious for an interview. The old man was in the wane of life, +being upwards, it was said, of one hundred years of age, and his +people thought he must die. Hearing this, Captain Burton, playing with +his superstitious credulity, devised a plan by which he at once gained +access to him. The king was lying on a cartel in a small round hut, +encompassed on his near side by swarthy-looking counsellors, who +smoked small pipes and sat on low three-legged stools. Sultan Majid's +introductory letter was now read, and all seemed satisfied as to who +we were. We then returned to our lodgings, and found a bullock and +some meal of Indian corn and plantains sent as a honorarium after us. +Next morning, agreeably to promise, at the king's direction, a guide +came to show us about the place, in order that Captain Burton might be +able to pick some leaves or herbs to make a certain decoction which +would insure longevity; but as none such could be found, and the old +king had seen through the trick, entrance to the "town" was still +forbidden. + +Whilst wandering about, however, we chanced to see a number of negroes +turn out and chase down an antelope. It was a very small rufous-brown +animal, much about the size and shape of the Kakur deer of the +Himalayas; but what struck me most was, the peculiarity of its having, +unlike all hitherto known African species, four points of horns. In +consequence of this great novelty, I tried to purchase its head, but +the greedy savages who caught it, coveting the flesh, would not, for +any consideration, let me have it, and I never saw another killed. +Rain poured down in torrents at night, and the days remained so +cloudy, that we felt the kuzi or little monsoon had now fairly set in, +and the sooner we could get away from the high lands so much the +better for us. In the evening (15th February), therefore, we sent our +return presents to the king, and asked permission to be allowed to go. +A very civil reply was given, with certain additions, for which I +could not help admiring him; but he would not accept the present, and +we might go whenever we pleased. + +Thinking to obviate to the best of my ability any differences with +these benighted but cunning people, and to leave as favourable an +impression of our visit as I could, I advised Captain Burton to +distribute amongst the ministers those things which had been brought +for the king, and this accordingly was done, but not without +considerable debate, and the finally reluctant sanction of the +king.[40] The next morning (16th February) saw us descending the +heights of Fuga, and in a few hours' walk we left the cool congenial +air incidental to 4000 or 5000 feet, for the hot, damp, morbid, close +atmosphere of the jungle plains below, in which, as Miss Nightingale +would say, you could palpably smell a fever. Then following the old +route, we came down to the Pangani; and in three days' travelling +along it, as Captain Burton, being no sportsman, would not stop for +shooting, we put up once more at Kohodé, with Sultan Momba. + +19th February.--To vary the way and gain a better knowledge of the +river, we now determined to follow it all the way down to Chogué, +which we made on the third day, spending the two intervening nights at +the Wazégura villages of Kiranga and Kizungu. The valley, though much +varied, was generally contracted by the closing in of the rolling +terminal abutments of the Tongué hill, on the one side--with rising +land, and little conical hills almost joining, which overhung the +river on the right bank in Uzégura, on the other side. We seldom met +any people on the line of march; and the land being totally +uncultivated, excepting in the immediate vicinity of these villages, +we felt as though we were travelling through a desert wild of dreary +jungle--which, indeed, it was. No animals, and scarcely any birds, +moved about to cheer and keep the road alive; and all was silent, save +the constant gurgling, rumbling sound of the river's waters as they +rushed rapidly over boulders and often plunged down many little falls +in the bed of the stream. On passing the point opposite to Tongué +Fort, we saw the cause which produced the sound like a cataract, which +formerly we had heard when standing on its summit. It was, indeed, a +cascade of considerable dimensions, and would, doubtless, be a sight +of pleasing grandeur when the river is full. + +In the afternoon of the 22d, as we approached Chogué, the little +Beluch jemadar, with the rest of the guard, turned out to welcome us, +and gloat over the successful termination of an artful trick he felt +himself the father of. He spread mats for us to sit upon, and brought +the universal coffee-pot and some sweetmeats as a relish to refresh us +and increase the triumph; for the little man, no doubt, thought he had +gained his prize. + +The next three days were spent in making different excursions, +shooting hippopotami in the vicinity of the outpost; and on the 26th +February we returned to Pangani, Captain Burton dropping down the +river in a canoe, whilst I, to complete the survey of the country and +to check my former work on the river, walked with Bombay to Pombui, +ferried across the stream there, and came by the right bank down to +Buéni, on the shore of the Pangani Bay. Here I recrossed the river +again, and found Sheikh Said and my "boy" Gaetano, with all the traps +arranged, ready at the old house for our reception. Our vessel had +been discharged at the expiration of the first month's engagement, and +we were now expecting a second one from Zanzibar, to continue the +cruise southward along the shore, and gain a fuller knowledge of the +various entrepôts of caravans. I had by this time become much attached +to Bombay, for I must say I never saw any black man so thoroughly +honest and conscientious as he was, added to which, his generosity was +unbounded; and I thought (as we shall see afterwards proved to be the +case) he would turn out a most valuable servant for the future +journey--a regular "Friday." The only difficulty now was how to obtain +his discharge from the service he was in; but this the jemadar, who +followed us down to Pangani to receive the wages for the men who +accompanied us to Fuga, said he would arrange, if Bombay felt willing, +and would leave a substitute to act for him whilst he was away. A +compact was accordingly concluded, by which Bombay became my servant +for the time being, at five dollars per mensem, with board and lodging +on the journey found him. The jemadar now left us, with a present for +himself and the hire of his men, and we were all alone. + +On the 1st March a violent bilious fever attacked me, and also floored +Captain Burton and Valantine. It appeared in the form of the yellow +jack of Jamaica, and made us all as yellow as guineas; and had we been +able to perspire, I have no doubt we should have sweated out a sort of +yellow ochre which a painter might have coveted. In this state we lay +physicking ourselves until the 5th, when a vessel chartered by the +Consul, and stored with delicacies of all kinds by our generous, +thoughtful old host for the journey southwards, arrived, and took us +off. Captain Burton being still under the influences of this terrible +scourge, and very ill, even to absolute prostration, and occasionally +wandering in his mind, he gave up his projected plans, and we returned +at once to Zanzibar, reaching it on the 6th March. + +The Masika, or great vernal rainy season which follows up the sun as +it passes to the north, broke over the island of Zanzibar this year +early in April, and was expected to last for its normal period of +forty days. For this to subside we had now to wait here as patiently +as we could, occupying the spare time so forced on us in purchasing an +outfit and in preparing for the journey. It was highly interesting to +see here at this season of the year, as we well could do, so near the +equator, the regular systematic procession of the wind and rain +following up the sun in its northward passage. The atmosphere, at this +time and place, was heated and rarefied by the vertical rays of the +sun; that produced a vacuum, which the cold airs of the south taking +advantage of, rush up to fill, and with their coldness condense the +heated vapours drawn up daily from the ocean and precipitate them back +again on the earth below. This occurring and continually repeating day +by day, for a certain time, nearly in the same place, fills the air +with electric excitement, which causes thunder and lightning to +accompany nearly every storm. The atmospheric air's being so +surcharged with electricity was palpably felt by the nervous system; +at any rate, judging from myself, I can only say I experienced a +nervous sensibility I never knew before, of being startled at any +sudden accident. A pen dropping from the table even would make me +jump. Whilst stopping here, the Colonel's house was one continuous +scene of pleasure and festivities. The British Consulate was the +common rendezvous of all men: Arab, Hindi, German, French, or +American, were all alike received without distinction or any forced +restraint. Indeed, the old Consul literally studied the mode of making +people happy; and Zanzibar, instead of being an outlandish place, such +as to make one wonder how men could exile themselves by coming here, +was really a place of great enjoyment. The merchants, on the other +hand, were not less hospitably inclined, and constantly entertained +and gave very handsome dinners. + +Besides our Consulate, there is a French and an American one, and the +European merchants were composed of French, Germans, and +Americans,--the dark-coloured ones being principally confined to +Arabs, Hindis, and the Wasuahili, or coast people. Taking advantage of +the time, especially the evenings, I spent most of them in rating the +chronometers and getting all the surveying instruments into working +order; whilst Captain Burton, besides book-making, busied himself in +making all the other arrangements for the journey, such as purchasing +Venetian beads, brass wire, and American sheetings, &c., which come +here in shiploads round the Cape of Good Hope, or in buying donkeys +for our riding and their transport. Then in the cool of the mornings +we took social walks or rides through the clove plantations, or +amongst the palms, mango-trees, and orange gardens, treating +pine-apples, which grew like common weeds on the roadsides, as if they +were nothing better than ordinary turnips, though when placed upon the +table they are certainly as delicious as any living fruit. The only +fine houses are those occupied by the Europeans and the Sultan, and +they front the harbour, which is considered a very good one, and is +very constantly filled with shipping, the Sultan's men-of-war, foreign +square-rigged vessels, and a host of buggaloes from Aden, Muscat, +Catch, and Bombay. The back of the town is very much like a common +Indian bazaar, but there is a hollow square in its centre, which +nowadays is peculiar to this place--it is the slave-market. +Immediately after every fresh importation, you can see in the early +morning unhappy-looking men and women, all hideously black and ugly, +tethered to one another like horses in a fair, and calculating men, +knowing judges of flesh and limb, walking up and down, feeling their +joints and looking out to make a bargain. Women, of course, sell +better than the men, being fitted to more general purposes. For a good +wife any sum might be given. But the saddest sight which came under my +observation was the way in which some licentious-looking men began a +cool, deliberate inspection of a certain divorced culprit who had been +sent back to the market for inconstancy to her husband. She had learnt +a sense of decency during her conjugal life, and the blushes on her +face now clearly showed how her heart was mortified at this unseemly +exposure, made worse because she could not help it. + +The amount of information gathered by the expedition concerning the +interior of Africa at Zanzibar, I may say was _nil_, to use Captain +Burton's own words, in a letter written at the British Consulate, 22d +April 1857, and published in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical +Society, page 52 of No. 1, vol. ii., where these remarkable words may +be found:--"We could obtain no useful information from the European +merchants of Zanzibar, who are mostly ignorant of everything beyond +the island. The Arabs and Sawahilis, who were averse to, and fearful +of, white travellers, _did_ give us information, but it was worse than +none." + +The orders of the Royal Geographical Society to Captain Burton were +these, in short:--"The great object of the expedition is to penetrate +inland from Kilwa, or some other place on the east coast of Africa, +and make the best of your way to the reputed Lake of Nyassa; to +determine the position and limits of that lake; to ascertain the depth +and nature of its waters and tributaries; to explore the country +around it, &c. Having obtained all the information you require in that +quarter, you are to proceed northwards towards the range of mountains +marked upon our maps as containing the probable sources of the Bahr el +Abiad, which it will be your next great object to discover." + +Bearing these instructions in mind, Captain Burton naturally felt +desirous of penetrating from Kilwa to attack the missionaries' great +slug-shaped lake in the tail. The reason why Captain Burton was +prevented from doing so, I shall show again by a reference to the same +letter. He writes thus:--"The accounts formerly made in Europe about +the facility of penetrating inland from Kilwa (Quiloa), and the +economy of travel in that region, are fabulous. The southern Sawahili +are more hostile to explorers than the inhabitants of the northern +maritime towns, and their distance from the seat of government renders +them daring by impunity. But last year they persuaded the Waginda +tribe of the interior to murder a peaceful Arab merchant, in order +that strangers might be deterred from interfering with their commerce. +Messrs Krapf and Erhardt, of the Mombas mission, spent a few hours at +Kilwa, where they were civilly received by the governor and citizens, +but they were sadly deceived in being led to imagine that they could +make that port their starting-point." "We shall probably land at +Bagamoyo." + +Now we did land at Kaolé, close to Bagamoyo, but the route from Kilwa +to Nyassa was afterwards safely traversed by Dr Boscher, though, after +that, Boscher was murdered by some thieves in Whiyow.[41] Having said +this much, which shows that Captain Burton was bent on going by the +great caravan road to Ujiji, I shall first of all dwell on the nature +of the men we took with us, what agreements they made, and what pays +they received. I feel bound to state this, as I was called on by the +Consul to witness the agreements, and much of the journey was +performed by myself alone; added to which, the funds of the expedition +fell short, and as soon as it did so, I made a compact with Captain +Burton that, in the event of the Government not paying our excess of +expenditure, I would pay him the half of all those expenses; and I did +so to the extent of £600 after the journey was over. + +Our cafila bashi (head of caravan) was Sheikh Said, who went with us +to Mombas. He said he would go with us if we only went to Ujiji on the +Tanganyika Lake, but he would not go on any other line, as his +relatives feared some accident might befall him. For this he received +from Colonel Hamerton 500 dollars; and he was promised, if he +succeeded in pleasing us, 1000 dollars more, and a gold watch, on his +return. There was a little more difficulty in getting a Beluch escort, +for the Consul cautioned us that we could not expect the Sultan to +give one gratis. He asked the Sultan, however, for men, and we were +told we might have them out of his army if they would volunteer. The +head jemadar then came to make a bargain, and we said we would give to +each man five dollars a-month, besides rations and clothing the same +as Bombay got. This bait would not take, and we could not get one man +until the Consul again spoke to the Sultan about it. A party then were +marched up to the Consulate, when, in addition to the pay already +offered, they demanded flesh as often as we killed a goat, bullock, or +sheep, but they would not serve more than six months. To this last +stipulation, arguing on my Somali experiences, I stoutly objected, but +was overruled both by Colonel Hamerton and Captain Burton. The Colonel +then gave the jemadar of our party a present of 25 dollars, and to +each of the privates 20 dollars, to set themselves up for the journey. +Further, he promised them a handsome reward on their return if they +served us well, to be paid out of some public fund in the same way as +he paid Sheikh Said. + +The rest of our escort consisted of some slaves, who were furnished us +by a Banyan named Ramji. They were armed with muskets, and enlisted +not to carry loads, but to guard us and treat with the native chiefs +on the line of march, as they were familiar with the road to Ujiji, +and were friends with the chiefs we should find there. Their pay was +fixed at 5 dollars a-month, half of which they were to keep +themselves, and the other half to be given to their master in +compensation for the loss of their services. Further, six months' +wages at this rate was to be paid in advance, and the remainder when +the journey was over; but leaving a clause to the effect that they +might be discharged at any time, supposing we did not require their +services further. + +Everybody at Zanzibar did his best to assist us, from the Sultan +downwards. The European merchants gave us most hospitable +entertainments on a very grand scale, and Mr Oswald, in particular, +transported our spare boxes to England. Ladha, the customs master, was +our banker, and found our outfit of beads, brass wire, and cloths, +which is the circulating medium in inner Africa instead of money. +Colonel Hamerton was so anxious for the success of the expedition, +that he obtained a man-of-war--the corvette Artemise--from the Sultan +on the 16th June 1857, and accompanied us over to Kaolé on the +mainland, notwithstanding at the time he was dangerously ill. For some +time we were detained here collecting baggage animals to carry our +property. All we wanted could not be procured, as the bulk of the +pagazis (porters) had been previously hired by the ivory merchant +traders. However, thirty-six men were sent forward to Zungoméro by +Ladha, and we bought thirty donkeys. When all was done that could be +done in a hurry, we bade the generous old Colonel adieu, as well as +his medical attendant, Mr Frost, and commenced the journey inland on +the 27th June--Ladha promising to send the rest of our property after +us as soon as he could find carriage for it. + +I have already published, in my 'Journal of the Discovery of the +Source of the Nile,' a description of the countries we had to pass +through to reach Kazé, so I shall not trouble the reader with the +details on that point, contained in my previous publication. Suffice +it to say that Kazé is a place in the centre of Unyamuézi, the Land of +the Moon, situated in S. lat. 5°, and E. long. 33°. It is occupied by +Arab merchants as a central trading depôt, and is fast expanding into +a colony. At the time of our starting we did not know that, but +imagined we should find a depôt of that sort at Ujiji. Travelling +through the country of Uzaramo, both Captain Burton and I contracted +fevers. Mine occasionally recurred at various intervals, but his stuck +to him throughout the journey, and even lasted till some time after he +came home. + +At Zungoméro we overtook the porters that Ladha had sent forward. I +calculated our rate of expenditure, found we had not enough for the +necessities of the journey, and prevailed on Captain Burton to write +back for more, notwithstanding our Government subsidy was out; for I +could not brook the idea of failure, even though we might have to pay +our future travelling expenses out of our own pockets. + +I was also shocked here to hear that our good stanch friend, Colonel +Hamerton, had died shortly after we left him. It struck a blow also on +the minds of Sheikh Said and the Beluches, for they naturally thought +their security was gone. Sheikh Said, however, I must say, very much +to his credit, soon shook off his fears, and even told the Beluches to +do the same, for another consul would come who would see justice done +to them. + +We then left Zungoméro and crossed the East Coast Range. During this +stage the Beluches one day struck for food, as they were disappointed +at our not killing goats, the fact being that I had supplied our table +with guinea-fowls. An altercation took place which I had to settle, as +was invariably the case when any difficulties arose in the camp. I +managed the matter by ordering a march. This brought them to reason, +for hitherto they thought we should be afraid to go without them. The +consequence was that, finding themselves left behind, they forgot +their wrath and followed us. On the way they found Captain Burton +lying by the roadside prostrate with fever, and, taking compassion on +him, brought him into camp. They were forgiven; but another difficulty +arose in consequence of our donkeys dying faster than their loads were +consumed, so that we could not have proceeded had not some of Ramji's +slaves carried some loads for us. Our supplies were already too short +for our journey; nevertheless, Captain Burton said he would pay them +if they carried our loads. + +They did so; but Captain Burton, on my saying we should find it +difficult to keep faith with them, mildly replied, "Arabs made +promises in that way, but never kept them; and, moreover, slaves of +this sort never expected to be paid." I grew angry at this +declaration--for I had seen Tibet ruined by officers not keeping faith +with their porters--and argued the matter, but without effect. On +arrival at Ugogi, on the west flank of the East Coast Range, our +cattle were so completely done up that we could not have proceeded, +had it not happened, by the greatest luck in the world, we found some +pagazis here desirous of going to their homes in Unyamuézi. They had +been left there by a caravan in consequence of a quarrel which +originated in seduction. This lift took us over the interior plateau +across Ugogo and Mgunda Mkhali to Kazé, where we arrived on the 7th +November 1857. The Arabs we found collected here were extremely +obliging, especially one Sheikh Snay, who furnished us with a house, +looked after our wants, and supplied us with much useful information. + +On my opening Messrs Rebmann and Erhardt's map, and asking him where +Nyassa was, he said it was a distinct lake from Ujiji, lying to the +southward. This opened our eyes to a most interesting fact, for the +first time discovered. I then asked what the word Ukéréwé meant, and +was answered in the same way, that it was a lake to the northward, +much larger than Ujiji, and this solved the mystery. The missionaries +had run three lakes into one. In great glee at this I asked Snay, +through Captain Burton, whether or not a river ran out of that lake? +to which he replied, he thought the lake was the source of the Jub +river; and he strongly advised us, if our only motive in coming here +was to look at a large piece of water, to go to it instead of on to +Ujiji. Captain Burton and I argued that we thought the lake in +question, which was the Victoria N'yanza, would more likely prove to +be the source of the Nile, from the simple fact of our knowing the Jub +to be separated from the interior plateau by the East Coast Range. +Time wore on. Our pagazis all left us, as is usual, on their arriving +at their homes, and we had to procure more to carry our traps on to +Ujiji. + +Captain Burton attempted to get porters by giving presents to the best +two men we had for that purpose, but without the least effect. They +promised and kept us waiting, but never performed. In the mean time +Captain Burton got desperately ill, whilst I picked up all the +information I could gather from the Arabs, with Bombay as an +interpreter.[42] I heard that the Babisa, who live on the west of +Nyassa, came to the southeast corner of Tanganyika in quest of ivory +for the Kilua merchants. That caravans sometimes reached the Cazembé +country by land, crossing the Manungu river, and also went to Katata +for copper, which is of a dark rich red colour, and more prized than +the imported copper. Some Arabs also went down the Tanganyika, +disembarked at Manungu, and reached Cazembé. Further, I heard from +Snay and his associates that the Kitangulé and Katonga rivers ran out +of the Ukéréwé Lake (Victoria N'yanza), and that another river, which +is the Nile, but supposed by them to be the upper portions of the Jub +river, ran into the N'yanza. Further conversation explained this away, +and I made them confess that all these rivers ran exactly contrary to +the way they first stated; as it was obvious, if the N'yanza was the +source of the Jub, the last river alluded to must flow out of the lake +instead of into it, as they had said. Still more extraordinary than +this, I heard from Snay that vessels frequented some waters to the +northward of the equator, which confirmed some statement I had heard +of the same nature in 1855 when travelling in the Somali country. I +could not fix in my own mind exactly what this alluded to; but I felt +so curious to find out, and so sure in my own mind that the Victoria +N'yanza would prove to be the source of the Nile, I proposed going to +see it at once, instead of going on to Ujiji. The route, however, to +the northward was said to be dangerous--Usui alone would seize all our +property--and Captain Burton preferred going west. How this even was +to be managed then seemed very dubious, for not one of Ramji's slaves +would come near us, and the Beluches were so tired of the journey they +begged for their discharge, crying it was their due, as they had +served their turn of service. They wanted no pay if we would only give +them certificates of satisfaction. We would not do this; and then they +said, as they saw we wanted them, they would not desert us. + +We had now been at Kazé rather more than a month, and I thought +Captain Burton would die if we did not make a move, so I begged him to +allow me to assume the command _pro tem._, and I would see what I +could do to effect a move. Accordingly, as he agreed, I made +arrangements with Snay, and transported half our property to Zimbili, +where I prepared a house for Captain Burton's reception on the 5th +December. Three days after he was carried over, and he begged me to +take account of his effects, as he thought he would die. I cheered him +up, and found the change of air had the effect I desired. Still +Ramji's men would not come out to camp, so I tried with Bombay to see +what they had at heart, and then it transpired they had not been paid +for carrying loads on from the East Coast Range to Kazé. In a minute I +recollected Captain Burton's promise to them, brought them into the +camp, and paid them their dues. + +Bit by bit we pushed on to Mséné, another small colony occupied +chiefly by Wasuahili, and here we ate our Christmas dinner. The +country was rich in the extreme, and well under rice cultivation. +Ramji's men were quite in their element here, and even Bombay became +so _love-sick_ we could hardly tear him away. We broke ground on the +10th January 1858, but not until three days after did the whole of our +men join us. I saw now we had too many mouths to feed; and as Ramji's +men had been hired more for show than work, their term of service had +just expired, and I did not think we should require their guns any +more, I begged Captain Burton to give them a present each, with leave +to go to their homes--for it must be remembered they possess homes in +Unyamuézi as well as at Zanzibar. The men craved to be allowed to go +on with us, but I, more than any one else, insisted we ought to get +rid of them, for the reasons stated above; and so they were +discharged. I found we were on a great decline of the country draining +to the westward; the soil was deeper and richer, and the vegetation +proportionately richer as we went on with the journey. Shortly we +crossed the Malagarazi river in a bark canoe at the Mpété ferry, and +found that, after having travelled along this decline from Kazé about +one hundred and fifty miles, we began to ascend at the eastern horn of +a large crescent-shaped mass of mountains overhanging the northern +half of the Tanganyika Lake, which I am now about to describe. + +This mountain mass I consider to be THE TRUE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON, +regarding which so many erroneous speculations have been ventured. I +infer this because they lie beyond Unyamuézi (country of the Moon), +and must have been first mentioned to geographical inquirers by the +Wanyamuézi (people of the Moon), who have from time out of mind +visited the coast, and must have been the first who gave information +of them. I am the more satisfied of the correctness of this view from +observing the missionaries' map; for what could have induced them to +call their great lake, in general terms, the Sea of the Moon, except +that it lay beyond the country of the Moon?[43] The mountains form a +crescent overhanging the north end of the lake, large and deep in the +body to the north, and tapering to horns as they stretch southwards +down the east and west sides of the lake. Our line of march, about six +hundred rectilinear geographical miles, had been nearly due west from +Zanzibar. Here you may picture to yourself my bitter disappointment +when, after toiling through so many miles of savage life, all the time +emaciated by divers sicknesses and weakened by great privations of +food and rest, I found, on approaching the zenith of my ambition, the +Great Lake in question nothing but mist and glare before my eyes. From +the summit of the eastern horn the lovely Tanganyika Lake could be +seen in all its glory by everybody but myself. The fact was, that +fevers and the influence of a vertical sun had reduced my system so, +that inflammation, caught by sleeping on the ground during this rainy +season, attacked my eyes, brought on an almost total blindness, and +rendered every object before me enclouded as by a misty veil. +Proceeding onwards down the western slopes of the hill, we soon +arrived at the margin of the lake, and hired a canoe at Ukaranga to +take us to Ujiji, the chief place on the lake which Arabs frequent. +This is a name we had long been familiar with, and is the term by +which the Arabs in general call this lake. This mode of nomenclature +is quite in accordance with the usual custom of semi-civilised people, +as we see in Arabia, where the Arabs call the Red Sea by the names of +the different ports which they frequent. Thus, for instance, at +Jeddah, it is called by them the Sea of Jeddah, whilst at Suez it is +the Sea of Suez, &c. &c. The Tanganyika Lake, lying between 3° and 8° +south latitude, and in 29° east longitude, has a length of three +hundred miles, and is from thirty to forty broad in its centre. The +surface-level, as I ascertained by the temperature of boiling water, +is only eighteen hundred feet, and it appears quite sunk into the lap +of these mountains. Its waters are very sweet, and abound with +delicious fish in great variety. The fertility of the northern end of +the lake surpassed anything we had hitherto seen; but this was not +surprising when duly considered. The hills, instead of being, as on +the great plateau we had recently left, outcrops of granite, were +composed of argillaceous sandstone. Rains there lasted all the year +round, and the temperature was very considerable. In consequence of +this the sides of the lake are thickly inhabited by numerous tribes of +the true negro breed, amongst which the most conspicuous are the +Wabembé cannibals, into whose territory no Arabs durst ever venture. +Bombay, my interpreter, describes them as being very dreadful +creatures, who are "always looking out for some of our sort." The port +we finally arrived at is called Kawélé, a small village in the Ujiji +district. Here we landed all our property, and took up our abode in a +deserted house, which had been left to decay by some Arab merchants. +The Beluch guard received a present of cloth; they seemed very glad +the land march was at an end. In that respect we felt the same as our +men; but we found ourselves in the hands of a very ill-disposed chief, +called Kannina--tyrannical, and, as such savages invariably are, +utterly unreasonable. A heavy tribute was paid for the advantages of +this savage monster's _protection_, and we were too short of beads and +cloth to search out for and pay another chief of more moderate +inclinations. This was a serious misfortune; for, having once entered +his dominions and established our headquarters there, we could not +very well leave them. This was the more distressing, as comfort, +pleasure, and everything is at the mercy of these headsmen's wills, +and we were destined for a long sojourn here. To war with these chiefs +is like "cutting off the nose to spite the face." Nobody, let his +desire be what it may, dares assist you without the chief's full +approbation; and Kannina's austere government we had occasion to feel +from first to last. Our first object on arrival was to get boats for +the survey of the lake; but here arose a difficulty. Hostilities were +rife with nearly all the border tribes; and the little cockle-shell +canoes, made from the hollowed trunks of trees, are not only liable to +be driven ashore by the slightest storm, but are so small that there +is but little stowage-room in them for carrying supplies. The sailors, +aware of this defect, fear to venture anywhere except on certain +friendly beats, and therefore their boats were quite unfitted for our +work. + +This dilemma made us try to hire a dhow or sailing-vessel, belonging +to Sheikh Hamed bin Suléyim, living at Kasengé Island, on the opposite +or western shore, as it was the only boat afloat on these waters +fitted for carrying provisions and moving about independent of the +border clans. On arriving here, we were so disabled by +sickness--Captain Burton utterly, and I suffering from ophthalmia, and +a weakness in the lower extremities resembling paralysis--that my +companion proposed sending our Ras-cafila, Sheikh Said, across the +lake to bargain for the dhow, and applied to Kannina for the means of +transport. At first he seemed inclined to treat, though at an +exorbitant rate; but when we came direct to terms, he backed entirely +out. Fortunately we obtained a boat and crew from another chief, at +the extortionate charge of four kitindis and four dhotis merikani, +besides the usual sailors' fee. The dhoti is a piece of American +sheeting measuring eight cubits. The cubit is still the negro's yard, +the same as was adopted at the time of the Flood; they have no other +measure than that with which nature has provided them--viz., the first +joint of the arm, or from the elbow to the top of the middle finger. +These kitindis are a sort of brass-wire bracelet worn on the lower arm +by the negro females, coiled up from the wrist to the elbow, like a +wax taper circling up a stick or stem. Sometimes this wire is reformed +and coiled flat out round the neck to a breadth of about eight inches, +and gives the wearer's head much the appearance of John the Baptist's +standing in the middle of a charger. These necklaces are never taken +off, so at night, or resting-time, the wearer on lying down places a +block of wood or stone beneath his head, to prevent the wire from +galling. This concession of the chief was given under the proviso that +Kannina would not object, which, strange to say, he promised not to +do; and hopes were entertained of an early departure. However, this, +like every other earthly expectation in these black regions, was +destined to be disappointed. In the first place, an African must do +everything by easy stages, nor can he entertain two ideas in his head +at the same moment. First a crew had to be collected, and when +collected to be paid, and when paid the boat was found to be +unseaworthy, and must be plugged; and so much time elapsed, and plans +were changed. But after all, things, it happened, were wisely +ordained; for the time thus wasted served to recruit my health, as I +employed it in bathing and strolling gently about during the cool of +the mornings and evenings, and so gained considerable benefit. There +is a curious idea here with regard to the bathing-place, in fancying +the dreaded crocodile will obey the mandates of a charm. They plant +the bough of a particular tree in the water about fifty yards from the +shore, which marks the line of safe bathing, for within it they say +the animal dares not venture. At noon, protected by an umbrella, and +fortified with stained-glass spectacles, I usually visited the +market-place, with beads in hand, to purchase daily supplies. The +market is held between the hours of 10 A.M. and 4 P.M., near the port, +and consists of a few temporary huts, composed of grass and branches +hastily tied together. Most of these are thrown up day by day. The +commodities brought for sale are fish, flesh, tobacco, palm oil, and +spirits, different kinds of potatoes, artichokes, several sorts of +beans, plantains, melons, cotton, sugar-cane, a variety of pulse and +vegetables, ivories, and sometimes slaves. Between these +perambulations, I spent the day reclining with my eyes shut. At +length, after eighteen days' negotiations, improved by these +constitutional diversions and rest, and longing for a change, +especially one that led across the sea, and afforded the means of +surveying it, I proposed to go myself, and treat directly with Sheikh +Hamed. Captain Burton threw obstacles in my way at first, saying +canoes were not safe on such a large lake, but he finally gave in when +I pressed the advisability of my doing so. This intention soon reached +the ears of Kannina, who, fearing that he might thus lose much cloth, +threw obstacles in the way, and most unjustly demanded as large a +passport-fee for my crossing as had been given to the other chief; +which demand we were obliged to comply with, or the men would not take +up an oar. + + + + + + Chapter II. + +Canoes--The Crews--The Biography of Bombay--The +Voyage--Crocodiles--The Lake Scenery--Kivira Island--Black Beetles--An +Adventure with One of Them--Kasengé Island--African Slavery. + + + +3d March 1858.--ALL being settled, I set out in a long narrow canoe, +hollowed out of the trunk of a single tree. These vessels are mostly +built from large timbers, growing in the district of Uguhha, on the +western side of the lake. The seats of these canoes are bars of wood +tied transversely to the length. The kit taken consists of one load +(60 lb.) of cloth (American sheeting), another of large blue beads, a +magazine of powder, and seven kitindis. The party is composed of +Bombay, my interpreter; Gaetano, the Goanese cook-boy; two Beluch +soldiers; one Nakhuda or sea-captain, who sometimes wore a goat-skin; +and twenty stark-naked savage sailors: twenty-six in all. Of these +only ten started, the remainder leaving word that they would follow +down the coast, and meet us at a _khambi_ (encampment), three miles +distant, by 12 o'clock. The ten, however, sufficient for the occasion, +move merrily off at 9 A.M., and in an hour we reached the rendezvous, +under a large spreading tree on the right bank of the mouth of the +river Ruché. + +The party is decidedly motley. The man of quaintest aspect in it is +Sidi Mabarak Bombay. He is of the Wahiyow tribe, who make the best +slaves in Eastern Africa. His breed is that of the true woolly-headed +negro, though he does not represent a good specimen of them +physically, being somewhat smaller in his general proportions than +those one generally sees as stokers in our steamers that traverse the +Indian Ocean. His head, though woodeny, like a barber's block, is lit +up by a humorous little pair of pig-like eyes, set in a generous +benign-looking countenance, which, strange to say, does not belie him, +for his good conduct and honesty of purpose are without parallel. His +muzzle projects dog-monkey fashion, and is adorned with a regular set +of sharp-pointed alligator teeth, which he presents to full view as +constantly as his very ticklish risible faculties become excited. The +tobacconist's "jolly nigger," stuck in the corner house of ---- +street, as it stands in mute but full grin, tempting the patronage of +accidental passengers, is his perfect counterpart. This wonderful man +says he knows nothing of his genealogy, nor any of the dates of the +leading epochs of his adventurous life,--not even his birth, time of +captivity, or restoration. + +But his general history he narrated to me as follows, which I give as +he told it me, for this sketch may be of interest, presenting, as it +does, a good characteristic account of the manner in which slave-hunts +are planned and carried into execution. It must be truthful, for I +have witnessed tragedies of a similar nature. The great slave-hunters +of Eastern Africa are the Wasuahili or coast people; formerly slaves +themselves, they are more enlightened, and fuller of tricks than the +interior people, whom they now in their turn catch. Having been once +caught themselves, they know how to proceed, and are consequently very +cautious in their movements, taking sometimes years before they +finally try to accomplish their object. They first ensnare the +ignorant unsuspicious inlanders by alluring and entangling them in the +treacherous meshes of debt, and then, by capturing and mercilessly +selling their human game, liquidate the debt, insinuatingly advanced +as an irresistible decoy to allure their confiding victims. + +Bombay says: "I am a Mhiyow; my father lived in a village in the +country of Uhiyow (a large district situated between the east coast +and the Nyassa (Lake) in latitude 11° S.) Of my mother I have but the +faintest recollection; she died whilst I was in my infancy. Our +village was living in happy contentment, until the fated year when I +was about the age of twelve. At that period a large body of Wasuahili +merchants and their slaves, all equipped with sword and gun, came +suddenly, and, surrounding our village, demanded of the inhabitants +instant liquidation of their debts (cloths and beads), advanced in +former times of pinching dearth, or else to stand the consequences of +refusal. + +"As all the residents had at different times contracted debts to +different members of the body present, there was no appeal against the +equity of this sudden demand, but no one had the means of payment. +They knew fighting against firearms would be hopeless; so after a few +stratagems, looking for a good opportunity to bolt, the whole village +took to precipitate flight. Most of the villagers were captured like +myself; but of my father, or any other relatives, I never more gained +any intelligence. He was either shot in endeavouring to defend +himself, or still more probably gave leg-bail, and so escaped. As soon +as this foray was over, all the captives were grouped together, and +tethered with chains or ropes, and marched off to Kilua, on the east +coast (in latitude 9° S.) Arrived there, the whole party embarked in +dhows, which, setting sail, soon arrived at Zanzibar. We were then +driven to the slave-market, where I was bought by an Arab merchant, +and taken off to India. I served with this master for several years, +till by his death I obtained my liberation. My next destination was +Zanzibar, where I took service in the late Imaum's army, and passed my +days in half-starved inactivity, until the lucky day when, at Chongué, +you saw and gave me service." + +Shortly after we had encamped under the rendezvous tree, and begun our +cooking, some villagers brought ivories of the elephant and +hippopotamus for sale, but had to suffer the disappointment of meeting +a stranger to merchandise, and straightway departed, fully convinced +that all Wazungu (or wise, or white men) were mere fools for not +making money, when they had so good an opportunity. Noon and evening +passed without a sign of the black captain or the remaining men. We +were in a wretched place for a halt, a sloping ploughed field; and, +deceived by the captain's not keeping his promise, were unprepared for +spending the night there. I pitched my tent, but the poor men had +nothing to protect them. With the darkness a deluge of rain descended; +and, owing to the awkwardness of our position, the surcharged earth +poured off a regular stream of water over our beds, baggage, and +everything alike. To keep the tent erect--a small gable-shaped affair, +six feet high, and seven by six square, made of American sheeting, and +so light that with poles and everything complete it barely weighs one +man's load--I called up the men, and for hours held it so by strength +of arm. Even the hippopotami, to judge by the frequency of their +snorts and grunts, as they indulged in their devastating excursions +amongst the crops, seemed angry at this unusual severity of the +weather. Never from the 15th of November, when the rainy season +commenced, had we experienced such a violent and heavy downpour. + +4th.--Halt. The morning is no improvement on the night. The captain +now arrives with most of the remaining crew, fears the troubled +waters, and will not put out to sea. In consequence of this +disappointment, a messenger is sent back to Kawélé, to fetch some +fresh provisions and firewood, as what little of this latter article +can be gathered in its saturated state is useless, for it will not +burn. During the afternoon the remainder of the crew keep dropping in, +and at nightfall seventeen hands are mustered. + +5th.--At 3 A.M. the sea subsides, and the boat is loaded.--To pack so +many men together, with material, in so small a space as the canoe +affords, seems a difficulty almost insurmountable. Still it is +effected. I litter down amidships, with my bedding spread on reeds, in +so short a compass that my legs keep slipping off and dangling in the +bilge-water. The cook and bailsman sit on the first bar, facing me; +and behind them, to the stern, one-half the sailors sit in couples; +whilst on the first bar behind me are Bombay and one Beluch, and +beyond them to the bow, also in couples, the remaining crew. The +captain takes post in the bows, and all hands on both sides paddle in +stroke together. + +Fuel, cooking-apparatus, food, bag and baggage, are thrown +promiscuously under the seats. But the sailors' blankets, in the shape +of grass matting, are placed on the bars to render the sitting soft. +Once all properly arranged, the seventeen paddles dash off with +vigour, and, steering southwards, we soon cross the mouth of the +Ruché. Next Ukaranga, the last village on this line down the eastern +shore, lying snugly in a bay, with a low range of densely-wooded hills +about three miles in its rear, is passed by dawn of day, and about +sunrise the bay itself is lost to sight. + +The tired crew now hug a bluff shore, crowned with dense jungle, until +a nook familiar to the men is entered under plea of breakfasting. Here +all hands land, fires are kindled, and the cooking-pots arranged. Some +prepare their rods and nets for fishing, some go in search of fungi (a +favourite food), and others collect fuel. Gaetano, ever doing wrong, +dips his cooking-pot in the sea for water--a dangerous experiment, if +the traditions of Tanganyika hold good, that the ravenous hosts of +crocodiles seldom spare any one bold enough to excite their appetites +with such dregs as usually drop from those utensils; moreover, they +will follow and even board the boats, after a single taste. + +The sailors here have as great an aversion to being followed by the +crocodile as our seamen by a shark, and they now display their +feelings by looks and mutterings, and strictly prohibiting the use of +the cooking-pot on that service again. Breakfast ready, all hands +eagerly fall to, and feast away in happy ignorance of any danger, when +suddenly confusion enters the camp, and, with the alarming cry that +foes are coming, all hurry-skurry for the boat, some with one thing, +some with another. The greater part of the kit is left upon the +ground. A breathless silence reigns for several minutes. Then one +jumps off and secures his pot; another succeeds him, and then more, +till courage is gained to make a search, and ascertain the cause of +the alarm. Sneaking, crawling in the bush, some peering this way, +others listening that, they stealthily move along, until at length a +single man, with arrow poised, in self-defence I suppose, is pounced +upon. + +His story of why he came there, who and how many are his comrades, +what he wants in such a desert place, and why he carries arms, though +spoken with a cunning plausibility, has no effect upon the knowing +sailors. They proclaim him and his party, some eight or ten men, who +are clamorously squabbling in the jungle at no great distance, to be a +rough and lawless set of marauders, fearing to come out and show +themselves on being challenged, and further insist that none ever +ventured in such wilds who had not got in view some desperate +enterprise. In short, it was proverbially men of their sort who were +the general plunderers of honest navigators. They therefore seize his +weapons, cut and break his bow and arrows, and let him go; though some +of the crew advocate his life being taken, and others, that the whole +party should be chased down and slaughtered. The sailors then return +to the canoe, each vaunting his part in this adventurous exploit, and +bandying congratulations in the highest spirits. They are one and all +as proud of this success, and each as boastful of his prowess, as +though a mighty battle had been fought and won. + +On starting again we pass alongside another bluff, backed by small +well-wooded hills, an extension of the aforesaid east horn of the +Moon, and cross a little bay, when the lazy crew, tired by two hours' +work, bear in with the land, and disembark, as they say, to make some +ropes, or find some creepers long and strong enough for mooring this +_mighty_ canoe. It is now eleven o'clock; there is more rest than +work, a purely negro way of getting through the day; three hours went +in idleness before, and now five more are wasted. Again we start, and +after crossing a similar small bay, continue along a low shelving +shore, densely wooded to the water's edge, until the Malagarazi +river's mouth is gained. This river is the largest on the eastern +shore of the lake, and was previously crossed by the caravan on its +way from Kazé, in small bark canoes, much rougher, but constructed +something similarly to those of the Americans. Each of these canoes +contains one man and his load, besides the owner, who lives near the +ferry, and poles the vessel across. Still to the eastward we have the +same tree-clad hilly view, beautiful in itself, but tiresome in its +constant sameness. After a stretch, and half an hour's pipes and +breathing, we start afresh, and cross the bay into which the river +debouches. + +Here tall aquatic reeds diversify the surface, and are well tenanted +by the crocodile and hippopotami, the latter of which keep staring, +grunting, and snorting as though much vexed at our intrusion on their +former peace and privacy. We now hug the shore, and continue on in the +dark of night till Mgiti Khambi,[44] a beautiful little harbour +bending back away amongst the hills, and out of sight of the lake, is +reached at 11 P.M. Could but a little civilised art, as whitewashed +houses, well-trained gardens, and the like, vary these evergreen hills +and trees, and diversify the unceasing monotony of hill and dale, and +dale and hill--of green trees, green grass--green grass, green trees, +so wearisome in their luxuriance,--what a paradise of beauty would +this place present! The deep blue waters of the lake, in contrast with +the vegetation and large brown rocks, form everywhere an object of +intense attraction; but the appetite soon wearies of such profusion, +without the contrast of more sober tints, or the variety incidental to +a populous and inhabited country. There are said to be some few +scattered villages concealed in these dense jungles extending away in +the background, but how the shores should be so desolate strikes one +with much surprise. The naturally excessive growth of all vegetable +life is sufficient proof of the soil's capabilities. Unless in former +times this beautiful country has been harassed by neighbouring tribes, +and despoiled of its men and cattle to satisfy the spoilers and be +sold to distant markets, its present state appears quite +incomprehensible. In hazarding this conjecture, it might be thought +that I am taking an extreme view of the case; but when we see +everywhere in Africa what one slave-hunt or cattle-lifting party can +effect, it is not unreasonable to imagine that this was most probably +the cause of such utter desolation here. These war-parties lay waste +the tracks they visit for endless time. Indeed, until slavery is +suppressed in Africa, we may expect to find such places in a similarly +melancholy state. + +Immediately on arriving here I pitch my tent, and cook a meal; whilst +the sailors, as is usual on arrival at their camping-grounds, divide +into parties,--some to catch fish, others to look for fungi, whilst +many cook the food, and the rest construct little huts by planting +boughs in a circle in the ground and fastening the tops together, +leaving the hut in the shape of a haycock, to which they further +assimilate it by throwing grass above; and in rainy weather it is +further covered by their mats, to secure them against getting wet. As +only one or two men occupy a hut, to accommodate so large a party many +of them have to be constructed. It is amusing to see how some men, +proud of their superior powers of inventiveness, and possessing the +knack of making pleasant what would otherwise be uncomfortable, plume +themselves before their brethren, and turn them to derision: and it +appears the more ridiculous, as they all are as stark naked as an +unclothed animal, and have really nothing to boast of after all. + +6th.--The following morning sees us under way, and clear of the +harbour by sunrise; but the gathering of clouds in the south soon +cautions the weather-wise sailors to desist from their advance. Timely +is the warning; for, as we rest on our oars, the glimmer of lightning +illuminates the distant hills; whilst low heavy rolling clouds of +pitchy darkness, preceded by a heavy gale and a foaming sea, outspread +over the whole southern waters, rapidly advance. It is an +ocean-tempest in miniature, which sends us right about to our former +berth. Some of our men now employ themselves in fishing for small fry +with a slender rod, a piece of string, and an iron hook, with a bait +of meat or fish attached; whilst others use small handnets, which they +place behind some reeds or other cover, to secure the retreating fish +as he makes off on being poked out of his refuge on the opposite side +by a wand held for that purpose in the sportsman's other hand. But the +majority are occupied in gathering sticks and cooking breakfast till 1 +P.M., when the sea abates, and the journey is resumed. During this +portion of the journey, a slight change of scenery takes place. The +chain of hills running parallel with the shore of the lake is broken, +and in its stead we see small detached and short irregular lines of +hills, separated by extended plains of forest, thickly clad in +verdure, like all the rest of the country. After two hours' paddling, +we stand opposite the Luguvu river, and rest awhile to smoke; then +start again, and in an hour cross the mouth of the little river Hebué. +Unfortunately these streams add nothing to the beauty of the scenery; +and were it not for the gaps in the hills suggesting the probable +course of rivers, they might be passed without notice, for the mouths +are always concealed by bulrushes, or other tall aquatic reeds; and +inland they are just as closely hidden by forest vegetation. In half +an hour more we enter a small nook called Luguvu Khambi, very deep, +and full of crocodiles and hippopotami. On landing, we fire the usual +alarm-guns--a point to which our captain is ever strictly +attentive--cook our dinners, and turn in for the night. Here I picked +up four varieties of shells--two univalves and two bivalves--all very +interesting from being quite unknown in the conchological world. There +were numbers of them lying on the pebbly beach. + +7th.--We started at dawn as usual; but again at sunrise, the wind +increasing, we put in for the shore, for these little cranky boats can +stand no sea whatever. Here a herd of wild buffaloes, horned like the +Cape ones, were seen by the men, and caused some diversion: for, +though too blind myself to see the brutes at the distance that the +others did, I loaded and gave them chase. Whilst tracking along, I saw +fresh prints of elephants, which, judging from their trail, had +evidently just been down to drink at the lake; and sprang some +antelopes, but could not get a shot. The sea going down by noon, we +proceeded, and hugged a bluff shore, till we arrived at Insigazi, a +desert place, a little short of Kabogo, the usual crossing-point. +Although the day was now far advanced, the weather was so promising, +whilst our stores were running short, that impatience suggested a +venture for the opposite shore to Kivira, an island near it, and +which, with the Uguhha heights in the background, is from this +distinctly visible. This line is selected for canoes to cross at, from +containing the least expanse of water between the two shores, between +Ujiji and the south end. The Kabogo Island, which stands so +conspicuously in the missionaries' map that hung on the Royal +Geographical Society's walls in 1856, is evidently intended for this +Kabogo or starting-point, near which we now are, and is so far rightly +placed upon their map as representing the half-way station from Ujiji +to Kasengé, two places on opposite sides of the lake, whither the Arab +merchants go in search of ivory. For Kabogo, as will be seen by my +map, lies just midway on the line always taken by boats travelling +between those two ports--the rest of the lake being too broad for +these adventurous spirits. In short, they coast south from Ujiji to +Kabogo, which constitutes the first half of the journey, and then +cross over. + +On the passage I carefully inquired the names of several points and +places, to take their bearings, and to learn the geography of the +lake, but all to no purpose. The superstitious captain, and even more +superstitious crew, refused to answer any questions, and earnestly +forbade my talking. The idea was founded upon the fear of vitiating +their _uganga_ or "church," by answering a stranger any questions +whilst at sea; but they dread more especially to talk about the places +of departure or arrival, lest ill luck should overtake them, and +deprive them of the chance of ever reaching shore. They blamed me for +throwing the remnants of my cold dinner overboard, and pointed to the +bottom of the boat as the proper receptacle for refuse. Night set in +with great serenity, and at 2 A.M. the following morning (8th March) +when arriving amongst some islands, close on the western shore of the +lake--the principal of which are Kivira, Kabizia, and Kasengé, the +only ones inhabited--a watch-boat belonging to Sultan Kasanga, the +reigning chief of this group, challenged us, and asked our mission. +Great fraternising, story-telling, and a little pipe ensued, for every +one loves tobacco; then both departed in peace and friendship: they to +their former abode, a cove in a small uninhabited island which lies +due south of Kivira; whilst we proceeded to a long narrow harbour in +Kivira itself, the largest of all these islands. Fourteen hours were +occupied in crossing the lake, of which two were spent in brawling and +smoking. At 9 A.M. the islanders, receiving intelligence of our +arrival, came down the hill of which this island is formed, in great +numbers, and held a market; but as we were unprovided with what they +wanted, little business could be done. The chief desideratum was flesh +of fish or beast, next salt, then tobacco--in fact, anything but what +I had brought as market money, cloth and glass beads. This day passed +in rest and idleness, recruiting from our late exertions. + +At night a violent storm of rain and wind beat on my tent with such +fury that its nether parts were torn away from the pegs, and the tent +itself was only kept upright by sheer force. On the wind's abating, a +candle was lighted to rearrange the kit, and in a moment, as though by +magic, the whole interior became covered with a host of small black +beetles, evidently attracted by the glimmer of the candle. They were +so annoyingly determined in their choice of place for peregrinating, +that it seemed hopeless my trying to brush them off the clothes or +bedding, for as one was knocked aside another came on, and then +another; till at last, worn out, I extinguished the candle, and with +difficulty--trying to overcome the tickling annoyance occasioned by +these intruders crawling up my sleeves and into my hair, or down my +back and legs--fell off to sleep. Repose that night was not destined +to be my lot. One of these horrid little insects awoke me in his +struggles to penetrate my ear, but just too late: for in my endeavour +to extract him, I aided his immersion. He went his course, struggling +up the narrow channel, until he got arrested by want of passage-room. +This impediment evidently enraged him, for he began with exceeding +vigour, like a rabbit at a hole, to dig violently away at my tympanum. +The queer sensation this amusing _measure_ excited in me is past +description. I felt inclined to act as our donkeys once did, when +beset by a swarm of bees, who buzzed about their ears and stung their +heads and eyes until they were so irritated and confused that they +galloped about in the most distracted order, trying to knock them off +by treading on their heads, or by rushing under bushes, into houses, +or through any jungle they could find. Indeed, I do not know which was +worst off. The bees killed some of them, and this beetle nearly did +for me. What to do I knew not. Neither tobacco, oil, nor salt could be +found: I therefore tried melted butter; that failing, I applied the +point of a penknife to his back, which did more harm than good; for +though a few thrusts quieted him, the point also wounded my ear so +badly, that inflammation set in, severe suppuration took place, and +all the facial glands extending from that point down to the point of +the shoulder became contorted and drawn aside, and a string of boils +decorated the whole length of that region. It was the most painful +thing I ever remember to have endured; but, more annoying still, I +could not masticate for several days, and had to feed on broth alone. +For many months the tumour made me almost deaf, and ate a hole between +the ear and the nose, so that when I blew it, my ear whistled so +audibly that those who heard it laughed. Six or seven months after +this accident happened, bits of the beetle--a leg, a wing, or parts of +its body--came away in the wax. + +It was not altogether an unmixed evil, for the excitement occasioned +by the beetle's operations acted towards my blindness as a +counter-irritant, by drawing the inflammation away from my eyes. +Indeed, it operated far better than any other artificial appliance. To +cure the blindness I once tried rubbing in some blistering liquor +behind my ear, but this unfortunately had been injured by the journey, +and had lost its stimulating properties. Finding it of no avail, I +then caused my servant to rub the part with his finger until it was +excoriated, which, though it proved insufficiently strong to cure me, +was, according to Dr Bowman, whom I have since consulted, as good a +substitute for a blister as could have been applied. + +9th.--The weather still remaining too rough for sailing, I strolled +over the island, and from its summit on the eastern side I found a +good view of the lake, and took bearings of Ujiji, Insigazi, and a +distant point southwards on the eastern shore of the lake, called +Ukungué. Kivira Island is a massive hill, about five miles long by two +or three broad, and is irregularly shaped. In places there are high +flats, formed in terraces, but generally the steeps are abrupt and +thickly wooded. The mainland immediately west is a promontory, at the +southern extremity of the Uguhha Mountains, on the western coast of +the Tanganyika; and the island is detached from it by so narrow a +strip of water that, unless you obtained a profile view, it might +easily be mistaken for a headland. The population is considerable, and +they live in mushroom huts, situated on the high flats and easier +slopes, where they cultivate the manioc, sweet potato, maize, millet, +various kinds of pulse, and all the common vegetables in general use +about the country. Poultry abounds in the villages. + +The dress of the people is simple, consisting of small black monkey +skins, cat-skins, and the furs of any vermin they can get. These are +tucked under a waist-strap, and, according to the number they possess, +go completely or only half-way round the body, the animals' heads +hanging in front, and the tails always depending gracefully below. +These monkeys are easily captured when the maize is ripe, by a number +of people stealthily staking small square nets in contiguous line all +round the fields which these animals may be occupied in robbing, and +then with screams and yells, flinging sticks and stones, the hunters +rush upon the affrighted thieves, till, in their hurry and confusion +to escape, they become irretrievably entangled in the meshes. But few +of these islanders carry spear or bow, though I imagine all possess +them. They were most unpleasantly inquisitive, and by their stares, +jabber, and pointings, incessantly wanting me to show them everything +that I possessed, with explanations about their various uses, quite +tired out my patience. If I tried to get away, they plaguingly +followed after, so at last I dodged them by getting into the boat. To +sit in the tent was the worst place of all; they would pull up the +sides, and peer under like so many monkeys; and if I turned my head +aside to avoid their gaze, they would jabber in the most noisy and +disagreeable manner in order to arouse me. + +10th.--We quit Kivira early, and paddling S. 25° W., make the famous +fish-market in the little island Kabizia, just in time to breakfast on +a freshly-caught fish, the celebrated _Singa_,--a large, ugly, +black-backed monster, with white belly, small fins, and long barbs, +but no scales. In appearance a sluggish ground-fish, it is always +immoderately and grossly fat, and at this season is full of roe; its +flesh is highly esteemed by the natives. This island is very small, +with a gradual rising slope from the N.W. extremity; and at the S.E. +end assumes the form of a bull's hump. There is but one village of +twenty odd mushroom-shaped huts, chiefly occupied by fishermen, who +live on their spoils, and by selling all that they cannot consume to +the neighbouring islanders and the villagers on the mainland. Added to +this, they grow maize and other vegetables, and keep a good stock of +fowls. I tried every mode of inducement to entice the crew away to +complete the journey, for the place of my destination, Kasengé, was in +sight; but in vain. They had tasted this to them delicious fish, and +were determined to dress and lay by a good store of it to carry with +them. About noon Khamis, a merchant from Kasengé, bound for Ujiji, +arrived, and kindly gave me a long needle to stir up the beetle in my +ear; but the insect had gone in so far, and the swelling and +suppuration of the wounds had so imbedded him, that no instrument +could have done any good. Khamis, like myself, was very anxious to +complete his journey, and tried every conceivable means to entice his +crew away, but he failed as signally as I did. On the mainland +opposite to this, we see the western horn of these concavely-disposed +mountains, which encircle the north of the lake, and from hence the +horn stretches away in increasing height as it extends northwards. Its +sea-ward slopes are well wooded from near the summit down to the +water's edge; but on the top, as though strong currents of air +prevailed, and prevented vegetation from attaining any height, grass +only is visible. Westward, behind the island of Kasengé, and away to +the southward, the country is of a rolling formation, and devoid of +any objects of interest. + +11th.--The morning wind was too high for crossing from Kabizia to +Kasengé, but at noon we embarked, and after paddling for ninety +minutes S. 80° W., we arrived at the latter island, my destination. +Sheikh Hamed bin Sulayyim, with many attendants and a host of natives, +was standing ready to receive me. He gave us a hearty welcome, took my +hand, and led me to his abode, placing everything at my disposal, and +arranging a second house for my future residence. These Arab merchants +are everywhere the same. Their warm and generous hospitality to a +stranger equals anything I have ever seen elsewhere, not forgetting +India, where a cordial welcome greets any incidental traveller. +Hamed's abode, like all the semi-civilised ones found in this country, +and constructed by the Wasuahili (or coast people), is made with good +substantial walls of mud, and roofed with rafters and brushwood, +cemented together with a compound of common earth, straw, and water. +The rooms are conveniently partitioned off for domestic convenience, +with an ante-room for general business, and sundry other enclosures +for separating his wives and other belongings. On the exterior of the +house is a _palaver_ platform, covered with an ample verandah, under +which he sits, surrounded by a group of swarthy blacks, gossiping for +hours together, or transacting his worldly business, in purchasing +ivory, slaves, or any commodities worthy of his notice. The dhow I had +come for, he said, was lying at Ukaranga, on the eastern shore, but +was expected in a day or two, and would then be at my service. Indeed +he had sent a letter by Khamis, whom I met at Kabizia, offering it to +Captain Burton, as soon as he had been made acquainted (by native +report, I imagine) with our desire of obtaining her. He thought, +however, that there might be some difficulty in forming a crew capable +of managing her, as this craft was too large for paddles, and no +natives understood the art of rowing, and, moreover, like all +Easterns, they are not disposed to learn anything that their fathers +did not know before them. His own men were necessary to him, for in a +few days he intended marching to Uruwa, a territory belonging to +Sultan Kiyombo, about a hundred miles south-west of this island. +During that trip, every one of the dhow sailors (who are slaves, and +the Arabs' gun-bearers) would be in requisition. But he thought, if I +had patience to wait, he might be able to prevail on a few of the +dhow's present crew, men in his temporary employ, to take service with +me. My host gave me a full description of the lake. He said he had +visited both ends of it, and found the southern portion both longer +and broader than the northern. "There are no islands in the middle of +the sea, but near the shores there are several in various places, +situated much in the same way as those we are amongst; they are mere +projections, divided from the mainland by shoals or narrow channels. A +large river, called Marungu, supplies the lake at its southern +extremity; and on a visit to the northern end, I saw one which was +very much larger than either of these, and which I am certain flowed +out of the lake; for although I did not venture on it, in consequence +of its banks being occupied by desperately savage negroes, inimical to +all strangers, I went so near its outlet that I could see and feel the +outward drift of the water." He then described an adventure he once +had when going to the north, with a boisterous barbarous tribe called +Warundi. On approaching their hostile shore, he noticed, as he +thought, a great commotion amongst the fishing-boats, and soon +perceived that the men were concocting a plan of attack upon himself, +for they concentrated forces, and came at his dhow in a body of about +thirty canoes. Conceiving that their intentions were hostile, he +avoided any conflict by putting out to sea, fearing lest an affray +would be prejudicial to future mercantile transactions, as stains of +blood are not soon effaced from their black memories. He further said +he felt no alarm for his safety, as he had thirty slaves with guns on +board. My retrospective opinion of this story--for everybody tells +stories in this country--is, that Hamed's Marungu river more likely +runs out of the Tanganyika and into the Nyassa, forming a chain of +lakes, drained by the Shiré river into the Zambézé; but I did not, +unfortunately, argue it out with him. I feel convinced also that he +was romancing when talking of the northern river's flow, not only +because the northern end of the lake is encircled by high hills--the +concave of the Mountains of the Moon--but because the lake's altitude +is so much less than that of the adjacent plateau. Indeed, the waters +of the lake are so low they would convey the impression that the +trough they lie in has been formed by volcanic agency, were it not +that Dr Livingstone has determined the level of the Nyassa to be very +nearly the same as this lake; and the Babisa, who live on the west of +the Nyassa, in crossing the country between the two lakes to +Luwemba,[45] cross the Marungu river, and yet cross no mountain-range +there. With reference to the time which it would take us to traverse +the entire lake, he said he thought we should take forty-six days in +going up and down the lake, starting from Ujiji. Going to the north +would take eight days, and going to the south fifteen. As Hamed had +said nothing about the hire of the dhow, though he had offered it so +willingly, I thought it probable that shame of mentioning it in public +had deterred him from alluding to the subject--so begged a private +conference. He then came to my house with Bombay and a slave, a +confidant of his own, who could also speak Hindustani, and was told, +through my medium Bombay, exactly what things I had brought with me, +and requested to speak his mind freely, as I had called him especially +for business, and we were now alone. He still remained mute about the +price; but again saying I could have his dhow whenever I chose, he +asked permission to retire, and departed. Puzzled at this procedure, I +sent Bombay to observe him, and find out if he had any secret motives +for shirking so direct an appeal, and empowered him to offer money in +case my cloth and powder did not afford sufficient inducement. Bombay +soon returned as much puzzled as myself, unable to extract any but the +old answer--that I was welcome to the dhow, and that he would try and +procure men for me. As a hint had reached me that Hamed cast covetous +eyes on my powder-magazine, I tried enticing him to take some in part +payment for her; but he replied that he did not require anything in +payment, but would gladly accept a little powder if I had any to +spare. To this I readily assented, as he had been so constant and +liberal in his attentions to me ever since I landed on the island and +became his guest, that I felt it was the least I could do in return +for his generosity. Indeed, he was constantly observing and inquiring +what I wanted, and supplied everything in his power that I found +difficult to obtain. Every day he brought presents of flesh, fowl, +ducks (the Muscovite, brought from the coast), eggs, plantains, and +ghee (clarified butter). + +The island of Kasengé is about one mile long, a narrow high ridge of +land lying nearly due north and south, and is devoid of trees, and +only a small portion of it is under cultivation. The lake washes its +northwestern end; the remainder is encircled by a girdle of water +about eighty yards broad. It appears, from being so imbedded in the +land, to be a part of the coast, to anybody approaching it from the +open lake. The population is very considerable, more so than that of +the other ports. They are extremely filthy in their habits, and are +excessively inquisitive, as far at least as gratifying their idle +curiosity is concerned. From having no industrial occupations, they +will stand for hours and hours together, watching any strange object, +and are, in consequence, an infinite pest to any stranger coming near +them. In appearance they are not much unlike the Kaffir, resembling +that tribe both in size, height, and general bearing, having enlarged +lips, flattish noses, and frizzly woolly hair. They are very easily +amused, and generally wear smiling faces. The women are better dressed +than the men, having a cloth round the body, fastened under the arms, +and reaching below the knees, and generally beads, brass necklaces, or +other ornaments; while the latter only wear a single goat-skin slung +game-bag fashion over the shoulder, or, when they possess it, a short +cloth tied, kilt fashion, round the waist. They lie about their huts +like swine, with little more animation on a warm day than the pig has +when basking in a summer's sun. The mothers of these savage people +have infinitely less affection than many savage beasts of my +acquaintance. I have seen a mother bear, galled by frequent shots, +obstinately meet her death, by repeatedly returning under fire whilst +endeavouring to rescue her young from the grasp of intruding men. But +here, for a simple loin-cloth or two, human mothers eagerly exchanged +their little offspring, delivering them into perpetual bondage to my +Beluch soldiers. + +Talking about slaves makes me always feel for this unfortunate land, +and reflect how foolish are all those outer nations who allow the +slave trade to go on. One quarter of the globe--and that, too, one +which might, if relieved of this scourge, be of the greatest +commercial advantage to us, both as a consuming and exporting +country--is entirely ruined. The horrors of the "middle passage" are +familiar to us by report, but they are nothing as compared with what +happens in the interior of the country when the capturing goes on. +There whole villages are destroyed in the most remorseless manner by +the slave-hunters to obtain their victims, for no one will yield so +long as he can fight for his freedom. The slave-hunters are not merely +confined to the coast men, for the interior chiefs are as fond of gain +as they are, and this sets one against the other until the whole +country is in a flame. It is true that the slaves whom the Arab +merchants, or other men, have in their possession, never forsake their +master, as if they disliked their state in bondage; but then, when we +consider their position, what pleasure or advantage would they derive +by doing so? During the slave-hunts, when they are caught, their +country is devastated, their friends and relatives are either killed +or are scattered to the winds, and nothing but a wreck is left behind +them. Again, they enter upon a life which is new to them, and is very +fascinating to their tastes; and as long as they do remain with such +kind masters as the Arabs are, there is no necessity for our +commiserating them. They become elevated in their new state of +existence, and are better off than in their precarious homes, ever in +terror of being attacked. On the other hand, foreign slavery is a +different thing altogether. Instead of living, as they in most part +do, willingly with the families of the Arabs, men of a superior order, +and doing mild and congenial services, they get transported against +their will and inclinations to a foreign land, where, to live at all, +they must labour like beasts; and yet this is only half the mischief. +When a market for slavery is opened, when the draining poultice is +applied to Africa's exterior, then the interior is drained of all its +working men. To supply the markets with those slaves becomes so +lucrative a means of gain that merchants would stick at no expedient +in endeavouring to secure them. The country, so full as we have seen +it of all the useful necessaries of life, able to supply our markets +and relieve our people by cheapening all commodities, is sacrificed +for the very minor consideration of improving Cuba, Arabia, Persia, +and a few small islands in the Indian Ocean. On the contrary, slavery +has only to be suppressed entirely, and the country would soon yield +one hundredfold more than it ever has done before. The merchants +themselves at Zanzibar are aware of this, for every Hindi on the coast +with whom I ever spoke on the subject of slavery, seemed confident +that the true prosperity of Africa would only commence with the +cessation of slavery. And they all say it would be far better for them +if slavery were put down altogether than allowed to remain as it is, +subject to limited restriction; for by this limitation many +inconveniences arise. Those who were permitted to retain slaves, have +a great and distressing advantage over those who have not. The +restriction alluded to by our Indian subjects at Zanzibar is the +result of a most unfortunate treaty our Government made with the +Sultan of that country, wherein slavery was permitted to be carried on +within certain limits of latitude and longitude. The subjects of the +Sultan by this means trade at a considerable pecuniary advantage over +our subjects, who, were they English instead of being Indians, would +never rest satisfied until they were placed on an equal footing with +the Arabs and Wasuahili. They argue amongst themselves, and very +properly, that in consequence of these slave-hunts the country is kept +in such a state of commotion that no one thinks it worth his while to +make accumulations of property, and, consequently, the negroes now +only live for the day, and keep no granaries, never thinking of +exerting themselves to better their condition. Without doubt it is +mainly owing to this unfortunate influence of slavery on African +society that we have been kept so long ignorant of the resources of +Equatorial Africa--a vast field of surprising fertility, which would +be of so much value to Zanzibar and neighbouring India, were it only +properly developed. But I have been digressing, and must again return +to Kasengé. + +The village is very large and straggling, and consists of a collection +of haycock-looking huts, framed with wood or boughs, and covered over +with grass. Kasanga's palace is the grandest one amongst them. This +monarch is a very amiable despot, and is liked in consequence. He +presented me with a goat and some grain, in return for which I gave a +_hongo_ (or tribute-fee) of three dhotis, two kitindis, and two +fundas, equal to twenty necklaces of large blue beads. The food of +these people consists chiefly of fish and fowls, both of which are +very abundant. All other articles of consumption, except a very little +grown on the spot, are imported from the mainland, and are, in +consequence, dear. The surrounding country, however, is very highly +cultivated--so much so, that it exports for the Ujiji and other +distant markets. The Africans have no religion, unless Fetishism may +be considered such. They use charms to keep off the evil eye, and +believe in fortune-tellers. Their church is called Uganga, and the +parson Mganga, the plural of which, priests, changes to Waganga. The +prefixes, _U_, _M_, and _Wa_, are used uniformly throughout this land +from Zanzibar, to denote respectively, U, country or place, M, an +individual, and Wa for plurality, as in tribe or people: thus, Uganga, +Mganga, Waganga; or, Unyamuézi, Myamuézi, Wanyamuézi. The composition +of this latter name is worthy of remark, as it differs from the +former, and therefore must tend to perplex. For instance, Uganga is +composed of _U_, place, house, church, or country, and _ganga_, magic; +whilst Unyamuézi is a triple word, divided into _U_ country--_ya_, +of--and _muézi_, moon. Then, the language being euphonious, an +accidental n is thrown in between the _u_ and _y_ to tone down the +pronunciation. + +13th.--The dhow came in this evening, bringing cows and goats, oil, +ghee, and other articles of consumption not found immediately in this +neighbourhood. She looked very graceful in contrast to the wretched +little canoes, and came moving slowly up the smooth waters of the +channel decked in her white sails, like a swan upon "a garden reach." +The next day Hamed declared himself endeavouring to secure some men, +but none appeared. The day following he told me that the dhow was out +of repair, and must be mended. And the succeeding day he coupled +shifts and excuses with promises and hopes, so likely to be further +deferred, that my patience was fairly upset; and on the 17th, as +nothing was settled, we had a little tiff. I accused him of detaining +me in the hopes of getting powder, for as yet his armourer had not +succeeded in opening my chest, from which I knew he wanted some; at +any rate, I could see no other cause for his desiring my further stay +there, when even Bombay had notified his displeasure at these +long-continued procrastinations. Hamed, however, very quietly denied +the imputation, declaring that he desired nothing but what I might +frankly give, and continued his former kindnesses as though nothing +had happened. I then begged his counsel as to the best mode of +proceeding, upon which he advised my returning to Ujiji, where an Arab +merchant called Said bin Majid, with many men of the sort I required, +was reported to be arriving. In the meanwhile, during his absence at +Uruwa, he would authorise his agent to make the dhow over to me +whenever I should come or send for it. It is needless to say how +easily, had my hands now been free to act, I might have availed myself +of this tempting opportunity of accompanying Hamed on his journey to +Uruwa, and have thus nearly connected this line from Zanzibar with the +Portuguese and Dr Livingstone's routes to Loando on the western coast. +It would also have afforded a more perfect knowledge of the copper +mines at Katata, a quantity of which comes to Uruwa. Hamed describes +the roads as easy to travel over, for the track lay across an +undulating country, intersected by many small insignificant streams, +running from north to south, which only contribute to fertilise the +land, and present no obstacles whatever. The line is cheap, and +affords provisions in abundance. It may appear odd that men should go +so far into the interior of Africa to procure ivory, when undoubtedly +much is to be found at places not half so distant from Zanzibar; but +the reason of it is simple. The nearer countries have become so +overstocked with beads and cloth, that ivory there has risen to so +great a price, it does not pay its transport. Hence every succeeding +year finds the Arabs penetrating farther inland. Now, it will be seen +that the Zanzibar Arabs have reached the uttermost limits of their +tether; for Uruwa is half-way across the continent, and in a few years +they must unite their labours with the people who come from Loando on +the opposite coast. + +As to obtain the dhow would, in our hampered state, have been of much +importance--for our cloth and supplies were all fast ebbing away--I +did not yet give in applying for it, and next day tried another device +to tempt this wily Arab, by offering 500 dollars, or £100, if he would +defer his journey for a short time, and accompany us round the lake. +This was a large, and evidently an unexpected offer, and tried his +cupidity sorely; it produced a nervous fidgetiness, and he begged +leave to retire and con the matter over. Next day, however, to my +great distress, he said he was sorry that he must decline, for his +business would not stand deferment, but declared himself willing to +sail with us on his return from Uruwa, three months hence, if we could +only stay till then.[46] + +Feeling now satisfied that nothing would prevail upon Hamed to let us +have the dhow, I wished to quit the island and return to Ujiji, but +found my crew had taken French leave, and gone foraging on the +mainland, where, all grain being so much cheaper than at Ujiji, they +wanted to procure a supply. I therefore employed the day in strolling +all over the island, and took bearings of some of the principal +features of the lake: of Thembué, a distant promontory on the western +shore, south of this, which is occupied by a powerful sultan, and +contains a large population of very boisterous savages; of Ukungué, on +the east shore; and of the islands of Kivira and Kabizia. I could also +see two other small islands lying amidst these larger ones, too small +for habitation. Though my canoe arrived on the 20th, bad weather +prevented our leaving till the 22d, morning, completing twelve days at +Kasengé. I now took leave of my generous host; and, bidding adieu to +Kasengé, soon arrived and spent the day at Kabizia, mourning in my +mind that I had induced Captain Burton to discharge Ramji's slaves, +for Bombay said they were all sailors, and would have handled the dhow +in first-rate style. + +23d.--We crossed over to Kivira, and pitched the tent in our former +harbour. Next day we halted from stress of weather; and the following +day also remaining boisterous, we could not put to sea; but, to obtain +a better view of the lake, and watch the weather for choosing a +favourable time to cross, we changed Khambi for a place farther up the +island. + +24th.--We moved out two miles in the morning, but returned again from +fear of the weather, as the sailors could discern a small but very +alarming-looking cloud many miles distant, hanging on the top of one +of the hills, and there was a gentle breeze. In the evening, as the +portentous elements still frowned upon us, the wise crew surmised that +the _uganga_ (church) was angry at my endeavouring to carry across the +waters the goat which the sultan had given me, and which, they said, +ought never to have left the spot it was presented in alive; and +declared their intention of applying to the _mganga_ (priest) to +ascertain his opinion before venturing out again. As the goat had just +given a kid, and produced a good supply of milk, I was anxious to +bring her to Ujiji for my sick companion, and told the sailors so; yet +still they persisted, and said they would run away rather than venture +on the water with the goat again. Fearing detention, and guessing +their motive was only to obtain a share in the eating her, I killed +both kid and mother at once, and divided them amongst my party, taking +care that none of the crew received any of the flesh. At night we +sallied forth again, but soon returned from the same cause that +hindered us in the morning. And I did not spare the men's feelings who +had caused the death of my goat in the morning, now that their +superstitious fears concerning it, if they ever possessed any, were +proven to be without foundation. + +27th.--We took our final departure from Kivira in the morning, and +crossed the broad lake again in fourteen hours, two of them, as +before, being spent in pipes and rest. I have now measured the lake's +centre pretty satisfactorily by triangulation, by compass in +connection with astronomical observation, and twice by dead reckoning. +It is twenty-six miles broad at the place of crossing, which is its +narrowest central part. But, alas! that I should have omitted to bring +a sounding-line with me, and not have ascertained that highly +interesting feature--its depth. There is very little doubt in my mind +that its bed is very deep, owing to the trough-like formation of it, +and also because I have seen my crew haul up fishing-baskets, sunk in +the sea near to the shore, from very considerable depths, by long +ropes with trimmers attached. For the benefit of science, and as a +hint to future travellers, I may mention that, had I brought a lead, I +might, as if by accident, have dropped it in the sea when they were +resting--have tapped the bottom, and ascertained its depth--whilst the +superstitious crew would have only wondered in vain as to what I was +about. + +28th.--We started up coast early, and at 10 A.M. put in amongst some +reeds opposite the Luguvu river, as the wind, rain, and waves had very +nearly swamped the boat, and drenched us all from head to foot. I +pitched the tent in the canoe, to protect me from the storm, but it +only served to keep the wind from blowing on my wet clothes and +chilling me, for wave after wave washed over the gunwale, and kept me +and all my kit constantly drenched through. Three lingering miserable +hours were passed in this fashion; for there was no place to land in, +and we could not venture forward. The sea abated in the afternoon, and +we gained Mgiti Khambi. After a day's halt, the weather being stormy, +and everything being wet and comfortless, we hailed with delight the +succeeding sunny day, and, making good our time, reached the old tree +on the right bank of the mouth of the Ruché by 9 P.M. + +31st.--We arrived at Ujiji by breakfast-time, when I disclosed to +Captain Burton, then happily a little restored, the mortifying +intelligence of my failing to procure the dhow. This appeared doubly +distressing to him, for he had been led to expect it by Khamis, whom I +passed at Kabizia, and who had delivered Hamed's letter, stating that +the dhow was at his service. Hamed's manoeuvring with the dhow bears +much the appearance of one anxious to obtain the credit of generosity +without incurring the attendant inconvenience of its reality. +Otherwise I cannot divine what good his procrastinations and the means +he took for keeping me near him so long could have been to him; for he +made no overtures to me whatever. Bombay now thought, when it was too +late, that if I had offered to give him 500 dollars' worth of cloth, +landed at his house, he could not have resisted the offer. I give this +notice for the advantage of any future explorers on the lake. I could +not form a true estimate of the lake's average breadth, in consequence +of the numberless bays and promontories that diversify the regularity +of its coast-line; but I should say that from thirty to forty miles is +probably near the truth. + +We had now no other resource left us but to proceed with the +investigation of the lake in common canoes; for we could not wait any +longer, as our supplies were fast on the wane. I was sorry for it, as +my companion was still suffering so severely, that anybody seeing him +attempt to go would have despaired of his ever returning. Yet he could +not endure being left behind. Travelling in canoes, as I could now +testify from my late experiences, is, without joke, a very trying +business to a sick man, even in the best weather; and here we were +still in the height of the monsoon. Negotiations for the means of +carrying out our object (of proceeding to the north of the lake, +surveying it, and ascertaining whether Hamed's story about a large +river running out of it was based upon a true foundation) were then +commenced, and Kannina was applied to. He likewise, it appeared, had a +plan in view of carrying on some ivory transactions with the Sultan of +Uvira, governing a district at the northern end and western shore of +the lake, and agreed to take us there, and also show us the river in +question. It was settled that we should go in two canoes; Captain +Burton, with Kannina, in a very large one, paddled by forty men at +once, and I in another considerably smaller--our party to pay all +expenses; and, in fact, to do Kannina's business in consideration of +his protection. This we did do, and no more; for, after arriving at +Uvira, nothing could induce him to take us to the river at the end of +the lake, although the remaining distance could have been accomplished +in about six hours' paddling. His reason, which he must have known +before, was, that the savages resident there, the Warundi tribe, were +inimical to his people, the Wajiji. This was a sore disappointment, +though not so great as it would have been had we not ascertained that +Hamed's story was a mere fabrication. He had never been to the north +end of the lake, nor had he had the fight he described with the +natives; and, moreover, Bombay assured both Captain Burton and myself +that Hamed really meant that the river ran into the lake. Had I +thought of it, I should then have changed the course of the Marungu +river on my map, and made it run out of the lake, but I did not. Next +the sultan's son, who visited us immediately on our arrival at Uvira, +told us that the river, which is named Rusizi, drained the high +mountains encircling our immediate north, and discharged its waters +into the lake. I should not have been satisfied with this +counter-statement alone, had I not ascended some neighbouring heights, +and observed the mountains increasing in size as they extended away to +the northward, and effectually closing in this _low_ lake, which is +not quite half the altitude of the surface-level of the general +interior plateau. Although wrong in most respects, Hamed was right +about the distance the lake's northern end lay from Ujiji; for, +properly divided, it takes eight days, the time he specified, exactly. +On coming up the lake, we travelled the first half up the east coast, +then crossed over to the end of a long island called Ubuari, made for +the western shore, and coasted up it to Uvira. It would have amused +any one very much to have seen our two canoes racing together up the +lake. The naked savages were never tired of testing their respective +strengths. They would paddle away like so many black devils--dashing +up the water whenever they succeeded in coming near each other, and +delighting in drenching us with the spray. The greatest pleasure to +them, it appeared, was torturing others with impunity to themselves. +Because the Wazungu had clothes, and they had none, they cared not how +the water flew about; and the more they were asked to desist, the more +obstinately they persevered. For fear of misapprehension, I must state +that though these negroes go stark naked when cruising or working +during a shower of rain, they all possess a mantle or goat-skin, which +they sling over their shoulders, and strut about in when on shore and +the weather is fine. + +It is a curious sight, when encamped on a showery day, to see every +man take off his skin, wrap it carefully up, and place it in his mzigo +or load, and stand, whilst his garment is thus comfortably disposed +of, cowering and trembling like a dog which has just emerged from a +cold pond. + +Now we have done with the Tanganyika Lake, I must say for it, that in +no part of Africa hitherto visited by us had we seen such splendid +vegetation as covers its basin, from the mountain-tops to its shores. +To the northward, rain falls all the year round in frequent showers, +but on the southern half rain only falls during those six months when +the sun is in its southern declination. Hence the northern half must +be richer than the southern; and the lake must owe its existence to +the constant inflows from the north. + + + + + + Chapter III. + +Leave Tanganyika--Determine to Visit the Ukéréwé Lake, _alias_ +Victoria N'yanza--Confusion about Rivers Running in and out--Idea that +it is the Source of the Nile--Arrangements for the +Journey--Difficulties--The March--Nature of the Country--Formalities +at the Meeting of Caravans--A Pagazi Strike--A +Sultana--Incidents--Pillars of Granite. + + + +On returning to Ujiji after a rather protracted sojourn at Uvira, +occasioned by Kannina's not completing his work so quickly as had been +anticipated, we found our stock of beads and cloth, which had been +left in charge of the Ras-cafila, Sheikh Said, and under the +protection of the Beluches and our Wanyamuézi porters, reduced to so +low an ebb that everybody felt anxious about our future movements. The +Sheikh, however, I must add, on a prior occasion, very generously +proposed, in case we felt disposed to carry on the survey of the lake, +to return to the Arab depôt at Kazé, and fetch some more _African +money_, to meet the necessary expenses. I wished to finish off the +navigation of the lake; but Captain Burton declared he would not, as +he had had enough of canoe-travelling, and thought our being short of +cloth, and out of leave, would be sufficient excuse for him. Though +admiring so magnanimous a sacrifice on the part of this energetic +Sheikh, it was voted, in consequence of my companion's failing health, +as well as from the delay it would occasion, that we should all return +at once to Kazé, where we expected to meet our reserve supplies. This +once agreed upon, I then proposed that, after reaching Kazé, we should +travel northwards to the lake described by the Arabs to be both +broader and longer than the Tanganyika, and which they call Ukéréwé, +after the island where their caravans go for ivory--in short, the +Victoria N'yanza--for I was all the while burning to see it. To this +Captain Burton at first demurred. He said we had done enough, and he +would do no more; but finally gave way when I said, If you are not +well enough when we reach Kazé I will go by myself, and you can employ +the time in taking notes from the travelled Arabs of all the countries +round. This was agreed to at last by Captain Burton, as he said the +journey hitherto had been so uninteresting, a month with Sheikh Snay +would be very necessary to completing his book. Delighted at this +announcement, I begged for leave to take Sheikh Said with me. Captain +Burton, however, wanted to keep him, as he was a great friend of all +the Arabs, and could procure him news better than any one else. I +argued that the road was dangerous, and without him I thought I could +not succeed, as there was no one else to argue with the native chiefs, +and bring them to terms if they were headstrong. Captain Burton to +this appeal finally gave way, but said I must ask the Sheikh myself, +as he was not bound to go on any other line than the one we were now +on. I did ask the Sheikh, some time after, at Usenyé, and he said he +would see about it when we reached Kazé. Just as we were preparing to +leave Ujiji, by great good fortune some supplies were brought to us by +an Arab called Mohinna, an old friend whom we formerly left at Kazé, +and who had now followed us here to trade in ivory. Had this timely +supply not reached us, it is difficult to conceive what would have +been our fate, left as we should have been with a large amount of +non-marketable property, and having numbers of people to feed, whilst +my companion was unable to move without the assistance of eight men to +carry him in a hammock, we being totally without the means of purchase +in the territory of one of the most inhospitable of all the tribes +with whom we have had connection. + +This timely supply was one of the many strokes of good fortune which +befell us upon this journey, and for which we have so much reason to +be grateful. Help had always reached us at the time when least we +expected it, but when we most required it. My health had been +improving ever since I first reached the lake, and enjoyed those +invigorating swims upon its surface, and revelled in the good living +afforded by the market at Ujiji. The facilities of the place giving us +such a choice of food, our powers in the culinary art were tried to +their fullest extent. It would be difficult to tell what dishes we did +not make there. Fish of many sorts done up in all the fashions of the +day--meat and fowl in every form--vegetable soups, and dishes of +numberless varieties--fruit-preserves, custards, custard-puddings, and +jellies--and last, but not least, buttered crumpets and +cheese,--formed as fine a spread as was ever set before a king. + +But sometimes we came to grief when our supply of milk was, on the +most foolish pretexts, stopped by Kannina, who was the only +cow-proprietor in the neighbourhood. At one time he took offence +because we turned his importunate wives out of the house, in mistake +for common beggars. On another occasion, when I showed him a cheese of +our manufacture, and begged he would allow me to instruct his people +in the art of making them, he took fright, declared that the cheese +was something supernatural, and that it could never have been made by +any ordinary artifice. Moreover, if his people were shown the way to +do it one hundred times, they would never be able to comprehend it. He +further showed his alarm by forbidding us any more milk, lest, by our +tampering with it, we should bewitch his cows and make them all run +dry. The cattle this milk was taken from are of a uniform red colour, +like our Devonshire breed; but they attain a very great height and +size, and have horns of the most stupendous dimensions. + +A year's acclimatisation had by this time produced a wonderful effect +on all the party; so that now, with our fresh supplies, most of us +marched away from Ujiji in better condition than we had enjoyed since +leaving the coast. The weather was very fine, the rainy season having +ceased on the 15th May; we marched rapidly across the eastern horn of +the mountains back to the ferry on the Malagarazi, but by a more +northernly route than the one by which we came. + +We reached this river in early June, and found its appearance very +different from what it was on our former visit, at the beginning of +the monsoon. Then its waters were contained within its banks, of no +considerable width; but now, although the rains had ceased here long +ago, the river had not only overflowed its banks, but had submerged +nearly all the valley in which it lies to the extent at least of a +mile or more. The rains about 5° south latitude had just lasted out +the six months during which the sun was in the south; and now, as the +sun had gone north, the rains had gone there also. This was a very +important fact, by which the rise of the Nile on the other side of the +axis of this mountain-group might be determined, proving, as it does, +that whilst rain falls most wherever the sun is vertical, it is +greatly augmented on the equatorial regions by these mountains, where +also, as our maps show, is the rainy zone of the world. + +After crossing the river, we hurried along by a more southernly and +straighter road than we formerly came by, and reached Kazé towards the +latter end of June. Here Sheikh Snay received us with his usual +genuine hospitality, arranged a house especially for our use, and with +him we again established our headquarters. This man, when we were +formerly detained here to form our second caravan on our journey +westwards, housed us, and carefully attended to our wants. He took +charge of our kit, provided us with porters, and finally became our +agent. Living with him, surrounded by an Arab community, felt like +living in a civilised land; for the Arab's manners and society are as +pleasant and respectable as can be found in any Oriental family. Snay +had travelled as much as, or more than, any person in this land; and +from being a shrewd and intelligent inquirer, knew everybody and +everything. It was from his mouth, on our former visit to Kazé, that I +first heard of the N'yanza, or, as he called it, the Ukéréwé Sea; and +then, too, I first proposed that we should go to it instead of +journeying westward to the smaller waters of Ujiji. He had travelled +up its western flank to Kibuga, the capital of the kingdom of Uganda, +and had in his employ men who had lived and traded in Usoga. Snay, +narrating his own experiences, said to me, "I was once three years +absent on a visit to King Sunna, at his capital (Kibuga) in the Uganda +kingdom, occupied by a tribe called Waganda. Starting from Kazé, it +took me thirty-five marches to reach Kitangulé (bearing N.N.W.), and +twenty more marches going northwards, with the morning sun a little on +my right face (probably north by east), to arrive at Kibuga. The only +people that gave me any trouble on the way are the Wasui, situate at +the beginning of the Karagué kingdom; but that was only trifling, as +they did not fight, and lasted but three or four marches. The Karagué +kingdom (a mountainous tract of land, containing several high spurs of +hill, the eastern buttresses of these Lunae Montes, and washed on the +flanks by the Ukéréwé Sea) is bounded on the north by the Kitangulé +river, beyond which the Wanyoro territory (crescent shape) lies, with +the horns directed eastwards. Amidst them, situate in the concave or +lake side, are the Waganda, to whose capital I went. Anybody wishing +to see the northern boundary of the lake should go to Kibuga, take +good presents, and make friends with the reigning monarch; and, with +his assistance, buy or construct boats on the shore of the lake, which +is about five marches east of his capital.[47] North, beyond the +Waganda, the Wanyoro are again met with; and there quarrels and wars +were so rife, from a jealousy existing among them and the Waganda, +that had these people known of a northern boundary, I still might not +have heard of it. On crossing the Kitangulé river, I found it +emanating from Urundi (a district in the Mountains of the Moon), and +flowing north-easterly. The breadth of the river is very great--I +should imagine, some five to six hundred yards--and it contains much +water, overflowing as the Malagarazi does after rains. There are also +numerous other little streams on the way to Kibuga, but none so great +as the Katonga river. This, like the rest, comes from the west, and +flows towards the lake. It has a breadth of two thousand yards, is +very deep when full, but sinks and is very sluggish in the dry season, +when water-lilies and rushes overspread its surface, and the +musquitoes are very annoying. The cowrie-shell, brought from the +Zanzibar coast, is the common currency amongst the more northern +tribes; but they are not worth the merchant's while to carry, as beads +and brass (not cloth, for they are essentially a bead-wearing and +naked people) are eagerly sought for and taken in exchange. Large +sailing-craft, capable of containing forty or fifty men, and manned +and navigated after the fashion of ocean mariners, are reported by the +natives to frequent the lake (meaning the Nile at Gondokoro). We Arabs +believe in this report, as everybody tells the same story; but don't +know how it happens to be so, unless it is open to the sea. The +Kitangulé river is crossed in good-sized wooden canoes; but the +Katonga river can only be passed in the dry season, when men walk over +it on the lily leaves: cattle, too, are then passed across in certain +open spaces, guided by a long string, which is attached to the +animals' heads." + +Other Arab and Wasuahili merchants have corroborated Snay's statement, +as also a Hindi merchant, called Musa, whom I especially mention, as I +consider him a very valuable informant--not only from the +straightforward way he had of telling his story, but also because we +could converse with one another direct, and so obviate any chance of +errors. After describing his route to the north in minute detail, +stage by stage, with great precision, which was to the same effect as +all the other accounts, he told me of a third large river to the +northward of the Line, beyond Uganda; this he spoke of as much larger +than the Katonga, and generally called the Usoga River, because it +waters that district. Although he had recently visited Kibuga, and had +lived with Sultan Mtésa, the present reigning monarch in place of +Sunna, who died since Snay was there, he had no positive or definite +idea of the physical features of any of the country beyond the point +which he had reached; but he produced a negro slave who had been to +Usoga, and had seen the river in question. This man called the river +Kivira, and described it as being much broader, deeper, and stronger +in its current than either the Katonga or Kitangulé river; that it +came from the lake, and that it intersected stony hilly ground on its +passage to the north-west. + +This river Kivira, I now believe (although I must confess I did not +until I made Snay alter his original statement about the direction of +its flow, and so proved he meant this for his Jub), is the Nile +itself. On a subsequent occasion, when talking to a very respectable +Suahili merchant, by name Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasib, about the +N'yanza, he corroborated the story about the mariners, who are said to +keep logs and use sextants, and mentioned that he had heard of the +Kidi and Bari people living on the Kivira river. Now, the Bari people +mentioned by him are evidently those who have long since been known to +us as a tribe living on the Nile in latitude 5° north and longitude +32° east, and described by the different Egyptian expeditions sent up +the Nile to discover its source. M. Ferdinand Werne (says Dr Beke) has +published an account of the second expedition's proceedings, in which +he took part; and which, it appears, succeeded in getting farther up +the river than either of the others. "The author states that, +according to Lacono, King of Bari, the course of the river continues +thence southwards a distance of thirty days' journey." This, by Dr +Beke's computation, places the source of the Nile just where I have +since discovered the N'yanza's southern extremity to be--in the second +degree south latitude, lying in the Unyamuézi country.[48] + +Here we see how singularly all the different informers' statements +blend together in substantiating my opinion that the N'yanza is the +great reservoir or fountainhead of that mighty stream that floated +Father Moses on his first adventurous sail--the Nile. It must appear +marvellous to the English reader how it happened that these traders +obtained so much and such good information to the northward of the +equator, and especially of the White Nile traders. The reasons are +these:--For several years these Arabs have not only traded with +Karagué, Uganda, and Usoga, but they have had trading-stations in +Uddu-Uganda and in Karagué. The Uganda station has since been broken +up by order of the king, as the Arabs were interfering too much with +his subjects. In Karagué, on the contrary, they still have +establishments; and as they cannot go into Unyoro themselves, they +have induced the Wahaiya and Waziwa to bring them ivory from that +country and from Kidi, in exchange for which they give beads. These +Zanzibar merchants are very inquiring men, and have learnt a great +deal from this source. Far more, however, they have learned from the +King of Karagué, who is much respected by all the surrounding kings, +and is continually exchanging presents and news with them. The King of +Unyoro, for instance, whose territory extends to Madi, once sent him a +present of beads and coral ornaments which must have come up the Nile, +for at the same time the sailing-vessels on the Nile were heard of, +and ornaments of that nature were never brought into the country from +the Zanzibar side. Omitted in these accounts was a statement of Musa's +I did not believe at first concerning the rise of the Nile, which was +this: The natives had told him when the N'yanza (Nile) rose, it tore +up and floated away islands. Further, Abdullah told me of a +wonderfully high and steep mountain beyond Karagué--doubtless the +Mfumbiro--being constantly covered with clouds; and I heard from him +of a salt lake--doubtless the Little Luta Nzigé--which had some +connection with the N'yanza. These details were, however, so obscurely +given, I feared to place them on my map at that time. + +I began the formation of the new caravan for exploring Northern +Unyamuézi immediately after our arrival, but found it difficult to do +things hurriedly. There was only one man then at Unyanyembé who knew +the coast language, and would consent to act as my Kirangozi;[49] and +as he had come all the way from Ujiji with us, he required a few days +to arrange things at his home, in a village some distance off. Whilst +he was absent the Arabs paid us daily visits, and gave many useful +hints about the journey in prospect. One hint must especially be +regarded, which was, to take care, on arrival at the lake, that I did +not enter the village of a certain sultan called Mahaya, to whose +district, Muanza, at the southern extremity of the lake, they directed +me to go. This precautionary warning was advanced in consequence of a +trick the sultan had played an Arab, who, after visiting him in a +friendly way, was forcibly detained until he paid a ransom; an unjust +measure, which the Arabs pointedly advert to as destructive to +commercial interests. Further, the Arabs had learnt from travellers +just arrived from Usukuma that the whole route leading to the N'yanza +was in a state of commotion, caused by civil wars, and therefore +advised me to go as strongly armed as possible. + +To lose no time whilst the Kirangozi was away--for I had a long +business to do in a very short space--I intimated to Sheikh Said and +the Beluch guard my intention of taking them with me to the lake, and +ordered them to prepare for the journey by a certain date. Said +demurred, saying he would give a definite answer about accompanying me +before the time of starting, but subsequently refused (I hear, as one +reason), because he did not consider me his chief.[50] I urged that it +was as much his duty as mine to go there; and said that unless he +changed his present resolution, I should certainly recommend the +Government not to pay the gratuity which the Consul had promised him +on condition that he worked entirely to our satisfaction, in assisting +the expedition to carry out the Government's plans. + +The Jemadar of the Beluch guard, on seeing the Sheikh hold back, at +first raised objections, and then began to bargain. He fixed a pay of +one gora or fifteen cloths per man, as the only condition on which I +should get their services; for they all declared that they had not +only been to Ujiji, the place appointed by Sultan Majid and their +chief before leaving Zanzibar, but that they had overstayed the time +agreed upon for them to be absent on these travels--namely, six +months. I acceded to this exorbitant demand, considering the value of +time, as the dry season had now set in, and the Arabs at this period +cease travelling to Zanzibar, from fear of being caught by droughts in +the deserts between this place and the East Coast Range, where, if the +ponds and puddles dry up, there is so little water in the wells that +travelling becomes precarious. + +Further, I had not only to go through a much wilder country than we +had travelled in before, two and a half degrees off, to discover and +bring back full particulars of the N'yanza, but had to purchase cattle +sufficient for presents, and food for the whole journey down to the +coast, within the limited period of six weeks. Ramji's slaves all came +back to us here, and begged we would take them into our service again. +I wanted to do so, as Snay not only strongly advised me to have as +strong an escort as possible, but thought that their knowledge of +treating with native chiefs would be of the greatest value to me. +Captain Burton, however, would not listen to my request, as he +insisted they would only prove of more expense than profit to the +expedition; but instead, he employed them himself, after I had gone, +in repairing our damaged property, and in laying in supplies for our +future journey home. I regretted the loss of these men the more, as +they all so warmly volunteered to go with me. The Arab depôt now came +into play to satisfy this sudden and unexpected call upon our store of +cloths. There were ten Beluches fit for service, and for each of them +a gora was bought at the depôt, at a valuation of ten dollars each, or +a hundred the lot. In addition to this they received an advance of +fifteen maunds of white beads in lieu of rations--a rate of 1 lb. per +man per day for six weeks. The Kirangozi now returned with many +excuses to escape the undertaking of guiding me to the lake. He +declared that all the roads were rendered impassable by wars, and that +it was impossible for him to undertake the responsibility of escorting +me in so dangerous a country. After a good deal of bothering and +persuading he at length acceded, and brought fifteen pagazis or +porters from his own and some neighbouring villages. To each of these +I gave five cloths as hire, and all appeared ready; but not so. +Bombay's Seedi nature came over him, and he would not move a yard +unless I gave him a month's wages in cloth upon the spot. I thought +his demand an imposition, for he had just been given a cloth. His +wages were originally fixed at five dollars a-month, to accumulate at +Zanzibar until our return there; but he was to receive daily rations +the same as all the other men, with an occasional loin-cloth covering +whenever his shukka might wear out. All these strikes with the +Beluches and Bombay for cloth were in consequence of their having +bought some slaves, whose whims and tastes they could not satisfy +without our aid; and they knew these men would very soon desert them +unless they received occasionally alluring presents to make them +contented. But finessing is a kind of itch with all Orientals, as +gambling is with those who are addicted to it; and they would tell any +lie rather than gain their object easily by the simple truth, on the +old principle that "stolen things are sweetest." Had Bombay only +opened his heart, the matter would have been settled at once, for his +motives were of a superior order. He had bought, to be his adopted +brother, a slave of the Wahha tribe, a tall, athletic, fine-looking +man, whose figure was of such excellent proportions that he would have +been remarkable in any society; and it was for this youth, and not +himself, he had made so much fuss and used so many devices to obtain +the cloths. Indeed, he is a very singular character, not caring one +bit about himself, how he dressed or what he ate; ever contented, and +doing everybody's work in preference to his own, and of such exemplary +honesty, he stands a solitary marvel in the land: he would do no wrong +to benefit himself--to please anybody else there is nothing he would +stick at. I now gave him five cloths at his request, to be eventually +deducted from his pay. Half of them he gave to a slave called Mabruki, +who had been procured by him for leading Captain Burton's donkey, but +who had, in consequence of bad behaviour, reverted to my service. This +man he also designated "brother," and was very warmly attached to, +though Mabruki had no qualifications worthy of attracting any one's +affections to him. He was a sulky, dogged, pudding-headed brute, very +ugly, but very vain; he always maintained a respectable appearance, to +cloak his disrespectful manners. The remainder was expended in +loin-cloths, some spears, and a fez (red Turkish cap), the wearing of +which he shared by turns with his purchased brother, and a little +slave-child whom he had also purchased and employed in looking after +the general wardrobe, and in cooking his porridge dinner, or fetching +water and gathering sticks. On the line of march the little urchin +carried Bombay's sleeping-hide and water-gourd. + +Before my departure from Kazé, Captain Burton wrote the Royal +Geographical Society to the following effect:--"I have the honour to +transmit a copy of a field-book with a map, by Captain Speke. Captain +Speke has volunteered to visit the Ukéréwé Lake, of which the Arabs +give grand accounts." + +9th July 1858.--The caravan, consisting of one Kirangozi, twenty +pagazis, ten Beluches as guard, Bombay, Mabruki, and Gaetano, +escorting a kit sufficient for six weeks, left Kazé to form camp at +noon. The Beluches were all armed with their own guns, save one, who +carried one of Captain Burton's double rifles, an eight-bore by W. +Richards.[51] I took with me for sporting purposes, as well as for the +defence of the expedition, one large five-bore elephant-gun, also lent +by Captain Burton; and of my own, one two-grooved four-gauge single +rifle, one polygrooved twenty-gauge double, and one double smooth +twelve-bore, all by John Blissett of High Holborn. The village they +selected to form up in was three miles distant on the northern +extremity of this, the Unyanyembé district. + +I commenced the journey myself at 6 P.M., as soon as the two donkeys I +took with me to ride were caught and saddled. It was a dreary +beginning. The escort of Beluches who accompanied me had throughout +the former journeys been in great disgrace, and were in consequence +all sullen in their manner, and walked with heavy gait and downcast +countenances, looking very much as if they considered they had sold +themselves when striking such a heavy bargain with us, for they +evidently saw nothing before them but drudgery and a continuance of +past hardships. The nature of the track increased the general gloom; +it lay through fields of jowari (holcus) across the plain of +Unyanyembé. In the shadow of night, the stalks, awkwardly lying across +the path, tripped up the traveller at every step; and whilst his +hands, extended to the front, were grasping at darkness to preserve +his equilibrium, the heavy bowing ears, ripe and ready to drop, would +bang against his eyes. Further, the heavy sandy soil aided not a +little in ruffling the temper; but it was soon over, though all our +mortification did not here cease. The pagazis sent forward had +deposited their loads and retired home to indulge, it is suspected, in +those potations deep of the universal pombé (African small-beer) that +always precede a journey, hunt, or other adventure--without leaving a +word to explain the reason of their going, or even the time which they +purposed being absent. + +10th July.--The absence of the pagazis caused a halt, for none of them +appeared again until after dark. The Beluches, gloomy, dejected, +discontented, and ever grumbling, form as disagreeable a party as it +was ever the unfortunate lot of any man to command. + +11th.--We started on the journey northwards at 7 A.M., and, soon +clearing the cultivated plain, bade adieu to Unyanyembé. The track +passed down a broad valley with a gentle declination, which was full +of tall but slender forest-trees, and was lined on either side by low +hills. We passed one dry nullah, the Gombé, which drains the regions +westward into the Malagarazi river, some pools of water, and also two +Wasukuma caravans, one of ivory destined for the coast, and the other +conveying cattle to the Unyanyembé markets. Though the country through +which we passed was wild and uninhabited, we saw no game but a troop +of zebras, which were so wild that I could not get near them. After +walking fifteen miles, we arrived at the district of Ulékampuri, and +entered a village, where I took up my quarters in a negro's hut. My +servants and porters did the best they could by pigging with the +cattle, or lying in the shade under the eaves of the huts. + +Up to this point the villages, as is the case in all central +Unyamuézi, are built on the most luxurious principles. They form a +large hollow square, the walls of which are the huts, ranged on all +sides of it in a sort of street consisting of two walls, the breadth +of an ordinary room, which is partitioned off to a convenient size by +interior walls of the same earth-construction as the exterior ones, or +as our sepoys' lines are made in India. The roof is flat, and serves +as a store-place for keeping sticks to burn, drying grain, pumpkins, +mushrooms, or any vegetables they may have. Most of these compartments +contain the families of the villagers, together with their poultry, +brewing utensils, cooking apparatus, stores of grain, and anything +they possess. The remainder contain their flocks and herds, +principally goats and cows, for sheep do not breed well in the +country, and their flesh is not much approved of by the people. What +few sheep there are appear to be an offshoot from the Persian stock. +They have a very scraggy appearance, and show but the slightest signs +of the fat-rumped proportions of their ancestors. The cows, unlike the +noble Tanganyika ones, are small and short-horned, and are of a +variety of colours. They carry a hump like the Brahminy bull, but give +very little milk. In front of nearly every house you see large slabs +of granite, the stones on which the jowari is ground by women, who, +kneeling before them, rub the grain down to flour with a smaller +stone, which they hold with both hands at once. Thus rubbing and +grinding away, swaying monotonously to and fro, they cheer the time by +singing and droning in cadence to the motion of their bodies. + +The country to the east and north-east of this village is said to be +thinly peopled, but, as usual, the clans are much intermixed, the two +principal being Wakimbu and Wasagari. I here engaged a second guide or +leader for five shukkas (small loin-cloths) merikani, as a second war, +different from the one we had heard of at Kazé, had broken out exactly +on the road I was pursuing, and rendered my first leader's experience +of no avail. The evening was spent by the porters in dancing, and +singing a song which had been evidently composed for the occasion, as +it embraced everybody's name connected with the caravan, but more +especially Mzungu (the wise or white man), and ended with the +prevailing word amongst these curly-headed bipeds, "Grub, Grub, Grub!" +It is wonderful to see how long they will, after a long fatiguing +march, keep up these festivities, singing the same song over and over +again, and dancing and stamping, with their legs and arms flying about +like the wings of a semaphore, as they move slowly round and round in +the same circle and on the same ground; their heads and bodies lolling +to and fro in harmony with the rest of the dance, which is always kept +at more even measure when, as on this occasion, there were some +village drums beating the measure they were wont to move by. + +12th.--The caravan got under way by 6 A.M., and we marched thirteen +miles to a village in the southern extremity of the Unyambéwa +district. Fortunately tempers, like butterflies, soon change state. +The great distractor Time, together with the advantage of distance, +has produced such a salutary effect on the Beluches' minds, that this +morning's start was accomplished to the merry peals of some native +homely ditty, and all moved briskly forward. This was the more +cheering to me because it was the first occasion of their having shown +such signs of good feeling as singing in chorus on the line of march. +The first five miles lay over flattish ground, winding amongst low +straggling hills of the same formation as the whole surface of the +Unyamuézi country, which is diversified with small hills composed of +granite outcrops. As we proceeded, the country opened into an +extensive plain, covered, as we found it at first, with rich +cultivation, and then succeeded by a slender tree-forest, amongst +which we espied some antelopes, all very wary and difficult of +approach. + +At the ninth mile was a pond of sweet water, the greatest luxury in +the desert. Here I ordered a halt for half an hour, and made a hearty +breakfast on cold meat, potted Tanganyika shrimps, rozelle jelly, with +other delicacies, and coffee. The latter article was bought from the +Kazé merchants. Towards the close of the journey a laughable scene +took place between an ivory caravan of Wasukuma and my own.[52] On +nearing each other, the two Kirangozis or leaders slowly advanced, +marching in front of the single-file order in which caravans worm +along these twisting narrow tracks, with heads awry, and eyes +steadfastly fixed on one another, and with their bodies held +motionless and strictly poised, like rams preparing for a fight, +rushed in with their heads down, and butted continuously till one gave +way. The rest of the caravan then broke up their order of march, and +commenced a general mêlée. In my ignorance--for it was the first time +I had seen such a scrimmage--I hastened to the front with my knobbed +stick, and began reflecting where I could make best use of it in +dividing the combatants, and should no doubt have laid on if I only +could have distinguished friend from foe; but both parties, being +black, were so alike, that I hesitated until they stopped to laugh at +my excited state, and assured me that it was only the enactment of a +common custom in the country when two strange caravan-leaders meet, +and each doubts who should take the supremacy in choice of side. In +two minutes more the antagonists broke into broad laughter, and each +went his way. + +The villages about here are numerous, and the country, after passing +the forest, is highly cultivated, and affords plenty of provisions; +but unfortunately as yet the white beads which I have brought have no +value with the natives, and I cannot buy those little luxuries, eggs, +butter, and milk, which have such a powerful influence in making one's +victuals good and palatable; whereas there is such a rage for coloured +beads, that if I had brought some I might purchase anything. + +13th.--The caravan started at 6.30 A.M., and after travelling eight +miles over an open, waving, well-cultivated country, stopped at the +last village in Unyambéwa. The early morning before starting was +wasted by the pagazis "striking" for more cloth, and refusing to move +unless I complied with their demand. I peremptorily refused, and they +then tried to wheedle me out of beads. In demanding cloth, they +pretended that they were suffering from the chilling cold of night--a +pretence too absurd to merit even a civil reply. I then explained to +my head men that I would rather anything happened than listen to such +imposture as this; for did the men once succeed by tricks of this +sort, there would never be an end to their trying it on, and it would +ultimately prove highly injurious to future travellers, especially to +merchants. On the route we had nothing to divert attention, save a +single Wasukuma caravan proceeding southwards to Unyanyembé. A sultana +called Ungugu governs this district. She is the first and only female +that we have seen in this position, though she succeeded to it after +the custom of the country. I imagine she must have had a worthless +husband, since every sultan can have as many wives as he pleases, and +the whole could never have been barren. I rallied the porters for +pulling up after so short a march, but could not induce them to go on. +They declared that forests of such vast extent lay on ahead that it +would be quite impossible to cross them before the night set in. In +the evening I had a second cause for being vexed at this loss of time, +when every mile and hour was of so much importance; for by our halt +the sultana got news of my arrival, and sent a messenger to request +the pleasure of my company at her house on the morrow. In vain I +pleaded for permission to go and see her that moment, or to do so on +my return from the N'yanza; her envoy replied that the day was so far +spent I could not arrive at her abode till after dark, and she would +not have the pleasure of seeing me sufficiently well. He therefore +begged I would attend to the letter of her request, and not fail to +visit her in the morning. + +The lazy pagazis, smelling flesh, also aided the deputy in his +endeavours to detain me, by saying that they could not oppose her +majesty's will, lest at any future time, when they might want again to +pass that way, she should take her revenge upon them. Though this +might seem a very reasonable excuse, I doubt much, if their interests +had lain the opposite way, whether they would have been so cautious. +However, it was not difficult to detect their motives for bringing +forward such an urgent reason against me, as it is a custom in this +country that every wealthy traveller or merchant shall pay a +passport-fee, according to his means, to the sultan of the country he +travels through, who in return gives a cow or goat as a mark of amity, +and this is always shared amongst the whole caravan. + +14th.--The sultana's house was reported to be near, so I thought to +expedite the matter by visiting her in person, and thus perhaps gain +an afternoon's march: otherwise to have sent the Jemadar with a +present would have been sufficient, for these creatures are pure +Mammonists. Vain hope, trying to do anything in a hurry in Negroland! +I started early in the morning, unfortified within, and escorted by +two Beluches, the Kirangozi, three porters, Bombay, and Mabruki. The +necessary presents were also taken: these consisted of one +barsati,[53] one dhoti merikani,[54] and one shukka kiniki.[55] This +last article was to be kept in reserve, to throw in at last and close +with, as further demands beyond what is given are invariably made. +After walking six miles over a well-cultivated plain, I felt anxious +to know what they meant by "near," and was told, as usual, that the +house was close at hand. Distrustful, but anxious to complete the +business as speedily as possible (for to succeed in Africa one must do +everything one's self), I followed the envoy across one of the waves +that diversify the face of the country, descended into a +well-cultivated trough-like depression, and mounted a second wave six +miles farther on. + +Here at last, by dint of perseverance, we had the satisfaction of +seeing the palisadoed royal abode. We entered it by an aperture in the +tall slender stakes which surround the dwellings and constitute the +palisadoing, and after following up a passage constructed of the same +material as the outer fence, we turned suddenly into a yard full of +cows--a substitute for an anteroom. Arrived there, the negroes at once +commenced beating a couple of large drums, half as tall as themselves, +made something like a beer-barrel, covered on the top with a cow-skin +stretched tightly over, by way of a drum-head. This drumming was an +announcement of our arrival, intended as a mark of regal respect. + +For ten minutes we were kept in suspense, my eyes the while resting +upon the milk-pots which were being filled at mid-day, but I could not +get a drop. At the expiration of that time a body of slaves came +rushing in, and hastily desired us to follow them. They led us down +the passage by which we entered, and then turned up another one +similarly constructed, which brought us into the centre of the +sultana's establishment--a small court, in which the common negro +mushroom huts, with ample eaves, afforded us grateful shelter from the +blazing sun. A cow-skin was now spread, and a wooden stool set for me, +that I might assume a better state than my suite, who were squatted in +a circle around me. With the usual precaution of African nobles, the +lady's-maid was first sent to introduce herself--an ugly halting +creature, very dirtily garbed, but possessing a smiling contented +face. Her kindly mien induced me, starving and thirsty as I was after +my twelve miles' walk, to ask for eggs and milk--great luxuries, +considering how long I had been deprived of them. They were soon +procured, and devoured with a voracity that must have astonished the +bystanders. + +The maid, now satisfied there was nothing to fear, whether from ghost, +goblin, or white face, retired and brought her mistress, a short +stumpy old dame, who had seen at least some sixty summers. Her nose +was short, squat, and flabby at the end, and her eyes were bald of +brows or lashes; but still she retained great energy of manner, and +was blessed with an ever-smiling face. The dress she wore consisted of +an old barsati, presented by some Arab merchant, and was if anything +dirtier than her maid's attire. The large joints of all her fingers +were bound up with small copper wire, her legs staggered under an +immense accumulation of anklets made of brass wire wound round +elephant's tail or zebra's hair; her arms were decorated with huge +solid brass rings, and from other thin brass wire bracelets depended a +great assortment of wooden, brazen, horn, and ivory ornaments, cut in +every shape of talismanic peculiarity. + +Squatting by my side, the sultana at once shook hands. Her nimble +fingers first manipulated my shoes (the first point of notice in these +barefooted climes), then my overalls, then my waistcoat, more +particularly the buttons, and then my coat--this latter article being +so much admired, that she wished I would present it to her, to wear +upon her own fair person. Next my hands and fingers were mumbled, and +declared to be as soft as a child's, and my hair was likened to a +lion's mane. "Where is he going?" was the all-important query. This, +without my understanding, was readily answered by a dozen voices, +thus: "He is going to the Lake, to barter his cloth for large +hippopotami teeth." Satisfied with this plausible story, she retired +into privacy, and my slave, taking the hint, soon followed with the +hongo (present or tax), duly presented it, and begged permission in my +name to depart. But as she had always given a bullock to the Arabs who +visited her, I also must accept one from her, though she could not +realise the fact that so scurvy a present as mine could be intended +for her, whose pretensions were in no way inferior to those of the +Unyanyembé Sultan. An Arab could not have offered less, and this was a +rich Mzungu! + +Misfortunes here commenced anew: the bullock she was desirous of +giving was out grazing, and could not be caught until the evening, +when all the cattle are driven in together. Further, she could not +afford to lose so interesting a personage as her guest, and +volunteered to give me a shakedown for the night. I begged she would +consider my position--the absolute necessity for my hurrying--and not +insist on my acceptance of the bullock, or be offended by my refusing +her kind offer to remain there, but permit our immediate departure. +She replied that the word had gone forth, so the animal must be given; +and if I still persisted in going, at any rate three porters could +remain behind, and drive it on afterwards. To this I reluctantly +consented, and only on the Kirangozi's promise to march the following +morning. Then, with the usual farewell salutation, "Kuaheré, Mzungu," +from my pertinacious hostess, I was not sorry to retrace my steps, a +good five hours' walk. We re-entered camp at 7.20 P.M., which is long +after dark in regions so near to the equator. All palaces here are +like all the common villages beyond Unyamuézi proper, and are usually +constructed on the same principle as this one. They consist of a +number of mushroom-shaped grass huts, surrounded by a tall slender +palisading, and having streets or passages of the same wooden +construction, some winding, some straight, and others crosswise, with +outlets at certain distances leading into the different courts, each +court usually containing five or six huts partitioned off with poles +as the streets are. These courts serve for dividing the different +families, uncles and cousins occupying some, whilst slaves and their +relatives live in others. Besides this they have their cattle-yards. +If the site of the village be on moist or soft ground, it is usual, in +addition to the palisading, to have it further fortified by a moat or +evergreen fence. + +15th.--We left Unyambéwa at 7 A.M., and reached a village in the +Ibanda district, having marched seven miles over flat ground, growing +fine crops in some places, with the remainder covered by the usual +slender forest-trees. The road was very good and regular. In the +afternoon the three porters arrived with the sultana's bullock, and +were attended by her nephew and managing man, and by some of her +slaves as drivers. The nephew asked first for more presents in her +name; as this was refused, he requested something for the drivers. I +gave them a cloth, and he then pleaded for himself, as he had +sacrificed so much time and trouble for me. I satisfied him with one +fundo of beads (a bunch of beads sufficient to form ten khetes or +necklaces), and we parted: a full khete is a string of beads double +the length of the fore-arm, or sufficiently long to encircle the neck +twice. The Beluches, finding that nothing but the coarsest grains were +obtainable with the white beads they had received, petitioned for and +obtained a shukka, but under the proviso of their always assisting me +to urge on the lazy porters. This they not only agreed to do, but also +declared themselves willing to execute any orders I might give them: +they looked upon me as their Ma, Bap (mother and father, a Hindostani +expression, significant of everything, or entire dependence on one as +a son on his parents), and considered my interests their interests. + +16th.--We started at 6 A.M., and travelled eleven miles to Ukamba, a +village in the district of Msalala, which is held by a tribe called +Wamanda. The first four miles lay over the cultivated plain of Ibanda, +till we arrived at the foot of a ridge of hills, which, gradually +closing from the right, intersects the road, and runs into a hilly +country extending round the western side of the aforesaid plain. We +now crossed the range, and descended into a country more closely +studded with the same description of small hills, but highly +cultivated in the valleys and plains that separate them. About twelve +miles to the eastward of Ukamba live a tribe called Wasongo, and to +the west, at twenty miles' distance, are the Waquanda. To-day was +fully verified the absolute futility of endeavouring to march against +time in these wild countries. + +The lazy pagazis finding themselves now, as it were, in clover, a +country full of all the things they love, would not stir one step +after 11 A.M. Were time of no consequence, and coloured beads in +store, such travelling as this would indeed be pleasant. For the +country here, so different from the Ujiji line, affords not only +delightful food for the eyes, but abounds in flesh, milk, eggs, and +vegetables in every variety. The son of the Mséné Sultan, who lives +between Unyanyembé and Ujiji, and became great friends with us when +travelling there, paid me a visit to-day. He caught me at work with my +diary and instruments, and being struck with veneration at the sight +of my twirling compass and literary pursuits, thought me a magician, +and begged that I would cast his horoscope, divine the probable extent +of his father's life, ascertain if there would be any wars, and +describe the weather, the prospects of harvest, and what future state +the country would lapse into. The shrewd Bombay replied, to save me +trouble, that so great a matter required more days of contemplation +than I could afford to give. Provisions were very dear when purchased +with white beads, for they were not the fashion, and the people were +indifferent to them. I paid him one loin-cloth for four fowls and nine +eggs, though, had I had coloured beads, I might have purchased one hen +per khete (or necklace). Had this been a cloth-wearing instead of a +bead-decorating nation, I should have obtained forty fowls for one +shukka (or loin-cloth), that being the equivalent value with beads, +equal, according to Zanzibar money, to one dollar. It is always +foolish to travel without an assortment of beads, in consequence of +the tastes of the different tribes varying so much; and it is more +economical in the long-run to purchase high-priced than low-priced +beads when making up the caravan at Zanzibar, for every little trader +buys the cheaper sorts, stocks the country with them, and thus makes +them common. + +17th.--This day, like all the preceding ones, is delightful, and +worthy of drawing forth an exclamation, like the Indian Griff's, of +"What a fine day this is again!" We started at 7 A.M., and travelled +thirteen miles, with fine bracing air, so cold in the morning that my +fingers tingled with it. We were obliged here to diverge from the +proper road _viâ_ Sarengé, to avoid a civil war--the one before +alluded to, and to escape which I had engaged the second +guide--between two young chiefs, brothers of the Wamanda tribe, who +were contending for the reins of government on the principle that +might ought to give the right. Our new course led us out of the +Msalala into the Uyombo district, which is governed by a sultan called +Mihambo. He paid me a visit and presented a sheep--a small present, +for he was a small chief, and could not demand a hongo. I gave in +return one shukka merikani and one shukka kiniki. Here all the people +were very busily engaged in their harvest, cutting their jowari, and +thrashing it out with long sticks. + +The whole country lies in long waves, crested with cropping little +hills, thickly clad with small trees and brushwood. In the hollows of +these waves the cultivation is very luxuriant. Here I unfortunately +had occasion to give my miserable Goanese cook-boy a sound dressing, +as the only means left of checking his lying, obstinate, destructive, +wasteful, and injurious habit of intermeddling. This raised the +creature's choler, and he vowed vengeance to the death, seconding his +words with such a fiendish, murderous look, his eyes glistening like +an infuriated tiger's, that I felt obliged to damp his temerity and +freedom of tongue by further chastisement, which luckily brought him +to a proper sense of his duty. + +18th.--We left at 7 A.M., and travelled ten miles to Ukuni. The +country still continues of the same rich and picturesque character, +and retains daily the same unvarying temperature. On the road we met a +party of Wayombo, who, taking advantage of the Wamanda disturbances, +had lifted some forty or fifty head of their cattle in perfect +security. I saw two albinos in this village, one an old woman with +greyish eyes, and the other young, who ran away from fright, and +concealed herself in a hut, and would not show again although beads +were offered as an inducement for one moment's peep. The old lady's +skin was of an unwholesome fleshy-pink hue, and her hair, eyebrows, +and eyelashes were a light yellowish white. This march was shortened +by two pagazis falling sick. I surmised this illness to be in +consequence of their having gorged too much beef, to which they +replied that everybody is sure to suffer pains in the stomach after +eating meat, if the slayer of the animal happens to protrude his +tongue and clench it with his teeth during the process of +slaughtering. At last the white beads have been taken, but at the +extravagant rate of two khetes for four eggs, the dearest I ever paid. + +19th.--The caravan proceeded at 6 A.M., and after going eight miles +re-entered the Msalala district's frontier, where we put up in a +village three miles beyond the border. The country throughout this +march may be classed in two divisions, one of large and extensively +cultivated plains, with some fine trees about; and the other of small +irregularly-disposed hills, the prevailing granitic outcrops of the +region. There is no direct line northwards here, so we had to track +about, and hit upon the lines between the different villages, which +enhanced our trouble and caused much delay. At this place I witnessed +the odd operation of brother-making. It consists in the two men +desirous of a blood-tie being seated face to face on a cow's hide, +with their legs stretched out as wide to the front as their length +will permit, one pair overlapping the other. They then place their +bows and arrows across their thighs, and each holds a leaf: at the +same time a third person, holding a pot of oil or butter, makes an +incision above their knees, and requires each to put his blood on the +other's leaf, and mix a little oil with it, when each anoints himself +with the brother-salve. This operation over, the two brothers bawl +forth the names and extent of their relatives, and swear by the blood +to protect the other till death. Ugogo, on the highway between the +coast and Ujiji, is a place so full of inhabitants compared with the +other places on that line, that the coast people quote it as a +wonderful instance of high population; but this district astonished +all my retinue. The road to-day was literally thronged with a legion +of black humanity so exasperatingly bold that nothing short of the +stick could keep them from jostling me. Poor creatures! they said they +had come a long way to see, and now must have a good long stare; for +when was there ever a Mzungu here before? + +20th.--We broke ground at 6 A.M., and after travelling through high +cultivation six miles, were suddenly stopped by a guard of Wamanda, +sent by Kurua, a sultan of that tribe, and chief of the division we +were marching in. Their business was to inform us that if we wished to +travel to the Lake, the sultan would give directions to have us +escorted by another route, as his eldest brother was disputing the +rights of government with him along the line we were now pursuing; and +added, that our intentions would be only known to him by the part we +might choose to take. These constant interruptions were becoming very +troublesome; so, as we were close to the confines of these two +malcontents, I was anxious to force our way on, and agreed to do so +with the Beluches. But the tiresome, lazy, flesh-seeking pagazis saw a +feast in prospect by the sultan's arrangement, and would not move an +inch. Further, the Kirangozi requested his discharge if I was +otherwise than peacefully inclined. The guard then led us to Mgogua, +the sultan's village, a little off the road. + +Kurua is a young man, not very handsome himself, but he has two +beautiful young wives. They secured me a comfortable house, showed +many attentions, and sent me a bowl of fresh sweetmilk, the very +extreme of savage hospitality. In the evening he presented me with a +bullock. This I tried to refuse, observing that flesh was the prime +cause of all my hindrances; but nothing would satisfy him; I must +accept it, or he would be the laughing-stock of everybody for +inhospitality. If I gave nothing in return, he should be happy as long +as his part of host was properly fulfilled. Salt, according to the +sultan, is only to be found here in the same efflorescent state in +which I saw it yesterday--a thin coating overspreading the ground, as +though flour had been sprinkled there. + +21st.--Halt. I gave the sultan, as a return present, one dhoti +merikani and six cubits kiniki, what I thought to be just the value of +his bullock. His kindness was undoubtedly worthy of a higher reward, +but I feared to excite these men's cupidity, as there is no end to +their tricks and finesse whenever they find a new chance of gain, and +I now despaired of accomplishing my task in time. However, Kurua +seemed quite happy under the circumstances, and considered the +exchange of hongo a bond of alliance, and proclaimed that we were +henceforth to be brothers. He then said he would accompany me back to +Unyanyembé, on my return from the Lake, and would exchange any of his +cows that I might take a fancy to for powder, which I said I had +there. The quantity of cattle in Msalala surpasses anything I have +seen in Africa. Large droves, tended by a few men each, are to be seen +in every direction over the extensive plains, and every village is +filled with them at night. The cultivation also is as abundant as the +cattle are numerous, and the climate is delightful. To walk till +breakfast, 9 A.M., every morning, I find a luxury, and from that time +till noon I ride with pleasure; but the next three hours, though +pleasant in a hut, are too warm to be agreeable under hard exertion. +The evenings and the mornings, again, are particularly serene, and the +night, after 10 P.M., so cold as to render a blanket necessary. But +then it must be remembered that all the country about these latitudes, +on this meridian, 33° east, is at an altitude of from 3500 to 4000 +feet. My dinner to-day was improved by the addition of tomatos and the +bird's-eye chili--luxuries to us, but which the negroes, so different +from the Indians, never care about, and seldom grow. + +The cotton-plant is as fine here as at Unyanyembé or Ujiji, and +anything would grow with only the trouble of throwing down the seed. +It is a great pity that the country is not in better hands. From all I +can gather, there is no fixed revenue paid to these sultans; all their +perquisites are occasional hongos received from travellers; a +percentage on all foreign seizures, whether by battle or plunder; and +a certain part of all windfalls, such as a share of the sportsman's +game-bag, in the shape of elephants' tusks or flesh, or the skins of +any wild animals; otherwise they live by the sweat of the brow of +their slaves, in tilling their ground, tending their cattle, or +trafficking for them in slaves and ivory. It seems destined that I +should never reach the goal of my ambition. To-day the Jemadar finds +himself too unwell to march, and two other Beluches say the same. This +is an effectual obstacle; for the guard declares itself too weak to +divide, and the sultan blows on the fire of my mortification by saying +that these are troubled times, and advises our keeping all together. +He says that his differences have been going on these five years with +his eldest brother, and now he wishes to bring them to a crisis, which +he proposes doing after my return, when he will obtain powder from me, +and will have the preponderating influence of Arab opinion brought to +bear in his favour by the aid of their guns--an impressive mode which +Africa has of proving right in its own way. + +22d.--After much groaning and grumbling, I got the sick men on their +legs by 7 A.M., and we marched eight miles to Senagongo, the boma[56] +(palisade) of Sultan Kanoni, Kurua's second brother. These two younger +brothers side together against the eldest. They are all by different +mothers, and think the father's property should fairly be divided +among them. It is a glaring instance of the bad effects of a plurality +of wives; and being contrary to our constitutional laws of marriage, I +declined giving an opinion as to who was right or wrong. + +To avoid the seat of war my track was rather tortuous. On the east or +right side the country was open, and afforded a spacious view; but on +the west this was limited by an irregularly-disposed series of low +hills. Cultivation and scrub-jungle alternated the whole way. The +miserable Goanese, like a dog slinking off to die, slipped away behind +the caravan, and hid himself in the jungle to suffer the pangs of +fever in solitude. I sent men to look for him in vain: party succeeded +party in the search, till at last night set in without his appearing. +It is singular in this country to find how few men escape some fever +or other sickness, who make a sudden march after living a quiet +stationary life. It appears as if the bile got stirred, suffused the +body, and, exciting the blood, produced this effect. I had to admonish +a silly Beluch, who, foolishly thinking that powder alone could not +hurt a man, fired his gun off into a mass of naked human legs, in +order, as he said, to clear the court. The consequence was, that at +least fifty pairs got covered with numerous small bleeding wounds, all +dreadfully painful from the saltpetre contained in the powder. It was +fortunate that the sultan was a good man, and was present at the time +it occurred, else a serious row might have been the consequence of +this mischievous trick. + +23d.--Halt. We fired alarm-guns all night to no purpose; so at +daybreak three different parties, after receiving particular orders +how to scour the country, were sent off at the same time to search for +Gaetano. Fortunately the Beluches obeyed my injunctions, and at 10 +A.M. returned with the man, who looked for all the world exactly like +a dog who, guilty of an indiscretion, is being brought in disgrace +before his master to receive a flogging; for he knew I had a spare +donkey for the sick, and had constantly warned the men from stopping +behind alone in these lawless countries. The other two parties +adopting, like true Easterns, a better plan of their own, spent the +whole day ranging wildly over the country, fruitlessly exerting +themselves, and frustrating any chance of my getting even an +afternoon's march. Kanoni very kindly sent messengers all over his +territory to assist in the search: he, like Kurua, has taken every +opportunity to show me those little pleasing attentions which always +render travelling agreeable. These Wamanda are certainly the most +noisy set of beings that I ever met with: commencing their fêtes in +the middle of the village every day at 3 P.M., with screaming, +yelling, rushing, jumping, sham-fighting, drumming, and singing in one +collective inharmonious noise, they seldom cease till midnight. Their +villages, too, are everywhere much better protected by bomas +(palisading) than is usual in Africa, arguing that they are a rougher +and more war-like people than the generality. If shoved aside, or +pushed with a stick, they show their savage nature by turning fiercely +like a fatted pig upon whoever tries to poke it up. + +24th.--The march commenced at 7 A.M.; and here we again left the +direct road, to avoid a third party of belligerent Wamanda, situated +in the northern extremity of the Msalala district, on the highway +between Unyanyembé and the Lake. On bidding the sultan adieu, he was +very urgent in his wishes that I should take a bullock from him. This +I told him I should willingly have accepted, only that it would delay +my progress; and he, more kindly than the other chief, excused me. +Finding that none of our party knew the road, he advanced a short way +with us, and generously offered to furnish us with a guide to the Lake +and back, saying that he would send one of his own men after us to a +place he appointed with my Kirangozi. I expressed my gratitude for his +consideration, and we parted with warm regard for one another. +Unfortunately, Bombay, who is not the clearest man in the world in +expressing himself, stupidly bungled the sultan's arrangement, and we +missed the man. + +To keep the pagazis going was a matter of no little difficulty; after +the fifth mile they persisted in entering every village that they came +across, and, throwing down their loads, were bent upon making an easy +day's work of it. I, on the contrary, was equally persistent in going +on, and neither would allow the Beluches to follow them, nor enter the +villages myself, until they, finding their game of no avail, quietly +shouldered their loads and submitted to my orders. This day's journey +was twelve miles over a highly-cultivated, waving country, at the end +of which we took up our abode in a deserted village called Kahama. + +25th.--We got under way at 7 A.M., and marched seven and a half hours, +when we entered a village in the district of Nindo, nineteen miles +distant. After passing through a belt of jungle three miles broad, we +came upon some villages amidst a large range of cultivation. This +passed, we penetrated a large wilderness of thorn and bush jungle, +having sundry broad grassy flats lying at right angles to the road. +Here I saw a herd of hartebeests, giraffes, and other animals, giving +to the scene a truly African character. The tracks of elephants and +different large beasts prove that this place is well tenanted in the +season. The closeness of the jungle and evenness of the land prevented +my taking any direct observations with the compass; but the mean +oscillations of its card showed a course with northing again. This +being a long stage, I lent my ass to a sick Beluch, and we +accomplished the journey, notwithstanding the great distance, in a +pleasant and spirited manner. This despatch may in part be +attributable to there being so much desert, and the beloved "grub" and +the village lying ahead of us luring the men on. + +26th.--We broke ground at 7 A.M., and, after passing the village +cultivation, entered a waterless wilderness of thorn and tree forest, +with some long and broad plains of tall grass intersecting the line of +march. These flats very much resemble some we crossed when travelling +close to and parallel with the Malagarazi river; for the cracked and +flawy nature of the ground, now parched up by a constant drought, +shows that this part gets inundated in the wet season. Indeed, this +peculiar grassy flat formation suggests the proximity of a river +everywhere in Africa; and I felt sure, as afterwards proved true, that +a river was not far from us. The existence of animal life is another +warranty of water being near: elephants and buffaloes cannot live a +day without it. + +Fortunately for my mapping, a small conical hill overtopped the trees +in advance of our track, at twelve miles from the starting-point. We +eventually passed alongside of it, and travelled on six miles farther +to a village in the cultivated plain of Salawé, a total distance of +eighteen miles. The whole country about here was covered with +harvest-workers, who, on seeing my approach, left off work and +followed me into the village. As nothing proves better the real +feelings and natural propensities of a nation than the impulsive +actions of the children, I will give a striking instance, as it +occurred to me to-day. On seeing a child approach me, I offered him a +handful of beads, upon which the greedy little urchin snatched them +from my hand with all the excited eagerness of a monkey. He clenched +tight hold of them in his little fists, and, without the slightest +show of any emotions of gratitude, retired, carrying his well-earned +prize away with a self-satisfied and perfectly contented air, not even +showing the beads to his parents or playmates. I called Bombay's +attention to this transaction, and contrasted it with the joyful, +grateful manner in which an English child would involuntarily act if +suddenly become possessed of so much wealth, by hurrying off to his +mamma, and showing what fine things the kind gentleman had given him. +Bombay passed on my remark, with a twelvemonth's grin upon his face, +to his inquiring brother Mabruki, and then explained the matter to his +sooty friends around, declaring that such tumma (avaricious) +propensities were purely typical of the Seedi's nature. + +At the usual hour of departure this morning, the Kirangozi discovered +that the pagazis' feet were sore from the late long marches, and +declared that they could not walk. To this the Jemadar replied that +the best asylum for such complaints was on ahead, where the sahib +proposed to kill some goats and rest a day. The Kirangozi replied, +"But the direct road is blocked up by wars: if a march must be made, I +will show another route three marches longer round." "That," answered +the Jemadar, "is not your business: if any troubles arise from +marauders, we, the Beluches, are the fighting men--leave that to us." +At last the Kirangozi, getting quite disconcerted, declared that there +was no water on the way. "Then," quoth the energetic Jemadar, "were +your gourds made for nothing? If you don't pack up at once, you and my +stick shall make acquaintance." The party was then off in a moment. + +On the way we met some herdsmen driving their cattle to Unyanyembé, +and inquired from them the state of the road. They said that the +country beyond a certain distance was safe and quiet, but corroborated +the Kirangozi's statement as to warriors being in the immediate +neighbourhood, who came and visited this place from the west, where is +the northern extremity of the Msalala district. Several varieties of +antelopes were seen, and the Beluches fired at an ostrich. As in the +last place, no milk could be obtained, for the people, fearing the +Wamanda, had driven off their cattle to the northward. It is evident, +from the general nakedness of the people, that cloth or beads do not +find their way much here, which is accounted for by so few merchants +ever coming this way. Hardly a neck here is decorated, and they seldom +wear anything but the common goat-skin covering, hung over the +shoulder by a strap or string like a game-bag, which covers only one +hip at a time, and might as well be dispensed with as far as decency +is concerned; but at night they take it off, and spread it on the +ground to protect themselves from the cold and moisture of the earth. +This district is occupied by a tribe called Waumba; to the east of it, +thirty miles distant, are the Wanatiya, and thirty miles westward the +Wazinza tribes. + +27th.--At 6 A.M. we crawled through the opening in the palisading +which forms the entrances of these villages, and at once perceived a +tall, narrow pillar of granite, higher than Pompey's at Alexandria, or +Nelson's Monument in Charing Cross, towering above us, and having +sundry huge boulders of the same composition standing around its base, +much in the same peculiar way as we see at Stonehenge, on Salisbury +Plain. This scene strikes one with wonderment at the oddities of +nature, and taxes one's faculties to imagine how on earth the stones +ever became tilted up in this extraordinary position; but farther on, +about five miles distant, we encountered another and even higher +pillar, that quite overtopped the trees and everything about it. This +and the former one served as good station-marks for the journey, the +latter being visible at eight miles' distance. After the first eight +miles, which terminates the cultivated district of Salawé, the track +penetrated a waterless desert of thorn and small tree-forest, lying in +a broad valley between low hills. As the sick Beluch still occupied my +steadier donkey Ted, I was compelled to mount the half-broken +Jenny--so playful with her head and heels that neither the Sheikh nor +any other man dared sit upon her. The man's sickness appears to be one +of those eccentric complaints, the after-effects of African fevers: it +was attended with severe pain, and swelling extending over the +stomach, the right side, the right arm, and the right half of the +neck, depriving him of sleep and repose. In every position, whether +sitting, lying, standing, rising up, or sitting down, he complained of +aching muscles. I purchased a goat and sheep for the men for one dhoti +merikani. + +28th.--Halt. This stoppage was for the restoration of wounded feet, +the pagazis' being all blistered by the last four long marches. I now +slaughtered and gave the two purchased animals to the men, as no one +grumbled at my refusing the last bullock, a recognised present for the +whole party, though nominally given to the Sahib. These people, like +the Arabs, and all those who have many wives, seem to find little +enjoyment in that domestic bliss so interesting and beautiful in our +English homes. Except on rare occasions, the husband never dines with +his wife and family, always preferring the exclusive society of his +own sex: even the boys, disdaining to dine with their mothers, mess +with the men; whilst the girls and women, having no other option, eat +a separate meal by themselves. + +29th.--We started at 6 A.M., and marched thirteen miles to a village +at the northern extremity of the district. The face of the country is +still very irregular, sometimes rising into hills, at other times +dropping into dells, but very well cultivated in the lower portion; +whilst the brown granite rocks, with trees and brushwood covering the +upper regions, diversify the colouring, and form a pleasing contrast +to the scene; added to this, large and frequent herds graze about the +fields and amongst the villages, and give animation to the whole. +Amongst the trees, palms take a prominent part. Indeed, for tropical +scenery, there are few places that could equal this; and if the +traveller, as he moves along, surrounded by the screeching, howling, +inquisitive savages, running rudely about and boisterously jostling +him, could only divest himself of the idea that he is a bear baited by +a yelping pack of hounds, the journey would be replete with enjoyment. + +Crossing some hills, the caravan sprang a covey of guinea-fowls, and +at some springs in a valley I shot several couple of sand-grouse, +darker in plumage than any I ever saw in Africa or India, and not +quite so big as the Tibet bird. The chief of the village offered me a +bullock; but as the beast did not appear until the time of starting, I +declined it. Neither did I give him any cloth, being convinced in my +mind that these and other animals have always been brought to me by +the smaller chiefs at the instigation of the Kirangozi, and probably +aided by the flesh-loving party in general. The Jemadar must have been +particularly mortified at my way of disposing of the business, for he +talked of nothing else but flesh and the animal from the moment it was +sent for, his love for butcher-meat amounting almost to a frenzy. The +sandstone in this region is highly impregnated with iron, and smelters +do a good business; indeed, the iron for nearly all the tools and +cutlery that are used in this division of Eastern Africa is found and +manufactured here. It is the Brummagem of the land, and has not only +rich but very extensive ironfields stretching many miles north, east, +and west. I brought some specimens away. Cloth is little prized in +this especially bead country, and I had to pay the sum of one dhoti +kiniki for one pot of honey and one pot of ghee (clarified butter). + +30th.--The caravan started at 6 A.M., and travelled four miles +northwards, amidst villages and cultivation. From this point, on +facing to the left, I could discern a sheet of water, about four miles +from me, which ultimately proved to be a creek, and the most southern +point of the N'yanza, which, as I have said before, the Arabs +described to us as the Ukéréwé Sea.[57] We soon afterwards descended +into a grassy and jungly depression, and arrived at a deep, dirty, +viscid nullah (a watercourse that only runs in wet weather), draining +the eastern country into the southern end of the creek. To cross this +(which I shall name Jordan) was a matter of no small difficulty, +especially for the donkeys, whose fording seemed quite hopeless, until +the Jemadar, assisted by two other Beluches, with blows and threats +made the lazy pagazis work, and dragged them through the mud by sheer +force. This operation lasted so long that, after crossing, we made for +the nearest village in the Uvira district, and completed a journey of +eight miles. The country to the eastward appeared open and waving, but +to the north and far west very hilly. The ground is fertile, and the +flocks and herds very abundant. Hippopotami frequent the nullah at +night, and reside there during the rainy season; but at this, the dry +half of the year, they retreat to the larger waters of the creek. +Rhinoceroses are said to pay nightly visits to fields around the +villages, and commit sad havoc on the crops. The nullah, running from +the south-east, drains the land in that direction; but a river, I +hear, rising in the Msalala district, draws off the water from the +lays we have recently been crossing, to the westward of our track, +where its course lies, and empties it into the creek on the opposite +side to where the nullah debouches. + +31st.--On hearing that a shorter track than the Sukuma one usually +frequented by the Arabs led to Muanza, the place Sheikh Snay advised +my going to, I started by it at 8 A.M.; and after following it +west-ward down the nullah's right bank a few miles, turned up +northwards, and continued along the creek to a village, eight miles +distant, at the farther end of the Urima district, where we took up +our quarters. The country has a mixed and large population of smiths, +agriculturists, and herdsmen, residing in the flats and depressions +which lie between the scattered little hills. During the rainy season, +when the lake swells and the country becomes super-saturated, the +inundations are so great that all travelling becomes suspended. The +early morning was wasted by the unreasonable pagazis in the following +absurd manner. + +It will be remembered that, on starting from Unyanyembé, these cunning +rascals begged for cloth as a necessary protection against the cold. +This seemed reasonable enough, if they had not just before that +received their hire in cloth; for the nights were so cold that I +should have been sorry to be as naked as they were; but their real +motive for asking was only to increase their stock for this present +occasion, as we now shall see. Two days ago they broke ground with +great difficulty, and only on my assuring them that I would wait at +the place a day or two on my return from the Lake, as they expressed +their desire to make a few halts there, and barter their hire of cloth +for jembés (iron hoes), to exchange again at Unyanyembé, where those +things fetch double the price they do in these especially iron +regions. Now, to-day these dissembling creatures, distrusting my word +as they would their own brethren's, stoutly refused to proceed until +their business was completed,--suspecting I should break my word on +returning, and would not then wait for them. They had come all this +way especially for their own benefit, and now meant to profit by their +trouble. Fortunately, the Jemadar and some other Beluches, who of late +had shown great energy and zeal in promoting my views, pointed out to +them that they were really more bound to do my business than their +own, as they had engaged to do so, and since they could never have +come there at all excepting through my influence and by my cloths; +further, if they bought their hoes then, they would have to carry them +all the way to the Lake and back. The Kirangozi acknowledged the +fairness of this harangue, and soon gave way; but it was not until +much more arguing, and the adoption of other persuasive means, that +the rest were induced to relinquish their determination. + +1st August.--This day's march, commenced at 6 A.M., differs but little +from the last. Following down the creek, which, gradually increasing +in breadth as it extended northwards, was here of very considerable +dimensions, we saw many little islands, well-wooded elevations, +standing boldly out of its waters, which, together with the +hill-dotted country around, afforded a most agreeable prospect. Would +that my eyes had been strong enough to dwell, unshaded, upon such +scenery! but my French grey spectacles so excited the crowds of sable +gentry who followed the caravan, and they were so boisterously rude, +stooping and peering underneath my wide-awake to gain a better sight +of my double eyes, as they chose to term them, that it became +impossible for me to wear them. I therefore pocketed the instrument, +closed my eyes, and allowed the donkey I was riding to be quietly +pulled along. The evil effects of granting an indulgence to those who +cannot appreciate it, was more obvious every day. To secure speed and +contentment, I had indulged the pagazis by hiring double numbers, and +giving each only half a recognised burden; but what has been the +return? Yesterday the pagazis stopped at the eighth mile, because they +said that so large a jungle was in our front that we could not cross +it during daylight. + +I disbelieved their story, and gave them to understand, on submitting +to their request, that I was sure their trick for stopping me would +turn to their own disadvantage; for if my surmise proved true, as the +morrow would show, I should give them no more indulgence, and +especially no more meat. On our arrival to-day there was a great +hubbub amongst them, because I ordered the Jemadar and Kirangozi, with +many of their principal men, to sit in state before me; when I gave a +cloth to the soldiers to buy a goat with, and, turning to the +Kirangozi, told him I was sorry I was obliged to keep my word of +yesterday, and, their story having proved false, I must depart from +the principle I had commenced upon, of feeding both parties alike, and +now they might feel assured that I would do nothing further for their +comfort until I could see in them some desire to please me. The screw +was on the tenderest part: a black man's belly is his god; and they no +sooner found themselves deprived of their wonted feast, than they +clamorously declared they would be my devoted servants; that they had +come expressly to serve me, and were willing to do anything I wished. +The village chief offered me a goat; but as it came at the last moment +before starting, I declined it. + +To-day's track lay for the first half of the way over a jungly +depression, where we saw ostriches, florikans, and the small Saltiana +antelopes; but as their shyness did not allow of an open approach, I +amused myself by shooting partridges. During the remainder of the way, +the caravan threaded between villages and cultivation lying in small +valleys, or crossed over low hills, accomplishing a total distance of +twelve miles. Here we put up at a village called Ukumbi, occupied by +the Walaswanda tribe. + +2d.--We set out at 6 A.M., and travelled thirteen miles by a tortuous +route, sometimes close by the creek, at other times winding between +small hills, the valleys of which were thickly inhabited by both +agricultural and pastoral people. Here some small perennial streams, +exuding from springs by the base of these hills, meander through the +valleys, and keep all vegetable life in a constant state of verdant +freshness. The creek still increases in width as it extends northward, +and is studded with numerous small rocky island-hills covered with +brushwood, which, standing out from the bosom of the deep-blue waters, +reminded me of a voyage I once had in the Grecian Archipelago. The +route also being so diversified with hills, afforded fresh objects of +attraction at every turn; and to-day, by good fortune, the usually +troublesome people have attended more to their harvest-making, and +left me to the enjoyment of the scenery. My trusty Blissett made a +florikan pay the penalty of death for his temerity in attempting a +flight across the track. The day's journey lasted thirteen miles, and +brought us into a village called Isamiro. + + + + +Chapter IV. + +First Sight of the Victoria N'yanza--Its Physical +Geography--Speculations on its Being the Source of the Nile--Sport on +the Lake--Sultans Machunda and Mahaya--Missionary Accounts of the +Geography--Arab Accounts--Regrets at Inability to Complete the +Discovery--The March Resumed--History of the +Watuta--Hippopotamus-hunting--Adventures--Kahama. + + + +August 3d.--The caravan, after quitting Isamiro, began winding up a +long but gradually inclined hill--which, as it bears no native name, I +shall call Somerset--until it reached its summit, when the vast +expanse of the pale-blue waters of the N'yanza burst suddenly upon my +gaze. It was early morning. The distant sea-line of the north horizon +was defined in the calm atmosphere between the north and west points +of the compass; but even this did not afford me any idea of the +breadth of the lake, as an archipelago of islands (_vide_ Map, Bengal +Archipelago), each consisting of a single hill, rising to a height of +200 or 300 feet above the water, intersected the line of vision to the +left; while on the right the western horn of the Ukéréwé Island cut +off any farther view of its distant waters to the eastward of north. A +sheet of water--an elbow of the sea, however, at the base of the low +range on which I stood--extended far away to the eastward, to where, +in the dim distance, a hummock-like elevation of the mainland marked +what I understood to be the south and east angle of the lake. The +important islands of Ukéréwé and Mzita, distant about twenty or thirty +miles, formed the visible north shore of this firth. The name of the +former of these islands was familiar to us as that by which this +long-sought lake was usually known. It is reported by the natives to +be of no great extent; and though of no considerable elevation, I +could discover several spurs stretching down to the water's edge from +its central ridge of hills. The other island, Mzita, is of greater +elevation, of a hog-backed shape, but being more distant, its physical +features were not so distinctly visible. + +In consequence of the northern islands of the Bengal Archipelago +before mentioned obstructing the view, the western shore of the lake +could not be defined: a series of low hill-tops extended in this +direction as far as the eye could reach; while below me, at no great +distance, was the debouchure of the creek, which enters the lake from +the south, and along the banks of which my last three days' journey +had led me. This view was one which, even in a well-known and explored +country, would have arrested the traveller by its peaceful beauty. The +islands, each swelling in a gentle slope to a rounded summit, clothed +with wood between the rugged angular closely-cropping rocks of +granite, seemed mirrored in the calm surface of the lake; on which I +here and there detected a small black speck, the tiny canoe of some +Muanza fisherman. On the gently shelving plain below me, blue smoke +curled above the trees, which here and there partially concealed +villages and hamlets, their brown thatched roofs contrasting with the +emerald green of the beautiful milk-bush, the coral branches of which +cluster in such profusion round the cottages, and form alleys and +hedgerows about the villages as ornamental as any garden shrub in +England. But the pleasure of the mere view vanished in the presence of +those more intense and exciting emotions which are called up by the +consideration of the commercial and geographical importance of the +prospect before me. + +I no longer felt any doubt that the lake at my feet gave birth to that +interesting river, the source of which has been the subject of so much +speculation, and the object of so many explorers. The Arabs' tale was +proved to the letter. This is a far more extensive lake than the +Tanganyika; "so broad you could not see across it, and so long that +nobody knew its length."[58] I had now the pleasure of perceiving that +a map I had constructed on Arab testimony, and sent home to the Royal +Geographical Society before leaving Unyanyembé, was so substantially +correct that in its general outlines I had nothing whatever to alter. +Further, as I drew that map after proving their first statements about +the Tanganyika, which were made before my going there, I have every +reason to feel confident of their veracity relative to their travels +north through Karagué, and to Kibuga in Uganda. + +When Sheikh Snay told us of the Ukéréwé, as he called the N'yanza, on +our first arrival at Kazé, proceeding westward from Zanzibar, he said, +"If you have come only to see a large bit of water, you had better go +northwards and see the Ukéréwé; for it is much greater in every +respect than the Tanganyika;" and so, as far as I can ascertain, it +is. Muanza, our journey's end, now lay at our feet. It is an open, +well-cultivated plain on the southern end, and lies almost flush with +the lake; a happy, secluded-looking corner, containing every natural +facility to make life pleasant. After descending the hill, we followed +along the borders of the lake, and at first entered Mahaya's Palace, +when the absence of boats arousing my suspicions, made me inquire +where the Arabs, on coming to Muanza, and wishing to visit Ukéréwé, +usually resided. This, I heard, was some way farther on; so with great +difficulty I persuaded the porters to come away and proceed at once to +where they said an Arab was actually living. It was a singular +coincidence that, after Sheikh Snay's caution as to my avoiding Sultan +Mahaya's Palace, by inquiring diligently about him yesterday, and +finding no one who knew his name, the first person I should have +encountered was himself, and that, too, in his own Palace. The reason +of this was, that big men in this country, to keep up their dignity, +have several names, and thus mystify the traveller. + +I then proceeded along the shore of the lake in an easterly direction, +and on the way shot a number of red Egyptian geese, which were very +numerous; they are the same sort here as I once saw in the Somali +country. Another goose, which unfortunately I could not kill, is very +different from any I ever saw or heard of: it stands as high as the +Canadian bird, or higher, and is black all over, saving one little +white patch beneath the lower mandible. It was fortunate that I came +on here, for the Arab in question, called Mansur bin Salim, treated me +very kindly, and he had retainers belonging to the country, who knew +as much about the lake as anybody, and were of very great assistance. +I also found a good station for making observations on the lake. It +was Mansur who first informed me of my mistake of the morning; but he +said that the evil reports spread at Unyanyembé about Mahaya had no +foundation; on the contrary, he had found him a very excellent and +obliging person. + +To-day we marched eight miles, and have concluded our journey +northwards, a total distance of 226 miles from Kazé, which, occupying +twenty-five days, is at the rate of nine miles per diem, halts +inclusive. + +4th.--Early in the morning I took a walk of three miles easterly along +the shore of the lake, and, ascending a small hill (which, to +distinguish it, I have called Observatory Hill), took compass bearings +of all the principal features of the lake. Mansur and a native, the +greatest traveller of the place, kindly accompanied me, and gave me +every obtainable information. This man had traversed the island, as he +called it, of Ukéréwé from north to south. But by his rough mode of +describing it, I am rather inclined to think that instead of its being +an actual island, it is a connected tongue of land, stretching +southwards from a promontory lying at right angles to the eastern +shore of the lake, which, being a wash, affords a passage to the +mainland during the fine season, but during the wet becomes submerged, +and thus makes Ukéréwé temporarily an island. + +If this conjecture be true, Mzita must be similarly circumstanced. +Cattle, he says, can cross over from the mainland at all seasons of +the year, by swimming from one elevation of the promontory to another; +but the Warudi, who live upon the eastern shore of the lake, and bring +their ivory for sale to Ukéréwé, usually employ boats for the transit. +A sultan called Machunda lives at the southern extremity of the +Ukéréwé, and has dealings in ivory with all the Arabs who go there. +One Arab at this time was stopping there, and had sent his men +coasting along this said promontory to deal with the natives on the +mainland, as he could not obtain enough ivory on the island itself. +Considering how near the eastern shore of the lake is to Zanzibar, it +appears surprising that it can pay men to carry ivory all the way +round by Unyanyembé. But the Masai, and especially those tribes who +live near to the lake, are so hostile to travellers, that the risk of +going there is considered too great to be profitable, though all Arabs +concur in stating that a surprising quantity of ivory is to be +obtained there at a very cheap rate. + +The little hill alluded to as marking the south-east angle of the +lake, I again saw; but so indistinctly, though the atmosphere was very +clear, that I imagined it to be at least forty miles distant. It is +due east of my station on Observatory Hill. I further draw my +conclusions from the fact, that all the hills on the country are much +about the same height--two or three hundred feet above the basial +surface of the land; and I could only see the top of the hill like a +hazy brown spot, contrasted in relief against the clear blue sky. +Indeed, had my attention not been drawn to it, I should probably have +overlooked it, and have thought there was only a sea horizon before +me. On facing to the W.N.W., I could only see a sea horizon; and on +inquiring how far back the land lay, was assured that, beyond the +island of Ukéréwé, there was an equal expanse of it east and west, and +that it would be more than double the distance of the little hill +before alluded to, or from eighty to one hundred miles in breadth.[59] + +On my inquiring about the lake's length, the man faced to the north, +and began nodding his head to it; at the same time he kept throwing +forward his right hand, and, making repeated snaps of his fingers, +endeavoured to indicate something immeasurable; and added, that nobody +knew, but he thought it probably extended to the end of the world. To +the east of the Observatory, a six hours' journey, probably fourteen +or fifteen miles, the village of Sukuma is situated, and there canoes +are obtainable for crossing to Ukéréwé, which island being six hours' +paddling, and lying due north of it, must give the firth a breadth of +about fifteen miles. + +Whilst walking back to camp, I shot two red geese and a florikan, like +those I once shot in the Somali country. This must have been a dainty +dish for my half-starved Arab companion, who had lost all his property +on first arriving here, and was now living on Mahaya's generosity. It +appears that nine months ago he was enabled, by the assistance of +Mahaya, to hire some boats and men at Sukuma, and had sent his +property, consisting of fifteen loads of cloth and 250 jembis or hoes, +by them to Ukéréwé, to exchange for ivory. But by the advice of +Mahaya, and fearing to trust himself as a stranger amongst the +islanders, he did not accompany his merchandise. Sultan Machunda, a +man of the highest character by Unyanyembé report, on seeing such a +prize enter his port, gave orders for its seizure, and will now give +no redress to the unfortunate Mansur. All Mahaya's exertions to +recover it have proved abortive: and Mansur has therefore been +desirous of taking his revenge by making an attack in person on +Ukéréwé, but the "generous" Mahaya said, "No; your life is yet safe, +do not risk it; but let my men do what they can, and in the meanwhile, +as I have been a party to your losses, I will feed you and your +people; and if I do not succeed in the end, you shall be my guest +until I can amass sufficient property to reimburse your losses." + +Mansur has all this time been living, like the slaves of the country, +on jowari porridge, which is made by grinding the seed into flour and +boiling it in water until it forms a good thick paste, when master and +man sit round the earthen pot it is boiled in, pick out lumps, and +suck it off their fingers. It was a delicious sight yesterday, on +coming through Muanza, to see the great deference paid to the sick +Beluch, Shadad, mistaken for the great Arab merchant (Mundewa), my +humble self, in consequence of his riding my donkey, and to perceive +the stoical manner in which he treated their attentions; but, more +fortunate than I usually have been, he escaped the rude peeping and +peering of the crowd, for he did not, like his employer, wear "double +eyes" (spectacles). + +During the last five or six marches, the word Marabu (Arab), instead +of Mzungu (European), has usually been applied to me; and no one, I am +sure, would have discovered the difference, were it not that the +tiresome pagazis, to increase their own dignity and importance, +generally gave the clue by singing the song of "the White Man." The +Arabs at Unyanyembé had advised my donning their habit for the trip, +in order to attract less attention: a vain precaution, which I believe +they suggested more to gratify their own vanity by seeing an +Englishman lower himself to their position, than for any benefit that +I might receive by doing so. At any rate, I was more comfortable and +better off in my flannel shirt, long togs, and wide-awake, than I +should have been, both mentally and physically, had I degraded myself, +and adopted their hot, long, and particularly uncomfortable gown. + +Sultan Mahaya sent a messenger to say that he was hurt at the cavalier +manner in which I treated him yesterday; and, to show his wounded +feelings, gave an order to his subjects that no man should supply me +with provisions, or render me any assistance during my sojourn at +Muanza. Luckily my larder was well supplied with game, or I should +have had to go supperless to bed, for no inducement would prevail on +the people to sell anything to me after the mandate had been +proclaimed. This morning, however, we settled the difference, in the +most amicable manner, thus: previous to my departure for Observatory +Hill, I sent the Jemadar, the Kirangozi, and a large deputation of the +Beluches and pagazis, to explain away the reason of my having left his +house so rudely, and to tender apologies, which were accompanied, as +an earnest of good-will, with a large hongo, consisting of one +barsati, one dhoti merikani, and one gora kiniki, as also an +intimation that I would pay him a visit the next day. This pleased him +excessively; it was considered a visit of itself; and he returned the +usual bullock, with a notification that I must remain where I was, to +enable him to return the compliment I had paid him, for he intended +walking out to see me on the morrow. + +5th.--As my time was getting short, I forestalled Mahaya in his +intentions, and changed ground to the Palace, a rural-looking little +place, perched on a small rocky promontory, shrouded by green trees, +facing the N.W. side of the lake. Mahaya received me with great +courtesy, arranged a hut comfortably, and presented a number of eggs +and fresh milk, as he had heard that I was partial to such fare. He is +a man of more than ordinary stature, a giant in miniature, with +massive and muscular but well-proportioned limbs: he must number fifty +years or more. His dress was the ordinary barsati; his arms were set +off by heavy brass and copper ornaments encircling the wrists, and by +numberless sambo, or thin circles made from the twisted fibres of an +aloetic plant, on each of which a single infi, or white porcelain bead +resembling a little piece of tobacco-pipe, was strung; these ranged in +massive rows down the whole of his upper arm. Just above his +elbow-joints sat a pair of large ivory rings. On his forehead two +small goat or deer horns were fastened by thin talismanic ornaments of +thong for keeping off the evil eye; and, finally, his neck was adorned +with two strings of very coarse blue beads. Mahaya has the fame of +being the best and most just sultan in these quarters, and his benign +square countenance, lit up with a pleasing expression when in +conversation, confirms this opinion, though a casual observer passing +by that dark, broad, massive face, still more darkened by a matting of +short, close, and tightly-curled-up ringlets, would be apt to carry +away a contrary impression.[60] + +Before leaving Kazé I notified my intention of visiting Ukéréwé, +supposing I could do so in three or four days, and explained to my men +my wishes on this point. Hearing this, they told both Mahaya and +Mansur, in direct terms, that I was going, and so needlessly set them +to work finessing to show how much they were in earnest in their +consideration of me. However, they have both been very warm in +dissuading me from visiting Ukéréwé, apparently quite in a parental +way, for each seems to think himself in a measure my guardian. Mahaya +thinks it his duty to caution those who visit him from running into +danger, which a journey to Ukéréwé, he considers, would be. Mansur, on +the other hand, says, as I have come from his Sultan Majid, he also is +bound to render me any assistance in his power; but strongly advises +my giving up the notion of going across the water. I could get boats +from Sukuma, he said, but there would be great delay in the business, +as I should have first to send over and ask permission from Machunda +to land, and then the collecting men and boats would occupy a long +time. + +As regards the collection of boats taking a long time, these arguments +are very fair, as I know from experience; but the only danger would +consist in the circumstance of the two sultans being at enmity with +each other, as in this land any one coming direct from an enemy's +country is suspected and treated as an enemy. This difficulty I should +have avoided by going straight to Sukuma (where the boats, I am +inclined to think, usually do start from, though all concur in stating +that this is their point of departure), and there obtaining boats +direct. However, I told them that I should have gone if I had found +boats ready at once to take me across; but now I saw the probability +of so much delay, that I could not afford to waste time in trying to +obtain boats, which, had I succeeded in getting, I should have +employed my time not in going to Ukéréwé, but to the more elevated and +friendly island of Mzita, this being a more suitable observatory than +the former. These negroes' manoeuvres are quite incomprehensible. If +Mahaya had desired to fleece me--and one can hardly give a despotic +negro credit for anything short of that--he surely would have tried to +detain me under false hopes, and have thus necessitated my spending +cloths in his village; while, on the contrary, he lost all chance of +gaining anything by giving advice which induced me to leave him at +once, never to return again to see him. + +At my request, Mahaya assembled all his principal men, and we went +into a discussion about the lake; but not a soul knew anything about +its northern extremity, although people had sometimes travelled in +canoes, coasting along its shores by the Karagué district to as far, I +believe, as the Line.[61] His wife, a pretty crummy little creature of +the Wanyoro tribe, came farther from the north than anybody present, +and gave me the names of many districts in the Uganda country, which, +she says, lies along the seashore. She had never heard of there being +any end to the lake, and supposed, if any way of going round it did +exist, she would certainly have known it. It is well known that there +is no communication between the east and west shores of the lake, +excepting by a few occasional canoe-parties coasting along the +southern end, because the waters are so very broad they dare not +venture.[62] That there can be no high mountain-range intersecting the +N'yanza from the watercourses which we hear of north of the equator, +as some people have supposed, is evident from the numerous accounts +given of the kingdom of Uganda being so flat and marshy from the +equator to 2° or 3° north latitude; whilst I must have seen any, did +they exist, on the south side of the equator, being only 150 miles +from it when standing on its southern shore. Now, judging from all the +information given us by the several Egyptian expeditions and +missionaries sent up the Nile, who came across small hills in 4½° +north latitude and 32° east longitude, which are intersected by the +Nile in the same way that the East Coast Range is intersected by the +interior plateau rivers (Lufiji and Kingani), as we saw on our passage +inwards from Zanzibar; and further, by the Arabs telling us that all +the country on the same meridian, from the Line up to the second +parallel north latitude, is flat and full of watercourses; and then +again, by knowing the respective heights of the N'yanza on the one +side, being nearly 4000 feet, and the Nile's bed in latitude 5° N., or +beyond the small hills alluded to, being under 2000 feet--it would +indeed be a marvel if this lake is not the fountain of the Nile.[63] +The reason why those expeditions sent up the Nile have failed in +discovering the N'yanza, is clearly attributable to the important +rapids which must exist in consequence of this great variation of +altitude between the north end of the N'yanza (which, let us suppose, +is on the equator) and the position, in 4° 44' north latitude, at +which the expeditions and missions arrived, the rise of the river +being 2000 feet in 300 miles. + +Indeed, by all accounts of the country lying between the N'yanza, as +seen by the Arabs in Uganda, and let us say Gondokoro, a mission +station on the Nile, in north latitude 4° 44', which was occupied by +two Austrian missionaries, Knoblecher and Dooyak, we find it is +somewhat analogous to what we observed between the low Mrima or +maritime plain in front of Zanzibar, and the high interior plateau, +divided from one another by the East Coast Range, which is of granitic +formation, the same in its nature exactly as those which they +describe, and intersected by rivers so rapid and boisterous that no +canoes can live upon them; as, for instance, we found the Kingani and +Lufiji rivers were when passing over the East Coast Range. There the +land dropped from 2000 or more feet to less than 300 in the short +distance of 100 miles. + +I will now proceed to give, first, the missionary account in 4° 44' +N., and then the Arab one in 2° N.--a debatable bit of ground, +extending over 2° 44', or 160 English miles. Talking of the +missionaries, "these two men," says Dr Petermann, "kept an annual +hygrometrical and meteorological register with great precision and +scientific regularity.[64] They had various instruments with them; +they fixed their station, Gondokoro, at 4° 44' north latitude by +astronomical observations, and determined the altitude of the Nile's +bed to be only 1605 feet above the sea, by numerous good barometrical +observations.... Gondokoro is surrounded on three sides by small +granitic hills, ranging about 2000 feet high, which are intersected by +the Nile coming from the south, as the king of the Bari country says, +from 200 to 300 miles;" which is equivalent to saying from the +N'yanza, as it lies exactly on the place he directs us to. + +As the Arabs do not keep thermometers, scientific instruments, or +properly distributed months and seasons, I must say for them that from +2° to 6° south latitude we found the mean temperature in the hottest +month, August, to be only 80°; that Uganda must be quite 4000 feet +above the sea, to be higher than the lake which it borders; that the +rainy season is during our winter months, but most so in the spring; +and that the rivers, as we see by the Malagarazi, increase more after +than before that date; that as the movement of the rains tends from +the southward to the northward, advancing with the sun, the same +influence that swells the Malagarazi would also affect the Uganda +rivers, as they rise merely on opposite sides of the axis of the same +mountains. The Arabs say, as we also have found it, "that thunder +accompanies nearly all the storms, and the lightning there is +excessive, and so destructive that the King of Uganda expresses the +greatest dread of it--indeed his own palace has been often destroyed +by lightning. The Kitangulé and Katonga rivers are affected by the +rainy season in the same proportion as the Malagarazi, and flow +north-easterly towards the lake.[65] There the Kivira (island) river +(Nile) of which they bring information, flows somewhere to the +northward, and is not a slow sluggish stream like the other two, but +is rapid and boisterous, showing that the country drops to the +northward." Now here, in 3° north latitude, where this river is said +to flow with such great rapidity, I think will be found the southern +base-line of those small hills, 2000 feet high, lying to the south of +Gondokoro, as the missionaries describe them; though these hills, to +any one looking at them from the northern side, where the land is low, +might appear a barrier to the waters of the lake lying beyond them. +This idea would not occur to any one standing on the southern side, +where the land is nearly, if not quite, as high as these hills +themselves. Indeed, from the levels given, the two countries about +Kibuga[66] (Palace of Uganda) and Gondokoro may be described as two +landings, with the fall between them representing a staircase formed +by the hills in question. The country in latitudes 2° and 5° north is +therefore terraced like a hanging garden.[67] + +The N'yanza, as we now see, is a large expansive sheet of water, flush +with the basial surface of the country, and lies between the Mountains +of the Moon (on its western side), having, according to Dr Krapf, +snowy Kænia on its eastern flank. Krapf tells us of a large river +flowing down from the western side of this snowy peak, and trending +away to the north-west in a direction, as will be seen by the map, +leading right into my lake. Now, returning again to the western side, +we find that the N'yanza is plentifully supplied by those streams +coming from the Lunæ Montes, of which the Arabs, one and all, give +such consistent and concise accounts; and the flowings of which, being +north-easterly, must, in course of time and distance, commingle with +those north-westerly off-flowings, before mentioned, of Mount Kænia. +My impression is, after hearing everybody's story on the matter, that +these streams enter at opposite sides of the lake, on the northern +side of the equator, and are consequently very considerable feeders to +it. To help at once in the argument that the N'yanza exists as a large +sheet of water to the north of the equator, I will anticipate a story +recorded in my diary, by adverting to it before its order of +succession. On the return to Unyanyembé, a native of Msalala told me +that he had once travelled up the western shore of the N'yanza to the +district of Kitara, or Uddu-Uganda, where, he says, coffee grows, and +which place, by fair computation of the distances given as their +travelling rates, I believe to be in about 1° north lat. To the east +of this land, at no great distance from the shore, he described the +island of Kitiri as occupied by a tribe called Watiri, who also grow +coffee; and there the sea was of such great extent, and when winds +blew was so boisterous, that the canoes, although as large as the +Tanganyika ones (which he had also seen), did not trust themselves +upon it. + +The lake has the credit of being very deep, which I cannot believe. It +certainly presents the appearance of the temporary deposit of a vast +flood overspreading a large flat surface, rather than the usual +characteristics of a lake or inland sea lying in a deep hollow, or +shut in, like the Tanganyika, by mountains.[68] The islands about it +are low hill-tops, standing out like paps on the soft placid bosom of +the waters, and are precisely similar to those amongst which I have +been travelling; indeed, any part of the country inundated to the same +extent would wear the same aspect. + +Its water appears, perhaps owing to the disturbing influence of the +wind, of a dirty-white colour, but it is very good and sweet, though +not so pleasant to my taste as the very clear Tanganyika water. The +natives, however, who have wonderfully keen palates for detecting the +relative distinctions in such matters, differ from me, and affirm that +all the inhabitants prefer it to any other, and consequently never dig +wells on the margin of the lake; whereas the Tanganyika water is +invariably shunned, nobody ever drinking it unless from necessity; not +so much because they consider it to be unwholesome, as because it does +not quench or satisfy the thirst so well as spring-water. Whether this +peculiarity in the qualities of the waters is to be attributed to the +N'yanza lying on a foundation chiefly composed of iron, or whether the +one lake is drained by a river, whilst the other is not, I must leave +for other and superior talents to decide. + +Fish and crocodiles are said to be very abundant in the lake; but with +all my endeavours to obtain some specimens, I have succeeded in seeing +only two sorts--one similar to those taken at Ujiji, of a perch-like +form, and another very small, resembling our common minnow, but not +found in the Ujiji market. The quantity of mosquitoes on the borders +of the lake is perfectly marvellous; the grass, bushes, and everything +growing there, are literally covered with them. As I walked along its +shores, disturbing the vegetation, they rose in clouds, and kept +tapping, in dozens at a time, against my hands and face, in the most +disagreeable manner. Unlike the Indian mosquito, they are of a light +dun-brown colour. The Muanza dogs are the largest that I have yet seen +in Africa, and still are not more than twenty inches high; but Mahaya +says the Ukéréwé dog is a fine animal, and quite different from any on +the mainland. There are very few canoes about here, and those are of +miserable construction, and only fitted for the purpose they turn them +to--catching fish close to the shore. The paddle the fishermen use is +a sort of mongrel between a spade and a shovel. The fact of there +being no boats of any size here, must be attributed to the want of +material for constructing them. On the route from Kazé there are no +trees of any girth, save the calabash, the wood of which is too soft +for boat-building. I hear that the island of Ukéréwé has two sultans +besides Machunda, and that it is very fertile and populous. Mahaya +says, "All the tribes, from the Wasukuma (or Northern Wanyamuézi, +Sukuma meaning the north), along the south and east of the lake, are +so savage and inhospitable to travellers, that it would be impossible +to go amongst them unless accompanied by a large and expensive +escort." + +6th.--As no further information about the lake could be gained, I bade +Mahaya and the Sheikh adieu, leaving as a token of recollection one +shukka merikani for the former, one dhoti kiniki for his wife, and a +fundo of beads for the poor Arab, and retraced my steps by a double +march back to Ukumbi. Whilst passing alongside the archipelago, I shot +two geese and a crested crane. What a pity it seemed I could not pluck +the fruit almost within my grasp! Had I had but a little more time, +and a few loads of beads, I could with ease have crossed the Line, and +settled every question which we had come all this distance to +ascertain. Indeed, to perform that work, nobody could have started +under more advantageous circumstances than were then within my +power--all hands being in first-rate condition and health, and all in +the right temper for it. But now a new and expensive expedition must +be formed, for the capabilities of the country on the eastern flank of +the Mountains of the Moon, and along the western shores of the +N'yanza, are so notoriously great that it is worthy of serious +attention. My reluctance to return may be easier imagined than +described. I felt as much tantalised as the unhappy Tantalus must have +been when unsuccessful in his bobbings for cherries in the +cherry-orchard, and as much grieved as any mother would be at losing +her first-born, and resolved and planned forthwith to do everything +that lay in my power to visit the lake again. + +7th.--We made a march of fourteen miles, passing our second station in +Urima by two miles, partly to avoid the chief of that village, a +testy, rude, and disagreeable man, who, on the last occasion, +inhospitably tried to turn us out of a hut in his village, because we +would not submit to his impudent demand of a cloth for the +accommodation--a proceeding quite at variance with anything we had met +in our former receptions; and we resisted the imposition with a +pertinacity equal to his own. Besides this, by coming on the little +extra distance, we arrived at the best and cheapest place for +purchasing cows and jembies. + +8th.--Halt. I purchased two jembies for one shukka merikani, but could +not come to any terms with these grasping savages about their cows, +although their country teems with them, and they are sold at +wonderfully cheap prices to ordinary traders. They would not sell to +me unless I gave double value for them. The fauna of this country is +most disappointing. Nearly all the animals that exist here are also to +be found in the south of Africa, where they range in far greater +numbers. But then we must remember that a caravan route usually takes +the more fertile and populous tracks, and that many animals might be +found in the recesses of the forests not far off, although there are +so few on the line. The elephants are finer here than in any part of +the world, and have been known to carry tusks exceeding 500 lb. the +pair in weight. The principal wild animals besides these are the lion, +leopard, hyena, fox, pig, Cape buffalo, gnu, kudu, hartebeest, pallah, +steinboc, and the little madoka, or Saltiana gazelle. The giraffe, +zebra, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus are all common. The game-birds are +the bustard, florikan, guinea-fowl, partridge, quail, snipe, various +geese and ducks, and a very dark-coloured rock-pigeon or sand-grouse. +The birds in general have very tame plumage, and are much more scarce, +generally speaking, than one finds in most other countries. + +The traveller on entering these agricultural districts meets with a +treatment quite opposite to what he does from the pastoral tribes, +such, for instance, as the Somali, Gallas, Masai, &c. &c. Here they at +once hail his advent as a matter of good omen, or the precursor of +good fortune, and allow him to do and see whatever he likes. They +desire his settling amongst them, appreciate the benefits of commerce +and civilisation, and are not suspicious, like the plundering +pastorals, of every one coming with evil intentions towards them. The +Somali, about as bad a lot as any amongst the rovers, will not admit a +stranger into their country, unless accompanied by one of their tribe, +who becomes answerable for the traveller's actions, and even with this +passport he is watched with the eyes of Argus. Every strange act +committed by him, no matter how simple, absurd, or trifling, is at +once debated about in council, and always ends to Viator's +disadvantage. + +They add to everything they see or hear, by conjuring up the most +ridiculous phantoms; and the more ridiculous they are, the more firmly +do they at last believe in them themselves. The worse their grounds +are, the more jealously do they guard against anybody's seeing them; +and woe betide any one who should frequent any particular spot too +often: he is at once set down as designing a plot against it, to +fortify the place and take it from them; this idea is their greatest +bugbear. Among that tribe blood shed by any means--by the stealthy +knife or in fair fight--is deemed meritorious and an act of heroism. +No one is ever sure of his life unless he has force to carry him +through, or can rely on the chief of the clan as his pillar of safety. +This latter plan is probably the safer one, for, as the old adage +goes, "There is honour amongst thieves;" so with these savages it is a +matter of importance to their honour and dignity, according to their +quaint notions of rectitude, to protect their trust to their utmost; +whereas, on the contrary, were that trust not reposed in them, they +would feel justified in taking any liberties, or act in opposition to +any of those general laws which guide the conduct of civilised men. + +I would not, however, desire the African agricultural people to be +considered models of perfection. Individually, or in small bodies, the +mass of them are very far from being so, for they would commit any +excesses without the slightest feelings of compunction. The fear of +retribution alone keeps their hands from blood and plunder. The chiefs +and principal men, if they have no higher motives, keep their +different tribes in order, and do not molest travellers without good +cause, or from provocation, as they know that protecting the traveller +is the only way in which they can keep up that connection with the +commerce of the coast which they all so much covet. It may be worthy +of remark that I have always found the lighter-coloured savages more +boisterous and warlike than those of a dingier hue. The ruddy black, +fleshy-looking Wazaramo and Wagogo are much lighter in colour than any +of the other tribes, and certainly have a far superior, more manly and +warlike independent spirit and bearing than any of the others.[69] + + +9th.--We started early, and crossed the Jordans by a ferry at a place +lower down than on the first occasion. After leaving the low land, we +rose up to the higher ground where we had first gained a sight of the +N'yanza's waters, and now took our final view. To myself the parting +with it was a matter of great regret; but I believe I was the sole +sufferer from disappointment in being obliged to go south, when all my +thoughts or cares were in the north. But this feeling was much +alleviated by seeing the happy, contented, family state to which the +whole caravan had at length arrived. Going home has the same +attraction with these black people that it has with schoolboys. The +Beluches have long since behaved to admiration, and now even the lazy +pagazis, since completing their traffic, have lighter hearts, and +begin to feel a freshness dawn upon them. We soon entered our old +village in Néra, having completed fourteen miles. Here the chief, who +had travelled up the western shore of the N'yanza, assured me that +canoes like the Tanganyika ones were used by the natives, and were +made from large trees which grew on the mountain-slopes overlooking +the lake. The disagreeable-mannered Wasukuma (or north men) are now +left behind; their mode of articulation is most painful to the +civilised ear. Each word uttered seems to begin with a T'hu or T'ha, +producing a sound like that of spitting sharply at an offensive +object. Any stranger with his back turned would fancy himself insulted +by the speaker. + +The country throughout is well stocked with cattle, and bullocks are +cheap, two dhotis, equal to four dollars, being the price of a +moderate-sized animal; but milch cows are dear, in consequence of the +great demand for sour curd. Sheep and goats sell according to their +skills; a large one is preferred to a shukka, equal to one dollar; but +a dhoti, the proper price of three small goats, is scarcely the value +of the largest. The bane of this people is their covetousness. They do +not object to sell cheaply to a poor man, yet they hang back at the +sight of much cloth, and price their stock, not at its value, but at +what they want, or think they may get, obstinately abiding by their +decision to the last. Cattle are driven from this to Unyanyembé, and +consequently must be cheaper here than in those more southern parts: +still I could not purchase them so well; indeed, a traveller can never +expect to buy at a reasonable rate in a land where every man is a +sultan, and his hut a castle--where no laws regulate the market, and +every proprietor is grasping. Bombay suggests that to buy cattle cheap +from the Washenzi (savages), you should give them plenty of time to +consider the advantages and disadvantages of the transaction, for +their minds are not capable of arriving at a rapid conclusion; but +friend Bombay forgets that, whilst waiting to beat them down a cloth +or two, four or five are consumed by the caravan in waiting. The +women, especially the younger ones, are miserably clad here; a fringe, +like the thong kilt of the Nubian maidens, made of aloe fibres, with a +single white bead at the end of each string, is the general wear; it +is suspended by a strap tied round the waist. Hanging over the belly, +it covers about a foot of _ground_ in breadth, but not more than seven +or eight inches in depth. The fibrous strings, white by nature, soon +turn black, and look like India-rubber, the effect of butter first +rubbed in, and then of constant friction on the grimy person. The +dangling, waving motion of this strange appendage, as the wearer moves +along, reminded me of the common fly-puzzler sometimes attached to +horses' head-stalls. Amongst a crowd of fifty or sixty people, not +more than two or three have a cloth of native make, and rarely one of +foreign manufacture is to be seen. Some women have stood before me in +the very primitive costume of a bunch of leafy twigs. + +But far worse clad than these are the Wataturu, a tribe living to the +eastward, and the Watuta, living to the westward of this place, +besides the Warori and others. + +Of the first mentioned, the Wataturu, a people living a little to the +northward of Turu, I have only seen a few males, and they were stark +naked. The Wataturu despise any one who is weak enough to cover his +person, considering that he does so only to conceal his natural +imperfections. Their women are currently reported to be as naked as +the men, but I did not see any of them, and cannot vouch for it. + +The Watuta, on the other hand, require a special notice, because they +are the naked Zulu Kafirs whose peculiar costume, if such it may be +called, has caused so much risibility at the Cape of Good Hope. In the +very first instance, I am inclined to believe these Watuta were +Cushites, who migrated from the shores of the Caspian Sea, across +Arabia and the Red Sea, to Abyssinia. There, mixing with the negro +aborigines, they became in process of time woolly-headed. Later still, +they broke off from the parent stock, lost their original name, and +took instead that of Masai. By some unaccountable means they then +separated from the Masai and migrated south to the Cape of Good Hope; +here they appear to have changed their name to Kafir, from which a +branch of the tribe were called Zulu Kafirs. These Zulu Kafirs +becoming restless, after a time migrated again to the west of the +Nyassa, and there settled with their flocks and herds, devastating the +Babisa's country. From thence again they have been migrating in +detachments north, up the east side of the Tanganyika Lake. Whilst +doing so they came at Fipa on the Wapoka, another offshoot of the +Cushite-Abyssinians, who, crossing the Nile, took the name of Wahuma, +and have spread as far down south as Fipa, where their name, in course +of time, had changed from Wahuma to Watusi, and from Watusi to Wapoka, +in the same way as the Watuta had changed their name from Masai to +Kafir and Zulu Kafir, and again from that to Watuta. Now, these Watuta +are still pushing northwards, fighting, plundering, and conquering +wherever they go. They have knocked the Watusi out of the southern +hills of Urundi, overlooking the Tanganyika Lake, and have spread to +the southern limits of Usui, devastating the countries _en route_, in +the same way as they have done on the west of the Nyassa. Strange as +it may appear, neither these Watuta nor the Watusi know anything of +their common origin. They are very different in physical form and +appearance from one another; for, whilst the Watusi _alias_ Wahuma +retain their Abyssinian type, the Watuta _alias_ Zulu Kafirs are much +more like the Somali and Masai--thus, I think, showing that the Wahuma +have detached themselves at a later period than the Kafirs from the +parent stock. The Wahuma are certainly the finer-looking people of the +two, but the Watuta are rougher in nature. Both, however, are strictly +pastoral, though the Wahuma in the equatorial regions affect to +maintain large kingdoms.[70] + +It is to be hoped that India, when once aroused to the advantages of +dealing more extensively with this country, will never lose sight of +the fact that the negro as well as more enlightened man can detect the +difference between good and poor stuffs; that the nation which makes +the strongest stuffs will be considered to be the honestest; and the +more lasting the material, the more readily it will be taken. In +sending cloths great care should be taken that every piece be of the +same length, and always evenly divisible by cubits, or eighteen-inch +measure. If the Lion and the Unicorn, figuring on the outside of each +piece--Thân or Gora, as it is called respectively in India and +Africa--were security of its being English manufacture, and, by being +so, sure to be of uniform quality and size, much respect would be +given to it; and "Shukka Anglési" (English shukka) would soon take the +place of "merikani," which are by different mills, and of different +lengths and qualities. The only reason for the negro taking a large +goat-skin in preference to a shukka, is because it is stronger. + +On coming here I had the misfortune to make my donkey over to Bombay, +to save his foot, which had been galled by too constant walking; for +though unable to ride, he was too proud to say nay, and was therefore +placed upon it, carrying the gun consigned to his charge, Captain +Burton's smooth elephant. Now Bombay rode much after the fashion of a +sailor, trusting more to balance and good-luck than skill in sticking +on; and the consequence was, that with the first side-step the donkey +made he came to the ground an awkward cropper, falling heavily on the +small of the stock of the gun, which snapped short off, the piece +being thus irredeemably damaged. At first I rated him heartily, for +this was the second of Captain Burton's guns which had been damaged in +my hands. I then told Bombay of the circumstances which led to the +accident to the first gun. It occurred whilst hippopotamus-shooting on +the coast rivers opposite to Zanzibar; and as Bombay had a little +experience in that way to relate, we had long yarns about such sport, +which served to improve our Hindustani (the language I always +conversed with him in), as well as to divert our useless yet +unavoidable feelings of regret at the accident, and also killed time. + +One day, when on the Tanga river near its mouth, I was busily engaged +teasing hippopotami, with one man, a polesman, in a very small canoe, +just capable of carrying what it had on board, myself in the bows, +with my 4-bore Blissett in hand, while Captain Burton's monster +elephant-gun, a double-barrelled 6-bore, weighing, I believe, 20 lb., +was lying at the stern in the poler's charge. + +The river was a tidal one, of no great breadth, and the margin was +covered by a thick growth of the mangrove shrub, on the boughs of +which the sharp-edged shells of the tree-oyster stuck in strings and +clusters in great numbers. The best time to catch the hippopotamus is +when the tide is out and the banks are bared, for then you find him +wallowing in the mud or basking on the sand (when there is any), like +jungle-hog, and with a well-directed shot on the ear, or anywhere +about the brain-pan, you have a good chance of securing him. I +especially mention this, as it is quite labour in vain, in places +where the water is deep, to fire at these animals, unless you can kill +them outright, as they dive under like a water-rat, and are never seen +more if they are only wounded. I, like most raw hands at this +particular kind of sport, began in a very different way from what, I +think, a more experienced hunter would have done, by chasing them in +the water, and firing at their heads whenever they appeared above it; +and even fired slugs about their eyes and ears, in hopes that I might +irritate them sufficiently to make them charge the canoe. This teasing +proved pretty successful; for when the tide had run clean out, only +pools and reaches, connecting by shallow runnels the volume of the +natural stream, remained for the hippopotami to sport about in; and my +manoeuvring in these confined places became so irritating, that a +large female came rapidly under water to the stern of the canoe, and +gave it such a sudden and violent cant with her head or withers, that +that end of the vessel shot up in the air, and sent me sprawling on my +back, with my legs forced up by the seat--a bar of wood--at right +angles to my body; whilst the poler and the big double gun were driven +like a pair of shuttlecocks, flying right and left of the canoe high +up into the air. + +The gun on one side fell plump into the middle of the stream, and the +man on the other dropped, _post_ first, on to the hippopotamus's back, +but rapidly scrambled back into the canoe. The hippopotamus then, as +is these animals' wont, renewed the attack, but I was ready to receive +her, and as she came rolling porpoise-fashion close by the side of the +canoe, I fired a quarter of a pound of lead, backed by four drams of +powder, into the middle of her back, the muzzle of the rifle almost +touching it. She then sank, and I never saw her more; but the gun +(after lying on the sandy bottom the whole of that night), I managed, +by the aid of several divers, to find on the following day. + +Bombay says that on one occasion, when coming down the Pangani river +in a canoe with several other men, an irritated hippopotamus charged +and upset it, upon which he and all his friends dived under water and +then swam to the shore, leaving the hippopotamus to vent his rage on +the shell of the canoe, which he most spitefully stuck to. This, he +assures me, is the proper way to dodge a hippopotamus, and escape the +danger of a bite from him. On another occasion, when I was +hippopotamus-hunting in one of the boats of the Artemise, in an inlet +of the sea close to Kaolé, I chased a herd of hippopotami in deep +water, till one of the lot, coming as usual from below, drove a tusk +clean through the boat with such force that he partially hoisted her +out of the water; but the brute did no further damage, for I kept him +off by making the men splash their oars rapidly whilst making for the +shore, where we just arrived in time to save ourselves from sinking. + +The day previous to this adventure, I bagged a fine young male +hippopotamus close to this spot, by hitting him on the ear when +standing in shallow water. The ivory of these animals is more prized +than that of the elephant, and, in consequence of the superior +hardness of its enamel, it is in great requisition with the dentist. + +Hippopotami are found all down this coast in very great numbers, but +especially in the deltas of the rivers, or up the streams themselves, +and afford an easy, remunerative, and pleasant sport to any man who is +not addicted to much hard exercise. The Panjani, Kingani, and Lufiji +rivers are full of them, as well as all the other minor feeders to the +sea along that coast. If these animals happen to be killed in places +so far distant from the sea that the tidal waters have not power to +draw them out to the ocean depths, their bodies will be found, when +inflated with gas, after decomposition, floating on the surface of the +water a day or two afterwards, and can easily be secured by the +sportsman, if he be vigilant enough to take them before the hungry +watchful savages come and secure them, to appease their rapacious +appetites. Mussulmans will even eat these amphibious creatures without +cutting their throats, looking on them as cold-blooded animals, +created in the same manner as fish. + +The following day, 10th August, we made a halt to try our fortune +again in purchasing cows, but failed as usual; so the following +morning we decamped at dawn, and marched thirteen miles to our +original station in Southern Néra. Here I purchased four goats for one +dhoti merikani, the best bargain I ever made. Thunder had rumbled, and +clouds overcast the skies for two days; and this day a delicious +cooling shower fell. The people said it was the little rains--_chota +barsât_, as we call it in India--expected yearly at this time, as the +precursor of the later great falls. + +As Seedi Bombay was very inquisitive to-day about the origin of +Seedis, his caste, and as he wished to know by what law of nature I +accounted for their cruel destiny in being the slaves of all men, I +related the history of Noah, and the dispersion of his sons on the +face of the globe; and showed him that he was of the black or Hametic +stock, and by the common order of nature, they, being the weakest, had +to succumb to their superiors, the Japhetic and Semitic branches of +the family; and, moreover, they were likely to remain so subject until +such time as the state of man, soaring far above the beast, would be +imbued by a better sense of sympathy and good feeling, and would then +leave all such ungenerous appliances of superior force to the brute. +Bombay, on being made a Mussulman by his Arab master, had received a +very different explanation of the degradation of his race, and +narrated his story as follows:--"The Arabs say that Mahomet, whilst on +the road from Medina to Mecca, one day happened to see a widow woman +sitting before her house, and asked her how she and her three sons +were; upon which the troubled woman (for she had concealed one of her +sons on seeing Mahomet's approach, lest he, as is customary when there +are three males of a family present, should seize one and make him do +porterage), said, 'Very well; but I've only two sons.' Mahomet, +hearing this, said to the woman, reprovingly, 'Woman, thou liest; thou +hast three sons and for trying to conceal this matter from me, +henceforth remember that this is my decree--that the two boys which +thou hast not concealed shall multiply and prosper, have fair faces, +become wealthy, and reign lords over all the earth; but the progeny of +your third son shall, in consequence of your having concealed him, +produce Seedis as black as darkness, who will be sold in the market +like cattle, and remain in perpetual servitude to the descendants of +the other two." + +12th.--We returned to our former quarters, the village of Salawé; but +I did not enjoy such repose as on the former visit, for the people +were in their cups, and, _nolens volens_, persisted in entering my +hut. Sometimes I rose and drove them out, at other times I turned +round and feigned to sleep; but these manoeuvres were of no avail; +still they poured in, and one old man, more impudent than the rest, +understanding the trick, seized my pillow by the end, and, tugging at +it as a dog pulls at a quarter of horse, roused me with loud impatient +"Whu-hu" and "Hi, hi's," until at last, out of patience, I sent my +boots whirling at his head. This cleared the room, but only for a +moment: the boisterous, impudent crowd, true to savage nature, +enjoying the annoyance they had occasioned, returned exultingly, with +shouts and grins, in double numbers. + +The Beluches then interfered, and, in their zeal to keep order, +irritated some drunkards, who at once became pugnacious. On seeing the +excited state of these drunkards, bawling and stepping about in long, +sudden, and rapid strides, with brandished spears and agitated bows, +endeavouring to exasperate the rest of the mob against us, I rose, and +going out before them, said that I came forth for their satisfaction, +and that they might now stand and gaze as long as they liked; but I +hoped, as soon as their legs and arms were tired, that they would +depart in peace. The words acted with magical effect upon them; they +urgently requested me to retire again, but finding that I did not, +they took themselves homewards. The sultan arrived late in the +evening, he said from a long distance, on purpose to see me, and was +very importunate in his desire for my halting a day. As I had paid all +the other sultans the compliment of a visit, he should consider it a +slight if I did not stay a little while with him. On the occasion of +my passing northwards he had been absent, and could not entertain me; +so I must now accept a bullock, which he would send for on the morrow. +A long debate ensued, which ended by my giving him one shukka merikani +and one dhoti kiniki. + +13th.--Travelling through the Nindo Wilderness to-day, the Beluches +were very much excited at the quantity of game they saw; but though +they tried their best, they did not succeed in killing any. Troops of +zebras, and giraffe, some varieties of antelopes roaming about in +large herds, a buffalo and one ostrich, were the chief visible tenants +of this wild. We saw the fresh prints of a very large elephant; and I +have no doubt that by any sportsman, if he had but leisure to learn +their haunts and watering-places, a good account might be made of +them--but one and all are wild in the extreme. Ostrich-feathers bedeck +the frizzly polls of many men and women, but no one has ever heard of +any having been killed or snared by huntsmen. These ornaments, as well +as the many skulls and skins seen in every house, are said to be found +lying about in places where the animals have died a natural death. + +14th.--We left, as we did yesterday, an hour before dawn, and crossed +the second broad wilderness to Kahama. At 9 A.M. I called the usual +halt to eat my rural breakfast of cold fowl, sour curd, cakes, and +eggs, in a village on the south border of the desert. As the houses +were devoid of all household commodities, I asked the people stopping +there to tend the fields to explain the reason, and learnt that their +fear of the plundering Wamanda was such that they only came there +during the day to look after their crops, and at night they retired to +some distant place of safe retreat in the jungles, where they stored +all their goods and chattels. These people, in time of war, thus +putting everything useful out of the way of the forager's prying eyes, +it is very seldom that blood is spilt. This country being full of +sweet springs, accounts for the denseness of the population and +numberless herds of cattle. To look upon its resources, one is struck +with amazement at the waste of the world: if instead of this district +being in the hands of its present owners, it were ruled by a few +scores of Europeans, what an entire revolution a few years would bring +forth! An extensive market would be opened to the world, the present +nakedness of the land would have a covering, and industry and commerce +would clear the way for civilisation and enlightenment. + +At present the natural inert laziness and ignorance of the people is +their own and their country's bane. They are all totally unaware of +the treasures at their feet. This dreadful sloth is in part engendered +by the excessive bounty of the land in its natural state; by the +little want of clothes or other luxuries, in consequence of the +congenial temperature; and from the people having no higher object in +view than the first-coming meal, and no other stimulus to exertion by +example or anything else. The great cause, however, is their want of a +strong protecting government to preserve peace, without which nothing +can prosper. Thus they are, both morally and physically, little better +than brutes, and as yet there is no better prospect in store for them. +The climate is a paradox quite beyond my solving, unless the numerous +and severe maladies that we all suffered from, during the first eight +months of our explorations, may be attributed to too much exposure; +and even that does not solve the problem. To all appearance, the whole +of the country to the westward of the East Coast Range is high, dry, +and healthy. No unpleasant exhalations pollute the atmosphere; there +are no extremes of temperature; the air is neither too hot nor too +cold; and a little care in hutting, dressing, and diet should obviate +any evil effects of exposure. Springs of good water, and wholesome +food, are everywhere obtainable. Flies and mosquitoes, the great +Indian pests, are scarcely known, and the tsetse of the south nowhere +exists. During the journey northwards, I always littered down in a hut +at night; but the ticks bit me so hard, and the anxiety to catch stars +between the constantly-fleeting clouds, to take their altitudes, +perhaps preying on my mind, kept me many whole nights consecutively +without obtaining even as much as one wink of sleep--a state of things +I had once before suffered from. But there really was no assignable +cause for this, unless weakness or feverishness could create +wakefulness, and then it would seem surprising that even during the +day, or after much fatigue, I rarely felt the slightest inclination to +close my eyes. Now, on returning, without anything to excite the mind, +and having always pitched the tent at night, I enjoyed cooler nights +and perfect rest. Of diseases, the more common are remittent and +intermittent fevers, and these are the most important ones to avoid, +since they bring so many bad effects after them. In the first place, +they attack the brain, and often deprive one of his senses. Then there +is no rallying from the weakness they produce. A little attack, which +one would only laugh at in India, prostrates you for a week or more, +and this weakness brings on other disorders: cramp, for instance, of +the most painful kind, very often follows. When lying in bed, my toes +have sometimes curled round and looked me in the face; at other times, +when I have put my hand behind my back, it has stuck there until, with +the other hand, I have seized the contracted muscles, and warmed the +part affected with the natural heat, till, relaxation taking place, I +was able to get it back. Another nasty thing is the blindness which I +have already described, and which attacked another of our party in a +manner exactly similar to my complaint. He, like myself, left Africa +with a misty veil floating before his eyes. + +There are other disorders, but so foreign to my experience that I dare +not venture to describe them. For as doctors disagree about the +probable causes of their appearance, I most likely would only mislead +if I tried to account for them. However, I think I may safely say they +emanate from general debility, produced by the much-to-be-dreaded +fevers. + +15th.--The caravan broke ground at 4 P.M., and, completing the +principal zigzag made to avoid wars, arrived at Senagongo. Kanoni, +followed by a host of men, women, and children, advanced to meet the +caravan, all roaringly intoxicated with joy, and lavishing greetings +of welcome, with showers of "Yambo, Yambo Sanas" ("How are you?" and, +"Very well, I hope?") which we as warmly returned: the shakings of +hands were past number, and the Beluches and Bombay could scarcely be +seen under the hot embraces and sharp kisses of admiring damsels. When +recovered from the shock of this great outburst of feelings, Kanoni +begged me to fire a few shots, to apprise his enemies, and especially +his big brother, of the honours paid him. No time was lost: I no +sooner gave the order than bang, bang went every one of the escort's +guns, and the excited crowd, immediately seeing a supposed antagonist +in the foreground, rushed madly after him. Then spears were +flourished, thrust, stabbed, and withdrawn; arrows were pointed, huge +shields protected black bodies, sticks and stones flew like hail; then +there was a slight retreat, then another advance--dancing to one side, +then to the other--jumping and prancing on the same ground, with +bodies swaying here and bodies swaying there, until at length the +whole foreground was a mass of moving objects, all springs and hops, +like an army of frogs, after the first burst of rain, advancing to a +pond: then again the guns went off, giving a fresh impulse to the +exciting exercise. + +Their great principle in their warfare appears to be, that no one +should be still. At each report of the guns, fresh enemies were +discovered retreating, and the numbers of their slain were quite +surprising. These, as they dropped, were, with highly dramatic action, +severally and immediately trampled down and knelt upon, and hacked and +chopped repeatedly with knives, whilst the slayer continued showing +his savage wrath by worrying his supposed victim with all the angry +energy that dogs display when fighting. This triumphal entry over, +Kanoni led us into his boma, and treated us with sour curd. Then, at +my request, he assembled his principal men and greatest travellers to +debate upon the N'yanza. One old man, shrivelled by age, stated that +he had travelled up the western shores of the N'yanza two moons (sixty +days) consecutively, had passed beyond Karagué into a country where +coffee grows abundantly, and is called Muanyé. He described the shrub +as standing between two and three feet high, having the stem nearly +naked, but much branched above; it grows in large plantations, and +forms the principal article of food. The people do not boil and drink +it as we do, but eat the berry raw, with its husk on. The Arabs are +very fond of eating these berries raw, and have often given us some. +They bring them down from Uganda, where, for a pennyworth of beads, a +man can have his fill. + +When near these coffee plantations, he (our informer) visited an +island on the lake, called Kitiri, occupied by the Watiri, a naked lot +of beings, who subsist almost entirely on fish and coffee. The Watiri +go about in large canoes like the Tanganyika ones; but the +sea-travelling, he says, is very dangerous. In describing the +boisterous nature of the lake, he made a rumbling, gurgling noise in +his throat, which he increased and diversified by pulling and tapping +at the skin covering the apple, and by puffing and blowing with great +vehemence indicated extraordinary roughness of the elements. The sea +itself, he said, was boundless. Kanoni now told me that the Muingira +Nullah lies one day's journey N.N.W. of this, and drains the western +side of the Msalala district into the southern end of the N'yanza +creek. It is therefore evident that those extensive lays in the Nindo +and Salawé districts which we crossed extend down to this periodical +river, which accounts for there being so many wild animals there: +water being such an attractive object in these hot climes, all animals +group round it. Kanoni is a dark, square, heavy-built man, very fond +of imbibing pombé, and, like many tipplers, overflowing with +human-kindness, especially in his cups. He kept me up several hours +to-night, trying to induce me to accept a bullock, and to eat it in +his boma, in the same manner as I formerly did with his brother. He +was much distressed because I would not take the half of my +requirements in cattle from him, instead of devoting everything to his +brother Kurua; and not till I assured him I could not stay, but +instead would leave Bombay and some Beluches with cloth to purchase +some cows from his people, would he permit of my turning in to rest. +It is strange to see how very soon, when questioning these negroes +about anything relating to geography, their weak brains give way, and +they can answer no questions, or they become so evasive in their +replies, or so rambling, that you can make nothing out of them. It is +easily discernible at what time you should cease to ask any further +questions; for their heads then roll about like a ball upon a wire, +and their eyes glass over and look vacantly about as though vitality +had fled from their bodies altogether. Bombay, though, is a singular +exception to this rule; but then, by long practice, he has become a +great geographer, and delights in pointing out the different features +on my map to his envying neighbours. + +16th.--We came to Mgogua this morning, and were received by Kurua with +his usual kind affability. Our entrance to his boma was quiet and +unceremonious, for we came there quite unexpectedly--hardly giving him +time to prepare his musket and return our salute. Though we were +allowed a ready admission, a guinea-fowl I shot on the way was not. +The superstitious people forbade its entrance in full plumage, so it +was plucked before being brought inside the palisade. Kurua again +arranged a hut for my residence, and was as assiduous as ever in his +devotion to my comforts. All the elders of the district soon arrived, +and the usual debates commenced. Kurua chiefly trades with Karagué and +the northern kingdoms, but no one could add to the information I had +already obtained. One of his men stated that he had performed the +journey between Pangani on the east coast of Africa and the N'yanza +three times, in about two months each time. The distance was very +great for the little time it took him; but then he had to go for his +life the whole way, in consequence of the Masai, or Wahuma, as some +call them, being so inimical to strangers of any sort that he dare not +stop or talk anywhere on the way.[71] On leaving Pangani, he passed +through Usumbara, and entered on the country of the warring nomadic +race, the Masai; through their territories he travelled without +halting until he arrived at Usukuma, bordering on the lake. His fear +and speed were such that he did not recognise any other tribes or +countries besides those enumerated. + +Wishing to ascertain what number of men a populous country like this +could produce in case of an attack, and to gain some idea of savage +tactics, I proposed having a field-day. Kurua was delighted with the +idea, and began roaring and laughing about it with his usual +boisterous energy, to the great admiration of all the company. The +programme was as follows:--At 3 P.M. on the 17th, Kurua and his +warriors, all habited and drawn up in order of battle, were to occupy +the open space in front of the village, whilst my party of Beluches, +suddenly issuing from the village, would personate the enemy and +commence the attack. This came off at the appointed time, and +according to orders the forces were drawn up, and an engagement +ensued. The Beluches, rushing through the passages of the palisaded +village, suddenly burst upon the enemy, and fired and charged +successively; to which the Wamanda replied with equal vigour, +advancing with their frog-like leaps and bounds, dodging and +squatting, and springing and flying in the most wild and fantastic +manner; stabbing with their spears, protecting with their shields, +poising with bows and arrows pointed, and, mingling with the Beluches, +rushed about striking at and avoiding their guns and sabres. But all +was so similar to the Senagongo display that it does not require a +further description. The number of Kurua's forces disappointed me,--I +fear the intelligence of the coming parade did not reach far. The +dresses they wore did credit to their nation--some were decked with +cock-tail plumes, others wore bunches of my guinea-fowl's feathers in +their hair, whilst the chiefs and swells were attired in long red +baize mantles, consisting of a strip of cloth four feet by twenty +inches, at one end of which they cut a slit to admit the head, and +allowed the remainder to hang like a tail behind the back. Their +spears and bows are of a very ordinary kind, and the shield is +constructed something like the Kafir's, from a long strip of bull's +hide, which is painted over with ochreish earth. The fight over, all +hands rushed to the big drums in the cow-yard, and began beating them +as though they deserved a drubbing: this "sweet music" set everybody +on wires in a moment, and dancing never ceased till the sun went down, +and the cows usurped the revelling-place. Kurua now gave me a good +milch cow and calf, and promised two more of the same stamp. Those +which were brought by the common people were mere weeds, and dry +withal; they would not bring any good ones, I think, from fear of the +sultan's displeasure, lest I should prefer theirs to his, and deprive +him of the consequent profits. My chief reason for leaving Bombay +behind at Senagongo was, that business was never done when I was +present. For, besides staring at me all day, the people speculated how +to make the most of the chance offered by a rich man coming so +suddenly amongst them, and in consequence of this avariciousness +offered their cattle at such unreasonable prices as to preclude the +transaction of any business. + +18th.--Halt. My anticipations about the way of getting cows proved +correct, for Bombay brought twelve animals, which cost twenty-three +dhotis merikani and nine dhotis kiniki. Kurua now gave me another cow +and calf, and promised me two more when we arrived at the Ukumbi +district, as he did not like thinning one herd too much. I gave in +return for his present one barsati, five dhotis merikani and two +dhotis kiniki, with a promise of some gunpowder when we arrived at +Unyanyembé, for he was still bent on going there with me. Perhaps I +may consider my former obstruction in travel by Kurua a fortunate +circumstance; for though the eldest brother's residence lay directly +in my way, he might not possess so kind a nature as these two younger +brothers. + +Still I cannot see any good reason for the Kirangozi abandoning the +proper road: there certainly could be no more danger on the one side +than on the other, and all would have been equally glad to have had +me. It is true that I should have had to pass through his enemies' +hands to the other brother, and such a course usually excites +suspicion; but, by the usual custom of the country, Kurua should have +been treated by him only as a rebellious subject, for though all three +brothers were by different mothers, they are considered in line of +succession as ours are, when legitimately begotten by one mother. Some +time ago the eldest brother made a tool of an Arab trader, and with +that force on his side threatened these two brothers with immediate +destruction unless they resigned to him the entire government, and his +rights as senior. They admitted in his presence the justness of his +words and the folly of waging war, as such a measure could only bring +destruction on all alike; but on his departure they carried on their +rule as before. + +Bombay, talking figuratively with me, considers Kurua's stopping me +something like the use the monkey turned the cat's paw to; that is, he +stopped me simply to enhance his dignity, and gain the minds of the +people by leading them to suppose I saw justice in his actions. +Pombé-brewing, the chief occupation of the women, is as regular here +as the revolution of day and night, and the drinking of it just as +constant. It is prepared from bajéri and jowari (common millets): the +first step in the manufacture is malting in the same way as we do +barley; then they range a double street of sticks, usually in the +middle of the village, fill a number of pots with these grains mixed +in water, which they place in continuous line down the street of +sticks, and, setting fire to the whole at once, boil away until the +mess is fit to put aside for refining: this they then do, leaving the +pots standing three days, when fermentation takes place and the liquor +is fit to drink. It has the strength of labourers' beer, and both +sexes drink it alike. This fermented beverage resembles pig-wash, but +is said to be so palatable and satisfying--for the dregs and all are +drunk together--that many entirely subsist upon it. It is a great help +to the slave-masters, for without it they could get nobody to till +their ground; and when the slaves are required to turn the earth, the +master always sits in judgment with lordly dignity, generally under a +tree, watching to see who becomes entitled to a drop. + +In the evening my attention was attracted by small processions of men +and women, possessed of the Phépo, or demon, passing up the palisaded +streets, turning into the different courts, and paying each and every +house by turns a visit. The party advanced in slow funereal order, +with gently springing, mincing, jogging action, some holding up twigs, +others balancing open baskets of grain and tools on their heads, and +with their bodies, arms, and heads in unison with the whole +hobbling-bobling motion, kept in harmony to a low, mixed, droning, +humming chorus. As the sultan's door was approached, he likewise rose, +and, mingling in the crowd, performed the same evolutions. + +This kind of procession is common at Zanzibar: when any demoniacal +possessions take place among the blacks, it is by this means they cast +out devils. While on the subject of superstition, it may be worth +mentioning what long ago struck me as a singular instance of the +effect of supernatural impression on the uncultivated mind. During +boyhood my old nurse used to tell me with great earnestness of a +wonderful abortion shown about in the _fairs_ of England--a child born +with a pig's head; and as solemnly declared that this freak of nature +was attributable to the child's mother having taken fright at a pig +when in the interesting stage. The case I met in this country was +still more far-fetched, for the abortion was supposed to be producible +by indirect influence on the wife of the husband taking fright. On +once shooting a pregnant doe waterboc, I directed my native huntsman, +a married man, to dissect her womb and expose the embryo; but he +shrank from the work with horror, fearing lest the sight of the kid, +striking his mind, should have an influence on his wife's future +bearing, by metamorphosing her progeny to the likeness of a fawn. + +19th.--We bade Kurua adieu in the early morning, as a caravan of his +had just arrived from Karagué, and appointed to meet at the second +station, as marching with cattle would be slow work for him. Our march +lasted nine miles. The succeeding day we passed Ukumbi, and arrived at +Uyombo. On the way I was obliged to abandon one of the donkeys, as he +was completely used up. This made up our thirty-second loss in asses +since leaving Zanzibar. My load of beads was now out, and I had to +purchase rations with cloth--a necessary measure, but not economical, +for the cloth does not go half as far as beads of the same value. I +have remarked throughout this trip, that in all places where Arabs are +not much in the habit of trading, very few cloths find their way, and +in consequence the people take to wearing beads; and beads and baubles +are the only foreign things much in requisition. + +As remarks upon the relative value of commodities appear in various +places in this diary, I shall endeavour to give a general idea how it +is that I have found this plentiful country--quite beyond any other I +have seen in Africa in fertility and stock--so comparatively dear to +travel in. The Zanzibar route to Ujiji is now so constantly travelled +over by Arabs and Wasuahili, that the people, seeing the caravans +approach, erect temporary markets, or come hawking things for sale, +and the prices are adapted to the abilities of the purchasers; and at +such markets our Sheikh bought for us, and transacted all business. It +is also to be observed that where things are brought for sale, they +are invariably cheaper than in those places where one has to seek and +ask for them; for in the one instance a livelihood is the consequence +of trade, whereas in the other a chance purchaser is treated as a +windfall to be made the most of. Now this line is just the opposite to +the Ujiji one, and therefore dear; but added to those influences here, +the sultans, to increase their own importance whilst having me their +guest, invariably gave out that I was no peddling Arab or Msuahili, +but a great Mundéwa, or merchant prince of the Wazungu (white or wise +men), and the people took the hint to make me pay or starve. Then +again, not having the Sheikh with me, I had to pay for and settle +everything myself; and from having no variety of beads in this +exclusively bead country, there was great inconvenience. + +Kurua now joined us, and reported the abandoned donkey dead. A cool +shower of rain fell, to the satisfaction of every thirsty soul. It is +delightful to observe the freshness which even one partial shower +imparts to all animated nature after a long-continued drought. + + + + +Chapter V. + +General Character of the Country Traversed--The Huts--The +Geology--Productions--Land of Promise--Advice to Missionaries--Leave +Ulekampuri--Return of the Expedition--Register of Temperature--Wages +and Kit. + + +24th August.--During the last four days we have marched fifty-eight +miles, and are now at our old village in Ulékampuri. As we have now +traversed all the ground, I must try to give a short description, with +a few reflections on the general character of all we have seen or +heard, before concluding this diary. + +To give a faithful idea of a country, it is better that the object +selected for comparison should incline to the large and grander scale +than to the reverse, otherwise the reader is apt to form too low an +idea of it. And yet, though this is leaning to the smaller, I can +think of no better comparison for the surface of this high land than +the long sweeping waves of the Atlantic Ocean; and where the hills are +fewest, and in lines, they resemble small breakers curling on the tops +of the rollers, all irregularly arranged, as though disturbed by +different currents of wind. + +Where the hills are grouped, they remind me of a small chopping sea in +the Bristol Channel. That the hills are nowhere high, is proved by the +total absence of any rivers along this line, until the lake is +reached; and the passages between or over them are everywhere gradual +in their rise; so that in travelling through the country, no matter in +which direction, the hills seldom interfere with the line of march. +The flats and hollows are well peopled, and cattle and cultivation are +everywhere abundant. The stone, soil, and aspect of the tract is +uniform throughout. The stone is chiefly granite, the rugged rocks of +which lie like knobs of sugar over the surface of the little hills, +intermingled with sandstone in a highly ferruginous state; whilst the +soil is an accumulation of sand the same colour as the stone, a light +brownish grey, and appears as if it were formed of disintegrated +particles of the rocks worn off by time and weathering. Small trees +and brushwood cover all the outcropping hills; and palms on the +plains, though few and widely spread, prove that water is very near +the surface. Springs, too, are numerous, and generally distributed. +The mean level of the country between Unyanyembé and the lake is 3767 +feet; that of the lake itself, 3750. The tribes, as a rule, are well +disposed towards all strangers, and wish to extend their commerce. +Their social state rather represents a conservative than a radical +disposition; their government is a sort of semipatriarchal-feudal +arrangement; and, like a band of robbers, all hold by their different +chiefs from feeling the necessity of mutual support. Bordering the +south of the lake there are vast fields of iron; cotton is also +abundant, and every tropical plant or tree could grow; those that do +exist, even rice, vegetate in the utmost luxuriance. Cattle are very +abundant, and hides are found in every house. On the east of the lake +ivory is said to be very abundant and cheap; and on the west we hear +of many advantages which are especially worthy of our notice. The +Karagué hills overlooking the lake are high, cold, and healthy, and +have enormous droves of cattle, bearing horns of stupendous size; and +ivory, fine timber, and all the necessaries of life, are to be found +in great profusion there. Again, beyond the equator, of the kingdom of +Uganda we hear from everybody a rapturous account. That country +evidently swarms with people who cultivate coffee and all the common +grains, and have large flocks and herds, even greater than what I have +lately seen. Now if the N'yanza be really the Nile's fount, which I +sincerely believe to be the case, what an advantage this will be to +the English merchant on the Nile, and what a field is opened to the +world, if England does not neglect this discovery! + +But I must not expatiate too much on the merits and capabilities of +this part of inner Africa, lest I mislead any commercial inquirers; +and it is as well to say at present, that the people near the coast +are in such a state of helplessness and insecurity, caused by the +slave-hunts, that for many years, until commerce, by steady and +certain advance, shall in some degree overcome the existing apathy, +and excite the population to strive to better their position by +setting up strong constitutions to protect themselves and their +property, no one need expect to make a large fortune by dealing with +them. That commerce does make wonderful improvements on the barbarous +habits of the Africans, can now be seen in the Masai country, and the +countries extending north-westward from Mombas up through Kikuyu into +the interior, where the process has been going on during the last few +years. There even the roving wild pastorals, formerly untamable, are +now gradually becoming reduced to subjection; and they no doubt will +ere long have as strong a desire for cloths and other luxuries as any +other civilised beings, from the natural desire to equal in comfort +and dignity of appurtenances those whom they now must see constantly +passing through their country. Caravans are penetrating farther, and +going in greater numbers, every succeeding year, in those directions, +and Arab merchants say that those countries are everywhere healthy. +The best proof we have that the district is largely productive is the +fact that the caravans and competition increase on those lines more +and more every day. I would add, that in the meanwhile the staple +exports derived from the far interior of the continent will consist of +ivory, hides, and horns; whilst from the coast and its vicinity the +clove, the gum copal, some textile materials drawn from the banana, +aloe, and pine-apples, with oleaginous plants such as the ground-nut +and cocoa-nut, are the chief exportable products. The cotton plant +which grows here, judging from its size and difference from the plant +usually grown in India, I consider to be a tree cotton and a +perennial. It is this cotton which the natives weave into coarse +fabrics in their looms. Rice, although it is not indigenous to Africa, +I believe is certainly capable of being produced in great quantity and +of very superior quality; and this is also the case with sugar-cane +and tobacco, both of which are grown generally over the continent. +There is also a species of palm growing on the borders of the +Tanganyika Lake, which yields a concrete oil very much like, if not +the same as, the palm-oil of Western Africa; but this is limited in +quantity, and would never be of much value. Salt, which is found in +great quantity in pits near the Malagarazi river, and the iron I have +already spoken about, could only be of use to the country itself in +facilitating traffic, and in maturing its resources. + +These fertile regions have been hitherto unknown from the same cause +which Dr Livingstone has so ably explained in regard to the western +side of Africa--the jealousy of the shortsighted people who live on +the coast, who, to preserve a monopoly of one particular article +exclusively to themselves (ivory), have done their best to keep +everybody away from the interior. I say shortsighted; for it is +obvious that, were the resources of the country once fairly opened, +the people on the coast would double or triple their present incomes, +and Zanzibar would soon swell into a place of real importance. All +hands would then be employed, and luxury would take the place of +beggary. + +I must now (after expressing a fervent hope that England especially, +and the civilised world generally, will not neglect this land of +promise) call attention to the marked fact, that the missionaries, +residing for many years at Zanzibar, are the prime and first promoters +of this discovery. They have been for years past doing their utmost, +with simple sincerity, to Christianise this negro land, and promote a +civilised and happy state of existence among these benighted beings. +During their sojourn among these blackamoors, they heard from Arabs +and others of many of the facts I have now stated, but only in a +confused way, such as might be expected in information derived from an +uneducated people. Amongst the more important disclosures made by the +Arabs was the constant reference to a large lake or inland sea, which +their caravans were in the habit of visiting. It was a singular thing +that, at whatever part of the coast the missionaries arrived, on +inquiring from the travelling merchants where they went to, they one +and all stated to an inland sea, the dimensions of which were such +that nobody could give any estimate of its length or width. The +directions they travelled in pointed north-west, west, and south-west, +and their accounts seemed to indicate a single sheet of water, +extending from the Line down to 14° south latitude--a sea of about 840 +miles in length, with an assumed breadth of two to three hundred +miles. In fact, from this great combination of testimony that water +lay generally in a continuous line from the equator up to 14° south +latitude, and from not being able to gain information of there being +any land separations to the said water, they very naturally, and I may +add fortunately, put upon the map that monster slug of an inland sea +which so much attracted the attention of the geographical world in +1855-56, and caused our being sent out to Africa. The good that may +result from this little, yet happy accident, will, I trust, prove +proportionately as large and fruitful as the produce from the +symbolical grain of mustard-seed; and nobody knows or believes in this +more fully than one of the chief promoters of this exciting +investigation, Mr Rebmann. From these late explorations, he feels +convinced, as he has oftentimes told me, that the first step has been +taken in the right direction for the development of the commercial +resources of the country, the spread of civilisation, and the +extension of our geographical knowledge. + +As many clergymen, missionaries, and others, have begged me to publish +what facilities are open to the better prosecution of their noble ends +in this wild country, I would certainly direct their attention to the +Karagué district, in preference to any other. There they will find, I +feel convinced, a fine healthy country; a choice of ground from the +mountain-top to the level of the lake, capable of affording them every +comfort of life which an isolated place can produce; and being the +most remote region from the coast, they would have less interference +from the Mohammedan communities that reside by the sea. But then, I +think, missionaries would have but a poor chance of success unless +they went there in a body, with wives and families all as assiduous in +working to the same end as themselves, and all capable of other useful +occupations besides that of disseminating the Gospel, which should +come after, and not before, the people are awake and prepared to +receive it. As that country must be cold in consequence of its great +altitude, the people would much sooner than in the hotter and more +enervating lowlands, learn any lessons of industry they might be +taught. To live idle in regard to everything but endeavouring to cram +these negroes with Scriptural doctrines, as has too often been and now +is done, is, although apparently the straightest, the longest way to +reach the goal of their desires. + +The missionary, I think, should be a Jack-of-all-trades--a man that +can turn his hand to anything; and being useful in all cases, he +would, at any rate, make himself influential with those who were +living around him. To instruct him is the surest way of gaining a +black man's heart, which, once obtained, can easily be turned in any +way the preceptor pleases, as is the case with all Asiatics: they soon +learn to bow to the superior intellect of the European, and are as +easily ruled as a child is by his father.[72] + +25th.--We left Ulékampuri at 1 A.M., and marched the last eighteen +miles into Kazé under the delightful influence of a cool night and a +bright full moon. As the caravan, according to its usual march of +single file, moved along the serpentine footpath in peristaltic +motion, firing muskets and singing "the return," the Unyanyembé +villagers, men, women, and children, came running out and flocking on +it, piercing the air with loud shrill noises, accompanied with the +lullabooing of these fairs--which, once heard, can never be mistaken. +The crowd was composed in great part of the relatives of my porters, +who evinced their feelings towards their adult masters as eagerly as +stray deer do in running to join a long-missing herd. The Arabs, one +and all, came out to meet us, and escorted us into their depôt. +Captain Burton greeted me on arrival at the old house, and said he had +been very anxious for some time past about our safety, as numerous +reports had been set afloat with regard to the civil wars we had had +to circumvent, which had impressed the Arabs as well as himself with +alarming fears. I laughed over the matter, but expressed my regret +that he did not accompany me, as I felt quite certain in my mind I had +discovered the source of the Nile. This he naturally objected to, even +after hearing all my reasons for saying so, and therefore the subject +was dropped. Nevertheless, the Captain accepted all my geography +leading from Kazé to the Nile, and wrote it down in his +book--contracting only my distances, which he said he thought were +exaggerated, and of course taking care to sever my lake from the Nile +by _his_ Mountains of the Moon. + +It affords me great pleasure to be able to report the safe return of +the expedition in a state of high spirits and gratification. All +enjoyed the salubrity of the climate, the kind entertainments of the +sultans, the variety and richness of the country, and the excellent +fare everywhere. Further, the Beluches, by their exemplary conduct, +proved themselves a most efficient, willing, and trustworthy guard, +and are deserving of the highest encomiums; they, with Bombay, were +the life and success of everything, and I sincerely hope they may not +be forgotten. + +The Arabs told me I could reach the N'yanza in fifteen to seventeen +marches, and I returned in sixteen, although I had to take a +circuitous line instead of a direct one. The provisions, too, just +held out. I took a supply for six weeks, and completed _that_ time +_this_ day. The total road-distance there and back is 452 miles, +which, admitting that the Arabs make sixteen marches of it, gives them +a marching rate of more than fourteen miles a- day. + +The temperature is greater at this than at any other time of the year, +in consequence of its being the end of the dry season; still, as will +be seen by the annexed register of one week, the Unyamuézi plateau is +not unbearably hot. + + + + + Thermometer hung in a passage of our house showed--Morning, Noon, + and Afternoon respectively-- + + 6 A.M. 9 A.M. Noon. 3 P.M. 6 P.M. + 73° 75° 84° 86° 84° Mean temperature during + first week or seven days + of September 1858. + 71° --- --- 88° --- Extreme: difference, 17° + of variation during 12 + hours of day. + + + Thermometer suspended from ridge-pole of a one-cloth tent pitched + in a close yard:-- + + 6 A.M. 9 A.M. Noon. 3 P.M. 6 P.M. + 65° 85° 108° 107° 80° Mean temperature. + 63° --- --- 113° --- Extreme: difference, 50° + of variation. + + List of Stores along this Line. + +Rice is grown at Unyanyembé, or wherever the Arabs settle, but is not +common, as the negroes, considering it poor food, seldom eat it. + + +Animal. + +Cows, sheep, goats, fowls, donkeys, eggs, milk, butter, honey. +P.S.--Donkeys are very scarce; only found in a few places in the +Unyamuézi country. + + +Vegetable. + +Rice, jowari, bagri, maize, manioc, sweet potatoes, yams, pumpkins, +melons, cucumbers, tobacco, cotton, pulse in great varieties, chilis, +bénghans, plantains, tomatoes, sesamum. + + +The Quantity of Kit taken for this Journey consisted of-- + + 9 Gorahs merikani; 1 Gorah or piece of American sheeting, = 15 + cloths of 4 cubits each. + 30 Do. Kiniki; 1 Gorah Kiniki, a common indigo-dyed stuff, = 4 + cloths of 4 cubits each. + 1 Sahari, a coloured cloth. | These cloths are more expensive being of + 1 Dubuani, a coloured cloth. | better stuff, and are used chiefly by the + 2 Barsati, a coloured cloth. | sultans and other black swells. + + + 20 Maunds white beads = 70 lb. + 3 loads of rice grown at Unyanyembé by the Arabs. + + +Expenditure for the Journey from 9th July to 25th August 1858. + + Value. + 10 Beluches' wages, 150 shukkas, or 4 cubits apiece + merikani, 100 dols. + 10 Beluches' rations, given in advance, 30 lb. white + beads, 5 + 15 Pagazis' wages, 75 shukkas merikani, 50 + 26 Men, including self, rations, 60 lb. white beads, 10 + 2 Pagazis, extra wages, 7 shukkas of merikani and + kiniki mixed, 5 + 6 Sultans' hongos or presents, 22 shukkas of merikani and + kiniki, mixed, 16 + 6 Do. Do. Do. 2 barsatis, 2 + + Total expenditure, 188 dols. + Or £39, 3s. 4d. + + +The Indian Government also very generously authorised me to pay, on my +last expedition, those poor men who had carried our property down from +Kazé to Zungoméro; but unfortunately for them, as well as for our own +credit, I could not find one man of the lot. + + + +The End. + + + + + Notes + + +[1] Without exception, and after having now shot over three quarters +of the globe, I can safely say, there does not exist any place in the +whole wide world which affords such a diversity of sport, such +interesting animals, or such enchanting scenery, as well as pleasant +climate and temperature, as these various countries of my first +experiences; but the more especially interesting was Tibet to me, from +the fact that I was the first man who penetrated into many of its +remotest parts, and discovered many of its numerous animals. + +[2] Lieutenant Burton received £100 from the Royal Geographical +Society to cross Africa from west to east, and whilst attempting that +journey he got drifted off with the flood of pilgrims to Mecca. See +his book. + +[3] I had then mapped Tibet, and had laid down several new districts +which even to this day have not been trodden by any European but +myself. + +[4] _Wadi_, river or nullah. + +[5] It is questionable whether or not these Christians were driven +south, fought at Mombas, were repulsed, and since have crossed the +Nile to where we now find them, under the name of Wahuma. People may +argue against the possibility of this, as the Wahuma do not keep +horses; but the only reason, I believe, why they do not, is simply +because horses won't live in those rich regions. + +[6] Lieutenant Cruttenden, in his geographical treatise, describes the +Darud family as being divided into four tribes, and, in addition to +the three of which I heard, places the fourth or Murreyhan in his map +to the southward of the country of Ugahden, lying between his Wadi +Nogal and the Webbe Shebéli river. + +[7] The Somali, in their own country, consider the Arab's gown and +trousers effeminate; so on return to Africa they throw off the Arab +costume again. + +[8] This proved a great mistake. By having both men of the same tribe +for my entire dependence, they invariably acted in concert against me +like two brothers. + +[9] Akil, _plural Okál_--chief or elder. + +[10] The sultan has four sons. + +[11] This gazelle is slightly different from the Dorcas, and, I +believe, has never been obtained before. + +[12] In talking of white men or Europeans, the Somali always say +English French, those two branches of the European community being all +they are acquainted with. + +[13] Tobe, properly _thobe_, the dress used by Somali of both sexes. +It consists of a white cloth, eight cubits long, frequently adorned +with gaily-coloured edges; by the men it is worn loosely round the +body with the end thrown over the shoulder, very much like the Roman +toga. The women gather it in folds round the waist, where it is +confined by a string, and both ends are fastened in a knot across the +breast. + +[14] It may appear strange that these men would not accept anything +from me in payment except such things as they were accustomed to; and +many of the pretty baubles which I brought from Calcutta, and +considered would allure them by their beauty, proved of no use here as +a medium of exchange. + +[15] Tug, in the Somali language, signifies a periodical river, or +water-course, the same as Wadi in Arabic, and Nullah in Hindustani. + +[16] _Durbar_--Eastern Court. + +[17] Lions, as well as other large animals, are said to come into the +Nogal during the rainy season, when water and grass are abundant. + +[18] Unfortunately, when sent on this mission, I was not furnished +with a chart, and had never seen any works written on the subject. + +[19] For the advancement of future investigations, I would here notice +the reported existence of a large reptile like the armadillo--probably +a Manis--which the Somali think a very remarkable animal. It is said +by them to be common in Haud, is very slow in motion, has a hard scaly +exterior coating, invulnerable to their spears, and capable of +supporting the weight of a man without any apparent inconvenience to +the creature who bears it. + +[20] From the presence of these crosses, it would appear as though in +ignorance they had adopted the emblem of their Christian predecessors. + +[21] _Ras_ means point or headland. + +[22] This interesting little animal has since been compared by Mr +Blyth, curator of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta, and determined to be +a new genus, and was named by him _Pectinator Spekei_. + +[23] Then changed to Colonel Coghlan. + +[24] These notes were reported in an Appendix in the 'First Footsteps +in East Africa,' by Lieutenant Burton, with his other reports of this +expedition. + +[25] To say the least of it, this was a very dangerous policy to play +with a people who consider might right, and revenge to death. + +[26] Since this was written I have asked Lieutenant-Colonel Playfair +his opinion on this matter, and the subjoined is the reply:--"In this +Lieutenant Burton erred; and this was the _termina causa_ of all the +mishaps which befell the expedition. The institution of Abbanage is of +great antiquity, and is the representative amongst a barbarous people +of our customs laws, inasmuch as every trader or traveller pays to his +Abban a certain percentage on the merchandise he buys or sells, and +even on the food he purchases for his own use. + +"A traveller who hopes for success in exploring a new country must +accept the institutions he finds in existence; he can hardly hope, by +his simple _fiat_, to revolutionise the time-honoured and _most +profitable_ institutions of a people, amongst whom precedent is a law +as unchangeable as that of the Medes and Persians." + +[27] Siyareh, a fort and small village belonging to the Makahil branch +of the Habr Awel, is the watering-place of Berbera, and derives a +small revenue from the boats which touch there _en route_ to, and +returning from, the Berbera fair. During this year it attained an +unenviable notoriety as the rendezvous for the slaves intended for +export to the Persian Gulf. Many of these were free Somali girls, sold +by their relatives or kidnapped by their friends. Colonel Playfair +wrote to me that one hundred and forty boys and girls were rescued +here in the early part of this year by H.M.S. Lady Canning. + +[28] Colonel Playfair thinks 20,000 men nearer the right number. + +[29] I must here notice, although I have endeavoured to stick as +closely as possible to the narration of my own story in these pages, +that I saw Herne, who had been guarding the rear, opposed to the whole +brunt of the attack, fighting gallantly with his sable antagonists; +and from the resolution with which he fired at them, he must have done +some damage. + +[30] Articles of peace and friendship concluded between the Habr Owel +tribe of Somali on the one part, and Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, +Political Resident at Aden, on behalf of the Honourable East India +Company, on the other. + +"Whereas, on the 19th of April 1855 (corresponding with the 1st of +Shaban 1271), a treacherous attack and murder were perpetrated at the +port of Berbera by a party of Habr Owel tribe, upon a party of British +officers, about to travel in that country with the consent and under +the protection of the elders of the tribe, in consequence of which +outrage certain demands were made by the Government of India, and +enforced by a blockade of the Habr Owel coast; and whereas it has +become apparent that the said tribe has fulfilled these conditions to +the utmost of its ability, and has prayed to be relieved from the +blockade; therefore it is agreed,-- + +"1st, That the elders of the Habr Owel will use their best endeavours +to deliver up Ou Ali, the murderer of Lieutenant Stroyan. + +"2d, That, until this be accomplished, the sub-tribe Esa Moosa, which +now shelters, and any other tribe which may hereafter shelter, +harbour, or protect the said Ou Ali, shall be debarred from coming to +Aden. + +"3d, That all vessels sailing under the British flag shall have free +permission to trade at the port of Berbera, or at any other place in +the territories of the Habr Owel; and that all British subjects shall +enjoy perfect safety in every part of the said territories, and shall +be permitted to trade or travel there under the protection of the +elders of the tribe. In like manner shall the members of the Habr Owel +tribe enjoy similar privileges at Aden, or in any other part of the +British possessions. + +"4th, The traffic in slaves through the Habr Owel territories, +including the port of Berbera, shall cease for ever; and any slave or +slaves who, contrary to this engagement, shall be introduced into the +said territories, shall be delivered up to the British; and the +commander of any vessel of Her Majesty's or the Honourable East India +Company's navy shall have the power of demanding the surrender of such +slave or slaves, and of supporting the demand by force of arms, if +necessary. + +"5th, The Political Resident at Aden shall have the power to send an +agent to reside at Berbera during the season of the fair, should he +deem such a course necessary, to see that the provisions of this +agreement are observed; and such agent will be treated with the +respect and consideration due to the British Government. + +"6th, That on a solemn promise being given by the elders of the Habr +Owel, faithfully to abide by the articles of this agreement, and to +cause the rest of the tribe to do so likewise, and to deliver up to +the Political Resident at Aden any party who may violate it, the +blockade of the Habr Owel coast shall be raised, and perpetual peace +and friendship shall exist between the British and the Habr Owel. + +"Done at Berbera this seventh day of November, one thousand eight +hundred and fifty-six of the Christian era (corresponding with the +eighth day of Rabea-el-Owel, one thousand two hundred and seventy-two +of the Hejira). + + (Signed) MAHOMED ARRA'LEH, \ + (Signed) AHMED ALI BOOKERI, | Ayal Yoonus. + (Signed) NOOR FA'RRAH, / + + (Signed) AHMED GHA'LID, \ + (Signed) MAHOMMED WA'IS, | Ayal Ahmed + (Signed) MUGGAN MAHOMMED, / + + (Signed) ROOBLIE HASSAN, \ + (Signed) ATEYAH HILDER, | Makáhíl. + (Signed) FARRAH BENI'N, / + + (Signed) AWADTH SHERMARKIE, Ayal Hamood. + + "Signed in my presence at Berbera, on the 7th November 1856. + + (Signed) R. L. PLAYFAIR, Assistant Political Resident, Aden. + (Signed) W. M. COGHLAN, Political Resident. + + "Aden, 9th November 1856. + +"Ratified by the Right Honourable the Governor-General of India in +Council, at Fort William, this 23d day of January 1857. + + (Signed) CANNING. + And Five Members of Council of India." + +[31] I was first blinded by ophthalmia when a child, which had ever +since rendered reading a very painful task; and again I suffered from +snow-blindness whilst crossing over the Himalayas into Tibet. + +[32] The cheque, I found, after my arrival in England, was not +credited in my account, so I had, after all, to pay my own passage. + +[33] I must add here, to show that the generous hospitality of the +Indian navy was now as strong in force as ever it was, that the +wardroom officers, not being aware of the intended generosity of the +Government to supply us with messing gratis, had laid in an extra +store of provisions for the purpose of making us their guests. + +[34] Banyans are the only class of coloured men who have the ability +to be accountants. They fill this office properly, and are therefore +always selected for it. + +[35] On starting to the rescue, my companion complained of the shock +his nerves had received since the Somali encounter, and this appeared +to affect him during the whole of this journey. + +[36] Caravans have also reached the shores of the N'yanza at 1° S. + lat., and entered Usoga, rounding its north-east corner. + +[37] See further description of this, page 185. + +[38] See Bombay's history, page 210. + +[39] In future I shall call this fringe or mountain-chain the East +Coast Range, in contradistinction to the same hill-formation on the +western coast of Africa; for it must be remembered that there are +three great leading features in the geographical formation of +Africa--viz., a low exterior belt of land, or margin to the continent, +varying in breadth according to circumstances, which is succeeded by a +high belt of mountains or rugged ground, separating the lowlands from +a high interior plateau, lying like a basin within the fringe of +hills. + +[40] The officers of state cannot receive a present without the +sanction of the government. + +[41] The murderers of Dr Boscher were sent to Zanzibar by the chief of +their tribe, and were executed by orders of the Sultan. + +[42] To save repetition, I may as well mention the fact that neither +Captain Burton nor myself were able to converse in any African +language until we were close to the coast on the return journey. + +[43] Another question suggests itself. How did Ptolemy hear of the two +lakes which he considered were the sources of the Nile? It is obvious +he could not have done so by the channel of the Nile, for the +Anthropophagi barred all communication in that direction. Here, +however, the route from Zanzibar to the Tanganyika Lake and the +Victoria N'yanza, in all probability, was kept open by the trading +"Men of the Moon;" and thus two lakes were heard of situated east and +west of one another, just in convenient situations to fit on to the +two branches of Ptolemy's Nile. + +[44] _Khambi_--Encampment. + +[45] The Babisa purchase ivory at Luwemba for the Kilua merchants, and +are met there by the Kazé merchants. + +[46] I have since heard from Colonel Rigby (Colonel Hamerton's +successor) that Hamed and all his slaves were murdered on their +journey to Uruwa, and their property was seized by the natives. + +[47] Here is the confusion again of the Nile and the lake as one +water. The Nile was in reality five marches east of Kibuga, and the +boundary of the lake one march to its southward. Snay obviously meant +it so, for it was the river he thought was the Jub, but I did not +understand him. + +[48] See Dr Beke's paper on 'The Sources of the Nile,' printed 1849. + +[49] _Kirangozi_--leader of a caravan. + +[50] Sheikh Said has since declared, in "the most solemn manner, that +Captain Burton positively forbade his going." This happened when we +were at Usenyé, and immediately after I first asked the Sheikh. + +[51] Captain Burton started with two huge elephant-guns, one double +rifle, one pea-rifle, one air-gun, two revolving pistols, and a +cross-bow, all of which he used for display to amuse the Arabs. + +[52] Sukuma means north, and the Wasukuma are consequently northmen, +or northern Wanyamuézi. + +[53] _Barsati_--a coloured cloth. + +[54] One dhoti = 2 shukkas; 1 shukka = 4 cubits, or 2 yards, merikani +(American sheeting). + +[55] _Kiniki_--a thin indigo-dyed cloth. + +[56] _Boma_--a palisade. A village or collection of huts so fortified +is called so also. + +[57] This, I maintain, was the discovery of the source of the Nile. +Had the ancient kings and sages known that a rainy zone existed on the +equator, they would not have puzzled their brains so long, and have +wondered where those waters came from which meander through upwards of +a thousand miles of scorching desert without a single tributary. + +[58] This magnificent sheet of water I have ventured to name VICTORIA, +after our gracious Sovereign. Its length was not clearly understood by +me, in consequence of the word Sea having been applied both to the +Lake and to the Nile by my local informants; and there was no recent +map of the Nile with the expedition by which I might have been guided. + +[59] I now think the breadth is over one hundred miles. + +[60] Mahaya said he was of Wahinda extraction, or from the princes of +the Wahuma; but this I do not believe, for his features bore the +strongest possible testimony against him. + +[61] The King of Uganda has sent presents by boat to Machunda, Sultan +of Ukéréwé, coasting along the western shore of the lake. Mtésa told +me this himself, and asked me if I knew Machunda personally. + +[62] The Waganda also send boats for salt to the Bahari (Lake) Ngo, at +the north-east corner of the lake. + +[63] On my return to England I constructed a map representing this +view, and lectured on the same in presence of Captain Burton, who then +raised no objections to what I said. + +[64] In England geographers doubted this; and after it was printed, Dr +Petermann had reason to change his opinion. However, Knoblecher was +not far wrong, as I have since made the latitude of Gondokoro 4° 54' +north. + +[65] The rising of the Katonga still puzzles me. + +[66] Kibuga means palace. + +[67] There are three cataracts between the N'yanza and Gondokoro: 1. +from Ripon Falls to Urondogani; 2. from Karuma Falls to Little Luta +Nzigé; 3. from Apuddo to near Gondokoro. + +[68] Captain Burton, by way of having a special Lunæ Montes of his +own, calls these mountains a "mass of highlands, which, under the name +of Karagwah, forms the western spinal prolongation of the Lunar +Mountains." See his 'Lake Regions,' vol. ii. p. 144. + +[69] There are exceptions to the rule in the instance of the Waganda, +who are of an earth-red colour; for these men never fight excepting in +overpowering numbers. + +[70] The history of the Wahuma has been given in 'The Discovery of the +Source of the Nile.' The Watuta also have been alluded to, for they +were fighting on my line of march. I heard then of the arrival of a +recent detachment from the west of the Nyassa, and subsequently I +heard they had invaded Usui. + +[71] The Wahuma are a link between the Masai and the Kafirs, so far as +I can judge of the common origin of this migratory pastoral race. The +ethnologist ought to look well into this matter, and treat it without +regard to change of language or names, as time will efface and create +both anew. + +[72] Since writing this, as I have had more insight into Africa by +travelling from Kazé to Egypt down the whole length of the Nile, I +would be sorry to leave this opinion standing without making a few +more remarks. Of all places in Africa, by far the most inviting to +missionary enterprise are the kingdoms of Karagué, Uganda, and Unyoro. +They are extremely fertile and healthy, and the temperature is +delightfully moderate. So abundant, indeed, are all provisions, and so +prolific the soil, that a missionary establishment, however large, +could support itself after the first year's crop. Being ruled by kings +of the Abyssinian type, there is no doubt but that they have a latent +Christianity in them. These kings are powerful enough to keep up their +governments under numerous officers. They have expressed a wish to +have their children educated; and I am sure the missionary need only +go there to obtain all he desires on as secure a basis as he will find +anywhere else in those parts of Africa which are not under the rule of +Europeans. If this was effected by the aid of an Egyptian force at +Gondokoro, together with an arrangement for putting the White Nile +trade on a legitimate footing between that station and Unyoro, the +heathen would not only be blessed, but we should soon have a great and +valuable commerce. Without protection, though, I would not advise any +one to go there. + +Now, for the use of commercial inquirers, I may also add, that it may +be seen in my 'Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile,' +that the kings of these three countries were all, more or less, +adverse to my passing through their countries to the Nile; but they +gave way, and permitted my doing so, on my promising to open a direct +trade with this country and theirs by the channel of that river. I +gave them the promise freely, for I saw by the nature of the land, +subjected as it is to frequently recurring showers of rain all the +year round, that it will be, in course of time, one of the greatest +nations on the earth. It is nearer to Europe than India; it is far +more fertile, and it possesses none of those disagreeable elements of +discontent which have been such a sharp thorn in our sides in India--I +mean a history and a religion far anterior to our own, which makes +those we govern there shrink from us, caused by a natural antipathy of +being ruled by an inferior race, as we are by them considered to be. +These countries, on the contrary, have no literature, and therefore +have neither history nor religion to excite discontent should any +foreigners intrench on their lands. By this I do not wish it to be +supposed that I would willingly see any foreign European power upset +these Wahuma governments; but, on the contrary, I would like to see +them maintained as long as possible, and I seriously trust some steps +may speedily be taken for that most desirable object. Should it not be +so, then in a short time these kingdoms will fall into the hands of +those vile ruffian traders on the White Nile, in the same way as Kazé +has been occupied by the Arabs of Zanzibar. To give an instance of the +way it most likely will be effected, I will merely state that the king +of Unyoro begged me repeatedly to kill some rebel brothers of his, who +were then occupying an island between his palace and the Little Luta +Nzige. I would not do it, as I thought it would be a bad example to +set in the country; but some time afterwards I felt sorry for it, for +on arrival in Madi, where I first met the Nile traders, I found that +they were in league with these very rebels to dethrone the king. The +atrocities committed by these traders are beyond all civilised belief. +They are constantly fighting, robbing, and capturing slaves and +cattle. No honest man can either trade or travel in the country, for +the natives have been bullied to such an extent that they either fight +or run away, according to their strength and circumstance. That a +great quantity of ivory is drawn from those countries I must admit, +for these traders ramify in all directions, and, vying with one +another, see who can get most ivory at the least expense, no matter +what means they employ to obtain their ends. + +At the same time, I have no hesitation in saying that ten times as +much merchandise might be got at less expense, if the trade were +protected by government means, and put on a legitimate footing. Those +countries teem with cattle. The indigenous cotton is of very superior +quality. Indigo, sugar-cane, coffee, tobacco, sesamum, and indeed all +things that will grow in a tropical climate, may be grown there within +3° of the equator, in luxurious profusion, and without any chance of +failure owing to those long periodical droughts which affect all lands +distant more than 3° from the equator. + +When I was sailing down the Nile, I could not help remarking to all +the pashas I visited how strange it appeared that men so civilised as +they were should be living in such a barren, hot, and glaring land as +Egypt, when the negroes on the equator were absolutely living in the +richest and pleasantest garden in the world, so far as nature has made +the two countries. + +Now, though I have dwelt so markedly on the surprising fertility of +Uganda and Unyoro in particular, I do not wish it to be supposed that +I consider those countries alone to be exclusively rich, for I believe +there is a continuous zone of fertility stretching right across Africa +from east to west, affected only by the nature of the soil. In +advancing this argument, I hold that the greatest discovery I have +made in Africa consists in my positive knowledge regarding the rainy +system of Africa; and to exemplify it irrespectively of my +meteorological observations, I will state emphatically that as surely +as I have determined the source of the Nile to lie within 3° of the +equator, and that it cannot emanate from any point farther south, +because all the lands beyond that limit are subject to long periodical +droughts--so certain am I that the Tanganyika is supplied from the +same source, or rainy zone, though draining in the opposite direction. +Again, to its west also, from the same source of supply, the +head-waters of the Zambézi take their origin. Still farther west, the +fountains of the Congo must have their birth. Again, farther west +still, the Chadda branch of the Niger can alone be thus supplied, and +the same must be the case with the Gaboon river. + +To carry this argument still farther, I would direct attention to the +periodical conditions of the Blue Nile and Niger rivers. Both of these +rivers rise in high mountains on the coast-range, at about 10° north +latitude, but on opposite sides of the continent. They are considered +large rivers, but only in consequence of their great floodings, when +the sun, in his northern declination, brings the rains over the seats +of their birthplaces; for when the sun is in the south they shrink so +low that the waters of the Blue river would never have power to reach +the sea were they not assisted by the perennial stream of the White +Nile. + +The most important exploring expedition that any one could undertake +now, would be to cross Africa from east to west, keeping close to the +first degree of north latitude, to ascertain the geological formation +of that parallel. Within the coast-ranges, in consequence of the great +elevation of the land, the temperature is always moderate, and it is +proved to be much more healthy than any of those parts of Africa +subjected to periodical seasons. Next to this scheme, I would +recommend this fertile zone to be attacked from Gondokoro on the Nile, +and from Gaboon (the French port) on the equator. The Gondokoro line, +being known to a considerable extent, is ready for working, and only +requires government protection to make it succeed; but the other line +from the Gaboon should first be inspected by a scientific expedition. + + + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, WHAT LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF THE SOURCE OF THE NILE *** + +This file should be named 8417-8.txt or 8417-8.zip + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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