Chapter Thirteen.

Chapter Thirteen.Captain Speke’s discoveries of the Source of the Nile.Speke’s previous career—Joins an expedition to the Somali country—The Somali—Arrive at Berbera—Attacked by robbers—His escape and return to Aden, and finally to England—Joins Captain Burton in an expedition to the Mountains of the Moon—Sets out for Bombay, and afterwards to Zanzibar—Engage Sheikh Said and their escort—Cross to Kaole—Arrive at Caze, and received by the Arab merchants—Porters desert—Illness of Captain Burton, and carried to Zimbili—Sets out with fresh porters—A sight of the Tanganyika Lake—The Mountains of the Moon—Nearly blind—Up the lake to Ujiji—Arrive at Kawele—Their journey on the lake continued—An alarm—Camp at night—Shells—A storm—Arrive at Sultan Casanga’s territory—The people—Arrive at the fish market of Kabizia—A singa—Cross to Kasenge—Reception—The Chief described—The results of slavery—Hears of a large river—Cannot obtain a boat—Returns to Ujiji—Sets out to explore a river that falls into the lake—Tricks of the paddlers—Returns to Ujiji—Help arrives—Returns to Cazé—Sets out to explore the country in the neighbourhood of the Nyanza Lake—Tricks of his escort—Villages described—Detained by a Sultana—The reception she gives Speke—Illness in the caravan—Inon—Leaving Isamiro, the Nyanza appears in sight—The scene—He called the lake Victoria Nyanza—Descends to Muanza—The source of the Nile!—Return journey, and arrives at Caze—Arrives with Captain Burton in England.Captain, then Lieutenant, John Hanning Speke, the son of a gentleman of property in England, was an officer in the Indian army, and had taken part under Lord Gough in the great battles of Ramnugger, Chillianwalla, and others. He had, at intervals during leave, travelled in the Himalaya Mountains, as well as through other parts of India and in Thibet, for the purpose of collecting specimens of the fauna of those regions to form a museum in his father’s house. While thus occupied, he formed the design of traversing Africa as soon as he could obtain furlough, visiting the Mountains of the Moon and descending the Nile with the same object in view.At the end of ten years’ service, on obtaining furlough, hearing that an expedition was to be sent by the Indian Government, under the command of Lieutenant Burton, to explore the Somali country, a large tract lying due south of Aden, and separated from the Arabian coast by the Gulf of Aden, he offered his services, and was accepted. Two other Indian officers, Lieutenants Stroyan and Heme, also joined the expedition.The Somali are Mahommedans, descendants of Arabs who have intermarried with negroes. They are a savage, treacherous race, noted for their cheating and lying propensities; in figure tall, slender, light, and agile, scarcely darker than Arabs, with thin lips and noses, but woolly heads like negroes. Their ancestors, having taken possession of the country, drove out its former Christian inhabitants, who retreated northward.Caravans, however, pass through their country to their only port and chief market, Berbera, which at the time of the fair is crowded with people, though entirely deserted for the rest of the year.It was proposed that the expedition should follow the route of these caravans, or accompany one of them, and thus penetrate through the country, into the interior.Considerable time was spent in making excursions for short distances, during which Lieutenant Speke shot a large number of wild animals; but unfortunately theabban, or petty chief, who undertook to be his protector and guide, proved to be a great rascal, and cheated and deceived him in every possible way.The Somali are keen and cunning sportsmen, and have various methods of killing elephants, ostriches, and gazelles.They fearlessly attack an elephant, on foot, one man only being mounted on a horse, who gallops in front, and while the animal pursues him, the others rush in and hamstring him with their knives. Ostriches are caught by throwing down poison at the spots where they feed. The Somali also hunt them, on the backs of their hardy little ponies. The ostrich is a shy bird, and is so blind at night that it cannot feed. A Somali, knowing this, providing himself with provisions for two or three days, sets off in search of them; showing himself to the ostriches, he is discovered, but takes care to keep at a distance. They stalk off, and he follows at the same rate, but never approaches sufficiently near to scare them. At night the birds, unable to see, stop, but cannot feed. He, meantime, rests and feeds with his pony, resuming the chase the next day. He follows the birds in the same way as at first, they from constant fasting becoming weaker, till after the second or third day he is able to ride in among them and knock them down in succession.The party had at length secured, after considerable trouble, the camels and horses they required, and were encamped at Berbera, which was completely deserted by its inhabitants, when they were surprised at night by a large band of robbers. Lieutenant Stroyan was killed and Lieutenant Speke was made prisoner and desperately wounded, but, springing to his feet just as a robber was about to run him through with his spear, he knocked over his assailant with his hands, though bound together, and made his escape to the sea-shore, to which the rest of the party had already fled. They were here taken on board a vessel, which had providentially put in the day before, and in her returned to Aden.Although his first expedition had terminated so disastrously, on his arrival in England Lieutenant Speke again volunteered to accompany Lieutenant Burton on an expedition to survey that part of the centre of Africa, in the neighbourhood of the Mountains of the Moon, where an enormous lake was supposed to exist, equal in size to the Caspian Sea.Returning to Bombay, Lieutenant Speke and Lieutenant Burton obtained their outfit, and set sail on the 3rd of December, 1856, for Zanzibar, on board the HEIC sloop of war, “Elphinstone.”At Zanzibar they were warmly welcomed by the consul, Colonel Hamerton, and well received by the Sultan Majid, who, from his intelligence and good disposition, appeared likely to be a favourite with his people.As they had arrived during the dry season, they were unable to commence their journey, and some time was spent in visiting different parts of the coast.Their intention was to proceed to Ujiji, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, which was then supposed to be the southern end of the great central lake. They engaged as theirkafila bashi, or head of their caravan, a well-disposed man, Sheikh Said. A body of the sultan’s Belooch soldiers, under ajemadar, or officer, and a party of slaves armed with muskets, formed their escort. Besides them, they had their private servants, Valentine and Gaetano, Goa men, who spoke Hindostanee, and a clever little liberated black slave, Bombay by name, who had been captured from his native place, Uhiyou, to the east of Lake Nyanza, and sold to an Arab merchant, by whom he was taken to India. Having served this master for several years, on his death he obtained his liberation, and made his way to Zanzibar. Here he took service in the army of the sultan, and was among those engaged by Lieutenant Speke. He was a remarkably quick, clever, honest little fellow, and in most instances could thoroughly be trusted.Crossing to Kaole, on the mainland, on the 16th of June, 1857, they were detained there collecting baggage animals. The first five hundred miles of their journey to Caze, aplace in the centre of Unyamuezi, the Land of the Moon, was performed with comparative ease, and they were subjected only to annoyances from the savage people and the grasping chiefs on the way.Caze is occupied by Arab merchants as a central trading depot, and is rapidly increasing. It was supposed that Ujiji would be found much of the same character. Here they arrived on the 7th of November, 1857. They were kindly received by the Arab merchants, especially by Sheikh Snay, and had a house appropriated to them.The houses of the Weezee, the people among whom they were living, are built of mud, generally with flat tops: this description is called atembe. Others, however, are in the form of haystacks, and are constructed with great care; the door is very small, so that only one person can enter at a time. The villages are surrounded with a strong fence, having taller stakes on each side of the entrance, which are decorated either with blocks of wood or the skulls of those who have been put to death.The flat-roofed houses are built round a large court, the outer walls serving as the walls of the villages, all the doors opening into the interior.Some time was usefully spent in gaining information from the Arabs and others, who told them that the Nyanza was a separate lake to that of Ujiji, and that from the latter a river ran out to the northward—though, at first, they had stated that it ran into it. Besides this they heard that vessels frequented some waters to the north of the equator—a fact of which Speke had heard when travelling in the Somali country.Their porters, who had come from this part of the country, all left them, and they found the greatest difficulty in procuring others.Captain Burton here fell dangerously ill, and, as he believed that he should die unless he could be moved, his companion had him carried to Zimbili, where, by degrees, he recovered. At length a sufficient number of porters being obtained, they broke ground on the 10th of January, 1858.Proceeding due west about one hundred and fifty miles, when moving over the brow of a hill, they came in sight of the lovely Tanganyika lake, which could be seen in all its glory by everybody but Lieutenant Speke, who was suffering from inflammation of the eyes, caught by sleeping on the ground while his system was reduced by fevers and the influence of the vertical sun. It had brought on almost total blindness, and every object before him appeared clouded by a misty veil.They were now standing on the eastern horn of a large, crescent-shaped mass of mountains, overhanging the northern half of the lake. These mountains Speke supposed to be the true Mountains of the Moon.Reaching the margin of the lake, a canoe was hired to carry them to Ujiji, the chief place on its shores, frequented by Arabs. The lake at which they now arrived was supposed to be three hundred and eighty miles long, and thirty to forty broad. Its waters are sweet and abound with fine fish. The sides of the lake are thickly inhabited by numerous negro tribes, among whom are the Wabembe cannibals, into whose territory the Arabs dare not venture.The explorers took up their abode in the deserted house of an Arab merchant, at a small village called Kawéle; but, unfortunately, the chief of the place, Kannina, was a tyrannical extortioner, and caused them much trouble. They wished to engage an Arab dhow for navigating the lake, sufficiently large to carry provisions and to resist hostile attacks, but could only obtain a canoe. It was long and narrow, hollowed-out of the trunk of a single tree. She carried Bombay, Gaetano, two Belooch soldiers, and a captain, withtwenty stark-naked savage sailors. In this Speke set out on the 3rd of March, 1858, while Burton, too sick to move, remained at Ujiji. Speke and his attendants had moved but a short distance along the shore, when a storm came on, and they had to camp till the afternoon of the 5th, when all got on board.To pack so many men together was no easy matter. Speke had his bedding amidships, spread on reeds; the cook and bailsman sat facing him, and Bombay and one Belooch behind him. Beyond them, in couples, were the crew, the captain taking post in the bows. The seventeen paddles dashed off with vigour. Steering southwards, they passed the mouth of the Ruche river. They paddled on all night, and after dawn landed in a secluded nook for breakfast. All were busily occupied. Gaetano dipped his cooking-pot in the sea for water, greatly to the annoyance of the natives, who declared that the dregs from it would excite the appetites of the crocodiles, who would be sure to follow the boat. They have as great an aversion to the crocodile as English seamen have to a shark.Suddenly there was a cry that foes were coming. All, jumping up, rushed to the boat, some seizing one thing, some another, the greater number being left on the ground. A breathless silence followed; then one jumped on shore to secure a pot, and then another, and, gaining courage, they searched around, crawling cautiously in the bush, others stealthily moving along, till at last a single man was pounced upon, with an arrow poised in hand. He was one of eight or ten men of a tribe whom they declared to be a rough, lawless set of marauders. They therefore broke his bow and arrows, and, though some of the crew proposed taking his life, he was allowed to go. The sailors, on their return, each vaunted the part he had taken in the exploit, boasting as though a mighty battle had been won.They passed along a border of aquatic reeds, tenanted by crocodiles and hippopotami, the latter staring, grunting, and snorting, as if vexed at the intrusion on their privacy. Many parts of the shore were desolate, the result of slave-hunting and cattle-lifting parties.“At night Speke’s tent is pitched; the men build huts for themselves with boughs, covering the top with grass, two men at the most occupying a hut. When it rains they are covered by their mats, but, as they are all stark-naked, the rain can do them no harm.“Interesting shells, unknown to the conchological world, are picked up, numbers of which are lying on the pebbly beach.“They are delayed again by another storm. The superstitious captain will answer no questions, for fear of offending theugaga, or church, whilst at sea; he dreads especially to talk of places of departure and arrival, for fear ill luck should overtake them.“Fourteen hours are occupied in crossing the lake, when they reach a group of islands belonging to Sultan Casanga. The sailors and his people fraternise, and enjoy a day of rest and idleness. At night they are attacked by a host of small black-beetles, one of which gets into Speke’s ear and causes him fearful pain, biting its way in, and by no means can he extract it. It, however, acts as a counter-irritant, and draws away the inflammation from his eyes.“The population of the neighbouring shore is considerable, the inhabitants living in mushroom huts, and cultivating manioc, sweet potato, and maize, and various vegetables. The people dress in monkey-skins, the animals’ heads hanging in front and the tails depending below. They are very inquisitive, and, by their jabberings and pointings, incessantly, want Speke to show everything he possesses.“He gets away the next day, and reaches a fish market, in the little island of Kabizia, in time to breakfast on a large, black-backed, scaleless monster, thesinga. The sailors considering it delicious, are disinclined to move on.“Again detained by a high wind, they cross, at noon on the 11th, to Kasenge, where Sheikh Hamer, an Arab merchant, receives Speke with warm and generous hospitality. His house is built with good, substantial walls of mud, and roofed with rafters and brushwood, the rooms being conveniently partitioned off to separate his wife and other belongings, with an ante-room for general business. His object in coming to the remote district is to purchase ivory, slaves, and other commodities. He is the owner of the dhow which Speke is anxious to obtain; but though he professes his readiness to lend it, he makes numberless excuses, and finally Speke has to continue his voyage in his small canoe.“Slavery is the curse of this beautiful region. Here for a loin-cloth or two a mother offers eagerly to sell one of her offspring and deliver it into perpetual bondage to his Belooch soldiers. Whole villages are destroyed, in the most remorseless manner, by the slave-hunters to obtain their victims. The chiefs of the interior are as fond of gain as those on the coast, and this sets one against the other, for the sake of obtaining slaves to sell.“From Hamed Speke learns that a large river runs from the Mountains of the Moon into the northern end of the lake.“On the 13th the dhow comes in, laden with cows, goats, oil, andghee; but, though Speke offers five hundred dollars for her hire, the Arab merchant still refuses to lend her.“On the 27th Speke commences his return voyage, and arrives on the 31st at Ujiji.“Captain Burton is somewhat recovered, and, though unfit to travel, insists on starting in the canoe to explore the head of the lake—the chief, Kannina, offering to accompany them. Their object is to examine the river which is said to fall into it. They start in two canoes, the chief and Captain Burton being in the largest. In eight days they arrive at Uvira. The chief, however, will go no further, knowing that the savages of the Warundi are his enemies. He confirms the statement that the Rusizi River runs into the lake.“The black naked crews are never tired of testing their respective strengths. They paddle away, dashing up the water whenever they succeed in coming near each other, and delighting in drenching the travellers with the spray. Their great pleasure appears in torturing others, with impunity to themselves. They, however, wear mantles of goat-skins in dry weather, but, as soon as rain comes on, they wrap them up, and place them in their loads, standing meantime trembling like dogs which have just emerged from the water.“In no part of Africa have they seen such splendid vegetation as covers this basin from the mountain-tops to the shores.”On returning to Ujiji, Speke wished to make a further survey of the lake, but was overruled by Captain Burton, who considered that their means were running short; indeed, had not an Arab merchant arrived, bringing supplies, they would have been placed in an awkward position. This timely supply was one of the many pieces of good fortune which befell them on their journey. Help had always reached them when they most required it.Captain Burton, being too ill to walk, was carried in a hammock, and, setting out, they returned safely to Caze.They were here again received by their friend, Sheikh Snay, who gave Speke an account of his journey to the Nyanza Lake. His statements were corroborated by a Hindoo merchant called Musa, who gave him also a description of the country northward of the line, and of the rivers which flowed out of the lake.Eager to explore the country, Speke arranged to set off, leaving Captain Burton at Caze. Sheikh Snay, however, refused to accompany him, and he had in consequence some difficulty in arranging with the Belooch guard.On the 9th of July, 1858, he was able to start his caravan, consisting of twenty porters, ten Beloochs, and his servants. The Beloochs were, from the first, sulky and difficult to manage, while thepagazis, or porters, played all sorts of tricks, sometimes leaving their loads and running off to amuse themselves, and in the evening they would dance and sing songs composed for the occasion, introducing everybody’s name, and especially Mzimza, the wise or white man, ending with the prevailing word, among these curly-headed bipeds, of “Grub! grub! grub!”The Weezee villages are built in the form of a large hollow square, the outer wall of which serves for the backs of the huts; another wall forms the front, and the intermediate space is partitioned off by interior earthen walls. The roofs are flat, and on them are kept firewood, grain, pumpkins, and vegetables. Each apartment contains a family, with their poultry and cooking utensils; some, however, are devoted exclusively to goats and cows.They passed through forests of considerate size; caravans from the north were also met with. At one place the country was found to be governed by a sultana, the only one they met with in their travels. She did her utmost to detain Speke, not allowing him an interview till the next day. On paying the lady a visit, he was received by an ugly, dirtily-garbed old woman, though with a smiling countenance, who, at his request, furnished him eggs and milk. At length the sultana appeared—an old dame with a short, squat figure, a nose flabby at the end, and eyes destitute of brows or lashes, but blessed with a smiling face. Her dress consisted of an oldbarsati, dirtier even than her maid’s. Her fingers were covered with rings of copper wire, and her legs staggered under an immense accumulation of anklets, made of brass-wire wound round an elephant’s tail or that of a zebra. On her arms were solid brass rings, and from other wire bracelets depended a variety of brazen, horn, and ivory ornaments.Squatting by his side, the sultana, after shaking hands, felt Speke all over, wondering at his dress. She insisted on his accepting a bullock; but, anxious to be off, he declined waiting for it. She at last consented to send it after him by some of his porters, who were to remain for the purpose.He was constantly detained by the laziness of hisftagazis, who, when getting into a rich country, preferred eating the meat, eggs, and vegetables they could obtain.He unfortunately had only white beads with him, which which were not the fashion: with coloured beads he could have purchased provisions at a much cheaper rate. Had the people also been addicted to wearing cloth, instead of decorating themselves with beads, he would with his cloth have been able to make his purchases much more advantageously. As the country is overstocked with common beads, it is far more economical to obtain high-priced than low-priced beads when preparing to start from Zanzibar.As warfare was going on, it was necessary to make a tortuous track to avoid the combatants.Thejemadarand two Beloochs complained of sickness and declared they could not march, and poor Gaetano fell ill and hid himself in the jungle, being thus left behind. Men were sent off to search for him, and the next day the Beloochs brought him in, looking exactly like a naughty dog going to be punished.The sultans, however, of the different villages were generally friendly.When a desert tract had to be passed, the men went on well enough, hoping to obtain food at the next cultivated district.On the 30th of July Speke discerned, four miles off, a sheet of water which proved to be a creek at the most southern portion of the Nyanza, called by the Arabs the Ukerewe Sea.Passing amidst villages and cultivated grounds, they descended to a watercourse which he called the Jordan. It is frequented by hippopotami, and rhinoceros pay frequent visits to the fields.Iron is found in abundance in this district, and nearly all the iron tools and cutlery used in this part of Eastern Africa is manufactured here: it is, in truth, the Birmingham of the land. The porters therefore wished to remain to make purchases of hoes.A rich country was passed through, and on the 4th of August the caravan, after leaving the village of Isamiro, ascended a hill, when the vast expanse of the pale blue waters of the Nyanza burst suddenly on the travellers’ 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. An archipelago of islands intercepted the line of vision to the left. The sheet of water extended far away to the eastward, forming the south and east angle of the lake, while two large islands, distant about twenty or thirty miles, formed the visible north shore of this firth.Ukereweis the name by which the whole lake is called by the Arabs. Below, at no great distance, was the debouchure of the creek along which he had travelled for the last three days.This scene would anywhere have arrested the traveller by its peaceful beauty. He writes enthusiastically—“The islands, each swelling in a gentle slope to a rounded summit clothed with wood, between the rugged, angular, closely-cropping rocks of granite, seen mirrored in the calm surface of the lake, on which is here and there detected the a small black speck—the tiny canoe of some Muanza fisherman. On the gentle-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 bunches of which clustered in such profusion round the cottages, and formed 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 were 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 Arab’s 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.”To this magnificent lake Speke gave the name of Victoria Nyanza.Note. It has since been proved to be only one and the least considerable of the sources of the White Nile, by the later discoveries of Baker and Livingstone.He now descended to Muanza, on the shores of the lake, having altogether performed a journey of two hundred and twenty-six miles from Cazé.He was here kindly treated by Sultan Mahaya, with whom an Arab merchant, named Mansur, was residing, who gave him much valuable information.Taking a walk of three miles along the shores of the lake, accompanied by Mansur and a native, the greatest traveller of the place, he ascended a hill whence he could obtain a good view across the expanse of water spread out before him. Several islands were seen, but some so far-off as scarcely to be distinguishable. Facing to the west-north-west was an unbroken sea horizon, and he calculated that the breadth of the lake was over a hundred miles. The native, when asked the length of the lake, faced to the north, and, nodding his head, indicated by signs that it was something immeasurable, adding that he thought it probably extended to the end of the world.Poor Mansur had been robbed of his merchandise, by a sultan whose territory was on the shore of the lake, and he had very little chance of obtaining redress.Sultan Mahaya was considered the best and most just ruler in those quarters; and when Speke proposed crossing the lake to the island of the Ukerewe, he urged him on no account to make the attempt. Mansur also did his best to dissuade him, and, boats not being obtainable, he was compelled to give up his design.Speke, arguing from the fact that the source of the Nile at the highest spot which had been reached, two thousand feet above the level of the sea, is considerably lower than the surface of the lake, which is four thousand feet, is of opinion that the waters of the lake must flow into it. The lake has, however, numerous feeders which flow from the Mountains of the Moon. Indeed, from that and several other reasons, he felt convinced that the lake is the real and long-looked-for source of the Nile.As no boats of any size were to be obtained, and having gained all the information he could, regretting that he was unable to extend his explorations, he bade the Sultan and his Arab friend adieu, and on the 6th of August commenced his return journey.The country through which he passed abounds in game. Elephants are finer here than in any other part of the world, and some have tusks exceeding five hundred pounds the pair in weight. The people are mostly agricultural; and when a stranger comes among them, they welcome him, considering his advent as a good omen, and allow him to do what he likes.His black attendants were in much better humour on the return journey, as they were now going home, and, as the country was well stocked with cattle, they could obtain as much meat as was required. One village through which he passed, being full of sweet springs, had a dense population possessing numerous herds of cattle.“If they were ruled by a few score of Europeans, what a revolution a few years would bring forth! An extensive market would be opened to the world, and industry and commerce would clear the way for civilisation and enlightenment,” Speke remarks.The country is also, he says, high, dry, and healthy, while the air is neither too hot nor too cold.On the evening of the 25th of August he marched into Cazé, under the influence of a cool night and bright moon, his attendants firing off muskets and singing, while men, women, and children came flocking out, piercing the air with loud, shrill noises. The Arabs all came forth to meet him and escort him to their depot, where Captain Burton, who had been very anxious as to his safety, greeted him, numerous reports having been set afloat about him.Captain Burton being now restored to health, they set off together for Zanzibar, whence they shortly afterwards returned to England.

Captain, then Lieutenant, John Hanning Speke, the son of a gentleman of property in England, was an officer in the Indian army, and had taken part under Lord Gough in the great battles of Ramnugger, Chillianwalla, and others. He had, at intervals during leave, travelled in the Himalaya Mountains, as well as through other parts of India and in Thibet, for the purpose of collecting specimens of the fauna of those regions to form a museum in his father’s house. While thus occupied, he formed the design of traversing Africa as soon as he could obtain furlough, visiting the Mountains of the Moon and descending the Nile with the same object in view.

At the end of ten years’ service, on obtaining furlough, hearing that an expedition was to be sent by the Indian Government, under the command of Lieutenant Burton, to explore the Somali country, a large tract lying due south of Aden, and separated from the Arabian coast by the Gulf of Aden, he offered his services, and was accepted. Two other Indian officers, Lieutenants Stroyan and Heme, also joined the expedition.

The Somali are Mahommedans, descendants of Arabs who have intermarried with negroes. They are a savage, treacherous race, noted for their cheating and lying propensities; in figure tall, slender, light, and agile, scarcely darker than Arabs, with thin lips and noses, but woolly heads like negroes. Their ancestors, having taken possession of the country, drove out its former Christian inhabitants, who retreated northward.

Caravans, however, pass through their country to their only port and chief market, Berbera, which at the time of the fair is crowded with people, though entirely deserted for the rest of the year.

It was proposed that the expedition should follow the route of these caravans, or accompany one of them, and thus penetrate through the country, into the interior.

Considerable time was spent in making excursions for short distances, during which Lieutenant Speke shot a large number of wild animals; but unfortunately theabban, or petty chief, who undertook to be his protector and guide, proved to be a great rascal, and cheated and deceived him in every possible way.

The Somali are keen and cunning sportsmen, and have various methods of killing elephants, ostriches, and gazelles.They fearlessly attack an elephant, on foot, one man only being mounted on a horse, who gallops in front, and while the animal pursues him, the others rush in and hamstring him with their knives. Ostriches are caught by throwing down poison at the spots where they feed. The Somali also hunt them, on the backs of their hardy little ponies. The ostrich is a shy bird, and is so blind at night that it cannot feed. A Somali, knowing this, providing himself with provisions for two or three days, sets off in search of them; showing himself to the ostriches, he is discovered, but takes care to keep at a distance. They stalk off, and he follows at the same rate, but never approaches sufficiently near to scare them. At night the birds, unable to see, stop, but cannot feed. He, meantime, rests and feeds with his pony, resuming the chase the next day. He follows the birds in the same way as at first, they from constant fasting becoming weaker, till after the second or third day he is able to ride in among them and knock them down in succession.

The party had at length secured, after considerable trouble, the camels and horses they required, and were encamped at Berbera, which was completely deserted by its inhabitants, when they were surprised at night by a large band of robbers. Lieutenant Stroyan was killed and Lieutenant Speke was made prisoner and desperately wounded, but, springing to his feet just as a robber was about to run him through with his spear, he knocked over his assailant with his hands, though bound together, and made his escape to the sea-shore, to which the rest of the party had already fled. They were here taken on board a vessel, which had providentially put in the day before, and in her returned to Aden.

Although his first expedition had terminated so disastrously, on his arrival in England Lieutenant Speke again volunteered to accompany Lieutenant Burton on an expedition to survey that part of the centre of Africa, in the neighbourhood of the Mountains of the Moon, where an enormous lake was supposed to exist, equal in size to the Caspian Sea.

Returning to Bombay, Lieutenant Speke and Lieutenant Burton obtained their outfit, and set sail on the 3rd of December, 1856, for Zanzibar, on board the HEIC sloop of war, “Elphinstone.”

At Zanzibar they were warmly welcomed by the consul, Colonel Hamerton, and well received by the Sultan Majid, who, from his intelligence and good disposition, appeared likely to be a favourite with his people.

As they had arrived during the dry season, they were unable to commence their journey, and some time was spent in visiting different parts of the coast.

Their intention was to proceed to Ujiji, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, which was then supposed to be the southern end of the great central lake. They engaged as theirkafila bashi, or head of their caravan, a well-disposed man, Sheikh Said. A body of the sultan’s Belooch soldiers, under ajemadar, or officer, and a party of slaves armed with muskets, formed their escort. Besides them, they had their private servants, Valentine and Gaetano, Goa men, who spoke Hindostanee, and a clever little liberated black slave, Bombay by name, who had been captured from his native place, Uhiyou, to the east of Lake Nyanza, and sold to an Arab merchant, by whom he was taken to India. Having served this master for several years, on his death he obtained his liberation, and made his way to Zanzibar. Here he took service in the army of the sultan, and was among those engaged by Lieutenant Speke. He was a remarkably quick, clever, honest little fellow, and in most instances could thoroughly be trusted.

Crossing to Kaole, on the mainland, on the 16th of June, 1857, they were detained there collecting baggage animals. The first five hundred miles of their journey to Caze, aplace in the centre of Unyamuezi, the Land of the Moon, was performed with comparative ease, and they were subjected only to annoyances from the savage people and the grasping chiefs on the way.

Caze is occupied by Arab merchants as a central trading depot, and is rapidly increasing. It was supposed that Ujiji would be found much of the same character. Here they arrived on the 7th of November, 1857. They were kindly received by the Arab merchants, especially by Sheikh Snay, and had a house appropriated to them.

The houses of the Weezee, the people among whom they were living, are built of mud, generally with flat tops: this description is called atembe. Others, however, are in the form of haystacks, and are constructed with great care; the door is very small, so that only one person can enter at a time. The villages are surrounded with a strong fence, having taller stakes on each side of the entrance, which are decorated either with blocks of wood or the skulls of those who have been put to death.

The flat-roofed houses are built round a large court, the outer walls serving as the walls of the villages, all the doors opening into the interior.

Some time was usefully spent in gaining information from the Arabs and others, who told them that the Nyanza was a separate lake to that of Ujiji, and that from the latter a river ran out to the northward—though, at first, they had stated that it ran into it. Besides this they heard that vessels frequented some waters to the north of the equator—a fact of which Speke had heard when travelling in the Somali country.

Their porters, who had come from this part of the country, all left them, and they found the greatest difficulty in procuring others.

Captain Burton here fell dangerously ill, and, as he believed that he should die unless he could be moved, his companion had him carried to Zimbili, where, by degrees, he recovered. At length a sufficient number of porters being obtained, they broke ground on the 10th of January, 1858.

Proceeding due west about one hundred and fifty miles, when moving over the brow of a hill, they came in sight of the lovely Tanganyika lake, which could be seen in all its glory by everybody but Lieutenant Speke, who was suffering from inflammation of the eyes, caught by sleeping on the ground while his system was reduced by fevers and the influence of the vertical sun. It had brought on almost total blindness, and every object before him appeared clouded by a misty veil.

They were now standing on the eastern horn of a large, crescent-shaped mass of mountains, overhanging the northern half of the lake. These mountains Speke supposed to be the true Mountains of the Moon.

Reaching the margin of the lake, a canoe was hired to carry them to Ujiji, the chief place on its shores, frequented by Arabs. The lake at which they now arrived was supposed to be three hundred and eighty miles long, and thirty to forty broad. Its waters are sweet and abound with fine fish. The sides of the lake are thickly inhabited by numerous negro tribes, among whom are the Wabembe cannibals, into whose territory the Arabs dare not venture.

The explorers took up their abode in the deserted house of an Arab merchant, at a small village called Kawéle; but, unfortunately, the chief of the place, Kannina, was a tyrannical extortioner, and caused them much trouble. They wished to engage an Arab dhow for navigating the lake, sufficiently large to carry provisions and to resist hostile attacks, but could only obtain a canoe. It was long and narrow, hollowed-out of the trunk of a single tree. She carried Bombay, Gaetano, two Belooch soldiers, and a captain, withtwenty stark-naked savage sailors. In this Speke set out on the 3rd of March, 1858, while Burton, too sick to move, remained at Ujiji. Speke and his attendants had moved but a short distance along the shore, when a storm came on, and they had to camp till the afternoon of the 5th, when all got on board.

To pack so many men together was no easy matter. Speke had his bedding amidships, spread on reeds; the cook and bailsman sat facing him, and Bombay and one Belooch behind him. Beyond them, in couples, were the crew, the captain taking post in the bows. The seventeen paddles dashed off with vigour. Steering southwards, they passed the mouth of the Ruche river. They paddled on all night, and after dawn landed in a secluded nook for breakfast. All were busily occupied. Gaetano dipped his cooking-pot in the sea for water, greatly to the annoyance of the natives, who declared that the dregs from it would excite the appetites of the crocodiles, who would be sure to follow the boat. They have as great an aversion to the crocodile as English seamen have to a shark.

Suddenly there was a cry that foes were coming. All, jumping up, rushed to the boat, some seizing one thing, some another, the greater number being left on the ground. A breathless silence followed; then one jumped on shore to secure a pot, and then another, and, gaining courage, they searched around, crawling cautiously in the bush, others stealthily moving along, till at last a single man was pounced upon, with an arrow poised in hand. He was one of eight or ten men of a tribe whom they declared to be a rough, lawless set of marauders. They therefore broke his bow and arrows, and, though some of the crew proposed taking his life, he was allowed to go. The sailors, on their return, each vaunted the part he had taken in the exploit, boasting as though a mighty battle had been won.

They passed along a border of aquatic reeds, tenanted by crocodiles and hippopotami, the latter staring, grunting, and snorting, as if vexed at the intrusion on their privacy. Many parts of the shore were desolate, the result of slave-hunting and cattle-lifting parties.

“At night Speke’s tent is pitched; the men build huts for themselves with boughs, covering the top with grass, two men at the most occupying a hut. When it rains they are covered by their mats, but, as they are all stark-naked, the rain can do them no harm.

“Interesting shells, unknown to the conchological world, are picked up, numbers of which are lying on the pebbly beach.

“They are delayed again by another storm. The superstitious captain will answer no questions, for fear of offending theugaga, or church, whilst at sea; he dreads especially to talk of places of departure and arrival, for fear ill luck should overtake them.

“Fourteen hours are occupied in crossing the lake, when they reach a group of islands belonging to Sultan Casanga. The sailors and his people fraternise, and enjoy a day of rest and idleness. At night they are attacked by a host of small black-beetles, one of which gets into Speke’s ear and causes him fearful pain, biting its way in, and by no means can he extract it. It, however, acts as a counter-irritant, and draws away the inflammation from his eyes.

“The population of the neighbouring shore is considerable, the inhabitants living in mushroom huts, and cultivating manioc, sweet potato, and maize, and various vegetables. The people dress in monkey-skins, the animals’ heads hanging in front and the tails depending below. They are very inquisitive, and, by their jabberings and pointings, incessantly, want Speke to show everything he possesses.

“He gets away the next day, and reaches a fish market, in the little island of Kabizia, in time to breakfast on a large, black-backed, scaleless monster, thesinga. The sailors considering it delicious, are disinclined to move on.

“Again detained by a high wind, they cross, at noon on the 11th, to Kasenge, where Sheikh Hamer, an Arab merchant, receives Speke with warm and generous hospitality. His house is built with good, substantial walls of mud, and roofed with rafters and brushwood, the rooms being conveniently partitioned off to separate his wife and other belongings, with an ante-room for general business. His object in coming to the remote district is to purchase ivory, slaves, and other commodities. He is the owner of the dhow which Speke is anxious to obtain; but though he professes his readiness to lend it, he makes numberless excuses, and finally Speke has to continue his voyage in his small canoe.

“Slavery is the curse of this beautiful region. Here for a loin-cloth or two a mother offers eagerly to sell one of her offspring and deliver it into perpetual bondage to his Belooch soldiers. Whole villages are destroyed, in the most remorseless manner, by the slave-hunters to obtain their victims. The chiefs of the interior are as fond of gain as those on the coast, and this sets one against the other, for the sake of obtaining slaves to sell.

“From Hamed Speke learns that a large river runs from the Mountains of the Moon into the northern end of the lake.

“On the 13th the dhow comes in, laden with cows, goats, oil, andghee; but, though Speke offers five hundred dollars for her hire, the Arab merchant still refuses to lend her.

“On the 27th Speke commences his return voyage, and arrives on the 31st at Ujiji.

“Captain Burton is somewhat recovered, and, though unfit to travel, insists on starting in the canoe to explore the head of the lake—the chief, Kannina, offering to accompany them. Their object is to examine the river which is said to fall into it. They start in two canoes, the chief and Captain Burton being in the largest. In eight days they arrive at Uvira. The chief, however, will go no further, knowing that the savages of the Warundi are his enemies. He confirms the statement that the Rusizi River runs into the lake.

“The black naked crews are never tired of testing their respective strengths. They paddle away, dashing up the water whenever they succeed in coming near each other, and delighting in drenching the travellers with the spray. Their great pleasure appears in torturing others, with impunity to themselves. They, however, wear mantles of goat-skins in dry weather, but, as soon as rain comes on, they wrap them up, and place them in their loads, standing meantime trembling like dogs which have just emerged from the water.

“In no part of Africa have they seen such splendid vegetation as covers this basin from the mountain-tops to the shores.”

On returning to Ujiji, Speke wished to make a further survey of the lake, but was overruled by Captain Burton, who considered that their means were running short; indeed, had not an Arab merchant arrived, bringing supplies, they would have been placed in an awkward position. This timely supply was one of the many pieces of good fortune which befell them on their journey. Help had always reached them when they most required it.

Captain Burton, being too ill to walk, was carried in a hammock, and, setting out, they returned safely to Caze.

They were here again received by their friend, Sheikh Snay, who gave Speke an account of his journey to the Nyanza Lake. His statements were corroborated by a Hindoo merchant called Musa, who gave him also a description of the country northward of the line, and of the rivers which flowed out of the lake.

Eager to explore the country, Speke arranged to set off, leaving Captain Burton at Caze. Sheikh Snay, however, refused to accompany him, and he had in consequence some difficulty in arranging with the Belooch guard.

On the 9th of July, 1858, he was able to start his caravan, consisting of twenty porters, ten Beloochs, and his servants. The Beloochs were, from the first, sulky and difficult to manage, while thepagazis, or porters, played all sorts of tricks, sometimes leaving their loads and running off to amuse themselves, and in the evening they would dance and sing songs composed for the occasion, introducing everybody’s name, and especially Mzimza, the wise or white man, ending with the prevailing word, among these curly-headed bipeds, of “Grub! grub! grub!”

The Weezee villages are built in the form of a large hollow square, the outer wall of which serves for the backs of the huts; another wall forms the front, and the intermediate space is partitioned off by interior earthen walls. The roofs are flat, and on them are kept firewood, grain, pumpkins, and vegetables. Each apartment contains a family, with their poultry and cooking utensils; some, however, are devoted exclusively to goats and cows.

They passed through forests of considerate size; caravans from the north were also met with. At one place the country was found to be governed by a sultana, the only one they met with in their travels. She did her utmost to detain Speke, not allowing him an interview till the next day. On paying the lady a visit, he was received by an ugly, dirtily-garbed old woman, though with a smiling countenance, who, at his request, furnished him eggs and milk. At length the sultana appeared—an old dame with a short, squat figure, a nose flabby at the end, and eyes destitute of brows or lashes, but blessed with a smiling face. Her dress consisted of an oldbarsati, dirtier even than her maid’s. Her fingers were covered with rings of copper wire, and her legs staggered under an immense accumulation of anklets, made of brass-wire wound round an elephant’s tail or that of a zebra. On her arms were solid brass rings, and from other wire bracelets depended a variety of brazen, horn, and ivory ornaments.

Squatting by his side, the sultana, after shaking hands, felt Speke all over, wondering at his dress. She insisted on his accepting a bullock; but, anxious to be off, he declined waiting for it. She at last consented to send it after him by some of his porters, who were to remain for the purpose.

He was constantly detained by the laziness of hisftagazis, who, when getting into a rich country, preferred eating the meat, eggs, and vegetables they could obtain.

He unfortunately had only white beads with him, which which were not the fashion: with coloured beads he could have purchased provisions at a much cheaper rate. Had the people also been addicted to wearing cloth, instead of decorating themselves with beads, he would with his cloth have been able to make his purchases much more advantageously. As the country is overstocked with common beads, it is far more economical to obtain high-priced than low-priced beads when preparing to start from Zanzibar.

As warfare was going on, it was necessary to make a tortuous track to avoid the combatants.

Thejemadarand two Beloochs complained of sickness and declared they could not march, and poor Gaetano fell ill and hid himself in the jungle, being thus left behind. Men were sent off to search for him, and the next day the Beloochs brought him in, looking exactly like a naughty dog going to be punished.

The sultans, however, of the different villages were generally friendly.

When a desert tract had to be passed, the men went on well enough, hoping to obtain food at the next cultivated district.

On the 30th of July Speke discerned, four miles off, a sheet of water which proved to be a creek at the most southern portion of the Nyanza, called by the Arabs the Ukerewe Sea.

Passing amidst villages and cultivated grounds, they descended to a watercourse which he called the Jordan. It is frequented by hippopotami, and rhinoceros pay frequent visits to the fields.

Iron is found in abundance in this district, and nearly all the iron tools and cutlery used in this part of Eastern Africa is manufactured here: it is, in truth, the Birmingham of the land. The porters therefore wished to remain to make purchases of hoes.

A rich country was passed through, and on the 4th of August the caravan, after leaving the village of Isamiro, ascended a hill, when the vast expanse of the pale blue waters of the Nyanza burst suddenly on the travellers’ 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. An archipelago of islands intercepted the line of vision to the left. The sheet of water extended far away to the eastward, forming the south and east angle of the lake, while two large islands, distant about twenty or thirty miles, formed the visible north shore of this firth.Ukereweis the name by which the whole lake is called by the Arabs. Below, at no great distance, was the debouchure of the creek along which he had travelled for the last three days.

This scene would anywhere have arrested the traveller by its peaceful beauty. He writes enthusiastically—

“The islands, each swelling in a gentle slope to a rounded summit clothed with wood, between the rugged, angular, closely-cropping rocks of granite, seen mirrored in the calm surface of the lake, on which is here and there detected the a small black speck—the tiny canoe of some Muanza fisherman. On the gentle-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 bunches of which clustered in such profusion round the cottages, and formed 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 were 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 Arab’s 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.”

To this magnificent lake Speke gave the name of Victoria Nyanza.

Note. It has since been proved to be only one and the least considerable of the sources of the White Nile, by the later discoveries of Baker and Livingstone.

He now descended to Muanza, on the shores of the lake, having altogether performed a journey of two hundred and twenty-six miles from Cazé.

He was here kindly treated by Sultan Mahaya, with whom an Arab merchant, named Mansur, was residing, who gave him much valuable information.

Taking a walk of three miles along the shores of the lake, accompanied by Mansur and a native, the greatest traveller of the place, he ascended a hill whence he could obtain a good view across the expanse of water spread out before him. Several islands were seen, but some so far-off as scarcely to be distinguishable. Facing to the west-north-west was an unbroken sea horizon, and he calculated that the breadth of the lake was over a hundred miles. The native, when asked the length of the lake, faced to the north, and, nodding his head, indicated by signs that it was something immeasurable, adding that he thought it probably extended to the end of the world.

Poor Mansur had been robbed of his merchandise, by a sultan whose territory was on the shore of the lake, and he had very little chance of obtaining redress.

Sultan Mahaya was considered the best and most just ruler in those quarters; and when Speke proposed crossing the lake to the island of the Ukerewe, he urged him on no account to make the attempt. Mansur also did his best to dissuade him, and, boats not being obtainable, he was compelled to give up his design.

Speke, arguing from the fact that the source of the Nile at the highest spot which had been reached, two thousand feet above the level of the sea, is considerably lower than the surface of the lake, which is four thousand feet, is of opinion that the waters of the lake must flow into it. The lake has, however, numerous feeders which flow from the Mountains of the Moon. Indeed, from that and several other reasons, he felt convinced that the lake is the real and long-looked-for source of the Nile.

As no boats of any size were to be obtained, and having gained all the information he could, regretting that he was unable to extend his explorations, he bade the Sultan and his Arab friend adieu, and on the 6th of August commenced his return journey.

The country through which he passed abounds in game. Elephants are finer here than in any other part of the world, and some have tusks exceeding five hundred pounds the pair in weight. The people are mostly agricultural; and when a stranger comes among them, they welcome him, considering his advent as a good omen, and allow him to do what he likes.

His black attendants were in much better humour on the return journey, as they were now going home, and, as the country was well stocked with cattle, they could obtain as much meat as was required. One village through which he passed, being full of sweet springs, had a dense population possessing numerous herds of cattle.

“If they were ruled by a few score of Europeans, what a revolution a few years would bring forth! An extensive market would be opened to the world, and industry and commerce would clear the way for civilisation and enlightenment,” Speke remarks.

The country is also, he says, high, dry, and healthy, while the air is neither too hot nor too cold.

On the evening of the 25th of August he marched into Cazé, under the influence of a cool night and bright moon, his attendants firing off muskets and singing, while men, women, and children came flocking out, piercing the air with loud, shrill noises. The Arabs all came forth to meet him and escort him to their depot, where Captain Burton, who had been very anxious as to his safety, greeted him, numerous reports having been set afloat about him.

Captain Burton being now restored to health, they set off together for Zanzibar, whence they shortly afterwards returned to England.

Chapter Fourteen.Captains Speke and Grant’s travels from the Island of Zanzibar, on the East Coast of Africa, to Lake Victoria Nyanza, and down the Nile.Sets out with an expedition to prove that the source of the Nile is the Nyanza River—Arrives at Zanzibar—Crosses to Bagomoyo with his followers—The caravan—Squabbles among the porters—The march begun for Caze—The traveller’s routine of work—Tribute demanded by Chiefs—The Hottentot escort and the Waguana escort—The country of the Wazaramo—Their manners and customs—Kidunda—Along the Kinganni River to the country of the Usagara—Grant is ill—Ugogo—The place and people—Encamp on a clearing called Kanyenye, where some of the porters abscond—Shooting rhinoceros—New Year’s Day at Round Rock—Unyamuezi, the Country of the Moon—Caze—Received by his friend Musa—The Unyamuezi people—Set out and reach Mininga—Liberates a slave—Illness, and returns to Caze—The custom of the Weezee—Reaches Mininga again—Difficulties—Arrives at the district of the Chief, Myonga—The Pig—Difficulties again—Speke’s illness—Is attended by Lumeresi, who afterwards makes extortionate demands and causes trouble—Alarming news of Grant.Captain Speke, who had already made two expeditions into Africa, which have been described—on the second of which he discovered the great lake, Victoria Nyanza—started, on the 20th of July, 1858, on a third expedition, in the hopes of proving that the Nile has its source in that lake. He was accompanied by an old Indian brother officer, Captain Grant.Having reached the island of Zanzibar, where some time was spent in collecting a sufficient band of followers, they left Zanzibar on the 25th of September, in a corvette placed attheir disposal by the sultan, and crossed over to Bagomoyo, on the mainland.They had, as their attendants, ten men of the Cape Mounted Rifles, who were Hottentots; a native commandant, Sheikh Said; five old black sailors, who spoke Hindostanee; in addition to Bombay, Speke’s former attendant, factotum, and interpreter; a party of sixty-four Waguana blacks, emancipated from slavery; and fifteen porters of the interior. The two chief men, besides Said, were Bombay and Baraka, who commanded the Zanzibar men. Fifty carbines were distributed among the elder men of the party, and the sheikh was armed with a double-barrelled rifle, given to him by Captain Speke. The sultan also sent, as a guard of honour, twenty-five Beloochs, with an officer, to escort them as far as Uzaramo, the country of the Wazaramo. They had also eleven mules to carry ammunition, and five donkeys for the sick.Their whole journey was to be performed on foot. As there were no roads, their luggage was carried on the backs of men.Some time was spent among the porters in squabbling, and arranging their packs. Their captain, distinguishable by a high head-dress of ostrich plumes stuck through a strip of scarlet flannel, led the march, flag in hand, followed by his gang of woolly-haired negroes, armed with spears or bows and arrows, carrying their loads, either secured to three-pronged sticks or, when they consisted of brass or copper wire, hung at each end of sticks carried on the shoulder. The Waguana followed in helter-skelter fashion, carrying all sorts of articles, next came the Hottentots, dragging the mules with the ammunition, whilst lastly marched the sheikh and the Belooch escort, the goats and women, the sick and stragglers bringing up the rear.One of the Hottentot privates soon died, and five others were sent back sick. About thirty Seedees deserted, as did nearly all the porters, while the sheikh also soon fell sick.On the 2nd of October, having bid farewell to Colonel Rigby, the British consul at Zanzibar, who took deep interest in the expedition, and afforded it every assistance in his power, the march began.They had first before them a journey of five hundred miles to Caze, the capital of the country of the Moon, in latitude 5 degrees south, longitude 33 degrees east, being due south of Lake Victoria Nyanza. This was a small portion, however, only of the distance to be performed.Captains Speke and Grant divided the duties of the expedition between them, the first mapping the country, which is done by timing the rate of march, taking compass-bearings, noting the water-shed, etcetera. Then, on arriving in camp, it was necessary to boil the thermometer to ascertain the altitude of the station above the sea-level, and the latitude by the meridional altitude of a star; then, at intervals of sixty miles, lunar observations had to be taken to determine the longitude; and, lastly, there was the duty of keeping a diary, sketching, and making geological and zoological collections. Captain Grant made the botanical collections and had charge of the thermometer. He kept the rain-guage and sketched with water colours, for it was found that photography was too severe work for the climate.The march was pursued before the sun was high, then came breakfast and a pipe before exploring the neighbourhood, and dinner at sunset, then tea and pipe before turning in at night.Scarcely had they commenced the journey than the petty chiefs demanded tribute, which it was necessary to pay. The porters also struck for higher wages; but, the leaders going on, they thought better of the matter, and followed.The poor Hottentots suffered much from the climate, and were constantly on the sick-list. The Waguana treated them with great contempt, and one day, while a little Tot was trying to lift his pack on his mule a large black grasped him, pack and all, in his muscular arms, lifting them above his head, paraded him round the camp amid much laughter, and then, putting him down, loaded his mule and patted him on the back.“A day’s march being concluded, the sheikh and Bombay arrange the camp, issuing cloths to the porters for the purchase of rations, the tents are pitched, the Hottentots cook, some look after the mules and donkeys, others cut boughs for huts and fencing, while the Beloochs are supposed to guard the camp, but prefer gossiping and brightening their arms, while Captain Grant kills two buck antelopes to supply the larder.”The country through which they were passing belongs to to the tribe of Wazaramo. It is covered with villages, the houses of which are mostly of a conical shape, composed of hurdle-work and plastered with clay, and thatched with grass or reeds. They profess to be the subjects of the Sultan of Zanzibar. They are arrant rogues, and rob travellers, when they can, by open violence. They always demand more tribute than they expect to get, and generally use threats as a means of extortion. One of their chiefs, the Lion-Claw, was very troublesome, sending back the presents which had been made him, and threatening dire vengeance if his demands were not complied with. Further on, Monkey’s-Tail, another chief, demanded more tribute; but Speke sent word that he should smell his powder if he came for it; and, exhibiting the marksmanship of his men, Monkey’s-Tail thought better of it, and got nothing.The people, though somewhat short, are not bad-looking. Though their dress is limited, they adorn themselves with shells, pieces of tin, and beads, and rub their bodies with red clay and oil, till their skins appear like new copper. Their hair is woolly, and they twist it into a number of tufts, each of which is elongated by the fibres of bark. They have one good quality, not general in Africa: the men treat the women with much attention, dressing their hair for them, andescorting them to the water, lest any harm should befall them.Kidunda was reached on the 14th of October. Hence the Belooch escort was sent back the next day, with the specimens of natural history which had been collected.Proceeding along the Kinganni River they reached the country of the Usagara, a miserable race, who, to avoid the slave-hunters, build their villages on the tops of hills, and cultivate only just as much land among them as will supply their wants. Directly a caravan appears, they take to flight and hide themselves, never attempting resistance if overtaken. Their only dress consist of a strip of cloth round the waist.Captain Grant was here seized with fever, and the sickness of the Hottentots much increased.A long day’s march from the hilly Usagara country led the party into the comparatively level land of Ugogo. Food was scarce, the inhabitants living on the seed of the calabash to save their stores of grain.The country has a wild aspect, well in keeping with the natives who occupy it. The men never appeared without their spears, shields, andassegais. They are fond of ornaments, the ordinary one being a tube of gourd thrust through the lower lobe of the ear. Their colour is somewhat like that of a rich plum. Impulsive and avaricious, they forced their way into the camp to obtain gifts, and thronged the road as the travellers passed by, jeering, quizzing, and pointing at them.On the 27th, they encamped on the eastern border of the largest clearing in Ugogo, called Kanyenye, stacking their loads beneath a large gouty-limbed tree. Here eight of the Wanyamuezi porters absconded, carrying off their loads, accompanied by two Wagogo boys.Speke set off to shoot a rhinoceros at night. Having killed one, two more approached in a stealthy, fidgetty way. Stepping out from his shelter, with the two boys carrying his second rifle, he planted a ball in the largest, which brought him round with a roar in the best position for receiving a second shot; but, on turning round to take his spare rifle, Speke found that the black boys had scrambled off like monkeys up a tree, while the rhinoceros, fortunately for him, shuffled away without charging. He hurried back to let his people know that there was food for them, that they might take possession of it before the hungry Wagogo could find it. Before, however, they had got the skin off the beast, the natives assembled like vultures, and began fighting the men. The scene, though grotesque, was savage and disgusting in the extreme; they fell to work with swords and hatchets, cutting and slashing, thumping and bawling, up to their knees in the middle of the carcass. When a tempting morsel was obtained by one, a stronger would seize it and bear off the prize—right was now might. Fortunately no fight took place between the travellers and the villagers. The latter, covered with blood, were seen scampering home, each with a part of the spoil.The Sheikh Magomba did his utmost to detain them, sending his chief, Wazir, in an apparently friendly manner, to beg that they would live in his palace. The bait, however, did not take—Speke knew the rogue too well. Next day the sheikh was too drunk to listen to anyone, and thus day after day passed by. The time was employed in shooting, and a number of animals were killed. Magomba, however, induced nearly the whole of the porters to decamp, and there was great difficulty in obtaining others to take their places. An old acquaintance, whom they met in a caravan, urged them not to attempt to move, as he thought that it would be impossible for them to pass through the wilderness depending only on Speke’s and Grant’s guns for their support.Still Speke resolved to push on, and most of the men who had deserted came back.To keep up discipline, one of the porters, who had stolen seventy-three yards of cloth, which was found in his kit, received three dozen lashes, and, being found to be a murderer and a bad character, he was turned out of the camp.They spent New Year’s Day at Round Rock, a village occupied by a few Wakimbu, who, by their quiet and domestic manners, made them feel that they were out of the forest. Provisions were now obtained by sending men to distant villages; but they were able to supply the camp with their guns, killing rhinoceros, wild boar, antelope and zebra.On the 23rd of January they entered Unyamuezi, or the country of the moon, little inferior in size to England, but cut up into numerous pretty states. The name is abbreviated to Weezee.On the 24th they reached Cazé, where Speke had remained so long on his former visit. His old friend, Musa, came out to meet them, and escorted them to histembe, or house, where he invited them to reside till he could find porters to carry their property to Karague, promising to go there with them himself. They found here also Sheikh Snay, who, with other Arab merchants, came at once to call on them. Snay told him that he had an army of four hundred slaves prepared to march against the chief, Manua Sera, who was constantly attacking and robbing their caravans. Speke advised him not to make the attempt, as he was likely to get the worst of it. The other Arab merchant agreed that a treaty of peace would be better than fighting.Musa gave him much information about the journey northward, and promised to supply him with sixty porters from his slave establishment, by which arrangement Speke would have a hundred armed men to form his escort.Musa loudly praised Rumanika, the King of Karague, through whose dominions the expedition was to pass.Some time, however, was of necessity spent at Caze inmaking preparations for the journey, the two travellers employing themselves during it in gaining information about the country.The Wanyamuezi, among whom they were residing, are a polite race, having a complete code of etiquette for receiving friends or strangers; drums are beat both on the arrival and departure of great people. When one chief receives another, he assembles the inhabitants of the village, with their drums and musical instruments, which they sound with all their might, and then dance for his amusement. The drum is used, like the bugle, on all occasions; and, when the travellers wished to move, the drums were beaten as a sign to their porters to take up their burdens. The women courtesy to their chief, and men clap their hands and bow themselves. If a woman of inferior rank meets a superior, she drops on one knee and bows her head; the superior then places her hand on the shoulder of the kneeling woman, and they remain in this attitude some moments, whispering a few words, after which they rise and talk freely.The Wanyamuezi, or, as they are familiarly called, theWeezee, are great traders, and travel to a considerable distance in pursuit of their business.When a husband returns from a journey, his favourite wife prepares to receive him in a peculiar manner. Having put on all her ornaments, to which she adds a cap of feathers, she proceeds, with her friends, to the principal wife of the chief, when, the lady coming forth, they all dance before her, taking care to be thus occupied when the husband makes his appearance, a band of music playing away and making as much noise as possible with their instruments.On the 7th of February news was brought that Sheikh Snay had carried out his intention of attacking Manua Sera, whom he found ensconced in a house at Tura. Manua, however, made his escape, when Snay plundered the whole district, and shot and murdered every one he fell in with, carrying off a number of slaves. The chief, in consequence, threatened to attack Cazé as soon as the merchants had gone off on their expeditions in search of ivory.Soon after this it was reported that Snay and other Arabs had been killed, as well as a number of slaves. This proved to be true.Finding that nothing more could be done at Caze, the travellers, assembling their caravan, commenced their march northward on the 17th of March.On the 24th they reached Mininga, where they were received by an ivory merchant named Sirboko. Here one of Sirboko’s slaves, who had been chained up, addressed Speke, piteously exclaiming: “Oh, my lord, take pity on me! When I was a free man, I saw you on the Tanganyika lake; my people were there attacked by the Watuta, and, being badly wounded, I was left for dead, when, recovering, I was sold to the Arabs. If you will liberate me, I will never run away, but serve you faithfully.” Touched by this appeal, Speke obtained the freedom of the poor man from his master, and he was christened Farham, or Joy, and enrolled among his other freemen.The abominable conduct of the Arabs, who persisted in attacking the natives and devastating the country, placed the travellers in an awkward position. The Hottentots, too, suffered so much from sickness that, as the only hope of saving their lives, it was necessary to send them back to Zanzibar. Speke therefore found it necessary to return to Caze, which he reached on the 2nd of May, leaving Grant, who was ill, behind at Mininga.He here heard of a tribe of cannibals, who, when they cannot get human flesh, give a goat to their neighbours for a dying child, considering such as the best flesh. They are, however, the only cannibals known in that district.They were still in the country of the Weezee, of whose curious customs they had an opportunity of seeing more. Both sexes are inveterate smokers. They quickly manufacture their pipes of a lump of clay and a green twig, from which they extract the pith. They all grow tobacco, the leaves of which they twist up into a thick rope like a hay-band, and then coil it into a flattened spiral, shaped like a target. They are very fond of dancing. A long strip of bark or cow-skin is laid on the ground, and the Weezee arrange themselves along it, the tallest man posting himself in the centre. When they have taken their places the musicians begin playing on their instruments, while the dancers commence a strange chant, more like a howl than a song. They bow their heads, putting their hands on their hips and stamping vigorously. The men not dancing look on, encouraging their friends by joining in the chorus, while the women stand behind without speaking. Meantime, the elders sit on the ground drinkingpomba. On one of these occasions the chief, who was present, drank morepombathan any of the people.While the party were thus engaged, two lads, with zebramanes tied over their heads, and two bark tubes, formed like huge bassoons, in their hands, leaped into the centre of the dancers, twisting and turning and blowing their horns in the most extraordinary manner. The men, women, and children, inspired by the sound of the music, on this began to sing and clap their hands in time.Pombais a sort of spirituous liquor, produced from a kind of grain grown in the country, which is cultivated by women, who nearly entirely superintend the preparation of the drink.They received a visit from Sultan Ukulima, of Unyamuezi, a fine hale old man, who was especially fond of this beverage, drinking it all day long. He was pleasant enough in manner, and rather amusing when he happened not to be tipsy. Being fond of a practical joke, he used to beg for quinine, which he would mix slyly withpomba, and then offer it to his courtiers, enjoying the wry faces they made when partaking of the bitter draught. He used to go round to the houses of his subjects, managing to arrive just as the pomba-brewing was finished, when he would take a draught, and then go on to the next. He sometimes sucked it through a reed, just as a sherry cobbler is taken, while one of his slaves held the jar before him.The women and men do not drink it together. It is the custom of the ladies to assemble in the house of the sultana, and indulge in it in her company.The women, as has been said, are employed in the cultivation of the grain from which it is made. When it is green, they cut off the ears with a knife. These are then conveyed to the village in baskets, and spread out in the sun to dry. The men next thrash out the grain with long, thin flails. It is afterwards stacked in the form of corn-ricks, raised from the ground on posts, or sometimes it is secured round a tall post, which is stuck upright in the ground, swelling out in the centre somewhat in the shape of a fisherman’s float. Whenrequired for use, it is pounded in wooden mortars, and afterwards ground between two stones.Speke reached Mininga again on the 15th, where he found Grant greatly recovered. During his absence three villagers had been attacked by a couple of lions. The men took to flight, and two gained the shelter of their hut, but the third, just as he was about to enter, was seized by the monsters and devoured.Difficulties of all sorts beset them: the chief was obtaining porters; Musa, too, who pretended to be so friendly, did not keep faith with them; but, rather than be delayed, Speke paid the beads demanded, and once more set off.At length he obtained akirangozi, or leader, by name Ungurue, which may be translated the Pig. He had frequently conducted caravans to Karagué, and knew the languages of the country. He proved to be what his name betokened—a remarkably obstinate and stupid fellow.Speke was still detained by the difficulty of procuring porters, some being engaged in harvest, while others declared that they feared the Watuta and other enemies in the districts through which they would have to pass.An Arab caravan which had followed them was in the same condition.At length, having obtained a part of the number he required, a camp was formed at Phunzé, where Grant, with Bombay to attend on him, remained in charge of part of the baggage, while Speke, with the Pig as his guide and Baraka as his attendant, pushed on ahead.The chiefs of every district through which they passed demandedhongo, or tribute, without which the travellers could not move forward. This caused numberless provoking delays, as the chiefs were often not content with what was offered to them.On the 9th of June he arrived in a district governed by a chief called Myonga, famed for his extortions and infamous conduct, in consequence of which no Arabs would pass that way. On approaching his palace, war drums were heard in every surrounding village. The Pig went forward to obtain terms for the caravan to pass by. Myonga replied that he wished to see a white man, as he had never yet set eyes on one, and would have a residence prepared for him. Speke declined the favour, but sent Baraka to arrange thehongo. Baraka amused himself, as usual, for some hours, with firing off volleys of ammunition, and it was not till evening that the palace drums announced that thehongohad been settled, consisting of six yards of cloth, some beads, and other articles. On this Speke immediately gave orders to commence the march, but two cows had been stolen from the caravan, and the men declared that they would not proceed without getting them back. Speke knew that if he remained more cloths would be demanded, and as soon as the cows arrived he shot them and gave them to the villagers. This raised a mutiny among his men, and the Pig would not show the way, nor would a single porter lift his load. Speke would not enter the village, and his party remained, therefore, in the open all night. The next morning, as he expected, Myonga sent his prime minister, who declared that the ladies of his court had nothing to cover their nakedness, and that something more must be paid. This caused fresh difficulties, the drums beat, and at length, much against his inclination, Speke paid some more yards of cloth for the sake of Grant, who might otherwise have been annoyed by the scoundrel.This is a specimen of some of the lighter difficulties which the travellers had to encounter on their journey.Having passed a number of villages, they entered a tract of jungle in which a stream formed the boundary between the great country of the Moon and the kingdom of Uzinga.The district Speke next entered was ruled by two chieftains descended from Abyssinians. They were as great extortioners, however, as any of the pure negro race.The Pig continued his tricks, and the travellers were heavily taxed and robbed at every step. The porters, too, refused to advance, declaring that they should be murdered, as the Watuta, their great enemies, were out on a foray: finally, they ran away and hid themselves. These Watuta, they said, were desperate fellows, who had invaded their country and killed their wives and children, and had despoiled them of everything they held dear. Baraka also showed the white feather. Speke, however, put on a bold front, and declared that he would return to Caze and collect men who would not be afraid to accompany him to Usui. He carried his plan into execution, rejoined Grant, and obtained two fresh guides, Bui and Nasib, a steady old traveller. Still he was unable to obtain fresh porters to carry on his baggage, and he was once more obliged to part from Grant.Having gone some way, Speke was taken seriously ill, while, again, his guides refused to proceed. This occurred while he was in the district of a chief, named Lumérési, who insisted on his coming to his village, feeling jealous that he had remained in that of another inferior chief. Lumérési was not in when Speke arrived, but on his return, at night, he beat all his drums to celebrate the event, and fired a musket; in reply to which Speke fired three shots. The chief, however, though he pretended to be very kind, soon began to beg for everything he saw. Speke, who felt that his best chance of recovering from his illness was change of air, ordered his men to prepare a hammock in which he might be conveyed. Although he had already given the chief a handsomehongo, or tribute, consisting of a red blanket, and a number of pretty common cloths for his children, no sooner did he begin to move than Lumeresi placed himself in his way and declared that he could not bear the idea of his white visitor going to die in the jungle. His true object, however, was to obtain a robe, ordeole, which Speke had determinednot to give him. However, at length, rather than be detained, he presented the only one which he had preserved for the great chief, Rumanika, into whose territories he was about to proceed. Scarcely had the chief received it, than he insisted on a furtherhongo, exactly double what had previously been given him. Again Speke yielded, and presented a number of brass-wire bracelets, sixteen cloths, and a hundred necklaces of coral beads, which were to pay for Grant as well as himself.When about to march, however, Bui and Nasib were not to be found. On this, Speke determined to send back Bombay to Caze for fresh guides and interpreters, who were to join Grant on their return.In the meantime, while lying in a fearfully weak condition, reduced almost to a skeleton, he was startled, at midnight, out of his sleep by hearing the hurried tramp of several men. They proved to be Grant’s porters, who, in short excited sentences, told him that they had left Grant standing under a tree with nothing but a gun in his hand; that his Wanguann porters had been either killed or driven away, having been attacked by Myonga’s men, who had fallen upon the caravan, and shot, speared, and plundered the whole of it.

Captain Speke, who had already made two expeditions into Africa, which have been described—on the second of which he discovered the great lake, Victoria Nyanza—started, on the 20th of July, 1858, on a third expedition, in the hopes of proving that the Nile has its source in that lake. He was accompanied by an old Indian brother officer, Captain Grant.

Having reached the island of Zanzibar, where some time was spent in collecting a sufficient band of followers, they left Zanzibar on the 25th of September, in a corvette placed attheir disposal by the sultan, and crossed over to Bagomoyo, on the mainland.

They had, as their attendants, ten men of the Cape Mounted Rifles, who were Hottentots; a native commandant, Sheikh Said; five old black sailors, who spoke Hindostanee; in addition to Bombay, Speke’s former attendant, factotum, and interpreter; a party of sixty-four Waguana blacks, emancipated from slavery; and fifteen porters of the interior. The two chief men, besides Said, were Bombay and Baraka, who commanded the Zanzibar men. Fifty carbines were distributed among the elder men of the party, and the sheikh was armed with a double-barrelled rifle, given to him by Captain Speke. The sultan also sent, as a guard of honour, twenty-five Beloochs, with an officer, to escort them as far as Uzaramo, the country of the Wazaramo. They had also eleven mules to carry ammunition, and five donkeys for the sick.

Their whole journey was to be performed on foot. As there were no roads, their luggage was carried on the backs of men.

Some time was spent among the porters in squabbling, and arranging their packs. Their captain, distinguishable by a high head-dress of ostrich plumes stuck through a strip of scarlet flannel, led the march, flag in hand, followed by his gang of woolly-haired negroes, armed with spears or bows and arrows, carrying their loads, either secured to three-pronged sticks or, when they consisted of brass or copper wire, hung at each end of sticks carried on the shoulder. The Waguana followed in helter-skelter fashion, carrying all sorts of articles, next came the Hottentots, dragging the mules with the ammunition, whilst lastly marched the sheikh and the Belooch escort, the goats and women, the sick and stragglers bringing up the rear.

One of the Hottentot privates soon died, and five others were sent back sick. About thirty Seedees deserted, as did nearly all the porters, while the sheikh also soon fell sick.

On the 2nd of October, having bid farewell to Colonel Rigby, the British consul at Zanzibar, who took deep interest in the expedition, and afforded it every assistance in his power, the march began.

They had first before them a journey of five hundred miles to Caze, the capital of the country of the Moon, in latitude 5 degrees south, longitude 33 degrees east, being due south of Lake Victoria Nyanza. This was a small portion, however, only of the distance to be performed.

Captains Speke and Grant divided the duties of the expedition between them, the first mapping the country, which is done by timing the rate of march, taking compass-bearings, noting the water-shed, etcetera. Then, on arriving in camp, it was necessary to boil the thermometer to ascertain the altitude of the station above the sea-level, and the latitude by the meridional altitude of a star; then, at intervals of sixty miles, lunar observations had to be taken to determine the longitude; and, lastly, there was the duty of keeping a diary, sketching, and making geological and zoological collections. Captain Grant made the botanical collections and had charge of the thermometer. He kept the rain-guage and sketched with water colours, for it was found that photography was too severe work for the climate.

The march was pursued before the sun was high, then came breakfast and a pipe before exploring the neighbourhood, and dinner at sunset, then tea and pipe before turning in at night.

Scarcely had they commenced the journey than the petty chiefs demanded tribute, which it was necessary to pay. The porters also struck for higher wages; but, the leaders going on, they thought better of the matter, and followed.

The poor Hottentots suffered much from the climate, and were constantly on the sick-list. The Waguana treated them with great contempt, and one day, while a little Tot was trying to lift his pack on his mule a large black grasped him, pack and all, in his muscular arms, lifting them above his head, paraded him round the camp amid much laughter, and then, putting him down, loaded his mule and patted him on the back.

“A day’s march being concluded, the sheikh and Bombay arrange the camp, issuing cloths to the porters for the purchase of rations, the tents are pitched, the Hottentots cook, some look after the mules and donkeys, others cut boughs for huts and fencing, while the Beloochs are supposed to guard the camp, but prefer gossiping and brightening their arms, while Captain Grant kills two buck antelopes to supply the larder.”

The country through which they were passing belongs to to the tribe of Wazaramo. It is covered with villages, the houses of which are mostly of a conical shape, composed of hurdle-work and plastered with clay, and thatched with grass or reeds. They profess to be the subjects of the Sultan of Zanzibar. They are arrant rogues, and rob travellers, when they can, by open violence. They always demand more tribute than they expect to get, and generally use threats as a means of extortion. One of their chiefs, the Lion-Claw, was very troublesome, sending back the presents which had been made him, and threatening dire vengeance if his demands were not complied with. Further on, Monkey’s-Tail, another chief, demanded more tribute; but Speke sent word that he should smell his powder if he came for it; and, exhibiting the marksmanship of his men, Monkey’s-Tail thought better of it, and got nothing.

The people, though somewhat short, are not bad-looking. Though their dress is limited, they adorn themselves with shells, pieces of tin, and beads, and rub their bodies with red clay and oil, till their skins appear like new copper. Their hair is woolly, and they twist it into a number of tufts, each of which is elongated by the fibres of bark. They have one good quality, not general in Africa: the men treat the women with much attention, dressing their hair for them, andescorting them to the water, lest any harm should befall them.

Kidunda was reached on the 14th of October. Hence the Belooch escort was sent back the next day, with the specimens of natural history which had been collected.

Proceeding along the Kinganni River they reached the country of the Usagara, a miserable race, who, to avoid the slave-hunters, build their villages on the tops of hills, and cultivate only just as much land among them as will supply their wants. Directly a caravan appears, they take to flight and hide themselves, never attempting resistance if overtaken. Their only dress consist of a strip of cloth round the waist.

Captain Grant was here seized with fever, and the sickness of the Hottentots much increased.

A long day’s march from the hilly Usagara country led the party into the comparatively level land of Ugogo. Food was scarce, the inhabitants living on the seed of the calabash to save their stores of grain.

The country has a wild aspect, well in keeping with the natives who occupy it. The men never appeared without their spears, shields, andassegais. They are fond of ornaments, the ordinary one being a tube of gourd thrust through the lower lobe of the ear. Their colour is somewhat like that of a rich plum. Impulsive and avaricious, they forced their way into the camp to obtain gifts, and thronged the road as the travellers passed by, jeering, quizzing, and pointing at them.

On the 27th, they encamped on the eastern border of the largest clearing in Ugogo, called Kanyenye, stacking their loads beneath a large gouty-limbed tree. Here eight of the Wanyamuezi porters absconded, carrying off their loads, accompanied by two Wagogo boys.

Speke set off to shoot a rhinoceros at night. Having killed one, two more approached in a stealthy, fidgetty way. Stepping out from his shelter, with the two boys carrying his second rifle, he planted a ball in the largest, which brought him round with a roar in the best position for receiving a second shot; but, on turning round to take his spare rifle, Speke found that the black boys had scrambled off like monkeys up a tree, while the rhinoceros, fortunately for him, shuffled away without charging. He hurried back to let his people know that there was food for them, that they might take possession of it before the hungry Wagogo could find it. Before, however, they had got the skin off the beast, the natives assembled like vultures, and began fighting the men. The scene, though grotesque, was savage and disgusting in the extreme; they fell to work with swords and hatchets, cutting and slashing, thumping and bawling, up to their knees in the middle of the carcass. When a tempting morsel was obtained by one, a stronger would seize it and bear off the prize—right was now might. Fortunately no fight took place between the travellers and the villagers. The latter, covered with blood, were seen scampering home, each with a part of the spoil.

The Sheikh Magomba did his utmost to detain them, sending his chief, Wazir, in an apparently friendly manner, to beg that they would live in his palace. The bait, however, did not take—Speke knew the rogue too well. Next day the sheikh was too drunk to listen to anyone, and thus day after day passed by. The time was employed in shooting, and a number of animals were killed. Magomba, however, induced nearly the whole of the porters to decamp, and there was great difficulty in obtaining others to take their places. An old acquaintance, whom they met in a caravan, urged them not to attempt to move, as he thought that it would be impossible for them to pass through the wilderness depending only on Speke’s and Grant’s guns for their support.

Still Speke resolved to push on, and most of the men who had deserted came back.

To keep up discipline, one of the porters, who had stolen seventy-three yards of cloth, which was found in his kit, received three dozen lashes, and, being found to be a murderer and a bad character, he was turned out of the camp.

They spent New Year’s Day at Round Rock, a village occupied by a few Wakimbu, who, by their quiet and domestic manners, made them feel that they were out of the forest. Provisions were now obtained by sending men to distant villages; but they were able to supply the camp with their guns, killing rhinoceros, wild boar, antelope and zebra.

On the 23rd of January they entered Unyamuezi, or the country of the moon, little inferior in size to England, but cut up into numerous pretty states. The name is abbreviated to Weezee.

On the 24th they reached Cazé, where Speke had remained so long on his former visit. His old friend, Musa, came out to meet them, and escorted them to histembe, or house, where he invited them to reside till he could find porters to carry their property to Karague, promising to go there with them himself. They found here also Sheikh Snay, who, with other Arab merchants, came at once to call on them. Snay told him that he had an army of four hundred slaves prepared to march against the chief, Manua Sera, who was constantly attacking and robbing their caravans. Speke advised him not to make the attempt, as he was likely to get the worst of it. The other Arab merchant agreed that a treaty of peace would be better than fighting.

Musa gave him much information about the journey northward, and promised to supply him with sixty porters from his slave establishment, by which arrangement Speke would have a hundred armed men to form his escort.

Musa loudly praised Rumanika, the King of Karague, through whose dominions the expedition was to pass.

Some time, however, was of necessity spent at Caze inmaking preparations for the journey, the two travellers employing themselves during it in gaining information about the country.

The Wanyamuezi, among whom they were residing, are a polite race, having a complete code of etiquette for receiving friends or strangers; drums are beat both on the arrival and departure of great people. When one chief receives another, he assembles the inhabitants of the village, with their drums and musical instruments, which they sound with all their might, and then dance for his amusement. The drum is used, like the bugle, on all occasions; and, when the travellers wished to move, the drums were beaten as a sign to their porters to take up their burdens. The women courtesy to their chief, and men clap their hands and bow themselves. If a woman of inferior rank meets a superior, she drops on one knee and bows her head; the superior then places her hand on the shoulder of the kneeling woman, and they remain in this attitude some moments, whispering a few words, after which they rise and talk freely.

The Wanyamuezi, or, as they are familiarly called, theWeezee, are great traders, and travel to a considerable distance in pursuit of their business.

When a husband returns from a journey, his favourite wife prepares to receive him in a peculiar manner. Having put on all her ornaments, to which she adds a cap of feathers, she proceeds, with her friends, to the principal wife of the chief, when, the lady coming forth, they all dance before her, taking care to be thus occupied when the husband makes his appearance, a band of music playing away and making as much noise as possible with their instruments.

On the 7th of February news was brought that Sheikh Snay had carried out his intention of attacking Manua Sera, whom he found ensconced in a house at Tura. Manua, however, made his escape, when Snay plundered the whole district, and shot and murdered every one he fell in with, carrying off a number of slaves. The chief, in consequence, threatened to attack Cazé as soon as the merchants had gone off on their expeditions in search of ivory.

Soon after this it was reported that Snay and other Arabs had been killed, as well as a number of slaves. This proved to be true.

Finding that nothing more could be done at Caze, the travellers, assembling their caravan, commenced their march northward on the 17th of March.

On the 24th they reached Mininga, where they were received by an ivory merchant named Sirboko. Here one of Sirboko’s slaves, who had been chained up, addressed Speke, piteously exclaiming: “Oh, my lord, take pity on me! When I was a free man, I saw you on the Tanganyika lake; my people were there attacked by the Watuta, and, being badly wounded, I was left for dead, when, recovering, I was sold to the Arabs. If you will liberate me, I will never run away, but serve you faithfully.” Touched by this appeal, Speke obtained the freedom of the poor man from his master, and he was christened Farham, or Joy, and enrolled among his other freemen.

The abominable conduct of the Arabs, who persisted in attacking the natives and devastating the country, placed the travellers in an awkward position. The Hottentots, too, suffered so much from sickness that, as the only hope of saving their lives, it was necessary to send them back to Zanzibar. Speke therefore found it necessary to return to Caze, which he reached on the 2nd of May, leaving Grant, who was ill, behind at Mininga.

He here heard of a tribe of cannibals, who, when they cannot get human flesh, give a goat to their neighbours for a dying child, considering such as the best flesh. They are, however, the only cannibals known in that district.

They were still in the country of the Weezee, of whose curious customs they had an opportunity of seeing more. Both sexes are inveterate smokers. They quickly manufacture their pipes of a lump of clay and a green twig, from which they extract the pith. They all grow tobacco, the leaves of which they twist up into a thick rope like a hay-band, and then coil it into a flattened spiral, shaped like a target. They are very fond of dancing. A long strip of bark or cow-skin is laid on the ground, and the Weezee arrange themselves along it, the tallest man posting himself in the centre. When they have taken their places the musicians begin playing on their instruments, while the dancers commence a strange chant, more like a howl than a song. They bow their heads, putting their hands on their hips and stamping vigorously. The men not dancing look on, encouraging their friends by joining in the chorus, while the women stand behind without speaking. Meantime, the elders sit on the ground drinkingpomba. On one of these occasions the chief, who was present, drank morepombathan any of the people.

While the party were thus engaged, two lads, with zebramanes tied over their heads, and two bark tubes, formed like huge bassoons, in their hands, leaped into the centre of the dancers, twisting and turning and blowing their horns in the most extraordinary manner. The men, women, and children, inspired by the sound of the music, on this began to sing and clap their hands in time.

Pombais a sort of spirituous liquor, produced from a kind of grain grown in the country, which is cultivated by women, who nearly entirely superintend the preparation of the drink.

They received a visit from Sultan Ukulima, of Unyamuezi, a fine hale old man, who was especially fond of this beverage, drinking it all day long. He was pleasant enough in manner, and rather amusing when he happened not to be tipsy. Being fond of a practical joke, he used to beg for quinine, which he would mix slyly withpomba, and then offer it to his courtiers, enjoying the wry faces they made when partaking of the bitter draught. He used to go round to the houses of his subjects, managing to arrive just as the pomba-brewing was finished, when he would take a draught, and then go on to the next. He sometimes sucked it through a reed, just as a sherry cobbler is taken, while one of his slaves held the jar before him.

The women and men do not drink it together. It is the custom of the ladies to assemble in the house of the sultana, and indulge in it in her company.

The women, as has been said, are employed in the cultivation of the grain from which it is made. When it is green, they cut off the ears with a knife. These are then conveyed to the village in baskets, and spread out in the sun to dry. The men next thrash out the grain with long, thin flails. It is afterwards stacked in the form of corn-ricks, raised from the ground on posts, or sometimes it is secured round a tall post, which is stuck upright in the ground, swelling out in the centre somewhat in the shape of a fisherman’s float. Whenrequired for use, it is pounded in wooden mortars, and afterwards ground between two stones.

Speke reached Mininga again on the 15th, where he found Grant greatly recovered. During his absence three villagers had been attacked by a couple of lions. The men took to flight, and two gained the shelter of their hut, but the third, just as he was about to enter, was seized by the monsters and devoured.

Difficulties of all sorts beset them: the chief was obtaining porters; Musa, too, who pretended to be so friendly, did not keep faith with them; but, rather than be delayed, Speke paid the beads demanded, and once more set off.

At length he obtained akirangozi, or leader, by name Ungurue, which may be translated the Pig. He had frequently conducted caravans to Karagué, and knew the languages of the country. He proved to be what his name betokened—a remarkably obstinate and stupid fellow.

Speke was still detained by the difficulty of procuring porters, some being engaged in harvest, while others declared that they feared the Watuta and other enemies in the districts through which they would have to pass.

An Arab caravan which had followed them was in the same condition.

At length, having obtained a part of the number he required, a camp was formed at Phunzé, where Grant, with Bombay to attend on him, remained in charge of part of the baggage, while Speke, with the Pig as his guide and Baraka as his attendant, pushed on ahead.

The chiefs of every district through which they passed demandedhongo, or tribute, without which the travellers could not move forward. This caused numberless provoking delays, as the chiefs were often not content with what was offered to them.

On the 9th of June he arrived in a district governed by a chief called Myonga, famed for his extortions and infamous conduct, in consequence of which no Arabs would pass that way. On approaching his palace, war drums were heard in every surrounding village. The Pig went forward to obtain terms for the caravan to pass by. Myonga replied that he wished to see a white man, as he had never yet set eyes on one, and would have a residence prepared for him. Speke declined the favour, but sent Baraka to arrange thehongo. Baraka amused himself, as usual, for some hours, with firing off volleys of ammunition, and it was not till evening that the palace drums announced that thehongohad been settled, consisting of six yards of cloth, some beads, and other articles. On this Speke immediately gave orders to commence the march, but two cows had been stolen from the caravan, and the men declared that they would not proceed without getting them back. Speke knew that if he remained more cloths would be demanded, and as soon as the cows arrived he shot them and gave them to the villagers. This raised a mutiny among his men, and the Pig would not show the way, nor would a single porter lift his load. Speke would not enter the village, and his party remained, therefore, in the open all night. The next morning, as he expected, Myonga sent his prime minister, who declared that the ladies of his court had nothing to cover their nakedness, and that something more must be paid. This caused fresh difficulties, the drums beat, and at length, much against his inclination, Speke paid some more yards of cloth for the sake of Grant, who might otherwise have been annoyed by the scoundrel.

This is a specimen of some of the lighter difficulties which the travellers had to encounter on their journey.

Having passed a number of villages, they entered a tract of jungle in which a stream formed the boundary between the great country of the Moon and the kingdom of Uzinga.

The district Speke next entered was ruled by two chieftains descended from Abyssinians. They were as great extortioners, however, as any of the pure negro race.

The Pig continued his tricks, and the travellers were heavily taxed and robbed at every step. The porters, too, refused to advance, declaring that they should be murdered, as the Watuta, their great enemies, were out on a foray: finally, they ran away and hid themselves. These Watuta, they said, were desperate fellows, who had invaded their country and killed their wives and children, and had despoiled them of everything they held dear. Baraka also showed the white feather. Speke, however, put on a bold front, and declared that he would return to Caze and collect men who would not be afraid to accompany him to Usui. He carried his plan into execution, rejoined Grant, and obtained two fresh guides, Bui and Nasib, a steady old traveller. Still he was unable to obtain fresh porters to carry on his baggage, and he was once more obliged to part from Grant.

Having gone some way, Speke was taken seriously ill, while, again, his guides refused to proceed. This occurred while he was in the district of a chief, named Lumérési, who insisted on his coming to his village, feeling jealous that he had remained in that of another inferior chief. Lumérési was not in when Speke arrived, but on his return, at night, he beat all his drums to celebrate the event, and fired a musket; in reply to which Speke fired three shots. The chief, however, though he pretended to be very kind, soon began to beg for everything he saw. Speke, who felt that his best chance of recovering from his illness was change of air, ordered his men to prepare a hammock in which he might be conveyed. Although he had already given the chief a handsomehongo, or tribute, consisting of a red blanket, and a number of pretty common cloths for his children, no sooner did he begin to move than Lumeresi placed himself in his way and declared that he could not bear the idea of his white visitor going to die in the jungle. His true object, however, was to obtain a robe, ordeole, which Speke had determinednot to give him. However, at length, rather than be detained, he presented the only one which he had preserved for the great chief, Rumanika, into whose territories he was about to proceed. Scarcely had the chief received it, than he insisted on a furtherhongo, exactly double what had previously been given him. Again Speke yielded, and presented a number of brass-wire bracelets, sixteen cloths, and a hundred necklaces of coral beads, which were to pay for Grant as well as himself.

When about to march, however, Bui and Nasib were not to be found. On this, Speke determined to send back Bombay to Caze for fresh guides and interpreters, who were to join Grant on their return.

In the meantime, while lying in a fearfully weak condition, reduced almost to a skeleton, he was startled, at midnight, out of his sleep by hearing the hurried tramp of several men. They proved to be Grant’s porters, who, in short excited sentences, told him that they had left Grant standing under a tree with nothing but a gun in his hand; that his Wanguann porters had been either killed or driven away, having been attacked by Myonga’s men, who had fallen upon the caravan, and shot, speared, and plundered the whole of it.

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