nothing would satisfy him; I must accept it, or he
would be the laughing-stock of everybody for inhospitality.
If I gave nothing in return, he should be
happy as long as his part of host was properly fulfilled.
Salt, according to the sultan, is only to be found here
in the same efflorescent state in which I saw it yesterday—
a thin coating overspreading the ground, as
though flour had been sprinkled there.
21 si.—Halt, I gave the sultan, as a return present,
one dhoti merikani and six cubits kluiki, what I thought
to be just the value of his bullock. His kindness was
undoubtedly worthy of a higher reward, but I feared
to excite these men’s cupidity, as there is no end to
their tricks and finesse whenever they find a new
chance of gain, and I now despaired of accomplishing
my task in time. However, Kurua seemed quite
happy under the circumstances, and considered the
exchange of hongo a bond of alliance, and proclaimed
that we were henceforth to be brothers. He then said
he would accompany me back to Unyanyembd, on my
return from the Lake, and would exchange any of his
cows that I might take a fancy to for powder, which
I said I had there. The quantity of cattle in Msa.lak
surpasses anything I have seen in Africa, Large
droves, tended by a few men each, are to be seen in
every direction over the extensive plains, and every
village is filled with them at night. The cultivation
also is as abundant as the cattle are numerous, and the
climate is delightful. To walk till breakfast, 9 A.M.,
every morning, I find a luxury, and from that time
till noon I ride with pleasure; but the next three
hours, though pleasant in a hut, are too warm to be
agreeable under hard exertion. The evenings and
the mornings, again, are particularly serene, and the
night, after 1 0 p .m., s o cold as to render a blanket
necessary. But then it must be remembered that all
the country about these latitudes, on this meridian,
33° east, is at an altitude of from 3500 to 4000 feet.
My dinner to-day was improved by the addition of
tomatos and the bird’s-eye chili—luxuries to us, but
which the negroes, so different from the Indians,
never care about, and seldom grow.
The cotton-plant is as fine here as at Unyanyembe
or Ujiji, and anything would grow with only the
trouble of throwing down the seed. I t is a great pity
that the country is not in better hands. From all I
can gather, there is no fixed revenue paid to these sultans;
all their perquisites are occasional hongos received
from travellers; a percentage on all foreign seizures,
whether by battle or plunder; and a certain part of
all windfalls, such as a share of the sportsman’s game-
bag, in the shape of elephants’ tusks or flesh, or the
skins of any wild animals; otherwise they live by the
sweat of the brow of their slaves, in tilling their
ground, tending their cattle, or trafficking for them in
slaves and ivory. I t seems destined that I should
never reach the goal of my ambition. To-day the
Jemadar finds himself too unwell to march, and two
other Beluches say the same. This is an effectual obstacle
; for the guard declares itself too weak to divide,