of the palisaded village, suddenly burst upon the
enemy, and fired and charged successively; to which
the Wamanda replied with equal vigour, advancing
with their frog-like leaps and bounds, dodging and
squatting, and springing and flying in the most wild
and fantastic manner; stabbing with their spears,
protecting with their shields, poising with bows and
arrows pointed, and, mingling with the Beluches,
rushed about striking at and avoiding their guns
and sabres. But all was so similar to the Sena-
gongo display that it does not require a further description.
The number of Kurua’s forces disappointed me,
I fear the intelligence of the coming parade did not
reach far. The dresses they wore did credit to their
nation — some were decked with cock-tail plumes,
others wore bunches of my guinea-fowl’s feathers in
their hair, whilst the chiefs and swells were attired in
long red baize mantles, consisting of a strip of cloth
four feet by twenty inches, at one end of which they
cut a slit to admit the head, and allowed the remainder
to hang like a tail behind the back. Their spears
and bows are of a very ordinary kind, and the shield
is constructed something like the Kafir’s, from a long
strip of bull’s hide, which is painted over with
ochreish earth. The fight over, all hands rushed to
the big drums in the cow-yard, and began beating
them as though they deserved a drubbing: this “sweet
music’’ set everybody on wires in a moment, and
dancing never ceased till the sun went down, and the
cows usurped the revelling-place. Kurua now gave
me a good milch cow and calf, and promised two more
of the same stamp. Those which were brought by the
common people were mere weeds, and dry withal;
they would not bring any good ones, I think, from
fear of the sultan’s displeasure, lest I should prefer
theirs to his, and deprive him of the consequent
profits. My chief reason for leaving Bombay behind
at Senagongo was, that business was never done when
I was present. For, besides staring at me all day, the
people speculated how to make the most of the chance
offered by a rich man coming so suddenly amongst
t em, and m consequence of this avariciousness offered
their cattle at such unreasonable prices as to preclude
the transaction of any business.
18 th. Halt. My anticipations about the way of
getting cows proved correct, for Bombay brought
twelve animals, which cost twenty-three dhotis meri-
kam and nine dhotis kiniki. Kurua now gave me another
cow and calf, and promised me two more when
we arrived at theUkumbi district, as he did not like
* g one herd too much. I gave in return for his
present one barsati, five dhotis merikani and two dhotis
i . with.a promise of some gunpowder when we
arrived at Unyanyembe, for he was still bent on going
there with me. Perhaps I may consider- my former
obstruction in travel by Kurua a fortunate circumstance;
for though the eldest brother’s residence lay
directly in my way, he might not possess so kind a
nature as these two younger brothers.
Still I cannot see any good reason for the Kirangozi