their weight—a ludicrous scene of confusion and
squabbling. Their captain, distinguished, by a high
head-dress of ostrich plumes stuck through a strip of
scarlet flannel, seeing all ready, led the caravan in single
file with great dignity during the march. The pace
was never more than three and a half miles per hour.
When the captain put down his load for as many
minutes as he thought necessary, the rest, a gang of
naked, woolly-haired negroes, with only an airy covering
of goat-skin in front, would also stop and refresh
themselves with pipes, snuff, grain, dancing, and singing
choruses. Generally there was an argument to
settle how long the march should continue; and many
were the excuses found for a halt, no water ahead
being a common one. Once camped, and the loads
stacked amidst cries of “ Bomah!” or ring-fence, and
“ Posho I or food, the first concern with every one was
to receive his day’s wages, consisting of either a portion
of cloth or one necklace of beads, while we retired to
tents seven feet square, which were genp.ra.ny sheltered
under a tree, with the kit and natives all round us, a
motley crew. If we had that day arrived at the
headquarters of a sultan, an officer would call saying
his master must have so many cloths, with various
other articles, and he must himself have so many
more. Strong arguments and menaces would follow,
and it sometimes took several days to the conference,
as the sultan would be reported absent, or, more
often, tipsy. However, once settled, if no porters
absconded, we were free to proceed on our journey.
I may here remark that nothing can exceed the noise
and jollity of an African camp at night. We, the
masters, were often unable to hear ourselves talk for
the merry song and laughter, the rattle of drums,
jingling of bells, beating of old iron, and discordant
talk going on round our tents. No Hindoo dare be
so rude in your hearing, but an African only wonders
that you don’t enjoy the fun.
We passed through three distinct countries—
Uzaramo, Usagara, and Ugogo. Now at Kazeh we
were in Unyamuezi—translated “ Country of the
Moon.” Our interpreters had been Africans speaking
Hindostanee, and seemed to learn the dialects as they
went along, their native Kisuahili tongue being to
them a useful basis. The four countries were not governed
by one king, but divided into provinces, each
from 20 to 30 miles across; and each had its despot
ruler, the terror of travellers, who were forced to pay
whatever tax was demanded without reference to any
scale. The aristocrats or chiefs lived in no greater
luxury than the poor, although they had a revenue
from fines, taxes, a tusk of every elephant killed or
found dead in their province, and the produce of
large herds of cattle and of farming.
On leaving the coast our path ran up a broad, flat,
dry valley of grass and trees for twenty marches. At
the ninth stage, from a ridge of rising ground composed
of small pebbles in rotten sandstone, we saw
distant hills to the north-west, and had a good view
of the sluggish, winding Kingani, which we did not
altogether lose sight of till the thirteenth march. We
crossed the East African chain at an elevation of 4750
feet, and got into Ugogo, a plateau without a river,
and its “ neeka” or deserted land requiring abundant
rain to make it look at all green. These hills were
tame in general outline; the flora also was poor. We