break ground about the 5th of next month. They brought
me at the same time information that the Watuta had
invested Ruhe’s, after clearing off all the cattle in the
-surrounding villages, and had proclaimed their intention
of serving out Lumeresi next. In consequence of this,
Lumeresi daily assembled his grey-beards and had councils
of war in his drum-house; but though his subjects sent to
him constantly for troops, he would not assist them.
Another caravan then arrived (31st) from Karagud, in
which I found an old friend, of half Arab breed, called
Sairn, who, whilst I was residing with Sheikh Snay at
Kaze on my former expedition, taught me the way to
make plantain-wine. He, like the rest of the porters in
the caravan, wore a shirt of fig-tree bark called mbiigu.
As I shall have frequently to use this word in the course
of the Journal, I may here give an explanation of its meaning.
The porter here mentioned told me that the people
about the equator all wore this kind of covering, and made
it up of numerous pieces of bark sewn together, which they
stripped from the trees after cutting once round the trunk
above and below, and then once more down the tree from
the upper to the lower circular cutting. This operation
did not kill the trees, because, if they covered the wound,
whilst it was fresh, well over with plantain-leaves, shoots
grew down from above, and a new bark came all over it.
The way they softened the bark, to make it like cloth, was
by immersion in water, and a good strong application
of a mill-headed mallet, which ribbed it like corduroy.*
Sairn told me he had lived ten years in Uganda, had
* If one asked the name of a tree, and it happened to be the kind from
which this cloth was made, the answer would he “ mbugil” If, again, the
question was as to the bark, the same answer; and the same if one saw the
shirt and asked what it was. Hence I could not determine whether the word
had been originally the name of the tree, of its bark, or of the article made
from the bark, though I am inclined to think it is the bark, as there are
many varieties of these trees, which, besides being called mbiigu, had their
own particular names.
crossed the Nile, and had traded eastward as far as the
Masai country. He thought the N’yanza was the source
of the Ruvuma river; as the river which drained the
N’yanza, after passing between Uganda and Usoga, went
through Unyoro, and then all round the Tanganyika lake
into the Indian Qcean, south of Zanzibar. Kiganda, he also
said, he knew as well as his own tongue ; and as I wanted
an interpreter, he would gladly take service with me. This
was just what I wanted—a heaven-born stroke of luck.
I seized at his offer with avidity, gave him a new suit of
clothes, which made him look quite a gentleman, and
arranged to send him next day with a- letter to Grant.
lsi and 2d.—A great hubbub and confusion now
seized all the place, for the Watuta were out, and had
killed a woman of the place who had formerly been
seized by them in war, but had since escaped and resided
here. To avenge this, Ltimeresi headed his host, and was
accompanied by my men; but they succeeded in nothing
save in frightening off their enemies, and regaining possession
of the body of the dead woman. Then another
hubbub arose, for it was discovered that three Wahuma
women were missing (2d); and, as they did not turn up
again, Lumeresi suspected the men of the caravan, which
left with Saim, must have taken them off as slaves. He
sent for the chief of the caravan, 7 and had him brouOsht
back to account for this business. Of course the man
swore he knew nothing about the matter, whilst Liimeresi
swore he should stop there a prisoner until the women
were freed, as it was not the first time his women had
been stolen in this manner. About the same time a man
of this place, who had been to Sorombo to purchase cows,
came in with a herd, and was at once seized by Lumeresi;
for, during his absence, one of Lumdrfei’s daughters had
been discovered to be with child, and she, on being asked
who was the cause of it, pointed out that man. To compensate
for damage done to himself, as his daughter by