selves at considerable distances, they fired their carbines all
together, and whilst the rhinoceros ran one way, they ran
the other. Whilst we were pitching our tents after sunset
by some pools on the plain, Dr K’yengo arrived with
the hongo of brass and copper wires sent by Süwarora for
the great king Mtésa, in lieu of his daughter who died;
so next morning we all marched together on to Uthenga!
Rising out of the bed of the Urigi, we passed over a
To u th e n g a , m. ^ow keef-sandwich clay sandstones,
and descended into the close, rich valley of
Uthenga, bound in by steep hills hanging over us more
than a thousand feet high, as prettily clothed as the
mountains of Scotland; whilst in the valley there were
not only magnificent trees of extraordinary height, but
also a surprising amount of the richest cultivation, amongst
which the banana may be said to prevail. Notwithstanding
this apparent richness in the land, the Wanyambo,
living in their small squalid huts, seem poor. The tobacco
they smoke is imported from the coffee-growing country
of Uhaiya. After arrival in the village, who should we
see but the Uganda officer, Irungu! The scoundrel, instead
of going on to Uganda as he had promised to do,
conveying my present to Mtésa, had stopped here plundering
the Wanyambo, and getting drunk on their pombé,
called, in their language, marwa—a delicious kind of wine
made from the banana. He, of course, begged for more
beads; but, not able to trick me again, set his drummers
and fifers at work, in hopes that he would get over our
feelings in that way.
Henceforth, as we marched, Irüngü’s drummers and
To Eozoka, 23¿. ^ ers us alive on the way. This we
heard was a privilege that Uganda Wakungu
enjoyed both at home and abroad, although in all other
countries the sound of the drum is considered a notice of
war, unless where it happens to accompany a dance or
festival. Leaving the valley of Uthenga, we rose over
the spur of N’yamwara, where we found we had attained
the delightful altitude of 5000 odd feet. Oh, how we
enjoyed^ it ! every one feeling so happy at the prospect
of meeting so soon the good king Rümanika. Tripping
down the greensward, we now worked our way to the
Rozoka valley, and pitched our tents in the village.
Kachüchü here told us he had orders to precede us, and
prepare Rümanika for our coming, as his king wished to
know what place we would prefer to live at—the Arab
dépôt at Kufro, on the direct line to Uganda, in his
palace with himself, or outside his enclosures. Such
politeness rather took us aback ; so, giving our friend a
coil of copper wire to keep him in good spirits, I said all
our pleasure rested in seeing the king ; whatever honours
e liked to confer on us we should take with good grace,
but one thing he must understand, we came not to trade’
but to see him and great kings, and therefore the Arabs
had no relations with us. This little point settled, off
started Kachüchü in his usual merry manner, whilst I
took a look at the hills, to see their geological formation,
and found them much as before, based on streaky clay
sandstones, with the slight addition of pure blue shales,
and above sections of quartzose sandstone lying in flags, as
well as other metamorphic and igneous rocks scattered
about.
Moving on the next morning over hill and dale, we
24<jfatawanga’ came l o t i o n of two roads, where
Irungfl, with his drummers, fifers, and amazon
followers, took one way to Kufro, followed by the men
carrying Süwarora’s hongo, and we led off on the other,
directed to the palace. The hill-tops in many places were
breasted with dykes of pure white quartz, just as we had
seen in Usüi, only that here their direction tended more
to the north. It was most curious to contemplate, seeing
that the chief substance of the hills was a pure blue, or
otherwise streaky elay sandstone, which must have been