with a salt lake, and drained by a river to the northward—
in comfortable houses, built like the tembés of Unyamüézi.
When killing a cow, they kneel down in an attitude of
prayer, with both hands together, held palm upwards, and
utter Zü, a word the meaning of which he did not know.
I questioned him to try if the word had any trace of a
Christian meaning—for instance, as a corruption of Jesu—
but without success. Circumcision is not known amongst
them, neither have they any knowledge of God or a soul.
A tribe called Waküavi, who are white, and described as
not unlike myself, often came over the water and made
raids on their cattle, using the double-edged simé as their
chief weapon of war. These attacks were as often resented,
and sometimes led the Wamara in pursuit a long way into
their enemy’s country, where, at a place called Kkigiiify
they found men robed in red cloths. Beads were imported,
he thought, both from the east and from Ukidi.
Associated with the countries Masau or Masai, and Usam-
bürü, which he knew, there was a large mountain, the
exact position of which he could not describe.
I took down many words of his language, and found
they corresponded with the North African dialects, as
spoken by the people of Kidi, Gani, and Madi. The
southerners, speaking of these, would call them Wakidi,
Wagani, and Wamadi, but among themselves the syllable
wa is not prefixed, as in the southern dialects, to signify
people. Rumanika, who appeared immensely delighted
as he assisted me in putting the questions I wanted, and
saw me note them down in my book, was more confirmed
than ever in the truth of my stories that I came from the
north, and thought as the beads ‘came to Amara, so should
I be able to open the road and bring him more visitors.
This he knew was his only chance of ever seeing me any
more, for I swore I would never go back through Usüi,
so greatly did I feel the indignities imposed on me by
Süwarora.
18 th.—To keep the king in good-humour, I now took
a table-knife, spoon, and fork to the palace, which, after
their several uses were explained, were consigned to his
curiosity-box. Still Riimanika could not understand how
it was I spent so much and travelled so far, or how it
happened such a great country as ours could be ruled by
a woman. He asked the Queen’s name, how many children
she had, and the mode of succession; then, when
fully satisfied, led the way to show me what his father
Dagara had done when wishing to know of what the
centre of the earth was composed. At the back of the
palace a deep ditch was cut, several yards long, the end of
which was carried by a subterranean passage into the
palace, where it was ended off with a cavern led into by
a very small aperture. It then appeared that Dagara,
having failed, in his own opinion, to arrive any nearer to
the object in view, gave the excavating up as a bad job,
and turned the cave into a mysterious abode, where it was
confidently asserted he spent many days without eating or
drinking, and turned sometimes into a young man, and
then an old one, alternately, as the humour seized him.
19th to 22d.—On the 19th I went fishing, but without
success, for they said the fish would not take in the lake;
and on the following day, as Grant’s recovery seemed
hopeless, for a long time at least, I went with all the
young princes to see what I could do with the hippopotami
in the lake, said to inhabit the small island of Conty.
The party was an exceedingly merry one. We went off
to the island in several canoes, and at once found an immense
number of crocodiles basking in the sun, but not
a single hippopotamus was in sight. The princes then,
thinking me “ green ” at this kind of sport, said the place
was enchanted, but I need not fear, for they would bring
them out to my feet by simply calling out certain names,
and this was no sooner done than four old and one young
one came immediately in front of us. It seemed quite a