sin to touch them, they looked all so innocent; but as the
king wanted to try me again, I gave one a ball on the head
which sent him under, never again to be seen, for on the
22d, by which time I supposed he ought to have risen inflated
with gases, the king sent out his men to look out for
him; hut they returned to say, that whilst all the rest were
in the old place, that one, in particular, could not be found.
On this K’yengo, who happened to be present whilst
our interview lasted, explained that the demons of the
deep were annoyed with me for intruding on their preserves,
without having the courtesy to commemorate the
event by the sacrifice of a goat or a cow. Rumanika then,
at my suggestion, gave Nnanaji the revolving pistol I first
gave him, hut not without a sharp rebuke for his having
had the audacity to beg a gun of me in consideration of
his being a sportsman. We then went into a discourse on
astrology, when the intelligent Rumanika asked me if the
same sun we saw one day appeared again, or whether
■fresh suns came every day, and whether or not the moon
made different faces, to laugh at us mortals on earth.
23d and 24th.—This day was spent by the king introducing
me to his five fat wives, to show with what esteem
he was held by all the different kings of the countries
surrounding. From Mpororo—which, by the by, is a
republic-—he was wedded to Kaog^z, the daughter of
Kahaya, who is the greatest chief in the country; from
XJnyoro he received Kafiyangi, Kamrasi’s daughter; from
Nkole, Kambiri, the late Kasiyonga’s daughter; from
Utumbi, Kirangu, the late Kifrimbua’s daughter; and
lastly, the daughter of Chiuarungi, his head cook.
After presenting Rumanika with an india - rubber
band—which, as usual, amused him immensely—for the
honour he had done me in showing me his wives, a party
of Waziwa, who had brought some ivory from Kidi, came
to pay their respects to him. On being questioned by
me, they said that they once saw some men like my
Wangüana there ; they had come from the north to trade,
but, though they carried firearms, they were all killed by
the people of Kidi. This was famous; it corroborated
what I knew, but could not convince others of,—that
traders could find their way up to Kidi by the Nile. It in
a manner explained also how it was that Kamrasi, some
years before, had obtained some pink beads, of a variety
the Zanzibar merchants had never thought of bringing
into the country. Bombay was now quite convinced, and
we all became transported with joy, until Rumanika,
reflecting on the sad state of Grant’s leg, turned that joy
into grief by saying that the rules of Uganda are so strict,
that no one who is sick could enter the country. “ To
show,” he said, “ how absurd they are, your donkey would
. not be permitted because he has no trousers ; and you
even will have to put on a gown, as your unmentionables
will be considered indecorous.” I now asked Rfimanika
if he would assist me in replenishing my fast-ebbing store
of beads, by selling tusks to the Arabs at Kufro, when
for every 35 lb. weight I would give him 50 dollars by
orders on Zanzibar, and would insure him from being
cheated, by sending a letter of advice to our Consul residing
there. At first he demurred, on the high-toned principle
that he could not have any commercial dealings
with myself; but, at the instigation of Bombay and
Baraka, who viewed it in its true character, as tending
merely to assist my journey in thé best manner he could,
without any sacrifice to dignity, he eventually yielded,
and, to prove his earnestness, sent me a large tusk, with
a notice that his ivory was not kept in the palace, but
with his officers, and as soon as they could collect it, so
soon I should get it.
Rfimanika, on hearing that it was our custom to cele-
• . g brate the birth of our Saviour with a good Onnstmas Day. _ . ° feast of beef, sent ns an ox. I immediately
paid him a visit to offer the compliments of the season,