sioH of Abyssinia, and are now generally known by tbe
name of Hubsbies and Gallas; bnt neither of these names
was known to him.
On the east, beyond Kidi, he only knew of one clan
of Wahuma, a people who subsist entirely on meat and
milk. The sportsmen of this country, like the Wanyamudzi,
plant a convolvulus of extraordinary size by the side of
their huts, and pile the jaw-bones and horns of their
spoils before, as a means of bringing good-luck. This
same flower, held in the hand when a man is searching
for anything that he has lost, will certainly bring him to
the missing treasure. In the evening, Kidgwiga, at the
head of his brave army, made one of their theatrical
charges on “ Bana ” with spear and shield, swearing they
would never desert him on the march, but would die to a
man if it were necessary; and if they deserted him, then
might they be deprived of their heads, or of other personal
possessions not much less valuable.
Just as we were ready for crossing the river, a line of
To 1st camp in Kidi men was. descried filing through the
Kidi, 23a. jungle on the opposite side, making their
way for a new-moon visit to Rionga, who occasionally
leads them in battle against Ukero. The last time they
fought, two men only were killed on Kamrasi’s side, whilst
nine fell on Rionga’s. There was little done besides crossing,
for the last cow was brought across at sunset—the
ferrying-toll for the whole being one cow, besides a present
of beads to the head officer. Kidgwiga’s party sacrificed
two kids, one on either side the river, flaying them
with one long cut each down their breasts and bellies.
These animals were then, spread-eagle fashion, laid on
their backs upon grass and twigs, to be stepped over by
the travellers, that their journey might be prosperous; and
the spot selected for the ordeal was chosen in deference
to the Mzimii, or spirit—a sort of wizard or ecclesiastical
patriarch, whose functions were devoted to the falls.
After a soaking night, we were kept waiting till noon
To 2d Camp, f°r the forty porters ordered by Kamrasi, to
iitL carry our property to the vessels wherever
they might be. Only twenty-five men arrived, notwithstanding
the wife and one slave belonging to a local officer,
who would not supply the men required of him, were
seized and confiscated by Ukéro, of Wire. We now mustered
twenty Wangüana, twenty - five country porters,
and thirty-one of Kidgwiga’s “ children ”—making a total,
with ourselves, of seventy-eight souls. By a late arrival a
message came from Kamrasi. Its import was, that we
must defer the march, as it was reported the refractory
brother Rionga harboured designs of molesting us on the
way, and therefore the king conceived it prudent to clear
the road by first fighting him. Without heeding this
cunning advice, we made a short march across swamps, and
through thick jungle and long grasses, which proved anything
but pleasant—wet and labouring hard all the way.
It was a rainy day, and we had still to toil on fighting
To Sd Camp, with the grasses. We marched up the wet
‘m - margin of swamp all day, crossing the water
at a fork near the end. The same jungle prevails on all
sides, excluding all view; and the only signs of man’s
existence in these wilds lay in the meagre path, which is
often lost, and an occasional hut or two, the temporary
residence of the sporting Kidi people.
After toiling five miles through the same terrible grasses,
To 4th Camp, &nd crossing swamp after swamp, we were at
%tK last rewarded by a striking view. The jungles
bad thinned; we found ourselves unexpectedly standing
on the edge of a plateau, on the west of which, for distance
interminable, lay apparently a low flat country of grass,
yellowed by the sun, with a few trees or shrubs only thinly
scattered over the surface; while, from fifteen to twenty
miles in the rear, bearing south by west, stood conspicuously
the hill of Kisüga, said to be situated in Chopi, not