A lutio lighter and numh mow comfortable for Mm
tv riddance of thoso grumbling "Tote,**
wo worked x»p to «ml soon breasted Mm stilt’
ascent v>t Mm Mabrhki Pass, whioh w© surmounted without
mxxeh difficulty. This oonoludod tho first range of these
tsagara hills i and onoo owr, wo dropped down to the
elevated valley of Makata, whow wo halted two days to
s h o ^ As a travelling Arab intbnnod mo that Mm whole
of the Murray district had been laid wasto by tlrn ma-
raudrag W ahdho, 1 changed our plans again., and diwctod
oxxr attention to a middlo and ontiwlv now lino, whioh
m the end would load us to Ugogi. Tim first and only
gwafle kiUod upon the journey was hero shot by Grant,
xrith a little 40-gauge Lancaster rifle, at 200 yards’ distance.
Berne smaller animals were killed; but I wasted
all my time in fruitlessly stalking some wounded striped
eland magnificent animals, as large as Delhi oxen—and
some other animals, of which I wounded three, about tho
si*e of hartebeest, and much their shape, ouly cream-
coloured, with a conspicuous black spot in the centre of
each flank. The eland may probably be the animal first
mentioned by Livingstone, but the other animal is not
known.
Though reluctant to leave a place where such rare
T« Xjoto, S&. ^mim<ds were to be found, the fear of remain-
ing longer on the road induced us to leave
Jukobqgn, and at a good stride we crossed the flat valley
of Makara, and ascended the higher lands beyond, where
we no sooner arrived than we met the last down trader
ftmn Fnyamuezi, well known to all my men as the oreat
Mamba or Crocodile. Mamba, dressed in a dirty Arab
gown, with coronet of lions nails decorating a threadbare
eutch cap, greeted us with all the dignity of a savage
potentate surrounded by his staff of half-naked officials.
As usual, he had been the last to leave the Unyambezi,
and so purchased all his stock of ivory at a cheap rate’
thorn lining no com pel! lorn Inlt to mine the value of that
commodity ; but liin joiirnoy had boon a very trying on/5,
Willi a parly, at bis own oHtimatn, of two thousand w/ul#
— wo did not hoo anything like that number he had
como from Ugogo to this, by his own confcuwon, living
on Mm products of Mie jungle, and by boiling down the
nkiu aprons of hi« portent occasionally for a scrap. Famines
were raging throughout the land, and the Arabs
preceding him had so harried the country, that every
village was deserted. On hearing our intention, to march
upon the direct line, ho frankly said he thought we should
never got through, for my men could not travel, as his
had dono, and therefore he advised our deflecting northwards
from New Mbtimi to join the track leading from
Ktlmbma to TJgogi. This was a sad disappointment;
but, rather than risk a failure, I resolved to follow his
advice.
After reaching the elevated ground, we marched over
rolling tops, covered with small trees and a
M°yombo"t«tffnd rich variety of pretty bulbs, and reached the
and 7th' habitations of Mtihanda, where we no sooner
appeared than the poor villagers, accustomed only to
rough handling, immediately dispersed in the jungles.
By dint of persuasion, however, we induced them to sell
us provisions, though at a monstrous rate, such as no
merchant could have afforded; and having spent the
night quietly, we proceeded on to the upper courses of
the M’yombo river, which trends its way northwards to
the Mukondokua river. The scenery was most interesting,
with every variety of hill, roll, plateau, and ravine, wild
and prettily wooded; but we saw nothing of the people.
Like frightened rats, as soon as they caught the sound
of our advancing march, they buried themselves in the
jungles, carrying off their grain with them. Foraging
parties, of necessity, were sent out as soon as the camp
was pitched, with cloth for purchases, and stnct orders