afternoon, where we stopped at the English Mission.
Mr. Fisher was in charge, and he welcomed us with first-
class tea and delicious pancakes. Major Owen had about
an hour’s palaver with the chief, and then we made for
Fort Raymond, so. called in memory of Captain Raymond
Portal, Sir Gerald’s brother, who died on his return from
Unyoro during the journey to Uganda. The fort had
been erected by Major Owen himself, and considering the
enormous quantity of other work he had to do at the
same time, and the short time he was able to devote to the
fort, the result did him great credit. It is built on a hill,
whence there is a superb view over Lake Wamala. The
stout palisade of palm trees was almost finished, and a
certain number of provisional huts put up, while three tall
palms in the middle of the fort broke the monotony of the
general appearance of the place. The rest of the day was
spent in organizing the 150 askaris who made up our
expedition, forming them in sections, getting together the
porters and passing their medicail examination, which
work devolved upon me, putting the Maxim in order, and
so on.
Next morning was devoted to completing these arrangements
and distributing cartridges to the soldiers and
carbines' to the porters. Major Owen was indefatigable;
no officer could have had his heart so completely in his
work, and he did not let the smallest detail escape his
notice. At half-past twelve the caravan was o ff; and
at half-past three we came to the worst swamp I have
ever seen—an arm of Lake Wamala, covered with papyrus,
through which a way had been cut. For nearly two hours
we waded with the water above our waists—a putrid and
evil-smelling water, and horribly cold. Every moment we
had to climb up a clump of papyrus roots, only to drop
into a hole five feet deep at the next step. And yet I am
bound to say that I preferred the water to the mud of
the swamps we had crossed in the last few days, where I
often got stuck up to the knees. The wading might have
422
been avoided by crossing the lake in a canoe; but that of
course was impossible with an expedition like ours, which
contained nearly 300 souls—if our men had any, which I
sometimes doubted.
Next day, November 24th, the aspect of the country
changed. It undulated considerably, but without high
hills. Except at rare intervals, the grass was not much
more than eighteen inches high. We only crossed two
small swamps; and so easy is it to accustom oneself to
anything that I no longer grumbled at having to splash
LA K E WAMALA, FROM FORT RAYMOND.
M u k w e n d a .
about in water up to the knees. I cannot say that. I liked
it; but I had the most charming companions, and with
such, small inconveniences are easily forgotten.
On the march Major Owen was constantly drilling his
men, who seemed to pick up what they were taught very
quickly. We also tried the Maxim, and succeeded in
making it work very well. Later on Owen went off to
try and shoot some game to feed the men, who were on
very short rations, as the villages could hardly furnish
enough to feed so large a number; he returned, however,
empty-handed. The more I saw of Owen the more impressed
I was with his qualities as a soldier and as a man ;
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