w ays o f traffic, because we were in a land which,
had been, from time immemorial, a land o f gossip
and primitive commerce, and a small band of
peaceful natives, accustomed to travel, might
explore hundreds o f square miles in Usukuma
without molestation. But though Unyanyembe,
and through it Zanzibar, might receive within a
few months reliable information about our movements,
there were countries in the immediate
neighbourhood o f K a g eh y i whither traders never
venture, which were for ever cut off from the
interesting intelligence that there were three
w hite men on the shores o f the lake, who Were
said to be most amiable and sociable. Ujiji-f far
aw ay on L ak e Tanganika, might be set to
wondering whether th ey had come from Masr
(Cairo) or from Zanzibar, but Wirigedi, close at
hand here, on Speke Gulf, might still be in profound
ignorance o f the arrival. Mtesa o f Uganda
might prick his ears at the gratifying intelligence,
and hope they would soon visit him, while Ukara,
though only about twenty-five geographical miles
from Kagehyi, might be excluded for ever from
discussing the strange topic. T he natives o f
Karagwe and their gentle king might be greatly
exercised in their minds with the agreeable
news, and wonder whether they, in their turn,
should ever see the white men, and y e t Komeh,
300 miles nearer to us, might only hear o f the
wonderful event years after our departure! Thus
rM a r c h 1-8,1875.-1 A CENTRAL AFRICAN “ TOPER.’’ 193
L K a g e h y i. J
it is that information is only conveyed along
the lines o f traffic, and does not filter into those
countries which are ostracized from common
interests and events b y the reputed ferocity of
their inhabitants and their jealous hostility to
strangers, even though they may actually border
upon the localities where those interests and
events are freely discussed.
Prince Kaduma, truth compels me to state, is
a true Central Afrikan “ to p e r ”— a naturally
amiable man, whose natural amiability might be
increased to enormous proportions, provided that
it was stimulated b y endless supplies o f pombé.
From perpetual indulgence in his favourite vice,
he has already attained to that blear-eyed, thick-
tongued, husky-voiced state from which only
months o f total abstinence can redeem a man.
In his sober moments— I cannot sa y hours—
which were soon after he rose in thè morning,
he pretended to manifest an interest in his cattle-
yard, and to be deeply alive tó the importance
o f doing something in the w a y o f business whenever
opportunities offered. In fact, he would
sometimes go so far as to say to his half-dozen
elders that he had something in view even then
— “ but we must have a shauri first.” Becoming
exceedingly interested, the elders would invite
him to speak, and instantly assume that wise,
thoughtful, grave aspect which yo u sometimes
see in members o f Parliament, Congress, Reichs-
THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT. VOL. I. 0