were threatened with punishment if they molested
them further, and the natives were advised to
leave for another island about five miles north
o f us, as soon as the lake should become calm.
A b ou t 10 A.M. the chief o f Makongo, true to
his promise, sent us ten bunches o f green bananas,
sufficient for one d ay’s provisions for the sixty,
two men, Waganda and Wangwana, o f whom
our pa r ty consisted.
A fte r these events I strolled alone into the
dense and tangled luxuriance o f the jungle woods
which la y behind our camp. Knowing that the
people would be discussing their bananas, that
no foe could molest them, and that th ey could
not quarrel with any natives— there being nobody
else on the island o f Musira but ourselves— I
was able to leave them to pass the time as
th ey might deem most agreeable. Therefore,
with all the ardour o f a boy, I began my solitary
exploration. Besides, it was so rare for me to
enjoy solitude and silence in such perfect safety
as was here promised to me. My freedom in
these w ood s , though I was alone, none could
endanger or attempt to restrain; my right to,
climb trees, or explore hollows, or stand on
m y head, or roll about on the leaves or ruins
o f branch and bark, or laugh or sing, who could
oppose? Being thus absolute monarch and supreme
arbiter over myself, I should enjoy for a brief
period perfect felicity.
rAprU 25, 1875-1 TRUANTING IN THE WILD WOODS. 287
LMusira Island. J
That impulse to jump, to bound, to spring
upward and cling to branches overhead, which
is the characteristic o f a strong green a g e , I
gave free rein to. Unfettered for a time from
all conventionalisms, and absolved from that
sobriety and steadiness which my position as a
leader o f half wild men compelled me to assume
in their presence, all my natural elasticity o f
b o d y came back to me. I dived under the
obstructing bough or sprang over the prostrate
trunk, squeezed into almost impossible places,
crawled and writhed like a serpent through the
tangled undergrowth, plunged down into formidable
depths o f dense foliage, and burrowed and
struggled with frantic energy among shadowing
pyramids o f vines and creepers, which had
become woven and plaited b y their numbers into
a solid mass.
What eccentricities o f creation I became acquainted
with in this truanting in the wild woods !
Ants, red, black, y e llow , g re y , white, and
particoloured, peopling a miniature world with
unknown emmet races. Here were some members
o f the belligerent warrior caste always threatening
the harmless, and seeking whom th ey might
annoy, and there the ferocious food-providers,
active for the attack, ranging bole, bough, twig
and leaf for prey; the meek and industrious
artisans absorbed in defending the poor privilege
o f a short existence; the frugal neuters tugging