father, though he had attained the regal power.
He seems to have cherished a hope that in some
distant country his father would be discovered
whither he might be able to proceed to him
and ask his forgiveness.
A rumour sometimes reached Chwa that his
father had been seen, but none o f his several
messengers succeeded in seeing him, and he at
last died without the hope being gratified.
Chwa was succeeded b y his son Kamiera, a
name to this d a y retained b y the members of
the imperial family. L ik e his father Chwa, Ka-
miera searched for the patriarch Kintu until his
own death, without success.
Kamiera was succeeded b y his gigantic son
Kimera, who distinguished himself as a hunter.
He first introduced dogs for the chase, and was
so fond o f them that he always led one b y the
cord wherever he went. It was from this king
that his successors inherited their partiality for
the canine ra c e , and in the memory o f many
y e t living Suna is remembered for his extraordinary
attachment to dogs, for the special subsistence
o f which he surrendered whole districts.
Mtesa was also seen b y Speke showing great
fondness for a dog, but the present monarch
has long ago abandoned this traditional predilection,
and he now prohibits their presence in
his court.
Kimera was o f such size, strength,! and weight
that his feet made marks in rocks, and the impress
o f one o f his feet is shown to this day
by the antiquarians o f Uganda in a rock situated
not far from the capital, Ulagalla. It is said that
this mark was made b y one o f his feet slipping
while he was in the act o f launching his spear
at an elephant. Kimera also explored countries
remote and near, searching all the forests, the
wilderness, the plains, the fastnesses o f the
mountains, the summits o f hills and the caves,
and travelled along all the river-banks in vain
quest for the lost Kintu.
The fact seemed to be impressed on the minds
of all that Kintu was only lost, not dead, that
he was immortal, and Kimera, even more than
his predecessors, was indefatigable in his efforts
to verify this belief. He led in person large e x peditions,
and offered great rewards to peasants,
promising to make him who discovered Kintu
next to the king in power— the Katekiro o f
Uganda. But he likewise failed in the -search,
and finally died.
Almass (which name, if Arabic, rendered into
English means “ Diamond” ) succeeded Kimera
the hunter. This king’s name is a favourite one
among the Arabs , which I take to be further
evidence that the founder o f the Uganda monarchy
had Asiatic blood in his veins. O f Almass,
tradition says nothing save that, like his father,