Hamed is o f the belief that these members of
the imperial family are descendants o f some
light-coloured people to the north; possibly
A rab s ; “ for h ow ,” asked he, “ could the king
o f Kishakka possess an Arab scimitar, which is
a venerated heir-loom o f the roy al family, and
the sword o f the founder o f that kingdom?”
A l l these people,” said he, “ about here are
as different from the ordinary Washensi— pagans
— as I am different from them. I would as soon
marry a woman o f Ruanda as I Would a female
o f Muscat. When yo u g o to see Rumanika,
y o u will see some Wanya-Ruanda, and yo u may
then judge for yourself. The people o f that
country are not cowards. Mashallah! th ey have
taken Kishakka, Muvari, and have lately conquered
Mpororo. The Waganda measured their
strength with them, and were obliged to retreat.
T h e Wanya-Ruanda are a great people, but
th e y are Covetous, malignant, treacherous, and
utterly untrustworthy. T h e y have never yet
allowed an A rab to trade in their country, which
proves them to be a bad lot. There is plenty
o f ivory there, and during the last eight years
Khamis bin Abdullah, Tippu-Tib, Sa yid bin
Habib, and I myself have attempted frequently
to enter there, but none o f us has ever Succeeded.
Even Rumanika’s people are not allowed to
penetrate fa r , though he permits everybody to
come into his country, and he is a man o f their j
own blood and their own race, and speaks
with little difference their own language.”
Hamed Ibrahim was not opening out v e ry
brilliant prospects before me, nevertheless I
resolved to search out in person some known
road to this strange country that I might make
a direct course to Nyangwe.
On the third day after arrival, the king having
been informed o f my intended visit, Hamed
Ibrahim and Sayid bin S a y f accompanied me on
an official visit to Rumanika, king o f Karagwe,
and a tributary o f Mtesa, Emperor o f Uganda.
Kafurro, according to aneroid, is 3950 feet
above the ocean. Ascending the steep slope .of the
mountain west o f Kafurro, we gained an altitude
of 5150 feet, and half an hour afterwards stood
upon a ridge 5350 feet above the sea, whence
we obtained a most grand and imposing view.
Some 600 feet below us was a grassy terrace
overlooking the small Windermere L a k e , xooo
feet below, its placid surface rivalling in colour
the azure o f the cloudless heaven. Acro s s a
narrow ridge we looked upon the broad and
papyrus-covered valley o f the Alexandra, whilst
many fair, blue lakelets north and south, connected
b y the winding silver line o f the A le x andra
Nile,-suggested that here exploring work
o f a most interesting character was needed to
understand the complete relations o f lake, river,
and v a lle y to one another.