under an Arab in the employ o f Sayid bin Habib.
Amongst these natives o f Zanzibar was a man
who had accompanied Cameron and Tippu-Tib
to Utatera. L ik e other Münchhausens o fliis race,
he informed me upon oath that he had seen a
ship upon a lake west o f Utatera, manned b y
black Wazungu, or black Europeans!
Before reaching Zegi, we saw Sivue lake, ,a
b o d y o f water fed b y the Sagala river: it is
about seven miles wide b y fourteen miles long.
Through a broad bed, choked b y reeds and
grass and tropical plants, it empties into the
Malagarazi river near Kiala.
Zegi village also swarmed with Rusunzu’s
warriors. Rusunzu has succeeded his father,
Nzogera, as king o f Uvinza, and, being energetic,
is disposed to combat Mirambo’s ambitious
projects o f annexation. I to o k care not to disclose
our relationship with Mirambo, lest the
warriors might have supposed we countenanced
his designs against their beloved land.
These warriors, perceiving that the word
Ruga-Ruga, or bandits, influences weak minds,
call themselves b y that name, and endeavour
to distinguish themselves b y arresting all native
travellers suspected o f hostility or property.
One o f these unfortunates just captured was
about to have his weasand cut, when I suggested
that he had better be sold, as his corpse would
be useless.
“ Y ou buy him, th en,” said the excited fellows;
“ give us ten cloths for him.”
“White men don’t b uy slaves; but rather than
you should murder an innocent man, I will give
you two for him.”
After considerable discussion, it was agreed
that he should be transferred to me for two cloths;
but the poor old fellow was so injured from
the brutal treatment he had undergone that he
died a few days afterwards.
Zegi, swarming with a reckless number o f
lawless men, was not a comfortable place to
dwell in. The conduct o f these men was another
curious illustration o f how “ small things make
base men proud.” Here were a number o f
youths suffering under that strange disease p e culiar
to vain youth in all lands which Mirambo
had called “ big head.” T h e manner in which
th ey strutted about, their big looks and bold
staring, their enormous feathered head-dresses
and martial stride, were most offensive. Having
adopted, from bravado, the name o f Ruga-Ruga,
th ey were compelled in honour to imitate the
bandits’ custom o f smoking banghi (wild hemp),
and my memory fails to remind me o f any similar
experience to the wild screaming and stormy
sneezing, accompanied d ay and night b y the
monotonous droning o f the one-string guitar
(another accomplishment de rig u eu r with the
complete bandit) and the hiccuping, snorting,-