Being- extremely distant in their manner, we
found it difficult to gain their confidence, though
we were assiduous in our attempts to cultivate
their good-will.
Izanjeh was our next camp after Mangura, and
the first place we halted at in Ituru. It was
5 4 5 ° feet above the sea.
On leaving Izanjeh, K a if Halleck, the bearer
o f the letter-bag to Livingstone in 1871, was
afflicted with asthma, and as we were compelled
to travel slowly, I entreated him not to lag behind
the Expedition while it traversed such a
dangerous country. But I have observed that
sick men seldom heed advice. Being obliged
to g o forward to the front during these evil
and trying days, I had to leave the rearguard
under Frank Pocock and Fred Barker; and the
Wangwana chiefs. A s my duties would be mainly
to introduce and ingratiate our expedition
with the natives, I could not possibly know what
happened in the rear until we reached camp,
and reports were made to me b y Frank and
Manwa Sera.
From the top o f a ridge, accompanied b y a
guide whose good-will had been secured b y me,
I descended to the basin o f what the Wangwana
at Mgongo Tembo call Vinyata, but which
the guide, I feel assured, called Niranga. The
basin is oval, about twelve miles long b y six
miles wide, cut through the centre by the Lee-
P vlnyaia.!75'] KAIF HALLECK MISSING. l 55
wumbu, as it flows in a W. N. W. direction, becoming
lost, soon after leaving the basin, in a
cluster o f wood-clad hills. Numbers o f villages
are sprinkled over it from end to end, and from
the summit o f the ridge we guessed it to contain
a populous and wealthy community. On
the evening o f the same day, the 2 is t January
1875, we arrived at Vinyata.
There was nothing in the horizon o f our daily
life that the most fearful and timid could have
considered ominous. Nevertheless, consistent with
custom, the camp was constructed on the summit
o f a slightly swelling ground, between a
forest and the fields in the basin. T h e people
o f the small village nearest to us deserted it
upon first sight o f our party, but they were
finally persuaded to return. Everything promised
at night to be peaceful, though anxiety began
to be felt about the fate o f K a if Halleck.
He had not been seen for two days. Some suggested
he had deserted, but “ faithfuls” rarely
desert upon mere impulse, without motive or
cause. It was necessary therefore to halt a d ay
at Vinyata to despatch a searching party. Manwa
Sera was told to take four staunch men,
one o f whom was the scout and famous detective,
Kacheche, to hunt up the sick “ letter-carrier
o f 1871.”
During Manwa Sera’s absence, Frank, Barker,
and m yse lf were occupied in reducing our loads,