CHAPTER m.
Back in camp—An epidemic of small-pox— Panic of desertion
—-Kalulu’s disloyalty— Livingstone’s lenience— Imaginary
terrors— Hair-dressing ad aisurdum—Kassanga’s opinion of
white men—A village sketch—The villagers of Uhombo_
— In puris naturalibus — A touch of human nature — On
Livingstone’s traces— What is there in feathers?— The
Manyema: their life and manners—Our ass astonishes the
natives—Bloodless wars—Nicknames—A tribe with beards
, but no wives— The confluence of the Luama and the
Livingstone.
(August i —October 17, 1876.)
T h e sky was of a stainless blue, and the slumbering
lake faithfully reflected its exquisite tint,
for not a breath of wind was astir to vex its
surface. With groves of palms and the evergreen
fig-trees on either hand, and before us a
fringe of tall cane-grass along the shores all
juicy with verdure, the square tembes ofUgoy,
and the conical cotes of Kawele, embowered by
banana and plantain, we emerged into the bay
of Ujiji from the channel of Bangwe.
The cheery view of the port lent strength to
our arms. An animating boat-song was struck
up, the sounds of which, carried far on the
shore, announced that a proud, joyous crew was
returning homeward.
Long-horned cattle are being driven to the
water to drink; asses are galloping about, braying
furiously; goats and sheep and dogs are
wandering in the market-place— many familiar
scenes recur to us as we press forward to the
shore.
Our Wangwana hurry to the beach to welcome
us. The usual congratulations follow—
hand-shakings, smiles, and glad expressions.
Frank, however, is pale and sickly; a muffler is
round his neck, and he wears a greatcoat. He
looks very different from the strong, hearty
man to whom I gave the charge of the camp
during my absence. In a few words he informs
me of his sufferings from the fever of Ujiji.
“ I am so glad you have come, sir. I was beginning
to feel very depressed. I have been
down several times with severe attacks of the
horrible fever. Yesterday is the first time I got
up after seven days’ weary illness, and people
are dying round me so fast that I was beginning
to think I must soon die too. Now I am
all right, and shall soon get strong again.”
The news, when told to me in detail, was
grievous. Five of our Wangwana were dead
from small-pox; six others were seriously ill
from the same cause. Among the Arab slaves,