swamps I had waded through, but my waterproof sheet
having come to grief, my mattress and blanket were generally
sopping wet too, and I made the best of matters by rolling
myself in my.blanket, previously dried before the fire.
To-day’s temperature (June 19) was—-6 a.m., 7 T ; 4 p.m., 79°
6 p.m., 710. Showery day, rain at night.
To pass the time till my porters returned with their loads,
I started off early next morning, accompanied by my headman
Dumgu, for a hunt after game, and also to explore the
surrounding country. For the first mile and a half we
followed the track we had travelled over yesterday. I then
struck off to the south and south-east, continuing in that
direction for about two hours, till we came in sight of the
Mundane hills, running in one long unbroken line in an east
to west direction, with here and there a higher peak breaking"
the uniformity of the range, which throughout appeared
thickly wooded.
The general! appearance of the country was park-like, but
this is not uniform in all cases : in some places the traces of
the original forest were much more apparent, the trees and
bush growing closer together being finer and larger. Taking
it as a whole, it is a rich country, with a fine fertile soil.
Towards the north-west the forest-like appearance is much
more marked and noticeable, and the country if left alone would
doubtless very soon revert to its original state; but, as I have
said, the annual grass fires prevent this. The lay of the land
is very flat, and small marshy hollows are very frequent, rich
luxuriant grass covering the open country everywhere.
I also noticed a great deal of uwanga (arrowroot) =j it was
generally growing beneath the shade of the larger trees, some
of the plants being very fine" and luxuriant. Game tracks
were numerous, and I saw eight topi, but they were too wild for
me to get a shot at them.
On our way back Dumgu killed a snake, a nasty-looking
beast, which we nearly walked over; I heard a hiss, and looking
down saw it coiled up almost under my feet. I got back to
camp about noon, and found the party of porters had returned
with the loads an hour before. The corporal, who with an
askarihad also gone off after game, reported that he had gone
in a northerly direction, and at an hour’s distance from camp
had come upon thick bush or forest, where he had seen a
good deal of rubber, of which he brought me a sample. On
examination it proved to be Landolphia Kirkii, yielding the
pink variety, the most valuable kind commercially.
Rubber is certainly very plentiful all around here, and
wherever there is a clump of trees large enough to support
and shelter the vines, there they will be found growing, but
many vines must be killed annually by excessive tapping, for
there is no regular system of collecting the juice. Bands of
men, all Watiku, rove throughout the country, and where the
vines are easily got at, they a re ' indiscriminately tapped ; I
saw some growing in a forest clump close to my camp which
had been greatly hacked and cut about.
At two o’clock in the afternoon I set out for the next
Wa-Boni village, Gomo’s brother being now our guide, Gomo
having returned to his own village early in the morning.
Our direction was south-west, and the characteristics of the
country much the same as already described— scattered fine
timber trees with occasional clumps of forest, the soil a rich
grey loam. On the way we passed through some old Watiku
shambas of last year’s cultivation, with the remains of two
Wa-Boni villages close by, thus confirming what I had been
told as to the Wa-Boni being , compelled to watch over the
Watiku shambas.
A t four o’clock we arrived at the next Wa-Boni village,
which was, as I have been told, exactly two hours’ march
from Kav6, our way liaving latterly led through much thicker
forest, which appeared to extend for some distance to our
right. I encamped a little outside the village, being the
object of much curiosity to the inhabitants. As soon as the
tent was pitched and the loads piled, I called for volunteers
to go back for the seventeen loads left behind at Kave, offering
one rupee extra pay as an inducement, upon which the
porters came forward in a body. Their willingness pleased
me so much that I promised to give a -couple of rupees to
each of the seventeen men I picked out, who went off rejoicing
with six askaris as escort. Several of the porters were
armed.