butter, eighty coffee, eighty tobacco, eighty jowari, and eighty of all the produce of Uganda. He was then released. Bombay said Bana wished the sakibobo to come to Urondogani, and give him a start with five boats, five cows, and five goats; to which the king replied, "Bana shall have all he wants; nothing shall be denied him, not even fish; but it is not necessary to send the sakibobo, as boys carry all my orders to kings as well as subjects. Kasoro will return again with you, fully instructed in every thing, and, moreover, both he and Budja will follow Bana to Gani." Four days, however, my men were kept at the palace ere the king gave them the cattle and leave to join me, accompanied with one more officer, who had orders to find the boats at once, see us off, and report the circumstance at court. Just as at the last interview, the king had four women, lately seized and condemned to execution, squatting in his court. He wished to send them to Bana, and when Bombay demurred, saying he had no authority to take women in that way, the king gave him one, and asked him if he would like to see some sport, as he would have the remaining women cut to pieces before him. Bombay, by his own account, behaved with great propriety, saying Bana never wished to see sport of that cruel kind, and it would ill become him to see sights which his master had not. Viarungi sent me some tobacco, with kind regards, and said he and the Wazinza had just obtained leave to return to their homes, K'yengo alone, of all the guests, remaining behind as a hostage until Mtésa's powder-seeking wakungă returned. Finally, the little boy Lugoi had been sent to his home. Such was the tenor of Bombay's report.

11th. The officer sent to procure boats, impudently saying there were none, was put in the stocks by Kasoro, while other men went to Kirindi for sailors, and down the stream for boats. On hearing the king's order that I was to be supplied with fish, the fishermen ran away, and pombé was no longer brewed from fear of Kasoro.

12th. To-day we slaughtered and cooked two cows for the journey-the remaining three and one goat having been lost in the Luajerri-and gave the women of the place beads in return for their hospitality. They are nearly all Wanyoro, having been captured in that country by King Mtésa and given to Mlondo. They said their teeth were extracted, four to six lower incisors, when they were young, because no Myoro would allow a person to drink from his cup unless he conformed to that custom. The same law exists in Usoga.

CHAPTER XVI.

BAHR EL ABIAD.

First Voyage on the Nile.-The Starting.-Description of the River and the Country. Meet a hostile Vessel.-A naval Engagement.-Difficulties and Dangers.— Judicial Procedure.-Messages from the King of Uganda.-His Efforts to get us back.-Desertion.-The Wanyoro Troops.-Kamrasi.—Elephant-stalking.—Diabolical Possessions.

To N'yassi, 13th.

IN five boats of five planks each; tied together and calked with mbugu rags, I started with twelve Wanguana, Kasoro and his page-followers, and a small crew, to reach Kamrasi's palace in Unyoro-goats, dogs, and kit, besides grain and dried meat, filling up the complement-but how many days it would take nobody knew. Paddles propelled these vessels, but the lazy crew were slow in the use of them, indulging sometimes in racing spurts, then composedly resting on their paddles while the gentle current drifted us along. The river, very unlike what it was from the Ripon Falls downward, bore at once the character of river and lake-clear in the centre, but fringed in most places with tall rush, above which the green banks sloped back like park lands. It was all very pretty and very interesting, and would have continued so had not Kasoro disgraced the Union Jack, turning it to piratical purposes in less than one hour.

A party of Wanyoro, in twelve or fifteen canoes, made of single tree trunks, had come up the river to trade with the Wasoga, and having stored their vessels with mbugu, dried fish, plantains cooked and raw, pombé, and other things, were taking their last meal on shore before they returned to their homes. Kasoro seeing this, and bent on a boyish spree, quite forgetting we were bound for the very ports they were bound for, ordered our sailors to drive in among them, landed himself, and sent the Wanyoro flying before I knew what game was up, and then set to pillaging and feasting on the property of those very men whom it was our interest to propitiate, as we expected them shortly to be our hosts.

The ground we were on belonged to King Mtésa, being a de

pendency of Uganda, and it struck me as singular that Wanyoro should be found here; but I no sooner discovered the truth than I made our boatmen disgorge every thing they had taken, called back the Wanyoro to take care of their things, and extracted a promise from Kasoro that he would not practice such wicked tricks again, otherwise we could not travel together. Getting to boat again, after a very little paddling we pulled in to shore, on the Uganda side, to stop for the night, and thus allowed the injured Wanyoro to go down the river before us. I was much annoyed by this interruption, but no argument would prevail on Kasoro to go on. This was the last village on the Uganda frontier, and before we could go any farther in boats it would be necessary to ask leave of Kamrasi's frontier officer, N'yamyonjo, to enter Unyoro. The Wanguana demanded ammunition in the most imperious manner, while I, in the same tone, refused to issue any, lest a row should take place, and they then would desert, alluding to their dastardly desertion in Msalala when Grant was attacked. If a fight should take place, I said they must flock to me. at once, and ammunition, which was always ready, would be served out to them. They laughed at this, and asked, Who would stop with me when the fight began? This was making a jest of what I was most afraid of-that they would all run away.

Down the Nile

14th.

I held a levée to decide on the best manner of proceeding. The Waganda wanted us to stop for the day and and back again, feel the way gently, arguing that etiquette demands it. Then, trying to terrify me, they said N'yamyonjo had a hundred boats, and would drive us back to a certainty if we tried to force past them, if he were not first spoken with, as the Waganda had often tried the passage and been repulsed. On the other hand, I argued that Grant must have arrived long ago at Kamrasi's, and removed all these difficulties for us; but, I said, if they would send men, let Bombay start at once by land, and we will follow in boats, after giving him time to say we are coming. This point gained after a hot debate, Bombay started at 10 A.M., and we not till 5 P.M., it being but one hour's journey by water. The frontier line was soon crossed; and then both sides of the river, Usoga as well as Unyoro, belong to Kamrasi.

I flattered myself all my walking this journey was over, and there was nothing left but to float quietly down the Nile, for Kidgwiga had promised boats, on Kamrasi's account, from Un

yoro to Gani, where Petherick's vessels were said to be stationed; but this hope shared the fate of so many others in Africa. In a little while an enormous canoe, full of well-dressed and wellarmed men, was seen approaching us. We worked on, and found they turned, as if afraid. Our men paddled faster, they did the same, the pages keeping time playfully by beat of drum, until at last it became an exciting chase, won by the Wanyoro by their superior numbers. The sun was now setting as we approached N'yamyonjo's. On a rock by the river stood a number of armed men, jumping, jabbering, and thrusting with their spears, just as the Waganda do. I thought, indeed, they were Waganda doing this to welcome us; but a glance at Kasoro's glassy eyes told me such was not the case, but, on the contrary, their language and gestures were threats, defying us to land.

The bank of the river, as we advanced, then rose higher, and was crowned with huts and plantations, before which stood groups and lines of men, all fully armed. Farther, at this juncture, the canoe we had chased turned broadside on us, and joined in the threatening demonstrations of the people on shore. I could not believe them to be serious-thought they had mistaken us— and stood up in the boat to show myself, hat in hand. I said I was an Englishman going to Kamrasi's, and did all I could, but without creating the slightest impression. They had heard a drum beat, they said, and that was a signal of war, so war it should be; and Kamrasi's drums rattled up both sides the river, preparing every body to arm. This was serious. Farther, a second canoe full of armed men issued out from the rushes behind us, as if with view to cut off our retreat, and the one in front advanced upon us, hemming us in. To retreat together seemed our only chance; but it was getting dark, and my boats were badly manned. I gave the order to close together and retire, offering ammunition as an incentive, and all came to me but one boat, which seemed so paralyzed with fright it kept spinning round and round like a crippled duck.

The Wanyoro, as they saw us retreating, were now heard to say, "They are women-they are running-let us at them;' while I kept roaring to my men, "Keep together-come for powder;" and myself loaded with small shot, which even made Kasoro laugh and inquire if it was intended for the Wanyoro. "Yes, to shoot them like Guinea-fowl; and he laughed again. But confound my men! they would not keep together, and re

treat with me. One of those served with ammunition went as hard as he could go up stream to be out of harm's way, and another preferred hugging the dark shade of the rushes to keeping the clear open, which I desired for the benefit of our guns. It was now getting painfully dark, and the Wanyoro were stealing on us, as we could hear, though nothing could be seen. Presently the shade-seeking boat was attacked, spears were thrown, fortunately into the river instead of into our men, and grapplinghooks were used to link the boats together. My men cried, "Help, Bana! they are killing us;" while I roared to my crew, "Go in, go in, and the victory will be ours;" but not a soul would: they were spell-bound to the place; we might have been cut up in detail; it was all the same to those cowardly Waganda, whose only action consisted in crying "N'yawo! n'yawo!"—Mother, mother, help us!

Three shots from the hooked boat now finished the action. The Wanyoro had caught a Tartar. Two of their men fell—one killed, one wounded. They were heard saying their opponents were not Waganda; it were better to leave them alone; and retreated, leaving us, totally uninjured, a clear passage up the river. But where was Bombay all this while? He did not return till after us, and then, in considerable excitement, he told his tale. He reached N'yamyonjo's village before noon, asked for the officer, but was desired to wait in a hut until the chief should arrive, as he had gone out on business; the villagers inquired, however, why we had robbed the Wanyoro yesterday, for they had laid a complaint against us. Bombay replied it was no fault of Bana's; he did every thing he could to prevent it, and returned all that the boatmen took.

These men then departed, and did not return until evening, when they asked Bombay, impudently, why he was sitting there, as he had received no invitation to spend the night; and, unless he walked off soon, they would set fire to his hut. Bombay, without the smallest intențion of moving, said he had orders to see N'yamyonjo, and until he did so he would not budge. "Well," said the people, "you have got your warning, now look out for yourselves;" and Bombay, with his Waganda escort, was left again. Drums then began to beat, and men to hurry to and fro with spears and shields, until at last our guns were heard, and, guessing the cause, Bombay with his Waganda escort rushed out of the hut into the jungle, and, without daring to venture on the