January, 1874Ugara, in which we were now, is not recognised as being part of Unyamwési proper, although owing to the people having the same manners and tribal marks, and their language being nearly identical, they are not to be easily distinguished from their neighbours.

On the 8th of January, we moved from the banks of the South Ngombé towards Téwéré; but were shortly met by about twenty people sent by Taka - chief of the easternmost of the three portions into which Ugara is divided - to enquire our reasons for having entered his territory without sending to apprise him of our approach. Matters being soon explained, they returned soon with us and showed us where to halt, but we were not allowed to camp in Téwéré

This village was a perfect mass of vegetation, the trees within it growing so thickly and closely together that nothing could be seen of the huts; and even the palisades, constructed of poles of the bark-cloth tree, had taken root and sprouted and had thus become like the fortifications of Robinson Crusoe.

Taka's own village was some seven miles to the northward of us, and would have lain on our road had we been allowed to follow the road taken by us on making our first journey to Hisinéné.

We had scarcely camped when emissaries arrived from Taka and demanded twenty doti and two guns as mhongo. The guns I could not spare and would not give, so compromised the matter by paying twenty-two doti. A present was then asked for Taka's mother; but I refused to give anything, expressing my opinion that he was fully able to take care of his mother.

The messengers informed me that if I visited Taka he would give me some provisions; but as this would have entailed a delay of two or three days I declined the invitation.

Guides were placed at our disposal and we marched across a perfectly level country until just at the close of the day's journey, when we breasted a small hill close to a village named Kwatosi and camped on its summit.

I was greatly amused by one of the guides who displayed much pride at possessing an umbrella. He kept it open the whole day, continually spinning it round and round in a most ludicrous fashion; and when we came to some jungle he added to the absurdity of his appearance by taking off his only article of clothing - his loin cloth - and placing it on his head after having carefully folded it. The sight of a perfectly naked negro walking under an umbrella was too much for my gravity, and I fairly exploded with laughter.

Nothing but boundless plain covered with jungle was to be seen from the camp, the only break on the horizon being two small hills far away to the N.N.W.

These were said to be Mirambo's head-quarters which the Arabs had never attacked, the strength of the position being so great that it was felt that to make the attempt would be to court defeat.

We passed the site of many deserted villages which had been destroyed quite lately in the war; and after camping one night in the jungle arrived at the capital of Utendé the central district of Ugara.

The chief was moderate in his demands for mhongo, and would have been satisfied with six doti had not a son of Taka who unfortunately arrived at that moment said to him : "Don't be a fool ! my father got twenty-two, you ask the same." This caused much haggling and arguing as I was greatly adverse to complying with this increased claim. Still he managed to get the twenty-two doti in the end by prohibiting his people from selling food to us until he was paid.

In the village there were many of Mirambo's men who graciously informed us that they would certainly have attacked us had we been Arabs; but being English we were allowed to pass, because they knew we had not come for slaves. I have a strong suspicion that this was "bunkum," for Mirambo is as much a slave-trader as any Arab in the country. But I suppose these men had heard something of the English from my people, and not being strong enough to rob us considered it advisable to appear friendly.

The chief proved a curious sort of fellow, frequently withdrawing permission for us to buy food and then restoring it. By taking advantage of the permission when granted we procured enough in two days and went on our way.

The rains were now exceedingly heavy and at times came down with a roar that made sleep almost impossible. The following note in my journal was evidently entered on one of these occasions : "Thunder and lightning; lying awake listening to the rain. If the blessed old Tanganyika gets all this it must burst out somewhere."

Our next halt was the village of Liowa, chief of Western Ugara. The country before this had been dead level but now began to get rather broken and the road was across undulating country. The valleys were swamps with deep and stiff black mud that, in everything but extent, put the stories of the dreaded Makata altogether into the shade.

Passing through the ruins of so many deserted villages, once the homes of happy and contended people, was indescribably saddening. Where now were those who built them and cultivated the surroundings fields? Where? Driven off as slaves, massacred by villains engaged in a war in which these poor wretches had no interest, or dead of starvation and disease in the jungle.

Africa is bleeding out her life-blood at every pore. A rich country, requiring labour only to render it one of the greatest producers in the world, is having its population - already far too scanty for its needs - daily depleted by the slave-trade and internecine war.

Should the present state of afairs be allowed to continue, the country will gradually relapse into jungles and wilds and will become more and more impenetrable to the merchant and the traveller.

That this should be a possibility is a blot on the boasted civilisation of the nineteenth century. And should England, with her mills working half-time and with distress in the manufacturing districts, neglect the opportunity of opening a market which would give employment to thousands of the working classes, it will ever remain an inexplicable enigma.

Let us hope that the Anglo-Saxon race will allow no other nation to outstrip it in the efforts to rescue thousands, nay, millions of fellow-creatures from the misery and degradation which must otherwise infallibly fall to their lot.

At Liowa's village the whole population turned out to stare at us, and their astonishment at beholding a European was far less then that displayed at the sight of Leo. This was in no way diminished by the wonderful stories related of him by my men, who declared that single-handed he was a match for any two lions in Africa.

These people were a fine, manly, warlike race, well armed with guns and spears, the blades of the latter being sometimes two feet in length and more than four inches wide in their broadest part.

Two ornaments which I had hitherto rarely seen now became common. One, the sambo, consisting of a quantity of small circles of elephant's hair or hide neatly bound with very fine wire, was worn on the legs. Natives of high degree frequently wore such a mass of these as to give them the appearance of being afflicted with elephantiasis; and though I had no means of ascertaining the exact number on each leg, I may safely affirm that in some instances three hundred would be under rather than over the mark.

The other ornament to which I allude was composed of fringes of long goat's hair, also worn round the leg, commencing just above the swell of the calf and reaching well-nigh to the ground. To both these ornaments there were often appended small bells and pieces of tin and other metal, and the happy possessor of such extra decorations was never inclined to pass unnoticed but would stamp and strut about like a lunatic in order to make them jingle and herald his approach.

Whilst we were at Liowa's a party belonging to Mrima Ngombé arrived en route to Simba, a chief of the Warori, who, having lately been successful in looting a quantity of ivory from his neighbours, had sent out circulars stating that he had on hand a very large stock of a superior article which must be sold at a ruinous sacrifice to effect a clearance before removing from the premises.

Liowa's father, who bore the same name, was chief of all Ugara, and having had a tiff with some Arabs set out with the intention of destroyong Bagamoyo; but his vaulting ambition o'erleaped itself and he and most of his followers perished on the road.

The feudatory chiefs of the two other divisions of Ugara taking advantage of the youth of the present Liowa on his succeeding his father, declared themselves independent and thus robbed him of more than two-thirds of his patrimony.

Liowa presented me with a small goat which became so greatly attached to me that I had not the heart to kill her but deided on keeping her as a pet, and she soon knew me and learned to answer to her name, Dinah. She and Leo were inseparable, and both used to follow close upon my heels on the march.

News now reached me that the direct road to the Malagarazi ferry was blocked by large bodies of escaped Arab's slaves, who were well armed and had turned their hand against everybody. They had been armed by their masters to fight against Mirambo, but had deserted and joined a number of runaways who infested the vicinity of Unyanyembé. And now they were doing their utmost to harm their former masters.

Many of the atrocities ascribed to Mirambo should properly be placed to the account of these ruffians, who, bound by no laws human or divine, placed no limits upon the brutalities in which they indulged.

Iowa's was left on the 17th of January, and soon after starting we met Mrima Ngombé's men who had gone on the day before, and had turned back to place themselves under our protection being afraid to proceed alone.

Three miles downhill and half a mile through swamp was all we managed before being fairly stopped by the rain which came down like a waterfall, and the difficulty in getting the men and donkeys to face it and cross the swamp to a dry place for camping was very great. The rain approached us like a moving wall of water, and some time before the storm reached us the sound resembled the roar of a cataract.

Fortunately the tents were quickly pitched and the stores were kept fairly dry. I fully appreciated Murphy's waterproof coat; but the men were drenched, and most of them adopted the costume of Adam in the early days of the Garden of Eden.

When the rain ceased some of the men took a bee's nest which had been discovered in a tree overhanging the camp. I watched their proceedings with interest, for it seemed marvellous that the naked fellows up in the tree should be able to hack away at the hole where the nest was with infuriated bees swarming around them. Yet they only stopped occasionally to brush them away from their faces, or to pull out a sting. The fellow's skins must have been somewhat like that of the honey-guide, impervious to the sting of the bee; but after all their labour no honey was forthcoming, dead and rotten combs only being found.

On resuming our march we passed through an open forest of fine trees with little or no undergrowth, where I succedeed in rolling over a large antelope. We then came to a precipitous ravine with numerous streams gushing down its rocky sides, sometimes hidden by bushes and at others forming miniature waterfalls.

We rounded the southern end of this dip and reached the river Mtambo flowing at the bottom of a rocky valley. It was two or three feet deep with many cascades, the bed being so full of rocks that we found an easy path of stepping-stones across it, the only difficulty being the work of getting the donkeys over.

The next day's attempt at a journey was a failure. After a couple of hours on the move some buffalo were seen, and down went every load immediately, some men running away and others going in pursuit of the beasts. The runaways soon recovered their lost nerve, and returned; but as the hunters did not put in an appearance there was no option but to camp. I was crippled by a painful wound in my leg, caused, I think, by the bite of a centipede, and was quite unable to do any shooting.

The sporting men found their way back during the evening, excepted a few who remained in charge of a rhinoceros and an eland which Asmani had shot; and the next day they refused to move before the meat was brought in and divided, for which purpose a halt became necessary.

To add to the annoyance of this delay the road was lost on setting out, and my leg had meanwhile become so troublesome that I was unable to take the lead of the caravan and steer by compass.

For three days we wandered round and round, going along a track perhaps for half an hour only to find it end abruptly, while the scouts sent forward to discover the right road declared that impassable swamps and "muds" lay in the direction I wanted to travel.

During all this time we were toiling through jungle, and passed several streams; two of which were so deep that it was necessary to use the indiarubber boat and to haul some of the donkeys over, until one, bolder than his fellows, jumped in and swam across and was followed by the rest.

Soon after we camped on the evening of the third day I was startled by the report of firearms in all directions.

Hobbling out of my tent I met a man with his hair standing as straight on end as its wooly nature would allow and with fright depicted on every feature, crying out, "Master ! master ! Ruga-Ruga! Shika Bunduki !" (Master, master ! Robbers ! Get your gun !)

Only about twenty of my men could I find, their first impulse having been, as usual, to look to their own safety by taking to their heels; and where the enemy was, none could tell me.

At last I ascertained that one of my followers, on meeting an old native in the jungle, had fired his gun as a signal that we were near a village. The other men being thoroughly intimidated by the stories of Mirambo, Ruga-Ruga, and escaped slaves, had immediately imagined that we were attacked. Hence the fright and general stampede.

Upon the native being brought to me I learnt from him that the village of Mân Komo, chief of part of Kawendi, could easily be reached the following day. He further volunteered to conduct some of my men there at once, in order that they might return the next morning and show us the road.

This old man had been engaged in cutting bark to make clothing for himself and his wife; and judging from appearances he had not undertaken the task before it was needed. I rewarded him with a shukkah for his civility and he departed perfectly delighted.

The man whom I sent to the village did not return till after mid-day. Others then absent on a hunting expedition afterwards brought in a zebra, and the consequent feasting extinguished all hope of marching until the following day, when we passed through a marsh and crossed the river flowing by the village of Mân Komo.

Mân Komo is protected in front by this river, which was twenty-five feet wide and eight deep, and at rear by a precipitous rocky hill, on the side of which the principal portion of the place is built.

Many of the people have appropriated holes and caves in the rocks as residences; and so difficult of access and easily defended is the village, that even Mirambo has been beaten off by the inhabitants on his attempting to plunder them.

Representatives from Mân Komo, whose errand was to demand a mhongo of fifty doti, soon waited upon me, he having heard from Mrima Ngombé's men that similar payments had been made in Ugara.

Knowing full well that this demand was an attempt at extortion, Mân Komo having never before been given mhongo, I refused to pay anything and lectured his messengers on hospitality.

I told them that since they were well aware that we had been wandering for a considerable time in the jungle they should properly have brought us a present of food. Had they done so I should have made Mân Komo a handsome present, but now I assured them he would not receive from me even an inch of cloth.

Two villagers offered for a small payment to direct me to the capital of Uvinza, our next stage, on the road to which they said we should have no difficulty in obtaining supplies. I therefore decided on going forward, and early in the morning when the guides came, faithful to their promise, we started at once.

My leg had become so much worse that I was utterly unable to move, and poor Jasmin was so weakened by the want of proper food that he could not bear my weight; so I slung my iron chair to a pole and was carried by askari.

The lecture given to Mân Komo, coupled with my speedy departure from his place, seemed to have some effect; for soon after leaving we were overtaken by one of his sons who promised that if I would return I should receive a present of a goat, some corn, and pombé. But being fairly under way I refused to turn back.

Following the road along a small flat lying between the stream and the foot of the hill - the northern end of which we rounded - brought us to another mountain with so sharp an ascent that the men were unable to carry me, and I had literally to be dragged up by my arms.

From the summit there was a most extensive view of meadows, woods, and valleys spreading at our feet, surrounded by mountains presenting every variety of outline and size. The most distant, I was told, overhung Tanganyika.

We had ascended this hill at the only accessible point in the direction from which we approached it, and the sides in many places went down so sheer that huge stones rolled over the edge crashed through the branches of projecting trees without touching earth till they landed in the valley below.

A blinding rain now set in and drenched everybody and everything and covered the hillsides with running water, much to our disconfort, and in the afternoon we were glad to camp near a small assemblage of huts with about a dozen inhabitants.

No provisions were obtainable here; and the men, instead of pushing on at once, started away on a foraging expedition which detained us for three days. They then returned without having met with any success.

During these days I was so seedy from the drenching on the hills and the pain my leg gave me that it quite prevented my feeling any hunger.

And this was rather fortunate, for there was nothing to eat excepting one plum-pudding which I had kept thus far on the chance of seeing another Christmas in Africa.

Poor Jasmin was thoroughly broken down from want of corn. His last effort was to drag himself to my tent-door, where he lay down exhausted and utterly unable to move. Having no food whatever to give the poor beast I thought it a merciful act to put a bullet through his brain, for I could not bear to witness his sufferings any longer.

The only riding donkey now remaining was a half-bred one which also showed symptoms of being beaten by starvation.

My goat had become extraordinarily tame and would persist in sleeping on the foot of my bed. If she were tied up elsewhere she disturbed the camp by continual bleating until allowed to come back to me.

The men managed to find roots and mushrooms for themselves and I believe a certain amount of corn and flour; but I did not get anything until the evening of the third day.

On the 31st of January we gladly left this inhospitable place, and made our way down a steep descent and along a narrow valley through which there ran a winding stream with numerous fenced-in patches of cultivation on each side.

The villages were perched among the rocks, and the inhabitants refused to have any intercourse with us.

The cause of this unfriendly behaviour was that they mistrusted our honesty of purpose, having suffered much from the slave-trade by being preyed upon by neighbouring tribes who sell them to the Arabs. This they are enabled to do in consequence of there being no friendship amongst the villages, each little hamlet of perhaps only half-a-dozen families asserting its independence.

Emerging from this valley we passed through open forest along the slope of a hill. Suddenly I found myself most unceremoniously dropped by my carriers who bolted right away, and immediately afterwards a general stampede took place along the line, the men in their panic throwing down guns, loads, and everything, while scampering off to ensconce themselves behind the nearest trees.

"What is it? thieves, wild beasts, or what ! Bring me my gun !" shouted I, as I lay on my side, jammed in the chair by the pole to which it was slung and perfectly unable to move.

The only answer I received was a personal explanation from the cause of all this terror - a solitary buffalo - which came charging along with head down. A black, vicious "varmint" he looked as he passed within twenty yards of me; but luckily he did not see me, or in all probability he would have sent me flying into the air, chair and all.

That evening we camped in a wide ravine in the hillside which proved rather an unhappy selection, for a heavy downpour of rain in the middle of the night converted our quarters into a stream two feet deep, by which boxes of books, cartridges and stores in general were flooded.

We arrived the following day on the banks of the Sindi, a large affluent of the Malagarazi, having passed on the march a wide stretch of country under water varying from one to three feet in depth. Across the deeper places the dog and goat swam in loving company, close alongside my chair.