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UGANDA TO KHARTOUM

U.K.

>%

wm.ww.m\.ww\i^ttm. ww.m.wiww.mi.<.ci^t.m.|

UoANPA TO Khartoum

Albert

B.

Lloyd

LONDON ^.GLASGOW
COLLINS" CLEAR-TYPE PRESS

'

UGANDA
LIFE

TO

KHARTOUM

AND ADVENTURE ON THE

UPPER NILE

BY

ALBERT
Author of
*

B.

LLOYD

In

Dwaif Land and Cannibal Country

IVITB

THIRTY-THREE ILLUSTRATIONS

LONDON AND GLASGOW COLLINS' CLEAR-TYPE PRESS

DEDICATE THIS BOOK

TO

MY BELOVED FATHER
REVERED AND HONOURED FOR HIS
GOODNESS, UPRIGHTNESS

AND WISE COUNSELS

PREFACE.
Africa has been slow
its

in revealing its mysteries

and, though the great problems connected with

lakes,
rivers,

and

mountain

mostly

now been

solved,

we

ranges have have still an

immense amount to learn about the details of the characteristics of the its geography, and varied races and tribes scattered over the great
continent.

There

is

a wide circle of readers

who

are eager to gather all they can on these subjects

from the accounts of those who have penetrated districts, and who feel the to the remoter peculiar fascination of well-written books of To such, no less than to those who travel. care for the spread of the Gospel of Christ, For ten Mr. Lloyd needs no introduction. years he has laboured as a missionary in the and western parts of the Uganda Protectorate last year he returned for the second time on furlough to this country. The natural way of coming home, whether from Toro or Unyoro, would have been by the Victoria Nyanza and Mombasa on the east coast but with his missionary zeal Mr. Lloyd combines a large measure of that spirit of adventure which is the heritage of Englishmen. After his
;

8
first

PREFACE.
period of service he plunged into the great
forest,

Aruwimi

and made

his

way down

the

west coast. The account of that journey is given in his former book, In Dwarf Land and Cannibal Country and all who have read it will be anxious to scan the pages of this newer volume. At present I have only been able to glance through the manuscripts, but have read enough to whet my appetite for I the book when it leaves the printers' hands. Within the last two years I have myself paid but that journey a very brief visit to Uganda than farther west the neighbourno me took hood of Mengo, its capital. My small experience, however, enables me to appreciate the description given in the first chapter of In the briefest possible form it book. this gives the reader a correct idea of the present position of affairs a position for which, when

Congo

to the

we

recall

the

past history of the country,

well be heartily thankful. the adherents of British and

may

we Time was when

were ready to

French missions each other's throats, and when the pioneers of civil administration were far from appreciating the benefits of missionary work. All this is largely changed, and one of the pleasantest features in Mr. Lloyd's story is what it reveals of the sympathetic relations now so often subsisting between missionaries and
fly

at

Government

officers.

PREFACE.
To many
will

readers the latter part of the book

probably prove the most attractive, with its description of the remote Acholi country in which Mr. Lloyd's work has lain of late, and of his homeward journey down the Nile. This Nile route between Egypt and Uganda is not altogether new, for it was by the Nile that one of the earliest missionary parties travelled to Uganda, being welcomed and befriended by General Gordon on their way, but for many years it was made wholly impossible by the Dervish regime. Since the overthrow of the Khalifa's power, seven years ago, the great southern Soudan has been gradually reopened, and the
Nile route
is

likely to

become rapidly

easier

and

more
vast

accessible.

an inspiring thought that throughout this region the Pax Britannica now prevails, and that our Empire's power is felt along the whole course of the Nile, from the great lakes in which it takes its rise, to the Delta and the Mediterranean. God has committed to our care the millions, of many diverse races and tribes,
It is
.

who depend upon may well be proud

is

this

mighty

river

of the civilising

and we work which

;

being steadily carried on by our administrators. limits to the good that may, be accomplished by Government; and it jsiirely not for material blessings alone that these people have come under our influence. Many years

But there are

iisi

At

lo

PREFACE.

ago that brilliant administrator, Sir Herbert Edwardes, asked with reference to another part of our Empire: '*Why has God given India Was it for no higher object than to England?
spread of education, the reduction of taxes, building of bridges, the increase of comcannot think so meanly. merce? All His purposes look through time into eternity, and we may rest assured that the East has been given to our country for a mission, not merely to the minds or bodies, but to the souls of
the
the

We

men.''

His words apply with equal force to the great Soudan and it is pleasant to learn from the book before us that England is awaking to her obligations, and that a beginning, small though has been made in the direction of it be, But what must strike us missionary enterprise. more is the vastness of the field that remains If this story of travel and adventure untouched.
;

serves
of our

to

arouse

us

to

deeper,

truer

sense

responsibilities towards these, our less favoured fellow-subjects, Mr. Lloyd's chief object in writing it will have been gained.

VICTOR BUXTON.

INTRODUCTION.
This book
is

intended to depict some of the

the

many

experiences encountered during a five years'

in

Northern Provinces of the Uganda Protectorate. Like its predecessor, In Dwarf Land and Cannibal Country it does not but as a record, pretend to any literary value simply told, of travel and adventure and honest work amongst the natives of a part of Central Africa very little known to the public it may be interesting and, I trust, instructive. It deals briefly with missionary efforts amongst
residence
^ ;

the

Pagan
is

tribes of the great

Dark Continent,

but it work.
desire

not intended primarily as a missionary

writer does not essay to satisfy the

The
of

who would be interested in missionary work only, so much as to reach the many whose concern is with Africa as a land of darkness, fascinating adventure, and immense
those
possibility.

A. B. L.

CONTENTS.
CHAP.
I.

PAGB

UGANDA TO BUNYORO
HOIMA,

II.

THE BUNYORO

PROSPEROUS
ITS

CAPITAL

OF
33

III.

BUNYORO AND
FOLKLORE

GREAT MEN
NATIVE

48

IV.

AND

CUSTOMS

OF

BUNYORO
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.

66
83
104
125

MISSIONARY EFFORTS IN BUNYORO

HUNTING ADVENTURES
A TRAMP TO TORO

....
.
.

A VISIT TO NORTHERN BUNYORO

EXCITING TIMES BY LAKE ALBERT

144 166
193

IX.

X.
XI.
XII.

ACHOLI
ACHOLI
LIFE
{Continued)

221

AND WORK

IN

ACHOLI

xni.
XIV.

HERE AND THERE

IN

ACHOLI

267
285

JOURNEY NORTHWARDS TO GONDOKORO

XV. LAST STAGES OF A LONG

XVI. SIX days'
XVII.

TRAMP

302

IMPRISONMENT IN THE SUDD

314 334

OMDURMAN TO KHARTOUM
INDEX

347

LIST

OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Frontispiece

PORTRAIT OF AUTHOR
INTERIOR OF
ST.

PAUL'S CATHEDRAL,

MENGO

Facing page

32

ANDEREYA, KING OF BUNYORO

KING ANDEREYA AND HIS CHIEFS

33

64
65
72

BUNYORO CHIEFS

IN

COUNCIL

KING ANDEREYA'S POLICE

THE king's wedding MARCH

king's band,

73

BUNYORO
"

^^

A MUCHWEZI CHIEF
* *

89 96
97
128
129

ANY PORT

IN

A STORM

A BUNYORO DANCE

CHURCH BUILDING, HOIMA

REV.

NUWA NAKIWAFU

INDUSTRIAL WORK, HOIMA

136
137

DOG-FACED APE
F.

A.

KNOWLES,

ESQ.,

AND

HIS

HUNTING

TROPHIES
**

AFTER THE HIPPO HUNT

153

KATIKIRO OF TORO IN HIS OFFICE

160

i6

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
,

A DANGEROUS CROSSING

Fan ing page l6l

MURCHISON FALLS, BUNYORO

SALT FILTERS OF KIBIRO
**AN OLD WITCH-DOCTOR**
.

..

192
193

,,

200
201

THROUGH RIVERS AND THICK JUNGLE

**

,,

JUMBO down" AFTER THE HUNT

ACHOLI VILLAGE

....
.

M
,,

216
217

THE COOK*S ACHOLI VISITOR

.-

256
257 288 289

GURU GURU, HILL TRIBE VILLAGE

THE SPOTTED HYENA

.,

AWICH, THE HENPECKED HUSBAND

THE

MA-N

WITH

CHILDREN

....
FIFTY

WIVES

AND SIXT^

..

296
297 312

GREAT BARI VILLAGE

M
'.

MONGALLA
CAMEL MARKET, OMDURMAN

..

313

CHAPTER
The
Uganda

I.

UGANDA TO BUNYORO.
capital

of

is

our starting-point,

and its beauties will quickly be hidden from view by the tall elephant grass and papyrus swamps, as we journey northward towards the Upper Nile Provinces. Looking back for a

moment over
it

this

great Central

African

city,

is

quite impossible to divest one's history of

mind

of

the

the past

and

so,

one pauses.

How

different is the
!

of thirty years ago

Uganda of to-day to that The bitter controversies

and the savage persecutions of those early days have almost faded away and are now scarcely remembered, while all visible trace of them has for Uganda has passed through its vanished fiery ordeal and has come out safely on the The dark days are behind, and other side. those who remember them prefer not to dwell upon their horrors, but to look forward to the
;

bright

eagerness

with ever -increasing has come. are thankful for the Native Government, by which laws are made, based upon purity and uprightness, and that tend to uplift the greatest of Central African people and for
prospects

ahead,

for

the

dawn

We

i8

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
wise administration which not

the
the

only helps
for

Uganda

native

to

work honestly

his

living,

but also keeps the country at rest from

strifes that hitherto

wars and
so dark.
in the

have made Africa

are

But best of

all,

we

thankful for

the British flag that flutters over every outpost

country, ensuring the blessings of peace,

prosperity
its

and

religious

liberty

to

all

under
in

sway.

Daudi Chwa, King of Uganda,

minority,
is

still

his

being trained as a Christian prince should be, and he will yet be able to show his gratitude to the British Government by an earnest and devoted life of service for his
country.

Apolo Kagwa, the Prime Minister of Uganda, has been to England and has seen for himself the prosperity of a land that is rightly and properly governed, and he has now returned to Uganda with one motive uppermost in his mind that of w^orking for the raising and civilising

of his

own countrymen.

Uganda when the It was a great day for wonderful work upon the Cathedral Church of St. Paul the Apostle on Namirembe Hill was
finished.

On 20th June 1904, a great crowd began to assemble at 6 a.m., and long before the doors were opened the big yard surrounding the

UGANDA TO BUNYORO.

19

building was filled by some 10,000 people. At 9 o'clock the Bishop and officiating clergy led the young king and His Majesty's Commissioner,
the great building,

Colonel Hayes Sadler,^ to their allotted seats in and the National Anthem

was played while the huge assembly stood. Then in solemn praise and prayer the wonderful place was for ever set apart for the service of God, and I maintain without fear of contradiction that so long as the people of Uganda, or of any other country, seek to glorify God as a nation, they will prosper and their days shall
be prolonged. And so, with this hope within us, we make our way past the great hospital for the sick and dying on Namirembe Hill, through the native market-place, listening for a moment to the strange cries of the hundreds recommending their wares to the passer-by, and then down the
hill into

the great papyrus

swamp.

Years ago

a terrible difficulty, unbridged and foul, with strong-smelling mud and rotten
this

swamp was
and

vegetation,
in

up
it

to
is

one's waist

Now

one had to plunge and struggle through. substantially bridged and can be
to cross over,

crossed dry-footed.

These are the days of bicycles in Uganda, and sixty miles a day is quite possible on the

Since transferred to the East African Protectorate.

20

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
road that runs
capital

between Mengo and Bunyoro. Bullock also be seen, and one has heard a whisper of motor cars yet to come. Groups
beautiful

Hoima, the wagons may

of

of

men

are often

to keep the road

at the

in

met with, whose work it is repair, and a native chief

:

head of each gang directs the operations. Our caravan was a large one my wife and myself, close upon one hundred stalwart natives, all made up carriers for our household goods smallest possible the packages into sheep, A jollier set goats, dogs, and oxen included. of porters never set out on a journey through all were singing and urging this part of Africa each other on by witty sayings: '^Tugende Bunyoro, tugende Bunyoro, tutwala omuzungu, abanyoro besimye mutusigulire tuli basaja tuli (^*We go to Bunyoro, we go to basaja." Bunyoro, we are taking the white man, the Banyoro should be pleased with themselves, clear the road for us, we are men, we are men,"

etc.

etc.)

Some

of these

men

are Christians,

some heathen, and a few Mohammedans, but all bright happy fellows, and their chief desire seemed to be to get into camp with their
soon as possible in order to settle a good solid meal of bananas, with a green stuff thrown in. It is astounding little what these fellows will do, given plenty of food
loads as
to

down

UGANDA TO BUNYORO.
at the
:

21

end of the day for hours they will jog with their heavy loads sometimes on their heads and sometimes on their shoulders, keeping up a continual chatter amongst themselves, and occasionally giving vent to their pent-up feelings by a terrific yell or **ndulu'' as it is called. Nothing but rain seems to damp the ardour of these muscular fellows, but this certainly does, for upon the first drops being felt, there is a dead silence, and they are mum until it stops, and the sun again shines, when once more the *^ndulu" is heard, and the song is swelling forth from the throats of these merryalong,

hearted porters.

Often the road was so good that we were able to cycle far ahead of the caravan, and patiently await the arrival of our men, in a wayside hut or by some sparkling stream whose sweet waters slaked our thirst. Once, before a camp fire, we roasted potatoes, very kindly given to us by some men journeying in the opposite direction while we waited for the caravan. Two boys ran with us all the way to push our bikes up the hills and carry them, or us, or
both,

across

the

numerous swamps, many

of

which, owing

to rain,

were so swollen that the

cheery and gay.

bridges were broken down.

At

last the porters arrive, all

**Kulika'' they cry as they catch sight of us,

22

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
being
then,

which
tions/'

interpreted

means
their

**

down go

loads,

Congratulaand they

rush off into the long grass for reeds or other materials to build for themselves small huts in
to spend the night. Some are told off, however, by the headman to pitch the tent, others to fetch firewood and some to get water, and, in a surprisingly short space of time, a little colony of grass huts springs up around the Europeans' tent. Then night comes on, and darkness reigns around, save for the bright glow made by the many fires of the porters. In groups the men

which

down and discuss the events of the day, poking and blowing the fire every now and their then while the evening meal is cooking merry laugh is always cheering, and one forgets the discomforts of the tent life and enters into
sit
;

the joys of existence together with these

happy

black boys.
of
it

Hard work seldom kills and a little makes the black man happy, and the white
learns
to

stranger soon

enjoy the
his

blithesome

laugh
sixty

of the

porter as he trots along with his

pounds' load
shorter,

on

head,

making

the

way seem
forgotten.

and

the

discomforts

are

Starting every day at 6 a.m., just as soon as

the sun rises in the east and sheds
its

warming

rays around,

resting at nine,

and partaking of

UGANDA TO BUNYORO.

23

a good substantial breakfast, then on again for another two hours, when camp is fixed up. Eight days' tramp of this sort brings us to the great Kafu River, a dead sluggish stream

boundary between hundred yards across it is choked up with masses of fetid vegetation, coarse reeds, papyrus predominating, thick black mud with a watery slime on the top it is one of the most horrible rivers it has ever
which
forms
the
natural

Uganda and Bunyoro.

been
it

my

misfortune to cross.
is

The bridge over

and then
to

is

washed away

periodically,

get across
at the

impossible, excepting by the aid

three inches of water

of a tiny dug-out canoe,

over.

bottom, and well smeared with

mud

all

few minutes in this crazy craft would satisfy the most venturesome for a lifetime, and as the foul waters are stirred up by the man at the stern with a big pole to propel the boat across, the awful odour hangs thick around one, so that to take a deep breath is a foolish venture, and to be judiciously avoided. The valley of the Kafu River abounds with game of all sorts, and it was here that one of our men, who was following us a few weeks afterwards, bringing rupees, etc., met with an exciting adventure. Having made friends with several other fellows, who like himself were on the way to Bunyoro, they tramped along

24

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
;

together

they pitched their

river,

camp on

the southern

bank of the

commenced
capital.

their

and very early in the morning long tramp into Hoima, the
they

Just

before

reached

the

stream

one of the men who was walking ahead of the running back with the news that rest, came a big herd of elephants was grazing near the water close to the path.

The

party hesitated

for

a while to consider

the advisability of proceeding, but

as

came

to

the

conclusion that they might go forward, making

much

noise as possible so as to frighten the

herd away. The wonder to me is, that the elephants did not start to run upon the first produced by the sound of that awful din Muganda when he wishes to make an impression

and
it

never stop for the rest of the day. As happened, there was in the herd a real old rogue, whose great delight is to chase all and sundry of the human race, whenever and wherever met with, and this chief of the herd was at once put upon his mettle before the followers
in his train, at the

sound of the unearthly

yells

of the approaching cavalcade.

The noisy crew went boldly forward, each encouraged by the next man's yells, when suddenly they came in full view of about twenty
their

huge beasts of the forest with the wild bull at At first sight, he came for them head.

UGANDA TO BUNYORO,
full

25

the

speed ahead, with a whole herd taking

frightful

trumpeting, chase

up

the

most

vigorously.

The

porters scattered

and

fled like

dry leaves before the wind the man with the rupees and other treasure cast everything from him, and went half naked into the bush, the Now this black man bull elephant after him. was no fool, and although he ran with all the energy of his nature, he kept cool about the head, and turning sharply to one side, dodged behind an overgrown ant-hill, and Jumbo passed by like a flash of lightning. However, a more unfortunate brother was just ahead, and not being so fleet of foot, or so quick to decide what was best to be done, was soon overtaken and thrown to the ground and trampled to death. Having thus wreaked his vengeance upon the disturbers of his morning meal, the rogue withdrew from the scene and joined his more peaceful followers, who were by this time some distance away. The man returned and picked up the of two bottles completely pieces, consisting smashed, which had contained medicine, which he most religiously brought along with him in
spite

of their emptiness.
lost,

were

and

the

one

None of man was

the rupees the

only

casualty.

of buffalo in

For some time there has been a large herd this valley, and although I have

26

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

never come across them, I have seen plenty of fresh tracks for a mile or more along the road.

chief of this district once brought to

me

the

skull of a full-grown

cow

that

had been

killed

by

a lion close to his village.

to
it

Lions are

plentiful,

so the natives say, and great care had to be taken

keep fires burning around the camp but strange how soon one gives up these precautions and how little does it affect the general spirit of cheerfulness that reigns in a wellconducted caravan. At one camp on this road on the Uganda side of the Kafu, I had a thrilling experience. had pitched our camp upon a high hill overlooking a beautiful plain of short, fresh grass, roaming over which we could distinctly see small herds of Uganda cob and other beasts. After a short rest I went with two of my men to hunt, in order to supply ourselves and porters with fresh meat. It was a glorious afternoon, almost a cloudless sky and a cool, refreshing breeze a common feature in these high altitudes had not gone very far of Central Africa. from camp when a fine buck presented a magnifi;

is

We

We

cent

chance,

and

soon

it

lay

stretched

out

upon the plain. A pair of horns, 21J inches in length, was a prize not to be despised, and a boy was left behind to guard the meat and carefully remove the head and hide.

UGANDA TO BUNYORO.

27

Another hour's walk through rather longer and coarser grass brought us to a place where the country was more broken, and there were many little kopjes rocky and bare, jutting out of the surrounding flatness. At the foot of one of these I was successful in bringing down another fine buck, and leaving it in charge of my last remaining boy, I hurried on with the intention
of

returning
of the

to

camp
rocky

alone,
I

to

call

up

the

porters to bring in the meat.

struggled to the

top

little

hill

to get, if possible,

a view of the camp, or at any rate of some point from which I could find my way. But I could see nothing familiar, and no sign ^of
ally

This was rather unfortunate, especievening was drawing on rapidly and darkness threatening, and more than this, a storm was approaching with alarming rapidity. The lightning was flashing, and I could hear the distant rumble of the thunder, each moment The wild swishing becoming more distinct.
the camp.
as of the grass in the strong breeze as
itself
it tangled about one's legs made progress slow. At last I came to a grassy knoll, from the summit of which I guessed I should obtain a glimpse of camp, so up I went, breathing painfully, with the strong wind blowing in my face. At length I reached the top, and with gun carelessly flung across my shoulder,


28
I

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

was making my way to a tree up which I might climb for a better view, when, to my horror and intense excitement, ten yards only in front of me, a huge lion rose to its full height. Its muzzle was covered with blood, disturbed as it was at its feast upon an antelope, and at sight of me it snarled, showing a set of teeth all gory and red its ears went back, and its eyes seemed bloodshot and glaring. I came to a dead stop in a shorter time than it takes to think, and almost lost my balance,
;

then
solid eves.
I

raised

my

rifle

(.303)

loaded with

bullet,

and drew
I

so

I was quite alone, was concerned, and that away over the hills was my little wife anxiously awaiting my return, and so I decided not to fire unless absolutely obliged. Keeping my rifle raised, and ready at a single second's

Next instant suddenly realised

far

bead between his should have fired, when

the

that

as

outside

help

notice to pull the trigger,

commenced backing
step,

away very
drew
well,
I
I

slowly,

step

by

behind
dare

friendly

ant-hill,

and finally and then

that
fear
hill.

ran as fast as any hare

down
for

hardly
loose
I

look

behind

me

the

beast should be following me, until, scrambling

rocks and plunging into marshy was completely exhausted, and for a moment was fain to rest.

over

streams,

UGANDA TO BUNYORO.
the lightning playing about
;

29

The storm was now bursting overhead, and

my head I struggled and now by good fortune rather than by knowledge of my latitude, I struck a path that eventually led me to the main road.
on
again,
I

shall

never forget the

last

that struggle
in

back to
the path

camp, the
flooded

500 yards of storm right

six

It up legs, and a great hill to climb was now dark, and when I at last reached the top of that famous hill upon which our camp was built, a strange sight met my gaze. The tent pegs were all out, and upon every rope there was a man, and three or four at
!

my my

teeth,

for

inches

each pole.

Although on the top of the

hill

there

was

water four inches deep, the ground sheet was floating, beds were soaked, and there stood my little wife in the midst of this pandemonium, calm and self-possessed, giving orders to the noisy crew of porters who were trying vainly to keep the sides of the tent down. In twenty minutes the storm had passed, and all was quiet again save for the roaring of the lion in the distance that had been so inadvertently disturbed at its meal, and the splash, splash of the porters as they moved about outside in the water trying to rearrange their wrecked
quarters for the night.

30

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
:

That night we had a strange chorus around on the one side the lion kept up our tent at the back was a leopard an incessant roar which every now and then broke the stillness with its horrible bark, and on both sides of us were the hungry hyenas, attracted no doubt
;

by the smell of the fresh meat that the porters had fetched into camp. These little diversions remind us that we are in savage Africa, or else, what with the well-regulated Government of Uganda, the fine roads, and the peaceful inhabitants, we might be led to suppose that Africa was no longer wild, and that lions and rogue elephants were
things of the
past,

never again

to

cross

the

path of the traveller.

The Kafu River having been safely crossed, we made our first camp in Bunyoro, and settled down to a night of great discomfort,
occasioned

by

the

millions

of

black-legged,
:

brown-legged mosquitoes large and small, noisy and quiet, they all alike seemed to have an insatiable appetite. We
spotted-legged
sat

and

awhile in the smoke of a big

to

camp
to

fire,

hoping
strong
these

be

left

alone,

but

nothing
line

seemed
drive

enough
pests
to

in

the

smoke
it

away,
bed.

and

ended
the

retirement
at
least

Under
peace,

by an early mosquito net

we expected

but even here

we

UGANDA TO BUNYORO.

31

found a few had managed to scramble in, and needed annihilating before rest was possible. In the night there was a tropical downpour of rain, so heavy that we feared a deluge, camped as we were on the edge of this dreadful swamp

which seemed to threaten to overflow its banks and pour in upon us. How glad we were when the sun shone in the morning, and
river,

of deadly mosquitoes disappeared For miles the darkness of the night. with the road was partly under water, which finally gave way to thick black mud.
the

clouds

But Hoima, our objective, was now only one day's march away, and after another camp in the shade of a small banana plantation, we commenced the last ten miles' walk of the
journey.

We had a right royal reception runners came out to meet us along the road, and greeted us in true Bunyoro fashion. Some came from all seemed the king, others from various chiefs highly excited at the prospect of welcoming into their country two white people who had come to live amongst them and to try and do them some good. feelings that we It was with very mingled
;

entered the
tion

little reed house built for our recepby the prominent chief of the district. We thought first of the great work we had come

32
to do,

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
two simple white folk alone in this wild with hundreds of natives looking to us,
us,

place,

and expecting much from

to

and always quick

in

see
I

the

little
it

discrepancies

our nature.
that

Yes,

say

reverently,

we needed some power

could

apart from

ourselves,

some power
us,

work independently of in us and through us, dark souls around us.

and yet would work

for the uplifting of these

Missionary life is not living made easy it is a strenuous life, full of difficulties and dangers from without and from within, and I place it
;

on record that rve at any rate felt how very helpless we were in the face of so much blind heathenism, and we fervently prayed for manly wisdom in dealing with the sins and sorrows
of these wild children of Nature.

U.K.

Andereya, King of Bunyoro.

Chap.

3.

HOIMA.

CHAPTER
BUNYORO.

II.

HOIMA, THE PROSPEROUS CAPITAL OF

HoiMA
which
but

derives
rises in

its

name from a

tiny

stream

the Palajoki Hills, to the north

It is

of the capital.

has

a
of

pretty
this

an insignificant little brook, name, and hence the new

province
of

capital

northern
in

Uganda

took this
of Kahora.

name
road

place of the old native one

The
finally

old

amongst

the

from Mengo wound its way hills surrounding Hoima, and

dipped down into the fertile valley, crossing innumerable little rushing streams, up to the
hill

central palace.
It
is

upon which

is

erected

the

king's

a pleasing prospect that meets the eye

its

as one gazes over this rich valley with

waving

palm-trees scattered
sides
it

here

and
are

there.

On
on

all

is

shut

in

by the surrounding
the hills

hills,

and

in

the far distance

the

western shore of the Albert Lake. Banana gardens are abundant and large tracts of cultivated ground spread out before one's gaze
dotted
U.K.

about

here

and

there

are

the

homes
B

34

UGANDA TO KHARTOUxM.

At no very distant date Bunyoro was the land where the ravages of the cruel King Kabarega were notorious. He was King of Bunyoro, but a despot and tyrant of the deepest dye, and what is extraordinary, he seemed
of the people.
to
treat

his

people with

the

greatest

cruelty,

so that they were in constant awe of him, and built their huts in the long grass and forests,

be out of the way of his raiding bands. Hence of his capture by the it was, that at the time British troops in Bukidi, his own people were most delighted that at last his cruelties were No wonder then that the natives put a stop to. of Bunyoro were highly pleased when they heard that the British Government was about to undertake a permanent occupation of their country. known to the common people It was well what blessings had been the result of the
to

British rule in

Uganda, how

the vile practices

King Mwanga had been for ever and when they knew of the coming of Mr. George Wilson, C.B., the DeputyCommissioner, to take up his abode in their own country, their joy knew no bounds. They had heard much of this man "Tayari"i as he was called, and they were quite satisfied that he at least would understand their difficulties and look after their interests.
of

the late

stopped,

Ever ready.-

HOIMA.

35

Bunyoro when the It was a great day for order came that the Government House was to not a fort with moat and be built in Hoima
;

battlements, but just a dwelling-house in which

the

of the British Grovernment guide and direct them in a They quiet, peaceful and prosperous existence. set about this work with a will, every chief calling up his forces, and getting to business without thought or wish for remuneration. Pay they would for such work was not expected most willingly give their best for this desirable end, and from the king to the meanest peasant labour was gladly given. It was a strange building that was erected, like a huge mud barn the walls were two feet thick of mud and rubble, with poles in the centre to support the
representative

should dwell, to

tremendous grass
of

Even this was all out roof. and leaked badly when the slightest shower came on. But they did their best, and no one was more ready to acknowledge this than Mr. Wilson himself. What if the roof did leak, and the walls fall in by reason of much mud, was not the building itself an outward and
the
straight,
visible sign of the people's goodwill?

The house was seventy

feet

long by forty

feet

wide, and contained seven large rooms. But it was a sorry-looking place when the Deputy-

Commissioner

arrived,

and

it

took

him many

36

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
it

days, with the help of several skilled helpers, to

habitable condition. This was and a most comfortable dwellingplace was the result, where for many months this skilful and sympathetic official lived and worked for the uplifting of the Banyoro. The garden also was a feature not to be omitted, and well deserves a short description. In front of the house the ground was laid out

get

into

done

at last,

with beautiful flower-beds, containing

flowers

and shrubs,

many known and unknown to

right
in

rare
this

country.

large centre bed

front of

the house contained

a fine show of

flowering

and balsams, the last-named acacias, showing a gorgeous combination of colour, roses, dahlias and zineas, also contributed to the profusion of rich colouring, seldom seen in such As a an out-of-the-way part of the world. border, there was a species of bright variegated red-leaved plant which gave a most pleasing and This plant attractive appearance to the garden. I believe was first introduced into the country ot Uganda by Mr. Jackson, C.B., Deputy-Commissioner of British East Africa, who brought It appeared to it up with him from the coast. be quite dead upon its arrival in Uganda, and was thrown into the rubbish heap straight away.
cannas,

put forth new shoots, and became a living thing once more, and very
In a few weeks, however,
it

HOIMA.

37

soon it found its way into the gardens of nearly Indeed no every European in the country. garden that I have yet seen worthy of the name of a garden at all, is complete without this Many flowering shrubs found beautiful plant. in the district of Bunyoro were brought in and planted skilfully in the Deputy-Commissioner's garden, which soon became a vety paradise of Grass seed was sown and a fine green beauty. lawn was in a little time a flourishing feature, upon which Mr. and Mrs. G. Wilson were often engaged in a well-contested game of lawn-tennis. This is the only grass court I have seen in
Africa.

At one corner of the garden was a curious erection built up about four feet from the surface of the lawn, with sufficient room on the top for a couple of small tables and half a dozen chairs. This was the little watch-tower, where the Deputy-Commissioner and his wife might often be found at sundown, and to us who had arrived in this country a few months previously, a real pleasure to join the little circle it was at the close of the day, and discuss the future plans for Bunyoro with this most worthy servant
of

should like to say that during these early days of my missionary efforts among the Banyoro, when so much depended upon the foundation laid,
here
I

the Government.

And

o8
I

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

always found a kind friend and warm supporter Mr. George Wilson, and many a time have I sat with him upon this little watch-tower at the close of the hot summer day, and received help and advice from my sympathetic friend.
in

Government

officials

and Christian

missionrealise

aries in these far-off lands often but

little

how
help
:

great

their

opportunities are
is

the combination

ideal,

for mutual given the true

work. The officer enters with a knowledge of the law that country the has made England so great, and with the force of the greatest Empire the world has ever seen and the missionary comes with the at his back
spirit in the individual
;

simple strenuous desire to make men good and He comes with even a greater law-abiding. power than any this world can boast of, and he teaches the helpless native from whence he

may obtain the power he lacks, to keep the laws of Christ which, thank God, are the laws
of our
official and the missionary British form the strongest combined force for good in May we both live up to our the world. responsibilities, then Africa will never regret

own Empire. Government

So

that,

side

by

side,

the

opening her doors to us. At the back of the house is another garden of no less importance, for here were grown the Almost every kind of vegetables for the table.

HOIMA.
European
ficient care
fruit

'

39
suf-

or vegetable will

grow

if

be taken, and here also were to be rows of cabbages, cauliflowers, rows upon found
potatoes, lettuce, onions, and and herbs of many kinds, paw-paw trees, orange and lemon trees, pine-apples and bananas all grew in great profusion. Natives of the country were employed as gardeners and right well they did their work, in spite
turnips,
carrots,

parsley,

of the propensity they have to

sit

weeding and
sufficient

to

foliage

to

smoke a pipe hide them from

down when when there is

view.

few caterpillars keep the conscientious gardener hard at work. Some of these pests measured about four inches long, black and bright yellow, and had an array of spikes on their backs as sharp as needles. Their destructive powers are great, for I have seen a good-sized lemontree absolutely stripped of green in a night by half a dozen of these formidable insects. Their only virtue is their size and conspicuousness, for the Bunyoro gardener cannot fail to see them. But now we must look at the great building on the hill in the very centre of Hoima. It is
the
built

king's palace,
in

Bunyoro.
it

barn,

for

ment, and

first of its kind to be This is no single-storied boasts of an ** upstairs'' departalways admired the pluck of the

the

40

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
lived

young king who

there

and

made

his

sleeping apartment on the upper floor. Let us go inside and inspect for ourselves. The front door is very low, so we have to

double up a

having done so we rub our eyes and try to get used to the darkness, for there are no windows, and light can only get in through the doorway. Here is the king's chair, placed upon a fine lion's skin, surrounded by those of the lesser
little

to

get through, and

there is also a profusion of fine grass gathered from the tops of the papyrus stems strewn about to make it comfortable for the king's guests to sit upon. Then we go through a doorway on the left, much more like a rabbit hole than a decent
cats
;

opening

for

humans, and we

find ourselves in

a spacious apartment set apart for the exclusive use of the king's personal attendants.

strong rays of reflected light that penetrate through the dark Here are found cloth curtain over the doorway. a series of rough beds, made as fixtures, with
It
is

quite dark

but for

the

the
thick

legs

buried

in

the
is

floor,

upon which

layer of grass

spread, with a blanket

or bark-cloth on the top to be used as a cover-

few guns made of gas-piping stand in the corner, with a powder belt hanging from the muzzle of each.
ing.

HOIMA.

41

These are for the sole use of the attendants, and brave men they are if they ever use them, or live to wish to use them a second
time.
I have seen this kind of gun before, and it He usually half fills the belongs to a native. barrel with coarse trade-powder, then puts in a good big wad of bark-cloth, and on the top of this as many lumps of lead as he can lay his hands upon, or failing these, small stones

will do.

To blow
to

off his

weapon
it

is far is

more dangerous
the target,

the operator than

to

pro-

viding,

of course,

he

is

not less than twenty

yards away, for if it does not burst the gaspipe, it will drop the shooter pretty flat, unless his back is up against a tree. But let us go upstairs, and inspect the second *^ I said stairs,'' but they consist of a floor. precipitous incline made of mud, with a post or two stuck in at the sides to form something If you are not a good gymnast to lay hold of. do not attempt to climb ^* upstairs,'* for it is much easier to remain at the bottom. After a breathless struggle we reach the top and try to look about, but here again all is darkness until a lantern is lighted, and we are shown the royal bed-chamber. In the centre of the room is a huge erection called the ^^Kitanda,"

Az

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

and wonderfully made, baffling descripFor a mattress, there are several dozen bark-cloths folded one upon another until they have attained the thickness of about a foot and a half; then come several gaudy-coloured blankets, no doubt from the Indian traders. This is the king's resting-place. At one side of the dark room is a little temporised table, and on this is placed a Bible and a PrayerBook, for the King of Bunyoro has learned There are a few great the Christian religion. boxes, some native-made, others bought from the traders, which contain the wardrobe of His Majesty, and this completes the furniture of The queen has a similar the king's chamber. room adjoining. We gladly make our way to the lower floor, as the atmosphere above is decidedly stuffy, and after another performance on the ** staircase" we reach the solid earth once more, and take in a fresh and greatlyneeded supply of pure air. Turning to the back-yard we find several smaller buildings in which dwell the servants of the establishment, and these need no fuller description than *Vis they are all dark and
fearfully
tion.

dirty.

Coronation

Day

be remembered crowned King Edward on 26th June instead of

witnessed a function long to in Bunyoro, for although we

HOIMA,
9th August,
the

43

we

did

it

with right goodwill, and

natives of Bunyoro, king

and

chiefs alike,

entered into the joys of the day with a spirit that

nothing could damp. The great feature of the day was a service in the Church of the Good Shepherd, as our native church is called, attended by Government Staff of all ranks in full-dress uniform, and a big native feast or reception a luncheon and a dinner to finish up with. It can be well imagined that the resources at the disposal of those in authority to make such an occasion a success were limited, but some men are never daunted, and Mr. S. Tomkins, then Acting Commissioner of Western Provinces, is one of these. The day before the event we got the natives to bring in flowers, ferns and palms to decorate the church for the great service these made the building look charming. A raised dais was placed for His Majesty King Edward's Representative over it were spread native mats with leopard and antelope skins. At the back of the throne of state was draped the Union Jack with beautiful palm leaves and flowers hanging in great profusion. Another throne was erected for the King of Bunyoro, and similarly draped, while all the big chiefs had places allotted to them around the king. His Majesty's Representative arrived at 9 o'clock
;

44

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

riding on a fine mule and surrounded by his body-guard of well-equipped native troops: following him were other officials, all of whom

were quietly escorted to their seats. Then the solemn ceremony was commenced by the singing of ^* God Save the King'' in the native language. All was hushed while suitable prayers were offered, and a short sermon was delivered by the native pastor of the church, who spoke with deep feeling of the great departed lady,
Victoria, whom they all felt to love world-wide sympathy and goodness, and then with fine eloquence urged his hearers, from the king to the humblest peasant in his country, to loyally serve the great Queen's son Edward, who that day took up the sceptre lately fallen from his glorious and illustrious This ended the service and mother's hand. again formed up, and the Subthe troops Commissioner with the native king and chiefs proceeded to the official buildings for the

Queen

for her

Here it was announced that King Edward was crowned King of all the Britons and of all the British Dependencies. As a matter of fact it was some weeks later that this in very truth was done, but we in far-away Bunyoro did not know of His Majesty's serious illness until some days afterwards, and
civil

ceremony.

ii

made but

little

difference,

for

King Edward

HOIMA.
was
already crowned noble mother's sake.
in

45
hearts
for

our

his

royal salute

was then

fired

by the assembled

troops.

wonderful triumphal arch had been erected on the main road of Hoima, and under this the accompanying photo was taken, a repreEuropeans then in sentative group of the Bunyoro, who with one heart joined in the Luncheon was then Coronation ceremonies. served to the European population of Hoima,

and

Edward's health was drunk in beverages varying from lemonade to hock and

King

claret.

A
for

very
the

bountiful
native

provision

was also

king and chiefs, who partook of their Coronation feast in the Govern-

made

ment buildings. When this was over the sports commenced. A mule race for the natives was the first item, and a laughable scene it was. A fine broad course had been prepared, and half a dozen mules and one Muscat donkey, with their native jockeys, lined up to the mark. The starting was the difficulty, for the animals were so scared at the great crowd that had collected to watch the race. Some would not all, start at and others persisted in trotting off
into

the

long grass at the side of the course,

or dashing in

One

amongst the scared onlookers. wild beast went off at such a pace that

46
its

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

rider was soon lying on his back in the middle of the road watching his mount fast disappearing in a bee-line for the stables a mile away. As a race it was not a brilliant success, for the slow but unperturbed donkef doubled back to the winning post an easy first, while a fine white mule belonging to the author came with its half- scared dusky rider in second, clasping his arms tightly round the poor beast's

neck.

Next came the foot races for the boys and young men, twenty in a heat, and some very smart running was witnessed. Next came the
wrestling,
of

by

far

the
if
it

the

sports,

for
in,

natives
^ *

excel

most interesting feature there is one thing the this famous pastime. is

Catch-as-catch-can " was the order of the day,

and

one solidly built but stumpy Muganda easily claimed the honours of the match and
first

carried off the

prize of Rs.

3.

Several
sinew,

tall

stalwart savages, all

muscle and

were tossed over this sturdy fellow's head with the greatest ease, and his skiH was worthy of better antagonists than any that could there be pitted against him. Sundry other contests were participated in, and then the grand final tug-of-war was decided by the native soldiers of the king easily carrying off the palm.

HOIMA.

47

A
to

the

grand dinner was given at the Residency Europeans living in Hoima, and the

magnificent proceedings of this eventful daywere brought to a close by a torch-light procession. Thousands of natives assembled, each carrying a long lighted torch made of dry reeds. marching It was an intensely weird spectacle
;

four abreast, the procession

wound

its

way

in

and out amongst the various buildings to the

accompaniment of '^ Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay," the only popular song known to the crowd.
so Coronation Day closed, long to be remembered with pleasure by all the inhabitants of Bunyoro both white and black.

And

48

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

CHAPTER
BUNYORO AND
ITS

HI.

GREAT MEN.
its

The

early

history of Bunyoro, in
is

essential

particulars,

practically

the

same

as

that of

many another Central potic king, who ruled

cruelty,

African country
his

des-

his one delight murdering, not only in his own country but in Wherever he went with those surrounding it. his marauding bands, he brought destruction and death to the people, and in this he was ably assisted by the wild Dervish tribes of the His own North which gladly joined him. people were not exempt from his cruelties, and it was his practice to commandeer from them whatever he needed in the way of cattle, food,

people by fear and being raiding and

or

women.

He

sent his

sometimes

with

band of robbers into Uganda, success, and at others with

signal disaster.

On

made up of the Uganda

the

one occasion a large band of these fellows, selections from many tribes beyond
Protectorate,
into

made

their
It
is

way

across

Kafu River

Uganda.

said they

were about 500 strong, but such was the plucky

BUNYORO AND
way
in

ITS

GREAT MEN.

49

which the
king to

Waganda

repulsed this raid,

that not fifty of the rascals

to their
tion.
tell

were able to return

this defeat

the story of their annihilasaid to have immediately

Kabarega was so furious with

is

of his raiders that he

vengeance upon the wives and families of those who were lost in the fighting, by ordering a huge slaughter of his defenceless
wreaked
his

people.

A
were

strange inhuman practice was observed by

the Banyoro,
let

when Kabarega's bands

of robbers

loose

little

upon the countryside. child was buried alive, just leaving

in

the head above the ground,

the road leading to the village.

the middle of

The marauding

bands coming upon this human sacrifice would immediately turn back, and never dare to pass this dreadful spectacle. It was a propitiatory
offering to the great spirit of evil, a
for help

dumb

cry

and protection from the

little

settlement

not far away.

Such practices as these are now unknown. Kabarega is a prisoner at Seychelles, in durance vile, and the leader and cause of all this misery being removed, Bunyoro is now learning to hold up its head. There is to-day a Christian
very tyrant Kabarega, not in despoiling his whose own people and keeping them in terror of their
king,

son

of

this

real

delight

is,

50
lives,

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
but whose desire
is

to uplift

and

to help

them.

Andereya Luhaga, King of Bunyoro, young man of about twenty-three years of

is

age.

and thin with the old Hima type of quick to learn, and ever anxious to understand the why and wherefore of things. Before he was made king, or ever dreamed of being chosen for such a position, he was an active worker at the mission, always keen to help and to teach his more unfortunate brethren. He soon learned to read, and was baptized, and then threw himself heart and soul into the work of reforming the lives and hearts of the people. He never knew that one day he would be
is

He

tall

features,

selected as his people's

and made
for

head and representative But a better preparation the great work which lay before him could
their king.

not have been chosen.

chiefs

He

endeared himself to

and peasants alike. Often on a Sunday morning he would start off, almost before it was light, with his Testament under his arm, and walk for eight or ten miles in order to reach some secluded village where the people were in ignorance. Here he would spend the rest of the day teaching and reading to those who endowed But not only this gathered round. common extraordinary is with he undoubtedly as sense, he would often hunt up those in trouble
:

BUNYORO AND

ITS

GREAT MEN.

51

from a worldly point of view, and advise them what to do, that their grievances might be He soon became well known all redressed. over the country, as one who loved his people and tried hard to help them in their difficulties, that, when he was proposed as a successor to the throne of Bunyoro, the delight of the people was unanimous. This honour took him greatly by surprise he had never guessed that such a suggestion was likely. But the distinction sits Unlike other black men who well upon him. utterly lose their heads when taken from a menial position and made important personages he has never shown the least pride, but
;

humbly

desires to learn the

it,

^'Wisdom

of God,"

as he himself puts

in

order to govern his

country with righteousness. He has a capable set of under chiefs, two of whom at least deserve some word of introducThe man seen in the photograph on the tion. king's right hand is Paulo Byabachwezi, the Standing about first Christian chief of Bunyoro. six feet high, with broad shoulders and straight back, he is a fine specimen of humanity, from a
physical
chief
is

point of view.
great
;

His power also as a

he owns the largest district in has consequently the greatest number of people under his charge. It has been said of him that he was always in abject

Bunyoro,

and

52
terror

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
of the
late

King Kabarega, and

his

rather

than

come

into

presence,

he would feign

illness,

or even

run away into the wilderness.

Consequently he was no friend of the king's, and orders sent to him were made doubly severe on this account. For all that, Byabachwezi seemed to hold his own over his people they all feared him, and would run to do his least
;

bidding.

have found that many of the people of Bunyoro had a strange idea that Kabarega had that he could call down supernatural powers the rain, or cause the heavens to be shut up at will. I cannot say that he believed himself that he had this power, but I do not suppose he minded his people thinking this of him. ByaI
;

bachwezi, then, became a man when Kabarega had fled the country, followed closely by the

He raised his head and Protectorate troops. soon took the leading position among all the chiefs of Bunyoro, and he now ranks next to In many things he is the king in importance. a weak man human nature is very strong with him, and powder running for the sake of gain,
:

and elephant-hunting for similar reasons, for a long time were little weaknesses of his. In many personal dealings with Byabachwezi have had ample opportunity of understanding I his complex nature, and although his animal

BUNYORO AND
passions are strong,

ITS
I

GREAT MEN.
is

53

believe he

capable of

becoming a most
ment.

useful servant of the

to
learn,

Governbut with

He

has had much

he
is

severe yet just treatment at the

British officials
likely to

hands of the become a most

valuable asset on the side of right.

As a

friend

to me upon my first entrance into the country he was of great service, not only in the building of my house, but he also urged upon his own people the importance of learning to read and write, and thus opened the way for very definite missionary work in the country. On the left of the king is Jemusi Muti, who holds the chieftainship of Kago. He is a Uganda chief and owns a large estate in Uganda proper, but upon the invitation of Mr. Geo. Wilson, he accepted a chieftainship in Bunyoro. Jemusi is what may He came be called a highly-educated native. from Uganda with the reputation of being a He speaks very scholar of no mean order. good English, perfect Swahili, and has quickly been able to master the Lunyoro as spoken in
this land of his adoption.

For

this reason alone,

is most valuable to his superior officer of the Government. Mistakes so often arise between official and natives on account of the ignorance of one, and of the language of the other, and it is quite impossible to obtain a good understanding, unless one language at least is

he

54

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
property of both.
;

common

business capabilities

a man of from time to time he has

Jemusi

is

made considerable sums

of

money by buying
and
selling

cloth, coffee-berries, or ivory,

them

again to traders. He has built himself a beautiful house of brick, furnished with valuable chairs, tables, etc., many of them brought from England. He is also a mighty hunter, and delights in following big game. Being granted a game licence by the Government, he set about trying to get a couple of large elephants, the ivories of which have been long famous in Bunyoro for
their size

killing

and quality. He was successful in two very fine animals only two days'

journey from the capital, thereby greatly enhancing his finances for that year. On the strength of his gains, he started building a dhow, to ply the waters of the Albert Lake. Going into partnership with an Indian carpenter, the work is well advanced, and in a little time he expects to make a lot of money by trading He also with people of the Upper Nile banks. is a Christian man, educated, and baptized in Uganda, and is ever amongst the foremost to help on the important work of Christianising the people of Bunyoro. The other chiefs shown in the photograph are also prominent men in the country and are baptized Christians of the Protestant Church.

BUNYORO AND

ITS
of

GREAT MEN.
Bunyoro
is

55

The Native Parliament

composed

of representatives of every district, the head chief of each district being allowed to bring a given

number

of his under chiefs.

Needless to say, all the doings of this Native Parliament or Lukiko as it is called, are watched by the British Government Representative in the country, and indeed all serious cases are
referred
to

him by

the king for his judgment.

It will be seen therefore that the British Government official works through the native chiefs and makes them responsible for the order and In my good management of the country.

opinion this
that follows

is

a great secret of the

success

British administration all over the

world.

never possible for a foreign official, whoever he may be, to thoroughly understand I have the undercurrent of the native mind. heard chiefs admit under pressure that they
It is

have committed the most dreadful crimes, of which it has been proved they were most thoroughly innocent, and again those have apparently proved their immaculate innocence of deadly deeds, that they unquestionably have comIt takes a native of the same language mitted. and customs to thoroughly investigate these The white man has often betn deceived things. when proof to him has seemed overwhelming, but the native seldom misleads, to any great

56
extent,

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
one of his own
tribe.
It
is

most
;

interest-

ing therefore to sit and listen while the king and chiefs try a case their own way sometimes two or even three cases will be going on at the

same
is

time,

and yet the intricacy of each one

suddenly,
pleading,

wonderfully followed, and quite the man is perhaps, while still

judgment

be passed, and the culprit imFamily history, style mediately admit his guilt. of speech, and the nature of facts related, and those omitted, seem to give definite clues, and have but seldom heard of a miscarriage of I Of course bribing justice in the native court. the judge was very common in earlier days when
will

was no appeal. The man who saw the case going against him would make some kind of a sign to the king or chief trying his case, meaning that so many cows or sheep should be given if the case were decided in his favour, and the guilty man always This was sometimes offered the biggest bribe. accepted, but the king and Parliament knew quite well which was the guilty party, so that
there

when a white

official

appeared on the scene, this

bribery had to cease and justice

now

is

invariably

maintained. The Parliament

structure
built

House
reeds
his

of

is a light and airy with a thatch roof.

Every man brings

own

chair

and

is

allotted

BUNYORO AND

ITS

GREAT MEN.

57

a place, according to his rank. The big Saza chiefs range themselves round the king, and the Every one smaller fry are in the background. must remove his head-gear as he speaks, excepting the Mohammedans (they, on account of

do this), and address his remarks to the king, kneeling upon the ground, and when he has finished all he has to say, he retires, bending low before the king, and once more replaces his head-dress. Four or five will often speak at once, and to a
their religious beliefs, are not obliged to

foreigner the din

is

absolutely bewildering,

but
it

every word

is

followed by the chiefs, and

reference will be

is

astounding

how

made

to

some

insignificant

remark made long

before, that has

not been forgotten by the chief, although no note

has been made.

The

king's police are always in attendance, and

are supposed to maintain order.

Personally,

themselves than the whole crowd combined. They are a mixed medley, and present various costumes for the admiration of the assembled crowd once a man actually turned up in a black frock-coat over his dirty black body, and his only other garment was a very grimy pair of linen knickers.
think they
often

make more

noise

They buy up
ment
troops,

all the old putties of the Governand you will sometimes see a brown on one leg and a blue on the other. The hippo-

58

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
is

hide whip
native

the

usual

accompaniment of the

when on duty, and he does not forget to use it freely. As may be supposed, like every ignorant black man when given a little authority, he takes a great deal, and makes
policeman
himself most objectionable to the more peaceful
natives.

A
at

gas-pipe
is

gun

in the

hands of a raw

black savage

a passport very often for murder

and he is a dangerous individual to any time. Drunkenness is also another pastime indulged by these arms of the law, and when a in drinking bout is going on, you may always
theft,

and

encounter

be sure of finding several of the king's police

amongst the first batch of inebriated men. Not that these things are encouraged by the chiefs in authority for one moment, but it is
one of the strange characteristics of the black man when he is given a gun, and put upon police duty, invariably he becomes the ringleader in all the debauchery of the district. To my knowledge, King Andereya has made severe examples of some of these miscreants, and a sound flogging with their own hippohide has been administered, and they have but for been obliged to retire from the force all that, the good ones among them are a long time coming to the fore, the evil ones being generally in evidence. Sometime, perhaps,
;

BUNYORO AND

ITS

GREAT MEN.

59

things will be altered, and these law-breaking peace preservers will become useful adjuncts to the administration, for at present they are

anything but that. King Andereya, having become a Christian, desired to marry a Christian woman for his
queen.

The lady

of

his

choice,

Muganda

by extraction but brought up in Bunyoro, is a thorough little lady and rejoices in the name She was not a princess of royal of Miriya.
blood
to

indeed
a

this

court

etiquette
little

believe,

not necessary according Bunyoro but was, I captive in the land during the
is

in

time of the former king, Kabarega. A Christian marriage was arranged for the pair, and the day was observed as a general
holiday in Hoima.

The roads were kept

clear

by a large number of the native policemen mentioned above, who had been previously smartened up for the occasion. The ceremony was timed to take place at 9 a.m., and huge crowds collected long before that time, lining the main road to the church, everybody dressed in spotlessly white garments. The king was escorted to the building by a large crowd of princesses and chiefs, his
attendants carrying a big
to
in

umbrella over him shade him from the sun. He was dressed a long black Arab robe, trimmed about the

6o

UGANDA TO KHARTOUxM.
and a **kanzu"
(a

collar with gold thread,

long

white garment) of fine white linen underneath. He wore Arab's flat sandals on his feet, and looked every inch a king. Arriving at the

church door, he waited for his bride to come. She was long delayed, and the clergyman had to go and seek her, and was still looking and wondering what had happened, when she came
in

sight, not
in

much
white

before ii o'clock!
linen
robes,

She was
about

attired

draped

most approved fashion, with a bright scarlet band round her waist. On her velvet slippers, embroidered feet were black with shaded silks, and on her head was an Her face shone with rancid ugly red fez. butter with which she had been smeared, and her head shaven, so that one could not say that she looked a very fascinating bride. But such is the custom of the country, and in the eyes of the natives, no doubt, she was all
her
in

the

that

could

be

desired.

young

princess

walked behind her with a large umbrella to shade her from the fierce rays of the tropical
sun.

saw her coming, he immediately hurried into church and sat down on a leopard skin, spread out for himself and his
the king
bride, close to the

When

communion rails. The Rev. Nuwa Nakiwafu, a native

of the

BUNYORO AND

ITS

GREAT MEN.

6i

Uganda church, was the only officiating clergyman, and what with the long waiting, and the excitement of the occasion, he certainly was mentally disturbed. The ring which was handed to him he immediately dropped, and it went spinning along the floor amongst the crowd, and for a few moments could not be When eventually it was given to the found. king to place upon the bride's finger, he first put it on the middle one and then had to change it. The service was the ordinary wedding service of the Church of England, performed of course in the Lunyoro language.
The
this

bride

when asked

if

she agreed to ''take

man as her lawful wedded husband," answered in a low and indistinct tone of voice, and the clergyman at once told her to speak up as if she were not ashamed. The king was perfectly collected and cool, and gave his answers in a loud voice. The service over, the crowd hurried out to line up on each side of
the churchyard,
in order that the royal

couple

might pass

down

the

centre

in

the

presence

of all. Now it is the custom in Bunyoro to walk away from the church after the marriage the more slowly service at a very slow pace the pair moves, the better they are thought of by the crowd. Whether the idea is to start married life as if time in future were to be
;

62

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
object,

whether the prolonged agony of a few hours exposed to the hot sun in the middle of the day was to show the extraordinary patience each was capable of manifesting, I cannot say. Be this as it may, King Andereya and his wife should have been a good two hours walking five hundred yards from the church to the king's house, but a heavy shower hurried the procession somewhat and the customary slow march was abandoned. As evening drew in a great reception was arranged in

no

or

native fashion

at

the

palace,

and

all

the

loyal

ones of

Hoima were

expected to go up to the

'Meave cards," or, as is usual in Bunyoro, say to his majesty: **How have you spent the day and how is the bride?" We of the Mission felt it our duty to call, and were ushered into the audience chamber, where sat His Majesty, looking hot, sleepy, We offered our conand bored to death. and small gifts of a suitable gratulations and were then presented to the character, queen, who sat in a stuffy tent at the back of the palace, with a number of fat and wellwere soon glad to greased attendants. the odour of the rancid butter and the leave

palace and

We

heat of the place was, to say the least of unsuitable to the delicate susceptibilities
the

it,

of

average

European.

The day, ended with

BUNYORO AND
selections,

ITS

GREAT MEN.
in

63
the

played by the king's band,

courtyard of the palace. Perhaps this band should have a few words of eulogy, for if ever men worked hard, these

bandsmen
for they

did.

The
or,

chief
in this

instrument
case, the

is

of

course the drum,

drums,

were many and varied. The leading drum, that is, the one that could always be heard, whether anything else were audible or not, was about three feet high and two feet diameter, made out of the trunk of a tree which was hollowed out and shaped, and cow*
stretched over the top in place of parchment. It had a deep resonant tone, and was beaten with such vigour that the other instruments stood but little chance of being heard. There were also the long narrow drums called **Ngabi," which are beaten with the hand. These are made from a long hollow trunk of tree covered with a water-lizard's skin, and are chiefly appreciated by the natives for the Then there were also great noise they make. several smaller drums, down to the tiny little a cocoa-nut, which is affair no bigger than left hand, and tapped with a the in carried small twig. These are what might be termed the foundation instruments, that is, they always up the deficiencies of the rest of the band. fill There are horns of various sorts and sizes, the

skin

64
largest

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
being about three
over
feet,

cleverly

of hide stretched

a framework

of

made wood
;

from this can be extracted three distinct notes, resembling the bellow^ing of a bull. Other horns are smaller, and of course give shriller the smallest notes, according to their size, being about a foot in length, and giving forth a wild sort of scream. This is the Makondere band, and is always requisitioned upon great state functions such as I have intimated, and they certainly had a full day's employment at the wedding of King Andereya. It will undoubtedly be a long time before a country like this will, in a commercial sense, pay its way. Officials commanding big salaries good roads made and have to be supported all kinds and of machinery and maintained,
;

military organisation are necessary.

it

But

take

Colonising Government in the world is not a quick return for money spent, but the building up of a state that will some day be an ornament to can afrord to wait, our money the Crown.
that

the chief end

of the

finest

We

is

well invested,

and

will,

believe, eventually

pay a good percentage.

present
is

Our

chief concern at

to gain

the confidence of the natives

bv straight dealing. To this end, it has been thought advisable to impose a hut-tax, that shall be levied once a year, upon every man

BUNYORO AND

ITS

GREAT MEN.

65

owning a hut in the country, thus to allow him some hand in the improving of his country, and in the support of those who have to administer justice.

or kind

has the bring the

may be paid in money sum and if the individual Rs. 3 is if not, he may cash he pays in money
This
the

garden, such as dried beans, millet, sem-sem, red chillies or ground or he may go into the nuts, and the like
fruit

of his

forests

and
;

collect

fibre

rubber
the

or again,

he can

Government

official,

rope-making, or himself to to do a month's manual

for

present

work.
All these ways are open to him, and no one can therefore complain that he cannot pay his
tax.

poll-tax
2,

is

also levied

upon unmarried

is not the only one who contributes towards the maintenance of the country. As the country advances in wealth, no doubt these taxes will be increased,

men

of Rs.

so that the householder

but we may rest satisfied that under the able guiding hand of Col. Hayes Sadler, C.B., no mistakes will be made.

U.K.

66

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

CHAPTER
It

IV.

FOLKLORE AND NATIVE CUSTOMS OF BUNYORO.

would not be right in a work of this kind to make no mention of the habits and customs of
life

of

the

people
I

of

the

country.

In

this

chapter,

therefore,

propose

giving
I

the

most interesting features as with them amongst the Banyoro.

First,

some of have met

with reference to their heathen religion,

hardly worthy to be called by that name, perhaps, but their belief in the spirits of good

and

evil

is
I

religion.

so genuine that to them it is a purpose giving in the words of a

big chief

in

Bunyoro

the early history of their

faith in the

Bachwezi (**The Great Spirits").

The Coming of the Bachwezi.

Bachwezi were herdsmen with many cattle, and they came from the south. The king of Bunyoro at that time was Bukuku, and

The

his

tribe

was

called Balanzi.

The

first

of the

Bachwezi

to arrive

was Isimbwa.

Bukuku had

in his household that any daughter born to him was not to marry, and each girl was safely guarded within a special enclosure,

made a law

NATIVE CUSTOMS OF BUNYORO.

67

and no man was ever allowed to see her. He had, however, one daughter, Nyinamwiru, whom he greatly loved, and he made a great fence around her house with no opening in it, and she was never allowed to go outside, all her She was food being passed over the fence. allowed one maid-servant, whose name was
Mugizi. Isimbwa,
the

strange

from the south, heard of advances towards her, with a view to securing He told her that her, if possible, for his wife. he had been sent by the king, and had received his permission to enter her enclosure. He brought with him a long pole, and resting it against the fence, he climbed up and let himself down on the other side. As soon as he saw her he loved her, and she loved him, and he told her how much he desired to make her his She readily consented, and he lived with wife. He then suddenly her secretly lor four days. disappeared, climbing back over the fence, and After many has never been heard of since. a child, a had boy, and she Nyinamwiru days was in great fear lest her father when he heard She therefore of it should have her killed. told her maid-servant, Mugizi, to take the child, and climb over the fence and make her way to
the great Albert

God-man who came this girl, and he made

Lake and there drown

it.

The

68

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
told,

great sorrow to do as she but the child was washed up on to the branch of an overhanging tree, and did not drown. Now it so happened that a man

servant went with

was

called

Mubumbi,

a potter, saw the child hang-

ing to the tree as he went to the lake to fetch water. He immediately rescued it, and took it
to
his

house.

Now

Mubumbi

lived

quite

where the Princess Nyinamwiru had her dwelling, and as she was looked upon by all as a person of great importance, he felt that he ought to let her know that he had found a male child. So he went to the fence and called out to her that he had found a child by the lake shore she very quickly realised that this must be her own child, and was full of thankfulness that after all it was alive. She at once gave Mubumbi milk with which the child should be fed, and Mugizi was sent day after day with a pot of milk for the little one. But Mubumbi did not know whose child it was, and was very much surprised when Nyinamwiru one day sent him a cow as a present, if he would continue to nurse
close to the great enclosure
;

the

little

child,

for

she loved her son for his

it

father's sake.

All the people called the child a

son of Mubumbi, and Ndahura.

was given the name

and

Ndahura grew

up and became a man

NATIVE CUSTOMS OF BUNYORO.

went into the
to
fields to

69

herd the cows belonging

his

foster-father

Mubumbi, and he herded

them with those belonging to the king. It happened one day that the king himself came into the fields to see his cows, and Ndahura stealthily crept in among the cows until he was close to the king who was sitting on his chair, and threw his spear over the back of one of the cows and killed the king then, springing forward, he pushed the corpse from off the chair, and sat thereon himself. Then all the people feared, for they saw from his features that he was Ndahura then sent one of the of royal blood. late king's servants to his mother, for he had long ago found out who his mother was, and told her that he had killed Bukuku, and that now he was king. She at once called for her charms which were used as tokens of good, and said
;

be forgotten, let me live for the Then Ndahura had a future, my son is king." door cut into the great fence that surrounded his mother's house, and she came out with state,
**Let the
ill

and entered the new king's palace, and all the people brought presents to the king, and great were the rejoicings.

hunter

Ndahura became a great king, a mighty and warrior, often leading his people to victory, but on one of his expeditions he

70

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
killed,

was

and
the

all

his

people
the

slaughtered.

Wamala,
was
that

his

son,

then
of

reigned.

Ndahura
Bachwezi

therefore

first

great
it

kings,

and

for

many

generations

was

said

descendants possessed supernatural his being able to as powers, such make a basket of food or a pot of milk last an indefinite

time.

They were

also said

to

possess

They studied all power of prophesying. kinds of natural phenomena, and used them as When a man signs of what would happen. a fire over the river in from Bukidi brought his boat and set it on the shore, and the long grass caught fire, the Bachwezi said that from Bukidi would come a ruler who would overthrow Bunyoro and destroy their land. All the flowers had secret meanings to the Bachwezi, and they would send messages to the and this became a big chiefs by the flowers secret code and was used in Bunyoro until
the
;

quite lately.
into Bachwezi worship is a curious after this fashion and is All the custom, witches and wizards are called together the oldest woman amongst them is put into the centre of the crowd, and the one to be initiated her knees. sits upon Then the chief wizard brings a coffee-berry and drops it into his ** Repeat mouth, saying to him after me, I
Initiation
:

NATIVE CUSTOMS OF BUNYORO.

chief priest says solemnly:
;

71

have swallowed the Bachwezi,'" and then the ^^ Death is in your if you wish it to come at daytime, keeping it comes, or at night, it will obey you." After
there are
all

this

many
in

strange

incantations perbark-cloths

formed by
is

present,

and the newly-fledged

wrapped up
of

two
;

new

made

from
stick

a sacred tree

into

his

hand
is

is

the sacred wood, and he

put a taken in
all

procession

back

to

his

own

home,

the

witches, etc.,

uttering incantations as he* goes.

his

house all the people turn out of the house, and he enters alone. Then the head wizard brings him a bowl of milk from a special cow that has only had one calf or, as they say, has never loved but one

As he approaches

child.

As night comes on the people all collect once more outside the hut, and the man is called forth to be prepared to go into the sacred place
of the Bachwezi, a cleared

space in the forest, strewn with green leaves. First he is dressed again in the two sacred bark-cloths, and a stick placed in his hand, he then walks alone to the clearing, saying as he goes, *' Momo, momo, momo,*' a sacred word only used by
the

Bachwezi, and throws himself upon the green leaves, and all the witches and wizards surround him and rejoice with loud shouting.

72

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

This goes on until morning, and he is then taken back to the hut and given special instructions

by the high
points
are
;

priest as to the

way

in

which

he

is

to deport himself before his fellows.

The

chief

man or common
of

beast
to

Never be afraid of never refuse any kind of food

these:
**

country, excepting the flesh a cow that has eaten salt, then not even the milk is to be drunk.'' Finally the front bottom teeth must be removed. The old
the

witch

knees he sat during his brought up and is now called his mother and a wizard stands as his father. Both seize him and hold him down while a man forces out the teeth with a piece of hooked This is thought necessary, iron, one at a time. for no one may wear the special head-dress of the Bachwezi until the bottom teeth have been removed. It is the custom of the young men and women before entering into married life to go to the high priest for his blessing. They kneel in front of him in the sacred place of the Bachwezi, putting their hands upon the ground by their The high priest then spits upon the knees. heads of the suppliants, one after the other,
initiation
is

upon

whose

and says: ** May the great Spirit be upon may you become very rich, may you you have many children, and may all sickness
;

U.K.

C<

NATIVE CUSTOMS OF BUNYORO.

be kept away/'

73
far

from

you,

and

all

sorrow

be

Then he kills a sheep, specially dedicated as being without blemish, and some of the meat is given to the two kneeling before him, after having been presented in awed silence to the Then banana wine is brought Great Spirit. and consecrated by the high priest, and they all drink out of the same cup, which is supposed to be holy and full of virtue, having been previously blessed by the high priest. At the birth of a child certain rites have to be performed if it be a girl, it is placed for three days by the fire, if a boy for four days. The woman may then be brought out of the hut to be presented to her friends as a mother her head is shaved and her finger nails cut and she then cleans her teeth, and her husband presents her with some new bark-cloth and congratulates her. After another three days presented to the Bachwezi. the child is The priest is called, and is asked to give long life and every blessing to the little child. He replies by spitting upon the infant and pinching it finally asking for his fee. greatly all over He is given nine shells (fraction of a farthing) for each arm of the child, and ninety shells are placed at his feet and he says good-bye,
;

his

work

is

done.

74

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
Very
special

significance

is

given

when a

by lightning. If on the road or in the fields, wherever he falls, there he is left, and all the witches of the countryside come and stand round the body with spears The high priest also stuck into the ground. comes and sprinkles all the assembled people with holy water, as they stand by the corpse, the idea being that the Great Spirit has claimed a victim, as in some way his will had been thwarted and disloyalty to him had After two days the body is been apparent. wrapped up in bark-cloth, and taken out into the jungle to the nearest ant-hill, and there given as an offering to the Great Spirit. Then all the witches and wizards adjourn to the dead man's house to find out, if possible, the reason why he had been made a victim, and why the Bachwezi should be enraged. A cow is brought as an offering, also a sheep, a goat and a white fowl, all are sacrificed, and the whole assembled crowd dances round, singing in a loud voice ** Oh, Bachwezi, take these our sacrifices and
is

man

struck

be satisfied." Before taking a long journey, a man will go to the high priest to ask him if his journey will He generally takes a be successful or not. perfectly white fowl, having not a single coloured feather, or if he be rich, he will take a sheep

NATIVE CUSTOMS OF BUNYORO,

or goat.
entrails

75

The animal is then killed and the examined, and from the position of certain organs of the body, a declaration is made, and the man goes away, satisfied that things will
turn out as the priest predicts.

Drinking parties are usually intimately conto get drunk with nected with devil worship the banana beer is often said to be synonymous
;

with becoming possessed of the devil. perhaps there our own inferences connection between the two than we
;

We draw
is

more

civilised
illustra-

folk realise, for surely there is

no better

tion of the devil's

work than
cast aside
control,

to see a

man whose

true

manhood

is

are utterly
into the

beyond

and body and soul and the mind ^the

man is given over keeping of the drink fiend. There is little difference, indeed I fail to see any, between the civilised white and the heathen black, when under the intoxicating influence of strong drink. The dances of the Banyoro are, to say the least of it, very disgusting to the usual accompaniment of tom-tom drum and pipe, the dancers move their bodies about and put them to all kinds of contortions, in a most disgusting manner. Men and women alike take part, and
seat of the self-government of
;

both are stripped to the waist so as to show off

the evolutions to the best advantage.

The men

wear

bells

and wooden

rattles

on

their ankles,

76

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
have
iron

and the women sometimes

the
tion

anklets

that they jingle to the tune, keeping time with

tom-toms

and

drums.
it

Wriggling

and

twisting about, they keep

refresh themselves with a

up

until the perspira-

pours from their bodies, then they usually long drink of marwa, the native banana beer, and after a short rest

go

at

it

again.

will join in the fun,

Sometimes the whole crowd forming a huge circle of men

and boys, with the women in the centre. The dance is kept up all through the night, or at least until the majority are too drunk to keep it up any longer, then they just fling themselves down on the ground and try to sleep off the ill effects of the drink. No wonder that in the morning there is a big day at the dispensary, crowds coming for medicine. Immorality is the usual accompaniment of these dances, and the
missionary does well to fight against this heathen custom, which tends to be such a curse to the people, both physically and morally. A word or two about the children of Bunyoro.

From

birth

until

the age of nine or ten,

they

far as one can tell, are have seen little mites of two or three years of age washed down with cold water in the early morning and sent off into the sunshine to dry, but even thu is rare, and the poor little creatures are generally caked

are unclothed and, as

seldom washed.

NATIVE CUSTOMS OF BUNYORO.

with
dirt,

77

with

eyes

and

nose

in

filthy

condition.

At
they

a cold

they are washed and placed upon leaf for several hours, and if survive this ordeal, they are considered
birth

banana

strong and healthy, but, as I have said, hundreds of these poor little things die before they have
spent
skull

many days

in this

world of woe.

the top of the is shaved off at so that the pulsation can be watched at the joining of the bone. If a child cries much and displays symptoms

Their hair

of pain in the abdomen, it is cut about with a knife in order to let out a little blood. Is it to be wondered at, therefore, that the children are often terribly feeble and anaemic? As soon as a little girl can walk, she is taught to carry
the water-pots to the well,
these

and quite tiny children accompanying their mothers on may be seen

Little boys are sent off to expeditions. herd the goats, and although in some respects they have a freer and easier life than that of the girls, they are exposed to all weathers, and quite left to themselves like little animals. How often have I seen these poor little fellows sitting out in the pouring rain, shivering with cold, and no clothing to protect them, and no shelter from the cold blasts which are doubly

cold in

the

tropics after the

fierce

heat of the

78
sun.
in

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
At nine or
to

ten the

little

girl is often

given
than

marriage

some man

far

away from her

and it can be better imagined explained what a terrible evil this is.
home,
Native Government in Bunyoro has stringent laws against this practice,
a punishable offence
the
little

The now made

and
it

is

now
the

for a parent to allow

in

one

to

be married

order that the

parents
in

may

receive

money they may be

need of. A tiny child of six was once, to my knowledge, given in marriage to a man of I heard of the case and thirty in lieu of a debt. paid the debt, thus rescuing the child. She has lived on the mission station ever since, and has been taught to read, and she is as happy as the day is long. The woman's life is a sad one in Bunyoro she is the drudge of the household and the hard worker in the field. At 6 o'clock in the morning she must be out cultivating, then after perhaps three hours of this work she has to fetch in firewood and cook the morning meal. After this she again goes into the fields to work, sometimes breaking up the fallow land that is overgrown with a tangled mass of thistles and thorns and giant weeds. At five o'clock she again prepares the food for the evening meal, and while it is cooking she must go off to the well for water with the heavy earthenware jar holding as much

NATIVE CUSTOMS OF BUNYORO.

as a good-sized

79

English bucket. The well is way from the house, and she long a sometimes gets back just as it is getting dark and her lord and master desires his food. It is a good thing for her that dark comes on soon after six, and outdoor labour is impossible, or she would have to be at work again. After the evening meal is over, she must get the beer for the men and keep a bright fire burning, and sit there until her master seeks repose, and then at last her day's work is done. Add to all this the cruelties she often has to bear at the hands of her husband, who when drunk will often thrash her most unmercifully for little or no cause whatever, and the fact that she perhaps has a tiny child to nurse and carry about with her wherever she goes, and it will be seen how hard her life is. Surely facts like these should appeal to the hearts of the young women in our own ravoured land, and lead them in deepest sympathy and love to strive if it be possible to help and relieve these downtrodden ones, by going out to them and joining the noble band of women who in Africa and India and other lands are striving to
uplift their fallen sisters.

Wrestling
as
it

is

is

also of the

a national pastime of the Banyoro Baganda, and although the

sturdier,

latter

are

much

and

are

generally

8o

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

considered better at the game than the Banyoro, the Banyoro nevertheless have some fine ex-

ponents of the art. I once arranged a big match between my own boys and the king's followers. A fine level spot was chosen at the back of the station, and a tent
erected for the

At two
to
in

accommodation of the royal party. crowd began and was great interest shown by all assemble,
o'clock in the afternoon the

were

forthcoming contest. Two of my boys fine, strong young men in the pink of condition and full of pluck, and one Munyoro, a very powerful fellow with enormously long arms most useful appendages
the

Waganda,

in

the

game game is

of this
^*

sort.

The

general rule of

catch-as-catch-can,''

and two throws

out of three to decide the contest. Some of the first entered the ring and gave a display, the winners in each case standing on
smaller fry

At last the excitement ran high when the king's champion stepped forward, and made his bow, looking round in the meantime for a rival. The challenge was accepted by one of my
one side
for the final heats.

Waganda boys, with only one eye, the other having been put out by his chief for misconduct, a few years previously. The ring was cleared as these two champions faced each other and commenced to dodge about for the best hold.

NATIVE CUSTOMS OF BUNYORO.

At
last

Si

they clasped, the king's man gaining the best hold, and almost before the excited crowd realised what was happening, the one-

eyed man was pitched over the king's champion's shoulders in a most masterly fashion, coming down flat on his back. This was a throw, and

was

at

once given against ^^one eye,"

evidently taken

by

surprise.

had a similar result, small, and the champion

who was The next bout and our man had to cry
strutted about the ring

with his nose in the air, evidently well satisfied. After a few minutes' rest No. 2 from our side

marched

into the ring,

;

and the champion faced

some time they farced and feigned, and the crowd got more and more excited, as it now became apparent that the champion had met one very near his own match. It was the Munyoro, six feet two inches of solid muscle, who was opposing him, and we looked At last they grappled and for a close match. the Munyoro had obtained the best hold, and a desperate struggle ensued. For a moment it seemed as if the champion must fall, as he was tossed about by the sturdy Munyoro with extraordinary skill, but each time he fell upon his legs. Round and round the ring they went in locked embrace, and the king's crowd began to get greatly excited, for they saw their champion had met his equal.
about to meet him
for

82

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
;

Suddenly he seemed to stumble, and threw himself backwards it was a grand ruse, for the big Munyoro was outwitted, and fell into the trap, putting all his weight forward upon his wily antagonist who, when within but an ace of the ground, gave a most extraordinary twist that completely baffled his man and turned him over on his back as. he fell. A roar went up from the king's men as they saw their champion was victorious but he was greatly exhausted and the next round he ** found earth" within a few moments of the start. The match now stood at one throw each, and the final was reserved until after the feast, which is always one of the accompaniments of a match of this sort. A bull had been slaughtered and several great basins of stewed meat were brought, with a plentiful supply of boiled bananas and potatoes. The king, who was almost too excited to eat, called together a few of his most prominent chiefs and a discussion was held as to the
;

points of superiority of each of the combatants.

Food being finished commenced and a finer

to find
;

thci

final

match

was
his

display would be hard

after

for the

champion had indeed met

match, and although time grappled in deadly earnest,

against
either,

time the two no fall was given and the match was declared a

draw.

MISSIONARY EFFORTS.

83 o

CHAPTER

V.

MISSIONARY EFFORTS IN BUNYORO.

When

we

first

arrived

in

Bunyoro, we were

cheered and encouraged to find that the people had already built two little churches, one in
Busindi, and another in
the

Hoima.

Busindi was
the

old

capital,

and

here

resided

young

(afterwards deposed for incomand most of the principal chiefs. These had all worked together under the guidance and help of Messrs. Ecob and Farthing ^ of the C.M.S. Mission. The church was small but well built, and a good congregation gathered day by day. In Hoima we found a similar structure, which

King Yosiya

petence)

soon

proved

mass of people who came

to learn to read.

wholly inadequate for the great to worship God and

the capital, a large and finer building was necessary as a church when therefore we had settled down a little to life in Bunyoro,
this

At

time, as

Hoima became
;

in favour of Busindi,

approached the king and chiefs on the subject

*

Died of blackwatcr

fever, Jan. 1903.

84

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
new church worthy
of
the

of building a
capital
I

big

Hoima was

rapidly becoming.

glad to say the response was quite encouraging, for in spite of the immense amount of work that had to be done for the Government the headquarters of which were also removed from Busindi to Hoima the people set to work with a will, to bring in poles and materials for

am

the building.

Good, however, as the intentions of the big chiefs were, the work was ver>^ slow perhaps in one whole day only two or three poles would be brought in and often it seemed as though the church would never be built.

however, was very zealous for the efforts a real start was made and the first poles were erected. Alas, it was only a spasmodic effort, and just when the work looked like going forward, all King and came suddenly to a dead stop.
chief,

One

work, and by his persistent

chiefs alike

came
for

to

me and

said
;

^*Our

are

more than we can manage

we

people cannot even

our own houses, much less for ''Well," I said, ** either you do the church.'' not want a building in which to worship God, or else you are no good as chiefs, your people will not obey you.'* They thought over this for a few days, and
get

workmen

then came and said:

''We want

to

give

God

MISSIONARY EFFORTS.

85

a good house in which we can worship Him, but are we to thrash our workmen in order to make them build?'' I told them ^'No, come

yourselves and work, and

find that

think you will soon

your men

will

rally

round when they

see their chiefs are in earnest."

And so it proved the chiefs gave up their time to the work, some of them coming down to the building in the early morning and staying
:

most

of

the

day,

helping

and directing the

workmen who
work, but gave
this

of course were not paid for their

it

to their chief.

What

a change

The workmen seeing their chiefs were in earnest soon came to labour, and often we had as many as a hundred men hard at it,
made
!

digging holes for the poles, or fetching reeds and bamboos for the roof, and the work at last went on. The church w^as to be seventy feet long by forty-five feet wide smaller than the original plan, but under the circumstances sufficiently large. Some of the palm poles had to be brought considerable distances, and it was a very merry sight when fifty or sixty men came in with a great tree balanced upon their heads and shoulders. A headman would run up and down the line of carriers, encouraging and helping them as they went, the ** slackers*' being sometimes touched up with a cane when
;

they

lowered

their

heads,

so as

to

allow

thfe

86

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
fall

extra weight to

upon the head and shoulders

of their neighbours.

The

scaffolding

was a curious
little

feature,

and
;

consisted of thousands of

trees or branches,

bound together

like

a huge inverted basket

up

the sides of this the of the church.

men

climbed, and perched

themselves like monkeys to construct the roof

The main
ing,

poles projected through the scaffold-

and cross-beams were balanced on them to make a strong base for the smaller trees and bamboos, which were to form the roof itself. And so the work went forward, and all seemed delighted to do some little, so as to be able to say they had had a hand in the building. The thatching, however, was a difficulty first, there was not enough grass to cover the entire place and secondly, there was no one who knew At this sufficiently well the art of thatching. juncture the king came forward and promised a sum of money in order to pay an expert from Uganda each chief then contributed as he was No sooner able, and a thatcher was sent for. found was it than overcome difficulty this was the floor prepare there were not enough men to Ant-hill clay had to be collected of the church. and spread about and finally beaten hard, but this necessitated many workers, and I suggested
:
;

to the

king that the teaching

in schools

should

MISSIONARY EFFORTS.

8;

eease for a week until the floor was finished, so This that all the readers might turn to work.

was agreed to, and 400 young men and maidens came willingly to carry earth and to beat it down the consequence was that in less than a week the place was finished. We chose to call it the '* Church of the Good Shepherd,'* and during the few years that have passed since this house of God was completed,
;

feel

sure there are

the
lost

many who have

been

already,

like

sheep,

and
souls.

brought to

sought and found the Good Shepherd of their

News now comes that the Banyoro, not content with the mud church they have erected, are anxiously preparing bricks and material for
a really fine structure that will in some way be worthy of the great work that has, thank God, been such a blessing to many. A word about the native pastor, Rev. Nuwa Nakiwafu, a Muganda beloved and respected for the splendid work he has done in Toro His early history is deeply and Bunyoro. interesting, but can only have a word or two His father was a Muchwezi (spirit) high here. priest, well known to the court of the former King Mwanga of Uganda, and little Nakiwafu

was

wont

to

accompany
the

his

brother,

also

connected

with

business,

when he went

88

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

amongst the people practising his devil worship. Nakivvafu carried his charms and horns of divination and ever and anon would perform the tricks and deceptions of the business, as instigated by his brother. I once heard him tell the story of his past life, it was deeply interesting. He said how often he would
follow his brother's trickery with a heavy heart,
feeling
all

the
for

while

the

people,

that he was misleading he had heard tell of the Great

God who sent the rain and the sunshine, and who alone could help suffering humanity, and
wish that he should he must obey him. At however, he surreptitiously procured a last, copy of the Gospel of St. Matthew in the Swahili, printed by that wondertul missionary, Mackay of Uganda, and then day after day he would puzzle over it, and finally he learned to
yet
it

was

his

brother's
felt

help him, and he

dawned in his soul, became an earnest Lord Christ. To-day he follower of the Jesus I know, and his life is one of the finest men of self-sacrifice for the good of his fellow-men From early has often been a help to myself. morning until late in the evening he is at work, and if human agency is to be praised for the work as it stands to-day in Hoima, Nuwa
read
it.

Then
his

the

light

and he

left

brother and

Nakiwafu

is

the

man

to

be

praised.

But no

MucluYczi Chief.

MISSIONARY EFFORTS.
one
is

89

and he counts it been made very loving, and his greatest delight is to spend and be spent for the Master he has learned to love. He was ordained by Bishop Tucker, and from the May first has been the apostle to the Banyoro. he live long to glorify God in this dark land. Incidentally it may be noted that his brother
he,
all

more humble than

for

a joy,

his heart has

eventually

embraced

Christianity

and

was

baptized, receiving the

It

there

was not was for

in

name of Yokana (John). long before we saw the great need

little

churches

and schools
the

to

be opened
the

the country and districts so that

far

people

living

away from

capital

might have the chance of hearing the Good News that had made such a rapid change in
their country.

After a short time

little

were opened all and volunteers were called for to go out to teach and help those who were yet without the light. Twenty-three young men very soon came forward, and after a short period of training under Nuwa Nakiwafu were It was astonishing how soon the sent out.
or

reading-houses

churches over the

country,

young
witch

presence felt the dances and the wizards' tricks were soon out of count, the wonderful teaching was what the people wanted, the power to live pure lives was the one thing needful, suppressed
fellows
their
;

made

90
evil
is

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
not
sufficient.

The law

of the

land
to

might punish

the

evil-doers,

but this
built

was
of

be the motive power for good. Within these little churches

as to be of the

reeds

and grass, many of them so rudely constructed

barely sufficient to

keep

off the

rays

tropical sun,

of the great
the

men and women are told power of a living God to transform

evil

dark and

desires
love,

of

their

hearts

into

those of purity and

children too are learning

and even the little what so many in our favoured land of civilisation and social culture are missing, that the Gospel of our Lord is the ** power of God unto salvation to every one
that believeth."

Are missions a
these poor,

failure?

Go
;

to the

homes

of

ignorant people, and see the trans-

place father, mother and children may be seen sitting together over the word of God as the evening shadows gather.

formation that has taken

Listen

moment

to

the prayer

that

is

oftered

by the head of the household as he thanks God for His keeping power from sin, and commits liimself and his family into the care of the One

who

in love

watches over them.

up the day with a devil dance and a drunken feast, when men, women and children alike participate, and evil passions and sins are let loose the whole family meets
Instead of finishing

MISSIONARY EFFORTS.
in prayer.

91

Then

again, as the
itself

first

breaking day shows

in

the rosy east,

sign of the a

little drum is beaten and the family again collects, and with simple earnestness the lives of all are placed in the hands of the Great Father for the day that is dawning. God knows there is many a fight against evil, and many a fall, and some get tired and turn again to their heathen ways,

but is it for us to say that missions are a failure, while some at least are rejoicing in a new-found hope which brings life and peace ?

Once a year
conference,

the
to

young

teachers

attend

another,

hear the story of one and the conquests of the Cross in dark heathen villages where a little stream of light has penetrated, truly fills one's One heart with joy and one's eyes with tears.

and

as each

relates

young man will say: ^^The chief of the village refuses to come to church, he thrashes his boys
if

we meet

they come, and the women are shut up, but at night when all is quiet and we read
fire,

God's word by the light of the

believe."

and many

Another
people
;

tells

priest (devil worshipper) tried

he

and death, and goats,

learned to

a different story: "A Muchwezi hard to upset the told them there would be sickness that many would lose their sheep that there would be famine if they read about God, but the people all

92

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

their minds to trust God, and so they brought all their charms and fetishes and burned them, telling the priest that they had done for

made up

ever with devil worship.

The

priest

then told

them they would suffer a terrible calamity, for a crocodile would come up in the night out of the Nile and devour them. The little band was much upset at such a prediction, and went to rest with heavy hearts, but no crocodile came, and the priest himself when he saw came to our church, that his power was gone and is now learning to read the Gospel.'' I say these things remind us of the early Church in St. Paul's day, for the power of Christ is the same now as it was then. And so we listen with hearts brimming over

with thankfulness to the story these

young men
take
fresh

and

women have
to
it

to

tell,

and

we

courage

go forward, assured of
is

victory.

that a young heathenism, with man just environments of evil, can live purely and honestly, unless something be given him to

But

not fair to

expect

lately

won from

occupy his time.

land
lazy
it

It

is

the

same

in

any

other,

the
man.

devil

is

altogether too smart for the

is

Work

the grand remedy, whether

or in the house,

be in the

road,
fully

or on the something must be done. This has been realised out here, and industrial work,
fields,

MISSIONARY EFFORTS.
similar
to

93

on a much smaller scale, was started in Bunyoro. For many months I had a number of young men to instruct in the art of wood-sawing and rough carpentering work. Some of them stuck to it well and made good progress, others, alas, got tired and gave it up in a few months planks were cut out quite accurately from the heavy logs, and the men became very useful. The worst of it was that the chiefs, who were all
that
in

Uganda

but

building
to

new houses,
for

enticed these fellows

before

away

work

them

they

had

properly

learned.

Five or six

rupees a

month was a

wage

and many of them got as much as eight or even ten. Unfortunately, the stress of work devolving upon me in a new district such as Bunyoro,
the clumsiest could claim,

made it very difficult for me to give sufficient time to this important branch of the work, and often the slow ones went to the wall, and only the smart men made progress. Good people in England often complain that
not more industrial work done by the Uganda Mission than there is let me point out that very often the stations are undermanned
there
is
;

and

it

is

quite

dustrial education

impossible to carry it on. Inneeds good robust health on

the part of the teacher,

and

it

requires a man's full time, to

is a work that be accomplished

94

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
With
half a dozen classes dependit

successfully.

ing upon one each day, conduct them properly,

if

hardly possible to the few moments in

is

between are to be taken up with manual labour. With a temperature of eighty degrees in the shade, often more, and a dull black boy to teach the art of planing on a rough board, one's most strenuous efforts are required, and a morning spent thus does not tend to fit one for a Bible For all that, the imclass in the afternoon. portance of industrial work can hardly be too Given a perfect knowledge highly estimated. from Genesis to Revelation word of God of the and a lazy inactive life with nothing to do in the hours between meals, and the result is a lazy, untrustworthy fellow who is a nuisance to Combine everybody and a plague to himself. the two, and you have the man as God meant him to be, with his dual nature of body and

mind

fully occupied.

No
The

country in Africa, so
mortality

far as

know, needs
alone, before
at

the benefits of medical

work more than Bunyoro.

amongst the children

80 per It is pitiable to see some of the poor cent. little creatures that are brought to us. Once a tiny fellow was carried to us wrapped up in filthy rags, one mass of burns on head

the age of one year, has been reckoned

and

chest,

and

fearfully

lacerated

on his

little

MISSIONARY EFFORTS.
legs.
evil

95

He had had

fever,

and

to drive

away

the

spirit that troubled him,

the parents

had

burned him in this awful manner with a red-hot Poor iron, and cut him about with knives. little creature, he was almost dead, and nothing could be done for him. When we told the mother that by this cruel custom she had killed her child, she almost wept and said, ^^ I did not know, what could I do?'' Another tiny mite had a string tied tight round its wrist, to which was fastened a small charm on account of a little sore on one finger the idea being to keep the evil spirit from entering

farther

into

the body.

The hand was almost

visited

bloodless,

and dead.

A woman who was

v/as

had complained of great internal pain, and it found that her husband had already burnt
her over the place with a hot iron,
frightful

making a was carried to the dispensary with the abdomen literally opened, exposing to view the smaller bowel, by the
wound.

A man

cutting of a knife, to dispel the evil

spirit.

Some
their

of

the

grown-up

folk,

on account of
for

dirty

habits and

their disregard

the

spread of infectious diseases, are in a most corrupt state. I have more than once seen in hut a a smallpox patient covered with the most
horrible sores, reclining on the bed, while
little

children

and grown-up men and women pass

96
in

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
and out of the
Syphilis,
hut, utterly regardless of the

terrible nature of the disease.

and scabs in their worst forms are so common that no attempt whatever seems to
be
is

made

to prevent their
little

spreading

indeed

it

a fact that

children are often

smeared
they

with
It

the virus of those diseases so that the worst

may have
built,

symptoms while yet young. was not long before we got a little dispensary
the early

and invited the people to bring their sick morning that they might receive treatment. A short service was usually held before any drugs were given out, and the people were all told of the One who alone had power to We told them heal the sick and raise the fallen. we would do our best, but without God's blessing upon the means we used no good could come of it. It was sadly impressive to see the collection of diseased humanity kneeling in the open air simply asking the Great Father to help A hymn them, and to heal their sicknesses. being, *^What favourite a friend a sung, was (of course in the Lunyoro we have in Jesus Then the work of distributing medilanguage). cine commenced, and it was often no easy matter
in
''

to

attend

to

all.

They could

not understand

must tell their troubles one at a time, but thought it quite the right thing for about six or seven at a time to state their ailments.
that they

U.iL

K H

^^K ^^Bt'^'"

'''^^H

MISSIONARY EFFORTS.

97

found it somewhat difficult at first to hear, gradually they learned that we took no notice of more than one at a time, and so waited First, we addressed them. until patiently ''What is your illness?'' Answer ''It is in"Yes, but where?" side/' "Inside, and it goes tic-tica-tica all the time." "Yes, I understand that, but 'where is it your head, eyes, ears, chest, stomach, or where?"
but

We

Then they may consider it advisable to tell you, and greatly wonder all the time why you are so
the patience you It requires all and when you are not feeling we!l yourself, or are worried perhaps by some tiresome boy who has burnt your morning porridge and so spoiled your breakfast, it is hard to be gentle and kind. An old man comes up to you and says he is very bad with a "snake gripping at his heart," and you tell him to put out his tongue, and he most indignantly " It is not my tongue that is ill, it replies
particular.

possess,

is

my

heart."

Others will say that a "devil is inside them gripping their vitals," reminding me of a poor insane fellow in a home hospital, who told the doctor he had swallowed a bvick^ and nothing the doctor might say would make him believe
otherwise.

Pneumonia,
U.K.

pleurisy,

and

other

chest

and o

98
lung-

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
troubles
are

very

prevalent

and

could

usually'-

be prevented.

It is

common

practice

with the Banyoro to start their drinking parties late in the afternoon, and to continue them
right on
into

the night, and the

overtakes them,
too,

when intoxication young men, and old men

themselves in their heated conunder the eaves of the house, or dition, just even in the open courtyard, to sleep off its
will

fling

effects.

Now
in

at

this

altitude

(3500
are

feet)
is

the

change
so
that

the atmosphere after

often

sundown
quite

very great,

and

the

nights

cold,

when morning dawns

poor wretched halfdrunken creatures are shivering with cold and thoroughly wet from the dewy ground. What wonder then that many of them get pneumonia, and in a few days die, and that the strongest are constitutionally wrecked for the remainder
the
It is quite heart-rending to go into the little dispensary, and day day fmd ten or a dozen little children, all suffering with the most frightful diseases that, humanly speaking, might have been warded off. Then there are the usual cases to be met with in a country like this, where wild beasts are numerous, and wild men are not a few.

of their lives.
after

One
his

of the latter, infuriated with drink, attacked

little

son with a spear and knife, and cut

MISSIONARY EFFORTS.

99

him about terribly all over the body. The boy was brought to me the next day to have his wounds attended to, and I shall not easily
forget the horrible picture he presented.

Great

and arms, through which the spear had been thrust, and lacerations were all over his head and body. A drunken brawl is often the cause of severe
holes were in his legs

bodily injury to those participating in

in

it,

even
the

civilised

England,
are

but
less

in

Central
it

Africa,
is

where
rule,

restrictions

severe,

not the exception, at almost every village

drinking party. The wild beasts of Bunyoro the lion, leopard, and hyena have supplied many cases for our

was carried in from a neighbouring garden, who had been He was sleeping in a tiny attacked by a lion. hut by the roadside with several friends, when in the middle of the night he was aroused by the fierce roaring of a lion, that was tearing
little

dispensary.

One young

fellow

down
to

the side of the grass hut in

its

endeavour

moment it was through, and had pounced upon the man before he realised what was happening seizing him by the arm
enter.

In a

dragged him outside. His friends, however, fought nobly for him, and after fearfully mauling him, the lion dropped its prey and fled. I was away at the time, and my wife dressed
it

loo
his

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
wounds and
to

bound
an

up

his

broken

arm
set,

and sent him

at

Indian

doctor

who was
was

that

time in

Hoima.

His

arm

and then his friends were

told to bring him back again the following day to be attended to. This the men would not do, and the poor fellow died a few days later. Whether they thought it unnecessary, and believed he would get well now the bone was set, or whether they guessed that his case was hopeless, we never knew, but I rather fancy it was their lack of human kindness, the men being too

lazy

to

carry

their

friend

the

short

distance

for fresh dressings.

Another case was of a little child badly mauled by a hyena. Mother and child had
retired
to
rest,

the door of the

hut being but

insecurely fastened, when about midnight they were aroused by the noise of some animal in
the hut,
child

and next moment, the mother had the dragged from her breast by some fierce in a moment it was beast she could not see gone, and the mother dashing out of the house in hot pursuit, was in time to see by the dim moonlight a great creature with her little one
;

in its jaws.

She rushed
it

at

it,

with

all

the self-

sacrificing love of a mother,

and
;

for a
in

moment
fright

struggled with
tlie

for

her child

its

animal, which was a spotted hyena, dropped

MISSIONARY EFFORTS.
the child and ran.
child's face

loi

It was found that half the had been torn away, from the eyes to the ear, both of which were gone, and in the morning the poor little sufferer, just alive, was brought to me. It seemed a hopeless case,

but

did

my

best,

carefully tying the broken

arteries

and

thoroughly
child lived,

cleansing

the

awful

wound.

The

and although greatly

disfigured got perfectly well, and I shall not soon forget the gratitude of the poor mother.

One

of the neatest operations

ever performed

was upon a man with a huge tumour on his He came to me and said left shoulder blade. I told him that I ^^Will you cut this off?" did not think I should be able to, it had gone too far, and I had never undertaken so big a But he insisted, and remarked case before. was too great for a white man to that nothing For the sake, therefore, of my reputation do as a surgeon, and for the white man's character One of my generally, I told him I would try. boys kindly offered to help me, and I put him
!

charge of the chloroform. Everything else being ready, I commenced. Our friend was soon ^*off," and I began the greatest operation I have ever attempted in my life. First I made a four-inch incision down one side of the tumour, tying up the arteries as I went along, and was just about to commence excavating down below.
in

I02

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
the

when

been very cannot see am falling I I I " and down he went in a The sight had been too much for him. faint.
boy,
hitherto
sir,

who

had

quiet,

exclaimed,

**Oh,

What was
to,

to

do?

The man was

so

hastily stitched his back

awaited

events.

The
all

but declared

with

fast. coming up again and boy soon came round, the vehemence of his

nature that he would never undertake such a agreed. While the patient was I task again.

sleeping off the effects of the chloroform,

had

my

lunch.
to the

Going on
for

verandah afterwards,

espied

our friend of the tumour quietly seated, waiting *'Well," I said, '* I am afraid it is me. too much for me, I cannot get a helper." **Omuzungu Talemwa Kantu," said he, which being interpreted means ** Nothing baffles a and other remarks of a similar European I felt quite flattered, and decided until nature, that if I wished to keep this reputation, I must I therefore called to my assistance a try again. man living close at hand, and made the second attempt, which I am glad to say was eminently successful, and a tumour weighing live and a half pounds was removed. When the old fellow again came to him!

''

self,

his

he was greatly rejoiced to know that burden was gone, and having carefully

MISSIONARY EFFORTS.
wrapped it up in banana upon taking it home with
friends.

103

leaves,

he insisted

him

to

show

his

*'For," said he, ^'they all told me it could never be done, and I take it as a proof." This successful case made a name for me, and I was quickly besieged by innumerable the maimed, the halt, the blind and patients Many learned to deaf, all came for treatment. read and became Christians, attending the
:

services

regularly,
for

and
their

not

few

brought

thank-offerings

recovery.

One

old

remember brought me a large basket of corn-cobs, for she said I had healed her. This work for a time had to be discontinued,
lady
I

but has now been undertaken with redoubled energy by Miss Walton, who has a hundred
patients a day,

and whose work

to

will,

we

trust,

abundantly blessed sick iolk of Bunyoro.

be

the

many

helpless,

I04

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

CHAPTER

VI.

HUNTING ADVENTURES.
It has been truly said that *^the

one essential to
after

a happy
in

life

in Africa is

a hobby.'*
for

Routine work, carried on

a depressing
climate,

month
tells

month
the
one's

soon

upon

strongest constitutions, and however

heart

much
is

good and of vital importance if we do not wish to become mere machines and work in grooves. There are many hobbies that may be followed with success, but I know of none so thoroughly invigorating and so admirably adapted to cure one of the evils of a *^fit of the blues," alas! so common in the tropics, as a good tramp through
be in one's work, relaxation
the jungle with

may

gun slung across

the shoulder

and every nerve keenly on the alert. The unexpected so often turns up, and any bush may
conceal

a surprise, so that there

calculated
to

is

nothing so
dull

eminently

drive

away

care

and to fill one with expectancy and annihilate all the black thoughts and worries of the past, as a tramp through the wild, uninhabited jungle. We may be after guinea-fowls and suddenly come upon a lion or other wild and dangerous

HUNTING ADVENTURES.
beast, or quietly stalking a buck,

105

when elephants
always on the

appear in qui Vive.

view,

so that one

is

leopards,

teems with elephants, lions and while in some places buffalo and several species of antelope and small cats are to be found. There is also the dog-faced ape, which does so much damage to fields of maize in a surprisingly

Bunyoro

short space of time.

Numbers

of these trouble-

some

beasts were in the habit of invading

at early

my

one of these occasions gave me a long chase in the party leader of the the early morning, through the soaking wet grass, until he finally climbed a tall tree, and from its most lofty branches surveyed me down below. As I lifted my rifle he dodged behind the thick trunk and for some time succeeded in However, he did not keep the evading me. game up quite long enough, for, leaving his head exposed a moment too long, he got a He was a 303 bullet through the brain. tremendously powerful beast, and his death put a stop to these early morning raids. After he fell to the ground I propped him up against a tree and found that he was nearly four feet high. These apes are common to Bunyoro, and near Lake Albert I once saw a school of them numbering at least one hundred. garden

dawn.

On

io6

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

there
little

At Kibiro, the great salt mine of Bunyoro, are any number of these beasts, and so
are they afraid of

human

beings, that they

and look round for bits of food that have been thrown on one side. Once I heard of one of them actually entering a hut and tipping the pot off the lire, which contained potatoes, seize a handful of the same and run out into the jungle again. There is one large bare rock near the Albert Lake which seems to be a meeting-place for and I once saw all the apes of the district, this rock a whole colony of them, sitting upon chattering away, and playing just like a party
will

come

into

the village after dark,

of

children.

An
them
at

old

grandfather
order

sat

in

the

middle
they

of

keeping

and

love to an elderly female alternately.

making Nor were

young ones barked a

a few of the me, and crouched behind their elders, but the general crowd was undisturbed, and went on with their gambols And then I left as if I had not been there. the urgent reof in spite fun, their to them looked so very They quests of the natives. happy and were certainly not doing any damage on the bare rock. I have, however, often had them, as being a most destructive kill to

abashed

my

presence
at

little

nuisance.

Elephant-hunting

is

to

my mind

the

most


HUNTING ADVENTURES.
exhilarating of
all

107
is

kinds of sport, and

at
all,

it

also

shoot game for food purposes, one must be possessed of a game licence. There are three kinds of licences
remunerative.
to
in

To hunt

Uganda

(A) Bird licence, costing Rs. 3 (4s.). (B) Settler's licence, costing ;^io.

Now
one's

(C) Sportsman's licence, costing ;^50. the first of these is insufficient to supply

common needs

in

the

wilder

parts

of

Central Africa.

For the missionary

is

at

least.
is

No.

is

too

expensive, as no elephant
therefore

allowed, and there

;

while No. 3 no remuneration two elephants a year, although a big outlay, is soon paid for by the first elephant killed. I have, therefore, always had a sportsman's licence, and have never been out of pocket, having been lortunate enough to kill two elephants with each licence, and so easily pay my way. To hunt elephants with any grain of success, one must possess a good ^* battery." For some time a .303 did all that was necessary for me, but a very narrow escape from a charging bull,

which

allows

with

with, settled

nothing but a Lee-Enfield to stop him my opinion that something heavier

was necessary.

An

-S-bore

a useful gun, but

to

Paradox is no doubt tramp through the thicket

io8

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
this
I

weight upon one's shoulder is no once met a man in Africa who followed an elephant with a gun of this description upon his shoulder for four hours, and not being an Ajax, at the end of that time, when he had actually got within sight of the beast, he was so utterly overcome with fatigue that he had to confess that he could hardly lift the thing to his shoulder, and he came away, leaving the elephant undisturbed. The ideal gun, the very with best of its kind, is a Rigby .450 Cordite this, one may meet the wildest elephant in Africa, with a reasonable amount of confidence heavy, is absolutely trustworthy, it is not too provided of course, that a solid nickel bullet is
with
joke.
;

used for the brain shot.

This, then,
failed
is

the

gun

used, and
all

it

never

me, one shot usually being

life I

that

was

needed.
In ten years of African

have shot twelve

elephants, have never had an accident but have

been charged twice (once by two together) and each time the charge has been stopped by a Needless to say, I shot in the brain. fatal have always taken the most careful precautions, reducing the risks as much as possible, but I must confess that one of the chief charms of elephant-hunting consists of the risks it necessiand without the ** spice" of danger tates,

HUNTING ADVENTURES.
involved
thereby,
there

109
little

would be very

enjoyment

at

any

rate for myself.

I

an account of two exciting adventures I had with elephants in Bunyoro, but here let me give one experience typical of nearly all the elephant hunts in which I have participated. Our camp was a beautiful spot in the heart
In another chapter
shall give

of

chief

game district of Bunyoro the young had most lavishly supplied my men with and, in addition, had sent the necessary food
the
; ;

out a

number

of his

young men
at hand.

to see
I

if

there

were any elephants near

had finished
settling

my

breakfast

and was just thinking of

down

to a quiet read in my cosy tent when in rushed a man with the news that elephants had been sighted close at hand. *'How many?" I

asked.

^*

About

twenty,''

was the prompt

five

reply.

This sounded hopeful, so calling up my gun-bearer, a Muganda Mohammedan on this occasion and one of the very best of fellows, I gave him my reserve gun and ammunition, and set out with
^^A.ny

males?''

'*Yes,

or

six."

a native guide.

We

walked

for ten

minutes only, through the

long tiger grass, able tracks. There is this about an elephant track, you cannot miss it, and if a herd of any size has passed by, a track twenty feet across

when we came upon unmistak-

no
is
left

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
this occasion,

behind where the grass is beaten flat. we found a broad beaten track leading through the dense jungle to a little swamp a few hundred yards away. We followed breathlessly and soon could hear these great denizens of the wilds smashing down branches from the trees, and the unmistakable rumblings of the stomach of a well-nurtured elephant. I crept slowly forward, followed close behind by my gun-bearer, and we soon found ourselves floundering about in the thick mud and water in which the elephants had bathed. There was a dense wood in the little valley, and into this they had pushed their way, and we followed in their tracks, all excitement and expectation. Now we found that the wind was, alas, behind us, and this meant that very soon our presence would be known to these sagacious beasts, which rely almost entirely upon their sense of smell, and not upon their eyesight, which at the best is

On

imperfect.

So

changed
the

my
left,

course,

and making

scrambling along a long detour to through the thick mud and water, creeping under the trunks of fallen trees, and making as little
noise as
possible,

we

at last

got right to the

the
slight

other

side

of

the

herd,

with

wind

puffing in our faces.

This was
that

all

we

required, for

we now found

we

could get

up quite

close without being

HUNTING ADVENTURES.
observed, although the

in
common

huge beasts were mostly

a
little

facing

us.

It

now

required

pluck to pull oneself together and pick out the biggest tusker, for this necessitated standing It right up in full view of the whole herd. truly seemed impossible that one should be unobserved, for I now stood within fifteen yards

a great female, who was up to knees in mud and slush. Close to her was a bull, who seemed to be supporting her, for he was leaning full against her the others were massed together on either side and behind. There was no time to waste, any moment now and a puff of wind the wrong way would reveal my presence and my chance would be gone, so I prepared to aim at the bull, a huge fellow looking in my direction with wicked little eyes. These were not Zoo elephants but the most colossal beasts in the world, in perfectly wild state. Oh, the flies how I wished they would keep away for a moment while I drew my bead sight upon a vital spot, for I was in no mood to face a fierce wounded elephant in a dense jungle. Now for it Bang What on earth is happening the yelling the crashing the rumbling of mother earth
of the nearest,

her

elephants

tearing

up the

saplings,

elephants

smashing down the trees, elephants hither and thither in wildest confusion.

racing
I

could

112

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
stand
'*

only
there

quite

still

and

try

to

keep

'*

all

I could make out what had happened. Gradually the din ceased, and the elephants were in full career a few hundred yards away, and some men came creeping up to me all of a shake to see if there were any pieces left. I assured them I was all right, and asked where the wounded elephant was, for I now saw that had not fallen dead as it would have done it had the aim been correct for the brain shot, but they had no information to give me. We

until

pulled ourselves together and set off after the

come up with the wounded one. soon found that they had stopped about quarter of a mile away and we were not long in coming up with them again. As we approached they got wind of us, and away they went. I just had time to spot the wounded one, and take a flying head shot at him. This time the aim was true, and down he came in his tracks, and never moved again, while the remainder disappeared into the thick jungle. were satisfied, for he was a fine beast, and his
herd, hoping to

We

We

tusks were fifty-four pounds and fifty-six pounds

respectively.
It was late in the evening when we got back to camp, thoroughly tired, but all the better for a

really exciting chase.

HUNTING ADVENTURES.
I

113

One morning while camped near Lake Albert had a visit from the chief of the village near at hand, to ask me if I would have mercy upon his people who were starving of hunger. We had
been shocked at the sight of the people collect** ing grass seeds for the purpose of food. Why-

was this?" I had inquired, and the one word *' hunger" was the reply. All through the country there was great distress, the rains were delayed and the crops were spoiled, and so grass seeds were actually being eaten for food. I saw many little children so thin and weak that they could hardly walk
with their
to try
I

little

baskets, picking the tiny seeds,

and some of them were even eating them raw and stave off the terrible hunger. When

found this sad state of things I determined to and shoot a hippo, and so supply them with some meat. There were a large number of these great beasts sporting themselves in the water close to the shore and it was not a very serious undertaking, so I asked the chief to send me a canoe with a couple of good boatmen and I would do my best for him. To sit on the high bank of a river and watch the hippo playing about below in the deep water thrusting out their great heads for a moment to get a breath of air, and then with a sigh of satisfaction throwing them back and sinking
try


114

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
the
;

below

surface

is

to

say

the

least

of

it,

interesting

but
to

one

must be a

pretty

keen
of a

sportsman

get into a tiny cockle-shell

boat with a couple of frightened natives, and row right up alongside one of these hippo herds

with the idea of shooting some of them. A bad shot must not try this game or he will probably find himself trying to ward off the attack of an
infuriated
his

wounded hippo with the butt end of gun and finally in the water with numerous ** crocs" swimming round and round him each

anxious for a nip.

On

this

occasion
all,

it

seemed the only way

to

get a chance at

for

when

reached the lake

shore the hippo were so wild that their noses

only appeared for the fraction of a second and there was no time for sighting.

The little craft came in a few minutes, with a couple of sturdy rowers in attendance, and in it I placed a log of wood on which to sit the bottom was covered with two inches of water, and with my .303 rifle on my knee was punted along through the shallows in the direction The of the herd some 200 yards from shore. little bark was anything but seaworthy, and as we got av/ay from the shore and the waves became more vigorous I had to hold to the sides with bated breath, expecting every moment the wretched water-logged boat would capsize

HUNTING ADVENTURES.
and
precipitate

115

me
at

into

the
to

vegetation that seemed

surface.

mass of be floating on the

tangled
out into
the

When
herd
of

last

we got

open we were soon

excited
**

in

the midst of a highly-

ponderous beasts, and several of them looked at us from their tiny

these

pig-like" eyes, with a nasty

;

little

twinkle that

very soon heads were might mean anything popping up all round us and it was quite impossible to fix one's eye upon any given animal. There was a small island about 500 yards from the shore, and I told the men to first put me ashore there in the hope that on the far side I might find some hippo near enough to shoot at from the shore. Presently the craft was pushed through the papyrus belt that surrounded the island and I got ashore, not without a good wetting. Then with my rifle I scrambled through the
thick vegetation
to

the far side of the island.

Several great crocodiles plunged into the water at my approach, casting wicked glances back
at

with snout only above water. I soon found the hippo were not near enough for a shot from the land, so once
as they

me

swam away

more

went back to the canoe,

settling

stirred

men who were

proceeding,

down

to

up the a quiet nap

under the shade of the

trees (a

most reckless

considering the

numbers of huge

ii6

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
round
for a meal),

crocodiles waiting

and once

through

quietly we pushed along papyrus, keeping a sharp lookout for the ugly nose of an unsuspecting did not have long to wait. hippo. Suddenly there was a grunt just ahead of us I balanced myself as not twenty yards away. A best I could, and slowly rose to my feet.

more embarked. Very slowly and

the

We

few yards more and we rounded a thick bush of tangled grass that was floating fifty yards from the shore, and there was a hippo close
to us.

We
for

had taken him

quite

a moment he glared moment was his last, for a .303 solid penetrated to the brain, and down he went with the un-

by surprise, and at us, and that

mistakable motion of a dead creature. The But what a set-out there was rocked, and a whole school of hippo
!

boat

made
the
less

their

presence
for
all

noticeable,

while

the

boatmen
for
in

rowed
nearest

they

were

worth

shore.

Here we waited, and

than an hour there rose to the surface a big pink mass, recognised at once as a dead hippo, and a little fleet of canoes were soon put off
to bring
It

him to shore. was a sight to behold, and once seen never forgotten. The gleam in the eyes of

HUNTING ADVENTURES.
those intensely excited great carcass to shore
satisfaction.

117

men

as they rolled the

was a sure sign of their Hunger, at least for a day or

two, was appeased.

After the
chief
left-off

himself,

photograph had been taken, the appearing rigged up in some uniform of an English officer, dress
in

joined

the

wild
knives,

fight

for

meat.
the

Naked
beast

savages
to

with

tearing
it
!

dead

pieces

In less than an hour nothing but bones were left, and away in the village could be heard the yells of the women
could, all

and eating red and raw

as

fast

as

ever they

and children
not
I

as they banked

up the

fires

for

roasting the meat that the satiated

eat.

men

could

That night a funny thing happened. had slept indifferently until about mid-

night,

when
sit

fell

into

a nice slumber.

The
been

heat was almost unbearable,

and

had

obliged to
I

outside for a while to get cool.

had not been asleep very long before there was a most terrific noise in camp made by the men yell after yell on all sides pierced the a cow dashed up against my still night air tent in headlong flight, very nearly upsetting porters scattered in all directhe whole affair tions and ran for their lives, yelling as they went one or two made for my tent, and clung I was in a great state and to the fly-sheet.
; ;
; ;

ii8

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

get no answer to my question, onlyrenewed yells. When at last I got outside, the utmost confusion reigned camp fires which very were burning low were scattered about by the fleeing porters the other two cows that were with me looked wild and restless the four sheep were straining at their leading dog was barking furiously. ropes, and my However, I could find no cause for the noise no one knew what was the matter, or what had started the tumult. The only solution of the mystery that I can give is that some one had been having rather a bad night in consequence of having partaken too freely of raw hippo meat, and evidently thought that the place was alive with lions and other wild animals, and he himself was being

could

torn

to

pieces.

at

last

managed

to

restore

order

and get all back to camp, but the awakening had been too thorough, for the men sat by their fires for the rest of the night waiting However, to see what the sequel might be. nothing further happened to disturb our peace. There are many chimpanzees in the torests some, ot Bunyoro, but they are seldom seen however, have been caught and sent to the Zoological Gardens, where they delight the thousands who visit there. Only once have We were 1 seen them in their wild state.
:

HUNTING ADVENTURES.
camped on
the

119

edge of a large forest in the and soon after our tents were fixed up I heard the strange unmistakable cry I of these creatures some distance away. went after them with the idea of catching a glimpse of them in their perfectly wild state. for they It was hard work following them, at last we were soon shifted their quarters rewarded with a good view of them at fifty Two old ones and a young yards' distance. one were the most conspicuous, others were

Bugoma

district,

among

the trees further into the forest.

as they sat on a very high tree, the branch of the mother clasping her little one in her arms, while the old man looked out for danger a few feet away. I did not wish to disturb them, and indeed it would be hard to fire at these most humanlooking of all the animal tribe, barring man. They soon discovered me, however, and like a flash were gone into the thicker and denser shades of the forest. The harnessed antelope is quite the prettiest of It is very plentiful, but all the Bunyoro fauna. seldom seen. It takes its walks at night-time and has a most curious bark, almost like a big dog, when it realises that danger is near. There are a good many to be found on the hills bordering the Albert Lake, and once I was most fortunate

They looked strangely human

I20

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

in procuring a very good specimen. I was not thinking of antelope just at the moment, for I hardly expected to find them, it being too near midday when most animals lie down for a rest in the forest's shade.

walked I saw something move at the foot of a tree about fifty yards ahead, and was immediately on my guard. I crept along to a friendly ant-hill and then from the top of this I was able to procure a good view of this beautiful

However, as

buck.

He

stood broadside to

me

looking out over the

saw at once that he carried a good pair of horns and that his coat was beautiA dark chestnut was the prefully marked. vailing colour, and his flanks were striped with white marks and spots about the shoulders, white tips to the ears, and a black nose. His horns were about one foot in length, and a graceful spiral shape with amber tips, altogether a most attractive little creature. The same afternoon I saw two others of that particular species, one a female, which carries no
plain in front,

and

horns.
In July 1903 I had a most interesting journey through Western Bunyoro. In referring to my diary lor that date I found the following entry '* I lett Hoima on 15th and the same day camped at Kajura, and at this place I had my first
:

HUNTING ADVENTURES.
adventure, a sweet foretaste of the
Sitting in

121

my

little tent,

giving
in

many I expect. home and loved

I

ones the foremost place

my

mind,

suddenly

saw on the opposite hill something moving about it was too much covered by the in the grass thick growth to be clearly distinguished, but I knew it must be an antelope of some sort. Wrenching my thoughts away from home and fixing my mind upon the animal in the grass a Daki was quarter of a mile away, I started off. the man chosen to accompany me as gun-bearer, and very soon we were ploughing our furrows through the thickest of thick jungle. Daki got left behind, and the sportsman in his excitement pushed ahead on the track of the unknown animal, now not more than a hundred yards
; *
'

away, but still invisible. ** My nose in the air and my ears set to catch while I strained slightest sound, every the muscle to push myself forward through the thicket when airy feeling underneath, there was a sudden and the next moment I found myself jammed hard and last in a regular death-trap set for antelope. It was a pit about two feet wide at the top, but narrowing down at the bottom to a few inches, the total depth being over ten feet. ^*I struggled hard to free myself, but my feet were held tight and all my struggling was in vain. So I set to work to yell for Daki who had

'

122
entirely
track,

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

disappeared and had followed another and might be a mile away for all I knew. When I was nearly hoarse, and very vexed at
plight,
I

overhead, and

suddenly heard the twigs breaking I wondered if it were a lion coming to pick me out of the hole bit by bit, for we had seen a lot of fresh lion tracks only just before. But my fears were soon over, for presently I saw Daki on the edge of the pit looking down upon me in speechless compassion. I soon woke him up from his dreams or inactivity by telling him to look sharp and pull me out, which he finally did, partly by the scuff of the neck and partly by
very nearly dislocating my shoulder-blade, for was a very tight fit for that hole. However, I
I came at last, feeling as though I had been on the rack of the Inquisition, and said to Daki, Now show me the nearest way to camp.' I had quite satisfied my desire for sport that day and did not want any more.'* These holes are dug by the natives in all the game country, and the mouth of the pit is usually

my

out
'

very skilfully covered over with a layer of thin twigs and grass. Sometimes there will be half a dozen of them in a row, and so well covered that it is almost impossible to see them unless one is on the lookout. They dig them for buffalo, hippo

and antelope, and

have seen them specially

made

for elephant.

HUNTING ADVENTURES.
The
ful,

123

natives tell me that they are most successand I quite believe it, for more than once I have found the remains of some unfortunate beast at the bottom, that had fallen into some forgotten Vigorous steps hole and never been discovered. have been taken by the Government, I am glad
to say,
to

put
for

stop

to

this

indiscriminate

slaughter,

many

females

and young ones

resort of

meet

their death in these traps.

The Kafu
beests,

plains are a

common

many

of the larger antelope.

I have shot here hartand Uganda cob. Lions, however, are so numerous that these former are gradually disappearing, and the lions are turning

water-buck,

their attention to the people in the village.

At one place six people were killed in a day, and a hunt was organised, but without result. A couple of lions got amongst my cows, which were being herded on the Kafu plains on account of the richness of the pasturage, and one was killed outright and another so severely mauled There is a famous that it died soon afterwards. old hill situated near the Kafu that was once the
scene of a desperate fight.
feet

about 400 above the level of the surrounding country,

hill is
is

The

and

called

Musaja Mukulu

(the

full-grown

man). On the summit Kabarega and his hosts once collected a large force and defied the invading army from Uganda which had a British

124

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

its head. At first it was proposed to storm the hill by a general assault, but when half-way up the hill, the natives at the top sent down such a tornado of rocks and stones that the storming party were greatly embarrassed, and had to retire, but a few rounds from the Maxim gun as it was played on to the top of the hill soon dispelled the wild shrieking savages who, after bearing the terrible fusillade for a few

captain at

moments,
the
hill,

fled precipitately

down

the far side of

and the attacking party soon reached

the top.

The
hill

reason

why
old

as a stronghold

the

top

an

Banyoro had chosen this was because there lived on witch-doctor, to whom was
the

ascribed

supernatural

powers.

Seeing the
all

in-

vading army coming, scattering before it, they fled to the one
placed
that
built

their armies

in

whom

they

implicit

confidence.

It

was soon found

his
at

stroyed,

and his little temple summit of this hill was deand so his power over the Banyoro was
the
ever,

help was vain,

shaken
priest

for

and to-day there

;

is

no high

of

infested

with

but the district is Musaja Mukulu lions, and I have heard it said

from their in the have taken up their abode tiny temple, wild beasts, and are thus bringing destruction to the people who have given up their old faith.
that the **evil spirits" being driven


A TRAMP TO TORO125

CHAPTER

VII.

A TRAMP TO TORO.
a.m. and we are aroused from refreshing sleep and pleasant dreams by the loud beating of a drum just outside the bedroom, and it means
It
is 5

time has come to tie up the loads of beds and bedding and start off on a long ninetyOnce more we bundle mile tramp to Toro. the whole of our kit into boxes and bags, making up loads of about sixty pounds' weight, and long before we have finished the porters are at the door clamouring for their burdens, and most anxious to get off before the severe heat of the sun is felt. Boys tear about the house, seizing chairs and boxes and pulling beds to pieces, and there is a continuous babel of sound that soon makes one fully awake to the surroundings. We very hurriedly snatch a little breakfast terribly hard work at this time in the morning mule, hammock and bicycle are brought round, and almost before we are aware of it we are pushing our way through the wet dew-bespangled
that the
grass.

The very
thing
is

idea of

it

makes us shudder, every-

so cold and cheerless, and

we

are

wet

126

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
in the first five

through
off to

minutes.
to

The
**

porters

are yelling at the top of their voices.

We

are

Bunyoro," etc., is their cry. Excitement runs high as one of the men, more energetic than the rest, with a sixty-pound load on his head, actually commences running and shouting at the same time ** Look at me, look at me! I am a man, I am a man/' and then formed up at the head of the caravan, and so the journey commences. The first day we did not travel far about six miles was sufficient both for the porters and for The former were much quieter at the ourselves. end of the march than at the commencement, for after a mile or two their loads began to ^'get very heavy " they said, and they wanted to rest and had no energy left for the terrific yells with which they started. We too were very glad to get into the shade of the tent, for the heat of the sun seemed dreadful, in spite of the helmets and umbrellas we used. There was very little of the path led through very interest this first day thick bush, making a view almost impossible. The swamps also were bad, and only five minutes after the start we encountered an overgrown river called Wambabya, one mass of the water too was papyrus and tangled jungle
Toro,
:
; ;

we say good-bye

deep, with very

much

soft

mud

at

the

bottom.

The men were up

to their waists,

and we were

A TRAMP TO TORO.
carried

127

over shoulder

high

by great stalwart

fellows specially selected for this purpose.

The

I thought mule, of course, got stuck in the mud. she was done for, as she went up to her ears, eyes, nose and everything under the thickest of thick black mud. I was at first afraid to go in after her lest I

should be submerged also, but when I saw that not done the poor creature if something were

would surely die, I plunged in up to my waist in this most awful stuff, and tugging away at the bridle I finally got her feet on to firmer
foundations.

damp

morning while the seemed to cling around one, was most unpleasant, and we were all greatly relieved when at last the sun came up and shed its warming rays upon us, but, as I have said above, the fierceness of his rays soon became anything but pleasant. Our camp was pitched under an enormous tree, and it formed a
All
this,

so early in the

mists

beautiful

shade over us

in

the

great

heat

of

the day.

Very soon the hief of the tiny village close to, came with his people, bringing us a good supply of food, sufficient for the whole caravan, and he was greatly delighted with the gift of two yards of I calico in payment. then told him that if he had any sick in his village I would gladly give

128

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
;

them medicine, and this pleased him mightily indeed much more than the calico did. hardly knew what I was bargaining for I nearly one hundred people turned up lor treatment, some with great and serious ailments,
cough. However, all received medicine of some kind just as we were able, and this caused great satisfaction. Old and young alike lavished their thanks upon us, and one old lady brought to us as an offering of sincere thanks for help given in the form of a lotion for her eyes a great white cock, which, although too tough for food, made capital
others with nothing but a
little

soup.

About 3 p.m. a travelling minstrel came along and gave us an impromptu entertainment. He had a native harp of four strings, and really produced a marvellous combination of sounds
from
it.

also sang a song, the words of which were evidently composed for the occasion, and consisted largely of praise to the wonderful white man who had come to the black man*s country to help and relieve the suffering, mingling a few lavish hints that a little present would not be refused if the white man would so condescend He passed on his way and to honour him.

He

presently up
of Bunyoro,

came a prince
son
of

of the royal blood

the great

Kabarega.

He

Kcv.

Nuwa

Nakiwafu.

A TRAMP TO TORO.
was accompanied by another
little

129
prince

and

they were on their way to visit Kasagama, king of Toro, as special envoys of the king of Bunyoro. They asked if they might travel with us on our journey and were of course allowed
to

do

so.

Then darkness came on and the mosquitoes commenced their nightly ravages, and the owls The in the great tree above us began to hoot.
porters

our about
our

tent,

had built themselves tiny huts all around and the fires were soon crackling all
over,

us.

Our evening meal being

little

we

early sought

beds, and long before ten o'clock there

was absolute quiet, the whole camp was asleep. Lions and hyenas might prowl around, we were all tar too tired to mind them, and they
were far too much afraid of our camp fires to approach very near. The alarm-clock rang out at 5 a.m. the next morning, and the cocks of the neighbourhood all seemed, trying to out-do each other with their crowing. One long-legged *^ comber seemed to be within a few feet of my bed indeed as I found out afterwards he was just outside the tent on my It was no use trying to persuade oneself side. that there was no necessity to get up just then, not a bit, I could not do it, much as I wanted
''

to, for U.K.

the night

was

all

too short.

So

turned
B

I30

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
or
twice,

morning upon cocks in general and alarmclocks in particular, and finally sat up and found the occupant of the other bed doing likewise. It did not take long to dress, and by 5.30 we
over once benediction

pronounced

were both trying in vain to look pleased with ourselves and thoroughly enjoying breakfast. Fancy at that unearthly hour enjoying anything at all, unless it be blankets But it was little use being miserable and casting yearning glances towards the tent and beds which were fast disappearing into sacks. But what a change comes with the daylight The glorious sun suddenly bursts upon the scene, shedding its golden beams around, changThe song ing all dull thoughts into smiles. of the birds begins in earnest, the whole earth seems full of gladness, all blending in one great
!

Te Deum
safely

of praise.

That
it

is

how
I

the

march
I

commenced, how did

finish?

think

may

say with quite as much pleasure as it started, for I have not yet met the mortal who

would be sorry
in

to rest after a fifteen-mile

walk

the hot tropical sun, and

we

certainly were

glad to get to the end. The fifteen miles took us six hours, and it was real toil most of the way, with very little
of interest to relieve the monotony. In the afternoon, as

we were

sitting outside

A TRAMP TO TORO.
;

131

our tent, we were quickly surrounded by a six or eight of them motley crowd of natives were old gray-headed men, three women and
all

the rest men.

My

wife sat

in

front

of

the medicine-chest

and just before

down with a most

her was a poor fellow lying dreadful ulcer on his leg a

;

woman with a tiny suffering baby by and many others patiently waiting for
It

her side, medicine.

was a most pathetic sight, and one over which angels might weep dark sinful souls, children of heathenism, with their poor suffering bodies looking up into the face of their

white sister with earnest pleading eyes for the relief they so much needed.

They
white

told

lady

us that they had

my

wife

ever

seen,

was the and

first

their

astonishment was great that they should first become acquainted with their white sister as a

The next night in their distress. with rain until morning it was therefore very cold when we at last had to leave the tent and sit on camp chairs waiting were on the road that for the sun to rise. day for ten and a half hours, my wife in the
real

friend

it

poured

We

hammock and

on

my

bicycle.

A good
In

deal

of the

way

led

through

forest-

covered country and was extjemely interesting.

one of the thick woods we saw a large

132

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
of colobus
least

number
in

monkeys
in

the

disturbed

looked very striking

that did not seem by our presence. They their long coats of black

and white
are

fur.

preserved in
thankful

These monkeys are very strictly the Uganda Protectorate, and we

it

is

so,

as

they are

not

very

numerous. After passing through one of these thickets I was bounding away on the bike at about ten miles an hour on a good road with a splendid stretch of country before me, when unfortunately I did not notice a large tree by the side of the *' Ignorance is bliss" sometimes; it was road. not on this occasion, for with a terrific crash I went right into the tree, the branch struck me full in the shoulder, and sent me spinning like
a

time to the yell I gave with a whizz of the pedals, a fine graceful leap into the air, and sweet repose a few yards away. I sat still a bit, and tried to find out
top,

while

my

bike

kept

what had happened.

evidently

My

bike and

had most

very roughly separated, and a slight sensation of pain in my left shoulder

been

seemed

aloud for vengeance on something or other. An upward glance put an end to my cogitations, and I meekly said, *M won't do that again.'* There were no bones broken and no spokes, and so with much praiseworthy fortitude I again mounted, but this time did not
to cry

A TRAMP TO TORO.

133

go quite so quickly, and above all kept a good look-out for trees or any other impediments.

We at last got to the end of this day's journey, and were no sooner comfortably settled in our
when down came the rain, a terrific storm. The improvised kitchen, a tiny hut, was soon
tent,

swamped, and the cooks hurriedly departed into the village near at hand to seek shelter, carrying with them a boiled chicken and bananas,
our frugal
meal.

We

waited

as

patiently

as

hunger would allow us until the rain stopped, and then made up for lost time. Next day we had a twenty-mile march and
were just about used up, when to our joy we arrived at what seemed to be a very nice camp in the midst of which was a little house, a haven Into this of rest and hope to weary travellers. we bundled all our goods, and as it was quite clean as far as we could tell, we had our beds made in what looked like a snug little corner. soon finished our food and tucked in for the night, tired out, thankful to have a roof above our heads once more. Alas alas what a change came over everything before another hour was passed. A storm came rolling up from the west, the thunder rumbled, and the lightning flashed, and more than ever we felt thankful to be in a house. But hark! what was that? A sound like the rushing of water

We

134

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
stillness.

from the roof broke the

dawn upon us slowly

that the roof

It began to was not such

an unmixed blessing as we had vainly thought, for as the storm increased in violence the roof became more and more porous. In a surprisingly short time, from all quarters of the hut we heard the splash, splash, splash, drip, drip,
drip of the rain, until
that
at
last

we

fully realised

something must be done, and that at once. We seized the bundle in the corner of the hut that contained the tent and began stretching it out over the beds to keep these most necessary
dry we tied the tent ropes of the hut on either side, and this of awning- in the house, then we and rolled ourselves into our beds
articles
;

to the walls

made a
hoping

sort

crept under
for

sleep.

was

just

uttering

my

first

snore of

intense satisfaction

out

*^Oh

when
is

heard

my

wife shout

dear,

it

dropping on

my

face,"

and sure enough a little stream of dirty water was filtering through and dropping into the We once more got up and this sleeper's eye. time hung mackintoshes under the tent sheet, and finally shivering with cold we wrapped ourselves up in our somewhat damp blankets, and most thoroughly tired out, slept until
morning. For two days
the
travellers
it

rained, best

can

be

and the discomfort of clothes imagined

;

A TRAMP TO TORO.

135

were never dry, and camp was a misery, black mud and dirty water were everywhere. We passed through some very fine country, covered with great rolling hills, and deep gullies choked up with rich tropical vegetation. We had to cross one deep river at the bottom there used to be a of a great rift in the hills bridge across it, but it had been washed away, and it was only by climbing over the fallen debris that we were able to get across with dry feet.
;

Most of the porters crossed in the water, One old which came up to their armpits. chappie, however, tried the broken bridge and nearly broke his neck as he stumbled and slipped through with a heavy load on his head, and somehow got tangled up, with his poor old head across a beam of wood, and his feet hanging in space above the water, the load keeping
prisoner. eventually got him out, but he was greatly shaken though no bones were broken. After the river was a hill to climb at an angle of about Gs** for nearly a quarter of a mile. camped on the summit, overlooking a magnificent stretch of country that separates Uganda from Bunyoro, and is called Bugaya, with a sharp dip down to the west into the Albert Lake only five miles away. On these hills we saw several herds of water-buck quietly

him a

We

We

136
feeding,

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

and two huge elephants were not 500 yards from the road, but we left them undisturbed. Another march brought us to the beautitul Muzizi River, the boundary between the Uganda province and Toro. The bridge was broken and washed right away, but the water was not too deep for us to cross. Landing on the other side we commenced
catching some of the brilliantly coloured butterflies

that

seemed
river.

to delight in the

near to the
believed

The boys

muddy pools think thoroughly

after

we had gone mad, but

a while

joined in the sport just to please us, no doubt

feeling sorry for us.

That

night
not
the

we
far

could

hear

the

elephants
easily

trumpeting
distinguish

away,
of

and

could

crash

splitting

timbers as

they broke off the boughs of the trees.

not altogether a surprise to us therefore,

we

started

off

the

next

sight of a very

large

morning, to herd quite near to our

was when come in

It

camp. At first they stood about 250 yards away on the left of our path quietly basking in the early morning sun. There were at least fifty of them and they seemed quite unconcerned by our
presence.
set

However, a rifle shot over their backs soon them in motion, and it will be long before

V It

Si

Dog-fuced Ape.

A TRAMP TO TORO.
we

137

The whole herd, trumpetforget the sight. ing loudly, dashed right across our path a few hundred yards ahead of us, great bulls with massive ivories, which appeared out of all proportion to the size, even of the elephant. All had their trunks thrown into the air and They could not fail to see their heads erect. our caravan, but still dashed on in wild excitement. There were several females with their young ones at their side, and these poor little things screamed lustily as they fled past us. When the herd had at last disappeared, our caravan moved on, while I remained behind to blow up my bicycle tyres. I was thus busily engaged when, quite unexpectedly, to my utmost amazement, half a dozen more elephants rushed out of the thicket at the side of the road a few yards ahead and stopped dead In an instant for a moment to look at me. I had my gun ready in case of a charge, and waited, fervently hoping that they would move on. This they did quite suddenly, for they apparently realised that all was not quite safe, and with a shriek that seemed to rend the air, they bounded into the jungle on the opposite side of the path and were soon lost to
sight.

The
royal

next day
reception

we we

entered Toro, and a right

had.

The

king,

Daudi


i-,8 'v3

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
Katikiro (prime
minister),

Kasagama, the

the

queen, the queen-mother, and the queen-sister, all met us some distance from the capital, and
us in true native style. The Katikiro was the first to arrive, riding on his Indian
greeted

pony he was dressed in long flowing robes of white fastened up at the waist so as to enable
;

He is the righthim to sit astride his horse. hand man of King Kasagama, and is an official who most thoroughly enjoys the confidence of He is a very intelligent man, and the natives. takes a keen delight in things English, and his
desire

be well in advance of the ordinary This enlightened native time was a great drunkard since his who at one conversion to Christianity has done noble service At the time of the Nubian refor the British flag.
is

to

native of his country.

Uganda, when Mwanga and Kabarega, the kings of Uganda and Bunyoro, joined forces with the Nubians against the British, and for
bellion in

so long a time kept the Protectorate in a ferment,

he scored heavily for the Government forces, and made for himself a name which has long been

remembered.

When
him

leading

the

native

troops

of

Toro

against the rebels, information was brought to that the enemy was near at hand, and by a
side

fine piece of strategy

along either

of

he arranged his little army a narrow ravine through

A TRAMP TO TORO.
which the
foe

139
strict

was

certain

to

pass, with

orders to keep out of sight.

Dead
time the

silence

reigned

as

they

breathlessly-

In a short unconscious of the invisible Toro troops so close at hand. As the rebel vanguard neared the bed of the ravine, a bugle rang out shrill and sharp, blown by the Katikiro himself. The enemy, fearing they were in the hands of the British troops, commenced a precipitate retreat, but escape was impossible, as the Katikiro's followers, at a signal from their leader, had already sprung from their hidingplaces and surrounded the foe, with the result that in a few minutes the whole of the rebel army was annihilated by a force not one-third its own

awaited the arrival of the raiders.

enemy appeared,

all

strength.

after

This was the man who was the first to meet us He offered our long weary tramp into Toro. me his horse to complete the journey into the capital, but after one look into the eyes of the restless beast, which seemed greatly alarmed at the presence of a white man, I decided to stick to my bicycle as a much safer means of
progress.

Kasagama met us at the foot of the hill upon which stands his beautiful brick house. It was a time of meeting with old friends many years before I had lived in Toro, often the only
;

I40

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

European in the then wild country, and Kasagama had made himself a real friend to me in my
lonely times.
it

Of

those days

shall

not write,

add that Kasagama seemed to have lost none of his charm of manner, and he is also steadfast in the faith that one tried to teach him in those past lonely years when the in great weakness and first seeds were sown
will be sufficient for

me

to

much imperfection. Many improvements were

visible in the country

the years ot steady hard work, both

ment and mission servants have told, there are many in Toro who have followed the
lead of their Christian king.

by governand to-day

There is to-day a fine hospital in charge of Dr. Aston Bond (C.M.S.); it was opened in The building contains two wards, one for 1904. men and the other for women and children, each capable of accommodating seventeen people. At first the timidity of the Batoro was so great that they had to be asked to become in-patients, but as the year wore on many came requesting admission, while some made gifts of money, and
others of kind,
for

as

expressions of thankfulness

the

attention

which they received.

still

Some

of the patients, however, are

very distrustful, and it will be years before the common people really understand the benefits to be derived from this great work.

A TRAMP TO TORO.
One woman was
in the hospital

141

about three weeks, at the end of which time her friends suddenly took her away. She was very ignorant and absolutely indifferent when she first entered She said: *'I shall only die, and the hospital. they will bury me in the ground I do not fear After she was to die, I shall not go anywhere.'' taken away by her friends, she was at last found, after much searching, in a pitiable condition.
;

She had grown so thin that it was difficult to recognise her, and all over her body were large cuts and gashes, where her relations had lacerated her in the hope of effecting a cure. She was surrounded by men, one of whom was cupping her with a small horn used by the The poor creature had natives for that purpose. little enough blood as it was, and every drop When they were drawn shortened her life.
remonstrated with for this cruel treatment of the *' She is only a heathen, poor girl, they answered should we not do it? '' she is not baptized. They had been pouring cold water over her several times daily, but they said her disease baffled them, they could not conquer it.'' She had hardly strength to speak, and very soon
:

Why

afterwards died.

Such cases might be multiplied, no doubt, but sufficient has been said to show how hard it is to get the natives to believe that our efforts

142
for

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
their welfare

are

sincere,

and even should

skill,

the

patient

believe in

one's

the

relatives

have also

to be

reckoned with.
definite

Scholastic

work and

Christian teach-

ing are flourishing in this country of Toro. It is not my intention in this book to give any suffice it to say that the many agencies details that are at work all tend to the uplifting of the people, and from the broadest possible point of view deserve all the help and encouragement
;

that unbiassed Englishmen can give. As I have said before, the spread of Christianity and the British Government officials' work should always be most closely allied, and the
result will be gratifying to both.

Our

return journey to
;

the outward one

cultivated
all all

the

Hoima was better than we found the road had been way, since we passed, and
natives told us that a

the

swamps

bridged.

week had broken into a house and carried off a woman and three children, and a man had also been killed and eaten by
previously four lions
these beasts.

At one camp the

which

had one encounter on the way home caused us some alarm, and made us Leaving the main road with my very careful. of the missionary ladies from one and wife Toro in pursuit of some of the gorgeous butter-

We

A TRAMP TO TORO.
flies

143

that

flitted

among
lost

the trees,
in

we

entered

a thick

forest,

and were soon pushing our way

admiration of the
there
are

along a tiny track,

always to be found Suddenly, just in in these African forests. front of me, a lion sprang up, and dashed into the thicket not four yards from us, and then it stood and growled at us we were utterly powerbeauties
;

many

less, and we knew that at any moment the great We moved away beast might spring upon us.

towards
together,

the

road

very slowly,

keeping
it

close

and as we did so we heard

follow-

only a few yards to our right, but invisible on account of the thick undergrowth. On and on we went, ever keeping a sharp look-out, and for some time we could hear the crackling of the dead twigs and an occasional snarl from the terrible creature. Never has 100 yards seemed so long, for it was only that distance to the main road and to safety, and when at last we got there, leaving the lion behind, as he had given up the chase, we made off to camp as quickly as we could, feeling what a narrow escape we had had, and deeply thankful to the watchful Providence Eight days' journey landed us safely over us.
ing
us

back

in

Hoima.

144

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

CHAPTER
BusiNDi
earlier

VHI.

A VISIT TO NORTHERN BUNYORO.

is

the

old capital of

Bunyoro and

in

days the abode of the great King Kabarega. From Hoima it is about thirty-five miles distant, and a good road has been made connecting the two places. The chiefs all have their headquarters at Hoima, but most of them have also small estates in Busindi. The latter district is a hilly one, and Busindi is built in the middle, with high hills commanding it on three sides, intersected by several unpleasant and foul-smelling swamps, from which the water supply is obtained. For this
reason alone
it

is

unhealthy, as compared with

of

Hoima,

and
to

clouds
the

mosquitoes
wise

rise

from
Mr.

these fever beds as soon as the sun goes down.

Owing

very

decision

of

George Wilson, the Deputy-Commissioner and Western Acting Sub-Commissioner of the Provinces, the capital was moved to the more healthy, open country to the south-west, on the main road from Uganda to Lake Albert.
This road in the future will undoubtedly be a most important trade route to the north.

NORTHERN BUNYORO.
Busindi
is

145

also a great centre for the

ivory

trade of Central

Africa
in

many

large herds of

thickly-wooded country around, and at one time there was a great store of ivory hidden away by the chiefs and
elephants exist
the

people in the

district.

Again, Busindi is an important place on account of its being on the main road to the Chopi and Bukidi districts, along which large powder-running caravans used to pass to

This trade had to northern provinces. be stopped, and it was therefore most important to keep a strong garrison ever ready for action Busindi. The natives of course became at wily, and resorted to all kinds of subterfuges
these
in

order to be able to carry on the

It

traffic

in

spite of the British occupation at Busindi.

at

was noticed on one occasion by an official Busindi that there were many caravans passing towards the north, presumably carrying bark-cloths and trade goods of a harmless
Certain of these loads were always brought for inspection to the Fort, and seemed right enough, but others were kept in the background and passed through without notice. One day, however, the officer in charge became suspicious, and a more thorough examination was made, not only of the loads of trade goods brought, but also of the camp of the would-be

description.

146
traders.

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
The
result

of small kegs of trade

was that a large number powder and old muzzle-

loading guns were found cleverly concealed amongst other harmless articles. This led to
the

discovery

of

the

existence

of

regular

that had been going on for some time, and although the responsible Uganda chiefs were never found out, the culprits caught redhanded were severely punished. The mission house at Busindi was the first ever built in Bunyoro. It was commenced by the well-known Uganda missionary, Mr. A. B. Fisher, and finished later by his successor. It is situated on the banks of a horrible fetid swamp, and is, I believe, a very unhealthy spot, but was
traffic

evidently the only available place at the time.

large church

has

also

been built of wattle

and daub close to the mission house. The Fort is on the summit of a high hill, and is a strongly
fortified

position, but the water supply is not of

it is

the best, although

for the mission.

superior to that obtainable

of
traders

There

are

number

German,

Indian and Waganda whose livelihood must be a precarious one, now that the population of Busindi is so much reduced and the ivory trade
is

restricted.

While
took

was

place,

at Busindi an interesting function namely, the distribution of medals

NORTHERN BUNYORO.
for

147

the Soudanese rebellion that took place in

1897 and 1898, through which I passed in the All the troops available capacity of interpreter.

were drawn up on the fine parade ground in front of the Fort, including Soudanese and Waganda,

and two maxim-gun squads. All the resident natives were summoned to attend, and the king and his under chiefs came dressed out in their In front was a small table covered with best. the Union Jack, on which were placed the medals, and beside them a silver bowl of flowers. The assembly was graced by the presence of two English ladies my wife and Mrs. George Wilson ^who had seats arranged for them near

the table.

Captain Owen performed the ceremony, and pinning on the medals, offered his warm congratulations to the two recipients at that time resident in Bunyoro, Mr. George Wilson and The first to receive the medal was the myself. Deputy Commissioner (Mr. George Wilson), which was pinned on amid a flourish of bugles and kettledrums. It will be long before the country forgets the prominent and eminently
satisfactory efforts of this faithful servant of the

Government during

that

rebellion, for the successful termination of

most trying time of the which

he was largely responsible. The author then received his, Captain Owen saying as he pinned

148
it

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
:

on

*'I see

you have two

I

clasps,

hope you
it

will

get

some more."

trust,

however,

will

be long before
as that of 1897-S.

my

services will be required to

help in the suppression of so serious a rebellion

I made an interesting journey Bunyoro, into the Chopi country, which lies along the banks of the Victoria Nile. Leaving Busindi, we climbed the Government hill and took the main road to the north. The first bad effects of the Busindi climate soon began to show themselves, and I laboured on under a hot sun with a touch of malarial fever, not severe, but enough to make one miserable and so with a buzzing in the ears (a symptom of quinine poisoning), and a failing at the knees, to say nothing of a parching thirst, I was glad enough to come to anchor at the first tiny rest house on the top of a high hill.

A few weeks

later

to the north of

In
the

the

morning the outlook was gloomy

several

the porters complained of fever, mule showed signs of lameness, and rain However, we faced the difficulties, threatened. and as the warm sun began to dry the wet grass on the path, it also engendered in us the hopeful feeling that we had done with Busindi
of
for a time.

We

first

made
chief,

for the capital of a

well-known

Uganda

who had been

ap-

pointed to a position of responsibility in

Bunyoro

NORTHERN BUNYORO.
in order to help the

149

more ignorant

local chiefs

to

were maintain order in their country. himself wife (he being away), met by the chiefs
fat,

We

a big,

jolly

woman,

all

smiles,

and possess-

ing a great influence over the Banyoro peasants. She escorted us to her husband's headquarters, and here we saw three huge houses in course of construction, and were informed by the playful
chiefs wife that they had been

long building,

and would never be

all rebelled,

finished, as the people

had

refusing to work for her husband. However, there was one building that caused us great cheer, as it had been entirely finished by the poor people, and was used by them as
a church.
large

me a bundles of bananas, six chickens, thirty eggSy and a goat, and in addition to these, she told me she would cook a feast for us each day we stayed there.
The
chiefs wife most kindly brought
of
food,
forty-three

present

Three days'

was most beneficial and white man alike the good to us all, porters food, healthy climate and kind friends, all added
rest at this place
;

to

our pleasure.

be at a place on the Here the chiefs wife was supreme, as the village had been made over to had heard that the her by her husband. people all loved and obeyed her readily, and we
next
to

Our

camp was

river called Kilwala.

We

I50

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

found it to be quite true. They are not Banyoro, but call themselves Baruli, and they talk a mixture of Lunyoro and Lusoga. As soon as I got into the village, crowds of men and women came to see me, not in the least afraid, although so far as I can make out, no European

had

visited

them
for

before.

The men
made from
to

the most part wore skins

and

bark-cloths, the

women

a queer-looking garment

grass, or strips of bark-cloth attached

a sort of waist-belt, the upper part of the body being adorned by various trinkets made They were modest and wellof beads, etc. behaved, and it was a pleasure to see how anxious all were to please their chieftainess. When it was dark I gave them a magicthat was greatly appreciated lantern show,

by

all.

Early the next morning we set off again, and reached another large village on the banks of the Nile, occupied by the Chopi people, another tribe evidently a branch from the Nilotic peoples Away across the river was a of further north. large Bukidi village, and I was told that living in that district there were three big Bukidi chiefs, who owned a very large tract of country on the Nile banks. Being very anxious to get into touch with this most interesting race of people, I arranged

NORTHERN BUNYORO.

151

with some of the natives at the village in which I was staying the night, to go over to those chiefs with kind messages from myself, and admit I I invite them to come to see me. hardly expected they would do so, but to my great pleasure in about two hours' time, a little

company emerged from

side of the river,

the thicket on the far

into a crazy craft

and getting

of

'^

prehistoric" appearance,

soon crossed the

and landed quite close to my tent. They walked up to me with every appearance of confidence, and no sign of fear one of them indeed greeted me by name, and said he had heard of me, and was glad to come and see me. There were two chiefs among them, both tall, thin men, all muscle and sinew, and their dress consisted of skins thrown loosely across
river
;

the shoulders.

They

said

many

nice things to

me, showing that they knew a good deal of my movements in Bunyoro, and they finished up by giving me a most hearty invitation to go across the river and visit them. I promised thern I would do so at some future time, but at present I could not spare the time, and then ** laughingly said But you Bakidi fight I how am I to know that you with white men would not want to kill me if I come to your
:

village?"
at the

The

reply

was

(as

jotted

it

down

time):

**It is

not the likes of you that

152

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
fight with,
visit

we
if

you

we have heard about you, and us you will see we shall give you
I,

great
take

joy.

myself,''

said

the

chief,

*^will

you about the country, and no one

will

dare to interfere with you/'

talked on for a long time, and I then asked them if they were returning that night. **No," said the chief, **we are going to sleep by your tent, and you will find us here by the fire to-morrow morning." And sure enough there they were in the morning when I got up. They had their spears and knives by their sides, and looked very formidable strangers, but I think we sealed a friendship between us. I gave them each a piece of cloth as a present when I said good-bye, and they said at parting: **When you get back to Hoima, send a messenger to us and we will come to see you and your lady and little child, and prove to

We

you that we are your friends." This promise was actually fulfilled, and a few months afterwards, when I was back again in Hoima, we one day received a big deputation
from these Bukidi
are, they

chiefs.

Wild men

as

they

came

to us in the

and allowed me
little

to

most friendly spirit, photograph them with our

fair

among them. They knew a amount of Lunyoro as spoken in Hoima, although when excited they drifted off into
child sitting

NORTHERN BUNYORO.
their

153

me

that

own unknown tongue. The chief told many of his people could understand
well,

Lunyoro quite
great

and

his

delight

was very

when he found he was

able to converse

with

me

directly

without the aid of an inter-

preter.

We

bade them an affectionate farewell, and

they paddled back across the river, waving the their friends who cloth newly-acquired to

awaited them on the other side. Our next place was Paweri, a very long march through most terrible country of thick

bush and
ribbons
of

acacia

scrub,

calculated of

to

tear

to

the

stoutest

pair

nether

garments

ever invented.
the

The path was obliterated most way, and we at one time quite lost
and could not
thick.
it

find a Great herds of elephants had, however, passed through a few days before us, and by following in their tracks we were eventually able to get into Tired, hungry and badmore open country. tempered, we dragged ourselves into Paweri, more dead than alive, about three o'clock in After a rest and a much-needed the afternoon.

ourselves in the scrub,

way through

was so

meal,
built

went

many

off to inspect the old Nile fort years ago for temporary occupation,

Kabarega was province of Uganda.

while

at
It

large

in

the
all

northern
in

was now

ruins,

154

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
;

and the houses were tumbling down the big ditch on three sides of the fort was choked quite full with weeds and rank grass, while the wall facing the river was quite obliterated by a dense mass of vegetation. The old chief of Paweri was away, but his headman was
kind in sending plenty of food for the tired rested here for two days, and porters. then following the bend of the river struck

We

The country is too terrible for due west. Lying low to the river, it is swampy, words and covered with rank vegetation. There are comparatively few people, and the majority live on the river banks, and subsist upon the fish and the hippo they are able to trap. The day after leaving Paweri^ we reached the first really large village I had yet seen in Chopi it was occupied entirely by the Chopi people, and there was no one among them who could speak in the Lunyoro language. However, I fortunately had a man in my caravan who could speak both languages, and was therefore able to interpret for us. At this point on the Nile, are the rapids which are marked on the map as the Kidopo
!

falls

they

are

hardly
simple.
of

falls,

however,
natives

but
here

rapids,

pure

and

The
their

5:eemed to spend most

time hunting and fishing, and the district provides abundance

NORTHERN BUNYORO.
of both
;

155

appeared to be alive with hippo, and along its banks I found innumerable traps, usually deep holes tapering to the bottom, covered over loosely with twigs and
the
river

and some had spears stuck in at the bottom, upon which the entrapped animal would be impaled. At another village through which we passed, called Gobo, we found quite
grass,

a little colony of Bakidi. As soon as I arrived, one old fellow came up to me and said: '^I am Bongonyingi and I am a great friend of the well-known white man Langalanga (Colonel Delme Radcliffe) and it was I myself and no
other that led
the

Langalanga into the camp of Nubians who deserted from the British and went over into Bukidi about two and a

half years ago."

He
to

told

me

the
I

following
led

story:

*^At

the
close

dead of night
the

the

white
with

soldier

enclosure

where Nubians were

friends

living.

They had made

people,

some

of

our

and received their protection, but I am Bongonyingi, and I could not allow the rebels
the white
to

of

man

to

remain
of

in

my
man

country
of their

and never
presence.

acquaint the white

placed

attacked, and having

day the white man his men on all sides of the village there was no escape, and

At break

the rebels were utterly routed.

Then

the spoil

156

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
distributed,

was

and

received

many

cattle

as

my share and I settled down as a rich man in my own country. Alas my joy only lasted
!

Langalanga went back to Uganda, and I was left, and it was not long before my fellow-countrymen became jealous of me, and finally raided my cattle, carried off my wives, and I was obliged to decamp,
short
time.

leaving

all

behind as a prey

for

the spoilers,

and here I am now, a friend of the great Langalanga, but a very poor man. Look at
this skin,
is
it

is

my

only covering, this whistle

this

have now built Perhaps you know Langalanga? Tell him I am poor and destitute, could he not help me?" Poor old
only possession,

my

and
to

tiny

hut in which

live.

fellow,

it

was

quite pathetic
I

of his better days, and

help him in the future

ally

to hear him talk promised if I could would do so. Incident-

may mention he visited me in

I

here that a year afterwards

Acholi,

and

was able

to

obtain for
villages,

him a reception into one of the large where he settled down, married fresh wives, and is to-day a happy man for all I know. Leaving Gobo and still making our way along the banks of the Nile, I was at last told by a Chopi guide that there was no path further on, and that the best thing we could do was to

NORTHERN BUNYORO.
strike

157

inland to a large village from which a path led to the next village, that is, walk two sides of a triangle, a distance of thirty miles at
I told least, instead of ten in a straight line. the guide that I would rather go straight ahead, path or no path, and so we had a terrible time

in the long grass and thick bush, just pushing through as best we could along the river bank. The previous day there had been a terrific storm that had soaked everything, and we were hoping to reach a camp where we could once more get our kit dry. In places it was very hilly, and all along the river bank there was a succession of low steep ridges, running at right angles to the river. There was very thick bush to add to our discomfort, and it was not until 4 p.m. that we

reached a tiny fishing village built close to the river, and here we camped for the night. The people nearly all spoke a language quite un-

any of us, so we could scarcely make One thing we did our wants understood. understand, and that was that there was great hunger, and by signs the chief urged me to This I did soon after shoot a hippo for them. There were scores of these huge I arrived. creatures about, and with a little patience I could have shot a dozen had I wished. One

known

to

only delighted the inhabitants.

158

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
are

The people here

their habits
;

much more
beads

primitive in
instead of

their houses are decidedly poorer,

and the women being cumbered had large pieces bottom lip, and

wear a few
about
of

with

clothing.

Some
the

glass

stuck

through

protruding in front for a few inches like an icicle, and as they talk it wags

up and down, and looks most comical.

out afterwards that this
is

I found a custom, copied no

doubt
I

from

the

people

living

in

the

more

northern district of the Nile.

took a photo of one of these ladies with child. She had, however, rather more the majority. than The little girl clothing on
her
little
I could me. At last I offered her a little print dress, and very shyly she then came to me, and finally we became great friends, and she sat upon my knee and chattered away in her unknown tongue. Dear little soul, if only these tiny ones had a

who was with

this

woman was

very shy,
to

not for a long time get her to

come

chance while yet young and tender, how different might be their lot but here they are growing up in darkness and gross ignorance, given in marriage before they can talk in some cases what bought and sold like sheep and oxen wonder then that when they do hear of the great love of God that they do not understand To these poor what one is talking about.
;
;

NORTHERN BUNYORO.
women
lust

159

love

is

almost

unknown

they

know

and passion, but how little do they understand love, and yet there was a kind of love shown by the very woman whose photo I took, My to the little child I have just mentioned. big dog Sammy rushed into the little group in a friendly and fussy sort of way, not meaning to do damage to any one, but to these natives who had never seen such a creature, he was indeed a terror. The men all dashed away in fright, but this woman utter confusion and braved the awful beast (which to her might have been an evil spirit for aught she knew), and rushed towards her little one and seizing her in her arms carried her away into safety.
Natural love is not altogether absent from these degraded savages, as some would have us
suppose.
In the
following,

morning we
including

left

about 6 a.m.
chief,

big

came with us The march was to see us safely on our way. almost identical with that of the previous day if anything wilder and more difficult, and it was
the
;

certainly longer.

Pajao was reached late in the day. Here is another old disused fort, built at the top of a charming little hill, overlooking the Nile, and in the distance about three miles to the east were the magnificent Murchison Falls.
there

i6o

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
;

It is a most enchanting place looking down from the top of the hill right into the Nile one could count hundreds of crocodiles' snouts jutting out of the water, and on a sand-bank just across the river there were thirty or forty of these monstrous reptiles asleep, some with their huge jaws wide open and others looking more like logs of wood stretched out in the It was a strange sight heat of the sun. they were so motionless and still one could almost imagine them to be a lot of hideous toys or at least only stuffed crocodiles in a glass case. To the west, not more than 200 yards away, counted twenty-odd hippos, some of them I right out of the water, others with just their every now and then they noses showing The little ones grunted as only hippos can. splashing about, and thoroughly were frolicking Farther off still, could enjoying themselves. be seen another large herd, and odd ones kept poking up their heads not fifty yards from the I never saw anything like place where I stood. it before, it was a sight worth going to see, and
:
;

never to be forgotten. the I had my tent pitched overlooking

river,

and the next day made up my mind to visit the A good path had been great Murchison Falls. cut all the way, although the road lay over steep and difficult hills, and in an hours time

C.K.

NORTHERN BUNYORO.
I

i6i

found myself within loo yards of the mighty

It

Falls.

was a wonderful sight indeed

to

The only

narrowed about fifty feet, and millions of tons of water rushing through this tiny gorge over a precipice about eighty feet deep into a huge The roar of the water pit of seething waters. awe-inspiring, and for quite and was deafening a long time I stood and gazed before I realised Then that I was standing knee-deep in water. I took some photos under very great difficulty, for the heat and the spray made a mist on the I then prepared for a little picnic all by lens. my solitary self. I gathered sticks and made a fire under the shadow of a great overhanging rock, and here boiled a kettle and made some
outlet

the

great

Victoria

Lake,

down

to

tea,

fried

some meat, and

This
I

roasted

some

native

potatoes.

thoroughly enjoyed
I

and

in

spite of the roar of the waterfall

and the wild-

ness of the place,

I

when

had finished

my

lunch,

over and had a good sleep. When I awoke I found the boys had come for me, and were anxious to get me back to the Fort. On
rolled

the

way back
which
I

shot a couple of
off

diles,

floated

immense crocodown stream with feet

for

in the air for a

When
U.K.

moment and then sank. reached camp I was quite ready

tea,

some more

and

after

another

rest,

walked
y

i62

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

to the river bank to fish. I got a native go with me in his canoe, a very big dugFor half an hour I cast, played and spun, out. and could do nothing to induce the hundreds of fish that were jumping out of the water all around me to have anything to do with
to

down

my

bait.

Suddenly the man in the boat said: ''Look hippo," and there sure enough within a few yards of us was a monster looking at '' us, nose and head well out of water. Shoot it," said my boy, who was also with me, so I
at that

but the bullet only struck it at the side of the head and did not kill it outright, for it plunged away down stream at a great pace. It
did,

seemed a shame to let it go off" like this, only to suffer and die, so I told the man to paddle away after it, and I would try and kill it. We there was reached it at last, on a sand-bank
;

sufficient

water to

float

the boat,

drown in. When made a wild dash in our direction and came I gave him another bullet in the Even this did not finish him as we found
the hippo to

but not for he saw us he

as he
neck.
after-

wards.
it

However, the man in the boat said was dead. I declared it was not, he said he knew it was, and immediately commenced
at

paddling towards the great creature. I shouted him, telling him to stop, as I was sure it

NORTHERN BUNYORO.

163

he paddled Not he would upset the boat. on until there was a bump, and we were right The boat heaved over to one into the hippo side and I was expecting to be thrown out when round came the hippo with jaws fully extended, and it would soon have had the canoe in two had I not just in time turned the head of the boat with a pole, and then, grasping my gun, fired point blank at the animal's head ; fortunately for us, the bullet pierced the brain and laid him low. Almost in less time than it takes to write it, there was a tremendous shout from the shore, and the wild beating of drums, and I wondered greatly what was going to happen, when the boatman told me that the shouting and the drums were to call the people together to collect the meat, and very soon little canoes put off from all quarters to come out and cut up and devour the hippo. Long after dark I could hear the people chattering and fighting for the flesh, and I could see from my tent, boatloads of women and children going across the
!

river with blazing torches of

dry reeds to help

carry the meat home.

the crowd that went to cut up and fight over the carcass was a man who was smothered from head to foot with smallpox rash, pushing in among the rest and snatching his share of the spoil. This shows how utterly ignorant or else extremely

Among

i64
foolish

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
these

poor fellows are

of

the simplest

precautions against such a terrible disease.

The following morning I commenced my homeward journey, feeling loth to tear myself away from this spot of enchantment. The next
few days were most uninteresting, for the country through which we passed was almost entirely unpopulated. spent two nights in tiny villages en route and then arrived at the head chiefs place, but even here the place seemed I found out subsequently that the deserted. reason was that the people had most of them gone off into the wilderness away from the main road in order to escape the necessary

We

work on the road, get away from the

the hut-tax.

clearing,

etc.,

and also

to

chief

who was

collecting

Three more days' tramp brought us back to we were to once more reach and to be able to perform quarters, European sundry little repairs to garments, etc., that were by this time badly needing one's attention. While here I had the pleasure of receiving a deputation of the soldiers from the Government Fort, forty strong. Many of these men knew me, having gone through the mutiny in 1898, and said they felt they would like to greet me after so many years. They were a fine lot of fellows, and looked uncommonly smart
Busindi, and glad

NORTHERN BUNYORO.
in their

165

Uganda

Rifles' uniform.
I

by a forced march,
until

8.30 p.m.
beat.

It

The next day reached Hoima, but not was very dark and I was
came on
in
it

dead

An

attack of fever

after

my

return,

no doubt contracted
district.
I

the

unhealthy

Chopi

Fortunately

did not last long, and

was soon as well as

usual.

i66

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

CHAPTER
Lake Albert
all

IX.

EXCITING TIMES BY LAKE ALBERT.

is

distant from

Hoima

seventeen

miles only, and there being a fairly good road

the way,
it

was a very easy

run

on
I it

the
often

bicycle,

and during

my

stay at

Hoima

rode over for a day's fishing and found

excellent antidote for fever

an

were wont

to

and other trouble one in Hoima.

in

ills
I

that
find

the following entry

my

diary,

dated

19th

February 1902: **The last few days I have been away, I was a little bit seedy and needed a change, so went off to Kibiro on the Albert

Lake
old

for

three
I

or
at

four

days'

real

rest

and

recreation.
bicycle,

left

of seventeen miles thoroughly entered into the joy My brave little wife kissed me of existence. and stood in the porch of the house good-bye until I was out of sight, and then I put my nose to the wheel and sped along at a fine In three hours I was at Kibiro, which pace. is situated on a small strip of land that borders It the lake at the foot of a steep escarpment.
I

morning, before me,

and and a distance

6.30 a.m. on my splendid with a good road, a cool

LAKE ALBERT.

167

is entirely shut out from the breezes that come from the east and is consequently very hot. All looked so very, very beautiful as I got to the top of the great hill and looked down on the lake with the white fringe of breakers on the sandy beach ; across the water to the west were the blue mountains of Bulega, hazy and indistinct at the base, but crowned with the golden light of the morning sun. '* Right below me were the huts of the Kibiro natives, a collection of little beehive-shaped dwellings all built close together with a rough sort of fence round each. Hundreds of goats and sheep were scattered amongst the buildings, nibbling the very scanty herbage, but seeming to thrive uncommonly well upon it. To the south of the village were a large number of cattle apparently herding themselves. All this told of the wealth of the Kibiro folk, and

the reason

is

not far to seek.

is

Right

at the foot

spring bubbling out from cracks in the solid rock, and dividing its waters into a dozen little streams, it flows across a flat-bottomed pit which is cunningly separated

of the escarpment

salt

into allotments

by ridges of loose stones which

in

form a boundary. ^* Each household

in

this

salt

depot, and by a

during the dry season

Kibiro possesses a claim little hard work hard work which by the

i68

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

way is done entirely by women the owner can make an ample allowance for the rest of the year. The process is as follows The little
:

as

streams oL. salt-laden water, which i-s very hot it comS from the earth, are so arranged as to allow a certain proportion of the water to
ooze over the prepared and levelled surface of
plot the surface soil becomes saturated, and with the heat of the sun constantly playing upon it the salt becomes crystallised on to the soil, and after a day or two it will be seen that there has formed on the top a layer of salt, which is then collected up, together with the surface soil, and put into earthenware filters, and water poured upon it. As the water percolates through the salt is again taken up into this solution and a strong brine is the result is boiled away and the pure salt again crystallises at the bottom of the pan and is ready for the It is packed into bundles of banana market. fibre, each containing about ten pounds of salt, and sent off into the markets o: Hoima and Busindi and Mengo, and sold for about half a

the

Thus it will be seen that a rupee a pound. a claim can very soon find his salt owning man Rs.3 a year for hut-tax, and yet have a good
income, which he will usually spend on goats This native beer is the curse native beer. people being so wealthy are The of Kibiro.
ur

LAKE ALBERT.
able

169

to indulge to any extent, and I have counted between twenty and thirty huge jars of strong drink being carried down for one houseTwo or three days' hold alone in Kibiro. drunkenness is then the result. The people the women are only are dirty in the extreme
;

and the children quite nude the man is utterly lazy, he eats, drinks, and sleeps, but does little else excepting haggle and bargain for beer. ** I had my tent pitched under a lovely tree
partly
clothed,

about twenty yards from the water the porters with my things having come on before and well away from the terrible odours that rise partly from the salt springs and partly from After a hasty the dirty huts of the people. lunch I obtained a boat from the chief, and

taking

my

fishing-tackle

went

off to fish,

and

did not fish in vain, for after

some

fine

sport

managed to pull up four large fish, each I weighing about three and a half pounds to
four pounds.
**

There

is
is

a splendid
called

fighting-fish

in

this

lake that

the ^tiger-fish,'

and a two-

pound

tiger is as

good a

fighter as a ten-pound

salmon. One of these took me a good twenty minutes to land. ** There is another species commonly known
as the cow-fish, which runs to an

enormous

size,

I70

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

but not half the sport is derived from it, as it quickly gives in, and is easily lifted into the boat. ^* Looking back across the water to the land I saw several antelopes feeding peacefully on
the shore,
tion

and

resolved upon another expediI

the

next day.

got back to

camp

at

6 p.m.
food

and found the chief had sent me a present of a fat sheep and a good supply of
for

the

porters.
is

The

heat

during

the

night

at

Kibiro

proverbial.

The thermo-

meter rises to 95 degrees in the tent with both ends open, and there is a strong scorching breeze from the land that stirs up the hot, dry It was dust, and makes it almost unbearable. not until 4 a.m., when it got a little cooler, that I was able to sleep at all, and then at six was glad enough to get up and dress. I had
breakfast
catch,

of

fried

fish

of

the

previous

day's

on the boat with fishingtackle, a camera, my two guns, some food tied up in a cloth, a kettle, a teapot, and a couple I had come out for a holiday, and of boys. meant to enjoy myself to the full. We rowed along by the shore, going north. All the time I was spinning for what I could catch. I got many bites, but only two catches however, one was a big one, and it fought hard for some time, and when we at last landed it turned
set off
;

and again

the scale at five pounds.

LAKE ALBERT.
*^

171

After two hours in the boat

we made

for

the shore,
ready,

and
I

looked about for a nice sheltered

left

place where

men
'^

to

my cook to get me a meal and started off myself with a couple of hunt the antelopes that seemed to abound
had several adventures, one of a rather I had been walking along the

in the near vicinity.

We

startling nature.

bank of the lake looking out for a noisy hippopotamus that we had heard close by, when I came upon a fresh track leading through the I dense undergrowth from the lake inland. decided after some hesitation to follow this for a little time, hoping to meet our friend the hippo. The two men were just behind me, one carrying my camera and the other my second gun, while I shouldered my rifle. It was hard work to get along as the bush was so thick, and it was impossible to stand upright. Suddenly

and

heard a rustling noise in front of me, that some creature was approaching but what? It could not be the hippo, because there was no thunderous tread, but I had no time to think, for the creature, whatever it might be, was upon me in a second. At two yards I discovered what it was an immense crocodile more than twelve feet long. I was right in its path and there was no possible escape on either side, so I simply
I

realised

172

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
still
^

stood

with
'

my

rifle

at shoulder

and waited.

The crock did not wait, however, and soon made an impression upon me. In some remarkable way it hustled me on to one side,
almost knocking me over, the thick bush alone being responsible for my upright position, and with his wicked little eyes looking up at me he endeavoured to make his way to the water. To dispute his right of road would have been folly, so I simply put a bullet in his eye and I only realised a let him decide for himself. horrible soft, wriggling mass pressing against my legs in a most sickening way. Why he did not bite me I do not know. At first I thought he had done so as he brushed against my leg, but I found it was only his horny scales that scraped my shin, and he was more taken by surprise than I was, and forgot all about his huge jaw and the lasting impression he might have made upon my legs. After he had passed how he did, I do not know turned round to see how the two men would One had got back to the shore, and so fare. Of course he had the cleared out of sight. second gun and would have been eminently useful if anything had gone wrong (unfortunately this is often the way, and a good gunbearer is an absolute necessity, but very seldom The other man with the camera was found).

LAKE ALBERT.
the funniest sight
;

173

his head was stuck fast in brambles and his legs were in the air, the camera, of course, in the mud beside him, I don't think the crock could have seen him, for he had literally taken a header into the bush, and his legs were far above the It was all over in a few crocodile's jaws. seconds, and we all got right way up again,

the thick

'

and made

for

the

shore.

The
water,

crocodile

managed
ately

to

get

into

the

had and immedi-

went

to the bottom.

**We

then

pressed

on

our way, and soon

came out on

to a delightful plain covered with

and euphorbia trees, but it was too hot to hunt, and the animals were all resting in the heat of the day and well out of
occasional bushed
sight.

So we returned

to

our sheltered spot

and had a good lunch of fried fish, potatoes, and tea. *^ At 3 p.m. I started in search of the antelope, whose tracks were everywhere a bush buck was all that I could bag, and it was late in the evening before we got back to camp. The next morning I was off again, and was fortunate
;

getting a fine cobus cob, with horns nineteen and a half inches long, and thoroughly
in

enjoyed a free and easy life all day, alone in the wilds, far away from the crowds of inquisitive natives. I sat for hours in utter solitude,

174

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
birds and to the bark of the
forest.

listening to the

dog-faced apes in the adjoining

All else

was

still,

and

it

was refreshing

to

be

thus

utterly undisturbed."

At the mission station one is always surrounded by a noisy throng, and there seems
no really private
life

there for the missionary.

till

From
there

early
is

morning

late

in

the

evening

the constant

noise and chatter of the

black people coming and going, asking ridiculous

questions,

bothering
until

childish

nonsense,

one with the most sometimes it becomes

almost unbearable. How much therefore did I enjoy the absolute quiet of the beautiful hillside by the Albert Lake The next day I had to return to my duties at Hoima, but I felt refreshed and fit, and ready for my work once more.

My
of the

next

visit to

the lake

was made

in

May

the

I then went to Butyabwa, same year. new Government Station on the Albert Lake,

the starting-place for

the boats that steam for

about 150 miles down the Nile to Nimule. The following is another extract from my ** Kajura. This is the first camp from diary frightfully was hot, and I was right Hoima. It glad to have a mule to ride and an umbrella to cover me. **We arrived here at 12.15 p.m. The place
:

'

LAKE ALBERT.
is

175

most uninteresting, being chiefly noted for its tall grass and millions of mosquitoes, with very little view of the surrounding country, ^^We camped inside a huge caravan shed, and the outlook from my tent is rather curious. In the far distance, that is, at the extreme end
of
the

shed,

stands

February,'

the

mule,

haltered to a pole, and quietly taking her evening meal from a large stock of fresh grass, cut
for

her particular

use.

Then dimly through

and boys can be

the

camp

fires

of the porters

seen my three cows apparently much enjoying the cool of the evening after the terrible heat
of the day.
^'Just outside

my

tent is a great
'

camp

fire,

and joy in a mosquito-ey camp, although smoke as it will it cannot suffocate the numerous little pests that are so busy upon my fingers, face, and legs while I The frogs croak outside and the crickets write. chirp, but all else is still in this wild and
particular delight

my

desolate country, excepting of course

my

porters,

consisting of Christians, Papists,

Mohammedans,

and heathen, who

their fires,

sit

all

huddled together over

roasting sweet potatoes and jabbering away in an undertone, to the accompaniment of various slaps on their naked shoulders or back to drive off some bloodthirsty mosquito who, after a few buzzes round, has settled down

176
for

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
a good meal.

But the chattering

will not

even as I write I see one after another curl himself up before his little fire, and deep sonorous grunts soon proclaim him to be asleep. ^* I too begin to gape and to cast wistful glances towards my little camp bed, and I sigh for the security from the ravages of the pestilent little gnats that the mosquito net affords. ^* At last I extinguish my candle and roll myself in my blankets, and with a delightful sense of drowsiness, fall asleep. ** The next day's march was uninteresting the country being covered with scrub and slightly undulating had no attractions. Elephants had been on the road before us, and in places the long grass was levelled with the ground where these animals had passed. They seemed to have taken a particular delight 'in pulling up the trees by the roots, and on both sides of the path were strewn great forest trees that had been literally taken up like radishes and thrown on one side. passed a party of dog-faced apes fifty yards away, and they sat watching us in sullen silence. '* At noon we reached the transport station of Butyabwa, which is pleasantly situated on the escarpment overlooking the lake. From here I
last long,

for

We

got a guide to take us to the tirry village by the he went well for half an hour and lake shore
;

LAKE ALBERT.

177

then began meandering round a tree stump, and

when asked what he was after, he said he had lost the path and was looking for it. '^We wandered on and on in the long grass
and burning heat
before
for

no

less

than two hours

tired out,

we found a

track that led to the village

by the water.
selves beside

No wonder we were
down
it

the porters just flung

them and

and and themwas hard work to get

their loads

them up

to erect

my

tent.

In the cool of the

evening I went out for an hour with my gun, and was able to provide the poor, tired and hungry porters with a good-sized Uganda cob, which cheered their drooping spirits and made them forget the troubles of the way. ^'The people were very friendly, but their houses were filthily dirty, and full of charms
against evil beasts and calamities of every sort.

They were

and seemed quite satisfied with their degraded condition. There was a hopelessness about them that was most touching. They told me that food was very scarce, and indeed some of them they said were starving they had had no luck fishing, and their
terribly ignorant,
;

resources for the rapidly approaching dry season

were almost done already. An old witch-doctor sitting by the lake shore in front of his tiny temple, looking most dejected and sad, formed a most pathetic picture. The little temple or

178
*

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

hut/ very roughly made of reeds and grass, was just behind him, and he had been making an offering to the Great Spirit, who he vainly thought needed propitiating, for food was He was the only hope of the village, so scarce. for he was supposed to be able to bring success to the people when fishing and hunting, and now he was dejected, and hopelessness was again the chief characteristic. ^'Poor old man, I spoke to him and tried to cheer him up, but he had little to say.
spirit
^*

Famine was staring them

all

in

the face;

had been scarce, the hunters returned emptyhanded day after day, and he, the one hope of all, was hopeless himself. He was evidently thinking that the blame was his, and the people, being of the same opinion, had left him
fish

to himself.
^*

His only clothing was a

little

bit of antelope

skin about his loins, a small ivory armlet

bead necklace.
less
*

and a His whole demeanour was listin

and dejected
'

the

witch-doctoring
''

was

Evidently under a cloud in that

extreme.
to

locality.

Going northwards from Butyabwa we had

lot of

scramble through a
grass, until

thorny scrub and long

than
It

we

struck a road about a mile from

In
less

the escarpment.

arrived at the River Waiga.

two hours we was flood-time

LAKE ALBERT.
;

179

here evidently, for the river was almost a mile wide the water was up to one's middle, and a
plentiful deposit of

mud

at the

bottom was

very-

treacherous,

and one

after the other

went down

head and
^*

all into

the water.

Inevitably the example set

fallen

by the man who

under would be too much for the one next him, and he too would go under, and when at last the caravan emerged it was in a sorry plight and we were glad enough to get camp There was a fixed up a few miles beyond. deserted village close to the lake, and so we took advantage of the huts for the accommodation of the porters, who were glad enough to be spared I then sent a couple of the trouble of building. the men to try and find the whereabouts of the They came back in two hours' inhabitants. time with the old chief, an intelligent old fellow^ who was greatly delighted when he found I could speak his language, and he told me that he had never before seen a European with whom he could converse. He had much to say, telling me of the scarcity of food all along the lake, for although there was plenty of fish in the water he said The evil spirits keep them away from our traps and we are all very hungry.' I asked him why all his people had moved inland and left the village by which I was encamped, and in the huts of which my men were resting.

had

i8o

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

much smallpox there we thought it better to move further away.' 'What? smallpox?' and all my porters were sheltering in these dens of disease The chief,
^Oh,' said he, *we got so
that
!

however, said he thought there would be no danger, as it was quite six weeks since the last man died, and 'it was in that hut over there,' he added, pointing to a tiny hovel in which my headman was sitting. This was too much, so I ordered all of the men out, and told them to build shelters away from the village and nearer They of course said they would, but to my tent. to my knowledge not more than one of them thought it worth the trouble. Fortunately, no smallpox attacked them in spite of the terrible
risk

many

of

them

ran.

we had got settled into camp one to tell me that the sheep had came of the men run away and could not be found. This was serious, as we had no fresh meat beside, and the small flock was taken about with us on
''Soon
after

purpose to provide this most necessary article For the next tv/o hours the whole food. camp was out searching for these wandering sheep, which were eventually found far up the hill side, quietly grazing upon the fresh At 6 p.m. the grass beside a little stream. mule-boy was bringing his charge along to the
of

temporary stable

to

tie

it

up

for

the

night

LAKE ALBERT.
when something took possession
lashed
of
the
it,

i8i

out

viciously,

knocked

over heels, and tore off for all it along the road we had travelled in ing. Six or eight men at once followed
full

and it boy head was worth the mornit

at

speed.

The animal went

like

the wind,

and the light was fading fast. The men ran on and on as hard as they could, and managed
to

keep it in view, although it appeared far away on the plain. It kept up this headlong flight until it actually got back to the great River Waiga, and plunged into the waters. When the men reached the river they found it dabbling in the cooling water, eating the tender blades of swamp grass that grew on the banks. One man went boldly in after it and made a grab at the rope that was still round its neck. The vicious little beast rounded on him, however, and knocked him full length into the river fortunately he was unharmed. Then the other men got round it, and after several wild dashes for freedom, it was at last secured and brought triumphantly back to camp, landing there about g. 15 p.m. ^'Arriving at the next camp I found my good friend Fowler, Sub-Commissioner in Uganda, then acting as Superintendent of Marine. He had come to the Albert Lake to inspect the Government craft at that time plying
;

i82

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
the

on
lake

blue

waters

of

the

Nile between

the

to tell me, a great fight he had had with an enormous fish, a forty-seven pounder. After some refreshment together we decided to spend the rest of the day fishing, and with the forty-seven pounder very vivid in our thoughts, we embarked in a leaky dugout canoe, and quietly and seriously settled down to angling.

and Nimule. He had heard of and was waiting lunch for me. '^He had many sporting yarns
including
the
story of

my

coming,

'^

presently

saw

Fowler's

in the boat I guessed he had a big fish on his line. *^ He played it superbly for about ten minutes and then brought it up to the canoe, and I netted him and we found it to be a twentypound bagara. This put us both in very good form, and again we set to work. *^ My line was hardly out of the boat when went my reel, and in a very few whirrrr seconds I realised that I had hooked a monster. Almost at the same instant Fowler also hooked another, and by some misfortune or bad angling on my part, our lines fouled and he Mine, however, was firmly fixed, lost it again. and for three-quarters of an hour I had the

down and knew that by the way he set himself

up and he had got a bite, and

rod go

LAKE ALBERT,
hardest work in playing

183
fish.

my

first

big

What

excitement there was

His sudden rushes and

fishy subterfuges nearly upset

me

several times,
strain.

and

my He was
his

arms ached with the tremendous

too big to haul into the canoe, so

strength.

we

pulled slowly to shore as the monster gradually

lost

When we

at

last

banked

him, we found he turned the scale at fifty-five pounds. He was a noble fish, and I felt proud to have accomplished the feat of successfully bringing him to land. Just at the close of the afternoon's sport Fowler landed another small eight-pounder, and then we made for camp. Eighty-three pounds of fish was a good catch

one afternoon Next morning I visited the beautiful Waki Falls, which come tumbling over the escarpment and dash down into the lake. It was a glorious sight but pitifully spoiled by the dead body of a poor fellow who, no doubt, had fallen over from above so many of earth's most lovely spots are marred by the presence of man. Where every prospect pleases and only man
for
!

*^

is vile.'

**On the far bank of the river I saw a small herd of hartbeest refreshing themselves upon the green herbage in the park-like country, and a little farther off several Uganda cob, while

monkeys of varied colours gambolled

in

the

i84

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
tiny love-

branches of the trees overhead, and birds screeched their unmusical notes **At night we were joined by Scotsman whose business it was to
the

around. a young look after

Government boats, and for several hours we sat by the camp fire alternately spinning yarns and listening to the sweet music of the violin, as the Scotsman entertained us with 'The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond,' Annie Laurie,* and many other strangely sweet airs, that sounded so beautiful by the side of this
*

glorious lake.

**At

daybreak

the fine steel

was packed into sailing-boat The James Martin^

everything

and we
It

sailed merrily over the rippling waters. soon got fearfully hot, and at eleven o'clock we were glad enough to pitch camp on the shore close to the place called Masege. The people quickly came to see us, and told us that this news there were elephants near at hand try the night and our luck to stay decided us in the morning. ^* At early dawn trackers were sent off to locate the nearest herd and to bring particulars, as we did not feel inclined to take a long
;

tramp in vain. ** At nine o'clock they were back.

said,
*

Yes,' they

there are a few elephants an hour

and a

half away,

and amongst them one big

bull.'

LAKE ALBERT.
'*We
bearers,
started
off

185

with

our

guns and gun-

luncheon baskets, kettles, etc., and in less than one and a half hours the chief tracker stopped, lifted his hands, and pointed straight before him into a dense bush and
said:

'They are

here.'

However,
thicket

this

did not

look very hopeful,

thorn

was full of bushes, and there seemed no path or

as the

possibility of getting through, but after a long walk in the heat one is not disposed to give up hope at once, and we decided to push our way in. The first shot fell to me, and I led the way almost on hands and knees to try and unearth the colossal monster that we could hear flapping his huge ears and sucking up water with his trunk and squibbing it over his body. When at last I caught sight of his massive sides as I emerged, torn and bleeding, from the bush, he was up to his knees in mud and water, and utterly oblivious to our presence. or two nearer, with .450 at I crept on a yard full cock, without his seeing me, and then the crucial moment had come, and I let off my right barrel, aiming at the head for the brain Unfortunately the aim was not correct, shot. and with a shake of his head that sent muddy water flying into my face, he decided to move on and find out from whence came the irritating interruption to his bath but before he could
;

i86

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
its billet and rendered him oblivious passing events of the day, and so he

get his hind legs out of the water, the second

shot found
to all the
settled
''It

down

to rest.

was a sad and somewhat depressing sight, and as Fowler said, I wish we could pull out his tusks and then tell him to get up and
run off to his mother (for he could not have been more than a hundred years old), but it was no use, and so, after making sure he was quite dead, we walked up and took a closer inspection. He was a mighty beast, and had beautiful ivories, not immense, but they turned
the scale at seventy-six
respectively.
'*

and seventy-four pounds

After the inevitable snap-shot had been taken,

we

sat

down by

the carcass and had

some

lunch,

finally

reaching camp about sundown.'* The next day we parted company. Fowler returning to Butyabwa and I struck inland for Busindi. With one more exciting elephant
I

hunt

must
to this

close this chapter.

Up

moment

had shot ten elephants

during my stay in Africa and only once had been badly charged, and then I was able to drop the great beast before he did me any injury. But the following adventure was the most thrilling I have ever experienced, and once in a lifetime is sufficient for any man.

LAKE ALBERT.
the great heat,

187

About midday, while I was resting during some men came to say that there were elephants near by, would I hunt them? Having one more due to me on my licence, of course I said *^Yes," and we started. We
two hours through tangled jungle, across swamps up to the waist in mud and slush, through rushing rivers, the swift current of one of these making crossing a most risky Then the guide turned round to business. me and said: *^Alasj ^sir, they have gone!" This was rather discouraging, after having waded through the swamp and battled with the
walked
for

thorny thicket

to fresh

spirits were suddenly roused enthusiasm, for one of the men who had gone off a little to the right to look down into a broad valley came racing back to me and said that he had seen three elephants in the midst of the open valley standing up to I crept forward and their knees in water. inspected the position, and sure enough the report was true, and there stood the three great bulls, quite unconscious of our near approach. There was one little tree not more than thirty yards from them, and then for 100 yards all

had moved off, But our drooping

was true the elephants and might now be miles away.

but
it

round
I

it

was open country.

left

my men

under cover of the

trees,

and

i88
crept

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
forward, sometimes on
faithful

with

hands and knees, behind me, until we reached the little tree into which I climbed to get a better view, although it was

my

gun-bearer just

scarcely

enough to bear my weight. them splendidly, and as I believed they had not caught sight of me, I thought I might first take a snap-shot with my camera that I had with me. Just as I was getting ready the largest bull became uneasy, and commenced sniffing and snorting and lashstrong

Now

could

see

ing himself into a rage, for he had evidently He was far too near for me got wind of us. to allow this to continue, so I quietly put

down
head.

the camera

He was
this

and levelled my .450 at his facing me, and under the best
is

conditions

other presented

itself,

hazardous shot, but no and something must be

done.

and the bullet struck the great frontal bone and only dazed him for a moment, doing no real damage, so I quickly gave him Alas for the second barrel a little lower down. me, this made matters worse, for he saw me, and being but slightly hurt, with a fearful trumpeting, he came dashing full speed straight
I

fired,

at

me.

few seconds needs conwhereas the acute crisis was siderable time, past in a moment, it seemed a lifetime to me.
record
the

To

next

for

LAKE ALBERT.
As
the
elephant,
also

189

huge monster came along, the second

a very large
bull,

joined him,

catching sight of
tiny sapling.

me

as

sat perched

upon

my

The awful noise alone was almost drive one mad or to at least upset enough to my calculations made with a view to stopping At the onward course of the two great beasts. the same moment that the two started their
headlong rush
for

me, the third elephant caught

left,

sight of the porters at forty yards to the

they having left their shelter to find out the result of the two shots fired, and immediately gave chase, but what happened there I did not

know

until afterwards,

nor did

much

care for

the moment, as

enough

to

my own predicament was demand my entire attention.

quite

Immediately I had fired the second shot which had such disastrous results, I commenced reloading, and by the time I had rammed in the second cartridge and closed up the breech, the big bull was less than ten paces from me,
still

coming right at me with trunk extended to utmost limit. In a twinkling I had fired, hardly waiting to get the gun to my shoulder. There was an awful crash, and I hardly knew what had happened, for mud and water were showered over. me but yes. No. i was down, the bullet had gone true, and a large black mass lay almost at my feet. But what about
its

igo

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

No. 2? he still came on. He had been a little behind the big one in starting, but now he too was quite close. When he saw the big bull fall all of a heap he stopped short, stretched out his trunk over his fallen companion, as if to find out what was wrong, and then with a most blood-curdling scream dashed forward right at me. I had hoped, and vainly hoped, that the shot at the big one would have driven him off, but again I was mistaken, and he was bent upon mischief. I had one shot ready in my gun, and even waited, hoping to the last that he would change his mind and alter his course, until he was about to seize me with his outstretched trunk. Then I fired point blank full in his face with my second barrel, and jumped for my life from the tree that so hardly bore my weight. There was a crash close to

where I had fallen, and I half fancied I had missed and that the beast was standing over me, and that in a moment all would be over. But all was perfectly still, and in a second or two I sat up and commenced rapidly reloading n^y g^"> which I still held in my hand, and then peeped round me. A huge black mass appeared like a rock a few feet away, and I knew at once that this was the elephant. But was it dead or not? that was the question. If alive, it needed but one movement from myself

LAKE ALBERT.
to betray

191

he would be after would rather not think of Very slowly and with utmost the consequences. caution I rose to my feet, keeping my gun in There seemed no movement from readiness. the mountain of flesh beside me, and I saw at any rate he was stretched out in the attitude of I walked up to him as death, he was so still.
me, and then

my whereabouts and

well,

quietly as possible,

gun

quite ready to shoulder

went his trunk, and swinging Fortunround his great head he faced me ately, he was on his knees and had to get to his feet before he could do me any harm, and the moment that it took him to do this was his last, for a bullet from the faithful .450 laid him His trunk when stretched out actually low. reached to the foot of the little tree up which I had been perched. All oi a tremble with the excitement of the moment I climbed on to my for my gunfallen foe's head and shouted bearer, and presently, as it seemed from my
!

when up

very few

he wriggled forth, for there, but a feet from the fallen monster, he had concealed himself in the soft mud, and lay comfeet,

pletely

buried in the

grass.

He

stood

before

from head to foot, with a me a mass of weird scared look, unspeakably funny, on his sat down and looked at each other, face.

mud

We

wondering how

in

the

name

of

all

that

is

192

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
we two
while
well,
little pigmies should be safe two colossal beasts with a

wonderful

and

thousand times our strength, lay within a few feet of each other stone dead. could not talk for a long time, and then my gun-bearer just said *^Kulika" (congratulations), and this broke the spell, and we both burst into one long fit of laughter. Now what about the porters. I asked the gun-bearer if he knew, and he said, ** Oh, they have gone, and the third elephant after them.'' I knew that, for I saw them go, but we felt we must not waste time as evening was coming on apace, so we called loudly for them, and after a little while one by one they came up, all from different quarters, they having spread out most Two of wisely when the elephant gave chase. them had been knocked over by it I found, but only a few bruises were the result, for finding there were so many of them the elephant had made

We

off,

and left them in security. The tusks of the big one measured over 6 feet long, and weighed more than 90 pounds each, while the second had
of

63 and 64 pounds respectively. This finished my elephant hunting by the Albert Lake, and the next day we commenced our journey back to Busindi, which place we reached after a few days' tramp through mud and rain, the wet season being upon us.
fine tusks

ACHOLI.

193

CHAPTER
ACHOLI.

X.

Due

north

of
is

Bunyoro,

across

the

beautiful

Victoria Nile,

the Acholi country, called by

the Baganda, Ganyi,

and by the people them-

I often looked across the broad selves, Gang. waters of that magnificent river towards this land with longing eyes, and wondered when it

would be possible
tribe
I

for

me

to

visit

the strange

of people

who

lived

there,

and of
I

whom

had heard a great deal from the Banyoro.

One

day, to

my

great astonishment,

received

a deputation of five stalwart natives of the Gang tribe, which had been sent by none other than the king of the Gang people himself. As I watched them approach our house with one of King Andereya's men leading them, I wondered who they were, and what brought them to me. Then I read the letter written by King Andereya, which was to introduce to me these strange
fellows.
It

read something like this

'^SiR,

These
great

men have come from

country called
across the Nile.

far

away,
to

from

the

Ganyi,

the

north of Bunyoro,
U.K.

They
G

are


194
sent

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
by
their

King Awich, and

they

come

to

see you.

^^They are a warlike people, but their message is one of peace, they want to be taught about God. They say they have heard how we in our country have received teachers and helpers, and why should they not have the same help. See these men then, my friend, and decide what you
will do."

It was indeed a *'call,*' and one was bound to give heed.

to

which

Strangely enough, a
faithful native helper,
:

few

weeks

before,

my

Nakiwafu, had said *^ Why should we not send help to the to me Ganyi people across the Nile to the north? They are a fine people and they surely need our help.'' Being unable to go myself at the time I had ^* I cannot leave Bunyoro just now, said to him but yotc go, and see what possibilities there are, and find out if the Ganyi people will receive He went, but met with you as a friend." so many serious difficulties before he got to the Nile famine and sickness being the chief that he was obliged to return, and his mission What therefore was to be done? had failed.
:

Nuwa

visited

the

King

of Bunyoro and several of

the big chiefs, seeking their advice.

said
:

The king

*^

Go

to these people,

you

will find friends.

ACHOLI.

195

Years ago I was taken to this country by my father Kabarega, and there I was left with many of my brothers and sisters, and the Ganyi people were kind to me, for I was a prince." Therefore, after much careful thought and many preparations, I decided to start off for a two months' journey into this land, and I propose giving an account of this, my first journey into
Acholi, in this chapter.

At the outset let me say that Acholi was not an utterly unknown country several fully armed caravans had passed through, and Government officials with large escorts of troops, starting from the Nile, had cut right through Acholiland into the country of the wild Bakidi to the east but up to this time none but strongly armed caravans had ever passed through the country,
;

and, as

learned afterwards,

it

was considered

a most dangerous enterprise upon which I now However, I expected much from the set out. help of the king, Awich, who had sent these

men

influence that

it was undoubtedly due to his gained so peaceful an entrance into that very dark land. I decided to cross the Nile half-way between Pajao and Paweri on nth August 1903, at a

to

me, and
I

place called Miyeri.

that
for

was

told

by the natives

should find some boats suitable the stormy passage across the river which
here
I

196
at
this

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

to

place was about 200 yards from bank bank, and above and below in a state of ferment caused by the rapids. Here at Miyeri the current was not so

boisterous
told

me
I

that

but strong enough, and the people it was the regular crossing. But
tiny
craft

when

saw the

that

was brought
would carry

out of the reeds on the river banks, and told

that this

was the
I

cockle-shell that
idea.

us across,

laughed at the
feet

was about eighteen

long,

The thing two-feet beam

with several large pieces smashed out at the side, bringing up the water to within an inch
or

two of the gunnel at the bottom were innumerable holes filled up with grass and was round-bottomed, and generally it fibre
;

water-logged.

told

the chief

duced
it,

this

craft

that

my
to

life

who had prowas worth far

more than what seemed

if this

be his estimate of

were the only thing to be between But he seemed quite me and drowning! hurt, and told me without a blush that the boat was perfectly safe, and that I need not fear, and to finish up with he said: ** Indeed, there is no bigger one between this and now will you believe that we can get Pajao *'Yes," I said, **of course you you across?" musty we are not going back now for anybody." So I accepted the inevitable. The
;

ACHOLI.
current seemed frightfully
sides,

197

strong even at the be in the middle? Before starting in the boat the old chief came

what would
said:

it

to

me and

*'May
the

practise

divination

I journey?" said *^ Certainly" what else could I say? He then collected some herbs, like clover, and sprinkled them over the bottom of the boat, then he stood over the boat and babbled away in an unknown tongue for a few moments, and finally spat This poor twice into it, and all was finished. dark heathen man in his way had committed

before

we commence

his white brother to the protecting care

of the

Great Spirit, praying that no harm might come to him, and that the tiny craft might convey This is the first him safely to the other side. time, so far as I know, that I have been prayed I wonder, are for by a dark heathen brother. such prayers heard and answered? Is it not likely that the Great Father hears with pity, even such prayers as these, and vouchsafes an answer? Truly I was greatly moved by this strange experience and shall never forget it. Two loads and two men got into the boat
for

the

first

perilous trip,

and
all

stood by the

bank

in mortal

dread

lest

should go to the

bottom.

The
ness,

old

and

boatman seemed to know his busiat first most carefully steered up

igS

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
;

stream, keeping close to the banks for thirty yards he kept his course, and then turned the In a moment it boat's head for midstream.

was

into

the fierce current

ten miles an hour. themselves at the bottom,

their
if

and swept along at The two porters prostrated

not daring to cast

eyes upon the water, and they looked as they were facing the last throes of mortal

But the solitary paddler knew his agony. work, and by a most skilful turn of his paddle the boat was again facing up stream, and fast making progress towards the opposite bank. Once more it was swept past us, when but a few yards from the shore, and again was brought up fifty yards down-stream into the

and at last made amongst the reeds almost opposite the starting-place, and the two porters sprang out into the shallow water, and literally danced
quieter waters of the far side,
the landing

a jig to celebrate their safe passage across the After this experience, I certainly felt that Nile. out of a big caravan like ours it was hardly likely
that all would get safely across, but while I was still debating in my mind as to whether I would allow others to follow, another canoe was

brought, which, although not so* large, certainly seemed more seaworthy and had fewer holes in This greatly helped matters. the bottom. mule, the gave trouble, as I feared January,

ACHOLL

199

he would. What he objected to was the fact that he was treated differently from the men he did not see why, for instance, he should not Each time it be allowed to sit in the boat. came to the shore for the boy who looked after the mule to get in, the beast made a jump for it too, and once actually succeeded in getting both his fore feet in, of course capsizing the canoe and submerging the boatman and muleand as there It was a laughable sight boy. were only a few feet of water, there was no but to see men and mule gracefully danger
; !
;

topple over into the water, splutter and splash

and finally make for the shore, was quite too funny to take seriously. Next time we were more successful, for January had at last discovered that resistance was useless, so when the canoe was once more afloat, and January was being urged forward, he made a good jump,
right into deep water,
over, for the

and

all

trouble

was then

and the
the side,

men pulled his head above water, canoe men paddled away for all they

were worth.
stream.

First up stream, keeping well to and then cutting right across the main

canoe touched this rushing torrent it was caught by the swirl, and hurled down-stream at a tremendous pace, and, to make matters worse, when about the middle, January renewed his efforts to get into the
as the

As soon

200

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

The canoe and there was nearly a smash. canoe men however played up grandly, and with the greatest skill shot the rapids and ran the boat into smooth water and finally paddled away to the opposite shore, safely landing poor January, none the worse for the ducking. Thus all ended well, not a life lost, and not even a saucepan lid missing. Cows, mule, porters, boys, and white man at last stood in Acholiland.

The work
till

of crossing had taken from 8 a.m.

3.30 p.m.

without a break,

and

now

the

plucky
present.

boatmen
of

came

for

their

promised

Ten
each
the

them had taken part

received

man

Rs.

in the work, and worth of beads, and

headman a good present

of cloth,

and

all

were most grateful. They bade us good-bye, and we were very soon utter strangers in an
utterly strange land.

Our

first

business was to

find

had had no food

to

path to the nearest village. The men all day, and had only a small reserve store with them, which I advised them
the

keep as long as possible, for we did not know when a fresh supply would be forthcoming. hunted about for a path, but a track of a wild animal here could find none climbed trees and there, and that was all. to get a view of the surrounding country, but

We

We

Qi

ACHOLI.
all

20I

no purpose, for dense bush seemed to envelop us on every hand. In despair I set a course due north, according to my little compass, and we tore our way through the brambles and thick grass for two mortal hours, and then we came to a dead stop. A river sixty feet wide was right in our course, and so deep, that a few feet from the bank it was far over the head of the tallest man in the
to

caravan.

Night was coming on apace, and I knew that in a very short time darkness would overtake Even us, so I gave the order to pitch camp. this was a difficulty, as there was scarcely room anywhere to place the tent, so thick was the jungle, and it was only by dint of hard work, chopping down the trees and clearing away the long grass, that at last we were able to prop the tent up sufficiently to form a covering for This was hardly done when there the night. was a downpour of rain so terrible that every fire was immediately extinguished, and the only light obtainable came from a tiny candle lantern The poor porters were drenched that I had. and miserable, and crowded round the fly-sheet of my tent to get a little shelter from the fierce blasts of wind and rain. Food was almost out of the question, and a few biscuits and jam were quite as much as I could get hold of, and

202
this

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
after

rations.

towards
us,
its

a day of real fatigue and short Sleep came to us after a time, well on morning however, for what with the
fast-rising river before

wind and the roar of the

soothing influences were long kept in Morning broke and everything was abeyance. wet and clammy, a very heavy dew ladened the trees with moisture, and even the bed-clothes seemed damp, and I shivered with the cold as One look at the I pulled on my wet garments. river convinced me that a passage was impossible it was a roaring torrent, carrying with it great masses of vegetation and huge branches The sun came out of trees and other debris at about eight o'clock, all was changed, the damp river mist had disappeared and the sparkling dew-drops were fast being absorbed by its warming rays. Parties of men were sent off
; !

both up and down stream, to try and find a crossing, while the few remaining in camp turned our surroundings into a laundry field, by hanging up their wet garments on the

branches of the trees to dry.

By and by
same
where
story to
;

the
tell.

men
**

returned,
is

all

with

the

There

no crossing anyits

lower

down
to

the river has overflowed

similar

banks. We had To this and

utterly

better return to the Nile."

all

suggestions,
it

refused

to listen.

**Let

be at once

ACHOLI.
understood,"
there
I

203
y

said,

^^we cross this river

and

if

is to be no turning back." next called my interpreter, and asked him he could swim, and if so, was he willing to

and get across the river and find the first Acholi village, and call the chief and people to our assistance? Yes, he could swim, and was quite willing to undertake the mission, and set off at once, negotiating the swift running stream in quite a In the meantime, it was professional manner. not for us to be idle, and providing half a dozen men with axes, I selected a great tree that overhung the river that was big enough, if felled, to span the stream, and set them to work to chop it down. For two hours they worked with might and main, and then ominous cracks and creaks told of the speedy fall of the mighty tree. A few more well-directed blows, and down it came with a tremendous crash, and for a moment it seemed as if a substantial bridge had been formed, upon which porters and men could scramble across. But alas, alas it was only for a moment, and the great tree trunk was carried off before our eyes and tossed and broken by the terrific force of the water, and all our work was in vain. We had
try
!

just decided to attack another forest giant

when

we heard a

cry

coming from the

far

bank, and

204

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
we saw
the interpreter with
fifty

looking across
to

or sixty stalwart Acholi warriors,

who had come

our assistance, accompanied by their chief. As soon as they saw our difficulty they said **Why do you not make a rope?" Well, we had hardly given this a thought, and besides,

w^here

was the material

Acholi
fellows

these

But to come from? knew what they were

banks,

talking about, and in a very few minutes they

and were tree and plaiting it into a rope of about an inch in diameter. In an hour, the rope was longenough to reach to our side of the river, and then one of the Acholi men plunged in with the rope round his waist to bring it across. But even he, good swimmer that he was, could not battle with the rushing torrent, and in a moment he was swept down the stream and was only brought to land by his fellows pulling at the rope from the bank. He was much exhausted, and had to sit quiet for the rest of the Another great fellow stepped forward, and day. taking the rope he wound it round his arm, and plunged in fifty yards up stream, leaving the other end in the hands of a companion. He struck out boldly for the opposite bank, and it seemed as if he at least would reach us, but again the current proved too strong, and he
all

had scattered

collecting the

barks

along the from a

certain

ACHOLI.

205

too was carried far out of our sight, and hauled back in a similar way to his friend. But he determined to try again, and after a rest he went up to the river, and plunging in, struck out with all his power, and this time he reached our bank of the river, but not before he had been swept a great distance down the stream. This seemed to me a good beginning, for where there is indomitable pluck of this kind, surely other good qualities are to be found, and so it subsequently proved. The Acholi have got lots

of courage.

Having once got the rope across the river, was comparatively easy. The rope was Acholi firmly tied to a stump on either bank. men entered the water and hung on to the rope
the rest

from each other, so that was a chain of men. The loads were then brought one by one and very slowly, and not without many a ducking under water, were passed from man to man resting on their heads, until at last everything but the cows and the white man had crossed the There were three cows and each had a flood.
at distances of

a few

feet

right across the river there

calf.

The

calf therefore

first

had

its

legs tied

together,

and was passed over the stream in the same way as the loads, and from the opposite bank commenced calling for its mother, who, cow-like, would face anything for its offspring.

2o6

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
into

jumped
across.
I

the

river,

and

quickly

swam

then went about

fifty

yards up stream, un-

garments to an Acholi man to carry across high and dry on his head, and plunged in, and in spite of the strong current which took me some distance down the
dressed,
river past the landing-place,
I

and gave

my

managed

to

across.

And now we were

all

safely over,

swim and

night was fast approaching, the nearest village was two hours' walk from the river, and we had

my mule, I followed once led off through this we struck after the bush to the nearest path an hour's walk, and very soon found ourselves At first the people surrounded by villages. seemed shy, and kept out of our way, but when they saw my tent pitched in one of their own
no time
to spare.

Mounting

the Acholi guide,

who

at

villages, close to their chief, they

came

in great

me, and quite got over their I soon found that their language was shyness. utterly strange to me, and indeed that it was not a Bantu language at all, but closely allied to the Kinubi, as spoken by the Nubian soldiers in Uganda, which is a bastard form of Arabic. Fortunately, as I have said, I had with me a man who understood the language, and was I told the able to make my wishes known. chief at once that my first aim was to visit the

numbers

to greet

ACHOLI.
great

207

Awich, his king, and that it was he who had sent urgent messages to me to visit his ccuntry, that he and his people might be taught, and therefore I had undertaken this long
journey.

Ihis
turned

young
to

chief,

whose name
said:
^'I

is

Ojigi, then

longed be sent to my country. Your messengers have been living amongst the people in Chopi and helping them, why have they never crossed the Nile to come to us ? heard long ago that the Banyoro and the Baganda had learned to worship the white man s God, but we too want to be taught to do the same. Do you fear that we should ill-use the teachers you might send to us, that we might become wise? Does the starving man turn away from the food that is brought to him ? The wild beasts of the wilderness are glad when the fierce fires burn up the coarse and tangled grass that the new shoots may come up and provide them with good pasturage, and do you think we should mind the destruction of our old and worn-out customs of religion, if you provide us with good food that shall strengthen our souls?" With such words as these I was greatly encouraged and for seven days I stayed at this young chiefs place, and every day great crowds of naked savages came to visit me, many from
too have
for teachers

me and
to

We

2o8

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

very long distances, and the universal cry fron *^ all was: Teach us, and help us, we are m great need." From early dawn till late at night
they
It

sat

around
feel

my

tent,

children,

perfectly friendly

men, women, snd and in real earnest.

-that

made one
mercy of

ashamed

for

all

tiese
left

centuries they

had been neglected and

their

to

the

own

idle

superstitions and

heathenism, while there evidently existed the dormant longing for something better, something that would uplift. And I knew that I held the secret, and I determined, by God's help, to unfold it to them. Before I write more I must endeavour to describe a few of the customs, etc., of the Gang people as they appeared to me in these early days of my acquaintance with them, and it will then be better understood how great and pressing their need is. Dress. The old men and chiefs adorn themselves with iron or ivory rings round ankles and arms with a tiny skin-apron worn in front. The lower lip is pierced, and through the hole is pushed a rod of pointed glass, usually a piece of a broken bottle rubbed smooth, about four inches long, or else a piece of polished wood or iron. This gives a most curious effect, especially when the wearer is angry, for he will draw it up and thrust it outwards, like the sting of a hornet.

ACHOLI.
The
ears are also pierced at the top

209

and brasswire rings inserted. The young men, the '* bucks" of society, are much more elaborately ornamented, they too wear a small skin-apron round the waist, and the glass spike from the
lip, but the head-dress is their distinguishing feature. This consists of a curiously worked cone of matted hair, with beads neatly stitched

lower

and an empty cartridge Old gun caps are also fastened into the base of the cone, and are polished bright, giving quite a gaudy appearance. The hair cone is held on to the head by a string of cut shells, round the back of the head, and a long iron pin pushed right through the cone into a matted mass of hair underneath. Ostrich and parrot feathers are often stuck into the hair at the back, and give a very wild appearance to the wearer. Right on the crown of the head just behind the cone a curved spike of ivory is fastened on to the hair, the
in a pattern

round

it,

case stuck in at the top.

This spike varies some I saw were probably six inches long, while others were not more than two inches. Brass and iron rings are wound tightly above the biceps of the arms, and also round the wrists and ankles thick brass and copper rings are worn on the fingers and thumbs. They always go about with their
in

point bent towards the front.

length

2IO

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

spears and arrows and look far more ferocious than they really are. Many of the young

men wear the horrible wrist-knife so well known amongst the tribes of the North-East, but never
This knife is really a circular blade fastened on to the wrist over a leather padding in time of peace,
further

seen

south

than

Acholi.

a leather shield

is

placed over the cutting edge.

One can

quite understand most ghastly

wounds

being given with this horrible instrument, the edge of which is always kept very sharp. A peculiar '* knob-kerry " is often carried; it is a long stick with a thick ring of iron fastened on by shrinkage to the end, weighing possibly two pounds, and the indentations made on the craniums of the people with this weapon
are quite

common

in

every village.

The

little

boys wear a very becoming waist-band made of woven strings of grass, reaching to the hips. They have no other ornamentation unless they happen to be chiefs* sons, and then they wear big iron rings on the ankles.

and the well-to-do men who conEuropean settlement all aspire to left-off soldiers' coats, and in a short time one becomes acquainted with most of the regimental uniforms of the British army, and however torn and discoloured they may be, they form the state

The

chiefs

stantly visit the

dress of the

**

upper ten

" in Acholiland.

ACHOLI.

211

The women's dress consists of a series of ornaments, for no cloth or covering is worn by them. A mass of beads round the neck artistically
arranged, so as to form a high collar at the back ears pierced like that of the Elizabethan period
;

with brass and copper wire, pins inserted all round the outer lobe, looking rather like a string

arms and wrists and ankles of hooks and eyes encased in spiral wire a string of beads round the waist from which hangs in front a tiny fringe of grass-made string with a similar but much larger fringe hanging down at the back like a tail. A few of the old women wear a long leathern apron at the back, reaching to about the knees the hair is allowed to grow long and is matted
;

and twisted much in the same way as that of Nubian women. Red paint mixed with fat and smeared all over the body gives a most grim appearance.

The little girls are similarly adorned, but not quite so profusely. So much for the dress of the people. On the whole, one would call them a fine race
Probably if they would make a fighting race, but owing to the fact that there is no one chief who successfully governs the whole country and each small district has its king or head chief all
physically,

but not warlike.

had a

leader, they

their warlike

have been displayed in incursions amongst themselves one chief raiding

instincts
;

212

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

another who lives at the next village, or crossing the border into Bukidi country to steal the cattle. Houses, They build very fine houses on the same principle as those built by the Nubian

is made of strong about four feet high, and from the wall is built up a beehive-shaped roof with grass thatch put on in long circular They are kept very clean inside and no ridges. Morning and evening grass is used on the floor. the lady of the house can be seen sweeping out the whole establishment with a grass-made brush, and as no fire is kept in the house, the place is Being a cornbeautifully clean and healthy. consuming race, the Acholi people have their

soldiers.

circular wall

stakes covered with

mud

grain stores, tiny wattle and daub huts, set up

about two feet from the ground and covered with a grass-thatched roof, form most

on

piles

excellent granaries.
Millet seed
scarce,
is

the staple food, potatoes very

but there are

plenty of
is

ground

nuts.

Bulo (very small

millet)

also largely used in

some

districts.

Ganyi people are most diligent all the young men and women set out early in the morning with their spades, cooking pots and food for the day to the distant gardens. All cultivation is done far away from the villages, and there they spend the whole day.
Cttltivation,

As
;

cultivators, the

ACHOLI.

213

Towards sundown they return home, playing on their pipes and singing, thus forming one of the most pleasant sights to be seen in Ganyi. It is quite unusual in Africa to see men and women at work in the gardens at the same time. It is one
to be thankful for, however, for
it

surely indicates

something better than the idea of slavery for the

women. The villages

the houses
Religion.
all

are usually built within a stockade, being very close together, with an
in the middle.

open courtyard

set apart to the favoured spirit of the tribe. This latter is neatly built, with fine dried grass on the floor, in the centre of which is sometimes to be seen a curious iron spear stuck in the ground, blade uppermost. The blade is about two inches long, with two or three barbs from one to two inches in length. Into this hut no stranger is permitted to enter even I was not allowed to do so. In the other smaller huts pots of honey or grain and other propitiatory offerings are placed a dead stick is planted by the side, having many branches, and
;

Before each house are devil huts so common amongst races and generally one big hut,

erected

little

the

African

on

to this are

hung

trophies of the chase, such

as antelope skulls and horns, heads of lions

leopards,
giraffe
all

and
etc.

skulls

and

skins,

horns,

These are

regarded as sacred.

214

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

already mentioned

of the big courtyard a large wooden erection of rough seats, raised one above the other, at the bottom of which is a space for a fire. On these
Sociability.
is

In the centre
early

seats,

in

the
all

morning and

late

in

the

the warriors of the village collect with their chief to discuss the affairs of the day. To one side of the courtyard innumerable stakes
are driven
cattle are

evening,

into

the ground,

and

to

these

the

tethered for the night.

Although the

admirably adapted for the grazing of large herds, and most of the chiefs have many head of cattle, they cannot be called a cattleThey have obtained them by loving people. constant raids on the Bakidi, and retain them merely as a source of wealth, seldom using the milk, keeping them specially for bartering for wives, one wife costing five head of cattle, often more. Very briefly to describe the country Country. short grass, undulating stretches of fine open plains with here and there a majestic peak breaking the monotony. In parts are magniAlong the banks of the ficent tropical forests.
country
is

Nile the land

lies

low,

and the heat

is

intense,

but away inland to the east, on the uplands, the climate seems to be all that one could desire. Game. Game is plentiful, Uganda cob, water-

buck,
rhino,

reed-buck,
giraffe,

bush-buck,

orobi

elephant,

and a few

buffalo.

Lions and

ACHOLI.
the cat tribe.

215

leopards are very plentiful, and other animals of

coinage of the country is brass blue beads are preferred on wire and beads the west, and white on the east, but fashions constantly change.
Coinage.
;

The

life,

Care of Children. one thing that

with

With
I

reference to village

particularly noticed

was
the
to

the great care the

especially

women
is

took of their children,

In

regard to cleanliness.

early

morning the child

washed from head

foot with

warm

water, so unlike the custom of

subject their
their

the
little little

Baganda and Banyoro, who

ones to
beds.

a cold douche straight from

The

tiny children are carried about

on

their mothers' backs, perched

trapeze suspended from the

on a kind of woman's neck, and

a stout leather covering protecting their little backs from the fierce rays of the sun, and over the little one's head is placed half a gourd to act The effect of this care is that as a sunshade. the child grows up sturdy and well-favoured, and the horrible disease of scabs, so common in other parts of Africa, is seldom seen here. Jiggers too are conspicuous by their entire
absence.
Morality.
effort

Another
the
the

striking

feature

is

the

made by

householders

against

im-

morality

among

young men and women.

2i6

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
are kept in their houses

The young women

soon after dark, and the young unmarried men have to live in curiously constructed houses erected on piles many feet above the ground. The entrance to these places consists of a circular hole, not more than a foot in diameter, to reach which they have to climb a rough wooden ladder. On the ground below the hut fine dust is sometimes sprinkled after the occupants have retired to rest, the object of the dust being to detect the slightest footprint of any who at night might attempt to ascend or descend the ladder. This custom has probably been gathered from the Bakidi, as it gradually disappears towards the west of the country. So much for the customs and habits of the people of Acholiland. I must now return to particulars of my doings vluring the seven days I spent at Alokolumu. very soon found that there was a great I opportunity of winning the people's confidence by giving out to them medicines for their various ills, so I told the chief Ojigi that if he would .nake it known to his people that the white man would distribute medicines to the sick, I would do my best to relieve as many suffering ones as The first day 130 poor afflicted ones possible. came to me with all kinds of ills. Some had bullet wounds and spear thrusts that they had

ACHOLI.
received while quarrelling.
distinct spear

217

One man had six wounds, any one of which seemed to me to have been sufficient to have killed an ordinary white man. Another had a broken leg he had fallen into a pit while out hunting. Several women displayed most terrible ulcers that through long neglect had penetrated to the little children were brought with very bone
;
;

covered with putrefying sores. It was a sad sight, and taxed all my powers of endurance, to say nothing of my medical skill.
their bodies

But the gratitude of the people, although seldom

expressed by word, seemed very genuine, and from morning until evening I gladly accepted my self-

imposed task. Several evenings, when it was dark, I gave a display with the magic lantern, and almost the whole place turned out to the show. Picture the scene a crowd of between four and five hundred naked savages, many of them carrying their spears and knives, sitting in dead

silence before the strange white sheet Trith the

circular disc of light in the centre
us, black darkness.
;

all

around

The

first

picture is flashed

on the sheet it is the picture of an elephant and many start off into the long grass, and then come shyly back again and peep round the other side of the sheet like monkeys do with a lookingglass to see if the rest of him is there Then a shriek o* laughter, that does one good to hear,

2i8

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

breaks the stillness of the night, as the people gradually learn that it is the wonderful wisdom of the white man, and not a living beast at all. And so right on into the night the show is
kept up until, tired out, I ask the still eager crowds to retire, and let me get some rest. Another day I visited several large villages close by, and everywhere was greeted in the most cordial manner, finding that I had been raised to the rank of *' Kwelobo," the ^^Bringer of Peace," which henceforth became my native name and was soon known throughout the land. not soon forget a visit I paid to a I shall grand old savage living a few miles away His village was perched on from the camp. a hill overlooking a beautiful fertile valley. It consisted of about thirty large and wellbuilt houses,

each with

its

three or four

little

granaries,

and several
huts

of

the

curiously-built

bachelors'

already

mentioned.

As

walked towards his house the old chief came out to meet me, a tall, powerfully-built man, with a magnificent profile, looking every inch a man. He greeted me by seizing both my hands in his mighty grasp, and for a moment
looked into

my

face

without a word,
I

then he

spat on the ground and said *'Larema,*' which

means
Still

**

friend,'*

and

holding

my

simply replied ^^Larema.'* hand, he led me towards the

ACHOLL
curious wooden structure which place for all the men, and asked
is

219

a meetingto sit with

me

him

there while he talked with me.

leathern

from which was suspended a short skinapron, was all the clothing he wore, but he was plentifully adorned with ornaments of all His hair had been allowed to grow kinds. long, and was collected at the back under a coarse kind of hair-net, made of plaited grass Around his bedecked with coloured beads. neck was a necklace made of teeth from the lions and leopards that he and his men had killed, and in addition to this was a curious iron collar, an inch and a half deep, of polished iron wire, fastened cunningly at the back with From this was suspended a a metal clasp. charm that hung half-way down his broad bare merely a crooked piece of stick covered chest with beads, but meaning much to him. On his arms at the biceps muscle was a spiral of iron wire polished quite bright, and around each wrist were solid iron bracelets, each weighHis ankles had ing half a pound at least. similar rings of heavy iron, which I noticed were suspended by thin string from above the knee, in order to take the great weight off His body was smeared all the ankle itself. over with grease and red ochre, a very plentiful supply being put upon the hair.
girdle,
;

220

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM,
this

With
interested

old

man

sat

and

chatted,

while his people gathered round us,

in

intensely

all I had to say. The old chief had never before seen a white man " face to face but once, the great ** Langalanga (Colonel Delme Radcliffe) had passed that way, but he had viewed him at a great distance, '^You see,'' being afraid to approach near. he said, '^you are not men like us; you come from some far-off land, you have great wisdom, you clothe yourselves and have strange food

said that he

that

we cannot

eat,

but," he said, eyeing

^^yoic

me

with

evident satisfaction,

are

my

friend

this hour, I have looked upon you, and He was a dear, taken your hand in mine." simple old soul, and quite took my fancy. I then tried to explain to him what had brought me to his country, and he listened with increas-

from

ing interest, and finally said: *^Will you indeed stay with us in our country and be our friend always and teach us every day?" and I replied that I hoped to be able to do this, but first had a long journey before me, Then as I wished to visit his king, Awich. he called one of his attendants and ordered him to bring me a pot of honey, and with this as a parting gift I left him, with the sincere

hope of
acfain.

meeting

this

interesting

old

fellow


ACHOLL

22^

CHAPTER XL
ACHOLi
{continued).

In the previous chapter I have briefly described my journey to, and a short stay at, Ojigi's place, and as I have said, we stayed s^^ven days there, each day being fully occupied with talking to the people, giving out medicine to
the sick,
all

and occasional lantern shows

at night,

of which helped to gain the confidence of

these wild yet simple folk.

On

the eighth
for

tramped

over the beautiful hills covered with short green grass, passing through innumerable villages out of which

day we many hours

left

Alokolumu, and

came crowds
across

of

excited
rivers,

natives
all

to

see

me
were

many deep

of which
last

flooded by constant rain.

another big village, in belonging to a nice old fellow called Lugwete. had one unfortunate mishap the man who was carrying the load containing the food

we reached which we camped,

At
;

We

and

all the culinary necessaries for the day, while crossing one of the tiny streams, slipped on a rock and fell, to the total destruction of
all

the contents.

5222

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
fellow
fell

The poor

right
for

on to

his

nose,

and was badly hurt and

not continue his journey.

some time could

Lugwete, a fine-looking old patriarch, came out to meet me, apologising for his people, many of whom had run away, fearing the
white
village.
I thanked him for his kind welcome, and requested him to send out at once to the runaways, beg them to return, and assure them there was no danger, and that I had no soldiers. I told

man

hacf

come

to

make war

in

the

him

also that

would buy

all

food needed for

my

porters at a fair market price.

this

he objected strongly, stating it was sell food to one who had come to visit them. I thanked him, and asked where I might put my tent. He said: **My hut is there, will you build your tent close to
not their custom to
it?''

To

To

this

consented.
to

He

next busied himself in collecting a great

it

quantity of flour, and brought

me, with

the additional present of a fine fat tailed sheep.

retarned the compliment by presenting him with a quantity of cloth, more than the value of the food, as I did not wish him to think that I
I

was unwilling

to

pay

for

what
of

had.

He was
were

greatly delighted.

When

the

formalities

my

reception

ACHOLL
over, he

223
tent with several

came and
I

sat in

my

of his under chiefs,

now

returned,

and all his people having told him plainly what my

mission was to their country. I said: ^'It is peace that brings me here, not Other Europeans have been in this country war. with soldiers and guns, having other work to

do
I

come without these, and I am your guest. you and to teach you how you may become a great and useful chief.'' He
;

desire to help

and then assured me he and would willingly be taught the wisdom of the white man. His village was a large and prosperous one
listened
attentively,
friend,

was

my

a great herd of cows, several flocks of sheep and goats, bespoke wealth. His young men all clustered round him and he seemed to possess a great influence over them. In his village I found several Banyoro who had been brought over the border by Kabarega and sold as slaves to the Acholi, but all of these young men with whom I conversed said how happy they were, and that they had no desire to return to Bunyoro. They had married Acholi girls, and had homes of their own, and the chief was good to them, what more could they wish for? When the
chief
left

my

tent

at

night,

felt

sure that

had secured another true

friend

amongst these

224

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

I longed for the time when should be able to settle down amongst them. At daybreak I found that a very large number had gathered round my tent for medical treatment, and although I wanted to make a long journey that day, I was considerably delayed, as I could not pass on without rendering what When the last aid I could to these sufferers. pill had been given, and the last patient had gone away satisfied that he had been attended nine o'clock in the morning, to, it was past were told we had a long and terribly hot. way to go, and so it proved to be a most exhausting journey, taking us more than eight hours to walk, and must have been close upon twenty miles. One great river, the Aswa, had to be crossed twice, and as the water was up to our necks and there was a swiftly flowing current, it was no easy matter to get across. More than one porter was swept away off his feet

Acholi people, and

I

We

while

crossing,

and was

submerged

together

with his load, causing a long delay. Provisions were spoiled, and porters exhausted, to make no mention of the great anxiety one felt, not only for one's own health, but also for the
real danger we were often in, as there were deep holes and pools into which, if once carried, np easy matter to get out again. it would be One poor fellow had a fit just as he had stepped

ACHOLI.

225

on to the bank, and was in great danger of losing his life as he fell back into the water. Fortunately his companion seized him in the nick of time, but it was a long while before he

was able

to proceed

on his journey.

were, that when at last we all arrived on the opposite shore, we were wet and thoroughly down-hearted and miserable, and

The consequences

as

if

to

show

their

sympathy with our

drip-

ping condition, the heavens poured forth a deluge of rain. And so on we went for a few days, through swamp and river and rain, and
a host of other discomforts, calculated to damp the ardour of the most energetic. had hitherto been going through more or

We

open country, very few trees and, for miles as far as the eye could reach, great green, undulating plains, studded here and there with the majestic fan-palms, and occasionally a cluster
less

of mimosa and acacia trees along the banks of some rushing riven But now there came a change we entered a thickly wooded country of stunted and dwarfed trees, with a mass of tangled undergrowth, that greatly impeded our progress. Again the path seemed obliterated, and had it not been for
;

the timely assistance of a native guide, obtained at the previous village, we should have got

on very badly indeed. We saw many antelope which seemed wild and unapproachable, also great tracks made
U.K.

226

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

by elephants and a few rhinoceros, but hunting was far away from our thoughts as we fought our way along through thicket and swamp. After two days of this, when we were really beginning to feel we had had more than enough, we sighted a fine green hill away to the east, and our guide immediately turned our course
in

that direction.

afternoon we ascended this hill, top of it we found to our great pleasure a very large village with two or three others near, and the old chief, Obona, at once

The same
at

and

the

came out
delight at

to

greet us and expressed his great

arrival.

my

ago heard of

preparation being to present me I at first told to make a feast of rejoicing. wish receive his I did not to offering, that him but would gladly buy it from him, but this greatly offended him, and without more ado had the beast killed, presenting half of the I body to the chiefs men, and giving the rest
porters. With this arrangement he As soon as ever my highly pleased. seemed tent was pitched (by the chiefs wish it was next to his hut) we were surrounded by crowds of people, eager and inquisitive to examine all my possessions, and it was not until curiosity was satisfied that I had the least chance to explain why I had come, and then with the
to

my coming, and for my reception,

appears he had long had made every the first thing with a bull with which
It

my

ACHOLL
setting
several

227

sun as a background, the chief and hundreds of the people sitting before my tent, once more I was able to tell the *^01d Old Story'' to those to whom it was
It

so new.
w^as

dark before

had

finished,

and then
It

the old chief

began
:

to tell

his story.

ran

something
^^I

like this

am an
in

old
the

man,

Europeans
greatest
of

Gang

seen many but the country,

have

them all was the man who called himself Baker Pasha. ^ He had with him his wife, and he built a house on the hill over yonder, and there he lived for many months. I went to him as a young man and became his He had to tell us many personal servant. things, and we loved him because he talked to us he was kind to us and helped us in our sorrows, and fought against our enemies. He tried to teach us, and then was taken from us, but not before he had become a veritable We loved him and his wife, and we father.
;

love

their memory still, because they were kind to us. And now you have come. You lell us you are a teacher you have allowed us into your tent, and shown to us all your things, and have spoken to us with loving words. Will you stay with us and be our teacher always? will listen to your words, we will eagerly seek to be taught by you. I
;

We
Sir

Samuel Baker.

228

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
old,

am

but

look to

my

son

when Baker Pasha was with us

he he

was born
is

strong,

and will quickly learn wisdom. When I am dead he will be chief; for his sake, stay and teach us. I have said my words.'' The old man's pleading was touching in the extreme, and it was difficult to know how to answer this stirring appeal. But I had yet far to go, and I told the old man that I wanted first to visit the King Awich, and would then return by his village and see what arrangements could be made. He was very grateful for this promise, and
said that his son Ali should

accompany me

to

insure

my

return to him.

The

next morning,

therefore, after a hearty

farewell,

we

set off for

our next camp.

We
large

pitched
village,
trees.

the

tent

in

another

thickly

populated

district,

close

to

the stockade of a

under

a
the

fan-palm

The
at

village

clump of magnificent is called Ogwenyi,

foot

and
hills

is

situated

of

the

range of

upon which built. station was

Baker's old It is a lovely country, thickly covered with groves of the fan-palms.
Sir

Samuel

The
and

river

Unyama

flows
is

between

this

village

Baker's

Camp, and

at this time

of the

year in full flood (being the wet season), and uncrossable. The old houses built more than forty years ago I was told were still visible; the walls

ACHOLI.
having been
the
built

229

they have resisted The African cHmate. place seemed to be held sacred by the natives, and all speak of its former occupants with
of stone,

ravages

of

the

reverence and affection.

The village by which we camped was governed by an under chief, the chief of the district, Owin, being at the time at Nimule. His second-in-command provided me with I was so plenty of food, and was very kind. march, long my however, after that exhausted had soon to seek my bed, and had but I of speaking to the natives. little opportunity It was here that I heard of serious raids that had been made upon the natives by the Bakidi, whose territory adjoins this on the east. These stealthy enemies come over in the darkness of the night, and while the Acholi

man

is

fast

asleep they

set

loose

his

cattle

that are tied to stakes driven into the

by the side of the village, and knowledge of their presence has reached the
people,
village

ground before any

they are
in

off

before them.

Once
I

which
all

driving the herd occurred in the very was camped. At dead of

again,
this

night

still I lay sleepless upon when my camp bed, when I thought I heard a movement amongst the cattle that were

was

tethered close

The
to

to where my tent was erected. was so slight that I did not trouble get up and see what was going on, and it

noise

230
is

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
for

did not, for there were Bakidi men fully armed, bent upon robbing the Acholi of their goods. The noise continued, and presently the lowing of one of the big bulls seemed to be an alarm, for there was a stampede amongst the cattle, and then all was still again. No native
well
that
I

me

thirty

or

forty

wild

seemed to have moved, and at last I slept, never dreaming how near I was to danger. In the very early dawn, however, there was great excitement among the villagers, when they found that ten of their best head of cattle had gone, and the tell-tale footprints bore witness to the fact that raiders had been busy. The chief came to me in great grief, asking my advice, for this, he said, was the second time that the Bakidi had made a midI said his best night raid upon his beasts. plan was to go to the Government official at Wadelai, and report the case to him. ^^What will he do?'* said my friend, and was nonplussed, for I knew that the I enough to attack force Collector had not
these very powerful enemies.

However, I tried to persuade the chief that He said no more this was his only course. an angry look with to me, but went away What he did, I heard diat meant mischief.
afterwards.

and putting

Calling together his most trustworthy warriors at their head, he his own son

ACHOLI.

231

commissioned them to follow the raiders, and kill and destroy as many as possible and to collect
the stolen cattle.

party was about one hundred strong, and two days followed up the trail, and then came upon a large body of the Bakidi and a Both sides fought bravely, the fight ensued.
for

The

Acholi

men

trusting chiefly to their old gaspipe

guns and throwing spears, while the Bakidi used short lances and bows and arrows. It did
not last long, however, for the Acholi were speedily overwhelmed by a far superior force,

and only about twenty of them got back

village.

to their

Their leader w^as killed, but not before he had speared the Bakidi chief and, according to his own followers, had fought most desperately and valiantly. The twenty, however, came back,

and strangely enough

village again, soon after their return,

for them, as at that time they were quite at the mercy of these raiders, and although they were paying tribute to the British Government they were not receiving the protection from their enemies that they could

up the wounds of I was very sorry

was present in the and bound the vanquished. Poor fellows,

I

claim.

few more days' heavy tramping brought us to a great Bari village belonging to a chief of much distinction, as a few years ago he had been taken to the coast with one of the military
officers.

232

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

This chief is a prince, a tall handsome man with an intelligent and bright face. He welcomed me in a kind but stately manner, being dressed in a bright red uniform. He asked me to put my tent in the big open courtyard before his house then after a little while he came in great state to visit me, accompanied by many of his under chiefs and people. He proceeded to ask me innumerable questions
;

Where
going?
I

had

come from ?
etc.

What was my
me ? why
I

mission?

Where was I Had I any

soldiers with

So

explained to him

there and then I had come, and what

wished

to do.

Having ascertained that I was a teacher from Uganda, he told me of his visit to Entebbe, when he had accompanied Major (now Colonel) Delme Radcliffe on his way home. He said that Delme Radcliffe had shown to him all the
wonders of Entebbe, and he had been intensely
interested
in

noting

the

great
to

Waganda.

He

also

went

wisdom of the Kampala (Mengo),

and was told by the Katikiro about the missionary work going on there, reading, writing and All these religious worship in the churches. had made a great impression upon his mind. Before his return to his own country. Major

Delme Radcliffe told him that he too should have the opportunities of education and religion, ** And now,*' for teachers should soon be sent. many waited have to *'we me, said he, turning


ACHOLL
years and

233

hitherto no teacher has been sent, you have come, and you tell us that you are a teacher, and we beg of you to stay with us." I replied that my desire was to start

but at

last

a mission in that country as soon as ever arrangements could be made but first I must return to Uganda and obtain permission from ^*Yes," said he, ^^you will those in authority. go away and leave us and forget all about us, and we shall still remain in our ignorance." assured him it was not so, and that in a I little time he would hear of my coming again. The next day I had a great many patients come to me for medicine, and long interesting In chats with Olia and many of his people.

the afternoon
villages,

visited several of the adjoining

and
of

got

quite

friendly with
children.

a large
I

number

women and

arranged for a big lantern show in the midst of the great courtyard we erected the screen and then, when all the people were quietly seated, the first picture was flashed on to the sheet it was again that famous picture of an The wildest excitement immediately elephant. prevailed, many of the people jumping up and shouting, evidently fearing the beast must be alive. Those nearest the screen sprang up and fled, while the chief crept stealthily forward and peeped behind the screen to see if the animal had a body. When he discovered that the elephant's body was only the thickness of the

At night

234
sheet,

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
a great roar of laughter broke the
stillness

of the night.

The show continued

and then Olia
with me.
till

until nearly nine o'clock,

told

me

he wanted a further talk

entered the tent together, and right on midnight we sat and talked of the ^^way of life.'' Then a terrific storm came on, making all further conversation hopeless. While here, we witnessed all the ceremonies
vSo

we

past

of a heathen funeral.
in

A man who was cultivating was struck by lightning, and was immediately killed. His grave was dug by the
the fields
side of his house, a small round hole, broadening

Into this the body out towards the bottom. was put, and wicker framework placed over the Over this were spread top of the open grave. various clothes and ornaments he had been in the habit of wearing, surmounted by an old Round the grave sat all his wives, umbrella. crying and shrieking, throwing themselves upon
the ground, sometimes shouting their husband's His old mother with a name into the pit.

rough rope

tied

round

her

waist,

knotted

at

the back with two ends streaming behind, and grasping in her hands a bundle of the deceased's

arrows, walked round and round the circle of women, occasionally slapping them on the back and urging them to display their grief. Surrounding the women were the warriors in all
their

war-paint,

with

spears

and

bows

and


ACHOLL
arrows in their hands, dancing
the

235

and chanting
chant

merits

of

the

dead.

The
:

being

interpreted to
!

me

ran as follows

Oh AH, thou wast rich in cows and women, Thou hadst many slaves to serve thee But now thou art poor, very poor, Your possessions are given to another.
;

After each chant the old mother would approach to the grave and beat the earth for a second,

and shout three times while leaning over the Every now and then grave, *^Ali, Ali, Ali." the women would spring up and race across the courtyard, turning somersaults, and fling-

would climb on

ing themselves violently to the ground. Others to the roofs of the houses and throw themselves to earth. from thence It was an awful sight, and the poor creatures worked themselves up into a frenzy of hysterical weeping. This went on for three days and
nights.

From Prince Olia's place to Nimule (the Government Post on the Nile) is a distance of close upon thirty miles, following the roundabout roads of the natives in order to miss the big rivers and swamps. Although we started our terrible tramp about 8 o'clock a.m., the last man did not reach Nimule until 8 p.m. The country we passed through was infested with many herds of elephants, and about two hours* tramp from Olia's we came upon a sad


236
sight

; !

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

the dead body of a Uganda man just covered over with a few green branches he had been killed by an infuriated cow elephant
;

was as follows Three men were returning from Nimule with loads of cloth with which they wished to barter amongst the Acholi people. One of these men was walking a little in advance of his fellows, and suddenly discovered that there was a
the story
:

large herd of elephants close at hand, feeding

amongst the

trees.

He

called out in the

Uganda

fashion for his

come along quickly, that they might keep together, when a great female, that had a small calf by her side, made a dash for him, evidently fearing that he had come to molest them and injure her calf. The poor fellow dropped his load and fled, but was quickly
friends to

round the body with the huge creature's trunk, and thrown violently and then finding him still to the ground alive the beast proceeded to trample him to His two friends rushed up, shouting death. and screaming, and eventually succeeded in driving the infuriated creature away, but alas
overtaken,

and

seized

their

companion was dead, and

his

body was

crushed out of all recognition, and so they covered him with a few branches and leaves, and passed on their way. Arriving at Nimule, tired out with the tremendous march, I was directed to pitch my

ACHOLI.
tent

237

by the kind in the market-place, and ihoughtfulness of the Indian trader was given of his hut. The shelter under the eaves mosquitoes were awful, and sitting thus on the Indian's doorstep from five o'clock till eight, waiting for the last porter to arrive, devoured by these little pests, and shivering with cold,
it

was not

to

be wondered at that

spent a

sleepless night.

First

In the early morning visitors began to arrive. came a deputation from the king of the

country, who happened to be at Nimule at that time, on a visit to the Government official he sent two young fellows to greet me, saying
;

that he himself

was following.

In another hour he came a short, thick-set fellow with a childish but rather prepossessing appearance, dressed in a species of soldier's coat, long

white linen trousers, and a red fez cap on his head. As I have already stated, my journey had originated from a request made by him for me to visit his country, and the welcome he gave me was therefore hearty in the extreme. After a long interesting talk he asked me if

would accompany him back to his own village and spend some little time with him To there, so that he might get to know me. this request I readily agreed, and we decided This arrangeto start off the following day. ment made, he returned to his encampment,
I

while

invaded

the

Indian's

store,

in

order

238
to

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
replenish

my much

reduced stock of proin

visions for the journey.

To my
I

astonishment,
officer

the

early

morning

received the information that

imprisoned by the
I

inquired his offence, I ''an old standing charge,'' and I went away, wondering why *^an old standing charge"

Awich had been in charge, and when was told that it was

should have been left unpunished until late at night the evening before he was to set out with me. However, it was useless to make a fuss, and knowing that no good could come of it, I packed up my baggage once more and started on my return journey, feeling quite sure that my short talk with the chief Awich had been eminently satisfactory, and that I should always get a warm welcome to his village,

away
visit

in

the

interior,

whenever

was able

to

him.

Three days' journey from Nimule I had another experience, which was of a very alarming nature, and gives some further idea of the character of the Acholi natives. I had pitched my tent half-way between two large distinct families. villages, belonging to two The chief from each village visited me in the evening and brought me presents of food and milk, but I noticed that there seemed to be little friendship between the two representatives; no word was spoken by one to the other, and

ACHOLI.

239

they sat before my tent in dumb silence, only At answering questions that I put to them. few a and after tent, my sundown they left hours' reading and writing by my camp fire, I had just extinguished I turned in for the night. the candle when I heard outside my tent an angry shout proceeding from one of the villages, followed immediately by a great stampede past my tent, and the sound of hasty argument. I quickly jumped out of bed, and put on my boots, and then went outside to see what was wrong. This is the sight that met my gaze. It was a bright moonlight night, not a cloud in the sky, and not a breath of wind, and from

me I saw a number of dark gathering forms together carrying spears, the great iron heads of which reflected the moon's
the village behind

there was now dead silence, and I began wonder whatever I was in for. Then from the other village in front of me I saw a similar crowd collecting with spears and shields, and even as I watched, wondering what it all meant, there was the twang of a bow, and an arrow flew past my tent into the dusky crowd beyond it was answered by a dozen others, and then

rays

to

an excited

from the warriors of both sides, into each other, using their spears and lances with deadly effect. A desperate fight was being waged, and from the subdued cries and groans I knew that serious damage was already being done. My
yell

as they crashed

240

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

came thronging round me in dumb with fear, many of them actuallycreeping into my tent, and lying full length upon the ground the wisdom of this was
porters all
silence, stricken
;

arrows soon began to fall around us. What was I to do? I felt that any action I might take would draw the combatants upon me. I shouted aloud the chief's name, but my voice could never be heard above the din. Then taking one of my boys with me I went off towards the village not
apparent,
as

the

without considerable risk, for throwing-spears and arrows fell around us and finally got into the place from the back and called for the chief. The houses all seemed to be barricaded, and not a soul was visible. I knew which was the chiefs house, and made for it, shouting out his name as I went. For a long time there was no reply, and his house was fast shut up then I espied a man crouching by one of the huts in the darkness. I went up to him and found he was fully armed with spears, bows and arrows, and knives at his girdle. It was the chief himself! *^What is the meaning of all this?" I said. *Ms this the sort of welcome you give to a white man in your village?" He seemed shamefaced, and began making all sorts of accusations against the people of

the

other
said,

village.

**It

is

the

young men,"
are quarrelling

he

**who are drunk, and


ACHOLI.
fight

241

**Well/' I said, **the amongst themselves.'' must stop immediately you are the chief, and therefore responsible, and if the Government soldiers hear of it, it will be you yourself who will be taken prisoner/' He was wildly excited, and said it was impossible to stop them their blood was up, and they must fight perhaps I could stop them, but as for himself, he was helpless. *^Go and try," I said; ^^tell them, you, their chief, forbid them to fight." With this he went and shouted at them, but the fighting only grew fiercer, and there was no sign of abatement. He came back to me and said: ^*I knew it would be no good, we must let them fight." **Go again," I said, *^and warn them of the trouble that may come to their village from the Government soldiers if
;

the fighting does not cease."

Again
presently

he
I

crept off into

the

darkness,

and

saw him mount a great

ant-hill,

and shouting

at the top of his voice, he made a long speech, in which I was told afterwards he said: '^The white man has many soldiers hidden away in the wood over yonder he is

calling thern up,

and they are coming with their guns to fight us all get back to your houses at once, before trouble comes to us all." Almost immediately there was a cessation in the fight, and we saw the opposing forces withdrawing in the moonlight, dragging their wounded with them to their respective villages, and absolute
;

242

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
by the groans and
told the chief that
I

silence reigned, broken only

cries of the injured ones.

the next morning

fight

all

the
after

ringleaders

of
I

the

were
the

to

be brought to

me and
waiting

would

hear
little

case.

Then

about a

longer to see that there was no recurrence fight, I returned to my tent and slept soundly until dawn. Many of my porters were too frightened to return to their huts, and so slept under the fly-sheet of my tent, saying that they felt safer there from the wild savages than in their own little encampment. At daybreak I dressed quickly and went out
of the

of

my

tent,

sending
I

off

my

interpreter
to

to the

chief,

saying that

was

now ready

hear

their case.

Then there tramped to my tent several hundred naked savages, all armed and ready to recommence the fight if necessary. I at once told every one to throw aside his spear and other weapons, and to come without them into my This they did with but little hesitapresence. and then squatted round me to hear what tion I had to say. I commenced by telling them that I wished the ringleaders to be first brought before me. Four men then stepped forward, quite prepared
;

to take the

responsibility

of the fight.

One

of

them was badly wounded with a spear thrust, and one had a broken skull, while the other two looked crestfallen and sad. Then I said to

ACHOLI.
the chief:
try
it,

243

is to he your case; you must you are the chief. I shall simply He stand by and hear what you decide.'' readily accepted the position, and so the case was tried. With my imperfect knowledge of the language, all the ins and I could not fully understand

^^This

for

outs
I

of

the proceedings,

but in a short time

had learned that a man in one village had enticed a girl from the other, and thus committed
a serious breach in the moral code of the Acholi and it was not difficult to see that he guilty person. The chief decided the was against him, and said that he should fine the ^^ All right, I said I agree offender six goats. let the debt be paid at once and the judgment Four goats only finished while I am here." were brought, and the chief was asked if this fine would satisfy him, to which he replied ^*Yes, it is finished," and the whole crowd
tribe,
:

arose
these

most friendly way possible and of Nature were once more the best of friends, and showed their indebtedness and accompanying to me by joining forces me on my journey, carrying many of my loads,
in

the

children

just to prove their appreciation of

my

services.

however, I had an hour or two's medical work, binding up the wounded, some of the warriors being in a most critical
Before
leaving,
condition.

This

episode gave

me some

further

insight

244

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

into the nature of the Acholi that I had not seen before, and made me the more determined if ever I were able to return to their country to settle down amongst them and try to teach
travel brought us back to the crossing of the Nile at Pajao, where we found a very large canoe that was capable of transporting my goods over to the Bunyoro I was side of the river in a very short time. accompanied by no less than sixteen representatives from Acholi, sent by their chiefs to visit me at my house in Hoima, with the idea of again bringing me back to them, to live amongst them and to teach and help them.

them the '^ better Way/' Another few days of hurried

LIFE

AND WORK

IN ACHOLI.

245

CHAPTER XIL
LIFE

AND WORK

IN ACHOLI.

myself that the time had come mission work to commence in Acholi, my next move was to see the head of our mission, Bishop Tucker, and ask his consent for the permanent establishment of a station in the country.
satisfied
for definite

Having

that

that he, above all others, was desirous extension" should be the watch-word of our mission, and such a call as this from Acholiland, he at any rate would do his best to answer promptly. Upon my arrival in Hoima, therefore, I quickly made arrangements to run in to Uganda on my bicycle, seek the Bishop's consent, and finally return to Acholi, there to stay and erect a mission station. Just before starting I heard that his lordship was expected at Kikoma, on the North-west of a place not more Uganda, in a day or two than eighty miles distant by the very roundabout road then available. Camping once on the way I reached Kikoma on the second day about 11 a.m., and was
I
*'
;

knew

most kindly welcomed by Mr. H. B. Lewin, who in

terrors

my
1894

old

friend,

of

the

old

caravan

braved the route with me.

246

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

through German East Africa from Zanzibar to the South of the Victoria Lake. I found that the Bishop had not yet arrived, but was expected very soon. It was no hardship to wait a couple of days in this beautiful station of Kikoma, and it was an unspeakable pleasure to look back and compare notes upon the adventurous journey that Lewin and I, in company with two others of our mission, had taken in those dark days. How wonderfully changed were the conditions of travel in East Africa since those days the three months' journey was now easily completed in four days
;

by the Uganda railway. Kikoma itself had great attractions built amongst the rocky hills, it is picturesque in the extreme, and the bracing air of the uplands was to me what a whiff of the pure sea-breeze is to one who has spent his life in the stifling slums of a great city. Upon the arrival of Bishop Tucker, plans were immediately matured for a second great journey to Acholiland, and a permanent occupation of
;

the country.

one thing troubled me much. Hitherto, had nobly stood by my side in all my work, and had ever helped and encouraged me but now, in the many difficulties encountered if Acholiland were to be definitely occupied as a mission centre, a time of separation was
Alas
!

my

wife

necessary,

in

order that a

station

should

be


LIFE

AND WORK

IN ACHOLI.

247

built and proper accommodation secured, before This a lady could take up her abode there. it trial, but had to be faced, a sore indeed was and we sorrowfully packed our goods, some for home, and some for Acholiland, and said ''good-bye" on the shores of the Victoria comforted ourselves that it was Lake. only for a year, but the bitter tears would flow, and it was with an aching heart that I turned back from the lake shore and faced a year of loneliness in the wilds of Central Africa. It was with satisfaction that I heard from Bishop Tucker of his intention to visit Acholi himself, together with Dr. and Mrs. Albert Cook, and he proposed that I should accompany them. The following is an extract from Dr. Cook's journal of this journey, taken from the Uganda Notes of August 1904

We

his

*'The story that Mr. Lloyd had to tell on return from Acholi last year, made the Bishop anxious to investigate for himself the openings presented, with the object of choosing a site for the first of our mission stations among With this in view, he left the Nilotic tribes. the March 8th, accompanied by n>y Mengo on

and myself, as it was felt that medical help would be very valuable in gaining the Mr. Lloyd joined confidence of the natives. us at Hoima, and we reached Busindi on ifQth March. From this point the journey was new
wife

248
to us.

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
Owing
to the necessity of taking trade
to

beads, cloth and brass-wire food our united caravan was a

goods

pay

for

large

one,

numbering, with our personal boys and Bahima,^ over a hundred. '* North Bunyoro is very sparsely inhabited by a non-Bantu-speaking race, the Chope, who
small villages scattered widely apart. of this is seen when the inconvenience The caravan is detained for any cause at one of these tiny villages, for it is very difficult to procure food, even by handsome presents, to feed a
live
in

large
*^

number

of men.

three days the path was narrow though its rocky nature made my wife exchange her cycle for a mule. From Paniatoli onwards the path degenerated into a mere track, twisting and turning hither and times to be thither, so that we seemed at doubling back on our own tracks, and many miles thus added to the length of the journey.

For the

first

but straight,

We

crossed the Nile about half-way between Fajao and Foweira. By way of digression it may be mentioned that the earlier travellers in Alcholiland seemed to have mistaken the initial *p* of the particle *PA' (of) for an F. Fajao is universally known to the natives as Pajao, Foweira as Poweiri, Fatiko, for Patigo, Probably the disguised names are etc. etc.
too well

known

now
^

to

bear alteration.

The

Cowmen.

LIFE

AND WORK
;

IN ACHOLI.

249

scenery on the Unyoro bank of the Nile at this the path leads over the point is charming shoulder of a hill from the top of which a superb view is obtained, and immediately below the river, which runs here almost due west, broadens out into a little lake, perhaps half a mile wide, with several wooded islets, the mirror-like surface of which is only disturbed by the clumsy gambols of a school of hippos. Turning to the east, the river flows in a rapids between of cascades and succession densely wooded banks, until it empties itself As there into the little lake above mentioned. were only three small dug-out canoes, the work of transporting our larger caravan was a long crossed one, and occupied the whole day. about midday, and found great difficulty in village, first which, as it getting to the happened, was a very good example of its kind, and soon showed us that we were in a country very diff"erent from Uganda or Unyoro. were conducted to the ^seat of the elders,' a kind of gigantic trefoil, the blades of the latter being represented by sloping seats formed out of logs of wood, the whole being roofed with thatch. The first point that struck us was the extreme cleanliness of the whole village, the ground being carefully swept and no refuse heaps being about. The huts, thickly clustered together, were thatched in flounces,' and the very small doorways closed by doors sliding

We

We

250

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

in grooves. Inside, the houses though dark were clean. ^^The Acholi are practically unclothed, but heavily laden with ornaments the men often wear short aprons of skin the women usually nothing, except the massive coils of brasswire and strings of beads with which their persons are lavishly decorated. The head-gear
;

men is often very elaborate, the hair being worked up into a pyramid, crowned by a cone of percussion caps or cowry shells, with a brass cartridge case to act as a flagstaff on the top, or a small horn made from the tooth of a hippo. ^^The strangeness of their attire is, however, completely atoned for by the cordiality of their
of the
greeting.

^*Men, women, and children pressed round us wherever we stopped in Acholiland, and it must be remembered that most of our journey

was
were

made

off

the

beaten

track.
;

most friendly

everywhere

The people we saw no

hostile

special

which
offer,

manifestations exhibited anywhere. A proof of this was the confidence with they accepted medicine on our bare
in
to

which the women brought wife to be admired and One very noticeable feature was lifted up. the peculiar lip pendant of glass, looking exactly like an icicle hanging from the lower lip. These white pieces of glass varied from

and the way

babies

their

my

LIFE

AND WORK

IN ACHOLI.

251

four to six and even eight inches in length. The fashionable high hand-shake seems the common method of salutation in Acholi, and of the young men, whose time seemed be mostly given up to walking round in the midst of admiring crowds, constricted their waists most uncomfortably by corsets of coils of strings, covered with copper wire, drawn so tightly as to give quite a wasp-like waist. ^'Real care was taken of the babies, who sat upon a kind of trapeze suspended by leather thongs from their mothers' backs, with their head and shoulders protected from the sun by a large calabash, which also served as the baby's bath, for wonderful to relate to those who know the customs of the Baganda women, these Acholi mothers wash their children daily in warm water. The effect is somewhat nullified, however, by a liberal coating of red ochre and oil, which is plastered over their bodies. ^^ The villages are on the family or clan system, the descendants of one family living together. As the family increases, more huts are intercalated between the existing ones, until in old villages the roofs almost touch, and if one were fired, the whole village to leeward would be
certain
to

destroyed.

**The cultivation is usually at some distance They have an elaborate from the villages. system of Nature worship, and the elucidation
of the

meaning

of

the

little

stone

altars

and

252

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

and the numberless other votive offerings, customs connected with their religion, would offer a rich field for an ardent anthropologist. **From this first village we travelled on to a larger one under the rule of a young man called Ojigi, a bright, intelligent young fellow, who ought to be capable of being educated. Our

camp was pitched a little way off the village, and as the grass is quite short in this part of Acholiland, we had a glorious view. *^At Ojigi's we stayed a week, and saw hundreds of sick people, who thronged round for
The principal illnesses were syphilis, medicine. bronchial troubles, rheumatism, eye and skin
Malaria was conspicuous by its abduring a period of four or five indeed sence weeks I only saw two doubtful cases among the Acholi, a significant testimony to the healthiness This remark unfortunately does of the climate. not apply to the narrow strip of the Nile Valley, where whole districts teem with anopheles, and it is the rule and not the exception to contract Another little pest that was absent was fever. the jigger, but over much of the southern part of the country the small embwa flies were
diseases.
;

annoyingly frequent. ^^From Ojigi's we travelled leisurely on

till

we reached Bon
the
central

Acholis,

the site selected

station.

by

The Bishop high plateau of the country here terminates to the north and west, the chiefs
for the

new mission


LIFE
village

AND WORK

IN ACHOLI.

253

being built on a spur, ending in a All round are thickly scattered rocky peak. little villages, and it is the centre of a large it is, moreover, in a very central population stayed position for the whole of Acholi. there a week, the only disadvantage from which we suffered being the extremely violent storms that regularly swept down on us every afternoon, threatening to level our tents with the ground. *^The views of the surrounding country were To the south-west we could see the superb. whole chain of the Bulega mountains, those furthest off being more than 100 miles away. ** Due south lay the Paniatoli hills in North Unyoro ; to the west the country fell away towards the Nile, while to the north the hills round Nimule and even towards Gondokoro were visible. *'We were camped nearly 4000 feet above sea level, and owing to its being the rainy
;

We

season, the air was delightfully cool and inthere were no mosquitoes, and vigorating no considerable asset in the list of attractions a little stream, clear as crystal, babbled past the north end of the village. The people here as elsewhere were most friendly. ** From here we travelled on to the village of another large chief, called Owin. **The characteristic of this part of the country was the enormous groves of Borassus
;

254
palms,
eat the

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
whose
fruit.

broad
Sir

fan-like

leaves

made

refreshing

rustling in

the

wind.

The

natives

Samuel Baker and his wife were well remembered here, his chief station,

We

Fatiko (Patigo), being only six miles off. paid it a visit. The walls, strongly built

of stones, are

of the

still breast-high, and the marks smearers' fingers on the plaster inside plainly visible. Being built on the top of the solid rock it must have been very hot, but

commanded

the

most wonderful panorama of

the surrounding country.

principal house

The remains

of the

and of two outhouses are well

and much of the stone wall that surrounded the fort. The lofty rocks on either
preserved,
side,

added
**

festooned with dense tropical vegetation, to the picturesqueness of the scene.

From

Owin's we

retraced

our

steps

to

Acholi, and then struck across country to Wadelai, where we were kindly entertained by
the

Bon

Government

officers.

Dr. Strathairne putting

his mosquito-proof house at

my

wife's disposal.

They

described Wadelai as being the most mosquito-ridden place in the Protectorate, and doubt if they were wrong for after sunset I they swarmed in myriads, nearly all being the malaria-bearing species, anopheles. ** It unfortunate that administrative is most exigencies compel Government officials to live in this unhealthy Nile Valley, for only a few miles inland the ground rises rapidly, and
;

LIFE
wife,

AND WORK
suffering

IN ACHOLI.
left

255

mosquitoes and malaria are

behind.

My

from fever, greatly appreciated the cool of the house and its freedom from mosquitoes. ^^The view from the Government station is very charming, the fresh green of the bananas, which are seldom cultivated in Acholi, refreshes and less than a mile from the station the eye the Nile broadens out into a lake-like expanse of water, on the other side of which rise the grand outlines of the Bulega Hills, in Belgian
severely
;

who was

territory.

We

had

the

greatest

pleasure

of

meeting here Mr. George Wilson, the DeputyCommissioner, who, with Mrs. Wilson, was on a tour through the Nile provinces. ^*On our journey to Wadelai we had to cross several very swollen rivers, one of which was out of the men's depth when we arrived, but went down sufficiently to enable us to cross the next day by dint of fixing a stout rope
across.

Even then the water was up to the men's and we saw some funny scenes, as for instance when a porter, carrying tent-poles with an empty bucket swung on to each end,
**

necks,

the front bucket up, to escape the water, thus immersing the hind bucket, which, becoming filled with water, dragged him back in attempting to climb the steep bank. **The road or rather path from Wadelai to Pajao presents a great contrast to the breezv
tilted

256

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

and

densely populated country inland. But few villages are seen, and the moist, steamy atmosphere near the Nile makes walking in the heat of the day very laborious by night mosquitoes and by day embwa flies do not tend to sweeten the temper of the traveller. All is forgotten, however, on reaching Fajao The last half mile is through a (Pajao). densely wooded country, and one approached the river through a grove of trees like some vast cathedral nave, while at intervals, hundreds of feet overhead, a crag of the high cliffs river gleams redly in the bordering the
;

sunlight.

**A sudden turn round the base of a great and the Nile comes into view at one's very feet, its shining waterway pursuing its course to the Albert Lake, while huge wreaths of foam, white as snow, slide smoothly by in endless succession, bearing eloquent witness Opposite, to the seething turmoil higher up.
rock,

the

escarpment,
foliage,
feet.

with
rises

all

the

luxuriance
sheer

of
for

tropical

almost

up

500

'*In

the afternoon

we made our way

to the

A hot scramble of famous Murchison Falls. three-quarters of an hour, now burrowing our way through chokingly dense vegetation, now nearly jumping on the backs of huge ungainly crocodiles basking on spits of sand along the river bank, now making our way through woods

The Cook's Acholi

Visitor-

LIFE

AND WORK

IN
a

ACHOLL
ridge
of

257

and bushes, brought us to jutting out into the river.

the top
**

rock

scrambled to and stood almost spell-bound by the

We

glory of the scene.

Right in front of us, at a distance of only a few hundred yards was the waterfall. Through a narrow cleft in the escarpment the whole river, narrowed in its course to a width of only fifty or sixty yards, hurled itself down in a leap From top to of nearly two hundred feet. black stained fleck of the white, bottom not a while great columns of spray continually flew out one hundred feet from one side to the other, as if impelled by some gigantic force. From the foot of the falls, the water swirled and eddied away to our very feet. A deep solemn tone, the voice of many waters, filled the air, and seemed to shake the solid rock on which we were standing. Words give a very poor idea of the flash and dazzle of the water, the play of light and shade on the mighty that stand as sentinels over the falls, cliffs, and the confused medley of sounds from the deep-pitched roar of the water to the sibilant Reluctantly we retraced hiss of the spray. our steps, and reached the camp just before From Pajao to Busindi we were sunset. constantly ascending, at one point getting a distant view of the north end of the Albert Lake. left Busindi on 9th May and arrived in Mengo on the 19th.''

We

U.K.

258
I

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

was now left alone in Acholi with instructions push forward the construction of a station upon the site selected by the Bishop at Patiko a few miles from Sir Samuel Baker's old fort. Alas, my health was bad, and severe fever and During dysentery soon brought me very low.
to this time of sickness
I

stayed at a large village

belonging to a chief called Okelo, built on the high land overlooking the Valley of the Nile. The chief was most kind and sympathetic, each day visiting me, and inquiring what he might do to help me. I asked him to send me a few men to build a temporary hut over my tent to This he kindly keep out the intense heat. very and soon do, one hundred to consented men were busily engaged erecting a large hut that would give room for my tent and all my belongings inside. next sent off the Uganda men that I had I
with me to Patiko, to collect material for the building of a permanent house at that place, and to erect another temporary shed in which I could live while the large mission house was being
built

These men had now gone, and I was left alone with a few faithful boys in this strange land, surrounded by a people whose language

was
on

to

me unknown, and whose customs were

strange.

Time seemed to hang a bit heavily hands, and sickness increased, until I was At such times at last obliged to keep my bed.

my

LIFE
as these,
of

AND WORK

IN ACHOLI.

259

how one longs for the simple comforts home The cook does his best to produce daintydishes, but how revolting they are to the sensi!

a sick man. Coarse minced meat on an enamelled plate, none too clean, with a watery fluid poured over it in lieu of gravy, and a great native potato roasted in the One ashes, sweet and nauseous to the taste. things in disgust, naturally turns from these and each refusal of food makes weakness the greater, until at last one realises that it must And so it is gulped inevitably be eat or die. down. Outside is a crowd of shouting natives. ** We want to see the white man Why doesn't talk out and to is their us?" cry, and he come after hearing the noise for a little while, I wrap a blanket round me and go to the front of the *' hut. We want you to come and see us dance " is the request, and with head swimming and back aching, I feebly tell them I will come another day, and totter back to my camp bed, exhausted with the effort. At last it is evening, and once more the boy comes into the hut. *^ I have brought some food,'' says he, and again one casts one's eyes upon a coarse lump of boiled goat, and one has just strength sufficient left to tell him to ** get out," and then roll over on the bed and try to sleep. As the night goes on the hungry hyenas prowl round the hut, and you restlessly listen
bilities

of

brought

in

26o
to

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
their

horrid

bark,

until

your

attention
rat

is

to dislodge thereby upsetting the mosquito net and allowing a whole colony of these '* terrors" free access to your body. A desperate struggle ensues, and then once
it,

drawn to the presence of a great bed, and you make a feeble effort

on the

and you try to settle down again for sleep. But over the plain there rolls the awful roar of a lion, seeming to be but a few hundred yards away, but actually a mile or more. You sit up in bed and think of the very

more

all

is

quiet,

is in this tiny hut against a powerful beast as the lion, and the perso spiration pours from your brow as you get out You of bed, and feebly grope about for a gun. seem to know how little use this is, and after bumping your bare toes against sundry boxes, and banging your aching head against the rafters of the low roof of the hut, you again seek the shelter of the mosquito net, and try Presently there to believe there is no danger.

slight security there

and once more the

which pierces the stillness, fever-stricken one is out of bed trying to pull on a pair of boots, and in the darkness getting the right one where the
is

a yell

outside,

left

should be.

the night with

thing.

Then out gun at full

into the blackness of

cock, ready for any-

stopped, and in response to a call the boys are out of their tiny hut and inform one that some beast had tried

The shrieking has now

LIFE
to get at

AND WORK

IN

ACHOLL

261

them and succeeded

of the thatch off the roof.

and talking
of the boys

in pulling some They are laughing now and making great fun of one

who had been

asleep at the side of

had seen an animal as big as an elephant through the rent in the roof, and that it was just about to seize him when he yelled and thus drove it away. A few soothing words from me and they banked up their fire, and with merry laughter produced a few sweet potatoes and put them in the glowing ashes, and decided that if it were not safe to sleep in the hut they would sit by the fire and pass the time by filling their stomachs Jolly black boys it takes a lot to make them miserable, and with good health and plenty to eat there I struggle are no happier people under the sun. back to my bed, and as the early dawn breaks in the east, and the birds begin their song, I And get my first sound sleep for that night. days until at last health is so on for many restored once more, and I again emerge from the inside of that dark dirty hut to take a walk
! !

the hut where the beast had He declared that he get in.

made

its

efforts to

into the large village close at hand.

is

This place
is

built right

down
close

in

a hollow, and
it.

invisible

until

one

is

told that this was done Upon inquiry I purposely, in order to be out of sight of the wily Bakidi and others who made frequent

upon was

raids throughout the district.

The houses were

262

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

packed very close together, being of the usual type and exceptionally well-built. There were considerably over loo huts, and as each hut accommodated on an average five or six people, it was a village of considerable importance. The chief, I found, was a man of very boyish spirit, short and thick-set, with fine He invarifeatures, and exceedingly pleasant. uniform, of embracing the ably wore a species
features of

the line

most of the well-known regiments of buttons from the Connaught Rangers,

braid from the Life Guards or Royal Artillery, badges and adornments gathered from the Royal Engineers and others. He now told me he was on very important business, having been sent for by the '^Mondo" (white man) at Wadelai, and told to take in This he was going to do. In the hut-tax. meantime, during his absence, he commended

me

to

the

tender

command, who proved

mercies of his second-into be an excellent fellow,

with none of the embellishments of civilisation. He was presented to me in an absolutely nude condition, and I was told that I should find him all that could be desired. I quickly gave him a fine pair of trousers, thereby sealing a friendship, and in addition to that, giving him This a distinct advantage over his fellows. man was a sportsman, and very soon commenced telling me tall stories of his adventures

with

elephants,

buffalo,

lions,

etc.

He had


LIFE

AND WORK

IN ACHOLI.

263

hunted single-handed the lions that prowled about the district, and I procured the skull of a very fine specimen that he had slain in single combat.

His story was as follows ^^ Night after night a lion prowled round oui village at first its attention was given to our cattle, and three times it succeeded in slaying twice in the village itself, and once on the plain, and we all despaired at the loss of our wealth. One night it was heard by a young fellow in the village breaking down the great fence we had made in which to enclose our
:

crept out single-handed while going forward in the darkness with his spear poised, he was seized from behind, and carried off. *'The lion had now become a man-eater, and our cattle were comparatively safe not so our women and children. Four of the former were taken one after the other, and upon every search we made, we could find no trace of the But one night I watched, and it was beast. bright moonlight, and after a few hours' weary him creeping stealthily descried waiting, I towards our village. I waited motionless, and saw him prowl from one hut to another, to try and find an entrance, but all in vain, then morning began to break, and I saw the great creature steal off on to the hillside, and I followed with my spear. For miles it went, and I it

herds

this

young man

to the

attack, but

264
still

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
kept
it

at last it entered a I waited remained. for some time to give him a chance to settle down, and then with great caution approached with spear poised above my head ready for
in

view,

when
it

tiny thicket,

and there

instant attack.

**Soon I saw the great beast quietly sleeping, almost covered by the thick undergrowth. In a moment I had cast my spear, which pierced it its shoulder as lay. With a roar it leapt into the air, only to fall again quite dead.'' This same gentleman took me out hunting on several occasions, and I always found him to be a most reliable tracker and a thorough sportsman. By his help I procured several good specimens of water-buck and kongoni, reed-buck and

Uganda
I

cob.
fast

able to enjoy the free

gaining strength once more, and open life of wild News reached me that Bishop Tucker Africa. had arrived safely back again in Uganda, and had sent off Rev. A. L. Kitching to be my

was now

companion in the work amongst the Acholi. met him with great pleasure at a large I village belonging to a chief called Ali, and then after seven days' tramp together we arrived at Patigo, where the new station was to be built.
found that the men sent on in advance had not wasted their I had time, but had built quite a nice roomy hut in
great pleasure
I

To my

LIFE

AND WORK

IN ACHOLI.

265

which we could live, and had, in addition, brought in a considerable quantity of materia,!
In addition ready for the large mission house. our good friend Bona (at one time the right-hand man of Sir Samuel Baker) declared his willingness to help us in any way possible He sent for his to erect a permanent building. man Sululu, a fine strapping fellow of six feet, into whose hands he gave the responsibility of attending to all our needs, and providing us with whatever labour we needed. This man Sululu greatly amused us with an old battered bugle he possessed, which he told us at one time belonged to Baker Pasha, and He with which he called the people to work. would mount an ant-hill and blow a few piercing blasts, and then, looking most serious, would
to this,

Sure enough the summons was heard and answered from the surrounding villages, and the headmen collected their followers and brought them to Sululu to receive instrucsit

down and

wait.

tions.

Each chief was given so much to do, so many poles to bring, and a measured-out The women also portion of the walls to erect. and girls were brought up to the scratch and
given the work of water-carrying. This they did with great grace, poising the huge earthenware pots full of water on their heads and

walking

in the

most

stately fashion.

mischievousness would bubble up, and instead of emptying the contents

Often, however,
their

266
of the

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

pot on to the dry clay, which had been shovelled into a pit for mixing, they would splash it all over the body of some fine young warrior who might be busily engaged in ornamenting himself with coloured earth or wood

ashes then there was a chase until the culprit was caught, amid much laughter and goodwill, only to be allowed to go again with nothing worse than a laughing admonition. Never have everybody set to seen such happy workers I with a will, and it seemed a real pleasure to
;
;

them.

When
in

the poles were well

and

truly set,

and the wattles

brought

tied on, then the soft

mud was

handfuls by the Acholi, and pressed In a in, making a wall about one foot thick. few months therefore a very fine house was built, with plenty of room and air and space, and the missionary able once more to unpack his belongings and stretch his legs, with no fear of bumping his head against the roof, or losing his valuables in the grass on the floor.

HERE AND THERE

IN ACHOLI.

267

CHAPTER
HERE AND THERE

Xni.
IN ACHOLI.

soon settled down to hard work in Acholi. There was much to be done, and we felt real anxiety to do it in such a way as to create a good impression, and be a lasting benefit to There are many ways of doing a the people. thing, and it was to choose the right way that seemed so important to us in this still savage country, so that from the beginning there should be a proper understanding as to what we had

We

come At

for. first

many seemed
to

tention
in the

was

take

to think that our inpossession of the country

some Government, and that we up an opposition power against rule. existing Some even went so far as the to say to me that they would throw in their lot with me, and drive out every other opposing that they would fight for me and follow force me even to Bukidi if I wished them to go
of

name

had come

to set

there.

countenanced, and

All these ideas had to be strongly diswe told the chiefs that being Englishmen ourselves, we were under the rule of the British Government. What we desired

above
their

all

else,

and what had

this

country was simply

to

brought
teach

us to

them

268

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

to live pure and honourable lives, with the knowledge of a great and loving God as Father, and Jesus Christ as Saviour and Friend. We wished to enter into all their difficulties with them, giving them whatever help we could, and bearing as far as possible their burdens. We explained to them that it was not for us

how

to fight against
to live

enemies, for our mission to them was one of peace, and we desired them
their

amicably together. It was quite astonishthey began to understand us, and we were often consulted in matters of the deepest interest to them, showing us that at least we were gaining their confidence. There is no shyness about an Acholi man he will stand up before one as an equal, and discuss topics of mutual interest without the least embarrassment. This in itself is a characteristic of great value, and one to be developed one would rather have with a black always much to deal man who had some self-respect than the poor degraded savage cowering beneath one, with This spirit manifested no will of his own. itself in many ways. Once I remember a very amusing incident that took place in the yard adjoining our house. My cook, an officious young gentleman of four feet six inches, who always held absolute sway over the kitchen department, making everything and everybody subservient to himself, was one day busy bread-making, when into his sacred
ing

how soon

HERE AND THERE

presence,

IN ACHOLI.
came a
tall,

269

uninvited,

there

stately

Acholi warrior, smothered with war-paint and decked out with ostrich feathers, carrying his He stood at his ease, Jong lance and shield. surveying my diminutive cook, as he pursued but the cook when he became his daily calling presence of a heathen Acholi man aware of the in his special domain, turned upon him with a sharp tongue, and with bitter words ordered How dare he come him from his presence. unbidden into the Muzungu's kitchen, without The Acholi man even asking permission ? looked him up and down with stolid indifference. ^^The very idea of this tiny little Uganda cook ordering me^ a full-blooded Acholi warrior, to Not an inch did he budge and not get out " Stirred beyond control a muscle did he move. at this audacious intrusion, the little cook could bear it no longer, and hurled himself upon the warrior, with the idea of throwing him out or perishing in the attempt. The latter he certainly would have done if I had not appeared upon The Acholi the scene just in the nick of time. man, with spear well poised and blood well up, was ready to deal destruction upon one who had
;

insulted

him

in this fashion.
difficulty
I

quieted the matter down, and pointed out to the Acholi man that the cook was only doing what he thought to be right, and that it was not our custom to allow visitors into the kitchen. I think this was a

With some

270
lesson

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
to
all

our boys, and I am sure it was if ever a black man turned pale he did, when he saw that fearful spear uplifted. soon found this characteristic develop in most things the Acholi did. My companion and I both being fond of football, conceived the idea of introducing the game to the notice of the Acholi, and suggesting to them that they should join in a friendly game. neither of us knew much of the language, and it was impossible to state what the rules of the game were, but hoped that by seeing the game played they would soon pick it up and enjoy it. They very soon did pick it up, but there was not very much enjoyment about it at first at selected sides and ranged any rate for us. The ourselves on opposite ends of the field. Acholi looked at each other in an inquiring sort of way, as much as to say: **Is it fight or fun Then the ball was kicked that we are after?" off, and such a struggle commenced that I shall not soon forget, nor will others who joined in.
to the cook, for

We

We

We

was to get the ball, and if had it, to seize the man and carry anybody him off, or shake him until he had dropped it. The goal posts were forgotten, and sides all mixed up the ball that was the object, and whatever was in the way had to go down. Bumps and bruises were rained upon us, and

The

first

idea

else

think for the first half-hour we spent more time on our backs than on our

much
legs.

HERE AND THERE

4.fter
it

IN

ACHOLL

271

a while things quieted down a little, and gradually dawned upon them that the idea was not to run off with the ball in their arms, and also that but to kick it through the goals it was quite a friendly contest, and not a pitched battle ** cup-tie" sort of game. Some of the men were beautiful runners and with their long legs and long wind they could accomplish much more than we civilised folk, with all our clothing and heavy boots, could hope to do. Football then became an established event every afternoon at 4.30, when the great heat of the day was over, and I shall long look back with pleasure upon the really splendid games we had, after the Acholi boys had learned that no bloodshed was necessary. Sometimes the drums in the village adjoining our football field would beat for a drinking dance, and football was then *'off," for the young bucks would come out to play full of drink, and in no fit state to take their exercise quietly. I went one day into the village while one of the ** drinks" was in progress. Twenty or more men were dancing, evidently with the idea of working up a thirst while the women went in and out amongst them with large gourds filled with beer, holding them to the
;

all

Men, women and children was sad indeed to see the debauched state of some of the little boys, to say nothing of the older men and women. The
lips of the dancers.

joined

in,

and

it

272

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

Acholi man is not at all ashamed of thes3 drinking parties, and, unlike the Waganda, does not wait until darkness has come before ha indulges. He drinks in the daytime while it is hot, and when a good thirst can be maintained by dancing in the heat of the sun. Spears and bows and arrows are also the usual accompaniments to a dance, and the Acholi seldom dance without these weapons in their hands. Beginning at seven or eight in the morning when the sun begins to get hot, they dance right through the day until evening, and then worn out and disgustingly drunk, they fling themselves down It is a sad sight, to sleep off the evil effects. for one knows what harm it must do, at least

many of them get pneumonia to their bodies and consumption, and thus shorten their lives. As I have said, they are not at all ashamed of these debauches, and I well remember one chief who said to me when I asked him to come and attend a service on the following day: ^*I cannot come, I shall be drunk to-morrow." He was quite surprised when I showed my disit had not occurred to him that there pleasure was any harm in such a practice. While busily engaged one day in building
;
;

a second house,

received a visit from

little

chief who lived about eight miles away among He came with about the hills called Guruguru.
ten followers, each

man

carrying three bamboos,

and one leading a goat.

HERE AND THERE

I

IN ACHOLI.

273

He told us he had come to pay his respects ind to present us with a few bamboos with Vhich to build, and also the goat. I thanked ijiim most heartily for his kindness, but said I had heard many things against his people, who seemed to be living in seclusion among the hills. 1 said I had been told that they had ill-treated many of the people of the surrounding villages, and that they were in open rebellion against the Government, etc., etc. All this, he said, was untrue the real facts being that the people around were all most hostile to him and to his people that they were willing and anxious to be friendly, but the other Acholi would not let them. To prove this, he urged me to visit his village and see his people decided we would do so upon for myself.
;
;

We

the

first

He

opportunity, and told him so. went away quite pleased, and in a

little

while came back with more bamboos and more

professions of friendship.

amongst and they all said that although there was no danger for us in going there, at the same time the Guruguru people were bad to the core. There was evidently a good deal of suppressed excitement when we said we would pay them a visit, and
I

consulted

some

of our best friends

the Acholi

who

lived

nearer

to

us,

the

little

chief at once set off to

to

make

it

known

to the people that

Europeans

he had at last persuaded the come. As I have said, it was

hills,

only a matter of eight miles to the

and

274

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
direct,

would be much nearer had the path been

so

we could

easily reckon to reach there in one

It was a burning hot day as we with a small caravan over the scrubby country that lay between our station and the Guruguru hills. passed through a few tiny villages, the inhabitants of which came out to greet us heartily, and amongst whom w^e recognised many friends. At one village all the young fellows were collected together on a great rock, sunning themselves, also a few of the smaller boys, highly coloured with yellow ochre and covered from head to foot with After two hours, we came to the first grease. village of the Guruguru interesting it was an place, and it was built on a small island surrounded by swamp. Our path led right through this swamp and it was no easy matter to discover There the shallows and avoid the deep pits.

day's march.

set out

We

is

little

doubt that
with
the

this

place
of

island
told,

object
for,

surrounding people,
the

on the from the as we had often been

built

was

isolation

Guruguru

folk

had

little

in

common

with the rest of the world, and no desire for In case of attack, the swamp intercourse with it. would form a very strong natural protection. The path was not very easy to detect, and the water was deep enough in places to make were carried it quite impossible to cross. across into the village by one who knew the way, and then had a few moments to look

We

HERE AND THERE

round.

IN

ACHOLL

275

Most of the people were away, and with its the whole place seemed desolate, ^swampy surroundings, and although it was
on towards 11 o'clock in the morning, did not stay mosquitoes were plentiful. long, but again crossing the swamp on the far side made for the more healthy hill village, which could now be seen above us. The path was
well

We

task to carry

most precipitous, and the porters had no light up our tents and camp furniture, but when at last we stood on the top and looked down on to the chief village, which was built in a hollow at the very top of the hill, we felt we were well repaid for the trouble. great trees enclosed It was like a fairies' dell the place, and filled it with beauty, while huge rocks were piled about in such a way as to give the impression of being hurled about by some stupendous power. Among these rocks were dotted about the huts of the people. We pitched our tent at the bottom of the glen, and very soon had a number of the natives round us, who, contrary to our expectation, were by no means shy, but if anything a little too free. However we were glad enough to have their company, and to chat with them. We had been told that many of the Guruguru people lived in caves among the hills, and we were therefore desirous of finding out if this When asked about it, they all were so. lasiUghed and said it was mere fiction they
:
;

276

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
into

had a few caves,

which they ventured, they

were quite ready to admit,

but as to living in them, they had no such custom. After a time they took us to one of these so-called caves; it was most disappointing, and merely consisted of a great boulder covering in what might be it was of no great a deep crack in the rocks extent and it was not possible to stand upright That some of the people occasionally in it. slept in these was apparent by the fact that a few sleeping skins and household implements were to be seen there. Apart from the beauty of the place itself, there was nothing to interest, and we only stayed a couple of days and then made our way back again to the plains. One thing accomplished at any rate, a friendship was made. About this time we were annoyed by certain
;

making short work and goats that we had brought with us from Bunyoro, and which were so essential to us for food for the Acholi people, although possessed of large numbers of sheep and cattle, had no desire whatever to part with either, and the fresh-meat question was a distinctly difficult one for us hence this small herd in a fenced enclosure a hundred
nocturnal visitors that were
of the small herd of sheep
;

yards from our house.

Day
deaths

after

day the herdsmen had

the flock.

to

report

True, a number died from natural causes, but a " great many were One night we were killed by wild beasts.

among

HERE AND THERE

IN ACHOLI.

277

Roused by the shouting of our workmen who were living in huts not far from the goat kraal. It appeared that some beast or other had made its way into the fence and had succeeded in securing one of the goats by the neck, and was making off with it, when the alarm was given, and twenty or more Uganda workmen hearing the noise, gave chase. Through the pitch-dark night they raced, many of them armed with nothing more than a stick or even a lump of firewood snatched from their camp fires as they ran. The Uganda man has plenty of pluck and dash about him, he is seldom afraid, and I have often known him to follow most dangerous beasts armed only with indeed, during their famous leopard a stick hunts, I think the majority take nothing but a stout stick with them, and it is usually a Over the very deadly weapon in their hands.
;

hills

these fellows went

in

mad

career

how

they were able to follow the tracks made by the beast as it dragged away the goat I never knew one thing is certain, they caught it up, whatever it was for opinions seemed to differ in the darkness some declaring it was a hyena, others a lion and succeeded in making it drop its prey. They then carried the dying goat back to the house in great triumph and deposited it before us. gave them the poor creature as a reward for their pluck, and determined that the next night we would make

We

278

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

in order to stop the depredation of our flocks. In the evening of the next day I fixed up a gun trap with a nice juicy piece of meat from the dead goat as an attraction to the raider, placing thorns around on either side of the muzzle to make sure of a straight pull being given to the bait. The first few nights there was no response,

some other arrangement

and we began to wonder whether after all the goat-stealer were not a *^ human,'* when about five o'clock in the morning a few days afterwards, the gun went off and there was a stampede made to the trap to see what the catch was. To our utter surprise there was nothing shot, and when we carefully examined
ropes binding the been severed by a knife and other marks went to prove conclusively that some one had tried to steal the gun, and in their hurry to get it free from the binding
the
that the

gun we found
to

gun

the tree had

had gone off and frightened the thief us now that it It was quite clear to away. was far too expensive a job, if it meant losing a good gun over the business, and the trap was altered to one of poison instead of gunpowder. Strangely enough this was soon successful, and a day or two afterwards we found a dead jackal, and then a little farther away, a large spotted hyena, that had eaten too well, not too He was a fine wisely, of the poisoned meat. full-grown specimen, but when found was already
ropes,
it

HERE AND THERE

partly

IN ACHOLI.
photograph

279

decomposed,

and the

was

with great suffering to the olfactory Indeed the carcass was only discovered by its disturbing influences upon those who lived in the near vicinity. Shortly afterwards we were told that a cave had been discovered, in which several of these spotted monsters were found dead, having made too free with the poisoned body of their companion. Thus the nightly raids upon our flock were for a time put a stop to. Fresh trouble awaited us, however, for the cows, lately brought over from Uganda and from which we secured our supply of fresh milk, strange disease began to sicken and die. broke out amongst them that we could not understand. They seemed simply to refuse all kinds of food, and one after another died from The Baima, that sheer lack of nourishment. wonderful cattle-loving people (several of whom we had brought with us from Uganda to attend to the cows), gave as their opinion that it was not a disease, but simply that the cows were broken-hearted and refused to take kindly to the change of pasturage. This latter seemed to us to be far superior to that found in Uganda, to which they had been accustomed, and the cattle of the Acholi, although often mixing with
secured
nerves.

ours, were quite unaffected.

We
and
fed

separated the sickly ones from the rest, them with luxuries, but all to no purpose,

28o

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

and the older cows just lay down and died. It was very sad to see these fine beasts sicken and die in this way, and it was not until the rains came on again and the young tender shoots of grass appeared that an improvement became visible, and we, being unable to discover any other cause, were obliged to accept the theory of the cow-loving people, that it was ^^brokenheartedness " that was the trouble. About this time a curious case of witchery was brought to our notice. One of our best friends, a chief named Owin, who lived about
two days' journey from us, sent us an urgent He said that he was very appeal to visit him. ill and about to die, and that he had been My companion imbewitched by an enemy. mediately set off to see him, and found the man to all appearances suffering from an acute accumulation of bile, which he attributed to too He stayed free an indulgence in a great feast. administering certain drugs days, few a him with and then finding him that he deemed suitable, He decidedly better, returned to the station. had been back but one day when further urgent messages were sent to me, begging me to go,

messengers stating that and about dying. A great

the

Owin was worse

storm
started.

prevented
I

my
day

setting out at once, but early the following

I

saddled

my mule

and

reached

a small village about half-way and then camped, and there I received the distressing news that

HERE AND THERE

Owin was
dead.

IN ACHOLI.
I

281

got to his village, and found all the people in a great state of sorrow ; their chief was dead, and they were all quite sure that foul play had been the I shall not soon forget the sight of cause. genuine grief I beheld in that dark heathen village. There was no question about the sorrow displayed amongst the people, especially the bereaved wives of the late chief. Their weeping was heart-breaking as they performed
the
in

The next morning

customary funeral dance before the house which their late master lay. There was not the callous indifference so often

seen amongst Africans when bemoaning the loss of a chief, here was real sorrow, and as one looked upon those sad faces and heard their piteous cry, it was quite as much as a tenderhearted white man could bear. The body was in the hut, shrouded with blankets that had

belonged to the chief in life, and scattered about the place were his other possessions. Outside a great crowd had collected, the men adorned with all their ornaments of ostrich feathers and coloured beads, and carrying in their hands great spears and shields. The majority were dancing, chanting meanwhile various heathen hymns, while a few were seated under the eaves of the houses weeping silently. The chiefs old mother was present, with nothing on but a piece of rope tied round her waist, which trailed along behind like a tail, tears were streaming down her

282
face,

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
and a few younger wdmen kept running
inquiry
I

up

to her, offering condolence.

heard certain interesting facts from some of the young men concerning the last few hours of the chief. When it was seen
that the

Upon

sickness was severe and that hope of recovery was at an end, the old witch-doctor of
the

over the proceedings. He ordered a new hut to be built away in the fields, far removed from the villages, and there the dying man was taken and laid upon a cowskin stretched upon the ground. He was then decked out in all sorts of charms and fetishes, and smeared over with native medicines, supposed to be efficacious in keeping off the evil spirits and destroying their power. For hours he lay thus surrounded by the many witches and wizards, who chanted strange songs and made passes over him, all to no effect. At last a young Munyoro, who had been sent up as a teacher to the people in this district, heard that the chief had been taken off to this hut and was in the hands of these witch-doctors, and he immediately set out to try and find him. Directed towards the hut by a young Acholi boy, he at last got into the presence of the dying man without a word this stripling, not more than seventeen years of age, took upon himself to order out witches and
place

took

control

wizards, and removed the charms at the chief's request from his body, and then talked to him
as only black

man

can to a black man.


HERE AND THERE IN ACHOLI. We need not trouble ourselves with
was
said, excepting this, that the chief

283

what

turning

with great affection to this young minister, almost with his dying breath said: *^I forgive I freely the man who has caused my death. do not trust in these charms to save me know they cannot do so my trust is in Him of whom you have often spoken to me, Jesus,

the

Son

of God.

Into

His keeping

commit

Much more followed that we shall never know, but of this I am certain, this partly savage chief was taken up into the all-tender arms of God. He had learned the priceless lesson of forgiveness, and almost with his dying breath forgave the man who he firmly believed had caused his death. The teacher afterwards told me the following story A big chief named Okelo was bitterly opposed to Owin on the ground that he was his superior, and that Owin was unwilling to pay tribute Several times he threatened to murder to him. him, and said that it was only the presence of Europeans in the country that made him withhold from fighting against him. This man Okelo one day paid a mysterious visit to a village a few miles from Owin's place, and while there sent a woman to him with a present of a fowl. Owin received the fowl, not knowing from whom it had come, and had it cooked, partaking of it himself, and very soon afterwards was seized with violent
myself."
:

284

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
and
also,

sickness

overpowering

weakness.
at

The
meal,

teacher
received

who was

present

the

some

as he said

recovered."

of the fowl himself to eat, and afterwards *'I also felt ill, but I In a little time the chief became

worse
after

for my friend Kitching, and treatment seemed to be better, only a relapse soon after, which ended to have This was the story, and it was so fatally. thoroughly believed that the case was taken

and sent

his

to

the

Sub-Commissioner of the

district,

who

after

hearing the evidence felt he could not bring in a case of murder, but said that the evidence was so certainly against the chief Okelo that he must be fined a number of And so the matter ended. cattle. About this time we were much cheered by a Mr. George Wilson, the Deputyvisit from Commissioner of Uganda, together with his His object was to travel through the wife. land of Acholi, see its prospects, and if possible arrange for a definite and more comprehensive administration amongst the people and hearing the hundred and one cases brought to his notice by the various chiefs. Such a visit could not fail to have lasting results, and from that time is to be dated the onward movement, which I trust will bring to these most interesting peoples the blessings of peace and prosperity.

JOURNEY TO GONDOKORO.

285

CHAPTER
The
journey

XIV,

JOURNEY NORTHWARDS TO GONDOKORO.

commenced

about to describe was Starting from January 1905. our station at Patigo in Acholi, passing north through the capitals of Awich and Ogwok, the great chiefs of Acholiland, and on through the Bari district to Gondokoro, this last name being the frontier post of the Soudan, and from it there is a clear run down the Nile to Khartoum without rapids, and a monthly service of steamboats ply these waters. I would first
I

am

in

explain
often

that the use of the word Uganda is misleading, and has a distinctly double

meaning. The kingdom of Uganda is but a small portion of the whole Protectorate, and the Uganda chiefs have no jurisdiction in Toro, Ankoli or Bunyoro, these being separate

kingdoms governed by native kings and

of their own.

chiefs
is

course prominent kin^-dom, and

it

Of

Uganda proper
it

the the

is

an open question
better
for

as to whether

would not be
if

smaller

included under the direct Government of Uganda but at present they are not, and as a matter of fact Uganda is only about one-sixth of the
;

countries

they also

were

Protectorate.

286
In

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
:

arranging this journey, there were two courses open to us First was the more direct route to the Government post on the Nile called Nimule, about fifty miles from Patigo, and then to follow the Nile as it runs in a northerly direction to Gondokoro or secondly
;

to

pass

northward,
strike right

leaving

Nimule on

the

west,

through the centre of the Acholi country, finally turning due west to Gondokoro. The latter being by far the more interesting journey was decided upon, and I shall now proceed to describe the country, etc., through which we passed. were very fortunate to have already working for us a number of Uganda men who had come all the way from their own country to seek work in order to procure their hut-tax. These

and

We

fellows did

not take

much

persuasion to enlist
I

as porters for this journey to Gondokoro.

have
to act

never had better

in this

men

than the

Waganda

I first reached Africa journey through its wilds, and took Wanyamwezi, and Wasukuma were our porters, and I thought them the best possible burdenhave since altered my opinion, for bearers I after trying Uganda, Swahili, Bunyoro, Toro and Bahuku porters, most unhesitatingly I give With a fifty-six the palm to the Uganda man. pound load and his own mat and food, he will carry cheerfully for sixteen to twenty miles a day, and if only his language be understood by

capacity.

When

my

first

JOURNEY TO GONDOKORO.
the

287
little

European

of

the

caravan,

and

his

for a

ailments looked after, he will do this willingly month, provided of course that he gets

plenty to eat. Our caravan was not a large one, and I think I am right in saying that the majority of the

men were Waganda,

the

rest

Banyoro.

My

companion, the Rev. A. L. Kitching, was to accompany me as far as Gondokoro, and there we were to part company, he to return to Acholi and I to make my way to Egypt and thence home. The day previous to our start, we reviewed our men and appointed to each his load there was the usual scramble for what appeared many, however, choosing to be the lightest loads the more compact packages, even although they were a little heavier. Everybody fought shy of the load consisting of two chairs and a camp table, the whole only weighing about forty-five pounds, but it was of course bulky and awkward in the long grass and scrub, or in passing through thick forests* We did not get a start the following morning until long after the sun was up and the heat was terrific the dry season was now well upon us, and the sky was lurid, while a dull haze hung over the whole country, making it impossible to view the landscape. Four hours was considered quite long enough both for porters and white men in this awful heat, and we were very glad after a most uninteresting march to pitch our camp in a small village prettily
;
;
;

288

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
on
soon sought repose

situated in a fine open space of green grass

the edge of a dense jungle.

We
as

in

our tents to avoid

as possible the intense heat, but had only just settled ourselves down when we heard

much

a great row outside, and we were told that Awich the king was arriving. Of course we tumbled What a cut he was out to meet him. It was indeed hard work to keep a straight countenance as this Central African monarch came prancing into camp, mounted upon a ragged-looking mule, whose accoutrements were patched up with
!

string, cotton cloth

and rough

hide.

He had

not

even
sat

the
*^all

proverbial
of

bearing

and

a heap" on

a king, his poor beast,

of

dressed in selections from ill-fitting soldiers' uniforms, in combination with a dilapidated pair of cord riding-breeches, worn out at the knee, that had at some earlier period of earth history belonged to a white man of some distinction. On his head he wore a white felt helmet

with the strap drawn

chin,
pipe,

down
to

tightly

and in his mouth which he seemed

!

an

ugly
use

under his European more as a

child's comforter than as a

medium

for

my

lady

nicotine

Behind him rode a retainer on a tiny Masai donkey, his bare feet reaching to within a few inches of the ground and his nose carried well his garments hung in rags upon him, in the air but for all this he cared little, and rode behind
;

JOURNEY TO GONDOKORO.
his liege lord with full consciousness of his

289

own

I have never seen a more great importance. brilliant representation of Don Quixote and his

than King Awich and his henchman. Greetings being concluded, we once more escaped to our beds, in order to complete the middaysiesta, but this was not to be, for no sooner had we cast ourselves down than a fresh disturbance occurred this time it was the chief of the village, who brought at the end of a rope a small goat, and a quantity of food, borne upon the heads of sundry naked women and children. The goat of course according to its kind made frantic dashes for freedom, completely upsetting one young gentleman whose legs became entangled in the After the food was distributed to the rope. porters, and a suitable present made to the chief, it was well on towards six o'clock, and only time left for a short stroll through the village and a were interested to chat with the people.

man

We

find

that the village belonged to the old chief

previously mentioned as a friend of the late Sir Samuel Baker. The second day's tramp was again marred by the great heat all the country
;

round
terribly

was burnt up by
hard to get along.

forest

fires

it

The

porters,

was how-

ever, did not

seem

to feel the inconvenience of

these things so
said to
(^*the

me

much as we did, and one man **Omuka mulungi gugoba nswera "

is good, it drives away the flies"). This perhaps was an advantage, but we did long

smoke

U.K.


290

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

oxygen. I have already stated in a former chapter that the Acholi are a hunting race by instinct, but their hunt is more for food than for the enjoyment of mere sport, so that they are not above using most unsportsman-like methods of entrapping the game. At this camp I saw for the first time the cruel practice of burning out the antelope and other animals, thus slaughtering male and female, old and young When the jungle is dried up with the alike. great heat of the dry season, a patch of country is chosen by the people as a likely one to contain species of fauna, and the whole village population surrounds the spot men, women and children taking part. Then at many places the grass is ignited, until a fierce fire barrier is made, effectually enclosing any animals that may be in it, and rendered escape impossible, for even should the poor frightened beast break through the flames, a phalanx of armed Acholi is beyond, solid ready to deal destruction with unerring aim Here a small herd of with their spears. kongoni were entrapped and several were killed, one or two escaping, owing to a break these got in the ranks of the hunters, but away frightfully burned, some to die a linger*
for the purer

ing
of

death
this

elsewhere.

district

once
that

The Sub-Commissioner told me of a young

he
in

female

elephant

burned condition,

found having passed

terribly

through one

JOURNEY TO GONDOKORO.
of these awful infernos
;

291

great strips of charred

flanks

hide

hung
;

from

its

and

its

body was a mass of sores caused he most wisely and mercifully put burning but an end to the poor creature's sufferings it will be long before this custom is stamped
;

whole by the

out

in

the

interior

district

of

Acholi.

The

natives

of Africa cannot

be persuaded that a
;

his chief thing is wrong because it is cruel concern is with getting meat for food, and he will tell you that his life is of far more value than a few wild animals You say to him : **You have your sheep and goats and cattle; why not kill and eat them, use them for food, and do not cause these poor wild animals to suffer.'* He will laugh and say: **Why, you are dense. I use my sheep and goats and cows to buy wives with, and besides, they are bought with money, while the wild animals are anybody's property." So you smile and pass on argument is useless. It was no surprise to us to find that the whole village was permeated with the smell of meat, for this burning had been going on for several days, and very many skulls and bones of all sorts littered about the village, told the
!
;

tale of slaughter.

After a few days

River,

we reached

the great

Aswa

and found that here we got into a distinctly different and finer country. The river seems to rise in the Pajuli hills to the east,


292

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

and

rushing through a rocky gorge among the high lands, finally enters the Nile a little All along, the banks are north of Nimule. clothed in rich tropical verdure, and hundreds of huge hippopotami sport about in its waters. In the height of the rainy season the river is at this point, uncrossable more than one wide, hundred yards it becomes of great depth, although we were able to be carried across on men's shoulders, the deepest water being A school of eight or ten but a few feet. hippo were confined within a few hundred feet, rocky barriers preventing their exit either
;

up or down the stream. King Awich begged us to shoot some of the hippo for his people, and we spent the afternoon on the banks of this beautiful river, concealed amongst the thick foliage, and managed to hand over to him four
great creatures after an
afternoon's sport.

The

excitement this caused through the whole district was quite extraordinary. From near and far
the natives

came

men,

women and

children

carrying great baskets in which to take away All through the night the whole the meat. village was thrilled with suppressed exuberance of spirit, and it was almost impossible to sleep how tnankful we were for the dawn. Passing on from the Aswa, we struck a well-cultivated road that led us all the way to Awich's village. The country was thickly wooded, and most depressing heat made us long for a camp in
;

an

JOURNEY TO GONDOKORO. 293 open space. We were not much impressed

;

by the king's private village it was about the dirtiest and worst-kept place we had yet been His own houses and cattle kraal were in. surrounded by a high reed fence, and his immediate followers had their quarters close at hand in a very dirty village, close to which we were obliged to pitch our camp for want of more open space. It was decidedly amusing to find that this great king was completely under the thumb of his many wives, more especially one, called his chief mistress. She seemed to rule him with a rod of iron, and even the smaller matters of daily life had to be referred to her. For instance, in the matter of food he, poor chap, was quite dependent upon this Amazon for his daily bread, and if she were in a bad temper, he had to go to bed supperless even for us, his guests, he was obliged to request this lady most politely to supply us with a certain quantity of food, and then did not seem at all sure that she would Henpecked husbands are a decided consent. rarity in Africa, and the troubles of this poor man gave us much enjoyment and merriment. In the evening as it was getting dark we gave our entertainment on the phonograph, introducing several Gang songs that we quite

expected would, as it were, bring the house down but a more strangely apathetic audience we never had. Whether it was that the people
;

294

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

were afraid to give any sign of their merriment and pleasure before this very overbearing female, I cannot say true it is, however, that she had a very prominent place close to the trumpet, with several others of the harem decked out hardly a laugh was in iron wire and beads raised, and we decided that for once the phonograph had utterly failed. In and around the village there stalked a tame ostrich, attended it by a little boy with a very long stick appeared to be perfectly gentle, and allowed our very inquisitive porters and boys, most of whom had never before seen such a creature, they on their to approach quite close to it part however took good care to keep a clear road behind them in case trouble should come
; ;

The bird was and make it necessary to fly. much more afraid when confronted with our cameras, and it was difficult to get near enough The little boy who herded to make a picture. it we found was a little slave lad, who had been captured away in Bunyoro while quite a tiny child, and so like the ostrich was in captivity happy and contented, he, however, seemed never having known the blessing of freedom, and was evidently kindly treated by his master.
;

We were quite
What
off

glad to get away from this place. with the great heat the place being cut

and the
it

the breezes by the thick belt of trees disgustingly dirty state of the village, was a relief once more to be on the move.

from

all

JOURNEY TO GONDOKORO.
:

295

The country now became more and more elephants and open, and game was plentiful and buffalo a great number giraffe, rhino and of antelope of various species. were very unfortunate, however, in not catching sight of either giraffe or rhino, these two being the animals we most wanted to see, as they are unknown in the southern portion of the Uganda Protectorate from which we had no time to spare, however, came. as our objective was Gondokoro, and we were still very hazy in our minds as to the actual number of marches necessary to reach this place. On the third day beyond Awich^s place we passed a hill which has a most curious legend attaching to it. The story goes that many years ago a large village stood on the site now occupied by the hill. One day there appeared in the village a strange dog, and this poor beast seemed to be parched with thirst, and went from house to house seeking a drink All the people drove it away and of water. denied it the boon so easy to give, until at last a woman living in a small hut in the centre of the village offered the dog a drink, which, immediately after partaking of the water, disappeared. Soon after its disappearance there came a woman, an utter stranger to all in the village, none knowing from whence she came, and she too went from house to house asking for a drink. Again all refused the simple gift,

We

We

296

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
afraid,

some being

and

others,

it

is

said,

were
last

too drunk to understand her request.

At

she came to the hut occupied by the woman who had taken compassion upon the dog, who, being urged by her husband, fetched a gourd and filled it with the precious fluid, and gave it to the stranger who drank and then said ^^This village is evil, and will be destroyed because of its sin. You and your husband must flee if you wish to be saved move your hut to the far end of the village away from the other huts, and all will be well with you." The woman told her husband what the stranger had said, and urged that he should at once prepare to move their dwelling to the place The man agreed to do this, and the indicated.
;

hut was moved, and the whole family went to

occupy

it.

Then came a

dreadful sign

in

the heavens.

There appeared a black speck which gradually became bigger until darkness came over the earth, and then with a tremendous crash a
from the heavens, blotting out and destroying the inhabitants who had denied the simple boon of a drink of The little housecold water to a thirsty soul. hold, however, that had obeyed the instructions Furthermore it is of the visitor, were saved. stated that from a great crevice in the rock as it stands to-day, there spurts out from time to time blood and hair, said to belong to those
great rock
fell

the entire village,

U.K.

Kt

"fl

PIHBV^^H
'>2^H
^

J l||

j^jjw'SmI L *'^ ^^^^^F

^Iw

"^feftt^^^^H

^^H

1 i IV
.s

1 ^*
y
f

^;^^^^B^^^^^H
o

>

^1

i^V;

'^^H^H

__

-;

Jkl

JOURNEY TO GONDOKORO.

297

who were entombed beneath the rocky mass, and to this spring we were told the wizard of
goes regularly to sacrifice a goat Great Spirit that was offended in the days gone by, that he may be appeased and never more wreak vengeance upon the people. The next day or two we passed through high rocky hills beautifully delightful country covered with trees and patches of bamboos, with small streams meandering here and there in the valleys, making a pleasant change to the monotonous stretch of jungle-covered country through which we had passed. Once more we tasted sweet water from the little springs in the valleys, after the muddy stagnant stuff that we had turned into tea in the thick-wooded district we had passed through. On the tops of the hills the people build their villages, possibly with an idea of safeguarding themselves against their truculent neighbours, Climbing to the top of one of the Bakidi. these beautiful hills we obtained a magnificent view stretching for miles on all sides, and it evident that the people used some of the is great rocks at the top as posts of vantage from which to keep a good look-out against their enemies. The villages themselves were small, but each house had ample accommodation for six or eight people granaries and chicken-hoys^^ were numerous. It astonished me to see how agile the little children were on the rocks at
the
to
district

the

298
this

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
dizzy
other

the

height they jumped from one to with wonderful skill, and seemed
;

greatly

amused

at

the

awkward way

in

which

the poor be-booted white

floundered about, fighting shy of the precipitous edges.

all most friendly, and with excitement took us about their hill, showing us all its resources. next visited a very big village in the country called Madi, which was surrounded by a bamboo fence, beautifully situated at the Here there was not so foot of a rocky hill. much cordiality as at other places, and I fancy this may largely be accounted for by the fact that the majority of the people were not Acholi at all, but Bari. spent a most interesting time, however, investigating the village, and saw many things

man

The men were

great

We

We

that

were

new

to

us.

Here were two men

busily engaged in making iron rings as armlets for the young bucks of the place, with the most primitive tools ; they appeared to be

wonderfully skilful. Time being no object, they would tap and hammer one single strip of iron wire for hours These together to get it into the desired shape. iron rings, twenty or thirty being worn on each arm by the bicep muscle, are carefully made in different sizes so as to fit the arm, and each ring is put on separately, apparently polished
after
it

is

put in place.

often

saw the young

JOURNEY TO GONDOKORO.
men
polishing up their
'^

299

brasses" with a kind

of soft sandstone

and fat until the iron shone and gave quite a dressy appearance. silver like These old men were so engrossed in their work that we could not get a word from them, hardly a look even, and when I set up the camera to photograph them, they were quite undisturbed, and slowly went on with their work. A little bit of skin was all the clothing they possessed,
and,
unlike the majority
of

the

people,

they

had no adornments excepting a tiny tin tally stuck into the ear. Their hair was allowed to grow long and was a tangled mass on the top
of

the head. We found that the war-paint and ornaments were only used by the younger men, especially the unmarried amongst them these latter were always decked out in the most approved Acholi fashion, evidently with the idea of making an impression upon the young damsels of the village. Another interesting group of women and children sat apart from the men, intent upon
;

observing the movements of the white strangers. These ladies were quite nude, and only the more important chiefs' wives seemed to wear ornaments of any kind.

Hunting and fishing

chief delights

of the

swamps are the men, and we saw many

in the in

trophies of the chase

the shape
in

of

skulls

and other bones

of the animals killed.

is

In the
the

dry season hunting

performed

way

300

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

I have already described, by means of the fires, but in the wet weather traps of various sorts are set. A favourite one was a spiked anklet made with the long sharp thorns of the acacia trees. These thorns are fastened on to a ring of cane, with the points turned inwards, and the ring is placed in the track of the antelope, with a stout cord fastening it to an adjoining tree, then as the antelope comes along it plants its foot in the centre of the hoop, the thorns bending and allowing the hoof to pass through but straightening out again into the thinner The beast then by trying part of the ankle. to free itself, forces the sharp thorns into the flesh of the ankle, and finding that the pain is increased by struggling, it finally keeps still, awaiting developments, which come in a short time, by the advent of the hunter, who with a well-directed thrust of the spear ends the poor

creature's career.

The

fish
-

baskets

are

of

the

eel-trap

kind.

shaped mouth, the bait being the mud-fish is induced to enter through the narrow opening, but once through there can The traps are visited once a be no return.
bottle

wicker

basket

narrow

with a very placed inside

day, and are of course secured to a tree in order that they be not washed away by the water after a heavy shower of rain. The little boys and girls were very merry
in

this

village,

and we watched them playing

JOURNEY TO GONDOKORO.

301

about on the rocks like young wild sheep. They, however, seemed very shy of us white
folk, and it was with great difficulty that we could approach them. The following morning we arrived at the great chief Ogwok's village, and of our stay there and subsequent travels I shall write in the next chapter.

302

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

CHAPTER

XV.

LAST STAGES OF A LONG TRAMP.

Our arrival at Ogwok's during a heavy thunderstorm was not noted for its cordiality. For half an hour we had ploughed our way through terrific rain, the path being several inches under water, and arrived in a drenched and miserable condition, soaked to the skin and shivering with cold. Ogwok was on the lookout for us, as we had sent word ahead that we were coming. He extended to us a most hearty welcome, ushering us into his hut with all the natural I was greatly polish of a born gentleman. struck with this man tall and impressive in stature, he combined with it the unusual tact nor did one feel that of extreme politeness

there

was any
political
in

side^
;

or

that

his

welcome was
that

merely

we soon
the
true

discovered
sense,

he
of

was a ma7i

and

one

considerable ability. The hut into which we were shown was remarkable more than thirty feet in height in the middle, and it had a diameter of at least It was a circular construction twenty-five feet and devoid of any poles for the support of the roof, a mud wall about four feet high,

LAST OF A LONG TRAMP.

303

well plastered over with a chalky substance, and the roof cone-shaped and made entirely of

bamboos. The floor was well beaten to form an excellent substitute for a plaster pavement and a strong bamboo door sliding in a groove shut out the light of day for if there is anything a black man really dislikes it is daylight of course there were no windows in his hut and it was comparatively dark. The house was partitioned off into two com-

partments, the
of
its

sleeping
;

occupant

this

and the living rooms was done by bark-cloth

and skins
the hut.

hung upon cords stretched across The house stands in the midst of a

very big village and is kept separate from the rest of the dwellings by a high bamboo fence. The cows belonging to the chief had a separate courtyard in the centre of the village close to the house. As the rain continued to fall and it was impossible to find a suitable place for our tent, Ogwok most kindly invited us to take up our abode for the night in his hut. gladly accepted this hearty invitation and soon had our camp beds cosily arranged in the inner room, while our other furniture found space in the second compartment. For a long while we sat and chatted with our host who seemed most friendly he assured us that we were responsible

We

for

the

rain,

as for weeks
the

there had

drought

and

whole

country

been a needed the

304

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
;

would have insured Towards evening the chief made this strange request that we should ** make the man talk who was shut up in a box." For a moment or two we were puzzled to know what this meant, and then it suddenly dawned upon us that he must be referring to the phonograph, the fame of which had preceded us here. So the **man in the box*' was produced, and
refreshing showers
this alone

us a kind welcome.

asked our permission to call into the hut a few of his wives, so that they could enjoy the fun too Of course we consented, but were not quite prepared for the crowd that flocked in (we were afterwards told that Ogwok had over fifty ladies harem and considerably over sixty his in All were solemnly silent as the children). wonderful box was produced, wound up and started, and then there went up an awed gasp
!

Ogwok

^*man in the box'' sing one of their own songs, a record of which had been taken before we At first the strangeness of it all left Patigo. seemed too much for them, and they stood gaping in bewilderment at the wonderful instrument very gradually they relaxed, then their Presently they hilarity was beyond all control. phonograph themthe into sing to asked were hung fire for a and shy seemed They selves. in thorough began, moment or two, and then Acholi style, dancing at the same time. Their
from the
fifty

throats as the

commenced

to

LAST OF A LONG TRAMP.

song was reproduced, and

305

this was the climax. They shrieked with laughter and flung themselves

upon each

other's shoulders, hiding their faces

as their voices were heard proceeding from this

wonderful machine. It was now late at night and we were tired out, so we asked the chief he to bid us good-night and allow us to rest
;

did so at once,
to depart.

quietly telling
into the night

all

the

women

Long

we could hear

them discussing the events of the evening, and an occasional burst of laughter told us what a tremendous impression the phonograph had
made. Next morning we told Ogwok that we should like to choose a site somewhere near his village, where we could eventually build a station. He was greatly pleased, and pointed out to us a beautiful hill about half a mile north of his village, which he said he had selected for Another hill to the south, he said, had us. been selected by the Government for a proposed

new

station.

us as far as the river Ogada, us a hearty farewell, and and urging us to visit him again before long, he Inquiries of the chief had convinced returned. us that we had no time to visit the Lutuka country, still six days away to the east. The steamer which was to carry me to
then

He accompanied

bidding

Khartoum was
the

to

arrive at

Gondokoro about

29th of the month, and

we were

therefore

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM. We now took a pressed for time.

3o6
circuitous

most

route to the village belonging to a

first going almost due Thick bush characterthen west. and due ised the country and there was but little of interest. The high hills on the east looked most inviting, and we were told that there was a fine game country beyond, but few inhabitants the names of the hills were Agu and Lalak, and further away still a fine peak called Akwero. Bamboos seemed most abundant, and for miles after leaving Ogwok's place we passed through huge forests of them. At Okot's place there were quite a number

young

chief called Okot,

east

of

traders,

several

Mohammedans.

of them being Uganda These enterprising individuals

had erected small sheds near to the chiefs house and by day displayed their goods to the people, which chiefly consisted of semi-European clothing and a few Indian coloured clothes. Being within three days' tramp of Nimule, a large Government post on the Nile, the people were more civilised and wore some clothing. Especially was this the case with the chief, who

came out

in quite

a swell suit of kharki clothes,

an old helmet and a pair of unwieldy boots. He took us into his house to display his various possessions, and assured us that he was **all This we generally found for the Government." was said by the particularly obstreperous inStill I have dividuals, as a blind no doubt.

LAST OF A LONG TRAMP.

307

nothing against the young man, unless it was his harsh treatment of a poor wretched fellow he had got as a prisoner this man was brought out to me and I was asked to pass judgment upon him. Accused of theft and other misconduct, he had been caught and tied up to await the I refused to have sentence of the white man. with the case, and directed the to do anything
;

chief to take his

at
I

prisoner

to the

Government
if

Nimule,

who would punish him

I

necessary.
that
this

am

afraid

knew

perfectly well

would not be done,

not

for there

was

in those

days

much

inclination

on the part of these people

all
I

to put themselves in touch with the officials at

that place, but

it

was

could do under the

circumstances.

More bamboo forests had to be penetrated, and the utter weariness of the next few marches
will not

soon be forgotten

the hot dry weather

was almost beyond endurance, and I often sat down, tired out and dried up with thirst. But a change awaited us, and after a few monotonous marches we reached the Atepi River, and turning due west once more we
passed along this beautiful valley, touching the stream itself at intervals. This valley was the line of demarcation between the Gang and Bari tribes, neither crossing right over into the other's country Fortunately for except on very rare occasions.


3o8

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

us, we secured the help of a Bari man as guide, one who had crossed the border into the Gang district, being sent on a special errand by his
chief.

The Atepi
was
for

valley

was

full

of interest, for at the open country

this season of the year,

when

the most part burned up with forest fires or dried by the fierce sun, it was a pleasure to find along the banks of this pretty stream
rich vegetation, green and beautiful. Then again the whole valley is alive with game of all descriptions, and the many tracks of elephant and buffalo and the skeleton of a giraffe not yet clean, testified to the fact that it was a country in which to expect the larger beast A week in this valley of the African fauna. would have afforded us intense pleasure, and the one day we stayed there, there were seen close to camp hartbeest, water-buck, dinker, harnessed antelope, reed-buck and pig, while the roaring of the lions in the early morning as we ate our breakfast, told of the presence The trees along the of the king of beasts. banks of the Atepi were alive with monkeys of many kinds, the colobus being most conspicuous of them all. now got into the sort of country beloved by the rhino thick scrub and sandy soil, rocky in places and innumerable dry water-courses however, we saw nothing of these beasts, although The want of water there were many tracks.
'

We

LAST OF A LONG TRAMP.

;

309

was again our difficulty every stream was dry, and for hours we passed along through the thorny jungle with parched lips. Here and
there

we found a pool
strongly

smelling

of dirty green water, of elephant, and quite im-

possible to drink.

The

Baris are great hunters like their neigh-

bours, the Acholi,

suddenly came

and one morning we quite upon a large party of them

who seeing the Acholi with us, and recognising in them their old enemies, they fled into the jungle, and it was with considerable difficulty we persuaded them to return. At first they were very shy and we could not get much out of them, but after a little time they seemed to understand that we were to be trusted, and they became more communicative. The most important man amongst them was a son of the chief Mila, for whose village we were making, and it did not require much persuasion to get him to accompany us and show us the way. Late in the afternoon we reached Mila's place, a stockaded village at the foot of a rocky hill, overlooking what seemed to be a fertile valley. The old man came out to greet us, and it was soon very apparent to us that he was a typical specimen of the old savage chief who in times past caused travellers so much difficulty in passing through the country. He wore a skin to cover his loins, and apart
engaged
in

this pursuit,

men who were

3IO

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
that

from

nothing

but

arms and ankles.

We

a few iron rings on asked him to supply

us with food for our porters for which we would give him the equivalent in cloth. He however suggested that a more suitable present for us to bestow upon him would be one of our cows we had with us, for giving milk.
this

Needless to say we managed to get out of bargain, being far more dependent upon the milk of our cows than on the good offices of this savage old chief. However, he moderated a little in his demands, and was eventually satisfied upon receiving a few articles of ordinary wearing apparel, such He then as a shirt, vest, and old coat, etc. brought plenty of food, which we distributed amongst our porters, and a sheep, which we were glad enough of for ourselves. In addition to this he procured for us a number of porters to relieve in a measure the men who so far had Some of them were begincarried so nobly. ning to feel the stress of the march. The heat now became more and more intense, and a hot wave of wind from the north, right into our faces, made us gasp for breath, as it rose from the ground before us, like the blast of a furnace. struggled on against it with great discomfort, often longing for a cooling drink and Then we began to as often denied that boon. descend to a lower level, and, strange as it may seem, it got cooler.

We

LAST OF A LONG TRAMP.

311

We still had four days' tramp to Gondokoro, and matters did not improve as we proceeded. The country became wilder and more sparsely populated, and the heat again was very overwhat people there were seemed to powering a few of the most of the Bari tribe be mostly prominent characteristics of the tribe may be In language they are closely here mentioned. allied to the AchoH and the Latuka, who live to the east beyond the hills, and both are linguistically similar to the Masai of the East African
;
;

Protectorate.

There is hardly any room to doubt that these tribes were at one time closely allied and possibly came from one common stock, for in physique, language and customs there is a distinct simiThey are generally tall, thin men, whose larity. features are by no means negro in type, and their language also is distinctly distinguishable from Bantu. In customs also there is a general agreement,
although these people
of
life.

very much in modes generally speaking, a lower type, and far from being the fine race the for the most part they Acholi undoubtedly are are absolutely naked, and none but the chief and perhaps a few of their most immediate followers have any clothing at all, and even the ornaments, so common a feature of the Acholi, are comparatively few. The strange habit of standing, like the water-bird, on one
differ

The

Bari

are,

312

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

leg with the other foot resting on its knee, is a common sight amongst Bari and Acholi alike, while among the Masai people of East Africa the same custom is also observed.
I

the
in

have seen this practice amongst many of Congo natives, who for hours would stand this way with the help of a stick, looking

out on the waters of the great river. were told that at one time the Bari had numerous herds of cattle and, like the Masai, almost lived upon the milk, but owing to the constant raids of the Dervishes, which caused the population to retire for about ten miles from the river, they lost all, and now it seems that only the chiefs possess cattle at all, and they only in very small numbers. These Nilotic races are a great contrast to the people of Uganda and Bunyoro, and are
often referred to by them as** the naked people," alluding to their most remarkable characteristic, namely, the absolute nudity of the male sex. Here amongst the Bari the prices paid for food a good or sheep and cattle are very high indeed cow would be valued at Rs. 120, while in Uganda the same could be purchased for Rs. 60. Like the Acholi, the Bari show a good deal of respect to their wives, and I had an interesting proof of this at one of the Bari villages at which we stopped. I had with me a young bull that I was taking to Gondokoro to sell. The chief came to me, asking that I would allow him to
;

We

LAST OF A LONG TRAMP.

purchase some of the
told
cattle

313

I had with me. I was the only one I would sell, but that he should buy that if he desired He was greatly delighted, and a to do so. price was soon fixed, to which he readily agreed, and set off at once to fetch the rupees. In less than ten minutes he was back again, quite crestfallen, and when I asked him what was the matter he said: '^My wife refuses to allow me to purchase a bull she wants a cow with milk, and nothing but that will satisfy her." So the bargain was off, but it was the first time I had

him

that the bull

ever

known a black man to be prevented from making a purchase that he had decided upon by his dusky partner. At the same time I could not help feeling a certain amount of respect for

so readily gave way to his wife, shows that the Bari woman is not quite the slave one had always deemed her. As we neared Gondokoro the path began to improve, while the country became more and more monotonous, and the heat intensified
the
for
it
;

man who

we were not disappointed therefore when at last we found ourselves nearing the goal, and
a welcome bugle sound bursting upon our ears told us that the journey was ended.

314

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
CHAPTER
SIX days'

XVI.

imprisonment in the sudd.

nearly

GoNDOKORO,

3000 miles from the

sea,

and almost as many above it, was reached in good time for the boat, which was more than two days late. We were quite surprised to find what a
beautiful
trees of

station
flat

can

be

erected

in

uninteresting

stretch of country,

a dull, devoid of

and no clay or other useful The whole purposes. place had been rebuilt by the Collector, Mr. Spires, and the grounds were laid out in a most the designer and architect of picturesque style the place is therefore to be warmly congratulated upon his undoubted success. One can quite imagine what a hopeless task it would appear amid such surroundings, to erect dwelling-houses that would in any sense be comfortable, and

any

size,

material

for

building

yet,

opinion, the station is second to none in the whole Protectorate, in the matter of good-looking houses and general arrangewhile as regards comfort, there are but ment
in
;

my

i few stations to equal it in Uganda. The houses are built of brick not the muddy sunburnt things that so soon crumble away under the power of the tropical rains, but really burnt bricks, which are thoroughly substantial.

IMPRISONMENT

IN

THE SUDD.
;

315

The dwelling-houses are raised on arches that run right through the foundations thus ventilation is obtained, and a current of air passing beneath the houses tends to make them much
cooler.

The

thatch

is

very neatly

laid,

to the roof, in order to prevent its

being fastened being blown

in

away by the strong north winds. Each house has a mosquito-proof room,

which the inhabitant can sit in comfort after dark has set in and these terrible pests have made their appearance. There was a fine new office in which the official work of the station was performed, and a more recently built market-house, both of which were of burnt brick, and in keeping with the rest of the An ammunition store and a guestplace. house completed the building of the Civil
department.

We were most kindly shown into the guesthouse and told that we might make use of it during our stay at Gondokoro, but that we should be expected to take all our meals with
Need I say that this latter kindness was most gladly accepted a well-cooked meal, nicely placed upon the table, was indeed a luxury, after the rough-and-ready methods
the Collector.
;

of

camp
for

duty

life, when a ^^chop box" often does a table and army rations for the meal.

were most cordially welcomed by Mr. Spires and the military officers, who showed

We

3i6

us most enjoyable days at this place for myself, there the few loads required for was plenty to do the rest of the journey had to be packed and those to return to Patigo made secure. I had several pleasant walks through the village of Gondokoro, and was surprised to find so large a settlement of Soudanese and others, most of whom in all probability had at one time been
;
:

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM. every hospitality. We spent three

in

Government employ.

of these were Mohammedans, and they have erected a tiny mosque in the main street, a very insignificant building to look at, but undoubtedly representing a force that will cause

Some

certain

amount

of

difficulty

in

the

further

opening up of

missionary eff'orts. A large date-palm tree was pointed out to me as being planted there by Sir Samuel Baker, nearly forty years ago, and it is now called ** Baker Pasha^s Tree.*' There are a number of Baris living at Gondokoro, many having come from the Belgian side of the Nile^ owing, as they say, to the ill-treatment they receive at the hands of The western bank of the Nile forms the officers. the so-called Lado Enclave, which was leased to the Congo Free State during the life of the They have several present king of the Belgians. important stations, among them being Mahagi, which overlooks the Albert Lake, Dufile, Lado and Kiro on the Nile, and here in these places,
this district to

IMPRISONMENT
as

IN

THE SUDD.

317

in other parts, the Belgian administration does not bear a good name, and has not the reputation of dealing at all kindly with the

natives under
I

its

control.
it

have

heard

said
if

that

officers

of

the

British

Government are always able

to reduce

they hold out the threat to deport them to the Belgian side of the intensely do the natives hate the river, so Belgian rule. For many miles around most of these Belgian There posts there is an absence of natives.
natives to obedience

are the soldiers* villages,

many
of

coming from are Ban gala

hundreds
natives

of the soldiers miles away, and

or

even

Banyema,

and

every soldier has a certain following of wives and women from various parts, but the Bari and the Madi are noticeable by their absence, the majority of them I believe having come over on to the British side of the Nile. Some

day I hope the Lado Enclave will come back under British rule, then the whole of the riverbed, from Uganda to Cairo, will be in our hands a most desirable end. There was quite a wave of excitement

the

amongst the inhabitants of Gondokoro when in distance was seen the white upper deck of the Nile Post boat, and the flutter of
ladies' dresses told of approaching visitors of For three months in the year the fair sex.

(January,

February and March)

this

post boat

3i8
is

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
fully

passengers from outpost of the Uganda Protectorate, and the excitement caused by the visit of ladies to this out-of-the-world place was intense. As the steamer hove in sight the the white binoculars of all population of Gondokoro were brought to bear upon it It the white man is the event of the year, and
to

equipped
to

carry

Khartoum

this

who

many months has worn nothing but quickly dons his best garments and hastens to the landing-stage to bid a hearty welcome to the visitors. As the gunwale of the steamer rubs along the low bank of the river, the tow-line is made fast to a fan-palm tree by the river-side, three smart gentlemen in kharki, members of the Uganda Rifles, stand at the salute, and give the first welcome. The only convict of the place, in prison garb of blue, with a pattern of white arrow-heads covering it, is ready to do what he can, and is soon made busy carrying off various loads, etc., brought by the steamer for the Uganda Government. Then the visitors daintily step ashore and commence a hurried inspection of the place. They soon find the great heat a decided inconvenience, and gladly make for the Collector's order to buy up what stamps of office in the Uganda Protectorate there may be for sale If as souvenirs of their visit to the country. they think that by seeing Gondokoro they
for

kharki,

IMPRISONMENT

IN

THE SUDD.

319

have obtained a good idea of the Protectorate as a whole they are vastly mistaken, for Gondokoro, built as it is upon the hard-baked plain, choked up with rank vegetation all around, is by no means a representative place of Uganda
proper.

From

the post-office they

go

to the soldiers' lines

and take a ^^cup of friendship" in the form of tea with the officers, and then make their way back to the boat, having seen all there is to see, and apparently very glad to get under the shade of the upper deck. My kit is soon carried down by my trusty boys and safely stowed away in the little cabin

that

is

the boat.

reserved for me in the forward part of The whistle is blown for the third
;

passengers are on board the Dal her moorings, swings round, and Gondokoro is soon a speck in the distance, for the flowing tide is with us and the stern wheeler soon makes considerable headway. have a distance of 11 50 miles to travel on this wonderful river before we get to Khartoum, and a vast stretch of sudd' clogged water to pass through. The Z>a/, which was to take us over this weary tract of country, demands a little
time
;

all

casts

off

We

description.

She
CTTC

is a stern-wheeler, flat-bottomed boat, with decks for the convenience of passengers.

The

cabins,
*

though small, are nicely

'*

fitted

up

**

Sudd," an Arabic word meaning

barrier."

320

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

and kept tolerably clean by the staff of black boys under the direct supervision of an intelligent Egyptian steward. The one I occupied was right forward, and at least had the advantage of
able

being cooler than the others, although considerinconvenience was experienced, owing to the fact that the steering wheel was just overhead, and the rudder chains rattled at the bunkhead still to be cool was a great matter, in the terrible heat of the sudd district. Meals were arranged on the under deck, and in a small saloon leading therefrorn, and were
;

generally well cooked, and there was plenty of Some of course complained, as variety of food. they would in the best London hotel, that the

food all had a sameness about it that made eating I can only say that after camp a real trouble. fare to me it was luxurious, and I recommend a two months' tramp in Africa with a Swahili cook,

order to work up an appetite that fully appreciates civilised meals. On the lower deck, or rather in the hold of the boat, was a motley crew of boatmen and native passengers, all huddled together in such a fashion as to make one wonder how they moved
in

about

at all.

But the Dal had other passengers to carry, many more than could be found room for on our decks, and it was necessary therefore to lash on to her sides two great ** lighters** crowded from stem to stern with a mixed company of black

IMPRISONMENT
folks.

IN

THE SUDD.

321

Soldiers

and

soldiers'

wives seemed to

predominate, but there was

civilians.

also a large

number

of

The Soudanese soldiers had their wives and families with them and Arab servants, men and women, the last mentioned being usually accompanied by the children. There were also not a few pet parrots and monkeys. Their cooking was done indiscriminately about the decks of the lighters, and it was a wonder to me how they all managed to live in this crowded fashion. On the upper deck of each barge were numerous native beds that belonged to the more fortunate, and upon these they retired at night, while the
rest

were stretched about

the cooking-pots

in all sorts of attitudes

and baggage. Thus it among will be understood when I say that what with the company beneath and the two burdened lighters on either side, crowded with all sorts and con'

ditions

the white passengers in the middle were very much shut in and suffered considerably from the foul smells of the cookingpots and the noisy clatter that came from their surroundings. This is the one black mark I have against this service of tourist boats on this upper reach of the Nile. The cost of the journey from Gondokoro to Khartoum being great (nearly ;^6o), a little more consideration for the white passengers should be shown. were greatly honoured by the company of three ladies on board, one elderly and two quite
of people

We

U.K.

322

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
To
them,
it

young.

was company. Two Frenchmen, an Italian doctor, a Russian Swede, an American journalist and three Englishmen made up the passenger list. All were on good terms with one another, and in spite of the different nationalities, there was an evident desire on the part of all to make the journey as pleasant As evening closed in upon us, we as possible. approached the great pyramid-shaped mountains
admitted,
largely due the sociability of the

must be

of Lado,

rising sheer from the level plains to

feet, and here, after the first twenty miles of the journey, we came to anchor. Lado on the river front is the capital of the Nile province of the Belgian Congo, and presents a pleasing spectacle, for the houses are prettily great company of built amongst the trees.

some 3000

wives live along the bank, while a few Belgian officials who are waiting in readiness for the arrival of the Dal^ step on board, and seem quite at home with everybody. They tell us that a dance has been arranged by the natives in honour of the visitors, and invite the ladies and the rest of the passengers to step ashore and witness it. To me such dances have no charm, and l' contented myself with remaining on board and retiring early to my bunk, but sleep was im-| possible while the noise of the dance continued.} Again the Dal moves onward, and after a couple of hours' steaming pulls up at Mongalla, the
native
soldiers
their
i

and

IMPRISONMENT
first

IN

THE SUDD.

323

Soudan post, and one which is to become prominent in the future history of the Upper Nile. There is nothing particularly striking about Mongalla a number of low-built sheds on the river front, a soldiers' village, and one or two houses for the accommodation of the British But there is a business air about officers. the place, and something makes one feel sure that in a few years' time Mongalla will be an important station. Along the bank were strewn numerous bags of cement, window and door frames, and other accessories for the buildings of a permanent
:

station.

the C.M.S. has lately sent out clergymen, a doctor, and two laymen in order to commence mission work amongst the Baris and other surrounding Thus the challenge sent forth by tribes. Lord Cromer to the Christian Church has been taken up, and it will be a great surprise to me if Mongalla does not become a great missionary centre for this Upper Soudan, as well as an important Government post.^ The country around Mongalla is not particularly interesting, but from the rapid observations I made, I should deem it tolerably healthy at anyrate as compared with other stations on
six

To this place men three

the Nile.
I

Bor, a

The missionary party has more thickly-populated

since

district,

moved its headquarters to some miles to the north.

324

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

The ban of the place is the mosquito, and while the great swamp, a few hundred yards from the main buildings of Mongalla, remains as it is, this little pest will not diminish. There are a few Bari natives living at Mongalla, but the bulk of the population is inland, on the higher country towards the hills, very dimly seen in the distance from a point a little south of the village. At the present time Mongalla is occupied by a couple of European officers and a large number of Soudanese troops with their wives and
families.

We

uninteresting

spent the day wandering about this very trying in vain to talk place,

with the natives, all of whom seemed listless and undemonstrative, making us glad to get back to the narrow confines of the Dal. At this point I had a companion in my cabin, a British officer who was temporarily in the Egyptian service, and then on his way home He quite for a short furlough in England. belief about Mongalla. confirmed my own

Dull enough place in itself, it was at the same time a good centre from which to reach the many native tribes living inland from the river, and he assured me that the Egyptian officers were delighted to know that missionaries were soon to be sent, as it would mean that a better understanding between the Government and the natives would be established.

IMPRISONMENT
And now we

IN

THE SUDD.
the

325

approach

most desolate

spot on earth the great swamp district of the Upper Nile where the river is choked up with sudd, and where, as far as the eye could reach, nothing can be seen but the waving tops of the papyrus grass a vast lake hidden under great deal has been a mass of vegetation. written about these swamps and the sudd, which

for so

many

centuries have blocked

all

navigation

on the upper reaches of the Nile, but to fully

understand the horrors, it must be witnessed. Suddenly the steamer enters a narrow lane, scarcely twenty feet wide, lined on both sides with the tall papyrus the water seems stagnant and fully charged with decaying vegetation. One instinctively climbs on to the upper deck of the Dal to get a better view, and if
;

possible
horrible

to

penetrate

to

the

but a weary waste of green papyrus can be seen as far as the in every direction stretches a eye can reach boundless level expanse of green, dense and solid, and hardly moved by the occasional hot fetid Not a tree is visible, and no dry land, breezes. or anything to break the monotony, not even a friendly palm tree, it is a dead sea of green. The Dal forges ahead, zigzagging along its narrow channel, and we stand on the upper deck looking out for something alive, but all
;

swamp but nothing

confines

of

this

igns of

life,

birds or beasts,
it

seem
in

left

behmd.

Papyrus, weak as

is

in

itself

the single

326
reed,

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

and

is an irresistible strength when it invades covers up everything. No amount of any cutting down is good where one reed is a hundred more shoot up, and destroyed, millions and millions more remain. single
;

stalk with

its

waving

tuft

of green

is

a thing

of beauty, but

when

clustered thick,

ing acres and acres of ground, merely a dull uninteresting stretch of green, with little or no tone of colour a weariness indeed, only enjoyed by the crocodiles and clouds of mosquitoes. Then it must be borne in mind that all this vegetation is growing on the surface of the

and coverit becomes

water,

constantly shifting a good channel may be cut through one day, but the next, the whole is blocked up again little islands of it become detached, and are carried
is

and

therefore

by the wind, more than by the current, hither and and finally brought again to a stand, speedily amalgamated with a hundred are and other tufts and a substantial barrier is made. The great wonder to us all on board was that the man at the helm should know which channel to take, for often there would be as
thither,

as three or four before us that to untrained eye looked exactly similar, and: the yet perhaps only one was at all navigable. Sometimes we were going due south in order to circumnavigate some uncut accumulation, while east and west were directions we became quite

many

IMPRISONMENT

IN

THE SUDD.

327

One day we descried just ahead familiar with. of us the funnel of another steamer apparently within a mile of us. This was at ten o'clock
in

the

right onward,

morning, and although we steamed and were assured that the boat

in front of us was stationary, it was fully four hours before we came up with it. The fact was the channel in which we were was circuitous, and we approached it as in a huge maze, and yet we were told it was the straightest possible course we took, and only the fixed landmark showed how difficult it was for us to move forward at Altogether these winding channels through all. the great swamps added at least 300 miles to our journey from Gondokoro to Khartoum. The Soudan Government has several large steamers constantly at work keeping these channels open and cutting away huge blocks of rank vegetation in order to communicate with were told its stations on the upper reaches. that the true channel was still being cut, and it was hoped in a few months' time to complete it from end to end. One day we came up with one of these great sudd-cutting boats, and were all deeply interested to see the methods used for clearing the course. Our pilot, evidently believing that he could now steam right into the new channel, took a short cut through, which was supposed to lead into all went well until we were within a hundred It yards of the sudd-cutter, and then we stuck

We

328
fast,

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
charging
into

an

immovable

mass

of

papyrus. The open channel was just ahead of us, but to get there, we were obliged to pass this barrier, and after a few futile attempts to rush it, we gave up the game, and signalled to the captain of the relief boat our desire for
assistance.

brought to us and our prow, and then the securely relief boat, with full steam ahead, tried to haul us over the obstruction. As soon as ever we moved the great masses of floating vegetation was forced in astern and alongside by the current and effectually blocked us in at the back. Then the steel hawser broke, and we were jammed tight, and it appeared as though we should never be able to move again, so thick was the papyrus around us. Again the steel hawser is fixed, and again the sudd-cutter plunges forward, but disappointment awaits us, for the steel wire is not sufficient, and snaps like a piece of cotton.
steel

The

hawser was
to

fastened

Night comes on, and all further efforts are abandoned until the morning, and the mosquitoes speedily drive the poor stranded passengers into
safer quarters.

As morning breaks, new methods are adopted a number of black boys are to be seen swarming over the side of the relief boat with long hatchets and hand-saws. Great strong fellows they look, stripped to the waist, plunging into the water apparently without fear of crocodiles or deep
;

IMPRISONMENT
water.

IN

THE SUDD.

329

Then once more the steel hawser is brought, and passed in a great loop over a mass of the sudd and is pressed down into the submerged Hacking and hewing roots by the black boys. cheerfully for a time, until it is then goes on seen that the great bulk enclosed in the noose is detached from the surrounding vegetation and the relief boat again steams ahead, this time with eminent success, for a great island is slowly
towed away and cast up on one side where the channel is broader. It was soon found that the Dal^ in her frantic efforts of the previous day to push through, had simply forced herself on to a tangled mass of weeds and rubbish, and it was now necessary to cut away under the keel The of the boat before she was free to move. natives kept at it, apparently no cohesion amongst them, and no one to ** boss '' them, but they knew their job, and in a few hours a little clear water began to show itself around the boat. Then the funniest part of the whole performance came on. The whole company of cutters went off to the port quarters, and every man putting his shoulder to the hull, with a weird chant that kept them strangely together, they pushed with all their

At the same time the relief boat commenced straining at the steel hawser attached to our bow, and very slowly the Dal slid onward into the clear water beyond, and we were extracted from our queer prison-house and went
might.
merrily on our way.

For the best part of

six


330

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

days (450 miles) we were in this horrible marsh, and although we were only stuck fast once, we were many times into the side of the narrow channel, and suffered the inconveniences of marshy odours and clouds of mosquitoes. It has sometimes been thought that this enormous collection of vegetable matter is due to the gradual massing together of floating water-plants from the upper reaches of the Nile. I think this is not entirely the case, but is due to the natural growth and rapid development of the papyrus, the roots of which plant form a compact heap Occasionally great lumps eight or ten feet thick. are torn off from the main body and carried down

and all, and unite with other which become piled up together and thus block up the stream. Thus the whole
stream,
roots

floating islets,

river is covered with a layer of vegetable matter

a surprisingly short space of time. At one time this enormous growth entirely prevented any navigation between Gondokoro and Khartoum, and a way had to be cut through in 1900 in order to again establish river communication. Bad as this sudd-covered district is on the
in

of the

Bahr-el-Gebel (the mountain river), as this part Nile is called, we were told that there is a region far surpassing it in real discomfort the district through which the Bahr-el-Ghazal has been described as ** steamingIt passes. marshes, where what appears to be solid ground generally proves to be nothing but fetid water

IMPRISONMENT

IN

THE SUDD.

331

overgrown with plants, and where the mosquitoes are so numerous and venomous, that at evening when they are most active, the whole native population adjourns to the lagoons, and remains for some time with only their heads above water/' It has been clearly demonstrated by recent
investigation that a vast amount of the precious water of the Upper Nile, so essential to the life of Egypt and the Soudan, is lost in these great marshes by evaporation. Spread out as the water is over this great area, it is readily understood that evaporation is enormous under the tropical sun, and in all probability not one-third of the water ever reaches Egypt that otherwise would do so had it not to pass through this I understand a great scheme low-lying district, is now contemplated whereby the Soudan may become a veritable garden of the world, for the soil is said to be of the highest quality, and lack of water is the only detriment to its cultivation.

The scheme
fifty

Nile bed
entirely

is to move the whole of the or sixty miles to the east, to an

new channel, more than 200 miles long, from Bor to the north of the Sobat, completely avoiding the great swamps of the sudd, so that instead of passing through this low-lying district, where the sudd is, which terminates at Lake No, a new channel should be cut for the river through a district well studded with hills. The scheme is gigantic in its conception, but has the highest support of many of the great men of

332
the

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

Soudan, who see at once what enormous advantages would be reaped by thus increasing the water supply of this most fertile area. The originator of the scheme is Sir William Garstin, Under-Secretary of State for Public Works of Egypt, who has in person made an

exhaustive inquiry into the possibilities of the enterprise, taking a journey from Mombasa on the east coast, crossing the Victoria Lake, then still further inland to the Albert Lake, coming down the course of the rivers, making careful and exact measurements of the quantity of water, and so on down the Nile to Egypt. He has conclusively proved that a great proportion of the water leaving these Central African Lakes is entirely lost in the great sudd district. His estimate is that only one quarter of the water which comes from the Victoria Lake if reaches the junction of the Nile and Sobat this can be saved and utilised in the Soudan,
;

what

magic changes will take place The ^Mesert" shall indeed blossom like the rose, and the millions of now fruitless barren acres, the waste places of the great interior provinces of Africa, shall be able to support a large The line of the proposed new population. a channel has only lately been surveyed
!
;

company

of

expert

donkeys, barges, etc., to spend several months in definitely ascertaining whether the new project were feasible from an

with camels, started off from Fashoda

engineers


IMPRISONMENT
IN

THE SUDD.

333

engineering point of view, and a final decision has yet to be made. Twice I have had the
pleasure of meeting the great man who is the the first time was originator of this scheme in Hoima, when Sir William Garstin, with his
;

party of experts, was on his way from the* Dining with him Victoria Nile to Khartoum. in the evening I was greatly struck by his keen by no means insight into all things African all projects is he a one-sided man to whom outside his particular course are uninteresting on the contrary, he took the greatest interest
; ;

Uganda, and many of his plain common-sense proposals such as Government farms, in order to find definite employment
in

native affairs

in

for the hundreds of workless Uganda natives were well worth earnest attention. The second time I met him was on the great I chanced to find myself Soudan Railway.

placed opposite to

him

in the dining-saloon,

and

once more found that a few moments' conversation Hardly with him was full of the deepest interest. did I expect that he would remember the incident of our meeting in Hoima so many months previously, but I was surprised to find that not only did he recollect the fact, but the theme of our conversation was quite fresh in his memory. This then is the type of man who makes England what she is, the leader of the world in all great
civilising enterprises, as well as in the

commercial

projects of our

own land and her dependencies.


334

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

CHAPTER
The
to

XVII.

OMDURMAN TO KHARTOUM.
six days' imprisonment in the sudd came an end at last, and we thankfully enter the shallow lagoon of Shambe, on the banks of which is built a very poor apology for a town. Here we stopped for a few hours, but the aspect of the place had no attraction, and we decided to remain on board, rather than face the scorching heat of sun on this hard-baked plain. We have now entered the country of the Shillooks, a tall, lithe race, usually wearing nothing but a string of beads, and whose great delight seems to be that which is so common

amongst so many natives of Central Africa smearing the body with a light kind of mud. The Masai and the Bahuma of the Uganda Protectorate are also addicted to this habit, and have been told by the latter that it is done I when leading the cows out in search of the salty water, so much beloved by all the cattle
a true child kindly to he considers that the innovations of civilisation his string of beads is quite sufficient, so long as his head is plastered with reddish mud and his body ornamented by painted designs in wood
of Central Africa.

The

Shillook

is

of Nature,

and does not take

;

at

all

OMDURMAN TO KHARTOUM.
ashes.

335

He usually carries one or two murderous-looking spears, and struts about with every His chief appearance of entire satisfaction. occupation is herding cattle, and although otherwise lazy he will spend much trouble upon his cows, which he never kills by any chance, but he will eat those that die a natural death. The general use of the cow is to procure wives each woman is reckoned to be worth six or eight cows. The king of the Shillooks has his headquarters at Fashoda (but the tribe reaches many miles up the Nile), and here at Shambe we first became acquainted with them. Again I noticed the bird-like attitude of standing on one leg, thereby further enhancing his dignity, already mentioned as a characteristic of the Nile tribes. Resting thus on his spear he will sometimes stand for hours together, watching the movements of the visitors or listlessly looking out over the plain. Along the Sobat River large settlements of these people are to be met with, and a few days after leaving the sudd-covered area we entered the river on the way to the American Presbyterian Mission, which has a prosperous station a few miles from the mouth ; here we saw more of these people. As we turned into this fine tributary of the Nile, we were interested to see the remains of an old fort built in Gordon's time, but now disused, upon the high mud walls of which several lanky Shillooks were watching our approach. This
;

336

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
;

Sobat River has, no doubt, a future it passes through a veryfertile stretch of country and is navigable with but ordinary difficulties for hundreds of miles. Less than two hours' steam up the Sobat brought us to the mission station of the American Presbybeautiful

of

some importance

terians.

number

of

tall

Shillooks, actually

dressed in a few yards of cheap cotton cloth slung over the shoulder, stood waiting on the bank, and watched with interest while the Dal was made fast. This was the first mission I came to after leaving my own Acholi station, now getting on for 600 miles away in a straight line. It was therefore with great pleasure that I shook hands with the Rev. Hugh T. McLaughlin (since returned to America) and Mr. W. Carson, members of the Sobat Mission, who are working among the Shillooks. The station is prettily situated in a palm grove about twenty feet above the level of the water, and it is now nearly five years since it was established. The houses are small, but nicely built, and each one has a garden in which bananas, palms and cotton The station is in the heart of the are growing. country, and affords every opportunity Shillook for reaching this interesting tribe, and although up to the present there is not a great deal of success to show for these years of earnest toil, it may well be believed that a lot of silent foundation work has been accomplished that will one day show itself to advantage. Turk and Dervish

OMDURMAN TO KHARTOUM.
have both

337
:

in times past invaded this country robbed and oppressed the people, former the and finally ran off with their cattle the latter
;

killed the

men and

stole the

women, and burned

their houses.

*^Now," says the Shillook, ^^you missionaries have come, and you say you want well, we will wait a bit to tell us about God
;

and

and to-day they are still waiting, and let us hope are beginning at anyrate to see that the Christian missionary can at least do without the poor man's cattle and women, and that his desire to help them is a sincere one. Perhaps the brighter days have dawned, and
see,"

we

shall

now hear

of

many

of this interesting

tribe turning from their worship of the true God.

ashore and buildings occupied by the missionaries and to join in a friendly cup of tea, and that was all, for very soon the DaVs whistle is heard, and we hurry back to the confined space of her upper deck to wave a long farewell to our friends. are soon on the main river again, and Fashoda is the next place of interest, at anyrate it deserves this distinction historically, although its
to step

heathenism to the had just time hurriedly inspect the few

We

We

physical features by no

means

justify the fact.

It

was

at this place that

to civilisation,

Emin Pasha when he commenced

bid farewell

to the heart of Africa,

his journeys which have been so much

fraught with mystery, even to the present day. Here also in recent years M^rchand made his

338

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
;

headquarters, expecting by sodoing to permanently check the advance of the British up the Nile but who was obliged by order of a gallant British officer to haul down the French flag and decamp. I landed on this notable spot for a few minutes, and was soon convinced that in spite of its history it was a place to be avoided as much as possible. It lies low to the Nile, which at this point divides
into three
distinct

streams, and

we had

to

go

ashore on the middle island, crossing it along a very muddy path, and then pack ourselves into an overcrowded boat, and were finally punted across to the mainland. When we arrived there was little to see a few low buildings on the sandy bank, and the appearance of a garden, which was pointed out as the one that Marchand took an interest in, and in which he spent some of the spare moments, which one would think would be many in such a place, until Kitchener came upon the scene and asked him to retire. This was Fashoda, the strategic point, the capture of
;

which by a foreign power would have greatly hindered the opening up of the Upper Nile reaches to British enterprise, but which to-day is scarcely anything but a name in history. There are doubtless many other places of interest between Fashoda and Khartoum, but the Dal gave us little opportunity of inspecting them nor did we wish it. Omdurman and Khartoum were the only two places left which had any sort

of attraction for us.

OMDURMAN TO KHARTOUM.
The
the
first

339

former, though visited second, shall receive

I

the day

word, and it will be long before I iorget spent in that old-world city. the junction of the Blue and below Just White Nile, on the left bank, is the late capital

of the

Mahdi and Khalifa, stretching for eight From the right bank miles along the river front. it presents itself as a long weary stretch of low mud buildings, as far as the eye can reach,
tectural

with

shape and no archisteam ferry carries us across the river, and we have pointed out to us the two distinct currents of water from the Blue and the White Nile, and are immediately struck by the strange fact that for many miles these two streams refuse to unite, a phenomenon which has many explanations. The dark blue waters of the Abyssinian Nile seemed to hug the eastern bank, and take up about one-third the width of the stream, while the mud-laden waters of the White Nile, which have come for two thousand miles from the
little

variation

in

beauty.

south,
placidly

and are dull and light-coloured, go on their way, refusing to mingle

waters with its newly-arrived neighbour. The simplest explanation is that the current of the White Nile, before uniting with its twin sister,
is

stronger,
in

held
sink,

and therefore the mud and chalk suspension have not been allowed to

while the blue waters of the Abyssinian Nile have quieted down, and all sediment has

340

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.

been disposed of before the junction is made. pass through these disunited streams, and very soon are at the landing-stage on the other side. For some reason or other this landing is a long way up the river from the town, and we at once look round for some mode of conveyance. A dozen or more donkeys are forcibly brought to our notice by the shouts and

We

of the Arab boys, and by the importunity of these youngsters we soon found gesticulations

ourselves astride and well

on the way

to

the

main part of the

city.

road runs along the river front, or rather I should say the sandy track, for there little road about it. pass beneath is but the walls of disused forts, and by the grim prison the scene of untold cruelties in the Khalifa's days and presently find ourselves in the great gum-market of the world, for here one sees tons and tons of gum, which have been brought hundreds of miles on camels' backs, from the great desert of Kordofan. Spread out on mats which extend over several acres of

The

We

ground,
of

and classified by swarms it is sorted Arab women, and a constant chatter goes
in

every language of the dark continent. The great treasure-house, Beil-el-amana, is passed by, as no permit has been obtained, without which no admission can be had at any price, and time was too short to wait for it. then passed by the Khalifa's old house,

on

We

OMDURMAN TO KHARTOUM.
which
is

341

strongly fortified on

all

sides

it

overwell

looks the whole of

Omdurman, and we can

understand how thoroughly protected it was from surprise on all sides. The barbarism and cruelty that has taken place in this great city and the Khalifa's will never be fully known house stands to-day just with its bare walls guarded carefully by Egyptian troops, as a warning to the Dervishes and to all perpetrators
;

come upon those who by oppression make themselves The Mahdi's tomb is close to the Khalifa's rich. house, and, although half demolished, enough remains to give some idea of its shape and It was built of brick, and would be structure.
of cruelty of the swift destruction that will

about twenty feet square with a dome of very it is a ruin to-day, just as it ordinary design
;

was left after the great fight at Omdurman, which for ever put an end to Mahdism. The camel and oil markets were both places of interest, and we visited them, but there seemed
to

thirty

doing. In the first, twenty or awaited inspection, while in the far distance could be seen a large caravan of one hundred camels laden with gum and other produce from the Kordofan desert. Oil seemed to be the monopoly of the women, and they sat with the kerosin tins and measures before them, retailing it to the passers-by. The shoemaker sat in the public street, and with primitive tools turned out boots and shoes of
little

be but

patient

beasts

342
all

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
sizes,

the crowd that surrounds him.

working quite happily, oblivious of We were now

glad to make our way to the cool shade of the mission-house, where a good wholesome meal was partaken of and quiet rest enjoyed. Another
short walk in the cool of the day to the

Omdurman

polo ground, where wo watched for a while the British officers from the Khartoum garrison enter into the game with all the buoyant spirit of youth, and then as evening closed in upon us the donkeys were once more saddled, and, accompanied by polo ponies, we again made our way back to the ferry and recrossed the river to

Khartoum.
tion once more river with its

be within the pale of civilisaas I walk along the beautiful fine buildings and well-kept gardens, the wilds of Central Africa seem far enough away and are almost forgotten. Into
;

We

now seem

stinctively
I

made

for the

had heard so much Rev. Llewellyn Gwynne (now Archdeacon), the head of the Church Missionary Society's work in the Soudan, and after the first five minutes with him I felt that I had met a man in a thousand the right man in the right place. No amount of mere training would ever fit a man for the position held by Archdeacon Gwynne it requires something more than that to be able to carry on the work of a simple missionary and yet to wield an immense influence for good over the many English officers

man

in praise of

whom

OMDURMAN TO KHARTOUM.
a
the rest of mankind, and yet one

343

You feel at once that Gwynne is of the Soudan. man with fellow-feelings and like passions with

who has risen above human weakness and knows the strength In a few minutes I was at home of the Divine. with him, and there was no mistaking the heartiness of the welcome he extended to his We had much to talk fellow-worker from afar. he, for his about and many plans to discuss part, had been asked by the Government to become their senior chaplain for the Soudan, with the position of Archdeacon of Khartoum, which would, of course, mean a wider sphere of influence and open up to him opportunities for extending his work while I had the new scheme for the extension of our Society's work in the Upper Soudan much upon my mind, and mutual conversation and exchange of ideas on those
: ;

topics

made the time pass very pleasantly. Khartoum has so often been described say little about it. The plan of I shall city was the first point of interest to me,
out as
it

that

the
laid

long diagonals, with two principal avenues running from end to end of the town, and called Sirdar and Kedive. The whole
is

in

the

is after

told
in

the style of the Union Jack, and we are by the military authorities that the idea was
that

order

a small

force
;

of artillery

could

command

no doubt this is true. Saturday afternoon, the day after my arrival in Khartoum, was given up to cricket, from

the whole city

344
fifteen

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
to

twenty of the British officers turning pitch was a good one, at the back of the palace, and cocoanut matting rendered the wicket fast and true. Again the popular parson was to the fore, and as much at home with his bat as his Bible, and it was easy to see how much he was respected and beloved by the men. On Sunday morning a service was held in the large ballroom of the palace and as I entered that spacious room, filled from end to end with British Tommies,
out.

The

and saw Gwynne take

I

his place

at

the

front,

felt

that here again

the

**

right

man was

in

the right place."

**

To

hear

Tommy

Onward, Christian Soldiers,** is for he sang it that day at the palace in Khartoum, and the sound of those manly voices blending in one mighty unison is in my ears Then after a short, bright Church of to-day. England service, came the sermon. It was on the same broad, manly lines that characterise
live
;

Atkins sing a thing to

all

of the Archdeacon's utterances

to

as a

man

to

them for uprightness and purity of purpose based upon a simple faith in

men he appealed

this I shall say no the muttered heard more, excepting prayers of some of those brave fellows kneeling by my side as they asked that these blessed truths might be stamped upon their hearts and reproduced in their lives. In the afternoon I was privileged to speak with

God through

Christ.

Of
I

that

OMDURMAN TO KHARTOUM.
tea.

345

Lady Wingate, who most kindly invited me to I then felt the charm of this English lady's presence, and I don't wonder that Khartoum
free from the foolish barriers of is hypocrisy so often met with elsewhere. The Sirdar had unfortunately left Khartoum a few days previously for a trip up the Nile to one of the outposts, and I had not the pleasure of seeing him. As I went back to the mission house I tarried for a moment at the foot of the great memorial to the noble General Gordon, whose fame will ever be connected with this place. The General is seated on his favourite camel, gazing over the desert from whence his salvation was expected, but too long delayed. A beautiful emblem of the attitude of many in Dark Africa, looking out over the wastes for the light and help too long in coming, but slowly and surely advancing to the redemption and salvation of this great continent.

society

The

strings of camels come in single file, Bearing their burdens o'er the desert sand Swiftly the boats go plying on the Nile, The needs of men are met on every hand. But still I wait For the Messenger of God who cometh late.
I

see the cloud of dust rise in the plain,

;

The measured tread of troops fall on the ear The soldier comes the Empire to maintain, Bringing the pomp of war, the reign of fear.
But
still
I

wait,

The Messenger

of Peace he

cometh

lata.

346

UGANDA TO KHARTOUM.
They set me looking o'er the desert drear, Where broodeth darkness as the deepest From many a mosque there comes the call
hear no voice that But still I wait
I

night,
to prayer.

calls

on Christ

for light.

For the Messenger of Christ who cometh

late.

Yet dawn

near for all the hearts of men Prophet who has been foretold. After the Mahdi comes another One, The Prophet Jesus, so their moulvies hold.
is
:

Look

for the

But

still

wait.

The Messenger

of Jesus cometh late.

We

Died the heroic

for God. on that day, When with his blood he soaked the thirsty sod ? Must he for eyer o'er the desert watch and wait For the Soldier of the Cross who cometh late.
spirit

here he fell call him saint and hero That England might possess that land
;

Anon.

next day I was asked by Lady Wingate lunch at the palace, at the conclusion of which meal the Sirdar's steam-launch put in at the landing-stage and conveyed me across the river, away from the Phoenix City to the railway terminus on the opposite bank of the And thus in comfort and even luxury river. journeyings in Africa for a time weary my

The

to

terminated.

INDEX.
Abyssinian Nile, 339
Acholi, 193 British rule, 34

Bugoma,
Bukidi

Acholi fight, 239 Acholi pluck, 204 Acholi raid, 230 Acholi warrior, 269 Agu, 306 Akwero, 306 Alarm-clocks, 129 Albert Lake, 33, 106, 166 Alokolumu, 216 American Presbyterian Mission, 335, 336 Andereya Luhaga, 50, 58, 193

119 Bukidi, 34
chief, 150
i

Butterflies, 136

Butyabwa,
Capital of

74,

176
17

Uganda,

Caravan, 20 Care of children, 215 Carson, Mr., 336

Cathedral, 18
Caterpillars, 39

Apolo Kagwa, 18 Arab donkey boys, 340 Are missions a failure? 90

Atepi river, 307 Atepi valley, 308 Awich, 288
Babies, 251

Cattle plague, 279 Chief mistress, 293 Child life, 76, 215 Chimpanzees, 118 Chopi, 148, 150

Church building,
86,

83, 84, 85,

87

Church of the Good Shepherd, 43, 87

Bachwezi Bachwezi

history, 66, 67, 68

rites,

73

Church Missionary Society on Upper Nile, 323

Coinage, 215 Colobus monkeys, 132 Colonising government, 64 Convict, 318 Cook, Dr. Albert and Mrs. 247 Coronation day, 42 Cost of journey, 321 Crazy craft, 24
,

Bad

fall,

221

Bahr-el-Gebel, 330 Bahr-el-Ghazal, 330

Baker Pasha, 227, 254, 265 Baker's Camp, 228, 254 Bakidi, 229 Bamboos, 297 Band, 63, 64 Bari, 307, 308, 311, 312, 313
Baruli, 150

Crocodiles, 115, 160 Crossing river, 204

Beads, 211, 250 Beil-el-Amana, 340 Belgian rule, 317

Bicycle, 19, 21, 132

Cruel practice, 290

Cultivation, 212, 251

Bond, Dr. Ashton, 140 *' Bongonyingi," 155 Borassus palms, 253

Cupping, 77 Dal passengers, 320, 321 Dancing, 75

Daudi Chwa, 18 Daudi Kasagama, 13^

348
Death
trap, 121

INDEX.
Great project, 331, 332 Great spirit, 74 Guns, 107, 108

Dervish raid, 312 Despotic king, 48, 49 Devil inside, 97

Divination, 197 Dog- faced ape, 105 Don Quixote, 289 Dress, 208

Guruguru,

G Wynne,

272, 273, 274, 275

Archdeacon, 342

Harnessed antelope, 119

Hartbeest, 183

Drinking parties, Drunkenness, 58,

,75

168, 271

Heathen funeral, 234 Henpecked husband, 293

Hippo,
113, 114, 115, 116, 160, 161, 292

Human sacrifice, 49 Hunger, 113, 116 Farthing, Mr., 83 Hut-tax, 65 Fashionable handshake, 251 Hyena, 99, 259, 27S Fashoda, 335, 337 Female prestige, 312 Immorality, 76 Fever, 258, 259 Industrial work, 93 Fish baskets, 300 Initiation into BachwezI worFisher, Rev. A. B., 146 ship, 70 Fishing, 169, 170 Iron workers, 298 Football, 270 Ivory trade, 145 Forest fires, 290 Jackson, Mr. C. B., 3b Fortified village, 297 Fowler, Sub-Commissioner, Jackal, 278 "January," 199 182 Jemusi Muti, 53, 54 Friend, 218 Funeral dance, 281
Game, Gang.
214, 295

Earnest appeal, 206 Ecob, Rev., 83 Elephants, 24, 109, no, in, 112, 184, 185, 236 Embwa flies, 256 Emin Pasha, 337

Hobbies, 104

Hoima, 33 House building,

Houses, 212

265, 266

193

Kabarega, 34, 49, 52, 195 Kafu river, 23, 48, 123 Kahora, 33

Katikiro, 138, 139 Garden, 36 Khalifa, 340, 341 Gaspipe (juns, 40 Khartoum, 338, 342 General Gordon, 345 " God save the King," Kibiro, 106, 166, 167 44 Gondokoro, 285, 313, 314, 315 Kikoma, 245, 246

Good hunter, 263 Government House,

Granaries, 212

Kingdom
35, 36

of

Uganda, 285
^

Great adventure, 187

King's palace, 39 King Yosiya, 83 Kiro, 316

INDEX,
Kitching, Rev. A. L., 264, 287 Knob-kerry, 210

349
Hill, 18, 19

Namirembe
Native Native Native Native Native Native
Nile,

"Kwelobo,"2i8
Lado Enclave, 316, 322 Lady Wingate, 345, 346
Lalak, 306
** Langalanga," 220 Large native village, 261 Lewin, Mr. H. B., 245

cook, 259 gardeners, 38

government,
hunters, 299 ignorance, 97

17, 55

Nightmare,
323

tradition, 295 117, 260 154, 285, 292, 316, 321,.

Licences, 107

Lightning, 74
Lions, 26, 123, 142, 143 Love, 158 Ludwete, 221

Nile crossing, 195 Nile post boat, 317

Lutuka, 305
Madi, 298

Nimule, 174, 235, 236, 237 Noble fish, 183 Nocturnal visitors, 276

Obona, 226
Offerings, 213

Magic

lantern, 217, 233

Ogwenyi, 228
301, 302, 303, 305, 306 Ojigi, 207, 216, 252 Okelo, 258, 283

Mahagi, 316
Mahdi's Tomb, 341
Malarial fever, 148 Man-in-box, 304 Marchand, 337, 338 Market-place, 19 Marriage, 59 Married life, 72 Masege. 184

Ogwok,

304,

Okot, 306
Olia, 233

Omdurman,

338, 339, 340, 341

Medal Day, 146

Operations, loi Ostrich, 294

Owin, 229, 253, 280 Medical work, 94, 95, 96, 97, Pajao, 159, 195 127, 131, 216, 224 Pajuli, 291 Mila, 309 Palajoki Hills, 33 M'Laughlin, Rev. H. T., 336 Parliament House, 56 Missionary life, 32 Patiko, 258 Mohammedans, 306, 316 Paulo Byabachwezi, 51, 52 Mongalla, 322, 323, 324 Pavveri, 153, 195
Morality, 215

Mosquitoes, 30, 175 Mule, 45, 127, 180

Murchison
161, 256

Falls,

Phonograph, 293 Pitching camp, 21 Plucky native, 264

159,
160,

Musaja Mukulu, 123

Nakiwafu, Rev. Nuwa,
87, 88,
60,

Police, 57 Porters, 20, 286, 287 Powder running, 146 Prime Minister, 18

89

Queen

of Bunyoro, 59

350
Radcliffe, Colonel

INDEX.
Delm^,
155,

Sululu, 265

232

Swamp,

19, 21

Red

paint, 211

Syphilis, 96

Religion, 213

River Aswa, 291, 292 River Ogada, 305 River Umjama, 228 River Waiga, 178, 181 Roaring torrent, 202 Roar of lion, 260 Royal welcome, 31
Sadler, Colonel Hayes, C.B.,
19.

Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay, 47 Teachers, 91

Tennis court, 37

The James Martin, 184

Tight-lacing, 251

Tomkins,Mr.Stanley,C.M.G.,
43 Toro, 125

Toro Hospital, 140 65 Tucker, Right Rev. Bishop, Salt spring, 167, 168, 169 24s. 264 Savage Africa, 30 Uganda cob, 9, 183 Scholastic work, 142 Uganda pluck, 277 Seat of the elders, 249 Uganda Rifles, 165 Shambe, 334 Uganda stamps, 318 Shillooks, 334, 335, 336 Uncomfortable night, 201 Sirdar, 345 Sir William Garstin, 332, 333 Volunteers, 89 Slaves, 223 Smallpox, 180 Wadelai, 254, 262 Sobat River, 335 Waist-bands, 210 Sociability, 214 Waki falls, 183 Soldiers* coats, 210 Walton, Miss, 103 Soudan Government, 327 Watch tower, 37 Spires, Mr., 315 Water bird attitude, 311 Sporting yarns, 182 Water buck, 135 S.S. DaU 319 Wild beasts, 98 Stockades, 213 Wilson, Mr. George, C.B., Storm, 29, 133 35. 37. 38. 144. 255, 284 Strange chorus, 30 Witch doctor, 124, 177 Strange customs, 61 Woman's life, 78 Strathairne, Dr., 254 Woodlands, 225 Sudd, 316, 325, 326, 327, 328, Wrestling, 46, 79, 80, 81, 82 329. 330. 331 Sudd-cutting boats, 327 Wrist-knives, 210

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