FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY.

207

walk on dry ground. His horns were from five to six inches long, hinting at a spiral form, and his height was more than three feet. The habitat of this animal is entirely on the borders of lakes, where it feeds on the leaves of the papyrus. In honour of its discoverer, it has since received the name of Tragelaphus Spekii from Dr Sclater.

The hartebeest and white rhinoceros were the common beasts of chase. The former is very combative There were several varieties

none were ever seen.

in the rutting season. of antelope. The mountain gazelle bounded very prettily over the bare hills, and did not seem very wild. Pigs were found in the low grounds, and hippopotami swam in the lake. In spite of the stories about lions, Otters were said by the natives to live in the lake, ruled over by a snow-white king, about whom there was some strange superstition. Great numbers of moles, larger than the English variety, were caught in the camp. Their fur was black or brown, and some few were white. They found nearly the same game-birds as in Uzinza and Unyamuézi. Small red

sparrows were seen, and many kinds of ducks. The king was highly delighted with the present of an Egyptian goose, which Speke shot by the lake. The rhinoceros-bird was observed here sitting as calmly on the back of the beast as a man on the top of a coach. He is the size of a blackbird, and has black wings, with a grey or white rump, and is about as gregarious as the magpie with us, three having been seen together. They appear to feed on the ticks which infest the hide of the rhinoceros. A new kind of swallow was observed, skimming the grasses of the hillsides; it has black or dark-brown wings with a slaty tinge, white belly, a black ring at the neck and round the rump, the tail-feathers not forked but slightly con

208

FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY.

vex, the body of the size of a sparrow, and not so fishshaped as swallows commonly are. The gold-headed and crimson-backed finch of Unyanyembé was found here perching on the maize-stalks near dwellings. Another bird, which, according to Speke's description, had a black coat and plush waistcoat, contrasted beautifully with the tree on which it sat, a thorny jessamine, blooming in pink and white in December. In the absence of songsters there was one "bugler" who had a very rich note. The crows were handsome, with a white ring round the neck, never seen in greater numbers than from two to four together. The natives had a great spite against them, as they would eat even the red little sorghum, while they prevented the white from being sown at all. Curiously enough, this bird, as with the classic ancients, was supposed useful in divinations. Against the mischief of the barn-door fowl, the crops were protected by cutting off the toe-nails of the birds, which made them all cripples. Among the few snakes was one of a bluish-black colour, said to be poisonous, but no fangs were visible. Rats were a great source of annoyance, especially in secreting the beads and cowries of the traders. In the low flats near the water, there were large grey-legged mosquitoes, who could bite through socks and trousers, but in high windy places they were not found. There was a bee resembling that common in Europe, but no hives were seen, though fine granulated honey was brought for sale. The absence of flowers on the hills would account for their rarity. Fish were not sought after by the natives, but a specimen of the "makambara" was brought alive in a jar, and a half-pound "macquareh" was caught in the Kishakka lake. This fish grows very large, has large scales, no feelers, and a ridge of sharp-pointed fins along its arched back, and is a sweet feeder.

SOCIAL STATE OF KARAGUÉ.

209

The comparative civilisation of Karagué might be estimated by its penal code, which was not so severe as that at Muscat and Zanzibar. For murder, all the property was confiscated to the relations of the victim, and the murderer's eyes were put out, or he was thrown over the precipice below the palace. For adultery, though death might be inflicted in flagrante delicto, an ear was cut off; though, if it was aggravated by the respective rank of the culprits, the principal offender was tortured in a peculiar manner, and his throat cut. Larceny was punished by two to ten months in the stocks, while at Zanzibar the thief is buried up to his neck on the shore till the tide drowns him. An assault with a stick was punished by a fine of ten goats, so that, as elsewhere, it was comparatively cheap to those who could afford to pay. But for assault with a deadly weapon, half the property was confiscated to the king and half to the victim. In default of payment, the stocks were put in requisition. One of Grant's men was once asked to arbitrate in a case which brought to mind the judgment of Solomon, the difference being that it was a dispute between two men as to which had the best claim to a child. It was decided by an appeal to the likeness in baby's black face, by which it would seem that infants in Karagué have a more distinctly marked individuality than with us. The only religion these people seemed to have consisted in a reverence for magic horns, which were filled with powder, and used in divining the future. Possession was believed in, both in the cases of men and animals, but the devils were supposed to be amenable to incantations. This kind of negative religion, as Speke seemed to have been convinced, would not present the slightest obstacle to missionary enterprise. The people were also utterly ignorant of reading, writing, or arithmetic, properly so

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GRANT'S DEPARTURE FROM KARAGUÉ.

called. They treated books as children do pictures. This would account for Mohammedanism, which depends entirely on the Koran, having made no progress with them, though they have been in contact with it for twenty years.

By the end of March 1852, Grant was sent for by the king of Uganda to join Speke. An Unyamuézi doctor or priest, named Kyengo, was to join the party, and the march had to be deferred till his arrangements were complete. The Waganda would not carry luggage, so threefourths of the goods were obliged to be left behind. At last, on April 14, 1862, Grant was placed on a wicker stretcher, under which four sturdy Waganda put their heads together, and then trotted away with him.

CHAPTER IV.

UGANDA.

HISTORY OF THE WAHUMA DYNASTIES-SPEKE'S JOURNEY TO UGANDA -HIS RECEPTION BY THE KING AND THE QUEEN-DOWAGER-VARIOUS INCIDENTS OF HIS RESIDENCE AT UGANDA-MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE COURT AND PEOPLE-GRANT'S ARRIVAL-HIS OBSERVATIONS BY THE WAY-DEPARTURE FOR THE NORTH.

THOSE well-meaning people in England and America who are eager to admit the emancipated negro at once to the fullest franchise of a man and a brother, would do well to suspend a judgment, formed perhaps after one tearful perusal of Uncle Tom's Cabin,' until they have read Captain Speke's unvarnished tale of his experiences in the kingdom of Uganda. If there is one quality that distinguishes Speke from other writers, it is his extreme honesty in recording facts, and reluctance in drawing hasty inferences. His record is not without its lesson for other theorists —for instance, the admirers of irresponsible government and centralisation. In Uganda we have a picture of a race of joyous children, never apparently knowing a care, yet governed by a system of terror which does not allow them to feel their lives their own, even for a minute. They are ruled over by a young man, whose vanity approaches to madness, and is allied with the usual good-nature of vain people; yet so cruel, without consciousness or conscience, that he condemns people to death daily for small breaches of etiquette, orders off his wives to execution with as