GEOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES. 337 



of north latitude, where it turns to the west and forms a bend. They 

 crossed the channel of this bend for seventy miles, and when they again 

 fell in with the river it had sunk in level almost a thousand feet. Here 

 ^fchey met with some Turkish ivory traders, and bore them company to 

 Gondokoro, on the White Nile 5 N. L., at which place they ibund a 

 fellow-countryman, advancing to meet them with supplies. 



As regards the population of the countries traversed, Captain Grant, 

 in his address before the Geographical Society, London, says, " Look- 

 ing back on the many tribes we had passed through, one apparently 

 identical race of negro overspreads the entire land from the coast to 

 Gondokoro, and onwards down the Nile, that is to say, if you leave 

 out their tribal marks, their dress and their dialect, it would, I believe, 

 be impossible to distinguish the natives of one part from those of another. 

 As regards the general populousness of the countries we have passed 

 through, I may state that throughout the whole journey there were 

 but three or four places where we had to carry our provisions for more 

 than six days ; we almost invariably got provisions from day to day. 

 The country was too populous to admit of any large amount of game. 

 Those mixtures of species and herds, as seen by Dr. Livingstone and 

 other South African travellers, were seldom or never seen, and in many 

 forests we might range from morn till noon and only see two or three 

 antelopes." 



" Much of the country passed through was exceedingly pleasant. 

 Each head of an ordinary negro family cultivates sweet potato, pulse, 

 Indian corn, and other tropical products for his own family's consump- 

 tion only. No plough or beast of burden is in the country. Every- 

 thing is done, after the rains have softened the soil, by means of a long 

 or short handled hoe. Women are oftener seen at this work than 

 men, whose duty it is, in the Land of the Moon, to thresh the corn with 

 long rackets. Most of the tribes are purely pastoral, subsisting chiefly 

 on milk, covering themselves with butter, dressing in cows' skins, sel- 

 dom touching any grain ; but they drink and get noisy on the banana 

 wine, while meat some amongst them will merely suck, never swallow- 

 ing it. They smoke tobacco universally. Crime, such as theft, is rarer 

 than in England. Never had we a lock on one of our boxes'or goods. 



" Many of the chieftains have bands and musical instruments in many 

 varieties, more remarkable for noise than harmony. As shooters with 

 bows and arrows, they can put an arrow into a leaf at thirty or forty 

 yards, and they can send an arrow to a distance of one hundred and 

 fifty yards. Iron is smelted in small quantities all over the country, 

 and the natives are also familiar with copper. 



" Weaving is very backward : one loom in every eighth village was 

 all that was observed in the lower provinces. The clothes made are of 

 the coarsest and heaviest material, all of cotton. Bark-cloths and deer- 

 skins, sewn beautifully together, are prized very much more. The 

 needles used are of iron, but differently made from ours. Silver and 



^/ 



gold, coal and limestone, are unknown in the countries traversed. 

 Pottery is made by the hand, the potter's wheel being unknown. Some 

 races can glaze the ware. Wicker, grass, or bamboo baskets, trays, 

 drinking-cups, etc., are made everywhere over the country, the pat- 

 terns varying." 



One of the most curious things in Captain Speke's published report 

 29 



