228 HISTORY OE THE PEOTECTORATE TERRITORIES 



of Thomson's approach had reached the ears of jMutesa just before his 

 death. It revived the apprehensions of the Baganda, who were supposed 

 to have had a legendary prophecy floating about their memories to the 

 effect that when Uganda became subjected to a higher power the invaders 

 would come by way of Busoga.* Consequently, when the unfortunate, 

 rash, and ill-advised Bishop Hannington, the first Anglican liishop appointed 

 for Uganda, attempted to follow in Joseph Thomson's footsteps, and entered 

 Busoga in 1880, ]\Iwanga hurriedly sent orders to Luba, one of the 

 principal chiefs of Busoga, to slay the European, whom he, Mwanga, 

 believed to be a political emissary. Bisliop Hannington was therefore 

 killed by Uuba's men with spears not far from the site of what is 

 now called Fort Thraston, a beautiful place on the eastern shores of 

 Napoleon (lulf. 



About tliis time Dr. Junker (a Eusso-German explorer), who had been 

 travelling through the Bahr-al-Ghazal regions of the Egyptian Sudan 

 at the outbreak of the Mahdi's revolt, took refuge with Emin. the Governor 

 of the Equatorial Provinces, who had set up a vestige of settled government 

 on the Upper Nile, with his headcpiarters at Wadc^hii. Junker's only 

 chance of reaching Europe was to travel by way of Unyoro and Uganda, 

 and by dint of lavish presents to the sulky Mwanga he was allowed to 

 pass on to Unyamwezi and the coast. Dr. Junker and the British 

 missionary, Mackay (who was so prominent and respected a })erson at this 

 stage of Uganda's history, and whose deatli from blackwater fever occurred 

 just as the prospects of Christianity in Uganda were brightening), had 

 conveyed to Euro}»e an intimation trom Emin that lie was with difficulty 

 holding his own against the advancing Dervishes of the ^Mahdi's, or rather 

 the Khalifa's, empire. English feeling was much stirred on the subject 

 of Emin, who had been a generous donor to the natural history collections 

 at the British Museum. Moreover, England at this time had become 

 the guardian of Egypt, and it was felt that only England could projoerly 

 intervene by sending a relief expedition to Equatoria. 



I must retrace my steps in the survey of the history of these regions 

 and point out that .Joseph Thomson's expedition, which came to an end 

 in the spring of 1884, drew the attention of British geographers and of 

 the British Government to the future commercial importance of this 

 direct overland route to the Victoria Nyanza. Sir John Kirk, firml}' 

 believing in the commercial possibilities of these regions, had induced 

 the Royal Society and British Association to combine in sending a scientific 

 expedition to examine the fauna and flora of Mount Kilimanjaro. He 

 intended that this expedition should be made the means of conveying 



* This prophecy turned out truly, for the caravans of Mr. Jackson and Captain 

 (now General Sir Frederick) Lugard followed this route. 



