THROUGH AFRICA FROM THE CAPE TO CAIRO. 435 



The hills are covered with magnificent pasture, which affords grazing 

 for the large herds of cattle owned by the Watusi. The people are 

 known collectively as the Waruanda, and society is divided into two 

 classes. The Watiisi, who are similar to, if not identical with, the 

 Wahuma, are the aristocrats. They are presumably descendants of the 

 great wave of invasion of Gallas that penetrated in remote ages as far as 

 Tanganyika. They are a purely pastoral folk, breeding a long-horned 

 cattle, with which they live, preferring slavery even to separation from 

 their beloved beasts. Two to a hundred of these gentlemen are to be 

 found in every village; they do not work beyond milking and butter 

 making, and when in need of tobacco, grain, or other necessaries, 

 quietly relieve the aborigines of the countrj', whom they call Wahutu, 

 of what the}^ rec|uire. The Wahutu are abjectl}^ servile to the Watusi, 

 but presumably, from the satisfaction that we gave to the inha])itants 

 b}^ a slight difference of opinion that we had with Ngenzi, the satrap 

 of Mukinyaga, not totally in accord with their taskmasters. In the 

 time of the late King of Ruanda there was a very formidable and far- 

 reaching feudal S}' stem, the provinces being administered by satraps 

 (native name, ntwala), who were directh^ responsible to the kigeri, or 

 king, each village being in itself governed b}' an mtusi (sultani), who 

 was responsible to his ntwala. All the cattle belongs to the King 

 absolutely, but was held in trust by his satraps, who again parceled it 

 out among the minor Watusi. The Wahutu appear to be merely hew- 

 ers of wood and drawers of water, and to be allowed as a favor to 

 assist in the herding of the goats and cattle. A few months before 

 our visit the old king had died, and the kingdom was divided between 

 his two sons, one of whom had his headquarters at the northeast corner 

 of the lake, while the other lived to the east of the highest of the 

 volcanoes. 



The civilizing influence of the northern influx is conspicuous in the 

 terracing of the hills for cultivation, rudimentary efl'orts at irrigation, 

 inclosing of villages and cultivated lands by hedges, and even in the 

 formation of artificial reservoirs with side troughs for watering cattle. 

 The scenery of Kivu is superb— a happy l)lcnd of Scothuid, Japan, and 

 the South Sea Islands. The track we followed often led over hills 1.5( )() 

 feet aljove the lake, and from some of our camps we looked dowii on 

 the vast oily expanse of water deep set in its basin of iinuunerable hills, 

 dotted with a thousand isles, stretching far away till it was lost in the 

 shimmering haze of the northern shore, where crisp and clear towered 

 the mighty mass of Kirunga, whose jet of smoke alone broke the steel- 

 blue dome of sky. At the northeast corner of the lake the hills stop, 

 and the country ilopes gradually from the lake level to the base of the 

 volcanoes, broken only by scattered dead volcanic cones still perfect in 

 form. The eastern portion of this plain is densely populated, and 

 grows enormous crops of maize, hungry rice, millet, sweet potatoes, 

 SM 1900 31 



