THE GREAT JOURNEY FROM SEA TO SEA. 299 



their sister. The more they craved for mercy, the more brutal he 

 became, till at last he took a heavy stick and began to belabor the 

 poor victim on the head. 



"Hitherto," says Speke, "I had been extremely careful not to 

 interfere with any of the king's acts of arbitrary cruelty, knowing 

 that such interference at an early stage would produce more harm 

 than good. This last act of barbarism, however, was too much for 

 my English blood to stand; and as I heard my name, M'zungu, 

 imploringly pronounced, I rushed at the king, and staying his 

 uplifted arm, demanded from him the woman's life. Of course I 

 ran imminent risk of losing my own in thus thwarting the capricious 

 tyrant, but his caprice proved the friend of both. The novelty of 

 interference made him smile, and the woman was instantly released." 



SHOOTING MEN FOR SPORT. 



On another occasion, when Mtesa had been out shooting, Cap- 

 tain Grant asked what sport he had enjoyed. The unexpected 

 answer was that game had been very scarce, but that he had shot 

 a good many men instead. Beside the pages who have been men- 

 tioned, ther,e vv^ere several executioners, who were pleasant and 

 agreeable men in private life, and held in great respect by the people. 

 They were supposed to be in command of the pages who bound with 

 their rope turbans the unfortunates who were to suffer, and mostly 

 inflicted the punishment itself. 



The king seems to have been rather exceptionally cruel, his 

 very v/ives being subject to the same capriciousness of temper as 

 the rest of his subjects. Of course he beat them occasionally, but 

 as wife beating is the ordinary custom in Uganda, he was only 

 following the ordinary habits of the people. 



There is a peculiar whip made for the special purpose of beat- 

 ing wives. It is formed of a long strip of hippopotamus hide, split 

 down the middle to within three or four inches of the end. The 

 entire end is beaten and scraped until it is reduced in size to the 

 proper dimensions of a handle. The two remaining thongs are 

 suffered to remain square, but are twisted in a screw-like fashion, 

 so as to present sharp edges throughout their whole length. When 



