14 In the Heart of Africa 



the Grand Sultan Kahigi at Kianja. Seeing that in consequence 

 of our arrival at Bukoba and our imposing reception all the 

 Grand Sultans were assembled together, it was as much an act 

 of courtesy as of prudence to return all visits as far as possible. 

 This is a point of etiquette on which African potentates are 

 very keen, and of course a successful result to our labours greatly 

 depended upon the material support of the sultans. 



At length the morning of the 17th of June dawned, the day 

 which was to see us start away into the interior of Africa. The 

 marshalling of a caravan with such a large number of carriers 

 was by no means an easy task. Yet thanks to Lieutenant von 

 Wiese, who had taken time by the forelock and exercised and 

 trained our forces and taught all the carriers their proper places, 

 the long procession managed to get under way without much 

 trouble as early as seven o'clock in the morning. All Bukoba 

 turned out to form an escort to the departing caravan, and on 

 each side of us and in front of our Askari, who led the van 

 with trumpet blasts, the way was densely blocked with natives. 



It is an old and time-honoured rule that the first day of a 

 journey, such as ours, should be a fairly short one, as experience 

 has shown that in the general excitement and flurry of the start 

 out indispensable articles are apt to be overlooked. So we 

 halted after a three-hours' march at Gera, the residence of the 

 Sultan Mutahangarua of Kisiba. We were received, as at Kianja, 

 with great pomp and circumstance and conducted by a long line 

 of white-clad people to a guest-house which stood in the midst of a 

 broad open space, in the vicinity of which the tents were pitched. 

 Thousands of natives streamed into the residence, dancing began 

 and the beating of drums, blowing of pipes and the clanging 

 of the gonia echoed through the mountains far into the night. 



The influence of the European on the manners and habits 

 and in the houses of the sultans is very remarkable. Here, 

 as at Kianja, the shape of the houses and also the interior 

 arrangement had been perfectly imitated from the Europeans. 

 The native round huts served as dwellings for the people 

 alone. The sultan's palace exhibited the same long-shaped 



