Lake Kiwu and its Islands 95 



do not appear to exist in Ruanda. On the other hand, otters 

 are plentiful, and it would be difficult to make a more or less 

 extended boat expedition on Kiwu, Mohasi or Bolero without 

 seeing some. Their fine skins, which, however, are of consider- 

 ably less value than our home ones or those from North America, 

 make the animals very much prized even among the natives. The 

 Watussi, as well as the Wahutu, use the skin, cut in long strips, 

 for adorning the large tobacco pouches which they wear on 

 their breasts. Fashioned also in strips, it ornaments the loin- 

 cloths of their festive attire. The frequent requests for otter 

 skins made by Europeans who have neared Lake Kiwu stimu- 

 lated the shore-dwellers to pursue otters more zealously, and thus 

 these animals, originally fearless, have now become very timid. 

 One rarely gets within shooting distance of them. When swim- 

 ming, they, at the best, only stretch their heads above the surface 

 of the water, and then only for a short moment. A quick, good 

 shot is therefore needed to hit them. But even that is not every- 

 thing. When mortally wounded, the otter sinks in a few seconds, 

 and it more than once happened that we were just in reach, as 

 we confidently believed, of our booty when it vanished before 

 our eyes. 



Mugarura is one of the largest islands in Lake Kiwu. It lies 

 in the eastern half and, perhaps therefore, has mainly a steppe 

 character. Only the northern and western parts are covered with 

 dense brushwood, which, however, is different in character from 

 that at Kwidschwi and Wau. We pitched our camp at a pretty 

 spot and stayed a full day, during which we traversed the island 

 in all directions. W^hilst the eastern part is devoid of beauty 

 in landscape, the western offered us the most charming sylvan 

 scenery. The gently ascending bank is here bordered with 

 several quiet little coves, which in beauty might rival the 

 Mecklenburg lake scenery at home. 



Count Gotzen found a great troop of flying-foxes (J>terocyon 

 stramineics) in the woods on the banks of one of these coves, and 

 they declined to be driven out of their favourite trees either by 

 shooting or yelling. Kandt refers to them in his book of travel. 



