52 EASTERN ETHIOPIA iv 



No nails, screws, or metal of any kind is used in the 

 construction of these boats ; neither the Baganda nor 

 the Wavuma know anything of the use of sails, or 

 saws. 



The skill and daring of the Basesse and Wavuma 

 boatmen are proverbial. When Stanley circumnavigated 

 the lake in 1875, he was often in peril from the Wavuma. 

 He describes the voyage around the indented shores of 

 Speke's Gulf and his visit to Ukerewe, where his guide 

 had many friends. Some of the natives laughed at the 

 novel method employed by his men in rowing, but when 

 the sail was hoisted they fled in terror. The boat was 

 frequently chased by hippopotamuses, and further along 

 the coast it was pursued by war boats, blown about 

 by severe gales, pelted by hailstones as large as 

 filberts, and deluged with torrents of rain. The 

 piratical craft of the Wavuma were so belligerent 

 that one had to be sunk with bullets. When he 

 approached Uganda he was received with a flotilla, 

 greeted with volleys of musketry and the thunder of 

 drums. On shore he was welcomed with flags and 

 received in audience by Mutesa. On leaving Uganda, 

 after a stay of many weeks, Stanley returned to his 

 base at Speke's Gulf, and ran a narrow risk of being 

 murdered by the inhabitants of a large island ten days' 

 sail from Uganda. 



The dwellers by the lake believed wonderful stories of 

 the Wavuma daring in the water, and credited them 

 with the ability of swimming under water to hostile 

 boats, and cutting with short knives the sutures which 

 secured the planking. 



Great changes have come over these interesting Lake 

 Islands. In 1901 the sleeping-sickness visited them 

 and the adjacent shore districts, especially Uganda and 

 Busoga. In 1908, Bishop Tucker, in describing the havoc 

 wrought by this disease, stated that " the islands have 

 been depopulated." Kome, which at one time was said 

 to have a population of 10,000, has hardly 500 souls 



