94 ACEOSS AFKICA. [Chap. 



July, inhabited bj AV^anierinica merchants from Bagamoyo who had 

 J^^_ made this their head-(iuarters, and the huge thatched roofs of 

 these dwellings lent to the settlement an air of semi-civiliza- 

 tion. 



Three enormous sjcamore-trees (a species of fig) growing just 

 outside the town formed a prominent mark for miles around. 

 Under the spreading branches of one of this group our own 

 party and a down caravan camped, as it afforded ample shelter 

 for over five hundred people. 



One of the Wamerima brought a large musical-box into my 

 tent, asking me to become the purchaser of it, and assuring me 

 it would prove a most valuable investment. When, however, 

 it had been set going, and had played a few bars of a waltz to 

 the time of a funeral march, the music suddenly terminated in 

 a grand crash, which proved a permanent finale, the sj)indle of 

 the fly-wheel having broken. 



Here we learned some particulars of the manner in which 

 the obsequies of a chief are performed. In the first instance, 

 he is washed, and one is almost inclined to wonder that so un- 

 wonted a proceeding does not restore him to life. The body is 

 then placed in an upright position in a hollow tree, and the 

 people come daily to mourn and pour pombe and ashes on the 

 corpse, indulging themselves meanwhile in a sort of wake. 



This ceremony is continued until the body is thoroughly de- 

 • composed, when it is placed on a platform, and exposed to the 

 effects of sun, rain, and dew, until nothing remains but the 

 bones. And tliese are tlien buried. In former days a number 

 of slaves were sacrificed on such occasions, but I was assured 

 that this practice had ceased for many years. The bodies of 

 commoners are simply thrown into the nearest jungle, to be 

 devoured by beasts of the field and fowls of the air. 



Large numbers of Wahumba who have partially forsaken the 

 wandering habits of their tribe are settled in the neighborhood, 

 and act as herdsmen to the "Wagogo, who occupy themselves 

 more particularly with agriculture. Tliey are a branch of the 

 great Masai nation, and inhabit the country just to the north of 

 Ugogo, where they possess large herds, but do not cultivate the 

 ground or maintain permanent habitations. Their diet consists 

 entirely of milk mixed with blood and meat, M'hicli they de- 



