316 ACEOSS AFRICA. [Chap. 



December, swer, the idols were consulted, and one of tlie feticli-men, who 

 i8'^4- was a clever ventriloquist, made the necessary reply, the poor 

 dupes believing it to be spoken by the idol. 



I noticed that large fees usually insured favorable replies, 

 and the result of their day's divining must have been highly 

 satisfactory to the Waganga. Two of them were so pleased 

 that they came again the next day ; but business was slack, for 

 the people evidently could not afford to indulge any further in 

 the luxury of having their fortunes told. 



Day after day I remained here, waiting for messengers from 

 Kasongo or Fume a Kenna ; but as none returned, I sent a few 

 men to the lake, the chief consenting to this, though not allow- 

 ing me to go. Directly after they started, a message arrived 

 from Kikonja, to the effect that he was very anxious to see me ; 

 but almost immediately other messengers arrived with the in- 

 telligence that Kikonja could not receive me, his diviners hav- 

 ing warned him that if I looked upon the lake its waters would 

 dry up. On tins I pointed to the lake, telling them I had al- 

 ready seen it, without producing any evil effect on its waters. 

 But I was assured that if I approached close to its shores, either 

 the lake would become dry or tlie fish would die, thereby de- 

 priving Kikonja and his people of a large portion of their food 

 and much of their wealth, as the fish, which are very plentiful, 

 are dried and sold to people living at a distance from the lake. 



Rumors reached me that the men whom I had sent to Kikon- 

 ja had been detained by him and Daiyi ; but my fears for their 

 safety were shortly relieved by their arrival. They told me, 

 however, that they had been warned by a woman that Daiyi in- 

 tended to kill them, and they had escaped this fate by taking a 

 canoe at night when the people were asleep, and making their 

 way from the floating island on which Daiyi and Kikonja were 

 • then living to the main-land, and thence by unfrequented paths 

 back to Kowedi. 



They had seen Kikonja only for a few moments on their ar- 

 rival, for during their stay he remained in his hut in a drunken 

 condition. Daiyi, with whom they had more intercourse, was a 

 tall, line-looking man, elaborately dressed in beads and colored 

 cloths, and seemed to have complete control over Kikonja's 

 people. 



