no THE PLAINS OF RUISAMBA 



flatter and flatter, and finally a dead level extending 

 for several miles on its northern side. This country 

 reminded me most forcibly of the Fenland of East 

 Anglia. The sedgy grass, the scattered bushes, the 

 occasional water-holes, the distant hills, which were 

 not unlike the hills about Newmarket, and the 

 glorious vault of sky, made one think of Wicken or 

 Burwell Fen ; given a windmill or two and a distant 

 church tower, the illusion would have been complete. 

 After a few days' march in a southerly direction, 

 and crossing two rivers, the Nyamwamba and 

 Mukoki, we halted and formed our second base- 

 camp near a village called Muhokya.* We had 

 intended to go on to the neighbourhood of Lake 

 Albert Edward, but as there is a large tract of 

 country in that direction without fresh water and 

 where food is very difficult to obtain, it would have 

 been unsuitable for a long stay. The last of the 

 eastern streams of Ruwenzori comes down a pretty 

 valley near Muhokya, and where it debouches on to 

 the plain, there is a large area of cultivation sup- 

 porting a very considerable population. These 

 people resisted the advance of Captain Lugard a few 

 years ago, so much so that his Maxim gun played 

 an important part in their pacification ; but though 

 we found them less agreeable to deal with than 

 other natives of Uganda, we had no real trouble 

 with them. Their chief characteristics were corpu- 

 lence, laziness, and a love of music, if the sound of 

 * Also called Mokya and Muhochi. 



