[o6 



UNDER THE AFRICAN SUN 



wonder how long any vehicle would stand such treatment 

 but I did not expect the catastrophe to come so soon. Within 

 half -an -hour one man came to the Fort carrying the shafts 

 of the jinrikshaw, another the wheels, and so on, a mass of 

 splintered wood. Then the Kakunguru arrived and solemnly 

 informed me that he had decided not to buy the jinrikshaw. I 

 told him the matter rested with the Commissioner and not with 

 me, but I refused to allow him to leave the broken rubbish at 

 the Fort. At the same time I told him, that as he had examined 

 it day after day, had agreed to buy it, and had taken it away, 



I felt pretty certain he 

 would have to pay for 

 it, especially as it was 

 now smashed to pieces. 

 When I had received 

 instructions to insist 

 on the payment, I 

 found the Kakunguru, 

 although a wealthy 

 man, very slippery to 

 deal with. First he 

 professed he had no 

 ivory, and requested 

 time to send men to 

 shoot an elephant ; 

 this being refused, he 

 pleaded for time, two 

 to three months, to 

 send round to all his 

 friends to beg them 

 to lend him some 



UGANDA HARP. 



ivory. All this time 

 he had it ready, and was only " trying it on." Finally he paid 

 up, but the trouble he gave me has served me for a lesson. 

 At that time Government courteously permitted chiefs to pur- 

 chase various articles out of the Government store. All this 

 was, of course, stopped as soon as European firms sent up their 

 representatives to Kampala and opened stores. 



On the march through Singo I came upon another form of 

 drum besides the one already described. It consisted of a sort 

 of pedestal, or cylinder of wood, with a piece of lizard-skin 



