no 



UNDER THE AFRICAN SUN 



Kampala. The tomb, a cone-shaped building, is of considerable 

 height. The grass-thatched roof nearly touches the ground, 

 except at the entrance, where a narrow verandah is formed. A 

 large number of props and pillars support the roof. From the 

 entrance a colonnade, about six feet wide, leads to Mtesa's 

 grave at the farther end. The pillars which support the lofty 

 roof are the straight stems of the makindo or wild date-palm. 

 All the pillars near the grave are covered with bark-cloth. The 



MTESA S TOM]!. 



interior of the hut is strewn with soft grass laid down parallel 

 with almost mathematical precision. It gives one the idea of 

 walking on a thick carpet instead of simply on loose grass. 

 The grass is piled so thick that every footfall is deadened. 

 Gloom and silence guard the grave of the blood-stained tyrant. 

 Brass spears rail it off in front, a chequered cloth with alternate 

 blue and white squares screens it behind, and on each side 

 hangs a brass shield, of which the left-hand one has a lot of 

 tiny brass-bells along the lower edge. In the centre of the row 

 of spears is a curious piece of brass of fantastic native design. 

 A square mound of hard dry clay a foot high is raised over the 

 spot where Mtesa lies buried. In walking up to the railing my 

 foot naturally displaced a few blades of the dry grass. At once 



