AT KAMPALA 



123 



It requires considerable experience to be a good ivory buyer ; 

 I have known what appeared to me a fine and valuable tusk to 

 be pronounced worthless owing to an almost imperceptible 

 notch at the very tip. This, I was told, was a sure sign that a 

 split existed right through the very centre of the tusk. A 

 purchaser expending Xioo on such a tusk might not be able to 

 sell it again for 100 shillings. 



Kampala is essentially a city built on hills : Kampala hill, 

 with Fort Kampala on its summit, with the various Government 

 offices, and 

 with the 

 Swahili set- 

 tlement on 

 one side ; 

 Mengo hill, 

 with the re- 

 sidences of 

 the king of 

 Uganda and 

 of several of 

 the great 

 chiefs ; Na- 

 m i r e m b e 

 hill, with 

 the Protes- 

 tant Cathe- 

 dral and 

 the Church 



Mission Society's Station ; Rubaga hill, with the Roman 

 Catholic Cathedral, and a settlement of the French Algerian 

 Mission ; Nakasero hill, with the European traders and the 

 Soudanese village ; and on another hill Bishop Hanlon has 

 erected an English Roman Catholic establishment. 



Between Namirembe hill and Kampala hill there lies a 

 small plain. It is one of the concessions secured by Lugard. 

 There was no direct road leading from Fort Kampala to 

 Namirembe hill. I decided to construct one. It has proved 

 useful ; my road only led across the plain to the foot of the 

 hill, but my successor has continued it right up as far as the 

 shoulder. The open space between the two hills I proposed 

 to utilise as a pubhc recreation ground ; one of the four roads 



ARAB AND SWAHILI IVORY TRADERS. 



