ON THE SHORES OF LAKE ALBERT 211 



tribe by my gift of a bright yellow cotton cloth known locally 

 as a " kanga." This piece of cloth had cost me originally at 

 Kampala two and a half rupees, about three shillings, here it 

 was worth double that amount. I could have bought the 

 fattest sheep at Tukwenda's for about half-a-crown ; my gift 

 was therefore appreciated, and Tukwenda became exceedingly 

 friendly and invited me to visit him at his kraal. 



The mountain-chain, which at Mahaji abuts on the lake, 

 gradually recedes from the shore in a north-westerly direction, 

 and thus leaves a large and gradually broadening out plain 

 between it and the lake. This plain is Tukwenda's realm. It 

 is a most fertile and prosperous country, as the numerous and 

 thriving kraals testify. Pleasant trees dot the surface, and in 

 some parts, as at Pongo, where I shot my first elephant, there 

 are virgin forests, visited by herds of elephants. The lake, one 

 would imagine, would cause these lake-dwellers to be fishermen ; 

 but, with the exception of a few fish-baskets sunk to trap the 

 fish, no attempt is made at fishing, either with a net or with 

 hook and line. A number of small dug-outs go out daily in 

 search of dead fish, which are picked up floating on the water. 

 A huge fish carried on a pole by two men was brought to 

 me. It was mottled with green and black spots and had a 

 big head. The jaws displayed a ferocious set of teeth which 

 could easily snap off a man's foot or arm. My men called 

 it the Kambari-ya-fisi or hyaena-fish, a suggestive and appro- 

 priate name. I felt no inclination to taste such a horrid- 

 looking creature, especially as it was picked up dead ; I 

 therefore declined the present which Lur taste considered a 

 delicacy. 



On visiting Tukwenda's kraal he introduced to me his three 

 daughters, fine young girls, wearing the customary tail and 

 bunch of leaves. The youngest had her upper lip pierced, and 

 wore in it a small ring of red, blue, and white beads. The 

 second had pierced her lower lip instead, and wore in it what 

 looked like a cribbage-peg. The eldest girl had shaved her 

 head, excepting a patch on the top, which looked as if she 

 sported a woollen skull-cap ; the second girl had made a clean 

 shave of it altogether, and the youngest had left a tiny top- 

 knot of wool. These three girls were apparently his favourite 

 daughters ; for he had such a vast number of wives, that one 

 kraal was insufficient to house them all, and he had to build 



