THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 101 



CHAPTEE V. 



HARD TRAVELING TO REACH THE NILE. 



TRAVELING in Africa is necessarily slow, on account of the 

 dense jungles, the great heat and annoying insects. After pro- 

 ceeding about thirty miles one of the escort sent by Mtesa was 

 set upon and killed by lurking natives, which caused much 

 excitement, as the party desired to engage in war at once to 

 avenge the death of their comrade. No such stoppage, of course, 

 was allowed, but the expedition was continually harassed by 

 lurking foes, who resisted the advance of Speke's party through 

 their country. As a corrective measure Grant was hurried for- 

 ward with a small party to Kamrasi, king of Unyoro, to whom 

 a visit was contemplated, with a request for his protection. 



In fourteen days after departing from Uganda, Speke reached 

 the Victoria Nile, in a beautiful natural park full of wonders. The 

 stream at this point was from 600 to 700 yards wide, dotted with 

 islets and rocks, the former occupied by fishermen's huts, 

 the latter by sterns and crocodiles basking in the sun, flowing 

 between fine high grassy banks, with rich trees and plantains in 

 the background, where herds of the n'sunnuand hartebeest could 

 be seen grazing, while the hippopotami were snorting in the 

 water, and florikan and Guinea-fowl rising at their feet. Unfor- 

 tunately, the chief district officer, Mlondo, was from home, but 

 Speke took possession of his huts clean, extensive, and tidily 

 kept facing the river, and felt as if a residence there would do 

 his men good. This camping-place was confronting Usoga, 

 a country which may be said to be the very counterpart of 

 Uganda in its richness and beauty. Here the people use such 

 huge iron-headed spears with short handles that they appear to 

 be better fitted for digging potatoes than piercing men. Ele- 

 phants had been very numerous in this neighborhood, but a short 

 time before Speke's arrival a party from Unyoro, ivory-hunting, 

 had driven them away. Lions were also described as very 

 numerous and destructive to human life. Antelopes were 



