112 THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 



goni, where they halted to plea.se the governor, Magamba, who 

 received them with great kindness. This titled savage was 

 anxious to see all the white men's possessions, which he regarded 

 with inexpressible wonder. He told the travelers, among other 

 things, that in the neighboring district of Ururi, which is a 

 province of Unyoro, there was a very noted governor, named 

 Kimeziri, whose wisdom was greater than that of any other man 

 in Africa. This wise man had an oiiginat way of doing things ; 

 for example, when his wives presented him children there Was 

 always more or less doubt about t;ieir paternity ; so, to settle 

 the question, he covered the new i. if ants with beads and threw 

 them into the lake ; if they sank be accepted the fact as proof 

 that they were not his offspring. It may be inferred that Kime- 

 ziri had very few children out of th a lake. 



Speke did not tarry long with the hospitable Magamba, for he 

 was in a country badly infested by thieves, who were daily 

 making efforts to reduce the small store of provisions which he 

 had with much difficulty accumulated. 



Ukoro, governor-general of Chopi, sent a message to Speke, 

 requesting him not to proceed further down the river, lest the 

 Chopi ferryman at Karuma falls should take fright at the strange 

 appearance of white men and flee away. Careful to give no 

 offense, he complied with this singular request, and sent his 

 packs overland. 



The ground on the line of march was highly cultivated, and 

 intersected by a deep ravine of running water, whose sundry 

 branches made the surface very irregular. The sand-paper tree, 

 whose leaves resemble a cat's tongue in roughness, and which is 

 used in Uganda for polishing their clubs and spear-handles, was 

 conspicuous ; but at the end of the journey only was there any 

 thing of much interest to be seen. There suddenly, in a deep 

 ravine, the formerly placid river, up which vessels of moderate 

 size might steam two or three abreas';, was changed into a turbu- 

 lent torrent. Beyond lay the land of Kidi, a forest of mimosa 

 trees rising gently away from the water in soft clouds of green. 

 This the governor of the place, Kija, described as a sporting- 



