THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 115 



as in all savage countries, and the women placed gourds over 

 them to protect them from the sun. These people, like the 

 Kidi, whom they much fear, carry diminutive stools to sit upon 

 wherever they go. 



A HAPPY MEETING NOT WHOLLY UNALLOYED. 



NEARLY two days were spent with Chief Chongi, who enter- 

 tained his white guests very agreeably, but when Speke desired 

 to move again, he found his porters in a mutinous mood, and 

 more than one-half of them deserted. With such a diminution 

 of their carrying force, they were seriously inconvenienced, but 

 they pushed on anxious to meet an expedition under Petherick, 

 who had come to their relief, and was reported to be then in the 

 Madi country. Late in the afternoon of the day of their de- 

 parture they came in sight of what they supposed was Petherick 's 

 outpost, under charge of a very black Turk named Mohamed. 

 Guns were fired, flags waved, and other evidences of joy mani- 

 fested. Mohamed came out and greeted Speke and Grant with 

 hugs and kisses, and in reply to inquiries declared that Petherick 

 was then at Gondokoro, about fifteen days' marches distant. 

 Speke was anxious to set off at once, but Mohamed detained him 

 by various excuses, until at length, by a cunning stratagem, he 

 induced Speke to remain and guard the camp until he returned 

 from a short excursion into the interior on a trading expedition. 

 Mohamed marched his regiment out of the place, drums and fifes 

 playing, colors flying, a hundred guns firing, officers riding, some 

 of them on donkeys, and others on cows ! while a host of the 

 natives under Rionga, a rebellious brother of Kamrasi, accom- 

 panied them, carrying spears and bows and arrows. The outfit 

 looked very little like a peaceful caravan of merchants, but 

 much more like a band of marauders, as they really were. 



In this matter Speke was badly outwitted, for the wily Turk 

 was an independent trader, having no connection with Petherick 

 whatever, but by his pretenses induced Speke to guard the camp 

 while he went out to plunder one of Kamrasrs allies. When 

 Mohamed returned to camp he brought his army in laden with 

 ivory, and drove before him five slave girls and thirty head of 



