450 THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 



northeast corner of the lake, a people speaking the Usoga 

 tongue were met, who were very kind and generous, and freely 

 supplied Stanley with sheep and vegetables in exchange for blue 

 beads. They were entirely naked, except that some of the women 

 wore a kirtle of green banana leaves, which afforded barely the 

 covering of a fig-leaf. 



About five hours after leaving this pleasant people, a storm 

 arose so fierce as to compel them to put into a small cove in an 

 island. Within ten minutes after coming to anchora small canoe, 

 paddled by two men, approached from the shore. Stanley hailed 

 them in mild tones, but nothing would induce them to come 

 nearer than one hundred yards. Soon after another canoe, much 

 larger than the first, containing forty men, all rowing, came up 

 within fifty yards, and seizing long tufted lances and shields 

 began swaying them in a menacing manner. Stanley's men 

 made no demonstrations of resistance, while the hostile canoe 

 approached within twenty yards, when the savages began to row 

 in a circle around Stanley's boat, niaking hostile demonstrations. 

 The quiet disposition of the Lady Alice's crew prompted 

 the natives to come nearer and nearer, until the two boats were 

 brought side by side. The paddlers, half of whom were intoxi- 

 cated, laid their hands on everything within reach, not even 

 excepting Stanley himself, whose person they felt with some 

 astonishment but no less rudeness. This familiarity, which none 

 of Stanley's party in the least resented, evidently led the natives 

 to believe that they had inspired the wfiite man with helpless 

 terror. Reeling and jostling one another in their eagerness to 

 offend, they seized their spears and shields, and began to chant 

 in bacchanalian tones a song that was tipsily discordant. Some 

 seized their slings and flung stones to a great distance, which 

 Stanley applauded. Then one of them, under the influence of wine, 

 and his spirits elated by the chant, waxed bolder, and looked 

 as though he would aim at the white man, seated observant but 

 mute in the stern of the boat. Stanley made a motion with his 

 haiul as though deprecating such an action. The sooty villain 

 seemed^ to become at once animated by hysteric passion, and 



