DISCOVERY OF THE VICTORIA N'YANZA. 33 



were bent upon making an easy day's work of it. I, 

 on the contrary, was eqxially persistent in going on, 

 and neither would allow the Belooches to follow them, 

 nor entered the villages myself, until they, finding 

 their game of no avail, quietly shouldered their loads, 

 and submitted to my orders. This day's journey was 

 twelve miles over a highly cultivated, waving country, 

 at the end of which we took up our abode in a de- 

 serted village called Kahama. 



We got under way at 7 A.M. on the 25th, and marched 

 seven and a half hours, when we entered a village in 

 the district of . N~indo, nineteen miles distant. After 

 passing through a belt of jungle three miles broad, we 

 came upon some villages amidst a large range of cul- 

 tivation. This passed, we penetrated a large wilder- 

 ness of thorn and bush jungle, having sundry broad 

 grassy flats lying at right angles to the road. Here I 

 saw a herd of hartebeests, giraffes, and other animals, 

 giving to the scene a truly African character. The 

 tracks of elephants and different large beasts prove 

 that this place is well tenanted in the season. The 

 closeness of the jungle and evenness of the land pre- 

 vented my taking any direct observations with the 

 compass ; but the mean oscillations of its card showed 

 a course with northing again. This being a long stage, 

 I lent my ass to a sick Belooch, and we accomplished 

 the journey, notwithstanding the great distance, in a 

 pleasant and spirited manner. This despatch may in 

 part be attributable to there being so much desert, and 



VOL. i. c 



