RETURN TO LAKE RUDOLPH 



absence of the latter, this country of course produces no honey, 

 though I did manage to get a Httle of very inferior quahty, 

 which came, I was told, from the hills. 



But, notwithstanding these little discomforts, I was happy 

 enough during the two months I spent in this camp. I was 

 able to get milk daily even here, though I was forced to give 

 corn brought from Kere in exchange for it, as these people do 

 not care much for trade goods, and are generally, as already 

 explained, short of food. The bones which strew the ridge 

 for a mile or more in the neighbourhood of their kraals testify 

 to the number of their cattle before the dire plague of some 

 six years ago had decimated the herds of Central Africa. 

 Another luxury I had here was eggs. There are only one or 

 two kraals (in Bumi) where the natives keep a few fowls, and 

 I bought up all I could get and started a poultry-yard, of my 

 own with about ten tiny hens and a cock. These kept me 

 supplied with their funny little eggs, and afforded me a certain 

 amount of interest besides. They never laid more than ten or 

 a dozen eggs each before wanting to sit, but soon began again 

 when prevented from indulging this instinct ; but what attracted 

 my attention most about them was that, as a rule, they never 

 cackled after laying, in fact there was only one that ever did 

 so. I had every opportunity of observing this peculiarity, 

 because many of them used to lay in my hut. This seemed 

 to me a rather singular fact, and may go to prove that these 

 little fowls are more nearly related to the wild progenitors of 

 the race than our European breeds. The cock became dear to 

 me from his cheery crow, announcing the near approach of the 

 welcome dawn and the end of the tedious, oppressive night. 



During the time that I was here there were several heavy 

 thunderstorms. I supposed these to be the heralds of the wet 

 season, which ought to arrive about April ; but they were 

 about all the wet season we experienced that year. Probably 

 this was an exceptionally meagre allowance of rain, even for 

 this country ; but there can be no doubt that the climate is a 



