94 FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



to be sacrificed, and who also constituted in himself the Court 

 of Appeal, where all disputes and difficulties were finally 

 referred. The skins of all leopards and lions killed in his 

 territory had to be brought to him, though he gave back 

 many of them. We did not return very impressed by what 

 we had seen, except perhaps by the number of human 

 skulls which were in and round his hut. On July I Gosling 

 left us for Ibi, on his way making a hunting expedition 

 to the north-east of Wase, where he shot his giraffe. 



Next day Alexander and I went to Brott, the capital of 

 the second chief of the Yergum. It stands in a beautiful 

 valley between some of the outlying peaks of the Murchison 

 range and is thickly dotted with hamlets. Here we made 

 a fine haul of sheep and goats, which were presented to us 

 by the King of Brott, for our success in inducing a rebellious 

 vassal town to submit to him. He tried hard to persuade 

 us to join him in making war on his enemies, the hill tribes, 

 and undaunted by refusals, made a pathetic last try when he 

 came on with us part of the way next morning, and then, 

 pointing to some men lining the tops of the hills, declared 

 they were Gazum, who would catch and eat him as he went 

 back. We watched, however, till we saw that he had safely 

 rejoined his own men. 



After leaving Brott, we tried to break out by a valley to 

 the left, which would have saved us a long detour, but could 

 not, as it grew too steep and rocky for the horses, good 

 climbers though these were. We now came out at the back 

 of the range, and passed into territory where no white man 

 had been before. We had been assured at Wase that the 

 peoples into whose territories we were now entering, were 



