58o 



NA TV RE 



[April 20, 1899 



the Uganda Road between the years 1894 and 1898. It 

 shows that considerable progress has been effected with 

 the railways, that hotel accommodation has been provided 

 at Mombasa, and that the late Captain Sclater's well- 

 constructed road has greatly facilitated communications 

 with the interior. The road, however, has not been of 

 so much use as it might have been, owing to the collapse 

 of the transport service during the past three years. The 

 author's numerous records of massacred caravans, tribal 

 wars, and tragic deaths of Europeans show that the 

 country has not yet reached the peace expected in a 

 British possession. 



The most interesting of Dr. .-Xnsorge's medical observ- 

 ations is a note on the effect of poisoned arrows. Four 

 years ago a jubilant telegram announced that one of the 

 doctors of the Uganda staff had discovered a certain 

 antidote for wounds made by these once dreaded weapons. 

 According to Ur. Ansorge's account this was no great 

 medical triumph ; for in some cases which he observed 

 the arrow poison was of no serious strength, and left to 

 itself merely set up a slight local irritation. 



The book is mainly of interest scientifically, from its 

 side-lights on anthropological questions. Those who 

 advocate the study of anthropology as a branch of 

 political economy may find many examples in support of 

 their case. The following incident may be quoted, as it 

 has a certain anthropological as well as a political sig- 

 nificance. The incident occurred during an atta':k on 

 one of the Kavirondo villages by the Government forces. 



"Two little urchins, four or five years old, attempted 

 to escape from one of the gates ; but finding the enemy 

 present everywhere they ran round the village along by 

 the trench, trying to find a means of re-entry. In the 

 meanwhile two of our Masai allies had rushed forward 

 from the besieging hordes . . . and darted in pursuit of 

 the two naked urchins, who, turning round and finding 

 themselves hard pressed stopped running and held out 

 entreating hands to their pursuers. The Masai were 

 jerking their spears horizontally, with the peculiar thrust- 

 ing movement used in striking a victim. Friends and 

 foes stopped fighting to watch this sudden side-act. One 

 of the Masai did not strike his captive, but . . . the other 

 villain poised his spear and struck the poor trembling 

 child full in the chest. As the boy fell backwards in the 

 grass the Masai gave one more lunge with his spear, and 

 then darted back to where our friendlies stood.'' 



The author tells us on the same page as that on which 

 this horrible deed is described, that after the capture of 

 the first village, members of the British force cut off the 

 hands of the enemy " in order more quickly to possess 

 themselves of the coveted iron bracelets." 



Vasco da Clama's men collected bracelets in the same 

 way when he visited Mombasa at the end of the fifteenth 

 century ; but we thought that method of making anthro- 

 pological collections was out of date. 



The scientific value of this book is seriously lessened 

 by the absence of reference to other literature on the 

 same country. No official Blue Book could ignore other 

 work more completely. This trait seems characteristic 

 of the author's general attitude ; for he seldom tnentions 

 his colleagues and comrades by name. This isolation 

 lessens the interest of his narrative, while it is fatal to 

 the anthropological value of his book. For instance. Dr. 

 Ansorge tells us that the Wahima are the aboriginal in- 

 NO. 1538, VOL. 59] 



habitants of Uganda, and that they were conquered by 

 the Waganda, under whom they took service as herdsmen. 

 But according to the traditions reported by Stanley, ami 

 accepted by nearly all subsequent writers, the facts were 

 exactly the reverse. It was the Wahima who conquered: 

 the original Bantu inhabitants of Uganda, and by inter- 

 marriage with the conquered people formed the Waganda 

 race. Dr. Ansorge may have good reasons for his belief ; 

 but he has only himself to blame if his view is dismissed! 

 as a simple mistake. 



So far, as the author is describing what he has actually 

 seen, he appears to be accurate ; but a rash general- 

 isation leads him occasionally into error ; as when he 

 tells us that very few natives eat the flesh of the "croc," 

 to use the inelegant abbreviation by which the crocodile 

 is frequently referred to. This expression illustrates the 

 author's literary style. The only element of humour in 

 the book is contributed by some of the involved sentences. 

 The illustrations, however, are often admirable and in- 

 structive, especially in the chapter on Kavirondo. But 

 they would have been of more interest had reference been 

 made to Hobley's memoir on the Kavirondo, some of the 

 points in which they illustrate. The photographs are, 

 however, of unequal merit, and some of them are difficult, 

 puzzle-pictures. There is, for example, on p. 128 a 

 picture of a native labelled "A Fishmonger" : there are 

 no recognisable fish in the picture, and no notice to the 

 effect that goods are kept elsewhere during the hot 

 weather. It would have saved some perplexity if we had 

 been told whether that particular Uganda fishmonger 

 had retired from business, or whether he was sitting on 

 his stock-in-trade. The picture is not self-explanatory. 



The last part of the book consists of a reprint of 

 descriptions of the various mammals and insects col- 

 lected by the author in British East Africa, and of ;i 

 valuable list of birds by Dr. Hartert. The list includes 

 216 species, and it gives some idea of the extent of our 

 knowledge of the avifauna of the district, that this ex- 

 tensive collection only includes three new species and 

 one new variety. Dr. Hartert's list is new, but thi 

 descriptions of the mammals and insects are reprinted 

 from the technical journals. It would have been more 

 useful if the pages occupied by these quotations had been 

 devoted to some account of the habits of the animals. 1 

 The technical descriptions are of no interest to the general: 

 reader, while the specialist must refer to the original 

 place of publication. But one of the prices paid for com 

 petition in systematic zoology is that it too often turn 

 the naturalist into the collector. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 



The Wild Fowl of the United States and Ilril:- 



Possessions J- or, the Swan, Geese, Ducks, and Mer 



gansers of North America. By D. C. Elliot. Pp. 



xxii + 316, illustrated. (London : Suckling and Co., 



1898.) J 



With this volume the author completes his "trilogy" ot| 



popular manuals of .-Xmcrican birds of sport ; the plan of' 



treatment being the same as in the previous volumes. 



which have already been noticed in this journal. In the 



land of their birth the volumes on "Shore Birds" and 



" Gallinaccnus Game Birds" have been received as tht 



standard works for the sportsman and amateur naturalist 



