378 
THE NATI(3NAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 
as well as opposite them, forming a lane, 
and awaiting the appearance of the gifts 
with painfully subdued excitement. And 
they came — came in endless successio'-". 
In front was a milch cow, whose calf 
was carried behind. She was intended 
to represent the greatest honor that could 
befall me. She was followed by lo oxen, 
with immense horns, and then a never- 
ending herd of goats. Flock followed 
flock, fresh contingents constantly roll- 
ing up and overflowing the cantonment. 
They were succeeded by an endless chain 
of heavy-laden Wahutu, with hundreds 
of loads, consisting of meal, milk, honey, 
butter, beans, and bananas. 
After them appeared other trains bear- 
ing firewood, which was rare in the 
neighborhood and therefore particularly 
valuable. All these treasures were stored 
away in the camp, but the stock were 
driven into a hedged enclosure and 
placed under the guardianship of an 
Askari patrol. The procession had taken 
nearly an hour to pass by. Von Gra- 
wert himself, in spite of his lengthy term 
of office as Resident, declared that he 
had never before witnessed such an im- 
posing spectacle. 
we: de;light thk sultan with a saw 
The great and overwhelming fear of a 
refusal of the gifts having passed, Alsin- 
ga's court breathed freely again. The 
visit was at an end, and with solemn 
farewells the sovereign entered his litter 
and was borne away, followed by a forest 
of 500 spears. An inefi^aceable impres- 
sion ! 
The return visit in the afternoon was 
conducted with as much splendor as it 
was possible for a traveling caravan to 
offer. In addition to the ordinary gifts 
of stuffs and beads customary in the 
country, others were specially selected 
with the hope of "lightening up the coun- 
tenance of the ruler" and rejoicing his 
heart. Any real equivalent to his own 
gifts was of course impossible. 
Preceded by Askari with flying flags, 
followed by all the "boys," each carrying 
a present in his outstretched arms, and 
with horns blowing, we entered the Sul- 
tan's courtyard, which is brightly and 
cleanly kept, and passed on to the palace, 
which is bordered round by a hedging 
of wickerwork and papyrus. After an 
interchange of the customary greetings, 
and when we had taken seats, the presen- 
tation of our gifts took place. In order 
to heighten the effect, we ordered the 
"boys" up singly with their presents, so 
that they might be displayed to the best 
advantage. 
The ordinary presents did not in the 
least excite the attention of the poten- 
tate ; they were put aside with indiffer- 
ence or divided immediately amongst his 
head men. The clanging of an alarm 
clock, which had to be explained in every 
detail, pleased Msinga rather more, and 
his satisfaction grew into rapture when 
I handed him my hunting knife and a 
cartridge pouch filled with ammunition 
to fit the sharpshooter rifle which had 
been lent him. 
But his enthusiasm reached its climax 
when I. with much solemnity, presented 
him with a saw. for which he had spe- 
cially asked. After a few failures, he 
succeeded in sawing away the legs of my 
chair and operating upon everything else 
within reach with fairly good results. 
The "ministry," too, watched the experi- 
ments with the liveliest interest. The 
Askari, who were put through their drill 
and evolutions, gave considerable satis- 
faction, and this was heightened by the 
firing of a few rapid volleys. 
the; remarkable jumping of thl 
WATUSSI 
The following few days were devoted 
to sports and athletic exercises, of which 
the high jumping of the young Watussi 
was a most remarkable feature. 
A line, which could be raised or low- 
ered at will, was stretched between two 
slender trees standing on an incline. The 
athletes had to run up to this and jump 
from a small termite heap a foot in 
height. Despite these unfavorable con- 
ditions, exhibitions were given which 
would place all European efforts in the 
shade. The best jumpers — slender, but 
splendid figures, with an almost Indian 
profile — attained the incredible height of 
2.50 meters (8 feet 5 inches), and young 
boys made the relatively no less wonder- 
