82 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. 



white or greyish rhinoceros still abounds. West and north of Karagwé the large 

 mammals have not yet been disturbed either by Europeans or Arabs, these some- 

 what inaccessible regions having hitherto remained un visited by explorers. 



The Ruanda Country. 



Ruanda, lying directly west of the Tangure river, and stretching away as far as 

 the northern slope of Lake Tanganyka, is probably the most powerful state in this 

 still unexplored region. According to the statements of the Arabs, who have 

 vainly endeavoured to penetrate into the country, whence they would be promptly 

 expelled, because "famine and drought follow in their train," here are some very 

 large villages, and the land is said to abound in minerals and hot springs. South 

 of Mount Mfumbiro all the slopes seem to be covered by an immense forest of use- 

 ful timbers. Northwards M'poro and U-Sagara, also called Ankori or Mkole, are 

 also said to be rich in valuable products. Most extraordinary things are related of 

 this mysterious country, wicked dwarfs, far more formidable than giants, taking a 

 prominent part in all these reports. It is probable that a race of pigmies, like the 

 Akka of the forests of the river Welle, and the Obongo of the Ogoway basin, occupy 

 the upland valleys of Mount M'f umbiro and the ranges running northwards towards 

 Mounts Kibanga and Gambaragara. Stanley states that the king of U-Ganda sent 

 an. expedition against these dwarfs, but the cold seems to have prevented his soldiers 

 from penetrating into the upland valleys. Here also the chief power appears to be 

 in the hands of the Wa-Huma, these conquerors from the east having thus appa- 

 rently reached the water-parting between the Nile and Congo basins. This still 

 unexplored country will doubtless sooner or later occupy a position in the history 

 of the continent analogous to that which it already holds in its geographical aspect. 

 Thanks to its climate and productions, it may become a new Europe in the very 

 heart of Africa, and here will be the principal health-resort of the Nile and Congo 



lowland regions. 



The Empire of TJ-Ganda. 



The kingdom of TJ-Ganda,* the best known of all the states on the plateau of 

 the Nile basin, seems to be also the most populous, as it certainly is the most power- 

 ful. Its form is that of a crescent, stretching west and north of the Nyanza, and 

 comprising Koki, U-Du (TJddu), and other states, as far as the mouth of the 

 Alexandra Nile. Eastwards it extends even beyond the Somerset Nile, having 

 gi-adually absorbed the U-Soga country. It also possesses the large Sesse Archi- 

 pelago, besides several other islands. In the interior its still undefined limits are 

 lost in dense uninhabited jungles, and quite recently it has claimed sovereignty 

 over Karagwé and U-Sui. Its total area may be estimated at 20,000 square miles, 

 and, including the dependencies, at about 70,000 square miles. Stanley's calcula- 

 tions, based on the number of armed men, make the population about 2,775,000. 



* TJ-Ganda means country of Ganda ; M-Ganda, man ot Ganda ; Wa-Gmida, people of Ganda ; Ki- 

 Ganda, language of Ganda. 



