A WAHUMA VILLAGE 131 



liedge. The courtyards were excessively dirty, but the huts 

 were kept very clean inside. The inhabitants, who have charge 

 of the king's herds, had fled at our approach, as they were 

 afraid of the plundering Waganda, but as I entered one of the 

 huts a woman clad in skins offered me milk, with the request 

 that I should drink it out of one of my own vessels. The 

 W ahum a never cultivate the soil, but they exchange milk and 

 butter with their neighbours for sweet potatoes, gourds, to- 

 bacco, bark cloth, &c. 



Kitara, the village where we were to encamp, was situated 

 a short distance from here. It is small, and belongs to the 

 district of Makongo Kasegu, whom I visited on my first 

 Uganda expedition, and who lives about two miles from here ; 

 he is, however, too old to pay me a visit. Kapeki, where we 

 passed the night on our outward journey, between Kahiira 

 and Guru, lies adjacent to Kitara. Along this road there is 

 a bush which frequently grows about six feet high, and has 

 woolly verbena-like leaves and blue blossoms like those of the 

 salvia ; the whole plant exhales a most pleasant perfume.* At 

 5 P.M. a man unexpectedly arrived with my bedding. Any- 

 one who has slept in Central Africa for five nights on a bare 

 ankareb, and has had some experience of our mosquitos, will 

 readily realise my joy ; my only goods now missing were the 

 linen, cooking utensils, and my store of coffee ! The following 

 morning a very short march brought us to Khor Ergugu ; we 

 passed through fine park land, where on the short turf we 

 noticed some Pentastemon,t blue Lathyrus, white convolvulus, 

 and dark red and silver white Malvae, with bright red eyes. 

 The first part of Khor Ergugu was quickly passed, as the water 

 was only knee-deep and no grass was growing in it. The 

 second part proved more difficult, as the water was now breast- 

 high, and enormous quantities of grass prevented us from gain- 

 ing a firm footing, so we took fully twenty minutes to wade 

 through it. A quarter of an hour's march through a fine wood 

 brought us at last to Mreko's headquarters, Kahiira. 



In -order to enlarge his house, Mreko, a younger brother of 

 Nyamasore (the queen-mother), had caused all ornamental trees 



* This busli is probably a species of Coleus. — G. S. 

 + This genus does not exist in Central Africa. — G. S. 



