TRAVELLING EXPERIENCES. 67 



Colville on having brought peace and prosperity 

 to this enormous country. 



At Kampala, then, I had to spend a month 

 waiting for news ; and probably this was the 

 pleasantest period of my journey, through the 

 kindness and hospitality of Captain Gibb, who 

 was in charge. 



Finding that there was still no immediate pros- 

 pect of the roads becoming clear, and being also 

 very desirous of seeing the Kagera river, whose 

 course seemed scarcely known in places, I decided 

 to go down through Buddu to this river, coast 

 along it for a certain distance, and then strike 

 across Ankole to Ruwenzori. I hoped to return 

 by a different route, and, in fact, did so, catching 

 the Kagera at the bend of Latoma. I despatched 

 some men with an old tweed suit and sundries to 

 Antari, the sovereign of Ankole, with a request 

 for a guide to show me across his country. One 

 of these men, an Askari, Taratibu, was a most 

 curious character. He was very plucky, very lazy, 

 and seemed to have few redeeming qualities. In 

 fact, I had had to degrade him to the condition 

 of an ordinary porter for gross carelessness. I 

 was struck by the fact that when this happened, 

 and he refused to carry a load and made a dis- 

 turbance, the others were afraid to tackle him, and 

 I gave him therefore a chance to distinguish him- 

 self on this embassy. He managed it extremely 

 well ; made Antari believe I was a most important 



