CHAP. X. NATIVE LOVE OF COUNTRY. 277 



in the lakelet. They had a large quantity of excellent 

 salt sewed up in bark, some of which we bought, our own 

 having run out. We anchored for the night off their 

 floating camp, and were visited by myriads of mosquitoes. 

 Some of the natives show a love of country quite sur 

 prising. We saw fugitives on the mountains, in the north 

 of the lake, who were persisting in clinging to the haunts 

 of their boyhood and youth, in spite of starvation and the 

 continual danger of being put to death by the Mazitu. 



A few miles below the lakelet is the last of the great 

 slave-crossings. Since the Ajawa invasion the villages on 

 the left bank had been abandoned, and the people, as 

 we saw in our ascent, were living on the right or western 

 bank. 



As we were resting for a few minutes opposite the 

 valuable fishery at Movunguti, a young effeminate-looking 

 man from some sea-coast tribe came in great state to have 

 a look at us. He walked under a large umbrella, and was 

 followed by five handsome damsels gaily dressed and 

 adorned with a view to attract purchasers. One was 

 carrying his pipe for smoking bang, here called "chamba;" 

 another his bow and arrows; a third his battle-axe; a 

 fourth one of his robes ; while the last was ready to take 

 his umbrella when he felt tired. This show of his mer- 

 chandise was to excite the cupidity of any chief who had 

 ivory, and may be called the lawful way of carrying on the 

 slave-trade. What proportion it bears to the other ways 

 in which we have seen this traffic pursued, we never found 

 means of forming a judgment. He sat and looked at us 

 for a few minutes, the young ladies kneeling behind him ; 

 and having satisfied himself that we were not likely to be 

 customers, he departed. 



On our first trip we met, at the landing opposite this 

 place, a middle-aged woman of considerable intelligence 

 and possessing more knowledge of the country than any 



