NATIVE EXPLORERS 







the Wangwana of Ngambu, ever eager for adventure, from 

 amongst whom the Expedition would have to hire porters, &c, 

 had no less reason to hail with joy the advent of a new traveller. 

 I had, therefore, no reason to be surprised when my quarters 

 were besieged every morning by crowds of gesticulating 

 negroes, and I received visits every day from sumptuously 

 attired East Indians, who came to offer me the choice of their 

 wares in high-sounding phrases. The unexpected delay in the 

 arrival of Count Teleki, however, made it impossible for me to 

 make any arrangements or bargains on my own responsibility, 

 so that I had to content myself with a kind of general and 

 informal series of inquiries. 



One thing alone had been finally decided on in my interviews 

 with the Count, and that was, that we were to endeavour to 

 secure the services of a certain Martin, a Maltese sailor, who 

 had distinguished himself in Joseph Thomson's journey through 

 Masailand. Martin was now in Zanzibar, living in a beautifully 

 situated country house belonging to his patron, General L. W. 

 Matthews, who at one time commanded the regular army of 

 the Sultan. There I found him, arid, fortunately, also several 

 faithful comrades of his, such as Manwa Sera, Kacheche, and 

 Bedue, all celebrities in their way, whose names had become 

 familiar to me in various books of travel, so that I was very 

 much interested in making their personal acquaintance. Shall 

 I describe the impression they made upon me ? Alas ! I must 

 confess that the somewhat romantic ideas I had conceived in my 

 study of books on Africa received a very severe shock, for they 

 were altogether different from what I had expected, bearing in 

 mind the share they had certainly taken in some of the epoch- 

 making exploring expeditions into Central Africa. 



Although I failed to secure Martin, who had already engaged 

 himself to a party of English sportsmen, my efforts to do so 

 were not altogether without results, for to them I owe my 



