188 AMONGST THE RESHIAT AND TO LAKE STEFANIE 



been told by the Kandile that they were suffering from small- 

 pox and all intercourse with them was broken off. The Marie 

 are evidently a very remarkable people, for they are held in 

 great esteem and affection by all the surrounding tribes. The 

 route to their settlements runs alono- the eastern shore of Lake 

 Stefanie. North of the Marie live the Arbor e. 



This day, on which we had achieved the last aim of our 

 long expedition, was celebrated, to the best of our ability, by 

 us and our people, with all the means at our disposal. We 

 brewed ourselves a bowl of foaming liquor, made, it is true, of 

 nothing but honey, water, tartaric acid, and doubly-distiUed 

 carbonic acid, but which tasted delicious, and we emptied it 

 with an enthusiastic 'Hip, hip, hurrah!' in honour of the royal 

 pair with whose names it is our proud privilege to associate all 

 the geographical results of our arduous undertaking. Our 

 people organised a fete in the afternoon, beginning with a 

 number of Masai dances and songs, performed in front of our 

 tents. Then some of them hoisted Count Teleki on to their 

 shoulders and carried him, to the accompaniment of much 

 shouting and firing of guns, some thousand paces nearer the 

 lake, where they set him down and danced round him. One 

 of the caravan bards had already composed an ode in antici- 

 pation of this occasion, the joyful refrain of which was '■Bwana 

 mkiibwa, kazi mekivischa ' (' Great master, our work is at an 

 end.') Towards evening all the Mrima men of the caravan, led 

 by Jumbe Kimemeta, performed a regular Mrima dance accom- 

 panied with song, the rhythm and melody of which reminded us 

 very much of the performances we had witnessed in Kilimanjaro. 



As we had but a little food with us it was now time to think 

 of returning. We were anxious, however, first to make one 

 more attempt to get into communication with some natives of 

 the district, and Count Teleki sent Jumbe Kimemeta, Qualla, 

 and thirty men to make a thorough search, in which Lembasso 



