SULTAN SEMBODJA AT MASINDE 



71 



In tlie afternoon the marcli was resumed across dried-up 

 swamps, overlooked by rugged heights, to a picturesque httle 

 stream, where the camp was pitched for the night at about five 

 o'clock in the afternoon. On this day's journey Count Teleki 

 shot a great many guinea-fowl and a large, queer-looking bird, 

 name unknown, not unlike a dodo. It was about the size of a 

 pelican, with a big black saw-like beak, a red crop, and short 

 black feet. But for a few white feathers with black tips the 

 plumage was all black. The men avoided it, as it was evidently 

 a rapacious bird. The neighbourhood was very unhealthy, for 

 six Swahili and three Somal were taken ill here with fever. 



On March 4 Masinde was at last reached. The capital of 

 Usambara consists of a large number of huts surrounded by a 

 strong palisade with well-defended entrance-gates. The residence 

 of the Sultan is really a collection of huts differing in nothing 

 from those of his people except that a separate hedge fences 

 them round. 



Sultan Sembodja sent word that he was eagerly expecting 

 the visit of the Europeans, so Count Teleki went to pay his 

 respects in the afternoon in full state, preceded by the guides 

 and Askari, with the Somal guard bringing up the rear. 

 Arrived at the residence, they were shown into a hut called a 

 baraja, which served the purpose of a council-chamber. I 

 leave Count Teleki to give an account in his own words of 

 the rest of his experiences : — 



' The hut,' he says, ' in which Sembodja awaited me was 

 already full of negroes, and a most horrible stench greeted me 

 as I stooped to enter. Sembodja was seated on a kitanda, or 

 native bed, on one side of the long space, and I seated myself 

 on a similar one opposite to him. There was no other furniture, 

 but the hut was decorated with a few European curiosities, such 

 as a looking-glass in a gilt frame and a picture of a steam- 

 engine going at full speed, which were probably presents from 



