THE SULTAN KANNENA 



81 



proved useless, being found regularly every morning 

 occupied in force by a swarming, struggling colony, of 

 the largest white ants. The roof, long overgrown with 

 tall grass, was fortified with an extra coat of mud ; 

 it never ceased, however, leaking like a colander ; 

 presently the floor was covered with deep puddles, 

 then masses of earth dropped from the sopped cop- 

 ings and sides of the solid walls, and, at last, during the 

 violent showers, half the building fell in. The conse- 

 quence of the extreme humidity was, that every book 

 which had English paste in it was rendered useless by 

 decay ; writing was rendered illegible by stains and black 

 mildew ; moreover, during my absence, whilst exploring 

 the Lake, Said bin Salim having neglected to keep a fire, 

 as was ordered, constantly burning in the house, a large 

 botanical collection was irretrievably lost. This was the 

 more regretable as our return to the coast took place 

 during the dry season, when the woods were bare of 

 leaf, flower, and fruit. 



On the second day after my arrival I was called upon 

 by "Kannena," the headman of Kawele, under Rusimba, 

 the Mwami, or principal chief of Ujiji. I had heard a bad 

 account of the former. His predecessor, Kabeza, a 

 great favourite with the Arabs, had died about two 

 months before we entered Kawele, leaving a single son, 

 hardly ten years old, and Kannena, a slave, having the 

 art to please the widows of the deceased, and, through 

 them, the tribe, caused himself to be elected temporary 

 headman during the heir's minority. He was intro- 

 duced habited in silk turban and broadcloth coat, 

 which I afterwards heard he had borrowed from the 

 Baloch, in order to put in a prepossessing first appear- 

 ance. The effort, however, failed ; his aspect was truly 

 ignoble ; a short, squat, and broad-backed figure, with 



VOL. II. Gr 



