124 THE LAKE REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 



violent parley with Kannena, whilst a little knot was 

 carrying a man, mortally wounded, down to the waters 

 of the Lake. I saw at once that the affair was dan- 

 gerous. On these occasions the Wajiji, whose first 

 impulse is ever flight, rush for safety to their boats and 

 push off, little heeding whom or what they leave 

 behind. We therefore hurried in without delay. 



When both crews had embarked, and no enemy 

 appeared, Kannena persuaded them to reland, and 

 proving to them their superior force, induced them to 

 demand, at the arrow's point, satisfaction of Kanoni, 

 the chief, for the outrage committed by his subjects. 

 During our sleep a drunken man — almost all these 

 disturbances arise from fellows who have the " vin 

 mediant" — had rushed from the crowd of Warundi, 

 and, knobstick in hand, had commenced dealing blows 

 in all directions. Ensued a general melee. Bombay, 

 when struck, called to the crews to arm. The Goanese, 

 Valentine, being fear-crazed, seized my large " Colt " 

 and probably fired it into the crowd ; at all events, the 

 cone struck one of our own men below the right pap, 

 and came out two inches to the right of the backbone. 

 Fortunately for us he was a slave, otherwise the situation 

 would have been desperate. As it was, the crowd 

 became violently excited, one man drew his dagger 

 upon Valentine, and with difficulty I dissuaded Kannena 

 from killing him. As the crew had ever an eye to the 

 " main chance," food, they at once confiscated three 

 goats, our store for the return voyage, cut their throats, 

 and spitted the meat upon their spears : — thus the lamb 

 died and the wolf dined, and the innocent suffered and 

 the plunderer was joyed, the strong showed his strength 

 and the weak his weakness, according to the usual for- 

 mula of this sublunary world. 



