DAMPER TO A RETURN HOME. 



127 



" called for." I broke, however, through the sudant, stri- 

 dent, hircine throng, and regaining, with the aid of 

 Riza's strong arm, the old Tembe, was salaamed to by the 

 expectant Said bid Salim and the Jemadar. It felt like a 

 return home. But I had left, before my departure, with 

 my Arab charge-d'affaires, four small loads of cloth, and 

 on inspecting the supplies there remained only ten 

 shukkah. I naturally inquired what had become of the 

 110 others, which had thus prematurely disappeared. 

 Said bin Salim replied by showing a small pile of 

 grain-bags, and by informing me that he had hired 

 twenty porters for the down-march. He volunteered, 

 it is true, in case I felt disposed to finish the Periplus of 

 the Lake, to return to Kazeh and to superintend the 

 transmission of our reserve supplies ; as, however, he at 

 the same time gave me to understand that he could not 

 escort them back to Ujiji, I thanked him for his offer, 

 and declined it. 



We had expended upwards of a month — from the 

 10th April to the 13th May, 1858 — in this voyage 

 fifteen days outward bound, nine at Uvira, and nine in 

 returning. The boating was rather a severe trial. 

 We had no means of resting the back ; the holds of 

 the canoes, besides being knee-deep in water, were 

 disgracefully crowded; — they had been appropriated 

 to us and our four servants by Kannena, but by de- 

 grees, he introduced in addition to the sticks, spears, 

 broken vases, pots, and gourds, a goat, two or three 

 small boys, one or two sick sailors, the little slave- 

 girl and the large sheep. The canoes were top- 

 heavy with the number of their crew, and the 

 shipping of many seas spoilt our tents, and besides, 

 wetted our salt, and soddened our grain and flour ; the 

 gunpowder was damaged, and the guns were honey- 

 combed with rust. Besides the splashing of the paddles 



