23.2 THE LAKE REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 



generally, and of Snay and Musa in particular. About 

 evening time I shook hands with Snay bin Amir — 

 having so primed the dear old fellow with a stirrup-cup 

 of burnt-punch, that his gait and effusion of manner 

 were by no means such as became a staid and stately 

 Arab Shaykh. 



On the 4th October, after a week of halts and snail's 

 marches — the insufficiency of porterage compelled me 

 to send back men for the articles left behind at the 

 several villages — we at last reached Hanga, our former 

 quarters on the eastern confines of the Unyanyembe dis- 

 trict. As long as we were within easy distance of 

 Kazeh it was impossible to keep the sons of Ramji 

 in camp, and their absence interfered materially with 

 the completion of the gang. Several desertions took 

 place, a slave given by Kannena of Ujiji to Said bin 

 Salim, old Musangesi the Asinego, and two new pur- 

 chases, male and female, made by the Baloch at Kazeh, 

 disappeared after the first few marches. The porters 

 were troublesome. They had divided themselves as 

 usual into Khambi, or crews, but no regular Kirangozi 

 having been engaged, they preferred, through mutual 

 jealousy, following Shehe, one of the sons of Ramji. 

 On the road, also, some heads had been broken, because 

 the cattle-drivers had attempted to precede the line, 

 and I feared that the fall of a chance shower might 

 make the whole squad desert, under the impression that 

 the sowing season had set in. In their idleness and 

 want of excitement, they had determined to secure at 

 Hanga the bullock claimed by down caravans at Ru- 

 buga. After four days' halt, without other labour but 

 that of cooking, they arose under pretext of a blow 

 given by one of the children of Said bin Salim, and 

 packing up their goods and chattels, poured iu mass, 



