90 



THE LAKE REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 



by Ladha Damha with a stock of white and blue cottons, 

 some handsome articles of dress, 20,000 strings of white 

 and black, pink, blue, and green, red and brown porce- 

 lain-beads, needles, and other articles of hardware, to 

 defray transit-charges through Uzarama. This pro- 

 vision, valued at 295 dollars, should have carried us to 

 the end of the third month ; it lasted about three weeks. 

 Said bin Salim, to whom it had been entrusted, had been 

 generous, through fear, to every half-naked barbarian 

 that chose to stretch forth the hand of beggary ; more- 

 over, whilst too ill to superintend disbursements, he had 

 allowed his " children," aided by the Baloch and the 

 " sons of Ramji," to " loot " whatever they could seize 

 and secrete. Ladha Damha, unable to complete our 

 carriage, had hit upon the notable device of converting 

 eighteen pieces of American domestics into saddle-cloths 

 for the asses : the stuff was used at halts as bedding by 

 the Baloch and others; and, — a proof that much had 

 fallen into wrong hands, — the thirteen men composing 

 our permanent guard, increased the number of their 

 laden asses from two to five ; moreover, for many weeks 

 afterwards, the " sons of Ramji" could afford to expend 

 four to five cloths upon a goat. On the 21st July the 

 escort from Kaole departed with a general discharge of 

 matchlocks. Their disappearance was hailed as a bless- 

 ing ; they had pestered me for rations, and had begged 

 for asses till midnight. They were the refuse of their 

 service ; they thought of, they dreamed of, nothing but 

 food ; they would do no work ; they were continually 

 attempting violence upon the timid Wak'hutu, and they 

 seemed resolved to make the name of Baloch equally 

 hateful and contemptible, 



I had been careful to bring from Zanzibar four ham- 

 mocks, which, slung to poles, formed the conveyance, 



