128 



THE LAKE REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 



On the 27th July, Sayf bin Salim returned to Du- 

 t'humi with his gang of thirty slaves, who also had dis- 

 tinguished themselves by laying violent hands on sheep, 

 goats, and hens. Their patroon had offered to carry 

 our baggage half-way over the mountains to Ugogo, for 

 a sum of sixty dollars ; thinking his conditions ex- 

 orbitant, I stipulated for conveyance the whole way. 

 He refused, declaring that he was about to organise 

 another journey up-country. I doubted his assertion, 

 as he was known to have audaciously defrauded Musa 

 Mzuri, an Indian merchant, who had entrusted him 

 with a large venture of ivory at Kazeh : yet he spoke 

 truth; nearly a year afterwards we met him on his 

 march to the " Sea of Ujiji." During his visit he had 

 begged for drugs, tea, coffee, sugar, spices, everything, 

 but the stores were already far wasted by the improvi- 

 dence of the Goanese, who seemed to think that they 

 were living in the vicinity of a bazar. To punish me 

 for not engaging his gang, he caused the desertion of 

 nine porters hired at Dut'humi, by declaring that I was 

 bearing them into slavery. As they carried off, in 

 addition to half their pay, sundry sundries and Muinyi 

 Wazira's sword, I sent three slave-musketeers to recover 

 the stolen goods per force if necessary. With respect 

 to the cloth, Sayf bin Salim wrote back to say that as I 

 could well afford the loss of a few " domestics," he 

 would not compel the fugitives to restore it: at the 

 same time that he did himself the honour to return the 

 sword, which I might want. This man proved him- 

 self the sole " base exception " to the hospitality and the 

 courteousness of the Omani Arabs. I forwarded an 

 official complaint to H. M. the Sayyid Majid, but the 

 arm of Zanzibar has not yet reached K'hutu. 



At Zungomero five fresh porters were engaged, 



