254 THE LAKE REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 



south, namely, that any man has a right to tread God's 

 earth gratis as long as he does not interfere with pro- 

 perty. If any hesitation about the kuhonga be made, the 

 first question put to the objector will be, u Is this your 

 ground or my ground ? " The practice, which is sanc- 

 tioned by the customs of civilised nations, is, however, 

 vitiated in East Africa by the slave-trade : it becomes 

 the means of intrusion and extortion, of insolence and 

 violence. The Wagogo are an importing people, and 

 they see with envy long strings of what they covet 

 passing through their territory from the interior to the 

 coast. They are strong enough to plunder any caravan ; 

 but violence they know would injure them by cutting 

 off communication with the markets for their ivory. 

 Thus they have settled into a silent compromise, and their 

 nice sense of self-interest prevents any transgression 

 beyond the bounds of reason. The sultans receive 

 their kuhonga, and the subjects entice away slaves from 

 every caravan, but the enormous interest upon capital 

 laid oat in the trade still leaves a balance in favour of 

 the merchants. The Arabs, however, declaring that 

 the evil is on the increase, propose many remedies — such 

 as large armed caravans, sent by their government, 

 and heavy dues to be exacted from those Wagogo who 

 may visit the coast. But they are wise enough to mur- 

 mur without taking steps which would inevitably ex- 

 acerbate the evil. Should it pass a certain point, a 

 new road will be opened, or the old road will be re- 

 opened, to restore the balance of interests. 



At the Ziwa we had many troubles. One Marema, 

 the sultan of a new settlement situated a few hundred 

 yards to the north-west visited us on the day of our 

 arrival and reproving us for " sitting in the jungle," 

 pointed out the way to his village. On our replying 



