378 THE LAKE REGIONS OF CENTRAL AFRICA. 



for Kidogo, and told him that the march was positively 

 fixed for the next week. After sitting for a time 

 u cupo concentrate" in profound silence, the angry 

 slave arose, delivered a volley of rattling words with 

 the most theatrical fierceness, and rushed from the room, 

 leaving the terrified Said bin Salim gazing upon vacancy 

 like an idiot. Accompanied by his followers, who were 

 shouting and laughing, he left the house, when — I after- 

 wards heard — they drew their sabres, and waving them 

 round their heads, they shouted, for the benefit of 

 Arabs, " Tume-shinda Wazungu" — "We have con- 

 quered the Whites ! " I held a consultation with my 

 hosts concerning the advisability of disarming the re- 

 creant sons of Ramji. But Sallum bin Hamid, the "papa" 

 of the colony, took up the word, and, as usual with such 

 deliberative bodies, the council of war advised peace. 

 They informed me that in Unyainwezi slaves and mus- 

 kets are the stranger's sole protection, and as they were 

 unanimous in persuading me to temporise, to " swallow 

 anger " till after return, I felt bound, after applying 

 for it, to be guided by their advice. At the consulta- 

 tion, however, the real object which delayed the sons 

 of Ramji at Kazeh oozed out: their patroon, Mr. 

 Rush Ramji, had written to them that his and their 

 trading outfit was on its way from the coast ; conse- 

 quently, they had determined to await, and to make us 

 await, its arrival before marching upon Ujiji. 



On the 14th November, the Masika or wet season, 

 which had announced its approach by premonitory 

 showers and by a final burst of dry heat, set in over 

 the Land of the Moon with torrents of rain and " rain- 

 stones, " as hail is here called, and with storms of thun- 

 der and lightning, which made it more resemble the first 

 breaking of an Indian than the desultory fall of a Zan- 



