50 
moossah's head keepee. 
at to frighten it, as nurses at home too often do with 
ghost stories. 
The most important functionary about this court 
was the head keeper or foondee, who had been a 
slave all his life, and now possessed a village with a 
farm and cattle. His daily duty was to sit within 
sight of his master. On Speke calling to see his col- 
lection of horns, and extract a bullet from the leg of 
one of his slaves, the foondee made us heartily wel- 
come. Stools were placed, and in gratitude for the 
operation he produced some ripe plantain, and showed 
us about his premises. He also took us to one of his 
favourite shooting-grounds, where he certainly knew 
how to make himself comfortable. His servants had 
constructed for him a most luxurious waterproof hut 
with broad stripes of freshly-cut bark, and a capital 
bedstead of boughs. At night five fires were kept 
burning round him to keep off the musquitoes. The 
grate was most original : three stout pegs of green 
wood driven into the ground, forming an equilateral 
triangle, answered every purpose of an iron utensil, 
and on it a frying-pan, made of bark, frizzled mush- 
rooms and meat to the chief's satisfaction. By his 
own account, he had shot many a lion from trees; and 
during the march to and from Zanzibar with his mas- 
ter's property, he, with a staff of under-keepers, used 
to supply the porters with rations from wild animals, 
which plan saved the expenditure of bead -money. 
He had many sporting stories. The lion, he said, 
seldom killed men; but, not long ago, one had jumped 
the wall of the building and killed five cows, two of 
which he dragged over the wall — the natives fearing 
to impede his course. 
