230 
THE PUBLIC EXECUTIONERS. 
beads. There was no flour nor milk used in the coun- 
try, the natives living entirely upon plantain boiled, 
or made into wine, which they called " mVenge." 
There was very little drunkenness visible. Cattle 
were rarely seen : the hills all round were such a mass 
of tall reeds and grasses that they could not penetrate 
them ; even a dog would have had difficulty in hunt- 
ing through these thickets. Pleasant walks were cut 
through them, and kept from being grown over by 
the constant transit of slave parties. Katoonzee re- 
turned from one of these during my stay at Uganda. 
He had captured 130 women, chiefly old, and only fit 
for weeding the fields. Some few, fitted for wives, 
stood apart, to be given away to men thought deserv- 
ing, or whose services were to be rewarded. Each 
woman of this class was worth three cows. An in- 
stance occurred of the king having given a single 
slave to one of his officers for some service performed, 
and the man being bold enough to ask for another, 
was cut to pieces with the usual reed knife. His 
limbs were carried away openly, while the trunk was 
wrapped in a cloth. There were several executioners, 
men of rank, who were the privy councillors of the 
king. These men had numbers of followers, dis- 
tinguished by wearing their mark of office — a short 
turban of cord — and sometimes carrying a peculiarly- 
shaped bludgeon. Konzah has been mentioned ; an- 
other, named Oozoongoo, was always carried to court 
in a litter, being an invalid. On meeting him, he 
would stop to speak, and in expression had nothing 
repulsive ; but when seen with a wreath of black 
fringe encircling his head, hiding his eyes, and hang- 
ing down to near his mouth, his appearance was com- 
