GORILLA NESTS. 
537 
guinea fowls on their tops, and they are often so closely 
planted that I have heard gorillas, here called “ sokos," 
growling about fifty yards off without getting a glimpse 
of them. His nest is a poor contrivance ; it exhibits no 
more architectural skill than the nest of our Cushat dove. 
Here the “ soko ” sits in pelting rain, with his hands over 
his head. The natives give him a good character, and from 
what I have seen he deserves it, but they call his nest hi* 
house, and laugh at him for being such a fool as to build a 
house and not go beneath it for shelter. 
Bad water and frequent wettings told on us all, by cho- 
leraic symptoms and loss of flesh. Meanwhile the news of 
cheap ivory caused a sort of California gold fever at Ujiji, 
and we were soon overtaken by a horde numbering 600 
muskets, all eager for the precious tusks. These had been 
left by the Manyema in the interminable forests where the 
animals 1, 1 been slain. The natives knew where they lay, 
and if treated civilly, readily brought them, many half 
rotten, or gnawed by a certain rodent to sharpen his teeth, 
as London rats do the leaden pipes. I had already in this 
journey two severe lessons that travelling in an unhealthy 
climate in the rainy season is killing work. By getting 
drenched to the skin once too often in Marungu I had pneu- 
monia, the illness to which I have referred, and that was 
worse than ten fevers — that is fevers treated by our medi- 
cine and not by the dirt supplied to Bishop Mackenzie at 
the Cape as the same. Besides being unwilling to bear 
the new comers’ company, I feared that by further expo- 
sure in the rains the weakness might result in something 
worse. 
I went seven days southwards, to a camp formed by the 
head men of the ivory liord, and on the 7th of February 
went into winter quarters. I found these men as civil and 
kind as I could wish. 
A letter from the Sultan of Zanzibar, which 1 owe to the 
kindness of Sir Bartle Frere, has been of immense service 
to me with most of his subjects. I had no medicine ; but 
