180 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION . 
here, on Speke Gulf, might still be in profound 
ignorance of the arrival. Mtesa of Uganda might prick 
up his ears at the gratifying intelligence, and hope 
they would soon visit him, while Ukara, though only 
about twenty -five geographical miles from Kagehyi, 
might be excluded for ever from discussing the strange 
topic. The natives of Karagwe and their gentle king 
might be greatly exercised in their minds with the 
agreeable news, and wonder whether they, in their 
turn, should ever see the white men, and yet Komeh, 
300 miles nearer to us, might only hear of the wonder- 
ful event years after our departure ! Thus it is that 
information is only conveyed along the lines of traffic, 
and does not filter into those countries which are 
ostracised from common interests and events by the 
, reputed ferocity of their inhabitants and their jealous 
hostility to strangers, even though they may actually 
border upon the localities where those interests and 
events are freely discussed. 
Prince Kaduma, truth compels me to state, is a true 
Central African “ toper ” — a naturally amiable man, 
whose natural amiability might be increased to enormous 
proportions, provided that it was stimulated by endless 
supplies of pombe. From perpetual indulgence in his 
favourite vice, he has already attained to that blear- 
eyed, thick-tongued, husky-voiced state from which 
only months of total abstinence can redeem a man. 
In his sober moments — I cannot say hours— which 
were soon after he rose in the morning, he pretended 
to manifest an interest in his cattle-yard, and to be 
deeply alive to the importance of doing something in 
the way of business whenever opportunities offered. In 
fact, he would sometimes go so far as to say to his 
half-dozen elders that he had something in view even 
then — “ but we must have a shauri first.” Becoming 
exceedingly interested, the elders would invite him to 
speak, and instantly assume that wise, thoughtful, 
grave aspect which you sometimes see in members 
of Parliament, Congress, Reichstag, &c. “Ah, but,” 
Kaduma would say, “ does a man work when he is 
