228 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
a very light red-gold colour, while one or two verged on 
white. The native cloths — the national dress — which 
depended from the right shoulders of the large number 
of those not immediately connected with the court were 
of a light brown also. It struck me, when I saw the 
brown skins, brown robes, and brown canoes, that brown 
must be the national colour. 
These forty canoes, which now rode on the calm grey- 
green waters of Murchison Bay, contained in the aggre- 
gate about 1200 men. The captain of each canoe was 
dressed in a white cotton shirt and a cloth head-cover, 
neatly folded turban-fashion, while the admiral wore 
over his shirt a crimson jacket, profusely decorated with 
gold braid, and on his head the red fez of Zanzibar. 
Each captain, as he passed us, seized shield and spear, 
and, with the bravado of a matador addressing the Judge 
of the Plaza to behold his prowess, went through the 
performance of defence and attack by water. The 
admiral won the greatest applause, for he was the 
Hector of the fleet, and his actions, though . not remark- 
ably graceful, were certainly remarkably extravagant. 
The naval review over, Mtesa commanded one of the 
captains of the canoes to try and discover a crocodile or 
a hippopotamus. After fifteen minutes he returned 
with the report that there was a young crocodile asleep 
on a rock about 200 yards away. “ Now, Standee,” 
said Mtesa, “ show my women how white men can 
shoot.” To represent all the sons of Japhet, on this 
occasion was a great responsibility, but I am happy to 
say that — whether owing to the gracious influence of 
some unseen divinity who has the guardianship of their 
interests or whether from mere luck — I nearly severed 
the head of the young crocodile from its body at a 
distance of 100 yards with a three-ounce ball, an act 
which was accepted as conclusive proof that all white 
men are dead shots. 
In the afternoon we amused ourselves with target 
practice, at which an accident occurred that might have 
produced grave results. A No. 8 double-barrelled rifle 
was fractured in Mtesa’s hands at the second shot, but 
