452 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
that- evening, but releasing their feet, and relaxing the 
bonds on their arms, appointed Katembo and his friend 
to keep them company and feed them, and Wadi Rehani 
to stimulate the keepers to be hospitable. 
By the morning they were sociable, and replied 
readily to our questions. They were of the Wanongi — 
an inland tribe — but they had a small fishing village 
about an hour’s journey below our camp called Katumbi. 
A powerful tribe called the Mwana Ntaba occupied a 
country below Katumbi, near some falls, which they 
warned us would be our destruction. On the left side 
of the river, opposite the Mwana Ntaba, were the 
W avinza, south of a large river called the Rumami, or 
Lumami. The great river on which we had voyaged 
was known to them as the Lowwa. 
As we stepped into our canoes we cut their bonds 
and permitted the unlovable and unsympathetic crea- 
tures to depart, a permission of which they availed 
themselves gladly. 
The banks were from ten to thirty feet high, of a 
grey-brown clay, and steep with old clearings, which 
were frequent at this part until below Katumbi. Half 
an hour afterwards we arrived at a channel which flowed 
in a sudden bend to the north-east, and, following it, 
we found ourselves abreast of a most populous shore, 
close to which we glided. Presently several large 
canoes appeared from behind an island to our right, and 
seemed to be hesitating as to whether they should 
retreat or advance. 
The “ Open Sesame ” — “ Sen-nen-neh ! ” — was loudly 
uttered by Katembo, with his usual pathetic, bleating 
accent, and to our joy the word was repeated by over a 
hundred voices. “ Sen-nen-neh ! Sennenneh ! Sennen- 
neh ! ” — each voice apparently vying with the other in 
loudness. The river bore us down, and as they would 
not shorten the distance, we thought it better to keep 
this condition of things, lest the movement might be 
misconstrued, and we might be precipitated into 
hostilities. 
For half an hour Ave glided down in this manner, 
