482 
AFRICA AND ITS EXPLORATION. 
into the bushes, and made a rush forward, and saw 
several forms run swiftly away from the vicinity of the 
camp. Soon I heard a few of my men utter sharp 
screams, and saw them hop away, with blood streaming 
from their feet, while they cried, “ Keep away from the 
path ! Get away from the road.” 
Upon examining the paths we discovered that each 
bristled with sharp-pointed splinters of the Pennisetum 
reed-cane which had pierced the men’s feet to the bone. 
However, the ambuscade had been very successful, and 
had captured eight of the Wane-Mpungu without an 
accident or the firing of a shot. The savages were not 
unpleasant to look at, though the prejudices of our 
people made them declare that they smelled the flesh of 
dead men when they caught hold of their legs and upset 
them in the road ! Each man’s upper row of teeth was 
filed, and on their foreheads were two curved rows of 
tattoo-marks ; the temples were also punctured. 
Katembo questioned them, and they confessed that 
they lay in wait for man-meat. They informed us that 
the people inland were Waregga, but that the Wakumu, 
coming from the eastward, were constantly in the habit 
of fighting the Waregga ; that the Waregga were black, 
like the Wane-Mpungu, but that the Bakunin were 
light-complexioned, like a light-coloured native of 
Zanzibar whom they pointed to. The captives also 
declared that their village was an hour’s journey from 
the camp, that they ate old men and old women, as 
well as every stranger captured in the woods. Our 
three asses seemed to awe them greatly, and when 
one of them was led up to the asses he begged so 
imploringly that we would be merciful that we relented. 
We obtained considerable amusement from them ; but 
at 9 a.m. we embarked them in our canoes to show us 
the falls, which they said we should meet after four 
hours’ journey. 
We struck across river to the left bank, which was 
high and steep. An hour afterwards we saw rounded 
hills on both banks approaching each other ; but our 
guides said there was no danger at Kabombo, as they 
