CHAPTER XVL 
KAMRASl’s ADIEU. 
It was the middle of November—not the wretched 
month that chills even the recollection of Old England* 
but the last of the ten months of rain that causes the 
wonderful vegetation of the fertile soil in equatorial 
Africa. The Turks were ready to return to Shooa, and 
I longed for the change from this brutal country to the 
still wilder but less bloody tribe of Madi, to the north. 
The quantity of ivory in camp was so large that we 
required 700 porters to carry both tusks and provi¬ 
sions, &c. for the five days’ march through uninhabited 
country. Kamrasi came to see us before we parted ; 
he had provided the requisite porters. We were to 
start on the following day; he arrived with the Blissett 
rifle that had been given him by Speke. He told me 
that he was sorry we were going; and he was much 
distressed that he had burst his rifle!—he had ham¬ 
mered a large bullet in the endeavour to fit the bore, 
and the lump of lead having stuck in the middle, he 
had fired his rifle and split the barrel, which being of 
remarkably good metal had simply opened. He told 
me that it did not matter so very much after all, as he 
had neither powder nor ball—(this was false, as Ibrahim 
had just given him a quantity), therefore his rifle would 
have been useless if sound ; but, he added, “ You are 
now going home, where you can obtain all you require, 
therefore you will want for nothing; give me, before 
