442 
WE QUIT KAMBASrS TERRITORY . [chap. xvi. 
you leave, the little double-barrelled rifle that you 
promised me, and a supply of ammunition 1 " To the 
last moment he was determined to persevere in his 
demand, and, if possible, to obtain my handy little 
Fletcher 24 rifle, that had been demanded and refused 
ever since my residence in his country. I was equally 
persistent in my refusal, telling him that there were 
many dangers on the road, and I could not travel 
unarmed. 
On the following morning our people crossed the 
river; this was a tedious operation, as our party con¬ 
sisted of about 700 porters and eighty armed men, as 
Ibrahim had arranged to leave thirty men with Kam- 
rasi to protect him from the MVa until he should 
return in the following season, when he promised to 
bring him a great variety of presents. By 4 p.m. the 
whole party had crossed the river with ivory and 
baggage. We now brought up the rear, and descended 
some fine crags of granite to the water s edge; there 
were several large canoes in attendance, one of which 
we occupied, and, landing on the opposite shore, we 
climbed up the steep ascent and looked back upon 
IJnyoro, in which we had passed ten months of wretch¬ 
edness. It had poured with rain on the preceding 
day, and the natives had constructed a rough camp 
of grass huts. 
On the break of day on the 17th November we 
started. It would be tedious to describe the journey, 
as, although by a different route, it was through 
the same country that we had traversed on our arrival 
from Shooa. After the first day's march we quitted 
the forest and entered upon the great prairies. I was 
astonished to find after several days' journey a great 
difference in the dryness of the climate. In IJnyoro 
we had left the grass an intense green, the rain having 
been frequent: here it was nearly dry, and in many 
places it had been burnt by the native hunting par¬ 
ties. From some elevated points in the route I could 
distinctly make out the outline of the mountains run- 
