H 
In the Heart of Africa 
the Grand Sultan Kahigi at Kianja. Seeing that in consequence 
of our arrival at Bukoba and our imposing reception all the 
Grand Sultans were assembled together, it was as much an act 
of courtesy as of prudence to return all visits as far as possible. 
This is a point of etiquette on which African potentates are 
very keen, and of course a successful result to our labours greatly 
depended upon the material support of the sultans. 
At length the morning of the 17th of June dawned, the day 
which was to see us start away into the interior of Africa. The 
marshalling of a caravan with such a large number of carriers 
was by no means an easy task. Yet thanks to Lieutenant von 
Wiese, who had taken time by the forelock and exercised and 
trained our forces and taught all the carriers their proper places, 
the long procession managed to get under way without much 
trouble as early as seven o’clock in the morning. All Bukoba 
turned out to form an escort to the departing caravan, and on 
each side of us and in front of our Askari, who led the van 
with trumpet blasts, the way was densely blocked with natives. 
It is an old and time-honoured rule that the first day of a 
journey, such as ours, should be a fairly short one, as experience 
has shown that in the general excitement and flurry of the start 
out indispensable articles are apt to.be overlooked. So we 
halted after a three-hours’ march at Gera, the residence of the 
Sultan Mutahangarua of Kisiba. We were received, as at Kianja, 
with great pomp and circumstance and conducted by a long line 
of white-clad people to a guest-house which stood in the midst of a 
broad open space, in the vicinity of which the tents were pitched. 
Thousands of natives streamed into the residence, dancing began 
and the beating of drums, blowing of pipes and the clanging 
of the goma echoed through the mountains far into the night. 
The influence of the European on the manners and habits 
and in the houses of the sultans is very remarkable. Here, 
as at Kianja, the shape of the houses and also the interior 
arrangement had been perfectly imitated from the Europeans. 
The native round huts served as dwellings for the people 
alone. The sultan’s palace exhibited the same long-shaped 
