ket, was placed as a throne for
him to sit on. Speke then called out his men to form a guard of honour,
and ordered them to fire as soon as he appeared. No sooner did he
arrive than he wanted everything he saw: first their gauze mosquito
curtains, then an iron camp bed, next the sextant and thermometer. When
any books were shown him of birds and animals he wanted them, and was
much surprised when Speke positively refused. The important question
was put to him whether he would wish English traders to come up to his
country, and, in reply, he answered that it was what he desired above
all things; but, if the English would advance with guns, he would march
out with his army, and that, between them, his brothers, who were now
acting in rebellion, would be destroyed. He was evidently, however,
very angry at receiving no presents, and, getting up, walked straight
out of the hut. No _pomba_ was sent by him next day. They, however,
presented him with a gun. At first he was much afraid of firing it off,
and called one of Speke's men to do it for him.

One morning they found that their rain-guage had been removed, so they
sent Kidjwiga to say that they wished a magician to come at once and
institute a search for it. He soon returned with the adept: "An old
man, nearly blind, dressed in strips of old leather fastened to the
waist, and carrying in one hand a cow's horn primed with magic powder,
carefully covered on the mouth with leather, from which dangled an iron
bell. The old creature jingled the bell, entered their hut, squatted on
his hams, looked first at one and then at the other, enquired what the
missing things were like, grunted, moved his skinny arm round his head
as if desirous to catch the air from all four sides of the hut, then
dashed the accumulated air on the head of his horn, smelt it to see if
all was going right, jingled the bell again close to his ear, and
grunted his satisfaction. The missing article must be found. To carry
out the incantation more effectually, all the men were sent for to sit
in the open air before the hut, when the old doctor rose, shaking the
horn and tinkling the bell close to his ear. He then, confronting one
of the men, dashed the horn forward as if intending to strike him on the
face, then smelt the head and dashed it at another, and so on, till he
became satisfied that Speke's men were not the thieves. He then walked
into Grant's hut, inspected that, and, finally, went to