One Thing Seemed At First Perplexing -
The Volume Of Water In The Kitangule Looked As Large As That Of
The Nile; But Then The One Was A Slow River And The Other Swift,
And On This Account I Could Form No Adequate Judgment Of Their
Relative Values.
Not satisfied with my first sketch of the falls, I could not
resist sketching them again; and then, as
The cloudy state of the
weather prevented my observing for latitude, and the officer of
the place said a magnificent view of the lake could be obtained
from the hill alluded to as intercepting the view from the falls,
we proposed going there; but Kasoro, who had been indulged with
nsunnu antelope skins, and with guinea-fowl for dinner, resisted
this, on the plea that I never should be satisfied. There were
orders given only to see the "stones," and if he took me to one
hill I should wish to see another and another, and so on. It
made me laugh, for that had been my nature all my life; but,
vexed at heart, and wishing to trick the young tyrant, I asked
for boats to shoot hippopotami, in the hope of reaching the hills
to picnic; but boating had never been ordered, and he would not
listen to it. "Then bring fish," I said, that I might draw them:
no, that was not ordered. "Then go you to the palace, and leave
me to go to Urondogani to-morrow, after I have taken a latitude;"
but the wilful creature would not go until he saw me under way.
And as nobody would do anything for me without Kasoro's orders, I
amused the people by firing at the ferry-boat upon the Usoga
side, which they defied me to hit, the distance being 500 yards;
but nevertheless a bullet went through her, and was afterwards
brought by the Wasoga nicely folded up in a piece of mbugu.
Bombay then shot a sleeping crocodile with his carbine, whilst I
spent the day out watching the falls.
This day also I spent watching the fish flying at the falls, and
felt as if I only wanted a wife and family, garden and yacht,
rifle and rod, to make me happy here for life, so charming was
the place. What a place, I thought to myself, this would be for
missionaries! They never could fear starvation, the land is so
rich; and, if farming were introduced by them, they might have
hundreds of pupils. I need say no more.
In addition to the rod-and-line fishing, a number of men, armed
with long heavy poles with two iron spikes, tied prong-fashion to
one end, rushed to a place over a break in the falls, which tired
fish seemed to use as a baiting-room, dashed in their forks,
holding on by the shaft, and sent men down to disengaged the
pined fish and relieve their spears. The shot they made in this
manner is a blind one - only on the chance of fish being there -
and therefore always doubtful in its result.
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