I Was Surprised We
Had To Walk So Far, When, By Appearance, We Might Have Boated It
From The Head
Of the creek all the way down; but, on inquiry, was
informed of the swampy nature of the ground at
The head of the
creek precluded any approach to the clear water there, and hence
the long overland journey, which, though fatiguing to the
unfortunate women, who had to trot the whole way behind Mtesa's
four-mile-an-hour strides, was very amusing. The whole of the
scenery - hill, dale, and lake - was extremely beautiful. The
Wanguana in my escort compared the view to their own beautiful
Poani (coast); but in my opinion it far surpassed anything I ever
saw, either from the sea or upon the coast of Zanzibar.
The king rose betimes in the morning and called me, unwashed and
very uncomfortable, to picnic with him, during the collection of
the boats. The breakfast, eaten in the open court, consisted of
sundry baskets of roast-beef and plantain-squash, folded in
plantain-leaves. He sometimes ate with a copper knife and
picker, not forked - but more usually like a dog, with both hands.
The bits too tough for his mastication he would take from his
mouth and give as a treat to the pages, who n'yanzigged, and
swallowed them with much seeming relish. Whatever remained over
was then divided by the boys, and the baskets taken to the cooks.
Pombe served as tea, coffee, and beer for the king; but his
guests might think themselves very lucky if they ever got a drop
of it.
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