"You would not have a man suffer from want so long as his brothers and sisters have children?"
The vast territory through which we are about to travel in the society of MM. de Pommerelle and Desrioux, obtaining our information, however, from their predecessors, especially from Burton, may be divided into several zones. The first of these extends over about a hundred miles, from the shore of the Indian Ocean, to the mountains of Usagara. Deep streams, lofty forests, and masses of foliage covering the gigantic trees lend to this region, in certain places, the appearance of a park; the cultivated fields are numerous, and every village is hidden in the grass or brushwood. Vegetation, under the influence of the damp but warm atmosphere, is more than usually luxuriant; the grass grows to the height of twelve feet, with stalks as thick as a man's finger, and there is no straying from the paths worn through these jungles.
The second zone, a region of hills and forests, commences at the mountains of Usagara, and extends to the province of Ugogo, the native caravans, when not too heavily laden, traversing it in about three weeks. The shades of colour amongst the inhabitants vary considerably, ranging from almost black to chocolate. The men envelop themselves in a large piece of dark blue cotton stuff, or drab calico; the women, if wealthy, wear the tobé, a garment four yards long, which passes under the arms, crosses the chest, and is brought round the body to be fastened at the hip. The poor women wear a petticoat made of some skin and a species of breast-piece, tied round the neck and reaching to the waist. Both men and women are usually very ugly, but tall and vigorous, and, in spite of their frank and open countenances, they are nothing better than a set of freebooters, ever ready to spoil the smaller and weaker caravans.
The third zone extends as far as Kazé, and comprises the vast territory, a hundred miles square, known under the name of Ugogo. Its general aspect is arid and monotonous in the extreme. In several parts the soil is condemned to everlasting drought, water being found only in the large pits dug by the natives. Wild beasts, such as the hyæna, leopard, zebra, elephant, and giraffe, as well as ostriches, abound here, and caravans enter this region in fear and trembling.
On the frontier of Ugogo is a desert, several miles broad, commonly called the Wilderness. Burton suffered terribly there, but Cameron says that the country has improved, the inhabitants having made and cultivated extensive clearings, and having also succeeded in finding water.
MM. de Pommerelle and Desrioux, who crossed this district at the same time with the English naval officer, reaped the advantage of this improvement. In fact, it was just as they were emerging from the Wilderness, at the beginning of July, that our two travellers overtook Cameron, who, although he had left Zanzibar six weeks before they did, had not been travelling nearly so fast. The famous explorer, then on the eve of his three years' journey, was still in good health, and had not yet been attacked by the wasting fever and inflammation in the eyes which caused him so much suffering a few months later on.
MM. de Pommerelle and Desrioux questioned Cameron, just as they had done two months previously the Consuls at Zanzibar, on the subject of the de Guéran expedition, but he could not give them any information. It became very evident that their friends had not yet reached these parts, either from want of time, or because they were detained farther northward, or—they might no longer be alive. The Count and the doctor hurried on.
Next to the territory of Ugogo comes the country of the Moon, of which Kazé is the most important point. Kazé is in the south what Khartoum is on the Nile and in the north, the depôt or rendezvous for caravans either going to or coming from the interior. The inhabitants of this town, mostly Arabs, live in great comfort, almost magnificence; their houses, though of only one storey, are large and solidly built; their gardens are extensive and tastefully laid out, and they receive regularly from Zanzibar, not only what is necessary for life, but also a quantity of luxuries. They are surrounded by a host of slaves, in proper liveries, and use the Zanzibar donkeys as steeds.
When they reached Kazé, MM. de Pommerelle and Desrioux had already traversed more than six hundred miles in less than three months. They would have dearly liked to have gone on without stopping, but they were compelled to give way to the laziness of their bearers, and the prevailing custom which prescribes for all caravans a halt of at least six weeks. In the country of the Moon several letters, written by Dr. Desrioux to Europe from Kazé, record, however, that this period, owing to a display of great firmness, several presents and a formal promise of more, was curtailed more than one-half.
Towards the middle of August, the European caravan set out from Kazé in the direction of Lake Victoria. Just as Madame de Guéran and her companions, after having met, on the banks of the Nile and as far as the Bahr-al-Gazal, with almost presentable people and manners, found themselves face to face with barbarians, so MM. de Pommerelle and Desrioux, when they left the sea coast and bent their steps northwards, had to say adieu to everything savouring of European customs.