Leaving England they went to the Cape of Good Hope, and then started for Zanzibar. They first proceeded to East London, then north to Delagoa Bay, and finally to Zanzibar. Here the sultan received them courteously, and promised to aid the expedition in every possible way.
Speke's description of the start from Zanzibar is most realistic: "Starting on the march with a large mixed caravan, one could hardly expect to find everybody in his place at the proper time for breaking ground; but, at the same time, it could hardly be expected that ten men, who had actually received their bounty money, and had sworn fidelity, should give one the slip the first day. Such, however, was the case. Ten, out of the thirty-six given by the sultan, ran away, because they feared that the white men, whom they believed to be cannibals, were only taking them into the interior to eat them; and one porter, more honest than the freed men, deposited his pay upon the ground, and ran away, too. Go we must, however, for one desertion is sure to lead to more; and go we did.
"Our procession was in this fashion: the kirangozi, with a load on his shoulder, led the way, flag in hand, followed by the pagazis, carrying spears or bows and arrows in their hands, and bearing their share of the baggage in the form either of bolster-shaped loads of cloth and beads, covered with matting, each tied into the fork of a three-pronged stick, or else coils of brass or copper wire, tied in even weights to each end of sticks, which they laid on the shoulder."
The kirangozi of whom he speaks was doubtless the leader, or director, of the band of pagazis, or porters. Continuing, he writes: "Then, helter skelter, came the Waguana, carrying carbines in their hands, and boxes, bundles, tents, cooking-pots—all the miscellaneous property—on their heads. Next the Hottentots, dragging the refractory mules laden with ammunition boxes, but very lightly, to save the animals for the future; and, finally, Sheikh Said and the Balock escort, while the goats, sick women, and stragglers brought up the rear."
The whole caravan under Speke mustered about two hundred persons.
The caravan proceeded over a route very similar to the one which the previous expedition had followed. Finally, after many vicissitudes, it crossed the frontier of Unyamwezi, and entered the district that lay next to it on the north.
The people of this district are described as being pastoral in their occupations. Hence, travelers see very little of them. They roam about with their flocks and build their huts as far as possible from cultivated sections. Most of the district chiefs are directly descended from those who previously ruled in the same places, before the invasion of the country by the white man. It is with these chiefs that travelers have dealings.
The dress of these people is simple in the extreme. It is made of cowhide which has been tanned black. A few magic ornaments and charms, brass or copper bracelets, and odd-looking coverings for their long legs complete the costume. They smear themselves with rancid butter, which serves to render them most offensive to people of a delicate sense of smell. For arms these people carry either bow or spear, generally the latter weapon.
In the northern portions of the country, where the ground is hilly and rugged in character, the people are more energetic and active than in the southern districts. All live in grass huts, which are congregated in villages fenced round on the south, but open on the north.
After a continued journey of many hardships, the caravan crossed a dreary waste of uninhabited land, and entered the next district to the north.