From the Cape to Cairo: The First Traverse of Africa from South to North

by Ewart Scott Grogan; Arthur H. Sharp

I had some difficulty in getting out of the jungle. In trying to do so I arrived unexpectedly in a village hidden in the thicket. The people, hearing my shots, had put the village in a state of defence. It was surrounded by almost impenetrable jungle, except at two places, where there was an elaborate gate and stockade. The gate had been filled up with a pile of heavy logs, pointing outwards and upwards, which rendered entrance impossible from without, but, to their astonishment, I arrived through the thicket. As I promptly leaned my rifle against a hut and put out my hand to greet them, their suspicions were allayed, and they gave me some water; then one of their number showed me the path out of the jungle, and I rejoined the caravan. Half a mile further on we camped by two muddy pools on the outskirts of the thicket.

The natives became quite friendly, and brought us large quantities of a small kind of bean, and helped us to cut out the tusks. Our carriers came to see the elephant, and forming a ring round it, chanted a song in its honour, and each man threw a handful of grass on its side to show his respect, but, of course, would not eat the meat. Curiously enough, the natives also refused to eat the meat, although they were very poor; they informed us that they would eat hippo meat, but not elephant, which seemed to me a very subtle distinction. We cut off a portion of the trunk and boiled it gently for twelve hours, but did not eat much of it when it came to table; the meat was excellent, but the two unpleasant tubes through the middle, and the wrinkled black skin with its short, stubby bristles, did not give an appetizing, appearance to the plat. However, the youthful cannibals devoured it, although there must have been at least ten pounds, in the short space of an hour. The two elderly cannibals disappeared during the night. It was evidently a move on the part of our boys, who resented the proportion of presents that fell to the cannibals' lot.

The reports of the country in front were not encouraging, so we bought up a considerable quantity of beans; and the following morning marched across the plain, and arrived near another village, similar to the one we had left, which was also carefully hidden in the jungle. This village was elaborately stockaded, and the natives absolutely refused to allow me to enter; however, I eventually succeeded in obtaining a guide, and we continued our march till we arrived at a small lagoon, where our guide promptly left us. Here we saw a considerable number of topi-hartebeeste and Uganda kob; these, with the exception of one waterbuck mentioned above, were the only game that we had seen for many long weeks; and it was a great treat to have a change from the inevitable goat.

Here the plain opened out to a tremendous width and had the most desolate appearance, all the short grass being burnt; and the only relieving features were a few patches of thorn-scrub and an occasional candelabra euphorbia. Having no guide and no idea of what was before us, it was rather a risky undertaking to go ahead without reconnoitring; but retreat was impossible, owing to the scarcity of provisions, and the quantity of game rendered actual starvation improbable.

The following morning we launched forth, and after a long march, as I was beginning to get doubtful as to whether we should find water, I sighted the Rutchuru river, which here swings back towards the east. There was a considerable quantity of Uganda kob, topi-hartebeeste, and Chanler's reedbuck, and on the path we saw several traces of lions, while the river teemed with hippopotami. The country is very barren, and there are numerous salt-pans, which at a distance appear like snow.

While the tents were being pitched, we went out and quickly secured a supply of meat. The Manyema, like all tribes that have come under the influence of the Arabs, refused to eat the meat of any animal that had not had its throat cut while still alive; they also refuse to eat hippo, elephant, or pig, but, curiously enough, are not so particular about rhinoceros.

We deemed it advisable to camp here for a day, while we went out in different directions to inspect the country, as we could still, by a forced march, manage to reach food countries if we found it impossible to proceed.

I went down the river, and six miles north came unexpectedly through a belt of reeds on to the lake-shore. Where the Rutchuru enters the lake there is a very extensive swamp, the haunt of thousands of birds (pelicans, geese, and various storks), and many hippo. Here I found a very sparse fishing population; their huts were built in the swamp, and they themselves travelled about in dangerous-looking canoes. They were very shy, and it was only after repeated efforts that I succeeded in inducing two men to come and talk; from them I purchased a few fish, giving them beads in exchange; and I made many inquiries as to the country that we had to traverse. They informed me that there were no villages for many days, and that the few villages that existed at some distance from the lake were reduced to pitiable straits by the drought, and the raids of some tribe from the east.

Hence it was obviously impossible to proceed without laying in a stock of provisions; so we shot several antelope and made our men dry the meat over fires.

I was suffering from slight fever, and consequently Sharp undertook to return with boys and purchase as many loads as possible of beans.