At Ugogo, which, it will be remembered, is considered the half-way station between Unyamyembe and the coast, we were detained a day through difficulties with porters, who declared there was a famine upon the road we had previously traversed, and also that a great chief, who was also a great extortioner, was likely to insist upon our calling upon him in person, which would involve a change of route. However, there was nothing to be done but to take the road. We loaded on December 7th, and began the passage of the Usagara Mountains, going this time by the Kiringawana route.
Travelling by a roundabout way, we arrived at the village of the chief Kiringawana on December 19th, and the next day proceeded to palaver. After abundant chaffering, the chief accepted from the expedition three expensive coloured cloths and other things, grumbling the while because we had neglected to reserve for him something more worthy his acceptance; he returned a fat bullock, which was instantly shot and devoured.
We resumed our march on December 22nd, which was almost entirely down-hill. We crossed in a blazing sun the fœtid plain, and after finding with some difficulty the jungly path, we struck into a
pleasant forest. Presently we emerged again upon the extremity of the Makata Plain, a hideous low level of black vegetable earth, peaty in appearance, and bearing long puddles of dark and stagnant rain-water—mere horse-ponds, with the additional qualities of miasma and mosquitoes. The transit of this plain took some days.
The dawn of Christmas Day, 1858, saw us toiling along the Kikoboga River, which we forded four times. The road presently turned up a rough rise, from whose crest began the descent of the Mabruki Pass. The descent was very steep and rough; the path, spanning rough ground at the hill base, led us to the plains of Uziraha in K’hutu.
We had reserved a bullock in honour of Christmas Day, but as he was lost, I ordered the purchase of half a dozen goats to celebrate it, but the porters were too lazy to collect them. My companion and I made good cheer upon a fat capon, which acted as roast beef, with a mess of ground-nuts sweetened with sugar-cane, which did duty as plum-pudding.
We started off again and entered Zungomero on December 29th. An army of black musketeers, in scanty but various and gaudy attire, came out to meet us, and with the usual shots and shouts conducted us to the headman’s house. They then stared at us, as usual, for half a dozen consecutive hours, which done, they retired to rest.
We stayed at Zungomero some time and celebrated the New Year there, but January 21st, 1859, enabled
us to bid it adieu and merrily take to the footpath way. We made Konduchi on February 3rd, after twelve marches, which we accomplished in fourteen days. There is little of interest or adventure to record in this return line, for we travelled over much the same ground we had done before.
As the mud near Dut’humi was throat-deep, we crossed it lower down—a weary trudge of several miles through thick, slabby mire, which admitted a man to his knees. In places, after toiling under a sickly sun, we crept under tunnels of thick jungle growth, the dank and fœtid cold causing a deadly sensation of faintness, which was only relieved by the glass of æther sherbet, a pipe or two of the strongest tobacco, and half an hour’s rest.