"Ah, yes," replied Mr. Stanley, "he was a charming old man, that Rumanika, and very fond of strangers. After I had explored the lake he sent for me, and wanted to have a talk on geographical subjects. Of course I went to meet him."
"Did he know anything about geography outside of his own country?" was the very natural inquiry of Fred.
"Not much," was the reply; "and what he did know was very hazy. But he pretended to know a great deal about Africa, and gave me some startling information, which I gravely put down in my note-book. The sight of that note-book always seemed to inspire him to tell the wildest stories about his country, and I presume he thought I would spread them before my countrymen as the most solemn truths.
"For example," continued Mr. Stanley, "he said at one of our meetings:
"'Mkinyaga is at the end of Ruanda, and its lake is Muta Nzege, on which you can go to Unyoro. There is a race of dwarfs, somewhere west of Mkinyaga, called the Mpundu, and another called the Batwa, or Watwa, who are only two feet high. In Uriambwa is a race of small people with tails.
"'Uitwa, or Batwa—Watwa—is at the extreme south end of Uzongora.
"'From Butwa, at the end of a point of land in Ruanda, you can see Uitwa Usongora.
"'From Butwa, Mkinyaga is to the left of you about three days' journey.
"'Some of the Waziwa saw a strange people in one of those far-off lands who had long ears descending to their feet; one ear formed a mat to sleep on, the other served to cover him from the cold, like a dressed hide! They tried to coax one of them to come and see me, but the journey was long, and he died on the way.'
ON THE WAY TO THE MEETING. "Another time he said:
"'Stamlee, how is it, will you tell me, that all white men have long noses, and all their dogs have very short noses, while almost all black men have short noses but their dogs have very long noses?'
"He had observed the broad, short nose of my British bull-dog, and hastily arrived at the conclusion that all white men's dogs were pug-nosed.
