Sessé is described by Stanley as an island about forty miles long by twenty in width. The principal canoe-builders and the greater number of sailors of M'tesa's kingdom live at Sessé. They are blacker than the people of the main-land, less intelligent, and not at all brave. They are good sailors, and capable of much endurance, but have so many superstitions concerning the demons which are supposed to inhabit the lake that they are easily frightened when there is the least indication of a storm.
Doctor Bronson was true to his promise, and bought a liberal supply of fish for distribution among the crews of the boats. They had a grand festival in the evening, and continued it so late that the Doctor feared they would be of little use on the next day. But an African has great digestive and recuperative powers, and the men proved all right in the morning and ready for fresh work, much to the relief of their employers.
Several broken oars were replaced at Sessé, and, as some of the crews were a man or two short of their complement, a dozen sailors were engaged for the voyage to the end of the lake. The Doctor embraced the opportunity, too, of purchasing an extra supply of bananas, which were promised to the men on condition of reaching Dumo an hour before sunset, which they did. Dumo is a small village on the main-land opposite the southern extremity of Sessé. It belongs to M'tesa's province of Uddu, and its inhabitants are chiefly engaged in fishing.
BOATS FOR LAKE NAVIGATION.
During the hour that remained Frank and Fred climbed a rocky hill just back of the village, having been impelled to do so by a paragraph in Stanley's book. To the east they had a fine survey of the lake, but could not make out the opposite shore, so that the view reminded them of the ocean. On the west they saw a range of hills and a rolling country, which Frank thought would make an excellent pasture for a large herd of cattle.
The people of Dumo were civil enough to the visitors, and readily sold whatever they desired to purchase. Early in the morning the population was increased by the arrival of a good many natives from the villages a short distance in the interior. They brought goats, chickens, eggs, bananas, tobacco, spear-heads, baskets, and other things, to exchange for fish, either fresh or dried. It turned out, on inquiry, that it was a soko, or market-day; and Frank and Fred considered themselves fortunate in happening on a market-day in an African village.