UNYAMWEZI HEADS.
Frank adopted the suggestion, and immediately engaged Mohammed for the post of Superintendent of Ivory Transport. He promised an extra payment of wages to Mohammed, in case no harm came to any of the tusks on the journey, and told him to make a similar offer to the porters. Every night the tusks were piled at his tent-door and carefully counted, and every morning he saw them safely on the shoulders of their bearers. The result was that not a porter deserted or gave his load to any one else, and when they reached Bagamoya Frank distributed in person the promised rewards.
The united caravan of Doctor Bronson's party and the merchant, Ahmed ibn Suleyman, numbered a little over three hundred porters, besides an escort of twenty askari, armed with muskets. Numbers in an African caravan are both an advantage and the reverse. A large caravan is less liable to attack than a small one; but, on the other hand, it is much more difficult to feed while on the road. Many of the places where water is obtainable consist of small springs, and a large caravan is too much for their capacity.
Mganga, or Medicine-man. The Porter. The Kirangozi, or Guide.
Muinyl Kidogo. Mother and Child.
MEMBERS OF THE CARAVAN.
Our friends were sixteen days in Unyamyembe, and thoroughly enjoyed their stay. The governor and merchants were unremitting in their attentions, and kept them constantly supplied with milk, honey, butter, and other necessaries of daily life, for which it would have been an affront to offer payment. They consoled themselves with the reflection that they had disbursed a considerable amount of money, or its equivalent, in their preparations for departure, and that most of it would find its way, directly or indirectly, into the pockets of the Arabs.
Farewell calls were made on the sixteenth day, and on the morning of the seventeenth there was great excitement around the house where they had been so comfortably lodged. A long file of porters stood ready for their burdens; servants were busy with the work of packing; Abdul and Mohammed were flying here and there, the latter reminding Fred of the American simile of a dog bitten by a hornet; and Frank was standing guard over his cherished ivory. It was late in the forenoon before the last burden was shouldered, and the donkeys were led up for their riders to mount and be off.
The first day's march is generally a short one, and the present proved no exception to the rule. The camp was made about five miles away, close to a small village in the midst of several rice-fields. A great deal of rice is grown in Unyamyembe, and it is a staple article of food with the people. Twenty loads were bought for the use of the caravan while passing through the Kigwa forest, which adjoins Unyamyembe, and does not produce rice.