LIFE IN UGANDA. 99 wretched-looking cattle; two conical hills rose to a height of 200 or 300 feet above the lake, in the centre of the island, but they were rugged and stony, with only a few stunted bushes scattered thinly over their sides ; nearer the shore, however, the land seemed more fertile, as villages of grass huts were visible, surrounded by gardens and groves of bananas. The coast-line was irregular, narrow bays alternating with bold rocky promontories, where some of the natives were fishing, and we were much struck by their diminutive size as they sat perched up on the rocks, looking more like monkeys than men. We coasted along the whole of the eastern side of the island before finding a landing-place ; but at the extreme north-east corner we discovered a deep narrow inlet, with high rocky shores and a sandy beach at the farther end, where a number of canoes were drawn up. There were two villages of small grass huts on the rocks, and crowds of natives assembled to watch us, all of them being armed with bows and arrows, spears or slings. We were able now to judge better of their size, which was decidedly small, and I should think that the average height of the 200 or 300 natives gathered there was under five feet ; they seemed about the same size as the Akkas or Tikitikis, of whom I afterwards saw a specimen at Eumbek in the Bahr-el-Ghazal province. As we went up the bay the crowd raised a loud musical shout, which H 2