KAGEI TO TABORA AND BACK. 13 1 well-disposed towards Englishmen, and my men were looking forward to a good feast. As soon as we were seen from the village a number of men came rushing out to meet us, yelling and brandishing their arms, and a stranger to African modes of welcome would have thought that we were all going to be murdered on the spot. Mtinginya received me very courteously, and I was soon surrounded by a curious throng watching my every movement. They were much exercised about a swinging lamp that I had, and could not for a long time make out what it was, but finally came to the conclusion that it must be a hat. At this village I saw the first attempt at carving which I had ever observed among negroes,' viz., the figure of a woman, life-size, on the gate of the village. The idea could scarcely have been copied from the Arabs, as Mohammedans consider it a sin to make any figure or image of human beings.

Just as we were starting, the following morning, two men, sent by Said bin Salim, the Governor of Unyanyembe, to make inquiries about the massacre at Ukerewe, arrived ; and, among other news, told me that Mackay and his party had reached Ugogo some three weeks previously, and would soon be at Unyanyembe. The two succeeding marches took us through jungle with clearings at intervals and large well-fortified tembes. On emerging from the jungle on February 4th we entered a plain with numerous tembes scattered about it ; to our surprise we heard K 2