FAREWELL TO UGANDA. 267 my companions had not arrived, I had dismissed most of the Waganda porters, as food was scarce there, retaining only a small number, three of whom accompanied me to Foweira. After meeting Pearson and Litchfield, I had at once despatched these men with letters, to Mtesa, asking for porters. We decided to await their arrival at Foweira in preference to Mruli, as the latter place was considered unhealthy.

We remained a fortnight at Foweria, moving on to the station of Kodj on January the 21st.

We saw a good deal of Kionga during the three days we remained here. We paid him two or three visits at his own village, where we saw a very neat amputation of the left arm of a small boy (one of Eionga's sons), for a compound fracture of the bones, which had been performed by the chief himself.

On the 25th, news having come that the Waganda porters had reached Mruli, we started in canoes for that place. The journey up the river was a tedious one, taking three days' hard paddling to accomplish. The first night we passed in a large grove of Borassus palms on the eastern bank of the Nile. The next day we met some canoes coming down, and one of their crew handed us a packet of letters, containing, among others, a most flowery epistle from Mtesa, expressing his gratification at the prospect of the arrival of more white men in his kingdom. That afternoon we landed in a forest to