BAGAMOTO TO MPWAPWA. 31

dim, the stars come twinkling out in the deep blue

sky, the bats flit about with their sharp, ear-piercing "

tweet, tweet," the goat-sucker floats by on silent

wings, and the murmur of the waves on the coral

strand is borne softly to our ears, we turn our steps homewards, and our first day on African soil is over.

A week of constant toil followed, repacking loads,

breaking in refractory donkeys, hiring porters,

teaching our servants to pitch tents, paying and

receiving visits, and getting all ready for the long march into the interior, and finally writing letters

for the monthly mail which was about to leave for

England.

At length on July 28th the last loads were packed, the runaways collected, and Smith and I set off

for Shumba Gonera, the first camp from Bagamoyo, but distant only three miles. I was delayed at Shamba Gonera, till August 14th, when my Mswahili

interpreter having arrived, I moved on, bidding a

long farewell to civilisation and taking a last look

at the ocean. We only succeeded in crossing the

Kingani river that day, our donkeys being terribly hindered by the numerous swamps, and encamped on a low sandy clearing on its northern bank. The

Kingani is at this point a tidal river, and swarms

.

with hippopotami and crocodiles. I tried a few shots

unsuccessfully at the hippopotami ; but next morning

I got some good rifle practice at the crocodiles

as they lay asleep on a sandbank on the opposite