NG'UXU TO KAGEI AND UKEEEWE. 81 a distance like the grey ruins of ancient castles.

Stunted jungle or scrub of a species of thorny acacia was sometimes met with, and there large herds of brindled gnu, zebras, and antelopes were found. On Jan. 17th we came to the River Wami (not the Wami of Usagara), a tolerably large stream, which we crossed twice more, and which, after winding about in every possible direction, as many African rivers do, seems to find its way to Jordan's Nullah. We spent three days, the 19th, 20th, and 21st, at a 'large village called Wania, which was governed by a woman, a very rare occurrence in Africa, as the women are, as a rule, much looked down upon. Here, too, we found that the natives grew rice, a grain which is rarely found south of the Equator, except where Arab or half-breed settlers have introduced it, as the natives of the interior will hardly ever eat it. Leaving this village, we crossed the Wami for the third and last time, and the country soon became more hilly, or rather the rocky ridges became hills, the plains between still being extensive, and over them roamed flocks of bustards and a few ostriches. On January 26th, soon after starting, we saw a number of men coming to meet us, who turned out to be a deputation sent by Kadiima, chief of Kagei (or as Stanley spells it, Kagehyi), to invite us to settle at his village on the shores of the lake ; he had heard of our coming, and fearing lest we should go to Mwanza, VOL. I. G