He Then Confessed To
Having Explained Its Construction And The Cause Of The "Ticking" To His
People, By The Aid Of A Needle, And That It Had Never Ticked Since That
Occasion.
I regretted to see such "pearls cast before swine." Thus he
had plundered Speke and Grant of all they possessed before he would
allow them to proceed.
It is the rapacity of the chiefs of the various tribes that renders
African exploration so difficult. Each tribe wishes to monopolize your
entire stock of valuables, without which the traveller would be utterly
helpless. The difficulty of procuring porters limits the amount of
baggage; thus a given supply must carry you through a certain period of
time. If your supply should fail, the expedition terminates with your
power of giving. It is thus extremely difficult to arrange the
expenditure so as to satisfy all parties and still to retain a
sufficient balance. Being utterly cut off from all communication with
the world, there is no possibility of receiving assistance. The
traveller depends entirely upon himself, under Providence, and must
adapt himself and his means to circumstances.
The day of starting at length arrived. The chief and guide appeared, and
we were led to the Kafoor River, where canoes were in readiness to
transport us to the south side. This was to our old quarters on the
marsh. The direct course to the lake was west, and I fully expected some
deception, as it was impossible to trust Kamrasi. I complained to the
guide, and insisted upon his pointing out the direction of the lake,
which he did, in its real position, west; but he explained that we must
follow the south bank of the Kafoor River for some days, as there was an
impassable morass that precluded a direct course.
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