As Usual, He Had Been The Last To Leave The
Unyamuezi, And So Purchased All His Stock Of Ivory At A Cheap
Rate, There Being No Competitors Left To Raise The Value Of That
Commodity; But His Journey Had Been A Very Trying One.
With a
party, at his own estimate, of two thousand souls - we did not
see anything like that number
- He had come from Ugogo to this, by
his own confession, living on the products of the jungle, and by
boiling down the skin aprons of his porters occasionally for a
soup. Famines were raging throughout the land, and the Arabs
preceding him had so harried the country, that every village was
deserted. On hearing our intention to march upon the direct
line, he frankly said he thought we should never get through for
my men could not travel as he had done, and therefore he advised
our deflecting northwards from New Mbumi to join the track
leading from Rumuma to Ugogi. This was a sad disappointment;
but, rather than risk a failure, I resolved to follow his advice.
After reaching the elevated ground, we marched over rolling tops,
covered with small trees and a rich variety of pretty bulbs, and
reached the habitations of Muhanda, where we no sooner appeared
than the poor villagers, accustomed only to rough handling,
immediately dispersed in the jungles. By dint of persuasion,
however, we induced them to sell us provisions, though at a
monstrous rate, such as no merchant could have afforded; and
having spent the night quietly, we proceeded on to the upper
courses of the M'yombo river, which trends its way northwards to
the Mukondokua river.
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