The Water Was Extremely
Shallow Near The Shore, And The Natives Rushed In And Dragged The Canoes
By Sheer Force Over The Mud To The Land.
We had been so entirely hidden
while on the lake on the other side of the reed bank that
We had been
unable to see the eastern, or Magungo shore; we now found ourselves in a
delightful spot beneath the shade of several enormous trees on firm
sandy and rocky ground, while the country rose in a rapid incline to the
town of Magungo, about a mile distant, on an elevated ridge.
My first question was concerning the riding oxen. They were reported in
good order. We were invited to wait under a tree until the presents from
the headmen should be delivered. Accordingly, while my wife sat under
the shade, I went to the waterside to examine the fishing arrangements
of the natives, that were on an extensive scale. For many hundred feet,
the edges of the floating reeds were arranged to prevent the possibility
of a large fish entering the open water adjoining the shore without
being trapped. A regular system of baskets were fixed at intervals, with
guiding fences to their mouths. Each basket was about six feet in
diameter, and the mouth about eighteen inches; thus the arrangements
were for the monsters of the lake, the large bones of which, strewed
about the vicinity, were a witness of their size. My men had just
secured the half of a splendid fish, known in the Nile as the "baggera."
They had found it in the water, the other portion having been bitten off
by a crocodile. The piece in their possession weighed about fifty
pounds. This is one of the best fish in the lake. It is shaped like the
perch, but is coloured externally like the salmon. I also obtained from
the natives an exceedingly good fish, of a peculiar form, having four
long feelers at the positions that would be occupied by the limbs of
reptiles; these looked like rudiments of legs. It had somewhat the
appearance of an eel; but, being oviparous, it can have no connexion
with that genus. The natives had a most killing way of fishing with the
hook and line for heavy fish. They arranged rows of tall bamboos, the
ends stuck firmly in the bottom, in a depth of about six feet of water,
and about five or ten yards apart. On the top of each was a lump of
ambatch-wood about ten inches in diameter. Around this was wound a
powerful line, and, a small hole being made in this float, it was
lightly fixed upon the point of the bamboo, or fishing rod. The line was
securely attached to the bamboo, then wound round the large float, while
the hook, baited with a live fish, was thrown to some distance beyond.
Long rows of these fixed rods were set every morning by natives in
canoes, and watchers attended them during the day, while they took their
chance by night. When a large fish took the bait, his first rush
unhitched the ambatch-float from the point of the bamboo, which,
revolving upon the water, paid out line as required. When entirely run
out, the great size and buoyancy of the float served to check and to
exhaust the fish. There are several varieties of fish that exceed 200
lbs. weight.
A number of people now arrived from the village, bringing a goat, fowls,
eggs, and sour milk, and, beyond all luxuries, fresh butter. I delighted
the chief, in return for his civility, by giving him a quantity of
beads, and we were led up the hill towards Magungo.
The day was beautifully clear. The soil was sandy and poor, therefore
the road was clean and hard; and, after the many days' boating, we
enjoyed the walk, and the splendid view that lay before us when we
arrived at Magungo, and looked back upon the lake. We were about 250
feet above the water level. There were no longer the abrupt cliffs,
descending to the lake, that we had seen in the south, but the general
level of the country appeared to be about 500 feet above the water, at a
distance of five or six miles, from which point the ground descended in
undulations, Magungo being situated on the summit of the nearest
incline. The mountains on the Malegga side, with the lake in the
foreground, were the most prominent objects, forming the western
boundary. A few miles north there appeared to be a gap in the range, and
the lake continued to the west, but much contracted, while the mountain
range on the northern side of the gap continued to the northeast. Due
north and northeast the country was a dead flat, and far as the eye
could reach was an extent of bright green reeds, marking the course of
the Nile as it made its exit from the lake. The sheet of water at
Magungo being about seventeen miles in width, ended in a long strip or
tail to the north, until it was lost in the flat valley of green rushes.
This valley may have been from four to six miles wide, and was bounded
upon its west bank by the continuation of the chain of mountains that
had formed the western boundary of the lake. The natives told me that
canoes could navigate the Nile in its course from the lake to the Madi
country, as there were no cataracts for a great distance, but that both
the Madi and the Koshi were hostile, and that the current of the river
was so strong, that should the canoe descend from the lake, it could not
return without many rowers. They pointed out the country of Koshi on the
west bank of the Nile, at its exit from the lake, which included the
mountains that bordered the river. The small country, M'Caroli, joined
Malegga, and continued to the west, towards the Makkarika.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 123 of 175
Words from 124702 to 125706
of 178435
