Chapter XIII The Rutchuru Valley and the Albert Edward Lake
On June 26th we started on our march to the Albert Edward Lake, and camped that night near Kahanga’s village. Many of the more important men came and paid their respects to us, but Kahanga himself did not turn up. We inquired of his Prime Minister for what reason he had not done so, and were informed that he was ill; but having, as I thought, seen him, as I passed, looking far from ill, I made further inquiries, and discovered that he was afraid of our caravan, and imagined that if he came to our camp we should make him prisoner and demand a big ransom of ivory. I can only imagine that he had heard of other white men behaving in this manner. I tried hard to induce him to come, but in vain. As when I was there before with only a few boys he had been exceedingly friendly, it is obvious under what disadvantages one labours when travelling through Africa with a big caravan.
The following day we crossed the Mungawo, and following the ridge of the spur which runs down to the junction of the Mungawo and the Kako through the Shoni district, we camped on a bluff overlooking the Kako itself.
The Kako, as the southern portion of the Rutchuru is called, is a large body of water, many feet deep, and quite unfordable. Its banks are clothed with dense forests.
The people of Shoni were most friendly, and we purchased a large supply of beans. At this camp I saw a waterbuck, the first antelope that we had seen for many weeks.
We crossed the river by a native bridge formed of trunks of trees thrown across and bound together with fibre. Beneath, the Kako thundered, a mighty torrent, and the cloud of spray had left a saline deposit on the rocks, which was much appreciated by our cattle.
The name of the district into which we had entered was Imukubsu. From here we had a magnificent view of the volcanoes, and having dropped 4,000 ft. we were enabled to see what an imposing mass Mount Eyres is; its form on this side is an exact facsimile of the Matterhorn from the Riffelalp.
Here we purchased some of the curious hippo spears that are used by all the natives on the Albert Edward Lake; they have a large piece of cork or light wood on the end of the haft which floats the spear if they miss their aim. We also purchased some medicine for producing rain; it was a small goat’s horn filled with the congealed blood of chickens.
Our Baleka prisoners were most amusing. Their joint clothing when captured consisted of one string of beads, half a dozen wire bracelets, and a human tooth as a pendant to a necklace of elephant hair. They were very hungry, and quite pleased with their quarters. It was a terrible sight to see how they tore and devoured half-raw meat, but apparently they missed the flavour which they had particularly affected, as they could never satisfy themselves. Because of the quantity of food they consumed, our boys viewed them with considerable disfavour. We issued for their use a large block of soap, and insisted on their bathing in every available stream; after that we presented them with some blue cloth and a red blanket, draped in which they appeared quite respectable, although the style of costume did not seem to lend itself to their figures or type of beauty.
The western side of the valley is covered with luxuriant forest, and the eastern side consists of rolling grass land till fifteen miles from the lake, when the country settles down into one vast plain.
The people of Imukubsu appear to be practically independent of the Kigeri, although they are undoubtedly part of the Ruanda stock.
Here four streams flow down from the east, the most important being the Fuko. At the outlet of the Fuko the Kako becomes the Rutchuru, and the district to the east is called Bukoma, and is very sparsely inhabited. Still further to the east lies the district of Ijomba, which centres round two rather prominent peaks. Six miles further north there is again a considerable population, and large plantations of bananas.
The following day we crossed a stream of considerable breadth, filled with papyrus; the water was very deep, and we had great difficulty in the crossing of our goats and sheep. Marching through a desolate country with no population, we arrived at a good stream called the Gwenda. The bed of this stream is very curious; the country drops suddenly 100 ft., forming a broad, flat-bottomed valley, down the middle of which the Gwenda has carved out a deep trough. The valley is so flat that it cannot be due to erosion, and is probably a recently-dried-up arm of the lake.
From there we crossed a vast plateau, covered with short grass; and it was not until three in the afternoon that we reached an insignificant stream, on the banks of which were a few poverty-stricken villages.
The type of native had changed entirely; they informed us that they were Wanyabinga, and that the name of their country was Wataka. They refused cloth or beads, saying that they had no use for such things, their only garment consisting of well-cured skins.
The following morning we marched through similar country, and saw many tracks of elephant. I was leading the caravan that day, and was suddenly stopped by the cry of “Elephant!” I hastily put my big gun together, and saw a herd of fifty elephant cross the path and descend on to the flat plain below; they reminded me forcibly of an old print of the Spanish Armada, as they sailed past through the long grass; their huge ears flapping to and fro gave the impression of sails; and their gliding action over the uneven ground was exactly similar to the motion of a ship. The grass covered their legs, and the peculiar swinging action of the elephant, who moves both the legs on one side at the same time, gives the appearance of the beast being on wheels. Sending a note back to Sharp, I hurried off in pursuit, as they swept into an extensive patch of dense thorn jungle. The track was easy to follow, owing to the number that had passed, and after a sharp burst of half an hour I saw one standing broadside on, about thirty yards ahead. I tried for the brain-shot with my.303. He threw his trunk into the air, and fell like a rock—dead. Two more appeared at the shot, and looked at me; I fired, and the whole herd crashed away; then I remembered that the magazine of my gun had been loaded with expanding bullets. I rushed after them, but failed to catch them up, and I had the greatest difficulty in retracing my steps; the elephant had forced a way through the thornbush, and it was comparatively easy, in the excitement of pursuit, to follow, as I could push the thorns open in front as the elephant had done before me; but on my return journey it was almost impossible to get through, as the thorns, which had swung back in their place, had to be pulled towards one to allow a passage. However, eventually I arrived at my dead elephant, full of thorns, and torn to pieces. It was only a small bull, but it was my first, and as I strolled back to the caravan, the beast’s tail in my hand, I was a proud man.
I had some difficulty in getting out of the jungle. In trying to do so I arrived unexpectedly in a village hidden in the thicket. The people, hearing my shots, had put the village in a state of defence. It was surrounded by almost impenetrable jungle, except at two places, where there was an elaborate gate and stockade. The gate had been filled up with a pile of heavy logs, pointing outwards and upwards, which rendered entrance impossible from without, but, to their astonishment, I arrived through the thicket. As I promptly leaned my rifle against a hut and put out my hand to greet them, their suspicions were allayed, and they gave me some water; then one of their number showed me the path out of the jungle, and I rejoined the caravan. Half a mile further on we camped by two muddy pools on the outskirts of the thicket.
The natives became quite friendly, and brought us large quantities of a small kind of bean, and helped us to cut out the tusks. Our carriers came to see the elephant, and forming a ring round it, chanted a song in its honour, and each man threw a handful of grass on its side to show his respect, but, of course, would not eat the meat. Curiously enough, the natives also refused to eat the meat, although they were very poor; they informed us that they would eat hippo meat, but not elephant, which seemed to me a very subtle distinction. We cut off a portion of the trunk and boiled it gently for twelve hours, but did not eat much of it when it came to table; the meat was excellent, but the two unpleasant tubes through the middle, and the wrinkled black skin with its short, stubby bristles, did not give an appetizing, appearance to the plat. However, the youthful cannibals devoured it, although there must have been at least ten pounds, in the short space of an hour. The two elderly cannibals disappeared during the night. It was evidently a move on the part of our boys, who resented the proportion of presents that fell to the cannibals’ lot.
The reports of the country in front were not encouraging, so we bought up a considerable quantity of beans; and the following morning marched across the plain, and arrived near another village, similar to the one we had left, which was also carefully hidden in the jungle. This village was elaborately stockaded, and the natives absolutely refused to allow me to enter; however, I eventually succeeded in obtaining a guide, and we continued our march till we arrived at a small lagoon, where our guide promptly left us. Here we saw a considerable number of topi-hartebeeste and Uganda kob; these, with the exception of one waterbuck mentioned above, were the only game that we had seen for many long weeks; and it was a great treat to have a change from the inevitable goat.
Here the plain opened out to a tremendous width and had the most desolate appearance, all the short grass being burnt; and the only relieving features were a few patches of thorn-scrub and an occasional candelabra euphorbia. Having no guide and no idea of what was before us, it was rather a risky undertaking to go ahead without reconnoitring; but retreat was impossible, owing to the scarcity of provisions, and the quantity of game rendered actual starvation improbable.
The following morning we launched forth, and after a long march, as I was beginning to get doubtful as to whether we should find water, I sighted the Rutchuru river, which here swings back towards the east. There was a considerable quantity of Uganda kob, topi-hartebeeste, and Chanler’s reedbuck, and on the path we saw several traces of lions, while the river teemed with hippopotami. The country is very barren, and there are numerous salt-pans, which at a distance appear like snow.
While the tents were being pitched, we went out and quickly secured a supply of meat. The Manyema, like all tribes that have come under the influence of the Arabs, refused to eat the meat of any animal that had not had its throat cut while still alive; they also refuse to eat hippo, elephant, or pig, but, curiously enough, are not so particular about rhinoceros.
We deemed it advisable to camp here for a day, while we went out in different directions to inspect the country, as we could still, by a forced march, manage to reach food countries if we found it impossible to proceed.
I went down the river, and six miles north came unexpectedly through a belt of reeds on to the lake-shore. Where the Rutchuru enters the lake there is a very extensive swamp, the haunt of thousands of birds (pelicans, geese, and various storks), and many hippo. Here I found a very sparse fishing population; their huts were built in the swamp, and they themselves travelled about in dangerous-looking canoes. They were very shy, and it was only after repeated efforts that I succeeded in inducing two men to come and talk; from them I purchased a few fish, giving them beads in exchange; and I made many inquiries as to the country that we had to traverse. They informed me that there were no villages for many days, and that the few villages that existed at some distance from the lake were reduced to pitiable straits by the drought, and the raids of some tribe from the east.
Hence it was obviously impossible to proceed without laying in a stock of provisions; so we shot several antelope and made our men dry the meat over fires.
I was suffering from slight fever, and consequently Sharp undertook to return with boys and purchase as many loads as possible of beans.
The fever brought on a very bad foot; I had rubbed all the skin off the heel with elephant-hunting, and had been walking on it ever since; and owing to the poisonous influence of the fever, it swelled to a great size, and was in such an unhealthy condition that when I pushed my finger into the swelling it left a cavity which did not swell out again for some minutes. As it was impossible to stop in the country, I had to make arrangements to be carried, and all the time that I was in camp, sat with my foot in a basin filled with a strong solution of permanganate of potash, applying a poultice of Elliman’s Embrocation at night.
Here the water of the Rutchuru was almost too salt to drink, and we were not sorry to reach the lake, where, although the water was salt, it was drinkable.
Sharp shot several fine kob and topi, the horns being equal to anything recorded in Rowland Ward’s book, Horns and their Measurement.
The water at the edge of the lake was very shallow. Two days from the Rutchuru my leg became so bad that we were compelled to stop; and as the supply of food was already running short, we sent some of our boys back to buy a fresh supply.
Here we were visited by some natives who, having heard our shots, came down the lake in canoes to find out who we were; they had a few guns which they had purchased from some Swahili traders; and as they entered the camp they fired a salute in our honour. The chief, who was a most intelligent native, asked us whether we wanted to buy any ivory. We told him to bring it to us, so that we might see whether it was worth purchasing. He brought a small tusk of 30 lbs., and said that he had another very large tusk, which he dared not bring unless we made blood-brotherhood with him. This we did, our headman serving as proxy.
The mode of procedure was as follows: Our headman sat down opposite the native’s representative, each party having a sponsor, while the eldest of the natives constituted himself master of the ceremonies. Two small pieces of meat were procured, and each sponsor held one in his hand; the master of the ceremonies then explained that we were to become blood-brothers of the chief, and evoked a series of curses on either party that might not be true to the pledge. The words of his weird incantation were,—
“May hippopotami run against him; may leopards tear him by night; may hunger and thirst gripe him; may his women be barren; may his children wither, even as the grass withers; may crocodiles rend him; may lions howl round his couch by night; may elephants crush him,” etc.
Having thus evoked all imaginary curses on the delinquent’s head, he made a slight incision on each of the parties’ chest. The blood that flowed from the cut having been smeared on the two pieces of raw meat, each party had to devour the piece smeared with the blood of the other.
A loaded gun had been placed between them, and when the ceremony was complete, this was fired into the air; while the chief and his attendants fired another volley. Thereupon I had the 4-bore brought forth, and told off my headman to fire it, while my gun-bearer supported him—an advisable precaution. The tremendous report, the obvious recoil, and the shriek of the huge bullet impressed them mightily.
We then called the chief up and taught him to shake hands, saying that it was the Englishman’s method of making blood-brotherhood; and that now that we had performed the rites of both people, the Wanyabinga and the Englishman, there could be no possibility of the compact ever being broken. And we pointed out our flag,9 which was flying over the camp, and told him that wherever in future he saw that flag, he might know that he would be well received and treated with justice.
They then filed off with a handsome present of cloth, delighted with the result of their visit; and the following morning they arrived with the tusk, which was a large one, weighing about 80 lbs. But we did not purchase it, explaining to them that we had only come there to see the country, and to hunt elephant for our own amusement, and that we were not like the Swahili traders whom they had met. We allowed them to bring the tusk, so that they might see that they could repose absolute confidence in us. With the tusk they brought several loads of sweet potatoes, and we gave them a present in exchange.
The chief was a very pleasant and intelligent native, and during the next two days Sharp made several short trips with him. One day the chief and all his men showed us how they hunted antelope with dogs. The dogs were well trained; they rounded the beast and drove it within reach of the hunters, who succeeded in spearing it.
The whole of the southern coast of the Albert Edward is the home of hundreds of hippopotami, and the beach is lined with masses of their dung; all night they kept up a tremendous concert of bellowing and grunts, which rendered sleep well-nigh impossible.
My foot having meanwhile sufficiently healed to allow me to be carried, we advanced along the shore of the lake, and camped at the edge of the extensive swamp at the mouth of the three main streams which flow into the lake from the south-east. Here it was obvious that there had been a recent and abrupt rise in the country, the old lake-bed being sharply defined.
From this point I perceived that my observations would materially diminish the area of the lake; the suggested coast-line on extant maps practically corresponds with the last lake level. Judging from the comparatively insignificant size of the vegetation on the recently-exposed lake-bed, the last rise and level must have been historically recent and quite sudden; in fact, a remarkable point was that this vegetation corresponds in age to the vegetation found on the lava-beds that had been poured out by the volcanoes immediately prior to the late terrific eruption.
Owing to the swampy nature of the country, we were compelled to again march south-east; and after crossing a flat table-land, again descended on to the last level of the lake, where we crossed the first of the south-eastern streams, called the Sasa. Here an arm of the late lake level runs five miles inland, and is three miles broad. Then we again climbed on to the table-land, which is the last lake-level but two, and camped on the site of two deserted villages.
Our blood-brother was still with us, and he informed us that these villages had been raided by a tribe from the east, and that the surviving inhabitants had retired to the impenetrable thorn-jungle, or had fled to the Rutchuru valley.
From this camp we looked down on a great swampy plain which absorbs the waters of these three south-eastern streams. In many places geysers were shooting vast jets of steam into the air, and the course of the rivers was defined by dense strips of luxuriant jungle.
The surrounding country must be rising very rapidly, and the geysers are an indication of considerable volcanic activity. By the last rise the lake has lost a hundred and twenty square miles; and the loss occasioned by the last rise but one must have amounted to several hundreds of square miles.
The map of this lake-shore emphasizes the extraordinary similarity of form in all the great lakes of Central Africa, with the one exception of the Victoria Nyanza. A glance at the map will show that the angular inclination and general form of Lake Nyassa, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Albert Edward, and Lake Albert have a wonderful resemblance to one another.
The next day we again descended on to the last lake level, and crossed the Ntungwe river. This river we crossed by means of an ingenious native bridge, which would suggest that the country at some time not very remote was much more densely populated. After passing through one or two insignificant villages, we camped by a small lagoon. The following morning we crossed the third stream which feeds these swamps, but I could not ascertain its name; and we were compelled to make a detour to the east to avoid some very dense strips of jungle, in which we found some carefully-hidden villages, strongly fortified by stockades. The natives had carefully closed the entrance, but appeared to be quite friendly; and here, with great regret, we said farewell to our Wanyabinga brother.
Our day’s march brought us once more to the lake-shore, which was still swampy; and as reed was growing at a distance of one mile from the shore, it was evident that the lake was still very shallow, and in all probability the next few years will see another very considerable change in its area.
A few miles further on there is a small bay, where are two insignificant villages close to the lake. Here the natives cultivate dwarf banana-plants, and eke out a precarious existence by trapping hippopotami. They build a stout scaffold of logs and fasten thereto a booby-trap, consisting of a heavily-weighted spear-head.
These villages were on the frontier of Visegwe’s country, who is one of Kaihura’s chiefs. Here my fever assumed a serious form; my temperature at one time rose to 108.4, but the motherly attentions of Sharp pulled me through; and when I was sufficiently recovered to be moved, he procured a gigantic dug-out canoe, in which I was paddled to Katwe, the frontier post of the Uganda Protectorate.
Sharp marched up the lake-shore, and with the assistance of Kazinga, ferried all the loads and boys across the narrow neck of Lake Ruisamba. The ferry is not more than four hundred yards wide, and with considerable trouble the cattle were induced to swim the distance. Two natives seized each beast by the horns, and, swimming by its side, assisted it across. Fortunately there were no crocodiles in the vicinity. The canoes were of extraordinary structure, and are peculiar to Lake Albert Edward, although they approximate to the type of canoe to be found on the Victoria Nyanza; some of them are very large. They are made of axe-hewn boards, sewn together with banana fibre.
Notes
9 This flag was accepted by her late Majesty the Queen.