From the Cape to Cairo; the first traverse of Africa from south to north . mymosquito-net with the greatest caution, disposed all my weighty belongings,such as boots and cartridge-bags in a circle round my bed to keep downthe edges of the net, exhausted all my candle-ends in exploding the oddhundred or two that had crawled in with me, and was quickly lulled tosleep by the dismal drone of myriads, happy in the knowledge that theywere outside; sleep, gentle sleep, during which I evolved in one shorthour from my own insignificant self through the alarming stages of Danielin the lions den, and a c
From the Cape to Cairo; the first traverse of Africa from south to north . mymosquito-net with the greatest caution, disposed all my weighty belongings,such as boots and cartridge-bags in a circle round my bed to keep downthe edges of the net, exhausted all my candle-ends in exploding the oddhundred or two that had crawled in with me, and was quickly lulled tosleep by the dismal drone of myriads, happy in the knowledge that theywere outside; sleep, gentle sleep, during which I evolved in one shorthour from my own insignificant self through the alarming stages of Danielin the lions den, and a cold bread poultice, to the stern reality that theywere inside; and they were, hundred and hundreds of them. In vain Isearched for some hole or possible inlet, and eventually had to resignmyself to the inevitable, buoyed up by the meagre consolation that I haddiscovered that, like the light of the glow-worm, the mosquito is possessedof the properties of the Rontgen rays. Early the next morning Tunja came to tell mc that Katonzi was coming Kiboko: whip made of hippo SEMLIKI VALLEY AND KAVALLFS COUNTRY 227 back, and at mid-day he arrived in person. He is a dismil old nigger, and,though somewhat rapacious, not a bad fellow. His first request was tosee the wonderful book, and then how I struck a match, an accomplish-ment that tickled him immensely. He then naively asked me to give himmy guns, saying that Lugard had given them two guns, but that theBelgians had taken them away. I asked him why all the people were sofrightened, and where they had all gone; whereupon he proceeded torecount the same tales of misery and oppression that I had heard the daybefore, from which I gathered that a Congo Free State (I like the titleFree State—so suitable!) official rejoicing in the name of Billygeehad suddenly swooped down on the country a year ago, and after shootingdown numbers of the natives had returned west, carrying off forty youngwomen, numerous children, and all the cattle and g
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