the crust.  Hauling them out, we got along to the jemidar’s house, which is built of coral and lime.  Hamesh was profuse in his professions of desire to serve, but gave a shabby hut which let in rain and wind.  I slept one night in it, and it was unbearable, so I asked the jemidar to allow me to sleep in his court-room, where many of the sepoys were:  he consented, but when I went refused; then, being an excitable, nervous Arab, he took fright, mustered all his men, amounting to about fifteen, with matchlocks; ran off, saying he was going to kill a lion; came back, shook hands nervously with me, vowing it was a man who would not obey him, “it was not you.”

Our goods were all out in the street, bound on the pack-saddles, so at night we took the ordinary precaution of setting a guard.  This excited our dignitary, and after dark all his men were again mustered with matches lighted.  I took no notice of him, and after he had spent a good deal of talk, which we could hear, he called Musa and asked what I meant.  The explanations of Musa had the effect of sending him to bed, and in the morning, when I learned how much I had most unintentionally disturbed him, I told him that I was sorry, but it did not occur to me to tell him about an ordinary precaution against thieves.  He thought he had given me a crushing reply when he said with vehemence, “But there are no thieves here.”  I did not know till afterwards that he and others had done me an ill turn in saying that no carriers could be hired from the independent tribes adjacent.  They are low-coast Arabs, three-quarters African, and, as usual, possess the bad without the good qualities of both parents.  Many of them came and begged brandy, and laughed when they remarked that they could drink it in secret but not openly; they have not, however, introduced it as an article of trade, as we Christians have done on the West Coast.

6th April, 1866.—­We made a short march round to the south-west side of the Lake, and spent the night at a village in that direction.  There are six villages dotted round the inner harbour, and the population may amount to 250 or 300 souls—­coast Arabs and their slaves; the southern portion of the harbour is deep, from ten to fourteen fathoms, but the north-western part is shoal and rocky.  Very little is done in the way of trade; some sorghum, sem-sem seed, gum-copal, and orchilla weed, constitute the commerce of the port:  I saw two Banian traders settled here.

7th April, 1866.—­Went about south from Kindany with a Somalie guide, named Ben Ali or Bon Ali, a good-looking obliging man, who was to get twenty dollars to take us up to Ngomano.  Our path lay in a valley, with well-wooded heights on each side, but the grass towered over our heads, and gave the sensation of smothering, whilst the sun beat down on our heads very fiercely, and there was not a breath of air stirring.  Not understanding camels, I had to trust to the sepoys who overloaded them, and before we had accomplished our march of about seven miles they were knocked up.