Some Heroes of Travel: or, Chapters from the History of Geographical Discovery and EnterpriseAdams, W. H. Davenport (William Henry Davenport)
History
Some Heroes of Travel: or, Chapters from the History of Geographical Discovery and Enterprise
Adams, W. H. Davenport (William Henry Davenport)
Discoveries in geography; Explorers
On the 22nd, the expedition reached the Victoria White Nile, or, as it is
sometimes called, the Somerset river, and proceeded through the
magnificent forest that crowned its bank to the Karuma Falls. The river
here was about a hundred and fifty yards wide, and flowed between lofty
cliffs, which were green with vines, bananas, and palms. The falls,
however, are very insignificant, not exceeding five feet in height. Just
above them is a ferry, and Sir Samuel and Lady Baker crossing by it,
found themselves in Unyoro, King Kamrasi’s country, and in his town or
village of Atado. Speke and Grant had left behind them pleasant
memories, so that Baker, as their friend and countryman, received a
hearty welcome. A large hut was placed at the disposal of his wife and
himself, and in exchange for fresh beef—Sir Samuel ordering an ox to be
killed for the purpose—the natives furnished liberal quantities of flour,
beans, and sweet potatoes. A brisk market was quickly set going, and
whole rows of girls and women arrived, bringing baskets filled with the
desired provisions. The women, we are told, were neatly dressed in short
double-skirted petticoats: many had the bosom bare: others wore a piece
of bark-cloth, plaid-wise, across chest and shoulders. Bark-cloth, which
is exclusively used throughout Equatorial Africa, is the produce of a
kind of fig tree. The bark is stripped off in large pieces, soaked in
water, and beaten with a mallet. In appearance it much resembles
corduroy, in colour tanned leather; the finer qualities are peculiarly
soft to the touch, like woven cotton.
The travellers were struck by the difference between the Unyoro people
and the tribes they had previously seen. On the north side of the Nile
the natives were either wholly naked, or wore only a piece of skin across
their shoulders. The river seemed to mark the limit or _ne plus ultra_
of savagedom, for the inhabitants of Unyoro shrank like Europeans from
the indecency and shame of nakedness. Their higher civilization was
shown also by their manufactures: their smiths were very skilful, and
used iron hammers instead of stone; they converted into fine wire the
thick brass and copper wire which they received from Zanzibar; and their
pottery showed a certain degree of taste in conception.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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