Next came a rush of about 2000 chosen warriors, all tall men, expert with spear and shield, lithe of body and nimble of foot, shouting as they trotted past their war-cry of “Kavya, kavya” (the two last syllables of Mtesa’s title when young—_Mukavya_, “king”), and rattling their spears. Behind them at a quick march came the musket-armed bodyguard of the Emperor, about two hundred in front, a hundred on either side of the road, enclosing Mtesa and his _Katekiro_, and two hundred bringing up the rear, with their drums beating, pipes playing, and standards flying, and forming quite an imposing and warlike procession. ---------------------------------------------------------------- [_To face page 240._ [Illustration: THE VICTORIA NILE, NORTH OF RIPON FALLS, RUSHING TOWARDS UNYORO, FROM THE USOGA SIDE OF THE FALLS. (_From a photograph by the Author._) ] ---------------------------------------------------------------- Mtesa marched on foot, bare-headed, and clad in a dress of blue check cloth, with a black belt of English make round his waist, and—like the Roman emperors, who, when returning in triumph, painted their faces a deep vermilion—his face dyed a bright red. The _Katekiro_ preceded him, and wore a dark grey cashmere coat, which M. de Bellefonds had given him. I think this arrangement was made to deceive any assassin who might be lurking in the bushes. If this was the case, the precaution seemed wholly unnecessary, as the march was so quick that nothing but a gun would have been effective, and the Wavuma and Wasoga have no such weapons. After Mtesa’s bodyguard had passed by, chief after chief, legion after legion, followed, each distinguished to the native ear by its different and peculiar drum-beat. They came on at an extraordinary pace, more like warriors hurrying up into action than on the march, and it is their custom, I am told, to move always at a trot when on an enterprise of a warlike nature.[21] About two hours after the main body began its march, Kasuju, the guardian of the young princes and Mtesa’s women, preceded by a thousand spears and followed by a similar number, trotted by. The women numbered about 5000, but not more than 500 can be styled the Emperor’s concubines; the others were for the duties of the household.