lay within his power
to give. Suffice it to say, I had, through Baker's generosity, at that
very moment enough and to spare; but at his urgent request I took a
few more yards of cloth for my men, and some cooking fat; and, though I
offered to pay for it, he declined to accept any return at my hands.

Though I naturally felt much annoyed at Petherick--for I had hurried
away from Uganda, and separated from Grant at Kari, solely to keep faith
with him--I did not wish to break friendship, but dined and conversed
with him, when it transpired that his Vakil, or agent, who went south
from the N'yambara station, came amongst the N'yam N'yam, and heard from
them that a large river, four days' journey more to the southward, was
flowing from east to west, beyond which lived a tribe of "women," who,
when they wanted to marry, mingled with them in the stream and returned;
and then, again, beyond this tribe of women there lived another tribe of
women and dogs. Now, this may all seem a very strange story to those who
do not know the negro's and Arab's modes of expression; but to me it at
once came very natural, and, according to my view, could be interpreted
thus:--The river, running from east to west, according to the native
mode of expressing direction, could be nothing but the Little Luta Nzige
running the opposite way, according to fact and our mode of expression.
The first tribe of women were doubtless the Wanyoro--called women by
the naked tribes on this side because they wear bark coverings--an
effeminate appendage, in the naked man's estimation; and the second
tribe must have been in allusion to the dog-keeping Waganda, who also
would be considered women, as they wear bark clothes. In my turn, I told
Petherick he had missed a good thing by not going up the river to
look for me; for, had he done so, he would not only have had the best
ivory-grounds to work upon, but, by building a vessel in Madi above
the cataracts, he would have had, in my belief, some hundred miles of
navigable water to transport his merchandise. In short, his succouring
petition was most admirably framed, had he stuck to it, for the welfare
of both of us. [28]

We now received our first letters from home, and in one from Sir
Roderick Murchison I found the Royal Geographical Society had awarded
me their "founder's medal" for the discovery of the Victoria N'yanza in
1858.

Conclusion

My journey down to Alexandria was not without adventure, and