en,
according to tradition, a sportsman from Unyoro, by name Uganda, came
with a pack of dogs, a woman, a spear, and a shield, hunting on the left
bank of Katonga valley, not far from the lake. He was but a poor man,
though so successful in hunting that vast numbers of the Wiru flocked
to him for flesh, and became so fond of him as to invite him to be their
king, saying, "Of what avail to us is our present king, living so far
away that when we sent him a cow as a tributary offering, that cow on
the journey gave a calf, and the calf became a cow and gave another
calf, and so on, and yet the present has not reached its destination?"

At first Uganda hesitated, on the plea that they had a king already,
but on being farther pressed consented; when the people hearing his name
said, "Well, let it be so; and for the future let this country between
the Nile and Katonga be called Uganda, and let your name be Kimera, the
first king of Uganda."

The same night Kimera stood upon a stone with a spear in his hand, and
a woman and dog sitting by his side; and to this day people assert that
his footprints and the mark left by his spear-end, as well as the seats
of the woman and dog, are visible. The report of these circumstances
soon reached the great king of Unyoro, who, in his magnificence, merely
said, "The poor creature must be starving; allow him to feed there if
he likes." The kings who have succeeded Kimera are: 1. Mahanda; 2.
Katereza; 3. Chabago; 4. Simakokiro; 5. Kamanya; 6. Sunna; 7. Mtesa, not
yet crowned.

These kings have all carried on the same system of government as that
commenced by Kimera, and proved themselves a perfect terror to Unyoro,
as we shall see in the sequel. Kimera, suddenly risen to eminence, grew
proud and headstrong--formed a strong clan around him, whom he appointed
to be his Wakunga, or officers--rewarded well, punished severely, and
soon became magnificent. Nothing short of the grandest palace, a throne
to sit upon, the largest harem, the smartest officers, the best dressed
people, even a menagerie for pleasure--in fact, only the best of
everything--would content him. Fleets of boats, not canoes, were built
for war, and armies formed, that the glory of the king might never
decrease. In short, the system of government, according to barbarous
ideas was perfect. Highways were cut from one extremity of the country
to the other, and all rivers bridged. No house could be built without
its necessary appe