I reached Singo, I came
to a little village, and as I was drinking banana wine with the chief,
he told me that there were two lions near his village who had a band of
hyenas to serve as soldiers under them. They used to send them out in
pairs, sometimes to one district, and sometimes to another, to purvey
food for them. If the peasants showed fight, they went back and
reported to their masters, and the lions brought all their soldiers with
them, who bothered them so that they were glad to leave a fat bullock
tied to a tree as tribute. Then the lions would take the bullock and
give orders that the peasant who paid his tribute should be left in
peace. The chief declared this to be a fact, having had repeated proof
of it.

At the next place, which is Mbagwe, the man Buvaiya, who is in charge,
told me that when he went a short time before to pay his respects to the
Muzimu (the oracle) of the district, he met about thirty _kokorwa_ on
the road, hunting close together for snakes, and that as soon as they
saw him, they charged at him, and would have killed him had he not run
up a tree. He tells me that though they are not much bigger than
rabbits, they are very savage, and make travelling alone very dangerous.
I think they must be some kind of small dogs. Perhaps the old men of
the court may be better able to tell you what they are.

At the next village of Ngondo a smart boy named Rutuana was brought to
me, who was said to have been lately playing with a young friend of the
same age at long stick and little stick (tip-cat?). His friend hit the
little stick, and sent it a great way, and Rutuana had to fetch it from
the long grass. While searching for it, one of those big serpents which
swallow goats and calves caught him, and coiled itself around him.
Though he screamed out for help, Rutuana laid his stick across his
chest, and clutching hold of each end with a hand, held fast to it until
help came. His friend ran up a tree, and only helped him by screaming.
As the serpent could not break the boy's hold of the stick, he was
unable to crush his ribs, because his outstretched arms protected them;
but when he was nearly exhausted the villagers came out with spears and
shields. These fellows, however, were so stupid that they did not know
how to kill the serpent until Rutuana shouted to them: "Quick! draw your
bows and shoot him through the neck." A man stepped forward then, and
when close to him pierced his throat wit