The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-05-09


long as we do not know the number
of survivors.
The district about Karungu Is an
ominous blob Of red on the tsctse map.
and DIR. Oswald's friends urged him
not to venture into the district. but
duty to his commission said Thou
must" and the doctor replied 81 will"
He found deserted villages and others
in the last stages of dcporulation by
the disease. He was himself bitten,
suffered intense local Irritation for
four or five days. and was not sure un-
til several months after his return to
England that he was not infected.
He climbed to a village high on bluff
beside the Kuja River.
On reaching the edge Of the clin the
view was magnificent, the river mcander-
ing in broad sweeps round the base OF
the clin, but the place seemed deserted
and there was an unnatural silence: the
homestead was fostering In dirt and Nth
beyond description, while clouds OF nies
lowered overhead. We called out
to a group OF men huddied together about
nifty yards down the slope. Finally a
couple OF tottering men shambled up. and
1t was obvious from their listlessness and
treless eyes and swollen glands. that they
had fallen victims to sleeping sickness.
Not a woman or child was to he seen.
marked contrast to the normal conditions
of an African village.
There was nothing the scientist
could do for these miserable folk. so
he went his way. leaving them to their
slow fate.
hn Ia nd Of thA no
strong healthy. naked and moral"
people. They call themselves ia Lwo
free men. The men adorn themselves
with iron armbands and legbands: and
so keen Is their desire for metal for
this purpose that it has been found
impossible to keep telegraph wires
strung across the open country. They
cast envious Glances at the scientists
saucepans. knives. hammers and SINH
lar equipment. but never stole from
him. Married women wear belt with
a tail or tassel OF aloe fibre. and that
is all the clothing the Kavirondo wear
except n coat of grease. rancid and
odorous. They never battle They
frequently paint their faces with COL
ored clay, and have headdresses Of
plumes or lions name, while the
married men wear split and polished
hippopotamus tusks over their ears.
They love their monotonous. insist
entity rhythmic African housekeeping
the rhythmic hummng undertone of
the iungle?-and have harbaric dances
that last all night. They cultivate
nothing but millet. which in Cruel or
porrdge is the staple of their diet They
hot al hnx a,A
Everybody smokes: hencficent tobacco
for the most part. hut bhang or hemp
in the lowlands of the gulf coast.
where physiques are inferior. Their
pottery is made OF clay brought from
inland. an outer layer coarse and
brown with lining of hard. red. nom
porous stun. Their matched huts are
built in squares and shared with goats
and other even less desirable guests.
They have almost no religious Cere-
monial: the sun may he an object OF
reverence. the grave of an ancestor
still more.
The British Government does not
interfere with the inter al affairs Of
the tribe. and they come in contact
with IL only when the District Com
missioner makes his official visit and
. when paying the hut tax Of five shil-
lings a year said to he easily col
leCted. There t. no eNaction Of
| forced labor as in some parts of Ger
man East Africa" In some districts
the Government endeavors to enCour-
age the cultivation of rubber. cotton
and coffee. hut not much progress
has been made.
Relieved by The Pax Britannica from
all anxiety Of raids or hostilities. the
ksvirondo native can tend his cattle with
security for the first time In the history
Of Africa; and there is no actual poverty.
2 lie Is physioloEicallv suited to the intensely
hot climate. He finds ample distraction
and amusement In his tribal dances and
musical efforts, while In return for hides,
exported from Kdru0gu tn q considerable
extent. he can obtain an the wire and
heads necessary for INDUCING his Ideas
/ Of personal adornment
Going inland to Mctamala the scien-
/ fist found the diScomforts caused by
+ insects and pestlferous things that
/ creep and crawl increased by the pres
ence of lions and hyenas. II is not
/ pleasant. but an integral part of the
/ picture. to state that the hyenas were
/ particularly numerous and bold. ow-
/ ing to their having battened on the
| thousands of victims OF sleeping sick
ness" They frequently carried OFF
/ sheep and infants from the villages
/ and attacked wayfarers at night. once
when sudden thunderstorm doused
/ the campfire Or. Oswald was awak-
ened by the bowls of the proving
/ beasts just outside his tent A few
shots from his revolver drove them
off, and the light Of his acetylene lamp
| discouraged any impulse to return. a
few days later he had revenge In kind
tumbling while on the march into the
| lair of snooZing hycna, which ran in
fright.
/ In the Klsii highlands. we'll back
from the lake and the gulf, the negroes
are smaller in build but more warlike
in disposition, inhospitable and sullen.
There were only two white men in this
district, the Commissioner and a doc
tor in the Residence at Kisii Bona
where there are shops of Indian traders
The tree plantation here is interest
! ing. for IL has thrived to n degree tina,
suggests great improvements possible
through reforestation. Tie burning
of of the woods by the natives has
affected the regularity of flow in the
water courses. New forest growth
would effect REIMBURSEMENT makinp
irrigation possible in the plains, with
specially beneficial effect J.. the dis
triCts where tho soil resembles tn.
| cotton growing lands of India DIR