He then confessed to having explained its construction and the cause of the "ticking" to his people, by the aid of a needle, and that it had never ticked since that occasion.

I regretted to see such "pearls cast before swine." Thus he had plundered Speke and Grant of all they possessed before he would allow them to proceed.
It is the rapacity of the chiefs of the various tribes that renders African exploration so difficult.

Each tribe wishes to monopolize your entire stock of valuables, without which the traveller would be utterly helpless.

The difficulty of procuring porters limits the amount of baggage; thus a given supply must carry you through a certain period of time.

If your supply should fail, the expedition terminates with your power of giving.