On the borders of pigmy land

"On the borders of pigmy land" by Ruth B. Fisher is a missionary travel memoir written in the early 20th century. It follows a Church Missionary Society worker’s journeys through British East Africa and Uganda, blending vivid travel narrative with portraits of local peoples, landscapes, and emerging Christian communities. Expect accounts of royal courts and village life, hard overland travel, and the spiritual aims and practical trials of mission work on the edge of so‑called “Pigmy” country. The opening of this memoir traces the author’s 1900 arrival at Mombasa, a brief stay at Freretown, and an arduous run up the Uganda Railway—heat, dust, and famine along the line—into the highlands and a flooded railhead where camps are raised in storms. It then follows her first caravan march by bicycle through Masai country, mishaps that leave the party divided and camping rough, a dhow crossing of Lake Victoria after a steamer wreck, and landfall near Mengo with a jubilant welcome and glimpses of thriving church life, the hospital, and the child-king’s court. Chosen to help pioneer work in Toro, she treks over swamps and ridges; illness forces companions to turn back, but she and Miss Pike press on, observe village customs (including a comic wedding), and reach Kabarole to an overwhelming reception. The opening also sketches Toro’s setting—crater lakes, the snows of Ruwenzori, violent storms, lightning fires, and abundant wildlife—and closes with the bare-bones start to home life: a mud-and-thatch house furnished from packing cases, spoiled supplies, and reliance on garden produce and stores.

On the borders of pigmy land, by Ruth B. Fisher. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #76250.