The following day we bought a large quantity of food from N’Dominuki’s people, and packed it in loads in preparation for our march to the Waso Nyiro. In the afternoon Koromo, the man who met us with the honey when we were returning from Embe, came into camp with N’Dominuki and requested the honour of blood-brotherhood with El Hakim, and that interesting though disgusting ceremony was accordingly performed. That night George and I had a very disagreeable experience. We and the puppy had gone to our tent for a good night’s sleep after the worry and trouble of the last three days. The pup was very restless, and ran whining about the tent in a most annoying manner. At first we thought it was only his “cussedness,” and scolded him well; but he got worse instead of better, and finally rolled frantically on the ground, yelping most dismally. Suddenly George said “D——n!” in a loud voice, and sprang up from his bed, which was on the ground, and after a little searching pulled a black insect from some part of his anatomy. He at once examined his blankets, and found that they were literally covered with tiny black ants, which, in spite of their small size, bit most ferociously. I also turned out and found the ground under my bed was a seething black mass of ants, which instantly attacked the unprotected portions of my person with an earnestness and attention to business which, under other circumstances, would have commanded my highest admiration. Mine was a camp-bed standing a foot off the ground, and consequently there were comparatively few on my blankets. We turned our attention to the agonized puppy, and found that the poor little brute was black underneath with the tiny pests, who had bitten into his flesh and held on like limpets. We brushed him free and put him out of harm’s way, swept out the floor of the tent, getting innumerable bites on our naked feet and legs in the process, and sent for some ashes, with which we liberally sprinkled the ground, and also spread them in a circle round the tent, which to some extent mitigated the nuisance. I did not suffer so much, as my bed, as already explained, was some inches above the ground, and consequently George, who slept on a heap of rushes, bore the brunt of the attack. I was aroused several times during the night by a muttered exclamation from the darkness on his side of the tent, followed by the slap which signalled the hurried exit of another of our tiny enemies from this world of woe. We found in the morning that we had not been the only sufferers. Round all the men’s tents a broad band of ashes testified to the defensive measures they had been compelled to adopt. The cry of “siafu” (ants) in camp is at all times a signal for instant action. Red-hot ashes are hastily gathered and sprinkled in the path of the advancing horde, and the greatest excitement prevails till the foe is finally vanquished. I was compelled to shift our tent during the day to another spot some distance away. By first beating down the earth into a hard concrete-like floor and then strewing it with ashes, we hoped to prevent a recurrence of the attack of the previous night, an arrangement we found to answer admirably.

ELDERS OF M’THARA.

DIRITO AND VISELI (on the right) AND TWO FOLLOWERS. (See page [132].)

The same day the Somalis left M’thara for Chanjai, where they desired to purchase food. They promised that on their return in four days’ time they would accompany us on another expedition into Embe—a result I should have attributed to my eloquence of the night before had we not been perfectly aware of the unreliability of their promises. El Hakim, however, decided to wait on the off-chance of their returning, and resolved to fill in a day or two by a journey back to Munithu to collect food, and also to try to get news as to how far our Embe reverse had affected native feeling towards us in those districts. He took eight men with rifles with him. I amused myself all the morning trying to make toffee from native honey and butter. The resulting compound, though palatable enough, could not be induced to harden, so we were compelled to devour it with a spoon. George gave in at midday to a nasty touch of fever. I administered a couple of phenacetin tabloids, and sweated him well, which towards evening reduced his temperature. Next morning he was decidedly better, and together we made a tour of inspection round the camp. We saw a peculiar striped rat in the boma, which we nicknamed the zebra rat. It was mouse-coloured with black stripes, but as we had not a trap we could not secure a specimen. At midday George was down again with the fever, and I dosed him once more. At 12.30 two men came back from El Hakim with a note for me. He asked for some fresh bread and a bottle of milk, also for six more men with rifles. It seemed that the Wa’G’nainu, the people of a district west of Munithu, on hearing of our Embe reverse, had come down and looted some of the trade goods which El Hakim had left in Bei-Munithu’s charge, and that he intended to try to recover them. He also asked for my company if I could leave camp. As George was so queer I did not feel justified in leaving him, but on his assurance that he was quite able to look after himself while I was away, I decided to go.

I took no baggage or blankets, and with six men and four donkeys, which were required to bring back the balance of El Hakim’s goods still remaining with Bei-Munithu, started at one o’clock, intending to try to reach Munithu the same evening, though it had taken the safari two days to reach M’thara from Munithu on the outward journey. At sundown, after a toilsome and seemingly interminable march, my party and I arrived at El Hakim’s camp outside Bei-Munithu’s village, where El Hakim, pleased at our rapid journey, forthwith ministered to my material wants in the way of towels, soap, and supper. After our meal he summoned Bei-Munithu, and bade him recapitulate for my benefit the story of the pillaged goods. Briefly it amounted to this: A large party of the Wa’G’nainu had come on a friendly visit to Bei-Munithu. During their sojourn with him a report came to hand that the Wasungu had been driven out of Embe with great loss, and one of them had been killed. The news caused some excitement, and, as was only natural, the assembled natives discussed in what way the Wasungu’s supposed misfortunes could be turned to profitable account. It was already well known that Bei-Munithu had one of his huts filled from floor to roof with the trade goods and equipment of the chief Wasungu, and it did not require much persuasion to induce that venerable humbug to exhibit the contents to his guests. The sight of so much riches naturally inflamed the already excited cupidity of the Wa’G’nainu. The next step was easy. In spite of Bei-Munithu’s lukewarm remonstrances, they helped themselves liberally and departed, exulting, to their villages. The next day El Hakim unexpectedly arrived, and, entirely unaware of what had taken place, asked that his trade goods should be brought out for his inspection, as he wanted to take them over to M’thara. Bei-Munithu, with many excuses and much wringing of hands, detailed the events of the preceding day. El Hakim was exceedingly wroth, and he there and then wrote me the note which had brought me over.

After Bei-Munithu had retired to his village we talked matters over. El Hakim was very much annoyed at the turn of affairs, and assured me that this was only one of the unpleasant results of our reverse in Embe. What others were in store for us, time alone would disclose. We decided before we turned in that we would go early on the morrow to G’nainu and demand our goods. We wished to proceed on the principle of suaviter in modo rather than fortiter in re, but if the former failed we were determined to apply the latter without hesitation. El Hakim had taken an inventory of the missing goods, and found that more than four loads had disappeared. Bei-Munithu’s conduct in the affair was not above suspicion, but we could not afford to quarrel with him just then.

At night a bed of banana leaves was made up for me on the ground in El Hakim’s tent, which, with the addition of a couple of blankets, made me as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. My well-earned rest, however, was soon disturbed by the field-rats, which used me as a playground, and continually skipped and jumped over my body and face, to their own infinite amusement and my extreme discomfort. Two or three times during the night I woke up and found a large rat curled up fast asleep in the hollow of my neck or under my arm. El Hakim awoke at my frequent and somewhat profane exclamations, and gently inquired what was the matter. When I held forth on the drawbacks of slumber in the savage wilds, he feigned polite incredulity, and remarked, “Shocking, shocking! Most unfortunate delusions! Very regrettable, Hardwick, very;” and turning over in his blankets, he added insult to injury by chuckling audibly at intervals for an hour afterwards, in a most aggravating manner.

At four o’clock next morning we roused our fourteen men, and set out for G’nainu, some twenty or thirty of Bei-Munithu’s men accompanying us. It was rather a rough tramp, the country being very hilly and much cut up by ravines and streams. We crossed the river Kazeta (which flows in a south-easterly direction through Zura at an average altitude of 5000 feet) by a tree-trunk bridge, and at seven o’clock reached the first village of the Wa’G’nainu and halted outside. Our men waved green branches as a sign that we came in peace, but got no answer, the village, which was very strongly fortified, seeming to be entirely deserted. It was situated on the crest of a forest-covered hill, and was surrounded by a very massive outer stockade of roughly hewn tree-trunks with pointed tops. Inside there were two additional stockades of pointed logs, and the huts within were also stockaded one from the other, the whole forming a position almost impregnable to an enemy without firearms. We waited for a while, but were unable to get any answer to our signals, and held a consultation to decide on our next move, but in the middle of the discussion a shower of poisoned arrows from the surrounding bush winged their destructive way into our midst, killing three of Bei-Munithu’s men outright; at the same time the now familiar war-cry rose on all sides, and resounded from hilltop to hilltop in a manner which showed us that we were fully expected.