SLAVES LEFT TO DIE.
"The people had thus a double incentive to learn how to make war," the Doctor continued, "as soon as the Arabs began to come among them. They endeavored to capture each other, as a matter of gain, and then they wanted to defend their homes and themselves. They became very jealous of the advent of strangers, and thus it came about that travellers needed much larger escorts than formerly. Strange to say, they had no particular desire to stop the slave-trade, and they readily listened to the Arabs, who told them that the presence of Englishmen in the country would interfere with the traffic. Of course the weak and small tribes suffered most by the Arab devastation; the strong tribes found the slave-trade profitable, and thus all the influence was in favor of its continuance. Along the coast towns of Africa, and in the interior districts, you will find many a chief who mourns the day when the foreigners put a stop to the slave-trade, and thus interfered with an industry which he had found profitable.
"And now," he remarked, "we will return to Mr. Thomson and his journey into Masai Land. Frank has the floor."
Thus appealed to, Frank went on with his story.
"After passing the fertile belt along the coast, the expedition entered a desert region where the sun was so hot, shade so scanty, and water so scarce, that it was necessary to make all the marches during the night. The men suffered terribly from thirst, as the most of them, with characteristic African improvidence, drank up in an hour or so the supply of water which had been intended for two days. One night Mr. Thomson started out to find water, as his people were in a desperate condition. He found no water, but lost his way and was unable to return to camp. He says it was the first time he was ever lost in the desert; a feeling of awe took possession of him and he saw lions in every bush. Very soon he heard the roar of a lion, and then his sensations were exceedingly uncomfortable. He wandered aimlessly about; he fired his gun repeatedly, but heard no response. At last he was about to lie down, in despair, when he heard the sound of a gun to which he responded with his last remaining cartridge. Following the direction whence the sound came, he met a search-party that had gone to find him. When he reached camp he had been eighteen hours on his feet, without food and with very little water."
"And what did his people do without water?" Fred inquired.
"Water was found the next day," Frank explained, "but not until some of the men had so broken down that they could not go farther, and it was necessary to send water to revive them. After passing the desert belt they entered a mountain region, where water was abundant and the natives were friendly. It is the region of the Wa-teita, and consists of a series of slopes around the Ndara Mountain. The Wa-teita have herds of cattle, sheep, and goats, they raise Indian corn, sugar-cane, bananas, sweet potatoes, and similar articles, and have been able to resist the attacks of the Masai, chiefly through the security of their position and their skill in the use of the bow and arrow. The Church Missionary Society has a station among this people, and the natives appear to take kindly to his instruction.