^J "^^Aavaaii-^^ "^(^AavjiaiH^J^ en <: ^WEUNIVERSy/, 'Jr <^ o o /^ ^V:lOSANCEl£/^ O s^ s -< i I S/W))( I go ^^s^UIBRARY(9/: ^UIBRARl \WtllNIVER% ^•lOSANCI O '^i'ilJONVSOl^ "^AaaAiNa <:jN^lIBRARY<9/: ^>^IIIBRAI ^^^OFCALIFOM^ 5: '''^6'Aiivaani'^ ^•OFCAlll ^(?Aavaa -r o (^ -^M.^ ^^ommwi'^ ^^Aavaan-^^ jo>^ '^ojnvjjo^ ,^WEUNIVER% o ^vWSAfJCElfj> %iJ3AINn]WV ^.OFCALIFO/?^ >4,OFCAIIFO%. I ^^•LIBRARYQ^, ^tllBRARYO/r =0 AWEUNIVEW//, >:lOSANCElfj> ^s^mmov^ '^/ia3AiNn3WV A-OFCAIIFO/?^ aofcaiifo% "^^^Aavaaiii^;^ ^ o -< %a3AiNa-3WV^ ^HIBRARYOc. ^^HIBRARY^/- %JI1V3J0^ %0JnV3J0^ ^^WE•UNIVER5•/^ }) " A good supply of food-stuffs " 354 " A quaint-looking youth clothed in banana leaves " .... 358 " A couple of young fowls . . . were perched on a donkey . . 360 " To startle out of the long grass a reedbuck '' 365 I.IS'l" OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE "( ir perhaps a steinbiuk 366 '• Or a shy little klipspringer" • 3^7 " The women wear beautifully-worked goatskins 368 "I }fot the J(f/ s liAK 1 hl>Kl',^i 1 h. Herds of zebra, hartebeeste, Grant's and Thomson's gazelle, and a few eland were also scattered about here and there, giving life to a particularly pleasing scene. I did not of course attempt to disturb the harte- beeste directly underneath me, but contented myself with watching them, and the other animals, in their A FRUITLESS LION HUNT . 55 native haunts. Neither did I try to dimb down the escarpment, for it was now getting late and I was anxious to find S. if possible and return to camp, as we had been on the move since 4 a.m. Just as I was about to mount Aladdin and set off in quest of my companion, I heard the report of a rille close by, and on riding up found S., who had shot and knocked over a very good impala, but had had no other adventures worth speaking of since we separated, neither had he seen any trace of the lions we had come out to seek. As some of the porters with me belonged to the Kikuyu nation they petitioned me to shoot a kon- goni, as they would not touch zebra, of which the Swahili are so fond, and the impala just killed would not be sufficient to go round. I therefore stalked an old bull hartebeeste which they pointed out to me, and brought him down with a bullet rather far back in the body. He got up again, however, hobbled off and broke into a run, so Abbudi flew after him — all the joy of being able to get a thrust with his spear, in the approved Masai manner, showintr in his exultino^ face. The harte- beeste gave him a good long run, more or less in a circle, so that I was able to watch everything that happened. At last, when the ungainly antelope was beginning to get tired. It turned and faced him. This manoeuvre checked Abbudi for a moment, 56 . IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. v. and made him adopt more cautious tactics. He tried his utmost to work round to the animal's t1ank, but the wily old hartebeeste was too artful for this, and wherever Abbudi went he always found the head of the kongoni facing him ; indeed, once or twice the latter made one or two sharp charges which caused Abbudi to take nimbly to his heels. Eventually the poor hartebeeste seemed suddenly to get very weak and tottered to his knees, still facing his enemy. This happened just at the moment I came up, intending to give him a finishing shot. Abbudi, however, instantly saw his chance, and the long bright blade of his spear shot suddenly out and appeared to go through the beast as easily as if he had been made of butter. The thrust evidently pierced the heart, for without another struggle the gallant old kongoni turned over with a groan, gave a couple of tremors, rolled up his eyes and remained quite still. It always makes me feel unhappy to see a beast die, especially if he has made a good fight for his life, as this one did. Of course, if the animal is killed out right at the first shot, he is dead before he can realize what is happening, and can feel little or no pain. If, however, the shot merely breaks a leg and the animal goes off limping, all my sympathy is aroused, and I am not easy in my mind again until the poor beast has been put out of its misery. 58 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. v The swift death which is, as a rule, meted out by the sportsman inflicts, after all, but little pain com- pared with the suffering which the poor weak creatures of the wilds have often to endure when they fall into the pitiless clutches of a voracious beast of prey. As an example of this, I may per- haps mention an instance which a friend of mine, Mr. C. Rawson, actually witnessed. He was out shooting one day on the Athi Plains when he wounded a Grant's gazelle. The animal managed to get away from him, so he quickly followed it up to finish it off Meanwhile a lean and hungry- looking hyaena sprang out of the grass and joined in the chase, eventually catching up with the gazelle and pulling it down. The hyaena did not waste any time in attempting to kill the gazelle, but, putting a strong paw on its quarters to hold it down, proceeded to tear great pieces of flesh from the unfortunate creature's flank. Rawson arrived at this moment and fired at the hyaena, which he hit far back in the spine, totally disabling the brute's hind-quarters. In spite of this the ravenous beast continued to eat the flesh of the still living gazelle, nor did he stop for a moment until a second shot killed him outright. Mr. Rawson took a photograph of the pair exactly as they lay, which he has kindly given me permission to reproduce (see p. 57). CHAPTER VI CHASED BY A RHINO That night the camp was much disturbed, not with a roaring Hon but with the chiefs yelHng baby, so next morning I told Ngai, who was still with us, that he and his wife and child had better return home to their own village, at the foot of the Kanjalu hills. The old fellow had been instrumen- tal in procuring for us some half-dozen loads of food, and although this was much less than we had been led to expect, we were forced to make a virtue of necessity and appear to be content with the short supply. Before the chief and his family left us we gave to each a small present, as a token of our goodwill. Ngai, who was a keen lover of tobacco, went into ecstasies over a supply which S. gave him ; the old man seemed quite loath to part with us, and CTave us a most cordial invitation to his villacje when next we should pass that way. 6o IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. We were not sorry to leave the camp on the Kwamutuku, as the water in the holes in the bed of the stream was very brackish, and the mosquitoes and ticks were most troublesome. Under the guidance of a couple of local natives we continued our journey in an easterly direction towards the Karusi river, which we were told was a short distance ahead of us. The country we rode over continued to be beautifully grassy axid undulating, with numerous trees scattered about here and there. S. walked through the long grass and alternately handled his rifle and shot gun, according as a rhino or a fat little quail was put up. A considerable quantity of game was to be seen in all directions, and the whole march was a most interesting one. On the way I counted 50 Thomson's gazelle, 30 eland, 30 wildebeeste, 7 rhino, some ostriches and hundreds of kongoni. Shortly after setting out from camp we heard a a;reat noise and commotion amonof the men, who were following us. Riding back to learn the cause I found that a rhino had suddenly charged the safari, but had fortunately gone through the line of porters without impaling anybody ; and beyond the breaking of a few loads as they were hastily thrown down by the terrified men, no damage was done. Soon after this incident, as we marched alono- in VI CHASED BY A RHINO 61 single file at the head of the safari, I noticed, a considerable way to our left front, a herd of wildebeeste browsing quietly through the bushes, looking in the distance for all the world like the American bison. I had no desire to shoot one, as I had obtained my trophy years before, when they were much more numerous than they are now and could be counted by thousands on the Athi Plains. My friends, however, had up to that mo- ment never even seen one, and they were naturally very keen to obtain a specimen. I proposed, there- fore, that they should gallop on ahead, under cover, to a point which I indicated about a mile further on, while I made a circuit so as to get on the far side of the wily animals, and if possible drive them towards the guns. Accordingly, off I went on Aladdin, keeping in the thickest bush I could find well out of sight of the wildebeeste. While going along at a smart pace I almost rode on to a female rhinoceros and her calf. Aladdin was so terrified that he almost bounded from under me, and flew at his utmost speed from the equally startled animals. The old dam made a short charge, ac- companied by the calf, but they very soon gave up the chase and returned to the shady depths of the thicket. After this I went more cautiously, as the place was infested with rhino ; but before I had gone a 62 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. quarter of a mile I suddenly came upon a savage old male, who was evidendy In a very bad temper, as he charged most viciously the moment he caught sicrht of me. I immediately raced Aladdin for some bushes, thinking to elude him ; but he was not to be thrown off. I heard him crash through the scrub after me. and looking over my shoulder, saw him with his head raised in the air and his tail cocked over his back, pursuing me w ith the utmost deter- mination. The tangled undergrowth was all in his favour, as I could not let Aladdin go very fast. Fortunately there was a little glade ahead, and the moment I eot into this I rode as hard as I could, while the rhino thundered after me, giving vent to loud snorts, which lent wincrs to Aladdin's nimble feet. I outpaced my pursuer here, but again got into a belt of bush which I had to cross to get into the open country. He still chased me most doggedly, and almost overtook me before I got clear of the scrub. Once in the open I felt safe, as Aladdin soon showed him a clean pair of heels, and the old rhino at last gave up the pursuit and returned sulkily to the cover of the bushes. Although I have been chased on horseback many times by rhino, this is the only time in all my experience that one of these brutes has made such a very determined and persistent attack. As a rule VI CHASED BY A RHINO 63 they make a short charge, and if unsuccessful, dart away again. As I was in this way forced to show myself, the wildebeeste soon spotted me. They stared for a few moments at the strange and extraordinary spectacle of a man flying along on a galloping horse ; then, when they saw that I was rapidly gain- ing on them, they evidently made up their minds that I was bent on mischief, and with one accord down went their heads and up went their tails and off they started in their peculiar gallop, cutting antics all the time, with manes and tails streaming in the wind. I raced after them as hard as ever I could, urging Aladdin to his top speed, regardless of the numerous ant-bear holes which studded the cjround hereabouts. The faster I went the faster the wildebeeste went also, and I soon found that they had no intention whatever of being driven the way I wanted them to go. As a matter of fact, they rapidly made off in quite a different direction, and made good their escape in spite of all my en- deavours to head them off. Now, my chase had taken me a considerable distance away from my companions, and when I looked round the caravan was nowhere to be seen, and I found mvself in the midst of some stunted 64 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. thorn trees, which completely hid the intervening country from me. However, I knew the direction in which the safari was travelling, so I started off at an easy pace to meet it. I rode through an ideal bit of sporting country, consisting of rolling downs with numbers of trees dotted about, patches of bush, open glades, with here and there a nullah, and above all animals galore for the lover of wild life to feast his eyes upon. Indeed, I would not like to state the number of wild creatures of various kinds that I surprised in the course of that short ride. I re- member giving chase to a couple of beautifully- coated jackals that started up out of the grass at Aladdin's feet and fled away in the direction in which I was going, thereby giving me an exhilara- ting hunt without hurting the jackals, as they eventually scuttled into safety in a thicket or down a hole. In the course of an hour or so I was glad to come in sight of the safari again, as after all it feels somewhat lonely to be away entirely by one's self in the bush, in the midst of wild animals of all kinds. Riding up to some spreading trees I waited there for the safaris arrival, turning Aladdin's head towards the approaching crowd and watching them as they came into view through the bushes. Immediately behind me was a belt of forest and some high grass. No sooner had the caravan got VI CHASED BY A RHINO 65 to within fifty yards of my position than the men began to set up a terrific noise and outcry, but owing to the hubbub raised I could not make out what it was all about. I thought to myself, " Another rhino, I suppose, charging the safari' \ but presently I made out the cry of " Simba ! simba / " (" Lion ! lion ! "). I at once called out, " Where ? where ? " when to my surprise they shouted back, "He has just got up from behind you," Turning quickly in the saddle, I looked eagerly in all directions, but could see no sign of a lion any- where. My companions by this time had come up and told me that they too had both watched it glide through the grass but a few yards behind where I stood. We all three immediately plunged into the thicket in hot pursuit. Our chase, how- ever, proved fruitless, and not a trace of the lion could we find, although we hunted through and through the jungle, with our gun-bearers, syces, and porters all strung out in a line, so that the bush might be beaten thoroughly in all directions. After some time we gave up the hunt and settled comfortably down out of the fierce heat of the sun under a spreading tree, where we had a much-needed lunch. While we were enjoying this frugal meal one of the porters came to tell us that he had gone to the place where he had first seen the lion jump up out of the grass, and had there discovered the half- F 66 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. eaten body of a hartebeeste. When I heard this I called a council, and it was decided that the safari should go on to camp under one guide, while we with the other guide and our gun-bearers should go back and carefully stalk the carcase in case the lion had returned in the meantime to finish his meal, I called up the two Wakamba guides and ex- plained this plan to them, and told them to arrange between themselves the exact spot where camp was to be pitched, so that later on in the evening, after our hunting was over, we should have no difficulty in finding the right place. We then rode back for some distance, and on approaching the spot where the lion had first been seen we all dismounted and very cautiously stalked the dead hartebeeste, hoping to find the lion back on his kill. In this we were disappointed, however, for unfortunately we drew a blank. We found the half-eaten carcase, but no lion. I knew it was a perfect certainty that he would return during the night for another feed, and I was more than half inclined to make arrangements to sit up over the kill that night, more especially as I knew it would be almost full moon ; but as I found that one of my companions- was not over-keen on this method of passing the time I gave up the notion, and we all decided to start for camp. VI CHASED BY A RHINO 67 On our way across country we met with another herd of wildebeeste, which S. spent nearly an hour stalking, as he was still most eager to secure a trophy. From a little eminence I watched him make a skilful stalk, and on seeing him approach the wily herd, I felt as anxious for his success as I am sure he must have felt himself. As he crept along stealthily in the open from one bit of cover to another I thought that they would be sure to catch sight of him, for they were very much on the alert, and a head would go up from the herd every now and then and have a good look round ; instantly S. would drop on the grass and remain absolutely still until the head went down again and all was safe for another advance. In this way he managed to wriggle up to within about eighty yards without being" observed, but then, alas ! he was seen, and off scampered the quaint-looking herd. One only, more daring or more curious than the rest, remained behind for a moment to investigate the cause of the disturbance, and, to reward him for his curiosity, he got a bullet somewhere in his body which had a most extraordinary effect on him, for he imme- diately started off at a furious gallop, kicking and bucking with all his might ; after going about 200 yards in this fashion he began galloping round in circles, performing mad antics in the most fantastic manner and finally circled himself out of sight F 2 68 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. in the thick bush, where we lost all trace of him. It was hopeless to pursue him any further, so we made our way back to our horses, and led by the guide, struck out for camp. By this time it was getting late, and after going some distance we began to fear that we had lost our way, as there was no sign of camp anywhere. We therefore con- sulted our guide as to where it was, and he cheer- fully admitted that he did not know! He said it ought to have been where we now were, as by this time he had brought us to the banks of a small stream which he said was the Karusi. This was most annoying and disconcerting, for we had no desire to pass the night in the wilds without either food or shelter, after having been on the march since early morning. I felt pretty confident, however, that if we kept on upstream we would be almost certain to come upon the camp sooner or later, so telling my friends to follow me as fast as they could, I pushed on at a sharp pace, and after a while was delighted to hear the joyful sound of an axe chopping up wood for the evening camp fire. Riding quickly back I hallooed lustily to my friends that camp was in siorht, and it was not lon^ before we were all seated under the friendly shelter of a canvas awning, sipping VI CHASED BY A RHINO 69 hot tea, that most grateful and refreshing of drinks after a hot day on safari. Next morning, out of curiosity to see if I was rio"ht about the Hon returnino- to finish the kill, I sent a couple of reliable men to investigate. On their return they told me that every scrap of the meat had been eaten, and that there was no doubt that it was a lion that had been there, as his fresh tracks were plainly to be seen all round the place where the kill had been. CHAPTER VII THROUGH A GAME COUNTRY We Stayed at the camp by the Karusi river for a couple of days, as the water was fairly good and not nearly so brackish as we had found it at the Kwamatuku. There was plenty of game, too, in the neighbourhood, and during one ramble I counted no less than three lions, 300 kongoni, 200 zebra, 50 impala, 30 wildebeeste, 5 rhino, 5 duiker, one solitary bull giraffe, and one specimen of that rather scarce and beautiful antelope, the bushbuck. Next day I was out exploring with my friends, and in the course of the afternoon Mrs. S. stalked and hit a bull wildebeeste. He did not drop to the shot, so we followed him up for miles, but could not get near him, and as it was now beginning to grow dusk we had reluctantly to give up the chase and make our way back to camp as quickly as we could in the fast-growing darkness. In the excitement of the hunt we had not noticed that all our natives had been outpaced, and when we turned homewards CH. VII THROUGH A GAME COUNTRY 71 there was not one of our followers in sight. On our way we almost rode into a herd of zebra which were moving about in a rather uneasy way, as if suspect- ing the presence of some other foe than ourselves. This put me on the alert, and I looked keenly all round. In a few minutes I was rewarded by the "that KAIHER SCARCE AMi BEAUTIFUL A.NIELOI'E lllE UUsllllUCK. momentary glimpse of what 1 took to be a lion's head, raised out of the grass not more than fifty yards away. I dismounted, and, leading Aladdin, walked up to the place as cautiously as I could, and found myself on the edge of a kind of dry basin, about ten to 72 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. fifteen yards in diameter, with a raised rim all round. On the opposite side of this I could dimly make out in the darkness the forms of three animals which I now took to be large pigs, as we had been putting up several of these animals for the last half hour of our ride— in fact, I called out to Mrs. S. " Oh, they are only pigs ! " The moment they heard my voice, they all three rose up, and I then saw to my astonishment that they were not pigs but lions! It was impossible to follow their movements in the gloom, and as I feared they were coming for me, I mounted Aladdin in record time and was about to ride hastily off, when my companion, who was in a position to have a better view than I, called out " They're going ! they're going ! " Thus reassured, I dismounted, and taking my courage in both hands, aimed at what I imagined to be a standing lion. As the object did not move I made a closer inspec- tion, and found that it was only a bush, behind which the lions had taken shelter in their line of retreat. It was out of the question to think of pursuing them, as we could not see ten yards ahead, so, much to our chagrin, we had to turn our backs on the lions and push on as rapidly as possible for camp. On the way we felt distinctly "creepy," riding along in the dark, and not knowing what wild beast might be lurking among the bushes ready to spring VII THROUGH A GAME COUNTRY 73 on us as we passed. The circumstances recalled to my mind the true story of the extraordinary escape of one of the Game Warden's assistants in South Africa, who delivered himself out of the very jaws of a lion, by a good knife, a cool head, and plenty of pluck. This man was riding home at dusk through a game reserve, when a lion suddenly sprang at him out of the bushes, knocking him off his pony and so terrifying the latter that it galloped madly off, pursued by the fierce beast. The man was picking himself up when another lion pounced on him, gripping him through the shoulder. The Game Ranger was dazed for a few moments by the shock, but when he came to his senses he found himself being carried off by the lion, whose long tusks met through and through his right shoulder, rendering his right arm useless. As he was being dragged off in this fashion, with his heels trailing on the ground, he gave himself up for lost, but suddenly bethought himself of an old hunting knife he carried on his waist-belt at his right side. The knife was so loose in its sheath that it usually fell out on the least provocation, and even as the Ranger quietly doubled his left hand behind his back, he had a hopeless feeling that it would not be there. Imagine his joy when he felt the hilt in his desperate grip ! In a moment the long keen blade was poised, and a blow at the lion's heart, thrice rapidly repeated, 74 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. made the brute wonder what had hurt him.. He dropped his would-be victim, eyed him with astonish- ment for a second as he lay beneath him, and then staofSfered off into the bush. The moment he was out of sight, the Ranger struggled to his feet, climbed a tree, and before he fainted strapped himself on to a branch with his belt. No sooner had he done so than lion number one appeared on the scene again, having failed to catch the pony. He remained at the foot of the tree until the Ranger's dog came up, and by his barking attracted the attention of some passing natives, who drove off the lion and rescued the fainting man from the tree. A brief search disclosed the dead body of the lion that had attacked the Ranger, stabbed to death through the heart. Although we were more than a thousand miles away from the scene of this adventure, yet we, too, were riding through a lion-infested country in the dark. It was a vast relief, therefore, when at last in the distance we heard Abbudi's voice calling out to guide us to the track leading to our tents and to safety. I was not quite happy, however, until I saw the cheery camp fires twinkling at us through the bushes. I only had a very short rest that night, as at 3 a.m. I started off again accompanied by Abbudi and Mellauw to visit a boma which lay some twenty VII THROUGH A GAME COUNTRY 75 miles away. The stars that morning were shining brilHantly, and it was delightful riding along by their light and that of the waning moon. The Southern Cross showed up particularly well and served to guide me on my journey until dawn. Of course, for the first couple of hours, while it was still dark, I saw no game, although we could some- times hear animals rustling in the undergrowth. When daylight came I saw that the country all round was sparsely covered with dwarf trees and bush, with here and there broad stretches of open grass country. Away to my left, and at a much lower level, lay an immense undulating plain which appeared to stretch away as far as the eye could see. Game seemed very numerous in this valley, for by the aid of my glasses I could make out giraffe, eland, rhino, and many kinds of antelope, while I saw one lion stalking along with the contented gait which showed that he had enjoyed a good meal but a short time before. Of mankind I saw no trace, save only one solitary bowman who was cautiously treading his way through the nyika. I found this whole journey a most interesting one, for the country was quite new to me and I was constantly coming upon some feature of fresh, interest. When I had covered about sixteen miles of the distance, I spied a very fine bull eland stand- ing about a quarter of a mile ahead under the 76 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. shade of a spreading tree. My path, however, turned sharply off to the left here, so as I did not wish to do any shooting until after I had paid my "one solitary bowman .... CAUTIOUSLY THREADING HIS WAY THROUGH THE NYIKA." visit to the distant camp, I left him undisturbed, though I promised myself a stalk if he should still be in the neighbourhood on my return. VII THROUGH A GAME COUNTRY 77 I finally reached my destination at about 9 a.m., only to find that the man I had come out to see was away on a few days' shooting trip after lions. I rested for about half an hour at his camp, and heard from one of the men left on the place that lions in this part of the country were very numerous and troublesome. Only a short time previous to my visit one of these daring beasts had come one night close outside the donkey boina and by roaring vigorously succeeded in stampeding the donkeys. This w^as of course just what he wanted, for he thereupon promptly seized one of them and ate it close by. I thouofht that Abbudi and Mellauw would be tired after their twenty-mile march, but they made quite light of it, and we all started off on the return journey in the best of spirits. When we approached the spot where I had seen the fine eland we made a careful search for him, but he was nowhere to be discovered, so we pressed on campward without further delay. When we had covered about a dozen miles of the way I noticed in the distance eleven giraffe, all standing behind trees and intently watching us as we approached. As I did not want to shoot one of these gentle and harmless animals I took no notice of them and rode straight ahead. The giraffe stood 78 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. quite still for some time and allowed us to approach to within a couple of hundred yards of them before they turned and started off at a quaint gallop. No sooner had they made off than to my delight my huge eland bounded out into the open from under a tree. He was evidently the same that we had seen in the morning, and it was certainly most accommodating of him to have walked so far in the direction of our camp. The moment I saw him I stood stock still, telling the Masai to do the same. After galloping a couple of dozen yards the eland pulled up, and looked all round to see what had so startled the giraffe. If he saw us he evidently took us for part of the landscape, as we remained quite motionless. At any rate he took no notice of us, and flicking his sides with his tail, he sauntered leisurely over to the nearest tree and took up his position there in the cool shade. No sooner had he done this than I slipped quietly off Aladdin, handed him over to Abbudi, and started off with my -303 to do a stalk. Before setting out I gave very emphatic directions to both youths to remain absolutely still, as the slightest movement on their part would spoil everything. A little way to my right the ground dipped into a hollow, which, if I could managre to ofain it un- observed, would take me to a point within forty yards of the great bull. I therefore wriggled along VII THROUGH A GAME COUNTRY 79 perfectly flat on the ground until I got to this hollow, but when once under cover I was able to push on much more rapidly and soon reached the point from which I hoped to be able to get a clear and close view of the eland. Strange to say, on peeping carefully from behind the cover of a friendly ant heap, I could nowhere make out the form of the beast, and was for a time extremely puzzled as to what had become of him. The fact was that I had forgotten to make due allowance for the distance which I had travelled, and was looking at quite the wrong spot — a thing- which is very likely to happen unless careful calculation is made beforehand of the position of the quarry with regard to some commanding object. Indeed I did not discover my mistake or catch sight of the eland until it attracted my attention by suddenly whisking round and looking, not at me, but at the moving woolly head of Mellauw, who had disobeyed my instructions and had crawled up to a position on my left some distance off to see how I was getting on. For this dis- obedience I had a few words to say to him later on when the adventure was over. There was, of course, no time to be lost now, so taking as steady an aim as I could at the startled eland, I fired straight at his heart. The instant he felt the lead, he gave a kick and a buck and was out of sight in a moment behind a small rise. I 8o IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. gave chase as fast as possible, but on reaching the hillock behind which he had disappeared I could not see him anywhere, nor could I find any trace of blood. On my left, at a distance of about 150 yards from the spot where I had fired, there was a steep declivity down to the valley already mentioned, so I rushed to the edge of this and looked over, expecting to see the eland struggling down to the bottom. There was no sign of him, however, so I ran off to the right, thinking that he might have gone behind a fold of the ground in that direction. He was not to be found there either, and I was completely puzzled to know what had become of him. By this time the two Masai whom I had called to my assistance had come up, so I mounted Aladdin and galloped off to a rise at a little distance from which there was a ofood view all round ; but still the eland was nowhere to be seen. I could not understand it at all, for I knew that he had been hard hit and could not have gone very far, so I returned to the Masai and told them that there was nothing to be done but to keep searching until we found him. We then went back to the place where I had shot him, and from there, after infinite pains, we managed to track him, step by step, to the edge of the precipice over which I had already looked. There was no doubt now that we VII THROUGH A GAME COUNTRY 81 were on the rioht trail, as we found a drop or two of blood on the edge. The side of this precipice, as well as the whole valley beneath, was covered with a matted tangled mass of trees, shrubs, and creepers, and as I looked at this I despaired of ever i;i;ast .sTRi:rcHi;n our in the thicket, STONE DEAD." finding any trace of the wounded animal in such an expanse of undergrowth. However, I intended to make a thorough search, so I tied Aladdin carefully to a tree, and off we all started down the steep face of the escarpment. Abbudi led the way, and while I was still lowering myself from the topmost rocks I heard a cry of 82 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. triumph, and he called out exultingly, '' Napata, Bwana, napata' ("I have found him, master, I have found him "). Hurrying after him down the cliff I saw the huge beast stretched out in the thicket, stone dead. He had evidently fallen over the edge of the precipice to his present position " I TOOK SEVERAL PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE ELAND." among the undergrowth, where it was quite im- possible to see him from the spot on which I had stood at the top. I immediately sent Abbudi at his best pace to camp to bring out twenty porters to carry back the head and meat, and also to fetch me a VII THROUGH A GAME COUNTRY 83 much-needed lunch, as I had had nothing to eat since 3 a.m. except a crust of bread from my wallet and some cold tea which I had brought in my water bottle. While waiting for his return I took several photo- graphs of the eland just as he had fallen, clearing THE HORNS . KANKKl) SKCOM) TO JllK lilCST ON KI-XORIJ. away the thick scrub for this purpose with much labour, and by the time the porters arrived the skinning and cutting up had been completed, and there was nothing left for them to do except to shoulder the meat, the hide, and the horns and march back with these in triumph to camp, which we reached safely just as night fell. G 2 84 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. vii On measuring the horns I found that they ranked second to the best on record shot in East Africa up to that date. My friends were very much in- terested in my day's adventures, and more especially rejoiced with me at the good luck I had had in obtaining such a fine head. CHAPTER VIII AN EVENTFUL XMAS DAY I HAD now travelled as far to the eastward as I desired to go, so I proposed to my friends that we should swing round to the north-west and march through the great Kauti Plain as far as the Tana River. This suggestion was readily agreed to, as it promised an interesting trip through a practically virgin country. I had many shautns (consultations) with my two Wakamba guides as to the nature of the country to be traversed and especially as to where water was to be found. They were both well versed in the geography of the district and gave me quite readily the local names of such mountains and hills as were in sight. Knowing that a native will say anything that comes into his head rather than confess his ignorance, I questioned both separately and apart from each other, and their answers gave me confidence in their fitness to lead us throuo-h the 86 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. jiyika. They told me that we could not reach the Tana in one safari unless we started at 3 a.m. and marched until dark, and that the only water we could be sure of finding on the way was a small stream some ten miles from our present camp by the Karusi. Sometimes, indeed, a little brackish water was to be found at a place called Jukone, a hill a few miles short of the Tana, where there was a spring — but it might be dry, added one of the guides with characteristic caution. I suspected that the Wakamba had either been bribed or intimidated by the safa^d into trying to induce me to make but a short march and camp by the stream which they had reported as only ten miles away, and that for this reason they were exaeeeratinsf the water difficulties at lukone. I determined therefore to endeavour to reach the Tana in one march, and ordered the tents to be struck at 2.30 a.m. on Christmas morning, so that we might be ready to start half-an-hour later. "A Merry Xmas " we called out to each other as we assembled round the dying embers of the camp fire to drink an early cup of tea before setting out. The stars twinkled brightly as we moved off in the darkness, the Plough and the Pole Star being exceptionally conspicuous on the northern horizon. My Wakamba seemed to be well aware of the fixity of the latter. I observed that they marched vm AN EVENTFUL XMAS DAY 87 straight towards it for a considerable time, so I asked them how they were able to find their way in the dark, and they immediately pointed to the North Star as their guide. Save a stumble here and there into a hole, nothing of any moment occurred until after dawn. Then, as the light grew clearer, our interest was aroused by the sight of various kinds of game on each side of our path. A herd of wildebeeste trooped off to our right, while on the other hand, to our left, an inquisitive troop of zebra galloped towards us, evidently very much interested in finding out what kind of new animal we were. I always noticed that Aladdin had a very great attraction for them, and whenever I rode him I found that I could approach quite close to them, as their curiosity seemed to overcome their fears. A little further on we passed a clump of acacia trees, many of them festooned with the graceful hanginof nests of the weaver bird. The small sparrow-like occupants arose from them in clouds as we approached. I examined several of the nests, which each contained three eggs of a beautiful tur- quoise blue. I noticed that the entrance, curiously enough, was at the bottom of the nest, but the clever parents had made such a cunning little hollow just inside the doorway that there was small danger of the young birds falling out, until IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. such time as they were able to fend for them- selves. As we marched along through this beautiful country we came upon a small herd of eland, which "festooned with-the graceful hanging nests of the weaver BIRD." my companions attempted to stalk. They were not destined to be successful, however, as there were too many hartebeeste about, and they, in their usual annoying way, betrayed the presence of an enemy vin AN EVENTFUL XMAS DAY 89 to all the animals in the vicinity. I have often noticed that it is the custom of the hartebeeste to detach one of their number from the herd to act as sentry, and it is a common sight to see this sentinel perched on the top of an ant hill or other eminence which commands a clear view of the surrounding country. He seems to be relied on by all the game in the neighbourhood to give notice of the approach of an enemy, for as soon as he snorts and stamps and gets uneasy, everything within sight takes alarm and gallops off to safety. After watching this fruitless stalk I separated from my friends and took a circuit to the left, as there was a little eminence in that direction from which I wanted to have a look round. It is extra- ordinary what a perfectly irresistible charm a hill has for one in an unexplored country. I always expect to find something strange or wonderful on the other side of it, and as it generally happens that there is still another rise beyond, I am invariably lured on so that I may have a peep into the unknown and find what is waiting there to be discovered. Like Kipling's Explorer, I always seem to hear a voice whispering, " Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges — Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go I " 90 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. I cannot say that I have as yet made any startHng discovery, but perhaps this has yet to come ! On the present occasion there was of course another rise further on which called me to it, so without any hesitation I dipped down into the valley which intervened. The grass was very long here, and before I was aware I found myself almost on the horns of an old rhino and his wife, who were slumbering peacefully side by side. They were a most comical looking pair, and reminded me of a grotesque caricature I had once seen of a respectable old married couple with their nightcaps on. They were sleeping so soundly that my presence did not disturb them in the least, and I was so much interested in the weird-looking pair that I remained there for quite a long time watching them while the sun gradually grew stronger in the east. I could not help feeling that I was intruding on the privacy of the home life of these quaint creatures of the wilds, and I well remember the feeling which this vision of nature called up— among other things a tremendous sense of loneliness and isolation, and the utter insig- nificance of all those things which, in the busy hum of civilisation, seem to count for so much. With these thoughts in my mind I rode carefully round the curious pair — not even disturbing their VIII AN EVENTFUL XMAS DAY 91 slumber when my horse dipped into a sandy .q'ully and scrambled up the opposite side not a hundred yards away. When I had crossed the valley and reached the crest of the rise on the further side I was rewarded by a magnificent view over the surrounding country. Away to my left rose the frowning ridge of the Yatta escarpment. The distant roars of a lion came reverberating from the huge rocks which studded its precipitous face, while the lesser roars of a lioness, given in that peculiar manner which shows she has cubs with her, were plainly to be heard miles ahead in the direction in which the safari was travelling. From my post of observation I could see for a great distance all over the country, yet curiously enough not a sign was visible of my own party, although they, with nearly a hundred followers, were not a mile away. The little valley along which they were travelling engulfed them as completely from me as if they had been at the other end of the world. I knew, however, that they were making for a huge castle-like rock which stood out distinctly on the plain some three miles off, where we had arranged to have breakfast, so putting Aladdin to a canter I made for this rendezvous. On the way I came across another rhino followed by her baby, but both speedily made off as soon as they observed me. 92 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. I reached the meeting place well ahead of my companions, and tying Aladdin securely to a tree, I at once began to explore the neighbourhood. First of all I tried to scale the rocky height, but the growl of some unseen beast lurking in its dark lair soon checked my enthusiasm, as unfortunately I had no rifle with me. I had foolishly left it with my gun-bearer — a most unsound thing to do in the wilds, as the unexpected is always happening, and one never knows what predicament one may be placed in at any moment. Just as I had made up my mind to restrain my impatience for the present, Abuddi spied me from afar off where he was striding alono- at the head of the safari, and stretching out his beautiful limbs in the peculiar run so typical of the Masai, was very soon beside me, bringing my rifle with him. I then once more attempted the rock, which was some sixty or eighty feet high and rose up practi- cally perpendicularly from the plain. I had not yet found a sufficiently easy path by which to reach the summit when the safari arrived, so I abandoned the attempt for the much more agreeable occupation of sitting down to a hearty breakfast which Paul the cook quickly prepared. We were all quite ready to do justice to it, and I think that a break- fast in a shady spot in the wilds after some hours' VIII AN EVENTFUL XMAS DAY 93 riding in the keen mornino- air is perhaps the most enjoyable meal of the day. While pots and pans were being- packed away and preparations made for resuming the march, I once more attempted the ascent of the rock, while my companions elected to go on with the safari. This time I was successful in my climb, and got a beautiful view of the country from the broad flat summit of the rock, which was, as far as I remem- ber, some twenty yards or so in diameter at the top. I had not been long on the look-out when I saw a fine bull eland come trotting along in my direction, as if he had been disturbed somewhat by the noise of the safari. Now I knew that Mrs. S. was desperately keen on shooting an eland, so as this one had by far the largest pair of horns I had ever seen, I was naturally anxious for her to bag it if possible. I could still see her in the distance, riding ahead with the safari, so I tried my best to attract her atten- tion, but without result. The eland, however, saw me and stood stock still, gazing wonderingly up at my perch on the castellated rock, not fifty yards away. Seeing that I could not in any way attract Mrs. S.'s attention, I called down to my gun-bearer to jump on Aladdin and gallop after her as fast as he could eo. Now this man had never been on a 94 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. horse in his Hfe, and the moment he mounted, Aladdin seemed to be quite aware of his inexperi- ence, for he took the bit in his teeth and galloped after the safari at his top speed. It was a most comical sight to watch the un- fortunate gun-bearer hanging on to the saddle like grim death, without paying the very slightest atten- tion to the reins, which dangled freely on the horse's neck ! All went well until the tail end of the safari was reached, when Aladdin unluckily put his foot into a hole, and horse and rider turned a complete somersault. From my rocky perch I witnessed the whole thing plainly, and fully expected that either the horse's lee or the man's neck had been broken. My feelings were greatly relieved, however, when I saw both horse and man get up, apparently none the worse for the mishap. All this commotion had, of course, attracted the attention of the safari, and I saw Mrs. S. ride back to see what was the matter. When the gun-bearer had delivered my message she came galloping as fast as possible in my direction. Meanwhile, however, the eland had taken to his heels, and by the time Mrs. S. got up to me, he was but a speck on the horizon. We reluctantly decided not to give chase, as he was going in the opposite direction to our line of march, so, wishing someone else better luck, we left him and fol- vm AN EVENTFUL XMAS DAY 95 lowed the safari. By the way, I heard afterwards that a sportsman did come out to this very part a few days later on, and meeting a huge, solitary eland shot it. It turned out to be one of the biggest heads ever bagged in East Africa, so I have no doubt that it was the one I saw. We now turned off a little to the right of the direction in which the safari was going, hoping that we might be lucky enough to meet with lions on the way. At about 1 1 a.m. we unexpectedly reached the banks of the stream which the guides had told me about, and forded it without any difficulty. We did not, however, see much game about, at least nothing which we wished to shoot, so, soon after crossing the stream, we turned again to the left and headed for the safari. We noticed now that it had come to a halt, as some of the tents were being put up. I could not understand this, as I had given no orders that camp was to be pitched so early. As soon as we reached the men, I rode up to the Headman and asked him what the meaning of it was. He told me that he thought we should want to stay and hunt here, because, as the safari approached the river, a lion, three lionesses, and five cubs suddenly jumped out from the reeds close by ! The lion and two of the lionesses trotted off across the plain, while the third, with the cubs, took refuse in the reeds beside the river. 96 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. S. was with the safari at the time this happened, and spotted the beasts when they were about 150 yards away. He was, however, unfortunately mounted on the very laziest and most obstinate mule that it has ever been man's misfortune to bestride, and although he made every effort, and tried every inducement to make the brute canter after the retreating lions, yet it was all of no use, so finally he had to dismount and try to overtake them on foot. Needless to say, the pursuit was a hopeless one, and he never got the chance of a shot. When I heard that the lioness with her cubs had taken shelter in the reeds, I collected all the available porters and had the covert beaten out. We hunted through the rushes untiringly for over an hour, but still there was no trace of them to be seen, and it was only when I got to the other end that I plainly saw her pug marks and those of her cubs in the soft mud, clearly showing that she had travelled rapidly up the bed of the stream and made off. It was evident from what the men told me that the lioness had remained in the reeds for some little time, for she was distinctly heard growling viciously at intervals. She must then have taken to her heels just in time to avoid the beaters, and under cover of the river bank escaped to the plains, where she no doubt rejoined her mate far away in the jungle. I felt very much tempted to fall in with the VIII AN EVENTFUL XMAS DAY Headman's view that I should camp at this place and make an effort to bag these lions or give my friends a chance of doing so, but as my business was not to shoot, but to see the game and make notes of its variety and distribution, I felt that I must press on, and therefore gave orders for camp to be struck and the march resumed. There was much grumbling at this, and the guides were quoted as having said that water was very far off, and could not be reached until very late in the evening. However, I meant to go on, so they had to take down the tents. While this was being done, two old rhinos walked deliberately and solemnly up to within 80 yards of us, and calmly watched the whole proceedings ; and although the porters yelled and howled at them for all they were worth, they would not budge an inch until .they had satisfied their curiosity, when they went leisurely away. We now got into quite a different kind of country. Up to this time we had been travelling through an open valley practically free from bush, with great undulating swells sweeping across the broad downs like waves on the sea ; but now the character of the scenery entirely changed. We were shut in on all sides by dense bush and trees of various kinds, interspersed here and there with rocks and hills, which practically hid everything from view. We had a most exciting afternoon, for during our passage H 98 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. throuofh this belt of bush, we were charoed no less than four times by rhinos ! The first time this happened we were all three riding abreast, the safari straggling behind and jabbering away among themselves. As we emerged from the thicket into a strip of glade, we saw to our left, on the far side of it and some seventy yards away, two rhino that had evidently heard our approach and were on the look-out for us. The moment we appeared they bore down as if they meant to trample us out of existence. There was but little chance of stopping them with a bullet, as it is never an easy matter to hit a charging rhino in a vital spot. Instant action was, however, necessary, so I called to the others to stand still and galloped the unwilling Aladdin on ahead towards the brutes. When I got to within some twenty-five yards of them, they suddenly swerved from the safari and made a furious charge at my horse. This was exactly what I wanted, so swinging Aladdin sharply round I rode swiftly across the front of the caravan, not thirty yards ahead of it — the snorting rhino in hot pursuit. My companions meanwhile stood breathlessly watching the exciting chase, full of anxiety on my account, while I was only concerned that the beasts should continue their charge until we were well clear of the safari. I knew there was no danger so long as Aladdin kept his feet. VIII AN EVENTFUL XMAS DAY 99 The moment we had left the safari behind I turned sharply off once more, while the rhino went thundering on straio^ht ahead and were soon lost to sight in the bush. Much the same thing happened a second time, and again a third time, and we began to feel quite at home in meeting these attacks and out-manceuvring the rhino. The pagazis, however, never felt re- assured, as they are in mortal terror of a rhino — so much so that the moment they see one approaching they will drop their burdens anywhere and fly for safety to the nearest tree, which I readily admit is quite the best thing for them to do. We were more inclined to be of the porter's opinion after the fourth and last charge, which very nearly had a disastrous ending. At about half past four in the afternoon I was riding a little ahead of my friends, and seeing a large leafy tree a short distance to the left of the track, I called out and suggested that we should have tea under it. My proposal was eagerly accepted, and we turned off to reach its cool shade. I had not gone a dozen yards, when, as I was passing through some thick bush, I was startled by hearing a violent snort come from the midst of it, and next instant I saw the vicious head of a huge rhino dashing at me at full speed. Aladdin needed neither whip nor spur to get out of the way — in fact he gave such a grreat bound that he almost unseated me, II 2 100 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. and simply flew for about 30 to 40 yards before I could get the least control over him. Glancing over my shoulder to find out what was happening, I was horrified to see gun-bearers dashing wildly for the trees, mules careering off riderless through the bush, S. standing weaponless shouting for his rifle, and — horror of horrors ! — the infuriated rhino rushing headlong on to Mrs. S., who was seated on the oround with nothinor in her hand save an o o open umbrella. I gave her up for lost, as I knew we could do nothing in time to save her. Luckily, at this critical moment she did not lose her nerve, but " shooed " the umbrella right in the face of the oncoming brute, and this extraordinary and unex- pected apparition so startled the great beast that, instead of continuing his charge and tossing her aloft, he suddenly veered away to the left and disappeared through the bushes in a cloud of dust ! What might have been a very serious catastrophe had ended so comically that we all burst into a roar of laughter, which became even merrier when we looked round and observed that all our followers, with one exception, had taken refuge in the nearest trees. The one exception was Mrs. S.'s gun- bearer, who stood nobly by her all the time with his rifle at the "present" — but with no cartridge in it! He evidently thought there was virtue in the mere presence of an empty rifle ! He was, however, only VIII AN EVENTFUL XMAS DAY loi a Kikuyu shenzi (savage) taken from the safari to carry a rifle for a day or two. After this adventure we all thorouohly enjoyed our tea, and I could not feel too thankful for the providential escape which Mrs. S. had undoubtedly had. I determined not to run such risks asfain in this close country, so I threw out a string of scouts to give us timely warning in case we should meet with any other unwelcome visitors. It was very well that I did take these precautions, for during the remainder of the march no fewer than eitjht other rhino were discovered close to our path. We had these driven off, not without difficulty at times, before the safari came up. The whole country in this particular locality seemed to be simply alive with rhino of a particularly vicious breed. Giraffes were also very numerous, while impala were in herds of hundreds, the bucks in one herd and the does in another. Before reaching camp I had an exciting chase after a great boar, which at first sight I took to be a lion. It occurred in a little bit of open country, and I very much regretted that I had no spear with me, as I quickly overtook the boar and galloped close to him for a while, a proceeding which Aladdin very strongly objected to. During the last few hours of the march the foot- steps of the men lagged and many halts had to be called. Dusk was falling as we approached fukone 102 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. viii hill, and I sincerely hoped that we should find water at the foot of it, as I feared that the safari would be too exhausted to go on to the Tana, which was still some miles further on. It was with no litde anxiety, therefore, that we followed the guides to the spring they had spoken of, which was called Muli- lone. As we reached it I saw that our tired men need not brace themselves for any further effort, as the green marshy track showed plainly that water was there. On tasting it we found it particularly brackish, but none the less thought ourselves very fortunate in not finding the spring dry. We did not rest even yet, for just as camp was being pitched I saw a herd of about thirty eland grazing away on the right at about 300 yards' distance. We all set out at once and made a very careful and most interesting stalk, dodging from bush to tuft, and from tuft to bush, in our endeavours to oet near a fine bull which we had noticed amono- the herd. He was too well guarded, however, by the females and youngsters to allow us to approach within satisfactory shooting distance, and as the light was by this time rapidly failing, we were com- pelled to give up the stalk and return to camp. We were not sorry to do this, as we had been on the move ever since about 3 a.m., and it can well be imagined how much we enjoyed our somewhat spartan Christmas dinner after such .a long and eventful day. CHAPTER IX OUR CAMP BY THE THIKA RIVER I DECIDED to remain at Jukone for a day or two as I wanted to see the game and country, and also wished to give the porters a rest after their lon^- and trying march from the Karusi. We were early astir on Boxing Day, and set off to explore the neighbourhood and have a look for the eland which we had unsuccessfully stalked the eveninof before. We rode over some beautiful country, through woods and across valleys, but saw very little game until finally by chance we came upon our eland again. He proved much too wary for us, however, and speedily took himself off and disappeared into the great expanse of the Kauti Plain. A very great drawback to this particular region is the vast number of ticks which abound in the grass. These are atrocious litde red brutes of about the size of a pin's head, which speedily work their way I04 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. through one's clothes and set up a most violent irritation on the skin, ' On our way back a kongoni bull took a lively interest in our movements and was bagged by Mrs. S. for camp meat, of which we were in much need. We explored the whole neighbourhood in the vicinity of our camp, but found that it was but a poor place for game at this particular time of year, although I believe at certain seasons the plain swarms with animals. There were no natives living in these parts, but I was told by our guide that the Wa- kamba often visit it on a hunting raid. We were also informed by some men of the safari who had been in this district once before with a shooting party, that great herds of buffalo might be seen in the neighbourhood of the river Thika. I made a shrewd guess that this was but a pretext to lure us in the direction of Nairobi, which the men longed to reach in order to spend the few rupees already earned ; and from my experience of the unreliability of information supplied by natives I did not expect that we should come across a single buffalo, much less vast herds. At the same time, as it suited my purpose to march in this direction, we determined to pitch our next camp on the banks of the Thika, Accordingly, we made an early start and passed through a very broken bush country, interspersed here and there with huge rocks and stony hillocks. IX OUR CAMP BY THE THIKA RIVER 105 Eventually we arrived at the river, which we crossed at a ford, intending to camp on the other side. The whole safari got over by noon, so as the country looked very enticing we decided to press on southward until we should strike the river again higher up. We knew that we could do this in a couple of hours' march, as the course of the river forms a great elbow here. Inside the angle in which we now were the country was very beautiful, with delightful belts of shady trees alternating with open glades. We saw plenty of game, including impala, waterbuck, kongoni, giraffe, zebra, rhino, duiker, and dik-dik. We also came upon a newly- born waterbuck which had been deserted by its mother. The going was good inside the loop, so we did not take long to reach the river again, which we crossed for the second time before camping. The moment the tents were put up, we set off in the cool of the evening to look for the much-talked- of herds of buffalo. . Alas ! however, not a vestige of them was to be seen. As we walked along the banks of the river an occasional flop into the water warned us of the presence of crocodiles, while the peculiar sounds which came from far down the stream told us that some hippo were disporting themselves in the deep pools of the river. I sat alone by the camp fire that night ruefully reflecting on the fact that our pleasant trip was now almost over, and while I warmed myself by io6 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. the cheerful blaze, I listened to the medley of noises, made by the wild things of the forest and river, which came plainly to my ears. The familiar sounds aroused in my mind memories of quite a host of incidents and adventures of other days ; and it was with no little pleasure that I recalled the enjoyable time spent with some cheery companions a couple of years before, at a camp not a day's march from where I now sat. We were a party of four on the occasion I speak of, and as we had had news of a great herd of buffalo on the opposite side of the river to that on which we were camped, we determined to cross over and go in pursuit. The Tana, even in the dry season, is by no means an easy river to cross, while in the rains it is entirely impassable for weeks at a time. Three of us therefore carefully followed the lead of an experienced guide and passed over in safety, but the fourth, thinking he knew a great deal more about the ford than the guide, haughtily ignored his advice and struck out a line for himself What might have been expected happened. He missed the ford and his pony put his foot into a deep hole and over went both, headlong into the swiftly flowing stream. Our independent friend parted company, not only with his horse, but also with his hat, which he had to strike out for and rescue, and then swim to the bank, where his horse had meanwhile arrived. I am afraid we were all unkind enough to laugh IX OUR CAMP BY THE THIKA RIVER 107 heartily at our dripping comrade, and chafY him un- mercifully about his knowledge of African fords. Eventually we separated and rode in pairs in quest of the buffalo. My companion and I had excellent sport, and, moreover, had the good fortune to come upon the herd, some two hundred strong. The buffalo continued to graze peacefully while we did a most painstaking stalk through bush and scrub, and along the rough bottom of a shallow donga, which eventually brought us quite close to a couple of magnificent bulls that had straggled a little way from the main body. We were only waiting for them to give a favourable turn so that they might expose a vital spot, when suddenly a waterbuck burst at full speed out of the donga in front of us, and, careering into the midst of the buffalo, startled them so much that the whole herd thundered off in a cloud of dust. We heartily blessed that waterbuck as we again painfully followed the spoor, and saw that there was very little chance of our ever again being able to get into such a favourable position. Later on I spied a solitary bull buffalo, and thought I could run him down on my pony. My companion said it would be impossible to do this, so there was only one way to test our argument, and that was to try. Accordingly off I started on the trail of the buffalo, which had a lead of some 400 yards. Fortunately, it was clear open country without a bush or tree of any kind for at least a io8 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. mile and a half. The moment the buffalo spotted me it made off at full gallop in the direction of a belt of trees which grew along the Tana. This gave me somewhat of an advantage, and enabled to cut off a little bit of the arc of the circle on which he was travelling. Urging my pony to his top speed I galloped after him in hot pursuit. How I escaped the holes and pitfalls that were all over the ground I cannot say, but luck was with me, and before the beast got up to the belt of trees I had him well in hand, so much so that, knowing that he was outpaced, he came to bay and waited for my oncoming. Seeing this, I stopped some 50 yards' distance short of him and had a good look through my glasses, when to my chagrin I found that it was not a bull buffalo at all, but a cow ! Of course I had no intention of shooting a female, so I had to be satisfied with the knowledge that I had run her to a standstill. I must say that I was surprised at the pace the buffalo kept up, as I was well mounted, and expected to have had much less difficulty in overtaking her than proved to be the case. After this incident my companion decided to return to camp with the gun-bearers, while I struck off alone for some hills which were about ten miles further on, as I wanted to see the country and anything new that might be found in it, either men or beasts. IX OUR CAMP BY THE THIKA RIVKR 109 In this way I went on and on, always enticed further away by the prospect of seeing soniethinf»- unknown and something new from the top of each hillock. All at once I discovered that it was growing late, and I was far away from camp and not very certain of the position of the ford. I therefore turned at once and rode back with all possible speed, making for what I thought was the crossing. On reaching the river, however, I found myself in the midst of high reeds and rushes which covered not only my pony but myself as I rode along. Up and down the river bank I cantered, full of anxiety to find the ford before complete darkness set in, but I could find no trace of it anywhere. I had but a few cartridges left with me, and now and again I grudgingly fired one in the hope that my companions might hear it from the camp somewhere on the other side of the stream. It was a very awkward position to be placed in, especially as I was ravenously hungry, neither myself nor my pony having had any food since early morning. The place, too, was infested with lions, leopards, and rhino, while the river was alive with crocodiles, so much so that I dared not cross it at any point except the ford, which I found it quite impossible to locate. I could not tell whether I was five miles above it or five miles below it, as the trees and general aspect of the country looked much the same all along, and there no IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. was no prominent landmark of any kind to serve as a guide. I now fired the last cartridge that I could spare, which left me with but three for the night, and sat my pony eagerly listening and longing to hear an answering shot from my companions somewhere across the river. No such cheering sound broke the stillness of the gathering gloom, but instead I was startled to see the heads of two great rhino emerge from the bushes not forty yards away. They had evidently scented me, and now began to sniff the air and turn their heads from side to side in their efforts to locate me. I speedily got out of their way, and when I had put sufficient distance between us, I decided upon a tree in which I meant to pass the night, as by this time I had given up all hope of being able to find the ford over the river. The sensation of being lost in such a wilderness is not at all pleasant, especially when one has had nothing to eat, and I must say that I felt pretty miserable. But when I remembered the exploits of some of the old African travellers and thought of the lonely and trying positions in which some of them had so often been placed, I was somewhat comforted and reassured, for after all I knew that my inconvenience was only a temporary one, and I remember quite well saying to myself, " You are only lost for a night ; it isn't as if you were IX OUR CAMP BY THE THIKA RIVER iii lost for ever, so there is nothing' to make a fuss about." Having thus resigned myself as cheerfully as possible to a cold and hungry night out in the nyika, I dismounted and led my pony in the direction of the river, wondering how on earth I was to get him a drink, of which he stood sadly in need. I feared that it would be impossible to get him down to the water, as the banks were very high and steep, but I hoped to be able to get enough in my felt hat to satisfy his needs for the night. While I was searching along the bank for a good place to climb down to the water, to my great delight I suddenly spied a native a little way off I saw that he had not observed me, and I was afraid to shout to him lest he should be frightened and run away. I therefore approached him as closely as possible without speaking or mak- ing any sound, and then called out " Yaiubo " (" Greeting "). He looked somewhat startled and seemed inclined to run away, but I reassured him by signs that I meant him no harm, and when I got up to him I made him understand, although I could not speak a word of his lanpfuasfe, that I wanted to find the ford and cross over to the other side. He was an in- telligent fellow and readily understood what was wanted, so we set off, and within a \ery 112 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. short time he had o-uided me to the ford, which was not so far away after all. It was by this time growing very dark, but I safely negotiated the somewhat dangerous passage and soon afterwards rejoined my friends by a cheery camp fire. They were beginning to get anxious about me and were just about to send up some rockets as a guide, when I happily appeared amongst them. It can well be imagined how pleased I was to get back to camp so unexpectedly, and how much I enjoyed my dinner and comfortable bed that night. I was still with these same companions, but in a different part of the country, when one day I had an unusual piece of good luck. I hajd decided to see the camp all cleared out and follow on an hour or so after the others had marched off. I therefore let the whole safari get well out of sight, and having with me only my gun-bearer, I set off a little to the right of the path taken by the caravan. We had gone but a short distance when I spied a silver jackal, which I successfully bowled over. Soon afterwards I came across a Grant's gazelle with a very good head, which was also added to the bag. After this I observed something of a whitish colour standing under the shade of a tree, and, on stalking it, found that it was a zebra. IX OUR CAMP BY THE THIKA RIVER 113 As I did not want to molest it I merely walked past, and soon found myself on the top of a rise over- looking a beautiful valley, interspersed here and there with clusters of trees. A little to my right, and some 400 yards away, I observed through my glasses a very fine Jackson's hartebeeste, which I "A VERY FINE JACKSON's HARTEBEESTE." made up my mind to secure. There were a number of ant-heaps dotted profusely over the valley, and I saw that I could keep under cover by stalking carefully from one to another. At last I got up to within 50 yards without being observed, and kneelinof behind a convenient hillock I covered the I 114 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. beast with my rifle. Just as I was about to fire, I suddenly heard a tremendous disturbance and the sound of galloping feet coming from among the trees on my right. After a moment, out from the bushes at a headlong pace burst a beautiful roan antelope, followed by a second in hot pursuit. " OVER HE TUMBLED AFTER GOING SOME DOZEN PACES." There evidently had been a fight between these two, and the larger and older animal was c{ivino- chase to the younger. On they both came at a tremendous speed in my direction, all unsuspicious of their deadly enemy lying behind the hillock. Number one flew past me at thirty yards, and as he did so I put a bullet into his shoulder, and over he tumbled after IX OUR CAMP BY THE THIKA RIVER 115 going some dozen paces. Number two, in his rage, took not the slightest notice of the rifle shot but came galloping furiously past, with the result that a moment afterwards he, too, toppled over by the side of his late enemy, stone dead. Of course I was naturally overjoyed with my luck, especially as it was such a rare chance, and the first occasion on which I had come across a roan antelope. Leaving my gun-bearer to do the skinning, I rode rapidly to camp for porters to carry in the trophies, and on the way bagged a fine ostrich and a warthog. When I arrived my com- panions had just finished lunch, and one of them asked me what luck I had had. Beoinnino- with the smallest I told him that I had bagged a jackal, a grant, a warthog, an ostrich, and two roan ante- lopes. "Yes," he replied sarcastically, "and you have forgotten the three lions." Nor did he quite believe in my good fortune until the trophies arrived in camp a few hours later, when at last he was convinced, and remarked : " You are the luckiest man in Africa." But all this is a digression, and I should not have remembered to put on record these experiences of a previous trip, but for the fact of our being camped in the neighbourhood of the Tana, which brought everything back vividly to my mind and induced me to jot them down roughly by the light I 2 ii6 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. of a solitary candle, long after the rest of the camp had gone to sleep. Soon after daylight next morning we struck our tents by the Thika river. Just before starting and as one of the mules was being saddled up, it suddenly developed acute colic, foamed at the mouth and nostrils, threw itself down in an agony and dashed frantically about. After a few minutes it expired in a final convulsion, blood coming freely from the nostrils and mouth. What happened to it I really do not know, but it is probable that it had eaten some poisonous plant during the night. Abbudi told me that he believed the mule died from eating a certain kind of caterpillar which climbs up to the tips of the blades of grass, especially during the night and early morning when the dew is on it. Later on, when the sun comes out, the caterpillar quickly disappears down into the grass roots for shelter. For this reason, according to Abbudi, the Masai never allow their cattle to graze in the early morning. If by any chance one of their cows ate one of these caterpillars and showed symptoms of poisoning, Abbudi told me they would immediately bind a tight thong round the beast's neck, open a vein close to the spot where they had tied it, and allow the animal to bleed freely. He assured me that four minutes' bleeding in this manner effected a complete cure. IX OUR CAMP BY THE THIKA RIVER 117 Whether there is any truth in this or not, I of course cannot say. The Masai have some very curious behefs and customs, and many of them are so quaint that they are well-nigh unbelievable. I hope to devote a chapter to these interesting people a little later on, and to give some of Abbudi's own THE FALLS ON THE ATM I RIVER. personal history which he entertained me with, bit by bit, as we journeyed together. After leavino- the Thika we marched straio^ht across country in the direction of the falls on the Athi river, which we reached at about 1 1 a.m. On the way we saw a great variety of game, including; waterbuck, kongoni, impala, giraffe, zebra, bushbuck. ii8 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. and duiker. The safari also saw a lion which frightened them considerably — especially Paul, the cook, as it walked quite close to him for several yards. At the moment we happened to be some distance behind with all the rifles. As soon as we heard the shouting we hurried up, but by this time the lion had disappeared. We hunted for him "dropping it dead within a dozen yards of him." eagerly through the trees and bushes, but unfortu- nately had no luck, although he must have been hiding somewhere close by. The camp by the Athi Falls was a most delightful one, as there is a charming stretch of river here and the falls themselves are most beauti- ful. The water takes a leap of some fifty feet sheer IX OUR CAMP BY THE THIKA RIVKR i rQ clown, and the tropical foliage, green, soft, and feathery, harmonises well with the white flecked foam of the falling water and adds additional beauty to the scene. It would have been pleasant to have remained longer at this delightful spot, but we had to "the safari donkeys COMPLAlNiiU BlTTKkLY. UNUSUALLY HEAVY LOADS." AT IIIEIK hasten back to Nairobi, so we struck camp next morning and once more reaching the x^thi Plains, made for the farm where we had left the young kongoni on our outward journey. Here we were most hospitably entertained and put up (or the night. We found our young hartebeeste thri\ing 120 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. wonderfully well. Indeed, so sturdy and stron^r had he become, that when Mrs. S. went out to see him he succeeded in breaking loose from her and bounded off Into the wilderness with such speed that before we could take any steps to recover him he was quickly lost to view. At daybreak next morning we said goodbye to ^:m*^- A CiiL I'l.K UK M^.,3,^ln,l. 172 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. entirely with map-making, noting the heights of the various places we passed through as shown by the aneroid I brought with me, taking bearings of the more important landmarks, and making notes generally on the country and the people, and more especially on the variety and approximate numbers of the game seen on the journey. While engaged in this way I found Abbudi invaluable, as he could explain to me the meaning of the names of all the hills, nullahs, and mountains that we came across. I only trust that he was not inventing, as he was never without an answer. The two Samburu guides were also much in- terested in my map-making, but at first looked upon it with considerable suspicion. It was not until I told them that it was a most useful and invaluable medicine for the journey that they could be persuaded freely to give me all the information they possessed. Each morning when we started off it was my custom to make one of them who was called Papai (father) stand in front of me and point with his spear in the direction of the next camp. I found that he was very reliable and did this most accurately. I then took the bearing with the compass, and drew a line across the paper in the direction pointed out. As we marched along I dotted in the path we travelled, as it went to right or left of this line, guided by the relative XIV ALONG THE GUASO NAROK 173 position of two prominent objects well ahead of me. I also drew in such rivers, nullahs, hills, etc., as we passed on the way. Every hour I marked off three miles when I considered that was the average speed travelled at, and, of course, more or less accordinor as the pace varied. ■ 4 ^Wiv^^Bj^H Bi* ^R^ \ i^^^H 1^9 1' ' i ' - . TO SEE THAT THE I'ORIEKS CAKKIKl) HIM (iKM'I.Y. I always took the reading of the aneroid at the same hour in the afternoon, as I had found that it would vary over 200 feet at the same spot, according as it was taken at noon in the heat of the day, or at midnight. In this way I sketched in the entire route from Rumuruti to Marsabit, and I hope 174 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. my map will prove useful to some future traveller who happens to go that way. Unfortunately very soon after leaving Rumuruti B. began to feel ill, and although this gave us no cause for alarm, still it was most disappointing, as he was very anxious to shoot. I had to doctor him THE JUNCITON. for fever and headache, and keep him from going out in the afternoon sun. He also suffered a good deal from a painful foot and leg, and ultimately an abscess formed on the instep. This gave him a great deal of trouble, and part of the time he had to be carried in a hammock, or on a bed, while either Mrs. B. or I always walked beside him when we XIV ALONG THE GUASO NAROK 175 got to a bad spot, to see that the porters carricxl him gently and carefully over the rough road. The country we passed through along the Ciuaso Narok was for the most part a pfood orrass one and game was plentiful. Luckily for us the water was clear and sweet, a great rarity in tjie wilds, where it is usu- ally muddy, warm and brackish. Numbers of baboons were to be seen on the rocks close to the river. While I was out ex- ploring one afternoon I came upon a large family of these human- like creatures, perched on a huge rock, which jutted up from the op- posite bank of the river. I selected a position under the shade of a spreading tree, which grew at the water's cd^G, and watched them for over an hour, my glasses enabling me to see every wrinkle in their ugly THE GERENUK. [Mounted in Rowland Ward's -Studios.] 176 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. xiv faces, as they basked and frisked in the afternoon sunshine. There was one old male — a large black fellow, who was evidently the " king of the castle." The way the females would clutch their offspring and get out of his path as he rambled round was most amusing, while if by chance a youngster got in his way he was rewarded with a hearty cuff on the ear. When they saw me watching them they all crowded to my side of the rock, apparently as much interested in my movements as I was in theirs. Our last march before reaching the Guaso Nyiro was through dense bush, scrub, and euphorbia trees, where no game could be seen. The place where the Guaso Narok flows into the Guaso Nyiro is called "The Junction," and is a noted camping ground for big-game hunters, as they can be almost certain of finding here the much-prized oryx beisa, a giraffe, if they wish one, and, with exceptional good luck, that shy and much sought after gazelle, the peculiar-looking long-necked gerenuk. CHAPTER XV THE MASAI During our journey through Laikipia we came across many Masai manyattas and met a number of the proud and warHke people who dwell in them. Abbudi was always ready to talk about his nation, and as he strode along beside Aladdin he never tired of telling me endless tales of their various acts of prowess, and of warlike expeditions in which he himself had taken part. In the course of our many marches together I was able to glean from him much interesting information as to their peculiar manners and customs. The Masai have already been so fully and scientifically described by such writers as Thomson, Hinde, Hollis, Merker, and others, that I can make no claim whatever for relating anything that is new, but will merely give a few details which either came 178 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. under my own personal observation or were told me from time to time by Abbudi. At one time these people were the terror of the whole country, but of late years their power has been very much curtailed. On the death of their great chief Batian, about 1889, internal dissensions HUT IN A MASAI MANYATTA. arose between his two sons Sendeyo and Lenana, and warfare was carried on for some time between the partisans of the rival brothers until in the end Lenana was victorious, and became Leibon, i.e.^ high priest and chief ruler of the whole nation. Soon after this, smallpox broke out among the tribe, and their numbers were very greatly reduced. XV THE MASAI 179 Rinderpest also made its appearance, and their cattle died in thousands, so that, reduced in luiinbers and deprived of all means of subsistence, the poor Masai were in a very sad plight. The British then appeared upon the scene, and with the coming of the superior race, their last fragment of prestige and importance vanished. They have now been allotted an excellent reserve on the cool highlands of Laikipia, where the country is well grassed and watered, and here they are rapidly increasing in numbers and wealth. I myself have noticed how greatly their flocks and herds have multiplied during the last decade. Where ten years ago only a very few cattle, sheep and goats were to be seen, now there are thousands, and in the course of my journey I must have seen at least 10,000 cattle and 30,000 sheep and goats. When I asked Abbudi how many warriors could be collected on Laikipia he told me about 4,000, but as he was prone to exaggerate everything very much, I cut this number down by half, and should say that they could probably put 2,000 spears in the field ; and some day perhaps the bloodthirsty young warriors may want to use them. In appearance the Masai are slender, with beauti- fully modelled limbs and regular features, which show they do not belong to the ordinary Bantu or negro type. Abbudi himself was supple and lithe N 2 :8o IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. as a young lion, and held himself magnificently, while his silky dark brown skin shone like bronze in the sunshine. He had the prominent teeth which " IN APPEARANCE THE MASAI ARE SLENDER." are characteristic of the Masai and result from their habit of eating meat in early childhood and tearing the flesh from the bone before the teeth are pro- perly set. As the two lower incisors are always XV THE MASAI i8i extracted the whole expression of the nioulh is rather pecuHar. Another feature which strikes the stranger very much is the enormous size of the earlobes. as from "the MASAI HAVE A HAHIT OF DIslOKTINC IHKIU EARS." the days of their childhood the Masai have a habit of distorting their ears so that the lobe hangs down to a great length over the shoulder. This is con- sidered a great beauty both by men and women, and they succeed in acquiring it by first making a small i82 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. hole in the lobe of the ear and stretching it by putting a small stick through it, and then thicker and thicker pieces until finally it becomes enormous and capable of holding such ornaments as a mustard tin or a jam pot ! I had among my safari a man who once tried to put in as an ear ornament an empty ox-tongue tin. The result was that the lobe split and hung down in two long tassels over his shoulder. When they got in his way too much, he used calmly to take hold of the two ends and tie them up in a knot ! The dress of the ordinary Masai met with in the wilds usually consists of a tanned skin fastened over the shoulder and hanging down below the waist. They are very fond of adorning themselves with brass and copper wire, and the women of the tribe especially use any quantity of it as orna- ments for the arms, legs and neck. The whole of the leg from ankle to knee is often encased in it, wound round in spirals to form a regular sheath. This must be exceedingly uncomfortable, but the women would endure any martyrdom rather than be deprived of it. Both men and women smear their bodies with oil and red clay, and simply put on an extra quantity when they wish to appear particularly smart. The life of a Masai divides itself into the three XV THE MASAI ,83 distinct periods of Boyhood, \VarrIorho(Kl and Elderhood. As they are essentially a warlike THE PERIOD OV BOYHOOD. people the middle period is by far the most important in their life. i84 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. During our many talks together I heard from Abbudi a great deal of his own personal history. He could not remember anything about his mother, who was probably carried off by smallpox when he was a baby, but his father seems to have been a terrible old martinet, who frequently chastised him for his misdeeds. It was his chief duty as a boy to guard the goats and sheep, and bring them back safely to the manyatta in the evening. As a rule he enjoyed doing this very much and felt very important as he proudly stood with one leg drawn up and resting against the knee, keeping guard over his flock and holding his bow and arrow ready to warn off any intruder. Sometimes, however, when he was not sufficiently vigilant he got into trouble. One day when he was about ten years old he was out as usual herding some goats, but instead of keeping guard as he ought to have done, he went comfortably to sleep under the shade of a tree, leaving the goats to take care of themselves, with the result that a leopard came and killed three of them ! When the owner came out and saw what had happened, he went in search of Abbudi and having found him beat him, as he said, " Kabisa, kabisa'' which means with a very heavy hand, and only that he eventually grovelled to the ground and seized some grass, it would have fared very badly with him. As soon as XV THE MASAI 185 he caught the grass the thrashing ceased, as he was now, as it were, holding the horns of the altar, grass being as sacred to the Masai as the altar to a devout Hebrew. Abbudi's father came to his end in a very tragic way. It seems that he was a notorious cattle lifter, and one night he and a friend and some boys, of whom Abbudi was one, made a raid on a distant kraal belonging to another section of the Masai. They managed to get clear away with about twenty cows, but at dawn the robbery was discovered and hot pursuit taken up. Towards noon the little party of raiders got the cattle into a rocky ravine and hid them, as they were too tired to take them on any further that day. While they were resting here the pursuers arrived and speedily surrounded them, put Abbudi's father and his robber friend to death, and carried the boys off to their kraal as slaves. From this servitude Abbudi was not free until he became a warrior, and even then he had to start his warrior life without a cow, goat, or sheep, which was of course a great indignity. The Masai have a very complete and strict mili- tary organisation. All the men physically fit become soldiers at the age of about eighteen and serve until they are about thirty. The manyatta of the warriors stands isolated from all others, without a i86 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. fence round it, and here the young 7Horan, as he is now called, enters upon the second, or warrior, stage of his existence. From the time that he be- comes a soldier and during all the years of his service, he is not allowed to marry or to smoke, take snuff, or drink intoxicants. The main object of his life at this period is of course war, and all the discipline and self-denial which he must now undergo is calculated to make him a better and more efficient soldier. Each manyatta elects a captain, who is generally one of the oldest and most experienced of the warriors, or may even be an elder. This man settles all disputes amongst the various members of the manyatta, and is usually a good speaker and chosen on account of his oratorical powers and reasoning abilities. In addition, there is also a chief of a whole district, whose authority is recognised by all the manyattas in this area. Of course, above all these is the Leibon or chief ruler (at present Lenana), to whom final appeal is made, and who is kept thoroughly informed of every- thing that goes on among his people by a complete secret-service organisation. The warriors devote a great deal of time and attention to exercises calculated to make the limbs supple, and to train and develop the muscles. I XV THE MASAI 187 have several times been present at their physical drills, and found them most interesting- and instruc- tive. Jumping up and down a great deal on the "exercises calculated to make the LIMKS SlU'I'LE." same spot, so as to exercise and strengthen the leg muscles, is an important feature of these gymnastics. The result is certainly well worth the trouble they take, as the Masai are wonderful runners and are capable of covering very long distances, day i88 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. after day, without showing the slightest sign of fatigue. The mo7'an also takes a great delight in keeping his weapons brightly polished and ready at any moment for the fray. These consist of a spear, short sword and knobkerry. The Masai spear is a most formidable-looking weapon with a blade about two and a half feet long with a uniform width of about two inches almost to the point. The short two-edged sword is sheathed in a rude scab- bard of tough hide, and is worn strapped to the waist by means of a home-made belt. The knob- kerry is a club made of very hard wood, principally used to throw at an enemy before coming to close quarters with the spear, and also to kill any weak, old, or useless captured women by knocking them on the head with it, as the Masai scorn to sully their spears with woman's blood. The Masai shields are elliptical in shape— about three feet six inches long by two feet broad. They are generally made of buffalo hide and often orna- mented with very curious and interesting designs painted in white or red clay and black charcoal, the right half of the shield being often different in design from the left. As a rule they are not made by the Masai themselves, but by the Wandorobo, a subject tribe who hunt game for food and pre- XV THE MASAI 189 pare the hides for iheir masters. The spears and swords are manufactured by a special tribe of iron workers, the Il-Kunoni, from whom they are pur- chased by the Masai. Many a time as Abuddi walked along by my side has he with glowing eyes and- eager mien told me stories of the various warlike expeditions he had taken part in against the Wakamba, Wakikuyu and other tribes surrounding Masai-land. He always bewailed the fact that these raids were no longer possible, now that the British ruled the country, and from what I gathered the hot-blooded warriors are not at all pleased at the curb which has been placed upon them by our administration. The object of these forays was of course to capture cattle, upon the possession of which the Masai depend for their very existence. Before an expedition of this kind is engaged in many pre- liminary preparations have to be made — spies have to be sent out to investigate, the chief medicine- man has to be consulted as to whether the enterprise will be successful or not, and the blessing of Ngai (God) has to be invoked by continual monotonous chanting. The warriors have then to gorge them- selves for several days on bullocks' blood and flesh so as to make themselves strong and ferocious for the coming warfare. Some drink the juice 190 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. extracted from the bark of the mimosa tree, which is said to render the luoran utterly fearless and indifferent to danger of any kind. Abbudi told me how very proud he felt when for the first time he arrayed himself for an expedition of this kind in the full panoply of war. This con- sists of a weird head-dress, made of ostrich feathers, fixed firmly into a leather frame which encircles the face and gives a most ferocious expression to it. Occasionally a warrior is seen wearing a busby made of the head and mane of a lion, but he is not allowed to wear this unless he has killed one of these beasts with his spear. A long piece of cloth with a red stripe down the middle is worn round the neck and flowing out behind. A cape of hawks' feathers covers the shoulders, while round the legs are placed anklets made of the long hair of the collabus monkey. A rude belt is fastened round the waist, and this secures the short sword at his right side, while the knobkerry is thrust through on the left. The long spear is carried in the right hand and the curiously emblazoned shield in the left. When a body of young warriors set proudly out on the warpath arrayed in this weird fashion, they formed a truly savage and imposing spectacle, and it is no wonder that they inspired terror where- ever they went. In their hours of leisure the Masai are a grave XV THE MASAI 191 and dignified people. They do not frisk or frolic or indulge in the childish pleasures so usually associated with the ordinary untutored negro. They care little or nothing about music, and I have never seen one of them with a musical instrument of anv kind in "NO WONDER THAT THKY INSl'lKEI) TKKKOK. his hand. They probably look upon this form of art as an effeminate pastime entirely beneath their dignity. Singing is rarely indulged in except when all join in a weird droning chant to invoke the blessing and goodwill of Ngai on themselves and their flocks, 192 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. or when preparing for war or celebrating the victory afterwards. The Masai is, however, a wonderful orator, and possesses the gift of speech and power of expression in a very marked degree. He may be a little bit too wordy and argumentative, and no conclusion of any kind is ever reached without an immense amount of talk on both sides. All the same, a Masai speech is a real work of art, and abounds in felicitous phrases and appropriate similes. The orator uses a stick to emphasize his words, and this he raises and lowers to give point to his sentences, occasionally bringing it down to the ground with a whack. When the next speaker begins, he takes possession of the stick and uses it in the same manner. It is the custom among the Masai for the young girls as well as the warriors to live in the warrior kraals, Abbudi told me that life went very pleasantly for him at this time, for when he was not away on a raiding expedition he was waited upon and loved by a pretty little Masai girl, for whom he appears to have had a genuine affection. He constantly talked of her to me and said that he hoped I would give him leave to go and see her when we returned to Nairobi, as she lived in a manyatta about three days' journey from that place. XV THE MASAI tgj I often chaffed him about this little oirl, and said that by the time we got back she would probably have forgotten all about him ; but he would not admit this, for, as he remarked, " Have I not given her mother a number of presents for her as an earnest, and is she not living at this very moment with my own particular friend ? " Abbudi did not seem to have any idea of jealousy, and, indeed, this emotion is a feeling which the Masai do not appear to understand. Of course Abbudi had not reached the Elder stage and therefore he had not yet taken unto himself a wife, but he told me that he fully intended to make this little a^i/o (girl) his wife as soon as ever he could collect sufficient money to buy three cows, which apparently was the price her father had placed on her head. It was with this object that he had left the warrior nianyatta and the life led by his forefathers to become a scout in the service of the British Government. When the ino7'an has completed his military service, a Council of the Elders is held at which it is decided to admit him to Elderhood. The warrior then makes his choice of a wife and pays over to her parents the price demanded for her. He forthwith, without any further marriage ceremony, establishes her in a hut in the nianyatta of the Elders and settles down to a life of ease and indulgence. The o 194 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. restrictions which he was obliged to practise as a moraii are now no longer observed, and he may drink, smoke, and take snuff as much as he likes. He usually takes full advantage of this and indulges in all three pretty freely. He also dearly loves a gossip, and talks by the hour with his friends over past prowess and exploits in the days of their m- •^rr-'rf''^ -' -x ' t •■}»•»* •" ■» "carry all W lliril ( AN.NOl in-: ill.AI l,|i THE DONKEYS." warriorhood. He does not do any work, although he sometimes goes out with the cattle and helps the boys to tend them. The real work of the nianyatta falls on the old women, who do all the fetching and carrying and cleaning up. It is their duty when seeking fresh pastures to carry all the household goods which XV THE MASAI 195 cannot be heaped on to the donkeys, build the new huts, and make the houia, or fence round them. They also guard the manyatta at night time and are 4 HER DISTORTED AND SCARRED HEAD. responsible for the safety of the cattle, so woe betide them if any wild animal breaks in and steals a cow, sheep or goat. It sometimes happens that one of these women falls a victim to a beast of o 2 196 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. prey. I have myself met an old lady who in the days of her youth had a most terrible experience with a lion. The brute knocked her down, seized her by the head, and was dragging her off to devour her, when her screams attracted some warriors who ran and beat off the lion and rescued her. How she ever survived the terrible mauling she got is a mystery, as even now, in her old age, her distorted and scarred head (as shown in the photograph) gives a fairly good idea of what she must have endured. The young wives do not do any hard work, but as soon as they begin to get old, they become drudges and their place is taken by younger women. Strange to say they do not resent this and seem quite cheerful and contented with their lot. It is a Masai Elder's great ambition to have great herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats, and also as many children as possible, especially sons. Girls are rather at a discount, but still they have a certain value in his eyes, as at the time of their marriage they bring in at least two or three .cows ! The Masai does not seem to have any definite religion, although he has a vague kind of belief in an all-powerful being called Ngai, to whom he prays when he wants any special favour. Anything that strikes him as particularly wonderful is also called Ngai — such as lightning, thunder, a railway engine, etc. XV THE MASAI 197 On asking Abbudi one day about his ideas as to a future state, he told me that he hoped he would sit in a manyatta, with plenty of meat to eat and milk to drink, have many wives to attend to his wants, and children to look after his phantom flocks and herds ! CHAPTER XVI ACROSS COUNTRY TO THE GUASO NYIRO At the Junction I had a serious talk with B., and strongly advised him, as he was not in very good health, to return to civilisation. Mrs. B., too, was anxious about him and thought it would be wiser to go back, but he insisted that he felt much better, and would soon be quite fit again. He was most eager to come on, as so far he had had rather a poor time, and wished very much to get some more shooting and see something of the new country before turning back to Nairobi. I, of course, could only advise in any case, so I somewhat reluctantly consented to his accompany- ing me further on my journey. The Guaso Nyiro flows to the north at the Junction, and continues in this direction for about thirty miles, when it takes a sharp bend and bears round in a great sweep towards the south-east, finally striking off to the east, in which direction it CH. XVI ACROSS COUNTRY TO GUASO NYIRO 199 continues until it loses itself in the great Lorian Swamp, about 200 miles away. It is a rather curious fact that two other East African rivers, the Athi and the Tana, a little further to the south, pursue a somewhat similar course. Instead of following the river along its tortuous windings, I now determined to cut across country to the eastward of the Junction until we should strike it again as it was flowing towards the south- east. I calculated that the distance would not be more than fifty miles, and I depended on the Samburu guide to lead me to a couple of water- holes which he said he knew of on the way. The first of these was at a place called Turah, in the Samburu country, some sixteen miles from the Junction. Our guide accordingly led us practically due east for the first march, across the beautiful plain of Eljogi, and over undulating hills and lovely grass valleys. It was a magnificent piece of country, and abounded in game of all sorts — rhino, giraffe, oryx. Grant's gazelle, Thomson's gazelle, ostriches dotted here and there, and troops of zebra everywhere. Before setting out I had exchanged horses with B., lending him Aladdin, who was much easier to ride than his own pony, which was an ugly, stub- born brute, so exactly like a mule in manner and appearance that he was always called "The Mule." Jiom^k Section of Ihrd a£ Cams 7^ ATXA, I L. J Wka 200 CH. XVI ACROSS COUNTRY TO GUASO NYIRO 201 We had not gone very far before I saw, under a tree a little way to our right, an old rhino with her calf We thought it would be interesting to study them at close quarters, so leaving the safari to pursue its way quietly across the plain, Mrs. B. and I rode off to view the mother and her baby. The old rhino was furious at our intrusion, and when we got to within about 100 yards of her, charged viciously out at us as hard as she was able to come, putting us to instant flight. Seeing that she could not overtake us, she gave up the chase and returned to her shelter under a tree. A few minutes after- wards, while I was galloping back to rejoin the safari, " The Mule " crossed his legs, turned a complete somersault, and rolled right over me. The safari, in whose sight we had been all the time, instantly set up a shout, thinking that I was either killed or badly hurt, but luckily I was none the worse for the fall. It was a thousand pities that B. could not shoot in this ideal place, especially as he had come so far to do so, but his foot had again become very painful, and he soon had to dismount and be carried in a hammock for the rest of the way. While we were crossing this interesting stretch of country I saw a rhino with the longest horns that it had yet been my good fortune to come across. I was very anxious that Mrs. B. should get 202 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. him, so, as the place where the brute lay was rather close to our line of march, I halted the safari and had B.'s hammock put into a safe place beside a bipf tree before we set off to stalk him. The rhino was resting under the shade of a euphorbia, and we had to make a half-circle round him so that we might have him to windward of us and thus be able to get up to close quarters without being discovered. There was a convenient clump of bush, at a distance of about forty yards from the drowsy brute, which I hoped we should be able to reach without giving him the alarm. We got safely to this bit of covert, but found that the ground rose between us and the rhino, so that we could only see the long ridge of his back above the crest. We accordingly stalked on a little higher up the slope, just beyond the bushes, and then to our astonish- ment saw not one rhino but a family party of three ! By some means, too, they had all got disturbed, and our friend with the long horns, whom we had hoped to find sleepily killing time, was all on the alert, head and tail fully cocked, ready either to charge an enemy or flee down into the valley towards the river. I signed to Mrs. B. to fire, and she knelt down, took a steady aim, and plumped a bullet straight into him, for I plainly heard the smack of the lead as it struck his tough hide. He immediately whirled round and disappeared down the slope on the far XVI ACROSS COUNTRY TO GUASO NYIRO 203 side, taking, as we believed, the other two with him. We quickly followed, but, on reaching the top of the rise, suddenly found ourselves face to face with the female and her calf, both regarding us very resentfully. I at once told Mrs. B. to lie down and keep perfectly still, and as the mother rhino was about to charge I had to put a bullet into her to warn her off Upon this she turned and trotted off with her youngster, apparently none the worse for the lead. In the meantime the old male with the fine horns could be seen gradually descending, at a steady trot, the long slope which led to the bushes by the river, where he hoped to find safety. We longed to follow him and bag the magnificent trophy which his head would have made, but felt obliged to return to the safari, as we did not wish to leave B. alone for any length of time. Later on in the day Mrs. B. made up for her ill luck with the rhino by bowling over a very fine oryx on the run, at a distance of 150 yards. On seeing this the whole safari shouted out in great glee that the Bibi (Lady) was a wonderful shot and that the Bwanas (Masters) could not have done so well. It was indeed a splendid shot, and the porters were naturally delighted with the kill, as it gave them fresh meat for their evening meal. When we reached Turah the water which we had 204 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. brought with us from the Guaso Nyiro was pretty well exhausted and the men all rushed to the tiny waterhole to get a drink. As the spring was a very slow one it took a long time for all to get satisfied. I noticed that when Abbudi got hold of the pannikin he was not content with the water alone, "bowled over a very fine oryx."' but mixed a handful of mud from the bottom of the spring with it, and swallowed the mixture with great relish. When I asked why he drank such a horrible concoction, he told me that it was to prepare his inside for the trials of the journey, and that it was absolutely necessary to do this when coming into a XVI ACROSS COUNTRY TO GUASO NYIRO 205 new country and drinking its water for the first time. I quite expected to have him on the sick list next day, but to my surprise he was none the worse for his muddy dose, nor was he ever ill throughout the journey. We were quickly surrounded by the Samburu, headed by their chief Lesegetetee, who lived in a manyatta close by. They were all ver)' much astonished to see white people and especially a white lady, and a tremendous amount of chattering and speculation went on amongst them about us. The reason of our coming was discussed and our personal appearance criticised pretty freely. Mrs. B. was soon the centre of attraction and great was the admiration which they expressed for her hair, which was very long, and which she wore in a single plait down her back. The warriors love to wear their hair in this fashion, but of course they never get it to grow to anything like the length of Mrs. B.'s. One of the elders ran aside to bring up an old pal, and then pointing to the hair exclaimed, " Sedai, sedai ?" (" Isn't it beautiful, beautiful ? ") They were all very kindly disposed and hospitable, and brought us fresh milk to drink. This would have been a great treat, only unfortunately their milk vessels, which are gourds, are cleaned by being held over the smoke of a greenwood or cow-dung fire, and in consequence of this the odour of the 2o6 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. vessel taints the milk through and through. The flavour is most unpleasant to a European, but the native loves it and would think nothing of milk without it. It is an acquired taste and one which grows even on white people, for some old stagers in the country, who live in the wilds, say that the milk is improved by this smoky flavour. We had great difficulty in persuading these people at Turah to milk the cows direct into our own vessels, as they are very superstitious and feared that it might bring some evil on their cattle. However, a judicious present of some cloth and wire, together with Abbudi's persuasive tongue, after a time overcame all difficulties and we succeeded in getting the pure milk without the unpleasant smoky taste. We always tried the same means afterwards when we met any of the Samburu or Rendile, and were usually successful in overcoming their scruples. Our camp at Turah was beautifully cool, as it stood at a height of 5,400 feet above sea level. In the evening, as I was sitting in my camp chair admiring the beautiful view, I was stealthily ap- proached by a well-made but extremely dark- skinned youth. I did not altogether like the look of his face, which had a rather treacherous and cunning expression. On being asked what he wanted he explained in a very low voice, but in good Swahili, that he was most anxious to come XVI ACROSS COUNTRY TO GUASO NYIRO 207 with me on my long journey, as he was familiar with the country to Marsabit and Rudolf, antl friendly with all the chiefs of these parts, who knew him well. I then asked him how it was that h(? could speak Swahili so fluently, and he replied that he had been boy to the Bwana Neumann. " Oh !" I said, "then you are Karogi." " Ndio, Bwana" ("Yes, Master "), he answered, with an oily smile. Now when I was at Rumuruti I had been specially asked by the District Commissioner there to bring this same Karogi back with me if by any chance I came across him in my travels, as he was wanted for some misdeed or other which he had been up to. I thought therefore that it might be as well to take the rogue with me, for Neumann had been a great wanderer in these parts, and Karogi would undoubtedly know the country and people well, and might therefore be very useful to me. By keeping a close eye on him I hoped to be able to steer "him clear of mischief. I rather fancy, however, that on several occasions he eluded my vigilance. While we were at this camp at Turah the painful abscess from which B. was suffering broke at last, which afforded him very great relief. I was now anxious to continue my journey to the east, but my guides told me I could not do so, and must turn northwards, as there was no water to the 2o8 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. east, and the distance to the Guaso Nyiro was too great to be covered in one march. As the country was entirely unknown to me, I did not feel justi- fied in striking out a path for myself with only a limited supply of water in leaky tins, so I felt bound to follow the advice of the guides, which is not always disinterested. Accordingly, northward we started, more or less following the bend of the Turah river until it joined the Rumathe a couple of miles further on, and then continuing our journey along the latter. The path was exceedingly pre- cipitous and bad, for we were shut in on both sides by high rocky mountains, and the beds of both rivers, and the sides of their banks, were composed of great masses of gneissic rock. My aneroid in- formed me that in a march of about four miles we made a descent of almost i,ooo feet. In some places there was a perpendicular drop of from fifty to sixty feet in the river bed, and the waterfalls must be magnificent when the river is in flood. The highest we saw was in the bed of the Rumathe, and as it possessed no native name, I called it after Mrs. B., as she was undoubtedly the first European lady who had ever been in these parts. On this march I happened to be following the safari, instead of leading it as usual, and was sur- prised to find, strewn all along the path traversed XVI ACROSS COUNTRY TO GUASO N^IRO 20^ by the porters, more than a precious load of b('ans which they were carrying as pos/io for the men. This stream of food continued until I reached camp, and when I found out who the culprit was he calmly told me hadn't noticed it. As it was a very serious matter to allow our food to be wasted in this careless fashion in the wilderness, I had the rascal severely punished and put on half-rations for a week. This effectually stopped any further leakage of supplies throughout the journey. At our camp by the Rumathe we found a very fine spring of good water, which is permanent and capable of sup- plying any number of men and beasts through- out the year. I panned some sand from the bed of the Rumathe, and from several other river beds, for gold, but unfortunately never got so much as a " colour." From this place we continued our journey, through bush and across many ravines, until we struck the Guaso Nyiro again. On the way we saw plenty of Grant's gazelle, Thomson's gazelle, oryx, impala, and waterbuck, also a rhino and a leopard. This march was a very trying one, as there was neither water nor shade to be had on the way, and the heat was very great. All, therefore, were delighted when at last the river was reached, and r 210 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. xvi the exhausted men and animals rushed down eagerly to drink their fill. One of the donkeys, more venturesome than the rest, went in too far and thereby came to an untimely end, for as he was greedily drinking, a great crocodile suddenly rose to the surface, seized him and dragged him under — and that was the last we saw of him. CHAPTER XVII ALONG THE GUASO NYIRO Our camp at the Guaso Nyiro was pitched under some magnificent trees close to the river at a place named Elongatta Embolyoi, where there is a ford leading to a place called Saye in the Reserve. I now discovered that the reason the guides were so anxious to lead us in this direction was because their own inanyatta was here, and they naturally wanted to visit it and bring me to their chief Leleleit, who had indeed given them emphatic orders to do so before sending them to Rumuruti. The fact that a white man visited his village would, he imagined, give him an extra amount of prestige among the other chiefs of his tribe. Leleleit himself, wrapped in a neatly fringed but grimy piece of amerikani, soon called on me and brought with him a present of some milk and a sheep, for which I duly paid him by a suitable present in return. He was accompanied by his 211 ,, 2 212 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. old blind wife, and asked me in simple faith, as if it were a small matter that I could easily put right, to be so good as to restore her sight, and also to cure his little son, who was covered with bad ulcers. I told him that I feared it was impossible for me to cure his wife, as her blindness was the work of Ngai (God) and it would be useless for me to attempt to undo it. I comforted him, however, by telling him that I would cure his little son by giving him some daiva (medicine) for daily application. I decided to remain at this place for another day, as I was anxious to explore the hilly country, to the west of our camp, through which the Guaso Nyiro flows after taking the sharp bend to the eastward. I also wished to obtain some idea of the game that was to be found in this direction. We accordingly set out westward in the early dawn along the southern bank of the Guaso Nyiro. I was anxious to cover as much ground in the cool of the morning as was possible, and made my way towards a high peak named Nandaydo, from which I hoped to obtain a good view of the surround- ing country, and, perhaps, be able to see as far as the eastern bend of the river. The sun had not been up for more than an hour when Abbudi came to tell us that he had spotted a fine waterbuck, so Mrs. B. set off to stalk it, and, XVII ALONG THE GUASO NYIRO 213 taking advantage of some very favourable ground, succeeded In getting to close range, and adding this much-prized trophy to her bag. We made rather slow progress, as the country "ADDIM; IIIIS MlCIl TKIZKli I'KolMrV TO UKR V.V,.' was covered in all directions with thick thorn trees and scrub, through which we had to force our wax- as best we could. There was, of course, no path along which we could travel, save now and a^ain 2J4 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. when we were lucky enough to strike an animal track going in our direction. I was all the time somewhat anxious on Mrs. B.'s account, lest a rhino should suddenly dive out of the "BOWLED OVER HER FIRST IMTALA." bush and charge us, as was the case when Mrs. S. had such a very narrow escape on Christmas Day. I therefore sent Abbudi with a couple of Samburu spearmen to scout on ahead, while the gun-bearers XVII ALONG THE GUASO NYIRO 215 were kept close at hcUid with the spare rifles in case of need ; but, much to my relief, we were not troubled with rhino on this occasion. It was a rather weari- some march, the monotony of which was broken by the occasional ghmpse of an animal as it dashed from our view into the thick bush. Once, as we i;kI'.aki'.\si i.ndI'.k a m)AI)\ 1 kiJ'. approached a little open glade in silence, we spied through the branches the form of a reddish-coloured animal grazing in the midst of it, quite unconscious of our approach. I signalled to the party to halt, and we remained motionless while Mrs. B. stalked and bowled over her first impala. As we had started with the dawn and had nothing 2l6 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. to eat except a biscuit and a cup of coffee before leaving camp, we decided to halt and have breakfast under a shady tree, as the sun's rays by this time were very fierce. We had brought out a kettle and teapot and everything we should require for break- fast and lunch in the wilds, and it was not long " KAROGI AND ANOTHER SAMBURU." before Abbudi had a fire lit, and the kettle, filled with water from the Guaso Nyiro, boiling cheerily over the embers. Meanwhile Karogi and another Samburu had cut up the impala and made a Samburu oven, and now commenced to roast a few dainty bits to add to our XVII ALONG THE GUASO NYIRO 217 feast. The Samburii method of cooking meat is as follows. First with the aid of a long knife a trench is dug in the ground about nine inches deep and fifteen inches wide, with outlets for a draught ; this trench is then filled with sticks and branches, etc., which are set fire to and allowed to blaze away until nothing remains but glowing embers, which almost fill up the trench ; sticks of hard wood are placed across the top, and on this the meat is grilled. I can answer for it that the resulting flavour is most excellent ; at all events we found impala, roasted in Samburu fashion, exceedingly good. Practically every bit of the animal was eaten by ourselves and followers, Abbudi pronouncing it almost as good as a sheep, which is high praise coming from a Masai. Meat grilled directly after it is killed is fairly tender, but the same meat cooked an hour or two afterwards is often very tough. After breakfast we started off again, hoping for lions or other big game, but we saw nothing except two female gerenuk, which we did not of course attempt to molest in any way. I noticed the fresh spoor of a herd of buffalo, which had apparently a short time previously crossed over the river into the Reserve. We finally reached Mount Nandaydo, but I was much disappointed with the view obtained fruin the ,»> .\^i £I,DqW4 EMBVGVLl W »■"*% ' ift:r" 1:l JiQinu E?»rBuccia ..•^. /"".v V Pi ■.. - "* ^■^f' SSiJurnt. ii«"». €1 % O 5 i O .i,, ^J** 0 2 I 1 L Miles 0**tmf , CH. XVII ALONG THE GUASO NYIRO 219 summit. Away to the west nothing was to be seen except barren mountains and hills, stretching in a broken line to the great mountain of Laigrisia, which stands on the north side of the river. \Yc could follow the course of the Guaso Nyiro for some distance, winding its tortuous way with difficulty through this rugged and inhospitable region. The Reserve to the north of the river presented a bleak and uninviting appearance, and it struck me that the beasts in it were in a natural sanctuary which would not be readily invaded by civilised man. After taking notes of everything of importance within sight, we made our way down from the mountain and returned to cam{) by a different route. On the way we met a rhino rather unexpectedly, but luckily he took to his heels, and we reached our tents at Elongatta without any further adventure. We were all glad to retire early, so as to have a good rest to prepare us for the journey which we proposed to commence along the Guaso Nyiro on the following morning. My plan now was to push on along the river, which for many miles forms the southern boundary of the Reserve, until I should reach somewhere about the 38th degree of east longitude. Then I intended to turn northward towards Marsabit, which is a mountainous district lying on the 38th meridian, and explore the country as far as that 220 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. place, and beyond if necessary, to see if a range of mountains or other physical feature existed which would form a good and suitable natural eastern boundary to the Reserve. If circumstances per- mitted I then intended to mark out a northern boundary as far as Lake Rudolf, returning through the heart of the Reserve ; but, as we shall see later, it was impossible to carry out this part of my pro- gramme. I had given instructions that the camp was to be roused early. Accordingly, at sunrise, everything being ready, we said good-bye to Leleleit and set off along the right bank of the Guaso Nyiro. It would have been more agreeable to have marched all the time along the banks of the river, under the shade of the fine trees that in places grow along the water's edge, but it was not always possible to do this on account of the dense undergrowth and great masses of rock which here and there barred the way. The country to the right and left of our route was more or less broken and intersected with dry ravines, while there was thick bush, mainly of wait- a-bit thorns, everywhere. The heat was intense, and there was no shelter of any kind save what was scantily afforded by a few stunted acacias or weird- looking euphorbias. Away to our left front could be seen a peculiar XVII ALONG THE GUASO NYIRO 221 cone-shaped hill with what appeared to be a square block of stone exactly capping- the apex. This hill is called by the natives Embuguli, which means UNDER THE SHADE OK IHE KINE IKEES. " vessel," as it is somewhat the shape of the Samburii gourd in which they carry water or milk. Our first camp was at a place called Kurseine, where the river narrows into a thread of water, 222 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. rushing through a deep cleft in a rocky ridge which crosses it ahiiost at right angles. It is a hot, inhospitable and uninviting spot, but the few Samburu whom we met there with their flocks of sheep and goats seemed to thrive in this arid waste. During our daily marches along the river we saw a great variety of game, especially impala, oryx, and the beautiful Grevy zebra. Gerenuk also began to be less rare, and we often caught glimpses of them as they scampered off through the bush. Water- buck too were particularly numerous, but I never saw a good head on the Guaso Nyiro, and the horns seem to run considerably smaller than those of their kinsmen on the Athi or Tana rivers. One day as I marched along with the safari I was astonished to see one of these antelopes standing in a shallow part of the river quite close to the passing line of porters, taking absolutely no notice of the men. One or two of \}i\& pagazis, more keen-sighted than the rest, shouted out " He's blind, he's blind," and, dropping their loads, rushed into the river and soon had their knives into the poor beast's throat. I think this waterbuck must have been deaf as well as blind, as he paid no attention to the noise and shouting, and was very easily dispatched. It is a most unusual thing to find a feeble beast both blind and deaf living to a good old age in XVII ALONG THE GUASO NYIRO 223 the wilcis, where there are so many beasts of prey seeking what they may devcnn". I was gh\d to find that 1). seemed somewhat better, and was able to do a httle shooting and secure specimens of gerenuk, waterbuck, and im- pala. Mrs. B. was as successful as usual, and among other trophies secured a good oryx after a long and trying stalk. As we were marching quietly along soon after leav- ing Kurseine, my Samburu guide, Papai, suddenly showed signs of great excitement, and drew our attention to a tiny bird, fluttering and twittering in front of us in a very curious fashion. On ask- ing him through Abbudi what its antics meant, he replied, " He is telling us where to get honey." I was naturally very much interested, and when Papai asked me if I would halt the safari for a little while so that he might go and rob the nest, I willingly consented and myself accompanied the old Samburu, who now relinquished to the tiny bird his role of guide. The little thing, which was barely the size of a wren, twittered and chirruped and fluttered along from one bush to another, looking round pertly all the time to see if we were following. In this way it led us on for about a quarter of a mile, until at last it came to a dead stop, and took up its position on a tree, where it remained motionless. Papai then told us that we were now close to the 224 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. honey, and must be on the look-out for the bees coming and going. In a few seconds we discovered them entering a tiny hole in a tree, not a dozen "we very soon had an opening made." yards from where our cunning little guide had stopped. We very soon had an opening made sufficiently large for Papai to thrust his hand into the hollow, and in this way he removed several honey-combs full of the most delicious golden honey that it has i XVII ALONG THE GUASO NYIRO 225 ever been my good fortune to taste. He took not the slightest notice of the bees, though they flew all round him and some of them stung him. We were much pleased with our spoil, and left a fair share of it behind as a reward for the trusty little guide who had led us along so skilfully. Although we passed numerous ravines daily in our march, yet these were always dry, so it was quite a surprise when at last we came to a stream called Ngare Oendare, flowing from the direction of Mount Kenya, and filled from bank to bank with good, clear, cold running water. Soon after passing this stream, as we neared our camping ground at a place called Killethamia, I happened to notice that Mrs. B. looked pale and ill and rode along quite listlessly. In a little time she complained of a violent headache, and I feared that she had got a touch of sun, especially as she had been walking along in the fierce heat holding an umbrella over' B., who was not well on this march. As soon as we reached camp I had the tent pitched hastily in the shade, and prescribed com- plete rest. Within an hour fever set in, and I knew from the feel of her wrist that it was pretty high, but I was not prepared for the shock I re- received when, on taking her temperature, I found it was over 104°. I immediately resorted to my usual plan for reducing temperature, which is to Q 226 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. give copious draughts of very hot tea on the top of phenascetin, and cover the patient up in a pile of blankets. Mrs. B. naturally objected very much to this drastic proceeding, but on being told that it was the only way she would get fit, quickly re- signed herself to the discomfort. In less than an hour she was bathed in perspiration, and the tempe- rature went down to ioi°. For the next three days her temperature kept rising and falling, and in the end she was so weak that she could hardly move. Of course it was a very anxious time for me, as B. was also far from well, and I had the whole strain of the double illness on my shoulders, far away in the nyika and cut off from all possibility of medical aid. I little realised at the time I was doctoring Mrs. B. that before so very long our roles M^ould be reversed, as it was my misfortune to be struck down by a severe illness, which would probably have made an end of me but for her skilful nursing. It was a relief to find that my patient made a very rapid recovery. On the fourth day the fever abated, and Mrs. B. was well enough to be carried in a hammock, so we left Killethamia and made a short march alonof the river. I noticed some of the genuine tsetse-fly, with their peculiar crossed wings, in this neighbourhood, and feared for our horses, as a single bite from one XVII ALONG THE GUASO NVIRO 22- of these pests would in a short time prove fatal. I therefore ordered two men to watch each horse and flick off any flies that attempted to settle on them. It was probably owing to these precautions that the; horses escaped, but as none of the other animals died, it is possible that the tsetse-fly of these parts may not be infected. Q 2 CHAPTER XVIII AN ADVENTURE WITH A CROCODILE Whenever the men of the safari had a chance they spent their time fishing in the Guaso Nyiro, and many of them were very successful. One man who was known by the name of Nyumbu (mule) was most expert with the rod, and daily brought us a huge fish for our table. Although rather soft and full of bones, it made a very acceptable addition to our usual diet. At our next camping-place our fisherman had a very narrow escape indeed, and as all the circumstances connected with it were most extra- ordinary and dramatic, I must relate the entire adventure. On this particular morning I happened to be riding ahead of the safari on the look-out for a suitable camping-place, when I suddenly came upon an impala and, knowing that we were in want of some camp meat, I made a hasty shot at him as CH. XVIII ADVENTURE WITH A CROCODILE 229 he fled away through the scrub. My bullet struck him and knocked him head over heels, but before I could reach him he picked himself up and "XYUMBU WAS MOST EXPERT WITH THE KOI)."' made for the river. I fired again but missed, and then ran to the river bank, fully expecting to see him making his way across, but there was no trace of him to be discovered anywhere. I 230 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. was very much astonished at this, as I could not understand how a beast wounded so badly could get away so quickly ; but after searching in every direction I gave him up and turned my attention to the selection of our camping ground, which I chose close by, under the shade of some large trees. As soon as the tents were pitched Nyumbu went down to the river to fish as usual, and was just about to step off the bank on to what he took to be a log, when the apparent log gave a slight movement and he saw that it was the back of a crocodile ! The man was luckily able to draw back, and rushed up the slope, calling out, '' Bivana, mamba! niainba!'' ("Master, a crocodile! a crocodile!"). We all happened to be close at hand, so I seized my rifle and ran down to the river, and seeing the hideous creature's back close under the bank quickly put a bullet into it. Instantly there was a terrific heaving and writhing in the water, which the reptile lashed about in all directions, though he seemed unable to get away. Seeing this Abbudi ran down to the water's edge, stepped on to a bough which projected out over the river and thrust his spear with all his might deep into the creature's back. The moment the crocodile felt the steel he twisted himself round on his tail with indescribable speed and viciousness, snapped at the spear, whipped it XVIII ADVENTURE WITH A CROCODILE 231 clean out of Abbudi's hand, as well as out of his own back, and flung it yards away to the bottom of the river ! I never in all my life saw such an astonished and crestfallen expression as appeared on Abbudi's face, and indeed it was no wonder, for the rapidity with which the brute had turned on him was incredible. His position was now highly dangerous, but before the crocodile could whip round again to make a second grab, I put another couple of bullets into his spine, thus rendering him quite helpless. In the midst of all this excitement, and while the crocodile was lashing about and snapping his vice-like jaws, Mrs. B., forgetting that she was still an invalid, jumped on to the branch beside Abbudi to get a better view of what was going on. This was a most unwise proceeding, but fortu- nately the reptile was too badly hit to be able to do any damage. As soon as he was quite dead we had a rope fastened round him, and with the aid of a dozen willing hands hauled him up out of the river. The most extraordinary part of the whole occurrence then happened, for when we opened him up, we found inside him the half of a freshly-eaten impala! There was no doubt that it was the one which I had shot and which had disappeared so mysteriously 232 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. after making its way to the river bank. It was no wonder that I could not find him, as he must even then have been in the maw of the crocodile, which of course had caught him and dragged him under as soon as he attempted to struggle across the stream. " liEM ALMOST TO A RIGHT ANGLE KV THE CROCODILE. After considerable trouble Abbudi recovered his spear from the river bed, but found that the soft blade had been bent almost to a right angle by the crocodile when he grabbed it out of his hand, as is clearly shown in the photograph. The natives, with their usual happy knack for names, called this place " Kampi ya Mamba " XVIII ADVENTURE WITH A CROCODILE 233 (Crocodile Camp), and always referred to it thus afterwards. We were visited at this spot by some of the natives of the Meru country carrying foodstuffs for barter among the Samburu people. They sell beans, tobacco and a kind of flour, in return for the AN INGENIOUS UliVICE MADE KY SOME WANDOUOHO. skins of bullocks, sheep, and more especially goats, which no doubt eventually find their way into the hands of an Arab or Swahili trader of the coast, and thence to the markets of Europe. We did not do any trade with them, however, as they wanted too much in exchange for their goods, 234 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. and I did not wish to spoil the market for others who might follow. Close to Crocodile Camp we came upon an ingenious device made by some Wandorobo for GIVING HIMSELF ROOM TO STAND UPRIGHT INSIDE. the purpose of lying in wait for and attacking game in safety. A large tree grew by the side of a well-worn animal track, a few yards away from a waterhole which was apparently much used by XVIII ADVENTURE WITH A CROCODILE 235 the game. The top of this tree had probably been broken off in a storm, leaving about ten feet of the bole intact. The Andorobo set to work on this with his little axe of primitive shape and make, hewed out a narrow doorway, and then hollowed out the rotten stem, thus giving himselt room to stand upright inside and freely use his spear on a passing animal. The back part of the tree was cut away to within some four feet of the ground, leaving a flat platform by means of which the hunter could if necessary retreat from his position inside the hollow. The opening thus made also allowed his spear full play when poised horizontally for a thrust. If the wind was in the wrong direction the Andorobo remained concealed on the other side of the path until the beast had gone down the steep gully to drink, and then stepped cautiously forward to thrust his spear deep into a vital part. If it were a dangerous animal he merely skipped into his shelter, and if attacked there he scrambled on to the ledge at the back, where he would be safe from anything except an elephant or beast of prey ; but the Wandorobo only hunt for meat, and would not molest a lion if he came to drink. Altogether it was a very ingenious contrivance, as will be seen from the photographs. We did not come across many natives on our 236 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. way along the Guaso Nyiro, as the country is but sparsely inhabited. One day, however, I saw a whole Samburu village on safari, seeking fresh pastures. The men strode loftily along in a lordly manner carrying their spears and shields, or bows and arrows as the case might be, while the poor A.M) IHEN STEPPED CAUTIOUSLY FORWARD. unfortunate women were laden up with all kinds of household goods, including the framework of the huts themselves, which the overladen donkeys they drove could not bear the weight of. The boys and the old men herded the cattle and sheep. Game continued to be very plentiful, and my companions got some good shooting. Now and xviii ADVENTURE WITH A CROCODILK 237 again I went out in the afternoon when camp iiad been pitched and everything set in order. I made various attempts to stalk a gerenuk, but failed time after time, so much so that I was thoroughly exasperated with my bad fortune. They are very shy indeed, more especially the males, and I found it very difficult to get one. It appears that the Wandorobo hunt this srazelle with ^rreat zeal, as they prize its tender and delicious meat very highly. For this reason, probably, they were very timid and hard to approach. However, I was determined to get a specimen if possible, so spent several hot afternoons scrambling among the bushes studying their ways. I generally found that they travelled in a circle when attacked. One day, when I was out alone, I came across a beauty, with what I should think were record horns, standing on his hind legs with his fore-feet resting against a tree trunk, and his long neck craned up to the branches, eating away contentedly at the tender leaves and green shoots. " Now is my chance," I said to myself; so, making my gun-bearer lie down, and telling him on no account to move, I began a long stalk. Soon after I started, a dip in the ground took me into cover, and then I dodged from bush to bush, and from tree to tree, gradually getting nearer to the still feeding gazelle. No luck was in store for me, however, as I had 238 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. devoted too much attention to the buck I was intent on — a very common fault of mine — and conse- quently I did not notice that a little way to the right his wife and family were gazing at me intently and suspiciously. When they thought I had got quite near enough, off they started at a gallop, taking my intended trophy away with them ! Thus in one way or another I was foiled for a time in my attempts to obtain a specimen of these quaint-looking animals, but at last luck favoured me. One morning, when we had set out soon after daylight, I was riding by myself a little to the right of the others and spied what I first of all took to be a Grant's gazelle, standing among the bushes. Had I only known what it was, I might have easily dis- mounted and shot him without more ado, as he stood motionless not more than forty yards away, looking in amazement at the wholly unusual sight of a man mounted on a horse. The moment he moved I saw by his long, slender neck and peculiar undulating motion that he was not a Grant, but a gerenuk with a very fine head indeed, so I immediately made up my mind to use every endeavour to bag him. I had a couple of un- successful snap-shots at him as he moved through the bushes, Aladdin spoiling my aim by pulling back on the reins just as I was about to fire. The XVIII ADVENTURE WITH A CROCODILE ^39 moment the gerenuk got out of sight I mounted and cantered after him as fast as the thorny nature of the bush and undergrowth would allow. In the meantime he had galloped across the front of my companions, and Mrs. B., not knowing that I was in pursuit, began to stalk him also, as he had now got into a bit of open country where he could be plainly seen. As soon as she caught sight of me she immediately stopped her stalk, and would not go on, although I offered to relinquish the hunt in her favour. I therefore continued the chase alone, and finally, after about an hour's hard work, got a fairly favourable shot at him as he stood in the midst of a herd of does beside some bushes. Although I heard the smack of the lead as it struck him, yet I was not at all sure that I had hit a vital spot, as the whole herd appeared to gallop away. On running up to the place where he had stood, I was delighted to find that he lay stretched out dead with a bullet through his heart. The horns proved to be the longest on record of any gerenuk shot in the Protectorate, and I was naturally much pleased to be thus rewarded after so many disappointments — not because of the extra fraction which the horns measured, but because I had at last made a successful stalk and secured a good head. CHAPTER XIX THROUGH SAMBUKU LAND Journeying quietly along in this manner we arrived at the boma of the late Mr. Neumann, who wrote such a very interesting book on elephant hunting in East Equatorial Africa. The natives all knew him as Nyama Yangu, a name they gave him owing to his habit of saying, whenever any- body pointed out an elephant or other animal, '\ Nyama yangii,^' which means "the beast is mine." We camped close to his somewhat dilapidated hut under the shade of some doum i)alms, which are plentiful here. A few of the porters employed themselves in o^atherincj the hard fruit of this tree and beating it into a kind of flour, which they then made into bread. I tried a piece of the loaf so made, but cannot say that I relished it very nuich, although the fruit itself has a rather pleasant flavour when reduced to powder. 242 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. At this place I was much grieved to lose my fine dog Lurcher. He brought on a bad attack of pneumonia by first getting over-heated while gallop- ing and frisking about, and then going to lie down in the cold water of the river. We had become much attached to each other, and I was very sorry indeed when I saw that he was dying. I did everything I could for him, and wrapped him up warmly in my own blankets, but his end came very quickly after a few hours' illness. I buried him under a palm tree not far from my tent, and missed him for many a day afterwards. As " Kampi ya Nyama Yangu," as the Samburu call Neumann's boma, is near the 38th degree of East Longitude, I determined to look in this neigh- bourhood for a suitable starting-point for the new eastern boundary to the Reserve, and therefore without delay went out exploring in the afternoon, so as to gather some idea of the more prominent physical features of the locality. I noticed a mountain two or three miles away on the north side of the Guaso Nyiro which I thought might answer my purpose, as it made a good and unmistakable landmark. The natives also informed me that from the top of this I would be able to see a line of mountains stretching away northward to Marsabit. XIX THROUGH SAMRURU LAND 24^ Early the following morning-, therefore, I engaged an intelligent native, who knew all the country round about, to come with me, and, taking every available man in the safari to build a stone beacon on the highest peak, I started off to climb this mountain, which is called Ouaithego. It rises abruptly out of the plain, and is about 3,700 feet high. The eastern side seemed to present the easiest approach, but even here the ascent was a very steep and precipitous one, and we found it a rather difficult matter to climb up to the top. When I reached the summit of this y\frican Pisgah and turned my face towards Marsabit^ — that place which I had been told was a veritable land of promise — the sight that met my gaze filled me with disappointment ; for here was no land flowing willi milk and honey, but a barren, desolate region, extending as far as the eye could see, unrelieved by a single redeeming feature. Peak beyond peak of rugged and spectral mountains stretched away to the horizon, bare of aught save a veil of heat mist which shimmered round them from the hot and desert wastes of that terrible nyika. It was not without anxiety, therefore, that I contemplated leading the safari through this in- hospitable tract. I scanned the country carefull\- through my glasses in order to make myselt as R 2 244 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. familiar as possible with its principal features, and more especially to pick out such hills and mountains as I considered might be useful to me for the new boundary. While engaged on this my eye was led from one peak to another, until finally it rested on a towering mountain, some 20 miles lower down on the north side of the Guaso Nyiro, which my guide told me was named Laishamunye. After making a careful survey of the situation I came to the conclusion that this mountain would, on the whole, make a better base from which to start in quest of my boundary line, especially as I observed that the mountains and hills running northward appeared to be more in a direct line with it than with Quaithego. I was further confirmed in this view by hearing from my guide that there was a native track just to the east of it, which ran north- wards to Marsabit. He told me, too, that there were waterholes here and there along the route, and that the names of the various landmarks were well known to the Samburu. On coming to the conclusion to abandon Quaithego, I stopped the building- of the huge stone beacon which I had set the pagazis to erect as a landmark. They were delighted to cease work, and with joyful shouts scrambled down the mountain side towards camp, as they have a very XIX THROUGH SAMBURU LAND 245 strong objection to doing anything outside the ordinary safari routine. I remained alone on Ouaithego for sonic little time, sketching in the Guaso Nyiro and surrounding features of interest, and then made my way down the mountain on the western side, hoping that I should find it not so steep ; but in this I was disap- pointed, as the going was even worse than 1 had experienced in the morning. As I had been told before leaving Nairobi that the whole country between the Guaso Nyiro and Marsabit was waterless, or practically so, I was rather apprehensive of leading the safari into this un- known nyika where they might perish of thirst, so I had many an anxious consultation with my guides as to the whereabouts of the waterholes. Papai assured me that he would be able to lead me safely through the wilderness, and that the only places where there would be any difficulty would be from the Guaso Nyiro to a place called Serah, and again later on when we should have to cross the Kaisoot Desert, and for both of these tracts camels would be required. I sent therefore for the local chief who lived at a village some three miles away from our camp at Nyama Yangu, so that I might ask him if he would supply me with camels for the journey to Serah, as I knew he possessed a number of these animals. 246 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. The old chief, whose name was Legurchalan, came down with a goodly following and we had a shatiri (consultation) under the shadow of the large Union Jack which I carried with me. The sJiauri proved to be a long one, as is always the case when any- thing in the nature of a bargain has to be struck I HE LARGE UNION JACK. with a native of Africa. Eventually, after drinking much coffee, he arranged that I should have four camels in return for a certain amount of cloth and wire, which I handed over to him in payment. When the shauri was over, Legurchalan came and sat at my tent door, and in reply to my XIX THROUGH SAMBURU LAND 247 questions gave me a considerable amount oi' useful information about his country and peo[)le. Me was full of curiosity as to why I had come into the district, where I was going, what I intended tcj do, &c. He seemed very much impressed with th(- Union Jack, and appeared to understand in a vaj^ue kind of way that this flag represented considerable power. I found him most friendly and entertaining, and, on the whole, I was very favourably impressed with all the people I met belonging to his tribe. The Samburu are a nation of nomads, the more wealthy among them possessing herds of camels, which are invaluable to them in their wanderings through the waterless nyika. They arc supposed to be a branch of the Masai, and speak the same language, though they clip their syllables in a short crisp way, quite different from the drawn-out Masai intonation. Their peculiar habits and customs resemble in a large measure those of their brethren the Masai, although, unlike the latter, the warriors do not live in a separate manyatta from that of the elders. They daub themselves freely with grease and red clay, and the men braid their hair into a broad flat plait which is copiously plastered over with a reddish oily ochre, and hangs stiffly down between their shoulders, tied up w^iih baiuls of sinewy tree-bark. Should a warrior (\\\^\ his own locks insufficient he does not hesitate to weave 248 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. in some false hair so as to give his plait the requi- site fashionable shape. The hair worn in this fashion is called El Daigan, or the tail ; and it is rather interesting to note that a range of mountains, running to the north-west from Kenya, is called El Daigan because it appears to come like a tail from Mount Kenya, which forms the head. "he does not hesitate to weave in some false hair." Before leaving Kampi ya Nyania Yangii I sent out a number of men to gather a quantity of the fibre plant (sanseviera), which grows abundantly in the neighbourhood. I was rather short of rope, of which a great deal is always required on safari, so I set the porters to work and soon added several hundred feet of most excellent stuff to my stock. XIX THROUGH SAMBURU LAND 249 The manufacture is quite simple. First of all the plant is cut down and brought to camp, where it is beaten with a club against the trunk of a tree until the fibres are separated ; these are then plaited into rope by one or two of the porters, many of whom are experts at this kind of work, as it is a usual task at the native jails. As soon as the camels arrived from Legurchalan, we struck camp ^nd set out along the Guaso Nyiro towards Laishamunye. One of these camels belonged to a young warrior named Lalla Rookh, who had the face and figure of a beautifully-modelled bronze statue. Indeed, he was so remarkably handsome that one might easily imagine him to be a direct descendant of Moore's lovely eastern princess. Soon after leaving camp we came upon two streams. The first is called the Guaso Iseolo, and has its source in Mount Kenya, while the second, which we crossed some three miles further on, is called the Guaso Mara, and rises in the Jombini range in the Meru country, to the north-east of Kenya. After this I could hear of no river flowing into the Guaso Nyiro until it reaches the Lorian Swamp, which is a huge expanse in which the river loses itself. I was told by a native, however, that the river does not end there, as most people have supposed, but in the wet season flows through 250 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. the Lorian Swamp and eventually makes its way eastward until it joins the Juba River not far from Kismayu, which is a couple of hundred miles north of Mombasa. We camped at a place called Gerger, and after our mid-day meal, saw close outside the camp, and lumbering along in our direction, a huge old rhino. We were all three most interested in him, and set out to have a look at him more closely, thinking we were perfectly safe, as the wind was blowing from him towards us. We had no intention of molesting him in any way, but hoped we might be so lucky as to get near enough to take his photograph. His intentions, however, were not so peaceful, for unfortunately when we got to within about 60 yards of him the wind suddenly veered round and revealed our presence to the great brute, instantly arousing his fury. Up went head and tail, and he twisted round with the agility of a cat to face us, at the same moment giving a loud snort. Seeing this I called out to Mrs. B., " You had better fire, as he is coming for us." While he still swayed from side to side, her shot rang out and the bullet from her '450 struck him in the shoulder and brought him to his knees, with his nose on the ground, his hind quarters still remaining up- right. Another bullet from the second barrel again XIX THROUGH SAMBURU LAND 251 plumped into his shoulder within a couple of inches of the first, and over he rolled stone dead. What might have been a very unpleasant experience was thus happily averted, and Mrs. B. was highly delighted with her success in bringing down the great beast and having a much prized "delighted with her success in bringing down the GKEAr liKASr. ■ rhino amongst her trophies — the only one she secured throughout the expedition. The men cut up and carried off the meat to camp, and we made soup of his tail, which, after three days' stewing, proved excellent. The next morning, as we continued on our journey, we saw great herds of oryx and Grevy 252 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. zebra. They were so little alarmed at our approach that we rode to within some fifty yards of them and took several snap shots. Their confidence in us was justified, as we did not molest them in any way. During the latter part of the march and while we were making our way over some very rough and scrub-covered country, great amusement was created in the safari by a member of it running behind Mrs. B. to take refuge from a rhino which suddenly appeared out of the bush. Fortunately no damage was done, and the beast bolted away again from the shouting porters and disappeared into the scrub with great activity. Eventually we reached Laishamunye, which proved to be an intensely hot and most dreary and inhospit- able place, with great sun-blistered boulders flung about everywhere. Even the river itself is gripped and throttled by vast masses of volcanic rock until it is merely a ribbon of water running- through a melancholy gorge, shrouded by a few desolate and depressing doum palms which droop listlessly as if mourning that they were chained for life to this dismal spot. The mountain of Laishamunye, which silently overshadows all, is a barren upheaval of rock, some two thousand feet from base to summit, and roughly 12 square miles in area. It is tipped on its southern crest with pinnacles, on the summit of which most XIX THROUGH SAMBURU LAND 253 melancholy-looking vultures look down on the life- less scene. Unfortunately during our journey along the Guaso Nyiro B.'s health had not improved, and I now found myself placed in a very awkward and unpleasant predicament. I did not wish my companions to come any further with me on my journey ; yet on account of B.'s state of health I could not possibly leave him behind in a strange country, without a doctor and with no knowledge of the natives or of the language. We were now absolutely in the grii) of the nyika, so all things considered, I decided that it was best that we should travel on together as far as Marsabit, where I hoped he would quickly recover in the cool highlands. After dusk I was sitting in my camp chair think- ing over all these things. The rising moon shed a faint light and made our tent and camp look very weird amidst its desolate surroundings, when suddenly I was startled by the ping of a bullet as it sped past my ear, and the report of a rifle which instantly followed. Shouting out "Who fired?" I sprang to my feet and, rushing in the direction of the sound, discovered my rascally gun-bearer with a rifle in his hand. I instantly seized and dis- armed him, and demanded an explanation as to why he wanted to shoot me. He trembled all over and said that it was an accident, as the cartridge had 254 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. xix slipped into the rifle without his knowledge, but when I asked him why he had pointed it in my direction and pulled the trigger, he could give no satisfactory reply. As carelessness or rascality of this kind is a very serious matter and could not be allowed to go un- punished, I told him that he must be severely dealt with, and ordered the Headman to give him a good thrashing, which, of course, was a great indignity for a gun-bearer. He was a cowardly rascal, and I had often been obliged to admonish him for skulking in the rear or for running up a tree with the rifle when danger threatened— indeed, I had had to do so on that very morning. He now howled vigorously under his punishment, but it had a good effect upon him. I deprived him for some days of all weapons, and never afterwards throughout the journey did I allow him to follow me, but always made him go on just ahead, so that I could keep an eye on him, as I never knew what villainy he might be up to. He improved considerably under strict discipline, and was quite a different man by the time we reached Nairobi. I had several rascals of this kind in the safari who needed close supervision and prompt punish- ment when they did wrong. Otherwise they would have become utterly unmanageable and mutinous in the wilds. CHAPTER XX IN QUEST OF THE liOUNDARV From the information given to me by the guides, I understood that on leaving Laishamunye we should have to do a forced march of some thirty miles before the water holes at Serah could be reached. I determined, therefore, to start late in the afternoon, when men and beasts had had their food and water, and the fierce heat of the sun had somewhat abated. After having seen that every available vessel was filled with water, we turned away from the Guaso Nyiro and set out northward towards Marsabit. The moment we got away from the river wr. entered upon a dreary region covered for the most part with stunted leafless trees and thorn scrub, intersected here and there by dry gravelly ravines. The reddish sandy soil gave an added appearance of sun-stricken desolation to the surroundings, and the dust getting into our throats induced a burning 256 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. and intolerable thirst, even without the exertion of making our way through the tortuous animal paths which we were forced to pursue. Every stone has had inches blistered off its surface by the fierce heat of a pitiless sun, and even the living things that roam about in this barren wilderness appear parched and sun-dried — all save the giraffe, which seems to thrive in the glaring heat. Rhinos are very numerous, and as I rode along to the left of the safari and about a mile away from it, so as better to observe the game, I was suddenly charged by one which had been startled by the passing caravan. Shouting to Abbudi and the gun-bearers who were with me to take refuge in a convenient tree, I galloped off think- ing the brute would follow. He, however, turned his attention to the men in the tree instead, and remained for some time quite close to them, while Abbudi from his perch in the branches screamed insults at him in choice Masai. I sat on Aladdin some eighty yards away enjoying the sight. Finally, with a snort, the ungainly brute turned and trotted off swiftly with his tail in the air, and was soon lost to sight among the bushes. Before we had traversed half a dozen miles I had counted eight of these creatures, but did not see a good head among the lot. Short horns seem XX IN QUEST OF THE ROUNDARV 257 to be the distinctive peculiarity of the rhino of these regions. My Samburu guide Papai walked beside me on this march and entertained me witii much useful information, which he imparted to mv. through Abbudi. I now for the first time discovered that he had been born an Anderobo, and had spent all his youth in the pursuit of game, as is the custom of the men of that tribe. Sometimes, when he found it almost impossible to make a living by the chase, he attached himself to the Samburu or to the Rendile. One day he fortunately killctl two fine elephants, and thus secured enough ivory to purchase a Samburu maiden for a wife ; in this manner he finally settled down with his adopted tribe, and had now, as he said, become a real Samburu. He told me many stirring tales of adventurous encounters with elephants and other big game, and described to me a method fre- quently adopted among the Wandorobo to strike down a dangerous beast. A heavy block of wood, thicker at one end than the other, is hewn out of a hardwood tree, and into the heavier end ol this is driven an iron spike smeared over with a deadly poison. A long thin rope made ol fibre is tied through a hole made in the other end ol the block, which is then suspended spear downward from a convenient branch over the ctMUrc ol an 258 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. animal track. The spare part of the rope is carried along the branch and down the trunk, and run through a loop fastened to the foot of the tree. The end is then stretched across the path a few inches from the ground and fastened to a peg or stump some yards away. The rope at the place where it crosses the path is almost cut through, so that a small pressure will break it. When the animal comes along and strikes the rope with its foot, it breaks instantly at the spot where it is cut half-way through. The block then falls with great force, the iron spike burying itself in the beast's spine. The hunter follows up the wounded animal, which soon succumbs to its injuries and the poison.^ The Wandorobo immediately cuts out the flesh round the wound, as to eat that part would mean death for them too, but the poison does not seem to have any ill effect on the remainder of the carcase. As we marched along evening closed in, so a halt was called for tea and also to enable the safari to close up, as by this time the donkeys were far to the rear. When all had arrived the moon was shedding a brilliant light, so we set off again and marched until 9 p.m., when we slept in a rude shelter, the night being so fine that there was no need to pitch tents. We were off again before dawn, and at about 10 a.m. sighted the graceful palms that * This contrivance is called an iturerens^eit. XX IN QUEST OF THE BOUNDARY 259 abound along the bed of the Serah river. Ii was with no httle anxiety that I rode up to the waterholc in the river bed, fearing that it might possibly be dry. I was much relieved to find an abundant supply, which welled up from a clear sprinj^r and flowed for a distance of about fifty yards along the. gleaming sand before the latter engulfed it in its thirsty embrace. Near this spot I noticed great numbers of oryx and Grevy zebra, also some giraffe and a rhino or two. I saw one zebra with its hind quarters badly lacerated by the claws of a lion. The wounds were quite fresh, and, as the poor brute was evidently in great pain, I shot it to put it out of its misery. Wounded animals in the wilds must often suffer a long drawn-out agony before the; final end comes. As game was plentiful at Serah, and there was only one waterhole for the animals to drink from, I thought to myself that this would be an excellent place to make observations by night. I therefore had a do?ua made close by the spring so that I might sit and watch the various beasts in the brilliant moon- shine as they came to quench their thirst. I had the camp purposely pitched over half a mile away, in order that the animals should not be kept from the water or be disturbed during the night. After dinner I took up my position in the /^o///a, 6 2 26o IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. in which I had had many loopholes made, not for the purpose of shooting from, but to serve as peep- holes, so that I might be able to see in all directions ; and I was well rewarded for the trouble I had taken. I had not been in my stockade for more than an hour, when in the distance I heard pad, pad, pad, pad, and a few seconds afterwards up stalked a very tall giraffe, followed by twelve others, their heads being apparently on a level with the tops of the palms. It was the weirdest thing imaginable to watch these huge ungainly creatures stride past within twenty yards, all the time twisting their heads from side to side, keenly on the look-out, and yet totally unconscious of my presence. When they had had their drink at the waterhole, they stalked off again, and later on were succeeded by others at various times throughout the night. None of them went down to the water direct, but circled round it first to see if there were an enemy, in the shape of a lion or other rapacious beast, in sight. One elephant came and had a long drink and a bath, and then leisurely went his way down the bed of the river. It was a perfectly still night, without a breath of air blowing, which probably accounts for the fact that the animals did not wind my boina. Soon after the first troop of giraffe had gone, a XX IN QUEST OF THE BOUNDARY 261 band of about twenty oryx came to witliiii ihiily yards or so of the water, and there liahed and stood gazing at it. Then, evidently at the commaiul of a leader, all rushed impetuously down into th(; rixcr- bed, drank greedily, and galloped back lo their former position. After a pause there, they again charged down together, drank their fill and galloped off into the night, this time returning no more. Undoubtedly they adopted these tactics owing to their fear of lions lurking in ambush about the waterhole. It is probable that no beast of prey would attack a herd of this size if they meant to stand by one another, as the oryx, with its long, sharp, and strong horns, set on a powerful head, is by no means to be despised as an antagonist, even by a lion. It would be very interesting to know if they would have made common cause against one had he appeared. An hour or so after this scores of zebra came to drink, and then, to add to the interest, a lion at last arrived on the scene, and began to prowl stealthily round. I thought he was coming straight up to my boma, so much so that I reached out for m)- rille and went to the loophole which he seemed to be approaching. I watched carefully for him, but for some reason he must have doubled back and crouched under a clump of bushes which grew on the bank by the water. I did not actually sec 262 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. him go into these bushes, but felt pretty sure that he had hidden himself there. He gave absolutely no sign of his presence, however, and I began to think that he must have gone away along some fold n the ground where I could not see him. I soon found that this was not so, for just then some zebra came along, and as they passed close by, the lion made a mighty spring out of the bushes, pounced on one, dashed it to the earth, and apparently instantly killed it, as it hardly moved again. He lost no time in dragging it to the bank on the other side of the river bed and over some rocks out of my sight. Here he was joined by several other lions, and the noise they made over their feast was appalling. They all disappeared before daylight, and there was very little left of the zebra when I went out to investigate. As the night wore on rhino after rhino came walking towards the water with the gravest un- concern, every species in the neighbourhood making way for him except his own kind. Finally, towards dawn, the whole place abounded with hyaenas. I counted eight all present at one time, and one of these, more inquisitive than the rest, came sniffing round my bouia to see what was there, and so paid for his curiosity with his life. He proved to be of a rather rare kind, the striped hyaena. A night such as this spent among the animals XX IN GUEST OF THE BOUNDARY 26? in the wilds, watching their habits and methods both of aggression and self-defence, compensates the lover of wild life for the trials and hardships endured on many a toilsome march in this hot and thirsty land. iiUi. CHAPTER XXI A ROGUE ELEPHANT KILLS ALADDIN Next day we continued our march towards Marsabit, but had to go rather slowly on account of B., who was feverish and had to be carried in a hammock, while Mrs. B. and I took it in turns, when it got very hot, to walk beside him with an umbrella to shade him from the fierce rays of the sun. The path was bushy, but there were few thorn trees, which was a great comfort, for where these abound the unfortunate porters have a very bad time, as they keep catching in the loads as the men walk along. Once during this toilsome march we suddenly came upon a lion right in our path, about lOO yards ahead. He galloped off the moment he caught sight of us, and made for a l)it of thicket away to our left. I put Aladdin after him at his top speed, but the lion made good his escape among the dense bush, from which, in spite of my best efforts, I was unable to cut him off. 266 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. This was a hard day for the donkeys on account of the rough nature of the ground, and it gave Munyakai a good deal of trouble to get them to camp, as it was his business to bring up the rear of the safa^d and clear all stragglers on before him. One of the donkeys finally gave out, and although his load was taken off, was unable to walk any further. The Headman, however, was not to be defeated, so sending on to me for half-a-dozen porters, he tied the donkey's legs together, put a pole between them, and hoisting him aloft on the men's shoulders, had him borne in triumph to camp. It reminded me of the final stage of the fable of the old man and the ass. We reached Kavai about midday, where we found some salty water in holes in the otherwise dry bed of the river from which this camping- place takes its name. Game similar to that seen at Serah, with the addition of gerenuk, abounded. From Kavai we marched on to a place called Lungaya, and on the way had a most exciting and trao;ic adventure. B. was feeling- a little better and we were all riding together at the head of the safari, when suddenly, just after we had crossed over the dry bed of the Lungaya river, we saw a huge, solitary elephant stalk up out of the trees which grew very thick along its banks, and stand in a threatening attitude directly in our path XXI A ROGUE ELEPHANT KILLS ALADDIN 267 some fifty yards away. As he was alone and looked very vicious, I at once concluded that this solitary rover was a " rogue," and therefore a dangerous beast, and I was further confirmed in my rogue theory by the fact that he had only one tusk. He had probably lost the other in a mighty encounter with a rival bull, who had defeated him and driven him out of the herd. As he showed every intention of charging us, we hastily dis- mounted and covered him with our rifles. Just as he began to make for us I called on Mrs. B. to fire first, so she let drive at him with her -450 rifle, which struck him heavily. We then all fired at the oncoming monster, on which he turned and, stag- gering off a short distance, fell heavily among some dense bushes, which completely hid him from our sight. I ran forward, hoping that I might be able to give him a finishing shot before he could rise and do any damage, but when I got to within ten yards of where he lay I found that I could not see him or get through the thick bushes among which he had fallen. The others had by this time taken up their position on a high rock, from the top of which they could catch glimpses of his huge body. They shouted out to me to come back quickly, as the elephant was getting up. At the same instant I heard a terrific commotion going on among the 268 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. bushes, so, without waiting- to see what it was all about, I turned and made hasty strides for the shelter of the rock, having no desire to be trampled to pieces in that dense undergrowth, where there was little chance for me and every chance for the elephant. From our position on the rock we saw the elephant trot off through the thick bush, appa- rently not much hurt. He was more or less con- cealed from our view, but he seemed to be making for the tail end of the safari, which was still some distance away. I told Mrs. B. to remain at this spot, as it was a comparatively safe place on the edge of the thicket, with the high rock close by in case of need. I also ordered Abbudi to remain with her, and guard her from all danger until we returned, B. and I then mounted our horses and rode back to protect the rest of the safari in case the brute should make an attack. We soon got among a thick belt of bush into which the elephant had disappeared, and here we dismounted and advanced cautiously on foot, leaving the horses with the syces. The Headman, who was cominof alono- with some of the donkeys, shouted out to us that the brute had just passed him and he was afraid it was going to attack another batch of men and donkeys which were following close behind. We therefore"pushed XXI A ROGUE ELEPHANT KILLS ALADDIN 269 on as rapidly as possible in the track plainly taken by the wounded beast. All at once, just as we were in the midst of a very dense bit of thicket, the elephant loomed up close to our front and with out- spread ears charged straight at B., who was a couple of paces away on my right. As he came on he viciously flapped his enormous ears back to his sides, and just as he did this I fired full at his head where it joins the trunk. Although this did not knock him down, it providentally caused him to swerve off a yard or two from B. in the direction of Abdi, the Somali gun-bearer, who now caught his eye. The terrified man made a dive for safety but got caught up in the thicket, and I fully expected to see him crushed to death before my eyes. I tore open the breech of my rifle with all the speed I could muster, wondering if I should have time to get another bullet into the brute before he was on the Somali. Just as his head got level with me, I rammed the cartridge home, threw the rifle to my shoulder and in doing so almost touched his towering flank as he raced past in pursuit of the gun-bearer. At the moment that he reached out his trunk to dash Abdi to the ground I let him have a slanting shot, which so upset him that he merely knocked off the man's puggari and crashed away into the bush without doing us any damage. Hardly waiting for the jungle to close on him I gave 270 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. chase, for I feared that the infuriated animal might come up with the safari again and kill somebody. As I rushed after him I called loudly to the gun- bearers to follow me, but they apparently had had such a terrible fright that not one of them ventured out of his hiding-place, so I continued the hunt alone, expecting to be joined by them every moment. None of them turned up, however, and I had the greatest difficulty in following the trail, as the ground was very dry and hard, and I had to depend entirely upon finding a drop of blood here and there on the leaves and branches against which the elephant brushed as he forced his way along. He made a tremendous round, and for a full hour I tracked him in this way slowly and painfully through the thick jungle, never knowing the moment when I might suddenly come upon him unawares. At last the trail led me to the line of the safari again, and my fears lest he should attack some ot the men in his infuriated temper seemed justified. In confirmation of this I was met just then by a small party of porters, headed by a couple of askaris, who were coming out to look for my dead body, for the gun-bearers, instead of following me as they ought to have done, had returned to the safari and reported me crushed to death by the elephant. The moment I came into view they ran to me, and XXI A ROGUE ELEPHANT KILLS ALADDIN 271 gave me the appalling news that the elephant had charged the caravan a little further on, and had killed Mrs, B. and also my horse and syce! The state of consternation and horror into which this news threw me can well be imagined. Without waiting for further details, I rushed on to find out if this terrible calamity could really have taken place. A short distance further on I met B., who had returned to look after his wife while I took up the spoor. I inquired anxiously as to what had occurred, and he considerably relieved my feelings by telling me that the worst part of the catastrophe had not happened, as Mrs. B. was safe, although she had had an exceedingly narrow and lucky escape. He said, however, that it was unfortunately true that my horse had been killed and the syce injured. This bit of news was bad enough, but it might have been infinitely worse. We then set out to the spot where poor Aladdin had fallen. On the way we met Mrs. B., who was much astonished to see me, as she had been told that I was dead. From her I heard a full account of the disaster. It appears that she remained for some time at the spot where we had left her, but after a while she became anxious and wanted to find out what was going on, so started out on foot through the jungle, taking Abbudi with her. On the way she came upon my syce and Aladdin, and told Asa Ram to follow on 272 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. with the horse ana ponies. Just as they got to the very thickest part of the jungle, where it was practically impossible to move except at a snail's pace, out charged the elephant from the bushes not ten yards away ! As she had no rifle with her, she thought the best thing to do was to crouch down on the spot where she stood, hoping that the brute would not see her. My Indian syce, Asa Ram, stood close by, paralysed with fear, holding Aladdin tightly by the reins as if rooted to the ground. The infuriated brute caught sight of my beau- tiful white Arab, and in- stantly made a lunge, knocked down the syce, who lay as one dead at his feet, and drove his tusk deep into poor Aladdin's side. At this moment, when the elephant was on the look-out for fresh victims, Jerogi, the Kikuyu syce, let the other ponies loose, and both he and they bolted off as fast as possible into the bush, while " MY INDIAN SYCE, ASA RAM." XXI A ROGUE ELEPHANT KILLS ALADDIN 273 Abbudi, remembering' the emphatic instructions that I had given him to guard Mrs. B., suddenly seized her by the wrist, and wriggled off with her through the undergrowth to a place of safety. Well done, Abbudi. I salute you : Sobai ! Aladdin appears to have been unable to get "l SAW POOR ALADDIN LYING THERE LIFELESS liEFORE ME."' free of the syce imtil after the elephant had driven his tusk into him, but the moment he felt the thrust he dashed madly forward for some distance, leaving a stream of blood in his trail. In a very short time his strength began to fail, then he tottered in his stride, and eventually fell heavily on his side, stone dead. 274 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. Thus by his untimely end Aladdin more than justified the extraordinary nervous dread which he had always shown when passing a bush or going through a thicket. His instinct, no doubt, told him of the manifold dangers which lurked there for his undoing on some unlucky day. When we reached the open glade where poor Aladdin had fallen, and I saw him lying there lifeless before me, I realised to the full that I had lost not only a faithful steed, but a dumb friend who had taken part with me in many an exciting chase. Determined to avenge his death, I started off again as soon as possible on the trail of the vicious " rogue " that had caused us so much anxiety and sorrow. We all joined in the chase, but I did not find the gun-bearers very keen on the hunt, as the brute had given them a bad fright. Before leaving Aladdin I had noticed, on un- glrthing the saddle, that a stirrup-leather was missing from the side on which the elephant had gored him, so, thinking that it was probably lying on the ground at the spot where Aladdin was charged, I sent the syce, Asa Ram, and an askari to look for it. As they did not return we walked our- selves in the direction they had taken, and, on rounding a bit of thick jungle, discovered the pair calmly sitting safe in the shelter of a big tree ! XXI A ROGUE ELEPHANT KILLS ALADDIN 275 They had evidently determined to wait here until sufficient time had elapsed, and then to return and tell me that the stirrup-leather could not be found. The moment they saw us they made a wild bolt for cover, but I shouted to them to come back, as they were discovered. I could not, however, find it in my heart to blame them very much for not wishing to venture any- where near the elephant again, as for all we knew he might still be in the vicinity, and it was only half an hour since Asa Ram had had such a very narrow escape. We all now took up the elephant's spoor and scouted cautiously through the thick bush into which he had disappeared, finding it extremely difficult to keep on his track. He doubled and twisted through the jungle in the most perplexing manner, probably not knowing where he was going. Eventually, however, Abbudi came running up in great excitement and told us that he had seen the elephant standing up in a path close by, facing us as if he were about to charge asfain. I at once ordered everybody to keep well out of the way, as I did not wish any further tragedies, and taking the '450 rifle I set off in the direction Abbudi pointed out. I considered that if I went alone, I would have a better chance of getting T 2 276 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. in a fatal shot than if others were present about whose safety I felt anxious. I was quite anxious enough about my own as I stalked stealthily and carefully against the wind, using the utmost care in getting through the tangled jungle so as not to make too much noise. At last, as I peeped cautiously through the green leaves of a great tree whose branches hung to the ground, I saw the huge beast confronting me not fifteen yards ahead. The sight of him brought me to a rigid halt, and peering more intently I saw that he was not standing but lying down at full length on his side. He was not dead, however, as his flanks were gently heaving up and down — at least I thought this was the case — so I put two more shots into him to end his career and prevent him from doing any further damage. Seeing then that he did not move I went up to him and found that what I had taken to be the heavinor flanks was merely the moving shadow of some branches swayed by the wind above his body. I now gave a loud halloo and called to my companions to come up, as he was stone dead. They very soon arrived at the spot, and as it was Mrs. B.'s elephant she was placed in triumph on his back and photo- graphed. I knew, of course, that one of the tusks was broken XXI A ROGUE ELEPHANT KILLS ALADDIN 277 off short, but on getting out the other we discovered that it was absolutely decayed away and in a putrid mass for over eighteen inches inside the skull. This must have given him frightful agony, and was no "SHK WAS PLACED IN TRIUMPH ON HIS BACK." doubt the reason why he was so fierce and attacked us so unprovokedly in the early morning. We also had two of the feet cleaned out, which is by no means an easy matter, but as the natives like the sinewy flesh there was some competition for this task. We lost the feet later on, as will be seen in another chapter. 278 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. xxi It was very lucky that this whole adventure did not end more disastrously. Indeed, I was very thankful that we got off so lightly, as the vicious brute only missed killing B. and Mrs. B. by a fluke, while the syce and the Somali gun-bearer had also "there was some COMrETITION FOR THIS TASK." very narrow escapes. Fortunately Asa Ram was not injured, although the elephant had actually stood over him when it knocked him down. His nerves were quite shattered and for hours afterwards his eyes almost stood out of his head and had a startled, half-frenzied look in them which showed plainly that he had had a terrible fright. CHAPTER XXII A RHINO CONCERT We retired early that night, for we were all quite tired out after the trials and adventures of the day. We were not permitted a peaceful repose, however, as soon after midnight two or three rhino came close to the camp, causing the men to make an up- roar, and the askaris on duty added to the confusion by blazing away at the unwelcome intruders. I, of course, had to go out to inquire what was the matter, and was just in time to see two of our weird visitors disappearing into the gloom, evidently thoroughly scared at the unaccustomed din raised by the porters and askaris at their usually quiet rendezvous by the waterhole. We remained another day at Lungaya, and I em- ployed the time in making sketches and taking notes. I got my hands so badly blistered by the sun that I found it difficult for some time afterwards to use the pencil. On returning to camp I found that B., who on the M.t^ ^ s? -r-. ;i 5.-"»5!ff 'JJ^I^I***^ H o ' °5j^:,>oi*I)1IN!W,'i'i1 280 CH. XXII A RHINO CONCERT 281 previous chiy had been mucli better, was rather ill again, so I sat up late that night helping to nurse and attend to him. About midnight, just after I had gone to my tent I heard a terrific din coming from the direction of the waterhole which was some two hundred yards \>m i& "a rocky RIIK-.F, \VI1I(I[ FOKMKD a F.ACKGKOUNl) TO OUR lUlMA." away at the back of our encampment, behind a rocky ridge which formed a background to our boiua. I thouQ^ht it would be most interestinof to go and see what all the disturbance was about, so taking an askari with me I set out and carefully stalked over the ridge and on towards the spot from whence the uproar was coming. I expected to find 282 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. a herd of elephants fighting for possession of the waterhole, as the shrill and weird cries which re- sounded from the rocks gave me the impression that these animals were trumpeting there. Just as we got over the rocky ridge, a Hon bounded out of the path almost at our feet, but he was evidently not hungry, so did not attempt to attack us, and was soon out of sight among the bushes. The askari got rather a fright and cried out '' Rndi, Bwana, riidi ! Hapa mbaya sana'' (" Return, master, return ! This is a very bad place "). I had not the least intention of going back, however, as I was determined to see what was making the uproar which still continued at the waterhole. By this time it sounded as if there could not be less than a score of elephants trum- peting there in concert. We stalked on carefully and cautiously among the rocks with the wind in our favour, until at last we were able to look over the edge of a crag down into the ravine at our feet. Then the weirdest sight that I could ever wish to see suddenly unfolded itself beneath my astonished gaze. No fewer than sixteen rhinos were gathered together close by, all roaring at each other and struggling and fighting in their efforts to get at the waterhole. The moon was shedding a brilliant lustre all round, and everything was peaceful except at this one spot XXII A RHINO CONCERT 283 where pandemonium reigned. I stood perfectly fascinated, and from the rock where I took up my position watched the ungainly brutes with the deepest interest for a couple of hours. I was not more than ten yards from the nearest of them, and those farthest away were not thirty yards off, but they were so busily occupied with their own affairs that they remained quite unconscious of my proximity. I could easily have picked off half a dozen of them with my rifle, and some of them had very fine horns, but, of course, I had no intention whatever of molesting them. They were much more interesting alive than dead, and I never for a moment entertained the thought of disturbing their concert by firing my rifle. Two of them especially amused me very much. One, who was evidently a bully, took up his position stolidly at the vvaterhole and would not budge an inch. Then a second came and stood opposite to him and proceeded to give him a piece of his mind. The bully, of course, answered back and there they both stood for quite a long time, with their mouths wide open, roaring bad rhino language at each other for all they were worth ! The others, who were waiting for their turn to have a drink, joined in the discordant chorus from time to time. I noticed four mothers amonor them with their 284 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. little calves sheltering closely to them amidst all the noise and uproar, and no doubt wondering what it was all about. Presently one of these mothers with her baby left the brawling crowd and stalked off sedately and leisurely. She passed practically at my feet and then turned to the left and mounting the rocks crossed the path by which I had reached my perch. She disappeared into the gloom without becoming aware of my presence. Soon afterwards another went solemnly off, and gradually, one by one, having satisfied their thirst, they all disappeared in different directions, while I made my way back to my tent, after having witnessed one of the most extraordinary and interesting sights it has ever been my good fortune to behold. I had given orders that an early start was to be made, for Papai had told me that our next march would be a long and trying one. It was with a very ill grace, therefore, that I received my boy when he came, long before dawn, to tell me that the camp was astir and preparing for the road. I was, however, most anxious to reach Marsabit as quickly as possible, so we left Lungaya at about 4.30 and continued our march northward. Before midday we reached a place called Nayssoe, where we found an encampment of Rendile. This was the first time I had come across any of the people belonging to this tribe, although we XXII A RHINO CONCERT 285 had already passed one or two of their empty dojuas on our way. In outward appearance they are not unUke the Samburu, who Hve in these parts. This is probably due to a mixture of the two races, as there is a considerable amount of intercourse be- tween the two tribes hereabouts at the frontiers of their respective districts. I noticed, however, " I SAW HERE IMMENSE HERDS OF CAMELS. that the Rendile were somewhat taller and more spare in figure, and had more prominent cheek- bones, than either the Masai or the Samburu. Some of them had quite blue eyes, which is most unusual in an African. They are a nation of nomads, moving their families, their huts, and their flocks and herds to new pastures and fr(^sh 286 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. springs whenever a change is considered desirable or necessary. All the Rendile whom I came across could speak both Somali and Masai very well, but they have a language of their own which somewhat resembles Somali. In habits and cus- toms, and in the method of build- ing their huts and bomas, they follow the lead of the latter, and have but little in com- mon with the cus- toms of the Masai or Samburu. Un- like the Somali, however, who are Mohammedans, the Rendile appear to have no relioion. I saw here im- mense herds of camels, which these people breed principally for transport and food purposes. They consider the flesh of the camel a great delicacy, and drink quantities of camels' milk. Indeed, they brought me presents of huge jars filled with it, but we " THESE JARS ARE MADE IN VARIOUS SIZES." XXII A RHINO CONCERT 287 found it somewhat salty and odorous, so I promptly handed it over to the Headman for distribution among the safari, who thoroughly appreciated it. The jars in which the milk was carried were beautifully woven out of some fibre plant, and were fitted with the most cunningly made lid of the same material, which is commonly used as a cup to drink from, the whole thing being quite watertight. These jars are made in various sizes, with a capacity of from about one to five grallons. About half a dozen of the largest can be packed on a camel. A CTreat ofatherino- of the elders and warriors now came round our camp to gaze at the white men and more especially at the white lady, who was ever a source of interest and wonderment to all the people of the wilds. Among- these visitors was a Samburu named Lukubirr, who had heard that I was going in the direction of Basso, as the natives call Lake Rudolf, and came to beg that he might be allowed to accom- pany me on his camel. He was most anxious to reach the Boran country in order to recover his long-lost son Bermingoo, who had been carried off by the Borani some twenty-five years previously, during a raid which they made on a Samburu village, where he was living at the time, on the shores of the lake. The poor old man seemed much distressed when I told him that his son, if 288 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. still alive, had probably taken unto himself a wife from among the Boran women, and was now as much a Boran as the Borani themselves, and that after such a very long time it would be hopeless to expect him to return to the Samburu nation. The way the old man counted up the twenty-five years was very quaint. He first cut up a long stalk of grass into pieces which represented months ; he then cut another stalk equal in length to the first, and changed it from hand to hand twenty-five times, which thus represented twenty-five years. As I required some camels to carry water across the parched desert which lies between this place and Marsabit, I had again to go through the dearly-loved formula of a long shauri before I succeeded in strikino- a bargain for the hire of some dozen of these animals. I asked the old chief whether, if I happened to return this way, he would provide me with camels to take me back to the Guaso Nyiro, but he was not anxious to do this, as he said the journey would be through Samburu country and his people did not like to traverse it. He informed me, however, that as there were Samburu at Marsabit and great numbers of camels, I should have no difficulty in engaging as many as I wanted there, either to take me further on or bring me back to the Guaso Nyiro. When this question of the camels had at last been XXII A RHINO CONCERT 289 settled satisfactorily on both sides, I made some coffee for the local chief Lemerlene, who greatly appreciated it, and was especially pleased with the sugar with which it was sweetened. After he had gulped down the first few mouthfuls he rubbed his stomach comfortably and said he hoped I would make a lot more, as he could spend the rest of his life drinking stuff such as this. He then called up some of the men of his tribe and grudgingly gave them a sip out of his cup ; he would not on any account trust it out of his hands. The end of it was that I made a large potful of coffee and gave them some all round, which hugely delighted them and greatly cemented our friendship. Before taking leave, Lemerlene warned us to be on our guard against man-eating lions, as there was one lurking about in the neighbourhood that had takeri a man out of a manyatta a few nights previously. We soon found that the old chief's warning was well-timed, because soon after dark the man- eater appeared and made a dash at one of the donkey-boys, who, however, fortunately eluded him. The whole safari was on the alert, and made such an uproar that the lion got confused and cleared off, only to return a couple of hours later to stalk our own tents. I had not yet gone to bed and was sitting outside u 290 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. xxii the tent in the moonhght with a rifle across my knees. Suddenly the askatn on duty at the watch fire close by called out, '' Bwana, simba /" (" Master, a lion ! "). Looking in the direction in which he pointed, I plainly saw the beast stalking up to us, not fifty yards away. I raised my rifle and covered him with it, but did not pull the trigger, as he appeared to be coming closer and I thought by waiting a second or two longer he would give me a better opportunity of shooting him. Unfortunately, however, at this moment he caught sight of me, stepped behind a bush and made off like a streak of light, so I did not get another chance to fire. We kept a strict watch all round the camp for the remainder of the night and luckily had no further visits from him. CHAPTER XXIII THE TRAGEDY IN THE DESERT Next morning we obtained our camels, said goodbye to our friend Lemerlene, and continued on our way. The march was a rather trying one of some sixteen miles, but the monotony of the journey was broken now and again by a herd of giraffe crossing our path, or by a rhino or other interesting animal breaking away through the bush, startled by the unusual spectacle our caravan presented to its astonished gaze. Away to our front and on our line of march we could see a solitary pinnacle of reddish rock, jutting up into the heavens in solitary state. On asking Papai what it was called, he told me it was known as Mwele. It was with no little satisfaction that I passed under the shadow of this rocky landmark, as our camping-place for the night was only a short distance beyond it, and then but another long day's journey would bring us to that ''' U 2 292 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. much longed-for paradise in the wilds, Marsabit, where I hoped that B. would soon be himself again. I was somewhat anxious about both my com- panions on this march, as B. was still feverish and had to be carried in a hammock for part of the way, while Mrs. B. was tired out by a couple of nights' watchinof at his bedside. I therefore looked forward with the greatest impatience to reaching the bracing air of Marsabit, as I knew that it would do both an immense amount of good. Many a time, when my movements were hampered by my companions, did I keenly regret that I had ever obtained permission for them to accompany me ; but it is always easy to be wise after the event, and now upon finding myself in a difficult position, I adopted what I considered to be the best and most humane course of action, which was to push on to a cool climate with all speed. We arrived at Lersamis soon after noon, and found it to be a dismal spot, in the midst of a desola- tion of thorny scrub and rocky barrenness, only rendered possible as a temporary encampment, even for the wandering Rendile, by a few brackish and evil-smelling waterholes in the otherwise dry bed of the river. I feared that I should have Mrs. B. again on the sick-list if she did not get a good night's rest, so I XXIII THE TRAGEDY IN THE DESERT 293 arranged that she should take possession of my tent at this place in order that she might have an undisturbed sleep, while I undertook to sit up with B. and look after him during the night. Leaving my two companions to rest in camp I went out in the afternoon to explore and take notes of the game and country. On returning to our boma I was much worried to find that B. had, con- trary to my wishes, gone out after a giraffe, which his gun-bearer had told him was feeding at no great distance. I knew that he was in no fit state to be out in the hot sun, so as soon as I heard of it I sent a message to him requesting his return to camp. Very soon after he got back he became seriously ill, and I feared he had oot a touch of sun. We did everything we could for him and put him to bed as comfortably as possible. I sat up with him throughout the night, keeping wet bandages on his forehead and giving him a cooling drink whenever he required it. I then blessed the happy thought which had induced me to have canvas waterbags made, as when these are filled and hung up in the breeze, the water gets deliciously cold, and on being mixed with a little lime-juice forms a most grateful and refreshing drink. Several times during the night, while B. seemed asleep and fairly comfortable, I went out and paid a visit to the askaris on sentry to see that they were 294 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. on the alert, as lions, on their way to the waterholes, were roaring- in all directions round our camp. Sometimes, indeed, they gave a low sinister growl quite close at hand, so, as I did not want anyone to be carried off if such an accident could be avoided, I kept a good fire going and two sentries on the THE COOK S TENT. look-out. Once, while visiting the askaris, I caught a glimpse of one of these lions stalking through the bushes towards the tents ; he saw me, however, and was off again before I had time to cover him with my rifle At about 4 a.m. B. seemed to be sleeping quietly and peacefully, so I went to the cook's tent and, xxiii THE TRAGEDY IN THE DESERT 295 rousing Paul, got him to make me a cup of cocoa, of which I was much in need. Immediately after- wards I returned and sat down in my camp chair, just outside the tent door, to take a little rest in the cool morning air, telling the askari on duty close by to be sure and wake me up in case he should hear B. call out. I very soon fell asleep and woke up again about 5.30. Hearing B. moving about in bed I spoke to him, and we talked for a few minutes about how he felt and the arrangements for the coming march. I then went to see the Headman, who was with the safari some forty or fifty yards away, to give him directions about a hammock for B. and orders for the journey. In the middle of our conversation one of the boys named Edi came up to me and complained of being ill, and while I was prescribing for him, we were all suddenly startled to hear the sound of a shot coming from the direction of B.'s tent. I rushed off to see what v/as the matter, accompanied by the Headman and a dozen of the others. We all ran into the tent, and to our horror found B. lying back in bed with a bullet throtlgh his head and a revolver in his hand. It was a terrible shock, and one which I shall never forget while I live. He was quite unconscious when we entered, and all was over in a few moments. I found out afterwards that he had instructed his 296 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. boy to put a loaded revolver under his pillow every night, and what possibly happened is that this may have slipped down under his shoulder, and when B. put out his hand to remove it, he may have pulled the trigger by accident and so shot himself. Had I known that he always kept a loaded revolver under his pillow I should most certainly have removed the weapon, as in my experience I have invariably found that a revolver is more dangerous to the owner than to anybody else. Meanwhile Mrs. B. had rushed up with the others to know what had happened, but as I wished to spare her the awful shock, I asked her to return to my tent, and told her that I would come in a few minutes to explain matters to her. As soon as possible I went to break the tragic news as gently as I could, telling her that B. had had a grave revolver accident, and that I hoped she would, with her usual pluck, try to bear up under the terrible blow with what fortitude she could command. She did not at first realise everything I meant to convey, and it was with difficulty that I made her understand that all was over. The blow was so sudden that she seemed quite dazed and unable to grasp the real situation. I therefore thought it was best to leave her alone, and came away, giving my boy careful instructions to look after her, and do all he could for her until I XXIII THE TRAGEDY IN THE DESERT 297 returned from the burial, which would, of course, have to take place as soon as arrangements could be made. When everything was ready, a mournful little procession, consisting of myself, the Headman, and some of the men in the safari, made its way out into the wilderness, where the sad interment took place. Over and round the grave we placed large stones, so that it should not be disturbed. I then sent the men who had assisted me back to camp, while I remained for a little while by the graveside, thinking over the sad calamity which had so suddenly overtaken us. I was much perplexed as to what I should now do, and I debated for some little time with myself as to whether I should return to Nairobi im- mediately, or go on to Marsabit, where I hoped to be able to complete the principal part of my work. Of course if the expedition had been a private one, I would without any hesitation have returned at once ; but I had to bear in mind that my journey was an official one, on which public funds had been expended, so that it was clearly incumbent upon me to carry through my work if it was at all possible. We were now within 35 miles of Marsabit — a distance the Rendile and Samburu always cover in one march — and I knew that from the summit of one of the mountains there I should 298 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. be able to see far enough to the north to take bearinors of such hills and landmarks as I con- sidered suitable to complete the natural eastern boundary to the Reserve. It had taken us two months to reach Lersamis, and even if we were to set out at once, and travel bv the shortest and most direct route, we could not reach Nairobi in less than a month. The three or four extra days required to go to and return from ]\Iarsabit could matter very little to ]\Irs. B., while it would make all the difference to the success of my expedition. After full consideration, therefore, I decided that the proper course to adopt was to go on to Marsabit, and complete the work which I had been sent out to do. With this resolve in my mind, I made my way dow^n from the little rocky hillock where the inter- ment had taken place, with the intention of going to Mrs. B. to offer her what solace I could in her sore distress, as of course she was utterly prostrated by the terrible tragedy. It was not long before I was rudely shaken out of my gloomy thoughts, for, on my arrival in camp, I was met by Asa Ram, who brought me the startling news that the whole safari, led by a few scoundrels, had mutinied, and — more serious still — that they had, during my absence, seized all the arms and xxiii THE TRAGEDY IN THE DESERT 299 ammunition, and were openly boasting that they were now the masters and would do as they liked. This was a very alarming position to be placed in at such a trying and critical moment, and I instantly realised the gravity of the situation. The men were now quite independent of me, and no doubt thought they would be able to dictate such terms as they chose, as I was weaponless and alone among them, and without any resources save what I could exert by moral suasion. I saw that the only way out of it was to show that I was not going to be intimidated. Without a moment's hesitation, therefore, I went into the midst of the mutinous crowd who were all assembled together within their boma. On seeing me enter there was a general hush, and many furtive and evil glances fell upon me as I walked up to the rascals who squatted on their heels plotting and planning mischief When I had got into the centre of the mutineers I asked what foolishness was this I heard of them. I could have no nonsense, and they must all be ready to march at two o'clock in the afternoon. Upon this all, askaris included, replied with a great shout that they did not intend to go any further iiito the desert, where they would perish of hunger and thirst. They had got all the rifles now and would do as they liked. 300 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. I told them it would be a very serious matter for them if they did not return to their duty at once, and asked if they realised that they would be severely punished later on for taking part in a mutiny against an officer engaged on Government work. They must remember that this was an official expedition, and as I had Government work to do at Marsabit it was my intention to go there and complete it, no matter what obstacles stood in my way, and they must come too or take the consequences. If they refused to obey I would collect a hundred spearmen from the natives in the neighbourhood and speedily round them up and take them prisoners to Nairobi, where they would be properly dealt with. There were loud cries and threats from some rascals in the background when I announced my intention. I then reasoned with the better spirits among the men, and told them that while we were in the wilds I looked upon them all as children of mine, in whose safety and welfare they were well aware I took a deep interest. I fed them when they were hungry, gave them to drink when they were thirsty, doctored them when they were ill, and punished them only if they deserved it. I should be very sorry to have to resort to stern measures, but unless XXIII THE TRAGEDY IN THE DESERT 301 they returned to their duty at once, I should not hesitate to deal with them severely. I then called on them to deliver up the arms and ammunition, and told them that within an hour they must all parade outside my tent or be branded as mutineers and punished as such. I then went back to the shade of a thorn tree near my tent, which was pitched about fifty yards from the men's bonia, and sat there waiting for the result. Of course the Headman and one or two others never joined the rebels, and they at once went to the parade ground. I questioned Munyakai as to the reason of the mutiny, and he told me that it was all owing to a few villains who were tired of the journey and of the strict discipline maintained, and these repre- sented to the others that I was oroinor to lead them o o into the wilderness, where they would all perish either at the hands of savage natives or from thirst. "And now," observed Munyakai, " they think you will not go on if they make trouble, as they know you are sad." He also told me that for the past week the men had been grumbling very much at the hard marches and the bad water, and had been only waiting for some favourable opportunity to break out in mutiny. When I had waited for about half an hour, one or 302 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. xxiii two of the rascals began to creep up, and gradually one by one they came, and before the hour was up every man in the safari had fallen into line on the parade ground, and I breathed freely once more, as I saw that the mutiny was completely quelled. Long afterwards I heard that, fearing I would have them punished on my return, the rogues had concocted quite a plausible tale to account for their action ; but they behaved so well subsequent to the mutiny, that I had quite forgiven them by the time we got back to Nairobi, and even if I had been well enough to take an active interest in their prosecution I should not have thought of bringing a charge against them. As soon as the men returned to their duty I immediately set them to work, and we re-arranged the loads and discarded everything that was no longer required. I found it necessary to have part of B.'s tent burnt, and the rest I had rolled up and put away, as I did not wish painful memories to be recalled to Mrs, B.'s mind by the sight of it. I also had other articles destroyed which were now no longer of any use, and in this way I got rid of a couple of loads, knowing that every pound I took off the men's burdens would be a consider- able help to them when crossing the desert. CHAPTER XXIV ACROSS THE KAISOOT DESERT Even if I had decided to return to Nairobi immediately after the tragedy, instead of going on to Marsabit to finish my work, the mutiny of the safari rendered this course of action absolutely impossible. I felt that henceforward I was entirely responsible for the safety of Mrs. B., and if at this critical moment I had yielded to the mutineers and allowed them to dictate to me as to where I was to go and where not to go, my authority would have entirely vanished, and I could no longer have been answer- able for what might happen. Of course I kept all knowledge of the mutiny from my companion, as she had already enough and more than enough trouble to bear, and it was not until the tin roofs of Nairobi were in sight that I told her of the peril we had been in at Lersamis. She was naturally anxious to return to Nairobi at once, but I told her that I must first go on to 304 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. xxiv Marsabit, which was only one long march ahead, to complete my work and get fresh camels for the return journey. This would only delay her a day or two longer, and then I would go back as quickly as we could travel. As she was of course in a very dazed and grief- stricken condition, I thought it advisable for her sake to get away from this ill-fated spot as soon as possible. Accordingly about two o'clock in the after- noon of the 2ist March, 1908, exactly two months since we left Nairobi, we set out on a most dismal and mournful journey across the sterile and waterless Kaisoot Desert. The dreary landscape added to the depression of our spirits, and never shall I forget the wretchedness of that march. I tried hard to talk but failed miserably, so we rode along in gloomy silence, our minds full of the sad event of the morning. At about six o'clock I halted the safari for an hour on the edge of a bit of bush, and when we had gathered some dry wood we lighted a fire, and soon had a kettle boiling. I felt I had to rouse my companion out of her despondency, and used all my powers of persuasion to induce her to drink a little tea and eat a biscuit, as she had had practically no food all day. Mean- while the safari rested and refreshed themselves for the next spell of desert march. *^^.(fjM^ \ V 5 ^ ^ 4^ .^ a; ^S) ^5 ^ : ^ V- f ^ Jo «^' ,t5ft^ rf' v#' 3o6 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. At seven we pushed on again across the sandy wilderness, under the guidance of Papai. After a while the moon came out and shed a weird light on our dismal and silent surroundings. Nothing was in view save the long line of men, horses, camels, mules, and donkeys — the rear part stretching away out of sight, hidden by the lava dust which lay here soft and thick under foot. Now and again the line would get broken, and the rear would lose touch with the front of the caravan. Then there would be a halt and cries of " Upesi, itpesi, simba wabaya hapa " {" Hurry up, hurry up, the lions are bad here "), the warning cry of the askaris being made more realistic as the roar of one of these monarchs of the wilds resounded across the desert. Occasionally we heard the crash of some pon- derous beast as it lumbered off into the gloom, startled by our sudden and strange appearance in that silent waste. In this way we journeyed on until about mid- night, when I called a halt for a few hours' rest. Of course no tents were pitched, as we only intended to make a short stay. I made a bed of rugs for Mrs. B., on which she lay and snatched a couple of hours' uneasy slumber, waking up from time to time with a cry of distress. Meanwhile, I sat on a box close by, with my back against a tree stump, and XXIV ACROSS THE KAISOOT DESERT 307 my rifle across my knee, doing all I could, when she started up, to pacify and soothe her sorely-tried nerves. At 4 a.m., after distributing water to the safari and drinking a hasty cup of coffee, we set off again, and had a very long and trying day's march across "THE CAMELS .... Al'l'KAKKU K 1 KNJUV CKus.^l.NW llll.-> l;l..-n Jj.Al E WASTE." the, burning desert. The fierce rays of the sun beat down relentlessly, and there was no shade of any kind to be found. Men and beasts suffered greatly, save only the camels, and they appeared to enjoy crossing this desolate waste. The whole district is parched and sterile, and covered with red lava ash, which rose in clouds of dust as we marched along, X 2 3o8 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap penetrating into everything. All round us stretched a sun-scorched, arid plain, and the only thing that cheered our eyes was the view of the cloud-covered mountains of Marsabit, which stood out boldly on the sky-line. While the safari was struggling along listlessly and more or less exhausted by the great heat, every man was suddenly electrified into energy by the cry of "/^9w/ /^^ze*/ " ("Rhino ! Rhino!"). There was an instant's hesitation as to which side they should fly to for safety, and then the dreaded beast was discovered to the left of the track under the shade of a thorn tree, where he had evidently been sleeping until roused to action by the sound of the passing safari. He now advanced at a brisk trot, and at sight of him loads were pitched down in all directions, and men fled for safety to any bit of scrub they could find. I hurried Mrs. B. off to the shelter of the largest tree at hand, and in a few minutes its branches were absolutely black with a swarm of porters. I then walked out with a heavy rifle so as to intercept the brute if he charged any of the porters, for there were still many of the men straggling up, quite unaware of their danger. The old rhino advanced with determination for about fifty yards, then suddenly came to a standstill, looked at us for some time with great XXIV ACROSS THE KAISOOT DESERT 309 curiosity, apparently mingled with malicious joy at having caused so much terror, and in the end turned disdainfully round and trotted off in the opposite direction. Odd as it may sound, this little adventure cheered us all up wonderfully, and the men, having once more picked up their loads, stepped forward with renewed energy. It was not until about five o'clock in the afternoon that we finally straggled in to our camping place on the edge of the valley of El Deerim, which in bygone ages must have been a vast crater. There was a waterhole not far off in the bed of a ravine at a place called Reti, which is on the outskirts of the district of Marsabit. The men were all thoroughly done-up, and as they came in one by one, threw down their loads with a sigh of relief, and made as quickly as possible for the waterhole to quench their burning thirst. Here I was roused to indignation by the heartless and selfish conduct of my syce Jerogi. I had seen him on the march craving a drink from a comrade whose water-bottle he drained of its last drop without the slightest compunction, although the man tried to get it away from his mouth before he had quite finished it ; and now to make the matter still worse, I saw him calmly pull out a large lime-juice bottle filled with water which he had had all the time 310 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. concealed under his ragged coat. He proceeded to regale himself with a long drink from this while the others struggled off to the muddy waterhole. On asking him if he were not ashamed of his despicable conduct, he replied with a grin " Hapana " ("No"). As my unfortunate companion was in a most pitiful state and greatly fatigued after all she had come through, I decided to remain at this place for a day, so that she might recover somewhat before we resumed our journey. In any case this was necessary, as the march through the Kaisoot had proved too much for the donkeys. When darkness fell neither they nor the Headman had turned up and I was very anxious as to their fate out in the desert. Luckily the night was fine, for the men were so worn-out and tired that I had no tents pitched, Mrs. B. sleeping as on the previous night on a bed of rugs under a rough shelter, while I kept guard close by. Now that she was left in such a forlorn con- dition, I feared to let her out of my sight for a moment, lest any catastrophe should overtake her too, and I be left to wend my way back to civilisation alone with such a terrible tale of mis- fortune to unfold. With my mind full of these distressing thoughts, I fell into a doze as I sat on a box within a pace or XXIV ACROSS THE KAISOOT DESERT 311 two of her rude couch of orrass and ruofs. I do not remember how long I had slept when I was suddenly- awakened by a loud cry from Mrs. B. and a mad rush of frenzied ponies and mules tearing past us, not half a dozen yards away. In a moment the askm^s added to the panic by discharging their rifles recklessly under the impres- sion that they were aiming at a couple of rhino which had charged the camp and stampeded the animals. I very nearly shot one of the ponies myself before I was quite awake, taking it to be a beast of prey of some kind as it dashed past. Luckily the rhinos were soon driven off, and no harm was done to man or beast. It took some time to round up the ponies and mules, and I almost feared that we had lost them altogether, but in the end all were collected and safely tied up in camp again. It was very nerve-shaking, however, for poor Mrs. B., who had already been so sorely tried. During the night I had a great fire made on the top of a small hill close to our bivouac to guide Munyakai and the donkeys to our resting-place, but when morning came there was still no sign of them. I therefore sent out a relief party with water to search for them in the desert and kept a pillar of smoke going up from the hill-top to serve as a guide, and at last, late in the afternoon, they suc- ceeded in reaching us in safety. Munyakai then 312 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. xxiv told me all about the anxious and thrilling time he had had. When he found that the donkeys were too done-up to go on any further he made a boma for them. They were attacked in this hastily-made enclosure by a lion, who was most persistent in his attempts to break through. Two or three times he was driven away, but at last, towards morning, made bolder by his great hunger, he would not be denied, and succeeded in seizing one of the poor brutes, which he dragged off and devoured. During the confusion and alarm which followed, a couple of hysenas made a dash at the elephant's feet, which had been carried on a donkey's back, and dragged them away to some secret lair where, of course, it was impossible to recover them. In addition to the donkey killed by the lion, two more died of exhaustion during the march ; Munyakai cut off their tails and brought them to me, to prove that the animals really had died, and not strayed away and got lost owing to carelessness. i CHAPTER XXV AT MARSABIT When men and beasts had had a good night's rest we pushed on again early in the morning for Crater Lake, which was the point in Marsabit I wished to reach. This time our journey was a much more interest- ing one, as it was through a mountainous, forest-clad country, which afforded an absolute contrast to the dreary desert we had just crossed. We again began to see game. A great herd of giraffe trooped off to the westward of our route ; a couple of rhino, one or two bushbuck, a few oryx, and some female greater and lesser kudu, made the country look a paradise after the desolate and inhospitable tract we had just passed over. We had to scramble through thickets, down the steep sides of ravines, and make our way across valleys, over hills, and along the precipitous edges of extinct craters, such as Kurmarasan and Lonkero. The ^^,^l CH. XXV AT MARSABIT 315 latter was especially remarkable for its size and depth. The walls of the crater were practically- perpendicular, and were covered over with dense undergrowth, bush and trees, while at the bottom were some waterholes. The natives told me that these were very deep, and that enormous serpents were to be found in them. It would have been most interesting to explore the bed of this crater, but under the circumstances I was anxious to push on as quickly as possible. My health, too, was beginning to trouble me ; so, some- what reluctantly, I left this crater to our right and marched on between it and El Donyo Guas, which is a very curious-looking, conical hill, the whole of one side from base to summit being grass, while the other side is forest. Papai was now leading us to a lake, which he called Angara Sabuk, and for the last four miles or so before reaching it our track wound throucrh a thick forest of most beautiful straight lofty trees, many of which we<.'e from 100 to 150 feet high, with trunks almost as smooth and upright as the masts of a ship. It was most delightful riding along under their cool shade after having endured the hot sun for so many days. There were fresh tracks of elephants in all directions, but we saw nothing of the beasts themselves. All at once we came out of the forest and found ourselves in a little glade, and there, 3i6 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. Spread out before us, lay the beautiful waters of Angara Sabuk, glistening like a sheet of burnished gold in the brilliant sunshine. At the point where we approached the water the ground sloped gently down to the edge of the lake, which filled up a hollow basin, some 800 yards in diameter, that had " THE BEAUTIFUL WATERS OK ANGARA SABUK." once been the crater of a vast volcano. It is for this reason that Europeans call this sheet of water Crater Lake, while the Samburu know it as Angara Sabuk or "Great Water." On every side of the lake save where we stood frowned perpendicular walls of hard, black lava, some 100 feet high or more clothed in places with verdure of the deepest green. XXV AT MARSABIT 317 It was a most beautiful and refreshing sight, and one to be remembered with pleasure after all the hardships and trials of the burning desert. I was called away from the contemplation of this charming scene by the voice of my Headman, who wanted to know where I would camp. As no tents had been pitched since we left Lersamis, I now had to consider what arrangements I should make for the safety and comfort of the unfortunate lady who had been so tragically left in my care. It was quite out of the question that she should again use the tent that was associated with such painful memories, and in any case part of it had been destroyed. It was also unthinkable that she should be left isolated in the midst of wild men and wild beasts, especially after the shock she had just had. I was full of anxiety about her at this time, and constantly dreaded that an accident of some kind might happen to her while we were in the wilds, where at every turn one is liable to run upon an un- expected peril. I felt that I was responsible for her safety, and should always be close at hand to protect her in case of need. I therefore decided that the best thing to do was to have my own tent, which was, fortunately, quite large enough for the purpose, divided into two compartments. Accordingly I had a partition put up along the centre of it, which made it into 3i8 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. two tents, each with a separate doorway. Outside mine I always had a sentry posted, with instructions to call me on the slightest alarm, as I always lay down in my clothes with a rifle ready to hand in case of need. I would have given Mrs. B. the whole tent to herself, only that on the day we got to Marsabit I most unluckily fell seriously ill with an attack of fever and dysentery. Rain also began to fall, as it usually does here every day during the forenoon at this season of the year. It was therefore abso- lutely necessary that I should not only have shelter, but also most careful nursing and attention, as dysentery is no light malady, and if neglected may prove fatal in a few days, especially to one who has had an attack before. It is impossible for me to express my gratitude to Mrs. B. for the care she took of me during- my illness, while she herself was still in the throes of a great misfortune. If I had during these days been left to the tender mercies of my servant, it is more than probable that I should not have been alive to write this account of my expedition, as for some time it was touch-and-go whether the fever and dysentery could be brought under or not. Fortun- ately I had brought with me some tins of powdered milk, which was quite a new invention, and had been kindly given to me by Mrs. S. during our XXV AT MARSABIT 319 expedition to the Kitui district. This was now prepared for me by Mrs. B., and to it, and to her careful watching and attention, I feel that I owe my recovery. I knew that it would be a very serious matter if anything were to happen to me at this particular time, as in that case my unfortunate companion would be left utterly alone and unprotected in this savage land. The thought of what she might have to endure helped me to fight against my illness and to keep all knowledge of it as far as possible from the men of the safari, lest they should think I was now a negligible quantity and break out in mutiny again. Day by day, therefore, I used to show myself at my tent door, where I sat and gave the usual orders about the daily routine, although the internal agonies I was suffering at the time were such as I hope never to experience again. It was perhaps a mercy that Mrs. B. was taken out of herself by having to turn her attention to nursing at this period of her distress. The very fact that she had to begin anxious work so soon after the tragedy had a good effect on her, as it helped to divert her thoughts and roused her a little out of her despondency. In a few days' time the fever and dysentery abated, so, as soon as I was at all fit, I called Papai the guide to me and questioned him about the 320 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. xxv country to the north. He told me that from a hill near our camp I could see the Urray range of mountains standing out boldly some 50 miles away ; I knew therefore that they must be on the edge of the Reserve, as I was now about that distance from its northern border. Although I gathered that the hill from whence I could spy out the country was only some six or eight miles distant, I felt that in my weak state it would be impossible for me to go there and return between sunrise and sunset, so, as soon as I could move, we took six or eight porters to carry what was absolutely necessary for twenty-four hours, and set out with Papai, leaving the Headman in charge of our camp by Crater Lake. The morning was foggy, and the march was a painful one to me and prolonged on account of the many rests I had to take; but at the end of it, when we got clear of the mist, it was gratifying to find that the highest peak of the Urray range was plainly visible. I lost no time in taking its bearing, as well as those of some other prominent features of the country round about, and these I sketched in on my map, thus completing and linking up the whole chain of mountains and hills which I considered suitable to form a good natural eastern boundary to the Reserve. CHAPTER XXVI SOUTHWARD ONCE MORE Before setting out from Nairobi I had intended, as I have already explained, to mark out, not only the eastern, but also the northern boundary of the Reserve. Circumstances were, however, against this, and my health alone made it impossible to consider any further extension of the journey. The principal object of my expedition having now been attained, it was with a feeling of great satisfaction that I headed the safari southward and marched towards civilisation. On reaching Noumbah, a Samburu encampment a few miles from Crater Lake, I hired twelve camels from the local chief, who was named Ledemishi, to enable us to cross the inhospitable desert. He also brought me some sheep and goats, for all of which I paid him with amerikani, wire, beads, &c. We got some cows' milk from him, too, which was most acceptable. 321 y 322 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. From Noumbah we marched to Reti, where there was now, for some reason or other, but a small quantity of muddy liquid in the waterhole. On the way I halted the caravan for half an hour in order to sfive a rhino which stood in our way a chance to clear off, but eventually I had to shoot it to ensure the safety of the safari as it passed. I was afraid to drink the water at Reti lest it should bring back my illness, but it is not altogether bad when not too freely mixed with mud. For Mrs. B.'s sake I was anxious to avoid Lersamis on the way back, as I did not wish her to go through the ordeal of returning to the scene of the tragedy so soon after the event. Neither was it necessary to retrace our steps that way, for I was informed that an encampment of Rendile and a water supply might be found at some little distance to the west of Lersamis, at the foot of the great mountain of Serramba, which rises abruptly out of the plain. Accordingly I headed the safari south-westward for this mountain, and as the Kaisoot Desert stretched between, it had to be faced once more. It took us two days to cross it, and in my weak state I found the march an exceedingly trying and exhausting one. The vertical rays of a tropical sun beat down on us fiercely, and no shade was to be obtained anywhere. The water which we had XXVI SOUTHWARD ONCE MORE 323 brought with us on the camels was used up long before the journey was completed, and when we at last reached the Rendile encampment at Serramba, fourteen of the porters and boys had given up the struggle in despair, and, overcome by the heat and thirst, had fallen by the way. Munyakai bin Diwani now showed the metal that he was made of, for, collecting half a dozen of the more able porters and getting from the Rendile a couple of camels loaded with jars of water, he started back along the route, and by his prompt action managed to rescue ten of the exhausted men, who were lying stretched out on the path almost at the last stage of death from thirst. They revived somewhat when they had drunk a little of the water which he gave them, and as soon as they were able to move he sent them on to camp without their loads, which were brought in by other men later on. One of the unfortunate porters and three boys could not be found anywhere, and what their fate was, to this day I know 'xiot. I sent out search parties, lit fires, fired rifles, and promised the Rendile rewards, but without result. Two of the donkeys also died during the march from want of water. It may be remem- bered that I had set out from Nairobi with fifty tins to hold water, but these had been subjected to such rough usage on the road that not more than half a dozen were capable of holding anything. Y 2 324 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. I did not see much game in the desert, as was to be expected, but came across a large turtle wandering about in stolid indifference to its surroundings. The sight of it aroused superstitious fears in some of the men, who at once broke off a few brambles from the scrub and covered it up, I suppose with the object of averting evil. We found the Rendile at Serramba very kind and hospitable, and although there was after all no spring at this place, and they themselves were compelled to bring water daily from a distance in jars on their camels, yet they freely gave us from the stock which they held in reserve. Next morning we left our kind hosts and con- tinued our journey towards the Guaso Nyiro, reaching Nayssoe about mid-day. Lemerlene was much pleased to see us again, and brought me some sheep and goats, for which of course I paid him with amerikani and beads. I also asked him to waive his objection to crossing the Samburu country and hire me eight camels to take us to the Guaso Nyiro, as some of the camel men who came with us from Marsabit wished to return to their home from this place. The old chief, to my surprise, made no difficulty about lending the camels, probably because he had been so liberally paid for those which I had hired for the journey to Marsabit. XXVI SOUTHWARD ONCE MORE 325 Knowing- his weakness for sweet coffee, I had a good supply made, which he drank with great gusto, sitting on his skinny and sun-cracked heels at my tent door. While sipping his fifth or sixth cup he asked me through an interpreter if I re- membered his warning about the man-eating lion. "Yes," I replied, "as he very nearly got one of us, and would probably have succeeded if we had not been put on our guard by you." The old chief then shook his head very gravely, smacked his lips two or three times, and said that the lion had since then become very bad indeed, and we must be more careful than ever, as everyone in his manyatta was terrified of him, and only a couple of nights previously he had carried off a leading elder in the tribe out of his hut, which was only about 200 yards from the place where our tent was pitched. When I asked for further details of this tragic affair, he told me the following story. The manyatta, it appeared, had been closed as usual, and all the cows, sheep, and goats were safely kraaled inside it ; the warriors and elders and young women and children were all asleep, while three or four old women, as is the custom, kept watch over the flocks, sitting beside the embers of a fire. From time to time there came to them the distant roar of a lion, reverberating from the 326 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. high granite rocks which hereabouts dot the arid plain. They could hear him as he came closer and closer, making his way towards the 7nanyatta along the sandy bed of the Guaso Merele under the gloomy shade of the trees which line its banks. They thought little of this at the time, as there was nothing unusual in the occurrence. He often serenaded the manyatta without attempting to break in, but on this night he was apparently hungrier, and therefore more savage, than usual. After a time the roars ceased and there was complete silence. The old crones sitting by the fireside were dozing off to sleep, when suddenly they and the whole encampment were aroused by the noise and uproar caused by the man-eater springing on to one of the flimsy huts which encircled the wall of the manyatta, and crashing through on to the unconscious sleepers beneath. Terrified screams rent the air, and the next moment the brute was seen emerging through the low doorway of the hut, with the writhing elder gripped firmly in his vice-like jaws. He quickly disappeared with him through the bush-filled opening of the boma, among the stampeding cattle and amid the terrified yells of the Rendile tribesmen. It was a great piece of misfortune that the lion should have chosen an old and rickety roof to jump on XXVI SOUTHWARD ONCE MORE 327 to, as otherwise the huts are made quite strong enough to have kept him out.^ When the old chief had finished his story, he swallowed the rest of the coffee, looked round nervously at the gathering gloom, and quickly took himself off to his manyatta before darkness closed in. It was very evident that he was in great dread of the man-eater. Our scanty meal was rather late that evening, and I well remember the anxious glances we cast into the gloomy thicket as we sat at dinner with our rifles on our knees, listening to the ominous grunts and purrs of that self-same lion. The brute prowled round us all night, but made no attack, as I kept big fires going, and had watchers in pairs on the move round the camp until dawn appeared. 1 The Rendile often use a rude kind of tent when on the move, but build huts here and there when settled. CHAPTER XXVII BACK TO THE GUASO NYIRO It was with ereat thankfulness that we shook the dust of Nayssoe from our feet when we set out on the following morning for our next camping-place at Lungaya. I left some of my men behind to load up and bring on the camels under the guidance ot Karogi, who knew the country thoroughly. All went well on our march, except that a huge rhino charged the safari and vented his rage upon a water-can which a porter hastily threw down in escaping out of his way. The man who had been carrying the tin told me that what actually happened was this. While walking along with the w^ater-can on his head, a rhino burst out from a thicket immediately behind him. ' To avoid the charge, he made a frantic bound forward, which of course threw the tin backwards from his head. Just as it fell the rhino made a lunge, caught it on the tip of his cH.xxvii BACK TO THE GUASO NYIRO 319 horn, and with this unusual trophy vanished into the bush ! I daughingly told him that it was the best excuse I had ever heard for getting rid of an un- comfortable load, but that he must now return and bring in the tin. On this he loudly asserted that his tale was true, and brought forward a couple of witnesses to bear him out. Everyone turned up safely in camp during the afternoon, but there was no sign of the camels. When night came on and they had not put in an appearance, I began to feel anxious, for they were carrying the greater part of the foodstuffs for the safari, as well as several other important loads. We did not want any water carried on this march, as we knew we should find it at Lungaya, so to rest the men I had loaded up the camels with many of their burdens. Early in the morning I sent an askari and one of my guides back to Nayssoe to find out what had happened, telling them to follow me to Kavai, where I intended to go at once with the safari. On our way to this place we saw numbers of giraffe, rhino, gerenuk, Grevy zebra, and oryx, also fresh tracks of elephant. I half hoped that when we reached Kavai we should find the camels already there before us, as it was possible that Karogi might have known a shorter way and so missed us, but there was no sign of them anywhere on our arrival. 330 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. Next day my messengers arrived from Nayssoe, having covered some forty miles in two days. They brought me news that the camels had left Nayssoe soon after the safari, but were nowhere to be seen along the road. This was very disconcerting, as we wanted food badly, and I began to fear that Karogi had been up to some rascality, and had led them astray purposely so that he might steal the loads and disappear into the wilds. It was also possible that he had struck out for the Guaso Nyiro by some different way, and might even now be at Serah, the next camp, having marched there by some other route known only to himself. I there- fore despatched Papai and a Masai called Saiba to see if by any chance this was what had happened. These two had already marched twelve miles in the morning, and it was another twelve on to Serah, but they went very cheerfully, and returned at 6 p.m. in the evening, having covered at least thirty-six miles that day. They bore the disappointing news that the camels were not there, and to prove that they had really been to Serah, brought back a stick from our old bonia at that place. I now feared that some villainy was afoot and that we might be attacked at any moment. I there- fore had a bovia made, and later on sent the Head- man, with three askaris and a dozen porters, back to Nayssoe with orders to find out definitely where XXVII BACK TO THE GUASO NYIRO 331 the camels had gone, and who had taken them. As we were In an exceedingly wild and uncivilised part of the country, I feared that the Samburu had attacked and captured them, and that the next thing I might expect would be a midnight attack on our camp. This made me most anxious on Mrs. R.'s account. She, however, was full of pluck, and when I mentioned to her that I might possibly have to return to rescue the camels from the Samburu, she seemed rather pleased than otherwise at the prospect of a fight and did not appear to realise the gravity of the situation, for which I was thankful. I remained on the alert all night, and spent a very anxious time straining my ears to catch any unusual sound. About midnight, when the camp had settled down into absolute quiet, without stir or noise of any kind, we were suddenly startled by a terrific and unearthly yelling and howling of a most uncanny kind. Instantly the whole camp leaped to its feet and everyone seized a weapon of some sort. On investigation, we found that the alarm was created by the weird howling of a pack of twenty or more hysenas, who had come down close to our camp and, evidently at the signal of a leader, howled together in unison. This was repeated time after time, and was probably meant either to frighten us away, or as a reproach to us for having pitched our camp so 332 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. close to the only waterhole for miles round in the neighbourhood. I felt that to a certain extent we deserved this rebuke, for on our first night at Kavai, numbers of wild animals of all kinds came round our boiiia on their way to the waterhole, but were so startled by our appearance that they went away again. On this second evening they had come again, evidently very thirsty, and seeing us still there, had to retire once more without drinking. I felt exceed- ingly sorry for them, as I knew they must be suffering considerably by this time, and if it had been safe to do so, I should certainly have moved the camp some distance from the water, so as to give them a chance to drink ; but I feared to do this in case of an attack by the natives. Soon after this alarm, at about one o'clock In the morning, Munyakai returned, shouting out to us from afar off so that we might know who he was. He brouoht us the tjlad news that the camels were following close behind and that all was well. His appearance was greeted with loud cheers by the safari, as it meant that their posho was at hand. It appeared, from what Munyakai told me, though I never quite fathomed the whole story, that the villain Karogi, as soon as we had marched off from Nayssoe, tried to get for himself XXVII BACK TO THE GUASO NYIRO 333 some sheep and goats from the Rendile, and as they resented this, they kept back the camels hoping that I would come in quest of them, punish Karogi, and return the sheep. However, the rascal managed to square the matter with them somehow, and they released the camels before the Headman got to Nayssoe. Munyakai's account seemed to show that the askari and guide whom I had sent back from Kavai had never gone to Nayssoe at all, as they had brought the false report that the camels had left Nayssoe soon after ourselves. There was not much sleep for any of us during the remainder of this night, as a terrific storm of wind, rain, thunder and lightning now came on and lasted until morning. These tropical storms are very different from those we have at home, and come on with most startling suddenness. All at once a fierce blast of wind strikes the tents, nearly knocking them over. Then the heavens are lighted up almost continuously by flash after flash of blind- ing lightning, while the roar and crash of the thunder are deafening, and the rain comes down in sheets. The storm was so bad that the camels were unable to travel, but one of the camel men came in and said they would follow us to the next camp and we need not wait for them. It was not until about nine o'clock in the morning that this heavy rain 334 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. ceased, and we were able at last to set out for Serah, which we reached safely, early in the after- noon. We heard lions roaring round the camp at night, and a sudden gale of wind nearly carried away the tent. Early next day the long-expected camels turned up at last, and I was very glad indeed to see them, as food was badly needed for the safari, and we had been obliged to shoot meat for them every day. Fortunately the camels arrived just in time to take us across the waterless tract of country which lies between Serah and the Guaso Nyiro ; so, when food had been distributed, we started off at once, and before darkness fell had covered a good stretch of that inhospitable desert. Soon after we had set out on the following morning, as I was riding slowly and painfully along, I saw some vultures on the track just ahead of us. Had I been well enough I would undoubtedly have jumped off my pony and stalked the spot carefully, for I felt sure there would be a kill, and probably lions on it. As it was, I felt little or no interest in anything, and so rode on without making any attempt to come upon them unawares. When we approached the spot we saw, as I quite expected, two lions well out in the open, feeding on an impala which they had killed. On seeing us they left what little remained of their feast and made off xxm BACK TO THE GUASO NYIRO 335 in the direction in which we were travelling. Instantly Abbudi, grasping his spear and with joy dancing in his eyes, started off in pursuit. He had not run very far when he came up unexpectedly with one of them that had merely gone behind the nearest bush to take cover. Having not the least idea that the beast was so close, the youth approached at full speed and very nearly ran into him ; as he did so the lion opened his jaws wide and gave a fierce growl. Instantly Abbudi threw himself back, poised his spear for a thrust, expecting the brute to spring on him, but luckily the lion had just enjoyed a good meal and was in no humour for a fight, so, much to the Masai's relief, he turned aside, and made off into the jungle. Abbudi's expression was very amusing, when a few^ minutes later he re-acted the whole of this scene most dramatically, as the Masai love to do. His face was full of exulting pride, and it was evident that he considered it no small thing to have stood up to the lion without having shown any fear or attempted to run away. I felt much pleased as we approached the Guaso Nyiro, for I knew that when once it was reached, the worst part of our journey would be over, and no matter what happened to me after that, Mrs. B., at any rate, would be comparatively safe, and within reasonable reach of civilisation. 336 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. It was extremely hot during the latter part of the march, and but for the fact that the porters were cheered at the prospect of reaching the plentiful waters of the river some time in the afternoon, there would have been much discontent and falling out by the way. The moment the feathery tops of the palm trees that grow here and there along the river were seen, a great shout of joy ran along the line, and every man seemed to shake his fatigue from him as he stepped briskly onward. My heart was often moved with pity for the poor fellows, when I watched them drearily drag one weary foot after another on these hot and exhausting marches, carrying a load of some sixty pounds in weight on their heads day after day. I was very glad for their sakes that the worst part of the journey was now over, and we were again entering a well-watered country, where shorter marches could be made. On reaching the river the men threw down their loads, and rushed eagerly into the cool flowing stream, to drink their fill of the sweet water. After an hour's rest I began to look for a ford, for I wished to cross and camp on the south bank as quickly as possible, in case a flood should come and detain me on the wrong side. We now required the camels no longer, so, to reward the drivers, I had a large pot of coffee made for them, which they thoroughly enjoyed. I XXVII BACK TO THE GUASO NYIRO 337 then paid them hberally for havinor accompanied me through the desert, and on the followinir mornincr they returned to their own land, heaping showers of blessings on my head. While we were crossing the river one of the boys, a lazy, worthless rascal, whom I had often to punish, "rushed eagerly into the COOI. ll.n\\I\( was nearly drowned, as he was carried off his legs and swept away by the force of the stream, and but for a timely rescue it is probable that a crocodile would have seized him among the rocks a little lower down, where these hideous brutes abounded. It was an odd chance that a photograph was being taken of the scene just as this accident occurred. z 338 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. xxvii The relief which I experienced on getting into camp on the southern side of the Guaso Nyiro is indescribable. I slept more peacefully that night than I had done for the past fortnight, and I fervently BUT FOR A TIMELY RESCUE IT IS PROBABLE THAT A CROCODILE WOULD HAVE SEIZED HIM." hoped that the remainder of our journey would be free from further accident or adventure. We were, however, by no means yet out of the grip of the nyika. CHAPTER XXVIII WE REACH THE MERU COUNTRY As I was very anxious to get back to Nairobi as quickly as possible, I determined to march due south through the fertile Meru and Embu country to the east of Mount Kenya, which was much the shortest route, instead of going all the way round by Rumuruti, through a sterile tract where no food could be obtained for the safari. It was absolutely essential that supplies should be forthcoming, as I had only four days' food left for the men, and it was no small worry to me at times to know that I had about a hundred hungry mouths to fill daily for another three or four weeks. I was aware that the tribesmen of the territory I intended to traverse were considered by certain officials to be both hostile and treacherous, and that no Europeans were allowed to enter the country for that reason ; but I have always found that if one knows hovv^ to deal diplomatically with the natives 339 y 2 3+0 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. there is hardly ever any trouble with them. At the same time I had heard that the last party that went through this district, not so very long before, had had sixteen men killed in a fight ; I must admit, therefore, that I was by no means free from anxiety, as these tribes have undoubtedly from time immemorial suffered from the depredations of passing safaris, and might therefore treat us as hostile visitors and give us a very warm reception. After much consideration of all the pros and cons I came to the conclusion that it was necessary to take the risk and go by this route, as I was practically certain, by so doing, of obtaining food supplies for the men. Luckily, on the very morning after crossing the Guaso Nyiro, while our commissariat was in this low state, I was fortunate in obtaining, from an over- inquisitive giraffe, a couple of days' supply of meat. The unlucky creature came rather close to our camp to breakfast off the green tree tops, and as I was not well enough to stalk it, I requested my companion to do so ; although she was naturally loath to shoot one of these beautiful and harmless animals, yet the needs of the safari had to be considered and so, all unwillingly, she laid the giraffe low with one merciful bullet. Before striking south we first made our way to the Samburu village ruled over by Legurchalan, xxviii WE REACH THE MERU COUNTRY 341 from whom we had engaged some camels on our way northwards. To reach this village we had to go along a very rough and lava-strewn path beside the Guaso Nyiro. In order to avoid the boulders and fissures in the lava, we tried for part of the march to make our way along that part of the bed "SHE LAID THE GIRAFFE l.OW WUII U.NE MEKCIFLI. iU'EFEl'." of the river, which was now dry. For a time we got along fairly easily, and found plenty to interest us. The river here has precipitous sides of black lava rock some 60 feet high, in which great natural caverns have been hollowed out by the action of the water, some of them extending for over a hundred feet back from the face. These are 3+2 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. evidently used by the Samburu or Wandorobo as dwelling-places and cattle kraals at certain seasons of the year. In one of the caves we discovered the lair of a lion with freshly-gnawed bones strewn about It. I must say that I approached the spot with the greatest caution, as I had no ambition to call on the lion in this gloomy place If he should be at home. After travelling thus for a few miles along the river bed we all at once came to a narrow gorge through which the river ran swiftly, filling it from bank to bank so that it was impossible to go up-stream any further. We did not want to retrace our steps after having come so far, and It was not possible to climb up the precipitous sides, so we were rather in a difficulty ; fortunately those who had continued to march along the top heard us shout, and lowered ropes to pull us up. These, however, proved too short, so Asa Ram, the Indian syce, took off his puggarl, which was enormous and very strong, and when this was knotted to the rope it just reached to the bottom. By this means some two dozen of us were hauled up the perpendicular face of the rock and landed safely on the top. Next day, April 13th, we reached Legurchalan's villas^e on the banks of the Mara stream, and found the old Samburu chief deliofhted to see us. I heard XXVIII WE REACH THE MERU COUNTRY 343 from him that one of the camels which beloneed to Lalla Rookh had died on the return journey from Serah. As I did not wish this handsome young warrior to be put to any loss on my account I sent for him, and very much to his surprise and delight paid him the full value of the beast. He himself protested that he was not in any way entitled to be recompensed for it, as I was clearly not responsible for anything that happened to the camel after it left my safari. He was quite a nice youth, and I was glad to be able to make him amends for his misfortune. Here I discharged my two faithful Samburu guides, Papai and Olasegedidi, paying them off with bales of amerikani, brass and copper wire, and beads. I first offered them rupees, but these they laughingly declined, saying that they would be of no use to them in their tribe except to serve as toys for their children. They were delighted with their reward and left me with many hearty handshaker and good wishes for a safe journey. On leaving Legurchalan's vianyatta we marched south to a place called Ongata Mariri, where we camped on the banks of a small stream called the Ooldooga. Between the Samburu and ]\Ieru districts there is a tract that is quite deserted by natives, both nations being afraid to inhabit it. This neutral 344 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. zone is beautiful, well watered and grassed, and is an ideal country either for agricultural or grazing purposes. It is fairly well wooded too in places, and will, I am sure, when the Protectorate is more settled, become inhabited by a thriving population. It was through this savannah-like belt of country, known as the Jombini plains, that we now made our way, and at our first camping-place by the Ooldooga stream I saw a good deal of game, including a herd of about 200 eland, also herds of oryx. Grant's gazelle, some gerenuk, and a few rhino. Here also were great numbers of both Grevy's and Burchell's zebra, the two races meeting on this plain, but herding and feeding quite separately. I noticed one oryx in particular which I should have been glad to bag, as it had horns about half as long again as any in the herd, and they must have been many inches more than the best previous records for East Africa. I was, however, not well enough to undertake an arduous stalk. There were thousands of guinea-fowl about, so that there was no lack of sport of all kinds. It is altogether an ideal hunting country, which I have recommended should be thrown open to both sportsmen and explorers. From the Ooldooga we pushed on to a stream called Leilabah, where again game abounded ; XXVIII WE REACH THE MERU COUNTRY 345 numbers of the beautiful crested cranes were much in evidence, while the ubiquitous guinea fowl could be flushed out of every bush. The following day we reached the outskirts of the Meru country, and apparently took all the people by surprise. We were at once looked upon as a "we reached the outskirts of the meru country.'' hostile raiding party and there was a tremendous commotion raised, war-drums being sounded, and shouts exchanged from village to village, these being built very close together in this populous country. All the cattle were instantly driven off to places of concealment in the forest, and in an incre- dibly short time we were surrounded by a howling 34^ IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. band of some three hundred spearmen, under their various chiefs, all brandishing their weapons. Things looked very serious, and I must admit I felt somewhat alarmed. I therefore placed the safari in a safe position on a rise overlooking a village, and walked out towards the yelling crowd of practically K> ^^B^^*-1K bfc^ ^A^H • ^^^^^^^^B iti ' f^mSA Itt. •t "overlooking a village." naked savages, making my way to a spot where I saw a group of elders congregated, evidently dis- cussing the situation. I made the usual peaceable salutation, and we shook hands. I then explained in Swahili, which one or two of the elders under- stood, that I only wanted to pass through their country peaceably, and so long as I was not XXVIII WE REACH THE MERU COUNTRY 347 molested I would not interfere with them in any way whatever. They seemed much impressed by the fact that I went out to them alone and unarmed, and took it at once as an explicit sign of my good intentions. As soon as they fully realised this, they shouted to the "iUL UU\\L1M_; ARMY lULN .... 1 il^ 11 , Rsl, I i. ' warriors to retire and lay aside their arms, as we were friends and had come on a friendly mission. The howling army then disbanded and dispersed as quickly as it had made its appearance, and we were shown a pretty site for our camp at a place called Athinga, close beside the village of the chief, 348 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. who was called Dominuki. Here in the course of an hour we were surrounded by hundreds of eager and curious savages. We had apparendy arrived at an opportune moment, because a short time previously Dominuki had been attacked by a combination of two tribes, the Kanjai and the Munyezu. Of course DOMINUKI SENT US PRESENTS OF CATTLE. Dominuki was anxious to enlist me and my half- dozen rifles on his side so that we might make a combined attack on his enemies, and to this end he sent us presents of cattle, sheep, goats, milk, honey, eggs, etc., for which I duly returned presents of equal value. The old chief himself was exceedingly xxviii WE REACH THE MERU COUNTRY 340 ill with fever and ulcers, for which I treated liiin to the best of my ability. He now organised a tremendous ingoum (native dance) in our honour. All the warriors in the locality, to the number of about 500, turned up in their war-paint and gathered in a field close by, where apparently all such ceremonies were held. To begin with, the old Witch Doctor took a small gourd filled with banana beer into the centre of the circle of warriors, and made a most impassioned speech, which was listened to with rapt attention and punctuated every now and again with a chorus of approval from the audience. At the conclusion of the speech a piece of turf was dug up from the field, the beer was placed in the hollow, and the Witch Doctor, with a final peroration, smashed it to atoms with his club, then jumped and stamped on it, finally covering it over with the turf. The whole of this performance, I presume, denoted death and ex- tinction to all enemies of the tribe. The dance then commenced, and was a most weird and wild affair. The Witch Doctor first took the precaution of placing a guard around us, so that none of the excited warriors might do us an injury while in their half-frenzied state. The warriors, decked out in their semi-Masai garb, and painted hideously, then formed up in two companies in front of us, one to our right and the other to our left. 350 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. Groups of from four to six advanced from each side, and with savage shouts and yells dashed at each other, bounding into the air with great leaps, and making their spears quiver in their hands. They circled round in front of us, feigning to attack each other and making fierce passes in the air, leaping and yelling all the time, until one party retired, pursued by the other. This was repeated time after time, until the whole of the company had in turn taken part in the dis- play, after which the two companies united and went round us in a great circle, springing and bounding and hurling defiant words at their absent enemy — in this case the warriors of a chief called Thularia, whose district adjoined. During all the time. that this war-dance was going on the women of the tribe kept away at a discreet distance, not daring to come near. Now, however, on its conclusion they approached, decked out in all the finery of the Meru belles, and each with a broad smile on her face, without any bashfulness or timid- ity, selected a favourite warrior, and a peace ingoma commenced. In this the performers made a ring, the men on the outside and the women on the inside, facing each other. Then, with hands on each other's shoulders, they commenced an up-and- down motion, raising themselves on their toes and then sinking down again on their heels, accompanied XXVIII WE REACH THE MERU COUNTRY 351 by a monotonous chant which was weirdly interrupted now and then by the beating of the war drum, or the savage yell of an excited warrior. "dfckei, out i.\ all the finery of the meku belles. The festivities were kept up throughout the day, nor did they cease at nightfall, as while I lay awake, far into the night, I could plainly hear the fiendish sounds of the heathen revelry. CHAPTER XXIX THROUGH THE MERU COUNTRY Next morning we started off with an escort of about ICG of Dominuki's warriors and made for a place called Kamuru, which was ruled over by Thularia, the chief of Dominuki's enemies. We had to march through forest and thick jungle, and I was not at all easy in my mind about the safety of the safari in such an enclosed country, where we were liable at any moment to be surprised. I therefore threw out my escort of warriors as an advance and flank guard to prevent any sudden attack on the caravan. On reaching Kamuru we found that Thularia was very diffident about coming out of his fortified bonia, as he feared I should take him prisoner for his share in the fighting with Dominuki. However, he eventually appeared, escorted by his Prime Minister and Umbrella Bearer, and a party of warriors. First there was the usual exchange of presents, and then cH.xxix THROUGH THE MERU COUNTRY 353 commenced the shaiiri for the release of the prisoners he had captured from Dominuki. It was a very long one, btit I eventually succeeded in making him come to terms which were just and equitable to both parties. Apparently in the first instance some of his men had been treacherously killed by Dominuki's war- riors, and for every man so killed Thu- laria demanded 10 cows, the usual fine in the Meru country for a life taken. Nothing was de- manded by either chief for the war- riors killed in battle, as a fine is never inflicted when a man is killed in a fight with his spear in his hand. When the terms were settled and the shaiiri over, I sent back word to Dominuki that as soon as he paid the fine of cows, imposed according to custom, his prisoners would be released. After this a market was opened, and I was able, A A TIIUI.ARIA . . . L\ I'..\ I UAl.l.V APrEARED." 354 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. with the help of the chief, to procure a good supply of food-stuffs, flour, beans, and bananas, of which I was sadly in need. We then took our departure from Kamuru and proceeded to Munyezu, still through a very thickly enclosed country and through vast plantations "a good supply of food-stuffs." of banana trees. On the way we saw by the side of the path the scalp of- one of Dominuki's men, who had been treacherously speared while attempting to retrieve some stolen cattle. The chief of this district, whose name was Pymwezu, met us in quite a friendly way. He promised us food galore, but his people were not so XXIX THROUGH THE MERU COUNTRY 355 hospitably inclined. They seemed very suspicious of the safari, and paid no attention to his orders, so that we got practically nothing here — in fact, the only good thing that Pymwezu did was to bring us a basketful of most delicious tomatoes, which was the greatest possible treat he could have given us after our long and much-felt lack of fresh fruit and vegetables. I was so anxious to make these last as long as possible, that I gave them into the special charge of my most reliable donkey-boy. I was much sur- prised, therefore, when I did not see them on the table next day, and on asking Paul, the cook, where they were, he calmly told me that there were none. " But," I said, " I gave the donkey-boy a basketful this morning." '' NdioJ' answered honest Paul, '' iakini shattj'i ya Haniesi" ("Yes, but Hamesi knows all about it "). I called up the donkey-boy, and asked him what he had done with them, when he gravely informed me that while he was busy repacking a load a donkey had eaten them ! I remarked that I greatly feared the donkey in ques- tion was a two-legged one — whereupon the rogue hung his head. Such are some of the little trials and tribulations to be expected on safari, but when one gets to know the character of the native, one can sympathise with these children of the wilds, and even smile at the want of ingenuity which they display when they wish to A A 2 356 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. concoct a convincing tale to cover some little delinquency. I made no delay at Munyezu, and continued the march to a place called Surah, where I was met by another chief named Mithari, who seemed to be a man of considerable importance in these parts. Here, at the request of all the chiefs concerned, I held a big shattri and arranged terms of peace between the three tribes which had recently been warring with each other. Mithari represented Domi- nuki's interests, while the other chiefs present were Thularia, Kizitu, and Mundu wa Weru. Pymwezu did not turn up, as he was evidently alarmed about his share in the fight, but he sent Kizitu in his place. This man brought with him as Interpreter a young and good-looking wife, who spoke fluent Swahlll and was loaded down with brass and copper wire and many rows of beads. She was evidently a lady of importance, and one who knew how to make her- self respected — a thing most unusual in the wilds of Africa, where a woman is considered a mere chattel. In this case, her good lord himself carried an easy camp chair about for her, in which she sat in great state interpreting throughout the shauri. By a remarkable coincidence this good-looking wife was an old dito (sweetheart) of my boy Mbusonye, who was a Masai, and it was very amusing to watch XXIX THROUGH THE MERU COUNTRY 357 him, for as soon as he caught sight of her, he instantly divested himself of his coat and all other civilised attire which he wore when in attendance upon me, and, borrowing Abbudi's spear, went and made salutation to the lady, and hung over the back of her chair in a most lover-like way. They held a long conversation, but what it was about I know not. The result, however, was that my boy came to me later on and asked me to let him have a month's wages (15 rupees) in brass and copper wire, so that he might deck out his old sweetheart with it. The shauri with the chiefs lasted for a consider- able time, but finally the terms of peace which I proposed were agreed to by all as fair and just. Mithari accepted the terms provisionally on Domi- nuki's behalf, so I hope things are more peaceable in that part of the country now. The whole district is an exceedingly beautiful and fruitful one, and it is a great pity that it should be torn by these tribal dissensions. Quite a brisk market was now opened, and good trade done between the safari and the people in the locality. Mithari provided us with sheep, goat's milk, and food, for which we paid him with brass and copper wire and amerikani. He remained in our camp as a guarantee for our safety, and kept with him, as a messenger, a quaint-looking youth clothed in banana leaves. 358 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. Rain came down in torrents during the night, which made matters very unpleasant, especially for the porters who had to carry the tents, etc., next day, as their loads weighed nearly twice as much when wet as when dry. Our next march took us to a place called Myeru, and from thence we pushed on to Mackinduni through a thickly-populated and well- cultivated piece of country. We had to cross a very deep ravine, at the bottom of which ran a stream. Here Mithari took leave of us, for he said he dare not cross, as the people on the other side were his enemies and would kill him on his return journey if he went with us throuoh their o country. I gave him a handsome present of copper wire, and amerikani, and he departed quite pleased with the gift. Meanwhile the safari had been crossing the river by means of the hollowed-out trunk of a great tree which formed a rude bridge. All passed over in safety, with the exception of one pony that slipped over the side. The poor beast fell heavily on to a smooth rock, some eight feet below, and then tumbled " A QUAINT-LOOKING YOUTH CLOTHED IN BANANA LEAVES. XXIX THROUGH THE MERU COUNTRY 359 down into the turbulent stream. I thought his back must be broken and gave him up for lost, as I saw him borne swiftly away towards the rapids lower down. Here, however, Jerogi, the syce, redeemed his reputation, for without any hesitation he dived in, seized the reins, and swam with the pony safely to shore. Strange to say, the animal was quite unharmed by the accident. As soon as we crossed the ravine, the people fled from our path, and at a safe distance lined the tops of their village stockades to watch us while we passed. As they sat thus clustered together in black rows, they looked for all the world like vultures. Soon we came to a solitary hut, and from it heard the unmistakable cackle of a hen — a sound we had not heard for months, for the Masai, Samburu, and Rendile consider it incompatible with their dignity to have hens in their manyattas. Thinking that we might be able to buy a few eggs, I sent a man who could talk the local language to make a purchase with some beads. The owner of the hut was completely taken by surprise and was so terrified at the sight of a stranger that, snatching up his spear, he fled for his life, leaving everything behind him, including a wife and new-born baby ! We halted for breakfast close to this hut, as there was a little clearing there, and we could not be surprised by a rush of the savages if they had any 36o IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. idea of attacking us. In a short time four old men cautiously approached, to find out our intentions and reasons for traversing their country. On hearing that we were quite a peaceable safari merely passing through, they seemed greatly re- "a couple of young fowls . WERE PERCHED ON A DONKEY. lieved and brought a grateful present of eggs and a couple of young fowls. As these were alive, they were perched on a donkey, and so rode along daily until Paul wanted them for the pot. In this neighbourhood we came upon a woolly- headed and much wrinkled old native busily engaged, with all the zest of a schoolboy, in setting a cunningly-made bird trap, in which Mrs. B. took XXIX THROUGH THE MERU COUNTRY 361 a great interest, with a view to reproducing it for the amusement of her Httle son when she returned to England. I am indebted to her for the detailed description which is given in the Appendix. It shows the ingenuity and cleverness of the native, who constructs the entire trap with a few sticks and a string made out of the fibre plant. As we approached our next camping-place, I had a practical illustration of the state of savagery in which these tribes dwell. I was attracted by the loud wailing of a poor woman by the wayside, and discovered that she was weeping for her husband, who had been killed on the previous day merely because he had attempted to penetrate into the neighbouring district. It was no wonder that I had failed in my efforts to secure a runner to take letters on to Nairobi. For some time past I had tried to get a messenger, but although I offered a handsome reward, I could find no one willing to undertake the task, all protesting that they would be set upon and killed by the other tribes on the way. We reached Makinduni late in the afternoon of the 22nd April, and camped under the shade of some spreading trees. The guide went oft to a stockaded village about half a mile away, and brought back the local chief, who promised with much vehemence that we should have lots of food 362 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. for the men. Luckily, we were not in great need of it, as we got nothing. The natives here were indined to be hostile, so much so that I feared an attack ; I therefore thought it advisable to keep the chief in camp all night, though he was rather loath to remain. There was very great excitement among the tribe, who gathered in great numbers all round our camp as night came on, and yelled and howled in a most threatening manner. I had in my safari a man who had been born and bred in this part of the country, and, as I could hear from my tent the noisy yellings of another war party at a little distance, evidently holding a meeting of some sort, I sent him to find out what it was all about. After a couple of hours he returned, and told me there had been a big shaiiri of warriors and elders, who had been called together to decide whether they should allow us to pass through their country in peace or fall upon us during the night, wipe out the safari, and loot all our goods. The younger and more fiery warriors were for declaring war ; the elders, however, refused to agree to this proposal, as they said that the solitary white man would never come through their country with a white lady unless he possessed some very powerful medicine with which he would be able to annihilate the warriors if attacked. The Witch Doctor said that they had never seen a white lady before, and it might bring great misfortune if any harm XXIX THROUGH THi: MERU COUNTRY 363 were to befall her. Finally, after lono- and hot arguments on both sides, it was agreed that the safari shou\d be allowed to go through unmolested. The disappointed warriors vented their animosity in howls and yells round our camp. I therefore sat up all night long outside the tent door, with a rifle across my knee, never knowing what moment they might change their minds and attack us. I'>om time to time I let off a rocket, which seemed to have a tremendous effect upon the howling warriors, for the shouting would cease for a little while and all would be quiet. I was exceedingly thankful when at last dawn appeared, and I was able to get the safari away from these hostile people. This was the only occasion upon which I was at all anxious about the attitude of the natives, whom I had found most friendly and hospitable throughout the expedition. It is more than probable that this particular tribe, living on the outskirts of the Meru country, had had to bear the brunt of many raids by Arab' and Swahili caravans, and hence resented the intrusion of the safari into their territory. Before the chief of these truculent people was released he procured me a quaint-looking guide named Mukera, who vowed that he knew the road to the Tana river as well as the palm of his hand. So, telling him to lead the way, we marched off. CHAPTER XXX BACK TO NAIROBI Following our new guide through forest and glade we were soon beyond the southern border of the Meru country, and, continuing our march, found ourselves in an uninhabited and park-like tract of country, where, as evening closed in, we camped at a place which our guide called Komon- gera. We began again to see game here, and it was a pleasure to startle out of the long grass a reedbuck, or perhaps a steinbuck, and watch them bound away to safety. Now and again, in a stony part, we might perhaps surprise a shy little klip- springer. At Komongera our guide informed us that the Tana was not far away, and that he could lead us to a native bridge which spanned it. I knew there were scores of rivers and streamlets running into the Tana from Mount Kenya, while there would be practically none flowing into it on the other 304 CH. XXX BACK TO NAIROBI 365 side, so that if we could i^et across wc should be able to march much more rapidly. I therefore gave him directions to lead us by the most direct route to this bridge. Mukera, however, must have been rather vague as to its position, for, according to his story, we ^^ "10 Sl'ARlLE OUT UF THE LONG GRAbb A KLLDliUCK were alwaySj just coming to it, but we never seemed to get any closer, either to the Tana or to the bridge, all the time he was with us. From Komongera we pushed on through a deserted and somewhat hilly country with fine trees dotted here and there over the landscape. Our path 366 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. took us under some of these, and the branches being- low, one had to be on the alert to avoid a collision. I was riding quietly along as usual, just ahead of Mrs. B., when I heard a crash behind me, and look- ing round saw that she had been dragged off her pony by an overhanging bough, while, to make *^'^'''^#>'"~'^ -^ '^'!^\ "OK TERHAPS A STEINBUCK. matters worse, her foot was entangled in the stirrup. Luckily, the pony stood perfectly still, and she was quickly released from her perilous position, none the worse for her heavy fall. Soon after this incident we made our way along the bed of a stream called the Kicheney, and at XXX BACK TO NAIROBI 367 last, late in the evening, arrived at a place called Kubwaney, which is inhabited by the Tharaka tribe, whom we found to be quite friendly. These people speak a different language from that used in the Meru country, and they struck me as being somewhat like "OR A SIIV I.ITTl.K KI.U'SI'RINGHR/' the Wa'kamba in appearance. The women wear beautifully-worked goat-skins, all covered over most artistically with little shells and beads. We noticed some cattle here, and a great number of goats, but the shambas (plantations) were very poor and badly cultivated. 368 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. Our next march was a particularly difficult one, through tangled vegetation and across numerous ravines and rivers. As we emerged from some dense tropical growth, we unexpectedly found our- " THE WOMEN WEAR BEAUTIFULLY WORKED GOATSKINS." selves on the bank of a swifdy flowing stream, which the guide told me was called the Mutonga. I saw that the crossino- would be a difficult one, so called for a man who could swim well to 0^0 over XXX BACK TO NAIROBI 3^9 with one end of a long rope. Mukera instantly volunteered and proved himself most useful ; with- out any hesitation, he seized the rope, plunged into the torrent and. swimming like a duck, struggled i'^ r /; "l GOT THE SAl'AKI lo LINE llIK KUIE." bravely with his heavy burden to the other side, where he secured it firmly to a stout tree. We then pulled the rope taut and fastened it to another convenient tree on our side. Holding on to this 370 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. support, the men were able to cross one by one with their loads on their heads. We had, however, great trouble with the donkeys and cattle, and it was wnth much difficulty that we prevented some of the former from being carried away and drowned. I got the safari to line the rope from one side to the other, and the donkeys were then passed over one by one on the up-stream side of the rope, and thus kept from being washed away. I had Mrs. B. carried across on the shoulders of four of the sturdiest men in the safari, who would not easily be swept away by the turbulent and dangerous stream. Even so, she very nearly had a dip in the river, as at one time they were almost carried off their feet by the current. She herself wished to walk over holding on to the rope, but this I would not agree to, as I feared she might take a chill and oret fever. When the Mutonga had been safely cleared, the donkeys were loaded up again, and we had barely proceeded another couple of miles and were just beginning to get dry, when we reached another river called the Mara, also in flood, and even more difficult to cross than the Mutonga. The same manoeuvres had to be gone through again, and it gave us four hours' hard work before all had crossed over and we could pitch camp at a place known as Kairunya, on the south bank of the river. We XXX BACK TO NAIROBI 371 found this particular strip of coLintry a most trouble- some and tiresome one to traverse, for we were con- stantly coming upon unexpected obstacles in the shape of great ravines, streams, and rivers, which " WE REACHED ANOTHER RIVER CALLED THE MARA." made our .progress very slow. The prospect was also a cheerless one, as hardly a living thing was to be seen. At our next camp, at a place called Kangono, B 15 2 372 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. we were visited by the local chief, named Njeroo, arrayed in a gorgeous headdress made of the black and white long-haired skin of the collabus monkey. He was of a crafty and cunning-looking type, and V^k^ i ,1 'ik ■ L :xh.vli...l hl> .ibr^l A>_l.i-.> i.N itil'. \\AY OF STREAMS. his appearance gave one the impression that treachery and rascality were inborn in him, but of course one cannot always judge by looks, and he may have been a very decent fellow. XXX BACK TO NAIROBI 373 He was accompanied by a rather fine-looking savage, who carried a beautifully-made Masai spear ; this man told me he often went to the Government station at Embu, and was, in fact, going there the following day. As I wished to send an official letter to the officer in charge, I asked him to call for it in the morninsf before he started. He promised me faithfully that he would do this, but as I did not quite trust him I requested him to leave his spear as a pledge. This he readily agreed to do, driving it into the ground at my tent door. Instead, however, of coming in the morning, he crept into the camp in the darkness of the night, cautiously took his spear from under the nose of the askari on sentry, and I never saw him again. At this same place another wily native tried to play a trick on us, but unfortunately for himself it failed. He was an avaricious-looking villain, and as he prowled round the camp he caught sight of some coils of copper wire which he greatly coveted. Paul, the cook, happened to pass by as he was gloating over the wire, and told him he could have a coil if he brought a dozen eggs in exchange. On hearing this his face lit up with joy, and off he went, returning m a little while with the eggs. When he was questioned as to their freshness, he asserted many times that they were quite "new laid." To 374 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. make sure, however, Paul tested them by putting them into a bucket of water, when he found that every one of them floated. They must have been months old ! The cook was highly indignant that a «^ "on the way \\k had to cross several more rivers." shenzi (savage) should try to get the better of him in this way, so calling for the assistance of a few men of the safaiH, he caught the rogue and broke the whole reeking dozen over his unfortunate head XXX BACK TO NAIROBI 375 — to the huge delight of the onlookers, including a good number of his own tribe, who seemed im- mensely amused at the punishment inflicted. From Kangono we struck south-eastward, and on the way we had to cross several more rivers, which gave us a great deal of trouble and delayed us for hours. On this march the pony called " The Mule " died. He had been suffering for several days from some internal disease, and although he was being led carefully along by the syce, the rivers and ravines which he had to get over proved too much for him, and he suddenly collapsed. Notwithstanding the fact that we had been on the move practically all day, yet when evening found us pitching our tents at a place called Uriyeree, we could not have been more than half a dozen miles, as the crow flies, from our last camp. At Uriyeree the guide came to my tent and with much gesticulation informed me that the long promised bi-^idge over the Tana was now quite close, and that we should reach it at the end of the next day's march. By this time I had very little faith in Mukera's reliability, but I had of course to be guided, more or less, by what he said, as I was absolutely in the dark regarding the geography of the country, maps of which did not exist. From Uriyeree we pushed on next morning 376 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. towards the Tana, and as I rode along at the head of the safari, I was much surprised to see a white man with an escort of natives in war dress coming along towards me. On approaching nearer I discovered that he was an old acquaintance of mine whom I had met at Fort Hall a couple of years previously. He had heard news at his boma at Embu that a European was coming down, and he had sallied out in hot haste to see who it was who had broken the local taboo by marching through this dangerous country. He told me that my guide was mistaken as to the bridge over the Tana, as none existed to his know- ledge, and that the nearest way to Nairobi from our present position was through his boma at Embu. When Mukera discovered that he was found out, he disappeared off into the jungle without asking for any reward for his services. I have often wondered what his game was in misleading us as he did, I can only imagine that he was told by his people to guide us beyond the borders of their district and then decamp on the first opportunity. Next day, after a march of fifteen miles, we reached Embu, and as we dined that evening with a pleasant party under the hospitable roof of the District Commissioner, I felt more relieved than I can express to realise that we were back once more within reach of civilisation. XXX BACK TO NAIROBI 111 My health, too, improved considerably now that the great strain was over, so it was with a com- paratively easy mind that I set out next day towards Fort Hall, which is two short marches from the Embu bonia. Before starting we received many warnings from our kind host to beware of the rhino •' WIC REACHED EMBU. and buffalo which infested the track. The timely caution was indeed very necessary, for our adven- tures were not yet over, and disaster nearly overtook us just as we were almost out of the toils of the iiyika. It happened that our camping-place was on a little rise on the edge of a great papyrus swamp, and while sitting on a chair overlooking it, I sa\v plainly, with 378 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. the naked eye, the black backs of a large herd of buffalo grazing peacefully at no great distance. I thought it would be most interesting and quite safe to walk over and take a closer view, and, if possible, get a photograph of them. From where I stood I thought this might easily be done by stalking along under cover of a ridge and some long grass which extended almost up to the beasts. Accordingly we set out and walked carefully along under cover, until we suddenly found ourselves close to a single bull standing apart from the rest of the herd. He did not see us at first, but a treacherous gust of wind told him of our presence, and he came straight towards us at a gallop. I was surprised at this, as, unless molested, a buffalo as a rule clears off on scenting danger, but I found out after- wards that these beasts had lately been attacked by several parties, and were therefore very vicious. I was much alarmed at his sudden onset, and having no desire to see the brute vent his rage on one of us, I covered him with my rifle, at the same time asking Mrs. B. to fire, as I intended to wait until he was quite close so as to make a sure shot. The next thing I saw was the great bull taking a header while still in full career, stopped by my companion's timely and well-placed bullet. I was naturally delighted, but the next second my joy was turned into the gravest anxiety, for lo ! XXX BACK TO NAIROBI 379 — over the rise and thunderinor alono- throuoh the long grass came the whole herd of about 1 50, making straight as a die for us at a steady gallop, the charge being headed by a bull with huge horns. It was an impressive and awe-inspiring sight to watch the great herd come on at a determined pace, with horns lowered and tails up, looking the very embodiment of savage power. The moment was a very critical one, and the dangerous situation in which we now found our- selves had developed with startling suddenness. I knew that our only chance was to shoot the leader, as the whole herd would then probably turn aside and not trample us to death ; so, saying to my companion "We must drop the leading bull or we're done," we both let drive. When they got within about thirty yards of us, the leader fell with a crash. On seeing this the whole herd halted and stood looking at us as we lay quietly on the ground in front of them, partly con- cealed by the grass. The situation was so alarming that the askaris lost their heads and opened fire. Luckily they forgot in their terror to take any aim, and their bullets ploughed into the ground, not ten yards ahead. Had they gone into the herd, they would have infuriated the beasts, and we should inevitably have been trampled to death. The noise and smoke from the black powder made by the 380 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. askaris' Martini rifles had the effect of turning them off a Httle to our right, where they again halted and stood looking at us, undecided what to do now that their leader was gone. Finally, to my intense relief, they galloped off and disappeared into the depths of the papyrus swamp. It was a providential escape from what might have been a dire calamity, and I made a mental vow that nothing whatever would induce me to leave the beaten track again while on this expedition. The solitary bull which Mrs. B. had first fired at lay stretched out upon the ground, while the great leader of the herd had again got on his legs and managed to reach the shelter of the papyrus in a very tottery condition. I felt convinced that he would die there and that we should get him next morning, as of course it was out of the question to do anything further just then, and indeed my only anxiety was to get back to camp as speedily as possible. When all the excitement was over I asked Mrs. B. what her sensations were when the herd was galloping at us, and she replied : " Something like what I suppose an infantry soldier feels when he is resisting a charge of cavalry — a case of beat them off or get trampled " — which I considered a very cool summing up, considering the grave XXX BACK TO NAIROBI 381 peril she had just gone through without flinching in the least. Thus ended the last of our adventures on this eventful journey, and I was very glad of it as I was not in a fit state of health to cope with them, and had iy,ifi4c#^"\ "brought his fine head safely after us to NAIUulU. no desire that any further catastrophe should befall us now that we were within 100 miles of Nairobi. When we struck camp on the following morning I left a gun-bearer and a s^ari behind to search for the body of the great bull. They found it, as I expected, at the edge of the papyrus, and brought his fine 382 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. head safely after us to Nairobi, where on measuring it I found the spread of the horns to be just a shade over 48 inches. The following afternoon we at last reached the CAUTIOUSLY SPYING ON THE SAFARI. Tana, and as I approached the boat ferry which crosses it, I suddenly came upon a native with a bow in his hand and a well-stocked quiver at his back, cautiously spying on the safari from the XXX BACK TO NAIROBI 383 cover of a large tree. On seeing- me with my camera levelled at him, he dived off into the thicket with a startled yell, I intended to have camped at Fort Hall at the end of this march, but, as we had to cross the river by relays in one little boat, and the mules and donkeys showed a strong objection to being towed at the stern, it was nearly 9 o'clock in the evening before the whole safari got over. I was compelled, therefore, to remain by the river, although I was anxious to see the doctor at Fort Hall at the earliest possible moment. During the crossing of the Tana, the mule which I rode after the death of Aladdin was very nearly drowned. It had been hauled across the river with much pains by means of ropes, but no sooner was it released on the bank than it deliberately plunged into the swollen torrent to rejoin the other mule that was still on the far side awaiting his turn to be pulled over. Luckily, there was an island in mid- stream just below where the mule jumped in, and on this he was flung by the flood, so after a great deal of trouble we eventually managed to rescue him from his awkward position and bring him safely to the bank. On the following morning I looked long at the Tana river, which rolled at my feet, and beyond at the giant peak of Mount Kenya, which glistened in 384 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. the morning sunshine. It was with a sigh of reHef that I turned away to contemplate the view to the south which showed me that we were ahnost at our journey's end. On arriving at Fort Hall an hour or so later, I went immediately to see the Medical Officer, Dr. "I LOOKED LONG AT 1 H K TANA RIVER, WHICH ROLLED AT MY FEET, AND BEYOND AT THE GIAN I' PEAK OF MOUNT KENYA." Lindsay, and was lucky enough to find him at home. His advice was most helpful, and I am much indebted to him for his kindness and attention. A few more uneventful marches brought us to Nairobi, which I was exceedingly glad to reach. It was an intense relief to feel that I need have no further anxiety on Mrs. B.'s account, and to know XXX . BACK TO NAIROBI 385 that, although sad calamities had overtaken us, we were now at last safely out of the grip of the nyika. Unfortunately the illness from which I had suffered more or less throughout the return journey had reduced me almost to a skeleton, and I was in such a low state of health that when the Principal Medical Officer of the Protectorate saw me on the following morning, he sent me before a Medical Board who ordered my immediate return to England. I said good-bye to Abbudi at the railway station, while Munyakai bin Diwani anci one or two others came with me as far as Mombasa. All wished me a good recovery and a speedy return for another safari, so that we might again journey together through the East African wilds. APPENDIX HOW A MERU BIRD TRAP IS MADE First of all, a number of twigs some i8 inches long, the tops of which are too weak to tempt a bird to perch on them, are procured. These are fixed in the ground close together in a circle which has a diameter of about 15 inches. In the fence so formed, a doorway of some 8 inches is left, as an entrance for the bird. Next, three tough, thin, flexible rods are required, each long enough to admit of being bent into a half-circle, so that when the ends are fixed into the ground the crest of the archway so formed is about on a level with the top of the fence. These rods are fixed in the ground, one in front of the opening and one on either side of it, as follows. The first rod is bent to form a half-circle, and fixed firmly in the ground in front of, and close up to, the opening which forms the entrance to the enclosure, as shown in the photograph. A stiff, straight stick is placed on the ground between this and the fence, so that the ends touch the feet of the arch- way and project beyond them for a couple of inches. The second rod is fixed on one side of the entrance, as 386 APPENDIX 387 shown in the photograph, by first passing one end of it outside the arch already formed and inside the hori/ontal stick at its feet, which it touches, the end of the rod being pushed down into the ground at about a third of the distance between the feet of the first archway ; the rod is then bent over in the form of a half circle, the loose end being firmly fixed in the ground among the fence twigs. " A WOOLLY-HEADED AM) MUCH WRINKLED OLD NATIVE . . . SETTING A cunmn(;lv-made bird trap" (Seep. 360). The third and last rod is secured in a similar way on the other side of the entrance, as shown in the picture. When this is done it will be found that the entrance rod will be inclined towards the fence as much as is required, and the three arches will be rigid. The next part of the contrivance consists of a fairly stout but flexible sapling, about 7 feet long, which is driven 388 APPENDIX well into the ground at the back of the fence, exactly opposite the gateway, and about 5 feet from it. To the top of this is tied a piece of string, which i^ then pulled over the central archway until the sapling is in a bow shape over the trap. While in this strained position the point where the string touches the crown of the archway is noted, and here the string is firmly tied round a thin piece of stick, some 6 inches long, at about an inch from one end of it. This piece of stick is then pulled down beJihid and under the crown of the entrance arch, and the end of it to which the string has been tied is placed against the outside of the crown of the arch. Holding the string taut in this position with one hand, a cross-piece of about 9 inches is momentarily held with the other hand low down against the arched rods at each side of the entrance. The tip of the lower end of the stick to which the string is attached is then placed outside and against this short cross-piece so that it grips it and holds it in position by the great strain on the string attached to the sapling. The string does not end where it is knotted to the 6-inch stick, but is continued in the form of a running noose, which is made into a large loop and spread out over the open space round the 9-inch cross-piece, so that the bird will not go through the opening into the trap without first hopping on to the cross- stick. A suitable bait of bird food is placed inside the door- way, and the trap is then ready for action. The moment the bird perches on the cross-stick the latter drops down, and the sapling at the back being then released flies up with great force, pulling the noose tight on to the bird at the same time. The speed with w^hich the sapling springs back is generally enough to kill the bird outright, as it is dashed against the crown of the entrance arch rod while in the tight embrace of the noose, APPENDIX 389 This trap is apparently quite successful in the wilds, but I very much doubt if our civilised birds with plenty of food about would let themselves be caught in a con- trivance of this description, except, perhaps, in winter, with snow thick on the ground. This device is given in detail to show the ingenuity and cleverness of the native, who constructs the entire trap with a few sticks and a string made out of the fibre plant. It also shows that he is a keen observer, and knows how to take advantage of the foolishness of a bird, which prefers to enter through a complicated doorway rather than fly in at the open top. 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