CHAP. V PRECAUTIONS AGAINST MASAI 75 



formal operations would be impossible. So I made no attempt 

 to teach the men how to wheel like a company of guards in a 

 barrack square, or march in column like a girls' school ; but 

 simply trained them in skirmishing drill, outpost duty, forming 

 square, and volley firing. As there was no ammunition to 

 spare in practice, we had to check the men's smartness in the 

 last exercise by the click of the hammers of the rifles. The 

 men did not seem very courageous, and had an ingrained terror 

 of Masai ; but I was consoled by seeing that they had a good 

 idea of bush fighting, and chose their positions with judgment. 



In the evening Ramathan mounted the pile of goods and 

 harangued the camp. He told the men that they must keep 

 their guns ready beside them and their fires burning all night ; 

 and that any one who moved out of camp after dark, without 

 a burning brand from the fires, would be shot. A party of 

 Wa-kamba traders, returning to their homes, joined us here, and 

 begged permission to accompany us as a protection from the 

 Masai ; to them we gave even stricter orders as to their 

 behaviour during the night. Here I had to begin the practice 

 of going round camp several times during the night to see that 

 the sentries were awake. As breakfast was at five, I generally 

 felt sleepy when I went to bed, usually about eleven. I there- 

 fore always drank a cup of strong cold tea just before turning 

 in. This rendered my sleep so light that any movement in 

 camp disturbed me. I soon acquired the habit of waking at 

 regular intervals through the night. 



That our precautions were not needless we saw next day, 

 when we found some fresh footprints crossing our path in a 

 north-easterly direction. Some deep square punctures made by 

 spear points, and occasional marks where a heavy shield had 

 rubbed along the ground, showed that the track was that of a 

 party of Masai. But for the day's delay at Ndi we should have 

 spent the previous night at the pools of Kinani, and should 

 probably have seen something of this party. Double guard was 

 kept next night. At three in the morning we were roused by 

 a shot. We all sprang at once to our places, ready to repel 

 attack. The sentry had seen a dark object sneaking up to 

 camp, and had fired at it ; it fled at once, and from its howl I 

 concluded that it was only a hyena. Some of the porters, 

 however, maintained that it probably was a Masai scout, and 



