CHAP. V ASCENT OF MOUNT ETWA 83 



used the last twenty-four hours' delay to remove all supplies 

 from the villages into hiding-places in the hills. We let him 

 go, and then resumed our march to the largest village. The 

 natives beat their war-drums ; the women and children fled to 

 hide in the dense scrub ; the men, armed with bows and 

 poisoned arrows, took their places beside the loop-holes through 

 the walls of the village. As we passed beside it we could see 

 the warriors with their arrows ready strung, and it was only 

 by threatening to shoot the first of my men who fired, that 

 I managed to prevent a fight. The natives made no effort 

 to stop us as we entered their shambas ; these we crossed to 

 the foot of the highest peak in this group of mountains, 

 which was occupied by a crowd of natives, I was very anxious 

 to get into communication with the people, and as a sign of 

 friendliness, left my men behind and climbed up to a shoulder, 

 accompanied only by an interpreter and my boy. Two elders 

 came to meet us ; we told them that we wanted to be friends, 

 and scolded them for the behaviour of the chief. We were soon 

 surrounded by a crowd of natives, armed with knives, clubs, and 

 the primitive hoes, which are their only agricultural implements. 

 The three of us kept back to back, and thus we held our 

 " shauri." As my gun and the two men's rifles were loaded 

 with buckshot we were perfectly safe ; a single discharge 

 would have knocked over a sufficient number of the natives to 

 have frightened off the remainder. So I jeered at them, told 

 them we were going to the top of their biggest hill, to show 

 that we did not care a jot for the lot of them, and assured 

 them that if we wished, we could help ourselves to all the food 

 in the district. I asked two of the elders to come up with us 

 in order to tell me the names of the neighbouring hills. We 

 then continued the ascent, accompanied by a crowd of about 

 a hundred men, vv^ho were not allowed, however, to approach 

 within twenty yards. We rested for half an hour on the summit, 

 while I boiled the thermometers and made a sketch map of the 

 surrounding country. The former observations gave results 

 which fix the height of this peak of Etwa at 6120 feet. 



The elders offered me a goat as a present, and begged me 

 to wait till one could be brought. For this generous offer I 

 was not as grateful as they expected. I explained I had no 

 intention of being caught on their hills in the dark, and was 



