204 THE RETURN MARCH part ii 



for irrigation and as boundary marks. After this I said we 

 would walk. At length we reached the valley, and began the 

 ascent of the slope to the plateau on which the station is 

 situated. When we approached it, the guides held back. I 

 cautiously approached, shouting " Mzungu " (European), and 

 keeping sufficiently down the slope to be out of range of 

 fire from the sentry -post. The sentries were startled and 

 puzzled. Presently I called out in Kisuahili that I was a 

 European and wanted Bwana Ainsworth. The excited sentries 

 discussed the unusual situation, the guard was called out, and 

 finally I was told to approach. I walked up into the glare of 

 the firelight, and the guard met me. My guides then came up, 

 and we walked round to the entrance to the fort, where I 

 had a hearty welcome from Mr. Ainsworth. He was not 

 used to visitors arriving alone at night, and my appearance had 

 created a scare. 



At Machakos I enjoyed two welcome days of rest, reading 

 letters and newspapers, and having long conversations with 

 Ainsworth about the country and its people. His administra- 

 tion seemed to me more successful than that at any other of 

 the Company's stations. When Ainsworth took over the dis- 

 trict there was war between the garrison and the people of the 

 hills, which I had crossed with only a Wa-kamba guide. He 

 succeeded in making peace, and getting into the most friendly 

 relations with the natives. The old chiefs were constant visitors 

 to the fort, and frequently sent in a present of a ton of food. 

 The people were rapidly acquiring a taste for European goods, 

 and learning to work, in order to be able to earn them. The old 

 Suahili garrison was being replaced by Wa-kamba, and Ainsworth 

 was organising a postal service of runners to carry the mails to 

 and from Tzavo, which he expected to prove both quicker and 

 cheaper. 



The neighbourhood of Machakos certainly offers better 

 prospects of European colonisation than any other district 

 that I saw in East Africa. In the early days of the history 

 of this station the Wa-kamba acquired the reputation of 

 being hostile, indolent, and treacherous. Ainsworth's adminis- 

 tration has shown that, when properly handled, they are 

 friendly, industrious, and faithful. They only need training 

 and protection from the Masai to enable them to make their 



