CHAP. XVI THE HUMOURS OF THE ROAD 311 



I know no better. You see I was not brought up at a mission 

 school." 



I have said that the childishness of the Zanzibari introduces 

 one great difficulty in handling them, but this may be more 

 than counterbalanced by appeals to their keen sense of humour. 

 Almost anything can be done with them by chaff. Time after 

 time incipient rows were nipped in the bud, awkward questions 

 and just, but inconvenient, protests were evaded by the feeblest 

 of jokes, or a little banter at the expense of the spokesman. I 

 had a series of slits cut in the wall of my tent, and through 

 these could see any little incident that happened in the camp. 

 One day the guide or kiringozi, Wadi Hamis, upset the pot of 

 food he was cooking into the fire, greatly to the wrath of the 

 others. A few days later he came up as leader of a few men, 

 to complain that they could not do something expected of 

 them. " Of course you can't ; all you can do is to capsize 

 your cooking-pot into the fire," was my irritable and inconse- 

 quent reply. The sullen Wadi Hamis was completely taken 

 aback, and the others rolled away, shaking with laughter, and 

 spluttering out to the rest of the camp that Bwana said all 

 Wadi could do was to upset the cooking-pot. Thus, in a burst 

 of merriment, what might have been an unpleasant row was 

 averted. Parties of porters were continually coming up with 

 questions and complaints. As a rule these were fair and easily 

 satisfied ; but when they were not, it was only necessary to turn 

 the laugh against the ringleader, who would slink away abashed, 

 while the others would lose their grievance in their merriment. 



It was not only little troubles that could thus be soothed. 

 For several days before we reached the Kikuyu frontier, on our 

 march across Laikipia, the danger of famine hung heavily on 

 our minds. We all knew the difficulties before us, but we did 

 not care to refer to them. At length a few of the malcontents 

 plucked up courage, and came in a body to ask me what was to 

 be done. The deputation respectfully pointed out that all our 

 food would be gone before we reached the frontier, that the 

 Kikuyu would not let us cross it, or sell us food until they had 

 discussed the matter for some days among themselves. " What 

 shall we eat then ? " asked the spokesman. " Kulu mimi " 

 (You may eat me), I replied with my blandest smile. My 

 omnivorous propensities had been one of the standing jokes 



