Chap. XIII. CURIOSITY OF THE MOKABA I'EOPLE. 251 



country, rising in three terrace-like ridges one behind 

 the other. On tlie other hand, looking towards the 

 west, I could see the fine hillj range beyond Otando, 

 stretcliing in a semi-circle to the Asliira Kamba ter- 

 ritory, and joining, on tlie north, the range which 

 trends eastward from that point tow^ards the Ashango 

 mountains. 



The curiosity of the IMokaba people is most trou- 

 blesome, so that, although the villagers have been so 

 much more friendly than those we passed yesterday, 

 I have not been much more comfortable. The place 

 swarms with people, and I have been haunted, at my 

 encampment, by numbers of sight-seers. The way 

 they come upon me is sometimes quite startling; they 

 sidle up behind trees, or crawl up amongst the long 

 grass until they are near enough, and tJien, from be- 

 hind the tree trunks, or above the herbage, a number 

 of soot-black faces suddenly bob out, staring at me 

 with eyes and mouth wide open. Tlie least thino- I 

 do, elicits shouts of wonder ; but if I look directly at 

 them they take to their legs and run as if for their 

 lives. 



June 7th. I cannot describe how low-spirited I feel 

 at the condition of poor j\Iayolo this morning. I fear 

 his days are numbered. He has a burning fever, and 

 was too ill to speak to me, or even to recognise me, 

 when I entered his hut. The Otando men, wlio are 

 with us, are to carry him back to his place this after- 

 noon. I thought it just possible that he miglit have 

 been poisoned by some of these hostile vihagers. 

 But he is a hard drinker and has been intoxicated 

 almost every day, so that this may have been the 



