316 AFRICAN CAMP FIRES. 



to cross promptly if it can, and to camp always 

 on the farther bank. 



This we did, pitching our tents in a little 

 opening, between clumps of pretty flowering aloes 

 and the mimosas. Here, as everywhere in this 

 country, until we had passed the barrier of the 

 Narossara mountains, the common horseflies 

 were a plague. They follow the Masai cattle. 

 I can give you no better idea of their numbers 

 than to tell you two isolated facts : I killed 

 twenty-one at one blow ; and in the morning, 

 before sunrise, the apex of our tent held a solid 

 black mass of the creatures running the length 

 of the ridge pole, and from half an inch to two 

 inches deep ! Every pack was black with them 

 on the march, and the wagon carried its mil- 

 lions. When the shadow of a branch would cross 

 that slowly lumbering vehicle, the swarm would 

 rise and bumble around distractedly for a mo- 

 ment before settling down again. They fairly 

 made a nimbus of darkness. 



After we had made camp we saw a number of 

 Masai warriors hovering about the opposite bank, 

 but they did not venture across. Some of their 

 women did, however, and came cheerily into 

 camp. These most interesting people are worth 

 more than a casual word, so I shall reserve my 



