HOW THE SAHARA HAPPENED 



medical missionary, and a British settler, I might not 

 have persisted. 



As it was the height of the dancing season it came to 

 me that here might be the opportunity for introducing 

 this tree-planting dance, and in so doing reach the young 

 blood of the tribe, for all the young men were passion- 

 ately fond of dancing. 



First of all I sent for the senior captains of the various 

 N'gomas, or dancers, and when they came to my camp 

 I said to them, "It is true, is it not, that you have a dance 

 when the beans are planted, and another when the corn 

 is reaped? Why not a dance of the trees?" "N'goma, ya 

 Miti?" — dance of the trees — said they. "Trees are Shauri 

 ya Mungu" — God's business. — "Why so?" I said. "If you 

 cut down all God's seed trees, how can you expect Him 

 to make young ones grow? If you kill all the women in 

 the land, you won't get children. Don't you see, it is the 

 same with the trees?" Their surprise showed me that they 

 had not considered the matter in this light and slowly it 

 seemed to dawn upon them what I was driving at. "Lis- 

 ten," I said, "in three weeks' time you shall have a great 

 dance at my camp." This new dance, I expounded, was 

 to be the Dance of the Trees, and I promised a prize of a 

 fatted ox for the best turned out Moran, and, as their 

 women could not possibly be left out on this auspicious 

 occasion, a necklace of their favourite beads for the most 

 beautiful damsel. The winning Moran was to be chosen 

 by myself, assisted by a Committee of Chiefs, and the 

 damsel was to be elected by the popular vote of a Com- 



25 



