44 THE LAND OF THE LION 
often and needlessly his life is risked by stupid or reckless, 
to say nothing of cowardly, sportsmen, and for some unac- 
countable reason men who are utterly lacking in nerve 
(I will put it as charitably as I can) do sometimes elect 
to hunt big game, it is small wonder that, having been mauled 
or tossed once, he is shy of undergoing that experience 
again. All the same, if he will not stand, he is worse than 
useless. The Wanyamwazi generally won’t. The Kikuyu 
do not pretend to. The Swahili will if they are sure of 
their bwana’s shooting powers. The Somali almost always 
do, but then they set a monstrously high price on their 
services, often demanding 75 rupees or more a month. 
They are careless gun cleaners, break everything and 
place the blame on someone.else. ‘They are lazy around 
camp, get others to do the work they are paid for doing. 
They are exclusive, fastidious, quarrelsome. But they are 
keen hunters and brave men, and unless a good Wakamba 
can be secured, one must, for dangerous shooting, be taken 
along. They are absurdly confident of their own powers 
of straight shooting, which are usually of the poorest, and 
it is often necessary to teach them a sharp lesson on the 
very first opportunity. 
When the sefari has settled a little into its “‘stride,” 
have your gunboys up and let them understand that you 
know your own business and theirs as well. ‘That you will 
brook no disobedience, no departure from settled orders. 
Such a gun must be carried, always. Such cartridges 
must be placed always in such a pouch. Your rifle must 
be handed you in a certain way, etc. Then enforce these 
commands by constant drill, till automatically, these men, 
on whom your life and limb will depend some day, know 
instinctively what is expected from them. It is strange 
how many sportsmen, not without experience in big game 
shooting, neglect such necessary precautions as these, 
and then loudly denounce the stupidity or cowardice of 
