Sport in East Africa. 3 1 1 



to Shimba ; and, although I detest sitting up for 

 and potting game, yet, as I wanted to get the heads, 

 horns, and hides of the African ferce naturce, and 

 these men had killed three different kinds of deer 

 and had seen, I was assured, three other kinds, I 

 agreed to his proposals. The other natives, with the 

 venison, went off soon afterwards, leaving their leader 

 behind. We were up before daybreak ; there was 

 a good deal of murmuring on the part of my men, 

 who declared they had been sent with me to go to 

 Shimba and not to wander over unknown tracts ; 

 and one lazy rascal, the leader of the gang, flatly 

 refused to take up his load, or to accompany me to 

 where I proposed going. Now, it is a disgusting 

 practice always to be thrashing your niggers ; they 

 are very like children, and can generally be ruled 

 by a judicious mixture of firmness combined with 

 kindness ; but some of these men, especially those 

 who, although slaves themselves, have accompanied 

 their masters in slave-hunting expeditions, are apt 

 to be mutinous, and even now and then, to show 

 fight. It would never do for a European to give 

 in too much, or to show the white feather ; so going 

 up to the man, with a smile on my face, I desired 

 him to take up his load. He merely spat on the 

 ground by way of answer. Still looking at him as 

 pleasantly as I could, but inwardly boiling with 

 rage, I brought down my cane with all my might 

 right across his ugly face ! He sprang up, and tried 

 to close ; I eluded his grasp, gave him first a cut 

 across the shins (the weakest and most sensitive part 

 of an African), which made him yell, I knocked him 

 down, barking my knuckles on his thick head ; putting 



