IX.] A MUTINY. 11 V 



ing any one sufficiently bold to perform the rite of circumcis- August, 

 ion, for it was feared that death would be meted out to one i^'^^- 

 who caused him pain. 



At the end of August, Shaykh ibn ISTassib and Abdallah ibn 

 ISTassib, two brothers in connnand of the Sultan's troops, came 

 in from the scene of the latest fighting with Mirambo. They 

 were fine specimens of Arab gentlemen, and we speedily be- 

 came great friends ; and as their settlement was only a few 

 hundred yards from our house, visits were constantly inter- 

 changed. They also proved of great service on one occasion 

 when our askari mutinied, and the expedition narrowly escaped 

 being altogether broken up. 



The mutiny arose through one of the askari taking the law 

 into his own hands on discovering that a doti of cloth had been 

 stolen from him by a pagazi. Instead of reporting the man to 

 me for punishment, he proceeded to wreak vengeance on the 

 thief, and, with the assistance of three comrades, triced up the 

 culprit by the heels, and left him hanging. 



Issa, passing that way, fortunately saw the poor wretch, and 

 immediately came to me, exclaiming that four of the askari 

 were killing a man. On running to the rescue, I found the 

 miserable creature with his heels in the air, and blood pouring 

 from his nose, mouth, and ears, leaving no doubt that all would 

 soon have been over with him. I then ordered Bombay to put 

 in chains the four ruffians who had committed this outrage; 

 but he instantly returned with the startling intelligence that 

 the askari refused to obey orders. 



As I was still attending to the pagazi, who began to show 

 symptoms of recovery, I told Bombay to give the askari notice 

 that, if they would not obey orders, they should no longer be 

 soldiers of Englishmen; but that they should be stripped of 

 their red coats, made to lay down their arms, and be dismissed. 

 He then left me ; but instead of making any attempt at en- 

 forcing the order to put the four men in chains, he merely said, 

 "Master no want you ; put down coats and guns, and go." Of 

 course, the wliole number, with the exception of our servants 

 and a few who were sick, immediately went, and the four origi- 

 nal offenders escaped. 



In this difficulty I appealed to Shaykh and Abdallah ibn 



