With Flashlight and Rifle -* 



I was once, about midday, coming back into camp 

 with quite a lot of my servants when suddenly it was on 

 the right bank of the Pangani River we perceived a large 

 herd of cattle and a number of Masai. \Ye thought they 

 were most likely some Masai warriors who had made a 

 successful cattle-raid in Useguha, which was quite near, 

 and were now o-oincr home to the Socronoi Hills. The 



o o o 



distance between us ancl them was little less than a mile. 

 I at once went off with my servants as quickly as possible 

 in the opposite direction. \Ve had to go through a hollow 

 of the valley, which obstructed our view for some minutes. 

 When we had got back again to a place whence we could 

 see, the Masai and the cattle had totally disappeared, as if 

 they had been swallowed by the earth ; and although we at 

 once spread out in all directions along the river-bank the 

 bush, however, was tolerably thick there we did not 

 succeed in catching sio-ht of them a^ain. It was not until 



o o o 



late in the afternoon that we discovered how the fugitives 

 had driven off all our own cattle one by one in a 

 direction that we had never thought of! Pursuit was then 



O 



useless, for the stony ground which they had taken would 

 betray no trace of their footsteps. 



In view of so many regrettable quarrels and conflicts 

 between travellers and the native tribes, I cannot help 

 expressing the opinion that many of these complications 

 might have been avoided if the Europeans had so chosen. 

 In the " good old times" it was undoubtedly easy to travel 

 " on the cheap," equipped with lots of cartridges, and 

 nothing else ! Curiously enough, it was always the natives 

 who, in those days, began hostilities : a treacherous arrow 



700 



