66 UNDER THE AFRICAN SUN 



up-country were threatened with being cut off from all com- 

 munication with the coast. This sufficiently explains the abso- 

 lute necessity of the punitive expedition, unless the Government 

 were prepared to abandon all the Europeans up-country and 

 to surrender the country to the tender mercies of bloodthirsty 

 savages. 



The entrance to a fortified village is by means of a narrow 

 bank of earth across the trench, and a low archway in the 

 earth-wall. One has to stoop to pass through such a gate. 

 This entrance can be easily barricaded with heavy logs of 

 wood, and rendered practically impregnable against all native 

 attack. A very common sight on approaching a Kavirondo 

 village is the appearance of a number of inquisitive natives 

 popping their heads above the wall or squatting on it. The 

 rank weeds often hide the trench, and the incautious visitor 

 may fall headlong into a treacherous pit. 



When the expedition approached the first hostile village, 

 we saw numbers of armed natives waiting outside their gates 

 as if to give us battle ; but as we drew nearer, they retired 

 within their walls and barricaded the gates. The enemy had 

 a few men armed with muzzle-loaders. When the fight began, 

 one of our W^aganda friendlies near me had his arm shattered 

 by a bullet. I amputated it there and then on the open field. 

 But when the bullets continued whizzing and singing un- 

 pleasantly near me, I removed the wounded behind the shelter 

 of a white-ant hillock and there attended to them. Then I 

 was called in a hurry to see a Swahili shot down a little dis- 

 tance off ; on examining him, I found he was dead. A bullet 

 had struck him full in the chest, and must have passed through 

 the heart. 



The reason why the Kavirondo have several entrances to 

 their villages, appears to be to enable them to escape by one 

 if overpowered at any of the others. This happened in the 

 present case. Several natives burst out from a gate the exis- 

 tence of which was unsuspected. They escaped, though, of 

 course, there was an immediate rush by our men towards the 

 spot. Strict orders had been given to spare women and 

 children ; a few of the women and children however perished. 

 This might happen, and probably does happen, at the siege 

 and capture of every fortified place. There were a great 

 many wounded, and I had a busy time of it. The village 



