36 THE LAND OF THE LION 



cleverly and well, and (for porters) are cleanly in their 

 personal habits. They always hang together on the road, 

 and in the bivouac, and you can tell them at once by 

 the regularity of their line. They take pride in keeping 

 time and distance as they tramp along, and they start 

 from camp in the morning and tramp home when the day's 

 work is done, to weird pipings and flutings of their own, 

 on little reed pipes and oryx or water buck horns, care- 

 fully guarded for such time-honoured usage. 



The Wanyamwazi want meat, and will eat any amount 

 you give them. On the other hand, if meal gives out, 

 many of the Kikuyus will starve; they are confirmed 

 vegetarians, whereas when meat is plentiful, and the 

 difficulties of providing potio is great, you can put your 

 Wanyamwazi on half meal ration, and let him fill up on 

 meat. On all these accounts they are admittedly the best 

 porters in East Africa. I should add that they are easily 

 disciplined, and in tent pitching, helping with cooking, and 

 making themselves generally useful around camp, they are 

 unequalled. Like all the rest of us, they have, of course, 

 their weak points. On no account be induced to let one 

 of them carry your extra gun. If you come across a 

 rhino or lion they would be sure to let it off, possibly into 

 your back. They are, one and all, arrant cowards, and a 

 gun in their hands is a dangerous weapon to anything 

 and everything but the thing aimed at. They can seldom 

 be induced to beat a swamp or donga for a lion. I mean, 

 of course, unwounded lion, for after a wounded lion no 

 porter should on any account be taken. If you want him, 

 go yourself alone with your gunboys. To take porters in 

 to cover after wounded lion, buffalo, or rhino is sheer and 

 criminal folly. If some one is not mauled or tossed, two 

 or three are likely to be shot. But I need not enlarge on 

 this part of the subject, for, though the Wanyamwazi is 

 a coward, he is not a fool, and he will most probably 



