394 THE LAND OF THE LION 



cruelly mauled. A man I had on my first trip was mauled 

 by a wounded lion twice in six months and, though his 

 master was a cowardly fellow, who could not shoot straight, 

 and ran away and left him, the first time, Malin stayed 

 faithfully by him since he had engaged himself for the trip; 

 so he was deserted in danger a second time, and almost lost 

 his life. Long weeks of pain, sometimes of permanent 

 disablement, and hence poverty, await these poor fellows, 

 and sometimes they are killed then and there. They are 

 not allowed to shoot, for their business is to have the gun 

 they carry, ready at an instant's notice, to be handed, loaded, 

 to their master. If they could shoot in self-defence it would 

 not mend matters, as, for some strange reason which I 

 am quite unable to account for, even the bravest of them 

 can hit nothing with a rifle. Their life is thus absolutely 

 dependent on the skill and courage of the stranger they 

 so resolutely follow. The time was, when almost all sports- 

 men took, as gunboys, the Somali. The Somali is coura- 

 geous enough. In those days when he was known to the 

 white man, he agreed with his master in despising the 

 natives of whom he knew nothing. Neither Somali nor white 

 man trusted the native ; he was fit for porterage and nothing 

 more, though occasionally he might act as guide ; but to 

 stand fast in a tight place this no one expected of him. 

 Then why under such circumstances, should he stand ? 

 He had certainly nothing to gain by it, so he ran away. 

 But the Somali's faults are serious ones. Though no 

 coward in danger, he is so easily excited that it takes much 

 trouble to keep him from firing off the rifle he carries. He 

 is generally a poor shot, with the further drawback of having 

 a profound belief in his own capacity for shooting! He 

 does not compare to the native East African, as a 

 woodsman, a stalker, or a friend. He is insolent, most 

 untruthful, and exceedingly careless in handling his (or 

 your) gun. 



