WITH FLASH-LIGHT AND RIFLE 



date nothing seen except a few lemurs and a reedbuck. Con- 

 tinuous rain. 



July I St. March through wet reeds to Muega. In camp at 

 Quoamadi after nine hours' march. Huts tumbled down and 

 deserted. Seventy-eight inhabitants starved to death. Rain 

 continues. 



July 2d. March to Gambo; received by chief of the village, 

 Maka bin Ali; camp at Simbirri. Exchange of rice for native 

 articles, aprons (kissamho) , hunting-nets, etc. Succeed in buy- 

 ing a goat. 



July 4th. From Sibirri to Mseko. Rainy and cold. Guide 

 deserts us; we lose our way. In the woods we find a young 

 Mseguha, lately killed. Caravan marches till 3 p.m. I pro- 

 ceed to Pangani. Carriers arrive the next day, July 5th. 



My expedition into Useguha had thus been under- 

 taken in vain. 



Aside from the obstacles and difficulties which I 

 have mentioned, the attitude of the native population 

 has to be reckoned with. 



I think I have proved by my expeditions into the 

 thinly settled interior that it is possible for a private 

 citizen, travelling with armed guards, to manage to get 

 along with the natives peaceably without provoking a 

 conflict. I have never had any personal difficulties in 

 my intercourse with natives. If any of my men ex- 

 ceeded the bounds which I observed myself, I punished 

 them very severely, even for the slightest depredations. 

 At different times, however, I was obliged to make use 

 of my rifles to ward off attacks made on my caravans, 

 or to prevent the thieving Masai from stealing my cattle. 



386 



