WITH FLASH-LIGHT AND RIFLE 



In the middle of the night, an alarm-shot aroused us. 

 The Masai had followed us into the steppe, but, finding 

 us on our guard, they fled and kept at a safe distance. 

 We spent the rest of the night watching the enemy. 

 My well - drilled carriers lay fiat on the ground, the 

 guards and I formed a square, and whenever we heard 

 a noise of weapons we fired in the direction whence it 

 came. No doubt we owed our lives to the watchfulness 

 of the sentinels. 



The Masai, as a rule, do not intend to kill the men of 

 a caravan but to steal the cattle. They do not hesitate, 

 however, to slaughter all who resist them, unless they 

 find they are outnumbered or outwitted. They are 

 certainly brave, but I have never seen a Masai war- 

 rior with shield and spear in the open field face a Euro- 

 pean with a breech-loading rifle. My plan to have a few 

 rifles and Mauser pistols handy, near my couch, and to 

 have my armed guards camp together with their arms 

 in readiness, is a good one if one travels among the 

 natives of Africa. I believe in treating them kindly 

 and fairly, but also in keeping one's powder dry. 



. Shortly before the attack v/hich I have just described 

 was made on my camp, I had a strange adventure with 

 some Masai warriors. I meant to take a picture of 

 vultures devouring carrion. To this end I had a pit dug 

 some distance from my camp and had it covered, in 

 tentlike fashion, with a piece of brown cloth. I took my 

 stand in the pit, and some carrion was placed to attract 



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