WITH FLASH-LIGHT AND RIFLE 



some treacherous native of the neighboring village. A 

 volley is fired in answer to the shot. The natives who 

 have a bad conscience forsake their homes, which are 

 plundered by the "victors," who, well-provisioned, con- 

 tinue their march, on which they are supported by the 

 spoils of the "enemy." Nothing is easier in the world 

 — and cheaper. 



But if you want to pay your way as you go along, 

 you have to take with you loads of goods for exchange. 

 In times of drought and famine you have to pay dearer 

 than in normal times, as the natives sell you what they 

 need most to subsist on until the next crop is ripe. 



My expedition in the year of the famine (1899- 

 1900) was my most expensive one, as I held my men 

 to a mixed diet consisting largely of vegetable food, 

 "poscho," with a small allowance of game. 



It is still possible to travel in East Africa with com- 

 parative safety, and the native carriers are still patient 

 and obedient companions of the traveller who treats 

 them well. There are a few things of which I feel 

 I have a right to be proud; one of them is that I 

 have never found it necessary to shed the blood of a 

 black man. 



