198 WAR: CAMPAIGNING IN EAST AFRICA 



above all that his actual leader shall be a man to 

 look up to, and in this German East campaign 

 the enemy's General was such a man. 



The first trip after recruiting the ruga-ruga 

 was in a way unlucky, for while passing in the 

 bush by a little village called Marosho, we got 

 news that a patrol of German askaris had just 

 caught two of my unarmed natives, previously 

 sent out as spies. With our other work on hand 

 at the time I should have preferred leaving this 

 little post of the enemy's, but it was, of course, 

 necessary to try and effect my men's release. So, 

 from the long grass around, we rushed the few 

 huts of the enemy, and all save one German 

 askari bolted. This man, a huge, savage-looking 

 onbasha (corporal), promptly shot and killed the 

 guide by my side, and with a second shot chipped 

 some wood off Bakari's rifle ; thereupon he was 

 shot dead by Abdulla and others. I took a lion's 

 claw charm from his neck, and, whatever its 

 potency against lions may have been, the charm 

 had not been proof against an enemy's bullets. 

 It had brought him at least a brave man's death. 



We hurried on that evening, but next day were 

 mixed up again with another little German patrol. 

 On our attacking, the enemy's askaris bolted in 

 time, but the white man, though I told him to 

 drop his rifle, started firing at us, and so my men 

 had to shoot him. Knowing that now all other 

 enemy posts around would have had warning, 

 and having had my new levies out on their first 



