BACK TO DUTY 201 



whites. On sending them away, I allowed each 

 prisoner to keep one box for his best clothes and 

 belongings, but all their old clothes, spare blankets, 

 cooking-pots, cutlery, etc., were legitimate booty 

 for my askaris, as, in any case, there were not 

 sufficient porters to be sent with the prisoners. 

 This small but well-deserved loot was only the 

 just due of my faithful though ragged ruga-ruga. 



By November the sands of time left for German 

 rule in the East African Colony were running low. 

 The Belgian troops — good askaris they are too — 

 from the north-west, and General Northey's 

 columns from the south-west, had now cleared 

 the whole of their great areas and were about to 

 join with the main coastal columns. Von Lettow, 

 fighting with consummate skill and frequently 

 holding up our forces in heavy engagements, had 

 been gradually pushed farther and farther back 

 by our troops, and with his companies greatly 

 reduced by losses, had come to realise that to 

 delay any longer meant being caught between 

 our coastal and ' ' Norf orce * ' columns. Accordingly 

 he broke quickly south, crossing the Rovuma at 

 Ngomano into Portuguese territory. Colonel 

 Tafel, with a somewhat smaller force, coming 

 down from the Luwegu, was less fortunate, for, 

 delaying too long, he was caught, short of ammuni- 

 tion and supplies, in a completely starved-out 

 district, and had to surrender with about ioo 

 whites and 1,200 askaris. 



This was by far the best single success that 



