218 WAR : CAMPAIGNING IN EAST AFRICA 



whole of that large district.) The other two 

 companies were probably split up into advanced 

 posts towards Meja, and into flanking pickets 

 and patrols. Von Lettow himself with the 

 greater part of his force was about Nanungu, some 

 ninety miles from Meja, with outposts still 

 farther west, towards Mahua. The enemy were 

 thus spread over a considerable area, with the 

 native population in general entirely favourable 

 to them. 



On March 10 Lewis and I left the column at 

 Meja, taking with us forty I.D. askaris, twenty-five 

 of whom, at least, were new men and unknown to us. 

 Our plans were to work round between Mweri and 

 the Msalu river, and to cut the two barabaras from 

 Maria to the Lujenda and from Maria to Nanungu 

 — well behind Mweri. We hoped to capture 

 some messengers or enemy askaris on these roads, 

 to do some raiding if possible, and generally to 

 find out all we could of what was happening behind 

 Mweri, and what was going on between Kohl's 

 and Von Lettow's forces. They were just the 

 orders to delight the heart of an Intelligence 

 man. The main difficulty before us was that, 

 in our passage through old Nabom's district, 

 we should probably find the natives, as proved 

 by their behaviour in January, to be entirely 

 favourable to the Germans. It was almost 

 impossible to pass by these villages without 

 the news being at once taken to the enemy. 

 As a Dutch Intelligence man put it "As 



