230 WAR: CAMPAIGNING IN EAST AFRICA 



up most of the day by Kohl's rear-guard com- 

 panies in a very wicked little position amongst 

 thick bamboos, across the Maria road, the fighting 

 lasting till some hours after sundown. Thence 

 into Maria, where Maria himself, the Sultani of 

 all the Medo district natives, came to see us. No 

 doubt Maria previously had done everything 

 possible to help the Germans, but it was a good 

 sign now to see him turning his coat, and I thought 

 it might make our intelligence work a little easier. 

 The former Maria and rightful Sultani had been 

 imprisoned by the Portuguese and interned on 

 Ibo Island some years previously for killing a 

 Portuguese askari : and from what I saw of the 

 Portuguese askaris, I should say the deceased 

 well deserved his fate, if only on general grounds. 



At this time, being very destitute, I managed 

 luckily to get a couple of blankets, a few clothes, 

 and, above all, a saucepan and frying-pan from the 

 sale of kit of a recently killed officer ; while Moosa 

 was rewarded with a shirt, a pair of shorts, and one 

 of the blankets. 



At Maria I had instructions from the General 

 to go across and get into touch with an advanced 

 " Norforce " column, supposed to be then near 

 the Msalu, slightly north-west of Nanungu. It is 

 unnecessary to describe in detail all the subsequent 

 trips, for they much resembled one another. It is 

 sufficient to state that in eight days we reached 

 this Chisona column under a Major Fraser, with 

 whom on the night of arrival I had an hour's talk, 



