250 WAR: CAMPAIGNING IN EAST AFRICA 



at Mologue a month or more earlier, and also at 

 Barama, that we were doing very well in Europe, 

 that the news everywhere was very good, and 

 that we had recently taken a lot of German guns 

 and prisoners. But beyond the ordinary feeling 

 of satisfaction, I paid little more attention to this 

 news now than I had frequently done during the 

 war, when things happened to be looking up for 

 us. That the big thing was rapidly nearing to its 

 close I never even suspected. 



Still on this final trip, somehow, we all travelled 

 with light hearts. Far from any enemy, I found 

 myself gaily whistling as we marched, or talking 

 to and asking questions on subjects of native 

 interest from my boy Moosa, who, as always, 

 followed next behind me, carrying my rifle. At 

 night the men made as many big fires as they 

 wished, and my Mnyamwezi porters were in great 

 spirits. The twelve of them who had been with 

 me for so long a time were mostly originally 

 German porters, and either had been captured 

 or had deserted to us. Splendid porters — with 

 never the slightest grumble, however long the day 

 or heavy their load — these twelve never seemed to 

 get sick or sorry and never gave the slightest 

 trouble. I was most particular not to allow an 

 askari in any way to order or bully my porters, or 

 to have the slightest thing to do with them regard- 

 ing their loads ; for an askari, if not watched, is 

 inclined to consider himself superior to a common 

 porter, and to try and impose on him. My askaris 



