1872.] AFRICAN "CRAW-TAES." 221 



early as the Asiatics in the art of taming elephants. The 

 Egyptian monuments show them bringing tame elephants 

 and lions into Egypt ; and very ancient sculptures show 

 the real African species, which the artist must have seen. 

 They refused to sell elephants, which cost them months of 

 hard labour to catch and tame, to a Greek commander of 

 Egyptian troops for a few brass pots : they were quite right. 

 Two or three tons of fine fat butcher-meat were far better 

 than the price, seeing their wives could make any number 

 ©f cooking pots for nothing. 



15^ July. — Reported to-day that twenty wounded men 

 have been brought into M'futu from the field of fighting. 

 About 2000 are said to be engaged on the Arab side, 

 and the side of Mirambo would seem to be strong, but 

 the assailants have the disadvantage of firing against a 

 stockade, and are unprotected, except by ant-hills, bushes, 

 and ditches in the field. I saw the first kites to-day : one 

 had spots of white feathers on the body below, as if it 

 were a young one — probably come from the north. 



11 tli July. — Went over to Sultan bin Ali yesterday. Very 

 kind, as usual; he gave me guavas and a melon — called 

 ■" matanga." It is reported that one of Mirambo's chief men, 

 Sorura, set sharp sticks in concealed holes, which acted like 

 Bruce's " craw-taes " at Bannockburn, and wounded several, 

 probably the twenty reported. This has induced the Arabs 

 to send for a cannon they have, with which to batter Mi-, 

 rambo at a distance. The gun is borne past us this 

 morning : a brass 7-pounder, dated 1679. Carried by the 

 Portuguese Commander-in-Chief to China 1679, or 193 

 years ago — and now to beat Mirambo, by Arabs who have 

 very little interest in the war. 



Some of his people, out prowling two days ago, killed a 

 -slave. The war is not so near an end as many hoped. 



[Mtesa's people on their way back to Uganda were stuck 



