54 



FROM THE COAST TO KILIMANJARO 



Matthews was just about to start for Kismaju with 250 soldiers 

 of the Sultan's army, escorted by the German Imperial sloop- 

 of-war, ' Olga.' Besides this, an ultimatum with regard to some 

 frontier disputes with the Portuguese had just been received 

 by the Sultan, so that the political horizon was considerably 

 clouded. 



I naturally thought that I should not get much attention 

 for my small affair ; but Mr. W. Oswald and Dr. Gregory accom- 

 plished all I wanted much more quickly than I had ventured to 

 hope. The best thing they did for me was to get the Sultan to 

 order all the dhows in harbour to be searched, with the result 

 that the very next day seven of our men were apprehended. His 

 Highness was at first very much against these fellows taking 

 any further share in our Expedition, saying he would keep 

 them in prison till we returned, and have them bastinadoed 

 every Friday ; in the end he consented to my taking them 

 back with me in chains, as an example to the rest of the men, 

 a fate which five of them, however, managed to elude by 

 escaping from the prison the night before I left Zanzibar. 



After five days' stay I left Zanzibar once more. The dhow 

 in which I was to go back to Pangani was to have started at 

 two in the afternoon, but the captain did not come on board 

 till sunset ; I am thankful to say, however, that he looked 

 after the steering of his ship, and twenty-four hours afterwards 

 I was at the landing-place, although from three to six days are 

 generally allowed for the trip at this time of year. 



I had hardly stepped on shore before I was met with the 

 good tidings that the number of fugitives under lock and key 

 had risen to seventeen, so that I could devote all my energies 

 to hiring other men. The difficulties in this direction were, 

 alas ! as great as ever, and, in spite of all my struggles, I only 

 secured some forty porters in the six days I remained at Bweni. 

 I was equally unsuccessful in my efforts to hasten the prepara- 



