162 TAVETA AND MOUNTS KILIMANJARO AND MERU 



But presently my suspicions were aroused ; I suddenly remem- 

 bered certain tales about the symptoms attending the possession 

 by evil spirits, guessed the man was simulating this, and called 

 to Kharscho, one of my Askari, to bring a whip with which 

 to exorcise the demons. The effect was immediate : the poor 

 possessed-one got up, and assured us he already felt better. 



We were making to-day for Malago tembo, a clearing in a 

 thicket on the Eonga, visited by Baron von der Decken ; but as 

 Jumbe Kimemeta, who, though he was carried, found the march 

 far too long, pointed out to us, we had overshot our mark by a 

 long piece. We therefore turned sharp off on the right, and 

 forced our way through thick and thin to the river, of which 

 we very soon caught sight. An old buffallo bull had chosen 

 the very spot we were approaching as a shady retreat for a 

 mid-day nap. He came with rapid steps out of the thicket, and 

 stood right in front of the whole caravan. Count Teleki was 

 but thirty paces off, and had his rifle ready ; he was just a,bout 

 to fire, when the buffalo lowered his head for a charge, and as 

 a shot might have endangered the lives of several of the men, 

 the Count refrained. The bull glared at us all for a bit, and 

 then, with an angry roar, went off. 



The next morning we marched in a southerly direction, at 

 a distance of from 550 to 850 yards from the river, through a 

 district rich in game. There were many traces of others having 

 been here before us, and we met several Masai, who told us the 

 way to a ford over the Eonga, where we arrived after a journey 

 of two hours and a half. 



A glance at the map will lead to the inquiry why we went 

 out of our way like this when we were bound for Little Arusha. 

 We had a boat with us, and might have crossed the Eonga 

 wherever we liked. Our guides had not, of course, thought 

 of that when they told us the way, and having no means of 

 taking our bearings, we did as they suggested. 



