204 TAVETA AND MOUNTS KILIMANJAEO AND MERIT 



On July 13 Qualla brought our cattle and donkeys from 

 Kilimanjaro. Of the latter only twenty-three out of thirty-five 

 remained, the others having succumbed to the climate ; so that 

 we had at the last moment to increase the loads of the survivors. 

 The actual loads weighed 110 lb., but each grey donkey really 

 carried 220 lb. because we put a large axe into each of the 

 saddle-bags. 



On July 14, the day we were to start, the long silent 

 barghum once more called upon all the men to muster. The 

 numerous bales of goods, sacks of beads, rolls of wire, and cases 

 were piled up in long rows in the centre of the camp. Each now 

 weighed from 84 to 100 lb. and was done up in sackcloth or 

 skins. The men's full names were now called out one by one, and 

 to each was given his own load, weapon, and ammunition. The 

 conclusion of the distribution was greeted with a loud hip, hip, 

 hip, hurrah ! and the battle-cry, unintelligible to us, of 6 Saferi 

 a palepale ! ' after which three fat oxen, which had been standing 

 in readiness, were slain to form the Sadaka, or farewell feast. 

 All the men seemed in good spirits, for in the evening they 

 joined in a dance led by Jumbe Kimemeta, who was now 

 restored to health. Each tribe has its own peculiar dance, and 

 as our men were of many different races, a wild, extraordinary, 

 carnival-like scene was soon taking place in our camp. Great 

 preparations had secretly been made for the revelry, and 

 guitars, clarionets, fifes, drums, and strange costumes, which 

 had been smuggled into camp, were now, to our astonishment, 

 suddenly produced. The heavily charged guns, too, must be 

 fired to let off some of the superfluous spirits of the men, and 

 we found ourselves constrained to add a thundering volley 

 from our own rifles. Panem et cir censes ! 



The march out of Taveta is always a critical moment for a 

 caravan on the way to Masailand, and therefore we had a 

 stricter guard than ever kept at the entrances to the settlement. 



