310 



TO KENIA 



speak, a freer hand, at least at first. Utahaj had bestirred 

 himself in the matter, and we had plenty of opportunity of 

 buying food here. But we had a repetition of the scenes of 

 sudden panic of the day before, although our friends continued 

 to take the greatest trouble to maintain peace and order. 

 Twice petty thefts were the beginning of the stampede, all the 

 other natives fleeing as well as the thief, for of course they 

 expected we should begin firing. In both cases a few strings 

 of beads were all that were taken, and our friends fetched the 

 culprits back, gave them a good flogging, and drove them out 

 of camp. Often, too, tipsy men, generally old fellows, caused 

 squabbles by their open show of hostility. 



In the afternoon some 500 or 600 elders came to have a 

 shauri, and Jumbe Kimemeta and Utahaj Uajaki asked me 

 to take part in it, as Count Teleki was just then engaged else- 

 where. Although I was still far from well, as I had had a relapse 

 after my apparent recovery, I went with them and squatted 

 down on the grass in the same style as the assembled natives, 

 who formed a crescent opposite to me, Kijanj a, who understood 

 Kikikuyu, acting as interpreter. The appearance of the Wa- 

 kikuyu reminded me greatly of that of the Masai at their shauri, 

 only here the speeches were rather screamed out than spoken, 

 the meaning being emphasised with a club till it was reduced 

 to splinters. The whole bearing of the speakers was aggressive 

 and insolent, every speech ending with an Aterere Wakekoyo 

 (' And so I tell you, Kikuyu '). 



I did not like the look of this assembly of wild warriors at 

 all. I several times nearly got a blow from a brandished club. 

 I did not understand a syllable of what was said, but one 

 sentence which recurred again and again sounded like, e Kill 

 them all dead, the Lagomba ! ' (caravan people) ; but I was too 

 weak and ill to pay much attention to am- thing, and in the end 

 I discovered that our position was not nearly as bad as I feared. 



