I 



TRAVELS m EASTERN AFRICA 



35 



accustomed to the care of such animals. These men 

 had been, from earhest youth, traders of ivory and 

 slaves in Masai Land, and were one and all thor- 

 oughly conversant with the Masai language. We 

 expected to fall in with tribes familiar with this tongue 

 during our journey, and their acquaintance with it was 

 considered an advantage by us when we engaged them. 



At 5 o'clock, on the morning of September i8, 

 the resounding tomtom broke the stillness of our 

 camp. Soon the air was filled with cries ; some of 

 the porters shouting joyfully to one another, " Safari ! 

 Safari ! " (Journey ! Journey !) ; others, " Haya ! Haya ! 

 Tuta fuata bwana baranai." (Hasten ! Hasten ! We 

 will follow master to the desert.) Even the laziest of 

 the porters seemed glad we were to make a start, for 

 to them a life on the coast without the pleasures of 

 towns, coupled with the hard work incident to the 

 preparation of a caravan for the march, had been te- 

 dious in the extreme. Others feigned joy ; for they 

 but looked forward to the departure from Mkonumbi, 

 and the march through the tall grass and thick 

 coverts, as a means of happy deliverance from an 

 expedition of whose outcome they were in total igno- 

 rance. All the loads and pack-saddles had been 

 laid out in orderly arrangement the night before; so 

 that in little more than an hour all was ready for 

 marching. 



The governor of Lamoo came to bid me God-speed, 

 but in the hurry and bustle I fear he failed to have the 

 courtesies offered him which his official dignity seemed 

 to demand. He eyed the loads, however, with a longing 

 expression. To him it seemed very ludicrous that any 



