156 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT 



CHAP. 



of the mountains rarely ventured from their huts until 

 the sun was well up in the sky ; so we were not surprised, 

 even at eight o'clock, at not seeing the natives we ex- 

 pected ; but when ten and eleven had passed, and noon 

 arrived, finding the neighbourhood of our zeriba still 

 deserted, we began to feel anxious and to think that evil 

 was brewing. 



We called Motio and questioned him. He said: 

 " Have patience ; the Wamsara will surely come and 



Wamsara Elders 



bring food." While Lieutenant von Hohnel was mak- 

 ing his midday observation, we heard shouts from the 

 forest, and there soon appeared a motley band of na- 

 tives, numbering some hundreds. There were about 

 fifty old men among them ; the rest were warriors. All 

 were armed. The old men carried long spears with 

 short, trowel-shaped heads, short bows, and arrows whose 

 tips we could see were covered with a black substance, 

 which we knew to be poison. They were clad in long 



