V 



TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA 



came the remainder of the porters. The rear of the 

 caravan was brought up by Lieutenant von Hohnel, 

 his tent-boys, five Soudanese, the remainder of the 

 SomaH, and Hamidi, the headman of the porters. 



Through the forest there lay a well-beaten path, 

 and the rays of the setting moon enabled us to make 

 our way over it without difficulty. Half an hour's 

 march, and we began to enter the bordering planta- 

 tions of the Wamsara. The path then became better. 

 On both sides millet rose to the height of two feet, 

 and the plantations were dotted here and there with 

 what in the weird moonlight looked like watch-towers. 

 Such they proved to be. The natives had raised 

 wooden platforms to the height of fifteen feet, on 

 which fires were burning, and around these fires we 

 could just descry the forms of warriors. Our advance 

 was made as silently as possible ; but we had not 

 entered the cultivated portion of the Wamsara terri- 

 tory a quarter of a mile, ere from tower to tower were 

 exchanged fierce cries, and the brightening dawn 

 enabled us to distinguish large bodies of natives 

 hurrying on to some point in front of us. 



Soon it was daybreak, and, as our approach had 

 already become known to the natives, I gave the 

 order for the tomtom to sound. The first rays of 

 the rising sun illumined the stars and stripes carried 

 at the head of my little force, as with flying colours 

 and sounding tomtom we advanced briskly into a 

 country which we felt convinced was inhabited by 

 people in every way hostile to us. 



When Lieutenant von Hohnel and I had ascended 

 the hill near the camp which we had just left for the 



