434 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT chap. 



they remained with me I feared the expedition was 

 likely to be broken up at any moment. After their 

 departure I distributed among my old followers a 

 large quantity of cloth. This they sorely needed, for 

 during the rains the air strikes these poor creatures 

 as cold and chilly. 



One afternoon I was aroused from a siesta by the 

 sound of war horns and the cries of the Daitcho 

 warriors. They came running to my camp, and said 

 their territory had been entered by a party of several 

 hundred hostile natives, and they desired me to repel 

 the invaders. I took a party of seventy-five men and 

 followed the Daitcho. We ran four miles; but though 

 we saw a broad trail beaten in the mud of the out- 

 lying plantations, which marked the path taken by 

 the hostiles, we were unable to overtake them. They 

 had probably caught sight of some of my men, and 

 beat a hasty retreat. However, the fact that we 

 turned out so willingly pleased the natives immensely, 

 and upon our return they sang songs expressive of 

 their appreciation of our act. 



During the afternoon of Tuesday, November 7, a 

 porter came to my tent, and said, " Mufta is coming, 

 master." Now Mufta was one of the men who had 

 followed George to Kibwezi, and, moreover, was the 

 best swimmer in the caravan. He approached me 

 with a sad face, and said, " Baraka is drowned." 

 Baraka was one of my tent-boys, and being a good 

 swimmer and an excellent walker, I had sent him in 

 company with three men to cross the Tana and urge 

 George to march rapidly, in case he was unaware of 

 the swollen condition of the stream. It seemed that 



