TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA 



469 



was limited, and if I had begun ivory-trading, I 

 should undoubtedly have given enormous prices in 

 order to expedite trade. This too would have mili- 

 tated against the poor traders for many years to come, 

 by depriving them of their just profits ; for if one 

 native receives a high price for an article such as a 

 tusk, all expect the same. 



It was utterly impossible for me with the limited 

 force at my command to carry back the trading-goods 

 to the coast. I had endeavoured to bargain with the 

 Zanzibari traders then at Daitcho to remain in charo^e 

 of my goods, until I reached the coast, and should 

 send back for them ; but these traders were all slaves, 

 and said their masters would not permit them to 

 spend their time, unless I would pay them a sum 

 almost equal in value to the trading-goods. I knew, 

 moreover, that, if I left these slaves in charge of my 

 goods, they would day by day melt away. Even if 

 the men left in charge of them did not steal them, 

 should I send an expedition for them, no native or 

 Arab headman could be found at the coast, who 

 would be able to resist the temptation of using the 

 trading-goods himself. Then he would return to the 

 coast, and state that, unfortunately, when he reached 

 Daitcho, he had found the camp pillaged by the natives. 



I had given up hope of seeing Hassan return with 

 the men I had left at the food station at Sayer; never- 

 theless, I left in charge of Bykender sufficient trading- 

 goods to enable them to reach the coast in safety 

 and comfort should they turn up. 



On this day a member of the Wakamba tribe, who 

 had been trading with the Daitcho people, came to 



