5o6 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT chap. 



I remained in the hospital two weeks before I was 

 able to return to my house. Upon my recovery, 

 Captain Charles Campbell of H.M.S. " Philomel " kindly 

 offered to take me for a six days' cruise on his vessel 

 to recover my strength. Upon my return from the 

 cruise, which did my health a deal of good, I found 

 stationed in front of my house at Zanzibar two of 

 the Zanzibar police force. Having dismissed them, 

 I entered the house, and found George and my follow- 

 ers in a state of excitement and much relieved at my 

 return. 



It appeared that the day I embarked on the " Philo- 

 mel " — in fact, less than an hour after I left the shore 

 — about fifteen of the deserters from my caravan, 

 armed with clubs, entered my house and attacked 

 George. He was roughly handled, but made good 

 his defence. He had been attacked while sitting at 

 a desk writing, and during the struggle his endeavour 

 was to reach a pistol hanging upon the wall. This 

 he finally secured, whereupon his assailants fled. The 

 object of this attack I never could learn, but I think 

 it was undoubtedly actuated by a desire to seize the 

 person of either George or myself. Such an attack 

 upon an European, as far as I could learn, had not 

 occurred in Zanzibar for more than twenty years ; 

 and it struck me as strangely coincident with the 

 hostile attitude of the authorities at Zanzibar. 



Through the United States Consul, complaint was 

 made against these men, but few steps were taken 

 for their arrest, and only a few of them, although 

 all their names were handed in, and they were all 

 well known to the authorities, were shut up in the 



