JUMA DESERTS US 



31 



Subugia, which, with another flowing in a northerly direction, 

 may possibly feed the so-called lake in the rainy season. The 

 Count went to examine its bed in the afternoon, and found it 

 to extend for some five or six square miles, to be perfectly dry, 

 and absolutely without either vegetable or animal life. 



On his way there the Count brought down a rhinoceros, 

 which had made several attempts to charge the caravan, and 

 an eland. The game was left on the ground for some time, 

 and not until we had camped did we send Juma Mussa with a 

 few porters to fetch it. The porters soon returned, all but one, 

 Hussein Suleiman by name, who, it appeared, had gone off 

 with Juma Mussa. We set little store by either of them, 

 Suleiman being only a slave, who had been sent adrift by his 

 master, an Arab of Pemba, as a perfectly worthless fellow, but 

 we did wonder at Juma's venturing to desert now when the 

 chances were that he would walk straight into Qualla's party 

 on the way from Miansini. Suleiman, of course, had been 

 talked over by Juma, who had taken him with him partly as 

 a companion and partly for the sake of having someone he 

 could leave as a hostage or sell in case of need. We found on 

 our return to Mombasa that Juma Mussa, thanks to various 

 tricks he played on the Masai, got safely back to the coast, but 

 as he was then in the service of James Martin on the Tana river 

 he was beyond the reach of justice. 



We remained four days in the valley securing a quantity of 

 game, returning on the afternoon of January 4 to the Miwiruni, 

 and the next morning to our camp on the Guaso Nyuki. We 

 found the game very shy on this march, the result of the 

 number of Wandorobbo hunting in the neighbourhood. These 

 people organise regular hunting expeditions, in which they 

 even employ the little yellowish-brown curs so common in 

 Africa. Just now they were hunting a buffalo. We did not 

 see the end of the chase, but they were riddling their victim 



