ENVOYS OF PEACE 



345 



and night were passed in the very greatest discomfort. The 

 cows bellowed, the sheep and goats lifted np their voices, the 

 women and children wept and moaned, whilst our men shouted 

 and danced with joy. We ourselves were filled with anxiety 

 about the immediate future, as the natives might very easily 

 attack us again in greater force, either from the hill which 

 commanded our camp on the one side, or from the shelter of 

 the wood on the other. Strong outposts were therefore placed 

 in both these directions, and a careful watch kept in camp, in 

 which we shared. 



Our safety thus assured, we took counsel as to what was to 

 be done next. Of course we greatly regretted the burning of 

 the villages, but it could not be undone now, and Jumbe 

 Kimemeta declared that it was the very best thing that could 

 have happened, the only thing, in fact, which could have saved 

 us from a general attack ; we had but to go on as we had 

 begun and all would be well. We still clung to our wish for 

 peace, however, and hoped to bring it about with the aid of 

 our various captives. 



The night passed over without incident, and we anxiously 

 awaited the dawn, which broke dull and cloudy, so that we 

 could not see far from camp. As it grew clearer we spied two 

 figures creeping, in a shy, hesitating manner, towards the camp 

 from the height on the south. They wanted to find out whether 

 we were still in camp or had gone on farther. A little later 

 four other natives appeared, carrying green branches in their 

 hands, and pausing every now and then to cry ' Kutire kiman- 

 daja ! ' We greeted these envoys of peace most cordially, and 

 invited them into camp ; but they squatted down at a distance 

 of some 300 paces, declaring that they could not come any 

 nearer, so we sent Kijanja and the only guide we had left to 

 parley with them. Our other guide had gone off soon after we 

 camped, as he said, to visit his friends. He had received no 



