V 



TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA 



177 



On one occasion he was able to save one of our men 

 by a hair's breadth. Through some means this man 

 had become separated from our column, when suddenly 

 he appeared, running at full speed after us. Behind 

 and close to him chased four natives with their gleam- 

 ing spears almost in contact with his back. When 

 he sighted the caravan, he pluckily stopped, dropped 

 to a kneeling position, and fired at the nearest native ; 

 but he missed him. He at once sprang to his feet and 

 away, but with only a few inches separating his back 

 from the pursuer's spear. Lieutenant von Hohnel had 

 just time to kill two of the enemy, whereupon the 

 others abandoned the chase, ere the man's foot caught 

 in some obstacle and he was thrown to the ground. 



At four in the afternoon the peak appeared to be 

 within easy reach, but between it and us stretched a 

 ravine 100 feet in depth, the sides of which were very 

 steep. Here the natives made a determined stand, and 

 it was only by sharp fighting that we were able to force 

 our way across. At six o'clock we had crossed the 

 ravine, and camped in the shadow of the peak. There 

 was no thorn with which to make a zeriba, and we 

 were compelled temporarily to neglect the wounded, 

 in order to construct a compound for our cattle, sheep, 

 and goats. As Lieutenant von Hohnel with a small 

 force was engaged in guarding the ravine over which 

 we had just crossed, the duty of attending the wounded 

 devolved upon me. My treatment, however unskil- 

 ful, proved satisfactory ; for, though many of the 

 wounds took a long time to heal, none had fatal results. 



An impression of the warlike nature of m)' men will 

 be conveyed, when I state that all the wounds received 



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