178 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT 



CHAP. 



had been inflicted upon the rear. Only one Somali 

 had been wounded from the front, and he had been 

 literally covered with stabs from swords and spears, 

 both in front and behind ; but the Zanzibari, owing to 

 their lack of nerve and their bad shooting, had been 

 unable to face the enemy, and so received no wounds 

 in front. Had it not been for the good shooting of the 

 Soudanese and Somali and one or two of the Zanzibari, 

 we should undoubtedly have been annihilated. 



Shortly after dark Lieutenant von Hohnel and the 

 men with him reached camp. Twenty of the goats 

 were at once slaughtered, and milk from the cows 

 filled every available vessel in camp; so that night my 

 men revelled in plenty. The cold was intense, but 

 the negroes heeded it not ; all night long the camp 

 rang with laughter and song. They ate, and ate, and 

 ate until the hour of dawn. Throughout the entire 

 day Lieutenant von Hohnel and I had had no food 

 but the few handfuls of parched corn we took with us. 

 Fortunately we carried two boxes of cola tabloids, a 

 small number of which proved sufficient to sustain us 

 throughout the long day of fatigue and anxiety. We 

 also found them of greatest use in keeping up the 

 spirits and fortitude of the wounded. Owing to the 

 wakefulness of our men that night, we were not 

 attacked by the natives ; and at six o'clock in the 

 morning, Friday, January 27, we were again under 

 way. 



Motio told us that we had reached the country of 

 the Embe, where we hoped to find a peaceful reception 

 and friendly treatment. Before setting out on the 

 march we served out the remaining ammunition, and 



