THE MUSTER. 



%6! 



October. The seven short marches between that place 

 and Tura occupied fifteen days, a serious waste of time 

 and cloth, caused by the craving of the porters for their 

 homes. It was also necessary to march with prudence, 

 collisions between the party and the country-people, 

 who are unaccustomed to see the articles which they 

 most covet carried out of the country, were frequent : 

 in fact Ave flew to arms about every second day, and 

 after infinite noise and chatter, we quitted them to boast 

 of the deeds of " derring do," which had been consigned 

 to the limbo of things uncreate by the faineance of the 

 adversary. At Eastern Tura, where we arrived on the 

 2 8 th October, a h alt of six days was occasioned by the neces- 

 sity of providing and preparing food, at that season scarce 

 and dear, for the week's march through the Fiery Field. 

 The caravan was then mustered, when its roll appeared 

 as follows. We numbered in our own party two Euro- 

 peans, two Goanese, Bombay with two slaves — the 

 child-man Nasibu and the boy-giant Maktubu — the 

 bull-headed Mabruki, Nasir, a half-caste Mazrui Arab, 

 who had been sent with me by the Arabs of Kazeh to 

 save his morals, and Taufiki, a Msawahili youth, who 

 had taken service as gun-carrier to the coast : they 

 formed a total of 10 souls. Said bin Salim was accom- 

 panied by 12 — the charmers Halimah and Zawada, his 

 five children, and a little gang of five fresh captures, 

 male and female. The Baloch, 12 in number, had 15 

 slaves and 11 porters, composing a total of 38. The 

 sons of Ramji, and the ass-drivers under Kidogo their 

 leader, were in all 24, including their new acquisitions. 

 Finally 68 Wanyamwezi porters, carrying the outfit and 

 driving the cattle, completed the party to 152 souls. 

 On the 3rd November, the caravan issuing from Tura 



VOL. II. R 



