ig6 Wanderings in Eastern Africa, 
hear the bodies of our assailants hissing, and crackling 
beneath the scorching blaze. They could not stand be- 
fore this, and we were not surprised to see them beat 
a retreat But on the field what a sight remained ! 
Myriads of black and shrivelled forms bespoke the 
terrible havoc that had been made among them, and I 
am not certain that our consciences did not smite us. 
Yet we only acted in self-defence, and this reconciles 
us to our woeful deeds. Tofiki was about to prepare 
us a little food, before we started, but he found the 
meat we had put by from yesterday's stores covered 
with ants, a living, creeping, compact, mass — like a 
swarm of bees. It was no doubt our meat that had 
attracted them to our quarters. 
The men who came last night, from Hirebaya, said 
they had been sent by him to invite us to his place at 
Weichu, where he would meet us. To Weichu there- 
fore we determined to go. 
Just as we were about to start a pair of fine ducks 
alighted on the ground just before us. We had no 
food, and, Sabbath though it was, I fired. One fell, 
biit the other rose upon the wing and escaped. We 
felt thankful for the supply, which was much needed. 
We left the camping-place at 7 a.m. The road was 
a very good one — the one, our Gallas said, which had 
been lately travelled by the Masai. Farther on we saw 
many evidences of this; for broken stools, cooking 
pots, drinking vessels, thongs, etc. lay about on each 
side of the path. 
What are these things," we enquired of Buiya, 
" they do not look like Galla articles, then what are 
they.?" 
" No," he replied, they are not Galla traps, they 
