CHAPTER IV. 
Thieving natives — We march against a village — -Looking for elephants — 
A prisoner in camp — A false alarm — We reach Joh — A plague of 
bees. 
Next day I followed some dibitag in thick bush, and, 
peeping under a thicket, saw a fine buck staring at me. 
I had just time to put up my rifle and ‘ snap ’ at him, 
hitting him right in the chest ; he took an enormous bound 
and fell dead. The bush was full of ‘ gussuli ’ dik-dik, but 
I failed to get within gunshot of these wary little antelopes. 
Coming home, I found natives assembled in hundreds 
round my camp, and my headman assured me they meant 
to fight, as they spoke of looting my camels. In the 
afternoon more people arrived, and at 3.30 I left the 
zareba to witness their dancing. The ladies of the party 
were at first very shy, and hid in the bushes close by ; 
but hearing the clapping of hands and stamping of feet, 
they could resist it no longer, and came forth to join 
in the dance. It w^as not exactly a drawing-room enter- 
tainment, and if the Licensing Committee of the London 
County Council had been present, and the song had been 
translated to them, I think they would have been carried 
out on stretchers. It was with the greatest difliculty 
that the crowd could be kept back so that I could see, and 
I could not help laughing when one of my men fired a 
blank-cartridge in the air, for at least ten men would fall 
flat on their faces to the earth in terror, on hearing the 
report. During the dance I had extra men oit sentry, 
watching the grazing camels about half a mile away ; and 
