326 
AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 
bicycle, wheeling down to a rehearsal of ‘‘Trial by Jury/’ 
had been run into and upset by a herd of frightened zebras. 
One of my friends, Captain Smith, Director of Surveys 
in the Protectorate, had figured in another zebra incident 
to which only Mark Twain could do justice. Captain Smith 
lived on the outskirts of the town, and was much annoyed 
by the zebras tearing through his ground and trampling 
down his vegetables and flowers. So one night, by his 
direction, his Masai servant sallied out and speared a 
zebra which was tangled in a wire fence. But the magis¬ 
trate, a rigid upholder of the letter of the law, fined the 
Masai for killing game without a license! (A touch quite 
worthy of comparison with Mark Twain’s account of 
how, when he called for assistance while drowning, he was 
arrested for disturbing the peace.) Captain Smith de¬ 
cided that next time there should be no taint of illegality 
about his behavior, so he got ropes ready, and when the 
zebras returned he and his attendants again chased them 
toward the wire fences, and tied up one which got caught 
therein; and then with much difficulty he led it down 
town, put it in the pounds and notified Captain Sanderson, 
the town clerk, what he had done. This proceeding was en¬ 
tirely regular; and so was all that followed. For seven 
days the zebra was kept in the pound, while the authorities 
solemnly advertised for a highly improbable owner; then 
it was sold at auction, being brought to the sale, bucking, 
rolling, and fighting, securely held by ropes in the hands 
of various stalwart natives, and disposed of to the only 
bidder for five rupees. The Court records are complete. 
The District Court criminal register, under date of Feb¬ 
ruary I, 1909, contains the entry of the prosecution by 
