chap, viil] QUARRELS WITH THE LATOOKAS. 
203 
erecting huts, and in securing my camp ; and although 
I offered high payment, I could not prevail on the 
natives to work regularly. They invariably stipulated 
that they were to receive their beads before they com¬ 
menced work, in which case they, with few exceptions, 
absconded with their advanced payment. 
One day a native behaved in a similar manner to 
the Turks ; he was, accordingly, caught, and unmer¬ 
cifully beaten. Half an hour after, the nogara beat, 
and was answered by distant drums from the adjacent 
villages. In about an hour, several thousand armed 
men, with shields, were collected within half a mile of 
the Turks’ camp, to avenge the insult that had been 
offered to one of their tribe. However, the Turks’ 
drum beat, and their whole force drew up to their flag 
under arms outside their zareeba, and offered a deter¬ 
mined front. I extract the following entry from my 
journal. “ These Turks are delightful neighbours; 
they will create a row, and I shall be dragged into it 
in self-defence, as the natives will distinguish no dif¬ 
ference in a scrimmage, although they draw favourable 
comparisons between me and the Turks in times of 
peace. Not a native came to work at the huts to-day; 
I therefore sent for the two chiefs, Commoro and Moy, 
and had a long talk with them. They said that ‘ no 
Latooka should be beaten by common fellows like the 
traders’ men ; that I was a great chief, and that if I 
chose to beat them they would be content.’ I gave 
them advice to keep quiet, and not to quarrel about 
trifles, as the Turks would assuredly destroy the 
country should a fight commence. 
44 At the same time, I told them that they did not 
treat me properly : they came to me in times of diffi¬ 
culty as a mediator, but although they knew I had 
always paid well for everything, they gave me no 
supplies, and I was obliged to shoot game for my daily 
food, although they possessed such enormous herds 
of cattle; neither could I procure materials or work¬ 
people to complete my camp. The parley terminated 
