MY FIRST SETTLEMENT OF KILIMANJARO. 135 
was.” Then he sipped more tembo, and reflected. 
After a pause he turned to me and continued, 44 And 
now I will tell you a tale. When I plant a seed or a 
sappling here in my plantation, I let it grow quietly 
at first—I do not pull it up to look at its roots, and 
I do not pluck its early blossoms or its tender leaves. 
I wait until it is mature, and then,” he added thought¬ 
fully, looking straight before him, 44 if it fails to bear 
abundant fruit, I cut it down.” 
Then our conversation ranged over the most varied 
subjects—European life, a description from me of an 
ironclad —manowari (man-of-war) as Mandara called it 
—-the history and configuration of Caga from Mandara, 
whose notion of local geography was singularly correct 
—-the Caga language, the English tongue, and so on. 
The interview ended in rapturous friendship. Man¬ 
dara declared himself my father, claimed me as a son, 
and announced, almost hysterically, a complete com¬ 
munity of goods (a statement to which I inwardly 
demurred). 44 Whenever the white man wanted a cow 
or a goat, he would just take them from the herds of 
his father Mandara, and whenever Mandara desired a 
handsome gun or a European bed, he would use those 
that belonged to his white child.” 
As an earnest of this happy arrangement he sent 
for a splendid ram, with an immensely fat tail, a ewe, 
and a lamb, and handed them over to me as a little 
44 kitoweo ” (relish), to take back to my camp. I 
then shook his great hand enthusiastically, and with 
many a parting shout of 44 Kwa-heri (good-bye), 
Mandara,” 44 Kwa-heri, mtoto wangu ! ” (good-bye, 
my child), I turned my steps back to Kitimbiriu, my 
men enthusiastic over the 44 maneno mazuri ” (fine 
words) which had passed between their master and 
