“ TROUBLOUS TIMES:’ 
181 
strangers are to occupy the soil, where is the room for 
our children to cultivate ? 5 Then what can I do but 
sell them to the Arabs ? 55 I answered this by first 
describing to Mandara (who probably was unaware of 
this other aspect) what the Arabs did with the unhappy 
Wa-Caga whom they purchased ; how they made them 
labour in the sugar-plantations on the coast; how they 
exported them to regions across the sea, the nameless 
outrages inflicted on the youths and maidens, and as I 
warmed to the subject his face grew sombre, and he 
hung his head. Then I drew another picture. “ See,” 
I said, 66 how silly is war; who profits but the Arabs ? 1 
Yes,” I exclaimed, getting furious as I thought of it, 
“ it is you, you vile wretches,” pointing to his Swahili 
parasites who sat sulkily by, “ who are the curse of the 
country. May God punish you in this world and the 
next ! I, at any rate, warn you, I will do my best to 
thwart your dealings ; I will write to the Consul on the 
coast and give your names, and stop your slave- 
convoys. So you had better decamp and try fields 
where no white man is.” Then I turned to Mandara 
and said, “ Take my advice for once. Cast these men 
from your country, and turn all your attention to 
legitimate trade. Make your slaves cultivate your 
own plantations instead of the Arabs 5 . Supply the 
caravans going and returning to and from Masai-land 
with food. You know how gladly they will pay for it 
in goods and money (rupees). Thus you will grow rich 
and still retain the Consul 5 s friendship. Above all, let 
there be peace on the mountain. Make friends with 
Ki-boso, Ki-rua, and Maraiiu, and then the white man 
1 By Arabs I do not mean pure-blooded Arabs of Arabia, but the half- 
breeds, or Mohammedan mongrels, of the Zanzibar coast, who always 
announce themselves to natives as “ Wa-Arabu.” 
