194 
TIIE KILIMA NJARO EXFEDITION 
state of mind, set spies to sound me, I expressed 
myself perfectly happy and self-contained. Indeed, 
thanks to a little foresight, I had so developed my 
plantations and my live-stock that I produced enough 
to sustain us on the premises. But at heart I was 
miserable. The feeling of utter impotence and of 
letting day by day slip by without anything accom¬ 
plished towards the fulfilment of my mission, nearly 
made me ill, and if the climate had not been such a 
peculiarly fine one, I should have worried myself into 
a fever. What I felt most cruelly was the complete 
want of a sympathizer, of any oue to whom I might 
unbend. All through my difficulties I had to assume 
a nonchalant air and light-hearted manner I was far 
from feeling, in order that my men should not be 
unduly alarmed at Mandara’s threats. In the last 
days of July, matters began to come to a crisis. 
Mandara had sent to me to say he was about to make 
war again on Kiboso, and desired me to furnish him 
with ten men, well armed, and several kegs of powder. 
I answered that my men had other , work to do, that 
Mandara’s quarrels were his own business, and, that I 
had no powder to give or sell. No immediate notice 
was taken of this refusal, but a day or two afterwards 
it was brought to my tyrant’s knowledge, first, that I 
was secretly purchasing stores of food, and secondly, 
that I had been seen catching butterflies and gather¬ 
ing plants in contravention of his orders. Accordingly 
he resolved on a decided stroke to crush my resist¬ 
ance and frighten me into compliance with his 
requests. 
One morning, the 30th of July, I was sitting at 
work in my house, when a naked gentleman, with a 
broad-bladed shining spear and a monkey-skin head- 
