304 
THE KILIMA NJARO EXPEDITION. 
off. I immediately dragged forward an Albino, who 
was a porter in my caravan—a wretched pink-and- 
white creature, with tow-coloured hair and a mottled 
skin. The Masai at once exclaimed, “ Oh, this is a 
bad disease—look, it has turned the man white ! ” 
Then he shouted out they had no wish to interfere 
with us, nor would they take anything from our 
infected goods. One concession alone they asked, and 
this we readily granted, which was that we would not 
follow too closely on their footsteps lest they might get 
our “ wind ” and catch the disease. And with this 
they turned round, rejoined their fellows, called up their 
herd of cows and their donkeys, and slowly wended 
their way up the hilly path. In half an hour’s time 
the last Masai had disappeared, and, relieved from our 
anxieties, we rushed to the water and drank. 
The camp that these warriors had been occupying 
offered a most curious aspect. The great baobab-trees, 
just coming into pale green leaf, were crowded with 
birds of prey—or rather of carrion—vultures, crows, 
and marabu storks. Under the sparse shade of this 
rather leafless forest of grey boughs the Masai had 
made their camp, near the stones of the dry torrent’s 
bed. They had killed many cattle, and cast the refuse 
and offal into the low bushes. On this the vultures 
and storks had glutted themselves to repletion, and 
now perched heavily and stupidly on the tree-tops. 
The smoke of the cooking-fires rose still in white 
columns into the air, and brought to our nostrils acrid 
odours of burnt fat. Behind all was the blue wall of 
the Pare hills rising high against the western heavens, 
which in the approaching sunset had turned to a clear 
citron yellow. 
Strange to say, soon affer the last of the Masai had 
