I [ 2 
EAST AFRICA AND ITS BIG GAME. 
people, in addition to being a regular bully of the 
whole mountain-side. He is much respected and 
feared by bis subjects, who call him “King,” and ac¬ 
knowledge the divine origin of that title to the extent 
of believing “ the King can do no wrong.” He ap¬ 
parently acts liberally towards them, and, for a savage, 
rules with justice. The secret of his power does not 
lie so much in the numbers of his own warriors as in 
those of his allies, for though he told us he possessed 
a thousand of the former, I believe in reality five 
hundred would be nearer the amount he could find 
available for active service. 
There are several neighbouring tribes far larger and 
more powerful in point of numbers, any one of which 
could easily wipe him out if it were only a question of 
tribe against tribe. But Mandara is quite clever enough 
to realise this, and being a first-class diplomat, employs 
all his skill and cunning in keeping on friendly terms 
with certain neighbours, who by particular terms of 
alliance are bound to help him against any hostile 
attacks, and in the numerous expeditions he organises 
against his foes. He also intrigues with the view to 
fomenting feuds among all who are not in his actual 
alliance, thus preventing any combination en masse 
against him; and he further takes care that his own 
allies shall not be on over-friendly terms with each 
other, lest their “too good understanding” may turn 
out to his disadvantage. His chief supporters during 
our time were the W’Arusha, a powerful and unscru¬ 
pulous tribe, supposed to be a degenerate race of the 
