240 
EAST AFRICA AND ITS BIG GAME. 
the Caga mail, which was two days before its time ; blit 
the Bishop had evidently been brushing them up at 
Mombasa, and had forbidden men heavily laden to 
march with the mail, and thus cause its delay. Our 
friends the Wa-taveta were delighted to see us again 
and most hearty in their welcome, for a report had 
reached them that we had all been massacred by the 
Masai. Of course, in this country there are always all 
sorts of “ shaves,” with and without reason. One to the 
effect that Jackson had had a row with the Masai, and 
killed some of them, was probably suggested by the 
fact that a big Swahili caravan, returning recently 
from the interior to the coast, did have a bit of a 
brush with some Masai, killing a few and carrying- 
off their shields and spears. 
The Wa-taveta had two scares while we were 
staying with them this time. The first was that they 
were going to be attacked by the Masai, as about fifty 
had been seen close to the forest, so there were great 
preparations and cutting down of trees to block the 
paths, during which one unfortunate Taveta man was 
accidentally shot by a compatriot. The second scare, 
equally unwarranted, that Mandara was going to attack 
them, was due to the visit of some two hundred Wa- 
moci, who apparently came on a friendly visit, though 
the Wa-taveta declared that they were only the 
advanced guard of a larger force which would have 
attacked them had it not been for our caravans being 
there at the time. 
We found our garden in a healthy condition, though 
