“ My people,” he exclaimed excitedly; “ Samburu,
Berkenedji.” (Two names for the same people.)
“ But I thought your people were poor, and had
no camels.”
“ Y e s ; that is true. Being poor, and not possessed
of any flocks, many of my people hover about the outskirts
of the Rendile camp, and support life by plundering
from the Rendile either camels, sheep, goats,
or cattle. That is why they are called ‘ dthombon,’
which means in the Rendile language, ‘ robbers.’ ”
The presence of these tracks convinced me that the
Rendile could not be far away. The tracks were made
that morning just before sunrise, and if these dthombon
had travelled three or four days from the Rendile,
they would have rested, and feasted upon the camels
they had captured. But they were up with the dawn,
and pushing quickly onward; which argued that they
had just captured the camels, and that the Rendile
were certainly near at hand. This was a joyful thought.
I at once despatched two men back to Seran with a
note for Lieutenant von Hohnel, informing him of
our discovery, and telling him to make the caravan
ready to march in our direction, as soon as I should
have ascertained the whereabouts of the Rendile and
sent him word.
The effect of the sight of these camel tracks upon
the different members of my small force was not the
same. The two Somali I had taken with me (Karscho
and Achmet Dualla) jabbered with excitement, and
endeavoured to urge me to turn aside, go after the
dthombon, and capture the camels. “ God has delivered
them into our hands,” they said. “ The Rendile
may be days away. Let us capture these five camels;
our donkeys are dying, and the camels will be able
to carry many loads.” On the other hand, the Zanzibari
seemed stunned with the fact that they were
in the neighbourhood of people who possessed camels.
Who could these people be but Somali ? and Somali
they dreaded as they did the devil himself. A t once
their faces assumed a dull, listless expression — among
these people signifying fear and apprehension; and when
I gave the word to push on, they took their loads up in
a half-hearted manner, and followed with halting gait.
D e a d R h in o c e r o s
On'we pressed, I with my field-glasses ever to my
eyes,, scanning the horizon for some sign of habitations
or man. But one thought filled my mind, — to
reach the Rendile as soon as possible. I at first
thought to take the back-track of the dthombon and
their plunder; but it occurred to me that they would
naturally have pursued a trail over ground where
their footprints would leave but slight trace; and
even if the trail proved good, I should in all probability
fall in with bands of pursuing Rendile excited
by their loss, and little apt to treat us in a friendly