that they had heard the voices of men, and sounds as of
people at work. We set out at once, and shortly after
entering the forest came upon a narrow foot-path. The
forest was extremely thick, and consisted of baobab and
other mighty trunked trees, from whose branches depended
myriad vines and creepers. The morning sun
had difficulty in penetrating the canopy overhead, and
extreme caution was necessary to pick one’s way noiselessly.
In less than an hour I heard voices, and in a
moment, through the intervening growth, I descried a
little clearing in the forest, where some natives were
at work. There were four men and five women; the
women appeared to be young — the men, one and all,
had the shrunken appearance of age.
The women were quite naked, with the exception
of a string about the waist, from which hung a short
skirt composed of green banana leaves. The men
were absolutely unclothed. They were of medium
stature, black in colour, and their heads were shaven.
For some time I watched them at their work. They
were using axes with iron heads not broader than the
blade of a carving-knife. This head was run through
a hole cut in a stick, in appearance far too heavy to
serve as a handle for such small implements. These
they used in cutting away the undergrowth. Here
and there in the clearing lay prostrate the trunks of
tall trees, and I marvelled at the patience of these
people; for the cutting down of such trees with the
small axes they used must have been the work of weeks.
From my experience with the natives I knew that as
soon as my presence became known to these people, they
would flee and alarm their tribe; our progress into the
country would probably be interrupted by their warriors,
and perhaps it would be necessary to fight. This, above
all things, I desired to avoid, and so took the only steps
possible to such an end. With four of my men I crept
noiselessly forward, and then with a sudden rush we
dashed upon the natives, and in a trice we had two of
the old men bound. The women, as appears to be
the custom in Africa (and, I may add, elsewhere) looked
on with more interest than surprise at our approach.
I suppose this is to be accounted for by the fact that
from infancy they are brought up with the expectation
of being, at one time or another during their lives,
captured by some neighbouring tribe; and as they are
possessed of no very strong love of home, they look
forward, certainly with indifference, and perhaps with
pleasurable expectation, to a change of life and scene.
The men, however, acted in a different manner. The
two we had seized were struck dumb, while the three
we had left untouched made off with incredible speed,
making the forests ring with their wild shouts.
Our purpose in seizing the two men was to hold
them as hostages for the good behaviour of the tribe;
knowing it was unlikely we should be attacked as long
as they were bound and walking at the front of our
caravan. In a few moments the rest of my men came
up, and calling one of my Masai interpreters, I set him
to questioning our captives. They understood but- a
few words of Masai, but when my interpreter (Mwinyi
Hadji) began speaking to them in Kikuyu, their faces
showed signs of intelligence, and they replied in a
dialect of that tongue. Kikuyu is the generic name
of the tribes inhabiting the slopes of Mount Kenya.