my great satisfaction, that the Somali and Soudanese
appeared to be accustomed to the cattle-punching
business, and were able to drive the wildest cow
along with comparative ease.
Before setting out on the march I released the old
native I had captured, and sent him to a large band of
warriors I had noticed upon one of the surrounding
hills, with the following message: “ Tell your people
that they have now learned the futility of harassing the
white man and his caravan upon the march; that they
must be convinced of our power and strength, and of
the further fact, that our medicine was better than theirs.
That we felt we had inflicted sufficient punishment upon
them for their ill-treatment of us, and for the dastardly
manner in which they had massacred the Zanzibari caravan
some years before. That we were unwilling to destroy
any more of their tribe; and, as we had already
supplied ourselves with sufficient food for the journey,
they could rest content that we would no longer remove
even a single grain from their plantations, or one head
of cattle from their kraals. That it was our intention
to march peacefully through their territory, and so it
would be wise for their warriors not to harass us upon
the march. However, should they prove deaf to this
warning, and repeat their attacks upon us, we would
again make use of our mighty medicine, lay waste their
country, and wipe the tribe of Wamsara off the face of
the earth.”
The old man was delighted to escape, and set off
in the direction indicated. From subsequent events I
doubt very much whether he delivered the message.
Our condition at the time of sending this message
could not have struck the casual observer as sufficiently
satisfactory to warrant its confident tone. The caravan
did not number sixty men, all told. Of this number
twelve were wounded, and all but twelve of the able-
bodied were heavily laden. Moreover, we were hampered
with the flocks and herds we had captured.
From the little knoll on which we had taken our
.stand Motio had pointed out to us, winding up the
side of the range and passing near the summit of the
highest peak, the road over which our route must lie.
This path was bright red in colour, and was distinctly
outlined by the verdure bordering thereon. Motio
assured us that between our position and the peak
the way was intersected by many deep ravines ; and
that shortly after leaving the knoll it would lie between
masses of dense undergrowth, well suited for ambush
and surprise.
There was no time to be lost, as the peak which
was thè limit of the Wamsara territory was more than
ten miles distant, and noon had already passed. Beyond
the peak lived the Embe ; would they receive us in
a friendly manner? It seemed unlikely, but Motio
assured us such would be the case. However, our
hopes were not high, as he had failed to give us the
best information regarding the treatment we should
receive at the hands óf the Wamsara. To remain
where we were was impossible. So, reflecting that sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof, we hardened
our hearts; I gave the command to fall in, and our
little force moved slowly toward the peak.
On both sides of our line of march great numbers of
natives followed, at distances varying from 100 to 300