KAGEI TO TAB ORA AND BACK. 137 tained that the chief was a friend of mine, represented to him that it was my property and that I wanted it in a great hurry, and would give him a good present when I returned ; whereupon the chief foolishly gave up the goods, and on my arrival came and asked for his present. Of course I knew nothing about it, but it took nearly a whole day to convince the chief that it was no concern of mine.

After leaving Semwi we made very rapid marches, the weather being finer and the country generally drier. On March 8th, as we were passing through some jungle, and when approaching the district of Usmao, I was much surprised by the appearance of Hassani, and about a dozen of the Wang'uana whom I had left at Kagei. On seeing me they fired off their guns, an insane custom, which they observe on all possible occasions. I asked what they meant by disobeying my orders and leaving Kagei, and learnt that they had all run away in a panic upon hearing some absurd story about the intention of Lukonge to come and attack our depot. This was a most improbable tale, as, though Smith and O'Neill had been killed, yet the Wakerewe had been far too severely punished in the fight to willingly face firearms again. These gallant fellows (the same who lay down in the boat when we were attacked at Ukara) hoped to frighten me, by this means, into returning to Zanzibar. However I kept on, and on emerging from the jungle we saw a number of men