I was able to buy all the trade goods I required, and having finished that part of my business, I paid a visit to the Sub-Commissioner to ask him to allow me to have some rifles for self-protection. He absolutely refused, repeating what he had said when I first came to East Africa, that white men were not wanted in the country. I pointed out to him that the Arab and Swahili traders possessed rifles, to which he replied that they had not obtained them with official sanction! Such was the class of administrator approved by Downing Street for the opening up of a new country!
Before leaving Mombasa, where I stayed only a short time, I took the Kikuyu on board a ship, which was a remarkable experience for these people, who had spent all their lives in the mountains and had never even seen the sea, let alone a ship, before. If there was one thing that puzzled my Kikuyu followers more than another in Mombasa, it was, perhaps, the fact that everything had to be paid for. In their own country, when any Swahili traders came to a village they were accustomed to give them a sheep for food, and never thought of asking payment, but here, among the Swahili themselves, they found that they could get nothing unless they were prepared to pay for it; above all, they were astonished that any one should have to pay for lodgings, as it was the invariable custom among them to set apart, or more often build, a hut for the use of any stranger whom they welcomed to their villages. They were very soon tired of Mombasa, appearing to be homesick, so we returned to Nairobi, where we camped for a few days, and during my stay bought some cattle, which my people told me would be useful for trading with the natives near Mount Kenia.
Back again in the Kikuyu country—Kalyera raid—Effect of a mule on the native nerve—Does it eat men?—Prepare for a new expedition—Dress my men in khaki, and march under the Union Jack—A hostile medicine man—Around Mount Kenia—Native drinks—Treacherous native attack on my camp—Lucky capture of the hostile chief saves the camp—Pursuit after stolen cattle—Another attack on my camp—Change of attitude of natives on account of rain—Peace again—Bury my ivory—The forest slopes of Mount Kenia—Wagombi’s—A powerful chief—Precautions—Establish myself and erect a fort