f
the caravan were terribly decimated, and dozens of men were left dead
or dying along the roadside after each march. It was a case of the
survival of the fittest, as of course it was quite impossible for the
whole caravan to halt in the wilderness where neither food nor water
was to be had. There was only one European with the party, and although
he worked like a slave he could do very little among such a number,
while the Basoga themselves seemed quite indifferent to the sufferings
of their comrades. Thirteen poor wretches fell out to die close to my
tent; they were in the most hopeless condition and far too weak to be
able to do anything at all for themselves. As soon as I discovered
them, I boiled a bucketful of water, added some tins of condensed milk
and the greater part of a bottle of brandy to it, and fed them with the
mixture. Their feeble cries for some of this nourishment were
heartrending; some could only whisper, "Bwana, Bwana" ("Master,
Master"), and then open their mouths. One or two of them, indeed, could
hardly do even this, and were so weak as to be unable to swallow the
spoonful of milk which I put between their lips. In the end six proved
to be beyond all help, and died that night; but the remaining seven I
managed to nurse into complete recovery in about a fortnight's time. As
our camp was moved on, they were brought along from place to place on
the top of trucks, until finally they were well enough to resume their
journey to Usoga, very grateful indeed for the care which we had taken
of them.

The day after I first found these stricken natives I had arranged to
ride on my pony for some miles in advance of the railway, in order to
make arrangements for the building of a temporary bridge over the Stony
Athi River--a tributary of the Athi, and so-called on account of the
enormous numbers of stones in its bed and along its banks. I ordered my
tent to follow me later in the day, and left directions for the care of
the sick Basoga, as I knew I should be away all night. My road lay
along the route taken by the home-returning caravan, and every hundred
yards or so I passed the swollen corpse of some unfortunate porter who
had fallen out and died by the wayside. Before very long I came up with
the rearguard of this straggling army, and here I was witness of as
unfeeling an act of barbarism as can well be imagined. A poor wretch,
utterly unable to go a step further, rolled himself up in his scarlet
blanket