nearest white man, their sole idea of safety being to be somewhere in the neighbourhood of the whites. It having been decided that we should count the auxiliary forces, in order that some idea of how much powder to give to the different chiefs might be arrived at, we proceeded to do so in the usual Arab manner.

A wild animal's skin was placed on the ground, and the whole number of forces to be counted walked over it one by one. We found that Gongo Lutete had little over two thousand guns; Lupungu and the tribes with him, over three thousand. Gongo Lutete and Lupungu were old enemies; Lutete having represented the Arab power, whereas Lupungu was grand chief of the native powers. Lupungu at this juncture coolly announced that he was afraid to advance any farther; that his people would desert if he did so, as dysentery and