Part 10 (1/2)

And once, actually, by thisof rivalry that the Kikuyus, the unambitious, weak and despised Kikuyus, led the van!

But the first hint of insubordination, of intended insolence, of willful shi+rking must be met by instant authority Occasionally, when the situation is of the quick and sharp variety, the white man may have to mix in the row himself He must never hesitate an instant; for the only reason he alone can control so many is that he has always controlled them F had a very effective blow, or shove, which I found orth adopting It is delivered with the heel of the pal shove than an actual blow Its effect is i Impertinence is best dealt with in thiswhen called is also best treated by a flick of the whip-and forgetfulness And so with a half dozen others But any more serious matter should be decided from the throne of the canvas chair, witness should be heard, judgment formally pronounced, and execution intrusted to the askaris or gunbearers

It is, as I have said, a e: first what a safari ; second, what he customarily should or should not do; third, an ability to read the actual intention or motive back of his actions When you are able to punish or hold your hand on these principles, and not ht, then you are a good safari hty few of them

As for punishe writer on the country speaks of this with hushed voice and averted face as a necessity but as so to be deprecated and passed over as quickly as possible He does this because he thinks he ought to As a matter of fact, such an attitude is all poppycock In the flogging of a white man, or a black who suffers from such a punishment in his soul as well as his body, this is all very well But the safari s in the least, it is ancient custom As well sentimentalize over necessary schoolboy punish little Willie when little Willie has been a bad boy The chances are your porter will leap to his feet, crack his heels together and depart with a whoop of joy, grinning from ear to ear Or he ain with a grin In any case his ”soul” is not ”scared” a little bit, and there is no sense in yourself feeling about it as though it were

At another slant the justice you will dispense to your ain this is because of the teaching long tradition has made part of their mental uilty o than to punish one innocent With natives it is the other way about If a criuilty MUST be punished

Preferably he alone is to be dealt with; but in case it is impossible to identify him, then all the ht to account This is the native way of doing things; is the only way the native understands; and is the only way that in his mind true justice is answered Thus if a sheep is stolen, the thief ht and punished Suppose, however it is known to what fas, but the family refuses to disclose which of its members committed the theft: then each ; or, if not the family, then the tribe must make restitution

But punishment MUST be inflicted

There is an essential justice to recommend this, outside the fact that it has with the native all the solidity of accepted ethics, and it certainly helps to run the real criminal to earth The innocent sometimes suffers innocently, but not very often; and our own records show that in that respect with us it is the sa of the nize the fact that it is right froly

Thus in cast of theft ofthat cannot be traced, it is well to call up the witnesses, to prove the alibis, and then to place the issue squarely up to those that remain There may be but two, or there may be a dozen

”I know you did not all steal the meat,” you must say, ”but I know that one of you did Unless I knohich one that is by to-, I will kiboko all of you Bass!”

Perhaps occasionally you e that ive you Harden it The ”innocent” probably know perfectly ho the guilty man is And the incident builds for the future

I had intended nowhere to co is ments on how a country is run Nevertheless, Ithat the Govern settlers by adopting this native view of retributions

For instance, at present it is absolutely impossible to identify individual sheep and cattle stealers They operate stealthily and at night If the Governives the reat hardshi+p is inflicted on the settler and an evil increases If, however, the Governe, the district, or the tribe responsible, and exact just compensation from such units in every case, the evil would very suddenly come to an end And the native's respect for the white ets confidence in his master, that confidence is complete The white man's duties are in his mind clearly defined His job is to see that the black man is fed, is watered, is taken care of in every way The ordinary porter considers himself quite devoid of responsibility He is also an iets thirsty, noand hot the journey before hiry, two days before next distribution tieously at times and has to be rounded up; he works three months and, on a whim, deserts two days before the end of his journey, thus forfeiting all his wages Once two porters came to us for money

”What for?” asked C

”To buy a sheep,” said they

For two ame meat they could eat, but on this occasion two days had intervened since the last kill

If they had been on trading safari they would have had no meat at all

A sheep cost six rupees in that country, and they were getting but ten rupees a es In view of the circuood, we refused Anothera cake of violet-scented soap for a rupee Their chief idea of a wild ti safari, is to SIT IN A CHAIR and drink tea For this they pay exorbitantly at the Soht But then, I have seen cowboys off the range or luant and foolish things

On the other hand they carry their loads well, they march tremendously, they know their camp duties and they do theood-natured I re rain We wandered until nearly ht The four or five men with us were loaded heavily with the meat and trophy of a roan Certainly they must have been very tired; for only occasionally could we permit theroping, over boulders, volcanic rocks, fallen trees and all sorts of tribulation The hed consu up a safari one tries to mix in four or five tribes This prevents concerted action in case of trouble, for no one tribe will help another They vary both in tribal and individual characteristics, of course For example, the Kikuyus are docile butcarriers but turbulent and difficult to handle You are very lucky if you happen on a cas, shouts, or jokes while on the march He is probably not es nevertheless He iddy eminence We had one droll-faced little Kavirondo whose very expression h, and whose rueful re funny His naot to be a catchword in camp

”Mualo! Mualo!” the men would cry, as they heaved their burdens to their heads; and all day long their war cry would ring out, ”Mualo!” followed by shrieks of laughter

Of the other type was Suli, one-eyed Monumwezi, who had a really keen wit coupled with an earnest, soleood porter, always at or near the head of the procession In the great jungle south of Kenia we cahame When the head of our safari reached the spot Sulimani left the ranks and, his load still aloft danced sole in a loud tone of voice Then with a final deep ”Jambo!” to his old master he rejoined the safari When the day had stretched to weariness and thecould always set the safari sticks tapping the sides of the chop boxes

He carried part of the tent, and the next best men were entrusted with the cook outfit and our personal effects It was a point of honour with these men to be the first in caht up by worthless porters with loads of cornmeal-and the weary askaris whose duty it was to keep astern and herd the lot in