A telephone line was laid from Kissaki to us, by means of which Captain Tafel kept us continually informed; up to date no enemy had been seen at Kissaki. But to the west of us, patrols reported the enemy to be marching to the south. I therefore moved to Kissaki, and had to destroy some of our stores, which were collected in small depots along our route. Unfortunately, in carrying this out, an efficient Ordnance N.C.O. was accidentally killed, as had happened before on a similar occasion at Morogoro. At Kissaki, several days passed before we came seriously into collision with the enemy. It was not advisable to occupy the Boma Fort itself; it consisted of a group of buildings surrounded by a massive high wall, and was situated in the middle of a completely cleared bit of country. The enemy could, therefore, only capture it by a costly attack; but he had no need to assault it at all; by means of artillery and bombs from aircraft, he could have made it intolerable for us to remain in the cramped Boma, and we ourselves should then have been forced to make a sortie over the open and to endure the fire which the enemy would have been able to pour into us in perfect security. Our defences were, therefore, placed a long way outside the Boma, covered from the view of aircraft, and so arranged that they could be occupied and evacuated unobserved. It was not until I arrived at Kissaki myself that I obtained a proper idea of the abundance of stores and supplies available there. I learned that, contrary to my belief, practically nothing was stored further south at Behobeho or at Kungulio, on the Rufiji. At Kissaki there were large stocks, but notwithstanding the dense native population, it was impossible to get them away. The numerous inhabitants, to whom the war and the many Askari were something quite new, lost their heads and ran away into the bush. The Civil Administration, which enjoyed the complete confidence of the people, proved powerless against the overwhelming influences now bursting in upon them. Even presents of clothing, which were ordinarily so highly valued, failed to hold them. It seemed as if all the evil spirits had conspired together to deprive us of transport. Our column of several hundred pack-donkeys had been driven over the mountains from Morogoro. It arrived at Kissaki late and completely exhausted. Our ox-wagons, which had to go round the east side of the Uluguru Mountains on account of the state of the roads, seemed to be never going to arrive. The head of the Communications Service could not find any other means of carrying away the stocks which were essential to us for continuing the war. And yet it was obvious that we must continue to fall back further south, towards the Rufiji, before the superior numbers of the enemy.