"I been askin' natives about it.
Black man stole the condemned man's daughter an' refused to pay cows for her accordin' to custom or anythin'-- said he could do what the white men did an' help himself.

Father of the girl took a spear and settled the thief's hash with it--ran him through--did a clean job.
Serve him right--eh--what?
Germans went an' nabbed him, though--tried him in open court--goin' to hang him this mornin' for murder! How does it strike you ?" We were not exactly in mood to talk to Brown--in fact, we wished him anywhere but with us, but he thought self perfectly welcome, and rambled on: "Up in British East we don't hang black men for murder unless it's what they call an aggravated case--murder an' robbery--murder an' arson--murder an' rape.

Hang a white man for murderin' a black sure as you're sitting here, an' shoot a black man for murderin' a white; but the blacks don't understand, so when they kill one another in such a case this, why we give 'em a short jail sentence an' a good lo lecture, an' let 'em go again.

These folks have it t'other way round.

They never hang a German, whether he's guilty or not, but hang a poor black man, what doesn't understand, for half o' nothin'!" A great crowd began gathering about the tree, and was presently driven by askaris with whips into a mass on the far side of the tree from us.
Whether purposely or not, they left a clear view from the hospital steps of all that should happen.