Krapf was in a weak position and could not be more than a pawn but Speke, for example, had too large a following of reasonably well-organized porters to be taken entirely for granted. It was therefore possible for him to be a desirable ally for one side or the other in the war between the Tabora Arabs and Mnwya Sera; in the event, he tried to mediate in the dispute with some effect (Bridges, 1971). Stanley, who had an even more formidable caravan on his expeditions, and who, unlike all the other explorers, showed a willingness to act in a ruthless way, did frequently intervene as, for instance, in the war between Mirambo and the Arabs in 1