UNKNOWN AFRICA
In Unknown Africa
A NARRATIVE OF TWENTY MONTHS' TRAVEL
AND SPORT IN UNKNOWN LANDS AND
AMONG NEW TRIBES
MAJOR P. H. G. POWELL-COTTON,
F.R.CÍS., F.Z.S.
AUTHOR OF
"A Sporting Trip through Abyssinia"
With 204 Reproductions from Drawings by A. Forestier and the
Author's Photographs, and two Maps
LONDON
HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED
1904
All rights reserved
TO
THE WANDERING SPIRIT
To whose influence England owes her Empire
This work is dedicated
By one who has felt the magic of her spell
PREFACE
Although "A Sporting Trip Through Abyssinia" met with a more
favourable reception than I had expected, it was not my intention to
again trespass on the good-nature of the public. On my return to
England, however, after an absence of nearly 21 months, I found
that the short account already published of some of the incidents
that had befallen me in Northern Uganda had aroused consider¬
able interest, which a few articles and lectures seemed only to
increase. Encouraged by this, I determined to write as faithful
an account as possible of the experiences which fortune had thrown
in my way during the trip.
This book does not pretend to be a scientific work on the country
visited, but I trust it may prove acceptable, not only to my fellow
sportsmen and travellers, but also to that wider circle of readers
who, if they do not care to wander themselves, are nevertheless
interested in the accounts of a wanderer.
I take this opportunity of expressing my gratitude to all those who
helped to make my way smooth, or to whose assistance whatever
success the present book may enjoy is greatly due.
Chief among the former I reckon the Hon. Walter Rothschild,
who not only procured me permission which greatly increased the
zoological interest of the journey, but also rescued the most interest¬
ing portion of my collection from destruction.
To Major General Maitland's consideration I owe the ease with
which I was able to pass my ammunition through Aden and to draw
arms for my escort.
Sir Charles Eliot, H.M.'s Commissioner for British East Africa, at
the commencement of the trip, removed difficulties which the Coast
officials had thought insurmountable, and has thereby earned my
sincere gratitude.
viii
PREFACE.
Every consideration was shown me by Col. Hayes Sadler, H.M. s
Commissioner for Uganda, who did much to further the objects of
my expedition.
To the following officials, among others, my hearty thanks are due
for their hospitality and good fellowship, which, besides helping me
out of many difficulties, added much enjoyment to my trip :—
Messrs. R. W. Humphery, H. Hyde Baker, F. W. Isaac, H. B.
Partington, W Wyndham, the late M. Boughton Knight, Capts.
C. C. L. Barlow, in command of the troops on the Nile, and A.
Jennings Bramly, in command at Gondokoro.
Last, but by no means least, come those in charge of the Congo
Free State Stations of Wadelai and Mahagi, particularly M. Eram,
who came a long journey to greet and assist me.
As regards the production of this book, I must express my thanks
to Dr. Scott Keltie and the officials of the Royal Geographical
Society for compiling such an excellent map from very scattered
material.
Mr. Lydekker also has been kind enough to allow me to reproduce
his description and the plates of the giraffe shot by me, both of
which appeared in his article for the Zoological Society.
Finally my friend, Mr. Cecil Cobb, that good sportsman and
pleasant companion who accompanied me as far as Baringo, has in¬
creased my indebtedness to him by placing his collection of photo¬
graphs—many of which I have reproduced—and numerous notes at
my disposal.
P. H. G. POWELL-COT l'ON.
Quex Park,
September, 190.4.
CONTEN TS
CHAPTER I.
Settling the route—The objects of my journey—Official discouragement—
Shipping difficulties—Departure—A busy time at Aden—A milk-white
sea—Mombassa Harbour—The ways of the Custom House—Official
red-tape—A journey to Nairobi—Scenes on the way—Nairobi—A go
of fever—Permission for my journey granted .....
CHAPTER II.
Return to the Coast—Enrolling our followers—Start by rail—My battery—
Search for oryx—Visit of the Game Marden—Continuance of our jour¬
ney—Our safari lost—The Athi Plain, its game and scenery—Heavy
rain—A picturesque spring—Doinyo Sabuk—Herds of zebra—Hill
shooting—Benighted—The first rhino—A hungry lioness—C
encounters a rhino—His mule disappears ......
CHAPTER III.
Crossing the Thika—A right and left at lion—A troop of lions and a long
chase—First glimpse of giraffe—We double back for Kongoni and lion
—Fort Hall—Reorganising our safari—A native bridge—He of the one
boot—Buying a wife—Highly cultivated country—Dancers and their
costumes—A Beluchi traders' camp—Their tales of Abyssinians—A
small-pox scare .... . .
CHAPTER IV.
Visit to a Kikuyu village—A dead woman's hut—Field costume—Trading
for food—Start for Kenia—Trouble with guides—The foot of the
mountain—Search for Andorobo—Enter forest—Guereza monkeys—An
albino specimen—A herd of elephants—A vicious animal—A narrow
escape—Bushbuck shooting—Kenia's snow-capped peak
x CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER V.
An attempt to reach the upper slopes—Brown monkeys—Giant lobelias
A night in the forest—Return of food safari—A deputation from our
men—A Kikuyu chant—One man's meat is another man's poison
Heuglin's hartebeest and oryx—A jackal incident'—A Dorobo camp
A fine lion. . ....
CHAPTER VI.
Masai raiding parly—A Grant with a crumpled horn—A lion incident—A
long march to camp—An ideal white man's country—Cross Marmanet
hills—Food running short—A rain storm—Wound an antelope—A
rhino and calf—Track and kill' the antelope—Search for path—A
wooded gorge—A weary trek—Benighted—Encounter three rhino—
Bivouac in forest—Sight Baringo Lake—Descend the escarpment—A
band of Suk—Their dress and arms . . 67
CHAPTER VII.
Baringo plain—Reach the boma—The Collector—Mail from home—Mild-
mannered crocodiles—Greater Kudu—The African chamois—Trial of
a native—Ambatch wood boats—Hippo asleep on shore—The island—
"The Place of the Hot Springs "—Steam blow-hole—Submerged trees
—Villages—Cooking lunch—Baboons and snakes—A night on the
island—A weird scene—A storm on the lake—Return to the boma 81
CHAPTER VIII.
Dassies—C leaves for the Coast—Searching for giraffe—Find a lion's
larder and bait it—Lose a tfack and sight a fine kudu—Put up and kill
the lion—A vexatious incident—A good chance for lion spoilt—Ant
traps—A long shot at kudu—A lost track—A lucky guess—A fine
trophy—Lose a record head—My second kudu—A party of leopard
Return to Baringo—A day's shooting on the lake—A narrow shave
A hippo fight .... ...
CHAPTER IX.
An abandoned baby—Fishing at Baringo—A fish that feeds on land A
living tally of the slain—A Suk chief's death-bed—Suk in a dog-box
—Post on the Ribo hills—Poisoned honey—Fight with the Jabtulail
Stiaits of the garrison—Abandonment of the post—Loss of British
prestige—Abyssinian aggression—Baringo boma established—A native's
view of barbed wire—Description of the new boma . .
CHAPTER X.
Leave to shoot in the Reserve refused—Hair-splitting regulations—Baker's
pets—A cat's adventures—I stalk ostrich and walk into a rhino
96
108
CONTENTS.
xi
Giraffe at last—Death of a cow—How I dried the skin—Lion-hunting
oryx—A tiresome track—Rather too close quarters—Death of a lioness
—A herd of giraffe—A plain covered with game . . . .121
CHAPTER XI.
A pugnacious rhino—My gunbearer knocked over—A lion foils us—Hungry
visitors—A big herd of giraffe and their sentries—A troublesome stalk
—A successful shot—A fine bull—The five " horns "—Bag an ostrich
—An oryx duel—Giraffe lying down—Bad luck . . 133
CHAPTER XII.
Hyzenas and wild dog—I thin a pack—A fine oryx head—Rhino chases us
—A wounded impala—Rhino galore—Should rhino be protected ?—A
string of kudu—A grand head—A mission boy—Return to the lake—
Arrival of the new collector—" Coronating "—Release of prisoners—
A notorious character—An official muddle—Picturesque shauris—A
Dorobo hunter and his clever donkey—Dik-dik shooting . . 146
CHAPTER XIII.
Start for the Ravine—Njemps villages—A superstitious custom—Pos¬
sible rice-fields—Meet a sportsman—A charming camp—Arrival at
Eldama Ravine—Mr. Isaac, collector, ethnographer, and naturalist—
The Gwashengeshu Masai—Enter Mau Forest—Wild honey and fire
sticks—Tarego, my Dorobo guide—Guereza shooting—Quest for bongo 162
CHAPTER XIV.
The^Forest—A Dorobo and his dogs—Dorobo desert—Bag « forest pig-
Shooting from mule-back—An amusing request—Mt. Sirgoit—An
unfenced Zoo—A picturesque salt lake—Elgeyo visitors—A Nandi raid
—Reedbuck—Stalking topi—A lad's encounter with a lion—The
Elgeyo appeal to God..... . 178
CHAPTER XV.
March to giraffe ground—Native unselfishness—Giraffe vanish—Finally
sight two bulls—A long chase—A dark, wet march—Camp at last—
Men benighted—Shoot an ostrich—Lost man's adventures—My record
giraffe—Stone ruins—Dwellings of a vanished race—The Masai in¬
vasion—A troop of lion—Topi shooting—A big herd of giraffe-
Variation in colour—A swarm of bees besiege camp—Sleeping lions—
I stalk them and they stalk my mule—A tantalising episode 190
CHAPTER XVI.
Nandi spies—An Oribi dance—Swollen rivers—Provisions running short—
A herd of elephant—The heart shot—Preserving the scalp—Flour at
xii
CONTENTS.
I'AGE
last—A night's vigil for lion—The tree breaks—A dilemma—Mt.
Elgon in the distance—Reach Kabaras—Walled villages—Women in
birthday attire—Villagg threshing floors—Reach Mumias station . 206
CHAPTER XVII.
Mumias station—Parcel post and its difficulties—Troubles of an ivory trader
—Chiefs and their followers—A native band—Cattle raiding—The
market place—Uganda thatching—Theft of ammunition—A little mis¬
understanding .... 219
CHAPTER XVIII.
The bazaar—A native musician—The old Nandi road—The Kakumega
people—Tattoo work as a costume—The Nandi escarpment—Rhino
scatters my flock—Nandi villages—A troublesome tribe—My dealings
with them—A queer costume—A nasty toss . . . 236
CHAPTER XIX.
My first kob—Fording a river—Abdallah treads on a hippo—How plans
gang aft agley—A troop of kuru bulls—No luck with lion—Photos
of live kob and Waterhuck—Ride into a troop of lion—Benighted in
a swamp—Meet Mr. Howitt—Mumias again—Transport difficulties
—Breaking in oxen—Official perverseness . . 250
CHAPTER XX.
A sensible mission—Hut tax—Pets of the station—Night escape from the
chain gang—Sunsets—" Delicate skeletons"—Start in a thunderstorm
—A Kitosh "Darby and Joan"—Buying women's " tails "—A native
blacksmith—Homes of the Mt. Elgon troglodytes . . 26i
CHAPTER XXI.
Track to the caves—Sentries—The mouth of the cave—Explore the interior
—Prevailing cleanliness—Inhabitants vanish—Are the caves artificial ?
—More cave-dwellers—Make friends—Their mode of life—Matches a
novelty—The womenfolk—A baby wongabuney—Their recent history
—Fast vanishing . • • • . 272
CHAPTER XXII.
A futile elephant hunt—Lion at close quarters and a cowardly gun bearer
Chase a herd of elephants—Track a lion and find a bull elephant
Swahili magic—Meet two Greek traders—Journey to their camp
Sabie and Kimama tribesmen—An elephant snare—Big-horned cows . 291
CONTENTS.
xiii
pac;*:
CHAPTER XXIII.
Mount Debasien—New ground—A huge snake—A striking mountain—A
mysterious tribe—Fish galore—A non-existent" lake—The trysting-
place—An ivory safari—A Swahili settlement—Karamojo trekking—A
flour market—Karamojo fashions—Buying a head-dress . . . 304
CHAPTER XXIV.
Howitt's return—A sequel to Macdonald's expedition—Trip towards
Kimama—A choice of routes—Bartering donkeys—Moroto Mount—
Karamojo villages—Visit the Tepeth—Tribe of "magicians"—Two-
storeyed huts—Their origin—Our reception—A waterless tract—I find
a pool . . . . . . . . . . . -321
CHAPTER XXV.
Writing on the rock—Lesser kudu—How elephants bury their enemies—A
night in a tree—A rocky pool-—No road—I hunt for water—Sun-baked
rocks—Thirsty men—A night bivouac—An inquisitive rhino—A long
day—Blasted hopes—Men give in—Abandoning the loads—A terrible
march—Digging for water—Lost in the night—The relief party—
Death from thirst ... ...... 333
CHAPTER XXVI.
Across the Murosoka—Bad going — The Athenune Basin-—Karamojo
hunters—The right road at last—The Tarash Valley—Signs of man—
Previous white men in Turkana—My meeting with the natives—An
anxious half hour—Peace—Turkana braves—Gramophone entertain¬
ment—A war dance—Turkana modes and customs .... 350
CHAPTER XXVII.
A warrior's bivouac—A scorpion camp-—An elephant high road—A parly
of Turkana—The feast of friendship—How they kept it—A Swahili
camp—Abyssinian raiders—Deserted loads—An elephant "ceme¬
tery "—A pleasant valley—A long and exciting march . 369
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Pick up a fine pair of tusks—A six-homed giraffe—A foul pool—Elephants
bathing—A Toposa'guide—Shoot Giraffa camelopardalis cottoni—
Enter Dodinga hills—Deserted villages—A hostile meeting—Touch
and go—A fine race—Strange hair ornaments . 382
CHAPTER XXIX.
Killed a good specimen of guereza—Camp in the clouds—Truculent traders
—Dodinga dress and arms—A forced march for flour—Donkeys break
XIV
CONTENTS.
PAGE
down—Stores raided by Dodinga—Trouble brewing—An awkward
position—Fortified camp—Decided to seize enemy's cattle as pledges . 400
CHAPTER XXX.
Successful sally results in capture of 300 cattle—Water difficulties We
take a prisoner—A blood-curdling prophecy—Strengthen our defences
—Night attack—Negotiations re-opened—Karamojo boy wounded—
Attack renewed—Water party ambuscaded and nearly cut up—A de¬
moralised crowd—A cheerless day—Long-range sniping—We march
out—A fearless Masai girl—Welcome water . . 414
CHAPTER XXXI.
Reach the Kedef River—A tropical camp—Good sport—The doum palm—
The Mielli people—A sensible Sultan—The marketers—" Who is the
man in the gramophone?"—Buying a head-dress—Visit the Sultan's
village—A queer agricultural implement . . . 431
CHAPTER XXXII.
Leave the Mielli—A rhino mounts guard over a dead antelope—Poor shoot¬
ing—Lori, a fertile valley—A friendly people—Visit from a neighbour¬
ing chief—The origin of the tribes—A suspicious ruler—The Marañóle
tribe—My dealing with a dilatory Sultan . ... 444
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Lorika on his mettle—Limoroo meets me—Photos tabooed—Logguren rock
and its hamlets—Human spittoons—I secure some portraits—Brass
helmets "growing"—Search for greater kudu—Tarangole—A queer
way of returning gifts—A suspicious tribe . . 458
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Friendly natives—" The Wanderer's camp "—A tribe of ill-repute—Lost in
the jungle—Obbo—A Swahili trader—Buffalo and elephant—A big
herd and a good bull—An exciting twenty-four hours—A couple of bulls
—A single tusker—A night of suspense—Encircled by elephants—Our
escape . . 472
CHAPTER XXXV.
A herd of buffalo—Death of a bull—An inquisitive askari—A raided
country —Three big bulls—A kill—How a heavy tusker escaped me—
A fiuitless search—A stroke of luck—A 100 lb. tusk at last—Petty
chiefs and their modest requests—The Nile—Nimule—A visit to Dufile 484
CONTENTS.
xv
PAGE
CHAPTER XXXVI.
The situation on the Uganda Nile—Acholi customs—Death of the doctor—A
wife for eightpence—A bad road—Wadelai—A visit to the Congo side
A pleasant official — Start for Mahagi . 496
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Mahagi —How a Congo station is run—Disappointment—M. Eram, Chef de
Territoire—Elephants digging potatoes—To Nimule by river—Hall's
midnight adventures with a lioness—Red monkeys—The road to Gon-
dokoro—The outpost of Uganda—Congo and Sudan stations . . 508
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Walls of papyrus—Shilluk villages—Fashoda—Khartoum—Its progress
—Omdurman—Startling news—Unsatisfactory explanations—The
Upper Nile—Arrival home ... . . 523
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Results of my expedition—Protection of game—How the Foreign Office
stifles scientific research—The ivory trade . . • 534
APPENDICES.
I.—List of Game with the Districts in which the
Different Species are Found .... 545
II.—Native Names for Animals 548
III.—Game Obtained During the Expedition . . 552
IV.—A List of Lepidoptera and Heterocera . . 580
V.—Hints to Sportsmen 588
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
The old Portuguese Fort, Morabassa
A station crowd . ...
By an up-country station, Uganda Railway
Bartering for corn cobs on the Athi Plains
Impala antelope .....
Porters crossing a swamp
Nzau, our head man, and my first lioness
A natural bridge over the Thika
A Kikuyu bridge over the Tana
Ororear, the " One Boot " Chief
Kikuyu dancers
Kikuyu dancers ....
Kikuyu bee-hive ...
Beluchi ivory traders ....
Entrance to a Kikuyu Village.
Shelling peas in a Kikuyu Village .
A coy Kikuyu couple ....
In Kikuyuland, bargaining for beans
A Kikuyu chief and his followers .
" A near.thing with a Kenya elephant " .
Mount Kenya from the west .
Kikuyu porters leaving Mount Kenya Camp
Kikuyu porter and oryx, Likipia Plains .
A Likipia lion ....
xviii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Fall in for meat rations ..... "9
Porters crossing a stream . . ■ ■ ■ 71
A halt on the march -73
Lake Baringo ....... 75
A band of Suk . . . • -77
Cobb and his best crocodile . . 83
A Baringo shauri ...... . 85
Njemps lad who found the hippo ... -87
Njemps women with loads of hippo meat 89
Preparing a hippo scalp ...... 91
Baker cooking fish in hot springs, Baringo Island . 93
My Baringo lion .... -99
An ant hill, Baringo Plain . . .... 103
Comoto, a Suk chief . . . . . . .111
Suk (showing tattoo marks) . . .113
Suk warriors . . . . . . . . . 115
A party of Suk . . . . . 117
Baker and jackal pups . . . J23
My followers—giraffe tracking . . 125
Masai tracker and cow giraffe. (Now in Natural History
Museum, South Kensington) . . . . . .127
Giraffe skin platform .... 129
Bedoui and the rhino that chased him . . 135
Baringo giraffe and Suk elder. . . . . 137
A five-horned giraffe head . ... 141
Suk cutting up a giraffe . . . . 143
A pair of wild dogs . I4y
The chain gang . . . . . . 151
Combo at work . . . . • 15 3
Kamasia chiefs at Baringo . . . . 155
Dorobo hunter and his donkey . . -157
Dorobo hunter . . .... 160
Njemps men ... .... 163
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xix
PAGE
Sowongo, the fighting chief of Njemps 165
Gungani camp . . . . . . . . .168
B.ullock carts at the Ravine .... 169
Loads ready at the Ravine . . . . . . .170
Tarego and his children 175
My camp in the Mau Forest 179
Mau Forest . . . . . . . . . .181
Mount Sirgoit ... 183
Masai guide and topi . . . . . . . 187
Thinning a giraffe skin .... ... 193
Baringo bull giraffe (coloured plate). . . pacing page 194
Hoisting a giraffe skin to dry ... ... 195
Giraffe skins drying . . . t97
Dwellings of a by-gone race . . . . . . .201
Waiting to cross the Etakatok 207
Getting the rope across . . ..... 209
Taking the loads over . . 209
A Kabaras elephant . 2 r 1
Drying the scalp . . . . . . . .213
Kabaras natives . . . . . . . • 2I5
Mumias Government Station . . . .217
Mumias Avenue . . . . . . . • .221
Mr. Boughton Knight at Mumias . .... 223
Kavirondo chiefs and their followers . . . . . 225
A Kavirondo band 229
A Kavirondo wizard 231
Gossiping marketers .... ... 233
Mumias market 234
Mumias Bazaar ... 237
An Indian storekeeper 238
A Kakumega couple 2 39
Mount Elgon 241
A Nandi elder's summer coat 243
XX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Nandi archers trading at my camp door ... • 245
Measuring a lady for a necklet ...... 247
Uganda kob ..... 25 r
Obstinate donkeys . ... ... 253
A live Waterhuck . . . . . • • 255
A live kob . . 257
Hut tax poles . ... . • 263
Kavirondo cranes ... . . 265
A Kavirondo " Darby " .... . . 268
A Kavirondo "Joan " 269
Sentries. . 273
Platform before the caves ... 274
Entrance to cave ..... . 275
Interior of cave . . . . 276
Cave dwellers at home . . 277
Waterfall concealing mouth of cave . . 281
Cave-dwellers at work . . . .284
A group of troglodytes ..... 286
A great joke ...... 287
Wongabuney women and child 288
Discussing the white man . . 289
Chopping out the ivory . .293
Getting at the fat . . . 295
Kilim . . . . 297
A big-horned cow ... . . 301
Karamojo elders . ... 309
Karamojo warriors . . . . ... 310
Karamojo men . . ..... 311
Karamojo method of attack . . . 313
Karamojo women . . . . 3,7
A Tepeth hut . . . 326
Tepeth men ... . . . ^27
Tepeth village with two-storeyed huts . . ,2g
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
xxi
PAGE
A rocky pool, Murosaka ...... 337
The Poote gorge 341
Water at last . . . .... 347
Turkana men ........ .353
Camp on the Tarash ....... 354
Gramophone entertainment in the Turkana country. 355
Turkana men's ornaments . . . . 359
Turkana weapons ...... . 363
Turkana women's dress, ornaments, etc. . 367
Turkana villagers . . ... 371
Turkana sheep . . ... 373
Turkana family party .... . . 375
"The place where the elephants come to die '" -377
Loarding, a Toposa youth .... 385
Giraffe head ( coloured plate) . . facing page 387
A Dodinga village . . . 388
The magic tree . . . 389
My welcome by the Dodinga . ... 391
Dodinga head-dresses .... . 393
A shauri with the Dodinga . ... . 395
Dodinga preparing to roast the sheep . 397
Dodinga warriors ... 401
Dodinga fashions . ... 403
Dodinga women . . 403
An inquisitive crowd of Dodinga ... . 407
A Dodinga couple ... 409
Our Dodinga prisoner . . . -415
The enemy watching us . . . . . 417
The cattle we seized . . . . 419
Fight with the Dodinga . ..... 421
My safari leaving Dodinga . . . . -42?
The banks of the Kedef 433
A live Grant .......... 435
xxii list of illustrations.
PAGE
Mielli men 43^
Mielli head-dress 439
By Amyun Gamoi's village . . • • • • -44'
Tulono men ..... .... 447
Tulono marketers 449
Lorika's askaris ...... 451
Lobu Valley ....... ■ 453
Marañóle head-dress .... ... 454
A Marañóle mother and daughter ..... 455
A Marañóle coiffeur • 457
Logguren rock ...... . 460
Latuka children . . . . . . . .461
The village madman ... . . 462
A village on Logguren ... . 463
Eloi, Limoroo's mother . . . . 464
Latuka listening to the gramophone. . . 465
Latuka water carriers ..... 466
An Obbo guide ...... 475
An Obbo village ... . ... 476
An Obbo mother and baby ..... 477
An Obbo elephant . ...... 485
Obbo natives cutting up an elephant . . . 487
A load of elephant meat . ... 489
An Obbo woman dancing .... . 490
An Obbo family party . . . . . . . -491
Some of my ivory ... . . . 492
The Nile ... ... . . 493
Civil lines, Nimule .... .
Soudanese askaris building a granary ..... 300
Capt. Barlow superintending building, Nimule . . jot
Interior of Dr. Sly's bungalow . . .
M. Renard and his comrade, Wadelai, Congo . 305
M. Eram, Chef de Territoire at Mahagi . . , rOQ
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xxiii
PAGE
Mahagi women hoeing . . . . . . • S i o
Mahagi women at work . . . . . . 511
A Maboda woman (forest tribe) at Mahagi . . . 5 r 2
A Maboda and a Wamanda woman at Mahagi . . 5t 3
Steel boat at Nimule ....... 514
Drying sesamum . . ... 517
The high road to Gondokaro . . .... 5t9
Kero, a Congo station on the Nile 521
Shambi .... ... 524
Shilluk natives . . . . . . . . - 5^5
Taufikia ...... . 526
Fashoda and floating Islands in the Nile . 527
The Blue Nile, Khartoum ... . . 528
Evening on the Nile . ...... 529
Phil« from the Assuan dam 531
MAPS.
Sketch Map of Author's Route . . . facing page 1
Map of Author's Route through British East Africa and Uganda
At End
^tfitvöraity
W»r»iT
Hills
58S0
^Allrtftiqep lut
Il I o Cu ko.
LoD&cho,
.orne
uto m a
¿onvi
-colono roe
sketch map /
sKowiag M aj or Powell- Cotton's
ROUTE IN
British East Africa & Uganda
1902-3.
Scale of Miles.
merima
¡'DocJiercu ^
"Nat-. S cale 1:1,500.000 or 23 *7 .miles = 1 inr."h
Poule-
Figures irtcbiaoübe/ approœ/. ioeighls in fe&b.
Nakwat
Oro
Martin^ /^,\Murln
IJCUUJ
LiiAo,
Scale of Miles
—————r—1V°
S^ îïat Scale 1 8 000 000 or 12G - .1 unie s -1 incli
Kizima
Kamalinéa
. Annn °
\^LUVJbOjdlb
orru
.M^Mara
BOOO
v NPrKulal
TV/812
M*Sil
; 9280
oko <$Sj
KiUffL,
14-201
Published' by permission/ of the Poyal- Geographical Society.
Hurst A- Bla-chett Ld. Lond-on-.
IN UNKNOWN
AFRIG\
CHAPTER I.
Settling the route—The objects of my journey—Official discouragement—
Shipping difficulties—Departure—A busy time at Aden—A milk-white sea—
Mombassa Harbour—The ways of the Custom House—Official red-tape—A
journey to Nairobi—Scenes on the way—Nairobi—A go of fever—Per¬
mission for my journey granted.
Soon after my return from garrison duty at Malta, to
which place I had been ordered directly my Abyssinian
trip was ended, I was seized by the old craving to wander
in distant lands.
This time my intention was to explore some of the great
forest tract—so intimately connected with the name of
Stanley—in which the upper waters of the Congo take
their rise. I proposed voyaging up the great river and
its tributary, the Welle, as far as possible, and thence
proceeding by caravan. My friends, however, so per-
2
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
sistently urged the deadly nature of the climate of the
West Coast, and the difficulties that might be expected
from the Congo officials, that I determined to turn my
attention to the east of the continent, and commence my
journey by the newly completed Uganda Railway.
One change leads to another, and I finally decided to
spend some time shooting in British East Africa and Uganda,
instead of travelling straight through to my original goal.
News had just come from Sir Harry Johnson that he
had discovered a race of five-horned giraffe near Mount
Elgon, and this had raised some little incredulity, one
letter published in the papers even going so far as to suggest
that the No. " 5 " was probably a telegraphic error. When
at last specimens reached this country, Mr. Oldfield Thomas,
in describing them before the Zoological Society, explained
that all old bull-giraffes from Northern Africa possessed
five horns, and he considered that these examples were
identical with those already known.
Although accompanied by a professional taxidermist, Sir
Harry Johnson had only succeeded in sending home one
head-skin and four skulls, and based on this slender
evidence, the decision did not appear to me to be at all
conclusive, the more so as our Natural History Museum
did not contain a single complete specimen of any of the
northern forms of giraffe. This seemed hardly a credit
to the nation who prides herself on the skill of her ex¬
plorers and sportsmen, especially as several of the conti¬
nental museums had recently set up whole giraffe skins.
I therefore made up my mind to do all that in me lay to
remedy this state of things.
An investigation of the Game Laws in force in British
East Africa and Uganda showed that, while they per-
OFFICIAL DISCOURAGEMENT.
3
mitted the destruction of a large total of game, they almost
entirely prevented a sufficiently extensive collection of
any one species to add much to our scientific knowledge.
As to the giraffe, at first glance it seemed as if the Com¬
missioner alone were allowed to shoot them, but when
my study was supplemented by personal enquiry; I found
that the prohibition practically only applied to the white
sportsman who wished to take the specimens out of the
country. The Arab and Swahili traders look to the giraffe
for sandals for their porters, and whole bands of natives
devote themselves to its slaughter to provide meat for
their families, and shields and ornamental tassels for their
warriors.
As the naturalist, anxious to throw light on the dis¬
tribution of these animals, thus appeared to be entirely
debarred from doing so, I thought the Museum authorities
would be glad to render me what help they could, by
obtaining for me permission from the Foreign Office to
shoot giraffes, on the understanding that I should later
present them with specimens at my own expense. My
proposition, however, was met by the Directorate of our
National Institution with a point-blank refusal to move
in the matter, although they graciously intimated their
willingness to accept any specimens that might come
their way. In this difficulty I turned to the Hon. Walter
Rothschild, who, after my Abyssinian expedition, had
kindly consented to examine and describe the collection
of mammals I had made. Always anxious to further
zoological research among his countrymen, he at once
interested himself in the matter, and procured the necessary
permission.
Failing to find a companion for the whole journey, I
i*
4 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
at length persuaded a near neighbour, Mr. Cecil Cobb*,
to accompany me for four months and experience the joys
of big-game hunting.
After collecting everything I considered necessary for a
year's expedition, I was confronted with the problem of
how to ship it to Mombassa. The monthly German boat
sailing direct to that port had just left, and the only alter¬
native was to put the goods on board a British India steamer
for Aden, there to be transshipped to another of their
vessels for Mombassa. To my astonishment, however,
the company absolutely declined to have anything to do
with our cartridges.
I had shipped them by this line many times before,
and was quite at a loss to understand their refusal, till
they explained that the Aden officials were so strict
as to the passage of arms and ammunition that it was
almost an impossibility to transship them at that port.
At last they promised to take my cartridges on board,
provided I could procure special permission from the
India Office. To this end I spent the whole of one
morning interviewing officials both at the Foreign and
India Offices, all of whom were exceedingly patient and
polite, but none of whom had ever heard of such an order
being required, nor knew who should grant it. Finally
the matter was arranged, and I was assured that our
cartridges would not be consigned to the sea nor sent on
a voyage to Colombo.
On January 23rd, 1902, C and I left Dover, and,
travelling viA Marseilles, arrived at Aden on February
2nd, without any mishap, in spite of its being my thirteenth
voyage through the Red Sea.
* To whom I shall refer in future as C .
SHIPPING DIFFICULTIES.
5
It was just the dinner hour as the Persia anchored off
Aden, and we were not a little disgusted to find that,
although we had been assured that booking through
to Mombassa—at an increased fare—would obviate all
difficulties at Aden, and insure everything being arranged
for our transfer, no one on the British India boat Putiala
was expecting us, no cabins were ready, and worse still,
there was not a vestige of dinner. I mention these facts
as a warning to visitors to the eastern coast of Africa to
avoid the present makeshift arrangements on British
boats ; not that the foreign ones are all that can be desired,
but they are at all events the best of a bad lot. When
our Government at last awakes to the advisability of
encouraging a direct British Line to our East African
possessions, instead of leaving practically the whole carrying
trade in the hands of our rivals, it may be possible for a
British subject to reach Mombassa in a British boat in
moderate comfort.
Fortunately for us the steamer was not to leave until
the following evening, for although we had been assured
in London that we should be able to procure arms and
ammunition for our escort from the authorities at Mom¬
bassa, I had accidentally learnt in the morning that this
was extremely unlikely. However, I found the Aden
officials as courteous and anxious as ever to strain a point to
help an embarrassed sportsman, and, from the General down¬
wards, they all gave me such assistance that, before evening,
I had drawn Snider carbines and cartridges from the arsenal,
and got them on board to the warning shrieks of the steam
whistle, which had been blowing for nearly half an hour.
The Putiala was by no means a new vessel ; the electric
light plant had broken down, and a few flickering candles
6
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
only served to intensify the gloom. This was an un¬
pleasant contrast to the P. & O. Persia, although the
officers on the Putiala were more obliging and ready to
assist their passengers.
The voyage past Cape Guardafui was rough enough
to make a bad sailor like myself wish it speedily over.
Soon after dark on the 6th, we suddenly ran into a milk-
white sea, which continued till almost morning. There
seemed to be an oily scum floating on the surface of the
water which prevented the waves from breaking, but when
a bucketful was hoisted on board, nothing distinguished
it from ordinary sea-water. The Captain said that,
previous to this, he had only seen it in patches in the
Arabian Sea. He supposed it to be due to some form
of animalcule, which only came to the surface during the
hours of darkness.
On nearing Mombassa a thick haze prevented the Captain
from making out our exact position ; as it gradually lifted
he discovered we had over-shot the entrance, and we
had to steam back against the wind for a couple of hours,
which reduced me to a very limp state before landing.
It was a pretty, typical African scene that met our gaze
as we approached the harbour. The low, bush-covered
shore stretched away in the distance ; a line of waves
was breaking on the reef close to our starboard side, while
to the left rose the island of Mombassa with the over¬
grown ruins of a battery that had formerly commanded
the entrance. This was succeeded by groups of white-
roofed, deep-verandahed houses, which stood in little
clearings with low, coral-rock cliffs below them, whilst
the opposite shore was thickly clothed with palm trees.
A little further in, as the channel narrowed, we passed
THE WAYS OF THE CUSTOM HOUSE.
7
an old Portuguese fort (built in 1594), now used as a
jail, and directly afterwards a mass of buildings reaching
down to the water's edge. As we cleared the jetty, with
its crane, we came in sight of the wattled and thatched
huts of the native town, nestling close together, and below
them a fleet of native craft of all sizes, filled with the
most miscellaneous cargoes. In a tiny bay, just opposite.
The old Portuguese fort, Mombassa.
lay a mission station, its white buildings thrown into
relief against the palms. A cool fresh breeze was blowing
—a welcome surprise so near the equator.
No sooner had we landed than our troubles began.
First of all, to our great annoyance, because we had brought
our cameras, rifles, etc., as personal luggage, we found
the Customs officials adding a modest third to their value
before calculating the duty on them. During some four¬
teen years of travel, I have passed through many Customs
8
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Houses where the duties ranged from nothing tto 60 per
cent., but I was so struck with the novelty of this arrange¬
ment that I sought an interview with the Commissioner
for Customs. He explained to me that the amount in¬
cluded 5 per cent., which was considered to be the difference
between the value of the goods at Mombassa and London,
while the remaining 28 per cent, was to cover the carriage.
To estimate the freight on a hand camera at £4, when
it could have been sent by post for 2s. 6d., seemed a trifle
absurd, but argument was useless. At the same time,
permission to remove the escort arms and ammunition
from the Customs House was refused without the consent
of the Sub-Commissioner, who was laid up with fever
and could not be interviewed until the following morning.
When I did see him I was informed that a personal appli¬
cation to the Commissioner was necessary, and he was
at Nairobi, twenty-eight hours by rail. It was useless
to produce my letter from the Foreign Office and other
papers, or to suggest a telegram at my own expense. I
was not even allowed to collect my caravan and put it
in readiness to leave the Coast under C 's charge, in case
the Commissioner, by wiring his consent, should obviate
the necessity of my own return. The tri-weekly train
for Nairobi was due to start in half-an-hour. Hastily
drawing some money from the bank, and throwing some
things into a bag, I managed to catch it.
The train was of the usual Indian narrow-gauge pattern,
in which the first-class carriages seated six, but only
provided sleeping accommodation for three. The average
speed was about fourteen miles an hour, over a track for
the most part sand-ballasted, so that we and our property
soon became coated with a thick red deposit.
THE WOMEN OF MASAI.
9
The long waits, for no apparent reason, at little up-
country stations built of corrugated iron, gave us time
to take snapshots of the varied types of Asiatic and African
natives who clustered round, forming a brightly-coloured
and animated scene. Perhaps the Masai women carrying
bottles of milk for sale to the passengers presented the
most curious figures. Their heads were clean-shaven,
A station crowd.
their arms and legs encased in iron wire, and round their
necks they wore not only numerous smaller necklets,
but also many pounds weight of wire coiled like a catherine-
wheel to form a kind of ruff. From their ears hung heavy
coils of brass wire.
On the way, one of my travelling companions described
to us a ghastly experience which had befallen him. A
man-eating lion had entered the railway-carriage where
i o IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
he and two friends were sleeping, and had killed and de¬
voured one of them.
As we ran across from the island of Mombassa to the
mainland, we caught a pretty glimpse of the water with
the foliage growing right down to the edge, but beyond
that the dense tropical vegetation, which shut out all
view from the train, soon became monotonous. Just
after sunset we reached Voi, a rather important district
centre, whence some day a branch railway to Kilimanjaro,
in German territory, will be laid. Here a hungry crowd
of passengers, including an Austrian Baron, made a brave
struggle to eat a dinner of hard meat cooked in rancid
ghee (clarified butter). That night we were shaken and
banged about over the unconsolidated track, and it required
special watchfulness to prevent ourselves from being
deposited in a heap on the floor, for our engineer in¬
variably drew up or started with a violent jerk. Long
before daybreak we were ruthlessly turned out to stumble
through the darkness to breakfast, but were rewarded by
a fair meal. As day broke we found that grassy plains,
bounded in the distance by low hills, were gradually taking
the place of the dense jungle. A good many herds of
game were in sight, some of which, although quite close
to the railway, took no notice of the train, while others
dashed off in wild alarm.
It was well on in the afternoon before we reached Nairobi,
the capital of the East African Protectorate. The town
lies in a small plain, bounded on the east and west by
a couple of low ridges, while the southern side is cut by the
railroad. The corrugated iron railway offices and houses
of the staff are clustered together near the line, and a
little to the east stand the hotel and three or four European
NAIROBI.
1i
stores, succeeded by the Indian shops and native bazaar.
The Government buildings lie about fifteen minutes' walk
out in the plain. On the western ridge are perched the
bungalows of the Commissioner and Chief Engineer,
separated by the Club, while the Sub-Commissioner's
residence is situated on a little hill across a swamp. The
Photo by] [Mr. p. 0. Cobb.
By an up-country station, Uganda Railway.
eastern ridge is devoted to the military lines and officers'
quarters.
Sir Charles Eliot, the Commissioner, seemed anxious
to assist me, but was very uncertain whether it would
be safe for me to venture to the slopes of Mount Kenya
or to the giraffe ground, on account of the supposed un¬
settled state of the natives. However, I was to learn
12
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
his decision in the course of a few days. In spite of the
hospitality of the officers of the King's Rifles, an attack
of malarial fever made this interval anything but a pleasant
one for me.
It was not until the 18th that I was able to start for
the Coast again, but happily I had received permission
to pass my arms and ammunition through the Customs,
to set out for Mount Kenya and Lake Baringo, and to
exceed with respect to some species the shooting limits
laid down in the game regulations. This last point was
only gained by payment of heavy fees, and under the
strict understanding that my shooting was to be in the
interests of scientific research.
13
CHAPTER II.
Return to the Coast—Enrolling our followers—Start by rail—My battery—
Search for oryx—Visit of the Game Warden—Continuance of our journey--
Our safari lost—The Athi Plain, its game and scenery—Heavy rain—A
picturesque spring—Doinyo Sabuk—Herds of zebra—Hill shooting-
Benighted—The first rhino—A hungry lioness—C encounters a rhino—
His mule disappears.
On the return journey I had another touch of fever, and
during the four days I spent in Mombassa getting the
caravan together, I felt very seedy. We had the usual
difficulties in collecting our native followers ; the head
man, who had been engaged, had to be exchanged for
another, and we had to weed out and find substitutes for
the men we considered useless. Our safari (Swahili for
caravan) eventually consisted of one head man, two personal
boys, a cook, four gunbearers, two camera boys, fifteen
askaris (armed guard), and fifty-two porters.
On the morning of our departure so many of our
belongings were not ready, that when they did reach the
station they were too late to accompany us, except as
extra baggage at a ruinous rate. The railway authorities
having refused to receive a cheque guaranteed by the
Bank, a bag of nearly a thousand rupees had to be counted
out to pay for our tickets and freight, and this caused
so much delay that it was difficult to persuade the station-
master to keep the train till the transaction was com-
14 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
pleted. When I protested against the absurdity of being
forced to pay in silver currency, no matter how large the
amount, I was assured that, had the Government intro¬
duced either notes or a gold coinage, the Indian coolies
imported for the railway works would have used them to
transmit money home, thus seriously diminishing the
postal order revenue. This is but one of the instances
of the narrow-minded policy adopted in this part of
the world in many matters which affect the public wel¬
fare and convenience.
At last the train started, and sending the majority of
the men to Stony Athi station, we stopped at Sultan
Hamoud, where we had been told fringe-eared oryx were
to be found.
Here, after camp was pitched, our first care was to over¬
haul our batteries. Mine consisted of :—
.600 D.B. ejector, firing 100 grains cordite and a ball
of 900 grains.
.400 D.B. ejector, firing 55 grains cordite and a ball of
400 grains.
A Männlicher-Schonauer .256 magazine rifle, holding
six cartridges, fitted with telescopic sight.
.255 Rook rifle, firing smokeless powder.
A 12-bore D.B. ejector, shot and ball gun.
A five-chambered heavy revolver.
All the above were by W. J. Jeffery and Sons, King
Street, St. James'.
The .600 was a new essay in large ball rifles, which I
was anxious to test, in comparison with the old 8-bore,
used during previous trips.
The .400 was an old friend which I had carried through
Abyssinia, to do the work of a .577.
OVERHAULING THE BATTERIES. 15
The Männlicher-Schonauer and its telescope was the
latest advance in the .256 rifle, which, as a good, all-
round sporting weapon, I consider the best obtainable,
having slain with it from hippo and buffalo down to
monkeys and dik-dik.
The Rook rifle is often better than the shot-gun for col¬
lecting specimens and providing for the pot, and has the
additional advantage that its cartridges weigh so much
less.
A shot-gun is a necessity, and if it also fires ball is
sometimes useful for finishing a wounded animal.
The revolver, fortunately, I never had occasion to use.
Our batteries put in order, we set out in search of
fringe-eared oryx. Three days' quest, however, proved
that whatever there might be at other times of the year,
there were none there then. Before we left, Mr. Percival,
the Game Warden, paid us a visit, and gave us a lot of
useful information about the distribution of the game.
When we arrived at the little roadside station of Stony
Athi we were disgusted to find that, while our baggage
had been deposited there, the officials had allowed our
men to go on to the next station. The following morning,
amid drizzling rain, our men sauntered in, and as soon as
sufficient had collected, we left the railway, and, moving
outside the game reserve which on the north side was a
mile wide, pitched camp. During the next few days we
had a lot of heavy rain, and while waiting for various
supplies which had not arrived from Nairobi, we scoured
the country in search of game. Both of us bagged a Coke's
hartebeest and, in addition, C shot a Thomson's
gazelle and a steinbuck, while I secured a serval. ; ¡ j ¡,|
On the 4th, we started our march, across a plain covered
i6
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
with short grass, down the Stony Athi River, the banks
of which are skirted by a belt of trees and jungle. At
the entrance of a little coombe which opened out from
the other side of the river was a mass of rocks, half hidden
by foliage, which bore a strong resemblance to a ruined
Bartering for corn cobs on the Athi Plains.
feudal castle, while further up the valley one could have
almost sworn that a village nestled among the trees.
As we neared Doinyo Sabuk game became more plentiful.
There were many small parties of gnu and zebra, while
one herd of kongoni, as the natives call Coke's hartebeest,
numbered over 200. These animals are tawny-red in
MY FIRST IMPALA. 17
colour, with well-shaped body and legs, but such a length
of head and awkwardness of gait that their appearance
is most ungainly. This has even impressed itself on the
none too bright intelligence of the Swahili porters, and
we often heard them applying the name " kongoni " to
one another, just as schoolboys use " donkey " at home.
Photo by] [MR. P. C. COBB.
Impala antelope.
it was near this spot that, after a tiresome crawl, I
succeeded in bagging my first impala, one of the most
graceful antelopes in Africa. That night, for the first
time during this expedition, we heard lion-roaring.
Our camp at Yanley Ndogo was pitched close to a most
picturesque little stream, which, flowing out from an
underground channel, fell over a cliff in which there was
2
18 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
a deep cave. This was said to be a favourite halting-
place for small parties of Kamba when on a raiding
expedition. Here I also bagged a curious Thomson's
gazelle, the skull of which bore no signs of the second
horn. In the evening a herd of forty eland slowly filed
past camp, led by a splendid old bull. By now our men
had settled down to the usual routine of camp work, and
we were spared the endless little disputes that had, at first,
been referred to us. When I had my last look round before
turning in, camp showed at its best.
The flickering light from the watchfire in the centre
fell on the swarthy faces of the two sentries, one of whom
stood leaning on his long Snider rifle, while the other was
sitting with a carbine across his knees, huddled up in true
native fashion. Beside them rose a great mound-like
pile of baggage covered with green waterproof sheets,
while on the other side the fire lit up two white cotton
shelters for the mules. Facing the fire stood my tent
with its wide verandah, which served us as a dining-room,
and close by was C 's smaller one. The little white
pent-shaped tents of the men lay round us in a large ir¬
regular circle, which was broken by an odd collection
of red blankets and patch-work shelters stretched on
sticks, belonging to the Kikuyu porters.
Our last march to the foot of Doinyo Sabuk led us into a
wide depression close to the southern end of the hill, where
a herd of some 300 zebra were grazing on the fine short
grass. They formed up, retreated, and wheeled round
again to gaze at us before disappearing into the thorn
trees as we approached. In the afternoon I climbed the hill
in search of Chanler's reedbuck, which were said to frequent
his district. In a cor pie of hours I had seen no less than
LIFE IN CAMP.
19
a dozen groups of two to five ; I wounded a couple of
males, and we had considerable difficulty in finding them
in the long grass. While chasing one I fell down a bank
and lost my rifle, which I did not recover until evening
had fallen, and the finishing shot had to be fired when I
could no longer see the sights. Whistling up my men
Photo by] [MR. F. C. COBB. . ._J
Porters crossing a swamp.
to skin the beast, I started alone along the hill-side for
camp, and luckily discovered it, disturbing more than
one animal on the way. Some of the men had scarcely
started with lanterns to help the gunbearers fetch in the
meat, when we heard several shots fired. On their return
they declared that they had disturbed a lion, but I thought
it far more likely to have been a reedbuck.
2*
20
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
Before leaving Doinyo Sabuk I had another good day's
shooting among the Chanlers. The greater part of the
hill is grass-covered, intersected with little belts of dense
jungle which extend almost to the top, while the lower
slopes are dotted with trees like an old orchard at home.
In some places the ground was cut up in every direction
by rhino tracks, and on the upper south-western and
western sides, where the belts of jungle grew wider, I found
endless fresh signs of buffalo.
On the day we moved camp to the ford across the elbow
made by the Athi River, I worked northwards along the
hill-side. My gunbearer, who rejoiced in the name of
Marajana, but whom we speedily christened Mary Jane,
as being much more appropriate, was "very anxious that
I should stalk a solitary stone he had spotted on the hill¬
side, and which he insisted was an animal. A few days
before he had led me a long tramp after what he said were
four rhinos feeding on the plain, but which, when they
came into sight again, proved to be zebra.
Soon after we had settled our difference of opinion as to
whether a stone were an animal or not, I noticed a rhino
moving out of a thick patch of jungle and working up hill
just over the third ridge from us. It was followed by a
second. We started in pursuit, forcing our way through
the dense scrub and long grass growing in the dips between
the ridges. The wind was blowing hard down hill, so we
had to shape our course downwards and then up again
over the last ridge. Near the spot where we had last
caught sight of them we heard them bathing in a pool,
and, as we approached, the smaller of the two fed towards
us. We retreated, but not before it had seen us, and it
began to snort and dance about as if in two minds whether
'MARY JANE.
21
to charge or not. Meanwhile Mary Jane, greatly excited,
urged me in a hoarse whisper to fire, muttering " this big
one—other gone," to all of which I turned a deaf ear.
With a final snort the beast slowly moved off up hill,
stopping at intervals to look back towards us. I was
puzzled as to what had become of the big one and cautiously
worked through the long grass to the place where I sup¬
posed the pool to be. Just as I caught sight of his tail,
he heard us and swung round, broadside on. I fired for
his shoulder. He made straight for us. and, as we bolted
into the long grass, dashed past and disappeared down
hill. Mary Jane, in spite of my urging him to take up
the track, persisted in searching distant hill-tops, and it
was not until these endeavours proved futile that I induced
him to accompany me down hill, along a track stained
with blood, which, as it reached the steep hillside, became
a slide down which the rhino had fallen to the bottom,
where he was lying stone dead. He proved to be an old
male, standing 5 feet 2 inches at the shoulder, and with
his front horn a fraction under 2 feet in length. Leaving
Mary J ane by the carcase, I set off to find camp, which
was hidden just under a little ridge below the north-west
spur of the hill. On the way I saw a good Waterhuck
and over thirty reedbuck. Not till the following morning
did we succeed in getting the scalp and horns from the
skull, and then only by tying the skin to a tree and making
some thirty men pull on a rope passed through the eye
sockets.
When the undertaking was successfully completed, I
started for the ford, where the river was some 35 yards
wide and 3 feet deep, with some fine trees overhanging
its waters. I marched on through long grass to the banks
22
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
of the Thika, catching sight of three rhino on the way,
two of which were so close to our path that my men sought
shelter behind the nearest trees. Although I have met
sportsmen who will try and convince you that the manners
of a rhino are as peaceable as those of a farmyard pig,
these animals are more dreaded by the East African natives
than lions.
From the camping place I had my first view of snow¬
capped Mount Kenya, which so often veils its head in a
dense cloud. When late in the afternoon there were no
signs of my safari, I set out to shoot something for dinner,
as there seemed every chance of my having a " night
out." However, just before dark, the men arrived, having,
through the stupidity of the guides, pitched camp at some
other spot.
The following was a red-letter day for both of us.
Hardly had I left camp when I came across a little group
of waterbuck feeding in some thin thorn. A short stalk
and I hit the male hard ; another shot brought him to
the ground, but I had to give him a finisher. He was
my first and only specimen of Cobus Ellipsiprymnus.
The reports of the rifle brought some of my men from
camp, and I left them to carry in the skin and meat while
I went on. Close to our path one of my men noticed a
huge snake coiled up by the root of a dead tree, but, by
the time I got to the place, it had glided down a hole out
of sight. Soon after I saw an impala facing me, and
missed six shots clean, the beast, not seeing me, but merely
jumping from side to side as the bullets whizzed past
him. My seventh shot caught him full in the chest and
dropped him dead in his tracks. While the men were
skinning him, I found a herd of nine impala bucks, and lay
Photo &//] [Mr. P. C. Cobb.
Nzau, our head man. and my first lioness.
24 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
watching them for some time before I could decide which
had the longest horns. This time my first shot was fatal.
Hardly had I mounted my mule again after packing the
last impala off to camp, than I ran across a hungry old
lioness still on the prowl for dinner. She grunted her
discontent at meeting us and broke into a trot. I slid
from my mule, but was some moments unarmed before I
could wrest a .400 cordite from Mary Jane. When I did
manage to get it, the beast was making nearly straight
away from us, and my first bullet merely cut a tendon
of one of her hind legs. Instead of turning, she limped
off growling, but the second shot caught her in the left
side and, passing through her heart, killed her nett. C
meanwhile had had an exciting time with a pugnacious
old rhino, which had taken a lot of lead before succumbing,
and he had also bagged a fine gnu bull. His men were so
absorbed in the rhino encounter that they let his mule bolt,
and although we sent askaris in every direction, we never
heard of it again.
25
CHAPTER III.
Crossing the Thika—A right and left at lion—A troop of lions and a long chase
—First glimpse of giraffe—We double back for Kongoni and lion—Fort
Hall—Reorganising our safari—A native bridge—He of the one boot—
Buying a wife—Highly cultivated country—Dancers and their costumes—A
Beluchi traders' camp—Their tales of Abyssinians—A small-pox scare.
After a long and unsuccessful search in the neighbourhood
for Waller's gazelle, we crossed the Thika by means of a
fallen trunk of one of the magnificent trees that shade
its steep red banks. From the continual moisture, the
foothold was extremely slippery, and I ordered a rope to
be stretched from side to side to serve as a handrail for
the laden porters.
C had met Dr. Hinde, the Collector of Fort Hall,
who, with his wife, was on his way to Nairobi. That night
there was quite a chorus of lions round camp, and at day¬
break we started in opposite directions to make a wide circle
to look for them, but failed to find their tracks. As the
safari had only been going to march an hour, I was dis¬
gusted to discover that, after regaining the path, I had
still three and a half hours' walking between me and camp-
Hardly had I sat down to tiffin, when a man ran in with
the news that our woodcutters had just seen a troop of
lions. Hastily pulling on my boots again, I hurried off
through long grass, under the scorching rays of an after-
26
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
noon sun. When I reached the woodcutters they said
that the lions had moved off, and I had to slacken my
pace as I took up their tracks. One of the Swahili
porters climbed a tree and pointed out the direction in
which the beasts had gone. Expecting them to be some
A natural bridge over the Thika.
way ahead, I was rather taken aback to suddenly find
myself confronted by three of them, which appeared as
it were from nowhere, some thirty paces distant. At
sight of us, the one to our right bounded off and disappeared
from view. The one in the centre, an old lion with a
fine black mane, turned away, only pausing for a second
or two to look back at us over his shoulder. The third,
A TROOP OF LIONS.
27
a young male, slowly moved off with an ugly growl. The
centre beast was the prize, and I fired for his shoulder
with the .400, just as he was leaving. The bullet struck
him true and he fell dead, shot through the heart. As
I fired, I saw the younger animal spin round as though
to charge, but the sudden death of his companion seemed
to daunt his courage, and he turned to escape, only to
be raked through by a solid bullet from my left barrel.
This did not stop him from bounding away, but when,
after a few minutes, we took up the trail, we could hear
him moaning as he dragged himself through the long
grass. As soon as all was silent, we made a most careful
approach, but our caution was needless, for he was lying
stone dead. Carrying the body back to the place where
the other lay, we commenced skinning them, and during
the process I looked up to see three others sitting watching
us from the top of the next ridge. They did not seem
inclined to move, and I waited some little time in the hope
that C would arrive, in response to the message I
had sent him by one of the men ; but, as the sun began
to sink, and there were still no signs of him, I set off
after them.
The grass was so long as I descended the dip of the
valley that they entirely disappeared from view. When
I again got a glimpse of them, I apparently missed with
my first barrel but hit with the second, as they turned
and bolted. For some time I followed them, but although
I saw them once or twice, I could not get another shot, so
returned to camp.
C did not come in till after dark, his men having
lost the path, and made even a longer march than I had.
The next morning I spent in camp, looking over the lion
28
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
skins and labelling and packing others, while C had
an unsuccessful day in search of lion.
When the safari resumed the march, I made a detour
past the skeletons of the lions, picked clean by the hyaenas
and vultures, and across two other ridges, where I came
upon a path made by a troop of lions through the wet
grass. Soon after I counted five of them, just entering
a patch of high reeds, and, descending the hill, I followed
their pugs. It was rather jumpy work, as I fully expected
them to appear at any moment. However, after I had
tracked them for some distance along the reed bed, the
path led me over the hill-side into thick bush. Here I saw
a fine Waterhuck, and on the opposite side of the valley
a rhino. The latter, getting our wind, made for the horizon
at its best pace. Kicking up my mule, I circled round so
as to work up wind, and spotted one of the lions moving
slowly through grass and scrub on the slope facing me.
I threw myself off my mule, only to find that the beast was
hidden in the long grass, but, as I was pushing along parallel
to the course it was taking, another appeared following it.
Two snap shots missed clean, but a third, better aimed,
knocked it over. I then ran round and tried to cut off
the first animal we had seen, but although one of my
men declared he had again caught sight of it, I failed to
do so. The one that had been hit was disabled, and I
had some difficulty in getting close enough to be able to
place a finishing shot without coming within reach of a
possible spring. However, I at last managed to settle
the beast, which proved to be a young lioness. While
we were busy skinning it, a solitary giraffe moved across
the sky line, the first I had ever seen in the open. As
night fell, I found camp pitched on the opposite side of
FORT HALL.
29
the Maragua River, a clear, rapid stream, ten to twelve
yards across and four feet deep, with a rocky bed. On the
top of a steep hill beside it was the first Kikuyu village
we had seen.
That evening, while talking things over with the natives,
they told us that we had reached the edge of the lion
country, and that we should see no more Coke's hartebeest.
C was naturally anxious to bag his first lion, and I wanted
to secure another specimen or two of kongoni, so we decided
to leave the majority of the safari there whilst we went
back for a few days' more shooting. During the three days
we were away, I secured several fine head of hartebeest,
and one black-backed jackal, besides seeing the first roan
antelope of the trip ; and C caught sight of a lion,
but, unfortunately, did not manage to get a shot at it.
On the 20th March, after returning to the main camp,
we set out for Fort Hall, or, as the natives call it, Mbirri,
which crowns a little hill, and reached it in an hour and
a half. Mr. Humphery, who was in charge of the station,
came out to welcome us, and very kindly insisted upon
us considering ourselves his guests during our stay. The
post had been established, some eighteen months previous,
by Mr. Hall, whose grave lay- just outside the Fort. The
latter consisted of a roughly built stone wall, about five
feet high, with a platform running round the inside, and
containing two rude mud huts with corrugated roofs and
earthern floors. The huts were in process of being re¬
placed by a fine stone-built house, at which a band of
natives, under Indian masons and carpenters, had been
labouring for the past five months. The whole was en¬
circled by a deep, narrow trench, with barbed wire coiled
at the bottom.
30
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
A guard of thirty-five men, with their families, were
quartered in an enclosure surrounded by barbed wire,
standing close to the Fort, and connected with it by a
draw-bridge. On the other side of the Fort were four
Indian shops, containing a few Europe stores, blankets,
cotton sheeting, iron wire, and other trade goods. The
water, of the nearest stream to the south of the Fort
was reputed to cause dysentery, but a stream of good
water, called Madua, lay rather further away to the
north. Unhappily, no sooner had I reached the station
than I got a touch of fever, which was the more annoying
as it came at a time when there were a good many arrange¬
ments to make.
One of the first things Humphery enquired about
was the total number of our rifles. When I told him
that we had thirty, he seemed satisfied, but warned us
never to let our men go out unarmed, or in very small
parties, as the Kikuyu were well known for their treachery.
This was my first experience of how difficult it was to
obtain accurate information about a district and its natives,
except from the official in immediate charge. At Nairobi
I had finally been assured that the Kikuyu were absolutely
tame, and that if I took some half dozen rifles for my escort
they would be more than sufficient.
Of the twenty-four Kamba porters from Nairobi, which
had been selected for me by the Sub-Commissioner
of that place, seven had deserted, and only three of the
remainder elected to go on with us. To add to our mis¬
fortunes, there were seven sick men amongst our Mombassa
porters, and I had discovered that my second gun-bearer
was almost blind. When he was asked why he had taken
service, knowing that his eyesight was defective, he re-
A NATIVE BRIDGE.
31
plied that it was not his fault—Allah had so afflicted him
—and he seemed surprised at my answer, that at all
events Allah had not intended him to be my gun-bearer.
While Kikuyu porters were being procured to fill these
vacancies, we dispatched the dismissed men with twelve
packages of trophies for the Coast, and started on our
Photo ly] [Mr. F. 0. Cobb.
A Kikuyu bridge over the Tana.
march northwards. On the first day we crossed the Tana
River by a ramshackle native bridge built of rough poles
supporting a slippery switchback-like footway, nearly
forty yards long. J ust a little up stream the river rushed
over a fall of nearly forty feet. No sooner was our camp
pitched close by, than the chief, Ororear, arrived, bringing
a present of bananas and sour milk. C , to his intense
32 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
astonishment, immediately greeted him by name, having
recognised in him the man described by Humphery,
as wearing only one boot, and that more often than not
on the wrong foot.
The next day, accompanied by Ororear and his followers,
we passed numerous villages, generally built in thick
bush, and surrounded by much cultivation, where the
men and women were working in the fields clad in scanty
skirts of banana leaves. Indian corn, beans and mtama
(a sort of millet) appeared to bë the chief crops, inter¬
spersed with banana and sugar-cane plantations, and
occasional patches of tobacco. On the way we were met
by parties of women, bearing on their backs large skin
bags full of market produce. These were slung by straps
passed across- their foreheads, and, in addition, some of
the mothers were carrying their babies in the same way.
In spite of Ororear's attempts to reassure them, the majority
dropped their loads, and fled into the jungle till we had
passed. At one place we came upon a row of women
preparing the ingredients for making " tembo "—native
drink. This was done by pounding sugar-cane with heavy
wooden pestles, in mortars made by sinking holes in a
hard log of wood. They were much amused when we
presented them with a few beads, and induced them to
continue their labours for our edification.
Shortly afterwards, shrieks and yells proceeded from a
village lying a little to one side of the path, and a number
of natives emerged from their huts armed with spears, and
apparently ripe for a brawl. I dispatched a couple of
my men to find out the cause of the disturbance, but
before they reached the village, one of Ororear's followers
ran up to us and began an excited harangue. The inter-
HE OF THE ONE BOOT.
33
preter explained that the man had handed over the custom¬
ary price in sheep and goats to his prospective father-in-
law, who lived in this village, but that the latter had neither
produced the lady, nor returned the sheep and goats. The
aggrieved party had thought our presence an excellent
Phoio by] [Mr. F. C. Cobb.
Ororear, the "One Boot " Chief.
opportunity of getting his claims settled. I told him I
could not enter into the matter, but would give him a
letter to the official at Fort Hall, who would doubtless deal
out impartial justice.
As each hour went by, Ororear implored us to stop,
but we pushed steadily on, determined to reach Karhoteney,
a village in the Zimberu district. From here we knew that
3
34 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
one day's march would bring us to the centre of a number
of villages, where we could quickly get the flour we wanted.
On our arrival, camp was soon thronged with natives,
who brought sugar-cane, bananas, sweet potatoes, milk
and tobacco for sale. This latter was made up into packets,
some two feet long, and wrapped in banana leaf. It was
exchanged for cotton sheeting, and we laid in a good store,
for tobacco is a great article of barter with the Dorobo of
Mount Kenya and the Suk of Baringo.
Soon, party after party of Kikuyu dancers arrived,
each consisting of three or four men, their bodies smeared
with mutton fat and white clay, in which they had traced
elaborate designs with their fingers. While these differed
to a certain extent in each band, all largely consisted of a
zig-zag pattern, like conventional lightning. This, ac¬
cording to tradition, had been decreed by the God of the
Kikuyu, who has his dwelling on Mount Kenya. The
legend runs, that the Father of all the Kikuyu felt an
irresistible impulse to attempt the ascent of the mountain.
As he made his way over the upper slopes, his God met
him, and presenting him with the first of all the sheep
on earth, impressed on him that if he and his descendants
wished to flourish, every male on attaining manhood, and
on any special ceremony, must decorate his body to repre¬
sent lightning, the sign of his God's might.* Besides the
variations in the designs, the ornaments worn and the
figures of the dances differed according to the district.
The first three men wore round the waist a leather band
covered with six rows of blue and white beads, a fringe
formed of short bits of reed, each terminating in a bead, and
* For this and other information about the Kikuyu I am much indebted to Mr.
W. Roulledge.
36
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
at the back a dressed serval skin. At the end of a leather
strap with kauri shells sewn on it, which was suspended
high on the right thigh, hung a large bean-shaped iron
rattle, containing pellets of the same metal. This was
fastened by a thong across the leg, just above the knee.
Photo by] _ [Mr. f. C. Cobb.
Kikuyu dancers.
From the left ear dangled a strip of guinea-fowl's skin, and
from the right, a similar strip from a stork, with the feathers
still attached. On both arms they carried heavy brass
wire armlets, while high on the left, was fixed, in addition,
an oval carved shield with a black and red design on a
white ground. The arm wasjpassed through a hole pierced
in the lower part of it, which was then plugged up with
Pholo by]
Kikuyu bee-hive.
[Mr. P. C. Cobb.
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
leaves to keep the shield from slipping. In their right
hands the dancers held a long staff covered with the white
fur of the guereza monkey. During the dance a monoton¬
ous chant accompanied the usual shuffle, as they faced
us or turned to each other. When they jumped in the
air, their staves were brought to the ground with a thud,
and, by twitching their shoulders, the shields were kept
in a perpetual waggle. At the finish the men squatted,
and one by one hopped towards us and back again, like so
many frogs.
For three months these bands wander about, dancing
and showing themselves in every village, that all may
recognise that they have reached manhood. Another
party wore a hoop or halo of feathers fixed in cane round
their heads.
Ororear watched the proceedings from the verandah
of my tent, where C and I were writing letters, and we
seemed to be an endless source of interest to himself and
his retinue. Meanwhile, one loving Kikuyu couple, who
strolled about arm in arm, caused us much amusement,
and lent quite a homely touch to the scene. The girl
was decidedly good-looking.
On our march from this camp, we traversed much the
same sort of country as before, but with more banana
plantations and fewer villages. Perched in the upper
branches of the trees we noticed many typical native
bee-hives, formed out of a hollow log with the ends plas¬
tered up.
Close to the spot we had chosen for our camping-ground,
were pitched the tents of some Beluchi traders who had
just returned from round Kenya. They were delighted
to find someone who could speak Hindustani, and while
BELUCHI TRADERS.
39
regaling us with tea, Indian sweets and biscuits, they
poured out their troubles. They told us that, during a
previous trip to the west of Lake Rudolf, an Abyssinian
force had fallen upon them, appropriated over 10,000 lbs.
of ivory, and taken a number of them prisoners. On a
dark, rainy night the seven Beluchis had succeeded in
Photo by] [MR. P. C. COBB.
Beluchi ivory traders.
escaping, and after six days without food, managed to
rejoin some of their men, but eighty of them, with sixteen
rifles, were still missing*. When the traders heard that
* Lord Hindlip, on his way from Abyssinia, down the French Railway to
Jibuti, in August, 1902, met some of these men, who, owing to the efforts of Sir
John Harrington, our representative in Abyssinia, had been released, and were
on their way back to Mombassa. They had a few rifles, but every bit of their
ivory had been confiscated.
4o
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
I had been in Abyssinia and knew the Emperor Menelik,
they plied me with questions as to the probability oí their
being able to recover at least part of their hard-earned
ivory, but, unfortunately, I could give them little hope.
Kuitu, the head chief of the village, an ugly, wrinkled
old fellow, promised us that, on the morrow, the villagers
would sell us flour to replenish our store.
In the afternoon we noticed one of the two Masai guides
we had engaged at Fort Hall busily scratching himself
within a few yards of our tent, and calling Abdallah, our
English-speaking boy, we proposed that he should present
the gentleman in question with a piece of soap, and make
a few remarks fitting for the occasion. Abdallah had a
short interview with him, after which he quietly turned
to me and said in a matter-of-fact tone, " the man he have
small-pox badly." We were not disposed to receive this
news so philosophically, but hastily summoned the head
man, Nzau, and suggested that the sooner the sick man
were sent back to Fort Hall, the better. We afterwards
learnt, however, that he was merely suffering from
chicken-pox.
41
CHAPTER IV.
Visit to a Kikuyu village—A dead woman's hut—Field costume—Trading for
food—Start for Kenya—Trouble with guides—The foot of the mountain—
Search for Dorobo—Enter forest— Guereza monkeys—An albino specimen
—A herd of elephants—A vicious animal—A narrow escape—Bushbuck
shooting—Kenya's snow-capped peak.
Early one morning we visited a typical Kikuyu village,
which was concealed in a clump of thick jungle near the
summit of a small hill. We waited outside the stockade
till permission was given us to pass the only entrance,
which was formed of stout stakes driven into the ground,
and was just high enough to allow us to scramble through
without crawling. The first village consisted of á cluster
of three huts. The elder of the settlement, an old fellow
without a stitch of clothing, received us, and after some
little talk with our interpreter, raised no objection to our
taking some photographs. We were then conducted
through a sort of palisade to Musarcartey, as the inner
village was called. This was composed of five huts, one
of which, standing a little apart, was apparently isolated,
as the doorway was barricaded and there were no cooking
pots to be seen outside. In answer to our enquiries, we
were told that the woman to whom it had belonged had
died there, and therefore the hut was abandoned. This
was evidently the custom in the district, as the late occupant
Drawn by]
Entrance to a Kikuyu village.
[A. Forestier.
A NATIVE COSTUME. 43
had not been the victim of any infectious disease. The
huts were constructed of the usual framework of stakes
and pliant branches covered with straw and grass, with
a very low opening to serve as a doorway. In two of
them the thatch just overlapped the low circular wall,
while in the others it was continued right down to the
ground.
Plwto htji ... [JIR- v- CoBB-
Shelling peas in a Kikuyu village.
The villagers were busy shelling peas, and the- elder,
who was seated by his " old Dutch," a wrinkled hag
who was positively hideous, seemed to be very fond of,
and to make a great deal of her. The only other woman
we saw was by no means bad-looking, and when her shyness
was once overcome, she took quite a lively interest in us
and the camera. Perhaps her shyness was partly due to
the fact that we had evidently called before she was expecting
44 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
visitors. Not having time in her hurry to fasten her stays,
she had flung them round her neck, where they hung down
over her soft leather dress. Her corsets consisted of many
strings of beads and kauri shells. Enormous wire ear¬
rings, strung with beads, and half-supported by a cord
A coy Kikuyu couple.
passed over her head, and the inevitable bracelets of coiled
wire, completed her costume. In the picture which I se¬
cured of herself and her husband, she looked especially coy.
While we were taking photographs, a man came in from
his work in the fields in a kilt of banana leaves, and a
rather sketchy one at that.
From here we paid a visit to the Beluchi's camp, and
EXCHANGE AND BARTER.
45
took photos of them and their men, with the largest tusks
they had secured. The longest measured 8 feet 3J inches,
and weighed 92 lbs. On our return to camp we found
that a brisk trade for beans and millet was in progress,
the principal articles in demand by the natives being
cotton sheeting and beads. The sheeting was sold in
lengths called hands, which were measured from the elbow
In Kikuyuland, bargaining for beans.
to the tip of the middle finger, and each of which purchased
three two-pound Huntley and Palmer's biscuit tins full
of grain. For a string of beads they would exchange
one tinful. The natives were shrewd traders, and it
was some time before we could convince them that they
must give full measure if they expected the full amount
of cotton cloth. Often, after half an hour's haggling, the
owner would clear up all his beans and go away, only to
return soon afterwards and repeat the whole process.
46 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
In the afternoon several petty chiefs came in with
presents, to tell us their grievances. According to their ac¬
counts it appeared that the Masai had robbed them, and
when they retaliated, the officials of Fort Hall had sent down
the askaris and burnt their villages. The only advice I could
give them was that, the next time they were robbed, they
A Kikuyu chief and his followers.
should make all the prisoners they could, and march them
into the station, instead of killing them out of hand. One
of these men had his hair dressed after the Masai fashion,
into a countless number of tiny plaits which were divided
into two queues, one drawn tightly to the forehead and
the ends bound together, the other gathered in at the
nape of the neck. Their heads, faces and necks were
OUR GUIDES AT FAULT.
47
smeared with grease or oil, and coated with red clay, and
snuff boxes made of little tusks of ivory, rhino horns,
or old cartridge cases, were suspended round their necks.
The Monarch Gramophone held them spell-bound, so long
as it was reeling off songs and recitations, but the band
pieces fell absolutely flat.
Just as we were ready to start next morning, a Kikuyu
head man and thirty porters came in with some boxes
we had left behind, sacks of flour for our men, and, what
was by far the most welcome, two mails from home.
Till we reached the banks of the Sagana, where the tall
yellow grass, from a little distance, looked not unlike a
field of ripe oats, our march lay through cultivated fields
and villages. I forded the stream, which was swift and
rather deep, in a vain attempt to stalk two little steinbuck
which we could see dodging about in the grass. Soon after¬
wards I wounded a Waterhuck, but we lost the track and
were a long time before we found and finished the animal.
The rushes along the riverside were so high, and the banks
so steep, that we had considerable difficulty in getting
across and finding camp, which lay in the picturesque
fork made by two streams, the waters of which were over¬
hung by fine trees, and backed by a line of hills. The
ground along either side of the Sagana, and indeed, much
of the country we now traversed, could be easily irrigated,
and, being of good quality, highly cultivated. Climbing
out of the valley, we found ourselves on a grassy plain,
where our guides had promised us lots of shooting, but
although I made two wide circuits, I saw absolutely nothing,
and C only caught sight of two Thomson's gazelle,
one of which he shot.
It appeared to me that the guides, instead of taking
48 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
us direct to Meru, as they called Kenya, were keeping
parallel with its western foot, so, as soon as we halted, I
had them and the head man before me, and we held a
long shauri.* They apparently wanted to take us to the
north-western spur of the mountain, where they said
there were natives who would sell us flour and show us
where to find elephants. However, my proposal was, that
as there was apparently nothing to be found on the plain
we were traversing, we should march direct to the mountain,
and follow round its foot, where we might ourselves strike
elephants or other game. In the afternoon, after a long
stalk in short grass, I managed to secure a steinbuck—a
sitting shot at 130 yards, and, on my way back to camp,
a gazelle. When we resumed our march next morning,
the guides, in spite of the shauri of the previous day, still
persisted in keeping north-east, and declaring there was
no water directly east. I therefore determined to take
the lead myself, and march straight for the mountain.
On the way we only saw a few Thomson's gazelle and
steinbuck. In five hours we were among the belts of
wood which stretch out into the grassy plain at the foot
of the mountain, and a fine stream was soon found close
at hand. Our guides did not seem at all abashed at this
discovery, but simply said that they did not know ; they
thought there might be no water there. The last of our
men to straggle in brought the news that they had seen
a party of Masai with their lion-mane head-dresses, and
arrayed in full war kit, going northwards, evidently bent on
a raiding expedition. Our camp was pitched at an ele¬
vation of 6,700 feet, and we were glad of a huge wood
fire in front of the verandah.
* Native council.
AN EXCITING DAY.
49
During the ten days we spent camped at the western
foot of the mountain, C and I, setting out in different
directions, scoured the forest in search of elephants. We
had been anxious to engage some Dorobo hunters as
guides and the Kavirondo chief, Kaitu, had, before we
left his village, brought in a Dorobo elder, with whom we
had arranged, to his apparent satisfaction, that he should
accompany us and introduce us to his tribesmen, who
were elephant hunting on the western side of Kenya.. How¬
ever, although repeatedly sent for, he failed to put in
an appearance. While in the Kenya forest, we often
saw the fresh footprints of the hunters, but although we
hung little packets of tobacco and rings of iron wire on
the trees, in the hope of thus inspiring their confidence
and inducing them to visit us, we could not catch sight
of them. Nor were our men able to get into touch with
them, so we were left to our own resources.
My first day in the forest was a very exciting one. I left
soon after sunrise, and followed the grassy bay in which
we were camped to its head. It was almost impossible
to pierce a way through the undergrowth of the outer
fringe of the forest, except by means of an old elephant
path, but once through this, the way became easier. The
lower jungle soon gave place to great naked tree trunks,
rising on every side from ground almost bare of vegetation,
while far above our heads, a vaulted roof of branches,
thickly interlaced, shut out the bright day-light. The
impressive stillness which always reigns in a great forest
seemed to be intensified by the twitter of birds and the
hum of insects wé had just left behind us in the sunshine.
As we were descending the steep banks of one of the
numerous streams that flowed from the snows, there was
4
5o IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
a bird-like cry, which, in a flash, carried my memory back
to the first time I had heard it in the Managasha forest,
a few days' march from the capital of Abyssinia.
When, a second later, I caught the glint of a black and
white silky body which swung from one lichen-clad juniper
branch to another, high above us, I recognised the guereza
monkey, the rarest and most beautiful species to be found
in Africa. Even when its almost exact position on a tree
is known, the guereza monkey is most difficult to descry,
owing to the wonderful way in which the black and white
of its coat blends with the dark shadows cast by a tropical
sun, and the contrasting white beard moss on the branches.
Soon, however, I made out three or four of them, and
with a little patience, managed to get a shot at what
appeared to be the largest of the troop. As I fired, a
pure white one darted away. Here was a prize worth
any amount of trouble to secure. I posted my men round
and promised them a rich reward if they could discover
where the animal was lurking, while I moved slowly from
tree to tree, and peered into every dark corner with my
binoculars. All, however, without success. On subsequent
days the search was renewed in the same spot, but neither
here, nor among the many troops of guereza which we
saw before leaving the forest, did we ever catch sight of
another albino specimen. While I was still searching
for the white one, my syce climbed the tree to bring down
the body of the other monkey I had shot, when to his
surprise, it crawled away, and I had to fire again before it
fell. Carrying the skin with us, we crossed a clear running
stream of cool water, by the side of which ran a rhino track
made the previous day, and climbed the opposite hill,
through almost continuous bamboo.
A NARROW ESCAPE.
51
When, after a long march, we still found ourselves in
the midst of dense bamboo, and as none of the elephant
paths which we had followed seemed to have been recently
made, at one o'clock I turned down hill again, munching
a captain's biscuit by way of lunch. " Mary Jane " took
the lead, and, trusting to the almost invariable power of a
native to retrace his steps, it was not until we reached
a deep valley which I did not remember, that I began to
suspect he was leading me astray. In the depths of the
forest there was not a single landmark to guide me, and I
was puzzled to know where we were.
At length we struck the stream we had crossed in the
morning far higher up, from which it was plain that we
were a long way to the north of camp. Our course was
altered accordingly. An hour later, while we were still
pushing our way through dense bamboo brake, my atten¬
tion was arrested by the sound of elephants feeding close
at hand. Accompanied only by my second gunbearer,
■ Saburi, I turned in the direction of the spot, but as the
first group sighted consisted of cows, I left them undis¬
turbed, and managed to withdraw without being seen.
Not far ahead, I again detected the noise of another, tearing
down and crunching the young bamboo tops, and in the
hope that this might prove to be a bull, as they often feed
rather apart, I threaded my way towards it, as noiselessly
as was possible over the leaves and broken bamboo in an
old elephant path. Suddenly the beast stopped feeding ;
for a moment all was silent, and then a wild shriek of rage
broke the stillness as the elephant bore down on us. Even
had we known the exact spot where it would appear,
it would have been folly to think of flight over the path
we had come by, obstructed as it was by fallen bamboo. I
4*
52 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
grasped my double . 600 cordite, pushed Saburi behind me,
and waited, rifle at shoulder. The suspense was soon over.
In the dim light I saw a huge head with raised trunk
and outspread ears burst through the bamboos and tower
almost directly above me. No more than nine or ten paces
separated us, as I took a quick aim for the centre of the
forehead, which was partly hidden by the upraised trunk,
fired both barrels in rapid succession, and turned to escape
—only to slip and fall. The next moment there was the
mighty crash of a huge body falling behind me, and, as
my man helped me to regain my feet, he told me that the
elephant was dead. I found that only seven paces lay
between its forehead and the place from which I had
fired.
While we were standing beside its dead body, we heard
another elephant crashing through the bamboos, and
expected every minute that it would get our wind and
bear towards us. We listened anxiously as it made a
narrow circle round us, and then, to our relief, the noise
of cracking bamboos grew fainter as the beast turned
away. It was now four o'clock, and as I was very un¬
certain how far we were from camp, and was not at all
inclined to spend the night in the forest, I hurriedly took
some measurements of the tusks, cut off the tail, and set
out. We had hardly gone more than a few hundred yards,
when one of my men clutched me by the arm and pointed
ahead. An elephant was coming towards us in the very
path we were following. When I turned to seize my rifle,
I saw my men were scattering and running in every direction.
I took up the chase and, just as I snatched my .600 from
the man who was carrying it, I heard the beast close behind
me, and sprang behind a big tree. The animal pulled up
Brawn bii]
A near thing with "a Kenya elephant.
[A. FORESTIER.
54 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
some fifteen paces the other side of it, and stood waving
its trunk about trying to get our wind. It was a cow with
very poor tusks, and as I had had enough of elephants
at close quarters for one day, I fired at its head in a position
that I knew would not kill it. The shot evidently stunned
it, for it moved away unsteadily. We now continued
our march, and in a little over an hour reached the edge
of the forest, where we were glad to see the glow of a large
grass fire, which had been lit to guide us to camp. As it
was, we did not arrive till night had fallen. After this,
we decided to search the forest further north, while we
sent the head man back to replenish our supply of flour.
In the outer belts there were signs of a good many bushbuck,
of a much darker variety than any I had previously met
with, but it was only after a great deal of trouble that
I bagged three of them.
Every day we explored some new tract of the forest,
and found many old elephant paths, and fresh signs of
rhino, buffalo and dik-dik. These, with a few hyaenas,
the guereza, and one other kind of monkey, were the only
animals of which we saw any traces in the forest.
Kenya did not lose its charm on nearer acquaintance.
The dark mass of forest at the foot of the mountain merged
into the lighter green of the bamboos which clothed the
higher slopes. These latter were crowned by mist, through
which pierced an occasional rocky peak or barren slope.
Sometimes for a few minutes, just at dawn, or when the
after-glow of sunset was still lingering in the sky, the mists
would roll aside, and a glistening white peak shine out
like a great opal, catching the changing light which was
reflected from the clouds that hovered round its base, as
though jealous of man gazing on their mistress.
55
CHAPTER V.
An attempt to reach the upper slopes—Brown monkeys—Giant lobelias—A night
in the forest—Return of food safari—A deputation from our men—A
Kikuyu chant—One man's meat is another man's poison—Heuglin's harte-
beest and oryx —A jackal incident—A Dorobo camp—A fine lion.
Early one morning C , myself, and eleven followers,
set out with the determination to try and reach the rocky
slopes beyond the bamboo brakes, and see if there were
any klipspringer or other animals to be found there. I
was also anxious to examine and to secure photographs
of the giant lobelias growing on the upper part of the
mountain, which, with the aid of the telescope, I had made
out from camp. Two hours after starting, as we were
passing through thick bamboo, we heard a rustling sound,
and I pushed forward with the .256, but the noise became
so great that I fancied I was walking into a herd of buffalo,
and quickly changed the Männlicher for the .600.
Hardly had I done so when we saw the tops of the
bamboos waving, and realised that the commotion was
caused by a troop of monkeys. C , who had caught
a glimpse of them, said they were not guereza, being too
large and of a different colour.
After some little time he managed to shoot two of them,
but only recovered one, which we found had very thick
56 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
yellowish-brown fur, and was white about the throat.
Although I saw a couple of them jumping from branch
to branch, I failed to get a shot. This was the only time
that we came across any of the species. At noon, we made
a half hour's halt, and when, at g o'clock, at an elevation
of 9,400 feet, we found ourselves still in dense bamboo,
we decided that we must give up the idea of reaching the
cliffs above, and return to camp.
On the way down we found the partly-devoured body
of a dik-dik of a kind quite new to me, with long lightish-
brown hair. We also noticed the tracks of some animal
with a hoof apparently about the same size as the bush-
buck's, but less pointed. At 8,900 feet, I took a photo
of a group of giant lobelias standing about 12 feet high.
Unlike those I had seen in the Simien Mountains of Abys¬
sinia, where the plant was in every stage of development,
the seed spikes here were all dead and decayed ; not a single
one of them was growing.
Some 500 feet lower I saw a solitary guereza ; apparently
this was the highest point to which they ascended. We
tried to find a more direct path down than the one we had
traversed in the morning, and were still making our way
through continuous bamboos when night fell. The syce
with his mule had fallen behind, and we could hear him
in the distance blubbering and howling like a frightened
child. Our men made great fun of him, imitating his
cries, but not one of them would return alone to help him,
and the three 1 told off to look for him were loth enough
to start. Meanwhile we lit a fire, and made some torches
six feet long, of bamboo splinters bound together and
filled with dry leaves, which we lit as soon as the men
and mule rejoined us. An hour before midnight we were
GIANT LOBELIAS.
57
clear of the bamboos, but had no idea of our position, or
where camp lay. On this point, no two of the men agreed,
some of them even insisting that it was in the direction
from which we had come.
A shot from C 's 8-bore rifle drew a reply from
camp which did not sound very far off, but it was
impossible to locate it. Soon after this the last of the
Photo by] [Mit. P. 0. COBB.
Mount Kenya from the West.
torches flickered out. I then tried to lead, stumbling about
in thick undergrowth, consisting for the most part of giant
nettles, against which we had to guard our faces. At length
we found ourselves in another bamboo brake, which enabled
us to make more torches, and on getting clear of it, we
again fired. The answering reports rang out clearly in
the stillness, but, unfortunately, every one still held a diffe¬
rent opinion as to the direction from which they came.
58
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
We were now on the side of a steep jungle-covered
valley down which I could find no path. We therefore
finally decided to halt till dawn, and the men, though all
more or less sullen and frightened, were soon at work
searching for dead branches and logs to make a fire, round
which we crouched. It was not long before the Swahilis
were loudly snoring, but for C and myself, supperless
and numbed by the keen air, sleep was impossible. We
wrapped our waterproof capes closer round us, and, cowering
over the smouldering fire, listened to the weird cries of
the nocturnal beasts of the forest, the distant crash of a
falling tree, or some great beast forcing its way through
the undergrowth.
At early dawn we roused our sleeping followers, and
again set out. In little over an hour we reached the outer
belt and found ourselves some miles to the south of camp,
where we arrived at 7.30, having been on our legs nearly
21 hours out of the 25 we had been absent.
Stores were now getting very low. Two-thirds of our
men should have received fresh supplies on the preceding
day, while the remainder had got through their rations
two days before. Not a bagful of flour remained in
camp, and although Nzau was due back that morning,
the men sent out to look for him returned alone. In
the evening, however, another party brought him back,
and we learnt that he had succeeded in procuring thirty-
two loads of flour which would be in during the next
morning.
Soon afterwards a deputation of our porters and chief
askaris, headed by Nzau, waited upon us. They pointed
out that we should soon be passing through a country which
was often traversed by Masai raiders, and should our
A KI KU Y U DEPUTATION. 59
path cross theirs, there was no knowing what our reception
might be. The men therefore asked that we should try
and arrange for one of us to be always in camp.
Once before a band of my followers came to me on a
similar errand, when, after shooting the reedbuck on
Mount Doinyo Sabuk, I had returned alone to camp. On
that occasion they pointed out that I should probably get
Kikuyu porters leaving Mount Kenya camp.
eaten by a lion and that my death might put them to a
certain amount of inconvenience.
In the afternoon, when the flour had arrived, and C
and I had returned to camp, the Kikuyu porters fell in
two and two, clasped each other's hands, and serpentined
in a long queue about camp, the leading couple chanting a
verse, while the remainder answered in chorus. The whole
gist of this was an extempore suggestion that, now our
safari was well provisioned for the journey, we should give
6o
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the Kikuyu presents, and let them return to their wives
and sweethearts. As we had specially engaged them
to accompany us across Likipia, and could not possibly
do without them, the point of their argument failed to
appeal to us.
Our march away from the mountain began next day,
across a series of wash-outs cut deeply into the rotten
sandstone and mud, the climbing in and out of which was
a wearisome process for the laden men. On the way I
saw a good many tracks of game, and, close to the place
where we proposed camping, came on two big warthogs.
1 fired at the larger, which dashed off at once. The other
stood motionless, facing us, tail and bristles up. I let
it have my second barrel. As the bullet hit it, the beast
turned and, swerving round again almost immediately,
made straight for us. When within a few yards it suddenly
commenced tearing round in a narrowing circle till it fell
dead. We lost the track of the first one, but later on,
when the men were collecting firewood, they found the
body, and every scrap of both of them was devoured by
the Kikuyu porters.
The Swahili, during this part of the trip, were, from
religious reasons, exceedingly particular as to what they
ate, and would not touch the hog's flesh—much to the
delight of the Kikuyu, who consequently had a great
feast.
Neither did the-Masai guide seem to have any particular
objection to the meat, for we saw him carrying off a whole
leg for his own consumption. A few pieces of the hide we
saved to patch our boots with.
Three days from Kenya we neared the River Gwasho
Nyiro, and it was here that we met with the first Grant's
GRANT'S GAZELLE.
6i
gazelle we had seen since leaving the Athi plains. They
appeared to me to differ from the Southern species both
in the lateral stripes and in the shape of the horns. The
stream, which was some 35 yards wide and 3J feet deep,
was very muddy, for heavy rain had fallen during the last
few days. Camp was pitched close to the opposite bank.
Kikuyu porter and oryx, Likipia plains.
C told me, when he came in, that he had seen a lot
of game, although his luck had not been good, and the
men reported that they had been close to a giraffe and
its calf.
Much of the country we had passed through was covered
with short sweet grass, and studded at intervals with
62
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
thorn-trees, reminding us of the lower slopes of Mount
Doinyo Sabuk. Here and there the thorn trees grew
closer together, forming thickets through which it was
difficult to make one's way, while along the river bank
the jungle would have been practically impenetrable, save
for the game paths through it.
During the next few days the country simply swarmed
with game, and I secured my first specimen of Heuglin's,
commonly, though probably less correctly, called Jackson's
hartebeest. In addition to this, after two days' hard
work, for they were very shy, I bagged a good oryx, but
was disgusted to find it was oryx beisa, the same species
as I had secured in Somaliland and Abyssinia, and not
the fringe-eared variety which I was so anxious to get. Just
after an unsuccessful attempt to get near some more of
them, I noticed a solitary male steinbuck with apparently
only one horn, lying down in the open. My first shot
killed it. As the report rang out, two black-backed jackals,
which had evidently been stalking it, moved off, and at
the same moment a kite swooped down on the dead body.
One of the jackals dashed back to drive it off, and as he
stood over the carcase, I dropped him with a solid bullet.
His mate then arrived on the scene, only to fall in her
turn to the first shot. The steinbuck's second horn was
hanging loose down the side of its head, being attached
to it only by the skin ; it was the longest I secured.
As a camping ground that night, our old Masai guide led
us to the ancient village site of some of his tribesmen,
which he remembered from the days of his boyhood.
After sunset a cutting cold wind from off the snows of
Kenya swept over the plain, and chilled everyone in camp
to the bone. We had a roaring fire built in the front of
SWARMS OF GAME.
63
our verandah, and were glad to pile all our available clothes
on our beds before turning in.
During the march our men had come across the partly-
eaten remains of a zebra I had unfortunately wounded
the day before, and which had apparently been caught
by a lion.
On the 12th of April we again approached the banks of
the Gwasho Nyiro, here a much larger stream, and said
to be unfordable. While I was trying to stalk a single
Thomson's gazelle, a herd of seven zebra came quite close
to us, and continued following us about for some time,
within two or three hundred yards. It was just as though
they knew that I was not shooting zebra that day. When
C came in, he said he had come across an old Dorobo
encampment while hunting. It consisted of a double
thorn hedge roofed over with grass, having two entrances,
one on each side, and containing a dozen small circular
shelters built of boughs interlaced and roofed with grass.
During the day a leopard in chase of an antelope had
passed close to our safari, and the men had also sighted
three rhino. In the afternoon, we were rather amused
to see the porters, who had been set to work to boil, in
our tin bath, the heads of the beasts we had killed, busily
employed eating the brains and the little pieces of flesh
and gristle which still adhered to the bone. As many
of the skulls had been shot for some days, they must have
held almost as many maggots as brains, but this did not
seem to put the porters off in the least ; yet they had
objected strongly to my adding a jackal's skull to those
already simmering, because they considered it unclean.
A couple of days later, just after passing a large mixed
herd of eland and zebra, I noticed the pugs of a big lion
64 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
that had preceded us along the path. A few minutes after¬
wards, a fine Waterhuck appeared in the track, standing
watching us. The fact of its being there showed that the
lion must have passed some considerable time before.
The shot was too tempting and I fired, but the animal
turned and walked off, apparently quite unconcerned.
I was a bit surprised, as I felt sure my aim had been steady,
and thought I had heard the bullet tell.
As I was on the point of firing again the beast tottered
and fell dead.
Leaving Mary Jane, and a couple of the other men
to skin it, I and Saburi took up the lion track and followed
it, not without several checks, for a couple of hours, passing
on the way a herd of sixty-four eland, with two or three good
bulls amongst them. Twice we came upon places where
the lion had unsuccessfully tried for his supper, stalking
first zebra and then hartebeest. It was interesting to
trace out the history of the stalks on the soft earth. Here
were the marks where the herd had been quietly grazing,
while the lion slowly dragged itself along up wind, taking
advantage of every little bush and inequality of the ground.
There was the place where he had dashed into the herd
and made a mighty spring, only to fall short, for some
member of the herd had doubtless seen him before it was
too late to give the warning cry, and they had scattered
in wild alarm just in the nick of time. After his fruitless
spring the lion had apparently singled out, and tried to
overtake a half-grown beast, but it had proved too fleet
of foot and his pace had soon dropped again into a walk.
After a long check I made a successful cast forward
and struck the track again, only to lose it eventually
on grass land. Soon after this we discovered the safari
AN IMPROMPTU BATH. 65
path and started on our way to camp. Presently we came
to a stream with dense underwood along its banks. It
looked such a likely place for a lion to lie up in, that I
determined to prospect for some little distance along it.
Very soon I was rewarded by again detecting the pugs.
Barely one hundred yards further on, I noticed that we
were approaching a very dense bush, and, taking over
A Likipia lion.
the .400, I posted myself a few yards from it, while the
men searched on either side to see where the tracks led.
Fancying that I saw something move in the bush, I raised
my glasses, but as they revealed nothing, I concluded
that it was merely the sunlight glinting on the leaves as
they trembled in the breeze. In a moment I was undeceived.
With a savage growl and a crash the brute dashed out,
fortunately for us, on the opposite side, for had it come
5
66
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
our way, the chances are that it would have knocked
over one or other of us.
I ran round, but could only hear the cracking of the
twigs as he forced his way through the thick jungle, along
the edge of the stream, and then a mighty splash as he
jumped into the water. It was not till he began to scramble
up the opposite bank, that I caught a glimpse of him, and
fired. He half fell, but recovered himself, and continued
his way up the bank. The second shot, as I got a clear
sight of his shoulder, knocked him over, but he was up
again at once and turned to come for me. At the next
shot, he sank out of sight in the long grass and brushwood.
Making a detour up stream, I tried to jump it, but landed
short, and fell back into the water.
As soon as some of the surplus water was emptied out
of my pockets, I made my way to the spot, to find an old
animal with a very fair mane, lying stone dead, but in
such a natural position, one might have thought he was
asleep.
I saw that any one of the three shots would have proved
fatal in a very few minutes. After taking photographs
and measurements, we skinned and weighed the carcase,
which, without allowing for the loss of blood, pulled down
376 lbs.
07
CHAPTER VI.
Masai raiding party—A Grant with a crumpled horn—A lion incident—A long
march to camp—An ideal white man's count!y—Cross Marmanet hills—Food
running short—A rain storm—Wound an antelope—A rhino and calf—Track
and kill the antelope—Search for path—A wooded gorge—A weary uek—
Benighted—Encounter three rhino—Bivouac in forest - Sight Baringo Lake
—Descend the escarpment—A band of Suk—Their dress and arms.
In order to give the lion skin, with others we had got, a
chance to dry, we decided to halt for an extra day. Our
camp was pitched close to the edge of a papyrus swamp,
which the Masai guide called Pacey. It was from 150 to
400 yards wide, and stretched for some hours north and
south. Having looked to the skins, C proceeded north¬
wards, while I worked down towards the southern end of
the swamp and had a long chase after an impala, missing
several long shots before I finally killed it. It was the
finest head of the species we had got so far.
While I was following up the track of a single oryx, I
heard the sound of voices, which gradually grew louder, and
from the long grass into which I crept, I could see a party
of Masai warriors, making their way towards a little valley
from which smoke was rising. Shortly afterwards a band
of from 150 to 200 men appeared, wending their way up the
opposite slope.
From the direction in which they were coming, and the
absence of cattle, we concluded they were a Masai war party
5*
68
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
returning southwards, probably from an unsuccessful raid
on the Suk. When the last man had disappeared, I tried
to pick up the tracks of the oryx, but failed, and seeing
some others, together with a lot of Grantii and Thomsons,
on a little ridge across the swamp, I started towards them,
along the path the Masai had come by.
Here I found a single oryx surrounded by a herd of Grantii
feeding on the open top of a grassy hill. This I attempted
to crawl up, when a doe Grant spotted me, walked up
within 200 yards, stood there grunting, and then returned
to the herd. Eventually I got a long shot at the oryx, and
apparently hit, as the beast only moved off for a short
distance and then stood under a tree. Another walked up
to it, and they both turned as though to come back within
shot, but my men rejoined me and frightened them away.
At two o'clock we were within some twenty minutes
from camp, but on the wrong side of the swamp, and, find¬
ing it impassable, we had to go round. It took us nearly
two-and-a-half hours. It was in this swamp that I shot a
Waterhuck with very widespread horns and a doe Grant,
which was only secured after a long stalk. Its left horn
was bent down round the ear, and the right broken off, so
that the animal presented a very odd appearance.
For some time we had been suspicious of our guide's
knowledge of the lie of the country, and it was now clear
enough that he had but a very general idea of his bearings,
and was quite incapable of telling us the distances between
water, a most important point with heavily-laden porters.
It was therefore necessary, on arrival in camp each day, to
send out a party of men to discover the distance to the next
camping-ground, and this caused a lot of unnecessary work.
While camp was being shifted on the following day, I made
USEFUL "MARY JANE:
69
a wide circle. Pushing my way through a thick belt of
scrub, I found myself on a wide, open hill-top, on which,
amongst other game, I saw a little troop of zebra feeding.
As soon as I was within shot, I fired at the leader, which
staggered for a minute or two and fell. A whistle from
behind suddenly caught my ear, and I turned to see Mary
Jane beckoning so frantically that, stooping as low as I
Fall in for meat rations.
could, I ran to him. He handed me the .400, and said in a
loud whisper, " Simba*—two."
Cocking the rifle, I moved forward in the direction in
which he was pointing, and soon caught sight of a fine
yellow-maned lion making quickly away diagonally to our
left. A moment later a big lioness appeared from behind
a bush, leading the way just in front of him. She was
moving at a quick walk with her head so low that it almost
* Lion.
7°
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
touched the ground, thus showing to perfection the massive
muscles of her neck and shoulders. From the twitching of
her tail, it was evident bow keenly she resented being robbed
by man, the only living creature she feared, of her favourite
meal of zebra meat.
The lion had none of the slinking appearance of his mate.
He held his head high and proudly as though half inclined
to dispute our business on his hunting ground. Several
times he hesitated in his walk, and turned towards us to
show his teeth, but each time, as his mate kept steadily on,
he seemed to think better of it, and continued to follow her.
If anything, they gradually quickened their pace, and
although I tried to cut them off by running whenever a bush
or tree hid them for a moment, I hardly decreased the 300
yards which originally separated us.
At last they halted behind a thick tree close to the belt
of jungle we had come through. They were growling
angrily, and I hurried forward just in time to catch a
glimpse of the hind-quarters of the male. I threw up my
.400, only to find that Mary Jane, like the idiot he was,
had put the sight down. The second's delay in adjusting
it lost me the shot, for the beasts had plunged into the
thick jungle.
We spent some time vainly trying to pick up their tracks,
and finally set out after the safari, across a wide valley, and
into a thick belt of forest on the other side, where I found
a Dorobo arrow. Just at dusk, a rifle shot broke the
silence, and we imagined that camp must be close at hand,
but as, after some time, there were no signs of it, I fired
and received an answering report. By the light of an
almost full moon we managed to press on, and at length
emerged from the forest on to an open hill-top, where we
THE RIVER GW A SHO NAROK.
7
met a paity of askaris sent out to look for us. We did not
reach camp till eight o'clock, as the Gwasho Narok, a clear
stream some twelve yards wide, had to be forded. This
was the first fair-sized river we had seen since leaving the
Gwasho Nyiro, for the River Pacey, of which we had heard
Photo by] [Mr. P. 0. Cobb.
Porters crossing a stream.
so much, turned out to be a mere trickling brook flowing
from the swamp.
We were now beyond the influence of the cold winds
which swept across the country from Kenya, and even the
men suffered under the oppressive noon-day heat. The
next part of the march led through such thick bush that
we had to keep close to the men for fear of losing the safari
72
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
path altogether. At mid-day we reached Lari loi Morio,
at an elevation of 6,500 feet.
Our head man, who, as usual, had gone on to prospect
the route for the coming day, did not return that evening,
nor the following morning, but we found him at the next
camping place near the foot of the Marmanet hills. This
was a lovely bit of country ; its clear streams, undulating
grassy hills, fine clumps of trees and patches of bush, re¬
minded one of an English park. Of the many ideal spots
for white settlers which we had seen, this was one of the
finest, lying as it does at an elevation of over 6,000 feet.
It is well watered, and the little woods and copses scattered
about the hill-sides and in the valleys would provide timber
and firewood. According to our Masai guide the rich pas¬
turage clothing the valleys is always good, and as the
railway is within easy distance, there would be no great
difficulty in getting both stock and produce down to it.
Being at present a " no-man's land " there are no natives
to be dispossessed or to feel aggrieved at its occupation by
white men.
As lions had roared several times during the night, I
made a big circuit back over our path of the previous day,
before following the caravan across the grassy summit of
the Marmanet hills, which was only some 500 feet above
our camp of that morning.
In the afternoon C told me that he had seen a big
herd of hartebeest feeding further down the valley we were
in, and as the men were getting extremely short of food, I
sallied out to try and slay one. Just as I reached some
scrub near which they were, a blinding thunder-storm came
on. However, I hit one hard and was on the track, when
I found a rhino and its calf directly in my path. Not
I SHOOT A HARTEBEEST.
73
anxious to have an encounter with them, I retreated, and
circled round to pick up the tracks of the wounded animal,
but evening was drawing in and I was obliged to leave it
and return to camp.
At sunrise I was back again resuming the trail, and in a
couple of hours had found and finished the beast, which
Photo lilt] [Mr, F. C. C'orb.
A halt on the march.
was lying in some thick scrub. I then sent back to our old
camp for some porters who had been left to look after the
skins, and were to follow the safari later, but they could
only spare a couple of men.
At mid-day I started with three followers, leaving the
remainder to carry the meat. No one appeared to know
in which direction the safari had gone, and although we
74
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
struck right across the valley, we failed to find their tracks.
As we neared a deep narrow gorge which led about west-
north-west, the direction in which I knew Baringo lay, I
detected with the glasses a well-worn path lying at the foot
of it, and decided this was the one the safari must have
followed. A zig-zag track brought us down the steep side
of the valley, the first part of which was formed by a cleft
in the rock, so like a cutting that it was difficult to believe
it was not the work of man.
When we reached the path, although it was evidently in
constant use, there were no traces of our men having passed
along it. While skinning a female bush-buck which I had
shot cn route, I sent on a syce to see if he could find any
signs of the whereabouts of our safari, the other two men
having disappeared from sight. The syce returned without
finding any traces, so we decided to strike up the right-hand
side of the valley. Twice I was swept off the mule by the
overhanging branches, the first time being suspended in the
air by the straps of my water-bottle and field-glass, while
one foot was caught in the stirrup. To our surprise, we
came across the trail of our men, in the midst of a big wood.
They had evidently made their way without any regard to
a path. It was now four o'clock. We followed on till
after six, across grass and through patches of jungle, till,
on entering a wood, we lost the track, and even when we
reached grass again could not distinguish it in the darkness.
However, we pushed forward, when suddenly three huge
forms loomed up in the hazy light directly in front of us ;
there was a chorus of angry snorts, and I realised that we
had disturbed three rhino out for an evening stroll. In
addition to my usual kit, I was carrying two rifles, the bush-
buck skin, and some of its meat, and thus hampered, as
A BAD FALL.
75
I attempted to get off my mule, my foot caught in the reins,
and I fell heavily to the ground.
The result was more satisfactory than might have been
expected, for the noise of my fall, added to the force of the
language to which I gave vent, had such an effect upon the
rhino that they vanished into the night. Things were
getting a little too exciting for night marching, so we
Lake Baringo.
returned to the wood, lit a fire, and roasted bits of bush-
buck liver and kidney, skewered on sticks, for supper.
Then we set to work to make a bed of leaves, on which
I lay down while Saburi took the first watch. At midnight
I took over the care of the fire, and once during my vigil the
mule became so fidgety that I feared some lion must be
prowling near.
After daybreak we soon recovered the safari path, which
76 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
led us close to the place where we had disturbed the rhino
on the previous night and through two more belts of wood.
Here and there were scattered a number of bleached buffalo
skulls, the results of the rinderpest of a few years back,
and I also noticed the fresh workings of an ant-bear, an
animal which from here towards Lake Baringo seemed to
be more numerous than on any other part of my journey.
Two hours after starting, I caught my first glimpse of
the lake, lying some 3,000 feet below us. It looked so small
in the distance that I imagined at first our guide had brought
us too far south, and that it was Lake Hannington ; but
when with the glasses, I distinctly made out several islands,
I came to the conclusion that it must be Baringo.
Here the track made an acute turn northwards, and
half-an-hour afterwards, a party of our men from camp met
us. The way down the escarpment was very steep and
rock-strewn, with thorn trees dotted about. I was delighted
to suddenly come on five kudu cows, for although I knew
that Count Teleki, the discoverer of Lake Rudolf, had
found these animals in the district, I feared that disease
might have decimated them, as had been the case in so
many other parts of Africa, and even as far north as
Abyssinia.
At eleven I reached camp, pitched at the foot of the
upper great step of the escarpment, at an elevation of about
5,000 feet. Two of mj' lost men had already arrived, and
soon afterwards, Mary Jane and the remainder straggled in
and reported that, while waiting by the meat, a lion, doubt¬
less attracted by its smell, had walked up quite close to
them.
In the afternoon, while having a great time sorting skins,
many of which, to our disgust, had gone wrong during the
A LITTLE BAND OF SUK. 77
last few days, a party of natives were seen approaching.
For a moment there was great excitement, and our askaris
ran to get their rifles, but I stopped them and told Nzau,
with two or three men and the guide, to go and meet them.
They proved to be a little band of eight or ten Suk, who
had seen our tents in the distance, and had come to find out
who we were. They were carrying green branches in their
A band of Suk.
hands as a token that they came in friendship and not in
war, and on entering camp, spat freely on their palms,
shook hands all round, and murmured, " Chumka, Chum-
kakia, Chumkakoo " — the Suk equivalent for "How do
you do ? "
Spitting, I afterwards learnt, is an important ceremony
among the Suk, but happily the Baringo Collector had
managed to instil it into those of the tribe in closer connec-
7»
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
tion with the boma, that a white man considers the greeting
quite as hearty, if that part of the performance is omitted.
As our visitors announced that they would guide us to
the Government boma, which was three days off, we gave
them meat and tobacco, put their spears into safe custody,
and they spent the night round our camp fire. They be¬
longed to a pastoral branch of the Suk tribe, who had been
induced to come southwards and settle within touch of the
Government station.
The Suk are an exceptionally tall and well-developed
race, who, like the Karamojo and Turkana, wear little or
no clothing, which leaves them free to devote their time
and attention to an elaborate method of dressing the hair.
To their natural growth, the elders add the hair which
they have inherited from their ancestors, and have shorn
from their enemies slain in battle, working it into a felt¬
like mass, and stiffening the whole with clay. Eventually
it attains an enormous size and reaches in a bag-shaped
chignon nearly to their waists. It is decorated with ostrich
feathers, and a slender piece of rhinoceros horn, or a few
quills bound round with giraffe tail-hairs, curves upwards
from the base, tipped by a little white tuft of hare's fur.
The edge of the chignon is turned inwards, sometimes as
much as five inches, the base being divided to form two
shallow pockets, in which are carried a quid of tobacco,
snuff and other light odds and ends. The Collector of
Baringo told me that he had even seen a native produce a
gourd of honey from one of them.
The younger men wear a little pat of clay on the top of
their heads stuck with ostrich plumes. A cape of softened
monkey skin is worn across the shoulders, not, however, as
a garment, but simply to throw over their heads and keep
WEAPONS OF THE SUE.
79
the clay from being washed out of their matted hair, in case
of rain. The rest of their kit consists of a string of beads
round the waist, iron wire wound round their necks and
arms, small brass wire earrings, and the usual flat sandals
made of rhino, elephant, or giraffe hide. Some of them
also affect brass pendants, which are passed through a hole
pierced in the lower lip. Among the Suk proper, I saw no
quills worn in the lip, and have it on good authority that
they are confined to the half-caste tribes of the hills, with
whom some writers have confused the true Suk. As a
special visiting costume, they don a bib of goat skin with the
hair left on, which reaches to just below the waist.
As weapons, the Suk warrior carries a couple of long
slender spears, one of which he throws during an attack,
while the other he retains to stab his enemy at close
quarters. The blades are leaf-shaped, and measure 8 by
inches ; the haft is 22 inches in length, and the
wooden shaft double as long, while a 12-inch iron foot
gives the balance, and is used for sticking the spear
upright in the ground. On the third finger of the left
hand, they wear a knife ring for gashing an enemy's flesh,
while many of them also affect a curious circular knife
which is fastened to the right wrist, and when not in use,
its razor-like edge is protected by a leather sheath.
None of the Suk proper carry bows and arrows, although
they may be found among the mongrel hill tribes already
mentioned. This is another point in connection with which
the true and bastard tribes have been confounded, and mis¬
leading information given, to the effect that bows and
poisoned arrows are among the weapons of the pure Suk.
The shield of giraffe or buffalo hide is long and narrow,
and the slight inward curve of the four sides towards the
8o
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
centre makes the corners very pointed. A stick running
lengthways down the back, like a midrib, stiffens it and
provides the hand grasp. To the lower end of this, which
projects below the hide, is fastened, as a finishing touch, a
pompom of black ostrich feathers.
The custom of circumcision is now gradually dying out
among the tribe, the reason they give being that their
young men have been too often beaten in battle.
The Suk women wear much more clothing than the men,
but do not affect such an elegant hair-dress. The matrons
are dressed in a sort of skirt made of two skins, the one behind
being the longer, and another is thrown over the shoulders.
Round their necks are ropes of beads, besides necklets of
brass and iron wire, of which metal they also wear armlets
and bracelets. Their heads are occasionally shaved, but
are more often covered by an untidy mass of short frizzy
hair.
The younger girls are very much more scantily clad, their
costume principally consisting of ostrich eggshell beads.
Some of them twist their hair into strings and let it hang
down like a mop, while others clip it close to the head along
the sides, leaving a ridge down the centre from back to
front, or only a little tuft of hair two-and-a-half inches long,
well in the front of the head.
81
CHAPTER VII.
Baringo plain—Reach the boma—The Colle:tor —Mail from home-Mild-
mannered crocodiles—Greater Kudu—The African chamois—Trial of a
native—Ambatch wood boats—Hippo asleep on shore-The island—"The
Place of the Hot Springs "—Steam blow-hole—Submerged trees—Villages
—Cooking lunch—Baboons and snakes—A night on the island—A weird
scene—A storm on the lake—Return to the boma.
The next day our way lay over a sun-scorched plain, with
thick clumps of thorn bushes and aloes here and there,
where the graceful little dik-dik, one of the smallest of
the antelope, were numerous.
We camped below the second step of the escarpment,
close to a little stream, whence it took us only two hours
on the following morning to reach the boma. As I passed
through a traders' camp, lying at the foot of the little
bare hill on which the Government station stands, the
Collector, Mr. Hyde Baker, came down to meet me and
led me up a steep path to his quarters, where a great
sackful of letters was awaiting us.
Of course, the rest of the day was spent in reading our
correspondence, and discussing the news and our future
plans. It seemed that the plague had been so virulent
at Nairobi that it was doubtful whether either C
or our trophies would reach the Coast without being
quarantined on the way. At daybreak the Kikuyu
6
82
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
porters started off on their return journey home, and
Baker sent a runner to Eldama Ravine, or Shemoni, as
it is more generally called, to find out whether C
would be detained or not.
We spent one whole day at the south-east corner of
the Lake, where the turbid waters of the River Molo
flow in, and where we found the usual crowd of crocodiles
lying sunning themselves on its mud banks. C
succeeded in killing a big one with a shot through its
head, as it lay floating in the water, and we both wounded
one or two others, but were not lucky enough to recover
them.
Baker took C out in a collapsible boat, a relic of
one of Lord Delamere's trips. They managed to get close
to a hippo and stepped overboard, so as to fire a steady
shot, but the water proved a little too deep for C——,
and in his endeavours to keep his footing in the mud, he
missed his quarry.
As they could not scramble back into their unsteady
craft, they had to walk ashore, and on the way C
stepped on a crocodile, which skinned his shin as it
wriggled peaceably aside. The crocodiles of Lake
Baringo seemed to be much more mild-mannered than
any I had previously met with either in Africa or Asia.
Perhaps this is due to the enormous number of fish with
which the Lake is stocked. At all events, the cattle
and sheep which graze on this shore of the Lake are but
seldom molested, and I could only hear of two cases of
men being attacked, one of which, curiously enough,
occurred just before we arrived at the boma.
The victim was Baker's fisher lad, who, when standing
knee-deep in the water, as is the native custom when
BITTEN BY A CROCODILE.
«3
fishing, was seized by one of these brutes and his leg
badly torn before his companion could rescue him.
Baker had him carried up to the boma, where his wounds
were dressed every day.
After one day at the mouth of the Molo, we started
Cobb and his best crocodile.
for the foot-hills to the east of the Lake, rather further
north than the route we had come by, as C was very
anxious, if possible, to add that much-sought prize of
African shooting, the greater kudu, to his bag, before
leaving for the Coast.
What with one thing and another, we did not get away
till nearly mid-day, and found the heat reflected from
6*
84
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the rocks very trying after the cooler atmosphere of the
Likipia plateau.
Herds of impala and Grantii were frequently seen on
the way, and C wounded one of a couple of klip-
springer on the lower ridge, but failed to recover it. On
the plain above we saw four oryx, a herd of zebra and
numerous dik-dik ; on the next ridge we could distinguish
several mountain reedbuck, and a little party of kudu
cows, while in the distance, an old rhino, who had got
our wind, trotted away. In the evening we found our
tents pitched in " Kudu Camp," a lovely spot amid the
hills, with shady trees overhanging the little stream which
ran through it.
A big cone-shaped hill, which dominated the valley,
was pointed out as the centre of the ground on which
kudu were always to be found. After this we separated,
Baker taking C with him, while I, with some Njemps
trackers, set off in a different direction, and was soon
lucky enough to make out with the glasses, a kudu bull
with a herd of cows. However, after I had made several
detours in order to approach him, it turned out that he
carried but a small head, and I made my way back to
camp, passing a few reedbuck, some zebra, and one duiker.
The others returned after a long day, without having
seen any marlu, as the Njemps call the kudu. On the
way back to the boma we searched a wide extent of hilly,
stony ground ; but although we sighted one small bull
and several cow kudu, we came upon nothing shootable.
We had just given up all hope of C getting a chance
at one, and had determined to shoot specimens of the
smaller game which we had, so far, ignored. Suddenly,
however, as we were descending a steep path in single
SHOOT A KUDU BULL.
85
file, C 's second gun-bearer, Asman, a Somali, pulled
his sleeve, and pointed out a kudu bull, which had just
risen from the spot where it had been lying, 120 yards
from the path. C , instead of firing at once, whistled
to me ; I m3.de signs to him to fire, and passed along the
A Baringo shauri.
signal to Baker, who was in front, but by this time the
animal had realised his danger and bolted.
He reappeared again on a ridge in front of us, just as
C had joined Baker. The former got a standing
shot at about 180 yards, and, much to his delight, knocked
the beast over. It stood 57 inches at the shoulder,
weighed 654 lbs., and, like all the Baringo kudu, had
a fine spread of horns.
86
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
As we were descending the slope, a klipspringer jumped
up and stood looking at us from the top of a rock, and I
succeeded in knocking it over, but had to give it a
finisher. Three more then showed, and one after the
other, I picked them off the rock, which, as I was some
150 yards off, I considered rather pretty shooting. How¬
ever, the conceit was soon taken out of me, for, when
I got to the spot, I only recovered two, happily both
males, while Baker explained that there had only been
three in all, one of which had been wounded slightly each
time it showed, and had eventually bounded away.
Parties of natives were constantly coming into the
boma to bring in some case or dispute to be settled by
Baker. These tribunals were always interesting to
watch, as they gave so good an insight into the workings
of the native mind. One of them took place just after
our return from " Kudu Camp," for the purpose of trying
a youth who was an incorrigible thief.
The usual native method of dealing with such characters
is to spear them out of hand, but, whenever the tribes
are in touch with a Government station, everything
possible is done to induce them to lay the case before
the official in charge, for his decision.
Baker held court from a seat on the verandah, with the
two chiefs concerned, and their followers, squatting in a
half circle outside, in the shade, and the youth in the centre of
them. It appeared from the evidence, that, while acting
as herds-boy, he had watched his opportunity, and set
off to drive the flock of sixty sheep of which he had charge,
away up into the hills. Half of them had broken down,
to be eaten by hyaenas on the way, and he had been caught
with the remainder and brought in a prisoner. Both his
88
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
own and the Njemps chief, whose sheep he had stolen,
urged that Baker should have him hanged to save further
trouble, but the final sentence was a sound flogging and
two days in which to clear out of the country.
As soon as this little business was settled, we made
for the northern slope of the hill, through the askaris
lines, and past a boat-house, where a group of Nubian
women were chattering and laughing merrily as they bent
over their washing, or filled their jars with water.
After descending the slope, our way lay over nearly
half-a-mile of marshy ground covered with reeds and
grass, where Baker's cattle were grazing, together with
a tame eland, an ostrich, and a Grant's gazelle, the latter
a beautiful little beast with its fawn coat and dark black
bands. Close to a mud shoal, where crocodiles were
always basking, we found the collapsible boat, and four
of the native craft peculiar to Baringo. These are built
of the stems of the ambatch, an annual fibrous plant which
is known among the natives as Kirongeet when it is
growing, and Siepe when mature and dry. It springs
up after the rains, close to the edge of the lake, and
attains a height of about five feet. Its flowers are said
to be large and bright orange in colour, but at this time
of year there was nothing to be seen but the young shoots
just appearing above ground, and the round, dry,
brownish stems of last year's plants, the latter of which
measured three inches in diameter near the ground, but
tapered almost to a point at the top.
When perfectly dry, the natives find the stems admirably
adapted for boat building, for, being filled with very
light pith, they are a mere feather-weight. The boats
are built to hold two and are about 89 inches in length
A NATIVE BOAT. 89
by 29 wide. At every second layer, the ambatch wood
is bound together with the inner bark of the thorn tree,
and the seams are caulked with the drift vegetable matter
to be found on the edge of the lake. The sides are about
17Í inches deep, but the bows are both higher and wider
than the stern. Little squares, made of ambatch stems
tied tightly together and placed in the bottom, serve as a
seat.
Njemps women with loads of hippo meat.
The craft are propelled, at a speed of about three miles
an hour, by a couple of paddles, made of thin, concave,
pieces of wood, 13^ inches long and 4I inches wide. These
are shaped something like a scoop, rounded at the lower
end, while the other is slightly pointed, to give a better
grip in the palm of the hand. As the native paddles,
he immerses nearly the whole of his hand in the water.
Although I have often seen ambatch wood used for rafts
9°
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
both on the Blue and White Nile, this is the only attempt
to fashion a boat from it that I have ever come across.
Through the kindness of Baker, who, on leaving Baringo,
gave me his boat, I was able to present one of these curious
craft to the British Museum.
C had a couple of shots at hippo from the boat,
as we were paddling round to the River Molo, where we
waded ashore. From the banks, I spent some time
shooting crocodile, and was told, when I returned, that
C liad meanwhile managed to kill a fine hippo. It
appeared that a herds-boy had discovered the beast asleep
in some bushes, and had immediately taken the news
to C , who, however, could not make out what the
lad wished to say.
At last they found Baker, who acted as interpreter.
By approaching very close to the bushes, and lying almost
flat on the ground, C got a glimpse of the animal,
and shot it through the head. It turned out to be a
splendid old bull, but very much cut about, probably
from a mighty fight with a rival the night before, which
had exhausted it so much that it had not returned to
the lake, but slept on shore. When the animal was skinned
and cut up, a number of the Njemps women carried it
up to the boma, where Baker superintended the division
of the meat, and the head skin was handed over to some
Sudanese to prepare.
One of the few remaining days before C 's departure,
was spent on the largest island in the lake, the most
easterly of the little group lying in the southern half of it.
It is about a mile and a half long and a mile wide, and,
like the whole of the district round, is of volcanic origin.
In fact, the island has all the appearance of a sunken
A VOLCANIC LAKE.
9'
crater, consisting, as it does, of a couple of ridges separated
by a narrow strip of flat land, and bounded at each end by
a little bay.
We landed at a place called Labourri, where, quite
close to the edge of the lake, a little bright green plot,
some 80 yards square, was studded with pools smelling
slightly of sulphur, and yellow patches of discoloured
Preparing a hippo scalp.
grass. It was the " Place of the Hot Springs " discovered
by Baker, and there were nearly fifty of these pools ex¬
tending down to and under the surface of the lake—
another strong indication of volcanic formation. The
water in the largest, which measures ten feet in diameter,
is so beautifully clear that, although over twenty feet in
depth, you can see the bubbles rising from the bottom.
Some of the smaller ones throw out an intermittent jet of
steam, while others are continuously on the boil. When
92
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
we saw them, none of the jets were over 18 inches, but
after heavy rain, the springs are said to be much more
active.
Perhaps the most interesting feature was a steam blow¬
hole among the tumbled rocks of the hill-side, behind
the springs, which hissed and boomed incessantly.
On nearing the northern end of the island, it was curious
to see the trees on the shore partly submerged, showing
that either they have sunk, or the water has at one time
receded to an even lower level than its present one. Some
of the older natives told us they could remember the time
when it was possible to walk from the southern end of
the lake to the islands, where now there is comparatively
deep water, while, on the other hand, the northern end
is much shallower than formerly.
Near the shore of the northern bay, lies the largest of
the villages, while three smaller ones are scattered about
the island. These are only occupied when the flocks
are being grazed on the sides of the ridges, far from the
main village. A permanent population of some fourteen
Njemps families, known as the " Islanders," inhabits the
island, and the people subsist chiefly on the fish they
catch in the lake and the milk from their flocks.
The islands have long served the harassed and persecuted
Njemps of the mainland as a place of refuge, and have
been largely instrumental in preventing the entire destruc¬
tion of the tribe, by the constant raids of hostile peoples.
At the approach of an enemy, the Njemps women, children,
and cattle are ferried over into safety, leaving no boat
or raft behind them, there to wait until either their foes
have been repulsed, or have retired with all they can lay
hands on.
COOKING WITHOUT FIRE.
93
Lunch that day had been cooked in one of the boiling
pools, the fish taking only five minutes, and as usual we
did justice to it. From the very beginning of our visit,
Baker had been highly amused at our prodigious appetites.
C 's trencher exploits so especially struck him at one
luncheon, that he sarcastically offered him a biscuit at
Baker cooking fish in hot springs, Baringo Island.
the end of the meal, and was much taken aback at the
quiet reply, " Thanks, I should like one." A freshfy
opened two-pound tin was produced, and C fell to
with such a zest that hardly one was left. It was only
then that he realised that Baker and I were nearly ex¬
ploding with suppressed merriment at this display of his
marvellous capacity.
94
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
We were told that a cow had once fallen into the largest
spring, and before means could be devised to hoist it out,
the unfortunate beast was cooked to a turn, and there
was nothing to do but sit down to an impromptu feast.
The natives complained that the baboons and large
snakes which had their homes among the rocks, were
constantly exacting toll on their flocks, and they begged
us to shoot some of them. It was too late for us to attempt
it that day, but on a subsequent occasion, I spent the best
part of two days on the island for this purpose. I failed,
however, to find any of the snakes, and, after cutting my
hands and knees scaling the sharp lava rocks in quest
of baboons, only managed to kill one of them.
It was during this visit that I spent a night on
the island. The full moon lit up a strange scene.
Close to the shore a school of hippos broke the silvery
surface of the lake, as they gambolled in the warm water,
while a pair of goat-sucker birds skimmed low over the
hot springs to feed on the buzzing mosquitoes. Every
now and then a fountain of water would rise from one
of the little pools to fall back glistening in the moonlight,
and when at last I dropped off to sleep, an extra loud
report of the escaping steam would make me start and
wonder whether the whole place was going to be rent
asunder.
It was not till late in the afternoon, that we succeeded
in getting away. We could see a storm brewing in the
north, and Baker hurried us on, anxious to get back before
it struck the lake and imperilled his tiny canvas craft.
Gradually the wind grew louder and the ripple on the
surface of the lake gave place to little chopping waves,
so we decided to make for a small fishing village not so far
A STORM.
95
south as the station, and more than half an hour nearer
by boat.
We waded ashore and walked to the boma, guided by
the light of a huge bonfire which Ellison, the Sergeant
Instructor of the station, had built on the highest rock
as a beacon.
96
CHAPTER VIH.
Dassies—C leaves for the Coast—Searching for giraffe—Find a lion's larder
and bait it—Lose a track and sight a fine kudu—Put up and kill the lion—A
vexatious incident—A good chance for lion spoilt—Ant traps—A long shot
at kudu—A lost track—A lucky guess—A fine trophy—Lose a record head —
My second kudu—A party of leopard—Return to Baringo—A day's shooting
on the lake—A narrow shave—A hippo fight.
The grass hut which C and I occupied at Baringo
was built close to the precipitous side of a rock facing the
lake, and in the early morning it was a pretty sight to
watch the dassies, or rock rabbits as they are more gene¬
rally called, scudding about among the clefts. They
looked like big guinea-pigs, and some varied almost as
much in colour, but the majority were a slatey-
brown, matching the cliffs they lived among. As no one
ever shot them there, they were extremely tame, and
we left them in peace, but secured some specimens from
another mass of rocks close by.
A reply at length came to C 's wire, to the effect
that, if he went straight to the Coast, and his trophies
were sent down in a sealed van, there would be no trouble
about passing through to Mombassa. As he decided to
start on the morrow, a busy day lay before us.
Not only had the trophies to be packed and men told
off to accompany him, but what was far more trouble-
C LEAVES FOR MOM BASS A
97
some, we had to settle the accounts of forty-two out of
the seventy Swahili porters we had brought from the Coast,
for the term of their engagement was now over and they
could not resist the temptation of returning to Mombassa
with C , to spend their wages. At length a guide was
engaged, and all arrangements completed.
C and I had a last meal together, and in the after¬
noon I saw my friend off on his first march homeward,
feeling very sorry to say good-bye to such a good sports¬
man and pleasant companion as he had proved to be during
the four months we had spent together. I had tried to
persuade him to continue the trip, at all events as far
as Mumias, but he had arranged to return to England
by May, and, as it was, would arrive home a month later
than he had anticipated. He had done well in bagging
good specimens of the different varieties of animals we
had come across, although bad luck had prevented him
from adding either lion or elephant to his game list.
The day after C left, as I was working along the
banks of the Molo, trying to get a shot at a crocodile, a
rustling noise in a deep hippo path, overhung with grass,
caught my ear. I ran forward just in time to see a leopard
bound away, but was not quick enough to get a shot. It
had evidently been lying up in the hope of intercepting
a goat or sheep as the flocks were driven down to water.
Just about this time, Baker learnt from the natives
that some giraffe had been seen within two days of the
boma, the bulls of which were extremely black, and as
this was said to be one of the distinctive marks of the
five-horned species, I determined to set out in quest
of them. Since nearly all my men had accompanied C
to the rail at Nakuru, I attempted to hire some others
7
9S
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
from an Arab trader who was waiting to move up country,
and offered him half as much again as he paid his men, but,
as he demanded three times this amount, the transaction
fell through. However, I settled that if I were success¬
ful in getting a giraffe, a party of men were to be sent
out to my assistance.
It was after I had climbed the lower ridge of the escarp¬
ment, towards " Kudu Camp," and had set my face north¬
wards, that I managed to bag my first pair of Baringo
mountain reedbuck. I also stopped on the way to stalk
some ostriches, but the birds were far too wary to let me
get near enough for a shot.
That night, and again an hour before dawn, lions roared
close to camp, and as soon as it was light we started in
pursuit. For three and a half hours we followed the track
of two full-grown beasts and a cub, but were unfortunate
enough to lose it on stony ground. Later on we again
picked it up, and were led to a " larder " concealed in a
clump of thick jungle, where were lying the remains of
an impala which the lions had devoured that night. They
themselves had apparently retired to the hills, to lie up
during the heat of the day.
I found out afterwards that my Njemps tracker had
carried off the four shank bones, the tail and jaw of the
impala—practically all that was left of it—as a little deli¬
cacy for his own consumption. In the evening I returned
to the lair, and the syce, who was behind me, declared
that he saw a lion bolt as it caught sight of us, but none
of us set eyes on it again.
I next searched for something to slay, and throw into
the den, in the hope that if the lions returned and found
a meal awaiting them, they might remainfm the [neigh-
Ulli" "3lt*
s_i>- - ■"
A LITTLE HERD OF ZEBRA. 99
bourhood. It was soon my good fortune to drop an im¬
pala at the first shot, and after the head and skin had
been quickly taken off, I sent the carcase back as bait.
At dawn I was back on the spot again, but was disgusted
to discover that the meal had only been provided for such
scavengers as hyaenas. While crossing a long valley
My Baringo lion
which ran up into the hills, I came upon a single large
lion track ; we followed it to the top of the first ridge, where
we lost it.
We were resting and wondering which direction to try,
when a little herd of zebra came trotting over the ridge
straight towards us. The leader was an especially fine
beast, but it looked such an easy shot that I was not suf-
7*
IOO
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
ficiently careful and my first bullet was placed too low.
It took two more to finish it, and then, after setting the
men to work to skin the carcase, I cautiously searched
some masses of rock, where it looked likely the lion might
be lurking.
I worked round to the next ridge, from which I made
out, with the glasses, three kudu bulls grazing on the hill
opposite, and a moment later, another, a splendid beast,
feeding a little apart. Bedoui, my gun-bearer, who had
replaced Mary Jane, when that worthy returned to the
Coast, had forgotten the water-bottle, so I sent him back
for it, while I went slowly on alone.
It had just struck me that the small wooded valley, the
steep side of which I was descending, was a very likely
place for a lion to lie up in, when a big tawny-maned fellow
trotted out of some thick shrub up the opposite side.
He had evidently been disturbed by the stones I had dis¬
lodged. Quite 250 yards separated us, and in a few
moments he would be over the top of the ridge, when
I knew that it was ten to one we should not be able to
track him. I therefore opened fire at once with my .256 as
he showed between the thorn bushes.
At the first shot he stopped and turned, the second
sent him spinning round in a towering passion, the third
showed him where they were coming from, and he stood
facing me, growling savagely.
At the fourth bullet he came to the conclusion that the
locality was unhealthy and slunk off up hill, while the
next knocked him over.
Uttering a roar of mingled pain and rage, and fiercely
biting his own paw, the brute rolled back and died. Just
as I had finished firing, Bedoui, attracted by the noise,
A MID-DAY THUNDER-STORM. 101
ran up to see what was afoot, and looked very astonished
when I pointed out the body of the lion. Rain began
to fall before the skinning was over, and I covered up
my rifle, and moved some 50 yards over the ridge to see
if the kudu were still in sight.
At first I- could only discover the three bulls, and was
wondering where the big one had gone to, when there
was a rattle of stones and his splendid spiral horns showed
close to me. He saw me, but without seeming to
recognise his enemy—man, for he trotted off some 200
yards, and stood looking back at me for several seconds,
offering a simply perfect shot.
How I cursed my folly in breaking my rule never to
stir without a rifle ! I hurried back to my men, seized
my .256, and followed him right across the wide valley
and up the opposite hill, ignoring a reedbuck which stood
gazing at me 30 yards off, and a couple of klipspringer
which jumped on to a rock close by, and even let me get
within 15 yards of them before walking slowly away. But,
as a rain storm set in, and it grew too dark to see the sights, I
had to abandon the stalk and return empty-handed to camp.
The following day we had a hot climb after kudu, re¬
sulting in one long shot, which I missed. A mid-da)'
thunder-storm had soaked us through, and it did not
improve my temper, on reaching camp, to find that the
lion-skin had been very badly prepared, while the zebra
was slightly tainted.
I was obliged to spend the rest of the day applying
preservatives, and trying everything I could think of
to save them. Lions again roared several times after
dark, not far from camp, apparently going to and fro
between the plain and the hills. The natives were par-
I02
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
ticularly stupid, and declared they could find no pugs
in the direction in which I had heard the beasts pass. I
therefore spent all the morning searching a wide extent
of country, further afield, but found nothing, until, on
my way back to camp, the well-marked spoor of a large
lion lay across the very ground where I had been assured
there was nothing to be seen. As soon as I had looked
to the lion-skin, I again left camp with a couple of Njemps
trackers, and took up the trail. It guided us into some
thick bushes, where the animal had evidently pottered
about from one to another, as though seeking a shady
spot to rest.
I expected to sight the lion every moment, and held
my rifle ready, when one of the trackers made some re¬
mark to his companion in a loud whisper, flung his spears
on the ground with a clatter, and stooped to drink from
a puddle. It was done before I could protest. I moved
forward a few paces, and there, within 20 yards of the
pool, was the place where the lion had been lying on a
bed of soft grass, still so warm that he could only have
left it a moment before. My feelings are better imagined
than described.
We took up the track as quickly as possible, but the
animal had soon broken from a walk into a gallop, and
had cleared out straight for the hills. To make matters
worse, the other Njemps had caught sight of a specially
fine mane, which, judging from the size of the pugs, I could
well believe. In the meantime men had been scouring
the country in every direction in search of giraffe, and
reported that the animals had all left the district.
A number of Suk had wandered into the neighbourhood
to graze their cattle and flocks, and were busy building
Photo by]
An ant hill Baringo plain,
[Mr. F. C. Cobb.
I02
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
ticularly stupid, and declared they could find no pugs
in the direction in which I had heard the beasts pass. I
therefore spent all the morning searching a wide extent
of country, further afield, but found nothing, until, on
my way back to camp, the well-marked spoor of a large
lion lay across the very ground where I had been assured
there was nothing to be seen. As soon as I had looked
to the lion-skin, I again left camp with a couple of Njemps
trackers, and took up the trail. It guided us into some
thick bushes, where the animal had evidently pottered
about from one to another, as though seeking a shady
spot to rest.
I expected to sight the lion every moment, and held
my rifle ready, when one of the trackers made some re¬
mark to his companion in a loud whisper, flung his spears
on the ground with a clatter, and stooped to drink from
a puddle. It was done before I could protest. I moved
forward a few paces, and there, within 20 yards of the
pool, was the place where the lion had been lying on a
bed of soft grass, still so warm that he could only have
left it a moment before. My feelings are better imagined
than described.
We took up the track as quickly as possible, but the
animal had soon broken from a walk into a gallop, and
had cleared out straight for the hills. To make matters
worse, the other Njemps had caught sight of a specially
fine mane, which, judging from the size of the pugs, I could
well believe. In the meantime men had been scouring
the country in every direction in search of giraffe, and
reported that the animals had all left the district.
A number of Suk had wandered into the neighbourhood
to graze their cattle and flocks, and were busy building
Pholo by] _ [Mr. F. C. COBD.
An ant hill Baringo plain.
104
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
curious little huts, or shelters, of boughs, daubed over
with moistened clay, at the foot of every ant-hill. I was
a good deal puzzled as to what they could be intended for,
as they appeared too low for anyone to crawl into. The
builders explained that with the commencement of the
rains, the white-ants took to flight, and these erections
were to prevent their escape. The natives visited them
every morning, and collected the fat, grub-like insects,
when they had cast their wings, eating many of them
raw, and carrying off the remainder to roast.
My next attempt at kudu proved in the end much
more successful. The Njemps hunters unexpectedly struck
a herd, and I hurried forward to find that the animals
had scented danger and were moving away.
I immediately recognised the bull as the one which my
own carelessness had lost me a few days back, and, dis¬
gusted at missing a second chance of so fine a trophy, I
fired three shots, although the distance was nearly 300
yards. At the last bullet he separated from the cows
and made off alone. At first we could not trace him,
but finally, in a valley filled with thick undergrowth, we
came on the track, and decided that he must be wounded
and was hiding from us, as these animals often do. In
the hope that he would appear later on, I sat for an hour,
and was then rewarded by seeing the tips of his horns
slowly emerging from a dense strip of jungle. A couple
of shots at long range found and crippled him, and as he
was standing under a tree, I finished him. His horns
measured nearly 54 inches in length, and over 40 from tip
to tip. I was especially pleased at my success, as I had
never expected to set eyes on the animal again, much
less to bring him down.
A PARTY OF LEOPARDS. 105
Early one morning, while searching the hill-side with
the glasses, I spotted a bull kudu with the finest head
I have ever seen, lying under a small tree. It was a diffi¬
cult place to reach, and the Njemps tracker very nearly
spoiled the stalk, by bringing us out directly opposite
the beast, but fortunately he had got up, and was feeding
head away from us. Soon he vanished over the top of
the ridge. With the greatest possible caution, I crept
across the side of the hill, when, suddenly, a spur fowl
rose, with a great crackling and rustling of wings, almost
at my feet. I ran forward at once, but only just saw
the tips of the kudu's horns, as he dashed off straight down
hill.
Some hours later, we caught another glimpse of him
far away, but after that never saw him again. Late in
the afternoon a little herd of kudu, containing one fair-
sized bull and several smaller ones, came quite close to
camp. They were feeding very much apart, and while
I was trying to crawl in among them, a cow posted
herself in the way and it was a long time before she let
me move any further forward. At last I commanded
a clear sight of the biggest bull as it emerged from the
bushes, and killed it with the first shot.
The following day I started back again to the boma.
Suddenly, in the slanting rays of the rising sun, I saw what
I thought was a troop of five lions working along the hill¬
side. I jumped down from my mule and tried to cut them
off, but they had seen us and made off along a valley leading
to the main hills. By this time I had discovered from their
spots, which, in the peculiar light, had almost escaped
my notice, that they were a party of leopards.
I set off in pursuit and soon out-distanced my men.
io6 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
From a spur of the cone-shaped hill by " Kudu Camp "
I was lucky enough to see the animals trotting past far
below me. As I whistled loudly one of them stopped
and looked up ; my first shot hit it, and it bounded away.
Another halted for a moment and I knocked it over, while
a long shot at a galloper only just missed. My last bullet,
aimed at a fourth beast standing at extreme range, struck
the ground beneath its belly. We found the second animal
I had fired at, lying in a small nullah, just breathing, and
I gave it a quick finisher with the .400, for a wounded
leopard can be as nasty as any animal I know. I then
took up the blood trail of the first, and came upon it
lying concealed in a little clump of grass, which did not
look as if it could have hidden a rabbit. Like the other
it was breathing, but by the time we had finished skin¬
ning its comrade, was dead.
At the boma, I found a letter from C , to say that
as certain stores had not arrived, my men were sitting
at Nakuru station till they should turn up—a piece of news
extremely annoying in view of my being so short-handed.
The next few days were spent shooting on the lake, and
in the neighbourhood of the boma. Several times Baker
took me out in the little collapsible boat to have a shot
at hippo. It was awkward work. The tiny craft only
just held the two of us, and even then required the greatest
care ; the brutes kept their heads above water for
a very short time, and even on the smoothest day, the
ripple on the lake and the blinding glare of the sun added
greatly to the difficulty of hitting so small a mark. Still,
after many failures, I one day succeeded in wounding
two, the second of which sank at once, and a moment
later we were nearly thrown from the boat. Swinging
A FIGHT BETWEEN HIPPO. 107
myself round as far as possible, I saw the beast's great
head rise within a foot of the after part of the boat, and
fired into it, while Baker paddled for dear life. It was a
narrow shave ; a few inches more and we should have
been overturned far out in the lakè, when, even if we had
succeeded in reaching shore without being attacked by
hippo, it must have meant the loss of our rifles. As we
were busy baling out the water we had shipped, our at¬
tention was attracted by a great commotion in the distance.
Through whirling clouds of spray we made out two huge
hippos having a deadly encounter. They threw them¬
selves half out of the water, lashing it into foam, as they
tried to gash each other with their white gleaming tusks.
After a fight of nearly half an hour, one of them got the
worst of it and fled, closely pursued by his antagonist.
He plunged through the water, sometimes below it,
sometimes throwing himself well above the surface, in
his mad endeavours to escape. It was a grand sight,
and I wished we could have got closer, but a pair of in¬
furiated hippos are not desirable as near neighbours.
About two hours after I had shot the beast that had so
nearly overturned our boat, Baker spotted its body floating.
At first such a very small patch of hide appears above
the surface of the water, that it is difficult to make it out
among the ripples. Soon the other carcase showed, and
happily for us the wind blowing in our direction, was
drifting the bodies our way. When they were fairly
close to the shore, Baker rowed out, attached a rope to
their feet, and towed them in till they grounded, when the
natives rolled them to land.
io8
CHAPTER IX.
An abandoned baby—Fishing at Baringo—A fish that feeds on land—A living
tally of the slain—A Suk chief's death-bed Suk in a dog-box—Post on the
Ribo hills—Poisoned honey—Fight with the Jablulail—Straits of the
garrison—Abandonment of the post—Loss of British prestige—Abyssinian
aggression—Baringo boma established—A native's view of barbed wire—
Description of the new boma.
Whf.n we went down to the lake end to shoot, we always
took one of the askaris pal tents with us, to shelter us
from the mid-day sun or sudden showers. One afternoon,
on my return to it, after bagging a big crocodile and an
iguana nearly 4 feet long, I found my men much excited
by the discovery of a baby boy, not more than two years
old, lying among the reeds at the edge of the lake.
They had come across him just in time, for the water
was lapping partly over his body and he was benumbed
and almost dead with cold. The heat of a big fire, however,
and the rubbing of kindly, if none too gentle, hands, had
soon brought warmth back to his tiny limbs, and when I
saw him, the little fellow was crowing and prattling con¬
tentedly, while the men fed him on such indigestible
titbits as half-cooked meat and hot rice.
The abandonment of a child seemed to be a most unusual
occurrence among the natives, for there was much dis¬
cussion and speculation as to the reason of it. Their
TRACKER'S STORIES. 109
most likely conjecture seemed to me to be that it was
the child of a Kamasia mother, who, probably on the
brink of starvation herself, had, in her desperation and
misery, preferred to see her son die, rather than that he
should suffer from hunger. Her courage, however, had
been unequal to the task, and, instead of killing the child
with her own hands, she had relinquished him to the croco¬
diles, or the lions whose fresh pugs were nearly always
to be seen near the lake.
Finally one of the Njemps trackers declared his intention
of taking the baby home with him and adopting it. This
incident naturally led the men to recount one strange tale
after another ; how the body of the only man who had
been killed in the lake by crocodiles, floated ashore uneaten ;
on another occasion, they had found the carcase of a full-
grown lion bitten clean in two by a hippo.
This latter story started a discussion as to how it would
be possible to get at the lions which so often visited this
end of the lake. They said that the animals travelled too
far for anyone to track them up, and that a night spent
over a kill by the edge of the water would certainly result
in a bad bout of fever, even if the sportsman were fortunate
enough to escape the dangers of wandering hippo and
crocodile.
The method of fishing in Lake Baringo is rather curious,
and we often stopped to watch the natives at work. Each
fisherman possesses his own little artificial reed-patch,
which he has made by sticking the reed-stems into the
mud of the lake bottom, a few feet apart. He is armed
with a rod 8 feet long, to the end of which is fastened some
2 yards of aloe-fibre line, and his hook, which is very
strong and measures an inch across, is sickle-shaped, with
I IO
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
a sharpened point but no barb. Suspended from his
neck he carries a little gourd holding a supply of dragon
flies with their wings plucked off, for bait. These are
tied to the hook, three or four at a time, with a single
fibre drawn from à knot of them which is fastened near
the butt of the rod. The rest of his outfit consists of a
short length of cord round his waist, and a small knob-
kerry.
To catch the fish, the native lowers the baited hook
alongside each reed in succession, and directly a bite is
felt, jerks his catch right out of the water, swings it round
with a circular movement, and grasps it with his left hand.
He kills it by a blow on the head with the knobkerry,
threads it on to the line round his waist, rebaits his hook,
and repeats the process.
The fish, a sort of perch, with very large mouths, are
good eating, and weigh up to 8 lbs. The natives declare
that there is a much larger fish in the lake, which, at
certain seasons of the year, lands, and feeds on the young
grass.
My English-speaking boy's term of engagement was now
at an end, and he left me for the Coast. At first his absence
was extremely trying, but it forced me to learn some
Swahili, which afterwards proved of great service.
Comoto, the chief of the Suk, was often in the boma, and
through Raker, I was able to gather a good deal of infor¬
mation from him, as well as to make a complete vocabulary
of Suk names for animals (see appendix). I had noticed
curious little tattoo marks on the bodies of their warriors,
and Comoto explained that they were a tally of the number
of people the men had killed. For the first man slain a
series of lines of little scars is made on the right arm by
Comoto, a Suk chief.
I IO
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
a sharpened point but no barb. Suspended from ]
neck he carries a little gourd holding a supply of drag
flies with their wings plucked off, for bait. These e
tied to the hook, three or four at a time, with a sin¡
fibre drawn from a knot of them which is fastened ne
the butt of the rod. The rest of his outfit consists of
short length of cord round his waist, and a small kno
kerry.
To catch the fish, the native lowers the baited ho'
alongside each reed in succession, and directly a bite
felt, jerks his catch right out of the water, swings it roui
with a circular movement, and grasps it with his left han
He kills it by a blow on the head with the knobkeri
threads it on to the line round his waist, rebaits his hoc
and repeats the process.
The fish, a sort of perch, with very large mouths, a
good eating, and weigh up to 8 lbs. The natives decla
that there is a much larger fish in the lake, which,
certain seasons of the year, lands, and feeds on the youi
grass.
My English-speaking boy's term of engagement was nc
at an end, and he left me for the Coast. At first his absen
was extremely trying, but it forced me to learn sor
Swahili, which afterwards proved of great service.
Comoto, the chief of the Suk, was often in the boma, ai
through Raker, I was able to gather a good deal of infc
mation from him, as well as to make a complete vocabula
of Suk names for animals (see appendix). I had notic
curious little tattoo marks on the bodies of their warrio:
and Comoto explained that they were a tally of the numt
of people the men had killed. For the first man slain
series of lines of little scars is made on the right arm 1
Comoto, a Suk chief.
112
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
thrusting a needle through the flesh, and snipping off
with a knife the piece so raised. For the second victim,
a patch of similar scars is done on the shoulder ; for the
third, on the right side of the chest, and so on. The left
side is similarly decorated according to the women killed.
When the man's body is covered to the waist, with the
exception of a space down the sides which is left free, his
own decorations are considered complete, and he con¬
tinues the record on the bodies of his wives.
Comoto's predecessor, Chumeringo, when on his death¬
bed, sent for Baker, as he wanted to say good-bye before
setting out on the long journey. Baker found him in his
hut, stretched on a pile of skins, with his women clustered
round him, while a continual stream of young men were
rushing from his tent door at top speed to a distant point,
and returning to throw themselves breathless on the ground
before him. The idea seemed to be that the old man's
laboured respiration would be eased by their loss of breath.
For the same purpose numbers of oxen were being
slaughtered. The old chief, who was quite collected,
seemed very glad to see Baker, for whom he entertained
feelings of sincere friendship, and commended the Suk
to his care, that they might be defended from their enemies
the Turkana.
Baker told me that some time before my visit he had
taken Comoto and a party of his men down to the railway.
At first they travelled in an open truck, and after at¬
tempting to get an idea of the speed of the train by wetting
their fingers and holding them up as they do to test a wind,
they asked if their best runner might try conclusions.
There was great jubilation when they saw him get away
at the start, but it soon gave place to surprise as the train
HIS LEGS BETRAYED HIM.
"3
quickly overtook him and left him behind " as though
standing still."
The party seemed to find the heat so oppressive, that
Baker told them they might get into a horse-box that
was on the train, but the station-master, who knew nothing
of Baker's directions, saw them clambering in by the window,
and had them promptly hauled out. They were now full
Suk (showing tattoo marks).
of trouble and perplexity, as they did not wish to disobey
Baker's orders, and could not tell what to do. At last
they spotted a dog-box, and crawled into it, the inter¬
preter, who was a big fellow with very long legs, coming
last. Fortunately, before the train again started, Baker
went round to see how they were getting on, dis¬
covered their whereabouts by catching sight of these legs
sticking right out of the box, and soon put matters right.
The outing evidently made a great impression on them,
8
114
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
for they told Baker it' was " very great magic " an'
wondered why he did not " bring a railway to the boma."
While I was in the neighbourhood of Lake Baringo, ;
party of Suk were sent down to Mombassa to witness th
coronation festivities. The thing that had astonished then
most was the lightning speed with which the flags am
decorations were hauled down when news came that th
" Great Sultan " was ill. They were taken out in a gun
boat, saw a big gun fired, and a mine exploded unde
water, all of which was to them wonderful evidence of th
white man's power.
During my stay at Baringo I picked up some informatioi
as to how and why the post had been established, bu
it was not till nearly a year later that one of the officer
in the Uganda Rifles gave me the details upon which th«
following account is based.
Baker had received orders from the Commissioner, Si
Harry Johnson, to set up a post on the Ribo hills, lyinj
between Lakes Baringo and Sugota. He was given 2;
porters and a police force formed from the Nubian mutineer
of 50 men, armed with Remingtons and Sniders.
As soon as the boma was built, an attempt was mad'
to open trade with the Jabtulail, a warlike hill tribe, hu
all overtures were only met by volleys of poisoned arrows
Assistance being procured from the Ravine Station, th'
aggressors were punished, and the chief professed sorrov
for his past misdeeds and made profuse promises of futur
friendship. The exchange values of trade goods for grab
were duly fixed, but, when it came to actual business
evasive replies were always given, and as time went by
no corn was sent in, although Baker paid a couple of per
sonal. visits to the chief's village. As a result of the las
POISONED HONEY. 115
of these, the Jabtulail sent Baker a jar of honey, with a
message that the grain was ready for his men to fetch,
but there was a peculiar taste about the present, and an
attack of retching soon confirmed his suspicions that it
was poisoned. A Nubian woman, who found and ate
some of it that had been thrown away, suffered terrible
agony and almost died.
Baker set off at once to seize the chief and fetch the corn.
Suk warriors
The former kept out of sight, and there was no sign of
the grain, but word was sent that Baker's people could
cut the ripened crop for themselves. To make arrange¬
ments for this, Baker returned to the boma, but was pros¬
trated by an attack of fever, so, unable to return himself,
he dispatched the Sergeant-Major and 43 men—double
the previous escort—to cut and bring back the corn. The
party was surrounded by overwhelming numbers of the
S*
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Jabtulail and speared to a man, after which the enemy
descended on the boma.
One division drove off the cattle, and while Baker was
trying to re-capture them, another forced the zariba,
broke into his house, and looted his personal property.
He was wounded in the forearm by an arrow, but saved
himself and four of his men from the effects of poison by
hypodermic injections of arsenic. The first messenger
sent out with an appeal for help, was caught and killed,
but a second was more fortunate, and managed to get
through to Njemps and the Ravine. In response, 200
Njemps spearmen, and a crowd of bowmen, marched to
the relief of the boma in record time, driving with them
herds of goats as food for the now starving garrison.
A sharp fight on their arrival drove off the enemy, who
had been maintaining a perpetual siege of the boma for
five days. Baker meanwhile had had a hard and anxious
time to keep the place from being rushed. One of his arms
was powerless, and he had but a handful of the remaining
Nubian askaris, a few Swahili porters and personal servants,
with whom to keep back hordes of bloodthirsty savages
flushed with recent victory.
To make matters worse, the widows of the slain soldiers
shed their clothing, and, covering themselves with ashes
as a sign of mourning, gave themselves up to frenzied
lamentations, absolutely refusing to aid the defenders
in any way. Although the Jabtulail, now that the boma was
strengthened, made no further attacks for a time, they
still refused to bring in the arms of the fallen askaris, or
to entertain any proposals with respect to trade. All the
cattle had been looted, game was very scarce in the neigh¬
bourhood of the post, owing to a prolonged drought, and
ON THE VERGE OF STARVATION. 117
the supply of goats was nearly done, so Baker set off to
Shemoni to make arrangements for the commissariat.
On his return, accompanied by a band of armed porters
with droves of cattle and sheep, he found his people in
a piteous state of starvation, having at last had to keep
body and soul together with a broth made by boiling down
A party of Suk.
the skulls and hides of the animals he had shot. The enemy
made two more determined attacks, but were repulsed
with great loss, and the station was left in peace for some
seven months. In the meantime, the people subsisted on
the cattle and sheep brought from the Ravine, and any
game that Baker managed to shoot.
In December, he again visited Shemoni, to arrange for
an expedition to be sent to deal out punishment to the
Iis IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Jabtulail, and while returning, heard that two large war
parties of Turkana were within two days' march of the
northern end of the lake. He warned a sportsman shooting
in the neighbourhood to quit for his life, sent back urgent
messages for help, and pushed on by forced marches to the
relief of the boma. This he strengthened so much that
the Turkana, after raiding Njemps, returned northwards,
making a wide detour to pass on either side of the post.
A fortnight later, two and a half companies of Uganda
Rifles, with machine guns and a large body of friendly
levies, arrived. The force severely punished the Jabtulail,
but was not considered strong enough to follow the Turkana
into their own country and teach them a lesson. Orders
were now received to evacuate the post, which was burnt
to the ground before the force retreated to Baringo. To
add to Baker's chagrin, his lack of porters forced him to
resign his trophies, with the exception of a few picked
specimens, to the flames that were devouring the boma
he had so bravely held against the enemy.
There could be but one result to these extraordinary
measures on the part of the Government. The news of
the abandonment of the post spread far and wide, and
not only weakened the prestige of the white man among
the different native tribes, but also encouraged the Abys¬
sinian raiders to press still further south. In my journey
northward from Mount Elgon, I had ample proof of the
bad impression this decision of the Government had pro¬
duced. The natives naturally could only regard the
action as a confession of the white man's inability to hold
his own against the tribes, and among the Turkana it
is now a common boast that they " have only to show
themselves for the white man to burn down his boma and
RIBO POST ABANDONED.
119
run away." Baker had constantly received insulting
messages, to the effect that they were only waiting till
he -collected enough cattle for it to be worth their while
to swoop down and capture them. It is a matter for grave
apprehension that Abyssinia is beginning to be regarded
as a great power by the natives of the British Protectorates.
Raiders from that country frequently descend on them, live
on their flocks and herds, and compel them to disclose their
buried ivory. In addition, they make a practice oí looting
safaris which trade under license from the Uganda Ad¬
ministrative, and sometimes even carry off the men as
prisoners. And the Government makes absolutely no
effort to check them !
For some time after the destruction of the Ribo post,
Baker settled down in a temporary borna on the western
side of Lake Baringo, with a view to exploring the country
and selecting a suitable site for the new station. This
was eventually built on a rocky hill close to the edge of
the south-eastern side of the lake, and although, from its
proximity to marshy ground, it was a somewhat feverish
spot, it could easily be defended against an enemy, which was
the main object Baker had in view. The Baringo boma
is surrounded by a strong wall, with posts built into it, on
which barbed wire is stretched. While Baker was busy
erecting this wire, some of the Njemps were overheard
making sarcastic remarks about the " feebleness of the
string he was putting up on sticks."
He quietly suggested that one of them should try to get
through the " string," whereat two promptly dashed at
it, and it took some half-dozen of their companions to
extract them, torn and bleeding. After that their belief
in Baker's sanity went up considerably.
I20
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Within the enclosure is Baker's thatched house, the walls
built of stone set in mud, the two rooms divided by a wide
passage, which, together with a deep verandah running
right round it, insures as much coolness in the house as
the climate permits. Near it stands the large wattle and
grass hut where I was lodged, while, a little beyond, lie
the office and store.
The cattle and sheep pens separate these from the askaris
lines, which cover the northern part of the hill. Their
dwellings are circular wattle and daub huts, standing
close together, with conical thatched roofs.
At the foot of the rock, on the eastern side, a stretch
of plain has been cleared of bushes and stones to form a
parade ground for the askaris. The waters of the lake
almost wash the northern end of the hill, so that, in case
of siege, it would be very difficult for an enemy to cut
off the supply. Although this water is sweet and clear, it
it apt to cause fever among any but natives of the place.
Baker had ascertained the exact range of all the prominent
trees and other objects round the boma, and often, when
a party of natives came in to see him, he would fire a shot
or two at a distant mark, sometimes choosing the crocodiles
which basked on a mud shoal some 800 yards away, just
to show the sort of reception an enemy might expect.
121
CHAPTER X.
Leave to shoot in the Reserve refused.—Hair-splitting regulations—Baker's pets
—A cat's adventures—I stalk ostrich and walk into a rhino—Giraffe at last
—Death of a cow—How I dried the skin—Lion hunting oryx—A tiresome
track—Rather too close quarters—Dcalh of a lioness—A herd of giraffe—A
plain covered with game.
As soon as I had found that there were none but old giraffe
tracks to be seen in the neighbourhood, and that all these
led northwards, Baker had applied for permission to be
given me to search for them at the northern end of the lake,
and a reply, truly characteristic of East African officialdom,
at length came, to the effect that it was impossible to com¬
ply with this request, as I had only leave to shoot the
animals outside the Reserve. There was therefore nothing
to be done but to sit down and wait till the giraffe should
be moved to cross the mystic boundary, and try mean¬
while to follow the inscrutable reasoning of the official
mind, which, unfortunately, rarely appeals to the ordinary
mortal as being particularly far-seeing. I need hardly point
out that it never occurs to a native to consider whether the
beast he kills is on one side or the other of an imaginary
line, and it appears to be nobody's business to attempt the
futile task of making him do so. The restriction, therefore,
is solely for the annoyance of the white sportsman anxious
122
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
to send specimens home, and the fact that he is spending
his time and money in trying to improve the national
zoological collection, makes no whit of difference to the
officials concerned.
While waiting for news that the giraffe had moved south¬
wards out of the Reserve, I employed the time in adding
to my collection specimens of the smaller game to be found
within easy distance of the station. I was very anxious to
bag one of the little grey monkeys, of which there were a
good many troops along the streams in the neighbourhood,
but they were extremely shy, and it was a long time before
I got a chance at one of their leaders.
One evening, however, I knocked over a good specimen,
and directly afterwards shot a large baboon weighing
nearly 50 lbs., which fell in dense jungle and took some time
to recover. When I returned to pick up the grey monkey,
its body was nowhere to be found. Whether the animal
had been merely stunned and had escaped, or whether a
wild cat or other beast had carried it off, we were unable
to tell.
Baker's curious collection of pets at the boma included
one of these little grey monkeys, two or three young baboons,
and a litter of jackals. The latter were lively little beasts,
who used to spend their time racing round the recesses of a
storehouse, and they greatly resented being brought out to
the daylight for inspection. On one of his journeys from
the Ravine, Baker had set out with a black cat to add to
his pets, but it escaped on the way, and a reward of a sheep
was offered to anyone who would bring it in.
Some three weeks later, two natives turned up with a gaunt,
bedraggled object that Baker had difficulty in recognising
as the sleek, well-fed English puss that had left Shemoni.
BAKER'S PETS.
"3
The men reported that they had found it wandering about
the hills, and after a good deal of trouble had managed to
catch it. They complained that it was quite the worst
kind of animal they had ever tried to get along. First
they endeavoured to lead it on a string, but the animal
either refused to budge, or landed with a wild spring on
their naked bodies and clung like a leech. Then they tried
Baker and jackal pups.
to drive it like a goat, but it took no more kindly to this
method of advancing, and finally the unfortunate creature
was dumped into a leather bag, the neck of which was
firmly tied, and a small boy was persuaded to carry it.
When the cat was shot out at the boma it was nearly
suffocated, and more dead than alive. It afterwards proved
an endless source of amusement to the native visitors to the
boma, more particularly the Suk, who had never seen a
domestic cat, and were lost in astonishment at its docility
124
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
and evident delight when we stroked it. They always took
care, however, to watch proceedings from a safe distance.
A half-wild cat also belonged to the boma, but it was only
seen occasionally. Some time before my arrival Baker had
had two genets, ferret-like animals with long bodies and
still longer tails, but they turned out to be quite untameable
and were eventually released. With one of these, the half-
wild cat had formed an intimate friendship, and one night
as I was writing late, my attention was attracted by the
sound of an animal lapping, and glancing round, I saw the
cat drinking the water from one side of a basin on the floor,
while on the other side, was this curious animal, measuring
some 38 in. in length, and appearing to be nearly all tail.
I kept quite still, and when they had done drinking, they
gambolled round my room two or three times before dis¬
appearing into the night.
Fortune proved kinder than the responsible officials who
had done their utmost to prevent me getting a chance at
the giraffe, for, only a few days after their reply came, news
was brought in that a small herd had moved south, and
just as I was ready to start in pursuit of them, my men
returned from Nakuru. Nzau was sent down to enlist
fifty porters against my return, and I set out. On the
second morning, I spotted two ostriches in the distance,
and as these birds are quite the cutest I know, I left my
gun-bearer behind, and started for them alone, armed with
my .256.
As I was edging towards a thick belt of scrub, two big
ears, twitching among-the grass not twenty paces away,
attracted my attention, and for a moment I thought it was
a zebra lying down. A peep through my glasses, however,
soon showed that it was a big rhino ; luckily its head was
A TOUGH OLD RHINO.
125
away from me and the wind was fair. I turned and beat
a hasty, but noiseless, retreat to the nearest bush, behind
which I crouched, for taking on a tough old rhino at close
quarters with tiny split bullets, which were all I had with
me, was hardly in my programme. The brute, however,
had heard me, and scrambled to his feet, turning his great
My followers, giraffe tracking.
head from side to side, his ears cocked, and his wicked little
eyes peering about trying to spot the disturber.
I lay quiet till he gave up the search and began to feed
straight towards me. Now a rhino in that country, when
he discovers danger close at hand, invariably makes for it,
so I decided on aggressive tactics, and sitting up, got the
sight to bear on the back of his neck, and fired.
126
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Off he went well to my right front, but as he got
abreast of me, either catching my wind or seeing me, he
wheeled round and bore down in my direction. The next
cartridge missed fire. Throwing out the empty case, I
plugged in two bullets as quickly as I could work the bolt,
which made him swerve across my front at fifteen paces
distance.
I let him have another as he passed me, and one at his
stern as an au revoir ; then I breathed again.
The next morning I came across some fresh giraffe tracks
and followed them for three hours, seeing on the way two
single rhino, and two cows with their calves. One old lady
and her child walked straight towards me, and only turned
off just as I feared I should have to fire. She apparently
did not realise what we were, till some way off, and then
sticking up her ugly head, she snorted and went off at a
hand gallop.
At last I spotted two giraffes in the distance, but decided
to leave them unmolested, until preparations were made
for dealing with the skins. On the following day I set the
men to work to build an open platform, which I had
designed as being the best adapted for drying the hides
quickly without unduly stretching them. We made it of
branches tied with aloe rope to a series of forked stakes
set in the ground, and on one side of it rose a pole some
18 ft. high. When all was completed, we made a start,
and an hour's march through dense thorn scrub
brought us to the edge of a wide grassy plain, on which
roamed eland, Grant's gazelle, rhino, ostrich and oryx,
while near the centre, we saw three giraffes slowly stalking
towards us. At length, after many halts, they reached a
patch of thorn bushes about 1,000 yards from us, but as we
GIRAFFE AT LAST.
127
crept forward, we found the place very open, the bushes
affording us but scanty cover.
Having left my men behind, I crawled on alone to the
shelter of a fallen tree some 150 yards from the nearest
beast. With the aid of the glasses, I decided that all were
full-grown cows, and as one was wanted for the National
Masai tracker and cow giraffe. (Now in Natural History Museum, South
Kensington. )
Collection, I selected the largest " horns," and as soon as
their owner moved into the open, fired at her shoulder with
my .400. The beast reeled and almost fell, but recovered,
and was just turning away as I hit her with the other barrel.
Her companions, meanwhile, stopped feeding and stood
gazing at me in a bewildered sort of way ; nor did they
move when I followed the wounded one, which turned out
128
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
to be very sick. To put a quick end to her suffering, 1
fired another couple of shots ; she swayed violently from
side to side, her head sank, and she fell over dead.
While a messenger was sent off to fetch some of the men
from camp, I took a few photos of the animal with my
Masai tracker standing by its side, and a series of measure¬
ments as a guide to its being set up at home. It stood
13 ft. 10 in. and measured 8 ft. 2 in. in girth behind the
shoulder. The blotches were rich red in colour, of every
variety of shape and with broken edges, each of which,
however, corresponded more or less to the side of the
blotch next it, as though a piece of crazy patchwork had
been unpicked, frayed, and stitched on to a cream-yellow
ground, leaving as equal a margin round each patch as
possible. On the front of the neck there was much more
ground-work showing, while the lower part of the legs
from just above the knee was a plain, dirty-cream colour.
When the carcase was skinned, we commenced paring
down the hide, a tedious process, which required constant
supervision to prevent the men shirking their work, for, if
not carefully done, the skin—from its great thickness—
becomes tainted, and the hair slips off. The thinning com¬
pleted, the skin was carried back to camp by relays of a
couple of men at a time, and was then with great difficulty
hoisted on to the platform, the neck being hung on the high
pole, so that the air could play on every part of the hide.
Day and night men were told off to watch it, and, on the
first sign of rain, every man in camp was turned out to wrap
it in great waterproof sheets ; no easy task on a dark,
blustering night, as I know from having had to turn out
many a time and hurry the men up.
Every morning the skin had to be taken down, folded and
HOW I DRIED THE SKIN.
replaced, for if allowed to get thoroughly dry without this
precaution, folding it would have been impossible, and as
it was, the hide made an extremely awkward package to
carry.
Two days later, while still searching for giraffe, the Njemps
tracker turned to me as we were crossing a dried-up river-bed,
and whispered, " El'gobusuruk*." I slipped off my mule
Giraffe skin platform.
just in time to see three of them galloping down on us.
The next second they turned abruptly away, circled round,
and dashed across the bed of the stream, quite uninjured
by two bullets I sent after them. I turned and told Bedoui
that I thought they must have been chased by a lion.
Hardly were the words out of my mouth, when the Njemps
beckoned me forward and pointed out three of these beasts
making up the opposite hill. They proved to be a couple
* The Njemps name for Oryx.
9
13°
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
of lionesses and a two-parts-grown cub. As soon as we
saw them top the ridge, we set off in pursuit, but lost the
track on stony ground.
In the valley, however, we again took up the pugs, which
led us past the remains of a young zebra they had killed
that morning, and up another hill, where they had lain down
two or three times. At last, after a weary march, we
reached a valley covered with thick bush, and as the natives
said there was no water in it, I concluded that the beasts
must have come here to lie up, and advanced with extreme
caution.
Suddenly I caught a glint of their yellow coats as they
worked up the hill-side. By that time it was two o'clock,
and we had been on our feet since six, so I ran forward and
opened fire with the .256, long range as it was. After my
first shot, which was too high, I managed to place the rest
close enough to drive one of the animals from the path,
and it was utterly bewildered by a stream of bullets knocking
up the ground under, and all round it. Just as it reached
the top of the hill, and we expected to see it disappear from
sight, I fired a parting shot, and it made a mighty bound
into the air, its tail going like a Catherine wheel.
We hurried up the hill, but could find no blood track,
when suddenly my eye lighted on a lioness standing motion¬
less not thirty yards away, half-concealed among the broken
rocks and tufts of yellow grass. For a moment this unex¬
pected encounter took me aback, but my first bullet knocked
the beast over, and another, as she was trying to struggle
to her feet, killed her at once. A second later there was a
growl close by, and the men pointed to a bush in which
they declared an animal had just showed, but for the life
of me I could not manage to get a sight of it.
A HERD OF GIRAFFE.
At last I fired at the place where they said it was crouch¬
ing, only to hear it dash out of the other side of the bush
apparently unhurt. When we came to examine the beast
I had killed, there was no trace of the .256 bullet to be seen,
and whether one of the .400 shots had struck the same
spot, or whether I had hit one of the other animals, we were
quite unable to decide. The syce, who came up later,
reported that three leopards had tried to stalk the mule
beside which he was waiting, and he had considerable
trouble to drive them off.
The following morning we crossed the valley to the west,
and I spent some time telescoping the ground, but without
any satisfactory result. As we were marching up a small
side valley, two giraffe cows, which the trackers ahead of
me had missed seeing, attracted my attention. I slipped
off my mule and made towards them, eventually discovering
five cows, which were joined a little later by a fine black
bull. A painful and very cautious crawl—for the beasts
evidently scented danger and were looking alarmed—at
length brought me so close that I thought one more advance
of about thirty yards, to the shelter of a bush, ought to give
me an opportunity of a shot ; but all at once the herd
bunched together and made off, gradually increasing their
speed.
A more comical sight than giraffes galloping it is difficult
to imagine ; the action of their forelegs is so exaggerated,
their long necks sway backwards and forwards, their bodies
roll from side to side like a ship in a heavy sea, while their
tails are continually being screwed up into a knot, first on
one flank and then on the other. A good horse pressed to
his utmost speed might have been able to range alongside,
but not so my mule. However, we followed the tracks
9*
132
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
over a low hill, from which we commanded a wonderful
view across a plain teeming with herds of zebra, eland,
oryx, Grantii, ostrich, rhino and the giraffe we were pur¬
suing. A tedious stalk brought us up to them again. Once
more they bolted, and as it was now well on in the after¬
noon, we set out for camp, determined in the morning to
pitch it beside a small stream, which in spite of the asser¬
tions of the guides that there was no water near, flowed close
to this spot.
133
CHAPTER XI.
A pugnacious rhino—My gunbearer knocked over—A lion foils us—Hungry
visitors—A big herd of giraffe and their sentries—A troublesome stalk—A
successful shot—A fine bull—The five "horns''—Bag an ostrich—An oryx
duel—Giraffe lying down—Bad luck.
On the way homewards, while passing some thin scrub,
we saw two rhino, who, on catching sight of us, began
shifting about uneasily. They were evidently making up
their minds to charge, and as they would have reaped the
full benefit of our wind directly we had passed them, I
thought it best to bring the matter to a crisis before they
bore down on our rear. Acting on this decision, I aimed
for the shoulder of the larger animal, but the shot was
awkward, owing to the thorn trees which obstructed my
view, and, though I hit it, the next moment they were
both charging down on us,while my men fled in all directions.
The uninjured one kept across slightly to our right front,
but the brute I had fired at was evidently bent on revenge,
for it galloped at me in a bee-line. It was hit in the lungs,
for blood and foam were dripping from its mouth and being
blown into the air from its distended nostrils. I hit is
hard again with the left barrel, but failed to stop it, and
turned to run like the rest, re-loading as I went. This
was hardly done when the ground shook under my feet
and I heard the angry snort of the brute so close that I
134
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
thought it must be almost on me. I jumped to one side,
swung round and fired both barrels at its shoulder at some
three yards distance. This made it swerve, and as the
infuriated animal dashed past me, it caught sight of Bedoui,
who had not fled so far as the others, and deliberately
chased him as he dodged behind some thorn trees. Although
he was in great danger, I could not help being amused at
the ludicrous figure he cut as he fled for his life and doubled
from side to side in his attempts to escape the vicious
brute.
I was running as hard as I could to endeavour to inter¬
cept them and draw the rhino away from his quarry, when
Saburi, who was in a direct line with both the animal and
Bedoui, raised his rifle to fire. As I knew what an indifferent
shot he was, and that, if he hit anything, the chances
were it would be his comrade, I yelled to him to desist,
but it was too late. The report rang out, but, happily,
the only damage done was to knock up the dirt a few yards
in front of him. A moment later Bedoui was measuring
his length on the ground, while the rhino continued its
course over his prostrate body. When we helped him to
his feet he was a good deal shaken, but uninjured, save
for a badly bruised wrist, where the beast had stepped on
him. After recovering ourselves a little, we searched for
the rhino and found it lying close by ; I fired a solid . 256
bullet into it, and then made a cautious approach for fear
it might still show signs of life. While my other followers
collected the things they had strewn round in their head¬
long flight, I took a photo of the rhino with Bedoui sitting
on its back. The only member of the party that seemed
quite undisturbed by the encounter was my good old mule,
who, although left quite by itself, stood patiently watching
A LION FOILS US. 135
proceedings as though wondering what all the fuss was
about.
On visiting the remains of the carcase early next morning
we came upon a big lion track, that led us back in the
direction of the camp, and then into a thick belt of jungle
along the bed of the stream, through which we tiptoed,
Bedoui and the rhino that chased him.
expecting every moment to surprise the beast. However,
after twisting about a bit, it had turned sharp back across
a big plain, over which tracking was very easy, as the
ground was for the most part formed of soft earth. We
passed through the thorn patch where we had seen the
giraffes the day before, and although they even came out
to gaze at us, I was too keen on a shot at the lion to disturb
their peace. Moreover, the platform for drying the next
i36 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
skin would not be ready until the following day. The
lion track now led us along another stream, and I had
just reached the edge of it, after slowly pushing my way
through the scrub, when there was a rustling noise, and I
saw the bushes shake on the opposite side. Running back,
I gained a clear spot on the bank, but could not catch
a glimpse of the lion, and although I dashed across the
river and hurried along outside the belt in the hopes that
I might cut it off, my efforts were unrewarded. On the
way to our new camp we almost ran into a sleeping rhino,
but backed just in time, and managed to get round him
without disturbing his nap.
The next day I decided to spend in camp, and was busy
over the giraffe skin when a party of Suk turned up, one
of whom was wearing a fine lion's tail down his back in
place of the usual monkey-skin cape. They reported
that in the rains this plain was covered with giraffe, but
that now they had all moved further north, i.e., into the
Reserve. The whole band proved to be shocking beggars,
demanding cloth, tobacco, and meat, but, as I consider it
a mistake to foster a mendicant spirit among natives, I
only distributed a few strips of rhino flesh among them,
and told them that, if they wanted anything else, they
must first bring me in news of giraffe. Of course they
made profuse promises to do so, but, needless to say, never
carried them out. In the afternoon I went out for a stroll
round, to be soaked to the skin by a heavy shower of rain.
My disgust was increased when, on reaching camp, I found
the trench round my tent had overflowed, and many of
my possessions standing inches deep in water.
Soon after six next morning, we espied on the opposite
side of the plain, a large herd of giraffe, some lying down,
Baringo giraffe and Suk elder.
* o rtr. ■«""»*• m
iJB1vitiIW
I lK»rv
A SUCCESSFUL SHOT. 139
others feeding in a thin strip of thorn, a good distance from
any cover. We made a long detour, only to find the giraffe
very scattered, while numbers of eland, zebra, and Grantii
grazing on the leeward side of them made any near approach
impossible. For nearly an hour I lay watching one big
bull, who was standing sentry. At last he moved, and
most of the antelope having meanwhile drawn off, I com¬
menced a difficult stalk, passing very close to a fine old
bull eland, who was quite unconscious of my presence.
By means of the glasses I decided which was the master
bull, a much more arduous task in reality than one would
think, for members of the herd were constantly appearing
and disappearing, so that it was puzzling to know if one
had seen the whole of them or not. In addition to this,
the colour of the coat varied so much, according to the
way in which the light struck it, that as there were several
bulls in the herd, it was most difficult to decide which was
the blackest, and therefore the finest specimen. I would
watch till every head was buried in a bush, and then crawl
a few yards forward ; but, long before I could get within
shot of the " Master," his watchful mates had spotted
me, and I could see long mast-like necks rise on every
side and remain erect and motionless with eyes turned
in my direction. Still I crept on, while the animals drew
closer together. Then, as they turned and began to move
off, I jumped to my feet and ran, crouching, towards them.
Fortunately my quarry was bringing up the rear and I
crippled him by a shot in the stern. The giraffe imme¬
diately quickened their pace, but, when clear of the scrub,
waited for their leader, who was lagging behind. Not
knowing how hard he was hit, I fired several shots at long
range before he fell, and his faithful comrades made off
143
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
across the plain. Eighteen of these huge beasts made a
fine sight as they filed past me, three little calves at the
tail-end finding it very difficult to keep up with their mothers.
Two other bulls, though not so large as the one I had slain,
were conspicuous for their dark coats.
It was now four and a half hours since we had first
seen them, and not till three in the afternoon did the
men arrive, though our friends, the Suk, were with us
by mid-day. Their chief strode forward, and, having spat
freely on his palm, grasped me warmly by the hand, as is
their usual unpleasant mode of salutation. He intimated
that, having heard the shots, they had come for a present
of meat, and on my replying that they were welcome, they
promptly ran to the carcase, ready to slash the hide with
their spears, and reach the choicest morsels. I and my
men quickly interfered to prevent the catastrophe, and
firmly declined their assistance in removing the skin.
The deep chocolate-coloured blotches of this giraffe's coat
verged to almost black in the centre, and his great height
of over 16 feet made him look much more handsome than
the cow I had previously shot. Another difference between
the two was that the blotches of the male were even-edged
instead of irregular like those of the cow, and his "horns,"
of course, were much more strongly developed. The pair
of horns common to all giraffe, which crown the skull above
the eyes, were, in his case, nearly 5 inches long, very
massive and rugged, the upper part almost bare of hair.
In front rose a single horn, or lump, which, in the female,
was hardly noticeable, and which forms the distinctive
feature of all northern giraffe. The southern variety have
a mere thickening of the skull in its place. In addition
to these horns, a pair of knobs, each about the size of a
THE "FIVE HORNS.
141
large hen's egg, appeared a little behind and above the
ears, and it is this addition that gives the variety the
name of " five-horned." All these horns are merely ex¬
crescences of the skull covered with skin, and by no means
" horns " in the ordinary sense of the word. The hide
of the cow had given us a certain amount of trouble to cut,
A five-horned giraffe head.
but this was infinitely worse. However, by dint of myself
and three followers sticking closely to our task, we managed
to get the skin off before the men arrived. As soon as we
had taken the meat we required, the body was handed over
to the Suk, who had been waiting in the scanty shade
of the thorn trees till it was ready for them. It was a
strange sight to watch them fall on the carcase and cut it
up with their spears, the long hafts swinging about in
142
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
a way that made us anxious to keep at a safe distance.
Towards dusk, the heavy skin slung on a pole was borne
by relays of six men at a time into camp.
In the morning as many of them as could possibly
get near it were kept busily employed for five solid
hours cutting strips from the under surface, in order to
thin down the skin, while others were told off to sharpen
the knives and keep the workers supplied with water to
drink. The process of hoisting the heavy mass on to the
platform proved this time to be an even more tedious task
than it had been before, and another half-hour had passed
beforç we were able to enjoy a well-earned rest. A suc¬
cession of rainy nights caused great anxiety and extra
work, but by the constant application of preservatives, the
skin dried very much better than I had ventured to hope.
In the meantime I amused myself hunting other game,
more particularly lion, but the Njemps, although far better
than my men, were but very poor trackers, and made me
wish for my Somali shikari, Ali Barali, who had accom¬
panied me on previous trips in Somaliland and through
Abyssinia. He afterwards accompanied Mr. Sidney Buxton
on his two African trips, but alas ! he fell fighting against
the Mad Mullah, and never again will his cheery laugh
urge a white sportsman on to stick to the lion's trail, or
follow in the wake of a herd of elephant, under a pitiless
African sun. Let us hope he is hunting in a far-off land
where the lions are all black-maned.
There were numerous flocks of ostriches on the plain,
and I often tried to shoot these wily fowl, but so hard
was it to get within shot, that for long my nearest approach
to success was to wound a fine cock bird, which, in spite
of a long chase, escaped. At last one day I managed to
I BAG AN OSTRICH. 143
stalk up close to some of them which were feeding amid
some rather thick bush, and wounded two, one of which
I secured.
On this same day I struck a herd of fourteen giraffe,
including three males, one a particularly big one, and two
little beasts only a few days old. After a long chase they
caught our wind and bolted, but seemed uncertain in which
Suk cutting up a giraffe.
direction they should go, for they turned twice and finally
made off towards camp. We followed in the hopes of
cutting them off, but they galloped steadily on right across
the plain.
In Western Likipia and round Lake Baringo, eland,
at that time an absolutely protected animal, was far more
plentiful than Heuglin's hartebeest, of which ten might
be shot. On one day alone I saw three herds of the former,
144
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the largest of which numbered 148 and the smallest 15,
besides several fine old solitary bulls. Oryx beisa were
even more numerous, but the herds rarely contained
more than thirty, although I saw one with double that
number.
One day as I was watching a party of them, including
three tiny calves, I saw the master bull have a deadly
encounter with a would-be poacher in his harem. Time
after time they dashed at each other, their foreheads
meeting with a thud, and then, horns interlaced, they
wrestled fiercely, separated and charged again. Neither
of them attempted to use the points of his horns, as wounded
animals sometimes do when cornered by man, or a beast
of prey.
For an hour one morning I lay watching a band of sixteen
giraffe, only to discover that there were no big bulls among
them. Many travel books tell us that it is an extremely
rare thing for a giraffe to lie down, but either the Baringo
species is more given to taking its ease, or I was particularly
fortunate in finding the animals when they were doing so,
for on several separate occasions I saw them resting. Once
my attention was caught by what I thought was a curious
looking tree growing on the top of a small hill. Fixing
my telescope on it I discovered that it was a giraffe lying
down with its long neck erect and perfectly motionless ;
soon afterwards I made out another feeding in some scrub
a little lower down. Making a wide circuit, I tried to get
to them, but found that I had miscalculated the distance,
and was obliged to make another detour. The beast on
the top of the hill, which proved to be a big bull, stood
up, and remained on sentry go. Some 600 yards lay
between me and a group of thorn bushes at the foot of
BAD LUCK.
145
the hill, which I was determined to reach. Stooping
with my head well down, and moving very slowly, I managed
to get there without attracting their attention. Meanwhile,
the bull had begun to feed, while the other animal, a cow,
had moved down into the plain. I worked my way from
one thorn tree to another, and then waited till the bull
came down to join his mate. Just as I was advancing a
little nearer, under cover of a thick bush which hid them
from sight for a moment, the bull came out, spotted me
at once, and gazed steadily at me. I slowly sank to the
ground, and remained motionless for half an hour with
the merciless noonday sun beating fiercely down on my
back. The giraffe, still very suspicious and watchful, at
length began to saunter away. As soon as they reached
some rather thicker thorns, I again made towards them.
Another 100 yards, and I should have been within shot,
when the cow in her turn spotted me, and the bull became
uneasy but did not seem to realise my exact position.
Risking the danger of frightening them off, I moved a
bit nearer, but the cow immediately bolted, and was followed
by her companion, at a pace which soon left me far behind.
Just at sunset, as I was returning to camp, one of the
long-tailed genets jumped up at my feet, but I was too taken
aback by its sudden appearance to let drive in time.
xo
146
CHAPTER XII.
Hyrenas and wild dog—I thin a pack—A fine oryx head—Rhino chases us-A
wounded impala—Rhino galore—Should rhino be protected ?—A string of
kudu—A grand head—A mission boy—Return to the lake—Arrival of the
new collector—"Coronating"—Release of prisoners—A notorious character
—An official muddle—Picturesque shauris—A Dorobo hunter and his clever
donkey—Dik-dik shooting.
One morning, while following up a lion track, no less than
six hyrenas skulked out of a patch of thorn, and we made
certain that either they must have been finishing up the
remains of a meal left there by their lord, the lion, or were
waiting till he moved off. But we were doomed to disap¬
pointment, for there were no traces of the lion or his kill.
Almost directly afterwards, a couple of animals, which I
at first took for more hyrenas, showed at the foot of a hill
near by, but with the glasses I made out that they were
wild dog. The next moment I detected the remainder of
the pack trying to cut off a zebra from a herd, which, how¬
ever, saw them, bunched together and drove them off. The
pack then set off along the hillside, and I followed, trying to
keep out of sight as much as possible among the thick bush
on the plain. At last one of them gave me a chance, and I
knocked him over, which brought the rest back at once to
see what was in the wind. After worrying the body of
HYAENAS AND WILD DOG. 147
their comrade for a moment, the whole pack made for me,
uttering angry snarls of revenge. I brought another to the
ground and then missed several shots as the beasts dashed
madly in and out among the bushes. One more successful
shot finished my store of cartridges, and while the dogs
were snuffling at the bodies of their wounded mates, I
suddenly bethought myself of urgent business elsewhere,
A pair of wild dogs.
and made off at full speed. Having secured a fresh supply
of ammunition, I returned to the spot and found the beasts
still prowling round. Three of them fell to my rifle, and
then I followed up one blood-stained track, while the syce
took up another. A long-drawn too-oo from one of the
survivors suddenly broke the silence, and guided me to the
spot, where, among a jumble of boulders and scrub, the
wounded animal was almost hidden from sight. At my
10*
148
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
third shot it fell dead. Another, whose answering cry we
had heard, was nowhere to be found, although we made a
long and careful search. On the way back we came across
the carcase of the master dog, making a total of six animals
killed, and leaving only three of the pack unaccounted
for. These wild dogs stood a little under 2 feet in height,
had very large rounded ears, and a mangy coat of rusty
black, blotched with brown and white. There was a large
brown patch on the neck, and the tail and forelegs showed
a good deal of white. The hide stinks more than that of
any other animal I have killed, and seems to retain the
smell, no matter how old it may be. The hair of the coat
slips very easily, and the sun worked considerable havoc,
even in the few minutes before we found the bodies and
carried them into the shade. Although these wild dogs
are fairly common in Asia and Africa, it is very seldom
that they are seen in daylight, and still more unusual for
them to be shot and their skulls and skins sent to England.
I had previously killed one of a pack in Thibet, and seen
others in the Central Provinces and also in Somaliland,
but this was the first time that I had had the satisfaction
of materially thinning the ranks of a band of these beasts,
which are a perfect pest to sportsmen, driving away all
game from their hunting ground.
It was to this district that I owed my best specimen of
oryx beisa, which, one evening as we returned to camp, we
saw tear across the plain a long way in front of us, then
turn and come back across our right rear, where he stood
a second at gaze. His head was such a good one that I
fired, although hardly expecting that my shot would have
effect, for the range was some 320 paces. To my delight,
however, he dropped dead, and we found that the .256 split
A FINE ORYX HEAD.
149
bullet had cut his heart to ribbons. His horns measured
34J inches, and were very thick.
The next day, while out hunting, we noticed a rhino some
500 yards to our left, and after we thought we were well
past him and out of danger, there was a cry that the brute
was chasing us. The men threw down the cameras and
their other light loads, and made for the nearest trees, while
I kicked up my mule to overtake my gun-bearer and seize
the .600, before dismounting. The rhino trotted up fairly
close to us, stood for a moment or two pawing the ground
and snorting, and then to our satisfaction made off. Soon
afterwards, I jumped a fine impala, and wounding it with
the second shot, set out in pursuit. The animal followed
the usual tactics of its kind, dashing away in headlong
flight, with every now and then a series of huge bounds into
the air. Then it would suddenly stop dead behind a bush,
only to break away again as we approached. During one
of these halts, I descried it, with the aid of the glasses,
standing behind a thorn tree, and fired through the branches,
but with no apparent result. Directly afterwards a crack¬
ling behind me caught my ear, and turning, I saw a rhino
coming full pelt for me. Just as I was wondering whether
small split bullets would serve me as well as they had done
with the previous rhino, it swerved to one side and crashed
on through the undergrowth. I then gave chase to the
impala, and hit it twice before it managed to get away. As
we were following it up, Bedoui seized me by the arm and
whispered that another rhino was standing in the bush
close by. We immediately made a detour to avoid it, only
to come face to face with a cow and a very small calf. Now
as these ladies have the reputation of being specially vicious,
I clutched the .600 and backed gracefully from her presence
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
as she gazed at me for a moment or two, and then, to my
intense relief, turned and disappeared. I again took up
the impala track, to disturb yet another rhino, which happily,
did not come to close quarters, but allowed us to continue
our pursuit of the wounded animal. However, after jump¬
ing it once more, we lost the spoor altogether. A little
later another impala standing in a tiny clearing caught my
eye. I fired, but could not see the result of my shot. A
second animal, which appeared a moment later, collapsed
in a heap to the bullet, and to my delight, it proved to be a
fine head of 28f inches.
For the day I had had enough rhino incidents. At a
distance they are doubtless interesting animals, but when
they are as pugnacious as at Baringo and in many other
districts of East Africa, they become a dangerous pest. I
have discussed the matter with a good many officials, and,
almost without exception, they agree that the regulation
restricting a sportsman—who has paid ¿50 for a license—to
two, is absolutely absurd. It seems to me that in some dis¬
tricts, where rhino are particularly numerous, it would not
only be advisable to remove all limitations as to their
destruction, but also to encourage it by permitting the
export of the horns and skins without duty. If some of
those who, from a superficial knowledge of the rhino and
his little ways, would have us believe that he is a much
maligned and really quite sweet-tempered animal, could
only have been with me in the Baringo country, I think
they might have been led to change their minds. Constantly
I had to stand helplessly by and see my most precious loads,
including cameras and other almost indispensable trea¬
sures, thrown violently to the ground, while the bearers
took to flight. If I killed a third specimen of these cherished
SHOULD RHINO BE PROTECTED? 151
animals, I knew I should lay myself open to fines and im¬
prisonment. As I have before mentioned, natives stand in
far greater awe of rhino than of either elephant or lion, and
this seems to me to be a conclusive proof that he is not quite
as timid a creature as some chance visitor to African wilds
may think. Moreover, when your followers see you taking
to your heels instead of facing the brute, they naturally
The chain gang.
put it down to the white man's want of courage, and smile
a superior sort of smile when you try and explain that the
Sircar (Government) forbids you to kill it.
The two or three herds of giraffe which had come south¬
wards now seemed to have disappeared again into the
Reserve, and as there was little chance of their revisiting
this country for some time, I determined to make my way
back to the boma, across the kudu ground. During the
152
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
first march I saw six cows, a cow and a calf, and two other
little herds in the distance, but no old bulls. However, I
managed to add a good buck klipspringer to my bag, which
I have cause to remember, for during the skinning process,
Saburi let his knife slip and almost sliced off the top of my
thumb. On the third day I was fortunate enough to dis¬
cover a really fine bull, feeding with a younger one on the
slope of the escarpment. Owing to the wind, the stalk
was long and devious, and, to my disgust, after working
my way along the deep bed of a stream, I found my quarry
had shifted its ground. I next saw a cow and a calf, which
had crossed the stream and were feeding up hill, and,
thinking the bulls might have accompanied them, I climbed
(he opposite hillside, to see four males in a string making
away over the broken ground. I singled out the third as
carrying the longest and widest spread horns, and hit him
hard with the first shot. The second bullet held him, while
his comrades bounded away, but the third only broke his
leg and I had to give him a finisher. His horns turned out
to be seven inches shorter than those of my big kudu, but
the span between the tips was as many more. This was
my last day at these animals, and although I had failed
to get a record Baringo head, I was very well satisfied
with the three fine trophies I had secured.
That night my tent was pitched at Kudu Camp, where
twenty-five porters, under the charge of an English-speak¬
ing boy, Peter by name, awaited me. Peter proved to be
a bit of a character ; his features were, to begin with, not
prepossessing, and he had a cast in his eye that made him
anything but engaging to look on. He had been brought
up in a mission, and, I regret to say, possessed two qualities
characteristic of most of the mission boys I have had in my
PETER, THE MISSION BOY. 153
employ—laziness and dishonesty. This promising youth
could say, " Yes, sir," with a beautiful accent, and could
copy writing in a really good clear hand ; in fact, so well,
that he had just been serving the Government gratis for the
slight indiscretion of repeatedly forging his master's sig¬
nature for whiskey.
Unfortunately for me a body of Suk were camped in the
Combo at work.
neighbourhood, and their cattle had driven off all game, so
I was prevented from securing another specimen or two of
reedbuck, as I had hoped to do.
On arrival at the boma I found Baker very fit, and heard
that he had been having some good sport in company with
a couple of men in the African Rifles, who had come up
from Fort Teman for a few days' shooting. As Baringo is
out of reach of the telegraph, the news of the King's
illness, and consequent postponement of the Coronation
festivities, had reached the boma too late, so Baker had
154
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
" coronated " on the original date fixed. Alter a special
review of the police, when they fired " furious joy," the
prisoners were marched down to the spot, in order that, in
accordance with an official circular, those who were nearing
the end of their sentence, or were only in for slight offences,
should be released. In the up-country stations there are
no jails, but the prisoners are put into what is called the
" Chain Gang." Each of them wears an iron collar, and
is attached, in common with five to ten others, to a length
of chain, from which he is not released, day or night, until
his term of imprisonment has come to an end. With the
usual perverseness of the native mind, possibly inspired by
a hint from the guard, the prisoners on this occasion were
under the impression that they were to be shot as a fitting
item in the day's programme. They were marched on to
the ground presenting a picture of abject terror ; their
knees knocking together, their teeth chattering, their eyes
starting out of their heads with fright, and their general
expression one of mingled despair and supplication.
As soon as the first man was released from the chain, he
threw himself headlong at Baker's feet, grovelled on the
ground, and entreated him " to reconsider the matter."
When it was explained that the white man's way of celebrat¬
ing a great event was to free his prisoners, instead of shoot¬
ing them, the horror written on their dusky faces gradually
gave place to blank astonishment. The day's proceedings
wound up with a great feast.
Among the prisoners released was Combo, a man whom
we had engaged at the Coast as cook, and who, as it
turned out, had had quite an eventful career. As soon
as C and I reached the Baringo boma, Baker had
come to me to say that he was afraid he must deprive
COMBO THE COOK. 155
me of the^ services of one of my followers, whom he
had recognised as an old servant of his own, and who
had been wanted for some time for theft. This proved
to be Combo, who had previously been Baker's cook in
the Ribo Hills, and who, although a thief and a drunkard,
was one of the bravest supporters he had had with
Kamasia chiefs at Baringo.
him^when hard pressed by the Jabtulail. Bad shot as he
was, he had proved absolutely fearless, and had dashed
among the hostile archers firing his rifle off as quickly as
he could cram in the cartridges and pull the trigger. Having
served a term of imprisonment for theft from Baker, he
proceeded down country and committed robberies at various
other stations, but always succeeded in clearing out before
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
lie could be caught and placed in the Chain Gang. The
fellow had liad the impudence, on our arrival at the boma,
to go up with outstretched hand to Baker, and say " Jambo
Bwana " (" How do you do, sir "), whereupon he was
promptly arrested. Although, all the time we had had
him, he professed to know nothing of English, he now
began to be excessively abusive in that language, with the
result that the error of his ways was forcibly pointed out to
him, before he was consigned to the Chain Gang, where
numerous jobs of a less inviting nature than preparing
himself savoury messes from our store of provisions,
awaited him.
In spite of this man being such a notorious character
that he was, as I have shown, wanted in several stations
for robbery, he openly sought employment in Mombassa,
and engaged himself to us under his own name, we paying
a heavy registration fee for him to Government. This
enforced registration of natives at the Coast seems to be
regarded, firstly as a tax, and secondly, as a protection to
the porters, but the leader of the caravan is apparently
left out of all consideration. Notorious criminals like
Combo, who ought to be well known to the police, find no
difficulty whatever in engaging themselves, and when they
have brought off a successful coup, they can brazenly
return to the coast to spend their ill-gotten gains. Any
enquiries as to deserters are met with the reply that it is
your business to catch them, when the Government will
graciously consent to let them work, without wages, for the
Administrative.
Nzau had by this time collected forty-six porters, and
had brought on all my goods which had been sent up from
Mombassa. For the year's registration of these porters I
Drawn by]
Dorobo hunter and his donkey.
[A. FORE>TLER.
h rrr ® ot ® ra
<U5ilv.-r "'tjf
AN OFFICIAL MUDDLE.
159
had only to pay Ri a man, whereas, if I had registered them
in Mombassa I should have had to pay many times as much.
The reason for this is rather curious. At the commencement
of the financial year, 1902-1903, the Baringo district, together
with all the country up to the eastern side of the Victoria
Nyanza, had been taken over by East Africa from Uganda,
but up to the end of June, no instructions had reached the
officials as to whether they were to charge duties and fees
according to the Uganda or the East African scale.
Each station, therefore, worked on its own initiative, and
the extraordinary anomaly existed that, at the same time in
different stations, Uganda rates, East African rates, a happy
blend between the two, and even in some cases, whichever
happened to bring in the highest revenue, were being charged,
although all the stations were clearly part of East Africa.
Though I managed to score over the porters, the advantage
was somewhat discounted by a fee of 8d. charged for
Uganda road dues on every load that had been brought
up from the station. Now I was not in Uganda, and saw
very little chance of getting there. Moreover, except for
the railroad, the loads had come over nothing more ruinous
to the Government than a native track, which had never
cost it a sou.
Just about this time, Baker received a wire from a
man of whom he had never heard, requesting that a
number of porters should be sent down to the rail to meet
him. In default of any other information, Baker came to
the conclusion that this must be the official who was to
relieve him at the boma and allow him to start on his long
over-due leave. This surmise turned out to be correct,
for on July 4th, Mr. Pearson, Baker's substitute, arrived.
Baker and I, however, did not get away till the morning
i6o
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
of the 8th, for endless shauris had to be held with the
natives to introduce them to their " new bwana." These
were always picturesque. The natives would solemnly take
their places in a semicircle, with the chiefs and interpreters
in the centre,'outside the verandah, in which Baker and
Dorobo hunter.
Pearson; were seated. Baker then gave his farewell address
and introduced Pearson as their new master to whom they
were to bring all their troubles, as they had done to him.
These remarks were translated into the different dialects,
and the chiefs replied. Pearson would then assure them,
in a short speech, that he would treat them as a Father,
DIK-DIK HUNTING. 161
and help them in any way he could. These ceremonies, of
course, afforded me an excellent opportunity of securing
photos of the different tribes. Amongst others, I managed
to persuade a Dorobo hunter, who is noted throughout the
district for his success in the chase, to let me take him.
With infinite skill this man dresses up his cleverly trained
donkey to represent any animal he may have made up his
mind to stalk. With the horns of some beast strapped to
its head, and its body painted or covered with a skin to
correspond, the clever little creature would decoy many an
unwary victim within reach of the poisoned arrows of the
hunter crouching behind it. This man had quite the most
handsome features of any I saw during the whole trip.
He was tall and well-built, with a strong and intelligent
face, cast in rather Egyptian mould, and his whole bearing
involuntarily aroused vague wonder as to how, in that
place, so fine a type of features could have developed.
While Baker was making preparations for his departure,
I employed the time packing up my trophies for the journey,
and shooting a few animals which I still wanted from the
district for my collection. Several times I went dik-dik
hunting, amid some dense thorn bushes, interspersed with
patches of aloe, which lay near by. There was always a
spice of adventure about these expeditions, for rhinos
frequented the spot, and it was quite likely that, creeping
carefully round a clump of aloe, with only a shot gun in your
hand, you would find yourself face to face with a tough old
specimen, instead of the timid little dik-dik you were
seeking.
11
162
CHAPTER XIII.
Start for the Ravine—Njemps villages—A superstitious custom—Possible rice-
fields—Meet a sportsman—A charming camp—Arrival at Eldama Ravine—
Mr. Isaac, collector, ethnographer, and naturalist—The Gwashengeshu
Masai—Enter M au Forest—Wild honey and fire sticks—Tarego, my Dorobo
guide—Guereza shooting—Quest for bongo.
At last Baker and I started on our first day's march, which
brought us to Njemps the greater, a village lying among
the woods to the south of Lake Baringo. It consists of
some 250 circular huts, built mainly of branches interlaced,
and thatched with roofs of grass. These are enclosed by a
strong palisade, with openings at intervals, and in the
centre of the huts and granaries lie the cattle kraals. After
a short rest under a tree just outside the village, we pushed
forward to lesser Njemps, where our tents were pitched
under the welcome shade of a fine mimosa growing on the
banks of the lower Molo.
The Njemps people are a branch of the Gwashengeshu
Masai, who, worsted in inter-tribal warfare, were driven
out of the rich country they possessed. All their cattle
were captured and they were dispersed, some of them
taking refuge on the banks of the Molo, where, deprived
of their herds, the majority had to give themselves up to
agricultural pursuits, while others became fishermen on
Lake Baringo. Although in general appearance and cha-
A SUPERSTITIOUS CUSTOM.
racteristics they still closely resemble the pastoral or true
Masai, the Njemps have, in the course of time, developed
various customs peculiar to themselves. One of these is to
only refrain from eating hippo meat, of which they are in¬
ordinately fond, while the crops are being sown ; raid they
are so particular on this point, that no cooking pot that has
had the prohibited meat in it, is used till all the corn is
Njemps men.
sown. Their idea apparently is that, if the God who
causes the grain to germinate should see that they can
easily feed themselves without his help, he would simply
let the seeds rot in the ground.
Early next morning we forded an elbow of the River
Molo, while the donkeys made a long detour to avoid it.
We had considerable trouble to get our riding mules across
a narrow spruit intersecting the ground in the bend of the
11*
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
stream, for its steep banks proved very awkward for them
to negotiate. At this season the Molo was rather above
our knees, but when in full flood, it is said to be far over a
man's head. Much of the ground we passed through was,
at one time, highly cultivated, but, owing to incessant raids,
the agricultural area had dwindled to nearly vanishing
point. Now, however, under Baker's initiative, the Njemps
are beginning to bring it under cultivation again, and from
the ease with which it can be irrigated, it struck me that it
would be a very favourable spot for experimental rice-
growing. Some six miles away to our left lay a big swamp,
really a continuation northwards of Lake Hannington,
where hippo and buffalo are numerous and an occasional
herd of elephant roams. The first part of our march Was
through a park-like country, the rich grass dotted with fine
trees ; but further on, the path was shut in by almost con¬
tinuous walls of thorn, which were then covered with masses
of white blossom and gave out a sweet, but rather sickly,
scent. On the way we met Mr. Blain, a sportsman marching
from the Ravine, who told us that while he and a friend
were shooting on the Atlii plains, not long before, his chum
had been badly mauled by a lion. He was then going to
hunt round Baringo, meaning to devote himself mainly to
greater kudu, oryx and impala, this district being noted for
the fine heads of the last species. Indeed, they are said to
be the largest of any in Africa.
¡^Soon after we had parted from him and resumed our
journey, we came on a little valley simply full of dik-dik
but, unfortunately, Saburi, who was carrying the shot-gun,
had lagged behind to talk to some friends in Blain's caravan,
so I had no chance of securing one. This I much regretted ;
so did Saburi—later on. That evening we camped by the
Plio! o by]
[Mr. F. 0. Cobb.
Sowongo, the fighting chief of Njemps.
im t \r, v.j * « V.O
HtllYîrglty-
S-lhrjurK
A CHARMING SPOT.
side of the Tigris River, which at this point flows through
a deep wooded valley, and finally empties itself, with the
Molo, into Lake Baringo. From here Baker pushed on in
one long march to the Ravine, while I took things more
leisurely, and kept a watchful eye on the trophies.
Camp was pitched that day under a grove of stately
mimosa trees, in one of the most charming spots of the
whole trip. Before my tent stretched a rich, grassy plain ;
a little stream, clear as crystal, rippled over its stony bed
close by, while in the background rose a line of wooded
hills. After a night of heavy rain, I continued my march
to the Ravine Station, which lies on the edge of the Mau
Forest at an elevation of 7,250 feet. Before the railway
was built, this post was a most important one, as the main
road to Uganda passed through it, and it had a large Govern¬
ment transport dépôt. Now, however, the road north¬
wards is no longer used ; transport is limited to the Londiani
railway station, and the houses are, many of them, tumbled
down and overgrown with grass. The Collector, Mr. Isaac,
gave me a very hearty welcome, and proved a most inte¬
resting host, for he was a regular fund of information on the
different native tribes under his jurisdiction, as well as a
keen observer of animal life. It is due to his energetic
research that the National Collection now contains speci¬
mens of the Mau Forest bongo and duiker, the very existence
of which, previous to Mr. Isaac's arrival at the Ravine, had
been unsuspected.
As Baker had kindly consented to see my trophies to the
Coast with his own, I was kept busy for the next few days,
packing them in convenient loads for the journey.
My stay at the Ravine was a particularly pleasant one,
for it was there that I was lucky enough to meet Mr.
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Harrison, leader of a party of the East African Syndicate's
prospectors, Mr. " Road " Smith, an ivory trader, and Mr.
Bagge, Sub-Commissioner from Naivasha. They had all of
them seen many of the more remote parts of the Protectorate,
and proved most entertaining companions, besides giving
me a number of useful hints. I made a few longish shooting
Gungani camp.
excursions in the neighbourhood, and bagged some good
specimens of bushbuck, duiker, and reedbuck, while a good
deal of the rest of my time was spent bartering for curios
with the Gwashengeshu Masai, of whom there was a large
settlement close by.
The trading, as usual, was a slow process, and I had plenty
of opportunity, in the meantime, to gather information about
THE GWASHENGESHU MASAI.
169
the tribal customs of the natives. So many accounts of
the Masai from far abler pens than mine have already
appeared, that I do not propose to give any detailed descrip¬
tion of them. At the same time, these people have played
such an important part in the history of British East Africa
that, it seems to me, a book concerning the country would
be incomplete without a short sketch of them.
At a very early age the Masai boy is set to tend the goats
Bullock carts at the Ravine.
and sheep ; later on he has to herd the cattle, and is gene¬
rally at the beck and call of the warriors and elders. At
length his days of drudgery are over ; his hair is allowed to
grow, and he becomes a probationary warrior before going
through the ceremony of circumcision and being raised to
the dignity of a full-fledged fighting man. Of his war kit,
the most striking part is probably the head-dress. It is
formed either of a lion's mane, or of ostrich plumes, set in
an elliptical band of leather, which encircles the face, and
i7o IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
head, the feathers gradually increasing in length from short
ones at the sides to long waving plumes at the top. His
head, which when he was a boy had been closely shaved, is
now covered with numerous little well-greased plaits, half of
them bound into a bunch on the forehead, and the rest in
the nape of the neck. This coiffure, which he cultivates
with much care, is completely shorn off at intervals
Loads ready at the Ravine.
of about five years. In the absence of the Laibon, the
elders settle the time of the ceremony, which is a great
festival, and is talked of for months before it actually takes
place. Dancing and a big feast of meat precedes the
shaving of the first little batch of men. Each succeeding
day sees the denuding of a further small number of heads,
till the last man has sacrificed his locks, after which the
festivities continue for four days. Until the hair begins to
grow again, the warriors lay aside spear and shield and
THE MASAI WARRIOR.
171
carry in their stead a stick decorated with red-cloth
streamers.
The lobes of the young warrior's ears have been gradu¬
ally stretched, so that he can insert in them a wooden
disc, or cleat-like piece of wood, some inches long.
Round his neck are one or two small strings of beads, and
a circlet or so of wire, while on his arms, besides a coil or
two of wire above the biceps, he wears a curiously-formed
armlet of wood or hide. This is bent into a U shape, the
sides bound round with copper wire, while the curved lower
part is split into two, and the arm thrust through it. His
clothing consists of a short skin cloak reaching to about the
waist, the top, which is edged with beads, being passed under
the left arm and fastened 011 the right shoulder. From the
back of his girdle hangs an oval piece of goat-skin, some
18 inches long, on which the hair is left, and the top
end is turned well over to show the under surface. Narrow
strips of hide sewn with beads, and little lengths of iron
chain, are fastened below his knees like garters, and some¬
times short projecting sticks fringed with long hair are
attached to them. The ankles are decorated with bands of
leather holding a tiny iron rattle or bell. The Masai pro¬
tects his feet by sandals of raw hide, like most Central
African tribes.
The greatest pride of a Masai warrior are his battle-
arms. Of these the chief is the famous Masai stabbing
spear, which he grasps in'his right hand ; a heavy weapon
with a blade 3 feet long, which, in times of peace, is
protected by a leather sheath decorated with a pompom
of ostrich feathers. A short wooden haft connects the head
with a weighty, tapering, iron hilt, which maintains the
balance. Through the right side of his girdle is stuck a
172
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
sime, or double-edged sword, 31 inches long, which is heavier
towards the tip, and beside it a knobkerry of rhinoceros horn
or hard wood. In his left hand he holds his oval buffalo
hide shield, measuring 3 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft., on which is painted
in glaring black, white and red, an heraldic design denoting
his tribe. A Masai warrior, although not allowed to marry,
may, nevertheless, choose for himself one or two young
girls to make life less dreary in times of peace. As soon as
his term as a moran (warrior) is completed, he becomes an
elder, and relinquishes his fighting weapons for the arms of
his boyhood—viz. : bows and arrows, and a spear with a
short leaf-shaped blade and a long wooden shaft. He next
turns his thoughts to matrimony, and after buying himself
one or more ladies of his choice, according to his means,
settles down to the more peaceful life of helping to rule his
village and bring up his children.
Unlike the boys, the young girls have a very happy child¬
hood, with practically nothing to do but adorn and amuse
themselves. Even when they become ditos and go to live
with the warriors, they are not expected to do any hard
work, and rarely so much as attend to the cooking. Their
clothing consists of a single dressed skin, elaborately deco¬
rated with beads, which is worn dependent from the waist,
leaving the upper part of the body bare. On reaching the
age of puberty they return to their mothers until sought in
marriage, after which the lighter household duties fall to
their share, but it is not till they are past child-bearing
that they are expected to take part in the more laborious
work. Their ornaments, however, are the most striking
feature, for the Masai women, besides any number of neck¬
lets of beads, wire and chain, wear many pounds weight
of iron wire round their legs and arms, so that the
MASAI CUSTOMS. 173
wife of a really well-to-do elder is almost as encumbered
with her armour as was a knight of old. The women scar
their faces, generally by burning, as a charm against
sterility or to ward off evil. The younger girls are often
really good-looking, with skins not so dark as a southern
Italian, slender, well-proportioned figures and regular fea¬
tures, but the effect is rather spoilt by prominent teeth,
which are probably due to the fact that the children, when
little more than babies, are given chunks of hard meat to
chew.
All the Masai have their two lower front teeth extracted,
which, they say, enables them to spit straight, for even now
spitting takes a great place in a Masai's life.* They spit at
meeting and parting, on any young child they come across,
on seeing anything unusual, to clinch a bargain, and in fact
on almost every conceivable occasion.
Burial is the portion of small children and great chiefs
only. The rest, both men and women, are carried out at
dusk and left in the bush, a regular fee being paid for this
service, which is never performed by near relatives. At
early dawn the place is visited, and if the body has not been
devoured by the hyœnas, a sheep is slaughtered, its blood
sprinkled over the corpse, and the meat left beside it to
attract scavengers.
On the 24th July I left the Ravine, at the same time that
Bagge and Isaac set out to inspect Baringo. I followed
the old trade route, now much overgrown, and camped close
to a salt lick, overhanging a small, marshy valley. The
* A more prosaic, but probably more correct, explanation is that this custom
is a provision against starvation from tetanus, a. disease to which the Masai are
peculiarly susceptible. When the teeth are tightly locked, the patient is fed
through the hole made by the extraction.
i74 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
ground all round was cut up by tracks of domestic as well
as wild animals, for the natives drive their cattle down
every now and then, and dig out the salty cream-coloured
clay, which the animals greedily lick.
During our march the guide discovered some wild honey
in the hollow trunk of a tree, and getting out his fire sticks,
he set to work to burn out the bees. To raise a flame he
held one of the sticks in position between his toes, sprinkled
a little tinder on a nick cut in it, and rapidly twirled the
end of the other in the nick, till smoke arose and the tinder
glowed. He then heaped on dry grass, blew the sparks into
a flame, and fed it with dry lichen, until a large smoky
ball of fire was ready to be thrust into the tree. Most of the
bees were soon stupefied, and regardless of the stings of the
survivors, the natives rushed on the honey, and before long
we were munching great combs of it. Sometimes the
honey-bird would guide us to the store ; at others the
buzzing of a colony, or the sight of a single bee flying home
with his load of nectar, would betray the spot.
Our next march lay through the heart of the forest, where
there were wide stretches of tangled undergrowth, but no
very fine trees. After penetrating a little patch of bamboo
intersected by a stream, we climbed a steep and slippery
path up the side of a hill, and reached a small open glade,
in which we pitched camp. Here the trees were well grown,
and made a most picturesque background to our tents,
while the position commanded a splendid view over wooded
hill and dale.
I had brought with me as a guide to the forest, Tarego,
the local chief of the Dorobo, a queer, wizened old fellow,
wrapped in a huge monkey-skin cloak, the edge worked
with beads. A little skin cap completed his clothing, while
THE LOCAL CHIEF OF THE DOROBO. 175
as weapons he carried a bow, carefully rolled in a strip of
leather to preserve it from the damp, a quiver of thick hide
full of poisoned arrows, and a sime. A younger man, some
Tarego and his children.
women, and children accompanied him, in the hopes of
feasting on the game I might kill.
From information gleaned from Tarego, and from the
tracks which I myself had seen en route, this part of the
forest appeared to be as good a centre as any for my quest
for bongo and forest pig, specimens of which I was very
176
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
anxious to secure. I therefore determined to remain in the
present camp for some days, and scour the place in all
directions. There was a heavy rainfall during most of the
afternoon and night. Consequently, on turning out early
next morning, I was not at all surprised to find the Dorobo
trying to put off, as long as possible, the search through
dripping undergrowth, by urging that the forest animals
would not yet be awake. At length I persuaded them to
start, and we soon came upon a little group of guerêza, one
of the biggest of which I succeeded in dropping, while the
two guides had shots with their arrows at several others. I
was not impressed by their skill, more especially after one
of their poisoned shafts had glanced off the branch of a
tree to bury itself in the ground within a yard of where I
was standing.
After crossing a big open glade, we again entered the
forest, and near a bamboo brake, came upon a band of
grey monkeys of the same species which had provided
Tarego With his fur cloak. I missed my first chance of a
specimen, but soon afterwards came across some others,
and dropped one of them. When it fell, the unfortunate
beast was still breathing, and I found Tarego stuffing bits
of stick up its nostrils to kill it. This seemed to be the
usual method of his tribe for finishing small game. Later
on we saw another troop of guereza, at which the guides
again tried their skill, while I sat watching their marksman¬
ship. However, when an arrow shot into the ground so
close to me that it actually grazed my knee, I thought it
time to suggest that they had better confine their attention
to spotting the game, and leave the shooting to me.
On my return to camp, we had another little shauri with
the guides, as I had seen no fresh tracks of either bongo or
QUEST FOR BONGO.
177
pig during the morning. They explained matters by the
quiet remark that there was no game left, as they had killed
it all round about. The next four days were spent in con¬
tinuing our search in the forest, but only once did we see
the fresh tracks of a couple of bongo, who bolted without
my getting a glimpse of them, after a four hours' stalk. I
was surprised at the ease with which these heavily-built
animals, standing some 4 feet at the shoulder, could twist
in and out of the narrow tunnels in the dense undergrowth,
under branches so low that I had to bend nearly double,
in order to follow them.
Tarego and his companions were wonderful fellows for
pointing out a monkey hiding in the cleft of a tree, and, on
the whole, not bad trackers. But they were lazy in the
extreme, for as long as they knew there was food enough
for them in camp, they would not budge an inch without
a good deal of persuasion.
12
i78
CHAPTER XIV.
The Mau Forest—A Dorobo and his dogs—Dorobo desert—Bag a forest pig—
Shooting from mule-back—An amusing request—Mount Sirgoit—An
unfenced Zoo—A picturesque salt lake—Elgeyo visitors—A Nandi raid—
Reedbuck—Stalking topi—A lad's encounter with a lion—The Elgeyo
appeal to God.
The part of the Mau Forest that I penetrated differed
considerably from that of Mount Kenya. Here there were
no forest giants rising from the almost bare earth, their
lichen-hung branches interlacing overhead to cause a per¬
petual twilight. Instead, a tangled mass of undergrowth,
ferns and mosses in rich profusion, here and there a dead
branch clothed in orchids, and the giant thistle, the favourite
food of the forest pig, on every side. With its undulating
slopes, its little streams and bamboo brakes, the Mau
Forest presented a charming picture, but after plunging
hour after hour through its almost impenetrable and
dripping jungles, we longed for an occasional shot to break
the monotony.
On the afternoon of the fourth dav, a party of Dorobo
from a neighbouring encampment came to visit us. One
of the women carried a roll of softened guereza skins,
which she offered me for i-J- lbs. of flour (value i^-d.) apiece,
this being the usual rate of exchange for them. Thousands
of these monkeys are slaughtered by the natives, for the
Dorobo live, for the most part, on their flesh, and yet,
ABSURD REGULATIONS.
179
when a white sportsman wishes to make a collection of
them for scientific reasons, he is absurdly hampered by
Government regulations. My own experience is proof
of this. I was anxious to collect sufficient specimens
to clear up the question as to whether the same species
extends across East Africa to the Nile, and to discover
My camp in the Mau Forest.
how these guereza differ from the Abyssinian variety.
For every monkey killed, beyond the two permitted in
my £50 shooting license, I had to pay an additional £1,
not to mention the export duty which was collected on a
fictitious value.
With one of the men of the Dorobo party I had a long
talk, naming the rewards I would give if I secured a bongo,
12*
i8o IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
or forest pig. The fellow's eyes fairly sparkled, and it
was agreed that his dogs should be fetched from his camp,
some little distance off, as they were said to be really good
trackers. He started early in the morning, with great
assurances of the haste he would make to return, but he
never came back, and, to my disgust, Tarego and all the
other Dorobo also vanished. Whether they were tired of
the work, or my men, sick of the cold and damp of the
forest, had made things too hot for them, in the hopes
that, as soon as they left, I should abandon the search
and continue my journey, I never found out. If the
latter were the case, they must have been rather dis¬
appointed, for I not only stuck to the work, but spent
longer days in the forest than before.
On the second day, while stealing along a narrow game
path, through dense jungle, I saw some animals trotting
towards me, but in the gloom of the forest they were hard
to identify. As they came closer, I made them out to be
pigs of a very dark-red colour, marked with white about
the head and neck. At this moment, Bedoui, with the
rifle, was, of course, behind another man, and a second
or two passed before I secured the .400. I hit the first
animal, which ran under a bush, squealing loudly, but ap¬
parently missed the second. Two squeakers rushed up
snuffling at the wounded beast, and one of these was killed
by my next shot. I then started crawling on my hands
and knees among the dense underwood to look for the
other big one, and although I at last managed to spot
it again, I did not get a chance to fire. After the couple
I had shot, which turned out to be Uganda bush-pig, were
skinned and weighed, I hung up part of the meat, hoping
it might attract a jungle cat, and sent the rest into camp,
MY MASAI GUIDES.
181
I then moved into another bit of jungle and sat watching
for some time on the chance that one of the little dik-dik,
whose tracks were visible on the path, might come that
way-. Once I caught sight of a tiny head among the tangled
grass, and heard a shrill little squeak of fright as the animal
dashed away without giving me the chance of a shot, and
Bedoui said that he had seen one four times.
Mau Forest.
On the fourth evening, when I reached camp, I was met
by the news that both of the Masai guides, who had come
with me to show the way across the Gwashengeshu Plateau
to Mumias, had bolted. Possibly it was they who had
instigated the Dorobo to desert, but, finding that I still
showed no signs of moving on, had decided in their turn
to quit. I wrote off to Shemoni for another couple to be
sent, and filled in the interim by continuing my wanderings
in quest of the denizens of the forest. After the Dorobo
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
had left, my Swahilis were at first very loth to venture
off the beaten track, fearing we should be lost. I was,
therefore, rather pleased at my success in invariably leading
them safely back to camp each day.
On the 6th August, as the other Masai guides had arrived,
I made a start, and, after reaching the outskirts of the
main forest, crossed a couple of streams and camped on
an open spot. The next day's march was over grassy hills
with occasional patches of timber on their slopes, and
swampy streams flowing through the intersecting valleys.
Although I saw roan, Heuglins, reedbuck, and oribi, en
route, the length of the grass and the wildness of the animals
prevented me from getting a successful shot.
On the following day, close to some pretty little water¬
falls, we disturbed a camp of Dorobo, who fled into the
bush at our approach ; only one man could be prevailed
upon by our guide to come and talk to us.
For the next five days we made short marches towards
Mount Sirgoit, gradually leaving the undulating country
behind and entering a great, grassy plain almost bare
of trees. On the way the only fresh species of game we
came across was waterbuck. The buffalo of the district
had evidently been decimated by rinderpest, for numbers
of their skulls were lying along our path. They appeared
to have been the Northern variety, as the bases of the
horns were set wide apart. Owing to the length of the
grass, I tried once or twice to shoot from the back of
my mule, and found it quite successful. I was much
amused to be met with a request from the Masai guides
that we should not march in the early morning, as the
tall wet grass cut their bare legs. As we were having
heavy rains nearly every afternoon, this ingenious sug-
THE FIRST HERD OF ZEBRA. 183
gestion, which would have meant only some three hours'
march per day, did not appeal to me. Here and there
we came upon Dorobo game pits, long deep trenches
narrowing to nearly nothing at the bottom. They were
generally dug in a game path just where it passed through
Mount Sirgoit.
a belt of timber, the top being concealed with thin sticks
and grass.
On the morning of August 14th we neared Mount Sirgoit,
the Sirgoi of the maps, a solitary rocky hill that had been
in sight for the last three days. It was a pleasant change
to find ourselves on short, sweet pasturage, instead of
the coarse, reed-like grass through which we had been
wading, waist high, since leaving the forest. As we
approached, we saw the first herd of zebra, and then troop
184
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
after troop of game came in sight. When we got abreast
of the rock, a column of beasts that had gradually been
crowding together, streamed across our front. It was
impossible for me to count them with any accuracy, but
there must have been not less than 200 hartebeest, 300
to 400 zebra, and some 20 eland. They made a striking
picture as they galloped off in a body, wheeled round to
our left, and then all massed up together facing us. The
chestnut coats of the slight, cleanly-built hartebeest, and
the brilliant black and white of the cob-like zebras, con¬
trasting with the massive grey eland, stood out clearly
against the dark background of the rock. One moment
the mass remained almost motionless as they gazed at
the intruders, the next there was a sea of tossing horns,
waving tails, and flashing hoofs, as they turned to gallop
further afield, while the changing light caused by the
heavy clouds of a coming thunderstorm drifting across
the sun, added not a little to the grandeur of the scene.
After passing the rock we turned away to the east, seeing
on our march reedbuck, jackal, ostrich, warthog, and
Waterhuck. The thunderstorm at length broke, and
rain came down in torrents before we reached the borders
of a little salt lake, lying in a rocky basin, where camp
was to be pitched. It is only some half-mile long by a
quarter wide, and is sunk in such a sudden dip in the plain
that, without a guide, it would be extremely easy to miss
it altogether. The lake is fed by a small, sweet stream,
but is itself so salt that a crust of mud-coloured brine sur¬
rounds the open water.
The natives collect this brine, and pound it up when
dry, to mix with the tobacco they chew. A couple of
Elgeyo, who inhabit the hills lying eastwards, towards
ELGEYO VISITORS.
185
Baringo, found their way to our camp, and we learnt
from them that the Nandi, a powerful and turbulent tribe
from the south, had raided them during the previous week,
killing some of their people and carrying off a mob of
cattle. As they assured us their tribe would be glad to
exchange grain for iron wire, I determined to remain here
a day or two, to give them the chance of bringing it in.
Away in the distance to the north, the two of them pointed
out a line of thorn bush, where they said, giraffe were to
be found. In the evening I went up on to the plain, and
soon sighted a little party of reedbuck, a buck, a doe, and
a young one. I managed to wound the buck, and started
out in pursuit, when another male dashed out from a
little clump of long grass, drove the injured one away,
and at once took possession of his family belongings. Still
I continued to follow the worsted beast till after bounding
into the air several times, standing straight up on his
hind legs, he fell dead. I then set off to stalk his supplanter,
and, with a lucky shot, brought him to the ground. He
had a fine pair of hooked horns, while in the other, a very
old animal, the hook was almost entirely worn away.
As we were skinning and measuring the beasts, a flock
of 15 ostriches stalked past in the distance. Lion roared
that night and mosquitos buzzed galore.
I started out early next morning, and was soon rewarded
by the sight of three beasts which, at first, I took for reed¬
buck, but later, coming to the conclusion they must be
Uganda kob, spent a considerable time in vain endeavours
to get a shot at them. Soon afterwards I saw some harte-
beest, ostrich, eland, a beast of a darker colour than Heug-
lin's, which I took for topi, and a fine pig, for which last I
tried, but as he wasn't waiting, turned my attention to
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the topi. The whole crowd of animals on the hillside
had by this time moved off, and I determined to make
a long detour to try and get behind the hartebeest herd
with whom my quarry was feeding.
On the way, while passing through a swampy little
valley, I put up over 20 reedbuck, of which I killed two,
one with very fine hooks to his horns. Here these animals
were generally roaming about in little parties of two's and
three's ; the largest band I saw numbered only five. Aman
was left with the meat, while I started for camp, and on
the way dropped an old reedbuck with my first shot. A
little further on I came upon a big herd of Heuglin's, which
divided, 100 of them streaming past us at 250 yards, while
the remainder, about 30, among which were two topi, moved
off in the opposite direction. I started after the smaller
party, but the topi separated from the others, and vanished
over the top of a ridge. Again we headed for camp,
when a single hartebeest showed, and directly afterwards
a topi joined it. I got forward and they moved off, only
to stand side on at nearly 300 yards distance. I fired at
the topi—a short gallop, and my first of the sort fell dead.
The topi is a handsome beast with a dark purple-coloured
coat, horns curving backwards, but not very long, and,
unlike Heuglin's, quite a graceful head. Most of the larger
herds of Heuglin's were accompanied by one or two topi,
which, in spite of their smaller size, and very much darker
coats, were not at all easy to pick out in the distance, as,
in the different lights, the colour of the hartebeest's coat
varies so much. Sometimes we found a couple of topi
by themselves, but more often a bull topi and a single
Heuglin's of the same sex, roamed about together. Later
on I saw several small herds consisting only of topi.
STALKING TOPI. 187
The mosquitos had become so troublesome close to the
lakelet that I had been obliged to have my tent shifted
to higher ground. To my disgust, however, the little
pests were quite as bad there as in my old quarters.
My second topi we found feeding on a slope with a
Heuglin as pal, while a large herd of hartebeest was close
Masai guide and topi.
at hand. With a good deal of manoeuvring we managed to
move the crowd without disturbing the pair, but as the
result of a long crawl, I found myself within 50 or 60 yards,
not, as I had hoped, of the topi, but of the harte¬
beest, who had lagged behind, while my quarry had placed
nearly 350 yards between us. My bullet, however, hit
him, and the beast, not perceiving the direction from
188 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA .
which it had come, moved a little towards me, and then
stood looking about him, chest on. My second shot found
him, and he swayed from side to side but kept his feet.
Four of the hartebeest were fussing about between me
and my prize, galloping round and pulling up short to
stand and survey the land from every little ant hill in a
way that was peculiarly annoying. At last they cleared
off, and I started slowly towards the wounded animal.
Twice he moved, but a shot at 185 yards dropped him as
though dead. As soon as my men arrived, we went up to
him, but to our surprise, he sprang to his feet and dashed
off in the direction of camp. He lay up in some long grass
just beyond it, and it took a good deal of time before I
found and finished him. When this was done I again
set out for the rock, and saw a big troop of 150 zebra,
out of which I was lucky enough to secure the largest
male I had yet killed.
On our return to camp, we found a couple of Elgeyo
chiefs awaiting us, and after we had patiently listened to
a long tirade against the wickedness of the Nandi raiders,
they promised to bring us flour for sale on the morrow. A
youth who accompanied them had a very fine black-maned
lion's mask. He told me he had taken it from an animal
that had suddenly started up from a little patch of bush
where it had been devouring a kill, and confronted him at
close quarters with its lips drawn back in an ugly snarl.
The boy promptly fired a poisoned arrow into its open
mouth, and, while the lion was trying to cough it out, ran
for his life. In a few minutes the beast was dead, and he
returned to take the scalp in the hopes of trading it to the
Masai. For a few strings of beads I purchased it from
him, and tried to induce him with the promise of a reward
THE ELGEYO APPEAL TO GOD.
189
to search for the skull, which he had left by the carcase,
but it never came to hand.
The Elgeyo have a custom which seems to me so strange
for a pagan race that it might be of interest to students of
ethnography. Their elders, in times of adversity, assemble
to decide whether the stress is dire enough to warrant
their supreme appeal to the Spirit of the Universe. This
appeal is made by fire. A number of fat-tailed sheep
are slaughtered, of which the tails, hearts, lungs and en¬
trails are collected and, together with a pot of honey
and an unleavened cake made of flour and water, are
placed upon a heap of glowing embers. The smoke, rising
to Heaven, calls God's attention to their wants. He looks
down upon them, and if the smoke is " good " (i.e., if their
sacrifice is great enough) he brings their sufferings to
an end.
IÇ)0
CHAPTER XV.#
March to giraffe ground—Native unselfishness—Giraffe vanish—Finally sight two
bulls—A long chase—A dark, wet march—Camp at last—Men benighted —
Shoot an ostrich—Lost man's adventures—My record giraffe—Stone ruins—
Dwellings of a vanished race—The Masai invasion—A troop of lion—Topi
shooting—A big herd of giraffe—Variation in colour—A swarm of bees
besiege camp—Sleeping lions—I stalk them and they stalk my mule—A
tantalising episode.
As it was extremely doubtful whether, in spite of their
repeated promises, the Elgeyo would bring us any flour, I
determined next da)' to move camp into the giraffe country.
A steady march for two and a half hours brought us to the
edge of the mimosa thorn. On the way I saw a good many
animals, but did no shooting. Another hour and we had
reached a stream, called Elgarai, near which roamed a herd
of eleven giraffe ; but as preparations to deal with the skin
had still to be made, they were for the present left in peace.
My porters got in about twelve, and directly afterwards
heavy rain set in, and a chilly wind rose. About five we
heard lions grunting pretty close to camp, and again n the
early morning they broke the prevailing stillness.
Next day we made a seven hours' circuit of the country
round, but although other game was plentiful, there were no
signs of giraffe. While still searching, we came upon a little
party of natives, consisting of an old man, a mere skeleton
covered with skin, a younger man also very emaciated, and
NATIVE UNSELFISHNESS.
191
a bright little boy of six or seven, who seemed in far better
condition than the others. They were busily employed with
pointed sticks digging up some sort of bulb, and from the way
in which they seized them, and without so much as wiping
the dirt off, devoured them raw, the party were evidently
suffering from acute hunger. One of my men gave the little
boy a chunk of cooked meat. The child grasped it eagerly,
but instead of cramming his mouth full at once, as we had
expected, he ran with it to the old man, who divided it into
two unequal portions, gave the larger to the little fellow,
and handed the remainder to his other companion, keeping
nothing for himself. This little chance incident made a
deep impression on me, for the native has the name of being
utterly callous to another's sufferings ; and yet I doubt if,
in its touching simplicity, the unselfishness of the two chief
actors in the scene could have been surpassed. From the
two men we learnt that, on the previous day, they had seen
a herd of forty giraffe, and we persuaded them to come with
us and point out the place, while the little boy was sent by
himself, unarmed, back to their camp which lay some dis¬
tance off. Our search, however, proved fruitless, for we
saw nothing beyond the track of one of the lions that had
disturbed us in the night. When we reached camp we
found a party of Elgeyo, who were anxious to sell us the
picked-up end of a big tusk and a rhino horn. They said that
elephants were numerous pn the slopes of the hills a little
further north.
All that night lions roared at intervals, but although I
left camp as soon as we could see, in the hope of coming
across them, I met with no success. I then made a cast
round through the mimosa, and after an hour or two had
passed, I struck the fresh track of two bull giraffe, and
I92 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
started along it. The animals seemed to scent danger, and
kept on the move through a rather dense bit of thorn scrub,
but at last I got close up to one of them, and, as there
seemed to be nothing to choose between them, fired two
shots at it in quick succession. It immediately slackened
its pace and gave me a chance of getting alongside and
dropping it with a third bullet. On examining the animal,
I found that it had been badly mauled by a lion. There
were several deep scars in its skin, one of which had healed
in a great knot, while part of the tail had been bitten off.
My men were far behind, and, as they somehow managed
to miss the way, it was not until eleven that we got to work.
However, when the men from camp arrived in the afternoon,
besides taking photographs and measurements, we had
finished all the skinning possible without turning over the
carcase, a task which had baffled the two gunbearers and
myself.
After dark, in a heavy downpour, I reached camp, and
a few of the men found it with the help of some signal
shots and the light of a lantern hung on the giraffe skin
mast, but the main body did not turn up with the hide till
the following morning. They had spent a most uncom¬
fortable night in the wet, with lions prowling round them.
Three of them were still missing, and two parties were imme¬
diately sent out in search, as I was afraid the beasts might
have attacked them. We were all dog-tired, and it was
not till very late in the afternoon that the skin was thinned
and hoisted on to the platform. Even then the feet were
still unfinished, and the men, too worn out to do good work,
had made several cuts in the skin.
A stroll round before sundown brought me close to three
more giraffe, one a fine bull, quite near camp, but as I
SHOOT AN OSTRICH.
193
was not anxious to handle another skin that day, they were
left alone. Soon afterwards I unexpectedly started a
number of ostrich at close quarters in some rather thick
thorn bush, but they scattered at once. To my sur¬
prise, within a few minutes I again came on them, hit
one, and dropped another with a long stern shot. I kept
after the first, but missed a second shot, and, worse luck,
Thinning a giraffe skin.
the animal escaped. The other sat on the ground with a
broken thigh, but his wild endeavours to rise, and the vicious
dabs he made with his beak, showed that he was still
very much alive, and kept us all at a respectful distance.
Just as I was about to fire a finishing bullet, one of the
Njemps dashed forward, seized him by the neck, and, with
a lightning cut of his sword-like sime, almost slashed his
13
194
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
head off. Even then the quivering body kicked violently.
The bird was a fine one, with its contrasting jet-black and
white feathers, but, unfortunately, the time of year was not
the best for the plumage.
The first search party had returned with two of the men
earlier in the day, and when I got into camp the second
was just arriving. They had discovered a man who was
sent off at eleven o'clock the previous day to fetch help
from camp. He had gone in exactly the opposite direction,
got benighted, and remained perched in a little tree
till morning. A couple of lions chased and killed an
antelope close beside him, over which they snarled and
quarrelled, while the poor wretch, half dead with cold and
fright, clung to his frail support, wondering whether the
meal would prove sufficient for them, or whether they would
add him to it—an easy matter, as they could have reached
him with a single bound.
On the following day, as I was making towards Sirgoit, I
again came across the three giraffe, which proved to be all
bulls, and one of them seemed to be by far the largest I
had yet seen. They were feeding in very open ground, and,
long before I could get within reasonable range, I was dis¬
covered. There was nothing to do but try a shot. I fired
at the big one. My first bullet happily crippled it, but it
took a tremendous amount of lead to kill it. The animal
was a splendid specimen, measuring 17 ft. 3 in. from head
to heel, and anyone visiting the Natural History Museum
in Cromwell Road may see with what infinite success Mr.
Rowland Ward has succeeded in mounting it. The skin
gave us more trouble than any of the others, for, owing to
its exceptional weight and very long neck, hoisting it on
to the mast was a difficult process. When it was finished,
Giraffa Camelopardalis Rothschildi, $
.ratty
<-Y
A BIG GIRAFFE.
195
the two huge skins, standing side by side, looked from a
distance like two twin steeples and served us as a landmark
on our wanderings. Heavy showers of rain d:d not hasten
the drying, but it turned out to be very successful. The
immense packages the hides made, when folded, were most
awkward to carry, especially as, later on, we had several
Hoisting a giraffe skin to dry.
swollen rivers to cross. It then took some fifteen men to
each bundle, some carrying the pole on which it was slung,
others steadying the package, while a number had to be
told off to help the bearers keep their feet on the slippery
stones.
Nearly all the Gwashengeshu plateau is dotted with
stone ruins, which are almost always situated on the tops, or
13*
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
sides of rising ground. They consist of a wall built of large,
unhewn stones, without mortar, enclosing a space circular,
or nearly so, in shape, and of thirty to fifty yards dia¬
meter. The interior is generally dish-shaped, and contains
smaller circular walls marking the sites of the old huts. It
struck me as rather curious that the ruins often lie at a
considerable distance from any apparent outcrop of rock.
All of them are, of course, more or less tumbled down and
overgrown by long grass and jungle, making a scene of pic¬
turesque desolation. I always searched these places care¬
fully, walking round the wide top of the enclosing wall, in
the hope of disturbing a lion or leopard at his mid-day
slumbers, but the only animal I ever saw near them was a
jackal slinking into the shade.
On one hill-top, not far from Sirgoit, was a fragment of a
straight wall, some thirty or forty yards long. Apparently
it was not attached to any other ruins, and I was much at a
loss to understand the purpose for which it had been built.
No doubt the builders of these stone dwellings had found the
country as devoid of timber as it is at the present day, and
hence the immense amount of labour they must have ex¬
pended on their homes. Probably wood was only used for
the framework of the roofs. Over the camp fire I ques¬
tioned my Masai guides as to whether the owners existed
before the arrival of their tribesmen in the land, and if any¬
thing was known about them. As a result of these en¬
quiries, and others made at Mumias, I have gleaned the
following details, which I believe to be correct. Some time
early in the last century the Gwasheng'eshu plateau was
densely inhabited by a pastoral tribe, who were driven out
by the great wave of the Masai, which swept the country
from the North.
Giraffe skins drying.
THE MASAI TRIBE.
199
It is still a matter for conjecture whether this tribe
was absolutely annihilated, or whether the few survivors
became the ancestors of the Nandi speaking peoples,
which inhabit the Elgeyo Escarpment, Kamasia Hills,
Nandi, and Sotik countries. On their trek from the
North, the Masai divided into two clans under separate
laibons (medicine men), the one already mentioned estab¬
lishing itself at Rangatanyuki, just east of Mount Elgon,
the other proceeding by a more easterly route to Naivasha,
and holding sway over all that part of the country as far
east as Kilimanjaro. As time went on these two clans
became more distinctly separated, owing to feud between
the two laibons. Meanwhile they carried on continuous
raids against the surrounding tribes till the latter were forced
to retire to such remote fastnesses that they could no longer
be harassed with any degree of success. A small section of
the Gwashengeshu moved east and settled in Likipia, when
the Naivasha Masai, who were itching for a worthy foe,
immediately fell on them, and raided most of their cattle.
Flushed with their success these Masai then decided to
organise a larger expedition against the main strongholds
of the Gwashengeshu, but their enemies got wind of their
preparations, ambushed the advancing warriors, and com¬
pletely foiled them. With no thought but revenge, the
Gwashengeshu determined to make a great raid on the
Naivasha clan, who almost simultaneously re-organised
their army and started for Rangatanyuki. On their way
east the Gwashengeshu, from the slopes of Eldalat, observed
the approaching enemy in the plain, and a terrific battle
ensued, which ended in the complete defeat of the Naivasha
Masai.
The victors, filled with exultation at the success, con-
200
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
tinued their eastward march, and occupied the plains of
Naivasha, capturing the majority of their opponents. Some
six years later the Naivasha laibon, who had escaped the
massacre and taken refuge nearer Kilimanjaro, succeeded
in collecting sufficient forces from his tribesmen, who had
settled on the slopes of the great mountain, to attempt
reprisals on the supplanters, rushed their villages at night,
slaughtered most of the inhabitants, and drove the few
remaining survivors to the four winds. These are now
represented by the Gwashengeshu settlements at Kikuyu,
Ravine, Nandi, Lumbwa, Mumias, and Usoga, all close to
Government stations, where they prove of good service.
As I was standing on the wall of one of the ruins searching
the country for game, the guide pointed out some beasts
which I thought were pigs, moving along the bottom of a
grassy valley. With the glasses I discovered that they
.were a fine lion and four full-grown lionesses. As they
were making off up the opposite hillside, the lion deliberately
stopped, sat down with the lionesses grouped behind him,
and gazed at us. I returned the compliment through the
telescope, and the clearer view made me even more keen to
have the handling of his skin. As soon as his curiosity
was satisfied he got up and set off over the ridge, while we
only waited till the tail of the last lioness disappeared before
running down the slope and up the opposite side at our best
pace.
When we drew near the top I held the .400 ready, expect¬
ing any moment to get a glimpse of them, but they had
vanished ; nor could we tell which way they had gone, for,
to my surprise, the next valley was full of zebra and
Heuglin's, feeding apparently undisturbed. A wide cast
round, including the banks of the nearest stream, proved
Drawn by]
Dwellings of a by-gone race.
[a. Forestier.
A LONG CHASE.
203
fruitless. I next tried to get near a herd of twelve topi,
but failed, and then, spotting a single one on the other side
of the stream we had just crossed, I doubled back, and
managed to break one of its forelegs with a longish shot at
its chest. Expecting that it would soon tire, I followed it
for some distance on foot, but as it still kept ahead I got
my mule and tried to ride it down. Even then, on three
legs, the beast managed to outpace me, and at last I gave
up the chase to sit down and watch it, till, in the far dis¬
tance, it lay down. When I had re-stalked it and adminis¬
tered the coup de grace, I found the shoulder was smashed
high up ; a few inches nearer the centre of the bodjr would
have been a heart shot, and yet, disabled as it was, the beast
had taken us over three miles at a smart pace.
During the next few days, while the giraffe skins were
drying, I continued to shoot in the neighbourhood, and
got close to a large herd of from twenty to twenty-five
giraffe, the largest bull of which, instead of being almost
black, was very light coloured, probably owing to albi¬
nism. I was extremely anxious to secure some photos of
live giraffe at close quarters, and this seemed an excellent
opportunity. After a great deal of dodging about I suc¬
ceeded in getting close enough, when, to my utter disgust,
I found Bedoui had brought the case containing extra slides
for the camera, instead of the camera itself. The language
which I applied to the culprit in mixed Swahili and English
can be more easily imagined than described ; at all events,
it was to the point.
One afternoon our camp was invaded by a swarm of bees,
which took possession of the store tent. We had the
greatest difficulty in ejecting them, as we could not smoke
them out, owing to the danger of setting fire to the tent,
204
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
which contained among other things a couple of cases of
ammunition.
I had intended breaking camp next morning, but a
steady drizzle set in, and on examining the giraffe skins, I
found them not yet fit to travel. They had to be unpacked
and spread out again as soon as the rain ceased, and when
this was done I set out to hunt towards Sirgoit. En route
I came across the remains of a freshly-killed zebra, which,
judging by the tracks all round, had obviously been slain
by lions. In this case, contrary to their usual custom, they
had neither broken their victim's neck, nor drunk the blood
from a wound in his throat, as there was absolutely no mark
on either. My men soon lost the tracks in the grass, and I
started searching the ground towards the stream, in the
hope that the lions might have gone down to water.
Meanwhile, a spotted hyrena slunk past us on his way to
wrest his share of the spoil from the vultures, which were
by this time swearing and fighting over the remains.
Presently I noticed a fawn-coloured patch on a hillside
across the water at a distance of about 1,000 yards, which
with the telescope, I made out to be three lions close
together, while a fourth lay a little apart. Leaving the
mule and my other men, I set off with Bedoui to make
a long circuit, cut the valley higher up, work down
unseen through the long grass, and then crawl up to
where the lions were taking their noonday siesta. The
first part of the programme was successfully carried out,
and I was carefully moving up the hill, rifle ready,
expecting every moment to see the beasts confront me,
when a sudden growl behind made me swing round in
quick time. The beasts were emerging from the other
side of the tall grass we had just left, and ascending
MISS THREE LIONS. 205
the opposite hill towards the mule. They had evidently
awakened and, seeing the mule in the distance standing
apparently alone—for the men, according to my instruc¬
tions, were all lying down—had decided that it would make
a good second course to the zebra. There were two males,
one rather finer than the other, but neither of them heavily
maned,_ and two full-grown lionesses. They were quite
350 yards off, but as the valley lay between us and there
was little chance of my being able to get nearer, I opened
fire at the best lion while he made off to the right.
Meanwhile the other three spread out to the left, sneaked
up the hill towards the mule, and began to close in on it. As
they got closer my men showed themselves, whereupon the
lions stopped, growling savagely, and twitching their tails.
It was a most tantalising position for me ; every moment I
expected to see the beasts charge in to attack the mule,
while I stood watching, powerless to interfere. At last one
of my men fired at the nearest two, which sullenly drew off,
and passed along the hillside between us, moving so fast
that it was useless to think of cutting them off. Then the
third lion approached the men very close from behind, but
it bounded away as they fired. The whole incident was
most annoying, for, had I contented myself with sitting
down and lazing by my men, I should have had every chance
of bagging a couple, or, if I had not been so cautious about
approaching the place where we had first seen them, I
should have met them by the long grass. But it is always
easy to be wise after the event.
20 6
CHAPTER XVI.
Nandi spies—An Oribi dance—Swollen rivers—Provisions running short—A
herd of elephant—The heart shot—Preserving the scalp—Flour at last—A
night's vigil for lion—The tree breaks—A dilemma—Mount Elgon in the
distance—Reach Kabaras—Walled villages—Women in birthday attire—
Village threshing floors—Reach Mumias station.
My march to Mumias lay across a well-watered and rich
pastoral country, with fine belts of timber. The journey
took far longer than it should have done, for the guides
were almost as lacking in the knowledge of the exact
marches as those we had across Likipia. On the first day
my men robbed a fine store of honey from an old tree stump,
and I bagged the best defassa head I had got so far. The
animal was the master of a little herd of six which bolted
at our approach, but I followed and got him with a single
shot from my .256. Duck were plentiful on the marshy
streams we had to cross, and hippo tracks were everywhere
to be seen. One morning Nzau reported that he had seen
nine Nandi hanging about the rear of the safari, so that
night all our tents were crowded together within a circle
of watchfires with double sentries posted, and the long
grass and scrub was flattened down for some distance round.
The night, however, passed peacefully.
From time to time during the march we saw several
herds of giraffe, a good many Heuglin's, besides reedbuck
ONE-HORNED HARTEBEEST. 207
and oribi, but for the most part the grass was long and I
did but little shooting. One of the hartebeest had a single
horn, the only instance I noticed on the whole trip. One
morning, while passing a patch of shorter grass than usual,
my attention was caught by an oribi bounding from side to
side, throwing itself into the air, and generally behaving as
if it were mad. Beside it stood a doe reedbuck, which was
Waiting to cross the Elakatok.
gazing at it in sheer astonishment. I tried to get near them,
but the oribi darted off with lightning speed before I could
plug in a shot. Bedoui accounted for its antics by sug¬
gesting that the beast had been stung by a scorpion.
When we reached the junction of the Etakatok and
Nollosegelli Rivers, to give them the names they bear on
the map, our guides wanted to cross the latter, but finding
it up to our chests and very swift, I decided to keep to the
left bank and ford the Etakatok. This stream was not so
2o8
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
swift, but even here the water near either bank was up to
the men's armpits. A number of picked men were first
sent across, each holding several coils of a thick rope I had
brought for the purpose, above his head, while in the other
hand he carried a tent pole to steady his steps. As the
line worked its way across, each man, commencing from the
rearmost, uncoiled his portion of the rope, still keeping it
above the water, till the foremost couple reached the oppo¬
site bank and made the rope fast to an overhanging tree
trunk.
Then some ten of the strongest men took their stand
at intervals along the rope to steady it, while others,
with much assistance, carried the loads to the other side.
Every now and then a porter would lose heart and have to
be relieved of his burden in mid-stream. The shorter men
were not entrusted with anything to carry, and even then
some of them were swept off their feet, and clung to the
rope for dear life, yelling till dragged to dry land. One
idiot tried to carry a double load, and of course dipped
them both. The most difficult job was to get the giraffe
skins over in safety ; the largest had six porters to it,
and a crowd all along the rope to help the six keep
their legs.
When I went across I found the water very chilly, and
it was difficult for me, being unaccustomed to go barefoot,
to get a steady foothold on the slippery stones. As soon
as all had reached the further bank I served out to every
man six grains of quinine and a tin of hot, sweet coffee,
which the cook meanwhile had been busy brewing in our
biggest cooking-pots, and stood by to see each of them
swallow it. The results were most satisfactory, for there
was not a single case of fever among the safari. I had a
Taking the loads over.
m
2 IO
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
miserable afternoon myself, for the cold had set an old tooth
aching, which, like Rachel, refused to be comforted.
On looking up the maps I found that we had only
advanced thirty miles in the last six days, so winding a
route had our guides brought us from Mount Sirgoit. We
had still forty miles to do to Mumias, and the men had
hardly any flour left.
The next day we came across some big tracks which
looked as though made by hippo, but when, a little further
on, I saw a tree torn down, I was sure we were in the wake
of a herd of elephants, and what was more, that they had
only just passed. Soon afterwards I spotted one disappearing
over the crest of a low hill opposite us, evidently the last
of the herd. I waited some time for the .600, only to learn
that it had been left in camp to come on with the second
lot of baggage, for, unfortunately, we had now more loads
than porters, and a certain number of men had to make a
double journey every day. Deciding that the only thing
to do was to trust to the .400, I pushed on, passed the place
where we were to camp, and continued up the hillside.
In the next valley, which had a marshy bottom, I found
the herd, numbering from eighty to a hundred, drinking and
bathing. Their leader was a fine big bull, but it was im¬
possible to get near him without the remainder of the herd
winding us. At the tail end of the others, who by this time
were moving off, were two bulls which lagged behind and
enabled us to get up to them without risk of the rest
detecting our presence. While his companion went on,
the better beast of the two stayed behind to feed from a
small bush. It was in an open bit and I could not get near
him, so had to wait for him to reach a belt of trees and then
follow in his tracks. He was a bit suspicious, I fancy,
SHOOT AN ELEPHANT.
211
stopping and listening every now and then. At last, when
I thought I was near enough, I moved out a 'little to one
side of the patch. My quarry heard me and swung round
broadside on ; I took the heart shot and plugged in a .400
solid bullet. He turned at once and made off, but just as
he got out of sight behind some trees, there was a loud crash,
and we knew he was down. As we approached we heard
A Kabaras elephant.
him groan once or twice, and found his dead body just
seventy-five yards from where he had stood when I fired.
I was anxious to save the head skin, and, thinking that the
men were quite close at hand, I waited for them .instead of
following up the herd, but they arrived so late that it was
long after dark when I reached camp. Getting off the skin
was a most difficult task, and the Swahilis proved far more
stupid than the Somalis, with whom I had done like jobs on
previous trips. The scalp and tusks, the latter weighing
14*
212
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
105 lbs. the pair—a fair average for a herd bull—did not
reach camp till next morning.
By this time the safari had come to the end of their flour,
and a meat diet had brought on its attendant troubles—
dysentery—so Nzau and a party of men were sent off to the
nearest village, said to be two days' distant, to make arrange¬
ments for a fresh supply. In the meantime I set to work
to preserve the huge head-skin and feet. Elephant skin is
always more troublesome to cure than that of either rhino
or hippo, for, if it becomes the slightest bit tainted, the
upper surface peels off, and the hide loses its distinctive
appearance. Perhaps the most tedious part of the whole
process is removing the cartilage from the thin skin of the
ears. It needs an enormous amount of time and care.
The work was not finished to my satisfaction till the next
morning, which was happily fine, although rain set in after
lunch. The temperature that day at 7 a.m. was 63o ; at
11 a.m., 84o ; and at 6 in the evening, 64°—a fair sample of
the weather we were having.
While we were at pur next camp, not very far away, a
couple of my men returned, accompanied by a crowd of
Kabaras Kavirondo, who came to carry the flour and help
us with our extra loads. To my great annoyance these men
told me that they had run into a big herd of elephants not
three hours from camp, and had driven them off with shouts
and spears. I had particularly told Nzau only to send some
half-dozen men so as to avoid disturbing the country, and
this was the way my instructions had been carried out !
Round the remains of the elephant I had killed I dis¬
covered, one morning, the pugs of a large lion, and decided
to build a macharn, or platform, in the branches of a tree
near the spot, from which I could watch that night in the
AN EVENTFUL NIGHT. 213
hopes of the beast's return. The only tree available was
rather a poor one, and not very well placed, but before dusk
the macharn was built and I took up my position on it,
while my men left me for the night vigil. About two hours
after dark, the sound of some beast tearing at the carcase
caught my ear, but as it was on the farther side, and out of
sight, I could not tell what the animal was. A little later
Drying the scalp.
the noise ceased and I descried the shadowy form of a
heavily-maned lion slinking away into the darkness. There
was no time for a shot. Every minute I expected the beast
to return, and held my rifle ready, when, to my horror, I
felt the tree under me slowly turn round and begin to bend
over. What was to be done ? The animal, for all I knew,
might be lurking in the long grass close at hand, ready to
spring on me without a moment's warning. I tied my spare
rifle, water-bottle, etc., to the branches, and determined to
214
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
stick to the tree as long as possible. Gradually it bent
nearer the ground, till at last I found it difficult to prevent
myself being shot clean out of it. At midnight, just as the
moon sank, the tree fell over with a loud snap, and I
scrambled out and ran to the next one, which, to my dis¬
tress, turned out to be very short. A rustling in the grass
made me climb in haste as high as I could get, and I was
glad I had done so, for soon afterwards the lion growled
again. For over an hour the beast prowled round about me
grunting his displeasure, while I clung in suspense to the
branches, unable in the darkness to make out anything,
much less to shoot. Even when silence reigned, I had an
uneasy feeling that he was still lying in wait near by. Never
was dawn more welcome. As soon as I could see my rifle-
sights I climbed down, stretched my stiff, cramped limbs,
and searched for the lion ; but although his pugs marked
the ground all round, he had vanished.
The following night I returned to the place, and, in order
to raise the macharn further from the ground, as well as to
make myself secure from a repetition of the mishaps of the
previous night, built it in the tree top, and propped it up
with poles. Then I placed a live goat in a cage between the
elephant's carcase and the platform, in the hope that its
bleating might attract the lion.
About three hours after sunset, there was a rustling in the
long grass, and then something emerged, but directly under
me, and in such a position that it was impossible to make
out what it was. I held my rifle ready to fire as soon as I
should get a clearer view, but to my disgust the beast proved
to be a hyjena. Several times during the night it drew
near the goat's pen, much to the latter's alarm, but appa¬
rently it feared a trap, and turned away each time. No-
FIRST KABARAS VILLAGES. 215
thing else came near me, and I had to return empty handed
to camp.
Two days' march brought us to the first Kabaras villages,
camp on the way being pitched by a low range of hills
overlooking the Ivavirondo country, in which Mumias, my
destination, lay. Away in the distance rose Mount Elgon,
Kabaras natives.
which looked very insignificant to me, who had the beauties
of Kenya still fresh in my memory. Here was no forest of
contrasting colours clothing the slopes, no jagged peaks,
no dazzling snowy crest ; nothing but a featureless
mountain like a huge molehill with flattened top.
The elder of the place, Ketarnder, who had already
received Nzau warmly, proved very friendly. Through his
216
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
aid, five days' posho (rat ons) had been collected, and he
brought me presents of eggs and fowls.
The most remarkable feature of a village in northern
Kavirondo is the high, well-constructed mud wall, circular,
or nearly so, which runs right round it, and is bounded on
the outside by a deep moat. The single gateway is gene¬
rally arched, framed by heavy beams of wood, and
approached by a light bridge.
The country is studded with huge granite boulders, on
which the people would collect to watch our approach, for
a white man is still a novelty in that part of the world.
The natives, we found, were very indifferent as to clothes.
The girls and most of the women wore none at all, which at
first was rather embarrassing, particularly when a crowd of
them clustered round my tent door with baskets of flour on
their heads to barter for beads and iron wire. Some of
them affected rather pretty little belts and diminutive
aprons of bead work, and, turning to Nzau, I said I should
like to purchase some of these. As soon as this was ex¬
plained to my lady callers, several of them took off their
scanty decorations without a moment's hesitation, and vied
with each other in trying to get the bunch of beads offered
in exchange.
The Kavirondo women are remarkable not only for their
lack of clothing, but also for their scrupulous morality.
Unlike the Masai and kindred tribes, it is exceedingly rare,
and regarded as a disgraceful thing, for a girl to have a
lover before her marriage. The men, unlike the women,
were seldom seen without being, at least, partly clothed.
Both sexes extract the four front teeth of the lower jaw.
After a day spent in taking photos and haggling for curios,
while waiting for the arrival of all my loads, I engaged
NATIVE THRESHING FLOOR. 217
twenty-five Kubras men, who, for two rings of brass wire
each, agreed to carry packages to Mumias.
Our first march was a long one, past numerous villages,
many of which were unwalled, and surrounded by patches
Mumias Government station.
of highly-cultivated ground. Between these were stretches
of tall elephant grass and swampy valleys. Close to most
of the villages a mass of granite with a flat surface formed
the common threshing floor of the inhabitants. Sometimes
the women would be winnowing the grain as we passed,
2l8
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
and their natural, graceful poses as they slowly poured the
corn from a basket held above the head, so that the wind
might blow away the chaff, made a very pretty picture.
Another striking feature near every village was an ex¬
aggerated hop-pole, stuck almost upright in the ground,
and hung with little pear-shaped baskets. These were for
tame quails, which by their cries decoyed the wild birds
into the snares awaiting them on the ground round the pole.
The Kubras men got in a good while before my Swahilis,
who found the heat very trying after the cooler atmosphere
of the Gwashengeshu plateau. As I was sitting in camp
talking to the chief of the place, Umbari, we heard a violent
commotion, and one of my men came running up to say
that the whole of the Kubras had bolted. A wild chase
ensued, but only two of the offenders were caught. The
Kavirondo I was now amongst absolutely refused to carry
loads, no matter for what payment, so that, on resuming my
journey to Mumias, I was reluctantly forced to leave a
number of these to be fetched later.
A five hours' march brought me within sight of the flag
floating over the Government boma at Mumias station,
which latter derives its name from one of the most powerful
Kavirondo chiefs whose village is close at hand.
CHAPTER XVII.
Mumias station—Parcel post and its difficulties—Troubles of an ivory trader—
Chiefs and their followers—A native band—Cattle raiding—The market
place—Uganda thatching—Theft of ammunition—A little misunderstanding.
The Government buildings at Mumias are built within a
stone wall enclosure, round the outside of which runs
a deep, wide ditch, crossed by three drawbridges. As
we entered the compound by the main bridge, we passed
the guard room of the Sudanese police, and found ourselves
in a fine avenue of trees, many of whose branches were
weighed down by the nests of the weaver birds, built
at the extreme tips. Leaving the guest bungalow and
the various store-houses behind us, we approached the
official residence, a big thatched building, standing on
a raised platform, with deep verandahs, and wide open
passages between the rooms, to allow full play to currents
of air.
The late Mr. Boughton Knight was the officer in charge,
the Collector, Mr. Partington, being away for a change
of air after a bad bout of fever. The former had only
been in the country a few months, and had just come up
from Kisumu to find himself almost at once responsible
for an important station, which, on paper, is supposed
to have a staff of four white men. Fortunately, Knight
220
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
had had considerable experience in India and Ceylon,
which now stood him in good stead, and he seemed to have
no difficulty in coping with the various important matters
that required his decision. The only other European
at the station was Dr. Booth, who had been in the country
some time, but, his term of service now being over, he
was to start for home in three days. Knight kindly placed
a room in the guest house at my disposal and invited me
to have my meals with him during my stay at Mumias, an
invitation very welcome after my couple of months'
solitude.
My next task was, as usual, to weed out the useless
porters, engage others, and pickle and pack the skins for
the coast. At the Ravine I had discovered that many
of the smaller things could be sent by parcels post, a method
both quicker and cheaper than any other. When I told
the Goanese clerk, who was acting-postmaster, that I had
about 50 parcels to despatch, I was met with the reply
that none were accepted at Mumias. Now a compre¬
hensive postal directory for East Africa and Uganda, setting
out the exact cost of postage to the Falkland Isles and
other such useful information, is on sale at all the stations,
even one so remote as Baringo. However, when I referred
the postmaster to the page and paragraph in this marvellous
work, on which Mumias was entered as an office for the
receipt and despatch of parcels, he merely answered with
a shrug of his shoulders—" Oh, yes, it is down there, but
I can't take them, as I have no forms or anything else
for parcels post. We always refuse them." A wire to
Kisumu brought the reply—" Kindly accept parcels ; forms
will be sent by next mail." But, as the parcels post only
went once a month, and the unbridged rivers were then
Muirías Avenue.
POSTAL ARRANGEMENTS.
223
swollen with rain, the things had to be despatched at
once, and manuscript forms prepared. Knight, with
his usual kindness, set to work to help me, and, together
with the clerk, we had a very busy time making up the
parcels for the mail. The figure 2 in 1902, on the date
stamp, we found to be upside down, and the clerk explained
Mr. Boughton Knight at Mumias.
that the " oz " was a " 20 " reversed, for although in
1899 the then Collector had applied for a new set of
numerals, as those he had were no good for the 20th
century, so far none had come to hand. The next little
difficulty was that, in accordance with a special memo,
from headquarters, only one post bag was in store, and we
had to resort to my own waterproof sacks. At last eleven
loads were ready to start, and, to my amusement, a band
224
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
of ioo Kavirondo porters and two askaris turned up to
carry them. Knight told me that this was quite the usual
thing, as the men liked to have plenty of company, and to
change the loads from one to another. This first despatch
of parcels from Mumias was, I think, the largest it will
be likely to see for many a long day.
Before 1 finally left Mumias we casually learnt that
the post runner had, week by week, reached Kisumu after
that office was closed, so that our letters regularly missed
the English mail. It had never occurred to the post¬
master there that it was his duty to inform the Mumias
officials of the fact, and, but for chance, the weekly delay
might have gone on for months.
I think it is clear from these experiences that it
would be more to the benefit of the public if the responsible
postal official in a new country would devote a little more
time to supervising the equipment and organisation of
the up-country stations, instead of compiling elaborate
guides, which give an entirely false idea of the progress
of the Department.
This business at last satisfactorily completed, I had a
great time haggling with an Indian trader, to whom I was
anxious to sell a number of surplus stores. These had
been provided for a doctor, who hoped to join me for the
remainder of my journey, but at the eleventh hour had
been detained in England.
No sooner was this bargaining over, than I started a
deal for a drove of donkeys belonging to an Anglo-Greek
and his partner, an Austrian, who had just returned from
a trading trip in northern Karamojo. It had apparently
been a most haphazard expedition. Neither of them
had had any experience of the ivory trade, and, indeed,
Kavirondo chiefs and their followers.
SEARCH FOR A GUIDE.
227
knew little of the native and his ways, the result being that
a large part of the ivory they had traded was newly-killed
cow, and, under the Regulations in force at that time,
was confiscated by Government. From these men I
gathered a good deal of useful information about the tribes
I should have to pass through on my journey to the
Nile.
My next task was to look about me for a guide, and the
leading man among the Swahilis found me one who was
said to be not only well acquainted with the different
tribes on the way, but also able to speak their dialects.
My plan was to make a short expedition round the northern
part of the Nandi escarpment in search of elephant, lion
and the Uganda kob, and then strike the trade route along
the eastern slopes of Mount Elgon. There Nzau, whom
I had sent to Kisumu with the giraffe and other heavy
skins, was to meet me with a further supply of donkeys
for the northward journey.
Mumias was the centre of a large and very populous
district, and the chief place for fitting out caravans which
were making northwards, so that, for securing photographs,
studying the present method of administration, and the
ivory trade as it presents itself to official eyes, this station
was not to be surpassed.
Mumia and other native chiefs were continually coming
in with bands of their followers, either to have some dispute
settled, or merely to pay their respects. The chiefs used
to get themselves up in fine style for these visits. Two
of the most striking costumes I saw were a black frock
coat over a long white nightgown, the whole crowned
by a felt wide-awake hat, and a striped blanket with a
jaunty sun-bonnet of plaited reeds, while leg gear descended
15*
228
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the scale from the regulation ammunition boots and putties,
through the spring-sided variety, put on over the putties,
down to sandals or bare feet. Their followers made up
what they lacked in clothing by the strangeness of their
forehead decorations. Among these I noticed sections of
glistening hippo teeth, and twisted horns fastened on by
leather bands.
One chief arrived, accompanied by his native band,
who carried curiously-shaped trumpets made of the horns of
different animals, fitted into each other, and held together
by a covering of leather shrunk on them. The leader
was the chief's bard, whose duty it was to improvise chants
in honour of his master's exploits in peace and war.
The most usual cause of appeal was cattle-raiding, and
the fact that justice was supposed to be administered
under the Indian Penal Code made this crime very difficult
to deal with. The Code is admirably adapted for a civilised
people who love going to law and can appreciate all the
subtle niceties of it, but ill-suited for a country just being
opened up. In fact, in many cases, were the letter of the
Code enforced, the greatest injustice would be done.
On one occasion a couple of cattle-raiders were marched
in, with ropes round their necks, by some of Mumia's
askaris, who also brought along the petty chief and head
man concerned. On another day a big party with com¬
plaints of a raid came in to demand justice. As soon as
the chief and his head man had taken their seats on little
stools carved out of a solid block of wood, and their followers
had squatted down on either side, they told their tale.
They had with them little bundles of straw of different
lengths, the longest to denote the cows taken, shorter
ones for the calves, and others, shorter still, for the sheep
A WIZARD OR MEDICINE MAN. 229
and goats. In this raid two women had been killed,
and for one of them the injured tribe claimed ten cows
as compensation, while for the other, who was with child,
they wanted fifteen. The shauri lasted for two full hours,
one bundle of straws after the other being laid out on the
ground and carefully checked, even the colour of the in-
A Ivavirondo band.
dividual cows being given. Then the band were told to call
again after the other side had been heard.
Another visitor to the boma was a wizard or medicine
man from the banks of the Nzoia, close to the place where
it empties itself into the Victoria Nyanza. His costume
consisted chiefly of string upon string of kauri shells, sewn
on bands of leather, and wound round his body, while, in
addition, he was wearing a mask of similar shells and a
230
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
curious cap, surmounted by ostrich plumes. His legs
were wound with wire, and ornamented with bean-shaped
bells, and he wore the usual wire bracelets. After he had
been prevailed upon to let me take his photo, I tried to
bargain for his complete costume, but, as he valued it at a
cow, we did not come to terms.
In the morning, if there was nothing of interest going
on in the boma itself, and nothing to be done, we had only
to cross the drawbridge next the main bungalow to find
ourselves in the midst of the market. This was a never-
failing source of amusement. The sellers were shaven-
headed Kavirondo women, many of them wearing no
more clothing than a string or two of beads round the neck
and waist, a diminutive fringe apron, and a curious tail,
made of fibre, and shaped very much like that of a horse.
Strings of these women would come into the market
together, balancing on their heads big baskets of flour,
grain, or sweet potatoes, bunches of bananas, or.firewood.
Then they would squat down beside their goods to chaffer
with the buyers, most of whom were either the closely-
draped wives of the Nubian soldiers, their tightly-plaited
locks weighted with lumps of fat, or Swahili and Uganda
women, in flowing garbs of brightly-printed cotton. Men
and boys from all the different native races settled at Mumias,
wandered about, haggling and chaffing with the women.
Nearly the whole crowd, whether marketers or sellers,
regarded the camera with suspicion, and, at first, my
mere approach with it was sufficient to make them gather
up their property, and run with one accord from its " evil
eye." By degrees, however, when they got accustomed
to my presence among them, I was able to seize a chance
opportunity now and then of snapping them unawares.
A Kavirondo wizard.
NATIVE THATCHERS. 233
The Ivavirondo woman loves her pipe, and puffs away
lustily at all times and seasons, carrying about with her,
like the men of the tribe, a little bag of tobacco and a
long-stemmed pipe with an earthen bowl. They grow
such quantities of the plant in Kavirondo that the best
" blend " can be purchased at R.2 for a 60 lb. load.
Gossiping marketers.
While I was at Mumias some Uganda men were employed
in re-casing the thatch of the bungalow, a task carried
out on rather different lines to those adopted by our
thatchers at home. The old thatch was arranged
as follows : Side by side on the ridge of the roof lay
loosely-tied bundles of grass, a pole being fixed tightly down
along the top, and another a little lower on either side.
To renew this, the men cut a quantity of long grass, and
made it up, green as it was, into bundles, some of which
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
were just a little over a hand-grasp in thickness, and loosely
tied, while the majority were slightly smaller, and tightly
bound round for about eight inches at the lower end. The
unbound portion of the latter was then well-beaten to bruise
the stems of the grass and flatten them down before the
actual thatching began. The men, having renewed the
bundles along the ridge and replaced the poles, proceeded
Mumias market.
to force up the grass under one of the side poles with
a stick, thrust under it a tightly-bound bundle, and so
on tier by tier until the roof was completed. The method
is a slow one, taking some dozen men nearly a month
to finish a bungalow with a smaller roof than a fair-sized
barn at home. The thatch seems to stand well against
the wind, but it soon rots, possibly owing to the green state
of the grass used.
On the morning of the day I had intended leaving Mumias,
AMMUNITION STOLEN.
235
the corporal of the askaris, Abdallah, who had taken charge
since Nzau left, came to tell me that, on going his rounds
in the night, he had found a box of ammunition broken open,
and a number of packets lying loose in the store tent.
I went round to camp just at the back of the boma to
investigate the matter, and found that 80 rounds had
been stolen. The two sentries both declared that they
had noticed the box was open when they took over the
watch, but they " had forgotten to report it," a strange
lapse of memory which cost them dear. Next morning, when
I started, the delinquents were left in the chain gang, where
their overtaxed memories would have a rest for a while.
Cartridges are worth 8d. apiece at Mumias, and theft
there is very prevalent, for no provision is made for the
detection of crime, the policy evidently being—" every
man his own detective." Cartridges would, of course,
not be easy things to identify, but later on I lost a carbine
of a peculiar pattern and with the registration number
on it, which ought to have been easily traced if any of the
police had been trained to detective work.
With reference to the chain gang, rather an amusing
tale was told me at Mumias. The Collector had decided
to give the prisoners a change of diet from m tama flour to
sweet potatoes, and the news was hailed with great delight.
A few days later, however, they asked leave to lay a griev¬
ance before the Collector. The spokesman explained
that they were all " very hungry," and prayed that the
Bwana would let them go back to the previous rations.
On enquiry, it transpired that the order had been mis¬
interpreted, and the unfortunate prisoners had been
receiving three small potatoes per man per day instead
of three lbs. Small wonder that, they felt " very hungry."
236
CHAPTER XVIII.
The bazaar—A native musician—The old Nandi road—The Kakumega people—
Tattoo work as a costume—The Nandi escarpment—Rhino scatters my flock
—Nandi villages—A troublesome tribe—My dealings with them—A queer
costume—A nasty toss.
The trial of the cartridge stealers took up so much time
that I had to delay my start from Mumias until the following
morning. Then the four newly-purchased donkeys gave
me so much trouble to load that when I did at length
succeed in getting away, with some twenty-five followers
and a little flock of sheep and goats, the bazaar through
which we had to pass, was at its busiest. The market
people, having disposed of their produce, were spending
their money at the Indian, Arab, and Swahili shops before
setting out homewards. A native musician, in particular,
caught my eye, as he strolled down the lane, and stopped
by the larger groups to chant an impromptu verse, ac¬
companying himself on a kind of lyre. The body of his
instrument was made of hollowed wood, covered with snake
skin, and the seven strings were of finely twisted gut.
He made a picturesque figure as he bent over it, his brass
and iron armlets, burnished till they shone like gold and
silver, standing out against his dusky skin, beneath which
one could see the play of the muscles as, at the end of
each verse, he swept his hand across the strings. He seemed
A WILD-CAT TRAP.
237
loth to part with his treasured " dengore, ' which
fashioned as it was by his own hands, had, for many a
long day, brought him a welcome everywhere. At last,
aided by the persuasive tongue of an Indian storekeeper,
I induced him to barter it for a pile of many-coloured beads,
and coils of brass wire.
We followed the old Nandi road, which had been built
M um i as bazaar.
at considerable expense, but, when I used it, had relapsed
almost into its original jungle state. On the second day
we reached the banks of the river Daragarni, and, as the
bridge had rotted away, were obliged to cross by a deep
ford. Further on we came across a wild cat trap, shaped
very much like a beeskip, but built on the ground. Ar¬
ranged round its single entrance was a noose with a sapling
attached to act as a spring.
At our camp that day the head man brought me in
238
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
some bananas, and one of his followers who was wearing
a crescent-shaped knife as a forehead ornament, was pre¬
vailed on to sell it to me.
The next march brought us to the last group of villages
i
An Indian storekeeper.
on the fringe of the Kakumega country. The old chief,
Keveni, was a fund of information, and very garrulous.
He promised to provide me with a guide up to the Nandi
escarpment, where, he said, three elephants had been
killed only a few days before by a band of Nandi hunters,
one of whom had been crushed to death in the chase by an
WOMEN LABOURERS.
239
elephant he had wounded. I had counted on replenishing
our flour supply here, but unfortunately we were only
able to get a small quantity in exchange for salt, for which
I had never before been asked.
The people here were all hard at work preparing their
A Kakumega couple.
fields, the women, as usual, engaged in the more laborious
task of hoeing with short, bent-handled instruments,
which made them stoop nearly double.
Most of them had their bodies tattooed in a raised geo¬
metrical design, giving them the appearance of being em¬
bossed. This method of decoration must be an extremely
240
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
slow and painful one. A series ol incisions are made in the
skin, and then some substance is inserted in the wounds
to make them heal permanently in raised scars. These
ladies had even dispensed with the horse-like tails and
tiny aprons usually worn by the other tribeswomen of
Kavirondo. A single string of beads round the waist and
one round the neck formed their entire costume.
The men, meanwhile, contented themselves with the
lighter jobs, such as collecting the rubbish with forked
sticks, sowing the seed, lopping the branches, and dragging
them off the ground. As usual in the frontier villages of
a tribe, the men went armed with spear and shield, in
case hostile raiders might suddenly swoop down on them,
kill, loot, and carry off the women. Many were wearing
iron anklets, necklets, and wristlets, but I saw no ear
plugs or elaborate forehead ornaments among them, such
as are affected by the natives nearer the Great Lake.
The following morning we were led out of the village
clearing and into the forest lying at the foot of the escarp¬
ment. On the way my mule flatly refused to jump a
tiny stream with steep banks that lay across our path,
and I was forced to leave him behind till the more tractable
donkeys came along, and they could go over together.
After pushing our way for a couple of hours along the
overgrown route, frequently having to make a detour to
avoid a fallen tree, we struck off in a northerly direction
through a pretty country of alternating grass and forest.
That evening a camping place was selected close under
the escarpment. As darkness came on, and no donkeys
were in, I was obliged to spend the night rolled in a bit
of felt, with a sack under me. When morning dawned,
there were still no signs of them, so I determined to let
THROUGH DENSE UNDERWOOD.
241
camp remain there that day, while I saw what game the
neighbourhood could offer. As companions, I took with
me the guide, clad in a policeman's blue tunic and a blanket,
and four Kakumega, who had just arrived, armed with
spears, bows, and reed arrows, the hard-wood barbs of
which were dipped in poison.
We spent a long morning forcing our way through the
Mount Elgon.
dense underwood and tangled creepers of the forest, and
I bagged a couple of good specimens of guereza, which
were much less shy than in the Kenya or Mau Forests. They
frequented large trees with small green leaves, amid the
foliage of which they were much more easily seen than
in the moss-clad branches of the forests where I had pre¬
viously found them.
The Kakumega hunt them for food, but not nearly so
16
242
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
persistently as the Dorobo, who are therefore much more
expert in detecting them among the branches. As far
as I could ascertain, the Dorobo do not work this country
at all.
I also saw the tracks of both duiker and dik-dik in the
woods, but was not fortunate enough to come across the
animals themselves.
No sooner had we crossed the boundary into Kabaras
than my guide and his friends insisted upon returning,
although we had not yet reached any village. Before
letting them go I made them small presents, and bought
some of their arrows.
The old trouble of posho running short necessitated my
sending Abdallah and one of the men to the nearest villages
to replenish it, while I set off to ascend the escarpment.
It was a bright, clear day, and Mount Elgon showed up
well on the western horizon. Our climb brought us to
a fringe of long grass, some quarter of a mile wide, bounded
by a dense forest into which we could see no opening.
It was, therefore, decided to camp by a stream in the
grass belt, and fill in the rest of the day searching for the
best route for the morrow. It was not long before we struck
a path leading into the forest, past a deserted clearing
with one Nandi hut on the edge of it, and then on across
a little valley intersected by a stream to another abandoned
settlement. After various false starts from here we
found a trail in the direction we wished to follow, which
finally brought us to a salt-lick cut up by rhino tracks, in
one of which I noticed a game pit.
On my return to camp a letter was handed me. It proved
to be from Knight, forwarding a report from Nzau that,
owing to the large purchases by the East African Syndicate,
TWO RHINO CHARGE. 243
donkeys were not procurable, even at double the usual
price.
Another misfortune happened to me that same day.
I had been making a collection of orchids and bulbs, which
had been spread in the sun to dry, but my goats had found
A Nandi elder's summer coat.
them out, and made a meal of the latter, while I was only
just in time to rescue the orchids from a similar fate.
For the next two days our way lay through dense forest,
in which there were any number of old elephant tracks,
and many fresh traces of rhino and bushbuck. A couple
of rhino charged into my little flock of sheep and goats
16*
-44
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
en route, and scattered them bleating in all directions. As
ill-luck would have it, our best milker was never recovered.
Bushbuck barked all that night, and guereza took the place
of the farmyard cock at early dawn.
The second day we came on two little settlements of
the Nandi tribe, who seemed very much alarmed at our
approach. Warning cries sounded on all sides, and the
people fled from their huts into the jungle. With some
little difficulty the inhabitants of the second hamlet were
reassured, and we told them that, on the morrow, the
caravan would march through their settlement, but that
they would not be interfered with in any way, provided
they were friendly.
The Nandi are a large powerful tribe, closely allied in
physique to the Masai, whose headquarters lie further to
the south. Although much in contact with the white
man—the Uganda Railway passes through their country
—they have never accepted British rule with any sincerity.
They are a formidable foe, and particularly skilled at
stalking an enemy till a favourable opportunity offers
for an attack, when they will pour in a flight of poisoned
arrows, or make a sudden rush to close quarters, stab
right and left, and disappear again into the long grass,
almost before their presence has been realised by any
except their unfortunate victims. The Nandi practise
night attacks, as several of the leaders of the Protectorate's
troops have learnt to their cost.
The tribe is continually giving trouble. Not a month
passes without its tale of Indian coolies being cut up on
the line, or of the deliberate murder of natives travelling
through Nandi territory. On several occasions, after a
more audacious outrage than usual, parties of troops
THE NAN DI TRIBE. 245
and police, augmented by levies oí friendly natives, have
been collected from all quarters, with the view of teaching
the Nandi, once for all, that the spears of their young
warriors cannot be blooded in the white man's followers
with impunity. One of these alarms took place while
I was at Baringo. A large proportion of the most efficient
men was drawn from many of the posts, which were thus
Nandi archers trading at my camp door.
dangerously weakened, while a great deal of extra work
was thrown on the officials. To the disgust of every¬
body concerned, the old, familiar farce was re-enacted.
The Nandi chiefs were assembled, and seeing that for
the time being the united forces were too strong for them,
they re-echoed, in long-winded shauris, their protestations
of friendship and their regret for an unhappy incident
which they had been powerless to control. Eventually,
they agreed to collect and hand over a certain number
246
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
of cattle as reparation, and went away with their tongues
in their cheeks, rejoicing at the easy way the white man
had once more been fooled. A few indifferent cattle were
sent in to disarm suspicion till the troops had been dis¬
persed and there were no means of enforcing the fine.
Then, of course, payment ceased.
This short-sighted policy, with regard to the Nandi, is
forced upon the resident officials by the Home Authorities,
who, rather than allow a few sentimentalists at home to
vaporise on the "massacre of defenceless natives," will per¬
mit hundreds of lives under British protection, and thousands
of pounds of the ratepayers' money to be squandered.
The idea, no doubt is, that the Nandi will one day recognise
the white man's power, and settle down as his peaceful
neighbour. Most of those, however, who have been in
contact with these savages, foretell a black day, when
they will rise and butcher the defenceless settlers without
mercy. It is only to be hoped that before such a calamity
crowns Foreign Office muddling in the Protectorates, a
wiser and less ostrich-like policy may be adopted at
home.
When we continued our march through the village,
the inhabitants, instead of running away, clustered round
my men to sell them little gourds of flour, pumkins, and
other produce. Two of them even volunteered to guide
us to a larger settlement, where we found the head man
had just covered himself with a coating of light red clay,
as a protection against flies. The sight of the camera made
him very uneasy, and he hid behind my gunbearer, but not
before I had snapped a fairly good photo.
In another of the villages which lay in our way, there
was a fine yellow lion's mask hanging up under a tree.
NANDI COME TO BARTER.
247
That afternoon a crowd of Nandi men and women,
together with one old Masai who had settled among them,
came into camp. They had with them little bags of flour
and gourds of sour milk and butter to barter, but trade
was slack, as they asked too much Americani, and
Measuring a lady for a necklet,
also demanded large blue beads, of which I had none.
Some of the women, however, sold their gourds of butter
for iron chain. In general appearance, clothing, and
ornaments, both men and women resembled the Masai,
except that some of the former were clad in monkey skin
cloaks and were armed with bows and poisoned arrows
248
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
as well as spears. One of the younger women of the party
was quite pretty, with clean-cut features, but the faces
of the older women had coarsened, and their figures had
lost all shape. We had a long talk about elephants. They
declared that these animals had all moved further north¬
wards, and the old Masai announced his readiness to come
with me, and guaranteed to show us some within five
days.
When we started on our march again, he set out with
us. Soon we spotted several reedbuck in the long grass,
and with the aid of the telescopic sight of the .256, I
bagged a female at 200 yards, although only her head
was showing. To our surprise, when we cut it up, there
were a lot of stones in the stomach.
As we were following along a path by the steep banks
of a stream, the foothold suddenly gave way beneath
my mule, and his hind legs slipped down the bank. My
men, as usual, lost their heads, and instead of seizing
the animal to prevent him slipping in altogether, they ran
about like men demented, giving each other absurd direc¬
tions. I had just got one of them to relieve me of my
rifle, when the mule rolled over backwards on to me,
pinned me under him, and together we slid down the bank
into the water. My left shoulder and one side of my head
were in the stream, and I was expecting every moment
to be pushed right under, when, fortunately, the beast
turned a somersault, and landed on his feet. My men
scrambled down to pull me out, smeared with mud, but
none the worse, save for the ducking, and a few scratches
on face and arm. The mule, too, was quite unhurt.
After crossing the route we liad followed from the
Gwashengeshu, we waded through the Gwasho-Masa by
A JACK OF ALL TRADES.
249
an elephant ford, where the water was 3 feet deep, and
camped close to the ground which a prospector's safari had
occupied only a few days back.
Next day I saw Uganda kob, but tried for them in vain.
At last Abdallah rejoined me, bringing a supply of flour,
so that I was free to move further afield. Peter, the
mission boy, who had been getting more and more lazy
and casual in his work, as time went on, left me at this
place to return to Mumias, where, later, I found him
plying the trade of butcher. He had previously been a
compounder's assistant, and was a fair specimen of a
"Jack of all trades, master of none." From the time
he left, to the end of my journey, I managed without any
English-speaking boy.
250
CHAPTER XIX.
My first kob—Fording a river—Abdallah treads on a hippo—How plans gang
aft agley—A troop of kuru bulls—No luck with lion —Photos of live kob
and Waterhuck—Ride into a troop of lion—Benighted in a swamp—Meet
Mr. Howitt—Mumias again—Transport difficulties—Breaking in oxen—
Official perverseness.
With Peter's departure my luck seemed to turn, for, as
soon as he was well away, I secured my first two speci¬
mens of Uganda kob. By this time the Masai guide had
been with us for six days, but we had seen no fresh signs
of elephant. That evening, while returning to camp,
I had a shot at two Waterhuck as they were dashing across
a stream. Only one of them went on, but as the hunt
for a blood trail was unsuccessful, I pushed forward, leaving
the Masai still on the search. This was the last we saw
of our guide.
That night lions coughed near at hand, and in the morning
we set out after one we could hear grunting near the place
where I had fired at the Waterhuck. A couple of Nandi
youths, who met us on the way, said that the lions had
moved a good deal further off, and that they had seen
nothing of our missing guide. They added that the Nzoia,
which lay between us and the country towards Mount
Elgon, was quite unfordable, being well over a man's
head. However, I determined to make an attempt, and
A HIPPO OBJECTS. 251
moved down towards the river banks, where my men
had already arrived, and were, here and there, sounding
the depth of the water with poles. Just as a little clump
of trees hid them from view, some half dozen shots rang
out, and as we hurried on, my gun-bearers made various
Uganda kob.
wild conjectures as to the cause, suggesting, among other
reasons, hostile Nandi, and an attack on the donkeys
by lions.
On arrival, we found that Abdallah, when wading across,
had stumbled over a hippo, which, annoyed at such a
rude disturbance of its peace, had reared itself out of the
2$2
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
water, jaws open, to be greeted by a chorus of yells and
rifle shots. Zedu, whom, as one of the most energetic
and handy of the safari, I had promoted from askari to
assistant boy, and then to boy proper, soon found a ford
a little higher up. The river there was so broad that our
rope would not reach the trees on either side, and as the
banks were marshy, it was a hard job to fix posts to strain
it to. The donkeys fully acted up to their reputation
for obstinacy. They made for a little mass of rocks which
cropped up in the centre of the stream, just above some
rapids, and absolutely refused to budge. When at length
dislodged, they plunged down stream into deep water,
and were only rescued with considerable trouble. How¬
ever, finally everything reached the opposite bank in
safety, including our little flock and all the loads, with
only the loss of one saucepan lid.
While everyone was absorbed with the work in hand,
one of my men seized the opportunity to open a sack and
steal some flour. To his ultimate sorrow he was promptly
detected, and made to feel that " the punishment fits
the crime." Two days later we struck the Mumias-
Turkwel path, but there were no signs of Nzau's arrival
with my safari. On the way I got a kob, which had ap¬
parently had a recent near thing with a lion, for its hind
leg was badly mauled, and it bore several other deep scars
on its body. I now discovered that there were two paths,
an upper and a lower one, leading from Mumias to the
Turkwel, so I decided to leave two men with five loads
here, and to send four others by the different routes back
to Mumias with parcels and letters, and instructions to
seek for news, while I, meanwhile, returned in search of
lions, to the country I had just left.
A FINE KU RU BULL.
253
In one long march I reached the bank of the Nzoia,
where, in the sweet grass of the water-meadow-like land
which fringed its banks, I found two herds of kob, out of
each of which I picked the buck with a shot apiece. While
going back to rejoin my men where I had left them at
the beginning of the stalk, I saw eight kuru bulls, as the
Swahili call the Waterhuck. It was the first time that
Obstinate donkeys.
I had seen so many together, and they made a pretty
sight as they came towards me at a trot, in single
file. 1 started at once to cut them off, but they changed
their course and got my wind. Happily, I was near
enough to drop the largest with a long shot. It proved
to have horns measuring over 31 in. in length. That
night not a ghost of a growl broke the stillness, and I
feared the lions must have left the neighbourhood.
Every succeeding night and early morning, however,
254
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
we heard them grunting near by, and one dark drizzling
night an askari on sentry declared he saw a pair of them
slink across camp between the tents. The next nine
days I spent trying to get on terms with them. Although
I used to get up by candle-light, to start in pursuit before
dawn, it was not till the last two days that I caught a
glimpse of their yellow hides—once as a beast jumped
into a thicket some distance off, and again, as one of them
dashed through the grass.
With kuru and kob my luck was better, for, besides
shooting some fine heads of each, I secured good photos
from life, although, unfortunately, a plate of a herd of the
latter, grouped on an ant-hill watching me, was accidently
spoilt. These ant-hills were the favourite vantage ground
for the sentries of a herd to keep watch from while the
rest were feeding. One day I made what seemed to me
a good shot at a buck, which was standing on one of the
hills, for he fell head over heels at once, but, when we got
to the place, there were no signs of him. The bullet had
probably merely cut him across the withers and knocked
him down, but done him no serious injury.
By this time I was beginning to wonder what had hap¬
pened to the men who were left camped by the path, and sent
a party out to bring news of them. On their return they
reported that one of the two men sent for flour had made
off with rifle and cartridges. The other idiot, having
bought two loads of flour, sat down for six solid days,
waiting for heaven to send a man to carry the second
for him, and at the end of that time a native promised
to take it at exorbitant pay. Meanwhile the men left
with my loads on the path to await his return had been
in great straits for food.
RIFLE AND CARTRIDGES STOLEN. 255
The askari who had deserted arrived at Mumias, saying
that he had returned by my orders, and promptly cele¬
brated the event by getting drunk. On recovery he re¬
ported that his rifle and cartridges had been stolen from
him, but since the officials had a shrewd suspicion of the
A live Waterhuck.
truth, he was placed in the chain gang to prevent him
losing himself before I returned. Finally he was tried,
and when I left the place, was keeping close company with
the two ammunition stealers.
Next morning we set out on our return journey to
Mumias, and while I was jogging along on my mule, through
high grass, I saw my gun-bearer, who was just in front
256 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
of me, suddenly stop and crouch down. At the same
moment three half-grown lions trotted away, and jumping
from my mule I snatched the .400, but too late. We
had heard no signs of the animals all the morning, nor
did they utter a single snarl as they made off. Two large
circles pressed down in the grass quite close to us showed
that there had been seven or eight of them lying asleep.
Bedoui told me he had had no suspicion of their presence,
till suddenly he saw a maned lion standing facing him
directly in his way, which turned at once and slunk .off.
For over an hour we followed the track, only to be baffled
where it entered a stream.
When, late in the afternoon, after crossing a good-ffeal
of swampy ground much cut up by rhino tracks, we struck
..the Mumias path, we found ourselves further north than
we had intended. Starting back along it, we came to a
place where it forked, and, as Bedoui insisted that the
more westerly route was ours, we followed that one. It
soon dawned on me, however, that these must be the two
paths which were said to meet a little to the north of
where my men were camped, so we cut across the angle
to join the other. On the way we got benighted, and
found ourselves in a swamp from which we could discover
no outlet, so were finally obliged to retrace our steps.
This offered great difficulties, for we had apparently en¬
tered by a mere tongue of dry land, but at last welcome
answering shots to ours were heard, and, after fording
a small stream in a deep, thickly-wooded channel, we
reached camp, wet to the skin, amid drizzling rain.
A three days' march along a villainous track, through
swampy ground, and across several unbridged streams,
in the deep mud of which the donkeys were continually
CROSS THE NZOIA. 257
sinking, brought us to Boma Majanjar. Here I found
Mr. Howitt, one of the East African Syndicate's prospectors,
in charge of a party just started out from Mumias. He
gave me an excellent dinner and told me all the latest
news.
A live kob.
The next morning we crossed the Nzoia by the Govern¬
ment ferry—a dug-out formed from the huge bole of a tree,
and patched with rough-hewn planks. The craft leaked
badly, and the curved bottom was so slippery that we had
to be very careful of our foothold.
Mr. Partington had returned to the boma after his little
17
258 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
tour, when I arrived, and I learnt that Nzau had come
back, but without having been able to purchase a single
donkey at Kisumu.
For the following three weeks I had men out in every
direction endeavouring to find a supply of donkeys, but
without avail, so, as a last resource, it was decided to break
in some cattle which I had bought at an average of £x
apiece. The first task was to ring their noses. In this I
was forced to take the leading part, and, as I had never
seen the operation performed, had no proper tools for
it, and the men were constantly letting the beasts regain
their feet, it was by no means cheerful work. This busi¬
ness over, we had to get them accustomed to being led,
and then hang on their backs bags filled with earth or stones,
to make them resigned to a load. The last process brought
out the peculiarities of each beast. When the weight
was adjusted, one of them would take a few paces forward,
stand stock still for a second or two, and then lie down, when
no power or method of persuasion that we could devise,
could move him. Another, directly he was loaded, would
put his head down, throw his heels into the air, and do
his level best to rid himself of his burden. Finding this
impossible, he would start off down the bazaar at a mad
gallop, in spite of two unfortunate men hanging on to his
nose-rope. Market baskets were overturned, and produce
of all kinds scattered to the four winds. Porters threw down
their loads and made off, heiter skelter, as though the
Furies were behind them, while women and children ran
about screaming, thinking that their last hour had come.
At last the animal would get so entangled in the ropes of his
hated load, that he had, perforce, to stop in his wild career,
and the marketers gradually recovered themselves. Sue-
THE HOMES OF THE CAVE-DWELLERS. 259
cess eventually crowned our efforts, each beast carrying
two 6olb. loads. Besides this I had other things to attend
to, such as the making of pack saddles, and bags for
the flour, and the sewing up of the trade goods in
packages.
While all these preparations were going on, I was much
surprised at the receipt of an intimation that the country
lying between Karamojo and the Nile was so disturbed
that I could not be permitted to pass through it. This
was so absolutely at variance with all the information
I had collected from safaris who had just returned from
that direction, that I could not help fancying there must
be some more cogent reason for certain officials being
unwilling to allow a white man, who was not under their
control, to visit the country. However, there was nothing
for it but to alter my plans.
I therefore determined to move along the eastern foot
of Mount Elgon, and, if possible, visit the homes of the cave-
dwellers. Before I left England I had been anxious to
see them for myself, and since my arrival in East Africa,
the descriptions given me of these remarkable places and
their inhabitants were so contradictory, that my curiosity
was greatly whetted. " Some accounts said that they were
merely natural caves to which people resorted in times
of danger ; others, that they were vast excavations hewn
by a prehistoric race in the solid rock, and had been occu¬
pied for ages by whole villages and herds of cattle. On
one point everyone seemed to agree : that nearly all
were then deserted, and that, in a short time, the cave
dwellers, as such, would cease to exist. This naturally
made me anxious to try and find some of the few surviving
troglodytes themselves, and I determined to make a care-
17*
2Ó0
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
ful search, although Sir Harry Johnson had failed to dis¬
cover them. On the upper waters of the Turkwel I hoped
to secure a good elephant, and then to make a big sweep
round by the foot of the Kamasia hills and back to the
Ravine.
2ÓI
CHAPTER XX.
A sensible mission—Hut tax—Pets of the station—Night escape from the chain
gang—Sunsets—" Delicate skeletons"—Start in a thunderstorm—A Kitosh
"Darby and Joan"—Buying women's "tails"—A native blacksmith—
Plomes of the Mount Elgon troglodytes.
One day, while I was still at Mumias, Mr. Hotschis, a
member of the American mission, which had settled near
Ivisumu, came up to fetch a band of orphan boys, whom
the chief, Mumia, had collected to consign to his care.
The mission scheme seemed to me to be a sound one, for,
unlike most of these ventures, the lads were first and fore¬
most to be taught a useful trade or handicraft suited to
their several capacities, such as carpentry, cobbling, black¬
smith's work, and so on. Thus, on leaving the mission,
they would not only be able to earn their livelihood, but
also be of real use to the community.
During my wanderings in Asia and Africa I have seen a
good many of the results turned out by the different mis¬
sionary societies, and regret to say that, with a very few
exceptions, the mission youth is a thing to be avoided.
The chief lesson he seems to have learnt is that he is "a
man and a brother," and therefore fully at liberty to drink
his master's whiskey, fib, and laze to his heart's content.
Much of the fault lies, I think, in the fact that too much
time is devoted to what is called his " spiritual welfare,"
2Ö2
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
and the little attention given to his worldly prospects is
neither sufficient nor thorough, so that he can do nothing
well.
Another morning a crowd of natives came into the boma,
each carrying a long pole, and on enquiring who they were,
I was told that a chief had sent them to put in so much
work, in lieu of paying the hut tax. This led me to gather
some particulars as to how this, the only direct tax a native
had to pay, was collected.
In the year ending March 31st, 1901, the revenue of the
Mumias district amounted to R.25,000, which was paid in
cash, ivory, cattle, sheep, goats, flour, iron hoes, eggs and
fowls, besides a certain amount in labour. This was all
collected by the chiefs from their people, and paid in direct
to the Government officials. The next year the system
was altered, and instead of the chiefs bringing in the tax,
it was collected by Swahili tax-gatherers, and only rupees,
ivory, cattle, flour, and iron hoes were accepted. The result
was that the revenue fell to less than half, although, from
unofficial information given me afterwards in the district,
1 have very little doubt that at least as much as in the
previous year was extracted from the natives, so that the
balance had gone to line the tax-collectors' pockets.
To an unprejudiced observer of the Swahili and their
little ways, this result is by no means surprising, for they
are past adepts at making a bit for themselves, even on
the smallest transactions. Turning them loose in a new
country, where it is next to impossible to exercise any
supervision over them, seems to be, therefore, an error in
administration calculated to create much misunderstanding
and bad feeling between the natives and the Government.
Even if a larger revenue should eventually reach the Trea-
THE PRICE OF FLOUR.
263
sury, it would only mean that double that amount, or
more, had been wrung from the unfortunate natives.
Such a large proportion of hut tax is paid in flour that it
not only feeds all the employees in the district, but the
Ravine and Baringo, as well as other stations, are dependent
upon it for their supply. It was a great convenience to me
at the two former posts to be permitted to purchase
Hut tax poles.
Government flour at id. per lb., which, after all expenses of
transport had been deducted, left the Government a fair
percentage of profit. But when I got to Mumias, a price
of 5s. for an amount of flour, which was valued at is. 4d.
when received as hut tax, seemed to be a bit excessive, and
on Partington's return, I pointed this out to him. He
gave the matter his immediate attention, and decided, not
only to reduce the price to travellers like myself, but also
to establish a regular stock of flour for sale to safaris.
2Ö4
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
I was soon on excellent terms with the pets of the boma.
The one that took my fancy most was a pretty little monkey,
belonging to the Guereza tribe, only a single specimen of
which has, I believe, ever reached England alive. The
little creature loved to lie curled up on my knee, and, in
his more wakeful moments, would turn up his quaint little
black face, gaze at me steadily, and then stretch out a tiny
hand to stroke my cheek. At other times he would scramble
up on to my shoulder, and search my beard as if I were a
still nearer relative, and his look of hurt surprise when I
resented the attention as unnecessary was very comical.
At meals I had to keep a watchful eye on the little chap, for,
as soon as he fancied that my attention was engaged, with
a sudden sweep of his hand he would upset the contents of
the plate into my lap, where they could be got at more
easily. If by any chance he missed me when I went across
the compound to my room, he would search everywhere,
crying plaintively, to appear at last on the threshold of my
door. Then with a little cry of content he would hop
across the floor, bound on to the bed, and nestle close in
beside me.
Like all white men's dogs in a black country, Knight's
little fox terrier hailed me as his master's brother, and
therefore as his friend.
With a couple of Kavirondon cranes that belonged to the
place I had a good deal more difficulty to get into favour,
and it was some time before I could approach close enough
for a photo. However, by dint of a little patience, and a
few handfuls of corn, my efforts were at last crowned with
success. These birds are the only animals that the natives
tolerate in their villages merely for their beauty, and in
Kavirondo they are nearly always to be seen, stalking
ESCAPE OF CHAIN GANG. 265
round the dwellings, picking about for stray grains. In
the quiet of the evening they take up their position on the
apex of the huts, where they stand motionless, on one leg,
silhouetted against the sky, like sentinels watching over a
sleeping hamlet.
One dark stormy night my sleep was disturbed by a
couple of shots, which rang out loudly in the silence, and
Kavirondo cranes.
in the morning I learnt that two of the chain gang had
escaped. They had succeeded in forcing open their iron
collars, and then, digging a hole through the mud wall of
the guard-room in which they were confined, had crawled
out, scaled the outside wall, and dropped into the ditch on
the other side. A couple of shots which the sentry fired
had apparently missed clean, but the runaways were both
eventually captured and brought back. All their com¬
panions in the chain gang swore solemnly that they knew
266
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
nothing ol the matter, and had been sound asleep when the
escape took place. Judging from the extraordinary way in
which a native can sleep through almost anything, this is
quite possible, although I have little doubt that most of
them knew what was in the wind.
The weather remained very unsettled, with frequent
violent thunderstorms in the afternoons, but on two even¬
ings the sunsets were wonderful. High overhead the
heavens were hung with a mottled billowy canopy of light
and shade, while behind a line of hills on the western
horizon stretched a heavy fringe of black cloud, crowned by
a band of clear sky. As the sun sank, rays and shafts of
light shot up from behind the dark mass of cloud, and turned
the sky above into shimmering gold and crimson glory.
The telephone connecting Mumias with the outer world
was by no means an unmixed blessing. When we received
a good batch of Reuters we were loud in our praises of the
wire, but as soon as there was a break in the line, it lost
favour at once. Unfortunately a break was a frequent
occurrence, owing to the flimsy nature of the poles, which
the Goanese clerk described rather aptly as " delicate
skeletons."
In the afternoon of November 26th, we made a start
northwards, and had just got most of the loads safely over
the ferry, when a tremendous thunderstorm burst right
overhead, startling three of the cattle to such an extent
that they bolted, with Nzau and one or two of the men in
tow. Meanwhile I got the remainder of the loads, with the
cattle and donkeys, across, and reached camp to find all
the paths flooded, and the water standing in my tent.
It poured nearly all night, and two of the donkeys died
before we left in the morning. The oxen were a bit trouble-
USELESS LOADS.
267
some at first, for as soon as we attempted to put the loads
on them, they dashed about like so many mad things, and
as the roads were rather heavy for them, I only made a
short march to Boma Majanjar, where the chief brought me
a welcoming present of a sheep, and a bunch of bananas.
He was a wrinkled old fellow, a bit broken in health, and
was draped in a red blanket, with a necklet from which
dangled numerous charms, among them a fine lion's claw.
His spouse was a sprightly old soul, and full of talk. It
was her great delight to sit on the store-box under my
verandah, smoking her pipe, and telling me all the gossip
of the neighbourhood. Besides the usual Kavirondo
" tail " and little apron, she wore a length of red clay-dyed
Americani draped from one shoulder, while her jewellery
consisted of four rings of iron, as thick as one's thumb, on
either ankle, and numerous wire necklets and armlets.
After the next march to a place where I expected a lot
of flour would be ready for me, I examined every load as it
came in, and found that there was scarcely a donkey that
was not partly burdened with old useless tents, worn-out
clothing, and trade goods belonging to the men. My
safari was also increased by a regular army of strange
youths whom the men had picked up on the way. Out of
these I selected seven to accompany the caravan, and placed
three donkeys at the disposal of some of the chief men to
carry their stuff. The rest of their property they were
obliged to dispose of, while I personally saw that all the
rubbish was burnt.
The natives told us that the flour we expected was there,
but the man with the key a day's journey off. Happily he
turned up the next day, but when we came to stow the stuff
into the pack-saddles, I had, as usual, a maddening time
268
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
with the men. Although they had been specially warned
not to touch the sacks set aside for flour, they had cut up
several of them to make patches, in spite of having plenty
of spare bits to use. When any brain-work is to the fore,
the Swahili is absolutely useless, but he makes a fair beast
A Kavirondo " Darby."
of burden, and, if you watch him like a big child, look after
his feet for him, and feed him well, he will make light of a
70 lb. load.
Ever since I had entered Kavirondo, I had been trying
to buy a woman's tail and apron, and in Kabaras, Mumias,
and Kitosh, had not only offered large prices for them,
BEAUTY UNADORNED.
269
but had endeavoured to enlist the help of the chiefs, who
were always full of promises which never bore any practical
results. It seemed that the ladies regarded their costumes
in much the same way as the white woman does her wed¬
ding-ring, and Majanjar's wife confided in me that " if we
A Kavirondo " Joan.'
sell our tails we die young." The unconscious humour of
this statement tickled me a good deal, as the old dame had
obviously left her days of youth and beauty many years
behind. This district appeared to offer the last chance of
procuring a " tail," so I sent out my boy with some strings
of particularly fine blue beads, and he was successful in
2JO
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
tempting the ladies of a village near by to sell two of their
dresses.
It was at this place that I spent some time watching a
native blacksmith at work, as he squatted on the ground
under a little open thatched hut. His anvil was a stone,
and the bellows consisted of a forked tree-trunk, with the
ends of the two arms scooped out to form a couple of bowls,
which were loosely covered with softened, well-greased
skin. The whole trunk was hollowed, so that there was a
channel from both bowls to the end of the main stem.
Opposite its opening, a little distance away, was placed an
earthenware pipe, which ran down to the fire. The open
space between the two took the place of a valve, the use of
which, although I tried to explain it, the old smith could
not grasp. To the centre of the skin over each bowl a
stick was attached, and a lad worked the two alternately,
sending the blast down the trunk and through the earthen¬
ware pipe into the fire. The hammer was an equally rude
lump of iron, and yet, with only these primitive tools, the
blacksmith turns out all the iron implements required by
the natives in peace and war.
Boma wa Weli was the next place of interest to pass
through. There Government was just establishing a depot
for hut-tax flour, as it would make a handy centre both for
its collection and sale to safaris. The agents of ivory
traders, who had hitherto gained their supply from the
natives of the district at a rupee's worth of iron wire for
120 lbs., were in future to be obliged to pay double the price
at the new depot.
The following day, after passing numerous old game pits,
which lined the path on either side, and made it very
perilous for the donkeys and cattle, we reached the Fish
A MAGNIFICENT VIEW.
271
River, or Mto Samaki, as the Swahili call it, although
apparently there are no fish in its waters. Our camp was
pitched at the mouth of a well-wooded valley, crowned by
a line of lofty cliffs, over which the river made a sheer leap
into the vale below. The view of it from my tent was
magnificent, though slightly marred by the intervening
trees. While admiring it through the binoculars, I noticed
a lesser waterfall to the right, behind which appeared to be
the mouth of a cave, and still further along the cliffs on the
northern side I thought I could distinguish another. These,
I concluded, might be the homes of the cave-dwellers I was
so anxious to come across, and my guide confirmed my
supposition, calling the inhabitants the Wongabuney.
These particular caves, however, he thought were then
abandoned.
272
CHAPTER XXI.
Track to the caves—Sentries—The mouth of the cave—Explore the interior—
Prevailing cleanliness—Inhabitants vanish—Are the caves artificial ?—More
cave-dwellers—Make friends—Their mode of life—Matches a novelty—The
womenfolk—A baby Wongabuney—Their recent history—Fast vanishing.
Next morning, as the safari started on the march, I struck
up the valley with three of the men. There was no path
to be found, and forcing our way through the rank grass,
after a night of pouring rain, was like passing through a
perpetual spraj'-bath. As we disturbed numerous harte-
beest and oribi on the way, I began to feel almost certain
the place was deserted. Further on the vegetation became
so dense that we made for the side of the valley, and were
fortunate in finding a steep road along the foot of the cliffs,
which, although treacherous in places from the rain, affoi'ded
easier travelling.
Presently I was delighted to see lying below us a little
cultivated clearing, and beside it a couple of men perched
on a mass of rock. A shrill whistle attracted their atten¬
tion, but seemed to have no further effect. On our way
down to them we struck a well-worn path, and turning,
followed it upwards to the mouth of two caves, sheltered
by the overhanging cliffs, with a wide rock platform in
front of them. On this stood a number of high, circular,
ARRIVE AT THE CAVES.
273
granaries of woven rushes, besides winnowing baskets and
other utensils of husbandry.
Not a man was to be seen, but four women were hard at
work pounding grain as we approached. They seemed but
little disturbed by our arrival, merely pulling their skin
dresses more closely round them, and turning their backs
on us. In appearance they reminded me strongly of the
Sentries.
Nandi. They had the same small, rather well-cut features,
and were wearing similar iron-wire and chain ornaments,
but a notable difference was that, in the case of the Wonga-
buney, the lower lip was pierced by a little stud of wood.
Attempts on our part at conversation were a complete
failure, for although my men tried Swahili, Kavirondo,
Nandi, and Karamojo, they understood none of them.
Presenting them with a string of beads, I explained by signs
18
274
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
that I wished to go into the caves, and, as they offered no
opposition, we began to explore the place.
The mouth of the cave was some 36 ft. wide, by 16 ft.
high ; a strong stockade of thick poles, interlaced, almost
entirely closed it. To enter by the one small opening, on
Platform before the caves.
the inside of which lay a pile of poles ready to barricade it
at the first sign of danger, we had to stoop nearly double.
The disappearance of the two sentries whom we had first
noticed, and the entire absence of men about the place, had
rather excited my suspicions, so, leaving a couple of men
on guard outside, I entered with Bedoui, who carried my
magazine rifle. I noticed that the floor of earth, sheep and
INSIDE THE CAVES.
2 75
goat droppings, was hard, smooth and dry. What had
been a horizontal fault in the rock above formed the line of
the smoke-begrimed roof. On our right stood a natural
table-like mass of stone, roughly hollowed out to catch
the clear water, which dripped from a little fissure
above it.
Entrance to cave.
In an adjoining branch of the cave the overflow from this
basin formed a pool, used as a drinking place for the goats
and sheep. The path near it was very muddy, but the
cave itself must have had some natural drainage, for all
the rest of the floor was remarkably dry. Beyond the
pool the branch widened out, but the roof dropped a good
iS*
276
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
deal towards the end, where there was a bed, a smouldering
fire, and various earthen crocks.
Continuing down the main cave, our way lit by a flicker¬
ing candle, we passed a neat wattle-and-daub, semi¬
circular wall, shutting off a good-sized room, and just
beyond this a slight stockade ran across from side to side,
Interior of cave.
fitfully lit up by the glowing embers of a fire, round which
lay the family cooking-pots. There was plenty of room
beyond this, and obviously, from the little loops or nooses
attached to stakes driven into the floor, it was there that
the goats and sheep were tethered for the night. Altogether
we penetrated for some sixty yards from the mouth, dis-
Cave-dwellers at home.
CLEANLINESS OF CAVES.
279
turbing on the way a number of rats that rushed away into
the darkness. Towards the end the roof became very low,
but I judged that, by crawling, we might have gone con¬
siderably further in. On my return to the entrance I took
a photo of the interior, during which a tiny girl crawled
out of the room, and came towards us with wide-open eyes
of astonishment, but no sign of fear.
The second cave was protected by a similar stockade to
the first, was much shallower, and contained two huts.
Outside it lay a pile of beehives, split in half, hollowed, and
tied together again, while just over the entrance a dovecot
was built into the cliff face.
I was much struck by the prevailing air of neatness and
cleanliness round the whole place, which, except for a slight
goaty smell, was quite sweet. During our stay of over an
hour we none of us found that we had involuntarily added
any domestic insects to our various collections, and cer¬
tainly, if there had been any fleas, they would have
extended a warm welcome to strangers. All this was in
striking contrast to Sir Harry Johnston's experience, who
found the caves he visited swarming with vermin, and
very unsavoury. Unfortunately, the camera struck terror
into the hearts of the inhabitants, for as soon as it was
brought to the fore they vanished.
We next followed a little goat-like track to the waterfall,
behind which was a much larger cave, the mouth being
sixty-five yards across, and quite twelve yards high. This
was the one that I had spotted with my glasses from the
valley below. The stockade and inner partition, as well as
a great part of the floor to a depth of two feet, had been
burnt, probably when the punitive expedition against these
people took place some four years ago. This cave ran
28o
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
back for some eighty yards, a deep pool filling the further
end, over which some swifts were continually darting to
and from their nests in the roof, which were mirrored in
the still surface of the water. One of the branches seemed
to have been used as a midden, for the floor was covered
by bones, filth, and refuse of all sorts.
It was in this cave that I first noticed innumerable chisel-
marks on the walls. A careful examination showed that
these extended on all sides to a height above one's head,
but the thick deposit of soot prevented me from finding out
whether the whole of the roof were similarly hewn, but I
fancy it must have been.
Some masses of hard stone—apparently the outcrop of
the floor, as there was no sign of their having fallen from
the roof—were also chipped all over. It therefore seems
probable that the caves, in their present form, are wholly
artificial, the natives of bygone ages having worked away
the softer parts of the rock of an originally small cave, or
fault in the cliff, as their needs or caprice dictated.
It is true that Sir Harry Johnston and other travellers
hardly agree with this. They believe the caves to be wholly
natural, or only slightly worked by man. Joseph Thomson,
their discoverer, however, is of my way of thinking. In
his book, " Through Masai Land," first published in 1885,
he says :
" On enquiry [of the natives] as to who made this curious
excavation, I was told that it was God's work. ' How,'
said they, ' could we with our puny implements ' (exhibiting
a toy-like axe, their only non-warlike instrument) ' cut a
hole like this ? And this is nothing in comparison with
others which you may see all round the mountain. See
Waterfall concealing mouth of cave.
28o
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
back for some eighty yards, a deep pool filling the further
end, over which some swifts were continually darting to
and from their nests in the roof, which were mirrored in
the still surface of the water. One of the branches seemed
to have been used- as a midden, for the floor was covered
by bones, filth, and refuse of all sorts.
It was in this cave that I first noticed innumerable chisel-
marks on the walls. A careful examination showed that
these extended on all sides to a height above one's head,
but the thick deposit of soot prevented me from finding out
whether the whole of the roof were similarly hewn, but I
fancy it must have been.
Some masses of hard stone—apparently the outcrop of
the floor, as there was no sign of their having fallen from
the roof—were also chipped all over. It therefore seems
probable that the caves, in their present form, are wholly
artificial, the natives of bygone ages having worked away
the softer parts of the rock of an originally small cave, or
fault in the cliff, as their needs or caprice dictated.
It is true that Sir Harry Johnston and other travellers
hardly agree with this. They believe the caves to be wholly
natural, or only slightly worked by man. Joseph Thomson,
their discoverer, however, is of my way of thinking. In
his book, " Through Masai Land," first published in 1885,
he says :
" On enquiry [of the natives] as to who made this curious
excavation, I was told that it was God's work. ' How,'
said they, ' could we with our puny implements ' (exhibiting
a toy-like axe, their only non-warlike instrument) ' cut a
hole like this ? And this is nothing in comparison with
others which you may see all round the mountain. See
Waterfall concealing mouth of cave.
WHO DUG THE CAVES?
283
there, and there, and there ! These are of such great size
that they penetrate far into utter darkness, and even we
have not seen the end of them. In some there are large
villages with entire herds of cattle. And yet you ask who
made them ! They are truly God's work ! ' Such was
the substance of the people's remarks, and doubtless they,
in their limited knowledge, spoke very wisely. I could not,
however, accept their theory. .
* % * % *- *
" The caves bore incontestable evidence on the face of
them that they had neither a natural nor supernatural
origin. They must have been excavated by the hand of
man. That was a fact about which there could absolutely
be no two opinions."
In a cave which I explored three days later, the inhabi¬
tants made me precisely the same assurances. They denied
that either they or their fathers had ever worked the rough
surface, and shook their heads when I pointed out the
regular lines of chisel cuts on the wall beside us. Certainly,
judging from the very few tools I saw, they themselves could
not have done the work. It must have been executed either
by another long-forgotten tribe, or possibly by the far
remote ancestors of the present inhabitants. Thomson
agrees with me here also : "For natives such as those of
the present day (supposing such had always been there) to
have cut out even one cave would have been a sheer im¬
possibility with the tools they possess."
The last group which I explored was much nearer the
road. A well-worn path led us to a large patch of culti¬
vated ground, where a couple of men were hoeing some
sweet potatoes. The older of the two, Aram Guiwaur,
284
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
proved to be the head of the settlement, and spoke a little
Nandi. Remembering the distrust with which the last
cave-dwellers had met us, and that this was my final chance
of securing pictures of the people, I halted my party behind
a thick patch of jungle, while my guide went forward to
get on terms with them. A present of a few beads and
some tobacco soon gained their friendship, and after I had
Cave-dwellers at work.
taken their photo, the old chief led us up to the caves, which
were, I found, called Ubura. The track runs past a mass
of rock on which three or four men stood on guard. Won¬
derfully picturesque figures they made, as, armed with
spears and poisoned arrows, they leant on their large oval
shields watching our approach.
The dwelling we entered was not nearly so comfortable
nor so cleanly as the others we had seen, but still compared
favourably with the average native village. There was no
WOMEN DO THE WORK
285
platform in front of the cave ; the drip from the waterfall
above had made a quagmire close to the entrance, and this
was only to be gained by a rough ladder. The inside, too,
was most tortuous and irregular, the harder parts of the
rock projecting on all sides in jagged masses, while the softer
portions had been cut away.
Apparently flocks had never been kept in it, for on the
uneven and bad floor there were no droppings, and only a
thin layer of earth in places. The cave contained five
little huts and a number of granaries, which were built in
different branches and on different levels, some being
approached by rough staircases, or passages constructed
of undressed timber and stones.
At first, with the exception of one nearly blind old body,
sunning herself outside, there were no women to be seen,
and the old man explained that they were all out at work
in the fields. However, when I was exploring the interior,
I looked into one of the huts at the end of a dark, narrow
passage, and caught a glimpse of two women before they
scrambled away into still more secluded recesses.
In the centre of the floor was the usual native hearth of
three stones, with the fire in the middle ; but, instead of
being placed on it, an earthen crock, in which food was
simmering, hung suspended from a rude tripod over the
flame. Strewn about the floor were numerous cooking
utensils and water-vessels, of different shapes and sizes,
while on the walls hung a shield, bow, and quiver. As the
wan light of my candle fell on gourds of weird shapes, and
packets of skins and roots dangling from the roof, it re¬
quired but little imagination to fancy myself in a witch's
cavern, witnessing the concoction of some direful potion.
I spent some time crawling about the floor with a candle,
286
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
and found that, except for a small part of it which had been
worn smooth, the whole surface was covered with chisel
marks.
After my inspection of the caves, the chief brought me
some honey in a hollow section of bamboo, which I ate with
A group of troglodytes.
a few hard biscuits. I gave him one of them, and it was
solemnly divided amongst all those present, who nibbled it
with frequent grunts of approval, and then wrapped up the
remainder to be carefully treasured.
When this repast was finished, one of my men rolled a
cigarette. The production of a match-box, and the striking
of a light, brought a cry of surprise from the elder, at which
MATCHES UNKNOWN.
287
the rest clustered round. Matches were evidently some¬
thing quite unknown, and excited a great deal of wonder.
They immediately appreciated the advantages of their use,
and asked if anyone could produce fire as my man had
done. At this Aram Guiwaur was allowed to try for him-
A great joke.
self, and was much gratified by the present of a few matches
to keep. Considering how close they are to the caravan
route, this ignorance is very remarkable. It clearly shows
how much they keep to themselves.
At last the women did return, carrying bundles of fire¬
wood and baskets of sweet potatoes, and I secured
several photographs, although at first they were shy
288
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
of the camera. They were clad in rough goat and sheep
skins, and wore innumerable rings of iron and brass wire,
and strings of beads hung round their necks.
A wee child who was with them, clad in a little frock of
skin, and with its head clean-shaven, was carrying a queer-
shaped gourd of milk. It made a quaint little timid figure,
as it scrambled up the rough steps away from the white
man.
Wongabuney women and child.
The men for the most part had the usual Nandi pattern
of cloak, but made of dassie (rock rabbit) skin, and wore
skull caps of the same.
With some difficulty I bought two necklets of charms—
tiny leather bags holding " medicine," and odd little knobs
of wood—hung on iron chains.
These Wongabuney pointed out to me the sites of several
other groups of caves, whose inhabitants had just abandoned
them, and emigrated to the plains below to build villages
BESIEGED IN THE CAVES. 289
amongst the Kavirondo, as nearly all the tribe living on the
south side of the mountain had previously done.
Before the punitive expedition already mentioned, the
cave-dwellers were continually making raids on passing
safaris, until at last a party of askaris were sent down from
Mumias. They besieged them in their fastnesses, shot
down some of them, and, according to my Wongabuney
Discussing the white man.
informant, setting fire to the stockades, suffocated and
roasted those who had not fled. The chief of these troglo¬
dytes lived in a huge cave on the southern flank of Mount
Elgon, but, after this expedition, the officer in charge in¬
sisted on his deserting the homes of his forefathers and
building his villages out on the plain.
Now that the fear of being raided by their neighbours is
past, and as they are no longer allowed to prey on passing
caravans, a few years will see the whole of the cave-dwellers
19
2Ç)0
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
merged into the dwellers of the plain, and yet another
interesting tribe will have entirely lost its identity. Even
now, those who actually live in the caves cannot number
more than a thousand.
A few days spent in breaking up the floors of these
deserted caves should throw some interesting light on their
history, and the trouble might be well repaid. I kept a
sharp look-out for any signs of a pattern or rude outline
picture chipped on the walls, but could detect none.
291
CHAPTER XXII.
A futile elephant hunt—Lion at close quarters and a cowardly gun-bearer—Chase
a herd of elephants—Track a lion and find a bull elephant—Swahili magic
—Meet two Greek traders—Journey to their camp—Sabie and Kimama
tribesmen—An elephant snare—Big-horned cows.
While I had been examining the caves, the safari had made
two short marches, over paths that the heavy rains had
turned into almost continuous swamps.
The next day's route was nearly as bad, and there were
three unbridged streams to cross. At the second I picked
up a fresh lion track, which led me past the place where
we had struck the path on our return to Mumias. By
the stream beyond this we lost all trace of our quarry,
and were just starting to make a sweep round to the east,
when an elephant's trumpet sounded from the belt of
wood fringing the bank. The wind was so shifty that I
feared at every moment they would scent us and bolt.
I therefore climbed as quickly as possible into a big tree,
but could make out nothing, although the rumbling of
at least one great beast's stomach was so distinct that
we knew he must be close at hand. As the wind got
steadier we prospected our side, but the herd seemed to
have moved off. Then, recrossing the stream, we made
a vain attempt to find the path by which they had left,
19*
292
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
and explored the whole place, to find endless tracks of
the night before, but not a trace of the beasts we had
heard. They had vanished as if by magic.
An hour's march on the following day brought us to
a large area where the grass had been burnt, and the
young tender shoots had just begun to show again. As
usual this had attracted the game, and hartebeest, reed-
buck, oribi, duiker, and pig were all roaming about
it. The duiker was the beast I wanted most, and I secured
him with my first shot.
In another hour we reached a place where a herd of
elephant had evidently just passed. I started along one
of their paths, when the sound of some beasts breaking
away in the long grass close to me, caught my ear. Bedoui
whispered " Kongoni," and I stood still to allow them
to clear off, when I heard a lion snarling within ten paces.
Just as I turned to grasp the .400 from Bedoui, he bolted,
with me after him, expecting every moment to feel myself
struck down from behind. At last I overtook the run¬
away, snatched the rifle from him and ran back, but
was only in time to get a snapshot at a lion bounding
through the grass 150 yards away, which unfortunately
missed. From the tracks there must have been five or
six full-grown animals, but they had been thoroughly
disturbed and were going fast.
On returning to the path, I soon overtook the donkeys,
but my interpreter, instead of pitching camp on the
spot I had chosen, had gone forward with the men to the
next camping-ground. I immediately sent for them to
return, which, of course, gave rise to much shouting of
orders and noise. To my great mortification, the result
was that some twenty or thirty elephants streamed up
A CROWD OF ELEPHANTS.
293
hill from a mass of dense jungle, lying at the bottom of
a valley to the east. Three of the bulls seemed inclined
to loiter behind the others, so I set off as hard as possible
with one or two men. We managed to cut their track
all right, and followed them over the ridge, but they had
all cleared off.
This was a day of misfortunes. No sooner had I returned
Chopping out the ivory.
to camp than I was met with the news that one of the
donkeys had died, so I ordered its body to be dragged a
little distance away, and tied to a tree, hoping that a lion
might pass that way, and fancy cold donkey for supper.
Then I instructed my cook in bread baking, as he had
given me brick-bats three baking days in succession, and
interviewed the interpreter for disobeying orders, and
Bedoui for leaving me in the lurch. When I did at length
retire to rest, I was not in the sweetest of tempers.
294
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Early in the morning I inspected the donkey's body,
to find that the whole of the hind quarters and half the
shoulder had been eaten, while parts of the body lay scat¬
tered round in the grass. I followed up the trail, and
almost immediately came on a lot of vomited meat.
Carrying the .400, I cautiously pressed forward, with
Bedoui as sole companion, eager to sight a lion. Pre¬
sently the back of a red-brown beast moved towards us
on a parallel line along the hill above, and, as there was
not a sound to be heard, for the moment I thought it was
a rhino passing through the long grass. Soon, however,
I was undeceived, for the animal's head showed, and I
saw it was an elephant. The two men following a good
way behind had seen nothing, and we tried to attract
their attention, Bedoui, like an idiot, waving his cap
and gesticulating so wildly that I feared he would catch
the elephant's eye. By this time the beast had passed
us, and began to turn down hill, just over the spot
occupied by the men, who at last got a glimpse of him,
and hid behind a bush. He must have either got our
wind, or spotted them, for he suddenly stopped, his
ears went forward, and he threw up his trunk as though
on the point of charging. There was then seventy or
eighty yards between us, a long shot for elephant, but
I was anxious to draw his attention from my men,
so fired for his heart. At this he turned and almost re¬
traced his steps, disappearing from sight. As soon as
my men joined me, I seized the .600, and followed as quickly
as possible. Once we heard him trumpet loudly, but when
we drew near he was lying stone dead no less than 500
yards from where he stood when I fired, although the bullet
had cut clean through the side of his heart.
MY INTERPRETER SULKS. 295
All this country was teeming with game, and during the
next march we disturbed giraffe, reedbuck, oribi, water-
buck, hartebeest and topi.
My intetpreter was evidently sulky as a result of the
rating I had given him the day before for going too far.
This time he went to the other extreme, putting in barely
an hour's march. The result was that after waiting for
Getting at the fat.
some time in the place where camp should have been
pitched, I had to turn back on my tracks. After lunch
was over, I explained to the men that they would enjoy
half a dozen sheep at the interpreter's expense, and made
them repack, and finish the march.
In a couple of days we reached the head waters of the
Turkwel, passing a Swahili ivory trader's camp on the
edge of a swamp. It was in this place that an incident
occurred, showing how firmly the Coast man still believes
296
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
in magic and charms, in spite of his contact with white
people.
Among the week's washing I had given my boy a vest,
which, when the other things came back, was missing.
He made some excuse about mending it, and I thought
no more of the matter till, in the early morning, I happened
to catch sight of two of my men bringing it back from
the direction of the Swahili trader's camp. Some time
afterwards I learnt that the trader was regarded as a great
worker of charms. The vest had been taken to him and
he had been asked to cast such a spell over it, that, when
it next touched my skin, any desire I might harbour of
going far afield would melt away. When, as my reader
will learn later, the charm was of no effect, the explanation
given by my men was that, before leaving England, I had
acquired witchcraft potent enough to render their magic
powerless.
In this district we again came on some zebra, the first
since leaving Mount Sirgoit.
Just after I reached camp, a couple of men were seen
approaching on donkeys from the opposite direction,
and I at once concluded they must be Howitt and his
companion. My supposition, however, fell wide of the
mark, for they were two Greek traders, Messrs. Kanarakis
and Coutlis, who had established a permanent settlement
at Kilim, on the northern slopes of Elgon. They
were then returning from a trading trip down the Turkwel,
where they said there were large herds of elephants, but
no big bulls. While talking together over our lunch,
we were disturbed by a shot in camp, and rushed out to
find that Nzau had touched the trigger of a hammerless rifle
he was handling. Fortunately the muzzle was pointed
DIFFICULTIES IN TRANSPORT.
297
upwards, and the bullet had merely torn through the
door and the outer fly of his tent.
The continuous rains and heavy state of the roads was
placing me in a serious dilemma. Out of the twenty-
seven donkeys with which I had started from Mumias,
Kilim.
twelve had already succumbed, while only eleven of the
remainder were fit to carry even a small load. To make
matters worse, owing to our slow progress, the food supply
was fast diminishing. This I knew could be replenished
from the Sabie, a hill tribe near Kilim, but the transport
difficulty was by no means so easy to overcome, as the
298
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
journey I proposed taking was absolutely impracticable
without plenty of donkeys. While I was considering
ways and means of procuring some, a welcome invitation
was proffered me by the Greeks to accompany them to
their camp, and buy as many as they could spare from
a large herd they had collected.
This invitation I naturally accepted, and together we
retraced our steps to the Swahili camp, seeing on our way
a small herd of cow elephants, which bolted as soon as
they got our wind, and a party of giraffe led by a splendid
black bull.
A three days' march over hilly, broken ground took us
across the head waters of the Turkwel, below the huge
circular mass of rock forming the north-east buttress of
Elgon, from which a ridge of stone stretches right out into
the plain. By the Swahili this rock is called Kilima Mawe.
Kilim was one of Col. Macdonald's old camps—a charming
spot, backed by the cliffs of Mount Elgon, and sheltered
on the one side by the ridge already mentioned, and on
the other by a spur of the mountain and two little de¬
tached hills. Close by, a clear, never-failing stream flowed
through a green stretch of ground, which was fertile and
well-wooded.
Mr. Kanarakis and his companions had been established
there for over a year, engaged in the ivory trade. Their
comrade, who had remained in camp during their absence,
had bad news to report, for an epidemic that had been
raging throughout Bukora, a district of Karamojo im¬
mediately to the north of them, had attacked their don¬
keys, and carried off the greater number. This misfor¬
tune prevented them from being able to spare me even one.
On our way to Kilim we had passed an ivory safari,
PUSH NORTHWARDS.
299
who reported that plenty of transport animals were to
be bought a little north of Manimani, and that the country
round was quite quiet. This information determined
me to push northwards as soon as possible, and procure
my donkeys there. My decision was strengthened by
the fact that, as the traders were just starting on a journey
through Karamojo and Turkana, I should have the plea¬
sure of their company as well as the benefit of their guides
and interpreters. In this way my purchases would be
made easy, as they knew the people of the country well.
While the Greeks were making the necessary arrange¬
ments for their departure, and I was waiting for some
important letters from Mumias, I filled in the interim
by sending to Sabie to obtain mtama for my mule, and,
if possible, procure some curios.
These hill people raise a quantity of grain, which, in
former times, they used to part with to safaris only after
a great deal of chaffering and tedious negotiation. During
his year at Kilim, Kanarakis had induced them to es¬
tablish a market for their grain at a fixed rate of exchange,
which was no small feather in his cap, for Government
has never been able to bring about friendly relationships
with the hill tribes on the northern and north-western
flanks of Mount Elgon.
Several expeditions visited their country, but in spite
of these, the highlanders continued their outrages on cara¬
vans passing round the western side of the mountain,
making the route unsafe for safaris. While I was still
in the country, their audacity even led them so far as to
loot the cattle which a Government expedition had cap¬
tured from a neighbouring recalcitrant tribe, and when
pursued, they disappeared off the face of the earth into
3°°
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the vast secret caves of their territory, and, for the time
being, had the laugh on their side.
My few days spent at Kilim were most interesting.
The Greeks entertained me with accounts of their efforts
to open up trade with the different tribes, including the
Kimama, a powerful people living to the north-west.
As, up to the present, white men have only touched the
edge of Kimama, it may be of interest to my readers, if
I jot down the few authentic particulars which I was able
to glean, respecting the people and their land.
The Kimama inhabit a well-watered and fertile country
to the north-west of Mount Elgon, which is said to support
a teeming agricultural population, also rich in cattle,
sheep and goats, but possessing neither camels nor donkeys.
Unlike their neighbours, the Karamojo, they devote them¬
selves largely to cultivation, and produce varied crops,
such as maize, mtama, mhindi, a seed used as a spice,
sweet potatoes,, and a kind of ground nut.
The men are said to be of weak physique, for nearly
seventy-five per cent, of them are subject to swellings,
probably induced by the many swamps to be found in
their land.
Although possessed of vast stores of ivory, they absolutely
refuse to trade, and make a practice of immediately at¬
tacking any caravan that offers to approach their terri¬
tory. The braves go armed with some half-dozen throwing
spears, and carry a number of spare heads in a leather
sheaf like a quiver, in case of emergency. In comparison
with the Karamojo they are a far more formidable enemy,
for they are not only craftier in their methods, but more
expert spearsmen. Their shield is fashioned on the same
principle as among the Suk, Karamojo, and Turkana
METHOD OF HUNTING ELEPHANTS. 301
tribes, but is the smallest of them all, measuring only
two feet in length, so that, if there is any truth in
the saying " the braver the people the smaller their
shields," the Kimama should be very Tartars in the
battle-field.
It was here that I learnt the Ivaramojo method of hunting
elephants. First of all a shallow hole is dug in a much-used
A big-horned cow.
elephant path, such as one leading to water. Over this
is placed a wooden trap, made in the shape of a hubless
wheel, with innumerable splints of wood, bound to the rim,
in place of spokes. Next comes a noose of thickly-plaited
raw-hide rope, attached to a heavy log of wood, and then
a layer of earth and grass is carefully laid over the whole
snare to conceal it. Finally there is sprinkled over the
place a magic powder, which, the hunters believe, pre¬
vents their quarry from detecting that anything is wrong.
3°2
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Later on I was fortunate enough to procure some of this
powder, but it is impossible to say whether it is merely a
charm, or really contains some ingredient which destroys
the taint of human hands.
If luck is good, the animal steps on the snare, and his
foot slips through the wheel, the splints of which keep
the noose from falling off till it has tightened round his
leg. Irritated by the heavy log dragging after him, the
beast wears himself out in vain efforts to shake it off,
till the hunters, who have been dogging his footsteps,
consider him exhausted enough to rush in to spear him.
Occasionally, however, the tables are turned, and Kana-
rakis was once shown the battle-ground where an enraged
elephant had suddenly rid himself of the log, and before
the crowd of men who were surrounding him could escape,
nine of them met an untimely death. Mad with revenge
the brute had used trunk, tusks and feet on his enemies,
till the ground round looked like a veritable shambles.
During my stay, one of the Ivaramojo men belonging
to the Greeks got wind of the murder of his brother in
Turkana, and, seizing his spears, he swore never to rest
till he had avenged the death. The next minute he was
dashing away into the distance, yelling and howling in
a perfect frenzy. His two wives, their faces streaming
with tears, set out in pursuit, and after some time led him
back between them, reeling like a drunken man.
Among the herd of cattle at the Kilim encampment
were a number of the huge-horned Bukeddi cows. It
took a good deal of manoeuvring to get their photos, and
much more to measure their horns, for they did not take
particularly kindly either to the strange white man or
his camera. The largest horns I measured were nearly
MANY-HUED BUTTERFLIES.
forty inches in length, and just under five feet from tip
to tip.
The rest of my time was filled in collecting the many-
hued butterflies that flitted about the wooded slopes of
Kilim, and in trying to get some specimens of the
dik-dik which I found there for the first time since leaving
Baringo.
3° 4
CHAPTER XXIII.
Mount Debasien—New ground—A huge snake—A striking mountain—A
mysterious tribe—Fish galore—A non-existent lake—The trysting-place—
An ivory safari—A Swahili settlement—Karamojo trekking—A flour market
—Karamojo fashions—Buying a head-dress.
About twenty miles to the north of camp rose Mount
Debasien, in solitary grandeur, to nearly 6,000 feet above
the plain. Between this mountain and the foot of Elgon
the surface was broken by remarkably regular conical hills,
on one of which stood a curiously-shaped monolith, doubt¬
less a natural formation, but which, from a distance, had
all the appearance of being the handiwork of man.
No European, as far as I could make out, had ever been
known to pass round the west of Debasien, and I was
anxious to see for myself what aspect the mountain pre¬
sented from that side. Coutlis, a naturalised American,
who had fought through the Cuban war, decided to accom¬
pany me, but as the paths were said to be impassable for
baggage animals, we arranged that our safaris should
follow the usual caravan route eastwards, and rejoin us at
the north-eastern corner.
To avoid passing round the big bend of the Kilim River
(known to the Swahili as Kiboko), we had twice forded its
bed, and were following the track along its northern bank,
when there was a sudden cry of " snake." Coutlis, who
BEAUTIFUL ROCK SCENERY. 305
was leading, dismounted without a moment's hesitation,
seized his shot gun and killed it. It was a huge reptile,
measuring 16 ft. 8J in. m length, by nearly 2 ft. in girth,
and during the skinning operation we found it contained
105 eggs.
My camp was pitched that night at the foot of a long low
hill called Tonlelole, close to the river, in which one of the
men managed to catch two excellent fish. Grant's gazelle,
a species which I had not seen since leaving Baringo, were
feeding on the plain hard by. From there we pressed
onwards towards the flank of the mountain, through
elephant grass and small belts of timber, till we reached the
place where a little stream called Garnarpu issued from the
slope. At that time the whole stretch of country was
brown and parched, although, in the rainy seasons, it is
said to be one huge marsh.
Continuing our northward journey, we at length came to
the small hill known as Kuteman, which commanded a
wonderful view of the landscape round. If the southern
side of Mount Debasien is striking, the western slope is
still more so. Here the mountain presents an amphitheatre
of jagged red rocks and precipices, contrasting grandly with
the dark green foliage of the well-wooded valleys below,
and as I stood admiring the wild rugged beauty of the
sight, I thought that, for a solitary mountain, the rock
scenery surpassed anything I had ever seen. On one side
of the upper slopes a great mass of sheer rock stands out
like a gigantic castle, while the silvery shower of a fine
waterfall glistens among the trees nearer the foot.
Away to the west the parched plain merged into a green
expanse of marsh, reaching right down to the river. With
the glasses I could distinguish little patches of cultivation
20
306
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
lying just below the mountain precipices, which my guide
declared belonged to a race of people called the Tepeth,
another division of which inhabited the slopes of Moroto,
a mountain rising further northwards.
My companion went on to explain that the people of this
tribe are very unlike the Karamojo, both in appearance and
language, and have but little intercourse with them. They
have their dwellings on the top of the precipices, and carry
on a trade in flour with passing caravans, to whom the
produce is lowered by means of ropes, in order that the
secret of their fastnesses may not be betrayed. To my
great disappointment time would not permit of a visit to
these people, for, owing to the scarcity of water on the
caravan route, I could not keep my men waiting.
In order to circle round the north-west spur, we crossed
the clear stream, Garbata, in a half-dry tributary of which
some of the men caught several sacks full of fish, which
proved a welcome addition to dinner.
Next morning at breakfast, when I was discussing another
of them, I was horrified to find its flesh full of little coils of
minute worms, white in colour, and not thicker than a
coarse piece of cotton. When I called Zedu's attention,
he exclaimed, " Why, of course, they are always like that ! "
But I could not take it so philosophically, and it quite put
me off eating them in future.
My search on the northern side for the Lake Ivagate of
the maps was absolutely fruitless. I spent one afternoon
in search of it, climbing about the lower slopes, over broken
rock and rugged ground, from which several small streams
were flowing, only to lose themselves almost at once in deep
sandy beds cut into the surface of the plain. No trace,
however, of the present or past existence of Kagate could
THE IVORY TRADE.
307
be found, nor had the natives ever heard of it, for they
declared that there was neither marsh nor lake in this
direction.
A trying march across an arid plain, where the grass had
been burnt and the pungent ashes, covering us from head
to foot, acted as an irritant to eyes and nostrils, brought
us to Birikani, where we were to meet the safari. They
were nowhere to be seen, and a Karamojo loafer told us
they had left that morning, as the only water near was in a
small rock pool in the river-bed, and it both smelt and tasted
badly. While wondering what to do, for the next water
was said to be five hours off, we saw two of our men ap¬
proaching, who reported that they had only moved on
half-an-hour to where the grass was better and there was a
plentiful water supply.
A tearing wind from the Suk hills swept over camp most
of the time we were there, making things very disagreeable,
and what was almost worse, the place swarmed with flies.
Nevertheless, we were obliged to remain till some of the
men, whom I had sent into Mumias before leaving Kilim,
rejoined us. Meanwhile, Nzau and the greater part of the
safari were sent off ahead, by easy marches, to form a
camp in the heart of the Bukora country, and commence
trading for flour and donkeys.
A pleasant break in the monotony of our wait was the
arrival of a large ivory safari, homeward bound after a long
absence in Turkana. Besides twenty-one large tusks, they
had with them a number of donkeys laden with smaller
ones. I entered into conversation with a Beluchi who was
among them, and acquired some useful information con¬
cerning the natives they had met with on their expedition,
and the way the ivory trade is conducted.
20*
308
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
In two more marches we reached a group of Karamojo
villages, each of which was surrounded by little patches of
cultivation, and a little further afield we passed a large,
permanent Swahili camp, built near the wide sandy bed of
the Manimani River, and protected by a strong thorn
zariba. On the opposite bank Coutlis and I pitched our
respective camps, some distance apart, which from the
outset we had mutually agreed was the best plan to prevent
any possibility of friction between our men.
Later in the day all the head Swahili traders came over
to see us, a picturesque crowd, draped in flowing garbs of
white. Their visit was, to me at any rate, a revelation of
the power such men exercise in the land. Their safaris,
they told us, were constantly penetrating as far as the
Rendile country to the east, the extremities of Lake
Rudolf to the north, and Latuka to the north-west ; while,
in exchange for the ivory they sent in to Mumias, a con¬
tinuous and varied stream of supplies found its way to their
settlement. They would bring pressure to bear on any
tribe which caused them trouble, even going so far as to
organise and carry out punitive expeditions to revenge
their personal grievances. Should any complaint filter
through to Government headquarters from natives suffering
at their hands, and a particular trader be called upon to
account for his actions, all he had to do was to avoid Mumias
till the matter had blown over. Meanwhile, his business
would flourish as before, and supplies in exchange for his
ivory would be handed in to him at his tent door. The
way in which Government has thus allowed native ivory
traders to assume complete control of the remoter districts,
and to make light of official enquiries, is another startling
instance of Foreign Office inaptitude.
DECREASING WATER SUPPLY.
309
Among our visitors was one trader who had lost the whole
of his safari in the year 1901, when the Abyssinians raided
all through the Suk and Karamojo territory, relieving any
native trader they could lay hands on of the whole of his
ivory and other possessions. In some cases the men them¬
selves were even impressed to carry the loads.
As we were continuing our march along the banks of the
Karamojo elders.
Manimani River, whole villages of Karamojo met us, driving
before them herds and flocks towards the Kilim River, for
the underground streams were beginning to fail, and the
pits in the river beds had to be sunk deeper and deeper to
reach the ever-decreasing water supply.
When we at length arrived at Anamuget, where camp
was pitched in a grove of splendid trees, we found Nzau
superintending a large market in full swing. With an inter¬
preter, lent me by the Swahilis at Manimani, and one or
3IO IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
two assistants, he was seated under a tree, of which the
bole was over 25 feet in circumference, and the shade
it cast 37 yards across. Before him, laid out in tempt¬
ing array on a waterproof sheet, lay piles of gay
beads, hanks of iron chain, and coils of brass and iron
wire, with files ready at hand to cut off the lengths as
payment.
Karamojo warriors.
From early morn till dusk Karamojo braves stalked in to
camp, a line of wives and children in their train, each laden
with little leather sacks, or gourds, full of flour. They
would all squat down some little distance away, while the
head of the party approached with a calabash holding
from 2 to 3 pounds of flour. At first it was the policy
of each man to outbid the last by offering a smaller
quantity of flour for a larger amount of our most expensive
commodity. If any gentleman with an eye to business could
CHAIN AND BEADS IN DEMAND. 311
not be persuaded that he was getting a fair exchange, his
whole party would resume their loads and start homewards,
only to be pursued by my men with small presents and
many honeyed words to tempt them to return.
At first, of course, these little differences of opinion
hindered the progress of trade, but when once the scale of
Karamojo men.
exchange was established to mutual satisfaction, things ran
on smoothly and fairly rapidly. The flour brought in by
each man was measured, and the equivalent handed over
to him in the special goods he favoured. Reckoning the
cost of carriage, iron chain and beads brought us in the
most flour, and brass wire the least.
Soon news of the prices we were giving, and of our fair
312
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
dealing, spread throughout the country-side, and a con¬
tinual procession of fresh customers passed to and fro
between the villages and our camp. During a week's
market we found our purchasers on the whole a good-
natured crowd, who offered some splendid chances of
characteristic photos.
The Karamojo men go entirely naked, save that their
feet are protected by elephant-hide sandals, and they
decorate themselves with a good deal of native trinkets.
They are undoubtedly a strong and well-developed race,
but although several writers have put their average height
at over 6 feet, I found none so tall. Nakedness always
tends to accentuate height, and I was astonished, on mea¬
suring the tallest three out of fifteen, to find that only one of
them was 5 ft. ioj in., while the others were 2 inches
shorter. Although, before leaving the country, I must have
seen some hundreds, only a small number reached this
stature, and but very few indeed exceeded it. Their spans,
on the other hand, were unusually long in proportion, being
from 6 ft. 7 in. to 6 ft. 2 in.
About one-third of the Karamojo men I saw had affected
the big chignon like the Suk, but among the former its edge
is either not turned up at all, or only very slightly, in which
case a stick is usually inserted to stretch it. In order to
keep this elaborate hair-dress off the ground while they are
sleeping, they always carry a little two-legged pillow-stool,
carved out of a solid block of wood, which they place under
their necks when they lie down to rest. In the day-time
it answers the purpose of a seat.
Most of those who had not yet attained to the full dignity
of a chignon proper, made up what hair they had with clay
into a sort of bun, surmounted by a large pompom of black
Karamojo method of attack.
NATIVE ORNAMENTS.
315
ostrich feathers, while the forelock was ornamented with
wild berries, or little pellets of clay. Some of the lads had
fixed a little wicker cone on the back of their heads in which
feathers could be stuck. One of them was wearing an
extraordinary ornament formed of elephant hide cut like
a fringe and dyed red. Each bit was then twisted, bent to
assume a convex shape, and the whole fixed to the forehead
points upwards. With a great deal of reluctance the proud
wearer was induced to sell it.
Down the back of nearly every man, dependent from a
string, hung a long, slender tassel of white hare's fur, pro¬
bably as a charm. Three of the elders I met were wearing
masher collars, built up of sixteen rings of iron wire, the
ends of each being bent round to receive a leathern thong,
which kept them in place. Others among the men were wear¬
ing a few necklets of beads. Their earrings consisted of one
or two large brass rings with a single blue bead threaded on
them, which hung either from the lobe or inner cartilage of
the ear, or a number of small brass rings fixed along the
outer rim. The nose pendants mostly took the form of an
ovate leaf, made of thin tin or brass, which were cut from
a sheet, or formed of wire, coiled and beaten out. Lower
lip ornaments varied from a flattened piece of brass wire
nearly six inches long, terminating in a bead, to a little
length of copper wire. A few of the men wore ivory arm¬
lets and brass or iron wire bracelets, while round the waist
many of them had fastened a length of fine iron chain.
Like the Masai, some of the elder men wore round their legs
little leather garters with a rattle attached.
The arms of the Karamojo warriors consist of spears and
shields of the same pattern as the Suk. The spears are
more often than not rested on the ground, head downwards,
3i6 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
that part, when the weapon is not in use, being always pro¬
tected by a sheath of leather. A ring knife, or a piece of
iron wire bent and sharpened to form a weapon like the
huge talon of a bird, and fixed to the finger, and another
sharp knife on the wrist, complete a brave's war kit.
Many carried a trumpet, formed from an oryx horn, with
the skin of a cow's tail shrunk on it and a little leather
handle fastened on one side. The blast that the expert can
produce from these battle trumpets might be described in
the words of the Scotchman after hearing the " Messiah "
for the first time : " The din was awfu', terrible to hear."
Some of the men readily showed me their method of
attacking an enemy. They explained that they make short
rushes, and then sink on one knee, spear poised, with
the shield covering as much of the body as possible. These
alternate rushes and halts are continued until they get to
close enough quarters to start a hand-to-hand fight, or till
one party has been overawed. To be skilful in combat is
the aim of every Karamojo youth, and to this end, he and
his companions form themselves into rival bands, arm
themselves with sticks to hurl at one another, in place of
spears, and ward off the blows with wicker shields. These
shields are used solely for this purpose, and not, as has
sometimes been stated, in actual warfare.
The married women, although many of them are not
more than fourteen or fifteen years of age, are anything
but a comely crowd. Their hair for the most part is short
and very tousled. The upper part of the body is left bare,
but behind, from the waist to the calf, hangs a leathern
apron of soft skin, generally with the hair left on, the lower
edge of which is slit up in two or three places. Another
smaller skin, worn in front, and sometimes decorated with
Karamojo women.
MARRIED LIFE AMONG THE KARA MO JO. 319
beads, reaches to just above the knee. Round the outer
rim of the ear are fixed eight to twelve large brass rings,
while some of the ladies wear metal lower-lip pendants.
Rings of iron and brass wire are worn round their neck, arms
and legs, while, in addition, they affect innumerable necklets
of iron chain, ostrich egg-shell and other beads.
The girls have their heads shaven, but their costume is
very similar to that of the matrons. They have, of course,
not such an extensive collection of necklets, their apron
behind is smaller, while in place of the one in front hangs an
elaborate tassel of ostrich egg-shell beads of some thirty-
six strings, and on either side of this two little leather tabs
much decorated. These are evidently very much prized,
for the girls refused two sheep for a set of them. One child
was sporting a rare necklet of teeth, strung together, which
she was reluctantly persuaded to sell me.
The Karamojo children appear to be particularly well
treated, and although the women usually carry the heavier
burdens, while the men stalk along beside them with spear
and shield, the husbands seem quite good to their wives.
Only on one occasion did I see a man strike a woman. The
cause of the disagreement reminded me strongly of married
bliss at home. The lady in question, like her fairer sisters,
longed to trade away the family wealth, in the shape of
flour, to procure beads for her own adornment, whereas
Monsieur, with the usual good sense of the sterner sex,
wanted iron wire to weld a hoe for tilling the family plot.
As the wife did not get her own way, she dashed the calabash
of flour to the ground, and fled from the spot howling with
rage. Her husband promptly pursued her, overtook her,
and proceeded, in the usual native fashion, to point out the
error of her ways. I am afraid my sympathies were with
320
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the man. However, some of his comrades came running
up, separated them, and made peace.
It was from one of these men that I managed to buy a
big chignon. From the time of my arrival at Anamuget I
had been constantly approaching one or other of the elders
on the subject, and at last found an old fellow who seemed
slightly less disinclined than the rest to part with his crown¬
ing glory. The promise of one of our finest sheep, and a
long bit of iron chain won me the day, and I set a man to
work shearing his head at once, before he had time to think
it over, while all the Karamojo present urged him to stop
proceedings and " keep his hair on."
CHAPTER XXIV
Howill's return—A sequel to Macdonald's expedition—Trip towards K i mania—
A choice of routes—Bartering donkeys—Morolo Mount—Karamojo villages
—Visit the Tepclh—Tribe of "magicians"—Two sloreyed huts—Their
origin—Our reception—A waterless tract—I find a pool.
While still at this camp we heard news, ever-welcome
in the jungle, that two white men and their safari were
approaching, and a day later a runner came in with a note
from Howitt, saying that he expected to reach us in another
march or two. On his arrival, we learnt that he and his
companion had prospected the whole of eastern Dodosi,
where travelling had been trying on account of the lack
of water, but the people perfectly friendly. He told us
that war had been raging in the Dodosi country with the
Turkana, who had killed a large number of the inhabitants
and carried off nearly all their cattle. In Magosi, another
Karamojo district, many of the villages were deserted.
It seemed that in the year 1898 Col. Macdonald had left
several huts full of stores at Titi in Dodosi. According to
native accounts, before he set out 011 his return southwards,
Macdonald gathered the head men of the place together,
and made them solemnly swear that they would protect his
goods at all costs, promising them rich rewards if they kept
faith, and threatening dire vengeance if they broke it.
Ever since that time, a matter of five years, the Turkana
322
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
had been making a desperate struggle to take possession
of the huts, under the belief that they must hold rich trea¬
sure from the native point of view. The Dodosi loyally
kept their trust, although to do so they were sacrificing
hundreds of lives, and saw village after village of their
people wiped off the face of the earth. Meanwhile the
stores, which were being guarded at such terrible cost, like
so much priceless treasure, must for the most part have
mouldered away, and become absolutely useless, for they
consisted mainly of flour and other food supplies.
Nothing could have been simpler than for Government to
check this aimless bloodshed on their account, by sending
word with a trading safari that the goods were no longer
needed and might be distributed. Yet this idea never
seemed to have occurred to any responsible official. It is
always easier to let things slide. The only hope is that
when the next Government party does visit that country,
a suitable acknowledgment may be made to the Dodosi
for their extreme faithfulness to the white man.
A similar depot of stores had been left at Manimani, but
the people there very soon looted the huts and divided the
spoil.
It might be a good plan for leaders of expeditions in the
future to place a limit on the number of moons during
which the people should guard stores left in their charge.
Howitt soon started on a flying expedition to prospect
towards Mount Kisima, and I followed in his track. After
one long day's march to a little pool of water in a small
stream-bed, I came on him as he was just setting out again,
determined to reach the hills that night.
To the south-west of camp lay the striking group of hills
Kisima, Kamalinga, and Nopak. The two former had been
TIRED OUT AND DISAGREEABLE. 323
rent asunder from top to bottom, leaving but a narrow rift
between the sheer sides, while the northern flank of Nopak,
and the western flank of Kisima, presented almost unbroken
walls of rock. The hills lie on the edge of the Kimama
country, and are apparently uninhabited, for my glasses
failed to reveal any trace of either villages or cultivation,
and the natives of the district assured me that no one dwelt
there.
Later in the day I made a tour round in the direction of
these hills, over a country where zebra, Grant's, hartebeest,
reedbuck, oribi and topi seemed to be very plentiful. One
of the last fell to my rifle, and proved to be the largest
head of the kind I had yet procured.
As I was setting my face towards camp next day, after
a vain attempt at a couple of ostriches, a thunderstorm
broke over us, making the ground so slippery that I sent
ahead for a donkey. To my disgust the men bringing it
missed me, and I turned up at camp at five o'clock, tired
out, and in a very disagreeable frame of mind.
For my northward journey a choice of three routes lay
before me, all avoiding the country towards the Nile, which,
owing to its disturbed state, I had been warned not to
pass through. Two of these, leading through Jiwe and
Magosi respectively, would have entailed at least two
waterless nights, while a large Swahili safari had just tra¬
versed one of them, making it still less attractive. The
third and most easterly route was said to be better watered,
and offered the additional advantage of passing through a
territory never before crossed by white man. It was,
therefore, to this last route that I turned my attention.
By this time I had secured fourteen fine donkeys, receiving
for one cow an average of four donkeys and ten sheep, or
21*
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
one and five sheep for a bullock ; but my flour supply was
still rather short, while Coutlis required several additional
sacks. As we had evidently almost exhausted the district,
I decided to move nearer Mount Moroto, where I heard
more might be bought, and leave Coutlis behind to finish
his purchase.
My way lay through a good deal of cultivated ground,
where the Karamojo had constructed several large dams to
collect and hold the small streams of water which flow
only in the rains. These were now nearly dry, and many
of the villages deserted, for their inhabitants had set out
on their annual southward migration to the Kiboko River.
The result of a day's trade only amounted to the pur¬
chase of half-a-sack of flour, so I was obliged to push for¬
ward to the Lea Valley, where heavier crops were said to
be grown.
We pitched camp on a large clearing, with numerous ham¬
lets dotted about, many of which were uninhabited. Close
above us frowned the steep slopes and bare rocks of Mount
Moroto.
The Karamojo villages consist of from six to twelve
circular huts, prettily thatched in layers like steps, and built
in a rough circle. Round the outside runs a weak palisade
of sticks and boughs woven together. Cultivation is not
carried on extensively, for the tribe exist, for the most part,
on the milk from their flocks and herds.
Most of the Karamojo men whom I saw in the district
had their bodies and faces daubed in patterns with whitish
clay. They had very little flour to sell, but we were told
that the Tepeth, who lived on the mountain, might be able
to supply us with some. In answer to my enquiries about
these people, my informant explained that they numbered
RATS EAT EVERYTHING.
325
not more than five hundred men. In times of drought,
when the plains are parched and there is not a drop of
water to be had, the Tepeth, owing to the greater rainfall
on the hills, still have a considerable store of grain and good
pasturage. Yet, although the highlanders are numerically
very weak by comparison with the Karamojo of the plains,
the latter never attempt to wrest their wealth from them,
but, on the contrary, pay them for grazing the lowland
flocks and herds on the fertile slopes of the mountain.
When I asked the Karamojo how it was that, with thou¬
sands of braves at their command, they never molested
their highland neighbours, they seemed loth to answer, but
at last confessed that the Tepeth were possessed of magical
powers. Years before, they told me, they had stolen some
mountain flocks from the highlanders, whereupon the
owners withheld all rain from the plains, and sent a murrain
upon their cattle, killing them by scores. This decided
them that the Tepeth were undoubtedly sorcerers, and
must be left in peaceful possession of their land, lest dire
spells should work havoc among the flocks, cattle, and crops
on the plain—a striking example of the triumph of mind
over mere brute force !
That night so many rats held revel round my tent,
gnawing everything, from my boots to the stocks of the
rifles, that it was useless to try and get to sleep. My
curiosity had been so excited by the tales of the Tepeth that,
as soon as morning dawned, I set off up hill, leaving
behind the Karamojo plantations in the valley, where a
few people were already hard at work, and climbed a steep,
rock-strewn path on the western side.
As I and my men approached the little plateau on which
a village stood, the natives came out to gaze at us, and then,
3 26
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
calling together their women and children, bolted up hill
like so many scared rabbits. My interpreter left his rifle
behind, went forward to reassure them, and soon came back
accompanied by two or three men. TJjey struck me at
once as differing greatly in appearance' from the Kara-
A Tepelh hut.
mojo, although their mode of hair-dress and ornaments
were very similar. There were few lip pendants among
them, but ivory armlets and bracelets, of the same shape
as in Sabei, but stouter, seemed very popular. One man
was sporting a triangular-shaped bit of skin sewn with
beads, as an apron, while another had a hare-skin tassel
hanging over either ear.
SUSPICIOUS OF MY INTENTIONS. 327
The women had the whole of the body draped in skins.
A few presents of tobacco gained me a little favour, but
they were distinctly suspicious of my intentions, and
declared that they had no flour for sale. Their usual rate
of exchange was a. 30 to 40 lb. skin bag for a sheep, or 20 of
Tepeth men.
them for a cow, but one man seldom had enough for this.
From their homes it is clear that they are a race distinct
from those in the country round. The huts, of a much
flatter pitch than usual, are thatched from the apex right
down to the ground, in steps after the Karamojo fashion ;
but the doorway, instead of being merely a hole in the side,
is sheltered by a kind of porch built out from the main roof,
328
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
and supported by poles. But the most remarkable feature
of all is that, unlike any other native dwellings that I have
seen in Africa, they are two-storeyed, the entrance to the
upper one being by a sort of dormer window in the thatched
roof. Access to this is gained by a rude ladder formed of a
tree-trunk, with the branches lopped off to leave a foothold.
A weak stockade runs round each hamlet, but in this case
it had been allowed to fall into decay.
As soon as I thought a friendly spirit was established
between us, out came the camera, with the too frequent
result that everyone fled. The chance of a photo looked
hopeless enough, so, leaving the dreaded apparatus ready
for a stray opportunity, I produced a net and started
catching the butterflies of every hue that were fluttering
from blossom to blossom on the hillside. The curiosity of
the natives was very soon aroused, and they came sidling
back, one by one, to watch me at work, and question the
men. " Was I getting them for food ? If so, did I eat
them raw or cooked, and with or without their wings ?
Why did I so carefully pack each one separately ? Was
I going to make medicine from them, and if so, what were
its properties, and might they have a supply ? "
A heavy rainstorm put an abrupt end to my hunt and
their queries, but after it had cleared a little I was lucky
enough to get a few photos. From one old man who spoke
Karamojo, and was more loquacious than the rest, I learnt
that the name of the hamlet, which my aneroid showed to
be at an altitude of 5,300 feet, was Nargiritoir. He con¬
firmed the statement that the Karamojo never molested
them, and with the aid of a little bundle of sticks, which he
counted and laid out before him with painful precision,
showed me that there were twenty-two villages in all.
1) ra ten by]
Tepeth village with two-storeyed huts.
[A. Forestier.
THE FIRST WHITE MAN.
331
This, a typical one, contained ten huts, some of which
were outside the stockade, and as I reckoned there must be
from twenty to twenty-five males in each settlement, my
Karamojo friend's estimate of five hundred, of which about
half would be fighting men, was not far out.
In reply to my question as to where they hailed from, the
old man pointed away to the east, and said that long years
back they had come from there. My men were quite unable
to understand or recognise the language which they spoke
among themselves.
After taking a series of angles of the different hill-tops in
sight, I returned to my camp, deeply regretting that I was
not sufficiently acquainted with the native dialects to be
able to learn more of these strange people.
It seems to me that a qualified linguist, who could spare
the time to investigate the history of the Tepeth (who, as
far as I know, have never before been visited by a white
man), might be rewarded by interesting discoveries. Their
general appearance, the form of their houses, and the
evident influence they exercise over the Karamojo, all seem
to indicate that they are either the survival of some tribe
of higher intellect, which inhabited the country before the
advent of the Karamojo, or are the remnant of a Galla
wave of conquest from the north-east.
My next march was to the Moroto River, over a country
dotted with clumps of thorn and aloes. The stream itself
only runs in the rains, but in its bed there were a number
of fair-sized pools. Following up its course, past many a
deserted village, I at last found Coutlis camped at Zimoquai,
and had a long shauri with his Karamojo and a couple of
local men he had engaged, to discuss the probabilities of
finding water ahead. As we could gain no definite informa-
332
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
tion, I decided to prospect the ground before moving camp,
while Coutlis chose the bolder course of marching at once.
It was nearly midnight before Gubei, the man whom I had
engaged at Mumias as my guide and interpreter, returned
from reconnoitring, to report that he had travelled hard for
five hours without success. Coutlis, whom he had passed,
had declared his intention of pushing on for two days in
search of water before he turned back.
My camp lay just near the spot where the River Moroto
issues from a gorge in the mountain-side, while to the north
a rugged spur jutted out in a westerly direction, separated
from a low line of hills by a rocky dome. From the lie of
the country it struck me that if I crossed this range as close
under the dome as possible, I must find pools in some gorge
or cleft on the other side. My surmise proved correct,
for, after a short search, I found water lying in a deep rift
among the rocks, and immediately sent back for my safari
to rejoin me there. En route I had come on the tracks of
an antelope, which I felt almost certain must have been
made by a lesser kudu, although I had never heard of them
extending so far westwards.
In two days wc rejoined Coutlis, finding him camped by
some large water-holes in the bed of the Monyen River,
pools in the upper stream bed of which had been our source
of supply since leaving Zimoquai. On his first day he had
had to make a very long march, and when at last he did
strike water, it was inaccessible for his cattle and flocks,
many of which could not be got in till late at night.
333
CHAPTER XXV.
Writing on the rock—Lesser kudu—Mow elephants bury their enemies—A night
in a tree—A rocky pool—No road—I hunt for water—Sun-baked rocks—
Thirsty men—A night bivouac—An inquisitive rhino—A long day—Blasted
hopes—Men give in—Abandoning the loads—A terrible march—Digging
for water—Lost in the night—The relief party—Death from thirst.
Soon after my arrival in Coutlis' camp, the Karamojo
brought in news of a big herd of elephant feeding in the
valley to the south-west of us, and Coutlis told some of
his men off to keep an eye on them till the morning.
With a view to examining the herd, and finding whether
it contained any big bulls, we set our faces at sunrise
towards the mighty, even-topped mass of rock which
forms the northern spur of Moroto. Its sheer side presented
an almost flat surface, over which two fine waterfalls
poured a sparkling torrent into the valley below.
My attention was at once arrested by what appeared
to be lines of writing in huge characters cut into the
smoothest part of the cliff. Even the glasses did not dispel
this impression, and it was not till I reached a little hill
three hours nearer Moroto that I assured myself the
indentations were not the work of man, but were produced
by parallel lines of faults in the strata. While pressing
up hill I espied a lesser kudu bull standing at the foot,
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
a sight which confirmed my belief that the tracks discovered
the previous day had been made by one of them.
Fearing that a shot might disturb the elephants, I did
not fire, but the precaution was unnecessary, for a careful
view of the country failed to reveal any trace of the herd,
and soon afterwards some of Coutlis' men came up to say
that, during the night, they had banded together and
moved off in an easterly direction towards the Turkwel
River. No doubt the men themselves had scared the
beasts and made them shift their ground. Judging from
the tracks there must have been one or two very fine bulls
amongst them.
As we wound our way through the thick undergrowth
back to camp, fortune favoured me with a good chance
at a lesser kudu, which I dropped with a single shot from
the .256. It was a fine specimen with horns over 29 inches
long. The skinning and cutting up took us so long that
night had fallen before I reached camp.
As soon as Coutlis, after a whole day's patient haggling,
had struck a bargain with some Karamojo for a number
of buried tusks they said they had in their possession, we
began our march down the Monyen. On the way the
Karamojo guide aroused our curiosity by telling us camp
was to be pitched by a pool further ahead whose water
was " hot, and when you drank it }'ou wanted more."
On arrival, we were surprised to find it quite cool, but a
strong brackish taste made the man's meaning clear.
That night we could hear lions grunting as they
approached the pool, and as soon as there was light enough
to see the tracks I started in pursuit. A small herd of
elephant cows and their young had followed the lions,
so that the pugs were difficult to distinguish, but eventually
ELEPHANTS AND LIONS.
335
1 traced them clear, only to lose them altogether on a bit
of hard ground.
I then pushed up a long valley running northwards into
Murosoka. Soon my approach disturbed a small herd of
Grant with a single oryx, and I started after them, but a
couple of rhino lying in some thick thorn scrub drew
my attention away, and I turned up a small hill to watch
the latter. As one of them seemed to have a fair-sized
horn I fired behind its shoulder, when both of them
sprang to their feet and dashed off through the under¬
growth.
On regaining the summit of the hill I detected one of
them lying down in the far distance. As I made toward
the place, the other charged down on us, but happily a
shot from the .400 made it alter its course. With the
first animal at which I had fired the bullet had done its
work, for we found it lying stone dead. It was a big cow,
and its companion must doubtless have been a two-parts
grown calf. It was lucky indeed that the second rhino
had been so easily turned, for Bedoui, in spite of his little
experiences at Baringo, had brought the .256 as a second
rifle, instead of the .600. Such is the absolute lack of
reasoning power of an average Swahili.
That afternoon one of my men appeared in camp carrying
a broken spear. He explained that, while he had been
searching lower down the river bed for water, his eye
had lighted on a large pile of thorn trees uprooted whole,
and branches torn from the trees hard by. Close by he
had picked up the spear, which the Karamojo, from its
pattern, knew must have belonged to a Turkana. Its
shaft was splintered, the iron bent nearly in a circle, one edge
of the head was completely doubled back as though beaten
336
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
on a stone, while there was a blood stain on it eight inches
long.
Our follower had pushed away some of the boughs to
discover underneath the mouldering remains of a man,
with the ribs and some of the other bones broken. The
Karamojo, without any hesitation, pictured the whole
scene. They said that the dead man must have come
on an elephant as, in the heat of the day, it was drowsily
flicking off the flies and seemed half asleep. Thinking it an
easy prey, the Turkana had probably stolen up and plunged
his spear into the animal's body, but had not been quick
enough to beat a retreat. The elephant had probably
swung round, caught and killed him, and then buried
the body under the heap of branches. But' this had not
spent his fury, and he had turned to wreak his vengeance
on the weapon that had wounded him.
John Ivanarakis had previously told me how, at Kilim,
he had once found a skeleton concealed in the same way.
His trackers had assured him it was the work of an elephant,
who always bury the bodies of any men or lions they may
kill. This explanation had sounded so like a fairy tale
that 1 was loth to accept it, but our follower's new
discovery seemed a convincing proof of its accuracy.
Natives in this part never bury their dead, but leave the
body in the open to be devoured. If the Turkana had
been murdered, lie would certainly have been robbed
of his weapon, which a native greatly prizes. Moreover,
nothing but an elephant could have bent the spear and
shattered the shaft in such a way, to say nothing of
uprooting the thorn bushes whole. Perhaps the elephant
has a dim idea that the body of his victim may come to
life and molest him again if he does not imprison it, for
AN UNINHABITED COUNTRY. 339
animals never seem to realise death, or perhaps the smell
of blood is so repugnant that he tries to hide the carcase
from his sight.
By this time Coutlis had made up his mind to follow
the Monyen till he came to its junction with the Nakokoh,
and then to march along the Turkwel into Turkana. My
own plans, on the contrary, were to try and cross over into
the upper waters of the Tarash, which were marked on
the maps as rising on the eastern side of Murosoka. Nothing
was known of this river except that Captain Welby had
crossed it on his route from Rudolf to the Sobat.
After a fruitless watch overnight in a tree near the pool,
in the hope that the lions might revisit it, I moved camp
to some water pits at the junction of two little tributaries
of the Monyen, which commanded a distant view of a
prominent rocky cone jutting out from Murosoka. As
the country was uninhabited we could procure no guide,
so parties of my men were sent out to search for water
ahead. Although the Karamojo claim that this land is
really part of their territory, it forms a common hunting
ground for themselves, the Suk, and the Turkana.
On the second day Nzau brought in news of a pool in
a gorge of Murosoka, to which we made our way, and as
Abdallah found a second, a short march further on, we
again shifted camp. To my mortification the water
that he was so proud of having discovered lay a good
long way up the next gorge, so that, after an hour and a
half's march, we had made about half a mile's real progress.
The Swahili is a distinct thorn in the flesh sometimes.
While the safari were completing their march, I made a
little trip down into the main valley in search of game, and
spotted a pair of oryx lying in the shade of a bush. A
22*
34°
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
long crawl at length brought me within range, and I dropped
one with a shot behind h's shoulder, and the second with
a bullet through the chest as it came towards me. To
my satisfaction they proved to be very good specimens of
a bull and cow respectively.
According to the aneroid, my new camp was at an ele¬
vation of but 2,856 feet, and the confined valley made
it even more close and hot than it would otherwise have
been. In my tent at 2.30 p.m. the thermometer read 97°,
while at 8 in the evening it had only fallen to 83°.
One of my scouting parties returned about midnight
to tell of a long fruitless search for water, and another
was sent off at early dawn. Meanwhile I filled in the
time exploring the other head of the gorge, which offered
plenty of good grazing, with much larger and more
accessible pools of water. A number of fresh zebra tracks
drew me up hill till I came on a little party of four, whose
leader fell to my rifle. He was a fine beast, and the
markings of his coat seemed to me to differ from those I
had previously seen at Baringo and on the Gwashengeshu.
That night men returned from the search party to say
that Nzau had found water 7i hours off, but the last
hour and a half was up a rocky gorge, impassable for
either donkeys or laden men. The matter was getting
serious. Food was fast diminishing, and we seemed as
far off the discovery of a pract'cable road into the Tarash
Valley as ever. There was nothing for it but to make
a search myself, encouraged by the idea of my success
at Moroto.
By lantern light next morning I left camp, accompanied
by my two gunbearers, my boy, a syce, and six porters,
laden with water for two days, food, and bedding. Our
A HARD AND FRUITLESS DAY. 341
course lay along the foot of the main line of hills and across
a big valley that ran up to the north-west. Then, climbing
a hill on the opposite side, I sent one gunbearer up to the
head of the gorge, while the rest of us continued on, dis¬
turbing a rhino and calf en route. Still there was no trace
The Poote gorge.
of water. Two more gorges were carefully searched, and
at last, worn out with a hard and fruitless day's work
among the sun-baked rocks, I decided to bivouac that
night on a little level plateau in the hillside. A large
herd of giraffe feeding in the plain below made me feel
certain that there must be water not very far away.
At dusk my men rejoined me, when, to my horror, I
342
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
discovered they had recklessly served out the water and
almost exhausted the supply. Only fourteen tumblersful
were left in the big drum ; contrary to my orders, no other
load had been brought, and eight out of the ten men had
failed to fill their water-bottles. Here was a pretty
kettle of fish ! However, that night we could do nothing.
As soon as I had served out half a glassful of water to
each man, and had had a meal after a fifteen hours' fast,
we turned in, the men lying down in a little clearing hard by.
Toward midnight, when the fire had well-nigh flickered
out, the crunch of gravel and a rustling in the jungle dis¬
turbed my rest. At first I dreamily wondered whether it
could be caused by some beast feeding on the hillside,
but as the noise increased, it suddenly dawned upon me
that the sandy surface of the ground on which my blankets
were spread bore the impress of a rhino's hide. This,
then, must be one of the beasts bent on taking his nightly
sand bath on the very spot I had chosen for my bed. Rifle
in hand, I retreated to the fire, and while my boy was
feeding the dying embers and doing his best to create
a blaze, I peered into the gloom, trying to make out the
animal among the bushes.
The sound of its approach grew louder and louder, till,
just as I made out the dim outline of a huge beast, it
stopped short as though to reconnoitre. We shouted
our hardest and brandished smouldering branches, but
it advanced steadily, quite undaunted.
The men took to their heels, and I was on the point of
firing, when, with a loud snort, it turned, and, to the
accompaniment of rolling stones and crashing jungle, rushed
headlong down the mountain side.
In the morning I filled my two bottles with water,
WITHOUT WATER.
343
shared out the remainder, and sent two men back to
arrange for a supply to meet me at the foot of the gorge
up which camp lay. Meanwhile I meant to discover,
if possible, where the giraffe obtained water.
The gunbearer I had sent off the preceding day had not
yet rejoined us, so I came to the conclusion that he must
have missed our track and returned to camp.
Gradually we descended the hillside and soon found
ourselves in a large valley—which I afterwards learnt
was called Jow—stretching northwards. Along it ran a
well-worn game path, made by rhino, giraffe, gazelle and
elephant, all trending in the same direction. We felt
certain this must lead to water, and on and on we trudged
under the merciless rays of a scorching noon-day sun that
beat upon the rocks till they blistered the feet of my un¬
fortunate followers and created a thirst which there was
nothing to quench. As the afternoon wore on the men
began to drop out, saying they could go no further. Time
after time I sent down to the bed of the stream that drained
the valley, but the men invariably came back to say that
it was quite white and scorched, without any sign of
moisture.
At length, when I reached the wooded head of the valley,
Bedoui and the syce were my only companions, and they
were trudging along behind me, weary and despairing,
with dry mouths and cracked lips. After giving each of
them a measure of water in the cap of my telescope, I
left the syce behind with the mule, while Bedoui and I
pushed forward.
Searching the arid slopes with my glasses, I was delighted
to discover, as I thought, a fine waterfall rushing down
the head of a rocky gorge. This sight imbued us with
344
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
fresh energy, and we doggedly stumbled on for another
hour, over rough ground and through dense scrub. As
I drew nearer and got a better view of the cliff, my heart
sank to find merely the dry white worn channel of the
waterfall's former course. On my breaking the bad news
to Bedoui, he flung himself in utter despair on the ground,
gasping that he could walk no further. Taking a sip from
my water bottle, I handed it to him, and then scrambled on
again in search of a pool among the rocks in the bottom
of the gorge. A weary hour's work was unrewarded and
I was forced to return.
Bedoui I found more hopeless than ever, and it was a
hard task trying to cheer him up and help him along till
we regained the place where I had left the mule. On the
way we disturbed a hyaena, which, instead of slinking off
at once, stood and looked at us. My companion evidently
regarded its boldness as an evil omen, for it is a common
belief among natives that these animals know by instinct
when to follow man or beast in anticipation of a speedy
meal.
Night was rapidly advancing, we were two long marches
from camp, and I felt that, unless we got water before the
setting of another sun, we must all inevitably perish.
Bedoui was too exhausted to follow, so I left him with
injunctions not to lose the path, while the syce and I
started off, carrying one rifle and some cartridges.
On the way I picked up three more of my men. I had
husbanded the scant supply of water that my two bottles
held with such care that there was still a full one left.
But now our thirst was raging, and when the men pleaded
that one fair drink would give them strength to go all
night, it was hard, indeed, to resist them. One, even
A TERRIBLE NIGHT. 345
after a double allowance measured out in the telescope
cap, was too done up to walk, but the others plucked up
courage and struggled on with me, leaving their loads
behind.
Soon afterwards we found the cook's box, and breaking
it open, searched it eagerly for something to drink, but
only found one small tin of " Ideal Milk." This I poured
into the water bottle, a.Tated the contents with a
sparklet, which made the cork leak a little, and by sucking
it I kept myself going.
My determination was to strike across the valley, for I
doubted whether either the men or myself would have
strength enough to traverse the hilly path by whch we
had come. We would push forward for about an hour,
stumbling over innumerable stones in the deceptive moon¬
light, then throwing ourselves on the ground for a few
minutes' respite, we moistened our swollen tongues and
parched throats with a drop or two of water, before strug¬
gling to our feet again.
Once me struck a mud-hole, and the desperate men
fell to digging feverishly with their hands, only to be dis¬
appointed once more. On and on we staggered, I every
now and then urging my followers forward, in a hoarse
croak, for my voice was well-nigh gone, or, when they
lagged behind, halting to call them by name to make sure
they had not sunk down by the way. This continued till
about half-past two, when they threw themselves down
absolutely spent, saying that they might as well die where
they were.
I had had only my compass to guide me, and now, when
Zedu murmured " Bwana, we are lost : how can we tell
where the safari is ?" a hideous doubt rose up in my mind
346
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
that I might have mistaken the valley where our camp
lay, and be marching past it far to the east.
In the hope that the sound might reach the water-
bearers who were to meet us, I fired my rifle, but the only
answer I received was the echo of the report rolling along
the mountain gorges. The few remaining drops of water
were doled out, and after half an hour's rest, I begged my
men to make a final effort before the pitiless sun rose
and once more beat down upon us.
For another hour we plodded on through the darkness,
groaning feebly, while every now and then we could hear
some animal dash away at our approach. A faint light
twinkling on a hill top presently caught my eye, but I
feared it was only a star low down on the horizon. Earlier
in the night we had hailed one as a signal fire, and hastened
our steps to reach it, only to be disillusioned. Soon,
however, I assured myself that it was a beacon, for a tongue
of flame and myriad sparks shot up into the night air.
My men were toiling along behind, so I could not tell
them the good news, but putting the whistle to my cracked
lips, I blew a shrill blast. Soon the sound of shouts reached
us, and flickering specks of light wound their way down the
hillside. It was the relief party. How delicious it was to
quench my raging thirst by sips of cold water, and to have
a stream of it poured over my burning head from the
great gourds they carried. Twenty-one hours had passed
since our start on the previous morning, seventeen and a
half of which I had been actually on the move.
Before dawn a large rescue party from camp were on
their way with water, food, and donkeys to succour the
remainder of my little band, and bring in the abandoned
loads. All got back safely with the exception of one poor
Bra im bii]
Water at last.
[A. Forestier.
WATER AT LAST.
349
fellow whose body was not discovered for two or three
days. He had either sought shelter from the sun, or
wandered in his delirium, for he was lying under the shade
of a tree some way from the path, where no bird or beast
of prey had found him.
For a day or two we felt worn out and were obliged
to rest, but apart from the one unfortunate man who was
not discovered in time, neither I nor my followers were much
Ihe worse for our adventures.
35°
CHAPTER XXVI.
Across the Murosoka—Bad going—The Athenune Basin—Karamojo hunters—
The right road at last—The Tarash Valley—Signs of man—Previous white
men in Turkana—My meeting with the natives—An anxious half hour—
Peace—Turkana braves — Gramophone entertainment—A war dance —
Turkana modes and customs.
It was a couple of days after this trying experience before
Nzau brought me the welcome tidings that he had dis¬
covered what seemed to be a practicable route into the
Tarash, which River he had seen in the distance. "* "¡jf
The following day I moved camp to the other head of
the gorge, where a fine baboon fell to my rifle. At the
side of the stream lay several water pits measuring about
5 feet across, but increasing lower down so that they
held a good supply of water. Not only had they all the
appearance of being artificial, but, more curious still,
the water they contained was on a much higher level than
that in the stream bed.
Next day we climbed the mountain side, passed the
place where I had shot the zebra, and negotiated a saw-
like ridge of rock. Our way then lay in a northerly direction
over rising ground, till camp was at last pitched by a
rocky pool in the head of one of the very gorges we had
visited on our fruitless search for water, a precipice having
barred all approach from that side. The day's tramp
OUR GUIDES DISAPPEAR.
351
had been hard, for we had ascended nearly 3,000 feet
from our last camping place, leaving the main safari with
the donkeys and cattle far behind.
My next march led me, after an hour's climbing, to the
edge of the Athenune basin, a depression, some ten miles
wide, lying in the heart of the Murosoka Hills. It was
drained by the Poote, in the lower waters of which we had
discovered the curious reservoirs. On the outer northern
edge of the basin lay the upper part of the gorge, where
we had been so cruelly deceived by the dry course of the
waterfall.
There were still no signs of a watercourse leading in
the direction I imagined the Tarash to be, and I could only
conclude that it rose from the other side of the hills to
the north-west of the basin. Having discovered a better
road to the bottom of the valley than the one I had
followed, I returned to my previous night's camp.
For a day and a half, after the safari had joined me in
the Athenune, we searched in vain for a passable road
over the hills, when, fortunately for us, a couple of
Karamojo hunters turned up, and offered to guide us
into the Tarash. They led us by a fairly good elephant
track up the western side of the basin, but in a rather
more southerly direction than I had expected. This,
they said, was in order to bring us near the only available
water supply. On the march a little black patch in a bush
arrested my attention, and just as I recognised it to be
the head of a native who was watching us intently, he
vanished. After this we kept a smart look-out for fear
our guides had arranged an ambuscade, but saw nothing
further, though that night, for some inexplicable reason,
they both disappeared.
352 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
I then took the lead, and steering by the compass, made
across country for three days, gradually descending some
2,000 feet into the bed of a stream, on the banks of which
were numbers of deserted villages. Our path was cut up
by many old buffalo and rhino tracks, and I noticed a
fresh one of a big bull elephant.
The stream soon joined a larger one, which flowed
through a narrow rock gorge, and, in its turn, lost itself
in the large sandy bed of a river trending about north¬
east, and varying in width from 50 to 150 yards. This
I thought must be the Tarash at last. At the junction
were several large pools from which herds of elephants
seemed to have drunk during the night. For an hour
I followed up stream, passing more abandoned hamlets,
and the remains of a trader's camp, seeing on the way
three klipspringer, a striped hyjena, a black-backed jackal,
and a herd of Grant, out of the last of which I took a good
head.
A search-party I had sent out came back with news of
more pools further down the stream. The elephants, they
said, had moved westwards, and some of them had seen
fresh tracks of natives and their flocks. These I felt
certain must have been made by the Turkana, of whose
territory the Tarash Valley forms the western limit,
although the maps would lead one to suppose that the
Karamojo hold sway over this country. The Turkana,
I knew, were said to be one of the most hostile tribes in
that region, and the few European travellers who had
passed through their land had been somewhat unfortunate
in their dealings with them. Count Teleki, the Austrian
explorer, who discovered Lake Rudolph, was the first
white man to get into touch with them on the south-
HOSTILE NATIVES.
353
eastern side of Rudolf in the year 1888. Although he
found the natives difficult to trade with, he met with
little opposition.
In the year 1896, Bottego, an Italian, marched down
from the northern end of the lake, but failed to get into
friendly relationship with the natives ; they attempted
to prevent his men from obtaining water, but when fired
at, disappeared.
Turkana men.
During Major MacDonald's expedition to the Nile in
1898, Major Austin took a surveying party through this
country. From the latter's publications it would appear
that his party was at first allowed to pass without being
in any way molested, and it was not until he had seized
a number of their donkeys, being in transport difficulties,
and had later on exacted toll from their flocks, that they
became hostile, and this in spite of his attempt to pay
23
354
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
for what he had taken. In his subsequent journey from
Khartoum to Lake Baringo, in the year 1901, he and his
followers were harassed throughout their whole march
in the Turkana country, losing from sickness and spear
wounds 45 out of 59 men.
Camp on the Tarash.
In 1900, Captain Wellby passed though the country
from the south of Lake Rudolf in a north-westerly
direction. Although on different occasions, through the
stupidity of his men, two of the Turkana were shot, and
he found it necessary to take a number of camels and sheep
in exchange for other animals and goods, he succeeded
Drawn by]
Gramophone entertainment in the Tuikana country.
[A. FORESTTKR.
WE MEET THE TURKANA.
35 7
in maintaining friendly relationships with them, and had
no trouble whatever.
My determination was to start well in advance of my
caravan, with only a few followers, to meet the Turkana,
for I have always considered this to be the best method
of creating a friendly feeling with a new tribe, or one
little accustomed to white visitors. By sunrise, there¬
fore, I was on my way, accompanied only by three of
my men.
Soon the sound of voices and the lowing of cattle in
the distance reached me, and on emerging from a grove
of fine trees, from which we had snatched boughs as a
sign of friendship, I found myself face to face with a great
crowd of Turkana. The women were busy watering their
herds and flocks from pits sunk in the river bed, a gang
of four, one above another, handing up the water in
wooden troughs. There was no visible surprise among
them at our appearance. They merely drew each other's
attention to us, discussing us in low tones, while one tall
old man with a huge chignon, evidently the chief, came
forward to greet me. Shaking me by the hand, he led
me to the stump of a fallen tree in the shade, motioned
me to sit down, and then returned to his warriors.
Unconcerned as I hoped I was looking, my mind was
not altogether easy. The Turkana's reputation for hos¬
tility had been in no wise lessened by the fact that they
had recently been responsible for the death of a number
of the Austin and Bright expedition.
None of my three companions knew more than a few words
of greeting in Turkana; Gubei, my interpreter, in direct
contradiction to my orders, had not overtaken us, so beyond
smiling amiably, I could do nothing to show my peaceful
358
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
intent. Gubei was still far behind, and I could see the
women and children rapidly collecting and driving away
the flocks and herds. This hardly reassured me, and
when in addition the fighting men began to gather in
little groups under the trees near by, so as to bar our pro¬
gress if we tried to advance, I feared there was mischief
afoot.
I was explaining to my men what I proposed doing
should they bare their spear-heads—a sure sign of intended
attack — when, to my relief, first one party and then
another sauntered away after the herds, led by the old chief.
Justas the last band was disappearing, Gubei turned up. and
was despatched post-haste to overtake them. He ran
after them shouting words of friendship, and as soon
as their attention was attracted, threw away his rifle as a
proof of his peaceful designs.
His explanation was evidently satisfactory, for the
whole of the men soon returned, and a few presents won
their confidence to such an extent in this curious stranger
with the white face and his body clothed all over, that
they sent for the herds to be brought back. It appeared
that they were a picked party of fighting men posted there
in anticipation of a return raid from the Dodosi Karamojo,
from whom, as I had learnt at Manimani, they had recently
looted most of their cattle. They eagerly questioned
my men as to whether we had seen anything of a Dodosi
war party, and they seemed surprised when Gubei described
the route by which we had come. It was evidently never
used by them on account of its difficult nature.
It was not long before camp was thronged by a crowd
of men, women and children, all full of curiosity. I, as
the first white man they had seen, was the chief object of
1. War trumpet.
2. Fire sticks.
3. 6. Shank bone snuff boxes.
4. Leather apron.
5. Bark ilute.
7, 11. Pillow-stools.
Turkana men's ornaments, etc.
8. Waistlet of iron beads.
0. Ivory snuff box.
10. Suuff wood.
12,18. Head decorations of
ostrich feathers.
13,14. Brass lower lip pendants.
15. Elder's head-dress.
16. Ivory lower lip hook pen¬
dant.
10. Brass nose pendant.
20. Horn feather box.
21. Razor.
AN ENTERTAINMENT.
361
interest, the amount of my clothes creating almost as
great an impression as the colour of my face and hands.
When I began to unpack, and set up a " Monarch "
gramophone, there was a momentary stampede, but on
my interpreter explaining that it was not a machine-gun,
nor was it an instrument for the wholesale distribution
of curses and spells, they reassembled, and I was soon the
centre of a large and admiring crowd of listeners. Whistling
pieces, dialogues, and banjo duets appealed to them most ;
Maurice Farkoa's laughing song from the " Artist's Model "
proved the greatest favourite of all, and as it went on,
their faces would grow broader and broader till all were in
roars of merriment.
After the entertainment the warriors fell in five abreast,
danced round camp, and then made a series of sham
charges, each man acting for himself. It was a picturesque
sight as these tall, perfectly naked savages stamped their
feet and waved their spears and little shields in concert.
The ostrich feathers stuck in their hair, the curious circular
knives on their right wrists, and the flowing tassels of
giraffe hair fastened to their left elbows, all helped to make
up as weird a picture as I have ever seen.
While this dance was in progress, we tried our hardest
to induce one of the elder men to accompany us as guide,
but as he demanded a cow (equal there to ¿30 worth of
ivory) for a week's work, the bargain fell through.
Later on, while the women and children drove off the
flocks and herds to some secure retreat amid the hills,
the warriors bivouacked under the trees on the opposite
bank, where, far into the night, we could hear them
chanting and carrying on an animated conversation, of
which, no doubt, we were the chief topic.
362
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
A heavy shower of rain, a most unusual occurrence for
that time of year, confirmed their belief that I was a great
medicine man. I could not only make a box talk, and
imitate animals, but, what was of far more practical use,
could call down rain from heaven, whenever I wanted it.
My reception by these people had surpassed even my most
sanguine hopes. I was able to secure a number of photo¬
graphs, to make a collection of their ornaments, arms, etc.,
and to gain much information on their customs and country.
They are a nomadic people, and by far the greater
number of the clans are purely pastoral, wandering from
place to place, wherever, according to the season, water
and pasturage for their vast herds of camels, donkeys,
cattle, sheep and goats are to be found. The tribe also
engage in elephant hunting, and formerly had accumulated
great stores of ivory, but in the last few years these have
been almost exhausted by the Swahili and Arab caravans
that have so persistently exploited the country.
The Turkana owe allegiance to no great chief, but are
split up into numberless small family divisions, each ruled
over by an elder. From prowess in war and successes in
trading these elders have amassed the largest number
of live stock, can therefore afford more wives, and rear
families which outnumber those of their neighbours. The
fighting men of these, family divisions band together for
mutual defence, or for raiding under a chosen leader.
Comparing them with men in my caravan whose height
I knew, they averaged about 5 feet 9 inches, but the
fact of their being well built and entirely naked made
them look much taller. Their features are regular, and
remind one somewhat of the Somali.
Like the Suk and Karamojo warriors, the fighting men
/
Turkana weapons.
1. and 4. Usual pattern spears. 2. Stabbing spear. 3. Lad's spear.
5. Giraffe tail tassel. 6. Shield. 7 and 9. Wrist knives. 8. Finger hooks.
TURKANA ORNAMENTS. 365
of the tribe keep a tally of the slain on their own bodies,
and continue it on those of their favourite wives. The
elders also affect the oval mat-like chignon to be found among
the two above tribes, and which has already been described
in connection with them. The younger warriors wear
a lump of clay and hair moulded closely to the scalp, in
which they stick single ostrich feathers dyed different
colours, or a big pompom of black ones.
Nearly all the members of the tribe fasten a length of
iron chain or a string of beads round the waist, and, in
addition to this, many have a little dressed apron some
six inches deep behind, and narrowing down to a mere
strap in front. These are either left plain or edged with
beads. Many of the men wear at least one single necklet
of iron wire, while in some cases the bands of wire are
fastened one above another to form a high collar. From
this is suspended a little lump of elephant fat, which, as
it melts, trickles down the chest, probably to keep the
skin from getting rough and cracked under the burning
sun. Hanging from a leathern thong round the neck
snuff boxes, made of small tusks or polished shank bones,
may often be seen.
The leading fighting men are distinguished by a tassel
made from six or more giraffe tails fastened just above the
left elbow. The majority possess ivory armlets, while the
right wrist is almost encircled by a knife-circlet, measuring
from i-J- to 3 inches in width, the edge of which is guarded
in times of peace by a leathern sheaf. On the left hand
is worn an iron hook finger-ring for use in a fight at close
quarters, in place of the knife-ring common among
the Suk. Their weapons on the war-path are shields of
giraffe or buffalo hide of the same pattern as those of the
366
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Suk and Karamojo, but smaller, and three or four spears
which, to the uninitiated, look like the arms of the two
above tribes, although natives are quick at detecting the
difference.
The women of the tribe are a good deal smaller than the
men, and have not such well-proportioned figures, nor
such regular features. Nothing among their numerous
ornaments and dress of skins struck me as differing from
the Karamojo. Their most popular style of hair-dress
seems to be a little tuft on the top of the head, which is
well oiled, and twisted into innumerable tiny rat-tail plaits.
Besides the household work, the care of the flocks and
herds is left entirely to the women and children.
All the members of the tribe protect their feet by leather
sandals. They live principally on the milk from their
cattle and flocks, with occasional feasts of elephant meat,
or other wild animals they may have succeeded in spearing
or snaring. Only on great functions are their domestic
animals slaughtered for food.
Turkana women's dress, ornaments, Sec.
1, 6. Wooden spoons.
2, ó. Leather trinket bags.
3. Girl's dress.
4. Pillow-stool.
7. 12. Spirtle sticks.
8. Ostrich egg-shell bead
necklet.
9. Doum palm-nut sheep
bell.
10. Necklet with amulets.
11. Horn lamp.
13, 15. Horn sheep bells.
14. Magic stick.
16, 18. tvmry armlets.
17. Ostrich egg-shell beads in
different stages of manu¬
facture.
19. Ostrich egg-shell girdle.
20, 22. Sticks for herding
flocks.
21. Mallet for beating] aloes
to make rope.
23. Wooden bowl.
24. Axe head.
25. 28. Butter pots.
26. Skin dress.
27. Aloe fibre.
369
CHAPTER XXVII.
A warrior's bivouac—A scorpion camp—An elephant high road—A party of
Turkana—The feast of friendship—How they kept it—A Swahili camp—
Abyssinian raiders—Deserted loads—An elephant "cemetery"—A pleasant
valley—A long and exciting march.
In the early morning, ere sunrise, we crossed the river-bed,
which was normally about 50 yards wide, though in times
of flood it increases to 200 and even 300 yards, and judging
from the stranded tree-trunks which had evidently been
brought down by the torrent, must then be quite im¬
passable.
We soon passed through the fighters' camp, under a fine
grove of trees, and a striking picture the men made as they
sat or lay around the smouldering watch-fires, supported
by their curious little two-legged pillows.
As every now and then a tongue of flame shot up into
the air, their long bright spears and sleek dusky skins
reflected the light, and we caught momentary glimpses of
elaborate head-dresses, tassels of giraffe tails, and shields
ornamented with black ostrich feathers, before the fire
died down again. Many a stern dark face was raised to
gaze at us intently, or to murmur " Marta "—their word
of greeting—as we threaded our way round their beds of
leaves and grass. Again we endeavoured to procure a
guide to lead us to the next party of Turkana, who were
24
37°
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
said to be grazing their flocks two days' journey down the
valley, but they merely shook their heads.
It was not long before the grove gave place to a sandy
plain, dotted with thorn-trees and bush, which towards
the river grew thicker to form a fringe along its banks. The
waterless line of hills to the east gradually receded to a
distance of some five to ten miles, behind which Mount
Marapolun stood out clearly against the sky.
We had not gone far before one of the warriors overtook
us, saying that he was going our way and would guide us
to the next water-pits.
On arrival we found that the natives had all left the
previous day, no doubt as soon as news reached them that
we had appeared in the district. Our guide then declared
his intention to leave us, but we induced him to remain,
and to make sure that he did not steal away in the night
took charge of his spears.
The new camping-ground was at an elevation of about
2,300 feet, and during the latter part of the night we all
found the heat very oppressive. Another drawback was
that a large number of scorpions scuttled about in the sand
and disturbed our rest.
While marching on the following day through thick bush
along the river bank, I hit one of two lesser kudu, which
led me a long chase before I finally gave it up.
Two women passing our camp that evening told us that
a little further on there was a Swahili encampment trading
for goats and sheep.
Our route now left the Tarash Valley and led almost due
west, in the direction of Mount Mosuk. From inhabitants
of a Turkana hamlet on the way we learnt that large
numbers of elephants were in the habit of coming at night
A NEVER-FAILING SPRING. 371
from a big valley lying to the west to drink at a pool near
by. A little further ahead we reached this pool, which
they called Natapa, and which is fed by a never-failing
spring. A broad elephant path leading to it had evidently
served the herds for months, and fresh tracks showed that
it had been used within the last few days. From a small
rocky hill near by I scanned the district on all sides to see
Tu ricana villagers.
Grant, zebra, and several hares, besides some fresh tracks
of giraffe, but no signs of the elephants.
That afternoon my interpreter and the guide had set off
to interview some villagers near by, but the Turkana had
seized the opportunity to desert, leaving Gubei to have
rather a rough time of it among the natives. He had all
along proved himself unfitted for his post. His knowledge
of the different languages and of the lie of the country
was very feeble, and he was absolutely wanting in tact,
24»
372
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
two great points in which a good interpreter must excel.
He never showed the least sign of fear, but at times his
lordly contempt for what the Swahili calls " wild natives "
amounted to sheer foolhardiness.
On our next march we followed the elephant road for
four miles, and then climbed a low hill in the centre of a
valley to have a look round. A careful survey of the
country again showed neither the herd nor their fresh tracks.
They had apparently all migrated to the north, and we came
to the conclusion that the one we had just missed on the
Tarash must have formed the rear-guard.
The banks of the river Lomoanoputh, a tributary of the
Tarash, which drained this valley, were shaded by fine trees
and a good deal of thick bush, in which I spotted first a bull
giraffe and then a cow, followed later by two female kudu.
As we ascended the opposite bank a bull kudu dashed
across the bed and disappeared into the bush that skirted
the side we had just left. I hastily followed. A second
later I saw one standing at gaze, and it fell to my bullet
just 200 yards from where I stood. I think it must have
been the pal of the one that had bolted across the river.
He had probably come out from his retreat behind a thick
clump of trees to see what was in the wind. On the way
back to camp dik-dik, hares, ostrich, black-backed jackals
and a striped hyœna darted away as we drew near.
When I had explored the valley, we set out to rejoin the
Tarash at a point further north than the spot where we had
eft it.
On the second day, led by a couple of herds-boys we had
picked up as guides, we reached the river-bed, here only
40 yards wide, at a place called Arcolonoroc, filled with
natives and their herds and flocks. The men at the water
NATIVE HOSPITALITY.
373
pits shouted to us to move on, but as the next water supply
was said to be far away I gave orders to halt there. At this
the natives began hurriedly to pack up their possessions
and move off, leaving only about twelve men behind. The
leader of these had a huge chignon as wide as his shoulders
and reaching to the small of his back, and a pair of very
narrow eyes drawn up at the outer corners gave him rather
Turkana sheep.
a sinister expression. But we soon became friends. A
sheep was carefully selected by them from their flocks,
killed with a great deal of solemnity, and as a sign of good
fellowship I was invited with Gubei and some of my men
to join them in eating the liver, then being toasted over a
fire.
As soon as the loads arrived I gave them in return some
tobacco and iron wire, when they retired to their encamp¬
ment with promises to return later. As the afternoon
374
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
wore on and they did not turn up, I sent Nzau over to find
out what was in the wind, but they promptly warned him
to keep off, and stubbornly refused to come near us again.
Happily I had managed to secure a good many photos.
In the morning we left the Tarash, which flowed north-
north-west, and struck out in a north-easterly direction
towards Mount Zunut. A four hours' march brought us
to the Swahili camp of which the two women had told us,
and which I found belonged to one of the merchants whom
we had met at Manimani. They had just arrived from the
neighbourhood of Lake Rudolf, where, in December, a
large force of Abyssinians had been raiding, and among
others had relieved de Silva, a Goanese merchant I had seen
at Baringo, of the whole of his ivory. These traders told
me that it was a good ten days' march to Rudolf, and from
one of their number, who was well up in the Turkana lan¬
guage and had been having a conversation with my two
guides, we learnt that four days' journey down the Tarash
from the spot where I left it the river empties itself into a
lake, which also receives three other streams. In the rains
a big river carries these waters into Lake Rudolf.
At this camp they were drawing their water from a clay
creek, which held quite a good supply. For the last couple
of months they had been without flour, so, as a return
present for a fine sheep, I gave them some from my store.
The following day my men held holiday, while I spent
my time trying to buy curios from the Turkana in a neigh¬
bouring village.
News had come in to the Swahili that the dreaded Abyssi¬
nians had reached Toposa, so they set out at daybreak to
make forced marches into the Karamojo country, while I
started to skirt the southern end of Toposa, thence to march
A SNAP SHOT.
375
to Dodinga, where I heard I could purchase flour before
continuing my journey to the Nile.
As we drew near the river by which we were to camp,
we came across a little Turkana family party, consisting
of father, mother, and child, resting under a tree, their
possessions scattered round them, the man's spear leaning
against the branches ready to his hand. He was full of
Turkana family party.
indignation as I strolled over to take a photo, and just as
I was snapping it, seized his weapon. Bedoui at the same
moment covered him with a rifle, but the picture was by
that time taken, and I lowered the binocular to burst out
laughing at the mystified expression of the group. They
scrambled quickly to their feet and hurried off, the man,
who doubtless thought I was working a spell, muttering
savagely to himself, and there was nothing for me to do
but stay by his property till my safari had passed, for fear
376
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
it might mysteriously melt during their progress. When 1
eventually moved away, they reappeared and took posses¬
sion of their effects.
While camp was being pitched I found five donkey
panniers abandoned under some bushes near by. They
were made of a bent wood, laced over with raw leather
thongs till they resembled hamper lids fastened together in
the form of the letter " W," and contained an extra¬
ordinary medley of Turkana luggage, all of which was
brought carefully into the verandah of my tent.
With the assistance of a Turkana guide, whom I had secured
from the Swahili traders, I examined everything, and had
their names and uses explained. Among them were flint
flakes for cutting the tally of the slain on the skin ; different
coloured clays for smearing the face and body ; the powder,
previously mentioned, as used to prevent an elephant from
detecting a snare ; little hoof-charms for Turkana girls, and
the numerous ingredients of another wonderful magic
powder, which was supposed to preserve the flocks and
herds from an attack by wild beasts.
In another pannier were native needles of wood and iron,
a flute made from the bark of a tree, a razor like a badly-
made chisel-head, and a complete series of ostrich egg-shell
beads in their different stages of manufacture.
On striking camp in the morning I left the things in the
charge of a man whom I could trust, together with a present
of wire and beads, on which he saw the owners swoop down
as the safari disappeared in the distance.
Our final march to Mount Zunut was dull and cloudy,
and at length a steady drizzle set in. Near the foot of the
range of hills vivid green patches of grass broke the dried-up
surface of the plain, and we found that they encircled a
Drawn by~\
The place where the elephants come to die.
[a. forestier.
ELEPHANT SKELETONS.
379
number of brackish pools alive with wild-duck, which were
skimming in and out among the tufts of reeds in the water.
By one of them lay a mass of rock, one side rising sheer out
of the pool, while at the back it was broken away, forming
a natural staircase. A curious basin-like depression at the
top made it a splendid place from which to watch for any
animals that might come to drink, and from the signs of
fires and charred remains which covered the surface of the
rock, the natives had evidently often been successful
there.
From the top of this mass, which my guide called
Ousereroc, I scanned the country with my glasses. Now
in all my journeyings through elephant country I do not
think I had ever come across a skeleton of one of these
beasts for whose death the guides could not account, and
on no occasion did I see two skeletons together. Here I
was surprised to find the whole countryside scattered with
remains, the fitful sun, as it straggled through the clouds,
lighting up glistening bones in every direction.
My guide called this " The place where the elephants come
to die," and assured me that it was no fell disease which
had decimated a vast herd, as I at first imagined, but that
when the elephants felt sick, they would deliberately come
long distances to lay their bones in this spot.
I had heard of these " cemeteries " from Swahili traders,
who told me they had occasionally found more ivory than
they could carry, but I had regarded the story as a myth till
here, before my very eyes, lay the proof of its truth.
This place was well known to the Turkana, who regularly
visited it to carry off the tusks. However, before we left
the district my men found several small ones.
Threading our way between the pools over the bone-
38o
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
strewn ground, we rounded a shoulder of Mount Zunut,
and proceeded up a pretty little pastoral valley to some
pools of water in the river-bed. These, unfortunately,
proved to be slightly brackish. On the hillside I put up a
couple of klipspringer, one of which I secured after a long
chase, and later on noticed old droppings of greater kudu.
After this I kept a sharp look-out for these animals, but
although old traces of them were to be seen all round, they
seemed to have left the neighbourhood. The upper part of
the valley was formed by a wild rocky gorge, flanked with
a series of big cliffs, at the foot of which lay a number of
little pools. I have no doubt that, during the rains, several
fine waterfalls and rapids dash over these crags into the
vale below.
From the top of Zunut I searched the plain, but saw no
e'ephants. In two days we reached the low pass which
divides Zunut from a ridge running north-eastwards, and
is known as Antonia. On the way we disturbed Grant,
oryx, zebra, and giraffe, while every now and then the
remains of some elephant cropped up along our path.
At six o'clock in the morning we wound our way through
the narrow pass to find ourselves in a thick bush-covered
valley. Away in the far distance to the north rose Mount
Locorina, whose slopes the guide told us we had to reach
before we could find water.
We had not gone far before I noticed some elephant
tracks of about a week old, and presently the sound of one
of these beasts feeding close at hand caught my ear. As the
wind was unfavourable I worked stealthily round the other
side, and came, first of all, on two cows and a calf. Just
as I was creeping towards another a little further off, the
noise of my safari reached them and they bore right down
ELEPHANTS CHARGE THE CARAVAN. 381
in my direction. As I moved out of the way they crashed
from the bush into a little clearing within fifty yards of
where I stood, quieted down into a walk, stopped, and faced
round on me. There were four cows and two calves, one
very small. It was an anxious moment, for I fully ex¬
pected them to charge, but after standing for a few seconds,
to our great relief they moved away.
As we were crossing the dry bed of the stream, we heard
an elephant screaming amid the thick bush on the opposite
bank, and I sent Bedoui up a tree to see if he could descry
anything. His face was a study as, to his horror, he dis¬
covered a large herd slowly filing past us within forty yards.
We circled round to view two lots as they bolted, but there
did not seem to be any big bulls among them.
Soon afterwards I spotted a little group of three standing
under a tree amid some long grass. These, too, turned out
to be cows.
While I was examining the elephants the safari had been
halting some way behind, so I now despatched a gun-bearer
to bring them on. Meanwhile I gained the foot of Locorina
and climbed to a vantage-ground from which to survey the
land. From here I saw a cow elephant and her admirer,
which, disturbed by my messenger, made off through the
bush till they came on the safari as it was threading its
way in a westerly direction across the valley.
The men turned them and back they came, only to en¬
counter my syce and mule. Off they dashed once more,
and this time, imagining they were being surrounded,
charged straight through the rearmost part of the caravan.
The men had heard them coming, and the loads were flung
down, while the porters fled in all directions from the
terror-stricken animals.
382
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Pick up a fine pair of tusks—A six-horned giraffe—A foul pool—Elephants
bathing—A Toposa guide—Shoot Giraffa camelopardalis cottoni—Enter
Dodinga hills—Deserted villages—A hostile meeting—Touch and go—A
fine race—Strange hair ornaments.
It was nearly half-past four before I rejoined the safari,
who had pitched camp in a barren gorge of the mountain
after a hot march of seven-and-a-half hours. It appeared
that we had reached the southern boundary of the country
belonging to the Toposa, who, together with the people of
Marangole, were wont to hunt in this valley. The Turkana
only penetrated so far when on a raiding expedition.
Our guide's knowledge of the land ahead was distinctly
vague, for he said that beyond one pool of water far out in
the plain he could remember no other in the district, nor
did he know the way to Dodinga. The valley seemed to
be full of game, for besides elephant I had seen lesser kudu,
Grant, dik-dik and hare, and fresh tracks of rhino, giraffe
and oryx.
On an expedition along the foot of Locorina, in an easterly
direction, I saw three parties of elephants, but with no big
bulls among them, and in addition to the game list of the
day before, also spotted zebra and baboon. In a rocky
cleft we found a little water, and my men were delighted at
picking up a pair of specially fine cow elephant's tusks,
FILTHY DRINKING WATER. 383
quite undamaged by the weather. These I refused to have
anything to do with, for I knew that, in all probability, as
soon as I reached a Government Station, there would be
any amount of trouble explaining how they had come into
my possession. However, the men brought them along.
To our east a great plain stretched away towards Rudolf,
intersected by the river-bed we had crossed the day before,
winding its way to join the Tarash.
During our next march over the plain in a southerly
direction I climbed a little hill, just over the other side of
which a giraffe bull was standing only some 100 yards away,
and I carefully examined him with the glasses. The
blotches appeared to me to differ considerably from those
of the Gwashengeshu giraffe, while a very prominent horn
over the right eye caught my attention at once. As I was
debating whether to shoot it or not, on the chance of it
being a new specimen, the animal moved off and settled the
question for me.
That night we had to make shift with the filthiest water
I have ever tried to drink. It was drawn from what had
been a small brackish pool, called Allotte, then so fouled
by all the animals, from elephant to antelope, for miles
round, that it looked more like a basin of thick, evil-smelling
pea-soup than clear drinking water. My tent was pitched
barely 200 yards from this spot, among some scanty thorn-
trees, at an elevation of 2,350 feet.
Soon after dark a herd of elephants came to drink, and
far too close their gambols sounded in the stillness of the
night, as I sat at my tent door, nursing my trusty .600, for
fear they should take it into their heads to stroll my way.
At sunrise I set out to follow their tracks, but these
eventually lost themselves in a net-work of older ones, and
384
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
I had to give it up. Just as I climbed a spur on the north¬
western flank of Zunut, and spotted a big herd away in the
distance, a steady drizzle turned to rain, and obscured my
view. When at last it ceased I started in . pursuit, and
nearly ran into a sleeping rhino. On drawing near the
elephants I saw there were about forty of them, among
them several bulls, but the sun was setting, and as there
was no time left for a closer inspection, I started at once for
camp. Even then I did not reach it till nearly two hours
after dark.
Meanwhile my men had encountered a party of Toposa
elephant hunters, who had immediately run away. One
youth, however, had been overtaken and brought into
camp. His face grew pale with fright at the arrival of the
white man, who he imagined meant to carry him off into
slavery, but we all did our best to allay his fears, and con¬
vince him that if he would only show us the road to Dodinga
he would be well rewarded, and would then be free to return
to his people.
The number of presents received by our Turkana guide,
and his tales of how well we had treated him, did wonders
towards pacifying the frightened lad. Although he had
never seen a white man before, he soon proved one of the
smartest native servants it has ever been my good fortune
to come across. With remarkable quickness he grasped
my enquiries about the names of the natural features we
passed on the way ; soon understood, and was able to
render valuable assistance in skinning, and showed himself
generally handy at camp work. When we had made
friends, he told me his name was Loarding, and I received
a pressing invitation to visit Toposa, where, he said, a
white man had never been seen. Through his father,
Loarding, a Toposa youth.
25
Giraffa Camelopardalis Cottoni.
NATIVE HEAD-DRESS. 387
Locudur of Nartur Karu, who appeared to be rather an
important elder, he assured me a hearty welcome, and pro¬
mised to himself show me where the best sport was to be
found.
According to his account, the chief men of the tribe wear
the bag-shaped chignon of the Turkana, but, like the
Dodinga, use beads sewn on discs of leather as a decoration.
" The younger men," he added, " wear their hair like mine,"
pointing to a saucer-shaped mass of clay and hair on the
top of his head. " Some of us had bead discs, and others
a pompom of black ostrich feathers." The rest of his own
costume consisted of a brass bangle, two or three small
earrings of the same metal, a necklet of beads, and sandals,
while his weapons were a battered shield and a small spear.
Hook rings and knife wristlets, I learnt, were not common
among the tribe.
Authority over the people rests, as among the Turkana,
not in the hands of any great chief, but of a number of
elders who preside over the various family divisions.
Although their chief wealth consists of flocks and herds,
they grow a certain amount of cereals. Between the Toposa
and the Marangole (whom Loar ding called Lotholier) a
feeling of good fellowship is said to exist.
Our course now skirted the northern slopes of Marangole
towards the Dodinga hills. En route we came on fresh
tracks of a large herd of elephant, and soon afterwards
caught sight of two bull giraffe. Now I had determined
to take the next chance of a shot at one of these giraffe,
for on looking up my notes, I felt sure that they differed
in this district from any I had previously seen. Besides
this, my men were getting short of food, and we had to eke
out the flour as much as possible. Accordingly I let drive
25*
388 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
with the .400. The first shot brought the finer of the two
to the ground, and I then hurried on after the elephants.
A smart chase ensued before I caught them up huddled
together in rather a restless state in a belt of dense bush.
Loarding led me close up to them, but they were all cows,
so we left them in peace, and returned to help with the
skinning of the giraffe. The sixth horn, which I had
noticed before, was strongly developed, while the blotches
A Dodinga village.
on the neck, chestnut-brown in colour, were of a far more
regular outline than the uneven, darker patches of the
Baringo specimen. Another difference was that the spots
on the rest of the body were much smaller.
Owing to the difficulties of transport, I was only able to
bring back the skull and some pieces of skin, including that
of the head, neck, and one foreleg. These were examined
by Mr. R. Lydekker and declared to belong to a new sub¬
species, which he has named Giraffa camelopardalis cottoni.
THE DODINGA COUNTRY.
389
The head and neck I had mounted and presented to the
Natural History Museum.
After my caravan had wound its way over one of the
spurs of Marangole, Loarding led us to an extensive stretch
of tobacco planted by his people on the river bank. Here
The magic tree.
he and my men gathered large bunches of the young tender
leaves for their own consumption.
On the 18th March we entered the Dodinga country, the
home of a small hill tribe, numbering not more than 300
fighting men, but whose name has been made so familiar
by the native ivory trader, that it has been given, on the
39°
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
map, to a large extent of country over which they have
no sort of claim.
Next day we ascended 800 feet along a rough track, from
which we commanded a view over a series of open, well-
pastured hills. In this district we again saw oribi, and I
dropped a good buck. As we made our way up the eastern
slope of the Dodinga hills, Lotuke, the lofty uninhabited
mountain which forms the southern limit of the range, rose
to the south of us.
Along our route lay several small deserted villages, some
of them burnt down, others merely abandoned. One of the
latter, which I wandered round, contained six large huts and
as many granaries, the whole encircled by a strong, rough
stockade of branches with the usual small doorway. The
huts were circular, the thatch reaching almost to the ground,
but not laid on in such pronounced steps as among the
Karamojo, while the walls were of stone, wattle-and-daub.
From the arrangements of the interior it was possible to
form an idea of the lives of the inhabitants. One half of
the floor was covered by a raised platform of clay, upon
which at night the owner spread his bed of skins.
Inside some of the huts were lying a number of household
utensils—earthenware pots, gourds, and calabashes of all
shapes and sizes, while others were to be seen piled up in
the rifled granaries. Over the entrance of one dwelling
hung a sheep-bell made of the nut of the doum palm, a
fragment of pottery, and a little, piece of root, as charms
to protect the inmates from the evil spirits that haunted
the village. Each man had lived in his own little com¬
pound, fenced round within the main stockade.
In the centre of the hamlet stood four long poles laced
together with withes, upon which the hunter, coming back
Drawn Inj)
[A.. FORESTIER.
My welcome by the Dodinga.
A FERTILE COUNTRY.
393
successful from the chase, would, " for luck," hang the
frontlets and jaw-bones of the animals he had killed. This
village medicine tree reminded me of Thibet, where every
dwelling has the horns and skulls of animals placed near
by to ward off evil spirits. The cultivated ground belong¬
ing to the villages lay nearly always some distance away,
sometimes being a little plateau perched high up on a ridge,
Dodinga head-dresses.
sometimes a clearing in the dense vegetation of the valleys.
Good paths connected the different hamlets, but none of
them appeared to have been recently used, and without a
guide it was by no means easy to find the most direct way.
It was a fertile country which lay before us, and one in
which the white man could live and prosper, for much of it
was at an elevation of 5,800 feet, and the climate, in conse¬
quence, healthy. Large stretches of good soil cover the
hillsides, which might easily be terraced and irrigated from
394
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the streams which water nearly every valley. Here flocks
and herds could be raised, cereals cultivated, and fruit trees
made to flourish. In a word, it is a land where the white
man could successfully farm, provided he had a market for
his produce.
According to Loarding, the prevailing desolation was due
to the ravages of a big Toposa raid, which had taken place
the year before, and he made no demur when I picked up
the skull of one of his kinsmen which was lying near. This
skull I brought home with me, and it has since proved of
great interest to anthropologists in this country.
Just as I had descended through thick bush to a stream
watering a steep valley, and was giving my mule a drink,
the flash of a spear in the sunlight suddenly caught my eye,
and I looked up to find the hillside alive with armed men.
Loarding at once called out that we were friendty, while
Gubei ran forward shouting the Dodinga word of greeting,
but their only reply was to yell one to another, and blow
their horns as they hurried down the hillside, to gather on
a mass of rock almost within spear throw.
They were in full fighting trim and evidently spoiling
for a foe, but I followed my usual custom of sitting down
unarmed and trying to wear a look of careless unconcern.
Gubei had not yet returned to me, while Loarding, as he
caught snatches of their conversation, went an ashy grey
colour, and implored me under his breath to open fire
before they speared the lot of us. Cheering him up as well as
I could, I told him to listen to what they were saying,
while I shouted some words of Dodinga greeting he had
taught me.
They were evidently greatly astonished at the sight of
a white man, for I was the first to enter their country, and
A shauri with the Dodinga.
(My interpreter, the man in the white shirt, was afterwards killed by them.)
AMONG THE DODINGA.
397
they marvelled still more that he was accompanied only by
five followers, instead of a band of native soldiers. Gubei's
explanation at last seemed satisfactory, or else the weak¬
ness of our party disarmed their suspicions.
They came trooping down to us, and I was delighted to
see them replace the leather guards on their spear heads, a
sure sign that they intended us no immediate harm. They
Dodinga preparing to roast the sheep.
were a splendid band of naked warriors, by far the tallest
people I had yet come across, most of them being well over
six feet. Like the Soudanese, the majority had two cuts
on each cheek and on the forehead.
The most extraordinary feature about their appearance
was their head-dress, which was entirely different from
anything I had ever seen. The hair was daubed with clay
into a matted mass, brought down all round the head like
a pudding bowl, and only attached by the hair of the
398 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
crown. As this grew the mass became loose, till it looked
more like a big bonnet than human hair.
The chief men had the whole surface covered with discs
of leather, i to 2-J inches in diameter, on which they had
sewn, with twisted sinew, white and red beads in a spiral
pattern. As the sunlight flashed on these, they had, at a
little distance, all the appearance of glistening metal helmets.
Others again wore one or two discs, a single black or white
ostrich feather, or a bunch of each, but no made-up pompoms
as among the Turkana. I afterwards learnt that they all
carried under the hair a fine piece of curved stick or rhino
horn, the base often carved and ornamented, with which
to stir up the parasites when they became too restive.
Without rising, I shook hands vigorously with each warrior
as he came up, murmuring the word of welcome of his tribe.
Then followed a long parley as to what I wanted in their
country, which ended in their finally accompanying us back
by the road we had traversed, till we met the caravan
straggling in under the escort of others of the tribe. Here
another long-winded " shauri " took place, as a result of
which they consented to show us a camping-place. No
sooner was this done than they demanded a sheep to roast
on the spot and cement our friendship.
For a visitor on arrival to.provide a feast for his hosts
seemed to me a perverse reading of the laws of hospitality,
but as Hoarding and Gubei assured me it was the usual
Swahili custom there, I had perforce to hand over a small
sheep. But this did not suit the natives, who turned up
their noses and set their affections on the fattest of my fast
diminishing flock. However, when I ignored their request
and began to show them the trade goods I wished to barter
for flour, they changed their minds and accepted the prof-
LOSE A DONKEY.
399
fered sheep, which was roasted and eaten on the spot.
" To-morrow," they said, " we bring you flour." I was a
little doubtful as to the intentions of these gentry, in spite
of their promises, and made haste to secure as many photos
as the dull misty atmosphere would permit.
Later on Abdalla reported that one unfortunate donkey,
while ascending the hill, had been driven off the path by
its companions, and had rolled down the slope, breaking
its legs and smashing its load.
400
CHAPTER XXIX.
Killed a good specimen of guereza—Camp in the clouds—Truculent traders—
Dodinga dress and arms—A forced march for flour—Donkeys break down—
Stores raided by Dodinga—Trouble brewing—An awkward position—
Fortified camp—Decide to seize enemy's cattle as pledges.
While my head man next morning was busy laying out
his goods for a market, I set off to explore one of the deeply-
wooded valleys below us. Along the foot of the steep
hillside the watercourse had formed a deep channel, in
places so overgrown with creepers and hanging plants
that it looked more like a tunnel than an open stream.
Swinging about among the branches were numerous troops
of guereza, whose curious call I had not heard since leaving
the Nandi escarpment. With a couple of shots I managed
to bring down a good specimen of them. Every here and
there the ground was imprinted with fresh bushbuck
tracks.
Before nine o'clock the mist shut down, and we had to
grope our way back to camp guided only by the voices of
the men.
On arrival, I found that a number of Dodinga men
and women had come in with a fair amount of mtama,
for which they wanted fat sheep, but they brought no flour.
When they were told that we had no flocks to barter,
they had packed up their goods and moved off. Later
DODINGA REFUSE BEADS.
401
on they had been persuaded to return, this time to demand
ostrich feather and meat, of which we also had no supply,
and, as none of our beads met with their approval, for
they asked for much smaller red and white ones than any
we had, trade did not look very promising. However,
they reluctantly consented at last to take iron chain, and
a few accepted some iron and brass wire.
Dodinga warriors.
Markets always offer splendid opportunities of studying
the ornaments and fashions of the different tribes, and I
was very interested in our Dodinga customers. Along
the outer edge of the ear they wore a number of little
brass rings, and in addition, from the lobe, hung one or
two pieces of bent brass shaped like an open pair of sugar
tongs. Nose pendants were evidently not popular, for I
did not see one among them, but some had a crystal, about
2\ inches long, dependent from their lower lip. Round
26
402
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the neck, in addition to the usual iron and brass wire,
each man carried one or two small horns some 3 inches
long, made from oribi or bushbuck, and covered with
leather. To raise a blast they blew down the larger end,
and regulated the note by placing a finger on the hole
made by cutting off the tip. Brass armlets and wristlets
were very common, while a few had also affected thin round
bracelets of ivory. Besides a ring of metal, some were
wearing a curious piece of flat horn, which projected from
a half to three-quarters of an inch round the thumb. Here
and there a man might be seen sporting a narrow belt¬
like apron of leather, or a grey monkey-skin cloak thrown
over his shoulders. These were the nearest approach to
clothing I saw among the men of the tribe, and they were
unusual.
In common with the Turkana, Suk and Karamojo, the
Dodinga brave cuts a tally of his slain enemies on his
own skin, and if the record be a long one, continues it on
the body of his favourite wife.
As among the Turkana, a select few of the leading fighters
were distinguishable by a handsome, much-prized giraffe
tail tassel, fastened above the elbow by a loop of leather,
neatly ornamented with kauri shells.
On the war path the warriors carry one large stabbing
spear, and two lighter ones for hurling at a more distant
foe, all ornamented with tufts of hair or feathers near the
head and hilt. Besides these many have knobkerries
with a short haft, and an iron head in the form of a cotton
reel. Their shields of giraffe-skin are made on the Suk
and Turkana pattern and measure 41 inches over all,
the lower end of the mid-rib like stick being ornamented
with a fine pompom of black ostrich feathers. None of
DODINGA WOMEN.
403
the men with whom I came in contact carried bows and
arrows, nor were there any knives or hooks for wrist or
finger to be seen among them.
The women had a regular pattern scored on their bodies,
often in the form of a star, and not wishing to conceal
this adornment, had contented themselves with a miniature
skin apron and a strip of leather down the back as a
costume. Their heads were shaven, with the exception
Dodinga fashions.
of a little round patch on the crown, this, covered as it
was with a mass of short, curly locks, looked like a small
black cap. Brass ear-rings, and round ivory bracelets,
such as those worn by the men, were popular among them,
besides necklets and bracelets of wire. Their prominent
teeth and inverted lips (in the lower of which hung a thick
crystal pendant) reminded me strongly of the Masai ;
but even among the very young women the lithe, graceful
figures and regular features to be found in Masailand were
26*
404
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
nowhere to be seen. They are all inveterate smokers,
and while waiting for their husbands to complete a deal
would pass a pipe from hand to hand.
The smaller girls dressed their hair differently from the
women, leaving either one solitary tuft over the forehead,
or else shaving the whole head. Some of them had
miniature aprons of ostrich egg-shell beads, strung side¬
ways to form more of a fringe than the ropes of beads
affected by the Karamojo. Others had substituted iron
beads, and wore in addition two or three strings to match,
hanging down behind like a Karamojo woman's tail.
The language which most of them spoke was similar
to Turkana, but among themselves they broke out into a
dialect which my men were at a loss to understand.
Round my camp possessions there was always an eager,
inquisitive crowd, and my metal whistle, the field glasses
—the use of which, to my astonishment, they soon grasped
—the ticking of my watch and the spring measuring tape,
interested them keenly, while the few who strolled up
to my tent were taken with my folding chair, and stood
spell-bound when I showed them how " the magic " of my
lantern and matches worked.
The results of the market proved very unsatisfactory,
for the natives had brought scant supplies, and demanded
prohibitive prices. However, they told us of a larger
settlement across the hills, further to the south, where
a more extensive area was cultivated and we should be
likely to obtain flour.
Next morning we set off across the hills. The guides
promised us of course failed to put in an appearance,
and we had to find our own way. Presently we reached
a very steep dip, and lost a good deal of time in fruitless
A BIG GREY MONKEY.
405
search for a road fit for the transport animals, but finally
we had to unload them and carry the goods across our¬
selves. Meanwhile a pair of bushbuck were seen working
their way up the opposite hill, and I followed in their trail,
only to lose them at length in long grass.
Again we pressed onward, till some large grey monkeys,
Dodinga women.
of the species from whose fur the Dodinga make their
cloaks, caught my eye. I was particularly anxious to
secure one of these, and was watching them intently,
when a bushbuck emerged from a clump hard by, and
I fired, dropping it with my first shot. At the report
there was a commotion in the coarse grass close at hand,
and a second later a big grey monkey dashed away.
406 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
I followed it for some time, but the dense.undergrowth
and long grass spoilt my chance of a shot. My luck was
better with a big troop of guereza we came across, for I
secured a good specimen. The syce who recovered the
body found that the animal was a female, with a tiny
monkey clinging to its fur.
The cries of the little mite brought back the troop,
who peered through the branches with a woe-begone ex¬
pression that was almost comically piteous. It was evident
they were anxious to come to the help of their little comrade,
but fear of us kept them at bay. The plucky little chap
bit and fought savagely for a time, but gradually quieted
down to a plaintive whine. It was not long till he became
quite a pet in camp.
By a lucky chance we struck the safari path, and found
the tents perched on the spur of a hill, with the only water
available lying far below us at the bottom of an almost
precipitous cliff.
The journey thus far had been up-hill work for my
laden men, so, before going further, I sent Gubei ahead
to find out how far off the reported villages lay. It was
not long before he reappeared to tell me that in about an
hour's march over a good level road we could reach the
first of a group of inhabited villages, surrounded by large
stretches of cultivation. Wc stood much in need of flour,
so, in spite of tired donkeys and jaded men, I decided to
shift camp next morning, in the hopes of soon replenishing
our supply.
When, quite early, I set out to make a short detour
in search of game, some of the donkeys which had been
driven down to water the night before had not yet scrambled
back to camp. The batch of men whom I saw start
LITTLE CAIRNS OF QUARTZ.
407
made light of their loads as they strode off along the well-
timbered path, for the hope of plenty of flour, milk, and
other luxuries to be bartered from the natives, made them
forget their weariness, and lent wings to their feet.
My morning's work was fruitless, for, although I saw
several troops of monkeys, I did not get a shot. When I
struck the path again, it led over a low pass, where I was
An inquisitive crowd of Dodinga.
surprised to see little cairns of quartz, such as one finds
on every mountain pass in Tibet, formed by each passer¬
by adding his quota to the pile for luck's sake. Every
now and then a burnt or deserted village cropped up along
my path.
Instead of coming on camp almost at once as I had
expected, I had to make a march more difficult and longer
than that of the day. before, the path in places being as
steep as the roof of a house. Most of the donkeys had
4O8
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
broken down, and the caravan I found scattered over miles
of country.
At last, after seeing the loads of the unfortunate beasts
under Abdallah's charge collected and stacked together,
I reached the foot of the hills, where large stretches of
ground were cleared and under cultivation, while villages
were dotted about the lower spurs. Here were three
more of my men, in charge of seven of the best donkeys
that had successfully made the descent.
My next misfortune was to lose all trace of the direction
in which the safari had gone. After searching for some
distance to the south without result, I imagined I saw
tents rising from the scrub under the hills, which proved
to be the case. It was late in the afternoon when I reached
camp, pitched in a confined valley, commanded on three
sides by high hills, which were crowned by stockaded
villages, while, worst of all, the only possible water supply
lay some distance further on. A good many natives
were stalking round with cattle and goats.
Two men and four donkeys soon straggled safely in,
and close on their heels came another follower to report
that a party of Dodinga had suddenly fallen upon him,
seized the three donkeys he was driving, cut the ropes,
and carried off their loads. The animals had then been
turned adrift, and the man had recovered them. He was
full of excuses, saying that there were hordes of natives
round him, and he was afraid to offer any resistance, but
was at a loss for an answer when I asked why he had
not fired his rifle in the air as a signal that he needed
assistance.
It was plain that we were in for trouble. Among all
these native tribes theft is punished by death, while a
A Dodinga couple.
AN AWKWARD POSITION.
411
raid is requited by a counter raid, unless the injured party
feels too weak to retaliate. There was no doubt, therefore,
that the Dodinga fancied they had me in their power,
and it was imperative for me to undeceive them, lest they
should grow bolder and attack with a view to annexing
all my property.
More bad news was soon brought in. Nzau, it seemed,
had not yet left the previous camp, where he and three
men were detained with five loads, as the four transport
donkeys were too done up to travel.
The ten donkey loads were still lying on the path where
I had had them piled up, and one donkey, while pushing
his way past the heap, had knocked a box of beads over,
which, bumping down the hillside, had burst open and
scattered half its contents to the four winds. Gubei then
added his tale of distress to the rest, to the effect that the
natives had no flour to sell.
Here was a hopeless state of affairs—my men and goods
in three places miles apart ; the natives spoiling to plunder
us, and likely at any moment to commence hostilities,
and camp in as awkward a position as it was possible for
it to be. All this was entirely due to Gubei's lies and
laziness. He had apparently merely strolled a few hundred
yards from camp on the previous afternoon, smoked a pipe,
and taken his ease for a time, to return to me and draw
on his fertile imagination.
To think of retaliation was folly, till the men and goods
were collected. I therefore despatched as many porters
and armed men as I could spare to Nzau and Abdallah,
telling them to keep a sharp look out throughout the night,
and to march in as early as possible in the morning. Mean¬
while, I took every precaution to guard against surprise and
412
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
prevent theft, and made such preparations for defence as
would not excite the natives' attention.
Early in the morning I started building a zariba of the
stoutest thorn bushes procurable, and also tried to do a
little trading for flour. A good many Dodinga came into
camp, but none of our trade goods seemed to commend
themselves. Finally they said they would accept meat.
When I had one of the few remaining bullocks killed, they
demanded the whole carcase for about 50 lbs. weight of
grain—the usual exchange for a sheep. Doubtless they
were reckoning that they would shortly get all we had
for nothing, so that trade was unnecessary. I therefore
ordered the meat to be cut up into strips and dried for
the use of my men.
Nzau presently turned up, having shot the four donkeys
that were unable to travel, and he was shortly afterwards
followed by Abdallah who had collected a good many
of the spilt beads. Part of the goods that had been
stolen from us the day before had been discovered among
some bush, but much had been carried off, including two
sacks of our fast ebbing supply of flour.
As evening drew on, I had all the tents carried into the
zariba, while the donkeys and cattle were driven into an
inner enclosure, which we had also edged round with
thorns. By this time the men were all in, and after dusk
I called a meeting of the guide, interpreter, and head
men. From the attitude of the Dodinga it seemed very
probable that, should we march away without forcing
the return of the goods they had stolen, they would follow
us up and loot our possessions whenever opportunity
offered, even if they did not become openly hostile.
In addition to this danger, if the word went forth that
SEIZE DODINGA CATTLE.
413
I could be robbed with impunity, it was more than likely
that we would have trouble with the hill tribes ahead of
us. As a result of a long and careful discussion of the case
in all its bearings, I decided to seize some of the Dodinga
cattle to hold as a pledge, till the stolen property, or its
equivalent, was forthcoming. To this end it was arranged
that before dawn four parties should sally out and drive
in all the animals they could lay hands on.
414
CHAPTER XXX.
Successful sally results in capture of 300 cattle—Water difficulties—We take a
prisoner—A blood-curdling prophecy—Strengthen our defences—Night
attack—-Negotiations re-opened —Karamojo boy wounded—Attack renewed
—Water parly ambuscaded and nearly cut up—A demoralised crowd—A
cheerless day—Long-range sniping—We march out—A fearless Masai girl—
Welcome water.
This sally, when carried out, was such an unexpected move
on our part that 300 head of cattle were captured and
brought into camp without casualties on either side,
save for one native who had dashed in and suddenly
attacked my men when they were well on their way
back to camp.
In the course of the morning a water party successfully
carried out its work, and returned bringing one prisoner
with them. On the journey back a band of natives had
made a feeble attack at close quarters from the shelter
of a mass of rock, but they had been easily driven back.
By this time crowds of Dodinga had assembled on the
hill-tops overlooking our camp, not without much tootling
of horns and general commotion. When the hubbub
slightly subsided, my interpreter opened negotiations by
appealing to their feelings in a fine burst of rhetoric. He
described how his master, the white man, had come to
their country in a spirit of friendship, to see them, and
WE OPEN NEGOTIATIONS.
415
to bring many goods they prized, to trade for flour ; how
all his good intentions had been met by base and dastardly
conduct on their part ; how he, in his mercy, instead of
at once killing many of them, as he easily could, had merely
seized their cattle to hold in pledge for the stolen goods,
Our Dodinga prisoner.
and how, even yet, by returning those goods and paying
a small fine of grain, they could regain possession of their
cattle, and the incident would be closed.
It was a most eloquent effort, but the sole answer we
received was a babel of derisive and insulting messages,
with much abuse of Loarding, who had once lived in their
4i6
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
country, and Orquarbo, the prisoner, for their disloyalty.
" Only wait till nightfall," one sportsman shouted, " when
we will come down and wipe you out. On the morrow
the vultures will be picking your bones while we divide
your property, you thieves of the night."
On the strength of this cheerful intelligence I thickened
the zariba, extended the clearing outside, made the
inner enclosure more secure to prevent stampede among
the cattle, and had the bells removed from their necks.
By sunset all the tents were struck, fires were out, and
the men were posted round the outside of the inner zariba,
one-half under the charge of Nzau, the other under Abdallah.
They were arranged in pairs, so that they could alternately
keep watch and sleep, and each man had a couple of boxes
in front of him to act as a breastwork. The remaining
loads had been piled up in a small circle, inside which the
sick, bo}'s, and women were to sleep.
The little guereza monkey proved rather a trouble, for it
was not content unless nestling up beside me, or riding on
my shoulder, and cried piteously every time I had to leave
it. My bed was placed close to the inner zariba, and I sat
behind it, Männlicher in hand and revolver in belt.
When I went round to see that all was in order I impressed
upon the men that, in case of the enemy successfully forcing
a hole in the zariba, they must maintain their positions, and
not all rush to the spot, leaving the remainder unguarded.
Meanwhile I, with a bodyguard of two gun-bearers, meant
to keep general supervision and to go to the aid of any
place hard-pressed.
While I was talking in low tones to my head man, a
spear came hurling through the air, and buried itself
in the ground just behind me. We instantly ducked, and
The enemy watching us.
DODINGA ATTACK US.
419
took cover in different directions. There was no moon,
and we had to trust entirely to sound to tell us the where¬
abouts of our enemy. Then the fun began.
From the three hills we could hear the Dodinga
approaching, blowing their .little horns, which are the
national instrument of music. With defiant shouts, telling
us that we had all seen our last sunrise, they began the
The catlle we seized.
attack by hurling stones over the outer barrier, but they
fell short of the mark, and perfect silence was maintained
in camp.
Emboldened by this, they then tried to force a gap in
the zariba, but as soon as the rustling of the bushes was
heard my men opened a rapid fire on the spot, and they
withdrew. This went on at intervals throughout the
night. A period of absolute silence, much more trying
to the nerves than actual attack, would be succeeded by a
27*
420
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
stealthy attempt to drag away the thorn trees, then a
sudden volley and scrambling rush of feet, then dead
silence once more. Later on they drew off to light a fire,
within cover of the steep banks of the river, just out of
range, and from the din they made they were apparently
holding a long, animated shauri. In the midst of this,
evidently with the idea of finding us off our guard, they
made a sudden swoop on to the zariba, but I had taken
care that the men were not asleep, and the enemy met
with a warm reception as soon as they attempted to disturb
the outer bushes.
At daybreak we repitched the tents, while a party
fetched a supply of water, and later on all our beasts and
twenty of the best Dodinga cows were driven down to
water, without the slightest opposition.
Although a search outside the enclosure did not reveal
any blood traces, our rifle-fire had evidently created some
impression, for when we again opened negotiations, pointing
out to our enemy that they were powerless to do us any
injury, and were very likely to get hurt themselves, we were so
far successful that they agreed to return our property, and
to collect for us the grain I demanded as a fine. On the
receipt of it I promised, in my turn, to hand over their
cattle, and as they seemed to doubt my good faith, I
proposed that they should bring the goods down the hill¬
side, one by one, when 1 would let out a cow or two for
each.
However, later in the day a strong reinforcement of
men from the first settlement we had come to arrived
to assist them, and we could see a great shauri in progress
on the hill-top. Towards evening, when we were making
a final effort to bring them to reason, there was a sudden
Drawn by]
Fight with the Dodinga.
[a. Forestier.
ANOTHER ATTACK.
423
yell, and I saw an unarmed Karamojo boy stagger towards
us with blood pouring down his side. With two or three
men I quickly ran to him, rifle ready, but was only just
in time to see some half dozen Dodinga vanish into the
jungle without giving us time for a shot. We assisted
the wounded lad into camp, and found he had a cut on his
forearm, a deep gash above the hip, and the sinews of his
right palm had been severed in his attempt to grapple with
a spear.
He said he had wandered off, some little distance away,
to collect fire-wood. Just as he was stooping to pick up
the bundle, a Dodinga ran up behind him and struck at
him with his spear. As I had repeatedly impressed upon
everyone that they were not to go out of sight of the zariba,
nor even to move out of the enclosure except in parties and
well armed, the poor fellow had only himself to blame
for so foolishly courting disaster. The immediate effect
of the attack was apparent. The Dodinga from the hill
tops shouted the good news across to the two other villages,
the inhabitants of which set up a chorus of triumphant
yells, in which the shrill voices of the women could be
distinctly heard.
After leaving us in peace for the first part of the night,
in the hope of lulling us into a feeling of false security,
they tried to force the zariba, but rifle shots once more
did their work, and kept them at bay. Later on, a Dodinga
from the spur of a hill made us an impassioned address,
warning us that death was about to claim us for his own,
and calling on his fighting men to spear us to a man. Then
followed two more desperate attempts to break the hedge,
but each was driven off.
About seven in the morning, the water party started
424 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
out under the charge of Gubei, with ten other rifles as
escort, but as they did not return at their usual time, I
began to get anxious, and sent some men to look after
them.
Soon afterwards we were alarmed by the sound of shots
in the distance, so the donkeys and cattle were driven in,
and camp was put in a state of defence. After a few
minutes of suspense my men appeared. They were all
huddled in one party, and even some distance off I could
see, from the wild way they were letting off their rifles,
and the absence of all gourds and water-vessels, that some
disaster had befallen them. Our first care, when they
came in, was to unload their rifles, for they were in such
a demoralised state that they were still blazing off right
and left.
It was some time before I could get an intelligible account
of what had happened. Apparently, contrary to my
orders, they had all moved up the stream-bed, chattering,
and taking no precaution. Suddenly a number of Dodinga,
who had been lurking behind some big rocks close to the
water-holes, sprang out and poured in a shower of spears.
Gubei and an askari were struck down at once, and were
left to their fate by the remainder, who, throwing away
their water-pots, gourds and blankets, turned and fled,
helter-skelter, retaining only their rifles and cartridge
belts.
Though closely pursued, two or three luckily recovered
presence of mind enough to seek cover and open fire on
the enemy, keeping them at bay till their comrades with¬
drew. For a moment the Dodinga were checked, but they
soon came on again, and my men had been closely pressed.
Several of them had received spear cuts, and but for the
TWO MEN KILLED.
425
timely arrival of Abdallah and his party, matters would
have gone hardly with them.
I proposed returning at once, with those of my men who
had not been in the first party, to endeavour to recover
the bodies of the fallen with their rifles, and secure a supply
of water, as we had but a mere drop left in camp. With
the exception of three men, I was met all round with a
stubborn refusal to move. They said that they were
prepared to go without water that da}?, and that we must
march out of the country next morning. Considering that,
even if the four of us were able to reach the water in safety,
we could not carry enough back to do any good, while,
during my absence, the Dodinga, elated with their success,
would have been almost certain to make a bolder attack
on my men, who were not in a state to present a brave
front, I reluctantly agreed to adopt the course suggested.
The rest of the day was spent in arranging the loads.
We had lost four donkeys, two men were killed, one was
so sick with fever that he could hardly stand, while several
others were either seriously wounded or too disabled to
carry more than a very light load.
The distribution of the baggage, therefore, was no easy
matter. A few of the quietest Dodinga bullocks were
pressed into service, and finally the stuff we could not
carry, including the two tusks we had found at Locorina,
was destro}?ed.
Except for the impounding of the cattle, we had
hitherto acted strictly on the defensive, but matters were
now so critical that all scruples had to give way to what¬
ever measures would enable me to withdraw my sixty-five
heavily-laden and demoralised men from the narrow bush-
covered valley in safety.
426
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
With this end in view, I determined to give the natives
a lesson. Numbers of them were, as usual, watching us
from the hill tops at a distance of between 600 to 800
yards. Taking my Jeffery Männlicher, and allowing a
very full-sight—for it was only sighted up to 500 yards—I
fired from under the verandah of my tent at one of the
groups.
They scattered at once, and I felt sure my bullet had
not been very wide of the mark. When with my glasses
I detected a native creeping back among the rocks, to
raise an inert mass and stagger away with it over his
shoulder, I knew, with a feeling of grim satisfaction, that
I had shot straight.
The effect this shot produced entirely surpassed my
expectations. My men who had given themselves up to
despair, and did nothing but picture their speedy death,
began to regain courage, while the nativés were now
extremely careful of exposing themselves to my fire. At
dusk I arranged all the loads ready for our start as soon
as day should break.
After dark, to the accompaniment of much horn-blowing,
masses of the enemy again came down the hills and
surrounded camp. First of all they proposed that in the
morning I should drive out all their cattle, take half myself,
and leave them the other half. When I declined to fall
into this obvious trap, they invited Loarding and our
prisoner to come out and join them, as they meant to
exterminate us all as soon as we started. Loarding did
not see his way to accept this invitation, while Orquarbo,
to his sorrow, was not in a position to do so.
Things seemed to me to look very uncertain. In spite of all
my careful arranging, there were very few unladen men left
ANOTHER ANXIOUS NIGHT. 427
to act as escort, and I felt sure that, if the Dodinga had
the pluck to make a determined attack in the thick bush,
my men would at once break and run, leaving me, and
perhaps one or two others, to the rude mercy of the savages.
I therefore spent the greater part of the night writing my
diary and various notes home, in the dark. These I dis-
My safari leaving Dodinga.
tributed among the men, in the hope that, if we got cut
up, at least one of them might reach its destination.
Having apparently settled to their satisfaction that
we should prove an easy prey directly we broke the zariba,
the enemy drew off, and left us in peace for the rest of
the night. The little monkey had been sadly neglected
for a day and night ; there was no milk and water to give
it, and it had been whining most of the time : in the small
hours of the morning I found it lying dead on my bed.
428 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
As soon as dawn showed, we started to load the donkeys.
I tried to put as much heart into my men as possible, by
going about everything in a business-like way, talking
about our next camp and so forth, although very doubtful
myself whether we should ever see another. Most of
them had been thirty-six hours without water, and were
utterly unnerved ; their teeth were chattering and they
could hardly grasp their loads.
To ensure our prisoner's faithfulness, I explained to him
that we meant to march out of his country ; if we were
attacked I should shoot him off-hand, and if he led
us to a waterless camp, my first business would be to hang
him—a death peculiarly abhorrent to a native. I then
posted him in charge of an askari at the head of the column,
together with Nzau and two other armed men. Behind
them came the laden donkeys in charge of two followers,
then the cattle, followed by the women and the sick and
wounded. The laden porters were to march in a long
string on either side, every man being armed with some
sort of weapon, while, expecting the toughest fight in
the rear, I, with Bedoui and Zedu, took charge of it. I
myself was fairly heavily laden, for besides my .256,
revolver and the usual supply of ammunition, I carried
a large reserve store, for I had every intention, should
the enemy rush us, to account for as many as possible,
before devoting a bullet to myself.
Having no spare men to drive the Dodinga cattle, they,
with the exception of twenty we had selected, were to be left
behind, in the hopes that their owners would hasten to
take possession of them, and so give us time to get clear
of the bush. Just as we were about to start, I found the
wounded Karamojo lad, whom I feared would hardly
WE MOVE OUT.
429
surviv rch, trying to single out a good Dodinga
cow to drive along for himself.
At last the caravan was ready, and, breaking the zariba,
we moved out. Crowds of Dodinga at once swooped down
from the three hills, brandishing their spears, shouting
and blowing their horns. Happily our surmise proved
correct, for the majority first made for the abandoned
cattle to quarrel and bicker over them.
As we pushed on, dark forms ran along in the bush on
either flank, evidently meaning to head us off, while others
dodged about from tree to tree behind us. Whenever
I could make one out, 1 let drive and must have done some
damage, for they drew further off. We had not covered more
than a few hundred yards when a donkey threw its load,
and we found our way barred by a strong thorn hedge
built right across the valley.
It was anxious work. Every moment I expected we should
be attacked, as I ran from side to side, shouting orders
to my men and taking aim at any Dodinga I saw. In
the commotion some of the cattle broke out, to be followed
and driven back by a fearless Masai girl, who, all along,
had shown more courage than the men.
The barrier broken, we got safely through, and found
we were approaching the deep bed of a river, where any
number of the enemy might be lurking in wait. Nzau
showed no signs of scouting, but stuck close to the head
of the caravan, so that any minute we might have walked
straight into an ambush.
The only thing to be done was to reconnoitre myself,
so I arranged the men in a circle behind a breastwork
formed of their loads, and went forward, but saw nothing
suspicious. After this I took the lead, and soon we were
43°
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
fortunate enough to cross a marshy bit of land holding
, some pools of water, at which the men were able to slake
their raging thirst.
As last, on getting clear of the bush, I saw a couple of
sentries perched on a hill in front of us, at the further end
of which our guide said there was water, and a good
camping ground. Fearing that he might be in league
with the enemy, and that some of them were lurking round
it, I climbed the slope to survey the land, taking four men
with me.
There was nothing to be seen. Leaving one man on the
watch, the rest of us descended a little, and I carefully
searched all round with my glasses. Suddenly there was a low
whistle from my sentry, and I ran back to him, just in
time to see a couple of Dodinga, who had been creeping up
under shelter of the rocks, hoping to catch us unawares.
On my arrival they disappeared.
It was hard work getting a zariba completed before night¬
fall. The men were worn out with their march and three
nights' vigil, and every now and then I had to go round to
stir up sleepy sentries.
431
CHAPTER XXXI.
Reach the Kedef River—A tropical camp—Good sport—The doum palm—The
Mielli people—A sensible Sultan—The marketers—"Who is the man in the
gramophone ? "—Buying a head-dress—Visit the Sultan's village—A queer
agricultural implement.
Camp was astir at daybreak, after a night of unbroken
stillness. The first thing I did on coming out of my tent
was to take a long shot to warn a couple of Dodinga sen¬
tries, posted on a hill overlooking us, that we were still
on the alert. The sun had just risen when we took up
our former positions for marching, and started out across
the Kedef valley, as the Dodinga call the upper waters
of the river Tu. Bearing away to the east we pitched
our tents near the bed of the same stream which we had
left in the morning.
At this camp Loarding asked leave to return to his
own country. After a farewell talk, I offered him his
choice of a cow and calf out of the herd, but he declined,
saying that the enemy would be sure to dog him by their
tracks, even if their lowing did not betray him before
he was safe in Toposa. However, he was made very happy
by a present of some iron and brass wire, tobacco, dried
meat, a little of our precious store of flour, a knife and a
cow bell, together with a fine spear and shield, making in
all a load almost too heavy for him to carry. In addition,
432 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
I wrote out a letter recommending Mm to any European
whom he might meet in after years. This he carefully
treasured in a tin.
Next day, at an elevation of 3,250 feet, we reached the
wide sandy bed of the Kedef, in clay pockets along the
sides of which lay large shallow pools of water. The course
of the stream wound its way through a belt of doum palms
and tropical vegetation, behind which, on either bank,
stretched a broad fringe of rich grass.
My sick men and half-starved donkeys and cattle
were sorely in need of a rest, so I decided to halt here for
a few days. In the meantime I set to work laying in a
store of as much dried meat as possible, for we could be
by no means certain of a friendly reception among the
various hill tribes we had to pass through, before reaching
the domain of Limoroo, the Latuka chief, who was well
known as the white man's friend. Until we arrived at his
territory, we would still be traversing unknown ground.
Five days' work up and down the valley afforded me
good sport with hartebeest, Waterhuck, bushbuck, Grant's,
duiker, dik-dik, warthog, oribi and lion ; besides which
giraffe, rhino, ostrich, topi and reedbuck were numerous,
while guinea-fowl and hare proved useful for the pot.
One night a troop of lions made across the bed of the
stream, here go yards wide, evidently bent on attacking
our cattle ; but the watch-fires kept them at bay.
Early next morning I took up the tracks, and eventually
sighted a lion skulking off from under a tree, over 200
yards away. Then, with the glasses, I made out two or
three sitting watching us, and, opening fire with the .256,
felt sure that one bullet had told. Away they dashed,
I after them as fast as I could go, till one beast lagged a
WOUND A LION.
433
little. I let drive at it, but missed, and my quarry broke
into a trot. The next moment another lion showed. My
first shot only raised a cloud of dust behind it, but the
second was better aimed, and the bullet must have struck
the leg, for on reaching the track, we saw that one was
broken. As the beast was dragging itself along very
slowly, I left it, to race along after the others.
The banks of the Kedef.
It was by this time nearly mid-day and terribly hot,
the sun-baked ground being almost blistering to the touch.
At last I came on the troop resting under the shade of a
big tree and tried to crawl up to them. Before I was within
200 yards, they rose to their feet and slunk off one by one,
passing round the back of the tree and giving me but a
momentary chance before they vanished into some thick
scrub.
28
434 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
There seemed to be five of them, all about the same size
and without manes. As each crossed the little clearing,
I managed to put in a snap shot at it, and fancied that two
of them had felt the bullet. One track was stained by a
few drops of blood, and, not far along it, the animal lay
crouching ready to spring. Another shot, a few con¬
vulsive struggles, and it rolled over dead. Covering it up
with grass and branches, we set off in pursuit of the others,
but could find no trace of the remaining wounded beast.
Then we turned our attention to the one with the broken
leg, but finally lost the track and, after a fruitless search,
came on a little rocky pool which, parched and weary
as we were, we hailed with great delight. At this
spot, after a time, my second gun-bearer joined me to
say that he and the syce had stumbled across the
wounded lion, lying very sick under a tree, and that he
had finished it with a shot from the Paradox he carried.
The country was so featureless that, while leading us
back, he became completely bewildered, and it was some
time before we discovered the body. Both the slain beasts
proved to be young males, fat, and in the pink of
condition.
The fruit of the doum palm was now ripe, and day and
night one could hear it falling with a thud as the trees
swayed in the breeze. It is of a bright yellow colour,
measuring about 6 inches by 6J-. The leathery skin con¬
tains a thin layer of fibre, embedded in sweet, somewhat
sickly tasting, yellow pulp, while in the centre three large
nuts lie concealed. The natives use these for making sheep-
bells for their flocks. Large troops of baboons had been
attracted to the spot, and it was comical to watch them,
when disturbed, each carrying a big yellow fruit in his
OUR DODINGA PRISONER.
435
mouth, which he would put down every now and then
to turn and bark at us.
By this time Orquarbo, our Dodinga prisoner, had grown
quite reconciled to his lot, thanks to a course of good food
and kindly treatment from the men. Through Loarding
he had informed me that his family possessions consisted
of " three cows, two wives, two sons, a little plot and two
daughters." Happily for him his cows had not been
A live Grant.
amongst those we had seized. On the sixth day he led
us south-west towards a low mountain range where he
said a hill race named the Mielli grew grain crops and
traded with safaris. On the way we passed a herd of
some thirty giraffe. As we neared the range, I could
see that the upper slopes, here steeper, and clothed
with larger trees and less scrub than in Dodinga, were
dotted with villages. Presently dark figures armed with
28*
436 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
glittering spears collected on the hillside to watch our
approach.
In spite of our shouts of greeting and signs of friendship,
no one offered to come near us. I then called my men to¬
gether and solemnly warned them that everything de¬
pended upon our reception by this tribe, and that the
slightest act on their part might turn the scales against us,
or win us the favour of the natives. Should the latter
prove hostile, it was extremely doubtful, I said, whether
any of us would ever see the Nile.
Search parties were sent out but failed to find any water.
At last, late in the evening, Nzau returned with three
Mielli, who had, after a great deal of persuasion, reluctantly
consented to approach me. They knew neither Karamojo,
Turkana, nor the Arabic dialect common to the Upper
Nile, so that at first we had considerable difficulty in under¬
standing and making ourselves understood. Af last one
of the men brought his wife, a Karamojo woman, to act
as interpreter, which she did during our whole stay. A
few presents soon helped the party to forget their fears,
and they promised to lead us to good water in the morning.
That night, after building a thorn zariba for the
cattle, and piling up the boxes in a ring, we lay down,
our rifles ready at hand, as I was not over confident of the
good fellowship of the Mielli.
Next morning no natives came near us, and it was not
till about midday that my second gun-bearer returned
with a couple, who led us an hour's march to a little culti¬
vated bay close under the hills, with water tying in a gorge
above it.
In the evening the " Sultan," Amyun Gomoi, clad in a
gaudy printed red cotton shirt, and carrying a muzzle
E SULTAN OF THE MIELLI. 437
loading carbine, paid me a call. At first he was a bit wary
of his dealings with us, but during the days spent by his
village, we became great friends. He told me that his
people had never before seen a white man, but he had often
heard, from native caravans, of the European and his
marvellous power. Friendly relationship existed between
him and the Dodinga, six of whom had come across to warn
him what a vile character I had proved myself to be. I
had seized their cattle, they said, killed their tribesmen,
and wounded many at a miraculous distance—a distance,
in fact, as great as that between my present camp and
his village. They had therefore urged him to fall upon
us and cut us up without mercy.
The Sultan, however, replied that he had heard tales
of the white man's goodness, and he meant to see for him¬
self what treatment I deserved. He had evidently ques¬
tioned them closely, and when they admitted the theft
of some of my donkey loads, had told them they had only
got their deserts. The excuse they made for robbing me
was a curious one. I was the very first European they
had seen, and, reasoning from the known to the unknown,
their line of argument apparently was that, as the Swahili
wore clothes, was a poor fighter, and quickly intimidated,
therefore I, who wore still more clothes, must be even
easier to bullv.
As a preliminary measure his people had driven all their
cattle away into remote fastnesses among the hills, while
the Sultan admitted having assembled all his fighting
men, ready to fall on us at the least sign of hostility on our
part. For a native who had had no contact with the outer
world he had shewn remarkable reasoning power, and I
was not a little thankful that my various search parties,
438 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
after a long and arduous day without water, had behaved
so well.
This was the first native tribe I had met with who
were in possession of fire-arms, of which they had a good
number, both muzzle loaders and sniders. According to
their accounts they were in the habit of acquiring these
from native traders, in exchange for cattle.
Mielli men.
From sunrise to dusk our market was thronged with
curious villagers, while trade went on briskly. The trade
goods we found popular were fezes, americani, iron and
brass wire, iron chain and very small white and red beads.
Looking glasses would, in all probability, go extremely
well. The Sultan spent most of his time squatting in my
verandah examining the marvels of my rifles, telescopes,
alarum clock, shutter of the lamp, etc. Photos of the Suk
THE GRAMOPHONE STILL A SUCCESS. 439
taken at Baringo puzzled and interested the marketers a
good deal, but the gramophone was the chief object of
wonder and strange conjecture, the whistling and laughing
songs being, as usual, by far the most popular. One of
the audience wanted to know who the man in the box was,
Mielli head-dress.
and what he had done to me that I should imprison him
like that. Another wondered if I fed him, whether he
were ever let out, and how long he was to be kept there.
As a race the Mielli are not nearly so tall nor so dark
as the Dodinga : the height of six men varied from 5
feet 10 inches to 6 feet 2} inches. Most of the men had
44°
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the tally of the slain tattooed on the arms, chest and back,
in addition to various fantastic designs on the stomach. A
good many wore iron necklets, while the most popular
ear-rings were oí the " tongs " pattern, first seen among
the Dodinga, who, it seemed, traded theirs from this
tribe. A little bit of mother of pearl hung by a ring from
the upper part of the ear struck me as a novel, and rather
neat, ear pendant. There was nothing distinctive in the way
oí bracelets and armlets ; a wrist knife was here and there
to be seen, while the thumb rings, with a projecting piece
of metal, were affected by a great many of the warriors.
Men and women alike wore long crystal lower lip pendants.
Their hair was dressed in the same fashion as among the
Dodinga, but very few of the warriors decorated it with
the bead-covered discs. From the pattern in which these
beads were arranged it was possible to recognise to which
tribe the wearer belonged. In Dodinga I had only been
able to secure some of the discs, as there had been neither
time nor opportunity to shear off the complete head-dress
from one of the men we had slain. I was therefore very
anxious to procure one here, and eventually, after three
days steady bargaining, with the assistance of the Sultan,
I obtained a very good one from the smith of the place,
Quarnarmi, in exchange for a calf and a cow bell. In
addition to this I secured some small personal ornaments,
including a number of scalp scratchers with neatly carved
handles, which they were anxious to part with for a few
brass screws out of my packing cases. It was not long
before I saw some of these screws being worn as lip pen¬
dants. Some of the youths had girdles consisting of ring
after ring of fine twisted grass fastened so tightly round
the waist that the lad from whom I purchased one had to
I BECOME POPULAR.
441
be well greased before it could be got off without being
broken.
The women struck me as being decidedly better looking
than the Dodinga. Very few of them were clad in skins,
most of the matrons sporting only leather thong aprons,
while the girls made theirs of ostrich egg-shell beads.
In this district again a rain shower followed close on my
By Amy un Gamoi's village.
heels and did me good service. It caused an increase, not
only in my popularity, but, what was far more practical,
in the supplies of grain brought in, as the sellers began to
build their hopes on a prospective good crop. Since the
drought of 1901 they had taken care to have a store by
them, for in that year a failure of the harvest had caused
the death of nearly one-half of the population. In their
extremity they had sent to the Sultan of the Marañóle,
442 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
a tribe lying further to the west, to obtain a charm for rain,
and as soon as it arrived a shower fell !
Another trifle that rather impressed the tribesmen in
my favour was my success on a little shooting expedition
in their country. On this occasion it was my good for¬
tune to spot and bag a capital specimen of kongoni, whose
meat I handed over to the natives as a small present.
Soon after this the Sultan invited me to pay a visit to
his village, and came himself to escort me to it. As we
wound our way up the steep hillside, by means of a narrow
path, fringed on either hand by fine thorn trees, rich in
masses of blossom, the air was laden with the sweet, though
heavy, perfume of the flowers. The village, surrounded
by a rough palisade of boughs, was perched on a little
saddle-shaped projection on the slope. A partition ran
across the enclosure, one side of which was devoted to the
use of the cattle, while on the other stood the three big
huts and some granaries. Amyun Gomoi told me that
his first wife was dead, but called number two, a little
thing with a smiling face, out of her hut. She came out
leading a tiny daughter by the hand to see the great white
man, but the child not appreciating the honour, howled
loudly.
Just outside the palisade lay the common forge of the
hamlet, built on the Kavirondo pattern. Quarnarmi, who
evidently bore me no malice for having over persuaded
him to part with his hair, informed me that he made all
the spears for the tribe out of iron brought from Lodokari,
a place lying to the south. He himself possessed the best
pair I saw. They were smaller than those of the Dodinga,
especially about the haft, but of the same shape. The
shields were mostly very old, and in poor condition, and
I TRY A MIELLI HOE.
443
several of the men were anxious to secure one of those
I had taken from the Dodinga, in exchange for a spear.
Quarnarmi also showed me the curiously shaped hoe used
by the Mielli, consisting of a 12-foot pole, and an iron
head like a cheese-cutter. This both breaks up the ground
and cuts the roots of the grass and weeds. Later in the
day I tried to wield one of these implements, to the ac¬
companiment of chuckles of merriment from its owner.
When I set out again for camp the sun was just
setting, and the rugged outline of the mass of rock behind
the village was clearly defined against a golden sky. The
villagers were returning from their work in the fields, and
nearly every one of them, as they passed us, exchanged
a word or two with their Sultan.
Once he stopped to chaff a pleasant-faced woman and to
tickle a chubby urchin strapped to her back, who, sucking
his thumb, turned up his little round black face to smile,
and evèn allowed the terrible white man to pat his cheek
without protest.
The men were carrying shields and spears, while the
women were heavily laden with bundles of firewood and the
heads of the hoes, the staves being left behind in the fields.
One happy couple were loitering behind, in nowise anxious
to shorten their evening stroll. They were chattering and
laughing merrily, but the girl looked just a bit sheepish
as she passed us, carrying her lover's shield.
444
CHAPTER XXXII.
Leave the Mielli—A rhino mounts guard over a dead antelope—Poor shooting—
Lori, a fertile valley—A friendly people—Visit from a neighbouring chief—
The origin of the tribes—A suspicious ruler—The Marañóle tribe—My
dealing with a dilatory Sultan.
On April nth, under the guidance of the Sultan, we left
Mielli, and after a four hours' march in a north-north¬
westerly direction, reached a mass of rock in the plain
with a good pool of water beside it. On the way I killed
a snake that lay curled up close to our path, and bagged
several dik-dik, of which there were a good number roaming
about the bush. I also saw a large herd of hartebeest in
the distance, but did not get near them.
That evening a man turned up to relieve the Sultan of
his duties as guide, but he seemed to have a very indifferent
knowledge of the land, for the safari was led far out of their
way to reach the next water. Judging from the tracks,
giraffe, rhino, Grant's, hartebeest, duiker, dik-dik and
zebra were plentiful in the country, and from a fresh lion
kill I picked up a good lesser kudu head.
Our next camp was pitched on a creek in sight of some
low hills, with a high rocky range appearing behind them.
The whole country teemed with game, and I decided to
spend a couple of days there, sending Nzau on over the hills
to interview the Tulono, as the people are called who in-
AN OLD FRIEND.
445
habit the Lori Valley, on the western side of Mount
Egadang.
When I was returning from a short round in the after¬
noon, I saw through the bush the hindquarters of an animal
which was grazing close to camp, and took it for one of my
cows. In a moment, however, I was undeceived, for the
animal suddenly threw up its head and made off, just
giving me time to recognise it as a fine Waterhuck.
During dinner I could hear lions roaring not far away,
and at intervals they broke the silence of the night. Un¬
fortunately it was impossible to get near them. There
was not a good tracker to be had ; game was so abundant
that the beasts never seemed to return to a kill, and the
country was well-wooded enough to provide them with a
secure retreat.
A couple of giraffe, which were feeding quietly in the
open one morning, gave me an excellent opportunity of
examining them. As far as I could judge, they were of
the same species as those I had shot on the Koten plain.
That same day I had another little encounter with my
old friend, the rhino. On my return from finishing a
wounded antelope I found one of these old rascals holding
the field, with my men sitting at a respectful distance
watching him anxiously.
As I approached the animal walked slowly off, stopping
every now and then to take a look at me, and finally halted
at about 200 yards from where the dead beast lay. He
had a poorish horn, and my men did not particularly
relish rhino meat, but at the same time I did not feel inclined
to await his convenience before cutting up the beast I had
slain. In addition to this, there was the old difficulty of
the bad moral effect it would have on the Tulono if they
446
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
should hear that the white man had been driven off his
hunting ground by a rhino.
The land was absolutely open, and the moment I began
to draw near the rhino, he turned and faced me. Anxious
to place my first shot before it charged, I fired' with the
.400 at about 200 yards. He spun round and made straight
for me. Three other shots failed to stop him, and it was
only when I let him have two solid bullets from the .256
at close quarters that his four legs gave under him.
As he was stumbling about trying to regain his feet, I
jumped up and gave him his quietus. His hide was covered
with half-healed spear-wounds, and these, no doubt,
accounted for his surly temper.
Four or five Tulono came to escort us to their village,
and led us across the bed of the Kedef, which was there
80 yards wide, through a pass in the low line of hills,
straight towards a double rock-peak which they called
Lowruer.
On one side the range bounded a large basin of fertile
soil, most of it watered by the little perennial stream Lori,
from which the valley derives its name. The greater part
of the land was under cultivation. The villages were
dotted about the lower slopes of the Egadang hills, of which
the twin peaks formed the chief feature.
Our march then continued northwards towards the head
of the valley, through numbers of little gardens where the
natives were hard at work, the men with their spears and
shields resting against a neighbouring tree. Most of the
women only wore a small leather fringe apron, and little
naked children were often playing beside them.
Lopolo, the youthful Sultan, and his uncle, Keato, the
Regent, were sitting under a tree awaiting our approach,
TÜLONO HEAD-DRESS. 447
and rose to greet us. They were both of them well clothed
and armed with rifles. In the course of our conversation,
I gathered that the Dodinga had thrice raided the place,
killing the people in the fields, and carrying off what flocks
and herds they could lay their hands on. I afterwards
learnt that the Tulono did not possess as many rifles as the
Mielli.
Tulono men.
The people were friendly, and before long I was on inti¬
mate terms with them. Some of the men wore the pudding-
bowl head-dress, but of rather a different pattern to that
of either the Dodinga or the Mielli. A very large majority,
on the other hand, had the head closely shaved, with an
effective band, formed of numerous strings of white beads
relieved with red, tied round the forehead. Others, again,
had adopted a style which I had never come across before.
44S IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
The hair was shorn, except for a patch on the crown, which
was edged with a circle of small bones. In front of this
rose a cone-shaped lump of matted hair, with a warthog's
tusk fixed upright behind it.
The women either shaved their heads entirely, or allowed
the hair to grow to a length of about half an inch, and
clipped this round the edges to leave a point over the
forehead. Many of them were elaborately tattooed about
the body. The married women seemed to be very well
treated by their husbands, and were, relatively speaking,
rather costly in this district, for, as in all the neighbouring
tribes, a wife could not be purchased for less than ten cows.
One cow, by the way, is the trade equivalent for two bulls,
or fifteen sheep or goats.
Among the ornaments new to me were a pair of plaited
leather bracelets, hung with little iron bells, which I saw
on the arms of a woman, and another of twisted iron, with
the ends bent round like a pair of pincers, belonging to one
of the men.
Men and women alike came to market smoking their
pipes, made in the district, with baked clay bowls and reed
stems. Much of the grain for barter was brought in neatly-
woven string bags of all sizes. The articles of exchange
most in demand were powder, bullets, percussion caps,
fezes, and brass and iron wire. Beads were quite at a dis¬
count. Needless to say, our customers procured none of
the three first-named articles from my safari, although
they offered a large gourd of flour for a single percussion
cap.
On the day after my ai rival, when trade was making
rapid progress, there was a commotion among the villagers,
who hurriedly began packing up their flour and making off,
MARAÑOLE TRIBE VISIT ME.
449
while messengers were darting about the hillside above.us.
Presently the booming of a drum and the sharp tongue of a
bell were heard, and my glasses revealed a large band of
men winding their way towards us across the eastern hills.
These, we gathered, were a deputation from Lorika, Sultan
of the Marañóle, a more powerful tribe, living in the next
Tulono marketers.
valley, who owned allegiance to Limoroo. They were
evidently coming to visit me.
It was plain that my hosts were growing more and more
uneasy as the long line of men drew near, many of them
clothedj and carrying rifles ; at the head of the column
floated two large flags. I withdrew to my tent, had boxes
29
45°
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
arranged as seats in the verandah, fell in a guard, and
sent Nzau to meet them.
They presented a queer spectacle, for the various " uni¬
forms " were, to say the least of it, unusual, including, as
they did, a coachman's livery with some of the crested
buttons still on it, a frock coat with the collar turned up,
a cut-away black morning coat, and flowing garments of
fancy muslin, with weird designs. This last struck me as
being a most unsuitable costume for warriors in a thorn-
studded country.
The two leaders, Lodomo and Loringamoi, were clad in
khaki jackets, baggy cotton trousers and fezes. On arrival
they fired a shot or two as a salute, and then formed up in
two lines to present arms in a method peculiar only to
themselves.
After we had exchanged greetings, I offered them potions
of lemon sparklet in the verandah, and listened to the news.
Lodomo, it appeared, had once accompanied a trader's
caravan to Mumias, spoke Swahili well, and was full of
talk. He said his tribe had heard from the Mielli of the
way the Dodinga had treated me, and that the Sultan,
Lorika, liad at once ordered him to come and offer assistance.
The proposal was that I should join hands with him,
march back to Dodinga and deal out full punishment. To
this I demurred, on the grounds that my cartridges were
running short, while the Dodinga would certainly be ex¬
pecting attack, and would have removed their cattle into
the hills, out of harm's way.
A couple of years back, Lodomo went on to tell me, the
Tulono had killed two Swahili porters, whose death Lorika
had avenged by a raid on the offender's cattle, and the
wiping out of some seven of his men.
A PERPETUAL FEUD.
It appeared that Lori and Lobu had at one time been
under the same Sultan, but there had been an eruption in
the little state, and after one or two encounters, Lopolo's
father had succeeded in declaring his independence. The
Dodinga and Oboya were two sections of the same tribe,
Lodomo assured me, and they had inhabited the Dodinga
hills as long as could be remembered.
Lorika's askaris.
It seemed that, with the exception of the Mielli and one
other tribe, with whom they were in the habit of trading
iron-work which they could not manufacture themselves,
the Dodinga maintained a perpetual feud with all the sur¬
rounding peoples, even although most of their enemies
possessed fire-arms. Small wonder that, at first, they
showed such contempt for my weapons.
To my enquiry whether the Kedef Valley, which had
29*
452 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
appeared to me so fertile, had ever been inhabited, my
informant told me the following myth :
Long ages back the peoples of the world all dwelt in peace
in the Ivedef Valley, until on one dark day trouble arose
among them. Hatred grew apace ; they began to smite
each other with sticks, and then these were sharpened and
hardened in fire. At last one division discovered iron,
made little spears, smeared them with poison, and fell on
their brethren, who were driven out to found other tribes.
The contents of my tent were objects of far greater curio¬
sity to Loringamoi than to his more travelled companion,
who had seen something of the world, the white man, and
civilization, and only deigned to take an interest in my
rifles and gramophone. Their visit became rather a tax
upon my resources, for I had to provide a feast, not only
for the two leaders, but also for their followers.
In the morning I hastened their departure, for the
Tulono were evidently very suspicious ; there was hardly
a single one of them to be seen, either in camp or in the
fields. The band made rather a picturesque sight as they
marched off in a long line, flags flying, the drummers
beating with all their strength and skill, while two cow
bells were clashed together to complete the symphony.
Then the " colours and the band " halted, while Lodomo
led the askaris round me in a circle, and Loringamoi darted
about armed with a very small spear and a rhino whip,
to aid the men in keeping their proper distances. Now
one man and then another would break from the ranks,
raise his gun in the air, and squib it off with a little pinch
of powder ; that is to say, if the cap did not miss fire, of
which the chances proved to be about even.
As soon as they had gone, I sent for Iveato and Lopolo,
THE LO BU VALLEY. 453
to find out why their people had vanished. With a little
reluctance they admitted they had feared Lodomo and
I were concerting measures for a raid on their cattle ;
and, therefore, for safety's sake, the herds and flocks had
been driven off to the hills. In a short time their confi¬
dence returned and the villagers reappeaied.
Lodomo had assured me, in the course of con-
Lobu Valley.
versation, that theie were more facilities for purchasing
flour at Lobu, so that, although the supply at'Lori was
by no means exhausted, I made up my mind to move on
in the morning.
Traversing the north-eastern jungle-clad corner of the
valley, we made for the same hills we had previously
crossed further to the south. Soon the Lobu Valley, some
3 or 4 miles long, stretched away at our feet, almost shut
454 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
in by the main ridge and its spurs, while nestling at the
foot of Egadang lay Lorika's village.
It was not long before he and his two men came into camp
to pay me a visit. He was an elderly man with a slight
grey beard, clad in a striped cotton shirt and a blanket
draped round him as a skirt. A crystal pendant hung from
his lower lip, while his closely-shaven head was covered with
Marañóle head-dress.
a fez. When he was younger the Swahili had given him
the nickname of Tumbo (stomach), which still clung to him,
although his waist measurement was now nothing out of
the ordinary.
The head-dress of many of the men, other than the
askaris, who wore fezes, was of the pudding-bowl pattern,
but scalloped out in front and brought down much lower
at the back of the neck. It was usually adorned by a
couple of brass discs clipped into the hair over the temples.
NO FLOUR FORTHCOMING.
455
Very few of the men affected the bead discs. One was
sporting a dainty little straw hat fastened by a string under
his nose. The neatest things I noticed about their posses¬
sions were pillows made of bent wood, drawn together by
chains and twisted thongs.
A Marañóle mother and daughter.
Although numbers of the tribe spent the day in camp, no
flour was brought in, and my enquiries were always answered
with the excuse that the women were busy grinding it ready
for the morrow. Their water supply was drawn from a
curious natural reservoir, a great cavity in a mass of rock,
456 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
which they said was kept full, even in the dryest season, by
subterranean springs.
The Marañóle spears were very varied ; some of the men
carried a pair of the same pattern as the Turkana but with
smaller hafts and hilts, while the majority went armed with
the large stabbing weapons common to the Dodinga, in
addition to two or three small ones without hilts for
throwing.
The best part of a day was spent in searching the bush
of the main valley for game, of which I saw duiker, oribi,
black-backed jackal, lesser kudu, and Heuglin's, besides
the two-day-old track of a lion and some rhino bones.
On my return I found only one and a half bags of flour
had come in, and, as the natives had been asking prices con¬
siderably higher than those current in Lori, the Sultan
received a piece of my mind. I pointed out that I had quitted
the Tulono where supplies were rapidly coming in on the
strength of Lodomo's assertion that I should be able to
procure them far more quickly in his country, while Nzau
added that although, when his men had come to visit me,
they had brought me nothing, I had feasted them royally,
besides giving them handsome presents. " This is a curious
way to treat such a big white man," he continued sarcastic¬
ally.
Lorika remained unmoved, until I casually remarked
that I did not think much of a Sultan who was unable, in
three days, to produce as much flour as a petty chief like
Lopolo could in three hours. This was too much for his
dignity, and he began an impassioned harangue to Lodomo,
who gave us the gist of it in Swahili. It was to the effect
that surely such a great man as myself need not be in
such a hurry, and although his poor country had but little
A HAIR-DRESSING INCIDENT.
457
to offer, he hoped I would favour it with a longer sojourn.
If I really wished to depart, on the morrow he would see
that unlimited supplies were brought to my camp. How¬
ever, I curtly intimated that in my country the greater
the man the quicker his behests were obeyed. I had
waited long enough I said, and I meant to leave early
next morning ; but, in order that his name might not
A Maranole coiffeur.
appear little before Limoroo, I would leave Nzau behind
to purchase what supplies might arrive.
Meanwhile I filled up the rest of the afternoon snapping
some photos, including one of a hair-dressing incident. In
this a man, with painful care, is picking over another's
head-dress with a needle, to raise the surface of the hair
from the clay in which it has become embedded.
458
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Lorika on his mettle—Limoroo meets me—Photos tobooed—Logguren rock and
its hamlets—Human spittoons—I secure some portraits—Brass helmets
"growing"—Search for greater kudu—Tarangole—A queer way of return¬
ing gifts—A suspicious tribe.
Lorika came over early in the morning with some flour for
me, for which he received a return present. Then I started
across the valley, past the north-west spur of the encircling
hills, from which I took a panorama of the Dodinga and
Oboya range. Almost directly afterwards three oribi
dashed past me, and the one at which I fired stood quivering
for a second or two, before throwing itself into the air and
falling back stone dead.
That night we camped near Magguren, a large rocky
pool in the plain, between which, and a prominent dome-
shaped mass of rock in the main ridge, lay much cultivated
ground, with villages dotted about the lower slopes of the
hills. On our arrival many of the natives came to touch
hands with us, one of them carrying a bow and four arrows,
all with different shaped iron heads, but no feathers.
Another had a well-made wooden war horn, covered with
leather. Many of them wore a single large disc of beads
on the hair near the front. In the evening they clustered
together under the shade of some trees on a flat-topped
ARRIVAL OF LIMOROO.
459
rock rising on one side of the pool, in order to watch our
doings.
The night was very sultry, and a number of hawks, that
had gone to roost in the trees, kept up a continual screeching
till dawn, when a heavy rain-storm flooded camp, badly
damaging the contents of some store boxes and a bundle
of skins. Later in the day Nzau arrived with the news
that Lorika had produced so much flour that his store
of brass wire became exhausted, and that, finally, he
had been pressed to carry away the remaining sacks for
nothing.
In another march we arrived at the foot of Mount Obira,
where nearly all the men had their faces slashed in the
Sudanese fashion. One of them I noticed was wearing a
thick, cast brass bracelet studded with bosses. In the
morning the head man turned up with a quantity of tembo
(fermented liquor), flour, and grain for sale. He insisted
on my buying some of the provisions before he would show
us the way to Logguren, Limoroo's village ; but this done,
he managed to lead us fairly straight, in spite of being still
rather exalted as a result of his night's potations.
About eleven o'clock a couple of askaris met us, and a
few minutes afterwards Limoroo himself appeared. He
was a tall, powerfully built man, dressed in dark, thin
trousers, a good bit too short, a striped flannelette shirt,
a great coat and a fez, with a tall-crowned, narrow-brimmed
grey felt hat thrust on top of it. One attendant carried a
pair of red leather shoes and socks, while another, the only
armed man among them, had a rifle and bandolier.
Limoroo's village, inhabited by some thirty of his fifty
wives, consisted of tall haycock-like huts, lying at the foot
of Logguren, a huge isolated mass of rock. Just beyond
46O IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
this my camp was pitched. The Sultan was very much
taken with a little Martini rook rifle, but it was plain, from
the couple of shots he fired, that his markmanship was dis¬
tinctly indifferent. Photos fell rather flat on the natives,
but Ward's " Horn Measurements," with pictures of the
animals' heads, aroused great interest.
Logguren Rock.
To a lot of Limoroo's wives and little ones who came
trooping down to camp I gave bits of chocolate, which they
handled with extreme caution, even after I, nothing loth,
had eaten some of it myself to prove its harmlessness.
I found that Limoroo had just returned from Gondokoro,
his first visit to a Government Station, where it seemed he
LIMOROO OFFENDED.
had met with scant courtesy. Moreover, according to his
account, in return for a gift of two fine elephant tusks, he
had only received an old coat and a few other insignificant
trifles. He told me that never again would he set foot in
Gondokoro, where apparently the official did not know the
difference between Latuka's Sultan, who could put 10,000
spears in the field, and a trader's porter. From Macdonald
Latuka children.
he had evidently always met with his due, and it seems a
pity that this man, who has invariably treated Europeans
with every respect, and whose influence extends over so
wide an area of country, should have felt himself slighted,
when a little tactful attention would have encouraged his
loyalty to the white man.
To my suggestion that I should take photos of Limoroo
and some of his ladies, I was met with flat refusals, on the
4Ó2 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
grounds that once before when he had been " done " no
rain had fallen, while his wives feared it might ruin their
prospects of a family. Happily these objections did not
hold good with the boys and girls, of whom I secured one
or two groups, as well as of the village madman, who was
The village madman.
dancing about with a unique and scanty costume of strings
of beads dangling over his face.
In the evening I climbed the Logguren rock, the steep
well-worn sides of which had grown so slippery with use
that I had great difficulty in keeping my feet. But Limoroo
took the greatest care of me, holding my hand all the way up.
A SIGN OF GREAT RESPECT.
463
As we wound our way along the narrow lanes, through
straggling villages and detached groups of huts, each with
its granaries surrounded by neat fences, the inhabitants
flocked out to greet their Sultan. One old fellow came up,
seized him by the hand and spat vigorously on it, evidently
A village on Logguren.
as a sign of homage and good will. As in Masailand,
spitting seemed to be a sign of great respect among the
Latuka, for I often noticed that when Limoroo wished to
spit, many eager hands would be thrust out competing for
the favour of being used as a spittoon, and the lucky one
would rub it into his leg with every sign of satisfaction.
In one hut at the top, where unceasing watch was kept,
464 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
lay the war drums, ready at any moment to roll out the
call to arms for the people of the villages we could see
scattered about the plain. From this we had a splendid
view of the surrounding mountains, including that great
Eloi, Limoroo's mother.
mass to the south, Mount Agoro, with Egadang lying a
little to the east of it.
The villages far beneath presented a curious sight, for
the huts, although built on ingeniously devised platforms,
looked as if very little would dislodge them and send them
tumbling down the slope.
I SNAP THEM UNAWARES.
465
In order to complete a panorama of the encircling hills
which I had tried to take, I had to ascend the rock again
next morning. When this was done, I secured a portrait
of Eloi, Limoroo's mother, and during a gramophone
entertainment in camp later in the day, while the natives
were listening breathlessly, I managed to slip round the
back of my tent and snap them unawares.
Latuka listening to the gramophone.
It was my ambition to secure a photo of the women
who passed camp with the largest jars of water I have
ever seen poised on their heads. Several times I failed,
till at last I lay in wait in one of my men's tents, only
showing myself when two of them were close by. As they
caught me in the act, one quickened her pace, while the
other, seeing it was useless to fly, turned towards me,
covering her mouth and nostrils with her hand, a common
30
466 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
practice, to keep the evil spirit of the camera from
entering. Their ruffled feelings were somewhat soothed
by a small gift of beads.
Many of the men had horny excrescences on their knees
and hips, while, in the case of one native, a lump at the end
of the vertebrae gave him all the appearance of possessing
a short stumpy tail. These were apparently produced by
Latuka water carriers.
kneeling to hoe, or by sleeping without any covering on
the bare ground.
The distinctive mark of the Latuka warrior, which Sir
Samuel Baker was one of the first to describe, is their helmet
of brass, grown on the heads of their ancestors. Although
many of them were brought out to show me during my
stay in Latuka, I never saw one " growing." The hair,
which forms the groundwork of the whole, was matted to
the scalp until it was of a sufficient thickness to allow plates
HELMETS OF BRASS.
4 6/
beaten out from brass wire to be attached to it, leaving the
upper part free to be decorated with little bosses of brass,
crowned by a ridge of the same metal. In former times it
was surmounted by a plume of feathers, now replaced by a
long cartridge case. These cases are constantly demanded
as trade goods in Latuka, in addition to fezes, americani
and brass wire.
A warrior is not allowed to part from his head-dress, for
the Sultan provided the brass from which it was made. At
the owner's death the helmet was clipped from his scalp
and handed on, at the Sultan's discretion, to a younger
fighting man of the same family. Eventually, when I
left the country, Limoroo did me the great compliment of
presenting me with a couple. In times of peace the men
wear no head-dress, but are either closely shaved, or have
a circular patch of hair left on the top of the head, with a
little pat of clay in the centre. Most of them go naked, a
thick brass bracelet and a string of beads round the waist
being about the extent of their ornaments.
The weapons of the tribe consist largely of throwing
spears, carried in pairs, which vary greatly in length and
in the shape of the head, some of the hafts being elaborately
twisted.
The women wear dressed skins in the shape of one fair-
sized apron behind, and a smaller one in front. In the
lower lip they insert a wooden stud about three-eighths
of an inch across, while the men's lips are not pierced.
A string of beads and one or two iron bracelets complete
their ornaments.
The news that greater kudu existed at Mount Odio, which
lay to the north of us, and the sight of a 50J inch head that
had been bagged there by one of the natives only a few
30*
468 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
months before, made me anxious to go in search of them
myself, and, accordingly, one morning I set off. On the
way I came on a herd of topi and secured a male, but a
whole day's quest for greater kudu remained unrewarded.
When I reached the upper part of the hill I discovered that
it was being driven by men and dogs belonging to a tribe
from the other side, who were more or less independent of
Limoroo, so I retired from the field and returned to Logguren
that evening.
Before finally leaving I had a discussion with Limoroo
about the two routes to the Nile which he said I could take.
One of these led through Obbo to Dufile, and the other, a
much shorter one, direct to Gondokoro, but passed through
a section of the Latuka tribe, who were hostile to him and
might give trouble. As my idea was to enter the Congo
Free State by Wadelai, I decided to take the longer route,
which would bring me nearer to that place.
On the morning before my departure I gave Limoroo the
presents I had prepared for him, consisting of a new khaki
suit, bundles of wire and beads, and various odds and ends,
with which he seemed fairly satisfied, but politely intimated
that I might give him a few other things in addition, in¬
cluding a cow. Before this I had exchanged one of my
best, to which he had taken a fancy on account of its
" lucky " colour, for one of his, which later proved to be
a cross-grained beast that quarrelled with all the others.
He had previously expressed a wish to accompany me him¬
self to the next village, but at the last moment a rain-making
ceremony prevented his absence from home, so he lent me
an askari as guide.
First of all, the Ivos river had to be forded, a clear stream
running over a sandy bottom, the banks overhung by clusters
COWS FOR SHEEP.
469
of palms and luxuriant vegetation. Across the shambas
(gardens), on the other side, I made a wide detour into
the bush, in the hopes of striking a lion track, for the
roaring of these beasts had disturbed us night after night
at Logguren. Oribi were plentiful, while I saw one duiker,
besides fresh giraffe and old rhino tracks, but there was no
sign of lions.
At one o'clock I reached Tarangole, Limoroo's old
capital, a large village enclosed in a ring fence. This was
the most northerly point to which Col. Macdonald pene¬
trated in his attempt to reach the Nile from Mumias.
Limoroo had given me to understand that the two
helmets and some spears which were to be mine were
awaiting me at this village, but on arrival I learnt that the
askari was to " collect them." This was a none too cheerful
task, for the owners often did not see their way to deliver
up, and it was only by means of a substantial present that
I secured them at all. Even then one man made a dash
on the following morning and carried off his spears. Two
of my cows had become sick from hard marching, and
I managed to exchange them for sheep and goats, of which
the natives owned very large flocks, but their stock of
cattle, however, appeared very scanty.
From here we struck off in a south-westerly direction
towards the foot-hills of Mount Agoro, two days' march
through a good game country, bringing us to Kilio. Giraffe
and various antelope were abundant, while we saw many
old elephant tracks. Camp was pitched in a little clearing
by a stream with thick clumps of timber scattered here
and there along its banks.
The two villagers Limoroo had sent with me from Taran¬
gole, instead of the askaris he had promised, were disgusted
470 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
that I would not march straight on to the Kilio hamlets,
which I could make out with the glasses, one at the foot of
the hills, and the other crowning a big rock. Later on,
two of the natives came over in a great state of alarm, as
they feared it was Limoroo, who had recently punished
them, again advancing on their village. In the afternoon
they left me with one of my guides, who returned by nightfall
to say that the people were too much afraid to come near
me, but that he could show the way to the next tribe.
In the early morning I heard guereza calling, and after
some search, spotted a troop on a tree across the river, out
of which, with a good deal of trouble, I managed to drop a
couple. The body of one of them lodged in a bush over¬
hanging the river, and was hard to recover as there was deep
water directly under it. The bushes were alive with
vicious yellow-bodied ants, possessing the most active
nippers I think I have ever come across, and they did not
lighten our difficulties.
From here we had a very pretty glimpse of the river, the
clear water forming little rapids and deep pools, overhung
by rich vegetation, while fine trees fringed the banks.
Soon I picked up the safari track, which led me through the
bush skirting the foot of the hills, and then brought me to
a rough pass, where I found the donkeys had had to be
unladen. Abdallah, who was in charge, told me that both
guides had disappeared in the night, and that, as they drew
near the first village, the fighting men had trooped out,
fully armed, to shout that if the safari approached any
further they would immediately be attacked.
After a short parley carried on by shouts, my men had
been directed to skirt along the base of the hills to the
pass, where Nzau took the precaution of posting armed men
KILIO SULTAN ARRIVES.
471
before the loads were carried over. Although relieved to
find that there had been no serious trouble, I was annoyed
at the incident, for Limoroo had assured me that all the
way to Obbo the people acknowledged his authority, and
that his askaris would guide me there.
Towards evening the Kilio Sultan turned up in camp,
accompanied by one follower, but as neither could under¬
stand a word of any language we could speak, communica¬
tion was a bit difficult. By means of signs I extracted
from him a few of the local names, and in the same way
gratified his wishes for a needle.
As Nzau was unable to find a path ahead, I sent him off
in the early morning with half a dozen armed men to the
villages, with the message that I would pay well for a guide,
but if refused one, should send straight back to Limoroo,
who might be able to find a more effective method of per¬
suasion than I could.
Soon after eight he returned with the head-man and four
others, to say that he had found a path between the two
villages, which the laden donkeys could have easily tra¬
versed the day before, instead of the rough one the natives
had made them take.
47 2
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Friendly natives—"The Wanderer's camp"—A tribe of ill-repute—Lost in
the jungle —Obbo—A Swahili trader—Buffalo and elephant—A big herd
and a good bull—An exciting twenty-four hours—A couple of bulls—A
single tusker—A night of suspense—Encircled by elephants—Our escape.
In a couple of hours of steady marching we reached the
banks of a running stream on which we camped. Near by
were a number of elephant tracks, which I followed, but the
herd when found contained not a single male. The Kilio
guides of course disappeared, and we had to pursue our
way without them, cutting through dense reeds to another
stream which presented great difficulties to the donkeys.
While we were hard at work removing the loads, a
number of friendly natives appeared, who helped us to
carry them across, and, as they spoke Arabic, we were
soon on good terms. They led me to a level camping-
ground near their village of Makkoru, which they told me
had been used by " Langer Langer."
All that I could gather from my Swahili was that Langer
Langer was a Major who had been in command on the Nile,
where he was dreaded by evil-doers, and respected by the
natives greatly on account of his activity and masterly
knowledge of their dialects. Afterwards I discovered that
Langer Langer meant wanderer, and the officer to whom
AN ELEPHANT-HUNTING TRIBE. 473
it was given was Major Delmé Radcliffe, who had probably
earned the name by his constant travel.
In this place I was able to buy eggs and flour for the first
time since leaving Kilim, but the natives proved persistent
beggars, demanding eight times the usual price for anything
they had. They seemed to prize empty cartridge cases
almost as much as Limoroo's people, and I was sorry so many
had been thrown away.
This was the first elephant-hunting tribe I had met with
since leaving the Toposa. One of the men was wearing a
Latuka helmet and rather a well-finished brass bracelet
cast by a member of the tribe, while another had a curious
double saw-edged one. Their wooden pillows carved from
a solid block had four feet instead of the usual two.
The women, almost without exception, had pierced the
lower lip and inserted a thin piece of crystal or wood.
Here the accounts of the Nile stations were more con¬
flicting than ever. The natives assured me that three days
off, at a place called Lobo, there was a Government boma,
in charge of one white man, and this, I supposed, must be
the Obbo of the maps. Nimule, which I imagined to be near
Dufile, was a name quite unknown to them, nor was it
marked on any of the charts I had.
Next day our route lay up the side of a steep valley,
where the laden donkeys had to make continual detours to
avoid the rocks which projected over the path. Crossing
a small stream, the bed of which was covered with a slimy
white deposit, and smelt of sulphur, we camped on the other
side at the foot of a hill. Above us we could see villages
dotted about, which our guides told us belonged to the Eray,
a warlike tribe, of whom the natives appeared to stand in
considerable awe. Some of the men came down to look
474 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
at our camp, but although a good deal of shouting took
place they would have no further dealing with us, which
hardly looked as if a Government Station could be only two
days distant.
Next morning, just as we were ready to continue our
journey, the two Makkoru guides came to me and asked
for the present I had promised them to guide me to Obbo.
One of them, they explained, would carry it home while the
other would continue to accompany me, for if they returned
from Obbo full-handed, the Eray would certainly rob them
as they passed. Now as the man that it was proposed
should go with me had already shown himself quite ignorant
of the route, and I felt sure, moreover, that he would vanish
at the earliest opportunity, this ingenious proposition was
firmly declined. Disappointed at the failure of their
scheme to handle the reward before it was due, the two of
them soon afterwards dived into the bush and disappeared
from view.
As the only well-worn path we could find appeared to lead
away to the south towards the hills, where a hostile tribe
were in possession, we struck out into the jungle, following
a by-path, which led past numbers of ant-hills, each care¬
fully cased in a network of boughs thatched with grass,
so that, at a little distance, they resembled huts. These
buildings were to prevent the winged ants from taking
flight, and the natives would come every day to collect
their fat, grub-like bodies to cook and eat.
A five hours' steady tramp through long grass and
swampy valleys only resulted in some six miles' real pro¬
gress. For two more days we pushed on across uninhabited
jungle to a place where, by the map and compass, I imagined
the Obbo villages to be, but the only sign of life to be seen
ACROSS UNINHABITED JUNGLE. 475
on an unlimited expanse of silent jungle were some buffalo
and elephant tracks. My men, Swahili-like, grew dis¬
heartened at the sight, and although I felt that another
day or so must bring us to some hamlet, I thought it best
to halt and discover our whereabouts. While I set out in
Our Obbo guide.
one direction, Nzau and Saburi were sent in others, with
orders to get into touch with any natives to be found, and
induce some of them to come and guide us to the nearest
villages.
After a long march the telescope showed, some distance
476
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
away, a group of huts nestling at the foot of a low hill.
On the way back the sound of voices caught my ear, and
soon I came on a string of natives bearing baskets of jungle
fruit. The women immediately stopped to pick little
bundles of grass and thrust them into their girdles before
drawing near. One lad, who spoke a little Arabic, agreed
to guide the safari to the village I had seen in the distance,
An Obbo village.
which was evidently the capital of Obbo, and where, he
said, a Swahili trader dwelt.
On returning to camp I found Nzau had also been suc¬
cessful in his search ; he had visited a large village and
brought back another three men to act as guides. Happily
Saburi did not return to contribute a third instalment, for
he had found nothing but ruined villages almost lost in
rank vegetation.
The herds of elephants whose tracks we had seen were,
I AM WARMLY GREETED.
477
the natives told us, only two days' journey off, and there
was also plenty of buffalo to be found.
For three and a half hours the guides led us along
narrow paths, which we certainly should not have been
able to follow ourselves. At the first villages the few
An Obbo mother and baby.
Ivavirondo men in my caravan were greeted by the inhabi¬
tants as long-lost brothers, and entertained right royally,
for they were of the same people, the Bantu Kavirondo
having originally migrated from this country.
As for myself, I was warmly greeted by Hamis, the
478 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Swahili trader, who brought me a present of sugar, rice,
etc. He had been trading in this part of the country for
so many years that he had become quite a power in the
land, and as soon as he heard rumours that a white man
was approaching from the Latuka country, he had sent
parties of natives to search for and guide me here. It was
to him that I owed all facilities for procuring supplies for
my men and guides to the buffalo and elephant haunts, as
well as some interesting information respecting his trade.
The Sultan Ibrim, on the other hand, sent excuses for
his absence, and during my whole stay I never set eyes on
him. I afterwards learnt that he made a point of never
seeing a white man, as he had some superstitious notion
that if he did his speedy death would follow.
Dispatching letters and telegrams to Lemli, as the
natives call Nimule, I took a flying camp into the jungle
to search for buffalo and elephant. My ambition ever since
my first African trip, 1895-96, had been to bag a 100 lb.
tusker, and, according to Hamis, this was the place in which
to realise it.
The next three weeks were full of hard work and exciting
incidents. The first elephant I saw was a single one, which
we had tracked into a thick bit of jungle, where we could
hear it switching off the flies with a branch held in its
trunk.
Leaving the men behind, I crept forward with the .600.
Meanwhile the animal grew suspicious, and moved uneasily
from side to side, but the foliage was so thick that only
enough of its ivory was visible for me to tell that it was a
bull. I was now so near that at any moment I expected it
to get a whiff of me, and either break away or come straight
in my direction, as elephants will often do in a country
A HERD OF ELEPHANTS.
479
where the natives are in the habit of creeping up and
spearing them.
At last I saw that the brute's tusks were smaller than I
wanted, and my next task was to retreat without disturbing
it, a far more difficult business than the approach, for the
animal was keenly on the alert. To step backwards noise¬
lessly was by no means easy, and as it could have been on
me in a dozen strides, to turn my back on it would have
been foolhardy. As I rejoined my men it began to move
slowly off. The natives, in a whisper, begged for per¬
mission to follow and attempt to spear it, and I gave them
liberty to do as they liked. Some time later they returned
to say that the animal had broken into a trot and escaped.
My next encounter took place after a whole morning's
quest for a herd. I had just returned disappointed to camp
when some natives came in to report that they had sighted
the herd not far off, but by the time I reached the place
they had shifted their ground.
As we were hurriedly following along the line they had
taken through the jungle, which, with its trampled grass,
uprooted and broken bushes, and torn branches of the
bigger trees, might have been the broad track of a whirl¬
wind, suddenly one of the natives, who was going at a jog
trot, stooped and raised a comb of ground honey, kicked
up by one of the beasts. The natives quickly collected it,
and gave a little to each of us to break up and throw away.
The idea apparently was that greediness is always punished,
and if we voluntarily relinquished one good thing, luck in
the chase would be more likely to fall to our lot.
At last we sighted the herd, which seemed to contain
some fifty or sixty animals in all, with two or three fair-
sized bulls, the largest of which was lagging in the rear.
48o IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
He had a good pair of tusks, but as I did not think either
of them could pull down xoo lbs., I kept moving from side
to side in the hopes of detecting a bigger one. This animal,
meanwhile, offered me splendid chances of a shot, and the
men entreated me by signs to fire.
At last he moved out into a little marsh to drink, and
the position was too tempting—I let drive with a .400 solid
bullet at his heart ; the great beast rocked a minute or two
from side to side, and taking a step forward, fell. He
struggled to his feet to stagger on a little, and finally
pitching on his head, rolled over dead.
Until nightfall I followed the herd, but did not manage
to catch them up. When the tusks came in, they proved
to be a nicely-shaped pair with perfect points, and larger
than I expected, for one of them weighed 91 lbs., and
measured 7 ft. 2-} in. by 1 ft. 7I- in.
After putting the ivory in the scales, I weighed some of
my men and myself : Abdallah was 132 lbs. ; Zedu, 122 lbs.
while I, in my shirt sleeves, pulled down 153 lbs.
From this same camp I had a hard morning's work after
a couple of bull buffaloes. Although we got close to them
on four occasions, they invariably heard us in the long
grass, and, perhaps fortunately for us, bolted.
One twenty-four hours in particular I have reason to
remember. We had followed up a large herd of elephant,
when from a hill-top I spied two bulls feeding by them¬
selves out in the plain. Their ivory to me seemed small,
but Bedoui had rather lost faith in my judgment since my
underestimate of the last tusker, and suggested that we
should get closer. By this time he had got over his original
fear of elephants, and drew so near to one of them that the
animal heard us, threw up his trunk, and moved out of the
CROWDS OF ELEPHANTS.
bush in which he was feeding, to stop short not twenty
yards away. Bedoui, now shivering with fright, beckoned
me to fire, but the beast, after a minute or two on the alert,
recommenced tearing down the branches, and under cover
of the noise we beat a retreat, for neither his nor his com¬
panion's tusks tempted me.
As we made our way back to camp, we almost ran into a
string of seven more elephants, led by a single big tusker ;
but this again was not what I wanted, so we had to make
a long detour to avoid them.
That night the continual crash of trees and branches
being torn down and the shrill trumpeting of cow elephants
resounded from every side. I had all the fires put out in
order not to disturb the herd ; but when numbers of them
came to drink at our water supply, a stream flowing but a
stone's throw from camp, I rather regretted having done
so. Half the night I spent with the gun-bearers at my
tent door, full of suspense, for every moment I expected
a troop of them to stampede through camp, but luckily
they neither winded us nor crossed the stream.
Next morning I was off early and came up with a small
herd almost at once, but they were in very dense jungle,
and moved off before I could see their tusks.
The next troop of about thirty had just been drinking
from some pools, and filed past us one after the other, in
the direction of camp. Among them were six or eight
bulls, with, however, no ivory of any size.
A little further ahead, we overtook a string of about
twenty others, and were trying to get alongside, when the
crash and screams of a large herd coming up behind caught
our ear. We turned to the left in the hope of thus giving
them room to pass, but were faced by a long line of some
31
482 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
300 beasts, bearing down diagonally so as to cut off our
retreat. Again altering our course a little, we broke into
a run, in an attempt to head them, but only to find yet
another herd immediately in front.
As it seemed hopeless to escape in that direction, we
turned and ran back some 250 yards, when to our dismay
we were met by a fifth lot, an attempt to outflank which
brought us up to the original string of twenty that had
meanwhile moved forward. To add to our troubles, fitful
puffs of wind were blowing from every quarter, and the
elephants, now thoroughly alarmed (for each gust was either
tainted by us or by my men, whom I had left behind),
might at any moment rush upon us in one overwhelming
mass, under the impression that they were being surrounded
by a crowd of men bent on their destruction.
To find an outlet seemed impossible, so in spite of Bedoui's
protests I now decided to remain where I was, and, regard¬
less of all regulations, trust to my rifle to turn a herd should
they bear straight down on us ; our efforts to escape had
winded me, and in the next few minutes both our lives
might depend on my straight shooting.
The decision was a happy one,for just as a mob of elephants
were bearing right down on us at a run, the string of twenty
moved off, leaving a momentary gap in the threatening
ring of flapping ears and waving trunks which, unless it
could be broken, would rapidly close in and destroy us in
one mad rush. Our turn of luck had come, and we lost not
a second in seizing the opportunity ; following as near on the
heels of the retreating herd as we dared we ran for our lives.
When I thought we had reached a safe distance we took
a much-needed rest ; my man was shaking all over, and his
face had assumed that peculiar ashen hue that fright produces
A WOUNDED BUFFALO.
483
in a black man, while the excitement and violent exercise
under a blazing sun had not left my hand by any means as
steady as big game shooting demands.
Our adventures, however, were not yet at an end, for on
the way to camp we came on fresh buffalo tracks, and
while examining these, something stirring in the grass
a little way off caught my eye. The binoculars showed
it was the tail of a buffalo, one of a herd lying down not
fifty yards from us. Retreating quietly to the nearest tree
—for we were quite in the open, and the grass prevented
us making out the shape of the animals—we silently waited
till they should move. At last one—a bull—rose ; he was
standing awkwardly for a safe shot, but fearing the rest
of the herd might at any moment get up and discover us,
I fired. At the report the others sprang to their feet, and
with waving tails and tossing horns, tore out of sight. There
was plenty of blood on the track of the one I had fired at,
which had at once turned off by itself, a sure sign that it
was badly wounded. While we were following through
long grass, my man in front, and I close behind, with rifle
ready, the beast suddenly got up, facing us at 25 yards,
whereupon Bedoui, whose nerve had been considerably
shaken by the elephants, lost his head and sprang back,
almost knocking me down and causing me to fire high.
The animal, contrary to all custom for a wounded buffalo,
instead of charging us immediately, turned tail and lum¬
bered off into the thick jungle of a little dell. Here, after
much trouble, I discovered him behind a dense bush ready
to charge as we came along the path. The vegetation was
so rank, that it was some time before I succeeded in stalking
and giving him the finishing shot. It was late in the after¬
noon before we reached camp after our exciting experiences.
51*
O 1
484
CHAPTER XXXV.
A herd of buffalo —Death of a bull—An inquisitive askari—A raided country—
Three big bulls —A kill—How a heavy tusker escaped me—A fruitless search
— A stroke of luck—A 100 lb. tusk at last—Petty chiefs and their modest
requests—The Nile—Nimule—A visit to Dufile.
On my return to camp I found a welcome gift of half-a-
dozen Pilsener awaiting me, together with a note sent
from Nimule by Mr. Macallister, Sub-Commissioner for the
Nile Provinces. According to Abdallah, the messenger
seemed uncommonly interested in my past and present
doings, and particularly in the number of elephants I had
killed during my journey. Amused at his curiosity Ab¬
dallah had evidently spun various fairy tales for his edifi¬
cation.
As in the Koten Valley, there seemed to be nothing in
this part of the country but great troops of cow elephants,
and a few herd bulls. When news came in as to the
whereabouts of some solitary tuskers, I hastened to move
camp to that district, where I found numerous deserted
villages. It was sad to see great stretches of once culti¬
vated ground now overgrown with jungle, stockades pulled
down, and huts unroofed b}? wandering elephants, where,
but a few years before, a large population had dwelt in
security. The guides told me that the Eray people had
maintained such a perpetual system of guerrilla warfare
A FEMALE ELEPHANT.
485
against the unfortunate inhabitants that two years before
they had been finally compelled to seek refuge elsewhere.
While making my way to this place some fresh elephant
tracks had tempted me to follow them. Just as we seemed
to be baffled, and were discussing which direction to take,
An Obbo elephant.
the rumbling of an elephant's stomach caught my ear, and
peering through the trees, I saw the stern of the animal
not eighty yards away. It was a solitary female enjoying
her early morning bath, so we beat a hasty retreat. The
rest of the herd had moved on.
The following morning we soon picked up the tracks of a
bull, who led us a long dance before he joined two com-
486 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
panions and again started off on a ramble. I was walking
just behind the two natives on the track, when I spotted
the beasts in the long grass to our left. Lightly tapping
the guides on the shoulder I halted. The slight breeze
was just right, so, beckoning Bedoui to follow, I made
towards them under cover of a thin bush. The three of
them were evidently veterans, for they had posted them¬
selves tail to tail, each watching his part of the circle, so
that no danger should approach them unawares. In the
tall grass it was impossible to see more than the base of
their tusks. Those of the one facing me seemed very thick,
and I decided to take the frontal shot. On receiving my
bullet the animal, instead of falling at once, turned to make
off with his two comrades, and I started out in hot pur¬
suit, to find my quarry standing tail on, very sick. As he
moved round I fired for his left ear, and he fell with a mighty
crash.
In spite of the natives' assurances that it was useless to
try for the others, I ran on and soon overtook them, but
they were well apart, and it was some time before I could
examine their ivory. One of them seemed to carry tusks
a good bit over xoo lbs each ; those of its companion were
much smaller, while the one which I had shot had evidently
been the second largest of the trio. When I reached them
they had just finished drinking at a small pool, and as the
big one was moving off, I fired. He rolled from side to side
as he tried to escape, every now and then turning to see if
he were being followed. In order to work alongside we
made a little detour, during which we overshot the mark,
the natives taking me up a wrong track and leading me to
three other smaller elephants. Retracing our steps we
were just too late to pursue the blood-marked trail of the
MASSIVE TUSKS.
487
one in distress, for a heavy thunderstorm burst upon us
and washed away the stains.
At three o'clock we regained the place where the dead
body of the first elephant lay, and reached camp at 4.30,
after 9J hours' hard going. The tusks of the dead animal,
although very massive, were comparatively short, mea¬
suring 6 ft. 3 in. and 5 ft. 6| in., and weighing 91 lbs. and
72 lbs. respectively.
Obbo natives cutting up an elephant.
When they were cut out and the men had taken as much
meat as they wanted, the carcase was handed over to the
natives. The news quickly spread throughout the neigh¬
bouring villages, and in the evening a party of fifty men
and women from the countryside arrived in camp on their
way to help themselves to the flesh. The natives sent to
search for the animal that had been wounded returned un¬
successful, to say that they had not seen even a sign of him.
48S IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Thinking that he had, in all probability, made his way
to the river to drink, I determined to take one native and
scour the banks in quest of him. Presently I noticed a
single track which, judging from its dew-sprinkled grass
and the gossamer threads across it, had undoubtedly been
made early in the night. The native shook his head at my
proposal to follow it, saying that by this time the animal
must be far away, but I decided to try my luck.
From the destruction wrought on the trees, and the
amount of grass pulled up, I fancied there must be three or
four animals, while the native said there were two. Within
twenty-five minutes we sighted one with a splendid pair
of tusks standing in the shade of a tree, facing us. Judging
from the short distance he had travelled in the night, I
decided this must be my wounded animal.
When about forty yards separated us he moved slowly
out, and I aimed with the .600 for the right ear. Either
he must have stopped just as I pressed the trigger, or I
had fired too far forward, for instead of dropping he turned
immediately to charge. Another bullet from the left barrel
penetrated his brain killing him nett. His tusks were both
longer and thicker than those of the previous elephant,
weighing 107 and 92 lbs. ; the circumference of his forefoot
and the length of his ears were also larger, but neither his
length nor his girth were so great.
To my disappointment, a careful examination showed
that he was not the beast I had wounded, but there was an
old sore in the centre of his back just over the heart. This,
the natives said, had been made by a barb, which, fixed in
a block of wood, they were in the habit of suspending over
an elephant path to drop automatically on animals as they
passed underneath. The first bullet I had fired had
NATIVES CUT UP ELEPHANT.
489
merely glanced off the under side of the tusk, doing him
no material damage.
What a scene the carcase presented before I left ! My
men who had come to cut out the tusks were accompanied
by seventy natives, many in birthday attire, including six
women, who were soon swarming over the body, wrangling
and fighting for the daintier bits as they slashed out
huge lumps of flesh. Next day groups of them could be
seen sitting round smoky fires, over which little platforms
had been constructed. On these they were partly drying
the meat before it was packed in withy-bound loads and
carried off to their villages. One old lady in the exuberance
of her spirits at securing such a lot, danced about camp
for my edification.
The only peculiarity I noticed about the men's kit was
a dagger-knife, with the sheath attached by a thong of
Mm
490 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
leather to the left arm. Both men and women smoked
incessantly.
The babies were happy little things slung by a skin to
their mothers' backs, their heads generally covered by half
a gourd to keep the sun and flies oft.
The women here wore tails much like those of the
Kavirondo, and were equally loth to part with them. At
last one lady was tempted to sell hers in exchange for that
An Obbo woman dancing.
of my mule, who, poor beast, had died while I was at the
main camp. He was quite the best shooting mule I have
ever had ; nothing seemed to disturb his equanimity,
neither rhino, lion nor elephant. He would merely prick
up his ears, have a good look at the beast, and then, if 1
were not on his back, turn to me as much as to say, " Why
the dickens don't you shoot ? "
On June 2nd I began what proved to be a six days'
march to the Nile, my " caravan leader," the first laden
man (not to be confounded with guide or head-man), carry-
■CARAVAN LEADER.
491
ing the largest tusk. In accordance with custom his head
was grotesquely decorated with ornaments collected from
the different tribes we had passed through, in order that
the people of any station we might reach would be able to
see at a glance where the sefari had been. The position of
An Obbo family party.
leader is an honour for which there is always keen com¬
petition among the men, even when the weight of the
ivory amounts to about double that of an ordinary load.
On the way we passed through the villages of a number
of petty chiefs, who rather amused me by bringing small
presents of a few eggs—often addled—or a little flour,
and then diplomatically hinting that a cow in return
492 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
would be most acceptable. The first time this occurred,
my interpreter fairly exploded with laughter before he
was able to translate the message. It appeared that
Radclifie had distributed cows to all those chiefs who
had helped him, and they had evidently come to the con¬
clusion that every white man must therefore have more
Some of my ivory.
cows than he knew how to dispose of. One man to whom
I gave a milch goat and a fine ram, remarked that they
were useless to him, and that he would like a cow instead.
As we drew near the Nile the natives were only then
beginning to break up the ground with hoes made after the
Kavirondo pattern, except that the handle was longer.
In Obbo, on the other hand, all the seed was in before we
left.
The chief difficulty we had en route was that each little
Sultan was anxious to keep us for a night at his special
CROSS THE NILE.
493
village, and if I decided to continue my journey, no guides
would be forthcoming. On several occasions this resulted
in a great waste of time, for the safari without a leader
would march all day and only cover eight miles or so.
On June 7th we struck the Nile close to the spot where
the river Assua flows into it, which latter we crossed in an
iron ferry-boat, a great convenience, as fording this river
had previously been the cause of much danger and loss to
The Nile.
caravans. Then we cut off a corner and rejoined the river
at a place where its broad expanse of broken waters ran
through numerous channels on its way to Gondokoro.
That night the mosquitos were terrible.
Two and a half hours more marching brought us within
sight of Nimule, the present headquarters of the Nile Pro¬
vinces. It was not long before we passed the lines of the
Uganda Rifles situated on high ground, then came those
494 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
of the Swahili porters, the Indian shops, and the bazaar.
On reaching the civil lines, Macallister received me, kindly
gave me tiffin, and showed me where I could pitch my tent.
It was June 9th, and I was rather surprised to find I had
the day of the week and month correct. Later in the
afternoon I made the acquaintance of Captains Barlow,
Hysslop, Hall, and Dr. Sly.
In the morning Hysslop accompanied me to the Congo
Free State Station of Dufile, which lay about half-an-hour
up stream, close to the river-bank. Leaving a strong fort
behind us we followed an avenue of trees up to the grass-
built houses of the station, which were then being rapidly
replaced by buildings of solid brick. There we found
Commandant Descamps with five other officers, who
showed us every hospitality, and gave us a most excellent
lunch in a wide airy space lying in the centre of one of the
bungalows. The walls were of open cane-work, most
delightfully cool in the heat of the day, but said to admit
both mosquitos and chilly draughts at night.
Just at this time Reuter's telegrams reported that nego¬
tiations were in progress for the taking over of the Lado
Enclave by the British Government, in exchange for other
territory. To men who had done so much to open up the
country and build stations, this was naturally rather a sore
subject, and yet our hosts discussed what news we had to
tell them of the matter in a temperate and open-minded
manner, which pleased, while it surprised, me.
With regard to my journey to the head waters of the
Ituri, they said that my arrival had been expected for the
last year, and that I could travel down either on the Congo
or on our side of the Nile to Wadelai, thence proceeding to
Mahagi, a post situated at the northern end of Lake Albert.
ARRIVE AT NIMULE.
495
The native soldiers struck me as being particularly smart ;
the place was neatly laid out, and looked far tidier and
more prosperous than the civil lines on our side.
During the course of the afternoon I saw a Manbettu, a
pigmy man, of fairly dark complexion, whose head came
below the level of my elbow, so that his height could not
have been more than 3 ft. 2 in. or 3 ft. 3 in. Although the
lower part of his face was wider than the upper, he was by
no means ugly, but had all the appearance of a stout boy.
He gave us an exhibition of his skill with the bow, firing one
of his thin, short, poisoned arrows into a tree trunk. The
heads were of iron, beautifully wrought, some of them leaf-
shaped, others queerly notched, while others again had thin
jagged spikes.
On my arrival at Nimule I had reported my difficulty
with the Dodinga in detail, and was amazed at the faulty
official knowledge about all the country I had traversed.
No trouble whatever seemed to have been taken to gather
information from the native ivory traders ; no official from
this side had ever visited Limoroo, while my accounts of
the depredations of the Eray people among the Obbo
villages were received with open incredulity. A Commis¬
sioner had never been so far as Nimule, and to a casual
observer like myself, there seemed much that might have
interested that official in the administration of the district.
496
CHAPTER XXXVI.
The situation on the Uganda Nile—Acholi customs—Death of the doctor—A
wife for eight pence—A bad road—Wadelai —A visit to the Congo side—A
pleasant official—Start for Mahagi.
The question of improving the stations along the Nile, and
the communications between them, is so bound up in the
ownership of the western bank that, before discussing the
former, it is necessary to say a few words on the latter.
The western bank of the Nile from Lake Albert north¬
wards to near Kero is leased by the Anglo-Egyptian Govern¬
ment for King Leopold's life. From Nimule-Dufile to
Gondokoro-Redjaf the river is so broken up by rapids as to
be quite impassable, making it useless as a water-way, and
that the owners of either bank could seriously interfere
with the flow of the White Nile seems impossible.
The Belgians are now incurring a considerable outlay in
reconstructing and strongly fortifying their stations close
to the river, and connecting them with the navigable waters
of the Congo, or its affluent, by fine roads. Even had their
tenure of the Enclave been of a permanent nature, it would
have seemed a more natural policy to have placed the
stations on the Nile-Congo watershed, with a railway to
connect them with some navigable point on the Nile ; but
as their tenure is dependent on but one man's life, it is
difficult to understand their point of view.
MORTALITY ON THE NILE.
497
The percentage of white men who have died or been
invalided home, broken in health, from the Nile Stations,
within the last five years, would be a sad revelation to the
public of both countries. Does it not, therefore, seem a pity
that some mutual arrangement to remove the posts back
from the malarious Nile banks to higher, healthier ground,
Civil Lines, Nimule.
cannot be made. If this is an impossibility, the British
Government might at least hasten to follow the Belgian
lead, by improving their stations and the roads to them.
At Nimule the civil lines lay close to the river, almost
enclosed by marsh. Grouped round the flagstaff were some
half-dozen temporary huts, awaiting the completion of stone
buildings, one of the latter of which, intended for the Sub^
Commissioner, was making very slow progress.
32
498 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
On my arrival, the Sub-Commissioner, Macallister, was
carrying on the entire work of the district, as well as of
the station, single-handed. The Administrative is, indeed,
so short of officers that, not only have the men almost
invariably to exceed their regulation term of service before
gaining much-needed leave, but, in the event of there being
an unusual run of sickness, there is no one to take over the
work. Consequently, it is thrown upon those whose hands
are already too full, with the inevitable result that they,
in their turn, break down from overstrain—a truly short¬
sighted policy !
One thing at Nimule struck me very forcibly, namely, the
entire absence of native visitors to the civil station. In the
posts which I have already described there was a continual
succession of chiefs and their followers coming in on one
pretext or another to see the white man. Here this
appeared to be severely discountenanced. On my way to
the Nile the different chiefs expressed strong aversion to
going near Nimule, while the Kilio Sultan even described
by pantomime that people who went there were put in
chains and never came back, or else had their throats cut.
Naturally, therefore, the market was most poorly supplied ;
indeed, it was impossible for me to get enough flour for my
men, and what little was procurable cost four times the
price at which it could be bought within a radius of two
marches.
The military lines, lay on high ground overlooking the
Nile, with the parade ground dividing the huts of the two
companies. Barlow, in command of the Nile troops
quartered here and at Gondokoro, had his bungalow on the
side towards the river, while Hysslop and Hall, the com¬
pany commanders, occupied a hill further inland. On the
POSTAL DIFFICULTIES.
499
same ridge, hard by lay the dwelling of the medical officer,
Dr. Sly. All these bungalows could be greatly improved
upon.
Much of my time at Nimule was spent packing up every¬
thing possible to be sent home by parcel post. As usual,
there were neither forms nor stamps available, but these
were trifling difficulties compared with the absence of an
accurate scale. At last, by a give-and-take kind of arrange¬
ment, the postal official at Hoima was induced to accept
the parcels.
This matter completed, I turned my attention to the sale
of my cattle and sheep. For some unfathomable reason, I
was forbidden to auction them, and was obliged to dispose
of them privately, with the result that they did not realise
such good prices as I had hoped. However, the proceeds
partly made good the losses I had sustained by my trouble
with the Dodinga.
Since my return to England a tale brought back by a
visitor to those parts has reached my ears and rather
amused me. It is to the effect that I made a good thing
out of looting an inoffensive tribe, named the Dodinga !
Barlow and his comrades were ever ready to help me, and
I passed a good many pleasant hours with them. The
former had gathered a good deal of information about the
native tribes, and I extracted from his note-book the
following details with regard to murder and marriage
among the Acholi.
The murderer of an Acholi man is forced to hand over to
the victim's brother two girls, one bull, one hoe, one cala¬
bash, one sheep, and some grain. Each item in this strange
assortment of gifts has its separate significance. The girls
are to compensate for the loss, by raising up boys to take
5oo IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the dead man's place, while the other presents are to defray
the cost of the burial. The dead man's body is wrapped
in the bull's skin, laid in the grave dug by the hoe, and
covered with earth fetched in the calabash. The sheep and
flour are provided for the death feast.
When an Acholi man marries, he pays a fee to the lady's
father, mother, or brother. Should the wife, however, die
Soudanese askaris building a granary-
childless, her seller is bound to provide another to fill her
place, and this for only a very small present.
The military officers at the station were kept well
employed. There was one short of the proper staff. Both
Barlow and Hall, who had been out some time, looked as
if a spell of leave were needed, while Hysslop, who had
only just come to Nimule, was not taking at all kindly to
the climate, and was much troubled with malarial fever.
To add to their work, a new guard-room was being built
MALARIAL AND BLACK WATER FEVER. 501
of stones set in puddled clay, and Barlow was every day
to be seen doing the work of architect, master mason,
foreman carpenter, and, in fact, supervising all the other
branches of the building trade.
The two companies of about 246 Nubian officers and
men, with their picked body of Swahili porters to carry
the Maxims, ammunition, etc., were in splendid condition,
and fit to go anywhere.
Capt. Barlow superintending building, Nimule.
One morning, just as my arrangements were nearing
completion, I heard that Sly, who had been suffering
from repeated bouts of malarial fever, was down with black
water, and I went up to see him. His bungalow, built of
wattle-and-daub, was innocent of verandah or over¬
hanging eaves and in a bad state of repair. The mud
had fallen from the walls where the rains beat upon them,
and the green stakes which formed the framework had
5o2 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
thrust shoots into the room. Although in charge of the
health of the troops, he was nominally under the civil
branch, and practically a " no man's child," whose repeated
applications for a habitable house bore no result. I found
him fairly cheerful, but when I asked if there was anything he
would like, he said that, as his voucher for it had never
been met, the hospital was without Casica Bearcana, the
only thing of any use in such cases. Fortunately, I myself
had a small bottle of it.
For the next five days we took it in turn to look after
him. The nights proved so trying, owing to the clouds
of mosquitos, that on the third morning I asked Barlow to
have a mosquito-proof frame erected in the bungalow.
Thanks to the initiative of Barlow's predecessor, these
had been provided for the officers ; for when he found
Government deaf to his representations, he ordered a supply
of mosquito wire-netting on his own responsibility, and
had two rooms erected in each of their bungalows—one
to sleep, and the other to sit in. These were locally called
" meat safes." Such a " luxury " was evidently con¬
sidered unnecessary for the man who was in charge of the
health of the station. None of us had much medical know¬
ledge, but we did the best we could for our patient ; unfor¬
tunately without avail, for on the fifth day, while I was
sitting with him, the end came.
We selected a site for his grave not far from the parade
ground and Barlow's bungalow, overlooking the bend of
the Nile. The following morning early we buried him
with military honours, and after the " last post " had been
sounded, went sadly back to Barlow's bungalow, for we
were one and all sorry to see such a good fellow leave us on
the long journey.
I HOLD COURT.
503
Three days later, having disposed of all my donkeys,
except one to ride, and nearly all my cattle, I set off north¬
wards to Wadelai. By wading nearly up to our waists,
for no ferry is provided, we crossed the river, which empties
itself into the Nile, close to the civil lines.
Interior of Dr. Sly's bungalow.
While I was waiting on the opposite bank for the
remainder of my loads to come over, one of my men set up
a quarrel with a petty trader of Nimule. As the dispu¬
tants became more and more violent they were brought
before me, and I held court. It seemed that my man was
anxious to carry off a lady who belonged to the trader, but
the latter had refused to give up his claim. In the course
504 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
of my questioning T discovered that his chief objection to
part with his property was that she owed him eight annas
(8d.), and he declared himself quite willing to let the fair
one do as she pleased, provided the money were refunded
him. My man, therefore, received 8d. in advance on his
pay ; it was handed" over, and the trader and his lady
separated for ever, she with a broad grin of satisfaction
on her face. Her new husband at once passed over to
her a load of his private property, which she shouldered
and trudged off after him. This is, I think, about the
lowest price at which I have seen a wife change hands.
At the next river which we had to cross, we found
that the water was well over our heads, and Nzau, who
had been sent on before, seemed to have been disheartened
at the sight, for he had done nothing. With some diffi¬
culty we got a rope across, but it did not look as if it
would aid us much, and I was just wondering what could
be done, when some of the natives came to our assist¬
ance with their doors. These are made of half-a-dozen
poles about six feet long, skewered together, leaving a
space between each. Their method of getting to the other
side was to lie on the doors, and propel them by swimming
with the feet and one hand. When a store-box put on
one of them was three inches awash, we were again
puzzled as to what to do, and my proposition of placing
one door on the top of another was met with endless ob¬
jections. Like the Foreign Office, they declared that
there was no precedent, and therefore the thing was quite
impossible.
At last, however, common sense prevailed, and all the
loads were ferried over dry, as a result of which the village
head-man received a tip, rather larger than usual, that sent
BAD TRAVELLING.
505
him home with a smile of content. I myself went over by
the rope, which sagged so much that my back was dipped in
the river, and, as my stay at Nimule had put me out of
condition, it was as much as I could do to pull myself up the
last steep bit to the other bank.
In this district there were said to be numbers of kob, of
M. Renard and his comrade, Wadelai, Congo.
which I was anxious to secure specimens, but although I
tried several times, the grass was too tall. Our way was
bad, in places very swampy, while there were endless
small unbridged streams to ford. To make the travelling
worse, heavy rains were constantly falling.
One day, hearing a rifle report, I hurried back to find
Saburi, who had charge of the cattle, in a great state of
excitement. It appeared that while the cows had been
drinking at a small stream with steep banks, a calf had
wandered from its mother, and suddenly a leopard sprang
5oö IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
out to seize it, but fell short of his prey. Happily a shot
from Saburi's rifle had scared it away.
On our way we passed through the only grove of fine
timber to be found in the Nile district, much of it felled
and left to rot by the roadside.
On the evening of the eighth day after leaving Nimule
I had a smart attack of fever, no doubt due to the mos¬
quitos in Sly's bungalow. The following day had to be
spent in bed, but the receipt of my mail-bag with 58 letters
and a bundle of papers cheered me up.
Another march and we reached Wadelai, a much brighter-
looking station than Nimule, situated on a small hill over¬
looking the Nile and the end of Lake Albert. The bunga¬
lows seemed to me to be excellent, but a number of banana
trees growing quite close to them sheltered innumerable
mosquitos. Mr. Wyndham, the collector, and the doctor
from Hoima had both left that morning, but the clerk, who
had received instructions to do what he could for me,
proved himself a most capable and obliging official.
In the morning I crossed in a dug-out to the Congo
Station of Wadelai, which was well-built on rising ground,
and, like Dufile, looked particularly neat and flourishing.
Lieut. Renard, the officer in charge, was most kind and
hospitable, patiently unravelled my indifferent French,
helped me in phrasing letters to the officials of the Ituri
district, and arranged for my safe escort to Mahagi.
Settling the pay of my men and making arrangements
for the transport of my loads filled up the following four
days, for I only intended to keep some ten followers in my
employ. Fortunately for me the Government steel sailing-
boat, which carries stores from Butiaba on Lake Albert to
Nimule, arrived in time for me to send over my loads by it,
NEAR LAKE ALBERT.
507
instead of having to ferry them to the Congo side by
means of dug-outs. In a couple of days I crossed over
myself, but as a storm was coming up, the natives landed me
further down stream than my safa.i were camped, to reach
whom I had a river about 40 yards wide to cross, with
the water up to my armpits.
The greater part of our march now lay within sight of
the northern end of Lake Albert, the surface of which,
broken as it was with islands and little promontories, made
a pretty view. Elephant, buffalo, and hippo tracks were
everywhere to be seen, but, owing to the long grass, we
caught sight of but little game.
On the 20th, after reaching a small deserted post on the
shores of the lake, we set our faces inland, and pitched camp
over the first ridge of the watershed.
5o8
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Mahagi — Mow a Congo station is run—Disappointment—M. Eram, Chef de
Territoire—Elephants digging potatoes—To Nimule by river—Hall's mid¬
night adventures with * lioness—Red monkeys—The road to Gondokoro—
The outpost of Uganda—Congo and Sudan stations.
Another march brought me to Mahagi, lying close under
the main line of hills. Lieut. Arcq, the officer in charge of
the station, met me at the edge of a wide stretch of culti¬
vated ground, which surrounded it, and led me to his bunga¬
low, encircled, together with various store-houses, by a
stone stockade. My letters, he said, had gone through by
special runners, but he doubted whether I would get a
reply under a month. However, M. Eram, the Chef de
Territoire, who had some half-dozen stations under him,
was expected in a few days, and he would be able to give
me fuller details. The guest house, built in the shape of a
Maltese cross, close to Lieut. Arcq's dwelling, was mean¬
while placed at my disposal.
Lions roared in the night and game seemed to be plentiful
in the district, but to my dismay I was now told, for the
first time, that it was a Reserve. As there seemed a diffi¬
culty in procuring food for all my men, I at once started
off thirty-eight on their return journey to the coast.
A few days later M. Eram arrived, and it was pleasant
to see the head men of the neighbouring villages greeting
DECIDE TO RETURN.
509
him as he passed, with every sign of good-will. He was an
Armenian by birth, and proved to be a smart, capable
official, who, happily for me, spoke English well. He told
me that I should have to march for nearly a month before
I could get through the game reserve. Nineteen months
had elapsed since I left home, and it was now the worst time
of the year for shooting, so I decided to return to Wadelai,
and then make straight for England, in the hope that I
M. Eram, Chef de Territoire at Mahagi.
might again visit the Congo under more favourable cir¬
cumstances. Eram seemed astonished that the officials
at Dufile had not informed me of the existence of these
reserves.
A stay of nine days gave me every opportunity of seeing
the way in which the station was run, and I was surprised
at the large amount of work accomplished. In the early
morning two sections of askaris, each consisting of twenty-
five men, one sergeant and two corporals, fell in on the
5io IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
parade ground and did two hours' steady drill. Then
followed the morning meal, before they again fell in and
were marched off to such work as felling and bringing in
timber for building. At the same time, the soldiers'
wives assembled and filed out under a corporal to culti¬
vate the plantations which are maintained round every
Belgian post, so that the garrison may be independent
of native supplies.
Mahagi women going to work.
The less robust women were given lighter jobs in the
garden, where excellent vegetables were grown. At mid-day
work ceased, to be resumed at three o'clock, and continued
till sundown. This institution of the women systematically
tilling the ground seems to me an excellent plan, and one
that might with advantage be adopted on our side. It
would do away with the necessity for transporting food
over long distances, and by providing healthy exercise for
GOOD-BYE TO THE CONGO.
511
the wives of the soldiers and police, would give them less
time for quarrelling, at present a constant source of trouble
in most stations. At Mahagi the people looked thoroughly
happy and contented, often singing as they went about
their work.
Beasts of prey seemed to prowl round the station almost
every night, and while I was there a goat was carried off by
Mahagi women hoeing.
a leopard. On another occasion a lion walked right through
my men's camp on its way to prospect the cattle boma,
while the night before I started, some elephants had dug up
the potatoes in the garden, only a few hundred yards from
the boma.
On the morning of July 30th I said good-bye to my
kind hosts, and started out very favourably impressed by
what I had seen of the Congo stations.
The return j ourney to Wadela was only marked by one or
¡12 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
two little incidents. One morning the man in charge of the
sheep missed the path while passing through a dense bit
of jungle, and came on a hippo asleep. The brute imme¬
diately charged, catching a sheep on one tusk and tearing
a hole clean through it. The rest of the flock scattered
and four of them were never recovered. Later on I secured
one or two kob and a Waterhuck, the meat of which
■ ■
A Maboda woman (forest tribe) at Mahagi.
proved acceptable to the Congo porters, who seemed to
have brought a very small allowance of rations with them.
On the day before I reached my destination, within an
hour of a village, we came on a solitary elephant drinking
from a little pool on an open expanse of grass. After
meandering about for some time he looked up and caught
sight of us, but seemed mystified and unable to identify
what it was that had so suddenly grown on the plain. As
he came steadily towards us to investigate. I had to fire,
BEGIN TO SELL OFF 513
aiming at a non-vital spot in his head, which sent him off
very indignant.
On reaching the banks of the river, I dismissed the Congo
porters and my escort, and crossed to find Wyndham at the
station. Later in the day Capt. A. Wilson, who was going
up to do duty with the Rifles at Nimule, arrived in the
steel boat from Butiaba, and arranged to take me with
A Maboda and a Wainanda woman at Mahagi.
him. I accordingly set to work to sell the last of my cows
and pay off half my few remaining men.
The voyage took us five days, for we had to battle with
adverse head winds and drifting sud. In one place the
weeds had entirely blocked the usual channel, and we had
to camp for the night, while a native in a dug-out was sent
to find a passage. Islands of papyrus were continually to
be seen floating down the river, while masses of a small
cabbage-like plant would at times cover the surface. The
33
5i4 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
nights spent on the swampy shores were terrible, for every¬
thing was damp, and there were clouds of mosquitos.
On the way we passed the Kenia, a steam launch, which
had now been so long in service that it was said a penknife
Í
Steel boat at Nimule.
would easily pierce through its plates. Two larger and
more powerful launches to keep up a regular service
between Butiaba and Nimule would be a great advantage,
for the unfortunate white men doing duty on the Nile would
then not be so cut off from civilization as they are at present,
A LUCKY SHOT.
515
and might receive their supplies from the coast without
having to wait six months for them.
We reached Nimule late in the afternoon, and found the
landing-place awash, and the half-mile of path which con¬
nected it with higher land knee-deep in water. It had
recently been repaired by a layer of branches on top of the
mud, which were floating half-submerged, and formed as
villainous a footway as can well be imagined.
Hysslop came down to meet us and took us up to his
bungalow for a drink, while later we moved over to Hall's
bungalow for dinner. Barlow they told me had set off to
Latuka to enquire into the information I had brought about
the traffic in arms and ammunition in those parts.
i<*i Hall, during my absence, had had a dangerous adventure
with a lioness. One night he was aroused by a great com¬
motion in the lines, and hastily dressing, went down to
find an excited throng round the cattle boma. They told
him that a lion had broken into it, and was then eating
one of the unfortunate animals inside, and sure enough he
could hear the tearing of flesh.
Armed only with his .303, and accompanied by his
orderly holding a flaring piece of wood, he made his way into
the stockade, till a flickering ray of light fell on a.dark,
indistinct mass in one corner. The next moment a great
tawny body rose from it ; he fired, and, luckily for him, the
beast rolled over, shot through the heart. It proved to be
an old lioness driven to desperation by hunger.
From Macallister I had the satisfaction of hearing that,
in accordance with a wire from the Commissioner, my third
pair of elephant tusks, which, in spite of special permis¬
sion to procure them, had been taken from me on my
arrival at the station, were to be returned. While settling
00
516 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the fee for shooting the elephant and the export duty on
the ivory, I was also called upon to pay both import and
export dues on the few skins brought from the Congo, in
addition to a sum for landing them on Uganda territory.
On the other side the officials had waived their rights to a
duty on these same skins, in consideration of their being
collected for scientific purposes. The tusks eventually
reached England, although, owing to the stupidity of the
native agent and other causes, I had to employ a solicitor
before they could be recovered.
In the civil lines I found Mr. Eden, who had arrived to
fulfil the duties of Collector, while Mr. Wilson, of the Civil
Administrative, had taken over those of the Sub-Com¬
missioner, who, however, did not leave the station for
some time, having much private business to attend to.
Hall kept three red monkeys as pets, and I gave up some
of my time to an attempt to secure a few photos of them.
These monkeys are tree-dwellers, and are to be found on
both sides of the Nile ; but it is no easy matter to procure
one, for they are exceedingly alert, and will swarm down
the far side of a tree at the least sign of danger. Then
they scuttle off through the long grass to appear again,
like so many sprites, on the topmost boughs of a tree
some distance away. After an infinite amount of trouble
I did manage to bag three specimens on the western
bank.
Another sharp bout of fever warned me that it was quite
time I left the Nile Valley, so on August 17th I set out,
with eighteen loads, towards Gondokoro. The march was
t rying, for it was along a mere native track, and numerous un-
bridged streams, ranging in depth from one foot to five, had
to be forded. The natives on the way were busy gathering the
MEET DR. LOUS LE Y.
517
sesamum, an oil seed, which they tied in little bundles and
stacked on screens to dry. The peoples through whom we
passed varied greatly in the matter of clothing, some of
them going quite naked, while in one Nubian settlement
both sexes were well clad.
Dr. Lousley, on his way from Gondokoro to take up
duty at Nimule, met me on the march, and we had an
hour's chat while the men were crossing the river.
Drying sesamum.
Opposite the conical, rock-crowned hill Redjaf, at the foot
of which the Congo Government Station of the same name
lay, I passed the ruins of a fort, to which the Dervishes had
retreated when driven from the opposite bank by the
Belgians. I waited behind to see my safari safely across
the river, and was disgusted when I got into Gondokoro to
find Zedu sitting mooning on the loads instead of having
pitched camp. As there seemed no other convenient site,
518 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
I told him to clear a space in the long grass of the jungle,
during which operation Mr. Spire, the Collector, gave me
an excellent lunch.
In the evening I made the acquaintance of Capt. Bramley,
in charge of the troops quartered here, who was my host
for the next five days. He was busy completing a new
bungalow, and indeed quite a lot of building was in pro¬
gress in the post. An office and a police-station had been
finished, while a house for the Collector and a hospital were
in course of erection.
The station is situated close to the Nile on comparatively
high ground, but during the rains it is entirely cut off by
a wide belt of swamp. It stands on part of the site of Sir
Samuel Baker's old fort ; some of the lime trees, either
planted by him or the missionaries who preceded him, still
bear fruit, and the lines of his fortifications can easily be
traced.
There were two Greek traders, one Indian and one Arab,
connected with the post, whose buildings of old tents and
thatch flanked one side of Speke Road, leading down to the
steep banks of the river. Here the Sudan mail steamers
tied up on arrival, and for the privilege of having their
goods dumped in rain or sun, the traders were charged 8d.
a load.
As one merchant pointed out to me, if the hundreds of
rupees taken in this way every year were expended in
building a wharf and shed, and improving the road between
Gondokoro and Nimule, the toll would not be resented.
As it is, however, they object strongly to the payment of
money which they are told is being employed to erect a
wharf at Entebbe, from which they could never derive the
least benefit.
Drawn by]
The high-road to Gondokoro.
[a. Forestier.
START FOR KHARTOUM.
521
On the fifth evening after my arrival, the Sudanese stern-
wheel mail steamer, Amka, came in two days late from
Khartoum, with one big sandal or double-decked barge,
laden with cattle, lashed alongside.
The engineer decided to start out again on the following
morning, so I bid farewell to the last of my caravan with the
exception of Zedu, who accompanied me to Khartoum,
Itero, a Congo station on the Nile.
and got away at 8.15. An hour later we reached Lado, the
largest of the Congo stations on the Nile, and protected by
a heavily armed fort. It was a very pretty station, and
well laid out. One garden, however, situated on an island
just opposite, had within the last few days been swept bare
by a flood.
During our stay of a couple of hours we took on board
2,546 kilos, of ivory, collected by a Scotch trader, with whom
I had a most interesting chat, as also with M. Wtterwulghe,
522 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
in command of the Enclave and Welle Districts, who was
on a visit to the station.
That night we tied up at Mongalla, the most southerly of
the Sudan Government posts, which lies on the low swampy
banks. Capt. Owen, who had previously been stationed
at Masindi and Gondokoro, under the Uganda Government,
was in command of the post, with about 200 Sudanese troops
and a heavily-armed gunboat under him. I was rather
surprised to learn that no arrangement had been made for
the troops of the Sudan to help those in Uganda, or vice
versa, in case of an emergency, so that it would be left to
the official in charge to act on his own authority—a state
of things which seems as unsatisfactory as unfair.
Before starting we took on another barge, so that we
had one lashed to either side, which made it very awkward
to negotiate the sharp bends.
Early on the following morning we steamed into Kero,
another of the Congo stations, where the Nile banks were a
sheer fifteen feet high. The guard and colour turned out
to salute our flags, of which we were flying the Egyptian
forward and the British aft. The abrupt sandy banks,
and the conical thatched roofs of the askaris' huts set in
fine trees, made a picturesque sight, and formed a striking
contrast to Mongalla with its low swampy shores.
523
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Walls of papyrus—Shilluk villages—Fashoda—Khartoum—Its progress—Om-
durman—Startling news—Unsatisfactory explanations—The Upper Nile—
Arrival home.
Shambi, where I found a detachment stationed under an
Egyptian officer, was the only post on our way not en¬
circled by swamp, in fact, it was connected with the interior
by a good road.
On the fifth day the two monotonous green walls of
papyrus that had entirely deprived us of a view of the
country, gave place to a far more animated scene. On
either bank stretched an expanse of rich grass with clusters
of native huts dotted about it, while in the background
rose a fringe of trees. On tire river, natives in dug-outs
were at work spearing the fish, or piloting rude ambatch
wood rafts from bank to bank.
At one wood station where we halted, two Shilluks stood
idly watching the busy scene, each in typical native fashion,
with one foot resting against his knee. Their head-dresses
were wonderfully elaborate, but, like the Turkana, they
appeared to think that this compensated for all lack of
clothing.
It was not long before we passed the mouth of the Sobat,
which, during half the year, is too low for navigation,
and tied up for the night at Taufikia. Here, although
524 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the banks rise eight feet from the river, the Station lies
very wet, being on black cotton soil. Numbers of palm
trees made it extremely picturesque, but after sunset the
mosquitos were almost unbearable. In spite of these,
however, I had a very merry evening there with the three
officers in charge.
The following day we reached Fashoda. Its low swampy
Shambi.
banks with grass islands floating by, made the view of it
from the river unattractive enough, but once on shore its
aspect brightened considerably.
Gradually the river became broader, the belts of trees
receded, and long stretches of sandy shore took the place
of the grassy banks. Soon we touched the Blue Nile,
passing from waters of a milky-white colour to a murky
blue, the contrast between which, according to our engineer,
ARRIVE AT KHARTOUM.
525
is far more marked in the dry season, when the water is
not so muddy.
On we steamed up the Blue Nile, past a succession of
fine buildings, to tie up at length opposite the Khartoum
Post Office, when I sought quarters in the hotel which had
been opened the year before. Thus ended a river journey
of 1,080 miles, the most monotonous, and in some ways
Shilluk natives.
the most uncomfortable, I have ever undertaken. Each
passenger, at other than the winter season, has to provide
his own bedding, etc., and is required to pay the same
fare as when such luxuries are included. More annoying
still, he has to procure his own food, and have a man to
cook it, with the result that the journey costs over 8d. a
mile for the rudest accommodation.
Sight-seeing in Khartoum and Omdurman filled up the
next five days. The growth of modern Khartoum
526 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
astonished me. In every direction the surrounding desert
was being encroached upon to be utilised for building
purposes. Fine stone houses were taking the place of
temporary structures, while along the bank of the Blue
Nile a strong stone embankment, flanking a wide road,
was in course of erection.
Taufikia.
At the new dockyard of Halfaya, Bond Bey was good
enough to take me over the workshops. Many of the
artificers engaged in these shops had worked for the
dervishes. Some of the old machinery which had been
moved from Gordon's workshops in Khartoum to Omdur-
man, had been brought back and was now in use here.
A VISIT TO OMDURMAN.
The work turned out was surprisingly good, and as, since
then, the electric power has been installed, and the new
machinery which was then being imported has been set
up, the workmen should be able to tackle any task.
During a day at Omdurman I visited the battlefield,
Fashoda and floating islands on the Nile.
the Kalifa's house, and the Mahdi's tomb, but the most
interesting place, to my mind, was the old storehouse where
all sorts of Mahdi relics had been collected. Gordon's
piano, the Nordenfelt guns taken from Hicks Pasha's
army, the Mahdi's old carriages, the lithographic stones
from which he had struck copies of the koran, and a col-
528 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
lection of the various rifles he had captured, were well worth
examining. Most of the old pistols and rifles carried by
the rank and file had been repaired, and were being sold
to tourists at very fancy prices.
The sun was setting as the ferry took me back to Khar-
The Blue Nile, Khartoum.
toum, and the native craft with their rude shapes and long
shadows made a quaint picture as they glided past us on
their homeward way.
Just before embarking on the steamer to join the rail
at Halfaya, I received a letter from home with the astounding
news that the whole of my parcels despatched from the
Nile were detained at Mombassa, on the ground that the
MY PARCELS DETAINED.
529
description of the contents was not sufficiently full. As
they had been prepared in exactly the same way as those
sent from the Ravine, Mumias, and Mombassa itself, to
which no objection had been raised, and as, in addition,
I had paid the duty and satisfied all the requirements
of the Sub-Commissioner of the Nile Provinces concerning
them, this seemed a somewhat high-handed proceeding,
Evening on the Nile.
especially as no intimation had been sent direct to me or
to any Uganda official.
When I state that some of the parcels contained nothing
but undeveloped photographic plates, while others were
of curios and such skins as lion, to which no possible ex¬
ception could be taken, and which were fully described,
the reader may be able to judge whether the detention
was due to laudable excess of zeal, or to the less worthy
34
530 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
desire for the destruction of the scientific results of my
journey.
The report had evidently been circulated at Mombassa
that I was proceeding home by the Congo, but, by a stroke
of good luck, I had changed my mind. Otherwise all the
skins, the photographic plates, and much of my other
property must have inevitably perished long before I could
have recovered them. As it was, the situation did not
look promising, but a cable to the Hon. Walter Rothschild,
who enlisted the personal intervention of Lord Lansdowne,
secured the release of the parcels, not, however, before a
large number of the plates had been seriously damaged
by damp.
A subsequent lengthy correspondence has elicited the
reply from the Postmaster-General, London, that " the
parcels in question were delayed for inspection at the
General Post Office, Mombassa, by order of H.M.'s Sub-
Commissioner." Now they should have reached Mombassa
in the third week of July, and there they lay till October,
apparently without any attempt being made to examine
them.
In fourteen years of travel this was to me, I am glad
to say, a unique experience, and it scarcely redounds to
the credit of the officials concerned. The only feasible
explanation seems to be that they desire to discourage
all straying from the beaten track, and to punish those
who do stray by the illegal detention of the collections
made, with a view to their passive destruction.
The cable sent, I scrambled into the mail train for Wady
Haifa, which we reached after a hot and dusty journey
of 15J hours. Our baggage was dumped by the riverside
while we wandered about till eight o'clock, waiting for the
A DELIGHTFUL VOYAGE.
arrival of the steamer. Then we were informed that we
could not be supplied with dinner on board, and the only
alternative was a Greek restaurant where the waiter drew
the corks with his teeth, carried the bread in a pile in his
arms, and where the food was of the same rough and ready
Philse from the Assuan dam.
nature as the serving. But a delightful voyage down the
Nile soon restored our tempers, for the low hills, masses
of rock and little villages set in palms and surrounded by
irrigated fields, together made up a charming picture of
Upper Egpyt. The body of a man, who had fallen off
one of the steamers a few days before, went floating past
34*
532 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
unregarded, impressing upon us the fact that we were in
the East where that blessed word " To-morrow " is the
keynote to every man's actions.
In the afternoon we reached the mighty dam that has
been thrown across the river to hold back its waters. I
left the steamer as we passed through the lock, was shown
over the works and then went down by trolley to Assuan.
Sunset on the Nile was indeed a glorious sight, but to
me the river had even more charm before sunrise, in the
soft grey light peculiar to itself, which makes one under¬
stand the difficulties of an artist who would depict Egyptian
scenery as it is.
During four days at Luxor I had a hurried glance at
some of the wonders of ancient Egypt. To my disgust
I found that, while one had to pay the same fee as in the
season, when the tombs at Thebes were lit by electric light,
the only illumination now provided was a guttering candle
which revealed just enough of the wonderful mural
paintings to make one annoyed at not seeing more.
By means of another dusty railway journey, I reached
Cairo, which I had not visited since 1889. Improvements
met my eye on every hand. The Museum had at last
found a permanent resting-place, though the contents had
not then been catalogued in a convenient form.
At Marseilles I was kept so long over the quarantine
regulations that I just missed the morning mail to Paris.
Later on a goods train off the line lost me the connection
to Calais, so that I did not reach home till 11.30 at night.
Thus ended a journey of nearly twenty-one months, the
hardest and in many ways the most interesting that has
yet fallen to my lot.
Perhaps the most gratifying point of the trip was the
THE JOURNEY'S END.
533
fact that only four of my men, out of a caravan which
averaged over eighty, died on the way. Two of these were
killed by the Dodinga, one succumbed to thirst, and the
other died from some lung trouble. Taking into con¬
sideration that the majority of my followers carried heavy
loads, and the trip was exceptionally long, this, I think,
constitutes a record.
534
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Results of my expedition—Protection of game—How the Foreign Office stifles
scientific research—The ivory trade.
As far as I know, at present, the most interesting result
of the journey, from the point of view of the general public,
is the group of giraffe at the Natural History Museum.
To the best of my belief, adult males have only been set
up in two European Museums. When the rest of the
zoological trophies have been examined, it is possible that
another new sub-species or two may be found. In any
case the series of zebra, Heuglin's, Grant's, bushbuck, and
guereza should throw fresh light on the distribution of
the different varieties of those animals. The trip has also
proved that the lesser kudu has a far wider range than
was formerly supposed.
Unfortunately Mr. Walter Rothschild has been unable
to complete the comparisons necessary between the speci¬
mens I collected and types already known in time for the
results to be published in this book.
As has already been shown, if I had been treated in a
less niggardly and suspicious spirit, my range would have
been more extensive, and the National Collections would
have reaped a larger harvest. The wasted opportunities
and the disappointment are mine, but the loss to the
museums and to the scientific knowledge of this country
affects far wider interests.
THE PROTECTION OF GAME.
535
The protection of game is doubtless a wise and necessary
precaution, but it might, I think, be attempted in a more
practical spirit. Under the present system the Reserves
are vast areas over which no sort of control is exercised,
and where, in consequence, the indigenous inhabitants
can slaughter at their own sweet will, while armed bands
of traders constantly pass through them, and kill without
discrimination for meat and hide. The white sportsman,
if he be so minded, and especially if he should not be a
British subject, can equally well shoot to his heart's content,
provided he throws away the trophies. One day, when
it is too late, it will be found that a species belonging to
some special district has been extinguished, and it will
then be realised that the only specimens extant are in
some museum on the Continent.
It is a deplorable fact that the authorities have shown
themselves unable to distinguish between a man who
carefully preserves the entire skin and skull of nearly
every animal he kills, and one who merely shoots for the
sake of killing, or for securing the longest horn.
It seems to me that small, carefully selected game re¬
serves, embracing within their areas all the different species
of big game, and placed under the strict supervision of
competent white men with native assistants, might be a
better means of protection.* Outside the reserves, the
limits of the game that might be shot could be regulated
according to the districts, and only a certain number of
sportsmen allowed in each in a season. Those who brought
back museum specimens, or collected information about
* All this could be easily carried out if the money derived from sportsmen for
game licenses, rifle and porter registration, etc., were devoted to this, instead of
other purposes.
536 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
the game, might be encouraged by the remission of export
duties. The regulations, as at present administered, cannot
fail to deter anyone from giving aid to our national col¬
lections, whatever may be the good intentions with which
he sets out.
Although without claims to be considered either a
journalist or an expert investigator, I should like, as a
mere passer through the country, to make a few remarks
upon another arrangement which seems to me a great blot
on the administration of British Territory in Equatorial
Africa.
The duty on the export of ivory is at present the chief
source of income to the Governments of East Africa and
Uganda. Approved merchants are granted a license to
penetrate into the interior to trade ivory from the natives,
either free, or on payment of a small sum, according to the
district. First of all, however, the caravan leader has to
declare the tribes he proposes to visit, and only receives
permission if his safari is considered sufficiently strong
and possesses the regulation number of rifles. For regis¬
tration of men and rifles he pays further fees.
On his return, the duty on his ivory is collected at the
first station he visits, any complaints the porters have to
make are enquired into, the safari is broken up, and fhe
trader is free to enjoy the profits of his journey.
At the first glance this would appear a sensible and
fair arrangement, but anyone who has had my oppor¬
tunities of seeing the actual working of the system, will,
I think, bear me out when I say that it is open to the
gravest abuses, and many injustices are carried out under
the name of the Government.
In the first place, with the exception of one or two
THE IVORY TRADE.
537
notable cases, white traders have been severely dis¬
countenanced. In one instance, which came under my
notice before I left Uganda, two well-known and much-
respected English ivory traders were practically ruined
and driven from the country as the result of an unjust
prosecution. The trade, therefore, rests in the hands
of Goanese, Beluchi, Pathan, Arab, Somali, and Swahili
caravan leaders, very few of whom have any capital of
their own, but are entirely financed by Indian firms, who
advance the cows, trade goods, and all the outfit required
for the safari against the ivory brought back, the usual
rate being a frasila (35 lbs.) of ivory for a cow. Now
the ivory would be worth, roughly speaking, from £10 10s.
to ¿14 ios., the cow from £2 10s. to £4 10s. which rate
of exchange leaves a very substantial profit to the native
merchant, if the safari proves successful.
The opening of the railway and the more settled state
of the country has greatly multiplied the number of these
traders, with the result that practically the whole of the
native hoards of ivory have been exhausted, and to main¬
tain the supply, the traders have taken to shooting on
their own account. As proof of this, not a caravan did
I meet in the jungle which did not possess at least one
modern small-bore rifle, either a Mauser or a .303, and
many of the tusks I saw among them had undoubtedly
been recently killed, while some bore their own evidence
that they had fallen to a rifle. The Swahili, Arab, and
Somali, are indifferent shots enough, but not so the Goanese,
Beluchi, and Pathan, and the offers for one of my rifles
which were made me in cash and ivory were numerous
and extravagant.
Now I see no reason why elephants carrying tusks of,
538 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
say, over 50 or 60 lbs.—which would generally ensure
their being solitary and not herd animals—should not
be shot, but the objection is that the native trader is
allowed, one might almost say encouraged, to shoot them,
while the white man has to pay a license of £50, and even
then is only permitted to shoot two.
But the killing of elephants by these traders is a minor
point. The power which the Government has placed
in their hands of murdering and looting the natives is an
evil which, if the British public could only realise it, they
would be the first to cry out against. As I have already
shown, the traders have been permitted to establish large
permanent settlements, far removed from any Govern¬
ment station, well-protected, and amply supplied with
trade goods, stores, and ammunition. Occasionally the
more unscrupulous among them combine, and first of
all open trade with a distant tribe, for it is impossible
to loot ivory owing to the habit of the natives of burying
it in remote recesses. By offering good prices, they collect
all the available tusks, then swoop down on the tribe,
seize all the cattle, including those they have traded,
drive off the flocks, loot any portable property, carry off
the younger women, and incidentally kill any who offer
resistance. If rumours of such a raid at length reach
the ears of the officials, the instigators are careful not to
bring themselves within their power for a year or two,
when from the nature of things it is extremely difficult
to prove the charges.
As Government issues the licenses and stamps the arms,
the traders impress it upon the natives that they are the
Sircar's men, and thus establish such an evil reputation
for the white man that when a Government expedition
THE TRADE IN COW TUSKS.
539
or a European traveller does enter their country they meet
with anything but a friendly reception.
The Government have apparently been anxious to dis¬
courage the destruction of cow elephants, but never seem
to have made up their minds definitely how to manage it,
with the result that great injustice has been done to the
traders, and endless trouble caused to the officials who
have to administer the ill-thought out and contradictory
regulations which have from time to time been in force.
First of all an order was issued that any cow ivory brought
in after a certain date was to be confiscated ; then the
decree ran that it was to be sold to Government at a
ridiculously low value, and again at varying dates it was
agreed that an ever-increasing duty should be demanded.
This extraordinary medley of orders was still further com¬
plicated by a regulation requiring that the ivory traded
must not have been killed within a certain date. As any
man with the least knowledge of the trade can, if it is worth
his while, make a tusk of a week old look as if it had been
shot a couple of years, this last regulation was absolutely
futile.
The whole question of trade in cow tusks is a difficult
one. For some reason, which I personally cannot explain,
there appear to be at least ten cows to every bull, even
taking into account solitary males. The natives who
kill elephants primarily for the meat, slay perhaps ten to
fifteen cows or immature males to one old tusker, and to
declare that no trade shall be done in such ivory, until you
have the power to prevent the slaughter of the beasts, is
merely to encourage smuggling and to cause the waste
of a valuable product—valuable, because billiard balls can¬
not be made of any but cow ivory.
54o IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Another drawback to the present system is the ease with
which ivory shot or traded by unauthorised persons can
be disposed of to native dealers. That such dealings have
taken place, to a very large extent, is a matter of common
knowledge.
How easy, for instance, an official in one of the remoter
stations, who wished to handle ivory for his own profit,
could favour those likely to provide him with cattle for
trading purposes. The Government porters and police
could be used for the business, and the official's mind
would be biased in deciding the question whether a
punitive expedition should or should not take place, by the
possibilities there might be of acquiring cattle, which he
could purchase at a cheap rate from Government and use
for his trade. Other traders, and in fact anyone who would
be likely to interfere with, or report his proceedings, would
be discouraged in his district and he would practically have
little difficulty in closing it by declaring it to be unsafe.
All these difficulties could be obviated by giving the
Government the monopoly of purchasing the bull ivory
above a certain size at a fair market value, and the cow
tusks at only sufficient price to make it worth the carriage
to a Government station. No ivory could then be ex¬
ported from the Coast unless it were Government property,
or the limited quantity obtained under a sportsman's
license. The wandering of irresponsible armed bodies
of natives about the remoter parts of the country would
cease, while a selected number of Europeans and natives
could be allowed to shoot and trade for Government and
share in the profits. Under such a scheme no official would
be tempted to add trading to his duties, as he would find
it extremely difficult to get rid of his ill-gotten gains.
SIR CHARLES ELIOT.
541
At present practically the whole profits of the trade
enrich a handful of Indian merchants, while the collection
of the tusks goes hand in hand with much discontent,
loss of life, and injustice, all of which, in the native mind,
are associated with the Government.
In the Congo, the native merchants are allowed to trade
at certain fixed stations only, and not to scour the country
at their own sweet will.
It is a matter of certainty that East Africa and Uganda
have a splendid future before them, but under the present
policy I fear it is equally certain that the good time must
be long delayed.
In my humble opinion Sir Charles Eliot, the late Com¬
missioner of British East Africa, who, in common with many
of those best able to judge, was in favour of encouraging
the individual settler, rather than granting vast tracts
of the most' fertile country to wealthy syndicates, was
the right man in the right place. The settler with a
little money in hand—and there were many such men
anxious to take up land—would at once develop and make
the most of his holding. The business of the syndicate on
the other hand is to wait till the land can be disposed of
at a profit, a course which must necessarily retard the
progress of the country.
iß The official reasons, thus far made public, for the favour
shown to syndicates to the exclusion of the individual, are
considered in East Africa to be based on an erroneous
conception of the facts of the case. Public sympathy
with Sir Charles Eliot is being widely expressed, and the
policy of the Foreign Office, which on several occasions
had aroused some distrust, is now creating widespread
discontent.
542
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Grant the enquiry which has been demanded by Sir
Charles Eliot ; if his contentions are proved to be correct,
redress the grievances of the colonists ; combine the two
Protectorates under one capable chief, who is not bound
down by an excess of red tape from home, and the country
would, without doubt, make strides rapid enough to
surprise even its most ardent well-wishers.
THE END.
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX I.
List of the Game on my Route through East Africa and Uganda,
with the Districts in which the different Species are found :—
Elephant. Mount Kenya—North-east and north of Mount
Elgon, including the plain round—Between Mounts
Debasien and Kizima and away westwards—Monyen and
Tarash Valleys—Southern Toposa—Round the northern
and western slopes of Agoro, particularly in Obbo—The
country between Hoirna and Butiaba.
Rhinoceros. Doinyo Sabuk and towards Fort Hall—Upper
waters of the Tana—Likipia Escarpment and the Baringo
district—North-eastern side of Elgon—Monyen Valley—
Southern Toposa—Kedef Valley.
Zebra. Athi Plains and towards Fort Hall—Likipia—Baringo
—Gwashengeshu—North-east Elgon—Monyen and Tarash
Valleys—Southern Toposa—Near Obira—Gondokoro
Buffalo. Doinyo Sabuk—Baringo—East of the Tarash—
Obbo.
Coke's Hartebeest. Athi Plains and as far north as the
Maragua River.
Heuglin's Hartebeest. Likipia—Baringo (rather scarce)—
Gwashengeshu—North-east and North Elgon—Kedef and
Kos Valleys—Northern slopes of Agoro towards the Nile.
Hunter's Hartebeest. Apparently these have only been found
on the Tana River.
Topi. Gwashengeshu—Near Kizima—Kedef and Kos Valleys.
Brindled Gnu. Athi Plains.
Duiker. Mau Forest—Likipia—Elgon—Kedef and Kos Valleys
—Obbo.
35
5 46
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Klipspringer. Baringo—Murosoka—Tarash Valley—Mount
Zunut.
Oribi. Athi Plains—Gwashengeshu (numerous)—Northern
Elgon—Kedef Valley.
Steinbuck. Athi and northwards—Likipia—Baringo.
Dik-Dik. Mount Kenya—Baringo—Mau Forest—Northern
Elgon—Monyen Valley—Kedef Valley.
Common Waterbuck. Athi Plains to the Thika.
Sing Sing Waterbuck. Likipia—Baringo—Gwashengeshu—
East and north of Elgon—Kedef Valle}'—Northern slopes
of Agoro.
Uganda Kob. Between the Nzoia and the Gwaso Masa,
Kitosh—Banks of the Nile, from Wadelai northwards.
White-eared Kob. From Nimule northwards (scarce in
Uganda Territory).
Ward's Reedbuck. Mau Escarpment—Gwashengeshu—East
foot of Elgon—Kedef Valley—Tu Valley near Gondokoro.
Mountain Reedbuck. Doinyo Sabuk—Baringo.
Impala. Athi Plains—Likipia—Baringo.
Thomson's Gazelle. Athi Plains—Likipia.
Grant's Gazelle. (Two if not three races.) Athi Plains—
Likipia—Debasien—Monyen—Tarash—Southern Toposa—
Kedef Valley.
Waller's Gazelle. River Tana and district.
Oryx Beisa. Likipia—Baringo—Monyen and Tarash Valleys.
Fringe-eared Oryx. Near Voi and towards the Tana River
(This appears to be the most likely place. My short search
for them at Sultan Hamoud was unsuccessful.)
Roan. I saw these near the Maragua River on the western
edge of the Mau Forest. They are found not far from
Nimule and Gondokoro.
Eland. In the neighbourhood of Doinyo Sabuk—Western
Likipia—Baringo—Gwashengeshu.
Greater Kudu. Baringo and towards the north and south—
Northern slopes of Mount Elgon—Zunut—Obira and the
hills near.
APPENDIX I.
547
Lesser Kudu. Neighbourhood of the Tana—Moroto and Muro-
soka—Tarash and Kedef Valleys—Down the Tu Valley
almost to_Gondokoro.
Bongo. Mau Forest.
Bushbuck. (Probably several races.) Kenj'a—Western Likipia
—Mau Forest—Nandi Escarpment—Elgon—Debasien—
Kedef Valley.
Giraffe. See page 552.
Warthog. Practically throughout the route.
Bushpig. Mount Kenya and Mau Forest.
Hippo. In every large river, lake and swamp.
Lion. Between Doinyo Sabuk and Fort Hall—Western Likipia
; —Baringo—Gwashengeshu—East and North-east Elgon—
Kedef and Kos Valleys.
Leopard. Throughout the journey, but it is a mere matter of
luck seeing them.
Serval. Distribution the same as that of leopard.
Spotted Hy^na. This is also found everywhere, but being a
nocturnal animal is seldom seen unless a carcase is specially
watched.
Striped Hy,ena. Baringo.
Hunting Dog. Baringo.
Jackal. Everywhere.
Baboons. Frequently met with, especially at Baringo, Monyen
and Kedef Valleys.
Patras Monkeys. Banks of the Nile.
Guereza. Mount Kenya—Mau Forest—Nandi Escarpment—
Dodinga—Slopes of Agoro.
Grey Forest Monkeys. Mount Kenya—Mau Forest—Dodinga;
Little Grey Monkeys. In the neighbourhood of nearly every
stream and bit of jungle.
Ostrich. On most plains—Likipia—Baringo—Gwashengeshu,
etc.
35*
54Ü
IN UNKNOWN AFINCA.
APPENDIX II.
NATIVE NAMES FOR ANIMALS.
As a sportsman and naturalist I have always found it saved much
trouble to know the native names for the different animals- With this
end in view, during my journey I took considerable pains to make the
following vocabularies. They are, I am sorry to say, somewhat fragment¬
ary, as, unless I could show the skin and skull of the animal, or could
describe it in such a way that there could be no manner of doubt as to
its identity, I have not entered its name in the list. Most of the words
have been checked by several different members of the tribes represented,
and I believe may be relied upon.
ENGLISH.
SWAHILI.
MASAI.
SUK.
M AU
DORORO.
NANDI.
TURKANA
Ant bear
—
El'kelli Kelli
Morquoi
—
—
—
Baboon
N earn i
El'dessi
Moyun
—
—
Ekum
Boa constrictor Chartu
—
—
—
—
—
Bongo
—
—
—
Selgoot
—
-
Buffalo
Nyati or
M'bogo
El'wasan
Sor
—
Nakuthe-
quen
Bush buck
M'barwarla
Lubwa
l'owen
—
Poena
—
Bush pig
—
El'beadiri
—
Toraietti
—
—
Cat (wild)
Chu i
S urn m uni o
Arara
—
—
Crocodile
Mamba or
Guana
Elginyun
Kucu
—
—
—
Dik-dik
Pa
Rongo
Serrun
Inderri
—
.
Dog (wild)
M 'bornetu
Suyun
Suyon
—
—
_
Duiker
Pa
Nowoukomi-
chien
Powen
Mindet
—
—
Eland
Pofu
Sirwa
Jubtuko
—
—
Elephant
Tembo
El'ganjowi
Peleón
—
Peleor
Natorni
Giraffe
Twiga
El'maoût
Agouri
—
—
Yokuri
Gnu
Numebu
—
—
—
_
Grant's
Swara
Ingolli
Arguetti
-
—
Argetta
APPENDIX II.
549
ENGLISH.
SWAHILI.
MASAI.
SUK.
—
TÜRKANA.
Guereza
Baga
El'gorai
—
Arrietet
Elgoroit
—
Hare
Sungora
Ingettoko
Kibbelakwoi
—
—
—
Heuglin's
Kongoni
Rapparout
Gemnokurso
—
Rhogogerwa —
(Jackson's)
Hippo
Iviboko
El makaw
Makaw
—
Magusta
—
Hycena
Fisi
Lomeringerou
Kowa
—
Keinarget
Nabu
Iguana
—
El'mimor
Mertoss
—
—
—
Impala
Swara
Ingarowit
Chomil
—
—
—
Jackal
Waha
Im barri
Jepkonio
—
—
—
Klipspringer
—
Imbunussi
Addokon
~
Arterrigi-
gee
Kob
Swara
Leguseroi
—
—
Sirtwa
—
Kudu (greater)
—
El' marl u
Sa r ra mut
—
—
Namagala
,, (lesser)
—
—
—
—
—
Nagarich
or Argoula
Leopard
Chui
Lougurigeri
Merrel
Miliida
Chabulanga
—
Lion
Simba
El'mottun
Notton
Netunda
Netunda
—
Monkey
Kenia
On'gorogutuki
Warrun
—
—
—
(grey)
Kema
Pandar i
—
Dizzi-etti
Tisseah
—
„ (small Tumbeli
—
—
—
—
—
grey)
Oribi
Pa
I mboñas
—
—
—
—
Oryx
Choloa
El'gobusumk
Ardir
—
—
—
Ostrich
Buni
Imbunga
Kukarles
_
—
Naculez
Porcupine
Nungo
Aeyi
Subbet
—
—
—
Rat
Panya
N'dervvni
—
—
—
—
Reedbuck
—
Giddiboruk
—
—
Elugut
—
,,
—
Ingessi
Korrinion
—
—
—
(mountain)
—
Rhino
Kifaru
Mon
Kobou
—
Kevao
Namosin
Roan
—
—
—
—
—
—
Rock rabbit
Perairi
Genienjur
Kanyeri
—
—
—
Snake
Nyoka
Lasoroi
Marroi
—
—
—
Squirrel
Guru guru
Susuk
Arkonua
—
—
—
Steinbuck
Pa
Bonathi
—
—
—
—
Topi
Topi
El'gododovessi
—
—
—
—
Tortoise
Korbi
—
—
—
—
—
Warthog
Ingiri
Lebeteri
Moulunga
T um da
—
—
Waterhuck
Kuru
N urtu
Chemnarachi
Lepon-
duret
Sumerri
Zebra
Punda mi lea
Loi tu go
Chirmarima
-
-
Yatuquo
55°
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
TOPOSA. POD INGA. MIELLI. LATUKA. MAKKORU.
Ant bear
Baboon
Boa constrictor
Bongo
Buffalo
Bush buck
Bush pig
Cat (wild)
Crocodile
Dik-dik
Dog (wild)
Duiker
Eland
Elephant
Giraffe
Gnu
Grant's
Guereza
Hare
Ileuglin's
(Jackson's)
Hippo
Hysena
Iguana
Impala
Jackal
Klipspringer
Kob
Kudu (greater)
,, (lesser)
Leopard
Lion
Monkey
(grey)
,, (small
grey)
Oribi
Oryx
Ostrich
Porcupine
Rat
— Lotem Otim
— — — Assuani
Lerjo Lorejo Lorgelli Arbo
— — — Nungió
— Ethero Lorpil Ekobeya
Lobil
Amagutta —
— Onol
Attera Nartira Armoring
— Arber iget
Atoma Attorn i
— Takon Cori
Argetta Negedda Nargetti Abori
— Karam Lobrus Aram
Allop Boruni Miyu
Arbori
— Aln
Ebo
Nagarich
Narutin Ma
Loheri
Ar oui
Mirikecha Amerecha
— Amoro
Natung Elemi
Uarpet
Mageri Leuwa Aliewa
Ahuri
Tuk
ACHOLI.
Mork
— Nielu
— Jobi
Naraboni —
Laropil
Namouri
Narburi
Aram
Arbori
Aleow
Nyan
Leati
Ree
Dolo
Fura
Ra
Undiek
Tow
Ayom
Oudo
APPENDIX II.
551
ENGLISH.
Reedbuck
Reedbuck
(mountain)
Rhino
Roan
Rock rabbit
Snake
Squirrel
Steinbuck
Topi
Tortoise
Warth og
Waterhuck
Zebra
TOPOSA. DODINGA.
— Yarm o te¬
tera.
— Netel
Yemget —
MIELI.I.
Arpuri
Moin
Yeputerri Yepeteri
Lore ch or —
Yatuquo Etekin
Bobeit
Etuko
LATUKA.
Armoni
MAKKORU.
Numget Tano Amugi
'Arbuderi
Ubeit
Magweri
Agnoatti
Lapoteer
Amuga
Culi
Maguire
552
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA
APPENDIX III.
A LIST OF THE GAME (GREAT AND SMALL)
OBTAINED DURING THE EXPEDITION.
Mammals.*
Giraffa camelopardalis—Giraffe.
With regard to the distribution of the giraffe, the first which
I saw was close to the Maragua River in Kikuyu. After this I
met with no further tracks till the Likipia Plateau was reached.
They appeared to be numerous to the north of Lake Baringo,
coming south along the eastern side at certain times of the
year. I found them in nearly all the large valleys, often within
a few hours of native villages, between Sirgoit and the Nile.
In all I must have seen many hundreds. The herds, which
sometimes number thirty to forty, are continually splitting up
and re-forming, so that we seldom saw a band similarly con¬
stituted two days in succession. They almost invariably post
sentries, but will often allow a man to approach openly within
shot before moving off. They are easily disabled. At Baringo, in
* Measurements in ft. and in. : weights in lbs.
Height—In a straight line from a stick placed perpendicularly at the withers to
the heel of the fore-foot.
Girth—Taken directly behind the fore-legs.
Length—Along curves from muzzle, to a line drawn across front edge of horns
(or ears in the case of hornless animals), to root of tail, to end of tail.
W eight—Taken with Salter's spring balance, as the animal fell, if he did not
exceed 200 lbs. If heavier, then cut up and the portions weighed.
I = Immature.
APPENDIX III.
553
the early part of June, I saw several herds accompanied by
calves only a few days old. Mr. Lydekker has determined two
subspecies from the material I brought home, but unfortunately,
owing to the severe game restrictions, it was not sufficient to
determine the boundary line between them.
No. and
Sex.
Locality.
Date.
Height
at shoulder.
Height from
centre horn to
fore hoof.
Girth.
Notes
ft.
in.
ft.
in.
ft.
in.
158?
I
6/6/02
8
Ii
10
8
2
i of 3 î s
168 cT
I
12/6/02
IO
9ï
16
10
9
31
Master of
248 er
2
19/8/02
10
i
15
10.}
9
3
I of 2 (J s
250 (?
2
21/8 02
10
11
>7
3
10
6
I of 3 i s
I. Northern part of eastern side Lake Baringo. 2. Gwashengeshu Plateau,
N.W. of Sirgoit Rock.
N.B.—Nos. 158 and 250 are now set up in the Natural History Museum,
Cromwell Road.
[From the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of
London, 1904, vol. i.]
[Published June 9, 1904.]
Extract from a paper on the Subspecies of Giraffa camelopardalis.
By R. Lydekker.
(Dated February 2nd, 1904.)
The bringing of the present communication to the notice of
the Zoological Society has been to some extent an almost
involuntary act on my part, and due rather to the force of cir¬
cumstances than to any desire to add to the burden of zoological
nomenclature.
Some time ago the British Museum received the skins of a pair
of giraffes which had been shot by Major Powell-Cotton in East
Africa, and are now mounted and exhibited to the public ; and
it became my duty to give them names.
I found myself unable to identify the Museum specimens with
any of the named forms, stricto sensu. Consequently a revision
of the whole group was necessary.
554
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Giraffa reticulata*
,, camelopardalis.
G. c. typica.
cottoni.
rothschildi.
At present I am able to recognise the following forms of
Giraffe :—
Netted Giraffe ....
Blotched
1. Nubian Giraffe
2. Kordofan „
3. S. Lado ,,
4. Baringo ,,
5. Kilimanjaro ,,
6. Congo ,,
7. Angola ,,
8. N. Transvaal „
9. Cape „
10. Nigerian ,,
With a large frontal horn.
Fore legs white and unspotted from below the knee ;
front part of face sometimes spotted.
congoensis.
angolensis.
wardi.
capensis.
peralta.
3. South Lado Giraffe.
Giraffa camelopardalis cottoni. (See p. 387.)
Hab. That portion of the interior of Uganda lying immediately
south of Lado, which is itself 50 north of the equator.
Major Powell-Cotton informs me that this Giraffe was shot on
March 15th, 1903, on Koten plain, at an elevation of 2,550 feet.
Koten lies to the extreme south of the Toposa (Dobossa of the
maps) country, and is about 30 50' N. by 34o 30' E. I might
have called it the Toposa (or Dobossa) Giraffe, but have preferred
to associate it with Lado as being a much better known locality,
despite the fact that the latter is generally connected with the
Congo side of the Nile.
Apparently very closely related to the Baringo race, from which
(judging from the single example available) the male differs in
the following points :—
* I reserve the point as to whether a transition between this and the next may
not exist.
APPENDIX III.
555
The spots on the neck are deep chestnut-brown instead of black,
and show no tendency to split up into smaller spots by the deve¬
lopment of lighter lines radiating from the centre. Moreover,
the spots themselves are of more regular and more squared form,
those on the lower part of the neck being so arranged that the
fawn-coloured interspaces form continuous transverse bands. In
G. c. rothschildi, on the other hand, the spots on the neck of the
male are arranged somewhat alternately, so that no such trans¬
verse light bands can be traced.
The spotting of the face is confined to an area lying con-
Right lateral view of skull of male South Lado Giraffe, showing azygous
orbital horn {a).
siderably below a longitudinal line drawn through the eye. The
spots between the eye and the ear are smaller, and do not extend
upwards on to the horns ; while the hind aspect of the horns and
the portion of the crown of the head below them are likewise
devoid of spots, although fully spotted in the Baringo race. The
white area on the side of the head is also much smaller and much
less conspicuous than in the type male of the latter. Moreover,
the spots on the under surface of the head (inter-ramine area)
are much less numerous, and (like the sides of the face) brown
instead of black. There are also much smaller spots on the nape
of the neck.
556
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
So far as can be determined, the spots on the shoulder are very
jnuch smaller than in the complete Baringo male, none of them
approaching in size the few large ones so characteristic of that
animal. On both sides of the upper part of the fore-leg the
spots are very markedly smaller and more numerous than in the
latter ; while on the front and inner sides they are pale fawn,
instead oí being, as on the outer side, black.*
The main horns are decidedly smaller than in the males of the
Baringo Giraffe, and the development of the posterior horns is
also somewhat less. In the skull of the type and only known
specimen, the right main horn is decidedly larger than the left
horn. A much more remarkable feature is the presence of a horn
projecting horizontally outwards from the middle of the frontal
border of the right orbit, this horn being apparently capped by
a distinct epiphysis. No trace of any such horn is observable
on the left orbit. I am informed by Major Powell-Cotton that
all the male Giraffes from the locality in question seem to be
furnished with a similar right orbital horn. The same gentleman
also tells me that in some specimens of the Baringo Giraffe a
similarly-placed horn occurs on the left side. There is, however,
no trace of any such horn in any of the skulls of that race in the
Museum.
The skull also differs from that of an old male Baringo Giraffe
by its lower and narrower form, and more especially by the
absence of the marked lateral expansion of the premaxillary
region characteristic of the Baringo Giraffe ; the borders of
these bones in the present form being nearly straight, instead of
markedly bowed.
Such appear to be the chief distinctive features of this Giraffe,
so far as I am enabled to formulate them from the specimens at
present available. These comprise the skull, the mounted head
and neck, several pieces of skin from the fore-quarters, and the
mounted right fore-leg : all belonging to a fully adult bull shot
by Major P. H. G. Powell Cotton, at the locality above men-
* Already the spots on the inner side of the right fore-leg of the male Baringo
Giraffe in the Museum, which is exposed to the light, have faded from black to
grey or tawny.
APPENDIX III.
557
tioned, to the southward of Lado, in Northern Uganda, and by
him presented to the British Museum, where the head and neck
are now exhibited to the public.
As already mentioned, the general characteristics of this Giraffe
affiliate it very closely to G. c. rothschildi, and I have experienced
some difficulty in deciding whether or no it should be sub-speci¬
fically separated from that form. Premising that my comparisons
are based only on a single specimen, and are therefore of necessity
somewhat provisional and liable to revision. I cannot identify the
South Lado with the Baringo Giraffe ; and I therefore propose to
regard the former as the representative of a distinct local race,
which may be appropriately named after its enterprising dis¬
coverer, Giraffa camelopardalis cottoni.
Apart from the peculiarities of the skull—in regard to the
importance, or otherwise, of which, I am somewhat uncertain—
I am disposed to consider this Giraffe as a distinct race mainly
from the general tone, form, and mode of arrangement
of the spotting, laying special stress on the absence of spots
on the face above (or in front of) a line connecting the eye
with the angle of the mouth, and also on the colour, size,
and number of the spots on the nape of the neck and on the
fore-limb.
It is true that as regards the absence of spotting on the fronto¬
nasal region of the face, this feature is paralleled in the mounted
head of G. c. rothschildi obtained by Sir H. Johnston near Mount
Elgon. That head, as mentioned below, belongs, however, to
a very old animal, and is remarkable for the very dark
colour of the areas between the spots. And it is, I think, per¬
fectly clear that with this darkening the spots (of which there
are still faint traces) have disappeared from this part of the
face. Moreover, there is no distinct light line marking the
cessation of the spotted area, which is so conspicuous in the
present animal. The bull in the Museum from the Quashengeshu
Plateau, and the Mount Elgon bull of G. c. rothschildi, appear to
be of about the same age as the South Lado specimen ; and the
contrast between the fully-spotted faces of the two former and
the partially-spotted face of the last is, in my opinion, too great
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
to permit of their being regarded as referable to one and the
same subspecies.
It should, moreover, be borne in mind that we are at present
unacquainted with the female of the South Lado Giraffe, and
that when this is known it may turn out that the difference in
the coloration of the two sexes may be much less pronounced
than in the Baringo race.
Indeed, the general type of coloration of the South Lado Giraffe
is suggestive of a transition from the Baringo form in the direc¬
tion of the Ivordofan Giraffe (G. c. antiquorum), in which both
sexes are coloured practically alike. In the absence of spotting
on the fronto-nasal region of the face, the South Lado Giraffe
approximates indeed to the Kordofan animal, as it does in the
small size of the spots on the legs. Not that I think there is
much likelihood of the South Lado animal proving to be identical
with the Kordofan Giraffe ; the colour and arrangement of the
spots being apparently somewhat different in the two, while
there is no evidence (judging from that of its near relative, the
Nubian Giraffe) that the skull of the Kordofan race has either
the rudimentary occipital horns or the azygous right orbital
horn of the type specimen of the present form.
4. Baringo Giraffe.
Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi. (See p. 194.)
Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi Lydekker, Hutchinson's
Animal Life, vol. ii. p. 122 (1903).
Hab. The Lake Baringo district and thence eastwards to
Mount Elgon, both of which localities lie less than i° north of
the equator.
A three-horned Giraffe in which the sexes, in the early adult
condition at least, are markedly different as regards both the
form and the colour of the spots, with the lower part of the legs
pure white and unspotted, a triangular white area in the neigh¬
bourhood of the ear, the spots in adult bulls large and very
dark-coloured, showing a tendency to split up into stars, as
indicated by lighter tripartite radiating lines in the larger ones,
APPENDIX III.
559
and the light interspaces yellowish fawn, forming narrow net¬
work-lines on the body, but becoming much broader on
the neck, where the spots assume a more irregular and
somewhat jagged contour. Above the knees and hocks the
spots are chestnut, these chestnut spots extending higher up
on the hind than on the fore limbs. Sides of face fully spotted
with black.
In females the spots are much more irregular, jagged, and
star-like, reddish chestnut in colour upon a light orange-fawn
ground. The light areas on the neck very wide, and the spots
on the legs very small, white area round ear small ; sides of
face sparsely spotted.*
Five horns generally or invariably present in old bulls, owing
to the development of the posterior, or occipital, pair.
The type of this race is the mounted adult bull in the British
Museum, shot by Major Powell-Cotton on the Quashengeshu
(pronounced Washengeshu) Plateau to the west of Lake Baringo,
from which it is separated by a forest-clad mountain-range.
The mounted head and neck (as well as the skull) of the " five-
horned " bull Giraffe in the British Museum, brought from
Mount Elgon by Sir H. Johnston and already alluded to, doubt¬
less belongs to this form. It is true that the whole colour is
much darker, the white area below the ear smaller and less
distinct, and the spotting on the face much less developed ; but
in another specimen from the same locality, figured by Sir H.
Johnston in " The Uganda Protectorate," these features are
much the same as in the type. I attribute, therefore, these
differences to individual variation and age, as I likewise do the
more pronounced development of the posterior horns. As
already mentioned, some of the bulls of this race, according to
Major Powell-Cotton, show a protuberance above the left eye.
I am informed by the same gentleman that some full-grown
bulls are decidedly lighter than the type, and exhibit more dis¬
tinctly star-like and irregular spots.
* Capt. Flower has sent me the photograph of a female Giraffe, said to have
come from near Kassala, marked like this specimen. The suggestion arises that
it was brought from further south.
560
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
When I described the type male I was of opinion that the
mounted female in the British Museum, killed by Major Powell-
Cotton near Lake Baringo, belonged to a distinct race. I am
told, however, by him that bulls precisely similar to the type
Quashengeshu specimen occur with the Lake Baringo herd ;
and this statement is fully confirmed by a male skin from
that district I have had the opportunity of inspecting. The
marked discrepancy in the coloration of the two sexes is
therefore a very distinctive feature of this race of Giraffe at
this age.
Sir Harry Johnston tells me that the individual from which
the sketch was taken was a young animal, and that the mounted
head in the Museum is, as I have surmised, that of a very old
bull ; the darker colour and disappearance of the spots in the
latter thus being due to age.
Sir H. Johnston further informs me that a very aged female
shot in the same district by his assistant, the late Mr. Doggett,
was remarkable for its exceedingly dark colour. So dark, indeed,
was this animal, that at a distance it appeared quite a uniform
sepia-tint. This indicates that the mounted female in the
Museum, although full-grown, is a comparatively young animal.
When seen through field-glasses by Sir H. Johnston's party,
both males and females of this race of Giraffe were often so dark
in colour that they appeared to be nearly black, with white
bellies and legs ; this deepening of coloration being, as I have
said, apparently coincident with advanced age.
From the strong spotting of the face in young adult bulls, this
race might well be called the Spotted-faced Giraffe.
I may add a word as to the name given to this race. As the
first specimen received in England was brought home by Sir
Harry Johnston, the natural course would have been to name it
after that gentleman. Since, however, his specimens did not
include the entire skin, they did not afford sufficient characters
for the definition of this form. On the other hand, it would
have been somewhat invidious to name this form after its second
discoverer, Major Powell-Cotton. Accordingly it appeared
advisable to name it after the donor to the British Museum of
APPENDIX III.
the Quashengeshu bull, which first afforded decisive charac¬
teristics.
It would not be fair to leave this part of the subject without
directing attention to the important service to zoological science
Major Powell-Cotton has rendered by collecting these and other
specimens of Giraffes from East Central Africa, under what I am
given to understand were circumstances of special difficulty.
Guereza
Monkey.-
—( G aere.
:a guereza
caudata*,
0. and Sex.
Locality.
Date.
Girth.
Length.
Weight, lbs.
Elevation.
439
i
31/3/02
16
24 -53
—
7,200
45 8
i
I '4,02
16
27}-60}
—
7 7 400
221 9
2
27/7/O2
I3Í
241-54
18
7,700
222 i
2
27/7/02
16
28 -62
25
7,700
277 9
3
6/IO/02
14
251-58
17
5,250
279 i
3
6/IO 02
16
261-63
21
5,250
355 9
4
21/3 03
15
25 -59
I?
5,650
356 3
4
21/3/03
I4}
2b -6i
24}
5.650
434 ¿
5
2/5/03
152
26]-64
20}
2,150
435 9
5
2 5 03
nh
26]-62
is"
2,I50
I. Western slopes, Kenya. 2. Mau Forest. 3. North Nandi, below the escarp¬
ment. 4. Dodinga. 5. Near Kilio, Latuka.
* There is so marked a difference between specimens from localities 1 and 5 that
it is probable new sub-species may be found in this series.
Monkey.—(Cercopithecus .?)
No. and Sex. Locality. Date. Girth. Length. Elevation.
140 ? i 26/5 '02 9 I6|-37 3,350
210 3 2 10/7/02 13 23 -49
447 i 3 8/6/03 12 2si's2i 1.900
455 <5 4 4/8/03 — — 2,200
I. East side Baringo. 2. Below Eldamo Ravine. 3. East bank Nile, south of
the Assua. 4. West side Lake Albert.
Patas Monkey.—(Cercopithecus patas.)
No. and Sex.
Locality.
Date.
Girth.
Length.
Elevation.
4509
4
19/7/03
—
—
2,200
453 9
4
3/8/03
12
231-463
2,200
454 9
4
3/S/03
12.}
22Í-45-1
2,200
4. West side of Lake Albert.
36
JÓ2
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Forest Monkeys.—(Undetermined.)
No. aiul Sex. Locality.
CC9* I
220 9 2
I. Mount Kenya.
G-irth.
14
26/7/02
2. Man Forest.
Length.
21-42$
21-49
Shot by Mr. F. C. Cobb.
Weight, lbs.
H
12
Elevation.
7,200
7.700
Baboon.-
—(Pafio
doguer
a ?)
No. and
Sex.
Locality.
Date.
Girth.
Length.
Weight.
Elevation.
Notes.
ZZZ 9
I
—
—
—
—
-3.350
—
144 <5
2
28/5/02
25
32Í-57Í
48
3.350
—
332 9
*3
13/2/03
18.3
26 -46$
32
2,900
—
333 <5
*3
13/2/03
20
30 -52¿
36
2,900
Tip toes to tip
fingers, 62
379 <5
*4
2/4/03
—
—
—
3.250
—
I. Largest island in Lake Baringo. 2. East side Baringo. 3. Mount Murosoka,
Karamojo. 4. Kedef Valley west of Dodinga.
* Determination provisional.
Lion.
—(Felts leo.)
No. and
Length—
Sex.
Locality. Date.
Height.
Girth.
Straight.
Curves.
Weight.
Elevation.
ft. in.
ft. in.
22 9
I
11/3/02
43
34
8 2
S 9
—
—
27 s *
2
14/3/02
40
48
8 11
—
—
—
2S6I
2
14/3/02
—
—
—
—
—
—
29? i
2
16/3.02
—
—
—
—
—
—
75 3 +
3
14 4 02
41$
47
8 10
9 9
381
6,200
107 i t
4
10/5,02
4oj
48
8 10
9 6.J
—
4,200
16191
4
8/6/02
31
33
7 7h
7 H
—
4,200
385 ¿ i
5
3/4/03
3«
37
8 3
9
—
3.250
38631
5
3/4/03
37è
37
8 2|
9 i
—
3.250
i. By
the
Thika. 2.
Punda M i lia.
3. Likipia. 4.
East side
Baringo.
5. Kedef Valley.
* Full yellow and black mane,
t Yellow and black mane.
J Yellow mane.
APPENDIX III. 563
Leopard.-—(Felis ßardus.)
Length—
No. and Sex. Locality. Date. Height. Girth. Straight. Curves. Elevation.
ft. in. ft. in.
"1* { Escarpment. 1 l^'°2 2^ 2I* 5 9 S "i 4,3°°
118? ,, 17/5/02 25 2I2 5 8* 6 I 4,300
Serval.—{Pelts serval.)
No. and Sex. Locality. Date. Height. Girth. Length. Weight.
2 9 Athi. 2/3/02 17è 12/ 3/-30-40/ 14
Blotched Genet.—(Genetta tigrina.)
Locality. Length. Elevation.
Baringo 18Í-33 • 3>5°°
Buffalo.—{Bos coffer '!)
No. and Sex. Locality. Date. Elevation.
439 6 I Obbo 18/5/03 2,900
Spotted Hy,ena.—{Hyœna crocuta.)
No. and Sex. Locality. Date. Height. Girth. Length. Elevation.
24ç i 13/3/02 30 37 it -58 71
1893 2 20/6/02 27-7 32 48L62.} 4,000
1. Ivikuyu 2. East side Baringo.
In the Baringo district it is often difficult to tell the sex of the spotted hyœnas.
The striped also occur there, though not so frequently as the spotted.
Wild Dog.—{Lycaon pictus '/)
No. and Eleva-
Sex. Locality. Date. Height. Girth. Length, tion. Notes.
1923 E. side Baringo 22/6/02 23J 23/ 39- 53/ 4,000 Master of the troop
193 ? „ 22/6/02 — — — ,, One of the troop
1949 „ 22/6/02 — — — „
1959 „ 22/6/02 23 20 36-51
1969 ,, 22/6/02 — — — ,, ,, „
1979 „ 22/6/02 — — — „
The only place I saw them. These are a smaller race than the southern repre¬
sentative.
36'
564 IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Gray Jackal.—[Cupulas ant/ius vuriegatus.)
no. and sex.
locality.
date.
height.
girth.
length.
elevation.
99? e.
side baiingo
6/5/02
i6j
i3í
5j.-26i-38j
3.500
171 ?
,,
14/6/02
ï5i
is
26.1.39
4,000
172 i
,,
14/6/02
15
13
27 -39
,,
185?
,,
19/6/02
—
—
—
,,
187 ¿
,,
19/6/02
—
—
—
,,
Black-backed Jackal.—[JLupuius mesomelas.)
no. faid sex. locality. date. height. girth. length. weight. elevation.
35?
i
i9/3/02
i6¿
15
3°'44
—
—
64 i
2
i i 4 02
17-t
i5i
6-29-45
l6
6,200
65?
2
ii/4 02
16}
14
5à-27í-41-+
is
,,
17s i
3
16,6 02
I7i
15
31-46
—
4,000
i. funda milia.
2. likipia. 3. e.
side baiingo.
Coke's.—
(Bubalis cokee.)
no. and
between
sex.
locality,
date.
b. horn.
l. horn.
tips. height.
girth.
length.
i ?
i
l/3/°2
i3tfx 7g
13 x 7Í
9! 45
48
15-70-98
3<?
i
5/3/02
13 x 83-
i3ä-x 8i
11 47
54
17-73-93
31 ¿
2
17/3/02
is¿ x iog
lS¡¡ x 10]-
14 48}
53
17j-83j-i°si
32¿
2
18/3 02
19Í x10)
19 x io.j
10} 46}
45 2
i8-74í-94
33 <5
2
18/3 02
18 x 9;}
isj-x zo
16 47
49
161-77-99
34 ¿
2
is 3 02
18 xi 0.1
17^x10j
¡61 51
48
i7-79-ioo
36 6
2
19/3 02
17í x 10
i7:rx 10
9 i
—
—
37 ó
2
i q 3 '02
17}x10}
17/ x 10;:
i64 —
—
—
i. stony athi.
2. punda milia.
Heuglin's Hartebeest.—(.Bubalis lelwel.)'
No. and
Bctwci
■n
Sex.
Locality.
Date
lí. Dorn.
L. Llora.
tips.
Height.
Girth.
Length.
Weight.
Elevation.
6l ?
I
10/4/02
163x s¿
1Ó3 X Si
si
49
51
I7Í-7594
—
6,200
69 ¿
I
13/4/02
22£ X 11:1"
22 j XII
I2fif
52
542
I9i-87-Il6
396
5,800
91 á
2
22/4/02
20 J X IO.J-
20 Xio|
7:'i-
5H
53
I9-861-112
—
3 >800
204 ¿
3
28/6/02
20 XIO.1,
19Í xioi
6
—
—
—
—
3,50o
228 ¿
4
10/S/02
22 J X IO-J-
22 X I0 |
I2i
47-i
57
I91-S9-I05
-
8,200
231 9
4
12/8/02
i6|X 7ii!
iCiJX 7íí
io£
48-i
53
I9l-80-I07
—
S, 200
247 ¿
4
17/8/02
213x121
21:1 X I2j
Si
56I
20-9I
—
6,800
2638
4
2S/S/02
23 Xii:{
22i XII3
10
—
—
—
—
6,800
2S2 9
5
14/10/02
15S
—
—
53
46I
181-93- IC)6
—
5,650
b
312 i
6
24/12/02
22;', X 11 J
22-1 XIlJ
8
—
—
—
—
4,100
b
b
321 i
7
18/1/03
233 XII
2317« X 11 i
S3
Soi
55 i
20.1-84-109
—
4,100
354 6
8
19/3/03
22j X 117
213 xii
14!
53i
54
20-1-82Í-II0
—
4,450
b
3809
9
2/4/03
iSJX 8.Í
18.1 x 8]
93
49 i
60 )
I9-8ll-I03
—
3.250
39S9
9
s/4/03
17
—
—
52
51
20-83- io9
—
3.250
400 ¿
*9
S/4/U3
213x113
20¿ X113
8
49 i
—
20-861-113
—
3.650
4IQ i
*9
14/4/03
23 XII
22¿ XII
si
—
—
—
—
3.650
411 9
*9
14/4/03
18|x 83
is¿ x 83
Si
—
—
—
—
3.650
431 6
tro
30/4/03
23Ï x10J
23Î xioj
12
5H
51]
19.s3.95
—
1,900
443 9
III
3/6/03
163 X 7.}
163 X 78
71
49
52
20- l8.j -102
—
2,650
445 <5
tu
4/6/03
21 X 12
22 XII
9
54
SSV
21 i -88-11 2 j
—
2,650
i.
Likipia.
2. Likipia Escarpment.
3. East side Baringo.
4. Gwashengeshu.
5. Kabaras.
6. Kilim
., Mount
Elgon.
7. Near
Kizima, Karamojo. 8. Eas
1 of Dodinga. 9.
Kedef
Valley.
10. Kos Valley. 11. Obbo-Barri.
* Strongly marked white flecks about face.
I Black face, chin, and leg, markings.
This large series was collected in order to clear up the question how far South the typical Heuglin's extends.
Topi.—{Damalis cus corriga m jimelal)
No. and
Between
Sex.
Locality. Date.
R. Horn.
L. Horn.
tips.
Height.
Girth.
Lengtli.
Weight.
Elevation.
244(5
I 15/8/02
171VX8J
i 7Í9cX8¡
Sä
4S
SI
14V761723}
327
7,lOO
245-5
I 16/8/02
17J X8J
18 > 81
s¡
49Ï
47-i
I4}-72-l6-22
—
7,IOO
425<5
2 27/4/03
16} x 7i
i6| X7ä
7-1
46.}
48
i4-7'i-97i
—
2,050
429?
i.
2 27/4/03
Gwashengeshu. 2.
171 X5}
Ivos Valley.
17I X5ï
7
46
47
I5'72>94
2,050
Duiker.—{Cephalophus grimmi'.*) ^
No. and
Between
Sex.
Locality.
Date.
R. Horn.
L. Horn.
tips.
Height.
Girth.
Length.
Weight.
Elevation.
213 <j
I
16/7/02
3î Xi Is
3 i°c x i ï g
2 J
20}
IS
65-34-40
15
7,700
3023
2
7/12/02
3i *2}
3 .V x 2}
IS
iS~
16
SÍ-32-3S1
—
5.900
3893
3
4/4/03
3i;X2;S
3î e - 2-f
ifj-
21 2
19
6-36-42
—
3.250
390?
3
—
—
—
—
21
is
6:1-35-42
—
3.250
4328
4
1/5 03
3 J x 2
31\ v 2
2
20.]
19
6-34Í-39
—
1,900
Klipspringer.—( Oreotragus
saltator.)
No. and
Between
Sex.
Locality.
Date
R. Hern.
L. Horn.
tips.
Height.
Girth.
Length.
Elevation.
943
I
29/4/02
3} x 15
K 2
2
—
—
—
4.IOO
95 8
I
29/4/02
3'}XiJ
3Ï xi}
2.3
—
—
—
4,100
132 3 I
I
21/5/02
-
—
—
—
—
—
4,IOO
1523
I
I /6/02
3ISX1IÍ
35 xi|S
13
—
—
—
4,100
206 3
I
28/6/02
3 j X 2
3-2 X2,'t
I a
-7-
—
—
4,000
334 3 I
2
15/2/03
2] * 2
21 S X 2
I 3
19
•19}
4i,32l,3ô
4,800
341 3
3
6/3/03
32 xij
3-2 X2
I N
—
—
—
2,600
>3
O
i. Mau Forest. 2. East foot of Elgon. 3. Ivedef Valley, west of Dodinga. 4. Kos Valley, west of Tarangole. ^
* This series exhibits peculiar forms which may prove new sub-species. hrj
O
I. Likipia Escarpment, east of Baringo. 2. Murosoka. 3. Mount Zunut, Western Turkana.
Oribi.—(Our cbia haggar di and O. montana.)
No. and
Between
Sex.
Locality.
Date.
It. Horn.
L. Horn.
tips.
Height.
G-irtn.
Length.
Weight.
Elevation.
3° 9
I
16/3/02
—
—
—
22h
2o£
7f43
—
—
227 <5
2
9/S/02
31 c X13
4 XiJ
2 bo
23 2
20
5 -4°i-43
35
8,lOO
2343 I
2
13/8/02
2,VXI¿
2| X i i
2 s"
22
I9Í
4Í-33J-42
35
7,50°
2403
2
15/8/02
4Î c X2,3ff
5 X 2j-
2-3
¿ 1 e
23
21
5l'40i'44¿
38
7,100
2543 I
2
23/S/02
S3 x2®
5s X2g
2l
22 J
19}
5.40.44
35
7,000
262 3
2
2S/S/02
4l ÎX2J
4] è X 2l
2A
—
-
—
—
7,000
3>°¿
3
23/12/02
4 X2'
33 X25
—
—
—
—
4,100
319?
4
is/1/03
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
4,100
353 3
5
19/3/03
5i X2i
5 i3<r X 2}
22
23-i
22
5>'43 47}
—
4>45°
3643
6
30/3/03
4 irV x 2
45 x 2
2-2
—
—
—
—
3>5°°
36731
6
31/3/03
3»°«X2i
31***23
2 be
23¿
19
4-5.41.46
—
3^50
3S7 í
6
3/4/03
4 -» X 2
none
—
—
—
—
—
3»250
391 ¿
6
4/4/03
45 x 2
4s X 2
—
23
20
52-4°2-4S
—
3>25°
4193
6
20/4/03
4Î X2j
4ï? X23
2 bo
253
20
5Í-39¡-42
40
—
420 ç
6
20/4/03
—
—
—
23 }
21
7J.42J.46
—
—
423 3
6
21/4/03
4i%X2j
4 i3c X 2 jV
lie
23
20
51-41-44
—
2,550
i. Punda Milia. 2. Gwashengeshu Plateau. 3. Kilim, Mount Elg«>n. 4. Kizima, Karamojo. 5. East side Dodinga.
6. Kedef Valley.
Steinbuck.—(Rhaphiceros ccimpestris ncumanni.) g
No. and
Between
Sex.
Locality.
Data
R. Horn.
L. Horn.
tips.
Height.
Girth.
Length.
Weight.
Elevation.
25 ?
I
'3 3 02
—
>> —
—
20
172
5Ï"32Ï*3^
—
—
26 ¿
I
14 3 02
3- x i Î
35 x
2l
19
m
4Í-332-37
—
—
39 6
2
27/3,02
4 > U
4 A x ii
2
20
20
4Î-3I-33
—
—
53 6
3
9'4 02
3? xii
3i x is
2f
19}
I7-J
4J-322"36
22
5,800
5S ¿
3
10 4 02
3re *
3?i* 'è
0 &
2] if
20
I S.}
4V34J-3S
22
5,800
62 ¿
3
11 /4/02
3 Í x Br
3 T ET
2
—
l8
4è-32-35
24
6,000
86 6
3
19/4/02
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
6,600
883
3
19/4/02
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
6,600
165 9
*4
10/6/02
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
4,000
205 6
*4
28/6/02
4Î xiï
4 i'e X I y
2
iS
17
4:'33'35
—
4,000
r
Thika Valley. 2. Near Kenya.
3. Likipia. 4.
East side Baringo.
* Determination provisional.
DIK-DIK.—
(yl/adotjua Kirki ?
No. and
Between
Sex.
Local ty.
Date.
lt. Horn.
L. Horn.
tips.
Height.
Girth.
Lcugth.
Weight.
Elevation.
97 i
I
3/4/02
2 M;
—
I re¬
IS
12 J
4¡'25"27
IO}
3,500
9S ¿
I
3 /4/°2
2infi
—
iré
16
13
4¡ 24¡-2Ói
9 r
3.500
141 ¿
I
26/5/02
—
Iii
IS}
12
4 \ -26-27
—
3.500
143 1
I
27/5/02
I Î
—
I Ze¬
—
—
—
—
3.500
151 i
I
1/6/02
25 X I.]
2| J X l}
ll7«
—
—
—
—
3.500
3129
2
25/12'02
—
—
—
16}
13
25d*25
—
4,100
323 i
3
30/1/03
3 u¡ * 1]
3.V x 'i
1 re
—
-
—
—
3.500
4033
4
11/4/03
2} x 1 i!
2? X Iji
I fi
'S3
12ï
3V.25.26}
—
3,200
404 ?
4
11/4/03
—
—
—
14 V
10}
5'23"24¿
—
3.200
407 ¿
4
14/4/03
2} XI.J
2}¡ X
Ií
14i
12
4Í-24Í-26!
—
to
cr>
en
0
408 9
4
14/4/03
—
—
14
I I
5'23i'25
-
2,650
409 i
4
14/4/03
3i xi.!
31'« x 1A
2;}
—
—
—
—
2,650
418 3
5
19/4/03
3 Xi?
2 ¡«xi A
T 0
aTC
—
—
—
--
2,700
i. East side Baring,-,.
2. Kilim, Mount Elsron. 3. Monyen. 4.
Ivedef.
5. Fool Mount Egadang.
It is doubl lui if all these are Kirki.
Water b i;c k. — ( Co bits ellipsiprymn its. )
No. and Between
Sex. Boca lit v. Date. Ii. Horn. L. Horn. tips. Height. Girth. Length.
19 <S i 11/3/02 20x7 19ÎX7! 143 45.7 58 7-S-9Ô
Sing-Sing Waterbuck.—(Col/us de/assa.)
No. and
Between
Sex.
Locality.
Date.
I?. Horn.
h. Horu.
tips.
Height.
Girth.
Length.
Elevation.
38 «5
I
26/3/02
22.7 X 8.3
22/ X S.}
S*
49}
5 74
I2.]-90£-III
5 7 500
74 6
2
I4/4/02
253 *9!
253 "9.3
93
—
—
—
6,200
81 «5
2
16/4/02
25» » 7!
253x7!
19Í
48
—
I3S7405
6,400
108 ¿
3
12/5/02
17? XS
21 i X 7 Í
Hi
49 î
56
13-94!•114!
4, IOO
112 ¿
3
12/5/02
253 X Si
27; xS.!
j3Ï
47 ■$
58
13-88.] -108
4,IOO
230 ¿
4
IO/8/02
26 X 9]
263 x 9;!
9]
52
61
15-92-99
8,200
267 ¿
4
31/8/02
2SÖ > 9,',
28 x 9i
10
5i¿
61 i
11-91-111
6,650
2SS3
5
21/10/02
31« X loi
31.! x io:i
19Í
5iï
60
14-93-112.7
5.500
2893
5
22/10/02
29 ; x 9]
3°} ■ 9.1
11«
521-
66
I4-}'93'II3
5.500
i.
Kikuyu.
2. Likipia
(Mularat). 3.
Likipia Escarpment, east of Baringo.
4. Gwashengeshu Plateau,
east edge.
§
b
5. Gwashengeshu Plateau, west edge.
Sing Sing Waterbuck.—(Cobus De/assa ?)
No. and Between
Sex. Locality. Date. b.. Horn. L. Horn. tips. Height. Girth. Length. Elevation.
456 ¿ W. side Lake Albert 4/8/03 -- — — 50) 57] 12-84-105 2,200
This specimen is at present undetermined, but, owing to its peculiar dark coloration and other details, may prove to be a new
sub-species.
<-n
VJ
O
Uganda Kob.—(Cohns thomasi.)
No. and
Between
Sex.
Locality.
Date.
R. Horn.
L. Horn.
tips.
Height.
Girth.
Length.
Weight.
Elevation.
284 <5
I
17/10/02
16 x6|
163x63
83
39¿
42
IO-68L82^
—
5,400
285 8
I
19/10/02
175x6;}
173 x7g
12}
39Î
43
Io-68 82.}
—
5,450
q
286 8
I
21/10/02
17J X6g
17 X 6}
10}
38}
42}
9.]-69-82^
—
5,500
287 8
I
21/10/02
16J x 7 J
16.} x 7
9ï
36
42
91-71-85
—
5,500
290 8
I
23/10/02
14Î « 6¡
15ÍX 6}
113
39Î
44
10-68-82
—
5,500
<
O
291 8
I
24/10/02
17SX7}
165x73
53
37
38
9-67] -So
203
5,500
292 S
I
24/10/02
17} x 6;
17 X6|
6}
35Ï
41
9$-66j--8irj
234
5,500
293 S
I
24/10/02
I6}X73
163 x 73
73
383
44 i
9.}-66-80
—
5,500
2948
I
24/10/02
16g x6j
7S x6J
—
39J
44
9L7186
261
5,500
448 8
2
18/7/03
173x6}
18IX6.}
8}
-
—
—
—
—
449 J
2
18/7/03
iSS x6g
i8¡ X63
6}
383
40
8]-66.}.77
—
—
0
451 i
2
2/8/03
16 * 7}
>5? » 7i
—
35
36
9L6U.64
—
—
457 J
3
8/8/03
14} x 63
'4i " 65
63
—
—
—
—
—
I. Northern Kitosh. 2. West side Lake Albert. 3. Between Wadelai and Nimule.
Ward's Reedbuck.—( Cervicapra redunca war did)
Between
No. & Sex.
Locality.
Date.
It. Horn.
L. Horn.
1 tips.
Height.
Girth.
Length.
Weight.
Elevation,
217 <5
I
16/7/02
7i *5ä
7ÏJX5Î
4s
351
32
8.]-55-66
—
7,000
229 ?
2
IO/S/02
—
—
—
34
30
11 -54-62
—
8,200
233 <5
2
13/8/02
s¡ ; x 65
S J X6)
4?
333
36
9'59}-6S
150
7,50°
23S3
2
14 8/02
s,'sx5,V
Si X5Í
7»
32j
33
7J-5S.-6S
—
7,IOO
2393
2
14/8/02
7.3 X53
7? *5;'
51
32SL
31
7Í-53Í-63
—
7,IOO
2413
2
I5/S/02
3} X 5Í
S x S3
43
333
31
S 53¿ 64
102
7,IOO
242 3
2
15/8/02
73 x6J
73 x6J
4}
30
3oj
73-53 62
—
7,lOO
2433
2
15/8/02
91 X5Î
93 ' 53
Si
35i
32
8}-51 62
I32
7,IOO
2S'i 9
3
11 ! 10/02
—
—
—
32J
28
0
bx
0
—
6,000
3053
4
9/12 02
9l x 53
Sj X55
3 s
35
32
Si-57 6S<
—
5,900
394 3 I
5
■ 14 03
7.3 x 5:¡
73 x 6
73
323
29
s 534 65
—
3.200
I. Mau Forest. 2.
Gwashcngeshu.
3. Nalldi Plateau. 4.
East side Elgon
5. Kcdef Valley.
Chanler's Reldp.i ck. — (Cervicapra fuelvorufula chauler id)
No. &
P.etwcen
W eight.
Sex.
Locality.
Date.
R. Horn.
L. nom.
tips.
Height.
Girth.
Length.
lbs.
Eleva ti m.
Note.
10 9
1
7/3/02
—
—
—
28.V
25I
9-42-51
—
5,700
—
II <5
I
7/3/02
55X4:1
5ÍX4Í
35
—
—
—
—
,,
—
•3 <5
I
7/3/02
53 X42
6.1 * 41
4
—
—
—
—
,,
—
14 i
I
S/3/02
43 X 4i
41 X 4
3Í
—
—
—
—
,
—
*5 <5
ï
9/3/02
5 ¿ X 4 ï
5s x 4Î
3
28
26
62-48-58
—
„
—
23 3
2
12/3/02
5'IX4I
5'r 43
,5
as
29I
265
6.W6-56Í
—
,,
—
ion 9
3
8/5/02
—
—
—
29
25I
10-48 58
65
3,Soo
In young.
101 ¿
3
8/5/02
58X3^
53X35
4 s
27*
25
61-49-592
66
,,
—-
1303
3
21/5/02
42X3:1
45 < 3Í
2$
—
—
—
—
,,
—
214 9
4
16/7/02
—
—
3°2
2S1
10-46-56;}
82
7,300
In young,
b
b
>
b
i. Doinyo Sabuk. 2. Near River Thika. 3. Likipia Escarpment, east of Baringo. 4. Mau Forest.
Impala.—(SEpy cero s viel amp us. )
No. & Sex.
Loca lit}'.
Date.
It. Horn.
L. Horn. •
Between tips. Height.
Girth.
Length.
Elevation.
5¿
I
6/3/02
22} x 5}
22.} x 5¿
Hi 36j
35 i
9-59Í-75
-
I
7/3/02
22 ¿ x 6
22g X 5 í'
7?
—
—
--
20 ¿
2
II/3/02
23! 5r
22) X 5f
12} 36}
36}
9¿-6IÍ-75
—
21 6
2
11/3/02
25 X5Í
25IX5I
I2Ü 35-1
33
9.V-59-74
—
76 6
3
IS/4 02
27 x61
264- x 61
18 37i
36)
9^61*76
6,200
105 s
4
9 5 02
2S.Í x 5 ¡
28J x 5
172
—
—
4,000
1349
4
23/5 02
—
32]
30
10.54-68 j
,,
1423
4
26/5/02
27Î *5Î
27H X 5¿
'9
—
—
,,
1493
4
31/5.02
27K • 6.}
27I x 62
6A-
—
—
,,
203 3
4
26/6/02
2S { X 64
2Í>£ x 6¿
■5i
—
,,
i. Alhi
Plains. 2.
Thika Valley
3. Likipia. 4. East side Baringo.
The Baringo district is said lo offer finer Impala heads than any other part of Africa
c:
O
Thomson's Gazelle.—(Gazella t/iomsoui.)
No. and
Between
Sex.
Local, ty.
Date.
It. Horn.
Ii. ITorn.
tips.
11 light.
Girth.
Length.
Weight.
Elevation
48
I
5/3/02
14Î X4¡
14' X41
32
26
26
6-42-50.}
—
S3
I
6/3/02
12! 3 X 48
no Irace.
—
27
26
6-44Í-53
•-
—
183
I
I0/3/02
121 >45
12i X 4ü
3l
25 V
25]
5]'45''55a
-
—
403
2
27/3/02
12 Í X 4¡
125 X4|
3-r
24I
24.)
6-431-53
--
-
66 3
3
12/4/02
133 X4J
"3Î x5
42
26
26
6-42J-51.!
59
5,800
63 3
3
I 2/4/O2
13S X4è
13.J X 45
4.2
26
26
-43-531
64
5,800
73 8
3
13/4/02
14 X4.¡
138 X4I
5
26|
26
6-44.51
--
6,100
86 3
3
I8/4/O2
14 X4J
13! >'42
42
24e
25^
6 ¡-43-52}
6,100
O
I. Alhi Plain. 2. Near Kenya. 3. Likipia.
Grant's Gazelle.—(Gazella gran/i.)
No. and
Between
Sex.
Locality.
Date.
lt. Dorn.
L. Horn.
tips.
Height.
Girth.
I ength.
Weight.
Elevation.
57 <5
I
9/4/02
22j X 6$
22 X6|
5 a
37i
3S
7.5-62-75
HS
5,800
67 <5
I
12/4/02
21 a * 6}
215- ■ 6j
SI¬
36
35
7 '6o]'74l
HS
5,800
70 S
I
13/4/02
21 x 63
21) X 62
S''
35
43i
7-S5Í-69
—
5,800
72 <5
I
13/4/02
20g X 6_t
20 x6¿
8t\
33
35i
7-58Í-7I
—
6,000
127 <5
2
19/5/02
Hi X5.Í
14J ' 5è
5
—
—
—
—
4,000
159 <5
2
7/6/02
22 { x 6
22] x 6J
Si
34t
33
7Í-56Í-69
4,000
166 S
2
11/6/02
20¿ x 6 ^
21}X6|
7
—
—
—
—
4,000
167 ?
2
11/6/02
11 » X3i
n|X3i
4H
—
—
—
-
4,000
3iSá
3
18/1/03
20 ,V - 6:\-
20;[ X 6^-
7 i
34Í
34
7-57-68
114
4,100
33S¿
4
26/2/03
17 x6i
I7s x6j|
7«
-
—
—
2,250
342 i I
4
7/3/''3
I4:} X 6;}
14» x 6
5 i
—
—
--
—
2,lOO
343 3
4
S/3/°3
20j X 6i
r9a X6)
7 i
—
—
—
—
2,200
34S 3 I
5
I6/3/°3
17^ x ó,1,
17 J x 6¿
7i
—
—
—
—
2,950
370 9"
6
1/4/03
12 jj X 3 S
12:1 X 3«
72-
33i
30
7-51-61
—
3,250
371 9*
6
1/4/03
I2ô" x 3 s
i2â x 3D
5i
33T
3" S
7é-55-65í
—
3,250
373 3 *
6
1/4/03
221 x 6f
22I x 6%
10
3S
35
8-63.1-77
—
3,250
377 3*
6
1/4/03
22 ^ X7j
23s X 7T
1 ig
—
—
--
—
3,250
397 3 *
6
5/4/03
23^ x 7i
23i X 7¿
3Si
3S
73-64-76
—
3,550
i.
Likipia.
2. East
side Baringo.
3. Near Kizima, Karamojo. 4.
Tarash,
Turkana. 5.
Southern
Toposa.
6. Kcdef Valle)7.
* Those from the Ivedef Valley appear to differ from the others by the absence of dark bands even in the young males
and adult females, their greater height, the shape of their horns and other details. Sub-species ?
Ul
VI
4-
Oryx.—( Oryx beisa. )
between
Sex.
Locality. Date.
R. Horn.
L. Horn. tips.
Height.
Girth.
J.engt'-1.
Elevation.
190?
I 21/6/02
3 1 B X 5-}
3'ïx5-j 7¿
45 í
—
13Ï-73H9
4,000
201 <5
I 25/6/02
34} *73
30 X73 gl
46
56
133-76^103!
4,000
32S?
2 6/2/03
323x5;
32jX5l S,',
—
—
'3l-7°è-97-i
2,700
329 3
2 6/2/03
30 J X 6J
Oj
x
cr-
0
47 a
51
I4-]'74'I°2
2,700
I.
East side Baringo. 2
. Monyen Valley.
Greater
Kudu.—(Strepsiceros kudu.)
No. and
Retwcen
Sex.
Locality.
Date. R. Horn.
Straight. L. Horn. Straight.
tips. Height. Girth.
Length.
Elevation.
114 6
Likipia escarpment
14-5/02 5"! * 10}
39j 53sXio:| 41
403
56 62}
131-98 us
5,400
116 <5
,,
16,5,02 44.] x 10.}
— 44i X 10.1 -
26.}
_
_
5,400
208 6
>,
30/6,02 46 ¿ x 103
-- 463x10} —
472
— -
"2-93112
5,400
Lesser Kudu.—(Strcpsiccros imberbis.)
No. and Sex. Locality. Date. lt. J lorn. L. ITp.rn. Between tips. Height. Girth. Length.
322 6 I 29/1/03 2Ü;;X6,7, 291 xeg 12.J 43} 41 i-,-66-77
340 ¿ 2 28/2/03 26;; X 6.', 26.1 x 6il 12,', 43 36 9-63-77
i. Monyen Valley, Karamojo. 2. Tarash Valley, Turkana.
This locality is much further west than the ground from which any specimens have previously been recorded ; whether
there is any variation is not yet determined.
Weight. Elevation.
3.500
»84 2,350
C¡
O
O
Bushbuck.—( Tra gel api ms script us ?)*
Ko. and
Between
Sex.
Locality.
Date.
It. Horn.
L. Horn.
tips.
Height.
Girth.
Length.
Elevation.
Note.
46(5
I
1/4/02
S¿X4é
S X4.7
6
33
353
8-60-73
7,400
47 8
I
I /4/02
135x6.3
133 X 63
7fi?
3°-i
32
7i-49'59
7,4°0
48 9
I
6/4/02
—
—
—
303
30
9-53-64
7,400
Weight whole, 102 lbs.
909
2
21/4/02
—
-
—
—
—
—
6,200
211 ¿
3
I4/7/02
—
—
—
30
28
9Î-54Î-64}
7.300
Weight whole, 82 lbs.
212 ¿
3
—
—
—
—
32
31
71-55^-68^
7,300
270 ?
4
4/9/02
—
—
—
—
—
—
6,300
280 ¿
5
9/10,02
—
—
—
—
—
—
6,500
-i
3169
6
—
—
—
—
27
23
9-49-58
3,950
hi
•><
3'78
6
2/1/03
13« * 5tf
12:{ x 5«
5
32}
33
74-54-65
3,95o
<
b
35°<î
7
17/3/03
14 i* 5r
J5H X s5
8
30
32
7-563-69
2,950
357 9
8
22/3/03
—
—
—
243
23)
I83-42-50
5-850
365 8
9
31/3/03
io3 * 5.}
i oil " 5-i
Si
303
29
7-51-4-64
3,250
3663
9
31/3/03
9s X 5
9Ü x 5
2 3
30*
28
7Í-5I-6U
3,250
3683
9
3I/3/°3
4} x 3}
4è x 3-3
3b
—
—
—
3,250
393 9
9
31/3/03
—
—
—
273
24
S-46-Í-55
3,250
395 9
9
31/3/03
—
—
28
25
9-48.^-59
3,250
3969
9
31/3/03
—
—
28.3
25
S-49Í-59
3,250
i. Western slopes, Mount Kenya. 2. Likipia. 3. Mau Forest. 4. Gwashengeshu. 5. North Nandi, on the Escarp¬
ment. 6. North-west foot of Debasien. 7. Near Mount Lotholier. 8 Dodinga. 9. Kedef Valley.
* Kenya bushbuck appear to differ from any type I know. Kedef ones also struck me as being worth comparing with
known types.
i~n
VI
<-n
Warthog.—(Phaco,hennis Africanus.)
No. and
Sew
69
49 3
50 <5
52 <5
m i
25S ¿
351 3
369 ¿
43° i
Date.
6/3/02
7 4.02
7 4 02
8/4/02
12 5 02
24 S 02
■s/3'03
S' 3 °3
28/4/03
Ii. Tusk.
5l ■ 3.'
5:1 X 33
5 X3i
5il > 3
7 >4
6',
5¡*3!
9 X4i
51 > 3 í
L. Tusk.
5¡ 3-1
5« X 3S
5 X3.4
5 « x 3ï
7 X4
6
52X31
9:1 x 5¿
5 í x 3î
Between
tipa.
7;¡
9-1
s 2
s i
8¿
9ï
81
R. Lower L. Lower
Tusk. Tusk.
3»
3i
3ä
4i
33
3i
3Í
3i
5«
31 —
4¡1 X 2;' 4„'X2¡
3Î 31X2
JTeight.
25
28.I
29
28
29j
30
28.}
30
Girth.
34
4°-j
39
38
40
36
37-j
37
Length.
144-50-65
'5è-54è-73
17-54-71
i5í 554 73
17-55-72
"Weight. Elevation
182
192
190
i. Alhi. 2. West of Kenya. 3. Likipia.
Dodinga, near Mount Lot holier. 7. Kedef Valley.
4. East side Baringo. 5. Gwashcngeshu.
8. Kos Valley, near Mount Odio.
15 54 j 74
16-523 64',
17-51-72
6. Border of
6,500
6,500
6,100
4,000
7,000
3 650
Toposa and
Bush Pig.- (Pn/amoc/iicriis diemem's.)
No. & Sex.
225 ?
226 S sucker.
Locality.
Man Forest.
Date.
I/8/02
I/8/02
Height.
24è
22\
Length.
431-59
2SÏ
Weight.
104
16
Elevation.
7,7°°
7.700
d
>3
O
d
îfc.
d
s
o
Hippopotamus.-- -(IH/i/topohwius awp/iihius.)
No. & Sex. Locality. Date. Height. Girth. Length. Elevation.
1369 Baringo Lake 24/5/02 51 1094 261-130-1451 3-300
No. &
Sex.
271 3
437 «5
441 3
442 S
Locality.
1
2
Elephant.—(EUphus A/ricanas.)
Date.
7/9/02
13/5/03
2S/5/03
30/5/03
It. Tusk. Weight. L. Tusk.
Between
Weight. Tips.
6'10^" x i'7 i"
6'3"X I'9S"
6'7i"Xi'9S"
S3
91
107
7'2}"xi'7.f 91
5'6.J"XI'7S" 72
6'j"xi'9" 92
i. Kabaras.
— 10 3d
Half
Height. Girth.
h" 6'll*
Length.
26'2
30]
2' II"
2. Obbo.
109
io'5"
8' 28'ii"
7'8" 28'S}
Boot.
4'4é"
5'2|"
48"
5'"
Ear.
5'S-i" x 3'i 1"
5'io"X3'6"
6'5j" x 3'ioJ"
Eleva¬
tion.
5.850
2,900
2,900
2,900
Black Rhinoceros.—(Rhinoceros bicornis.)
No. it
Length between
To end of
Eleva¬
Sex.
Locality.
Date.
Front horn.
Back horn.
Height.
Girth, ears to root of tail.
tail.
tion.
17 <5
I
9/3/02
23ÎX 198
81X 20 \
62
IOO 95
lió
5,600
1633
2
9/6/02
I9g X22
10 x 20
—
99 116
144
4,000
324?
3
1/2/03
12.1 X 17
61Xl6
—
—
—
2,800
4163
4
I4/4/03
—
—
—
—
—
2,650
i. Doinyo Sabuk. 2. East side Baringo. 3. Monyen Valley. 4. Kedef Valley.
en
V3
57«
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Zebra.—(Equus burchelli ? *)
1. and Sex.
Locality.
Date.
Height.
Girth.
Length.
Weight.
Elevation,
87 S
I
19/4/02
47¿
6o¿
2l£-86-II4£
—
6,600
146 3
2
29/5/02
47è
56¿
20^-96-123
—
3.300
156 V
2
5/6/02
48 Ï
56*
21^-93-126
~
3.300
180 3
2
16/6/02
49
57
21-90
—
4,000
188 3
2
19/6/02
—
—
—
—
4,000
1999
2
23/6/02
—
—
—
—
4,000
246 3
3
16/8/02
51*
61
21-92^-122^
733
7,000
2649
3
28/8/02
484
62
i9£-86-i2i£
—
7,000
330 <5
4
7/2/03
49
61
23-93-121
—
2,800
344 3
5
1/3/03
48 £
57
23-93-122
—
2,200
i. Foot of Marmanet Mts. 2. East side Baringo. 3. Sirgoi Rock, Gwashen-
geshu Plateau. 4. Murosoka Mt., Karamojo. 5. Mt. Zumut, western Turkana.
* These are at present under examination by the Hon. Walter Rothschild ; there
are at least two distinct varieties.
Stoat ?
No. Locality. Date. Elevation.
139 . . Baringo . 26/5/02 3*500
Hare.—(Lepus —- ?)
No. Locality. Date. Elevation.
96 i . ; 2/4/02 . 3,500
406 I 2 . 13/4/03 - . 2,700
i. East side Baringo. 2. Kedef Valley.
Squirrel ?
No. Locality. Date. Elevation.
218 Man Forest. . 17 7/02 7,700
Hvrax.-
—(Procavia —
>*)
No. and Sex.
Locality.
Date.
Length.
Girth.
Elevation
124 9
Baringo (near Boma)
19/5/02
—
—
3.500
1253
,,
19/5/02
2C£
9
3.500
1379
1 »
26/5/02
I8Í
—
3.500
1389
,,
26/5/02
—
—
3.500
1453
..
29/5/02
m
9
3.500
* In the same colony they vary in colour from cream to a dark slatey brown.
APPENDIX III. 579
Birds.—Ostrich.—(Struthio camelus.)
No. and Sex. Locality. Date. Height. Elevation.
190 ¿ I 20/6/02 86è- 4,000
249 ¿ 2 20/8/02 — 6,800
i. East side Baringo. 2. Gwashengeshu.
Reptiles.—Crocodile.—(CrococLilus nilo ticus.)
No. and Sex. Locality. Date. Length. Girth. Elevation.
121 ? Molo, Baringo. 18/5/02 124 42 3,300
The Baringo crocodile has only been known to attack man on two occasions,
although the natives are continually fishing thigh deep in the lake.
Iguana.
No. and Sex. Locality. Date. Length. Girth. Tongue. Elevation.
123 9 Molo river, Baringo. 18/5/02 45^ 8£ 9$ 3,35°
Python.—(Python — ?)
No. and Sex. Locality. Date. Length. Girth. Elevation. Note.
3099 i [21/12/02 l6'8i' 1' II" 4,000 Contained 105 eggs.
I. On Kilim river, Karamojo.
Gaboon Puff Adder.—(Bills gabonica.)
No. Locality. Date. Elevation.
402 Kedef Valley. 11/4/03 3>2°°
37*
58o
IN VN KNOWN AFRICA.
APPENDIX
A list of the few Lepidoptera and Heterocera collected in Karamoja
Bowdler Sharpe. Arranged according to Professor Aurivellius'
pages in that work. The family of Hespéridas have been arranged
LEPID
chrysippus, Linn,
klugii, Butl.
Page.
Danaida petiverana, Doubl, and Hewits. . 33
32
33
Family
no. «i =„
specimens.
.. i ... s
. i ... 6
.. 10 ... 6 Í, 4 Ç ...
„ dorippus, Klug. .
Amauris enceladus, Brown
— „ echeria, Stoll.
32 ... 3 ...
37 i •••
39 ••• i
<î
ê
Melanitis ismene, Cram. .
Henotesia perspicua, Trim.
Ypthima asterope, Klug. .
45
61
77
Family
Pardopsis punctatissima, Boisd.
Acrasa serena, Fabr.
Si ..
104 ..
4
11
Family
Acrasa vinidia, Hewits.
„ lycia .
. io5 ...
. no ...
APPENDIX IV. 581
IV.
between Mounts Elgon and Murosoka. Compiled by Miss E. M.
" Rhopalocera iEthiopica," the second column corresponding to the
according to Dr. Holland's paper, P.Z.S., 1896, p. 2.
OPTERA.
danaidida:.
Locality.
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft
Athenune, 4,000 ft.
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft.
Moroto and Athenune, 4,000 ft.
N. foot Elgon, 4,100 ft.
. 24.1.03
. 18.2.03
. 23 & 24.1.03;
7 & '5-2-°3
. 24.1.03 ; 18.2.03
. —.12.02
Satykid/e.
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
33 3) 33
Murosoka, 4,800 ft. .
Acrteidaí.
N. foot Elgon, 4,100 ft.
Moro, nr. Manimani, 4,000 ft.
Nr. Kizima, 4,100 ft. .
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
Athenune, 4,000 ft.
N. foot Elgon, 4,100 ft.
26.1.03
23 & 26.1.03 ;
I5-2-°3
I5-2-°3
—.12.02
h.i.03
I7-i-°3
23-T-°3
18.2.03
—. 12.02
582
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
specimens.
Atella plialantha, Drury . . . 126 ... 2
Pyrameis cardui, Linn . . 13° ••• 3
Precis cebrene, Trim. . . 135 ... 8
Family
JSmpL. Sex-
Precis clelia, Cram. . 135
Precis boopis, Trim. 135
Precis limnoria, Klug.
■ 141
i ...
—
(form P. taveta, Rogenh.)
$
Hypolimnas misippus, Linn.
• 147
2 ...
Byblia ilithyia, Drury
■ 158
2 ...
Hamanumida daedaLus, Fabr. .
181
10 ...
—
Charaxes neanthes, Hewits.
Charaxes varanes, Cram. .
Deudorix antalus, Hopff..
Lyctenesthes definita, Butl.
Cupido theophrastus, Fabr.
gregorii, Butl.
plinius, Fabr.
moriqua, Wallgr.
jesous, Guén.
bseticus, Linn,
malathana, Boisd.
jobates, Hopff. .
sp. . .
gaika, Trim.
Cupido knysna, Trim
244
241
309
Family
S ? ...
363
363
364
366
366
367
373
377
378
379
APPENDIX IV.
583
NYMPHALIDAÎ
Locality.
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft.
33 33 >>
Kizima, 4,100 ft.
Moroto, 4,700 ft.
Monyen, 2,500 ft.
Athenune, 4,000 ft. .
Bukora, 4,050 ft.
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft.
Nr. Kizima, 4,100 ft. .
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft.
Athenune, 4,000 ft. .
Monyen, 2,700 ft.
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft.
Nr. Kizima, 4,100 ft.
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
N. Debasien, 4,900 ft.
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
Athenune, 4,000 ft.
Moro, nr. Manimani, 4,000 ft.
Athenune, 4,000 ft.
5) 77
Lïmnid®.
Bukora, 4,050 ft.
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft.
Bukora, 4,050 ft.
33 33
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft..
Murosoka, 4,800 ft.
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft. .
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft.
N. foot Elgon, 4,100 ft.
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
Nr. Kizima, 4,100 ft. .
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft. .
Monyen, 2,800 ft.
Bukora, 4,050 ft.
Date.
24.1.03
33
I7.Ï.03
24.1.03
7.2.03
18.2.03
16.1.03
23-t-°3
24.1.03
I7.ï.°3
24.1.03
18.2.03
1.2.03
24.1.03
17- io3
23-1-03
9.1.03
23103
18.2.03
ti. 1.0.3
18.2.03
33
19.1.03
24.1.03
24.1.03
16 & 17.i.03
24.1.03
rS-2-°3
23-1-03
24.2.03
—. 12.02
23-I-°3
17-1-03
23-1-03
15.2.03
16.1.03
584
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Herpaenia eriphia, Godt.
Mylothris agathina, Cram.
Pieris westwoodi, Wallgr.
Pieris severina, Cram.
„ mesentina, Cram. .
Pinacopteryx pigea, Boisd.
Teracolus calais
Teracolus chrysonome, Klug. .
„ protomedia, Klug. .
Teracolus difficilis, E. M. Sharpe
„ puniceus, Butl.
Teracolus pseudacaste, Butl.
Teracolus heuglini, Feld.
„ casta, Gerst. .
„ evarne, Klug. .
,, incretus, Butl.
Eronia cleodora, Hubn.
„ leda, Boisd.
Catopsilia florella, Fabr.
'Ferias brigitta, Cram.
Terias boisduvaliana, Mab.
Family
Page.
389
394
No. of
specimens.
.. 5 ...
.. 6 ...
Sex.
<? ?
406
.. 8 ...
S
406
407
. 4 ...
... 20 ...
$ 9
à 9
412
3 •••
à 9
422
.. 4 ...
$ 9
424
427
5 ...
... 8 ...
¿ 9
43°
1 ...
2 ...
$
S
432
.. 11 ...
S 9
435
438
441
442
445
446
449
... 4 ...
... 3 ...
... 6 ...
2 ..
... 6 ...
2 ...
... 6 ...
9
9
$ 9
¿
<? 9
453
... 9 ...
6 9
452
... 5 ...
APPENDIX IV.
PlERID/E.
Locality.
Monyen, 2,800 ft.
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
Murosoka, 4,800 ft. .
VV. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
Bukora, 4,050 ft.
\V. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
Moro, nr. Manimani, 4,000 ft.
Bukora, 4,050 ft.
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft.
Monyen, 2,700 ft.
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft.
W. foot Moroto .
Monyen, 2,700 ft.
J) J5
Nr. Kizima, 4,100 ft. .
Monyen, 2,700 ft.
N. foot Elgon, 4,100 ft.
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft.
Athenune, 4,000 ft.
Bukora, 4,050 ft.
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
Monyen, 2,800 ft.
W. Debasien, 3,900 ft.
Monyen, 2,800 ft.
N. foot Elgon, 4,100 ft.
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
Nr. Kizima, 4,100 ft. .
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft.
Athenune, 4,000 ft.
Nr. Debasien, 4,500 ft.
Moro, nr. Manimani, 4,000
W. foot Moroto, 4,7°o ft.
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft.
Athenune, 4,000 ft. .
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft.
Date.
I & 7.2.03
. 23 & 26.I.03
. 15 & 28.2.03
. 23 & 26.I.03
. IO.I.O3
. 23 & 24.1.03
11.i.03
. 16.1.03
. 24.1.03
i & 7.2.03
2.2.03
. 2.1.03
24.1.03
■ 23- '-°3
1.2.03
i & 7.2.03
17.1.03
i & 7.203
—.12.02.
. 24.1.03
. 18.2.03
■
23 &: 26.1.03
i & 7.2.03
1.1.03
■ 7-2-°3
—. i Z.02
• 23.1.03
>>
17-io3
23.r.°3
24.1.03
. 18.2.03
9.1.03
. it.i.03
23-1 -°A
24.1.03
18.2.03
. 23 & 26.1.03
586
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
Name.
Papilio demodocus, Esp.
Family
- ' specimens.
477 ... 12 ...
Sarangesa lugens
„ eliminata, Holl.
Gomalia elma, Trim.
Rhopalocampta anchiscs, Gerst
5
9
20
98
i . .
7
Family
Patula walkeri, Butl.
Cyligramma latona, Cram.
Sphingomorpha monteironis, Butl.
Boarmia
HETER-
Family
Family
Palpares tristis, Hägen.
NEUROP-
Family
APPENDIX IV. 587
Papilionid^.
Locality. Date.
W. foot Moroto, 4,700 ft. .... 23.1.03
„ „ „ „ ....'. 24.1.03
Monyen, 3,000 ft 4.2.03
HESPERIDA.
Monyen, 2,700 ft.
W. foot Moroto, 2,700 ft.
7 J 57 5 5 55
Moroto, 4,700-5,300 ft.
Monyen, 2,700 ft.
OCERA.
Noctuidä.
Bukora, 4,050 ft. ...... 14.1.03
W. Debasien, 3,900 ft. 1.1.03
Bukora, 4,050 ft. ...... 16.1.03
GEOMETRIDjE.
Bukora, 4,050 ft. ...... 16.1.03
1.2.03
23-I-°3
24.r.°3
24.1.03
1.2.03
TERA.
MYRMELEONID/E.
Murosoka, 4,000 ft.
18.2.03
588
IN UNKNOWN AFRICA.
APPENDIX V.
HINTS TO SPORTSMEN IN B.E.A. AND UGANDA.
No two sportsmen agree as to what is, or is not, necessary to
take on a trip. For this reason I only propose giving a few
general notes which may be useful to a novice in the country.
Anyone who may wish for detailed lists, directions as to dealing
with the skins, etc., will find them in an appendix to " A Sporting
Trip Through Abyssinia."
Passage and Freight.—To reach Mombassa with stores and
cartridges the only practical way, at present, is by German
steamer from Hamburg, passengers joining overland.
Customs.—A great reduction is made in the Customs duties on
goods sent as freight, and this on such costly articles as rifles
and cameras, is a consideration.
Stores and Outfit.—Although provisions, etc., . can be pur¬
chased at the Coast and in various up-country stations, person¬
ally I consider it best to take everything, except trade goods,
out from home, in 55 or 60 lb. loads. If the boxes are
24" x 14" x 19" they can be carried equally well by donkeys
or men.
A good rot-proof double-fly tent should be provided with
mosquito-nets for both the bed and dining-table.
Aluminium cooking and table ware stands native usage and has
none of the drawbacks of copper, steel, or enamel.
I found green canvas sacks most useful for skins, as they are
practically insect-proof. The hides, when dry, should be dusted
with napthaline and the sacks sewn up tightly. The skulls,
after being boiled in a galvanised iron bath to get off the horns,
should be packed in dry grass in separate sacks.
Burberry suits resist the thorns while khaki or other shooting
cottons are torn to rags.
Rifles.—For those who want a heavy-bore rifle, that has
tremendous stopping power, I do not think a Jeffery .600
cordite can be beaten. For a lighter big-game weapon, I
APPENDIX V.
589
have found the .400 cordite by the same maker so useful that
on my next trip I have decided to leave the .600 behind and
take a pair of the former. The .256 Männlicher-Schonauer,
with Jeffery telescopic sight, is still my favourite small-bore
rifle. With it I have killed animals of all sizes, from hippo to
dik-dik.
A shot and ball gun completes the battery I should advise.
For a long trip, escort arms are necessary, varying from 10
to 20 Snider carbines, according to the district. These arms and
their ammunition should be taken from home.
Caravan.—If it is intended to go far from the rail, half the
safari should be recruited at the Coast and supplemented by
local men on leaving the railway.
A porter's load is 60 lbs. His rations are il lbs. of flour a
day, so that unless food can be purchased from the natives, or
the men partly fed on game shot, a month is the outside limit
of travel for a safari in which all the baggage is carried by porters.
Where donkeys can be collected they simplify matters, as,
although slower travellers than men, no food needs to be carried
for them. Swahili gunbearers are seldom satisfactory. It
would be well worth while to bring on two good Somali shikaris
from Aden.
Cost of Trip.—As to expense, my trip of nearly twenty-one
months from home, everything included, worked out at a little
under £200 a month, but I had another man with me for
four months ; the carriage on such trophies as giraffe skins
was very heavy, and there were other expenses that would
not occur on an ordinary shooting trip. For £100 a month a
man should be able to have excellent sport, and if he confined
himself to short trips from the railway, I believe he would
still have good shooting for much less.
When I left Mombassa wages were per month : porters,
R.io ; askaris, R.12 ; English-speaking boy, R.25 ; cook, R.25 ;
gunbearers, R.25 ; head man, R.50.
INDEX
ABDALLAH, the author's English-
speaking boy, 40
Abdallah, corporal of the author's
askaris, 235, 249, 339, 408,
411, 412, 470, 480
Abyssinia, author's previous visit
to, i, 39
Abyssinian raids ; on Beluchi
traders, 39 and note ; in Suk
and Karamojo territory,
1901, 309
Abyssinians at Toposa, alarm of
Swahili traders at, 374
Acholi natives, murder and mar¬
riage among, Barlow's de¬
tails on, 499-500
Aden, 4, 5
Agoro, Mount, seen from the top
of the Logguren rock, 464
author's journey to, from
Tarangole, game abundant
towards, 469
Albert, Lake, the British and
Belgian stations of Wadelai
on, 506, aspect of its north¬
ern end, and game tracks
near, 507
Ali Barali, author's one-time Somali
tracker, in praise of, 142
Allotte pool, author's camp near,
curiously marked and horned
giraffe seen near, 383
Ambatch, native names for, at
Lake Baringo, and uses made
of it, 88-9
American Mission near Kisumu,
sound educational scheme of,
261
Amka, Sudanese mail steamer,
author's journey in, to Khar¬
toum, 521
Amyun Gomoi, " Sultan " of the
Mielli, his sagacity, and
friendliness to the author,436,
the visit to his village, 442,
he acts as guide to the
author, 444
Anamuget, the market at, 309
Andorobo natives of Mount Kenya,
their use of tobacco for
barter, 34
Anglo-Greek and Austrian ivory
tráders met at Mumias,
their difficulties, 224-7
Ant-bear workings, seen en route
to Lake Baringo, 76
Antelope, probably lesser kudu,
tracks of, seen near the
Moroto, 325
Ant-hills, used as sentry posts by
the waterbuck, 254
Ants, white, eaten by the Suk,
how collected, 102-4, also
eaten by the Makkoru, 474
592
INDEX.
Antonia, mountain ridge, near
Mount Zunut, 380
Aram Guiwaur, one of the cave-
dwellers on Mount Elgon,
283, 287
Arcolonoroc, the Tarash at, native
alarm at, the author's ar¬
rival, 372-3
Arcq, Lieut., Belgian officer -at
Mahagi, 508
Asia and Africa, missionary societies
in, strictures on the results
of their labours, 261
Assuan, visited by the author, 532
Athenune basin, Murosoka hills. 351
Austin, Major H. H., his experiences
with the Turkana, 353-4. 357
BABOONS, found on islands in
Lake Baringo, 94, and near
the lake, 122 ; on Murosoka,
350 ; on Mount Locorina,
382 ; their enjoyment of
doum-palm fruit near the
Kedef, 434
Bagge, Mr., see Harrison
Baker, Mr. Hyde, collector, Baringo
Plain station, author's visit
to, 81, his boating expedition
with Cobb, 82, and hospital¬
ity, 92-4 ; hippo shooting
with, on Lake Baringo,
106-7 i his pets at the station,
122; his farewell to the
dying Chumeringo, 112 ; he
introduces Comoto and his
men to the railway, 112-4;
his impressive long-shots,
120 ; his premature " Coro¬
nating," 153-4; his en¬
couragement of irrigation by
the Njemps, 164 ; his journey
to the Ravine, 167, escorting
the author's trophies to the
coast, ib
Baker, Sir Samuel, site of his fort
at Gondokoro, partly covered
by the British station, 518
Barbed wire, introduction of the
Baringo natives to, 119
Baringo, Lake, author's permit to
shoot near, 12, arrival of
the author at, 76, kudu cows
found near, ib., elevated
Camp of the author near, ib. ;
a, visit from the Suk, 77 ;
crocodiles of, their un-
ferocity, 82, native boats on,
88-90, island in and hot
springs near, 90-2, cooking
in intentional, 93, and the
reverse, 94, change of level
noticeable at, 92, Njemps
population on, 92, molested
by apes and snakes, 94 ;
hippo shooting on, and a
hippo fight seen in, 106-7 >
baby boy found at the edge
of, 108-9; native mode of
fishing in, 109-10, the fish
so obtained, no; the pug¬
nacity of the, rhinoceri near,
133-5. I49. 150; large size
of the impala near, 164; some
of its affluents, 167
Baringo Lake Station, establish¬
ment of, and the reason,
114-9, its barbed-wire de¬
fences, 119, its arrangements
and water supply, 119-20,
the collection of pets at, and
the famous black cat, 122-4
coronation festivities at, 153-4
a typical native tribunal at, 86-8
wild rock rabbits or dassies at, 96
Baringo Plain, vegetation and game
on, the Government station
INDEX.
593
on, arrival of the author at,
81
Barlow, Captain, met by the author
at Nimule, 494, his quarters,
498, his health, 500, hard
work done by, 501, he is sent
to Latuka to investigate the
author's reports, 515
Bedoui, author's second gun-bearer,
100, 180, 203, 256, 335, 344,
his adventure with the rhino,
134, his bolt from a lion, 292,
his adventure with the Obbo
elephants, 480-3
Beehives of the Kikuyu, 38
Bees, see Wild bees, and Honey
Bellows, and other implements, of a
Kavirondo blacksmith, 270
Beluchi traders, met with at
Karhoteney, their complaints
of the Abyssinians, 38-40,
their camp visited by author,
their men and ivory photo¬
graphed, 44
Birikani, arid plain near, and
dearth of water, 307
Blacksmith's methods at Boma
Majanjar, 270
Blackwater fever, Sly's death from,
501-2, the sovereign remedy
against, lacking at Nimule,
502
Blain, Mr., met by the author near
the Molo, 164
Boats, native, made of the ambatch
plant, on Lake Baringo, 88-90
Boma Majanjar, author's meeting
with Mr. Howitt at, 257 ; the
chief at, his wife, and her
attire, 267 ; native black¬
smith at, and his methods,
270, a. woman's " tail " and
apron at last obtained at,
268-9
Boma na Weli, new depot at, for
hut tax flour, and new price
at for ivory, 270
Bongo of the Mau forest, specimens
given to the Natural History
Museum by Mr. Isaac, 167,
none seen by the author, 175,
177
Booth, Dr., of Mumias station, 220
Bottego, Major, his experience of
the Turkana, 353
Boundary restrictions of the B. E.
A. and Uganda game laws,
futility of, as regards natives,
121
Bramley, Capt., duties of, at Gondo-
koro, 518
British East Africa, districts in,
taken over from Uganda,
confusion in rates, resultant
thereon, 159Í
Sir C. Eliot's views on the form
of emigration best suited to,
endorsed by the author, 541
and Uganda, author's plan for
shooting in, and aims, as a.
naturalist, 2, difficulties
caused by the game laws,
2, 3, run in, 121; the ivory
export duty and its collec¬
tion in, author's observa¬
tions concerning its abuses,
536-41
Buffalo, in the Kenya forest, 54,
a dead one seen en route to
Mount Sirgoit, 182 ; others,
live, in the Obbo region, 477,
an adventure with one in the
Obbo jungle, 483
Bukeddi cows, immense horns of,
302
Bukora, epidemic among the
donkeys of, 298, Nzau sent
to, for donkeys, etc.. 307
38
594
INDEX.
Buslibuck, a darker variety than
usual, found in the Kenya
forest, 54; near Marmanet
hills, 74 ; at the Ravine,
Mau forest, 168; Elgon forest,
244; Dodinga hills, 400, 405
Butiala and Nimule, Government
store-carrying vessel plying
between, 506, need of more
and stronger launches on the
Nile, between, 514
Butterflies at Kilim, collected by
the author, 303 g
Buxton, Mr. Sidney, 142
CAIRNS in the Dodinga hills, like
those in Tibet, 407
Cairo, end of the author's twenty-
one months' journey at, 532
Cave-dwellers of Mount Elgon,
contradictory accounts of,
259, first sight of their
dwellings, and native name
for them, 271, the visits to
them, 272 et seq., the appear¬
ance and ornaments of the
women, 273, 288, the caves
described, 274 et seq., cleanli¬
ness prevalent in, 279, chisel
marks on the walls, 280,
286, theories as to the origin
of the caves, 280, Joseph
Thomson's views on, cited,
bearing out the author's
views, 280-3, native asser¬
tions concerning, 283, their
weapons, 284, 285, their
amazement at seeing
matches used, 286-7, clothing
of both sexes, 288, progres¬
sive abandonment by, of the
caves for life in the plains,
; 289-90, desirability of fully
examining the floors of the
deserted caves, 290
Caves of Mount Elgon and their in¬
habitants, see Cave-dwellers
Cat, the black, of Baringo Lake
station, 122, the first do¬
mestic cat seen by the Suk,
their interest in it, 123
Cats, half-wild, at Baringo station,
124
Cattle for transport, author's diffi¬
culties in training, 258
Cattle-raiding, a frequent offence
near Mumias, 228
Chanler's reedbuck, see Reedbuck
Chumeringo, Suk chief, scene at his
death-bed, 112
Cobb, Mr. Cecil, the author's com¬
panion in his giraffe-hunting
expedition, 3, game shot by
at Stony Athi, 15 ; he shoots
a gnu bull, 24 ; his meeting
with Dr. Hinde and his wife,
25 ; his boating with Baker
on Lake Baringo, 82, he
shoots a greater kudu bull
on Baringo plain, its fine
horns, 85, and a fine hippo
in Lake Baringo, 90 ; his
famous appetite, 93 ; his
return with the trophies, 81,
and departure for the coast
96-7
Coke's hartebeest, see Hartebeest
Combo, the author's cook, and
his eventful career, 154-6,
slackness of the coast author¬
ities in regard to such
characters, 156
Comoto, Suk chief, his first ex¬
perience of the train, 112 ;
vocabulary of Suk names
for animals collected from,
no
INDEX.
595
Congo Free State, regulation of the
ivory trade in, 541 ; sta¬
tions of, author's favourable
impressions on, 511
Congo river, author's intention to
voyage up, set aside, 1
Coronation festivities at Baringo
Lake station, 153-4
Cotton, Major Powell-, author, his
equipment of guns for the
expedition, 14-15
Coutlis (see also Kanakaris and),
companion of the author to
the west of Mount Debasien,
304, huge snake shot by, 305,
progress of his journey, 324,
331-3. 339
Cow elephants, ivory of, question
of the trade in, and uses of
the tusks, 539, author's sug¬
gestions concerning, 540
Cows, large horned, of the Bukeddi
breed, 303
Cranes, Kavirondo, the only
creatures tolerated by na¬
tives merely for beauty, 264
Crocodiles of Lake Baringo, 90,
108, their unferocious be¬
haviour, 82, tales told of, by
natives, 109
DARAGARNI river, beyond Mu
mias, decayed bridge over,
237
Dassies, see Rock-rabbits
Death and burial, customs of the
Acholi, as regards the bodies
of murdered persons, 499-500
customs of the Masai, 173
Suk method of easing the breath¬
ing of the dying, 112
Debasien, Mount, seen from Kilim,
curious conical hills between
it and Mount Elgon, 304,
author's journey to the west¬
ward of, 304, beauty of, on
that side, 305
Defassa, author's best head of,
secured en route to Mumias,
206
Descamps, Commandant, his hospi¬
tality to the author at
Dufile, 494
Dik-dik (one of the smallest ante¬
lopes), in the Kenya forest,
54, colour of hair on, 56 ;
on Baringo plain, 81, 84,
plentiful near the Molo, 166,
in the Mau forest, 181, tracks
of, seen in the Elgon forest,
241, found near Kilim, 303,
and near the Tarash, 372 ; on
Mount Locorina, 382, in the
Kedef valley, 432, near the
Mielli district, 445
Dodinga, hill country, author's
objective on leaving the
Tarash, 375, his route, and
giraffe seen on, 387, deserted
villages, examined by the
author, 390, why forsaken,
394, the country, fertile,
healthy and elevated, and
suitable for white men, 393-4.
events of the author's
journey among, 394 et seq.,
a crop of troubles, 408, the
theft's ib., arid the author's
retaliation, the negotiations,
an exciting day and night,
414-20, further negotiations,
420, the Dodinga attacks,
423-5, excursions and alarms,
a serious position, 426, the
blockade forced by the
author, 428, the escape from
the district, 430, proposed
3S'
596
INDEX.
Dodinga—continued.
joint punitive expedition
against, of the author with
the Marañóle, declined by
him, 450, author's troubles
with, reported at Nimule,
495, their report on the
author, made to the Mielli,
and their reason for robbing
him, 437, a quaint inversion
of the facts, 499
hills, guereza monkeys in, 400,
a specimen secured, 406,
grey monkeys in, 405
seen from the Lobu valley, 458
tribe, hillsmen, their true location
and small numbers, 389,
members of the same tribe
as the Oboya, their chronic
and ail-but universal feuds,
451; raids of on the Tulono,
447
their reception of the author,
394-8
difficulties in trading with, 400-1,
404
the usual guide difficulty, 404
warriors, unclad, their height
and head-dress, 397-8, their
ornaments, 401, their tally
of slain foes, elbow orna¬
ment, and weapons, 402
women's attire, adornments and
coiffure, 403, their appear¬
ance, ib. and love of smoking,
404, dress of the girls, 404,
their language
Dodosi, eastern, Turkana raids in,
reported by Howitt, 321,
358, native'faithfulness, and
its sad results, 321-2
Doinyo, Sabuk hill, game near, 16,
18-20, 59, thorn trees on
slopes of, 62
Donkey-panniers, found en route,
interesting contents of, 376
Donkeys, bought at Mumias, 224,
difficulties with on leaving,
236, and at the Nzoia,
252, unequal to the bad
roads near Kilim, 297, epi¬
demic amongst, in Bukora,
effects of, 298, some ob¬
tained beyond Kilim, ib.
others near Mount Kisima,
323
Dorobo natives, desertion of the
guides furnished by, in the
Mau forest, 180
game-pits of, near Mount Sirgoit,
183
the hunter, and his donkey,
trained as a game decoy, 161
poisoned arrows used by, 176
slaughter of guereza monkeys by,
unchecked by the game laws,
178-9
as trackers, their laziness, 177
Doum palm, along the Kedef, etc.,
432, its fruit described,
native uses of, and liking
for, of baboons, 434
Duck, plentiful, en route to Mumias,
26
Dufile, Congo Free State station,
on the Nile, visited by the
author, Belgian hospitality
at, and cane-walled bunga¬
low of, 494, aspect of the
place, and native soldiers,
a Manbettu (pigmy) man,
seen at, by the author, 495,
Duiker, of the Baringo plain, 84,
of the Mau forest, specimens
given to the Natural History
Museum by Mr. Isaac, 167,
at the Ravine, 168, track
of, seen, Elgon forest, 241,
INDEX.
597
shot near Mount Elgon, 292,
near the Mielli district, 445,
in the Kedef valley, 432
EARRINGS and other ornaments
of a Masai warrior, 171
Eden, Mr., new Commissioner at
Nimule, 516 ;
Egadang, near Mount Agoro, seen
from the Logguren rock, 464
hills, curious twin-peak in, 446
Mount, Lori valley, west of, 445
Eland, found near Yanley Mondogo,
18, in W. Likipia and round
Lake Baringo, 139, abun¬
dance of, though unpro¬
tected by game laws, 143,
large herd of, near Mount
Sirgoit, 184, 185
and zebra, mixed herd of, near
the Gwasho Nyiro, 63
Eldama Ravine or Shemoni, 82
Elephant cemetery, near Mount
Zunut, 379
fury, its methods and possible
reason, 336-7
hunting in Obbo, 478-89
shooting by ivory traders, un¬
authorized and disastrous,
537-8, author's suggestions,
concerning, 540
skin, difficulties of preserving, 212
traps of the Karamojo, 301
tusks, author's third pair secured
for him, and difficulties con¬
nected with, 515-16, in the
Kenya forest, 51-4, of the
Kabaras district, 210, one
shot, 211; near Mount Elgon,
291-3, one shot, 294; near
Kilima, 298 ; near Mount
Moroto, 335 ; traces of near
the Tarash, 352; near Natapa
pool, 371-2; near Mount
Zunut," 380-1 ; near Mount
Locorina, 382, 383-4; near
Marangole, 387-8; near'Kilio,
472 ; in the Obbo district,
475, 476, adventures with,
878-82, 485]; near Wadelai,
512
devastation by, 484
Karamojo method of [hunting or
trapping, 301-2
proportion of sexes in the herds,
attitude of the Government
to the question of trade in
cow ivory, uses of this last,
539
Elgarai, stream, giraffes seen near,
190, hungry natives met
beyond, 190-1, giraffe shot
near, 192, ostrich shot near,
193
Elgeyo natives, east of Mount Sir¬
goit, their report of Nandi
raiding, 184-5, 188 ; their
custom of appeal to the
Spirit of the Universe by fire,
189, the report of elephants
north of the Elgarai, 191
Elgon, Mount, caves and cave-
dwellers of (see Cave-dwel¬
lers)
distrust of the natives near,
for the British, how induced,
118-9
five-horned giraffes found near,
by Sir H. H. Johnston, views
of Mr. Oldfield Thomas on, 2
as seen from the Nandi escarp¬
ment, 242, and from the
Kabaras villages, 215
visits of the author to the caves
and cave-dwellers on, 271,
272 et seq
Eliot, Sir Charles (late), Commis¬
sioner of the B.E.A. Pro-
59«
INDEX.
Eliot, Sir Charles—continued.
tectorate, the author's inter¬
view with, 11, his views on
the form of emigration pre¬
ferable for, endorsed by the
author, 541
Ellison, Sergeant-Instructor at Bar-
ingo Lake station, 95
Eloi, mother of Limoroo, Sultan of
Latuka, photographed by the
author, 465
Emigration for B. E. Africa, views
of Sir Charles Eliot on,
endorsed by the author, 541
Entebbe, wharf said to be in course
of erection at, 518
Eram, M., Chef de Territoire, met
with at Mahagi, 508-9
Eray tribe, dreaded by the Makkoru
natives, 473, 474, traces of
their raids in Obbo, 484-5,
incredulity concerning these
raids, at Nimule, 495
Etakatok river, 207, process of
fording described, 208, suc¬
cessful prevention of fever
after, ib
FASHODA, as seen by the author,
524
Fire-arms of the Mielli, 438, and
of the Marañóle, 449, 451,
an investigation into the
sources of, set on foot from
Nimule, 515
Fish river, or Mto Samaki, author's
camp near, first glimpse of
the Mount Elgon caves
from, 270-1
Flame-raising, method employed in
the Mau forest, 174
Flour, received in payment of the
Hut-tax, high price of, at
Mumias, 263
Foreign Office, policy as to
emigration into B. E.
Africa, wide-spread discon¬
tent aroused by, 541
Forest pig, Mau forest, 157-6,
favourite food of, 178
tract on the Upper Congo,author's
original objective, 1
Fort Hall or Mbirri, author's visit
to, the place described, 29,
30
Teman, African Rifles stationed
at, 153
GAME LAWS of B. E. Africa and
Uganda, boundary regula¬
tions, non-effective as to
natives, 121, defects of,
as regards the protection of
the giraffe, etc., 2, 3, 535,
non-effective in protecting
guereza monkeys, 178-9 ; as
affecting rhinoceros shooting,
150, 151
fee for sportsman's license, under,
exacted from white men
only, 538
heavy fees for exceeding the
shooting limits of, 12
strictures and suggestions of the
author concerning, 535 et seq
Game-pits of the Dorobo, 183
Game reserves, no check on native
decimation of game, 535,
author's suggestions concern¬
ing, ib. et seq
near Lake Baringo, restrictions of
non-effective as to natives,
121
round Mahagi, large extent of,
508-9
Garbata, stream, fish from, full of
worms, 306 j
INDEX.
599
Garnarpu stream, source of, near
Mount Debasien, 305
Gazelle, see Grant's and Thomson's
Giraffe, group of, at the Natural
History Museum, the result
of the expedition, 534^
seen en route to Mumias, 206, and
near Mount Elgon, 295, large
herd, seen near Murosoka,
341, 343, traces of near
r Natapa pool, 371
Giraffe-skins, how preserved by the
author, 126, 128, 142
Giraffes, author's failure to photo¬
graph, the reason, 203
comical appearance of, when
galloping, 131
first met with by the author,
near the Maragua, 29, others
near Lake Baringo, 131, 135,
136, in the Kedef valley,
432, just outside the Mielli
country, 445, near Kilio, 469
five-horned species, found near
Mount Elgon by Sir H. H.
Johnston, views of Mr. Old-
field Thoma on, the authors'
intention to collect for the
Natural History Museum,
difficulties occasioned by the
Uganda and B. E. A. Game
Laws, 2,3
blackness of the bulls of, 97,
cow of, secured near Lake
Baringo, 126-7, described,
128, how the skin was pre¬
served, 126, 128-9, the first
bull obtained near Lake
Baringo, 136-9, his descrip¬
tion, 140, true nature of the
" horns," 141
near the Elgarai, 190, one shot,
191-2, care of the skin,
192, a very fine specimen
secured, weight of the two
skins, 194-5
often seen lying down, contrary
to the received idea, 144
a very light-coloured specimen
seen, 203
with very black bull, near
Kilima, 298
six-horned, Mount Locorina, 382-
3, near Marangole, 387, a.
specimen secured, its classi¬
fication by Mr. Lydekker,
388
Gnu, near Doinyo Sabuk, 16, and
near the Thiku, 24
Goat-sucker birds, seen at Lake
Baringo, 94
Gondokoro, Limoroo's visit to,
justifiable dissatisfaction at
his reception at, 460-1,
author's arrival at, a camp
in, 517-8, its position, and
traders at, and their justifi¬
able complaints, 518
Gramophone, preference of the
Kikuyu in regard to, 46,
effect of, on the Turkana,
361, on the Mielli, 439, on
the Marañóle chiefs, 452,
on the Latuka, 465
Grant's gazelle, near the Guasho,
differences in, from the
southern species, 60-1, near
Pacey swamps doe with
peculiar horns shot, 68, near
Lake Baringo, 126, 139, near
Tonlelole, 305, a good head
secured near the Tarash,
352, near Natapa pool, 371,
seen near the Monyen, 335,
near Natapa pool, 371, near
Mount Locorina, 382, in the
Kedef valley, 432, near the
Mielli district, 445
INDEX.
600
Guardafin, Cape, curious appear¬
ance on the sea surface near,
•6
Gwasho Nyiro river, the first Grant's
gazelle met at, since the
Athi plains, 60, 61, other
game near, 61-3, and lions,
63-6, grass slopes and thorn
trees near, 61-2
Gwasho' Nerok, stream, author's
camp beyond, 71
Gubei, the interpreter and the
Turkana, 357-8, he is not a.
success, 371-2, his fearless¬
ness, 394, effects of his lies
and laziness, 411, his oration
to the Dodinga, 414 and
its contumelious reception,
415
Guereza monkeys, in the Kenya
forest, 49-50, 54, 56 ; in the
Mau forest, 176, game law
restrictions concerning a
dead letter as to the Dorobo
natives, 178-9; of the Elgon
forest, 241,244; the pet, at
Mumias station, 264, in the
Nandi forest, 241, in the
Dodinga hills, 400, 406, near
Kilio, 470
Guinea-fowl, in the Kedef valley,
432
Gwashengeshu Masai natives near
the Ravine station, some
remarks on, 168 et seq
plateau, stone ruins on, 195,
described, 196, Masai ac¬
count of the original owners
of, 196-200; lions seen on,
200, and other game, 200-3,
the third topi shot on, 203,
the pale giraffe, failure to
secure photos of, 203; bees in
the camp, 203
settlements, formed after the
successful raid of the Naiv-
asha Masai, 200
Gwasho-Masa river, crossed by an
elephant ford, 248-9, author's
first sight of Uganda kob,
near, 249, and first specimens
secured by, 250, lions heard
near, 250-1, Abdallah's ad¬
venture with a hippo, 251
HALFAYA, further journey of the
author to, up the Nile, 528,
a pleasant voyage, 531,
beauties of the Nile sunsets,
532
Hall, Capt., at Nimule, his duties
and quarters, 498, his health,
500, his adventure with a
lioness, 515, his pet monkeys,
516
Hamis, Swahili trader met with by
the author in the first Obbo
village, 477, his assistance,
478
Hannington Lake, big swamp north
of, game in, 164
Hares, near Natapa, 371, near the
Tarash, 372, on Mount Lo-
corina, 382, of the Kedef
valley, 432
Harrington, Sir John, his efforts
on behalf of the Beluchi
traders raided by Abyssin-
ians, 39 note
Harrison, Mr., and his companions,
met with by the author at
the Ravine station, 167-8
Hartebeest, near the Maragua, 29 ;
near the Marmanet hills, 72 ;
large herds of seen near
Mount Sirgoit, 184, 185-8;
topi accompanying the larger
INDEX.
601
herds of,. 186; on and near
Mount Elgon, 272, 292, 295
Coke's, near Stony Athi, 15,
colour and shape described,
and native name for, 16-7,
near Doinyo Sabuk, 16
Heuglin's, not so plentiful as
eland in W. Likipia and
round Lake Baringo, 143; on
the Dorobo plain, 182; en
route to Mumias, 206, one
with a single horn, 207, on
the Gwashengeshi and pla¬
teau, 200
Head-dress of a Masai warrior, 169
Helmets of hair and brass, the
distinctive mark of Latuka
warriors, 466-7
Heuglin's hartebeest, see Hartebeest
Hinde, Dr., collector of Fort Hall,
Cobb's meeting with and
with his wife, 25
Hindlip, Lord, his meeting with
the released Beluchi traders,
39 note
Hippopotami of Lake Baringo, 94,
shot by Cobb, 90, by the
author and Mr. Baker, 106-7,
a. battle between two, 107
seen or tracks of observed, en
route to Mumias, 206 ; in the
Nzoia, 251
Hoima, author's goods parcel-
posted home from, 499
Honey, wild, and the Honey-bird,
in the Mau forest, 174 ; found
in the Nandi district, 206 ;
the natives' self-denying ordi¬
nance as to,when hunting,479
Hotschis, Mr., of the American
mission, near Kisumu, wise
scheme pursued by, 261
Howitt, Mr., met with, at Majanjar,
257, and again near Ana-
muget, his report on Eastern
Dodosi, 321, he goes on an
expedition towards Mount
Kisima, 322
Humphrey, Mr., at Fort Hall,
hospitality of, 29, his warn¬
ing as to the treachery of
the Kikuyu, 30
Hunters' trophies in Dodinga
villages, 390
Hut tax, the, how collected, 262-3
Huts of the Dodinga described, 390
two-storeyed, of the Tepeth,
on Mount Moroto, 328
Hyamas, seen throughout the
author's journey passim
spotted, Gwashengeshu plateau,
204
striped, near the Tarash, 352, 372
Hysslop, Mr., met by the author at
Nimule, 494, 498, 515, his
health, 500
IGUANA, on shores of Lake Barin¬
go, 108
Impala (antelope), near Doinyo
Sabuk, 17 ; near the Thika,
22 ; near the Pacey swamp,
67 ; herds of on Baringo
plain, 84, 98, 99, 149-50,
of this district said to be the
largest in Africa, 164
Indian Penal Code, ill-suited to a
newly-opened-up country,
228
Isaac, Mr., Collector at the Ravine
station, his hospitality and
wide information on local
natives, "his contribution to
the Natural History Museum,
. 167
Ituri, author's proposed journey to,
Belgian advice on routes for, #
494
INDEX.
602
Ivory, from Lado, 521
pride of carriers in being laden
with, 490-1
Ivory trade in B. E. Africa and
Uganda, Swahili practical
monopoly of the outlying,
author's comments on, 308,
his criticisms on its present
regulation, 536 et seq
JABTULAIL, a warlike hill tribe,
their defiance of Baker, and
the consequences,' ! 14.-8J
Jackals, near Mount Sirgoit, 184;
Baker's pets at Baringo
station, 122; black-backed,
near the Masagua, 29, and
near the Tarash, 352, 372 4
Johnston, Sir H. H., and his dis¬
covery of five-horned giraffes
near Mount Elgon, 2 -vi
his experience of the Mount Elgon
caves, the reverse of the
author's, 279, his view as to
their origin, 280, his failure
to discover the cave-dwellers
themselves, 260
Journey of the author, its duration,
and the few men lost during,
532-3, summary of its re¬
sults, 534, the author's com¬
ments on matters observed
during his expedition, 534-42
Jow valley, game track in, 343
KABARAS district, 242 j
Kabaras, Kavirondo natives, game
disturbed by, en route to
Mumias, 212 I
Kagate, Lake, of the maps, vain
search for, of the author,
306-7
Kaitu, a Kavirondo chief, 48
Kakumega country, 238, demand
for salt in, 239
natives, agricultural pursuits of
the men, with arms in reach,
their ornaments and
weapons, 240, 241; employ¬
ment of the women in
hoeing, their tattoo designs,
239 and bead " garments,"
240
Kamalinga and neighbouring hills,
aspect and position of, 323
Kanakaris and Coutlis, Messrs.,
author's meeting with, 296,
their friendliness, 298
Karamojo, alleged disturbed condi¬
tion of the district between,
and the Nile, author's plans
consequently modified, 259,
his arrival in, 308
natives, their method of elephant
hunting, 301 ; their methods
of business, as seen at
Anamuget, 309-11; an un¬
clothed race, their stature
and head-dress, 312-3, their
ornaments and arms, 315-6,
their trumpets, and methods
of fighting, 316, the tally of
their slain foes, 362-5 ; women
and girls of, their hair,
clothing and ornaments,
316-7, their children, kind¬
ness of the men to their wives,
ness of the men to their
wives, 319 ; a man's head¬
dress obtained by the author,
320 ; their body paint,
324, their superstitions as to
the Tepeth tribe of Mount
Moroto, 324-5; their villages,
arrangement of, 324
Karhoteney village,Zimberu district,
trading at, and visit of
Kikuyu dancers, 33-8, the
Beluchi traders met beyond,
INDEX.
603
38, trading at, and its
methods, " slimness " of the
natives, 44-5
Kauri shells utilized as the costume
of the Nzoia wizard, 229
Kavirondo band, a, and its instru¬
ments, 228
country, site of Mumias, low hills
overlooking, 215, huge gran¬
ite boulders studding, 216,
villages in, their walls and
gateways, 216, their granite
threshing floors, 217, and
quail decoys, 218
cranes, beauty of, appreciated by
the natives, 264
natives, their chiefs (see Mumias),
their costumes when coming
to the station,227-8, the band
of one of them, 228; their
women, their scanty attire
but scrupulous morality, 216,
230, their love of smoking,
223, woman's " tail " and
apron of, at last obtained by
the author, 268-9
Keato, regent of the Tulono, 446,
452-3
Kedef river and valley, 451, reached
by the author, 431, country
along the stream and game
in, 432; width of river bed,
in the Tulono country, 446;
legend concerning, told by
Lodomo, the Marañóle, 452
Kenia, ancient steam-launch on the
Nile, 514
Kenya, Mount, author's first view
of, 22; author's permit to
shoot near, 12; unsettled
state (supposed) of natives
near, 11 ; native name for, 47 ;
shyness of the Andorobo
natives of, 48-9; author's
camp at western foot of, 47,
and elephant-hunting near,
48-9, 51-2 ; guereza monkeys-
in the forest of, 49, an
albino specimen, 50; charm
of, on closer view, 54;
author's attempt to reach
the upper slopes of, game
met en route, 55-8, giant
lobelias seen, 56, also giant
nettles, 57; cold winds from»
62, 71; the Mau forest near,
178
Kero, Belgian station on the Ni
522
Ketarnder, Kabaras chief, hi
friendliness, 215
Keveni, Kakumega chief, 238
Khartoum, author's journey to, by
water, from Gondokoro, 521
et seq and arrival at, dis¬
comforts of the voyage, 525,
astonishing development of,
the new dockyard, etc., at,
526, news of the delayed
parcels received at, red tape
at Mombassa, 528-30
Kiboko river, Karamojo yearly mi¬
gration to, 324
Kikuyu, Gwashengeshu settlements
at, 200
dancers, met with at Karhoteney,
their body-painting and its
meaning, their other orna¬
ments, clothing and arms,
34-8, their dance, and the
reason for their perambula¬
tions, 38
natives, conflicting statements as
to their treachery and "tame-
ness," 30
porters, their desire to return,
from Mount Kenya, 59,eaters
of hog's flesh, 60 ] , ,
INDEX.
604
Kikuyu village, a typical, and its
inhabitants, described, 41-4
Kilim, on the northern slopes of
Mount Elgon, 296, its fine
position, 298, Kanakaris and
Coutlis' ivory store at, 296,
298, interests of the author's
stay at, 300-3
Kilim or Kiboko river, huge snake
shot at, by Coutlis, 304-5
Kilimanjaro, future branch railway
to, planned from Voi, 10
Kilio, giraffe and other game at and
near, 469, guereza monkeys
shot near, 470
natives of, alarm "of, at the
author's approach, and its
causes, 470, the Sultan of,
visits the author, 471, his
views on the risks of visiting
Nimule, 498; author's route
from, 471-2
Kimama country, three striking
hills near, 323 ; ^
natives, a powerful little-known
tribe, their location, agri¬
culture, physique and dis¬
like to trading and their
weapons, 300-1
Kisima, Mount, author's route
north and east-ward of,
323, game near, 322
Kisumu, postal difficulties con¬
nected with, 220, 224,
scarcity of donkeys at, 258
Klipspringer, seen on Baringo plain,
84, 86, 'oi, 152, near the
Tarash, 352, near Mount
Zurnut, 380
Knight, Mr. Boughton, the late,
Collector in charge at Mu-
mias, at the author's visit,
219, his hospitality, 220
Kob, {see also Uganda Kob), near
the Nzora, 252, photographs
of, as well as specimens
secured, 254
Kongoni, native name for Coke's
hartebeeste, 16, their amus¬
ing use of it as an epithet, 17
Kos river, near Logguren, fording
of, and game along, 468-9
Kubras carriers engaged, 217, but
make a bolt of it, 218
Kudu cows, seen near Lake Baringo,
76, 84, also bulls, 85, 100-1,
104-5, I52
greater, Baringo plain, 164, ap¬
parent departure of, from
Mount Zunut, 380
lesser, seen near Mount Moroto,
333, a fine specimen got,
334, on Mount Locorina, 382 ;
near the Mielli district, 445
" Kudu Camp," not far from Lake
Baringo, Cobb gets his only
kudu near, 84-6, other game
seen, 86, Baringo mountain
reed-buck shot near, 98,
the lion hunt near, 98, 100-1,
the kudu hunts, 100-5, the
leopard shot near, 105-6, the
author's last kudu got near,
152
Kuita, a Kikuyu chief, 40
Kuru, Swahili name for waterbuck,
253
Kuteman hill, fine view of Mount
Debasien and its surround¬
ings from, 305
LABOUR, in lieu of Hut-tax at
Mumias, 262
Labourri, on an island in Lake
Baringo, hot springs in the
lake close to, 91-2
Lado, largest Congo Free State sta¬
tion on the Nile,described 521
INDEX.
605
Enclave, the, negotiations for the
taking over by the British,
494
Lake, unnamed, Tarash and other
rivers feeding, 374
" Langer Langer," native name for
Major Delmé Radcliffe, its
meaning, 472-3
Lari loi Morio, elevation of, 72
Latuka country, its Sultan, see
Limoroo
natives, their custom of spitting
in deference, 463 ; hill villages
of, built on platforms, 464;
huge water jars used by the
women, 465 ; horny excre¬
scences on the knees, etc.,
of the men, 466; distinctive
mark of the warrior amongst,
his brass helmet described,
466-7, two given to the
author by Limoroo, 467,
peace head-dress of the men,
their costume and weapons,
467 ; dress and ornaments
of the women, 467
Swahili ivory safaris reaching,
308
Lea valley, near Mount Moroto, 324
Lemli, native name for Nimule, 478
Leopards seen near the Gwasho,
Nyiro, 63, and near Lake
Baringo, 97 ; a. troop of,
seen near Lake Baringo, 105,
one shot, small amount of
cover sufficing to hide, 106
Likipia plateau, 60, 84, 199
Limoroo, friendly chief of consider¬
able importance, Sultan of
Latuka, 457, 461, course of
the author's journey to,
from Kedef valley, 432,
lions met with, 432-3, and
shot, 434; his overlordship
of the Marañóle, 449; his
appearance and attire, his
visit to the author, his
village, 459, his justifiable
dissatisfaction at his recep¬
tion at Gondokoro, 460-1,
his estimate of his armed
forces, 461, his dislike to
being photographed, 462, his
courtesy to the author, and
reception among his villages,
462-3, his gift of two Latuka
helmets to the author, 467,
469; information of, on the
two routes to the Kile, 468,
farewell and presents to, of
the author, 468 ; terror of the
Kilio natives at, 470; some
flaws in his statements, 469,
471; never officially visited
495
Lion-hunting, Kabaras district, the
collapsible machara, 212-5
Lions, first heard near Doinyo
Sabuk, 17; seen near the
Thika, 24, 25-8; near the
Gwasho Nyiro, 63, tale told
by the spoor, 64, one shot,
65-6; near Pacey swamp,
69-70; near Lake Baringo,
76, 98-101, seen stalking
oryx, 129, and shot by
author, 130, more lions, 136
142; of the Athi plains,
Blain's friend mauled by,
164 ; near Mount Sirgoit,
185 ; a black-maned, Elgeyo
boy's adventure with, 188;
near the Elgarai, 190, 191»
194; on the Gwashengeshu
plateau, 200, 204-5 ; near the
Nzoia, 250, 254, 256; near
Mount Elgon, 292; near the
Monyen, 334; in the Kedef
INDEX.
•606
Lions—continued.
valley, 432-4; near the Mielli
district, 445 ; near Mahagi,
511; Hall's adventure with
one, at Nimule, 515
Loarding, the Toposa guide, his
terror and subsequent intel¬
ligence, 384, his information
on the tribe, 387, 388, on
the Toposa raid, 394; abused
by the Dodinga, 415, the
native trap for, 426, fare¬
well gifts from the author,
431-2, 435
Lobelia, giant, on Mount Kenya,
36
Lobo, presumably Obbo, native
statements as to, 473
Lobu, once under the same rule as
Lori, 451, in the Marañóle
district, the author's visit
to the Sultan of, 453-4,
game seen in and near the
valley of, 456, 458, author's
route from, 458
Locorina, Mount, 380, elephants at
foot of, 381, 382, tusks found,
and game seen, 382-3, plain
beyond, 383
Locudur, a Toposa elder, and his
son, 386-7
Lodomo, one of the Marañóle depu¬
tation to the author, 450,
456, information given by, as
to the Dodinga, 450-2 .¿»-isl
Logguren-, village of the chief
Limoroo, 459, author's camp
at, 460, the rock above, 459,
climbed by the author, 462,
view from its summit, 464 ;
photos secured near, 465,
author's route thence to the
Nile, 468, progress of the
journey, ib., et seq
Lomoanoputh river, affluent of the
Tarash, game seen near, 372
Lopolo, Sultan of the Tulono, 446
45r> 452-3. 456
Lori, once under the same rule as
Lobu, 451
Lori valley. Mount Egadang, the
Tulono natives of, 444-5, the
Lori stream in, 446
Lorika, Sultan of the Marañóle,
his deputation to the author,
449, their costumes, his pro¬
positions as to punishing the
Dodinga, 450, visit to, of
the author, his attire and
nick-name, 454, his attitude
as to the provision of flour,
456-9
Loringamoi, one of the Marañóle
deputation to the author,
450, 452
Lotuke, Mount, southern limit of
the Dodinga hills, unin¬
habited, 390
Lousley, Dr. met by the author
near the Nile, 517
Lowruer, double peak, in the
Egadang hills, 446
Lumbwa, Gwashengeshu settlement
at, 200
Luxor, out-of-season sight-seeing
at, its drawbacks 532
Lydekker, Mr. R., his name for the
six-horned sub-species of
giraffe secured by the author,
388
MACALLISTER, Mr., Deputy Com¬
missioner for the Nile Pro¬
vinces, 515, letter and gift
from, to the author, received
in Obbo, 484, his multifarious
duties, 498
INDEX.
6( ;7
Macdonald, Col., consequences of
his leaving his""- stores at
Dodosi, 321,2; furthest
northerly point reached by,
towards the Nile, 469; his
wise treatment of Limoroo,
461
Madua river, good water of, 30
Magic and charms, instances of
belief in, 173, 288, 296, 301
325» 376, 390, 441-2
Magosi, a district in Karamojo,
villages deserted in, 321
Magguren, pool at, and rocks and
villages near, author's camp
at, native visitors to, 458;
hawks heard at, 459; Nzau
arrives 'at, with flour, the
departure from, 459
Mahagi, at the northern end of
Lake Albert, 494, author's
escort to, arranged for, 506,
his arrival at to find the
district near a Game Re¬
serve, and consequent re¬
turn, 508-9, plantations at,
cultivated by wives of native
soldiers, 510; beasts-of prey
and elephants at, 511
Makkoru, author's camp at, friendly
natives of, their name for
Major Delmé Radcliffe,
472, a, race of elephant
hunters, their attire, and
ornaments, white ants eaten
by, 474; author's route on
leaving, 473, and slow pro¬
gress, 474
Managasha forest, Abyssinia, the
guereza monkeys in, 49
Manbettu, or pigmy man, seen by
the author at ¡ Dufile, his
height, appearance and
weapons, 495
Manimani river, large permanent
Swahili trading camp on,
308 ; failure of water springs
near, 309
Maragua river, author's camp near,
on the edge of the lion
country, 29, author's first
sight of a giraffe near, 428 -I
Marajana, the gunbearer and his
sobriquet, 20, his irritating
ways, 21, 24, 50, 69, 70,
his return to the coast, 100
Marangole' to the Dodinga hills,
author's route, and giraffe
seen along, 387
natives, one of their hunting
grounds, 382 ; friendship of,
with the Toposa, name of,
according to the latter, 387.
their'Sultan and his magic,
441-2, deputation sent by
him to the author, 449, and
its objects, 450; head-dress
of [the men, 454-5, their
bent-wood pillows, 455 ;
difficulties in securing flour,
455-7. 458, the water supply
of the village, 455-6 ; wea¬
pons of the men, 456, 458 ;
part of the hair-dressing
process, 457
Marapolun, Mount, near the Tarash
river, 370
Marlu, Njemps name for the kudu,
84
Marmanet Hills, lovely uninhabited
country at foot of, suitability
of for white colonization, 72,
game near, ib
Marriage customs of the Acholi, 500
Masai account of the former
dwellers on the Gwashen-
geshu plateau, 196-200
clans, the two at Rangatanyuki
ó 08
Masai clans—continued.
and Naivasha, origin and
history of, from Masai re¬
ports, 199-200
guides, desertion by, in the Mau
forest, 181
race, men of, their head-dress,
45-6, education of a warrior
amongst, 169, his head-dress,
48, 169-71, his earrings and
other adornments, 171, his
weapons of battle, 171-2,
and of boyhood and old age,
172; women of, easy life of
in youth, their clothing and
ornaments, and their ap¬
pearance, 172-3, the women
milk-sellers, Uganda rail¬
way, their appearance and
wire adornments, 9
raiders, author's advice to the
Kikuyu chiefs concerning,
45
Mau forest, site of the Ravine
Station in, 167 ; specimens of
its bongo and duiker se¬
cured for the National Col¬
lection by Mr. Isaac, of
Ravine Station, 167 ; road
followed through, by the
author, 173, wild honey
found en route, 174, the
author's ^guide, and his
weapons, 174-5; bongo and
forest pig sought in, 175,
177, guereza monkeys in,
and use of poisoned arrows
by the Dorobo, 176; the
part visited by the author
described, 178; Uganda bush-
pig shot in, 180; game seen
on the out-skirts of, and
traces of the rinderpest
among, 182
INDEX.
Mbirri, native name for Fort Hall,
29 . .
Menelik, Emperor of Abyssinia,
author's acquaintance with,
39
Meru,native name for Mount Kenya,
47
Mielli tribe, hill men, between
Dodinga and Latuka, 435,
cautious approaches to, 436,
their sagacious " Sultan,"
436-7, 440, author's visit to
his village, 442, he acts as
guide, 444 ; fire-arms of the
natives, how acquired, 438;
trade goods liked by them,
ib., their interest in the
gramophone, 439; their aver¬
age height, 439, their tally
of slain foes, ornaments and
head-dress, one of these last
secured by the author, 440;
women's appearance and
scanty clothing amongst,
441; the opportune rain
shower on the author's
arrival, 441; a fine specimen
of kongoni secured in this
district, 442; the country be¬
yond their district, game
plentiful in, 444, lions heard,
and giraffe seen, another
rhino shot, 445-6; their re¬
port of the Dodinga attacks
on the author, and the re¬
sults, 450
Mission-trained natives, in Asia
and Africa, criticism of, 261,
defects common in, 152-3
Molo river, affluent of Lake Baringo,
crocodiles at entrance of,
82; hippo shot near by
Cobb, 90; the Njemps native;
along, 162, their cultivation
INDEX.
609
beside, 164, steep banks of,
and consequent difficulty
in fording, 164, suitability
of the district for rice-
growing, ib
Mombassa, author's difficulties in
reaching, why mentioned,
3-5, the town from the sea,
61, extortionate Customs at,
7. further hindrances, 8-12,
detention of the author's
collection (sent by parcel
post) at, *' red tape " con¬
cerning, 528-30
Mongalla, most southerly Soudan
Government post, 522
Monkeys (see also Guereza), grey,
near Lake Baringo, 122, in
the Mau forest, native uses
of 176, a large kind, Dodinga
hills, 405
red, tree-dwellers, on the Nile,
difficulty of procuring, 516
other than guereza, in the
Kenya forest, 55, described,
56
Monyen river, arrival of the author
at, elephants near, a good
specimen of the lesser kudu
secured, 332-4, lions heard
near, 334, route viâ, chosen
by Coutlis to the Turkana
district, 339
Moro to, Mount, Karamojo region,
described, 324, curious
aspect of its northern spur,
333, game seen and got
near, 324, other game heard
near a salt-spring, 334
river, country near, 331, author's
camp near its source, 332
Mosquito wire-netting not provided
for the medical officer at
Nimule, 502
Mosuk, Mount, trend of the author's
journey towards, 370
Mountain reed-buck, see Reed-buck
Mto Samaki, see Fish river
Mule, the author's shooting mount,
a tribute to, fate of, and of
his tail, 490
Mumia, a powerful Kavirondo chief,
from whom Mumias station
is named, 218, his attire and
that of other chiefs when
" in town " 227, orphans
sent by, to the American
Mission near Kisumu, 261
Mumias, and Mumias Station,
Gwashengeshu settlement
at, 200, the country
towards, Nandi spies
noticed, giraffe, Heuglin's
hartebeeste oribi, etc., seen
en route, 206-7» elephant shot
en route, 210-12, difficulties
with the skin, 212, the
collapsing macharn, and
failure to kill lion, 213-5;
hills and Kabaras villages
not far from, and country
close to, 215-217, author's
arrival at, 218, distant view
of Mount Elgon, 215, friendly
natives at, 215; the British
Station at, origin of the
name, 218, description of the
Government buildings at,
219, postal difficulties at,
220-4, the pets kept at, 264;
advantages offered at, for
photography and a study
of the administration, ivory
trade, etc., 227, native dis¬
putes settled before the
collector at, 227-9, the
wizard and his shell garment,
229-30 ; unfailing [interest
39
INDEX.
610
Mu mi as, and Mumias Station—con.
of the market-place, 230;
author's departure from,
236, along the decaying
Nandi road, 237, author's
return journey to, 255, lions
seen en route, 256, missing
th$ track, 256, arrival at
Boma Majanjar, and meet¬
ing with Howitt at, 257 ;
the author's departure from,
northwards to Mount Elgon,
266, the first stages, 267-71,
the visit to the cave-dwellers,
272-90, the journey towards
the Turkwel, 291-7, its head¬
waters reached, 298 ; the
pause at Kilim, 298-304,
the journey continued north¬
wards, 299
cartridge-stealing at, the fate of
the delinquents, 235
the chain-gang at, and their
" hunger," 235
escape and recapture of convicts
at. 265
high price of flour at, 263
ivory trade of, chiefly in the
hands of Swahilis, 308
the telephone from, 266
Uganda mode of thatching as
observed at, 233
Murusoka gorge, oryx shot in, 339-
40, and also zebra, 340;
hunting ground near, of the
Karamojo and other tribes,
339; said to be the source
of the Tarash, 339 ; a.
rhino adventure near, 335,
Musarcartey, a typical Kikuyu
village, visited by the author,
4Ï-4
Musical instruments of the Kavi-
rondo, trumpets, 228, lyre
or dengore, 236-7; trumpets
of the Karamojo, 316
NAIROBI, capital of the E. A.
Protectorate, described, 10,
the journey to, 8-10
Naivasha Masai, fights of, with
the Gwashengeshu natives,
their defeat, 199, and subse¬
quent triumph and its conse¬
quences, 200
Nakokoli river, affluent of the
Monyen, 339
Nakuru, on the Uganda railway, 97,
delay of carriers at, 106; the
ostrich hunt near, disturbed
by a " rhino," 124-6, prepa¬
rations for the giraffe hunt,
126, the first cow' killed,
the care needed by the
skin, 128; game, ostriches,
lions, leopards and other
wild beasts seen in, 124-42;
oryx chased by lions in, 129,
the lion hunt, leopards re¬
ported by the syce, 130-1
Nandi escarpment, guides secured
for, 238, the forest below
entered, 241, a search for
game, guereza, etc., seen,
241-2, departure of the
guides, 242 ; explorations of
the author in the forest
along, 242-4, further journey
along and natives met with,
245-8, game bagged, accident
to the author, 248, Uganda
kob first seen, departure of
Peter, 249
Gwashengeshu settlement at, 200
Nandi-speaking peoples, distribu¬
tion of, 199
Nandi tribe, affinity of, with the
Masai, 244. 247, their cloth-
INDEX.
6ii
ing and weapons, 247, ap¬
pearance of the yonng and
old women among, 248 ;
constant trouble given by,
245, Home policy concerning
commented on, 246 ; trading
with, 246, 247
wild-cat trap, shape of, 237
Nargiritoir, Tepeth village, visited
by the author, on Mount
Moroto, its elevation, and
two-storeyed dwellings, 328
Natapa pool, frequented by ele¬
phants, game seen near, 371
Native awe of the rhinoceros
greater than that felt for
any other big animal, 22, 151
traders in the ivory trade,
unwisdom of the regulations
concerning, 536-7, raids
made by, and consequent in¬
justice inflicted on natives,
538
Natives seen along the Nile near
Gondokoro, 517
Natural History Museum (see
Griffith, and Isaac), South
Kensington, its lack of speci¬
mens of giraffes, author's
aim to supply this want, 2,
attitude of the authorities,
3, one of the results of the
expedition, the group of
giraffe in, 194, 534, other zoo¬
logical results, ib
Nile, country near said to be un¬
settled, 323; arrival of the
author at, his crossing in the
iron ferry, 493, Nimule
reached, 493, western bank
of, Anglo-Egyptian tenure
of, from Lake Albert to
Kero, 496, the rapids on,
from Nimule-Dufile to Gondo-
koro-Redjaf, ib., Belgian
outlay on their stations
along, ib., loss of life from
the unhealthiness of the
river stations, and need
for removal or improvement
of these last, 497 ; native hoes
seen near, 492 ; voyage up
from Wadelai to Nimule,
"sud" on the river, 513;
sights on its banks near
Shambi, 523
the Blue, contrast of its waters
with those of the White Nile,
524
sunsets, beauties of, 532
Nimule, apparently unknown to
the Makkoru natives, 473,
native name for, 478; official
ignorance at, of the Dodinga
and other regions visited
by the author, 495; position
of the civil lines at, 497,
do. of the military lines,
498 ; absence of native
visitors to, and results, 498;
difficulties with the parcel
post at, 499; health of the
officers at, 500, and of the
men, 501, illness and death
of Sly at, 501-2, shortness
of officers at, and the sad
results, 498; restrictions on
the author's sale of his
cattle, etc., 499, author's
return to, 515
to Gondokoro, author's journey
homewards, difficulties of,
516, natives met en route,
517
Njemps natives, their name for the
kudu, 84; their origin, and
I customs, 162-3, their taboo
and the supposed underlying
39*
ÓI2
INDEX.
Njemps natives—continued.
idea, 163; unsatisfactory as
trackers, 142, their refuges
on the islands in Lake
Baringo, 92, the two villages
of, south of Lake Baringo,
162
Nollosegelli river, depth and swift¬
ness of its waters, 207
Nopak, and neighbouring hills,
position and aspect of, 323
Nzau, Arab headman of the author's
safari, 40, 58, 450, 475, sent
to get porters, 124, he collects
them and rejoins the author,
156, sent for flour, 212, sent
forward to Kisumu, to collect
donkeys, 227, is unable to
procure any, 242-3, 258,
carelessness of, with a. gun,
296, at Anamuget market,
309, finds a way to the
Tarash, 350, in danger in
the Dodinga hills, 411, 412,
his oratory, 456, left behind
at Lorika's to purchase
supplies, 457, finds a path
from Kilio, 471, brings the
flour from Lorika, 459, finds
guides for Obbo, 476, dis¬
couraged, 504
Nzoia, affluent of the Victoria
Nyanza, the shell-attired
wizard from, at Mumias,
229; fording of, adventures
during, 251-2, game beyond,
253-7; crossing by Govern¬
ment ferry, 257
OBBO, country said by Limoroo
to be the limit of his rule,
471; author's objective from
Makkoru, 473, 474, elephant
tracks seen en route, 475,
476, news of the elephantsl
and of buffalo, 477; first
sight of its villages and
natives, 476, the origin of
the latter, 477; a communi¬
cation from the Deputy Com¬
missioner of the Nile pro¬
vinces received, 484, pre¬
valence of cow elephants in,
ib., traces of Eray raids, ib.;
elephant-hunting in, 478-9,
a good pair of tusks secured,
480, buffalo search and more
elephant hunting, 480-2, a
buffalo secured, 483, more
elephant hunting, 485, two
tuskers shot, 487-8, the
native feast on, 487, 489, they
dry the meat for home con¬
sumption, 489; men's knives
in, 489, universal smoking
in, 490, the women's " tails,"
an exchange effected, 490,
the march on, to the Nile,
" 491 et seq; a run on cows,
491, hindrances en route,
492, arrival at the Nile, 493
Obira Mount, men with slashed
faces, seen near, 459
Oboya hills, seen from the Lobu
valley, 458
natives, a section of the same
tribe as the Dodinga, 451
Odio, Mount, north of Logguren,
greater kudu said to live
near, 467, other game got
but none secured by the
author, 468
Official knowledge at Nimule of the
country traversed by the
author, its lacunae, 495
Omdurman, 525, interesting fea¬
tures at, 527
Orchids in the Máu forest, 178
INDEX.
613
Oribi, on the Dorobo plains, 182 ;
en roule to Mumias, 207; on
and near Mount Elgon, 272,
292, 295 ; in the Kedef valley,
432
Ororear, Kikuyu " one-boot " chief,
author's meeting with, 31-2,
33
Orquarbo, the author's Dodinga
prisoner, 414, 416, 426,
utilized as guide, 428, 430,
435
Oryx, near the Pacey swamp, 68; on
Baringo plain, 84, 126, 129,
164; seen feeding with
Grantii near the Monyen,
335; near Murosoka, 339-40,
near Mount Locorina, 382
beisa, on the Likipia plains, 62,
and near Lake Baringo,
usual number in a herd, 144,
a fight of bulls, ib., author's
best specimen secured, 148-9
. fringe-eared, said to be found at
Sultan Hamoud, 14, none
met with, 15
Ostriches, near Lake Baringo, 98,
124, 126, 142-3; near Mount
Sirgoit, 184, 185; near the
Elgarai, 193
Ousereroc, a mass of rock near the
" elephant cemetery," 379
Owen, Capt.,in command at Mon-
galla, hi§ forces, a flaw in
the arrangement as to mutual
assistance. 522
PACEY, papyrus swamp of, extent
of, author's camp near, 67,
game near, 68, and liohs, 69,
small brook flowing from, 71
Parcel-post from Mumias, the
author's big despatch of, 200,
224, his deductions, 224,
difficulties with, at Nimule,
499
Parcels of the author, containing
collections, delay of, at Mom-
bassa, " red tape " con¬
cerning, 528-30
Partington, Mr., Collector at Mu¬
mias station, 219, 257
Pearson, Mr. substitute for Baker
at Baringo Lake station, his
arrival there, 159, his intro¬
duction to the local natives,
160
Percival, Mr.,Game Warden, visit of,
to the author at Sultan
Hamoud, 15
Persia, " P. and O." steamer, lack
of courtesy of the officers
of, 5 and note
Peter, the English-speaking mis¬
sion boy, 152-3, departure
of, his " fatal facility," 249
Photography, native dread of, some
instances, 375, 462
Pillows of bent-wood, used by the
Marañóle, 455
Poisoned arrows, used by the Kaku-
mega, 241
Poote gorge, Murosoka hills, reser¬
voirs in, 351
Putiala, B. I. S. N. steamer, author's
journey in, from Aden to
Mombassa, 4-7
QUAILS, decoy, in Umbari's vil¬
lage, 218
Quarnarmi, the Mielli blacksmith,
seller of his head-dress to the
author, 440, his information
on his trade, 442-3
RADCLIFFE, Major Delmé, native
name for, 472-3, his cow
currency, and its conse¬
quences, 491-2
INDEX.
614
Rangatanyuki, the Masai of, 199
Rats, rampant, Lea valley, 325
Ravine Station, 114, 117, position
and elevation of, and former
importance, the author's
stay at and its agréments,
167, road beyond followed
by the author through the
Mau forest, 173, et seq.,
Gwashengeshu settlement
near, 200, parcels-post pos¬
sible from, 220
Redjaf, ruined Dervish fort at, 517
Reed-buck, near theAthi river, 21;
near Lake Baringo, 84, 101;
at the Ravine, 168; of the
Dorobo plains, 182; near
Mount Sirgoit, 184, 185, 186;
en route to Mumias, 206; near
Mount Elgon, 292, 295; in
the Kedef valley, 432
Chanler's, plentiful near Doinyo
Sabuk, 18, 20
Mountain, of Baringo plain, 84,
author's first secured, 98
Registration of native porters en¬
gaged at the coast, defects of
the system, 156, do. at
Lake Baringo, lower fees for,
than at the coast, 156, the
reason for this, 159
Renard, Lieut., of Wadelai, his
kindness to the author, 506
Rendile country, Swahili ivory
safaris in, 308
Reserves, see Game reserves
Rhinoceri, near the Athi river, 20-1,
near the Thika, 24; in the
Kenya forest, 54; near Mar-
manet Hills, 72, 74; on
Baringo plain, 84, 126, their
aggressiveness, 125, 161, a,
charging couple, 133, Be-
doui's " close shave " with,
134, another charge by, 149,
150, comments on the regu¬
lations limiting the shooting
of, 150; native awe of, 22,
151; of the Elgon forest, a
charge of amongst author's
flocks, 243; near Murusoka,
341, a night visit by, 342;
near the Monyen, a charge
and a good shot, 335; tracks
near Mount Locorina, 382;
of the Kedef valley, 432;
of the Mielli borders, 445 ; a
charge by, 446
Ribo hills, Post set up on, why
abandoned, 114-8
Roan Antelope, first seen near the
Maragua, 29; on the Doro¬
bo plains, 182
Rock-rabbits at Baringo station, 96
Rothschild, Hon. Walter, his assist¬
ance to the author in se¬
curing a permit to shoot
giraffes, 3, his intervention to
procure transmission of the
author's collection from
Mombassa, 530
Rudolf, Lake,Abyssinian raid on Ee-
luchi traders near, 39 and note
the discoverer of, kudu cows
found by, in this region, 76
Swahili ivory safaris penetrating
to. 308
the Turkana of, alleged hostility
of, to white men, 853, some
travellers' experiences with,
352-7, unnamed lake feeding,
in the rains, 374
SABIE, tribe, hill-dwellers, near
Kilim, 297, their grain trade
and market there, 299.,
audacity as cattle-raiders,
299-300
INDEX.
615
Saburi, author's second gun-bearer,
51, 75, 475, a bad shot, 134,
finds ruined villages near the
Obbo country, 476; in de¬
fault, 164; his adventure
with the leopard, 505
Sacrifice, animal, of the Elgeyo, 189
Sagana river, cultivated fields near,
and game beyond, 47
Scorpions, in the Tarash valley, 370
Serval, near Stony Athi, 15
Shambi, on the Nile,good road from,
to the interior, 523
Sheep, fat-tailed, Elgoyo use of,
in sacrifice, 189
Shemoni, 117
Shields of the Kimama, smallness
of, 300-1
Shilluks, seen near the Nile, head¬
dresses of, and characteristic
attitude of, 523
Silver currency, why insisted on,
in Mombassa, 14
Simien Mountains, Abyssinia, giant
lobelias of, 56
Sirgoit, Mount, or Mount Sirgoi,
plain near and game on, 182,
Dorobo game-pits on, 183,
aspect of the hill, zebra,
and other game near, 183-4,
fine giraffe shot near, now
in the Natural History Mu¬
seum, 194, lions near, not
bagged, 204-5
salt lake near, native use of the
brine from, 184, reedbuck
shot near, ostriches seen and
lions heard, 185, other wild
animals in this region, 185,
Heuglin's hartebeeste and
topi, 186, the mosquito pest
187, the author's specimens
of topi got near, 186, 188
Sleep, native power of, in noise, 266
Sly, Dr., met by the author at
Nimule, 494, bad state of his
bungalow, 499, 501, illness
and death of, from black-
water fever, 501-2
Smith, Mr. " Road," see Harrison
Snake(s), on islands in Lake Barin-
go, 94; a large, shot near
the Kilim, 304-5 ; one killed
near the Mielli, district, 444
Sobat, period of its unnavigability,
523
Spear-heads, baring of, a sign of
war among the Turkana, 360
Spix, Mr. hospitality of, at Gondo-
koro, 518
Spitting among the Suk, an im¬
portant ceremony, 77, also
among the Masai, 173, and
in Latuka, 463
Steinbuck, near Stony Athi, 15 ; near
the Sagana, 47, 48; on the
Likipia plains, strange horn
of, one seen there, 62
Stony Athi river, scenery along, 16
station, Uganda Railway, 14,
game found near, 15
Sudan and Uganda, no arrange¬
ment between for mutual
military assistance, 522
Sud on the Nile below Nimule, 513
Sugota, Lake, 114
Suk natives of Lake Baringo, their
use of tobacco for barter, 34;
their form of salutation, 77,
140; their physical aspect,
scanty clothing, 78, details
of, 136, and amazing head¬
dress, 78-9, their weapons,
79-80, the true and half-caste
races, distinguishing points
in, 79; decay of circumcision
amongst, dress, etc. of their
women and girls, 80; their
INDEX.
616
Suk natives of Lake Baringo—con.
methods of collecting white
ants to eat, 102-4; their
notion as to easing the
breath of the dying, 112,
their first experience of the
train, 112-4; the impression
made on, by the Coronation
festivities, 114; warriors,
methods of recording the list
of slain, 110-2, 362-5
Sultan Hamoud station, Uganda
railway, fringe-eared oryx
reported near, 14, but not
met with, 15
Swahili camp near the Tarash, 370,
visited by the author, 374
custom among the Dodinga, an
inversion of hospitality, 398
native lack of reasoning power,
a case in point, 335, limita¬
tions of the native mind,
268, 339
permanent camp on the Mani-
mani river, visit of the ivory
traders from to the author,
a revelation, 308, see also,
5 37
tax-gatherers, unwisdom of em¬
ploying, 262-3
TANA river, near Fort Hall, native
bridge over, 31
Tarangole, old capital of Limoroo,
furthest northerly point
reached by Macdonald, 469
Tarash region, see Turk ana
Tarash river, a little known stream,
author's decision to visit,
339; the search for, 340, and
difficulties in finding water»
341, a rhino visits the camp,
342, game tracks in the Jow
villey, 343, prove misleading
343-4; the miseries of the
search, 344-5, the relief
party arrives, 346, one man
is lost, 349 ; Nzau discovers
a route to the desired river,
350, course shown by Kara-
mojo hunters, 351, the ar¬
rival at the river, 352, game
near, ib., crossing the river
bed, the Turkana fighters'
camp near, their two-legged
pillows, 369 ; continuation
of the journey beyond, 369,
370, the guide, ib., he deserts,
371 ; fall of the river into an
unnamed lake, 374
valley, western limit of the
Turkana country, 352
Tarego, local chief of the Dorobo,
author's guide in the Mau
forest, his clothing and
weapons, 174-5, his way of
finishing off small game, 176,
skill of, as a tracker, 177,
his departure, 180
Taufikia, arrival at, 523, bad site
of the Station at, 524
Teleki, Count, discoverer of Lake
Rudolf, kudu cows met by,
76, the first white man to
have dealings with the
Turkana, to the S.E. of
Lake Rudolf, 352
Tetanus, frequent among the Masai,
probably the reason of their
tooth-extracting, 173 note
Tepeth tribe, location of two of its
divisions, their dwellings and
secretive habits, 306, those
of Mount Moroto feared by
the Karamajo, and why,
324-5. 33U author's visit to,
325-6, their appearance and
adornments, 326, dress of
INDEX.
6\y
their women, and prices
asked for flour, 327, their
huts, built in two storeys,
327-8, their interest in the
author's butterfly catching,
328, some native informa¬
tion vouchsafed, 328, their
numbers, 325, 328-31
Thatching, Uganda method of, as
seen at Mumias, 233
Thika river, crossing of, 25, lions
near, 25-8
Thistle, giant, of the Mau forest, 178
Thomas, Mr. Oldfield, views of, on
the five-horned giraffes near
Mount Elgon, 2
Thomson's gazelle, near Stony
Athi, 15 ; near Yanley Mon-
dogo (one horned), 18 ; near
the Sagana, 47, 48 ; near the
Gwasho Nyiro, 63
Tibet, village medicine trees in,
a Dodinga parallel, 390-3
Tigris tiver, affluent, with the Molo,
of Lake Baringo, 167
Titi, in Dodosi, Col. Macdonald's
stores left at, 321, loyalty
of the natives in face of
Turkana raiding, 322
Tobacco, cultivation of, by the
Turkana, 389
prices of in Kavirondo, 233
Tooth-extraction among the Kavi
rondo natives, 216, among
the Masai, the reason for,
173
Topi, described, 186; near Mount
Sirgoit, 185, curious friend¬
ship of, with Heuglin's
hartebeeste, 186-7; one se¬
cured, Gwashengeshu plat¬
eau, 200; near Mount Elgon,
295 ; in the Kedef valley,
432
Toposa country, author's route,
viâ to Dodinga, 374-5, its
southern boundary, 382
natives, men's head-dress, cos¬
tume and weapons, their
rulers and wealth, their
friendship with the Maran-
gole, 387
Tu river, Dodinga name for its
upper waters, 431
Tulono natives of the Lori valley,
west side of Mount Egadang,
444-5, author's meeting with,
and reception by their
Sultan, 446, native cultiva¬
tion and costume, 446, men's
head-dresses, 447, 448, their
possession of fire-arms, 447 ;
the band and dance of the
visitors, and their departure,
452, why the Tulono were
alarmed at them, 453, end
of the visit to this tribe,
ib.; scanty clothing of the
women, 446 ; their head¬
dresses, 448 ; their orna¬
ments and position as wives,
and the universal pleasure in
smoking, 448 ; ammunition
desired in trading, ib. ; their
alarm at the deputation
from the Marañóle, to the
author, 449, 452, reasons
thereof, 450, 452, its offers
of assistance in punishing
the Dodinga, 450, infor¬
mation on this tribe given by
the spokesman, 450-2
Turkana country, meeting with
ivory traders from, 307
natives, location of, 352-3, re¬
lations of, with various white
explorers, 3-52-7, their re¬
ception of the author, 357-
INDEX.
T u r kan a n ati ves —con tin ue el.
62, the guide difficulty, 361,
369, 370; nomadic and
pastoral habits of, and their
ivory hunting, 362 ; warriors
amongst, their arms, 358,
361, 365-6, head-dress and
ornaments, 361, 365, their
dance before the author,
361, clans of, ruled by elders,
average height of, and ap¬
pearance, 362, their tally of
their slain, 365 ; women of,
their appearance and occu¬
pations, 366 ; shoes and sus¬
tenance of the tribe, 366;
two-legged pillows used by,
369; their word of greeting,
ib
raids and raiders near Lake
Baringo, attitude of the
Government to, and the
results, 118-9; in eastern
Dodosi, 321-2, 358
spear found, probable fate of
its owner, 335-6
Turkwel river, two paths to, from
Mumias, 252, elephant hoped
for on, 260, head-waters of,
reached by the author, 295,
and crossed, 298, reports of
elephants further down, 296
UGANDA, (see Sudan and Uganda),
bush-pig shot in the Mau
forest, 180
districts taken over from, by
B. E. Africa, some of the
early results, 159
Game laws of, and their defects,
2, 3
kob, near Mount Sirgoit, 185 ;
author's first sight of, 249,
author's first specimens
secured in the Nandi district,
250
railway, 1, the train and track
on, 8, native interest in, 112
thatchers, their mode of pro¬
cedure, 233
Umbari's village, near Mumias, 218
Usoga, Gwashengeshu settlement
at, 200
VOI, Uganda railway, future branch
from, to Kilimanjaro, 10
WADELAI, author's departure for,
from Nimule, no ferry for,
503, the price of a wife at,
504, author's illness near,
and arrival at, the aspect
of the British and Belgian
stations at, 506, the return
journey to, from Mahagi,
511-3
Wady Haifa, reached by train, 530,
the primitive restaurant at,
531
Warthog, on the Likipia plains, 60;
near Mount Sirgoit, 187; in
the Kedef valley, 432
Waterhuck, near the Athi river, 21 ;
beyond the Thika, 28; near
the Sagana, 47 ; near the
Gwasho Nyiro, 64; near
Pacey swamp,with very wide¬
spread horns, 68 ; near Mount
Sirgoit, 184; of the Nandi
district, 250; near the Nzoia
a troop of eight seen to¬
gether, one shot, 253, photo¬
graph of, also secured, 254, in
the Kedef valley, 432, near
the Mielli district, 445
Cobus Ellipsiprymnus, author's
first and sole specimen of,
got near the Thika, 22
INDEX.
619
Weapons oí the Kakumega, 241 ; of
the Dodinga, 402; of the
Karamojo, 315-6; of the
Latuka, 467, their brass hel¬
mets, 466-7; of the Manbettu
or pigmy, 495; of a Masai
warrior, 171-2, those of
a Masai youth and old man,
172; of the Turkana, 361,
365-6
Weaver birds and their nests, at
Mumias, 219
Wellby, Capt., his crossing of the
Tarash, 339, his experiences
with the Turkana, 354
Welle river, author's plan of
voyaging up, set aside, 11
Western Likipia, the eland plentiful
in, 143, other game similarly
abundant, 144
Wetterwulghe, M., in command of
the Enclave and Welle dis¬
tricts, author's meeting with,
at Lado, 521-2
White traders in ivory, dis¬
countenanced in B. E. A.
and Uganda, and the conse¬
quences, 537
Wife, a low price paid for, by a
carrier at Wadelai, 504
Wild bees in the camp, 203
dogs, a pack of, decimated by the
author, 146-8
pig, near Mount Elgon, 292
Wilson, Mr. A., takes the author
with him to Nimule, 513,
post filled by, at Nimule, 516
Wizard, from Nzoia, met with at
Mumias, his costume, 229-30
Wongabuney, native name for the
cave-dwellers of Mount
Elgon, 271
Wyndham, Mr., Collector at
Wadelai, 506, 513
YANLEY MONDOGO, author's
picturesquely-placed camp
at, 17, game near, 18
ZEBRA, near Doinyo Sabuk, 16,
large herd of, 18, 20; near the
Gwasho Nyiro, 63; near
Pacey swamp,69; on Baringo
plain, herds of, 84, 99-100,
139, attacked by wild dogs,
146; near Mount Sirgoit,
large herds of, 184, on
Gwashengeshu plateau, 200;
near Murosoka (tracks seen),
340; near Natapa pool, 371;
of Mount Locorina, 382; in
the Kedef valley, 432; near
the Mielli country, 445
Zedu, a, smart man, 252, 480, 517,
521
Zimberu district, see Karhoteney
Zimoquai, on the Moroto, the
author rejoins Coutlis at, 331
Zumut, Mount, author's journey
towards, 374, the elephant
cemetery near, 379, game
seen near, 380 and elephants,
380-1, 383-4
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