4 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE NATIOISTAL MUSEUM vol.73 



ance of game is the probability that these people find a large pro- 

 portion of the freshly dropped young of dikdik, duiker, and other 

 game animals. If these are habitually taken for the small amount 

 of meat they afford, the extermination of the game in the grazing 

 areas is only a matter of time. In one sense there is no justification 

 for such slaughter, as they have plenty of available meat in their 

 own herds; the same argument, however, applies with even greater 

 force to the European sportsman, and one can scarcely blame the 

 native for not wishing to draw on his small bank account (in the shape 

 of his herd) when he can obtain a variety of diet without doing so. 



The huts of the Wagogo are usually built around three sides of a 

 square, the fourth being stockaded and provided with an entrance 

 which is closed at night after the cattle are driven in. Owing per- 

 haps to the difficulty of obtaining tall poles in sufficient quantities, 

 these huts are very low, and it is quite impossible to stand up in them. 

 The roofs are flat or slightly sloping and covered with sods of earth 

 plastered with cow dung; upon them the stock of "mahikwi" is kept; 

 this is a pumpkin plant that grows in their gardens. Occasionally a 

 hungry lion will spring on the roof and from thence into the central 

 yard where the cattle are kept. Then he is shot, while upon his kill, 

 with poisoned arrows fired from chinks or loopholes in the wattle-and- 

 daub inner walls of the huts. 



The Wagogo are skillful in the construction of spears, arrows, shields, 

 swords, and scabbards, and show an interesting taste in ornamental 

 beadwork, such as belts, armlets, and collars, each with a different, 

 if somewhat crude, pattern. It is commonly said that they never 

 wash, the application of rancid fat serving the purpose of keeping 

 the skin supple and in good condition. However that may be, they 

 are not an attractive people in the eyes of most Europeans. This is 

 not solely on account of their appearance by any means; in part it 

 is on account of their unsatisfactory behavior as workmen. Though 

 they may apply for work they have no conception of steady applica- 

 tion; their traditions and upbringing render them unsuitable as a 

 race for anything but herding and veterinary occupations. Occasion- 

 ally one hears of an Mgogo personal servant ; such a one has generally 

 been trained at a mission station. 



In the days of the early explorers and before the country was 

 opened up the Wagogo had a reputation for being truculent; each petty 

 chief, foreshadowing the modern customs system, made demands for 

 largesse before the traveler was allowed to pass through his little 

 district. 



Very different are the tribes to the west and east. The Wanyim- 

 wezi, whose capital town is Tabora, are notoriouslj^ willing workers, 

 and parties of them used to make the long journey to Zanzibar in 

 early times to seek for work as carriers. As a people they are more 



