178 STALKS ABROAD 



undergrowth. We had passed from the Kikuyu 

 country into the territory of the Masai, once, in 

 the language of the guide-books, " the scourge and 

 terror of their more peaceful neighbours, but now 

 transformed into a prosperous and law-abiding com- 

 munity." They share with Teddy Payne and others 

 an unconquerable aversion to work, but we found 

 them pleasant fellows to deal with, though of very 

 little use as hunters. Their bomas are totally 

 unlike the dwellings of the Wa Kikuyu, and not 

 nearly so picturesque. They are cleverly concealed 

 among trees and foliage though often found in the 

 centres of open plains, in which case their well- 

 defined circles are visible at a great distance. 



I called on a chief who thought himself a great 

 swell in a dirty old Burberry and someone's cast- 

 off helmet. He supplied us with a couple of guides, 

 and we shortly afterwards reached a most delightful 

 camping ground by the side of a clear stream. It 

 lay in a broad belt of forest ; hanging creepers, 

 old-man's-beard, and glossy foliage of every shade 

 of green surrounded it on all sides and echoed back 

 the murmur of the little river. 



Except in the rainy season, the so-called rivers 

 are little burns. The only big rivers I saw were 

 the Tana and the Guaso-Nyiro. The former is by 

 far the bigger of the two. I went out in the 

 evening on the chance of seeing something, and 

 though luck was against me I came across sing- 

 sing, impala, and steinbuck. Coins defassa, or the 



