MEN OF THE TREES 



and smelled it and at once recognized the scent as being 

 identical to that of the wood from which cedar pencils 

 were made. I bit it and it tasted just like the pencils one 

 had chewed at school when a small boy. I next whittled 

 it and found that it had the usual whittling quality re- 

 quired by the pencil makers. I next sent samples to the 

 School of Forestry at Cambridge where it was favour- 

 ably reported upon by the wood technologists, with the 

 result that a market was established for it. For it proved 

 to be juniperous procera. Pleasant as the scent was when 

 it burned I warned Ramazini in future to find other fuel, 

 explaining to him that mutarakwa was too valuable for 

 that purpose. 



Early as it was, the excitement had begun, for soon 

 runners arrived to say that their tribesmen were ap- 

 proaching in thousands. Three hours later these eager 

 young warriors were massing in a great column between 

 two hills, about a mile from my camp, where they were 

 sorting themselves out and putting the finishing touches 

 to their elaborate make-up, so that they might be ready 

 for a big march past. This was to be a great day. It re- 

 called to them the happy days when, in this same hollow, 

 they prepared to sally forth to raid the camps of their 

 hereditary enemies the Masai. War for them had no ter- 

 rors. It possessed none of the horrors of modern "civ- 

 ilized" warfare. In the old days it had been little more 

 than a pastime and the older men had been comrades in 

 arms, so this indeed was a notable reunion. As was their 

 custom they had formed themselves into their respective 



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