NZOIA PLATEAU AND ITS TRIBES = 231 
Had I had time I should have liked greatly to hunt 
in that great valley and travel down the Kerio River to Lake 
Rudolph. The tribes that live on its banks are but little 
known. Some of them, like the Maraquette and the Cheran- 
gang N’dorobo, have never received a white man into 
their forest strongholds. But the time for returning had 
come and most unwillingly I rode away. 
The numbers and power of the Massai tribe in old days 
can best be estimated by the wide-spread influence they 
still exercise on surrounding and sometimes very different 
peoples. Their customs suited no doubt their circumstances. 
Their war organization was much more perfect than that 
of any of their enemies, and by its means they were enabled 
to hold their own even in struggles in which they were 
heavily outnumbered. The Elgoa have been always men 
of the forest. Their herds were insignificant when compared 
with those of a great veldt tribe. Yet somehow among them 
Massai customs have been universal for ages. 
In their method of fighting they seem to differ radically 
from the neighbouring tribes, some of whom, like the Kara- 
mojo, fight only with thrusting spear and shield (Karamojo 
do not use either sword or club stick), or like the N’dorobo 
who use pointed arrows alone. The Elgoa arm _ half 
the men with beautifully balanced spears, and narrow, 
oval shields of buffalo hide, and half with bows and poisoned 
arrows; the spear is however counted the more honourable 
weapon. Their use of the bow to support the spear would 
suit admirably the nature of the country they must defend. 
The Elgoa and the Cherangang, their near neighbours, 
take the most serious view possible of homicide (of course 
within the tribe; no significance is attached to killing out- 
side of it). 
The old chieftain, who was much looked up to by his 
people and who was everywhere watched over and waited 
on by his two fine young warrior sons, is unquestionably 
