&°PLEA FOR. THE NATIVE 375 
Kavorondo living by the great lake and the Kikuyu, hold- 
ing the very rich, arable, forest-protected regions, to the 
south of Mount Kenia, both seemed to me to be singularly 
backward tribes. ‘These latter specially had a low stan- 
dard of morals and are generally spoken of as liars and 
thieves. They seem to have adopted the vices of their 
enemies, the Massai, without being able to emulate them in 
military organization. “The Wakamba, another large tribe 
living east of Kikuyu country, and subsisting partly on their 
herds, as well as by agriculture, have developed a tribal life 
superior in some ways to that of their neighbours. In 
appearance they differ, are taller, slenderer, and distinctly 
lighter in colour, they have frequently the slanting eye of 
the Mongolian type. They are a very brave and inde- 
pendent race, are excellent hunters, and, so far as I could 
learn, and I had many of them with me for months on 
sefari, are more careful of their women and children. I 
have known a Wakamba to take a long journey, and to 
undergo great inconvenience in order to be with his little 
wife during the time of her confinement. 
A superficial, if sympathetic, study of the interesting 
group of tribes living on and near the beautiful uplands 
of North East Africa was, of course, all that was possible 
in my case. I moved among them, camped by their fire- 
sides and chatted night after night to them, for more than 
a year, during my two journeys through that country. I 
tested their courage and tried their endurance, and as a 
result I bade them good-bye with a sincere regret. I have 
met among the crowd of sportsmen and emigrants whom 
one comes across in Africa, some few men only who, not 
wholly occupied with the pursuit of their own pleasure or 
gain, have taken time to study the native. Such men, with- 
out one exception, have a warm heart for the East African 
and a more or less firm belief in his capacity for better- 
ment. Still these men seldom write books, for they cannot 
