Ill Wildest Africa -^ 



aoo from Panofani on the coast to trade for ivorv in the 

 INIasai country. I am surprised to hear the Arabs tell how, 

 althous^h theirs is one of the first caravans that have made 

 the attempt, they have penetrated far into the inhospitable 

 and perilous lands of the Masai. Their journey has been 

 greatly delayed, for they have had to fight many battles 

 with the Wachenzi. the aborigines of the districts through 

 which they marched. " But Allah was with us, and the 

 Unbelievers had the worst of it ! Allah is great, and 

 iNIohammed is his prophet ! " 



Every one set busily to work. In the turn of a hand 

 the camp was surrounded with a thorny zereba hedge, and 

 made secure. 



And now I had personal experience of what has passed, 

 times without number, in the broad lands of the INIasai ; — 

 armed detachments from the caravan started on raids tor 

 far-off districts. The timid Wandorobo, that strange sub- 

 ject tribe of the Masai, brought more and more ivory to 

 the camp to sell it to the traders, after long and obstinate 

 bargaining. It was remarkable how clever were the people 

 of the caravan in dealino' with these timid wild folk, and 

 how well they knew how to gain their confidence.' This 

 confidence, however, was not made use of in trade and 

 barter for the advantage of the natives. Hut thanks to the 

 methods and ways ot managing the nati\"es, as the traders 



' John Hanning Speke, one of the discoverers of ihe \'ictoria Nyanz.i, 

 has already remarked that the Aral)s know well how to manage their 

 slaves, and to tame them like domestic animals ; that they are able to 

 entrust them with business matters, and send ihem out of their own 

 dominions into foreign countries, without the slaves ever attempting to 

 escape from their masters. 



60 



