AFRICAN CAMP FIRES 



face. The n'goma had him, to a limited extent, for 

 he stumbled over tent ropes, smiled a bit uncertainly, 

 and slumped down rather suddenly when he had 

 meant to sit. However, he both stumbled, smiled, 

 and slumped with unassailable dignity. 



From beneath his goatskin robe he produced a long 

 ornamented gourd from which he offered us a drink of 

 fermented milk. He took our refusal good-naturedly. 

 The gourd must have held a gallon, but he got 

 away with all of its contents in the course of the in- 

 terview; also several pints of super-sweetened coffee 

 which we doled out to him a little at a time, and 

 which he seemed to appreciate extravagantly. 



Through Leyeye we exchanged the compliments of 

 the day, and, after the African custom, told each 

 other how important we were. Our visitor turned 

 out to be none other than the brother of Lenani, the 

 paramount chief of all the Masai. I forget what I 

 was, either the brother of King George or the nephew 

 of Theodore Roosevelt — the only two white men 

 every native has heard of. It may be that both of us 

 were mistaken, but from his evident authority over 

 a very wide district we were inclined to believe our 

 visitor. 



We told him we wanted guides through the hills to 

 the southward. He promised them in a most 

 friendly fashion. 



332 



