28 A COLONY IN THE MAKING chap. 



Thus he does not demand his wages on the day they 

 are due or rather generally two or three days before, 

 as is invariable in the employment of Kikuyu. Very 

 often he will not take his wages until the end of six 

 months, perfectly confident in the honesty of his 

 employer. Although by no means adverse to petty 

 thefts and crimes, he does not, up to the present, at all 

 events, combine to put the screw on his master, but 

 rather accepts just punishment when necessary with 

 complete equanimity. 



It must be borne in mind that the natural habitat of 

 the tribe is very warm and moist, and that therefore he 

 cannot be expected to be at his best at first in the cold, 

 dry high plateaus. On the wind-swept Uasin Guishu 

 plateau, for instance, he is at present far from happy, 

 and to induce him to stay there, every facility and help 

 in the way of superior housing is necessary. The 

 next generation will undoubtedly be more inured to 

 the climate. On the other hand, if the exportation of 

 any highland nation to the coast is to be encouraged, 

 the Kavirondo offer the most suitable material. 



The tribe, both Nilotic and Bantu, are prolific, but 

 has suffered a great deal in the past from smallpox 

 and sleeping sickness. The former has been held 

 well in check by the Government ; the latter seems 

 about stationary. There is a sleeping sickness 

 observation camp in South Kavirondo, but its efforts 

 at effecting a cure have, as elsewhere, been up to the 

 present without avail. At the same time, there can 

 be little doubt that the observations on this scourge 

 are proceeding on the right lines, and that, without 

 being unduly optimistic, one may anticipate the 

 vital discovery within the next two years. One thing 

 is certain, that though prevention may be better than 



